Dead Babies and Utah’s Carbon Bomb
Dr. Brian Moench, Truthout: A sudden and extreme spike in neonatal mortality in Utah’s rural Uinta Basin is most probably related to the toxic air pollution related to the fossil fuel drilling/fracking frenzy in Eastern Utah. And the local poobahs want to kill the messenger.
Making an Impact: Are You an Activist?
Tara Holmes, Truthout: “I came to realize that we’re all activists to varying degrees; it just depends on how you look at it. After all, who hasn’t at some point in time in some small way stood up against injustice – especially when it becomes personal?”
Jury Nullification: Why Every American Needs to Learn This Taboo Verdict
Kevin Mathews, Care2: Did you know that, no matter the evidence, if a jury feels a law is unjust, it is permitted to “nullify” the law rather than finding someone guilty? If you’ve never heard of jury nullification, you’re far from alone. If anything, your unfamiliarity is by design.
Reproductive Justice: Coming Out of the Abortion Closet
Dennis Trainor Jr., Acronym TV With Dennis Trainor, Jr.: In 2008, the Democratic Party dropped its language dropped its old abortion language (“safe, legal and rare”), which had asked that women not have abortions unless they absolutely must, and changed the official platform.
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Let’s Stop Searching for a “Messiah” and Build a Movement
Dave Johnson, Campaign for America’s Future: On the left, resources and efforts tend to go into candidates, with so many people looking for a “messiah” to lead them and somehow convince the public of the rightness of our cause. This is an ineffective approach.
Truthout Interviews Dahr Jamail on New Mexico Politics and Climate Change
Ted Asregadoo, Truthout: Truthout staff writer Dahr Jamail talks about the devastating and accelerating impacts of anthropogenic climate disruption globally and how those impacts are being intensified in New Mexico by the policies of Gov. Susana Martinez’s radically corporatist administration.
IRS Delays New Rules for Dark Money Groups
Theodoric Meyer, ProPublica: The Internal Revenue Service has pushed back indefinitely a hearing on new regulations for social welfare nonprofits that spend money on politics.
Who Is Dayani Cristal? A Tale of Death in the Desert
Julia Paley, Foreign Policy in Focus: A new film, Who Is Dayani Cristal?, offers a look at the human beings lost in the debate over “border security.”
An American Banking Revolution Awaits
William A. Collins, OtherWords: These tough economic times require creative alternatives to Wall Street, including more state banks.
Jesus Mandate: Peace and Stewardship
Rev. Howard Bess, Consortium News: Modern biblical scholarship has enabled critically thinking Christians to understand what the historical Jesus actually said and what was tacked on later to serve the interests of Rome and early church leaders, but those original messages remain politically inconvenient today.
The Left Forum announces its 10th conference in New York City – join us for the Truthout panel Saturday May 31; James Kwak dissects the kid-gloves treatment given to Credit Suisse despite its guilty plea in a criminal tax fraud probe; Muralla Media invites people to a screening of youth justice documentary, Control, also Saturday May 31; Zulfiqar Shah describes how the Pakistani military controls the media in that country – particularly Sindh and Baloch media; Lawrence Davidson discusses the role of the public intellectual, especially during times of war; John LaForge decries the banning of the local Veterans for Peace from participation in Duluth’s Memorial Day parade; Nick Malinowski considers Cecily McMillan’s self-defense from sexualized police violence during Occupy Wall Street in the larger context of the US system of state violence; Mike LaSusa analyzes the significance of Colombia’s presidential election to the peace process with the FARC; S. Rowan Wolf talks about the recent Supreme Court rulings that liken money to speech; the Center for Economic and Policy Research reports that recent black college graduates have been the hardest hit by the recession; and more.
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