During This Economic Crisis, Capitalism’s Three Point Political Program: 1. Austerity, 2. Scapegoating Blacks, Minorities, and ‘Illegal Immigrants’ for Unemployment, and 3. The Iron Heel.
Democracy?: As the Capitalist Robber Barons Steal from the 99% — Only the 1% Voted For Austerity — The 99% Should Decide On Austerity — Not Just The 1% Who Profit From Austerity!
For instance, under Project SHAMROCK, the NSA spied on telegrams to and from the U.S., as well as the correspondence of American citizens. Moreover, as the Saturday Evening Postreports, “Under Project MINARET, the NSA monitored the communications of civil rights leaders and opponents of the Vietnam War, including targets such as Martin Luther King, Jr., Mohammed Ali, Jane Fonda, and two active U.S. Senators. The NSA had launched this program in 1967 to monitor suspected terrorists and drug traffickers, but successive presidents used it to track all manner of political dissidents.” Not even the passage of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and the creation of the FISA Court, which was supposed to oversee and correct how intelligence information is collected and collated, managed to curtail the NSA’s illegal activities. In the wake of the 9/11 attacks, George W. Bush secretly authorized the NSA to conduct warrantless surveillance on Americans’ phone calls and emails. Nothing changed under Barack Obama. In fact, the violations worsened, with the NSA authorized to secretly collect internet and telephone data on millions of Americans, as well as on foreign governments. It was only after whistleblower Edward Snowden’s revelations in 2013 that the American people fully understood the extent to which they had been betrayed once again. What this brief history makes clear is that the NSA cannot be reformed. — Big Brother is Still Watching
e360: The new administration has threatened huge cuts in science research budgets in many agencies. Do you expect your program to be affected? Haney: My research budget has been cut, cut, and cut. I’m not saying that the government needs to throw an enormous amount of money at us. But give us enough to function properly. We can’t have private industry doing all the research. Government needs to fill in the gaps, because you can’t guarantee that industry-funded research is unbiased. e360: The agricultural industry has a vested interest in selling these pesticides and fertilizers. They are not likely to fund research into methods that use less of that stuff. Haney: That’s right. My concern is, we’re not really very forward-thinking in politics these days. It’s all instant gratification. No long-term policy goals. That’s not smart. That’s not how our Founding Fathers thought. They looked way down the road. What happened to that? — Why It’s Time to Stop Punishing Our Soils with Fertilizers
Big Brother is Still Watching By John W. Whitehead Imperialism and the Logic Of Mass Destruction As throughout much of its war-obsessed history, the United States is currently engaged in military conflict – or threatening such action – across a broad contested terrain. In the cases of Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria, Washington has resorted to its familiar global modus operandi: sending off barrages of missiles and bombs, much of it hitting civilian populations and resources needed for their survival. Death tolls mount, the largest numbers lately in the protracted battle for Mosul. Heavier casualties are being visited upon non-combatants in Yemen, thanks to U.S.-backed Saudi aerial savagery. by Carl Boggs
Counter Mobilization: an Effective Response to Right Wing Speech As the effects of the Great Recession linger, the ruling rich are making every effort to ensure that the working class bears the brunt of the economic crunch. In this atmosphere, elements of the extreme right feel emboldened to promote their reactionary wares. From the increasing visibility of right wing websites like breitbart.com, to well-publicized speaking tours by conservative ideologues like Milo Yiannopoulos and others, to former Breitbart editor Steve Bannon attaining the status of presidential advisor – the message from the top is clear: racism, sexism and xenophobia will all be used to divide and oppress the 99%. Meanwhile, these same poisonous sentiments are used to divert attention from those actually responsible for and benefiting from the current crisis. by Bruce Lesnick
“Trump Says We Don’t Have To Let You In” – Report Says U.S. Border Officials Are Turning Away Asylum Seekers Three times this winter a Honduran woman named Alma went to U.S. officials at the border between Reynosa, Mexico and Hidalgo, Texas, to ask for asylum for herself and her three children. She had fled Honduras because her other child had been killed by gang members, and she had brought documentation to prove it, but three times she was told by U.S. Customs and Border Protection that she would have to wait in Mexico. In February, the family was kidnapped. By Cora Currier Black Liberation/Civil Rights:
The Challenge in Jackson Mississippi: to Govern or to Transform? The political organization of Jackson’s first Mayor Lumumba was divided. Some wanted to embed themselves in Mississippi’s black political class, while others aimed for a far reaching transformation of the local economy, relying on collective uplift and cooperative enterprises. It’s been three years. The eyes of black and working class America are on Jackson Mississippi once again. Will the city be merely governed, or will it be transformed? A Black Agenda Radio Commentary by Bruce A. Dixon Study Shows School Vouchers Hurt Students – But Trump and DeVos Couldn’t Care Less President Trump and Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos are old school “segregation academy” politicians with strong ideological investments in private school vouchers. They will not be deterred by a new study that shows the Washington DC school voucher program actually detracts from student achievement. The people of DC never wanted vouchers, but school privatization has nothing to do with democracy. by BAR executive editor Glen FordEnvironment:
In North Carolina, Pigs Don’t Fly but Their Feces Do There are 10 million people in North Carolina, and 9 million hogs. Judging by the smell, the hogs are winning. Or, rather, the giant corporate factory hog farms are. Hogs are the largest agricultural product of the Tarheel State, adding at least $2 billion to the economy there. How the hogs are raised and slaughtered, and how the waste is handled, is making life miserable for many North Carolinians. Billions of gallons of pig feces and urine are collected in lagoons, mixed with blood and rotting pig body parts. To keep these fetid ponds from overflowing, the toxic liquid is pumped skyward with enormous spray devices, aerosolizing the waste, which is carried away by the wind. By Amy Goodman and Denis MoynihanEPA Regulatory Safeguards Prevent Pesticide Poisonings In accordance with a new Trump White House Executive Order, E.O. 13,777, the Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Pesticides is asking the public – including the regulated pesticide manufacturing industry – for suggestions on regulatory actions that may be appropriate for repeal, replacement or modification. The false premise of the E.O. is that environmental protections in the form of rules and regulations are somehow holding back the nation – they are not! By Jennifer SassWhy It’s Time to Stop Punishing Our Soils with Fertilizers Researcher Rick Haney travels the U.S. preaching the benefits of healthy soils. In a Yale Environment 360 interview, he talks about the folly of pursuing ever-greater crop yields using fertilizers and other chemicals and how farmland can by restored through natural methods. By Richard Schiffman
America’s Part-Timers Deserve Sick Days Off, Too By the end of this year, workers in seven states and the District of Columbia as well as those in more than two dozen cities will have guaranteed access to paid sick days, joining a handful of areas, including San Francisco and Connecticut, that have made it the law to provide millions of workers with the security of knowing their pay or job is not at risk if they or their child fall ill. Such policies gained traction during the past three years, but recently an unlikely source is moving to stop that progress. The HR Policy Association – a trade group of chief human resource officers from multinational companies – asked Congress to shield employers from paid sick day laws.While the majority of large US corporations offer paid sick leave, data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics show that 36% of workers don’t have such protections. Employers may provide paid sick days to workers they care about retaining, but that leaves many behind. by Eileen Appelbaum
Economy:
President Trump, This Is No Way to Drain the SwampFor the past three decades, Thomas J. Curry has been a public servant, specializing in bank supervision. Most recently, Curry served as head of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the regulator of national banks – which oversees some of the biggest banks in the U.S. Yesterday, the Trump administration announced that Curry would be replaced with Keith Noreika, who will serve as Acting Director of the OCC until the U.S. Senate confirms a permanent new head. Noreika’s history has been that of a bank lawyer for two decades. By Pam Martens and Russ Martens
21st Century Barbarism: Corporate power, militarism, and the tragedy of American science Trillions of dollars in resources and scientific talent are devoted to war rather than to ending poverty, disease, and environmental destruction. That is among the greatest tragedies in all human history. By Cliff ConnerDismantling Domination: What We Can Learn About Freedom From Karl MarxMarx’s Inferno: The Political Theory of Capital, a recently published book by McGill University Professor William Clare Roberts, offers a rigorous and unique interpretation of Marx’s political and philosophical project. The book reveals why Marx remains extremely relevant today to all those seeking to challenge capitalism’s domination and violence — from its exploitation of labor power to the use of oppressive stage apparatuses as reflected in the exercise of police brutality. We spoke to William Clare Roberts about Marx’s project and vision of communism. By C.J. Polychroniou
Quotes of the Day: 
Imperialism and the Logic Of Mass Destruction As throughout much of its war-obsessed history, the United States is currently engaged in military conflict – or threatening such action – across a broad contested terrain. In the cases of Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria, Washington has resorted to its familiar global modus operandi: sending off barrages of missiles and bombs, much of it hitting civilian populations and resources needed for their survival. Death tolls mount, the largest numbers lately in the protracted battle for Mosul. Heavier casualties are being visited upon non-combatants in Yemen, thanks to U.S.-backed Saudi aerial savagery. by Carl Boggs
Black Liberation/Civil Rights:
Environment:
Health, Science, Education, and Welfare: 
