Portside

Listen. That sound you hear is the shredding of the social contract.

Progressives cannot retreat into enclaves as long as millions of Americans are abused in zones under pro-corporate Republican rule.

Flawed though it may turn out to be, Obamacare, as the Affordable Care Act is popularly known, could fundamentally change the relationship between working Americans and their government. This could pose an existential threat to the small-government credo that has defined the G.O.P. for four decades.

"MAP testing for five year olds does not test math and reading competency. At best it tests patience and computer literacy, which is more likely an indication of computer access at home. At worst it creates a culture of stress and frustration around standardized testing that may scar some of these children for the rest of their school careers.”

The book, which will be released Tuesday by Crown Archetype, compares the NFL's two decades of actions on health and safety to that of Big Tobacco -- the group of cigarette-making corporations whose executives for years covered up the fact that their products contained dangerous, addictive, potentially deadly and cancer-causing chemicals.

A conservative minority refused to fund the government unless the president gave them their agenda. Sound familiar?

Peace Activists Respond to Danny Postel's Critique of the Anti-War Movement

The Kristol memo; We! Are! The 1%!; 7 Craziest Obamacare Conspiracy Theories; Climate, chemtrails and conspiracy; Liberalism in the (think) tank

'Reforming' schools by giving tax money to corporations is a distraction from the system's real problems - poverty and racial segregation.

US Congress fails to pass budget legislation before midnight deadline, shuttering large portions of the government