Another Fine Week Here in the Republic

05 October 19

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04 October 19 It's Live on the HomePage Now: Reader Supported News Garrison Keillor | Another Fine Week Here in the Republic Garrison Keillor, Garrison Keillor's Website Keillor writes: "I imagine that, among the White House regulars, there is a tranche of them who wish to continue their careers when the Boy President goes to the Next Stop, and I expect they are thinking hard this week." READ MORE Kurt Volker, a former special envoy to Ukraine, arrives for a closed-door interview with House investigators on Thursday. (photo: J. Scott Applewhite/AP) ALSO SEE: Trump Reportedly Promised China's President That He'd Stay Quiet on Hong Kong Protests as Long as Trade Talks Progressed Kurt Volker Provided Evidence Giuliani Ran 'Shadow Shakedown' in Ukraine, Democrat Says Rebecca Shabad and Alex Moe, NBC News Excerpt: "Rudy Giuliani, the president's personal lawyer, ran a 'shadow shakedown' in Ukraine, according to evidence former U.S. envoy to Ukraine Kurt Volker provided to lawmakers during more than eight hours of closed-door testimony Thursday, Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., told reporters once the deposition on Capitol Hill ended." EXCERPT: "The facts we learned today undercut the salacious narrative that [House Intelligence Chairman] Adam Schiff is using to sell his impeachment ambitions," Reps. Jim Jordan of Ohio and Devin Nunes of California said in a joint statement following the deposition. "We hope the American people get to read the transcript of today's testimony and see the truth." Democrats on the intelligence panel later released text messages that showed Volker and another U.S. ambassador working to persuade the Ukrainians to commit to probing Trump's opponents. "We have evidence of text messages between State Department officials expressing concern as early as May that there was a Giuliani-Biden thing going on that had concerned a State Department official," Swalwell said. "We have evidence that a State Department official was concerned that there was a linkage between security assistance [to Ukraine], and as he described, a domestic political campaign." READ MORE A man puts on a jacket at a homeless encampment in St. Louis. (photo: Jeff Roberson/AP) Record Debt and Inequality Gap? It's Almost Like 40 Years of Republican Tax Cuts Failed. Steven Strauss, USA TODAY Strauss writes: "Since the Reagan administration, Republicans have fervently claimed lower taxes will unleash the 'makers' - incentivizing them to work harder and invest more, thereby trickling down to benefit ordinary Americans." EXCERPT: More growth during higher-tax eras  The American economy since 1950 offers a chance to consider the impact of these tax cuts. From 1950 to 1980, the top federal marginal tax rates (the rates on income above certain levels) were as high as 92% and never below 70%. Republicans have been slashing the top tax bracket for annual earned income since the early 1980s, and it is now 37% on income above $612,350.  Further, in 2003 the GOP shrank the tax rate on unearned income (such as dividends) to 15%, resulting (for example) in the billionaire Warren Buffett having a lower tax rate than his secretary. With such dramatic tax cuts, GOP dogma predicted a booming U.S. economy. But it turns out U.S. economic growth was substantially higher during the period of high taxes. From 1950 to 1980, average annual growth in real (inflation-adjusted gross domestic product) was 3.9%, while from 1981 to 2018 the comparable number was 2.7%.  Similarly, during the high tax period, median household incomes increased on average (in real terms) by a bit over 2.5% per year. During the low income tax period, average real growth in household income declined to 0.7% per year. READ MORE Sisters Hannah and Hailey Hager started a lemonade stand in their North Carolina town to help pay off their classmates' school lunch debt. (photo: Erin Hager/Al Jazeera) The Other Student Debt: US Kids Struggle to Pay for School Meals Kaelyn Forde, Al Jazeera Forde writes: "With unpaid meal debt topping $10m, advocates say it is time that all United States students had a free lunch." EXCERPT: "It's a big issue. We're in the United States and there are kids going hungry, for goodness' sake," Erin Hager told Al Jazeera. "It seems like an oxymoron." And the federal government is not allowed to step in and help. The USDA mandated in 2017 that federal funds cannot be used to pay off student meal debt. That means the burden of assisting kids whose families do not qualify for free or reduced-price school meals falls entirely on local districts. "Offering free meals to all kids would solve the problem immediately," FitzSimons told Al Jazeera. "And we are seeing more and more schools offer free breakfast and lunch to all students." New York City and Boston are among the cities that now offer free breakfast and lunch to all public school students. Poppendieck said she would like to see such action taken on a federal level, and have the federal government pick up the tab by taxing higher incomes at higher rates. READ MORE A vehicle drives into the Otay Mesa detention center in San Diego. (photo: Elliot Spagat/AP) Immigrant Detainee Suffers Brain Hemorrhage and Dies in ICE Custody in San Diego Wendy Fry, Los Angeles Times Fry writes: "A 37-year-old man from Cameroon died Tuesday in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody, after undergoing treatment for a brain hemorrhage since Sept. 26 at Sharp Chula Vista Medical Center." EXCERPT: ICE is required to post a news release about each in-custody death, a spokeswoman said. The news release is typically posted on ICE’s website after the deceased’s next of kin and other required governmental agencies are notified. A February 2016 report from the American Civil Liberties Union, Detention Watch Network, and the National Immigrant Justice Center asserted that “egregious violations of ICE medical care standards played a prominent role in eight deaths in immigration detention facilities from 2010 to 2012.” READ MORE Female prisoners in El Salvador. (photo: Al Pais) El Salvador: Woman Released After Facing Charges for Abortion teleSUR Excerpt: "A court in El Salvador declared innocent another young woman, Yessenia Bonilla, of aggravated homicide charges for allegedly aborting her fetus back in November 2018." READ MORE An African elephant. (photo: WTTC) World Animal Day: Shocking Statistics Show the State of Global Wildlife Trade Aristos Georgiou, Newsweek Georgiou writes: "Researchers have released shocking statistics which highlight the huge scale of the global wildlife trade in time for World Animal Day - an international day of action to raise awareness for animal rights and welfare." EXCERPT: The report splits these animals up into the "Big Five" and the "Little Five." The former are the Nile crocodile, the cape fur seal, Hartmann's mountain zebra, the African elephant and the common hippopotamus. The latter are the ball python, the African grey parrot, the emperor scorpion, the leopard tortoise and the savannah monitor lizard. The report highlights the immense suffering that these species are forced to endure, ranging from the initial traumatic capture, cramped export conditions, poor conditions in captivity, poor treatment when sold as exotic pets, and slaughter. Below are some of the key observations detailed in the report. It is important to note that this is all happening legally: Nile crocodiles are intensively farmed so that they can be slaughtered and skinned for their leather. Between 2011 and 2015, more than 189,000 skins were exported around the world annually, on average. Every year, Cape fur seals are subjected to a horrific hunting tradition in Namibia. "Thousands of pups are rounded up and clubbed and suffocated to death. Adult seals are shot or clubbed, and sometimes even skinned alive, due to demand for wild fur in fashion accessories." Elephants are killed in the wild for their ivory and skin, which are used for jackets and car interiors, among other applications. When poachers shoot these animals, a humane death isn't guaranteed due to their large size. Bullets that miss their intended target often result in a prolonged and agonizing death. "When people hear of Africa's famous 'Big 5' and 'Little 5' they probably think of the iconic wild animals tourists hope to see on a wildlife safari. But after reading this report, I hope they'll remember a different 'Big' 5' and 'Little 5'—those African wild animals that are being greedily exploited the most by consumers around the world," Neil D'Cruze, Head of Wildlife Research and Animal Welfare at World Animal Protection, said in a statement. READ MORE Contribute to RSN Update My Monthly Donation