Table of Contents
Introduction 1
The Obama Legacy
A Note on Method and Ideology 8
Chapter 1 The Forever War 11
1.1 The War for the Greater Middle East Begins
1.2 Global War on Terror 18
1.3 War on Terror: Interminable 33
1.3.1 Guantanamo and Torture
1.3.2 Afghanistan 36
1.3.3 Drone Warfare in AfPak and Beyond 40
1.3.4 The Islamic State 46
1.3.5 AFRICOM 53
1.3.6 The War at Home 61
1.3.7 What is Stability? 68
Chapter 2 Economy in Crisis 75
2.1 Intro to American Economics
2.1.1 Three Economic Theories
2.1.2 Prior Crises in the American Economy 81
2.2 The Crisis of 2007 96
2.3 Response and Recession 103
2.3.1 Restoring Confidence
2.3.2 Stimulating the Economy 108
2.4 Reforming the System 111
2.5 Economic Recovery 118
2.6 Popular Reaction and Resistance 123
2.6.1 On the Left: Occupy Wall Street
2.6.2 On the Right: the Tea Party 124
Chapter 3 Healthcare Reform 127
3.1 A Brief History of Healthcare in the United States
3.2 Health and Reform in the Obama Years 136
3.2.1 Is US Healthcare Broken?
3.2.2 The Affordable Care Act 146
3.2.3 The Politics and Consequences of Reform 157
3.2.4 Beyond Profit 165
Chapter 4 On the Margins 171
4.1 African Americans
4.1.1 Our Profitable Institution 172
4.1.2 Emancipation 175
4.1.3 The Great Migration 183
4.1.4 Civil Rights vs. Law and Order 186
4.1.5 The Obama Presidency 195
4.1.5.1 Black Americans and the Great Recession 196
4.1.5.2 Black Americans and the Affordable Care Act 199
4.1.5.3 Increasingly Visible Police Violence 205
4.1.5.4 Race and Obama's Opponents 217
4.2 Gay Rights 225
4.2.1 The Twentieth Century
4.2.2 The Obama Years 234
4.3 Transpeople and Their Emergence into the Mainstream 244
4.3.1 Preliminary Considerations
4.3.2 A Brief Survey of Trans American History 249
4.3.3 Transpeople in the Obama Years 259
4.4 The Limits of Political Reform 263
Chapter 5 The Anthropocene Age 267
5.1 Brief History of a Theory
5.1.1 First Steps
5.1.2 Debate and Consensus 269
5.1.3 The Scientific Consensus 275
5.1.4 How Is Humanity Responsible? 282
5.2 The Politics of Climate Change 285
5.2.1 Initial Political Responses
5.2.2 The Obama Administration and Climate Change 291
Chapter 6 Indigenous Resistance and the Intersectionality of American History 303
6.1 A Violent Development
6.1.1 Capitalism and Empire
6.1.2 Extractivism 305
6.2 Indigenous Reaction and Resistance to Empire 307
6.2.1 Indigenous Resistance in American History
6.2.2 Blockadia 319
6.2.2.1 The Keystone XL Pipeline 322
6.2.2.2 The Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) 323
Conclusion 330
Endnotes 336
Bibliography of Major Works 376
