Pentagon Tightens Grip on the Obama Administration and the Intelligence Community

President Barack Obama's appointment of retired Gen. James Clapper as the director of national intelligence (DNI) demonstrates the Pentagon's enormous influence over the president and indicates that there is little likelihood of genuine reform of the hidebound intelligence community. Once again, the president has appointed a general officer to an important strategic position that should be in the hands of an experienced civilian who understands the need for change.

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James Bovard: How Democracy Breeds Political Idiocy

Democracy breeds gullibility. Lord Bryce observed in 1921, “State action became less distrusted the more the State itself was seen to be passing under popular control.” The rise of democracy made it much easier for politicians to convince people that government posed no threat, because they automatically controlled its actions.

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Evidence Indicates that the Bush Administration Conducted Experiments and Research on Detainees to Design Torture Techniques

In the most comprehensive investigation to date of health professionals' involvement in the CIA's "enhanced" interrogation program (EIP), Physicians For Human Rights has uncovered evidence that indicates the Bush administration apparently conducted illegal and unethical human experimentation and research on detainees in CIA custody.

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Chris Hedges: The Christian Fascists Are Growing Stronger

Tens of millions of Americans, lumped into a diffuse and fractious movement known as the Christian right, have begun to dismantle the intellectual and scientific rigor of the Enlightenment. They are creating a theocratic state based on “biblical law,” and shutting out all those they define as the enemy. This movement, veering closer and closer to traditional fascism, seeks to force a recalcitrant world to submit before an imperial America.

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Bill McKibben: If There Was Ever a Moment to Seize

Who is the real Obama? Has he really been transformed by the oil spill in the Gulf, or is he merely trying to ride out the public reaction with stronger words? I think the answer is as murky as the water off Mobile.

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Real People v. Corporate “People”: The Fight Is On

In 2009, Riki Ott was on the road for 252 days educating people about the dangers of "corporate personhood." She mostly spoke in academic settings, and there was some interest in the idea, says Ott, but not much. All that changed on January 21, 2010, when the U.S. Supreme Court handed down its decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission.

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Revolving Door: 1,447 Former Government Workers Lobbying For Wall Street

The financial services sector has hired 1,447 former government employees to do its bidding as lobbyists since the beginning of 2009, according to the latest report [1] from the Center for Responsive Politics and Public Citizen.

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Dean Baker: Why Should We Listen to Deficit Hawks?

When politicians demand that the public do something because of the dictates of financial markets, it is best to hold on to your wallet. Back in September of 2008, both President Bush and the Democratic leadership in Congress insisted that if we did not immediately hand over $700bn to the banks [1], the whole financial system would grind to a halt.

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Obama's Timidity and Deaths at Sea

A chief lesson to learn from President Barack Obama’s recent unwillingness to stand up to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Likud Lobby is that such timidity can get people killed.

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The Consensus on Big Banks Shifts, But Not at Treasury

Attitudes towards big banks are changing around the world and across the political spectrum. In the UK, the new center-right government is looking for ways to break them up.

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