William Rivers Pitt | We Are Not Broke: Trashing the Austerity Lies

[t]   Sunday, June 11, 2017 [t r u t h o u t] [View Recent Newsletters]( [Tell a friend about Truthout!]( [Donate Today!](   Truthout is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization; donations are tax deductible.   BuzzFlash Donald Trump's State Visit to Britain Put on Hold [Read the Article at the Guardian US](   Sessions to Appear Before Senate Intelligence Committee [Read the Article at The Associated Press](   Divided Puerto Ricans Vote on Whether to Become US State [Read the Article at Reuters](   Ex-Prosecutor Refused Trump's Call, Got Fired the Next Day [Read the Article at The Huffington Post](   Families Trusted This Hospital Chain to Care for Their Relatives -- It Systematically Failed Them [Read the Article at The Boston Globe](   With New Trump Health and Human Services Hire, Abstinence-Only Reboot Gets a Champion [Read the Article at Rewire](   Want to See US Climate Progress? Support City and State Leaders and the Grassroots Groups Who Hold Them Accountable [Read the Article at Common Dreams](     [We Are Not Broke: Trashing the Austerity Lies]( William Rivers Pitt, Truthout: It was confirmed via the Panama Papers release last year that hundreds of the wealthiest US citizens enjoy the privileges of offshore cash havens, even as the new government in Washington pleads abject poverty while seeking to bleed the poorest among us for the benefit of the richest. We are not broke. Our national priorities are merely broken. [Read the Article]( [Climate Activists in Pacific Northwest Fight Construction of World's Largest Methanol Refinery]( Martha Baskin, Truthout: Climate activists in the Pacific Northwest have rallied against a tsunami of fossil fuel export proposals involving coal, oil and petrochemicals over the last five years. Now a proposal to build the world's largest refinery on the banks of the Columbia River to produce highly flammable methanol using fracked gas for export to China is promising to be their biggest fight to date. [Read the Article]( [Organizations Representing Corporations Pass Regressive Legislation in the Shadows]( Mark Karlin, Truthout: Corporations and the organizations representing them have pushed legislation in state governments, often bypassing Congress, explains political economist Gordon Lafer in this exclusive interview with Truthout. This is made possible, in part, by the minimal coverage that state legislatures generally receive from the corporate media. [Read the Interview]( [The Problem With Liberal Opposition to Islamophobia]( Azeezah Kanji and S. K. Hussan, ROAR Magazine: Many of the arguments against Islamophobia in anti-racist circles turn out to replicate rather than subvert the underlying logics that attack, demonize and dehumanize Muslims. Challenging the Islamophobic far-right cannot simply be about upholding the same capitalist and imperialist -- even if slightly less racist -- stances that have destabilized much of the Global South in recent decades. [Read the Article]( [Voucher Program Helps Well-Off Vermonters Pay for Prep School at Public Expense]( Annie Waldman, ProPublica: Vermont's voucher program is a microcosm of what could happen across the country if "school-choice" advocates such as Education Secretary Betsy DeVos achieve their vision. By subsidizing part of the cost of private schools in or out of state, it broadens options for some while diverting students from public education and disproportionately benefiting wealthier families. [Read the Article]( [Ten Years Ago, Connecticut Got Big Money Out of Its Elections. Now Democrats Are Gutting the Program]( Adam Eichen, In These Times: Connecticut's introduction of the Citizens' Election Program (CEP) in 2005, seriously curbed the influence of corporations and the rich on state elections. Yet, this beacon of democracy could soon dim, as the state legislature is on the verge of gutting the law that gave the state its democratic promise. [Read the Article]( [Likely Coalition Partner for Floundering UK Conservative Party Sits on the Hard Right Fringe]( Adam Ramsay, openDemocracy: The Democratic Unionist Party now looks like British Prime Minister Theresa May's preferred coalition partner. While often compared to the center-right Ulster Unionists, the group has historical links to paramilitary groups as well as far-right ideology. Here are some things you need to know. [Read the Article]( [Dams Be Damned: California Rebuilds the Salmon Habitat It Destroyed]( Monica Heger, YES! Magazine: Salmon populations have declined in California thanks to decades of building dams. Now, in freshwater waterways along the coast from Marin to Mendocino counties, agencies are restoring salmonid streams to create habitat diversity, areas that provide deep pooling, predator protection and side channels of slower-moving water. [Read the Article]( [This Week in Speakout:]( Nadia Colburn discusses how communities need to turn outrage at Trump's decision to exit the Paris agreement into tangible climate action; Darrin Anderson argues the importance of recess for children's health and growth; Simon Chandler examines how relying on Silicon Valley billionaires to fight against the Trump administration's policies can only lead to us ignoring the importance of grassroots action; and more. 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