Archive for June, 2008

U.S. to Settle Scientist’s Anthrax Lawsuit

Friday, June 27th, 2008

Dumped on the late Friday news cycle ... A former Army scientist who was named as a person of interest in the 2001 anthrax attacks will receive $5.8 million to settle his lawsuit against the Justice Department. Yes, remember the Anthrax attacks. The war on terror hasn't caught the anthrax ...

NYT Lock and Load - Supreme Court Ruling on Gun Rights

Friday, June 27th, 2008

That last part is the final indignity of the decision: when the justices go to work at the Supreme Court, guns will still be banned. When most Americans show up at their own jobs, they will not have that protection. This audaciously harmful decision, which hands the far right ...

How Lies Live and Grow in the Brain

Friday, June 27th, 2008

An interesting and timely op-ed piece in the Times covers a phenomenon, known as source amnesia, can also lead people to forget whether a statement is true. Even when a lie is presented with a disclaimer, people often later remember it as true. With time, this misremembering only gets ...

Battlestar Galactica in SciFi Ghetto

Wednesday, June 25th, 2008

"Because our profile is so low, we've been able to tell the kinds of stories we've been able to tell," Weddle said. "We're off the radar because we're just a sci-fi show, and we've told some pretty amazing stories because we're just a sci-fi show. We're not on the radar ...

Court slashes judgment in Exxon Valdez disaster from $2.5B to $.5B

Wednesday, June 25th, 2008

In dissent, Justice John Paul Stevens supported the $2.5 billion figure for punitive damages, saying Congress has chosen not to impose restrictions in such circumstances. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg also dissented, saying the court was engaging in "lawmaking" by concluding that punitive damages may not exceed what the company ...

America’s fastest train moves ahead

Wednesday, June 25th, 2008

America's fastest train could compete with air travel. Flying from Anaheim, Calif., to Vegas on a passenger jet cruising at about 550 mph could cost upward of $150, while a ticket for the same route on a maglev would cost $55, according to the American Magline Group.Read the full story

Feingold, Dodd planning filibuster of wiretap bill, prospects dim

Tuesday, June 24th, 2008

A Dodd-led filibuster in February attracted just 29 supporters, short of the 41 necessary to keep a bill from coming to a vote. Speaking in Washington Monday, Feingold was pessimistic about their chances this time around.Read the full story

Big Gains for Iraq Security, but Questions Linger

Saturday, June 21st, 2008

Some definite temporary progress. My sense is that paying the Sunni's for peace is probably fueling a future powderkeg. It's not a sustainable strategy.Read the full story

Obama Opens Up 15-Point Lead

Friday, June 20th, 2008

With numbers consistently showing rock-bottom approval ratings for President Bush and a large majority of Americans unhappy with the country's direction, the opposing-party candidate should, in the normal course, have attracted more disaffected voters. Now it looks as if Obama is doing just that. A new NEWSWEEK Poll shows that ...

McClellan: Bush, Cheney Wanted Me To Say Libby Wasn’t Involved In CIA Leak Case…

Friday, June 20th, 2008

Former presidential spokesman Scott McClellan on Friday said President Bush has lost the public's trust by failing to open up about his administration's mistakes and backtracking on a promise to tell all about the leak of CIA operative Valerie Plame's identity.Read the full story