contributions

A city police officer was charged today with assault in the videotaped beating of a landed Somali immigrant in a case that could have resulted in the man’s deportation.
The charge is the latest stain on the reputation of the city’s police force, which has been stung recently by allegations of corruption and racial profiling.
Const. Roy Preston, who had been on the force for two years at the time of the incident, appears in court July 12.
Preston is charged in the beating of Said Jama (…)

Toronto Star
MEGAN BOLER The New York Times has publicly acknowledged errors in its reporting on Iraq. Less an apology and more an attempt to cover journalistic humiliation, the editors confess: "Looking back, we wish we had been more aggressive in re-examining the claims as new evidence emerged — or failed to emerge." (Editorial, May 26.)
While one wants to celebrate the historically momentous occasion of the "newspaper of record" admitting its lack of rigour and careful scrutiny of (…)

by DEBORAH MEIER
Education is always about politics—in the best and worst senses. In the best sense what happens in our schools is an expression of our beliefs and values, what we want the next generation to be like. But education is also political in the partisan sense—as politicians of all stripes seek to rally their troops around schooling practices, to tie other political agendas into our agendas for schools. Social promotion, bilingual education, phonics, "new math"—all are issues (…)

The New York Times donned sackcloth and ashes again on Sunday when its ombudsman said the newspaper had been duped by "the cunning campaign" of those that wanted the world to believe that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction.
Some stories, Daniel Okrent said, "pushed Pentagon assertions so aggressively you could almost sense epaulets on the shoulders of editors". The half-page critique of the newspaper’s coverage during the run-up to the invasion of Iraq followed a separate (…)

By Lawrence Mishel
It is curious that in American politics, "values" issues are always social issues but never economic ones. Yet how the disadvantaged among us are treated is clearly a reflection of who we are as a people. Similarly, how workers are treated on the job — their safety, their working conditions, their remuneration — also speaks volumes about our values as a nation. This is also true for child poverty.
After reading Is the Market Moral? by Rebecca Blank and William McGurn, (…)

By ELAINE CASSEL
Everyone knows by now (or should) that the Patriot Act allows the FBI to conduct surveillance on Internet and email usage. Using so-called National Security Letters (NSLs), the FBI directs Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to provide passwords and identifying information that will allow the government to target people who are plotting terrorism or who are otherwise potentially dangerous to national security. I am sure that many of you reading this (and I, likely) have the (…)

by Coleman P. Gorham
We don’t need a National World War II Memorial. War memorials are only markers of failure. You disagree? Then, read on.
My credentials: I speak for the voiceless millions of brave warriors killed in battle, many of whom are buried in far-away graves. I have seen many of these brave men killed and wounded on the beachheads and battlefields from Sicily to Salerno, to Anzio, to Isle of Elba, to France.
I watched the litter bearers carry blood-stained bodies down to (…)

Pittsburgh (KDKA/AP) A federal jury says the self-proclaimed "Imperial Wizard" of the White Knights, a Ku Klux Klan splinter group, is guilty of making pipe bombs and teaching others how to make explosives.
Late this afternoon, jurors found David Hull, 41, of Amwell Township, guilty on seven of ten firearms-related counts against him.
When federal agents raided Hull’s Washington County farm in February of 2003, they say they found what appeared to be the makings of pipe bombs.
While (…)

To: the Families and to the Troops that are serving their country everywhere in the world!
I wish to give my deepest condolences to the families of the troops that have lost their lives serving this great country of the United States of America.
I wish to praise the families and the troops that are serving and protecting us all from the evils that men do.
Thank you for protecting my freedom!
God bless you all this Memorial Day!
Sincerely,
A United States of American Citizen!

United for Peace and Justice (UFPJ) condemns an executive order issued by Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue declaring a “state of emergency” throughout six coastal counties in Georgia. Perdue issued the highly unusual declaration to spread fear and interfere with fundamental constitutional rights to protest at an upcoming summit of international leaders. A private island of the coast of Georgia, Sea Island, will be the site for a Group of Eight (G-8) meeting June 8-10. The island is (…)