Daily Archives: March 2, 2020

2020-03-02: News Headlines

RT (2020-03-02). 'NO NOMINATION, AGAIN': Trump says Buttigieg dropping out of Democratic race is plot to 'take Sanders out of play'. rt.com Reacting to reports of Pete Buttigieg ending his presidential bid, US President Donald Trump said this is the "real beginning" of a ploy by the Democrats to get rid of their frontrunner, Bernie Sanders. | Taking to Twitter on Sunday evening, Trump said the wheels have been set in motion for the establishment Democrats to stop Sanders' nomination dead in its tracks. | Pete Buttigieg is OUT. All of his SuperTuesday votes will go to Sleepy Joe Biden. Great timing. This is the REAL beginning of the Dems taking Bernie out of play – NO NOMINATION, AGAIN! | Pete Buttigieg is OUT. All of his SuperTuesday votes will go…

Natasha Hakimi Zapata (2020-03-02). Jessica Cisneros Wants to Unseat Trump's Favorite Democrat. truthdig.com The

RT (2020-03-02). Pyongyang launches TWO projectiles towards Sea of Japan, South Korean military says. rt.com North Korea has reportedly test-fired two projectiles that fell into the Sea of Japan, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) reported early on Monday. The type of missile is so far unknown. | The projectiles were reportedly fired from a missile launch site in North Korea's eastern coastal town of Wonsan. | Also on rt.com | | In a brief statement following the reported missile test, which is said to have taken place on Monday afternoon…

Dave Lindorff (2020-03-02). Saying Government-Funded Healthcare's Too Costly is Nuts…Unless You Think the US Uniquely Can't Do It. counterpunch.org The new corporate media and conservative Democratic argument against front-runner Bernie Sanders' eminently logical proposal for creating a single-payer government health insurance program that he calls "Medicare for All" is that it would destroy the huge health insurance industry and put 1.8 million insurance industry employees out on the street. That is about the stupidest

WSWS (2020-03-02). Race vs. class in the South Carolina primary. wsws.org Black Democratic Party officials have been mobilized to use racial politics as a barrier to the campaign of Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders.

Roger Harris (2020-03-02). Venezuela Embassy Protectors on Trial. counterpunch.org US Government Suppresses Information on Illegal Regime Change Activities Judicial proceedings are taking place in DC federal court where the judge has ruled inadmissible the question whether the democratically elected Nicolás Maduro or the Trump-chosen Juan Guaidó is the legitimate president of Venezuela. Like an emperor of yore appointing regents of vassal states, US President

Noam Chomsky (2020-03-02). "The Democrats abandoned the working class decades ago" zcomm.org Interview on how elitism and atomization have created political rifts…

Jack Rasmus (2020-03-02). South Carolina Primary: What Does It Mean? zcomm.org From this point on the race is Sanders vs. whoever prevails in the 'race within the race', i.e. between Biden-Bloomberg…

Santa Cruz News Network (2020-03-02). SSP Commissioner Deletes Harassing Posts, Commits to "Professional Interactions" in Future. indybay.org Damon Bruder, Supervisor Ryan Coonerty's appointee to Santa Cruz County's Syringe Services Program (SSP) Advisory Commission, has deleted the harassing and bullying statements he made on on Facebook on February 14 about County Health officer Rachel McCullough-Sanden. Bruder, who was complaining about delays in the publication of the monthly public SSP report to the County's website, called McCullough-Sanden "daft" and made other harassing statements on social media posts that displayed a disparaging photo of her. McCullough-Sanden is an Epidemiologist and HIV Surveillance Coordinator at the Santa Cruz County Heal…

Sarah Lazare (2020-03-02). Sanders Is Only Leading Presidential Candidate Opposing Patriot Act. zcomm.org Many Democrats are still acquiescing to a George W. Bush-era policy that has been in place for nearly 20 years…

WSWS (2020-03-02). University of California strikers defy firings and expand strike. wsws.org As opposition grows to the vindictive firing of 80 striking grad students at the University of California Santa Cruz, the UAW and the Democratic Party are trying to contain the struggle before it triggers a broader movement of the working class.

Staff (2020-03-02). Pete Buttigieg Takes One for the Democratic Establishment. truthdig.com While never embraced by progressives—many of whom considered him a "

WSWS (2020-03-02). Jeremy Corbyn's criminal silence during Julian Assange's extradition hearing. wsws.org Corbyn said nothing when he could have raised Assange's fate in Parliament every single day, informing millions of the fundamental violation of his democratic rights.

WSWS (2020-03-02). Video of brutal police shooting of unarmed man in Chicago train station sparks outrage. wsws.org Friday's incident stands in sharp contrast to the racialist politics of the Democratic Party and the political organizations in its orbit which portray police brutality as a problem that stems from racism, not from the capitalist system.

Mark Dudzic (2020-03-02). Is Medicare for All Bad for Union-Negotiated Healthcare? zcomm.org The argument that Medicare for All will hurt workers because it abolishes hard-earned healthcare benefits of unionized workers has repeatedly been used against Sanders and Warren. But does the criticism have any basis?

yenisafak (2020-03-02). Coronavirus: Myanmar bars entry of cruise ship. yenisafak.com Myanmar has refused the entry of a tourist cruise ship in the country's commercial capital out of fear of the coronavirus epidemic, which has a large presence in Southeast Asia. | Myanmar, which to date has no confirmed case of coronavirus, was a scheduled four-day stopover for The Silver Spirit, operated by Bahamas-based Silver Sea Cruises, in Yangon, but the government on Monday reversed the permission to dock. | Khin Khin Gyi, deputy director at the Health and Sports Ministry, said the decision was made at an emergency meeting held in the capital Nay Pyi Taw late Sunday. | "The main reason is that the cruise s…

sputniknews (2020-03-02). Turkish Customs Official Injured in Attack on Vehicle Near Border With Iran – Interior Minister. sputniknews.com Both countries are facing low-intensity insurgencies from Kurdish militants, the Kurdish Workers Party (PKK) in the case of Turkey and the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI) in Iran.

sputniknews (2020-03-02). A Whole Country for Old Men: The Wrinkly Democratic Race is Getting Wrinklier. sputniknews.com In the Soviet Union's declining years, there was a half-deferential, half-derisive moniker for the feeble leaders in their 70s who preceded Gorbachev: the 'Kremlin elders'. Thirty-something years later, the United States looks set to elect its own septuagenarian to run the White House.

Jon Queally, staff writer (2020-03-02). 'Loyal Soldier'? Ahead of Super Tuesday, Pete Buttigieg to End Presidential Bid. commondreams.org As one political observer noted: "He can get a cabinet post in a Biden WH, but not a Sanders WH." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/buttigieg_the_tool.jpg

RT (2020-03-01). Trump calls on Bloomberg to end his 'joke of a campaign' to not chip away at Biden's votes after former VP's South Carolina win. rt.com With former VP Joe Biden's campaign back from the dead after a landslide South Carolina win, US President Donald Trump appealed to another Democratic hopeful, Mike Bloomberg, to drop out of the race for the sake of Biden. | Shortly after the South Carolina primary exit polls pointed to a convincing victory for Biden in the fourth and final early voting contest ahead of Super Tuesday, Trump took to Twitter to send a 'congratulatory' message, taking aim at fellow billionaire Bloomberg in the process. | "Sleepy Joe Biden's victory in the South Carolina Democrat Primary should be the end of Mini Mike Bloomberg's J…

RT (2020-03-01). Texas, California Democrats prefer socialism to capitalism, Sanders to Biden, new poll says. rt.com Democratic voters in America's two most populous states have indicated they actually prefer socialism to capitalism in a new poll that also showed Bernie Sanders beating Joe Biden ahead of the crucial Super Tuesday vote. | The latest poll conducted by YouGov on behalf of CBS says that more than half of Democratic voters in California and Texas — the two states with the biggest populations that also award the most delegates for the primaries — harbor a "positive view" of socialism. Support for the traditional foundation of the US economy was particularly weak in Texas, where only 37 percent said they…

RT (2020-03-01). One billionaire out: Tom Steyer bows out of Democratic presidential race after 3rd-place finish in South Carolina. rt.com Billionaire activist Tom Steyer has given up on his presidential bid after failing to win any delegates in South Carolina, according to projections. Steyer has been accused of buying his way into the race, having spent millions. | Steyer dug deep into his own pockets, spending about $20 million of his own money in South Carolina alone in hopes of overcoming the 15-percent threshold that would have allowed him to win delegates in the fourth and final early voting contest before Super Tuesday. | However, it was not to be, as Steyer is now projected to win less than 12 percent of the vote in the primary, dominate…

RT (2020-03-01). 'You can't win 'em all': Sanders concedes defeat in South Carolina, says he 'believes strongly' in Super Tuesday success. rt.com Senator Bernie Sanders brushed off concerns over his second-place finish in the South Carolina primary, saying he hopes to bring it home on Super Tuesday when 14 states vote for the Democratic Party nominee. | Sanders, who was busy campaigning in Norfolk, Virginia when the South Carolina primary results came in, appeared upbeat about his campaign's future, describing it as a minor setback. | "I'm very proud that in this campaign so far we have won the popular vote in Iowa, we have won the New Hampshire primary, we have won the Nevada caucus, but you cannot win them all." | Sanders said that what he believes wi…

Staff (2020-03-01). Joe Biden Scores Major Victory in South Carolina Primary. truthdig.com Joe Biden scored a thundering victory Saturday in South Carolina's Democratic primary on the strength of African American support, a decisive win that could force moderate rivals out of the race and blunt the rise of progressive leader Bernie Sanders. | Biden's win came at a perilous moment in his 2020 bid as he needed an emphatic rebound after underwhelming performances this month in Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada. The race now pivots to the 14 states from Maine to California that vote on Tuesday in what effect will be a national primary. | "We are very much alive," Biden declared at an exuberant post-election r…

Robert Fantina (2020-03-01). Why Not Sanders? He's "Far Too Risky" globalresearch.ca An article on CNN on February 25 discusses the fear and apprehension of 'moderate' Democrats about the possibility of Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders winning the Democratic presidential nomination. "This is playing into Trump's hands!" they lament. "Downstream candidates will be …

Aaron Maté (2020-03-01). Krystal Ball: panicked DNC elites try to stop Bernie's big Super Tuesday. thegrayzone.com With Bernie Sanders poised for a big Super Tuesday, Krystal Ball discusses the Democratic establishment's panic, Elizabeth Warren's attacks on…

Adeyinka Makinde (2020-03-01). Bernie Sanders and the Resurrected Russiagate Smear. globalresearch.ca Even after the "Russiagate" claim of supposed Russian interference in the last US Presidential Election was irrefutably debunked, members of the Democratic Party elite and sections of the US "Deep State" of National Security/Intelligence in alliance with sections of the …

Staff (2020-03-01). Antipathy Towards Socialism Has Roots in State and Corporate Cold War Propaganda. truthout.org Bernie Sanders has emerged as the Democratic Yet even some left-leaning pundits and publications

Staff (2020-03-01). Sanders Campaign Raises Record $46 Million in February. truthout.org Again bolstering the argument that its grassroots and movement-building campaign is unique in the 2020 primary field, the campaign of Sen. Bernie Sanders announced Sunday morning that it raised a record-setting $46 million in the month of February — by far the most of any Democrat so far. | "The senator's multigenerational, multiracial working class coalition keeps fueling his campaign for transformational change a few bucks at a time," said Faiz Shakir, Sanders' campaign manager, in a statement. "We're espec…

Juan Cole (2020-03-01). The Plutocracy Strikes Back: CNN Compares Bernie Sanders to Coronavirus. commondreams.org Radio personality and CNN weekend host Michael Smerconish came under fire Saturday—along with the network—for "casually" portraying the surging prospects of Democratic presidential frontrunner Sen. Bernie Sanders as comparable to the threat of the infectious coronavirus. (Photo: YouTube Screengrab/TRN Show/David Doel) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/the-plutocracy-strikes-back-cnn-750×422.jpg

Tony Cartalucci (2020-03-01). Thailand Protests: "Students" Fight to Save Washington's Billionaire Proxy. globalresearch.ca "Long Live Democracy!" cried "student" protesters at Thailand's Thammasat University as local and Western media organizations reported "hundreds" gathered to decry the disbanding of Thai political party, Future Forward. | However, the Western media's eager support for the small mob …

Staff (2020-03-01). Native Activists Are Forging a Just Transition to Renewable Energy. truthout.org Native activists and youth are shaping a clear vision for the transition necessary to guide us toward an environmentally just future — and there are more of them coming. Nationally, the Sunrise Movement and Indigenous environmental justice groups are overtaking entrenched political power with a breath of fresh air. Democrats are even talking about it. The Green New Deal policy is in Congress, but underlying it is the broader need for a just transition strategy — a plan that supports workers…

Stephen Lendman (2020-03-01). Dem Insider: Party Bosses Choose the Nominee, Not Voters. globalresearch.ca The notion that America is democratic is a colossal hoax — falsely claimed by the US political establishment and press agent media. | Reality is vastly otherwise. Powerful interests run the country. Ordinary people have no say whatever. | If elections changed …

Kenneth Peres (2020-03-01). Here Are 10,000 Words Detailing Why Bloomberg Embodies Everything Wrong With the US Plutocratic Political System. commondreams.org Democratic presidential candidate, former New York City mayor Mike Bloomberg speaks during the Blue NC Celebration Dinner held at the Hilton Charlotte University Place on February 29, 2020 in Charlotte, North Carolina. Bloomberg is campaigning before voting starts on Super Tuesday, March 3. (Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/michael_bloomberg_american_plutocrat.jpg

commondreams (2020-03-01). Progressives Planning to #BernTheDNC with Mass Nonviolent Civil Disobedience If Democratic Establishment Rigs Nomination. commondreams.org Kaitlin Sopoci-Belknap, Eleanor Goldfield, Nick Braña et al. | "If you try to steal this primary again, the actions we take will be swift, widespread, organized and resolute." (Image: BerntheDNC.org) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/bern_the_dnc.jpg

teleSUR (2020-03-01). Pete Buttigieg Ends Democratic Presidential Race. telesurenglish.net Democratic hopeful Pete Buttigieg returned Sunday evening to his hometown of South Bend, Indiana, to announce that he was ending his bid for the nominee ticket for the 2020 election. ‚Äã‚Äã | RELATED: | "Tonight, I'm making the difficult decision to suspend my campaign for the presidency. I will no longer seek to be the 2020 Democratic nominee for President," Buttigieg said before a crowd o…

teleSUR (2020-03-01). Argentina's Fernandez Defends Evo Morales' Presidential Victory. telesurenglish.net The President of Argentina, Alberto Fernández, ratified his complaint that in Bolivia "the rule of law was violated" after the coup d'etat against Evo Morales and demanded "prompt democratization" in the country "with the full participation of the people." | RELATED: | "According to a report published by the Washington Post and made by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Evo Morales won last year's election…

Joan Walsh (2020-03-01). Joe Biden Finally Gets a Big Win. thenation.com Joe Biden Finally Gets a Big Win…

Jon Queally, staff writer (2020-03-01). 'Gross': Just Days After Winning Progressive Applause for Vow to Skip AIPAC, Klobuchar and Buttigieg Make Last-Minute Reversal. commondreams.org Jewish-led advocacy group IfNotNow said it was disappointed though not wholly surprised given that both Democrats "have been distinguished by a stated desire to be seen as progressive alongside a demonstrated refusal to stand up to the corrupt establishment." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/buttigieg_aipac1.jpg

Staff (2020-03-01). Bernie Sanders Breaks Fundraising Record With $46 Million February Haul. truthdig.com Again bolstering the argument that its grassroots and movement-building campaign is unique in the 2020 primary field, the campaign of Sen. Bernie Sanders announced Sunday morning that it raised a record-setting $46 million in the month a February—by far the most of any Democrat so far. | "The senator's multigenerational, multiracial working class coalition keeps fueling his campaign for transformational change a few bucks at a time," said Faiz Shakir, Sanders' campaign manager, in a statement. "We're especially proud that of the more than 2 million donations we received this month, over 1.4 million were fro…

Peter Bloom (2020-03-01). The Real Global Threat to 21st Century Freedom Is Authoritarian Capitalism Not Democratic Socialism. commondreams.org 2020 Democratic hopeful and mega-billionaire Michael Bloomberg and Republican President Donald Trump share a congenial moment in this file photo. (Photo: Brendan Smialowski/Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/screen_shot_2020-03-01_at_1.12.38_pm.png

RT (2020-02-29). 'Bernie or brokered': Dems, media sweating as Biden makes last chance effort to challenge Sanders in South Carolina. rt.com Joe Biden may have his first primary victory in South Carolina, something that is essential for his campaign to compete against frontrunner Bernie Sanders, who continues to weather attacks from the media and Dem establishments. | After poor showings in Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada, Biden is looking to challenge Sanders' frontrunner status with a comeback in South Carolina, a place where he is expected to win. | Though his campaign has been riddled with gaffes and he's struggled in previous states, polling in South Carolina shows Biden has a double digit lead over his competitors. An average of polls out of S…

RT (2020-02-29). Tulsi to MSM: Stop referring to Al-Qaeda in Syria's Idlib as 'rebels' to make them seem like 'freedom fighters'. rt.com The US media and officials who stubbornly keep referring to armed groups dominated by an Al-Qaeda offshoot in Syria's Idlib province as 'rebels' only disgrace themselves and their country, US Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard has said. | Gabbard, who is one of the Democratic Party contenders in the 2020 presidential race, castigated American mainstream media and Trump administration officials for a consistent effort to whitewash the extremists entrenched in the north-western province of Idlib — Syria's last major stronghold of anti-government forces. Such actions betray the memory of the 9/11 terrorist attack,…

Julie Hollar (2020-02-29). Debate Moderators Frame Questions to Define Acceptable Politics. fair.org With Super Tuesday around the corner, the Democratic presidential debates are coming to a close. The debates are ostensibly an exercise in democracy, a chance for voters to evaluate candidates' positions in order to cast a better informed vote in the nominating contest. But a review of three of the most frequent topics of debate starkly demonstrates how media hosts use their platform less to inform voters in an evenhanded way than to define which positions—and candidates—are acceptable, and which are not. | Healthcare: Both Bernie Sanders…

The Canary (2020-02-29). Trump thinks Democrats' criticism of his response to coronavirus is 'a hoax'. thecanary.co Donald Trump has lashed out at Democrats who questioned his handling of the coronavirus, calling it their new "hoax".Some Democrats have said Trump could have acted sooner to bolster the country's response to the virus. However, Trump said Democrats only want to see him fail.At a campaign rally in South Carolina, he accused Democrats of "politicising" the global outbreak, and said: They have no clue […] They tried the impeachment hoax … this is their new hoax. | The US president said Democrats were "politicising"the deadly virus (Jacquelyn Martin/AP)Trump boasted about the preventive steps he has ordered in an…

Staff (2020-02-29). Virus Claims First Fatality in U.S.; Washington State Declares Emergency. truthdig.com The governor of Washington state declared a state of emergency Saturday after a man died there of COVID-19, the first such reported death in the United States. More than 50 people in a nursing facility are sick and being tested for the virus. | Gov. Jay Inslee directed state agencies to use "all resources necessary" to prepare for and respond to the coronavirus outbreak. The declaration also allows the use of the Washington National Guard, if necessary. | "We will continue to work toward a day where no one dies from this virus," the governor vowed. | Health officials in California, Oregon and Washington state are…

teleSUR (2020-02-29). Biden Wins First 2020 Primary Victory in South Carolina. telesurenglish.net The Democrats' 2020 nominating fight turned to South Carolina on Saturday for the first-in-the-South primary, with Joe Biden projected as the winner, halting the rise of national leader Bernie Sanders, who got second place. | RELATED: | Voting began from the beginning with all the attention on Biden, who started out as one of the top favorites in this state, after three consecutive losses in Nevada, Iowa and Ne…

Peter Bolton (2020-02-29). Bernie Sanders could win big in November. Trump and his supporters know it. thecanary.co Bernie Sanders is the clear front-runner going into the South Carolina presidential primary. And debate is now shifting from whether Sanders can win the nomination, to whether he might actually beat Donald Trump in the general election this coming November. And it seems that not only are Sanders' supporters feeling confident he might — so are Trump's. | Growing evidence that Sanders could beat Trump: | Ahead of the

Ralph Nader (2020-02-29). American Fuhrer: Delusionary, Dictatorial Donald Trump Is Drunk on Power. commondreams.org President Donald Trump appears at a rally on the eve before the South Carolina primary on February 28, 2020 in North Charleston, South Carolina. The Trump administration is coming under increased criticism from democrats for not doing enough to prepare America for the Coronavirus. (Photo: Spencer Platt/Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/trump_american_fuhrer.jpg

Julie Hollar (2020-02-29). Democratic Debate Moderators Frame Questions to Define Acceptable Politics. commondreams.org Former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg looks on during the Democratic presidential primary debate at the Charleston Gaillard Center on February 25, 2020 in Charleston, South Carolina. (Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/michael_bloomberg_3.jpg

Jon Queally, staff writer (2020-02-29). A Step Away From Fascism and 'Toward a Brighter More Just Future': 100+ Black Writers and Scholars Endorse Bernie Sanders. commondreams.org "When so much is at stake, not only for Black people but for all people, and all life on the planet, we feel it imperative that we step outside of our classrooms and go beyond our campuses, to speak out on the current presidential election." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/sanders_black_voters.jpg

Mark Gruenberg (2020-02-28). Will it be a Sanders bandwagon rolling into Super Tuesday? peoplesworld.org

CounterSpin (2020-02-28). Carol Anderson on Voter Suppression. fair.org Media…

RT (2020-02-28). Wait, what? Biden claims he'll 'appoint' first African-American woman to US Senate in fresh gaffe. rt.com Joe Biden has aroused concerns after misspeaking yet again in public, this time in front of an audience in South Carolina, promising voters he would "appoint" the first African-American woman to the US Senate. | From accidentally pitching himself as a Senate

RT (2020-02-28). Congressman threatens Don Jr. with 'serious altercation' over claim Dems 'HOPE' people get coronavirus & die so as to derail Trump. rt.com Democratic Rep. John Garamendi had some harsh words for Donald Trump Jr. after the president's son said Dems "seemingly hope" the coronavirus comes to the US and "kills millions." | The coronavirus is not only a pandemic, it's also now a political tool for Republicans and Democrats to lob across the aisle at each other. | California Congressman Garamendi perhaps went further than any politician has so far when he spoke about the disease and the political response to it in the US while appearing on MSNBC on Friday. Garamendi was particularly upset with Donald Trump Jr. over an earlier statement the president's…

RT (2020-02-28). Blue check blues: Twitter tricked into verifying teen's fake 2020 candidate for Congress while real people languish. rt.com A high school student tricked Twitter into verifying an account he made for a fake candidate for Congress from Rhode Island, proving the platform's vaunted election integrity efforts are no match for a bored teen. | Rhode Island Republican Andrew Walz's

RT (2020-02-28). 'The Shillary Show?' Hillary Clinton is launching a podcast and Twitter isn't on board. rt.com News that failed presidential candidate Hillary Clinton is planning to launch her very own podcast has been met with a collective eye roll and plenty of sarcasm on social media. | Clinton is planning to launch the podcast in late spring, "just in time for her to have a powerful new megaphone during the 2020 election," Politico reported on Thursday. | The show will be co-produced by iHeartMedia, which distributes a bevy of right-wing radio shows as well as the left-wing Joe Rogan Experience, which has endorsed Clinton's 2016 archrival Bernie Sanders for president. | As if a literal plague weren't bad enough, Hi…

RT (2020-02-28). Trump fans lose it with Garth Brooks for 'supporting Bernie Sanders' in NFL jersey mix-up. rt.com Country music star Garth Brooks took heat from his conservative fans after seemingly endorsing Bernie Sanders for president… when he was actually just wearing a sports jersey of an NFL Hall of Famer with the same name. | Some fans were left with the mistaken impression that Brooks was openly backing the socialist Vermont senator in the middle of the Democratic primaries by sporting the jersey at a concert. | "Can't you just do what you get paid to do? Why why why does it have to involve politics!" one Instagram commenter wrote. "Thought you were different." | The jersey doesn't reference the Vermont senat…

Zoya Teirstein (2020-02-28). After Bloomberg, climate was public enemy no. 2 at Nevada Democratic debate. peoplesworld.org If you're reading this, congratulations! You've made it to the ninth — yes, the NINTH — Democratic primary debate. With each new debate, a shrinking cohort of presidential contenders has had the opportunity to make their climate pitch before millions of Americans, moderators' questions permitting. The candidates have grown increasingly adept at weaving issues like rising …

Staff (2020-02-28). Catastrophic Humanitarian Crisis in Idlib as Syrian Troops Advance & Children Freeze to Death. democracynow.org In Syria, 33 Turkish soldiers were killed in an airstrike by Russia-backed Syrian forces in rebel-held Idlib in a major escalation on Thursday. Turkey has vowed to respond in kind, as U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres calls for an immediate ceasefire, saying "the risk of even greater escalation grows by the hour." Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reportedly spoke by phone on Friday to discuss the crisis, as NATO urged rapid deescalation. The all-out offensive by the Syrian government is the single largest displacement in a nine-year war that has forced 13 million t…

Staff (2020-02-28). Doctors Without Borders: Cheap Coronavirus Diagnostic Kits Needed in War-Torn Areas & Refugee Camps. democracynow.org Across the U.S., officials report a severe shortage of test kits for coronavirus. New York officials say they're preparing their own kits, after kits distributed by the Centers for Disease Control failed validation tests. Meanwhile, new cases of coronavirus continue to spring up worldwide, with Nigeria reporting its first case and one of Iran's vice presidents testing positive. We discuss how MSF USA, or Doctors Without Borders USA, is responding to coronavirus, with the organization's executive director, Avril BenoàÆt.

Staff (2020-02-28). Elementary School in NJ Latinx Community Fights Displacement by Robert Wood Johnson Cancer Center. democracynow.org In New Jersey, hundreds rallied at the New Brunswick Board of Education meeting Tuesday night against plans to demolish a public school to make way for Robert Wood Johnson Hospital and Rutgers University to build a new cancer center. Protesters included families and more than 30 children, who held signs reading "Save our School!" and "Stop Gentrification." If approved, 760 third-through-eighth-graders at Lincoln Annex School would be moved to a former warehouse building on the outskirts of town as they await construction of a replacement school. Even worse, the proposed new school site is located on a "brownfield…

Staff (2020-02-28). "We Want Democracy!" Mass Protests Continue in Dominican Republic After Local Elections Suspended. democracynow.org Thousands in the Dominican Republic took to the streets of the capital Santo Domingo Thursday to protest the abrupt suspension of local elections earlier this month and to commemorate the country's Independence Day. Protests have been ongoing since February 16, after the government suspended the municipal elections four hours after voting began, alleging there were "technical glitches" in the electronic ballot machines used. The machines were previously used in October 2019, and they cost the Dominican government $19 million. The Dominican people believe the alleged technical glitch is just an attempt by the ruli…

Staff (2020-02-28). No Way Out: Report Finds Central American Asylum Seekers Trapped in Mexico in Dangerous Conditions. democracynow.org A new report by Médecins Sans Frontières — or Doctors Without Borders USA — shows how migration policies imposed by the United States and Mexico have trapped thousands of Central American migrants in dangerous conditions. Called "No Way Out," it is based on nearly 500 interviews with Central American migrants and asylum seekers, most of whom say they were victims of extreme violence prior to leaving their home country or along the migration route through Mexico. Because of the so-called Migrant Protection Protocols, which serve to deter immigration, asylum seekers are often forced to remain in Mexico,…

Staff (2020-02-28). Headlines for February 28, 2020. democracynow.org California Monitoring 8,400 People for Coronavirus as Fears of Pandemic Grow, Syrian Airstrike Kills 33 Turkish Soldiers in Idlib, Escalating Tensions, New Justice Department Task Force Seeks to Strip Naturalized Immigrants of Citizenship, Joe Biden's Campaign Walks Back False Claims of Arrest in 1970s South Africa, Democratic Superdelegates Overwhelmingly Oppose Bernie Sanders Campaign, Mike Bloomberg Refuses to Apologize for Spying on Muslims, As NYC Mayor, Mike Bloomberg Called for Cuts to Social Security "Ponzi Scheme", ProPublica: Mike Bloomberg Advised Billionaire Sackler Family on Opioid Crisis, Emails Sho…

Andrew Levine (2020-02-28). Bloomberg: What Is He Good For? counterpunch.org After winning big in Nevada and withstanding the efforts of Democratic "moderates" to throw him off track at last Tuesday's South Carolina "debate," Bernie Sanders is now enjoying what George H.W. Bush called "the big Mo." He has the wind at his back. Those moderates — Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar, and, worst of all, Joe

Peter Bolton (2020-02-28). Here's why Bernie Sanders was spot on with his comments about Cuba. thecanary.co Bernie Sanders has recently come Red-baiting tactics: | On 23 February, Sanders said it's "unfair to simply say everything is bad" about the Cuban Revolution. Republicans and establishment Dem…

Rob Urie (2020-02-28). Bernie Sanders and the Socialism Question. counterpunch.org Wherever Bernie Sanders' campaign goes from here, the left critique of establishment politics is getting empirical backing through popular support for his candidacy. The establishment's response— incredulity that the little people have the temerity to question their betters, is combined with a posture of victimhood, that blameless elites are being demonized by neo-collectivist malcontents who are too stupid to appreciate the blessing that four decades of neoliberalism has bestowed on them.

Pete Dolack (2020-02-28). No Thinking Please, We're Red-Baiting. counterpunch.org The red-baiting of Bernie Sanders is in full swing. From Democrats. Yes, the silly season is upon us as Senator Sanders was roundly condemned because he believes literacy campaigns are good things. I know the United States is a uniquely anti-intellectual country, but, still, you'd think teaching reading and writing might be thought of as

Whitney Webb (2020-02-28). In Dem Debates, Corporate Media Push a Militaristic Foreign Policy: An Interview with Sam Husseini. mintpressnews.com MintPress News recently spoke to Sam Husseini about how the media promotes militaristic and even xenophobic approaches to foreign policy during the primary debates.

Paul Street (2020-02-28). The So-Called Party of the People: From Nevada to South Carolina. counterpunch.org My thesis on the Democratic Party's corporate-imperialist establishment had been consistent for years: it would rather lose to the right-wing party, even to an increasingly apocalyptic and fascistic right, than to the progressive, moderately social-democratic and environmentalist left wing of its own party. That was the basic story of 2016 — a tragedy the bourgeois

Fight Back (2020-02-28). Amy Klobuchar's wrongful convictions, Twitterstorm will demand justice for Myon Burrell. fightbacknews.org Minneapolis, MN – On Friday, February 28, activists will be making noise on Twitter and other social media platforms to demand freedom for Myon Burrell and urging voters to reject Amy Klobuchar, who is responsible for his wrongful conviction. The Twitterstorm is being initiated by Twin Cities Coalition for Justice 4 Jamar (TCC4J) using the hashtags #FreeMyon and #NoAmyK to spread their message. | Organizers say presidential hopeful Minnesota U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar has used Myon's case – a case full of holes – to claim success as Hennepin County attorney and as an example of her work for the African American c…

Joan Walsh (2020-02-28). Joe Biden Is Having His Best Week Ever. Will It Matter? thenation.com Joe Biden Is Having His Best Week Ever. Will It Matter?

Danny Goldberg (2020-02-28). In California Before the Democratic Primary, 'Nobody Knows Anything'. thenation.com In California Before the Democratic Primary, 'Nobody Knows Anything'

Karen J. Greenberg (2020-02-28). American Democracy Is Unraveling Before Our Eyes. thenation.com American Democracy Is Unraveling Before Our Eyes…

Sasha Abramsky (2020-02-28). Why Is Bernie So Far Ahead in the California Primary? Organizing. thenation.com Why Is Bernie So Far Ahead in the California Primary? Organizing.

Reza Marashi (2020-02-28). Pandemics, Politics, and Peace — Episode 11. iranian.com Episode Description: This week, Reza breaks down Trump's dangerous response to the Corona Virus, why it's bananas for the DC establishment to criticize Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren's call to drawdown US troops in the Middle East, and how Iran nuclear deal opponents have boxed themselves in. Sune Engel Rasmussen, Correspondent for The Wall Street …

Jeffrey St. Clair (2020-02-28). Roaming Charges: Knives Out. counterpunch.org In response to criticism from Democratic Party centrists that Sanders didn't do enough to help Hillary in 2016, the Sandernistas are touting the fact that Sanders did 3 times as many campaign events for Hillary as Hillary did for Obama in 2008. I guess that's one way to look at it. The other is: why the hell was Bernie campaigning for Hillary, the walking distillation of every neoliberal policy he purports to loathe, at all?

Mark Gruenberg (2020-02-27). Sanders joins Rev. Barber at New Poor People's Campaign. peoplesworld.org GOLDSBORO, N.C.—"Until people stand up and say" that rampant poverty and income inequality in the U.S. "is wrong, we won't have fundamental change" here, Sen. Bernie Sanders, Ind.-Vt., told the New Poor People's Campaign. In a q-and-a with the co-chair of the nationwide drive, the Rev. William Barber II, and campaign members and parishioners in …

Staff (2020-02-27). "Dead Bodies Everywhere": Hindu Nationalist Violence Rocks Delhi as Trump Visits Modi in India. democracynow.org In India, the death toll from anti-Muslim violence in Delhi has risen to at least 34, with police accused of turning a blind eye to assaults on Muslims committed by Hindu nationalist mobs. The violence began Sunday, when groups of Hindus attacked peaceful sit-ins of Muslims protesting against Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi's new citizenship law, which widely restricts Muslim immigration to India. Modi said nothing as the violence continued for days, instead hosting President Donald Trump on a two-day state visit in which Trump heaped praise on the Indian prime minister. We speak with Neha Dixit, i…

Staff (2020-02-27). "Pence Is Not a Medical Expert": Is the Trump Admin Ready to Stop a U.S. Coronavirus Pandemic? democracynow.org The coronavirus disease that was first diagnosed in China's Hubei province has now spread to at least 47 countries and every continent except Antarctica. The World Health Organization has declared the outbreak an international health emergency. President Trump sought to play down the threat from coronavirus and announced Vice President Mike Pence would be his point person to coordinate government efforts to prevent a widespread outbreak. As Trump spoke, a new milestone in the novel coronavirus outbreak was reported, in a possible example of community spread: A person was diagnosed with the virus in Northern Calif…

Staff (2020-02-27). How the Climate Crisis Is Making the Spread of Infectious Diseases Like Coronavirus More Common. democracynow.org Sonia Shah is an investigative science journalist and author of "Pandemic: Tracking Contagions, from Cholera to Ebola and Beyond." Her new book is titled "The Next Great Migration: The Beauty and Terror of Life on the Move" and will be published in June. She says the climate crisis is making outbreaks of infectious diseases more common, with the destruction of natural animal habitats and the changes in migration bringing humans and animals into ever-closer contact and making new pathogens more likely. Her latest article, published in The Nation, is titled "Think Exotic Animals Are to Blame for the Coronavirus? Th…

Dakotah Lilly (2020-02-27). The Red-Baiting Attacks on Bernie Sanders Ignore His Flawed Foreign Policy Record. mintpressnews.com The right needs to stop pretending that Bernie Sanders is a Chavista, Sandinista, or the next Che Guevara, and some elements of the left need to stop doing the same.

Peter F. Crowley (2020-02-27). The New York Times' Fear of a Bernie Nomination. dissidentvoice.org The New York Times is one of the most prominent mediums for the Democratic Party establishment's talking points. On Sunday, after Bernie Sanders' landslide victory in the Nevada caucus, here is what two front page articles on the subject are saying. It amounts to a case study of the paper's and the Democratic establishment's fear …

Staff (2020-02-27). Headlines for February 27, 2020. democracynow.org Fears of Coronavirus Pandemic Grow as U.S. Cites First "Community Spread" of Pathogen, Trump Blames "Caronavirus" Fears on Democrats and Fake News Reporting, Trump Taps VP Mike Pence, Who's Blamed for Indiana HIV Outbreak, to Lead Coronavirus Response, Gunman Kills 5 at Molson Coors Brewery in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Physicians Group Calls U.S. Migrant Family Separations "Torture", U.S. Drops Charge Against Scott Warren, Who Aided Migrants Crossing Desert, House Approves Emmett Till Act to Make Lynching a Federal Hate Crime, Feds Arrest Five Neo-Nazis for Threatening Journalists and Activists, ABC Suspends David Wr…

Kevin Alexander Gray (2020-02-27). Tom Steyer's South Carolina Support Isn't Just About the Benjamins. thenation.com Tom Steyer's South Carolina Support Isn't Just About the Benjamins…

Staff (2020-02-26). Bernie Sanders Gains Support in South Carolina as Billionaire Tom Steyer Draws Votes from Joe Biden. democracynow.org Tuesday night's Democratic presidential debate comes just four days before South Carolina's first-in-the-South primary — and one week before more than a dozen states vote on Super Tuesday. Billionaire Tom Steyer has poured money into outreach to African-American voters, who make up more than half of South Carolina's Democratic electorate. He may help front-runner Bernie Sanders build an insurmountable delegate lead. A new Reuters poll shows Senator Sanders has overtaken former Vice President Joe Biden in support among African Americans. We speak with three guests in South Carolina: Kevin Alexander Gray, a l…

Staff (2020-02-26). "The Billionaire Election": Anand Giridharadas on How 2020 Is a Referendum on Wealth Inequality. democracynow.org The 10th Democratic presidential debate took place Tuesday in Charleston, South Carolina, and two billionaires were at either end of the stage: Michael Bloomberg and Tom Steyer. Front-runner Bernie Sanders, who has made attacking the power of the "billionaire class" a central theme of his campaign, stood in the middle. It was a visual representation of the split within the Democratic Party, in which a growing number of people are "rising up against plutocracy," says Anand Giridharadas, editor-at-large at Time magazine and author of "Winners Take All: The Elite Charade of Changing the World." His recent piece for…

Jim Naureckas (2020-02-26). Bernie Sanders Can't Win (by as Much) Unless Youth Vote Surges (Like It Recently Has). fair.org "The first thing is to raise hell," That's not exactly the advice of

Staff (2020-02-26). Reporter: Billionaire Bloomberg Says He Released His Tax Returns as NYC Mayor. This Was a Lie. democracynow.org We speak with Bob Hennelly, an award-winning reporter for The Chief-Leader, who says that billionaire Michael Bloomberg lied during the past two Democratic presidential debates when he claimed he released his taxes while he was mayor of New York City. Hennelly covered Bloomberg during his time as mayor as a reporter for WNYC, New York's main public radio station. In 2012, he had an exchange with Bloomberg after a press conference in which the then-mayor said he didn't have to disclose his federal taxes. We hear that audio recording and discuss Bloomberg's record.

splcenter (2020-02-26). As Alabama primary nears, voter suppression is alive and well. splcenter.org All across this country, the right to vote is under attack. But with your support, we're fighting back in Southern courts and state legislatures with a newly formed team of legal, policy, and grassroots advocates.

Staff (2020-02-26). Headlines for February 26, 2020. democracynow.org CDC Warns of "Severe" Disruption to Daily Life in U.S. as Coronavirus Spreads, DHS Secretary Grilled over Coronavirus Preparedness as Trump Downplays Risks, Two Billionaires Join Democratic Debate in SC as Rivals Target Bernie Sanders, At Least 24 Killed in India After Hindu Nationalists Attack Muslim Demonstrators, President Trump Wraps India Trip with Praise for $3.5 Billion Weapons Deal, 20 Civilians Killed in Syria's Idlib as the Red Cross Pleads for a Ceasefire, Airwars Reports U.S.-Led Strikes Killed Up to 139 Somali Civilians Since 2007, Supreme Court Rules Border Patrol Agents Who Shoot into Mexico Can't…

Ben Norton (2020-02-26). Vanderbilt oligarch heir Anderson Cooper worked at CIA in college. thegrayzone.com CNN and 60 Minutes host Anderson Cooper, who red-baited Bernie Sanders over old comments praising Fidel Castro's literacy program, worked…

Fight Back (2020-02-26). Twin Cities demand release of Myon Burrell. fightbacknews.org Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from the Twin Cities Coalition for Justice for Jamar (TCC4J). | TCC4J demands freedom for Myon Burrell, despite Mike Freeman's politically motivated endorsement of Klobuchar's prosecution. | On Monday, February 24, Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman released a statement defending Amy Klobuchar for the wrongful conviction of Myon Burrell. Freeman claims the attacks on Klobuchar for her highly questionable handling of the case are 'politically motivated.' They are not. Activists and community members want Burrell's unfair conviction reviewed and over…

Fight Back (2020-02-26). USF students rally against racist administration. fightbacknews.org Tampa, FL – On February 25, Tampa Bay Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) held a Black Students Matter rally on campus to bring attention to the racist admissions practices that the administration at the University of South Florida (USF) engages in. | Enrollment of Black students at USF has been declining for years and the percent of Black students at USF was the lowest it's been in the past decade last semester (fall 2019), at 9.4%. This is especially alarming considering that in the Tampa Bay area, where USF is located, Black people comprise 24% of the population. | "We understand how schools like USF parta…

Staff (2020-02-25). Bernie Sanders's Key to Success in Democratic Primary? Organizing in Black & Latinx Communities. democracynow.org Senator Bernie Sanders's campaign continues to ride the wave of its decisive victory Saturday in the Democratic presidential caucuses in Nevada. Sanders's win came with support from young voters, union members and Latinx voters, who strengthened his status as Democratic presidential front-runner. He won 73% of the Latino vote in Nevada, a remarkable victory that supporters hope will bode well heading into Super Tuesday and beyond. Through March 17, the Democratic primary calendar will run through seven of the 12 states where Latinx communities constitute at least 10% of the total eligible voting population. | We…

Staff (2020-02-25). #MeToo Founder Tarana Burke: Harvey Weinsteins of the World Can't Exist Without "Systems of Power" democracynow.org Disgraced former Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein was convicted of first-degree commission of a criminal sexual act and third-degree rape, but acquitted of two more serious charges. "If we turn a blind eye to the systems that they operate in, then we'll just have another Harvey Weinstein. … That's why we have to upend the systems," says Tarana Burke, founder of the #MeToo movement. We also speak with award-winning actress Rosanna Arquette, who was one of the first women to share details of Weinstein's sexual misconduct.

Dean Baker (2020-02-25). NYT's Look at Democratic Tax Plans Is an Orgy of Really Big Numbers. fair.org Election Focus 2020: The New York Times gives a a true orgy of really big numbers in the form of trillions of dollars of additional taxes and spending, providing readers with no context that would let them know how much impact these taxes are likely to have on the economy and/or their pocketbooks.

Staff (2020-02-25). Headlines for February 25, 2020. democracynow.org Harvey Weinstein Found Guilty of Rape, 2020 Democratic Candidates Gear Up for Debate as More Damning Comments by Bloomberg Surface, Bernie Sanders Defends Praise for Fidel Castro's Literacy Program, Protests in India Kill At Least 7 as Trump Continues Visit, Former Egyptian Dictator Hosni Mubarak Dies, U.K. Court Opens Deliberations on Julian Assange's Extradition Case, As Coronavirus Spreads Around the Globe, White House Requests Emergency Funding, China Sentences Bookseller Critical of Chinese Government to 10 Years in Prison, Clashes Between Haitian Police and Soldiers Leave One Dead as Anti-Gov't Protests Rag…

Aaron Maté (2020-02-25). The Russiagate Racket targets Bernie Sanders' surge. thegrayzone.com With a familiar playbook of evidence-free, anonymously sourced red-baiting, the forces behind Russiagate try to stop Bernie Sanders' primary success….

2020-03-02: Social Media Postees

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

'NO NOMINATION, AGAIN': Trump says Buttigieg dropping out of Democratic race is plot to 'take Sanders out of play'
rt.com | 2020-03-02
Reacting to reports of Pete Buttigieg ending his presidential bid, US President Donald Trump said this is the "real beginning" of a ploy by the Democrats to get rid of their frontrunner, Bernie Sanders. | Taking to Twitter on Sunday evening, Trump said the wheels have been set in motion for the establishment Democrats to stop Sanders' nomination dead in its tracks. | Pete Buttigieg is OUT. All of his SuperTuesday votes will go to Sleepy Joe Biden. Great timing. This is the REAL beginning of the Dems taking Bernie out of play – NO NOMINATION, AGAIN! | Pete Buttigieg is OUT. All of his SuperTuesday votes will go…
rt.com/usa/482071-sanders-nomination-buttigieg-suspending/

Race vs. class in the South Carolina primary
wsws.org | 2020-03-02
Black Democratic Party officials have been mobilized to use racial politics as a barrier to the campaign of Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/03/02/pers-m02.html

Saying Government-Funded Healthcare's Too Costly is Nuts…Unless You Think the US Uniquely Can't Do It
Dave Lindorff | counterpunch.org | 2020-03-02
The new corporate media and conservative Democratic argument against front-runner Bernie Sanders' eminently logical proposal for creating a single-payer government health insurance program that he calls "Medicare for All" is that it would destroy the huge health insurance industry and put 1.8 million insurance industry employees out on the street. That is about the stupidest…
counterpunch.org/2020/03/02/saying-government-funded-healthcares-too-costly-is-nutsunless-you-think-the-us-uniquely-cant-do-it/

Venezuela Embassy Protectors on Trial
Roger Harris | counterpunch.org | 2020-03-02
US Government Suppresses Information on Illegal Regime Change Activities Judicial proceedings are taking place in DC federal court where the judge has ruled inadmissible the question whether the democratically elected Nicolás Maduro or the Trump-chosen Juan Guaidó is the legitimate president of Venezuela. Like an emperor of yore appointing regents of vassal states, US President…
counterpunch.org/2020/03/02/venezuela-embassy-protectors-on-trial/

"The Democrats abandoned the working class decades ago"
Noam Chomsky | zcomm.org | 2020-03-02
Interview on how elitism and atomization have created political rifts…
zcomm.org/znetarticle/the-democrats-abandoned-the-working-class-decades-ago/

Jessica Cisneros Wants to Unseat Trump's Favorite Democrat
Natasha Hakimi Zapata | truthdig.com | 2020-03-02
The new AOC versus Trump's favorite Democrat: That's how one of 2020's most high-profile congressional primaries, is being billed across media, and not without reason. In Texas' 28th congressional district, Jessica Cisneros is challenging Rep. Henry Cuellar, a 15-year incumbent who has a track record of voting so conservatively, many openly question why he even calls himself a Democrat. The anti-choice candidate, who has been funded by the Koch brothers and big oil and gas lobbies…
truthdig.com/articles/jessica-cisneros-wants-to-defeat-trumps-favorite-democrat/

South Carolina Primary: What Does It Mean?
Jack Rasmus | zcomm.org | 2020-03-02
From this point on the race is Sanders vs. whoever prevails in the 'race within the race', i.e. between Biden-Bloomberg…
zcomm.org/znetarticle/south-carolina-primary-what-does-it-mean/

SSP Commissioner Deletes Harassing Posts, Commits to "Professional Interactions" in Future
Santa Cruz News Network | indybay.org | 2020-03-02
Damon Bruder, Supervisor Ryan Coonerty's appointee to Santa Cruz County's Syringe Services Program (SSP) Advisory Commission, has deleted the harassing and bullying statements he made on on Facebook on February 14 about County Health officer Rachel McCullough-Sanden. Bruder, who was complaining about delays in the publication of the monthly public SSP report to the County's website, called McCullough-Sanden "daft" and made other harassing statements on social media posts that displayed a disparaging photo of her. McCullough-Sanden is an Epidemiologist and HIV Surveillance Coordinator at the Santa Cruz County Heal…
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/02/29/18831157.php

Sanders Is Only Leading Presidential Candidate Opposing Patriot Act
Sarah Lazare | zcomm.org | 2020-03-02
Many Democrats are still acquiescing to a George W. Bush-era policy that has been in place for nearly 20 years…
zcomm.org/znetarticle/sanders-is-only-leading-presidential-candidate-opposing-patriot-act/

Jeremy Corbyn's criminal silence during Julian Assange's extradition hearing
wsws.org | 2020-03-02
Corbyn said nothing when he could have raised Assange's fate in Parliament every single day, informing millions of the fundamental violation of his democratic rights.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/03/02/corb-m02.html

Video of brutal police shooting of unarmed man in Chicago train station sparks outrage
wsws.org | 2020-03-02
Friday's incident stands in sharp contrast to the racialist politics of the Democratic Party and the political organizations in its orbit which portray police brutality as a problem that stems from racism, not from the capitalist system.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/03/02/poli-m02.html

University of California strikers defy firings and expand strike
wsws.org | 2020-03-02
As opposition grows to the vindictive firing of 80 striking grad students at the University of California Santa Cruz, the UAW and the Democratic Party are trying to contain the struggle before it triggers a broader movement of the working class.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/03/02/ucsc-m02.html

Pete Buttigieg Takes One for the Democratic Establishment
Staff | truthdig.com | 2020-03-02
While never embraced by progressives–many of whom considered him a " corporate tool" who exhibited some of the worst tendencies of the Democratic Party's corporate-friendly wing–reports Sunday evening are that former South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg is officially ending his 2020 presidential…
truthdig.com/articles/pete-buttigieg-takes-one-for-the-democratic-establishment/

Is Medicare for All Bad for Union-Negotiated Healthcare?
Mark Dudzic | zcomm.org | 2020-03-02
The argument that Medicare for All will hurt workers because it abolishes hard-earned healthcare benefits of unionized workers has repeatedly been used against Sanders and Warren. But does the criticism have any basis?
zcomm.org/znetarticle/is-medicare-for-all-bad-for-union-negotiated-healthcare/

Pyongyang launches TWO projectiles towards Sea of Japan, South Korean military says
rt.com | 2020-03-02
North Korea has reportedly test-fired two projectiles that fell into the Sea of Japan, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) reported early on Monday. The type of missile is so far unknown. | The projectiles were reportedly fired from a missile launch site in North Korea's eastern coastal town of Wonsan. | Also on rt.com | | North Korea launches two unidentified projectiles toward Sea of Japan

Coronavirus: Myanmar bars entry of cruise ship
yenisafak.com | 2020-03-02
Myanmar has refused the entry of a tourist cruise ship in the country's commercial capital out of fear of the coronavirus epidemic, which has a large presence in Southeast Asia. | Myanmar, which to date has no confirmed case of coronavirus, was a scheduled four-day stopover for The Silver Spirit, operated by Bahamas-based Silver Sea Cruises, in Yangon, but the government on Monday reversed the permission to dock. | Khin Khin Gyi, deputy director at the Health and Sports Ministry, said the decision was made at an emergency meeting held in the capital Nay Pyi Taw late Sunday. | "The main reason is that the cruise s…
yenisafak.com/en/world/coronavirus-myanmar-bars-entry-of-cruise-ship-3513124

A Whole Country for Old Men: The Wrinkly Democratic Race is Getting Wrinklier
sputniknews.com | 2020-03-02
In the Soviet Union's declining years, there was a half-deferential, half-derisive moniker for the feeble leaders in their 70s who preceded Gorbachev: the 'Kremlin elders'. Thirty-something years later, the United States looks set to elect its own septuagenarian to run the White House.
sputniknews.com/us/202003021078450433-a-whole-country-for-old-men-the-wrinkled-democratic-race-is-getting-wrinklier/

Turkish Customs Official Injured in Attack on Vehicle Near Border With Iran – Interior Minister
sputniknews.com | 2020-03-02
Both countries are facing low-intensity insurgencies from Kurdish militants, the Kurdish Workers Party (PKK) in the case of Turkey and the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI) in Iran.
sputniknews.com/middleeast/202003021078449709-turkish-customs-official-injured-in-attack-on-vehicle-near-border-with-iran—interior-minister/

'Loyal Soldier'? Ahead of Super Tuesday, Pete Buttigieg to End Presidential Bid
Jon Queally, staff writer | commondreams.org | 2020-03-02
As one political observer noted: "He can get a cabinet post in a Biden WH, but not a Sanders WH." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/buttigieg_the_tool.jpg
commondreams.org/news/2020/03/01/loyal-soldier-ahead-super-tuesday-pete-buttigieg-end-presidential-bid?cd-origin=rss

Joe Biden Scores Major Victory in South Carolina Primary
Staff | truthdig.com | 2020-03-01
Joe Biden scored a thundering victory Saturday in South Carolina's Democratic primary on the strength of African American support, a decisive win that could force moderate rivals out of the race and blunt the rise of progressive leader Bernie Sanders. | Biden's win came at a perilous moment in his 2020 bid as he needed an emphatic rebound after underwhelming performances this month in Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada. The race now pivots to the 14 states from Maine to California that vote on Tuesday in what effect will be a national primary. | "We are very much alive," Biden declared at an exuberant post-election r…
truthdig.com/articles/joe-biden-scores-major-victory-in-south-carolina-primary/

Texas, California Democrats prefer socialism to capitalism, Sanders to Biden, new poll says
rt.com | 2020-03-01
Democratic voters in America's two most populous states have indicated they actually prefer socialism to capitalism in a new poll that also showed Bernie Sanders beating Joe Biden ahead of the crucial Super Tuesday vote. | The latest poll conducted by YouGov on behalf of CBS says that more than half of Democratic voters in California and Texas

'You can't win 'em all': Sanders concedes defeat in South Carolina, says he 'believes strongly' in Super Tuesday success
rt.com | 2020-03-01
Senator Bernie Sanders brushed off concerns over his second-place finish in the South Carolina primary, saying he hopes to bring it home on Super Tuesday when 14 states vote for the Democratic Party nominee. | Sanders, who was busy campaigning in Norfolk, Virginia when the South Carolina primary results came in, appeared upbeat about his campaign's future, describing it as a minor setback. | "I'm very proud that in this campaign so far we have won the popular vote in Iowa, we have won the New Hampshire primary, we have won the Nevada caucus, but you cannot win them all." | Sanders said that what he believes wi…
rt.com/usa/482039-sanders-defeat-primary-reaction/

Antipathy Towards Socialism Has Roots in State and Corporate Cold War Propaganda
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-03-01
Bernie Sanders has emerged as the Democratic front-runner in the race for the presidential nomination. | Yet even some left-leaning pundits and publications are concerned about what they see as Sande…
truthout.org/articles/antipathy-towards-socialism-has-roots-in-state-and-corporate-cold-war-propaganda/

Sanders Campaign Raises Record $46 Million in February
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-03-01
Again bolstering the argument that its grassroots and movement-building campaign is unique in the 2020 primary field, the campaign of Sen. Bernie Sanders announced Sunday morning that it raised a record-setting $46 million in the month of February

Bernie Sanders Breaks Fundraising Record With $46 Million February Haul
Staff | truthdig.com | 2020-03-01
Again bolstering the argument that its grassroots and movement-building campaign is unique in the 2020 primary field, the campaign of Sen. Bernie Sanders announced Sunday morning that it raised a record-setting $46 million in the month a February–by far the most of any Democrat so far. | "The senator's multigenerational, multiracial working class coalition keeps fueling his campaign for transformational change a few bucks at a time," said Faiz Shakir, Sanders' campaign manager, in a statement.
truthdig.com/articles/bernie-sanders-broke-fundraising-records-in-february/

The Plutocracy Strikes Back: CNN Compares Bernie Sanders to Coronavirus
Juan Cole | commondreams.org | 2020-03-01
Radio personality and CNN weekend host Michael Smerconish came under fire Saturday—along with the network—for "casually" portraying the surging prospects of Democratic presidential frontrunner Sen. Bernie Sanders as comparable to the threat of the infectious coronavirus. (Photo: YouTube Screengrab/TRN Show/David Doel) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/the-plutocracy-strikes-back-cnn-750×422.jpg
commondreams.org/views/2020/03/01/plutocracy-strikes-back-cnn-compares-bernie-sanders-coronavirus?cd-origin=rss

Krystal Ball: panicked DNC elites try to stop Bernie's big Super Tuesday
Aaron Maté | thegrayzone.com | 2020-03-01
With Bernie Sanders poised for a big Super Tuesday, Krystal Ball discusses the Democratic establishment's panic, Elizabeth Warren's attacks on…
thegrayzone.com/2020/03/01/krystal-ball-panicked-dnc-elites-try-to-stop-bernies-big-super-tuesday/

Bernie Sanders and the Resurrected Russiagate Smear
Adeyinka Makinde | globalresearch.ca | 2020-03-01
Even after the "Russiagate" claim of supposed Russian interference in the last US Presidential Election was irrefutably debunked, members of the Democratic Party elite and sections of the US "Deep State" of National Security/Intelligence in alliance with sections of the …
globalresearch.ca/bernie-sanders-resurrected-russiagate-smear/5705152

Why Not Sanders? He's "Far Too Risky"
Robert Fantina | globalresearch.ca | 2020-03-01
An article on CNN on February 25 discusses the fear and apprehension of 'moderate' Democrats about the possibility of Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders winning the Democratic presidential nomination. "This is playing into Trump's hands!" they lament. "Downstream candidates will be …
globalresearch.ca/why-not-sanders-hes-far-too-risky/5705149

Thailand Protests: "Students" Fight to Save Washington's Billionaire Proxy
Tony Cartalucci | globalresearch.ca | 2020-03-01
"Long Live Democracy!" cried "student" protesters at Thailand's Thammasat University as local and Western media organizations reported "hundreds" gathered to decry the disbanding of Thai political party, Future Forward. | However, the Western media's eager support for the small mob complete | …
globalresearch.ca/thailand-protests-students-fight-save-washington-billionaire-proxy/5705148

Venezuela Embassy Protectors on Trial
Roger D. Harris | dissidentvoice.org | 2020-03-01
Judicial proceedings are taking place in DC federal court where the judge has ruled inadmissible the question whether the democratically elected Nicolás Maduro or the Trump-chosen Juan Guaidó is the legitimate president of Venezuela. Like an emperor of yore appointing regents of vassal states, US President Trump tapped then recently seated head of the suspended …
dissidentvoice.org/2020/02/venezuela-embassy-protectors-on-trial/

Native Activists Are Forging a Just Transition to Renewable Energy
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-03-01
Native activists and youth are shaping a clear vision for the transition necessary to guide us toward an environmentally just future

Dem Insider: Party Bosses Choose the Nominee, Not Voters
Stephen Lendman | globalresearch.ca | 2020-03-01
The notion that America is democratic is a colossal hoax

Trump calls on Bloomberg to end his 'joke of a campaign' to not chip away at Biden's votes after former VP's South Carolina win
rt.com | 2020-03-01
With former VP Joe Biden's campaign back from the dead after a landslide South Carolina win, US President Donald Trump appealed to another Democratic hopeful, Mike Bloomberg, to drop out of the race for the sake of Biden. | Shortly after the South Carolina primary exit polls pointed to a convincing victory for Biden in the fourth and final early voting contest ahead of Super Tuesday, Trump took to Twitter to send a 'congratulatory' message, taking aim at fellow billionaire Bloomberg in the process. | "Sleepy Joe Biden's victory in the South Carolina Democrat Primary should be the end of Mini Mike Bloomberg's J…
rt.com/usa/482037-trump-bloomberg-drop-race/

Pete Buttigieg Ends Democratic Presidential Race
telesurenglish.net | 2020-03-01
Democratic hopeful Pete Buttigieg returned Sunday evening to his hometown of South Bend, Indiana, to announce that he was ending his bid for the nominee ticket for the 2020 election. ‚Äã‚Äã | RELATED: | Sanders Raised $46.5m in February, Warren $29m, Biden $18m | "Tonight, I'm making the difficult decision to suspend my campaign for the presidency. I will no longer seek to be the 2020 Democratic nominee for President," Buttigieg said before a crowd o…
telesurenglish.net/news/Pete-Buttigieg-Ends-Presidential-Race-20200301-0008.html

One billionaire out: Tom Steyer bows out of Democratic presidential race after 3rd-place finish in South Carolina
rt.com | 2020-03-01
Billionaire activist Tom Steyer has given up on his presidential bid after failing to win any delegates in South Carolina, according to projections. Steyer has been accused of buying his way into the race, having spent millions. | Steyer dug deep into his own pockets, spending about $20 million of his own money in South Carolina alone in hopes of overcoming the 15-percent threshold that would have allowed him to win delegates in the fourth and final early voting contest before Super Tuesday. | However, it was not to be, as Steyer is now projected to win less than 12 percent of the vote in the primary, dominate…
rt.com/usa/482038-steyer-campaign-ends-billionaire/

The Real Global Threat to 21st Century Freedom Is Authoritarian Capitalism Not Democratic Socialism
Peter Bloom | commondreams.org | 2020-03-01
2020 Democratic hopeful and mega-billionaire Michael Bloomberg and Republican President Donald Trump share a congenial moment in this file photo. (Photo: Brendan Smialowski/Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/screen_shot_2020-03-01_at_1.12.38_pm.png
commondreams.org/views/2020/03/01/real-global-threat-21st-century-freedom-authoritarian-capitalism-not-democratic?cd-origin=rss

Argentina's Fernandez Defends Evo Morales' Presidential Victory
telesurenglish.net | 2020-03-01
The President of Argentina, Alberto Fernández, ratified his complaint that in Bolivia "the rule of law was violated" after the coup d'etat against Evo Morales and demanded "prompt democratization" in the country "with the full participation of the people." | RELATED: | Añez Criticized for Sexist Stereotypes In Presidential Spot | "According to a report published by the Washington Post and made by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Evo Morales won last year's election…
telesurenglish.net/news/Argentinas-Fernandez-Defends-Evo-Morales-Presidential-Victory-20200301-0002.html

Here Are 10,000 Words Detailing Why Bloomberg Embodies Everything Wrong With the US Plutocratic Political System
Kenneth Peres | commondreams.org | 2020-03-01
Democratic presidential candidate, former New York City mayor Mike Bloomberg speaks during the Blue NC Celebration Dinner held at the Hilton Charlotte University Place on February 29, 2020 in Charlotte, North Carolina. Bloomberg is campaigning before voting starts on Super Tuesday, March 3. (Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/michael_bloomberg_american_plutocrat.jpg
commondreams.org/views/2020/03/01/here-are-10000-words-detailing-why-bloomberg-embodies-everything-wrong-us?cd-origin=rss

Progressives Planning to #BernTheDNC with Mass Nonviolent Civil Disobedience If Democratic Establishment Rigs Nomination
commondreams.org | 2020-03-01
Kaitlin Sopoci-Belknap, Eleanor Goldfield, Nick Braña et al. | "If you try to steal this primary again, the actions we take will be swift, widespread, organized and resolute." (Image: BerntheDNC.org) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/bern_the_dnc.jpg
commondreams.org/views/2020/03/01/progressives-planning-bernthednc-mass-nonviolent-civil-disobedience-if-democratic?cd-origin=rss

Joe Biden Finally Gets a Big Win
Joan Walsh | thenation.com | 2020-03-01
Joe Biden Finally Gets a Big Win…
thenation.com/article/politics/joe-biden-south-carolina-primary/

'Gross': Just Days After Winning Progressive Applause for Vow to Skip AIPAC, Klobuchar and Buttigieg Make Last-Minute Reversal
Jon Queally, staff writer | commondreams.org | 2020-03-01
Jewish-led advocacy group IfNotNow said it was disappointed though not wholly surprised given that both Democrats "have been distinguished by a stated desire to be seen as progressive alongside a demonstrated refusal to stand up to the corrupt establishment." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/buttigieg_aipac1.jpg
commondreams.org/news/2020/03/01/gross-just-days-after-winning-progressive-applause-vow-skip-aipac-klobuchar-and?cd-origin=rss

Tulsi to MSM: Stop referring to Al-Qaeda in Syria's Idlib as 'rebels' to make them seem like 'freedom fighters'
rt.com | 2020-02-29
The US media and officials who stubbornly keep referring to armed groups dominated by an Al-Qaeda offshoot in Syria's Idlib province as 'rebels' only disgrace themselves and their country, US Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard has said. | Gabbard, who is one of the Democratic Party contenders in the 2020 presidential race, castigated American mainstream media and Trump administration officials for a consistent effort to whitewash the extremists entrenched in the north-western province of Idlib

'Bernie or brokered': Dems, media sweating as Biden makes last chance effort to challenge Sanders in South Carolina
rt.com | 2020-02-29
Joe Biden may have his first primary victory in South Carolina, something that is essential for his campaign to compete against frontrunner Bernie Sanders, who continues to weather attacks from the media and Dem establishments. | After poor showings in Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada, Biden is looking to challenge Sanders' frontrunner status with a comeback in South Carolina, a place where he is expected to win. | Though his campaign has been riddled with gaffes and he's struggled in previous states, polling in South Carolina shows Biden has a double digit lead over his competitors. An average of polls out of S…
rt.com/usa/482032-biden-sanders-south-carolina/

Biden Wins First 2020 Primary Victory in South Carolina
telesurenglish.net | 2020-02-29
The Democrats' 2020 nominating fight turned to South Carolina on Saturday for the first-in-the-South primary, with Joe Biden projected as the winner, halting the rise of national leader Bernie Sanders, who got second place. | RELATED: | Sanders' Key Adviser Details Economic Plan To Counter Detractors | Voting began from the beginning with all the attention on Biden, who started out as one of the top favorites in this state, after three consecutive losses in Nevada, Iowa and Ne…
telesurenglish.net/news/Biden-Wins-First-2020-Primary-Victory-in-South-Carolina-20200229-0010.html

Debate Moderators Frame Questions to Define Acceptable Politics
Julie Hollar | fair.org | 2020-02-29
With Super Tuesday around the corner, the Democratic presidential debates are coming to a close. The debates are ostensibly an exercise in democracy, a chance for voters to evaluate candidates' positions in order to cast a better informed vote in the nominating contest. But a review of three of the most frequent topics of debate starkly demonstrates how media hosts use their platform less to inform voters in an evenhanded way than to define which positions–and candidates–are acceptable, and which are not. | Healthcare: Both Bernie Sanders…
fair.org/home/debate-moderators-frame-questions-to-define-acceptable-politics/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=debate-moderators-frame-questions-to-define-acceptable-politics

Bernie Sanders could win big in November. Trump and his supporters know it
Peter Bolton | thecanary.co | 2020-02-29
Bernie Sanders is the clear front-runner going into the South Carolina presidential primary. And debate is now shifting from whether Sanders can win the nomination, to whether he might actually beat Donald Trump in the general election this coming November. And it seems that not only are Sanders' supporters feeling confident he might

Media Stoop to 'Russian Assistance' to Explain Sanders' Rise
Alan MacLeod | fair.org | 2020-02-29
For over three years, Russia has been an issue of great concern, if not panic, in our media. Back in 2018, FAIR ( 7/27/18) warned that if Bernie Sanders or another progressive movement picked up steam, corporate media would claim that "any challenge to the establishment is likely a Kremlin-funded astroturf effort." For establishment Democrats, we wrote: Russiagate allows them to ignore calls for change and not scrutinize why they lost to the most unpopular presidential candidate in…
fair.org/home/media-stoop-to-russian-assistance-to-explain-sanders-rise/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=media-stoop-to-russian-assistance-to-explain-sanders-rise

American Fuhrer: Delusionary, Dictatorial Donald Trump Is Drunk on Power
Ralph Nader | commondreams.org | 2020-02-29
President Donald Trump appears at a rally on the eve before the South Carolina primary on February 28, 2020 in North Charleston, South Carolina. The Trump administration is coming under increased criticism from democrats for not doing enough to prepare America for the Coronavirus. (Photo: Spencer Platt/Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/trump_american_fuhrer.jpg
commondreams.org/views/2020/02/29/american-fuhrer-delusionary-dictatorial-donald-trump-drunk-power?cd-origin=rss

Democratic Debate Moderators Frame Questions to Define Acceptable Politics
Julie Hollar | commondreams.org | 2020-02-29
Former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg looks on during the Democratic presidential primary debate at the Charleston Gaillard Center on February 25, 2020 in Charleston, South Carolina. (Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/michael_bloomberg_3.jpg
commondreams.org/views/2020/02/29/democratic-debate-moderators-frame-questions-define-acceptable-politics?cd-origin=rss

Trump thinks Democrats' criticism of his response to coronavirus is 'a hoax'
The Canary | thecanary.co | 2020-02-29
Donald Trump has lashed out at Democrats who questioned his handling of the coronavirus, calling it their new "hoax".Some Democrats have said Trump could have acted sooner to bolster the country's response to the virus. However, Trump said Democrats only want to see him fail.At a campaign rally in South Carolina, he accused Democrats of "politicising" the global outbreak, and said: They have no clue […] They tried the impeachment hoax … this is their new hoax. | The US president said Democrats were "politicising"the deadly virus (Jacquelyn Martin/AP)Trump boasted about the preventive steps he has ordered in an…
thecanary.co/discovery/news-discovery/2020/02/29/trump-thinks-democrats-criticism-of-his-response-to-coronavirus-is-a-hoax/

'Sad Day in Our State,' Says Gov. Jay Inslee as First US Coronavirus Death Confirmed in Washington
Common Dreams staff | commondreams.org | 2020-02-29
President Donald Trump, under fire for his handling of the situation, was expected to hold a press conference Saturday afternoon to offer an update on the situation. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/shutter_2.jpeg
commondreams.org/news/2020/02/29/sad-day-our-state-says-gov-jay-inslee-first-us-coronavirus-death-confirmed?cd-origin=rss

Virus Claims First Fatality in U.S.; Washington State Declares Emergency
Staff | truthdig.com | 2020-02-29
The governor of Washington state declared a state of emergency Saturday after a man died there of COVID-19, the first such reported death in the United States. More than 50 people in a nursing facility are sick and being tested for the virus. | Gov. Jay Inslee directed state agencies to use "all resources necessary" to prepare for and respond to the coronavirus outbreak. The declaration also allows the use of the Washington National Guard, if necessary. | "We will continue to work toward a day where no one dies from this virus," the governor vowed. | Health officials in California, Oregon and Washington state are…
truthdig.com/articles/virus-claims-first-fatality-in-u-s-washington-state-declares-emergency/

A Step Away From Fascism and 'Toward a Brighter More Just Future': 100+ Black Writers and Scholars Endorse Bernie Sanders
Jon Queally, staff writer | commondreams.org | 2020-02-29
"When so much is at stake, not only for Black people but for all people, and all life on the planet, we feel it imperative that we step outside of our classrooms and go beyond our campuses, to speak out on the current presidential election." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/sanders_black_voters.jpg
commondreams.org/news/2020/02/29/step-away-fascism-and-toward-brighter-more-just-future-100-black-writers-and?cd-origin=rss

Carol Anderson on Voter Suppression
CounterSpin | fair.org | 2020-02-28
Media…
fair.org/home/carol-anderson-on-voter-suppression/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=carol-anderson-on-voter-suppression

Headlines for February 28, 2020
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-02-28
California Monitoring 8,400 People for Coronavirus as Fears of Pandemic Grow, Syrian Airstrike Kills 33 Turkish Soldiers in Idlib, Escalating Tensions, New Justice Department Task Force Seeks to Strip Naturalized Immigrants of Citizenship, Joe Biden's Campaign Walks Back False Claims of Arrest in 1970s South Africa, Democratic Superdelegates Overwhelmingly Oppose Bernie Sanders Campaign, Mike Bloomberg Refuses to Apologize for Spying on Muslims, As NYC Mayor, Mike Bloomberg Called for Cuts to Social Security "Ponzi Scheme", ProPublica: Mike Bloomberg Advised Billionaire Sackler Family on Opioid Crisis, Emails Sho…
www.democracynow.org/2020/2/28/headlines

Bloomberg: What Is He Good For?
Andrew Levine | counterpunch.org | 2020-02-28
After winning big in Nevada and withstanding the efforts of Democratic "moderates" to throw him off track at last Tuesday's South Carolina "debate," Bernie Sanders is now enjoying what George H.W. Bush called "the big Mo." He has the wind at his back. Those moderates

Here's why Bernie Sanders was spot on with his comments about Cuba
Peter Bolton | thecanary.co | 2020-02-28
Bernie Sanders has recently come under fire for statements about the government of Cuba. The attacks have been vicious, and they need calling out. Because his comments are not only perfectly accurate but also shine an important light on a gaping blind spot in the US political psyche. | Red-baiting tactics: | On 23 February, Sanders said it's "unfair to simply say everything is bad" about the Cuban Revolution. Republicans and establishment Dem…
thecanary.co/global/world-analysis/2020/02/28/heres-why-bernie-sanders-was-spot-on-with-his-comments-about-cuba/

'The Shillary Show?' Hillary Clinton is launching a podcast and Twitter isn't on board
rt.com | 2020-02-28
News that failed presidential candidate Hillary Clinton is planning to launch her very own podcast has been met with a collective eye roll and plenty of sarcasm on social media. | Clinton is planning to launch the podcast in late spring, "just in time for her to have a powerful new megaphone during the 2020 election," Politico reported on Thursday. | The show will be co-produced by iHeartMedia, which distributes a bevy of right-wing radio shows as well as the left-wing Joe Rogan Experience, which has endorsed Clinton's 2016 archrival Bernie Sanders for president. | As if a literal plague weren't bad enough, Hi…
rt.com/usa/481964-hillary-clinton-podcast-twitter/

Bernie Sanders and the Socialism Question
Rob Urie | counterpunch.org | 2020-02-28
Wherever Bernie Sanders' campaign goes from here, the left critique of establishment politics is getting empirical backing through popular support for his candidacy. The establishment's response— incredulity that the little people have the temerity to question their betters, is combined with a posture of victimhood, that blameless elites are being demonized by neo-collectivist malcontents who are too stupid to appreciate the blessing that four decades of neoliberalism has bestowed on them.
counterpunch.org/2020/02/28/bernie-sanders-and-the-socialism-question/

Trump fans lose it with Garth Brooks for 'supporting Bernie Sanders' in NFL jersey mix-up
rt.com | 2020-02-28
Country music star Garth Brooks took heat from his conservative fans after seemingly endorsing Bernie Sanders for president… when he was actually just wearing a sports jersey of an NFL Hall of Famer with the same name. | Some fans were left with the mistaken impression that Brooks was openly backing the socialist Vermont senator in the middle of the Democratic primaries by sporting the jersey at a concert. | "Can't you just do what you get paid to do? Why why why does it have to involve politics!" one Instagram commenter wrote. "Thought you were different." | The jersey doesn't reference the Vermont senat…
rt.com/usa/481949-garth-brooks-bernie-sanders-jersey/

No Thinking Please, We're Red-Baiting
Pete Dolack | counterpunch.org | 2020-02-28
The red-baiting of Bernie Sanders is in full swing. From Democrats. Yes, the silly season is upon us as Senator Sanders was roundly condemned because he believes literacy campaigns are good things. I know the United States is a uniquely anti-intellectual country, but, still, you'd think teaching reading and writing might be thought of as…
counterpunch.org/2020/02/28/no-thinking-please-were-red-baiting/

No Way Out: Report Finds Central American Asylum Seekers Trapped in Mexico in Dangerous Conditions
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-02-28
A new report by Médecins Sans Frontières

"We Want Democracy!" Mass Protests Continue in Dominican Republic After Local Elections Suspended
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-02-28
Thousands in the Dominican Republic took to the streets of the capital Santo Domingo Thursday to protest the abrupt suspension of local elections earlier this month and to commemorate the country's Independence Day. Protests have been ongoing since February 16, after the government suspended the municipal elections four hours after voting began, alleging there were "technical glitches" in the electronic ballot machines used. The machines were previously used in October 2019, and they cost the Dominican government $19 million. The Dominican people believe the alleged technical glitch is just an attempt by the ruli…
www.democracynow.org/2020/2/28/dominican_republic_elections_suspended

Doctors Without Borders: Cheap Coronavirus Diagnostic Kits Needed in War-Torn Areas & Refugee Camps
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-02-28
Across the U.S., officials report a severe shortage of test kits for coronavirus. New York officials say they're preparing their own kits, after kits distributed by the Centers for Disease Control failed validation tests. Meanwhile, new cases of coronavirus continue to spring up worldwide, with Nigeria reporting its first case and one of Iran's vice presidents testing positive. We discuss how MSF USA, or Doctors Without Borders USA, is responding to coronavirus, with the organization's executive director, Avril BenoàÆt.
www.democracynow.org/2020/2/28/avril_benoit_msf_usa_coronavirus

Elementary School in NJ Latinx Community Fights Displacement by Robert Wood Johnson Cancer Center
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-02-28
In New Jersey, hundreds rallied at the New Brunswick Board of Education meeting Tuesday night against plans to demolish a public school to make way for Robert Wood Johnson Hospital and Rutgers University to build a new cancer center. Protesters included families and more than 30 children, who held signs reading "Save our School!" and "Stop Gentrification." If approved, 760 third-through-eighth-graders at Lincoln Annex School would be moved to a former warehouse building on the outskirts of town as they await construction of a replacement school. Even worse, the proposed new school site is located on a "brownfield…
www.democracynow.org/2020/2/28/lincoln_annex_school_new_brunswick_nj

Catastrophic Humanitarian Crisis in Idlib as Syrian Troops Advance & Children Freeze to Death
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-02-28
In Syria, 33 Turkish soldiers were killed in an airstrike by Russia-backed Syrian forces in rebel-held Idlib in a major escalation on Thursday. Turkey has vowed to respond in kind, as U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres calls for an immediate ceasefire, saying "the risk of even greater escalation grows by the hour." Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reportedly spoke by phone on Friday to discuss the crisis, as NATO urged rapid deescalation. The all-out offensive by the Syrian government is the single largest displacement in a nine-year war that has forced 13 million t…
www.democracynow.org/2020/2/28/idlib_syria_assad_turkey_russia

In Dem Debates, Corporate Media Push a Militaristic Foreign Policy: An Interview with Sam Husseini
Whitney Webb | mintpressnews.com | 2020-02-28
MintPress News recently spoke to Sam Husseini about how the media promotes militaristic and even xenophobic approaches to foreign policy during the primary debates.
mintpressnews.com/sam-husseini-media-promote-militaristic-foreign-policy-democratic-debates/265325/

The So-Called Party of the People: From Nevada to South Carolina
Paul Street | counterpunch.org | 2020-02-28
My thesis on the Democratic Party's corporate-imperialist establishment had been consistent for years: it would rather lose to the right-wing party, even to an increasingly apocalyptic and fascistic right, than to the progressive, moderately social-democratic and environmentalist left wing of its own party. That was the basic story of 2016

Reading Green New Deal
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez | zcomm.org | 2020-02-28
"So today, what I would like to do is to read the Green New Deal resolution for all those who are interested…"
zcomm.org/zvideo/reading-green-new-deal/

Wait, what? Biden claims he'll 'appoint' first African-American woman to US Senate in fresh gaffe
rt.com | 2020-02-28
Joe Biden has aroused concerns after misspeaking yet again in public, this time in front of an audience in South Carolina, promising voters he would "appoint" the first African-American woman to the US Senate. | From accidentally pitching himself as a Senate candidate to having to admit a bizarre story about being arrested trying to see Nelson Mandela was false, the Democratic presidential hopeful has had his fair…
rt.com/usa/481966-biden-african-american-woman-senate/

Amy Klobuchar's wrongful convictions, Twitterstorm will demand justice for Myon Burrell
Fight Back | fightbacknews.org | 2020-02-28
Minneapolis, MN – On Friday, February 28, activists will be making noise on Twitter and other social media platforms to demand freedom for Myon Burrell and urging voters to reject Amy Klobuchar, who is responsible for his wrongful conviction. The Twitterstorm is being initiated by Twin Cities Coalition for Justice 4 Jamar (TCC4J) using the hashtags #FreeMyon and #NoAmyK to spread their message. | Organizers say presidential hopeful Minnesota U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar has used Myon's case – a case full of holes – to claim success as Hennepin County attorney and as an example of her work for the African American c…
fightbacknews.org/2020/2/27/amy-klobuchar-s-wrongful-convictions-twitterstorm-will-demand-justice-myon-burrell

Blue check blues: Twitter tricked into verifying teen's fake 2020 candidate for Congress while real people languish
rt.com | 2020-02-28
A high school student tricked Twitter into verifying an account he made for a fake candidate for Congress from Rhode Island, proving the platform's vaunted election integrity efforts are no match for a bored teen. | Rhode Island Republican Andrew Walz's Twitter has been suspended as of Friday, but before that, the blue-checked politician was seemingly a candidate like any other. Perhaps the platitudes that graced his page were a little emptier – "Let's make a change in Washington together," really? – and the follower count a bit low, but the co…
rt.com/usa/481976-teenager-fake-congressman-verified-twitter/

Congressman threatens Don Jr. with 'serious altercation' over claim Dems 'HOPE' people get coronavirus & die so as to derail Trump
rt.com | 2020-02-28
Democratic Rep. John Garamendi had some harsh words for Donald Trump Jr. after the president's son said Dems "seemingly hope" the coronavirus comes to the US and "kills millions." | The coronavirus is not only a pandemic, it's also now a political tool for Republicans and Democrats to lob across the aisle at each other. | California Congressman Garamendi perhaps went further than any politician has so far when he spoke about the disease and the political response to it in the US while appearing on MSNBC on Friday. Garamendi was particularly upset with Donald Trump Jr. over an earlier statement the president's…
rt.com/usa/481957-don-jr-coronavirus-garamendi/

After Bloomberg, climate was public enemy no. 2 at Nevada Democratic debate
Zoya Teirstein | peoplesworld.org | 2020-02-28
If you're reading this, congratulations! You've made it to the ninth

Joe Biden Is Having His Best Week Ever. Will It Matter?
Joan Walsh | thenation.com | 2020-02-28
Joe Biden Is Having His Best Week Ever. Will It Matter?
thenation.com/article/politics/joe-biden-primary-south-carolina/

American Democracy Is Unraveling Before Our Eyes
Karen J. Greenberg | thenation.com | 2020-02-28
American Democracy Is Unraveling Before Our Eyes…
thenation.com/article/politics/democracy-erosion-trump/

Why Is Bernie So Far Ahead in the California Primary? Organizing
Sasha Abramsky | thenation.com | 2020-02-28
Why Is Bernie So Far Ahead in the California Primary? Organizing.
thenation.com/article/politics/sanders-california-democrats-primary/

In California Before the Democratic Primary, 'Nobody Knows Anything'
Danny Goldberg | thenation.com | 2020-02-28
In California Before the Democratic Primary, 'Nobody Knows Anything'…
thenation.com/article/politics/hollywood-california-democrat-left/

Roaming Charges: Knives Out
Jeffrey St. Clair | counterpunch.org | 2020-02-28
In response to criticism from Democratic Party centrists that Sanders didn't do enough to help Hillary in 2016, the Sandernistas are touting the fact that Sanders did 3 times as many campaign events for Hillary as Hillary did for Obama in 2008. I guess that's one way to look at it. The other is: why the hell was Bernie campaigning for Hillary, the walking distillation of every neoliberal policy he purports to loathe, at all?
counterpunch.org/2020/02/28/roaming-charges-get-bernie/

Relentless campaign to smear Assange
Susan Price | greenleft.org.au | 2020-02-28
democracy Daniel SafiIssue 1255 Australia Wikileaks Julian AssangeFebruary 28, 2020Where would we be today without the relentless campaign against Julian Assange by mainstream media and unscrupulous journalis…
greenleft.org.au/content/relentless-campaign-smear-assange

Sanders joins Rev. Barber at New Poor People's Campaign
Mark Gruenberg | peoplesworld.org | 2020-02-27
GOLDSBORO, N.C.–"Until people stand up and say" that rampant poverty and income inequality in the U.S. "is wrong, we won't have fundamental change" here, Sen. Bernie Sanders, Ind.-Vt., told the New Poor People's Campaign. In a q-and-a with the co-chair of the nationwide drive, the Rev. William Barber II, and campaign members and parishioners in …
peoplesworld.org/article/sanders-joins-rev-barber-at-new-poor-peoples-campaign/

The New York Times' Fear of a Bernie Nomination
Peter F. Crowley | dissidentvoice.org | 2020-02-27
The New York Times is one of the most prominent mediums for the Democratic Party establishment's talking points. On Sunday, after Bernie Sanders' landslide victory in the Nevada caucus, here is what two front page articles on the subject are saying. It amounts to a case study of the paper's and the Democratic establishment's fear …
dissidentvoice.org/2020/02/the-new-york-times-fear-of-a-bernie-nomination/

The Red-Baiting Attacks on Bernie Sanders Ignore His Flawed Foreign Policy Record
Dakotah Lilly | mintpressnews.com | 2020-02-27
The right needs to stop pretending that Bernie Sanders is a Chavista, Sandinista, or the next Che Guevara, and some elements of the left need to stop doing the same.
mintpressnews.com/pundits-red-baiting-attacks-bernie-sanders-foreign-policy/265287/

Headlines for February 27, 2020
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-02-27
Fears of Coronavirus Pandemic Grow as U.S. Cites First "Community Spread" of Pathogen, Trump Blames "Caronavirus" Fears on Democrats and Fake News Reporting, Trump Taps VP Mike Pence, Who's Blamed for Indiana HIV Outbreak, to Lead Coronavirus Response, Gunman Kills 5 at Molson Coors Brewery in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Physicians Group Calls U.S. Migrant Family Separations "Torture", U.S. Drops Charge Against Scott Warren, Who Aided Migrants Crossing Desert, House Approves Emmett Till Act to Make Lynching a Federal Hate Crime, Feds Arrest Five Neo-Nazis for Threatening Journalists and Activists, ABC Suspends David Wr…
www.democracynow.org/2020/2/27/headlines

"Dead Bodies Everywhere": Hindu Nationalist Violence Rocks Delhi as Trump Visits Modi in India
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-02-27
In India, the death toll from anti-Muslim violence in Delhi has risen to at least 34, with police accused of turning a blind eye to assaults on Muslims committed by Hindu nationalist mobs. The violence began Sunday, when groups of Hindus attacked peaceful sit-ins of Muslims protesting against Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi's new citizenship law, which widely restricts Muslim immigration to India. Modi said nothing as the violence continued for days, instead hosting President Donald Trump on a two-day state visit in which Trump heaped praise on the Indian prime minister. We speak with Neha Dixit, i…
www.democracynow.org/2020/2/27/india_antimuslim_violence_modi_trump

"Pence Is Not a Medical Expert": Is the Trump Admin Ready to Stop a U.S. Coronavirus Pandemic?
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-02-27
The coronavirus disease that was first diagnosed in China's Hubei province has now spread to at least 47 countries and every continent except Antarctica. The World Health Organization has declared the outbreak an international health emergency. President Trump sought to play down the threat from coronavirus and announced Vice President Mike Pence would be his point person to coordinate government efforts to prevent a widespread outbreak. As Trump spoke, a new milestone in the novel coronavirus outbreak was reported, in a possible example of community spread: A person was diagnosed with the virus in Northern Calif…
www.democracynow.org/2020/2/27/coronavirus_covid19_us_response

How the Climate Crisis Is Making the Spread of Infectious Diseases Like Coronavirus More Common
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-02-27
Sonia Shah is an investigative science journalist and author of "Pandemic: Tracking Contagions, from Cholera to Ebola and Beyond." Her new book is titled "The Next Great Migration: The Beauty and Terror of Life on the Move" and will be published in June. She says the climate crisis is making outbreaks of infectious diseases more common, with the destruction of natural animal habitats and the changes in migration bringing humans and animals into ever-closer contact and making new pathogens more likely. Her latest article, published in The Nation, is titled "Think Exotic Animals Are to Blame for the Coronavirus? Th…
www.democracynow.org/2020/2/27/climate_crisis_coronavirus_infections_disease_outbreaks

Tom Steyer's South Carolina Support Isn't Just About the Benjamins
Kevin Alexander Gray | thenation.com | 2020-02-27
Tom Steyer's South Carolina Support Isn't Just About the Benjamins…
thenation.com/article/politics/steyer-south-carolina-democrat/

Turkey: Tens of thousands attend HDP congress
Susan Price | greenleft.org.au | 2020-02-27
Middle East Alex BainbridgeIssue 1255 Turkey Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) AnkaraFebruary 27, 2020More than 20,000 people attended the fourth congress of the left-wing People's Demo…
greenleft.org.au/content/turkey-tens-thousands-attend-hdp-congress

Bernie Sanders Can't Win (by as Much) Unless Youth Vote Surges (Like It Recently Has)
Jim Naureckas | fair.org | 2020-02-26
"The first thing is to raise hell," said labor organizer Mary Harris "Mother" Jones. "That's always the first thing to do when you're faced with an injustice and you feel powerless." | That's not exactly the advice of Kevin Drum, who blogs at the website that bears the name of Mother Jones. His guidance is more along the lines of: Be moderate, because that's the only way to be electable. Kevin Drum (Mother…
fair.org/home/bernie-sanders-cant-win-by-as-much-unless-youth-vote-surges-like-it-recently-has/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=bernie-sanders-cant-win-by-as-much-unless-youth-vote-surges-like-it-recently-has

As Alabama primary nears, voter suppression is alive and well
splcenter.org | 2020-02-26
All across this country, the right to vote is under attack. But with your support, we're fighting back in Southern courts and state legislatures with a newly formed team of legal, policy, and grassroots advocates.
splcenter.org/news/2020/02/25/alabama-primary-nears-voter-suppression-alive-and-well

Bernie Sanders Gains Support in South Carolina as Billionaire Tom Steyer Draws Votes from Joe Biden
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-02-26
Tuesday night's Democratic presidential debate comes just four days before South Carolina's first-in-the-South primary

"The Billionaire Election": Anand Giridharadas on How 2020 Is a Referendum on Wealth Inequality
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-02-26
The 10th Democratic presidential debate took place Tuesday in Charleston, South Carolina, and two billionaires were at either end of the stage: Michael Bloomberg and Tom Steyer. Front-runner Bernie Sanders, who has made attacking the power of the "billionaire class" a central theme of his campaign, stood in the middle. It was a visual representation of the split within the Democratic Party, in which a growing number of people are "rising up against plutocracy," says Anand Giridharadas, editor-at-large at Time magazine and author of "Winners Take All: The Elite Charade of Changing the World." His recent piece for…
www.democracynow.org/2020/2/26/anand_giridharadas_2020_the_billionaire_election

Vanderbilt oligarch heir Anderson Cooper worked at CIA in college
Ben Norton | thegrayzone.com | 2020-02-26
CNN and 60 Minutes host Anderson Cooper, who red-baited Bernie Sanders over old comments praising Fidel Castro's literacy program, worked…
thegrayzone.com/2020/02/25/vanderbilt-anderson-cooper-cia-college/

Headlines for February 26, 2020
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-02-26
CDC Warns of "Severe" Disruption to Daily Life in U.S. as Coronavirus Spreads, DHS Secretary Grilled over Coronavirus Preparedness as Trump Downplays Risks, Two Billionaires Join Democratic Debate in SC as Rivals Target Bernie Sanders, At Least 24 Killed in India After Hindu Nationalists Attack Muslim Demonstrators, President Trump Wraps India Trip with Praise for $3.5 Billion Weapons Deal, 20 Civilians Killed in Syria's Idlib as the Red Cross Pleads for a Ceasefire, Airwars Reports U.S.-Led Strikes Killed Up to 139 Somali Civilians Since 2007, Supreme Court Rules Border Patrol Agents Who Shoot into Mexico Can't…
www.democracynow.org/2020/2/26/headlines

Reporter: Billionaire Bloomberg Says He Released His Tax Returns as NYC Mayor. This Was a Lie
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-02-26
We speak with Bob Hennelly, an award-winning reporter for The Chief-Leader, who says that billionaire Michael Bloomberg lied during the past two Democratic presidential debates when he claimed he released his taxes while he was mayor of New York City. Hennelly covered Bloomberg during his time as mayor as a reporter for WNYC, New York's main public radio station. In 2012, he had an exchange with Bloomberg after a press conference in which the then-mayor said he didn't have to disclose his federal taxes. We hear that audio recording and discuss Bloomberg's record.
www.democracynow.org/2020/2/26/bob_hennelly_michael_bloomberg

The Good Die Young
T.P. Wilkinson | dissidentvoice.org | 2020-02-26
Last year was the thirtieth anniversary of the annexation of the German Democratic Republic. It was the seventieth anniversary of the establishment of the People's Republic of China. Shortly after that annexation in 1989 began and was consummated in 1990, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was dissolved and the core of that union, the …
dissidentvoice.org/2020/02/the-good-die-young/

Twin Cities demand release of Myon Burrell
Fight Back | fightbacknews.org | 2020-02-26
Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from the Twin Cities Coalition for Justice for Jamar (TCC4J). | TCC4J demands freedom for Myon Burrell, despite Mike Freeman's politically motivated endorsement of Klobuchar's prosecution. | On Monday, February 24, Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman released a statement defending Amy Klobuchar for the wrongful conviction of Myon Burrell. Freeman claims the attacks on Klobuchar for her highly questionable handling of the case are 'politically motivated.' They are not. Activists and community members want Burrell's unfair conviction reviewed and over…
fightbacknews.org/2020/2/26/twin-cities-demand-release-myon-burrell

USF students rally against racist administration
Fight Back | fightbacknews.org | 2020-02-26
Tampa, FL – On February 25, Tampa Bay Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) held a Black Students Matter rally on campus to bring attention to the racist admissions practices that the administration at the University of South Florida (USF) engages in. | Enrollment of Black students at USF has been declining for years and the percent of Black students at USF was the lowest it's been in the past decade last semester (fall 2019), at 9.4%. This is especially alarming considering that in the Tampa Bay area, where USF is located, Black people comprise 24% of the population. | "We understand how schools like USF parta…
fightbacknews.org/2020/2/26/usf-students-rally-against-racist-administration