US Politics
Eleven killed in deadliest attack on Jewish community in US history
By Samuel Davidson, 28 October 2018
The attack on the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh occurs in the midst of an international escalation of fascist violence.
Arrest of bomb scare suspect heightens political warfare in Washington
By Barry Grey, 27 October 2018
The mail bombs are a symptom of a deepening social and political crisis in the United States, the center of world capitalism.
As federal judge orders Georgia to count tossed-out ballots
Voter suppression looms large in 2018 US elections
By Kranti Kumara, 27 October 2018
The issue of deliberate voter suppression has become a highly contentious issue with less than two weeks before Election Day.
Defend immigrant workers against Trump’s military crackdown
By Bill Van Auken, 27 October 2018
American workers must come to the defense of immigrants and refugees as the Trump administration threatens to close the border and turn armed troops against working class men, women and children.
Trump to deploy hundreds of troops to the border against Central American migrants
By Andrea Lobo, 26 October 2018
The domestic deployment of the military against immigrants is a warning to the entire working class.
Former Fed chair warns of new financial crisis
By Nick Beams, 26 October 2018
In remarks unprecedented for a former central banker, Janet Yellen told the Financial Times that the lessons of the financial crash of 2008 were being forgotten.
CIA director briefs Trump on Khashoggi torture tape
By Bill Van Auken, 26 October 2018
CIA Director Gina Haspel, dispatched to Turkey to investigate the murder of the Saudi journalist, has intimate familiarity with acts of torture and tapes recording them.
What the mail bomb uproar says about American politics
By Patrick Martin, 26 October 2018
The American media has dropped virtually all other topics to focus its attention on the mail bombs sent to eight leading Democrats or public critics of Trump.
Obama stumps for Democrats in Michigan: A legacy of social devastation
By Niles Niemuth, 26 October 2018
Obama is visiting Cass Tech High School in Detroit in an effort to convince workers once again that the Democratic Party, a right-wing, pro-capitalist and pro-war party, represents their interests.
Bombs mailed to prominent Democrats and Trump critics
By Patrick Martin, 25 October 2018
None of the devices exploded and no one was injured, even though two of the bombs reached the offices of CNN and a Florida congresswoman.
Oppose Trump’s attacks on immigrants! Defend the migrant caravan!
By Niles Niemuth, 25 October 2018
Workers in the US must unite with workers in Mexico and Central America to ensure the safe passage into the country of the several thousand workers making their way towards the US-Mexico border.
New York Times celebrates downfall of 201 “powerful men:” The ugly face of the #MeToo campaign
By David Walsh, 25 October 2018
The article inadvertently points toward an important truth: the #MeToo campaign is fundamentally an effort by a layer of upper-middle class women to advance their economic interests at the expense of their male rivals.
Republicans and Democrats prepare bipartisan agenda of social cuts and war
By Patrick Martin, 23 October 2018
Two weeks before the US congressional elections, the outlines of a reactionary deal between the Trump administration and the Democratic Party are coming into view.
Gavin Newsom: A California governor groomed by the financial aristocracy
By Dan Conway, 23 October 2018
The Los Angeles Times recently published a report documenting the role of eight wealthy San Francisco families in bankrolling the political career of Democrat Gavin Newsom.
Bernie Sanders tours Michigan to prop up the Democratic Party
By Matthew Brennan, 22 October 2018
The candidate brought his “revolution” to Ann Arbor Michigan to drum up support for establishment and right-wing political candidates.
New York’s Metropolitan Republican Club hosts leader of fascistic street gang
By Tom Carter, 22 October 2018
This event exposes the close ties between a faction of the Republican Party and the political gutter of open racists, bigots and the “alt-right.”
Socialist Alternative and Democratic Socialists of America hold election rally for Democrats in Chicago
By Kristina Betinis, 22 October 2018
The pseudo-lefts are collaborating to refurbish the image of the increasingly right-wing Democratic Party, which is running an unprecedented number of CIA agents in the midterms.
Pompeo meets with Mexican government as its police attack Honduran migrants
By Eric London, 20 October 2018
Hundreds of women and children were injured in the crackdown on a narrow bridge over the river separating Mexico and Guatemala.
Trump demands five percent budget cut from each Cabinet department
By Shelley Connor, 20 October 2018
In a move to counter the growing federal deficit, Trump has called upon each Cabinet secretary to cut spending.
As Trump administration prepares to withdraw from nuclear missile treaty
US charges new Russian conspiracy to interfere in midterm elections
By Will Morrow, 20 October 2018
The charges have been released without the slightest evidence, but have immediately been accepted as gospel and amplified by the American media.
Trump threatens to deploy military to close US-Mexico border
By Eric London, 19 October 2018
Trump, with the complicity of the Democrats, has invoked the phony “threat” of the immigrant caravan to whip up xenophobia before the midterm elections.
Trump scrambles to cover for Saudi regime as crisis over Khashoggi murder mounts
By Barry Grey, 19 October 2018
Pompeo’s meetings with King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed were aimed at signaling continued US support while making a pretense of seeking a full accounting of Khashoggi’s disappearance.
The Harvard case on racial preferences and the antidemocratic character of affirmative action
By Ed Hightower, 19 October 2018
Affirmative action policies seek to conceal the class division in society while permitting the political right to pose as defenders of equal protection.
Anti-Kissinger protest at New York University
By Isaac Finn, 19 October 2018
Protesters gathered outside of NYU’s business school to oppose the appearance of the notorious war criminal Henry Kissinger.
One year of the #MeToo movement
By David Walsh, 19 October 2018
The ostensible aim of this movement is to combat sexual harassment, i.e., to bring about social progress. However, the repressive means resorted to give the lie to the campaign’s “progressive” claims.
Genuine socialism vs. the Democratic Party politics of Bernie Sanders
By Niles Niemuth, 19 October 2018
Amid growing opposition to capitalism and interest in socialism, Sanders plays a critical role in directing oppositional sentiments back behind the Democratic Party.
CIA Democrat Max Rose faces off against Trump Republican in Staten Island
By Daniel de Vries, 18 October 2018
A debate Tuesday evening in Staten Island demonstrated the right-wing character of the Democratic Party’s opposition to Trump.
Record flood of cash to buy US midterm elections
By Patrick Martin, 18 October 2018
The sheer scale of the fundraising and spending demonstrates the profoundly anti-democratic character of the American political system.
Florida gubernatorial election: Suddenly “socialism” becomes the issue
By Matthew MacEgan and Jean Bellevie, 18 October 2018
Democrat Andrew Gillum is being falsely portrayed as a progressive, left-wing candidate by both his supporters and his Republican opponent.
Feigning moral outrage, the Times’ Thomas Friedman comes to the defense of the Saudi killer regime
By Barry Grey, 18 October 2018
Friedman poses the problem of how to respond to the murder of Khashoggi from the “practical” standpoint of imperialist Realpolitik.
Former first lady Michelle Obama declares George W. Bush “my partner in crime”
By Nick Barrickman, 16 October 2018
Bush is guilty of war crimes of the highest order, but they are crimes that the entire political establishment supports and is pledged to continue.
Facebook’s purge of left-wing media: A frontal assault on freedom of speech
By Andre Damon, 15 October 2018
The social media monopoly’s removal of left-wing news pages with millions of followers is the latest step in a conspiracy by the state and the technology giants to censor the internet.
Death toll from Hurricane Michael continues to climb
By Matthew Taylor, 15 October 2018
Hurricane Michael is now considered to be the third most powerful storm to impact the US.
Trump considers reinstating family separations at the border
By Meenakshi Jagadeesan, 15 October 2018
The proposal to force parents to choose between separation and deportation to war-torn Central America is a form of emotional torture.
New York judge dismisses a sexual assault charge against producer Harvey Weinstein
By David Walsh, 15 October 2018
Judge James Burke took the action after it came to light that a New York City police detective had failed to report an interview with a friend of one of the complainants, Lucia Evans, which casts doubt on her version of events.
SEP holds campaign rally at FCA Warren Stamping plant
Autoworkers welcome SEP candidate Niles Niemuth
By Tim Rivers, 15 October 2018
Autoworkers gave SEP congressional candidate Niles Niemuth a warm welcome at a plant gate rally Saturday afternoon in the Detroit suburb of Warren, Michigan.
Pages purged by Facebook were on blacklist promoted by Washington Post
By Andre Damon, 13 October 2018
PropOrNot, an organization that published a blacklist of oppositional media organizations in 2016, hailed Facebook’s actions as the precursor to shutting down the targeted organizations' web sites.
Daniel Ellsberg’s The Doomsday Machine: A prescient warning of the danger of nuclear war
By Kevin Martinez, 13 October 2018
The famous whistleblower of the “Pentagon Papers” provides a disturbing and timely memoir of his days preparing nuclear war policies for the Pentagon.
US places alleged “Chinese spy” on public trial
By Mike Head, 12 October 2018
The timing of the unprecedented extradition points to a new stage in the US drive to prevent China from becoming an economic or military threat to US global hegemony.
Hurricane Michael leaves trail of death and destruction in southeastern US
By Daniel de Vries, 12 October 2018
The death toll, which currently stands at six, will almost certainly rise as emergency personnel gain access to more communities laid to waste by the storm.
Billionaire Bloomberg rejoins Democratic Party
By Patrick Martin, 12 October 2018
The billionaire’s political career demonstrates the fundamental identity of the two corporate-controlled parties that comprise the US two-party system.
US ambassador to New Zealand continues public attacks on China
By Tom Peters, 12 October 2018
Scott Brown, the ambassador appointed by Trump, is escalating the anti-Chinese campaign in New Zealand to align the country more closely with US war preparations.
US government may put separated immigrant children up for adoption
By Eric London, 11 October 2018
In one case, AP reports, “It took 28 minutes for a judge in a rural courthouse” to transfer guardianship of a toddler, without even notifying her mother.
Pentagon report points to US preparations for total war
By Andre Damon, 11 October 2018
Amid an intensification of military tensions with Russia and China, the Pentagon has produced a document proposing to “retool” US society for “great power conflict.”
Major fall on Wall Street as interest rates rise
By Nick Beams, 11 October 2018
The main factor behind the fall appears to be the spike in yields on US Treasury bonds, which have risen sharply in recent days to above 3 percent.
Leaked Google document: Tech firms have shifted away from “free speech and towards censorship”
By Kevin Reed, 11 October 2018
On Tuesday, the far-right news outlet Breitbart News published a leaked internal document by technology giant Google that openly discusses political censorship.
The Kavanaugh confirmation and the US midterm elections
By Patrick Martin, 9 October 2018
The thoroughly right-wing campaign waged by the Democratic Party over the Kavanaugh nomination, focused solely on allegations of sexual assault, has set the tone for the US congressional elections.
Debbie Dingell: A candidate of wealth and privilege
By Tom Hall, 9 October 2018
Democratic Representative Debbie Dingell is both an auto heiress and the latest iteration of a political dynasty that has dominated the Detroit Downriver area for 85 years.
US Senate elevates right-wing judge Brett Kavanaugh to Supreme Court
By Patrick Martin, 8 October 2018
The confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh marks a further major step to the right by the highest US court.
Obama endorses DSA’s Ocasio-Cortez, along with CIA Democrats
By Nick Barrickman, 8 October 2018
The DSA is an instrument for boosting the right-wing, militarist Democratic Party by providing it with a “left” cover.
Socialist Alternative on New York primaries: Burrowing further into the Democratic Party
By Josh Varlin, 8 October 2018
Socialist Alternative’s political activity consists for the most part in promoting the Democratic Socialists of America and supposedly “progressive” Democrats.
Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh clears crucial hurdle to confirmation
By Eric London, 6 October 2018
Friday’s 51–49 cloture vote all but secures the confirmation of the arch-reactionary to what will be the most right-wing court in over a century.
Bernie Sanders covers for Jeff Bezos as fraud of $15 pay raise at Amazon is exposed
By Tom Hall, 6 October 2018
Sanders immediately abandoned his criticism of Jeff Bezos after the company’s cynical publicity stunt, and embraced him as a great reformer.
Federal judge issues injunction against Trump administration refugee order
By Matthew Taylor, 6 October 2018
The four countries cited in the lawsuit represent nearly 300,000 of the 437,000 refugees who are currently receiving TPS in the United States.
Socialist Equality Party candidate for Congress Niles Niemuth speaks at televised forum
6 October 2018
The SEP’s candidate for Michigan’s 12th congressional district, along with his opponents from the Democratic and Republican parties, as well as the pseudo-left Working Class Party, answered questions on immigration, inequality, education and more.
NY Times exposé on Trump fortune: An empire built on tax evasion and fraud
“Behind every great fortune there is a great crime” – Honoré de Balzac
By Barry Grey, 6 October 2018
The picture of criminality and corruption that emerges from the Times report is one that characterizes not just the Trump clan, but the corporate-financial oligarchy as a whole.
US vice president issues bellicose diatribe against China
By Bill Van Auken, 5 October 2018
Pence’s speech came amid reports that the Pentagon is preparing massive and provocative military exercises as a show of force against China.
US, UK and NATO allies ramp up anti-Russia offensive over “cyber spying” and Skripals
By Robert Stevens, 5 October 2018
To frame the demand for the seven arrests, the US utilised all the material gathered by its NATO allies against Russia over the Skripal/novichok affair.
US Senate sets first vote on Kavanaugh nomination
By Patrick Martin, 5 October 2018
The Democratic Party is focusing solely on unproven allegations of sexual misconduct against Kavanaugh, as the Republicans move forward to a vote on the right-wing nominee.
The US military’s vision for state censorship
By Andre Damon, 5 October 2018
The Atlantic Council, a key partner in social media companies’ drive to censor the internet, has published a summary of a US special forces conference outlining a plan for systematically gutting the freedom of expression.
The #MeToo campaign versus the presumption of innocence
By Eric London, 5 October 2018
The historical development of the presumption of innocence is a centuries-long battle for due process and enlightenment against irrationalism, lynch mob justice and arbitrary state repression.
FEMA and Trump send out mass “Presidential Alert”
By Patrick Martin, 5 October 2018
Wednesday’s nationwide test of the “Presidential Alert” system raises concerns about the growing threat to democratic rights.
Socialist Equality Party candidate Niles Niemuth speaks in Ann Arbor on the right to universal health care
By our reporter, 5 October 2018
Niles explained how the fight for universal health care is bound up with the fight against all other attacks on the working class and above all, with the fight for socialism.
The International Socialist Organization mobilizes behind Democrats’ right-wing diversion on Kavanaugh
By Barry Grey, 4 October 2018
The US pseudo-left has seized on allegations of sexual assault against Kavanaugh to intensify its promotion of #MeToo and the Democratic Party’s campaign in the November elections.
CIA Democrats call for aggression against Russia, run pro-war campaigns in 2018 congressional races
By Patrick Martin, 3 October 2018
Democratic challengers seeking Republican congressional seats, particularly those with a military-intelligence background, are pushing for ever greater military spending.
Ten years since the 2008 bank bailout
By Andre Damon, 3 October 2018
The creation of the Troubled Asset Relief Program on October 3, 2008, was the initial step in a massive redistribution of wealth and restructuring of class relations in the United States and internationally.
The Kavanaugh nomination, #MeToo and the politics of petty-bourgeois rage
By David Walsh, 3 October 2018
The New York Times published an opinion piece by journalist Rebecca Traister headlined “Fury Is a Political Weapon. And Women Need to Wield It.” The piece is one of a number along the same lines that have appeared in recent weeks and months.
Democrats, media press Kavanaugh sexual assault campaign
By Patrick Martin, 1 October 2018
The frenzy over Kavanaugh’s alleged actions as a 17-year-old is a diversion from any examination of his 30-year record as a reactionary opponent of democratic rights and the working class.
Protests hit mass detention of immigrant children in Texas tent camp
By Bill Van Auken, 1 October 2018
The barren tent camp in the desert on the Mexican border is built to house up to 3,800 children.
Trump threatens “strategic allies” with auto tariffs
By Nick Beams, 29 September 2018
After being used against the European Union, the threat of auto tariffs on “national security” grounds was brought out against Japan and Canada this week.
The political issues in the Senate hearing on Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh
By Eric London, 29 September 2018
The focus of the proceedings reflects the political priorities of the Democratic Party and the interests of the affluent social layers to which it is appealing.
The Kavanaugh hearing: A spectacle of political filth and reaction
By Patrick Martin, 28 September 2018
The Democratic Party has decided to wage its opposition to the reactionary Supreme Court nominee on the most degraded and right-wing basis possible.
Congress readies band-aid measure for opioid crisis
By Tom Eley, 28 September 2018
The bill will do little to slow the growing epidemic of opioid addiction and death.
Trump delivers fascistic tirade at the United Nations
By Bill Van Auken, 26 September 2018
Repeatedly invoking “sovereignty” and “patriotism,” while threatening military aggression and trade war, Trump’s speech left a distinct whiff of fascism at the UN General Assembly.
As new flooding forces evacuations in South Carolina
Hurricane Florence unleashes coal ash, hog waste pollution
By Ed Hightower, 26 September 2018
The areas around Conway and Georgetown in coastal South Carolina continue to see massive flooding as rivers surge from last week’s record rains.
“Keep out your tired, your poor, your huddled masses…”
Trump administration moves to impose class-based restrictions on immigration
By Eric London, 26 September 2018
The explicit formalization of a class-based immigration system marks a turning point that will substantially alter the state of social relations in favor of the rich.
Amid media frenzy, Rosenstein to meet with Trump on Thursday
By Patrick Martin, 25 September 2018
The deputy attorney general, who supervises the Russia investigation by Special Counsel Robert Mueller, has denied plotting Trump’s removal via the 25th Amendment.
Democrats push second round of sexual assault allegations against Kavanaugh
By Eric London, 25 September 2018
The Democrats’ campaign against Kavanaugh aims to bolster their election campaign, silence left-wing criticism of the nominee and eviscerate the presumption of innocence.
The New York Times promotes the Democratic Socialists of America
By Genevieve Leigh, 25 September 2018
On Saturday the New York Times featured an article in their online edition headlined with the question: “Are You a Democratic Socialist?”
Senate Committee to take testimony on sex assault allegations against Judge Kavanaugh
By Barry Grey, 24 September 2018
The Democrats will utilise Christine Blasey Ford’s assault allegations to oppose Kavanaugh's confirmation and to advance their campaign for the November congressional elections.
Ocasio-Cortez, Democratic Socialists of America candidate, covers for CIA Democrats
By Isaac Finn, 24 September 2018
When asked whether she would support CIA Democrats, Ocasio-Cortez avoided a direct answer, saying that she would have to look at their “life experience.”
The CIA Democrats and the US midterm elections
By Patrick Martin, 24 September 2018
While working people are looking for an alternative to the reactionary policies of the Trump administration, they will not find it in the Democratic Party.
New documents on Yeltsin-Clinton conversations further expose US “meddling” in Russian politics
By Clara Weiss, 22 September 2018
The Clinton Foundation has released hundreds of pages of documents about conversations between US president Bill Clinton and Russian president Boris Yeltsin.
New York Times claims Deputy Attorney General discussed removing Trump
By Patrick Martin, 22 September 2018
The article posted on the newspaper’s website Friday afternoon caused shock waves in Washington and immediate denials from the official named, Rod Rosenstein.
The Kavanaugh hearing: Sexual allegations fuel the Democratic Party’s right-wing politics
By Eric London, 22 September 2018
The Democratic Party’s elevation of Ford’s allegation against Kavanaugh is a political operation aimed at driving the entire political establishment further to the right.
Socialist Equality Party congressional candidate Niles Niemuth speaks to students and youth at Wayne State University
By Tom Hall, 22 September 2018
The broad range of youth who attended the meeting heard an explanation of the principles of socialism and provide an overview of the crisis of the capitalist system.
Notes on Trump’s war against immigrants
Department of Health and Human Services lost track of another 1,500 immigrant children
By our reporters, 21 September 2018
In addition to the “lost” children, funds are being diverted from AIDS and cancer research to jail immigrant children and ICE held nearly 1,500 US citizens as “aliens.”
The CIA Democrats: A balance sheet of the primaries
By Patrick Martin, 21 September 2018
Candidates with a military-intelligence background have won the Democratic congressional nomination in 30 districts considered competitive by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
As Trump stages photo-ops in the Carolinas
Hurricane flooding exposes mass poverty, class oppression in America
By Ed Hightower and Barry Grey, 20 September 2018
President Trump staged photo ops and offered empty promises and lies to a region struck twice in two years by deadly storms.
Conflict over FBI investigation puts Kavanaugh hearing in doubt
By Patrick Martin, 20 September 2018
The effort by the Democrats to block Kavanaugh’s nomination solely through allegations of teenage sexual misconduct seems on the brink of failure.
Trump administration announces record low cap on refugees allowed into the US
By Meenakshi Jagadeesan, 20 September 2018
The Trump administration has announced that the number of refugees allowed into the US in the coming year will be capped at 30,000—a record low for the 43-year old refugee resettlement program.
The strange case of Julia Salazar, Democratic Socialists of America candidate for New York Senate
By Josh Varlin, 20 September 2018
In the run-up to her victory in the Democratic Party primaries last week, media reports exposed Salazar’s systematic fabrication and/or misrepresentation of her personal and political history.
Brett Kavanaugh and the role—once again—of sexual misconduct allegations in American politics
By David Walsh, 19 September 2018
The New York Times, Washington Post, leading Democrats and other establishment figures are attempting to derail Kavanaugh’s nomination on the grounds of an unsubstantiated allegation of sexual assault.
Assault allegation puts question mark over Kavanaugh nomination to Supreme Court
By Patrick Martin, 18 September 2018
The Senate Judiciary Committee will call Kavanaugh and his accuser to testify Monday, delaying a confirmation vote originally set for this Thursday.
Manafort guilty plea, cooperation deal rock Trump White House
By Patrick Martin, 17 September 2018
In return for his guilty plea, prosecutors agreed to limit the total prison sentence for 69-year-old Manafort to 10 years, for all the charges against him.
Andrew Cuomo defeats Cynthia Nixon in New York Democratic gubernatorial primary election
By Sandy English, 15 September 2018
Cuomo had the backing of the dominant sections of the ruling class, raising over $25 million for his campaign.
Ford’s shakedown of Detroit over new tech campus
By Shannon Jones, 15 September 2018
The state of Michigan and Detroit city officials appear ready to hand over $250 million to the automaker, which is sitting on a multi-billion dollar cash reserve.
New York Times goads Trump into major new war in Syria
By Bill Van Auken, 15 September 2018
Columnist Bret Stephens, who penned the Times article demanding escalation in Syria, is a longtime Republican neocon who fervently supported the Iraq war.
Hurricane Florence makes landfall in North Carolina
By Patrick Martin, 14 September 2018
A storm surge of as much as 11 feet of water was accompanied by winds approaching 120 miles per hour.
Republican war criminals endorse CIA Democrat Slotkin
By Patrick Martin, 14 September 2018
Democrat Elissa Slotkin has used her three tours of duty for the CIA in Iraq as her main credential for election to Congress.
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