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FACING SOUTH - Online Magazine of the Institute for Southern Studies
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INSTITUTE INDEX: Tallying the uninsured dead
With the House expected to vote as early as Saturday on health insurance reform legislation, Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.) took to the floor this week to read off the numbers of people now living in districts represented by the party opposing comprehensive reform who are expected to die next year for lack of insurance coverage. More...
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Daily Blog
Thank you! Facebook fundraiser for Freedom J School a big success
FRI 11/6 | Our Facebook fundraiser brings in $2,190 for the Freedom Journalism School. Thanks to all who pitched in -- and if you didn't get a chance yet, there's still time! More...
Stimulus lobbying pays off for major contractors
FRI 11/6 | K Street has a hand in who's getting stimulated: Of the 52 companies with the largest stimulus contracts, 34 are also among the biggest lobbyists, Phil Mattera reports. More...
ELECTION 2009: How voter turnout decided the Virginia governor's race
THURS 11/5 | One fact stands above all others in explaining Republican Bob McDonnell's resounding victory for Virginia governor: Turnout was the lowest it's been in 40 years. More...
Bill would require paid sick leave to help curb swine flu's spread
THURS 11/5 | Two House Democrats have introduced legislation guaranteeing workers ordered to stay home because of illness five paid sick days. Labor advocates call the measure a first step toward the comprehensive sick-leave policy the U.S. needs. More...
ELECTION 2009: Gay candidates score visibility and victories in key Southern races
WED 11/4 | Yesterday Virginia went red, Charlotte went blue, and gay candidates across the South won a series of local victories. Can we draw any clear message from Election 2009? More...
VOICES: Bernice King should publicly renounce her anti-gay bigotry
WED 11/4 | Civil rights was the issue of the day for Martin Luther King, Jr. Now, it's gay rights. As Bernice King carries on her father's legacy and work, she must renounce her anti-gay bigotry, writes New America Media contributing editor Earl Ofari Hutchinson. More...
Wal-Mart's stingy sick-leave policy may contribute to swine flu's spread
TUES 11/3 | The federal government is urging employers to allow sick workers to stay home -- so why does Wal-Mart punish flu-stricken employees for taking sick leave? More...
Investigations & Reports
SPECIAL REPORT: How is Obama doing on Gulf Coast recovery?
AUGUST 2009 | In the Katrina-devastated Gulf Coast, the election of Barack Obama and a new Congress brought hope for a renewed commitment to finishing up the job of full recovery. But four years after the storm, a survey of local leaders finds many believe Obama hasn't lived up to his promises -- and that little in Washington has changed. More...
"Death panel" architect a pro-life Republican from Georgia?
AUGUST 2009 | Some of the anger over health care reform focuses on a provision encouraging elderly patients to plan for end-of-life care, a provision misrepresented by opponents as a "death panel" to determine who lives and who dies. But one of the biggest promoters of advance care planning is Sen. Johnny Isakson of Georgia -- a pro-life Republican. More...
INVESTIGATION: Do dirty coal plants make us more vulnerable to swine flu?
JUNE 2009 | A new study has found that exposure to arsenic -- a cancer-causing element emitted in large quantities by coal-burning power plants and other industrial facilities -- made mice more likely to experience the most severe effects of swine flu. So why are some lawmakers fighting regulations that would better protect Americans from arsenic pollution? More...
Investigation: Revelations about Three Mile Island disaster raise doubts over nuclear plant safety
APRIL 2009 | Thirty years ago Randall and Joy Thompson were hired to monitor radiation releases after the Three Mile Island reactor meltdown. What they saw didn't match what officials say happened -- but, fearing for their lives, they gave up trying to tell their story. Now, Facing South shares their account -- and their warning about the dangers of a nuclear revival. More...
Investigation: Are waste-coal power plants making us sick?
MARCH 2009 | The federal agency charged with protecting the public from pollution is accused of suppressing research suggesting a possible link between waste-coal-burning power plants and blood cancer. More...
Investigation: Southern states receive $15 billion in bailout money passed through AIG
MARCH 2009 | Seven Southern states received at least $100 million each thanks to taxpayer bailout money passed through insurance giant AIG. More...
Investigation: Business bankrolls study claiming job losses from Employee Free Choice Act
MARCH 2009 | A study claiming a labor bill before Congress would destroy 600,000 jobs is being seized on by business groups and the media. But few have mentioned the corporate interests backing the report -- and no one is looking at the shaky research itself. More...
Investigation: The oil money behind the anti-stimulus fight
FEBRUARY 2009 | An organization financed by the largest private oil and gas corporation in the country played a key role in the fight against the Congressional stimulus plan. Why? More...
More Recent Coverage
Phil Mattera of Dirt Diggers Digest reports on activist groups including Florida's Coalition of Immokalee Workers that are successfully changing corporate behavior for the better. More...
Donate $10 to our Facebook cause after 3pm today, and you could help us win $1,000 to launch the Freedom Journalism School. More...
Following a heated election in which busing opponents prevailed, the NAACP has warned it may sue to force Wake County to continue a policy of promoting socioeconomic diversity in its schools. More...
Donate just $10 to our Facebook campaign kicking off at 3pm tomorrow, and you could help win $1,000 to launch the Freedom Journalism School More...
A New Orleans resident facing eviction barricaded himself in his apartment last week and fired an assault rifle into his neighborhood. As Jordan Flaherty of Justice Roars reports, the incident highlights the housing crisis that's deepening in that city and others around the nation. More...
Mayoral elections in some of the South's biggest cities will be closely watched for signs of the shifting political mood; a likely Republican win for Virginia governor will come down to a battle of spin. More...
The Government Accountability Office finds that 26 coal-burning power plants have reported spills or other unpermitted releases of coal ash from 35 surface impoundments over the past decade. More...
