Medicare, March on Washington, Frack Sand Mining

Trump Cabinet Pick Advocates Privatization of Medicare

Interview with Nancy Altman, co-director of Social Security Works, conducted by Scott Harris

As Donald Trump campaigned for president, he advocated for many long-held conservative views, including deportation of undocumented immigrants, climate change denial, big tax breaks for the nations’ wealthiest citizens, repealing Obamacare, lifting regulations on corporations and banks, and pouring billions more dollars into the U.S. military. But there were a handful of issues where Trump departed from the conservative orthodoxy, like his opposition to free trade agreements that had been supported by Republican and Democratic presidents alike. In discussing domestic social safety net issues, Trump warned in an April 2015 television interview that his GOP primary rivals would cut Medicare and Social Security, but that he alone would protect those popular programs. .

Women’s March on Washington Challenging Trump Agenda Gathers National Momentum

Interview with Cassady Fendlay, communications coordinator with the group planning the January 21st Women’s March on Washington, conducted by Scott Harris

In the hours and days following the Nov. 8 U.S. election that installed Donald Trump as the nation’s next president, tens of thousands of angry and disoriented Trump opponents poured into the streets in cities and towns declaring that the vulgar billionaire was “Not My President.” While the overwhelming majority of protests were peaceful, there were incidents involving property destruction and arrests made during Nov. 10 protests in Portland, Oregon. .

Campaign Wins Ban on Frac Sand Mining in Minnesota’s Winona County

Interview with Johanna Rupprecht, policy program organizer with Minnesota-based Land Stewardship Project, conducted by Melinda Tuhus

A region of rich soil and rural beauty is found in what’s called the Driftless area, where the four states of Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa and Illinois come together on both sides of the Mississippi River in terrain that was never covered by glaciers. The hard, round grains of sand in that region are well-suited to be used in the oil and gas fracking industries and is thus in great demand. So-called “frac sand” is a necessary ingredient – along with hundreds of chemicals and untold billions of gallons of water – in the fossil fuel extraction process known as hydraulic fracking. Story continues
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This week’s summary of under-reported news

Compiled by Bob Nixon
Colombia has ratified a revised peace deal with the leftist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), ending 52 years of civil war which has killed 220,000 and displaced 8 million people. It was a landmark victory for Colombian President Juan Manual Santos who revived a modified peace plan only weeks after voters narrowly rejected an earlier peace agreement with the FARC. (“Colombia’s Government Formally Ratifies Revised Farc Peace Deal,” The Guardian, Dec. 1, 2016; “Hurdles Remain for New Colombia Peace Deal With FARC Guerrillas,” Wall Street Journal, Dec. 1, 2016)
The outgoing Obama administration is giving the U.S. military new powers for tracking the movement of foreign fighters across the globe as ISIS militants flee war zones in Syria and Iraq. (“Obama Administration Expands Elite Military Unit’s Powers to Hunt Foreign Fighters Globally,” Wall Street Journal, Nov. 25, 2016; “Obama Expands War With Al Qaeda to Include Shabab in Somalia,” New York Times, Nov. 27, 2016)
As standard 40-hour-a-week jobs have disappeared, there’s a growing contingent workforce where people work under short term contracts. (“From U.S. to Europe, the Face of Employment Is Changing,” Christian Science Monitor, Oct. 24, 2016)

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