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Neil Gorsuch and the "Originalist" View of Workers' Rights

By Ai-jen Poo Medium.com
We have once again entered a phase in law-making, where discriminatory policies codifying exclusions based on race, religion, ability and immigration status have taken hold, emboldened by this Administration. With the appointment of Gorsuch, we risk losing the highest court in the land to partisan, ideologically-driven cruelty — masked as “originalist” readings of both statute and law — repeating history again.

Playing Chicken: Discovering a Diverse Working Class in Trump Country

By Patrick Dixon Working-Class Perspectives
Focusing on places like McDowell County, West Virginia, perpetuates the image of rural America as populated primarily by people of white Western European origins, a narrative that fit the media’s interest in white rural working-class voters. But while the economic suffering in McDowell might reflect the experiences of many working-class people outside of major metropolitan areas in the Trump era, McDowell’s whiteness is less representative.

Secret Service Asked for $60 Million Extra for Trump-era Travel and Protection, Documents Show

By Drew Harwell and Amy Brittain The Washington Post
Before taking office, Trump repeatedly criticized the cost of President Barack Obama’s travel, saying the fact that Obama’s trips were “costing taxpayers millions of dollars” was “unbelievable.” During the campaign, Trump pledged to save public money by working diligently in Washington and skipping out on expensive travel.

Derek Walcott: Poet of Twilight, Poet of the Caribbean

Gabrielle Bellot Literary Hub
Derek Walcott, one of the finest poets of our times, died March 17 in St. Lucia, where he was born. He was 87 years old. His poetry helped illuminate the interconnections between the natural and the social worlds. Gabrielle Bellot, a staff writer for Literary Hub who grew up in the Commonwealth of Dominica, offers this appreciation.

What Would Woody Do?

Ron Briley History News Network
Woody Guthrie reminds progressive citizens of a radical tradition upon which they might draw in the contemporary fight for social justice.

We Need Popular Participation, Not Populism

Hilary Wainwright Red Pepper (UK)
What we need is a form of political leadership that frees democracy from liberalism through supporting citizens in asserting their popular sovereignty over the conditions of material daily life by getting organised as workers, as hospital users, as teachers, as students, as parents – and as citizens capable of mutual self-government.

Will the Gig Economy Make the Office Obsolete?

Diane Mulcahy Harvard Business Review
Study after study after study demonstrate that independent, remote workers are more productive, satisfied, and engaged than their office-bound colleagues. Recent surveys find that workers, freed from the constraints of office life, report higher levels of satisfaction and greater productivity. These results aren’t surprising since remote work eliminates the wasted time of commuting and the stress of constant exposure to office politics, interruptions and meetings.

How Immigrants Became Criminals

Alan A. Aja and Alejandra Marchevsky Boston Review
By focusing on the mistreatment of “good” immigrants, advocates miss the bigger point that everyone should have the right to due process.