Middleboro Review

WHAT IN WORLD DOES IT TAKE? What do we have to do the bring the few donations it take to fund the organization? This is - by far - the hardest fundraising environment we have seen in 13 years. If you support what we do, support what we do. Seriously! / Marc Ash, Founder Reader Supported News

If you would prefer to send a check:
Reader Supported News
PO Box 2043
Citrus Hts, CA 95611

06 September 19

It's Live on the HomePage Now:
Reader Supported News

Biden Taps Influence Industry Despite Pledge on Lobbyists

Brian Slodysko, Associated Press
Slodysko writes: "Hours after his April campaign kickoff, the former vice president went to a fundraiser at the home of a lobbying executive. And in the months since, he's done it again and again."

EXCERPTS:

That includes roughly $6,000 in contributions his campaign accepted from six federally registered lobbyists, including representatives of Google, aerospace and defense giant Lockheed Martin, and pharmaceutical companies, records show. An additional $5,750 was donated by two lobbyists who had been registered shortly before making contributions to Biden’s campaign, records show.

In at least two instances, donations came from lobbyists with criminal records who have served time in federal prison.

Former Florida Rep. Lawrence J. Smith, a federally registered lobbyist representing the city of Pembroke Pines, gave Biden $1,000 after attending a fundraiser in May. Smith left Congress in 1993 after it was revealed he bounced 161 bad checks. He was convicted months later of tax evasion and using campaign cash to settle a gambling debt.

Maryland statehouse lobbyist Gerard E. Evans gave Biden $2,600, records show. He was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison in 2000 after being found guilty of participating in an elaborate fake legislation scheme that bilked clients out of more than $400,000 in lobbying fees, according to court records.

Excluded from Biden’s pledge are lobbyists who work at the state level and those who lobby, or supervise lobbyists, but do not meet the legal threshold requiring them to register.

Spokesman Matt Hill said in a statement that Biden will “fight the influence of corporations and special interests in our political system, which is why his campaign refuses donations from corporations, their PACs, and federal lobbyists.”

The PAC, which Biden used to finance his political activities after leaving the White House in 2017, accepted at least $113,000 from at least a dozen current and formerly registered lobbyists, in addition to more than 30 others who work in the influence industry, records show. Among them are representatives for Boeing, Apple, the NFL, Facebook, General Motors and the National Association of Mortgage Brokers, as well as other representatives of the big pharmaceutical, tech, telecom and financial services companies, records show.

Moscow authorities refused to issue permits for most of the protests that have taken place in the city this summer, and the police and National Guard put them down brutally. (photo: Sergei Bobylev/Getty Images)

Masha Gessen | A Summer of Unprecedented Brutality in Moscow
Masha Gessen, The New Yorker
Gessen writes: "It's true that the Kremlin has been cracking down on dissent for seven years, and nothing has qualitatively changed in that time, but the arrests continue to multiply, prison terms grow longer, and the brutality becomes more brutal. Once in a while, the cruelty of the authorities comes into sharper focus."
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Travelers wait in line at a security checkpoint at Ronald Reagan National Airport on May 24, 2019, in Arlington, Va. (photo: Zach Gibson/Getty Images)

Secret Terrorism Watchlist Found Unconstitutional in Historic Decision
Ryan Devereaux, The Intercept
Devereaux writes: "The 166-page 'Watchlisting Guidance' detailed the process by which the U.S. national security apparatus adds individuals to the Terrorist Screening Database."
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Sen. Sanders walks the picket line with Penford Products workers in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. (photo: Bernie Sanders/Instagram)

Union Leader: We Back Bernie Sanders Because He Has 'Petitioned for American Workers'
Tess Bonn, The Hill
Bonn writes: "A leader at the United Electrical Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE) said that the labor group backed Sen. Bernie Sanders's (I-Vt.) 2020 presidential bid because he has actively taken part in fighting for workers' rights."
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Aviation operators agreed to stop helping ICE deport immigrants, and as far as human rights researchers and activists know, Boeing Field is no longer used for deportations. (photo: CNN)

This Community Stopped ICE From Using Its Airport to Deport Thousands of Immigrants
Lena Elmeligy, In These Times
Excerpt: "Thanks to local organizing, King County International Airport no longer provides ground support for ICE."
READ MORE

Juan Guaido. (photo: Matías Baglietto/Getty Images)

Venezuela Government Shows Proof of Juan Guaido Leading a 'Criminal Group'
teleSUR
Excerpt: "Venezuela's Vice-President Delcy Rodriguez affirmed Thursday that opposition lawmaker Juan Guaido spearheaded a criminal organization that was transferring national bonds to foreign countries, especially the United States."
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Smog in Los Angeles, California. (photo: Allen.G/Shutterstock)

White House Prepares to Revoke California's Right to Set Tougher Pollution Rules
Coral Davenport, The New York Times
Davenport writes: "President Trump is strongly considering a plan to revoke California's legal authority to set state tailpipe pollution standards that are stricter than federal regulations."
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You Picked an Organization that Challenges Injustice

Saturday, August 10, 2019

Garrison Keillor | Someday You'll Understand What I'm Telling You

10 August 19

It’s what we do all day every day. When you come here to “Reader Supported News” and ignore the organization’s funding that is unfair and it is unjust. We will absolutely challenge that too.

We - must - have your help to do this. Right now you are not providing it.

Unfair, unjust.

Marc Ash
Founder, Reader Supported News

WHO CAN PART WITH THIRTY BUCKS? - You come here pretty often, you support what we do, you haven’t made a donation in a while … Is that you? If yes, you’re the person we’re after. You’re the one who puts this fundraiser out of our misery. You can, we can do this. - Marc Ash, Founder Reader Supported News

If you would prefer to send a check:
Reader Supported News
PO Box 2043
Citrus Hts
CA 95611

09 August 19

It's Live on the HomePage Now:
Reader Supported News

Garrison Keillor | Someday You'll Understand What I'm Telling You

Garrison Keillor, Garrison Keillor's Website
Keillor writes: "Every day is precious. When you reach 77, you'll feel the same way."
READ MORE

Joseph Maguire has been director of the U.S. National Counterterrorism Center since 2018. (photo: AFP)

Trump Announces Shakeup at Top of US Intelligence
Shane Harris and Ellen Nakashima, The Washington Post
Excerpt: "President Trump said in a tweet Thursday that he will name Joseph Maguire, the director of the National Counterterrorism Center, as the acting director of national intelligence, following his aborted effort to install a political loyalist."
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Author and activist Bill McKibben. (photo: Wolfgang Schmidt)

Climate Activist Bill McKibben Arrested Protesting Trump's Immigration Policies
Peter Wade, Rolling Stone
Wade writes: "Bill McKibben is no stranger to getting arrested for protesting. Usually it's when he's protesting fossil fuel companies in response climate change, but on Thursday, the climate activist was arrested along with six others who refused to leave Rep. Elise Stefanik's (R-N.Y.) Glen Falls office in a protest of President Trump's immigration policies."

EXCERPT:

In an email to Rolling Stone, McKibben spoke of the intimate connection between climate change and immigration, saying, “The climate crisis and the immigration crisis are tightly linked. Through no fault of their own, increasing numbers of people around the world find themselves unable to raise food — it’s now too hot or too wet or too dry. Their numbers will grow, staggeringly in the course of this century. So we should probably think about how to justly deal with that fact, instead of erecting walls and building cages.”

The World Bank estimated in 2018 that climate change will displace 143 million climate refugees by 2050, mostly from Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa, and Southeast Asia.

The remains of Col. Roy A. Knight Jr., who was killed in the Vietnam War, were returned to Love Field in Dallas on Thursday. (photo: Ashlee D. Smith/Southwest Airlines)

ALSO SEE: Pilot Accounted For From Vietnam War (Knight, R.)

Colonel Killed in Vietnam War Finally Came Home. His Son Flew the Plane.
Neil Vigdor, The New York Times
Vigdor writes: "Col. Roy A. Knight Jr. received full military honors after a Southwest Airlines flight carrying his remains landed at Love Field in Dallas."
READ MORE

U.S. Border Patrol agents conduct intake of illegal border crossers at the Central Processing Center in McAllen, Texas, Sunday, June 17, 2018. (photo: U.S. Border Patrol)

Over 100 Immigrants at ICE Facility on Hunger Strike After Being Pepper Sprayed and Shot With Rubber Bullets
Chantal Da Silva, Newsweek
Da Silva writes: "More than 100 detained immigrants across two U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities in Louisiana have been 'subjected to excessive use of force and retaliation' over their participation in hunger strikes, a high-profile immigration advocacy group has claimed."
READ MORE

Jimmy Aldaoud died after being deported from the U.S., where he lived. (photo: Ella Trujillo/The Intercept)

The Tragic Story of Jimmy Aldaoud, Deported From the Streets of Detroit to Death in Iraq
Chris Gelardi, The Intercept
Gelardi writes: "Aldaoud spoke no Arabic, had no known family in Iraq, and nobody knew he was there."
READ MORE

Coyote stands in the frost in the Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge in Wyoming. (photo: Tom Koerner/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)

Trump Administration Authorizes 'Cyanide Bombs' to Kill Wild Animals
Jimmy Tobias, Guardian UK
Tobias writes: "The Trump administration has reauthorized government officials to use controversial poison devices - dubbed 'cyanide bombs' by critics - to kill coyotes, foxes and other animals across the US."
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Who Can Part With Thirty Bucks?

FOCUS: I Can No Longer Justify Being a Part of Trump's 'Complacent State.' So I'm Resigning.

09 August 19

You come here pretty often, you support what we do, you haven’t made a donation in a while … Is that you? If yes, you’re the person we’re after. You’re the one who puts this fundraiser out of our misery.

You can, we can do this.

Marc Ash
Founder, Reader Supported News

“SOMETHING” WILL WORK. “NOTHING” WILL NOT. - The fundraising has to pretty damn bad to put RSN in any real trouble. If our Readers donate “what they can,” we’re fine. If they completely and totally ignore fundraising entirely, then and only then are we in trouble. “What you can” is all it takes. / Marc Ash, Founder Reader Supported News

If you would prefer to send a check:
Reader Supported News
PO Box 2043
Citrus Hts
CA 95611

09 August 19

It's Live on the HomePage Now:
Reader Supported News

FOCUS: I Can No Longer Justify Being a Part of Trump's 'Complacent State.' So I'm Resigning.

Chuck Park resigned from the Foreign Service due to his opposition to Trump's policies. (photo: Getty)

Chuck Park, The Washington Post
Park writes: "I was 26, newly married and more than a little idealistic when I set off for my first diplomatic assignment almost a decade ago as a member of the 157th class of commissioned U.S. Foreign Service officers."
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I Am Donating to Key Political Races, I am Not …

Thursday, August 8, 2019

Al Franken | Learn the Damn Speech!

08 August 19

… abandoning the organizations I have supported all along. Yes, it is a very important election. When it’s over, change and progress will still be badly needed.

We are fighting here. Fight with us.

Marc Ash
Founder, Reader Supported News

GIVE US A SHOESTRING, THAT'S ALL WE ASK: We are fighting this week for a shoestring budget. The kind of money the big corporate news outlets laugh at, but we're not laughing. We deeply appreciate the loyalty and support of the Reader Supported News community. Thanks to all. / Marc Ash, Founder Reader Supported News

If you would prefer to send a check:
Reader Supported News
PO Box 2043
Citrus Hts
CA 95611

08 August 19

It's Live on the HomePage Now:
Reader Supported News

Al Franken | Learn the Damn Speech!

Former Senator Al Franken. (photo: Getty)

Al Franken, Al Franken's Website
Franken writes: "One of the most frustrating parts of being an American during these past couple years has been trying to process the sheer tonnage of lies, the endless vitriol and stupidity, the unyielding crassness, cynicism, and self-aggrandizement, not to mention the sheer cruelty coming on a daily basis from Donald Trump."
READ MORE

Peter Strzok’s lawsuit will likely reignite a long-running debate over his actions and potential FBI bias. (photo: Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP)

Peter Strzok Sues FBI, DoJ Over Text Message Release
Eric Tucker, Associated Press
Tucker writes: "A veteran FBI agent who wrote derogatory text messages about Donald Trump filed a lawsuit Tuesday charging that the bureau caved to 'unrelenting pressure' from the president when it fired him."
READ MORE

Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents conduct a worksite enforcement operation in Canton, Mississippi. (photo: Charles Reed/ICE)

Families "Are Scared to Death" After a Massive ICE Operation Swept Up Hundreds of People
Hamed Aleaziz, BuzzFeed News
Aleaziz writes: "On Wednesday morning, Dianne received an alarming call. It was her fiancé, dialing her from the chicken processing plant in a nearby central Mississippi town where he worked long shifts deboning meat."
READ MORE

In this Oct. 22, 2018, photo, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents detain a person during a raid in Richmond, VA. (photo: Steve Helber/AP)

Diabetic Man Dies After Trump Administration Deported Him to Iraq, a Country He Had Never Been To
Naomi LaChance, Splinter
LaChance writes: "Jimmy Aldaoud, a man the Trump administration deported to Baghdad, Iraq in June, died Tuesday, Politico reported Wednesday. The 41-year-old had been likely unable to access insulin to treat his diabetes in Iraq, according to people who knew him."
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Former Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning speaks with reporters, after arriving at the federal courthouse in Alexandria, Va., Thursday, May 16, 2019. (photo: Cliff Owen/AP)

Chelsea Manning Can Remain in Jail for Another Year, Judge Rules
Dell Cameron, Gizmodo
Cameron writes: "Chelsea Manning, a former Army intelligence analyst-turned-whistleblower, may remain behind bars for up to another year and face nearly a half-million dollars in fines over her ongoing refusal to testify before a grand jury about her disclosure of classified information to WikiLeaks."
READ MORE

'Neonics are not only considerably more toxic to insects than other insecticides, they are far more persistent in the environment.' (photo: Alamy)

America's Agriculture Is 48 Times More Toxic Than 25 Years Ago.
Kendra Klein and Anna Lappé, Guardian UK
Excerpt: "More than 50 years ago, Rachel Carson warned of a 'silent spring', the songs of robins and wood thrush silenced by toxic pesticides such as DDT. Today, there is a new pesticide specter: a class of insecticides called neonicotinoids."
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PEOPLE USED TO COME AND DONATE, NOW THEY JUST COME - The key to our funding formula has always been reasonable response. That's gone. When we used to say, we are running behind, things picked up. Now they don't. We used to finish in far less time. Now we don't finish. It was never like this. / Marc Ash, Founder Reader Supported News

Saturday, July 20, 2019

Drew Magary | The Longer We Delay Impeachment, the Worse This All Gets

20 July 19

It's Live on the HomePage Now:
Reader Supported News

Drew Magary | The Longer We Delay Impeachment, the Worse This All Gets

The White House at night. (photo: Susan Walsh/AP)

Drew Magary, GQ
Magary writes: "I have spent the past three years slogging under the assumption that the entire Trump storyline would culminate in some kind of massive, public cataclysm: nukes going off, assassinations, World War III getting under way, etc. Such potential calamities still loom perilously on the horizon."
READ MORE

Donald Trump speaks to supporters at a rally. (photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

The Explicit Embrace of Racism Is Next
Hamilton Nolan, Splinter
Nolan writes: "If you set aside boiling rage for a moment and look coldly at the progression of recent American politics, you can see where we are heading. Into the abyss."
READ MORE

A nine-member Chicago Police board found the officers exaggerated the threat posed by the 17-year-old McDonald to justify his shooting by officer Jason Van Dyke. (photo: Anagraph/Joshua Lott/Getty Images)

Laquan McDonald Killing: Four Chicago Officers Fired for Cover-Up
Doug Stanglin, USA TODAY
Stanglin writes: "Four Chicago police officers were fired Thursday for allegedly covering up the fatal shooting of black teenager Laquan McDonald by a white officers five years ago."
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A Fight for rally. (photo: Scott Olson/Getty Images)

A Quiet Trump Administration Rule Change Could Allow a Federal Union-Busting Spree
Heather Gies, In These Times
Gies writes: "The Trump administration has proposed a change in rules governing union membership for federal government workers that could embolden federal agencies to discourage staff from joining or remaining in their union."
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Although the waves of ICE operations and arrests that Trump has promised have fallen flat, the fear and anxiety they have brought to immigrant communities have stymied an already vulnerable population's willingness to seek reproductive health care. (photo: AP)

Undocumented Immigrants Are Canceling Abortion Appointments Because They're Afraid of Getting Deported
Brianna Sacks, BuzzFeed
Sacks writes: "Fearful of losing their jobs, homes, and families under the threat of a Trump administration crack down, more and more undocumented immigrants in the Southwest are canceling abortion appointments or waiting weeks longer to get the procedure."
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A protest in Puerto Rico. (photo: José Fuentes)

The Protests in Puerto Rico Are About Life and Death
Marisol LeBron, NACLA
LeBron writes: "Police donning anti-riot gear - many with their names and badge numbers covered - used teargas, pepper spray, rubber bullets, and batons to dislodge protesters from the streets surrounding the Puerto Rican governor's mansion in Old San Juan on Wednesday evening."
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Extreme heat waves are frequently cited as one of the most direct effects of man-made climate change. (photo: WLF

Heat Warnings Across US as Climate Experts Warn of Spike in Very Hot Days
Miranda Bryant, Guardian UK
Bryant writes: "More than half the US was under excessive heat warnings on Friday amid a brutal heatwave - which experts warned could become the 'new normal' because of the climate crisis."
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