THE INVENTION OF A CORPORATE CHRISTIAN AMERICA – Andrew Aghapour

According to author Kevin Kruse, the idea that America is a “Christian nation” was invented only recently, forged by an alliance between industrialists and conservative clergy who preached the connection between Christianity and capitalism. In One Nation Under God, the Princeton history professor issues a twofold corrective: first, to the popular notion that the United States has always understood itself as a Christian nation; and …

The Pentagon’s “Operation Jade Helm 15″: The Floodgate towards Martial Law and World War III? – Joachim Hagopian

First we learned that Operation Jade Helm 15 is coming this summer from mid-July through mid-September to a Southwest neighborhood near you stretching from Texas to California. Per government sources and their mainstream media outlets like the Washington Post, it’s nothing more than a benign massive military drill designed to test how effectively US Special Operations forces can covertly and as seamlessly …

Marching Towards Disaster: What’s Really Behind The U.S. Push In The Asia-Pacific? – Mahdi Darius Nazemroaya

On the sidelines of the Group of Twenty (G20) Summit in Brisbane, US President Barack H. Obama delivered a keynote speech to diplomats, policymakers, faculty members, and students at the University of Queensland on the United States of America’s foreign policy and Obama’s so-called “Asian pivot” or “pivot to Asia.” In 2013, a report by Brian Andrews and Kurt Campbell …

Jeff Stein – The Clinton dynasty’s horrific legacy: How “tough-on-crime” politics built the world’s largest prison system

Hillary Clinton wants to run for president as an economic populist, as a humane progressive interested in bolstering the fortunes of poor and middle class Americans. But before liberals enthusiastically sign up for Team Hillary, they should remember this: In the late 1990s, Bill Clinton played in instrumental role in creating the world’s largest prison system — one that has devastated …

Antibiotic use in livestock going up, up, up – Avinash Kar

This morning, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released the latest report on sales of antibiotics for livestock use, that is, for use in meat and poultry production in 2013. The news follows the trends of the last few years, showing yet another increase in the numbers. Some lowlights: Livestock antibiotic sales have gone up from about 16,115 tons in 2012 to a …

US government was more forgiving of the Nazis than its own citizens – Simon Black

70 years ago, the United States of America had just emerged from World War II as the most dominant superpower in the world. At that point America’s economy was the only one left standing. And the US government had essentially dictated terms in establishing a new global financial system (known as the Bretton Woods agreement). Doing so thrust the dollar …

When the Government Views Its Own Population as the Enemy

The public debate over government surveillance that was, if not inaugurated, at least intensified by the publication of documents provided by Edward Snowden has been, in some respects, surreal and deluded. One side claims that the NSA’s mass surveillance is necessary to protect the public from terrorism, that in fact it has thwarted many “potential terrorist events.” The other side claims, with much …

Washington’s “human rights” imperialism exposed

The Obama administration announced Tuesday that it is resuming arms shipments to the military dictatorship in Egypt, beginning with the transfer of 12 F-16 fighter jets, missiles and the components required to build 125 tanks. In a personal call to Egypt’s ruler, General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Obama also pledged to resume the annual transfer of $1.3 billion in military aid. …

Why Iran Distrusts the US in Nuke Talks

The Iranians may be a bit paranoid but, as the saying goes, this does not mean some folks are not out to get them. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his knee-jerk followers in Washington clearly are out to get them – and they know it. Nowhere is this clearer than in the surreal set of negotiations in Switzerland premised not on evidence, …

Big Money vs. The People: The Main Political Battle of Our Times

This piece has run as an op/ed in newspapers in my very red congressional district in Virginia. Here’s what I bet that historians will say was the No. 1 political battle in the America of our times. Not the national debt, or abortion, or Obamacare, or immigration, or gun rights. Instead, historians will say the most important fight was over …