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Decision to Bomb Syria is Dangerous, Deceptive
Fifty-nine cruise missiles. When Donald Trump ordered the attack on Syria, he made an impetuous decision, turning his previous commitment to stay out of the Syrian civil war and focus on ISIS on its head. He ordered the attack on a sovereign nation without seeking sanction from the United Nations or the U.S. Congress. For this, he received lavish praise from the media and bipartisan congressional support. He'll undoubtedly enjoy a boost in the polls.
Winnie Mandela Bore Scars of Battle, Helped Heal Nation
This week, Winnie Madikizela Mandela will be laid to rest and honored at a state funeral in South Africa. To many, she was loved as the "mother of the nation" even in her final days.
Trump's Banker Minion Prepares to Gut Consumer Watchdog
"Personnel is policy," says Gary Cohn, the former president of Goldman Sachs recently named to head President Trump's National Economic Council. He got that right, and every working family should shudder that Trump -- after railing against the corruptions of Goldman Sachs and other big banks in the campaign -- has put six former Goldman Sachs bankers at the head of his economic team.
Let Us Not Censor Dr. King's Life Even As We Glorify Him
As another year passes with celebrations marking the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, I worry about the dangers of neutering Dr. King's life, turning him into a "dreamer" who became a martyr. We shouldn't forget that Dr. King was a leader, a man of conscience and of action. He sought to transform America, that forced him to be a disrupter -- and to bear the wounds of being unpopular in a just cause.
No, President Trump, the Never-ending War in Afghanistan Is Not Ending
Don't fall for the hype. That is the one lesson that we all should have learned about Donald Trump. He's a salesman, not a statesman. He offers up fantasies, not facts. The most recent agreement with the Taliban in Afghanistan is a clear example of this.
What Do African Americans Want?
As the presidential primaries heat up, African American voters are suddenly in demand. Democratic candidates vie to gain support in what is a key constituency in the Democratic Party. Donald Trump's re-election campaign says it's planning a special appeal to Black voters, arguing that if Trump could simply reduce the staggering margins against him, it would have dramatic effect. We know what the candidates want. The obvious question is what do African Americans want?
Strike Is One More Step Toward Lawless Presidency
"Mission accomplished," announced President Donald Trump after the U.S., France and England unleashed over 100 missiles on Syria in reaction to the regime's alleged use of chemical weapons against its own people.
South Carolina's Leading Its People Down a Dead-end Street
South Carolina's James Louis Petigru was a Civil War-era lawyer, judge, congressman, and most notably the attorney general who opposed South Carolina's use of nullification of federal laws and, after Abraham Lincoln was elected president in 1860, opposed state secession. He famously quipped, after learning that his state had seceded from the Union, "South Carolina is too small to be a republic and too large to be an insane asylum."
Let Us Remember, and Rekindle the Spirit of, the Emancipation Proclamation
One hundred forty-five years ago on January 1, Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, helping to transform this country from a union of states into a nation, from a country stained by slavery into one moving at great cost closer to "liberty and justice for all."
The Health Care Debate Is Long Overdue
Affordable health care for all is now at the center of the presidential debate. Two of the top three contenders for the Democratic presidential nomination -- Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders -- support Medicare for All. The third -- Joe Biden -- and those hoping to take his place as the leading centrist in the race -- Pete Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar -- have attacked the plan to contrast their candidacies from Sanders and Warren. Donald Trump, who wants to eliminate the Affordable Care Act itself, and has already added some 10 million people to the ranks of the uninsured, scorns it as "socialism," just as earlier Republicans libeled Social Security and Medicare itself when they were under consideration.
Wall Street's Addiction to Crime
Last week, as Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) convened a House Financial Services Committee hearing, featuring the CEOs of Wall Street's biggest banks, the financial watchdog group released a stunning report on their criminal records: Wall Street's Six Biggest Bailed-Out Banks: Their RAP Sheets and Their Ongoing Crime Spree.
Venezuela Needs a Helping Hand, Not a Hammer Blow
If you have a hammer, everything looks like a nail. The United States has a big hammer: the military, plus the intelligence community's covert intervention forces. So we are dropping bombs from drones in seven countries.
A Tale of Two Cities: Selma and Shelby County
In "A Tale of Two Cities," Charles Dickens contrasted the plight of the poor in France with the lavish wealth of the aristocracy, the city of need with the city of greed. That harsh exploitation eventually erupted in the French Revolution, and the brutal revenge of the revolutionaries on their former oppressors.
Why Should Iowa Always Be First?
Today, after more than a year of campaigning, debates, polls, fund-raising and ads, voters cast their first votes in the Iowa caucuses. Iowa is always first because it demands that it be first, but no matter who wins, this profoundly distorts the race.
White Supremacist Violence Is Once More On the Rise
Every right we have fought for and won since Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his monumental "I Have a Dream" speech 56 years ago this Wednesday is under unrelenting attack and in grave peril -- from the right to drink fresh water and to breathe clear air, to the right of workers to organize for better wages and safer conditions to the right to vote without interference from "enemies foreign and domestic" to the rights of women, children, the LGBTQ community and immigrants.
Time to Strike a Blow Against Hate
Now Americans get to decide. Our democracy is corrupted by big money, scarred by efforts to suppress the vote or to gerrymander districts and stained by scurrilous campaigning, led in this instance from the president himself.
Trump's Big Lie Is a Threat to American Democracy
On Thursday evening, the House Select Committee investigating the sacking of the Capitol on January 6 will hold the first of its primetime, public hearings. The committee has done an exhaustive investigation, interviewing a thousand witnesses, looking at tens of thousands of documents. The hearings will reveal new information about what was in fact a multi-layered effort to overturn the results of a presidential election, driven by the White House and involving Republican legislators, operatives, state officials, and donors. The hearings will ask every American to understand how vulnerable our democracy is, and how close we came to losing it.
Automatic voter registration a sensible first step
As Americans, we hail our democracy as a beacon to the world. And all agree the right to vote is the fundamental cornerstone of democracy. Yet in our election last fall, fewer than half of all eligible voters cast a ballot – and that is considered a relatively high turnout. We need a nationwide drive to extend and promote the right to vote, the most fundamental of all political rights in a democracy. Let’s start by automatic voter registration – registering every eligible voter automatically on his or her 18th birthday.
History Cannot Be Unlived
Last Saturday, three African Americans were murdered by a 21-year-old white gunman at the Dollar General Store in Jacksonville, Florida, who then shot himself. The murderer was motivated, Jacksonville Sheriff T K Waters reported, by an “ideology of hate.” The shooting took place 15 months after 10 African Americans were murdered in another racially motivated shooting at a grocery store in Buffalo. Racial violence against Blacks has scarred America since the first slaves were forcibly shipped to America.
Georgians Will Have a Clear Choice On Jan. 5
On January 5, Georgia will hold a run-off election for both of its Senate seats. The races capture national attention because control of the Senate is at stake. If the two Democratic challengers, Jon Ossoff and Rev. Raphael Warnock. both win, the Senate will be effectively split 50-50, with Vice President Kamala Harris breaking the tie. If one or both lose, Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell will retain his ability to obstruct the incoming president.
