Death Warrant

Alexis Rhone Fancher State of Grace: The Joshua Elegies
From Alexis Rhone Fancher"s State of Grace (2015), an elegy to her son Joshua, we find compassion mixed with irony, grief with dark humor, as the poet's life must go in an absurd world.

Healthy Coffee and Cigarettes

Tabitha M. Powledge PLOS One
Coffee and cigarettes. Well, it turns out that one of them is good for you. As for e-cigarettes ... hold the conclusions.

Message to Black Clergy: Think of Trump's Rhetoric Before Meeting With Him

#TEAMEBONY Ebony
An open letter from more than 100 Black religious leaders and scholars to the African American ministers scheduled to meet with Donald Trump warn that such a meeting will serve to "de-radicalize the Black prophetic political tradition" and "give Trump the appearance of legitimacy" that he will use to harm Black communities.

'Suffragette' Foregrounds Working-Class Women

Linda Gordon Portside
Suffragette is the first film to depict a women's movement with major Hollywood stars. And Gavron's introduction, skyped in at the preview I saw, was superb, emphasizing global women's struggles and class and race inequality as well as the historical fight for suffrage. As more celebrities come out as feminists, we can hope for more.

 ISIS Wants a Clash of the Civilizations: Let’s Not Give In

Juan Cole The Nation
For Baghdadi to call his band of human traffickers, rapists, drug smugglers, and looters the “Islamic State” is rather like a Mexican drug cartel adopting the moniker “the Vatican,” and our adopting that term thereafter (“The Vatican kidnapped 30 people today”) when reporting on its violence. Journalists would resist such linguistic coercion in the case of Catholics; they should resist it in the case of Muslims as well.

In America

In America, on Thanksgiving, people working for our country's largest employer don't make enough to buy the food they need. Here are some of their voices, and what you can do.

Killer Mike Introduces Bernie Sanders in Atlanta

Rapper and rights activist Killer Mike gives an eloquent introduction to Bernie Sanders at an Atlanta rally: "In my heart of hearts, I truly believe that Sen. Bernie Sanders is the right man to lead this country." 

Friday Nite Videos -- November 27, 2015

Portside
Nebraska Republicans Squash the Death Penalty. Alice's Restaurant, 50 Thanksgivings Later. Killer Mike Introduces Bernie Sanders in Atlanta. In America: Walmart Workers. How Puerto Rico's Economic 'Death Spiral' is Tied to Legacy of Colonialism.