Sullivan High School Students, Teacher Fighting For 'Traditional' Prom That Would Ban Gays

A group of Indiana-based parents, teens and even a teacher is fighting for a separate "traditional" prom that would ban gay students.

As NBC 2/My Wabash Valley is reporting, special education teacher Diana Medley is defending a group of Sullivan High School students who are arguing in favor of the alternate prom.

"Homosexual students come to me with their problems, and I don't agree with them, but I care about them," Medley told the news station. "It's the same thing with my special needs kids; I think God puts everyone in our lives for a reason."

Obama Worse Or No Better Than Bush At Protecting Civil Liberties, Poll Finds Amid Drone Debate

A majority of Americans believe that President Barack Obama is either worse or no better at protecting civil liberties than former President George W. Bush, a new poll conducted by The Hill found.

While 44 percent of poll respondents believe Obama has bested Bush in balancing national security and civil liberties, 37 percent said he has done a worse job and 15 percent said he has been "about the same."

Drones Memo Extends Executive Power, So Let's Just Let Skynet Decide From Now On

Last week, after Michael Isikoff obtained a 16-page memorandum detailing the legal opinions that underpin the Obama administration's program of targeted assassinations -- a program whose fatal purview extends to American citizens -- the grand debate over drone strikes and executive power and how the checks and balances work in this post-9/11 world were newly inflamed. Which is great for ratings, I guess, but we all know that John Brennan is going to get confirmed as the head of the CIA, newly re-inflamed concerns or not, right? Great. For a minute there I was worried that you might start expecting lawmakers to take this stuff seriously.

One Easy Way to Shine a Light on Dark Money

Millions of Americans took offense—and rightly so—last year as millionaires and corporations pumped billions of dollars into campaigns for the presidency, Congress and governorships across the country.
 
But with Congress divided and 2013 taking shape as a tale of never-ending fiscal cliffs, it seems unlikely that lawmakers will do much to rein in the Super PACs and dark money that made the 2012 campaigns among the least informative and most distorted in American history. This year’s two marquee election campaigns, for the governorships of New Jersey and Virginia, figure to be flooded with big money, and more uncontrolled spending is already on its way to the 2014 congressional races.

Keystone XL: A Presidential Decision That Could Change the World

Presidential decisions often turn out to be far less significant than imagined, but every now and then what a president decides actually determines how the world turns. Such is the case with the Keystone XL pipeline, which, if built, is slated to bring some of the “dirtiest,” carbon-rich oil on the planet from Alberta, Canada, to refineries on the US Gulf Coast. In the near future, President Obama is expected to give its construction a definitive thumbs up or thumbs down, and the decision he makes could prove far more important than anyone imagines. It could determine the fate of the Canadian tar-sands industry and, with it, the future well-being of the planet. If that sounds overly dramatic, let me explain.

Drones Targeting Chris Dorner? LAPD Won't Confirm UK Report

Suspected cop killer Christopher Dorner has become one of the first Americans in the U.S. to be targeted by surveillance drones, according to a report by the Express.

But other sources have thrown cold water on the story.

An unnamed "senior police source" told the Express, “the thermal imaging cameras the drones use may be our only hope of finding him. On the ground, it’s like looking for a needle in a haystack.”

Back in the hole: 'Anarchist material removed'

On the evening of January 21st, I was brought back to the hole. Not on misconduct this time, but to what is known as Administrative Segregation because the Security Manager has decided that having me on range, where I can associate with other imprisoned people, constitutes a threat to security. That is only after having spent a week in the hole for “inciting a disturbance likely to endanger the security of the institution.” I was returned to Unit 5 on the order of the provincial adjudicator. I was placed on one end of the Unit where only [some] did not participate in the protest action here that occurred on Jan 12th. I have not been provided with any basis for being removed from general population aside from the vague notion of security measures, nor have I been given any justification for being stripped of any of my so-called privileges. All I know for certain is that it was the personal prerogative of Security Manager Martin Krawczyk. On the way to the segregation unit, the Sergeant said if I didn’t write so well, I wouldn’t be in this mess -- or something to that effect. Perhaps Krawczyk and the CNCC administration have adopted the Harper-esque notion that bad public relations are synonymous with a threat to security. Regardless, it would appear that I am to be held in solitary confinement potentially indefinitely. Regardless of any particular reasons, it seems that being an anarchist organizer is now being understood as an inherent threat warranting segregation and the loss of most privileges. Given that the primary basis for this may very well be the writing I have been posting to this blog since–and prior to–my imprisonment, it feels appropriate to now post a piece I have been waiting for the right time to release. It is titled “Anarchist Material Removed.”

I disagree with something Stephen Harper said about the Saskatchewan robocalls

Well, okay, I disagree with lots of things Stephen Harper says, but the latest is his opinion that robocalls recently made in Saskatchewan on behalf of the Conservative Party do not violate CRTC rules. The calls in question use the pretext of public opinion research to push political spin -- kind of a soft core dirty trick.

On January 30, 2012, Saskatchewan residents received robocalls advising that proposed changes to the province's riding boundaries would pit urban areas against rural ones, and offend "Saskatchewan values." The Conservative Party opposes the boundary changes and initially denied that it had anything to do with the calls.

Tax avoidance: Legality vs morality

A British company is the latest major multinational that stands accused of massive tax avoidance and depriving one of the world's poorest countries of billions of dollars.

The Zambian subsidiary of Associated British Foods has confirmed it paid virtually no tax in the past five years.

A report by ActionAid states the company's revenue from its Zambian operation is being funneled into tax havens including Ireland, Mauritius and the Netherlands.

Israel detains women over prayer shawls

Israeli police have detained 10 women at one of Judaism's holiest sites for wearing prayer shawls, which Orthodox tradition sees as solely for men, authorities confirm.

Among those detained on Monday at the Western Wall in Jerusalem's Old City was Susan Silverman, a reform rabbi who is a sister of the famous US comedian Sarah Silverman, and her teenage daughter, police spokesman Mickey Rosenfeld has said.