AlterNet.org: Coverage Areas

What if People Actually Treated Religion as Just a Metaphor (Like Trekkies and Secular Jews)?

Greta Christina, AlterNet — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:01 PST

It's possible to keep the good parts of religion -- like the music, rituals and pageantry -- and get rid of the sex-hating dogma, the belief in god and other troublesome aspects.

The Top One Reason Religion Is Harmful

Greta Christina, AlterNet — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:00:01 PST

Religion is uniquely armored against anything that might stop it from spinning into extreme absurdity, extreme denial of reality and extreme, grotesque immorality.

Introducing ChristianChirp, the Evangelical Right's Alternative to Twitter

Allison Kilkenny, AlterNet — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 00:00:01 PST

ChristianChirp.com, which promises to be a "family friendly" site, was founded by a man who claims to have been banned from Twitter for defending Rush Limbaugh.

Why Can't Prosecutors Even Come Close to Taking Down Wall Street Thugs?

Sam Pizzigati, Too Much: A Commentary on Excess and Inequality — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 08:00:01 PST

As the big bank bonus grab shifts into overdrive, doing "God's work" has never seemed so lucrative.

Why Won't Obama Give You a Job?

Joshua Holland, AlterNet — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:00:01 PST

Wall Street's raking in massive profits and paying its execs and traders record bonuses, thanks in part to government cash. What about ordinary Americans?

Don't You Think It's Time to Reinstate the Laws That Would Have Prevented the Financial Crash?

Nomi Prins, AlterNet — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 00:00:01 PST

It's been 10 years since Washington repealed the Glass-Steagall Act, the moment we got royally screwed by the banking system -- and we're still paying the price.

When Itâ€™s Crunch Time at College, Students Turn to Adderall

Erik Hayden, Miller-McCune.com — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 14:00:01 PST

Can ADHD stimulants like Adderall be the answer for college students looking to increase academic performance? They think so.

In Historic Shift, the American Medical Association Sees Value in Marijuana

Phillip S. Smith, Drug War Chronicle — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 08:00:01 PST

The country's largest physician group, the AMA, has reversed its long-held position that marijuana has no medical worth.

The Relentless War on Drug Users Is Escalating Violence in the US: It's Time for Harm Reduction

Don Hazen, AlterNet — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 00:00:01 PST

Hundreds gather in Albuquerque to celebrate a new dawn of wider acceptance of drug reform, while still feeling a little nervous about the path ahead.

Is Obama's Latest Agriculture Nominee a Textbook Pesticide-Pusher?

Kate Sheppard, Mother Jones — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 11:00:01 PST

Obama recently tapped as chief agricultural negotiator for the office of the US Trade Representative a senior executive from one of the pesticide industry's main trade groups.

World's Biggest Polluters Strike a Deal: U.S. and China Agree to Comprehensive Clean Energy and Climate Plan

Joseph Romm, Climate Progress — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 13:00:01 PST

The overall plan is much more ambitious in scope and depth than anticipated.

Thanks to GM, People Are Being Displaced So Their Forests Can Become Offsets for SUVs

Mark Schapiro, Mother Jones — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 13:00:01 PST

Should we focus on industries paying to preserve distant trees rather than reducing emissions closer to home? It's the question of the day in Washington and Copenhagen.

8 Steps Obama Could Take to Save Food

Robyn O'Brien, AlterNet — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:00:01 PST

No longer are our families guaranteed a healthy livelihood, not in the face of the current rates of cancer, diabetes, obesity, Alzheimers and allergies. We need a new food system.

Modern Life Is Probably Screwed by Peak Oil, But It's Not Too Late to Avoid Mass Starvation

George Monbiot, Monbiot.com — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:00:01 PST

The challenge of feeding 7 or 8 billion people while oil supplies are falling is stupefying. It'll be even greater if governments keep pretending that it isn't going to happen.

Fresh Food From Small Spaces: A Beginner's Guide to Urban Farming

Makenna Goodman, Chelsea Green Publishing — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 09:00:01 PST

You don't need a red barn and rolling wheat fields. Urbanites, too, can grow their own food indoors, in cramped spaces, and without access to land! For real.

Pharmaceutical Giant Paid $500,000 to Psychiatrist Who Used Chicago's Poor as Guinea Pigs

Christina Jewett and Sam Roe, ProPublica — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:01 PST

Dr. Michael Reinstein reaped a cool half million off his patients' misery.

Do Yearly Mammograms Save Women's Lives?

Naomi Freundlich, Health Beat — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:00:01 PST

Controversial new recommendations on breast cancer prevention have caused a stir in the women's health community. But do yearly mammograms really change death rates?

Is House Health Care Bill a Threat to Our Constitution?

Barry W. Lynn, Americans United for Separation of Church and State — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 10:00:01 PST

The House health-care bill isn't just a threat to women's rights; with the Stupak amendment, it's a breach of the Constitution.

Organizers Fire up Grassroots for Immigration Reform Fight Ahead

Marcelo Ballve, AlterNet — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 10:00:01 PST

Organizers are putting together a series of â€œhouse partiesâ€ after the White House said it was preparing to push Congress on immigration reform early in 2010.

U.S. Immigration Policies: Still Racist After All These Years

Michelle Chen, ColorLines RaceWire — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:00:01 PST

We can argue about the nuances of immigration reform all we want. But the real conversation begins when -- and only when -- we acknowledge elements of structural racism.

Supremes Hear Case Hinging on Immigrants' Right to Get Cases Reviewed in Fed Courts

Beth Werlin, Immigration Impact — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:00:01 PST

The case may hinge on a technical matter, but the case highlights an important legal principle.

Maddow: Anti-Muslim 'McCarthyism' Making Us Less Safe

David Edwards, Raw Story — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:00:01 PST

Wave of prejudice among Republican politicians may actually be frustrating anti-terrorism efforts Maddow says.

Forty Years After Its First Episode, Sesame Street Is Still Saving the World

Tom Jacobs, Miller-McCune.com — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 10:00:01 PST

Thanks to lots of research (and, of course, to Jim Henson's genius), Sesame Street continues to aid in early childhood development.

Why I'll Never Buy a Kindle

Benjamin Dangl, AlterNet — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:00:01 PST

Fancy new book readers save lots of trees, yes, but I'll pass.

The Yes Men: Pranksters Out to Fix the World

Mark Engler, Foreign Policy in Focus — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 14:00:01 PDT

The Yes Men pose as spokespeople for major companies or bodies like the World Trade Organization, and give presentations that highlight the logic of corporate greed.

Barack Obama Must See Michael Moore's New Movie (and So Must You)!

Arianna Huffington, Huffington Post — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 13:00:01 PDT

"Michael goes directly to the beating heart of the economic crisis ... The knot in your stomach starts to tighten -- and the outrage starts to build."

Michael Moore's 'Capitalism' Flick Rips into Crimes of Wall Street

Xan Brooks, The Guardian — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 00:00:01 PDT

Moore's latest documentary drew tumultuous applause at the Venice film festival, suggesting that the veteran tub-thumper has lost none of his power to whip up a response.

New Right-Wing Craze: Using Bible Quote to Pray That Obamaâ€™s 'Days Be Few'

Amanda Terkel, Think Progress — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:00:01 PST

A new slogan is making its way onto t-shirts and even teddy bears: 'Pray for Obama: Psalm 109:8,' which reads, 'Let his days be few; and let another take his office.â€

Anti-Abortion Group to Protest Palin

Stephanie Mencimer, Mother Jones Online — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:00:01 PST

To liberals, she epitomizes the anti-choice far right of the GOP. But to American Right to Life, Sarah Palin is not pure enough.

Catholic Bishops Put Sex Obsession Ahead of Mission to the Sick and the Poor

Adele M. Stan, AlterNet — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:00:01 PST

First they threatened to take down health-care reform over abortion coverage. Now they're threatening services to the sick and poor of Washington, D.C., over same-sex marriage.

Hey Guys, Don't Want Kids? A Vascetomy Is Probably the Way to Go

Anna Clark, RH Reality Check — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:01 PST

Historically, the burden of family planning has almost always fallen on women. Isn't it about time for that to change?

What Should a Feminist Man Look Like?

Courtney E. Martin, The American Prospect — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 00:00:01 PST

Many young men reject the trappings of traditional, sexist masculinity. But what's the alternative?

'Precious': How a Film About an Obese Harlem Teenager Turned the Tables on Hollywood

Emily Wilson, The Women's Media Center — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 18:00:01 PST

The success of this harrowing new movie undermines the conventional wisdom about what audiences want to watch.

Economic Crisis Is Getting Bloody -- Violent Deaths Are Now Following Evictions, Foreclosures and Job Losses

Nick Turse, AlterNet — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:01 PST

Despite ever rosier economic predictions and a surging stock market, the body count from the economic crisis is destined only to grow in the weeks and months ahead.

Rachel Maddow Interview with Former Evangelist Frank Schaeffer: Christian Right Is 'Trolling for Assassins'

AlterNet — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:00:01 PST

Schaeffer: "There is a crazy fringe [receiving] messages that have been pouring out of FOX News ... talking about doing away with Obama, asking God to kill him."

Still No Justice for Priests in Notorious El Salvador Massacre 20 Years Later

Norman Stockwell, AlterNet — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:00:01 PST

In 1989, six Jesuit priests, their housekeeper and her daughter, were brutally murdered in El Salvador. Two decades later, the extent of U.S. complicity remains largely unspoken.

How Abstinence-Only Programs Perpetuate Dangerous Stereotypes

Martha Kempner, RH Reality Check — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 16:00:01 PST

It's bad enough the media teaches my daughter harmful gender stereotypes. Does she have to get it at school, too?

9 Silly Things People Say When They Hear You Don't Want Kids (And Ways to Counter Them)

Liz Langley, AlterNet — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:00:01 PST

Wanting kids isn't just the social norm, it's said to be a biological imperative, the only supposed "duh" of evolution. But yet, some of us choose not to -- and for good reason.

Instant Sex: Has the Digital Age Destroyed Relationships or Made Them Better?

Vanessa Richmond, AlterNet — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:00:01 PST

Digitally-enabled mating culture has opened up the mate-finding process while also generating a whole new set of dating anxieties.

G-20 Meetings: Nothing Much Happened in the Suites, and There Was Too Much Punch in the Streets

Laura Flanders, GRITtv — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 00:00:01 PDT

Underrepresented booming countries <i>may</i> get a bigger voice in global finance. Nice. But under-represented people? They got arrested.

Activists, Big Business Converge on G20 Meeting

Jeb Sprague, IPS News — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 12:00:01 PDT

As media and government delegates prepare for the G20 Summit to be held Pittsburgh, local business and activist groups are promoting clashing visions of days to come.

Stop GOP Hooligans From Stalling Health Reform

Byard Duncan, AlterNet — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 00:00:01 PDT

Join MoveOn's fight against Joe "You Lie!" Wilson and others who are relying on town hall-style antics to mire progress.

Poseidon's Financial Shell Game: Why Is a Private Desalination Plant Asking for Public Money?

Peter Gleick, Pacific Institute — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 04:00:01 PST

After years of claiming that they needed no public support to build this plant, this claim has finally been proven false.

How Limousine Liberals, Water Oligarchs and Even Sean Hannity Are Hijacking Our Water Supply

Yasha Levine, AlterNet — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:00:01 PST

A group of water oligarchs engineered a disastrous privatization scheme to make a fortune out of California's most precious natural resource.

Is California's New Water Legislation Better Than Nothing?

Peter Gleick, Pacific Institute — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 09:00:01 PST

Despite the happy face being put on by some of the bill's supporters, including Governor Schwarzenegger, I doubt anyone is truly happy with the end result.

Reagan Didn't End the Cold War -- Leftist Intellectuals Did

Stephen Zunes, AlterNet — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:01 PST

Reagan was inspirational, but to claim he defeated Communism is a disservice to the millions of Eastern Europeans who struggled against great odds for their freedom.

Why Is Congress Demonizing an Investigation of Israel's War Crimes in Gaza?

Bill Moyers, Bill Moyers Journal — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:01 PST

Recognition of human rights expert Richard Goldston's investigation is essential to the peace process in Israel and Palestine -- and the Congress is trying to demonize it.

'The Things We Do to Make It Home' -- Novel Takes Us Back to Soldiers' Horrors of Vietnam

Andy Kroll, AlterNet — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:01 PST

Author Beverly Gologorsky explores the tragic, scarring experiences for Vietnam vets in her new novel, and discusses the parallels she sees in Iraq and Afghanistan.