SPOTLIGHT
McCain and Lieberman's "Enemy Belligerent" Act Could Set U.S. on Path to Military Dictatorship by Liliana Segura
On March 4th, Senators John McCain and Joe Lieberman introduced a bill called the "Enemy Belligerent Interrogation, Detention, and Prosecution Act of 2010" that, if passed, would set this country on a course to become a military dictatorship.
The bill is only 12 pages long, but that is plenty of room to grant the president the power to order the arrest, interrogation, and imprisonment of anyone -- including a U.S. citizen -- indefinitely, on the sole suspicion that he or she is affiliated with terrorism, and on the president's sole authority as commander in chief.
The Act begins with the following (convoluted) requirement:
LATEST
The '80s, Part II by Gina Piccalo
The 1980s were arguably one of the worst eras in film, when every year brought another Porky's or Police Academy, when Look Who's Talking was a bona fide blockbuster, when hilarity ensued with every inter-racial cop duo, every country-meets-city plot, and every fast-talking career gal brought down a peg by some manly man.
Alex Chilton is Dead: The Rate of Mammal Extinctions Accelerates by Mark Ames
Alex Chilton died of a heart attack a few hours ago. It’s a wonder his heart held out this long. Alex Chilton’s story always scared me more than the others–I’d figured he was already dead, for some reason–because in the romantic version of Alex Chilton’s life, he would have died decades ago, rather than drag it out the way 99.9 percent of us do.
NEWS
Bloodbath in Mexico: Drug Prohibition Is to Blame for Thousands of Mexican and Now American Deaths by Tony Newman
When we think about wars happening in the world right now, Iraq and Afghanistan jump to mind. But there is war in our backyard that can match the violence anywhere in the world, and that is the Drug War in Mexico.
Mexico President Felipe Calderon launched a full-scale military assault against the drug traffickers in his country as soon as he took office in December 2006. Three years later, the "surge" against the cartels has led to Mexico spinning out of control with jaw-dropping violence -- with no meaningful impact on the export and availability of drugs. More than twice the number of Mexicans have died in these three years -- 15,000 -- than have Americans in both Iraq and Afghanistan combined after more than seven years.
Bill Maher, You're Wrong on Education by John Legend
HBO Real Time host Bill Maher criticized President Barack Obama’s decision to support a Rhode Island superintendent who fired every single teacher at a failing high school, forcing them to reapply to their jobs. “New Rule: Let's not fire the teachers when students don't learn—let's fire the parents,” Maher said, arguing that teachers are scapegoats for the failings of society. “Isn't it convenient that once again it turns out that the problem isn't us, and the fix is something that doesn't require us to change our behavior or spend any money?” he asked, alleging, “According to all the studies, it doesn't matter what teachers do.”
Now, in a Daily Beast exclusive, education philanthropist, singer, and longtime Obama supporter John Legend is hitting back, alleging that Maher—on whose show he has appeared—fundamentally misunderstands the issue.
Hey Bill,
You know I deeply respect you and the issues you cover. I’m a big fan of your show. I really enjoy being a guest there and would love to be invited back sometime. Now, I’m hoping this letter won’t close the door to that.
Israel Crackdown Puts Liberal Jews on the Spot by Chris Hedges
The Israeli government, its brutal war crimes in Gaza exposed in detail in the U.N. report by Justice Richard Goldstone, has implemented a series of draconian measures to silence and discredit dissidents, leading intellectuals and human rights organizations inside and outside Israel that are accused--often falsely--of assisting Goldstone's U.N. investigators. The government of Benjamin Netanyahu is attempting to shut down Israel's premier human rights organizations, including B'Tselem, the New Israel Fund (NIF) and the Association for Civil Rights in Israel. It is busy expelling or excluding peace activists and foreign nationals from the Palestinian territories. The campaign, if left unchecked, will be as catastrophic for Palestinians as it will be for Israel.
Actor Stephen Baldwin Takes Christian Indoctrination to the Xtreme by Sarah Posner
Actor Stephen Baldwin has a message for the millennial generation: Jesus is cool, Jesus is rad, Jesus will kick your butt, Jesus will help you kick the butts of secular liberals. Yet while Baldwin seeks to be the hip new face of evangelicalism, promoting the Jesus of skateboarders and cool kids, beneath his radical chic is the ideology of the old men behind the Cold War-era John Birch Society and Christian Crusade.
Together with Christian activist and radio host Kevin McCullough, Baldwin launched a youth-targeted for-profit Christian media company, Xtreme Media, LLC, and the radio program Xtreme Radio with Stephen Baldwin and Kevin McCullough. The aim of Xtreme Media, according to Baldwin, is to create "a content reality we want to utilize to fire up the conservative movement to stand up and push back louder and more ferociously."
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