(2019-08-30). Let's Make the Next Debates Good for Something. counterpunch.org 
Do we really need three-ring circus "debates" to figure out that the only two candidates in the running for president who should be taken seriously are Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren? Perhaps with Joe Biden still leading the pack; the sooner he is put back out to pasture, the better. Perhaps with Kamala Harris running More
(2019-08-30). Trump's Anti-Immigrant Policies Target Children, Cancer Patients, Servicemembers. truthout.org | | On Tuesday, the Trump administration reportedly ended its "medical deferred action" program, which allows immigrants with serious health problems to stay in the U.S. for up to two years beyond the terms of their visas to receive critical treatment. Just one day later, it announced that some children born to U.S. servicemembers and government employees stationed overseas will no longer automatically receive citizenship. The policy changes come days after the Justice Department asked the S…
(2019-08-30). Democrats Need Litmus Tests on Health Care. thenation.com Democrats Need Litmus Tests on Health Care…
(2019-08-30). Behind Islamophobia Is a Global Movement of Anti-Semites. counterpunch.org The global rise of white nationalist violence proves that the threat of fascism is not just about one community — it threatens all communities: white people, black people, Muslims, Jews, and beyond. The spate of mass shootings at the end of July comes head on the heels of an escalating epidemic of U.S. gun violence. More
(2019-08-30). Make America … More Like Canada. counterpunch.org We Americans tend not to pay much attention to our northern neighbors. Often, entire election cycles can come and go without anyone running for national office saying anything about Canada. But that's changing. Canada now looms much larger in our politics, mainly because Canadians enjoy a health care system far superior to our own. Canada's More
(2019-08-30). Justice for José Antonio: Family Demands Accountability for Mexican Teen Killed by U.S. Border Agent. democracynow.org 
Nearly seven years ago, 16-year-old José Antonio Elena Rodríguez was killed in Nogales, Mexico, by U.S. Border Patrol agent Lonnie Swartz, who fired his gun from the U.S. side of the border. The teenager — who was unarmed — died face-down on the sidewalk just a couple of blocks from his home. Border Patrol has for years been plagued with hundreds of allegations of abuse and unnecessary use of deadly force, including the cross-border killings of at least six people on Mexican soil. Most cases are not investigated, and border agents are rarely criminally charged for using violent force. After nearly fiv…
(2019-08-30). "All-Out Attack": Trump's Anti-Immigrant Policies Target Children, Cancer Patients & Servicemembers. democracynow.org 
On Tuesday, the Trump administration reportedly ended its "medical deferred action" program, which allows immigrants with serious health problems to stay in the U.S. for up to two years beyond the terms of their visas to receive critical treatment. Just one day later, it announced that some children born to U.S. servicemembers and government employees stationed overseas will no longer automatically receive citizenship. The policy changes come days after the Justice Department asked the Supreme Court to allow the Trump administration to implement its rule banning almost all migrants from seeking asylum in the Unit…
(2019-08-30). Epstein-Barr Syndrome: Juris-prurience. counterpunch.org 
"Stark Raving Dark." — John Griesemer, No One Thinks About Greenland "I loved you, I was a pentapod monster, but I loved you." — Vladamir Nabakov, Lolita According to WebMD, Epstein-Barr Syndrome is the virus that causes monomaniacus. Nicknamed "mono" or "megalo," it's a "kissing disease," and you must be careful because, as with Herpes, More
(2019-08-29). Is socialism really about "free stuff"? peoplesworld.org 
We hear a lot about progressive Democrats campaigning on platforms promising "free stuff" to voters: free healthcare, free college, free childcare, and so on. Critics love to take these progressives to task, as if it's some kind of "gotcha" moment, pointing out that obviously none of this stuff will be "free." Or else they take progressives …
(2019-08-29). Insurance Companies Are Creating an Economy of Extortion. truthdig.com 
Even when public agencies and companies hit by ransomware could recover their files on their own, insurers prefer to pay the ransom. Why?
(2019-08-29). How Solitary Confinement Kills: Torture and Stunning Neglect Ends in Suicide at Privately Run ICE Prison. theintercept.com 
Guards at an ICE jail put Efraín Romero de la Rosa in solitary confinement despite a diagnosis of schizophrenia. He killed himself after 21 days.
(2019-08-29). Assange Suffering "Psychological Torture" In UK Prison: Pilger. telesurenglish.net Julian Assange's 'Psychological Torture is unabated', investigative journalist John Pilger said shortly after speaking to the Wikileaks founder. There are concerns for his health after being incarcerated in a high-security prison with few rights, as he faces extradition to the U.S. for exposing the wrongdoings of the United States government. | RELATED: | Assange to Face Full US Extradition Hearing in February 2020 | "I spoke to Julian #Assange at the weekend. His psychological…
(2019-08-29). America's Hidden Iatrogenic Epidemic of Drug and Vaccine-induced Disorders. globalresearch.ca An iatrogenic condition is a state of ill health caused by medical, surgical, drug or vaccine treatments. It may qualify as the 3rd most common cause of death in the United States. | For much more information about this hidden …
(2019-08-29). UN health experts warn 'dramatic resurgence' of measles continues to threaten the European region. un.org Europe has lost ground in eliminating measles, as the number of countries having achieved or sustained elimination of the disease has declined, the European Regional Verification Commission for Measles and Rubella Elimination (RVC) warned on Thursday.
(2019-08-29). Why mental health education should be mandatory. nationofchange.org Emily Weinberg was 15 when she was hospitalized for depression and anxiety and 16 when she founded Sophrosyne Mental Health—a resource for teens to find a safe place to talk about mental health, learn skills, and meet other teens facing similar issues. Considering suicide is the second leading cause of death in people ages 10-24, …
(2019-08-27). "This Ruling Is Huge": Johnson & Johnson Ordered to Pay $572 Million for Fueling Opioid Epidemic. democracynow.org 
In a landmark ruling, an Oklahoma judge has ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay $572 million for contributing to the state's opioid crisis. It marks the first time a drug company has been held responsible for the opioid crisis, though it fell far short of the $17 billion judgment sought by the state. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, almost 400,000 people died from an overdose involving opioids from 1999 to 2017, including from prescription and illicit opioids. Court documents say more than 6,000 people have died of painkiller overdoses in Oklahoma alone. The Oklahoma ruling sets the stage…
(2019-08-26). No Coal, No Gas: Climate activists remove coal from Merrimack generating station. liberationnews.org 
"…it is now a necessity to take matters into our own hands…"
(2019-08-26). Before Kamala Harris Soured on Bernie Sanders's Medicare for All Bill, She Grew Her Email List From It. theintercept.com Kamala Harris distanced herself from Bernie Sanders's Medicare for All bill at an event with large-dollar donors two weeks after her campaign ran those ads.
(2019-08-26). St. Paul Teachers Union Picks the Health Care Battle. progressive.org Skyrocketing insurance costs generated a national wave of teacher strikes last year. Now, Minnesota educators head into a new school year ready to fight for affordable health care.
(2019-08-25). Newark's Water Crisis is One of Thousands That Are Worse Than Flint's. therealnews.com 
Lead poisoning is a public health emergency in poor working class communities across the United States, raising crime rates, causing school dropouts, filling our prisons and creating human tragedy…
(2019-08-24). National Democrats Endorse John Hickenlooper, a Proponent of Fracking, in Competitive Colorado Primary. theintercept.com In Colorado, nearly a dozen Democrats are vying for the opportunity to take on Republican Sen. Cory Gardner in 2020 — a race widely seen as the party's most promising pick-up in the Senate. One of the leading contenders, former Colorado House Speaker Andrew Romanoff, is running on a platform that includes Medicare for All and an aggressive plan to combat the climate crisis — and his campaign has already topped $1 million in fundraising. | But the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee has thrown its weight behind former Gov. John Hickenlooper, a pro-fracking moderate. After months of rejecting calls…
(2019-08-23). Sen. Merkley Condemns Trump's War Against Migrant Families as U.S. Moves to Indefinitely Jail Kids. democracynow.org 
The Trump administration is moving to indefinitely detain migrant children and their families, reversing decades of U.S. policy. The Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Health and Human Services is expected to issue a new rule today to withdraw from a 1997 federal court settlement known as the Flores agreement, which put a 20-day limit on migrant family detentions. We speak with Democratic Senator Jeff Merkley, who made headlines last year when he was barred from entering an old Walmart where the government was detaining about 1,500 immigrant children in Brownsville, Texas.
(2019-08-22). Los Angeles County Votes to Stop Construction of New Jail-Like Facility, Adding Momentum to National Abolition Movement. theintercept.com 
"A jail is a jail is a jail. It is not enough to change the name of the facility," said LA Board of Supervisors member Heidi Solis.
(2019-08-21). Trump's Labor Pick Kept Workers in Pain. progressive.org The President has had poor luck with labor secretaries, and now he is poised to nominate Eugene Scalia, whose anti-regulatory advocacy two decades ago helped fuel today's opioid epidemic. That's not the best credential for a future labor secretary.
(2019-08-19). SPLC, allies sue ICE for ignoring medical, mental health and disability needs of detained immigrants. splcenter.org Faour Abdallah Fraihat, who ran a successful construction business for years in California, is currently in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
(2019-08-15). The Challenges of Breastfeeding as a Black Person. aclu.org How our workplaces and healthcare system create barriers to breastfeeding. | The fight to protect individual choices about reproductive care, including breastfeeding, is an ongoing battle. The central lesson of the reproductive justice movement is that choice means little without access. That lesson applies equally to breastfeeding. | Though laws, in the workplace and other contexts, are in place to protect the right to breastfeed, many low-income women and w…
(2019-07-30). Venezuela: Six Chavista Militants Killed in Fresh Rural Violence. venezuelanalysis.com Landowner violence continues to plague the Venezuelan countryside.
(2019-06-19). House Casts Historic Vote to Repeal Authorization for Endless War. peaceaction.org Washington, D.C. — June 19, 2019 — In response to the House of Representatives passing H.R. 2740 (Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, Legislative Branch, Defense, State, Foreign Operations, and Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act, 2020), which includes language to repeal the 2001 Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF) eight months after …
