The recent victory of 28-year-old Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez -- an obscure, upfront democratic socialist from the Bronx -- in a Democratic primary against one of the most powerful Democrats in the House of Representatives should not be a total surprise.  In recent years, democratic socialism has been making a remarkable comeback in American life and, as the 2016 Bernie Sanders campaign illustrated, has begun to play a significant role in Democratic party politics.

Buried far below the mass media coverage of the U.S.-North Korea summit spectacle, Donald Trump -- assisted by his military and civilian advisors -- is busy getting the United States ready for nuclear war.  A massive nuclear weapons buildup now underway (at a potential cost of $2 trillion), new nuclear policy guidelines widening the scope for the use of nuclear weapons, and a high level of mental instability, impulsiveness, and vindictiveness on the part of the U.S. commander-in-chief combine to create a giant step toward catastrophe.

Although the U.S. mass media are awash with stories about America's "booming economy," the benefits are distributed very unequally, when they are distributed at all.  Soaring wealth and incomes for the few do not automatically translate into better lives for the many.

Although Daniel Ellsberg is best known for revealing the Pentagon Papers to the American people, he spent much of his 13-year career as a military analyst at the highest levels of the U.S. national security apparatus, grappling with the life and death issues posed by nuclear weapons.  Therefore, when an insider like this tells us how preparations for nuclear war have been proceeding, it's well worth sitting up and taking notice.    

A 2018 study of the opinions of people living in 156 nations found that none of the "great" powers -- all of which have portrayed themselves as models for the world -- ranked within the top ten.  In fact, the United States placed 18th, Russia 59th, and China 86th.  The factors that appear to have contributed most to national happiness were advanced social welfare institutions and a relatively low level of violence.  

In February 2018, the GOP-controlled Congress passed and President Donald Trump signed legislation that increased U.S. military spending by $165 billion over the next two years.  Remarkably, though, a Gallup poll, conducted only days before, found that only 33 percent of Americans favored increasing military spending, while 65 percent opposed it.  Even more remarkable for a nation where military spending has grown substantially over the decades, in only one of the past 49 years when Gallup polled Americans about military spending did a majority of Americans favor increasing it.

When Donald Trump was running for the presidency, he promised that, if he was elected, "American worker[s] will finally have a president who will protect them and fight for them."  Today, though, safely ensconced in the White House, President Trump is leading a fierce campaign against American workers -- one that  is undermining their health and safety, lowering their wages, and weakening their unions.

In today's United States, many Americans accord an exalted status to anyone serving in the U.S. armed forces.  But this across-the-board hero-worship of soldiers is a fairly recent phenomenon, and is not merited or conducive to the survival of a democratic society.

A U.S. Congressional investigation once called them the "Merchants of Death."  Bob Dylan called them the "Masters of War."  And today we just call them "defense contractors."  But, whatever the name, they're doing very well for themselves at the public expense -- in fact, better than ever.

The estimated cost, when adjusted for inflation, for the planned "modernization" of the U.S. nuclear weapons complex has risen to $1.7 trillion.  That money could provide an awful lot of healthcare, education, housing, parks, public transportation, roads, clean water, child nutrition, disability benefits, Social Security, and other public services to improve the lives of Americans.  But, of course, it won't.  Instead, it will be used to facilitate the race toward the human catastrophe of nuclear war.