“They throw these workers away like tissue paper” – In a four-part series, the Texas Tribune investigates the cost of the “miracle” economy that Gov. Rick Perry and other state leaders have touted over the last decade: more worker fatalities than any other state, 500,000 workers without workers comp and lax regulation of those with private occupational insurance. — Texas Tribune @byjayroot
More federal workers and those on Wall Street fear retaliation for whistleblowing – It might have something to do with the rise in restrictive nondisclosure agreements being used by the federal government and private employers alike. — The Washington Post via @NEGordon
How politics derailed EPA science on arsenic, endangering public health – The agency concluded in 2008 that arsenic is 17 times more potent than the agency’s own guidelines state, but it has been blocked from releasing its findings for years thanks to lobbying that seems to lead to one Congressman’s door. — Center for Public Integrity via @danielle_ivory
About those SWAT records – A number of SWAT teams in Massachusetts told the ACLU they didn’t have to respond to records requests related to their recent study on the militarization of U.S. law enforcement. Why? Several are run by police-funded “law enforcement councils” that are incorporated as private corporations. — The Washington Post
In case you missed James Risen’s scoop on State Dept.’s Blackwater allegations – Read Jean Richter’s Aug. 31, 2007, memo to State Department officials asserting that the agency’s “management structures…in Iraq have become subservient to the contractors themselves.” Richter went on to allege that a Blackwater manager threatened that he “could kill” the department investigator without repercussion. — The New York Times
This week’s podcast – What did we learn from plotting all the NSA surveillance programs we know about in one easy-to-read chart? “Most of what the NSA is doing is their job, which is foreign surveillance,” says privacy and security reporter Julia Angwin. Julia and ProPublica editor Eric Umansky expand on what we really know about NSA spying. Subscribe here: SoundCloud, iTunes and Stitcher
Truthout Is Preparing to Meet Trump’s Agenda With Resistance at Every Turn
Dear Truthout Community,
If you feel rage, despondency, confusion and deep fear today, you are not alone. We’re feeling it too. We are heartsick. Facing down Trump’s fascist agenda, we are desperately worried about the most vulnerable people among us, including our loved ones and everyone in the Truthout community, and our minds are racing a million miles a minute to try to map out all that needs to be done.
We must give ourselves space to grieve and feel our fear, feel our rage, and keep in the forefront of our mind the stark truth that millions of real human lives are on the line. And simultaneously, we’ve got to get to work, take stock of our resources, and prepare to throw ourselves full force into the movement.
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There are many terrifying planks to the Trump agenda, and we plan to devote ourselves to reporting thoroughly on each one and, crucially, covering the movements resisting them. We also recognize that Trump is a dire threat to journalism itself, and that we must take this seriously from the outset.
Last week, the four of us sat down to have some hard but necessary conversations about Truthout under a Trump presidency. How would we defend our publication from an avalanche of far right lawsuits that seek to bankrupt us? How would we keep our reporters safe if they need to cover outbreaks of political violence, or if they are targeted by authorities? How will we urgently produce the practical analysis, tools and movement coverage that you need right now — breaking through our normal routines to meet a terrifying moment in ways that best serve you?
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