LAWRENCE S. WITTNER: Currently, there is nothing more controversial in President Barack Obama’s health care reform proposal than the “public option.” Much of the controversy, of course, has been generated by private insurance companies, determined to safeguard their hefty profits, and by Republican politicians, eager to destroy anything that might redound to the benefit of the Democrats. Even so, a little clear thinking on the subject of public programs might illuminate their advantages and disadvantages.
Major Religions Call for Investigation into Torture
CHARLES BUSCH: Our nation is presently involved in a debate about the sanctioned use of torture by the United States since 9/11. Is it enough to denounce torture and focus on the future, or do we need to investigate the past and seek accountability?
Letters to the Editor
This months LETTERS include: 1) Resist Tearing the Tops Off Mountains to Mine Coal; 2) Recruiters: Replacing Those They Have Killed; and 3) Obstructionists Ignore American Health and Well-Being.
Insitu Deserves a Harder Look
SUSAN GARRETT CROWLEY: Insitu, a local drone developer now owned by Boeing, has recently approached cities in the Columbia River Gorge as a part of a public relations campaign to develop public support for its operations. Since Boeing/Insitu has initiated this discussion, Washington and Oregon citizens may want to carefully consider the true nature of what it is designed to do for the U.S. military.
News That’s Not Fit to Print
PROJECT CENSORED: Some news is just too hot to cover and Project Censored for 34 years has been exposing the most under-covered censored news stories of the year with their annual release of the Censored yearbooks.
Racial Profiling and Domestic Terrorism: Making White Terror Invisible While Blaming the Victim
DR. BEAU GROSSCUP: Since the 9/11 attacks, racial profiling has become an accepted component of the War on Terror. Given that the perpetrators of 9/11 were assumed to be members of Al Qaeda, anyone looking “Middle Eastern” or Arab or Muslim was/is racially profiled as suspicious. But in combating domestic terrorism, racial profiling of people of color makes no objective sense.