Bernie Sanders Archives - Kit O'Connell: Approximately 8,000 Words

AT&T-Time Warner Merger: Another Media Consolidation That Puts Profits Over Consumers

The lit AT&T logo on a storefront at sunset. July 24, 2014. (Flickr / Mike Mozart)

November 2, 2016

AT&T-Time Warner Merger: Another Media Consolidation That Puts Profits Over Consumers

Posted in Journalism, and MintPress News

Media analysts warn that a proposed merger between AT&T and Time Warner is more likely to enhance corporate bottom lines and pad the pockets of Wall Street investors than benefit consumers.

“Big mergers like this inevitably mean higher prices for real people, to pay down the money borrowed to finance these deals and compensate top executives,” said Matt Wood, policy director at Free Press, an NGO that protects net neutrality and online press freedom, in an Oct. 22 press release.

The media first reported that AT&T was in “informal” talks to merge with Time Warner on Oct. 20. By Oct. 24, AT&T announced that Time Warner had agreed to be bought out by the telecommunications giant for $85.4 billion.

Advice For Bernie’s ‘Revolution’ & Other New Activists After DNC 2016

An activist in an "Anonymous" mask marches with a candle during a rally of Bernie Sanders supporters on July 27, 2016 in Philadelphia, near the Democratic National Convention. (Kit O'Connell)

August 1, 2016

Kit

One Comment

Advice For Bernie’s ‘Revolution’ & Other New Activists After DNC 2016

Posted in Creative Commons, Journalism, and Occupy Wall Street

I just got back from Philadelphia, where I was covering protests at the Democratic National Convention for MintPress News, so I spent a lot of time observing the activists taking the streets in America.

I’m impressed by the passion and righteous anger so many people are feeling right now, especially those of you who feel betrayed by the Democratic Party. Many of you may be taking the streets, attending nonviolent direct action trainings, and feeling the joy of holding a public space for a cause for the first time in your lives.

I don’t want the post that follows to sound like an “old man yelling at clouds,” but I’ve been an activist for a while now. I don’t claim to be the world’s greatest expert in street protest tactics, but I saw a few things that concerned me in Philly.

Despite Anti-War Claims, Sanders Endorses President Obama’s Foreign Policy

Sen. Bernie Sanders speaks at a crowded rally at the Phoenix Convention Center in Phoenix, Arizona. Behind the crowd hangs the U.S. and Arizona flags. (Flickr / Gage Skidmore)

February 11, 2016

Kit

Despite Anti-War Claims, Sanders Endorses President Obama’s Foreign Policy

Posted in Journalism, and MintPress News

On Sunday, Bernie Sanders endorsed President Barack Obama’s violent, expansive foreign policy in an effort to distance himself from accusations of inexperience in matters of war.

At the beginning of an interview on CBS’ “Face The Nation” between John Dickerson and the Vermont senator, Dickerson noted:

“Senator, while you were in New York, North Koreans launched a long range missile. As President, you’d face that kind of thing all the time, very often. And what Secretary Clinton is saying is that you don’t have the experience to be ready for those kinds of challenges on day one.”

Sanders responded:

Bernie Sanders & Jill Stein’s College Plans Treat Education As A Human Right

Bernie Sanders speaks at Iowa State University on January 25, 2016. (Flickr / Alex Hanson)

September 30, 2015

Kit

Bernie Sanders & Jill Stein’s College Plans Treat Education As A Human Right

Posted in Journalism, and MintPress News

With presidential candidates hoping to court young voters, it’s not surprising that the student debt crisis and the rising cost of a college education have become key campaign issues. While Hillary Clinton has promised to make college more affordable, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and Dr. Jill Stein want to make it accessible to everyone.

As of the end of June, the Federal Reserve estimated there were about $1.19 trillion dollars worth of seriously delinquent education loans, according to USA Today, with many analysts predicting that this debt crisis could cause another serious financial collapse. A recent study by the Brookings Institution suggested predatory behavior by for-profit colleges created a substantial portion of this debt, as Shadowproof’s Dan Wright reported earlier this month.

Heather Gautney, a professor of sociology at Fordham University, openly praised Clinton’s ideas in an analysis of Sanders and Clinton’s competing college plans published in August on Sanders’ official campaign website. “[T]he Clinton plan doesn’t go far enough,” Gautney argued, warning that it would still place too much burden on struggling families and students: “It fails to place the issue of college affordability in the proper context: as a societal, rather than an individual, problem.”