“Hair Trump or Herr Trump?”

November 8, 2015

By STEVEN JONAS MD, MPH - October 26, 2015

The Web is suddenly crawling with images of Trump as Hitler—the idea has apparently caught on. To what extent this is the weight of the establishment attempting to quash Trump as an unwelcome messenger is anybody’s guess at this time. In America anything goes, given the appalling level of political illiteracy in the political class and media, not to mention the masses. Thus there is now an increasing amount of speculation —- the new “buzz” —- that Donald Trump has one or more characteristics in common with the German Nazi Chancellor/President/Dictator (yes, he was all of those things) Adolf Hitler:

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INDIANA IN THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF THE UNITED STATES:Part 1

November 8, 2015

By Harry Targ - 11.08.2015

Economic History

The United States burst forward as the superpower after World War II. At that time, 1945, the United States had ¾ of the world’s industrial capacity and 2/3 of its invested capital. The problem for the United States in 1945 was not the dynamism of its economy coming out of the war but whether it could be sustained. What each presidential administration did from the 1940s until the election of Ronald Reagan in 1980 was to support a political and economic system that coupled promotion of super-sized corporations and banks, the globalization of capital, and the provision of a modest safety net for workers and wages that allowed the increase of mass consumption of the goods and services produced by the 200 corporations that accounted for 1/3 of all that was produced on the face of the earth.

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Lies, Liars, and Commentators- the 2015 Presidential Debates and an America Afflicted with the Red Ass

November 8, 2015

By Mickey Walker-November 8, 2015

Last night, October 28, 2015, the Republican presidential candidates engaged in what was said to be a “debate.” More like a drunken brawl of interruptions, shouting, dodging issues, and gross belittling of each other and Hillary Clinton (who wasn’t even there). A cousin of mine called to say how appalled he was that we Americans had reduced ourselves to acting like a nation of dumbass savages. I enjoyed hearing him say that; I thought it was just me caught in this whirlpool of morons. But it is comforting to at least hear that I am not alone in shrinking back from terminal tirades of wrong-headed babble about what some profess to know about politics. They do make a good case for believing the Democrats, but to do that would be just as dumbass.

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“President Trump”! – It Can’t Happen Here.

November 8, 2015

By Loren Adams – 11.08.2015

Can you imagine a “President Trump”? Few educated Americans can. But few educated Germans imagined a “Chancellor Hitler” either. During the Great Depression, author Sinclair Lewis warned that the fascism sweeping Europe could very easily infect America if all the dominoes happen to fall in the right place – i.e., Italy, Spain, and Germany. The title of his 1935 classic is It Can’t Happen Here.

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Portugal: Europe’s Left Batting 1000

November 8, 2015

By Conn Hallinan - Oct. 7, 2015

In spite of a well-financed scare campaign, and a not very subtle effort by the European Union (EU) to load the dice in the Oct. 4 Portuguese elections, the ruling rightwing Forward Portugal coalition lost its majority in the parliament, Left parties garnered more than 50 percent of the vote, and the austerity policies that have paralyzed the country for four years took a major hit.

Along with last month’s Greek election, it was two in a row for the European Left.

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How To Be a Minimally Decent Human Being 101.

November 8, 2015

By Iris Vander Pluym - 11.08.15

[CONTENT NOTE: racism, sexism.]

Once upon a time I was a “legal secretary.” I toiled for years at NYC law firms—and, with apologies to my veteran friends—for what we in the staff ranks called "combat pay."

The gig pays well in part because it requires a specific skill set, including fluency in legalese (and esoteric dialects thereof), superhuman abilities in deciphering horrendous writing, software proficiency across the entire MS Office suite and more. But let's face it: that job pays well because lawyers.

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