Embedded Files
Defund the Military
Defund the Military
POSTED JULY 1, 2020 / updated JULY 2
As happens every year, the National Defense Authorization Act is quietly making its way through Congress. This year's bipartisan exercise in misplaced priorities is on the order of $740 billion, though the actual figure is much higher than that. The coronavirus has laid bare the true domestic cost of the decades of wasteful and unnecessary military spending. One of the first actions that any administration can take if it's interested in a 21st century economically just (and healthy) United States is to cut the defense budget, which is larger than the next ten countries combined.
Beyond that of course is the toll in lives - both our own and those of others - that American militarism has caused. During my lifetime, there has not been a single US war or military action that meets even the standards of the medieval "just war." In addition to the lives lost, there are the war crimes and human rights violations occasioned by our military misadventures - from the My Lai massacre of 1968 to the Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse of 2003-2004 to the drone strike murder of Iran's Qassem Soleimani earlier this year. To starve the beast of American imperialism, to end its forever wars and to rejoin the world community in respecting international law, we must first starve the beast of militarism. READ MORE
The Most Corrupt President in History
The Most Corrupt President in History
POSTED JULY 6, 2020
At its heart, corruption is an abuse of the power of office or the dereliction of the responsibilities of office when done for personal gain. According to some historians, Donald Trump is the most corrupt president in history. The magnitude of the Trump Administration's corruption is breath-taking. This post focuses on just a few of the most egregious: Ukraine, the inspector general firings, the Covid response, and the corruption of the Department of Justice. (For a more thorough rundown on the extent of Trump administration corruption, see the "Mapping Corruption" article from The American Prospect, which includes an interactive map where you can track the corruption by Cabinet post and department...) READ MORE
Elections 2020: July Reality Check
Elections 2020: July Reality Check
POSTED JULY 14, 2020
Less than 4 months to Election Day.
Only twice in the last 120 years has an incumbent president been defeated in an election unaffected by a large third party vote. Biden leads in the national polls, but the election will be decided in a handful of swing states. Trump's base is sticking with him, and GOP voter suppression efforts are in full swing. For Biden to defeat Trump, he will have to inspire turnout of both the Democratic base and the "Sandernistas." Biden will especially need to tap into the energy of the anti-racism protests. The tens of thousands of protesters, as well as the Sanders supporters, must "show up" at the polls. They must not make the mistake that those disappointed in Hillary's candidacy made in 2016 and sit out the election. Time for a reality check. READ MORE
Besides racism and “usurpation anxiety,” at least six other prominent factors helped Trump get elected--and could aid him again in 2020.
Climate Crisis Update
Climate Crisis Update
POSTED JULY 27, 2020
While the coronavirus has temporarily reduced the amount of carbon being poured into the air, global warming and its associated events continue apace. Here are some recent headlines from around the world and some context on the implications: record-breaking heat wave in Siberia, Amazon wildfires; Germany phasing out coal and nuclear energy...READ MORE
Democracy Under Attack
Democracy Under Attack
POSTED JULY 30, 2020
In June, Trump failed to get the military to intervene in the anti-racism protests that followed the killing of George Floyd. In July, he found another way - one that fits right into his re-election campaign. Trump, in league with AG Barr, sent federal agents to Portland, Oregon, to confront anti-racism demonstrators. Trump is threatening to send federal agents from the FBI, U.S. Marshals Service, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Department of Homeland Security into other Democratic-led cities across the United States. It's the old "law and order" dog-whistle of racism...READ MORE
Immigration Update
Immigration Update
POSTED AUGUST 4, 2020
August 3 marked the first anniversary of the El Paso mass shooting. A gunman killed 23 in the deadliest attack on Hispanics in modern US history. In his four page manifesto allegedly posted online shortly before the shooting began, the shooter said he had plans to carry out a mass attack in “response to the Hispanic invasion of Texas”. It was a deadly reminder of how anti-immigrant rhetoric and hate speech can have tragic consequences. Democratic congresswoman Veronica Escobar, speaking of the connection between Trump's anti-immigrant push and the shooting: “When you fan the flames of hate in the country, when we have leaders who scapegoat and make targets of people you are going to fuel violence, in my mind it’s inseparable.”
Some recent court rulings, headlines, and Trump Administration actions on immigration...READ MORE
The Bomb: Hiroshima at 75 and the End of Arms Control As We Know It
The Bomb: Hiroshima at 75 and the End of Arms Control As We Know It
POSTED AUGUST 6, 2020
Seventy-five years ago, in the greatest single act of terrorism the world has ever seen, the United States dropped an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. The explosion immediately killed an estimated 80,000 people; tens of thousands more would later die of radiation exposure. Three days later, a second B-29 dropped another A-bomb on Nagasaki, killing an estimated 40,000 people. The US had unleashed a new and ultimate weapon of mass destruction on the world and, in so doing, sowed the seeds of mistrust in the Soviet Union, our ally in the fight against fascism.
That mistrust would lead to the Cold War, the nuclear arms race, and the bizarre theory of Mutually Assured Destruction. Now the last of the remaining agreements that have held those weapons in check is about to expire....READ MORE
Coronavirus protests and politics
Coronavirus protests and politics
POSTED AUGUST 10, 2020
Coronavirus protests are not just a US phenomenon. The virus is impacting politics around the world.
-Popular protests criticizing their government's coronavirus response, these demonstrations have grown to include protests against economic problems and corruption.
-Authoritarian governments have taken advantage of the virus to stifle dissent and entrench their power.
-Here in the US, with more Covid deaths than any other country, a no-brainer on measures to contain the virus has become politicized as an incompetent administration tries to whitewash its failure and convince people it has the virus under control....
Arms Hypocrisy, Sanctions Snapback, Iran Nuclear Deal
Arms Hypocrisy, Sanctions Snapback, Iran Nuclear Deal
POSTED AUGUST 14, 2020
The US plans to introduce a resolution in the United Nations Security Council that would extend the Iran Arms Embargo indefinitely. A provision in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (aka the Iran Nuclear Deal) ends the embargo on October 18. Iran has warned that if the embargo is not lifted, it would leave the JCPOA.
UPDATE: On Friday Aug 14, the US resolution garnered one vote in the Security Council - that of the Dominican Republic. All other members either voted no or abstained.
But this is not the end game of the Trump/Pompeo ploy. The end game is the dissolution of the JCPOA. If the US arms embargo resolution fails, the United States has threatened to try to force a return of UN sanctions by using a controversial technique called "snapback." US Secretary of State Pompeo has offered the laughable argument that the United States remains a "participant" in the nuclear accord as it was listed in the 2015 resolution and therefore can force a return to sanctions if it sees Iran as being in violation of its terms... READ MORE
Elections 2020: August Update
Elections 2020: August Update
POSTED AUGUST 21, 2020
Biden has chosen his running mate, the virtual Democratic National Convention has ended, vilification of mail-in balloting has become the voter suppression technique du jour, and the latest CNN poll has Biden's national lead cut in half with Trump's approval rating back up to 42%. The last item is a timely reminder of how difficult it is to vote out an incumbent president. In the last 120 years , this has happened only twice in elections not affected by a large third party vote. Hold onto your seats - there are still two and a half months to the election...Turnout, Voter Suppression, Myths, Issues, Polls...READ...
Trump's disastrous foreign policy lauded at the RNC
Trump's disastrous foreign policy lauded at the RNC
POSTED AUGUST 28, 2020
A recent line of attack on Joe Biden is the Trumpublicans' crowing about how strong our foreign policy under Trump has been and how a Biden presidency will put us in danger. It's nothing new. Republicans have won votes for decades by claiming the 'might makes right' mantle and daring Democrats to even make a peep about, for example, the obscenely bloated defense budget. The Trump-Pompeo team has taken this approach to new heights - flaunting international law and agreements, supporting authoritarian regimes, antagonizing allies, and reviving enmities. It's impossible to list all the disastrous consequences of the Trump years in a single post so I'll deal with just some of them - starting with Secretary of State Pompeo's comments at the Republican National Convention...
Kenosha: a symbol of a divided America and a warning
Kenosha: a symbol of a divided America and a warning
POSTED AUGUST 30, 2020
Coming as it did during the Republican National Convention, the Jacob Blake shooting and its aftermath provided us with a good look at how divided our nation is today as well as a glimpse at a possibly even more divided future. On August 23, Jacob Blake, a 29 year old African-American was shot multiple times in the back by a white police officer in Kenosha, Wisconsin as he was getting into his SUV, where his three children were sitting in the back seat. Blake is paralyzed from the waist down as a result of the shooting...Large protests, which at times resulted in looting, followed the shooting. Then self-styled militia members armed with assault-style weapons showed up, and on Tuesday night (Aug 25), three people were shot, two fatally...
The Capitalist Threat
The Capitalist Threat
POSTED SEP 4, 2020
We've been hearing much from the Right on the alleged threats of socialism...Similar to the racist dog-whistle of “law and order”, decrying “socialism” as a threat to freedom is a ploy to cover the inequalities and injustices of laissez-faire capitalism. The true threat to an open and just society is from advancing the interests of the wealthy and from the overwhelming influence of money in the political system. The opposite to democracy is not socialism but authoritarianism - such as that exhibited by Trump over the last four years as he attacks free speech, the press, and freedom of assembly...Three prominent critics of laissez-faire capitalism are the financier George Soros, the economist Thomas Pinketty, and Pope Francis. This post will explore some of what they have to say about capitalism and the dangers it poses to a free and just society....
US Middle East Troop Withdrawals
US Middle East Troop Withdrawals
POSTED SEPTEMBER 9, 2020
Over the past few weeks, Donald Trump has signaled the United States' intention to withdraw some of its remaining troops in Iraq and Afghanistan by the end of the year. Trump must now follow up his words with actions. The major stumbling block to the Iraq withdrawal is Secretary of State Mike Pompeo...The Afghanistan withdrawal is “conditions-based” and depends on the success of negotiations between Kabul and the Taliban...
Democracy Under Attack: Protecting the Right-to-Vote in 2020
Democracy Under Attack: Protecting the Right-to-Vote in 2020
POSTED SEPTEMBER 13, 2020
In seven weeks, we will participate in the most important election of our lifetime. American democracy itself is under attack with a far-right president promising to "put down" protests, warning of a right-wing uprising, and inferring he may not leave office if defeated. Meanwhile, last-minute court decisions by conservative justices, misinformation and voter suppression are putting the most fundamental right in a democracy, the right-to-vote, at risk. Counterbalancing these anti-democratic forces are organizations committed to allowing free-and-fair elections as well as some media outlets. This post is an update on the state of voting rights and where to get help if you believe your right-to-vote has been jeopardized...
Ruth Bader Ginsberg dies at 87
Ruth Bader Ginsberg dies at 87
POSTED SEPTEMEBR 19, 2020
America has lost one of the strongest defenders of its democracy and gender equality.
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg's death at age 87 is a devastating blow for the country. Justice Ginsberg "got it" - she understood what America was all about. Speaking at George Washington University in 2017, RBG said that “We are not as mindful of what makes America great,” citing “the right to speak one’s mind out” and “our nation being receptive to all people” as sacrosanct American tenets....Democracy has become a bit more endangered with RBG's passing. Her death sent political shock waves across the country and a fierce partisan battle looms as Senate Republicans prepare to rush through another conservative justice to the Supreme Court. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who refused to consider President Obama’s choice months before the 2016 election, says Trump’s court nominee will get Senate vote despite Ginsburg’s dying wish that next president choose replacement...
Elections 2020: September Update
Elections 2020: September Update
POSTED SEPTEMBER 20, 2020
Just six weeks to the most important, most expensive and most unusual election of our lifetimes.
- Recent polls show Trump narrowing Biden's national lead, getting a surge in the key swing state of Florida, and eating into Biden's lead in his native state of Pennsylvania.
-With the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, health care is firmly at the top of progressive concerns. The Supreme Court will hold hearings on the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act one week after the election.
-The economic recovery has begun but those still needing assistance are often “off the radar” of the general populace.
- Attorney General Barr has joined Trump as a powerful ally in undermining the election. A nightmare scenario of Trump contesting the results before all the votes are counted remains a real possibility.
Preventing a Trump Coup
Preventing a Trump Coup
POSTED SEPTEMBER 26, 2020
"How can you watch this and not see democracy being discarded for fascism?" - Rep. Mark Pocan
No president in United States history has refused to leave office after losing an election. That may be about to change...According to Republican Party sources, the Trump campaign is “discussing contingency plans to bypass election results and appoint loyal electors in battleground states where Republicans hold the legislative majority. With a justification based on claims of rampant fraud, Trump would ask state legislators to set aside the popular vote and exercise their power to choose a slate of electors directly...
We can prevent this if we have the will, take the right steps and convince Americans of all political persuasions to stand up for our democracy. Ten things we can do about it...
Health care at risk: ACA faces death at the Supreme Court
Health care at risk: ACA faces death at the Supreme Court
POSTED SEPTEMBER 28, 2020
The Trump Administration and a cadre of Republican governors are challenging the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act. In 2017, several state attorneys general filed the current case, saying that without the insurance mandate, the rest of the law should fall. A federal appeals court upheld the suit in late 2019, setting the stage for a showdown at the Supreme Court one week after the election. The death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg and her imminent replacement by a Trump-appointed conservative have given this once-long-shot case the potential of bringing down the entire Affordable Care Act in the midst of a global pandemic.
Google Sites
Report abuse