| Prison Phone Company Whines, "WE MISS YOU!" Maya Schenwar, Truthout: Giant, money-sucking phone companies are only one symptom of the monolithic prison-industrial complex that rules this country. But they're a potent one. They're a burning reminder that within this insidious system, destruction - of families, of communities, of human lives - turns a profit. Read the Article David Simon on Our Rigged Political System Bill Moyers, Moyers & Company: David Simon, journalist and creator of the TV series The Wire and Treme, returns to talk with Bill Moyers about the triumph of capital over democracy. "If I could concentrate and focus on one thing ... and start to walk the nightmare back, it would be campaign finance reform," Simon says. Watch the Video and Read the Transcript Usurious Returns on Phantom Money: The Credit Card Gravy Train Ellen Brown, Web of Debt Blog: You pay off your credit card balance every month, thinking you are taking advantage of the "interest-free grace period" and getting free credit. You may even use your credit card when you could have used cash, just to get the free frequent flier or cash-back rewards. But those popular features are misleading. Read the Article Chris Hedges | Our Sinister Dual State Chris Hedges, Truthdig: Those who wield unchecked power over the citizenry live in "the prerogative state," in which the elite rule according to its own arbitrary whims and prerogatives. And the masses, trapped in their totalitarian structure, live in "the normative state." Edward Snowden jolted the nation awake by disclosing the crimes of the prerogative state. Read the Article The History of Surveillance and the Black Community Nadia Kayyali, Electronic Frontier Foundation: February is Black History Month, and that history is intimately linked with surveillance by the federal government in the name of "national security." This history of surveillance in the African-American community plays an important role in the debate around spying today and in the calls for a Congressional investigation into that surveillance. Read the Article The New Fascism: Terms and Conditions The Daily Take, The Thom Hartmann Program: By agreeing to the terms and conditions for the Bank of America smartphone app, you give the company the permission to turn on your phone and make phone calls at your expense, and permission to turn on your camera and microphone without telling you at any time. Read the Article Misremembering America's Wars: The Pentagon's Latest "Mission Accomplished" Moment Nick Turse, TomDispatch: The United States of America Vietnam War Commemoration web site claims that it will "provide the American public with historically accurate materials and interactive experiences," but its flawed historical timeline suggests other motives at play. Read the Article Jordan Davis, Another Victim of a Murderous Historical Continuum Dr. Wilmer J. Leon III, Truthout: The subtext to the untimely deaths of Michael Dunn, Trayvon Martin, Oscar Grant and Sean Bell remains race. The subtext to the inability of juries to convict the George Zimmermans and Michael Dunns of the world of murder is tied to race as well. Read the Article On the News With Thom Hartmann: Hospitals Close as Georgia Continues to Block the Medicaid Expansion, and More In today's On the News segment: Another rural Georgia hospital is closing its doors as that state continues to block the Medicaid expansion; Ohio's Republican governor teamed up with the oil lobby to promote fracking; this year's George Polk Award goes to the investigative journalists who helped Edward Snowden expose massive government spying programs; and more. Watch the Video and Read the Transcript Extend Unemployment Assistance by Cutting the War Budget Robert Naiman, Truthout: Many Democrats have objected to the idea that extending unemployment assistance should be paid for with cuts elsewhere. But a great place to start would be cutting the money in the war budget that was put there for Pentagon contractor pork that has nothing to do with the war in the first place. Read the Article The Killing of Jordan Davis: Michael Dunn Faces 60 Years After Split Verdict in "Thug Music" Trial Amy Goodman, Democracy Now!: A Florida jury has convicted Michael Dunn on three counts of attempted murder for opening fire on a car of unarmed black teenagers during an argument over loud rap music at a gas station. But the jury deadlocked on the most serious charge, the first-degree murder of 17-year-old Jordan Davis. Watch the Video and Read the Transcript | 
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