Progressive search for action

2+ min ago (258+ words) Yet another Republican congressman announced he will be retiring, leading to speculation running rampant online. Congressman Troy E. Nehls Saturday made his announcement on social media, following the lead of another recent departure from the GOP side of things: Marjorie Taylor Greene. But a lot of commenters weren't buying the lawmaker's reasoning. Shea Jordan Smith, a popular user formerly associated with Empower Project, responded with, "Troy, it's cute that you're wrapping this up like some noble farewell, but let's be real here: this ain't about 'family time.'" "This is about clocking out the second your congressional pension fully vests and your lifetime taxpayer-funded healthcare kicks in," Smith added. Author Timothy Peterson agreed, writing simply, "Pension fully vested and lifetime taxpayer funded healthcare secured => got what you came for, time to leave." A purported constituent of Nehls, Dawn Morrow, replied with, "This…...

36+ min ago (202+ words) A Republican lawmaker bucked the administration on Saturday, citing the conservative Wall Street Journal's new report on Donald Trump allies who are cashing in on ending the Russia-Ukraine war. The Journal's piece ahead of the weekend, Make Money Not War: Trump's Real Plan for Peace in Ukraine, claims that, "The Kremlin pitched the White House on peace through business. To Europe's dismay, the president and his envoy are on board." That report caught the attention of at least one Republican congressman. Rep. Don Bacon, who recently issued an unrelated warning to Trump, chimed in on the report over the weekend. The lawmaker said, "WSJ today. Multi-billion $ business deals between Russian & American billionaires that forces Ukraine to give Russia more land, & make Ukraine a Russian vassal state. Greed trumps Ukrainian sovereignty. Churchill & Reagan are turning in their graves." "Putin's worth is…...

40+ min ago (1523+ words) As German-American socialite Countess Lara Cosima Henckel von Donnersmarck said during her 2023 debut, "Le Bal is the Met Gala for teenagers," and the 2025 Le Bal des D'butantes lineup could certainly find themselves on the Met steps in years to come. On Saturday, November 28, the annual Le Bal des D'butantes welcomed 19 young women with ties to Hollywood royalty, fashion royalty, and actual royalty to the Shangri-La Paris hotel for an evening of waltzing in haute couture as they made their society debut in a setting fit for an episode of Bridgerton. Related story I Love LA's Nepo Baby True Whitaker Knows All About Having a Famous Dad Stars from Margaret Qualley to Lily Collins, and Apple Martin to Lori Harvey have attended in the past, and this year is just as A-list-filled. Meet the young women making their debut at the…...

46+ min ago (110+ words) The Digitalization of the City An information booth for Palestine activists Personal and collective growth The research is conducted on Sundays at a charming caf, where we set up our laptops at a large square table, surrounded by cups of tea and tasty pastries, and immerse ourselves in a labyrinthine network of institutional websites and online publications. Here too, we work on a shared platform that mirrors the group system of the digitalized city. This specific research is part of the AIPACout! campaign, which aims to impose, through a sort of popular plebiscite, the exclusion of the Israel lobby from American politics. I've already discussed it in this article....

53+ min ago (1420+ words) But he has to find the fortitude to stand up to the Europeans and the neocons he appointed. Donald Trump made some revealing remarks to the media as he flew to Florida for Thanksgiving on Wednesday. Asked if he thought Ukraine is being asked to give too much land to Russia in his proposal to end the war, Trump responded: "It's clearly up to the Russians. It's moving in one direction. " That's land that over the next couple of months might be gotten by Russia anyway. So, do you want to fight and loose another 50,000 or 60,000 people? Or do something now? They are negotiating; they are trying to get it done." That's the same realistic approach Trump's new special envoy to Ukraine, U.S. Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll, took with the Ukrainians and Europe's so-called "coalition of the willing" during a visit…...

56+ min ago (688+ words) Amid fears they will have to kill Palestinians. The White House is having difficulty launching its so-called Gaza International Stabilization Force (ISF), as countries that previously expressed willingness to deploy troops to the project now seek to distance themselves from it, according to a 29 November report in the Washington Post. The ISF "is struggling to get off the ground as countries considered likely to contribute soldiers have grown wary" over concerns their soldiers may be required to use force against Palestinians. Indonesia had stated it would send 20,000 peacekeeping troops. However, officials in Jakarta speaking with the US news outlet said they now plan to provide a much smaller contingent of about 1,200. Azerbaijan has also reneged on a previous commitment to provide troops. Baku will only send troops if there is a complete halt to fighting, Reuters reported earlier this month....

1+ hour, 1+ min ago (815+ words) Solidarity movements with Palestine have made important gains in the past few months. Labour for Palestine reports that labour federations in Ontario, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland and Labrador all recently passed Hot Cargo resolutions " making the cutting of all services and relationships with Israel including with the Israeli labour group, Histradut, union policy. The Jewish Faculty Network published The CIJA Report, a scathing indictment of the Centre for Israel and Jewish affairs (CIJA) for its anti-Palestinian Racism and genocide denial. The Palestinian Youth Movement/Arms Embargo Now/Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East, and World Beyond War together released the blockbuster report Exposing the U.S. Loophole. On the governmental front, Toronto mayor Olivia Chow has finally decried the Israel war against Palestine as genocide, and Burnaby City Council passed councillor Allison Gu's motion to sign the Apartheid-Free Communities…...

1+ hour, 4+ min ago (1052+ words) Over 300,000 women marched in Bras'lia on November 25 and launched a manifesto denouncing colonialism and demanding reparatory policies After ten years, Bras'lia once again became the center of Black women's struggle. On Tuesday, November 25, according to organizers' estimates, more than 300,000 people filled the Esplanade of Ministries for the 2nd National Black Women's March, a decade after the historic 2015 mobilization, this time under the slogan "for reparations and good living." The march's gathering began at 8 am at the National Museum, followed at 9 am by a formal session in Congress honoring the role of Black women in Brazilian democracy. On the Esplanade, the atmosphere was one of reunion, celebration, and also a call to struggle. "All of this is the result of the work of those who came before us," stated historic activist I'da Leal of the Unified Black Movement (MNU), emphasizing that the…...

1+ hour, 8+ min ago (524+ words) California has in recent years turned up its effort to establish minimum wages that allow workers to afford life in the Golden State. But the most daring experiment may well be coming not from particularly high-cost Los Angeles or San Francisco, but from a couple of states east. On Nov. 13, the City Council in Santa Fe, New Mexico, voted to integrate the cost of housing in its calculation of the citywide minimum wage going forward. According to the UC Berkeley Labor Center, this marks the first time in the U.S. that a city has factored local housing costs directly into setting its minimum. Under the plan, Santa Fe's minimum wage for most workers will rise from $15 to $17.50 an hour beginning in 2027. City workers who are currently below the $17.50 figure will see the raise a year earlier on Jan. 1, 2026. The statewide minimum…...

1+ hour, 9+ min ago (248+ words) The conservative Wall Street Journal is causing an internet uproar with its new report on Donald Trump allies who are cashing in on ending the Russia-Ukraine war. The Journal's piece ahead of the weekend, Make Money Not War: Trump's Real Plan for Peace in Ukraine, claims that, "The Kremlin pitched the White House on peace through business. To Europe's dismay, the president and his envoy are on board." The report made waves immediately. Former speechwriter to President George W. Bush, David Frum, called it a "devastating report on the real Trump-Russia deal: betray Ukraine in exchange for privileged business benefits for Trump insiders." Activist Garry Kasparov said, "As I said in my Halifax speech a few days before this damning WSJ report, this has always been personal business for Trump, not national interest." "It's how Putin turned Russia into a mafia…...