Author: KJ McElrath

FL Governor Rick Scott: Lowers Pediatric Standards, Raises Childhood Mortality

FL Governor Rick Scott: Lowers Pediatric Standards, Raises Childhood Mortality

Posted by | Jan 14, 2016 | , , , |

  In 2014, Florida Governor Rick Scott Scott won re-election largely based his “pro-life” record. In 2011, Scott signed two anti-abortion bills, and the “Infants Born Alive” bill (HB 1129) in 2013. Then, Scott turned right around and eliminated state-mandated standards for pediatric care – motivated by a hefty $200,000 campaign contribution from private, profit-driven multi-national health services corporation Tenet Healthcare, Inc. The ugly story started coming out last summer, when CNN reported an unusually high number of deaths among pediatric patients at St. Mary’s Medical Center in West Palm Beach – a Tenet facility. Despite the new pediatric...

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American Al-Jazeera To Close: America Not Interested in Journalism

American Al-Jazeera To Close: America Not Interested in Journalism

Posted by | Jan 14, 2016 | , |

  As the U.S. mainstream corporate media has degenerated into a freak show of “infotainment,” propaganda, and celebrity-obsessed tabloid sensationalism, many educated and knowledgeable Americans have turned to overseas sources for their news, such as the BBC and Al-Jazeera. Thursday, the Doha-based news organization announced that it would be closing down its American operations at the end of April. This is sad tidings for those who have relied on cable television for real news, since Al-Jazeera America (AJAM) has virtually been the only game in town. It shouldn’t be surprising, however. According to AJAM head Al Anstey, the business...

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Desperate Hillary Uses Her Daughter To Lie About Bernie Sanders and Universal Healthcare

Desperate Hillary Uses Her Daughter To Lie About Bernie Sanders and Universal Healthcare

Posted by | Jan 13, 2016 | |

As Bernie Sanders overtakes Hillary Clinton in New Hampshire and Iowa, the Establishment candidate is stepping up her attacks and she’s getting a fair amount of help from her daughter, Chelsea. Taking a page from Karl Rove’s playbook, the Clintons are playing the fear card by attacking Sanders’ strength: His proposed Medicare-for-All program. On Tuesday, Chelsea Clinton appeared in New Hampshire where Bernie holds a 14-point lead over Hillary. Addressing a group of younger voters, Chelsea said, “Senator Sanders wants to dismantle Obamacare, dismantle the CHIP program, dismantle Medicare, and dismantle private insurance.” “I worry if we give Republicans Democratic permission to...

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GOP Falls For North Korea Sabre Rattling: Missile Launch Was Faked

GOP Falls For North Korea Sabre Rattling: Missile Launch Was Faked

Posted by | Jan 13, 2016 | , , |

North Korean despot Kim Jong Un may good at committing genocide, sucking the life out of his people and his country, and beating his chest and making threats against world powers, but he’s not much good at anything else. A recent video that was purported to show the successful firing of a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) has been exposed as a fake. The attempted launch was a catastrophic failure, but the GOP continues to quake in its collective boots, accusing President Obama of falling down on the job, and criticizing his “failure” to address the North Korean “threat.” South Korean...

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Latest Attack On Labor Unions Could Mean The End Of Collective Bargaining

Latest Attack On Labor Unions Could Mean The End Of Collective Bargaining

Posted by | Jan 12, 2016 | , , , |

Ever since Reagan smacked down the air traffic controller’s union in 1981, the right-wing has carried out a vicious, no-holds-barred, ongoing war against organized labor. This year, the U.S. Supreme Court, under corporatist John Roberts, appears ready to deliver the killing blow. At stake is a 40-year-old, unanimous SCOTUS ruling allowing public-sector unions to charge non-members a nominal fee (known as a “fair service fee”) in order to cover the legal and administrative costs of collective bargaining, the administration of contracts and representing workers with grievances. Legally, public-sector unions such as the National Education Association, International Union of Police...

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