Scott Klinger – Where Has All the Money for Our Schools Gone?

As fall approaches, millions of moms and dads are scrambling to prepare for the first day of school, excited to support their children’s success. But are schools ready to receive our kids and foster that success? Increasingly, the answer is no. In at least 18 states, local government funding levels are declining, according to an analysis by the Center for Budget and …

Paul Buchheit – Why We Need Democratic Socialism to Fix Our Educational System

Latoya and Jalesa, both 26, grew up on the west side of Chicago, attending Calhoun Public School during the day and stepping across the street to Marillac Social Center for after-school programs. They lived in a tough neighborhood. Latoya said the summer gunshots came as often as the sound of ice-cream truck bells in the suburbs. But everyone knew each …

The Natural Nurse And Dr. Z – Julia Schopick – Health Care Advocate – 02.09.16

Ellen Kamhi, PhD RN www.naturalnurse.com, Julia Schopick is a best-selling author of the book, HONEST MEDICINE: Effective, Time-Tested, Inexpensive Treatments for Life-Threatening Diseases. Through her writings and her blog, HonestMedicine.com, Julia’s goal is to empower patients to make the best health choices for themselves and their loved ones by teaching them about little-known but promising treatments their doctors may not know about. Julia’s writings on health and medical topics have been featured in American Medical News (AMA), Alternative & Complementary Therapies, the British Medical Journal and the Chicago Sun-Times. Her Facebook page is “Julia Schopick Presents Honest Medicine.” You may reach her via email at Julia@HonestMedicine.com. Contact: http://www.honestmedicine.com/

Black Agenda Radio – 01.04.16

Welcome, to the radio magazine that brings you news, commentary and analysis from a Black Left perspective.

– Activists from around the country will gather at Temple University, in Philadelphia, on January 8th, for a conference on the Black Radical Tradition. Dr. Cornel West, the nation’s best-known Black public intellectual, is one of the keynote speakers. We asked Dr. West if we are witnessing the birth of a real mass Black movement, after all these years.

– Everybody knows that Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel is in trouble with Black folks, who are outraged at the lawlessness and violence of the city’s police. But political analyst, author and activist Paul Street says Mayor Emanuel has also lost the confidence of the rich white people who really call the shots in Chicago. Paul Street’s latest book is titled “They Rule: The 1% Versus Democracy.”

– Last year, President Obama succeeded in putting his Trans Pacific Partnership corporate trade treaty on a “fast track” towards ratification by Congress. But opponents of TPP think they have a good chance of defeating the treaty in the New Year. Kevin Zeese is with Popular Resistance,

– Talks are scheduled to begin on January 25th between the U.S. and its allies and their jihadist proxies seeking to oust the government of Syria, and the Syrian government and its Russian allies. The Americans, Saudis and Turks like to describe their Islamist proxies as “moderate rebels,” but Syria and the Russians say the western-backed fighters are terrorists, just like ISIS and al-Qaida. We spoke with Sara Flounders, the United National Anti-War Coalition.

– Black America may, or may not, be in the process of creating a new political movement. However, building a movement based on people’s power is difficult when the political geography of Black America is so heavily influenced by non-profit organizations that are not accountable to the people. Black Agenda Report Managing Editor Bruce Dixon has this commentary.

JARED KELLER – Police Killed Nearly 1,000 Civilians in 2015

LeGrier was murdered on Saturday. The 19-year-old engineering student was shot and killed by Chicago police officers, according to ABC 7 Chicago, after cops responded to a call around 4:30 a.m from LeGrier’s father saying his son was “acting crazy” and waving a baseball bat. LeGrier wasn’t the responding officers’ only victim; Bettie Jones, a 55-year-old anti-violence activist, mother of five, and LeGreir’s downstairs neighbor, was caught …

Leid Stories – 11.25.15

Protests Over Police Killing in Chicago Met with Platitudes
Want Justice? Hold On to Your Cash This Holiday Season!
A police cruiser’s dashcam videotape that showed the brutal killing of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald by former Chicago Police Department cop Jason Van Dyke on Oct. 20 last year touched off a new round of protest yesterday after its court-ordered release. Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy were quick to call for calm and order, but local activists are demanding accountability and long-overdue justice in the case.
Leid Stories proposes a way that everyone can contribute to the cause of justice in our society: Hold on to your cash this holiday season.

Rot Of Empire: Moody’s Downgrades Chicago To Junk Bond Status – Dave Kanzler

I thought junk bonds were ‘high risk – high return’ whereas I’d have thought Chicago was more ‘high risk – no return.   Not so much junk bonds, just junk. Reader comment from  “Mike” It’s doubtful that Warren Buffet’s Moody’s Investor Services will face the same wrath from Obama that Obama inflicted on S&P after S&P downgraded the U.S. Government debt rating …

City of Chicago offers payouts for police brutality and torture – George Marlowe

The City of Chicago recently announced two proposals to try to contain mass outrage against decades of police torture and brutality. City officials with the backing of Mayor Rahm Emanuel recently announced that an absurdly small $5.5 million reparations fund will be set up for victims of the torture that occurred for more than two decades under former police commander …

Rahm Emanuel: A Symbol of Much of What Is Wrong with America

America’s is a sickness of the mind, the unwavering belief by people in power that free-market capitalism will somehow work for everyone. As with a virus that refuses to die, the effects are insidious, because the very rich have convinced themselves that they made it on their own, and that others have only themselves to blame if they are poor. …