By Max Richter | – ( Commondreams.org ) – You may wonder why former President Harry Truman is sitting close by while President Lyndon B. Johnson signs Medicare and Medicaid into law in the iconic 1965 photograph. Or why Harry Truman received the first-ever Medicare card. The reason is that Truman first proposed a Medicare-like […]
‘Huge Climate Victory’ as Judge Blocks Biden’s Oil Lease Sale in Gulf of Mexico
By Jake Johnson | – A federal judge late Thursday blocked the Biden administration’s massive oil and gas lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico, a significant win for environmentalists as they work to prevent the Interior Department from handing public lands and waters over to the fossil fuel industry. In his 68-page decision (pdf), […]
Eye of Fire as Ocean burns in Gulf of Mexico foretells Earth Future if we Keep Burning Fossil Fuels
By Julia Conley, staff writer | – ( Commondreams.org) – A fire that raged for hours in the Gulf of Mexico Friday offered the latest illustration of the climate emergency and the urgent need to end fossil fuel extraction and invest instead in burgeoning renewable energy industries. An underwater gas pipeline controlled by Mexico’s state-owned […]
Sounds Like Fascism: Florida’s DeSantis to Collect Political Views of Professors to defund “Hotbeds of stale Ideology”
By Julia Conley, staff writer | – ( Commondreams.org) – Democratic lawmakers and educators nationwide are expressing alarm over legislation signed this week by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis which is ostensibly aimed at ensuring college students and educators in the state feel permitted to express a variety of political views—and which critics say could end […]
A Complete Waste of Money’: Fossil Fuel Industry Takes At Least $50 Million in Covid Aid Despite Financial Struggles Long Before Outbreak
By Julia Conley, staff writer | – (Commondreams.org) – “We need to be getting checks directly to workers, including in the fossil fuel industry—not hoping money ‘trickles down’ through corrupt companies that consistently prioritize their CEOs.” “The idea that oil workers are getting a paycheck is great,” 350.org co-founder Jamie Henn said. “The worry is […]
When you Work for Corporations you Don’t Care about People: How Wisconsin GOP Forced in-person Voting in the Midst of a Pandemic to Suppress Urban Dem Vote
By Jessica Corbett, staff writer | – (Commondreams.org) – As footage of Wisconsin’s crowded polling stations flooded the internet Tuesday, public health officials and civil rights advocates condemned the state’s Supreme Court and Republican legislative leaders for allowing in-person voting during the coronavirus pandemic and thwarting Democratic Gov. Tony Evers’ last-minute efforts to address voter […]
Jared Kushner, With No Government Background, Scolds States for Requesting Supplies From National Equipment Stockpile
By Julia Conley, staff writer | – (Commondreams.org) – Progressives expressed shock at the Trump administration’s latest indication that it intends to provide little assistance to states where thousands of people have contracted the coronavirus, after Jared Kushner, senior advisor and son-in-law to President Donald Trump, made his first appearance as a key member of […]
Accusing US of “Medical Terrorism,” Iran Demands Trump Lift Economic Blockade amid Coronavirus
By Jake Johnson, staff writer | – (Commondreams.org) – Facing a humanitarian crisis with at least 9,000 coronavirus cases nationwide and a death toll of more than 350 people, Iranian officials on Wednesday demanded that the U.S. lift crippling … sanctions that Tehran says have hindered the government’s ability to respond effectively to the outbreak. […]
UN Condemns ‘Shocking’ and ‘Terrible’ US-Backed Saudi Coalition Bombing That Killed 31 Yemeni Civilians
By Jake Johnson, staff writer | – (Commondreams.org) – “Those who continue to sell arms to the warring parties must realize that by supplying weapons for this war, they contribute to making atrocities like today’s all too common.” The United Nations and humanitarian aid groups condemned the U.S.-backed Saudi-led coalition for carrying out airstrikes Saturday […]