With foolish health-care bill, Republicans paving way to single-payer: Eugene Robinson | OregonLive.com

USA will have universal health care--sooner if GOP succeed in destroying ObamneyCare, later if they fail.

http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2017/05/with_foolish_health-care_bill.html

Amazon's Monopoly Must Be Broken Up: A Radical Plan for the Tech Giant | New Republic

https://newrepublic.com/article/119769/amazons-monopoly-must-be-broken-radical-plan-tech-giant

Every Democrat in America Should Support Medicare for All

Dems would be smart to divert their energy away from blasting Trumpcare to fighting for Medicare for All

https://www.commondreams.org/views/2017/06/13/every-democrat-america-should-support-medicare-all

Behold, the Jihad of Freedom | Commonweal Magazine

From 1918 thru 9/11, US attempts to understand the ME yielded bogus conclusions & ill-advised policy

https://www.commonwealmagazine.org/behold-jihad-freedom

Former Obama Aide Who Helped Kill Single-Payer in the ACA Solicits Donations for Sick Friend's GoFundMe Page :: Politics :: News :: Health Care :: Paste

Did irony just die?

Obama aide who helped kill Single-Payer now solicits for sick friend's GoFundMe page. #MedicareForAll

https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2017/03/former-obama-aide-who-helped-kill-single-payer-in.html

test

hope all well

Consultantocracy: Real reasons corporate Dems preferred Perez over Ellison had nothing to do with ideology

Key Question About DNC Race: Why Did Obama White House Recruit Perez to Run Against Ellison?

https://theintercept.com/2017/02/24/key-question-about-dnc-race-why-did-white-house-recruit-perez-to-run-against-ellison/

Johanna Brenner responds to Nancy Fraser on the implosion of "progressive neoliberalism"

Johanna Brenner responds to Nancy Fraser on the implosion of "progressive neoliberalism":

https://www.dissentmagazine.org/online_articles/nancy-fraser-progressive-neoliberalism-social-movements-response

Prosperity does not mean rising corporate profits, but the prerequisites of a good life for all

Nancy Fraser on why we have Trump: the dissolution of "progressive neoliberalism" (1992-2016)

The End of Progressive Neoliberalism | Dissent Magazine

https://www.dissentmagazine.org/online_articles/progressive-neoliberalism-reactionary-populism-nancy-fraser

A lot can happen in four years

Thanks to the military industrial Congressional complex, war is the most prominent US brand

.@SarahlJaffe: Politicians are not your friends

http://www.damemagazine.com/2015/07/24/politicians-are-not-our-friends

Obama advisor’s unintentionally hilarious tweet about the Women’s March

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAfRKepNirE

Only reason @SenWarren is grandstanding against Mnuchin? Because @KamalaHarris stopped investigation of Mnuchin

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evwM5-xgyiA

Corporate Democrats get called out at Women's March

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1exEtu5OkI8

The only Amazon we should be clear-cutting is the one owned by Jeff Bezos

http://www.counterpunch.org/2015/08/17/the-grim-externalities-of-amazon-com/

'Resistance means resisting': Dems accused of being too soft on Trump (I agree!)

http://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/01/27/resistance-means-resisting-dems-accused-being-too-soft-trump

Chuck Schumer before Wall Sreet shut him up (and shut him down)

Charles Schumer and Paul Craig Roberts, "Second Thoughts on Free Trade," New York Times, 6 January 2004 | VDARE - premier news outlet for patriotic immigration reform

http://www.vdare.com/articles/charles-schumer-and-paul-craig-roberts-second-thoughts-on-free-trade-new-york-times-6-janua

Three days in and Trump has already kept one pledge - PaulCraigRoberts.org

Let's not forget: The entire establishment (Wall St., corporate media, Silicon Valley) was backing Hillary.


http://www.paulcraigroberts.org/2017/01/24/three-days-trump-already-kept-one-pledge/

U.S. Dropped 26,171 Bombs on 7 Muslim-Majority Countries in 2016

Now we need women & men marching against Obama's illegal bombing of 7 majority Muslim countries

http://www.alternet.org/grayzone-project/us-dropped-26171-bombs-7-muslim-countries-2016

People power, not Trump, defeated TPP. When will Dems admit that Obama was on the wrong horse?

How Pathetic! Why Donald Trump May be the Best Thing Going

http://www.counterpunch.org/2015/08/07/how-pathetic-why-donald-trump-may-be-the-best-thing-going/

The US has three "special relationships," and they're all toxic: United Kingdom, Israel, Saudi Arabia

May-Trump meeting to test UK-US 'special relationship'

https://www.yahoo.com/news/may-trump-meeting-test-uk-050405670.html

Obama's Legacy Is A Dictator's Toolkit

.@LeeCamp: While Democrats slept, Obama developed a dictator's toolkit. Now Trump has it.

https://trofire.com/2017/01/22/obamas-legacy-dictators-toolkit-redacted-tonight/

Women's March on Washington had to hide the disgraced Democrats in order to get people to show up

Debbie Wasserman Schultz spotted at the Women's March 

https://www.reddit.com/r/PoliticalHumor/comments/5pgesi/debbie_wasserman_schultz_spotted_at_the_womens/

Donald Trump Is President. This Is What We Do Next.

Great piece by Jon Schwarz (@TinyRevolution):

https://theintercept.com/2017/01/20/donald-trump-is-president-this-is-what-we-do-next/

Bill Clinton yearned to divert a big chunk of Social Security to Wall Street--only Monica Lewinsky saved us

https://theintercept.com/2017/01/20/donald-trump-is-president-this-is-what-we-do-next/

Donald Trump Is President. This Is What We Do Next.

Obama had one of the most powerful organizations ever assembled in US history, and he just disbanded it.

https://theintercept.com/2017/01/20/donald-trump-is-president-this-is-what-we-do-next/

The TPP Is Officially Dead. Thank the People's Movement, Not Trump.

The corporate Dems' disaster (TPP) is officially dead. Thank the People's Movement, not Trump. #DNCforum

http://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/01/23/tpp-officially-dead-thank-peoples-movement-not-trump

Paul R. Pillar offers a balanced assessment of Obama's presidency at @ConsortiumNews

https://consortiumnews.com/2017/01/22/a-balanced-assessment-of-obama/

Richard Falk: The US has toxic relationships with both Saudi Arabia and Israel

U.S. policy in the Middle East has for decades pivoted on two countries: Saudi Arabia and Israel. Washington is the guarantor of both states. They are heavily armed by the Pentagon. Saudi Arabia, aggressively promoting its own brand of fundamental Islam, Wahabism, has supported extremist groups starting in Pakistan and Afghanistan in the 1980s. Today, rich Saudis stoke sectarianism in Syria and Iraq. Saudi armies invade Bahrain. Its air force bombs Yemen. As for Israel, it occupies a privileged position in Washington's worldview. No matter the administration, Democrat or Republican, no other country has received as much diplomatic, military and financial support. The Palestinians? Sorry, you're not special. Palestinians have always been marginal to the geopolitical concerns of U.S. policymakers. They are invited to so-called peace processes, which may lead to Bantustans with a few casinos and malls. This event was presented by the Lannan Foundation.

http://audio.alternativeradio.org/station-downloads/FALR003-SpecialRelationships.mp3

British newspaper The Independent calls Haaretz journalist Gideon Levy the most-hated Israeli in the world

Gideon Levy on The Never Ending Occupation: Palestine

Israeli general and later prime minister Ariel Sharon said of the Palestinians: "We'll make a pastrami sandwich out of them. We'll insert a strip of Jewish settlements in between the Palestinians and then another strip of Jewish settlements, right across the West Bank, so that in 25 years' time neither the United Nations nor the United States, nobody, will be able to tear it apart." Sharon said that in 1973. Today, there are more than 600,000 settlers in the occupied territories. They are facts on the ground, as the Israelis like to say. All of the settlements are outside Israel's internationally recognized borders, and are unambiguously illegal under international law. Thomas Friedman, in The New York Times, says the settlements constitute "a tacit annexation of the West Bank," and then he adds, "and is not winning Israel friends in Europe or America." This event was presented by the Lannan Foundation.

http://audio.alternativeradio.org/station-downloads/LEVG001-NeverEndingOccupation.mp3

Why we have Trump: Obama became friends with the banksters instead of punishing them.

Trump ran on 1 issue: trade. Because of NAFTA, Hillary Clinton was the only Democrat he could have defeated

"America's Already Great" is the only slogan Trump could have defeated. Google: "Half the country's poor"

Yasha Levine: Silicon Valley turned the Internet into the greatest surveillance apparatus of all time

https://surveillancevalley.com/

Solar Employs More Workers Than Coal, Oil and Natural Gas Combined

US solar industry now employs more workers than coal, oil and natural gas combined.

http://readersupportednews.org/news-section2/318-66/41475-solar-employs-more-workers-than-coal-oil-and-natural-gas-combined

BDS Demands Are As Canadian As Maple Syrup | Independent Jewish Voices Canada

http://ijvcanada.org/2016/bds-is-canadian-as-maple-syrup/

Six Things We Should Do Better As Everything Gets Worse | Let's Try Democracy

All good presidents are alike; each evil president is evil in her/his own way. ~Tolstoy

http://davidswanson.org/node/5416

Obama goes out with a boom, not a whimper, bombing yet another Muslim-majority country he destabilized

Libya: US bombs ISIS camps, dozens killed - CNNPolitics.com

http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/19/politics/us-airstrikes-libya-isis/index.html

Netanyahu will soon be the most left-wing member of his government. Two-state bantustan is now impossible

A Two-State Solution in Israel and Palestine Is Now Impossible

http://readersupportednews.org/opinion2/277-75/41467-a-two-state-solution-in-israel-and-palestine-is-now-impossible

A Demand for Russian ‘Hacking’ Proof

https://consortiumnews.com/2017/01/17/a-demand-for-russian-hacking-proof/

Protect Your Right to Boycott

Summary of anti-BDS legislation by state

http://righttoboycott.org/

Is It Time To Revoke John Lewis’s Lifetime Civil Rights Hero Pass?

Is It Time To Revoke John Lewis's Lifetime Civil Rights Hero Pass?

 

A Black Agenda Radio Commentary by BAR managing editor Bruce A. Dixon

Sheroes and heroes are people who take risks, who make great personal sacrifices to perform difficult and important duties for others. By that standard John Lewis and the six hundred who walked that bridge in Selma Alabama 52 years ago are heroes whose actions helped pass the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Let's agree on that.

But long should that hero pass last? How many years, how many decades do you get to to boast and roast and toast and coast before you need to do something else even mildly heroic to keep your status current?

It's not like Lewis has lacked new chances to serve the people this last half century. He's represented a metro Atlanta district in Congress the past 28 years. Ruled by black mayors and the black political class since 1973, Atlanta has billed itself as "Black Mecca" though for more than half of black Atlanta there's been little to celebrate. Black mayors have relentlessly gentrified the city, starting with the Carter Presidential Library in the 80s, the Olympics in the 90s, and after that demolition of public housing, privatization of the land under it, and the BeltLine project which steals $150 million annually from Atlanta's public schools to build yuppie housing and shopping destinations. Marquee "development" projects have driven a six figure number of poorer black residents from the city. John Lewis never says a mumbling word about any of this. John Lewis never publicly contradicts the black Atlanta mayors who crack down on the homeless, who line up for the privatization of public property, public transit and public schools. Perhaps being a Legendary Civil Rights Hero puts him above all that.

Supporting Hillary Clinton last year, Lewis spoke out against free health care and free college tuition which many countries grant their young people, explaining that "free stuff" was just not the American Way. Lewis was also an early member of the Democratic Leadership Council, which irretrievably locked that party into subservience to its one percenter donors.

Sometimes members of Congress can undo historic wrongs. Lewis blew one such chance when he doubled down upon the expulsion of the descendants of black freedmen from the Cherokee nation in which they had once enjoyed voting rights.

John Lewis calls himself a pacifist and never misses a chance to lecture on the supreme utility of nonviolence. But the US Navy is building a ship with his name on it, a "fleet replenishment oiler" to resupply warships on deployment. Isn't this an "honor" a pacifist should reject? And shouldn't our Apostle of Non-Violence vote against every arms giveaway, sale and Pentagon budget? John Lewis doesn't. Like most other members of the Black Caucus Lewis votes to fund mass surveillance and re-arm the apartheid state of Israel with depressing regularity.

It's time to ask whether Civil Rights Hero status from 52 years ago is really enough to cancel out or ignore all this, and what purpose John's Hero status serves today. John Lewis is in the news now because he called Big Cheeto's presidency "not legitimate." But why?

Is it because Lewis fears Trump will pursue more than 6 bloody wars, that he will deport millions of innocents, expand mass surveillance and militarized policing? Is it because Lewis knows the Donald will help greedy banksters stay ut of jail and he'll enable hedge fund parasites to gentrify, plunder and privatize public education, nature and the commons? Probably not, because these are all Obama policies which Trump is expected to double down on.

John Lewis's problem with Trump is that the CIA and FBI, which helped assassinate King and cover it up says that Russia helped elect him, and Lewis believes it. Big Cheeto did a Twitter fight with Lewis the other day and some of his followers called Lewis the n-word.

So now the Obama/Hillary liberals are flogging John Lewis's tattered sainthood as hard as they can, to have a #NotMyPresident message that draws attention away from the many matters on which Republicans and the Obama/Hillary liberals agree. The old Civil Rights Hero does not oppose Trump for any reason which might lead to questioning past, present or future Democrats. Lewis is warming up the crowd for Obama's exit and the entrance of whoever the Democrats run next.

This is what happens when there is no time limit on those Legendary Civil Rights Hero credentials. Time to revoke them.

For Black Agenda Radio, I'm Bruce Dixon. Find us on the web at Black Agenda Report dot com, or follow us on Twitter @blkagendareport. Thanks for listening.

Bruce A. Dixon is managing editor at Black Agenda Report and a member of the state committee of the GA Green Party. He lives and works near Marietta GA and can be reached via email at bruce.dixon@blackagendareport.com, or via Twitter at @brucedixon.

http://blackagendareport.com/john-lewis-civil-rights-legend

Problem: Sanders is allowing “Wall St. Chuck” Schumer to piggyback off his powerful, consistent message

Bernie Sanders Has The Right Message—But The Wrong Strategy

http://www.mediaite.com/online/bernie-sanders-has-the-right-message-but-the-wrong-strategy/

Big Pharma-Backed Dems Join GOP to Block Sanders Effort to End Drug Price Gouging

14 Pharma-backed Dems who voted against Sanders effort to end drug price gouging: Wolves in sheep's clothing

http://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/01/12/big-pharma-backed-dems-join-gop-block-sanders-effort-end-drug-price-gouging

Ever wonder why more folk get their news from the indy journos and forego corporate outlets like MS-DNC?

Why The Young Turks, and their viewers, love Bernie Sanders - The Washington Post

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/why-the-young-turks-and-their-viewers-love-bernie-sanders/2016/05/27/bd15e02e-2386-11e6-aa84-42391ba52c91_story.html?utm_term=.4e8943f98316

Journalist DEBUNKS CIA Anti-Trump B.S. & Rachel Maddow Ignores it. - YouTube

Millionaire pretty-face news readers at MS-DNC are still occasionally schooled by real journalists

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=AMZLf3AUz_s

Journalist DEBUNKS CIA Anti-Trump B.S. & Rachel Maddow Ignores it

Compromat: Rachel @Maddow makes $30,000 a day. She'll say anything her corporate paymasters want her to

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=AMZLf3AUz_s

Jane Fonda Calls Out "Pretty Faced Neoliberal" Trudeau - YouTube

Good-looking, well-spoken "liberals": Wolf in sheep's clothing.

Trump: Wolf in wolf's clothing.

Which would you prefer?

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kLER04yXGdk

Russia Hacking Absolutely NOT Confirmed By Intelligence Agencies

Note to sore loser MSDNC Dems: The spy masters admit that they've been lie masters. Read the fine print

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=pmpG97mGZhY

Spy masters are lie masters. Why anyone is running with the CIA lies is beyond me. Evidence please!

The Scheme to Take Down Trump – Consortiumnews

https://consortiumnews.com/2017/01/14/the-scheme-to-take-down-trump/

Cory Booker and 12 Other Dems Just Stopped Bernie Sanders' Amendment to Lower Prescription Drug Costs

http://readersupportednews.org/opinion2/277-75/41358-cory-booker-and-12-other-dems-just-stopped-bernie-sanders-amendment-to-lower-prescription-drug-costs

The Deep State Goes to War with President-Elect, Using Unverified Claims, as Democrats Cheer

As Democrats cheer, the Deep State goes to war using unverified claims

https://theintercept.com/2017/01/11/the-deep-state-goes-to-war-with-president-elect-using-unverified-claims-as-dems-cheer/

If authoritarian populism is the wave of the future, its midwife is neoliberal economics turned punitive and illiberal

Maybe This Is How Democracy Ends - BillMoyers.com

http://billmoyers.com/story/maybe-democracy-ends/

The Origins of the American Military Coup of 2012

http://strategicstudiesinstitute.army.mil/pubs/parameters/articles/2010winter/dunlap_jr.pdf

The president has exclusive authority to determine the facilities in which military detainees are held

Eight Years and a Thousand Broken Promises: Obama and Guantanamo

http://readersupportednews.org/opinion2/277-75/41323-eight-years-and-a-thousand-broken-promises-obama-and-guantanamo

Obama's “team of rivals” approach to governing proved disastrous, especially in the Mideast

How Obama Spread the Mideast Fires – Consortiumnews

https://consortiumnews.com/2017/01/11/how-obama-spread-the-mideast-fires/

SEAL Team 6 Red Team had a Native American warrior as a mascot; Gold Team a lion or a crusader’s cross

The Crimes of SEAL Team 6

http://readersupportednews.org/news-section2/318-66/41316-the-crimes-of-seal-team-6

Nearly 95% of all new jobs during Obama era were part-time, or contract. Economy’s in the tank.

https://www.investing.com/news/economy-news/nearly-95-of-all-job-growth-during-obama-era-part-time,-contract-work-449057

Hope & change failed us. Obama cheerleaders who refused to make him accountable bear some responsibility

Cornel West: Pity the Sad Legacy of Barack Obama

http://readersupportednews.org/opinion2/277-75/41289-focus-pity-the-sad-legacy-of-barack-obama

If you care about the people who will most suffer under Trump, you can't shield Clinton or the DNC

Katie Halper:

"In this really, really good ep, if I do say so myself, Doug Henwood and go over the refusal of the DNC & the Clinton campaign to acknowledge or learn from their mistakes, even when their mistakes helped bring us Trump.

"Henwood points out that if you care about the people who will most suffer under Trump, you can't shield Clinton or the DNC. You have to actually look at what happened so it doesn't happen again. We also look at why the same liberals who loudly insist that all Trump voters are bigots have zero interest in actually coming up with any solutions to this problem. Their only solution seems to be to wait around for decades until the demography shifts.

"As a bonus we are offering a video of Doug and Liza Featherstone to everyone at Patreon. And we will have bonus content for our Patreon supporters. Make sure you come to our next live show!"

https://www.facebook.com/events/1190832977697158/

https://soundcloud.com/katie-halper/doug-henwood-in-defense-of-recriminations-not-moving-on

Bernie Sanders: Trump Won Because Democrats Are out of Touch

Is the Democratic Party capable of learning from its mistakes, or will it continue to blame "the Russians"?

http://readersupportednews.org/news-section2/318-66/41270-bernie-sanders-trump-won-because-democrats-are-out-of-touch

Hillary Clinton and the installation of authoritarian right-wing regimes in the Americas

http://www.counterpunch.org/2017/01/06/hillary-clinton-and-the-installation-of-authoritarian-right-wing-regimes-in-the-americas/

If Trump's such a fascist, why isn't Obama working 24/7 to defang Trump before the transition?

How Obama Can Defang Trump's Immigration Policy in One Fell Swoop | Alternet

http://www.alternet.org/immigration/how-obama-can-defang-trumps-immigration-policy-one-fell-swoop

The Jimmy Dore Show: I'd rather have a wolf in wolf's clothing than a wolf in sheep's clothing

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheJimmyDoreShow/~3/Ouc_rJYQTJs/The_Jimmy_Dore_Show_1-6-17.mp3

Obama Didn’t Talk Much About Race. Did that Open the Door to Trump?

Obamacare saved the lives of hundreds of thousands of black people, but Obama never mentioned that fact—his rhetoric throughout his presidency was always more "race-neutral" than not. And the Obama years also saw the resurgence of white supremacy. Kai Wright asks whether there's a connection.

https://soundcloud.com/thenationmagazine/obama-didnt-talk-much-about-race-did-that-open-the-door-to-trump

Political Suicide: Dems choosing to oppose Trump from the right (not the left), with McCarthyite red-baiting

The Democrats "Russia Hacking" Campaign is Political Suicide

http://www.counterpunch.org/2016/12/12/the-democrats-russia-hacking-campaign-is-political-suicide/

During the first decades since 1776, there were probably more Muslims in the US than Roman Catholics

Jews and Muslims: Here From the Founding | Commonweal Magazine

https://www.commonwealmagazine.org/blog/jews-and-muslims-here-founding

The resistance we need to form against Trump must not allow itself to be hijacked by the dismal dollar Dems

Paul Street: Barack Obama's Neoliberal Legacy: Rightward Drift and Donald Trump - Truthdig

http://www.truthdig.com/report/page3/obamas_neoliberal_legacy_rightward_drift_and_donald_trump_20170103

.@KamalaHarris criticized for a lack of vigor in prosecuting foreclosure fraud, including @StevenMnuchin1’s bank

Treasury Nominee Steve Mnuchin's Bank Accused of "Widespread Misconduct" in Leaked Memo

https://theintercept.com/2017/01/03/treasury-nominee-steve-mnuchins-bank-accused-of-widespread-misconduct-in-leaked-memo/

Word of the Year for 2017: emoluments

http://www.counterpunch.org/2017/01/04/beyond-anti-trump/

Finland Becomes First Country to Provide Citizens Basic Income

http://readersupportednews.org/news-section2/318-66/41181-finland-becomes-first-country-to-provide-citizens-basic-income

Audit: Pentagon cannot account for $6.5 trillion in taxpayer money

http://www.dodig.mil/pubs/report_summary.cfm?id=7034

Russian Hacking Report: All Hat, No Cattle

http://www.counterpunch.org/2017/01/02/russian-hacking-report-all-hat-no-cattle/

The Mexican War (1846) divided the US. Extremists wanted to seize all of Mexico; moderates wanted just half

http://www.counterpunch.org/2017/01/03/god-hates-mexicans/

Evidence Continues to Mount That Trump Is on Putin's Side

Islamophobia from the right.

Russophobia from the left.

Both make US weapons merchants very happy.

#CuiBono?

http://readersupportednews.org/opinion2/277-75/41124-evidence-continues-to-mount-that-trump-is-on-putins-side

Kali Akuno: Here's How We Prepare to Be Ungovernable in 2017

http://www.alternet.org/activism/heres-how-we-prepare-be-ungovernable-2017?akid=15071.219671.zrvdla&rd=1&src=newsletter1069792&t=6

What is the Obama Regime Up To?

Overwhelming circumstantial evidence: Obama has no reason to impose more sanctions on Russia

http://www.counterpunch.org/2016/12/30/what-is-the-obama-regime-up-to/

Feminists supported Sanders in primaries, but "super" delegates flipped, lost & shouted down their votes.

Misleading headline: 2016 Was the Year the Feminist Bubble Burst

http://readersupportednews.org/opinion2/277-75/41139-2016-was-the-year-the-feminist-bubble-burst