Home
Archive
Newsletters
Video
Blogs
Discuss
About
Search
Donate
Advertise
  • AlterNetYour turn

Support AlterNet
Do you value the information you're getting from AlterNet? Please show your support with a tax-deductible donation.


Feedback
Tell us how we're doing.

Advertisement
Advertisement

AlterNet Community Discussion

You know what we think -- now we want to hear what you think! That's why, at the end of every new story and blog post, we've provided space for your comments. The comments area is a shared community space for readers to contribute feedback, ideas and information. You're invited to drop in anytime and give us an earful. Be on the lookout for comments from writers and editors as they respond and contribute to the discussion!

Check out the 40 stories and blog posts most commented on in the past week.

Published between: to

Are Americans a Broken People? Why We've Stopped Fighting Back Against the Forces of Oppression

Are Americans a Broken People? Why We've Stopped Fighting Back Against the Forces of Oppression

Bruce E. Levine, AlterNet. December 11, 2009. [331 total comments]
A psychologist asks: Have consumerism, suburbanization and a malevolent corporate-government partnership so beaten us down that we no longer have the will to save ourselves?

To the Hope and Change Crowd -- How's It Working Out for You?

To the Hope and Change Crowd -- How's It Working Out for You?

Joe Bageant, JoeBageant.com. December 9, 2009. [270 total comments]
Obama promised change -- and sure enough, things are changing for the worse.

There's More to Sex Than a Cum Shot to the Face: What Men Should Unlearn from Hardcore Porn

There's More to Sex Than a Cum Shot to the Face: What Men Should Unlearn from Hardcore Porn

Vanessa Richmond, AlterNet. December 12, 2009. [210 total comments]
No, porn does not turn men into crazed sex fiends. But it's clear that pornography has affected the way we view -- and have -- sex. Here's how to counter porn's effects.

Dear Barack, Spare Me Your E-Mails

Dear Barack, Spare Me Your E-Mails

Robert Scheer, Truthdig. December 10, 2009. [209 total comments]
Obama’s faux populism is beginning to grate, and I finally came unglued when one of his "we the people" e-mails from him landed on my screen.

How Easy it Is to Reinforce People's Conspiracy Paranoia

How Easy it Is to Reinforce People's Conspiracy Paranoia

Joshua Holland, AlterNetAlterNet: World. December 14, 2009. [197 total comments]
True but kind of lame 9/11 story.

Homeland Security Embarks on Big Brother Programs to Read Our Minds and Emotions

Homeland Security Embarks on Big Brother Programs to Read Our Minds and Emotions

Liliana Segura, AlterNet. December 9, 2009. [167 total comments]
Half-baked Homeland Security is spending millions to develop sensors capable of detecting a person's level of 'malintent' as a counterterrorism tool.

Supreme Court's Ruling Would Allow Bin Laden to Donate to Sarah Palin's Presidential Campaign

Supreme Court's Ruling Would Allow Bin Laden to Donate to Sarah Palin's Presidential Campaign

Greg Palast, AlterNet. December 11, 2009. [164 total comments]
I'm biting my nails waiting for the Supreme Court's ruling in 'Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission' -- here's why you should be too.

Rachel Maddow Demolishes Therapist Who Claims He Can Make Her Straight

Rachel Maddow Demolishes Therapist Who Claims He Can Make Her Straight

AlterNetDecember 10, 2009. [156 total comments]
Richard Cohen claims his therapy can turn gay people straight -- an absurd theory debunked by all national psychological associations.

Bill Moyers: We Have a Nobel Peace President Who Won't Ban Land Mines

Bill Moyers: We Have a Nobel Peace President Who Won't Ban Land Mines

Bill Moyers, Michael Winship, Bill Moyers Journal. December 11, 2009. [114 total comments]
The Nobel Committee said Obama won the prize for his respect of international law and his efforts at disarmament, yet he won't even sign on to end a barbaric weapon.

U.S. Business Interests Suspected in 'Fabricated' Climate Scandal

U.S. Business Interests Suspected in 'Fabricated' Climate Scandal

Staff, Agence France Presse. December 14, 2009. [113 total comments]
The emails that have right-wingers frothing aren't scandalous. The issue is who hacked the scientists' computers, and what they had to gain from undermining their research.

Medical Marijuana Apartheid: Different Rules Apply for Rich and Poor Pot Smokers

Medical Marijuana Apartheid: Different Rules Apply for Rich and Poor Pot Smokers

Joshua Holland, AlterNet. December 13, 2009. [113 total comments]
A California hipster can hit the vaporizer without fear of harassment, but a lower-class person smoking a blunt may not be so lucky.

Huge Signature Gathering Success Sends Pot Legalization to Ballot

Huge Signature Gathering Success Sends Pot Legalization to Ballot

Daniela Perdomo, AlterNetAlterNet: Politics. December 14, 2009. [110 total comments]
AlterNet broke the news that Tax Cannabis 2010 in California has gathered a surplus of ballot petition signatures, moving the state towards pot legalization.

Howard Zinn and Bill Moyers on Right-Wing Demagogues and Progressive Resistance

Howard Zinn and Bill Moyers on Right-Wing Demagogues and Progressive Resistance

Bill Moyers, Howard Zinn, Bill Moyers Journal. December 15, 2009. [98 total comments]
Zinn: "Democracy doesn't come from the top. It comes from the bottom. Democracy is not what governments do. It's what people do."

Supreme Court Refuses to Hear Gitmo Torture Case Claiming Detainees Are Not

Supreme Court Refuses to Hear Gitmo Torture Case Claiming Detainees Are Not "Persons"

Center for Constitutional RightsAlterNet: Rights and LibertiesDecember 14, 2009. [94 total comments]
Defense attorney: "Future prospective torturers can now draw comfort from this decision."

Meet the Billionaire Brothers Funding the Right-Wing War on Obama

Meet the Billionaire Brothers Funding the Right-Wing War on Obama

Think ProgressDecember 9, 2009. [93 total comments]
They're the 9th richest people in America and they're pushing hard to upend President Obama's progressive agenda.

Why Is Mainstream Media Faking a Climate Scandal When There's Real Reporting to Be Done?

Why Is Mainstream Media Faking a Climate Scandal When There's Real Reporting to Be Done?

Faiz Shakir, The Progress Report. December 10, 2009. [88 total comments]
There is plenty of reporting to be done in Copenhagen, but instead the media is playing into deniers' conspiracy theories.

Obama Far Outdoes Bush in Escalating War -- The Numbers Will Surprise You

Obama Far Outdoes Bush in Escalating War -- The Numbers Will Surprise You

David DeGraw, Amped Status. December 9, 2009. [83 total comments]
Increasing numbers of deployed soldiers, mercenaries and drones all add up to Obama being more of a war president than Bush, in terms of hard numbers.

The Reason for 15 Million Unemployed: Poor Thinking at the Top

The Reason for 15 Million Unemployed: Poor Thinking at the Top

Dean Baker, TruthOut.org. December 9, 2009. [80 total comments]
It is absolutely unacceptable to have 15 million people unemployed just because the people who call the shots are too dumb to figure out how to get them back to work.

Too Fat to Serve: How Our Unhealthy Food System Is Undermining the Military

Too Fat to Serve: How Our Unhealthy Food System Is Undermining the Military

Jill Richardson, AlterNet. December 15, 2009. [74 total comments]
Americans have become so overweight that a large percentage of young people no longer qualify for military service. How did we get here?

Why Are We Drugging Our Kids?

Why Are We Drugging Our Kids?

Evelyn Pringle, TruthOut.org. December 14, 2009. [72 total comments]
Psychiatric drugs are overprescribed and can even make mental symptoms worse in kids. They're also a goldmine for drug companies.

The Swiss Minaret Ban: What Are They Really Trying to Outlaw?

The Swiss Minaret Ban: What Are They Really Trying to Outlaw?

Laila Lalami, The Nation. December 9, 2009. [71 total comments]
A voter referendum prohibiting the construction of minarets in Switzerland is part of a disturbing, anti-Muslim trend that's been working its way through Europe for years.

"The Foolish Symbols of Christianity": Israel's Religious Right Discovers the War on Hanukkah

Joshua Holland, AlterNetAlterNet: World. December 14, 2009. [65 total comments]
Eat your heart out, Bill-O.

Can Boob Jobs Serve the Public Good?

Can Boob Jobs Serve the Public Good?

Alexandra Suich, The Nation. December 11, 2009. [58 total comments]
A tax on plastic surgery may generate $6 billion in ten years. But feminist groups oppose it. Why?

Hot, Steamy Mormons: Are the Latter Day Saints Getting Sexy?

Hot, Steamy Mormons: Are the Latter Day Saints Getting Sexy?

Liz Langley, AlterNet. December 10, 2009. [58 total comments]
Calendars and videos featuring scantily clad Mormons are helping redefine images of the Latter Day Saints -- but not everyone in the Church is happy.

Texas Populist Jim Hightower Makes Progressive 'Hall of Fame,' as Nation Magazine Gathering Grapples with Conflicted Feelings about President Obama

Texas Populist Jim Hightower Makes Progressive 'Hall of Fame,' as Nation Magazine Gathering Grapples with Conflicted Feelings about President Obama

Don Hazen, AlterNet. December 10, 2009. [56 total comments]
A year after the President's inauguration, much of the giddiness surrounding Obama has dissipated.

Copenhagen Won't Be Enough -- Only a 'Human Movement' Can Save Civilization from the Climate Crisis

Copenhagen Won't Be Enough -- Only a 'Human Movement' Can Save Civilization from the Climate Crisis

Fred Branfman, Sacramento News & Review. December 9, 2009. [53 total comments]
A strange cloud envelops human civilization as its leaders fail to take the measures to protect it in Copenhagen that they themselves endorsed just five months ago.

Rachel Maddow Takes on Man Who Claims He Can Make Her Straight

Rachel Maddow Takes on Man Who Claims He Can Make Her Straight

Jan Frel, AlterNetAlterNet: Video. December 9, 2009. [52 total comments]
Richard Cohen's teachings have been debunked by essentially all national psychological associations, and related peer-reviewed assessments.

Pentagon's Advice to Traumatized Veterans: Think Happy Thoughts!

Pentagon's Advice to Traumatized Veterans: Think Happy Thoughts!

Penny Coleman, AlterNet. December 10, 2009. [50 total comments]
Hey, all you quitters and whiners: If it’s bad and it hurts, you have to try harder, have faith, and above all, think positive!

The Religious Right's Potty Paranoia

The Religious Right's Potty Paranoia

Stephanie Mencimer, Mother Jones Online. December 12, 2009. [45 total comments]
Public restrooms: The final frontier of the right's war on queer folk?

Senate Passes Compromised Health Care Reform -- Will Progressive Dems Support the Final Bill?

Senate Passes Compromised Health Care Reform -- Will Progressive Dems Support the Final Bill?

John Nichols, TheNation.com. December 9, 2009. [40 total comments]
Senate Dems cut a deal on the public option but also endorse expanding Medicare, leaving some liberals torn over whether they will support the final bill.

Afghanistan: How the War Hawks Caged Obama

Afghanistan: How the War Hawks Caged Obama

Robert Parry, Consortium News. December 12, 2009. [35 total comments]
How a desire for bipartisanship and peace within his own party led Obama to appoint a hawkish cabal that pushed him to a renewed war in Afghanistan.

25 Days In Federal Prison For Littering? Border Patrol Cracking Down on Human Rights Activists

25 Days In Federal Prison For Littering? Border Patrol Cracking Down on Human Rights Activists

Jessica Weisberg, AlterNet. December 14, 2009. [34 total comments]
Walt Staton was dropping off water jugs for people who attempt the often deadly trek into Arizona from Mexico when the Feds ticketed him for "knowingly littering."

Why Is the Federal Government Supporting Evangelism?

Why Is the Federal Government Supporting Evangelism?

Eleanor J. Bader, RH Reality Check. December 9, 2009. [33 total comments]
Why does Jerry Falwell's Liberty University, which teaches students to be "Champions for Christ," get tax-exempt status?

How a Few Private Health Insurers Are on the Way to Controlling Health Care

How a Few Private Health Insurers Are on the Way to Controlling Health Care

Robert Reich, Robert Reich's Blog. December 12, 2009. [33 total comments]
If you think an expanded Medicare makes up for the lack of a public option in the Senate bill, you're smoking medical marijuana.

Daybreak for Marijuana: Most Americans Support Legalization

Daybreak for Marijuana: Most Americans Support Legalization

Jan Frel, AlterNetAlterNet: DrugReporter. December 10, 2009. [30 total comments]
New poll shows 53% support for legalization.

Zinn's 'People's History' Masterwork Hits the History Channel

Zinn's 'People's History' Masterwork Hits the History Channel

Dave Zirin, AlterNet. December 11, 2009. [30 total comments]
Don't miss Howard Zinn's 'Voices of a People's History' debut on the History Channel on December 13th.

12 Hilarious Corporate Attempts to Look Green

12 Hilarious Corporate Attempts to Look Green

* Staff, WebEcoist. December 15, 2009. [28 total comments]
Don't be fooled. Hummers and McDonald's aren't "green." Neither are fossil fuels or Fox News, for that matter.

Does Obama's Road to Re-Election Run Through Kabul?

Does Obama's Road to Re-Election Run Through Kabul?

Christian Parenti, The Nation. December 10, 2009. [28 total comments]
The real purpose of sending 30,000 soldiers to Afghanistan is to make Obama look tough as he heads toward his next election.

Study Says Eco Shoppers More Likely to Cheat, Steal

Study Says Eco Shoppers More Likely to Cheat, Steal

Tara Lohan, AlterNetAlterNet: PEEK. December 11, 2009. [27 total comments]
Yeah, this is bad (and also a little funny).

The 9 Surges of Obama's War

The 9 Surges of Obama's War

Tom Engelhardt, Tomdispatch.com. December 14, 2009. [27 total comments]
The troop surge is only one part of the escalation of the Afghanistan war. Here are 8 more signs of how fully the President has committed us.

Most E-Mailed Stories

Every story has an e-mail feature so you can quickly share your favorites with friends. Take a look at AlterNet's most emailed stories and blog posts of the week.

« AlterNet Home