Your Week in Review | Common Dreams Jan. 16, 2021

Your Week in Review

'His Conduct Was Seditious': House Democrats From Texas Demand Ted Cruz Be Expelled From Senate by Jon Queally, staff writer  "In his effort to appease Donald Trump and his supporters, Senator Cruz encouraged these terrorists to wage armed insurrection against America."  No, Open Sedition Is Not a First Amendment Right by Pierre Tristam  The right to protest is not in dispute. If that's all the mob had done, its rights would certainly be defensible and protected.  As Democrats Confirm They Did Not Host Pre-Insurrection Capitol Tours, Which GOP Members Can Say the Same? by Jon Queally, staff writer  "I can say with 100% confidence I didn't give any Capitol tours to anyone last week," said Rep. Ocasio-Cortez on Friday. "Any Republicans out there who want to join us in answering this question?"  Will Trump's Grand Finale Be Conviction by the US Senate? by Ralph Nader  Congressional Republicans have aided and abetted, for four years, Trump's assertion that "With Article II, I can do whatever I want as president." Dangerous Donald did just that.  'Talk About a Super Spreader': Analysis Finds Online Election Misinformation Fell by 73% After Trump Barred by Jon Queally, staff writer  After Trump's lies disappeared from Twitter and Facebook, the dissemination of falsehoods and the conversations based on them fell dramatically.  Sotomayor Says 13 People Executed During Trump Killing Spree 'Deserved More From This Court' by Jon Queally, staff writer  "This is not justice," said the liberal Justice after the state murder of Dustin John Higgs as she excoriated the court's conservative majority for essentially rubber-stamping the administration's rushed death penalties.  After Biden Unveils Covid-19 Relief Plan, Tlaib Doubles Down on Demand for $2,000 Monthly Payments by Jessica Corbett, staff writer  "Stop compromising the working class, and our most vulnerable neighbors," said the Michigan congresswoman.  'Damning' New IG Report, Says ACLU, Shows Just How Far Trump Team 'Was Willing to Go to Destroy' Immigrant Families by Brett Wilkins, staff writer  "Just when you think the Trump administration can't sink any lower, it does."  'Famine Not Seen in 40 Years': UN Warns Pompeo Decision in Yemen Could Lead to Hundreds of Thousands—If Not Millions—Dead by Kenny Stancil, staff writer  "It literally is going to be a death sentence," said the World Food Programme chief about the U.S. Secretary of State's decision to label the Houthis a terrorist organization.  With Dire Assessment, Scientists Warn Humanity in Denial of Looming 'Collapse of Civilization as We Know It' by Jessica Corbett, staff writer  "We aim to provide leaders with a realistic 'cold shower' of the state of the planet that is essential for planning to avoid a ghastly future."

In Pictures: Pro-Trump Mob Storms US Capitol Building | Common Dreams News

In Pictures: Pro-Trump Mob Storms US Capitol Building | Common Dreams News: "They're in the chamber. One is up on the dais yelling 'Trump won that election!' This is insane."

Photojournalists and social media users witnessing the events inside the U.S. Capitol building on Wednesday shared shocking pictures and video footage of the mob of fascist pro-Trump supporters who stormed the legislative offices shortly after an inflammatory speech delivered by President Donald Trump at a rally focused claiming that the results of the 2020 election—in which he was soundly defeated—are fraudulent…

News & Views | 1/16/21 | Common Dreams

 

News & Views | 1/16/21 – (GO HERE)

Feature...

'Arrest the President': Accountability Demanded After Fascist Mob Incited by Trump Storms Capitol by Jake Johnson, staff writer  "He shouldn't just be impeached or removed from office. He should be in jail."

News...

'Really Terrifying Stuff': US Senate in Lockdown After Pro-Trump Supporters Storm US Capitol by Andrea Germanos, staff writer  "I've been reporting from the capitol for 11 years, nearly every working day. Never seen it like this."  In Pictures: Pro-Trump Mob Storms US Capitol Building by Common Dreams staff  "They're in the chamber. One is up on the dais yelling 'Trump won that election!' This is insane."  Before Chaos Hit, GOP Lawmakers Denounced for 'Desperate Attempt at a Coup' by Denying Election Results by Brett Wilkins, staff writer  A desperate attempt at a coup is about to begin -- But let’s be clear: the results of the 2020 election will not be overturned.   "Let's Go Back Eight Weeks": Off-the-Rails, Lie-Spewing Trump Pleads for Election Do-Over at DC Rally by Jake Johnson, staff writer  The lame-duck president's unhinged speech came as members of Congress met to officially certify President-elect Joe Biden's victory.  'Kill the Filibuster': Senate Democrats Urged to Act Quickly to End Era of GOP Obstruction by Jake Johnson, staff writer  "Mitch McConnell absolutely should not have a veto."  'Barbaric': Nebraska Governor Puts Undocumented Meatpackers at Back of Vaccine Line by Kenny Stancil, staff writer  "Everyone deserves to be vaccinated, especially the workers who feed us—and essential workers have earned a fast-track to citizenship."  Progressive Push for $2,000 Checks in Georgia Shows Bold, Universal Policies Winning Strategy for Democrats by Julia Conley, staff writer  "In almost every respect, the campaigns that Warnock and Ossoff ran were closer to what progressives counseled than what moderates have counseled."  'Era of Small Ideas Is Over': With Democrats Poised to Seize Senate, Progressives Say Party Has Mandate to Go Big by Jake Johnson, staff writer  "Recurring survival checks, union jobs that pay a living wage, guaranteed healthcare, racial justice, voting rights, immigration reform, climate action, reproductive justice, education, and much more. It can't wait!"  After Court OKs Trump Arctic Refuge Auction, Biden Urged to Immediately Ban Drilling on Public Lands by Jessica Corbett, staff writer  "Trump's last-ditch effort to extract fossil fuels in this sacred region is a direct assault on Indigenous sovereignty, our climate, and communities." News & Views | 1/16/21 – (GO HERE)

The Postal Service runs out of money in three months

Dear MoveOn member,

The U.S. Postal Service could be dead in three months unless Congress provides emergency funding to shore up this crucial public service.¹

But Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, and the Republicans are refusing to include the Postal Service in any coronavirus relief legislation, because privatizing mail delivery has been a long-term goal of the conservative movement, and they see this crisis as their opportunity to kill off the Postal Service once and for all.²

Meanwhile, Donald Trump hates the Postal Service for his own sociopathic reason: The Postal Service delivers packages for Amazon, whose founder, Jeff Bezos, also owns The Washington Post, a newspaper that hasn't been afraid to publish hard-hitting journalism on the Trump administration.³ So, in the middle of a global pandemic and the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, Trump is threatening to bankrupt a critically important public service to exact revenge for his petty grievances.⁴

Democrats are pushing hard to get emergency funding for the Postal Service included in the next coronavirus relief bill, and MoveOn is launching a digital ad campaign to demand that Trump and the Republicans stop blocking Postal Service relief funding. To make sure they can't ignore us, we will run targeted ads in rural districts that would be hit hardest by the Postal Service shutdown—communities that Trump must win big to have any chance of re-election.

On average, MoveOn's monthly donors chip in about $10 a month. Can you chip in $10 a month to help launch and sustain a digital ad campaign calling on Congress to include desperately needed aid to the United States Postal Service in the next stimulus package and to continue to fight to save the Post Office all the way until Election Day?

Yes, I'll chip in monthly.

No, I'm sorry, I can't make a monthly donation.

The death of the Postal Service would be a crushing blow to Americans desperately trying to get by while sheltering in place.

Rural communities might never bounce back without the guarantee of reliable, standard-rate mail service. Small businesses in rural communities that rely on mail-order customers would go bankrupt. And people who live in these communities would be unable to get the essential deliveries—including medicine—they count on the Postal Service to deliver.⁵

The death of the Postal Service would also eliminate any kind of vote-by-mail program, disenfranchising millions of voters in November. And postal workers—39% of whom are people of color—would be left jobless.⁶

Most Americans don't know it, but the Postal Service doesn't receive a single taxpayer dollar.⁷ It is entirely funded by revenue from the sales of stamps and postage. But just like so many other businesses, the Postal Service has seen its revenue collapse during this pandemic. As a result, the entire operation could go bust by September, according to the postmaster general and the postal workers union.

It's especially tragic considering that postal workers, like doctors, nurses, and other essential workers, are getting sick and dying while working on the front lines of this pandemic to keep the rest of us afloat.⁸

Just imagine what life would be like right now if the mail stopped coming or if the only way to send or receive mail was to pay FedEx rates. It would be devastating. But Trump can't get over the fact that The Washington Post doesn't give him nonstop positive coverage. And privatization of mail delivery would be a massive boon to his corporate donors—at the expense of everyday, working-people Americans.

The next coronavirus relief bill could get passed as early as next week, and funding for the Postal Service must be included in it. If MoveOn can raise $150,000 by Monday, we will be able to launch a digital ad campaign calling out Trump and McConnell for blocking this desperately needed funding.

Can you chip in $10 a month to help launch and sustain a digital ad campaign, and keep it running for as long as it takes to stop Donald Trump from shutting down the United States Postal Service? (The average gift from a MoveOn monthly donor is about $10 a month, but whatever you can afford will go a long way.)

Yes, I'll chip in monthly to help save the U.S. Postal Service.

No, I'm sorry, I can't make a monthly donation.

Thanks for all you do.

–Kelly, Seth, Jenn, Lisa, and the rest of the team

Sources:

1. "The Head of the Postal Workers Union Says the Postal Service Could Be Dead in Three Months," In These Times, April 16, 2020
https://act.moveon.org/go/119675?t=6&akid=262134%2E33957374%2EClncmp

2. "White House rejects bailout for U.S. Postal Service battered by coronavirus," The Washington Post, April 11, 2020
https://act.moveon.org/go/119602?t=8&akid=262134%2E33957374%2EClncmp

3. "Trump's Vendetta Against Jeff Bezos Could Destroy the Postal Service," Vanity Fair, April 13, 2020
https://act.moveon.org/go/119676?t=10&akid=262134%2E33957374%2EClncmp

4. "Coronavirus job losses could total 47 million, unemployment rate may hit 32 percent, Fed estimates," NBC News, March 30, 2020
https://act.moveon.org/go/119371?t=12&akid=262134%2E33957374%2EClncmp

5. "If the US Postal Service fails, rural America will suffer the most," Vox, April 16, 2020
https://act.moveon.org/go/119677?t=14&akid=262134%2E33957374%2EClncmp

6. "Workforce Diversity and Inclusiveness," U.S. Postal Service, accessed April 18, 2020
https://act.moveon.org/go/119623?t=16&akid=262134%2E33957374%2EClncmp

7. "The U.S. Postal Service is Owned by the People—Let's Keep it That Way," AFL-CIO, April 23, 2019
https://act.moveon.org/go/119678?t=18&akid=262134%2E33957374%2EClncmp

8. "The U.S. Postal Service Needs Help Now: 'The Situation Is Absolutely Dire,'" New York, April 17, 2020
https://act.moveon.org/go/119679?t=20&akid=262134%2E33957374%2EClncmp 

Want to support our work? The MoveOn community will work every moment, day by day and year by year, to resist Trump's agenda, contain the damage, defeat hate with love, and begin the process of swinging the nation's pendulum back toward sanity, decency, and the kind of future that we must never give up on. And to do it we need your ongoing support, now more than ever. Will you stand with us?

Yes, I'll chip in $5 a month.

No, I'm sorry, I can't make a monthly donation.

---

PAID FOR BY MOVEON.ORG POLITICAL ACTION, http://pol.moveon.org/. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.

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Trump's Corona Campaign Rallies... Media Still Fighting M4A... Covid-19 & Latin America.... | FAIR

Weekly Alert: April 19, 2020 Here are the stories FAIR has been working on this week. Please help us spread the word by forwarding this email to friends and by sharing our stories on social media like Facebook and Twitter. Covid-19 Speculation Goes From Margin to Center Bold Criticism of a Sociopath—but Serious Alternatives? Let's Not Get Carried Away NYT Blames Maduro for Healthcare Horror, Downplays US Role Corporate Media Cover for US Mob Threats Against Venezuela Pandemic Doesn’t Stop Corporate Media From Crusading Against Universal Healthcare Is the Coronavirus 'Peak' a Mirage? Cuba Under Media Attack for Sending Doctors, Not Bombs, to Help Covid-19 Victims There's No Reason to Turn Airtime Over to Trump's Deceptive Coronavirus Campaign Rallies This week's episode of FAIR's radio show CounterSpin: Naomi Walker on Covid-19 Relief, Johanna Bozuwa on the Last 'New Normal' Latest CounterSpin Transcript: 'This Many Strikes Says That Something Fundamentally Is Changing in the Country' FAIR Cites: US Faces a Hard Choice About China While Whining About Declining Civility in Politics, Right-Wing Pundits Have Given the Real Culprits a Free Pass Media Treats Andrew Cuomo as 'Acting' President, Ignores Record as Governor: Report FAIR’s ad-free, content-rich site is supported by contributions from our loyal band of media activists. Please donate today! FAIR's Website

4 Gorillas to Save the Earth: Election Protection, No Nukes, Military Money for Solartopia, Kill King CONG

4 Gorillas to Save the Earth:

 Election Protection, No Nukes,
Military Money for Solartopia,
Kill King CONG

By Harvey Wasserman

The Greta/AOC generation is marching for our place on this planet.  

We can all turn off lights, get off plastic, go vegan, ride bikes, sail the Atlantic, demand eco-straws, solarize our homes. 

But four gorillas block our way to survival.  They demand a next step of mass action far beyond anything we can do as individuals:

1. ELECTION PROTECTION:  Big corporations have stolen our democracy When Jeb Bush ripped Florida 2000 for brother W, the corporate Democrats did nothing but rant at Ralph Nader.  But Jeb was ALWAYS going to get George exactly the votes as he needed.  Trumputin did it in 2016.  In 2020, stripped voter rolls and flipped vote counts could again steal the Electoral College.  Our Mother Earth DEMANDS universal hand-counted paper ballots, easy and open registration, fair access to the polls and much more.  This year Al Gore should shift his climate organizing to election protection—-and do it with Ralph. 

2)   NO NUKES:  Reactors are killing us all.  They (430 worldwide, 96 in the US) spew heat, radiation, and carbon.  Chernobyl killed more than a million people and cost more than a trillion dollars.  Fukushima is poisoning the Pacific.  More will explode.  Radwaste is out of control.  Fantasy designs (thorium, fusion, etc) are absurd.  All existing reactors can be replaced with cheaper, cleaner, safer, more reliable and more job-producing solar, wind, batteries, and LED/efficiency.  DO IT NOW!!…before the next one blows!

3)  MILITARY MADNESS:  America’s imperial military (Earth’s worst polluter) wastes trillions.  We need our soldiers here installing wind turbines, solar panels, batteries, efficiency/LED lighting, planting trees and hemp.  The trillions wasted on worthless weapons (war is a racket!) must instead ride us to Solartopia. 

4)  KILL KING CONG (Coal, Oil, Nukes & Gas):  WE need to own & run the fossil-nuke corporations.  The “free market” is a myth.  A handful of billionaires sucks up our cash.  Why do we bail them while they kill us and our planet?

Corporations are not human.  They care about nothing except money.  We need to control, own and reshape these industrial death machines. 

We need to tax heat, carbon, and radiation.  Plant a trillion trees and an ocean of hemp.  Fund Solartopia with the military budget.  Own/control these “too-big-to-fail/kill-us-all ” corporations.  

NOW!  

———

Harvey Wasserman’s People’s Spiral of US History:  From Deganawidah to Solartopia will soon appear at www.solartopia.org.  His Green Power & Wellness Show is podcast at prn.FM; California Solartopia airs at 90.7FM-KPFK/Pacifica, Los Angeles.