In a new interview with The Wall Street Journal, immortal Hague fugitive Henry Kissinger says the US is acting in a crazy and irrational way that has brought it to the edge of war with Russia and China. Continue reading
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Category Archives: Commentary
You are being lied to about the IRS
The IRS is set to receive its largest funding increase in years thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act. Continue reading
Without Palestine, there is no Arab unity: Why normalization with Israel will fail
It seemed all but a done deal: Israel is finally managing to bend the Arabs to its will, and Palestine is becoming a marginal issue that no longer defines Israel’s relations with Arab countries. Indeed, normalization with Israel is afoot, and the Arabs, so it seems, have been finally tamed. Continue reading
The GOP never gave Ray DeMonia a chance to survive
Ray DeMonia of Cullman, Alabama, was a good and decent man, an antique collector and auctioneer, beloved by friends and family. He and his family were vaccinated, so they didn’t have to worry much about COVID. Continue reading
Watch out for big corporations and dangerous politicians breaking our established norms
Norms, in a society or culture, are the accepted ways of behavior we grow up observing and learning in our everyday lives. Norms are rarely backed up by laws, though when norms are grossly violated, calls for legislation may ensue. Continue reading
The real motive behind the GOP’s “culture war”
Why do Putin and the Republican Party sound so much alike? Simple: Their culture wars have similar agendas. Continue reading
Cracker Barrel’s offering a new sausage option. The response is bananas.
In an effort to keep up with the times and serve a profitable market segment, southern-style comfort-food restaurant chain Cracker Barrel recently added a new item to its menu. Continue reading
Nancy Pelosi, white supremacy, and China
White supremacist arrogance was the order of the day when Nancy Pelosi ignored a red line set by the Chinese government and visited Taiwan. The Speaker of the House showed stereotypical and racist attitudes towards that country.
Nancy Pelosi is a member of the United States Congress. She isn’t just any member either, she is Speaker of the House of Representatives, an important leadership position in U.S. politics. She is also third in line to the presidency. If something should happen to the president and vice president she would lead the executive branch of government. Continue reading
A never-before FBI raid on a former president who is like no other
We have only one bulwark against this menace. It is called the rule of law.
“Nothing like this has ever happened to a President of the United States before,” Donald Trump raged Monday evening after FBI agents searched his Mar-a-Lago home in Palm Beach, Florida, and broke open a safe, apparently looking for documents that Trump illegally took from the White House. Continue reading
A new third party just launched—it’s the same Washington rot with a different name
We finally have a real third party in the United States that the mainstream media is willing to talk about. I bet they’ll give them ballot access and everything. And this new party has nothing to do with the Democrats or the Republicans, right? Continue reading
The futility of arming teachers
You don’t have to go to a gun shop or even a gun show to find a gun in the USA. You don’t even have to leave your house, just do a web search like “guns for sale.” Continue reading
Kansas: What it looks like when the “center” wins
On August 2, voters in Kansas rejected an amendment to the state constitution which would have increased the legislature’s power to regulate (or ban) abortion. Continue reading
Turning people into corporations?!
The market is not the go-to solution to the major problems of our age.
You’ve heard about corporations being treated like people. It’s one of the outrages of the Citizens United decision some years back by the Supreme Court, that corporations have a right to free speech just like individuals and therefore can contribute unlimited money to candidates running for office. Bye-bye, democracy. Continue reading
What would past presidents say of Trump?
Donald Trump is, by far, the worst president of the United States in its 246 years of existence. All of the living presidents have pretty much said so. So have most legitimate historians and scholars of the presidency. But what would have those who served long ago as president think of the person who has become so reviled as the worst in their ranks? Some of America’s past presidents were no shrinking violets when it came to tossing barbs at those they despised. From Dwight Eisenhower’s dislike of Senator Joseph McCarthy to Thomas Jefferson’s contempt for John Adams, past presidents let it be known, in no uncertain terms, what they thought of their adversaries. Therefore, in examining the historical record, it can be deduced what past presidents would have thought of and said about president number 45. Continue reading
Why resistance matters: Palestinians are challenging Israel’s unilateralism, dominance
Until recently, Israeli politics did not matter to Palestinians. Though the Palestinian people maintained their political agency under the most demoralizing conditions, their collective action rarely influenced outcomes in Israel, partly due to the massive discrepancy of power between the two sides. Continue reading
FBI attack on the Uhuru movement is a warning
The FBI targeted the African People’s Socialist Party (APSP) because it is a Black organization that has dared to confront and oppose U.S. imperialism. APSP is the first but they will not be the last.
On July 29, 2022, the FBI raided the Uhuru House in St. Petersburg, Florida and the Uhuru Solidarity Center in St. Louis, Missouri. The raids were connected with the indictment of a Russian national who is accused of attempting to “cause turmoil in the United States” by engaging with “Unindicted Co-Conspirators” to act as agents of the Russian Federation. Continue reading
The greatest trick the devil ever pulled
Anger is erupting around the world, and people have much to be angry about. Covid, famine, energy shortages, inflation.
“The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist.” This quote is attributed to the French author, philosopher and poet Charles Baudelaire from an article published in La Figro in 1864. It was a time of upheaval and discontent in France, social unrest, inequality, and a return to an Aristocratic status quo after the failure of the French Revolution. It was a confused and divisive time. Baudelaire’s article was seen as a metaphor for the evil dark forces that ruled the beleaguered French people at the time. Baudelaire’s Devil didn’t hide, he was open and was there for those with the eyes to see. Nor did he apologise or explain his evil. This Devil, the very personification of all things evil, was protected by the inherent goodness of the majority. The masses who could not comprehend the level of malevolence that dominated and controlled their lives, regardless of how obvious these forces were. The Devil had indeed convinced the people that he didn’t exist. And so the Devil remained in situ. Continue reading
The weaponization of food
Russia and Ukraine have come to an agreement on food exports. Will the deal hold?
When Russia bombed the port in Odesa last month, it was not an auspicious beginning to the new deal on grain exports. If anyone believed that this agreement between Moscow and Kyiv would have some positive spillover effect on the war grinding on elsewhere in Ukraine, the Russian military surely destroyed that wishful thinking. Continue reading
The anti-China brainwashing is working: Notes from the Edge of the Narrative Matrix
If someone criticizing the most dangerous agendas of the most powerful and destructive government on earth looks like “Russian propaganda” or “Chinese propaganda” to you, it’s because you yourself have been brainwashed by propaganda. Continue reading
Nancy Pelosi Taiwan visit could get us all killed
The consequences—far from being only economic and diplomatic—could be existential for all of humanity.
The arrogance of power is especially ominous and despicable when a government leader risks huge numbers of lives in order to make a provocative move on the world’s geopolitical chessboard. Nancy Pelosi’s plan to visit Taiwan is in that category. Thanks to her, the chances of a military confrontation between China and the United States have spiked upward. Continue reading
Trapped in the slaughterhouse
Western civilization is a story of full bellies and starving hearts. Of a feast of information and a famine of truth. Of conveyor belts churning out processed food, conformity-enforcing media and power-serving culture. Enough food to stay alive but not enough sustenance to live. Continue reading
Europe is at a tipping point, as the abyss is closer than we think
It’s Italy which will fire the starter’s gun on a turnaround on the EU’s policy on Russia and the Ukraine war.
It might well be Italy which marks the starting point of a demise of sorts of the EU, as the coalition government collapses. Mario Draghi, who might be remembering interest rate hikes like the ECB’s this week, which only happened previously when he was the boss overseeing the eurozone crisis, is out. Continue reading
Washington is the problem, not the solution: Why Mahmoud Abbas is seeking new ‘powerful’ sponsors
To judge US President Joe Biden’s recent visit to Israel and Palestine as a ‘failure’ in terms of activating the dormant ‘peace process’ is simply a misnomer. For this statement to be accurate, Washington would have had to indicate even a nominal desire to push for negotiations between the Israeli government and the Palestinian leadership. Continue reading
Get Brittney Griner back? Sure—but release her counterparts in America, too
On July 27, the Biden administration offered their Russian counterparts a deal: Release WNBA player Brittney Griner and alleged US spy Paul Whelan, in return for the US releasing Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout. Continue reading
Glen Ford’s irreplaceable journalism
I was very proud to write the preface to Glen Ford's book, The Black Agenda, which published posthumously by OR Books. I endeavored to explain why Glen was truly irreplaceable.
In the best sense of the word a journalist is someone who brings to the public sphere accurate, well sourced information, and rigorous analysis. Those individuals speak for the marginalized, who can’t speak for themselves, and they expose the privileged, who are always given opportunities for expression. They point out the faults of those deemed too authoritative to be questioned. If an outlet claims to write all the news that is fit to print or declares that democracy dies in darkness, their work should be given more scrutiny than credibility. The journalist should be truly independent and skeptical of official narratives. Glen Ford was such a person. His decades of work provide a blueprint for anyone who wants that word to have real meaning and integrity. Continue reading
It’s time to crack down on excessive CEO pay
The pay gap between workers and CEOs at America’s largest low-wage employers is now 670 to 1. That’s obscene.
Working families are getting hammered by inflation while corporate leaders and politicians are calling for belt-tightening. But there’s one group of Americans that’s actually profited from increasing prices. Continue reading
The phoniest, most PR-intensive war of all time
The president and first lady of Ukraine have posed for a romantic photoshoot with Vogue magazine, wherein President Volodymyr Zelensky waxes poetical about his love for his darling wife. Continue reading
How Amazon, Starbucks, and other companies fight unions
You as a worker have a legal right to join a union, but there are many ways big corporations are skirting the law to stop you from getting your fair share. You could be working for a union-buster and not even know it. Continue reading
The Respect for Marriage Act doesn’t go far enough
The sound of the US Supreme Court’s June ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, overturning half a century of abortion jurisprudence under Roe v. Wade, is the sound of multiple cans of worms popping open, particularly in light of associate justice Clarence Thomas’s concurrence, which calls for the court to “correct the error” of “substantive due process” by overturning other previous court decisions based on it. Continue reading
The Trump-initiated civil war to come: a complete description
Right now, you’re probably asking yourself, “What does Jack think would likely happen if a shooting war broke out between Democrats and Republicans?” Continue reading
We’ve been lied to our whole lives about everything that matters
Stories about protagonists who’ve been misguided their whole lives about something very important have been emerging in our culture for generations, and they continue to delight audiences in the box office to this day. Continue reading
All our systems are built to elevate viciousness
Posted on August 17, 2022 by Caitlin Johnstone
There’s a scene in The Usual Suspects where Kevin Spacey tells the fable of the mysterious Keyser Soze and how he became a crime lord. Continue reading →