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10 Wins Against Inequality to Celebrate in 2024

In dark times like these, shining a light on successful efforts to reverse our country’s extreme inequality is more important than ever. As we looked back on 2024, we actually found plenty to …

An Emerging US Health Care Politics?

In his new Netflix special, entertainer Jamie Foxx shares that he suffered a debilitating stroke. The $4.5 trillion US health care system at first failed to give him helpful treatment, which Foxx …

Sweeps Don’t Solve Homelessness

This summer, the Supreme Court’s Grants Pass ruling made it much easier for local governments to criminalize homelessness. Since then, cities and states across the country have stepped up their …

Summit of the Americas Can Spread Democracy Instead of War

Colorado senators Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper, both Democrats, and Senator Bill Cassidy (R-La.) recently celebrated the final passage of their Summit of the Americas Act to strengthen U.S. …

Let Freedom Ring. Or Maybe Not.

The wife of U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson need worry no longer. Prior to Mike being voted to continue his Speakership, she had been concerned for months—his restless sleep, his crying out, “No, …

Pardons Turn the Truth Around — Then and Now

Yes, I was there on Jan. 6, 2021, in the sacred temple of democracy when a mob’s deadly rampage darkened democracy and injured 140 police officers in a president’s plot to undo the election he …

Wondering About Wonder Drugs

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approves 40 to 50 drugs a year. Some are new molecules, while other approvals are of older drugs for new uses. Most don’t get much attention, but some become …

Project 2025: Will American Democracy Survive Trump's Second Term?

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Snowflakes are falling on the morning of Jan. 6 but it will not be enough to cover the ground over most of the South. It might lift some spirits for a few minutes, but the way …

Go Back in Time with Studs Terkel

Like many progressives, I’ve retreated a bit since the November election. I’m not watching much tv news and I don’t bird-dog all the headlines. I keep up on current events, but don’t obsess …

Political Economy Contradictions As We Lurch Into 2025

The Republicans (GOP), traditionally the U.S.’s anti-tax party, now promise to use tariffs to wage trade wars, to massively deport immigrants, and to stop drug traffic. But tariffs are simply the …

Fear New Year? Time to Summon Your Inner Molly

“You can’t ignore politics, no matter how much you’d like to.” – Molly Ivins In the quest toward a wiser and more just society, my wife is on the front lines. Meaning she’s the …

It All Went Up in Smoke

First chance I got following a tooth-pulling the Monday before Thanksgiving, I spat out that chunk of gauze and fired up a smoke. Then I checked instructions for post-extraction care: DO NOT …

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — The Syrian Revolution of 2024 has succeeded in deposing the al-Assad dynasty, in power since 1970, throwing off the rule of the once mighty Syrian Socialist Baath Party, a feared …

How Trump Corrupted Pam Bondi

Newspaper profiles of Pamela Bondi — subbed in as President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for U.S. attorney general following the scandalous implosion of Matt Gaetz — often describe her with a …

What Happened to Abortion

In 2022, voters in Kansas rejected a proposed state constitutional amendment that outlawed abortion. The vote was 59% to 41% to keep reproductive choice. Within milliseconds, because the misogyny is …

Nine States Poised To End Coverage for Millions if Trump Cuts Medicaid Funding

With Donald Trump’s return to the White House and Republicans taking full control of Congress in 2025, the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion is back on the chopping block. More than …

First Order of Business in Congress is Unfinished Business

While the president-elect continues to nominate prospective members of his incoming administration, the outgoing Congress faces a hectic sprint to complete a long list of unmet legislative duties …

Rhetoric such as “Make America Great Again,” frequently declared by President-elect Donald Trump, reflects the global political, economic and defense policies of the new US administration. The …

Gratitude or Platitude? You Decide.

Writing, for me, is easiest from the confines of a small, dark room. When I was younger I preferred a view, but now we live on a river where an unidentified bird or duck glues the binoculars to my …

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, whose declaration of a state of emergency Dec. 3 shocked the world, has often been referred to (both within and outside of his country) as “South Korea’s …

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