Public Policy

Rescind Obama's "Transparency Award" Now

Scroll down to see list of signers and to add your name or that of your organization.
   
Tell Project on Government Oversight (POGO), OMB Watch, the National Security Archive, Open the Government.Org, and the Reporters Committee to publicly take back their Transparency Award to President Obama.

On March 28, 2011, President Obama was given a “transparency award” from five “open read more

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NY Times Takes on Pentagon Spending With Two Hands Tied Behind Its Back

The New York Times has posted seven super-short columns on how to cut the U.S. military. All seven seem to support cutting the military in one way or another. That’s excellent, and I don’t mean to complain, but . . . .

The United States has the largest military in the world. We could cut it by 85% and still have the largest military in the world. And that’s without counting all the military spending that we funnel through departments other than the Pentagon, spending that brings read more

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Your Local Military Industrial Complex

As in any other U.S. city, things are looking up for Charlottesville, Va., job seekers who don’t mind helping to kill tons of people for no good reason. This week’s “community job fair” features some prominent members of the Charlottesville community whom we don’t usually think of as such.

When I travel the country, people often inform me that their town is a military-industrial town as if that were unusual. I always ask them if they can name a U.S. town that isn’t read more

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A Unified Theory of War and Taxes

If you hate taxes but dutifully cheer for wars, it’s lucky you also oppose school funding sufficient to produce historical literacy. Taxes are a byproduct of wars. Were it not for wars and war propaganda, this country would have never begun paying taxes. If we were to end wars, and only if we were to end wars, we could consider ending taxes too.

But wait! Wasn’t the war for independence a war against taxes? Aren’t taxes created by weakness, while militarism generates wealth? read more

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Lockheed Loved Obama's Speech. Did You?

On Wednesday, President Obama gave a speech about the greatest danger facing us.  Wars?  Environmental collapse?  Joblessness?  Homelessness?  No, the federal deficit.  With two years left on the job, Obama proposed a 12-year plan to fix the deficit that won’t fix the deficit.  And how did he propose to fail at this misbegotten task?  The President proposed to end no wars, make no serious cuts to the military, tax no estates or investments, raise no read more

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A Twelve Year Plan From a Guy With Two Left

Obama’s speech on the deficit on Wednesday was a flop. He proposed to end no wars, make no serious cuts to the military, REDUCE corporate taxes, tax no estates or investments, raise no taxes on any billionaires, and give an unelected commission the power to slash Medicare.

Obama began by blaming tax cuts, wars, and healthcare:

“[A]fter Democrats and Republicans committed to fiscal discipline during the 1990s, we lost our way in the decade that followed. We increased spending dramatically read more

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