(2018-11-20). Lobbyist Documents Reveal Health Care Industry Battle Plan Against "Medicare for All" theintercept.com 
Now that the midterms are finally over, the battle against "Medicare for All" that has been quietly waged throughout the year is poised to take center stage. | Internal strategy documents obtained by The Intercept and Documented reveal the strategy that private health care interests plan to use to influence Democratic Party messaging and stymie the momentum toward achieving universal health care coverage. | At least 48 incoming freshman lawmakers campaigned on enacting "Medicare for All" or similar efforts to expand access to Medicare. And over the last year, 123 incumbent Ho…
(2018-11-20). Nancy Pelosi's Fight: How She Revived Obamacare After Democrats Left it for Dead. theintercept.com 
Barack Obama's great strength was always his ability to shape himself into a vessel for the hopes of a wide array of different people. For Nancy Pelosi, it's been the reverse, as she manages to become a symbol of the varying fears of the opposing factions of the Democratic Party. | For the party's left, she's too tied to big money and the corporate PAC model of fundraising, and embraces a "paygo" politics of austerity. For the party's right, she's a spend-happy, San Francisco liberal whose presence at the top puts the new majori…
(2018-11-19). Pelosi's Deceptive Plan: Blocking any Tax Rise Could Rule Out Medicare-for-All and Bolstering Social Security. counterpunch.org 
In the surreal alternative reality world of the US Congress, there are many bills passed each year that on the surface may sound like good ideas — they even give them high-sounding names like the US PATRIOT ACT or Better Care and Reconciliation Act, that in fact are the opposite of what they claim to be More
(2018-11-20). Public Risks from the Woolsey Fire and the Santa Susana Field Laboratory: A Letter to DTSC. indybay.org On November 19, representatives Henry Stern and Jesse Gabriel authored a joint letter to Barbara Lee, Director of the California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC). In their letter, Senator Stern and Assemblymember Gabriel call for "full transparency" to "ensure the public is fully aware of any public health risks posed by the Woolsey Fire on Santa Susana Field Laboratory." | Prior to the first round of data analysis, the California Department of Toxic Substances Control reported that its scientists "do not believe the fire caused any releases of hazardous materials that would pose a risk to people exp…
(2018-11-19). Gig economy workers have rights — whether companies like it or not. greenleft.org.au 
As recently as last year, the gig economy's "independent contractor" business model seemed like an unstoppable force. It started with Uber, but soon spread to food delivery and before long was entering new sectors, such as freight, logistics and healthcare. | The model reached hero status in the business community. It was the neoliberal panacea, a cure for all their ills. | Sham gig economy contracting provided the perfect business solution to all those pesky costs, such as minimum wage, superannuation and workers' compensation. | The model soared across the economy like a state-of-the-art fighter jet, out manoeu…
(2018-11-16). The hell that was British India. greenleft.org.au 
An Imperial Disaster: The Bengal Cyclone of 1876
| Benjamin Kingsbury
| Hurst, 2018
| 256 pp, $45 | In the early hours of October 31, 1876, there was a terrible convergence of storm, tide and full moon in the Bay of Bengal. Its immediate effect was to send a giant wave, 12 metres high, over the low lying islands and coastal areas. | At least 215,000 people drowned. | It was followed by famine as shocked communities tried to scrounge what food they could. Then at least a further 100,000 died in a cholera epidemic. | It still ranks as the worst natural disaster of all recorded history. Except, as New Ze…
(2018-11-15). Transgender Lives Are Not Up for Debate. fair.org 
Time magazine ( 5/29/14) declared a "transgender tipping point" in 2014, but corporate media continue to treat trans identity as a matter of controversy. | The New York Times ( 10/21/18) received access to a memo from the Trump administration calling for the Department of Health and Human Services to adopt a definition of sex founded on "a biological basis that is clear, grounded in science, objective and administrable." The memo called f…
(2018-11-15). Rep. Ro Khanna: By Blocking Yemen Resolution, House GOP Is Abdicating Its Duty to Decide War & Peace. democracynow.org 
House Republicans have quashed debate on a resolution that aims to end U.S. military support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen, by sneaking a single line into an unrelated resolution about wolves. The House voted 201 to 187 on the bill Wednesday, approving a provision that blocks the Democrats from forcing a vote on the U.S. role in Yemen under the War Powers Act. For nearly four years the United States has played a key role supporting the Saudi-led invasion, which has devastated Yemen, creating the world's worst humanitarian crisis. The U.N. is warning 14 million Yemenis are on the brink of famine. One new study ha…
(2018-11-13). As Fires Devastate California, 350.org Calls for Transition to 100% Renewable Energy Economy. democracynow.org 
California's Camp Fire has become the state's deadliest fire on record, decimating the town of Paradise, killing 42 people and destroying 7,200 structures. The fires in California are so large they can be clearly seen from space. Smoke and ash have left millions of Californians exposed to air quality rated at "unhealthy" or "very unhealthy" levels, with residents of Los Angeles, Sacramento and the Bay Area warned against spending time outdoors. We speak with May Boeve, executive director of 350 Action, who says, "We are really daunted by the reality of the climate impacts that are facing us."
