Donald Trump and the ’80s Aesthetic
The pro-Trump Zoomer sees the 2020s as a degenerate age and the ’80s as a time when men were men. It’s why their homemade videos are filled with VHS scan lines, old Gillette commercials, and Van Halen’s “Jump.”
19134 Articles by: Opal Lee
Opal Lee is a writer.
In Lisbon, Residents Seek a Vote on Banning Airbnb
In Lisbon, soaring tourism has turned tens of thousands of apartments into Airbnbs, pushing out ordinary renters. A referendum on banning short-term rentals in residential buildings could change that.
In Australia, Labor Is Criminalizing the Construction Union
Australian PM Anthony Albanese has declared war on the Construction, Forestry and Maritime Employees Union. Labor says it’s about cleaning up the industry — but it’s really about settling factional scores and boosting developers’ profit margins.
AIPAC Bought Cori Bush’s Seat
Wealthy pro-Israel donors drove Congresswoman Cori Bush out of office because she thinks Palestinians’ lives matter.
Workers Are Bearing the Brunt of Myanmar’s Civil War
Since Myanmar’s military seized power in 2021, the country has been caught in a bloody civil war. While the army fights bitterly for control over the mines and other industries that fund its war machine, workers pay the cost.
The ACLU Fired One of Its Workers for Criticizing Management
Yesterday a National Labor Relations Board judge found that the ACLU fired an employee for engaging in the protected activity of criticizing her working conditions.
No, Kamala Harris Isn’t a Marxist
Right-wing commentators are saying Kamala Harris’s endorsement of “equity” is tantamount to Marxism. This is nonsense: Democrats’ narrow advocacy of equity has little to do with the socialist goal of meeting everyone’s basic needs.
J. D. Vance Got His Faux Populism From Internet Weirdos
Vance’s political rebrand as a self-styled right-populist wasn’t an organic reaction to what he saw in deindustrialized Appalachia. He was radicalized by online discourse goblins.
Britain’s Riots Are Designed to Terrorize Muslims
For years, the far right has benefited from a growing rot in British politics, as politicians and the media promote Islamophobia. Now the establishment refuses to confront these riots for what they are: domestic terrorism by white supremacists.
Argentina Was the Pioneer of Latin American Socialism
By the late 19th century, Argentina had the first organized socialist party in Latin America. Its activists took ideas from Europe but gradually developed their own distinctive perspective, adapting socialism to Argentine national conditions.
The US Keeps Pouring Money Into Nuclear Weapons
The Pentagon is now carrying out a $2 trillion, multiyear plan to build new nuclear-armed missiles, bombers, and submarines. That means increasing the risk of a disastrous exchange of nuclear attacks — but it’s great business for major weapons contractors.
How the Frankfurt School Used Marx, Nietzsche, and Freud
The theorists of the Frankfurt School wanted to promote a critical Marxism that wasn’t hobbled by one-dimensional economic determinism. In doing so, they also drew on the thinking of Friedrich Nietzsche and Sigmund Freud.
With Shared Software, Landlords Are Teaming Up to Raise Rents
San Francisco has banned RealPage, a software company that computer-generates recommended rents for landlord clients in what some are calling a price-fixing scheme. It’s a step toward curbing rent-raising collusion between landlords.
Across Europe, Gaza Has Become a Litmus Test for the Left
Ahead of the recent French elections, pundits widely expected voters to punish France Insoumise for its strong pro-Gaza stance. It didn’t happen. Around Europe, left-wing voters are galvanized by parties who defy the pro-Israel mainstream.
A New Wave of Pro-Public-School Organizing
Right-wing efforts to undermine public schools are designed to shock the public into permanently lowering our expectations for what public schools can be. Those efforts may be backfiring.
The Tim Walz VP Pick Shows America’s Politics Are Changing
The most significant thing about Tim Walz becoming Kamala Harris’s running mate isn’t his progressive record. It’s that such a record is now considered an asset by top Democratic leaders.
A Brief History of the Democratic Party
The Democratic Party, and the US political system as a whole, is a very strange beast.
Britain’s Far Right Feeds Off Mainstream Political Racism
For the last week, Britain has witnessed a horrifying wave of racist violence targeting Muslims and organized by far-right activists. The violent fascist gangs are feeding off the legitimization of racist ideas by Britain’s mainstream parties and media.
J. D. Vance Wants to Gut Biden’s Consumer Protections
J. D. Vance has cosponsored 24 GOP attempts to gut Biden administration consumer protections, from air quality standards to cracking down on junk fees. His voting record offers a glimpse of what’s to come under a potential second Trump administration.
We Need a New Peace Movement to Prevent Nuclear War
It’s the anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, and tensions between nuclear powers are spiking again. Citizen movements against nuclear weapons have always been crucial to avoiding nuclear war, and we need them as much as ever.