Venezuelan statue of Simon Bolivar.

Happy New Year from Your Favorite Cassandra

To many of you, this will all sound like a paranoid fever dream. I get it. You grew up on the same “School House Rock” version of America that I did. Your history classes painted this Land of the Free in the best possible light, excusing centuries of atrocities with an optimistic, “Well, we wouldn’t do Manifest Destiny the same way today!”

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NSA-headquarters, Fort Meade, Maryland

You’re Probably on the List

Are you against masked thugs disappearing people who might be undocumented immigrants (with more and more U.S. citizens being swept up in ICE terror campaigns), traumatizing children, and pepper-spraying members of Congress who merely ask a question? Whoops! You’re an entity that goes on the list.

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Bird's eye view of the interior of a classic noir detectives office

The Case Files of Billy Brogan

A few things were definitely wrong with the morning already. First, the blinds on the east-facing windows of my flat were all the way up. I never leave them up. Way, way too bright this time of day. Second, the Village People song, “Macho Man,” was blaring from the speakers with a volume that seemed to increase a few decibels every 60 seconds or so.

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A delicate pen and ink drawing with watercolor accents depicting a small group of ethnically diverse blue-collar workers seated at tables in a cafeteria. The workers, including nurses, waitresses, housekeepers, factory workers, construction workers, cooks, and retail sales clerks, are seen in their work attire, casually interacting with each other during a break.

Wage Law Fails Over Half-Million Workers

While the newly enacted wage transparency legislation in Massachusetts aims to promote fairness, it falls short for the majority of blue-collar workers employed by small businesses. Many of these workers, particularly women and people of color, remain outside the reach of these protections, leaving wage disparities largely unaddressed.

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