The Washington Post has a new series out on “Top Secret America,” investigating the massive security complex that's sprung up around our war industry. While independent journalists like Tim Shorrock and Jeremy Scahill have been reporting on this for years, the Post brings a new level of attention to the contractors—and the blank check they get from our otherwise deficit-obsessed government.

"We're lying to our kids," says professor and former charter school advocate and supporter of No Child Left Behind Diane Ravitch. High-stakes testing and punishing teachers for low-scoring kids is failing, according to her research; moreover, charter schools are only successful, when they are, because they can select the best students from the failing districts in which they are located.

Everywhere you look, jobs are cut, programs are eliminated, and the fat is trimmed as closely as possible leaving only the bare bones of our society. Well, almost everywhere. It seems that for all the costs being cut surrounding education and employment benefits, a disproportionate amount of money has poured into intelligence, better known as the U.S. Military Industrial Complex. This imbalance in public spending and private contractors prompted the Washington Post to conduct a two-year long investigation into this hidden, growing world.

Nearly a month ago, the National Enquirer broke the news that a massage therapist in Oregon claimed to have been sexually assaulted by Al Gore. Since then, the media has snickered, rolled its eyes, and steadfastly refused to report the story. Instead, they’ve trotted out excuses in Gore’s defense, often treating it as a simple choice between defending Gore’s integrity or indulging in a base appetite for celebrity scandal, as if there wasn’t a real possibility that a real 54-year-old woman had suffered a very real and violent assault.

Everywhere you look, jobs are cut, programs are eliminated, and the fat is trimmed as closely as possible leaving only the bare bones of our society. Well, almost everywhere. It seems that for all the costs being cut surrounding education and employment benefits, a disproportionate amount of money has poured into intelligence, better known as the U.S. Military Industrial Complex. This imbalance in public spending and private contractors prompted the Washington Post to conduct a two-year long investigation into this hidden, growing world.

Lately, the infamous Tea Party has taken over the mass media by storm. Despite this recent mobilization against long-awaited “liberal” reforms, we can’t help but remember how grassroots movements organized coalitions to paint red states blue and elect Barack Obama. Is it possible to remobilize progressive discontent and organize a party that crosses race, class, and gender lines to get progressive politicians elected?

Branch Brook Park roller rink, located in Newark, NJ, is one of the few remaining urban rinks of its kind. This concrete structure is nestled in the pit of a hill bordered by housing projects and a highway. Serving extremely diverse subcultures within Newark, this space is a microcosm of the city that surrounds it. This film will follow three characters from distinct groups that use the space; a Skate Dancer, a Gospel Skater, and a Roller Derby Girl. Despite their differences in race, class, religion, and sexuality, these skaters are united by the rink, which serves as a refuge from the stress of their lives.

Those poor oil executives have just been working themselves to death trying to maintain their public image after that completely unfair blame they're facing for those oil spills--not just in the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska, but around the world. Our friends at Greenpeace came up with a product just for them, a handy way to cover-I mean clean up the spill in record time and keep people buying those oil products!

Lately, the infamous Tea Party has taken the mass media by storm. Despite this recent mobilization against long-awaited “liberal” reforms, we can’t help but remember how grassroots movements organized coalitions to paint red states blue and elect Barack Obama. Is it possible to remobilize progressive discontent and organize a party that crosses race, class, and labor lines to get progressive politicians elected?

Earlier this week, I was deeply saddened by the death of my good friend and former collaborator Harvey Pekar. I first met him and his wife Joyce Brabner in 1995, on tour with Our Cancer Year. I was too nervous to say much to either of them, pretty sure they would want nothing to do with a scruffy blue-haired self-publisher in a hand-made dress. Not big fancy people like they were. After all, Harvey had steadfastly rejected compromising his integrity in exchange for financial security.