Defense

Were Troops Poisoned? Vets Demand KBR Come Clean on Toxins in Iraq

Paul Rieckhoff | Posted 01.09.2009 | Politics


Paul Rieckhoff

From burn pits to power plants, we are hearing more and more about troops who have been exposed to toxins while serving our country overseas.

Protecting the President: Lessons Learned?

Geri Spieler | Posted 01.04.2009 | Politics


Geri Spieler

The woman was Sara Jane Moore. There were two significant Secret-Service-related reasons that she was free to stand on that sidewalk that afternoon, gun in hand.

US General Urges Obama To Keep Missile Defense

AP | ROBERT BURNS | Posted 11.13.2008 | Politics


WASHINGTON — The Air Force general who runs the Pentagon's missile defense projects said Wednesday that American interests would be "severely hu...

Why Obama Should Not Pick a Republican Secretary of Defense

Cenk Uygur | Posted 11.11.2008 | Politics


Cenk Uygur

The Republicans overall now are hideous in matters of defense and foreign policy. Encouraging their perceived supremacy in those topics is a very bad idea for the country.

The President and the Planet, On a Budget

DotEarth | Andrew C. Revkin | Posted 11.05.2008 | Green


President-elect Barack Obama on Jan. 20 will become the most important leader of a species that has exploded in just six generations from a total popu...

US Spy Agencies Spent $47.5 Billion Last Year

AP | PAMELA HESS | Posted 10.28.2008 | Politics


WASHINGTON — U.S. spy agencies spent $47.5 billion in fiscal year 2008, $4 billion more than in the previous budget year, according to National ...

Hey Fellow Jews: Take This One On The Great Schlep

Michael Seitzman | Posted 09.29.2008 | Politics


Michael Seitzman

A friend sent this to me and I had to repost it. For all of you who are taking Sarah Silverman up on her offer to make The Great Schlep down to Flori...

NRA Lies About Obama's Positions on Handguns, Ammo and Defense

Stephen C. Rose | Posted 09.23.2008 | Politics


Stephen C. Rose

By Stephen C. Rose In an extensive analysis, FactCheck has flagged false claims by the National Rifle Association (NRA) in mailers and TV ads. Speci...

Friday Talking Points [45] -- Lessons Democrats Should Learn From Obama's Speech

Chris Weigant | Posted 08.29.2008 | Politics


Chris Weigant

I know that just about the entire blogosphere is talking about John McCain's pick of Sarah Palin (who?) for his running mate, but I, for one, refuse t...

Eat Your Heart Out Gandhi

Jayne Lyn Stahl | Posted 06.03.2008 | Politics


Jayne Lyn Stahl

In refusing to sign a treaty to ban cluster bombs, our focus and that of the other munitions' manufacturers was not on how deleterious cluster bombs are, but on their monetary value.

May Day! May Day! Hijackings of the 4th Estate

Paige Donner | Posted 05.07.2008 | Media


Paige Donner

The title of this piece, Hijackings of the 4th Estate, is purposefully provocative. For any journalist, Blogger or otherwise muckraker laboring in ser...

Do You Know Where You IRS Check Goes?

Scott Bittle and Jean Johnson | Posted 04.14.2008 | Business


Scott Bittle and Jean Johnson

Not where most Americans think, based on everything we've seen in polls and focus groups. Americans' distorted ideas about where the government spends...

Cashing in on the War on Terror

William Fisher | Posted 04.08.2008 | Politics


William Fisher

On the day Petraeus and Crocker testify before Congress on Iraq, the ghost of Dwight D. Eisenhower will be hovering in the wings. And he won't be smiling.

Privatizing Our Security, Wasting Our Money

Bill Scher | Posted 04.01.2008 | Politics


Bill Scher

Presiding over a wasteful defense budget is not a "strong on defense" position. It is, however, a conservative position.

Clinton and Obama Remain Pentagon-Huggers

Steve Clemons | Posted 03.27.2008 | Politics


Steve Clemons

We are misdeploying resources and frankly, overspending on the Pentagon by a vast degree. Neither Obama nor Clinton is saying this.

Defense Spending Soars, While President Continues to Aim at Domestic Programs

Bob Greenstein | Posted 03.10.2008 | Business


Bob Greenstein

There has been a spending explosion, but it's come in defense-related programs, which have grown 27 times faster than domestic discretionary programs over the past seven years.

Clinton's General Election Disaster in the Making

Paul Jenkins | Posted 03.09.2008 | Politics


Paul Jenkins

Of the many strange spins the Clinton campaign has sold the media, few are as troubling as the idea that she is the stronger general election candidate.

Why Americans Are Such Nervous Nellies

Philip Slater | Posted 02.13.2008 | Politics


Philip Slater

We Americans were so horrified to discover we were vulnerable to terrorist attacks that we were willing to give dictatorial powers to the first mediocrity who asked for them.

Weekend Warriors No More

Sean Michael Flynn | Posted 01.30.2008 | Politics


Sean Michael Flynn

In a city that pays out million dollar bonus for successful Wall Street executives, the Fighting 69th was often lucky to pay its officers and men at all.

Bush's Incredible Invisible Veto: Veterans Caught in the Middle Again

Paul Rieckhoff | Posted 01.11.2008 | Politics


Paul Rieckhoff

Vital new programs for returning troops are going to be put on hold while Congress and the president play games.

Ben and Jerry's Co-Founder Serves Up Call to Political Action

Bryan Bissell | Posted 12.03.2007 | Home


Bryan Bissell

A group of 125 college students listened to Ben Cohen, of Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream, talk about changing the priorities of the budget.

Jewish Neocons Are Dead Wrong, Not Disloyal

Dan Fleshler | Posted 10.09.2007 | Politics


Dan Fleshler

Douglas Feith, Cheney aide David Wurmser and other Jewish war planners have gotten a raw deal from those who accuse them of putting Israel's interests ahead of America's.

If the Pentagon Were 'Run Like a Business' it Might Avoid Obsolescence

Philip Slater | Posted 09.26.2007 | Business


Philip Slater

The Pentagon's function must increasingly be one of policing rather than combating -- but this elicits shrieks of protests from both ends of the political spectrum.

Hold On, Larry!

Frank Dwyer | Posted 09.05.2007 | Politics


Frank Dwyer

You have always been a most reliable water-carrier in your party's unjust causes: carry your own water, for once, in your own just cause.