‍Marcus Raskin’s death in December put the light on the Institute for Policy Studies, which he co-founded. Here’s a reminiscence of the scholar-activist who coined the term “national security state” from IPS’s Phyllis Bennis, posted by AlterNet.‍

NYT columnist Roger Cohen’s interesting take on the tempering power of the internet/social media as power ebbs from the hands of states and their leaders.

On the other hand, Jonathan Freedland writes in the Guardian that 2017 with Donald Trump has demonstrated that the US Constitution has more flaws than we can easily see – because they are tempered by the norms and practices that Trump has trashed.

Lee Carter (Del. Lee Carter, Dem/Socialist, 50th Dist, please)… on Medicaid expansion etc. in the Intercept article…

Enjoy The Post but understand that it’s sheer Hollywood fiction. Media critic and historian Norm Solomon reminds us that the late saint, Katherine Graham, was a union-busting elitist.

As usual, a collection of links from someone else is an irresistible time-saver for this feature. Here Dave Leonhart, not the least radical pundit at the NYT, has a roundup that includes some you will really hate.

‍And a wonderful roundup of progressive, collective action for 2017 from Labor Notes, with lots of context links.

‍Via Portside and the IndyPendent, a review of a book diving deep into the web of relationships that make the Alt-Right formidable. It’s not just money, though there’s more to that than most people would expect – no surprise to us, however.

‍Also via Portside, a heartening plea from In These Times: Nationalize the Internet. Started with the Defense Department/DARPA, after all…