Daily Headlines
Almost half of Americans are willing to give up freedoms to reduce the threat of terrorism. They are cowards and they betray the courage and blood and lives lost to protect our freedoms.
The movement demanding that public interest institutions divest their holdings from fossil fuels is on a serious roll. At last count, there were active divestment campaigns on 305 campuses and in more than 100 US cities and states, and in Canada, Australia, the Netherlands and Britain. The mission statement of the Fossil Free movement: "If it is wrong to wreck the climate, then it is wrong to profit from that wreckage.
Capitalism is the most destructive economic system in history. The question begs to be asked: when will this nightmare for humanity end?
Daniel Quinn's book, Ishmael, about a telepathic gorilla, won a Ted Turner award for book with a hopeful vision of the future. It's become a bestseller translated into many languages and I recommend it as must reading if you've never read it. This interview discusses the book AND an essay on invisible success and civilizations that die or quit-- one he wrote specifically for this interview.
If the purpose of religion is to control ourself, why do so many of us use it to condemn others?
By Bob Burnett
Dubya's Legacy: 10 Suggestions
Just when most Americans had forgotten the traumatic Bush era, along came the George W. Bush library to reopen old wounds. After the April 25 th library dedication, the MSM began to speculate about Dubya's legacy. A few suggestions:
Dubya's Legacy: 10 Suggestions
Just when most Americans had forgotten the traumatic Bush era, along came the George W. Bush library to reopen old wounds. After the April 25 th library dedication, the MSM began to speculate about Dubya's legacy. A few suggestions:
The current chemical weapons hysteria is a total fabrication by the CIA, MI6 and Israeli intelligence -- corroborated by zero evidence. Still, the prevailing Washington "wisdom" is that a "red line" must be enforced over Syria so a "red line" must be enforced on Iran.
Today, Obama has named Penny Pritzker Secretary of Commerce. As the President says, It's a milestone: the first female fraudster to hold that post. No longer will criminal bankers have to lobby the administration - because now they'll have one of their own in the Cabinet.
By Rob Kall
Michael Meade; Apocalypse, Living in the Shadow of Democracy, and why the world doesn't end
Michael Meade; Apocalypse, Living in the Shadow of Democracy, and why the world doesn't end
a wide ranging interview with a guy I've wanted to interview for almost ten years-- a big picture visionary who weaves myth, anthropology, story and etymology so we see our world in new, deeper, more meaningful ways.
Guns and bombs vs. people. The latest scores.
How can sales of super-luxury cars grow at super-fast rates during a recession? The answer is simple: it's not a recession for everyone.
Monthly Review is the oldest continually publishing voice of the Left in America. Marge Piercy is the author of eighteen books of poetry.
The media slammed an exhibit at the Jewish Museum in Berlin, Germany by dubbing it with the offensive title, "Jew in a Box." The world press joined the assault without bothering to fact check.Now it turns out that the "box" isn't even a box.
By Dr. Cheryl Pappas
To the Motherless on Mother's Day
Not all adult children have mothers to celebrate on Mother's Day.
To the Motherless on Mother's Day
Not all adult children have mothers to celebrate on Mother's Day.
The way I visualize it is that there's this huge room, and there are millions of people all sitting in a circle, and one person after another gets up and reads their essay, and everybody listens respectfully. We are trying to bring a certain degree of civility into public discourse about beliefs, which, in many cases, so polarize people that they can't even listen to each other, even when they have much in common.
I hope that this expose of the AKC's hypocritical claims of being the "dog's champion" will result in much needed changes to puppy mills. Hopefully, if they continue to exist, they will be places where dogs are treated well and with respect, though I can't see how making a dog breed ad infinatum can ever result in a pleasant life for them to have.
Air Quality Awareness Week Hopes to Bring the spotlight on air pollution
In mid-April, Kansas passed a law asserting that federal gun regulations do not apply to guns made and owned in Kansas. Under the law, Kansans could manufacture and sell semi-automatic weapons in-state without a federal license or any federal oversight.
Kochs Form "Business League," Will Keep Political Spending In the Shadows
The right-wing network funded by the billionaire industrialist Koch brothers is being revamped after the 2012 elections, starting with a new nonprofit called the "Association for American Innovation" that will act as a hub for funnelling undisclosed spending towards the Kochs' political projects. With ambiguous IRS rules and a deadlocked Congress, they might get away with it.
The right-wing network funded by the billionaire industrialist Koch brothers is being revamped after the 2012 elections, starting with a new nonprofit called the "Association for American Innovation" that will act as a hub for funnelling undisclosed spending towards the Kochs' political projects. With ambiguous IRS rules and a deadlocked Congress, they might get away with it.
Two years ago, the bureau and the Labor Department agreed on a different way -- a poverty line that accounts for medical expenses, geographic differences, the cost of shelter and clothing and other factors.
The expansion of war in the Middle East is being carried out behind the backs of the American people and against their will. A poll published the same day as Obama's press conference found that 62 percent of the American people oppose intervention in Syria, and only 25 percent support it.
Liberal groups angered by President Barack Obama's proposed Social Security cuts say they'll take a page from conservatives' campaign playbook and work to oust Democratic lawmakers who go along with the plan. The revolt within Obama's political base and a related divide in his party may complicate the president's mission when Congress returns to Washington next week to settle the budget and meet a looming deadline, May 18, for raising the federal debt ceiling.
We Americans argue a lot about second amendment rights. How many of us pay any attention to Sixth Amendment rights? The Sixth Amendment is far more important to protecting our liberty, yet most Americans do not even know it exists.
A lawyer who represented prisoners held at Guantanamo Bay was found dead last week in what sources are calling a suicide. Andy P. Hart, 38, apparently died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He was a public defender in Toledo, Ohio. Hart left behind a suicide note and a thumb drive that is said to contain case files.
John Bellinger, who was responsible for drafting the legal framework for targeted drone killings while working for George W Bush after 9/11, said he believed their use had increased since because President Obama was unwilling to deal with the consequences of jailing suspected al-Qaida members. "This government has decided that instead of detaining members of al-Qaida [at Guantanamo] they are going to kill them," he told a conference at the Bipartisan Policy Center.
Obama's New FCC Head Is a Lobbyist. And That's OK. Why Tom Wheeler's appointment hasn't sparked outrage
Tom Wheeler, a lobbyist who has been on the wrong side of a number of issues, is Obama's pick to replace Genachowski. So, why has there been no loud cry of protest from the left?
Tom Wheeler, a lobbyist who has been on the wrong side of a number of issues, is Obama's pick to replace Genachowski. So, why has there been no loud cry of protest from the left?
The wake of the Boston Marathon bombings brought with it an undertow of conspiracy theories ranging from the farfetched to the unbelievable. Two weeks ago, I never would have imagined being asked to explain, in casual social situations, what a "false flag' attack is.
Guantanamo has been in the headlines lately as detainees have staged a hunger strike that began in February. It has caused the Pres. to say, "It's not sustainable. The notion that we're going to keep 100 individuals in no mans land in perpetuity made no sense. Why are we doing this?" Action on his part is what is needed. Close Guantanamo, charge & try detainees or release them. It would be the right thing to do.
From the explosion at the fertilizer plant due to flagrant flouting of environmental regulations to the attack in Boston, this was shaping up to be a Bush Legacy week whether he stayed home to paint nude portraits of Jeb or chose to step out and try to defend a presidency many Americans must be still convinced was just one long phantasm brought on by a bad batch of Peyote.
Latest Articles
An essay on how to reduce gun violence by requiring those that own firearms to obtain a license to own a weapon.
Once again a confidant does the right thing. conveniently.
Best News Links from the Web
Obama attempted in 2 separate public appearances this past week to disabuse the press of the idea that Congress' inability to pass even modest and popular legislation is a consequence of his failure to engage in the mythical armtwisting of LBJ or Lincoln. his mysterious claim to be creating a "permission structure" for the GOP sounded almost like an allusion to a Rube Goldberg device that could transform Republicans from tireless obstructionists into reluctant partners -- an unlikely contraption, but perhaps the only thing short of total lawlessness that might yield Republican support for a budget deal or any other major bipartisan enterprise. It resembles a strategy Axelrod used to help elect Michael White, a black candidate, the Mayor of Cleveland OH more than 20 years ago, ""David felt there almost had to be a permission structure set up for certain white voters...
The world is plagued by conflict, war, violence and murder, and much of it is perpetrated by people who regard themselves as religious Jews or Christians or Muslims because they have been led to believe there is "religious" justification for their violent destructive acts and killing. This is not new, of course. Human beings have been fighting with "religious" justification throughout history. However, the root causes of the modern form of "holy wars" were established a long time ago, and an examination of the history right up to the present day may be helpful in understanding the roots and causes of the problem.
The emergencies ministry in Kyrgyzstan says a US military plane has crashed in the country. Kyrgyzstan hosts a US base that is used for troops transiting into and out of Afghanistan and for C-135 tanker planes that refuel warplanes in flight. It was reported that the plane broke into three pieces when it crashed into an uninhabited area.
Government investigators have found that JPMorgan Chase devised "manipulative schemes" that transformed "money-losing power plants into powerful profit centers," and that one of its most senior executives gave "false and misleading statements" under oath. The findings appear in a confidential government document, reviewed by The New York Times, that was sent to the bank in March, warning of a potential crackdown by the regulator of the nation's energy markets.
US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel says the White House is considering providing lethal weapons to foreign-sponsored militants fighting the Syrian government."Arming the rebels - that's an option," Hagel said, adding that a "range of options" remained on the table. "These are options that must be considered with partners, with the international community: what is possible, what can help accomplish (our) objectives," he said.
Howard Kurtz, The Daily Beast's Washington bureau chief, has left the company, editor-in-chief Tina Brown announced on Twitter Thursday. Kurtz, a media critic for The Daily Beast and other news organizations, came under fire on Wednesday over a blog post in which he wrote that NBA player Jason Collins, who recently came out as gay, failed to mention he was once engaged. Collins did, in fact, disclose that detail in his announcement, and The Daily Beast has retracted the piece.
"Shots have been fired inside Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport this afternoon, according to breaking news reports coming out of Houston."
"There is something fundamentally wrong with a system where not being charged with a war crime keeps you locked away indefinitely and a war crime conviction is your ticket home," wrote Col. Morris Davis, the former military prosecutor and a 25-year veteran of the Air Force.
