Istanbul: Ancient City, Throbbing Metropolis

December 16, 2010 By Steven Hill

Steven Hill: Muslims, Christians, and Jews live in relative harmony here, yet it’s as if its too-jumbled history pulses within the walls, the monuments, the winding streets, indeed within each individual Turk now inhabiting this ground zero zone.

Freedom of Deplorable Speech

December 15, 2010 By Tina Dupuy

Tina Dupuy: Pastor Fred Phelps and his Westboro Baptist Church congregation – also known as the “God Hates Fags” picketers – have no place in a polite society. But we don’t live in a polite society. We live in this one. And in this one we are guaranteed the freedom of speech.

Los Angeles Homeowners Take to the Streets to Protest Foreclosure Abuses

December 15, 2010 By Peter Dreier

Peter Dreier: In Los Angeles this Thursday, members of the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE) — a statewide community organizing group — will sponsor a demonstration at a major bank that will include civil disobedience and probably arrests.

Why America’s Two Economies Continue to Drift Apart

December 15, 2010 By Robert Reich

Robert Reich: Nothing is trickling down to the Average Worker economy. Job growth is still anemic. Unemployment won’t get down to pre-recession levels for 20 years. And almost half of October’s new jobs were in temporary help.

Why the Bush-Era Tax Cuts Should Not Be Extended to the Nation’s Top 2%

December 15, 2010 By Tracy Emblem

Tracy Emblem: Let’s give the new legislation which provides tax breaks and job incentives for “small businesses” time to work before blindly accepting McConnell’s argument that allowing the Bush-era tax cuts to expire would hurt small businesses. We must start closing the deficit gap.

Christian Nation

December 15, 2010 By Steve Hochstadt

Steve Hochstadt: I don’t want to live in any version of a “Christian nation”. I want to live in the United States, in which religious ideas are a private matter, in which my government plays no role in my spiritual life, and denominational beliefs play no role in government.

Keeping the “Yes We Can” Spirit Alive in 2011

December 15, 2010 By Randy Shaw

Randy Shaw: The base supporting greater social and economic justice is still there to be mobilized, and activists can still tap the “Si Se Puede” (“Yes We Can”) spirit to succeed.

WikiLeaks as This Century’s Upton Sinclair

December 14, 2010 By David A. Love

David Love: Some people are calling for the arrest and prosecution of Assange for espionage, and the branding of WikiLeaks as a terrorist organization. Rather than condemn Assange, we should commend him for doing all of us a great service.

Haiti: Street Testimonies

December 14, 2010 By Ezili Danto

Ezili Danto: Today it hurts me to give voice to what I am hearing. There’s just hopelessness, despair or maybe it’s my Western programming that can’t take this.

New Haiti Cholera Warning, Vaccine Questions, and “Squatters” Vulnerable

December 14, 2010 By Georgianne Nienaber

Georgianne Nienaber: While all eyes were on Sarah Palin’s visit to Haiti this weekend, Dr. Jocelyne Pierre Louis, Director of Haiti’s Department of Public Health and Population (MSPP) predicted a new outbreak of the cholera epidemic, particularly in Port-au-Prince and the Metropolitan Region due to the unsanitary conditions in the city.

Wikileaks and Tangential Truths

December 14, 2010 By Tom Hall

Tom Hall: While Faux News and right-wing blowhards fabricate against wikileaks for publishing the truth, the Republican Party voted to reaffirm its opposition to ending discrimination in the military, even if such discrimination hurts the nation’s security.

Seven Reasons Why Capitalism Can’t Recover Anytime Soon

December 14, 2010 By Shamus Cooke

Shamus Cooke: To deal with working people more ruthlessly, the radical right is being unleashed. In normal times these bigots yell furiously but no one listens. But in times of economic crisis they’re given endless airtime on all major media outlets.

WikiLeaks and Freedom of the Press

December 14, 2010 By Anthony Asadullah Samad

Anthony Samad: Government agencies (particularly the FBI and CIA) use leaks to discredit those they don’t like or who they see as threats to the public disclosures of government betrayal. Why should the press not be able to do the same when it becomes obvious that government has not been forthcoming in its dealing and has violated the public trust? That’s what the WikiLeaks debate is really about.

The Current Political Balance and Strategies for Progressive Political Action

December 13, 2010 By admin

The KPFK Community Advisory Board will be sponsoring a post-election public forum to assess “The Current Political Balance and Strategies for Progressive Political Action”. Join us for discussion, and some debate, about what progressive forces need to focus on in this period. Tuesday, Dec. 14th 7:00 pm

In the Cold Climate of Politics, We’ll Miss Elizabeth Edwards’ Warmth

December 13, 2010 By Linda Milazzo

Linda Milazzo: In today’s America, where corporate media caters to the right, Elizabeth Edwards was that rare progressive woman who could make her voice be heard. And now that voice is gone.