Category: Op/Ed
Desideratum: Heading Off the Prospects of a Dark and Tumultuous Future
We can no longer afford to wait as climate changes, economic systems malfunction, and enflamed social divisiveness bear down on humanity with unprecedented, irreversible consequences. by Luisa Deprez, John Dorrer Tuesday, October 13, 2020 ”This time,…
Trump, Plato, and the Wizard of Oz
Trump desperately needs to avoid another withering exposure that another debate would cement. That is why, true to the coward that he is, he’s hiding from it. by Robert Freeman Tuesday, October 13 One of the…
Social Security’s Cost of Living Adjustment is inadequate.
Democrats Have a Plan to Fix That. After lifetimes of work, Americans have earned their Social Security. It is well past time they get a raise. by Nancy J. Altman Social Security is the primary income…
How taxpayers funded “consulting fees” for Ivanka Trump
The president reduced his tax bill by writing off large payments to his daughter. He calls it “smart” — tax lawyers call it criminal. By Sam Pizzigati | Sunday, October 11 The warmest and fuzziest phrase…
The Pentagon took money for Covid-19 relief and bought… More weapons
Make no mistake: The Trump administration’s heartlessness and militarism are costing lives. by Phyllis Bennis Thursday, October 1 As the pandemic continues to claim lives across the country, new information keeps coming out about how the…
Why is Bank of America still open to funding the destruction of our homelands in the Arctic?
We stand together, the Iñupiat and the Gwich’in, in calling on Bank of America to listen to Indigenous people, protect our homelands, and stay out of the Arctic Refuge. by Bernadette Demientieff, Siqiñiq Maupin Monday, September…
Defund or defend? In the fight over fossil fuel investments, who’s winning?
Despite divestment victories, big banks and asset managers continue driving climate change through their lending practices. by Christine MacDonald Monday, September 21 “CalSTRS is using our teachers’ money to invest in the destruction of our own…
Ruth Bader Ginsburg helped shape the modern era of women’s rights – even before she went on the Supreme Court
by Jonathan Entin, Case Western Reserve University Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died on Friday, the Supreme Court announced. Chief Justice John Roberts said in a statement that “Our nation has lost a jurist of historic stature.”…
This Labor Day, Social Security’s future hangs in the balance
Trump is devastating the nation, and not only by his incompetent handling of the pandemic. He threatens the economic security of America’s families by defunding, and apparently planning to destroy, Social Security. by Nancy J. Altman…
Dreamers’ Children: Up to 200,000 American kids could be left parentless
In his continued attacks on DACA and TPS beneficiaries, Trump aims to create a dramatic influx of children into the child welfare system. by Robin Valenzuela Thursday, August 6 In 2013, undocumented immigrant Alicia Chávez (not…
With fewer cars on US streets, now is the time to reinvent roadways and how we use them
New priorities in Boulder, Colo. Kevin Krizek, CC BY-ND Kevin J. Krizek, University of Colorado Boulder Sticking closer to home because of COVID-19 has shown many people what cities can be like with less traffic, noise,…
Wake Up, America! We must force Trump to resign or at least step aside
Your messages tell presidents which way the political winds are blowing. Make this “rumble of the people” speak loud and clear NOW! by Ralph Nader Monday, July 20, 2020 Public Citizen’s open letter, co-signed by over…
Trump threat to unleash Secret Police in other US cities is scheme to ‘Steal the November election’
“The exercise also has the advantage for Trump of entrenching a new form of secret police and of turning federal agents into instruments of his authoritarianism.” by Jessica Corbett, staff writer Monday, July 20 Amid…
The Federal Invasion of Portland, Oregon
[Cuccinelli] is no freedom fighter or protector of any American rights. A zealot with access to a type of police in a time when funding for the police and their military tactics is part of the…
We’re so certain of our Colonialist selves that we’re destroying our own planet
The global movement to end racism must turn its attention to the world’s most vulnerable cultures—the indigenous people of Planet Earth—who are still enduring the forces of colonial genocide. by Robert C. Koehler Thursday, July 16…
As Arizona coronavirus cases surge from early reopening, Indigenous nations suffer not only more COVID-19 but also wrongly from blame
At the Navajo Nation town of Fort Defiance, Arizona, staff pack food boxes. The Navajo Nation now has the highest per capita COVID-19 infection rate in the U.S. (Getty Images/Mark Ralston) by Lisa Hardy, Northern Arizona…
We hold this truth to be self-evident: it’s happening before our very eyes
The man in the White House has taken all the necessary steps toward achieving the despot’s dream of dominance. by Bill Moyers Saturday, June 6 At 98, historian Bernard Weisberger has seen it all. Born in…
Keep your eye on what’s important: Ending police brutality
We don’t know who’s carried out violence and vandalism or why. We do know police keep killing unarmed black Americans. by Jill Richardson June 3, 2020 The grocery store across from my old house in…
Trump’s use of religion follows playbook of authoritarian-leaning leaders the world over
by Laura R. Olson, Clemson University Sunday, June 7 It was a striking moment: Donald Trump, Bible in hand, posing for photos in an apparent moment of political theater made possible by the dispersal of protesters…
Don’t let cops join our protests
Cops who turn marches against police violence into parades don’t actually want substantial changes to policing. This piece is a commentary, part of The Appeal’s collection of opinion and analysis. by Derecka Purnell, The Appeal Sunday…
A memorial day for lies?
by Laura Flanders So which will it be? Will this disaster spark a shift for the better? Or will the deadly myths white Americans tell ourselves survive Covid-19? Memorial Day messaging bodes ill. I want to…
Rural America deserves a real Covid-19 response
Rural residents are more likely to be older and uninsured, while 350 rural hospitals are at risk of closing. They can’t afford neglect now. By Gloria Oladipo April 29, 2020 As the COVID-19 pandemic spreads, many…
The ‘first scientist’s’ 800-year-old tonic for what ails us: the truth
English scientist Roger Bacon believed everyone has a responsibility to think for themselves. Bibliothèque interuniversitaire de santé, CC BY by Richard Gunderman, Indiana University It seems that science has been taking a beating lately. From decades…
Romance is the New Realism: Eugene Debs and the Age of Corona
In this pandemic-era, it has become increasingly clear that we are only as healthy as the least insured—hence the poorest—in our society. by Danny Sjursen May 1, 2020 I was first exposed to Eugene Victor Debs…
