Why It's Not OK for Palin to 'Drill Baby, Drill'

Silja J.A. Talvi, Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Environment: Dr. Riki Ott has a special response to Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's heavy push for oil drilling in the Arctic.

Uncovering the Final Secrets of the Bush Administration

Charles Homans, Washington Monthly

Rights and Liberties: Treat Cheney's offices like a crime scene, create a 9/12 Commission, and declassify the Bush papers -- the public deserves to know.

Republicans Just Can't Stop Picking Partisan Fights

Digby, Hullabaloo

PEEK: Just in case anyone thinks the spirit of bipartisanship has overtaken Congress in light of the severe financial crisis, think again.

Why the NFL Should Be More Like NASCAR

Sameer Pandya, Miller-McCune.com

In a manifesto for sports fans, two professors call for more merit and less monopoly.

After Seven Years, Guantánamo Prisoners Need to be Tried or Released

Marjorie Cohn, Jurist Legal News and Research

Rights and Liberties: Judge: "Seven years of waiting for a legal system to give them an answer ... is more than enough."

Obama Takes Charge -- Will He Bail Out America?

Joshua Holland, AlterNet

Corporate Accountability and WorkPlace: While we deliberate major economic transformation, there are good ideas waiting on the shelf right now the new president can green light.

Did a Criminal Mastermind Stage the Mumbai Nightmare?

Yoichi Shimatsu, New America Media

ForeignPolicy: The Mumbai attacks carry the signature of Ibrahim Dawood, a Indian living in Pakistan and former crime boss turned self-styled avenger.

Treated Like a Terrorist by the DMV

Dave Lindorff, Smirking Chimp

The author tries to renew his drivers license and runs afoul of the catch-a-terrorist system in the DMV.

Love Bites: What Sexy Vampires Tell Us About Our Culture

Sarah Seltzer, RH Reality Check

Movie Mix: Pop culture vampires have always reflected cultural anxieties about sex. "Twilight", the new teen box office blockbuster, is no exception.

5 Great Progressive Columnists' Advice and Ideas on the Coming Obama Era

AlterNet

Election 2008: Amy Goodman, Sean Gonsalves, Robert Scheer, David Sirota and Norm Solomon on what kind of White House Obama will create.

The Average Household Spent $1,760 on Clothes in 2007 -- Here's One Way to Cut Back

Stan Cox, CounterPunch

Christmas after Christmas, polls show that clothing, the most popular present among givers, is ranked as the 'most disappointing gift.'

As Crisis Mounts, Ecuador Declares Foreign Debt Illegitimate and Illegal

Daniel Denvir, AlterNet

ForeignPolicy: A special debt audit commission released a report charging that much of Ecuador's foreign debt was illegitimate or illegal.

Why Is Lou Dobbs Minimizing the Impact of Hate Crimes?

Heidi Beirich, Hate Watch

Immigration: Dobbs got nervous after a news conference on link between the rise in anti-immigrant rhetoric and hate crimes against Latinos.

Born Digital: Understanding the First Generation of Digital Natives

Doron Taussig, Washington Monthly

Media and Technology: The rules of the digital era aren't clear, even to the generation that has grown up in it.

If Obama Doesn't Prosecute Bush's Torture Team, We'll Pay a Big Price Down the Road

Liliana Segura, AlterNet

Rights and Liberties: Obama isn't likely to pursue torture atrocities during the Bush era, but this is one problem you simply can't wish away.

Did a Criminal Mastermind Stage the Mumbai Nightmare?

Yoichi Shimatsu, New America Media

ForeignPolicy: The Mumbai attacks carry the signature of Ibrahim Dawood, a Indian living in Pakistan and former crime boss turned self-styled avenger.

What's Your Vision in 100 Words for Obama's First 100 Days?

AlterNet

Election 2008: Contribute your 100-word essay laying out your hopes for Obama's first 100 days, to be published on AlterNet.

Chomsky: Is There Truth in Obama's Advertising?

Noam Chomsky, Democracy Now!

Corporate Accountability and WorkPlace: In a fascinating speech, Chomsky warns, "Changes and progress very rarely are gifts from above. They come out of struggles from below."

Radical Solutions for a Crazy Economy

Nouriel Roubini, Forbes

Corporate Accountability and WorkPlace: The fight against a deadly combination of stagnation/recession and deflation has to be unorthodox.

Rumsfeld's Attempts to Rewrite Himself on the Right Side of History Are Laughable

Gary Brecher, AlterNet

War on Iraq: The failed defense secretary pens a historical cover-up on Iraq and reveals more wild stupidity with his advice on Afghanistan.

Mumbai Attacks: 'If You Go After the Wrong People, You Convert Moderates into Extremists'

CNN

ForeignPolicy: Deepak Chopra argues for a cool-headed response, saying that this is "Obama's opportunity to actually harness the help of the Muslims."

Economic Downturn Hits Women the Hardest

Brittany Schell, One World

Reproductive Justice and Gender: Women are being disproportionately affected by the U.S. mortgage crisis and economic plunge.

Obama’s Budget Head Would Cut Social Security

Matthew Rothschild, The Progressive

Corporate Accountability and WorkPlace: Peter Orszag, Barack Obama’s choice to head the budget office, is on record favoring a reduction in Social Security benefits.

"Milk": We Need Him Now More Than Ever

Matt Budd, Huffington Post

Movie Mix: Harvey Milk inspired hundreds of thousands of people in his lifetime. The new film "Milk" will let him reach millions more.

While Some of Us Are Hoping for Change, Others Are Literally Starving for It

Chris Hedges, Truthdig

Corporate Accountability and WorkPlace: The swelling numbers waiting outside homeless shelters and food pantries around the country have grown by at least 30 percent since the summer.

Worried Sick: How Vulnerable Are You Really to Heart Attack, Stroke or Breast Cancer?

Maggie Mahar, Health Beat

Health and Wellness: Americans are bombarded with messages that death and danger are just around the corner. Reality is usually much different.

No Thanks to Thanksgiving

Robert Jensen, AlterNet

Instead, we should atone for the genocide that was incited -- and condoned -- by the very men we idolize as our 'heroic' founding fathers.

How Sarah Palin Created a Whole New Generation of Vegetarians

Martha Rosenberg, AlterNet

Unlike Alaska's governor, most Americans don't want to see the transformations their turkey went through to get to their Thanksgiving dinner table.

America Out of Work

Marie Cocco, Washington Post Writers Group

Corporate Accountability and WorkPlace: Unemployment is soaring and it may be March before we feel the first dollar of an Obama recovery plan.

Virtual Sex: How Online Games Changed Our Culture

Damon Brown, Feral House

Sex and Relationships: Games like Second Life let you to live your fantasy as a pimp, prostitute or pirate, knight, dominatrix, or any other self-created design you see fit.

Enough of 'Barbituate' Left Cynicism, Obama Is a Victory over White Supremacy

Tim Wise, Red Room

We don't need the "everything sucks" analysis; Obama has mobilized millions of activists and that energy is looking for an outlet.

Hard Lesson for Franken: Not All Votes Get Counted

Steven Rosenfeld, AlterNet

But the Minnesota Democrat's latest hurdle to a U.S. Senate seat might affect the GOP's senate candidate in Georgia's upcoming runoff election.

Verdict Against Holy Land Charity Could Have a Chilling Effect on the Muslim Community

Laila Al-Arian, AlterNet

Rights and Liberties: A Texas jury's guilty decision in the nation's largest terrorism financing trial since 9/11 reawakens the injustices of Bush's War on Terror.

Worried About Thanksgiving Fights with Right-Wing Family Members?

Sara Robinson, Blog for Our Future

How to counter 10 of the most common myths conservatives believe about progressives.

The Pentagon Represents Astounding Excess in Spending and Firepower: Can Obama Take it on?

Frida Berrigan, Tomdispatch.com

Corporate Accountability and WorkPlace: Tackling the Pentagon, with its mega-budget and its mega-power, may be the hardest task Obama faces.

Watch out for Obama's Team Selling Conservative Policies as Progressive Politics

David Sirota, Open Left

Corporate Accountability and WorkPlace: Obama's early list of names for his staff doesn't bode well for all the progressive policy promises Obama made during the campaign.

10 Tips for a Sustainable Thanksgiving

Sarah Newman, Takepart

Environment: Advice for a healthier, humane, sustainable, "low carb(on)" and labor friendly Thanksgiving from some fantastic organizations.

Good Thing Minnesota Has Someone in Charge Who Cares About Counting Every Vote

Jay Walljasper, OnTheCommons.org

Election 2008: Mark Ritchie -- the man in the middle of Minnesota's Senate race recount -- is passionate about making sure every vote counts.

Heckuva Bailout: Citi and AIG Still Pay Hundreds of Millions in Sports Sponsorship

Jane Hamsher, Firedoglake

PEEK: "This type of spending is indefensible and unacceptable to Citigroup's new partner and largest investor: the American taxpayer."

All the Talk of a Depression Is ... Depressing

Danny Schechter, AlterNet

Corporate Accountability and WorkPlace: The Democrats have always sung "happy days are here again," but it doesn't seem to be the right song for these hard times.