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The Tax Bill Battle Shows the Left Needs a "Single Payer of Fiscal Policy"

Sarah Jaffe In These Times
When the heirs and heiresses of billionaire fortunes can take over an entire political party and force them to pass public policies that the vast majority of even their own voters don't want, there is a problem with democracy. A conversation with Michael Kink, executive director of the Strong Economy for All Coalition.

With the Trump Travel Ban, Americans Face an Important Choice

Azadeh Shahshahani Atlanta Magazine
Despite the court rulings in our favor, Muslim travelers remain confused and intimidated. Rules for travel are changing all the time, and many travelers are still being stopped at the border due to racial profiling or arbitrary bureaucratic snafus. Banning researchers and grandmas makes us no safer. Instead it damages our families, communities, and academic institutions. The Supreme Court must strike down this reprehensible ban once and for all.

Punishing Dissent in the Age of Trump: What’s in a Riot?

Yael Bromberg , Eirik Cheverud Common Dreams
Defendants are facing over 60 years in prison. Trials for the inauguration protesters begin mid-November and will continue for a year. As media ramps up coverage, do not forget what these trials are about—not rioting, not broken windows, but punishing dissent.

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Trump's Itchy, Twitchy Finger

Scott McLemee Inside Higher Ed
Focusing mainly on Trump's first year in office, the authors emphasize what they call a pattern of systematic reaction, where growing voter frustration regularly drives each party in and out of control. Trump arrived with scant political capital, amassed little and appears to have no strategic competence going forward. While the authors believe Trump can develop one, the essayist faults the authors for offering nothing but wishfulness to back up the assumption.

GOP Attacks Healthcare, Now Seeks to End Medical Tax Break

Kate Zernike and Abby Goodnough New York Times
Ending the medical tax break could be a ‘gut punch’ to the majority of the country. Eliminating the medical-expense deduction would end a source of relief that has helped millions of people cope with steep medical costs in a country without comprehensive, universal health coverage.

The Target: Tourism in Cuba

Fernando Ravsberg Havana Times
Now the target seems to be tourism, a fast moving locomotive that can bring growth to other economic sectors as well. In June Trump forbade doing business “with the military” well aware that it is in the tourism industry where Gaesa (the business group of the Revolutionary Armed Forces) has its greatest weight.

U.S. Travel Association Opposes Trump Administration’s Cuba Travel Warning and Pullout of Embassy Staff; Cuba Blames The U. S. for Deterioration Of Bilateral Relations

Responsible Ethical Cuba Travel; Cuban Ministry of Foreign
The largest association of U.S. organizers of travel to Cuba, unanimously rejected the Trump administration’s Cuba travel warning and its decision to withdraw diplomatic staff from its Havana embassy. Cuba has never perpetrated, nor will it ever perpetrate attacks of any sort against diplomatic officials or their relatives, without any exception - official Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement.

Don’t Punish the Dreamers — Punish the Corporations Driving Forced Migration

David Bacon In These Times
The "dreamers," young recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program—are the true children of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). More than anyone, they have paid the price for the agreement. Yet they are the ones punished by the administration of President Donald Trump, as it takes away their legal status, ability to work and right to live in this country without fear of arrest or deportation.
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