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Massachusetts Teachers Knock Out Corporate Charter School Scheme

Samantha Winslow Labor Notes
The No on 2 victory offers a ray of hope to union members and public education activists, even as they grapple with the news of Trump’s presidential win. Building power locally will help not just on the statewide education fights, Madeloni points out, but also in the big picture.

Leonard Cohen Dead at 82

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

Elizabeth Warren | 'Why We Are Angry'

Sen. Elizabeth Warren at the AFL-CIO tears the mask from Donald Trump program for oligarchy and pledges, "We will stand up to bigotry, no compromises ever on this question."

Leonard Cohen | Democracy

Democracy is coming to the USA ("the cradle of the best and the worst"), Leonard Cohen wrote, "It's coming from the sorrow in the street / The holy places where the races meet." Cohen died this week, but we can still take his defiant, sardonic optimism into the streets with us.

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.

Steve Scalise's Problem Is the Republican Party's Problem

John Nichols The Nation
The Republican rising star struggled for two days to get clarity with regard to his appearance at a "white pride" - Ku Klux Klan event in 2002. Initially, his office tried to keep things vague, suggesting it was "likely" Scalise attended. He was a veteran state legislator then, elected from the same precincts where David Duke once ran strong. When it became clear he was not just present but a presenter, Scalise started spinning scenarios that might explain it all away.

Social Democracy in America?

Rich Yeselson Dissent Magazine
Kenworthy thinks that capitalism working at its best—an Americanized version of the Nordic model—would be worth fighting for. I agree.