Nothing Great About the ‘Grand Bargain’

The president and Congress reaching a “grand bargain” would mean significant cuts to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid; some Republican senators believe Obama is using a Cold War-era mind-control technique on American citizens; meanwhile, millions showed up to the largest coordinated strike Europe has ever seen. These discoveries and more below.

On a regular basis, Truthdig brings you the news items and odds and ends that have found their way to Larry Gross, director of the USC Annenberg School for Communication. A specialist in media and culture, art and communication, visual communication and media portrayals of minorities, Gross helped found the field of gay and lesbian studies.

‘Grand Bargain’ Would Be a Social Security Swindle If Congress and the President reach a “grand bargain” in the lame-duck session, seniors, the poor, and the disabled will pay for it—and it won’t be a good buy.

Stop Pretending the US is an Uninvolved, Helpless Party in the Israeli Assault on Gaza A central premise of US media coverage of the Israeli attack on Gaza – beyond the claim that Israel is justifiably “defending itself” – is that this is some endless conflict between two foreign entitles, and Americans can simply sit by helplessly and lament the tragedy of it all.

Honeywell Cites Obama Ties as Key to Anti-Union Strategy In These Times has exclusively obtained a leaked internal Honeywell document outlining an anti-union strategy that includes leveraging Obama administration connections.

‘Operation Short Memory’ The name chosen for the new war in Gaza is “operation Cloud Pillar”.

Gaza-Israel Violence: The Fuller Story There is a back history to the present and worsening violence between Israel and Gaza that has not been covered at all in the US media, which began to cover events in Gaza only when the Israeli government assassinated the head of the “military wing” of Hamas.

Can a Paint Job Change a Neighborhood’s Future? Some neighborhoods are building community through creative street painting. But, as a tough Philadelphia neighborhood is vividly demonstrating, one can look up as well as down when wielding a paintbrush.

An epidemic of egomania strikes America’s civilian and military leadership We are becoming a conceited nitwit society, pushy and self-aggrandizing.

Top Georgia GOP Lawmakers Host Briefing on Secret Obama Mind-Control Plot President Obama is using a Cold War-era mind-control technique known as “Delphi” to coerce Americans into accepting his plan for a United Nations-run communist dictatorship in which suburbanites will be forcibly relocated to cities.

Millions Join Largest European Strike Ever Europe’s Mediterranean rim trembled on Wednesday as violent clashes broke out following the largest coordinated multinational strike in Europe ever.