This Century-Old Article Recalls the Connection between Fair Wages and Freedom

by Nomad

Over a hundred years, this progressive essayist from asked a vital question: Can there be any meaning of the word "freedom" without economic independence?

A Voice from the Past

In many ways, the following essay about the vital importance of a living wage- as the first step to all progress for a nation- could have been written last month. In fact, it's well over a hundred years old. 

Journalist and novelist, David Graham Phillips published this article in The Arena in 1909, two years before his shocking murder in the streets of downtown Manhattan.

His phrase "the politicians of privilege" is an eerie reminder that progressives have fought  this battle before.

Economic Independence, the Basis of Freedom

It is true that we are a free people in name only. It is true that, in fact, we are no freer than if we had a king over us and a powerful nobility. But it is also true that our possession of the power of freedom, of the political machinery of freedom, makes us better off than if we still had that first step to take. If we were on our way down, this would not be so, but we are on our way up.

Freedom does not come from without, but from within. It is, first of all, a state of mind, an attitude of thought. We used to have more actual freedom than we have now, but it was a freedom insecurely based and it was swept away. 

It was insecurely based because it was merely a sentiment. We did not understand what freedom meant; we did not understand how to keep it; we did not understand that it had a practical value of the highest kind and was not a beautiful ideal only.

We did not understand that freedom meant a better house to live in, better clothes for our families, better food on the table, more leisure for amusement and improvement, more money in our pockets, better education and better prospects for our children. 

The Secret of Putin's Political Longevity? Old Soviet Wine in New Russian Bottles

by Nomad

A St. Petersburg professor asks the question a lot of people have been wondering: How long will President Putin be able to hold onto power?

The Real Reason why Putin is Still Around

Professor of the Department of Economics at the European University in St. Petersburg, Dmitry Travin, points out in an article for The Moscow Times, that, even though the corruption of the ruling authorities is "too obvious for thinking people to hold out any hope of progress" the Russian authorities have been effective at suppressing (or at least, discouraging) mass protests.

It would appear, Travin postulates, that Putin's expiry date will come when he himself sets the date.

But why? What could account for Putin's political longevity, which in modern Russia is the only measurement of success? 

The answer is something that many Americans long accustomed to a certain degree of political tranquility, (at least until recently) tend to overlook: stability.

Eugene Debs on the Deceivers of the People

by Nomad

Sanity Break: Van Gogh Marbling

by Nomad

Where this technique of using oil paints on water has long been debated. Some claim it began in China around the late 900s. It is often called a "Turkish" art mainly because Istanbul was the place many Europeans first encountered it. The technique was greatly developed in Safavid Persia and Ottoman Turkish periods. 

Today the fine art of marbling is widely known as ebru and this tradition, requiring a steady hand and years of practice, continues to be very popular.

Here the artist uses the technique to re-create the works of impressionist painter Vincent Van Gogh. 

Enjoy!

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Donald Trump and the Selling of Mitt Romney's Soul

by Nomad

Well, that certainly didn't take long, did it?

Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney was the one defiant anti-Trump voice in the Republican Party. He was one of the only people in the Republican Party that stood up against the Trump campaign. It seemed as though the 2012 Republican presidential candidate really did have some backbone after all. 

I had come to believe that Romney was a weak sort, always craving to be liked or at least, respected. Hence the reason for his constant flip-flopping during his campaign against Obama.

In recent months, though, I began to question my opinion about Romney. Maybe I had been all wrong about Romney.
Even though Mr. Trump endorsed Mr. Romney in 2012, Mitt Romney made it clear about a year ago what he really thought. Trump was totally unsuitable to be president. Romney caught a lot of media attention- and came under fire by the Republican party- for calling Trump “a fraud” and “a phony.”

Showing real character, he certainly didn't stop there. Romney's other comments were both painfully sharp and deadly accurate.