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The Oberlin rescuers, with Simeon Bushnell and Charles Langston 9th and 12th from the left. Library of Congress

Anti-slavery heroes Charles Langston and Simeon Bushnell deserve pardons too, President Trump

By Reparations

By Steven Lubet, The Conversation — President Donald Trump has exercised the pardon power more aggressively and creatively than most of his predecessors, granting pardons to political supporters such as Joe Arpaio and Dinesh D’Souza, and a posthumous pardon to Jack Johnson, the first black heavyweight champion, who was convicted on a racially fraught charge of violating the Mann Act. Trump has mused about pardoning former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, as well as Robert Mueller’s probe…

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‘Despite Europe’s commendable patience, its failure to understand what animates Trump has enabled him.’ Photograph: Alba Vigaray/EPA

Dear Europe, if you want to stop Trump, sanction his companies

By Commentaries/Opinions

Trump can easily weather broad sanctions on the US economy. But sanctions targeting his own companies will sting in a way that he cannot ignore By Keith Ellison, The Guardian — Donald Trump has opened the largest rift between the US and its European allies since George W Bush’s illegal invasion of Iraq. From the Paris accord, to the Iran nuclear deal, to pushing for the inclusion of Russia in a…

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‘There’s another important public space where blackness has been policed: the voting booth.’ Photograph: Shawn Thew/EPA

Voting while black: the racial injustice that harms our democracy

By Commentaries/Opinions

The routine suppression of black voters is far-reaching and has devastating consequences. We cannot be silent about it. By Carol Anderson, The Guardian — The recent spate of whites calling 911 on African Americans for barbecuing while black, waiting in Starbucks while black, sleeping at Yale while black ad nauseum has led to a much-needed discussion about the policing of public spaces. Yet, there’s another important public space where blackness has been policed and we have…

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Donald Trump advertised his ambitions to dismantle Barack Obama’s achievements throughout the election campaign. Photograph: Pool New/Reuters

The anti-Obama: Trump’s drive to destroy his predecessor’s legacy

By Editors' Choice

From the Iran deal to TPP to climate change, ‘the whole thing that animates and unites his policy views is antipathy towards Obama’ By David Smith, The Guardian — When Donald Trump pulled out of the deal to curb Iran’s nuclear ambitions, hardline conservatives celebrated, European leaders winced and Barack Obama made a rare, lengthy public statement. Trump’s decision was “misguided” and “a serious mistake”, Obama said, as his signature foreign policy achievement…

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Kanye West

Wake Up, Mr. West!

By Commentaries/Opinions

How Kanye’s ignorant comments fortify the most pernicious lies of white supremacy. By Clint Smith — This past week, in an interview with TMZ, Kanye West claimed that slavery was a choice. “When you hear about slavery for 400 years … 400 years? That sounds like a choice,” he said. Much has already been written about West’s recent exploits on and off Twitter. In the past week, he has publicly embraced…

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Bill Otis, a Trump nominee to the U.S. Sentencing Commission

The Man Who Hates Criminal Justice Reform

By Commentaries/Opinions

Bill Otis believes America must maintain draconian policies to be tough on crime. No wonder Trump picked him for a key administration post. By Matt Ford — Bill Otis doesn’t think too highly of the criminal justice reform movement in America today. Last year, the Georgetown University law professor told NPR that mandatory-minimum sentences were a “big success,” citing the drop-off in crime since the 1980s. In blog posts, he’s even more blunt: “Q:…

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President Donald Trump walks on the South Lawn prior to his departure from the White House May 4, 2018 in Washington, DC.

The Death of Neoliberalism Is an Opportunity to Birth a New System

By Commentaries/Opinions

By Cliff DuRand, Truthout — Today in the US, as well as globally, we find ourselves in multiple reinforcing crises. There is a crisis of legitimacy in established institutions ranging from Congress, the presidency and the Supreme Court, to the media, the criminal legal system, organized religion, Wall Street banks and corporations. Along with this, there is a loss of belief in social mobility and fairness. The neoliberal ideology that has dominated…

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