Portside

Drawing connections between arguments used by liberal proponents of free speech and the rhetoric of the alt right, I examine how the free speech and open debate arguments being used today to defend the hateful messages of far right speakers have been established over a long period and need to be explored in the context of rising fascism, white supremacy, and extreme social inequality.

What is the appropriate response to the banality of the Op-Ed: “Vietnam’s Unhealed Wounds” by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick in the 2017 Memorial Day edition of The New York Times? Such a trite pronouncement is surely destined for the dustbin of history. But already accompanied by much media hype, Burns and Novick are set to launch their PBS documentary: THE VIETNAM WAR, a ten-part, 18-hour series in September 2017.

Your smartphone, your enemy; All in the family; Twitter has your number too; Cell-trackers; Scoops a la Trump; Fox News confidential

“The Trump administration’s rhetoric on immigration and its approach to enforcement have made immigrant communities obviously fearful in a new way,” says Laura Huizar, a staff attorney with the National Employment Law Project. “This is going to prevent a lot people from filing wage complaints that they otherwise would have.”

California shoots down bill to strike language barring Communist party members from government jobs as Trump’s alleged Russia ties stoke cold war sentiments.

Cities, counties and even one state are working to push legislation that would force police agencies to disclose their acquisition and use of surveillance technologies to local lawmakers and communities.

To an outsider, the work that a graduate student has to do might seem easy. A bunch of people who get paid to read and write all day, yeah? What could be easier than that?

Land is Power. Land is Liberation. Land is The Commons. On Juneteenth 2017 (Monday, June 19th) Black people across the country will take back land and reclaim space, from vacant lots to empty school buildings.

As organizers we have an obligation to review our prognostications and do some self-criticism when we are way off on our turnout calls. That was the case with our predictions for participation in the 2017 May Day immigrant rights protests.

As organizers we have an obligation to review our prognostications and do some self-criticism when we are way off on our turnout calls. That was the case with our predictions for participation in the 2017 May Day immigrant rights protests.