Chris Hodges: What Obama Really Meant — a Literal Interpretation of His NSA Speech

Published on Monday, January 20, 2014 by TruthDig.com What Obama Really Meant Was … by Chris Hedges Remarks by the President on Review of Signals Intelligence(if he had told the truth)Department of Injustice Washington, D.C. 11:15 a.m. EST THE PRESIDENT: A small, secret surveillance committee of goons and thugs hiding behind the mask of patriotism …

Ezra Klein: Dylan Matthew’s Five Reforms Framed for Left & Right — Spotlight on How to Sell Anything to the Two-Party Mob

The depressing psychological theory that explains Washington Dylan Matthews’s “Five conservative reforms millennials should be fighting for” isn’t just an admirably intricate piece of trolling. It’s a perfect illustration of why you can’t take Washington’s policy debates at face value. You can’t understand what’s happened to Congress in recent years if you don’t understand what …

Reference (2014): Bill de Blasio Inauguration Speech (Mayor, New York City) + Early Transitions Commentaries

The following is the complete text of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s inaugural address, as prepared for delivery. Thank you, President Clinton, for your kind words. It was an honor to serve in your administration, and we’re all honored by your presence. I have to note that, over 20 years ago, when a conservative philosophy seemed …

Marcus Aurelius: George Friedman on the Crisis of the Middle Class and American Power

The Crisis of the Middle Class and American Power Geopolitical Weekly Stratfor Editor’s Note: The following Geopolitical Weekly originally ran in January 2013. By George Friedman When I wrote about the crisis of unemployment in Europe, I received a great deal of feedback. Europeans agreed that this is the core problem while Americans argued that the United States …

Eagle: Charles Hugh Smith – Freedom Via Extreme Frugality

The Only Leverage We Have Is Extreme Frugality  Charles Hugh Smith Debt is serfdom, capital in all its forms is freedom. The only leverage available to all is extreme frugality in service of accumulating productive capital. There are only three ways to better oneself financially: marry someone with money, inherit money or accumulate capital/savings and …

Tikkun Rabbi Michael Lerner: Conflict of Two Judaisms — Judaism of Love and Judaism of Conquest

A Jewish State Would Not Be Oppressive or Racist Toward the Powerless, the Immigrants, the Homeless, The Other–an essay by Uri Avnery Editor’s Note: Uri Avnery, a committed atheist, and chair of Israel’s peace movement Gush Shalom,  recognizes that the real problem in Israel today is not that it is a Jewish state, but that it …

Jean Lievens: Demonetization – Replacing Transactions with Social Relationships

The Demonetization Agenda – replacing transactions with social relations Republished from Stefan Meretz: “The question of how we deal with and act within the given monetary environment is crucial for the commons movement, since the monetary logic and the commons logic are opposites. Contrary to the claims of mainstream economics, money is not neutral or …