Portside

Fresh from her remarks at the Golden Globes Awards ceremony, Oprah Winfrey is being touted in the mainstream media as a potential presidential candidate in 2020. Whether it's a passing fancy or the start of a serious draft effort, now is a good time to look back on celebrity journalist Kitty Kelley's 2010 biography of Oprah, which the reviewer in an essay alternately caustic and refreshing, credits Kelley with "a very powerful understanding of what makes a modern celebrity. She gets the journey, to use a favorite Oprah word, but she also gets the cost of the journey."

The ruling was the first time that a federal court had blocked a congressional map because the judges believed it to be a partisan gerrymander.

The rise of inequality in America is the outcome of a very clear political agenda of disempowering and undermining workers. Corporate dominated globalization is a key part of undermining the bargaining power of workers by giving multinational corporations massive mobility, massive flexibility, and political power.

College sport is a billion-dollar enterprise built off athletes who receive no compensation. Whatever the solution is, the status quo must change.

In his famous essay “The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain,” Hughes expresses fondness for “the low-down folks, the so-called common element.” Poor African-Americans made up a majority of the black population but were rarely depicted as fully realized characters in the serious literature of the day.

The well-known scientist and commentator on science has presented us with a primer on his subject that is aimed at a wide and popular audience.

For some occupations, putting oneself in harm’s way is an explicit part of the job description.

For some occupations, putting oneself in harm’s way is an explicit part of the job description.

Wars may end, bases may close, but our toxic military footprint remains as a poisonous legacy for future generations.

“Human resources departments exist primarily to keep the employer from being sued,” author and longtime labor organizer Jane McAlevey tells In These Times. “While they may play functional bureaucratic roles, the chief purpose of HR departments in my experience—after a lifetime in the labor movement—is to protect the company, not workers. Obviously they will be totally ineffective to address the sexual harassment crisis in this country.”