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Tidbits-Oct. 22: Reader Comments: Susan Collins – No Friend of Injured Workers; Israel Has Destroyed Gaza, Now Southern Lebanon; New Meaning for Chainsaw Massacre; Trump Has Made Socialism Mainstream; Trump’s DEI; Jack Metzgar, Labor Educator – R.I.P.

https://portside.org/2026-10-22/tidbits-oct-22-reader-comments-susan-collins-no-friend-injured-workers-israel-has
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Re: Susan Collins’s Record: Making Injured Workers’ Lives Harder
 

How voters in Maine could even consider Collins is beyond anything logical.

Richard Elrick
Posted on Portside's Facebook page




 

Weaponization  --  Cartoon by Garth German

 

 


Garth German
October 12, 2026
Garthtoons
 




 

Re: Israel Has Demolished Majority of Villages in Southern Lebanon—Mostly After the Ceasefire
 

Will the world continue to excuse Israel's agenda of expansion and its IDF war crimes? Can only might combine with willpower for justice to transpire? If so, don't count on the once-likeliest liberator of the oppressed; their own insane racist leader sides with all other dictators and personally hopes to develop as much land as Israel can level.

Any nation currently accused of war crimes should be suspended from the UN, which today includes Russia and the US. Sadly, the UN was never structured to have teeth. Of member nations still possessing both a conscience and military strength, they cannot seem to pool sufficient willpower to change rules of engagement.

It appears that, as with the US, the clear-thinking people of Israel must prevail to elect a humane government while they still have a quasi-democracy. Change must come from within in a world where, according to Tyranny Tracker, 76% of nations are under authoritarian rule. The US is cited as a flawed democracy, fast slipping into kleptocracy. Its less-informed public is only waking up to strategized mismanagement because their wallets are lighter, but even FOX news consumers are no longer entirely oblivious to Trump's corruption and social injustice now adversely affecting their communities. Hopefully, Democrats will succeed and create better international policy than in previous administrations, but it remains to be seen if the US will stop funding the IDF.

Israel has been accepting bombs and money from a nation known to be investing billions in concentration camps. You'd think that would stir some memories there. A genocide in Gaza, and now spreading to Lebanon. The hypocrisy should beg the question: if the holocaust created a generation of such callous leaders as Netanyahu and Katz, how will sanctioned slaughter and destruction shape the minds of victims and parent-less children? Israel perpetuates the barbaric cycle that spawns resentment. How soon they forget!

Natalia Kuzmyn
Vancouver Island




 

American Chainsaw Massacre  --  Cartoon by Jack Ohman

 

 


Jack Ohman
October 20, 2026
Jack Ohman’s You Betcha!
 




 

Re: How To Fund a Fairer Economy—and Reduce Inequality
 

The movement to tax the rich is merely an attempt to force the capitalists to pay more for their right to prey on workers, consumers and small businesses. It does nothing to prevent such predation and exploitation. It is an obscene bargain.

We must permanently end the predation.

Furthermore, since we have a currency-issuing government federal taxes play no role in funding government operations. It is actually Congressional POLICY rather than a shortage of funds that is responsible for our not having universal childcare, M4A and the rest. Congressional VOTES to fund social programs is what it will take, not more tax revenue.

Max Mastellone
Posted on Portside's Facebook page




 

Re: Trump Is Begging To Be Impeached
 

The centrist Democrats' folly is that the more transgressive Trump is, the stronger they get. Talk about "After Hitler, us."

Ethan Young




 

Sucker Prez  --  Cartoon by Steve Sack

 

 


Steve Sack
October 20, 2026
The Art of Sack
 




 

Re: We Are on a Path to a Global Intifada Against Empire
 

A global Intifada is an unattractive uninspiring prospect for most sane people.

John Woodford

     =====

'It is the empires that invade; everyone else must resist them.'
Does that mean Russia is...

Ethan Young
Posted on Portside's Facebook page
 




 

Let He Who Is Without Murder Cast the First Livestream  --  Cartoon and Commentary by Ted Rall

 

Eager to add to his administration’s reputation as bloodthirsty even by American standards, Donald Trump initially signed off on the livestreaming of the execution by firing squad of Major Nidal Hasan, the Fort Hood shooter. Hasan killed 13 people—a tiny fraction of those killed by each American president.

Ted Rall
October 19, 2026
Ted Rall
 




 

Re: This Week in People's History, October 21–27, 2026 - It Can't Happen Here
 

In 1968, as students were revolting at Columbia and in France, I proposed making an opera of IT CAN'T HAPPEN HERE, but received written notice that the rights were not available.

I then turned to Marc Blitzstein's THE CRADLE WILL ROCK, staged scenes from it on the Cambridge Common Oct. 15, 1969, and a full production, in my adaptation and re-orchestration for small combo, at Harvard's Loeb Experimental Theater in November of that year.

That would lead to further productions of works by Blitzstein, Bernstein and Brecht, at Harvard, Yale, Indiana, Cornell - and later The White Barn Theatre and Lehman College, of the Blitzstein-Lehrman SACCO AND VANZETTI, which is now looking for a venue for 2027, to commemorate the centennial of their unjust executions.

Leonard J. Lehrman 
https://www.leonardjlehrman.com




 

Socialism
 

Historically, socialist thought, organization and action was inevitable. The development of civilization from tribalism to feudalism to autocracy to capitalist democracy is evidence that change is at the heart of social organization. Despite the pain and defeats that comes with such change, socialism is on the worldwide horizon.

Why? Because it makes sense. History has shown that the power of monarchs, capitalists and autocrats is eventually no match for the power of the people to better their lives.

The breakup of the Soviet Union was hailed by the capitalist world as proof that socialist-communist ideology itself is a failure. Not so. That breakup was a defeat of the defensive authoritarianism in the USSR. Mikhail Gorbachev sought to bring about the democratic changes necessary for a productive and lasting union. The rigid authoritarians of the Communist leadership defeated him in his quest.

But today there are three countries led by Communist Parties: China, Cuba and North Korea. Accusations that they are anti-democratic are rampant. There may be truth in that, but it’s also true that medical and educational benefits are far greater in those countries than in capitalist countries. With whatever imperfections in their governance, the stage is set for greater democratic advances demanded by their people.


Seymour Joseph




 

Trump's DEI  --  Cartoon and Commentary by Nick Anderson

 

 


 

For years, Donald Trump has waged a holy war against Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, insisting that DEI promotes unqualified people at the expense of merit. And yet, his administration has embraced its own version of DEI with religious fervor: Demagogues, Enablers and Incompetents. Forget qualifications, experience or even a passing familiarity with the job description. In Trump’s White House, the only credential that really matters is the ability to flatter the boss while maintaining a straight face.

D is for Demagogues, exemplified by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, whose approach to military leadership increasingly resembles a casting call for Gladiator. His proposal to livestream a firing-squad execution suggests that what America’s armed forces really need isn’t better equipment, stronger alliances or more effective leadership, but a production crew and a good camera angle. Who needs military strategy when you can bring back medieval entertainment with high-speed internet?

E is for Enablers, a category that encompasses practically the entire Cabinet. These are the dedicated (to Trump) public servants whose primary responsibility is to nod approvingly while Trump explains that tariffs are paid by foreign countries, Vladimir Putin is a wonderful negotiating partner, and every economic disaster is somehow Joe Biden’s fault. Cabinet meetings have become competitive groveling tournaments, with officials taking turns praising Trump’s wisdom, courage, brilliance and possibly his golf swing. In the old days, presidents surrounded themselves with advisers willing to speak truth to power. Trump has streamlined the process by eliminating the truth part of the equation.

And finally, I is for Incompetents, a category illustrated by the spectacularly brief career of White House press secretary Katie Zacharia. Her first press briefing lasted just 14 minutes, during which she took questions from only three friendly outlets. Questions about her legal credentials soon followed, and five days after taking the job, she was out, managing to make Anthony Scaramucci’s infamous tenure look like a lifetime appointment. It’s quite an accomplishment to become the shortest-serving White House press secretary in modern history when your competition includes people who worked for Donald Trump. Associated Press

The administration’s hiring philosophy has produced some remarkable results. Hegseth’s execution livestream proposal was so extreme that even Trump canceled it, and then only after objections from Republicans and others. Meanwhile, the White House continues its search for a press secretary who can survive an entire workweek. Perhaps the next candidate should be required to demonstrate the ability to answer four consecutive questions without getting fired.

Trump promised to replace DEI with merit-based hiring. Instead, he’s created a system in which loyalty is the ultimate qualification, flattery is a professional skill, and independent judgment is a career-ending liability. Demagogues, Enablers and Incompetents. It’s DEI, MAGA-style—where the only diversity that matters is finding three different ways to say, “Yes, Mr. President.”

Nick Anderson
October 20, 2026
Pen Strokes
 




 

New Studies on the Left is a socialist journal uniting theory and practice
 


New Studies on the Left is a new socialist journal uniting theory and practice. While we focus mainly on the U.S. left, we cover issues in all countries. We are now in our fourth edition, published twice yearly so far, but our aim is to be quarterly. Editors (still in formation): Erica Carter, Carl Davidson, Bill Fletcher, Jr., Jerry Harris, Jay Jurie, Paul Krehbiel, Ellen Schwartz, Harry Targ, Janet Tucker, Meta Van Sickle, Steve Willett. Layout and Design: Carl Davidson and Lucy Clarke. Our roots are in the now-discontinued CCDS publication, 'Dialogue and Initiative', 2012-2922, but we also pay tribute to the 1960s 'Studies of the Left' edited by James Weinstein. We hope to continue in his spirit and practice.


New Studies on the Left October 2026
 


 

$14.95 per issue. Go here to purchase a copy. For discounted bulk orders, contact carld717@gmail.com

 

October 2026 Table of Contents:




 

Jack Metzgar, Labor Educator and Historian, Dies  --  Funeral - October 30 - Forest Park, Illinois


 

Jack Metzgar, an influential labor educator and working-class historian, died with his family at his home in Oak Park, Illinois, on October 15, 2026. The cause was congestive heart failure; he was 82.


A wake will be held for Jack Metzgar:

Date:   Friday, October 30, 2026

Time: 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm

Place: Zimmerman-Harnett Funeral Home

7319 Madison Street

Forest Park, IL 60130

A dinner to follow immediately afterwards at:

Jimmy’s Place

7411 Madison Street

Forest Park, IL 60130

 


Besides teaching General Studies and Labor Education at Roosevelt University in Chicago, Metzgar co-founded the Midwest Center for Labor Research (now Manufacturing Renaissance) and long edited its nationally renowned labor education journal, Labor Research Review. Starting in 1982, the Review chronicled the fightback struggles of “Steeltowns” and other hard-hit factory communities, when the terms “Rustbelt” and “deindustrialization” were coined, well before NAFTA. Often featuring articles by labor dissidents, it profiled path-breaking labor organizing strategies that would later become accepted as best union practices. 

He led Roosevelt’s Labor Leadership Program (for rising union leaders) until the University abandoned it in 1992; Metzgar ensured it landed safely at DePaul University. After retiring from full-time teaching, Metzgar continued to teach adult education classes part-time at Roosevelt’s extension campus. 

Dr. Metzgar’s writings and classes focused on working-class sensibilities and values — on belonging rather than achieving. He co-founded and served as a past president of the International Working Class Studies Association. He also co-founded the Chicago Center for Working-Class Studies, a network of professors and nonprofits dedicated to “making class visible” in American studies. 

He explored the tensions between working- and professional-class cultures in his 2021 book Bridging the Divide: Working-Class Culture in a Middle-Class Society (Cornell U. Press). His articles appeared in New Labor Forum, Dissent, Working USA, The Nation, and In These Times. 

“Jack was such a gifted editor, helping labor activists best express themselves,” said Greg LeRoy, a Labor Research Review colleague. “He was so good at teasing out what people meant and showing them how to say things convincingly.” 

“Jack was a serious scholar with a great sense of humor,” said John Russo, a visiting scholar at Georgetown University. “He was central in building Working-Class Studies as an academic field. More importantly, he was one of my best friends and colleague for over 40 years. This one hurts.”

“Jack was one of my closest friends on the faulty of Roosevelt University,” said Sam Rosenberg, Professor Emeritus of Economics. “He was strongly committed to educating the adult learner, both in labor studies and general studies.  We spent many hours reading and commenting on each other’s writings as well as talking about the day’s events.  He made me a better writer.  Jack, you left us too soon.”

John Newton Metzgar was born on October 30, 1943, in Johnstown, Pennsylvania into a family of Steelworkers. His father worked as a molder at U.S. Steel’s Johnstown Works, where he was also a United Steelworkers griever, or front-line union contract enforcer. His mother was a foreign language teacher in the Johnstown school district. He would later memorialize a formative time of his life there in Striking Steel; Solidarity Remembered (Temple U. Press, 2000), his book about the 1959 steel strike and the pivotal role it played in his family’s economic security. It won the Sidney Hillman Foundation Award for best labor book of 2001.

He earned a B.A. at the New School for Social Research in New York City in 1968 and a Ph.D. in philosophy from Northwestern University in Chicago in 1975. Before college, he worked as a reporter for the Johnstown Tribune-Democrat. During his academic career, he also held visiting positions at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst and the AFL-CIO George Meany Center in Silver Spring, Maryland. 

Metzgar is survived by his high school sweetheart and wife of 62 years, Judith Ann “Judie” (Blair) Metzgar, their son Judd Gwynn Metzgar and daughter-in-law Gina (Tortorich) Metzgar of Chicago, and grandsons Max (Michaela Schlegel) Metzgar and Logan Metzgar of Columbus, Ohio.

The transformative power of belonging to a union was a deep personal value for Jack Metzgar. He recounted, In Striking Steel: Solidarity Remembered, how his father, Johnny Metzgar, secured life-altering benefits:

From the time my father joined the union in 1936 until the 1959 strike, the average real wage of steelworkers increased 110 percent, through ten sets of negotiations and five strikes from 1946 to 1956. The steel companies fought every advance the union sought—and did so in a highly public way.

…The 1959 strike established paid pensions and health insurance for steelworkers, while earlier and later strikes won paid vacations, paid holidays, shift differentials, and supplemental unemployment benefits... None of these benefits—not a single one—was offered voluntarily by management. They were won through the threat or reality of production-halting strikes

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to the Working-Class Studies Association, which supports scholarship, teaching, art, and activism related to working-class life and cultures. Donate at: https://workingclassassn.org/  




 

Democratize the Economy with Bhaskar Sunkara and Isabella Weber - Brooklyn, NY - November 16  (Jacobin)
 

 


635 Sackett Street
Brooklyn, NY 11217-3116

Monday, November 16  --  7:00 PM

 

Jacobin hosts a discussion on how to build a truly democratic economy with Bhaskar Sunkara and Isabella Weber.

What would an economy look like if it truly served working people? Jacobin hosts an essential discussion exploring how to build democratic power in our workplaces, redistribute wealth, secure a livable future, and construct an economic system that works for everyone.

Jacobin founding editor Bhaskar Sunkara and coauthor of The Blueprint: How Socialism Can Work in the Real World will be in conversation with economist Isabella Weber, author of Anti-Fascist Economics: In Defense of Affordability, Dignity, and Democracy.

Together they will outline what a truly democratic economy might look like, considering the relationship between planning and markets in a socialized economy, how we might shift decision-making power from elites back into the hands of working people, how economics can be used to confront corporate power, and why affordability is a foundation of democracy that we must fight for to halt the appeal of the Right across the globe.

Please RSVP today to secure your spot. 

 

Source URL: https://portside.org/2026-10-22/tidbits-oct-22-reader-comments-susan-collins-no-friend-injured-workers-israel-has