By The Association For Psychological Science

Having to explain how a political policy works leads people to express less extreme attitudes toward the policy, according to new research published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.
The research suggests that people may hold extreme policy positions because they are under an illusion of understanding – attempting to explain the nuts and bolts of how a policy works forces them to acknowledge that they don’t know as much about the policy as they initially thought.

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Posted on April 30, 2013

By Christie Thompson/ProPublica

Among the news that ended up being buried in the events last week: A nonpartisan think tank, the Constitution Project, released a scathing, 577-page report on the U.S.’s treatment, and torture, of detainees in the aftermath of 9/11.
The investigation began in 2009, after President Obama opposed creating a “truth commission.”
With a Senate investigation of detainee treatment still classified, the report from the bipartisan task force is the most comprehensive public review to date.

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Posted on April 23, 2013

By Joe Ferguson

To the Mayor, Members of the City Council, the City Clerk, the City Treasurer, and the residents of the City of Chicago:
Enclosed for your review is the public report on the operations of the City of Chicago Office of Inspector General (IGO) during the first quarter of 2013, filed with the City Council pursuant to Section 2-56-120 of the Municipal Code of Chicago.
As in prior Quarterly Reports, we provide a brief snapshot of our office activity, which cannot fully reflect the total picture of our activity, or the challenges we face. The Mayor has stated that he considers the IGO to be a key partner in ferreting out waste, fraud, and abuse, but maintains that the IGO does not need more power. As I have stated previously, we consider the IGO ordinance to be a promise by the City to ensure effective government oversight, and this office seeks only the baseline standards and authority for that to occur.
Thus the fundamental issue is not one of power, but of independence – the independence necessary to fulfill this promise.

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Posted on April 22, 2013

By Cora Currier/ProPublica

It’s been 11 years since the first detainees were brought to Guantanamo Bay. But the future of the prison, and the fate of the men inside it, is far from certain. With 59 detainees at Gitmo currently on hunger strike, by the military’s count, here’s a primer on what’s going at the island prison.
What started the hunger strike?
It began after guards allegedly mishandled detainees’ Korans in a cell search in early February – but it’s certainly become about more than the holy books.

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Posted on April 19, 2013

By Steve Rhodes

“To help sell their plans for a district shakeup, CPS leaders have touted a variety of school improvements,” Sarah Karp reports for Catalyst.
“But paying for those improvements will mean taking the district deeper into debt at a time when the district is already facing substantial debt service obligations.”
It’s also counter to the rationale that school closings are necessary to close a (supposed) $1 billion deficit. Projected savings, if they materialize (and that’s a big “if” given the well-documented history of how much closings actually cost), remain off in the distance.

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Posted on April 17, 2013

By The Harold Washington Tribute Committee

The charismatic late Mayor Harold Washington is noted for transforming Chicago’s political environment and creating an open all-inclusive government that represents Chicago’s rich diversity.
Citizens, civic, faith and political leaders are launching an effort to ensure that the memory of Harold Washington’s legacy is not forgotten on Friday at the Ramada Lake Shore in Hyde Park where the former mayor announced his candidacy.
The 30th Anniversary commemoration is being presented under the title: “The Man, the Moment, the Movement.”

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Posted on April 11, 2013

By Peter Maass/Special To ProPublica

On April 9, 2003, Lieutenant Colonel Bryan McCoy, commander of the 3rd Battalion 4th Marines, awoke at a military base captured from the Iraqis a few miles from the center of Baghdad, which was still held by the enemy. It had been 20 days since the invasion of Iraq began, and McCoy had some personal chores to take care of – washing his socks, for one. Afterward, he walked over to a group of marines under his command who were defacing a mural of Saddam Hussein. As I watched, he picked up a sledgehammer and struck a few blows himself. The men cheered. Then he began preparing for the serious business of the day: leading the battalion into the heart of the city. He expected a house-to-house brawl that would last several days.
The battalion’s tanks were followed by Humvees with the barrels of M-16s pointing from every window. But only a few potshots were fired at the marines, and small groups of Iraqis and their children were on the streets waving. On the radio, McCoy’s men told of being served tea. “We’re not getting resistance, we’re getting cakes,” McCoy remarked.

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Posted on April 10, 2013

By Thomas J. Gradel/Press Release

In his first two years in office, Mayor Rahm Emanuel has enjoyed more support from the city council than his predecessor Richard M. Daley or Boss Mayor Richard J. Daley.
Emanuel had more total control over the council than even Mayor Edward J. Kelly, who was a co-founder of the Cook County Democratic Machine, according to a new study of aldermanic voting patterns.
The study, authored by Dick Simpson, a political science professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago, and Melissa Mouritsen Zmuda, a UIC graduate researcher, analyzed 30 divided roll call votes since the current city council began in May 2011. By definition, divided roll call votes are those on which at least one alderman opposed the Mayor’s position.

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Posted on April 9, 2013

By Cora Currier/ProPublica

The U.S. drone war remains cloaked in secrecy, and as a result, questions swirl around it. Who exactly can be targeted? When can a U.S. citizen be killed?
Another, perhaps less frequently asked question: What happens when innocent civilians are killed in drone strikes?
In February, during his confirmation process, CIA director John Brennan offered an unusually straightforward explanation: “Where possible, we also work with local governments to gather facts, and, if appropriate, provide condolence payments to families of those killed.”

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Posted on April 5, 2013

By Matt Farmer And The G Man

Progressive poseur
Walkin’ bulldozer
Union bustin’
Grade-school closer

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Posted on April 2, 2013