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Time to Abolish Columbus Day

Time to Abolish Columbus Day

By Commentaries/Opinions

By Bill Bigelow, Zinn Ed Project — Once again this year many schools will pause to commemorate Christopher Columbus. Given everything we know about who Columbus was and what he launched in the Americas, this needs to stop. Columbus initiated the trans-Atlantic slave trade, in early February 1494, first sending several dozen enslaved Taínos to Spain. Columbus described those he enslaved as “well made and of very good intelligence,” and recommended…

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Democrats Didn’t Do Enough to Stop Kavanaugh — They Melted Before His White Rage

By Commentaries/Opinions

Yes, Democrats are preferable to this. But they’re still spineless. By Jim Sleeper, Salon — Although I’ll vote for any Democrat in November to keep Donald Trump’s Republican vassals from finishing off the American republic at his bidding, what I saw in the performance of most Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee last week reminded me that any victory by that terminally pusillanimous, corrupt, suppurating party, which is only a…

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Bolsonaro's supporters at a rally in Såo Paulo.

Bolsonaro Hopes to Win Brazil’s Election By Channeling Trump

By Commentaries/Opinions

At a moment when few Brazilians trust their government, the controversial, ultra-conservative Jair Bolsonaro looks poised to win. By Chayenne Polimédio, The Atlantic — Tomorrow, Brazilians head to the polls for the first round of presidential elections. Running on the Social Liberal Party slate is Jair Messias Bolsonaro, an ultra-conservative military officer-turned-politician and likely top finisher. If he’s one of the top two vote-getters, he’ll be the favorite in the…

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Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke was found guilty of 2nd-degree murder and 16 counts of aggravated battery.

‘This Is Historic’: Why the Van Dyke Guilty Verdict Is a Victory For the Movement For Black Lives

By Commentaries/Opinions

By Miles Kampf-Lassin, In These Times — “We are far from done. This is the beginning and we should use this momentum to keep going forward.” Chicago has long been a city on the brink. Decades of racial stratification, disinvestment, segregation and endemic poverty have left large swaths of the population struggling to survive, while new development has disproportionately favored wealthier residents. The communities left behind by this process are…

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Adolf Hitler at the 1936 Berlin Olympics.

A leading Holocaust historian just seriously compared the US to Nazi Germany

By Commentaries/Opinions

“If the US has someone whom historians will look back on as the gravedigger of American democracy, it is Mitch McConnell.” By Zack Beauchamp, Vox — Usually, comparisons between Donald Trump’s America and Nazi Germany come from cranks and internet trolls. But a new essay in the New York Review of Books pointing out “troubling similarities” between the 1930s and today is different: It’s written by Christopher Browning, one of America’s most…

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Presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro poses for picture at the National Congress in Brasília, Brazil, in September.

A Brazilian Far-Right Populist and the Women Who Like Him

By Commentaries/Opinions

New polling data show that Jair Bolsonaro’s social conservatism, law-and-order positions, and anti-corruption stance appear to be trumping his history of sexism. By Shannon Sims, The Atlantic — In Brazil, there’s a video that just won’t go away.It shows a young male congressman, dressed in a suit and tie, sparring with a female congresswoman as photographers and journalists encircle them.The subject of the argument has been lost over the 15 years since…

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Black women in Brazil protest presidential frontrunner Jair Bolsonaro, who is known for his disparaging remarks about women, on Sept. 29, 2018.

Sexism, racism drive more black women to run for office in both Brazil and US

By Commentaries/Opinions

By Kia Lilly Caldwell, The Conversation — Motivated in part by President Donald Trump’s disparaging remarks about women and the numerous claims that he committed sexual assault, American women are running for state and national office in historic numbers. At least 255 women are on the ballot as major party congressional candidates in the November general election. The surge includes a record number of women of color, many of whom say their candidacies reflect a personal…

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Melania Trump ... spreading a grammatically incorrect gospel.

Melania Trump is off to teach Africa how to look after children – hopefully better than the US

By Commentaries/Opinions

The first lady is jetting off to promote her ‘Be Best’ child welfare initiative, but there is no word on whether it promotes locking them in cages or allowing them to get shot. By Arwa Mahdawi, The Guardian — Melania Trump has packed her bags and is heading far, far away from her husband. On Monday, the first lady is jetting off on a solo tour of parts of Africa; her…

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Emmerson Mnangagwa

End the Sanctions Now: Time for a New Beginning in Zimbabwe

By Vantage Point Articles

Vantage Point Articles and Essays by Dr. Ron Daniels — On August 3rd the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission announced that Emmerson Mnangagwa of the ruling Zimbabwe African Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) had narrowly defeated Nelson Chamisa of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) 50.8% to 44.3%. Mr. Mnangagwa’s margin of victory was just enough to avoid a run-off. Though MDC initially protested the results, the Constitutional Court overruled the opposition’s claims…

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Sex education in some American high schools is evolving to include to curb sexual assaults. AP Photo/Jeff Chiu

Want to prevent sexual harassment and assault? Start by teaching kids

By Commentaries/Opinions

By Poco Kernsmith, Joanne Smith-Darden and Megan Hicks, The Conversation — In the wake of sexual assault and harassment allegations involving Brett Kavanaugh, Harvey Weinstein, Bill O’Reilly and others, Americans may be learning just how prevalent sexual violence is in our society. So, what can be done to prevent it? We have studied how family, school and neighborhood environments influence violent youth behavior. Building from this knowledge, we are working with schools…

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