Middle Class? What Middle Class? – Jack A. Smith

A complex class system exists in the United States, but the mass media and political rhetoric generally reduces it to three components — one middle class, and two economic generalizations —rich and the poor. Indeed the term “class” itself, as a means of defining the economic and social status of the population, has been fading away. There are, of course, a …

Did Jeb Bush just commit a War Crime in Justifying the Iraq War? – Juan Cole

Jeb Bush’s people are trying to walk back his disastrous interview with Megyn Kelly in which he said that even if he knew then what we all know now, he would have launched the war on Iraq in 2003. It is true that he doesn’t seem to have been very clear-headed in his answer. He blamed “the intelligence” for what he said …

Leid Stories – 05.12.15

Yielding to the Duopoly: Is There A Left Left? The 2016 presidential election is picking up steam. That doesn’t seem to be the case, however, with an organized opposition to the six-of-one/half-dozen-of-the-other kind of politics we’ve been having for a long time now. It appears we’re still stuck with the Republican-Democrat duopoly. Even big labor and heretofore populist and left-of-center …

Even in a Drought, California Farms Have a Future—But They’ll Need Local Control to Succeed – Keith Harrington

Last month, for the first time in history, California enacted mandatory limits on how much water its residents can use. And yet, as a recent op-ed in The New York Times points out, the state is exporting 100 billion gallons of water a year in the form of cattle feed. That’s right: cattle feed. California’s thirstiest crop isn’t almonds or broccoli or …

Jeb Bush, the Mexican Drug Cartel and “Free Trade”. The Bush Family and Organized Crime – Prof Michel Chossudovsky

Jeb Bush is a presidential candidate. But Jeb is not only the brother of George W. and the son of George H. W. Bush. Jeb Bush also had close personal ties to Raul Salinas de Gortiari, brother of Mexico’s former president Carlos Salinas de Gortiari. In the 1990s, Raul the “drug kingpin”, according to Switzerland’s  federal prosecutor Carla del Ponte, was one of the main …

Getting a Job at McDonald’s Harder Than Getting Accepted to the Ivy League – Daniel Drew

In society, exclusivity creates desirability. Whether it’s that special country club or elite college, privilege is defined by the rejection rate. In the previous era, the Ivy League was one of those prized organizations, and McDonald’s was the exact opposite. Now, the New Normal has seized our social convention and turned it on its head. In 2011, McDonald’s announced it would …

Virtually All Major 2016 Presidential Candidates Oppose GMO Labeling – Anthony Gucciardi

As the 2015 presidential race continues to usher in debates over social policy and fiscal responsibility, no one is talking about another key issue: all of the major candidates are in completely opposition to GMO labeling — and many are directly supporting Monsanto’s biotech aspirations. Last month I shared with you Hillary Clinton’s close support of Monsanto and GMO crops in a piece …

Can We Reduce Bias in Criminal Justice? – Jason Marsh

This article is the first in a series exploring the effects that unconscious racial biases have on the criminal justice system in the United States. While this article reports on evidence of those biases, subsequent essays will propose ways to mitigate their effects. Long before Officer Darren Wilson fired the shots that killed Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, questions of …

Wall Street Titans Who Crashed Global Economy in 2008 Go Big for TPP – Jon Queally

Even as millions and millions of Americans—represented by thousands of labor, environmental, family farm, consumer, faith, Internet freedom and other advocacy organizations—continue to stand firmly in opposition to the Trans-Pacific Partnership, those backing the TPP, including President Obama and a large majority of the Republican caucus, still have two dedicated demographic groups pledging their allegiance to the cause and arguing the …