Could Florida Become the New Fracking Frontier?
Roger Drouin, Truthout: As industry interest in bringing fracking to the Sunshine State intensifies, environmental groups worry about risks including contaminated groundwater, disruption to some of the county’s most bio-diverse ecosystems and aquifers sucked dry.
Democrats Introduce Bill to Restore FCC’s Net-Neutrality Rules
Mike Ludwig, Truthout: Democrats in Congress have introduced legislation that would restore net-neutrality rules struck down last month by a federal appeals court. But the bill faces a steep uphill battle in the House, where some Republicans oppose any expansion of regulatory power at the FCC.
Vermont Becomes 12th State With Legislation Targeting NSA Spying
Michael Boldin, Truthout: On January 28, Vermont state representatives introduced legislation that would block some of the practical effects of mass data collection by the National Security Agency.
A Dirty Energy Emancipation Proclamation: In Utah?
Dr. Brian Moench, Truthout: On January 25, away from the spotlight of Washington DC and the news media, one of the largest and most significant environmental protests in years took place in the most unlikely of places – Salt Lake City.
Read the Article and Watch the Video
The EU Presidency and the Bottom of the Aegean Sea
Dimitris Dalakoglou and Anna Christofidi, Truthout: The growing ideological intimacy between centrist-right and extreme-right parties throughout Europe provides fertile ground for the increasingly brutal treatment of refugees and migrants – most recently in Greece.
Read the Article and View the Photos
The Daily Take, The Thom Hartmann Program: Republicans are outraged that Coca-Cola would dare “tarnish” a patriotic American anthem with foreign languages. The fiasco that was the conservative reaction to Coke’s Super Bowl ad is symbolic of a bigger issue: The Republican Party has become the last refuge of bigots.
Mitt: New Documentary on Netflix Whitewashes the 2012 Campaign
Anis Shivani, Truthout: Simple-minded devotion to so-called “behind the scenes” consultations among candidate Romney and his family plunges the documentary Mitt into the abyss of know-nothing, self-affirming reality TV.
Violence in Fallujah: Poisoned Fruit of US Occupation?
Michael Z. Youhana: Contrary to conventional wisdom, US actions in Fallujah during – and even before – the Iraq War played a role in bringing the latest eruption of violence to the city.
Barbara Garson, TomDispatch: Health care isn’t the first boon that President Obama tried to give us through a public-private partnership. When he took office, more than 25 percent of US home mortgages were underwater. The president offered those homeowners debt relief through banks and shied away from direct government aid.
Amy Goodman, Democracy Now!: Should the Obama administration approve the Keystone XL pipeline? Amy Goodman hosts a debate between Erich Pica of Friends of the Earth and Cindy Schild of the American Petroleum Institute.
Watch the Video and Read the Transcript
NPR’s “The Salt” Blog Muddies the Issue of Sewage Sludge
Rebekah Wilce, PRWatch: In a muddled attack on the Center for Media and Democracy and those who are concerned about produce grown in sewage sludge, “The Salt,” NPR’s James Beard award-winning food blog, parroted sewage sludge industry PR and misled readers.
On the News With Thom Hartmann: Internet Companies Are Fighting to Restore Public Trust, and More
In today‘s On the News segment: Internet companies are fighting to restore public trust; the state of California just announced its most severe water restrictions ever; more than a million people are calling on the FCC to protect internet freedom; and more.
Watch the Video and Read the Transcript
How a Famous 90-Year-Old Doctor Survived Hospitalization, but You Probably Won’t
Jesse Lemisch, New Politics: We will never get good health care for all if we fail to face head-on the problem of superior access to health care for the privileged – these are aspects of a central problem of inequality in our society.
BuzzFlash
Concentrated Wealth and Democracy Are Incompatible
Mark Karlin, BuzzFlash at Truthout: When so few people own so much of the nation’s economic wealth, democracy ceases to exist as a functioning representative government.
Tar Sands Mining Produces Pollution Two to Three Orders of Magnitude Higher Than Previously Calculated
Read the Article at Smithsonian Magazine
Eugene Robinson | We Are Losing This Drug War
Sandra Fluke Files for Bid to Win Henry Waxman’s Seat
Paul Krugman | Delusions of Failure
Read the Article at The New York Times
Obama “Paving the Way for the Antichrist,” Evangelical Preacher’s New Book Claims
Six Unanswered Questions About Obama’s Drone War
Read the Article at Mother Jones
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and the Future of the Death Penalty on Trial