Skip to main content

It's Critics of 'Selma' Who Are Distorting Civil Rights History

Jim Naureckas FAIR - Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting
The attacks on the film Selma not only distort the actual relationship between King and Johnson, they distort the film's portrayal of the relationship. LBJ is not the villain of the movie; the movie presents him as a complicated figure who under prodding accomplishes something great.

The Erosion of Collective Bargaining Has Widened the Gap Between Productivity and Pay

David Cooper and Lawrence Mishel Economic Policy Institute
Over the last few decades, productivity has grown substantially, but the hourly compensation of the typical worker has grown much less. Any effort to reestablish a link between pay and productivity growth will need to promote policies that enable workers to once again join unions and bargain collectively.

Friday Nite Videos -- January 9, 2015

Portside
Koch Industries' Mysterious Swiss Bank. Black and White in the War on Drugs. The Courage of Stuart Scott. Why Are There No Women in The Hobbit? Jerusalem's Most Contested Neighborhood.

Tidbits - January 8, 2015 - Selma, Police, Palestine, Climate, Sports and more...

Portside
Reader Comments - Selma; Civil Rights Tour led by Julian Bond; Ferguson Grand Jury; Police, NYPD, PBA, de Blasio; Women telling their Story; Wealth and Inequality; Sports - A Radical Proposal; BDS, Israel, Palestine, Solidarity; Sony; The Interview; Privatization and Hucksterism; Climate Change, Marx and Nature; Healthcare; Superbugs; the Ukraine; Announcements - The American Labor Movement At A Crossroads; Elections in Greece: Can Syriza Break with Austerity?

How to Understand Psychic Violence and Murder - "The Whole Damn System"

Lisa Brock Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership
[This is the first of a three-part series, Rage Against the Narrative, by Praxis Senior Editor Dr. Lisa Brock. The series is written in response to the uprising sparked by the killings of unarmed black people throughout the US. The three epigraphs below are gestures to each part.]

NYPD Insubordination Results - Drop in Crime

Nathaniel Downes; Charles F. Coleman Jr.
Statistics speak for themselves - revealing the New York Police Department has been needlessly arresting people who were not criminals at all. The NYPD has given Mayor Bill de Blasio proof that the department is indeed out of control, and not accountable to the people they are there to protect. The "broken windows" approach to law enforcement needs to be scrapped, and also the age-old trend of funding America's cities on the backs of the poor.

After the Charlie Hebdo's Massacre - Support Those who Fight the Religious-right; "There is no way they will make us put down our pens."

Secularism is a Women's Issue; Karima Bennoune
The tragic massacre in Paris will undoubtedly give fuel to the traditional xenophobic far-Right and the danger is an increase in racism, marginalization and exclusion of people of Muslim descent in Europe and further. We do not want to witness "anti-Muslim witch hunts". One way to commemorate this terrible event and memorialize its victims is to unequivocally defend universal human rights, including the right to freedom of expression, and they apply to all.

A Day Later, Still Unclear Whether NAACP was Target of Bomb in Colorado Springs

By Wesley Lowery The Washington Post
“Lets you and I be honest, we live in a country where there are still some that do not want to accept black and brown people into the circle of power,” said NAACP branch President Henry Allen. “Those people have been around forever and will continue to be around forever. But the majority of Americans want the same thing – a peaceful community that involves all of us."

Legal Advocacy Group Asks for New Darren Wilson Grand Jury

By Matt Pearce Los Angeles Times
“Our review of these proceedings has raised grave legal concerns, including knowing presentation of false witness testimony, erroneous instructions on the law, and preferential treatment of Mr. Wilson by the St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office," wrote NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund president Sherrilyn Ifill.