Section: Institute for Policy Studies (USA)
Trump Silences Tlaib and Omar for Embracing Palestinians’ Humanity
Years ago, I visited Gaza. It was in 2009, shortly after the disastrous Israeli war, and I was there to see the damage firsthand with other activists. There was devastation, but that’s not what I remember most. More than the skeletal remains of a hotel on the beach, riddled with holes from artillery fire, I was struck by the laughter of the...
Big Pharma to Pay for Opioid Crisis, But What Happens to the Money?
A trial in Cleveland County, Oklahoma recently concluded with Johnson & Johnson ordered to pay a $572 million settlement for its role in the opioid crisis. It is the third case in Oklahoma to end with a pharmaceutical company being held liable for paying damages related to the abuse of opioids and the ensuing deaths caused by overdose. The...
We’re the Wealthiest Country — Our Kids Shouldn’t Go to School Hungry
Nearly half of America’s children live in low-income and poor families, and the majority of public school students qualify for free breakfast and lunch programs. Nearly 30 million children — more than the population of Texas — benefit from the National School Lunch Program. In low-income households, it’s often food that gets...
It’s a Borderful World
Nation-states: what a quaint notion. As a means of organizing territory, they seem to be a brief transition period between large empires and an even larger, borderless world. Sure, nation-states might live on in the form of anthems and flags and independence days, but the idea of fixed borders just don’t make sense in a world of cell...
The New, New Cold War
U.S. Army Europe / Flickr When an epoch ends, as the Cold War did between 1989 and 1991, it takes some time to come up with a name for the new order. For some years, the world lived in a “post-Cold War” era. That phrase was supposed to capture the optimism of a new beginning as well as the uncertainty that accompanies any great transition....
The Dangerous Trend Threatening the Future of the Nation-State
Photo: Shutterstock When the historian Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., published his bestseller The Disuniting of America in 1991, he didn’t seriously entertain the worst-case scenario suggested by the title. At the time, the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia were imploding, while separatist movements in Quebec, East Timor, Spain’s Basque country,...
‘RussiaGate’ Alone Isn’t Going to Put Progressives Back in Power
(Photo: motttive / Shutterstock) Donald Trump’s approval ratings remain dismal, yet the Democrats are 0 for 4 in congressional elections in 2017. Not only do a majority of Americans believe that the president has tried to obstruct investigations into Russian interference in the 2016 elections but, by a 2 to 1 margin, Americans believe...
The Nixonization of Donald Trump
(Photo: Mike Maguire / Flickr) The comparisons are multiplying. There was Trump’s appeal to the “silent majority” during the presidential election, his later adoption of the “mad man” theory in his foreign policy, his possible taping of conversations, his arm-twisting of top officials, and his all-around involvement in the scandals...
What Russia Really Wants (And Got) From Trump
(Photo: Mike Maguire / Flickr) It has all the hallmarks of a compelling thriller. A U.S. president willing to put his reputation on the line in the interests of peace and prosperity prepares to reach out to Russia. The Kremlin shows some cautious interest. But before the president can propose anything substantial, his opponents do everything...
What Putin Wants from Trump
(Image: Shutterstock / ) I wrote this article about Russian efforts to cultivate Donald Trump as an asset last week for a Korean newspaper where it was published on Sunday. Little did I know that news would break this week of allegations that Russia has a file of damaging information it can use to blackmail President-elect Trump. In that file is...
