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Trump, Devos, Prince working to take funding from schools and use it for mercenaries and missiles.

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We have watched this president, like so many before him, drop bombs and hurl missiles at different countries in Asia and Africa. The picture below of US missiles striking Damascus would be perfectly at home in a Hollywood blockbuster about an technologically-advanced alien civilization attacking a human society with less firepower. Few of these movies ever explore what is going on back home in these alien societies. Do their leaders starve their bug-eyed young of resources in learning, so they have more pliable cannon fodder? Do their military-industrial-complexes have bug-shaped lobbyists who ease the path to war, knowing there are billions to be … Continue reading →

 

Republicans and Democrats: A Play in Three Acts.

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ACT 1: Washington DC, United States Senate early 2016 Merrick Garland, an eminently qualified judge, was nominated by Barack Obama to the Supreme Court. For weeks afterwards, Republican senators responsible for considering the nomination refused to meet with him. Some of them slink out of their offices in the Senate to avoid the visiting judge. Several eventually do meet him after being shamed, but refuse to discuss confirmation hearings and restrict conversations to pleasantries. They work in lock step to deny Garland a hearing, and deny him the nomination. For the first time in the Republic’s history, a President’s judicial nominee is denied … Continue reading →

 

Mike Pompeo is a pro-torture racist. Why are Dems coaching him for Senate hearings?

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Daily Kos is currently running a petition against Mike Pompeo’s nomination to be appointed Secretary of State. It lists several very good reasons for denying Pompeo confirmation, and ends with: Pompeo is a xenophobic, pro-torture, climate-denying war hawk. If the Senate confirms him, it will be disastrous for U.S. diplomacy and would undermine progress on multiple continents for years. — www.dailykos.com/… Pompeo is among a sizable group of Republicans who have built their careers on outright xenophobia, focusing especially on hate directed towards Muslims. In many ways, his election the house and that of other Republicans like Steve King was a harbinger … Continue reading →

 

Nikki Haley blocks UN Palestinian rights statement as Israeli troops kill journalist in press vest.

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The United States for a second week in a row blocked a UN Security Council statement supporting the right of Palestinians to “demonstrate peacefully” and endorsing Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ call for an independent investigation into deadly protests in Gaza. Palestinian UN Ambassador Riyad Mansour told reporters at UN headquarters in New York on Friday evening that 14 of the 15 council nations agreed to the statement, but the United States, Israel’s closest ally, objected. — www.timesofisrael.com/… Nikki Haley’s move to block a recognition of Palestinian’s rights was opposed by the Palestinian ambassador to the UN. Trump’s mid-east envoy, Jason Greenblatt said … Continue reading →

 

Trump urged CIA to kill more families and children in drone strikes.

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In a long article on Trump’s relationship with the military, WaPo reveals that Trump urged CIA employees to commit more war crimes. Trump came to office promising to give the Pentagon a free hand to unleash the full force of U.S. firepower. His impatience was evident on his first full day in office when he visited the CIA and was ushered up to the agency’s drone operations floor. […] Later, when the agency’s head of drone operations explained that the CIA had developed special munitions to limit civilian casualties, the president seemed unimpressed. Watching a previously recorded strike in which the agency held … Continue reading →

 

Congress largely silent as close ally shoots 750 protesters, kills 17 to stifle demonstration.

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Tens of thousands of Gazans walked toward the border facing a heavily armed Israeli line. They walked toward rifles and drones. Israel had announced its deployment of a hundred snipers authorized to use live ammunition. And fire they did; the United Nations reports 15 dead and 1,416 wounded, including 750 hit by live ammunition, of whom 20 are in critical condition. […] The Israeli army additionally militarizes a belt of Gaza’s agricultural land, intruding a further 300 to 500 meters into Gaza. That is the zone in which live fire is being used. Gazans are walking and being killed, on … Continue reading →

 

The American Dream simply does not exist for the majority of black men.

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Researchers at Stanford, Harvard and the Census bureau have recently published a study that takes a broad look at equality of opportunity in the US. The data set they analyzed is enormous. It tracks 20 million people now in their late thirties, evaluating their childhood circumstances across race, class, family structure, neighborhood, school, etc. They evaluate where these individuals ended up, in terms of income, and several other factors (including whether or not they were incarcerated). The results simply eviscerate any argument that there’s a level playing field and equality of opportunity. Across a wide range of factors, it’s clear … Continue reading →

 

Unless we prosecute them, War Criminals will continue to wield power in the US.

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Today, Trump nominated a person to lead the CIA who ran torture sites and helped order the destruction of videotapes documenting the torture. Gina Haspel was passed over for a promotion in the Obama era, because she ran a CIA black site and destroyed evidence. She remained in place however, ready for a president with fewer qualms about torturing black and brown people. Trump, of course, has clearly said (as president) that he supports torturing people: Gina Haspel, Trump’s pick for CIA director, tied to use of brutal interrogation measures Haspel, 61, would become the first woman to lead the CIA if she is confirmed … Continue reading →

 

Indian government announces free health-insurance to cover 500 million people.

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  India announced Thursday a program to give half a billion citizens free health insurance, a potentially transformative upgrade of the country’s dilapidated public health-care services and a key element of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government’s last budget before national elections next year. […] Under the plan, the government will cover health-care costs of up to $7,800 for 100 million poor families and spend some $188 million to create “health and wellness” centers, Jaitley announced to loud table-thumping in India’s lower house. Spending on nutrition for tuberculosis patients, cleanliness drives and education will also result in significant improvements in public … Continue reading →

 

Israel bans Code Pink and Jewish Voice for Peace from entering country while NYT forgets Gaza exists

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The New York Times’ Jerusalem bureau chief, David Halbfinger has a lengthy article about how recent Trump administration and Israeli actions have led Palestinians to more seriously consider changing their position to advocate for a single state with equal rights for all. It’s titled: As a 2-State Solution Loses Steam, a 1-State Plan Gains Traction: The Israeli right, emboldened by President Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, is not the only faction arguing for a single state between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea. The Palestine Liberation Organization has also begun to ask whether that might not be such a bad … Continue reading →

 

Let’s not forget what the GOP and its donors tolerated from Steve Bannon.

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So, Steve Bannon is finally unwelcome within the Republican party. The President has given Bannon the treatment he reserves only for the worst offenders, claiming he had nothing much to do with the campaign. Next up, I expect to hear that Bannon’s primary task in the White House was pouring coffee. Though, I of course share your glee at the downfall of an odious man, my relief is tempered by the knowledge of what it took for the Republican party and this White House to break decisively with Bannon. Bannon and his media outlet Breitbart have been trafficking in racism and xenophobia … Continue reading →

 

Ever wondered what America looked like heading into the Great Depression?

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Have you ever wondered what America felt like on the eve of the Great Depression? I don’t know for certain, but I can guess that we had wealthy heiresses who dabbled in fashion pontificating on politics, based on what they’d learned at society dinners and maybe some tortured conversations with the servant-class surrounding them. Kinda like this society heiress here: "Small businesses will have the lowest taxes since 1931" … Ivanka Trump discusses impact of tax reform pic.twitter.com/NVuVBmeiU5 — FOX & friends (@foxandfriends) December 18, 2017 The heiress here is calling the GOPTaxScam a “middle class tax cut”. So does the president … Continue reading →

 

Elected Democrats continue to misunderstand the conflict they’re in.

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Virginia’s Democratic governer-elect won by 9 points in an election where he campaigned heavily on expanding Medicaid. The election saw enormous efforts expended by the Democratic grassroots. Now that Northam has won, he’s having some second thoughts. Outgoing Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) tried every year to push the legislature to accept millions in federal money to expand the health program to hundreds of thousands of low-income Virginians. Northam campaigned heavily on the promise of getting more Virginians access to health care. He said Friday that he remains committed to that pledge, but that he must be careful about obligating the state to escalating … Continue reading →

 

Is this graphic really all we need to know about American or Alabama politics?

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Like many of you, I initially despaired when reading exit poll results from the Alabama senate election. It seemed unbelievable that over 63% of white women would vote for a man who was credibly accused of molesting young girls. My first reaction was, “we won this by a hair-breadth, but we have a lot of work to do”. Then I realized that this not the whole story: A very interesting piece of data from Alabama exit polls: While White women overall voted for Moore 63 to 34, when you break out evangelical vs non you get evangelical white women 76 … Continue reading →

 

What will it take to defeat Ted Cruz in 2018?

The Progressive Wing Posted on by

Before last night, this is what the Senate looked like: Notice the sea of red stretching from North Carolina to Texas? It’s now got one unexpected kink in it, Alabama. There are three senate seats that will be contested across that belt in 2018 (yes, I’m going to totally ignore Florida). An open seat in Tennessee (Bob Corker’s retiring), Mississippi (Roger Wicker) and Texas (Ted Cruz). A lot of attention will be focused on Tennessee, where Corker’s open seat creates a lot of possibilities. A Democrat has not represented Tennessee in the Senate since 1995. I’m going to ignore Mississippi But I want … Continue reading →