In Praise of Unions

Unions have done a lot of good things for working people in America. Labor unions like the AFL-CIO, Teamsters and UAW helped to create the middle class. Because of all the benefits unionization has provided for working men and women over the years, Republicans have tried to demonize them as part of some vague socialist […]

WHITE FOLKS: THEY SO FUNNY!

There are a lot of really scared people in this country right now. They are terrified of immigrants and women and homosexuals; they fear science, diversity, Hispanics, Natives, Blacks — or even worse — mixed race people like me. Most of all, they fear change.  They are worried that America will soon be unrecognizable, and […]

THE ENEMY OF THE MOMENT

The war is not meant to be won, it is meant to be continuous. Hierarchical society is only possible on the basis of poverty and ignorance. This new version is the past and no different past can ever have existed. In principle the war effort is always planned to keep society on the brink of […]

A NATION DIVIDED

The USA is a dying imperial power: corrupt to the core, hollowed-out, lacking a soul and empty within. We are a brutal, overbearing nation filled with violent, desperate, shamelessly ignorant people. The Enlightenment (c.1680-1780) brought some hope of redemption to society following the Dark Ages. Applying the concept of humanism, philosophers recognized our innate capacity […]

A FALSE MYSTERY

President John F. Kennedy’s assassination in 1963 marked a turning point in US foreign policy away from peace and collaboration with the Soviet Union on nuclear disarmament and cooperation in outer space – and toward escalation of US involvement in Vietnam, the Cold War and ultimately, perpetual war. Who sought this? Cuba? Certainly not. JFK […]

Amusing Ourselves to Death [redux]

In his seminal book Amusing Ourselves to Death [1985], Neil Postman wrote, “[George] Orwell warns that we will be overcome by an externally imposed oppression. But in [Aldous] Huxley’s vision, no Big Brother is required to deprive people of their autonomy, maturity and history. As he saw it, people will come to love their oppression, […]

SPIES LIKE US

Espionage, counterintelligence, and covert action are essential components in the military arsenal of every great civilization. This was especially true for the United States and the former Soviet Union during the Cold War. The need for high-quality intelligence on the enemy’s capabilities was even more critical back then. Effective counterintelligence operations have played a pivotal […]

TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION

America’s corporations are sitting on close to $2 trillion in offshore bank accounts in places like the Cayman Islands and Bermuda. That’s cash that is not being used to create jobs, build factories, or improve infrastructure. In a country where upward mobility is virtually impossible, corporations have become less committed to workers well-being and more […]