Colin Kaepernick Is Being Blackballed by Billionaire NFL Owners. Here's Why.

[Truthdig]( [Daily Headlines] Thursday, June 15, 2017 Featured Story [Colin Kaepernick Is Being Blackballed by Billionaire NFL Owners. Here’s Why.]( Patriotism is a key tool for the owning class. To them, the quarterback’s refusal to stand for the national anthem—a nationalistic ritual—threatened to undermine the whole capitalist system. [Share on Facebook]( [Share on Twitter]( Ear to the Ground [Michigan Health Director Charged With Involuntary Manslaughter in Flint Water Crisis]( Though others also face legal consequences, the charge against Nick Lyon is most closely linked to the human toll that resulted from the public health emergency. [Share on Facebook]( [Share on Twitter]( Reports [U.N. Investigator: U.S. Coalition Airstrikes Causing ‘Staggering Loss of Life’ in Syria]( In addition to civilian deaths, the effort to retake the city of Raqqa from Islamic State “has also led to 160,000 civilians fleeing their homes and becoming internally displaced.” [Share on Facebook]( [Share on Twitter]( [Is Trump Launching a New World Order?]( The president is attempting to lay the foundations for a world in which fossil-fuel powers will contend for supremacy with post-carbon, green-energy states. [Share on Facebook]( [Share on Twitter]( [Why Don’t the U.S. Mainstream Media Report Vladimir Putin’s Take on the Ukraine Crisis?]( In an interview with filmmaker Oliver Stone, Russia’s president explains his perspective—which contrasts with what the American people have been allowed to hear. [Share on Facebook]( [Share on Twitter]( [Trump Versus Comey: The Politics of Lawlessness, Lying and Fake News]( Rather than see the president’s actions as another sign of a government unraveling, the mainstream press is largely focused on whether the adversaries are lying. [Share on Facebook]( [Share on Twitter]( [House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, Others Hurt in Shooting at Congressional Baseball Practice]( A gunman opens fire at a field in Alexandria, Va., a Washington suburb, and police fatally wound the shooter. [Share on Facebook]( [Share on Twitter]( [As Summer Temperatures Climb in the Tropics, So Do the Risks of Mass Death From Killer Heat Waves]( In southern Asia, mortality is likely to rise with the thermometer. [Share on Facebook]( [Share on Twitter]( [Why Saudi Extremism Is an Argument for Electric Cars, Wind and Solar Energy]( By Juan Cole — Saudi Arabia has gotten too big for its britches, and the oil-producing Middle East is turning even more unstable. And if you are an American, it is your fault. [Share on Facebook]( [Share on Twitter]( Arts & Culture In the News [Tracy K. Smith Is Named 22nd U.S. Poet Laureate]( By Emma Niles — The Princeton University professor and Pulitzer Prize winner says she plans to bring poetry events “to parts of the country where literary festivals don’t always go.” [Share on Facebook]( [Share on Twitter]( A/V Booth [Economist Richard Wolff on Whether Bernie Sanders Should Stay in the Democratic Party (Video)]( The Marxist thinker talks about whether it is best for the Vermont senator (pictured) to continue his work on his own or as a left-wing voice among Democrats. [Share on Facebook]( [Share on Twitter]( Cartoon [Trump’s Tweets]( By Jeff Danziger [Share on Facebook]( [Share on Twitter]( [Drilling Beneath the Headlines][Truthdig]( [Donate Today!]( [Follow Truthdig on Twitter]( [Follow Truthdig on Facebook]( This email was sent to {EMAIL}, by newsletter@truthdig.com [Support Truthdig]( | [Contact Us]( | [Unsubscribe]( | [Update Profile]( | [Forward To A Friend](