So here we are, mid-December 2011.
Looking back, January 2011 started with Jared Lee Loughner going on a shooting spree in Tuscon, killing a Federal Judge five others and injuring 14, including Congresswoman Gabriel Giffords. A few days later, the first protests began in Libya. That month Tunisia's authoritarian government was overthrown. Then in early February, Egypt's Hosni Mubarak was unseated after 18 days of mass protest.
At the same time, a rebirth of the American left sprung up in Wisconsin, as newly elected Governor Scott Walker vaulted himself into the spotlight by legislatively assaulting state workers and setting off a constitutional crisis. Citizens of Wisconsin brought back a forgotten protest technique – the mass occupation. They stayed at the capitol building and camped and marched in the freezing cold.
And that was just the first two months!
Since then, we've seen the US government held hostage with the threat of a government shutdown and the previously unimaginable threat of debt default. The governments of Yemen and Syria went to war with protesters. Saudi Arabia invaded the tiny US military outpost country of Bahrain to put down a protest movement there. Libya became entrenched in a civil war and NATO became the Air Force of the rebellion, eventually unseating Moammar Gadhafi. A super-earthquake and tsunami destabilized nuclear reactors in Japan, leading to the worst (ongoing) nuclear accident in history. Osama Bin Laden was killed. Diplomatic relations with Pakistan crumbled. Massive fires, floods and tornadoes ravaged towns while US politicians moved even further apart on legislation to avert climate change. Over 1,000 demonstrators were arrested protesting the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline, in the largest act of civil disobedience in decades.
Then, on September 17, a protest against economic injustice called the “Occupy” movement began. Since then, the economic conversation in the US has shifted away from the slash-and-burn politics of budget cuts, tearing off the cloaks of the corporatocracy and sparking a fundamental debate over the deep political, economic and social inequality in the US and across the world. Just today, international shipping is being disrupted by Occupy actions on the West Coast.
It's been intense, to say the least. We, the people of Truthout, have been doing our best to bring you non-commercial news and trustworthy analysis of these revolutionary events as they’ve unfolded. We'll continue to cover 2012 with all of our passion. We need you to help us make sure we can keep the lights on and our servers humming.
If you value our daily coverage, please make a tax-deductible contribution today!
Click here to donate.
(Truthout is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. EIN: 20-0031641)
You can also donate by check, made payable to:
Truthout, P.O. Box 276414, Sacramento, CA 95827
(Please include your email address on your check.)
Thank you for standing together.
Trump is busy getting ready for Day One of his presidency – but so is Truthout.
Trump has made it no secret that he is planning a demolition-style attack on both specific communities and democracy as a whole, beginning on his first day in office. With over 25 executive orders and directives queued up for January 20, he’s promised to “launch the largest deportation program in American history,” roll back anti-discrimination protections for transgender students, and implement a “drill, drill, drill” approach to ramp up oil and gas extraction.
Organizations like Truthout are also being threatened by legislation like HR 9495, the “nonprofit killer bill” that would allow the Treasury Secretary to declare any nonprofit a “terrorist-supporting organization” and strip its tax-exempt status without due process. Progressive media like Truthout that has courageously focused on reporting on Israel’s genocide in Gaza are in the bill’s crosshairs.
As journalists, we have a responsibility to look at hard realities and communicate them to you. We hope that you, like us, can use this information to prepare for what’s to come.
And if you feel uncertain about what to do in the face of a second Trump administration, we invite you to be an indispensable part of Truthout’s preparations.
In addition to covering the widespread onslaught of draconian policy, we’re shoring up our resources for what might come next for progressive media: bad-faith lawsuits from far-right ghouls, legislation that seeks to strip us of our ability to receive tax-deductible donations, and further throttling of our reach on social media platforms owned by Trump’s sycophants.
We’re preparing right now for Trump’s Day One: building a brave coalition of movement media; reaching out to the activists, academics, and thinkers we trust to shine a light on the inner workings of authoritarianism; and planning to use journalism as a tool to equip movements to protect the people, lands, and principles most vulnerable to Trump’s destruction.
We urgently need your help to prepare. As you know, our December fundraiser is our most important of the year and will determine the scale of work we’ll be able to do in 2025. We’ve set two goals: to raise $150,000 in one-time donations and to add 1,500 new monthly donors.
Today, we’re asking all of our readers to start a monthly donation or make a one-time donation – as a commitment to stand with us on day one of Trump’s presidency, and every day after that, as we produce journalism that combats authoritarianism, censorship, injustice, and misinformation. You’re an essential part of our future – please join the movement by making a tax-deductible donation today.
If you have the means to make a substantial gift, please dig deep during this critical time!
With gratitude and resolve,
Maya, Negin, Saima, and Ziggy