Former Member of Afghan Parliament: Obama, We Don't Want a Troop Surge in Our Country

Malalai Joya, Comment Is Free

World: If Barack Obama heralds an escalation of the war, he will betray his own message of hope and deepen my people's pain.

Christian Cowards: Why Don't Evangelical Leaders Condemn the Hate Spouted by Right-Wingers?

Frank Schaeffer, AlterNet

Since when does loving Jesus mean you have to hate our President? Prominent Christians should denounce the violently aggressive language right-wingers use to tear down Obama.

Activists Protest Natural Resources Defense Council for Collaborating With Polluters

Joseph Huff-Hannon, Huffington Post

Politics: The protestors say that the environmental advocacy group has aligned itself with corporate interests whose goals for reducing emissions are far too limited.

My Baby Would Have Died Under the Stupak Amendment

Tiffany Campbell, RH Reality Check

Reproductive Justice and Gender: The selective termination that saved my baby's life would not be covered under the Stupak-Pitts Amendment.

How Free-Market Delusions Destroyed the Economy

Raj Patel, Picador Press

Corporate Accountability and WorkPlace: The worship of free markets set off the economic meltdown.

The Feds Are Addicted to Pot -- Even If You Aren't

Paul Armentano, AlterNet

DrugReporter: The government keeps pushing the BS that pot is addictive and has serious health consequences. And no wonder -- lying about pot is a lucrative business.

30,000 More Troops? Obama Gives Orders For New Afghan Strategy

Agence France Presse

Obama has already ordered the new strategy implemented and is informing the leaders of Russia, Britain and France of his plans.

This Is George Bush's Recession: Why Doesn't Anybody Talk About That?

Joshua Holland, AlterNet

Politics: If the partisan tables were turned, the GOP would waste no time laying the blame on Democrats. We need to do the same to build political capital for key fights ahead.

Cult of Conservative Christian GOPers Backs Death Penalty for Gays With HIV

Stephen Webster, Raw Story

Uganda is pushing a bill that would impose the death penalty on HIV positive gay men. And a secretive group of American politicians appears to be a driving force behind the law.

10 Signs Vegetarianism Is Catching On

Kathy Freston, AlterNet

Health and Wellness: Martha Stewart promotes a vegetarian Thanksgiving? Recently, much attention has been lavished on the horrors of factory farming and the advantages of a meatless diet.

Why Is the Media So Obsessed With Horrifying Images of African-American Mothers?

Melissa Harris-Lacewell, The Nation

Rights and Liberties: With Michelle Obama in the White House, I expected a resurgence of the Claire Huxtable stereotype. Instead, hideous depictions of abusive, irresponsible black moms are everywhere.

A Smart Way to Battle Drug Addiction and Save Lives: Harm Reduction

Melinda Tuhus, In These Times

DrugReporter: Harm reduction is a public health approach that stresses pragmatic solutions to social ills like substance abuse.

Shocking: High School Grads Twice As Likely To Be Jobless Than College Grads – and Right-Wingers are Profiting From Their Pain

Adele M. Stan, AlterNet

Politics: The economic meltdown has hit non-college grads much harder than the educated. And conservatives are very good at exploiting their anger and unease.

Our Lives Are Filled With Worthless Crap That's Destroying the Earth: Here's What You Can Do

Sharon Bloyd-Peshkin, In These Times

Environment: The way to lower the quantity of energy required to make and distribute short-lived consumer goods is to make them durable, repairable and upgradable.

Rabid Right-Wing Media Mogul Building a News Empire

Jamison Foser, Media Matters for America

Media and Technology: If you like what Rupert Murdoch has done for the national discourse, you'll love what Philip Anschutz is trying to do in your hometown.

Lou Dobbs, Looking at Public Office, Says He's in Favor of Policy He Used to Spin as "Shamnesty for Illegals"

Joshua Holland, AlterNet

Politics: Dobbs said he now favors the very legalization process for unauthorized immigrants that he's long derided as a brain-dead "amnesty".

Disney Apocalypse: Why 2012 Sucks

Alexander Zaitchik, Killing the Buddha

Movie Mix: Even by the popsicle-stick standards of its genre, the disaster movie 2012 is so dumb you actually want everyone to die.

"You Like That Baby, You Like That?": Has Porn Made Men Bad at Sex?

Cord Jefferson, Nerve.com

Sex and Relationships: Porn is entertainment, not a how-to manual. If men want to know what really turns women on, hetero porn is the last place they should look.

How One Journalist Learned About Modern Union-Busting the Hard Way

Seth Sandronsky, AlterNet

Rights and Liberties: Sara Steffens thought that labor negotiations were civilized affairs ... until her newsroom became a battlefield.

Bailed-Out AIG Forcing Poor to Choose Between Running Water and Food

Yasha Levine, AlterNet

Corporate Accountability and WorkPlace: Thanks to AIG, some of the poorest residents of rural Kentucky learned you can always be made poorer by corporate villains.

Atheism and Diversity: Is It Wrong For Atheists To Convert Believers?

Greta Christina, AlterNet

Belief: Atheism isn't an attack on diversity, it's a defense of reality.

Lou Dobbs, Looking at Public Office, Says He's in Favor of Policy He Used to Spin as "Shamnesty for Illegals"

Joshua Holland, AlterNet

Politics: Dobbs said he now favors the very legalization process for unauthorized immigrants that he's long derided as a brain-dead "amnesty".

White House's Ties to Health Care Industry Deeper Than Visitor Records Show

Daniela Perdomo, AlterNet

Politics: The White House released records cataloguing 575 visits by health care industry heavyweights since Jan. 20. The ties run deep.

Is Obama Following in the Footsteps of Bill Clinton?

Jeff Cohen, AlterNet

World: Obama's shown a Clinton-like willingness to roll over progressives to enact corrupt legislation and compromise for the votes of Republicans.

The Battle of Durban II: New Film Brings Dose of Sanity to Debate Over Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

Brian White, Gotcha Movies

World: It's a great feat to bring an even view to international politics. The Battle of Durbin II does just that.

Citing "National Defense Needs," Obama Administration Says it Won't Sign Ban on Land Mines

Amy Goodman, Democracy Now!

World: Stephen Goose, director of Human Rights Watch's arms division, called the decision to keep the Bush-era policy "an appalling decision."

47,000 Women Could Die As a Result of the New Mammogram Guidelines

George Lakoff, AlterNet

Reproductive Justice and Gender: Cost-benefit analysis can kill. Scaling back on mammograms, as a government task force suggested, could result in 47,000 unnecessary deaths.

Is Belief in God Hurting America?

David Villano, Miller-McCune.com

Belief: According to a new study, prosperity is highest in countries that practice religion the least.

Is Amazon.com Screwing You Over?

Steve Brown, AlterNet

Corporate Accountability and WorkPlace: Amazon is charging -- and pocketing -- exorbitant shipping and handling fees, and someone somewhere is getting rich from it.

Black Teacher May Get 15 Years in Prison for Cutting in Line at Wal-Mart

Devona Walker, The Loop

Rights and Liberties: This is not how our criminal justice system is supposed to operate.

Drink Some Booze, Smoke a Joint and Relax: How to Have a Hedonistic Thanksgiving

Ben Reininga, Nerve.com

Thanksgiving is a holiday about three things: eating, drinking, and fun. If you haven't realized that yet, you're doing it wrong. Here's how to do it right.

The Vampire Banks Are Back: Will There Ever Be Meaningful Financial Reform?

Dean Baker, CounterPunch

Politics: The halls of Congress are infected with financial industry lobbyists looking to block necessary changes to our broken financial system.

Conservative "Purity Test" Too Right Wing for Ronald Reagan

John Nichols, The Nation

Rigid conservatives in the RNC want to establish a purity test for the party's candidates. Guess what? Reagan the conservative hero would have failed most of the criteria.

What Nidal Hasan, Timothy McVeigh, and the Beltway Sniper Have in Common: All Were Scarred by Pointless U.S. Wars

Nora Eisenberg, AlterNet

World: Some of the most notorious massacres of the past 15 years have been committed by veterans whose brains have been severely damaged from trauma or exposure to toxic chemicals.

Don't Be Scared of Food: Are We Being Needlessly Hysterical About Food Safety?

David E. Gumpert, Chelsea Green Publishing

Food: Despite all the media hype, there's little to actually suggest we're facing a major food safety crisis.