From the Left

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Politics

The Shame of TD Bank's Jolly Bankers

From the Left / Jim Hightower /

Woody Guthrie satirized Depression-era bankers who routinely gouged farmers and poor people. "I'm a jolly banker, jolly banker am I," Woody sang about the joyful lenders who profiteered on people's misery.

Woody's song could be sung today by Bharat Masrani, CEO of the TD Bank empire. Investigative digger Judd Legum reports that Masrani has ...Read more

Lilly Ledbetter Fought the Bastards -- And Won for All of Us

From the Left / Jim Hightower /

Forget the cartoonish "Great Man" version of American history. Nearly all social progress in our country has been spurred by unheralded "nobodies" who felt a sting of injustice and resolved to right the wrong.

Lilly Ledbetter, who recently died at 86, was one such trailblazing rebel. It's worth remembering her gutsy stand for "paycheck ...Read more

Sordid Story: Corporate Executives Get Self-Gratification From M&As

From the Left / Jim Hightower /

Sadism and masochism (abbreviated as S&M) are generally frowned on in polite society as perverse acts of sexual gratification. But what should we make of M&As?

This is Wall Street's abbreviation of mergers and acquisitions, which are acts of self-gratification practiced by top corporate executives. Such financial couplings can also be judged ...Read more

To Fight Right-Wing Book Bans, Read Banned Books!

From the Left / Jim Hightower /

In high school, my friend Charlie and I once poked into an abandoned Victorian house in our hometown. Up in the attic, we found a secret door to a space containing several boxes of books.

One held 50 copies of "The Age of Reason," Thomas Paine's treatise ridiculing the myths of Christian theology and the Bible. Hot, forbidden stuff! In Paine'...Read more

To Get Good Local News, Try Do-It-Yourself Journalism

From the Left / Jim Hightower /

Perhaps you've noticed from the shrinkage (or total elimination) of your local newspaper that this source of hometown journalism has become monopolized, nationalized and trivialized by conglomerate owners.

How uplifting, then, to see a national consortium of saviors rallying to reestablish a "thriving news media" for our democracy. How? Well,...Read more

School Lunch, Christian Nationalism and Jesus

From the Left / Jim Hightower /

An iconic Texas band, the Austin Lounge Lizards, has a song that nails the absurd self-righteousness of Christian supremacists: "Jesus Loves Me (But He Can't Stand You)."

I think of this refrain when I behold today's right-wing proselytizers wailing that the blessed rich should not be taxed to assure that everyone has the most basic human ...Read more

The Battle of Baraboo -- Privatizer Greed v. Seniors' Health Care

From the Left / Jim Hightower /

Baraboo, Wisconsin, is known as the former home of the Ringling Bros. Circus' headquarters. But even that extravaganza of acrobats and clowns could not surpass the dazzling tent show playing out in Baraboo this month, starring the Sauk County Board of Supervisors. Only ... you couldn't have seen it, because the tent was zipped tight to keep ...Read more

Why Are We Letting Corporate Profiteers Write America's Farm and Food Policy?

From the Left / Jim Hightower /

A farmer was asked what he'd do if he won a million-dollar lottery. "Well," he said, "I guess I'd just keep farming 'til the money runs out."

Trying to make a living as a farmer is not for the fainthearted. You have to take out high-interest loans from cold-eyed bankers to put in a crop and buy supplies. Then you're also at the mercy of ...Read more

Can Mass Media Promote Democracy Instead of Divisiveness? Here's a Guy Who Did

From the Left / Jim Hightower /

Every once in a great while, a major media celebrity comes along who puts his or her talent and -- well, celebrity -- to work for the common good.

Many generous artistic souls support good causes -- and bless them for that! But there are a few who put the public interest at the center of their professional calling, and it's been my joy to ...Read more

Establishment Economists Attack Kamala Harris -- For Being Right

From the Left / Jim Hightower /

"I've got those

Payday-Friday

Grocery store blues."

That working-class lament is from an old bluegrass song, but millions of working stiffs are singing it today. While many workers have finally seen an uptick in their paychecks, they've been dismayed to see the increase quickly gobbled up by jacked-up grocery prices. What the hell?...Read more

The Changing Meaning of 'Work' -- And the Idea of 'Boss Man'

From the Left / Jim Hightower /

"Big Boss Man," an old song by blues legend Jimmy Reed, still packs a potent political punch for today's working class:

You got me workin', boss man, working 'round the clock

I wanna little drink of water, but you won't let Jimmy stop

Big boss man, can't you hear me when I call?

But then, Reed urges workers to see how small the ...Read more

A Flock of Rich Plutocratic Democrats Want Lina Khan's Head. Why?

From the Left / Jim Hightower /

We've recently learned about Project 2025, the GOP's scheme to let corporate agents take over our government. But what about the less visible effort to make Democrats install corporate-subservient officials who'll expand their monopoly power?

High-finance finaglers of Wall Street and Silicon Valley are quietly demanding that Kamala Harris ...Read more

'Laffin' Kamala' vs. 'Grumpin' Trump'

From the Left / Jim Hightower /

You know that American politics is turning into a sad joke when a supposedly serious presidential campaign tries to demonize laughter.

Yet, bizarrely, Donald Trump's humorless gaggle of strategists decided that their first point of attack on Kamala Harris would be: her laugh. No, seriously! Donald himself launched the offensive -- "I call her...Read more

 

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