Congress Must Drain the Swamp, Not Clog the Drain

December 6, 2016

PRESS RELEASE, PEOPLE FOR THE AMERICAN WAY - Congress must take the shackles off of federal agencies trying to drain the Washington swamp and fix government, nine newly elected members of Congress told their future colleagues in a letter circulated November 28..

Trump’s Possible Path out of Ukraine Crisis

December 4, 2016
Trump’s Possible Path out of Ukraine Crisis

JONATHAN MARSHALL - If Donald Trump wants to make a decisive and constructive mark on U.S. foreign policy early in his presidency, there’s no better place to start than by helping to end the brutal war in Ukraine that has claimed some 10,000 lives.

Focus on the Silver Lining

December 2, 2016
Focus on the Silver Lining

PETER BERGEL - The election is over and Trump won. In a country with a sane election system, he would not have, but we have the Electoral College, so he did. In Joe Hill’s immortal words, “Don’t mourn; organize!”

Standing Rock: Determining President Obama’s Legacy to All Americans

November 30, 2016
Standing Rock: Determining President Obama’s Legacy to All Americans

ELLEN LINDEEN - What the president does next will determine Obama’s legacy with Native Americans. He has protected and provided for many Americans who were ignored until his presidency. However, the First People on this land, who know the past in a way descendants of immigrants and colonists cannot, are uniting to protect the...

Please Stop Thinking You’re Better Than Trump Supporters

November 28, 2016
Please Stop Thinking You’re Better Than Trump Supporters

CHARLES EISENSTEIN - Normal is coming unhinged. For the past eight years it has been possible for most people (at least in the relatively privileged classes) to believe that society is sound, that the system, though creaky, basically works, and that the progressive deterioration of everything from ecology to economy is a temporary deviation...

Another $11.6 Billion for Obama/Trump Wars? Hell No!

November 26, 2016
Another $11.6 Billion for Obama/Trump Wars? Hell No!

DAVID SWANSON - President Obama waited until after the election last week to propose an unpopular idea. He asked Congress for $11.6 billion extra — outside the huge existing military budget — for wars. Here’s his letter including all the gory details. Please read it yourself when you begin to hope that I’m making...

Jury is Still Out on Trump’s Foreign Policy Agenda

November 24, 2016
Jury is Still Out on Trump’s Foreign Policy Agenda

ROBERT PARRY - By inviting in Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, a Democrat hostile to “regime change” wars, President-elect Trump may be signaling a major break with Republican neocon orthodoxy and a big shake-up of the U.S. foreign policy establishment.

Governor Kate Brown, West Coast Leaders Reaffirm Commitment to Climate Action

November 22, 2016

NEWS RELEASE, OFFICE OF GOVERNOR KATE BROWN - Oregon Governor Kate Brown, California Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr., Washington Governor Jay Inslee, and British Columbia Premier Christy Clark issue a statement that strongly supports their continuing lead on Climate Change.

Democracy is Not Demonization

November 20, 2016
Democracy is Not Demonization

SAADIA AHMAD - I am a Muslim-American and a peacebuilder. In the aftermath of a polarizing election season, the victory of President-elect Donald Trump, and an onslaught of violent hate crimes and proposed policies threatening human rights, I am struggling to simultaneously maintain my commitment to both roles and identities.

Fear and Strength in Oregon’s Immigrant Communities Post-Election

November 18, 2016
Fear and Strength in Oregon’s Immigrant Communities Post-Election

ERIC TEGETHOFF - Immigrant communities across Oregon are preparing to take President-elect Donald Trump at his word regarding ramping up deportations during his presidency.

Something to Teach Us About Living Well

November 16, 2016
Something to Teach Us About Living Well

DAVID SMITH-FERRI - At a gathering in Redwood Valley, California, on November 6th, I listened while a Native American activist told us that opposition to DAPL shouldn’t be about moving the pipeline off-rez. It should be about an end to pipelines. It should be about the shift we need to make to alternative energy....

First Effect of Trump Win: Al-Qaeda Morale in Aleppo Collapses, Western Campaign against Russian Bombing Ends

November 14, 2016
First Effect of Trump Win: Al-Qaeda Morale in Aleppo Collapses, Western Campaign against Russian Bombing Ends

ALEXANDER MERCOURIS - One place where Donald Trump’s election victory has had an immediate effect is in the battlefield around Aleppo. Reports from the area of the battlefield speak of a total collapse of morale amongst the Al-Qaeda led Jihadi forces which have been attacking the city from the south west, as whatever lingering...

Celebrate and Take Action to Support Paris Climate Agreement

November 12, 2016
Celebrate and Take Action to Support Paris Climate Agreement

REV. CANON SALLY G. BINGHAM - Today is an historic day! The Paris Climate Agreement will become international law. Currently 96 countries have ratified the agreement, representing just over two-thirds of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. The Paris agreement will reduce emissions toward a shared goal of keeping global...

Measure 97 Defeat Shows Need for Corporate Tax Transparency

November 10, 2016
Measure 97 Defeat Shows Need for Corporate Tax Transparency

CHUCK SHEKETOFF - November 8, 2016, will be remembered as a dark day in Oregon history. An avalanche of corporate money buried with misinformation the best chance in over two decades to finally confront the chronic underfunding of our public schools and other public services. Corporate money won; the people of Oregon lost.

Time for an ACLU Shift on Campaign Finance?

November 8, 2016
Time for an ACLU Shift on Campaign Finance?

ELIZA NEWLIN CARNEY - The American Civil Liberties Union’s selection of David Cole as its new national legal director creates an opening for the group to revisit a campaign-finance stance that is increasingly out of step with its members and the nation.

Standing with Standing Rock: #NoDAPL

November 6, 2016
Standing with Standing Rock: #NoDAPL

REV. ANTHONY GRIMES - Right now, FOR National Council member Sahar Alsahlani, former National Council member Rick Ufford-Chase, FOR executive assistant Juliette Suarez, and I are traveling to the Standing Rock Sioux nation in North Dakota to join more than 350 faith leaders from across the United States.

The United Nations Votes to Start Negotiations to Ban the Bomb

November 4, 2016
The United Nations Votes to Start Negotiations to Ban the Bomb

ALICE SLATER - One hundred and twenty-six nations voted to move forward with negotiations to prohibit nuclear weapons — just as the world has already done for biological and chemical weapons.

Are the US and Russia Sleepwalking into War?

November 2, 2016
Are the US and Russia Sleepwalking into War?

RAMESH THAKUR - Are the increasingly frosty relations between the United States and Russia going to turn into all-out war? Former United Nations Assistant Secretary-General Ramesh Thakur weighs the evidence.

The U.S. National Bird Is Now a Drone

October 31, 2016
The U.S. National Bird Is Now a Drone

DAVID SWANSON - Officially, of course, the national bird of the United States is that half-a-peace-sign that Philadelphia sports fans like to hold up at opposing teams. But unofficially, the film National Bird has it right: the national bird is a killer drone.

We Need to Unite Globally Around Opposition to the Entire Institution of War

October 29, 2016
We Need to Unite Globally Around Opposition to the Entire Institution of War

DAVID SWANSON - David Swanson answers questions posed by an Italian journalist about how to achieve global opposition to the very institution of war.

‘Listen Up, America’: Actress Shailene Woodley Calls on Public to Join Dakota Access Fight

October 27, 2016
‘Listen Up, America’: Actress Shailene Woodley Calls on Public to Join Dakota Access Fight

NIKA KNIGHT - After actress Shailene Woodley's October 10 arrest for participating in a prayer action against the Dakota Access Pipeline went viral among her fans, the Divergent series star issued an impassioned plea to the American public to pay attention instead to the Native-American-led fight for water and land.

Cops Jail 141 in ND: Even More ‘Water Protectors’ Step Up to the Frontline, Citing 1851 Treaty

October 25, 2016
Cops Jail 141 in ND: Even More ‘Water Protectors’ Step Up to the Frontline, Citing 1851 Treaty

NAVAJO - It was not 83 Water Protectors who were arrested on Saturday, October 22, as reported yesterday: 141 people were actually jailed! The 83 count was from the Morton County jail alone. Due to a lack of space to hold the 141 arrested, Morton County sent protectors to several county jails. Arrestees continue...

Top US General: Hillary’s No Fly Zone Strategy Would ‘Require’ War With Russia

October 23, 2016

SPUTNIK INTERNATIONAL - During testimony before the Senate Committee on Armed Services last week General Joseph Dunford rang the alarm over a policy shift that is gaining more traction within the halls of Washington following the collapse of the ceasefire brokered by the United States and Russia in Syria saying that it could result...

Human Decency Moves Civilization Forward

October 21, 2016
Human Decency Moves Civilization Forward

JAMES A. HAUGHT - As long as supposed enemies drop their guns to rescue a dangling child, there’s hope that decency can outweigh the world’s ugliness, and civilization can keep on improving.

The Cuban Missile Crisis-What It Has To Teach

October 19, 2016
The Cuban Missile Crisis-What It Has To Teach

JOHN PEPPER - In reading the recent biography of Robert Kennedy, Bobby Kennedy:The Making of a Liberal Icon by Larry Tye, I have acquired a very different understanding of the Cuban Missile Crisis and its relevance to the challenging geo-political situation we face today.

Justin Trudeau Gives Provinces Until 2018 to Adopt Carbon Price Plan

October 17, 2016
Justin Trudeau Gives Provinces Until 2018 to Adopt Carbon Price Plan

KATHLEEN HARRIS - Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took provinces by surprise Monday, October 3, by announcing they have until 2018 to adopt a carbon pricing scheme, or the federal government will step in and impose a price for them.

U.S. War Machine Continues Bush Policies

October 15, 2016
U.S. War Machine Continues Bush Policies

NICOLAS J S DAVIES - The world faces huge problems that must be addressed and resolved in the next few decades. The question facing us is this: will the allocation of increasingly scarce resources and the necessary transformations of the 21st century be directed by international cooperation for the benefit of all and...

How Arms Sales Distort US Foreign Policy

October 13, 2016
How Arms Sales Distort US Foreign Policy

JONATHAN MARSHALL - Money may not be the root of all evil but it surely contributes to horrible war crimes when lucrative arms sales distort U.S. foreign policy and cause selective outrage over human rights atrocities: Forget oil. In the Middle East, the profits and jobs reaped from tens of billions of dollars in...

Donald Trump Brings the Crisis in Masculinity Into Focus

October 11, 2016
Donald Trump Brings the Crisis in Masculinity Into Focus

ROB OKUN - The crisis in masculinity and the presidential election got hitched this weekend, thanks to Donald Trump. While a vast majority of men—this election season’s silent majority—reject Mr. Trump’s “locker room” ideas about manhood, many are reluctant to publicly say so. That may be changing.

Russia Suspends Weapons-Grade Plutonium Deal with US

October 9, 2016
Russia Suspends Weapons-Grade Plutonium Deal with US

BBC - Russia has suspended an agreement with the US on the disposal of surplus weapons-grade plutonium, the latest sign of worsening bilateral relations.

Seattle City Council Approves Green Career Pathways Resolution

October 7, 2016

CLIFF CAWTHON - Seattle City Council unanimously adopted Got Green’s Green Pathways Resolution on Monday to support the development of green careers for young people of color, both in city government and Seattle’s private sector. The legislation focuses on combating socioeconomic barriers for young people in communities of color to access paths to quality...

Amid Escalating Tensions, 40 Million Russians Practice for Nuclear Emergency

October 5, 2016
Amid Escalating Tensions, 40 Million Russians Practice for Nuclear Emergency

JON QUEALLY - Worries of 'New Cold War' intensify as United States suspends bilateral diplomatic channels for Syria conflict.

Oregon Activist Mary Paladino Dies

October 3, 2016

OBITUARY OF MARY CADY PALADINO - Mary was a brilliant, strong, spirited woman with a huge and joyful heart, who greatly valued her independence, worked tirelessly every day of her long, happy life to make the world a better place, and was consistently a beacon of positive energy, love and light to those around...

Corporate Profits Are Way Up, Corporate Taxes Are Way Down

October 1, 2016
Corporate Profits Are Way Up, Corporate Taxes Are Way Down

HUNTER BLAIR - Since 1952, corporate profits as a share of the economy have risen dramatically (from 5.5 percent to 8.5 percent), while corporate tax revenues as a share of the economy have plummeted (from 5.9 percent to just 1.9 percent). This trend has worsened since the end of the Great Recession.

New Cold War Spins Out of Control

September 29, 2016
New Cold War Spins Out of Control

ALASTAIR CROOKE - In the aftermath of the U.S. attack on the Syrian army positions overlooking and commanding the Dier A-Zor airfield – the airfield, whose daily “Berlin air-bridge” style flights, are the sole lifeline to a city long besieged by ISIS – the Russian U.N. Ambassador asked a pertinent rhetorical question at the...

Latest Syria Trainwreck Shows the Obama Administration Is in a State of Confused Agony

September 27, 2016

RUSSIA INSIDER/THE SAKER - The latest developments in Syria are not, I believe, the result of some deliberate plan of the USA to help their “moderate terrorist” allies on the ground, but they are the symptom of something even worse: the complete loss of control of the USA over the situation in Syria and,...

We Need to Ban Nuclear Weapons (in Spite of Canada)

September 25, 2016
We Need to Ban Nuclear Weapons (in Spite of Canada)

CESAR JARAMILLO - Make no mistake: neither North Korea's latest nuclear weapons test nor the recent high-stakes stalemate over Iran's nuclear program are the root of nuclear insecurity. They are but symptoms of a nuclear disarmament regime in a severe state of disrepair. While every other category of weapons of mass destruction has been...

Everything You Have Wanted to Know About Carbon Pricing

September 23, 2016
Everything You Have Wanted to Know About Carbon Pricing

UNION OF CONCERNED SCIENTISTS - “Carbon pricing” is a market-based strategy for lowering global warming emissions. The aim is to put a price on carbon emissions—an actual monetary value—so that the costs of climate impacts and the opportunities for low-carbon energy options are better reflected in our production and consumption choices. Carbon pricing programs...

Gandhi’s Salt: How a Fistful of Mud and Seawater Shook the British Empire

September 21, 2016
Gandhi’s Salt: How a Fistful of Mud and Seawater Shook the British Empire

RIVERA SUN - On April 6th, 1930 at 6:30 a.m. after morning prayers, Mohandas K. Gandhi raised a lump of salty mud and declared, "With this, I am shaking the foundations of the British Empire."

This Nonviolent Life: Antoinette Tuff Stops School Shooter

September 19, 2016
This Nonviolent Life: Antoinette Tuff Stops School Shooter

RIVERA SUN - On August 20, 2013, Antoinette Tuff (right) nonviolently disarmed a school shooter, saving the lives of hundreds of school children. Antoinette was a bookkeeper. She wasn't supposed to be at the school that day. She was just filling in as a front desk receptionist as a favor to a friend.

This Moment at Standing Rock Was Decades in the Making

September 17, 2016
This Moment at Standing Rock Was Decades in the Making

JENNI MONET - North Dakota’s militarized response to activists opposing the Dakota Access pipeline—and the Standing Rock Sioux’s fierce resolve—reflect the area's particular racial divides.

“Most Important Lawsuit on the Planet” in Federal Court

September 15, 2016
“Most Important Lawsuit on the Planet” in Federal Court

OUR CHILDREN'S TRUST - 21 young people from across the United States have filed a landmark constitutional climate change lawsuit against the federal government in the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon.

Time To Fundamentally Rethink Our Relationship with Russia

September 13, 2016

JAVIER M. PIEDRA - The Euro-Atlantic world needs to see the strategic potential in working with Russia (as opposed to seeking her strategic encirclement), and must recognize that radical militant Islam is a much greater threat to our way of life than Putin’s Russia.

This Is Our Lucky Day

September 11, 2016
This Is Our Lucky Day

DAVID SWANSON - This is our lucky day for quite a few reasons. We haven't yet rendered the climate of this planet uninhabitable for our species. For those of us who are not in prison: we're not in prison -- and not because of some significant difference between us and many who are. For...

Massive Insurance Giants Call For End To Fossil Fuel Subsidies

September 9, 2016

KARL MATHIESEN - Climate change is the “mother of all risks” says Aviva CEO, and hundreds of billions in annual government assistance to oil, gas and coal is “simply unsustainable.” Three of the world’s biggest insurers called on G20 leaders to implement a timeframe for the end of fossil fuel subsidies when they met...

Pope’s World Day of Peace Message to Focus on Nonviolence

September 7, 2016
Pope’s World Day of Peace Message to Focus on Nonviolence

KEN BUTIGAN - The Vatican has announced that Pope Francis will issue his annual World Day of Peace message for the first time on the theme of nonviolence. Entitled “Nonviolence: The Style of Politics of Peace,” the January 1, 2017 papal message will be sent to all foreign ministries worldwide. Announced by Vatican...

The Debut of Our Revolution: Great Potential. But.

September 5, 2016
The Debut of Our Revolution: Great Potential. But.

NORMAN SOLOMON - While Bernie Sanders was doing a brilliant job of ripping into the Trans-Pacific Partnership during the livestreamed launch of the Our Revolution organization on Wednesday night, CNN was airing a phone interview with Hillary Clinton and MSNBC was interviewing Donald Trump’s campaign manager. That sums up the contrast between the enduring...

What’s Really Behind the Election

September 3, 2016
What’s Really Behind the Election

ANDREW MOSS - You don't have to be a poet to breathe new possibilities into an old, familiar metaphor. Recently, for example, author and New York Times columnist Thomas L. Friedman took a well-worn metaphor – the "web" – and reworked it in such a way as to recast the terms of the...

Majority of UN Members Declare Intention to Negotiate Ban on Nuclear Weapons in 2017

September 1, 2016

INTERNATIONAL CAMPAIGN TO ABOLISH NUCLEAR WEAPONS (ICAN) - United Nations disarmament talks concluded in Geneva today (August 19th) with the overwhelming majority of nations signalling their intention to launch negotiations in 2017 for a global ban on nuclear weapons.

Clinton’s Transition Team Suggests a Corporate Presidency

August 30, 2016
Clinton’s Transition Team Suggests a Corporate Presidency

NORMAN SOLOMON - Like other Bernie Sanders delegates in Philadelphia a few weeks ago, I kept hearing about the crucial need to close ranks behind Hillary Clinton. “Unity” was the watchword. But Clinton has reaffirmed her unity with corporate America. Rhetoric aside, Clinton is showing her solidarity with the nemesis of the Sanders campaign...