July 4, 2020 Hats off to the Mississippi legislators (most of them) and the governor for finally doing the right thing, chucking the last state flag in the U.S. featuring a symbol of the slavery-celebrating secessionist South.  Rivers of ink (albeit most of it digital) have already flowed on the momentous decision, some well worth … Continue reading Why Mississippi moved to abandon its white supremacist flag at last

June 27, 2020 I had the very good fortune to participate in a Juneteenth weekend webinar presented by the Commuications Workers of America (CWA).  Four panelists offered valuable insights into both the history and current period of labor organizing in the Deep South, but for me the standout speaker was long-time union organizer, author, and … Continue reading What should labor do?

June 18, 2020 At long last, our Institutions of Higher Learning (aka the "college board") has acted to relocate a controversial monument honoring the old Confederacy on the University of Mississippi campus.  IHL board president, Ford Dye, is quoted in press reports as saying that the board "reviewed the detailed plans for the new site, … Continue reading Ole Miss will move its Confederate monument (finally)

June 9, 2020 Our convergent and compounding national crises - health, economic, political, ecological, racial, moral - make the choice facing us painfully clear.  We either succeed in structurally transforming the current system in ways that ensure the dignity, worth, and social equality of all, as well as the resilience of the way we relate to … Continue reading Transformation or tyranny?

June 6, 2020 Literally every commentator that I've read has decried the property destruction and looting associated with (some of) the mass demonstrations going on across the U.S. (and indeed the world) in response to the George Floyd police murder.  For the most part, I'm in agreement; no one but the looters seem to like … Continue reading Indeed, the looting must stop!

June 2, 2020 The protests rocking the country right now have been principally fueled, no doubt, by the police killing of George Floyd.  And, surely, if the only issue were the horrific history of police abuse in the U.S. - a longstanding history with deep roots in slavery and slave patrols; in Jim Crow laws … Continue reading Anti-racist protest or broader civic rebellion?

  May 24, 2020 Joe Biden continues to pick up endorsements, the latest of note to me coming from the Communication Workers of America's executive board two days ago. In a way, it's no surprise.  Donald Trump, at once the most incompetent and most venal president in U.S. history, has in little more than three … Continue reading Biden v. Trump: Lesser of Evils or Evil of Lessers?

May 21, 2020 A just-out press release from the Institutions of Higher Learning ("college board") indicates that the eight Mississippi schools in the system will restart "traditional operations" in the fall.  No doubt the college board, like governors and governing bodies nationwide (and globally), is struggling to balance economic and safety concerns in a radically unstable … Continue reading IHL aims for “traditional operations” in fall; do students and employees need better representation?

May 18, 2020 The coronavirus pandemic dominates the news.  How could it not?  Millions of infections, hundreds of thousands of hospitalizations and deaths, highly stressed health care facilities and medical caregivers, lock downs and myriad restrictive public health orders, business closures and historically unprecedented levels of unemployment and financial disruption, trillions of dollars in questionable … Continue reading COVID-19 Is A Nightmare, But A Bigger Breakdown Looms

May 11, 2020 It seems that not everyone is desperate for the economy to "reopen" - at least not if it's at the expense of their health, and possibly their lives. Drawing far too little coverage from the mainstream media, with the exception of a few high-profile targets such as Amazon, is the wave of … Continue reading Strikes popping up all over the U.S.