Dear Progressive Reader,
We at The Progressive are deeply saddened at the passing yesterday evening of the legendary Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Her lifelong commitment to justice and equality will be sorely missed on the court and in the country.
Writing on Twitter last night, U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin reflected, “Ruth Bader Ginsburg lived an inspiring and historic life, and her work has shaped America for the better. As a woman, I join so many others who will not allow her legacy to be diminished or disrespected.” In a statement on email last night, the Reverend William J. Barber II said, “How do you mourn the loss of a great champion for justice like Ruth Bader Ginsburg? You mourn deeply and you vow to continue her work with even greater resolve. Her death must bring us to life. No one who loved her work on voting rights, women’s rights or corporate responsibility can stay home and not vote. We must renew our resolve to fight as she fought. . . . May she rest in peace. We must rise with power!”
After the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh two years ago, the most popular article on our website was Howard Zinn’s 2005 op-ed, written following the lightning-fast confirmation of Justice John Roberts. “It would be naive to depend on the Supreme Court to defend the rights of poor people, women, people of color, dissenters of all kinds,” wrote Zinn. “Those rights only come alive when citizens organize, protest, demonstrate, strike, boycott, rebel, and violate the law in order to uphold justice.” But today, it seems the stakes are even higher than in those days during the George W. Bush Administration. Earlier this week, Bill Blum wrote for our website about the threats posed by Trump’s efforts to pack the court with rightwing judges. “Donald Trump,” Blum explained, “has announced yet another list of potential Supreme Court candidates, all but guaranteeing that American constitutional law will be reinterpreted dramatically and moved dangerously to the right if he’s reelected.”
Howard Zinn’s name came up in the news earlier this week when he was mentioned in a speech by Donald Trump. Suggesting the need for a new, government-dictated “patriotic education to our schools,” Trump said: “Our children are instructed from propaganda tracts, like those of Howard Zinn, that try to make students ashamed of their own history.” Howard Zinn, who first wrote for The Progressive in May 1966, and had a regular column from August 1998 until his death in January 2010, addressed this issue in a speech he gave in Madison, Wisconsin on October 5, 2006 at a benefit for this magazine. “If the American people really knew history, if they learned history, if the educational institutions did their job, if the press did its job in giving people historical perspective, then a people would understand,” he declared. If we knew history, he continued, “we would understand how often fear has been used as a way of getting people to act against their own interests to work up hysteria and to get people to do terrible things to other people, because they've been made afraid.” But read the whole speech; it says so much more and is as relevant today as it was fourteen years ago.
Two new films are out this week. Ed Rampell previews the newly released (September 21) documentary about the worldwide protests against the Iraq War, We Are Many. And Asher Luberto looks at All in: The Fight for Democracy, a documentary starring and produced by voting rights activist and former gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams (who was interviewed in The Progressive last June).
 As a critical election day approaches, Scientific American magazine this week broke a 175-year tradition and endorsed a candidate for President. Spoiler alert: it was someone who believes in science. “The evidence and the science show that Donald Trump has badly damaged the U.S. and its people—because he rejects evidence and science,” their statement read. And speaking of science, The Progressive now has high-quality facemasks with our logo! You can order then from our office by calling 608-257-4626. Also, one reader also writes this week with the following suggestion: “There are many areas where polling locations have either been relocated to some out of the way location or shut down entirely. Providing transportation to those who want/need it, would be invaluable. . . . Have a vehicle? Want to help? Take someone to vote November 3rd.”
Finally, musician and activist Si Kahn, who performed two songs for our Fighting Bob Fest last week, has also released a new song for Rosh Hashanah based on Trump’s mispronunciation at a recent White House speech. By the way, if you missed the live-streamed Fighting Bob Fest event on Facebook, it lives on as an archive on YouTube at http://tiny.cc/FightingBob2020. Please enjoy and share with your friends and colleagues.
Keep reading, and we will keep bringing you important articles on these and other issues of our time.
Sincerely,
Norman Stockwell
Publisher
P.S – our new 2021 Hidden History of the United States calendar is now available for purchase through our website. They make great gifts and hang well on walls and refrigerators.
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