Notes From a Very Close Election

Bill Fletcher, Jr. Dissent Magazine
In the Trump era it is the movement that Sanders was part of coalescing that becomes key in building a resistance with a positive vision. One of the weaknesses of the Sanders message was its failure to unify matters of class with race and gender. This is about telling the right story about the United States. It is also a matter of tapping into significant social movements—Occupy; immigrant rights; LGBT, environmental justice; Black Lives Matter. This is where hope lies.

The Man Hoping to Counter President Trump

John Bresnahan and Daniel Strauss Politico
Ellison has pushed policies strongly backed by the left (some of which overlap with Trump's) — reworking major trade deals to benefit American workers, a $1 trillion infrastructure package, protecting entitlement programs, raising taxes on richer Americans, universal health care, stronger environmental protection, drastic cuts in defense spending, background checks for gun sales and a big boost in health and welfare programs.

Big Tobacco Loses in California, Eyes Rise of Big Marijuana

Stanton Glantz The Conversation
Leading tobacco control expert Stanton Glantz analyzes how a big public health push in California defeated Big Tobacco and resulted in a two-dollar cigarette tax increase. The first tax increase on tobacco in 18 years has the potential to reduce smoking prevalence from today’s 9.4 percent to 7.1 percent by 2020. Yet Glantz adds a note of caution: with diminishing cigarette profits, Big Tobacco could find a place in the marijuana market, as more states legalize marijuana.

Leonard Cohen Dead at 82

Richard Gehr Rolling Stone
Hugely influential singer and songwriter's work spanned nearly 50 years

Revenge of the Forgotten Class

Alec MacGillis ProPublica
Hillary Clinton and the Democrats were playing with fire when they effectively wrote off white workers in the small towns and cities of the Rust Belt.