Daily Headlines
as soon as I heard about this, I called Ray.
Jim Crow is already the big winner in this year's election. The corporate elite uses him to to gouge the planet and dominate the rest of us. So the voting rights of millions of student, elderly, black, Hispanic and other citizens are being lynched. Which may now decide control of the US Senate, many state legislatures...and the White House in 2016.
By Joan Brunwasser
Tom English: "Democrats are Stupid if They Don't Vote, Republicans are Stupid if They Do"
First thing we gotta do is kick the system into gear. I believe that what happened last Spring in Virginia was a magnificent, exhilarating triumph of the American voting system. Flex your VOTE! My motivation when I was creating this piece of art was to entertain and inspire. It's a Constructivist piece. It's a Public Service Announcement.My government is not doing it's job, so as a Citizen, I am taking it upon myself to do it.
Tom English: "Democrats are Stupid if They Don't Vote, Republicans are Stupid if They Do"
First thing we gotta do is kick the system into gear. I believe that what happened last Spring in Virginia was a magnificent, exhilarating triumph of the American voting system. Flex your VOTE! My motivation when I was creating this piece of art was to entertain and inspire. It's a Constructivist piece. It's a Public Service Announcement.My government is not doing it's job, so as a Citizen, I am taking it upon myself to do it.
New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman just made an incredible discovery after visiting Vietnam. He realized the Vietnam War had never been about stopping communism. That was only an emotional trigger for us. It was about anti-colonialist nationalism and the Vietnamese were really fighting a war of liberation against the US. The American public needs to understand this truth even deeper than Friedman is willing to go.
From the looks of things, Corporate America is no longer content with buying political influence. Now it wants to turn Congress into a wholly owned subsidiary. And it may well succeed, unless the voters thwart them on Tuesday.
Regulations are bad because regulations stipulate that loans must be of a certain quality, which reduces the volume of loans and shrinks profits. Therefore, the banks must use their money to hand-pick their own regulators and ferociously lobby against any rules that limit their ability to issue credit to anyone who can fog a mirror. Now you understand how modern-day banking works.
Taibbi's departure means that First Look has lost a talented, unique, and influential journalistic voice before he published a single word. After months of struggle and negotiation, The Intercept has arrived at the point where it can function effectively: with full editorial freedom and an ample budget. But First Look and Taibbi failed to reach a similar mutual understanding.
Jon Stewart Thanks the Koch Bros for Advertising on The Daily Show; BILL MOYERS
DON'T MISS THIS ONE:
DON'T MISS THIS ONE:
They know the drill: Leading the league in boring through ice sheets -- ScienceDaily
Hollow coring drills are used to extract ice cores that can analyze the past atmosphere. Scientists have now documented carbon dioxide in the atmosphere between 23,000 and 9,000 years ago, based on data from an 11,000-foot hole in Antarctica.Today, carbon dioxide is growing at 2 parts per million per year -- 20 times faster than the preindustrial situation recorded in the ice cores. But even at the slower rate, climate reacted very quickly to changing levels of the key greenhouse gas, Marcott says. "It's not just a gradual change from an ice age to an interglacial. We need to know how the Earth system works, but without these ice cores, and the great effort from the drilling team, we would not be in a position to know."
Hollow coring drills are used to extract ice cores that can analyze the past atmosphere. Scientists have now documented carbon dioxide in the atmosphere between 23,000 and 9,000 years ago, based on data from an 11,000-foot hole in Antarctica.Today, carbon dioxide is growing at 2 parts per million per year -- 20 times faster than the preindustrial situation recorded in the ice cores. But even at the slower rate, climate reacted very quickly to changing levels of the key greenhouse gas, Marcott says. "It's not just a gradual change from an ice age to an interglacial. We need to know how the Earth system works, but without these ice cores, and the great effort from the drilling team, we would not be in a position to know."
Herbalist and educator, Robin Rose Bennett is the author of two newly published books: "The Gift of Healing Herbs" as well as "Healing Magic: A Green Witch Guidebook to Conscious Living" (10th Anniv. Ed.) Herself a vibrant product of plant-based healing, she weaves together herbal wisdom, anecdotal stories and spiritual insights in her books & in this interview.
By Shirley Braverman
Obamacare Is Adding Millions of New Patients, but Health Care in America Is Getting Better and Cheaper! Here's How.
Article Summary: How is it possible to provide cheaper and better health care while adding 11 million new patients? Under Obamacare, we're doing it now by using our resources more efficiently and by changing the very culture of Health Care in America. Slowly but surely, America's antiquated health care system is being dragged into the modern world.
Obamacare Is Adding Millions of New Patients, but Health Care in America Is Getting Better and Cheaper! Here's How.
Article Summary: How is it possible to provide cheaper and better health care while adding 11 million new patients? Under Obamacare, we're doing it now by using our resources more efficiently and by changing the very culture of Health Care in America. Slowly but surely, America's antiquated health care system is being dragged into the modern world.
Are the Republicans planning a complete take-over of the government?
A Kansas Group's Push to Oust Judges Reveals a Gap in Campaign Finance Rules; by Robert Faturechi
DARK MONEY: Judicial retention elections in Kansas have typically been apolitical and uncontested -- until Kansans for Justice entered the fray earlier this month. Now the state's grappling with a new kind of dark money. "With just three weeks left before the upcoming midterm elections, a group called "Kansans for Justice" surfaced with the aim of persuading voters to oust two of their state Supreme Court justices. The unexpected emergence of Kansans for Justice in what have historically been uncontested retention races has exposed a loophole in the state's campaign finance rules: Even though the group has all the hallmarks of a political committee -- it is soliciting contributions, plans to send mailers and has an explicit electoral goal -- it's not required to report anything about its leadership, donors or spending."
DARK MONEY: Judicial retention elections in Kansas have typically been apolitical and uncontested -- until Kansans for Justice entered the fray earlier this month. Now the state's grappling with a new kind of dark money. "With just three weeks left before the upcoming midterm elections, a group called "Kansans for Justice" surfaced with the aim of persuading voters to oust two of their state Supreme Court justices. The unexpected emergence of Kansans for Justice in what have historically been uncontested retention races has exposed a loophole in the state's campaign finance rules: Even though the group has all the hallmarks of a political committee -- it is soliciting contributions, plans to send mailers and has an explicit electoral goal -- it's not required to report anything about its leadership, donors or spending."
The Prospect of a Republican Senate; By THE EDITORIAL BOARD, NY Times
In a rare fit of realism on Tuesday, Senator Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader, admitted he would be unable to repeal the Affordable Care Act if Republicans win the Senate next week and he becomes majority leader., but conservatives reacted with anger to what they considered a demonstration of weakness, and on Thursday Mr. McConnell was forced to backtrack. Yes, he is "committed to the full repeal of Obamacare" with only a simple majority, through a parliamentary procedure known as reconciliation.Those two comments are an indication of what will happen if Republicans gain control of the Senate i and if Mr. McConnell wins his race in Kentucky. It's not just that they are committed to time-wasting, obstructionist promises like repeal of health care reform; the bigger problem is that the party's leaders have continually proved unable to resist pressure from the radical right...
In a rare fit of realism on Tuesday, Senator Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader, admitted he would be unable to repeal the Affordable Care Act if Republicans win the Senate next week and he becomes majority leader., but conservatives reacted with anger to what they considered a demonstration of weakness, and on Thursday Mr. McConnell was forced to backtrack. Yes, he is "committed to the full repeal of Obamacare" with only a simple majority, through a parliamentary procedure known as reconciliation.Those two comments are an indication of what will happen if Republicans gain control of the Senate i and if Mr. McConnell wins his race in Kentucky. It's not just that they are committed to time-wasting, obstructionist promises like repeal of health care reform; the bigger problem is that the party's leaders have continually proved unable to resist pressure from the radical right...
Truthout sparks action by revealing systemic injustice and providing a platform for transformative ideas through investigative reporting and analysis. Many Americans, particularly the young, believe that voting is an exercise in futility, or worse, an immoral display of support for a fundamentally corrupt political system. Far more appealing is to build a diverse grassroots movement - organically and horizontally - to change our consciousness, our lifestyles, the way we grow our food, harness our energy, travel, trade - and how we treat each other as human beings.
A veteran Republican lawmaker will be challenged by a Democratic political newcomer in Tuesday's general election for the 9th Congressional District.
Once again, Glenn Grunwald tells us that billionaire owned First Look Media is a real, independent force in journalism -- as though owner Pierre Omidyar's billions and politics have nothing to do with it.
The FBI is attempting to persuade an obscure regulatory body in Washington to change its rules of engagement in order to seize significant new powers to hack into and carry out surveillance of computers throughout the US and around the world. To be seeking these powers at a time of heightened international concern about US surveillance is an especially brazen and potentially dangerous move," said Ahmed Ghappour, an expert in computer law at University of California, Hastings college of the law.
Suspected cop killer Eric Frein was captured Thursday in Pennsylvania after a 48-day manhunt, law enforcement sources with direct knowledge of the arrest told NBC News.
By earl ofari hutchinson
A Republican Mid-Term Wave" Will Further Sink Black America
GOP pundits and some in the media gleefully noted that a few African-American listeners purportedly walked out on President Obama during a campaign speech he made at a Maryland High School on October 19 to boost the candidacy of Maryland Gubernatorial Democrat candidate Lt. Governor Anthony Brown. Brown is in a bid to become the nation's second African-American governor. This was more than merely an excuse to poke fun at Obama
A Republican Mid-Term Wave" Will Further Sink Black America
GOP pundits and some in the media gleefully noted that a few African-American listeners purportedly walked out on President Obama during a campaign speech he made at a Maryland High School on October 19 to boost the candidacy of Maryland Gubernatorial Democrat candidate Lt. Governor Anthony Brown. Brown is in a bid to become the nation's second African-American governor. This was more than merely an excuse to poke fun at Obama
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The Racism Insurance skits are laugh-out-loud funny, and most of us can use more laughter in our lives. But they are not just funny. They also shed some light on real-world racial dynamics. There is content in these clips worth examining more closely.
Though the Ukraine crisis drove a wedge between Presidents Obama and Putin, their cooperation remains crucial to a negotiated agreement to constrain but not end Iran's nuclear program, as Gareth Porter makes clear in reporting on a possible breakthrough for Inter Press Service.
The number one hate object is Vladimir Putin, who is regularly characterized as either the reincarnation of Stalin, the second coming of Hitler or, preferably, both. That's because he doesn't recognize the implications of Russia's defeat in the cold war and still seems to think his opinions amount to something in the brave new unipolar world Washington is building.
There should be no place for raw, naked greed in in the US. It should be tightly regulated and controlled -- it should be seen as the mental illness and social illness that it is. Greed is not what our country was founded on, it certainly isn't what it was built on, and it's not what's going to make the US great again.
The Right's Urge to Kick Down: Doing Unto Others as Has Been Done Unto You
That template of the downward kick is so ingrained in the culture - at multiple levels, and especially in some parts of the culture - that even many who, in socio-economic terms, are in dominant positions have had profound -- but often unintegrated-- experiences of that kick-down pain. That helps to explain why even members of the elite, especially on the right, have the urge to deal with those on the bottom punitively.
That template of the downward kick is so ingrained in the culture - at multiple levels, and especially in some parts of the culture - that even many who, in socio-economic terms, are in dominant positions have had profound -- but often unintegrated-- experiences of that kick-down pain. That helps to explain why even members of the elite, especially on the right, have the urge to deal with those on the bottom punitively.
Ann Jones: Genuine, Handcrafted, Man-Made Government
This disconnect between Washington's much-advertised support for women's rights and its actual disdain for women was not lost upon canny Afghans. From early on, they recognized that the Americans were hypocrites at heart.
This disconnect between Washington's much-advertised support for women's rights and its actual disdain for women was not lost upon canny Afghans. From early on, they recognized that the Americans were hypocrites at heart.
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Full Show: Bernie Sanders on Breaking Big Money's Grip on Elections
The only independent member of the US Senate tells Bill big money's purchase of political power is a grave threat, and shares his plan to put government back in voters' control. "Apparently for these guys, owning and controlling our economy is not enough! They now want to own and control the government. And we are not going to allow them to do that." DON'T MISS THIS SENATOR TELLING IT AS IT IS.
The only independent member of the US Senate tells Bill big money's purchase of political power is a grave threat, and shares his plan to put government back in voters' control. "Apparently for these guys, owning and controlling our economy is not enough! They now want to own and control the government. And we are not going to allow them to do that." DON'T MISS THIS SENATOR TELLING IT AS IT IS.
Brian Ford Writes a Letter to the Editors of TIME; By Diane ravitch
Brian Ford, teacher and author, wrote this letter to the editor of TIME magazine, in response to the demeaning cover about teachers as "Rotten Apples" who cannot be fired. The cover said that "tech millionaires" had figured out how to deal with those teachers. Ford writes: " It is concentrated poverty, not teacher quality that plagues our system -- or, more accurately, those parts of the system which serve the poorest quarter of our population. Dismantle the public system to serve the students, which is done in the strangest way -- teacher autonomy declines and long term professionals are pushed out not because they are 'bad,' but because they have higher salaries. The problem is that far too many advocates of this position are trying to make room in the budget for their own payments; ranging from Rupert Murdoch to purveyors of virtual education to TFA to Pearson to the Gates-funded.
Brian Ford, teacher and author, wrote this letter to the editor of TIME magazine, in response to the demeaning cover about teachers as "Rotten Apples" who cannot be fired. The cover said that "tech millionaires" had figured out how to deal with those teachers. Ford writes: " It is concentrated poverty, not teacher quality that plagues our system -- or, more accurately, those parts of the system which serve the poorest quarter of our population. Dismantle the public system to serve the students, which is done in the strangest way -- teacher autonomy declines and long term professionals are pushed out not because they are 'bad,' but because they have higher salaries. The problem is that far too many advocates of this position are trying to make room in the budget for their own payments; ranging from Rupert Murdoch to purveyors of virtual education to TFA to Pearson to the Gates-funded.
BATS Respond to TIME; by Diane Ravitch
HERE IS THE TRUTH: The leaders of the BATs sent the following letter to TIME magazine in response to the magazine's insulting cover story about American teachers: Instead of clarity, this continues the misconception that tenure ensures a job for life. It does not. It ensures "just cause" rationale before teachers can be fired....the cover perpetuates the pernicious myth of the "bad" teacher and tenure as the prime enablers of larger failures in American education. This is a false narrative. These failures are due to structural inequalities and chronic underfunding in our educational systems, not due to teachers and teacher tenure, which is a a simple guarantee of procedural due process which is its function in K-12 education.Opponents of teacher tenureconsistently invoke the "bad teacher" argument as pretext to attack not only teachers but also teacher unions, arguing that ...
HERE IS THE TRUTH: The leaders of the BATs sent the following letter to TIME magazine in response to the magazine's insulting cover story about American teachers: Instead of clarity, this continues the misconception that tenure ensures a job for life. It does not. It ensures "just cause" rationale before teachers can be fired....the cover perpetuates the pernicious myth of the "bad" teacher and tenure as the prime enablers of larger failures in American education. This is a false narrative. These failures are due to structural inequalities and chronic underfunding in our educational systems, not due to teachers and teacher tenure, which is a a simple guarantee of procedural due process which is its function in K-12 education.Opponents of teacher tenureconsistently invoke the "bad teacher" argument as pretext to attack not only teachers but also teacher unions, arguing that ...
Canada's hopes of securing an outlet for its landlocked oil wealth and pulling an end run around the eternally deadlocked Keystone XL project took a big step forward Thursday with the release of formal plans to build a U.S. $11 billion pipeline to the Atlantic. TransCanada, the biggest Canadian pipeline company, submitted its application to Canadian energy regulators for a nearly 3,000-mile-long, million-barrel-a-day pipe running from oil-rich western Canada to refineries and shipping terminals in the east. The so-called Energy East Pipeline Project, which TransCanada officials hope could be in operation as soon as 2018, would provide an export outlet for huge volumes of current and future oil production that right now has no easy way to get to market.
CURMUDGUCATION: MA Committed to Chasing Teachers Away; by Peter Greene
Can you believe what is the education news in Massachusetts? Teachers won't just be fired; they will lose their license to teach if students get low test scores. Peter Greene writes that there seems to be a contest among the states to see which one can be most hostile and punitive towards public school teachers. Is it North Carolina? Is it Tennessee? No, writes Greene, the state that is in the lead in this category is Massachusetts. Massachusetts, which leads the nation by far on federal tests of mathematics and reading, intends to adopt regulations that will take away a teacher's license if his or her students get low test scores. There are three proposed versions (A, B & C) of the new system, and they all share one piece of twisted DNA-- they link teacher evaluations to teacher licenses. Not pay level or continued employment in that particular school district-- but licensure
Can you believe what is the education news in Massachusetts? Teachers won't just be fired; they will lose their license to teach if students get low test scores. Peter Greene writes that there seems to be a contest among the states to see which one can be most hostile and punitive towards public school teachers. Is it North Carolina? Is it Tennessee? No, writes Greene, the state that is in the lead in this category is Massachusetts. Massachusetts, which leads the nation by far on federal tests of mathematics and reading, intends to adopt regulations that will take away a teacher's license if his or her students get low test scores. There are three proposed versions (A, B & C) of the new system, and they all share one piece of twisted DNA-- they link teacher evaluations to teacher licenses. Not pay level or continued employment in that particular school district-- but licensure
Officials say at least four people are now dead including the pilot after a small plane reported losing engine power and crashed into the two-story FlightSafety Cessna Learning Center at Wichita's Mid-Continent Airport. The crash happened around 9:50 a.m. Thursday. It sent up huge plumes of black smoke which could be seen for miles around the city.
Asteroid in a Bag? Bag it, Says MIT Space Scientist
NASA's next great manned mission has always sounded like something of a fever dream. There may be a better way to do the same work. The first part of Binzel's proposed three-part program, therefore, is to mount an exhaustive telescopic search for Near-Earth Asteroids, or NEO's, ten meters (33 ft.) across or bigger. He estimates there are about ten million of them--so many, he says, that "at least one passes by as close as the Moon every week (NASA is searching for them already, but there are still plenty of rocks going undetected).
NASA's next great manned mission has always sounded like something of a fever dream. There may be a better way to do the same work. The first part of Binzel's proposed three-part program, therefore, is to mount an exhaustive telescopic search for Near-Earth Asteroids, or NEO's, ten meters (33 ft.) across or bigger. He estimates there are about ten million of them--so many, he says, that "at least one passes by as close as the Moon every week (NASA is searching for them already, but there are still plenty of rocks going undetected).
Jeff Bryant: TIME Is an Internet Troll; by Diane ravitch
" Bryant writes that TIME has lost prestige and readers and now recycles rightwing cliches. On Salon, Bryant says that TIME has become an "embarrassing Internet troll," with its cover story slamming teachers as the latest example of supermarket sensationalism. TIME put Michelle Rhee on its cover un 2008 and implied that she knew how to transform America's schools. She fired hundreds of teachers and principals without transforming DC schools. And now we have another sensational anti-teacher cover, this one privileging tech millionaires as knowing how to fix teaching. Bryant writes: "Astonishingly, since 2008, Time has learned nothing about the problems besieging teachers and their schools and the much-ballyhooed promises of "education reform."" "The article (behind a pay wall) is written by a journalist who seems brand-new to the scene"Wouldn't it be appropriate to interview teachers!
" Bryant writes that TIME has lost prestige and readers and now recycles rightwing cliches. On Salon, Bryant says that TIME has become an "embarrassing Internet troll," with its cover story slamming teachers as the latest example of supermarket sensationalism. TIME put Michelle Rhee on its cover un 2008 and implied that she knew how to transform America's schools. She fired hundreds of teachers and principals without transforming DC schools. And now we have another sensational anti-teacher cover, this one privileging tech millionaires as knowing how to fix teaching. Bryant writes: "Astonishingly, since 2008, Time has learned nothing about the problems besieging teachers and their schools and the much-ballyhooed promises of "education reform."" "The article (behind a pay wall) is written by a journalist who seems brand-new to the scene"Wouldn't it be appropriate to interview teachers!
A New York professor was beheaded by her own son on Tuesday night, according to police, and witnesses didn't notice anything peculiar about the body at first, because they had assumed it was someone's particularly macabre idea of a Halloween prank. Patricia Ward was attacked and killed by her son in their apartment last night, and he dragged her body and severed head out into the street.
Sweden's new left-leaning government on Thursday recognized a Palestinian state -- a move that comes during increased tensions between Arabs and Jews over Israel's plans to build about 1,000 housing units in east Jerusalem. The European Union member became the third Western European nation, after Malta and Cyprus, to do so, reflecting growing international impatience with Israel's nearly half-century control of the West Bank, east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip.
Israel's closure of Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa mosque compound, known to Jews as the Temple Mount, following an assassination attempt on Wednesday, is tantamount to a "declaration of war," Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said Thursday morning. "This dangerous Israeli escalation is a declaration of war on the Palestinian people and its sacred places and on the Arab and Islamic nation," Abbas's spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeina quoted him as saying.
Apple CEO Tim Cook says, "While I have never denied my sexuality, I haven't publicly acknowledged it either, until now. So let me be clear: I'm proud to be gay, and I consider being gay among the greatest gifts God has given me. So if hearing that the CEO of Apple is gay can help someone struggling to come to terms with who he or she is, or bring comfort to anyone who feels alone, or inspire people to insist on their equality, then it's worth the trade-off with my own privacy."
