By Marc Cooper (January 7, 2018) Here’s my take on Fire and Fury: Wolff’s book reads much much better than I expected. To categorize it as tabloidy or gossip-ridden reveals only ignorance and/or envy. He is a graceful and incisive writer who demonstrates true talent in penetrating and explaining the psyche of his subjects. The specific anecdotes, that can always…
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By Arun Gupta (December 13, 2017) It is a great relief that Roy Moore lost. If he had won that would have emboldened Bannon and Trump even more: “Hey, if they elected a child molester, who cares about a rapist president?” Meanwhile, the opportunism of Kirsten Gillibrand is helping channel the energy from the Pussy March and #Metoo movement into the…
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By Teka Lark (December 13, 2017) I am happy that sexist and racist Moore went down, barely, but I’m not happy that the Democratic Party felt that the Black community wasn’t worth a dime or any effort. The Black vote is treated like absolute trash by the Democratic Party. This last hour campaigning with no money. This expectation that Black…
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By Marc Cooper (August 4, 2017) I hope this is the last post EVER I do on the “debate” over whether or not Trumpism is Fascism. As a student of 1930’s Europe I could give you a long and boring recount why it is not. I will reduce that whole history to two sentences: historically Fascism only rises to power…
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By Chris Lowe (May 13, 2017) Since Comey was fired as FBI director, an increasingly widespread meme has emerge in the commentariat, that the U.S. is in “the biggest political crisis since Watergate.” The question this raises is the nature of the crisis. Is it caused by the actions of Donald Trump? In that case, removing him would resolve it….
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By Alexander Reid Ross (April 23, 2017) Marine Le Pen’s popularity at 21% of the electorate is not much higher than her father’s 16.9% in 2002, which earned the Front National their first second round visit. However, her higher stature is due largely to her attempts to soften the FN’s brand by relaxing its stance on homosexuality and Israel, among…
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By Ana Castillo (February 14, 2017) In which the poet intervenes on a day meant for love, if only because she hasn’t lost hope; and some remarks on the latest occurrence in a country suddenly run like a Third World sweatshop, recently appropriated by the spoiled heir of private wealth and ( forgive the cliché reference) cronies. So the President…
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By Hyung Kyu Nam (February 3, 2017 We should see ourselves in a long arc of change globally as we face a crisis with imperialism, capitalism, ecocide and both political and social oppression that are all interconnected: Zapatista, Seattle WTO, Tunisia, Egypt, Wisconsin, Spain, Greece, Occupy, BLM, Idle No More, Umbrella Movement. Ultimately, these crises require radical change. …
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By Arun Gupta (January 30, 2017) I am getting notes and articles forwarded from numerous people, smart people, that are full of paranoid speculation about coups, false flag operations, and military mobilizations. STOP IT. This is exactly what the Trumpkins want. They want you to be paranoid, to be consumed by fear and irrationality. The last thing they want you…
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By Chuck Morse (January 28, 2017) It’s tempting to see Trump’s attacks on the media and the democratic system (voting) as an expression of his self-sabotaging vanity, but I think we’re seeing something much more malevolent. I think he’s setting the stage for his re-election in four years and the assertion of a much more violent, racist regime. That is,…
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By Joe Lowndes (January 26, 2017) Unable to sleep last night, I thought at least how relieved I was not to be teaching introduction to US politics and government again this quarter. I would have no idea how to do so. Institutions are always undergoing slow transformations, and everything – the presidency, congress, the bureaucracy, parties, media, etc, must always…
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