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Is It Time for Malpractice Reform?

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

American Prospect - By Joanne Kenen - Nov. 20 (News Analysis) - Year after year, Republicans try to pass legislation that would limit medical malpractice awards. Fix the tort system, they argue, and we fix rising health-care costs. And year after year, Democrats resist placing arbitrary caps on awards to people who may have suffered from an egregious medical error. The fight plays out like a predictable old Western -- good guys versus bad guys. Depending on your politics, the villain is either the greedy doctor or the greedy trial lawyer.

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Things Not to Be Thankful For - Silverdome, Goldman Sachs & Congressional Recess

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Daily Show - By Jon Stewart - Nov. 20 (Comedy News) - Detroit sells its Silverdome for less than a one-bedroom apartment, Goldman Sachs reports huge profits, and three congressmen warn New Yorkers of terrorism.

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The Logic of the 9/11 Trials, the Madness of the Military Commissions

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

TruthOut - By Andy Worthington - Nov. 19 (Opinion) - the very existence of a two-tier judicial system should be enough to set alarm bells ringing, as it suggests - quite correctly, I believe - that the government is hedging its bets when it comes to justice, proceeding with federal court trials when it believes that it will secure successful prosecutions, and reserving the commissions for other cases in which it fears that it may fail, because the evidence is not only contaminated by the use of torture, but is also weak.

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Legislation to Limit Use of State Secrets Privilege an Uphill Battle

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

TruthOut - By William Fisher - Nov. 19 (Special Report) - The problems President Obama will likely face in this area may stem from his pledges - both during the campaign and currently - that he would make open government and transparency the hallmarks of his administration. But, in court cases, his lawyers have followed paths identical to those used by George W. Bush's Justice Department. This approach to secrecy, manifested in his use of the state secrets doctrine, has triggered widespread disappointment among the progressive wing of his supporters. These supporters are pushing hard for passage of legislation winding its way through Congress that would impose stricter limits on use of the privilege.

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Senators Press Holder to Declassify Key Facts about Patriot Act

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Salem-News.com - Nov. 19 (News Report) - We believe that the information we referenced in those paragraphs – specifically about the use of section 215 – is essential to understanding the full scope of the PATRIOT Act, which is about to be debated in Congress. As we said in June, if you have concerns about declassifying the specific language contained in our letter, we ask that you work with us to find language that conveys enough information to allow for an informed public debate on the PATRIOT Act’s reauthorization

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The right's nonsensical arguments against trying Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in New York.

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Slate - By Dahlia Lithwick - Nov. 17 (Opinion) - Opposition to the Obama administration's plan to try alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and his confederates in a federal court in New York City is hardening into two camps. One is concerned that we may be unwittingly playing into the terrorists' hands. The other is incensed that we already have. What both camps share, besides a kind of unhinged logic and complete disregard for the legal process, is an obsessive fascination with the accused. The result is a broad willingness to sacrifice our commitment to legal principles in favor of the symbolic satisfaction of crushing the hopes and dreams of a motley group of criminals.

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The Right's textbook "surrender to terrorists"

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Salon - By Glenn Greenwald - Nov. 15 (Opinion) - This is literally true: the Right's reaction to yesterday's announcement -- we're too afraid to allow trials and due process in our country -- is the textbook definition of "surrendering to terrorists." It's the same fear they've been spewing for years. As always, the Right's tough-guy leaders wallow in a combination of pitiful fear and cynical manipulation of the fear of their followers. Indeed, it's hard to find any group of people on the globe who exude this sort of weakness and fear more than the American Right.

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Holder vows Gitmo defendants wouldn't be released in the U.S.

Sat, 14 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

The Hill - By Susan Crabtree - Nov. 14 (News Report) - The attorney general has pledged not to allow the release of dangerous detainees here if they are found not guilty. Read more...

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Feds move to seize 4 mosques, skyscraper

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Seattle Times - By Adam Goldman - Nov. 13 (News) - Federal prosecutors took steps Thursday to seize four U.S. mosques and a Fifth Avenue skyscraper owned by a nonprofit Muslim organization long suspected of being secretly controlled by the Iranian government.

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For Holder, much wrestling over decision

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Washington Post - By Carrie Johnson - Nov. 13 (News Analysis) - what the nation's chief law enforcement officer did not lay bare for public consumption was the four months of deliberation, lobbying and tug of war inside his own Justice Department that preceded an announcement that will follow him into history.

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Anti-Statism In America

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

New Republic - By John B. Judis - Nov. 11 (News Analysis) - Liberals and progressives have fared poorly in the face of this staunch anti-statist tradition, but there have still been periods when they have broken through and enacted major reforms--during Woodrow Wilson’s first term, Franklin Roosevelt’s first term, Lyndon Johnson’s first two years, and Richard Nixon’s first term. They succeeded for different reasons at different times, but several conditions recur.

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Accept the facts – and end this futile 'war on drugs'

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

The Independent - By Johann Hari - Nov. 10 (Opinion) - The prohibitionists are – from the best intentions and the highest motives – unleashing a catastrophe. Human beings have been finding ways to get stoned or high since we lived in caves. In our attempt to end this natural impulse, we have created a problem worse than drug use itself.

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The Scene In The House When It Happened

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Huffington Post - By Ryan Grim - Nov. 08 (News) - The House floor erupted in one of the loudest cheers the chamber has heard in years when Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), an hour before midnight, cast the 218th and deciding vote on landmark health care reform.

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Coal ash from U.S. blamed for Dominican town's birth defects

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

McClatchy - By Frances Robles - Nov. 07 (News Report) - Villagers in the Dominican Republic claim children have been born without limbs and organs because of coal ash from a Virginia power company dumped nearby. Maximiliano Calcano is 2 and was born with no arms.

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We broke the law, admits CIA agent convicted of rendition

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

The Independent - By David Usborne - Nov. 06 (News Report) - In an interview earlier this year with an Italian newspaper, Mr Lady was candid about the seizure of the cleric. "Of course it was an illegal operation," the newspaper quoted him. "But that's our job. We're at war against terrorism".

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Gay-rights support stops at Cascades

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Seattle Times - By Lornet Turnbull - Nov. 05 (News Report) - The lopsided results over expansion of the state's domestic-partnership law, which voters overall were approving, show the challenge supporters of gay rights face in winning over all Washingtonians as they seek full equality.

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UN Panel Criticizes Russia on Human Rights

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

sptimes.ru - Nov. 03 (News Report) - Russia fails to protect journalists, activists, prison inmates and others at odds with authorities from a wide range of abuses, including torture and murder, the UN Human Rights Committee said Friday.

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Judge OKs Challenge to Human Gene Patents

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Wired - Nov. 03 (News Report) - A federal judge ruled Monday that a lawsuit can move forward against the Patent and Trademark Office and a research company awarded exclusive rights to human genes known to detect early signs of breast or ovarian cancer. The first-of-its-kind lawsuit

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Obama administration seeks to block wiretap suit

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Associated Press - By Devlin Barrett - Oct. 31 (News Report) - The Justice Department invoked the state secrets privilege Friday to try to stop a lawsuit over Bush-era wiretapping -- the first time the Obama administration has done so under its new policy on such cases. Attorney General Eric Holder announced the decision in a California lawsuit challenging the warrantless wiretapping program begun after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

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Gestapo Knocks at Door of Northwestern University Journalism School

Sun, 25 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Huffington Post - By Judge H. Lee Sarokin - Oct. 25 (Opinion) - I am always offended and annoyed with the labeling of some recent conduct or person with Nazism or Hitler or drawing analogies with the Holocaust...

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Dallas police chief: Dozens of tickets issued for not speaking English

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Dallas Morning News - By Scott Goldstein - Oct. 23 (News Report) - Dallas Police Chief David Kunkle said this afternoon that his officers have written at least 39 citations to people over the past three years for not speaking English

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Northwestern Student Grades Subpoenaed by State for Anthony McKinney Murder Investigation

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

ABC News - By Emily Friedman - Oct. 20 (Special Report) - A group of Northwestern University journalism students who believe they found proof that exonerates a man held behind bars for 31 years are fighting requests from the Illinois state prosecutor's office that they turn over their grades and course materials as part of its investigation into the possible wrongful conviction, arguing that it would jeopardize future investigations.

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Judge Finds Abusive Gitmo Interrogations Yield False Confessions, Bad Info

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

AlterNet - By Christopher Flavelle - Oct. 15 (News Report) - A few weeks ago, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia released a declassified version of a judge’s ruling in the case of Al Rabiah, a Kuwaiti citizen who has been held at Guantanamo for seven years. The judge, Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, found that the government could not credibly support its allegation that Al Rabiah was part of the Taliban or al-Qaida, and that the evidence against him wasn’t sufficient to justify his continued detention. She ordered the government to release Al Rabiah "forthwith."

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Jon Stewart Takes On 30 Republicans Who Voted Against Franken Rape Amendment (VIDEO)

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Huffington Post - By The Huffington Post News Team - Oct. 15 (Comedy News) - In 2005, Jamie Leigh Jones was gang-raped by her Halliburton/KBR co-workers while working in Iraq and locked in a shipping container for over a day...

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Law change needed to cover climate exiles

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Reuters - By Olesya Dmitracova - Oct. 15 (Special Report) - International law is unfit to deal with the millions of people expected to flee their home countries to escape droughts and floods intensified by climate change, a group of lawyers said on Thursday.

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