Texas votes to adopt new education standards and curriculum designed to give history instruction a conservative slant. Among other vital corrections to the historical record, the school board: "managed to cut Thomas Jefferson from a list of figures whose writings inspired revolutions in the late 18th century and 19th century, replacing him with St. Thomas Aquinas, John Calvin and William Blackstone. (Jefferson is not well liked among the conservatives on the board because he coined the term “separation between church and state.”)
posted by saulgoodman on Mar 12, 2010 - 127 comments

Lieberman-Kyl’s Iran amendment passes. By a vote of 76-22, the Senate passed the Lieberman-Kyl amendment, which threatens to “combat, contain and [stop]” Iran via “military instruments.” Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA) called the amendment “Cheney’s fondest pipe dream” and said it could “read as a backdoor method of gaining Congressional validation for military action.”
posted by psmealey on Sep 27, 2007 - 111 comments

Gonzales pushes plan to criminalize copyright infringement, making it punishable by life imprisonment; to increase wiretaps; and to require Homeland Security to notify the RIAA in certain circumstances. "To meet the global challenges of IP crime." I'd comment on this, but I'm afraid that someone might think I was copying someone else. The Intellectual Property Protection Act (official press release) appeared previously in a speech (2005) and as a draft (2006) - now the Justice department is pushing Congress to bring it forward. [newsfilter]
posted by blacklite on May 15, 2007 - 59 comments

Went to a dance, looking for a man, found John McCain, he was singing Bomb Iran. (Warnings: Single link YouTube Newsfilter)
posted by PeterMcDermott on Apr 22, 2007 - 43 comments

Alberto Gonzalez says "there is no express grant" of habeas corpus in the Constitution. Previously on MeFi and AskMe.
posted by anarcation on Jan 24, 2007 - 73 comments

NewsFilter: California launches lawsuit against automakers for causing global warming. via
posted by knave on Sep 20, 2006 - 42 comments

News Filter - In 2003 the Bush administration rejected an Iranian offer to recognize Israel, end support of Palestinian terror organizations, help out in Iraq, and talk about their nuclear program.
posted by sourbrew on Jun 18, 2006 - 66 comments

NewsFilter: 1 in every 136 US residents in jail or prison.
posted by sourbrew on May 21, 2006 - 73 comments

Don't Drink and Drive.
posted by I Love Tacos on Mar 22, 2006 - 70 comments

NewsFilter: I know a lot of people are concerned about Big Brother, but my response to that is, if you are not doing anything wrong, why should you worry about it?
posted by I Love Tacos on Feb 18, 2006 - 154 comments

God mad at America, black people.
posted by I Love Tacos on Jan 17, 2006 - 84 comments

In 2001 America destroyed the Kabul offices of al-Jazeera with two smartbombs; officials said it was an accident. In 2003 America destroyed the Baghdad offices of al-Jazeera with missiles; officials said it was an accident. Now, two British civil servants are on trial for leaking a memo revealing that Bush intended to bomb al-Jazeera... at their headquarters in allied Qatar.
posted by Pretty_Generic on Nov 22, 2005 - 155 comments