Colorado Lawmaker Shocks With Tirade on Babies and AIDS

Staff / Truthdig Feb 26, 2009 An effort to screen pregnant women for HIV in order to reduce the spread of the virus among babies didn't get Colorado state Sen Dave Schultheis' vote In the Republican's own controversial words, that's because "[t]his stems from sexual promiscuity for the most part, and I just can't go there We do things continually to remove the consequences of poor behavior, unacceptable behavior, quite frankly". Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

N.Y. Post Cartoon Goes Way, Way Over the Line

Staff / Truthdig Feb 19, 2009 The New York Post is no stranger to controversy, but the rag's latest goes beyond its typically low standards: A cartoon shows two cops, one of whom points his smoking gun at a bullet-riddled, bloody chimp. His partner says: "They'll have to find someone else to write the next stimulus bill." Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Addicted to Fake Outrage

David Sirota / Truthdig Feb 13, 2009 One thing is obvious after Michael Phelps' marijuana "scandal": Our society is addicted to fake outrage -- and to break our dependence, we’re going to need far more potent medicine than the herb Phelps was smoking. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

Another Nominee With Tax Problems

Staff / Truthdig Feb 6, 2009 What exactly was the point of that endless questionnaire Team Obama famously had prospective worker bees fill out? A fifth Obama nominee has run into some controversy, the fourth due to a failure to pay taxes, although in the case of Labor Secretary-designate Hilda Solis, her husband is to blame. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Eight Is (More Than) Enough

Ellen Goodman / Truthdig Feb 5, 2009 It turns out that the woman who recently gave birth to eight babies already had six in vitro kids at home, no spouse, no job and a pending bankruptcy. There's a word for this achievement of medicine's reproductive business: nuts. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

Nominee Confirmed or Your Money Back

Bob Englehart, The Hartford Courant Feb 5, 2009 Dig deeper

Obama Takes Responsibility for Nominee Mess

Staff / Truthdig Feb 4, 2009 President Obama blitzed the networks Tuesday to say "I screwed up." Three of Obama's high-profile nominees had failed to pay all the taxes they owed. Two were forced to withdraw from consideration earlier Tuesday. The president said he wanted to "send a message that there aren't two sets of rules—you know, one for prominent people and one for ordinary folks who have to pay their taxes." Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Senate Sends Geithner to Treasury

Staff / Truthdig Jan 27, 2009 Timothy Geithner may be a tax dodger who helped funnel taxpayer funds to his banking buddies, but we need that kind of cunning right now. That's the thinking on Capitol Hill, anyway. The Senate confirmed President Obama's pick to head Treasury on Monday, over the grumbles of 34 senators. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Burris: ‘We Don’t Need This Distraction’

Staff / Truthdig Jan 6, 2009 Roland Burris tells MSNBC's Rachel Maddow he'd rather not have a media circus swirling around his controversial appointment. But that's what is shaping up as he moves to claim a seat in the U.S. Senate. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Yukking It Up at the Blago Show

Marie Cocco / Truthdig Jan 6, 2009 I am supposed to be typing out words that articulate a highly audible and terribly alarmed tsk tsk. Instead, I am laughing with unrestrained amusement at the farce that Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich has engineered. Honestly, I haven't had this much fun since New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer's implosion. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

Pastor Rick Loves Gays

Staff / Truthdig Dec 24, 2008 Or so he says in a series of videos on his megachurch's Web site. Among other highlights, Warren blames bloggers and talk radio for stirring up the controversy around his forthcoming inauguration prayer. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Dangerous Bias Against Detroit

Joe Conason / Truthdig Dec 12, 2008 Nearly every current poll shows that most Americans oppose federal assistance to the auto industry, but legislators should also consider how voters would feel if the nation suffered the full consequences of a cratering auto industry -- and if those voters then found out that the facts were not quite what they seemed to be. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )