There’s No Reason for Progressives to Vote for the Watered-Down Infrastructure Bill
The reconciliation bill has been so watered down, progressives should no longer feel pressure — moral or political — to support it.
521 Articles by: Branko Marcetic
Branko Marcetic is a Jacobin staff writer and the author of Yesterday’s Man: The Case Against Joe Biden.
The Economy Is Suffering From Too Little Government Intervention, Not Too Much
From Tucker Carlson to Larry Summers, free market devotees are blaming inflation on Joe Biden’s “big government” economic policies. In reality, the administration has done far too little to insulate Americans from the economic effects of the pandemic.
15 Minutes of Shame Has Nothing New to Say About Cancel Culture
To its credit, the new Monica Lewinsky–produced documentary about cancel culture takes the issue seriously without turning it into a cultural war bludgeon. But it can’t imagine a solution that isn’t dangerous, like tech censorship.
Colin Powell’s Mindless Obedience to the US War Machine Led to Death and Destruction
Hailed by the media as a patriot who put country first, Colin Powell put unthinking obedience to superiors above moral integrity. The world has suffered for it.
Republicans Are Trying to Repeal Vaccine Mandates for Every Disease
If the GOP has its way, diseases like measles and tuberculosis could make a big comeback.
The Real Bad Art Friend Is the Horrible Political Economy of Writing
The “Bad Art Friend” saga has held readers spellbound, launching a thousand debates about which of the two central figures in the writers’ feud is to blame. But maybe the real culprit is a bleak economic landscape that leads writers to fight for scraps.
Facebook Harms Its Users Because That’s Where Its Profits Are
Facebook has been the target of an unprecedented flood of criticism in recent months — and rightly so. But too many critics seem to forget that the company is driven to do bad things by its thirst for profit, not by a handful of mistaken ideas.
Sick and Injured Americans Are Drug Companies’ Favorite Cash Cows
Global pharmaceutical companies sell their medications in every country around the world. But only in the US do they get away with charging the extortionate prices Americans have become familiar with.
CIA Op or Not, the Pandora Papers Are a Big Deal
There’s good reason to speculate that the Pandora Papers, the massive leak exposing the tax-dodging practices of the global superrich — which includes plenty of Russians and Chinese, but almost no Americans — is a CIA plant. Nevertheless, it’s a newsworthy story that deserves the attention it’s gotten.
Steven Donziger Was Imprisoned by the 1 Percent’s Favorite Judge
Loretta Preska, the judge who did Chevron’s bidding in the case against activist Steven Donziger, has a history of conflicts of interest and pro-corporate rulings. And she’s not alone — corporate influence and conflicts of interest are rampant in the courts.
Will the Media Finally Learn Something From Its Fake “Havana Syndrome” Debacle?
Yet more evidence emerges that the so-called Havana Syndrome caused by a “microwave weapon” in US diplomats and intelligence personnel was a psychosomatic illness. Maybe it’s time for national security reporters to stop letting anonymous officials make wild claims to stoke conflict and inflate their budgets.
After Attacking Civil Liberties for Two Decades, the Right is Now Pretending to Care About Them
Determined to undermine the US pandemic response, the Right is opposing vaccine mandates on the grounds that they’re an authoritarian power grab. Don’t be fooled: up until a few months ago, they backed every civil liberties–shredding measure under the sun.
The IDF’s Grotesque Practice of Ransacking Palestinian Homes Is Israeli Apartheid in Action
A new report from a coalition of human rights groups details the horror of Israel’s apartheid-style home invasions in the West Bank — yet another revelation about the horrifying realities of what US military aid to Israel is funding.
You Know Who Else Opposed Vaccine Mandates? Hitler.
Contrary to claims about “fascist” vaccine mandates currently circulating on the Right, the Nazis actually relaxed German vaccine mandates — and hoped doing the same for people they conquered would kill them faster.
Unfortunately, Gavin Newsom Is the Future of the Democrats
Gavin Newsom came into office with “Big Hairy Audacious Goals” like universal health care — and proceeded to fulfill as few of them as he could. It’s no wonder he came dangerously close to facilitating a GOP power grab in a deep blue state.
Twenty Years Ago, the Saudi Government Got Away With the Crime of the Century
Despite copious evidence of Saudi complicity in the September 11 attacks, the Bush administration and its successors have spent twenty years shielding the country’s elite from accountability while making war on an ever-growing list of other Middle East countries.
Waking From a Twenty-Year Nightmare
For the past two decades, the psychology of 9/11 has shaped the nation’s political landscape and thrown the world into turmoil. That era must be definitively ended.
Twenty Years Ago, the Mainstream Press Created the War on Terror
Two decades ago, the mainstream media responded to the September 11 attacks by stacking their news coverage and pundit commentary with the country’s most belligerently pro-war voices. We are still paying for their appalling misjudgment.
9/11 Could Have Been a Moment to Reflect on US Violence Around the World
Instead, the quest to avenge just shy of 3,000 civilian deaths in New York and Washington has now resulted in the deaths of at least 400,000 civilians.
Bernie Sanders Is Making His Pitch to Swing Voters
Bernie Sanders, who’s fighting to pass his ambitious $3.5 trillion reconciliation bill in the Senate, spent the past weekend on the road, doing something his Democratic colleagues seldom do: selling his ideas in swing states.