WEALTH WATCH - A new analysis out Tuesday shows that the nearly 750 billionaires in the United States saw their combined wealth soar by $1 trillion in 2021, a 25% jump that—if taxed—would be enough to fully fund major priorities in Democrats' stalled Build Back Better package.
IMPORTANT READS
Rent Control: The Righteous Battle in St. Paul and Minneapolis
HOUSING WATCH - A few weeks ago, in November, activists in St. Paul and Minneapolis, Minnesota, had done something momentous: in each of their cities, against the deep-pocketed landlord lobby, they managed to convince voters to pass pro-rent control ballot measures.
With One Exception, Biden Has Barely Altered Foreign Policies Inherited From Trump
DC WATCH - The Biden administration’s foreign policy in its first year was mostly defined by an unwillingness to make major policy changes and to take significant political risks to follow through on the president’s campaign pledges.
Downhill from the Summit for Democracy
DEMOCRACY CONFERENCE - The just-concluded Summit for Democracy was intended to be a rallying point for democratic and nearly-democratic states, with pep talks on confronting rising authoritarianism and building democratic institutions.
Trump’s True North: President for Life
TRUMP WATCH - You have to listen to what Donald Trump says. If he’s made one thing clear, it’s that, when it comes to the big stuff, he keeps no secrets.
The Age of Discontent: What Drives the Rising Wave of World Protests?
POLITICAL UNREST - In recent years, the world has been shaken by protests. From the Arab Spring to the social uprisings in Chile and Latin America, the world has seen a dramatic rise in protests.
Affordable Child Care Is The Boost Our Economy Needs
CHILD CARE - Child care is one of the biggest expenses many families face — in much of the country, it can run higher than college tuition. Could a national child care program ease that burden?
Housing Can’t Be Both a Human Right and a Profitable Asset
HOUSING WATCH - It seems like everyone is talking about housing these days. For many, it is in a state of crisis.
US Drone Strikes: Possibly Thousands More Civilian Deaths Uncovered
WAR MACHINE - The NYTimes’ recent series of articles exposing the civilian cost of the U.S. wars in Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan should prompt public fury.
Taking Cryptocurrency Courses
FINANCE LEARNING - Taking a course in cryptocurrency is of utmost importance as some experts estimate that the crypto market should, by 2027, reach $1.7 billion. Learning crypto terminologies and garnering knowledge through the steep curve pattern are intriguing ways of getting started.
Bye Bye Miss American Pie Deja Vu
THE VIEW FROM HERE - Back on May 13, 2021, Joe Biden would have done well to remember the chorus to American Pie:
A Christmas Confession
CONSUMER WATCH - Confession time: this year, I don’t want to buy my kids anything for Christmas. Big one, right?
Israel Pushes Hardline in Iran Nuclear Talks
WORLD WATCH - After a 5-month hiatus, indirect negotiations between the U.S. and Iran resumed last week in Vienna in an attempt to revise the 2015 Iran nuclear deal (formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action or JCPOA). The outlook isn’t good.
Putin’s Democracy Problem: Civil Society and Ukraine
WORLD WATCH - Vladimir Putin is trying to accomplish two very dangerous tasks at once: the destruction of civil society in Russia, and the withering away of international support for a democratic Ukraine.
Defining Racism: Individuals and Institutions, Systems and Structures
RACIAL RECKONINGS - We are at a tipping point in the racial history of the United States — perhaps the most important moment since the civil rights and more radical black/brown/indigenous movements of the 1960s and ’70s.
The Judicial Kidnapping of Julian Assange
PRESS FREEDOM - “Let us look at ourselves, if we have the courage, to see what is happening to us” – Jean-Paul Sartre
The Fascists Are Rising in the Name of Defending Democracy—They Must Be Called Out and Stopped
DEMOCRACY WATCH - Trump and his supporters do not mean by "democracy" a liberal democracy. They mean the popular sovereignty of "true Americans."
Amazon Can’t Bust Unions Forever
UNION WATCH - The National Labor Relations Board, or NLRB, just ruled that a historic union vote among Amazon warehouse workers in Bessemer, Alabama was not valid.
The United States Can Solve the Ukraine Crisis
WORLD WATCH - The seeds for the crisis in Ukraine were planted 25 years ago when the Clinton Administration decided to expand the North Atlantic Treaty into East Europe, accepting membership from former members of the Warsaw Pact.
Critical Race—to the Bottom
RACE POLITICS - The party favor on the Republican side has been the dog whistle.
Law-Enforcement Officers Should Enforce The Law
LAW & ORDER - “There are three objective constraints on policing… which had militated against its satisfactory fulfillment.