KEVIN MARTIN – President Donald Trump likes to be known for his deal-making, and now he has the opportunity to make deals that can impact world peace and security, not just real estate or other business deals for his profit. North Korea would be a great place to start.
Category: Analysis
Trump Is Our Imperial Vulture Come Home to Roost – We Must Repent
BOB FITRIKAS and HARVEY WASSERMAN – As the nightmare reality of Donald Trump sinks in, we need to put our resistance in a larger perspective.
Let’s Give the CIA the Credit It Deserves
NORMAN SOLOMON – For months now, our country has endured the tacit denigration of American ingenuity. Countless statements — from elected officials, activist groups, journalists and many others — have ignored our nation’s superb blend of dazzling high-tech capacities and statecraft mendacities. Fortunately, this week the news about release of illuminating CIA documents by WikiLeaks has begun to give adequate credit where due. And not a moment too soon. For way too long, Russia has been credited with prodigious hacking and undermining of democracy in the United States.
Contacts with Russian Diplomats are Normal Statecraft
JACK MATLOCK – Finding a way to improve relations with Russia is in the vital interest of the United States. Nuclear weapons constitute an existential threat to our nation, and indeed to humanity. We are on the brink of another nuclear arms race which would be not only dangerous in itself, but would make cooperation with Russia on many other important issues virtually impossible. Those who are trying to find a way to improve relations with Russia should be praised, not scapegoated.
Our Causes Are Connected, Our Movements Should Be Too
DAVID SWANSON – In my view, not only was Thomas Jefferson right to list all of King George’s wrongs, not only was Martin Luther King Jr. right to propose taking on militarism, racism, and extreme materialism all together, but the way to an effective movement — not just a larger movement, but a coherent movement with a vision for a better future — is to go multi-issue, big-tent, cross-border, and otherwise “intersectional.â€
Trump Can Prove He’s Not a Putin Puppet by Blowing Up the World
NORMAN SOLOMON – Four weeks into Donald Trump’s presidency, New York Times columnist Paul Krugman wrote that “nothing he has done since the inauguration allays fears that he is in effect a Putin puppet.†The liberal pundit concluded with a matter-of-fact reference to “the Trump-Putin axis.†Such lines of attack have become routine, citing and stoking fears that the president of the United States is a Kremlin stooge. The meme is on the march — and where it will end, nobody knows. Actually, it could end with a global nuclear holocaust.
What You Need to Know about the “Carbon Bubble” to Understand Trump
ALEX STEFFEN- You can’t understand what Trump’s doing to America without understanding the “Carbon Bubble.â€
What It Takes to Change Hearts and Minds
COLIN BEAVAN – Some years ago, the communications psychologist John Marshall Roberts said at a talk I attended that there are three ways of converting people to a cause: by threat of force, by intellectual argument, and by inspiration. The most effective of these methods, Roberts said, is aligning communication about your cause with the most deeply-held values and aspirations of your friends, relatives, neighbors, and fellow citizens. To get people’s total, lasting, and unwavering support, in other words, we should try neither to cajole them judgmentally nor convince them forcefully. We should inspire them toward a vision that they—not we—can really care about.
It May Take Only 3.5% of the Population to Topple a Dictator – with Civil Resistance
ERICA CHENOWTH – The United States has a rich history with effective uses of nonviolent resistance. It’s time to become familiar with it.
The Long Road to Impeach Trump Just Got Shorter
NORMAN SOLOMON – The momentum to impeach President Trump is accelerating.
Nomination of Jeff Sessions as U.S. Attorney General Poses Threat to Our Democracy
COMMON CAUSE: Karen Hobert Flynn, Paul S. Ryan, Allegra Chapman – The nomination of Sen. Jeff Sessions to serve as U.S. Attorney General is a threat to many of our nation’s most cherished ideals of democracy. His actions and publicly stated views are out of touch with our nation’s citizens, its laws, and with the Constitution.
Does Rachel Maddow Want Russia Bombed?
DAVID SWANSON – Does Rachel Maddow Want Russia Bombed? Here’s why I ask. Maddow devotes many minutes on MSNBC stirring up hatred of Russia in order to establish that there is a vague possibility that President Donald Trump might be corrupted by a foreign government.
Here’s What’s Psychologically Wrong with Donald Trump
KAREN WEHRSTEIN – With all the talk of Donald Trump’s mental health status, I’ve decided to do something I’ve put off for a while: write a diary that shows he is a textbook case of Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD), and spell out what that means in terms of what to expect from him and how to deal with it. Certainly the term “narcissist†is being applied to him a lot, but most people don’t know the entirety of what that means, psychologically.
Reclaiming Our Democracy
ANDREW MOSS – Donald Trump can hardly sustain a movement as a “cure” or unifier. Something much deeper has to be involved, and that something is nothing less than the reclamation of our democracy and the democratic promise of the American experiment.
Trump Could Remake U.S.–Russian Relations, but Will He?
NICOLAI PETRO – The Trump administration has a unique opportunity to change the American foreign policy debate about Russia and move beyond the outdated policy of containment.
Six Things We Should Do Better As Everything Gets Worse
DAVID SWANSON – Here I am in occupied DC. The White House looks like a Green Zone. There was a time when you could walk up to it. Caravans of police cars and black SUVs zoom by with sirens blaring and everyone else forced aside. Do people look outraged? No, they grin and admire. We need more democratic perspectives. Here are six.
Healthcare is a Basic Human Right Not a Political Football
WIM LAVEN – On May 4th 2013 I delivered the eulogy for my 33-year-old brother. I’m not sure that our political representatives understand what this feels like when they make decisions to take healthcare away from people.
Allegations Against Russia Less Credible Every Day
DAVID SWANSON – The U.S. government has now generated numerous news stories and released multiple “reports” aimed at persuading us that Vladimir Putin is to blame for Donald Trump becoming president. U.S. media has dutifully informed us that the case has been made. But a closer analysis finds a different reality.
Family Life Under the Stigma of Undocumented Immigration
‘REBECCA SCHNEIDER’ – There are roughly 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the United States today. They have children, they work, and they pay taxes that they cannot claim later. They live in constant fear that they will be taken from their children who are citizens of the United States.
Obama Signs Momentous “Star Wars II” Defense Bill
TYLER DURDEN – The mainstream media has lambasted the president-elect for “endangering the world” and “starting another nuclear arms race.” However, that same mainstream media appears mute in their response to what President Obama just did.
Preparing for the Storm
DAVID CORTRIGHT – It is time for resistance, for acts of radical, even revolutionary, patriotism. We need to re-think our priorities and put our bodies and souls on the line. Business as usual is no longer an option.
Introducing the New Pledge of Allegiance
ROBERT kOEHLER – The challenge presented by Trump requires something more than resistance. I believe it requires reaching for, and pledging our allegiance to, a much larger, more compassionate and peace-oriented country than the one we have now. It requires pledging allegiance to the planet and the future.
Yes, Dubya, Now I Miss You
DAVID SWANSON – When George W. Bush made the case for attacking and destroying the nation of Iraq, he made claims that, if true, would have justified nothing. And he proposed as evidence for those claims fraudulent, implausible, and even ridiculous pieces of information. But he was expected to produce evidence. There was no assumption that he should simply be taken on faith. Those standards are gone.
Urgent to Progressives: Stop Fueling the Anti-Russia Frenzy
NORMAN SOLOMON – Many big factors affect any presidential race, and the Russian government may have tried to be one of them for the 2016 election—though it’s hardly the slam dunk that agencies like the CIA and U.S. mass media are now claiming. But in any event, this month it has become routine for a lot of progressive organizations and individuals to descend into a dangerous mode of partisan flackery — with troubling consequences.
How to Scrap the Electoral College
JOHN LAFORGE – The Electoral College is based on state law, so when enough additional states pass the National Popular Vote bill — enough to add up to the 270 electoral votes needed to win the White House — then the “electors†would be legally bound to vote for the popular vote winner and never again steal an election from the top vote getter.
People Are in the Streets Protesting Donald Trump. But When Does Protest Actually Work?
ERICA CHENOWETH – The politics of dissent is back in the United States. Since 2011, the country has witnessed the resurgence of popular action — from Occupy Wall Street to Flood Wall Street to Black Lives Matter to Standing Rock. Since Nov. 8, many Americans have participated in protests and marches in nearly every major city in opposition to Donald Trump’s election — or to counterprotest in defense of it. Recent data from around the world suggest that popular action is here to stay.
The Road Ahead in Saving the Climate
HUNTER CUTTING – Saving the climate and reaping the power of renewable energy is a vision that can help power the climate/sustainability movement as we go back to work. We will get no help from the Republican Congress or the Trump presidency in this effort. But the economics of the ongoing revolution in the energy sector will fuel our fight. And a large majority of Americans stand on our side. Those are considerable assets. Capitalizing upon them is the work ahead.
Media Complicity Is Key to Blacklisting Websites
NORMAN SOLOMON – We still don’t have any sort of apology or retraction from the Washington Post for promoting “The List†— the highly dangerous blacklist that got a huge boost from the newspaper’s fawning coverage on November 24. The project of smearing 200 websites with one broad brush wouldn’t have gotten far without the avid complicity of high-profile media outlets, starting with the Post. In media and government, the journalists and officials who enable blacklisting are cravenly siding with conformity instead of democracy.
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.
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 land. Is oil the new gold or is water the ultimate prize since we all need it to survive? (hint: a bottled gallon of water is about $10—a gallon of gasoline is less than $3) After hundreds of years of dishonorable actions and broken treaties, President Obama can stop this destruction of land, water, and people. Please take action, Mr. President, and assure your legacy to all Americans.
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 up some of what follows.
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.
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.
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?
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.
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
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
DAVID SWANSON – David Swanson answers questions posed by an Italian journalist about how to achieve global opposition to the very institution of war.
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
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.
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 the survival of human civilization? Or will our world be torn apart by a desperate scramble for dwindling supplies of precious resources as the most powerful countries use military force to try and grab what they can at the expense of everybody else? Our country’s current war policy offers only one answer to that question. We must find a different one – and an effective political strategy to impose it on our deluded leaders while there is still time.
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 arms sales are becoming the key drivers of U.S. and British policy. Oil still matters, of course. So do geopolitical interests, including military bases, and powerful political lobbies funded by Israel, Saudi Arabia, and the other Gulf states. But you can’t explain Washington’s deference to Saudi Arabia, despite its criminal war in Yemen and its admitted support for Islamist extremism, without acknowledging the political pull generated by more than $115 billion in U.S. military deals with Saudi Arabia authorized since President Obama took office.
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.
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.
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 United Nations Security Council: Who is running U.S. policy: Is it the Pentagon or the White House?
Latest Syria Trainwreck Shows the Obama Administration Is in a State of Confused Agony
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, possibly, elsewhere.
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 specifically prohibited under international law, nuclear weapons — by far the most destructive of them all — remarkably still have not. What is needed is a global legal ban on nuclear weapons, with specific provisions for the elimination of existing arsenals and a timeline for verified implementation.
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 can be implemented through legislative or regulatory action at the local, state or national level.
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.”
Time To Fundamentally Rethink Our Relationship with Russia
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.