Tuesday, May 31, 2016

Senator Ed Markey Scolds Obama for Preaching 'Nuclear Temperance From a Bar Stool'

Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., criticized Obama for moving forward with a costly plan to renovate the US nuclear arsenal

http://readersupportednews.org/news-section2/318-66/37186-senator-edward-markey-scolds-obama-for-preaching-nuclear-temperance-from-a-bar-stool

We need a third party—that way we’ll have two

Ronald Reagan (1980), Philadelphia, MS: “I stand for states’rights.”

Ronald Reagan (1980), Philadelphia, MS: "I stand for states'rights." *wink wink* *nod nod*

==> Elect me president, and my justice department won't be bothering you about Cheney, Goodman and Schwerner... #IStandWithHateSpeech

Howard Dean, Now Employed by Health Care Lobby Firm, Opposes Bernie Sanders on Single-Payer

It depresses me what a sell-out Howard Dean has become by opposing single payer, the Iran deal etc.

https://theintercept.com/2016/01/14/howard-dean-lobbyist/

A Multi-Trillion-Dollar Bridge to Nowhere in the Greater Middle East

How many wars has Obama ended in his two terms?

How many has he started?

http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/36241-a-multi-trillion-dollar-bridge-to-nowhere-in-the-greater-middle-east

California Gov. Jerry Brown Endorses Clinton, Warns of the Risk Trump and Far Right Pose to America | Alternet

1992: @JerryBrownGov coins the term "evil of two lessers"

2016: Brown succumbs to the evil of two lessers

http://www.alternet.org/election-2016/california-gov-jerry-brown-endorses-clinton-warns-risk-trump-and-far-right-pose?akid=14311.219671.zez85-&rd=1&src=newsletter1057450&t=3

Monday, May 30, 2016

Memorial Day glorifies US wars and exploits soldiers' deaths to generate sentiment for more wars

Forgetting the Crimes of War

http://readersupportednews.org/opinion2/277-75/37166-forgetting-the-crimes-of-war

Killing Dylann Roof: The hammer of criminal justice is the only tool of a society that's run out of ideas

http://readersupportednews.org/opinion2/277-75/37160-focus-killing-dylann-roof

If feminism only concerns itself with the women at the top of our society, it's not feminism. It's elitism.

http://www.truth-out.org/opinion/item/35006-hillary-clinton-s-faux-feminism

Single-payer health care is the only system in which health care is independent of employment or marriage

http://www.truth-out.org/opinion/item/35006-hillary-clinton-s-faux-feminism

Today we remember courageous men & women who bravely fought for our corporations. Thank you, veterans! #MemorialDay

No revolution will occur within the Dem Party without sustained outside movements forcing transformation

No, I Won't Work for Hillary Clinton: A Response to Robert Reich

Common Dreams | Breaking News & Views for the Progressive Community

http://www.commondreams.org/views/2016/05/30/no-i-wont-work-hillary-clinton-response-robert-reich

Dems have been saying, 'The GOP is worse!' for so long that they've begun to believe it excuses everything

No, I Won't Work for Hillary Clinton: A Response to Robert Reich
Common Dreams | Breaking News & Views for the Progressive Community

http://www.commondreams.org/views/2016/05/30/no-i-wont-work-hillary-clinton-response-robert-reich

Sunday, May 29, 2016

Take a moment this Memorial Day to remember those who have fallen in the pursuit of corporate profits.

Can Hillary Clinton Renounce Henry Kissinger? - Truthdig

http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/can_hillary_clinton_renounce_henry_kissinger_20160529

Years of "the lesser of 2 evils" has produced the evil of two lessers

Americans' Distaste For Both Trump And Clinton Is Record-Breaking | FiveThirtyEight

http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/americans-distaste-for-both-trump-and-clinton-is-record-breaking/

Memorial Day should be a time to remember that the only friend of the veteran is the anti-war movement

Heroes are not born. They’re cornered. ~Redd Foxx

Saturday, May 28, 2016

Striking Verizon Workers Win Big Gains | Communications Workers of America

http://www.cwa-union.org/news/releases/striking-verizon-workers-win-big-gains

For good reason, Verizon is one of the most-hated companies in the US.

Night of standing up: 'Nuit debout' movement shakes French politics

France: 'Nuit debout' movement shakes politics | Green Left Weekly

https://www.greenleft.org.au/node/61527

Trump was afraid of the proposed debate with Sanders. It would have shown who’s on the side of working people.

https://www.jacobinmag.com/2016/05/trump-sanders-debate-populism-kimmel/

Majority in U.S. Maintain Need for Third Major Party

http://www.gallup.com/poll/185891/majority-maintain-need-third-major-party.aspx

Gallup: 60% believe US needs a third party because GOP/Dems "do such a poor job" #LeftRightCoalition

Three-quarters of Republicans favor a steep rise in the minimum wage. #LeftRightCoalition #Intersectionality

http://www.nelp.org/content/uploads/2015/03/Minimum-Wage-Poll-Memo-Jan-2015.pdf

2016: Year of the return of democratic socialism, from a candidate who's neither a democrat nor a socialist

The Other Big Surprise of 2016 Is the Return of Democratic Socialism

Common Dreams | Breaking News & Views for the Progressive Community

http://www.commondreams.org/views/2016/05/25/other-big-surprise-2016-return-democratic-socialism

Friday, May 27, 2016

Debate pitting authoritarian populist vs. progressive populist would be good for the nation

A Debate Between Bernie and Trump Would Be Good for the Nation

http://readersupportednews.org/opinion2/277-75/37115-a-debate-between-bernie-and-trump-would-be-good-for-the-nation

The administration clearly favors the coup underway in Brazil, even while avoiding any explicit endorsement of it

The Brazilian Coup and Washington's "Rollback" in Latin America

Common Dreams | Breaking News & Views for the Progressive Community

http://www.commondreams.org/views/2016/05/27/brazilian-coup-and-washingtons-rollback-latin-america

"Civil Disobedience Is Survival": Ireri Unzueta Carrasco Sues Obama Administration for Denying Her DACA

http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/36217-civil-disobedience-is-survival-ireri-carrasco-sues-obama-administration-for-denying-her-daca-over-protests

Blaming Trump for a problem caused by their own political patrons, Dems are walking into Trump's rhetorical buzz-saw

Hillary Clinton's New Anti-Trump Ad Misses the Mark

http://readersupportednews.org/opinion2/277-75/37103-focus-hillary-clintons-new-anti-trump-ad-misses-the-mark

We can talk about why the 1% ended up that way, but first we have to bring them to heel

We can talk about why the DNC ended up that way, but first we have to bring them to heel

Thursday, May 26, 2016

Chomsky on 5 US-engineered coups d’état in the Americas since 2000: Venezuela, Haiti, Honduras, Paraguay, Brazil

Noam Chomsky: Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff "Impeached by a Gang of Thieves" | Democracy Now!

http://www.democracynow.org/2016/5/17/noam_chomsky_brazils_president_dilma_rousseff

Defenestrate Debbie. #BernieTrumpDebate

Jeremy Corbyn also marched with MLK, and got arrested during civil rights demonstrations. #BernieTrumpDebate

Did Trump and Sanders Just Agree To A Debate? - The Atlantic

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/05/trump-sanders-debate-kimmel/484445/

US presence in Syria is totally illegal, which is why Obama cloaks it in terms of self-defense against ISIS

"The U.S. war on terror is probably the greatest lie of the 21st century, and a big part of the 20th century, too."

President Obama continues to play his three card monte game in Syria, pretending to wage an all-out war against ISIS, while at the same time helping al-Nusra, al-Qaida's terrorist army in Syria, blend in with the other jihadists armed and financed by the United States and its allies. With Russian help, the Syrian Army may soon be in position to march against the ISIS capital, in Raqqah, and to drive al-Qaida from the country's second largest city, Aleppo. If that happens, it would signal the final unraveling of a nearly four decades-long U.S. policy of using fundamentalist Islamic jihadists as foot soldiers for U.S. imperialism, in partnership with Saudi Arabia. That's what is driving the Saudi monarchy crazy, because, if the jihadists are defeated in Syria, they are certain to turn on their Saudi paymasters and the other infinitely corrupt monarchies in the Persian Gulf. What goes around, eventually comes around.

And, that's why President Obama is sending 250 more Special Forces troops into Syria, supposedly to train more of those phantom "moderate" rebels that the Pentagon last year admitted do not exist. The real number of U.S. troops in Syria and Iraq is certainly much higher than the U.S. is admitting. These U.S. soldiers are attempting to rearm and unite all of the smaller terrorist groups that are integrated with al-Qaida – that is, everyone except ISIS.

The Russians aren't fooled one bit by Obama's terrorist shell game. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has resisted U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry's proposals to carve Syria up into so-called "zones of interest," a phony kind of cease-fire that would prevent the Syrian government from taking back its national territory. Lavrov is telling the U.S. that any so-called rebels that are caught fighting alongside al-Qaida will be killed, just like al-Qaida, and that the national sovereignty and territorial integrity of Syria is not subject to negotiation.

"The U.S. presence in Syria is totally illegal."

The Russians and the Syrian government not only have international law firmly on their side, but also the relevant United Nations Security Council resolution, which calls on the entire world to fight against both ISIS and al-Qaida's Nusra Front. The U.S. voted for the resolution, and President Obama has repeatedly stated that Washington respects Syria's national sovereignty. Obama is lying, of course – but then, the U.S. war on terror is probably the greatest lie of the 21st century, and a big part of the 20th century, too.

The U.S. presence in Syria is totally illegal – which is why Obama has to cloak it in terms of American self-defense against ISIS, despite the fact that ISIS grew by leaps and bounds until the Russians intervened and forced the Americans to pretend to wage war against it. The U.S. troops' main job is to arm the various brands of al-Qaida fighters with heavy weapons, and to act as a "trip wire," daring the Russians to bomb areas of the country where American troops are active. In other words, he is prepared to go to war with Russia to defend the terrorist armies he has unleashed on Syria.

Obama will end his term in office as the protector-in-chief of al-Qaida. What a legacy for the First Black President.

For Black Agenda Radio, I'm Glen Ford. On the web, go to BlackAgendaReport.com.

BAR executive editor Glen Ford can be contacted at Glen.Ford@BlackAgendaReport.com.

http://blackagendareport.com/obama_legacy_al-qaida_protector

David Dayen on the epidemic of mortgage fraud and the rigged economy that sets it in motion

http://daviddayen.tumblr.com/

Wednesday, May 25, 2016

Improving Workers’ Lives Will Always Require Workplace Action

The Verizon Strike Is a Reminder That Improving Workers' Lives Will Always Require Workplace Action - Working In These Times

http://inthesetimes.com/working/entry/19148/long_live_the_picket_line

Dear @KatrinaNation, you forgot to mention the most progressive woman running this year: @Flowers4Senate

Progressive Women Are Running for Office All Over the Country

http://readersupportednews.org/opinion2/277-75/37071-progressive-women-are-running-for-office-all-over-the-country

GOP implosion lands Hillary squarely in the Clinton comfort zone: campaigning for Republican votes

To Beat a Nasty, Brutish Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton Will Have to Do Something Different | The Nation

http://www.thenation.com/article/to-beat-a-nasty-brutish-donald-trump-hillary-clinton-will-have-to-do-something-different/

In the ’90s, Bill Clinton exploited fears about crime in the same way that Trump uses immigration today

Nothing About the 1994 Crime Bill Was Unintentional | The Nation

http://www.thenation.com/article/nothing-about-the-1994-crime-bill-was-unintentional/

Tuesday, May 24, 2016

Corporate duopoly is coming apart at both seams. When will the establishment get it? #BreakingThroughPower

Destruction of public education: Mandate failure. Test. Punish. Takeover (mayor/state control). Privatize.

http://www.rethinkingschools.org/index.shtml

Obama Doctrine: Use jihadis like ISIS to destroy Libya, then blame the ensuing chaos on France & Britain

Folk are duped into worshipping the right to vote & ignoring the movement politics that delivers the goods

Destroy Libya w. jihadis like ISIS, who'll then be the enemy. Blame the whole thing on Britain & France.

Monday, May 23, 2016

The problem with Thatcherism is that eventually she runs out of other people's dignity

Most politicians are either venal or mediocre. ~@chrislynnhedges

Source Reveals How Pentagon Ruined Whistleblower's Life and Set Stage for Snowden's Leaks | Democracy Now!

Source reveals how Pentagon ruined whistleblower's life and made Snowden's leaks even more necessary

http://www.democracynow.org/2016/5/23/exclusive_source_reveals_how_pentagon_ruined?utm_source=Democracy+Now!&utm_campaign=318093ae6b-Daily_Digest&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_fa2346a853-318093ae6b-190258801

Two of Bernie's platform picks were arrested for peaceful civil disobedience during Obama's administration

Seizing Chance, Sanders Makes Bold Progressive Picks to Shape DNC Platform | Common Dreams | Breaking News & Views for the Progressive Community

http://www.commondreams.org/news/2016/05/23/seizing-chance-sanders-makes-bold-progressive-picks-shape-dnc-platform

The poisoning of Flint's water makes the Tuskegee syphilis "experiment" look like a tea party

Tuskegee syphilis experiment - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuskegee_syphilis_experiment

Saturday, May 21, 2016

Silicon Valley imported cheap labor. The hidden workforce expanding Tesla’s factory. Greed gone wild.

http://extras.mercurynews.com/silicon-valley-imported-labor/

Smart folk like Elon Musk (Tesla) are building the economy of tomorrow with the wages of yesterday—or last century

https://www.markfiore.com/mark-fiore-blog/item/cartoons/cheap-labor-for-you-inc.html

If I think that money can't buy happiness, it means that I'm not spending it correctly...

Edition #1015

Today we take a look at how to escape the hedonic treadmill of consumption in pursuit of happiness and moving toward a future of shared prosperity

Be part of the show! Leave a message at 202-999-3991

Show Notes

Ch. 1: Opening Theme: A Fond Farewell - From a Basement On the Hill

Ch. 2: Act 1: The rise of stuff and the flatline of happiness - Capitalism and the environment with Gus Speth - McGill University - Air Date: 4-22-09

Ch. 3: Song 1: A Change Is Gonna Come - Ben Sollee

Ch. 4: Act 2: Finding a good practice of consumption - Juliet Schor from Stanford University - Air Date 2-4-09

Ch. 5: Song 2: Good Food - Legendary Wings

Ch. 6: Act 3: Michael Norton: How to buy happiness - TEDTalks - Air Date: 04-24-12

Ch. 7: Song 3: I Will Buy You a New Life - Everclear

Ch. 8: Act 4: Culture of work, insatiability and free time - Juliet Schor from Stanford University - Air Date 2-4-09

Ch. 9: Song 4: Cello Song (feat. Jose Gonzalez) - The Books

Ch. 10: Act 5: This Is Literally The Most Censored Topic On The Mainstream Media - @RedactedTonight w/ @LeeCamp - Air Date: 06-09-15

Ch. 11: Song 5: I Need To Wake Up - Melissa Etheridge

Ch. 12: Act 6: Institutionalizing 3 Buddist poisions (Ill will, Greed and Delusion) - David Loy from Stanford University - Air Date 2-4-09

Ch. 13: Song 6: Happy - Sister Hazel

Ch. 14: Act 7: 7 Tim Jackson: An economic reality check - TEDTalks - Air Date 10-5-10

Voicemails

Ch. 15: We need the fire in our bellies on climate catastrophe - Tim from Boulder, CO

Ch. 16: The problem with the lack of school psychologists - Sally from San Francisco

Ch. 17: Tried veganism as a test and found it surprisingly easy - Patrick from Dallas

Voicemail Music: Loud Pipes - Classics

Ch. 18: Final comments on turning off the hedonic treadmill and returning to minimalism

Closing Music: Here We Are - Everyone's in Everyone

Produced by Jay! Tomlinson

Thanks for listening!

Visit us at BestOfTheLeft.com

Check out the BotL iOS/Android App in the App Stores!

Follow at Twitter.com/BestOfTheLeft

Like at Facebook.com/BestOfTheLeft

Contact me directly at Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com

Review the show on iTunes and Stitcher!

http://www.bestoftheleft.com/_1015_escaping_consumerism_culture

Friday, May 20, 2016

Missed by the media: Industry gutted the US manufacturing base, putting millions of people out of good jobs

Trump Isn't the Campaign Media's First Mistake

http://readersupportednews.org/opinion2/277-75/36975-focus-trump-isnt-the-campaign-medias-first-mistake

Thursday, May 19, 2016

Let's ask our British friends what women gained having Thatcher as head of government

Satirical twist on a familiar Thatcher meme

Instead of facts, the West’s corporate media trafficks in demonization. Case in point: Putin

http://readersupportednews.org/opinion2/277-75/36965-the-danger-of-demonization

Majority in U.S. Support Idea of Fed-Funded Healthcare System

Too many Dems are trying to discredit an ambitious social agenda when public sentiment says "go big"

http://www.gallup.com/poll/191504/majority-support-idea-fed-funded-healthcare-system.aspx?g_source=Politics&g_medium=newsfeed&g_campaign=tiles

Tuesday, May 17, 2016

The Obama Administration Just Granted Henry Kissinger a Distinguished Public Service Award | The Nation

Unforced Error: Obama administration just gave Henry Kissinger a distinguished public service award

http://www.thenation.com/article/the-obama-administration-just-granted-henry-kissinger-a-distinguished-public-service-award/

Monday, May 16, 2016

No, Hillary Clinton Isn't a Republican - but the Resemblance Is Striking

A clear indicator of how far to the right our politics have veered over the past fifty-two years

http://readersupportednews.org/opinion2/277-75/36891-no-hillary-clinton-isnt-a-republican-but-the-resemblance-is-striking

I take red flags and make clothes out of them

No, Hillary Clinton Isn't a Republican - but the Resemblance Is Striking

Next time there's a war for sale, it's O.K. to say "No thank you."

http://readersupportednews.org/opinion2/277-75/36891-no-hillary-clinton-isnt-a-republican-but-the-resemblance-is-striking

A twist on the old bromide that "clothes make the man."

Jodie Evans: A Codepink Disrupter

Robert Scheer sits down with activist Jodie Evans to discuss her organization's efforts to move the United States away from military conflict as well as the origins of her activism.

http://feeds.kcrw.com/~r/kcrw/si/~3/dGP6PMPRGl4/jodie-evans-a-codepink-disrupter

Sunday, May 15, 2016

Renewable Energy Oil: in the soil. Gas: under the grass. Coal: in the hole. Nuke: don't make me puke

***Renewable Energy***
Oil: in the soil.
Gas: under the grass.
Coal: in the hole.
Nuke: don't make me puke

Thomas Frank: Bill Clinton's Five Major Achievements Were Longstanding GOP Objectives

Every 2 yrs, Dems assume that being non-GOP is sufficient to rally voters to their standard #WeTheNorth

http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/36035-thomas-frank-bill-clinton-s-five-major-achievements-were-longstanding-gop-objectives

Saturday, May 14, 2016

Chicago Tribune - U.S. intelligence warns Venezuela is on the verge of collapse

US corporate media is an ever-compliant tool for Washington's meddling in Latin America. Example:

http://my.chicagotribune.com/#section/-1/article/p2p-87195892/

Bill Gates’ excellent case for new types of nuclear power - The Alvin Weinberg Foundation

Get meddling billionaires like Bill Gates out of policy debates (education, energy, transportation) now!

http://www.the-weinberg-foundation.org/2013/03/11/bill-gates-excellent-case-for-new-types-of-nuclear-power/

Rancho Seco Nuclear Generating Station | Union of Concerned Scientists

Rancho Seco: One of the first decommissioned nuclear generating stations, 25 mi from downtown Sacramento, CA

http://www.ucsusa.org/nuclear-power/us-nuclear-power-plants-database/rancho-seco-nuclear-generating-station#.VzfL8Wt5mSM

The 28 Pages: What’s Taking So Long? | The National Interest Blog

The bipartisan scandal that keeps on giving: The 28 Pages

http://nationalinterest.org/blog/the-skeptics/the-28-pages-whats-taking-so-long-16095?platform=hootsuite

Thursday, May 12, 2016

Medicare for all: everybody in, nobody out. Free choice of doctor and hospital. #IWasBlockedFor

Why Can't Washington's Warmongers Admit Failure? They Are on a 15-Year Losing Streak | Alternet

Turn away from Joint Base Andrews & ask yourself: Why Can't DC's warmongers admit defeat after 15 years of failure?

http://www.alternet.org/world/why-cant-washingtons-warmongers-admit-failure-they-are-15-year-losing-streak?akid=14249.219671.4o1Y4l&rd=1&src=newsletter1056408&t=6