NewsTrust - Corruption - Most Recent Stories: Opinion (Independent)

End Polluter Welfare Act

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

readersupportednews.org - By Bernie Sanders - May. 11 (Opinion) - 'Our federal government will give away over $110 billion in taxpayer dollars to oil, gas, and coal industries in the next 10 years. Totally absurd.' Bernie Sanders,

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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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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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The High Court's Supremely Unethical Activists

Sun, 08 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0700

readersupportednews.org - By Joe Conason - Apr. 08 (Opinion) - '... flagrant displays of bias outside the court, where certain justices regularly behave as dubiously as any sleazy officeholder.'

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Save Wall Street! Congress Passes JO(BS) Act

Thu, 05 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0700

readersupportednews.org - By Jim Hightower - Apr. 05 (Opinion) - Washington has finally heard the people's cries for jobs! In an urgent bipartisan push, Democrats and Republicans have joined hands across the aisle to pass the JOBS Act. In this time of "The Great Hurt" - with widespread unemployment, middle-class incomes tumbling and the price of gasoline skyrocketing - we can all applaud our stalwarts in the capital city for meeting the No. 1 need of America's hard-hit economy: deregulating Wall Street. Huh? I thought this was a jobs bill?

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Robert Greenwald on the New Film "Koch Brothers Exposed" -- the 1% at Its Very Worst

Thu, 29 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0700

AlterNet - Mar. 29 (Interview) - One of the problems in the progressive movement, all too often -- and, you know, people have talked about this endlessly -- the separate silos, the single-issue folks who are both focused and funded to do a single issue -- but how do you encourage and work so that the issue people come together and see the importance of the fact that the people who are attacking the environment are attacking Social Security, are attacking public education, are attacking and buying politicians, are attacking an African-American community, etc., etc.

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World Bank Nominee Tied to Monsanto Shareholder Bill Gates, Soros

Wed, 28 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0700

nationofchange.org - By Tim McCoy - Mar. 28 (Opinion) - Obama nominated Dartmouth University president Jim Yong Kim, M.D. to head the United Nations World Bank. Most people think that UN agencies benefit poor people, but this is far from the truth.

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6 Pathetic Right-Wing Attempts to Defend the Indefensible Citizens United (Debunked)

Sun, 26 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800

AlterNet - By Steven Rosenfeld - Feb. 26 (Opinion) - when a few loud perspectives dominate the airways and debate, it eclipses the voices of people of lesser means and discourages their participation and confidence in the process. As such, wealth-driven political speech isn’t free. It’s very expensive. And the costs are not just monetary, but measured in the public’s eroding trust in representative government and the elections.

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Billionaire Bigot Bankrolling Mitt Romney

Sun, 19 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800

Daily Kos - Feb. 19 (Opinion) - In a column sure to rain lawsuit threats down upon him, Glenn Greenwald exposes many of the scandals surrounding Mitt Romney's national finance co-chair, Idahoan Frank VanderSloot. VanderSloot is a billionaire whose deep pockets have funded no small number of Idaho's political figures. As Greenwald details, his business practices have drawn plenty of unwanted attention, as has his involvement in numerous far-right causes, particularly his anti-gay activism, including running a billboard campaign against Idaho Public Television for running a documentary about teachers talking about lesbian and gay issues in age-appropriate ways. His wife, Belinda, donated $100,000 to California's Prop 8 campaign.

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Komen Fundraiser Calls for CEO Nancy Brinker to Quit

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800

readersupportednews.org - By Karen McVeigh - Feb. 10 (Opinion) - Ellis refers to her disappointment even as Brinker reversed the funding decision. "Brinker's words struck me as vague and hollow – no future commitment to Planned Parenthood and no specific apology to the low-income women who would have become the collateral damage from the defunding," Ellis wrote. "I also don't believe Brinker and her board when she claims that Komen's decision wasn't political."

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League of Conservation Voters: George Allen Named to Dirty Dozen

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800

action.lcv.org - Feb. 10 (Press Release) - Former Virginia Senator George Allen earned an abysmal 1% LCV lifetime score during his time in the Senate. Additionally, Allen has received nearly $500,000 from oil and gas interests. This is Allen's 3rd time on the Dirty Dozen, having been named to the list in 2000 and 2006.

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Medical Whistleblower Dr. Steven Nissen on "Escape Fire: The Fight to Rescue American Healthcare"

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0800

Democracy Now - By Amy Goodman - Jan. 23 (Interview) - As the Republican presidential candidates propose to dismantle President Obama’s 2010 healthcare reform package, we speak to Dr. Steven Nissen, one of the nation’s leading cardiologists. His research into Vioxx and Avandia led to severe restrictions by the Food and Drug Administration, reducing the use of both drugs. Nissen is profiled in the documentary, "Escape Fire: The Fight to Rescue American Healthcare," which is being featured this year at the Sundance Film Festival. The film tackles the powerful forces behind the battle over heathcare costs and access.

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Republic, Lost: How Money Corrupts Congress--and a Plan to Stop It

Sat, 17 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0800

edmaysproductions.net - By Lawrence Lessig - Dec. 17 (Speech) - In an era when special interests funnel huge amounts of money into our government-driven by shifts in campaign-finance rules and brought to new levels by the Supreme Court in "Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission-"trust in our government has reached an all-time low. More than ever before, Americans believe that money buys results in Congress, and that business interests wield control over our legislature. With heartfelt urgency and a keen desire for righting wrongs, Harvard law professor Lawrence Lessig takes a clear-eyed look at how we arrived at this crisis: how fundamentally good people, with good intentions, have allowed our democracy to be co-opted by outside interests, and how this exploitation has become entrenched in the system. Rejecting simple labels and reductive logic-and instead using examples that resonate as powerfully on the Right as on the Left-Lessig seeks out the root causes of our situation. He plumbs the issues of campaign financing and corporate lobbying, revealing the human faces and follies that have allowed corruption to take such a foothold in our system. He puts the issues in terms that nonwonks can understand, using real-world analogies and real human stories. And ultimately he calls for widespread mobilization and a new Constitutional Convention, presenting achievable solutions for regaining control of our corrupted-but redeemable-representational system. In this way, Lessig plots a roadmap for returning our republic to its intended greatness. While America may be divided, Lessig vividly champions the idea that we can succeed if we accept that corruption is our common enemy and that we must find a way to fight against it. In REPUBLIC, LOST, he not only makes this need palpable and clear-he gives us the practical and intellectual tools to do something about it.

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Obama Admin Denounced for "Startling Level of Obstructionism and Defeatism" on U.N. Climate Deal

Fri, 09 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0800

Democracy Now - By Amy Goodman - Dec. 09 (Interview) - For analysis on where the U.N. climate change talks stand, we are joined by two guests who have been closely tracking the role of the U.S. negotiating team over the past two weeks. Kate Horner is a policy analyst at Friends of the Earth, and Michael Dorsey is an assistant professor of environmental studies at Dartmouth College. "In those briefings, we've seen, I think, a startling lack of vision, a startling level of obstructionism, of defeatism," Dorsey says. "And I think one way we could summarize those briefings is that the U.S. State Department diplomacy is about delay... What we've seen the U.S. try to force the world to do here is to sort of throw out the baby that's called Kyoto, which is an agreement that's legally binding, and get the world to drink the dirty water, the bath water that's left behind." [includes rush transcript]

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Our Politicians Are Money Launderers Not Too Different from Tony Soprano

Fri, 04 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0700

AlterNet - By Bill Moyers - Nov. 04 (Speech) - journalism for me has been a continuing course in adult education, and I came early on to consider the work you do as part of the curriculum – an open seminar on how government works – and for whom. Your muckraking investigations – into money and politics, corporate behavior, lobbying, regulatory oversight, public health and safety, openness in government, and consumer protection, among others – are models of accuracy and integrity. They drive home to journalists that while it is important to cover the news, it is more important to uncover the news. As one of my mentors said, “News is what people want to keep hidden; everything else is publicity.”

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Republic, Lost (my favorite version)

Wed, 26 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -0700

YouTube - By Lawrence Lessig - Oct. 26 (Opinion) - In an era when special interests funnel huge amounts of money into our government—driven by shifts in campaign-finance rules and brought to new levels by the Supreme Court in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission—trust in our government has reached an all-time low. More than ever before, Americans believe that money buys results in Congress, and that business interests wield control over our legislature.

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Goldman Sachs v. Occupy Wall Street

Tue, 25 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Amy Goodman, Greg Palast - Oct. 25 (Interview) - A controversy in the banking community has arisen around the Occupy Wall Street movement. Greg Palast investigates the story behind Goldman Sachs' recent decision to pull out of a fundraiser for the Lower East Side People's Federal Credit Union in New York City after it learned the event was honoring the protesters at Occupy Wall Street. The investment bank withdrew its name from the fundraiser and also canceled a $5,000 pledge. Was the $5,000 a Goldman Sachs donation or actually American taxpayer bailout money Goldman set aside for community banks? [includes rush transcript]

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Something More Than Polarization

Tue, 25 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Huffington Post - By Lawrence Lessig - Oct. 25 (Opinion) - We can't afford to simply indulge the passion of our differences. Not anymore. The challenges we face as a nation are just too great. It is time for us to practice a politics that doesn't fit the business model of Fox v. MSNBC.

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Racial Dilution of Voting Records

Thu, 29 Sep 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Black Box Voting - By Bev Harris - Sep. 29 (Opinion) - In Shelby County, precincts are racially polarized; some are mostly Black, some almost all White, and some are "in play", meaning they are mixed enough that it's anybody's guess which party will win. If votes were simply flipped so that Republicans got the Democratic votes and vice versa, it would be immediately seen in a county with known racially-related political preferences and concentrated ethnic populations. If you wanted to flip the counts, you’d need to either (1) dilute the reported racial demographic or (2) create a precinct-specific vote flipping method, or both. Both of these factors exist in Shelby County.

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'People Are Close to Revolt'

Mon, 12 Sep 2011 00:00:00 -0700

readersupportednews.org - By James Fallows - Sep. 12 (Opinion) - I've never actually written to a journalist before, but I was one of the 1,252 people arrested this weekend in front of the White House. I also live in the rural Midwest and your source is right. People are close to revolt. I think it will be a five year process of movement building, but even my very conservative staff of library assistants all cheered me on when I told them what I was doing. The people I interact with here and the ones I met in DC are all fed-up at a deep and fundamental level.

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Robert Greenwald and Thom Hartmann Discuss “Koch Brothers Exposed”

Wed, 31 Aug 2011 00:00:00 -0700

kochbrothersexposed.com - By Thom Hartmann, Robert Greenwald - Aug. 31 (Interview) - Brave New Foundation’s latest “Koch Brothers Exposed” investigation unveils the Kochs’ attempt to re-segregate public schools in North Carolina. (Video)

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Ex-Bush Official Col. Lawrence Wilkerson: "I am Willing to Testify" If Dick Cheney is Put on Trial

Tue, 30 Aug 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Amy Goodman - Aug. 30 (Interview) - s former Vice President Dick Cheney publishes his long-awaited memoir, we speak to Col. Lawrence Wilkerson, former chief of staff to Secretary of State Colin Powell. "This is a book written out of fear, fear that one day someone will 'Pinochet' Dick Cheney," says Wilkerson, alluding to the former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet, who was arrested for war crimes. Wilkerson also calls for George W. Bush and Cheney to be held accountable for their crimes in office. "I’d be willing to testify, and I’d be willing to take any punishment I’m due," Wilkerson said.

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"Guess Which 10 Companies Aren't Paying Their Share"

Mon, 22 Aug 2011 00:00:00 -0700

AlterNet - By Bernie Sanders - Aug. 22 (Press Release) - Bernie's calling out the corporations that paid no tax, those that received tax refunds on top of that and others.

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It's Not Phone Hacking That Will Kill News Corp in the US

Sat, 20 Aug 2011 00:00:00 -0700

readersupportednews.org - By Emily Bell - Aug. 20 (Opinion) - News narratives are strange things; the expectation that News Corp will crash to the ground in the US, with the right story at the right time, is not going to be fulfilled. The multitude of pressures in the UK and growing problems unrelated to the hacking scandal in the US might well yet combine to see a much slower but nevertheless devastating effect on the heart of the empire.' Emily Bell, Guardian UK

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Heather Brooke: Data Dealing Is A Bigger Scandal Than Phone Hacking

Wed, 17 Aug 2011 00:00:00 -0700

huffingtonpost.co.uk - By Dina Rickman - Aug. 17 (Interview) - When the woman who exposed the MPs expenses scandal says sheâ€™s uncovered the next big public outrage, itâ€™s impossible not to take notice. Heather Brooke explains to the Huffington Post UK why data dealing is even bigger than phone hacking and the reasons she lost faith in WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.

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