6 August 2013 | Current.com
David Sirota interviews Pulitzer Prize winning reporter David Cay Johnston about Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos purchasing the Washington Post.
Monday, August 12, 2013
Media silent as State of Texas defends constitutionality of racial discrimination
11 August 2013 | NewsCorpse.com
Excerpt:
The argument by the state of Texas is that they are deliberately discriminating against Democratic voters, not minorities or other protected classes of citizens, and they regard that as permissible. The first problem with their argument is that it is questionable to assert that it is constitutional to “make partisan districting decisions.” Any overt attempt to suppress the voting rights of any citizen is challengeable and potentially in violation of civil liberties.
More to the point, the claim that they are only aiming their discriminatory activities at Democrats is disingenuous and unsupportable. The redistricting maps proposed by the Republican-controlled Texas legislature cut obviously across racial boundaries. The clear intent is to segregate blacks and Latinos into the fewest number of districts possible, denying them equal representation. These maps were struck down by federal courts as blatantly discriminatory, but now the state can re-introduce them with the blessing of an atrociously reasoned Supreme Court decision.
There is simply no way to pretend that the statement made in the filing defending the constitutionality of discrimination against Democrats is anything other than a defense of discrimination against minority communities in Texas. Given the demographic breakdown of the district mapping, it is absurd and grossly dishonest to assert that the “effects on minority voters” are “incidental.” What the state of Texas is doing is racism, pure and simple.
So where is the media coverage of this outrageous admission made in an official court document? None of the television news networks has reported on it. None of the major national newspapers has published a story about it. A few Internet news outlets have done some commendable reporting on it, but their reach is minimal at this point.
READ IT ALL:
Excerpt:
The argument by the state of Texas is that they are deliberately discriminating against Democratic voters, not minorities or other protected classes of citizens, and they regard that as permissible. The first problem with their argument is that it is questionable to assert that it is constitutional to “make partisan districting decisions.” Any overt attempt to suppress the voting rights of any citizen is challengeable and potentially in violation of civil liberties.
More to the point, the claim that they are only aiming their discriminatory activities at Democrats is disingenuous and unsupportable. The redistricting maps proposed by the Republican-controlled Texas legislature cut obviously across racial boundaries. The clear intent is to segregate blacks and Latinos into the fewest number of districts possible, denying them equal representation. These maps were struck down by federal courts as blatantly discriminatory, but now the state can re-introduce them with the blessing of an atrociously reasoned Supreme Court decision.
There is simply no way to pretend that the statement made in the filing defending the constitutionality of discrimination against Democrats is anything other than a defense of discrimination against minority communities in Texas. Given the demographic breakdown of the district mapping, it is absurd and grossly dishonest to assert that the “effects on minority voters” are “incidental.” What the state of Texas is doing is racism, pure and simple.
So where is the media coverage of this outrageous admission made in an official court document? None of the television news networks has reported on it. None of the major national newspapers has published a story about it. A few Internet news outlets have done some commendable reporting on it, but their reach is minimal at this point.
READ IT ALL:
Sunday, August 11, 2013
Richard Wolff on fighting for economic justice and fair wages | Bill Moyers
February 22, 2013
Economist Richard Wolff
joins Bill to shine light on the disaster left behind in capitalism’s
wake, and to discuss the fight for economic justice, including a fair
minimum wage. Wednesday, August 07, 2013
Texas State Senator Wendy Davis Remarks | National Press Club
Aug 5, 2013 - Every Texan should listen to her speech. Ms. Davis’ life story, empathy,
and actions make her that amalgam of knowledge, empathy, and experience
needed to lead Texas at this time in our history.
READ MORE HERE:
READ MORE HERE:
Monday, August 05, 2013
John Oliver's takedown of Fox News' absurd arguments against raising the minimum wage
John Oliver lays bare the ignorance, mean-spiritedness, and unabashed greed of those who argue against raising the minimum wage.
Saturday, August 03, 2013
President John F. Kennedy in 1962 on the need for Medicare
This video is a short clip from a speech given in 1962 by President Kennedy, at a huge public rally in support of his proposal, later known as Medicare, to provide health care insurance for the elderly, as part of the Social Security system. Here, the President explains the need for the Medicare program, and also defends it against false attacks by opponents. Medicare was not enacted into law until 1965, during the term of President Lyndon Johnson, approximately two years after the assassination of John F. Kennedy in 1963. The arguments made by President Kennedy are also pretty good reasons why our country should have a program of universal health care, by expanding Medicare to cover all citizens of all ages.
Sunday, July 28, 2013
Collaboration is key to keeping investigative journalism alive
By Denise Malan | MediaShift
July 24, 2013
Collaboration is more than just a buzzword. It could be one of the pillars that keeps investigative journalism standing
Look at some of the most recent examples of investigative projects that are making a difference: The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists worked with 86 investigative journalists from 46 countries to shine light on the seedy underworld of offshore tax havens.
A congresswoman has asked for a Department of Justice investigation into 50 charities in the wake of the America’s Worst Charities project by the Center for Investigative Reporting and the Tampa Bay Times.
The Big Sky, Big Money partnership between PBS, American Public Media’s “Marketplace” and ProPublica won an IRE award for its look at post-Citizens United campaign finance in Montana and led to rulings that a group violated campaign finance laws.
READ IT ALL HERE:
July 24, 2013
Collaboration is more than just a buzzword. It could be one of the pillars that keeps investigative journalism standing
Look at some of the most recent examples of investigative projects that are making a difference: The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists worked with 86 investigative journalists from 46 countries to shine light on the seedy underworld of offshore tax havens.
A congresswoman has asked for a Department of Justice investigation into 50 charities in the wake of the America’s Worst Charities project by the Center for Investigative Reporting and the Tampa Bay Times.
The Big Sky, Big Money partnership between PBS, American Public Media’s “Marketplace” and ProPublica won an IRE award for its look at post-Citizens United campaign finance in Montana and led to rulings that a group violated campaign finance laws.
READ IT ALL HERE:
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
Sunday, July 21, 2013
Lewis Black's response to Rick Perry's pro-Texas, anti-New York ad | The Daily Show
Rick Perry and the Texas GOP in Austin should be the target, not the entire State of Texas, but here it is anyway. - Tex Edit
Tuesday, July 16, 2013
John Oliver slams Florida | The Daily Show
15 July 2013 – John Oliver ripped into the “fucking crazy” state of Florida over George Zimmerman’s not guilty verdict. He noted the state’s self-defense laws were not only “incredibly stupid,” they also were not applied equally. Zimmerman was considered innocent after killing an unarmed teen in self-defense, but a black woman received 20 years in prison for firing a warning shot to scare off her abusive husband.
Wednesday, July 03, 2013
Busted in Texas | The Young Turks
2 July 2013
As Congress looks to significantly boost funding for the U.S. Border Patrol as part of a new immigration bill, we investigate the impact of the police buildup at a West Texas checkpoint. The Sierra Blanca checkpoint along Interstate 10 was set up to catch major traffickers and immigrants who entered the country illegally. But the checkpoint now busts thousands of unsuspecting Americans a year for low-level drug possession -- including some famous musicians.
Monday, July 01, 2013
Sen. Wendy Davis: We will not concede on Texas abortion bill
Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Friday, June 28, 2013
How Rick Perry is working to turn Texas blue
27 June 2013: Chris Hayes discusses the demographic and political future of Texas with Democratic State Senator Leticia Van De Putte and Evan Smith of the Texas Tribune.
Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Thursday, June 27, 2013
Wendy Davis says she has aspirations to run for state-wide office
26 June 2013: Texas State Senator Wendy Davis had the eyes of the nation during her long filibuster of an anti-abortion bill. Davis tells Chris Hayes about the details of her test of will and endurance. She also said she'd be lying if she told us she didn't have aspirations to run for a state-wide office in Texas.
Sunday, June 23, 2013
Wednesday, June 19, 2013
Monday, June 17, 2013
How to make freelance journalism possible
Josh Stearns | www.freepress.net/
17 June 2013
Last month the Chicago Sun Times fired its entire staff of photographers -– 28 full-time journalists — and plans to rely primarily on freelancers. This news is just the most recent in a growing trend across the news industry, which is relying more than ever before on independent journalists and freelancers. However, despite all the debate about the future of journalism, not enough has been said about how we can better support freelance journalists and how best to adapt to a media landscape in which so many people are operating without the resources and backing of newsrooms.
On Twitter, I asked freelancers to tell me what the future of journalism looks like to them. This is the first post in a series where I’ll look at some of their responses. While people come to freelancing for a range of reasons, some by choice, some not, I found a few key themes in the responses I got.
But before I get to those responses, some background on the major research done recently, and the conspicuous absence of freelancers.
According to the most recent statistics from the Pew State of the News Media 2013, the U.S. has lost roughly 30% of its journalism workforce since 2000. While I wasn’t able to find concrete data on the rise of freelancers, anecdotal evidence suggests a major shift in the industry. The Committee to Protect Journalists has reported that they are increasingly handling cases for independent and freelance journalists; the Society for Environmental Journalists recently told the Federal Communications Commission that it has seen a spike in membership from people identifying as freelancers; and both the Daily Beast and Columbia Journalism Review have reported on the increase of freelancers reporting from conflict zones abroad in the last year.
READ IT ALL:
17 June 2013
Last month the Chicago Sun Times fired its entire staff of photographers -– 28 full-time journalists — and plans to rely primarily on freelancers. This news is just the most recent in a growing trend across the news industry, which is relying more than ever before on independent journalists and freelancers. However, despite all the debate about the future of journalism, not enough has been said about how we can better support freelance journalists and how best to adapt to a media landscape in which so many people are operating without the resources and backing of newsrooms.
On Twitter, I asked freelancers to tell me what the future of journalism looks like to them. This is the first post in a series where I’ll look at some of their responses. While people come to freelancing for a range of reasons, some by choice, some not, I found a few key themes in the responses I got.
But before I get to those responses, some background on the major research done recently, and the conspicuous absence of freelancers.
According to the most recent statistics from the Pew State of the News Media 2013, the U.S. has lost roughly 30% of its journalism workforce since 2000. While I wasn’t able to find concrete data on the rise of freelancers, anecdotal evidence suggests a major shift in the industry. The Committee to Protect Journalists has reported that they are increasingly handling cases for independent and freelance journalists; the Society for Environmental Journalists recently told the Federal Communications Commission that it has seen a spike in membership from people identifying as freelancers; and both the Daily Beast and Columbia Journalism Review have reported on the increase of freelancers reporting from conflict zones abroad in the last year.
READ IT ALL:
Saturday, June 01, 2013
Inside Job [2010 documentary]
Winner of 2010 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature
Inside Job is a 2010 documentary film about the late-2000s financial crisis. The film is described as being about "the systemic corruption of the United States by the financial services industry and the consequences of that systemic corruption". In five parts, the film explores how changes in the policy environment and banking practices helped create the financial crisis.
Inside Job Documentary from Splashy on Vimeo.
Inside Job is a 2010 documentary film about the late-2000s financial crisis. The film is described as being about "the systemic corruption of the United States by the financial services industry and the consequences of that systemic corruption". In five parts, the film explores how changes in the policy environment and banking practices helped create the financial crisis.
Inside Job Documentary from Splashy on Vimeo.
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
Dallas News: Texas prohibits nearly 70 percent of its counties from having a fire code
Despite the lessons from the West Fertilizer Co. fire and
explosions about the value of fire prevention, site security and safe
storage of dangerous goods, Texas prohibits nearly 70 percent of its
counties from having a fire code.
Fire codes aren’t just for fires. They also contain rules for managing explosive or toxic chemicals, including specific guidelines for ammonium-nitrate fertilizer, the substance that exploded and killed 15 people and injured 200 in West on April 17.
Fire code rules emerge from tragic history.
READ IT ALL:
Fire codes aren’t just for fires. They also contain rules for managing explosive or toxic chemicals, including specific guidelines for ammonium-nitrate fertilizer, the substance that exploded and killed 15 people and injured 200 in West on April 17.
Fire code rules emerge from tragic history.
READ IT ALL:
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)