Named after temporary prisons setup for rebellious workers, The Bullpen will seek to reveal and explore the underlying power dynamics within the US economy and political system — the forces shaping how ‘We The People’ live our lives. This is not the place for the latest campaign gossip and ephemera, but do not be surprised to see some familiar names featured in the quest to illuminate the dark connections between moneyed interests and those with more formal powers.

A study released earlier this year revealed the shocking death toll of the United States’s “War on Terror” since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, but the true body count could be even higher. Published in March by Physicians for Social Responsibility, the study, conducted by a team that included some Nobel Prize winners, determined that at least 1.3 million people have died as a result of war since Sept.11, 2001, but the real figure might be as high as two million.

Timothy Strayer was approaching 70 years of age and suffering from multiple chronic illnesses in the summer of 2011 when he was arrested for marijuana possession with the intent to sell. One year later, his family launched a federal civil rights lawsuit that is still in progress to this day. This is the result of Shadowproof’s three month investigation of Advanced Correctional Healthcare and the Strayer family’s story.

We hope Shadowproof will be both a website and a community, where members feel empowered to engage in passionate but respectful debate with journalists, editors and staff on every article. We want every reader to have a stake in our website. Here’s how we’re building that community.

Over the past decade at Firedoglake, we have had the privilege of being on the front lines of many critical reporting and advocacy projects. FDL’s work brought attention to and supported marijuana legalization, the Occupy movement, Keystone XL pipeline protests, Hurricane Sandy relief, Chelsea Manning, WikiLeaks, and John Kiriakou—just to