Tuesday, April 24, 2018

I Don't Speak Brainwashed


I Don't Speak Brainwashed
by Still Bernin'

 
Some days, you have to pinch yourself to see if you're actually living in reality or some kind of irritating sitcom episode. You know the kind--the one where the lead character wakes up and finds herself unable to understand or communicate with her family/gaggle of friends. It's like a "Tower of Babel on Meth" story. By the end of the show, both you and the main character are screaming, "Stop it! Enough is enough!"

DNC Sues Russia, Wikileaks, Trump Campaign, Hang Nails and Humpty Dumpty for Hacking their Naughty Emails in 2016 Election or words to those effect jumped off my computer screen and assaulted my better sense this past week. Say what?  This lawsuit could even threaten freedom of the press according to many, a dangerous precedent indeed.

The Democrats have admitted in a court of law that they rigged their own primaries against Bernie Sanders. (In fact they're the only party that has admitted to wrongdoing in the 2016 election.) It's been determined by numerous authorities that the damning emails covering their primary rigging to ensure a Clinton win were not "hacked" but "leaked" by someone within the organization. The download rate noted on the files confirmed they were copied onto a flash drive and taken out of the building. Could it have been Seth Rich, the young DNC staffer found murdered but not robbed, who leaked the emails to Wikileaks? We'll probably never know for sure since dead men conveniently tell no tales. But the doubt remains. What makes you think the American public will fall for more lies and manipulation, Dems?



The next thing you know, the so-called progressive mainstream media will say straight shooters such as independent thinker Jimmy Dore are passing along conspiracy theories for questioning the validity of  Syria gassing its own citizens. Oh, wait a moment... CNN smeared Jimmy for saying he held doubts about the incident because they're jealous of his popularity. CNN actually tried to imply Jimmy was on the same level as pedophiles and Neo-Nazis who broadcast on You Tube (to scare away his advertising revenue). As if! 

Funny thing is, many other journalists and experts have voiced similar reservations about the alleged  Syrian gassing attack. As investigative journalists explore deeper, more evidence has emerged showing that the attack simply didn't take place. It was a manufactured excuse to justify the US bombing. Carla Ortiz, an independent journalist who has been to Syria several times, supports this conclusion. (Here are two interviews about Carla's trips to Syria: Part 1. Part 2. ) ZDF heute, Germany's largest public TV news broadcaster, has stated that the Syria chemical attack was "most likely staged."

NW Ohio Peace Coalition speaks out against the bombings
It appears the  Military-Industrial Complex made the whole thing up in order to launch a bunch of expensive missiles to help out  CIA-backed terrorist groups at the expense of the Assad regime. Our Big Oil-owned government can't seem to have enough oil and oil pipelines, and we certainly don't want other parties (read: Syrians and their backers, the Russians)  building a pipeline of their own. Apparently, petroleum profits are more important to  American/British/French one-percenters than the health and safety of the ordinary Syrians caught in the crossfire of their latest war for oil.

Do you really believe all Americans are that dumb, mainstream media? Listen to these words of another straight shooter... You may have heard of him, President Abraham Lincoln:

You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can not fool all of the people all of the time.
Stop insulting us with your blatant propaganda, mainstream media. Stop insulting us with your endless wars for oil, Military-Industrial Complex and mindless, immoral lackeys. Stop insulting us with your duplicitous distraction techniques, DNC. We know you are all self-centered liars. Americans, on the whole, are smarter than you think. We speak commonsense.

It's time Americans speak commonsense truth to those in power and let them know we won't have anything more to do with these crooks. It's time we put both the duopoly and the endless wars for oil/land/other resources behind us. It's time we support and encourage independent thinkers (without their hands in the Citizens United cookie jar of corporate bribery) to speak out and to run for office. It's time we vote third party/Green Party and make a clean sweep of the corruption inherent in the two-party system.

Ordinary Americans don't speak "Brainwashed," and we're growing tired of those who do. Be a patriot! Stop wasting your time repeating the lies of the mainstream media and the corporatist duopoly controlling our government. Spread the truth instead.
BIO: Still Bernin' is sick and tired of hearing  b.s. from the six corporations that own over 90% of the media outlets in the US.  The outright lies from  corporate-owned politicians make Bernin'  sick, too. His remedy? Keep repeating the truth until we change hearts and minds and things change for the better. There is no Planet B!


***
"Bombs Away!" 
Or how bombing Syria helped to cover up  stories the mainstream media and our government didn't want you to know about this past week. Lee gives examples of how "faux progressives" manipulate public opinion on behalf of the one-percent who want more war. Also, there's been more than one chemical attack on Americans recently. Can we expect bombing? (Warning: contains adult language and much angry laughter.)


https://youtu.be/3SVKCauiLms

***



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You can donate via Paypal at http://paypal.me/camatthews

Power to the people and not the military-industrial complex!



***
 Contact your representative if they appear on this list and let him/her know what you feel about their stealing from our Social Security funds. After all, you worked and paid into Social Security--you deserve to receive it when you retire!

***
From AFT:

There’s a growing school crisis in Puerto Rico, and the media, like the Trump administration, is not paying enough attention.

Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rossello and his education secretary, Julia Keleher, have taken a page right out of the Trump-DeVos playbook. They are using Hurricane Maria and the island’s bankruptcy case as excuses to close down 283 more public schools. This is on top of the 167 schools they already closed late last year. Those slated for closure include schools that excel, and they include career-and-technical-education schools and bilingual schools that may be the only schools of their kind for miles. But Puerto Rico’s education secretary doesn’t care: She admitted yesterday that her department never looked at the schools or analyzed the human impact of the closures.

Puerto Rico’s students aren’t just numbers. Closing their schools and forcing them to travel long distances just to get an education is a terrible plan. And on top of disrupting students’ lives, this plan would divert scarce resources to charter schools, including trying to turn schools—like the island’s public Montessori schools, which want to stay public—over to charters. Shockingly, the secretary has even admitted that she was targeting schools to close in order to turn the buildings over to private charter school operators.

Despite the massive outcry against this plan, the governor and education secretary have pushed forward without regard for the devastating impact these school closures will have on their communities. Closing 35 percent of the island’s schools will be disastrous, and it’s an entirely man-made disaster. These closings do not need to happen. What’s more, the secretary has refused to take input from local mayors, parents, teachers and the community.

They need our support. Help us spread the word about the injustice in Puerto Rico by tweeting at the Governor and Secretary of Education.

What @RicardoRossello is doing to schools in #PuertoRico is outrageous. #PorNuestrasEscuelas pic.twitter.com/XXxed5gkZq

The legacy of @RicardoRossello will be tied to Betsy DeVos if he goes though with his recklessly harmful plan to close 35% of #PuertoRico’s schools. #PorNuestrasEscuelas pic.twitter.com/fxyCKZ8vPA

First the government ignored the needs of #PuertoRico since the hurricane, now they’re using the crisis to close nearly 300 more schools. Tell @RicardoRossello to stop the school closings. #PorNuestrasEscuelas https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/stand-with-puerto-rico-teachers-and-parents

60,000 students in #PuertoRico will be hurt by these outrageous school closings. Stand with Puerto Rican students by opposing the closings. #PorNuestrasEscuelas https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/stand-with-puerto-rico-teachers-and-parents

The #PuertoRico Education Secretary worked with Betsy DeVos on an education plan and now they’re closing nearly 300 schools. Tell the Gov that this plan cannot happen. #PorNuestrasEscuelas https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/stand-with-puerto-rico-teachers-and-parents

Teachers in West Virginia and Oklahoma have captured the hearts and minds of America. It’s well past time that Puerto Rico commands some attention as well. These are American citizens, and schools in Puerto Rico—just as in states on the mainland—have been starved of resources, which has undermined its entire education system.

Last week, hundreds of parents rallied in front of the Capitol in San Juan, despite an islandwide power failure. And this week, on April 25, thousands of teachers will form a human shield around the Capitol to show their intention to protect public education. They want their voices heard. They want money to be used to invest in and rebuild schools, not to pay off Wall Street hedge funds the governor is trying to court.

We need to show the people of Puerto Rico that there’s national support for their protests—like there has been for other recent teacher protests on the mainland.

The latest round of school closures has been denounced all over the island. Mayors from across Puerto Rico are up in arms, and they’re demanding the governor stop closing schools. They want the governor to consult with them, their communities and the people who are actually affected by this plan.

Gov. Rossello and Secretary Keleher, with the help of U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, is pushing forward with no thought for what communities want or need. Public schools have been the center of the post-hurricane recovery over the last six months. The schools have provided shelter, services and care for those in need since Hurricane Maria, while our government let them flounder. And now, instead of investing in communities, the governor and secretary want to shut down their schools.

This education plan is bad. Puerto Rican children and educators need us to be there for them.

Once you’ve tweeted, sign our petition to protect Puerto Rico’s public schools.

In unity,
Randi Weingarten
AFT President



***
From Open Media:

There's a new battle in the war on Net Neutrality — small business. 

If we lose this founding principle of an open web, it won't just affect tech companies. Grocery and hardware stores do much of their business online, hair stylists and nail salons book their appointments through their websites, modern farming tools require connectivity.

Killing Net Neutrality will be a tax on the entire economy, which is why small businesses should be on the front lines of saving it.

And we have a plan to help you do that. Already, more than 3,500 small business have banded together to sign this open letter in support of saving Net Neutrality.

  1. Do you run your own business? Be the 3,501st — sign on to our open letter.
  2. Even if you don’t run your own company, you can reach out to small businesses in your community. Can you share our open letter on Facebook and Twitter, and mention any small business owners you know in the post? Please, email the URL www.businessesfornetneutrality.com and ask others to join the fight.
We’re weeks away from the senate vote on a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution that could save our Net Neutrality protections by overthrowing Ajit Pai's FCC's repeal, but we need at least one more senator’s vote to win.1
 
And we know that pressure from local businesses in lawmakers’ own districts is one of the single most effective strategy for convincing hard-to-get lawmakers to buck partisan politics and side with the overwhelming majority of voters to speak out for the open Internet.

That's why our goal is to get at least 10,000 small businesses signed on to the letter by the end of April. After that, we'll help small businesses across the country deliver those messages directly to Congressional offices on Wednesday, May 2 at 12 p.m. local time.
Small businesses are the perfect messengers for Republican lawmakers. Net Neutrality is not a partisan issue outside of Washington, D.C.,2 but telecom lobbyists are working hard to make it one.

That's why we need the whole Internet, and every business we can find, to take action on Net Neutrality and help us pass the CRA in the Senate.

If you run your own business please sign our open letter before May 2. And whether you’re self-employed or not, please take a second to share it on Facebook and Twitter.

Yours for an open Internet,
—Katy, on behalf of your OpenMedia team


Footnotes:
[1] Ajit Pai tried to kill net neutrality, but the internet is fighting back: NBC News
[2] Poll: 83 percent of voters support keeping FCC's net neutrality rules: The Hill



OpenMedia
We are an award-winning network of people and organizations working to safeguard the possibilities of the open Internet. We work toward informed and participatory digital policy.
You can follow us on Twitter, and like us on Facebook.

Tuesday, April 17, 2018

Peace Is Not An Option (In A For-Profit World)


Peace Is Not An Option 
(In A For-Profit World)
by C.A. Matthews

I'm fighting a war for peace. --John Lennon

I'm always amazed at how short human memory can be. Dozens of progressive pundits and journalists such as Lee Camp and Jimmy Dore immediately noted the similarities in our pattern of action. Heck, even Tucker Carlson of the Fox News channel and Libertarian-Republican Sen. Rand Paul labeled it as a "false flag" event. When both the left and the right agree on something, you know there's gotta be some truth in it.

Here's the pattern--Step one: Plant a false flag, a fake shocking/horrific image planted into the minds of the American public. The recent go-to false flag seems to be gas/chemical attacks against civilians (particularly children). Step two: Parade this false flag on all mainstream media outlets over and over again, burning the horrible image into said public's mind. Step three: Have the president say the US government is justified in dropping bombs and starting a war against said country for said heinous crime.

Mission accomplished! We are now at war with another country and its allies, and we can drop bomb after bomb, missile after missile, and then add a little drone warfare and/or physical invasion until we get our oil access--I mean, we have saved the innocent gassed civilians (or "incubator babies killed by Saddam Hussein") from their evil, despotic regime.

The name of the country and president can change from the George Bushes in Iraq/Kuwait to Barrack Obama in Afghanistan/Yemen to Donald Trump in Syria. The names of the presidents and countries are immaterial. Our heroes of the American Military Machine are always ready to come to the rescue of "democracy" and install a puppet-dictator government loyal to us "friendly, democracy-loving" Americans. Huzzah!

If both right and left-wing journalists and politicians haven't caught on to this

pattern of false flags, deceit and violence by now, they're probably dumber than a box of rocks, or (much more likely) they're making a mint of money from their Raytheon and Boeing stocks.

While there's no excuse for Trump's latest escapade in Syria, there was no excuse for the Bushes' or Obama's "feed the hungry military-industrial complex" actions, either. It's more of the same, and it's high time We the People spoke up and demanded those in authority put an end to this charade of making unethical excuses to bomb other countries for their resources.

Peace is not seen as an option in our for-profit world. Our nation's soul is bought for with the blood of innocents worldwide as well as the innocence of the American public duped into supporting these immoral excursions. These murderous lies generate trillions of dollars in profits for the robber barons of the International Military-Industrial Complex. Perpetual war makes the capitalistic economy go round and around and around until we're all dizzy from the sheer inhumanity of it all.

Is there anything We the People can do to shut down this all-consuming greed and senseless violence? Perhaps the only thing we can do is to get off the merry-go-round of our capitalist economy and shut it down entirely. We must make warfare unprofitable. 


How? We can use the tried and true methods of the BDS movement--boycott, divest and sanction. For instance, we can divest our savings from banks that deal with arms manufacturers and stop using fossil fuel-powered vehicles. We can ask for sanctions against countries that seem hell-bent on keeping the MIC alive and well, but that would be primarily the USA and its NATO allies. Would We the People be willing to suffer sanctions for the sins of our war-mongering leaders?

Of course, the bomb-building billionaires will find a way to keep their heads above water and their factories pumping out weapons of moderate and mass destruction (that actually exist). The one-percenters will convince their employees that it's the only way for workers to keep a roof over their families' heads and food in their stomachs. Haven't we seen enough of this scare tactic by the NRA? "Making guns creates jobs. More guns equals more wealth for the peasants. Who really cares about gun deaths, especially of the poor, persons of color, or uppity women and children? It's all about the money--uh, we mean freedom and the right to bear arms!"

Short of a massive spiritual revival and a return to clear-headed thinking in this country, the Military-Industrial Complex will continue to manufacture death and insist that it doesn't go stale sitting on a shelf in a warehouse. After all, weapons were meant to be used and not simply stockpiled. Thanks to our paid-off mainstream media outlets, ordinary Americans will continue to fall for false flag ruses to use these instruments of terror against other human beings for the sake of filling the one-percent terrorists' bank accounts with even more blood money.

Until We the People make the entire notion of war unprofitable and
unfashionable the fashion of the day will remain camouflage and khaki--or anything that hides blood stains. President Dwight D. Eisenhower, a general in the US Army and leader of the Allied Forces in WWII, no less, warned us about the dangers of the military-industrial complex in his farewell address. It's high time we heed his words.
More insights and memes on the US strike on Syria--
Raytheon Stock Skyrockets with Tomahawk Airstrikes:
http://fortune.com/2017/04/07/syria-airstrikes-tomahawk-missile-boeing-raytheon-stock/

There's a Good Chance We're Being Lied to About the Chemical Attack in Syria:
http://theantimedia.com/syria-chemical-weapons-attack-lied/


From the Associated Press earlier in the year -- US has no evidence of Syrian use of Sarin gas, Mattis says:
https://apnews.com/bd533182b7f244a4b771c73a0b601ec5

Canadian journalist David Doel makes some very strong points on The Rational National--U.S. Makes Outrageous Claims Following Strike on Syria:
https://youtu.be/JHtkf6YdoXw

7 Questions About the Syria Airstrikes That Aren't Being Asked: https://ourfuture.org/20180416/7-questions-about-the-syria-airstrikes-that-arent-being-asked
 

Tim Black TV --Trump is Making Money for the Military Industrial Complex
https://youtu.be/HF0AI4ixduk

Oil pipelines the world over are a source of conflict. Big Oil wants them, and it's not afraid to gas civilians to get them. Remember Standing Rock?

https://www.ecowatch.com/syria-another-pipeline-war-1882180532.html


Trump tweet from August 30, 2013:  "The president must have Congressional approval before attacking Syria--big mistake if he does not!" 

Has the military-industrial complex convinced Trump otherwise and made him change his stance from  five years ago? What did they promise him in return?

"[Assad] may be a tyrant, but he's not an idiot. The US leaving his country is good for him, and a gas attack prevents the US exit," says Steve Cox.  Lee Camp points out the false flag  and the likely cover story mere days before the actual bombing of Syria in the following short video:

 
"Empathy doesn't pay very well." -- Lee Camp


https://youtu.be/reuQAoXM8bE
Straight up facts about the Syria strikes with Lee and journalist Max Blumenthal.

From The Humanist Report-- In spite of what he said in 2013, Trump now says targeting civilians is a good thing:
   
https://youtu.be/XVeFJMD5hbw 

And now, we take a hard look at the numbers behind our MIC...
Boondoggle and Bloodletting
by Coast Watcher

In November ten years ago the US Navy commissioned what it hoped was the first of fifty-five new Littoral Combat Ships (LCS), shallow-draft vessels specifically designed to fight in coastal waters such as those in the Arabian Gulf. Intended as a versatile all-singing, all-dancing warship, it turned out to be tone deaf with two left feet. Plagued by systemic failures, the program was cut to thirty-two hulls.

Of the eleven ships completed so far, the first four were relegated to undeployable training duties, others as test beds for new weapon systems – which have not made much progress. The whole program also resulted in a hot mess of problems arising from the deployment of personnel. To quote USNI News' Megan Eckstein:

Within each division, the first ship has a more experienced crew that is responsible for training and certifying the rest of the crews, and the other three ships are deployable assets. Due to this model, not only does the deployable ship have to be in the water and ready for operations, but so does the training ship.
Senator John McCain (R-AZ) cited the LCS as an example of botched contracting, driving up costs unnecessarily. Shipbuilding politics and the need to protect a diversified industrial shipbuilding base are some of the main arguments as to why the program still exists. At the cost of $220 million each, the LCS has already cost over $2.42 billion. It's no wonder that the LCS class was nicknamed "Little Crappy Ship."

The Navy recently announced it may not deploy any LCS this year, citing "a confluence of maintenance availabilities." Last year they effectively admitted the LCS program is a bust when they issued a requirement for a new guided missile frigate.

So, what else could've been bought with that cash? To renovate or build a new high school averages around $110 million. That's two new or refurbished schools for the cost of just one of the eleven LCS delivered so far. A new hospital costs between $800 million and $1.3 billion. That's two major medical facilities for the equivalent cost of those eleven ships.

Instead of adding more war material to the general bloodletting going on in the Middle East, why doesn't the US government put the money toward building facilities that actually help the citizens it's there to serve? With a military machine already twice the size of all other national military forces in the world, it would hardly weaken the might of the United States to do so.

Related articles:
https://news.usni.org/2018/04/11/navy-may-not-deploy-littoral-combat-ships-year

http://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/20088/little-crappy-ship-none-of-the-navys-littoral-combat-ships-may-deploy-in-2018?xid=fbshare


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Littoral_combat_ship#Budget_overruns_and_deployments


http://www.wcsdbuilding.com/how-much-do-new-schools-cost/

https://www.quora.com/How-much-does-it-cost-to-build-a-hospital


https://www.johnlaurits.com/2018/cost-of-tomahawk-missiles-trump-strikes-damascus/
https://www.johnlaurits.com/2018/cost-of-tomahawk-missiles-trump-strikes-damascus/

BIO: Coast Watcher is tallying the numbers, and they're not adding up. Our governments are spending time and wealth on endless wars for oil instead of helping human beings. It's time We the People speak out and stop the insanity. #NoMoreWar #HandsOffSyria


***
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You can donate via Paypal at http://paypal.me/camatthews

Power to the people and not the military-industrial complex!

Tuesday, April 10, 2018

As The World Burns

As the world burns, the ghosts of what many hoped was our long dead past rear their ugly heads again. Coast Watcher gives us a historical comparison between a past and current regime that will turn your blood cold.

The Ghosts of Himmler and Heydrich
by Coast Watcher

Recently the Department of Homeland Security created a job posting seeking a contractor for a media monitoring services project. The job briefing entails the creation of a searchable database capable of handling the details of 290,000-plus news sources from all over the world. It would cover “traditional news sources as well as social media, identify any and all media coverage related to the Department of Homeland Security or a particular event.” 


Also: “Services shall provide media comparison tools, design and rebranding tools, communication tools, and the ability to identify top media influencers.” The database will also be capable of instantly translating media from 100 languages, including Chinese and Russian, into English. It should also be able to analyze the coverage’s “sentiment” and “momentum.”

The news spread and an immediate alarm went out among journalists, bloggers and media influencers. Any government monitoring of media, in whatever form it takes, hints that the ground is being prepared for a major crackdown on dissension. President Trump is notorious for being at loggerheads with the mainstream media. In one of his usual Twitter-fits of rhetoric, he once labeled journalists as the “enemy of the people.”

Some of the reactions to this revelation:
 

Maybe the Trump Homeland "Security" forces would like dissidents to wear monitoring bracelets and submit themselves for tattoos, too. ~ Dr. DaShanne Stokes
I have friends who have been prohibited from leaving their countries, exiled from their countries with their citizenship stripped, detained and questioned by authorities, tortured, and/or imprisoned for years because of their social media commentary. This is dangerous. ~ Leah McElrath

Needless to say the Establishment fired back with its usual tactic of denigrating and belittling opposition:

(Those suspicious of its purpose are) tin foil hat wearing, black helicopter conspiracy theorists. ~ Homeland Security press secretary Tyler Houlton
 
Houlton did not respond to queries as to what the agency intends to do with the information, but I think we can guess. Once again we can take a lesson from history, in particular the crushing of dissent in Nazi Germany.

Even before the Nazi government took power in 1933, the party was at work against those it deemed its enemies. Heinrich Himmler was appointed Reichsführer-SS and put in charge of security for the party and gathering intelligence against the Nazi Party’s prime rivals, the Bolshevist Movement and Social-Democrats. Himmler initiated a card index system to track and correlate the information gathered, a task later taken on by former German naval officer Reinhardt Heydrich who expanded the system.

The index was not intended purely for intelligence and the browbeating or blackmailing of opponents. It was directed toward the Nazi goal of Machtergreifung, the seizure of total power within the state. The indexes were used to draw up lists of the most dangerous enemies, differentiating between those who would be dealt with for good by imprisonment or execution after the assumption of power and those who could be frightened off, either into silence or exile.

History shows how the indexes came to be used. Information is power and the Nazi administration wielded it with ruthless efficiency. The SS was its

tool. It was answerable only to Hitler. Trump's stated aim to set up an intelligence service answerable only to him has obvious parallels for those with an eye to history.

Most people today will shrug and say the government of the United States has systematically gathered information about those who might harm it since the beginning of the Cold War. The FBI is rumored to have established a similar system of media watching during the 1960s comparable to the one begun by Homeland Security today. 


To those who say this gathering of information isn't harmful, I say don’t be so sure. With the power of the Internet, we’re seeing information gathering methods Himmler and Heydrich couldn’t have dreamed of in their wildest fantasies, but of which their ghosts would approve of wholeheartedly. 

Do we really want to return to an era where a dictatorial and genocidal regime can use technology to shut down opposition and dissent? Will there be anyone left who cares about our freedom of speech if the means to carry it out are all but eliminated?


Sources:

Himmler – Peter Padfield, MJF Books, New York.

Homeland Security To Compile A Database of Journalists, Bloggers And Influencers:
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/homeland-security-searchable-database_us_5ac7f41de4b07a3485e4bb1d


BIO: Coast Watcher says some days can't tell if he's reading a history text or the morning headlines. Those who don't remember and learn from history are doomed to repeat it--especially the worst bits. His motto: Stay awake and keep learning!




*** 
More on the propaganda machine of the Mainstream Media (warning-- contains strong language):

https://youtu.be/vzlmceAw1BU 
 ***
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Power to the people and not the corporations!

 ***

From the Color of Change:
By now, you’ve probably seen the video of dozens of local news anchors around the country reciting in unison a script parroting Trump’s war on the media, warning about “fake news.”1 The script is the brainchild of the Sinclair Broadcast Group, an ultra-conservative media corporation that owns almost 200 television stations that reach 40% of the U.S. population. 
If Trump’s FCC approves their plan to buy the Tribune Media Company, Sinclair will be able to pump their right-wing propaganda to over 72% of U.S. homes.2

Sinclair Broadcast Group has often been compared to Fox News, but Sinclair is much more dangerous. Unlike Fox News, where some people know the content is biased, Sinclair is forcing trusted local anchors to parrot Fox-type content that undermines trust in the rest of the media and promotes damaging stereotypes. And with 3 out of 4 U.S. adults regularly consuming local news, millions of people are unknowingly peppered with pro-Trump propaganda.3 But, just like Fox News, Sinclair Broadcast is vulnerable to pressure from their core advertisers. As we’ve done so many times in the past - like with Glenn Beck and Bill O’Reilly - we can hold advertisers accountable for funding Sinclair’s pro-Trump propaganda.

While Sinclair claims they’re focused on “fair and objective reporting," their close relationship to the Trump administration, and unquestioning repetition of Trump talking points proves this to be false.4 According to Senior Advisor (and Trump son-in-law) Jared Kushner, Sinclair media outlets were given increased access to the Trump presidential campaign in exchange for Sinclair stations broadcasting Trump interviews without critical commentary.5 Boris Epshteyn, a former high-level member of the Trump administration who wrote the infamous Holocaust Remembrance Day statement that failed to mention Jewish people who died in the Holocaust, was hired by Sinclair shortly after his departure from the White House and is now their Chief Political Analyst.6 His “Bottom Line with Boris” segments are “must runs” and required to be aired on Sinclair stations 9 times per week.7 Epshteyn’s commentary is often nothing more than just a parroting of White House talking points, including harmful rhetoric that minimized the level of hatred and violence committed by white supremacists in Charlottesville last summer.8
 
The Sinclair threat goes beyond spreading pro-Trump propaganda. When news outlets lack accountability, they let down Black people with racially biased coverage and damaging stereotypes. We know from our report “A Dangerous Distortion of Our Families: Representations of Families, by Race, in News and Opinion Media,” that Black families are erroneously over-represented as lacking stability and more likely to be on welfare.9 These harmful depictions of Black families in the news media influence perceptions of Black communities and can dictate policy. Inaccurate and damaging portrayals of Black families gives false support to Trump administration policies that actively oppress Black people and communities such as increased policing in schools and communities, further demonizing of Black immigrants, and more cuts to social safety net programs.

Tell advertisers to stop supporting the spread of pro-Trump propaganda. 

Local news stations are often seen as neutral reporters, but the reality is that they are owned and run by major corporations like Sinclair Broadcast Group. Sinclair shouldn’t get to exploit our trust in local journalists and use that trust to promote propaganda from an illegitimate presidential administration. Even though Sinclair is a major media company, they rely on local advertisers for much of their revenue. Because of the intimate connection local advertisers have with their communities, our voices are much more likely to be heard by them. And we’ve already seen this in action with Democratic Congressional candidate Amy McGrath removing her ads from all Sinclair owned TV stations in her district.10
 
In an election year, political ads like the ones Amy McGrath pulled will be crucial to Sinclair’s bottom line. If we put pressure on other local candidates and corporate advertisers we can create a mass exodus of Sinclair advertisers and force them to abandon Trump’s propaganda.

Local news stations should not be propaganda hubs. Tell advertisers to cut ties with Sinclair Broadcast Group.
Until justice is real, 

--Arisha, Rashad, Brandi, Jade, Johnny, Future, Corina, Chad, Mary, Angela, Saréya, Eesha, and the rest of the Color Of Change team



 References:

  1. "How America's Largest Local TV Owner Turned Its News Anchors Into Soldiers In Trump's War On The Media", The Concourse, 31 March 2018 https://act.colorofchange.org/go/33245?t=9&akid=10462%2E3399430%2E3_7Ck0
  2. "Tribune Media shareholders vote in favor of merger with Sinclair Broadcast Group", LA Times, 19 October 2017 http://act.colorofchange.org/go/33246?t=11&akid=10462%2E3399430%2E3_7Ck0
  3. "How Americans Get TV News At Home", Pew Research Center Journalism and Media, 11 October 2013 http://act.colorofchange.org/go/4644?t=13&akid=10462%2E3399430%2E3_7Ck0
  4. "Sinclair defends itself over uproar after local news anchors read anti-'false news' screed", USA Today, 2 April 2018 https://act.colorofchange.org/go/33247?t=15&akid=10462%2E3399430%2E3_7Ck0
  5. "Kushner: We struck deal with Sinclair for straighter coverage", Politico, 16 December 2016 https://act.colorofchange.org/go/33248?t=17&akid=10462%2E3399430%2E3_7Ck0
  6. "White House aide Epshteyn wrote controversial Holocaust memorial statement", Politico, 30 January 2017 https://act.colorofchange.org/go/33249?t=19&akid=10462%2E3399430%2E3_7Ck0
  7. "Sinclair increases 'must-run' Boris Epshteyn segments", Politico, 10 July 2017 https://act.colorofchange.org/go/33250?t=21&akid=10462%2E3399430%2E3_7Ck0
  8. "This is the pro-Trump propaganda being quietly broadcast on local stations across the country", ThinkProgress, 12 October 2017 https://act.colorofchange.org/go/33251?t=23&akid=10462%2E3399430%2E3_7Ck0
  9. "A Dangerous Distortion of Our Families: Representations of Families, by Race, in News and Media, Dr. Travis L. Dixon, December 2017 https://act.colorofchange.org/go/33252?t=25&akid=10462%2E3399430%2E3_7Ck0
  10. "Amy McGrath pulls ad from Sinclair-owned TV station in Lexington for 'fake news' message", Courier Journal, 3 April 2018 https://act.colorofchange.org/go/33253?t=27&akid=10462%2E3399430%2E3_7Ck0
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Stop corporations from choking our oceans and waterways with single-use plastics!
What if I told you that every minute of every day, the equivalent of one garbage truck load of plastic is dumped into the sea? I imagine you’d be pretty shocked. Well, from straws to soda rings, our oceans are filling up like a landfill — and fast. We’re witnessing how these plastics choke or entangle species like seabirds, turtles, and whales, get into the food chain, and kill marine life. This has got to stop.

We can no longer tolerate this cycle of destruction for so-called "convenience.” You’ve already taken the first step C.A.. You signed our petition demanding that the CEOs of seven of the largest producers of single-use plastics come up with better designs and methods for the delivery of goods, and I thank you for that! But there is so much more to be done.

We need your help to get as many other people as possible to sign the petition as well. Would you please recruit at least seven friends or family members to add their voice to those who have already spoken up? It’s as easy as sharing this link.

You can help us achieve one million signatures by Earth Day, April 22. All of these actions will call for an end to corporate plastic pollution by convincing executives at Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Nestle, Unilever, Procter & Gamble, Starbucks, McDonald's, and others to replace their single-use plastic packaging.

The more people who join the campaign, the more likely we are to succeed.
Here's how you can spread the word:
For too long, corporations have been telling us that the responsibility for dealing with their waste lies solely with us, the consumers.

But what would happen if millions of us speak out? We could change that story!

That’s why we are building an international movement of people demanding that corporations take responsibility for the problem they’ve created by moving away from throwaway plastic.

I believe that 2018 is the year that things begin to change. I promise you, it’s the beginning of the end of single-use plastics.

Greenpeace has always been a people-powered organization. When enough of us join together, there’s nothing we can’t do.

For a plastic-free future,
Annie Leonard
Executive Director, Greenpeace USA

P.S. Such a campaign is a massive undertaking, and we’re grateful to have your help. Adding your name to the petition was a vital first step. Now I’m asking you to expand your commitment by recruiting friends and family members to add their names, too. Please share the link far and wide.

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Tell Congress: Don't destroy America's largest national forest
The petition to Congress reads:
"The Tongass National Forest in Alaska is our largest national forest, home to some of the oldest trees in the United States, fragile ecosystems and protected species. Do not allow dangerous road building and old growth harvesting in the Tongass."
Add your name:
Sign the petition ►


Tell Congress: Don't destroy America's largest national forest
Inside America's largest national forest, the trees are older than the United States itself, dating over 1000 years, but these ancient trees of the Tongass National Forest in Alaska could be all but decimated if Donald Trump, Republicans in Congress and the logging industry get their way.

For years, Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski – who some have called the "#1 anti-public land lawmaker" – has been pushing to substantially increase old-growth timber harvesting in much of the Tongass' 17 million acres, which would jeopardize natural habitats, infringe on indigenous rights and put an entire ecosystem at risk.1

Senate Democrats recently defeated a provision snuck into a government funding bill that would have opened up the Tongass for more logging, but Sen. Murkowski is not done fighting for short-term industry profits over the health of Alaska's wilderness.2 We must act now to prevent future attacks on the Tongass and protect this important national forest.

Tell Congress: Don't destroy America's largest national forest. Click here to sign the petition.

Located in the southeast region of Alaska, the Tongass National Forest is a 500-mile archipelago, which encompasses the world's largest temperate rainforest and is "home to five species of Pacific salmon, humpback and orca whales, otters, beavers, Alexander Archipelago wolves, plus some of the largest concentrations of brown bears and bald eagles found in the United States."3 Its old-growth trees store vast amounts of carbon – an estimated 10-12 percent of all of America's national forests – and play a critical role as "Alaska’s first line of climate change defense."4,5 And local indigenous people, including the Tlingit and Haida, have lived in this region for centuries and rely on the forest's healthy natural resources for survival.6

Right now, the Tongass is protected by the "roadless rule," a critical moratorium enacted nearly two decades ago that blocks much-needed road building to access the millions of acres of old growth forests in the Tongass. For years, the logging industry and their Republican backers have attempted to repeal this critical rule but have been stymied in the courts, including by our allies at Earthjustice. Recent efforts could be given new life, especially with public lands foe Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke overseeing national forest regulations.7

It's only a matter of time before Sen. Murkowski and Senate Republicans again sneak poisonous provisions into future spending bills to destroy the Tongass. For years, Sen. Murkowski fought to open up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) for fossil fuel extraction, and she recently succeeded when she snuck an ANWR drilling provision into last year's Trump Tax Scam.8 We can not let Republicans ruin one more fragile ecosystem to benefit another failing extractive industry.

Tell Congress: Don't destroy America's largest national forest. Click the link below to sign the petition:
https://act.credoaction.com/sign/save_tongass?t=7&akid=27965%2E9999572%2EHTIxQt

Thanks for all you do.
Josh Nelson, Co-Director
CREDO Action from Working Assets
Add your name:
Sign the petition ►
References:
  1. Jake Bullinger, "Lisa Murkowski, the #1 Anti-Public Land Lawmaker," Outside, Feb. 7, 2018.
  2. Earthjustice, "Earthjustice Statement on FY2018 Omnibus Appropriations Bill," March 21, 2018.
  3. Libby Stortz, "Stop attacking the Tongass," Juneau Empire, March 14, 2018.
  4. Dominick A. DellaSala, "The Tongass Rainforest as Alaska’s First Line of Climate Change Defense and Importance to the Paris Climate Change Agreements," Forest Legacies.
  5. Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network, "Alaska Indigenous Women to Senator Murkowski: End The Assault On Our Communities and Lands," HuffPost, Jan. 10, 2018.
  6. Krista Langlois, "Thanks to Trump, This Senator Finally Gets Her Chance to Decimate Alaska’s Environmental Protections," Mother Jones, March 11, 2018.
  7. Earthjustice, "Federal Courts Uphold Landmark Federal Forest Protections Again," Sept. 22, 2017.
  8. Graham Lee Brewer, "Alaska is open for drilling," High Country News, Jan. 6, 2018.