On the heels of President Obama's speech to Congress on health reform this week, White House Domestic Policy Council Director Melody Barnes stated that the administration has learned some important lessons about that issue coming out of the August congressional recess.

At approximately 11:30pm on Thursday, September 10, 2009, a gay bar in Atlanta, the Atlanta Eagle, was raided by the Atlanta Police Department (APD).

Former Judge Leslie Crocker Snyder and I have a history. Most would say it's a parallel relationship. Crocker was a "hang em' high" judge who was infamous for handing out stiff drug sentences under the Rockefeller Drug Laws. I served a 15 to life sentence under these laws. Crocker wrote a book, 25 to Life, that documents her career as a tough prosecutor and judge.

It's September 7th, 2009. On this episode, we celebrate Labor Day by playing a portion of our recent interview with labor historian and activist Rosemary Feurer, author of the groundbreaking book Radical Unionism in the Midwest, 1900-1950.

At least 1,000 people converged on the State Capitol Thursday, September 03, 2009, to rally for health care reform one more time before US Congress returns to Washington, DC, next week.

With concerns about climate change and the fate of the world’s imperiled oceans and waterways at an all time high, it makes sense that the boating industry would be looking into greener ways to try to do their part and to attract some of those increasing numbers of environmentally conscious customers.

Atlanta City Council candidates, including incumbents, challengers, and candidates for open seats answered questions at a forum held by Georgia STAND-UP Alliance at the IBEW Auditorium on Tuesday, September 01, 2009.

Like so many hot button issues, the answer to this question depends upon who you ask. On the one hand, some say, nothing could be more natural than hunting, and indeed just about every animal species—including humans—has been either predator or prey at some point in its evolution.

On September 4, 1949, an angry crowd surrounded the 20,000 friends of Paul Robeson who had come to hear him in an open-air concert at Peekskill, New York. After the event right-wing, anti-communist inspired mobs attacked supporters who were leaving the event. These attacks included smashing the windows of Pete Seeger’s automobile with several family members inside.

Unveiling a new "American values agenda" this week, the United Food and Commercial Workers Union launched a new coalition of labor unions, worker advocacy groups, environmental groups, faith-based communities, and consumer protection organizations to "hold Walmart accountable to its workers, our communities and the planet."

August 29 marked the fourth anniversary of the day Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. The devastation wrought by both the hurricane itself and the government's inept response prompted remarkably critical corporate media coverage that promised to fight for Katrina survivors and change the way we talk about poverty and race.

Amnesty International (AI) has urged US President Barack Obama to lift his country’s almost 50-year-old financial, trade and economic blockade of Cuba.

Political progressives must speak out critically against the rituals of political life that so disenfranchise and mystify us. Along with the use of fear to induce submission (as was discussed in a prior blog essay), spectacles surrounding the deaths of prominent figures captivate our collective attention in ways that derail our political projects.

I read too many analysts these days that say that the passage of real health care reform rests largely on President Obama’s shoulders.

Alice Neel was someone I was aware of for some time, specifically since 2002, when there was a large exhibit of her work at the Whitney Museum in New York. I knew her name, of course, but I really didn’t know her work very well. A friend of mine said you have to go and check this out, so I did, and it just knocked my socks off.

Communists were not the only ones calling for socialism or fighting for practical reforms to alleviate the crisis, but Communists were by far the most important and successful in their efforts. They created a new, more cohesive left, both more militant and more flexible in strategy and tactics.

Considering all of the political complexities of the new era we have entered, President Obama has done a remarkable job in his short time in office. Those of us on the left need to look ahead and refuse to let differences with some of the President’s decisions keep us from seeing the historic and positive changes that are happening.

wo days after taking office, on January 22nd of this year, President Barack Obama issued a remarkable executive order to address some of the worst civil liberties abuses of the Bush administration. The order, among other things, forbade the CIA from running prisons outside the United States or engaging in other practices that had brought the US government into such disrepute.

As U.S. cities consider the urgent need for sustainable public transportation options, advocates are looking for ways to achieve the environmental benefits of such projects without displacing residents through gentrification of surrounding areas.