How the Worst Values of Sports Are Taking Over America

Robert Lipsyte TomDispatch
Say one thing about the world of sports: in some fashion, it invariably reflects developments in the larger world. It hardly matters whether the subject is war or inequality. Take a knee for a moment and think about that or, of Donald Trump....

China’s Belt and Road of Science

Emanuel Pastreich Foreign Policy in Focus
China’s ambitious infrastructure Belt and Road Initiative is about building knowledge and not just things. It has grown by leaps and bounds while America’s geopolitical vision has become increasingly isolationist, paranoid, and confrontational.

Chicago's Democratic Socialists Promise Change as They Take Office

Eric Lutz The Guardian
Democratic socialists now make up more than 10% of Chicago’s city council, potentially wielding considerable influence. It will need to build alliances in order to enact their agenda and their even more ambitious goal of reforming city government.

'On Earth' Is Gorgeous All The Way Through

Heller McAlpin NPR
This new novel by Vietnamese-American poet and writer Ocean Vuong, is an immigrant's story that, writes reviewer McAlpin, is also about "beauty, survival, and freedom, which sometimes isn't freedom at all."

Oregon Governor Signs Sweeping Union Rights Law Affecting Public Employers

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart The National Law Review
On June 20, 2019, Oregon governor Kate Brown signed House Bill 2016 into law. The legislation brings sweeping changes for public sector employers and unions in an effort to increase unions’ direct access to represented employees at the workplace.