Last week, I wrote about what is needed in this moment and urged people to look more deeply, beyond the Biden-Trump spectacle, to understand where we are as a country and what we must do to change course. I cited the work of Gabriel Rockhill. Read his three recent articles in Counterpunch and the fourth in the series here at Black Agenda Report for an enhanced understanding of how we got here and what we are up against. Continue reading

In the past month, we’ve seen a small flood of open letters from environmental leaders and long-time leaders on the left (Noam Chomsky, Cornel West, and others), and articles, all with the same basic message: “Vote for Biden in 2020, Fight Him Later.” It’s hard to argue with them. Donald Trump needs to go. Sure, we’ll need to challenge Joe Biden to do the right thing if he wins. The signers are all too aware that Biden’s campaign platform and troubling record as senator promise another Democratic administration dedicated to war and Wall Street. Continue reading

The Long Haul After all these months and 210,000 deaths, you’d think I’d be used to it all, but I’m not. It doesn’t seem even a little normal yet. I’m still full of absences, missing so much I used to take for granted: hugs and handshakes, rooms crowded for funerals and weddings, potluck dinners and house parties. I miss browsing the stacks at the library and the racks at the thrift shop. I miss going to our Unitarian Universalist congregation and the robust community connection we enjoyed every Sunday. Continue reading

The reoccupation of the Executive Branch by the Democrats will not bring any change in U.S. behavior in the global South For the people of the world the real fascism of anti-democratic, brutal regimes supported by the U.S., murderous sanctions, and right-wing coups will continue unabated. The "left" rationalization for collaborating with the neoliberal wing of the Democrat Party is premised on the argument that a win for the national Democrat candidate translates into better possible policy outcomes for the "people" and nation. More importantly though, they assert, Trump's defeat will alter the rightist trajectory of U.S. politics away from what they refer to as Trump's neofascist inclinations.   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.  In recent weeks a combination of drought and record breaking heat have accelerated wildfire season to historic levels of devastation. More than 4.6 million acres have burned in the states of California, Oregon and Washington. Skies are colored orange and red, the air is unbreathable, lives have been lost and entire towns have been destroyed. Continue reading

Most people can probably understand why Greens are outraged at having our sandcastle kicked over; our candidates selectively struck from the ballot at the last minute by pernicious legal attacks. We think it's pretty clear that there is a question of equal treatment and application of the law here, but we are not surprised. For Greens, the obstacles to ballot access are just one more in a long list of duopoly tactics to suppress minor parties and retain total oligarchic control of our nation. Continue reading

By David Sutliff AtiasSeptember 8, 2020 In this post we’re going to address that worn out excuse for not voting Green: it’s a waste of your vote. But before you go on, if you haven’t read the first part of this called How Much Do You Hate Trump? you should check that out first. Because if you read that first then my first point will make much more sense. Voting for what you believe in is NEVER a waste of your vote. It is what voting and elections are supposed to be about. In fact, I argue that this concept of voting for what you actually want instead of against what you don’t want is the only thing that makes voting worthwhile. Continue reading

Nineteen years after more than 3,000 people were killed on 9/11, there remains a bipartisan commitment to fight an endless “war on terrorism,” instigate regime change coups, increase military spending, enhance US nuclear weapons, deport undocumented residents, curtail civil liberties, and militarize the police. The September 11, 2001 attacks on the US have obscured “The Other 9/11,” the US attack on Chilean democracy in the US-backed coup on September 11, 1973. The two 9/11s are connected by what the CIA calls “blowback.” The CIA first used the term in describing the unintended negative consequences of the US and UK sponsored coup against the democratically-elected government of Mohammed Mossadegh in Iran in 1953. The September 11, 2001 attacks were blowback from decades of US intervention in the Middle East. That doesn’t justify the terrorism, but it does explain it. If we want peace and security for our nation, we should respect the peace and security of other nations. Continue reading

By Haig Hovaness A dangerous delusion has taken hold in US political and media circles regarding the prospect of a war with China. In order to avoid the calamitous outcome that would ensue from such a war, the public should be aware of the historic and technical facts that argue against such folly. The following discussion will provide this information and explain the perverse incentives motivating US business, political, military, and media elites in their efforts to present China as a hostile power that must be confronted militarily. Continue reading

U.S. cops are already racist and brutal, and any militia "infiltrators" would feel right at home. "Kyle Rittenhouse was acting like the police who shot and severely wounded Jacob Blake." It is common to see news stories reporting that white supremacists or right wing groups have infiltrated police departments. Such information should always be greeted with skepticism. Law enforcement in this country is very much right wing and inherently white supremacist. There is no infiltration necessary. Any police officers found to be members of the Ku Klux Klan or Proud Boys or any other configuration are outliers only in that they thought it necessary to make their affiliation official. Continue reading