San Francisco (Tomdispatch.com) – It’s what campaigners say every November, I know, but this year’s election really is as important as it gets. Will U.S. voters choose to halt the progress of Donald J. Trump’s slow-motion coup? Or will the tide just continue rolling over us? So much depends on what happens in Nevada — […]
Archives for October 2018
Ron DeSantis’s Policies Helped Summon Hurricane Michael and he Should not be Governor
* WaPo reports of the most powerful storm to hit Florida’s panhandle in recorded history, coming in as a level 4 and briefly becoming 5: “Hurricane Michael roared ashore Wednesday near the Florida Panhandle, one of the most intense hurricanes to ever hit the United States. With winds as high as 155 mph, the Category […]
Muhammad, Peace and the Jews of Medina: Juan Cole Discussion at Reddit
Collective Interview with Juan Cole about his new book at AskHistorians, Reddit.com (Rearranged for readability.) AMA: I am Juan Cole, author of ‘Muhammad: Prophet of Peace amid the Clash of Empires’ out today. AMA Here is the description from the publisher: “Many observers stereotype Islam and its scripture as inherently extreme or violent-a narrative that […]
As Hurricane Michael Strikes, UN Warns cost of Climate-Linked Disasters Soaring
Geneva (AFP) – The economic cost of climate-related disasters hit $2.25 trillion over the last two decades, an increase of more than 150 percent compared to the previous 20 years, the UN said Wednesday. The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) noted that “climate change is increasing the frequency and severity of extreme […]
US State Dept. backs Freedom of Expression for Illegally Imprisoned US Student in Israel
Washington (AFP) – The United States said Wednesday that it supports freedom of expression and was in touch with a Florida student refused entry into Israel over her alleged support for a pro-Palestinian boycott campaign. The State Department said that the US embassy in Jerusalem was offering consular assistance to 22-year-old Lara Alqasem, who has […]
Reminder: Top 5 Climate Catastrophes to which Denialist Trump Condemned his own Supporters
Reprint edition Trump delivered himself of one of the most brain-dead speeches ever given by an American president, more imbecilic even than Bush’s “Mission Accomplished” or Nixon’s “I am not a crook.” He withdrew from the Paris climate accords, saying that he was elected to represent Pittsburgh, not Paris. Trump alleged that he was somehow […]
After Mitch McConnell’s coup: Democratizing the Court, Democratizing America
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell treats the exercise of the democratic right peacefully to assemble as mob rule. This exercise in democratic liberty that McConnell abhors has been necessitated because our democracy is seriously flawed—thanks in part to the anti-democratic coups McConnell’s party and its allies have orchestrated. The Supreme Court, though still the most […]
Hating Muslims in the Age of Trump: The New Islamophobia looks like the Old McCarthyism
(Reprinted at Informed Comment courtesy Tomdispatch.com.) – These days, our global political alliances seem to shift with remarkable rapidity, as if we were actually living in George Orwell’s 1984. Are we at war this month with Oceania? Or is it Eastasia? In that novel, the Party is able to erase history, sending old newspaper articles […]
With Toady Kavanaugh’s Appointment, Trump is Turning the US into Putin’s Russia
In the aftermath of Brett Kavanaugh being sworn in as the new Supreme Court justice, the controversies rage on. One troubling aspect of Kavanaugh is his support of extensive presidential powers. According to CNN, he had written in 2013 that “it’s a ‘traditional exercise’ of presidential power to ignore laws the White House views as […]
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