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Assault weapons are weapons of war
In the United States, 20 million assault rifles are in private hands, and nearly 400 million guns of all sorts. In the first 190 days of this year, Americans have suffered 320 mass shootings, more than one a day. Highland Park, Illinois, Uvalde, Texas, Chattanooga, Tennessee – the list is endless. Sixty-two people were shot and 10 killed in Chicago on the same holiday weekend that the Highland Park massacre took place, without garnering nearly as much attention.
A Continuing Terror, The Murder of Ahmaud Arbery
Today there is a national outcry about the murder of Ahmaud Arbery. The public condemnation has forced a belated response. Those accused of his murder have finally been arrested. His murder has become a global embarrassment for whites. For blacks, however, it is another humiliation, a continuing terror. It is the normal silence, however, that condemns thousands of African Americans to unjust deaths and millions to shattered lives. When the camera turns away, the savage injustice that embarrasses us becomes simply business as usual.
Callous Politicians Turning Backs On Children at Border
The Trump administration has separated 2,000 children from their parents, most of whom have come to the United States seeking asylum.
'America is not a racist country'
“America is not a racist country.” This is quickly becoming a Republican mantra. Sen. Tim Scott, the only Black Republican in the Senate, used it in his rebuttal to President Biden’s address to the Congress. Sen. Lindsey Graham, the Republican weather vane, echoed him, as did Republicans across the country. Scott went on to accuse Democrats of dividing the country by using race as a “political weapon.”
Those Who Do Nothing On Gun Control Fail Our Children
The United States is failing in what surely is the first duty of government -- protecting our children from threats that they cannot deal with themselves. Voters and politicians are failing our children.
The Health Care Debate Is Long Overdue
Affordable health care for all is now at the center of the presidential debate. Two of the top three contenders for the Democratic presidential nomination -- Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders -- support Medicare for All. The third -- Joe Biden -- and those hoping to take his place as the leading centrist in the race -- Pete Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar -- have attacked the plan to contrast their candidacies from Sanders and Warren. Donald Trump, who wants to eliminate the Affordable Care Act itself, and has already added some 10 million people to the ranks of the uninsured, scorns it as "socialism," just as earlier Republicans libeled Social Security and Medicare itself when they were under consideration.
What LeBron James Understands About the Presidency and Trump Doesn't
The run-up to the 2018 congressional elections has begun. With 40 Republican representatives deciding not to run again, the party's majority in the House is at risk. President Donald Trump has announced he plans to stump for Republicans across the country, seeking to make the election a referendum on him. Characteristically, a centerpiece of his approach is to use race as a weapon to divide and distract us.
The Janus Case and The Continuing Attack On Workers
On Monday, the Supreme Court heard arguments in the case of Janus v. AFSCME; a ruling is expected in a few months. The case is the culmination of a concerted right-wing attack on the unions of teachers, police officers, firefighters, nurses and other public sector workers.
South Carolina's Leading Its People Down a Dead-end Street
South Carolina's James Louis Petigru was a Civil War-era lawyer, judge, congressman, and most notably the attorney general who opposed South Carolina's use of nullification of federal laws and, after Abraham Lincoln was elected president in 1860, opposed state secession. He famously quipped, after learning that his state had seceded from the Union, "South Carolina is too small to be a republic and too large to be an insane asylum."
The American Plutocracy Gets Its Immoral Tax Bill
"I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just: that his justice cannot sleep forever."
George Floyd Justice in Policing Act Would Set National Standards for Police Behavior
Even as Derek Chauvin is on trial for the murder of George Floyd, police 10 miles away fatally shot an African American man, Duante Wright, after pulling him over for an alleged traffic violation. That triggered protests that led to confrontations with police, despite Wright's family pleading for non-violence. The Washington Post reports that 985 people have been shot and killed by police in the past year, with blacks more than two times as likely to be shot and killed than whites. Fundamental reform is long overdue.
It's Time for Action
In his first 10 days in office, Joe Biden has launched an intense effort to address the "cascading crises" that America faces. In addition to issuing executive orders to reverse several of Trump's most poisonous acts -- ending federal contracting with private prisons, reviving enforcement of discrimination laws, ending the Muslim ban, re-entering the Paris Climate Accord, and much more -- Biden has put forth a bold rescue plan to deal with the human and economic costs of the pandemic. He has declared climate change an existential threat and a national security priority and has promised a renewed effort to address systemic racism and other forms of discrimination.
Trump Doesn't Want Immigration Solution; He Needs Issue to Divide Us
"Yes, if we don't get what we want, one way or the other ... I will shut down the government," said President Trump to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Speaker-designate Nancy Pelosi, referring to his demand for $5 billion to build his border wall.
Why Are a Few Democrats Blocking Biden's Bold Recovery Agenda?
This is the week that will tell whether Washington will act to address the growing crises that threaten our democracy.
Prayers and Condolences Are Not Enough
The horrifying and heartbreaking news of the domestic terrorist attacks in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, in less than 24 hours over the weekend reached me while I was in Poland, a country haunted by the deadly power of politically irresponsible and racist rhetoric.
Eastern Kentucky Deserves Better Leaders
The extreme weather that is savaging various parts of America hit Eastern Kentucky last week when unprecedented flash floods wiped out homes and devastated communities, taking at least 37 lives, with hundreds still missing." The region was hit by 8 to 10 inches of rainfall in a 24-hour period, what experts called a one in a thousand-year rain event. Those who escaped now struggle to survive in high heat and humidity, with roads and bridges washed out, and food and clean water hard to find. And the region is under another flood watch as this is written.
Sessions Will Be a Disaster If Confirmed As Attorney General
Confirmation hearings for Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions, named by Donald Trump to be attorney general of the United States, will begin on Jan. 10, before Trump is even inaugurated. The rush and insistence on only two days of hearings reflect Republican efforts to cram the nomination through before Americans understand what is at stake.
Sessions Stands for Outmoded, Unjust Law-and-Order Policies
Attorney General Jeff Sessions gets it wrong. On core issue after core issue -- civil rights, voting rights, women's rights, police reform and particularly mass incarceration -- he is a destructive force.
Trump's Fake National Emergency
President Trump's decision to declare a national emergency in order to fund his border wall triggers a crisis for our Constitution and our democracy.
Simple justice: The Tulsa Massacre, Restitution and Reparations
On its 100th anniversary, the 1921 massacre in Tulsa, Oklahoma has finally come to national attention. The history of the massacre is now known. The damage inflicted clear. The question is what is to be done to repair the damage?