Portside

Although the White House has repeatedly said it would not add “boots on the ground” to wars in Iraq, Syria, Yemen, etc., the assurance is bogus. U.S. ground forces have been active in Yemen, and more recently Syria, and the Obama Administration, which has delayed the full withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan, is now adding 450 U.S. “commandos” to the 3,000 military advisers in Iraq.

In arguably the strongest signal Congress has ever sent in support for Palestinian human rights, 19 members of Congress sent a letter June 20th to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry urging the Department of State to make the human rights of Palestinian children a priority in the U.S. bilateral relationship with Israel. The letter was initiated by Rep. Betty McCollum (D-MN), and focuses a Congressional spotlight on Israeli military abuse of Palestinian children.

Public sector unions are playing defense. They need a plan to convince employees to join (or stay in) the union. But they're operating in a difficult terrain, after years of cuts and concessions.

The landmark, 5-4 decision was authored by Justice Anthony Kennedy.

Foreign direct investment (FDI) in Israel dropped by almost 50% last year in comparison to the year before as the country continues to feel the effects of last summer's Gaza conflict, a new UN report has revealed.

Since Sept. 11, 2001, nearly twice as many people have been killed by white supremacists, antigovernment fanatics and other non-Muslim extremists than by radical Muslims:

The award-winning poet Julia B. Levine opens her eyes to global tragedies we leave for our children to inherit and our attempts still to shelter their innocence from what will haunt them.

Which America should we recall on the Fourth of July? The "all men are created equal" of the Declaration of Independence or the gross inequalities by race, class and gender, the crying disparities of wealth, voice and security in real life? Both. Because the lofty declaration is more than a platitude and a snare; it has also always been a goal and a call to strive "to finish the work we are in." Lefty alternatives for the Fourth: songs, thoughts, a little inspiration.