What brought about the fall of the Berlin Wall 20 years ago?

Some argue that it was the Cold War and the escalation of military spending that was just too costly for the Soviet empire to maintain.

If that was the case, that should be a cautionary tale...

It's hard for a country to change its founding mythology, but the U.S. Senate has taken an important step towards accomplishing that. The Senate approved an apology to Native Americans on October 7, as an amendment to the Defense Appropriations bill. The Senate passed an apology resolution also in 2008,...

Yes, it's unusual for the Nobel Peace Prize to be awarded early in someone's career, as is the case with President Barack Obama. But these are unusual times.

In making the award, the Nobel Committee emphasized Obama's leadership in creating a new international climate, and they particularly called out his...

Van Jones is the target of the day for the right-wing attack machine. Will they succeed in driving him from his post as a green jobs adviser to the White House?

Van was a contributing editor for YES! Magazine from 2006 until he went to work at the White...

Despite the best efforts of the Obama administration, the economy is a long ways from recovery. The speculative system that created the mess remains intact, and foreclosures and unemployment continue to rise. But at the same time, a new economy is taking form. It's built on a recognition...

World leaders negotiate an historic climate agreement. ... Temperature rise will be kept below 2 degrees, averting runaway global heating and chaotic weather. ... Celebrations break out. ... World leaders at Copenhagen thank the citizens of the world for the months of protests that created the political will to take...

Probably the top priorities at "America's Future Now" conference (formerly Take Back America) is getting universal health care adopted this year.

Progressive groups announced plans to spend $82 million to press for adoption of Obama's health care plan. The coalition, made up of MoveOn.org, Americans United for Change,...

North Korea's nuclear testing is already setting off a barrage of speculation about whether we might go to war with that country. Iran's nuclear ambitions are also cited as a reason to consider war (although oddly enough, not India's, Pakistan's, or Israel's nuclear weapons).

Is war a promising way...

At a town hall meeting in Rio Rancho, New Mexico, this week, President Barack Obama was asked why he has taken single-payer health care off the table.

It's a great question.

Not only have the...

What would Barack Obama's mother be thinking this Mothers Day if she had lived to see her son in the White House? My colleague, Fran Korten, knew Ann Soetoro when both lived in Indonesia:

Would Barack Obama's mother be amazed that her son is president of the United States? I...

There is lots to be said about what President Obama has accomplished during his first 100 days in office. I'll leave that important task to others.

Here, I want to talk about our performance.

When he was elected, some believed Barack Obama's rise to the presidency was akin to the...

President Obama's stance at the Summit of the Americas signals that we may, finally, be stepping into a new era in our relationship with our neighbors.

Dear President Obama,

I'm getting a sinking feeling. Watching your appointees' latest bank bailout makes me wonder if all your administration's good work on health care, education, and jobs will be swept away by the extraordinary giveaway of trillions in taxpayer money to a group of powerful Wall Street operatives,...

This week marks the sixth anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq, an event some have called the greatest strategic disaster in U.S. history. I won't repeat here the tragic statistics of American lives lost and damaged, Iraqi death tolls, and the stories of the millions of displaced...

Van Jones, founder and head of Green for All and a YES! magazine contributing editor, is joining the Obama administration as a special advisor on green jobs.

At YES!, we were a bit startled when the rumors started to fly about this appointment. We had just gone...

Thank you.

That's what I want to say to everyone out in the snow doing civil disobedience today.
Thanks to Wendell Berry and Bill McKibben for their call to action:

"There are moments in a nation's--and a planet's--history when it may be necessary for...

The Obama administration is considering a major reduction in nuclear weapons to as little as 1,000 warheads each for Russia and the U.S., according to a recent article in The Times of London. Surprisingly, this story has received almost no attention in the U.S. media, although it...

I'll admit it. Part of me wishes I was in Washington, DC, watching our new president take his oath of office, going to an inaugural ball, celebrating with millions of others. Probably crying again, as I did on election night.

Instead, here's what I'm doing to celebrate.

This morning, I...

We're entering a new year at a time unlike any other in recent memory. Here are 10 reasons I'm filled with hope as I look ahead at 2009 -- and three reasons I'm terrified.

1. Young people are stepping up. They know that they formed the backbone of...