Wow! The people’s electoral uprising that defeated Donald Trump in November achieved another huge victory in yesterday’s runoff election in Georgia. In fact, led by the massive turnout of the African American people, it surpassed the November vote in both momentum and in raw numbers. It’s historic, a turning point, a sign of progress. It’s all these things, but more […]

Editor’s note: With movie theaters closed down for most of the year, streaming became more popular than ever. The following 10 shows and films are linked to reviews. Lovecraft Country (HBO): A horror-drama TV series about a young African American who travels across the segregated U.S. in search of his father. This show “refashions and redefines ’50s America . . . […]

Editor’s note: We present 10 excellent books for your consideration, in no particular order. Happy reading! 1. Washington Bullets: A History of the CIA, Coups, and Assassinations, by Vijay Prashad In Washington Bullets, Vijay Prashad writes about the history of CIA- and IMF-backed coups from the onset of the Cold War to the present in Guatemala, Venezuela, Congo, Indonesia, Brazil, and elsewhere. […]

Editor’s note: Dominated by the pandemic, economic crisis, and the presidential election, 2020 was for the most part a terrible year. Here are a few moments, in chronological order, that we’d rather forget, but can’t. 1. The U.S. assassination of Qasem Soleimani, a top Iranian military commander, on January 3 in Iraq, which almost started another war. 2. Juan Guaidó’s presence at Trump’s State […]

Editor’s note: Despite the pandemic and economic crisis, 2020 was not all bad. In the midst of crisis, people rose up to demand a better world. Here are a few good moments. 1. In February, Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein was convicted for sexual assault and rape, resulting in a sentence of 23 years in prison. The #MeToo movement, started by Tarana Burke in […]

Exactly 62 years ago this Friday, January 1, the Cuban Revolution triumphed.  Socialist Cuba soon achieved major advances in the well-being of its own citizens, and also provided an outstanding example of solidarity to the world, playing a major role in the defeat of the fascist apartheid regime in South Africa and providing high-quality health care solidarity to poor countries […]

By Gordon McWilliams As the United States experiences a second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s important to look at how other countries have combated this virus and have basically returned to their normal lives, so that we can adapt based on what policies do, and do not, work. Cuba, an island nation of over 11 million citizens, has taken […]

By Tony Pecinovsky False premises inevitably lead to false conclusions. This is my takeaway from reading (and re-reading!) Rod Dreher’s one-sided, ahistorical article “Down with Card-Carrying Communists” in the American Conservative (Nov. 19, 2020). Full disclosure: I am a proud card-carrying member of the Communist Party, USA and have been for 23 years. Speaking of cards, Dreher’s article, like all anti-communism, is […]

BY MARGOT RATHKE AND SARAH ANDERSON Washington is abuzz with ideas for actions the Biden-Harris administration could take that would not require congressional approval. One of the buzziest: canceling student debts owed to the federal government. The Department of Education owns about 92 percent of the $1.6 trillion in student loans Americans owe. Many legal scholars say the department has the authority to wipe these […]

Fighting for reforms is an essential feature of the battle against capitalism. However, without the conscious, purposeful activity of a revolutionary working-class party, this essential work is likely to remain in the arena of reforms, that is, it will not touch the power of capital. I was reminded of this recently when speaking with a comrade about activists who were […]