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Amid Closings and Cutbacks, a Modest Proposal to Save Our Courts
By Andrew Cohen - Politics DailyFederal court administrators announced a few weeks ago that they want to help their colleagues in courthouses around the country improve the quality and consistency of judicial websites, which have been notoriously user-unfriendly for years. This is a good step, and a needed one, and I wish court clerks and judicial technology experts everywhere much good luck with the coming transition. Easy, accessible websites are one of the most cost-effective ways in which the courts can remind people of the vital importance of the judiciary in their lives. That goal means more than ever now, at a time ...
Do Scientology and Tom Cruise Deserve So Much Scrutiny?
By Mary Phillips-Sandy - AOL NewsLawrence Wright's lengthy New Yorker article about Scientology and former church member Paul Haggis has renewed interest in the secretive institution. In "The Apostate," Wright describes a number of devastating allegations, including cases of abuse, forced labor and confinement of church members, and -- of course -- strange stories involving Tom Cruise. The article goes on to say that the FBI has investigated the church and that "the case remains open." AOL News reported Monday that a federal law enforcement official said the Scientology investigation had "fallen short" and that no criminal ...
Paul Haggis and Scientology: 5 Juiciest Details From New Yorker Profile
By Mary Phillips-Sandy - AOL NewsA new look at the secretive world of Scientology has revealed some shocking details. This week's issue of The New Yorker contains an epic profile of writer-director Paul Haggis ("Crash," "In the Valley of Elah"). Haggis spent 35 years as a Scientologist, but left the church in August 2009. Journalist Lawrence Wright -- who's also writing book about Scientology -- gained unprecedented insight to the church's inner workings, thanks to dogged research and Haggis' cooperation. Surge Desk breaks down some of his most noteworthy findings. 1. An undercurrent of homophobia Haggis, who has two gay ...
Church of Scientology Faces Controversy Over Latest Abuse Allegations
By Allan Lengel - AOL NewsThe Church of Scientology, which boasts such members as Tom Cruise and John Travolta, is once again steeped in controversy, thanks to a magazine article that cites numerous allegations of abusive behavior and gross misconduct. Author Lawrence Wright writes in The New Yorker magazine that ex-members told him of physical and psychological abuse and how the church brought "escapees back" through emotional, spiritual or psychological pressure and physical force if necessary. Chris O'Meara, AP The Church of Scientology's spiritual headquarters is based in Clearwater, Fla.. The church ...
Tina Brown and Cathie Black Tackle the Impossible -- Again
By Luisita Lopez Torregrosa - Politics DailyNEW YORK – With a double-barreled launching of female power, two celebrated media giants, Tina Brown and Cathleen P. Black, commanded the attention of this blasé city and the nation this week. In separate moves, each has agreed to take on daunting challenges that many regard as either lost causes or unfixable problems. Each has proved her mettle in media wars, and each can claim first-woman-ever titles in some of the toughest arenas of publishing and management. Tina Brown, who made Vanity Fair into a magazine phenomenon, has agreed to merge her news and political web site, The Daily ...
Obama's African Relatives Think His Father Was Murdered
By Dana Chivvis - AOL News(Oct. 18) -- Perhaps the president can add this one to his list of myths to bust in December when he appears on the Discovery Channel show "MythBusters": His father was not killed in a car accident in 1982, as was reported, but was murdered. So goes a family theory investigated by Peter Firstbrook in his history of President Barack Obama's African side of the family, "The Obamas," and dissected by Obama biographer David Remnick in a post today on the New Yorker's website. Barack Obama Sr. was "a thwarted politician and bureaucrat," outspoken in his criticism of the Kenyan government's ...
The Failed Climate Bill Gets Its Close-Up
By Paul Wachter - AOL News(Oct. 11) -- Remember the climate bill? It's true that global warming hasn't exactly been all over the headlines recently (though the global anti-climate change party did attract some buzz over the weekend). But if you haven't yet read Ryan Lizza's fascinating and depressing investigation of the Senate's failed effort to pass clean energy legislation in last week's issue of The New Yorker, you should really do so now. Even if you're not particularly concerned about climate change, Lizza's piece is invaluable at showing, in vivid detail, just how corrupt, dysfunctional and partisan our ...
In Syria, Web Provides Small Window of Media Freedom
By Paul Wachter - AOL News(Sept. 30) -- Digital freedom in Damascus? Don't count on it. During the times I've visited Syria, as a tourist not a journalist, I never encountered the same degree of state control that existed in North Korea or Saddam Hussein's Iraq. But most of the media is state owned, the rest is state friendly and public dissent is not tolerated. To a slight degree, the Internet has changed that. New York Times reporter Robert Worth notes the viral spread of a video of a Syrian teacher beating her students, which ultimately led the Education Ministry to issue a statement indicating she'd been ...
Immigration, Terrorism, Health Care: Hot Issues Pack Fall Court Docket
By Andrew Cohen - Politics DailyAs the vacations of August give way to the business of September, the legal beat this week is beginning to heat up. Here, in no specific order, are a few of the higher-profile legal stories that are going to pop in one direction or another before too long. 1. Don't Ask Don't Tell. Last week, a federal judge in California declared unconstitutional the Pentagon's controversial "don't ask don't tell" policy toward gay and lesbian service members. Next week, the Senate is expected to take up the issue. Will the judge's ruling give the lawmakers legal cover? Or will the decision -- and the ...
Soak the Super-Rich: Why Debate Over Extending Bush Tax Cuts Misses the Point
By Paul Wachter - AOL News(Aug. 12) -- Congress is debating whether to extend the Bush tax cuts, a choice, writes New Yorker financial columnist James Surowiecki, that boils down to whether you consider someone who earns $250,000 a year to be rich. President Barack Obama and Democrats answer in the affirmative and want to end the cuts for those who earn more. Republicans say that $250,000 -- more than four times the national median income -- isn't all that much and that rolling back the cuts would hurt small-business owners. (It's also true that $250,000 doesn't get you as far in some parts of the country, like ...
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