2020-02-03: Social Media Postees

Please be social by posting these 'POSTEES' on social media!

Financial Transactions Taxes Are No Longer a "Fringe" Idea
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-02-03
I have been a proponent of financial transactions taxes (FTT) since I first came to Washington more than a quarter-century ago. Back then, the idea of taxing Wall Street was considered pretty ridiculous. Among elected members of Congress, only then-Rep. Bernie Sanders and a few other progressive types were willing to publicly get behind the idea. | Things have changed. Most of the candidates in the race for the Democratic nomination, including all three of the leading contenders, have made FTT part of their agen…
truthout.org/articles/financial-transactions-taxes-are-no-longer-a-fringe-idea/

Last Poll Before Iowa Caucus Shows Sanders With 7-Point Lead
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-02-03
An Emerson/7 News poll released on the eve of the Iowa caucuses found that Sen. Bernie Sanders, buttressed by strong support from younger voters, is leading the 2020 Democratic presidential field in the state by seven percentage points heading into Monday's voting. | According to the new survey,…
truthout.org/articles/last-poll-before-iowa-caucus-shows-sanders-with-7-point-lead/

As Bernie Sanders Surges Ahead of Iowa Caucus, DNC Under Fire for Changing Rules to Help Bloomberg
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-02-03
The Iowa caucuses take place today, kicking off the official start of the 2020 presidential election season. Democratic presidential candidates spent the weekend making last-minute pitches to voters at rallies across Iowa. Meanwhile, the Democratic National Committee is facing criticism for overhauling its rules, opening the door for billionaire former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg, who is running a self-funded campaign, to take part in the next debate. This comes as fear is growing among some Democrats that Bernie Sanders might win the nomination. Politico reports a small group of DNC members have begun discussi…
www.democracynow.org/2020/2/3/2020_race_iowa_caucuses_sanders_bloomberg

As Bernie Sanders Surges Ahead of Iowa Caucus, DNC Under Fire For Changing Rules to Help Bloomberg
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-02-03
The Iowa caucuses take place today, kicking off the official start of the 2020 presidential election season. Democratic presidential candidates spent the weekend making last-minute pitches to voters at rallies across Iowa. Meanwhile, the Democratic National Committee is facing criticism for overhauling its rules, opening the door for billionaire former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg, who is running a self-funded campaign, to take part in the next debate. This comes as fear is growing among some Democrats that Bernie Sanders might win the nomination. Politico reports a small group of DNC members have begun discussi…
www.democracynow.org/2020/2/3/2020_race_iowa_caucuses_sanders_bloomberg

A Unity of Delusionals
Clark T. Scott | counterpunch.org | 2020-02-03
I am writing this the night before the Iowa caucuses. There is an expectation that there will be a large turn out for the democrat caucuses in Iowa and many people seem to believe that this larger turnout may be the result of the campaign of Bernie Sanders and his supporters. There is an aspect…
counterpunch.org/2020/02/03/a-unity-of-delusionals/

Youth Climate Activists Have Endorsed Bernie Sanders. Can It Tip the Scales?
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-02-03
A recent wave of endorsements reflects the Vermont Senator's appeal for younger voters who are concerned with climate. | As sparring continues within the ranks of the Democratic Party, a certain voting bloc

In the Name of Medicare for All, This Family Doctor Will Vote for Bernie Sanders
Robert Dodge | commondreams.org | 2020-02-03
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) speaks while introducing healthcare legislation titled the "Medicare for All Act of 2019" with Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) during a news conference on Capitol Hill, on April 9, 2019 in Washington, D.C. (Photo: Mark Wilson/Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/sanders_medicare_for_all_0.png
commondreams.org/views/2020/02/03/name-medicare-all-family-doctor-will-vote-bernie-sanders?cd-origin=rss

Bernie Sanders Is the Only Candidate Who Can Save America
Juan Cole | truthdig.com | 2020-02-03
This piece originally appeared on Informed Comment. | Generations of orators have told the story that if you put a frog in a pan of steaming water it will immediately jump out, but if you put it in a pan of cold water and gradually heat it, it will be lulled and end up boiled to death. The story is not true of healthy frogs, who will in fact jump out of the pan as the water heats. But it appears to be true of human beings. | Human beings are being gradually being boiled, and they aren't bothering to jump out of the pan. | Related Arti…
truthdig.com/articles/bernie-sanders-is-the-only-candidate-who-can-save-america/

As Bernie Sanders Surges, DNC Launches "Troll Army" Ahead of Iowa Caucus
Alan Macleod | mintpressnews.com | 2020-02-03
Nell Thomas, the only member of the cyber task force willing to make their participation public, was previously employed with the online arm of Hillary Clinton's 2016 campaign.
mintpressnews.com/amid-sanders-surge-dnc-launches-troll-army-iowa-caucus/264570/

Bernie Sanders Is Panicking All the Right Media Outlets
Staff | truthdig.com | 2020-02-03
The New York Times. The Atlantic. The Washington Post. Name the major publication, it's running multiple hit pieces on the Vermont senator.
truthdig.com/articles/bernie-sanders-is-panicking-all-the-right-media-outlets/

Bernie Sanders Is the Only Candidate Who Can Save America
Juan Cole | truthdig.com | 2020-02-03
There's only one person running for office who grasps the urgency of multiple crises we're facing, and has actionable plans to address them.
truthdig.com/articles/bernie-sanders-is-the-only-candidate-who-can-save-america/

The Creation Myth of the Buttigieg Campaign
Norman Solomon | counterpunch.org | 2020-02-03
This weekend, Pete Buttigieg told supporters that he became a viable candidate for president "on the strength of our vision" and "the urgency of our convictions." Such rhetoric fits snugly into a creation myth about his campaign that Buttigieg has been promoting since early 2019. Summing up the gist of that myth, Buttigieg began this…
counterpunch.org/2020/02/03/the-creation-myth-of-the-buttigieg-campaign/

The Creation Myth of the Buttigieg Campaign
Norman Solomon | counterpunch.org | 2020-02-03
This weekend, Pete Buttigieg told supporters that he became a viable candidate for president "on the strength of our vision" and "the urgency of our convictions." Such rhetoric fits snugly into a creation myth about his campaign that Buttigieg has been promoting since early 2019. Summing up the gist of that myth, Buttigieg began this…
counterpunch.org/2020/02/03/the-creation-myth-of-the-buttigieg-campaign/

The Creation Myth of the Buttigieg Campaign
Norman Solomon | indybay.org | 2020-02-03
Silence about truth is powerful propaganda…
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/02/02/18830306.php

The Creation Myth of the Buttigieg Campaign
Norman Solomon | commondreams.org | 2020-02-03
Democratic presidential candidate former South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg arrives on stage at Northwest Junior High School during a Get Out The Caucus rally February 2, 2020 in Coralville, Iowa. Iowa holds the state's caucuses tomorrow, the first test for prospective presidential candidates in the 2020 election. (Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/buttigieg_myth.png
commondreams.org/views/2020/02/03/creation-myth-buttigieg-campaign?cd-origin=rss

The Creation Myth of the Buttigieg Campaign
Norman Solomon | zcomm.org | 2020-02-03
Buttigieg rhetoric fits snugly into a creation myth about his campaign that he has been promoting since early 2019…
zcomm.org/znetarticle/the-creation-myth-of-the-buttigieg-campaign/

America: Land of Make-Believe
Chris Hedges | truthdig.com | 2020-02-03
If what happens in courtrooms across the country to poor people of color is justice, what is happening in the Senate is a trial. If the blood-drenched debacles and endless quagmires in the Middle East are victories in the war on terror, our military is the greatest on earth. If the wholesale government surveillance of the public, the revoking of due process and having the world's largest prison population are liberty, we are the land of the free. If the president, an inept, vulgar and corrupt con artist, is the leader of the free world, we are a beacon for democracy and our enemies hate us for our values. If Jesu…
truthdig.com/articles/america-land-of-make-believe/

America: Land of Make-Believe
Chris Hedges | truthdig.com | 2020-02-03
If what happens in courtrooms across the country to poor people of color is justice, what is happening in the Senate is a trial. If the blood-drenched debacles and endless quagmires in the Middle East are victories in the war on terror, our military is the greatest on earth. If the wholesale government surveillance of the public, the revoking of due process and having the world's largest prison population are liberty, we are the land of the free. If the president, an inept, vulgar and corrupt con artist, is the leader of the free world, we are a beacon for democracy and our enemies hate us for our values. If Jesu…
truthdig.com/articles/america-land-of-make-believe/

Bossing Grown Folks Around: the Open Letter to the Greens
Richard Moser | counterpunch.org | 2020-02-03
Before a single primary vote has been tallied a number of big-shot progressive Democrats are already calling for the Green Party to stand down in an "open letter." Of all the issues we face, why focus so narrowly on marginal election maneuvers? Of all the movements we need to organize, why try to demobilize a…
counterpunch.org/2020/02/03/bossing-grown-folks-around-the-open-letter-to-the-greens/

Bossing Grown Folks Around: the Open Letter to the Greens
Richard Moser | counterpunch.org | 2020-02-03
Before a single primary vote has been tallied a number of big-shot progressive Democrats are already calling for the Green Party to stand down in an "open letter." Of all the issues we face, why focus so narrowly on marginal election maneuvers? Of all the movements we need to organize, why try to demobilize a…
counterpunch.org/2020/02/03/bossing-grown-folks-around-the-open-letter-to-the-greens/

Misleading Categories and Trump's Swamps
Ralph Nader | counterpunch.org | 2020-02-03
It is remarkable how the Democratic Presidential candidates allow themselves to be pigeon-holed by the media as "moderate," "centrist," "extreme," "left-wing," and other abstract fact-deprived nomenclature. It is also astonishing that the Democratic operatives have made something called "electability" a yardstick for deciding who to vote for in the primaries. This is particularly ironic considering…
counterpunch.org/2020/02/03/misleading-categories-and-trumps-swamps/

Misleading Categories and Trump's Swamps
Ralph Nader | zcomm.org | 2020-02-03
Unfortunately, the entrenched corporate Democrats in Washington are just using the "electability" excuse to block the rising progressive presidential candidates who intend to upset the plutocratic applecarts and cushy fat-cat sinecures…
zcomm.org/znetarticle/misleading-categories-and-trumps-swamps/

Trump trial closing arguments focus on voters, history
Lisa Mascaro, Eric Tucker | peoplesworld.org | 2020-02-03
WASHINGTON (AP)

"A Grand Tragedy": Democrats Slam Republican Stonewalling in Senate Impeachment Trial
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-02-03
The Republican-controlled Senate appears poised to acquit President Trump in just the third impeachment trial in U.S. history, with a final vote on the two articles of impeachment scheduled for Wednesday. On Friday, the Senate voted 51 to 49 against calling witnesses to the Senate trial. Just two Republican senators supported calling for witnesses and collecting new evidence: Mitt Romney of Utah and Susan Collins of Maine. Without new witnesses, Republicans have cleared the biggest hurdle in their drive to acquit President Trump on the two impeachment charges, which relate to his withholding of military aid to Uk…
www.democracynow.org/2020/2/3/impeachment_trial_john_nichols_the_nation

Democrats Slam Republican Stonewalling in Senate Impeachment Trial
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-02-03
The Republican-controlled Senate appears poised to acquit President Trump in just the third impeachment trial in U.S. history, with a final vote on the two articles of impeachment scheduled for Wednesday. On Friday, the Senate voted 51 to 49 against calling witnesses to the Senate trial. Just two Republican senators supported calling for witnesses and collecting new evidence: Mitt Romney of Utah and Susan Collins of Maine. Without new witnesses, Republicans have cleared the biggest hurdle in their drive t…
truthout.org/video/democrats-slam-republican-stonewalling-in-senate-impeachment-trial/

Lamar Alexander Is Retiring, But He'll Live in Infamy Forever for Saving Trump
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-02-03
Good old Lamar! That would be Sen. Lamar Alexander, Republican of Tennessee

Amy Klobuchar, endorsed by New York Times, denounced for railroading black teenager to prison for life
wsws.org | 2020-02-03
Like Hillary Clinton, Kamala Harris and Elizabeth Warren, Klobuchar personifies the use of gender and racial politics to provide a phony "progressive" veneer to the grasping ambitions of middle class reactionaries of all stripes.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/02/03/pers-f03.html

Amy Klobuchar, endorsed by New York Times, denounced for railroading black teenager to prison for life
wsws.org | 2020-02-03
Like Hillary Clinton, Kamala Harris and Elizabeth Warren, Klobuchar personifies the use of gender and racial politics to provide a phony "progressive" veneer to the grasping ambitions of middle class reactionaries of all stripes.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/02/03/pers-f03.html

The Issue Dividing Democratic Candidates Is Hidden in Plain Sight
Max Moran | counterpunch.org | 2020-02-03
Takes came in hot and heavy last weekend after the New York Times editorial board endorsed both Elizabeth Warren and Amy Klobuchar for the Democratic presidential nomination, mercifully ending the paper's self-aggrandizing pseudo-event widely compared to … that's right … "The Apprentice." The Times split its endorsement due to the intra-Democratic cleave between what it…
counterpunch.org/2020/02/03/the-issue-dividing-democratic-candidates-is-hidden-in-plain-sight/

Warren introduces repeal of federal OK of RTW laws
Mark Gruenberg | peoplesworld.org | 2020-02-03
WASHINGTON–As the Democratic-run U.S. House plans to vote on the Protect The Right To Organize (Pro) Act, the most-comprehensive pro-worker labor law reform in decades, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., split out a key anti-worker provision and introduced her own legislation to deal with it: Repeal of federal approval of states' infamous so-called "right to work" …
peoplesworld.org/article/warren-introduces-repeal-of-federal-ok-of-rtw-laws/

Teacher's photos document virus-hit Chinese city
The Canary | thecanary.co | 2020-02-03
A teacher who was starting a new life with his wife in the Chinese industrial centre of Wuhan when a viral outbreak spread across the city has documented the coronavirus fallout in a series of photos.Poland native Arek Rataj had recently taken a position teaching visual communication at Jianghan University, but almost immediately the metropolis of 11 million people, which had been teeming with Lunar New Year holiday revelry, turned quiet.A girl wears a face mask as she plays on a swing near the Yingwuzhou Yangtze River Bridge in Wuhan (Arek Rataj/AP)Arek and his wife Jenina bought face masks for protection and ke…
thecanary.co/feature/2020/02/03/teachers-photos-document-virus-hit-chinese-city/

Democrats seek unity against Trump as Iowa caucuses launch nominating process
John Bachtell | peoplesworld.org | 2020-02-03
peoplesworld.org/article/democrats-seek-unity-against-trump-as-iowa-caucuses-launch-nominating-process/

ACLU: Trump Is Expanding His Racist Travel Ban, This Time Targeting Africans
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-02-03
The Trump administration has expanded its contested travel ban to six additional countries

2019 Cal Tax Table and Most Tax Forms Not Online
Register Peace & Freedom or Green | indybay.org | 2020-02-03
For 2019, unlike all previous years, we have to Email the Franchise Tax Board for the California Tax Table and most tax forms, except the 540, because they are not online. We cannot complete the 540 without this crucial table. The Email cannot be read or downloaded on many computers so one must then look to the email on your cell phone and get the magnifier to highlight the line you need for your tax due. This insanity and inefficiency is brought to us by Democratic Gov Newsom and his supermajority Democratic legislature.
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/02/02/18830315.php

Laurie Garrett on How Trump Has Sabotaged America's Response to the Coronavirus Pandemic
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-02-03
As the coronavirus outbreak continues to spread, the United States has declared a public health emergency and is barring foreign nationals who have recently traveled to China from entering the country. So far, there are 11 confirmed cases of the virus in the U.S. The virus has claimed at least 361 lives in China. A 44-year-old man in the Philippines became the first casualty of the disease outside of China Saturday, and over the weekend the number of confirmed cases worldwide rose to at least 17,205 across more than two dozen countries, with most of those cases occurring in China. U.S. citizens who have visited H…
www.democracynow.org/2020/2/3/laurie_garrett_coronavirus_trump_admin_response

Corporate media and Democratic establishment target Sanders
wsws.org | 2020-02-03
Sanders' response to the barrage of smears was to reiterate his support for whoever wins the Democratic nomination.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/02/03/sand-f03.html

Laurie Garrett on How Trump Has Sabotaged America's Response to the Coronavirus Pandemic
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-02-03
As the coronavirus outbreak continues to spread, the United States has declared a public health emergency and is barring foreign nationals who have recently traveled to China from entering the country. So far, there are 11 confirmed cases of the virus in the U.S. The virus has claimed at least 361 lives in China. A 44-year-old man in the Philippines became the first casualty of the disease outside of China Saturday, and over the weekend the number of confirmed cases worldwide rose to at least 17,205 across more than two dozen countries, with most of those cases occurring in China. U.S. citizens who have visited H…
www.democracynow.org/2020/2/3/laurie_garrett_coronavirus_trump_admin_response

With Medicare for All on the Table, Iowans Are Caucusing for Their Lives
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-02-03
Democrats in Iowa are voting for their lives as they gather for the presidential caucuses today. Besides beating President Trump, polling shows that health care is the top issue among likely caucus-goers. The vision of a Medicare for All system that provides health insurance to everyone has energized activists and the party's progressive base…
truthout.org/articles/with-medicare-for-all-on-the-table-iowans-are-caucusing-for-their-lives/

Proof the Democratic Establishment Is Melting Down Over Sanders' Surge
Staff | truthdig.com | 2020-02-03
NBC News reports that John Kerry has considered throwing his hat in the ring as part of a last-ditch effort to stop the Vermont senator.
truthdig.com/articles/proof-the-democratic-establishment-is-melting-down-over-sanders-surge/

Anxiety, Unpredictability in Iowa on Eve of Caucuses
Staff | truthdig.com | 2020-02-03
Democratic presidential candidates hustle across the state trying to fire up voters and make one last appeal to those still on the fence.
truthdig.com/articles/anxiety-unpredictability-in-iowa-on-eve-of-caucuses/

These Blue-Collar Trump Supporters Think the Economy Is Great
Kari Lydersen | zcomm.org | 2020-02-03
At Trump's Milwaukee rally, supporters boasted that he's ushered in an economic miracle. Democrats face the challenge of convincing them otherwise…
zcomm.org/znetarticle/these-blue-collar-trump-supporters-think-the-economy-is-great/

Proof the Democratic Establishment Is Melting Down Over Sanders' Surge
Staff | truthdig.com | 2020-02-03
NBC News reports that John Kerry has considered throwing his hat in the ring as part of a last-ditch effort to stop the Vermont senator.
truthdig.com/articles/proof-the-democratic-establishment-is-melting-down-over-sanders-surge/

Democracy Is Fragile. Civil Rights Activists Already Know That
Reverend William Barber | zcomm.org | 2020-02-03
Mitch McConnell's conduct of Trump's Senate trial recalls the baleful history of southern racial injustice in the civil rights era…
zcomm.org/znetarticle/democracy-is-fragile-civil-rights-activists-already-know-that/

Deepening Cruelties and Delusions on the Greek Frontier Islands
Chris Jones | globalresearch.ca | 2020-02-03
"Seventy-five years after the liberation of this place by the Red Army, we should all make this sacred commitment to never forget what happened here. And let us never forget that hatred, discrimination, intolerance have no place in our democracy" …
globalresearch.ca/deepening-cruelties-delusions-greek-frontier-islands/5702656

Iowa Media Back to the Future
Laura Flanders | counterpunch.org | 2020-02-03
In the first week of February, every four years, coastal correspondents decamp to Iowa to cover the first-in-the nation nominating contest. Face-to-face, caucus by caucus, what the state lacks in demographics, it makes up for in down-home democracy, we're told. And down-home democracy rests on down-the-street media. That's why when the Des Moines Register endorses…
counterpunch.org/2020/02/03/iowa-media-back-to-the-future/

Reject the Coverup! Protest to Rise Up for Our Democracy in Davis
RejectTheCoverup | indybay.org | 2020-02-03
Central Park, 5th and B Street, Davis, CA 95616…
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/02/01/18830297.php

'Shame!' French govt in damage control mode after plan to grant parents 12 days leave over death of child rejected by MPs
rt.com | 2020-02-03
The Elysee is trying to avert yet another scandal after President Macron's party-dominated parliament rejected a plan to extend work leave for parents who had experienced the death of a child, prompting cries of "Shame!" online. | The proposal, put forward by the Union of Democrats and Independents (UDI) and Agir (the Constructive Right), asked to extend the leave from five to 12 days, but was voted down by government deputies from French President Emmanuel Macron's La République En Marche! (LREM) party. | Anticipating the eruption of another national controversy, France's Labour Minister Muriel P&eacut…
rt.com/news/479992-france-parents-leave-child-death/

Mourning in America: Kobe and Me
Seth Sandronsky | counterpunch.org | 2020-02-03
When a sports legend dies, the emotional and political aftermath can speak volumes. For some like me, the death of NBA legend Kobe Bryant along with his daughter and seven other souls in an LA-area helicopter crash on January 26 feels a bit like losing a close friend. That sounds confused and confusing. Bear with…
counterpunch.org/2020/02/03/mourning-in-america-kobe-and-me/

Can Democrats Win Back Trump Voters–Without Compromising their Soul?
Tana Ganeva | thenation.com | 2020-02-03
Can Democrats Win Back Trump Voters–Without Compromising their Soul?
thenation.com/article/politics/swing-voter-2020/

Michael Bloomberg Is the Rich Man's Donald Trump
Jeet Heer | thenation.com | 2020-02-03
Michael Bloomberg Is the Rich Man's Donald Trump…
thenation.com/article/politics/bloomberg-democratic-debates-trump/

'Not a God': Disney Heiress Under Fire After Blasting Late Kobe Bryant Over Rape Allegations
sputniknews.com | 2020-02-03
A helicopter crash on 26 January that killed American NBA legend Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna provoked genuine mourning around the globe. However, some public figures also rushed to recall some of the basketball player's previous wrongdoings.
sputniknews.com/viral/202002031078215119-not-a-god-disney-heiress-under-fire-after-blasting-late-kobe-bryant-over-rape-allegations/

Turks | living in Europe | sue Greek lawmaker for 'unacceptable' attack on Turkish flag
yenisafak.com | 2020-02-03
Turks living in Europe will file charges against Greek lawmaker Ioannis Lagos who ripped up a Turkish flag in an act that shocked and bewildered deputies during a session of the European Parliament.Led by the Union of International Democrats (UID), Turks living in Europe responded to the call of Turkey's Justice Minister Abdulhamit Gàºl for action, and immediately sought to bring the lawmaker to account for his actions."We will file a criminal complaint against the racist lawmaker due to his outrageous attack, insulting the Turkish flag and nation, and also his aggressive attitude and segregation against the…
yenisafak.com/en/news/turksliving-in-europesue-greek-lawmaker-for-unacceptable-attack-on-turkish-flag-3511126

Des Moines Register Cancels Gold-Standard Iowa Poll, Angering Bernie Supporters
Eoin Higgins | theantimedia.com | 2020-02-02
Bernie Sanders was expected to place first in the "gold standard" Des Moines Register/CNN/Mediacom Iowa Poll, but the poll was shelved.

Des Moines Register Cancels Gold-Standard Iowa Poll, Angering Bernie Supporters

A Look Back at Seven Centrist Defeats
Paul Rockwell | commondreams.org | 2020-02-02
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) at a roundtable discussion on January 29, 2020 in Washington, D.C. (Photo: Samuel Corum/Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/bernie_sanders_45.jpg
commondreams.org/views/2020/02/01/look-back-seven-centrist-defeats?cd-origin=rss

War with Iran Is at Stake–and Democrats' High Jumps Over Low Standards Aren't Helping
Norman Solomon | zcomm.org | 2020-02-02
The huge crisis with Iran is more dangerous because so many Democrats have been talking out of both sides of their mouths…
zcomm.org/zmagazine/war-with-iran-is-at-stake-and-democrats-high-jumps-over-low-standards-arent-helping/

This is the Way it Ends, Not with a Bang but a Whimper
Bob Burnett | commondreams.org | 2020-02-02
Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), and Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) walk through the U.S. Capitol on February 8, 2017 in Washington, D.C. (Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/republicans_senate.jpg
commondreams.org/views/2020/02/02/way-it-ends-not-bang-whimper?cd-origin=rss

Twitter bombarded with conspiracy theories after release of final Iowa poll AXED ahead of Democratic caucuses
rt.com | 2020-02-02
The decision to cancel publication of the final Iowa poll before the Democratic caucuses has led to incendiary accusations that organizers had no legitimate reason to pull the survey and simply wanted to suppress its results. | A methodological error has been cited as the reason why the highly-anticipated final poll, originally scheduled to be released on the eve of Iowa's Democratic caucuses, would not be made public. | The CNN/Des Moines Register/Mediacom survey, conducted by respected polling agency Selzer & Co, is viewed as one of the most accurate

Paranoid Groundings and Technocratic States: Hillary Clinton versus Mark Zuckerberg
Dr. Binoy Kampmark | globalresearch.ca | 2020-02-02
It is another one of those contests and disagreements where the contestants should all loose, or at the very least, be subjected to a torturous stalemate. Hillary Clinton remains the nasty sprinkle on the Democratic Party in the United States, …
globalresearch.ca/hillary-clinton-versus-mark-zuckerberg/5702270

Anything Could Happen at the Iowa Caucuses
Joan Walsh | thenation.com | 2020-02-02
Anything Could Happen at the Iowa Caucuses…
thenation.com/article/politics/iowa-caucus-democrats/

It's the Day Before the Iowa Caucuses, and No One Knows What's Going to Happen
Joan Walsh | thenation.com | 2020-02-02
It's the Day Before the Iowa Caucuses, and No One Knows What's Going to Happen…
thenation.com/article/politics/iowa-caucus-democrats/

Because Bernie Showed 'There is a New Way Now,' Younger Democrats Backing Sanders, Says Michael Moore
Eoin Higgins, staff writer | commondreams.org | 2020-02-02
"There have been approximately 15 million 17-year-olds in the past four years that have turned 18. And they are massively behind change." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/moore_0.jpg
commondreams.org/news/2020/02/02/because-bernie-showed-there-new-way-now-younger-democrats-backing-sanders-says?cd-origin=rss

It Should Be Easy to Defeat Trump, But Corporate Democrats Look Ready and Willing to Blow It
Ralph Nader | commondreams.org | 2020-02-01
Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt) and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) embrace after the Democratic Presidential Debate at the Fox Theatre July 30, 2019 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/warren_sanders_medicare_for_all_0.jpg
commondreams.org/views/2020/02/01/it-should-be-easy-defeat-trump-corporate-democrats-look-ready-and-willing-blow-it?cd-origin=rss

DNC Insiders Plot Return of Superdelegates to Stop Sanders at Convention
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-02-01
As the first contests of the 2020 Democratic presidential primary draw near and Sen. Bernie Sanders continues to rise in polling, a small group of party insiders are considering making a bid to reverse a rule change won by progressives and allow the establishment to pick a candidate. | That's according to reporting from Politico Friday night which claims a cadre of Democratic National Committee (DNC) insiders are plotting to return superdelegates–unelected party officials and elites–t…
truthout.org/articles/dnc-insiders-plot-return-of-superdelegates-to-stop-sanders-at-convention/

Tlaib forced to apologize for booing Hillary Clinton mention as Dems pressure Bernie to disown the 'squad'
rt.com | 2020-02-01
Supporters of Hillary Clinton have rounded on Sen. Bernie Sanders, calling on the Democratic front-runner to disavow his campaign surrogates, after Rep. Rashida Tlaib booed Clinton at a campaign rally. The knives are out. | The race for the democratic nomination has become something of a rerun of 2016, with Hillary Clinton returning to the public eye to bash Sanders, the primary rival she narrowly edged out four years ago with the help of the Democratic National Committee. In recent weeks, Clinton has publicly claimed that "nobody likes" Sanders, and accused the Vermont Senator of failing to properly support h…
rt.com/usa/479867-tlaib-boos-sanders-clinton/

The Times They Are a-Changin: Bernie Sanders
Various Contributors | zcomm.org | 2020-02-01
Sometimes it feels like our world is falling apart, but real change is all around us…
zcomm.org/zvideo/the-times-they-are-a-changin-bernie-sanders/

Object-lesson in ruling class privilege? Democrats ditch donor threshold for primary debates so Bloomberg can participate
rt.com | 2020-02-01
The Democratic National Committee is loosening its debate qualifying criteria, opening the door to billionaire establishment darling Michael Bloomberg and angering candidates that had been excluded from prior events. | The same DNC that has held fast to its rules while one candidate after another complained about the seemingly arbitrary means of deciding which polls would count toward a qualifying threshold has opted to discard its individual donor requirement starting with the February debate. The rule had prevented former New York Mayor and billionaire media mogul Bloomberg from joining the previous forums.
rt.com/usa/479822-bloomberg-forces-debate-criteria-dnc/

Senate rejects witnesses in Trump impeachment trial, setting the stage for acquittal
wsws.org | 2020-02-01
The Democrats, refusing to oppose Trump on the basis of his real crimes, sought to use impeachment to settle differences over foreign policy.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/02/01/impe-f01.html

Senate rejects witnesses in Trump impeachment trial, setting the stage for acquittal
wsws.org | 2020-02-01
The Democrats, refusing to oppose Trump on the basis of his real crimes, sought to use impeachment to settle differences over foreign policy.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/02/01/impe-f01.html

DNC Showing Its True Colors (Again)
Tom Weis | commondreams.org | 2020-02-01
Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a 2020 Democratic presidential candidate, speaks during an event to open a campaign office at Eastern Market in Detroit, Michigan, on December 21, 2019. (Photo: Jeff Kowalski/AFP via Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/michael_bloomberg_1.jpg
commondreams.org/views/2020/02/01/dnc-showing-its-true-colors-again?cd-origin=rss

Bernie surges on
Michael T. Hertz | nationofchange.org | 2020-02-01
I don't know if Bernie will be nominated, but his latest surge in the polls puts him ahead in Iowa, N.H., and Nevada. Biden leads in South Carolina.
nationofchange.org/2020/02/01/bernie-surges-on/

Do Not Light That Fuse DNC
Kathleen Wallace | counterpunch.org | 2020-01-31
Recent leaked audio indicates that Donald Trump feared Hillary Clinton opting for Bernie Sanders as her VP choice in the last election cycle. This alone should create a situation that would cause the DNC to realize the viability of a Sanders candidacy this time around, but obviously a win for their "team" is not the…
counterpunch.org/2020/01/31/do-not-light-that-fuse-dnc/

Do Not Light That Fuse DNC
Kathleen Wallace | counterpunch.org | 2020-01-31
Recent leaked audio indicates that Donald Trump feared Hillary Clinton opting for Bernie Sanders as her VP choice in the last election cycle. This alone should create a situation that would cause the DNC to realize the viability of a Sanders candidacy this time around, but obviously a win for their "team" is not the…
counterpunch.org/2020/01/31/do-not-light-that-fuse-dnc/

The Party's Over: Bernie's Last Dance With the Dems
Jim Kavanagh | counterpunch.org | 2020-01-31
The Good I wrote six articles (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6) about the Bernie Sanders campaign during the 2016 primary. As everyone keeps saying, Bernie is a paragon of consistency, so my understanding of him stands unchanged. The political situation in 2020 is, however, significantly different, and has opened up new possibilities for the…
counterpunch.org/2020/01/31/the-partys-over-bernies-last-dance-with-the-dems/

The Party's Over: Bernie's Last Dance With the Dems
Jim Kavanagh | counterpunch.org | 2020-01-31
The Good I wrote six articles (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6) about the Bernie Sanders campaign during the 2016 primary. As everyone keeps saying, Bernie is a paragon of consistency, so my understanding of him stands unchanged. The political situation in 2020 is, however, significantly different, and has opened up new possibilities for the…
counterpunch.org/2020/01/31/the-partys-over-bernies-last-dance-with-the-dems/

Two Wings, Four Despotisms
Paul Street | counterpunch.org | 2020-01-31
Republican Tyranny, Orange Menace Democracy is trumped in the United States by multiple, overlapping, interrelated and mutually reinforcing forms of despotism. The Trump administration and the Trumpified Republican Party, backed by a cult-like base, embody a creepy, neofascistic variant of the disease. The Republican White House and Senate are currently conducting a tasteless tutorial in…
counterpunch.org/2020/01/31/two-wings-four-despotisms/

Two Wings, Four Despotisms
Paul Street | counterpunch.org | 2020-01-31
Republican Tyranny, Orange Menace Democracy is trumped in the United States by multiple, overlapping, interrelated and mutually reinforcing forms of despotism. The Trump administration and the Trumpified Republican Party, backed by a cult-like base, embody a creepy, neofascistic variant of the disease. The Republican White House and Senate are currently conducting a tasteless tutorial in…
counterpunch.org/2020/01/31/two-wings-four-despotisms/

Does Pete Buttigeig represent the religious left?
Garron Daniels | peoplesworld.org | 2020-01-31
Of all the candidates for the Democratic Party presidential nomination, one in particular has used religion as a center stage for his political campaign. That individual is none other than the now former South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete–Pete Buttigieg. Pete Buttigieg has brought up his religious background and used his religious views as one of …
peoplesworld.org/article/does-pete-buttigeig-represent-the-religious-left/

Senate votes down Democrats' witness demand in Trump impeachment trial
rt.com | 2020-01-31
The Republican-majority Senate has rejected Democrats' demand for additional witnesses in the impeachment trial of US President Donald Trump, paving the way for the likely acquittal verdict expected sometime next week. | Senators voted 51-49 not to call on more witnesses beyond the 18 that testified in the proceedings led by the House Democrats last year. | Two Republicans, Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Mitt Romney (R-Utah), joined the Democrats in calling for additional witnesses

Inappropriate, Not Impeachable: Key GOP Senator's "Astonishing" Statement Clears Way for Acquittal
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-01-31
The Republican-led Senate appears poised to acquit President Trump as early as today in his historic impeachment trial. On Thursday night, Republican Senator Lamar Alexander of Tennessee announced he would vote against calling witnesses. Alexander said it was "inappropriate" for Trump to ask a foreign leader to investigate a political rival, but he went on to say "there is no need for more evidence to prove something that has already been proven and that does not meet the United States Constitution's high bar for an impeachable offense." Democrats need four Republican senators to support calling for witnesses, bu…
www.democracynow.org/2020/1/31/impeachment_dahlia_lithwick_witnesses_lamar_alexander

Paranoid Groundings and Technocratic States: Hillary Clinton versus Mark Zuckerberg
Binoy Kampmark | dissidentvoice.org | 2020-01-31
It is another one of those contests and disagreements where the contestants should all loose, or at the very least, be subjected to a torturous stalemate. Hillary Clinton remains the nasty sprinkle on the Democratic Party in the United States, ever hopeful that some door might open to enable her to come sliding in, taking …
dissidentvoice.org/2020/01/paranoid-groundings-and-technocratic-states-hillary-clinton-versus-mark-zuckerberg/

The Myth of the "Electable" Democrat: Neoliberal Bankruptcy, 2020 Edition
Anthony DiMaggio | counterpunch.org | 2020-01-31
As the Democratic primaries near, the usual chorus of Democratic-establishment pundits have emerged to remind Americans that their party needs to remain "moderate" and appeal to "the center" if it wants to win the presidency. The calls for moderation are pervasive in commentary from the New York Times, the Hill, and the Wall Street Journal, among others.
counterpunch.org/2020/01/31/the-myth-of-the-electable-democrat-neoliberal-bankruptcy-2020-edition/

Headlines for January 31, 2020
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-01-31
Senate Poised to Acquit President Trump in Impeachment Trial, World Health Organization Declares International Public Health Emergency, U.S. Special Envoy Warns of International Crisis in Idlib, Syria, Britain Formally Withdrawing from European Union Tonight, Pentagon Deploys 1st Low-Yield Nuclear Warhead-Armed Submarine, Trump Admin Poised to Loosen Restrictions on Use of Landmines, Human Rights Groups Condemn Mexico for Crackdown on Central American Migrants, Mexican Butterfly Conservationist Found Dead, Bolivia's Movement for Socialism Candidate Luis Arce Returns to Bolivia, U.S. Pushes EU to End Ban on Chemic…
www.democracynow.org/2020/1/31/headlines

Primary Colors: Live From the Iowa Caucuses, Biden, Pence and Trump
Matthew Stevenson | counterpunch.org | 2020-01-31
by Matthew Stevenson This is the first part of periodic reports from the primaries in Iowa and New Hampshire, and perhaps beyond, should the republic last until South Carolina and Nevada. To get to Iowa, I took an indirect all-American excursion, and arrived in Council Bluffs on the banks of the Missouri River by way…
counterpunch.org/2020/01/31/119113/

Minnesotans tell Klobuchar to drop White House run. Reports say she sent innocent Black teen to prison for life
Fight Back | fightbacknews.org | 2020-01-31
Minneapolis, MN – "A young African American man by the name of Myon Burrell has spent more than half of his life incarcerated in Minnesota prisons under the leadership of Amy Klobuchar. She was the Hennepin County Attorney and she played a role in Myon Burrell being prosecuted for a crime that he did not commit," said Nekima Levy Pounds of Racial Justice Network, as she opened a press conference on January 29. "We want to lift up family of Tyesha Edwards, who was the victim in this case, an 11-year-old innocent child who was shot and killed. The incident that happened to Tyesha is extremely devastating. It sent s…
www.fightbacknews.org/2020/1/30/minnesotans-tell-klobuchar-drop-white-house-run-reports-say-she-sent-innocent-black-teen-p

House Votes to Rein in Trump's Iran War Powers While Ending Endless Wars
Jon Rainwater | peaceaction.org | 2020-01-31
Washington, D.C.

Democrats Need to Break Their Cold War–Addled Impeachment Fever
Aaron Maté | thenation.com | 2020-01-31
Democrats Need to Break Their Cold War–Addled Impeachment Fever…
thenation.com/article/politics/impeachment-trump-cold-war/

Our Courts Are a Growing Threat to Democracy
Sasha Abramsky | thenation.com | 2020-01-31
Our Courts Are a Growing Threat to Democracy…
thenation.com/article/society/supreme-court-democracy-trump/

Hillary Clinton dodges attempt to serve her with Tulsi Gabbard's defamation lawsuit…twice
rt.com | 2020-01-30
Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has twice rebuffed efforts to serve her with Democratic presidential hopeful Tulsi Gabbard's "Russian asset" defamation lawsuit, even using the Secret Service to fend off the paperwork. | Secret Service agents first barred the process server from Clinton's Chappaqua, New York home on Tuesday, directing them to her lawyer, David Kendall, in Washington, DC, Gabbard's own attorney Brian Dunne told the New York Post on Wednesday. When they attempted to serve the lawsuit the following day at Kendall's firm, Williams & Connolly, however, the lawyer insisted he was unable…
rt.com/usa/479630-clinton-dodges-process-server-tulsi/

Bush-era Iraq war authorization voted out by US House
rt.com | 2020-01-30
The House of Representatives has voted to repeal a 2002 resolution authorizing the US to wage war on Iraq. The law was used by the Trump administration to justify the recent drone killing of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani. | The House voted 236 to 166 to kill the 2002 Authorization for Military Force (AUMF) on Iraq, with eleven Republicans joining the Democrats to vote in favor, and two Democrats bucking their party to oppose it. | The 2002 AUMF was drafted during the presidency of George W. Bush to authorize the 2003 invasion of Iraq, and has been used by subsequent administrations to continue military acti…
rt.com/usa/479624-house-votes-repeal-aumf/

Republicans are 'actual demons,' 'zombies,' says New York Times Nobel Prize-winning columnist
rt.com | 2020-01-30
New York Times columnist and Nobel laureate Paul Krugman has doubled down on denouncing the Republican Party as "bad people," insisting that there's nothing wrong with "demonizing" opponents who "actually are demons." | Krugman refused to budge from his declaration that "Republicans are bad people" during an interview with PBS' Firing Line on Thursday. When interviewer Margaret Hoover pressed the Nobel Prize-winning economist on the risks inherent in "demonizing" political opponents, he only doubled down, taking his ad hominems into the mythical realm. | Is it demonizing if they already actually are demons?
rt.com/usa/479625-krugman-calls-republicans-demons-zombies/

Why was Rand banned? Sen. Paul reveals his CENSORED question at Trump impeachment trial
rt.com | 2020-01-30
As Senators gathered for the last day of questioning in President Trump's impeachment trial, Kentucky Senator Rand Paul found his question censored in a way that may have revealed the identity of the mysterious whistleblower. | With the impeachment trial of President Donald Trump nearing its final stages, senators gathered on Capitol Hill on Thursday to question the Democratic prosecution team, and Trump's defense attorneys. However, Paul (R-Kentucky) found his question shot down by presiding Chief Justice John Roberts, who declined "to read the question as submitted." | Paul left the chamber after Roberts' de…
rt.com/usa/479628-rand-paul-impeachment-question/

How is Washington "Liberating" Free Countries
Andre Vltchek | dissidentvoice.org | 2020-01-30
There are obviously some serious linguistic issues and disagreements between the West and the rest of the world. Essential terms like "freedom", "democracy", "liberation", even "terrorism", are all mixed up and confused; they mean something absolutely different in New York, London, Berlin, and in the rest of the world. Before we begin analyzing, let us …
dissidentvoice.org/2020/01/how-is-washington-liberating-free-countries/

Ex-Solicitor General: Alan Dershowitz Is Wrong. Trump Is Not Above the Law & Should Be Impeached
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-01-30
President Trump's legal team offered an extraordinary new defense during Trump's impeachment trial on Wednesday. Attorney Alan Dershowitz said that a sitting president could take any action to boost his re-election chances if he felt his re-election was in the public interest. "If a president does something which he believes will help him get elected in the public interest, that cannot be the kind of quid pro quo that results in impeachment," Dershowitz said. Trump was impeached by the House last month for freezing military aid to Ukraine in an effort to pressure Ukraine to open an investigation of Trump's politi…
www.democracynow.org/2020/1/30/neal_katyal_impeachment_alan_dershowitz

"Coded Bias": New Film Looks at Fight Against Racial Bias in Facial Recognition & AI Technology
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-01-30
A new documentary looks at the dangers of artificial intelligence and its increasing omnipresence in daily life, as new research shows that it often reflects racist biases. Earlier this month, Cambridge, Massachusetts, became the latest major city to ban facial recognition technology, joining a growing number of cities, including San Francisco, to ban the artificial intelligence, citing flawed technology and racial and gender bias. A recent study also found that facial recognition identified African-American and Asian faces incorrectly 10 to 100 times more than white faces. The film "Coded Bias" begins with Joy B…
www.democracynow.org/2020/1/30/coded_bias_shalini_kantayya_joy_buolamwini

The Republicans Have Now Begun the Trolling Phase of the Impeachment Trial
Elie Mystal | thenation.com | 2020-01-30
The Republicans Have Now Begun the Trolling Phase of the Impeachment Trial…
thenation.com/article/politics/impeachment-dershowitz-trolling/

Headlines for January 30, 2020
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-01-30
Rev. William Barber: Mitch McConnell Is Bringing Old Southern Justice to U.S. Senate, European Parliament Votes to Ratify Brexit Withdrawal Agreement, Coronavirus Death Toll Hits 170, Racial Justice Groups Call on Klobuchar to Suspend Campaign, French Firefighters Clash with Riot Police in Latest Protests Against Pension Overhaul, Cuban Man Dies in ICE Custody, Marking 6th Death Since October, Salvadoran General Admits U.S.-Trained Forces Carried Out 1981 Massacre, South Dakota Passes Bill Criminalizing Gender-Affirming Surgery, #DignidadLiteraria: Latino Writers Launch Campaign in Response to "American Dirt"
www.democracynow.org/2020/1/30/headlines

The Liberal Establishment is Already Warning Third Parties Not to Ruin the 2020 Election
Roger D. Harris | mintpressnews.com | 2020-01-29
Prominent liberal personalities, including Noam Chomsky, issued an open letter imploring third parties to "remove themselves as a factor" in the 2020 presidential election to "benefit all humanity and a good part of the biosphere."
mintpressnews.com/liberal-establishment-warning-third-parties-not-to-ruin-2020-election/264460/

Mehdi Hasan: The Impeachment Trial Has Been a Farce Since Day One Filled with GOP Lies
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-01-29
At the Senate impeachment trial of President Trump, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told fellow Republican senators in a private meeting Tuesday that he does not yet have enough votes to block Democrats from calling impeachment witnesses. Democrats have pushed for former national security adviser John Bolton to testify. On Sunday night, The New York Times published details about a draft of Bolton's forthcoming book, in which he claims Trump personally told him in August he wanted to maintain a freeze on $391 million in military aid to Ukraine until Ukraine turned over materials related to former Vice Presi…
www.democracynow.org/2020/1/29/john_bolton_witness_impeachment_trial

The Imminent Threat of Trump and the Value of Progressive Third Parties
Roger D. Harris | dissidentvoice.org | 2020-01-29
As predictable as death and taxes is the quadrennial injunction from liberals for progressive third parties to cease and desist. Equally predictable is the admonition that this will be the most decisive presidential election in US history. Given the prospect of four more years of Trump, do they have a valid thesis or are they …
dissidentvoice.org/2020/01/the-imminent-threat-of-trump-and-the-value-of-progressive-third-parties/

Mehdi Hasan: Trump's Middle East Plan Is a Policy of Apartheid & Settler Colonialism
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-01-29
We continue our discussion of President Trump's long-awaited Middle East plan to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which he has described as the "deal of the century." The plan was drafted by Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner without any input from Palestinians and would give Israel sovereignty over large areas of the occupied West Bank, control over all of Jerusalem, and keep all illegal settlements built in the occupied West Bank. We speak with Mehdi Hasan, senior columnist at The Intercept, and Rashid Khalidi, the Edward Said professor of modern Arab studies at Columbia University. Khalidi's latest book is…
www.democracynow.org/2020/1/29/trump_middle_east_plan_apartheid