|
Girl Scouts Obtain Restraining Order Against Trump |
 |
|
Written by <a href="index.php?option=com_comprofiler&task=userProfile&user=9160"><span class="small">Andy Borowitz, The New Yorker</span></a>
|
|
Tuesday, 25 July 2017 13:58 |
|
Borowitz writes: "In an extraordinary rebuke of the
President of the United States, the Girl Scouts of the U.S.A. have
obtained a restraining order against Donald J. Trump."
Donald Trump. (photo: Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images)
Girl Scouts Obtain Restraining Order Against Trump
By Andy Borowitz, The New Yorker
25 July 17
 The article below is satire. Andy Borowitz is an American comedian and
New York Times-bestselling author who satirizes the news for his column,
"The Borowitz Report." 
 n an extraordinary rebuke of the President of the United States, the Girl Scouts of the U.S.A. have obtained a restraining order against Donald J. Trump.
The order, which the Girls Scouts were granted on Monday night, prevents Trump from coming within three hundred feet of any gathering of the Scouts’ organization.
Carol Foyler, a Girl Scouts spokesperson, said that while the G.S.U.S.A. sought the restraining order “out of an abundance of caution,” the girls themselves were “in no way, shape or form” afraid of President Trump.
“They’re prepared to deal with bobcats and bears,” she said. “They can handle a malignant narcissist.”
Trump wasted little time responding to the Girl Scouts’ action, lashing out at the organization in a blistering early-morning tweet storm.
“Failing Girl Scouts bad (or sick) guys,” Trump wrote. “Mints, cookies terrible. Sad!”
 |
|
It Costs $55,000 a Year to Keep Me Alive, so Trumpcare Scares Me to Death |
|
|
Tuesday, 25 July 2017 13:50 |
|
Millhiser writes: "Every other Saturday morning, I
inject $2,269.61 worth of pharmaceuticals into my leg. If I don't do so,
my immune system will slowly eat holes in my small intestine.
Eventually, it will start leaking digestive fluid into my abdominal
cavity until I literally devour myself from the inside."
House Republicans celebrate at the White House after
voting to take health coverage away from 23 million people. (photo: Evan Vucci/AP)
It Costs $55,000 a Year to Keep Me Alive, so Trumpcare
Scares Me to Death
By Ian Millhiser, ThinkProgress
25 July 17
 very other Saturday morning, I inject $2,269.61 worth of pharmaceuticals into my leg. If I don’t do so, my immune system will slowly eat holes in my small intestine. Eventually, it will start leaking digestive fluid into my abdominal cavity until I literally devour myself from the inside.
I’ve experienced an intestinal rupture before, and can assure you that the pain is unimaginable. Unless you’ve laid on a gurney screaming for morphine before, there’s nothing I can say to convey what it is like. I wouldn’t wish that pain on history’s worst tyrants. I wouldn’t wish it on Mitch McConnell.
I tell this story because the Senate is poised to vote on a bill that will plunge thousands of people similar to me into economic ruin. Many of us will not survive if Trumpcare becomes law. Unable to even afford opiates to ease the pain, some of us could die excruciating deaths.
The drug that keeps me from this fate is called Humira, and it is one of capitalism’s great miracles. AbbVie, the company that makes Humira, sold $12.5 billion worth of the stuff in 2014, more than any other drug in on the market today. A box of two 40 mg Humira shots costs $4,539.21.
To me, it’s worth every penny. So long as I can afford it, it keeps my medical condition almost entirely at bay. I eat what I want, probably drink too much, and travel freely. I have a black belt in Shaolin kempo and an absolutely enormous German shepherd who loves to wrestle with me. If you met me, you’d have no idea that I have a potentially life-threatening condition.
Fortunately, I don’t have to pay anywhere near $4,500 for my Humira shots, as I’ve got great insurance that covers nearly all of that cost. So long as I keep this job, my insurer will pay to keep me alive.
And even if my bosses do decide that they are sick of seeing my face around the office, I’m probably going to be fine. I’ve got a law license, and I’ve got enough savings that I’ll be able to keep my health insurance for a little while thanks to a federal law known as COBRA.
But I can’t help be aware that not everyone is quite as fortunate.
A few years before Obamacare became law, a Harvard study determined that nearly 45,000 American adults died in a single year because they did not have health insurance. Many of them had conditions much like mine, which require expensive, lifelong treatments. I will probably live even if the Affordable Care Act is repealed and replaced with something like the previous versions of Trumpcare. Tens of thousands of others will not be as fortunate.
And, somewhat selfishly, I can’t ignore the very clear message the Senate will send to me if it approves Trumpcare. The bottom line is that, if push came to shove and my life depended on my ability to secure a health plan on an Obamacare exchange, the president and the lawmakers who lead both houses of Congress would rather spend that money on a tax cut for Donald Trump.
There is something quite clarifying when your government tells you that it no longer cares if you live or die. And make no mistake, that’s what Mitch McConnell wants the Senate to tell thousands of Americans today.
|
|
|
FOCUS: Sessions Prosecutes Laughter, We Have to Take to the Streets |
|
|
Written by <a href="index.php?option=com_comprofiler&task=userProfile&user=36478"><span class="small">John Kiriakou, Reader Supported News</span></a>
|
|
Tuesday, 25 July 2017 12:05 |
|
Kiriakou writes: "Several friends of mine were arrested recently and convicted of federal crimes. Two were sentenced, and a retrial was ordered for the other one. Their crimes? One laughed during Attorney General Jeff Sessions's confirmation hearing during a peaceful protest against the nominee. The others defended her. Seriously."
Jeff Sessions. (photo: AP)
Sessions Prosecutes Laughter, We Have to Take to the Streets
By John Kiriakou, Reader Supported News
25 July 17
 everal friends of mine were arrested recently and convicted of federal crimes. Two were sentenced, and a retrial was ordered for the other one. Their crimes? One laughed during Attorney General Jeff Sessions’s confirmation hearing during a peaceful protest against the nominee. The others defended her. Seriously.
Desiree Fairooz, Lenny Bianchi, and Tighe Barry, all members of Code Pink, attended the hearing in January 2017. At one point, Senator Richard Shelby, a Republican from Sessions’s home state of Alabama, said that Sessions’s record of “treating all Americans equally under the law is clear and well-documented.” Fairooz giggled at the absurdity. She said later that it was “spontaneous. It was an immediate rejection of what I considered an outright lie or pure ignorance.” Fairooz went on to say that when a Capitol Police officer approached her, she expected to be warned. Instead, she was taken into custody. Bianchi and Barry were arrested for wearing Ku Klux Klan outfits and for defending Fairooz.
The government, of course, said that Fairooz “let out a loud burst of laughter, followed by a second louder burst of laughter.” The police, the government added, “then tried to quietly escort Ms. Fairooz from the room, but she grew loud and more disruptive, eventually halting the confirmation hearing.” That was nonsense. An eyewitness seated near Fairooz told The New York Times that Fairooz’s laugh was little more than a “reflexive gasp” that was no louder than a cough. “I would barely call it a laugh,” she said.
Still, the Trump administration, in the form of the Sessions Justice Department, ordered that the three be brought to trial in federal court in Washington, DC, and in May they were found guilty of federal crimes, including disorderly conduct and “parading or demonstrating on Capitol grounds.” Both are misdemeanors, but the punishment could have been up to two years in prison, as well as fines and probation.
In the end, Fairooz’s conviction was thrown out, while Bianchi and Barry received suspended sentences. The Justice Department, though, ordered that Fairooz be retried. Amazingly, nobody at the DoJ has yet felt compelled to explain to the American people why their tax money is being spent to prosecute people for giggling and for exercising their right to protest peaceably.
But this is the Department of Justice under Sessions. Sessions is ordering his minions to pursue these inconsequential cases. Worse, he’s backtracked on sentencing reform and mandatory minimums, on prosecuting undocumented workers, and on expanding the use of private prisons. The dismantling of Obama-era judicial reforms is well underway.
The future may seem dark, but there are several things that we can do, even if the road will be rough. First, and I know I sound like a broken record here, we must demand accountability from our elected officials. As a veteran of Capitol Hill, I can tell you that members of the House and Senate really do react to constituent emails and letters, and they’re easily influenced on issues on which they don’t have strongly-held feelings.
Second, we have to take to the streets. Mass action attracts the attention of the media, word spreads quickly on social media, and the next thing you know, you have an honest-to-God movement on your hands. Get out there and demonstrate.
Third, and this is tough, but we need to jam the courts. Get arrested. Plead not guilty. Go to trial. Most charges coming out of civil disobedience are misdemeanors. There is rarely any jail time. When the courts are overwhelmed, the authorities often back down and change policy. It has happened in the past and it can happen again. And I can tell you from first-hand experience that jail and prison aren’t as bad as you may think they are. (Indeed, I know an 85-year-old member of Code Pink who has been arrested some 185 times for her activism. She has never spent more than one night in jail, and she has never been charged with a felony.)
Finally, it may be prudent to focus on change at the state and local level. I can’t imagine Sessions changing his mind on any of these issues out of the goodness of his heart. But real change can be effected further down on the food chain. We can change policy through a thousand cuts. A win is a win. As the great folksinger and activist Pete Seeger used to say, “Take it easy, but take it.”
John Kiriakou is a former CIA counterterrorism officer and a former senior investigator with the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. John became the sixth whistleblower indicted by the Obama administration under the Espionage Act – a law designed to punish spies. He served 23 months in prison as a result of his attempts to oppose the Bush administration's torture program.
Reader Supported News is the Publication of Origin for this work. Permission to republish is freely granted with credit and a link back to Reader Supported News.
|
|
FOCUS: Progressives Turning Up the Heat on House Democrats |
|
|
Tuesday, 25 July 2017 11:06 |
|
Galindez writes: "The 'Summer of Progress' campaign launched by many progressives is so important. It's time to create a platform that defines the Democratic Party as the people's party again."
Activists at the Iowa CCI annual convention. (photo: Brian Powers/The Des Moines Register)
Progressives Turning Up the Heat on House Democrats
By Scott Galindez, Reader Supported News
25 July 17
can already hear some of my establishment Democrat friends saying that the People’s Platform being pushed by progressive groups is unachievable. Of course in this Congress they are right. So, what if the Democrats were to push an agenda that is achievable in this Congress? What would that look like? It would be a blank piece of paper, since the GOP Congress will not let the Democratic Party get credit for any legislation, even if it fits in with their right-wing agenda.
That is why the “Summer of Progress” campaign launched by many progressives is so important. It’s time to create a platform that defines the Democratic Party as the people’s party again. Of course Improved Medicare for All will not even get a vote in Paul Ryan’s house, but it’s time for all Democrats to co-sponsor the bill, and those who don’t should prepare for a primary next year.
The People’s Platform is about more than healthcare. At https://summerforprogress.com/ you will find bills that progressive organizations are demanding House Democrats sign onto as co-sponsors. Those bills are:
- Medicare for All: H.R. 676 – Medicare For All Act
- Free College Tuition: H.R. 1880 – College for All Act of 2017
- Worker Rights: H.R.15 – Raise the Wage Act
- Women’s Rights: H.R.771 – Equal Access to Abortion Coverage in Health Insurance (EACH Woman) Act of 2017
- Voting Rights: H.R. 2840 – Automatic Voter Registration Act
- Environmental Justice: Climate Change Bill – Renewable Energy
- Criminal Justice and Immigrant Rights: H.R.3543 – Justice Is Not for Sale Act of 2017
- Taxing Wall Street: H.R. 1144 – Inclusive Prosperity Act
It is a bold agenda. It has to be, to breathe new life into the Democratic Party. My establishment Democratic friends will say that Hillary got 3 million more votes than Trump. They are right, but it was also nearly 4 million votes less than Barack Obama received in 2008 and less than Obama got in 2012.
Last summer Democrats passed the most progressive platform in its history. This summer it is time to bring that platform to life and make it mean something.
The groups that have signed onto this campaign are: Our Revolution, Democratic Socialists of America, Democracy for America, Progressive Democrats of America, #AllofUs, Common Defense, National Nurses United, Working Families Party, Millennials for Revolution, Women’s March, Labor for Our Revolution, People for Bernie, Good Jobs Nation, Young Progressives Demanding Action, Healthcare Now, Brand New Congress, Justice Democrats, Food & Water Action, and Fight for 15.
Today, the groups will deliver over 100,000 signatures in support of the People’s Platform to the Democratic National Committee after a Capitol Hill press conference that will include progressive members of Congress.
Throughout the rest of the summer, the coalition will hold actions and lobby members of Congress to take positions on the eight bills, culminating in a scorecard that will show which members of Congress support the People’s Platform and which members might just need a primary challenge in 2018 and beyond.
The statement on the campaign’s website reads:
Resisting the Trump administration and Republican Congressional agenda is only part of how we can move our country forward. Now is the time for Democrats to campaign on a bold agenda and fight to create an America that works for everyone. If Democrats want to win in 2018 and take our country back from the billionaire class and Republicans, they need to start by supporting legislation that speaks to the real concerns facing the American people. We’re fighting for a Congress that will put people before profits to create an America where everyone, regardless of the age, race, gender or economic status has access to health care, free college tuition, a livable planet, and a job that pays a living wage.
The Democratic Party Platform makes it clear that Democrats must fight for these issues as a party. We’re asking all House Democrats to commit to supporting our #People’s Platform bills by signing on as a co-sponsor when Congress comes back in session in September.
It is a tall order, but a necessary step in returning the Democratic Party to the people. The goal is to one day be able to say again that the Democratic Party puts people before profit.
Scott Galindez attended Syracuse University, where he first became politically active. The writings of El Salvador's slain archbishop Oscar Romero and the on-campus South Africa divestment movement converted him from a Reagan supporter to an activist for Peace and Justice. Over the years he has been influenced by the likes of Philip Berrigan, William Thomas, Mitch Snyder, Don White, Lisa Fithian, and Paul Wellstone. Scott met Marc Ash while organizing counterinaugural events after George W. Bush's first stolen election. Scott moved to Des Moines in 2015 to cover the Iowa Caucus.
Reader Supported News is the Publication of Origin for this work. Permission to republish is freely granted with credit and a link back to Reader Supported News.
|
|
