IMPORTANT READS

NEW YORKER--Sitting in a stuffy, overpacked hall at the Presidential Palace, in Helsinki, watching Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump give a joint press conference after their meeting today, I was shocked but not surprised.

CORRUPTION WATCH-Aside from the fact that The Donald is upset with virtually everyone in the world except Vlady, why is he so mad at the courts?  

NEW YORKER--The latest indictment produced by the special counsel Robert Mueller is a brisk read.

TALKING THE TALK-Guys sometimes ask me for relationship advice.

YOUR EXCELLENCY--As an American, I believe I can speak for a great many of us who were appalled, embarrassed, and humiliated by the recent behavior exhibited by our so-called leader. 

A HISTORY OF INHUMANITY-When Donald Trump recently accused  “illegal immigrants” of wanting to “pour into and infest our country,” there was an immediate outcry.

MELTING ICE--Progressive mid-term election candidates like Cynthia Nixon(photo above)  and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have roused constituents with campaign trail promises to work to abolish Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

NOT YOUR PARENTS’ GENTRIFICATION-About one year ago in June, I was in London, speaking at a conference on global inequality at the London School of Economics.

EDUCATION POLITICS--On May 22nd, 2014, Donald Trump announced to the world via his Twitter account that Hillary Clinton accused him of wanting to bring guns into classrooms.

CONSIDER THIS--Poor people do not need surveys, studies, research papers, websites, fancy buildings, grants, volunteer opportunities, art projects, lectures, and pats on the back. Poor people need cash. 

‘WE’D USE A COAT HANGER’--What would happen to women if the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade?

PRISONS FOR PROFIT-In 2016 two immigrant detainees died after receiving care at facilities run by Emerald Correctional Management, a small Louisiana-based for-profit prison firm that at the time managed detention centers for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

JOURNALISM MATTERS-A fatal single-engine plane crash in a corn field was the first story I ever covered for a local newspaper, the Kalamazoo Gazette. 

CONSIDER THIS--What if Anthony Bourdain killed himself because he loved life too much? 

LABOR WATCH-In the fall of 2015, the Federalist Society, a conservative legal organization with a libertarian bent, held its annual lawyers convention at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, DC.

GUEST COMMENTARY--This week, ina 5-4 ruling of the conservative majority, the Supreme Courtdealt a stinging, bigoted blow to justice and equality, ruling for President Donald Trump’s travel ban ― a ban that lower courts ruled unconstitutional by virtue of Trump’s repeated hateful and discriminatory statements against Muslims. 

MY TURN-I suppose the real question to ask is whether America was ever not broken?

DC DISPATCH--General Michael C. Hayden begins his book, The Assault on Intelligence: American National Security in an Age of Lies, surveying the flattened streets of Sarajevo. When Hayden was head of Intelligence for the American Forces in Europe, he was tasked with providing intelligence to the UN forces based in Bosnia.

HYPOCRITE IN CHIEF-Were it not for the source, it would hardly be news to learn that the United States can’t take care of its most needy -- that it may be the richest country, but it is also increasingly, appallingly, unequal in how its wealth and opportunities are shared.

OTHERWORDS--The U.S. postal system has 30,000 outlets serving every part of America. It employs 630,000 people in good middle-class jobs. And it proudly delivers letters and packages clear across the country for a pittance.

RELIGION POLITICS--For Americans growing up between the 1950s and the 1980s, religion was not a regular presence on television. Aside from Sunday morning shows or occasional commercials, religious programming issued end-time warnings, sought monetary contributions, or staged faith healings. But it did not cover news.