With Pickens Plan ads a television fixture, here's Apollo Gonzales' cynical take on what T. Boone Pickens is selling: I grew up in Houston, Texas. Maybe that made me more susceptible than most to the romanticized idea of being a Texas oil man. At the age of 18, the same summer I graduated high school, I went to work for a family friend selling oil field supplies to oil companies in West Texas and Mexico. It was a dream job for me. I met some very wealthy men and heard stories about growing up dirt poor and making a fortune by pulling oil from otherwise worthless ground. Every year I went to the...

A great post from the UN Foundation's Katherine Miller [ full disclosure ]: Yesterday's convention headlines were dominated (and rightly so) by Sen. Ted Kennedy's moving display of personal strength and party loyalty, as well as Michelle Obama's touching portrait of her loving family. But behind the scenes there important discussions about climate change and global philanthropy taking place. The National Democratic Institute is hosting the International Leaders Forum , a series of events for the more than 1,200 foreign dignitaries who are here to witness Barack Obama officially taking control of...

At Emptywheel, a red flag over new FBI guidelines: It is amazing how when it comes to protecting the rights and privacy of American citizens, the health and stability of the environment, the education of our children, and the care and compassion to military veterans, the Bush Administration produces nothing but bad faith delay, obstruction and, often, outright refusal to act. They are imminently capable, however, of moving with breathtaking alacrity when they sense the opportunity to seize unheard of domestic police state powers that undercut the Constitution, solely by Administrative fiat, and...

There's been a good deal of discussion online about Obama and McCain's attacks and counter-attacks. Recently we've focused on the GOP's use of ridicule as a political weapon: An enduring election myth is that the 'real' presidential campaign starts in the fall - that what we're seeing is merely posturing and strategic positioning in preparation for the true battle. The fact is, a candidate’s image is shaped and reshaped in real time and perceptions created today directly influence opinions formed tomorrow, which in turn affect decisions in the voting booth on election day. The general election...

Last month we posted about the gruesome practice of acid attacks : Acid attacks are a form of gender violence; they are intended to silence women who stand up for themselves. Women were being attacked for doing well at work, protesting against domestic violence, leaving their jobs – essentially whenever they demonstrate independence. There is a myth that women are only attacked with acid when they reject someone’s sexual advances. But we found that it happened for all sorts of reasons: women of all castes, classes and religions were being attacked by husbands, lovers, employers, jealous...

In July, we covered the tasing death of Baron "Scooter" Pikes. CNN now reports : A Louisiana grand jury indicted a former police officer on a manslaughter charge in the death of a man who was Tasered nine times while handcuffed, prosecutors said Wednesday. ... If convicted, Nugent could get up to 40 years for the manslaughter charge and five years for the criminal malfeasance charge, Winn Parish District Attorney R. Chris Nevils said. "It is our intention to show at trial that Mr. Nugent caused the death of Baron Pikes by Tasing him multiple times, unnecessarily and in violation...

Last May, the Washington Post ran a disturbing article about immigrants being heavily sedated without medical justification: The U.S. government has injected hundreds of foreigners it has deported with dangerous psychotropic drugs against their will to keep them sedated during the trip back to their home country, according to medical records, internal documents and interviews with people who have been drugged. The government's forced use of antipsychotic drugs, in people who have no history of mental illness, includes dozens of cases in which the "pre-flight cocktail," as a document calls...

The Bush administration continues to redefine incompetence : [I]f the stakes are high, you wouldn't know it from Washington's early reaction. The administration of George W. Bush has been slow to respond, with the President making cautious statements of condemnation over the weekend at the Olympic games in Beijing, and Condoleezza Rice remaining on vacation and oddly absent from public view. Considering the gravity of the situation in Georgia, would it be too much to ask our Secretary of State to cut her vacation short? More from Attaturk at FDL and Tim Dickinson at Rolling Stone ....

Here's why it still matters that George W. Bush is in the White House: Parts of the Endangered Species Act may soon be extinct. The Bush administration wants federal agencies to decide for themselves whether highways, dams, mines and other construction projects might harm endangered animals and plants. New regulations, which don't require the approval of Congress, would reduce the mandatory, independent reviews government scientists have been performing for 35 years, according to a draft first obtained by The Associated Press. This video says it all......

An enduring election myth is that the 'real' presidential campaign starts in the fall - that what we're seeing is merely posturing and strategic positioning in preparation for the true battle. The fact is, a candidate’s image is shaped and reshaped in real time and perceptions created today directly influence opinions formed tomorrow, which in turn affect decisions in the voting booth on election day. The general election is fully engaged now, and has been for months. In that regard, we recently offered this explanation of McCain's 'Celeb' video: McCain’s mid-summer salvo against Obama...