Senate Postpones Domestic Spying Bill

Thanks to the efforts of Senator Chris Dodd, the Senate has postponed a vote that could have permanently expanded the government’s ability to carry out domestic surveillance. The FISA bill would have given immunity to telecommunication companies that have assisted in the government’s illegal spying program. This ‘retroactive immunity’ caused Senator Dodd to threaten [...]

Ron Paul Raises $6 Million in One Day

Presidential hopeful Ron Paul raised an astounding $6 million and change Sunday, almost certainly guaranteeing he’ll out-raise his rivals for the Republican nomination in the fourth quarter. That marks the largest single-day fundraising haul in U.S. political history, besting John Kerry’s $5.7 million the day after securing the 2004 Democratic nomination.
Paul’s campaign bested its [...]

The Ford Pinto and the Price of Life

Back in the 1960’s, the Ford Motor Company faced strong competition in America’s small-car market. To fight the competition of Volkswagen and Japanese manufacturers, Ford rushed the development of its newest small car, the Ford Pinto.

During production, Ford engineers discovered a major flaw in the car’s design. In rear-end crash tests, [...]

Romney’s Equity Firm to Buy Clear Channel

From LewRockwell:
What would it cost to buy the support of just about every nationally syndicated neocon talk show host in America? About $19.5 billion, which is what Mitt Romney’s private equity firm, Bain Capital, and Thomas H. Lee Partners have agreed to pay in a leveraged buyout agreement with Clear Channel Communications, the largest [...]

Kucinich Excluded from Final Democratic Debate

The Des Moines Register hosted the final Democratic presidential debate this Thursday. The criteria to establish which participants were invited to the debate was as follows:

Candidates must have filed an FEC Form F-2 “Statement of Candidacy” with the Federal Election Commission, and
Candidates must have publicly announced an intention to run for the nomination of the [...]

Mid-week Roundup 12/12

Losing our minds over Illegal Immigration
NAFTA has the power to trump state laws!
The Historical Truth of Our Relations with Iran
Report shows Bush manipulated climate science, suppressed scientists.
Nigeria battles Pfizer in court for conducting an illegal, unauthorized drug trial on Nigerian children.
Bad News for Prescription Drugs: pharmaceutical sales reps may be given licenses.
Murdoch Ready to Makeover [...]

Blackwater Worldwide

The private security firm Blackwater is attempting to reconstruct its image, re-branding themselves Blackwater Worldwide this October. The US State Department’s largest security contractor had its operating license revoked by the Iraqi government this September after its involvement in the killing of 17 Iraqi civilians. Yet they continue to operate there and are expanding [...]

The Wolf Returns…

The disgraced ex-president of the World Bank, Paul Wolfowitz, has managed to find new work in familiar surroundings. Wolfowitz, known as one of the primary architects of Bush’s Iraq policy, was forced to resign as president of the World Bank after approving an illegal high-paying promotion for his girlfriend Shaha Riza.
Despite the disgraced [...]

Chicago to Pay $20mil for Police Torture

A bit of hometown news, from Democracy Now, 12/10/2007:
The city of Chicago has agreed to pay nearly $20 million to four former death row prisoners who gave false confessions after being tortured by Chicago police. The four men are all African-American. They sued former Chicago Police Commander Jon Burge and more than 20 officers who [...]

Halliburton/KBR Gang Rape Victim

From ABC News:
A Houston woman says she was gang-raped by Halliburton/KBR coworkers in Baghdad, and the company and the US government are covering up the incident.
Jamie Leigh Jones, now 22, says that after she was raped by multiple men at a KBR camp in the Green Zone, the company put her under guard in a [...]