Saturday 30 June 2012 Pelican Bay Prison: One Year Later, Policy Remains "Debrief or Die"Victoria Law, Truthout: "'Prisoners with medical concerns are routinely told by prison officials that if they want better medical care for their conditions or illnesses, or improved pain management, the way to obtain adequate care is to debrief,' states a federal lawsuit filed by [inmate Todd] Ashker and other SHU prisoners. On July 1, 2011, Ashker and thousands of other prisoners went on hunger strike to protest such draconian conditions." Read the Article Some States Reluctant Over Medicaid Expansion Robert Pear and Michael Cooper, The New York Times News Service: "Republican officials in more than a half-dozen states said they opposed expanding Medicaid or had serious doubts about it, even though the federal government would pick up all the costs in the first few years and at least 90 percent of the expenses after that…. Republican governors in Wisconsin and Louisiana said they would wait to see the results of November's elections before deciding whether to expand Medicaid." Read the Article Six Ways the Big Banks Are Getting Back-Door Bailouts Sarah Jaffe, AlterNet: "Bankers love to rail against government interference in the ‘free market.' Even while some of them occasionally have the grace to admit that they wouldn't still be around without the massive taxpayer bailouts of 2008 … they still like to claim that they're free-market entities, subject to the whims of the invisible hand, and that the government's meddling can only be destructive. Yet those same banks are happy to make their money from the same governments about which they love to whine." Read the Article Discredited Lie Detector Technology to Be Used on Intelligence Officials to Discourage Whistleblowing Dana Liebelson and Adam Zagorin, Project on Government Oversight: "The nation's top intelligence official announced that the government is expanding its use of the polygraph to expose federal employees who leak classified information to the media. The testing could put intelligence workers at risk of being falsely stigmatized, jeopardizing their careers and their ability to contribute to the national security. It also could have a chilling effect on employees considering blowing the whistle on government wrongdoing, whistleblower advocates said." Read the Article Judicial Squeamishness and Hypocrisy William Bennett Turner, Truthout: "On June 21, the Supreme Court irresponsibly failed to put a stop to government censorship of non-obscene ‘indecent' speech - basically dirty words - on broadcast radio and television…. But the court ducked the issue that was squarely presented to it: whether the FCC's policy prohibiting broadcasters from airing non-obscene speech that it considers ‘indecent' is consistent with the First Amendment. The court essentially kicked the can down the road, refusing to decide the very issue presented by the parties." Read the Article Are We at a Tipping Point? Mark Brenner, Labor Notes: "Despite 16 million members and $10 billion plus in dues revenue, labor's reach is dwindling. In most industries - even bastions like auto and construction - we don't control enough of the market to win decent contracts, so we're not attractive to new members. Are we at a tipping point, where unions are no longer able to play their historical role of creating a shared working-class common sense? Can we still influence conditions for all?" Read the Article Prison Crisis: Local Solution? George Lavender, National Radio Project: "The United States imprisons more people than any other country. But In California, the money is finally running short, and a new policy aims to reduce the number of people in state prison. It's called ‘re-alignment' and the state says it's working. On this edition, Making Contact producer George Lavender investigates: is re-alignment the answer to the prison crisis? Could the incarceration nation finally be slowing down?" Listen to the Radio Program Money, Power and Politics Ann Robertson and Bill Leumer, Countercurrents: "There has been much talk recently about the impact of money on politics, especially in the wake of the Citizens United ruling … And many have assumed that the relation of money to politics is like a law of nature: the more money one has, the more political power one can wield. When it is a question of the efficacy of money in politics and workers fail to put up a fight, money prevails. The moral is: money counts - but only if we let it." Read the Article The End Is Near David Swanson, War Is a Crime: "Apocalypse has been given a bad name…. But our species is living beyond its means. If we continue down this path, the planet, our food supplies, our climate, and life as we know it will collapse. If we bring population growth, consumption, and pollution under control, the damage already set in motion will play out for centuries, but complete catastrophe will likely be averted." Read the Article Bill Moyers | How Citizen Power Can Save a Library Bill Moyers, Moyers & Co.: "In this web-exclusive Bill Moyers Essay, Bill professes his lifelong love for libraries and their strong cultural value, and points to a crisis in public library funding across the country. But he also shares a unique and controversial community effort in Troy, Michigan that kept its library from becoming a political casualty, and serves as ‘a reminder of what can happen when we act together.'" Watch the Video Election Countdown 2012: The White House Is Encouraging Congressional Democrats to Go on the Offensive After Health Care Ruling, and More In today's Election Countdown 2012 news: The White House is encouraging congressional Democrats to go on the offensive after health care ruling, the presidential race stands on a knife's edge in swing states, tuition to increase at the University of Tennessee (Knoxville) as university president's pay is raised, and more. Read the Article Click here for more Truthout articles
The BuzzFlash commentary for Truthout will return Monday, July 2nd. Koch-Backed Group Launches $9 Million Ad Campaign Against Health Law Obama Threatens to Veto Bill That Defunds Wall Street Reform Germany Cedes Some Ground in Steps to Bolster Euro Former Muslim Brotherhood Member Inaugurated as Egypt’s President Fukushima Radiation at Record High Conservative Super Pacs Turn to Social Media and Internet to Expand Reach US Agency Gave Nuclear Industry a Sweet Deal, Documents Reveal Click here for more BuzzFlash headlines
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