Feds approve gas drilling plan for Montana

Dec 31, 2008 - Drilling has boomed over the past decade in neighboring Wyoming The Associated Press updated 8:20 a.m. CT, Wed., Dec. 31, 2008 BILLINGS, Mont. - 0 Comments

10 Suicides a Month at Ft. Hood -- War Stress Is Taking Soldiers to the Brink

Nov 10, 2009 - Editor's Note: This Tuesday, President Obama will attend a memorial service for the shootings at Ft. Hood last Friday. He would do well to consider that the war policies he's continuing, extending the occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan, are the underlying cause of acts of madness and desperation by soldiers at Ft. - 14 Comments

Obama's Katrina moment "Good Job Brownie"

Nov 06, 2009 - Obama's Frightening Insensitivity Following Shooting A bad week for Democrats compounded by an awful moment for Barack Obama. By ROBERT A. GEORGE President Obama didn't wait long after Tuesday's devastating elections to give critics another reason to question his leadership, but this time the subject matter was more grim than a pair of governorships. - 14 Comments

The Credit Card and the NRA

May 30, 2009 - Published on Saturday, May 30, 2009 http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/05/30-2 by Christopher Brauchli The most surprising thing during the week of May 17th was not Dick Cheney slithering out of his Jackson Hole in order to affix blame for the next terrorist attack (whose advent he breathlessly awaits so he can say "I told you so"). It was the success of the National Rifle Association in securing passage of the bill that gives all American citizens the right to bear loaded and cocked arms in national parks in the United States. This was not a success that was easily achieved since in order to get passage of this bill the NRA had to agree to some incidental arcane provisions dealing with the credit card industry that, though unpalatable to many NRA members, proved acceptable to them in order for them to achieve their overarching goal of restoring the right to bear arms in National Parks, a right that had been taken away by their former idol and president, Ronald Reagan. - 1 Comment

House Moves to Save Wild Horses

Jul 17, 2009 - WASHINGTON — Galloping to the aid of the nation's wild horses and burros, the House voted Friday to rescue them from the possibility of a government-sponsored slaughter and give them millions more acres to roam. But the effort may get penned up in the Senate. The bill passed the House, 239-185, with Republican opponents arguing that it underscored wrongheaded Democratic priorities by focusing on animals instead of people at a time when the nation's unemployment rate is approaching double digits. - 8 Comments

California Water Rally

Jul 01, 2009 - A large crowd gathered Wednesday in downtown Fresno to support the legal fight for more agricultural water. By Gene Haagenson Fresno, CA (KFSN) -- A group called The Latino Water Coalition organized a march in Los Banos, and the rally in Fresno for one reason. Coalition leader Mario Santoyo explains: "The intent of the rally is to keep the issue alive in the media and in the public eye." - 11 Comments

Once, We Would Have Called It a Scandal

Jun 10, 2009 - by Newt Gingrich There was a time when we would have called it a scandal. In 1921, oil tycoon Harry Sinclair gave several prize head of cattle and around $269,000 to President Harding's Secretary of the Interior, Albert Fall. In return, Sinclair got the exclusive rights to drill in an oil field in Wyoming. - 23 Comments

Europe’s Hedging on Inmates Clouds Guantánamo Plans

Mar 16, 2009 - Europe’s Hedging on Inmates Clouds Guantánamo Plans By WILLIAM GLABERSON and STEVEN ERLANGER Published: March 15, 2009 New York Times European countries that have offered to help the Obama administration close the detention center at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, have begun raising questions about the security risks and requirements if they accept prisoners described by the Bush administration as “the worst of the worst,” according to diplomats and other officials. The concerns, and a deep suspicion of whether the American intelligence community will share full information on the prisoners, are likely to complicate the resettlement effort, which is critical to President Obama’s fulfilling his pledge to close Guantánamo within a year of his taking office. The offers, from Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, Belgium, Switzerland and other countries, have been widely seen as efforts to win favor with the new administration by helping to close the camp, which was a contentious issue during the Bush years. - 6 Comments

Ex-Guantanamo detainee's failure to reenter society leads to deadly attack

Feb 23, 2009 - By Rajiv Chandrasekaran The Washington Post updated 1:25 a.m. CT, Mon., Feb. 23, 2009 KUWAIT CITY - After arriving here from Guantanamo Bay in November 2005, Abdallah Saleh al-Ajmi was transported by Kuwaiti security agents to a military hospital, where he was allowed to meet with his family. - 2 Comments