It pleases me that I can finally report some good news on a topic that has been near and dear to me for many years: private prisons. Today, the Department of Justice announced that it would be phasing out the use of private prisons entirely within the next five years or so. There are many … Read more
This is a pretty genius move by Zephyr Teachout. First, some background, via the Huffington Post: In May, billionaire Paul Singer fundamentally changed one of the most interesting political contests of 2016. The vulture fund manager wrote a $500,000 check to a super PAC supporting John Faso, a Republican trying to fill an open congressional seat in New York’s Hudson Valley. … Read more
As I demonstrated in yesterday’s article, How Bloomberg Spun its Own Poll Data to Make Hillary Clinton Seem Inevitable, the media is intentionally spinning poll results at best, and completely fabricating them at worst. While that’s bad enough, there are also some deep, fundamental problems which plague any attempts to conduct accurate polling in 2016. Cliff Zukin, professor of public policy and political … Read more
28 links today. Enjoy. Pentagon’s Sloppy Bookkeeping Means $6.5 Trillion Can’t Pass an Audit (The Fiscal Times) Tracking Lobbying by Foreign Governments (Mind-boggling lack of transparency, by Demand Progress) Pentagon Acknowledges US Ground Forces Supporting ISIS Fight in Libya (More non-boots on the ground, The Hill) With Yemeni Casualties Rising, GOP Senator Looks to Block Big … Read more
Earlier today, I came across an interesting article about media (and social media) bias related to the 2016 Presidential election. The piece was published in the Observer and titled, Tech Companies Apple, Twitter, Google, and Instagram Collude to Defeat Trump. Here are a few excerpts: Like this post? Donate bitcoins: 35DBUbbAQHTqbDaAc5mAaN6BqwA2AxuE7G Follow me on Twitter.
I want to start this post off by taking a closer look at what Donald Trump actually said in his now infamous “2nd Amendment speech” yesterday. Here’s the part that generated all the controversy: If she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do, folks. Although the Second Amendment people, maybe there is. I don’t know. … Read more
24 links today. Enjoy. Donald Trump’s Finance Chair Is the Anti-Populist From Hell (Must read of the day, Steve Mnuchin is bad news, The New Republic) Fueled by Small Donations, Donald Trump Makes Up Major Financial Ground (New York Times) Thomas Friedman Goes to the Wall (Great takedown by Matt Taibbi, Rolling Stone) Did Bill Maher Lie … Read more
We’re going to war — either hybrid in nature to break the Russian state back to its 1990s subordination, or a hot war (which will destroy our country). Our citizens should know this, but they don’t because our media is dumbed down in its “Pravda”-like support for our “respectable,” highly aggressive government. We are being … Read more
22 links today. Enjoy. Welcome to the 2016 DNC, Sponsored by Special Interests (It’s all so dirty, this is a must read, The Nation) U.S. Trade Rep Insists TPP is Not Dead Yet (WARNING: Obama will try to pass the TPP in the lame duck, McClatchy) Facebook Admits It Blocked Links to Wikileaks DNC Emails (Gizmodo) Night … Read more
Earlier this year, when I found out Google’s Eric Schmidt had been named head of a newly created Pentagon board I thought that was creepy enough. It’s gotten creepier. The Washington Post reports: The Pentagon’s increasingly eclectic Defense Innovation Advisory Board has reached full strength, with celebrity astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson and Amazon.com founder Jeffrey P. … Read more