Politics

Lawmakers Appear to Distance Selves From Lobbyists

Staff / Truthdig Jan 31, 2006 Both Republicans and Democrats are canceling meetings with lobbyists in the wake of the Abramoff scandal. | storyPardon our cynicism, but as long as lobbyists have money to dole out, lawmakers will find a way to the trough.Any lobbying-reform legislation that results from this scandal will be rendered moot as quickly as you can say "McCain-Feingold." Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Media Outlets Censor Tape of Kidnapped Reporter

Blair Golson / Truthdig Jan 31, 2006 Jill Caroll, 28, appears pleading and weeping in a newly released tape. | storyTruthdig says: Al Jazeera won't let us hear Carroll's voice because it would be too "upsetting" to viewers. CNN CNN's "The Situation Room" won't even show a clip. What exactly is going on here? Why not let us, the viewers, decide what's too "upsetting"? How is this any different from Bush's censorship of coffins returning home from Iraq? We've watched jetliners packed with innocents crash into our Twin Towers. We've watched Iraqi civilians bombed in real time by our own forces. Since when did we become unable to judge for ourselves what we need to see to make sense of the world around us? Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Sen. Feingold Claims Gonzales Misled Him on Wiretaps

Staff / Truthdig Jan 31, 2006 Two years ago, the attorney general dismissed questions about warrantless spying as "hypothetical." In fact, the program was already in place. | storySorry, but what's the difference again between "intentionally misleading" and "lying"? Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Halfhearted Filibuster Attempt Ends Predictably

Staff / Truthdig Jan 31, 2006 The Senate confirms Alito as the nation's 110th Supreme Court justice after the hastily conceived filibuster attempt of Sens Kerry and Kennedy | storyBuzzflash: "There is no 'center' support for Alito's actual positions There's just support for an image the Republicans createdof a harmless guy with a wife driven to tears" | editorial. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Battle Scars: The War Within

Staff / Truthdig Jan 30, 2006 A Marine in Iraq who became the poster boy of the assault on Falloujah returns home to Kentucky, where he battles the demons of post-traumatic stress. | storyPowerful stuff. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

N.Y. Times Calls Spy Program Patently Illegal

Staff / Truthdig Jan 30, 2006 The Gray Lady, in an editorial, eviscerates Bush's defense of his spying program, point by point. | editorial Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Rice Admits U.S. Underestimated Hamas Threat

Staff / Truthdig Jan 30, 2006 Quick, someone bring out the smelling salts! A White House official just admitted a mistake. | story Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Harry Belafonte Thunders in Harlem

Staff / Truthdig Jan 30, 2006 The musician, actor and social activist issues a strident criticism of U.S. foreign policy before the International Commission of Inquiry on Crimes Against Humanity Committed by the Bush Administration. Dig deeper ( 4 Min. Read )

Cheney Denies Knowing Bush

Andy Borowitz / Truthdig Jan 28, 2006 Jack Abramoff? Sorry, never knew the guy Oh yeah, and while we're on the topic of bad guys, I don't know that Bush character either Photos? What photos?. Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

U.S. Army Seized Wives as Tactic

Staff / Truthdig Jan 28, 2006 In at least two instances, American forces have seized wives of insurgents as a means of "leverage." | story Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Pentagon Propaganda Finding Its Way Back to U.S.

Staff / Truthdig Jan 28, 2006 A Georgetown think tank secures the release of a secret 2003 Rumsfeld-approved "road map" for psychological warfare abroad. | postAccording to the document, our government takes no responsibility for propaganda that boomerangs and returns home--as long as the U.S. public isn't "targeted." Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Did Bush Kick the Abramoff Prosecutor Upstairs?

Staff / Truthdig Jan 28, 2006 The president has removed the chief prosecutor investigating the Jack Abramoff case. How? By nominating him to a federal judgeship. | storyDemocrats find the move so suspicious that they are calling for a special prosecutor in the corruption case. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )