by People's Action | Jan 16, 2018 | Breakfast
Government Shutdown Four Days Away Clock ticking toward shutdown. CNN: "With just four days until a spending deadline, the government could be heading for a shutdown on the one-year anniversary of Donald Trump's presidency. It's long been thought that the key to...
by Alan Jenkins | Jan 16, 2018 | Blog
The President of the United States is a white supremacist. He is not just a defender or apologist for bigots and hatemongers. He is one of them, and no one who’s been paying attention can be shocked to learn this. What’s more, when the President of the United States...
by Miles Mogulescu | Jan 16, 2018 | Blog
So the Donald wishes more Norwegians would emigrate to America, instead of people from supposed “sh*thole” countries in Africa, the Caribbean, and Central America. I happen to have spent two weeks visiting beautiful, democratic socialist Norway last summer. And I’ve...
by People's Action | Jan 15, 2018 | Breakfast
Immigration Talks Founder After Trump's Racist Blurt Hopes dim for DACA deal as lawmakers battle over Trump’s immigration remarks. NYT: "After three days of denunciations from around the world, President Trump declared that he is 'not a racist' on Sunday, even as the...
by Richard Eskow | Jan 15, 2018 | Blog
This Monday, the nation celebrates Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. If he hadn’t been murdered, he would be 89 years old. How would Dr. King view today’s activists? Would he join them to walk picket lines for a higher minimum wage, or take a knee as the national anthem is...
by People's Action | Jan 12, 2018 | Breakfast
Trump's Racist Outburst Threatens DACA Deal Immigration Talks Muddled Amid Trump’s Vulgar Comments. WSJ: "President Donald Trump questioned why the U.S. would admit people from 'shithole countries' Thursday, roiling discussions over a bipartisan Senate deal to protect...
by Jeff Bryant | Jan 12, 2018 | Blog
Two news stories that recently went viral tell an important story about America today and the nation's misbegotten values. The first image comes from Baltimore, Maryland, where students and teachers recently had to wear coats, gloves, and blankets in classrooms...
by Leo Gerard | Jan 12, 2018 | Blog
Fat Tuesday is Mardi Gras, a day of revelry, gluttony, intoxication and showers of shiny plastic beads. It is the party to end all parties because it’s followed by Ash Wednesday, when Lenten sacrifices commence. Fat Cat Tuesday is the day – Jan. 2, 2018 – on which the...
by Stanley Fritz, Jess Wisneski | Jan 11, 2018 | Blog
New Yorkers face grave threats as Trump and GOP lawmakers try to punish states that don’t endorse their divisive agenda. But there is a way we can survive this current crisis, and emerge stronger as a state and a country, if we stand together. Here’s how we can...
by People's Action | Jan 11, 2018 | Breakfast
New York Sues Big Oil Over Climate Change Big Apple sues big oil over climate change. Bloomberg: "New York City’s effort to hold oil and gas producers responsible for costs related to the environmental effects of their products faces an uphill battle as it tries to...
by Richard Eskow | Jan 11, 2018 | Blog
Remember all those pictures of smiling Iraqi citizens proudly holding up their blue, ink-stained fingers when they voted for the first time after the fall of Saddam Hussein? The Republicans - and far too many Democrats - who had supported the U.S. invasion of Iraq...
by Mark Trahant | Jan 10, 2018 | Blog
What qualifications are needed to manage (and possibly reform?) the Indian health system? It’s Indian Country’s largest employer with more than 15,000 on the payroll and many, many more people who work in health care for tribes, non-profits and other related agencies....
by People's Action | Jan 10, 2018 | Breakfast
North Carolina Gerrymander Ruled Unconstitutional North Carolina Congressional Map Ruled Unconstitutionally Gerrymandered. NYT: "A panel of federal judges struck down North Carolina’s congressional map on Tuesday, condemning it as unconstitutional because Republicans...
by Robert Borosage | Jan 10, 2018 | Blog
As he marks the end of his first year in office, Donald Trump, the self-proclaimed “very stable genius,” stands astride the political world like a cartoon dybbuk, an orange menace of terrifying impulsiveness. With his tweet-spasms spewing venom on adversaries, his...
by People's Action | Jan 9, 2018 | Breakfast
Negotiations On DACA Fix Turn Into Standoff Political agenda keeps Trump and Congress apart on a fix for immigrant 'Dreamers'"President Trump will convene a bipartisan group of lawmakers Tuesday to discuss immigration at the White House, but leaders remain far apart...
by Harvey J Kaye | Jan 9, 2018 | Blog
We who will oppose tyranny in all its guises this year don’t yet have our own Thomas Paine, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Frederick Douglass, Abraham Lincoln, Franklin Roosevelt, Eleanor Roosevelt, or Martin Luther King, Jr. - but we do have their words. Keep them close. ...
by Jeff Bryant | Jan 9, 2018 | Blog
The big surprise at the end of 2017 is that U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos has been arguably worse for higher education than she has been for K-12, which is not what most experts predicted when she took the job. While protestors have dogged DeVos across the...
by People's Action | Jan 8, 2018 | Breakfast
Government Shutdown Looms Spending crisis looms as Dems and GOP tussle on priorities. Bloomberg: "Republicans and Democrats in Congress are once again far apart on a government spending bill with just days to go before a partial shutdown. The next deadline is Jan. 19,...
by Richard Eskow | Jan 8, 2018 | Blog
The new year had barely started when the world got new grist for the 'Trump-is-crazy' mill, one of the few American industries to experience a boom since Trump became president. Michael Wolff's profile of the current White House, "Fire and Fury," is filled with...
by Sam Pizzigati | Jan 7, 2018 | Blog
Apologists for the many millions in compensation that America’s largest corporations regularly dole out to their top executives have essentially one basic, all-purpose go-to defense. America’s corporate giants, this defense contends, are just paying the going “market...
by People's Action | Dec 22, 2017 | Breakfast
Congress Punts Big Fights To January Congress passes stopgap bill to avoid government shutdown. NYT: "Congress gave final approval on Thursday to legislation to keep the government funded into January, averting a government shutdown this weekend but kicking fights...
by Leo Gerard | Dec 22, 2017 | Blog
Republicans promised the American people a tax bill for Christmas, and this week they delivered. It’s definitely a bill for working people and the poor because by 2025, they’ll pay more. For them, poverty is the new black. By contrast, Congress bestowed 83 percent of...
by People's Action | Dec 21, 2017 | Breakfast
Trump Poised To Sign Tax Plan We’re witnessing the wholesale looting of America. Vox: "Over the course of 2017, both in Congress and in the executive branch, we have watched the task of government devolve into the full-scale looting of America. Politicians are making...
by Jeff Bryant | Dec 20, 2017 | Blog
Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos insists her lifelong support for school vouchers and other forms of school privatization will not lead the Trump administration to "mandate" these "school choice" policies. Nonetheless, her Republican friends in Congress have just...
by People's Action | Dec 20, 2017 | Breakfast
New Tax Rules May Take Immediate Effect Confusion and chaos ahead as new tax rules take immediate effect. Politico: "The most sweeping tax code overhaul in a generation will soon head to President Donald Trump’s desk — and Republicans are enjoying a victory dance. Now...
by Richard Eskow | Dec 20, 2017 | Blog
This simple rule of thumb has rarely failed: When Democrats get confident, I get nervous. That’s true, even when Republicans inflict disaster on the country – and potentially on themselves. "This tax bill will be an anchor around the ankles of every Republican,” says...
by Sarah Jaffe | Dec 20, 2017 | Blog
More than half of all Americans oppose the GOP tax bill. Regardless, Republicans in Congress are rushing to reconcile and vote on the legislation this week. The bill is packed with billions of dollars of tax cuts for wealthy donors and corporations, and promises to...
by People's Action | Dec 19, 2017 | Breakfast
House, Senate Gird For Tax Votes Congress Poised to Approve Biggest Tax Overhaul in 30 Years. Reuters: "The Republican-controlled U.S. Congress will begin voting on Tuesday on the biggest overhaul of the U.S. tax system in more than 30 years, with little standing in...
by Isaiah J. Poole | Dec 19, 2017 | Blog
[fve]https://youtu.be/uKkI-xAWFhE[/fve]The Economic Policy Institute produced this video to celebrate the career of outgoing President Lawrence Mishel. It was presented at a party in his honor December 13 at the Service Employees International Union offices. Lawrence...
by Jeff Bryant | Dec 19, 2017 | Blog
It now looks like the Trump administration's repeal of Obama-era guidelines allowing transgender students to use the school bathroom of their preference was just the beginning of a long list of regulatory reversals including efforts to ensure school discipline...
by People's Action | Dec 18, 2017 | Breakfast
GOP Scrambles To Pass Tax Cuts, Avoid Shutdown GOP faces 5-day scramble to pass tax bill, avoid government shutdown. WaPo: "Republicans return to Congress on Monday facing a packed agenda with little time to enact it, as party leaders aim to quickly pass their massive...
by People's Action | Dec 15, 2017 | Breakfast
GOP Scrambles To Line Up Votes For Tax Bill Rubio says he will vote no on Republican tax bill without changes, other GOP senators voice concern. ThinkProgress: "One of Congress’ most spineless senators has thrown a wrench in the Republican Party’s plan to overhaul the...
by Sam Pizzigati | Dec 15, 2017 | Blog
Did you ever bargain with an auto dealer over the price of a car? Most of us have, at one time or another, so we know how this drill works. The car has a sticker price. We want a lower price, so we make an offer. Sometimes the dealer doesn’t budge. More typically,...
by Jeff Bryant | Dec 15, 2017 | Blog
A controversial rewrite of the Higher Education Act that just passed out of committee in the House of Representatives in a strict party-line vote will likely reboot floundering for-profit colleges and revive the scandals associated with this industry should it clear...
by People's Action | Dec 14, 2017 | Breakfast
GOP Sprints To Enact Tax Cuts Republican tax bill in final sprint across finish line. NYT: "The day after suffering a political blow in the Alabama special Senate election, congressional Republicans sped forward with the most sweeping tax rewrite in decades,...
by Richard Eskow | Dec 14, 2017 | Blog
Before he became one of the great basketball players of his time, Charles Barkley was a son of the Alabama soil. He went home to help Doug Jones pull off his upset victory against Roy Moore in this week's special Senate election. Here's what he had to say on CNN...
by People's Action | Dec 13, 2017 | Breakfast
Black Vote Elects Jones In Alabama African American voters made Doug Jones a U.S. Senator in Alabama. The Atlantic: "Election day defied the narrative and challenged traditional thinking about racial turnout in off-year elections and special elections. Precincts in...
by Isaiah J. Poole | Dec 13, 2017 | Blog
Democrat Doug Jones won his bid for a U.S. Senate seat in Alabama Tuesday night against Republican Roy Moore in one of the most closely watched elections of the year. But the real winners of this election are the thousands of voters who came together into a movement...
by Miles Mogulescu | Dec 13, 2017 | Blog
“Deep in my heart, I do believe, that we shall overcome some day.” Songs were integral to the civil rights movement. And no song was as iconic as “We Shall Overcome.” It inspired a generation of civil rights warriors, was sung at rallies, churches, marches, concerts,...
by People's Action | Dec 12, 2017 | Breakfast
GOP Hammers Out Tax Plan Amid the rush to finish GOP tax bill, a sudden slowdown for second thoughts. LA Times: "The rush to finish the GOP tax overhaul has hit a snag as Republicans grapple with substantial differences between the House and Senate bills, and pause to...
