BOB TOPPER – Using language to attack, control, and manipulate others conceals the underlying fear, ignorance, and insecurity of Christian extremists. This tactic serves not only as a mask for their own anxieties, but also as a tool to demean, intimidate, and incite hatred toward those with differing views. . . . Their reliance on language as a weapon derives from a refusal to reconcile faith with actual inquiry and perpetuates discord within American society. . . . No wonder we are so divided.
Category: December 2025
Trump is manipulating national security to stop energy projects he doesn’t like
PETER GLEICK – On Monday, December 22, the Trump Administration announced it was pausing five major offshore wind energy projects, citing “national security risks” in new classified studies from the Defense Department that suggested the projects could cause “clutter” or radar interference. It’s hard not to conclude that this claim is specious—a new excuse to try to stop wind projects that Trump personally doesn’t like—especially since these projects had all previously been reviewed and approved by the Defense Department with no objections.
A Christmas story: The courage Jesus learned as a refugee
KARY LOVE – Jesus’s birth was a silent night, when all was calm and all was bright, but there was a context to the Christmas story critical to understanding the lesson of Christmas. This context gives insight into why Jesus taught what he later taught.
The Blue Road: Author Norman Solomon Warns of Democrats’ Missteps in New Book
NINA SCHMIDT – Ultimately, The Blue Road to Trump Hell is both a memorialization and a warning: a chronicle of Democratic Party leadership’s mistakes and the political and economic conditions that produced them. The book stands as an act of resistance to complacency and collective amnesia, offering a moment of accountability, while being in and of itself an artifact of cautious optimism about a party’s ability to learn from its failures.
Nonviolently Removing a Dictator: How Other Countries Have Done It
GEORGE LAKEY – As research seminar students at Swarthmore continue to wade through history finding new cases, they are digging up details on struggles that go beyond democracy. The 1,400 already-published cases include campaigns for furthering environmental justice, racial and economic justice, and more. They are a resource for tactical ideas and strategy considerations, encouraging us to remember that even long-established dictators have been stopped by the power of nonviolent campaigns.
Trump’s Ukraine Proposal Is the Least Bad Option
REID SMITH – It would seem obvious that a perfect peace, i.e., one that gives every party everything they want, is not possible. This analysis addresses that issue head on by asserting that “an imperfect peace is better than a worsening war.”
What “America First” leaves out
WINSLOW MYERS – What can creative state power do to make it less so? America is strong enough to learn a new role for itself in the world, based in an accurate vision of the realities that lie ahead. What if our security strategy was to aggressively lead on climate and Earth-regeneration? Sadly, looking for opportunities to cooperate could lead to a level of prosperity that seems beyond the comprehension of the people who wrote the 2025 National Security Strategy.
There IS a Way to Overcome the UN’s Biggest Structural Problem
DONNA PARK – The recently formed Article 109 Coalition is now working towards a conference to review and strengthen the UN Charter. Concerned Americans should learn more about it and take action to support it. There is a better way to govern our world and to keep humanity safe and secure from military threats and crimes against humanity. Let’s move forward with it!
When it all comes crashing down: The aftermath of the AI boom
JEREMY HSU – Like financial crises of the past, an abrupt end to the AI bubble could inflict considerable economic pain on millions of people worldwide. But the alternative is the prolonging of an AI bubble that is increasingly unsustainable in both the financial and environmental senses, with the winners mainly being some of the wealthiest companies on the planet and their investors.
We Need To Know How Corporate Democrats Made President Trump Possible
NORMAN SOLOMON – Saving the country from autocracy requires recognizing and overcoming the chokehold that Democratic leaders have on the party.
US Presence in Iraq is Still Destabilizing. Follow the Money to Oil.
SOPHIA GONZALEZ – Iraq has the right to shape its own future without foreign soldiers in the background and foreign governments pulling economic strings. As long as U.S. power in Iraq is only resized and rebranded instead of reduced and held accountable, the chapter that began with invasion remains open – not for policymakers in Washington, but for the people who still live with its consequences every day.
The awkward canonization of Dick Cheney
JARED O. BELL – The carefully curated remembrance of Dick Cheney, respectful as it may be, was incomplete. It was sanitized. It skipped the chapters that defined millions of other people’s lives far more than his virtues ever did.
Wyden Wants to Follow Epstein’s Money
RON WYDEN – We need to force the Treasury to release the Epstein bank records. I have a bill to make that happen. I’m going to keep following the money until the American people know the full truth.
Why America Is Removing Thousands of Dams and Letting Rivers Run Free
TARA LOHAN – After centuries of dam building, a nationwide movement to dismantle these aging barriers is showing how free-flowing rivers can restore ecosystems, improve safety, and reconnect people with nature.
Healing this country will require unrelenting nonviolence
ANDREW MOSS – A culture of nonviolence must continue to flourish and grow as more people engage in ways of protecting themselves, their families, their communities, and democracy itself.