Newsletter 4.9.19

Hi all! 

Hope you are well. Here's this week's newsletter. Be sure to look out for tomorrow's episode discussing the underrated awfulness of John Stossel. 

-- Florence, Marco, Adam, and Nima 

------------

A Healthcare Industry Built on Premature Death, Roqayah Chamseddine, In These Times (March 27, 2019) 

The case of an Indiana school superintendent facing federal charges for using her son’s insurance to help a sick student is just one example of a healthcare system built to profit off the misery of patients unable to afford necessary treatments. From disabled people needing to insulin to guitarist Dick Dale having to continuously tour in order to pay for medical service not covered by insurance companies, friend of the show Roqayah Chamseddine outlines an industry unconcerned with the lives of its customers. 

How to Think About Breaking Up Big Tech, David Dayen,The Intercept (April 1, 2019)

Elizabeth Warren’s proposal to break up big tech has provoked predictable backlash from right-wing think tanks that receive tech money. These critiques misrepresent what an actual policy of breaking up tech monopolies would look like to scare consumers that into believing trust-busting would ruin Google searches and iPhone apps. 

Florida Is Poised to Create an Anti-“Trafficking” Registry That Will Inevitably Hurt Sex Workers, Natasha Lennard, The Intercept (April 5, 2019)

Two bills are working their way in the Florida State House and Senate that will create a registry targeting solicitors of prostitution under the goal of fighting sex-trafficking. Despite plentiful evidence that such bills only serve to further marginalize sex workers by exposing them to more economic hardship and targeting their support networks. The Florida lawmakers have been dismissive of the objections of sex work advocates.     

Chicago’s Elections Brought a Lot of Good News for Progressives—and Democratic Socialists, Hannah Steinkopf-Frank, In These Times (April 4, 2019)

At least five candidates affiliated with the Democratic Socialists of America won seats in the council and one more DSA member could join them. These candidates, and other progressive challengers to Rahm Emanuel’s allies, ran on addressing major issues of police reform, gentrification and school funding.  

All About Pete, Nathan Robinson, Current Affairs (March 29, 2019)

South Bend Mayor and presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg, the newest Democratic wunderkind to gain mainstream media attention, positions himself as the youthful face of modern progressivism. However his autobiography shows that Buttigieg’s story is that of a typical neoliberal technocrat who values his personal resume over an ideological commitments. From a stint working for one of the most evil consulting firms, Mckinsey, to a mayorship more focused on leveling houses than structural reform, Buttigieg  is, by all appearances, another empty shirt.    

MSNBC’s Wild Ride, Jacob Bacharach, The New Republic (April 4, 2019)

MSNBC rose from low-ratings at the end of the Obama Administration to becoming a ratings powerhouse built on milking coverage from every sliver of controversy coming from Donald Trump’s White House. Jacob Bacharach examines how the station went from an ideologically confused network to a station unified in its defense of the Democratic establishment during the Obama years to their role as the de-facto media arm of the Democratic Party in the Trump years. While this approach ensured lasting ratings for the network, it risks focusing on a narrow scope of issues and legitimizing harmful US institutions. 

Target: Corbyn, Dawn Foster, Jacobin (April 5, 2019)

A video surfacing of British soldiers using a picture of Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn for target practice is the latest evidence anti-left violence is becoming more normalized in the UK. Conservative politicians and columnists use a barrage of dog whistles to paint Corbyn and his party as dangerous radicals that must be stopped. This rhetoric has inspired far-right threats against public figures.

Medicare for All Critics Are Telling Lies, Matt Bruenig, Jacobin (April 5, 2019)

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi reiterated one of the more common attacks against Medicare for All when she stressed how people would lose their employer-base insurance. However, this claim ignores the truth that people constantly lose their employer-based insurance in the current system. A study of Michigan found that one in four people are likely to come off their plans every year while Medicare and Medicaid recipients had even worse drop-off rates.

Ignoring Lessons of #metoo, Media Scrutinize Biden’s Accusers, Naomi LaChance, FAIR (April, 8 2019)

The women coming forward to discuss how Joe Biden inappropriately violated their space by touching them has spurred a round of media discussion of the issue that reveals how little the has internalized lessons from the #metoo movement. Journalists were quick to question the motives of accusers, make excuses for Biden’s behavior and offer meaningless anecdotes of Biden treating them well.  

Annexation is happening whether Netanyahu is reelected or not, Michael Schaeffer Omer-Man, +972 (April 7, 2019)

As Israelis go to the polls, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that he plans to annex a bloc of the West Bank. While Netanyahu has always teased at supporting annexation, there exists no viable opposition coalition that will not implement an approach similar in substance to annexation. Centrist voices instead promise to maintain the current status quo of  everlasting Israeli occupation and ethnic cleansing of the West Bank.

American Meritocracy is a Myth, Rajan Menon, The Nation  (April 2, 2019)

Two scandals, wealthy parents paying for their children to attend elite colleges and Sen. Ted Cruz failing to disclose that he received $1 million in loans during his 2012 senate campaign, reveal how claims that America is run on a meritocracy are bogus. 

Education Privatizers Have Gone Global. So Must We If We Want to Stop Them. Christian Addai-Poku and Michael Galant, In These Times (April 3, 2019)

The recent wave of teachers strikes in the US ran concurrently with efforts from African teachers unions to fight school privatization in the continent. Institutions like the World Bank continue to promote for profit solutions for the continent’s education issues, spurred in part by extreme austerity measures forced on it by the IMF in the ‘80s. The same billionaires that promote charter schools in the US are also supporting efforts to privatize African education.