Portside

Perhaps the Dump Star Wars story could be described as “silly.” But to deny the politics of Star Wars is to throw the franchise’s rich history under a bus the size of an Imperial cruiser. Star Wars may not overflow with civics metaphors in the fashion of “Star Trek,” but the sci-fi films did not exist in a political void.

A soon-to-be-published book by a longtime labor organizer chronicles how a grass-roots democracy movement overcame corporate money.

Our responsibility is to resist, resist and transform. As we have already seen, our increasingly unified movement will act across a broad spectrum of issues and approaches: Opposing confirmation of Trump's most egregious cabinet appointments, and pressing Senators to filibuster oppressive laws. Change will take place in one-on-one conversations with relatives, neighbors and fellow students. It will involve mass marches like the Million Women's March on Inauguration Day.

The madness sweeping Official Washington and the mainstream media about alleged Russian interference in the U.S. election is pervaded by breathtaking hypocrisy, writes Robert Parry.

Lawmakers expected to reject requests to exempt education and health spending from measure UN official calls the most socially regressive in the world

Time cover tromps Trump; Identity politics; Vets at Standing Rock; Bannon, indie filmmaker; Oakland fire; International f.u.

If the wealthy paid Social Security taxes on their full salaries (and we aren't even talking stock options and other forms of bonuses that are not subject to Social Security taxation) the Social Security Trust Fund would likely be able to expand benefits.

Social democrats wrongly thought the reforms they won were won for good. The left used to beat itself up, sometimes quite literally, with debates over reform vs revolution, parliamentarianism vs extra-parliamentarianism, party vs movement - as if one ruled out the other. The question for the 21st century is not reform v revolution, but rather what kinds of reforms, with what kinds of popular movements behind them. In Greece, the lesson has been learned by Syriza.

Patterson, New Jersey proposes $25,000 for municipal workers in new contract. There are other parts of this contract that could be better but this is a major step forward for low paid workers.

Bruce Springsteen & Jimmy Fallon rework "Born To Run" to address the Fort Lee, NJ bridge scandal.