Category: Analysis
How the Pro-Choice Movement Lost the Battle
“This Was Not a Surprise” by Alexandra Zayas ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom. As all eyes were on the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday after a leaked draft majority opinion indicated it is planning…
Supreme Court set to strike down Roe v. Wade?
A leaked draft opinion from Justice Alito shows conservative Justices ready to move. “While abortion is still legal, tonight’s report makes clear that our deepest fears are coming true. We have reached a crisis moment for…
November 2022: The Anti-Democracy Coalition
If such lethargy prevails this time, the outcome of a few key contests for secretary of state in November 2022 could lead to tragic consequences for American democracy in 2024 and beyond. by Steven Harper Sunday,…
The Invisible Hand of Steve Twist
How an Arizona man who’s never held elected office has shaped one of America’s most punitive criminal justice systems. by Nicole Santa Cruz April 5,2022 ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom. Co-published with The Arizona…
Sinema enabling new AZ GOP voter purge law?
“The GOP continues to suppress voting rights across the country,” said one advocacy group. “Do you see what’s happening in your state, Senator Sinema?” by Jake Johnson, Common Dreams Thursday, March 31, 2022 Democratic Sen. Kyrsten…
Maps show – and hide – key information about Ukraine war
“Mapmaking is a political and cultural effort that creates compelling and useful stories – even if not necessarily unvarnished truth. A critical eye and a sense of context can go a long way toward keeping the…
Texas’ Governor brags about his border initiative. The data doesn’t back him up.
by Lomi Kriel and Perla Trevizo, ProPublica and The Texas Tribune, and Andrew Rodriguez Calderón and Keri Blakinger, The Marshall Project March 21, 2022 ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom. Thomas King-Randall had been waiting…
Senate GOP Agenda Would Hike Taxes on Poorest 40% by Average of $1,000
By contrast, the plan unveiled by Republican Sen. Rick Scott would not increase taxes on the top 1% by a single penny. by Jake Johnson, Common Dreams Monday, March 7, 2022 The policy agenda that Republican…
Nuclear disaster in Ukraine could make swaths of Europe ‘uninhabitable for decades’
Russia’s assault on Ukraine risks nuclear devastation “far worse even than the Fukushima Daiichi catastrophe of 2011,” Greenpeace warns. by Jake Johnson, Common Dreams March 2, 2022 The international environmental group Greenpeace warned Wednesday that Russia’s…
Like the truck-machines in ‘Mad Max,’ the ‘freedom convoy’ relies on access to fuel
Truckers and supporters gather in Delta, B.C. on Jan. 23 before departing on a cross-country convoy that arrived in Ottawa five days later. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck by Krista Collier-Jarvis, Dalhousie University February 12, 2022 The…
Ukraine conflict brings cybersecurity risks to US homes, businesses
by Richard Forno, University of Maryland, Baltimore County February 24, 2022 All cybersecurity is local, regardless of the world situation. That means it’s personal, too – in Americans’ homes, computers and online accounts. As violence spreads…
What is the ‘social cost of carbon’?
2 energy experts explain after court ruling blocks Biden’s changes by Jim Krane, Jones Graduate School of Business at Rice University and Mark Finley, Rice University When an electric company runs a coal- or natural gas-fired power…
Tlaib, Jones bill could cut US child poverty 2/3
“With the Senate failing to extend the CTC, we must do more to protect our young people,” said Rep. Mondaire Jones. “By creating a universal, monthly child allowance, the End Child Poverty Act will do exactly…
5-Minute video summarizes Joe Manchin’s obstruction
The West Virginia Democrat “repeatedly timed his key attacks on Biden’s agenda to occur at events with his largest corporate donors,” according to the video. by Kenny Stancil, Common Dreams February 4, 2022 Although Sen. Joe…
Restaurant owners got 30 times more federal Covid aid than workers
“If the subminimum wage for tipped workers persists, the restaurant industry is unlikely to recover from its growing labor crisis, regardless of how much money the federal government hands out to business owners.” by Kenny Stancil,…
Now every day in Arizona Is January 6
Arizona’s latest voter restriction law will remove an estimated 100,000 eligible voters from its early voting mailing list. by Steven Harper February 1, 2022 Former President Donald J. Trump and his Republican allies are using three…
‘Can’t afford’ Build Back Better? US billionaires saw $1 trillion wealth boom in 2021 alone
A new analysis shows that Sen. Ron Wyden’s proposed tax on billionaires “would be more than enough to cover the expansion of the child tax credit in the Build Back Better Act.” by Jake Johnson, Common…
Increase in child poverty feared as tax credit expires amid Omicron wave
“The pandemic isn’t over—the relief to withstand it shouldn’t stop,” said Rep. Pramila Jayapal. by Jake Johnson, Common Dreams January 4, 2022 The lapse of Democrats’ expanded child tax credit program at the end of last…
UMW coal miners’ union rebukes Manchin for effort to kill Build Back Better
“Manchin has lost the coal miners with this latest betrayal,” said one labor reporter. by Julia Conley, Common Dreams Tuesday, December 21, 2021 The push for passage of the Build Back Better Act got a…
Why the second-driest state rejects water conservation
Utah has some of the highest per-capita water use and is the fastest-growing state. Yet a powerful group that steers Utah’s water policy keeps pushing for costly infrastructure over meaningful conservation efforts. by Thursday, December 16,…
2021 Arctic Report Card reveals a (human) story of cascading disruptions, extreme events and global connections
The report describes, rapid and pronounced human-caused warming continues to drive most of the changes, and ultimately is paving the way for disruptions that affect ecosystems and communities far and wide. Community members from Utqiagvik, Alaska,…
Why we urgently need media outlets for the common good
These are dangerous times, and news organizations putting profits over democracy is a sure path to America ending up like Hungary with a corrupt, strongman “conservative” running the country. by Thom Hartmann December 9, 2021 Donald…
As executives hike prices, US corporations rake in biggest profits since 1950
“Prices are high,” said Sen. Sherrod Brown, “because corporations are raising them—so they can keep paying themselves with ever-larger executive bonuses and stock buybacks.” by Jake Johnson, Common Dreams November 30, 2021 New data released by…
‘Saddening, infuriating, and unsurprising’: Rittenhouse acquitted
The verdict, said the Huber family, sends the “unacceptable message” that armed vigilantes can “use the danger they have created to justify shooting people in the street.” by Brett Wilkins Friday, November 19, 2021 Racial justice…