Red-baiting, used to smear individuals and organizations, remains the unofficial religion in capitalist America. Yet little is said about the role socialism played in building a strong labor movement and creating an unshakable anti-war movement. Not only is this part of U.S. history whitewashed, so is the repression of dissidents before and after McCarthy. Between 1919 and 1920 some 10,000 people … Read More
When Nelson Mandela died on December 5, 2013 at the age of 95, the outpouring of praise from the political elite and establishment media around the world was overwhelming. In larger-than-life terms, Mandela was lionized and romanticized as the world’s most admired human being. In some ways, such praise is encouraging in our age when the wealthy and powerful, usually … Read More
(A quick note to US readers: left and right in this piece do not refer to the American liberal-conservative spectrum – both of which are considered neoliberal – but to the broader left-right spectrum as traditionally conceived, ranging from far-left communism/socialism to far-right fascism.) It’s been an eventful few weeks for the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN), also known … Read More
Americans grow up learning history through the lens of a victorious US empire. This notion isn’t just bred through the educational system – every major institution in society maintains the same perspective in order to help unify the people under a national identity. Although it benefits the whole if there is a sense of unity among the population, the false … Read More
MEDIA ROOTS – On this episode of Media Roots Radio, Abby and Robbie Martin talk about the LAPD’s manhunt against Chris Dorner, the subsequent cover-up of his death and police thuggery; how 9/11 and Ron Paul coalesced the divide between libertarians and leftists and caused people to rally behind core issues, the corporate co-option and transmogrification of the Ron Paul movement … Read More
