Portside

Reader Comments: Global Nuclear War Danger - Avoiding the Unthinkable; Hillary Clinton and Working Class Voters; Art as Politics: Star Wars New Movie; What Now for the Left; Viewers debate the Russian-Election Frenzy; Brazil; W.E.B. DuBois and the Working Class; Student Digital Literacy and Technology; Butter - Good for You?; #NoDAPL December Month of Actions; Responsible and Ethical Cuba Travel; Special - Holiday Book Offers; and more ...

Time Magazine is clear on its sole criterion - 'the person who had the greatest influence, for better or worse, on the events of the year.' For clues as to how Time feels about that question - is it 'better or worse?' - we can look to the image chosen for the cover of the issue. Time's decisions regarding how to photograph Trump reveal a layered, nuanced field of references that place the image among the magazine's greatest covers.

Young voters were the only age bracket that Clinton actually won. We need to stop blaming them. Far from sitting on their hands, today's young voters are actively engaged. If the Clinton campaign is dissatisfied with their level of millennial support, they should take a hard look at where their young voter strategy failed.

Donald Trump, at war with the American safety net, and the environment, not to mention the planet -- and that's before we even get to actual war, which will be overseen by a crew of Islamo- and Irano-phobes. If, as Klare points out today, Trump himself has a serious case of nostalgia for the America of his youth, with its untrammeled growth and its fossil-fueled wonders, don't think that nostalgia doesn't include military affairs, and future military adventures and wars.

We stand together in solidarity with our partners and children for the protection of our rights, our safety, our health, and our families -- recognizing that our vibrant and diverse communities are the strength of our country...Because women's rights are human rights. Join the January 21 march in Washington, or in cities across the country. (Information and links for every state below.)

In this novel, Whitehead reimagines both slavery and the resistance to it.

Diversion is intended to relieve overburdened courts and crowded jails, and to spare low-risk offenders from the devastating consequences of a criminal record. But an examination by The New York Times found that in many places, only people with money could afford a second chance. Though diversion was introduced as a money-saving reform, some jurisdictions quickly turned it into a source of revenue.

“Invisible Man” ends with the protagonist being chased by policemen during a riot in Harlem, and falling into a manhole in the middle of the street. The police put the cover of the manhole back in place, trapping the narrator underground. “I’m an invisible man and it placed me in a hole—or showed me the hole I was in, if you will—and I reluctantly accepted the fact,” he says.

What does solidarity look like between Black and Indigenous people?

Not long before Mussolini and Hitler came to power, much of the US press believed that power would "moderate" them, or considered them something of a joke. Are we seeing similar mistakes today?