‘Prisoners—especially Blacks, Chicanos and Puerto Ricans—are increasingly advancing the proposition that they are political prisoners. They contend that they are political prisoners in the sense that they are largely the victims of an oppressive politico-economic order’

Though that definition of political prisoner is unorthodox, it illustrates the political and economic nature of criminalization. This is why observers of Black August connect the fight to free “revolutionary” political prisoners to the broader struggle against US prisons. Mass incarceration is a symptom of the same system that political prisoners have dedicated their lives towards fighting. According to a new …

Investing in tuition-free college pays has high rates of return for society

By David Deming, Tuition-Free College Could Cost Less Than You Think, NYTimes, July 21, 2019 “The long-term payoff of these policies could be enormous. Considerable research shows that public and private benefits greatly exceed the costs when students are nudged toward obtaining a college degree. Yet at the moment, only 37 percent of Americans between the ages of 25 and 29 …

Once every 12 minutes. 47,173 Americans killed themselves in 2017, nearly 7x greater than the number of American soldiers killed in the Afghanistan and Iraq wars between 2001 and 2018.

Suicides now claim two-and-a-half times as many lives in this country as do homicides, even though the murder rate gets so much more attention. According to a 2018 Centers for Disease Control study, between 1999 and 2016, the suicide rate increased in every state in the union except Nevada, which already had a remarkably high rate.  In 30 states, it jumped by …

Erasing all student loans would boost the economy by about $100 billion a year for at least 10 years, yielding lower unemployment rates, increased spending, and more

By Astra Taylor, at Common Dreams, July 2019 Every class winds up deeper in debt than the last, with racial minorities and women hardest hit. (Photo: Getty) On Monday morning, I gathered with other members of the Debt Collective in Washington DC to endorse the College for All Act of 2019. Sponsored by Reps. Ilhan Omar, Pramila Jayapal, and Sen. Bernie Sanders, the …

Economic Justice: 10 ways that doing the right thing would save us money

NPR MarketWatch June 17, 2019 10 ways that doing the right thing would save us money By SARAH ANDERSONThe Deficit Hawks versus the Big Spenders. That’s how the media typically portrays budget battles in Washington. We seldom hear about how government action to tackle our country’s most urgent social and environmental problems can actually save money. In a new report, the Institute …

Solar on Schools: 100% Clean Energy School Districts

Campaign Toolkit and Handbook can be found on our website. Climate Parents are working to move school districts around the country to adopt 100% clean energy. School districts are major energy consumers. Powering them with renewables is a climate solution that benefits kids and communities. This effort builds on the success of Ready for 100 (more Colorado members than any …

Chris Hedges: Integrity forged in cages

If truth is to be heard, as Theodor Adorno wrote, suffering must be allowed to speak. Flannery O’Connor recognized that the moral life always entails confrontation with the world. By Chris Hedges, Truthdig.com May 31, 2019 | EDUCATE!  Chris Hedges gave this talk to 27 graduating students who were formerly incarcerated—several of whom he taught in prison—and their families at Rutgers University on Friday. The ceremony …

The Short Case for Making College Free and a Universal Right: After years of cuts, it’s time to make the pursuit of knowledge a right for all.

BY IN THESE TIMES EDITORS free col•lege noun 1. A radical expansion of federal funding to make higher education a public good “College shouldn’t just be a privilege for those who can afford [it]. Like K-12 education, college is a basic need that should be available for free.” —Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), outlining her plan for free public college How would we …

Labour would make climate change core part of school curriculum

Announcement comes as thousands of students walk out of school in nationwide strikes over global warming By Eleanor Busby, Charlie Bradley in The Independent, 23 May 2019 Labour would make climate change a “core” part of the curriculum from primary school onwards if it gained power. All young people would be educated about the ecological and social impact of climate change under a Labour government, shadow education secretary Angela …