The Lesson of Blackwater

It is time to rethink the privatization of the United States military. In Iraq alone, there are roughly 180,000 private contractors working for American government agencies, including about 30,000 heavily-armed guards. The most notorious contractor, Blackwater USA, has been embroiled in controversy over the deaths last month of 17 Iraqis. A State Department contract with the private security firm, which escorts U.S. diplomats traveling outside the heavily protected Green Zone in Baghdad, expire

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Sanders: Science Must Guide Global Warming Legislation

Senator Bernie Sanders, a member of the Environment and Public Works subcommittee chaired by Senator Joseph Lieberman, said today he would work to strengthen legislation on global warming proposed by Lieberman and Senator John Warner. “I look forward to playing an active role in strengthening the legislation they introduced today. The issue we’re dealing with here is not Democrat versus

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Sanders: Time to Take a Hard Look At Private Contracting in the Military

Senator Bernie Sanders said today it is time to rethink the privatization of the United States military. In Iraq alone, there are roughly 180,000 private contractors working for American government agencies, including about 30,000 heavily-armed guards. The most notorious contractor, Blackwater USA, has been embroiled in controversy over the deaths last month of 17 Iraqis. A State Department contract with

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The Income Gap

The richest 1 percent of Americans earned more than 21 percent of all U.S. income in 2005, according to Internal Revenue Service data. That is a big increase from 2004, when the top 1 percent earned 19 percent of the nation’s income. What’s more, the gap between America’s rich and poor is wider than at any time since the Roaring Twenties. “The time is long overdue,” Senator Bernie Sanders said, “for members of Congress to look beyond the needs of their wealthy campaign contributors and begin add

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Global Warming Principles

As a key Senate committee prepares to take up legislation to reverse global warming, Senators Bernie Sanders and Frank Lautenberg set down a set of principles that will guide their consideration of legislation. Sanders and Lautenberg both serve on a subcommittee that will consider legislation expected to be formally introduced on Thursday by Senator Joseph Lieberman, the subcommittee chairman, and Senator John Warner, the panel’s ranking Republican. “We need to work together to address the most

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