“Extraordinary rendition” is White House-speak for kidnapping. Just ask Maher Arar. He’s a Canadian citizen who was “rendered” by the U.S. to Syria, where he was tortured for almost a year.
Filed under Weekly Column
U.S. Army Reserve Spc. Chancellor Keesling died in Iraq on June 19, 2009, from “a non-combat related incident,” according to the Pentagon. Keesling had killed himself.
Filed under Weekly Column
Climate-change activists, from pranksters to presidents, are stepping up the pressure by staging elaborate stunts.
Filed under Weekly Column
Lt. Dan Choi doesn’t want to lie. Choi, an Iraq war veteran and a graduate of West Point, declared last March 19 on “The Rachel Maddow Show,” “I am gay.” Under the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” regulations, those three words are enough to get Choi kicked out of the military.
Filed under Weekly Column
A social worker from New York City was arrested last week while in Pittsburgh for the G-20 protests, then subjected to an FBI raid this week at home—all for using Twitter.
Filed under Weekly Column
Journalist Christian Parenti responds to our interview with Kevin Bales, founder of Free The Slaves
Filed under News
More Blog Posts »
Adobe Flash Player version 9.0.115 or higher is required to watch video inline on this webpage, and JavaScript must be enabled. You can choose another option on the listen/watch page if you prefer.
It’s Election Day, and voters are heading to the polls across the country in what election officials are expecting to be record turnout numbers. Pennsylvania is one of the key battleground states in the presidential race. We go to the town of Scranton to get a report from Democracy Now! co-host Juan Gonzalez, where he is on assignment for the New York Daily News. [includes rush transcript]
While the media focuses primarily on the presidential race, we get an overview of some of the 153 ballot initiatives being voted today in thirty-six states. Voters will weigh in on matters as diverse as clean energy, children’s health insurance, stem cell research, predatory lending, affirmative action, immigrant rights, abortion, gay marriage, adoption, nonviolent drug offenses, income tax, and treatment of farm animals. We speak with Kristina Wilfore of the Ballot Initiative Strategy Center and Richard Kim of The Nation magazine. [includes rush transcript]
As tens of millions head to the polls today, we take a look at the issue of felony disenfranchisement, the practice by state governments of barring people convicted of a felony from voting, even after they have served their time. What many don’t realize is that while a few states have permanent felony disenfranchisement laws, many allow those with a felony record to eventually rejoin the voter rolls. Democracy Now!’s Mike Kimber discusses his experience casting a ballot for the first time in his life after realizing he was allowed to vote in New York. We also speak with Myrna Pérez of the Brennan Center for Justice. [includes rush transcript]
Video the Vote is a national network of citizen journalists monitoring the polling stations in their communities. The group has a toll-free number, 1-866-OUR-VOTE, that voters can call to report problems at the polls. A command center in Washington, D.C. can then choose from a database of some 3,000 people to dispatch camera-wielding volunteers to the voting sites. [includes rush transcript]
There’s another important vote today, but it’s not the US election. The Federal Communications Commission is scheduled to decide on a measure that could expand wireless broadband internet access to more of the country. The FCC will vote on whether to allow the unlicensed use of so-called “white space” television spectrum for wireless internet services. We speak with Timothy Karr of the media reform group Free Press. [includes rush transcript]