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Donald Trump, Democracy, and the Might of the Generals

William J. Astore TomDispatch
President-elect Donald Trump’s decision to elevate ex-generals to the highest civilian offices in America’s national security state represents a de facto military coup against civilian oversight of the world’s largest military machine. Former generals Michael Flynn, a warrior-crusader against Islam, will be Trump’s national security adviser; James “Mad Dog” Mattis, will be the nation’s secretary of defense; and John Kelley will head the Department of Homeland Security.

The Scandal of Vast Inequality in Retirement Pay

Lawrence Wittner History News Network
And there’s also CEO David Cote of Honeywell―a company that has locked out its workers from its factories in Green Island, NY and South Bend Indiana for seven months for rejecting a contract that eliminated workers’ pensions―who receives a monthly retirement check from the company for $908,712.

Interview

Lee Rossi Mas Tequila Review
Looking for a job sometimes seems a little like trying to join a secret society whose rules and requirements are not discernible to the naked eye, as Lee Rossi shows in his mordant poem “Interview.”

Christmas and Resistance to Slavery in the Americas

Yesenia Barragan African American Intellectual History Society
Across the Americas, stories abound of enslaved peoples utilizing the small window of “a little restricted liberty” afforded by the Christmas season to escape bondage.

Calling Working People of All Colors

Ebony Slaughter-Johnson OtherWords.org
Bringing white voters who defected to Donald Trump into the fold would make the Democratic Party a formidable force, but not if it means marginalizing the concerns of people of color.

Friday Nite Videos -- December 23, 2016

Portside
A Two Minute Guide to Swamp Creatures. Patti Smith | A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall. Merry Christmas Never Left the White House. Top Science Breakthroughs of 2016. The US Nuclear Arsenal Is a Gigantic Accident Waiting to Happen.