Democracy Now: Amy Goodman- 'As George McGovern Nears Death, How Antiwar Candidate Challenged Vietnam'

Source:Democracy Now- Senator George McGovern, running for President in 1972.

"In a Democracy Now! special, we look at the life and legacy of Sen. George McGovern, best known for running on an anti-war platform as the Democratic challenger to President Richard Nixon in the 1972 presidential election. A family spokesperson confirms the 90-year-old McGovern is no longer responsive and is "at the end stages of his life." He has been in hospice care in South Dakota since Monday, suffering from a combination of age-related medical conditions that have worsened in recent months.

McGovern ran against Nixon in 1972 on a platform of withdrawing U.S. troops from Vietnam, reducing defense spending, and providing amnesty to those who evaded the draft. Although he ultimately lost his election bid by a landslide, McGovern shattered the consensus in Capitol Hill around the Vietnam War as one of the first senators to speak out against the war. As a decorated World War II pilot who flew B-24 bombers over Nazi Germany, McGovern did not fit the stereotype of antiwar leaders in the 1960s and 1970s.

He is also known for transforming how the Democratic Party chooses its presidential nominee, and for his efforts to end world hunger.  We air an excerpt of a 2005 documentary about McGovern, "One Bright Shining Moment: The Forgotten Summer of George McGovern," narrated by Amy Goodman. Exploring McGovern's 1972 grassroots campaign for the presidency, the film features interviews with the candidate himself; supporters and activists like Gore Vidal, Gloria Steinem, Warren Beatty, Howard Zinn; and music from Bob Dylan, Robbie Robertson, Donovan and Elvis Costello."

From Democracy Now

I wrote a blog post about Senator George McGovern a couple of months ago on his birthday but he's worth more than a few blog posts, because he was a true believer in democracy. Not so much liberal democracy, which is what I believe in but more like social democracy.

What I love about Senator McGovern is that he wanted democracy to work for everyone, that all Americans should be able to contribute to it, that we should all vote and that we should all have a stake and a role in democracy and that this was exactly what the Democratic Party should be working for to bring about and that they fad to capitalize on the civil rights battles of the 1960s, that produced all of those laws and to not only be able to communicate to majorities, but minorities as well. And tell them the Democratic Party should be your home.

Even though Senator McGovern only won around 39% of the vote in 1972, he brought in so many new Democrats to the party, that Jimmy Carter was able to capitalize on in 1976. Thats Senator McGovern's legacy, what he was able to do for the Democratic Party and democracy in general, bringing in all of these new voters.

Brave New Films: 'This Is What Happens When Latinos Don't Vote'

Source:Brave New Films with a look at Latin-American voters.

"The stakes in this election for the Latino community are at an all-time high. Instead, anti-immigrant rhetoric, electoral and issue mis-information has been increasingly latent.

This is a problem - while both sides are working hard to court the Latino votes - they are largely neglecting what is truly essential to our community in this country.

Instead of mobilizing Latino voters to the polls, there is a palpable effort and narrative that Latinos are simply "not enthusiastic" this time around. This is a lie.

"Latinos Don't Vote" is designed to bring these issue to the forefront of the political discussion in the last leg of this electoral season. We aim to both combat negative stereotypes about Latinos and prove that our community will go out and vote this November. 

“Pandemic of Hate: Anti-Asian Racism During COVID-19” 

This documentary exposes how Trump’s bigotry is inciting violence against Asian-Americans and putting lives at risk. 

Watch it here:   

 • Pandemic of Hate: Anti-Asian Racism D...  

“Voting By Mail Is Patriotic: Trump Exposed”

This documentary shines a light on Trump’s lies about voting by mail. Our military has been voting by mail safely and securely for 200 years! 

Watch it here:   

 • Voting By Mail Is Patriotic: Trump Ex...  

“Suppressed: The Fight To Vote” 

This documentary takes a deep dive into how Brian Kemp STOLE the 2018 Georgia governor’s election through voter suppression.  

Watch it here:   

 • Suppressed: The Fight To Vote - FULL ...  

“Trump Inc: Lining Their Pockets - White House For Sale”

The documentary exposes Trump and his administration for profiting off the presidency. 

Watch it here:   

 • Trump Inc: Lining Their Pockets - Whi...  

“Sentencing Reform: Part 1 - The Power of Fear”

This documentary investigates our racist criminal justice system and makes the case for why mass incarceration must come to an end. 

Watch it here:   

 • Sentencing Reform: Part 1 - The Power...  

From Brave New Films

When Latinos don't vote, the populist-right (who are stuck in the 1950s culturally, racially, and ethnically) who want to deport them and prevent them from coming into the country in the first place, come into power. If Latinos vote in 2012, they won't have to worry about that.

Thom Hartmann: Mike Papantonio: 'The Decline of Broadcast News in America'

Source:Thom Hartmann talking to left-wing radio talk show host Mike Papantonio.

Source:The Daily Journal

“Thom Hartmann talks with Mike Papantonio, attorney and Host of Ring of Fire Radio about the decline of broadcast news since Ronald Reagan did a way with the Fairness Doctrine and Bill Clinton signed the Telecommunications Act.

If you liked this clip of The Thom Hartmann Program, please do us a big favor and share it with your friends… and hit that “like” button!” 

From Thom Hartmann

If as a country, we want to have strong broadcast news divisions, then Americans have to actually watch network news. Instead of just getting all of their info from cable or online.

We live in a liberal democracy, meaning people get to see what they watch. Rather than programming being forced on them. You can’t force people to do what is in their best interest and make the best decisions for themselves in a free society. Which is what a liberal democracy is.

We have a First Amendment which includes our free press (meaning not controlled by the government) and that means our private media is owned privately. Which means our broadcast networks, including their news divisions have to make money in order to stay in business. Unlike big government propaganda agencies that you see in communist countries that are literally owned and operated by the party in power and the government.

So for hard news to be seen and read in America, Americans actually have to watch and read that news coverage, otherwise it won’t make money and put the operating budgets of news companies, including news divisions, at risk. We get all the soft news and partisan news coverage in this country, because that’s what American watch, listen to and read and what makes money in this country. 

Russia Today: "Housing Boom is Back'

Source:Russia Today is part of President Vladimir Putin's media empire.

"RT (formerly Russia Today or Rossiya Segodnya) (Russian: Россия Сегодня)[9] is a Russian state-controlled[1] international news television network funded by the Russian government.[16][17] It operates pay television and free-to-air channels directed to audiences outside of Russia, as well as providing Internet content in Russian, English, Spanish, French, German and Arabic.

RT is a brand of TV-Novosti, an autonomous non-profit organization founded by the Russian state-owned news agency RIA Novosti in April 2005.[8][18] During the economic crisis in December 2008, the Russian government, headed by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, included ANO "TV-Novosti" on its list of core organizations of strategic importance to Russia.[19][20][21] RT operates as a multilingual service with channels in five languages: the original English-language channel was launched in 2005, the Arabic-language channel in 2007, Spanish in 2009, German in 2014 and French in 2017. RT America (2010–2022),[22][23] RT UK (2014–2022) and other regional channels also produce local content. RT is the parent company of the Ruptly video agency,[5] which owns the Redfish video channel and the Maffick digital media company.[6][7]

RT has regularly been described as a major propaganda outlet for the Russian government and its foreign policy.[2] Academics, fact-checkers, and news reporters (including some current and former RT reporters) have identified RT as a purveyor of disinformation[58] and conspiracy theories.[65] UK media regulator Ofcom has repeatedly found RT to have breached its rules on impartiality, including multiple instances in which RT broadcast "materially misleading" content.[72]

In 2012, RT's editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan compared the channel to the Russian Ministry of Defence.[73] Referring to the Russo-Georgian War, she stated that it was "waging an information war, and with the entire Western world".[17][74] In September 2017, RT America was ordered to register as a foreign agent with the United States Department of Justice under the Foreign Agents Registration Act.[75]

RT was banned in Ukraine in 2014 after Russia's annexation of Crimea;[76] Latvia and Lithuania implemented similar bans in 2020.[77][78] Germany banned RT DE in February 2022.[79] After the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Poland and then the entire European Union as well as Canada announced they were formally banning RT as well, while independent service providers in over 10 countries suspended broadcasts of RT.[80][81][82] Social media websites followed by blocking external links to RT's website and restricting access to RT's content.[83][84] Microsoft removed RT from their app store and de-ranked their search results on Bing,[85][86] while Apple removed the RT app from all countries except for Russia." 

From Wikipedia

Russia Today, actually reporting on good news for America: the  housing boom is back. Well, sort of and then they add a leftist doom and gloom slant to it.

This post was updated 9/06/2023.

The Nation: Patricia Williams: 'Paul Ryan's Libertarian America'

Source:The Nation- Patrica Williams with an outerspace view of Representative Paul Ryan. She might be trying to scare left-wingers to vote for President Obama. But that's a guess.

"After four years, many voters haven't quite seen the "change" they were hoping for from an Obama presidency. But a Republican takeover of the oval office would mean the reversal of every policy battle progressives have won—from the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell to the Affordable Care Act. Nation columnist Patricia Williams says Mitt Romney's choice of running mate, the Ayn Rand-inspired Paul Ryan, reveals the GOP candidate's "slow march to the right." 

From The Nation

Al Jazeera: 'Anger At Privatization of British Healthcare'

Source:Al Jazeera- with a look at Britain's health care system.

"If you were describing a country in which state assets are sold off to private investors who have close economic ties with the government then many people would think you'd be talking about a country in the post-Soviet era.

That's the charge health campaigners are levelling against private investors in Britain who are increasingly running hospitals.

Al Jazeera's London correspondent Laurence Lee has the latest in our "Selling off Britain" series." 

From Al Jazeera

"Al Jazeera (Arabic: الجزيرة Al-Jazīrah [æl (d)ʒæˈziːrɐ], lit. 'The Peninsula') is a Qatari state-owned[a] Arabic-language international news television network. It is based in Doha and operated by the Al Jazeera Media Network.

The patent holding is a "private foundation for public benefit" under Qatari law.[3] Under this organizational structure, the parent receives funding from the Qatari government while maintaining nominal editorial independence.[4][5] At the onset of the Qatar diplomatic crisis in 2017, several national governments of the Arab League called for the closure of the entire Al Jazeera conglomerate as part of a list of thirteen demands that were presented to the Qatari government in exchange for re-normalized relations.[6] Al Jazeera has been accused of pushing "Qatari propaganda" by many countries and organizations, including those in the Arab world." 

From Wikipedia

See, leftists, even Socialist Britain has private healthcare. Get use to it, not every developed nation in the world have state-run health care system. Universal health care, simply means universal access to healthcare. Doesn't explain how thats accomplished.

The Real News: Phyllis Bennis: 'Sanctions Against Iranian Banks is Economic Warfare'

Source:The Real News Network with a look at American & European sanctions against the Islamic Republic of Iran.

"Phyllis Bennis: Excluding Iranian banks from the SWIFT system of interbank transfers helped cause a devaluation of Iranian currency and great hardship for ordinary people." 

From The Real News

If you are familiar with the term collateral damage, you know the consequences of economic sanctions. When a rogue state, like the Islamic Republic of Iran, is sponsoring private terrorists organizations, that target the West, you have to expect the European Union, United Kingdom, and the United States, are going to have real issues with that and will respond with real consequences against that rogue regime. 

When a rogue regime first decides whether to not to take action, like sponsoring private terrorists groups, to hit western targets, or western allies in the Middle East, they first decide if their regime, not the people, can afford the negative reactions that will come from their sponsorship of terrorism. 

Phyllis Bennis is right about one key point here: it's not the Iranian theocratic regime that's suffering from western sanctions against Iran. It's the people that are suffering from the bad decisions of their own government (as I would put it) and the international sanctions that have come as a result. But the Iranian regime probably already took into the costs of their sponsorship of terrorism, before they decided to do that and decided it was worth it for their regime, even if their people can't afford it.