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Augustin Plains Water Gila Forest Cibola Forest Wolf Release Useful Links Socorro Electric Co-op Augustin Plains Water Socorro Electric Co-op Useful links Gila River Issues Cibola Forest Issues Wolf Reistroduction Augustin Plains Water Gila Forest Cibola Forest Wolf Release Useful Links Socorro Electric Co-op JANUARY 2019 POLITICAL ARTICLES

JANUARY 1 THROUGH 11

WEEKEND OF JANUARY 11-13, 2019

WEEKEND READ:  Capitalism's Crisis Deepens: Essays on the Global Economic Meltdown - by Richard Wolff  -  "Richard Wolff's constructive and innovative ideas suggest new and promising foundations for much more authentic democracy and sustainable and equitable development, ideas that can be implemented directly and carried forward. A very valuable contribution in troubled times." -- Noam Chomsky.    Haymarket Books  

Longtime Reporter Leaves NBC Saying Media Is “Trump Circus” That Encourages Perpetual War.  DemocracyNow  Part 1   Part 2  

‘The Fusion Doctrine’ A Totalitarian Takeover.  CounterPunch  

Bases, Bases, Everywhere … Except in the Pentagon’s Report. The Mysterious Bas the Pentagon Doesn't Want You to Know about.  CounterPunch/Turse  

DEMOCRAT PARTY ATTACK
ON DEMOCRACY

Democrats are hunting big game – did big money already bag them? ... The party of Pelosi and Schiff is not immune to the influence of Wall Street. Grassroots activists must stay vigilant.  
Guardian
 

What’s The Matter With the Democratic Party? Just Watch Pelosi and Schumer Respond to Trump’s Wall Speech.  Intercept  

Progressives Slam DCCC for Tapping Only Pro-Business Centrists for Leadership Roles -- Ignoring Energy of Left-Wing Movement. ... "The DCCC would do well to incorporate members from the Congressional Progressive Caucus in candidate recruitment efforts to ensure that we continue building on the gains we made in 2018 in future elections. CommonDreams     
Related:  'So Frustrating': Pelosi Accused of Shutting Bold Progressives Out of Powerful Committees.  CommonDreams  

Max Boot compares Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to Sarah Palin in new op-ed: ‘This is a cautionary tale’  AlterNet  

Progressive Groups Blast Centrist Tilt Of House Democrats’ Campaign Arm. ... Rep. Cheri Bustos’ leadership team at the DCCC is drawn exclusively from the business-friendly New Democrat Coalition.  HuffPost  

Behind the Pay-go Battle Is a Central Contradiction That Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Her Allies Will Need to Resolve.  Intercept  

As Trump Orders US Out of Afghanistan, Notorious CIA-Backed Units Will Remain.  TruthOut  

Gina Haspel and the Fiction of a Feminist CIA.  
Intercept  

Federal Judge Strikes Down Iowa ‘Ag-Gag’ Law. ... Iowa’s so-called “ag-gag” law that makes it a crime for undercover journalists or animal-rights activists to investigate and report on animal abuse in livestock facilities is unconstitutional, a federal judge ruled Wednesday.  Courthouse News  

See No Evil: Pentagon Issues Blanket Denial That It Knows Anything About Detainee Abuse in Yemen.  Intercept  

JANUARY 10, 2019

'They Failed Us Once Again': House Democrats Denounced for Dashing Hopes of Green New Deal. ... "This committee is weaker than the first Climate Select Committee from a decade ago, and it does not get us meaningfully closer to solving the climate crisis or fixing our broken economy."  CommonDreams  

Wall Street executives are hearing from Cory Booker, Kamala Harris and other Democrats as they gauge interest in possible 2020 presidential campaigns. CNBC  

American Society Would Collapse If It Weren’t for These 8 Myths.  TruthDig  

CLICK BAIT

Hillary Launches Campaign To Raise $100 Million Or Else She’ll Run For President > Go  

Earth Passes Through Temporal Vortex Hurling Planet Into Year 2019  > Go 

Convict Sentenced To Generating $80,000 To $100,000 In Profits For Private Prison  > Go  

Why the sexist ‘likability test' could haunt female candidates in 2020. ... Women face a double standard when it comes to public scrutiny – even as Americans say they’re ready for a female president.  Guardian  

“It’s Your Congress, People!” Make it Work for You!  CounterPunch/Nader  

'Quietly and Unnoticed,' Trump Administration Won't Cooperate with UN Investigators on Human Rights Violations in US. ... "Great news for Saudi Arabia, China, North Korea, Syria...If the U.S. doesn't have to answer for the suffering it inflicts on its own people, why should they?"  CommonDreams  

Trump’s EPA Is Undermining New Law to Regulate Chemicals.  TruthOut  

Downfall of a California City Holds Blueprint for Restoring Democracy.  TruthDig  

JANUARY 9, 2019

Cuba’s Sonic Attacks Show Us Just How Susceptible Our Brains Are to Mass Hysteria. ... The symptoms so many Americans experienced were probably not caused by a secret weapon. That doesn’t mean they’re not real.  Slate  

Ten years after the first war on Gaza, Israel still plans endless brute force. ... Operation Cast Lead killed 1,417 people. Chillingly, the generals call their repeated bombardments ‘mowing the lawn’  
Guardian
 

First Nations Pipeline Protest: 14 Land Protectors Arrested as Canadian Police Raid Indigenous Camp.  DemocracyNow  

The Silver Bullet to Stop the Corporate State Pillage  TruthDig  

This Is How We Do It. ... Mainstream politicians and media are losing their minds over Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. They're terrified of how her approach could transform American politics.  Jacobin  

Here is how the media’s sexist and malicious reporting on Elizabeth Warren proves they’re in Trump’s pocket.  RawStory  

Evangelical Christianity is facing a political crisis — it will need more than a makeover.  AlterNet  

Link between brain damage and religious fundamentalism established by scientists. 
RawStory  

Israel Is Relatively Optimistic About Gaza. But in the Long Term, It's Cosmically Pessimistic. ... One of the powder kegs in the Strip is the strained health services, struggling to care of more than 15,000 wounded since the border protests began in March ¦ Meanwhile, a new report claims ISIS lost physical ground, but still drives majority of suicide attacks.  Haaretz  

Wells Fargo employees say little has changed since fake accounts scandal. ... Bank workers say they are still under pressure to get bonuses and push through deal closings with ‘no real respect’.  Guardian  

JANUARY 8, 2019


The The Election Circus Begins. ...  It is January 2019. This signals the start of the 2020 election circus. Sen. Elizabeth Warren is the first big-name Democrat on stage. But we will soon be deluged with candidates, bizarre antics and endless commentary by fatuous TV and radio pundits.
TruthDig/Hedges
 

US halts cooperation with UN on potential human rights violations. ... Exclusive: State department has ceased to respond to complaints from special rapporteurs in move that sends ‘dangerous message’ to other countries.  Guardian  

Progressive Ideas Matter to Voters. So Why Do Democrats Fixate on the Identity of the Messenger?  Intercept  

Sanders, Warren and the DSA.  CounterPunch

THE U.S. DRUG IMPORT
PROTECTION RACKET

Many years ago, on the Larry King show, the guest was a retired upper level DEA agent. He was asked, who would he arrest first if giiven a free hand to stop the illegal drug trade. The answer was "congress"

CIA Involvement in Drug Smuggling Part 1
Dark Politics
 

CIA Involvement in Drug Smuggling Part 2
Dark Politics
 

CIA involvement in Contra cocaine trafficking.  Wiki  

The Lie at the Heart of the Trial of El Chapo Guzman.  Mad Cow  

The Secret Trial of 'El Chapo' Guzman  
Mad Cow
 

The political economy of Mexico's drug war.  
ISR  

Mexican drug lord's insider notes may set him free after 10 years. ... Vicente Zambada, son of Sinaloa kingpin, struck deal with US to inform on cartels in exchange for reduced sentence.  Guardian  

Additional reading: Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Cocaine Explosion.  
Amazon
 

Downfall of a California City Holds Blueprint for Restoring Democracy.  TruthDig  

JANUARY 7, 2019

Democrats are hunting big game – did big money already bag them? ... The party of Pelosi and Schiff is not immune to the influence of Wall Street. Grassroots activists must stay vigilant.  Guardian/Reich 

Exposing the Corporate Bribery Network.
TruthDig
 

Biggest Threat to Single-Payer? Democrat Support for a Public Option.  TruthOut  

Behind the Pay-go Battle Is a Central Contradiction That Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Her Allies Will Need to Resolve.  Intercept  

Pay-Go Rule Shows Democrats Are Still Playing The GOP’s Game.  HuffPost  

Nancy Pelosi Kicks Off Year by Picking a Fight With Progressives.  TruthOut  

“If Bernie Runs?” Wrong Question.  
CounterPunch  

U.S. Senate’s First Bill, in Midst of Shutdown, is a Bipartisan Defense of the Israeli Government from Boycotts.  Intercept  

With 800,000 Public Employees Facing Pay Freeze and Shutdown, Pence and Other Top Trump Officials to Get $10K Raise, ,,, "This administration's corruption and hypocrisy are remarkable."  CommonDreams  

THE LOLITA EXPESS

What is the Lolita Express?  Quora  

Miami Herald Publishes Investigation into Jeffrey Epstein, Wealthy Alleged Pedophile.  
RedState

All aboard the 'Lolita Express': Flight logs reveal the many trips Bill Clinton and Alan Dershowitz took on pedophile Jeffrey Epstein's private jet with anonymous women.  Daily Mail   

How Trump’s Labor Secretary Cut a Deal for Multimillionaire & Serial Sexual Abuser Jeffrey Epstein.  DemocracyNow  

Flight Logs Put Clinton, Dershowitz on Pedophile Billionaire’s Sex Jet.  Gawker  

Trump’s labor secretary once helped a sex offender stay out of prison. ...
Accused of molesting girls, the wealthy and well-connected Jeffrey Epstein got the “deal of a lifetime” from Alexander Acosta. Senators from both parties want to know why.  Vox  

As Trump Orders US Out of Afghanistan, Notorious CIA-Backed Units Will Remain.  TruthOut  

WEEKEND OF JANUARY 4-6, 2019

WEEKEND READ:
When the Senate Worked for Us: The Invisible Role of Staffers in Countering Corporate Lobbies
- by Michael Pertschuk.  It is a throbbing narrative of the days in the sixties and seventies when enough Senators and their valiant staff overcame the corporate greedhounds and gave our country the structures of health, safety, and consumer justice that today’s Trumpsters are trying to tear down and make America Dread Again. Story after story about autos, drugs, energy, cigarettes, food, product safety, herbicides, flammable fabrics and much more will make it hard to forget a time when the Senate indeed worked for us—we who gave them the constitutional power that their successors now so abuse.  Amazon      

Progressives To Put Up Last-Minute Fight To Stop ‘Pay-Go’ Budget Rules. ... Alexandria Casio-Cortez and Ro Khanna say the new rules risk hamstringing a progressive agenda.  HuffPost  

'It's a very big torture': the children growing up in hiding in Dubai. .. With sex outside marriage punishable by jail, migrant workers who become pregnant are often forced to keep their babies locked away.  Guardian  

The Wholesale Destruction of Our Postal Service Is Already Underway.  TruthDig  

'They Failed Us Once Again': House Democrats Denounced for Dashing Hopes of Green New Deal. ... "This committee is weaker than the first Climate Select Committee from a decade ago, and it does not get us meaningfully closer to solving the climate crisis or fixing our broken economy."  CommonDreams  

DIY Democracy. Our elected "representatives" have been bluntly ignoring what we want and routinely delivering precisely what we don't want.  CommonDreams  

Cornel West: We're Staring Down Global Neofascist Rule.  TruthDig  

How women took over the military-industrial complex. ... For the first time, the nation's defense hierarchy is no longer dominated by men.  Politico  

Declassified records show extent of CIA’s involvement in efforts to discredit Daniel Ellsberg. ... Recently released documents show the Agency exceeded their authorization in their support for the break-in to Ellsberg’s psychiatrist’s office.  MuckRock 

'Today, the Israeli Army Plans With Bravado but Executes With Fear' ... In the wake of a report into readiness for war that shook the IDF, a veteran officer warns: In a future Lebanon war, some Israeli soldiers won't be able to handle the load. Haaretz  

School Employee Sues District for Israel Loyalty Oath in Contract.  TruthOut  

Members of Migrant Caravan Are Fleeing from Misery & Horrors Created by the U.S.  DemocracyNow/Chomsky  

The 'Highest Danger' of the Cold War Isn’t Behind Us.  TruthDig  

As UNESCO Says Its Only Wish for 2019 is World Peace, US and Israel Officially Ditch UN Body. ... Created specifically to "foster peace," said one critic of the nations' joint decision, "their withdrawal speaks volumes about their intent to foster only war."  CommonDreams  

2018 Was A Terrible Year For The Press
From the death of Jamal Khashoggi to Donald Trump’s attacks on journalists.  HuffPost  

The FBI’s Interrogation of Reality Winner Was Like a Play — and Has Now Been Turned Into One.  Intercept  

JANUARY 3, 2019

Brazil's new president, Jair Bolsonaro, was sworn into office January 1st. His first act was has stripped the indigenous institute of its right to establish reserves and given that power to an agriculture ministry that is backed by a lobby keen to get its hands on new land. Day 2:
- Extinguished Food Security Council
- Removed LGBT from human rights protection policies
- Set minimum wage lower than approved by congress

Under Cover of Shutdown, Trump Admin Quietly Moves to Deprive 'American People of Their Right to Know What Government Is Doing'. ... Critics warn proposed changes to how the Interior Department handles FOIA requests "are designed to facilitate more official stonewalling and delays in producing public records."  CommonDreams  

CLIMATE  

Democrats Just Blocked Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s Push For A Green New Deal Committee. ... Instead, Democrats are sticking to their original plan, and channeled Exxon Mobil in an announcement refusing to bar members who take fossil fuel money.  HuffPost    
Related:
 Ocasio-Cortez and progressives snubbed by Pelosi's narrow plans for special committee on climate change.
NY Daily News
 

Ocasio-Cortez Rips Dem Leadership for Treating Planet-Saving Green New Deal as 'Controversial' ... "We simply don’t have any other choice. If it's radical to propose a solution on the scale of the problem, so be it."  CommonDreams  

Air pollution in Mexico City is associated with the development of Alzheimer disease. ... The evolving axonal damage can be identified using a novel Non-P-Tau assay for cerebrospinal fluid CSF.  Science Daily  

Ten Ways 2018 Brought Us Closer to Climate Apocalypse.  TruthOut  

Trump’s EPA To Weaken Rule Limiting Coal Plant Mercury Emissions. ... The Obama-era rule prevented coal-fired power plants from releasing mercury into the atmosphere.  HuffPost  

Trump ignores climate change, offers handouts to timber industry in wildfire executive order. ... Commercial logging has been found to increase wildfire risk.  ThinkProgress  

Progressives to Nancy Pelosi: Keep Wall Street Democrats Away From Powerful Committee Seats. ... "As the Democratic Party's base and Americans more generally recognize the importance of instituting programs like Medicare for All and ensuring full employment, reactionary Democrats are holding the party and country back."  CommonDreams  

Nancy Pelosi Rams Austerity Provision Into House Rules Package Over Objections of Progressives.  Intercept  

The GOP’s most successful scam is about to reboot itself.  AlterNet  

Five Weeks After the Guardian’s Viral Blockbuster Assange/Manafort Scoop, No Evidence Has Emerged – Just Stonewalling.  Intercept  

A Road Trip Across the American South With Politics in Mind.  CounterPunch  

(2015) Why I don’t think Joe Biden should run for president.  Vox  

JANUARY 2, 2019

The Future of Organized Human Life Is At Risk Thanks to GOP’s Climate Change Denial.  DemocracyNow    Related:   Noam Chomsky: Trump’s ‘dedication’ to destroying human life even worse than Hitler.  RawStory  

Brazil Is About To Show The World How A Modern Democracy Collapses. ... Far-right president Jair Bolsonaro is a threat to Brazilian democracy — and a model for authoritarianism that leaders around the world will follow.  HuffPost  

What Kind of Maniacs Are Running This Country?': Pentagon Rings in New Year With Joke About Dropping Massive Bombs on People. ... "Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you [Stratcom], the stoic guardians of several thousand nuclear missiles who definitely don't think raining death and destruction from above is some kind of joke."  
CommonDreams  

A Disaster for Brazil: Noam Chomsky on Brazil’s New Far-Right President Jair Bolsonaro.  DemocracyNow/Chomsky  

Teachers quit their jobs in record numbers during 2018. ... Skimpy budgets, low pay and public disrespect is prompting educators to abandon the classroom in droves.  ThinkProgress  

The United States is First in War, But Trailing in Crucial Aspects of Modern Civilization.  CounterPunch  

Elizabeth Warren Moves Toward 2020 Bid With Launch Of Exploratory Committee. ... The progressive senator is taking the first step toward officially jumping into the presidential race.  
HuffPost
 

How Biden Has Paved the Way for a Possible Presidential Run. ... A series of careful financial decisions, and the creation of nonprofits and academic centers staffed by close advisers, would help a campaign-in-waiting. NY Times  

American Evangelicalism has varieties — and these are the ones you should be worried about.  
AlterNet
 

The Infiltrator - How an Undercover Oil Industry Mercenary Tricked Pipeline Opponents Into Believing He Was One of Them.  Intercept   

Capitalism Is Not the “Market System”  
TruthOut
 

Between Socialism and Barbarism, the Media Choose Barbarism.  TruthDig  

JANUARY 1, 2019

Resistance Is the Supreme Act of Faith. TruthDig/Hedges  

Prisoner for Free Speech: the Relentless Pursuit of Julian Assange.  CounterPunch  

A March to Disaster: Noam Chomsky Condemns Trump for Pulling Out of Landmark Nuclear Arms Treaty.  DemocracyNow/Chomsky  

Wolf Killing is an Unfair and Destructive Subsidy.  ... why public wildlife should be killed to increase the profitability of private enterprises operating on our public lands.  CounterPunch  

This complete psychological analysis reveals 14 key traits explaining Trump’s die-hard supporters.  AlterNet  

Worse than Obsolete: NATO Creates Enemies.  CounterPunch  

Palestinian superbug epidemic could spread, say doctors. ... Medics say antibiotics shortage stops them following protocols to fight drug-resistant bacteria.  Guardian  

Love, hate and hypocrisy: the best books about animals and humans. ... Author Aminatta Forna recommends a canine history by Konrad Lorenz, and Karen Joy Fowler’s novel about a family that raises a chimp, We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves.  Guardian  

Following Report on Saudi Use of Child Soldiers in Yemen, Anti-War Voices Offer This Reminder: American Tax Dollars 'Help Pay for It' ... "Children paid to kill children. This is how our 'ally,' Saudi Arabia, wages its disgusting war in Yemen."  CommonDreams  

Why eating less meat is the best thing you can do for the planet in 2019. ... Eating meat has a hefty impact on the environment from fueling climate change to polluting landscapes and waterways.  Guardian  

I Was A Cable Guy. I Saw The Worst Of America.
A glimpse of the suburban grotesque, featuring Russian mobsters, Fox News rage addicts, a caged man in a sex dungeon, and Dick Cheney.
HuffPost  

Who Cares Which Democrat Comes Out on Top?  CounterPunch  


 

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JANUARY 14 THROUGH 23

JANUARY 23, 2019

Henry Giroux Interview: Trump’s Enabling of Violence and Hate Is a Form of State Terrorism.  
TruthOut
 

Call for Global Ban as Poll Shows Overwhelming Public Opposition to 'Horrifying' Killer Robots. ... Weapons that require no input from humans in selecting and killing targets undermine "the right to life and other human rights," critics say   CommonDreams  

Many 2020 Democrats Silent On Trump’s Afghanistan, Syria Withdrawals. ... HuffPost contacted a dozen likely presidential candidates to ask where they stand.  HuffPost  

Interview with Alex Winter, Director of Relatively Free.  Field of Vision  

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez rejects Aaron Sorkin's call for new Democrats to grow up. ... Congresswoman takes issue with the The West Wing creator’s suggestion that the fight for equality is a trend.  Guardian  

How Tre Arrow Became America’s Most Wanted Environmental “Terrorist”.  CounterPunch  

Uncommon U.S. Justice: The 100th Anniversary of a Tough Lefty’s Victory.  CounterPunch  

CLICK BAIT

Convict Sentenced To Generating $80,000 To $100,000 In Profits For Private Prison  > GO

Ethan Hawke’s Body Found Dumped In Laurel Canyon As 2019 Oscar Race Heats Up. 
> GO
 

The War on Populism.  > GO  

Child Entertained For 5 Minutes By Plastic Toy That Will Take 1,000 Years To Biodegrade
 > GO  

The Little Brett Kavanaughs from Covington Catholic High. ... how two years of Donald Trump have legitimized hatred and given license to racist, bigoted, and misogynist rhetoric and vituperative of the worst kind.   CounterPunch  

JANUARY 22, 2019

Confronting the Culture of Death. ... The issue before us is death. Not only our individual death, which is more imminent for some of us this morning than others, but our collective death. TruthDig/Hedges

(2013) MLK's vehement condemnations of US militarism are more relevant than ever. ... His vital April 4, 1967 speech is a direct repudiation of the sophistry now used to defend US violence and aggression.  Guardian/Greenwald  

How Muslims won the American War of Independence.  AlterNet  

Here are the 5 biggest right-wing outrages of the week: Republicans basically do everything except reopen the government.  AlterNet  

What’s Next for Public Education in 2019.
 TruthOut  

Born Disposable: Trump’s War on Youth.  
TruthOut
  

'The goal is to automate us': welcome to the age of surveillance capitalism.  Guardian  

Beyond BuzzFeed: The 10 Worst, Most Embarrassing U.S. Media Failures on the Trump/Russia Story.  Intercept  

The Next Recession: What It Could Look Like.   CounterPunch  

As New Analysis Shows Global Elite's Wealth Surge, Davos Forum Urged to Address Climate Crisis. ... "No global gathering should take place without those in attendance committing to do everything in their power to meet this opportunity to hold climate warming to below 1.5 degrees."  CommonDreams 

JANUARY 21, 2019

Trump's $440 billion weapon. ... The president-elect appears set on becoming personally involved in the contracting process. How far can he actually go?
 Politico  

Leaked Memo Reveals Trump Administration's "Immoral" Plan to "Traumatize" Migrant Children. ... "It appears that they wanted to have it both ways—to separate children from their parents but deny them the full protections generally awarded to unaccompanied children.".  CommonDreams

Arizona: Four women convicted after leaving food and water in desert for migrants. ...Federal judge finds activists guilty of entering a national wildlife refuge without a permit to give aid to migrants.
Guardian

Thousands more migrant children separated under Trump than previously known. ... Damning government report says ‘thousands of separated children’ put in care up to a year before policy became public.  Guardian  

The latest front in Russian infiltration: America’s right-wing homeschooling movement. ... This is the latest connection between Russia and the American religious right.  ThinkProgress  

Who Killed Marielle Franco? An Ex-Rio de Janeiro Cop With Ties to Organized Crime, Say Six Witnesses in Police Report.  Intercept  

Donald Trump is the perfect Republican: A party built on lies has found a liar to lead them. ... It’s hard to put your finger on the foundational lie of the modern Republican Party, there are so many contenders. But I would date it back to Ronald Reagan and…  AlterNet  

Time to Break the Silence on Palestine. ... Martin Luther King Jr. courageously spoke out about the Vietnam War. We must do the same when it comes to this grave injustice of our time.  NY Times  

Bernie Sanders, Israel and the Middle East.
 CounterPunch  

Pentagon recruits rejected scientist for massive pollution fight. ... Michael Dourson has a reputation for minimizing the risks of toxic chemicals. Critics say DoD is turning to him to dodge contamination responsibility.  Politico

The Bystander Effect: Neuroscientist shows how our brains dehumanise homeless people - video.  
Guardian
 

The West Has Islam Dangerously Wrong.  
TruthDig  

WEEKEND OF JANUARY 18-20, 2019

Weekend Read: The World as It Is review: Ben Rhodes' Obama legacy defence has weak spots. ... The former White House aide has written a memoir and a justification which is compelling but too much on Obama’s side.  Guradian  
Related:
The Blob - Ben Rhodes and the crisis of liberal foreign policy.  The Nation  
  

Could Trump’s Attorney General Pick William Barr Be “Worse Than Jeff Sessions” on Civil Rights?  DemocracyNow  

This Is How American Democracy Ends.  
TruthDig  

Now More Than Ever, It’s Clear the FBI Must Go.  CounterPunch  Now More Than Ever, It’s Clear the FBI Must Go. CounterPunch 

The Fox in Charge of the Henhouse: Activists Decry Trump’s EPA Pick, Coal Lobbyist Andrew Wheeler.  DemocracyNow  

DEMOCRATIC PARTY UPDATE

Who Are the Top 10 Democratic Presidential Contenders for 2020?  Intercept  

Democratic 2020 hopefuls pay lip service to the left. Don't be fooled. ... Likely candidates are begging for Wall Street’s support – and reminding us who really owns American democracy.  Guardian  

This paragraph perfectly explains why everyone in DC is so afraid of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.   RawStory  

The Limits of Social Democracy Will Test the US Left. ... While Americans are bitterly divided on many things, there is one concept where there has long been agreement: Most the country thinks the economy favors the rich at the expense of everybody else.   TruthOut  

Exasperated Democrats try to rein in Ocasio-Cortez. ... The effort is part carrot, part stick. But it's far from clear the anti-establishment political novice can be made to play ball.  Politico  

The Democratic Party’s 2018 View of Identity Politics Is Confusing, and Thus Appears Cynical and Opportunistic. ... The 2016 presidential election was the peak, at least thus far, for the tactics of identity politics in U.S. elections. In the Democratic primary, Hillary Clinton’s potential status as the first female candidate was frequently used not only to inspire her supporters but also to shame and malign those who supported other candidates, particularly Bernie Sanders.  Intercept  

Elizabeth Warren Wants Grassroots Money To Be A Litmus Test For 2020 Democrats. ... Self-funders and super PACs will have to justify themselves to progressives.  HuffPost  

Let's Expose Congress Members for the Warhawks They Are.  TruthDig  

As Trial Starts for Border Humanitarian Volunteers, New Documents Reveal Federal Bureaucrats’ Obsession With Stopping Activists.  Intercept  

Richard Wolff: The Next Economic Crisis Is Coming  TruthDig  

The Hague Comes of Age.  Craig Murray  

JANUARY 17, 2019

New U.S. Oil And Gas Drilling To Unleash 1,000 Coal Plants’ Worth Of Pollution By 2050. ... The great American fracking boom threatens to undermine efforts to avoid climate catastrophe in this century. ... By 2050, the country’s newly tapped reserves are projected to spew 120 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere.  
HuffPost  

Refugees Are in the English Channel Because of Western Interventions in the Middle East.  CounterPunch/Cockburn  

The Faux Political System by the Numbers.  CounterPunch  

Has the Ruling Class Finally Had Enough of Trump?  TruthDig  

Brexit Bluster: a Sorry Tale About a Country that Wanted to ‘Take Back Control’.  CounterPunch  

The New Cold War Has Turned Journalism Into Satire.  John Pilger  

RELIGION

‘Brought to Jesus’: the evangelical grip on the Trump administration. ... The influence of evangelical Christianity is likely to become an important question as Trump finds himself dependent on them for political survival.  
Guardian  

A neuroscientist explains why the belief that Trump is the messiah is rampant and dangerous.  AlterNet  

Religion has a smart-people problem: The shaky intellectual foundations of absolute faith.  RawStory  

Atheists Take Heart (and Office): New Poll Shows Major Support for Nonreligious Candidates. ... According to the data, among pro-choice and pro-LGBTQ equality voters, a candidate's religious identity is virtually immaterial. Atheists have a good chance to gain seats in the coming years.  Rewire News  

For Owners of Amazon’s Ring Security Cameras, Strangers May Have Been Watching Too.
Intercept
 

The term ‘eco-terrorist’ is back and it’s killing climate activists.  Grist  

(2014) The Contradictions of the American Electorate.  CounterPunch 

JANUARY 16, 2019

How illegal drugs actually get into the United States
The notion that a border wall will stem the flow of narcotics into the U.S. is ignorant of the facts and overly simplistic, experts warn.  ThinkProgress

Four Reasons Corporate Media Refuse to Talk About What Matters.  TruthDig  

New Analysis Shows Why Democrats Are Wrong to Fear Bold Embrace of Medicare for All. ... "November's election results show that universal, higher-quality, lower-cost health care through Medicare for All is all moral upside -- without political downside."  CommonDreams  

The Faux Political System by the Numbers.  CounterPunch  

American History for Truthdiggers: From Isolationism to a 2nd World Conflagration.  TruthDig  

A Reckless Advocate of Military Force': Demands for John Bolton's Dismissal After Reports He Asked Pentagon for Options to Strike Iran". ... Make no mistake: Bolton is the greatest threat to the security of the United States!"  CommonDreams  

Mike Pompeo Lied About the U.S. and the Middle East. Here’s the Truth.  Intercept  

Trial of El Chapo Guzman

Governments, Gangsters, & the Trial of El Chapo Guzman.  MadCow  

The Lie at the Heart of the Trial of El Chapo Guzman.  MadCow  

The Secret Trial of 'El Chapo' Guzman.    MadCow  

The Bystander Effect: Neuroscientist shows how our brains dehumanise homeless people - video.  Guardian  

Brexit Bluster: a Sorry Tale About a Country that Wanted to ‘Take Back Control’.  CounterPunch/Cockburn  

U.S. News Headlines on Israel-Palestine Show Systemic Bias: Study. ... "It calls to attention the need to more critically evaluate the scope of coverage of the Israeli occupation and recognize that readers are getting, at best, a heavily filtered rendering of the issue."  CommonDreams  

Expanding the Limits of Jewish Sovereignty: A Brief History of Israeli Settlements. ...An unsettling new Breaking the Silence tour focuses on the history of the occupation. Every Israeli and visitor who cares about what’s happening here should take it.
 Haaretz  

JANUARY 15, 2019

Five Forces Driving the Rise of Fascism in 2019. ... We start out 2019 with neo-fascists and assorted other “populists” and ethnonationalists holding office in 11 European nations and scoring recent double-digit vote tallies in Finland, Sweden, Germany, the Czech Republic, Austria, Hungary, Italy, Switzerland, Denmark and the Netherlands.  TruthOut  

The ‘Private Governments’ That Subjugate U.S. Workers ... Corporate dictatorships—which strip employees of fundamental constitutional rights, including free speech, and which increasingly rely on temp or contract employees who receive no benefits and have no job security—rule the lives of perhaps 80 percent of working Americans. TruthDig/Hedges 
 Related:   Happiness Consultants Won't Stop a Depression.  Hedges  

Trump is using the government as a bargaining chip -- like a dictator would. ... Trump’s entire presidency to date has sacrificed the means of democracy to preserve his personal power, and the shutdown over the border is no different.  Guardian  

The US Media has Lost One of Its Sanest Voices on Military Matters.  CounerPunch 

The Real Threat to Our Safety Has Nothing to Do With Our Southern Border.  TruthDig  

The Border Patrol Has Been a Cult of Brutality Since 1924.  Intercept  

Here’s the truth behind the ‘National Police Association’—and its shady ideology.  AlterNet

“Free Trade” Is Today’s Imperialism by the 1 Percent.  TruthOut  

Richard Dearlove Helped Blair Kill Millions. The Security Services are a Danger to Our State and Society.  Craig Murray   Related: (How to handle a dissident)  The UK Government Manufacture of False Sexual Allegations  Craig Murray  

AG Nominee William Barr Endorsed “More Incarceration”.  TruthOut  

JANUARY 14, 2019

U.S. Senate’s First Bill, in the Midst of the Shutdown, Is a Bipartisan Defense of the Israeli Government From Boycotts  Intercept  

How ‘Neoliberalism’ Became the Left’s Favorite Insult of Liberals.  Intelligencer  

As Democratic Elites Reunite With Neocons, the Party’s Voters Are Becoming Far More Militaristic and Pro-War Than Republicans.  Intercept 

Return of the Neocons. NYR Daily  

The 'Liberal' Foreign Policy Establishment's Hypocrisy Knows No Bounds.  TruthDig  

Exposing the Corporate Bribery Network - White Collar Crimes are Human Right s Crimes.  
TruthDig  

Bordering on Fascism: Scholars Reflect on Dangerous Times.  CounterPunch  

Trust the Rich Less, Trust Each Other More.  Means of Production, the film collective from Detroit that made Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s hit campaign ad, is about to launch a left streaming platform -- Netflix for socialists.  Jacobin  

Study: US is an oligarchy, not a democracy.
BBC
  Related: Testing Theories of American Politics: Elites, Interest Groups, and Average Citizens. 2014 - Cambridge University Stud

2018 Democracy Index  The Economist   

United States Doesn't Even Make Top 20 on Global Democracy Index. ... Nation classified "flawed democracy"  CommonDreams  



 

 

 

 

JANUARY 24 THROUGH 31

JANUARY 31, 2019

86% of Venezuelans Oppose Military Intervention, 81% Against US Sanctions, Local Polling Shows. ...  The vast majority of Venezuelans oppose military intervention and US sanctions to try to remove President Nicolás Maduro from power, according to polling by the local firm Hinterlaces.  Gray Zone  

Bernie and the Dems Flunk Trump’s Test On Venezuela’s Coup.  CounterPunch  

Donald Trump and the Yankee Plot to Overthrow the Venezuelan Government.  Intercept  

Human Rights Watch, While Hawkish on Venezuela, Is Quiet on Violent Repression and Apparent Coup in Honduras. ... Honduras’ US-backed right-wing government has been accused of stealing the election, but Kenneth Roth of Human Rights Watch (HRW) is fixated on Venezuela.  Gray Zone  

The West Failed to Learn the Most Important Lessons From the Rise and Fall of ISIS. CounterPunch  

RELIGION

A Theology of Power: Mike Pence and the Dominionists.  CounterPunch  

American Evangelicalism has varieties — and these are the ones you should be worried about. ... A new report from the Center for Religion and Civil Culture at the University of Southern California revealed that evangelical Christians can be divided into five different sects.  AlterNet

Atheists Take Heart (and Office): New Poll Shows Major Support for Nonreligious Candidates. ... According to the data, among pro-choice and pro-LGBTQ equality voters, a candidate's religious identity is virtually immaterial. Atheists have a good chance to gain seats in the coming years.  Rewire News  

Only a third of US Catholics think priests are honest or ethical. ... Poll shows confidence in church at record low after report on sexual abuse in Pennsylvan.  Guardian  

Christian leader Jerry Falwell urges Trump support: 'He’s a moral person'. ... The evangelical Liberty University president, who helped give Trump the Christian vote in 2016, aims to influence voters again. Guardian  

Robert Reich: This is the real source of the rise of repressive authoritarianism, nativism and xenophobia in the United States.  AlterNet/Reich  

US Gov. Meddling Machine Boasts of ‘Laying the Groundwork for Insurrection’ in Nicaragua. ... As Nicaraguan student protest leaders meet with neoconservatives in Washington, DC, a publication funded by the US government’s regime change arm, the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), boasts of spending millions of dollars “laying the groundwork for insurrection” against Daniel Ortega.Gray Zone 

My meeting with Donald Trump: A damaged, pathetic personality — whose obvious impairment has only gotten worse. ... In 1994, I visited the home of Donald Trump. He was a Democrat then, of sorts, and I was the party’s nominee for governor of Connecticut. He’d taken an interest…  AlterNet  

JANUARY 30, 2019

25 Democrats Join GOP to Advance Anti-Boycott Bill Bernie Sanders Warns Violates "Americans' First Amendment Rights". ... "It's vile that a law aimed at suppressing our democratic rights and silencing those fighting for solidarity with Palestinians would even make it to the Senate floor," declared one American Jewish advocacy group.  CommonDreams  

ICE Courthouse Arrests in New York Increased 1,700 Percent Under Trump.  Intercept  

Robert Reich: 3 Signs Trump Is Becoming a Dictator. ... The “rule of law” distinguishes democracies from dictatorships. It’s based on three fundamental principles. President Donald Trump is violating every one of them.  TruthDig/Reich  

In Praise of Direct Action (and More).  CounterPunch/Street  

CLICK BAIT

Immigrant Child Still Hoping To Achieve American Dream Of Better Cage.  > GO  

Laura Bush Publishes Courageous Op-Ed Calling For Imprisonment Of Whoever Created ICE.  > GO

ICE Launches Campaign To Reunite Immigrant Children With Arresting Officer.  > GO  

The Politics of Reticent Socialism. ... There is no huge gap between liberal egalitarianism and socialism, if we ask what justice requires from an impartial moral perspective.  Catalyst  

Google’s Sidewalk Labs Plans to Package and Sell Location Data on Millions of Cellphones.
 Intercept  

Trump lifts sanctions on firms linked to Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska. ... Democrats in Congress opposed move to lift restrictions.
Deripaska is ally of Russian president Vladimir Putin.  Guardian  

JANUARY 29, 2019

The World to Come ... The ruling elites are painfully aware that the foundations of American power are rotting.  TruthDig/Hedges  

American History for Truthdiggers: Just How Good Was the 'Good War'?  TruthDig  

'This Is Very Dangerous': Trump Administration Seizes Venezuela Oil Assets, Renews Threat of Military Action If Maduro Stays. ... "The problem here is that these efforts by the United States to change other countries' governments often lead to catastrophe."  CommonDreams  

"It Can't Be Warren and It Can't Be Sanders": Wall Street Executives Make 2020 Preferences Known. ... "Wall Street likes Biden, Booker, Harris, Gillibrand, and Beto. Guess who they hate? Sanders and Warren. All the rest is commentary."  CommonDreams  

Everything We Know About Russia and President Trump. N&G  

Teachers Are Rising Up to Resist Neoliberal Attacks on Education.  TruthOut  

Fight for Europe – or the wreckers will destroy it
The continent faces its biggest challenge since the 1930s. We urge European patriots to resist the nationalist onslaught.  Guardian   Related:
Europe 'coming apart before our eyes', say 30 top intellectuals. ... Group of historians and writers publish manifesto warning against rise of populism.  
Guardian

You Can’t Go Home Again: the Liberal State is No More.  CounterPunch  

American History for Truthdiggers: Just How Good Was the 'Good War'?  ... “For the past 50 years, the Allied war has been sanitized and romanticized almost beyond recognition by the sentimental, the loony patriotic, the ignorant, and the bloodthirsty.” Former U.S. Army Infantry Lt. Paul Fussell, famed author and poet, in his 1989 book “Wartime: Understanding and Behavior in the Second World War”   TruthDig  

JANUARY 28, 2019

The Democratic Party Is Further to the Right Than Most Voters.  TruthOut  

Leading liberal thinktank will no longer accept funds from UAE. ... Center for American Progress says it aims to distance itself from authoritarian regimes amid questions over ‘which side our president is on’  Guardian  (Note the language, "distance itself..." Does not mean refusing the bribes)

The Illegal CIA Operation That Brought Us 9/11. ... Was it conspiracy or idiocy that led to the failure of U.S. intelligence agencies to detect and prevent the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon headquarters? That’s one of the questions at the heart of “The Watchdogs Didn’t Bark: The CIA, NSA, and the Crimes of the War on Terror,” ...  TruthDig  

HIJACKING OF VENEZUELA

US Backs Coup in Oil-Rich Venezuela, Right-Wing Opposition Plans Mass Privatization and Hyper-Capitalism. ... The US has effectively declared a coup in Venezuela. Trump recognized unelected right-wing opposition leader Juan Guaidó as new “president,” who plans mass privatization and neoliberal capitalist policies.  Gray Zone  

Confirming US Orchestration, Report Details Pence's Key Phone Call to Venezuelan Opposition Leader. ... "The U.S. had been planning this coup in Venezuela. It was the Trump administration that told the little-known opposition leader Juan Guaidó to declare himself (unelected) president.'"
 CommonDreams  

More than 70 scholars join Noam Chomsky to sign petition to stop the US from interfering in Venezuelan politics.  AlterNet  

How Washington’s Devastating “Economic Blockade” of Venezuela Helped Pave the Way for Coup Attempt.  DemocracyNow  

The risk of a catastrophic US intervention in Venezuela is real. ... War would bring untold suffering to the country and a vanishingly small likelihood of the change Venezuela needs.  Guardian  

Venezuelan Foreign Minister: The U.S. Interferes in Latin American Politics Every Day, Every Hour.  DemocracyNow  

The Coup in Venezuela Must Be Resisted .
Craig Murray   Related: The Vultures of Caracas  Craig Murray  

Open Letter by Over 70 Scholars and Experts Condemns US-Backed Coup Attempt in Venezuela. ... "For the sake of the Venezuelan people, the region, and for the principle of national sovereignty, these international actors should instead support negotiations between the Venezuelan government and its opponents."  CommonDreams  

How Voting-Machine Lobbyists Undermine the Democratic Process.  The New Yorker 

Did Rep. Adam Schiff Just Admit the US Has a Secret Indictment of Julian Assange? ... Update posted on 11/16/2018: A U.S. prosecutor has inadvertently revealed that Julian Assange has been secretly charged by the U.S. government, confirming this report.  Gray Zone  

WEEKEND OF JANUARY 25-27, 2019

9-11: Was There An Alternative? by Noam Chomsky. ... In 9-11, published in November 2001 and arguably the single most influential post 9-11 book, internationally renowned thinker Noam Chomsky bridged the information gap around the World Trade Center attacks, cutting through the tangle of political opportunism, expedient patriotism, and general conformity that choked off American discourse in the months immediately following Amazon  

Why Are They So Terrible at This?': Democrats Reportedly Plan to Offer Trump Billions for So-Called 'Smart Wall' ... The "counteroffer" by House Democratic leaders comes as immigrant rights groups are calling on the party to reject any funding for the president's anti-immigrant agenda  CommonDreams  

JULIAN ASSANGE

Julian Assange launches legal challenge against Trump administration. ... WikiLeaks founder’s lawyers file urgent application in attempt to prevent extradition to US. Guardian  

U.S. prosecutors press witnesses to testify against Assange-WikiLeaks.  Reuters  

Assange Never Met Manafort. Luke Harding and the Guardian Publish Still More Blatant MI6 Lies.
Craig Murray  

Comment by Craig Murray:  The right wing Government of Ecuador has been one of the first and most vocal in doing the West’s bidding. The Ecuadorean government has been colluding with the United States over the efforts to imprison Julian Assange, and at this very time has arranged for FBI and CIA personnel in Quito to take false and malicious statements manufactured by the Ecuador government in collaboration with the CIA, about Julian Assange’s activities in the Embassy in London.

Ecuadorean government documents had already been produced out of Quito, and shown to MI6 and CIA outlets like the Guardian and New York Times, purporting to show the diplomatic appointment of Julian Assange to Moscow in December 2017. I have believed throughout that these fake documents were most likely produced by Ecuador’s new CIA influenced government itself.

'Despicable': Wells Fargo Bashed for Plans to Cash In on Global Climate Crisis. ... "Rather than scheming about how to make more money off of the climate crisis, Wells Fargo should stop making the problem worse and divest from the dirtiest fuels on the planet."  
CommonDreams  

Republicans are accidentally doing more to advance progressive values than Democrats
Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, Elizabeth Warren, and the GOP's penchant for self-owns.  ThinkProgress  

Who Are the Top 10 Democratic Presidential Contenders for 2020?  Intercept  

Ralph Nader: Democrats May Be Surrendering the Rule of Law  TruthDig  

New Study Shows Climate Crisis Could Mean 'Time Bomb" for World's Groundwater. ... "In many parts of the world," said one researcher, "changes in groundwater flows due to climate change could have a very long legacy."  CommonDreams  

CBS Chief Les Moonves Says Trump’s ‘Damn Good’ For Business. ... “Sorry. It’s a terrible thing to say. But, bring it on, Donald. Keep going.” HuffPost  

JANUARY 24, 2019

Here are 11 questions you should ask Libertarians to see if they’re hypocrites. ... We aren’t suggesting every libertarian is a hypocrite, but there’s an easy way to find out.   AlterNet  

A N.Y. Times Story Just Accidentally Shredded the Russiagate Hysteria.  TruthOut   

Senate Report on Russian Interference Was Written By Disinformation Warriors Behind Alabama ‘False Flag Operation’  Gray Zone

Progressives Warn Against Democrats Pushing 'Diluted' Half-Measures as Alternative to Medicare for All. ... "Improved Medicare for All has support from an overwhelming majority of Democratic voters, so why the sudden proliferation of public option proposals? We should be very skeptical of these sorts of bills."  CommonDreams  

Teachers Are Rising Up to Resist Neoliberal Attacks on Education.   TruthOut/Giroux   

RELIGION

A New Physics Theory of Life.  
Quanda Magazine  

The brilliant science that has creationists and the Christian right terrified.  RawStory  

Evangelical Christian Group Upset That LGBTQ People Are Mentioned In Anti-Lynching Bill ... The Liberty Counsel’s Mat Staver said he’s worried that this means queer Americans could be granted more rights under federal law.  HuffPost  

New Analysis Shows Supporters of Family Research Council Embrace White Supremacy and Neo-Nazism. ... A social media network analysis performed by Rewire shows the Family Research Council's messages are resonating with other factions of the far right that explicitly endorse and advocate white supremacist views.  
Rewire News  

‘In God We Trust’ - the bills Christian nationalists hope will ‘protect religious freedom’ ... The package of new bills are part of Project Blitz, a political playbook that aims to support and promote Christian beliefs.  Guardian  

The US has 95% of the world’s foreign military bases, with personnel in more than 160 countries. But the Pentagon is leaving hundreds of outposts out of its official reports.  Gray Zone 

The System’s Falling Apart: Were the Dogmatic Marxists Right After All?  CounterPunch  


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
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