Archives for December 2011

Billy Corriher  President Obama will sign into law a defense authorization bill that purports to expand his authority to indefinitely detain persons suspected of terrorism.  The President initially threatened to veto the bill over objections to provisions that required military custody of detainees.  The Obama administration argued it needed the flexibility to take both a military and a law enforcement approach to fighting terrorism.  Republicans criticized the president as lacking a …

Continue Reading about Congress and Obama compromise on executive power, ignore civil liberties →

Peter Dunne It has been an extraordinary ten days for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Rights – both in the United States and abroad. As I previously posted, last week Hillary Clinton made a landmark speech on sexual orientation and gender identity rights at the United Nations (UN) in Geneva. Her address was accompanied by the release of a US Presidential Memorandum, urging US Foreign Diplomats to make LGBT rights a priority in their work, and announcing the creation of a three …

Continue Reading about Putting The US LGBT Domestic Agenda in Perspective: The First UN Report on LGBT Rights →

Billy Corriher With the country still mired in a recession caused by the reckless decisions of big banks, Republicans in Congress continue to fight tooth and nail against stronger government oversight of the financial industry.  Last week, Senate Republicans rejected the nomination of former Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray to head the new Consumer Finance Protection Bureau (CFPB), created by the Dodd-Frank financial reform legislation.  Republicans did not feign doubts about Mr. Cordray’s …

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Peter Dunne Much has, and will, be said about Hillary Clinton’s recent remarks on LGBT rights, and the accompanying memorandum which President Obama released on Tuesday morning. However, I think that there are, at this stage, a few points worthy of particular note. First, in addition to the humility with which the Secretary of State addressed America’s own record on LGBT rights, she also acknowledged that it is the LGBT activists, those actually on the ground in the Global South, who …

Continue Reading about LGBT Rights: American Advocacy at the United Nations →