Fixing the Federal Justice System
Belief:
Why I Want to Turn Religious People Into Atheists
Greta Christina
Corporate Accountability and WorkPlace:
4 Myths About Taxes, Debunked
Paul Buchheit
DrugReporter:
The War on Weed: Marijuana Is Basically Harmless -- The Monumentally Stupid Drug War Is Not
Jim Hightower
Environment:
White House Garden Won't Make Up for Obama's Nomination of Pesticide Lobbyist for US Chief Agriculture Negotiator
Jill Richardson
Food:
Don't Be Scared of Food: Are We Being Needlessly Hysterical About Food Safety?
David E. Gumpert
Health and Wellness:
47,000 Women Could Die As a Result of the New Mammogram Guidelines
George Lakoff
Immigration:
Hate Group, FAIR, Is Looking for "Ethnically Ambiguous" Actors to Amplify Its Racism
Adam Luna
Media and Technology:
The Memory Scrub About Why Ft. Hood Happened Is Almost Complete ... If It Weren't for Archives
Mark Ames
Movie Mix:
The Yes Men: Pranksters Out to Fix the World
Mark Engler
Politics:
White House's Ties to Health Care Industry Deeper Than Visitor Records Show
Daniela Perdomo
Reproductive Justice and Gender:
Why Can't We Look Away From Sarah Palin?
Vanessa Richmond
Rights and Liberties:
Citing "National Defense Needs," Obama Administration Says it Won't Sign Ban on Land Mines
Amy Goodman
Sex and Relationships:
Hot Mormon Muffins and Models for Jesus: What's With All the Sexy Christians?
Liz Langley
Take Action:
G-20 Meetings: Nothing Much Happened in the Suites, and There Was Too Much Punch in the Streets
Laura Flanders
Water:
Poseidon's Financial Shell Game: Why Is a Private Desalination Plant Asking for Public Money?
Peter Gleick
World:
Is Obama Following in the Footsteps of Bill Clinton?
Jeff Cohen
In a recent pair of drug-related cases, the Supreme Court ruled that federal sentencing guidelines are advisory and judges do not have to follow them in every case (U.S. v. Booker and U.S. v. Fanfan). This ruling, which surprised many, holds both promise and danger, depending on what Congress does.
If legislators overreact and seek quick fixes, they will most likely end up exacerbating problems, such as racial disparities, unnecessary "federalization" of crime and the incarceration of innocent people. If they move slowly and work together, they could pass legislation that would save money and increase public safety.
Legislators should keep five things in mind:
Bill Piper is director of national affairs for the Drug Policy Alliance.
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Is Obama Following in the Footsteps of Bill Clinton? World: Obama's shown a Clinton-like willingness to roll over progressives to enact corrupt legislation and compromise for the votes of Republicans. By Jeff Cohen, AlterNet. November 26, 2009. |
Drink Some Booze, Smoke a Joint and Relax: How to Have a Hedonistic Thanksgiving 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. By Ben Reininga, Nerve.com. November 25, 2009. |
Why Can't We Look Away From Sarah Palin? Reproductive Justice and Gender: She's an incompetent has-been. Yet she keeps getting our attention. Is it that she embodies a set of contradictions that many women grapple with? By Vanessa Richmond, AlterNet. November 24, 2009. |
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