Immunology Is Where Intuition Goes to Die

Which is too bad because we really need to understand how the immune system reacts to the coronavirus.

Lawyers Praised 'Beauty' of Controversial Police Tactic

The recording of a legal training session for federal law enforcement officers alarmed some civil liberties advocates.

The Voting Will End Nov. 3. The Legal Battle Won't

As the two parties clash over how to conduct an election in a pandemic, President Trump’s litigiousness and unfounded claims of fraud have increased the likelihood of epic postelection court fights.

Military Escalation With China in the South China Sea?

The US and China’s dance in the South China Sea bears a troubling resemblance to 1914 Sarajevo—and the eve of World War I.

Iowans with Past Criminal Convictions Can Now Vote

Iowa was the last state in the country that permanently took voting rights away from citizens with past convictions unless the government approved individual rights restoration – which now applies only to people with felony homicide convictions.

Los Angeles: Sheriff’s Gangs Cost Taxpayers $55 million

Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva (r).
Gangs of sheriff’s deputies, violent cliques who glorify “aggressive” policing, have operated out of Los Angeles County stations and jails for decades. Their criminal behavior has been so egregious it has resulted in $55 million in legal payouts.

How the Pandemic Defeated America

Annette Clay gets a hug from a postal worker during a ceremony honoring her daughter Unique Clay.
COVID 19 is but a harbinger of worse plagues to come. The US cannot plan for these inevitable crises if it returns to normal. Normal led to this. To avert another catastrophe, the US needs to grapple with all the ways normal has failed us.

India and China: Behind the Recent Border Conflict

Chinese and Indian troops on the disputed border in the Himalayas.
India and China’s confrontation over a border in Himalaya is actually about energy and water. Britain’s colonial legacy is part of the problem; but military posturing and arms races won’t solve the extremely delicate diplomatic issues in the region.

Mexican Revolutionary Art in America

The artists in this show, were truly avant-garde in their social values, championing the underdogs of history when it was unfashionable to do so. Their politics and style became, in the late 1940s, the subject that dared not speak its name.

Letter to Socialists Across Generations

Always recall that we win nothing because we are right, or just, are smarter, or have a better analysis of the crisis. We win with solid and powerful organizing led by a guiding and time-tested set of Socialist principles.
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Culture

poetry

Accustomed to Dead Kids

Alexis Rhone Fancher The Dead Kid Poems
Southern California poet Alexis Rhone Fancher offers a musical rendition on the theme “guns matter/kids do not.”

books

Red Legacies

Michael Terry The Brooklyn Rail
This book, first published in 2011, remains useful in this time of renewed popularity for socialist ideas. As reviewer Terry pointed out when the book was first published, it is an informative treatment of its topic, despite its weaknesses.

film

Gymnasts Worldwide Push Back on Their Sport’s Culture of Abuse

Juliet Macur New York Times
On Instagram and other social networks, gymnasts have tagged posts with #GymnastAlliance to share their own experiences in the wake of a Netflix's new documentary 'Athlete' A that highlights verbal and physical abuse by coaches.

poetry

Quarantine

Quinn Lewis Southern Review
Months before the public became aware of Covid-19, the poet Quinn Lewis used the word to depict a chosen escape from normal life and the ensuing comforts “inside/the walls.”

books

How to Save the World from Financialization

Gregory N. Heires Portside
Long before the 2008 financial collapse rocketing, debt and financial wizardry masked the deep underlying fragility of finance-led growth, with wages and productivity stagnating, inequality exploding and ecological systems teetering.

Labor

labor

HSTA Advocates for 100% Distance Learning Through at Least 1st Quarter

Hawaii State Teachers Association Hawaii State Teachers Association
As coronavirus (COVID-19) cases continue to rise exponentially in Hawaii, the Hawaii State Teachers Association (HSTA) believes the public schools should utilize 100-percent distance learning rather than returning to in-person instruction.

labor

Chicago Teachers Union to Call for Strike Vote at Meeting Next Week

Nader Issa and Fran Spielman Chicago Sun Times
At protests Monday in which the union ramped up its public attacks, CTU Vice President Stacy Davis Gates, said it’s too dangerous to send students and staff back to schools with COVID-19 cases on the rise.

Friday nite video

video

U.S. History: Why the Battle Continues and Why It Matters

John Oliver takes a look at how the history of race in America is taught in schools, how we can make those teachings more accurate, and why it’s in everyone's best interest to understand the most realistic version of the past.

video

Vote Him Away #2 (The Liar Tweets Tonight)

By Roy Zimmerman and The ReZisters featuring Peggy Seeger, Jay Siegel of the Tokens, Vicki Randle, George Kahumoku Jr. Sandy Riccardi and Philipos Melaku-Bello

video

Morgan Freeman Reads Rep. John Lewis’ Last Words

In a special Last Word, Morgan Freeman reads the words of John Lewis’ final essay, which he requested be published in the New York Times on the day of his funeral: “Together, You Can Redeem the Soul of Our Nation.” 

video

Audion | Playing For Change

“The melody is inspired by some of my favorite musicians such as Furrey Lewis, Blind Willie Johnson, and many others,” says composer Nico Bereciartúa. With musicians in the USA, India, Italy, and Jerusalem.