Guest Columns

The Inequality of Equal Pay

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By David Underhill – “Equal pay! Equal pay!” the crowd chanted at the rally for the women’s soccer team after the ticker tape World Cup victory parade in New York. They were loud and insistent — and they didn’t mean it. Team captain Megan Rapinoe confirmed this in her speech during the rally. She didn’t…

IMPERIAL JOE: Biden Trades Bread and Circuses for War

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By David Underhill – Bread and circuses pacified the Roman masses while the emperors with their legions patrolled far borders to pacify barbarians who resisted joining the empire. Joe Biden updated this governing method at his presidential campaign launch rally in Philadelphia. He offered a buffet of appetizing items to improve America’s education, infrastructure, health…

Oh, Alabama: Testing the Courts on Abortion Again

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Guest Column – By Deanna Kell – In case you’ve been living in a news bubble and didn’t hear about it already, Alabama Governor Kay Ivey signed into law the most restrictive abortion bill in the country on Wednesday, a near-total ban on all abortions, after the so-called the State of the Human Life Protection…

The Rising Tide of the Populist Right

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The Threat of Political Climate Change – Countering the Bannon Archipelago – By John Feffer – In the Americas, the Trump tsunami has swept across both continents and the “pink tide” of progressivism has all but disappeared from the southern half of the hemisphere. In Europe, with the recent exception of Spain, the left has…

Socialism for the Rich, Capitalism for the Rest

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By Robert Reich – “We renew our resolve that America will never be a socialist country,” Donald Trump said recently. Someone should alert him that America is now a hotbed of socialism. But it’s socialism for the rich. Everyone else is treated to harsh capitalism. In the conservative mind, socialism means getting something for doing…

Robert Reich: The Myth of Meritocracy

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By Robert Reich – Most Americans still cling to the meritocratic notion that people are rewarded according to their efforts and abilities. But meritocracy is becoming a cruel joke. The Justice Department recently announced indictments of dozens of wealthy parents for using bribery and fraud to get their children into prestigious colleges. But the real…

Trump Feels Cornered, Yet He Still Refuses to Condemn Hate and Violence

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By Robert Reich – What does a megalomaniacal president of the United States do when he’s cornered? We’ll soon find out. House Democrats are beginning a series of investigations and hearings into Donald Trump. Senate Republicans have begun to desert him: Twelve defected on the wall; seven refused to back Saudi Arabia’s war in Yemen.…

Ending the Military Widows Tax is the Right Thing to Do

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Guest Column – By Senator Doug Jones – As Americans, we all appreciate and support our troops and their families. Right? Of course we do. We fly the flag, hold parades in their honor, and praise these brave Americans – and their spouses and children – for their sacrifices on our behalf. We commit to…

When Will America Fire Trump?

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America Has Already Fired Trump – By Robert Reich – Special counsel Robert Mueller’s soon-to-be-delivered report will trigger months of congressional investigations, subpoenas, court challenges, partisan slugfests, media revelations and more desperate conspiracy claims by Donald Trump, all against the backdrop of the burning questions: Will he be impeached by the House? Will he be…

Robert Reich: America Is Sliding Toward Dictatorship

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By Robert Reich – The only redeeming aspect to Trump’s presidency is he brings us back to basics. And what could be more basic than the difference between democracy and dictatorship? Democracy is about means, not ends. If we all agreed on the ends (such as whether to build a wall along the Mexican border)…

A Complete Psychological Analysis of Trump’s Popular Support

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Science can help us make sense of the president’s seeming political invincibility – Mind In The Machine – Bobby Azarian Ph.D. – Whether we want to or not, we must try to understand the Donald Trump phenomenon, as it has completely swept the nation and also fiercely divided it. What is most baffling about it…

Waxing Poetic on the Great Barrier Reef Prophecy

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By David Underhill — MOBILE, Ala. — Unlike the thousands who marched in San Francisco’s Rise for Climate, Jobs & Justice last Saturday, it was a minor triumph for Mobile to have a rally at all in a downtown square. Ten feet above ground blue ribbons circled pillars of the bandstand where speakers stood. I…

John McCain’s Farewell Letter to America

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Following the Vietnam war hero and Senator John McCain’s death, Rick Davis, Senator McCain’s former presidential campaign manager and a family spokesman, read the following farewell statement at a news conference at the Arizona State Capitol in Phoenix on Monday. “My fellow Americans, whom I have gratefully served for sixty years, and especially my fellow…

Senator Doug Jones: Tariffs Threaten Alabama Jobs

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Guest Column – By Doug Jones – WASHINGTON, D.C. — From Florence to Dothan, Mobile to Huntsville, and every stop in between, Alabama is a proud producer and exporter of goods to countries around the world. In fact, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, more than 567,000 Alabama jobs are supported by global trade.…

We Are Facing a Constitutional Crisis Now

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By Robert Reich – I keep hearing that if Trump fires Mueller we’ll face a constitutional crisis. Or if Mueller subpoenas Trump to testify and Trump defies the subpoena, it’s a constitutional crisis. Or if Mueller comes up with substantial evidence that Trump is guilty of colluding with Russia or of obstructing justice but the…

Are We Headed for Another Civil War?

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By Robert Reich – Imagine that an impeachment resolution against Trump passes the House. Trump claims it’s the work of the “deep state.” Fox News’s Sean Hannity demands every honest patriot take to the streets. Rightwing social media call for war. As insurrection spreads, Trump commands the armed forces to side with the “patriots.” Or…

Trump-Kim Summit in Jeopardy Without Total Nuclear Disarmament

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By David Underhill – In an inscrutable Oriental blink the mirage of Korean peace begins to fade. North Korea’s “Little Rocket Man”, whose grim regime was a target for fire and fury like the world has never seen, according to last year’s Trumpet blasts, yielded to the Bigger Man with the Bigger Nuclear Button. The…

What Democrats Need to Do to Combat Trump: Face the Economic Problems of the Middle Class

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By Robert Reich – Why did working class voters choose a selfish, thin-skinned, petulant, lying, narcissistic, boastful, megalomaniac for president? With the 2018 midterms around the corner, and prospective Democratic candidates already eyeing the 2020 race, the answer is important because it will influence how Democrats campaign. One explanation focuses on economic hardship. The working…