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Tag: American politics

Life On The Precipice (Gonzo Notes)
The camera looks down a rocky precipice onto watery rapids far below. Sydney, Australia. February 27, 2002. (Flickr / AWiggert, CC NC ND license)
April 29, 2017
Kit
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Life On The Precipice (Gonzo Notes)

Posted in Creative Commons, and Gonzo Notes

Here I am, writing to you from the edge. From many edges, really.

By the time you read this, I’ll have turned 39 years old. I’m on the edge of 40, on the edge, I guess, of middle age.

I recently found out that I have glaucoma in my right eye, meaning that I’ll spend the rest of my life on the verge of losing my vision, as long as the eyedrops keep working.

Right now, it also feels like the country and the world are on the precipice, too. The Oval Office is occupied by a giant crybaby seemingly intent on baiting foreign powers into nuclear war via Twitter.

Read moreLife On The Precipice (Gonzo Notes)
We Will Never Have A Legit Democracy Until We Change These 3 Things
The US Capital building at sunset, with the Ulysses Grant memorial in front. February 19, 2017. (Flickr / Craig Fildes CC NC ND license)
April 28, 2017
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We Will Never Have A Legit Democracy Until We Change These 3 Things

Posted in Journalism, and Lee Camp

Decades of racist attacks on voting rights have given the far right a virtual stranglehold on American politics. (And this doesn’t mean the neoliberal left is blameless.)

Republicans control Congress, the Presidency, the majority of state legislatures, and the majority of state legislatures. You combine that with the fact that most Democrats only defend their corporate sugar daddies and the result is a heavily right-wing agenda sweeping America. Many are now looking to the mid-term elections in 2018 as an opportunity to turn things around.

Efforts such as Bernie Sanders’ “Unity Tour” are meant to lure voters back into the Democratic fold and also to the polls. They also hope to encourage new candidates to run for office. Unfortunately, they’re likely to fall far short of their goal, thanks to voter ID laws, gerrymandering of districts, and a system called Interstate Crosscheck, all blatantly racist moves by the GOP which purged millions of mostly minority voters from the rolls or otherwise kept them home on election day.

Read moreWe Will Never Have A Legit Democracy Until We Change These 3 Things
Who Would Jesus Arrest? Conservative Alabama Megachurch Could Get Its Own Police
Oakland Police on January 28. Photo by J. Paul Zoccali.
April 19, 2017
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Who Would Jesus Arrest? Conservative Alabama Megachurch Could Get Its Own Police

Posted in Journalism, and Lee Camp

A megachurch in Alabama could soon begin hiring its own cops.

Approved by the Alabama Senate on April 11, civil liberties experts are warning that the move will mark a major escalation in the growth of the American police state if, as expected, it’s also approved by the House and Governor Kay Ivey.

Briarwood Presbyterian Church, located near Birmingham, isn’t just one of those oversized churches with a bunch of giant flat screen TVs and its own coffee shop. With 4,100 members, and 2,000 students in its own K-12 school, church officials claim neither deputies from two nearby communities nor private security are enough to keep their religious community safe.

Read moreWho Would Jesus Arrest? Conservative Alabama Megachurch Could Get Its Own Police
Fascism & The Harsh Lessons Of Failure (Gonzo Notes)
A protester dressed in a yellow raincoat holds a sign reading "Fascism is so 1930s." Protest against Trump travel ban, American embassy in London, February 4, 2017. (Flickr / Alisdare Hickson, CC SA license)
April 10, 2017
Kit
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Fascism & The Harsh Lessons Of Failure (Gonzo Notes)

Posted in Austin, Creative Commons, and Gonzo Notes

I’m in a strange position this month as a gonzo journalist, because I can’t really write about the major action I attended last month.

The short version is that I attended a counterprotest against the Austin version of the national “March 4 Trump.” We were badly outnumbered, surrounded and attacked by fascist Trump supporters. I survived a serious assault and was hospitalized overnight. I now face a misdemeanor assault charge even though I was the victim, along with hospital bills, and this charge prevents me from writing much more.

Still, here’s the main lesson I learned — at least the one that’s safe to share:

We are not ready.

Read moreFascism & The Harsh Lessons Of Failure (Gonzo Notes)
WikiLeaks’ Vault 7, Broadband Privacy With Black Tower Radio
A street medic in a Guy Fawkes mask uses a smartphone to film a protest. August 29, 2011. (Flickr / Daniel Hoherd, CC NC license)
April 5, 2017
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WikiLeaks’ Vault 7, Broadband Privacy With Black Tower Radio

Posted in Act Out!, Audio, Journalism, and Lee Camp

Last week, I made my monthly appearance on Black Tower Radio to discuss recent developments in online privacy. WikiLeaks’ Vault 7 release, which I discussed in a recent Act Out! script, left some people wondering if it’s now impossible to protect yourself from surveillance. In fact, there are still steps we can take to protect ourselves from most online threats.

Of course, a recent vote by Congress to repeal Obama-era FCC online privacy protections not only allows Internet Service Providers to sell our online browsing behavior to advertisers (and others), it shows how our elected representatives answer to their corporate donors, rather than to voters. Interest in Virtual Private Networks has sky-rocketed since the vote, but not all VPNs are created equal.

Read moreWikiLeaks’ Vault 7, Broadband Privacy With Black Tower Radio
The GOP Just Sold Your Internet Privacy To The Highest Bidder … Here’s How To Protect Yourself Online
A laptop, smartphone, pen and paper notebook sitting in a desk. (Morguefile)
March 30, 2017
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The GOP Just Sold Your Internet Privacy To The Highest Bidder … Here’s How To Protect Yourself Online

Posted in Journalism, and Lee Camp

Republicans just voted to roll back FCC privacy protections that would have prevented your internet service provider from selling your private browsing history.

After passing the Senate earlier in the week, the House approved a measure on Tuesday which would allow broadband providers like AT&T, Spectrum or Comcast to sell your online data to marketers (as well as corporate and government spies).

The vote in both chambers was split along party lines, with the GOP voting in favor of selling your porn habits to just about anyone who cares to pay for them, including maybe future employers. Naturally, many of these legislators were also the recipient of large donations from the telecommunications industry.

Read moreThe GOP Just Sold Your Internet Privacy To The Highest Bidder … Here’s How To Protect Yourself Online