Even a cynic can find Washington's hypocrisy shocking at times. The Wall Street Journal reports today a House bill that would force lawmakers to make greater disclosures on financial transactions and disallow them from trading on nonpublic information is going nowhere fast.
That's right. Members of Congress are currently allowed to profit on insider trading!
Congress Refuses to Outlaw Insider Trading For Lawmakers
Climate change deniers accused of McCarthyism
In a letter published in the journal Science, more than 250 members of the US National Academy of Sciences, including 11 Nobel Prize laureates, condemned the increase in "political assaults" on scientists who argue greenhouse gas emissions are warming the planet.
The 'climategate' scandal and mistakes by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) have led to a surge in attacks on climate scientists around the world.
Chemical dispersants an unknown quantity in addressing oil spill
The decision on whether to use chemical dispersants deep below the sea's surface to break up the Gulf of Mexico oil spill boils down to two central questions:
Is it worth taking this unprecedented step to protect the region's sensitive and ecologically valuable wetlands, even at the potential expense of its marine life? And should federal officials conduct extensive new research before making the leap, since the scientific literature on this question is so sparse?
Rape threats used to scare detainees into confessing, Khadr hearing told
Terrifying threats of dying from multiple gang rape ``by four big black guys’’ who would catch little Afghan boys in the shower of a U.S. prison, was used by interrogators at Bagram to scare detainees into confessing, Omar Khadr’s lead interrogator admitted today.
Court Allows Challenge to Legal Aid System in N.Y.
There are enough signs that New York’s system of providing public defenders is failing the state’s poor people that a broad class-action suit challenging the system can move ahead, the state’s highest court ruled Thursday, setting the stage for a sweeping battle in the courts and perhaps the Legislature.
Report adds to doubts about key oil rig safety equipment

Cancers from Environment 'Grossly Underestimated'
Environmental carcinogens are responsible for a far greater number of cancers than previously believed -- a fact that suggests eradicating these environmental threats should be a priority for President Obama -- according to the report of a presidential advisory panel.
Congressional Hypocrites Were Betting Against Stocks As Country Collapsed
Senators have criticized Goldman Sachs Group Inc. for profiting from the housing collapse. And Congress is considering legislation to curb Wall Street risk-taking, including the use of financial instruments known as derivatives and of leverage, or methods that amplify returns.
Italy church sex abuse victims seek accountability

The victims' appeal is the latest sign that clerical abuse in Italy, long so taboo that it was rarely spoken of much less acted on, is increasingly getting public attention and forcing the Vatican to confront the problem in its own backyard.
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