Thank you for visiting WhatTheFolly.com. 2012 has been an exciting year for us, and we’d like to share with you some of the topics we’re proud to have covered:

Deficit reduction & the “fiscal cliff” 

• CBO analysis shows ‘fiscal cliff’ will sharply reduce long-term deficits but lead to a recession in 2013
• Analysis: Republican budget will cripple Medicare, Medicaid & children’s health insurance
• CBO report shows extending Bush tax cuts will raise deficit
• Pentagon seeks to reshape U.S. military into a leaner, stronger & more versatile force amid steep budget cuts

Budget sequester cuts

• 5 key facts about sequestration
• Analysis: FEMA & federal disaster assistance funding threatened by sequestration, GOP budget cuts
• Analysis: Impact of sequestration on non-defense discretionary spending

Tax policies & wealth disparity

• Joint Committee on Taxation’s analysis casts doubt on Romney’s tax plan
• Analysis: Romney paid 14.1% effective tax rate in 2011
• Analysis: Romney’s tax plan would shift tax burden to middle and lower-income Americans
• Romney’s tax controversy shines spotlight on tax code that favors wealth over wages
• Republican Platform Committee voted against preserving the mortgage interest tax deduction

Terrorism

• Webster Commission concludes FBI ‘made mistakes’ in months leading up to Fort Hood shooting
• Anwar Al-Aulaqi’s father sues U.S. government over deadly drone strikes
• DOJ asks federal judge to reconsider NDAA ruling
• House renews law allowing indefinite military detention of American citizens
• Federal judge strikes down controversial National Defense Authorization Act provision
• Ninth Circuit dismisses torture lawsuit against John Yoo
• U.S. transfers two Uighur detainees to El Salvador
• Alleged 9/11 mastermind to be tried by military court
• AG Holder: President can order ‘targeted killings’ of Americans abroad
• “High value” Guantanamo detainee pleads guilty to terrorism charges
• Commentary: Abdulmutallab’s life sentence underscores effectiveness of federal courts in terrorism cases
• ‘Underwear bomber’ sentenced to life in prison

Civil rights 

• Feds sue to stop ‘school-to-prison’ scheme in Meridian, Mississippi
• Feds accuse Mississippi government agencies of operating ‘school-to-prison’ scheme
• Tennessee juvenile court cited for discriminating against African-American children
• Senate Republicans blocked ratification of U.N. treaty to protect people with disabilities
• Top 5 reasons why Republicans opposed the U.N. Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
• Justice Department sues Maricopa County Sheriff for discriminating against Latinos
• Four East Haven, Conn. police officers arrested for civil rights violations
• Justice Department condemns East Haven police’s bias against Latinos
• California Proposition 8: Ninth Circuit rules ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional
• California Proposition 8: Timeline of Perry v. Brown (formerly Perry v. Schwarzenegger)

Immigration

• Congress expresses ‘regret’ for racist laws inflicted on Chinese Americans
• Federal judge lifts injunction on Arizona’s “show your paper” immigration law
• ACLU & civil rights groups challenge Arizona’s ‘show your papers’ immigration law
• Analysis: Supreme Court declines to overturn Arizona’s mandatory immigration verification
• Analysis: Why the Supreme Court struck down 3 provisions of Arizona’s immigration law
• Supreme Court invalidates bulk of Arizona’s immigration law
• Romney tries to woo Hispanic voters with ‘long-term’ immigration reform
• Obama announces new policy to cease deportation of children of undocumented immigrants

Voting rights

• Election 2012: Voter Protection
• NALEO estimates 200,000+ Latino voters will be adversely impacted by voting law changes
• Florida’s early voting marred by 6-hour long lines & bomb scare
• DHS grants Florida database access to aid in voter purge
• Justice Department sues Florida over voter purge
• U.S. Supreme Court rejects Ohio’s early voting appeal
• Ohio Secretary of State to appeal court ruling to allow weekend early voting
• Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted reveals GOP’s plans to make voter ID requirements more ‘onerous’
• Pennsylvania judge blocks enforcement of voter ID law in November’s general election
• Pennsylvania Supreme Court punts voter ID law back to lower court
• PA voter ID law survives first court battle
• Pennsylvania’s voter ID law under scrutiny
• DC Circuit Court blocks Texas’s voter ID law

Prison reforms

• Lawsuit challenges California’s prolonged solitary confinement policy
• Analysis: LAO raises concerns over latest California prison ‘realignment’ blueprint
• California’s recidivism rate drops but remains one of the nation’s highest

Women’s rights

• Missouri Republican Senate candidate questions whether victims of ‘legitimate rape’ can become pregnant
• Paycheck Fairness Act fails in the Senate
• House Republicans approve watered-down VAWA
• Senate passes Violence Against Women Act
• GOP lawmakers oppose reauthorization of Violence Against Women Act
• Senate blocks controversial birth control amendment
• Sandra Fluke draws attention to financial & health burdens women suffer without contraceptive coverage

Health care 

• Democrats wearing ‘Obamacare’ as a ‘badge of honor’
• Supreme Court upholds health care law, affirms coverage mandate
• Blue Shield of California sued over ‘death spiral’ practice
• Poll shows Americans having trouble paying medical bills, delaying treatments
• Analysis: Scalia suggests Congress repeal ER care guarantee

Consumer protection

• Credit card companies win, consumers lose in Supreme Court’s ruling on binding arbitration

Housing & recession

• Bernanke: Housing crash erased nearly all minority & low-income homeownership gains
• Wells Fargo settles discriminatory lending claims
• U.S. files $25 billion mortgage settlement
• Landmark $25 billion settlement reached with nation’s 5 largest mortgage servicers

Impact of climate change on food & water supplies

• World Banks warns of dire global food & water scarcity, major economic disruptions due to climate change
• Commentary: Water & food shortages pose global security threat

Generic drug shortages

• Investigation confirms price gouging by ‘gray market’ drug companies
• FDA approves emergency importation of cancer drugs to ease shortage

Social Security

• Fiscal Cliff: Alternative or “chained” Consumer Price Index & Social Security
• National coalition calls on Congress to improve Social Security benefits for women

Student loan debts

• Federal judge reverses college ‘gainful employment’ rule
• CFPB asks Congress to consider changing bankruptcy rules for private student loans
• CFPB: Many students & parents are unaware of private student loan pitfalls
• Student loan delinquency rate climbs above 20%

War crimes

• International court sentences Charles Taylor to 50 years for war crimes in Sierra Leone
• Ex-Liberian President Charles Taylor convicted of war crimes

Gun control

• Congressional report slams Justice Department & ATF for botched ‘gun walking’ operation

Campaign finance

• More money, less transparency in U.S. politics after Citizens United

Syria 

• U.N. Envoy Lakhdar Brahimi presses Russia on ‘political solution’ to Syrian conflict
• U.N.’s humanitarian & refugee response in Syria only half funded
• U.S. threatens ‘actions’ against Assad if chemical weapons are deployed in Syria
• U.S. denies supplying weapons to Syrian rebels
• U.S. & world leaders at U.N. condemn Syria violence, call for Assad to step down
• UN-led Action Group urges peaceful democratic transition in Syria but leaves Assad’s fate open
• UN Human Rights Council reports ‘quickly deteriorating’ conditions in Syria
• NATO condemns Syria’s attack on Turkish aircraft

Afghanistan

• Deadly ‘insider’ attacks force NATO to scale back joint operations with Afghans
• “Well-coordinated attack” kills 2 US Marines, destroys aircrafts at Camp Bastion
• Pakistan will re-open US-NATO supply route to Afghanistan
• U.S. & Afghanistan sign 10-year Strategic Partnership Agreement
• U.S. transfers control of special ops to Afghan forces
• Afghanistan shooting suspect charged with 17 counts of murder
• Panetta’s damage control mission in Afghanistan
• Obama: Shooting spree won’t hasten U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan
• Obama, Panetta condemn rampage that killed 16 Afghan civilians

Benghazi, Libya

• Accountability Review Board blames inadequate security at Benghazi consulate on “systemic failures” and “management deficiencies” at the State Department
• Summary of the State Department’s Accountability Review Board findings on the Benghazi consulate attack
• Hillary Clinton on Libya: “I take responsibility”
• Democrats & Republicans trade accusations over Libya; Ambassador Stevens’s father says Benghazi deaths should not be politicized
• U.S. Embassy in Tripoli denied repeated requests for additional security prior to Benghazi attack
• Timeline of the deteriorating security condition in Benghazi prior to consulate attack
• FBI investigators search Benghazi crime scene 3 weeks after deadly consulate attack
• Secretary of State Clinton hints Benghazi attack might be linked to Al Qaeda in North Africa
• U.S. counter-terrorism official calls Benghazi consulate assault an ‘opportunistic’ terrorist attack
• State Department identifies the 2 Embassy security personnel killed in Benghazi, Libya
• New details emerge on “complex” Benghazi attack; Marines sent to Tripoli
• UPDATED: Timeline of the deadly attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya
• U.S. Ambassador & 3 Americans killed in Libya attack

We’re looking forward to another great year in 2013. Please come back and visit us soon. Happy New Year!