Trump's Budget Proposals Highlight Priorities of Rich and Shameless

Thursday, January 31, 2019 [| Final day to support Truthout! |]( [Trump's Budget Proposals Highlight Priorities of Rich and Shameless]( William Rivers Pitt, Truthout At some point, the Trump administration will cough up its latest budgetary ode to deliberate misery. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Elizabeth Warren have already seeded the ground with a far superior crop of ideas, while Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the newly muscular House Democratic majority are sharpening their carving knives. I am loath to wax optimistic in such fearfully dreary times, but I will be watching this unfold with both eyes. [Read the Article →]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [Republicans Are Using Shameless Tactics to Split Democrats Over BDS]( Brant Rosen, Truthout The Senate's grandiosely titled Strengthening America's Security in the Middle East Act of 2019 is a bald-faced attempt to make Israel/Palestine a political wedge issue in the 116th Congress and the 2020 election. The bill's special provision seeking to stifle the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement suggests a certain air of desperation in the face of waning support for Israel in the new Congress. [Read the Article →]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [Hondurans Protest US-Backed Government as Thousands Flee]( Sandra Cuffe, Truthout In keeping with its longstanding tradition of backing undemocratic regimes in Central and South America, the US is continuing to support the government of Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández despite suspicions about election rigging, corruption scandals and his links to drug trafficking. Meanwhile, thousands continue to flee Honduras for Mexico and the US amid violence, unemployment, poverty and persecution brought on by the ongoing political turmoil. [Read the Article and View the Photos →]( --------------------------------------------------------------- It's the final day of Truthout's fundraising drive and we still need $8,850. If you believe in the importance of old-school muckraking and authentic journalism, then don't delay: Make a tax-deductible donation now! [Donate Now →]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [Police Are Using Private Security Firms to Target Anti-Pipeline Organizers]( Jessica Corbett, Common Dreams Minnesota police have spent more than a year gearing up for a militarized standoff with those opposed to Enbridge's Line 3 tar sands pipeline. According to newly released documents, Minnesota police are borrowing from the playbook of North Dakota law enforcement, which launched a brutal response to the Indigenous-led demonstrations against the Dakota Access pipeline in 2016. [Read the Article →]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [Stacey Abrams: "We Have to Work Harder" Than Those Who Would Suppress the Vote]( Amy Goodman, Democracy Now! Democrats have selected former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams to deliver the response to President Trump's State of the Union address on Tuesday. Abrams will become the first person not in public office to give the Democratic response to the president, as well as the first Black woman to deliver the response. She recently launched Fair Fight Action, a voting rights advocacy group, after she narrowly lost Georgia's governor's race to Secretary of State Brian Kemp, who was widely accused of suppressing the vote. [Watch the Video and Read the Transcript →]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [Bolsonaro Government Plans Mega-Projects in the Brazilian Amazon]( Jan Rocha, Mongabay Last week, Bolsonaro administration Chief of Strategic Affairs Maynard Santa Rosa announced new Brazilian mega-infrastructure projects that include a dam on the Trombetas River, a bridge over the Amazon River and an extension of the BR-163 highway from the Amazon River through 300 miles of rainforest. These projects will imperil Indigenous communities and important conservation areas. [Read the Article →]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [There Is a Real National Emergency in the US, It's Just Not the Wall]( Rajan Menon, TomDispatch Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to declare a national emergency if Congress refuses to pony up $5.7 billion to build a wall on the southern US border. Fabricating national emergencies is unconscionable, especially when there are real ones requiring urgent attention, and the opioid crisis is a real emergency that requires a multifaceted and sustained solution. [Read the Article →]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [Why Germany Leads in Renewables: It Has Its Own Green Bank]( Ellen Brown, Web of Debt Blog As US legislators contemplate the proposed Green New Deal, Germany provides a stunning example of how to fund a clean energy revolution. Germany's development bank is even larger than the World Bank, and it funds the country's green energy sector. Some US states have infrastructure and development banks, but their reach is very small. The US should follow Germany's example at the national level. [Read the Article →]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [Saudi Spokesperson Is a Sign of Revolving Door in Foreign Lobbying]( Lucas Robinson, Center for Responsive Politics Fahad Nazer, a former registered foreign agent and political consultant for the Saudi government, has been hired as the spokesperson for the Saudi embassy in Washington, DC. In recent months, Nazer drafted a letter to Congress on the "adverse ramifications" of reducing US support for Saudi Arabia's war in Yemen, and defended the war in published think tank policy papers. [Read the Article →]( --------------------------------------------------------------- In Case You Missed It --------------------------------------------------------------- [Noam Chomsky: Ocasio-Cortez and Other Newcomers Are Rousing the Multitudes]( C.J. Polychroniou, Truthout A considerable majority of the US population has favored higher taxes on the rich for many years, says world-renowned linguist and social critic Noam Chomsky. Now that a few newcomers to Congress like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez are finally advocating what the public wants -- even suggesting tax rates at a level regarded as optimal for the economy by the most prominent specialists -- the super-rich are afraid. [Read the Interview →]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [After Years of Republican Rule, the House Takes on Voting Rights]( Mike Ludwig, Truthout After nearly a decade of Republican rule, Tuesday's hearing on sweeping voting rights and anti-corruption legislation exposed a deep divide between Republicans and Democrats, despite growing public support for reform across the political spectrum. Civil rights leaders sparred with Republicans over gerrymandering and voter suppression, revealing a Republican establishment that is desperately clinging to power on Capitol Hill. [Read the Article →]( --------------------------------------------------------------- We still need 16 more people to make a sustaining, monthly donation to Truthout. Will you be one? Just choose "monthly" on our 30-second form. [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](