A new study challenges the conservative idea that abortion restrictions are put in place by legislators who simply want to protect women’s health and safety. Continue reading
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Anti-choice states are worse for women and children, says study
States that don't prioritize reproductive rights, don't prioritize healthcare for women and children in general
Researchers: Trump tweets reveal ‘neurotic’ and ‘unstable’ leader
Newly published study looks at how language of Trump's tweets compares with that of over 100 CEOs and entrepreneurs
What do the frequent tweets from Donald Trump say about his online personality? Continue reading
The end of the ‘New American Century’ pronounced by the Pentagon
The US Department of Defense is fond of issuing reports, many of which contain a massive amount of Pentagon jargon and gobbledygook terms. But, one recent report, while not lacking in typical gibberish, contains one clear and unambiguous message. The neoconservative “New American Century” pet project, which saw the United States engage in quagmires in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as an unending “global war on terror,” is dead and buried. Continue reading
Psychiatric group tells members it’s ok to break silence on Trump’s bizarre behavior
Easing ‘gag order’ on public diagnosis, professional association entrusts mental health experts to use their ‘knowledge responsibly’
As President Donald Trump continues to behave bizarrely and erratically—attacking his own attorney general, launching into a political tirade during a speech to Boy Scouts, bringing his 11-year-old son into the burgeoning Russia controversy—a professional association of psychoanalysts is telling its members to drop the so-called Goldwater rule and comment publicly on the president’s state of mind if they find reason to do so. Continue reading
Trump lashes out as Mueller’s investigators close in
In a July 19 audio-taped interview with three reporters from The New York Times, a paper that has been disparaged by strongman President Donald Trump as a failing business reporting “fake news,” Trump had harsh words for the entire upper echelon of the Department of Justice. Trump lambasted Attorney General Jeff Sessions for recusing himself from the “Russia probe” and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein for being a secret Democrat from “Baltimore.” Trump also attacked Special Counsel Robert Mueller, former FBI director James Comey, and acting FBI director Andrew McCabe. Trump made it clear that he would have not chosen Sessions as his Attorney General had he known he would recuse himself from Russian investigatory matters. Continue reading
The story behind the Jerusalem attack: How Trump and Netanyahu pushed Palestinians into a corner
In early October 2016, Misbah Abu Sbeih left his wife and five children at home and then drove to an Israeli police station in Occupied Palestinian East Jerusalem. Continue reading
‘The Deep History of the Radical Right’s Stealth Plan for America’
A Q&A with author Nancy MacLean about the elusive James McGill Buchanan.
Author Nancy MacLean has unearthed a stealth ideologue of the American right. Her book, “Democracy in Chains: The Deep History of the Radical Right’s Stealth Plan for America,” tells the story of one James McGill Buchanan, a Southern political scientist and father of “public choice economics.” MacLean details how this little-known figure has had a massive impact on the ideology of the far right. None other than Charles Koch looked to MacLean’s theories for inspiration. They are libertarian—but with a twist: bluntly, it “entails restrictions on the freedom of the great majority in order to protect property rights and the prerogatives of the most well off.” MacLean shows how this idea can be traced down through the last 60 years of right-wing politics, starting with Brown v. The Board of Education and continuing with the Koch brothers’ empire. And she demonstrates that those followers and those in thrall to the Koch billions are pumping up their fight under the new administration. Continue reading
New lawsuit aims to stop Trump’s ‘sham commission’ dead in its tracks
Suit filed a day after White House releases commenters' personal information in comments that show hatred for voter commission
As the White House releases 112 pages of colorful comments—and personal information—after it asked for the public to weigh in on its so-called Election Integrity Commission and received an overwhelmingly negative response, a new lawsuit aims to protect voters’ privacy rights by stopping the controversial commission’s sweeping data demand. Continue reading
Public interest in the communications of ‘the commons’ about to be dealt a fatal blow
Ever since the dawn of modern telecommunications, the American public has been guaranteed by law certain inalienable rights. The law that established the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the Communications Act of 1934, enshrined for all Americans the principle of universal access to communications services. Subsequent laws have expanded universal access from telephones to other services, such as high-speed Internet. There is a particular right of universal access to communications for those living in rural and insular areas, and low-income Americans. The other FCC law that guaranteed Americans the right of access to the communications conduits of the public commons, in this case, the public airwaves, was the Fairness Doctrine of 1949. The doctrine required holders of public broadcast licenses to provide honest, equitable, and balanced views of public importance. In 1987, President Ronald Reagan abolished the Fairness Doctrine in order to please the wealthy GOP donors who owned various media conglomerates. Continue reading
Living the American dream in a trailer park
Home to some 20 million people—6 percent of Americans—they are the nation’s largest source of unsubsidized affordable housing, offering a shot at the American dream to people who can’t afford a traditional home.
All too often, they’re the butt of jokes and stereotypes—mobile home parks and the “trailer trash” who live in them. Continue reading
As Don Jr. lawyers up, words like ‘collusion’ and ‘treason’ fly
‘It looks like clear proof of collusion,’ says Watergate prosecutor
Following the latest explosive details about Donald Trump Jr.’s meeting with a Kremlin-connected lawyer during last year’s campaign, in which he hoped to receive damaging information about Hillary Clinton, legal experts are saying the encounter could be proof that “collusion”—or even “treason”—took place. Continue reading
It’s settled: Trump either did or did not accept Putin’s denial of election interference
Presidents met, but reliable account of discussion is absent
President Donald Trump met with Russian leader Vladimir Putin Friday on the sidelines of the Group of 20 (G20) Summit in Hamburg, Germany, but what exactly was said remains unclear. Continue reading
Grand theft of ancient Middle Eastern artifacts proven to involve Israel
The right-wing Christian-owned store chain Hobby Lobby has settled a federal case that saw the Oklahoma City-based crafts retailer fined $3 million for illegally importing stolen artifacts from Iraq for “the Museum of the Bible” the store’s owner, Steve Green, is building near the National Mall in Washington, DC. Oddly, the title of the civil asset forfeiture case, brought in the U.S. Court for the Eastern District of New York, does not mention the 600-store Hobby Lobby chain or Green as the major culprits. Had the case been criminal, as it should have been since Hobby Lobby violated a 1990 law on trafficking of Iraq, the case would have been United States of America v. Hobby Lobby, Inc. Continue reading
Rotten eggs Jack and Peter DeCoster headed to jail—finally
A couple of rotten eggs finally got their due. Well, sort of. Continue reading
Possibility of war between Asian superpowers looms as Jared Kushner puts Rex Tillerson in his place
U.S. strongman Donald Trump in a nepotistic fashion has granted his son-in-law Jared Kushner special diplomatic envoy portfolios to deal with the Middle East, China, Canada, and Mexico. Kushner, who is 36 and has no international experience, except for acting as a virtual embedded agent for Israel and Binyamin Netanyahu in the United States, recently warned Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to understand his place after the normally soft-spoken Tillerson blew up at a White House meeting with chief of staff Reince Priebus, Kushner, and their aides. Continue reading
Foreign policy calls rest with neocon cell in White House
A powerful neocon cell is calling U.S. foreign policy shots in the Trump White House. Neocon describes those who put the interests of Israel ahead of those of the United States. Continue reading
U.S. Navy heading into cover-up mode in collision of the USS Fitzgerald
U.S. Navy sources report to WMR that the Navy is heading into familiar cover-up mode in the official investigation of the collision of the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Fitzgerald (DDG-62) with the ACX Crystal, a Philippines-flagged container ship manned by a Filipino crew of 20. The collision, which killed seven U.S. Navy sailors who drowned in a flooded below-water line berthing compartment, took place near Japan’s Izu Peninsula on June 17 at 2:20 a.m. local time. The Crystal was under charter to a Japanese firm, Nippon Yusen KK (NYK), and was en route from Nagoya to Tokyo. The Crystal’s registration holder is Sinbanali Shipping, Inc. based in Manila, and its actual owner is Dainichi-Invest Corporation of Kobe, Japan. Continue reading
Trump: I will defend Medicaid. Also Trump: I support bill that destroys Medicaid.
White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer told reporters in an off-camera briefing on Friday that President Donald Trump remains “committed” to protecting recipients of Medicaid, a program he repeatedly vowed not to cut during his presidential campaign. Continue reading
Jim Crow GOP steals another election as brain dead Democrats & media say nothing
The Jim Crow GOP has stolen yet another congressional election, this time in Georgia. As always, the media and Democrats are saying nothing about it. Continue reading
Since Trump’s election, 20 states have moved to criminalize dissent
In what is being called the “biggest protest crackdown since the Civil Rights Era,” Republicans in at least 20 states have put forward or passed laws with the intention of making protest more difficult and the punishment for expressing dissent more draconian since President Donald Trump’s inauguration in January. Continue reading
Mass incarceration, prison labor in the United States
The Federal Prison Industries (FPI) under the brand UNICORE operates approximately 52 factories (prisons) across the United States. Prisoners manufacture or assemble a number of products for the US military, homeland security, and federal agencies according to the UNICORE/FPI website. They produce furniture, clothing and circuit boards in addition to providing computer aided design services and call center support for private companies. Continue reading
Former Commish Michael Copps: ‘Maybe the worst FCC I’ve ever seen’
In just a few short months, the Trump wrecking ball has pounded away at rules and regulations in virtually every government agency. The men and women the president has appointed to the Cabinet and to head those agencies are so far in sycophantic lockstep, engaged in dismantling years of protections in order to make real what White House strategist Steve Bannon infamously described as “the deconstruction of the administrative state.” Continue reading
Amazon extends tentacles further with purchase of Whole Foods
Online behemoth Amazon is acquiring Austin-based Whole Foods Market for $13.7 billion, the companies announced Friday—a development that watchdogs say will pad billionaire pockets and spell bad news for consumers. Continue reading
Naomi Klein: Any efforts to equate hateful violence with Trump resistance ‘are lies’
Though it is not quite the kind of large-scale “shock” she explores in her new book, author and activist Naomi Klein says that people should stand firm against anyone who tries to exploit for political purposes the “horrific” violence that took place Wednesday morning when a lone gunman targeted Republican lawmakers and others during practice for a congressional baseball team. Continue reading
It doesn’t take a Russian to hack an American election
Russia, Russia, Russia!!! But what about the Americans? Continue reading
Amid Trump chaos, Republicans keep their eyes on the big prize: the courts
‘Control the Supreme Court, stack the judiciary, and you can stop the progressive movement . . . for decades,’ Corey Robin wrote
While the Trump administration remains embroiled in scandals of its own making and continues to blunder forward seemingly without direction, Republicans have their collective gaze fixed on a prize they have coveted for years: complete domination of the judiciary. Continue reading
Trump was previously not under investigation. Now he reportedly is.
President bristles in wake of latest reporting, but what he calls a ‘witch-hunt,’ political observers say is really Trump's own doing
In the letter announcing his former FBI director’s termination last month, President Donald Trump went out of his way to thank James Comey for telling him “on three separate occasions” that he was not under investigation. Continue reading
Chelsea Manning interviewed
On May 17, Chelsea Manning was released, her 35-year political incarceration for exposing US war crimes commuted to seven years, her long ordeal finally over—a chance at last to rebuild her life. Continue reading
Jared Kushner: A suspected gangster within the Trump White House
Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, has emerged as a significant influence within the policy-making apparatus of the White House. After a rather public imbroglio with Trump’s strategic policy adviser Stephen Bannon over the U.S. cruise missile attack on the Shayrat airbase in Syria, Kushner is “in”, as they often say in Washington, and Bannon is “out”. In any case, the anti-globalist faction, which is led by Bannon, has received verbal “thumbs down” on several fronts from Trump. Continue reading
Trump brings out the Bible for faith and freedom
With the country’s eyes on Comey, Trump enlists evangelicals to push Senate on health bill—and says he'll prevail, as the Bible says.
As Washington sat transfixed before the image of former FBI Director James Comey spilling some beans on the president of the United States, Donald J. Trump went to work. An expert in creating crises, Trump is not the kind to let his handiwork go to waste. Continue reading
Adelson, Israel behind Gulf Arab split
Casino magnate Sheldon Adelson and Israeli interests he funds are behind a series of computer hacking incidents that have resulted in a serious split between Qatar, the home of the U.S. Central Command’s massive Al-Udeid airbase, and a bloc of Qatar’s erstwhile Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) allies that include Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain. Continue reading
‘Literal colonialism’: Blackwater founder calls for ‘American viceroy’ to rule Afghanistan
Given Prince's past connections to Trump, his recommendations could have some measure of influence
Displaying what one commentator called “sheer 19th century bloodlust and thirst for empire,” Erik Prince, founder of the private mercenary firm Blackwater, argued in The Wall Street Journal this week that the United States should deploy an “East India Company approach” in Afghanistan. Continue reading
