Ending Empire Is as Crucial as Confronting Wall Street

By Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers, PopularResistance Jun 22, 2014 In the last week, there has been a rapid march toward military action in Iraq despite widespread opposition to more war among the U.S. population. One concern is that it would require more military spending despite immense and unmet needs for funding in a broad array of areas at home. Dig deeper ( 9 Min. Read )

Local Police Receive War’s Leftover Arms

Alexander Reed Kelly / Truthdig Jun 9, 2014 As the wars overseas draw to something like a close, it's not just battered GIs that come home. "The former tools of combat -- M-16 rifles, grenade launchers, silencers and more -- are ending up in local police departments, often with little public notice," Matt Apuzzo writes at The New York Times. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

The Criminalization of Everyday Life

By Chase Madar, TomDispatch Dec 9, 2013 If all you’ve got is a hammer, then everything starts to look like a nail. And if police and prosecutors are your only tool, sooner or later everything and everyone will be treated as criminal. Dig deeper ( 11 Min. Read )

Want Military Action? Look No Further Than Your Local Police

BLANK Aug 29, 2013 Increased militarization of domestic police departments has contributed to grotesque violations of Americans' civil liberties, not to mention costing untold millions in tax dollars. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

The Neutered Message of the March on Washington

Alexander Reed Kelly / Truthdig Aug 27, 2013 "Based upon the speeches during the main portion of today’s events there can be little doubt that the Dr. King who was murdered in Memphis in 1968 would not have been allowed to speak at this fiftieth-anniversary commemoration of his life," The Nation's Dave Zirin wrote of Saturday's March on Washington. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

The U.S. Government Is Metamorphosing Into the Borg

By Subhankar Banerjee, ClimateStoryTellers Jul 22, 2013 Describing the U.S. government is becoming increasingly complicated: “petro–imperial," "coal–fired," "plutocratic," "oligarchic," "inverted totalitarian," "fascist," "propagandistic," "Big Brother.” Things are beginning to simplify though. Soon you’ll be able to refer to the institution with a single idea from "Star Trek": the Borg. Dig deeper ( 6 Min. Read )

Naming Our Nameless War

By Andrew J. Bacevich, TomDispatch May 28, 2013 Upon succeeding to the presidency in 2009, Barack Obama junked Bush’s formulation of the "Global War on Terror" without fanfare. Yet if the appellation went away, the conflict itself, shorn of identifying marks, continued. Dig deeper ( 12 Min. Read )

Celebrated Scientist Renounces National Academy and War

Alexander Reed Kelly / Truthdig Mar 21, 2013 Last month, University of Chicago anthropologist Marshall Sahlins resigned from the National Academy of Sciences to protest the election to the group of Napoleon Chagnon, a peer whose specious arguments in favor of a natural human tendency toward violence have helped militarize the discipline and legitimize wars of aggression. Dig deeper ( 4 Min. Read )

‘Generalissima Clinton’ Expands the Empire

Staff / Truthdig Feb 9, 2013 Behind the public relations sheen, the photo opportunities with groups of poor people in the developing world, an increasingly militarized State Department operated under Hillary Clinton’s leadership. Dig deeper ( 5 Min. Read )

Secrecy, Wars and Civil Liberties

Staff / Truthdig Apr 18, 2012 As Chris Hedges reported Monday, American Muslims are being dragged into jail on dubious and unclear connections to terrorism Meanwhile, the president retains the authority to kill US citizens without trial But most Americans aren't speaking up Salon blogger and constitutional lawyer Glenn Greenwald discusses whyAmerican Muslims are being dragged into jail on dubious connections to terrorism while the president retains the authority to kill U Glenn Greenwald talks about why. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

$600 Million to Beef Up Border Security

Staff / Truthdig Aug 13, 2010 Who would have thought the comprehensive immigration reform promised by President Obama would include a whopping $600 million for increased security along the U.S.-Mexico border for surveillance technologies and 1,000 more Border Patrol agents? Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Why They Hate Us, Part 2

Staff / Truthdig Dec 3, 2009 Stephen M. Walt takes the "especially fatuous" Tom Friedman to task for one of his obstinate screeds. By the most conservative estimates, Walt explains, the U.S. has killed 30 Muslims for every American killed by Muslims, extremist or otherwise. Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )