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Why Blue state living makes you healthy, wealthy & wise
If you’re concerned about quality of life, education, living longer, and lower crime, move to a Blue state. If you want to carry a gun in public, earn crap wages, and don’t care about access to healthcare or your kid’s education, move to a Red state. Continue reading
Biden means what he says
Joe Biden may appear to be a confused old man when he blurts out whatever comes to mind. But his outbursts shouldn't be ignored. They always reveal his plans.
“I mean what I say when I say it!” Those words were spoken by president elect Joe Biden in December 2020 during a meeting with a group described as “civil rights leaders.” Video of the meeting was leaked and Biden’s insulting and dismissive attitude towards Black people was clear even to those who ignored this tendency he has shown throughout his 50 years of public life. Continue reading
The coming global financial revolution: Russia is following the American playbook
No country has successfully challenged the U.S. dollar’s global hegemony—until now. How did this happen and what will it mean?
Foreign critics have long chafed at the “exorbitant privilege” of the U.S. dollar as global reserve currency. The U.S. can issue this currency backed by nothing but the “full faith and credit of the United States.” Foreign governments, needing dollars, not only accept them in trade but buy U.S. securities with them, effectively funding the U.S. government and its foreign wars. But no government has been powerful enough to break that arrangement—until now. How did that happen and what will it mean for the U.S. and global economies? Continue reading
How corporate media has put the American public in a state of Ukraine-Russia psychosis
There is a growing psychosis sweeping the U.S. around the Russian bombardment of Ukraine, and it is being triggered by the legacy news media. The steady stream of biased, often erroneous or incomplete information spewing from the establishment press is leading people to quickly choose sides in a complicated international conflict, waving flags in support of “their side,” fawning over global leaders, and even holding peaceful car parades in efforts to do what they think they can to prevent World War III. In the process, the context and details of the conflict, as well as its historic roots, are being pushed aside in favor of a kind of binary knee-jerk activism that is far too common in American political culture. Speaking out against Russian attacks on Ukraine and in support of the people there should not be difficult to understand or do. However, demanding that the U.S. take aggressive action, such as swiftly implementing a no-fly zone, displays a waning level of sophistication regarding international relations. Continue reading
‘This law will not stand,’ say equality defenders as DeSantis signs ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis "has damaged our state's reputation as a welcoming and inclusive place for all families," said one rights advocate. "Worse, he has made schools less safe for children."
Rights advocates on Monday said they will continue to fight against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ attacks on LGBTQ+ families after the Republican governor signed the so-called Parental Rights in Education bill that’s come to be known as the state’s “Don’t Say Gay” proposal. Continue reading
Charade buster… Biden goes off script with regime-change admission on Russia
After Biden’s charade-busting admission it will be difficult politically to maintain US-European “unity” over such a flagrant imperial agenda.
U.S. President Joe Biden came to Europe last week riding high on European deference towards America’s leadership. Then he went to Warsaw to make a victory lap speech at the weekend which was billed as marking the high point in galvanizing European and NATO unity towards Russia. Continue reading
Global food shortages: How does your garden (or pantry) grow?
“President Joe Biden and other leaders of the world’s major industrialized democracies pledged action on Thursday [March 24] to address food shortages caused by Russia’s war on Ukraine,” Politico reports. Continue reading
A glance at the Cuban missile crisis
As the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation’s (NATO) plans for expansion play out on Russia’s borders, the question of sovereignty and defense could be recalled through the Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962.
Cuba’s request for USSR protection from U.S. imperialist interventions was not unfounded. Only the year before, in April 1961, the U.S. had suffered a spectacular defeat at the Bay of Pigs, when the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)-funded paramilitary operation to overthrow Fidel Castro and the Cuban revolution was thwarted in less than 72 hours and 1,200 mercenaries were taken prisoner by the Cubans. Continue reading
How artist cooperatives found new ways to help creative people thrive despite COVID-19
How artist collectives are helping creatives stay afloat during the pandemic.
In the age of online retail and freelance work platforms like Etsy and Upwork respectively, the ability for professional creatives to skip the job hunt and become independent contractors can be very appealing, but studies show that the challenges and anxieties faced by freelancers increase when they take on the responsibility of managing every aspect of running a business, from accounting to marketing and beyond. The global pandemic has only exacerbated the worries of independent creatives, who may not be able to afford to take time off when they want to, whether they are sick or healthy. Continue reading
Mainstream media cover-up of neo-Nazis in Ukraine
War is never inevitable, despite what the masters of war say. But what is inevitable are the relentless propaganda, censorship and disinformation disseminated by the mainstream media, politicians and pundits in the ongoing coverage of the war in Ukraine. In the last few months, the corporate-owned MSM and social networks have been working overtime to spread Cold War propaganda against Russia, while restoring the US, rising from the ashes of its retreat in Afghanistan, as the re-emergent champion of Good and Democracy against Russian aggression. Continue reading
More than 80 election-denying candidates running for governor, attorney general and secretary of state in 2022’s primaries
A series of reports underscore that disinformation is getting worse in 2022, not better.
Partisan propaganda about the untrustworthiness of elections was worse in 2021 than during the 2020 presidential election, when Donald Trump claimed that he won and incited a riot at the U.S. Capitol to block ratification of Joe Biden’s victory, according to state election directors who fear that 2022’s elections will see deepening disinformation from losing GOP candidates. Continue reading
Corporations are suppressing wages—there’s an easy fix for that
Don’t believe the optimistic hype about wages “naturally” rising. About one-third of American workers are shockingly underpaid as a result of the federal government’s continued refusal to raise the minimum wage.
Amid all the good news about successful labor organizing and job growth in the United States is the stark reality that wages continue to remain inexcusably low even as inflation rises. A new government report by numerous agencies, including the U.S. Treasury Department, came to the stark conclusion that corporate power is suppressing wages. Continue reading
No corporate law and power questions for Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson
In over twenty hours of grueling confirmation hearings for Judge Ketanji Jackson’s nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court, Republican Senators (Cruz, Cotton, Hawley, Blackburn, and Graham) found much time to disgrace themselves, using the judge as a prop for their despicable political ambitions. Meanwhile the Democratic (and Republican) Senators found no time to tap into Judge Jackson’s knowledge and analysis of the grave issues regarding the nexus of the power of giant corporations and the Constitution. Continue reading
The future is here: Dystopian movies fit for a dystopian world
We have arrived, way ahead of schedule, into the dystopian future dreamed up by such science fiction writers as George Orwell, Aldous Huxley, Margaret Atwood and Philip K. Dick. Continue reading
The West’s fanaticism over blaming ‘evil’ Putin misses the point—and an opportunity for a lasting peace
Pointing fingers won’t help—an attitude shift is what the world needs now.
The old long war in Afghanistan has barely ended and already there is a new one, this time in Europe. Most governments, the media, and the United Nations General Assembly reached a consensus quickly: the contemptible aggressor is Vladimir Putin. Public opinion strongly supports Ukraine. Large demonstrations form almost daily to demand peace. Continue reading
The billion-dollar deal that made Google and Amazon partners in the Israeli occupation of Palestine
“We are anonymous because we fear retaliation.” This text was part of a letter signed by 500 Google employees last October, in which they decried their company’s direct support for the Israeli government and military. Continue reading
The ongoing COVID disaster
Pollsters have advised Joe Biden to declare COVID over. But the pandemic revealed all the shortcomings of a political system which is dedicated to austerity and to protecting capitalist interests.
Nothing shows the abject failure of the Joe Biden and Kamala Harris administration like the continuing toll of COVID-19 deaths in this country. A pledge to end the COVID pandemic was a centerpiece of their 2020 campaign. They promised to improve upon Donald Trump’s disastrous handling of the crisis which resulted in the deaths of 385,000 people in 2020. Biden and Harris had 446,000 COVID deaths as of their first anniversary in office. The total COVID death toll is expected to reach 1 million by the end of March 2022. Now an Omicron subvariant, known as B.A.2, is becoming the dominant variant. The U.S. usually follows Europe in its COVID rates, and, on that basis, scientists are predicting a new wave in the next two to three weeks. Continue reading
How we stop a gerrymandering catastrophe
Earlier this month, the Supreme Court overturned a lower court’s ruling and allowed Alabama’s egregious gerrymandered Congressional map to remain in place. Continue reading
War crimes, mental molestation and language rape
The incredible market for human slaughter called war existed thousands of years ago but it was a corner grocery store compared to the multi-trillion dollar moral sewer that represents modern mass murder. Continue reading
How big tech sees big profits in social-emotional learning at school
Digital products that monitor students’ online behavior raise concerns about how companies use that data for profit.
In June 2021, as students and teachers were finishing up a difficult school year, Priscilla Chan, wife of Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, made a live virtual appearance on the “Today” show, announcing that the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI), along with its “partner” Gradient Learning, was launching Along, a new digital tool to help students and teachers create meaningful connections in the aftermath of the pandemic. Continue reading
Major media in the U.S. become cheerleaders for war in Ukraine
We can all agree that a free and independent press, such as we believe we have in the United States, must do more than simply question government narratives that are handed to it daily. It must, on a continual basis, show how corporate-driven propaganda for war can force us into making false choices. Continue reading
Could Putin be failing because of a lack of democracy?
Russia’s President Putin isn’t an irrational actor; he and his administration are suffering from a deficiency of democracy, and that’s why he’s making terrible decisions. Seriously. Follow me on this. Continue reading
Digital tyranny: Beware of the government’s push for a digital currency
The government wants your money. Continue reading
Why the U.S. Postal Service offers a great model for other government services
Progressives, take note: a newly passed bipartisan reform bill strengthens the U.S. Postal Service—a federal agency that serves as a hopeful model for government-run services in other arenas.
In case you missed it—because it got so little news attention—there’s a bit of good news regarding the United States Postal Service (USPS). In what was a very rare moment of bipartisan unity on a domestic issue, the U.S. Senate on March 8 passed the Postal Service Reform Act with a robust vote of 79 to 19. The House of Representatives passed the same bill in February with similarly high levels of support from both parties in a 342-92 vote. President Joe Biden is expected to sign the bill into law. Continue reading
Commercial defrauding of Uncle Sam—biggest booming business
The biggest business in America is stealing and defrauding the federal government, Uncle Sam and you the taxpayers. In terms of sheer stolen dollars, the total amount is greater than the annual sales of Amazon and Walmart over the past two years. Continue reading
Multiplying hatred and division: Humanity at war with itself
Whatever our differences, beliefs and prejudices we can all agree that peace is a good thing, can’t we, don’t we? All rational decent human beings would, I’m sure, nod enthusiastically, and who among us would admit to not being rational or decent…..even the despots believe they are—rational, just misunderstood. So why are human beings in constant conflict, why are there wars and the like at all, whether it’s in Ukraine, Ethiopia, Syria, Palestine, Afghanistan etc., etc.? Continue reading
‘Worse than Texas’: Extreme anti-choice bills advance in multiple states
"These attacks on our rights are coordinated and connected," noted Planned Parenthood Action.
As anti-choice policymakers across the country seek to severely restrict reproductive freedom—and as the fate of Roe v. Wade hangs in the balance pending a looming U.S. Supreme Court decision—Republican lawmakers in at least four states this week advanced bills banning or limiting abortion access. Continue reading
Donald Trump’s fourth link to the Supreme Court: Ginni Thomas
WASHINGTON—During his four years in the Oval Office, Donald Trump catered to his right-wing supporters and used the Federalist Society, a right-wing judicial advocacy group, to name three justices to the U.S. Supreme Court—Brett Kavanaugh, Neil Gorsuch, and Amy Coney Barrett. They cemented the rightist majority on the nation’s highest bench. Continue reading
How excessive CEO pay undermines enterprise effectiveness and efficiency in the 21st century
Enterprises that tolerate huge pay gaps “succeed” not by empowering employees, but by building and wielding monopoly power.
Our most effective and efficient enterprises today understand, as University of Southern California Center for Effective organizations director Edward Lawler puts it, that all employees, not just the top brass, “must add significant value” to how their enterprises operate. Old-style “command-and-control” management techniques make no sense in Information Age marketplaces that regularly reward enterprises that customize products and services to what customers want. Continue reading
GOP-run Florida legislature okays “Don’t Say Gay’ bill
TALLAHASSEE, Fla.—Over teacher and student opposition and a bitter State Senate debate, the GOP-run Florida legislature approved a “Don’t Say Gay’ bill, and sent it to sponsoring right-wing Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis to sign. Continue reading
GOP hostility to Ketanji Brown Jackson goes beyond hypocrisy
Republicans complain about “reverse discrimination” on the Supreme Court. Their real complaint is against constitutional democracy.
No one can seriously dispute that Ketanji Brown Jackson, President Biden’s nominee for the Supreme Court, is a brilliant and eminently qualified candidate. Continue reading
Housing is a human right—here’s how to make it a reality
The federal government has for years enabled the private market to make money off our housing needs. Now, as home prices and rents skyrocket, there is a simple solution: offer people a public option for housing.
Posted on April 12, 2022 by Sonali Kolhatkar
Is housing a human right? Or is it a privilege affordable only to those who have made it under our unfair system of market capitalism? Continue reading →