Portside

A librarian in Kansas City, Missouri was arrested for standing up for a library patron's free speech rights. The right to read, to think, to discuss and listen to ideas in a public forum is essential to an open society, as is our individual privacy. One hopes that the Kansas City case-only the most recent of many-will be resolved, and that librarians there and everywhere will be able to do their jobs without taking on the added burden of battling for our freedom.

An open letter to the left from 47 grassroots organizers. Defeating Trump in the presidential election is a top priority for the left. And at a minimum, that means mobilizing voters for Hillary Clinton in swing states. When we hear people say they don't know who to vote for because both candidates are equally bad, we get worried. A Trump victory would embolden hard-core racists, Islamophobes, misogynists, and anti-immigrant groups.

'Luckily, not everyone has been glued to the screen, eternally watching The Donald. From Black Lives Matter to the climate change movement, activists have, as TomDispatch regular Rebecca Gordon points out, never stopped working to make this a better world and, as she indicates, if we can take our eyes off the media spectacle-cum-circus for a few moments, they offer us a kind of hope for our future that shouldn't be ignored.' - Tom Engelhardt

'More Southern Dudes Need to Say Black Lives Matter.' From police treatment of African-Americans to the current presidential election, the issues roiling America today have led the Drive-By Truckers to drill down on the topic that has preoccupied them for 20 years - the South - while bringing a relatively unheard perspective to pop music's discourse: that of the progressive white Southerner.

Many on the left who have opted to join the Labour Party take the view that in addition to the struggle to restore the its original remit and ethos, it is also crucial for an alternative left politics to be expressed – anti-capitalist and anti-imperialist – as it has been in politics in Britain and globally, for a century or more

With this book, Springsteen has joined the ranks of those musicians who have also produced first-rate autobiographies. Indeed, the musician's biography has developed into its own literary genre. Long-time music critic Christgau offers a detailed appreciation of this important memoir.

The Nobel Prize to Bob Dylan is the Nobel committee's first literature prize to a musician, an almost revolutionary break with tradition. Dylan’s originality as a surrealist lyricist was elevated by his engagement with profound social and political themes.

Jews snooze; Legree rides again; The groom stripped bare; Religious right crack-up; Trumpty Dumpty; After the elephants'parade

 “If we keep control of the Senate in the Republican hands…a nice guy named Mike Enzi from Wyoming is the Senate budget chair and he helps us get these budgets to the president’s desk, gets these tax bills through,” he said.  On the other hand, Ryan warned, “If we lose the Senate, do you know who becomes chair of the Senate Budget Committee? A guy named Bernie Sanders. You ever heard of him?”

Mohamedou’s release comes after long legal battles and an outpouring of support worldwide, and he expressed his gratitude: “I feel grateful and indebted to the people who have stood by me. I have come to learn that goodness is transnational, transcultural, and trans-ethnic. I'm thrilled to reunite with my family.”