Portside

The state, the extremists, and their enablers in political society have pushed Pakistan to the brink of collapse. Progressives need to overcome doubts and timidity to organize for a better alternative/

Rather than making the government a model employer, the labor proposals would unite Uncle Sam with employee-regressive business practices designed to maximize profits. But Sam is in the business of service, not propelling profits.

Congressional Republicans chose to use a special fast-track budget process known as “reconciliation” for their tax bill, but every credible analysis shows that the bill won’t come close to paying for itself.

Less Moore?; Alabama drama; Machismo under fire; Which women beat Moore?; Webster’s f-word; Jerusalem, for Christ’s sake

Starring Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep as Ben Bradlee and Katharine Graham, this drama about the Washington Post is squarely aimed at our current moment. The movie, written by Liz Hannah and Josh Singer, sprouts from this rift between the true state of affairs and the alternative facts that are presented to the public. As is common knowledge, it was Ellsberg’s conscience about the rift that led him to steal—or, if you prefer, to liberate—a hulking stash of incriminating documents, which came to be called the Pentagon Papers.

Tax policy, which can be deadly dull, hasn’t inspired much enthusiasm for activist campaigns—until now. Advocates could leverage this energy to push for a progressive tax code.

The Honduran Presidential candidate Salvador Nasralla has called for a recount after the country’s electoral tribunal declared the incumbent, Juan Orlando Hernández, the winner.

“Alston’s epic journey has taken him from coast to coast, deprivation to deprivation,” Pilkington writes. “Starting in LA and San Francisco, sweeping through the Deep South, traveling on to the colonial stain of Puerto Rico then back to the stricken coal country of West Virginia, he has explored the collateral damage of America’s reliance on private enterprise to the exclusion of public help.”

Just once a year we appeal to you to contribute to make it possible to continue this work. Please help. And because information is power, in addition to addressing the Big Picture, we are always trying to make what we present easy to read. It's been an extraordinary year. A year of unparalleled dangers, which we won't dwell on, as you know them well.

At WNYC, predatory and bullying behavior thrives in a workplace that has a shadow workforce afraid to speak up.