Truthout 5/6

Why the Left Has No Answer to the Right-Wing Lie Machine
Ernest Partridge, The Crisis Papers: "What if there were a great debate concerning the nature and future of American society, and only one side showed up? That approximately describes the condition of the US media today."
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National Day of Prayer Violates Establishment Clause
Stephen Rohde, The Daily Journal: "Today, as mandated by federal law, is the National Day of Prayer. It may be the last."
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Civilian Face of Argentine Dictatorship Arrested
Sam Ferguson, Truthout: "Martinez de Hoz, the minister of economy during Argentina's last dictatorship, was arrested Tuesday at his home in the upscale Retiro neighborhood in Buenos Aires. For decades, de Hoz, 84, has been the face of civilian complicity in the Argentine dictatorship, which, from 1976-1983 suppressed union activity and political organizing by forcibly disappearing thousands of citizens. Praised during the 1970s as a pragmatic and neoliberal policy maker who would expand the free market philosophy in South America - much as the Pinochet dictatorship was doing in Chile - he has endured as one of Argentina's most controversial figures."
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Regulatory Failures Aided Financial Crisis, Paulson, Geithner to Tell FCIC Panel
Kevin G. Hall, McClatchy Newspapers: "The inability of regulators and Congress to keep up with new products in financial markets helped trigger the nation's deep financial crisis, the former and current treasury secretaries will testify today."
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News in Brief: Times Square Bomb Attempt May Have Taliban Links and More
Yana Kunichoff, Truthout: "The Times Square bombing attempt may have links to the Pakistani Taliban, reported The New York Times. After two days of intensely questioning the bomb suspect, Faisal Shahzad, officials said evidence was mounting that a radical group once thought unable to attack the US was involved in the attempted bombing."
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Senate Unanimously Approves Legislation Aimed at Cutting Down FOIA Delays
Jason Leopold, Truthout: "The Senate unanimously passed a bill Wednesday aimed at cutting through the bureaucratic red tape that has lead to long delays and backlogs associated with Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests. The bipartisan legislation, The Faster FOIA Act, was sponsored by Senate Judiciary Charman Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) and Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), who is also a member of the committee."
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State Reaction to Illegal Immigrants Should Matter to African-Americans
Dr. Wilmer J. Leon III, Truthout: "On April 23, 2010, Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer signed into law Arizona Senate Bill 1070 (SB 1070) the 'Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act.' SB 1070's stated intent is ' ... to discourage and deter the unlawful entry and presence of aliens and economic activity by persons unlawfully present in the United States.' This will be accomplished by making it a misdemeanor for a person to lack proper immigration paperwork. It also requires police officers, if they form a 'reasonable suspicion' that someone is an illegal immigrant, to determine the person's immigration status. Individuals unable to produce documents showing they are allowed to be in the United States could be arrested, jailed for up to six months and fined $2,500."
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Peak Oil and the Return of the Jet Set
Sam Kornell, Miller-McCune: "Scientists have projected that oil production will peak in 2014, and no industry will suffer more than aviation. No biofuel or battery can meet the demand of a jet engine, and that may wing us away from aerial democracy."
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What Do We Owe the Wrongfully Convicted?
Rose Aguilar, Your Call: "On April 28th, 46-year-old Frank Sterling became a free man after spending 18 years in prison for a crime he didn't commit. Sterling was cleared of a 1988 murder after another man confessed to the killing. Sterling said he confessed to the murder because of sleep deprivation and coercion. He fought for years to get evidence at the scene tested for DNA, which eventually led to the man who confessed. Sterling said walking out of jail was like heaven."
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Oil Spill Gives Urgency to UN Oceans Meet
A. D. McKenzie, Inter Press Service: "The disastrous oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has given increased urgency to the fifth Global Oceans Conference taking place here at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). The five-day meeting, which ends May 7, has brought together 823 delegates from 80 countries to discuss ways to preserve marine biodiversity and improve 'governance' of the oceans, in the face of pollution, climate change and over-fishing."
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When Reform Is a Slippery Slope
Ruth Marcus, Truthout: "'What's the matter with Arizona?' is the obvious question about the state's new immigration law. There are a few obvious answers - and a not-so-obvious one that I was surprised to hear from observers across the political spectrum here."
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Will We Keep Hating Government?
E.J. Dionne Jr., Truthout: "Ever heard the one about the guy who hated government until a deregulated Wall Street crashed, an oil spill devastated the Gulf of Mexico, a coal mine collapsed, and some good police work stopped a terrorist attack?"
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Apple Isn't the Problem. Wall Street's Big Banks Are the Problem
Robert Reich, Robert Reich's Blog: "Why is the Federal Trade Commission threatening Apple with a possible lawsuit for abusing its economic power, but not even raising an eyebrow about the huge and growing economic (and political) muscle of JP Morgan Chase or any of the other four remaining giant banks on Wall Street?"
Rep. Obey to Retire After 41 Years
William Douglas, McClatchy Newspapers: "Rep. David Obey, the chairman of the powerful House of Representatives Appropriations Committee, said Wednesday that he wouldn't seek re-election this year because he was 'bone tired' after a 41-year congressional career."
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Tapping Into the Power of Your Own Stem Cells
Christian Drapeau, Truthout: "Stem cells have been at the center of some of the bitterest controversies as well as some of the most promising medical discoveries, and yet little has been done to help the nonscientist reader gain a clear understanding of what's really taking place in this field, what are the true promises, as well as the real problems."
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Phoenix Fans Cheer "Los Suns"
Amanda Terkel, ThinkProgress: "In last night's NBA playoffs game, the Phoenix Suns beat the San Antonio Spurs 110-102. The team won this Cinco de Mayo game wearing its 'Los Suns' jerseys, a move meant to show solidarity with the Latino community and protest Arizona's anti-immigration law. The Rev. Al Sharpton and Phoenix officials also led a rally protesting SB-1070. Sharpton invoked the civil rights movement and said that if the law is not repealed, people will be coming to Arizona to protest 'in the spirit of the Freedom Riders.'"
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Rachel Maddow: FAIR's Relationship With Arizona's Immigration Law (VIDEO)
Rachel Maddow, The Rachel Maddow Show: Interview with Dan Stein of the organization FAIR and examination of FAIR's relationship with anti-immigration legislation in Arizona.
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