Independent authors cover the political spectrum and perspectives. Authors share their opinion on a wide range of topics on local, state, and national issues. Articles in this category express the opinions of our contributors, not IVN as a whole.
Opinion
For the last several years, I’ve been spending time in rural Wisconsin in a small farmhouse set on 130 heavily-wooded acres on County Road T, Polk County. This is the northwestern Wisconsin of hardscrabble dairy farming, bitter winters and luminous springs. I’ve come here because my companion — a
Opinion
At least 26 million voters in the United States were denied the freedom to vote in the 2016 presidential primary elections. A large portion of these voters were independents. I am assuming that a similar problem occurred in the 2018 mid-term elections. It is time to create a new primary
Opinion
On Page D1, April 14, in the Portland Press Herald, the headline on Jim Fossel’s column states: “Simplification of tax code would achieve bipartisan goals.” The other, on Brian Klaas’ commentary, reads: “Can America survive scandal overload?” First, may We the People have a tax code that meets America’
Opinion
They say it’s impossible to predict the future, but we all know that history has a way of repeating itself, and the pre-determined outcome of the 2020 race for the Democratic Party’s Presidential nomination is crystal clear to anyone who wants to be honest with themselves. ALSO READ:
Opinion
On Monday, five live CNN presidential town halls aired back-to-back. Dozens and dozens of ideas. Oh, and the imperative of who can WIN. Chris Cuomo jumped on that in the very first hour with Senator Amy Klobuchar. Someone mentions Trump. Cuomo's suave transition: “Well, that’s a good
Opinion
SAN DIEGO, CALIF. - The DNC and RNC have evolved into fundraising organizations. Their elected officials no longer offer cogent solutions to our nation’s challenges. They simply try to fan the flames of hyper-partisan positions and extract money as they go; a practice that is particularly in evidence during
Opinion
Seven score and sixteen years ago, President Abraham Lincoln delivered one of the most memorable speeches in all of human history in his Gettysburg Address, though he wrongly presumed the world would not “long remember what we say here.” His triumph was to clarify just what was at stake in
Opinion
With politics in a permanent state of chaos, we might have to look outside the political sphere to be grounded politically. At least I do. Sports is a good place to turn -- real sports, not the blood sport of partisanship and governance. Like a lot of people, I spent
Opinion
At Splinter News David Boddiger writes: "Howard Schultz finally has his big campaign rallying cry." He's referring to a chant raised by a few loud attendees at the Unrig Summit in Nashville, Tennessee, Sunday when the Starbucks Founder and CEO took the stage to address election
Opinion
I’ve got some good news and some bad news. And once we put it all together, it’ll be news you can use — an easy way to join the Second American Revolution, now in progress. First, the bad news: You are being violated by your own government. Hustled and
Opinion
Let’s just call everything outside major urban centers, the rural vote. Betrayed by politicians of every political party, left out of every agriculture-related policy decision in every government agency, on the short end of every economic development strategy at all levels of government, the rural vote is changing. Still
Opinion
Since the New Year, I have been reading a steady diet of memoirs. The genre has captivated me since working with my 93-year-old father to finish his memoir, Hilltop Echoes, about growing up on a farm in rural Massachusetts. His book explores family secrets, the joys of a secret trout