Time List of 'Undercovered' Stories of 2009 Tilts Left, Including the Lack of a More Atheist Obama

December 13th, 2009 11:31 PM

Time magazine's gone on the usual year-end list-making binge, but its Top Ten Undercovered Stories read like a liberal wish list for Barack Obama. Consider number 7: "Obama Allows Faith-Based ‘Discrimination.’" Time's Laura Fitzpatrick channeled the view of the ACLU:

On the campaign trail in 2008, Barack Obama made clear that he would overturn a Bush policy that allowed federally funded faith-based organizations to take a job applicant's religion into account in hiring decisions. But he chose not to in a February Executive Order establishing the new White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships.

Condemnation came swiftly from the left: the order "fails to address critical constitutional safeguards," wrote the Anti-Defamation League in an open letter on Feb. 18. In September, 58 religious and civil-liberties groups echoed that sentiment in a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder denouncing the policy. Nearly a year into Obama's first term, it still stands.

Number nine was "Oops! U.S. Nuclear Secrets Are Posted Online."

So much for secrecy. In June, reports surfaced that the U.S. government mistakenly posted online a highly confidential 266-page report. Its contents? Detailed information about hundreds of the nation's civilian nuclear sites and programs — including maps pinpointing caches of nuclear fuel. The data had been earmarked for disclosure to the International Atomic Energy Agency later in the year as part of an effort to increase transparency around nuclear development. After media inquiries, the government pulled the document — emblazoned with the words "Highly Confidential Safeguards Sensitive" — from a Government Printing Office website. A spokesman for the Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration said the error did not jeopardize U.S. national security. Energy Secretary Steven Chu admitted that the snafu was "embarrassing."