Like most authoritarians, Trump views an independent judiciary as a threat to his power. To that end, he pressured Attorney General Jeff […]
Thursday, March 22nd, 2018
JOSH ISRAEL, - Think Progress
Stephan: Facts. That is what I care about. And the facts are telling me the problem with America's democracy is that a large percentage of Americans don't actually like democracy, as the previous report showed. Oh, they say they do, they wrap themselves in the flag and wave their Bibles and their guns. But when you get to the licklog, and the privacy of the voting booth here's the truth.
GOP House Nominee Arthur Jones speaking at the Aryan Nations 2014 world congress. Credit: Jones campaign website
The former head of the American Nazi Party ran for the Republican nomination of Congress in Illinois’ 3rd Congressional District. No Republican stepped up to oppose him.
On Tuesday, despite his vocal Holocaust denial, his anti-Semitic rhetoric, and his white supremacist views, 20,339 Illinois Republicans, according to preliminary totals, cast their ballots for Arthur Jones.
Jones’ Nazi-sympathies were not a secret going into election day. His campaign website features a slideshow of pictures of him speaking at white nationalist events. He is a perennial candidate who has previously run for U.S. House, Chicago alderman, and mayor of Chicago, and even mayor of Milwaukee. Chicagomedia extensively covered the race. The Anti-Defamation League warned voters of his record. The chairman of Illinois Republican Party even disavowed him, saying “The Illinois Republican Party and our country have no place for Nazis like Arthur Jones. We strongly oppose his racist views and his candidacy for any public office, including the 3rd Congressional District.”
Still, a stunning […]
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Thursday, March 22nd, 2018
Stephan: America in general and Republicans in particular do not care about children. I know, I know, how can you say that, Stephan, I love my children, we love children in this country. Yes, I'm sure you do love your children, about children in general, not so much.
I'm not interested in the bloviation of politicians, preachers, and pious hypocrites, "We love children, America is the greatest country in the world for children... yada yada."
SR deals in facts, especially social outcome data. And the data says, children particularly the children of the peasants count for very little. You doubt me? Look at the infant mortality rate in the U.S., particularly in states controlled by Republicans. Look at the incarceration rate of children, again particularly in christofascist states. Look at the health outcome data. Look at the education data.
And then there is how we treat our teachers. Consider this story from Oklahoma, a christofascist state filled with sanctimonious people telling you how they love family values. Really, Oklahoma? Then why are your teachers having to sell their blood to teach your children? This is America in the second decade of the 21st century and I, for one, am sick of these stories.
Striking teachers
Credit: Shutterstock
Teachers in the Republican-run state of Oklahoma are preparing to go on strike to improve their salaries and benefits — and a new article about their dire situations in the New York Times goes a long way toward explaining why.
As the Times reports, teachers in the state have not had a raise now in a decade, which means that many of them have had to stretch harder and harder every year to keep the lights on in their houses — and they’re also taking drastic measures to get extra cash.
“Across the state, teachers say they make ends meet by selling their blood plasma, or by working second jobs as luggage handlers, Uber drivers or in lawn maintenance,” the Timesreports.
And it’s not just teacher pay that has stagnated, as the state’s Republican-dominated government has refused to boost education funding as well. In fact, the funding crisis within the Oklahoma education system has gotten so dire that roughly 20 percent of schools are experimenting with having four-day weeks to save money.
Because […]
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Thursday, March 22nd, 2018
PAUL BUCHHEIT, - Alternet
Stephan: I completely agree with this.
Credit: Christopher Penler / Shutterstock.com
It’s not hard to envision the benefits in work opportunities, stress reduction, child care, entrepreneurial activity, and artistic pursuits for American households given an extra $1,000 per month. It’s also very easy to justify a financial wealth tax, given that the dramatic stock market surge in recent years is largely due to an unprecedented degree of technological and financial productivity that derives from the work efforts and taxes of all Americans. A 2% annual tax on financial wealth is a small price to pay for the great fortunes bestowed on the most fortunate Americans.
The reasons? Careful analysis reveals a number of excellent arguments for the implementation of a universal basic income (UBI).
1. Our jobs are disappearing.
A 2013 Oxford study determined that nearly half of American jobs are at risk of being replaced by computers, AI and robots. Society simply can’t keep up with technology. As for the skeptics who cite the Industrial Revolution and its job-enhancing aftermath (which actually took
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