Dear Progressive Reader,

On Friday, in an odd and unexpected exchange, Republican President Donald Trump told Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, a self-described democratic socialist, that “I feel very confident that he can do a very good job.” While both men are from the same borough of New York City, the two men could not be more different in their attitudes toward people and politics. There is little doubt that Trump’s change of tone toward the 34-year-old Ugandan-born activist was based on the President’s calculus of the ways he might benefit from “playing nice.” But the most revealing moment in the meeting may actually have occurred when a reporter asked Mamdani about his previous description of Trump as a fascist. Before the future mayor could reply, Trump intervened and said, “That’s okay, you can just say yes, it’s easier.” The President then smiled broadly and patted Mamdani on the arm.

Perhaps more even telling (on the issue of whether or not President is a fascist) was Trump’s series of social media posts this past week on how Democratic members of Congress could potentially be executed for reminding the military of their oath to the Constitution and their responsibility to disobey illegal orders from an errant Commander in Chief. The messages from the tremendously influential leader included a re-post of the comment: “HANG THEM GEORGE WASHINGTON WOULD !!” According to Axios, the Democrats targeted in these posts have seen an increase in death threats in recent days.

This week on our website, David Goeßmann interviews environmental activist Bill McKibben about the COP30 climate conference in Belém, Brazil, scheduled to conclude today; Stephen Zunes remembers the long history of problematic foreign policy positions taken by U.S. Representative Nancy Pelosi as she plans to retire in 2027; Tamara Davison reports on the conditions for cancer patients in Gaza; incarcerated writer Rashon Venable opines on Trump’s dangerous new war on drugs; and Joanne Csete pens an op-ed on the new costs to people seeking asylum in the United States. Plus, Mira Nalbandian examines the recent Supreme Court decision that legitimates racial profiling; Mike Ervin worries about the threats to the 1975 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act from HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr; and Jessica Wakeman describes a coffee shop in North Carolina that provides a space for people who have been impacted by the criminal justice system.

And, speaking of coffee, Starbucks workers across the country are currently engaged in a series of rolling strikes to bring attention to the fact that the company still will not sit down with workers to negotiate a union contract. Rachel E. Hawley, one of our associate editors, went out to interview some of these workers for our Instagram page; and our other associate editor, Michaela Brant, travelled to Buffalo, New York, for the premier of the new documentary Baristas vs. Billionaires which chronicles the rise of Starbucks Workers United over the past few years. The film, which is co-produced by Glenn Silber, will have it’s Madison, Wisconsin, premier on December 10 and 11 at The Barrymore Theatre, welcomed by The Progressive and the South Central Federation of Labor. Silber, who also produced the award-winning film The War At Home—which tells the story of Madison’s anti-war movement in the 1960s and 1970s—will be in attendance on both nights. Brant’s review of the new film about the Starbucks workers struggle appears now on our website.

Finally, this past week marked the 110th anniversary of the execution in Utah of IWW organizer and songster Joe Hill. Born Joel Emmanuel Hägglund in 1879 in Sweden, Joe Hill was an immigrant and a labor activist, two things not favored by the current administration in Washington. He was tried and convicted in 1914 on questionable murder charges, and in spite of worldwide calls for his release, he was shot by a firing squad on November 19, 1915. His life, and his death, have remained symbols for workers everywhere. A poem about Hill’s life, penned by Alfred Hayes ten years after Hill’s execution, and put to music by Earl Robinson in 1936, concludes with the words: “From San Diego up to Maine / In every mine and mill / Where workers strike and organize / It's there you'll find Joe Hill.”

Please keep reading, and we will keep bringing you important articles on these and other issues of our time.

Sincerely,

Norman Stockwell
Publisher

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