NORMAN SOLOMON – The Supreme Court’s first chief justice, John Jay, would have empathized with the billionaires who’ve been freaking out ever since Zohran Mamdani won the Democratic primary for mayor of New York last Tuesday. “Those who own the country ought to govern it,” Jay insisted. But now, oligarchs accustomed to such governance are furious that the nation’s capital of capitalism is in danger of serving people instead of megaprofits.
Great Tactic: The Highway Overpass Is Our Public Square
TAMAR WYSCHOGROD – I’m part of a Visibility Brigade, the rush-hour resistance groups that take to highway overpasses to display protest messages for all to see.
For the Next Steps with Iran, Let’s Work on an International Diplomatic Solution
DR. ALLEN PIETROBON – History has shown us that, in a moment defined by the overwhelming tensions that nuclear weapons create, sometimes the most powerful weapon of all is the strength of international dialogue and agreement.
The Descent of Republicanism into Christian Nationalism and Delusions of Grandeur
BOB TOPPER – A number of major problems began when the Republican Party became theocratic. Democracy requires rational debate guided by facts, and it achieves progress through compromise. But the religious right eschews rational debate for they are guided by belief, the acceptance that things are true when they are not supported by fact. They reject for instance the fact of global warming and accept, without evidence, that Trump won the 2020 election. So, unlike the Republican Party of Eisenhower, Goldwater, Reagan, or George H.W. Bush, today’s theocratic party is unable to find common ground and is thus unable to govern–instead they attempt to rule.
Lessons in courage, care and collective action from the international accompaniment movement
MOIRA BIRSS and ZIA KANDLER – International accompaniment was developed in Central America during the 1980s and ’90s in response to threats against human rights defenders, communities and activists at the height of the civil wars there. Recognizing the global power dynamics and unequal treatment across borders by state actors, international solidarity movements and accompaniment organizations emerged to provide a protective presence, using international volunteers to deter violence and support grassroots struggles for justice.
Real World Effects as Republicans Scuttle International Humanitarian Assistance
LAWRENCE WITTNER – Calling for aid “to help 114 million people facing life-threatening needs across the world,” the UN Office for Humanitarian Affairs said that “this isn’t just an appeal for money―it’s a call for global responsibility, for human solidarity, for a commitment to end the suffering.” Thus far, there’s no indication that the Trump administration has that commitment.