Government

Today I am writing to Lisa Jackson, Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and asking her to remove Mr. Rafael DeLeon, the Director of the EPA's Office of Civil Rights (OCR). Last month, Deloitte Consulting issued a report...

Last Thursday, April 14, 2011, the Senate confirmed Carolyn Lerner as Special Counsel. This post, which investigates and takes positions on federal employee whistleblower allegations, has been vacant for over two years. I reported here last month about her confirmation...

Yesterday, the Senate published the bill and Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) issued a press release and floor statement announcing his strong opposition to this bill because it will chill employee rights to report wrongdoing at intelligence agencies and will not...

Scott Bloch, the former head of the Office of Special Counsel (OSC), was sentenced to one month in prison, twelve months probation and 200 hours of community service yesterday, after he pled guilty to criminal charges for his misconduct during...

Today we mourn the passing of attorney Leonard I. Weinglass who died yesterday on his 78th birthday. Weinglass defended Anthony Russo, Daniel Ellsberg's co-defendant in the Pentagon Papers case. The 1973 case ended with the dismissal of all charges on...

During this week's trip to Latin America, President Barack Obama has hit on a theme about the universal nature of human rights. Here is a paragraph from his speech on Sunday in Brazil: But we also know that there’s certain...

The provision will give the "head of each intelligence agency broad discretionary power to decide what a 'leak' is - which could be defined as complaints about waste, fraud and abuse - or even risks to public safety."

National Security Counselors (NSC), an Arlington, Virginia-based public interest group, has filed three lawsuits against the CIA about how the agency handles and interprets document requests under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

The Big Uneasy is a new feature documentary movie by Harry Shearer. It responds to those (including President Obama) who say that New Orleans was the victim of a terrible natural disaster. That response:  No. New Orleans could have handled...

"Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted." These words are enshrined in our Bill of Rights in the 8th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. They apply to every American. They apply...