HOW THE EMPIRE CONTROLS THE NARRATIVE, WITH MARGARET KIMBERLY

LEE CAMP

DECEMBER 23rd, 2022

In the latest edition of “The Most Censored News” interviews, Lee Camp is joined by Margaret Kimberly. A well-known figure in activists circles in the United States, Margaret is the executive editor of and a senior columnist at Black Agenda Report (BAR). BAR’s website offers alternative perspectives on current events and has become a trusted source for those seeking information beyond the mainstream media. In addition to her work at BAR, Kimberly is also the author of “Prejudicial: Black America and the Presidents,” a book that was published in 2020 by Steerforth Press.

Record Number of US Cities, Counties, and States to Raise Minimum Wage in 2023

Jessica Corbett

December 22nd, 2022

"The monumental impact of the Fight for $15 is clearly visible in this year's record wage increases," said one worker advocate. "While it is encouraging to see boosts... we need federal policy."

After a decade since the launch of the Fight for $15 movement in New York City, a record number of U.S. states and communities are set to raise the minimum wage in the new year.

From New Year's Eve to New Year's Day, the minimum wage will increase in 23 states and 41 cities and counties, according to a report released Thursday by the National Employment Law Project (NELP). In 40 of those 64 jurisdictions, it will hit or exceed $15 an hour for at least some workers.

Did the 2022 mid-term elections produce a false sense of comfort?

 words by Charles Brooks

The 2022 midterms were widely anticipated to be the stage on which voters would demonstrate their rejection of the Democratic Party and the Biden presidency. 

In Congress, Democrats entered the midterms defending narrow majorities in both the House and Senate, while on the state level, Republicans held 28 governor seats. The midterm results saw Democrats retain the Senate by a razor-thin margin, 51-49 while losing the House, 222-213. Election results also show 28 House seats flipping parties; 9 to Democrats and 19 to the Republicans.   On the state level, Democrats picked up 3 governor seats, raising their total to 24 versus 26 Republican governors. There’s also the wins in four states, raising the count to 14 states with Democrats in the governor’s seat and holding majorities in both chambers of the state legislature.   

Judge Orders Philly DA to Disclose All Evidence in Mumia Abu-Jamal Case. Could It Lead to New Trial?

Supporters of imprisoned journalist Mumia Abu-Jamal are celebrating a decision by a Philadelphia judge on Friday to order the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office to share all of its files on the case with Abu-Jamal’s defense team. Judge Lucretia Clemons gave prosecutors and the defense 60 days to review the files, including many that Abu-Jamal’s team has never seen. The judge is then expected to rule on whether to hold a new trial for the former Black Panther, who has been imprisoned for over 40 years for his 1982 conviction in the murder of police officer Daniel Faulkner. His supporters have long claimed prosecutors withheld key evidence and bribed or coerced witnesses to lie, and documents found in the DA’s office in 2019 show Abu-Jamal’s trial was tainted by judicial bias and police and prosecutorial misconduct. 

For more on the case, we speak with Johanna Fernández, an associate professor of history at CUNY’s Baruch College and one of the coordinators of the Campaign to Bring Mumia Home. “We have enough evidence here to clearly give Mumia at least an evidentiary hearing, a new trial or set him free,” says Fernández. She is the executive producer and writer of the film “Justice on Trial: The Case of Mumia Abu-Jamal” and is also the editor of “Writing on the Wall: Selected Prison Writings of Mumia Abu-Jamal.”

Media Prescribe More ‘Pain’ for Workers as Inflation’s Only Cure

LUCA GOLDMANSOUR

DECEMBER 19, 2022

Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell is profit’s prophet and the corporate media are his cultish devotees, joining hands to sacrifice working people. In this cult, profit is sacrosanct.

When inflation hits, this is because of the conditions upon which profits are made. It’s not the fault of profit-making itself. The problem is a “labor shortage,” or “too much demand,” which forces the invisible hand to raise prices—and not a shortage of dignified work, or a surplus of people living paycheck to paycheck. Maximal profits are a given, and scarcity for ordinary people is a requirement.