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

Guest Commentator

Sonali Kolhatkar, Independent Media Institute

BlackCommentator.com Guest Commentator, Sonali Kolhatkar is the host and producer of Uprising, a popular, daily, drive-time program on KPFK, Pacifica Radio in Los Angeles and co- director of the Afghan Women's Mission, a US-based non-profit organization that works with the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA).

100 pieces

Guest Commentary

Democrats Didn’t Win—They Simply Held the Line

By Sonali Kolhatkar, Independent Media Institute Guest Commentator

Democrats made greater gains than expected, winning races in both the Senate and the House that they didn’t expect.

Yes, it was a relief that increasingly fascist Republicans didn’t sweep the midterms. But our democratic standards cannot fall so low as to accept a split…

Continue reading 7 min

Guest Commentary

Elon Musk Plans to Profit From Twitter, Not Create a Town Square for Global Democracy

By Sonali Kolhatkar, Independent Media Institute Guest Commentator

If Twitter is capable of influencing public opinion in order to help elect anti-tax politicians, why wouldn’t Musk pursue such a strategy?

The world’s richest man has bought one of the world’s most popular social media platforms. Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, is currently worth about $210 billion,…

Continue reading 6 min

Guest Commentary

What Social Security Should Really Be Paying To Survive in This Economy

By Sonali Kolhatkar, Independent Media Institute Guest Commentator

If conservatives are complaining that an 8.7 percent bump is not enough to counter inflation, one might expect them to demand an even greater increase to Social Security benefits. But, as is often the case with conservative economic logic, hypocrisy abounds.

Inflation continues to rise in the United States. Although gas prices have recently fallen since their record high over the summer, the cost of groceries rose…

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Guest Commentary

Brazil’s Lula Remerges—In a Very Different Political World

By Sonali Kolhatkar, Independent Media Institute Guest Commentator

A Reuters poll found that Lula now enjoys 51 percent support to Bolsonaro’s 43 percent ahead of the October 30 runoff race.

If Lula wins reelection, he must not only rebuild the social investments that Bolsonaro destroyed, but also restore trust in a nation damaged by fascism’s sophisticated…

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Guest Commentary

Tech Billionaires Are Actually Dumber Than You Think

By Sonali Kolhatkar, Independent Media Institute Guest Commentator

ranking multibillionaires is a meaningless exercise that obscures the absurdity of their wealth.

In mid-September, for just a few days, Indian industrialist Gautam Adani entered the ranks of the top three richest people on earth as per Bloomberg’s Billionaires…

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Guest Commentary

Connecting the Dots Between Climate Devastation and Fossil Fuel Profits

By Sonali Kolhatkar, Independent Media Institute Guest Commentator

Climate change plus government inaction on mitigation and resilience equals deadly consequences for the poor.

As Pakistan drowns, as Puerto Rico is cast into darkness, and as Jacksonians remain thirsty, it’s past time for a climate tax on fossil fuel companies.…

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Guest Commentary

Evil Empire: Let the Monarchy Die Along With Elizabeth

By Sonali Kolhatkar, Independent Media Institute Guest Commentator

those who are descended from the subjects of British imperialist conquest, the queen, her ancestors, and her descendants represent the ultimate evil empire.

The British royal family papers over the pillage it continues to benefit from. The death of Queen Elizabeth II, the longest-serving monarch of British royalty, has…

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Guest Commentary

How Barbara Ehrenreich Exposed the ‘Positive Thinking’ Industry

By Sonali Kolhatkar, Independent Media Institute Guest Commentator

Where did the cult of positive thinking originate? “American corporate culture is saturated with this positive thinking ideology,” especially in the 1990s and 2000s,

We can thank the late economic justice warrior for her groundbreaking contribution in showing that “positive thinking” is part of a whitewashing of economic inequality. Although…

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Guest Commentary

Joe Biden Could Have Gone a Lot Further on Student Loans

By Sonali Kolhatkar, Independent Media Institute Guest Commentator

Given that the average student debt is nearly $30,000, this certainly does not erase the burden that millions of Americans carry with them—some doing so for life, from graduation to past retirement.

President Joe Biden has just launched a plan to forgive a portion of federal college loan debt for millions of Americans. In a speech from the…

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