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DEPARTMENTS 5 EDITOR’S NOTE There Must Be a Ceasefire in Gaza 6 COMMENT by NORMAN STOCKWELL Our View of an Eye for an Eye 8 FURTHER COMMENT by JENNIFER LOEWENSTEIN The War on Gaza: How a Colonial Mentality Assures Western Failure 11 NO COMMENT 12 LETTERS 14 BLAST FROM THE PAST 15 ON THE LINE by JEWISH VOICE FOR PEACE PHOTOGRAPHERS Raising Our Voices for Peace in the Halls of Power 26 SMOKING GUN What MAGA Republicans in Congress Want 50 INTERVIEW WITH PHYLLIS BENNIS by NORMAN STOCKWELL ‘This Is a Very Dangerous Time’ 53 BOOK EXCERPT Project Censored’s State of the Free Press 2024 by Robin Andersen 56 FAVORITE BOOKS OF 2023 Eleanor J. Bader, Michaela Brant, Helen Bezuneh, Ruth Conniff, Jules Gibbs, Emilio Leanza, Bill Lueders, John Nichols, Ed Rampell, Betsy Robinson, Norman Stockwell, Dave Zirin 69 POEM by MOSAB ABU TOHA My Son Throws a Blanket Over My Daughter VOICES 18 MIDDLE AMERICA by RUTH CONNIFF Getting Beyond ‘Us Versus Them’ 20 SMART ASS CRIPPLE by MIKE ERVIN Fixing Our Broken System of Long-Term Care 22 WORK WON’T LOVE YOU BACK by SARAH JAFFE Sick and Tired of Being Sick and Tired 24 FIRST THINGS FIRST by BILL LUEDERS Don’t Oppose Trump’s Right to Run 65 FIRST-PERSON SINGULAR by RABBI LAURIE ZIMMERMAN I Protest This Bloodshed 67 HEMMING AND HAWING by NEGIN FARSAD Statement-Making in an Age of Statement-Making 68 EDGE OF SPORTS by DAVE ZIRIN Why the Politics of the Sports World Has Been a Hot Mess 70 VOX POPULIST by JIM HIGHTOWER How Things Work: Congress’s Revolving Door and The Billionaires Behind School Privatization ON THE COVER Nadia Radic is an artist based in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Originally a photographer, she transitioned to working in digital and analog collage during the pandemic. Her work has appeared in The Boston Globe, The Wall Street Journal, and The New York Times, among others. 4 | DECEMBER 2023 / JANUARY 2024 Cover illustration uses an image adapted from Associated Press and public domain photographs. PUBLISHER Norman Stockwell MANAGING EDITOR David Boddiger SENIOR EDITOR Emilio Leanza ASSOCIATE EDITOR Michaela Brant WEB EDITOR Delaney Nelson EDITORS-AT-LARGE Ruth Conniff, Bill Lueders ART DIRECTOR Susan Webb DIRECTOR OF ADVANCEMENT AND ENGAGEMENT Daniel K. Libby OFFICE MANAGER Elizabeth D. Miller DIGITAL ENGAGEMENT COORDINATOR Sheriffer Chisanga POETRY EDITOR Jules Gibbs PROOFREADERS Sarah Baum, Elizabeth D. Miller, Delaney Nelson INTERNS Avery Fitzgerald, Sameera Mann, Riley Roliff, Mariama Sidime, Sydney Vasquez The full-time staff at The Progressive are members of NOLSW/UAW Local 2320. Founded in 1909 by Senator Robert M. “Fighting Bob” La Follette, The Progressive tackles the forces distorting our economy, corrupting our democracy, and imperiling our planet, and champions peace, civil liberties, equality, and justice. Editorial correspondence should be addressed to The Progressive, P.O. Box 1021, Madison, WI 53701, or editorial@progressive.org. Subscription rates U.S. - One year $29.70. Canadian - One year $40. Foreign - One year $45. Libraries and institutions One year (Domestic) $50; (Canadian) $65; (Foreign) $98. Send all subscription orders and correspondence to: The Progressive, P.O. Box 1021, Madison, WI 53701. For questions about subscriptions, call toll-free 1 (800) 827-0555. The Progressive is published bimonthly with combined issues in February/March, April/May, June/July, August/September, October/November, December/January. Copyright © 2023 by The Progressive Inc., 931 E. Main Street, Suite 10, Madison, WI 53703. Telephone: (608) 257-4626. Publication number (ISSN 0033-0736). Periodicals postage paid at Madison, WI, and additional mailing offices. Printed in the U.S.A. Donations: The Progressive depends on donations from readers. Contributions are tax-deductible. Mail checks to The Progressive, P.O. Box 1021, Madison, WI 53701 or visit www.progressive.org/donate. Postmaster: Send address changes to: The Progressive, P.O. Box 1021, Madison, WI 53701. www.progressive.org
page 5
EDITOR’S NOTE THERE MUST BE A CEASEFIRE IN GAZA As this issue of The Progressive goes to press, Israel’s war in Gaza begins another grim chapter with the advancement of a ground invasion begun in late October by Israeli troops, who are now pushing deeper into Palestinian territory. After weeks of barbaric bombing by Israeli forces of heavily populated neighborhoods in Gaza that has left more than 11,000 Palestinians dead—including entire families—and tens of thousands more injured, Israeli troops surrounded Gaza’s main hospital, Al-Shifa, in Gaza City, which is now on the verge of collapsing. Power outages have rendered needed medical equipment useless, and patients are dying as already stressed and exhausted health care workers battle to keep as many people alive as they can, with almost nothing but their bare hands. pauses and the opening of two humanitarian corridors, Biden said the measures “are a step in the right direction.” He added, “You have my word: I will continue to advocate for civilian safety and focus on increasing aid to alleviate the suffering of the people of Gaza.” While it’s not enough, the statement should at least motivate us to keep up the pressure. In this issue, Norman Stockwell, citing words from the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr., explains why we must double down on our efforts to push for nonviolence as the only solution, because “more weapons and other military equipment to fuel a violent conflict based on revenge will not bring back any of the victims . . . . It will only ‘increase hate’ and ‘multiply violence.’ ” Hospital staff must also now evacuate the sick and the wounded—including dozens of premature babies whose incubators no longer work—in the middle of an urban war zone, where snipers reportedly have already fired on people attempting to flee. Four other hospitals in Gaza City have also been evacuated, The New York Times reported. Jennifer Loewenstein explains some of the historical context behind why no one should’ve been surprised that the Gaza Strip “would one day erupt like a volcano”: It’s because “human This is madness. As moral human beings, we must continue to loudly demand an immediate ceasefire. beings can be treated like refuse for only so long.” Award-winning Palestinian writer Mosab Abu Toha shares one of three poems published by The Progressive, which he wrote from the Jabalia refugee camp, where he and his family have barely escaped death several times in the past few weeks. In an absurd exchange, an Israeli military spokesperson claimed that staff at Al-Shifa had requested assistance from the Israeli military in moving babies to another hospital. The hospital director called that statement a lie. Meanwhile, the fate of some 240 Israeli hostages, captured during the brutal October 7 attack by Hamas on Israel, in which an estimated 1,200 Israelis were killed, mostly civilians, remains bleak. The Guardian reported that early in the war, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had rejected a proposal for a five-day ceasefire in exchange for the release of some hostages, which, if true, is more affirmation that the goal is total devastation that will “flatten the ground” of northern Gaza. Securing the safe return of the hostages, Netanyahu, admitted, is only “one of the missions” of the war. Also in this issue, Jeanne Chilton Devon offers thoughts on how we as a species might survive the “terrible self-inflicted wound” of climate change. Nancy MacLean and Arn Pearson report on the ongoing attempts by members of the far right to overthrow democracy in the United States with the first Constitutional convention since 1787. Sarah Jaffe and Hamilton Nolan weigh in on the labor movement’s recent big wins, as well as a path forward for organized labor to dig itself out of the “deep, dark hole” it’s been in for decades. Marcus Reeves celebrates a historical moment for the urban dance style breaking, which will be featured at the Summer Olympics in Paris, France, next year. And as we do each year, the staff and collaborators of The Progressive offer their picks for this year’s best books. This is madness. As moral human beings, we must continue to loudly demand an immediate ceasefire, which even Saudi Arabia and Iran, two historically antagonistic nations, have publicly called for. While the Biden Administration has so far refused to call for a ceasefire, on November 9, the President posted a statement on X, formerly Twitter, that demonstrates that widespread protests in the United States, and around the world, against the Israeli bombing campaign have had at least some effect on how this country responds to the humanitarian crisis. In announcing that Israel had agreed to daily four-hour It’s a lot to process. But we are committed to providing information and analysis to help make sense of the mind-boggling realities around us in such a seemingly senseless world. David Boddiger Managing editor THE PROGRESSIVE | 5

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DEPARTMENTS 5 EDITOR’S NOTE There Must Be a Ceasefire in Gaza 6 COMMENT by

NORMAN STOCKWELL Our View of an Eye for an Eye 8 FURTHER COMMENT

by JENNIFER LOEWENSTEIN The War on Gaza: How a

Colonial Mentality Assures Western Failure 11 NO COMMENT 12 LETTERS 14 BLAST FROM THE PAST 15 ON THE LINE by JEWISH VOICE

FOR PEACE PHOTOGRAPHERS Raising Our Voices for Peace in the Halls of Power 26 SMOKING GUN What MAGA Republicans in Congress Want

50 INTERVIEW WITH

PHYLLIS BENNIS by NORMAN STOCKWELL ‘This Is a Very

Dangerous Time’ 53 BOOK EXCERPT Project Censored’s State of the Free Press 2024 by Robin Andersen 56 FAVORITE BOOKS OF 2023 Eleanor J. Bader,

Michaela Brant, Helen Bezuneh, Ruth Conniff, Jules Gibbs, Emilio Leanza, Bill Lueders, John Nichols, Ed Rampell, Betsy Robinson, Norman Stockwell, Dave Zirin 69 POEM by MOSAB ABU TOHA My Son Throws a Blanket

Over My Daughter

VOICES 18 MIDDLE AMERICA

by RUTH CONNIFF Getting Beyond ‘Us Versus

Them’ 20 SMART ASS CRIPPLE

by MIKE ERVIN Fixing Our Broken System of Long-Term Care 22 WORK WON’T LOVE YOU BACK

by SARAH JAFFE Sick and Tired of Being

Sick and Tired 24 FIRST THINGS FIRST

by BILL LUEDERS Don’t Oppose Trump’s

Right to Run

65 FIRST-PERSON SINGULAR

by RABBI LAURIE ZIMMERMAN I Protest This Bloodshed 67 HEMMING AND HAWING

by NEGIN FARSAD Statement-Making in an Age of Statement-Making 68 EDGE OF SPORTS

by DAVE ZIRIN Why the Politics of the Sports

World Has Been a Hot Mess 70 VOX POPULIST

by JIM HIGHTOWER How Things Work: Congress’s

Revolving Door and The Billionaires Behind School

Privatization

ON THE COVER

Nadia Radic is an artist based in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Originally a photographer, she transitioned to working in digital and analog collage during the pandemic. Her work has appeared in The Boston Globe, The Wall Street Journal, and The New York Times, among others.

4 | DECEMBER 2023 / JANUARY 2024

Cover illustration uses an image adapted from Associated Press and public domain photographs.

PUBLISHER Norman Stockwell MANAGING EDITOR David Boddiger

SENIOR EDITOR Emilio Leanza ASSOCIATE EDITOR Michaela Brant

WEB EDITOR Delaney Nelson

EDITORS-AT-LARGE Ruth Conniff, Bill Lueders ART DIRECTOR Susan Webb DIRECTOR OF ADVANCEMENT AND ENGAGEMENT Daniel K. Libby OFFICE MANAGER Elizabeth D. Miller DIGITAL ENGAGEMENT COORDINATOR

Sheriffer Chisanga POETRY EDITOR Jules Gibbs

PROOFREADERS Sarah Baum, Elizabeth D. Miller,

Delaney Nelson INTERNS Avery Fitzgerald, Sameera Mann, Riley Roliff, Mariama Sidime, Sydney Vasquez

The full-time staff at The Progressive are members of NOLSW/UAW Local 2320.

Founded in 1909 by Senator

Robert M. “Fighting Bob” La Follette, The Progressive tackles the forces distorting our economy, corrupting our democracy, and imperiling our planet, and champions peace, civil liberties, equality, and justice.

Editorial correspondence should be addressed to The Progressive, P.O. Box 1021, Madison, WI 53701, or editorial@progressive.org.

Subscription rates U.S. - One year $29.70. Canadian - One year $40. Foreign - One year $45. Libraries and institutions One year (Domestic) $50; (Canadian) $65; (Foreign) $98.

Send all subscription orders and correspondence to: The Progressive, P.O. Box 1021, Madison, WI 53701. For questions about subscriptions, call toll-free 1 (800) 827-0555.

The Progressive is published bimonthly with combined issues in February/March, April/May, June/July, August/September, October/November, December/January. Copyright © 2023 by The Progressive Inc., 931 E. Main Street, Suite 10, Madison, WI 53703. Telephone: (608) 257-4626. Publication number (ISSN 0033-0736). Periodicals postage paid at Madison, WI, and additional mailing offices. Printed in the U.S.A. Donations: The Progressive depends on donations from readers. Contributions are tax-deductible. Mail checks to The Progressive, P.O. Box 1021, Madison, WI 53701 or visit www.progressive.org/donate. Postmaster: Send address changes to: The Progressive, P.O. Box 1021, Madison, WI 53701.

www.progressive.org

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