Democracy, as President Abraham Lincoln phrased it at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, in 1863, is “the government of the people, for the people, and by the people.” It is a political system that guarantees an individual’s basic human rights and freedoms (of thought, conscience, speech, religion, assembly, petition and of the press, etc.). — It guarantees due process and equality before the law. — It makes the government accountable to the people and it forbids a government from subjecting individuals to arbitrary prison, slavery or bondage, etc. — In a democracy, a person is able to speak his or her mind and express political preferences with reasonable safety. Continue reading →
It’s understandable that corporate-backed candidates don’t want to be cornered by questions that touch on realities of political and economic power.
In a recent New Yorker profile of Pete Buttigieg, one sentence stands out: “Watch Buttigieg long enough and you notice that he uses abstraction as an escape hatch.” Evasive platitudes are also routine for Joe Biden, the other major Democratic presidential candidate running in what mainstream journalists call “the center lane.” Continue reading →
The highest level of human growth, according to Abraham Maslow, is that of transcendence. Transcendence, for Maslow, encompasses the need to rise above the interests of the self, to find fulfillment in helping others reach their potential (Jean Lipman-Blumen, The Allure of Toxic Leaders: Why We Follow Destructive Bosses and Corrupt Politicians—and How We Can Resist Them (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005), p 129). Continue reading →
It’s a new year, and the U.S. has found a new enemy—an Iraqi militia called Kata’ib Hezbollah. How tragically predictable was that? So who or what is Kata’ib Hezbollah? Why are U.S. forces attacking it? And where will this lead? Continue reading →
A liquefied natural gas disaster could make an oil spill look like a picnic.
Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is a potential disaster in the making. That’s the conclusion of a new report by Physicians for Social Responsibility, which surveyed an abundance of research on LNG’s threats to public health. Continue reading →
Our Reps Will Wait Their Turn to See the Doctor
They will not be dressed to star in music videos. Prior experience at Hooters or Work Out World will not be sufficient for hiring. They will not call the doctor dude. We understand others waiting to see the doctor are sick.
Continue reading →
Who remembers brief cases, carried by dads everywhere? Eight-pound, spit-shined, Mahogany-colored leather cases, they sometimes had gold plated combination locks and even “feet” so they could stand up on their own. Some expanded, accordion style, to accommodate extra papers from the office. Continue reading →
The Green New Deal resolution that was introduced into the U.S. House of Representatives in February hit a wall in the Senate, where it was called unrealistic and unaffordable. Continue reading →
The two major political parties, the Conservatives and Labor, are mere shadows of their former selves. Fresh from a major landslide victory in England, the Conservative Party, led by Prime Minister Boris Johnson, is now a hard-right party. Traditional Tories like Nicholas Soames, the grandson of Winston Churchill, and Kenneth Clarke, the grand old man of Conservative Party politics, were expelled as members of the Conservative ranks sitting in the House of Commons as a result of their September 2019 vote against Johnson’s government and their pro-European Union positions. With Johnson’s December 12 election victory, backing for Johnson’s Conservatives has come from such far-right stalwarts as Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage and the Britain First movement of neo-fascist street hooligan Tommy Robinson. Continue reading →
I’m not an Evangelical Christian, lover of Israel, or someone who wants to ban Muslims from entering America. Would never put a kid in a cage or a dog in a box. Continue reading →
Intrepid Report will resume publishing Jan. 1
It’s been another trying year for progressives but whatever you celebrate at this time of year—Chanukah, Christmas, Festivus—you need to take a break from the madness to renew yourselves for what is ahead in 2020. Continue reading →
Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, two of the leading contenders for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, joined grassroots progressives Wednesday night in demanding that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell hold a “full and fair trial” following the House’s historic vote to impeach President Donald Trump. Continue reading →
On Friday, December 12, Glenn Greenwald at The Intercept reported and documented that the mainstream U.S. press has lied through its teeth about “Russiagate,” and Zero Hedge reported and documented that not only had the U.S., UK, and France committed an international war-crime when they invaded Syria on 14 April 2018 firing 105 missiles against Damascus, but the U.N.-authorized agency OPCW that was supposed to investigate the U.S.& allied allegation which had been the alleged ‘justification’ for that invasion was instead lying through its teeth about what the evidence actually showed about it: that this invasion had been based upon U.S.& allied lies. Continue reading →
Part Four: Restoration
The previous article, “Decline and Fall,” described the loss of Vedic culture. Continue reading →
According to official US government economic data, the US economy has been growing for 10.5 years since June of 2009. The reason that the US government can produce this false conclusion is that costs that are subtrahends from GDP are not included in the measure. Instead, many costs are counted not as subtractions from growth but as additions to growth. For example, the penalty interest on a person’s credit card balance that results when a person falls behind his payments is counted as an increase in “financial services” and as an increase in Gross Domestic Product. The economic world is stood on its head. Continue reading →
If Corbyn can be defeated with a libel, it can work just as well on Sanders. Continue reading →
With the holidays approaching, few want to think about their weight. It will certainly go up not down before 2020 arrives. People will probably start thinking about their weight on January 2—and joining gyms. Continue reading →
Part Three: Decline and fall
The previous article, “The Global Culture,” described how Vedic civilization spread around the world. This one tells of its loss. Continue reading →
Nullify government tyranny: In 2020, harness the power of your discontent
Posted on January 3, 2020 by John W. Whitehead
Twenty years into the 21st century, and what do we have to show for it? Continue reading →