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Steer Your Way
By Kathy Kelly
Since the election of Donald Trump as president of the United States, I've given daily thought to the more alarming aspects of Trump culture. Conversations among friends have been quite helpful, both here in the U.S. and in far- away Kabul from which I recently returned. It becomes hard to envision constructive responses to Trumpism without a steadfast focus on the larger culture which has made the policies of previous administrations seem acceptable and normal. This is part of why I was quite willing to sign the recently drafted "We Stand for Peace and Justice" statement at www.standforpeaceandjustice.or
Ring the bell that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack in everything
That's how the light gets in
Poet’s notebook: ' Where the pipe ends'
The pipe ends at Standing Rock.
That is also where
We Dream the end to oil.
The hail-mary answer to a Trump presidency: Progressives Still Have a Trump Card to Play against Trumpian Autocracy
By Dave Lindorff
The fake campaign to blame “the Russians”: Democratic Losers and their Media Backers Seek a Scapegoat for Their Own Disaster
By Dave Lindorff
A return to McCarthyism: Rather than Exposing Propaganda, Washington Post Shows How It’s Done
By Dave Lindorff
Too busy getting rich to commit war crimes?: Is Trump’s Idea To Fix the ‘Rigged System’ by Appointing Crooks Who’ve Played It?
By Dave Lindorff
Donald Trump’s cabinet choices are suggesting a governing philosophy along the lines of a corrupt municipal police force relying on gangsters to help it keep street crime held in check.
Confessions of an alleged ‘propagandist’: Slimed by the Washington Post in ‘False News’ McCarthyite Hit on Alternative Media
By Dave Lindorff
Wounded Knee III in the making?: It’s Cowboy Cops Cavalry against Peaceful Indians and their Anglo Supporters at Standing Rock
By Dave Lindorff
Trans-Atlantic Bigotry: Brexit-Trump Comparisons Miss Some Key Points
By Linn Washington, Jr.
"Political language is designed to make lies sound truthful."
Free Julian Assange!: Trump’s First Presidential Act Should Reward the Man Who Handed Him the Election
By Dave Lindorff
Of silver linings: Trump’s Presidency, the Demise of the Major Parties, and the Need for a New Progressive Movement
By Dave Lindorff
Let’s look on the bright side.
How a Company With Ties to a Dakota Access Pipeline Owner Flew Over Protests in the No Fly Zone
Photo Credit: Richard Bluecloud Casteneda | Greenpeace USA
Cross-Posted from DeSmogBlog
Lobbyist for Dakota Access Formerly Led Army's "Restore Iraqi Oil" Program
Photo Credit: C-SPAN Screenshot
Cross-Posted from DeSmogBlog
Robert Crear, one of the lobbyists working for Dakota Access pipeline co-owners Energy Transfer Partners and Sunoco Logistics, formerly served as a chief of staff and commanding general for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Dakota Access Pipeline Builder Ignored Obama Admin Request to Halt Construction
Image Credit: Vimeo Screenshot | Dr0ne2bewild
Cross-Posted from DeSmogBlog
The choice this year is easy: Why No Leftist, Progressive or Liberal Should Vote for Hillary Clinton
By Dave Lindorff
With one week to go in this year’s presidential election -- an astonishing and depressing contest in which the two least-liked and least-trusted candidates in history are the two choices put up by our two main political parties -- it’s time to look at why left and liberal people should not vote for the Democratic Party’s nominee, Hillary Clinton.
This Natural Disaster Assistance Law Is Why Other States Are Policing Dakota Access Pipeline Protests
Cross-Posted from DeSmogBlog
Almost exactly 20 years ago, President Bill Clinton signed into law a bill creating an interstate agreement for emergency management. That inconspicuous law has opened the door for the current flood of out-of-state law enforcement agents present at the continuing protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) in North Dakota.
Security Firm Running Dakota Pipeline Intelligence Tied to U.S. Military Work in Iraq, Afghanistan
Cross-Posted from DeSmogBlog
TigerSwan is one of several security firms under investigation for its work guarding the Dakota Access pipeline in North Dakota while potentially without a permit. Besides this recent work on the Standing Rock Sioux protests in North Dakota, this company has offices in Iraq and Afghanistan and is run by a special forces Army veteran.
Lost drug war: Pot Decriminalization Yields $9-million in Savings for Philadelphia
By Linn Washington, Jr.
A vivid example of value from decriminalization of possessing small amounts of marijuana occurred at the Philadelphia airport recently, a few days after the release of a report from two prominent organizations that called for the national decriminalization of personal use/possession of marijuana and other illicit drugs.
Social Security checks to rise just 0.3% in 2017: Screwing With and Screwing the Elderly and Disabled
By Dave Lindorff
Abusing the abused: Philly Police Abuse Case Typifies All-Too-Common Misconduct by US Prosecutors
By Linn Washington, Jr.
The Guy Who Went Viral from Presidential Debate Works for Coal Company Opposed to Climate Regulations
Cross-Posted from DeSmogBlog
After Kenneth Bone asked a question about energy to presidential nominees Donald Trump and Secretary Hillary Clinton at the presidential town hall debate on October 9, he quickly became a viral internet sensation.
That evening at Washington University in St. Louis, Bone asked, "What step will your energy policy take to meet our energy needs while at the same time remaining environmentally friendly and minimizing job loss for fossil power plant workers?"
Sex, lies, videotape...and hacked emails: Debate #2 Lost by Hillary Clinton on Points
By Dave Lindorff
Koch Industries and Fracking Lobbyist Mike Catanzaro To Lead Trump Energy Team
Cross-Posted from DeSmogBlog
The Washington Post has reported that Mike Catanzaro, a former senior energy staffer for Republican Party House Majority Leader John Boehner with a track record of climate change denial, will lead Republican Party presidential candidate Donald Trump's energy transition team.
We got 8 years of change, but not much hope: President Barack Obama’s Crappy Legacy
By Dave Lindorff
Barack Obama came into the White House on a wave of passionate new voters, many of them black or young and white, becoming the nation's first black president and promising a new era of "hope and change."
Trump Economic Adviser "Pushing" for Climate Denier, Fracking Promoter to Head EPA
Photo Credit: Heritage Foundation | YouTube Screenshot
Cross-Posted from DeSmogBlog
Before Presidential Debate, Obama Admin Weakened Endangered Species Act Under Oil Industry Pressure
Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons
Cross-Posted from DeSmogBlog
As eyes turned to the most viewed presidential debate in U.S. history, the Obama administration meanwhile quietly auctioned off thousands of acres of land for oil and gas drilling in national forests, opened up 119 million acres for offshore drilling leases in the Gulf of Mexico, and delivered a blow to the Endangered Species Act.