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We have our Lives ,our Democracy, our Planet... here and now, not in some future, near or far.





DAILY SPECIALS











CLIMATE CHANGE 







HEALTHCARE




The Committee to Protect Medicare and the ACA

Saturday, April 27th at a campaign rally in Wisconsin, Trump doubled down on his promise to repeal the Affordable Care Act, despite the fact that doing so would rip healthcare away from more than 20 million Americans.



GUN CONTROL


Trump addresses the annual meeting of the National Rifle Association in Indianapolis this morning, at a time when the gun-in-every-kitchen-and-two-in-the-bedroom organization is trying to figure out how to explain away the trail of dead bodies its purchase of politicians has helped create.

The anti-gun youth movement sparked by the slaughter at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., last year has proven effective in diminishing support for the NRA, even as the group continues to embrace extremist positions: It wants people with mental health issues to be able to have guns, it wants shooters to be able to hide their weapons, and it think usingsilencers is a great idea.

It wanted to only regulate -- not ban -- bump stocks, the modification that turns a semi-automatic weapon into a machine gun so someone can kill more people faster, like the Las Vegas shooter who killed 58 people and wounded 422 in less than 10 minutes, including firing 90 shots in 10 seconds. (The Justice Department quietly banned bump stocks just before Christmas.)

Support for the NRA and its extreme agenda has eroded; 42 percent of Americans view the organization unfavorably (up from 35 percent a few years ago), and 67 percent want stricter gun control laws.

There's another factor at play: The NRA has been dirtied up (if that's possible) by allegations that Russian spies who were trying to get Trump elected in 2016 wooed NRA officials and funneled funny money through the group. And admitted Russian agent Maria Butina (who is not connected to the election interference operation, but tried to get the NRA to support Russia and influence Trump to act in Moscow's interests), is being sentenced in federal court in DC today. She could be sentenced to time served and deported immediately, or put back in jail for a time and then sent packing. [Fast Forward, April 26, 2019]










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VENEZUELA





What are the Russians Doing in Venezuela?

There are multiple international dynamics at play in Venezuela this week, particularly between the U.S., which is supporting the uprising of Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido, and Russia, a supporter of the government of Nicolas Maduro. 
  • Secretary of State Mike Pompeo made a strong and unusually public allegation this week that President Maduro was ready to leave the country and that Russia had convinced him to stay.
  • Russian officials denied it and called Washington’s ‘interference’ in the country a “most grave violation of international law.” [The Cipher Brief, May 3, 2019]








NOTE: I have no official connection to any organization from which information is shared.. Occasionally, I post informational material and/or an opportunity to donate or join as  a "community service" announcement.  These again are shared for their varying perspectives.


Any commercial or business interest information shared is purely informational, not an endorsement.  I have no connection with any such commercial or business interest.

Any books listed are random or topic-related to something else in the post.  Think of these as a "library bookshelf" to browse.  They are shared for informational or entertainment value only, not as being recommended.
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