Portside

Updating his 2005 The Monster at Our Door, Davis views the COVID-19 pandemic in the context of previous viral catastrophes, exposing the key roles of agribusiness, the fast food industries, corrupt governments and a capitalist system out of control

We join the call to “defund the police.” What does it mean to defund the police? It means reducing police budgets so we can invest in the economic development and social services that are needed to make all communities safe and prosperous.

Reader Comments: Unite to Defeat Trump; Lynchings, Racial Violence; Trump's Arms Race; Problem When So Many Police are Vets; Teachers Union: Cops Out of Schools; Labor and Police; McCarthyism and Black Freedom Movement; Southern Communists; Roy Cohn;

"Years of potential life lost" is the most sobering and sad Covid-19 statistic I've seen. There are so many reasons to not be numb to the coronavirus pandemic. As we see case counts rising, we can't stay complacent. There's so much more left to lose

Why is Trump unraveling treaties on nuclear arms? It's not just greed -- some people want to use them. The test ban did - and does - slow the development of nuclear weapons and limits their proliferation to other countries.

Many of Trump's critics see fascist tendencies in his rhetoric glorifying violence and disregarding the rule of law, democratic processes, and civil liberties; Trump and his supporters regularly embrace traditions of American fascism themselves.

Reports and analyses from everywhere, as the world churns

These two books are helpful background sources for the issues involved in today's protests for black lives. Although each is a few years old, they are both worth a second look.

Essential workers need food stamps more than others. Non-white Americans are more likely to work in these essential yet low-paying jobs; over half of those who worked essential jobs and received SNAP benefits in 2018 were either Black or Latino.

The dead hand of grand fortunes past is still poisoning our present.