Student seeking Opus Dei records from CIA

A Ph.D. student is suing the Central Intelligence Agency to obtain its research into the conservative Catholic group, Opus Dei claiming that the agency could not withhold records over 30 years old that would not compromise national security if released. The student is researching the U.S. role in the Franco regime in Spain where Opus [...]

Through inaction U.S. Supreme Court allows gimmicky marketing of lawyers

The Supreme Court let stand a lower court ruling overturning a portion of a New York law prohibiting the use of nicknames, trade names and other marketing slogans and gimmicks that might imply a lawyer’s unverifiable invincibility. -db The Christian Science Monitor December 13, 2010 By Warren Richey The US Supreme Court on Monday declined [...]

Rights groups back Google in suit by company challenging Google’s use of trademarks to trigger AdWords ads

Several public interest groups are lining up for Google in its fight against a lawsuit by Rosetta Stone because they say the suit tries to silence competition and stifle criticism. -db Online Media Daily December 6, 2010 By Wendy Davis First Amendment advocates and digital rights groups have weighed in on Google’s side in a [...]

Republican non-profits avoid regulation and spend millions on TV attack ads

Setting up an non-profits, Republican groups have been able to keep their donor lists private and run ads to influence elections. -db The New York Times September 21, 2010 By Michael Luo and Stephanie Strom Crossroads Grassroots Policy Strategies would certainly seem to the casual observer to be a political organization: Karl Rove, a political [...]

Democrats propose plan in response to Supreme Court ruling on campaign spending

To, in their words, close “the floodgates of big corporate money that would otherwise drown out the voices of American citizens,” Democrats in the Congress have proposed new restrictions on campaign spending through enacting a series of small steps starting with banning spending by foreign corporations. -db The Fresno Bee February 11, 2010 By William [...]

Federal agency accused of hiding data on dangers of cell phone use in cars

Although the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration collected alarming data in 2003 of the safety risk of cellphones in automobiles, the agency failed to release their findings for political reasons. -DB New York Times  July 21, 2009  By MATT RICHTEL In 2003, researchers at a federal agency proposed a long-term study of 10,000 drivers to assess [...]