SOCIAL HISTORY: “It’s Time We Have a Holiday to Honor Those Who Try to Stop Wars Too” / Vox ☮

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Eugene V. Debs

Eugene V. Debs, who went to jail for opposing World War I. (Buyenlarge/Getty Images)

Memorial Day and Veteran’s Day often get equated, but there is an essential distinction between the two. Veteran’s Day honors all who have served the American military in wars. Memorial Day honors those who’ve perished. It’s an annual reminder that wars have grave human costs, which must be both recognized and minimized.

Those costs are not inevitable. We ought to also set aside time to remember those throughout American history who have tried hardest to reduce them, to prevent unnecessary loss of life both American and foreign: war resisters.

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PROGRESSIVE INDEPENDENT JOURNALISM: “Wallace Shawn: The Fragility of Empire” / RT America / On Contact with Chris Hedges ☮

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On this week’s episode of On Contact, Chris Hedges is joined by actor, playwright and essayist Wallace Shawn. You way recognize Shawn from films such as Princess Bride, but he is also a thoughtful playwright and is out with a new book, “Night Thoughts”.

PROGRESSIVE INDEPENDENT JOURNALISM: “The DNC and RNC are Soulless: Is it Time to Move on?” / TYT Politics / Dylan Ratigan ☮

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TYT Politics Reporter Dylan Ratigan (https://Twitter.com/DylanRatigan) discusses how ridiculous it is that we are constantly told we have to pick our poison when it comes to voting for the most powerful leader in the free world.

PROGRESSIVE INDEPENDENT JOURNALISM: “As Last Confederate Statue is Removed in New Orleans, Will School Names, and Street Signs Follow?” / Democracy Now! / Amy Goodman and Juan González ☮

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New Orleans has removed the last of four Confederate statues in recent weeks. Workers wore bulletproof vests and face coverings to conceal their identities as they used a crane to remove the statue from its pedestal. New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu said threats and intimidation necessitated the overnight work and extra safety precautions. White nationalists have staged a series of protests and issued threats in the lead-up to the memorials’ removals. Though the four most prominent Confederate monuments have been removed, activists are calling for New Orleans officials to remove all monuments, school names and street signs in the city dedicated to white supremacists. We speak with Malcolm Suber, co-founder of Take ’Em Down NOLA.

HAPPY HARVEY MILK DAY!: “Harvey Milk: Six Powerful Lessons Today’s Activists Can Learn from Milk” / May 22, 1930 – November 27, 1978 ☮

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In 2009, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger officially designated May 22 as Harvey Milk Day––­­­­even though the year before he vetoed the measure. What changed? “Milk has become much more of a symbol of the gay community,” explained Schwarzenegger’s spokesperson Aaron McLear, citing the award-winning film Milk and President Obama’s posthumous Presidential Medal of Freedom as reasons for Schwarzenegger’s change of heart.

Today Gus Van Sant’s powerful portrait of the slain gay San Francisco leader still resonates as a profile in courage and a blueprint for social change. Sean Penn––who won an Academy Award for his performance––brilliantly embodies the passion, humor, and humanity of Harvey Milk. In our unsettled political times, the role of citizen-fueled resistance movements is greater than ever. In honor of this gay rights hero––and as part of Focus Features’ 15th anniversary celebration––we look at six powerful lessons modern-day activists can take away from Milk.

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PROGRESSIVE INDEPENDENT JOURNALISM: “Trump Isn’t a Toddler — He’s a Product of America’s Culture of Impunity for the Rich” / MUST READ! ☮

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Ross Douthat’s column arguing for the superiority of “25th Amendment remedies” to impeachment for Donald Trump’s various misdeeds is impressive in its ability to actually find something new and interesting to say about the president. But its premise — shared with a David Brooks column from earlier in the week — that we should understand Trump’s behavior as resembling that of a little kid is fundamentally wrong.

 “It is a child who blurts out classified information in order to impress distinguished visitors,” Douthat writes. “It is a child who asks the head of the F.B.I. why the rules cannot be suspended for his friend and ally.”

The truth is that Trump is no child. He’s 70 years old. And he’s not just any kind of 70-year-old. He’s a white male 70-year-old. A famous one. A rich one. One who’s been rich since the day he was born. He’s a man who’s learned over the course of a long and rich life that he is free to operate without consequence. He’s the beneficiary of vast and enormous privilege, not just the ability to enjoy lavish consumption goods but the privilege of impunity that America grants to the wealthy.

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