Face of the Republican Party, And It Ain’t Pretty
The Party of Lincoln Has Hit A New Low. How Low Can They Go? The creep known in the U.S. House of Representatives, in New York State, and now pretty much around…
Kevin McCarthy – He’s An Insult To Us All
Coward Kevin: A Reminder Kevin McCarthy Denies Intelligence Committee Seats To Eric Swalwell And Adam Schiff House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) has avenged Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) by blocking two Democrats…
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.; American
His words shine a bright light on America of today, 2023.01.16 ~~ (more…)
Same Game. Same Players. Same Playbook. Same Danger.
They Keep Trying. They Inch Closer. And Corporate Media Plays Its Role. Good Luck, American Democracy
Standing Strong
~ Citizens Honoured ~ Police officers who put their lives on the line when attacked at the U.S. Capitol by armed domestic terrorists on 6 January 2021, local election workers and state…
2023. A Song. A Truth
2023. Day 1 and Beyond (more…)
The Threat From Inside The Asylum, It’s Real
Yes, of course, we lead with the latest shit-story about that Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives, Marjorie Taylor Greene. A guest speaker at the Young Republicans gala this weekend,…
Can’t Laugh. Can’t Feel Sorry For The Guy. But, Damn!!!
Here we go again: Trump, The GOP, and Crazy Time So, as expected, Donald ‘Can I Be More Pathetic’ Trump made his announcement – he’s running again for President of The United…
Election Afterthoughts
Eisenhower. Einstein. Definitions. And Health Care Rights, Privacy Should any political party attempt to abolish social security, unemployment insurance, and eliminate labor laws and farm programs, you would not hear of…
Veterans Day 2022 – Honours
Honours ~~ I Salute All My Fellow Veterans ~~ Thank You For Your Service, To Our Nation and To The World (more…)
Democracy Can Be Messy and Ugly. Doesn’t Mean It Can’t Clean Up
America: Pass or Fail On Tuesday, 8 November, Americans will be tested: Does the Experiment continue – flawed as it might be – or will America fall in to the…
And Now A Few Words About Politics and Elections and…
... Leaders? Politics: the art of using euphemisms, lies, emotionalism and fear-mongering to dupe average people into accepting--or even demanding--their own enslavement. © Larken Rose. Voting rights are the most…
NewsGuild Finds Wide Racial and Gender Pay Gaps At Gannett Newspapers
~ Study covers more than 200 journalists at nearly a dozen unionized papers in the Northeastern region ~ The study by a coalition of six NewsGuild bargaining units – the Gannett…
His Actions A Danger To Justice and Democracy
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: OCTOBER 24, 2022 Thomas’ Actions Are An Affront to Justice and Democracy WASHINGTON, D.C.— Stand Up America Executive Director Christina Harvey issued the following statement in response to Supreme…
Indigenous Peoples Day. Reflection With Honour
The white man made us many promises, but he kept only one. He promised to take our land, and he took it. Red Cloud, Oglala Lakota, 1882. The underlying motivation…
49 Republicans and Their Un-American Activities
"There is nothing more important than ensuring our veterans and their families can enjoy a safe and healthy life after their service to our country". Rep. Mary Peltola (D-AK) ~ On Thursday,…
Flying Their True Colours
Last week 203 House Republicans voted against legislation preventing U.S. Presidents from using the Electoral Count Act to overturn the will of the People. The bill did pass 229-203: every House Democrat…
Presidential Farewell Speeches – Not All Hit The Mark
On this anniversary of the first presidential farewell speech, offered here is a small sample of hits and a miss. George Washington / 1 The unity of government which constitutes you…
Elections Have Consequences: Life, Health and Personal Choice Edition
For Immediate Release:Tuesday, September 13, 2022 NARAL Pro-Choice America PRESS RELEASE NARAL Pro-Choice America Condemns National Abortion Ban Legislation Introduced by Republican Senator Washington, DC — Today, after months of the…
Asked and Answered
In a campaign-style speech Tuesday in Pennsylvania, President Joe Biden FINALLY got serious about calling out the dangerous rhetoric coming from officials in the highest levels of government who refuse to denounce…
America Votes: It’s The Culture, Stupid!
Illumination I think it's one of things we find unattractive about the [A]merican culture, a culture which I find mostly, extremely attractive, and I like [A]mericans and I love being in…
The Stranger My Dad Met
About six months before he died in early 2016, my father told me a story about The Stranger… A few months after I was born, my Dad met a stranger who was…
Sometimes, It’s True
No Man or Woman Is Above The Law With warrant in hand, the FBI on Monday evening 'raided' former president Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence. Nobody yet knows the details of the warrant…
Wait! What? WHAT?
Much screaming lately from pundits and politicians, from economists and egoists, and from influencers and idiots, about inflation, recession, spending, saving, buying and selling. It's scary, for sure. What to do? What…
Manchin Side Deal Comes With An Unforgiving ‘Climate Bomb’
Democrats shouldn't be sacrificing communities in the path of the Mountain Valley Pipeline just to please a senator in the pocket of Big Oil. Fast-tracking fossil fuel projects and industry boondoggles…
He’s Baaack! And He’s Mad As Hell
Long-time shit-disturber Keith Olbermann is back with Countdown – as a daily podcast. Episode One: 2022.08.01 ~ Yeah, KO Is Back!
Net Neutrality and Broadband Justice. UPDATED
UPDATED: PETITION ADDED. SEE BELOW. Press Release via FreePress.net The Net Neutrality and Broadband Justice Act Would Help Protect Internet Users in the Broadband Era WASHINGTON — On Monday, the Washington Post…
To Heed Or Not To Heed: That Is The Question
Mr. President, The Answer? Media outlets of all sizes, journalists of courage and cowardice, politicians of dignity and dinginess, and pundits of all stripes have entered the debate questioning whether President Joe…
Emergency Call
Journalists in Ukraine Need Help
> Ukrainska Pravda <
~~
Those who cover the frontlines need first aid kits, medical supplies, flak jackets, helmets. Those trapped in towns and cities under fire need safe passage, relocation and humanitarian assistance.
More at International Federation of Journalists.
~~~
Journalists in Gaza need your help. Here’s how:
International Media Support (IMS), the Danish-based media development organisation, is collecting donations for:
- Food, clothes, blankets and other utilities for journalists and their families
- Safety equipment and gear for journalists, such as press vests, helmets, cell phones and cameras.
- Psychosocial support for journalists
- Ongoing support to keep as many media outlets as possible operating.
~~~
THE TRACKER
Freedom of the Press Foundation
Court says First Amendment means less free speech
[WHAAAAT ?!?!?!?]
If it sounds backward to use the First Amendment to undermine a law meant to protect free speech, that’s because it is.
Yet that’s just what a federal court of appeals did in a recent decision on Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act — the federal law that shields online services from legal liability for posts made by their users.
We explain on our website how the court’s nonsensical decision threatens online freedom of speech by journalists and everyone else.
Jobs & Events
Opportunity for Young Journalists
Rising D.C. reporters can apply for a yearlong reporting fellowship. The National Press Foundation is accepting applications for the 2025 Paul Miller Washington Reporting Fellowship.
Fellows will learn more about the White House, the Pentagon, the Supreme Court, the Capitol and other key Washington institutions. They’ll review politics and policy with regulators, lawmakers, experts and the best reporters in the business.
To apply, submit two recent work samples, a letter of support from an editor or supervisor and a brief autobiography. Application Deadline is Dec. 2
~~
Color Of Change, in partnership with the National Education Association, invites you to watch “Educating for Equity: Brown v Board of Education 70 Years Later,” a short video featuring a range of young and older thought leaders talking about the groundbreaking case and the challenges facing our public education system today. Participants discuss what we need to do to protect education moving forward.
Issues
The Reading List
Lie Machines
How to Save Democracy from Troll Armies, Deceitful Robots, Junk News Operations, and Political Operatives
by Philip N. Howard
Lie Machines is full of behind-the-scenes stories from the world’s biggest and most damagingly successful misinformation initiatives.
Howard, not only shows how these campaigns evolved from older propaganda operations but also exposes their new powers, gives us insight into their effectiveness, and explains how to shut them down. Howard is a sociologist and communication researcher who studies the impact of information technologies on democracy and social inequality. Book Here:
~~
The ReMindEr
Speakables
The New Normal? ~ The first tool of authoritarian regimes is always informational control—both in the gathering of information on the public through surveillance and the filtration of information to the public through owned media. In its early days, the Internet seemed to pose a challenge to authoritarian regimes, but with the advent of social media, we are watching the construction of architectures that fulfill the needs of every authoritarian regime: surveillance and information control. Authoritarian movements are possible only when the general public becomes habituated to—and numbed by—a new normal. Christopher Wylie.
~~
What, to the American slave, is your 4th of July? I answer: a day that reveals to him, more than all other days in the year, the gross injustice and cruelty to which he is the constant victim. To him, your celebration is a sham; your boasted liberty, an unholy license; your national greatness, swelling vanity; your sounds of rejoicing are empty and heartless; your denunciations of tyrants, brass fronted impudence; your shouts of liberty and equality, hollow mockery; your prayers and hymns, your sermons and thanksgivings, with all your religious parade, and solemnity, are, to him, mere bombast, fraud, deception, impiety, and hypocrisy — a thin veil to cover up crimes which would disgrace a nation of savages. ‘What to a slave is the 4th of July’. 1852. Frederick Douglass.
~~
The First ~ Jessie Tarbox Beals (1870 – 1942)
The first published female photo-journalist in the United States and the first female night photographer. She is best known for her freelance news photographs, particularly of the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair, and portraits of places such as Bohemian Greenwich Village. Her trademarks were her self-described “ability to hustle” and her tenacity in overcoming gender barriers in her profession.
~~
Repeat After Me
And it gets you elected
