US Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has died, which means the US election is going to revolve around abortion and other civil rights for the foreseeable future. Which won’t change much since this presidential race hasn’t really been about anything since the end of the Democratic primaries. Continue reading
Is private profit achieved by selling at the market the best way to benefit the greatest number of people and if so, how come so many people are homeless, unemployed, poor, without health care, while market forces accumulate trillions for war and billions for pets? Continue reading
The U.S. political class of pundits, pollsters, columnists, and endless cable news blathering talking heads are currently putting forth the notion that Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden is having a problem with support from the Hispanic community. This argument is based on a disingenuously false premise that the Hispanic community is a political monolith that is gravitating, as it has in recent years, to Republican candidates. To be sure, there is a conservative base to the Hispanic vote among the mostly white European exiles in South Florida, who came to the United States to flee, along with their offshore bank accounts, socialist and progressive governments that came to power after overthrowing Central Intelligence Agency-nurtured dictatorships of “caudillos” in Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela. Continue reading
YAKIMA, Wash.—GOP President Donald Trump and his handpicked postmaster general, Louis DeJoy, deliberately disenfranchised voters nationwide through DeJoy’s mail slowdowns, machine removal, and other measures, a federal judge in Washington state ruled. In a blistering opinion, Judge Stanley Bastian ordered a national reversal of DeJoy’s moves. Continue reading
The polarized nature of American politics often makes it difficult to address fundamental differences between the country’s two main political rivals, Republicans and Democrats. As each side is intent on discrediting the other at every opportunity, unbiased information regarding the two parties’ actual stances on internal and external issues can be difficult to decipher. Continue reading
A policeman sees a drunk man searching for something under a streetlight and asks what the drunk has lost. He says he lost his keys and they both look under the streetlight together. After a few minutes the policeman asks if he is sure he lost them here, and the drunk replies, no, and that he lost them in the park. The policeman asks why he is searching here, and the drunk replies, “this is where the light is”. Continue reading
We’ve waited patiently to find out what would be the Trumpster’s October Surprise. Would he fake a video of Joe Biden in bed with a sheep? Would he wag the dog in starting a war with Canada, citing Canukistan’s icicles of mass destruction? Continue reading
Two memories: in February, I attended a public conversation my friend and colleague Bill Moyers conducted with Ruth Bader Ginsburg at Union Theological Seminary on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. She was there for the Judith Davidson Moyers Women of Spirit Award Lecture, and had postponed attending the year before because of health concerns. She was recuperating from the latest of her bouts with cancer. Continue reading
US Supreme Court Justice John Roberts announced Ginsburg’s death on Friday, saying, “Our aation has lost a jurist of historic stature”—one of only four women appointed to the High Court, Sandra Day O’Conner (Ret.), Sonia Sotomayor, and Elena Kagan the others. Continue reading
For many decades, governments around the world, especially in the USA, have fired tens of thousands of rounds of CS gas at their own people in an attempt to control “civil unrest”. The media falsely labels CS gas as “tear gas” rather than calling it what it is, poisonous gas. The original tear gas was relatively benign, irritating the eyes and mucus tissues but was not poisonous. CS gas, on the other hand, will kill you if you are exposed to enough of it. Continue reading
COVID-19 has been a doubly-deadly disaster for millions of Americans, destroying both life and livelihoods. But one of the most heartening responses to the crisis has come from the least-expected place: corporate executive suites. Continue reading
Once upon a time in America, parents breathed a sigh of relief when their kids went back to school after a summer’s hiatus, content in the knowledge that for a good portion of the day, their kids would be gainfully occupied, out of harm’s way, and out of trouble. Continue reading
With the goal of providing a robust public banking alternative to abusive Wall Street institutions, Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand and Bernie Sanders unveiled legislation Thursday that would make “low-cost basic financial services” available at tens of thousands of U.S. Postal Service locations across the country. Continue reading
Attorney General William Barr is less independent of aspirant dictator Donald Trump than Nazi Germany’s first Justice Minister, Franz Gurtner, was of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. Barr has systematically turned the Justice Department into a political weapon designed to protect Trump from the Congress, the courts, and individual U.S. citizens exercising their rights under the Constitution. Barr has trashed the rule of law that has ensured that America’s system of democracy has prevailed since the birth of constitutional government. Continue reading
On September 2, the Israeli government approved a proposal that allows the military to indefinitely withhold the bodies of Palestinians who have been killed by the Israeli army. The proposal was made by the country’s defense minister, Benny Gantz. Continue reading
The Republicans lie about the harm they do to the planet, and the Democrats lie and pretend they’re not doing the very same things. Continue reading
It is a recent tradition among occupants of the White House, as they head out of office, to play a few practical jokes on their successors. The Clinton administration jesters, for instance, removed all the Ws from White House keyboards before handing over the keys to George W. Bush’s transition team. The Obama administration left behind books authored by Barack Obama for Trump’s incoming press team. Continue reading
With unprecedented wildfires burning across western states, the Gulf Coast bracing for a hurricane, and the coronavirus pandemic still raging, Scientific American on Tuesday gave Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden its first-ever endorsement in the magazine’s 175-year history. Continue reading
A brigade of pearl-clutching, virtue-signaling, cancel-culture keyboard warriors wants you to know that Cuties (Mignonnes—it’s actually a French film) is a bad, bad movie that no one should watch and that Netflix should immediately remove from its lineup. Continue reading
People wonder at times, “Why am I here? What is my purpose? What am I destined to do before I die?” Continue reading
I finally broke down and took the coronavirus test the other day because it was part of a job requirement. “Negative.” Oh. Okay. Continue reading
“Gorgon Stare will be looking at a whole city, so there will be no way for the adversary to know what we’re looking at, and we can see everything.” That same persistent eye in the sky may soon be deployed over U.S. cities. Continue reading
US President Donald Trump is no foreign policy strategist. His plan to bring US troops home from Afghanistan was one of his most popular pre-election pledges in 2016 and now he is rushing to fulfil it whatever the consequences to boost his flagging campaign which is why his administration is brokering negotiations between the Afghan government and the Taliban. Continue reading
Since the first colonizers arrived in the United States to this very moment, wealthy elites have used the tools of theft, exclusion, and exploitation to expand their wealth and power at the detriment of Black, Latinx, Indigenous people, and marginalized people of color. It all boils down to this simple truth: Racism is profitable. Continue reading
Trump voters are not inclined to change their minds. Some of them are forever Republicans and will only vote the GOP ticket; they are called hereditary voters. Others can’t stand the Democratic Party nominees, won’t vote for the Libertarian ticket, and will only vote for Trump. Some love Trump because of his anti-immigrant stance, deregulation of law enforcement on businesses, and nominations of anti-choice and right-wing corporatist federal judges. Continue reading
In mid-May, this year’s Pulitzer Prizes were announced, and as I scrolled down the list of recipients, I was surprised and delighted to see that the award for music had gone to Anthony Davis’ opera The Central Park Five, its libretto written by my longtime friend and colleague Richard Wesley. The piece tells the now well-known story of the five innocent young men falsely accused of rape and assault by police and much of the public, including Donald Trump. Continue reading
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is an alliance in name alone. Recent events notwithstanding, the brewing conflict over territorial waters in the Eastern Mediterranean indicates that the military union between mostly Western countries is faltering. Continue reading
Discussing the recent police killing of a self-described anti-fascist suspected of fatally shooting a far-right activist in Portland, Oregon, President Donald Trump openly endorsed extrajudicial executions in a Fox News interview Saturday, declaring that “there has to be retribution.” Continue reading
Election season is a difficult time to develop good policies towards Latin America, since both Democrats and Republicans cater to the small, but organized, conservative factions of the Latinx community in Florida, vying for their votes. But if Biden wins the White House, there is a chance to reverse the Trump administration policies that have been devastating for Latin America, policies that punish innocent civilians through harsh economic sanctions, destabilize the region through coups and attempts at regime change, and close our borders to desperate people fleeing north in search of safety and opportunity, often as a result of U.S. security and economic policies. Continue reading
Wow, what a surprise! Have you seen the National Republican Party’s official platform? Continue reading
When you undergo a medical procedure or volunteer for a research study, you’re presented with forms to sign, outlining what’s going to happen (and what bad things could happen), and expressly consenting to have those things happen. Continue reading
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Public docility gives Boris Johnson a free pass
The manner with which British government is treating Brexit is cavalier
Posted on September 22, 2020 by Linda S. Heard
Forgive me for using a broad brush but I cannot help but conclude that Britons may moan about government policies but are ultimately accepting. We are stereotypically known for our stiff upper lips and ability to weather all storms with our calm demeanours, unlike those emotional Latin types poised to revolt en masse over the price of spaghetti. Continue reading →