Progressive Populist and Jewish Currents great cures for mainstream media blues, and now they carry OpEdge

You may notice a few new links on the OpEdge home page this week: They link to the websites of two well-respected national publications, The Progressive Populist and Jewish Currents. Progressive Populist has started running all the OpEdge blog posts at its website, while Jewish Currents is running the occasional post its editor thinks is of particular interest to his readers.  I can hardly express how pleased I am to be associated with these publications, both of which are leading the progressive charge in the news media.

Progressive Populist is a biweekly that tends to reprint news reports, opinion columns, blog posts and political cartoons by progressives and liberals that appear first in other venues.  It carries regular columns by such left-wing stalwarts as Jim Hightower, Amy Goodman, Jesse Jackson, Alexander Cockburn and Ariana Huffington, among others. 

The November 1 issue of Progressive Populist exemplifies how the publication can serve as a great cure for the mainstream media blues.  It has 9 stories about Occupy Wall Street, all sympathetic to the protesters.  Other articles in this issue analyze water policies, the proposed gas pipeline from Canada to Texas, campaign finance, the presidential race, farm policy and GE ending its pension plan for employees, all written from the liberal or progressive perspective.

Another antidote to the mainstream news media is Jewish Currents, a progressive Jewish bimonthly magazine that carries on the insurgent tradition of the Jewish left through independent journalism, political commentary and a “countercultural” approach to Jewish arts and literature. Jewish Currents stands out among Jewish publications in its commitment to diversity and democracy in Jewish life and the independence of its political voice.  While we see many Jewish publications veering rightward, Jewish Currents continues to be an outspoken progressive and secular voice in the Jewish community.

Its 16-page arts section, “JCultcha & Funny Pages” is also very cool.  JCultcha showcases contemporary well-known and underground Jewish artists and poets — including my poetry. Subscribers also receive a daily dose of Jewish history with the publication’s “JewDayo” email posts.

I urge all OpEdge readers to subscribe to or contribute to Progressive Populist, and all with an interest in Jewish matters to subscribe or contribute to Jewish Currents.  (And while they don’t carry OpEdge, I can’t forget to recommend Nation and The New York Review of Books as well). Take a break from the free market propaganda and trivialization of issues found in the mainstream news media!