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James Baldwin: How To Cool It

Esquire Editors, James Baldwin Esquire
In Esquire's July 1968 issue, published just after the death of Martin Luther King, Jr., the magazine talked to James Baldwin about the state of race relations in the country. On what would be the author's 93rd birthday, we've republished the interview in full—and his words are incredibly relevant today.

A Brief History of American Health Reform

Colin Gordon Jacobin
In order to win universal health care, we have to understand what — and who — we're up against. In health care, private providers and private financing mechanisms were well ensconced long before any meaningful public intervention. The stakes are very high and, historically, a diverse array of private health interests have spent lavishly on political campaigns, and haunted congressional hearings and anterooms.

The Crisis in Venezuela The Left and Venezuela

Claudio Katz The Bullet
The situation in Venezuela is dramatic but this does not explain the centrality of the country in all the news reports. Situations of greater seriousness in other countries are totally ignored by the same media. In Colombia, since the beginning of the year, 46 social movement leaders have been assassinated and in the last 14 months 120 have perished. More terrifying is the scene in Mexico. Every day some journalist is added to the long list of students, teachers . . .

McCain’s Brain Cancer Draws Renewed Attention to Possible Agent Orange Connection

Charles Ornstein and Mike Hixenbaugh ProPublica
McCain’s diagnosis comes as the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is under increased pressure to broaden who’s eligible for Agent Orange-related compensation. News of his illness has prompted Amy Jones and others to call on the VA to study a possible connection between their loved ones’ Agent Orange exposure and glioblastoma.

Census Challenges Jeopardize Efforts Towards Greater Equity in the South

Allie Yee Facing South
Should anything go awry with the 2020 count, it could have political implications affecting how voting districts are drawn or how language minorities can access the ballot. Important funding decisions are also driven by Census data. Nationwide, nearly $600 billion in federal funding is allocated to states based on Census numbers, according to a recent report by the George Washington Institute of Public Policy. Southern states receive $179.2 billion of that total.

Many Bridges, One River: Organizing for Justice in Vietnamese-American Communities

Thuan Nguyen and Vy Nguyen, Editors Asian Studies Center UCLA
Many Bridges, One River is the first published collection of interviews with organizers and activists who have been working in Vietnamese American communities throughout the United States, starting in the 1970s. These interviews document the strategies and lessons learned in the fight for social justice and progressive social change by Vietnamese Americans with powerful insights dealing with red-baiting, inter-generational differences and sustainable activism.

Transgender Liberation Won't Be Found in the Military

Sydney Roberts Truthout
Contrary to the rhetoric dominating the news cycle right now, trans liberation doesn't look like gender non-conforming bodies in military uniforms killing civilians overseas. It doesn't include rallying for entrenchment into the military-industrial complex that furthers the imperialist aims of the United States, or assimilating in hopes that a country that has never cared for trans lives will begin to.