“My research has found that Carter was far more conservative than previously recognized. Evidence from newly opened archives shows that Carter initiated the deregulation of U.S. industry and finance, reduced the power of organized labor, lowered taxes on business, and imposed austerity measures that intentionally raised unemployment among working people. Carter also augmented military spending for the first time in a decade, diverting resources from domestic programs, while increasing U.S. interventions overseas. Carter provoked the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979, greatly escalating international tensions, as former national security advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski later boasted. He reoriented the Democratic Party in…

More than 500 federal taxpayers across 10 Northern California counties have filed an unprecedented class action lawsuit against their congressional representatives, Jared Huffman and Mike Thompson, charging that they illegally abused their tax-and-spend authority when voting to allocate $26.38 billion in military aid to Israel on April 20, 2024. By doing so, the lawsuit alleges, they violated the U.S. Constitution, the United Nations’ Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide, and U.S. federal laws.

“We had a university campus in Gaza. It was destroyed by an Israeli airstrike during Holy week this year. We have 36 staff, all of them displaced. They refuse to surrender to fear. They are determined to do something against the fear, the trauma, the depression. They volunteer daily reaching out to the thousands of displaced children around them with art therapy programs so that the children can heal, at least partially.”

With the second Trump presidency looming, experts are concerned about a host of emerging issues in public health, including immunization practices, biomedical research, federal funds, and fears about bird flu. 

“Israel’s abusive repudiation of the very idea of the United Nations, its escalating and lethal violation of countless international norms, its repeated, deadly attacks on UN sanctuaries and peacekeepers justifies its expulsion.”

“President-elect Donald J. Trump has confirmed the incoming administration’s interest in exploring privatization of the United States Postal Service (USPS). Privatization would repudiate the Postal Service’s public service mission. The public postal system exists to serve all, delivering such critical items as medications and lab tests, not to turn a profit. No profit-making company would provide universal service to all corners of the nation on a daily basis. Millions of Americans receive daily deliveries because the Postal Service is not a for-profit company. In fact, such private delivery companies as FedEx and the United Parcel Service (UPS) use the Postal…

“Regardless of who ultimately controls a future government in Damascus, Israel exploited the chaos following Assad’s fall to make sure that Syria does not retain the military capacity to defend itself. And Israel did so with the tacit support of Joe Biden and his administration, who repeated Israel’s argument that it was acting pre-emptively in self-defense against potential threats from Syrian rebels and jihadists. A country invading its neighbor and destroying most of its military within 48 hours would usually be considered an act of aggression under international law. But over the past year, we’ve seen that the international community…

“Imagine for a moment that a magnitude 8 earthquake occurred somewhere in the world, and the Western corporate media refused to use the word ‘earthquake’ in reporting it, instead talking ambiguously of a ‘tectonic incident’ that had caused buildings to collapse and people to die.”

“Based on pure speculation the government claimed Rahman was ideologically motivated and therefore more dangerous than other defendants. If taken to its logical conclusion, it would mean the government believes whistleblowers who act out of the public interest are a greater threat than spies who betray their country for financial gain.” 

“It’s absolutely true that RFK Jr. is an unusual political figure. But it’s also true that he has deep roots in our politics going all the way back to his uncle, John F. Kennedy. The Kennedys have always been present in our political system because mainstream Democrats have tried to recapture the political magic of this charismatic figure who was able, both in life and in death, to capture the affection of a lot of people in both parties. A similar story played out with RFK Sr., who seemed to advance the progressive promise even more. There’s a lot of…