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Month: June 2015

The Obama Legacy: Inequality, Corporate Trade Deals, Worldwide War

Posted in Journalism, and MintPress News

An undocumented transgender woman interrupted the White House LGBT Pride celebrations last week, highlighting a rift between those who praise President Barack Obama’s accomplishments after two terms in office, and those who see a decline in freedoms and a rise in inequality as the real legacy he’ll be leaving behind.

The division between the perception of Obama’s achievements and the reality extends far beyond immigration and the LGBT community. Obama’s presidency has seen destructive Bush-era policies grow more entrenched, and new forms of repression have been added to American life.

With the Supreme Court legalizing marriage for all regardless of gender, many perceive an increase in equality for LGBT people as one of the main legacies of Obama’s presidency. But last Wednesday, Jennicet Gutiérrez interrupted Obama at one of the White House’s annual Pride Month festivities to demand better treatment for an overlooked portion of the community.

“President Obama, stop the torture and abuse of trans women in detention centers!” shouted Gutiérrez, who is an undocumented transgender Latina immigrant, before continuing: “President Obama, I am a trans woman. I’m tired of the abuse.”

US Still Bans, Suppresses Books Despite The First Amendment

Posted in Journalism, and MintPress News

Just how free is free speech in the United States? Even though the First Amendment protects freedom of speech and freedom of the press, government authorities and other powerful interests still find ways to suppress the truth.

“Open societies are also no stranger to the censorship of contentious novels and historical accounts of controversial events,” Abby Martin said last year on her show, “Breaking the Set.”

“Now, of course, the First Amendment prohibits the outright banning of books by the federal government, but there are many less insidious ways that ‘dangerous content’ is kept off American bookshelves.”

False Feminism: Hillary Clinton And Her Financial Backers Are No Friends To Women

Posted in Journalism, and MintPress News

In the 2016 election, Hillary Clinton wants to make history as the first female president of the United States. But just as the election of the first black president hasn’t left black people better off eight years later, can the world’s women really count on Clinton’s support?

Voters understandably look to Clinton to support women’s rights in the U.S. at a time when many feel these rights are under attack, and she’s been happy to deliver feminist-friendly rhetoric. In April, she offered a rousing pro-woman speech at the Women in the World conference in April.

Yet a study of Clinton’s record paints a different picture. Donors from Saudi Arabia gave millions to the Clinton Foundation, a nonprofit operated by Clinton and her husband, former President Bill Clinton, despite Saudi Arabia’s appalling record on women’s rights. In return for their financial support, Hillary Clinton helped Saudi Arabia obtain billions in military equipment from the U.S.

John McCain And Endless War: Best Friends Forever

Posted in Journalism, and MintPress News

Modern American politicians are often criticized for their willingness to bow to popular opinion, changing their professed beliefs from moment to moment based on what they think the public wants to hear. Yet one senator rises above all that through his unabashed love of war — a stance that’s remained consistent regardless of what party sits in the White House and how many civilian lives could hang in the balance.

That senator is John McCain, a Republican from Arizona, who currently leads the Senate Armed Services Committee. In February, as the White House asked for authorization to use military force against the so-called Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), McCain appeared on NBC’s “Meet the Press” in support of the idea that there should be no limits on the president’s ability to make war.

“I think we should not restrain the president of the United States,” he said on the show, explaining that to do so would be “unconstitutional and frankly leads to 535 commander-in-chiefs.”

McCain has ensured U.S. support for all sides of the conflict in the Middle East. In 2012, he joined South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham in calling on America to arm the Syrian rebels, many of whom later joined ISIS. Years after helping arm the Syrian rebels, he admitted to Sean Hannity that he’d met ISIS and knew them “intimately.”

Did Prison Officials Single Out Political Prisoner Barrett Brown For Solitary Confinement?

Posted in Journalism, and MintPress News

According to reports from supporters on social media, Texas Department of Criminal Justice officials moved imprisoned journalist Barrett Brown into solitary confinement last week.

Brown is an outspoken and controversial journalist who worked closely with Anonymous during the peak of that movement in the early years of this decade. The government noticed this collaboration and targeted Brown for prosecution during their campaign against the hacktivist group Lulzsec, a high-profile subgroup of Anonymous, which also resulted in the imprisonment of political prisoner Jeremy Hammond.

Brown was sentenced to 63 months in prison in January. In addition, he must pay about $800,000 in restitution to Strategic Forecasting, the corporate intelligence agency based in Austin, Texas, that was a target of Lulzsec hacking.

Combating Islamophobia At PorcFest: How Muslims For Liberty Is Changing Libertarianism

Posted in Archive, Journalism, and MintPress News

Originally published at MintPress News. LANCASTER, New Hampshire — Thousands of Libertarians will share a Ramadan meal of halal Indian food in the forests of…