It's Time to End Legal Immunity for the Gun Industry

[t]   Tuesday, November 7, 2017 [t r u t h o u t] [View Recent Newsletters]( [Tell a friend about Truthout!]( [Donate Today!](   Truthout is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization; donations are tax deductible.   BuzzFlash Syria Is Signing the Paris Climate Agreement, Leaving the US the Lone Holdout [Read the Article at Quartz](   Jeff Bezos Wants the Keys to Your House [Read the Article at BuzzFlash](   Bernie Sanders Warns of "International Oligarchy" After Paradise Papers Leak [Read the Article at the Guardian](   Obamacare Signups Surge in Early Days to Set New Record [Read the Article at The Hill](   Over Half of Greenland's Ice Sheet Is Melting [Read the Article at Grist](   Koch Brothers Come to the Aid of Their Man in Virginia, Ed Gillespie [Read the Article at International Business Times](   "I'm the Only One That Matters": Trump's Chilling Imperial Power Grab [Read the Article at Salon](     Truthout is fiercely independent yet uncompromisingly committed to justice, equality and truth. Support ethical journalism: Make a tax-deductible donation to Truthout now! [Donate Now]( [It's Time to End Legal Immunity for the Gun Industry]( Ramsin Canon, Truthout: Guns, like cigarettes, are a public health crisis in the United States: Intentional gun violence, accidents and suicides are rampant. But Congress has effectively exempted the gun industry from liability for the foreseeable misuse of its products. It's time to demand the same level of accountability from the gun manufacturers as we did from makers of cigarettes. [Read the Article]( [After 16 Years of Activism, Philadelphia Is Reclaiming Its Public Schools]( Sarah Jaffe, Truthout: Sixteen years of Philadelphia public schools being controlled by the School Reform Commission is coming to an end this month, thanks to the long labors of a number of dedicated activists. A.K. Klagsbrun and A.L. Little of 215 People's Alliance, a group at the forefront of the organizing efforts, discuss how the city is regaining local control of the education system. [Read the Interview and Listen to the Audio]( [Democracy on Life Support: Donald Trump's First Year in Office]( Henry A. Giroux, The Conversation: Donald Trump's ascendancy in US politics has made visible a culture of cruelty, a contempt for civic literacy and a corrupt mode of governance that has been decades in the making. As Trump marks the anniversary of his election this week, he'll no doubt reinforce how governance can collapse into a theatre of self-promotion, absurdity and a dark and frightening view of the world. [Read the Article]( [Why Does the "Alt-Right" Support North Korea?]( Shane Burley, Truthout: While puzzling at first glance, the strong opposition to Trump's North Korea policy from his white supremacist "alt-right" base is not so surprising on closer analysis. After all, North Korea's nationalism and authoritarian leadership derive, in part, from its leaders' belief in the innate purity of the Korean ethnic group, which meshes with US-based white supremacists' notion of the "ethno-state." [Read the Article]( [Nine Reasons to Stop the GOP's Giant Tax Gift Bucket]( Isaiah J. Poole, Campaign for America's Future: Trump's tax plan adds $1.5 trillion to the national debt, kills jobs and gives $500 billion in tax cuts to offshore tax dodgers. It also prioritizes Wall Street over seniors and makes the middle class pay more. These are just a few of the reasons why it must be stopped. [Read the Article]( [As NYPD Officers Are Charged With Rape of Teenager, Advocates Call for End to Mass Sexual Violence]( Amy Goodman and Juan González, Democracy Now!: Two police officers have quit the New York Police Department after they were charged with rape, kidnapping and official misconduct. Mariame Kaba, an organizer and educator who works on anti-domestic-violence programs, explains that police sexual violence is rampant, though it's often not included in conversations around police violence. [Watch the Video and Read the Transcript]( [Steven Mnuchin, Foreclosure King of the US: Secretary of the Treasury for the .01 Percent]( Nomi Prins, TomDispatch: Like Donald Trump, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is a man intent on making the rich richer. Mnuchin, a former Goldman Sachs partner, arrived in Washington with a distinct reputation as the foreclosure king of Wall Street. Since his appointment to the most influential economic position in the US, he's been remarkably consistent on just one thing: making sure he lends a helping hand to the world of big finance, his former universe. [Read the Article]( [Will Mueller Get the Goods to Take Out Trump?]( Danny Katch, Socialist Worker: Donald Trump's possible connections to the Russian government came roaring back into the headlines last week with the announcement that the special investigation headed up by Robert Mueller had indicted three officials from the Trump presidential campaign. But the outcome of the Mueller investigation will be determined less by legal proof and more by the balance of political power. [Read the Article]( [Billionaire Who Shuttered News Outlets Shows Why We Need a $1 Million Maximum Income]( Kate Aronoff, In These Times: Last Thursday, multi-billionaire Trump donor Joe Ricketts shuttered the Gothamist and DNAinfo media empire he conglomerated in March. Ricketts closed the sites a week after staffers voted to unionize. In the process, he also made a stellar case for a $1 million maximum income. Were we to enforce a 100 percent tax on all income over $1 million, Joe Ricketts would still be wealthy -- but he would not have anywhere near the same level of destructive power. [Read the Article]( [In the Water-Scarce Southwest, an Ancient Irrigation System Disrupts Big Agriculture]( Shoshi Parks, YES! Magazine: Water in the American Southwest has never been abundant, but experts predict a future of greater extremes for states like New Mexico and Colorado. For over a century, acequias -- an ancient form of community water management -- have resisted the flow of water toward corporations. Today, acequias are disrupting modern agricultural practices by assuring the equitable distribution of water to rural communities. [Read the Article]( [This Week's Progressive Pick: An American Genocide]( Between 1846 and 1873, California's Indigenous population plunged from approximately 150,000 to 30,000 -- the result of government-sanctioned mass murder. Benjamin Madley's book uncovers the involvement of US congressmen and California governors in this catastrophe, the taxpayer dollars that supported the slaughter, and more. [Get the Book With a Donation to Truthout]( [Want to strengthen Truthout and help us plan for the future? Click here to become a monthly sustainer.]( [The Newspaper Guild] Please add messenger@truthout.org to ensure you receive our messages Truthout is a proud member of the Newspaper Guild/CWA, Local 36047 [Subscribe]( | [Unsubscribe]( [Privacy Policy](