Obama and the politics of outrage

  • February 9, 2015

“Obama and the politics of outrage” first appeared on PeoplesWorld.org on February 9, 2015. Read it on PeoplesWorld.org.

Some of the commentary from the left on President’s Obama’s recent State of the Union address struck me as too negative, even cynical in a few instances. It’s said that the speech was at once too little, too late, and too celebratory. Some left critics went further, claiming that it was nothing but idle, and even deceptive, chatter since the president knew that any progressive initiatives in his speech are dead on arrival in the Republican-controlled 93rd Congress.

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A season’s reflections on socialism

  • December 23, 2014

“A season’s reflections on socialism” first appeared on PeoplesWorld.org on December 23, 2014. Read it on PeoplesWorld.org.

This season, besides gaiety, good food and drink (and may all of us have an abundance of these), brings moments of quiet reflection. Sometimes the reflection is of a personal nature; other times, it’s about the larger world in which we live.

Both are good for the soul. But here, I’m going to stick with the larger world – and making it a better one – with some reflections on socialism. It is a subject on which my thinking has changed significantly over the past decade, and continues to evolve.

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Climate change requires a new abolition movement

  • October 20, 2014

“Climate change requires a new abolition movement” first appeared on PeoplesWorld.org on October 20, 2014. Read it on PeoplesWorld.org.

With the elections a few weeks ahead and the People’s Climate March in New York a few weeks in the rear view mirror, I’m reminded of a meeting in the Bronx that I attended and spoke at this summer. I wasn’t the featured speaker by any means; a representative of 350.org was and made a very compelling speech about the science and consequences of atmospheric warming if present trends continue – “business as usual” as they say in the climate change community.

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What our society needs to learn from the Ray Rice scandal

  • September 17, 2014

“What our society needs to learn from the Ray Rice scandal” first appeared on PeoplesWorld.org on September 17, 2014. Read it on PeoplesWorld.org.

“Oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive.” Sir Walter Scott (Marmion, 1808)

Last week, I wrote that a fading story surrounding the violent assault on Janay Palmer Rice by her then-fiancé and now husband, Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice, had gotten new legs.

What triggered this renewed attention was the public release of a new tape – a second tape – that shows Ray Rice knocking out Janay with two powerful blows to her face in the elevator of an Atlantic City casino hotel in February. The first tape had shown Ray Rice dragging her unconscious off the elevator, but not the actual assault.

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Ray Rice and his enablers: why men must speak out

  • September 9, 2014

“Ray Rice and his enablers: why men must speak out” first appeared on PeoplesWorld.org on September 9, 2014. Read it at PeoplesWorld.org.

On Sunday night, TMZ Sports released a new video showing Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice knocking out Janay Rice, his then-fiancée and now his wife, on an elevator in a casino hotel. By Monday morning, sports networks and morning talk shows were abuzz, talking again about what is far too familiar in our national life – male violence against women – and the mishandling of this gruesome incident by National Football League Commissioner Roger Goodell and the Ravens football team – not to mention the entire National Football League.

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