Dismissed and Disenfranchised: Graduate Students Are on Front Lines of Tax Protests

[t]   Thursday, December 14, 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 For-Profit Colleges That Dupe Students Find a Sympathetic Trump Administration Mark Karlin, BuzzFlash at Truthout: Students and taxpayers are left holding the tuition debt. [Read the BuzzFlash Commentary](   Peace on the Far Side of Nuclear Weapons [Read the Article at BuzzFlash](   After FCC Vote, Net Neutrality Fight Moves to Courts, Congress [Read the Article at Wired](   US Rep. Farenthold of Texas to Retire Amid Sexual Harassment Scandal [Read the Article at The Texas Tribune](   US Death Penalty: 23 People Executed and 39 Sentenced to Death in 2017 [Read the Article at the Guardian](   One Planet Summit: World Bank to Stop Financing Oil, Gas Projects [Read the EcoWatch Article at BuzzFlash](   Six Anti-Choice, Anti-LGBTQ Doozies From Disgraced GOP Representative Trent Franks [Read the Article at Rewire](   Moore Still Won't Concede Alabama Senate Race: "The Battle Rages On" [Read the Article at Talking Points Memo](     Your support is vital to ensuring that Truthout ends the year ready to take on the challenges of 2018. Please give what you can to keep our independent journalism strong! [Donate Now]( [Unable to Celebrate "RonnieMan" Johnson's 29th Birthday, His Family Remembers the Life Taken by Chicago Police]( Tess Raser, Truthout: On December 14, Ronald "RonnieMan" Johnson would have turned 29, but this father of five was shot and killed by Chicago Police Officer George Hernandez on October 15, 2014. In this profile, RonnieMan's family remembers a life that touched so many other lives -- and was ended far too soon. [Read the Article]( [Dismissed, Disrespected, Disenfranchised: Indiana Grad Students Protesting Tax Bill Get a Lesson in Democracy for the Rich]( Sarah Jaffe, Truthout: When members of Indiana University's Campus Action for Democracy tried to present their opposition to the GOP tax bill to their congressional representative through peaceful means at his local office, they were threatened with arrest and escorted out of the building. Six of the graduate student activists discuss that experience, and their plans for bringing back democracy in 2018. [Listen to the Audio and Read the Interview]( [We Saved Net Neutrality Once -- We Can Do It Again]( Frances Moore Lappé and Adam Eichen, YES! Magazine: Given the current composition of the FCC, the fate of the open internet looks bleak. However, the recent history of net neutrality offers an encouraging story of the power of the people to protect the core democratic principle of free exchange, and shows that even if things look bad, grassroots pressure holds the key to saving the internet as we know it. [Read the Article]( ["Being Detained Feels Like the Abuse I Tried to Escape": A Korean Survivor Speaks Out From Immigration Detention]( Yihwa Kim, translated and edited by Hyejin Shim, Truthout: When a domestic and sexual violence survivor from South Korea sought asylum in the United States, she was detained, abused and sexually harassed for eight months by immigration detention staff. Now, as she is being forced to leave the US, Yihwa Kim speaks out about the conditions she endured. [Read the Article]( [Republicans Agree on Tax Bill "of, by and for the Political Donor Class" With Tax Cuts for the Rich]( Amy Goodman and Nermeen Shaikh, Democracy Now!: Republicans in Congress say they have reached a deal on final tax legislation that will overhaul the US tax code, dramatically impacting not only household income, but also health care and domestic spending. The plan would slash taxes by nearly $1.5 trillion, with the vast majority of the cuts benefiting major corporations and the richest Americans, including President Trump's own family. A final vote could take place next week. [Watch the Video and Read the Transcript]( [Trump's Regulators: Eager Servants of Oil and Gas, at Our Expense]( Amanda Marcotte, Salon: The Trump administration is willing to do substantial harm to the public and planet to serve the whims of the oil and gas industries. The obsessiveness of the Trumpian assault on clean air was illustrated again last week, when the Bureau of Land Management, which works under Secretary Ryan Zinke at the Interior Department, delayed the implementation of a rule requiring oil and gas companies drilling on federally owned lands to curtail the release of waste methane into the air. [Read the Article]( [Trans People Don't Need to Be "Cured," Despite What Discredited Studies Claim]( Laura Erickson-Schroth and Laura A. Jacobs, Beacon Press: Transgender and gender-nonconforming people have a long history of being pathologized by the medical and mental health community. Studies have demonstrated that trans people are generally happier and more well-adjusted after transition and that there is no form of therapy that can successfully make trans people "un-trans." Yet, respected news sources continue to publish the opinions of discredited "experts" who claim otherwise. [Read the Book Excerpt]( [Trump's First Year Sets Record for US Special Ops, Deploying to 149 Countries]( Nick Turse, TomDispatch: In 2017, US Special Operations forces, including Navy SEALs and Army Green Berets, deployed to 149 countries around the world. When it comes to Special Operations forces, the Trump administration has embraced their use in the style of his predecessor, President Obama, while upping the ante even further. The steady rise in the number of elite operators, missions and foreign deployments since 9/11 won't end anytime soon. [Read the Article]( [Trump's Favorite Hatemonger Bites the Dust]( Elizabeth Schulte, Socialist Worker: On Tuesday, Alabama Democrat Doug Jones defeated Republican Roy Moore in a special election to fill the Senate seat left open by Jeff Sessions. But the big winners in this election are the women of #MeToo -- who broke the silence about sexual harassment and assault committed by powerful men. [Read the Article]( [For the Cost of the Tax Bill, the US Could Eliminate Child Poverty Twice Over]( Rachel West, TalkPoverty.org: Congressional Republicans are rushing to finalize their tax legislation before the holidays. For less than the cost of the Republican tax plan, Congress could eliminate child poverty in the United States. Instead, congressional Republicans are choosing to saddle the nation's kids with debt to finance a massive giveaway to the wealthy. [Read the Article]( [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](