New graduate program rankings flawed

A preliminary investigation by Free Press staff demonstrates the new graduate program rankings offered by the Chronicle of Higher Education undercount the number of books produced by faculty members at reviewed institutions -- sometimes dramatically.

A simple search of Amazon.com, the source used by the Chronicle's data provider (Academic Analytics), directly contradicts the rankings.

For example, the Chronicle's data state that faculty at sociology departments at schools such as Chapel Hill, Johns Hopkins and the University of Chicago produced zero books between 2001 and 2005. Here are three examples of books produced by faculty at these institutions during those years (via Amazon.com).

One from Chapel Hill

One from Johns Hopkins

Alan Haber's perspective article: movement for a democratic society

as appearing in the free press, it appeared i authored the article you presented. the letter by me which you reprinted was written as an e-mail to people involved in an internal discussion in movement for a democratic society, not for a "public " that has no background in the situation. the introduction to my letter was not written by me, your presentation wrongly suggests this introductory letter was written me, and that i gave my approval for public distribution for my internal communication within mds..

mds is a positive development and i encourage all readers and followers developments to join mds, come to our meeting on february 17, and be part of the picture and process. we need a movement for a democratic society.

please print this note, with a correction notice attached to the article as it now appears.

Listen Gore: Some inconvenient truths about the politics of environmental crisis

Al Gore's film, "An Inconvenient Truth," raises the issue of global warming in a way that scares the bejeezus out of viewers, as it should since the consequences of global climate change are truly earth-shaking. The former Vice-President does a good job of presenting the graphic evidence, exquisite and terrifying pictures that document the melting of the polar ice caps and the effects on other species, new diseases, and rising ocean levels.

But, typically, the solutions Gore offers are standard Democratic Party fare. You'd never know by watching this film that Gore and Clinton ran this country for 8 years and that their policies -- as much as those of the Bush regime -- helped pave the way for the crisis we face today.

Gore never critiques the system causing the global ecological crisis. At one point, he even mourns the negative impact of global warming on U.S. oil pipelines. Oh, the horror! What it all comes down to, for Gore and the Democrats, is that we need to shift away from reliance on fossil fuels and tweak existing consumption patterns.

Human Rights Campaign salutes Black History Month

Tribute Highlights Current and Rising Leaders in the Black GLBT Community

Washington, DC - To commemorate Black History Month, the Human Rights Campaign will honor a cross-section of African-American leaders that are helping move the march for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender equality forward within their community and society as a whole.

The Human Rights Campaign will honor their achievements and excellence in a special section of the HRC website at http://hrc.org/blackhistory. As part of the Human Rights Campaign celebration of national Black History Month, HRC will continuously recognize the sacrifices, contributions and successes made by the African-American community for equality throughout February.

"At work, in their houses of worship, and in their everyday lives, these leaders are writing new chapters in American history today by telling the stories of black GLBT Americans," said Joe Solmonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign. "They are truly leading the charge for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Americans equality and are empowering

Columbus anti-war protest video

Anti-War Protest

Creative force of evil

Charles Mercieca, Ph.D.
President, International Association of Educators for World Peace
Dedicated to United Nations Goals of Peace Education,
Environmental Protection, Human Rights & Disarmament
Professor Emeritus, Alabama A&M University

In the sphere of morality there seems to be no neutrality. We are either moving on the right track or on the wrong track. We may either be performing well or we may be promoting evil. Of course, there are various spheres or degrees of both good and evil. Two individuals may be kind but one may reveal to be kinder. This applies also to evil since one may reveal to be vicious but another may demonstrate to be more vicious.

Concept of Good and Evil

UN climate change report on global warming

The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is due to release a report in Paris on Friday entitled Climate Change 2007 in which 2,500 scientists from 130 countries unequivocally state that the current trend towards potentially catastrophic global warming has been induced by human activity, which began with the dramatic increase in fossil fuel use during the Industrial Revolution of the mid-19th century.

A draft of the report, the fourth climate change assessment conducted by the IPCC, has been circulated among major news organizations over the past week.

"As we add to [greenhouse] gases, we are just doing the same thing as putting another blanket on our bed at night," said Sir David King, British chief government scientific adviser, in an interview with CBS News. "The consequences are that you get warmer, and that is as simple as it is."

Lobbying for impeachment: remarks at United for Peace and Justice Pre-Lobby Day Event on Jan. 28, 2007

It's an honor to be part of this obviously growing movement for peace and justice.  Our president took us into war before Congress gave its so-called authorization.  He did so without telling Congress or the American people and without Congress appropriating any funds for the purpose.  In the summer of 2002, Bush took $2.5 billion – according to the Congressional Research Service – away from other projects, including Afghanistan, and used it to build airfields in Qatar and to begin bombing Iraq in preparation for the full-scale invasion. 

That is a crime.

In fact, it's what the founders of this country would have called a high crime and misdemeanor.

And what do we do about high crimes and misdemeanors?

Live blogging from House Judiciary Committee Hearings on Bush's Signing Statements

Open this article for blogging, beginning at 10:15 a.m. ET.

10:13 a.m. I'm in the room, but you can view a live webcast here. I've just been handed hardcopies of the upcoming witness statements. If you can find them online anywhere, please post a link beneath this article.

10:15 a.m. Witness list: John Elwood, Deputy Assistant Attorney General, U.S. Dept. of Justice

Hon. Mickey Edwards, former member of Congress, Aspen Institute

Karen J. Mathis, President, American Bar Association

Professor Nicholas Quinn Rosenkranz, Assoc. Professor of Law, Georgetown University Law Center

Professor Charles Ogletree, Jesse Climenko Professor of Law, Harvard Law School

A new manifest destiny

Half a million people marching against the war seem to be cursed to have their numbers reported as "tens of thousands" in the mainstream media for reasons that strike me as similar to the reeling U.S. auto industry's ongoing reliance on monster SUV sales (and didn't Ford make headlines by hemorrhaging almost $13 billion last year?).

That is, the human race has slipped, developmentally, from the grasp of the institutions that attempt to contain and define it. What a muddle. We're flowing instinctively toward survival - toward a sustainable, global society, as free of war and dehumanized enemies as it is of reliance on fossil fuels - but those in power can't bear it, can't understand it, and keep selling us the past.

How else do you explain the sort of zombie life George Bush's war on terror enjoys in the corridors of official thought - where, for instance, the insanity of "troop surge" is given polite, respectful deference - well after its lifeblood of public support has bled into the sand?

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