The Government Internet ID Proposal’s Pros and Cons
An expert on electronic privacy walks through the possibilities and perils on a national online security system designed, in part, by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
U.S. Government Begins Human Rights Website
The United States is putting its take on human rights, say, in Ivory Coast or on internet freedom, onto a new State Department human rights website, although it’s leaving criticism of itself offline.
Budget Idea: Divert Money From Prisons to Schools
With a quarter of the world's prisoners in American lockups, an unlikely coalition ranging from the NAACP to Americans for Tax Reform wonders if we might be smarter to divert some of that prison money to schools.
Breast Cancer Court Case Pits Patients’ Genes vs. Gene Patents
A court case surrounding gene patents for high-risk forms of breast cancer puts two viewpoints of "products of nature" on the stand.
What Does a U.S. Government Shutdown Mean?
Passports, park admissions and poo are among Pacific Standard's list of 10 things that will be affected if the budget-less U.S. government shuts down this weekend.
Federal Budget Cuts May Cloud Government Transparency Websites
Efforts to roll back the federal budget to 2008 levels may have the unintended consequence of gutting spending aimed at fostering government transparency.
Can Transparency, Academic Freedom Coexist?
A request for historian William Cronon's emails creates a contest between two cherished American values — seeing inside government's guts and untrammeled inquiry by academics.
Will a New Federal Bank Guarantee Loans for U.S. Infrastructure Projects?
A national infrastructure bank for the United States would offer a way to fund projects that improve competitiveness and economic vitality and not just please local constituents.
Military Questions Mount in Wake of DADT
Years of operating under the "don't ask, don't tell" policy created a backlog of questions to answer as the U.S. military works to integrate openly gay troops into the ranks.
Nuclear Disasters: Do Plans Trump Actions?
In a report planned before Japan’s Fukushima nuclear disaster, the Union of Concerned Scientists suggests that U.S. nuclear regulators are way too complacent about the possibility of a catastrophe.