Please note as of January 5, 2009 all commentary except original submissions will be archived here. You can also read our current newsletter online.

Obama, They Want You to Fail
by Robert Parry
"The pattern of belligerent Republicans and timid Democrats is now repeating itself on health-care reform. Democrats first excluded from the debate the one measure that probably could save significant money – a single-payer system – and they now appear poised to trade away Obama’s proposal for a “public option” to possibly garner a couple of Republican votes."

Has There Really Been a Policy Change in Iraq?
by Jon Soltz
"What's true is that the Iraqis seem less interested in political progress that would lead to a relatively peaceful Iraq, and more interested in US Forces staying indefinitely to protect them from killing each other."

Denials of US interference in Iran not credible
by Peter Symonds
"Just as the press never examines the claims of Mousavi and his supporters that the election was rigged, so it ignores the considerable evidence of extensive US operations against Iran, spanning a range of diplomatic, intelligence and military activities."

Following in Bush’s footsteps
Obama administration preparing order for indefinite detentions
by Tom Eley

The suppressed fact: deaths by U.S. torture
by Glenn Greenwald
"The interrogation and detention regime implemented by the U.S. resulted in the deaths of over 100 detainees in U.S. custody -- at least."

Iraq, the unraveling (XIII): a faith-based war policy continues
by Thomas E. Ricks
"My worry is that I don't see the political situation as being much different than it has in the past. Nothing much has changed from the previous rush to failures."

Obama Gives a Good Speech, But Will It Help Lt. Choi?
by Emma Ruby-Sachs

Iraq's "National Sovereignty Day" is U.S.-Style Hallmark Hype
by Jeremy Scahill

Independence Days
by Ned Lamont
"It has now been over six years since President Bush stood in front of the "Mission Accomplished" banner, over $1 trillion since we were told the war would pay for itself, over 4,300 American lives lost since it was proclaimed we would be "greeted as liberators." That's the war from the American perspective."

Time to End False Bipartisanship
by KATRINA VANDEN HEUVEL
"God I hope David Broder is wrong. 'The President has told visitors,' the Washington Post columnist wrote last week, 'that he would rather have 70 votes in the Senate for a bill that gives him 85 percent of what he wants rather than a 100 percent satisfactory bill that passes 52-48.'"

Obama's New Euphemism
by JOANNE MARINER
"To disguise its plans for relying on a practice that is more characteristic of repressive governments than of constitutional democracies, the Obama administration has even invented its own euphemism. In his May speech, President Obama spoke only of 'prolonged' detention, not of indefinite detention, or preventive detention, or detention without charge."

When Torture Kills: Ten Murders In US Prisons In Afghanistan
by Andy Worthington

Letter to Obama from Veterans for Peace
Veterans can also add their names to this one

The Corporate Media Circus: The Truth Alone Will Not Set You Free
by Chris Hedges
'American culture-or cultures, for we once had distinct regional cultures-was systematically destroyed in the 20th century by corporations."

UN Probe Into Gaza Conflict
by Erin Cunningham

Oil and the Iraq “withdrawal”
by James Cogan
"It is fitting that today’s deadline for the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq’s cities coincides with a meeting in Baghdad to auction off some of the country’s largest oil fields to companies such as ExxonMobil, Chevron and British Petroleum."

The still-growing NPR "torture" controversy
by Glenn Greenwald
"There are several noteworthy developments since I wrote on Tuesday about the refusal of NPR's Ombdusman, Alica Shepard, to be interviewed by me about NPR's ban on using the word 'torture' to describe the Bush administration's interrogation tactics."

How to Deal with America's Empire of Bases
A Modest Proposal for Garrisoned Lands
by Chalmers Johnson
"The U.S. Empire of Bases -- at $102 billion a year already the world's costliest military enterprise -- just got a good deal more expensive.

The Emperor's Seven Signing Statements
by David Swanson
"Lawless detention is the least of it. State secrets and warrantless spying scrape the surface. Drone attacks and ongoing torture begin to touch it. But central to the power of an emperor, and the catastrophes that come from the existence of an emperor, is the elimination of any other force within the government. Signing statements eliminate congress."

It Came from Wasilla
by TODD S. PURDUM
"John McCain’s top campaign officials talk more candidly than ever before about the meltdown of his vice-presidential pick, the author tracks the signs—political and personal—that Palin was big trouble, and checks the forecast for her future."

To Critics, New Policy on Terror Looks Old
by CHARLIE SAVAGE
"But Mr. Obama’s critics say that whether statutory authorization exists for his counterterrorism policies is just a legalistic point. The core problem with Mr. Bush’s approach, they argue, was that it trammeled individual rights. And they say Mr. Obama’s policies have not changed that."

Risk of Major Social Upheaval Likely if Bank Bonanza Continues
by Marshall Auerback
"State and local governments have been forced into draconian budget cuts, firing workers who are among the most reliable in making their mortgage payments -- when they have jobs: firemen, policemen, teachers, civil servants. Yet the Obama administration won't spend even a small fraction of what it has wasted on the banks to cover state shortfalls."

This Is Not The Climate Bill You Need To Fear
by Beau Friedlander
"Few who are 'serious' about saving us from ourselves as regards the wholesale destruction of the planet have a high opinion of this bill. This bill is not worth a damn when it comes to the problems we face."

Why Didn't Governor Sanford Suppress His E-Love-Letters?
by JOHN W. DEAN
"My immediate reaction -- or actually, question -- upon learning of the Sanford email love letters was why hadn't the Governor exercised his copyright ownership rights over this material and blocked its publication?"

Who to Trust on a Truth Commission?
by Robert Parry (A Special Report)
"The key staffing problem is that pretty much all the Wise Men and Wise Women of Washington have seen their reputations thrive in the hot house of intellectual corruption that has dominated the capital for the last 30 years -- and thus they are hopelessly compromised."

"Suck on Our Yachts": Goldman Sachs Issues Non-Apology for Destroying the World Economy
by Matt Taibbi

CIA's Panetta Okays Renditions
by Sherwood Ross

Obama contemplates Executive Order for detention without charges
by Glenn Greenwald
"Peter Finn and Dafner Linza of The Washington Post and ProPublica report that the White House is 'crafting language for an executive order that would reassert presidential authority to incarcerate terrorism suspects indefinitely.'"

Uh, Which Civil Liberties Groups Want a ‘Prolonged Detention’ Executive Order?
by SPENCER ACKERMAN

Michael Jackson vs. the news
There's meaningful, there's epic and there's revolutionary. What about all three?
by Mark Morford

Top 25 censored stories of 2009
List by Project Censorted

Passing a weak bill today gives us weak environmental policy tomorrow
by Rep. Dennis Kuchinich

Iran Had a Democracy Before We Took It Away
by Chris Hedges
"Iranians do not need or want us to teach them about liberty and representative government. They have long embodied this struggle. It is we who need to be taught."

To-Do List: A Sentence, Not 10 Paragraphs
By trying to do too much, he risks not doing enough.
by Peggy Noonan

White House Watched
by Dan Froomkin
"I started my column in January 2004, and one dominant theme quickly emerged: That George W. Bush was truly the proverbial emperor with no clothes."

A Global Recovery for a Global Recession
by Joseph E. Stiglitz
"This is not only the worst global economic downturn of the post-World War II era; it is the first serious global downturn of the modern era of globalization."

Establishment view of Obama's civil liberties record
by Glenn Greenwald

Fixing Abuses of State Secrets
The House considers a sensible bill to rein in the president's power to exclude court evidence.
Washington Post editorial

Will Obama Follow Bush Or FDR?
by Benjamin Wittes and Jack Goldsmith
"Obama, to put it bluntly, seems poised for a nearly wholesale adoption of the Bush administration's unilateral approach to detention. The attraction is simple, seductive and familiar."

Uncle Walt
His passing reminds us how much America has lost
by Bryan Zepp Jamieson

Noted Obama admirer lambasts him on civil liberties, secrecy
by Glenn Greenwald

Obama Closes Doors on Openness
by Michael Isikoff
"The refusal, approved by White House counsel Greg Craig's office, is the latest in a series of cases in which Obama officials have opted against public disclosure."

Serving the Medical-Industrial Complex
by Robert Parry
"The usual knock on government programs is that they’re not as efficient as the private sector, which we’re told can provide the same product for less money and with higher quality. Thus, it should be no big deal when the public and private collide because the private sector should prevail."

The Swan Song of the Islamic Republic
by Bernard-Henri Lévy
"Whatever happens, if the protest gains momentum or loses steam, if it ends up prevailing or if the regime succeeds in terrorizing it, he who should now only be called president-non-elect Ahmadinejad will only be an ersatz, illegitimate, weakened president."

Death by Bipartisanship
by Nancy L. Cohen
"When the ever elusive bipartisanship becomes a more important goal then, say, the well-being of nearly 50 million uninsured Americans, it's time to examine our priorities."

Why Did The Washington Post Axe Dan Froomkin and Give Paul Wolfowitz a Column?
by Byard Duncan
"Just one day after firing Dan Froomkin -- one of only a few voices willing to offer insightful, well-researched criticism of both the Bush and Obama administrations -- the Washington Post did something even more outrageous: It gave Paul Wolfowitz a platform to criticize the president's Iran policy."

Some Things Obama Must Explain
by Dan Froomkin
"Even as President Obama spends most of his time trying to fix the problems former President George W. Bush created or overlooked, his administration is nevertheless embracing the Bushian way of doing business on a handful of issues, most notably those that involve secrecy."

Supreme Court Refuses to Hear Plame's Lawsuit Against Cheney, Rove
by Jason Leopold

The "Neda video," torture, and the truth-revealing power of images
by Glenn Greenwald

ACLU Challenges Defense Department Personnel Policy To Regard Lawful Protests As “Low-Level Terrorism”
ACLU Press release

Washington and the Iran Protests:
Would they be Allowed in the US?
by Juan Cole 6.24.09 blog entry

Nobody Expects the Spanish Prosecution
by Bruce Falconer
"Will former US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and other senior Bush administration officials end up in jail for crafting the policies that led to the torture of prisoners at Guantánamo?"

Former Insurance Executive Blows Whistle on 'Wall Street-Run Healthcare,' Only 4 Senators Out of 25 Show Up to Listen
by Meg White

How bad is the Peterson-Waxman deal on climate legislation?
by TOM PHILPOTT
"The compromise has two major planks:  1) the EPA will be forbidden for five years from assessing the indirect land-use effects of ethanol, a topic that sends the ethanol-besotted Peterson into literal fits of rage; and 2) the USDA, not the EPA, will administer the market for ag-related offsets under the bill’s cap-and-trade scheme."

Iran Was an Easier Enemy Before We Saw Their Faces
by David Bromwich

Lobbyists on a Roll: Gutting Reform on Banking, Energy, and Health Care
by Arianna Huffington
"Remember all that change Americans voted for in November? Well, there's been a change in the plans for change."

Neocon enemies, using diplomacy, reach deal for Shalit's release
by Glenn Greenwald
"In other words, the deal for Shalit's release was secured by some of the neocon's most despised enemies (Jimmy Carter and Syria), with the help of a President they insist hates Israel (Barack Obama), relying on tactics they have long scorned (diplomacy, negotiating with Terrorists, including Hamas)."

Bachmann, Bach
From an acorn, a mighty oak did fall
by Bryan Zepp Jamieson

With Iran, Think Before You Speak
by John Kerry
"If we actually want to empower the Iranian people, we have to understand how our words can be manipulated and used against us to strengthen the clerical establishment, distract Iranians from a failing economy and rally a fiercely independent populace against outside interference."

The Washington Post, Dan Froomkin and the establishment media
by Glenn Greenwald

In Congress: 32 Heroes, 21 Frauds
by David Swanson
"These 32 Congress members, in many cases, stood up to threats, promises, and abuse from the White House and Nancy Pelosi. President Obama and several cabinet secretaries, the National Security Advisor, and of course the White House Chief of staff lobbied hard, including threatening to cut off all future electoral support."

Part 3--Gitmo Detainee Lawyer: "I guess the days of attorney/client privilege are over in GITMO."
by By GottaLaff

The 'Bipartisan' Trap In Health Reform
by E.J. Dionne Jr.
"This week, the health-care debate moved from general principles to the agonizing specifics of how much reform will cost, who will pay and which groups get what."

Dream big, Obama
The president should be a revolutionary, not just a reformer
by David Sirota
"Most of the great advances we remember involve reimagination and dreams, not merely tweaks and tinkers."

Obama's Bogus New Excuse for Secrecy
by Dan Froomkin
"The Obama Justice Department yesterday put forth an new legal argument, one that even the Bush team might not have had the gall to employ. Call it the Daily Show disclosure exclusion."

Contradictions that aren't seen as contradictory
by Glenn Greenwald

Will Congress Put Useless Fighter Jets Above America?
by Jon Soltz
"Congress is about to throw $369 million (on a down-payment of $2 billion) for a dozen F-22 fighter jets that even the Pentagon doesn't want. Oh, and the money for it? It's coming out of funds that were set aside to clean up dangerous nuclear waste in the U.S."

Deal With It!
An election goes tragically awry
by Bryan Zepp Jamieson

Oil and Indians Don't Mix
by Greg Palast

Obama Looses the Manhunters
Charisma and the Imperial Presidency
by Tom Engelhardt

Neo-Nazis are in the Army now
Why the U.S. military is ignoring its own regulations and permitting white supremacists to join its ranks.
by Matt Kennard

What would have happened if the "Bomb Iran" contingent had its way?
by Glenn Greenwald

Here is secrecy creep in action
by Glenn Greenwald
"Using the standard that is now so accepted across the political spectrum in Washington -- information that will inflame anti-American sentiment should be suppressed rather than disclosed so at to not endanger our troops -- isn't it better if we just cover-up, rather than learn the truth about, the civilian deaths we caused in Afghanistan?"

Excusing Outrages of the Right
by Robert Parry
"Part of America’s ongoing political crisis is that Official Washington remains cowed by the angry Right, even as it engages in subtle and not-so-subtle appeals to bigotry and invitations to violence. As the outrages mount, most of the national press corps prefers to look the other way, a pattern that now stretches back many years."

What If Ahmadinejad Really Won?
by Robert Parry

The three steps to financial reform
by George Soros
"Having gone too far in deregulating - which contributed to the current crisis - we must resist the temptation to go too far in the opposite direction."

Obama and transparency: judge for yourself
by Glenn Greenwald

Push Back, Mr. President
by Dan Froomkin
"Now that President Obama has shown that he can be rolled when it comes to his commitment to transparency, the defenders of torture are shamelessly pressuring him to keep their secrets even when court rulings and common sense say otherwise."

Let's hold Bush officials accountable for torture
The ACLU's executive director joins with a military officer to ask for a special prosecutor for torture
by Anthony Romero and Lt. Col. Darrel Vandeveld

House Democrats prioritize loyalty to the president over their own judgment
by Glenn Greenwald

Shame: The 'Anti-War' Democrats Who Sold Out
by Jeremy Scahill
"In a vote that should go down in recent histories as a day of shame for the Democrats, on Tuesday the House voted to approve another $106 billion dollars for the bloody wars in Iraq and Afghanistan (and increasingly Pakistan)."

The Illegal Spying Game, played over and over
by Glenn Greenwald
"Ever since The New York Times revealed in December, 2005 that the Bush administration had spent the last four years illegally spying on Americans' communications without warrants, there have been numerous additional revelations of various types of massive illegal government spying."

A Bad Call on Gay Rights
NYT editorial
"The Obama administration, which came to office promising to protect gay rights but so far has not done much, actually struck a blow for the other side last week."

The Obama Administration Defends the Defense of Marriage Act
by MICHAEL C. DORF
"Although the government's Smelt brief does not flatly violate candidate Obama's promise to seek DOMA's repeal, the LGBT community is right to view it as a betrayal of the spirit of that promise."

How is Money Created? Debunking Some Myths About Recent Policies to Stabilize the Financial System and the Economy
by NEIL H. BUCHANAN

How Cheney Bent DOJ to His Will
by Dan Froomkin
"Three newly-disclosed Justice Department e-mails thoroughly vindicate the most cynical suspicions about how former vice president Dick Cheney bent ostensibly independent Justice Department lawyers to his will and forced them to manufacture legal cover for his torture policies."

Hold Your Applause
by Chris Hedges
"What do words of peace and cooperation mean from us when we torture--yes, we still torture--only Muslims?"

Confronting the CIA's Mind Maze
America's Political Paralysis Over Torture
by Alfred W. McCoy

Why We Must Reform Our Criminal Justice System
by Sen. Jim Webb

Who Spent All That Money For What?
Fear Rules
by PAUL CRAIG ROBERTS
"Americans are at ease with their country’s aggression against Afghanistan, Iraq, and Pakistan, which has resulted in a million dead Muslim civilians and several million refugees,  because the US government has filled Americans with fear of terrorists."

Sanitization is not the Answer
The Battle Against the State Secrets Privilege
by SIBEL EDMONDS

EXPOSING THE OBAMA “PLACEBO PRESIDENCY”— A SORRY TALE OF MISSED OPPORTUNITIES
by Phil Rockstroh
"Rather than addressing the core issue, the deterioration of the rights and liberties granted by the U.S. Constitution, President Obama is wallpapering over the rot wrought by the national security state’s termite hive mind of authoritarian appetites, that has been, silently, and hidden by darkness, gnawing the house of state to sawdust."

Stop Being Distracted by Loudmouths Like Limbaugh: The Real Problem Is Lousy Democrats Like Evan Bayh and Ben Nelson
by Chris Bowers

Should the U.S. also suppress evidence of civilian deaths in Afghanistan?
by Glenn Greenwald
"Using the standard that is now so accepted across the political spectrum in Washington -- information that will inflame anti-American sentiment should be suppressed rather than disclosed so at to not endanger our troops -- isn't it better if we just cover-up, rather than learn the truth about, the civilian deaths we caused in Afghanistan? "

Major new accountability campaign from the ACLU
by Glenn Greenwald
"The ACLU today launched a major new campaign to impose accountability for torture and related Bush-era crimes.  The campaign -- Accountability for Torture -- is devoted principally to a restoration of the rule of law and the appointment by the DOJ of a Special Prosecutor."

Good Questions From a Senator and an Activist
by Dan Froomkin
"Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) took to the Senate floor to talk about torture, the campaign of falsehood that has been pursued by its defenders, and the many things the public still doesn't know."

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse on Torture
Full text of his Senate speech

Are We Poisoning Our Troops? Congress Takes Critical Step in Addressing Burn Pits in Iraq, Afghanistan
by Paul Rieckhoff

Expert Advice On Dealing With A Prior Administration's Use of Torture
by JOHN W. DEAN

Demand a real public healthcare option
Don't be fooled by the watered-down versions that desperate Democrats are using to lure Republican votes
by Robert Reich

The great deficit scare returns
Even liberals are getting antsy about debt and government spending. Stop worrying. The deficit hawks are wrong.
By Robert Reich

The soldier blood on Joe Lieberman and Lindsey Graham's hands
by Glenn Greenwald

Obama Administration Seeks To Keep Torture Victims From Having Day In Court
ACLU press release

Ahmadinejad reelected under cloud of fraud
But outcome doesn't change goals for Obama -- dealing with Iran's nuclear program and its anti-Israel activities.
by Juan Cole

Feeding the Beast
What Ahmadinejad's win means for Iran, Israel and the United States.
by Christopher Dickey

Waiting for Obama
States are pushing ahead with their own reforms instead of waiting for the president to act.
by David Sirota

Two Key Health-Care Numbers
by Robert Parry
"To understand the financial stakes involved in the battle over U.S. health-care reform, it's useful to keep two numbers in mind: 50 million and 119 million."

The Obama officials blocking accountability for Bush crimes
by Glenn Greenwald

The American Empire Is Bankrupt
by Chris Hedges
"This week marks the end of the dollar’s reign as the world’s reserve currency. It marks the start of a terrible period of economic and political decline in the United States. And it signals the last gasp of the American imperium. That’s over. It is not coming back. And what is to come will be very, very painful."

U.N. calls U.S. human rights record "deplorable"
A new report suggests the U.S. may have committed war crimes -- and endorses the formation of a truth commission.
by Mark Benjamin

Top 10 Reasons Sarah Palin's "Outrage" is Misplaced and A Little Late...
by Shannyn Moore

Americans Who've Used Canada's Health-Care System Respond to Current Big-Lie Media Campaign
by Bill Mann

The Real Story Behind the CIA's Torture Policy
by Scott Horton
"The Daily Beast's Scott Horton gets the inside scoop from Jane Mayer on CIA chief Leon Panetta—and how he advocated for a truth commission on torture but was rebuffed by Obama, who saw it as a potentially dangerous political distraction."

Here comes Bob!
And Harry! And Louise!
by Bryan Zepp Jamieson

The Settlements: Obama's Demands and Netanyahu's Options
by Alon Ben-Meir

Too Embarrassing to Disclose?
by Dan Froomkin
"President Obama's approach to government transparency is disturbingly opaque in places, particularly when it comes to disclosing information about the Bush administration's torture legacy."

How civilized, law-abiding countries imprison terrorists
by Glenn Greenwald
"While the U.S. continues to debate whether it must imprison accused terrorists without charges or trial -- and now even refuses to say whether it will release those who are given trials but then acquitted -- numerous other countries are, with their actions, adhering to the values and principles which we, with words, righteously claim to embody."

Chairwoman Slaughter: FOIA as sacred as Social Security and Medicare
by Glenn Greenwald

Obama's Era of Openness Is Closed
by Robert Parry
"What Obama apparently has realized is that a commitment to openness requires courage and a readiness to take some political hits. Republicans – and parts of the U.S. news media – attacked Obama in April for releasing the Bush administration’s four legal memos justifying torture of detainees."

To view prior Sounding Off pieces that appeared in this section, please visit our Archives for any articles posted prior to September 30, 2004 or use our google search box above to search our site. Starting on January 5, 2009 all Sounding Off pieces will be archived here.