Democratic 2020 U.S. presidential candidate Senator Bernie Sanders rallies with supporters in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, February 26, 2020. Photo by Jonathan Ernst. The events of the past week show a growing desperation in the ranks of the Democratic Party’s corporate-driven leadership as the Sanders campaign has assumed a clear
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Canadian Dimension: Bernie’s Very Welcome Assault on Our Cliché of Greatness
U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders speaking with supporters at a “Come Together and Fight Back” rally hosted by the Democratic National Committee at the Mesa Amphitheater in Mesa, Arizona. Photo by Gage Skidmore (Flickr). “Excuse me, occasionally it might be a good idea to be honest about American foreign policy.” I
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: Trump’s ‘Red Meat’ State of the Union Speech
US President Donald Trump steps to the podium to begin his State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington. On Tuesday, Donald Trump delivered a State of the Union speech that revealed his 2020 election strategy, designed to roil and mobilize his
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: The Battle for Equality
Illustration by German-born American caricaturist and editorial cartoonist Thomas Nast, often considered to be the “Father of the American Cartoon”. Image obtained from Wikimedia Commons. We are living in a crisis of inequality. The twenty-six richest people on the planet currently own as much private net wealth as the poorest
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: The 2019 National Convention of the Democratic Socialists of America
Photo by Steve Eberhardt. Courtesy of The Nation. The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) held its biennial convention from August 1-4 in Atlanta. There were 1,056 delegates, representing 80 local associations from all over the United States. As a representative of Québec solidaire, I had the privilege of being among
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: The Untold Story of the Trump-Ukraine Scandal: The Routine Corruption of US Foreign Policy
Former Vice President of the United States Joe Biden speaking with supporters at a community event at the Best Western Regency Inn in Marshalltown, Iowa. Photo by Gage Skidmore (Flickr). The most crucial aspects of the Trump-Ukraine “scandal,” which has led to impeachment proceedings against Donald Trump, are not being
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: The Problem With Impeachment
Photo by Michael Vadon (Flickr) Impeaching Donald Trump would do nothing to halt the deep decay that has beset the American republic. It would not magically restore democratic institutions. It would not return us to the rule of law. It would not curb the predatory appetites of the big banks,
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: This 4th of July: A letter from Richard D. Wolff
On this 4th of July, when Americans think about the nation’s independence, it is partly under dark clouds. The Trump/GOP regime, desperately trying to “make America great again,” has chosen to make independence aggressive. It has attacked not an old King George representing a dying monarchism, but rising Chinese competitors.
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: U.S. Sanctions: Economic Sabotage That Is Deadly, Illegal, and Ineffective
Protest against sanctions in Canada, August 9, 2018 (@compartycanada) While the mystery of who is responsible for sabotaging the two tankers in the Gulf of Oman remains unsolved, it is clear that the Trump administration has been sabotaging Iranian oil shipments since May 2, when it announced its intention to
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: Can Socialism Save American Democracy?
Photo by Jeff Gauthier It was all but a formal declaration of his re-election strategy. “Here in the United States, we are alarmed by new calls to adopt socialism in our country,” President Donald Trump bellowed during his State of the Union address in February. “Tonight, we renew our resolve
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: Israeli intervention in US elections overwhelms anything Russia has done, claims Chomsky
Veteran activist Noam Chomsky has accused Israel of “brazenly” interfering in US electoral politics in a way that vastly outweighs any efforts that may have been carried out by Russia. In comments in which he accused much of the media of concentrating on stories he considered marginal and ignoring issues
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: The Monroe Doctrine is Back: Its Purpose is to Serve the Neoliberal Order
In November 2013, then-Secretary of State John Kerry declared: “The era of the Monroe Doctrine is over.” The reality of Obama administration policy did not entirely support this assertion; there was the executive order against Venezuela in 2015, support for the coup in Honduras in 2009, and ominously close ties
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: Trump-Barr’s Manipulation of the Mueller report: Political Cover-up of the Century?
Photo by Saul Loeb We live in a very corrupt era. A case in point is the current and scandalous manipulation of the Mueller report by the Trump administration, with hardly any outcry from people in authority. Indeed, of the close to 400 pages (excluding tables and appendices) of the
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: Bernie Sanders’ Campaign Is the Political Opportunity of a Lifetime
Photo by AFGE Bernie Sanders wrapped up a weekend campaign swing through California with a Sunday afternoon speech to 16,000 of us a few miles from the Golden Gate Bridge. News coverage seemed unlikely to convey much about the event. The multiracial crowd reflected the latest polling that shows great
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: Liberals Are Digging Their Own Grave With Russiagate
Screenshot from MSNBC “This new Cold War [is] more dangerous than the preceding Cold War,” professor Stephen Cohen tells Truthdig Editor in Chief Robert Scheer in the latest installment of “Scheer Intelligence.” Cohen, a professor emeritus of Russian studies at Princeton University and New York University, has a new book
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: There Is Only One True Choice for Progressives in 2020
Photo by AFGE Presidential candidate Kamala Harris began this week in the nation’s first primary state by proclaiming what she isn’t. “The people of New Hampshire will tell me what’s required to compete in New Hampshire,” she said, “but I will tell you I am not a democratic socialist.” Harris
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: Goodbye to the Dollar
The inept and corrupt presidency of Donald Trump has unwittingly triggered the fatal blow to the American empire—the abandonment of the dollar as the world’s principal reserve currency. Nations around the globe, especially in Europe, have lost confidence in the United States to act rationally, much less lead, in issues
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: “If Bernie Runs?” Wrong Question
Photo by Max Goldberg Remembering Bernie Sanders at Prairie Lights In late 2014 Bernie Sanders came out to Iowa City to speak before a large and enthusiastic crowd at that university town’s venerable independent Prairie Lights Bookstore. It was part of his exploration before finally committing to running for the
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: Trump, the Quintessential American
Illustration by Nevit Dilmen Donald Trump is part of the peculiar breed Herman Melville described in his novel “The Confidence-Man,” in which the main character uses protean personas, flattery and lies to gain the confidence of his fellow passengers to fleece them on a Mississippi River steamboat. “Confidence men,” as
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: A Killer Dies, a Teacher Lives: George H.W. Bush v. Noam Chomsky
Photo by SSGT. Perry Heimer A Humble Man Who Liked to Wear Socks The obsequious praise of the life and legacy of the now deceased mad-dog killer George H. W. Bush (1924-2018) on the supposedly liberal and left cable networks CNN and MSNBC this last weekend was really something. Some
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