Top Democrats React to Low-Wage Federal Workers’ Strike“I work at Quick Pita in the food court of the Ronald Reagan Building. I work nearly 12 hours every day serving lunch to the thousands of people who work in the building. But I am not here to tell you how hard I work. I am here to tell you that my employer does not follow the law,” testified Antonio Vanegas before a hearing of the Congressional Progressive Caucus yesterday. Read the Full Story
The Axe Falls on 50 Chicago Public SchoolsAt times, the meeting of the Board of Education of Chicago Public Schools (CPS) on Wednesday took on the air of a mass mock trial; at others, it seemed like a public execution. On the dock were 53 elementary schools and one high school charged with underutilization of space and underperformance. Read the Full Story
The End of the Perpetual WarPresident Obama’s speech on Thursday was the most important statement on counterterrorism policy since the 2001 attacks, a momentous turning point in post-9/11 America.For the first time, a president stated clearly and unequivocally that the state of perpetual warfare that began nearly 12 years ago is unsustainable for a democracy and must come to an end in the not-too-distant future. Read the Full Story
Exclusive: Why I Spoke Out at Obama's Foreign Policy SpeechOn why Obama's policies themselves, not those who speak out against them, are rude
Having worked for years on the issues of drones and Guantanamo, I was delighted to get a pass (the source will remain anonymous) to attend President Obama’s speech at the National Defense University. Read the Full Story
Pivoting From a War Footing, Obama Acts to Curtail DronesWASHINGTON — Nearly a dozen years after the hijackings that transformed America, President Obama said Thursday that it was time to narrow the scope of the grinding battle against terrorists and begin the transition to a day when the country will no longer be on a war footing. Read the Full Story
New Terror Strategy Shifts C.I.A. Focus Back to SpyingWASHINGTON — For more than seven years, Mike — a lean, chain-smoking officer at the Central Intelligence Agency’s headquarters in Virginia — has managed the agency’s deadly campaign of armed drone strikes. As the head of the C.I.A.’s Counterterrorism Center, Mike wielded tremendous power in hundreds of decisions over who lived and died in far-off lands. Read the Full Story
Boy Scouts End Longtime Ban on Openly Gay YouthsGRAPEVINE, Tex. — The Boy Scouts of America on Thursday ended its longstanding policy of forbidding openly gay youths to participate in its activities, a step its chief executive called “compassionate, caring and kind.” Read the Full Story
PDA, Allies March Against Fracking in MarylandMore than 100 "Fracktivists" rallied for clean air and water outside the Democratic Governors Association meeting in Maryland yesterday. Concerned about the controversial practice of extracting methane gas from shale rock formations known as hydraulic fracturing or "Fracking", Progressive Democrats of America, Food and Water Watch, MoveOn, Progressive Neighbors, and Progressive Cheverly members and others gathered to hear speakers and then matched chanting outside the high-level meeting. Read the Full Story
Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-Petaluma) delivered her 444th and final special order speech expressing her opposition to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and her support for a “Smart” approach to national security: