It's worth remembering these days -- as President Obama declares that air power will be the primary and perhaps only U.S. effort against ISIS in Iraq and Syria -- that the impressive Pentagon videos of missile warheads exploding in the crosshairs obscure the difficulty that air power has in achieving positive, lasting effects on the ground. And that the effects of air campaigns diminish over time -- as the Germans discovered when their intense bombing of London in 1940 failed to break Britain's will. Shock and awe are short-lived.

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In seven weeks, voters across the country will have a chance to accelerate the unprecedented momentum to legalize marijuana and end the wider drug war. In fact, there are more drug policy reform questions on the ballot this November than ever in American history.

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A minimum wage increase will positively affect a sizable portion of the population, will have a moderate stimulative effect on the economy, and will be easily affordable. And by indexing it to inflation as the Harkin-Miller bill suggests, it would ensure that low income American workers would not risk seeing their wages eroded during the next recession.

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So today, as we wrestle with how to understand the ISIS gang -- who sanctimoniously cite a religious basis for their barbaric acts -- it is worth remembering the lunatic claims of religious legitimacy made by America's own home-grown terror network.

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What is the first rule of "Fight Club"? The first rule of Fight Club is: "Don't talk about 'Fight Club.'" The first rule of documentaries is: Don't make a documentary -- make a MOVIE. Stop making documentaries. Start making movies.

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"WE ARE THE 99%" became the rallying cry of a generation. The simplicity and inclusivity was said to be worthy of Madison Avenue. At once the conversation had shifted, and in that discourse, a word started coming up that used to seem unspeakable: class.

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If you were reasonable, and the infraction was not reckless or dangerous to others, you'd usually get a break from me. Once. I had a long memory.

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Institutionalized racism is so deeply embedded in the fabric of our everyday lives that it can rear its ugly head anywhere from an Economist book review that whitesplains slavery to the front offices of the Atlanta Hawks.

They say a picture's worth a thousand words. If that's true, the following 10 images could provide the lyrics for a thousand blues songs. The graphs are taken from series of recent reports which, when considered together, create a paint-by-numbers picture of the lifelong losing game faced by working Americans.

I invite you to join the crowds in New York or in your city at the historic People's Climate March this Sunday -- or else try any number of these five ways to join the march in spirit, and speak out beyond this weekend to save our planet.

Clif Dickens

It's that time of year once again, when women become obsessed with pumpkin spice lattes and men start downing amber ales in front of a campfire. Fall is fast approaching, and what better time than now to share a few more Honest Slogans?

James Forten's vision -- and the many courageous stories of others along the Delaware -- remind us that freedoms are hard won by those willing to sacrifice to make the world a better place.

Peru, the world will be watching you, you have in your hands the opportunity to propel action that will have an impact in the lives of millions of women around the world.

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Ask anyone where Constitution Gardens is, and they're as likely to say it's in Philadelphia as in Washington, D.C.

Courtesy of the AFLCIO

We are so excited to be back in our nation's capital and continuing in our fight to stand up for working families across the country. Our pocketbooks may not be stuffed with billions of dollars, but we're determined to make our voices heard.

We, as humans, have a deep, biophilic connection to the oceanscape, which makes up 70 percent of the face of the Earth and contains 97 percent of its water. That connection is essential to building a more "complementary, mutually sustainable relationship between city and ocean."

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As we witness the drug and criminal justice policies of the "greatest democracy in the world" lag behind those of an ever expanding list of other countries around the world, more and more are coming down on the right side of history.

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We live in a contradictory world. Dispiriting events coincide with progress for human dignity. Bombs fall on children. The gay rights movement makes unimaginable gains. But when change occurs, it's because people find ways to act even in demoralizing times or when all the doors seem closed, and open up new possibilities by doing so.