Portside

Only the U.S. and Israel voted against UN resolutions calling for the prevention of an arms race in outer space and prohibiting the manufacture of new weapons of mass destruction. These two resolutions were among several dealing with disarmament passed by the UN General Assembly December 2nd. The U.S., Israel, Canada, and Micronesia voted against a resolution calling on Israel to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty while 20 countries abstained.

Two pieces sum up the Court's decisions on Harris v. Quinn and Hobby Lobby. The first, from Constitutional Accuracy Center, describes how the Court has been ruling in favor of big business. The second, from BillMoyers.com, provides a round-up of commentary on the cases.

Keep one thing in mind: the rebellions of the past three years were led by Arab millennials, twentysomethings who have decades left to come into their own. Don’t count them out yet. They have only begun the work of transforming the region.

In the liberal political imagination, the Supreme Court is an institution that must vindicate principles rather than practice politics. As the philosopher Richard Rorty once acknowledged, liberals “turn to the judiciary as the only political institution for which we can still feel something like awe.

Ruby and Ossie were extraordinarily generous and bold, lending their celebrity to a host of leftist causes and holding affiliations with a variety of groups including some associated with the demonized CP. They fought Joe McCarthy's anti-communist witch-hunt and supported its victims, organized to restore Paul Robeson's passport, rallied for the Rosenbergs, and Che Guevara. While the media celebrates her life as an actress, they don't acknowledge the obstacles she faced.

Harris v. Quinn has set the stage for the eventual overruling of Abood; it has confused and perverted the concept of free-riders; and it has created an impossible standard for unions to meet.