US politics

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Trump’s crowds have started chanting “Send her back!” referring to Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), a Somali-American who came as a refugee when a child and was naturalized. The idea that some citizens are less loyal or less patriotic or less deserving of residency than other citizens is not new in […]

Donald Trump

Racist Billionaires, Patriotic Socialists, Climate Emergency and the Fate of America

Tom Engelhardt

( Tomdispatch.com ) – As I turn 75, there’s no simpler way to put it than this: I’m an old man on a new planet — and, in case it isn’t instantly obvious, that’s not good news on either score. I still have a memory of being a camp counselor in upstate New York more […]

Congress

The Squad: Watch Gayle King’s full interview of Reply to Trump by Reps. Ocasio-Cortez, Omar, Pressley and Tlaib (Video)

contributors

Gayle King | CBS Video | – The Squad: Watch Gayle King’s full interview The president’s racist tweets about Democratic congresswomen Rashida Tlaib, Ilhan Omar, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ayanna Pressley, together known as “the Squad,” stirred an uproar in Washington this week. For their only joint interview following the president’s attacks, the group sat down […]

Immigration

How immigrants give American companies a powerful boost against Chinese rivals

The Conversation

By Benjamin A.T. Graham | – The ongoing trade war is the most visible front in America’s struggle with China for global influence. Oddly, it may be immigration policy, as much as tariffs and trade deals, that determines which country prevails. That’s because American competitiveness in foreign markets is a key battlefield in the struggle. […]

Immigration

Trump’s Send-Them-Back Doctrine

John Feffer

( Foreign Policy in Focus ) – Trump’s war on immigrants recalls the absurdity of Stalin’s purges — and a few of his supporters, at least, are starting to notice. Today, in the United States, a vast population of the undocumented live in constant fear of arrest and exile. During the height of Stalin’s purges, […]

Donald Trump

It isn’t just the Racism: Trump’s Stupid Trade Wars have Driven US Manufacturing into Recession

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – It’s official. Trump has put US manufacturing, which is about 14% of the US gross national product, into recession, according to AFP. Recession is defined as two consecutive quarters of decline. The recession in manufacturing has many reasons, including a cyclical slowdown in the Chinese economy. But on top of […]

Pentagon

How the Military-Industrial Complex Ate America

William D. Hartung

( Tomdispatch.com ) – When, in his farewell address in 1961, President Dwight D. Eisenhower warned of the dangers of the “unwarranted influence” wielded by the “military-industrial complex,” he could never have dreamed of an arms-making corporation of the size and political clout of Lockheed Martin. In a good year, it now receives up to […]

Corruption

Top 5 Trump Officials who Resigned because of Shocking Scandals

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The resignation of Trump’s Labor secretary, Alex Acosta, is only the most recent in a string of such scandals for Trump. In fact, what with all the things Trump himself has done plus those around him, his is surely the most scandal-ridden presidency in history. Let us just review the […]

Congress

Bipartisan House Vote Amends Pentagon Funding to forbid Trump to attack Iran

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Ed Kilgore at New York Magazine reports that the House of Representatives has passed the National Defense Authorization Act with a number of riders. One, which passed 251-170, was an amendment forbidding Trump to launch a war on Iran without explicit Congressional approval, except in a case of clear self-defense. […]