Portside

Class conflict isn’t something we choose to engage in. It’s just how capitalism works.

Jonathan Rosenblum lives in Seattle, Washington, and is a member of UAW 1981/National Writers Union. He is the author of Beyond $15: Immigrant Workers, Faith Activists, and the Revival of the Labor Movement (Beacon Press, 2017). More about him can be found at jonathanrosenblum.org. The interview was counducted by Yuri Lobunov, editor-in-chief of socialistalternative.ru, where this interview was published in Russian.

The committee’s vote comes a year after advocates pushed lawmakers to declare L.A. a sanctuary city amid concern that Trump would make good on his campaign promise to aggressively deport immigrants in the country illegally and build a border wall.

Not banned: “Mein Kampf” by Adolf Hitler and books by white nationalists, including David Duke, the former Ku Klux Klan grand wizard.

Trump's declaration "adds insult to ongoing injury and is practically guaranteed to fan the flames of violence," argue scholars.

The suicide rate for US farmers is more than double that of military veterans, and according to a recent 17 state study, the suicide rate for people working in agriculture is nearly five times higher that in the general population. And that might be an underestimation. Since 2013, net farm income for US farmers has declined 50% and the 2017 median farm income is projected to be negative $1,325. Former farmer Debbie Weingarten gives an insider’s perspective on farm life.

Although Puerto Ricans were granted US citizenship in 1917, the United States continued to exploit, oppress and eventually launch a "war" on the people of Puerto Rico to gain land and resources. The book, War Against All Puerto Ricans, is a vivid, detailed account of the brutal treatment of a people "liberated" from Spain only to be subjugated by the US.

American history is littered with examples of pointless wars fought for bad reasons, and with people who risked their careers and their freedom to oppose them. some wars aren't worth fighting. Some causes aren't worth sacrificing American lives for. Those who've fought to remind the government of those basic facts deserve our respect and our thanks.

A number of Portside readers has asked us to share information about panels they are participating in with other readers. Some of the panel participants include moderators of Portside.(Full conference program includes 400 panels, workshops and events.) The 11 panels below may be of particular interest to Portside readers.

Gloria Steinem was one of 30 women activists, including Nobel laureates Mairead Maguire and Leymah Gbowee, who crossed the demilitarized zone between the North and South on Sunday. Protesters say their campaign was naive. From May 19 to 25, a delegation of 30 women from 15 countries around the world will meet and walk with Korean women, north and south, to call for an end to the Korean War.