Shifting Blame Is a Favorite Habit of Polluters and This President

Saturday, September 7, 2019 Truthout needs your help to keep this climate-denying, anti-science administration in check. Support our environmental reporting: Make a tax-deductible donation. [Donate Now →]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [Shifting Blame Is a Favorite Habit of Polluters and This President]( William Rivers Pitt, Truthout Trump blaming businesses for the failures of his economic policies, polluters blaming consumers for the state of the environment, is all of a piece: The captain of the Titanic blaming the passengers for the iceberg. Both Trump and the polluters have a great deal of power and money to fling their blame-shifting into the zeitgeist. Please don't fall for it. [Read the Article →]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [Jewish Activists for Justice Must Not Ignore Palestine]( Donna Nevel, Truthout Progressive Jewish organizations across the U.S. have mobilized to resist Trump's immigration policies and human rights abuses at the southern border. However, the principle "Never Again" means never again for anyone, including Palestinians. As some Jewish groups try to distance themselves from those working toward justice for Palestine, we must remember that you can’t fight for one form of justice in isolation from others. [Read the Article →]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [How Pop Culture Tries to Justify Torture]( Alex Adams, Truthout The ticking bomb scenario, popularized in espionage fictions in print and on screen, has a long history of presenting torture as a morally defensible weapon in certain "obvious" circumstances. However, the Rendition Project's comprehensive report on the post-9/11 CIA torture regime -- "CIA Torture Unredacted" -- makes it clear that not only does torture fail to result in meaningful intelligence, it is operationally counterproductive. [Read the Article →]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [U.S. Beekeepers File Suit Against EPA Charging "Illegal" Approval of Insecticide]( Jon Queally, Common Dreams A group of beekeepers joined forces on Friday against Trump's EPA by filing a lawsuit over the agency's move to put a powerful insecticide back on the market. The lawsuit charges that the EPA's approval of sulfoxaflor was illegally rendered as it put industry interests ahead of the health of pollinators and ignored the available research. Scientists warn the chemical is part of the massive pollinator die-off across the U.S. [Read the Article →]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [Trump Rakes in Fossil Fuel Money While Some Democrats Skirt Donation Pledge]( Derek Seidman, Eyes on the Ties Oil, gas and coal interests are clearly lining up behind Donald Trump, having already donated significant sums towards reelecting him. While nowhere near the level of the Trump campaign, some Democrats, too, have accepted donations from oil and gas interests -- including some signers of the No Fossil Fuel Pledge. These donations also point to some blurry terrain around what exactly constitutes fossil fuel industry money. [Read the Article →]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [Trump Might Have Invented a $50 Million Debt So He Didn't Have to Pay Taxes]( Lisa Needham, The American Independent Institute For several years now, Trump has reported that he owes over $50 million to Chicago Unit Acquisition, LLC -- a company he owns. It turns out that debt may not exist at all. If the House of Representatives could crack open Trump's tax returns, much of the mystery around this 8-figure debt to himself could be solved. But that effort is bogged down in litigation while Trump tries everything to stop them. [Read the Article →]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [How We Shut Down the Nation's Largest Child Detention Center]( Kristin Kumpf, YES! Magazine A controversial detention center in Florida that had served as an indefinite holding place for migrant youth was shut down after months of organizing by the American Friends Service Committee along with a coalition of local and national organizations. But if the Trump administration has its way, it won't be empty for long. And the number of children in detention will only grow. [Read the Article →]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [The Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools]( Anita Johnson, Making Contact The new book Pushout: The Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools is an examination of the experiences of Black girls across the country whose intricate lives are misunderstood, highly judged "by teachers, administrators, and the justice system and degraded by the very institutions charged with helping them flourish." In the book, author Monique Morris shows how Black girls still find ways to breathe remarkable dignity into their lives. [Listen to the Audio →]( --------------------------------------------------------------- In Case You Missed It --------------------------------------------------------------- [It's Time for Migrants Facing Deportation to Have Free Legal Counsel]( Michelle Chen, Truthout Widespread outrage over Trump's anti-immigrant crackdown has prompted some city and state governments to step in and provide free legal counsel for detained immigrants undergoing deportation proceedings. Given the arbitrary and opaque nature of immigration courts, a good lawyer is a crucial support in navigating hostile immigration policies, say activists. [Read the Article →]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [We Must Abolish Prisons to Rebuild Communities Fractured by Mass Incarceration]( Laura Flanders, Truthout How do we even begin to dismantle the enormous prison-industrial complex in the world's most incarcerated country? Three people deeply immersed in the prison abolition movement -- community organizer Kerbie Joseph; writer, activist and strategist Kenyon Farrow; and activist Esteban Kelly -- show us how to imagine a world without prisons and jails. We begin transforming society through transforming our relationships with each other, they say. [Read the Interview →]( --------------------------------------------------------------- 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]( | [Privacy Policy]( [Unsubscribe](