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Though President Obama received plenty of praise from Republicans right after the killing of the U.S. citizen and Yemeni cleric Anwar al-Awlaki last Friday, a growing number of former Bush administration officials and policy wonks across the political spectrum are calling on Obama to provide a more detailed legal justification for the lethal drone strike.
On Monday, Bush Administration legal advisor John Bellinger wrote in the Washington Post that “the administration needs to work harder to explain and defend its use of drones as lawful and appropriate — to allies and critics — if it wants to avoid losing international support and potentially exposing administration officials to legal liability.”
Harvard Law Professor Jack Goldsmith, who briefly headed the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel under President Bush, similarly argued on the Lawfare blog that the reasoning behind the classified legal opinion written by his former colleagues at OLC supporting the Awlaki killing should be publicly released, saying:
<blockquoteThe killing of a U.S. citizen in this context is unusual and in some quarters controversial. A thorough public explanation of the legal basis for the killing (and for targeted killings generally) would allow experts in the press, the academy, and Congress to scrutinize and criticize it, and would

American mass media and American politicians must surely believe we are credulous children, because they love to tell us bedtime stories.
Remember Jessica Lynch, the soldier who was captured in the Iraq war — and was then dramatically rescued? (The truth was less dramatic.)
Remember Pat Tillman, the football player killed by the Taliban in Afghanistan? (In fact, he was killed by an American bullet.)
And then there’s Elizabeth Eckford and Hazel Bryan. Their names were yoked together in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1957, when 15-year-old Elizabeth was one of nine African American students trying to integrate a high school and Hazel, a white girl standing right behind her, shrieked: “Go home, nigger! Go back to Africa!” At that exact moment, a photographer snapped their picture.
That instantly notorious photograph sent a dual message: the racism of Southern whites, the saintliness of those who stood up for equal rights and

Mitt Romney is scheduled to speak at the far-right “Values Voter Summit” on Saturday morning, immediately before the American Family Association’s Bryan Fischer, a man with a long and shocking record of bigotry toward gays and lesbians, American Muslims, Native Americans, African Americans, Mormons and other minorities. Today, I sent Romney this open letter outlining Fischer’s record and urging him to publicly distance himself from Fischer’s bigotry before sharing a stage with him.
Dear Governor Romney:
As you campaign for the presidency, you will meet many different people and hear many different views. Nobody expects you to agree with all the views you hear – but we do expect you to stand up and speak out against expressions of hate and intolerance that go against your basic values. At the Values Voter Summit this weekend, you are scheduled to speak immediately before the American Family Association’s Bryan Fischer, one of the most prominent purveyors of hate and intolerance in this country and a vocal critic even of your own

As steps are being taken under the health reform law to stabilize insurance rates, lower costs and coordinate care, a recent survey shows that health insurance premiums continue to rise.
Over the past year, the average cost for employer-sponsored family health insurance plans has skyrocketed by 9 percent, according to a recent report by the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation — a rate four times faster than inflation.
During the same period, real average hourly earnings have decreased by nearly 2 percent.
In fact, premiums for both family and individual coverage have more than doubled since 2001, with average annual premiums for families with employer-sponsored coverage now topping $15,000. As health care costs continue to force families to dig deeper into pocketbooks, we find ourselves on an unsustainable path.
Meanwhile, profits of the largest for-profit health insurance companies continue their upward

It was meant to be romantic, a rare few hours without the kids. We chose a quaint local caf, and as we walked there feeling the first vestiges of fall, we felt connected. Outside of the chaotic spillage of toys and noise, we’d be able to relocate each other.
But I was wrong.
I hadn’t realized that we’d have an intruder — a rash of unexpected, uninvited company. I hadn’t realized there would be not one, but two flat screen televisions joining us.
I’m not obtuse or oblivious to the role that TVs can

Afghanistan is on the verge of blossoming into a modern nation and sweeping the Taliban aside, though almost no one believes this. The central question is, will Afghanistan tip toward development or anarchy? Positive models are Germany and Japan, both crushed by the war but supported by the United States in rebuilding into modern democratic nations. South Korea is an even more pertinent example — it was not rebuilt, but built. Also a war-torn, miserably poor, agrarian country, with

Last weekend, my family and I went to visit the new 9/11 Memorial located at Ground Zero.
Three things were striking:
First, is the scale of the disaster. Two huge pools — each filling the acre-sized area that once held the foundation of the Twin Towers — form the centerpiece of the Memorial. They are lined by large flowing waterfalls — and surrounded by the stone-inscribed names of the thousands who

In the United States, cancer gets plenty share of notice. It might be yellow LiveStrong bracelets or pink ribbons or runs for the cure. It feels like there are fundraising opportunities at just about every turn for a choice cancer.
This is made easier because nearly everyone has been affected by cancer. It may be a childhood friend, a parent, a classmate, or a co-worker, but cancer is easily

Last night, during dinner with the Return Path board, Fred Wilson interrupted the discussion we were having to tell us that Steve Jobs had just passed away. All of us were stunned silent for a minute as we reflected on the amazing impact that Steve has had on our lives. While I don’t have a personal relationship with Steve, he’s been a hero of mine since I was a teenager when I bought an Apple II computer with 16K of RAM in 1978 with my Bar Mitzvah money.
read full news from www.huffingtonpost.com

Since he co-founded Apple in 1976, Jobs personified what it meant to think outside the box and to do more than what people expected of him.
He’s been called a king and an egomaniac. A genius and a troubled soul. A pragmatic, secluded individual who only let us into his life one Apple, NeXT, and Pixar movie at a time.
The amount of accomplishments that Mr. Jobs held could go on and on, but what I find most interesting about the man and his life is that he lived beyond his name.
Jobs.
We are taught to strive for more than just a

What is surprisingly unique about the Occupy Wall Street demonstration, and supporting actions across the country, is the broad immediate support without an immediately stated objective. With so little coverage and a yet unspecified goal, major unions lent their support, supportive occupations cropped up nationwide, and the numbers in Liberty Park are growing despite NYPD crackdowns.
Unlike anti-war marches, Tea Party gatherings, or other well-worn modes of protest, the notion of an in-person response to Wall Street’s unchecked looting of the economy apparently did not need much explaining. That is because many Americans have been living with painful awareness that their hardships in recent years are related in a myriad of ways to reckless trading, predatory loans, and manifold illegal banking practices, all perpetrated by the same executives still receiving multi-million dollar bonuses whose guilt is trumped by the notion that their companies are Too Big To Fail.
None of these many abuses by financial institutions collectively referred to as Wall Street are new

The #OccupyWallStreet protests have legs. There’s no doubt about it.
If you don’t believe it, just take a look at the live feed some genius put on the web.
What you won’t see is a bunch of angry, middle-aged folks — some armed — complaining about government. Instead, you have people, many young, who know something is wrong in America — and want to make it right for everyone. It’s joyful, and inclusive, and means no harm.
Of course, voices from the right have already pulled out their jeering slogans, and otherwise try to twist the available evidence into some sinister union/commie plot to subvert America.
But I doubt that will hold, if only because your average Tea Party member agrees with the #OccupyWallStreet analysis — that government has forgotten about its citizens and works instead for the guys who pay for their campaigns.
If you want proof of that, consider that both Ron Paul and Dennis Kucinich support the protests.
That the right will probably not recognize what they have in common with #OccupyWallStreet and attack it instead is too

Are you the type who walks by a Dunkin’ Donuts shop without so much as a sideways glance — but find yourself in the Monday morning meeting intensely reaching for a sugar-glazed cruller (pastry)?
Most of the small business owners I know are so busy running the shop, selling the goods and servicing the customers, that when it comes to eating on the job, their intestinal fortitude flies out the window. With the number of business functions certain to increase over the coming months, here’s a few tips on how to bust bad eating habits typical of small business owners.
#1: Morning meeting carbo load – Despite your best intentions, you give in and indulge when it comes to eating something doughy and sweet at the morning meeting.
Habit buster: Dr. Audrey

Have you tried unsuccessfully to heal your shame? Discover how shame and control are intricately tied together; and that when you give up your attachment to control, you will find your shame disappearing.
Many people on a healing path have found it extremely challenging to heal their shame. Yet, when you understand the purpose of shame, you will be able to move beyond it.
Shame is the feeling that there is something basically wrong with you. The feeling of guilt is about doing something wrong, whereas shame is about being wrong at the

Is the European crisis the cause of the current financial crisis or the consequence?

In a sense, yes, perhaps it’s the cause. Wasn’t the Greek crisis the second detonator, after the subprime affair of 2008, the second phase of the combustion engine, the second twist of the downward spiral, the second virus — European, this time — of what we call “the” crisis? And when we say Greece, aren’t we saying, unfortunately, a faulty entry into the European Community, a lack of criteria of convergence that should have governed that entry, a failure of all the radar, all the warning systems or, to paraphrase Walter Benjamin, of all the fire alarms Europe was equipped with and that, in this instance, did not function?
It’s out of the question, naturally, to go to the extremes Mssrs Cameron and Obama have risked. Out of the question to interpret the euro zone’s flaws of governance as the main threat pressing upon the global economy. But it is obvious that these failures of governance have played a role whereby, beyond the problem of Greece, the process of expansion that was and remains one of the loveliest utopias of our generation was poorly conducted, has produced perverse effects, and is contributing to the current malaise of civilization.

In another sense, of course, it’s the

Last weekend, my family and I went to visit the new 9/11 Memorial located at Ground Zero.
Three things were striking:
First, is the scale of the disaster. Two huge pools – each filling the acre-sized area that once held the foundation of the Twin Towers – form the centerpiece of the Memorial. They are lined by large flowing waterfalls – and surrounded by the stone-inscribed names of the thousands who

I was talking with a young reporter the other day about dating. She asked how people could quell their anxiety before a first date. As a cognitive behavior therapist, I understand that anxiety is influenced by one’s thinking. For example, you will probably feel incredible pressure if you think, “I have to look/sound/behave perfectly because otherwise my date, who might be destined to be the love of my life, will judge me negatively.” Perfection, of course, is

I first learned that Steve Jobs had died on my iPhone. A friend texted me soon after the news broke, “I can’t believe that Steve Jobs died!” I was in New York for a digital summit, which was appropriate. I actually read the text while having dinner with some friends. I shared the news all around and everyone was taken

I’m hardly alone in my lamenting the passing of such an iconic genius as Apple co-founder Steve Jobs or in celebrating his immeasurable contributions to technology and culture. But I’m moved to not only share in the collective outpouring of emotion for a man most of us have never met — and we may rightfully be accused of idealizing to at least some extent — but also how his life’s work helped me pursue mine. I’ve never lost sight of Jobs’ role in creating the indispensable tools that gave me a creative platform and career. And, by extension, helped me touch so many others through printed and digital media.
In my house, there’s a large charcoal rendering of me in my studio apartment, working on the first issues of URB Magazine two decades

I had suffered from extreme dog deprivation for years and had resisted getting a canine friend as a single person with crazy hours. Shortly after I got engaged in the spring of ’97 I received a call from one of my dearest friends. One of our mutual clients, a little boy, had parents going through a divorce and they were looking for a home for their toy poodle, Popcorn (who was named thus because his owner thought that he looked like hot, buttered popcorn). Though they loved him they weren’t allowed to have pets in the apartment where they were

Steve Jobs had a great sense of what hardware and software could do. My mother, in her 90s, can use her Apple laptop and tablet to check her Facebook page. I know countless people who were both terrible or great at the geekier side of computing that fell in love with Apple’s products, and benefited greatly from Jobs ability to design and make products that were both more powerful and easier to use at the same time. That said, it was not clear what his longer run vision was for society, other than to sell us more Apple

The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) offers some great advice for keeping your dog or cat safe from winter hazards, and I’ve added a few suggestions of my own to the list.
10 Cold Weather Tips for Pet Owners
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Keep Your Cat Indoors
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Kitties allowed to wander outdoors unsupervised are at much greater risk than house-cats, no matter the time of year. But a cat left outside in cold weather can literally freeze to death, or become permanently lost or stolen while looking for shelter from the cold.
Even if your kitty lives indoors, a cat collar with an ID tag is an excellent investment.
You may keep your cat inside, but your neighbors might not, or there could be strays or feral cats in the area.
Kitties left out in cold temperatures will sometimes tuck themselves up under the hoods of cars, or in the wheel

Known for the highest paved road in America — it runs at 14,130 feet — Mount Evans is also the historical habitat for bighorn sheep and now has an established mountain goat population. The drive starts at Idaho Springs and winds up to Echo Lake (stop by the Lodge for a hardy omelet and some massive hotcakes). The road then becomes a scenic byway and ascends all the way to the summit where you can view the ruins of the historic Crest House.
read full news from www.huffingtonpost.com

Old-fashioned and predictable, there’s still something moving and even uplifting about Emilio Estevez’s film, The Way.
Part of it is the performance by his father, Martin Sheen, in the film’s central role. Part of it is the simplicity of the story – and the fact that Estevez, who also wrote the script, doesn’t preach. He just lets a story unfold without forcing his characters to explain what they’re thinking or feeling. It’s obvious enough – and much more affecting, because his actors are good enough to show us without telling us.
Sheen plays Tom, a California opthalmologist who is estranged from his adult