If You Don't Get Your Tax Refund, Thank the Trump Shutdown

Tuesday, January 8, 2019 [If You Don't Get Your Tax Refund, Thank the Trump Shutdown]( William Rivers Pitt, Truthout The Trump shutdown has entered its third week, and millions of taxpayers will soon bear the immediate consequences. Should it continue much longer, only tax returns with a check enclosed will be processed. Anyone owed a refund will be made to wait. The absence of those refunds will be a gut punch to the national economy. The White House says the problem is fixed, but they have lied many times before. [Read the Article →]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [It's Time for an Over-the-Counter Birth Control Pill]( Kelly Blanchard, Truthout Since the invention of the birth control pill over 50 years ago, women have made enormous strides, yet nearly a third of women today still face obstacles in obtaining prescriptions for birth control. Making the birth control pill -- which decades of research has shown to be safe and effective -- available over the counter is an important step toward creating healthier families and communities. [Read the Article →]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [Despite Shutdown, Trump Is Pushing Forward Plans to Drill in Arctic]( Dahr Jamail, Truthout Despite the government shutdown that Trump threatens could last "years," his administration has directed the Bureau of Land Management to move forward with public meetings over plans for drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. With many other Interior Department activities frozen, this appears to be an attempt to undermine the public participation in something with huge environmental and human consequences. [Read the Article →]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Help us maintain a viable and powerful alternative to commercial media. Support Truthout's independent, nonprofit journalism with a tax-deductible donation. [Donate Now →]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [ICE Raids Make Families Afraid to Leave Their Homes]( William Lopez, Truthout Large-scale immigration raids in workplaces and homes happen all year, all over the country. Whether Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents entrap more than 100 community members or a lone father in a family of four, the emotional, psychological and financial impacts can be devastating, says Sarah Yore Van Oosterhout, founder of Michigan nonprofit Lighthouse Immigrant Advocates. [Read the Interview →]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [Pressure Builds for Senate Democrats to Stonewall Bills That Don't End Shutdown]( Jake Johnson, Common Dreams With Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell refusing to allow a floor vote on government funding bills that passed the Democratic House last week, progressive organizations are attempting to force the GOP leader's hand by pressuring Democrats to stonewall all Senate business and legislation that is unrelated to reopening the federal government. [Read the Article →]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [Rep. Rashida Tlaib Won't Apologize for Comments About Trump]( Amy Goodman and Juan González, Democracy Now! Newly elected Democratic Congressmember Rashida Tlaib of Michigan made headlines last week for emphatically declaring that Congress would seek to impeach Donald Trump. In this interview, Tlaib discusses how her comments relate to holding Trump accountable in the midst of the government shutdown. [Watch the Video and Read the Transcript →]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [Bases, Bases, Everywhere -- Except in the Pentagon's Report]( Nick Turse, TomDispatch The US military is finally withdrawing (or not) from its base at al-Tanf, located on the land corridor just inside Syria, near both the Iraqi and Jordanian borders. Opened in 2015, it was one of the many military bases that exist somewhere between light and shadow, an acknowledged foreign outpost that somehow never actually made it onto the Pentagon's official inventory of bases. [Read the Article →]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [Kiss What Is Left of Your Medical Data Privacy Goodbye]( Yves Smith, Naked Capitalism Insurers have increasingly induced their customers to agree to surveillance. Now, a Wall Street Journal story describes how insurers and medical providers, meaning your doctor's employers, are actively cooperating. They're enabling Big Pharma to peddle more drugs to you. [Read the Article →]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [Energy Transfer Opens Mariner East 2 Pipeline Amid Hazard Worries, Investigation]( Sharon Kelly, DeSmogBlog Energy Transfer has begun shipping natural gas liquids through one of the most troubled pipeline projects in Pennsylvania, sparking calls for additional investigations as residents say safety concerns remain unresolved. A year ago, Pennsylvania temporarily suspended permits for Mariner East 2 pipeline construction, but a 12-inch pipeline from the 1930s will bypass the unfinished work. [Read the Article →]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [Trump Golf Club Allegedly Gave Out Fake Green Cards and Social Security Numbers]( Judy Molland, Care2 As President Trump pushes cruel immigration policies and partially shuts down the government over border wall funding, his New Jersey golf club is embroiled in an investigation involving handing out fake green cards and social security numbers to undocumented workers. The question is: Where is the outrage over Trump's hypocrisy? [Read the Article →]( --------------------------------------------------------------- In Case You Missed It --------------------------------------------------------------- [Trump's Racist Language of Pollution Drives His Neoliberal Fascism]( Henry A. Giroux, Truthout The utopian visions that support the promise of a radical democracy and prevent the dystopian nightmare of a fascist politics are disappearing in the United States. The viciousness of the Trump administration and the cruelty imposed by neoliberalism mutually inform each other. Trump's policies are matched by an ongoing, if not relentless, discourse of dehumanization and objectification aimed at those considered disposable. [Read the Article →]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [States Lead the Way on Retirement Policy]( Dean Baker, Truthout Seeing the inadequacies of the current retirement system, many states have stepped forward to offer low-cost portable retirement plans through a state-sponsored system. These plans will have the advantage that workers can hold on to the same plan even as they change employers. [Read the Article →]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Like what you're reading? Support Truthout's independent news and analysis by making an automatic monthly donation. [Donate Now →]( Connect With Us [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Instagram]( [Donate]( Truthout is a reader-supported, nonprofit organization; donations are tax-deductible. Truthout is a proud member of the Newspaper Guild/CWA, Local 36047. Please add messenger@truthout.org to ensure you receive our messages. [Subscribe]( | [Unsubscribe]( | [Privacy Policy](