Monsanto’s Weed Killer is “Substantial Factor” in Cancer, Says Jury
The Real News – March 22, 2019 – Samara Geller a Senior Research and Database Analyst for the Environmental Working Group
https://therealnews.com/stories/monsantos-weed-killer-is-substantial-factor-in-cancer-says-jury
There is mounting evidence showing a link between glyphosate and cancer, specifically non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma… This is the second time in less than a year that Monsanto’s signature weed killer has been implicated as the cause of a person’s non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. And as you said, there’s now more than over 11,000 lawsuits that are coming from farm workers, they’re coming from licensed pesticide applicators, they’re coming from groundskeepers, they’re coming from those most heavily impacted among us. They have repeated exposure to this pesticide from the highest levels of exposure.
Propaganda, Politics, And The Environment
Clean Technica – March 22, 2019 – Robert Dee
https://cleantechnica.com/2019/03/22/propaganda-politics-and-the-environment/
One of the devices that best enables corruption to exist and eventually undermine all ideologies is propaganda. One might think that free societies favoring free speech would be the least vulnerable to propaganda. However, this is not the case. Propaganda plays on ignorance, not human intellect per say, but ignorance of issues and facts… The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society. Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country. We are governed, our minds are molded, our tastes formed, and our ideas suggested, largely by men we have never heard of. … It is they who pull the wires that control the public mind… Propaganda has worked so well that people with no background in climatology absolutely assert it’s a “hoax” and show disdain for environmentalists.
The Ghost of Fascism in the Post-Truth Era
Counterpunch – March 22, 2019 – Henry Giroux
https://www.counterpunch.org/2019/03/22/the-ghost-of-fascism-in-the-post-truth-era/
We do not live in a post-truth world and never have. On the contrary, we live in a pre-truth world where the truth has yet to arrive… In the current historical moment, the boundaries between truth and fiction are disappearing, giving way to a culture of lies, immediacy, consumerism, falsehoods, and the demonization of those considered disposable… Truth is no longer merely fragile or problematic, it has become toxic and dysfunctional in an media ecosystem largely controlled by right wing conservatives and a financial elite who invest heavily in right-wing media apparatuses such Fox News and white nationalist social media platforms such as Breitbart News.
Trump’s Kakistocracy Is Also a Hackistocracy
The New York Times – March 28, 2019 – Paul Krugman
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/25/opinion/stephen-moore-federal-reserve.html
Trump said he planned to nominate Stephen Moore for the Fed’s Board of Governors. Moore is manifestly, flamboyantly unqualified for the position. But there’s a story here that goes deeper than Moore, or even Trump; it’s about the whole G.O.P.’s preference for hucksters over experts, even partisan experts… Many people have described the Trump administration as a kakistocracy — rule by the worst — which it is. But it’s also a hackistocracy — rule by the ignorant and incompetent. And in this Trump is just following standard G.O.P. practice… There will be more and bigger disasters ahead. And the people in charge of dealing with those disasters will be the worst of the worst.
A close reading of William Barr’s summary of the Mueller report.
Slate – March 24, 2019 – William Saletan
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2019/03/mueller-report-barr-summary-obstruction-conspiracy-close-reading.html
We know from Barr’s letter that in the report, Mueller “sets out evidence on both sides” of the obstruction question—and that Mueller says his report “does not exonerate” Trump. For now, all we have is the letter. And it doesn’t show that Trump is innocent of collusion or obstruction. It shows that collusion and obstruction were defined to exclude what he did.
Public Sees America’s Future in Decline on Many Fronts
Pew Research Center – March 21, 2019 – Kim Parker, Rich Morin and Juliana Menasce Horowitz
https://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2019/03/21/public-sees-an-america-in-decline-on-many-fronts/
When Americans peer 30 years into the future, they see a country in decline economically, politically and on the world stage. While a narrow majority of the public (56%) say they are at least somewhat optimistic about America’s future, hope gives way to doubt when the focus turns to specific issues. A new Pew Research Center survey focused on what Americans think the United States will be like in 2050 finds that majorities of Americans foresee a country with a burgeoning national debt, a wider gap between the rich and the poor and a workforce threatened by automation.
I Prayed With Migrants In The Caravan. The Government Put Me On A Watchlist
Buzzfeed News – March 24, 2019 – Kaji Dousa
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/kajidousa/opinion-i-prayed-with-migrants-now-the-government-is
I am a minister at the Park Avenue Christian Church in New York City. Others on the DHS list are journalists, organizers, and lawyers. Apparently, our “crime” was fraternizing with migrants seeking refuge in this nation as part of the administration-reviled “caravan” fleeing violence in their home countries… The reality is that DHS doesn’t like my work with immigrants. As a key aspect of our organization’s mission, I often assist asylum-seekers whom the authorities have targeted. My faith compels me to do so as I remember that Jesus, the Christ, was both a migrant and a refugee at points of his life… If the US government can punish Americans for praying with migrants, writing about their travails, and helping them learn their rights, then America can stop calling itself the land of the free. I shudder to think what it should be called.
Under the bridge: migrants held in El Paso tell of dust, cold and hunger
The Guardian – March 31, 2019 – Ed Pilkington and Edwin Delgado
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/mar/31/el-paso-border-bridge-migrants-trump-beto-orourke
“This administration has made a challenge into chaos because of the policies that they have chosen to enact,” she said. “Having people corralled under a bridge out in the elements with half of them being children is absolutely inhumane and unacceptable and is not representative of who we are as a country and is not reflective of the kind of resources that Congress has given CBP and homeland security.”
Coal plants emitted more than ever in 2018, putting Earth in ‘deep trouble’
Los Angeles Times – March 25, 2019 – Chris Mooney and Brady Dennis
https://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-coal-power-plants-emissions-20190325-story.html
Monday’s report underscores an unnerving truth about the world’s collective efforts to stop climate change: Even as renewable energy rapidly expands, many countries — including the United States and China — are nevertheless still turning to fossil fuels to satisfy ever-growing energy demand… The climate consequences are catastrophic. I don’t use any word like that very often. But we are headed for disaster, and nobody seems to be able to slow things down.
Climate change: Global impacts ‘accelerating’ – World Meteorological Organization
BBC – March 28, 2019 -Matt McGrath
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-47723577
According to the report, most of the natural hazards that affected nearly 62 million people in 2018 were associated with extreme weather and climate events.
House Bill Would Make Significant Progress on Health Care Affordability and Coverage
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities – March 26, 2019 – Aviva Aron-Dine
https://www.cbpp.org/research/health/house-bill-would-make-significant-progress-on-health-care-affordability-and-coverage
The bill, introduced by Reps. Frank Pallone, Richard Neal, and Bobby Scott (chairs of the three committees with jurisdiction over major health care programs), would substantially improve financial assistance for people purchasing coverage through the Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplaces, strengthen protections for people with pre-existing health conditions, and reverse Trump Administration actions that have made it harder for people to learn about and enroll in coverage.
US Military Budget Reveals an Offensive Posture, Russia and China on Defense
The Real News – March 27, 2019 – Larry Wilkerson
https://therealnews.com/stories/us-military-budget-reveals-an-offensive-posture-russia-and-china-on-defense-wilkerson
When you look at a lot of the hardware that they’re putting new money into–everything from new tanks to a new generation of tactical nuclear weapons–it all seems to be essentially, in an offensive posture. It’s all part of maintaining this global world order with hundreds and hundreds of American bases all over the world. When you look at China and Russia’s posture, and Iran for that matter, it seems mostly defensive… Let’s face it, the empire is maintaining its imperium. We are maintaining the empire. No one even comes remotely close to us for overseas bases. The rest of the world might have anywhere from 70 to 80 bases in the world, which are countries like Russia and so forth. We have over eight hundred bases in the world, costing the American taxpayer close to a hundred billion dollars a year.
Gaza: Study Shows Rapid Deterioration in Mental Health of Palestinian Children under Israeli Blockade
Informed Comment – March 26 2019 – Middle East Monitor
https://www.juancole.com/2019/03/deterioration-palestinian-children.html
Gaza, like the rest of the occupied Palestinian territory, desperately needs a just and lasting political solution, including for Palestine refugees, which places the lives, welfare and dignity of both Palestinians and Israelis at its centre.
Israeli Snipers Kill 40 Children, send 3,000 to Hospital in Year of Gaza Border Protest
Informed Comment – March 29, 2019 – Agence France-Presse
https://www.juancole.com/2019/03/children-hospital-protests.html
“UNICEF reiterates its outrage at the very high numbers of children who have been killed and injured as a result of armed conflict 2018,” said UNICEF’s Middle East director Geert Cappelaere. He called on both sides to “ensure children are not targeted”. “Exploiting children’s lack of sense of purpose and vulnerabilities or enlisting them into violence are violations of children’s rights.”
Republicans Really Hate Health Care
The New York Times – March 26, 2019 – Paul Krugman
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/26/opinion/republicans-really-hate-healthcare.html
Why? The truth is that I don’t fully get it. Maybe it’s anger at the thought of anyone getting something they didn’t earn themselves, unless it’s an inheritance from daddy. Maybe it’s a sense that a lot of gratuitous suffering is or should be part of the human condition, or God’s plan, or something. I try to understand how others think, but in this case I really do find it hard. Whatever the reason, however, the fact is that whatever they may claim, today’s Republicans hate the idea of poor and working-class Americans getting the health care they need.
Trump is Coming for your Health Care, Will Re-institute Exclusion for Pre-Existing Conditions
Informed Comment – March 28, 2019 – Sebastian Smith
https://www.juancole.com/2019/03/institute-exclusion-conditions.html
Democrats saw the law as a historic step to getting tens of millions of Americans who had no health coverage to participate in what is a highly uneven and often inaccessible system. Republicans, on the other hand, attacked the law from the start — especially the mandate on buying insurance — as government overreach. A penalty that the law originally imposed on anyone failing to get insurance has already been repealed by Congress.
The 1994 Crime Bill Continues to Undercut Justice Reform—Here’s How to Stop It
Center for American Progress – March 26, 2019 – Ed Chung, Betsy Pearl, and Lea Hunter
https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/criminal-justice/reports/2019/03/26/467486/1994-crime-bill-continues-undercut-justice-reform-heres-stop/
“We’re asking cops to do too much in this country … Every societal failure, we put it off on the cops to solve. Not enough mental health funding, let the cops handle it … Schools fail, let’s give it to the cops … That’s too much to ask. Policing was never meant to solve all those problems.” – Former Police Chief David Brown, Dallas Police Department… Any serious effort to halt the ongoing damage wrought by the crime bill must target the money—the law’s primary vehicle for influencing state and local policy… The 1994 crime bill systematized so-called tough-on-crime policies in the United States. Efforts to reform the criminal justice system, therefore, will always be labeled a first step until lawmakers embrace the concept of “first, do no more harm” and dismantle the instruments that actualize these policies.
Donald Trump, the Golan, and the Return of the Old World Disorder
The American Prospect – March 29, 2019 – Gershom Gorenberg
https://prospect.org/article/donald-trump-golan-and-return-old-world-disorder
Donald Trump just recognized Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, territory occupied in a war 52 years ago. Trump also supports Brexit, doesn’t give a fig for NATO, thinks neo-Nazis may be “very fine people,” and is trying to sabotage America’s very belated halfway attempt to emulate the national health-care systems of other developed countries. Yes, these things are connected. They show Trump’s role as a prime mover of a global trend: dismantling the measures taken after World War II to prevent another such human-made mega-catastrophe. The trend, and America’s role in it, suggests something frightening—that the ability to remember historical events and learn from them may be limited by the length of a human life… Taken by itself, the Golan is a small issue in world terms, and Trump’s proclamation is another squawk in his cacophony. The big issue is Trump’s attack on humanity’s best efforts to preserve itself.
The Green New Deal: A Strategy for a More Equal United States
Portside – Inequality – March 28, 2019 – Jeremy Brecher
https://portside.org/2019-03-28/green-new-deal-strategy-more-equal-united-states
Mobilizing to protect our planet could help us build an economy that works for all working people. The resolution calls for “a new national, social, industrial, and economic mobilization on a scale not seen since World War II and the New Deal era.”… The Green New Deal will use the trillions in tax breaks and subsidies given away to America’s wealthy and the corporations they run — and the wealth of the fossil fuel industry itself — to ensure that the transition to climate safety leaves ordinary Americans far better off.
More important than Mueller: Trump’s ‘fake economy’ is finally getting exposed
Alternet – Salon – March 31, 2019 – Bob Hennelly
https://www.alternet.org/2019/03/more-important-than-mueller-trumps-fake-economy-is-finally-getting-exposed/
The disconnect between the law and justice in America has been long standing. The reign of Trump and his bulletproof corruption is a logical consequence of a racist legal system that’s incarcerated close to two-million poor people mostly of color and facilitated an unprecedented concentration of wealth and corporate power, all to the detriment of labor. That’s not the system run amok. That is the system firing on all cylinders. ?If the system couldn’t hold Trump accountable when he was doing his ?regular con job on the army of marks that signed up for his “university” how is it going to do so now that he’s president? The voters are going to have to do this job.