George Washington, First President and Slave Catcher

Erica Armstrong Dunbar The New York Times
Last week the U.S. paid tribute to former Presidents George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. And while Lincoln’s role in ending slavery is now understood to have been more nuanced than his reputation as the great emancipator would suggest, it has taken longer for us to replace stories about cherry trees with truer narratives about George Washington, president and slaveholder. Perhaps we can also honor Ona Judge, one of Washington's slaves that got away.

The U.S. is Heading Into a Heavily Militarized Future

Tom Englehardt TomDispatch
When President Obama came into office, in what may be the single exception to the rule of the era, he walked back one crucial set of Bush administration policies, ending torture and closing the “black sites” where it occurred. Since then, however, the CIA has expanded. It and the national security state within which it is lodged, has grown, and the process of expanding that shadow government and freeing it from supervision has been unending.

Rightist Venezuelan Mayor Arrested for Role in "Blue Coup" Plot

Rachael Boothroyd Venezuelanalysis.com
Caracas Mayor Antonio Ledezma was arrested February 19th for his role in the failed coup attempt against the elected government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. Ledezma, who has a long history of right-wing extremist activity in Venezuela, was one of three opposition leaders to have signed a "National Transition Agreement," calling for, among other things, the removal of President Maduro a day before the coup was to have taken place.

The Cost of a Decline in Unions

Nicholas Kristof The New York Times
In this article Kristof acknowledges he was wrong about unions - As unions wane in American life, it’s also increasingly clear that they were doing a lot of good in sustaining middle class life — especially the private-sector unions that are now dwindling. "To understand the rising inequality, you have to understand the devastation in the labor movement,” says Jake Rosenfeld, a labor expert at the University of Washington and the author of “What Unions No Longer Do.”

Netanyahu Does Not Speak for All American Jews

Rebecca Vilkomerson Religion News Service
The long-standing bipartisan support for Israel even as it continues to flout international law and undermine the possibility for peace has long been an anomaly in U.S. politics. That’s why those of us who have long advocated change in U.S. policy towards Israel see the growing backlash against the speech as a hopeful sign.

A Melting Arctic and Weird Weather: The Plot Thickens

Jennifer Francis The Conversation
The polar jet stream – a fast river of wind up where jets fly that circumnavigates the northern hemisphere – has been doing some odd things in recent years. Rather than circling in a relatively straight path, it has meandered more in north-south waves. These long-lived shifts have been responsible for some wicked weather this winter, with cold Arctic winds blasting everywhere from the Windy City to the Big Apple for weeks at a time.

Walmart Worker Victory Shows What We Can Win If We Keep Fighting

Isaiah J. Poole Campaign for America's Future
It’s important to highlight the people who put their bodies on the line in front of Walmart stores around the country over the years to get the company to take this incremental step. Conservative pundits are spinning the Walmart move as a evidence that the free market will get corporations to do the right thing. Actually, the stock market gave the move a harsh negative judgement, with Walmart stock prices dropping 3 percent.

Another Day, Another Time: The Music of 'Inside Llewyn Davis'

A concert inspired by the Coen Brothers' film, 'Inside Llewyn Davis,' which is set in the 1960s Greenwich Village folk music scene, featuring live performances of the film's music, as well as songs from the early 1960s. Performers include the Avett Brothers, Joan Baez, Dave Rawlings Machine, Rhiannon Giddens, Lake Street Dive, Colin Meloy, The Milk Carton Kids, Marcus Mumford, Punch Brothers, Patti Smith, Willie Watson, Gillian Welch, and Jack White, as well as the star of the film Oscar Isaac. More info.