GEORGE CASSIDY PAYNE – America likes to tell its story as a procession of wars won and enemies defeated. But its deeper moral history, the one that actually bends toward justice, has been written by those who resisted domination: slavery, empire, and the dangerous fiction that violence is the engine of progress. On a cold January afternoon outside City Hall, Zohran Mamdani stepped into that unfinished struggle. As he raised his right hand and took the oath of office as mayor of New York City—the first Muslim ever to do so—he embodied a quieter American tradition: the insistence that conscience belongs in public life.
The Next Frontier of Climate Accountability: Making Big Food Pay Its Ecological Bill
ALEX CRISP – The “polluter pays” principle transformed the energy industry half a century ago. Now, as industrial agriculture drives climate breakdown, deforestation, and water scarcity, experts say it’s time to apply the same rule to our food systems—and make corporations, not consumers, bear the cost of the damage.
AI misinformation is threatening emergency communications. Here’s how to fix that
ETHAN BEATY – Guarding against AI misinformation isn’t about limiting speech. It’s about making reliable, life-saving information rise above the noise quickly, while preserving free public discourse the rest of the time.
Veteran organizer Marshall Ganz sees a path to power under Trump
NADA ZOHDY – Democracy isn’t something you have, it’s something you do. It’s a practice. Practices involve concepts, skills and values, but they are dynamic. There’s always new learning to be had. Everyone builds relationships. Tells stories. Strategizes. We all create structures, which are commitments about how we work together. And we can track the results of our actions — we can count if people did or didn’t come to our meeting.
Whatever Happened to Trump’s ‘Golden Age’ for American Workers?
LAWRENCE S. WITTNER – Although Trump’s second term in office might have provided a “Golden Age” for the President and his fellow billionaires, it has produced harsh and challenging times for American workers.
Another Trump Bribe: 1776 Tax Dollars to Each Soldier
KARY LOVE – An optimist would look to see a rising tsunami of true American patriots refusing the bribe and donating the money to pay off the national debt or to charity, saying, “No Kings, No Caesars,” I am an American. I stand with the Founders, I support the Republic.