Portside

Reader Comments (Lots): Solidarity with Standing Rock Sioux Tribe against Dakota Access Pipeline - And Then the Dogs Came; America's Own Genocide; Slavery and the National Anthem; Sit with Colin Kaepernick; Woody Guthrie's Assault on 'Old Man Trump'; Donald Trump and White Voters; How Fugitive Slaves Kept Their Freedom - Deep in the Swamps; Black Lives Matter; Fred Hellerman; Gene Wilder; Solidarity with Yemen; Announcements; and more...

The major powers are planning for war and claim that's the best way to defend against war. Will this mutual hawkishness lead to armed conflict?

This was a big missed opportunity for the network-and for voters. It showed that Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, will say just about anything to win in November. Hours before, Trump made an address in Philadelphia where he kowtowed to the Republican foreign-policy establishment, pledging to lavish tax dollars on the military. In a rambling answer to a question about Iraq, Trump noted the biggest mistake made in Iraq was that the U.S. did not 'take the oil.'

A big chunk of money coming out of Pennsylvania is financing the dog siccers and the pepper sprayers -- including tax dollars. It turns out that one of the major investors in Energy Transfer Partners is...the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Records show that as of this June, the commonwealth -- through its pension funds -- owned some 5 million shares of ETP -- valued at some $192 million. That's more than any other governmental or quasi-governmental agency.

In North Dakota the largest gathering of Native people in opposition to the construction of a massive pipeline project is now going on near the Standing Rock Indian Reservation. The project threatens the only water supply for the impoverished reservation and adversely affects the quality of life for Indian and non-Indian people in the area. Private security with vicious dogs have been used against protesters. Join the Sept. 13 national day of action against the pipeline

NAFTA worsened poverty in Mexico. But some did profit from "Free Trade." Mexico now has 12 billionaires. Before our government started selling off public enterprises to cronies to lay the groundwork for NAFTA, we didn’t have one.

In a newly discovered song, Woody Guthrie sings about his abusive and racist landlord, 'Mister Trump made a tramp out of me.' The Trump he's talking about is Donald's father.

A deeper conversation about an immediate right to counsel at the beginning point of police questioning (when it matters most) and the perils of police interrogation of youth is essential for all youth and youth advocates within the US, to clarify where our strategies for youth justice are headed.

A young girl who shot dead her abusive father now may face life in prison, sparking national outcry over the treatment of domestic violence survivors. Democracy Now's Amy Goodman is joined by Martina Latessa, Bresha Meadows’ aunt and a Cleveland police officer in the Domestic Violence Unit; Ian Friedman, a criminal defense attorney representing Bresha Meadows; and Victoria Law, freelance journalist, author of Resistance Behind Bars: The Struggles of Incarcerated Women.

Detroit is the largest African American city in the country, with a history of sophisticated political organizing that counters such lame gestures quickly and clearly. It is also a Sanctuary City. Just days before coming to Detroit, Trump denounced Sanctuary Cities, saying that if elected he would cut off federal funding until they renounced these policies. “Cities that refuse to cooperate with federal authorities will not receive taxpayer dollars,” Trump said.