AUGUST 21, 2026

Why are progressives winning across the United States? It’s not complicated
Whether it is a corrupt campaign finance system, unprecedented income and wealth inequality, a broken and wildly expensive healthcare system, the enormous threats posed by AI or an immoral and destructive foreign policy, progressives are talking about the real issues facing working families. And they are providing real solutions. Establishment Democrats are not. Poll after poll shows the same thing. The American people know that the current economic system is rigged. The very rich get richer, while working families struggle. Today, while 60% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck, the billionaire class has never ever had it so good. Bernie Sanders in The Guardian; Also posted in Portside 8/20

Democrats can’t fix this mess without a supermajority
A centrist think-tanker and former Harry Reid staffer urges goals beyond flipping chambers — We [speaking of Democrats] need to win enough power to enact not just an ambitious policy agenda but also the structural reforms necessary to make it stick. We can’t do this from the safety of blue states; we must expand into red territory. It’s time to shift our focus to building a supermajority. This requires rallying behind a theory of politics that unites our unruly coalition under a big tent, rejecting calls for rigidity whether they come from the left, right or center. It means embracing the heterodoxy that governs how swing voters think — and that has inspired the periods of progressive change in American history. NYT Opinion

US Progressives To Challenge Trump ‘Donroe Doctrine’ at Pan-American Congress
A delegation of progressive congressional lawmakers and candidates is set to head to Montevideo, Uruguay this week to take part in a conference focused on Pan-American solidarity amid the resurgence of both US imperialism and right-wing governments in the hemisphere. The third Pan-American Congress brings together progressive legislators from North, Central, and South America and the Caribbean to discuss what organizers describe as hemispheric cooperation based on “solidarity between peoples” and “sovereignty among nations” — a vision sharply at odds with what critics have dubbed US President Donald Trump’s “Donroe Doctrine” militant imperialism. The US delegation will be led by Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), joined by Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García (D-Ill.), Democratic congressional candidate Dr. Adam Hamawy of New Jersey, and three members of Democratic Socialists of America also running for Congress: Claire Valdez and Darializa Avila Chevalier of New York and Chris Rabb from Pennsylvania. “We need to build a durable and lasting coalition of progressives that can take on the right-wing forces and answer them with the necessary call of the people,” Jayapal said in a video posted to social media. Common Dreams

Democracy vs. the Machine: the birth of the digital age and the warnings that were ignored
“One of the stranger things about this dizzying, headlong moment in time is that it doesn’t have much of a past. Everything is about the future of this, the future of that: the future of work, the future of humanity, the future of the planet. It’s as if everyone is screaming (some ecstatically, most terror-stricken): robots are taking over the world! Meanwhile, you can’t put down your phone, unplug, delete your AI apps, tell Zoom to piss off; it feels as if you are racing toward something, and can’t stop, or look back, or think straight. But of course this weird moment in history does have a past. It comes from somewhere. It wasn’t inevitable. Things could have turned out differently. They still can.” How we got to the ‘lectronics state we’re in, as outlined by the eminent historian Jill Lepore in a Guardian LongRead

And about that future: AI Should Be Made To Serve the Public Interest
From space to telecommunications, the US has a long history of fostering technology for the public good. These AI models could be aligned to democratic values, not corporate profits — “There are…questions about whether the leading AI labs will ever be sustainably profitable. All of a sudden, the makers of ChatGPT and Claude face strong headwinds as they seek to generate the massive equity assets that once felt all but assured. If these AI companies should fail in the financial markets, the US should nationalize them and convert them into national labs operated under democratic control that preserve their benefit to the public interest.” Portside

In Trump’s Economy, Black Adults and Their Families Face Worsening Job Security and Financial Stability
While the overall financial well-being of most adults held steady in 2025, the financial well-being of Black adults declined, more likely to experience layoffs, and more likely to report major concerns about making ends meet.
The Federal Reserve’s latest Survey of Household Economics and Decisionmaking (SHED) shows an increase in the number of adults who worry about finding or keeping a job. More than 2 out of 5 adults reported concerns about finding or keeping a job in 2025, up from 37% in 2024. The latest SHED survey also shows that the harm caused by the administration’s economic chaos has not affected all people equally. Structural inequities embedded in the US economy and labor market have historically left communities of color disproportionately vulnerable to economic insecurity and poverty, and the Federal Reserve’s survey shows that this trend is continuing. While the overall financial well-being of most adults held steady in 2025, the financial well-being of Black adults declined. Economic Policy Institute