When Joe Biden Voted to Let States Overturn Roe v. Wade

31 March 19 Urgency and Progress - Help Folks! We are making the best progress on donations we have made all month at this point. Still barely 500 readers out of the 600,000 who have visited RSN this month have contributed. Give us a hand - today, please. With urgency. Marc Ash Founder, Reader Supported News Sure, I'll make a donation! Update My Monthly Donation If you would prefer to send a check: Reader Supported News PO Box 2043 Citrus Hts, CA 95611

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Now is the Time That We Need Your Support - Today - This is it, right now. We are pulling out all the stops to finish the March fundraiser now. As in, right now. Yes, we can do that. Today, right now is critical. / Marc Ash, Founder Reader Supported News

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When Joe Biden Voted to Let States Overturn Roe v. Wade 

Lisa Lerer, The New York Times
Lerer writes: "It was a new era in Washington in 1981, and abortion rights activists were terrified."
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A small group of activists rally against the GOP health care plan outside of the Metropolitan Republican Club, July 5, 2017 in New York City. (photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Democrats Should Fight Trump With Medicare for All
Tim Higginbotham and Luke Thibault, Jacobin
Excerpt: "The disappointing reality is that Democratic leadership opposes Medicare for All, the single-payer policy championed by Bernie Sanders."
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Pete Buttigieg. (photo: Current Affairs)

All About Mayor Pete
Nathan J. Robinson, Current Affairs
Robinson writes: "The nationwide attention to Buttigieg seems more to be due to 'the fact that he is a highly-credentialed Rust Belt mayor' rather than 'what he has actually said and done.' He's a gay millennial from Indiana, yes. But should he be President of the United States?"
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Sheriff Randy Tucker of Madison County, Mississippi. (image: Sheriff Randy Tucker/Anagraph/Facebook

Black Mississippians Say Sheriff's Office 'Terrorize the Community Like a Gang Would'
Aaron Morrison, The Appeal
Morrison writes: "'The sheriff's department is totally out of control,' Moore, a Mississippi-based Cochran Firm attorney, told The Appeal."
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Willie McCoy had been sleeping in his car outside a Taco Bell, authorities said. (photo: David Harrison)

Willie McCoy: Rapper Shot Dead by Police Was Sleeping, Video Shows
Zamira Rahim, Independent 

Rahim writes: "Vallejo Police have released footage of the shooting of Willie McCoy, appearing to show officers killing the aspiring rapper just after he had woken up after falling asleep in his car."
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A destitute mother and child on the sidewalk in Calcutta during the Bengal famine of 1943-44. Courtesy Kalyani Bhattacharyee, and Sj. Manoj. (photo: Sarbadhikar/Wikimedia Commons)

Bengal Famine caused by Winston Churchill's Policies, Not Drought, Study Confirms
The Scroll
Excerpt: "The 1943 Bengali famine was caused by then-British Prime Minister Winston Churchill's policies and not drought, a group of Indian and American researchers have found in a study published in the journal, Geophysical Research Letters."
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The floating drill rig Kulluk in Alaska's Kiliuda Bay in 2013. (photo: James Brooks/Kodiak Daily Mirror)

Judge Throws Out Trump Executive Order and Restores Obama-Era Drilling Ban in Arctic
Juliet Eilpern, The Washington Post
Eilpern writes: "A federal judge in Alaska has declared that President Trump's order revoking a sweeping ban on oil and gas drilling in the Arctic and Atlantic oceans is illegal, putting 128 million acres of federal waters off limits to energy exploration."
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Bill McKibben | How Extreme Weather Is Shrinking the Planet

17 November 18

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A MOMENT TO HONOR THOSE WHO SUSTAIN RSN - The problem of people who use Reader Supported News but will not contribute is so serious that it often overshadows the efforts of those who are quite willing to help sustain the organization, and there are many. We are a long way from finished for November. Let’s take a moment however to thank sincerely our sustainers, large and small each and every one. In solidarity. / Marc Ash, Founder Reader Supported News

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Bill McKibben | How Extreme Weather Is Shrinking the Planet 

Bill McKibben, The New Yorker
McKibben writes: "Thirty years ago, this magazine published 'The End of Nature,' a long article about what we then called the greenhouse effect. I was in my twenties when I wrote it, and out on an intellectual limb: climate science was still young."
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Bernie Sanders. (photo: Antonella Crescimbeni)

Bernie Sanders Targets Walmart and Takes Aim at Low Wages and CEO Pay
Adam Gabbatt, Guardian UK
Gabbatt writes: "Bernie Sanders and California congressman Ro Khanna launched the Stop Walmart Act on Thursday - a campaign that would force Walmart and other large corporations to raise their minimum wage to $15 an hour."
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Immigrant children in a detention center. (photo: Ross D. Franklin)

The Number of Undocumented Children in US Custody Surpasses 14,000
David Boddiger, Splinter News
Boddiger writes: "The Trump administration has reached another shameful milestone in its immigration policy, with the number of unaccompanied immigrant minors in U.S. custody reaching a record number of 14,056."
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Stacey Abrams. (photo: Kevin D. Liles/Getty Images)

Stacey Abrams Says 'Democracy Failed' Georgia as She Ends Bid for Governor
Gregory Krieg, CNN
Krieg writes: "Democrat Stacey Abrams on Friday acknowledged that Republican Brian Kemp will become the next governor of Georgia, ending her bid to become the first African American woman elected to lead a state."
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Law enforcement officials recovered high-powered guns, several pounds of meth and fentanyl, a rocket launcher and at least two pipe bombs. (photo: WFTS)

39 Domestic Terrorists Arrested in White Supremacist Gang Sting
Michael Harriot, The Root
Harriot writes: "In an effort to clean up the white community, federal and state authorities in Florida have arrested 39 members of white supremacist gangs and confiscated guns, explosives and even a rocket launcher in what may stand as one of the biggest racist thug gang's mass arrests until the end of the Robert Mueller investigation."
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Supporters hold up signs for the Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. (photo: Ozan Kose/Getty)

CIA Concludes Saudi Crown Prince Ordered Jamal Khashoggi's Death, Sources Say
Elise Labott, Veronica Stracqualursi and Jeremy Herb, CNN
Excerpt: "The CIA has concluded that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman personally ordered the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, despite the Saudi government's denials that the de facto ruler was involved, according to a senior US official and a source familiar with the matter."
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Offshore drilling platform. (photo: iStock)

US Starts Process to Open Arctic to Offshore Drilling, Despite Federal Lawsuit
Sabrina Shankman, InsideClimate News
Shankman writes: "The Trump administration has begun the process to open a large area of federal waters off Alaska to oil and gas drilling, taking comments on a plan for drilling that is already being challenged in court."
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RSN: Naomi Klein: War May Be the Next Big Venture on Trump's Agenda

18 August 17 PM

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WE'RE NOT TRYING TO "MONETIZE," WE ARE TRYING TO SURVIVE - We get at least 3 feedback messages a day giving us advice on how to better "monetize" RSN. Which completely misses the point. We are not trying to build an empire on Wall Street ... we're trying to derail the empires that already exist there. We focus on our mission, which is social justice. The money is a necessity for the organization's survival. Donate, please. / Marc Ash - Founder, Reader Supported News

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Naomi Klein: War May Be the Next Big Venture on Trump's Agenda 
 
Adria Vasil, NOW Toronto 
Vasil writes: "There are many reasons why it might be in the Trump administration's interests to launch a full-fledged war." 
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Trump Is a Cancer on the Presidency 
Jonathan Capehart, The Washington Post 
Capehart writes: "If Trump succeeds in surviving this unbelievable affront to all we say we are, he will not be to blame. We will." 
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David Sirota and Alex Kotch | Health Insurers, Big Oil Seek to Influence Pence 
David Sirota and Alex Kotch, International Business Times 
Excerpt: "Amid speculation that Pence could mount his own presidential bid - or replace Trump if he leaves office early - the former Indiana governor and U.S. congressman has been directly lobbied by major health care and drug companies, Wall Street firms, oil and gas interests and industry groups interested in shaping a federal infrastructure privatization initiative." 
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Burying the Lie of the "Alt-Left" 
Branko Marcetic, Jacobin 
Marcetic writes: "It's time to stop pretending that the same people fighting white supremacists are somehow exactly like them." 
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Pediatricians Say Florida Hurt Sick Kids to Help Big GOP Donors 
Elizabeth Cohen and Katherine Grise, CNN 
Excerpt: "The state moved children to other Medicaid insurance plans that don't specialize in caring for very sick children." 
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I'm a Black Southerner. I Had to Go Abroad to See a Statue Celebrating Black Liberation. 
Samuel Sinyangwe, Vox 
Sinyangwe writes: "Yes, each Confederate statue should be removed, each Confederate school and street renamed. But the fact that the national debate still centers on whether pro-slavery monuments should be taken down, not on how many anti-racist monuments should be built, speaks volumes." 
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Trump Green Lights Arctic Drilling Project in Polar Bear Habitat 
Center for Biological Diversity 
Excerpt: "The Trump administration released an environmental review Thursday of Hilcorp Alaska's Arctic offshore drilling development." 
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RSN: Garrison Keillor | Christmas Lives On

It's Live on the HomePage Now: 
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THE GOOD THAT RSN DOES - We began in progressive publishing over a decade ago. In fact as George W. Bush assumed control of the White House. Since that time every news publication with a significant online presence has copied, in part or in whole our approach to publishing. RSN brings innovation, and leadership. We serve over a million readers per month, tens of thousands of which are low-income. We do it all on public funding without any assistance from powerful interests. That's important, because often those powerful interests are at the root of the problems that we so often report on. Were we accepting funding from those interests - directly or indirectly we would be constrained in our reporting. We force the hand of the corporate media. No longer can the corporate media function with an expectation that their version of events will have no rebuttal. We keep the pressure on the, for-sale-media-machine around the clock. They know we will be there, and our readers do to. We provide a vibrant forum for public debate. Our comments - get comments! People say it all the time, "read the comments." Indeed our commenters are among the most astute and substantive in online publishing. Our Godot section allows authors a powerful self-publishing tool to reach wide audiences with innovative perspectives. RSN is a veteran team of notion challengers. We have proven time and again: Courage in reporting does make a difference. Marc Ash - Founder, Reader Supported News

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Garrison Keillor | Christmas Lives On 

Garrison Keillor, The Washington Post 
Keillor writes: "It is hard to believe that the Creator of our universe with its billions of galaxies could have sent Himself to this little blue blip not so long ago in the form of an infant born to a virgin, to be first worshiped by illiterate shepherds where He lay in a feed trough, livestock peering down at Him, Eastern potentates following a star to the site. But here we are again, singing those songs, so we shall see." 
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Aleppo's "Evacuation" Is a Crime Against Humanity 
Ben Taub, The New Yorker 
Taub writes: "Now is the time to stop talking about violations of human rights in Syria, and, instead, to describe atrocities in the proper terms: war crimes and crimes against humanity, as defined, unambiguously, in the Rome Statute, the founding document of the International Criminal Court." 
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"The Apprentice" Employees Feared Professional Reprisal Over Trump Leaks 
David Dayen, The Intercept 
Dayen writes: "Many expected footage of Donald Trump's hundreds of hours in 'The Apprentice' boardroom to yield something just as incendiary. But outtakes from the show were never leaked. One of the plausible reasons why this footage hasn't seen the light of day is that, simply put, many of the employees with access to the footage feared the end of their careers." 
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Can Trump Reverse Obama's Drilling Ban?
Avaneesh Pandey, International Business Times 
Pandey writes: "On Tuesday, President Barack Obama announced that he was earmarking huge swaths of U.S. waters in the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans as 'indefinitely' off-limits to offshore oil and gas leasing and drilling. But can the Donald Trump-led administration reverse the ban?" 
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RSN: Bob Fitrakis and Harvey Wasserman | How the GOP Flipped and Stripped Yet Another American Election,

It's Live on the HomePage Now: 
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WE NEED "EVERYONE" TO HELP WITH FUNDING- A few people donating, while most do not, is a formula for serious problems quickly. We are seeing new names on the receipts, so that's encouraging. Take funding seriously. Seriously. / Marc Ash, Founder Reader Supported News

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Bob Fitrakis and Harvey Wasserman | How the GOP Flipped and Stripped Yet Another American Election 
 
Bob Fitrakis and Harvey Wasserman, Reader Supported News 
Excerpt: "Hillary Clinton has won the popular vote in the 2016 presidential election by well over a million votes. But her impending defeat in the Electoral College comes with familiar signs that yet another American election has been stripped and flipped." 
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NSA Turmoil Could Threaten Chief's Job - and Expand Trump's Power 
Spencer Ackerman, Guardian UK 
Ackerman writes: "A potential structural change to the US surveillance apparatus has thrown the tenure of the National Security Agency director, Michael Rogers, into doubt and increased the likelihood that Donald Trump will have a chance to substantially reshape the US intelligence agencies." 
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7 Big Areas Where Jeff Sessions Could Change Policy at DOJ 
Danny Vinik, Politico 
Vinik writes: "Sen. Jeff Sessions was an instantly divisive figure when President-elect Donald Trump named him as his next attorney general: conservatives and immigration hardliners welcomed the choice, while civil-rights groups and Democrats spent the day attacking the pick, with Sen. Elizabeth Warren saying his selection would be a 'compromise with racism.'" 
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Congressional Phones Jammed by Calls for Trump Conflict-of-Interest Investigation 
Elise Viebeck, The Washington Post 
Viebeck writes: "If you're trying to call the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, you might find yourself on hold for ... the afternoon." 
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Corporate America Is Failing on Paid Family Leave 
Bryce Covert, ThinkProgress 
Covert writes: "The United States is the only developed country in the world that doesn't require its employers to give new parents time off for the arrival of their child. That, of course, doesn't preclude employers from doing it voluntarily, and some have made headlines for offering generous policies." 
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Turkey: Refugees Set Deportation Center on Fire, Escape 
Al Jazeera 
Excerpt: "Around 50 refugees have escaped from a repatriation centre in central Istanbul after starting a fire inside the building, according to Turkish media." 
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No New Federal Oil and Gas Leases in the Arctic Ocean for the Next Five Years 
Rebecca Hersher, NPR 
Hersher writes: "The Obama Administration has removed the Arctic Ocean from any new offshore oil and gas leasing for the next five years." 
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Progressive Breakfast: TPP Is Dead. What Did We Learn From This Great Progressive Victory?

TODAY:  

MORNING MESSAGE

Dave Johnson

TPP Is Dead. What Did We Learn From This Great Progressive Victory?

It showed that We the People CAN win — CAN overcome corporate domination. It took years but progressives educated, drove awareness, organized and won. There’s a lesson there ... there is a better path forward on trade. Next, we work together to make our government renegotiate trade deals like NAFTA. But not the Trump way.

NO MANDATE

Only 29 percent say Trump has a mandate. Politico:“Less than 30 percent of Americans say Donald Trump has a mandate to carry out as president the agenda he proposed on the campaign trail, according to new Washington Post/Schar School poll … 59 percent said he should compromise with Democrats … Fifty percent of Americans said President Barack Obama had a mandate when he was first elected to the White House in 2008…”

Sen. Rand Paul reminds Senate could reject cabinet picks. Bloomberg:“Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky was the first out of the gate putting Trump on notice Tuesday, warning against picking former Ambassador John Bolton or Rudy Giuliani as secretary of State … The [foreign relations] panel has a narrow 10-9 Republican majority, meaning a single senator could join with the panel’s Democrats to block a nomination. The same could happen in other committees.”

Trump transition memo sketches out trade policy for “first 200 days.” CNN:“On Day 1, Trump would … have the US Trade Representative notify Mexico and Canada that the US intends to propose some amendments to the treaty, which could include measures on currency manipulation, lumber, country of origin labeling and environmental and safety standards … By Day 100, the plan says, Trump would continue NAFTA renegotiations, would pursue cracking down on China by seeing if they could be labeled a currency manipulator and through bilateral trade negotiations … By Day 200, Trump would be considering formally withdrawing from NAFTA and continuing to pursue bilateral trade agreements …”

TRANSITION TEAM OVERHAULED

Pence reportedly ousts lobbyists from transition team. WSJ:“… Mr. Pence ordered the removal of all lobbyists from the transition team, said one transition team member with knowledge of the decisions … [Former Rep. Mike] Rogers was told he was being replaced because everyone who was brought in by New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, the transition team’s original chairman, was being ousted … On Tuesday night, Mr. Trump tweeted: ‘Very organized process taking place…'”

Industry lobbyists under consideration for EPA. Reuters:“Top contenders for the job include Jeff Holmstead, an energy industry attorney at Bracewell law firm who was assistant administrator for the EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation from 2001 to 2005, and Mike Catanzaro, a lobbyist for CGCN who was an associate deputy administrator at the EPA from 2005 to 2007 … Myron Ebell, a prominent climate change skeptic … has been leading Trump’s EPA transition team, but sources said he is not likely to become the administrator.”

Anti-Muslim Frank Gaffney joins transition. TPM:“Gaffney is known for extreme anti-Muslim statements and has claimed that ‘creeping Sharia’ poses a threat to the United States. He has accused members of the Obama administration of being part of the Muslim Brotherhood, specifically Hillary Clinton aide Huma Abedin.”

PELOSI MAY FACE CHALLENGE

House Dems could oust Nancy Pelosi. The Hill:“House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi on Tuesday pushed her party’s leadership elections past Thanksgiving … she got an earful Tuesday morning from a long list of lawmakers urging a longer timeline to allow ‘an internal conversation’ about the party’s path back to power … The riled-up lawmakers stopped short of calling for a change in leadership, but the two-week delay conceivably gives time for a challenger to emerge and lobby for support. Rep. Tim Ryan (D) is weighing such a challenge.”

Sanders may not want leadership post. The Hill:“…Sanders told reporters Wednesday evening that he is not interested in serving as chairman of the Democratic Policy and Communication Center … Asked whether he will serve in leadership, Sanders said it ‘remains to be seen.’ … Senate Democrats say the top two leadership positions in their caucus are settled … Sanders told reporters during a conference call Wednesday that he would not challenge Schumer or Durbin.”

Movement builds to target right-leaning Democrats. Politico:“[Some are] planning to channel the energy unleashed last week into electoral politics, starting with Democratic primaries … ‘Our big goal is to support primary challenges against those Democrats who negotiate with Donald Trump,’ said the organizer, Waleed Shahid, a veteran of Bernie Sanders’ campaign who is working for a group called AllofUs … Progressive groups are planning to combine that tactic with direct actions like marches and sit-ins to more seamlessly merge an anti-Trump protest movement with electoral politicking … But the prospect of unifying disparate opposition groups under a single command structure remains a daunting one.”

Senate Dems “come out swinging” reports Roll Call:“Democrats have said that they are willing to work with Trump on areas of common ground. But Minority Leader Harry Reid used floor remarks on Tuesday to assail the real estate mogul, accusing him of sparking ‘a wave of hate crimes.’ … four Democratic senators and a newly elected colleague stood next to a poster with ‘Fire Bannon’ in large white letters …”

STANDING ROCK PREPARES FOR WINTER

Volunteers continue to feed Standing Rock protesters. NYT:“As the number of teepees and yurts built to withstand the brutal North Dakota winter has grown, so, too, have the camp kitchens. No one is directly in charge of the chaotic but robust network of what amounts to several free restaurants, which reflect both the broad spectrum of the nation’s diet and its battles over food politics.”

Dakota pipeline fight heralds new day for indigenous sovereignty movement movement, says American Prospect’s Jason Mark:“Native American leaders and historians say the current wave of indigenous activism represents the most muscular and cohesive push for indigenous sovereignty since the 1970s heyday of the American Indian Movement … While it seems unlikely that Trump would continue Obama’s reconciliation agenda, the shift in the balance of power will be difficult to reverse … The indigenous sovereignty movement is proving to be the most vigorous and well-articulated, anti-capitalist effort on the far side of Bernie Sanders.”

Obama could still protect Arctic. KTOO:“Environmentalists want Obama to place the Arctic off limits to offshore drilling, in part to combat climate change. The oil industry is lobbying to keep it open. A decision is expected any day. And depending what Obama does, it might not be so easy for a Trump administration to override it.”

Progressive Breakfast is a daily morning email highlighting news stories of interest to activists. Progressive Breakfast and OurFuture.org are projects of People's Action.more »