The Hispanic–white wage gap has remained wide and relatively steady for decades

[...] Following are just a few of the key findings in this report:

From Bill Blum in Truthdig, 7/2/18, It is Time to Use the ‘F’ Word to Describe Trump

[…] Drawing on the work of Italian novelist and professor Umberto Eco, Cameron Climie, a Canadian economist, listed 14 fluid characteristics of fascism in an essay published last year by the website Medium.com. They are:

Inside the White House’s Quiet Campaign to Create a Supreme Court Opening

WASHINGTON — President Trump singled him out for praise even while attacking other members of the Supreme Court. The White House nominated people close to him to important judicial posts. And members of the Trump family forged personal connections.

Didier and Paulette Anger are the godparents of the French anti-nuclear movement

The couple reside in Normandy, France, in the belly of the French nuclear beast. To the north of them, on the Cherbourg peninsula, sits the biggest blight of nuclear France, the La Hague reprocessing facility.  “The currents there are very strong so I assume they chose the site because it can disperse the liquid radioactive wastes into the sea very quickly,” Didier told Arnold, not without a hint of sarcasm.

The White House Bible Study group that influenced Trump’s family separation policy

"Jeff Sessions [will] go out the same day I teach him something and he’ll do it on camera."

ANDREW L. SEIDEL UPDATED: 

IT IS TIME TO HAVE A CONVERSATION ABOUT HIGHER EDUCATION

There have been dramatic changes occurring in higher education over the last decade. For instance, colleges and universities have expanded online programs to appeal to non-traditional students. Even though these programs have been initiated with little public discussion, it is laudable that they target students who work full time, cannot afford attending a campus, are raising children, or are older than students who enter college directly from high school. In addition to the non-traditional students, appeals are made to youth to pursue degrees at home.

It Can Happen Here

Retention and Recruitment - The Effect of Refugees on Employers

Under U.S. law, a refugee is a person who demonstrates that they were persecuted or fear persecution due to race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular special group.

Black Athletes Were Involved in the Political Struggle from the Beginning

Jackie Robinson's Testimony Before the House Un-American Committee:

In 1947, Jack Roosevelt “Jackie” Robinson would make American history as the first African-American to officially play Major League Baseball in the 20th Century. On July 18 1949, his status as a hero would see Jackie Robinson summoned to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC).

Tough Talk, Delusion And Realpolitik

Tough talk and delusionary braggadocio evidently play well with GOP “true believers,” but people who actually know something about diplomacy and international relations can tell the difference between actually accomplishing something and putting on a reality TV show.

In the wake of the hyped summit between Trump and “little rocket man,” the analysis from knowledgable folks of both parties has been pretty devastating.

The Nationalization Of Politics

Over at FiveThirtyEight.com, Dan Hopkins makes one of those observations that seems so obvious once you’ve read it…

Hopkins addresses one of the troubling features of today’s political reality: the nationalization of our politics. As he notes, the actions of state and local elected officials have an important and immediate effect on our lives–why, then, do Americans seem  fixated on Washington, D.C. almost to the exclusion of local politics?

Media Treat Trump Administration’s Partisan Fear-Mongering as Objective ‘Government’ Report

On Tuesday, dozens of media outlets broke what at first seemed to be a major story about “the government” announcing that Social Security and Medicare will be broke in less than 20 years:

Science is Taking a Backseat in Trump Policy Making

WASHINGTON — As President Trump prepares to meet Kim Jong-un of North Korea to negotiate denuclearization, a challenge that has bedeviled the world for years, he is doing so without the help of a White House science adviser or senior counselor trained in nuclear physics.

Chemical Industry Scores Big Win at the EPA

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration, after heavy lobbying by the chemical industry, is scaling back the way the federal government determines health and safety risks associated with the most dangerous chemicals on the market, 

Two New Studies Point to Ways that Gun Laws can Decrease Gun Homicides and Gun Suicides

While the Republican Party ruminates on the best ways to not do anything about gun violence while collecting big checks from “Second Amendment” groups like the NRA, other people are trying their hardest to prove that there are ways in which we can legislate more public safety.

With Literal Nazis Running for Office, NYT Suggests Candidate’s Israel Criticism Is Antisemitic

Eight overt white nationalists are running for office in 2018—a new record, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center. Overt fascists, inspired by the rise of President Donald Trump, have found a place both within and just outside the margins of the official Republican Party.

Slogan Voters--The Road to Political Masochism

[...] President Trump’s words and deeds have not changed the minds of 40 percent of people polled.  What else is going on here?
 
One answer is Slogan Voters.  I’ve spoken to  many people who are still for Trump despite all of his lies and misdeeds.  They don’t pay much attention to politics.  When they do, they reveal themselves as Slogan Voters.  They are content with Trump’s rhetoric and rarely look beneath the surface at the details.  That is, they are not bothered by being fact-deprived in political matters.
 

Alice–Updated, Slipping Further Behind

Regular readers of this blog have met ALICE before. ALICE is an acronym standing for “Asset limited, income constrained, employed.” That last word–employed–is important; it puts the lie to the widespread fiction that struggling Americans just need to work, or work harder.

The Association of United Ways issued the original ALICE report in 2014, updated it in 2016, and have now produced data for 2018. It isn’t pretty.

Gun Dealers Routinely go Unpunished for Illegal Sales

WASHINGTON — As they inspect the nation’s gun stores, federal investigators regularly find violations of the law, ranging from minor record-keeping errors to illegal sales of firearms. In the most serious cases, like a sale of a gun to a prohibited buyer, inspectors often recommend that gun dealers lose their licenses.But that rarely happens.

Israeli Sniper Kills 21-year old Palestinian Medic

In Gaza, thousands of Palestinians gathered Saturday for the funeral of 21-year-old medic Razan al-Najjar, who an Israeli sniper shot dead on Friday as she was helping evacuate wounded Palestinians at a protest near the separation fence between Israel and Gaza. The Israeli sniper shot her in the chest even though she was clearly wearing a medical vest and a medical ID at the time of her death.

Religion And Moral Authority

Americans face daily reports of truly outrageous (and often previously unimaginable) things this administration is doing. In our name.

11 Turbines Successfully Installed at Wind Farm Trump Tried to Block 

The world's most powerful wind turbines have been successfully installed at the European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre (EOWDC) off Aberdeen Bay in Scotland's North Sea.The final turbine was installed on Saturday just nine weeks after the first foundation for the 11-turbine offshore wind farm was deployed, 

NFL bans kneeling, meanwhile 378 black men have died

When former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick took a knee during the national anthem in August 2016, it was in protest of unjust police killings of black Americans.For his courage, Kaepernick lost his job, the NFL lost its mind by forbidding the peaceful action ― and meanwhile, at least 378 black Americans have lost their lives in police killings.That most recent estimate of black police violence victims comes from data compiled 

Solarize Indiana

Friends, I am forwarding an attached letter that I received from 'Solarize Indiana'. As you can read from this letter, this is an all-volunteer organization dedicated to increasing the utilization of solar to offset carbon-energy in Indiana. The letter proficiently explains how they are developing teams throughout Indiana's local cities to achieve this goal. This seems to be a good way to build physical infrastructure toward solar, as well as instill the political-will to move Indiana's state government back to pro-renewable policies.

Hoosier Taxpayers Can Find Relief in New Tax Payment Plans

INDIANAPOLIS – The Indiana Department of Revenue (DOR) has instituted new payment plan options to help ease the burden to Hoosier taxpayers. The new payment plan options became effective in early May and allow individuals to establish plans for a longer period of time without the previous requirement of a down payment equal to 20 percent of the outstanding liability.

Focus on Pruitt’s Scandals Obscures Environmental Degradation Under Trump

The climate change-denying head of the Environmental Protection Agency has been renting out a DC condo on the cheap from an energy lobbyist; installing a $43,000 soundproof booth for his telephone calls; passing out improper 

In the Public Interest: Audit the Outlaw Military Budget Draining America’s Necessities

Top military, diplomatic, and political leaders have exposed, warned of, and condemned our runaway, unaudited military budgets for decades, to no avail.  (For many examples, see America’s War Machine: Vested Interests, Endless Conflicts by James McCartney, with Molly Sinclair McCartney.)  They usually come to the same desperate conclusion: that only organized citizens back in their Congressional Districts can make Congress stop this spending spree. Only us, Americans!From 1953, when President Dwight D.

Impacts of the Privatization of Public Education

The political economy of public sector failure is wholly ignored when schools are declared failing and threatened with closure.

Campaign Workers Guild Wins Third Major Collective Bargaining Agreement

Silver Spring, MD. — Just a week after organizers with the Randy Bryce for Congress campaign became the nation’s only current electoral campaign staff union, the Campaign Workers Guild on Monday continued building power and won its third major collective bargaining agreement with Chris Wilhelm, a progressive candidate for Montgomery County Council.

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