Source: Garrison Center
by Thomas L Knapp

“I’m told by some ‘pro-Israel’ friends that the student protesters  are all ‘anti-semites’ and ‘supporters of Hamas,’ and that if I support them I must also hate a particular ethnic group and support terrorism as a tactic. But I don’t hate any ethnic groups, nor do I support Hamas any more than I support the Israeli Defence Forces. … I just want a government that claims it works for me to stop handing out weapons and cash to other governments. Especially, though not only, to crybully regimes that constantly play the victim while also occupying territory outside their borders for decades on end, imposing apartheid regimes on the inhabitants of those occupied territories, murdering anyone who resists (along with many who don’t), etc. To the extent that the kids on campus are seeking the same thing, they’re doing God’s work and have my full support.” (04/30/24)

https://thegarrisoncenter.org/archives/18540

Source: CounterPunch
by David S D’Amato

“Mark Twain was a key figure in the foundation of the American Anti-Imperialist League, becoming one of the organization’s Vice Presidents in 1901. He was a forceful and adamant opponent of war and imperialism and became a ‘red-hot anti-imperialist.’ In 1900, in a piece for the New York Herald, Twain had written of his conversion experience, remarking on his time as a ‘red-hot imperialist’ who ‘wanted the American eagle to go screaming into the Pacific.’ Twain soon came to understand that the mission of the U.S. government in the Philippines was the same old one, a mission not to free, but to subjugate — not to redeem, but to conquer. Twain’s experience reflects that of so many anti-war and anti-empire activists, who have been disabused of their jingoism by a growing awareness of history and respect for their fellow human beings.” (04/30/24)

https://www.counterpunch.org/2024/04/30/twains-anti-imperialism-and-the-boxer-uprising/

Source: USA Today
by USA Today

“American voters face a November rematch for president that many did not want, and the winner will be the oldest man ever to hold or retake the White House. So courting young voters makes plenty of sense for President Joe Biden and the man he defeated in 2020, Donald Trump. And there’s an issue that, while polling strongly with all Americans, really appeals to voters under the age of 35 − the legalization of marijuana. Three of the anticipated seven swing states already have approved full recreational and medical use for marijuana − Arizona, Michigan and Nevada. The other four − Georgia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin − all still have strict limitations. This, despite plenty of polling in those states and nationwide that shows strong support for full legalization.” (04/30/24)

https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/columnist/2024/04/30/marijuana-legalization-biden-trump-swing-states-election/73441091007/

Source: Jacobin
by Branko Marcetic

“There’s a quote (allegedly) from his father that President Joe Biden likes to use: ‘Don’t tell me what you value. Show me your budget, and I’ll tell you what you value.’ We could just as well tweak it: ‘Don’t tell me what you value. Show me how hard you fight for something, and I’ll tell you what you value.’ If we look at the contrast between the mammoth military aid package funding a trilogy of global conflicts the president signed into law last week, and the ambitious social safety net expansion that faded into oblivion in December 2021, it is hard to come to a different conclusion than this: Biden, and by extension the US Congress, simply didn’t consider the passage of this progressive wish list a priority, and cared far more about shipping nearly $100 billion off for foreign wars.” (04/30/24)

https://jacobin.com/2024/04/congress-biden-bill-foreign-wars/