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Christopher Hitchens on George Orwell’s Political Mind

WHY HE WROTE George Orwell, whose diaries are being published 62 years after his death. At various points in his essays—notably in “Why I Write” but also in his popular column “As I Please”—George Orwell gave us an account of what made him tick, as it were, and of what supplied the motive for his…

Jun 25, 2017

"Theory"

yesthereisnojustice.tumblr.com

From Noam Chomsky’s book Understanding Power: WOMAN: Noam, apart from the idea of the “vanguard,” I’m interested why you’re so critical of the whole broader category of Marxist analysis in general—like people in the universities and so on who refer to themselves as “Marxists.” I’ve noticed you’re…

Jun 25, 2017

An interview with Noam Chomsky on the Spanish revolution - Jorell A. Meléndez Badillo (2009)

libcom.org

In this 2009 interview originally published in Spanish, Noam Chomsky answers questions about military options and international factors in the Spanish Civil War, the role of the Stalinists in suppressing the revolution in Spain, the attitudes of intellectuals with regard to the revolution and their…

Jun 25, 2017

Bernie Sanders's Religious Test for Christians in Public Office

theatlantic.com

Updated on June 8 at 11:40 a.m. Article VI of the U.S. Constitution states that “no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.” On Wednesday, Senator Bernie Sanders flirted with the boundaries of this rule during a confirmation…

Jun 25, 2017

It's perfectly reasonable to reject a candidate because of his religious views.

slate.com

The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious Test shall ever be…

Jun 25, 2017

Taibbi: Goodbye, and Good Riddance, to Centrism

rollingstone.com

Last week, after yet another week of anti-establishment upheavals in Europe, former Bush speechwriter and current Atlantic senior editor David Frum tweeted in despair: "I think we need a word to describe people broadly satisfied with the status quo & skeptical of radical changes based on wild…

Jun 25, 2017

Noam Chomsky: Neoliberalism Is Destroying Our Democracy

thenation.com

Noam Chomsky. (Illustration by Susan Coyne) For 50 years, Noam Chomsky, has been America’s Socrates, our public pest with questions that sting. He speaks not to the city square of Athens but to a vast global village in pain and now, it seems, in danger. ADVERTISING This interview comes from Open…

Jun 6, 2017