Newsletter 02.04.20

Dearest Patrons,

What a week! An absurd DNC debacle in Iowa, a State of Union no one should watch, and - most importantly - the 100th Episode of Citations Needed to be released on Wednesday!

In the meantime, check out some choice articles from recent days, which we've compiled below. And stay tuned for the new show tomorrow! Thanks again (and again and again) for your ongoing support. We seriously couldn't do any of this without you.

- Marco, Florence, Adam, Nima, and Julianne. 

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The Eternally Unvetted Bernie Sanders - David Sessions, The New Republic (Jan. 28, 2020)

As Bernie Sanders rises in the polls, so has the narrative that he has not been properly scrutinized. This narrative, resurrected from 2016, ignores months of countless negative coverage given to Sanders by the mainstream media.

Instacart Workers Win Historic Union Election - Lauren Kaori Gurley, VICE (Feb. 1, 2020)

A group of workers with the grocery delivery app Instacart in Skokie, Illinois voted to unionize and join the local United Food and Commercial Workers union. The successful unionization effort is a win for gig economy workers fighting the exploitative working conditions at Silicon Valley tech companies.  

Trump’s NLRB Quietly Makes It Riskier To Wear Union Schwag at Work - Michael Arria, In These Times (Jan. 28, 2020)

In December, the National Labor Relations Board voted that private sector employers covered by the NLRB can ban some union insignia. The decision erodes worker’s rights and makes unionization more difficult. 

Meet Mark Mellman: the Centrist, Pro-Israel Operative Behind the Anti-Sanders Ads in Iowa - Akela Lacy, The Intercept (Feb. 1, 2020)

A new group called Democratic Majority for Israel released ads targeting Bernie Sanders’ electability. Mark Mellman, the head of the group, is a top consultant for AIPAC. The group spends money to challenge and primary progressives who dare to break from the pro-Israel consensus.

Drug Testing Is Just Another Way to Punish Welfare Recipients - Sarah Harris Jacobin (Jan. 31, 2020)

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s conservative party has proposed randomly drug testing welfare recipients. If a recipient fails the test, their welfare spending options are limited. While the conservatives say they are doing it to help people on welfare, they also have made cuts to the social safety net that leaves these people in bad condition. 

Puerto Rico’s Disasters After the Earthquakes - Monique Dols, Jacobin (Feb. 2, 2020)

Puerto Rico’s recent earthquakes add to the disasters that have befallen the island. The Puerto Rican government’s response has been criticized, particularly the Department of Education’s rushed inspection of the structural integrity of schools using flawed inspection methods.  

The Death Penalty Is Part Of A Larger System Of Punishment - Vaidya Gullapalli, The Appeal (Jan 31, 2020)

Colorado is on the path to abolishing the death penalty. While that is a win for criminal justice reformers, the system of punishment that the death penalty is a part of can still continue. Some arguments against the death penalty invoke issues such as the expenses of executions, but these arguments do little to challenge the larger culture of punishing the incarcerated population.

The Super Bowl Is a Grift of Epic Proportions - Dave Zirin, The Nation (Jan. 31, 2020)

This year’s Super Bowl took place in Miami, where the city had to cough up $4 million to the NFL in accommodations for the event. The league’s attempts to give back to their host cities do little to deal with larger inequalities in the city and often blend philanthropy with product advertisements.

Ending Palestinian Statehood as ‘Path’ to Palestinian Statehood - Joshua Cho, FAIR (Jan. 31, 2020)

Trump’s lopsided peace plan for Israel and Palestine recognizes Israeli settlements and firmly lets Israel claim Jerusalem as its capital, along with other insults to Palestinian sovereignty. Mainstream media adopted Trump’s framing of the plan as a blueprint for peace rather than as an act of suppression against the Palestinians.  

Australia’s Devastating Fires Make an Urgent Case for Nationalizing Fossil Fuels - Carla Skandier, In These Times (Feb. 3, 2020)

Australia’s wild fires are a grave warning that privatized ownership of fossil fuels will lead to disaster. Nationalizing Australia’s coal industry could allow the government to phase out coal use while promoting alternative sources of energy. 

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