Several of these articles refer to “conservative politics” in a negative light. I agree that the things they refer to are negative and must be addressed. I also know that their use of the word conservative is the standard current usage.
I just want to point out that this is all primarily due to the billionaire corporate takeover of the Republican party and conservative discourse in America in recent decades.
I refuse to believe that the majority of American conservatives actually subscribe to these amoral, greed and hate based ideas.
Many do indeed follow along and give lip service to “fit in socially”, but most self defined conservatives in America are also Christian ( occasionally Jewish or Pagan) and all of these traditions (save perhaps the dominant branch of Asatru which has been defined in modern times as almost a warrior cult by many of its adherents), have strong moral strictures about compassion and treating others as you would wish to be treated.
So please do not take my publishing this as an insult if you are conservative.
I may be wrong, for I often am, but I strongly believe that the huge divide between liberal and conservative in America is largely a corporate sponsored mirage meant to solidify their power base.
Most liberals do not propose communism for America, and most conservatives do not believe corporations should be running our country.
Neither Stalin, nor Mussolini are lauded heroes to Americans.
These are merely caricatures meant to keep us divided and conquered; to keep the corporations and billionaires firmly in control of our so called democracy.
William Rivers Pitt | It Only Hurts When I Laugh
William Rivers Pitt, Truthout: There is currently in print a Ted Cruz coloring book for children. It is called “Cruz To The Future,” and that cover has birds and bushes and soon-to-be-extinct monarch butterflies … and Ted, with a blue suit and a porn-clown smile, shooting a Double Fonzie at a tree.
Five Ways Conservative Politics Promotes Freeloading and Shirking
Valerie Tarico, AlterNet: The delusion that each of us is master of his or her own destiny generates a callous attitude toward people who are struggling; it also generates a lack of appreciation for what successful Americans have received from generations past.
The Arctic Is the First Line of Defense Against a Climate Transition to an Uninhabitable Earth
D.H. Garrett, Truthout: This is the story of three ATMs. First: the earth system can no longer be treated as an ATM. Second: the great focus of both global and local efforts must be on making the ATM (Anthropocene Thermal Max) as low as possible. Third: an ATM (Arctic Transnational Moratorium) must be put in place now.
Paul Krugman | In Europe, a Repudiation of Austerity Policies
Paul Krugman, Krugman & Co.: The European Central Bank’s rate cut has led to huge tensions, with the executive board split and many German economists protesting. As usual, a lot of the argument is about the perception that those lazy Southern Europeans are getting a free ride.
Extending Solidarity to the Ecosystem: Laura Flanders Interviews Sean Sweeney
Laura Flanders, Truthout: What would it mean to extend solidarity to the ecosystem? That’s the question at the heart of this conversation with union activist and environmentalist Sean Sweeney.
Watch the Video and Read the Transcript
Death With Dignity vs. Death for Profit?
The Daily Take, The Thom Hartmann Program: By denying human beings the right to end their lives with dignity and on their own terms, by prolonging the pain and suffering that they’re enduring, we are effectively torturing them.
Are Delhi State Results in 2013 a Test Case for India’s 2014 Elections?
Papri Sri Raman, Truthout: In Sunday’s state elections, India’s “Grand Old Party,” the Indian National Congress (named both INC and Congress), was rejected nationwide. But, with a populist party suddenly making inroads, the results were not a conclusive victory for the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party.
How Big Six Covers Tracks in Murder of the Honeybee
Jennifer Sonntag, Truthout: The Big Six agrichemical companies have turned the honeybee into a factory animal, a workhorse that cannot exist without antibiotics, and is using the term “Colony Collapse Disorder” to cover its poisoning of pollinators vital to agriculture.
Why Can’t Karzai Be More Blase About US Killing Kids – Like US Press Is?
Peter Hart, FAIR Blog: “Over last weekend, reports emerged about a US coalition airstrike in Afghanistan that killed a two-year-old boy. I read about it in the Washington Post, but couldn’t help but find some of the language in the report puzzling.”
US Officials Will No Longer Provide Information on Guantanamo Hunger Strikers
Fred Mazelis, World Socialist Web Site: A spokesman announced this week that the US military will no longer provide public information on how many prisoners at the American gulag at Guantanamo Bay are participating in hunger strikes to protest their indefinite detention.
In the Shadow of War: Life and Fiction in 21st-Century America
Beverly Gologorsky, TomDispatch: For at least a decade, Americans have been living in the shadow of war. And yet, except in pop fiction of the Tom Clancy variety (where, in the end, we always win), there’s remarkably little evidence of it.
BuzzFlash
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At Least 194 Children Have Been Shot to Death Since Newtown, Average Age: 6
Read the Article at Mother Jones
9/11 Link to Saudi Arabia Is Topic of 28 Redacted Pages in Government Report; Congressmen Push for Release
Read the Article at the International Business Times
Progressives Must Stand Up Against the Right-Wing War on Public Employees
TPP: Obama Faces Backlash Over New Corporate Powers in Secret Trade Deal
Read the Article at The Huffington Post
State Surveillance of Personal Data Is Theft, Say World’s Leading Authors
Read the Article at The Guardian
Katrina Vanden Heuvel | Mandela’s GOP Bandwagon Fans
Read the Article at The Washington Post
Seymour Hersh Claims Intel on Syria Chemical Attack Was Cooked – Critics Dispute
Read the Article at The Nation
Spirit In Action 