[mpen-dayton] FW: "When I was welcomed as a refugee:" & "Sign this petition: Justice for Terence Crutcher" & "Trump’s Black outreach by..." and more

FYI.   Best, Munsup

P.S. Please reply back to me with 'unsubscribe' on the subject line if you no longer want to receive my e-Newsletters. The convenient link to unsubscribe is no longer available due to security reasons to protect my email servers.

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·         FW: Detroit Free Press: After court threat, state removed Flint's power to sue

·         FW: Signature needed: Tell President Obama not to back down on lobbyist ban

·         FW: When I was welcomed as a refugee:

·         FW: ColoradoCare Needs Your Help

·         FW: Patriots & YOU ARE HERE .... 

·         FW: Terence Crutcher died for being Black

·         FW: Sign this petition: Justice for Terence Crutcher

·         FW: The edge of disaster? (Supporter Update)

·         FW: NCAA did the right thing

·         FW: Trump's Black outreach by abagond

·         FW: Private prisons are still profiting from Black Lives

·         FW: [DAWN] America's Worldwide Impunity

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: Andrew Tierman
Subject: Detroit Free Press: After court threat, state removed Flint's power to sue

After court threat, state of Michigan removed Flint's power to sue

From Detroit Free Press
http://on.freep.com/2cx9EFw

LANSING — Days after Flint Mayor Karen Weaver served notice that her city might file a lawsuit against the State of Michigan over the Flint drinking water crisis, the state removed Flint's ability to sue.Though Flint has not been under a state-appointed emergency manager since April 2015, the state still exerts partial control over the city through a five-member Receivership Transition Advisory Board, whose members are appointed by Gov. Rick Snyder.The board moved quickly to change the rules under which Flint is governed so that the city cannot file a lawsuit without first getting approval from that state-appointed board.In other words, Flint cannot sue the state without getting the state to sign off on it first.      Read more

 

 

From: Murshed Zaheed;  Political Director, CREDO Action from Working Assets
Subject: Signature needed: Tell President Obama not to back down on lobbyist ban

Tell President Obama: Don't back down on lobbyist ban

"Don't back down to corporate lobbyists. Preserve your strong executive orders and
presidential directives restricting the ability of former lobbyists to serve in a presidential administration."

On President Obama's first day in office, he issued executive orders placing strict limits on former lobbyists trying to work in his administration. While the revolving door between government and the private sector continues to plague our democracy, the ban on lobbyists was a huge step in the right direction that has resulted in less outright or criminal corruption.¹

But now, a non-partisan group assisting with the presidential transitions is pushing President Obama to roll back his strict rules on lobbyists in the administration.² Ending the lobbyist ban now would be seen as an admission of defeat and set a horrible precedent for the next president. We can't let that happen.

Tell President Obama: Don't back down on the lobbyist ban. Click here to sign the petition.

Here's why ending the presidential administration lobbyist ban is bad idea:
   

·         It will make things worse. While too many Obama appointees from Wall Street has hurt the administration's policies, the Obama years have been relatively free of corruption or conflict-of-interest scandals.³ Repealing the ban opens the door to bad policy and big scandals.

·         It's unnecessary. There is no proof that the restriction on hiring lobbyists has made it harder to hire talented people, as opponents claim.⁴ The biggest problem with hiring for administration positions is Senate Republicans' absolute refusal to confirm nominees for essential roles.

·         It's counter-productive. The lobbyist ban has helped change the corporate-friendly narrative that only lobbyists are smart and knowledgeable enough to do a good job in government. Instead, it is proving that there are plenty of talented people outside of lobbying, and undermining the myth that keeps lobbyists in charge.

The lobbyist ban is no silver bullet. There are still massive loopholes in the current rules that allow lobbyists to do the same work under a different name, among others. Sen. Elizabeth Warren has rightly pointed out that even people who aren't lobbyists bring dangerous outlooks and connections when they move back and forth from industry to government. Sen. Tammy Baldwin has introduced a bill, endorsed by Sen. Warren and Sec. Clinton, that would close the revolving door.⁵ The next president should be supporting these efforts and closing executive loopholes – not starting from scratch with no lobbyist ban in place.

Tell President Obama: Don't back down on the lobbyist ban. Click here to sign the petition.

President Obama's "lobbyist ban" is made up of a handful of executive orders and "presidential directives," or ethics guidelines for the administration to follow. The president has full authority to institute or repeal these rules without Congress.⁶ So it's important to make sure that he hears from the public and not just the Washington elite. With Republicans blocking revolving-door bills in Congress, saving this lobbyist ban is one of the clearest and simplest ways for us to keep corporate Wall Street influence out of government.

Tell President Obama: Don't back down on the lobbyist ban. Click the link below to sign the petition:
https://act.credoaction.com/sign/Lobbyist_Ban?t=7&akid=19754.10312106.WjX_p_
   

References:
   

1. Sarah Wheaton, "Obama facing pressure to rip up his lobbyist rules," Politico, August 12, 2016.
2. Ibid.
3. Ibid.
4. Ibid.
5. Nik DeCosta-Klipa, "Hillary Clinton says she would look to Elizabeth Warren for advice on appointments," Boston Globe, March 9, 2016.
6. Wheaton, "Obama facing pressure to rip up his lobbyist rules," Politico, August 12, 2016.

 

 

From: Madeleine Albright; Former U.S. Secretary of State
Subject: When I was welcomed as a refugee:

I came to the United States as a refugee when I was 11 years old. My father was a diplomat and a strong supporter of democracy in Czechoslovakia, so when the Communists took over, we were forced into exile as refugees. In November 1948, we were welcomed to the United States of America.

Becoming a U.S. citizen is the most important thing that ever happened to me. My father said that when we were in Europe during WWII people would say, "We are sorry for your troubles and hope that you have everything you need; by the way, when will you be leaving to go back home?"

But in America, people said: "We are sorry for your troubles and hope that you have everything you need; by the way, when will you become a citizen?"

America resettles more refugees than any other nation because it reflects one of our noblest traditions as a nation: providing support to those who are most vulnerable.

With the world facing the largest mass displacement on record since World War II, it has never been more important for world leaders to follow America's example and work together to do more to support refugees.

Today, President Obama is hosting a Refugee Summit meeting to encourage more world leaders to step up and make new commitments to support the critical work of resettling refugees and helping them rebuild their lives. You can watch the President's speech here at 3:35 PM Eastern.

Under President Obama, we've increased the number of refugees resettling this year to 85,000 – including 10,000 Syrian refugees. Starting next week, the United States will commit to resettling 110,000 refugees from around the world over the coming year.

And with refugees undergoing the most rigorous screening of any kind of traveler, he's shown that we can welcome refugees while ensuring our own safety.

As a former Secretary of State, I can tell you that President Obama's leadership in this global crisis is critical to our national security.

When countries with insufficient resources take in refugees, it creates more instability, not just at the frontlines of this crisis, but around the world. If we were to slam the door in the faces of refugees with certain religious backgrounds, we would defy our history and our principles of pluralism and diversity. As we talk to other nations about what more needs to be done to tackle this crisis, it's important that President Obama is setting this example.

When I came here as a child, I will never forget sailing into New York Harbor for the first time and beholding the Statute of Liberty. I did not have to face refugee camps or the kind of danger that many refugees endure. But like all refugees, I shared a hope to live a safe life with dignity and a chance to give back to my new country.

Together, we can help refugees rebuild their lives and live with dignity once again.

Please do not reply to this email. Contact the White House
The White House • 1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW • Washington, DC 20500 • 202-456-1111

 

 

From: SPAN Ohio
Subject: ColoradoCare Needs Your Help

ColoradoCare Needs Your Help

Activists in Colorado will have an issue on the ballot, Amendment 69, that would create a universal system as close to single payer health care as any state can get.   They have passed major hurdles in getting the issue to the ballot, but now they need some help.

ColoradoCare Yes! is being outspent 8-1 by the opposition.   Most of the money the opposition has comes from corporate interests wishing to preserve the status quo of profits before people.  There has been an infusion of dark money into the opposition campaign coffers, as one can well imagine.

Anthem of Ohio was one of the biggest contributors to the opposition campaign, putting up $500,000.  SPAN Ohio decided that we needed to redeem Ohio's reputation as best we could.  SPAN Ohio is not as well heeled as Anthem and can't possibly match the $500,000, but at the last State Council meeting we did vote to donate $1000 to the campaign.

This campaign is very important.   A loss in Colorado would set the movement back quite a bit and take the momentum away from other states who hope to have a ballot issue in 2020.  If Colorado can't get it done, why would we think other states can?   It is important to the momentum we received through the primary campaign that Colorado win.

Money, while needed for a campaign, is not the only way we can help ColoradoCare Yes!   They need a strong ground game to counteract the money being spent.  They do have a very active speakers bureau, including journalist TR Reid, who produced the documentary Sick Around the World. They have a strong Letters to the Editor campaign.  And, they are knocking on doors and talking to people on the phone.

What can you do to help?

If you would like to donate money to the campaign, you can do so through their website, http://www.coloradocare.org/splash/.   If you prefer to send a check rather than use a credit card through their webpage, you can send it to:   ColoradoCare Yes, PO Box 12127, Denver, CO  80212.  Be sure to include your full name, address, occupation and employer for IRS purposes.  

If you can't donate to the campaign you can help in other ways.   They are looking for people who would be willing to make phone calls (especially during Get Out the Vote).  This can be done from home.  You can find information on their webpage, http://www.coloradocare.org/splash/.  Or, if you wish to visit Colorado this fall, they can arrange a homestay for you.  

Who else is helping?

Illinois Single Payer is also sending a hefty donation and is asking their members to volunteer for phone banking and email writing.  Our Revolution has endorsed the measure and is helping with phone banking and contacting residents.   Progressive Democrats of America is also lending a hand.  Healthcare-NOW! assisted by hosting a webinar to get the facts out about ColoradoCare.   Colorado League of Women Voters is a key ally, helping to set up speaking engagements around the state.  Other state single payer organizations are expected to jump in and lend a hand as well. 

When we get to the ballot, we will want that same type of national support.  Let's get this job done in Colorado because it will make it much easier to be successful in Ohio!
Contact ColoradoCare Yes! today!

 

 

From: Judy Burnette

Subject: Patriots & YOU ARE HERE ....

 



Just in case you were wondering!!!

 

 

From: Rashad Robinson; ColorOfChange.org
Subject: Terence Crutcher died for being Black

Terence Crutcher, a father of four, was on his way home from class at Tulsa Community College when his car stalled in the middle of the road. Someone called the police. And instead of helping him, officers jumped out of their vehicles with guns drawn while helicopters circled in the sky filming the entire incident. Terence Crutcher needed help. But instead, he got a bullet.¹

Will you sign and share this petition demanding District Attorney Steve Kunzweil indict and fully investigate Officer Betty Shelby, who shot and killed Terence Crutcher?

Indict Officer Betty Shelby for killing Terence Crutcher, an unarmed father of four, who posed no threat to her.

The people of Tulsa are counting on you to do the right thing and hold Tulsa police accountable. You must indict and fully investigate Officer Shelby for her role in the killing. Police are not above the law, and when someone kills someone, today's law states that they should be arrested—not at home on paid administrative leave.

Sign Rashad's petition

Terence Crutcher died because he was Black. There's no other reason for someone to be killed by police when they are unarmed, walking slowly away with their hands up. He posed absolutely no threat, and yet the officers in the helicopter can be heard on video saying, "That looks like a bad dude, too. Probably on something."²

To make matters worse, after Officer Betty Shelby killed him, Tulsa Police let Terence Crutcher bleed out on the street. He died in the hospital a few hours later.³

This kind of continued disregard for Black life is enraging. Officer Betty Shelby killed someone. She should not be on administrative leave, sitting at home collecting a paycheck. Terence Crutcher's family and local activists in Tulsa are calling for Officer Shelby to be arrested and criminally charged.

Let's join them and make sure this officer is held accountable.

Click here to add your name to this petition, and then pass it along to your friends.

Sources:
   

1.    "Black man fatally shot by Tulsa police was unarmed, chief says, as 'disturbing' video is released," The Washington Post, September 20, 2016
https://act.moveon.org/go/5818?t=5&akid=170084.1195276.neH7wU

2.    "Man killed by Tulsa police had no gun; video shows he had hands up," MPR, September 19, 2016
https://act.moveon.org/go/5816?t=7&akid=170084.1195276.neH7wU

3.    "Terence Crutcher Shot and Killed By Tulsa Police While Unarmed, Arms Raised," Jezebel, September 19, 2016
http://act.moveon.org/go/5821?t=9&akid=170084.1195276.neH7wU

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From: Billi Ewing

Subject: Sign this petition: Justice for Terence Crutcher

 

Too many Black lives are lost by the hands of police. I just took action with Color of Change calling on the arrest of the officer that shot and killed Terence Crutcher!

Please join me today.

 

http://act.colorofchange.org/sign/terence-crutcher-justice/?sp_ref=231145950.176.175436.e.555175.2&source=em_sp

 

 

From: Michael Keegan; President
Subject: The edge of disaster? (Supporter Update)

If you've been watching the polls you are probably starting to feel downright worried about this election.

We have the most extreme GOP presidential candidate imaginable -- someone completely unfit for the office and someone who has, in the general election, doubled down on every bit of radical, racist, conspiracy theory-driven nonsense that catapulted him to victory in the Republican primary. And, by any measure, it's an incredibly close election. How can that be?

Several weeks ago, it looked like Donald Trump's candidacy was creating the opportunity for sweeping progressive gains in November, but now it looks like we're on the edge of disaster. Both outcomes -- even though they are vastly different extremes -- are still possible.

The reality in our politically divided country is that all of our recent national elections have been relatively close. What's truly different this time is the unequaled extreme nature of what will happen if we lose. That's why we're working every minute of every day to recapture the momentum and deal Trump and his Republicans major defeats up and down the ballot.

And it's why your 2016 support is so absolutely critical. Thank you for your generosity with your money, time, and energy!

In a close election like this one, nothing can be taken for granted because even something small could be the difference. Here's a glimpse of our game plan:

Between now and Election Day, we'll be doing everything we can afford to turn out the Latino vote against Trump and the GOP in VA, CO, PA, WI, FL, NV, OH, IA, NC, AZ, and GA. We'll do it with staff and volunteers on the ground, ads, events, celebrity partnerships, robo-calls, print mailers, and more if we can fund it. In this election, the Latino vote will determine who wins the presidency and who controls the Senate.

In those key target states and others, we're working to expose the very immediate danger that Republican candidates at every level pose to women, including their health choices and their economic choices.

And we're continuing to keep a bright spotlight on both what's at stake this election for the Supreme Court and Senate Republicans' unprecedented obstruction of President Obama's Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland. Republican senators have flat-out refused to do their job -- the job required of them by the Constitution and the job we taxpayers pay them to do. 

Voters overwhelmingly disapprove of the GOP's judicial obstruction and polls show that it's an issue that significantly hurts Republican senators' chances at re-election where there are close races. We're keeping Merrick Garland's languishing nomination in the news with creative earned media events nationally and hammering GOP senators in tight races, like New Hampshire's Kelly Ayotte, with on-the-ground grassroots pressure. 

As you know, we have our work cut out for us. GOP candidates and their far-right super PACs are raking in historically immense mountains of cash. What's worse is that Trump doesn't need as much money with his media manipulation, so compared to past presidential election years, a larger portion of the big money on the Right is going to Senate and House races. The Koch brothers' network is spending more than ever to keep the US Senate majority in Mitch McConnell's hands and right-wing casino magnate Sheldon Adelson just pledged another $45 million to help Trump and other Republicans.

All of this money in our politics is an urgent problem we are also working to fix, and achieving progressive gains this November is the only way we'll be able to do that.

In the meantime, we can't out-raise or out-spend the Right, but we can out-hustle them, and, even more importantly, out-smart them. And that is what will make the difference in this historic election.

Thanks again for your steadfast support and dedication to defending the American Way.

People For the American Way depends on the support of its members. Help make sure America lives up to the promise of freedom and equality for all by funding the work of People For with a gift today.

 

 

From: Mike Honda
Subject: NCAA did the right thing

Last year, the city of Charlotte, North Carolina tried to expand their local anti-discrimination laws to include protections for sexual orientation and gender identity. In a stunning show of close-mindedness, the Republican-dominated state legislature responded by convening an emergency session to reverse the protections.

The resulting bill, HB2, includes a discriminatory mandate that forbids transgender Americans from using the bathroom that corresponds with their gender identity. It is an outrage. Our constitution guarantees us all equal protection under the law, and I won't stop fighting until those esteemable goals are enforced regardless of gender identity or sexual orientation.

Chip in today so that in November I can continue to work to extend federal protections against discrimination to all Americans.

I applaud the NCAA's decision to relocate seven college championship games from North Carolina and the Atlantic Coast Conference's decision to move the conference's football championship game from Charlotte due to HB2. Their decision to focus on creating an inclusive atmosphere for athletes, coaches, and fans is encouraging, and puts them on the right side of history.

Our trans sisters, brothers, and friends have lived under an unjust law for nearly five months. It is an indignity they should have never had to endure. As the proud grandfather of a trans granddaughter, I want to make sure that she grows up in a country where she will be safe and guaranteed the same rights as her peers. That's why I will keep fighting for protections for LGBTQ+ Americans across our nation.

Paid For By Mike Honda for Congress

 

 

From: Thomas Scott
Subject: Trump's Black outreach by abagond

Trump's Black outreach

Tue 20 Sep 2016 by abagond

Donald Trump, the Republican who is running for US president in 2016, has been doing what the White press calls "Black outreach":

July 2016: Trump names Omarosa head of Black outreach. Spike Lee comments:
   

"Trump Has Named Her As His 'Director Of African-American Outreach. You Might Know Her From Trump's RealityTV Show The Apprentice. #Who's Next? Step N' Fetchit? Aunt Jemina? Uncle Ben?"

August 22nd: in Ohio before a vastly White audience Trump says:
   

"Poverty. Rejection. Horrible education. No housing, no homes, no ownership. Crime at levels that nobody has seen. … Look, it is a disaster the way African Americans are living, in many cases, and, in many cases the way Hispanics are living, and I say it with such a deep-felt feeling: What do you have to lose? I will straighten it out. I'll bring jobs back. We'll bring spirit back. We'll get rid of the crime. You'll be able to walk down the street without getting shot. Right now, you walk down the street, you get shot. Look at the statistics."

Thin on policy, thick on stereotype.

August 29th: he tweets:
   

"Inner-city crime is reaching record levels."

As if "inner-city crime" is a thing the FBI gathers numbers on. If he means big-city crime, that has dropped by half during the past 20 years or so – even in Chicago. It is nowhere near record levels.

September 3rd: in Detroit he sets foot in a Black neighbourhood for the first time in his 14-months of running for president. Gasp! And, for the first time in his 70 years on this earth – the 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 2010s – he goes to a Black church. He gives a scripted interview with no hard questions and then gives a short speech. Standing next to Omarosa, he sways while music is playing. Afterwards he visits Ben Carson's old house – and then takes off.

September 14th: Trump goes to Flint, Michigan, where Republicans have knowingly allowed its Black-majority citizenry to be poisoned by lead in the water. When that made news nationwide, Trump refused to comment. At Flint he speaks at a church, but later bad-mouths its (Black) pastor. He takes a picture with Mari Copeny, Little Miss Flint (shown above), but does not answer the questions she had prepared.

September 16th: Trump, Birther-in-chief, admits that President Obama was born in the US – five years after Obama made public his long-form birth certificate. But Trump does not apologize (or even fauxpologize) for humiliating the country's first Black president.

Trump has not appeared before the NAACP, which even Romney did, much less, say, the Roland Martin show or the Tom Joyner Morning Show, which reaches 8 million people. It is not as if he has not been invited.

Thus his "Black outreach" to date.

Remarks: Someone running for president who was serious about the Black vote would not act like this. But someone putting on a show for White voters who think maybe he is too racist to vote for – he would act like this.

– Abagond, 2016.

 

 

 

 

From: H & R Fox [mailto:handrfox@yahoo.com]
Subject: Fw: Private prisons are still profiting from Black Lives

Corporations shouldn't profit from Black Lives

Tell DHS: End Private Prisons Now!
TAKE ACTION

The Department of Homeland Security just announced it will review its use of private detention centers—but the prison industrial complex is far from over. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS)—the private prison industry's largest client—will continue to operate over 155 Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention centers under private prison contracts. This is fueling a vicious system of for-profit incarceration and a political machine that wants to make sure mass incarceration never ends.1

The announcement is a huge step in the right direction—but we won't stop corporations from profiting off the captivity of Black people if DHS and ICE don't cut ties with private prisons too. And with the news from the DOJ percolating through national headlines, people are already pressuring the DHS to follow its lead. Will you sign the petition?

Tell the Department of Homeland Security: End all private prison contracts immediately.

Immediately following the DOJ announcement, Corrections Corp. of America (CCA) and GEO Group--the two largest private prison corporations—stock plunged nearly 40 percent. That's a lot, but not enough to make a dent in the companies' multi-million dollar lobbying budget.2 Since 1989, CCA and GEO have spent over $35 MILLION lobbying and supporting political campaigns to keep Black people in jail. They've lobbied for longer sentences, "three-strikes" rules, and anti-immigration legislation like Arizona's notorious racial profiling law. Stopping private prison companies means stopping a political machine with only one interest: maintaining a profit-driven system of keeping Black folks locked up.

The Department of Homeland Security is the biggest contributor to the private prison industry. Its divestment would take us much closer to ending private prisons than the Department of Justice's. Only eight percent of federal and state prisons combined are run by for-profit companies—while a whopping 62 percent of immigration detention centers are for-profit. If DHS cuts ties with private prisons now, it would have an even more devastating impact on the private prison industry and its political power.

Secretary Johnson knows a review is not enough. Johnson is a graduate of the historical Black college Morehouse College and comes from a civil rights family. His grandfather, Dr. Charles S. Johnson, was a well-known researcher, advocate for Black people and president of Fisk University, another historically black college. Secretary Johnson is a part of a legacy that embodies the fight for equality. He cannot let his new legacy be based on leading a federal department that violates human rights and commits abuse. 

Private prisons are the most horrific places to be imprisoned. ICE detention centers where undocumented individuals, families, and even children are held captive are in horribly inhumane conditions and routinely violate civil and human rights.3 They force women and children to sleep on cold floors, eat food infested with maggots, go without proper medical care, and women are too often sexually assaulted by guards. The facilities are so poorly run, that many have died in these detention centers. Even the federal report that prompted the DOJ's announcement found that private prisons run by corporations are less safe and less secure.

Companies shouldn't profit from mass incarceration and the suffering of Black people. Demand DHS divest from private prisons.

ICE detention centers also detain Black undocumented people at a higher rate due to anti-Black racial profiling, over policing, and incarceration. Black immigrants who face any type of criminal conviction or attempt to seek asylum with the U.S. are more likely to bear the brunt of deportation and detention leaving them more vulnerable to the private prison system.4

Private prison companies depend on the suffering of Black people to make profit—and it has to end now. Just last year, DHS's operation of ICE doubled the revenue it was sending to private prison companies.5 And over the years, DHS has made the private prison industry very profitable—now worth roughly more than $70 billion.

But here's the good news: The DOJ's decision and now DHS announcement sets a huge precedent in weakening the power of private prison companies—and we have a real chance to force DHS and ICE to follow suit. Private prisons have no place in our society and we must continue to fight against an industry that capitalizes off of Black pain.

Sign the petition.

Until justice is real,
Rashad, Arisha, Scott, Anay, Clarise, and the rest of the Color Of Change team

References:
    

1. "The Problem With The DOJ's Decision To Stop Using Private Prisons," Think Progress, 08.18.2016.https://act.colorofchange.org/go/6709?ak_proof=1&t=7&akid=.2473350.nSEj1p
2. "How for-profit prisons have become the biggest lobby no one is talking about," The Washington Post, 04.28.2015.https://act.colorofchange.org/go/6710?ak_proof=1&t=9&akid=.2473350.nSEj1p
3. "Overcrowded, unsanitary conditions seen at immigrant detention centers," Los Angeles Times, 06.18.2014.http://act.colorofchange.org/go/6712?ak_proof=1&t=11&akid=.2473350.nSEj1p
4. "Black Immigrants' Lives Matter: Disrupting the Dialogue on Immigrant Detention," Truth-Out.org, 07.22.2015.http://act.colorofchange.org/go/6723?ak_proof=1&t=13&akid=.2473350.nSEj1p .html">http://act.colorofchange.org/go/6724?ak_proof=1&t=14&akid=.2473350.nSEj1p
5. "Sorry, But the Private Prison Industry isn't Going Anywhere," The Huffington Post, 08.18.2016.http://act.colorofchange.org/go/6713?ak_proof=1&t=16&akid=.2473350.nSEj1p .html">http://act.colorofchange.org/go/6713?ak_proof=1&t=17&akid=.2473350.nSEj1p -

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From: Daytonians Against War Now (DAWN) On Behalf Of Ron Swallow
Subject: [DAWN] America's Worldwide Impunity

America's Worldwide Impunity

By Robert Parry, Consortium News on 21 September 16

The mainstream U.S. media is treating the U.S.-led airstrike that killed scores of Syrian troops as an unfortunate boo-boo, ignoring that the U.S. and its allies have no legal right to operate in Syria at all, writes Robert Parry.

fter several years of arming and supporting Syrian rebel groups that often collaborated with Al Qaeda's Nusra terror affiliate, the United States launched an illegal invasion of Syria two years ago with airstrikes supposedly aimed at Al Qaeda's Islamic State spin-off, but on Saturday that air war killed scores of Syrian soldiers and aided an Islamic State victory.

Yet, the major American news outlets treat this extraordinary set of circumstances as barely newsworthy, operating with an imperial hubris that holds any U.S. invasion or subversion of another country as simply, ho-hum, the way things are supposed to work.

On Monday, The Washington Post dismissed the devastating airstrike at Deir al-Zour killing at least 62 Syrian soldiers as one of several "mishaps" that had occurred over the past week and jeopardized a limited ceasefire, arranged between Russia and the Obama administration.

But the fact that the U.S. and several allies have been routinely violating Syrian sovereign airspace to carry out attacks was not even an issue, nor is it a scandal that the U.S. military and CIA have been arming and training Syrian rebels. In the world of Official Washington, the United States has the right to intervene anywhere, anytime, for whatever reason it chooses.

President Barack Obama even has publicly talked about authorizing military strikes in seven different countries, including Syria, and yet he is deemed "weak" for not invading more countries, at least more decisively.

Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton has vowed to engage in a larger invasion of Syria, albeit wrapping the aggression in pretty words like "safe zone" and "no-fly zone," but it would mean bombing and killing more Syrian soldiers.

As Secretary of State, Clinton used similar language to justify invading Libya and implementing a "regime change" that killed the nation's leader, Muammar Gaddafi, and unleashed five years of violent political chaos.

If you were living in a truly democratic country with a truly professional news media, you would think that this evolution of the United States into a rogue superpower violating pretty much every international law and treaty of the post-World War II era would be a regular topic of debate and criticism.

Those crimes include horrendous acts against people, such as torture and other violations of the Geneva Conventions, as well as acts of aggression, which the Nuremberg Tribunals deemed "the supreme international crime differing only from other war crimes in that it contains within itself the accumulated evil of the whole."

Justifying 'Regime Change'

Yet, instead of insisting on accountability for American leaders who have committed these crimes, the mainstream U.S. news media spreads pro-war propaganda against any nation or leader that refuses to bend to America's imperial demands. In other words, the U.S. news media creates the rationalizations and arranges the public acquiescence for U.S. invasions and subversions of other countries.

In particular, The New York Times now reeks of propaganda, especially aimed at two of the current targets, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Russian President Vladimir Putin. With all pretenses of professionalism cast aside, the Times has descended into the status of a crude propaganda organ.

On Sunday, the Times described Assad's visit to a town recently regained from the rebels this way: "Assad Smiles as Syria Burns, His Grip and Impunity Secure." That was the headline. The article began:

"On the day after his 51st birthday, Bashar al-Assad, the president of Syria, took a victory lap through the dusty streets of a destroyed and empty rebel town that his forces had starved into submission.

"Smiling, with his shirt open at the collar, he led officials in dark suits past deserted shops and bombed-out buildings before telling a reporter that — despite a cease-fire announced by the United States and Russia — he was committed 'to taking back all areas from the terrorists.' When he says terrorists, he means all who oppose him."

The story by Ben Hubbard continues in that vein, although oddly the accompanying photograph doesn't show Assad smiling but rather assessing the scene with a rather grim visage.

But let's unpack the propaganda elements of this front-page story, which is clearly intended to paint Assad as a sadistic monster, rather than a leader fighting a foreign-funded-and-armed rebel movement that includes radical jihadists, including powerful groups linked to Al Qaeda and others forces operating under the banner of the brutal Islamic State.

The reader is supposed to recoil at Assad who "smiles as Syria burns" and who is rejoicing over his "impunity." Then, there's the apparent suggestion that his trip to Daraya was part of his birthday celebration so he could take "a victory lap" while "smiling, with his shirt open at the collar," although why his collar is relevant is hard to understand. Next, there is the argumentative claim that when Assad refers to "terrorists" that "he means all who oppose him."

As much as the U.S. news media likes to pride itself on its "objectivity," it is hard to see how this article meets any such standard, especially when the Times takes a far different posture when explaining, excusing or ignoring U.S. forces slaughtering countless civilians in multiple countries for decades and at a rapid clip over the past 15 years. If anyone operates with "impunity," it has been the leadership of the U.S. government.

Dubious Charge

On Sunday, the Times also asserted as flat fact the dubious charge against Assad that he has "hit civilians with gas attacks" when the most notorious case – the sarin attack outside Damascus on Aug. 21, 2013 – appears now to have been carried out by rebels trying to trick the United States into intervening more directly on their side.

A recent United Nations report blaming Syrian forces for two later attacks involving chlorine was based on slim evidence and produced under great political pressure to reach that conclusion – while ignoring the absence of any logical reason for the Syrian forces to have used such an ineffective weapon and brushing aside testimony about rebels staging other gas attacks.

More often than not, U.N. officials bend to the will of the American superpower, failing to challenge any of the U.S.-sponsored invasions over recent decades, including something as blatantly illegal as the Iraq War. After all, for an aspiring U.N. bureaucrat, it's clear which side his career bread is buttered.

We find ourselves in a world in which propaganda has come to dominate the foreign policy debates and – despite the belated admissions of lies used to justify the invasions of Iraq and Libya – the U.S. media insists on labeling anyone who questions the latest round of propaganda as a "fill-in-the-blank apologist."

So, Americans who want to maintain their mainstream status shy away from contesting what the U.S. government and its complicit media assert, despite their proven track record of deceit. This is not just a case of being fooled once; it is being fooled over and over with a seemingly endless willingness to accept dubious assertion after dubious assertion.

In the same Sunday edition which carried the creepy portrayal about Assad, the Times' Neil MacFarquhar pre-disparaged Russia's parliamentary elections because the Russian people were showing little support for the Times' beloved "liberals," the political descendants of the Russians who collaborated with the U.S.-driven "shock therapy" of the 1990s, a policy that impoverished a vast number of Russians and drastically reduced life expectancy.

Why those Russian "liberals" have such limited support from the populace is a dark mystery to the mainstream U.S. news media, which also can't figure out why Putin is popular for significantly reversing the "shock therapy" policies and restoring Russian life expectancy to its previous levels. No, it can't be that Putin delivered for the Russian people; the only answer must be Putin's "totalitarianism."

The New York Times and Washington Post have been particularly outraged over Russia's crackdown on "grassroots" organizations that are funded by the U.S. government or by billionaire financial speculator George Soros, who has publicly urged the overthrow of Putin. So has Carl Gershman, president of the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), which funnels U.S. government cash to political and media operations abroad.

The Post has decried a Russian legal requirement that political entities taking money from foreign sources must register as "foreign agents" and complains that such a designation discredits these organizations. What the Post doesn't tell its readers is that the Russian law is modeled after the American "Foreign Agent Registration Act," which likewise requires people trying to influence policy in favor of a foreign sponsor to register with the Justice Department.

Nor do the Times and Post acknowledge the long history of the U.S. government funding foreign groups, either overtly or covertly, to destabilize targeted regimes. These U.S.-financed groups often do act as "fifth columnists" spreading propaganda designed to undermine the credibility of the leaders, whether that's Iranian Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh in 1953 or Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych in 2014.

Imperfect Leaders

That's not to say that these targeted leaders were or are perfect. They are often far from it. But the essence of propaganda is to apply selective outrage and exaggeration to the leader that is marked for removal. Similar treatment does not apply to U.S.-favored leaders.

The pattern of the Times and Post is also to engage in ridicule when someone in a targeted country actually perceives what is going on. The correct perception is then dismissed as some sort of paranoid conspiracy theory.

Take, for example, the Times' MacFarquhar describing a pamphlet and speeches from Nikolai Merkushkin, the governor of Russian region of Samara, that MacFarquhar says "cast the blame for Russia's economic woes not on economic mismanagement or Western sanctions after the annexation of Crimea but on a plot by President Obama and the C.I.A. to undermine Russia."

The Times article continues: "Opposition candidates are a fifth column on the payroll of the State Department and part of the scheme, the pamphlet said, along with the collapse in oil prices and the emergence of the Islamic State. Mr. Putin is on the case, not least by rebuilding the military, the pamphlet said, noting that 'our country forces others to take it seriously and this is something that American politicians don't like very much.'"

Yet, despite the Times' mocking tone, the pamphlet's perceptions are largely accurate. There can be little doubt that the U.S. government through funding of anti-Putin groups inside Russia and organizing punishing sanctions against Russia, is trying to make the Russian economy scream, destabilize the Russian government and encourage a "regime change" in Moscow.

Further, President Obama has personally bristled at Russia's attempts to reassert itself as an important world player, demeaning the former Cold War superpower as only a "regional power." The U.S. government has even tread on that "regional" status by helping to orchestrate the 2014 putsch that overthrew Ukraine's elected President Yanukovych on Russia's border.

After quickly calling the coup regime "legitimate," the U.S. government supported attempts to crush resistance in the south and east which were Yanukovych's political strongholds. Crimea's overwhelming decision to secede from Ukraine and rejoin Russia was deemed by The New York Times a Russian "invasion" although the Russian troops that helped protect Crimea's referendum were already inside Crimea as part of the Sevastopol basing agreement.

The U.S.-backed Kiev regime's attempt to annihilate resistance from ethnic Russians in the east – through what was called an "Anti-Terrorism Operation" that has slaughtered thousands of eastern Ukrainians – also had American backing. Russian assistance to these rebels is described in the mainstream U.S. media as Russian "aggression."

Oddly, U.S. news outlets find nothing objectionable about the U.S. government launching military strikes in countries halfway around the world, including the recent massacre of scores of Syrian soldiers, but are outraged that Russia provided military help to ethnic Russians being faced with annihilation on Russia's border.

Because of the Ukraine crisis, Hillary Clinton likened Vladimir Putin to Adolf Hitler.

Seeing No Coup

For its part, The New York Times concluded that there had been no coup in Ukraine – by ignoring the evidence that there was one, including an intercepted pre-coup telephone call between U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland and U.S. Ambassador Geoffrey Pyatt discussing who should be made the new leaders of Ukraine.

The evidence of a coup was so clear that George Friedman, founder of the global intelligence firm Stratfor, said in an interview that the overthrow of Yanukovych "really was the most blatant coup in history." But the Times put protecting the legitimacy of the post-coup regime ahead of its journalistic responsibilities to its readers, as it has done repeatedly regarding Ukraine.

Another stunning case of double standards has been the mainstream U.S. media's apoplexy about alleged Russian hacking into emails of prominent Americans and then making them public. These blame-Russia articles have failed to present any solid evidence that the Russians were responsible and also fail to note that the United States leads the world in using electronic means to vacuum up personal secrets about foreign leaders as well as average citizens.

In a number of cases, these secrets appear to have been used to blackmail foreign leaders to get them to comply with U.S. demands, such as the case in 2002-03 of the George W. Bush administration spying on diplomats on the U.N. Security Council to coerce their votes on authorizing the U.S. invasion of Iraq, a ploy that failed.

U.S. intelligence also tapped the cell phone of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose cooperation on Ukraine and other issues of the New Cold War is important to Washington. And then there's the massive collection of data about virtually everybody on the planet, including U.S. citizens, over the past 15 years during the "war on terror."

Earlier this year, the mainstream U.S. news media congratulated itself over its use of hacked private business data from a Panama-based law firm, material that was said to implicate Putin in some shady business dealings even though his name never showed up in the documents. No one in the mainstream media protested that leak or questioned who did the hacking.

Such mainstream media bias is pervasive. In the case of Sunday's Russian elections, the Times seems determined to maintain the fiction that the Russian people don't really support Putin, despite consistent opinion polls showing him with some 80 percent approval.

In the Times' version of reality, Putin's popularity must be some kind of trick, a case of totalitarian repression of the Russian people, which would be fixed if only the U.S.-backed "liberals" were allowed to keep getting money from NED and Soros without having to divulge where the funds were coming from.

The fact that Russians, like Americans, will rally around their national leader when they perceive the country to be under assault – think, George W. Bush after the 9/11 attacks – is another reality that the Times can't tolerate. No, the explanation must be mind control.

The troubling reality is that the Times, Post and other leading American news outlets have glibly applied one set of standards on "enemies" and another on the U.S. government. The Times may charge that Bashar al-Assad has "impunity" for his abuses, but what about the multitude of U.S. leaders – and, yes, journalists – who have their hands covered in the blood of Iraqis, Libyans, Afghans, Yemenis, Syrians, Somalis and other nationalities. Where is their accountability?

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Investigative reporter Robert Parry broke many of the Iran-Contra stories for The Associated Press and Newsweek in the 1980s. You can buy his latest book, America's Stolen Narrative, either in print here or as an e-book (from Amazon and barnesandnoble.com).

 

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