Truthout

February 17, 2019

In some jails, it costs $20 to make a 15-minute phone call.

News Prisons & Policing

Imagine Pleading Guilty Because You Can’t Afford to Call Your Lawyer

In some jails, it costs $20 to make a 15-minute phone call.

by Victoria Law, Truthout

February 17, 2019

President Trump Discusses National Security And The Southern Border

Op-Ed Politics & Elections

Can Trump’s Wall Survive His Fake Emergency?

The legal question will come down to intent.

by William Rivers Pitt, Truthout

February 17, 2019

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Op-Ed Economy & Labor

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s War on Credit Scores Is a Big Deal

Algorithms used in credit scoring appear to disproportionately target Black and Latinx people for low scores.

by s.e. smith, Care2

February 17, 2019

US-POLITICS-TRUMP

Op-Ed Politics & Elections

Is Trump’s National Emergency a Step Toward Fascism?

The tragic history of fascism teaches us that we must resist Trump's "emergency" with all our might.

by Mark Bray, Truthout

In some jails, it costs $20 to make a 15-minute phone call. — Imagine Pleading Guilty Because You Can’t Afford to Call Your Lawyer

A White House Communications Agency staff member stands by as Donald Trump answers reporters' questions about border security in the Rose Garden at the White House February 15, 2019, in Washington, D.C. Trump said he would declare a national emergency to free up federal funding to build a wall along the southern border. — Can Trump’s Wall Survive His Fake Emergency?

As a member of the House Finance Committee, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is in an excellent position to do some digging into the practices of the credit scoring industry, which is dominated by firms Experian, Equifax and Transunion. — Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s War on Credit Scores Is a Big Deal

President Trump arrives at a rally in El Paso, Texas, on February 11, 2019. — Is Trump’s National Emergency a Step Toward Fascism?

Featured

A family looks at a view of Cuenca, Ecuador. Retirees and lifestyle migrants are bringing gentrification and dispossession to local communities.

North American Expats Contribute to Inequality in Latin America

by: Matthew Hayes,; Truthout

Lorena Giron, a resident of the Rockaways, a neighborhood located in the Queens borough of New York City, cofounded La Mies Bakery, a worker-owned co-op, in the wake of Superstorm Sandy in 2012 and now works to incubate other co-ops.

After Superstorm Sandy’s Rain, Cooperatives Sprang Up Like Mushrooms

by: Laura Flanders,; Truthout

Employees leave the GM Lordstown Plant on November 26, 2018, in Lordstown, Ohio. GM said it would end production at five North American plants including Lordstown, and cut 15 percent of its salaried workforce.

Trump’s Broken Promises to the Land of “American Carnage”

by: Sean T. Posey,; Truthout

Hunger strikers in a Texas immigration jail are risking their lives to draw attention to the inhumane conditions.

Incarcerated Immigrants Are Being Tortured

by: Mike Ludwig,; Truthout

Politics & Elections

A person holds protest sign that reads "Trump is the emergency" in front of Trump International Hotel on February 15, 2019, in New York City. The group is protesting President Donald Trump's declaration of a National Emergency in order to build his proposed border wall.

Over 230 President’s Day Protests Planned to Fight National Emergency

by: Julia Conley,; Common Dreams

A White House Communications Agency staff member stands by as Donald Trump answers reporters' questions about border security in the Rose Garden at the White House February 15, 2019, in Washington, D.C. Trump said he would declare a national emergency to free up federal funding to build a wall along the southern border.

Can Trump’s Wall Survive His Fake Emergency?

by: William Rivers Pitt,; Truthout

The Resist Reimagine Rebuild Coalition (formed in response to the Trump administration) organized a march on May Day 2017 to draw the connections between racial justice and economic justice.

We Need to Defend Progressive Politicians From Right-Wing Attacks

by: Barbara Ransby,; Truthout

Omar Is Being Attacked Because She Poses a Challenge to White Supremacy

by: Jonah ben Avraham,; Socialist Worker

LGBTQ Rights

Trump Administration Wants to Deny Health Care to LGBTQ People

by: s.e. smith,; Rewire.News

An Antiwar Response to Trump’s Anti-Trans Military Ban Is Possible

by: Matthew Byrne,; Truthout

Protesters demonstrate in opposition to President Trump's tweets proposing to ban transgender people from military service during an action on July 26, 2017, in New York City.

Remember That Anti-Trans Memo? Its Threat Hasn’t Vanished.

by: Hannah Walker &; Mik Kinkead,; Truthout

Even though the new law apparently won't stop the Catholic Church, civil rights activists look forward to Colorado joining 14 states and Washington, DC, that have conversion-therapy bans for minors on the books.

Colorado’s Ban on “Conversion Therapy” Won’t Stop the Catholic Church

by: Jason Salzman,; Rewire.News

Exclusives

Incarcerated Immigrants Are Being Tortured

Incarcerated Immigrants Are Being Tortured

Hunger strikers in a Texas immigration jail are risking their lives to draw attention to the conditions.

by: Mike Ludwig,; Truthout

The Last Time the US Wanted a Wall, 70,000 People Were Sterilized

The Last Time the US Wanted a Wall, 70,000 People Were Sterilized

Eugenicists behind the U.S.'s forced sterilizations during the last century also wanted a border wall.

by: Jorge Juan Rodríguez V,; Truthout

House Democrats Slam Trump on Yemen and Venezuela

House Democrats Slam Trump on Yemen and Venezuela

Democrats are challenging the war hawks in the Trump administration.

by: Mike Ludwig,; Truthout

Environment & Health

Mandy Gunasekara started the Energy 45 Fund after resigning from the Trump administration.

Former EPA Official Launches Dark Money Group to Promote Trump’s Energy Agenda

by: Anna Massoglia,; Center for Responsive Politics

Poisonous foam fills the hangar at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, during a biennial fire suppression system test, February 19, 2015.

The U.S. Military Is Poisoning Germany

by: Pat Elder,; Civilian Exposure

David Bernhardt, a former industry lobbyist, has been personally involved with intricacies of new policies at the Interior Department that benefit oil companies and other industries.

Trump Interior Department Secretary Pick Gutted Protections for Birds

by: Elizabeth Shogren,; The Center for Investigative Reporting

In Mexican border towns, big discount drugstores, as well as small pharmacies like this one in Tijuana, market their less expensive medicines to U.S. tourists.

Americans Cross Border Into Mexico to Buy Insulin at a Fraction of US Cost

by: Bram Sable-Smith,; Kaiser Health News

Economy & Labor

Solar energy installation provides good, union jobs for electrical workers.

A Green New Deal for American Labor?

by: Saurav Sarkar,; Labor Notes

Chairman Bobby Scott, D-Va., conducts a House Education and Labor Committee hearing in Rayburn Building titled "Underpaid Teachers and Crumbling Schools: How Underfunding Public Education Shortchanges America's Students," on Tuesday, February 12, 2019.

Teacher Strikes Are Rattling Washington

by: Rachel M. Cohen,; In These Times

As a member of the House Finance Committee, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is in an excellent position to do some digging into the practices of the credit scoring industry, which is dominated by firms Experian, Equifax and Transunion.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s War on Credit Scores Is a Big Deal

by: s.e. smith,; Care2

Protesters unfurl anti-Amazon banners from the balcony of a hearing room during a New York City Council Finance Committee hearing titled "Amazon HQ2 Stage 2: Does the Amazon Deal Deliver for New York City Residents?" at New York City Hall, January 30, 2019.

Amazon HQ2: Why New Yorkers Were Right to Be Skeptical

by: Nathan Jensen &; Calvin Thrall,; The Conversation

Art & Cartoons

Medicare for all: threat or menace?

Medicare for All: Threat or Menace?

by: Tom Tomorrow,; This Modern World

A Wasteland of Cash

Cartoons

Cutting edge humor by Jen Sorenson, Tom Tomorrow, Khalil Bendib, Matt Bors, and more.

Graphic Journalism

An archive of stories in visual form.

Truthout Original Art thumbnail

Truthout Original Art

An archive of stories told through sequential art.

Hosted at flickr.

Progressive Picks

See all Progressive Picks

Insightful books, DVDs, and other products hand-picked weekly by Truthout staff. By purchasing a Progressive Pick you are supporting Truthout's nonprofit mission.

A man walks past a mosaic depicting late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez (L) and Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro on a wall in Caracas on January 30, 2019.

Politics & Elections

Neoliberal Ties Doomed Latin America’s Leftist Political Tide

We must be willing to criticize Latin American governments from the left, says author Mike Gonzalez.

by: Mike Gonzalez,; Pluto Press

Book

The Ebb of the Pink Tide: The Decline of the Left in Latin America

In the past few years, Latin America’s left have suffered many setbacks and reactionary challenges, leading many to wonder whether the “Pink Tide” is now on the wane.

War & Peace

Muhammad Ali teaching a "relational learning circle" class during orientation at the APV Borderfree Center.

What It Really Takes to Secure Peace in Afghanistan

by: Kathy Kelly,; Voices for Creative Nonviolence

Code Pink protesters interrupt the testimony of Elliott Abrams, off camera, U.S. special representative for Venezuela, during a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing in Rayburn Building titled "Venezuela at a Crossroads," on February 13, 2019.

Aggressive U.S. Foreign Policy Is Back — in Venezuela

by: Bilal Zenab Ahmed,; Truthout

President Trump arrives before delivering the State of the Union address in the chamber of the U.S. House of Representatives at the U.S. Capitol Building on February 5, 2019, in Washington, D.C.

Trump Moves the World Closer to “Doomsday”

by: Marjorie Cohn,; Truthout

Yemenis look at a building destroyed in Saudi-led air strikes in Yemen's capital Sanaa on February 1, 2019.

House Democrats Slam Trump on Yemen and Venezuela

by: Mike Ludwig,; Truthout

Prison & Policing

In some jails, it costs $20 to make a 15-minute phone call.

Imagine Pleading Guilty Because You Can’t Afford to Call Your Lawyer

by: Victoria Law,; Truthout

What Happened at the Brooklyn Jail Is Part of a Deeper Human Rights Crisis

by: Bonnie Kerness,; American Friends Service Committee

Cities Across US Are Stripping Homeless People of Their Autonomy

by: Toshio Meronek &; Tory Becker,; Truthout

A protest sign leans against a wall during the Occupy4Prisoners Rally at San Quentin Prison in Marin County, California, on February 20, 2012.

The Future of the Prison Abolition Movement

by: Salima Hamirani,; Making Contact

Series

How Then Shall We Live?

How Then Shall We Live?

Finding our way and peace of heart amidst global collapse.

After the Raid

After the Raid

Exposing the communal trauma of immigration enforcement.

Human Rights and Global Wrongs

Human Rights and Global Wrongs

Marjorie Cohn analyzes human rights and executive branch lawbreaking.

Planet or Profit

Planet or Profit

Investigating systemic threats to the ecosystem from transglobal corporate profit-seeking.

Progressive Picks

Progressive Picks

Books and DVDs that we find thought-provoking and insightful.

The Public Intellectual

The Public Intellectual

Progressive academics address important social issues.

Education & Youth

One Year After Parkland, 1,200 More Kids Are Dead by Gunfire

One Year After Parkland, 1,200 More Kids Are Dead by Gunfire

by: Amy Goodman &; Nermeen Shaikh,; Democracy Now!

Corporate Greed and Criminalizing Teachers in Atlanta School Cheating Scandal

The Untold Story Behind the Atlanta School Cheating Scandal

by: Amy Goodman &; Juan González,; Democracy Now!

Melissa Somerville's first grade class participates in Trayvon Martin Memorial Day as part of the Black Lives Matter at School Week of Action.

All Schools Should Teach Students That Black Lives Matter

by: Eisa Nefertari Ulen,; Truthout

President Trump hosts a roundtable with Latino pastors on the 35th day of the partial government shutdown, the longest in US history, in the Roosevelt Room at the White House on Friday, January 25, 2019, in Washington, DC.

Trump Supports “Bible Literacy” Classes in Public Schools

by: s.e. smith,; Care2

Culture & Media

Journalists note that Capitol Police have grown increasingly aggressive toward the press recently.

Capitol Police Slammed for Physical Attacks on Reporters

by: Julia Conley,; Common Dreams

Prison rights activists and relatives of the incarcerated protest outside the Metropolitan Detention Center on February 4, 2019, in the Sunset Park neighborhood in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. The federal prison lost power and heat for at least a week during a polar vortex.

This Valentine’s Day, Let’s Choose Love Over Borders

by: adrienne maree brown,; Truthout

A Trump supporter was restrained after violently attacking a BBC cameraman at President Trump's rally in El Paso, Texas, on Monday night.

BBC Journalist Violently Attacked at Rally After Trump’s Anti-Press Rant

by: Julia Conley,; Common Dreams

Migrants view a live televised speech by President Donald Trump on border security at a shelter for migrants on January 8, 2019, in Tijuana, Mexico.

The Problem Is Not “Fake News.” It’s the Noise That Drowns Out the News.

by: William Rivers Pitt,; Truthout