Amnesty International is going after Secretary of Defense Robert Gates for the military’s treatment of Bradley Manning – the man accused of leaking classified documents to Wikileaks. In a letter to Secretary Gates – Amnesty International called for an end to the inhumane conditions under which Manning is being held – conditions that include 23 hours of solitary confinement a day. The organization Psychologists for Social Responsibility has taken up the fight too – calling for and end to the, “inhumane, harmful, and counter-productive treatment” of Manning. On Sunday – two

The Center for Constitutional Rights – or CCR – is going after the Glenn Beck program. Beck recently directed his conspiracy theory fear machine at 78-year-old City University of New York professor Francis Fox Piven – accusing her of trying to “intentionally collapse our economic system”.

Earlier in the week – a large cache of weapons was seized from a Massachusetts blogger who threatened Members of Congress after the shooting of Congresswoman Gabby Giffords.

One year after the ruling - could the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision soon be overturned? The progressive organization Common Cause is asking the Department of Justice to look into possible “conflict of interest” behind the scenes of the Citizens United ruling. In the petition to the DOJ – Common Cause argues that Justices Clarence Thomas and Antonin Scalia should have recused themselves from the Citize

Financial consumers are screwed. Can you say oligopoly in the USA? Based on a study released by the White House yesterday – the four biggest banks in America could grow even bigger under the financial reform law passed last year. The law put a cap on the growth of financial institutions to prevent them from posing a systemic risk to the entire financial system – like what happened a few years ago. However that cap is ca

What did Arizona Republicans learn from the events in Tucson more than a week ago? That more guns are the answer. Lawmakers in the state legislature that brought you such goodies as the “papers, please” law, the elimination of multicultural studies in schools across the state, and the right to carry guns in bars and concealed without a permit – are at it again.

Congresswoman Giffords’ condition was upgraded over the weekend from critical to serious. Unfortunately – the community that experienced the shooting is still critically wounded. At a town hall event in Tucson on Saturday – one of the victims of the shooting rampage – Eric Fuller was arrested for disorderly conduct and making a threat. The incident occurred after local Tea Party leader Trent Humphries suggested the

Since the shooting of Representative Giffords – Members of Congress are now worried about their own security – both in DC and their home districts. In the nation’s Capitol – Congress has access to enhanced security thanks to the Capitol police. Though that’s not good enough for Republican Congressman Louie Gohmert – the guy who’s just about afraid of everything from gays to terror babies. He’s proposing legislation that would allo

President Obama was in Arizona last night to speak at a memorial service for the victims of the Arizona shooting. He - along with a few Members of Congress – also visited Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords in the hospital where more positive signs of recovery continue to emerge. Giffords reportedly opened her eyes for the first time. The President focused his speech on the victims of the tragedy – using the death of 9-year

More positive news is coming out of a Tucson hospital where Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords is recovering from a gunshot wound to the head. Doctors report that she is able to breathe on her own and now put her chances of survival at 100%. In the coming days – families will begin burying those that died in the shooting rampage. Arizona state lawmakers passed legislation ensuring that protestors – like the lunatics at the Westboro Bap

Could better gun control have prevented the Arizona massacre? The President of the Brady Center to prevent gun violence perhaps put it best in an interview yesterday saying, “[Loughner] probably couldn’t have gotten a job at a fast food joint if they checked out any references, but we allow him to buy as many guns as he wants." Loughner legally bought the gun he used to shoot Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and 19 other people at a Spor

Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords is still in critical condition in a Tuscon hospital after suffering a gunshot wound to the brain. The Congresswoman was the main target in a shooting rampage on Saturday morning as she met with constituents at a local Safeway grocery store. Also victimized – a federal judge – John Roll – who was killed along with 5 others – including a 9-yeald-old girl. 14 people were injured in the

Based on findings by President Obama’s oil spill commission – BP may get off the hook from some of the most serious charges regarding their role in the Gulf disaster last year. The committee cited systemic errors for blowout of the oil well – placing the blame on multiple parties alongside BP – like Halliburton – the company that was contracted to pour the securing cement around the well – and Transocean – the company that operated the r

You need to know this. Republicans aren’t off to the best start in their reign as majority in the House of Representatives. To begin with – their promise to cut $100 billion in spending this year has already been whittled down to about $50 billion. Even that number may be hard to achieve, given that the Congressional Budget Office released a report yesterday saying the GOP’s healthcare repeal efforts will add $230 billion to the deficit. Republicans are pushing forward with the budget busting measure anyway.