Well, everyone must at least feel better now, having chanted and declared for days that we're all Charlie. It was, or it seemed, a cry for freedom of speech, ringing outward from one of the world's first secular democracies. In reality, though, with all due respect to the sentiment behind it, Sunday's great march through the centre of Paris, ... MORE
by Lori Mongomery. Taxpayers will face the worst levels of service in more than a decade
from the Internal Revenue Service this filing season, with as few as 43
percent of callers getting through to an agent and then only after
waits of 30 minutes or more, according to a report released Wednesday. In
her annual report to Congress, National ... MORE
by Rob Hustle. Across the country, children are being taken from loving homes by government agencies collectively known as Child Protective Services. Although these agencies are supposed to protect children, they are actually the engine that drives a multi-billion dollar industry. This industry, which includes social workers, psychol- ... MORE
by Radley Balko. Here at The Watch, we’ve praised Dallas Police Chief David Brown and his staff for the department’s community-oriented approach to policing, openness and transparency about excessive force, its rejection of law enforcement as a revenue generator, and its First Amendment-friendly approach to protest. Now, there’s some ... MORE
by Patricia Cohen. When it comes to the taxes closest to home, the less you earn, the harder you’re hit. That is the conclusion of an analysis by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy
that evaluates the local tax burden in every state, from Washington,
labeled the most regressive, to Delaware, ranked as the fairest of them
all. According
to the ... MORE
Charlie Hebdo in the dock. On Sunday, as more than a million people marched through the streets of Paris in support of the right to draw cartoons without being murdered, the French Ministry of Culture and Communication declared that "artistic freedom and freedom of expression stand firm and unflinching at the heart of our common European ... MORE
One less pot smoker, America is safe! Original story. Jason Westcott had no criminal record to speak of, and yet he died in a SWAT “drug raid” on his house which yielded only $2.00 in marijuana. It all started when a confidential informant lied to police about Westcott. That informant, who approached the Tampa Bay Times in July using ... MORE
"What is the point of my life if I’m a coward?” Twelve Charlie Hebdo staffers who died for free speech and 25 Republicans who voted against U.S. Speaker John Boehner are heroes. We too could be heroes, me and you. “We could be heroes, me and you,” are lyrics from Heroes (We Could Be)—a 2014 number one hit single by Swedish DJ ... MORE
Afraid to show offensive cartoons of "the profit." "CNN will not show you the new cover, which depicts the Prophet Muhammad, because it is our policy not to show potentially offensive images of the prophet," the host declared this morning. See the image CNN (and others!) refuse to show you and hear their commitment to free speech. ... MORE
Keeping a sharp eye on the enforcers. Citizens in Stockton, California have taken a new approach to activism. Rather than sticking to the traditional form of protest in which signs are held and slogans are chanted, these citizens have taken direct action and offered a grassroots, crowd-funded incentive structure to end police brutality ... MORE