In his classic 1960’s work Semi-Sovereign People, E. E. Schattschneider wrote that the masses will always be under-represented in government because they lack the organization and financial capital necessary to be heard in a pluralistic political system. While this was certainly true then, there is hope that the internet offers an opportunity to change […]
A while back I wrote a piece here called “These Days, Its Alllll Secrecy and Noooo Privacy,” suggesting that our privacy was being invaded by secret government surveillance programs.
Now some may have called me paranoid then, but do they still think so? In the last few weeks the shroud of secrecy on […]
Question: Why should we be concerned about our looming oil crisis?
ANWR: According to the President, we should be concerned because our dependence on foreign oil is a threat to our national security and the high prices of oil are a threat to our economy. Absent from his answer is the threat burning fossil fuels […]
I won’t dwell long on this topic, but rather let others explain it. Congress is considering legislation that would allow telecom and cable company to create gates to the Internet and let them charge websites for faster pipelines to your browser.
This is simply a wrong-headed policy that would put money in corporate […]
Is George Bush leading an investigation into who leaked Valerie Plame’s covert identity the same as O.J. Simpson looking for Nicole’s murderer?
After last year’s revelation that the Bush Administration used Video News Reports (VNR), created by the government and distributed to TV news shows, to promote the War in Iraq, we now learn that corporate VNRs are being passed off by many local TV stations as real journalism.
The lure is so compelling. A ready-to-go story […]
I just clicked through an ad on a Washington Post e-newsletter to participate in a NewsMax online poll about the 2008 Presidential election and a possible bid by Condi Rice. There are two serious problems with this poll: it is a self-selected sample and to participate in the poll, you must provide an email […]
Quiz of the day:
Q. Which country is planning to violate the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT)?
a. Iran
b. Iraq
c. USA
d. none of the above
A. USA. That’s right. The USA is planning a new program to upgrade its nuclear weapons. The RRW warheads (reliable replacement warhead) will be a new generation of nuclear warheads. […]
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