FEBRUARY 7, 2019

NEWS AND VIEWS

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/02/06/green-new-dealers-call-turning-rage-action-after-trump-refuses-even-say-word-climate
Published on
Wednesday, February 06, 2019
byCommon Dreams
Green New Dealers Call for Turning 'Rage Into Action' After Trump Refuses to Even Say Word 'Climate' in SOTU
"Real climate leaders must join forces against Trump's xenophobic, fossil-fueled agenda, and put their weight behind bold legislation that takes our economy out of the hands of Big Oil."
byJessica Corbett, staff writer

PHOTOGRAPH -- Climate experts and campaigners responded to President Donald Trump's State of the Union address on Tuesday night with demands for a Green New Deal. (Photo: Sunrise Movement/Twitter)

"Don't call them deniers, they are arsonists."
—Naomi Klein, author & activist

"How can a president of the United States give a State of the Union speech and not mention—not one word about—climate change when the leading scientists of the world tell us that climate change is real, that climate change is caused by human activity, and that climate change is already causing devastating harm in the United States and in much of the world?"

That's the question Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) asked in his rebuttal to President Donald Trump's address on Tuesday night, as climate experts and campaigners warned that Trump's bragging about U.S. fossil fuel production spells doom for the planet and a more liveable future.

"The scientists tell us that we have a very short 12 years—not a lot of time—in order to transform our energy system away from fossil fuels and into energy efficiency and sustainable energy if we are going to have a planet that is healthy and habitable for our children and our grandchildren," Sanders noted, referencing a U.N. report released in October. "Somehow or another, Donald Trump just forgot to talk about that."

Stacey Abrams, who narrowly lost the Georgia gubernatorial race last November, delivered the Democratic Party's official response to Trump on Tuesday night. She too highlighted the need to take swift action to address the climate crisis.

The president's annual speech, meanwhile, didn't feature any mention of "climate change" or "global warming"—but he did acknowledge rising U.S. oil and gas production, a move that was met with applause from many members of Congress, including Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin (W.Va.).

Given that fossil fuels are the top source of greenhouse gas emissions, author and activist Naomi Klein tweeted: "They cheered for the knowing destabilization of the planet. Don't call them deniers, they are arsonists."

"They chanted USA USA. The kind of arsonists who hang around the fire to watch it burn," added 350.org cofounder Bill McKibben.

"Trump may tout the surge in oil and gas production in the United States because his oil and gas boosters tell him to, but the reality is that continued expansion of the fossil fuel industry will lead us off the cliff and unleash a climate of chaos," said David Turnbull, strategic communications director at Oil Change USA.

Calling the speech "a wake-up call to all who care about our climate," Turnbull emphasized the importance of campaigners fighting for a Green New Deal "as Donald Trump pushes ahead with his catastrophic energy dominance agenda."

May Boeve, 350.org's executive director, also used the moment to promote a Green New Deal—as activists and federal lawmakers prepare for legislation currently being drafted by Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.) and Sen. Ed Markey (Mass.), due out as early as this week.

"The only energy revolution America needs is a massive economic transformation at the scale of the climate crisis—that's a Green New Deal," Boeve said. "Real climate leaders must join forces against Trump's xenophobic, fossil-fueled agenda, and put their weight behind bold legislation that takes our economy out of the hands of Big Oil."

Sunrise Movement, the youth-led organization that has spearheaded grassroots organizing in favor of a Green New Deal, urged those enraged by the president's speech to channel it into action:

Sunrise Movement 🌅
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@sunrisemvmt
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Hope y'all are channelling your #SOTU rage into action 👀

Hint: you can start here, by getting support for a #GreenNewDeal

7:29 PM - 5 Feb 2019

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License


THE USE OF ALCOHOL AND ALL DRUGS, PLUS SOME OTHER THINGS SUCH AS A GAMBLING HABIT, ARE SO DAMAGING TO THE USER’S LIFE THAT THEY NEED TO BE STOPPED RATHER THAN MODERATED. I HAVE TO AGREE WITH THESE CONSERVATIVE MEN. ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS MAY NOT BE POPULAR RIGHT NOW, BUT THEY DO KNOW HOW TO STOP THE USE OF ALCOHOL. I’VE HEARD THAT “HARD DRUGS” SUCH AS OPIOIDS ARE MUCH MORE DIFFICULT TO STOP, BUT I’M NOT CONVINCED.

I THINK THERE’S A PHYSICAL ADDICTION ELEMENT AND A MENTAL ADDICTION ELEMENT, BOTH OF WHICH REMAIN ACTIVE OVER TIME, BUT THE TRICKIEST ONE IS THE MENTAL “NEED.” AA IS BUILT NOT AROUND DRUG THERAPIES, BUT AROUND TALKING AND A STEP BY STEP CREATION OF DISTANCE FROM THE PROBLEM. THE FIRST STEP, HOWEVER, IS THE HARDEST – STOP USING. DON’T TAKE EVEN A LITTLE BIT MORE. THEN, TALK IT OUT WITHIN THE PROGRAM DAILY. WHAT THIS ORGANIZATION SAFEHOUSE IS PROPOSING IS NOT “STOPPING,” BUT “ENABLING.” NOT HELPFUL!

POLICY-ISH
https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2019/02/06/691746907/u-s-prosecutors-sue-to-stop-nation-s-first-supervised-injection-site
U.S. Prosecutors Sue To Stop Nation's First Supervised Injection Site For Opioids
February 6, 20192:29 PM ET
BOBBY ALLYN

PHOTOGRAPH -- U.S. Attorney William McSwain and colleagues announced a civil lawsuit Wednesday in Philadelphia against the nonprofit Safehouse. "We have a responsibility to step in," McSwain says, though he adds, "We're not bringing a criminal case right now."
Emma Lee/WHYY

After months of threats, federal prosecutors in Philadelphia launched a legal challenge on Wednesday against the nonprofit Safehouse, which is hoping to open what could be the nation's first site where people with opioid addiction can use drugs under medical supervision.

The civil lawsuit, which is jointly being pursued by Pennsylvania-based prosecutors and the Department of Justice in Washington, is the first time the federal government has intervened in the hotly debated issue of supervised injection sites. The lawsuit could become an important legal test case as about a dozen cities across the country consider similar proposals.

The suit comes just as Safehouse officials ramp up fundraising efforts and continue to scout a location for what they say is a medical facility that can save lives.

If federal officials succeed in court, the momentum behind Safehouse may be lost.


SHOTS - HEALTH NEWS
What's The Evidence That Supervised Drug Injection Sites Save Lives?

"This is in-your-face illegal activity using some of the most deadly, dangerous drugs that are on the streets. We have a responsibility to step in," says William McSwain, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. "It's saying, 'Safehouse, we think this is illegal. Stop what you're doing.' "

According to the suit, a supervised injection site would violate a section added to the Controlled Substances Act in the 1980s during the height of the crack epidemic. That section of law was written to close crack houses, but legal experts say it has been used more expansively in the past.

McSwain's comments affirm remarks made last year by Rod Rosenstein, deputy U.S. attorney general, who said in an interview with WHYY that swift and aggressive action would follow the opening of a supervised injection site. Such facilities operate in Canada and Europe, but none exist in the United States. That has not stopped other cities like New York, Denver and Seattle from publicly debating similar proposals.

In Philadelphia, the one-count civil lawsuit is far from the most assertive posture federal prosecutors could have taken, McSwain says.

The suit is asking U.S. District Court Judge Gerald McHugh to rule on the legality of Safehouse's plans, rather than waiting for Safehouse to open and then cracking down with arrests and a prosecution.

"We're not bringing a criminal case right now. We're not arresting anybody. We're not asking to forfeit property. We're not looking to be heavy-handed," McSwain says. "This can serve everyone's interest, in order to find out what the court thinks of this. But this, in our view, is illegal."

A man uses heroin under a bridge where he lives with others addicted to opioids in the Kensington section of Philadelphia. Public health officials hope opening up a medically supervised drug injection site could curb opioid overdoses and facilitate treatment.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Ronda Goldfein, vice president and attorney for Safehouse, says federal drug laws were not written to obstruct a medical facility focused on saving lives and moving people who are addicted to opioids into treatment.

She is confident the court will rule in Safehouse's favor.

"We have a disagreement on the analysis and intention of the law," Goldfein says. "We don't think it was intended to prevent activities such as this, and perhaps it will take a court's ruling to move the issue forward."

The provision of the law in question is widely known as the crack house statute. It makes it illegal to maintain a space for the purpose of making, storing, distributing or using an illegal drug. Safehouse would not make or provide opioids to users. But it would allow people to bring in their own drugs, to use while being monitored by medical staff.

SHOTS - HEALTH NEWS
'Come And Arrest Me': Former Pa. Governor Defies Justice Department On Safe Injection

A study by Alex Kreit, a drug policy specialist and law professor at Thomas Jefferson School of Law in San Diego, found that the law has been successfully used by prosecutors in situations that include a drug seller operating out of a car dealership; rave parties where ecstasy was prevalent; and a concert promoter who threw "jam band" music festivals where illegal drugs flowed freely.

Kreit says that while the language of the Controlled Substances Act is broad enough to encompass an injection site, he can also imagine a defense based on local conviction about the need for such a medical service gaining traction in the face of the opioid crisis. But he says winning with that pitch would be an "uphill battle" in federal court.

"It is completely untested in terms of how federal law will apply to safe injection sites," Kreit says. "People will be watching this very closely — particularly in other cities that have expressed their intention of starting a safe injection site."

Safehouse is a privately run nonprofit that has the support of top city officials but will not be receiving any taxpayer funding. Planners say they aspire to open a facility in 2019, though, at least publicly, they have not committed to a more specific timeline.

Philadelphia health officials estimate that opioid-related drug overdoses kill about three people a day in the city. The more than 1,100 people who died from an overdose last year is triple the murder rate.

The overdose mortality rate hit a five-year low last year, and city officials attribute the decline to the distribution of naloxone, known by the brand name Narcan. Transit workers, police and paramedics now all are equipped with the overdose-reversing drug.

SHOTS - HEALTH NEWS
Watchful Eyes: At Peer-Run Injection Sites, Drug Users Help Each Other Stay Safe

Studies have shown that in Canada and Europe, supervised injection sites have curbed the transmission of HIV and other infectious diseases. And the programs have been credited with averting lethal overdoses and extending a link to treatment services.

McSwain, though, remains a skeptic.

"That doesn't mean that you're not going to overdose when you're not at the site. And it doesn't mean that there couldn't be other negative effects of having a site, where more people are, for example, getting hooked on drugs or trying drugs, because they think it's safe, or they think it's legitimate or they think it's legal," McSwain says. "We don't attract people to go down this path of drug dependency that destroys their lives."

McSwain says there is no evidence that such a model would definitively work in Philadelphia. He worries an injection site would normalize or even entice people to use unpredictable synthetic opioids like fentanyl — a drug that can be 50 times as powerful as heroin.

In November, McSwain wrote Safehouse officials a letter imploring the nonprofit to comply with federal law, writing that the federal statute "makes no exception for entities, such as Safehouse, who claim a benevolent purpose."

In response, Safehouse officials told McSwain they "respectfully disagree" that the injection site would violate federal law, since the statutes were never intended to be used to attack a medical injection site.

"We hope that the U.S. Attorney's office will exercise prosecutorial discretion in assessing our proposed overdose prevention services," Goldfein wrote.

Three months later, federal officials took Safehouse to court.

"These folks have good intentions and they're trying their best to combat the opioid epidemic," McSwain says, "but this step of opening an injection site crosses the line. If Safehouse or others want to open this type of site, they need to steer their efforts to get the law changed."

This story comes from Keystone Crossroads, a statewide public media initiative reporting on cities across Pennsylvania.


THIS STORY REALLY DOES “SPEAK FOR ITSELF.” COMPARE COLLINS' DONATIONS RECEIVED BETWEEN THE PERIOD BEFORE SHE VOTED FOR KAVANAUGH AND THE AMOUNT AFTER. SOUNDS LIKE SHE WAS WELL PAID FOR THAT SERVICE TO THE PRESIDENT. LOOK AT THAT ODD PHOTO WITH HER AND TRUMP. IS SHE HOLDING HANDS OR TOUCHING HIS RING? I HOPE SHE DOESN'T KISS IT.

https://www.commondreams.org/further/2019/02/06/bought-and-paid-we-are-well-and-truly-done-susan-collins
Wednesday, February 06, 2019
Bought and Paid For: We Are Well and Truly Done With Susan Collins
byAbby Zimet, Further columnist

PHOTOGRAPH -- Betrayed in D.C., in Maine and around the country. AP Photo

Well lookee here. Turns out Susan Collins' betrayal of women and decency - aka her vote for drunken liar, frat boy and sexual assaulter Brett Kavanaugh after ignoring months of heartfelt pleas, calls, protests, e-mails and sit-ins by us, her alleged constituents - netted her a cool $1.8 million for the last quarter of the year, or the most blood-money she's ever raised in her endless, ignoble career. To put her new riches in perspective, the quarter before her Kavanaugh vote, Collins raised just $140,000. Oddly, according to analysis from American Bridge 21st Century, just $19,000 of that $1.8 million came in contributions of $200 or less from Mainers, the people she's supposed to represent, but doesn't, and hasn't for years.

The vast majority of it came from Kavanaugh supporters - keg-loving, oft-puking high school friends like Tobin and Squi, women who worked with him in the Bush White House etc. Most donated the day or the day after Collins said she'd vote yes in a sickening, 43-minute speech in which she called the despicable candidate "an exemplary public servant, judge, teacher, coach, husband, and father” with, despite the vengeful hysteria he displayed to the world during his confirmation hearing, the "judicial temperament" to serve on the Supreme Court. She also said Kavanaugh promised her he'd respect Roe v. Wade as settled precedent, and, really, if you can't trust a drunken liar, frat boy and sexual assaulter, who can you trust? With her appalling vote, Collins' approval rating from conservatives jumped 46%.

Collins' turn to the dark side, while infuriating, was less than surprising to many Mainers who've long suffered through the bullshit of her enticing, deeply hypocritical "moderate" moniker. In 2017, according to Congressional Quarterly, Collins voted with the GOP - and Trump - 87% of the time. She supported the vile GOP tax cut scam, voted to confirm Neil Gorsuch and then Kavanaugh, endorsed the loathsome mini-Trump Paul LePage (twice) and just-as bad Bruce Poliquin. Before votes, she often made a great, hollow, verbose show of thinking about it before drinking the inevitable Kool-Aid. By now "her game is transparent and tired" to many. On Trump's possible declaring of an emergency to build his wall, she said, “I think it's of dubious constitutionality." One translation: “Fuck yeah I’ll support it!"

Still, the Kavanaugh vote was a bridge too far, final proof she'd betrayed the public trust and any pretense she would listen to Mainers who largely and loudly opposed the nomination. During the Kavanaugh fight, sniffing the reactionary wind, a crowdfunding effort was set up by three progressive groups - the Maine People's Alliance, Mainers for Accountable Leadership, and Be a Hero - for Collins' as-yet unnamed Democratic challenger in 2020. To date, it has raised nearly $3.8 million. Weirdly, Collins dismissed the fundraising as "an attempt to bribe me.” Nope, say organizers: It's an act of democratic resistance to your "failing to stand up for the people of Maine, ignoring the voices of your constituents (and) endangering the lives of millions of Americans." Also, an irrefutable sign we are done with you.

susan_protest_rdojdxdwtffnraz5alzix7eche
Anti-Collins Portland protests

susan_tease_hearts_dyvpjtfxqaao8e6.jpg
PHOTOGRAPH – COLLINS AND KAVANAUGH WITH IMOGEE HEARTS

susan_trump_v66aqrwmz4i6rlikbya67or4ye.j
PHOTOGRAPH OF COLLINS AND TRUMP TOUCHING HANDS -- The company she keeps

susan_dyk7mjxxcae0r73.jpg
CARTOON -- Every Mainer we know

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1, CONSIDER THE SOURCE. 2, WE’VE BEEN HERE BEFORE. THE MUELLER INVESTIGATION ISN’T OVER, AND AS IT TURNS UP MORE ABOUT THE BACKSTAGE ACTIVITIES, THE CASE LOOKS MORE PROMISING FOR THE DEMOCRATS. 3, INTERESTINGLY, TRUMP HAS COMPLAINED AGAIN ABOUT ANY DELVING INTO HIS FINANCES, WHERE THERE IS CONSIDERABLE CONTACT ALREADY KNOWN BETWEEN THE TRUMP ELEMENTS AND THE RUSSIANS. HIS SO-CALLED “RED LINE” ISN’T A LAW. IT’S JUST A THREAT, AND THREATS ARE ALWAYS AIMED AT TIMID OR IMPRESSIONABLE INDIVIDUALS. INTIMIDATION IS THE GAME, NOT PROOF. IF THE CHAIRMAN OF THIS COMMITTEE WERE A DEMOCRAT, THE RESULTING OPINION WOULD BE DIFFERENT, AS EVIDENCE WOULD BE CONSIDERED DIFFERENTLY.

https://thehill.com/policy/national-security/429063-senate-intel-chairman-we-dont-have-anything-to-prove-collusion
Senate intel chairman: 'We don't have anything' to prove collusion between Trump campaign and Russia
BY JOHN BOWDEN - 02/07/19 07:15 PM EST

The Republican chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday said his panel has still found no evidence to suggest that the Trump campaign colluded with Russia during the 2016 election.

Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) told CBS News on Thursday that "based on the evidence" his committee has seen so far, there is no reason to suggest that members of the Trump campaign and the Russian government were working together during the election.

The committee is preparing to release its final report on 2016 election interference.

"If we write a report based upon the facts that we have, then we don't have anything that would suggest there was collusion by the Trump campaign and Russia," Burr told CBS.

Pointing to a previous statement he made in September asserting that he had seen no "hard evidence" of collusion, Burr said that his past statement was "accurate with everything we've accumulated since then."

The House Intelligence Committee concluded its parallel probe last year. Republicans on the committee also said there was no evidence of collusion, but Democrats on the committee disputed the conclusion.

Burr added that his committee's results were unlikely to persuade hardliners on the right or the left, but said that he hoped those in the middle who have not yet made up their minds about whether or not President Trump's campaign colluded with Russia would be satisfied with the panel's results.

"I'm speaking to what I hope is the 60 percent in the middle that are saying, 'Give me the facts that I need to make a determination in this one particular instance — what happened.' And that's what our focus is," he said.

The chairman made similar comments in January when asked by The Hill about his committee's investigation so far, while dismissing reports claiming that former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort's shared polling data from the campaign with former business associates in Ukraine.

“When I finish, I’ll make a judgment,” Burr said, “Based upon the information that I have seen today, I don’t see evidence of collusion.”

“If sharing polling data with your former partner in political races in the Ukraine is collusion, then I guess it is. I don’t perceive it as collusion,” he added at the time.

Manafort, who plead guilty last year to financial crimes related to his lobbying work in Ukraine, is set to be sentenced on March 5.


THIS ARTICLE CHEERS ME UP A LITTLE. THE JOBS MARKET AND THE ABILITY TO EARN A GOOD WAGE OUTSIDE OF FACTORIES AND PROFESSIONAL POSITIONS SUCH AS LAW WILL HOPEFULLY IMPROVE. I WONDER IF THERE ARE ANY OFFICE WORKER’S UNIONS. THIS ANNOUNCEMENT BRINGS TO MY MIND THE FACT THAT PHYSICAL LABOR USED TO BE THE NATURE OF MOST UNION JOBS, AND THOSE JOBS ARE GETTING FEWER AS TIME GOES ON. NO, TRUMPITES, COAL MINING WILL NOT COME BACK AS A FREQUENT SOURCE OF JOBS IN THE FUTURE. YOU NEED TO GO BACK TO HIGH SCHOOL OR COLLEGE AND GET THE EDUCATION FOR A WHITE-COLLAR JOB, AND MAYBE WORK TO START OTHER NEW UNIONS.

https://thehill.com/homenews/media/429018-cbs-live-streaming-news-network-to-unionize
CBS live-streaming news network to unionize
BY JOE CONCHA - 02/07/19 04:12 PM EST

CBSN, the digital arm of CBS News, has become the first major live-streaming news network to unionize, according to an announcement by the Writers Guild of America, East.

“The WGAE recognizes that the news business has become increasingly platform-agnostic," WGAW Executive Director Lowell Peterson said in an announcement Wednesday.

"People watch and read news on television screens and computer screens and smartphone screens (and on radio). Our members are committed to creating compelling content for all of these screens, and our union is committed to representing people who do this work on all screens," Peterson continued.

Peterson wrote that it was "vital" that people working in streaming services secure the same "equal workplace protections" as their peers in broadcast and digital media.

WGA East will now handle collective bargaining efforts of CBSN's 55 writers, producers and graphic artists.

CBSN, based in New York as CBS News headquarters, launched in 2014 in becoming the first round-the-clock digital streaming news network.

WGA East has represented traditional CBS News members since the news organization was formed in 1954.



THIS IS ONE OF HIS BEST SPEECHES THAT I’VE HEARD.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3hjnLYWvW8
#BernieSanders #DonaldTrump #Trump
Bernie Sanders Responds to Trump's SOTU — Full Speech | NowThis


THIS IS JUST SCARY!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4D4I0qNEYU
Rpt: Donald Trump Has ‘Stubborn Disregard’ For Intelligence Briefings | The Last Word | MSNBC