February 4, 2016

PBS Murder of a President is the story of James Garfield

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In case you missed the premiere, one of the best American Experience episodes I have seen. Full video can be found here

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/garfield/player/

January 14, 2016

Veteran journalist Ed Schultz returns to primetime on RT America

Source: RT America

Progressive political journalist Ed Schultz is joining RT America as the host of a primetime news show. “The News with Ed Schultz” will explore the issues that most affect working Americans, particularly within the context of the upcoming US presidential election.

The new journalistically based show, which will air at 8 pm ET on weeknights, will present the facts of the day, cutting through the issues the mainstream media seems to ignore.

“There is a fight for the heart and soul of our country right now. The effort to deliver healthcare to all Americans is a constant political fight I don’t believe the country can afford to lose,” Schultz said. “The corporate effort to ship jobs overseas threatens the middle class in America and every American should be concerned about that. My show will focus on these crucial issues.”

The show will contain more information and straight news in more depth than his previous work, he added.

Read more: https://www.rt.com/usa/328933-ed-schultz-news-show/

January 2, 2016

Eastern Oregon ranching case fans anti-government sentiment

Source: The Associated Press

PORTLAND — The father and son of a prominent Oregon ranching family plan to surrender at a California prison next week after a judge ruled they served too little time for setting fires that spread to government lands they leased to graze cattle. Dwight Hammond, 73, and Steven Hammond, 46, said they lit the fires in 2001 and 2006 to reduce the growth of invasive plants and protect their property from wildfires.

The two were convicted of the arsons three years ago and served time — the father three months, the son one year. But a judge ruled their terms were too short under federal law and ordered them back to prison for about four years each. The decision has generated controversy in a remote part of the state where the Hammonds are well-known for their generosity and community contributions. It’s also playing into a long-simmering conflict between ranchers and the U.S. government over the use of federal land for cattle grazing.

In particular, the Hammonds’ new sentences touched a nerve with far-right groups who repudiate federal authority. The son of Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy, who was involved in a standoff with the government over grazing rights, is organizing opposition. In 2014, after the Bureau of Land Management sought to remove Bundy’s cattle from public rangeland, armed militiamen confronted federal officials. Bundy stopped paying grazing fees over 20 years ago and owes more than $1 million. Last month, his son Ammon Bundy and a handful of militiamen from other states arrived in Burns, 60 miles from the Hammond ranch.

In an email to supporters, Ammon Bundy criticized the U.S. government for a failed legal process. Federal lawyers prosecuted the Hammonds under an anti-terrorism law that required a five-year minimum sentence, though they have declined to say why. Ammon Bundy wrote that the Hammonds are not terrorists and didn’t commit any crimes. He also shamed the Harney County sheriff for not protecting the Hammonds. The sheriff didn’t respond to calls from The Associated Press. Ammon Bundy and other right-wing leaders have called on armed militia around the country to come support the Hammonds. The groups will hold a rally and protest in town Saturday.



Read more: http://registerguard.com/rg/news/local/33910691-75/eastern-oregon-ranching-case-fans-anti-government-sentiment.html.csp

November 12, 2015

How the Kochs created Joni Ernst

Source: KENNETH P. VOGEL

Joni Ernst was surprised to receive an invitation in the summer of 2013 that she later credited with starting her meteoric rise to the U.S. Senate.
Ernst was then a little-known Iowa state senator and lieutenant colonel in the National Guard who was considering a long-shot campaign for the GOP nomination for U.S. Senate. Polls showed more than 90 percent of her state’s voters had no opinion of her. At least a half-dozen other Republicans ― some with better funding and connections and stronger establishment support ― also were positioning themselves to run against the presumptive Democratic nominee, Rep. Bruce Braley.
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But Ernst was being watched closely by allies of the billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch, who saw in her an advocate for their brand of free-market, libertarian-infused conservatism. Operatives affiliated with the Kochs’ political network invited Ernst to the network’s August 2013 gathering of wealthy conservative donors at a posh resort in Albuquerque’s Santa Ana Pueblo.



Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2015/11/the-kochs-vs-the-gop-215672