Old Fucking Punk @lwriemen@librem.one

This Google news thing that is built into my phone os recommends stories from Fox News, Ben Shapiro, NY post, and the like every single day, but I never see anything like Democracy Now, Jacobin, or Current Affairs on there. What a strange coincidence

“Chain of Command,” by Ted Rall

I’ve just posted two new chapters to my serialized political thriller novel. Merry Xmas! 

Salvation Army is a homophobic religious paramilitary.

Goodwill is a secular charity.

Neither one will absolve you of your moral responsibility to overthrow capitalism

Come on Down!

Our empire is declining faster than ever - everything must go!

Would You Like to Know More?

Join the Space Force today! Service guarantees citizenship!

Merry Trump-mas

A special holiday message from the President.

Our 15 Most Read Stories of the Year

With the Trump administration under increasing fire, and a Democratic presidential primary heating up, In These Times has spent 2019 covering the stories that matter—and that the corporate media would rather avoid. From militant labor campaigns to the growing threat of climate change, immigrant detention, Trump’s dangerous foreign policy and the need to tax the hell out of the rich, our most popular stories ran the gamut of the year’s manifold news developments.  

As the U.S. Left continues to grow in influence ahead of a critical election year, we promise to keep publishing the same type of critical news, analysis and investigations throughout 2020. In the meantime, take a dive through these highlights from 2019. Happy new year!

 

MSNBC Is the Most Influential Network Among Liberals—And It’s Ignoring Bernie Sanders

When the network’s primetime pundits do cover Sanders, they cover him more negatively than Elizabeth Warren and Joe Biden.

By Branko Marcetic

 

Black Women, Let Your Anger Out

Chronic stress is killing us. We can’t keep repressing our rage.

By Joshunda Sanders

 

Below the Surface of ICE: The Corporations Profiting From Immigrant Detention

Activists are targeting the companies that make ICE run.

By David Dayen

 

When It Comes to U.S. Militarism, Elizabeth Warren Is No Progressive

There’s one important issue on which Warren has not veered far from the Democratic establishment.

By Sarah Lazare

 

American Airlines Mechanics Are Threatening the “Bloodiest, Ugliest Battle” in Labor History

While the airline industry was expected to generate net profits of $35.5 billion in 2019, workers demand better pay, benefits and job security.

By Michael Arria

 

I Went to a Climate Change Denial Conference. It Made Even Less Sense Than You’d Think.

Panelists at the Heartland Institute’s Thursday gathering agree you should stop worrying about climate change. They just can’t agree on why.

By Christine MacDonald

 

McKinsey and Company Is an Elitist Cult. Why Is Buttigieg Defending It?

The management consultancy firm is “the single greatest legitimizer of mass layoffs.” And its alumni are loyal for life.

By Nathan Robinson

 

Kamala Harris’ Disturbing Brand of Criminal Justice Reform

Her version of “progressive” law enforcement leaves mass incarceration intact.

By Marie Gottschalk

 

We Must Stop War with Iran Before It’s Too Late

Led by John Bolton, the Trump administration is pursuing catastrophe to protect U.S. dominance.

By Noam Chomsky

 

How Capitalism Turned Women Into Witches

Sylvia Federici’s new book explains how violence against women was a necessary precondition for capitalism.

By Sady Doyle

 

Why I’m Voting No on UAW’s Deal With GM: A “Third-Tier” Worker Speaks

A UAW member speaks out against the union’s controversial deal with General Motors, saying “I think it’s an insult.”

By Mindy Isser

 

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s 70% Tax Proposal Is a Great Start—But We Need to Abolish the Ultra-Rich

To combat inequality and oligarchy, we need to tax the accumulated wealth of the billionaire class, not just income.

By Mark Engler and Andrew Elrod

 

Bernie Sanders Calls To Seize the Means of Electricity Production

The presidential candidate’s new climate plan includes moving toward 100% public ownership of power.

By Johanna Bozuwa

 

Biden Says He’s the Workers’ Candidate, But He Has Worked To Cut Medicare and Social Security

The universal retirement programs are Biden’s go-to sacrificial lambs.

By Branko Marcetic

 

Naomi Klein on Climate Chaos: “I Don’t Think Baby Boomers Did This. I Think Capitalism Did.”

The author and activist weighs in on the presidential race, youth movements and the Right’s response to climate change.

By Will Meyer

Unprecedented and worrying rise in sea levels

A new study has discovered new evidence of sea-level variability in the central Indian Ocean.

Impeachment Trial Could Give Biden and Buttigieg a Leg Up On Sanders and Warren

Well, it’s finally happening. The House of Representatives voted 230-197 to charge President Trump with abuse of power over his communications with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and 229-198 to charge him with obstructing Congress by ignoring subpoenas for documents and testimony from other executive branch agencies.

This means that an impeachment trial will be held by the Senate. Because Speaker Nancy Pelosi has delayed delivering articles of impeachment to the Senate, questioning whether the GOP will hold a fair trial, it seems likeliest that a trial will happen in January.

Some on the Left have debatedwhether impeachment is a distraction from more pressing political issues. Others have criticized the Democrats’ handling of a matter: In a Tweet, Jamelle Bouie, an opinion writer for The New York Times, referred to the timing of the impeachment during the primaries and the narrow focus on Ukraine as “absolute political malpractice.”

What’s sure is that a Senate trial will be a major problem for the five sitting Senators running for the Democratic nomination for president, including Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. Senators’ schedules would be occupied—possibly for six days a week—just as the presidential primaries take off.

The senators are not required to be present at the trial, but given that the Senate is majority Republican, Democratic senators will likely feel an obligation to attend. In response to the release of the articles of impeachment on December 10, Sanders issued a statement denouncing Trump as “the most corrupt president in history” and pledging to “uphold [his] constitutional responsibility as a juror.”

Sanders and Warren have been on the march around the country, holding town halls, rallies and other campaign events. Sanders has appeared in 102 events in Iowa alone between Jan. 1, 2019 and Dec. 19, 2019, while Warren appeared in 77 events in Iowa during that period. A Senate impeachment trial, expected to start in January and possibly extend into February, would put a near-halt to that travel.  With Iowa’s caucus February 3 and New Hampshire’s primary soon after, this could prove advantageous to the campaigns of the other two frontrunners, former Vice President Joe Biden and Mayor Pete Buttigieg. In Politico, journalist Marc Caputo quotes a Biden campaign advisor who says that if Sanders and Warren have to be in Washington for impeachment hearings “while we’re in Dubuque[, Iowa], that’s their problem.”

But it appears the candidates have some workarounds in mind. Sean Bagniewski, chairman of the Polk County Democratic Party in Iowa, told Politico that candidates do not have to remain on the campaign trail every day to remain relevant. He argues that if Warren and Sanders could make their way to the living rooms of Iowans through TV coverage of impeachment, it would be a net positive for their campaigns.

The Sanders and Warren campaigns, as well as the organizations that have endorsed them, are beginning to develop plans themselves.

Even if Sanders stops his campaign travels, his supporters will still be on the road. According to the Washington Post, Sanders campaign advisers hope that Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) could stand in for Senator Sanders’ visits to Iowa. She already made waves in Iowa campaigning for Sanders in November.

Jack Reardon of the Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement Action Fund (Iowa CCI Action Fund), which recently endorsed Sanders, believes his grassroots support can keep the campaign alive.

“His campaigning has knocked on the most doors in Iowa and made the most calls,” says Reardon, “[Bernie] believes in the power of movement politics and organizing everyday to make that change.”

The Warren campaign is also planning for impeachment hearings. In an interview with the Washington Post, Warren communications director Kristen Orthman suggested several options the campaign could take, including “travel by Warren’s husband, Bruce Mann, and remote appearances by Warren.”

Reardon emphasizes that regardless of the timing of the hearings, the Democratic nominating contests will be decided by turnout. “Get out there and organize!” he tells Sanders supporters. “Change happens from the bottom up. The only way the people’s candidate wins on caucus night is when people get out there and organize their family, friends and neighbors and build a people/planet first movement.”

Starship Trumpers

The Senate gave Trump his Space Force. A truly great use of the budget!

Fashion Victim

RIP to Ben Passmore, never got it quite right.

Nothing To Be Done

There are problems, sure. But what’s the US to do, fix them?

Joe Biden Promises to Die in His First Term

Confronting concerns that he may be too old, Joe Biden is privately floating the promise that he would only be a one-term president if elected and would not present himself for reelection. But that doesn’t seem to be working. Maybe it’s time for him to step up his game.

"Christmas, time of contemplativeness and calm"

Fuck me if this isn't the most stressful time of the entire year.

@CarlMuckenhoupt
tbh "if we changed X then who would do Y" is a rly strange way of phrasing "we currently force people to do Y against their will AND this is actually preferable to like, not doing that"

i just
wonder how people have these types of opinions sometimes

Q: If we instituted Universal Basic Income, who would clean the toilets?

A: Highly paid professionals.

Q: How highly paid?

A: The market will decide, but you can get an upper bound by thinking of how much you'd have to be paid to quit your job and switch to cleaning toilets.

Q: That's quite a lot. Wouldn't that result in a drain from other jobs?

A: It would mostly attract people strongly motivated by money. Draining the jobs mainly occupied by people like that sounds like an improvement.

A Nasty Christmas Gift from the LA Court of Appeal

The California Court of Appeal on Los Angeles has decided that I deserved a lump of coal this holiday season. You may recall that the California state Supreme Court remanded my case against the LA Times to the Court of Appeal earlier this year. That decision resulted in part from the state Supreme Court’s decision […]

Could We Have a Global Green New Deal?
https://earther.gizmodo.com/could-we-have-a-global-green-new-deal-1840535860 #climatechange #climatecrisis

In ‘Strongest’ Climate Ruling Yet, Dutch Court Orders Leaders to Take Action
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/20/climate/netherlands-climate-lawsuit.html #climatechange #climatecrisis