Presidents' Day Can Kiss My Ass

Monday, February 18, 2019 We deliver stories that fuel resistance, 365 days a year. Please join us in the fight to keep real journalism alive. [Donate Now →]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [Presidents' Day Can Kiss My Ass]( William Rivers Pitt, Truthout As there are fully 624 days until the 2020 presidential election, please allow me to invite the entire concept of "Presidents' Day" to take a flying copulation at a rolling doughnut in a gravel driveway. Enough already with the presidents and with our obsession with that high and highly corrupted office. [Read the Article →]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [No One Knows How Many Indigenous Women Are Missing or Murdered]( Jen Deerinwater, Truthout A new study on missing and murdered urban Indigenous women, girls and Two Spirit people -- collectively known as MMIWG2 -- found that many weren't being properly counted by law enforcement, making it difficult to advocate for policy to help bring an end to this violence. Media coverage was also found to be abysmal, resulting in a lack of public awareness. [Read the Article →]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [The Key to Cheap Drugs: Pay Research Costs Upfront]( Dean Baker, Truthout Government-granted patent monopolies, not the market, create the problem of high drug prices. The justification for patent monopolies is that it gives drug companies the incentive to research and develop new drugs. But we don't have to rely on patent monopolies to pay for drug research. We could pay for the research costs upfront, and save hundreds of billions on prescription drugs in the US every year. [Read the Article →]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [Confirmation of William Barr Escalates War on Immigrants]( Jacinta González and Patrick Sullivan, Truthout The Senate's confirmation of William Barr as attorney general delivers another powerful ally to Donald Trump in his extremist war on immigrants. As attorney general under George H.W. Bush, Barr tried to take away due process rights for all immigrants with criminal convictions and sent 12,000 Haitian refugees to prison at Guantánamo Bay simply because they were HIV positive. [Read the Article →]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [States Prepare Legal Challenge to Trump’s Emergency Declaration]( Julia Conley, Common Dreams At least five states are preparing a legal challenge to President Donald Trump's national emergency declaration, which the president made on Friday to secure funding for a border wall. Several states could lose vital funding for disaster relief services should Trump succeed in raiding government funds to pay for the wall. [Read the Article →]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [The US Not Immune to a Fascist Takeover by a Demagogue]( Ian Masters, Background Briefing Henry Giroux, the author of American Nightmare: Facing the Challenge of Fascism, joins us to discuss his article at Truthout, "Resisting the Weaponization of Ignorance in the Age of Trump." We discuss how democracies across the world have succumbed to fascist takeovers by demagogues, and how the US is not immune to the same forces of malicious ignorance and arrogant anti-intellectualism led by Donald Trump. [Listen to the Audio →]( --------------------------------------------------------------- In Case You Missed It --------------------------------------------------------------- [Imagine Pleading Guilty Because You Can't Afford to Call Your Lawyer]( Victoria Law, Truthout In 2013, the Federal Communications Commission set price caps on interstate calls from jails, prisons and detention facilities. In 2017, a federal court ruled it could not do the same for in-state calls, which make up 92 percent of prison and jail phone calls. This leaves some phone call rates sky-high and many incarcerated people less able to access legal resources that might mean the difference between prison and freedom. [Read the Article →]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [North American Expats Contribute to Inequality in Latin America]( Matthew Hayes, Truthout Over the last decade, thousands of North Americans, mostly white retirees, have settled in Latin America and Mexico, citing lower costs of living and a desire for lifestyle change. In the process, they have brought gentrification and displacement to communities there, pushing local people off their land and into lives where they must work longer, often at lower pay, and unlike the lifestyle migrants, without hope of retirement. [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. 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