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Fidel Castro and the Question Of Power

Van Gosse Portside
Fidel Castro's life, and the example of the Cuban Revolution, demonstrates the enduring relevance of state power. It is fundamentally irresponsible for anyone on the left to think one can avoid the question of power, and let someone else face its contradictions and deformations. Somebody will exercise it, for good or ill. Fidel Castro embraced this question, choosing to wield power in as many ways possible for what he deemed social goods, even on the global scale.

A Conductor of Evolution’s Subtle Symphony

Stephanie Bucklin Quanta
At first, the biologist Richard Lenski thought his long-term experiment on evolution might last for 2,000 generations. Nearly three decades and over 65,000 generations later, he’s still amazed by evolution’s “awesome inventiveness.”

Trump’s Staff Drafted Straight from the Corporate Misinformation Machine

George Monbiot The Guardian
Donald Trump’s policy positions often seem incoherent. But those who surround him know just what they want, and his lack of clarity enhances their power. Many of his staffers are from opaque corporate misinformation networks, which masquerade as think tanks, but are in reality multinational corporate lobbying groups. They are created and funded to misinform, obfuscate, and create the anger and hate so prevalent on social media and so essential to Trump’s victory.

Sanctuary Cities Are Safe, Thanks to Conservatives

Noah Feldman Bloomberg
Roberts analyzed the issue by saying that, under the spending clause of the Constitution, Congress can’t create a funding condition that is unrelated to the original funding purpose and is so coercive that it amounts to a “gun to the head” of the states. Roberts’s doctrine applies with full force to Trump’s threat to pull cities’ existing funding if they remain sanctuaries by declining to cooperate with federal officials to enforce immigration law.

Will Trump's PR Triumph At Carrier Mean The Democratic Party's Demise?

Les Leopold Common Dreams/Alternet
Sanders believes that neoliberalism is the heart of our problem ― that it leads to runaway inequality, a rigged political system, an exploitative Wall Street, and the full-scale assault on the living and working conditions of working people ― black, brown, white, gay, trans and straight. That system, he believes, also leads to the dramatic rise of incarceration, urban and rural poverty, and the stalling of real wages for the vast majority of the population.

Trump Campaign and GOP Allies in Full Legal Panic as Recounts Could Create Electoral College Crisis

Steven Rosenfeld Alternet
In the past 24 hours, the Trump campaign and its GOP allies in the three states that gave him an apparent Electoral College victory after on November 8 have filed lawsuits and legal motions to block, delay and freeze the recounts. In the case of Michigan, where Trump’s lead is smallest, 10,704 votes, the state's Republican attorney general is arguing the recount's results should be ignored.

#EnemiesList

Taj James medium.com
"If they create an Enemies/List," says the poet Taj James, "Sign me up." Only by showing our solidarity with those so-called enemies can we hope that the listmakers themselves become the "enemies" of the people. These are words for our unfortunate times.

More Than Ever - We Need You, We Need Each Other

The Moderators of Portside Culture Portside
Every year, Portside asks our readers for their help and support. This, however, is not like other years. What months ago was a scary thought is now our, and the world's reality - a Trump presidency. We need to work together, to build, to organize, and to understand what works, and what doesn't. Portside provides reportage, inspiration, investigation and analysis that are needed more than ever. We promise to do our part. Will you help?