William Hartung – Tomgram: William Hartung, The Doctrine of Armed Exceptionalism

War, what is it good for?  In America, the answer is that, much of the time, you’ll probably never know what it’s good for — or, in some cases, even notice that we’re at war.  Right now, the U.S. is ever more deeply involved in significant conflicts in Iraq, Syria, Somalia, Libya, and increasingly Yemen — at least five ongoing …

Chris Hedges – How Power Works

Heather Ann Thompson’s book “Blood in the Water: The Attica Prison Uprising of 1971 and Its Legacy” is a detailed study of the inner workings of America. The blueprint for social control employed before and after the crushing of the Attica revolt is the same blueprint used today to keep tens of millions of poor people, especially poor people of …

Mental health in the 19th century, when soldiers died of homesickness

Abner R Small, a commissioned officer in the 16th Maine Volunteers, was captured by Confederate forces in August 1864 and spent several months as a prisoner of war. In his diary, Small recorded the effects of imprisonment upon his fellow inmates. “They became homesick and disheartened,” he noted. “They … were dying of nostalgia.” Nostalgia, once regarded as a condition …

Michael Payne – The Specter of an American Police State Looms Over America

It’s coming, we don’t know when it will fully emerge, but it’s on the way. When this rampant societal violence, and especially these tragic mass shootings and slaughter of helpless, innocent Americans continues unabated, when this government refuses to address and attack the underlying causes, we will see the emergence of an American police state. Right now we’re witnessing what …

Michelle Alexander – Following Horrific Violence, Something More is Required of Us

I have struggled to find words to express what I thought and felt as I watched the videos ofAlton Sterling and Philando Castile being killed by the police. Thursday night, I wanted to say something that hasn’t been said a hundred times before. It finally dawned on me that there is nothing to say that hasn’t been said before. As I …

PATRICK L. SMITH – We can’t have more of the same: The very real dangers of Hillary Clinton’s foreign policy

Just what we needed: another foreign policy speech from Candidate Clinton. This one arrived last Thursday in San Diego—well-chosen ground, given the Navy’s immense base on the city’s shore and the Marine Expeditionary Force garrisoned at Camp Pendleton. It has a long military tradition, San Diego, and the projection of American power is what drives the local economy. Perfect for …

Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz – Yes, Native Americans Were the Victims of Genocide

This paper, written under the title, “U.S. Settler-Colonialism and Genocide Policies,” was delivered at the Organization of American Historians 2015 Annual Meeting in St. Louis, MO on April 18, 2015. US policies and actions related to Indigenous peoples, though often termed “racist” or “discriminatory,” are rarely depicted as what they are: classic cases of imperialism and a particular form of …

John Pilger – Eerie Silence about a New World War

Returning to the United States in an election year, I am struck by the silence. I have covered four presidential campaigns, starting with 1968; I was with Robert Kennedy when he was shot and I saw his assassin, preparing to kill him. It was a baptism in the American way, along with the salivating violence of the Chicago police at …

Chuck Collins – Clueless CEOs at the Top

The Wall Street Journal recently reported that “Populist Tone Rankles America’s Executives.” Apparently the CEOs and board members of big American companies are “increasingly frustrated” by the anti-business rhetoric of both parties, and concerned such sentiments might translate into meaningful public policy change after the election. “The precipitousness of the political debate is a little scary right now,” Boeing CEO Jim McNerney …