There’s an information war raging, and the stakes couldn’t be higher. Every day we search hundreds of items on the Internet to bring you insightful and reliable material on the side of democracy and social justice. Once a year we appeal to you to contribute to this work. Please help.

 

Biden Continues Trump-Era Ploy to Privatize Medicare

More than 1,500 physicians warn that the experiment threatens "the future of Medicare as we know it."

Xiomara Castro Holds Wide Lead in Honduras Elections

With more than half the votes counted, Xiomara Castro had lead of 20 percentage points over ruling party candidate Asfura.

Is Wisconsin Still a Democracy?

All signs now point to a full-court press by the GOP to rig state election rules in a bid to stay in power permanently. So far, Democrats have barely put up a fight.

Latin America and the 1947 UN Partition Plan

In 1947, Latin American countries led by Guatemala played a crucial role in passing UN Resolution 181, setting in motion the goal of partition in historic Palestine. However, Cuba's anti-colonial history offers an alternative

Media Bits and Bytes - November 30, 2021

Coverage of the Rittenhouse murder trial, and more dirt from Media Land

The Dangerous Extremism That’s Killing the Democrats

What’s blocked President Biden from becoming “the next FDR” is a gaggle of pro-Wall Street Democrats, whose cynicism may sink the party in 2022.

Is Society Coming Apart?

Despite Thatcher and Reagan’s best efforts, there is and has always been such a thing as society. The question is not whether it exists, but what shape it must take in a post-pandemic world

Fighting the Inflation Profiteers

Companies are raising prices well above increases in their costs. The only antidote is to finally take action against corporate power.

Stephen Sondheim: A Musical Theatre Icon

The American composer and lyricist, who has died aged 91, shaped the musical artform with his wise, witty and extravagantly clever work

Indian Farmers Movement Forced Modi to Repeal Farm Laws

After a yearlong battle, Indian farmers have forced Narendra Modi to repeal his neoliberal farm laws. The movement that took on Modi and won is a powerful blow against India’s ruling Hindu nationalists.
Read more

Culture

tv

Tucker Carlson, Your Boss’s Favorite “Populist”

Branko Marcetic Jacobin
Tucker Carlson likes to style himself a populist. But every time there’s a fight over something that might actually make life easier for working-class people, he never misses the opportunity to take the side of big business and the rich.

Giving Tuesday - A Portside Message: Our Vision for 2022

Portside
The threat to the survival of our democracy is clear: a would-be dictator and a cultist political party. A truly multiracial, inclusive, radical democratic movement that has a vision beyond capitalism is key. You can help.

poetry

On the Fourth Wednesday of November

Peter Neil Carroll newversenews.com
By silent agreement, I watch two women—one white, one black—honor a personal transaction.

Labor

labor

Washington Mental Health Workers Win Safety Strike

Sarah Hughes Labor Notes
Workers at Cascade Behavioral Health walked out in August following an attack by a patient that injured 11 staff. The National Labor Relations Board concluded this was legal—possibly the first time it has condoned a safety strike in the health care.

labor

Inflation and Corporate Profits

Dominick Reuter and Andy Kiersz Business Insider
Corporations are using inflation as an excuse to raise prices and make fatter profits — and it's making the problem worse

labor

A Look at How Unions Lift Workers

Steven Greenhouse American Prospect
Unions aren’t just about strikes and politics—the stories the media covers. There’s a big story the media usually misses about unions: how, concretely, they improve workers’ lives.

Friday nite video

video

Jeanine Pirro Cold Open | SNL

Jeanine Pirro (Cecily Strong) discusses the Kyle Rittenhouse verdict and welcomes Donald Trump (James Austin Johnson) to discuss Biden’s Build Back Better infrastructure bill.

video

Bolivian Andean Music | KAMAQ

Live music from the heights of Bolivia. Tupac Katari nation interpretation by the Bolivian group KAMAQ.

Passing | Trailer | Netflix

The story of two Black women, Irene Redfield (Tessa Thompson) and Clare Kendry (Academy Award nominee Ruth Negga), who can “pass” as white but choose to live on opposite sides of the color line during the height of the Harlem Renaissance.

video

NASA Launches 'Planetary Defense' Probe vs Asteroid

Borrowing a page from Hollywood’s playbook, NASA on Tuesday launched its first-ever attempt to redirect an asteroid, an important test for the future of the defense of the Earth from catastrophic impacts.

In the Dark of the Valley | Documentary

In 1959, the Santa Susana Field Lab experienced an unconfined partial meltdown which resulted in what many now consider to be the worst nuclear disaster in United States history. It remained concealed from the public eye for twenty years.

video

Union Busting | John Oliver

John Oliver discusses the mechanics of union busting, why the companies who do it face so few consequences, and what it really means when your manager wants to talk to you about “your attendance.”

video

The Real Charlie Chaplin | Trailer

For decades he was the most famous man in the world – but who was the real Charlie Chaplin? A remarkable archive of newly unearthed material reveals a poignant portrait of Hollywood’s most iconic figure.