Norman Birnbaum on Susan Sontag

BLANK Mar 6, 2009 The publication of Sontag's early diaries provides a revelatory look at the self-inventions of the late writer. Dig deeper ( 6 Min. Read )

Ethical Malpractice

Marie Cocco / Truthdig Feb 3, 2009 No need to fumble for words that sum up the stew of hypocrisy, arrogance and insiderism that is the unfolding saga of Tom Daschle. This is the audacity of audacity. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

Team Obama Clears Itself In Blagojevich Affair

Staff / Truthdig Dec 24, 2008 An internal review of Barack Obama's staff by Barack Obama's staff found "no indication of inappropriate discussions" with embattled Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who is accused of trying to auction the president-elect's Senate seat to the highest bidder. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Team Obama’s New Transparency Tactic

Staff / Truthdig Dec 6, 2008 If the secret policy wonk in you has always hankered to sit in on those exciting meetings that happen in elite circles of government, you're in luck -- members of the Obama transition team have found another way to use the Web with their new "Seat at the Table" initiative. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Bill Clinton Jumps Through Hoops for Hillary

Staff / Truthdig Dec 1, 2008 Bill Clinton will not stand in the way of his wife becoming Barack Obama's secretary of state. The former president has agreed to nine conditions. Most notably, he will release the names of the 208,000 donors to his foundation and will submit future speeches and business deals to State Department and White House ethics reviews. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

A Whale of a Decision

Staff / Truthdig Nov 13, 2008 While some whales' hearts are as big as cars, the hearts on the Supreme Court that ruled Wednesday against a ban on high-powered sonar in Navy training exercises must be shrinking by the minute. The decision was a defeat to environmentalists, who argue that sonar panics whales, makes their ears bleed and pushes them to beach themselves. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Interior Dept. + Financial Hanky-Panky + Sex = Scandal!

Staff / Truthdig Sep 11, 2008 Three reports from the Department of Interior's inspector general found wide-ranging ethics violations between the department's Minerals Management Service and the energy companies from which it is charged with collecting royalties. Allegations of financial improprieties, illegal gifts, and even the occasional sex- and drug-crazed indiscretion created what the author of the reports called "a culture of ethical failure" within the agency. Ouch. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Who’s That Lady?

Staff / Truthdig Aug 30, 2008 Mother of five, one-time Miss Congeniality, caribou hunter, pro-lifer, proponent of creationism: Alaska's Gov. Sarah Palin is all of these things, rolled into one strategically advantageous package -- at least in the eyes of the GOP higher-ups who backed her rise from relative obscurity to sudden political stardom as John McCain's running mate. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

The Hymen Controversy

Ellen Goodman / Truthdig Jun 19, 2008 It all began with a case in France, but the uproar has resonance in the United States too. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

Render Unto Darwin That Which Is Darwin’s

Chris Hedges / Truthdig May 12, 2008 The New Atheist writers from Richard Dawkins to E.O. Wilson to Sam Harris have become the high priests not of science but the cult of science. Dig deeper ( 8 Min. Read )

Ethical Progress at Last

Marie Cocco / Truthdig Mar 18, 2008 Elections do matter. Some people who win office really do keep campaign promises. And legislation the public wants -- but which the politicians, by and large, don't -- actually can be enacted, even if the kicking and screaming can practically be heard coming from behind those infamously closed doors. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

Justice Investigates Itself Over Waterboarding Approval

Staff / Truthdig Feb 23, 2008 The Justice Department's Office of Professional Responsibility is investigating memos and opinions rendered by the department that endorsed the practice of waterboarding, which many consider to be torture. The inquiry is unrelated to the FBI's criminal investigation of the CIA, which destroyed video recordings of the waterboarding of suspects. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )