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"What We Do to the Land, We Do to the People"-- May 24 West Virginia Direct Actions Against MTR

Thu, 24 May 2012 00:00:00 -0700

The Writing Corner - By Beth Wellington - May. 24 (Opinion) - As part of Mountain Justice Summer Action Camp taking place at the Appalachian South Folklife Center near Pipestem, WV, five members of Mountain Justice and RAMPS boarded a coal barge to protest the destruction of mountains in West Virginia through Mountaintop removal, while other members and their fellow concerned activists blocked coal transport at approximately 10 a.m. on Thursday, May 24.

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Malcolm Bull reviews ‘A Perfect Moral Storm’ by Stephen Gardiner · LRB 24 May 2012

Thu, 24 May 2012 00:00:00 -0700

The London Review of Books - By Malcolm Bull - May. 24 (Review) - For the benefit of anyone who has spent the past decade or so on a different planet, the most frequently asked questions about climate change on this one are as follows. Is it getting warmer? Yes, surface temperatures have risen by 0.8°C from pre-industrial levels. Are humans causing it? Almost certainly.

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With the Affordable Care Act Hanging by a Thread, It's Time for Single-Payer

Mon, 21 May 2012 00:00:00 -0700

Huffington Post - By Pearl Korn - May. 21 (Opinion) - Co-written by Jonathan Stone While the Affordable Care Act is being deliberated in the Supreme Court -- with no decision expected until the end of June -- progressives and all other rational human beings should ramp up their efforts to build the movement

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How Crazy Is Wall Street, New York Times?

Sun, 20 May 2012 00:00:00 -0700

The Daily Beast - By Edward Jay Epstein - May. 20 (Opinion) - The New York Times published an opinion piece on May 12, 2012, concerning the question of whether the rich, from a moral standpoint, are good or bad. The story reported, “A recent study found that 10 percent of people who work on Wall Street are ‘clinical psychopaths’ and that they exhibit an ‘unparalleled capacity for lying, fabrication, and manipulation.’ ” The vivid term “clinical psychopath” brings to mind the berserk buzz-saw-wielding investment banker played by Christian Bale in the film American Psycho. Since some 3.9 million people work in the financial-services industry, a clinically diagnosed horde of lunatics numbering almost 400,000 people would certainly be a matter of public concern, though it might only confirm some journalists’ view of American capitalism.

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This week in the War on Women: Damn broads are greedy, lying whores

Sun, 20 May 2012 00:00:00 -0700

Daily Kos - By rss@dailykos.com (Kaili Joy Gray) - May. 20 (Opinion) - Praise great Gaia for the awesome perks of being a woman! Sure, we women may have once been second-class citizens, but ever since the radical feminists destroyed the patriarchal structure of our society and totally ended sexism forever, usurping all the levers of power in the public and private sector, it's been a non-stop gravy train of government handouts and free rides, as we enjoy our superior status in society by lording it over the oppressed menfolk. Am I right? No, of course not, but that's the mindset of the Republican Party, as it continues to wage war against women's rights and privileges. Damn broads have too many rights nowadays, and those excessive rights infringe on the more-important-rights of Catholic bishops who think women's health care restricts their religious liberty; the rights of men who abuse their wives and girlfriends because sometimes that's the only way to keep them in line; and the rights of Republican taxpayers to ensure that their money is not spent on ...

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Romney Embraces Growth, Leaving Austerity To Europe

Sat, 19 May 2012 00:00:00 -0700

Huffington Post - By Jon Ward - May. 19 (Opinion) - Austerity is out. Growth is in. And Mitt Romney's campaign has taken notice. Politicians in Europe and in President Barack Obama's administration can't get enough of the G word these days. "Growth must be a priority, at the same time as we put in place some fiscal compact to improve our finances," said the new French President Francois Hollande, during a visit with Obama in the Oval Office on Friday.

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"End This Depression Now"

Thu, 17 May 2012 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Paul Krugman, Amy Goodman - May. 17 (Interview) - Right now, there just is not enough spending, and we need the government, which can do it, to step in and provide the demand we need. ... We’ve had austerity in the face of a recession, in a way that we have never had before since the 1930s. ... And the results are clear: it’s disastrous."

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Jamie Dimon Should Resign Over JPMorgan's $3B Lost Bet and Campaign Against Financial Regs

Thu, 17 May 2012 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Paul Krugman: Amy Goodman - May. 17 (Interview) - As the financial giant JPMorgan Chase continues to suffer major losses on its risky derivatives trades, Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman says bank chief Jamie Dimon should resign “precisely because he has been using his supposed wisdom as a way to campaign against reform and now it turns out he wasn't that wise after all. In fact, his bank was doing seriously bad stuff." Krugman says, "I think it would be better for everybody if he went." The Justice Department is now probing JPMorgan amid new calls for tougher regulation of Wall Street. "They are making these bets with your money because these are banks that are guaranteed. They have guaranteed deposits," Krugman says. "We are supposed to have a rule going into effect -- the Volcker Rule -- that says they can't do this kind of stuff, but they are continuing to do it. ... We can not trust the bankers to use this money safely." [Transcript to come. Check back soon.]

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Occupy Wall Street "Has Created Something That Didn't Really Exist" in U.S. — Solidarity

Mon, 14 May 2012 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Amy Goodman - May. 14 (Interview) - Noam Chomsky says the Occupy movement has helped rebuild class solidarity and communities of mutual support on a level unseen since the time of the Great Depression. "The Occupy movement spontaneously created something that doesn't really exist in the country: Communities of mutual support, cooperation, open spaces for discussion ... people doing things and helping each other," Chomsky says. "That's very much missing. There [has been] massive propaganda going on for a century, that you really shouldn't care about anyone else, just yourself ... To rebuild [class solidarity] -- even in small pieces of society -- can become very important, can change the conception of how society ought to function." Chomsky also gives his assessment of President Obama, whom he says has attacked civil liberties in a way that "goes beyond George W. Bush."

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Mitt Romney, the Unlikable Presidential Candidate

Sun, 13 May 2012 00:00:00 -0700

The Daily Beast - By Michael Tomasky - May. 13 (Opinion) - It’s been a long time since the country elected a man as personally unappealing as Mitt Romney. Will Americans overlook their deeply held conviction that he’s a jerk? Very few votes are going to be cast on the basis of what Mitt Romney did or didn’t do to John Lauber in 1965. So that, per se, isn’t Romney’s problem. But this is: The story lands as another brick on pile of evidence amassing that he’s just a disagreeable human being. A few days ago I wrote about Barack Obama’s biggest problem, which is that despite all the many areas in which Americans rate him higher than Romney, the one on which they give Romney the edge happens to be pretty important: handling the economy. Now we get to Romney’s biggest problem. The likability factor. He ain’t got it. And he ain’t got much of a way to get it.

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Stewart Analyzes The Evolution Of Fox News' Gay Rights Coverage

Fri, 11 May 2012 00:00:00 -0700

Huffington Post - By Jon Stewart - May. 11 (Comedy News) - This issue is just racism 2.0 and it aligns perfectly with the GOP agenda of rich white males. Justtheobvious: This issue is just racism 2.0 and it aligns perfectly Bingo ! They already have the middle class and poor on their 'fiscal' oppression list. So

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The Political Obstructionism Undermining US National Security

Fri, 11 May 2012 00:00:00 -0700

thebulletin.org - By Kingston Reif - May. 11 (Opinion) - US congressional Republicans just passed legislation that will hamper implementation of New START as well as the administration's ability to make changes to the US nuclear arsenal. But this isn't a lingering Cold War hangover or an ideological battle.

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Structural Unemployment Talk Is Nonsense

Wed, 09 May 2012 00:00:00 -0700

Huffington Post - By Peter S. Goodman - May. 09 (Editorial) - Remember that unemployment problem we used to have? The one that politicians, pundits and policymakers used to talk about on a regular basis, debating how we might fix it? Well, forget about all that, because the problem is structural, meaning nothing can be done. So sayeth a loud slice of the econo-pundit class.

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Power and Money in America (Noam Chomsky)

Wed, 09 May 2012 00:00:00 -0700

Informed Comment - By Noam Chomsky, posted by Juan - May. 09 (Opinion) - The Occupy movement has been an extremely exciting development. Unprecedented, in fact. There’s never been anything like it that I can think of. If the bonds and associations it has established can be sustained [...]

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"We Need to Make a Ruckus": Robert Reich Hails Occupy for Exposing Concentration of Wealth and Power

Tue, 08 May 2012 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Amy Goodman - May. 08 (Interview) - In his new book, "Beyond Outrage," former Labor Secretary Robert Reich opens with a dedication to the Occupy Wall Street movement. He writes: "To the Occupiers, and all others committed to taking back our economy and our democracy." We speak to Reich about the success of Occupy in reshaping the national dialogue on the economy and why strong grassroots movements are needed to push elected leaders in Washington to enact a progressive agenda. Reich also discusses why austerity is not the answer to the economic crisis at home or in Europe. [Transcript to come. Check back soon.]

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A vital (and unlearned) lesson from Julius Caesar

Tue, 08 May 2012 00:00:00 -0700

Salon - By Glenn Greenwald - May. 08 (Opinion) - Julius Caesar then stood and noted that Roman law forbids the execution of Roman citizens even for heinous crimes, and that executing the conspirators would thus require the creation of a radical and dangerous precedent: dangerous because to vest the power in the State to kill its own citizens, even if justified in the specific case where it is first done, would be to vest the power generally and thus ensure its inevitable abuse. Thus, even as Caesar professed his boundless contempt for the traitors (“I consider no tortures sufficient for the crimes of these men”), he vehemently argued against allowing passions to lead the Senate to embrace punishments “foreign to the customs of our country” — not primarily on moral grounds but on pragmatic ones:

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Austerity Is So Wrong!

Sun, 06 May 2012 00:00:00 -0700

The Daily Beast - By Paul Krugman - May. 06 (Opinion) - In a new book, End This Depression Now!, Nobel Prize–winning economist Paul Krugman says the current economic problems can be fixed both more easily and more quickly than anyone imagines. But politicians’ desire to slash spending is deeply destructive, and he details why austerity is so appealing even to Very Serious People—and why it’s such a bad idea.

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Noam Chomsky on America's Economic Suicide

Sat, 05 May 2012 00:00:00 -0700

AlterNet - May. 05 (Interview) - The US and Europe are committing suicide in different ways. In Europe it’s austerity in the midst of recession and that’s guaranteed to be a disaster. There’s some resistance to that now. In the US, it’s essentially off-shoring production and financialization and getting rid of superfluous population through incarceration.

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The Other Americas.pdf (application/pdf Object)

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0700

Democratic Left - By Maurice Isserman - Apr. 30 (Opinion) - This year marks the 50th anniversary of the publication of Michael Harrington’s The Other America: Poverty in the United States, the book credited with inspiring Lyndon Johnson’s “War on Poverty” in the 1960s. There will be events throughout 2012 celebrating that anniversary, an occasion all the more meaningful for taking place in a time of economic distress and a renewed debate over income inequality in the United States.

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The GOP's Death Wish

Sat, 28 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0700

Huffington Post - By Robert Reich - Apr. 28 (Opinion) - What are the three demographic groups whose electoral impact is growing fastest? Hispanics, women, and young people. Who are Republicans pissing off the most? Latinos, women, and young people. It's almost as if the GOP can't help itself.

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Jon Stewart Rips Murdoch's Leveson Inquiry Hearings On "The Daily Show" (VIDEO)

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0700

Huffington Post - By Jon Stewart - Apr. 27 (Comedy News) - News Corp. Chairman and CEO Rupert Murdoch has been testifying before the Leveson Inquiry this week to determine whether he used his media entities to illegally influence the British government. Aside from admitting that he "failed" in handling the News of the World properly, Murdoch seems apt to deny all accountability in regards to the scandal, so on Thursday night's "Daily Show" Jon Stewart took a moment to put him in his place.

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WATCH: Stewart Calls 'Bullsh*t' On Asteroid Mining

Thu, 26 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0700

Huffington Post - By Jon Stewart - Apr. 26 (Comedy News) - This week, a collective of privately independent people, including two Google execs and "Titanic" director James Cameron, announced the launch of a company called Planetary...

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More Secrets on Growing State Surveillance: Exclusive Part 2 With NSA Whistleblower, Targeted Hacker

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Amy Goodman, Juan Gonzalez - Apr. 23 (Interview) - In part two of our national broadcast exclusive on the growing domestic surveillance state, we speak with National Security Agency whistleblower William Binney, and two targeted Americans: Oscar-nominated filmmaker Laura Poitras, and hacker Jacob Appelbaum, who has volunteered for WikiLeaks and now works with Tor Project, a nonprofit organization that teaches about internet security. Binney left the NSA after the 9/11 attacks over his concerns about the agency’s widespread surveillance of U.S. citizens. He describes how the FBI later raided his home and held him at gunpoint and notes there is still no effective way of monitoring how and what information the NSA is gathering on U.S. citizens, and how that data is being used. "Click here to watch part one of our special report.":democracynow.org/shows/2012/4/20 [Transcript to come. Check back soon.]

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AlterNet Radio: Noam Chomsky on OWS, the Arab Spring and America's Waning Influence; Progressives Push Back Against ALEC | AlterNet

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0700

AlterNet - Apr. 23 (Interview) - Joshua Holland talks to legendary linguist, author and political theorist Noam Chomsky about his new book, Occupy (which you can get here), and much more. AlterNet's own Lauren Kelley also brings listeners up-to-date about the progressive campaign to de-fang the hard-right corporate front group known as ALEC. Kelley also talks about how a similar organization, Americans United for Life, is helping drive the "war on women" in state houses across the country.

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AP Wins Pulitzer for Exposing NYPD's CIA-Linked Intel Program, Leading Widespread Spying on Muslims

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Amy Goodman - Apr. 17 (Interview) - We speak with Matt Apuzzo, co-author of the Associated Press series that revealed the New York City Police Department has extensively spied on Muslim Americans not only in the tri-city area, but throughout the eastern United States. The series won the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting. Beginning last August, the AP detailed how the NYPD established a vast operation to monitor Muslim neighborhoods after the 9/11 attacks. Hundreds of mosques, businesses and Muslim student groups were investigated, monitored and, in many cases, infiltrated. Police observed and cataloged daily life in Muslim communities, from where people ate and shopped to where they worked and prayed. Police used informants, known as "mosque crawlers," to monitor sermons, even without any evidence of wrongdoing. Also falling under NYPD’s scrutiny were imams, cab drivers and food cart vendors. According to the AP, many of these operations were built with help from the CIA, which is prohibited from spying on Americans.

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