Adam Serwer

The Washington Post confirms some news first reported by Mike DeBonis, that D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty is planning to host a public signing ceremony tomorrow to commemorate the signing of D.C.’s marriage equality bill, which was passed by the City Council on Tuesday. The local angle, DeBonis explains, is that relations between Fenty and the […]

The Justice Department under Eric Holder has come under a great deal of legitimate criticism for its conduct on national security issues, which greatly resembles that of the Bush administration at the twilight of its second term. One place where the differences are stark, however, is in the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department, […]

Yesterday the House voted on a temporary 60-day extension of the expiring provisions of the PATRIOT Act, meaning that Congress will have to take up the PATRIOT Act reauthorization again next year. The House bill being debated right now goes a great deal further in curbing the powers of the PATRIOT Act than the Senate […]

Earlier this year, Precious (which I haven’t seen) received copious amounts of effusive praise and angry criticism. Those who hated the movie, for the most part, objected to the way black people were “represented,” namely that the story, which focuses on a poor, obese, teenage incest survivor in 1980s Harlem reinforced negative black stereotypes. Last […]

Pretty much what you’d expect. The RNC released this statement on behalf of Michael Steele: The decision by President Obama to transfer up to 100 detainees from the U.S. detention center at Guantanamo Bay to a state prison in rural Thomson, Illinois, is yet another example of the Obama Administration and Congressional Democrats not listening […]

I really don’t have much to add to Glenn Greenwald‘s evaluation of how the administration is currently handling the closure of Guantanamo Bay Prison: The sentiment behind Obama‘s campaign vow to close Guantanamo was the right one, but the reality of how it’s being done negates that almost entirely. What is the point of closing […]

Forces on both sides of the marriage equality debate spent several hours huddled in close proximity to one another today, as they waited for Washington, D.C.’s City Council to handle its more mundane business before voting on whether to extend marriage rights to same-sex couples. Bishop Harry Jackson, head of the anti-equality group Stand4MarriageDC, was […]

The Washington Post has a great piece up explaining why previous efforts at reconciliation — getting Taliban fighters to lay down their arms — have failed. The Afghan government seems to have a habit of luring fighters away with promises they have no intention of keeping: The men who recruited Mohammed to the government’s side […]

The Associated Press reports that the White House is poised to announce a state prison in Thomson, Illinois, as the location for housing former Guantanamo Bay detainees: Administration officials as well as Illinois Sen. Richard Durbin and Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn will make an official announcement at the White House. Officials from both the White […]

Former chief Guantanamo prosecutor turned military commissions critic Col. Morris Davis was fired from his post-military job at the Congressional Research Service after he penned an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal criticizing the Obama administration for reviving them. The ACLU claims that Davis was threatened with termination over his op-ed before finally being let […]