The Roundup Top Ten for August 26, 2021
There is No Precedent for the Politicization of the Pandemicby Howard MarkelThe COVID pandemic is going to be the future baseline case study for the social impact of pandemics, and is unfortunately likely to be a cautionary tale, says a medical historian. |
Liz Shuler's Leadership of AFL-CIO Comes at Critical Time for Women in the Workplaceby Katherine Turk"As Shuler takes office, union women will look to her to champion their expansive visions and specific concerns; employers will continue to try to pit groups of workers against one another in their crusade to depress conditions for everyone." |
The Real Political Danger of Inflationby Andrew ElrodDemocrats have not lost elections because of inflation, but because they have imagined austerity politics as the only solution to inflation. |
Texas Republicans Have Cleared the Path to End Roe v. Wadeby Mary ZieglerA Texas appeals court decision may lead to a Supreme Court case that will test whether the current justices can accommodate a public respect for precedent with a political preference for outlawing abortion. |
Organized Teachers Developed the Charter School Idea. Return to Their Original Designby Jon HaleConservative education reformers have hijacked the original charter school movement, stripping away labor protections and turning the management of public resources to private interests. |
Haiti's Disasters are Man-Madeby Emmanuela Douyon and Alyssa SepinwallHaitians' vulnerability to harm from natural disaster is conditioned by centuries of foreign interference and exploitation. |
Why Do Native People Disappear From Textbooks After the 1890s?by Joshua Ward JefferyFailure to teach the ongoing history of Native people in the US validates the credo of the Carlisle Industrial School and other Indian residential schools to "kill the Indian, and save the man," perpetuating a view that consigns Natives to the past and erases them from the present. |
What Connects 2021's "Stillwater" and 1979's "Norma Rae"?by Aimee LoiselleBoth Amanda Knox, an American student accused of murder in Italy, and Crystal Lee Sutton, the southern labor organizer portrayed in "Norma Rae," have challenged the way that Hollywood films have reinterpreted their stories for commercial gain. |
Not Everyone Can Afford to ‘Learn to Live With’ COVID-19by Kyle Harper"This two-track recovery, where protection against the disease mirrors wealth and power, unfortunately reflects a historical pattern that is several centuries old. The world’s only hope lies in breaking it." |
Charlie Watts Put Some Jazz in Rock and Rollby Victor Coelho"In an era when rock drummers were larger-than-life showmen with big kits and egos to match, Charlie Watts remained the quiet man behind a modest drum set. But Watts wasn’t your typical rock drummer." |