JULY 10, 2026

Is this liberalism’s last stand?
Under threat from both its left and its right, has American liberalism — once an insurgency challenging corporate monopolists, segregationists, the patriarchy, corrupt politicians and, most broadly, entrenched economic power — been corrupted by its ties to the establishment? Is the rise of the Democratic Socialists of America less a demand for socialism than a plea for a party of the left that represents the middle and working classes, the precariat and the losers under global competition? NYT Opinion

Zohran Mamdani on the Promise of America
In a speech marking the country’s 250th anniversary, socialist New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani lays out his vision of a United States of America for the many, not the few. “Over the years that followed, despite laws enacted by the federal government to bar their entry, despite sweatshop fires that killed hundreds of women, despite riots aimed at their very existence, immigrants made homes here in New York City, and they helped to make New York City.” Jacobin

US labor board more likely to dismiss worker and union charges under Trump, analysis finds
Dismissals of unfair labor practice charges have surged at the National Labor Relations Board under Donald Trump, according to a new analysis. From January 2025 to April 2026, the US top labor watchdog dismissed 34.7% of all unfair labor practice charges filed by labor unions, a 14.2 percentage-point increase from 2024. The agency dismissed 67.4% of unfair labor practice charges filed by workers, 10.7 points higher than 2024. The analysis of more than 40,000 cases conducted by the Center for American Progress cited several issues at the board since Trump began his second term in office. The NLRB was left without a quorum required to issue decisions for 345 days after Trump fired Gwynne Wilcox, the first Black woman to ever serve on the board. Labor lawyers have noted unfair labor practice charge cases are being thrown out due to glitches or technicalities with the agency’s docketing system. The Guardian

Celebrating Red Lives
In May, editors launched the first volume of an oral history collection on the late 20th century history of the Communist Party of America (CPUSA). “For the New Communist Movement that emerged from the New Left in the 70s, ‘the CPUSA was the shadow we boxed incessantly, perhaps obsessively.’ We cannot learn from the many histories of the U.S. Left if we are constantly trying to prove that we have already overcome its failures. Red Lives offers a different way to engage with our history.” Democratic Left

Bicentennial Cinema Shattered the Myth of America
Where else could Americans in 1976 see national mood and myth reflected? The ’76 movie calendar offers a compelling counterexample of how popular entertainment met the moment. Some filmmakers cashed in on what they reckoned audiences wanted to hear, while others tried to articulate the complicated moment that 200 years of America had led to. AV Club via Portside 

We Have Fascism at Home: Resisting Militarized Police
While we must organize against fascism at the federal level, we must not lose sight of the threat of local police and their damage to our communities. In addition to $8.4 billion in Pentagon equipment grants, police have heavily invested local funds into drones, assault weapons, and “less lethal” munitions. They are learning to use this equipment in the ever expanding “cop cities” and “cop academies” being built across the country. The paramilitary push is built upon decades of militarization that a wave of mild reforms after the George Floyd protests in 2020 failed to stop. Convergence Magazine