How our blog got its name
Sidney Hillman was a powerful national figure during the Great Depression, a key supporter of the New Deal, and a close ally of President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
When the rumor spread that President Roosevelt ordered his party leaders to “clear it with Sidney” before announcing Harry S. Truman as his 1944 running mate, conservative critics turned on the phrase, trumpeting it as proof that the president was under the thumb of “Big Labor.”
Over the years, the phrase lost its sting and became a testament to Hillman's influence.
It's hard to imagine a labor leader wielding that kind clout today, but we like the idea—and we hope Sidney would give thumbs up to our blog.
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#Sidney's Picks: SuperMax; Secularism; Seafood and Slavery
- How SuperMax prisons drive inmates insane, by Andrew Cohen in the Atlantic.
- "Who's afraid of secular government," Sarah Posner asks in The Nation.
- A gripping true crime story about a 23-year-old cold case by Mark Bowden in Vanity Fair.
- Modern-day slavery in the Thai fishing industry: How one man was held captive for three years, the first of a two-part report on NPR.
[Photo credit: Wander Mule, Creative Commons.]
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