How a Microphone Works

And why the Commission on Presidential Debates doesn’t want to understand it

Warning: President 'Inciting Violence' to Retain Power

"Trump has repeatedly made it clear that he considers violent white supremacists to be a valued part of his base, even after people are murdered."

Black Residents Overwhelmingly Targeted by LA Police

An analysis of low-level infractions in California found Black residents disproportionately targeted in LA and across the state

Trump, Fascism and the Allure of Authoritarianism

The Big Lie. Racism. Nationalism. Armed militias. Electoral sabotage. A police state. An imperial presidency. All of these signs of Nazi governance are embraced by Trump, who doesn’t hide his admiration for the world’s authoritarian leaders.

Global Left Midweek - September 30, 2020

Repression, resistance and political organizing in five continents, and two inspiring leaders remembered

A Casual Brush with the Law Can Mar a Young Man's Life

Even a single arrest, without conviction, can be devastating to the rest of a young man’s life – especially if he’s Black – particularly in terms of employment and earnings.

Can You Afford to Breathe in the Pacific Northwest?

As climate change worsens wildfires each year, unhoused people in Oregon and Washington experience the worst of the smoke.

FBI Document Sheds New Light On White Supremacy

A 2006 intelligence assessment reveals that officials had concerns about the infiltration of police departments for years but failed to warn the public.

The Pandemic Is a Consequence of the War Against Life

The health emergency of the coronavirus is inseparable from the health emergency of extinction, biodiversity loss and climate change.

Dispatches From the Culture Wars - September 29, 2019

Can you explain “peaceful transition"? Where is the “Red Menace”? Is there a “Latin vote”? Why does “crazy” = “evil”? Another week, harder questions
Read more

Culture

books

Reclaiming “Populism”

L. Benjamin Rolsky Los Angeles Review of Books
In this new book, Thomas Frank is challenging himself, writes reviewer Rolsky, "to rescue the terms 'populism' and 'populist' from the mouths of those he deems unfit to use them: the anti-populists."

tv

The Social Dilemma Fails to Tackle the Real Issues in Tech

Pranav Malhorta Slate
Toward the end of Netflix’s new documentary-drama The Social Dilemma, former Google employee Tristan Harris describes technology as “simultaneous utopia and dystopia.” This quote encapsulates the focus of the film.

poetry

Nuestra Nueva Casa

Philip C. Kolin newversenews.com
Mississippi poet Philip C. Kolin links the corona virus to its tragic economic consequences.

books

The Novel and the Secret Police

Peter Coviello Boston Review
In Vineland, Thomas Pynchon's dour 1990 novel, the author of Gravity’s Rainbow anticipated a United States where all available definitions of freedom are channeled through security apparatuses understood as the greatest good. Sound familiar?

books

White Too Long

Lloyd Green The Guardian
This new book analyzes the history of the intertwined relationship in the United States between Christianity and white supremacy.

Labor

labor

U.S. Unions Warn Trump: Don’t Even Think About It

Eric Lee Solidarity
The AFL-CIO “categorically rejects all threats to the peaceful transition of power” said Richard Trumka, “The labor movement,” he said, “simply will not allow any breach of the U.S. Constitution or other effort to deny the will of the people."

labor

Why Unions Are the Key to Passing a Green New Deal

Dharna Noor GIZMODO
A key way to build broader support for the Green New Deal among organized labor is to help workers change who head the Laborers, Mine Workers and Electrical Workers unions, which oppose the Green New Deal.

labor

Why Unions Are the Key to Passing a Green New Deal

Dharna Noor GIZMODO
A key way to build broader support for the Green New Deal among organized labor, some labor experts say, is to help workers change who head the Laborers, Mine Workers and Electrical Workers unions, which oppose the Green New Deal.

labor

How We Can Elect Sara Nelson as President of the AFL-CIO

Dave Kamper Jacobin
Having Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants, as AFL-CIO president would be a big step towards a more democratic, militant, progressive labor movement. It won’t be easy, but there’s a real path to getting her elected.

Friday nite video

video

RBG Crowd Greets Trump With 'Vote Him Out!'

Donald Trump was loudly booed by crowds as he visited the Supreme Court to pay his respects to Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the late justice and liberal icon who died last week aged 87.

video

'Heat Rays,' Blue State Deaths and Sedition Charges

With President Trump blaming "blue states" for coronavirus deaths and Attorney General William Barr calling for sedition charges against protestors, you might have overlooked the revelation that the U.S. has a secret heat ray weapon and considered using it against demonstrators in Washington DC.

video

Old Man Fibber | Roy Zimmerman

With another Supreme Court nomination looming, Old Man Fibber is back in the headlines. "Ol' Man River" music by Jerome Kern, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein, parody lyrics by Roy Zimmerman and Melanie Harby