Mike Gravel Is Running for President -- But He Doesn't Want to Win

Thursday, April 18, 2019 [| Help Truthout tell stories of struggle |]( [Mike Gravel Is Running for President -- But He Doesn't Want to Win]( Robert R. Raymond, Truthout The 88-year-old former senator from Alaska declared his candidacy after being approached by two teenage democratic socialists who wanted him to bring attention to a wide variety of policy positions that were being ignored by other Democratic candidates. Without the pressure to win, Mike Gravel is uniquely positioned to stretch the boundaries of acceptable debate and push progressive Democratic candidates further to the left. [Read the Article →]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [Don't Listen to Barr -- Read Mueller's Words Yourself]( Staff, Common Dreams Attorney General William Barr delivered a redacted version of the Mueller report to Congress and posted the special counsel's findings online Thursday morning. The document's publication followed a Justice Department press conference that critics and Democratic lawmakers denounced as an effort to protect President Trump. During the press conference, Barr insisted that none of the redactions were the result of "executive privilege." [Read the Article →]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [Officer Attack on Teen Reignites National Debate on Cops in Schools]( Chelli Stanley, Truthout Video of a police officer pulling a child down a flight of stairs in front of a crowd at a school has reignited the national debate about the presence of police in schools. A national coalition of educators called Black Lives Matter at School recently added a new demand for more counselors in schools, pointing out that 1.6 million children attend a school that has a police officer but no counselor. [Read the Article →]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [Israel Uses Animal Rights to Distract From War Crimes]( Azeezah Kanji, Truthout U.S. media and animal rights organizations have lavished praise on Israel for its leadership in animal rights -- as if kindness toward animals offsets a long record of likely war crimes against humans. Feel-good news stories about animals given sanctuary and medical treatment in Israel only serve to divert attention from Palestinians being denied shelter and medical care under Israeli occupation. [Read the Article →]( --------------------------------------------------------------- To remain editorially and fiscally independent, Truthout relies on you, our community of readers. Can you support real, trustworthy journalism by making a tax-deductible donation today? [Donate Now →]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [Noam Chomsky Says the Green New Deal Is Exactly the Right Idea]( Amy Goodman, Democracy Now! Supporters of the Green New Deal are launching a nationwide tour Thursday to build support for the congressional resolution to transform the U.S. economy through funding renewable energy while ending U.S. carbon dioxide emissions by 2030. Democracy Now! spoke with Noam Chomsky about the Green New Deal and the lessons of the old New Deal. [Watch the Video and Read the Transcript →]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [Making U.S. Schools Less Great Again]( Belle Chesler, TomDispatch On May 8, educators across the state of Oregon are planning to walk out of schools. The action, a precursor to a strike, is a direct response to the inadequate funding in the upcoming state budget and a referendum on the continuing divestment in public education across the country. According to the American Federation of Teachers, divestment in education is occurring in every single state in the nation. [Read the Article →]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [Good Samaritans Punished for Offering Lifesaving Help to Migrants]( Debbie Nathan, The Appeal From fiscal years 2015 to 2018, the number of people federally charged with smuggling and harboring migrants jumped almost a third. Most of the increase occurred in fiscal year 2018 after the Trump administration told prosecutors to focus on using a "harboring" statute to charge people who assist three or more undocumented immigrants at a given time. It seems as if law enforcement is intent on chilling a basic human impulse: to help people in need. [Read the Article →]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [A Political Stalemate Over Puerto Rico Is Leaving U.S. Disaster Funding in Limbo]( Lauren Lluveras, The Conversation Once the disaster relief funds Congress appropriated for Puerto Rico ran out in March, the island was forced to slash benefits for the 1.35 million people getting nutrition aid. As lawmakers enter their two-week spring recess without sending legislation to Trump to at least consider signing, Puerto Rico, Iowa and other disaster-struck regions remain in limbo. [Read the Article →]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [Trump Campaign Pulls in Unprecedented Fundraising in First Quarter]( Karl Evers-Hillstrom and Camille Erickson, Center for Responsive Politics President Donald Trump's campaign reported raising $30.3 million in campaign funds in the first quarter of the 2020 presidential race, according to Federal Election Commission filings. Perhaps most impressive is Trump's small donor dominance, which averaged little more than $34.26 per donor. The mammoth size of Trump's campaign coffers equals the combined cash of front-runner Democratic candidates Sen. Bernie Sanders and Sen. Kamala Harris. [Read the Article →]( --------------------------------------------------------------- In Case You Missed It --------------------------------------------------------------- [At Last, Mueller Reveals [REDACTED]]( William Rivers Pitt, Truthout It is fortunate Attorney General William Barr was not able to lay hands on the works of Edgar Allan Poe. Had he been afforded the chance to play Poe's editor/bulldozer as he no doubt has with the Mueller report, generations of macabre literature fans would have spent their candlelit Halloween nights grimly intoning, "Quoth the raven: REDACTED." [Read the Article →]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [Real Sanctuary Demands More Than Lip Service. Cities Must Step Up.]( Tania Unzueta, Truthout On Tuesday, Attorney General William Barr reversed a Justice Department ruling that allowed asylum seekers to be released on bond, making it possible to detain them indefinitely. In the face of this new cruelty, it isn't enough for sanctuary cities to refuse to comply with federal immigration investigations. They must also defy the current racist policing systems that criminalize immigrants of color and funnel them into the detention and deportation pipeline. [Read the Article →]( --------------------------------------------------------------- We need 121 more people to sign up for a recurring donation to Truthout by the end of this month. Will you be one? Just choose "monthly" when you make your gift. [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. 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