A reading list that includes Bible stories will be required of five million Texas public school K-12 students beginning in 2030. Texas and other states are already well down the road of illegally forcing religion into public schools.
Texas
Women WorldWide: January 2026
January 30, 2026Takes up: the first woman-led campaign by Workers Defense Project protesting the working conditions of housekeepers; Canada cancelling the caregiver permanent residency program; and women filing a lawsuit regarding unnecessary medical procedures by gynecologist Javaid Perwaiz.
Immigration deadlock reveals inhumanity
January 6, 2024While immigrants suffer as winter settles in North America, the new year arrived without a Congressional bargain on immigration. Republicans not only demand harshly restrictive immigration measures but want to make Biden look bad by blocking accomplishments.
Readersâ Views: November 2023
November 24, 2023Readers’ Views on: Israel/Palestine; Revolt in Iran; in Canada for 2SLGBTQIA+; Trump, Biden too old to run; Racism in Tennessee; Prisoners miss ‘N&L’; Memorial for Paul Geist and Dan Bremer; Texas targets pregnant women & refugees; Ohio targets women and democracy; Revolutionary history; and Raining on those with disabilities.
Editorial, August 2023: Abortion bansâcruelty is the point
August 19, 2023The stories told by 12 women who bravely sued Texas over its draconian so-called âexceptionâ in its abortion ban, show that the point of the ban is to cruelly strip women of the right to control our own bodies and lives. Freedom is the enemy of the anti-abortion fanatics.
World in View: Migrants die on treks to Europe and U.S.
August 4, 2023More than 50,000 migrants are known to have died worldwide since 2014, revealing inhuman conditions that force so many people to flee their homes, indifference of governments, and official acts that caused the deaths of hundreds of migrants.
Queer Notes: January-February 2023
January 25, 2023Supporters of a Winnipeg cafe opposed threats made against a drag story hour; Granbury, Texas, school district is investigated after ordering librarians to remove all LGBTQ+ books; Indian photographer Nishat Fatimaâs exhibition seeks to raise awareness of the various dimensions within the LGBTQ+ community.
Readers’ Views: January-February 2023, Part Two
January 24, 2023Readersâ Views on: Iran and Philosophy of Revolution; Corruption of âJusticeâ; Prisoner Unity; Voices from Behind Bars
Youth in Action: September-October 2022
September 24, 2022A high school protest in Denton, Texas; a demonstration in Lindblom Academy in Chicago; a protest in Oklahoma against dress codes; a students’ occupation at Marquette University, and the creation of a woman-friendly, LGBTQ+ inclusive skate crew in Chicago.
War on teachers is a war on students
September 10, 2022In school districts across the nation all eyes are on 4,500 striking teachers in Columbus, Ohio, who agreed to return to the classroom after a three-day strike under a âconceptual agreement.â This army in red T-shirts sparked widespread parent refusal to log in to remote classrooms set up while the teachers were out.
Women, youth fight back as horror of abortion bans unfolds
September 6, 2022Now that the Supreme Court of the United States has overturned womenâs right to abortion, the profound ramifications of that unprecedented decision are becoming known. Women are fighting back, from the Women’s March, to Black women, to Teens for Reproductive Rights, women will reclaim the right to control our own bodies.
Queer Notes: June 2022
June 3, 2022Takes up: UK waffling on protecting LGBTQI+ people from so-called conversion therapy; reviewers are calling ‘Badhaai Do,’ Harshavardhan Kulkarniâs Indian dramedy film about Lesbians and Gay men, bold and refreshing; Gay man Venton Jones won the Democratic runoff primary for Texasâs 10th House district against queerphobe Sandra Crenshaw; and a teacher in Florida created a template letter that cleverly works around Gov. Ron DeSantisâ hate-filled Donât Say Gay Bill, HB 1557.
Readers’ Views: May-June 2022, part one
May 19, 2022Readers’ Views on: Abortion Bans vs. Women and Freedom; Anti-War, Pro-Democracy Voices from Russia; Patriarchy Attacked; Putinâs Brutal War
Readers’ Views: March-April 2022, Part One
March 19, 2022Readers’ Views on: Putin’s Brutal War on Ukraine; War on Yemen; Canadian Convoy; Trucks and Tribes; and Abortion Politics.
Queer Notes: March-April 2022
LGBTQ+ students are protesting injustice in Kenya, Florida and Texas; the suspected suicide of Gay mayor Kevin Ward highlights suicide risks for gay men; Black Trans woman Juâ Zema Goldring’s unjust arrest; and the banning of conversion therapy for people under 18 in New Zealand.
Youth: Laws attack LGBTQ+
March 16, 2022Texas, Florida and Oklahoma have recently passed laws that threaten Queer kids and can be directed against any marginalized group. No matter which politician is in power or what political party is dominant, they will do little to protect oppressed groups or benefit the lives of regular people in any significant way.
Nationwide marches for reproductive justice
November 11, 2021In Chicago, four to five thousand rallied and marched downtown to make it clear that women in the U.S. are continuing to fight back against the inhuman anti-abortion legislation that has been surging across Republican-dominated statehouses for years.
Tens of thousands march for reproductive justice nationwide
October 3, 2021In Chicago, four to five thousand rallied and marched downtown to make it clear that women in the U.S. are continuing to fight back against the inhuman anti-abortion legislation that has been surging across Republican-dominated statehouses for yearsâthis, despite the COVID-19 pandemic.
Thoughts from the Outside: After Juneteenth
September 22, 2021Todayâs descendants of slaves are asked to accept an interpretation of history that centers on acts of the government, not on those of slaves asserting themselves in their lives. Bidenâs recognition of the day slaves âreceivedâ their freedom from the government, might help secure the African-American vote for the Democratic Party. But even this limited freedom is under attack.
Queer Notes: May-June 2021
May 8, 2021Pro-LGBTQ+ Solidarity Workouts in Poland; Transgender girl Kai Shappley testifies to the Texas Senate; Queer-Art hosts “Response to Anti-Asian Shootings in Atlanta” exhibit; International Transgender Day of Visibility.
Readers’ views, March-April 2021: part one
March 11, 2021Readers’ Views on: Trumpism, Racism and the Specter of Fascism; Vaccine Inequality and Injustice; Organizing Amazon; Can Humanity Survive?; Criminal Injustice; Trust Women; Marxâs Humanism and Love; Why Read ‘N&L’?
Climate obstruction unplugs Texas
The way business and government preparedâor failed to prepareâfor the Winter Storm Uri disaster and the way they responded to it tell a bloody tale of climate obstruction, greed, indifference and cruelty.
Queer notes, January-February 2021
February 2, 2021Murders of Trans and Gender Nonconforming people; vigil for Avril, a Trans student harassed at a French high school; New Orleansâ underserved and at-risk communities, including LGBTQ+ people, and the homeless and poor living with HIV/AIDS; swell of support for Trevor Wilkinson, suspended in Texas high school for nail polish.
Queer Notes: July-August 2019
June 26, 2019Murders of two Trans women in Dallas; Transgender woman Layleen Polanco dies in a Rikers Island prison cell; and a boycott against Goldfinger, Tokyoâs largest annual party for Japanese women that discriminated against Transgender woman.
Handicap This!, November-December 2018
December 2, 2018FEMAâs failure to include people with disabilities in its response to natural disasters; airline passengers with disabilities gain a bill of rights; George Mason University sororities turn down AnnCatherine Heigl, who has Down syndrome; Texas is penalized for underfunding special education programs.
Stand up for change
September 27, 2018Prisoner expresses the difficultly with organizing his fellow inmates and the importance of working together “to stand up (or ‘sit down’) for your rights.”
Readersâ Views: November-December 2017, Part 1
November 12, 2017Readers’ Views on: Puerto Rico:Trump’s Katrina; LGBTQ in Australia; Transgender in Texas; Women’s Liberation; Racism in Canada; Detroit and “Detroit”; Labor and Robots; Haitian Revolt; Why Read N&L?; and a Correction.
Editorial: Abuser-in-chief trashes women
The Trump administration’s attack on both abortion rights and birth control panders to their anti-abortion fanatical base–in the process torturing a 17-year-old immigrant who tried to get an abortion after being locked up for illegally crossing the border. .
Puerto Ricans suffer as Donald Trump plays to his racist base
Puerto Rico is devastated by hurricanes, with climate change a factor, and by the administration’s racist malign neglect, atop an existing debt crisis the masses did not create. Real solidarity came from below. .
Queer Notes, September-October 2017
September 3, 2017Round up of news about LGBTQ people including: Transgender people rally against Texas discriminatory bathroom bill; International Non-Binary Day celebrations; World Pride 2017 was celebrated in Spain; and Illinois becomes the second state in the U.S. to pass legislation banning so-called Gay and Transgender panic defense.
V. Lies, facts and ground
May 17, 2017The administration’s war against truth and reason, such as climate change denial, calls for more than fact-checking. What is needed is to establish a totally opposite ground, that of liberation.
Readers’ Views: January-February 2017, Part I
January 31, 2017Readers’ Views on: environmental and social crises; Martin Luther King Day; healthcare crisis, Donald Trump and the election; brutal “justice”; and who reads News & Letters.
Readersâ Views: September-October 2016, Part 1
September 14, 2016Readers’ Views on: Racism and Revolt Put U.S. on Trial; Life and Death Under the Class Divide; Environmental Struggles; War and Atrocities; and Women’s Lives at Stake.
Fires in Canada, drought in India inspire creative revolt
July 3, 2016The wildfires sweeping Alberta’s tar sands region provide a window onto the state of the environment and the multidimensional worldwide struggle against pollution and climate chaos fueled by capitalism’s drive for production for the sake of production.
Oil: bad both ways
March 12, 2016People’s suffering, no matter the price of oil, demonstrates capitalism’s inherent deep ties with climate change and economic destruction.
Women battle war, terrorism and anti-abortion fanatics
March 8, 2016Foregrounding the new formal solidarity between Trust Black Women with Black Lives Matter, we explore the thought and actions of women worldwide, including the struggle for reproductive justice in the U.S.; women fighting war and terrorism in places like South Sudan and Syria, the successful fight of domestic workers to organize, and the need to make the revolutionary content of such actions explicit.
Sandra Bland speaks for herself
September 3, 2015Excerpts of videos of Sandra Bland speaking for herself. She made the videos in response to the Black Lives Matter movement. Bland died in Waller County, Texas, after being thrown in jail there for a manufactured traffic violation.
Editorial: Planned Parenthood under siege
August 30, 2015Dishonestly edited videos accusing Planned Parenthood of illegally selling aborted fetal organs for profit have now become fodder for politicians who vow to destroy Planned Parenthood, and who mislead and grovel before their Right-wing anti-woman base.
Editorial: Black Lives Matter NOW!
June 28, 2015The video of Cpl. Eric Caseboltâs June 5 attack on Dejerria Becton and other kids at a pool party in McKinney, Texas, went viral because it was simultaneously shocking and commonplace. In 2015 USA, protests were inevitable and were heard around the world.
BP workers on strike
April 30, 2015On March 19 hundreds of workers from the BP oil refinery in Whiting, Ind., massed in front of BP corporate offices in Chicago. The 1,100 workersâ strike has continued over unfair labor practices. The local issues centered on safety and staffing after BP rejected the pattern agreement of the industry with the United Steel Workers.
Women WorldWide, May-June 2015
A roundup of women’s actions worldwide including: feminists jailed in China before International Women’s Day; the unfair and punitive jailing of Purvi Patel for having a miscarriage; the fightback against the increase in sexist, racist, homophobic and classist harassment in Sci-Fi fandom; and the women’s hunger and work strike against terrible conditions at the Karnes Detention Center in Texas for migrant women and children.
Racist election deepens reactionary direction of U.S.
November 20, 2014The U.S. government took an ominous, reactionary political turn in the 2014 midterm elections, with Republicans taking control of the Senate. Extreme pro-war Senators like Joni Ernst in Iowa and Tom Cotton in Arkansas join veterans like Senator âBomb, Bomb, Bomb Iranâ John McCain, who will now control the Armed Services Committee and is hell-bent for new âboots on the groundâ in Syria and Iraq. The whole Republican campaignâincluding these pro-war, pro-fossil-fuel, pro-âfetus is a personâ candidatesâran on a cynically deceptive anti-Obama mantra….
Prisoners’ food and mail cut
September 1, 2014From the September-October 2014 issue of News & Letters
Amarillo, TexasâThe Texas prison system cut the total number of first-class letters that indigent prisoners are allowed to send from five per week to five per month. This has backed up my correspondence. By the end of the first week I have already posted my [=>]
Readersâ Views, July-August 2014, Part 2
July 7, 2014From the July-August 2014 issue of News & Letters
UNCHAINING THE DIALECTIC
Raya Dunayevskayaâs 1953 breakthrough on Hegelâs Absolute Idea enabled her to illuminate a path not traveled by previous generations of revolutionaries. She is quite emphatic in raising the importance of âUnchaining the Revolutionary Dialecticâ (May-June 2014 N&L), and capturing what [=>]
Same-sex marriage
May 20, 2014Roundup on advances and resistance on same-sex marriage in churches and states.
Tour the worldâs most polluted places
April 4, 2014Few people relish pollution tourism and fewer still can so appropriately express their disgust and delight as Andrew Blackwell in “Visit Sunny Chernobyl: And Other Adventures in the Worldâs Most Polluted Places.”
Women fight for freedom against growing retrogression
March 13, 2014While experiences in the squares of the Arab Spring, in Turkey’s Gezi Park, in the streets of Spain and Greece, and in the U.S. Occupy Movements have revealed moments of what new human relations between women and men could look like, those moments of hope and exhilaration have been followed by devastating reaction and retrogression.
War against abortion is war against women (Readers’ Views)
March 8, 2014A pedestrian walking by our clinic summed up the absurdity of anti-abortionists: âWhy would you take life advice from someone screaming standing on a sidewalk corner?!â
A.H., Clinic escort
Midwest
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Hereâs my favorite quote from our favorite protester this morning âI bet you guys voted for that Halfrican American Obama!â What is wrong [=>]
Catch-22 for prisoner with disabilities
December 7, 2013The only way to get out of Administrative Segregation is by attending the Gang Renouncement and Dissociation Process. After many months I was told that I could not attend this program because the units do not house inmates with wheelchairs and donât have cells or showers for the handicapped.
Readers’ Views, September-October 2013, Part I
October 11, 2013Readers’ Views, September-October 2013, Part I