“When a man is placed in a position where he is compelled to give the benefit of his labor to another, he is in a condition of slavery, whether the slave is held in chattel bondage or in wages bondage, he is equally a slave.” — Quentin Skinner
100 Seconds To Midnight: The Dissonance and Madness of Our Time, by Rainer Shea
by Rainer Shea
Writer, Dandelion Salad
Rainer Shea: Anti-Imperialist Journalist, Jan. 29, 2021
February 1, 2021
Something feels bizarre about living in the current era, the era in which the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists just concluded that we’re metaphorically 100 seconds away from the extinction of humanity. This strange feeling has been present for a while now, going back to when the Bulletin’s “Doomsday Clock” reached 2 minutes to midnight in January of 2018 for the first time since 1953.
Impact of PFAS Contamination at the Burlington Air National Guard Base, Part 2, by Pat Elder
The Salmon Hole on the Winooski River is located two miles downstream from the burn pit at the Burlington Air National Guard Base.
by Pat Elder
Writer, Dandelion Salad
January 31, 2021
This is the second article in a three-part series on per-and-poly fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contamination at the Burlington, Vermont Air National Guard base. This work is being made possible through the generous support from the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILFP-US Section), the WILPF Burlington Branch, and the Center for Health, Environment, and Justice – a project of the Peoples Action Institute.
Chris Hedges: Michael Ratner’s Memoir, Moving the Bar – My Life as A Radical Lawyer
with Chris Hedges
RT America on Jan 30, 2021
On the show this week, Chris Hedges talks to Michael Smith, civil rights attorney about Michael Ratner’s recently published memoir, Moving the Bar – My Life as A Radical Lawyer. Smith was a close friend and collaborator of Ratner’s for over three decades.
A Terrible Normality by Michael Parenti (2013)
by Michael Parenti
Writer, Dandelion Salad
Originally published Jan. 25, 2013
January 29, 2021
Through much of history the abnormal has been the norm. This is a paradox to which we should attend. Aberrations, so plentiful as to form a terrible normality of their own, descend upon us with frightful consistency.
The Scale of Loss: 400,000 Dead, by Rivera Sun
by Rivera Sun
Writer, Dandelion Salad
January 28, 2021
Four hundred lights stretch along the Reflecting Pool on the National Mall. Each represents one thousand people in America who have died of COVID-19. It is only in their absence that we have space to acknowledge the dead–there is not enough space beside the pool for that many people to stand. It is only by symbols that we can understand the enormity of what we’ve lost.
Why Samantha Power Should Not Hold Public Office, by David Swanson
by David Swanson
Writer, Dandelion Salad
Let’s Try Democracy
January 27, 2021
It took a variety of approaches to market the 2003 war on Iraq. For some it was to be a defense against an imagined threat. For others it was false revenge. But for Samantha Power it was philanthropy. She said at the time, “An American intervention likely will improve the lives of the Iraqis. Their lives could not get worse, I think it’s quite safe to say.” Needless to say, it wasn’t safe to say that.
US Christianity VS Jesus, by Eric Schechter
by Eric Schechter aka LeftyMathProf
Writer, Dandelion Salad
Eric’s Rants and Videos blog
January 26, 2021
The USA is a very religious nation, in this sense: Most of its people hold self-destructive values about society, politics, and economics that they are reluctant to question, because they believe that “faith” should outrank reason. Most of these people call themselves “Christians,” i.e., followers of Jesus Christ, but these basic values of theirs are just the opposite of the wise things that Jesus actually said. I am writing this essay in the hope of getting at least a few of these self-described “Christians” to reconsider.
Impact of PFAS Contamination at the Burlington Air National Guard Base, Part 1, by Pat Elder
by Pat Elder
Writer, Dandelion Salad
January 25, 2021
This is the first article in a three-part series on per-and-poly fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contamination at the Burlington, Vermont Air National Guard base. This work is being made possible through the generous support from the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILFP-US Section), the WILPF Burlington Branch, and the Center for Health, Environment, and Justice – a project of the Peoples Action Institute.
Compensating For Capitalism’s Crises By Leaning Onto Big Tech, by Rainer Shea
by Rainer Shea
Writer, Dandelion Salad
Rainer Shea: Anti-Imperialist Journalist
January 24, 2021
There are two different versions of the great-power competition that Washington is waging against Russia and China. One is the version portrayed by the U.S. political and media establishment, which acts like Washington’s modern rival superpowers are eventually going to be subdued like the Soviet Union was. The other is the reality of the conflict, where Russia and China are strengthening their military alliance unlike was the case after the Sino-Soviet split, Russia is assured to win the proxy war with Washington’s puppet state Ukraine, and China has already arguably ended U.S. military primacy in the Indo-Pacific while making the Belt and Road Initiative’s success assured.
Chris Hedges and Noam Chomsky: The State of the American Empire
with Chris Hedges
RT America on Jan 23, 2021
On the show this week, Chris Hedges talks to Professor Noam Chomsky, the pioneering linguist, prolific author of numerous seminal political works, about the state of the American Empire.
Chris Hedges: How Republicans, Democrats, and the Media Have Weakened US Democracy
with Chris Hedges
New Economic Thinking on Jan 19, 2021
Renowned journalist and author Chris Hedges talks about the many ways traditional media, digital media, and the two political parties have worked to prevent progressive movements and give rise to the growth of the extreme right. Continue reading
The Military-Industrial-Congressional Complex Study Guide, by Christian Sorensen
by Christian Sorensen
Writer, Dandelion Salad
January 21, 2021
INTRODUCTION
Capitalism—the system by which a relatively tiny group owns the means of production and enriches themselves through hoarding the workers’ surplus value, transforming the natural world into goods and services—is inherently destructive, exploitative, and polluting. Capital is concentrated in very few hands. The richest one percent own half of the world’s wealth (Frank, CNBC, 14 Nov 2017), and the three wealthiest humans in the United States own more wealth than the bottom fifty percent of the population of the country (Kirsch, Forbes, 9 Nov 2017). This trend of the rich getting richer only accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic. Billionaire wealth skyrocketed while the masses suffered.
The End of the American Brand, by Kenn Orphan
by Kenn Orphan
Writer, Dandelion Salad
Halifax, Nova Scotia
January 20, 2021
After far right fascists and supremacists stormed the Capitol this month, it is little wonder that the American Empire would ramp up the security state. It is on steroids now, with more troops in DC than there are in Iraq. But whatever one might think of the necessity of increased security at the Inauguration tomorrow, it should seem pretty clear by now that, although democracy never really existed in any true form in the US republic, the very pretense of it is now officially dead.
Danny Haiphong, Margaret Kimberley and Ajamu Baraka: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the American Empire
with Danny Haiphong and Margaret Kimberley
Black Agenda Report Presents: The Left Lens on Jan 18, 2021
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday is often celebrated without any regard for his radical political legacy.