(2021-07-02). Supreme Court "Hijacking" Democracy with Rulings That Gut Voting Rights & Allow More Dark Money. democracynow.org 
In a pair of major rulings, the U.S. Supreme Court has gutted more of the Voting Rights Act while making it easier for billionaires to secretly bankroll political campaigns. In a 6-3 vote, the conservative justices upheld two Arizona election laws that have been widely criticized for their impact on minority voters, sending a signal that other voting restrictions in Republican-led states are also likely to be ruled constitutional if challenges are brought to the high court. In a separate case, the court's conservative majority struck down a California law that required charities to privately disclose their top do…
(2021-07-02). Trump Organization and Top Company Exec Charged with Tax Fraud. Is Donald Trump Next? democracynow.org 
The Manhattan District Attorney's Office has charged former President Donald Trump's family business with operating a 15-year tax fraud scheme, accusing the Trump Organization of helping executives evade taxes by giving them compensation off the books. Allen Weisselberg, the company's chief financial officer, who has worked with Trump for decades, was also charged with grand larceny for avoiding taxes on $1.7 million in perks that he did not report as income. Weisselberg surrendered Thursday and pleaded not guilty, and he could face up to a decade in prison if convicted. Legal experts suggest prosecutors targeted…
(2021-07-02). War criminal Rumsfeld dies, but his militarist legacy lives on. wsws.org The crimes for which Rumsfeld is justifiably detested the world over have in the course of past two decades been fully normalized by US imperialism under Democrats and Republicans alike.
(2021-07-02). War criminal Rumsfeld dies, but his militarist legacy lives on. indybay.org The crimes for which Rumsfeld is justifiably detested the world over have in the course of past two decades been fully normalized by US imperialism under Democrats and Republicans alike.
(2021-07-02). After Phone Call with Biden, Colombia's Duque Finally Criticizes Human Rights Abuses. orinocotribune.com 
After two months of brutal repression by the police forces and numerous serious human rights violations amid the national strike and demonstrations in Colombia, this Tuesday President Iván Duque claimed Colombia would open an investigation of the members of the Mobile Anti-Riot Squad (ESMAD) who abused one young protester and two journalists during another day of demonstrations in Suba, Bogotá. | At least 75 people have died during mobilizations that have been demonized by the Duque government, including at least 44 homicides in which police officers participated, in addition to more than 100 missing persons. Two…
(2021-07-02). Ranked Choice Voting isn't the Problem in New York City's Mayoral Election. counterpunch.org Confusion reigns. More than a week after Democratic voters from New York City's five boroughs cast their primary ballots, we still don't know who those voters chose as their party's nominee for mayor. Seven days after the polls closed, the city's Board of Elections issued preliminary results, then quickly withdrew them, citing a discrepancy in
(2021-07-02). The New Green-Red Zagreb. popularresistance.org In May's local elections, Croatia's green-left platform won the capital's assembly and its mayoralty. The new government has big plans for a clean, democratic city — but the challenges of building it under assault from the right remain.
(2021-07-02). "Defending the Sacred": Indigenous Water Protectors Continue Resistance to Line 3 Pipeline in Minnesota. democracynow.org 
Resistance to construction of the Enbridge Line 3 tar sands pipeline continues in northern Minnesota, where more than a dozen water protectors this week locked themselves to construction vehicles at two worksites, and to the pipeline itself. Just last month, 179 people were arrested when thousands shut down an Enbridge pumping station for two days as part of the Treaty People Gathering. If completed, Line 3 would carry more than 750,000 barrels of Canadian tar sands oil a day across Indigenous land and fragile ecosystems. The pipeline has the backing of the Biden administration, and this week Indigenous leaders a…
(2021-07-02). Lethal Force Against Pipeline Protests? Documents Reveal South Dakota's Plans. truthout.org 
Environmental activists conduct a sit-in in front of the construction equipment as police in riot gear line up at the Line 3 pipeline pumping station near the Itasca State Park, Minnesota, on June 7, 2021.Kerem Yucel / AFP via Getty Images | Republican South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem has announced she is deploying 50 members of the South Dakota National Guard to the U.S.-Mexico border at the request of Texas Governor Greg Abbott. In an extraordinary twist, the deployment is being paid for by bi…
(2021-07-02). Media Blackout After Key Witness Against Assange Admits Lying. popularresistance.org "not one major western media outlet outside of Iceland has reported on this massive and entirely legitimate news story. A search brings up coverage by Icelandic media, by Russian media, and by smaller western outlets like Democracy Now, World Socialist Website, Consortium News, Zero Hedge and some others, but as of this writing this story has been completely ignored by all major outlets who are ostensibly responsible for informing the public in the western world."
(2021-07-02). Prosecution Of Alex Saab Unjust, Illegal & Indefensible. popularresistance.org José António Dos Reis, former minister in Cape Verde, founder of the country's Movement for Democracy (MPD) ruling political party, and close to the current government, harshly criticized Prime Minister Ulisses Correia e Silva (of the same political party) and the judicial authorities of Cape Verde for the illegal detention and abduction of the Venezuelan diplomat Alex Saab.
(2021-07-02). Prosecution of Alex Saab Unjust, Illegal & Indefensible: Cape Verdean Politician. orinocotribune.com José António Dos Reis, former minister in Cape Verde, founder of the country's Movement for Democracy (MPD) ruling political party, and close to the current government, harshly criticized Prime Minister Ulisses Correia e Silva (of the same political party) and the judicial authorities of Cape Verde for the illegal detention and abduction of the Venezuelan diplomat Alex Saab. | In his
(2021-07-02). Prosecution Of Alex Saab Unjust, Illegal And Indefensible. popularresistance.org José António Dos Reis, former minister in Cape Verde, founder of the country's Movement for Democracy (MPD) ruling political party, and close to the current government, harshly criticized Prime Minister Ulisses Correia e Silva (of the same political party) and the judicial authorities of Cape Verde for the illegal detention and abduction of the Venezuelan diplomat Alex Saab. | In his article entitled "The Case of Alex Saab: Cape Verde Between Ambiguity and Schizophrenia" published by the online media outlet Santiago Magazine, the politician described the judicial process as "unjust, illegal, and indefensible," hi…
(2021-07-02). Supreme Court guts voting rights when upholding Arizona's restrictions, elected officials. indybay.org The U.S. Supreme Court gutted most of what remains of the landmark Voting Rights Act. Once hailed as the most effective civil rights legislation in the nation's history, now the Supreme Court has turned on the promise of democracy, the promise of equality and equity for all. For without voting rights, communities of color and low income become disenfranchised, and equality and equity unfulfilled dreams.
(2021-07-02). Headlines for July 2, 2021. democracynow.org Supreme Court Upholds Arizona Voter Suppression Law in Latest Blow to Voting Rights Act, Supreme Court Strikes Down California Donor Law in Major Win for Dark Money Groups, Trump Organization Charged with Criminal Tax Fraud, CFO Charged with Grand Larceny, WHO Warns Delta Coronavirus Variant Driving Massive Third Wave Across Africa, Venezuela Begins Administering Cuban-Made Abdala COVID-19 Vaccine, Extreme Heat Wave Scorches Canada, Nearly Wiping Out Canadian Town of Lytton, Pelosi Appoints Republican Liz Cheney to Select Committee to Probe Capitol Insurrection, Attorney General Merrick Garland Halts Federal Exec…
(2021-07-02). Solidarity with socialist Cuba. workers.org 
Leading up to the annual vote in the U.N. General Assembly June 23 on Cuba's resolution to end the illegal 60-year U.S. blockade against the island, solidarity activists across the U.S. and Canada held a week of actions to pressure President Joe Biden and Congress. In New York City, a . . . |
(2021-07-02). Pueblo Of Zuni Blasts Administration's Position Against Apaches. popularresistance.org The Pueblo of Zuni would be remiss in this context to remain silent on the recent legal position taken by the Biden-Harris Administration's Department of Justice (DOJ) regarding Chi'chil Bildagoteel (i.e., Oak Flat) and the Resolution Copper mine in Arizona. The Administration's stated position is unfortunate and extremely troubling, as it is in fact little more than a continuation of a policy of containment and erasure of Native peoples that directly contradicts in substance, content, and spirit the Administration's own E.O. 13985. This position is a reinforcement and reproduction of racist legal legacies of Nat…
(2021-07-02). Anti-war and rights groups demand end to "unlawful" US airstrikes and drone attacks. peoplesdispatch.org A letter signed by 113 groups reminded Joe Biden of his promise to end forever wars and center the protection of human rights in his foreign policy, an assurance he has given repeatedly since assuming presidency in January…
(2021-07-02). Yes, Home Care is Infrastructure: Don't Let Them Play Word Games With People's Lives. counterpunch.org President Biden's infrastructure plan includes $400 billion in home care spending. Forbes Magazine describes Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) as "a champion of the GOP's semantic objections" to that proposal. She and her fellow Republicans claim that home health care doesn't fall under the definition of infrastructure the same way rails and highways do, and therefore
(2021-07-02). Trains and Population Density: U.S. and Europe. cepr.net There are lots of silly comments that pass for great wisdom in elite circles. Steve Rattner gave us one of my favorites in his NYT column warning President Biden against putting too much money into reviving our system of train travel. Rattner tells us: "America is not Europe, with its dense population centers clustered reasonably …
(2021-07-02). Biden goes to Surfside to promote bipartisan cover-up of Florida condo collapse. wsws.org President Biden hailed the cooperation of Miami Democrats with far-right Republican Governor DeSantis in concealing the real cause of the catastrophic collapse of the Champlain Towers South in Surfside, Florida.
(2021-07-02). Why I'm Still (Kind of) Rooting for China in the New Cold War. counterpunch.org Surfing through the news, it seems like every other motherfucker and his brother is flipping their proverbial wig over the supposedly literal threat China poses to the future of western civilization. Over on the center-right of what passes for the left in this country, we have our very own dear leader, Old Man Biden, hitting
(2021-07-02). Queen Statues Toppled Amid Outrage Over Unmarked Graves of Indigenous Children. commondreams.org President Biden may feel he has time to negotiate, but our people and planet have no time to waste.
(2021-07-02). Is This Joe Biden's PATCO Moment? commondreams.org As a nation, we can't move forward unless everyone has an opportunity to thrive.
(2021-07-02). 'More Is Required': Biden DOJ Pauses Federal Executions. commondreams.org Darren Woods claims company lobbyists' comments on "a variety of issues, including climate change policy, and our interaction with elected officials," were "disturbing and inaccurate."
(2021-07-02). Is This Joe Biden's PATCO Moment? commondreams.org "This deal is instead no more than a G7 money grab. Rich countries are forcing developing countries to choose between a raw deal or no deal."
(2021-07-02). President Biden, We Can Wait No Longer for Climate Justice. commondreams.org If any woman can relate to Britney's struggle to free herself from her father's rule, it is Saudi women's rights activist Samar Badawi.
(2021-07-02). Why is Biden's Foreign Policy So Conventional? counterpunch.org On the domestic front, Joe Biden is flirting with transformational policies around energy, environment, and infrastructure. It's not a revolution, but it's considerably less timid than what Barack Obama offered in that pre-Trump, pre-pandemic era. When it comes to foreign policy, however, the Biden administration has been nowhere near as transformational. The phrase Joe Biden
(2021-07-02). McConnell Wields a Cruelly Narrow Definition of Infrastructure Like a Bludgeon. truthout.org 
Back in late March and early April, as President Biden's multitrillion-dollar infrastructure plan began to take shape, Senate Minority Leader By the early summer, after months of negotiations between the parties in Congress and with the public pushing for large-scale infrastru…
(2021-07-02). Poor People's Campaign Marches on Washington to 'Blunt the Political Effects of Wealth Inequality'. counterpunch.org Amidst compromise negotiations over President Biden's infrastructure proposal, hundreds of low-wage workers, faith leaders, and advocates from Kentucky and West Virginia joined the Poor People's Campaign for a Moral March on Manchin and McConnell. "I stand here representing the 770,000 poor and low-income workers in my state of West Virginia, one of the poorest states
(2021-07-02). Free the Children. zcomm.org Advocates Demand Biden Close Fort Bliss Detention Center Holding 800 Migrant Kids…
(2021-07-02). Excessive Corporate Power is a Root Cause of Migration. counterpunch.org During U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris's recent visit to Guatemala, where she urged Central Americans "not to come" to her country, she also emphasized that the migration problem must be attacked at its "root causes," which have become a central theme of the Biden administration's approach to the region. While it is key to address
(2021-07-02). You Ordered Healthcare, You Got Airstrikes. strategic-culture.org 
By Caitlin JOHNSTONE | Biden: Sorry, did you say airstrikes on Iraq and Syria? | Americans: no, healthcare | Biden: Alright, you drive a hard bargain, but here are your airstrikes on Iraq and Syria. | ‚ùñ | It is journalistic malpractice to parrot US government claims about acts of military mass murder on the other side of the planet being "defensive". The only strikes near the Iraq-Syria border that could accurately be called "defensive" are those launched by the inhabitants of those nations upon the invading western military occupation. The only actual defensive action that the US could legi…
(2021-07-02). Bennett's Political Theater: the Decisive Israeli-Palestinian Fight Ahead. counterpunch.org Many Palestinians believe that the May 10-21 military confrontation between Israel and the Gaza Resistance, along with the simultaneous popular revolt across Palestine, was a game-changer. Israel is doing everything in its power to prove them wrong. Palestinians are justified to hold this viewpoint; after all, their minuscule military capabilities in a besieged and impoverished
(2021-07-02). Bennett's political theatre: The decisive Israeli-Palestinian fight ahead. juancole.com ( Middle East Monitor ) — Many Palestinians believe that the 10-21 May military confrontation between Israel and the Gaza Resistance, along with the simultaneous popular revolt across Palestine, was a game-changer. Israel is doing everything in its power to prove them wrong. Palestinians are justified to hold this viewpoint; after all, their minuscule military …
(2021-07-02). Bennett's Political Theater: The Decisive Israeli-Palestinian Fight Ahead. zcomm.org Many Palestinians believe that the May 10-21 military confrontation between Israel and the Gaza Resistance, along with the simultaneous popular revolt across Palestine, was a game-changer…
(2021-07-02). The Empire Strikes Back at the Left in Buffalo and Cleveland. indybay.org Corporate Democrats Crank Up Their Firepower…
(2021-07-02). The Resistance Remains Hollow: The Weimar Ways of the Dismal Democrats. counterpunch.org Again, and again, the neoliberal era Democrats' cringing subordination to corporate, financial, and military-industrial authority (to concentrated wealth and power) has depressed and deactivated much of non-Republican electorate in ways that have combined with the right-leaning biases of the U.S. electoral system to recurrently open the door for the nation's rightmost party to gain power despite its vast unpopularity. By giving the nation's working-class majority little if anything positive to vote and fight for, the Democrats repeatedly reveal their progressive-sounding rhetoric as manipulatively elitist and ina…
(2021-07-02). Filibuster or democracy: Can't have both. peoplesworld.org 
The American political system is complicated, but fixing it doesn't have to be. Voters of all stripes broadly agree on the kinds of changes they'd like to see. We need less money in politics. It should be easier to vote—early, in person, or by mail. And voters should be able to pick their own representatives, …
(2021-07-02). South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem continues the Jan. 6 insurrection. peoplesworld.org 
SIOUX FALLS, S.D.—Kristi Noem, the right-wing Republican governor of South Dakota, notorious for making her state the world epicenter for the coronavirus pandemic last year, outdid herself this week when she enlisted funds from a billionaire businessman to turn her state's National Guard into a mercenary operation on the nation's southern border. She declared that, …
(2021-07-02). Mainstream Democrats Try to Crush Left Frontrunners in Buffalo and Cleveland. truthout.org 
The two biggest cities on the shores of Lake Erie are now centers of political upheaval. For decades, Buffalo and Cleveland have suffered from widespread poverty and despair in the midst of urban decay. Today, the second-largest cities in New York and Ohio are battlegrounds between activists fighting for progressive change and establishment forces determined to prevent it. | For Buffalo's entrenched leaders, a shocking crisis arrived out of the blue on June 22 when socialist India Walton won…
(2021-07-02). Democrats Seek Workarounds to Republican Resistance on Medicaid Expansion. truthout.org 
Over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, Southern states have been among those that have done the least to protect their residents from contracting the deadly virus. | They were
(2021-07-02). Lethal Force Against Pipeline Protests? Documents Reveal Shocking South Dakota Plans for National Guard. democracynow.org 
Republican South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem has announced she is deploying 50 members of the South Dakota National Guard to the U.S.-Mexico border at the request of Texas Governor Greg Abbott. In an extraordinary twist, the deployment is being paid for by billionaire Republican megadonor Willis Johnson, who lives in Tennessee. Critics say Noem is turning the National Guard into a private mercenary force targeting migrants, but the governor's plans for the National Guard could encompass other activities. Water protector and land back attorney Bruce Ellison has obtained documents that indicate the same force could…
(2021-07-02). Thursday 7/1: Tell Pelosi: Take Action for Palestine. indybay.org 90 7th St, San Francisco…
(2021-07-02). Fossil Fueled-Crackdowns Are Part of the Assault on Democracy. ips-dc.org In early June, over 2,000 Indigenous-led demonstrators converged in northern Minnesota to protest the construction of a polluting oil pipeline on Indigenous land. They were met by an extremely aggressive law enforcement response. Over 200 were arrested, including a journalist with visible press credentials who was covering the protests. | Police used a long range acoustic device (LRAD), an extremely dangerous weapon that should never be used against civilians, to disperse protesters. Federal Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers—nominally in charge of border control—also attacked demonstrators,…
(2021-07-02). Revolutionary Soapboxing for the Soul: the 'Commons Is Us'. counterpunch.org What is absent in inverted totalitarianism is the political, the commitment to finding where the common good lies… — Sheldon Wolin When Louie Gohmert or Marjorie Taylor Greene says something outlandish, you can almost always assume they actually mean it. When leading Democrats say something that makes perfect sense to you, it's safe to assume
(2021-07-02). Chancellor candidates Laschet, Baerbock and Scholz advocate massive military build-up. wsws.org The candidates from the Christian Democrats, Greens and Social Democrats competed to present themselves as the best militarist who would increase arms spending and make Germany ready for war.
(2021-07-02). 172th Anniversary of towns Negro Bar, Negro Hill and Mormon Island. indybay.org Today's Negro Bar State Historic Park expansion reflects the ongoing challenge since Colton Hall, Monterey and the initial offerings by the California State Legislature including Governor Peter Burnett inaugural address to the 1849 California Legislature in San Jose, CA.
(2021-07-02). California Buffalo Soldier's Trail – National Buffalo Soldier's Study. indybay.org In California, Buffalo Soldiers protected our National Parks such as Yosemite and Sequoia serving as Park Rangers in the Sierra Nevada during the summer and were housed in the Presidio in San Francisco and Presidio in Monterey.
(2021-07-02). Friday 7/2: 2021 California Independence Day to Freedom. indybay.org California State Capitol — Camellia Grove – East Area of Capitol Grounds…
(2021-07-02). Monday 7/26: The Right to Vote at Age 18: Gen Z and the Fight Against Voter Suppression. indybay.org Online event (FREE)…
(2021-07-02). The Willful Self-Delusion of American Independence Day. thenation.com The Willful Self-Delusion of American Independence Day…
(2021-07-02). This Is Only the Beginning: It's About to Get Much Harder. commondreams.org Will the Democratic president reverse the vicious anti-union trend sparked by Ronald Reagan 40 years ago?
(2021-07-02). US Corporate Media Fixin for a Cold War Fight With China. commondreams.org Will the Democratic president reverse the vicious anti-union trend sparked by Ronald Reagan 40 years ago?
(2021-07-01). "He Was a Disaster": Ret. Col. Andrew Bacevich on Donald Rumsfeld's Legacy as Architect of Iraq War. democracynow.org 
Donald Rumsfeld, considered the chief architect of the Iraq War, has died at the age of 88. As defense secretary for both Presidents George W. Bush and Gerald Ford, Rumsfeld presided, his critics say, over systemic torture, massacres of civilians and illegal wars. We look at Rumsfeld's legacy with retired Colonel Andrew Bacevich, whose son was killed in Iraq. Bacevich is the president of the antiwar think tank the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft. He says the Iraq War should be the most important item inscribed on Rumsfeld's headstone. "He was a disaster," Bacevich says. "He was a catastrophically bad…
(2021-07-01). The Only Tragic Thing About Donald Rumsfeld's Death. scheerpost.com Gage Skidmore / CC BY-SA 2.0] By Brett Wilkins / Common Dreams Donald Rumsfeld, the former U.S. congressman, aide to several Republican presidents, and two-time defense secretary whose torture-laden tenure and ruinous legacy were defined by his lies in service of an unending war that's killed at least hundreds of thousands of people, died Tuesday at age 88. By the time he was chosen as then… |
(2021-07-01). Unity? Opposition Leaders React to CNE Decision to Reinstate MUD as Valid Political Party for 21N Regional Elections (Adelante). orinocotribune.com Following the Venezuelan National Electoral Council's (CNE) decision to reinstate 20 political organizations, thus authorizing their participation in the regional and municipal elections on November 21, there have been several reactions from political actors of the so-called Democratic Unity Table (MUD). The CNE decision was reached on Tuesday, June 29, and applies to eight national and 12 regional organizations. | Jesús "Chúo" Torrealba, former executive secretary of the MUD, responsible for the legislative 2015 opposition victory, considered the decision as presenting a new opportunity for the opposition. He ur…
(2021-07-01). Conservatives Blame Ranked-Choice Voting for NYC Election Chaos. They're Wrong. truthout.org 
New York City's Democratic mayoral primary — which was already unlikely to be resolved for weeks —moved from chaotic to disastrous on Tuesday when the city's Board of Elections released early results that mistakenly included 135,000 test ballots in the ranked-choice tally. But while some conservatives used the incident to malign the new ranked-choice system, it's the notoriously inept partisan BOE that shoulders the blame for the fiasco. | Tuesday marked the first time the city co…
(2021-07-01). McCarthy Told GOP Lawmakers He'd Kick Them Off Committees Over Jan 6 Commission. truthout.org 
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-California) has announced her picks for a select committee to investigate the Capitol breach of January 6, and included among them is Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyoming), who Pelosi's selections were announced a day after House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Californi…
(2021-07-01). Biden Urged to Embrace Top Democrat's Call to End Deadly US Sanctions Against Venezuela. orinocotribune.com By Kenny Stancil — Jun 16, 2021 | "The terrible suffering and death that Venezuela has experienced in recent years is overwhelmingly a result of economic collapse and deprivation caused by U.S. sanctions." | Advocates for more a more humane U.S. foreign policy are urging President Joe Biden to embrace Rep. Jim McGovern's call for an end to "all secondary and sectoral sanctions imposed on Venezuela by the Trump administration." | "If something is a war crime when people are shooting and dropping bombs, it is an equally serious crime when there is technically no war taking place." | —Mark Weisbrot, CEPR…
(2021-07-01). Biden Administration with 'Solid Case' Expects Cape Verde to Decide Soon on Alex Saab's Illegal Detention. orinocotribune.com A new plot around the continuing illegal detention of the Venezuelan diplomat Alex Saab seems to be underway, judging from statements by Juan González, the Colombian adviser to US President Joe Biden, who serves as senior director of the White House National Security Council for the western hemisphere. | In an interview he gave to the Colombian radio station La W Radio, González remarked that he was certain that the US administration is on solid legal ground in its actions against Saab, despite the countless elements of illegalities in his arrest and detention in Cape Verde that have made numerous legal experts i…
(2021-07-01). Supreme Court guts voting rights when upholding Arizona's restrictions, elected officials. indybay.org The U.S. Supreme Court gutted most of what remains of the landmark Voting Rights Act. Once hailed as the most effective civil rights legislation in the nation's history, now the Supreme Court has turned on the promise of democracy, the promise of equality and equity for all. For without voting rights, communities of color and low income become disenfranchised, and equality and equity unfulfilled dreams.
(2021-07-01). Friday 7/9: Walnut Creek: Deadline for Democracy Sidewalk Rally for Voting Rights. indybay.org Intersection of Ygnacio Valley Road and Civic Drive, Walnut Creek 94596 | This is a peaceful event. Follow current COVID safety guidelines.
(2021-07-01). Why Do The Media Hate Daniel Ortega? orinocotribune.com By Gerry Condon — Jun 29, 2021 | Is The U.S. Meddling In The Nicaraguan Election? | When Kamala Harris finally traveled to the U.S./Mexico border last week, she met several young women asylum seekers. The vice president likely saw Hondurans, Salvadorans and Guatemalans who were fleeing from violence and extreme poverty. But she probably did not see any Nicaraguan asylum seekers, who are few and far between. | Nicaragua and Honduras are considered the two poorest nations in Latin America. Honduras is a corrupt, failed, violent country, whose government is backed by the U.S. Nicaragua has free healthcare and e…
(2021-07-01). America Leader of the Free World? How to Forget U.S. interference in Foreign Elections. strategic-culture.org Joe Biden should read up on the history of American political and military interventions, regime changes and electoral interference worldwide. | After only five months in office, President Joe Biden has already become notorious for his verbal gaffes and mis-spokes, so much so that an admittedly Republican-partisan physician has suggested that he be tested to determine his cognitive abilities. That said, however, there is one
(2021-07-01). Statistics show new claims for jobless aid fewest in 15 months. peoplesworld.org 
WASHINGTON —The number of workers filing new claims for jobless benefits, as an aftereffect of the coronavirus pandemic, hit its lowest level in 15 months, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. But that still left more than 14 million people getting checks—and millions of those will get cut off by Independence Day. That's because 26 …
(2021-07-01). 'X' markers next? Biden administration to allow applicants to 'self-select' gender on travel documents, plans to add 3rd option. rt.com 
Transgender Americans have been given the option to change the gender that appears on their passports, joining other nations who've adopted similar practices. Nonbinary options are also on the way, the State Department said. | Those seeking a gender switch need only submit a new passport application with their desired gender marker, M or F, making the change a simple process, Secretary of State Antony Blinken has A…
(2021-07-01). Biden's First Pentagon Budget Isn't Making Us Any Safer. thenation.com Biden's First Pentagon Budget Isn't Making Us Any Safer…
(2021-07-01). House Passes $715 Billion Water and Transportation Infrastructure Bill. commondreams.org "It's time for President Biden to pick a side: Exxon or the American majority?"
(2021-07-01). Footage of Exxon Lobbyist Increases Pressure on Biden to End Fossil Fuel Subsidies. commondreams.org The second-largest cities in New York and Ohio are battlegrounds between activists fighting for progressive change and establishment forces determined to prevent it.
(2021-07-01). "Abolition Amendment" Could End Loophole That Allows Forced Labor in Prisons. truthout.org 
After President Biden signed legislation this month to create a federal holiday commemorating June 19 as Juneteenth, Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley and Georgia Congressmember Nikema Williams reintroduced what is being called the "Abolition Amendment" to amend the 13th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which banned slavery and involuntary servitude "except as a punishment for crime" — a clause that has allowed the widespread use of forced prison labor. "Eliminating the loophole … is one way…
(2021-07-01). We Need Climate & Racial Justice Addressed in Infrastructure Package. zcomm.org As western states battle record-breaking heat waves, climate activists are calling on the Biden administration and congressional Democrats to pass an infrastructure bill that includes major investments in green energy, including a fully funded Civilian Climate Corps…
(2021-07-01). Biden Justifies Bombing Of Syria By "Protecting American Forces" southfront.org 
Illustrative image | Written by Khaled Iskef. | US President Joe Biden justified the bombing operations carried out by US aircraft on sites in Syria and Iraq, saying that they targeted facilities used by pro-Iranian factions. | Biden said in a letter he addressed to Congress that on June 27, he had ordered the operation to be carried out, as US forces launched strikes targeting two sites in Syria and a site in Iraq near the Syrian border. | Biden added that the targeted sites were used by factions linked to Iran that par…
(2021-07-01). The Insanity of Militarism From McCain to Flynn and Biden. strategic-culture.org There's no surprise there since the laundering of the US war in Vietnam began before Ronald Reagan's "noble cause" propaganda to enable him to launch low-intensity wars in Central American countries and further sanitize the Vietnam War. POW flags became ubiquitous on federal buildings and on some state and local government buildings.
(2021-07-01). Demonization of Iran Is a "Mistake" That Has Trapped the U.S. in Perpetual Middle East Conflict. democracynow.org 
After the Biden administration launched airstrikes targeting an Iranian-backed militia in Syria and Iraq, military historian Andrew Bacevich says the United States needs to reassess its decades-long hostility toward Iran. "The demonization of Iran is now a well-established reality of our contemporary politics. It's a mistake," he says. "Over the past 40 years or so, we've decided that Iran needs to be classified as an evil power, and I think that that inclination makes it very difficult for us to come to a reasoned understanding of how we got so deeply enmeshed in the Persian Gulf and how it is that we end up bas…
(2021-07-01). America's Nearly $1.3 Trillion National Security Budget Isn't Making Us Any Safer. counterpunch.org President Biden's first Pentagon budget, released late last month, is staggering by any reasonable standard. At more than $750 billion for the Defense Department and related work on nuclear weapons at the Department of Energy, it represents one of the highest levels of spending since World War II — far higher than the peaks of
(2021-07-01). The Case for Negotiating With Adversaries. counterpunch.org The mainstream media has been largely critical and pessimistic regarding the Biden administration's opening of negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Meanwhile, there has been little comment on the fact that, over the past two decades, it has been Putin who has been the demandeur of bilateral talks. Putin has raised very specific issues that were in the interests of both Russia and the United States. Throughout this period, which has been marked by the relative silence of three U.S. administrations (e.g., Bush, Obama, Trump), Washington has made no specific offers and has been reluctant to engage Put…
(2021-07-01). United Nations votes to condemn the blockade of Cuba for the 29th time. liberationnews.org 
This article was originally published by the Cuba and Venezuela Solidarity Committee The Democratic platform in 2020 pledged to "move swiftly to reverse Trump Administration policies that have undermined U.S. national interests and harmed the Cuban people and their families in the United States, including its efforts to curtail travel and remittances." Not only hasn't …
(2021-07-01). 200+ Groups to Democrats: $6 Trillion 'Should Be the Floor' for Climate and Infrastructure Bill. commondreams.org "An indictment of Weisselberg would intensify the pressure for him to cooperate with prosecutors in their wide-ranging investigation of Trump."
(2021-07-01). Headlines for July 1, 2021. democracynow.org Trump Organization CFO Surrenders After Grand Jury Indictment, Bill Cosby Released from Jail After Court Overturns Sexual Assault Conviction on Technicality, Hundreds Feared Dead in Pacific Northwest in Unprecedented Heat Wave, Indigenous Groups Blockade White House Urging End to Fossil Fuel Projects, ExxonMobil Lobbyist Tricked into Disclosing How Firm Fights Climate Initiatives, Death Toll in Miami Beach Building Collapse Reaches 18; 145 Still Missing, Highly Contagious Delta COVID Variant Drives Cases, from Bangladesh to Russia, Brazilians Call for Bolsonaro Impeachment as COVD Death Toll Tops 500K, Iraq War &…
(2021-07-01). Bennett's Political Theater: The Decisive Israeli-Palestinian Fight Ahead. dissidentvoice.org 
Many Palestinians believe that the May 10-21 military confrontation between Israel and the Gaza Resistance, along with the simultaneous popular revolt across Palestine, was a game-changer. Israel is doing everything in its power to prove them wrong. Palestinians are justified to hold this viewpoint; after all, their minuscule military capabilities in a besieged and impoverished …
(2021-07-01). Analysis Shows How Democrats Fall for Right Wing-Orchestrated Attacks on Ilhan Omar. commondreams.org When that question remains publicly unaddressed, the context of racism and militarism continues to fester within the nation's police departments.
(2021-07-01). The Empire Strikes Back at the Left in Buffalo and Cleveland. indybay.org Corporate Democrats Crank Up Their Firepower…
(2021-07-01). "He Was Defeated": Ethiopian PM Withdraws from Tigray After Months of Civil War, as Famine Looms. democracynow.org 
The Ethiopian military has withdrawn its forces from Mekelle, the capital of the war-torn Tigray region, after the government declared a ceasefire. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed denied reports his military was defeated by Tigrayan forces, and said he had successfully pacified the city. Ahmed, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2019, launched the offensive against Tigray separatists in November. Since then, thousands have been killed, over a million civilians have been displaced, and some 350,000 people are now on the brink of famine. Alemayehu Fentaw Weldemariam, a constitutional law scholar, political theorist and con…
(2021-07-01). Young Communists take to the streets for Pride Month. peoplesworld.org 
"Communists for Queer Liberation!" and "Remember Harry Hay and Sylvia Rivera!" read the signs of young Communists as they marched down Sixth Avenue from Bryant Park to the Stonewall Inn located in the West Village this past Sunday afternoon. Over the past 20 years, the Communist Party USA and the Young Communist League have changed …
(2021-07-01). Republican governors deploy police and troops against immigrants along US-Mexico border. wsws.org Not only is the deployment an unconstitutional challenge to the federal government, but the South Dakota National Guard is being paid for by a fascist billionaire, not the state government.
(2021-07-01). Thursday 7/1: Tell Pelosi: Take Action for Palestine. indybay.org 90 7th St, San Francisco…
(2021-07-01). Supreme Court Ruling Delivers 'Dark, Dark Day for Democracy'. commondreams.org To tackle concentration in the tech sector, Congress must restrict discretion by judges and agencies that are subject to shifting political winds.
(2021-07-01). South-south solidarity to challenge vaccine inequity. peoplesdispatch.org "Since this pandemic hit, most of us in the Third World have been essentially dependent on donations of vaccines from western countries. As a result, we have been able to vaccinate very few people," explained Peter Anyang' Nyong'o, Governor of Kisumu County, Kenya in the Summit for Vaccine Internationalism organized by Progressive International (PI) from June 18-21. Nyong'o added, "We need to find a way of working together across developing countries, to develop the capacity and capability of manufacturing vaccines to deal with COVID-19 and future pandemics." | The Summit held in June brought together progressive…
(2021-07-01). Nancy Pelosi Outplays Kevin McCarthy Once Again. thenation.com Nancy Pelosi Outplays Kevin McCarthy Once Again…
(2021-07-01). The Coronavirus Lab Leak Theory: Not Disproven, But Unlikely. commondreams.org "Now we got oligarchs paying for public militaries for personal and political pet projects," said Rep. Rashida Tlaib.
(2021-07-01). Only Anti-Imperialism Can Save Us From Climate Catastrophe. popularresistance.org The Green New Deal has become a popular slogan among progressive Democrats in recent years. But we need to be wary of the capitalist class co-opting the energy around climate change to maintain the imperialist global order they benefit from. | To discuss this and more, Rania Khalek is joined by Max Ajl, a post doc at Wageningen University and a researcher with the Tunisian Observatory for Food Sovereignty and, relevant to this discussion, he is the author of the new book "A People's Green New Deal" published by Pluto Press.
(2021-07-01). Only Anti-Imperialism Can Save Us From Climate Catastrophe. popularresistance.org The Green New Deal has become a popular slogan among progressive Democrats in recent years. But we need to be wary of the capitalist class co-opting the energy around climate change to maintain the imperialist global order they benefit from.
(2021-07-01). Friday 7/2: 2021 California Independence Day to Freedom. indybay.org California State Capitol — Camellia Grove – East Area of Capitol Grounds…
(2021-07-01). 172th Anniversary of towns Negro Bar, Negro Hill and Mormon Island. indybay.org Today's Negro Bar State Historic Park expansion reflects the ongoing challenge since Colton Hall, Monterey and the initial offerings by the California State Legislature including Governor Peter Burnett inaugural address to the 1849 California Legislature in San Jose, CA.
(2021-07-01). California Buffalo Soldier's Trail – National Buffalo Soldier's Study. indybay.org In California, Buffalo Soldiers protected our National Parks such as Yosemite and Sequoia serving as Park Rangers in the Sierra Nevada during the summer and were housed in the Presidio in San Francisco and Presidio in Monterey.
(2021-07-01). Monday 7/26: The Right to Vote at Age 18: Gen Z and the Fight Against Voter Suppression. indybay.org Online event (FREE)…
(2021-07-01). 'I'm Running': Progressive Democrat Charles Booker Aims to Unseat Rand Paul. commondreams.org "Climate action is literally a matter of life or death—and it can't wait any longer."
(2021-07-01). Big Oil Should Be Prosecuted for Their Crimes Against Humanity. commondreams.org "The policies Rand Paul has fought for—like tax cuts for the top 1%—did nothing to help me or the people in my community," Booker said.
(2021-07-01). After SCOTUS Upholds Arizona Limits, Congress Urged to Protect Voters and Expand Court. commondreams.org "In short, Omar 'controversies' are largely orchestrated by far-right media. Democrats make them worse."