As the future administration of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris heads for the White House (no matter the recalcitrant loser still ensconced there), the rest of us must equip ourselves with both courage and caution, living as we do in a divided nation, in – to be exact – two very different Americas. Keep in mind… Read More The new politics of the poor in the USA. By LIZ THEOHARIS
Robert Reich: America is being subjected to a stress test – and Republicans are failing America is being subjected to a stress test to see if it has enough strength to withstand Donald Trump’s treacherous campaign to discredit the 2020 presidential election. Trump will lose because there’s no evidence of fraud. But the integrity of… Read More The President of the USA is trying to rig the election in order to prove the election was rigged
The world of secret offshore companies is outrageous. The rich and corrupt, seeking to hide assets and income from taxes, set up shell companies, foundations and trusts – by the hundreds of thousands – every year. Despite the harm it does to local government and the likely illegality of it, the industry holds public trade… Read More Book Review: 'Secrecy World' by Jake Bernstein
Joe Biden will have to navigate a path for the most ambitious climate agenda ever adopted by a US president through not only stubborn Republican obstruction but also an emergent youth climate movement that is already formulating plans to hold him to account. A record turnout of young voters, a cohort riven by anxiety over… Read More Oliver Milman – A youth group helped Biden win. Now they want him to fix climate crisis
Neoliberalism has been neatly described… as the disenchantment of politics by economics. It sees politics as an ineffective or illegitimate means of social improvement. Decision-making should be transferred to “the market”, a euphemism for the power of money. Through buying and selling, we establish a natural hierarchy of winners and losers. Any attempt to interfere… Read More George Monbiot: The US was lucky to get Trump, Biden may pave the way for a more competent autocrat / Zeynep Tufekci: America’s Next Authoritarian Will Be More Competent
When I first spoke with Joseph Tainter in early May, he and I and nearly everyone else had reason to be worried. A few days earlier, the official tally of Covid-19 infections in the United States had climbed above one million, unemployment claims had topped 30 million and the United Nations had warned that the… Read More Ben Ehrenreich: How Do You Know When Society Is About to Fall Apart? Meet the scholars who study civilizational collapse
Whatever his political position of the moment, he reflected one thing above all: the underlying chaos and bad faith of a world of wealth, power, and ever-growing inequality, a world, as it happened, just waiting to go down. Now that he’s defeated, count on one thing: he’ll take as much of this country with him as… Read More Tom Engelhardt: State of Chaos // Nick Turse: A Convergence of Calamities
A gardening firm, situated between crematorium and sex shop, played comic role in final throes of president’s campaign. As Donald Trump’s rise was accompanied by branded merchandise – steaks, ties, boxers and red Maga hats – so his descent may come to be known by the stickers, shirts and hoodies now being sold by an obscure Pennsylvanian landscaping company that… Read More 'Make America rake again': Four Seasons Total Landscaping cashes in on Trump fiasco. By Victoria Bekiempis
Why won’t Democrats take yes for an answer? After being scared out of their wits by the opening night of America’s mad election, you would have thought that Biden’s return from the dead would have been the cue for boneless relief and celebration, but no. As Wisconsin, Michigan, Georgia and Pennsylvania first teetered and then… Read More Mukul Kesavan – Biden as Batman: Dumping the Joker
An online petition by former Australian PM Kevin Rudd calling for an inquiry into Rupert Murdoch’s media dominance has got a record number of signatures. More than 500,000 Australians have signed the petition to parliament since it launched three weeks ago. News Corp Australia controls 70% of local newspaper circulation. Mr Murdoch has not commented… Read More Over half a million Australians sign ex-PM's call for Murdoch inquiry // Are Trumpworld and Fox News Headed for a Messy Divorce?
After the truth-shower 