Independent since 2002 Issue No. 1102 Week of November 7, 2026 Get the free email dispatch →

Category: Guest Commentary

Guest Commentary

Fighting the Military-Industrial-Congressional Complex (MICC)

By WJ Astore, Bracing Views Guest Commentator

It’s not just about greed and authority, it’s about full-spectrum dominance of all aspects of American life and society.

The military-industrial-congressional complex (MICC) has a huge advantage over its critics. Its proponents are united by greed and power. They know exactly what they want. Like…

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Guest Commentary

The Move Toward a Four-Day Workweek Obscures Low Pay

By Sonali Kolhatkar, Independent Media Institute Guest Commentator

Of course Americans deserve to work fewer hours. But unless the move to a four-day workweek is accompanied by a massive pay raise, it merely frees up time to work more.

Dolly Parton’s signature song “9 to 5,” and the 1980s sitcom of the same name reflect a quintessentially American hustle culture of working 40 hours a…

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Guest Commentary

Marjorie Taylor Greene: Offensive to Any Reasonable Person

By Dr. Elwood Watson, PhD Guest Commentator

It is an incident that vehemently personifies how some white people can - and often - manipulate and exploit their social stations in life in an effort to put people of color “in their place,” so to speak.

The Jezebel of the republican party was at it again. Truth be told, when is she not! Just when you thought that she could not get…

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Guest Commentary

High Time To Get Tough With John Roberts

By Bill Blum Guest Commentator

Far from being a potential savior of the court, Roberts is at the center of its many burgeoning problems.

Facing a mountain of ethics concerns, the Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court has rebuffed Senate investigators, again. Counting on John Roberts to fix what’s…

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Guest Commentary

You Can Make a Lot of Money Off Sick People

By WJ Astore, Bracing Views Guest Commentator

If you’re an American and 100% pleased with your medical care, you are a rare bird indeed.

When I was teaching college in Pennsylvania, I had a colleague whose car sported a telling bumper sticker: “Our national health care plan: Don’t get sick.”…

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Guest Commentary

Republicans Want To Defund Our Libraries

By Sonali Kolhatkar, Independent Media Institute Guest Commentator

Claiming to protect children, Republicans are going after libraries and librarians instead of the police, gun manufacturers, and actual child sexual abusers.

Missouri Republicans in early April voted to cut all public funding for libraries as part of their state budget proposal. Leading the move was Cody Smith,…

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Guest Commentary

Retire This Dehumanizing Language About Immigrants

By Daniella Prieshoff Guest Commentator

Human beings fleeing persecution are not a “flood” or “surge.” And it’s not “illegal” when they cross the border to seek asylum.

Last year, my client Susan called me to discuss her immigration case. During our conversation she referenced the news that immigrants were being bused from the…

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Guest Commentary

Malcolm’s Contribution to Black Voting Rights

By Ryan Paul Haygood, JD Guest Commentator

He did not live to see the many fruits of his tireless labor, including the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, perhaps the greatest piece of civil rights legislation in history.

When he took his place behind the podium at Brown Chapel AME Church and began his address to young civil rights activists in Selma, Alabama, Malcolm…

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Guest Commentary

Are the Best Years of My Country Behind Me?

By WJ Astore, Bracing Views Guest Commentator

there are all too many signs of America’s decline, ranging from mass shootings to mass incarceration to mass hysteria about voter fraud and “stolen” elections to massive Pentagon and police budgets.

I turn 60 this year. My health is generally good, though I have aches and pains from a form of arthritis. I’m not optimistic enough to…

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Guest Commentary

A New Republican Assault on Children: Overturning Labor Laws

By Sonali Kolhatkar, Independent Media Institute Guest Commentator

It seems unimaginable that we are backsliding into the era of exploiting child labor. But that’s precisely what the GOP appears to be doing.

Two recent exposés about child labor in the United States highlight how prevalent the once-outlawed practice has become. In February, the New York Times published an…

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