Author: Common Dreams

“This all-out assault on basic safeguards will send our country back to the days when corporate polluters could dump whatever sludge or slime they wished into the streams and wetlands that often connect to the water we drink.” – Janette Brimmer The Trump administration is set to continue its corporate-friendly assault on U.S. environmental regulations by finalizing a rule that will allow companies, landowners, and property developers—including golf course owners like the president—to dump pesticides and other pollutants directly into many of the nation’s streams and wetlands, potentially threatening the drinking water of millions of Americans. “This will be...

The impeachment trial was never going to produce a conviction, of course, but it could have at least served to shore up even a few of the nominal pillars of democracy yet intact. Decades of erosion by chief executives, packed courts, congressional (in)action, and general malfeasance have weakened protective mechanisms in areas from voting and campaign finance to government transparency and individual rights. Now, with the short-circuited process and inevitable outcome of the impeachment hearing, there is another nail in the coffin of a fractured system that still sits on an idealized pedestal. American exceptionalism, when it’s considered at...

We live in a time of change, when people are questioning old assumptions and seeking new directions. In the ongoing debate over health care, social justice, and border security, there is, however, one overlooked issue that should be at the top of everyone’s agenda, from Democratic Socialists to libertarian Republicans: America’s longest war. No, not the one in Afghanistan. I mean the drug war. For more than a century, the U.S. has worked through the U.N., and its predecessor the League of Nations, to build a harsh global drug prohibition regime – grounded in draconian laws, enforced by pervasive...

We rely on our media to gather and report facts on the challenges and opportunities facing our country and communities so we can make informed decisions and participate in our society. Even in the internet era, broadcast radio reaches almost 90 percent of Americans per week, and broadcast television remains the most popular source for local news and information. Countless journalists are reporting news and information in an environment that is increasingly hostile to them. Meanwhile, the internet is rife with disinformation, fraud and orchestrated chaos. If we are going to foster journalism that actually meets community needs, we...

Ten years ago, in January 2010, the Supreme Court released its disastrous Citizens United decision. The court, either through remarkable naivety or sheer malevolence, essentially married the terrible idea that “money is speech” to the terrible idea that “corporations are people.” The ruling put a for sale sign on our democracy, opening up a flood of corporate, special interest, and even foreign money into our politics. Through Citizens United and related decisions, the Court made a bad situation worse. We saw the proliferation of super PACs, which can accept and spend unlimited amounts of money to influence elections, and...

The ACLU was among the critics denouncing the National Archive on January 18 after it was reported the U.S. government agency admitted it had doctored photos of Women’s March demonstrations that took place the day after President Donald Trump’s inauguration in 2017. Displayed for an exhibit celebrating the hundredth anniversary of the women’s suffrage movement, the Washington Post reported Friday night that the Archives “acknowledged in a statement this week that it made multiple alterations to the photo of the 2017 Women’s March showcased at the museum, blurring signs held by marchers that were critical of Trump.” Referencing the...