rssPosts by Ed Brayton
Voter suppression is the backdrop for 2012 election
A new report from the Brennan Center for Justice shines the spotlight on a range of new state laws that make it more difficult to vote, particularly for poor and minority voters.
Unemployment here to stay, says Reuters columnist
Felix Salmon, the economics writer for Reuters, writes a column in the wake of last week’s jobs report in which he says that high unemployment is probably here to stay — and that government can’t do much to change that.
More emails released between TransCanada and State Department
The environmental group Friends of the Earth released more emails between the U.S. State Department and TransCanada that they say shows a “smoking gun” proving an unethical relationship between the two.
DNC members want Obama to halt Keystone XL
Seven members of the Democratic National Committee have joined with environmental activists, celebrities and a group of Nobel Peace Prize winners in calling on President Obama to deny a permit to build the Keystone XL pipeline.
Green groups call Montana fracking rules inadequate
Montana recently joined an increasing number of states in regulating the practice of hydrofracking by requiring disclosure of the chemical used the process, but environmentalists say the rules don’t provide enough protection.
Unemployment benefit extension battle coming
As President Obama prepares to announce a plan this week to create more jobs, another fight over extending federal unemployment benefits is likely in the offing between the White House and the Republican-led House of Representatives.
Al Gore wants Keystone XL pipeline stopped
Former Vice President Al Gore is publicly urging President Obama to deny a permit for the Keystone XL pipeline, arguing that the increased greenhouse gas production from the use of tar sands oil will only make the planet’s climate problems worse.
New unemployment claims drop below 400K for first time since March
While the stock market rumbles and fears of a double dip recession loom, the Department of Labor offered a bit of good news on Thursday by reporting that new weekly unemployment claims dropped below 400,000 for the first time in months.
Senate Democrats want further examination of Keystone XL project
A group of Democrats in the U.S. Senate have written to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton asking that the State Department extend their review of the Keystone XL pipeline project.
House committee to hold hearings on Yellowstone River oil spill today
The House Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials will hold a hearing Thursday about leaks from an ExxonMobil pipeline near Billings, Montana on July 1.
