November 10—This AP article explains the meaning of "From the river to the sea," a slogan being chanted around the world and across the U.S. by those taking the side of Hamas in the ongoing war.

November 10—Biden administration infrastructure czar and former New Orleans mayor Mitch Landrieu is promoting the Biden administration's efforts to upgrade America's aging infrastructure, with $400 billion spent on 40,000 projects since passage of the Biden-supported Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021. In spite of such concrete progress in meeting the nation's needs, most voters, subject to a toxic mix of infotainment, misinformation and heady culture-war disputes, disapprove of the President's performance in office.

November 10—The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals has blocked a Biden administration rule aimed at stopping the proliferation of so-called "Ghost guns," DIY weapons sold in kits without background checks. The Court's ruling, by a three-judge panel all appointed by Donald Trump, is a reminder that real change in America will require obtaining congressional majorities large enough to remake the federal judiciary; and possibly a national constituency large enough to amend the Constitution.

November 10—It was a good day for Labor in the United States, with 85,000 Kaiser Permanente workers celebrating a new and better contract just as Hollywood actors end their strike with significant gains. Kaiser Permanente workers will receive a 21% pay increase over four years, with Kaiser also agreeing to address staffing shortages in its facilities. Organized labor is a key component of a functioning social democracy, and The Social Democrat applauds the efforts that made these victories for working people possible.

November 10—Hollywood actors have ended their four-month strike against the major studios with a deal the chief provisions of which include significant pay hikes and the regulation of the use of an actor's AI image. With the news, the production industry is gearing up to begin churning out moving pictures again.

November—Joe Manchin, the West Virginia Senator who has often stood against initiatives championed by his own party, has announced that he will not seek reelection in 2024, and appears to be exploring a presidential third-party run on a centrist ticket. His retirement threatens the Democrats' bare Senate majority: Manchin's replacement, in a state that voted for Donald Trump by a 38% margin in 2020, is likely to be a Republican.

November 8—Democrats saw major successes in Tuesday's elections, with Red Kentucky's Democrat governor Andy Beshear holding off a challenge from Republican Daniel Cameron; Virginia flipping its lower chamber from Republican to Democratic control; and Wisconsin's Supreme Court flipping to a Left majority.

November 8—Ohio voters yesterday supported an amendment to the state's constitution which prohibits the Ohio legislature from enacting any law which interferes with access to abortion up to the time of fetal viability, defined as the point at which there is a "significant likelihood of survival." Since fetal viability is generally considered to occur between 20 and 28 weeks, with fetal hearbeat detectable at week 7, the measure will render unconstitutional the Ohio Human Rights and Heartbeat Act passed by the state's legislature and signed into law by Republican governor Mike DeWine in April of 2019. Roe vs Wade, overturned by the Supreme Court of the United States in 2022, disallowed restrictions on abortion up to the 27th week of pregnancy.

November 7—A new survey from the Pew Research Center finds that the U.S. is viewed increasingly favorably in other developed nations, and especially in comparison to views on China, since the start of the Biden administration. The Social Democrat take: the U.S. cannot afford to alienate its natural allies in the global war of ideas: our fellow democracies, where the rule of law and respect for basic human rights are cherished.

November 7—There are 50 U.S. states and several territories, but when it comes to the 2024 presidential elections, all eyes will be on the six states where the outcome is in any doubt: the so-called battleground or "purple" states: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Numbers released Monday from a recent New York Times/Sienna College poll show former president and national disaster Donald Trump leading in five of the six states, with an average lead of four percent, with President Biden ahead only in Wisconsin. The polls further reveal that the much bally-hooed theory that demography is destiny, that Democrats will win by carrying those segments of the population which are growing, particularly the young and those not racialized as "white," is under assault. Or, as the Reuters article states: "Biden's multiracial and multigenerational coalition appears to be fraying," with under-30 swing-state voters favoring Biden by a margin of only one percent, and 20 percent of voters racialized as "black" going for Trump in these crucial battlegrounds. The Social Democrat take: Democrats must offer a compelling vision that will reach a solid majority of Americans; they cannot win governing-capable majorities by directing their messaging to the fringe base of the party.

November 7—This Politico analysis looks at how New York City's traditionally liberal voters have moved toward the center, concerned about crime and a massive inflow of migrants into the city. Israel's invasion of Gaza, in response to Hamas' October 7 attack killing 1,300 Israelis, is also roiling the city's politics.

November 7—The Biden administration has announced $16.4 billion in funding to upgrade rail lines on Amtrak's Northeast Corridor between Washington and Boston, one of several recent decisions flowing from the massive 2021 Biden-sponsored infrastructure bill. The corridor sells 800,000 tickets daily. Trump talked about fixing the nation's ailing infrastructure; the Biden administration is doing something about it.

November 5—Two articles from AP News examine a success for offshore wind as well as some setbacks. Offshore wind power is a key component of the Biden administration's plan to reduce the burning of globe-warming fossil fuels.

November 5—An agreement between Southwest Airlines and Local 556 of the Transport Workers Union of America, representing 19,000 flight attendants, will give the attendants their first raise in four years, a time period during which living costs have experienced a compound inflation of nearly 20 percent; the agreement follows an August agreement covering 17,120 ramp and cargo employees. The Social Democrat strongly supports efforts by organized labor to achieve decent wages and work conditions for union members.

November 5—American schools are facing significant challenges post-Pandemic, including plummeting test scores and, according to a just-released study, chronic absenteeism rates of 29 percent.