Race

Marie Cocco: Your Papers, Please

Marie Cocco / Truthdig Jul 13, 2006 The current push to require voters to supply proof of citizenship at the voting booth has very little to do with preventing illegal voting and much more to do with keeping away from the polls those most likely to vote for Democrats. Dig deeper ( 4 Min. Read )

U.S. Will Give All U.S. Detainees Geneva Rights

Staff / Truthdig Jul 11, 2006 The White House said this morning that every prisoner in Gitmo and in US military custody everywhere is entitled to Geneva Convention protections Bush spokesman Tony Snow claimed that this apparent about-face is "not really a reversal of policy," while admitting that it stems directly from the Supreme Court's striking down of Bush's military tribunals Reminder: This is far from total victory Constitutional expert Glenn Greenwald reminds us that the Hamdan ruling also removed any conceivable argument to support Bush's illegal wiretapping programs, and we haven't heard about any policy shift on that front . Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Sullivan: Bush Channeled Tony Soprano on Torture

Staff / Truthdig Jul 11, 2006 Bush and Rumsfeld gave the go-ahead to CIA interrogators to threaten the family of Al Qaeda leader Khalid Sheik Muhammed if he did not talk, according to Ron Suskind in his new book, "The One Percent Doctrine." Former Bush defender Andrew Sullivan says the green light made Bush "the moral equivalent of a mafia boss." Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

FBI Plans New Push on Internet Surveillance

Staff / Truthdig Jul 10, 2006 According to CNET: "The FBI has drafted sweeping legislation that would require Internet service providers to create wiretapping hubs for police surveillance and force makers of networking gear to build in backdoors for eavesdropping." Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Parents Use Gadgets to Spy on Teens

Staff / Truthdig Jul 10, 2006 Invasion of privacy is not just for the NSA anymore! Parents have always snooped, but as the SF Chronicle reveals, new tech toys are taking what was once standard parental prying to a whole new level of unacceptable surveillance and spying. Whatever happened to good, old-fashioned conversation? (Via boingboing.net) Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Bush Is Flouting Court After Gitmo Ruling

Staff / Truthdig Jul 10, 2006 Constitutional expert and best-selling author Glenn Greenwald reminds us that the Supreme Court's Hamdan decision not only outlawed Bush's military tribunals, but also removed any conceivable argument to support Bush's illegal wiretapping programs. Greenwald: "Journalists should begin asking the Justice Department every day what their legal justification for warrantless eavesdropping is now that Hamdan has rendered frivolous their prior legal arguments in defense of the President." Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

Tax Dollars to Fund Study on Restricting Public Data

Staff / Truthdig Jul 8, 2006 According to USA Today: "The federal government will pay a Texas law school $1 million to do research aimed at rolling back the amount of sensitive data available to the press and public through freedom-of-information requests." Seriously, this s*#t just got ridiculous; the Bush administration is already the most secrecy-crazed in the 20th century. Now it needs more layers of secrecy? Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Suspect May Argue White House OK’d Phone-Jamming

Staff / Truthdig Jul 8, 2006 The guy indicted in the jamming of Democratic phone lines on election day in 2002 is set to argue that his scheme had the approval of both the Republican National Committee and the White House. If true, this would be huge: a White House-led attempt to sabotage a Senate election in favor of a Republican. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Military Checking Journos’ ‘Slant’ Before Granting Access

Staff / Truthdig Jul 6, 2006 Newsweek's former Baghdad bureau chief says that U military personnel in Iraq have started reviewing journalists' previous work and their "slant," or point of view, before granting the reporters the right to embed with units He said some reporters have been "blacklisted" for writing pieces unfriendly to the military . Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Pentagon Monitored Student Groups’ E-mail

Staff / Truthdig Jul 6, 2006 The Department of Defense monitored e-mails from college students who were planning protests against the Iraq war and against the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy. The Pentagon apparently started digging after receiving tips through a website used for soliciting anti-terror tips from civilians and military personnel. (Link - reg req'd) Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

Did Bush & Co. ‘Floridize’ Mexico’s Voter Rolls?

Staff / Truthdig Jul 6, 2006 The FBI obtained Mexico's voter lists via the same contractor that Florida Gov Jeb Bush used to scrub alleged felons from the voter rolls The FBI supposedly obtained the lists as part of counter-terror operations, but there's reason to suspect those lists will end up helping President Bush's favored candidate into office in Mexico (more) . Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Waving the American Flag

Staff / Truthdig Jul 4, 2006 Phew! What a past few years it has been for the American flag embraced throughout the world after the Sept 11 attacks; denounced throughout the world not long after; subject to a Republican attempt to make it fireproof during the last two national election cycles So with flags waving high during this Fourth of July, Truthdig invites its readers to reflect in the comments box on the nature of patriotism and nationalism Here are some primers from E Dionne, Howard Zinn and John Kerry (more). Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )