2021-01-07: News Headlines

Frank Scott (2021-01-07). Defund the Pentagon: Refund the People. dissidentvoice.org When profit determines every outcome of social and economic life, the minority politics of lesser evil wins again, and again, and again. — Anonymous The pandemic has heightened public awareness of the injustice of a political economic system that profits private wealth at massive loss to the public good. All talk of change that simply …

Dianne Mathiowetz (2021-01-07). Georgia: Big voter turnout ousts wealthy Republican senators. workers.org Atlanta Jan. 6 — Georgia voters made history on Jan. 5 by voting into the U.S. Senate Rev. Raphael Warnock, the first ever Black senator from Georgia. Warnock is senior pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, the famed church of Rev. Martin Luther King's family, esteemed for its long . . . |

Rick Baum (2021-01-06). Wealth Inequality Virus Spikes During the Last Days of 2020. counterpunch.org As of December 23, the combined wealth of the ten wealthiest was needed to reach the "magic" sum of one trillion dollars. As of December 31, the combined wealth of the nine wealthiest is now more than a trillion. This change was helped by Warren Buffet's loss for the year shrinking during the last eight days of the year from $4.62 billion to $1.62 billion, and Musk's wealth increasing another $15 billion.

Fight Back (2021-01-06). 14 million Americans' stimulus checks are delayed through TurboTax and H&R Block. fightbacknews.org Tallahassee, FL – If you are like me, you have probably checked your bank account dozens of times throughout the day waiting for the recent round of $600 stimulus checks. | If you are like me, then you have searched online through Google for "stimulus check," "delay" or anything else that can explain the holdup of much needed financial relief. | This second round of stimulus checks is a complete insult to the millions of workers who pay way too much in taxes and yet are constantly disregarded and disrespected by the ruling class. | Just last week, in a stunning position, Donald Trump urged Congress to give Amer…

Robert Freeman (2021-01-06). The Republican party and victimhood as ideology. nationofchange.org They are victims of themselves for having backed decades of Republican economic policies explicitly designed to shift vast amounts of national income and wealth to those who were already the most-wealthy.

The Canary (2021-01-05). Foodbanks at risk of closure due to new coronavirus strain. thecanary.co Independent foodbanks are at risk of closure due to the rapidly spreading coronavirus variant and are calling on the government to provide cash to hungry families to "protect public health". | The Independent Food Aid Network (IFAN) has written to the prime minister calling on him to give struggling families money to reduce food bank reliance over the new year lockdown. | The letter says that distribution of emergency parcels "cannot address worsening poverty" and with the number of infections rising "could well contribute to the spread of Covid-19". | Meanwhile, the need to self-isolate could mean services reduc…

Bauchner H. (2021-01-05). A Medical and Scientific New Year's Wish List. jamanetwork.com The last 4 years have been difficult for science and medicine. The relentless attack by members of the executive and legislative branches of government on science and federal agencies that conduct science has shaken the fundamental pillars of great US institutions such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Food and Drug Administration, Environmental Protection Agency, and in some regards the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Although the 2020 NIH budget increased to almost $42 billion, more individuals are uninsured, and although health care costs have not increased substantially over the past 4 y…