REV. DR. EMMA JORDAN-SIMPSON – There is no healing without first acknowledging the sickness, and even then, healing requires truth and work. Everything else is fake.
Author: Oregon PeaceWorks
Myanmar Protesters string up Women’s Clothes for Protection
JIRAPORN KUHAKAN – Protesters in Myanmar have taken to stringing up women’s clothing on lines across the streets to slow down police and soldiers because walking beneath them is traditionally considered bad luck for men.
Where We Are and Where We’re Headed
MEL GURTOV – As the Biden administration settles in, let’s pause to take stock of where American politics now stands. It’s not a pretty picture, but it has the potential for improvement.
Could the Left Withstand a Coup Attempt if it Ever Won the Presidency?
EILEEN FLANAGAN and GEORGE LAKEY – Two of the organizers who trained Americans to defend against a Trump-led coup explain how to minimize the threats to democracy going forward.
A Rapidly-Globalizing World Needs Strengthened Global Governance
LAWRENCE WITTNER – The world is currently engulfed in crises—most prominently, a disease pandemic, a climate catastrophe, and the prevalence of war—while individual nations are encountering enormous difficulties in coping with them. These difficulties result from the global nature of the problems.
Act Boldly – for the Good of the Planet and for Your Own Mental Health
SASKIA HOSTETLER LIPPY MD – Increasingly my work in mental health brings me up against this fundamental moral and existential crisis. How can humanity go on in a world so in denial about the facts which confront us? Our tendency to compartmentalize bad things works against us in the most urgent of ways now.
Crises Challenge Us to Rise to Our Best
RIVERA SUN – The content of our national character is found in how we take care of one another. Especially in times of crisis. This spirit of neighborly caring is a widely-shared value, stretching from rural communities to urban neighborhoods, encompassing everything from faith-based relief efforts to mutual aid networks.
Comcast Bows to Community Demands; Doubles Internet Speed
JULIE ZEGLEN – The comms giant raised speeds of its service for low-income customers. Coming amid a pandemic, it raises the questions: Is it enough? And what is Comcast’s responsibility to solve the digital divide?
Our Many Differences Are Not Worth a Second Civil War
WINSLOW MYERS – Are we wholly defined merely by our opinions? The great Sufic poet Rumi said: “Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing there is a field. I’ll meet you there.†Kate Johnson, a Buddhist teacher, writes: “The Buddha said that friendship is the whole of holy life. To accomplish it, we need only overcome our fear of reaching out to one another.â€
Ending the Other War in Yemen
BRIAN TERRELL – It is refreshing to hear a U.S. president at least recognize that the Yemeni people are suffering an “unendurable devastation†and this is due to the hard work of grassroots peace activists around the world. Whether President Biden’s proclamation will mean much in the real world beyond a temporary hold on the weapons deals Trump made just before leaving office is yet to be seen.
In Promoting New Nuclear Power, Biden-Harris Back Fiction Over Science
LINDA PENTZ GUNTER – Biden-Harris must look at empirical data, not listen to spin doctors and establishment cronies who will keep them anchored to the status quo, thus deferring the very energy revolution they claim they will lead. If Biden-Harris remain in favor of action on climate AND for nuclear power, then they are part of the problem, not the solution.
Celebrating Black History Month – The Real Rosa Parks Story Is Better Than the Fairy Tale
JEANNE THEOHARIS – The way we talk about Rosa Parks covers up uncomfortable truths about American racism.
Biden Takes Huge Step to Put Values First with Yemen Decision
KATE KIZER – “President Biden’s expected decision to end offensive U.S. military support in Yemen is a momentous victory. We, along with all those who have for years fought U.S. complicity in the catastrophic war in Yemen, are thrilled that this day is finally here. We commend the Biden administration for following through on its campaign promise.
How a Small-Town Paper is Applying Conflict Mediation Skills to its Opinion Content
JULIE HART – A letter to the editor was painful evidence that a small, community newspaper’s commitment to publishing as many letters as possible was no longer advancing a healthy dialogue among readers, if it ever had. In the town’s increasingly divided community, the paper had to take a hard look at how it could become part of the solution.
‘A Day Peace Activists… Have Been Waiting For’: Biden Vows to Curb US Support for Saudi-Led War on Yemen
KENNY STANCIL – Peace advocates rejoiced on Thursday in the wake of President Joe Biden’s announcement that his administration will be ending U.S. support for “offensive operations” in the Saudi-led war on Yemen and appointing a diplomatic envoy to help resolve the devastating conflict that has caused an estimated 233,000 deaths. “This war has to end,” Biden said during an address at the State Department. “And to underscore our commitment, we are ending all American support for offensive operations in the war in Yemen, including relevant arm sales.”
Rethinking US security
DONNA PARK – Most Americans who either support or accept the large amount of money spent on the U.S. military probably do so because they think it makes our nation secure. But does it really?
Anti-Protest Laws Threaten Civil Liberties
LAURA FINLEY – No state should welcome laws that criminalize free speech and introduce bias against nonviolent dissent or free assembly.
A Progressive Agenda for Biden’s Foreign Policy
MEL GURTOV – The predominant direction of a progressive US president should be toward “Making America Safe for the World.†That means focusing on domestic problems rather than on foreign policy crusading, relying on diplomacy before making threats and imposing sanctions, redefining the national interest with an eye toward real friends and urgent issues, and finding common ground with adversaries, starting with China, while remaining faithful to our ideals.
Democrats, Here’s How to Lose in 2022. And Deserve It.
EZRA KLEIN – Democrates have two years to prove that the American political system can work. Two years to show Trumpism was an experiment that need not be repeated. Two years. This is the responsibility the Democratic majority must bear: If they fail or falter, they will open the door for Trumpism or something like it to return, and there is every reason to believe it will be far worse next time. To stop it, Democrats need to reimagine their role. They cannot merely defend the political system. They must rebuild it.
Don’t Let President Biden ‘Make Us the Dupes of Our Hopes’
NORMAN SOLOMON – The best way to not become disillusioned is to not have illusions in the first place. And the best way to win economic and social justice is to keep organizing and keep pushing. What can happen during the Biden presidency is up for grabs.
Three Pro-Nuclear Power Bills Introduced into the Legislature
LLOYD K. MARBET – The three pro-nuclear power bills introduced into the legislature must be opposed.
Countering The Fascism To Come
ROBERT C. KOEHLER – The questions, as President Biden takes office, turn increasingly paradoxical: Is a coup, and resulting fascism, the nation’s biggest worry? What about the return to normalcy? I fear the latter as much as I fear the former.
Celebrate MLK’s Legacy: Bring US Into the Nuclear Weapons Ban Treaty
GERRY CONDON – As a veteran concerned about issues of war and peace, I am happy to celebrate the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), the important new international peace initiative. The “Nuclear Ban Treaty,†as it is also known, was approved 122-1 by the UN General Assembly in July 2017, a clear expression of the will of the world’s people. On October 24, 2020, Honduras became the 50th nation to ratify the TPNW, triggering a 90-day period before it goes into force, on January 22.
Healing Our Country Requires Justice
REV. DR. EMMA JORDAN-SIMPSON – Doing the difficult work of determining the truth and demanding accountability for Donald Trump and the insurrectionists he incited is a small down payment on the truth required for democracy.
25 Organizations: Victoria Nuland’s Nomination Should Be Rejected
WORLD BEYOND WAR – Victoria Nuland, former foreign policy adviser to vice president Dick Cheney, should not be nominated for Undersecretary of State, and if nominated should be rejected by the Senate.
Don’t Just Denounce Trump. Demand Progressive Policies from Biden Too.
NORMAN SOLOMON – The Republican plunge into Trumpism has made the party especially unhinged and dangerous, but its basic ideology has long been a shameless assault on minimal standards of human decency. Now — while Democratic leaders and most corporate media outlets are suitably condemning the fascist tendencies of Trump and his followers — deeper analysis and stepped-up progressive organizing are urgently needed.
Lies, Betrayal and the Storming of the Capitol
EMMA JORDAN-SIMPSON – We must face the truth: This is America, and this is who we will always be until we can tell ourselves the truth about the lies we keep alive.
‘Raises From Coast to Coast in 2021’: New Year, Higher Minimum Wages in 24 States and 50 Municipalities Thanks to Fight for $15
“These increases [in the minimum wage around the United States] are a testament to the power of workers coming together and fighting for what real people and families need.”KENNY STANCIL –
What Happened On Capitol Hill Was Predictable. Now What?
STEVE KILLELEA – We need to view our societies as systems, applying the principles of systems thinking. Once a system is moving in a positive direction it is self-reinforcing; it creates a virtuous cycle and Positive Peace provides a lens through which to view a system.
Climate Activists Mount Utility Strike to Urge the Shutdown of New England Coal Plant
BARBARA PETERSON – The Strike Down Coal campaign provides a COVID-safe form of disobedience, building on more than a year of direct actions to shut down Merrimack Station. Activists protest the continued burning of coal in New England by refusing to pay utility bills, and mailing coal to the utility company instead. (Facebook/No Coal No Gas)
An Open Letter on DAPL
JOHN EAGLE SR. – “Our experience is that the U.S. does not honor the treaties of their grandfathers,†writes the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe’s historic preservation officer.
Georgia Closes Black Polling Stations
GREG PALAST and ZACH D. ROBERTS – With Georgia voters to decide control of the United States Senate in a special run-off on January 5, GOP officials appear to be doing all they can to make voting for African-Americans a hellacious experience.
Concerning Violence and Hate: A New Year’s Wish
SASKIA HOSTETLER LIPPY MD – Lately, I have been reflecting on what I have in common with extremists. It turns out that the list is longer than one would think. I hold their same passions for change, an ability to withstand discomfort–put more bluntly, tolerance for risk of pain that some term masochism–and I share a lack of tolerance for passivity and denial. Extremists are people of action. I am a person of action. I empathize with their demand to be heard and seen. They want us to feel their pain, even to the point of killing us to further their cause. As a pacifist and humanist, where I differ radically is in the choice of tactics.
Justice for All Essential Workers
ANDREW MOSS – One of the most pronounced areas of inequity of the pandemic involves frontline essential workers in such fields as public transport, food manufacturing, health care, postal work, retail, and grocery work. There are necessary and feasible ways of mitigating such inequalities in the short-term, but, as with any injustice, achieving short-term mitigations doesn’t come without struggle.
The Boss Who Put Everyone on $70K
STEPHANIE HEGARTY – In 2015, the boss of a card payments company in Seattle introduced a $70,000 minimum salary for all of his 120 staff – and personally took a pay cut of $1m. Five years later he’s still on the minimum salary, and says the gamble has paid off.
Demand That Progressives in Congress Force Pelosi’s Hand
FORCETHEVOTE – We demand that every progressive in Congress refuse to vote for Nancy Pelosi for Speaker of the House until she publicly pledges to bring Medicare for all to the floor of the House for a vote in January. Force the Vote!
Peru ‘Coup’: Public Fury Forces Resignation of Interim President Leaving Dangerous Power Vacuum
ALONSO GURMENDI DUNKELBERT – The growing popularity of parliamentary coups in Latin America is frequently overlooked outside of the region, but it is nonetheless an extremely worrying practice. What has happened in Peru should be seen by the international community as a renewed opportunity to examine this new kind of antidemocratic procedure. In the meantime, without a clear consensus on how to move forward and restore stability, there will be difficult months ahead for Peru – and Latin American democracy in general.
Why Progressives Must Not Give Joe Biden a Political Honeymoon
NORMAN SOLOMON – Silence or grumbling acquiescence as the Biden presidency takes shape would amount to a political repetition disorder of the sort that ushered in disastrous political results under the Clinton and Obama administrations. Progressives must now take responsibility and take action. As Nina Turner says, “everything we love is on the line.â€
Choose Democracy’s Whirlwind Effort to Prevent a Coup is a Crash Course in Good Organizing
EILEEN FLANAGAN – Choose Democracy — the whirlwind start-up that trained 10,000 people to prevent an election-related power grab — started with just three folks. Two had full-time jobs and small children. The other was 82 years old. Over the summer of 2020, Daniel Hunter, Jenny Marienau and George Lakey observed alarming signs that Donald Trump might not go quietly if defeated at the polls. As experienced trainers and organizers, they knew that preparation helped people to act powerfully. So they decided to prepare people to resist a potential coup based on nonviolent strategies that have worked in other countries.
How Secular Power is Changing America
JAMES A. HAUGHT – Churchless Americans began soaring in the 1990s and climbed past one-fourth of the population. They tend to hold compassionate social views, making them the biggest faith group in the Democratic Party base.
Announcing “No Honeymoon” for Biden
ROOTSACTION.ORG – On December 16, the progressive activist group RootsAction.org announced the launch of “No Honeymoon†— a sustained campaign that will mobilize grassroots pressure on Joe Biden from across the country. The group’s NoHoneymoon.org website invites activists “to join with RootsAction to push back against the destructive forces of corporate power, racial injustice, extreme income inequality, environmental assault and the military-industrial complex.â€
How Portland Radicalized Me
SASKIA HOSTETLER LIPPY, MD – Today I find myself in an untenable position. I run an online encrypted mental health service to serve the Portland protest movement. This is the story of how I came to use a code name, an encrypted email and apps, and risk myself to help frontline activists.
Is It Time to Re-Envision Our Constitution?
GREG COLERIDGE and JESSICA MUNGER – The electoral crisis, the decline of trust in government, and gross income inequality in the United States may seem like separate issues. But they have a surprising, common origin: the US Constitution, or more accurately, its shortcomings. Indeed, the depth of multiple crises in our nation in 2020 — if not their existence entirely — are all rooted in our flawed Constitution and the judicial decisions that it has facilitated.
Meet the Volunteer Organizing Team Helping Non-Union Workers during the Pandemic
ERIC DIRNBACH – As early as March, there was a clear need to find ways to assist workers in confronting the new unsafe world at work. That’s when the Emergency Workplace Organizing Committee, or EWOC, was born. A joint project of the Democratic Socialists of America and the United Electrical workers union, EWOC recruited volunteer organizers to talk with workers who wanted to organize around COVID-19 concerns. It created a request form for workers to fill out, which it spread through social media. Inquiries from workers started coming in every day.
Earth to Portland: Dispatch from the Nation’s Problem Child
TOM H. HASTINGS and SASKIA HOSTETLER LIPPY MD – It’s time for us to show the world that Portland is a town of peace warriors. Let’s practice activism that everyone can participate in, including our children. This world is theirs to inherit–let’s make our streets safe for them again.
In India: Largest Organized Strike in Human History
PEOPLE’S DISPATCH – Despite police repression and the COVID-19 pandemic, workers and farmers and their allies across India participated in the pan-India strike action against the recent neoliberal reforms pushed through by the Narendra Modi government.
Yes, It’s Time to Come Home—Now
ANDREW BACEVICH – As Americans learned in Vietnam, the only way to end a war gone wrong is to leave the field of battle. If that describes Trump’s intentions in Afghanistan, then we may finally have some reason to be grateful for his service to our nation. With time, Joe Biden and Mitch McConnell might even come to see the wisdom of doing so.
Some Liberals and Arms-Control Experts Are Cheering for War Profiteers to Be in Biden’s Cabinet
NORMAN SOLOMON – Some foreign-policy specialists with progressive reputations now extol potential Cabinet picks who’ve combined pushing for continuous war and hugely expensive new weapons systems with getting rich as dealmakers for the military-industrial complex.
Restoring Democracy, Strengthening the Right to Vote
MEL GURTOV – A complete overhaul of the political system is impossible because the system itself is rotting at the foundations and immune to fundamental change. Addressing the structural problems has to begin somewhere, and the voting system seems like that place.
Biden’s Hawkish Foreign Policy Picks Are a Very Bad Sign | Common Dreams Views
SARAH LAZARE – Biden’s incoming team helped shape some of the most militaristic policies of the Obama administration.