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Common Dreams

News & Views | 5/13/20

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by Jake Johnson, staff writer
"Trump is intent on installing his partisan lackeys in control of the Postal Service while congressional Republicans try to force it into insolvency so they can privatize it."

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by Julia Conley, staff writer
Sen. Ron Wyden was joined by privacy advocates Wednesday in forcefully condemning a new proposed amendment to the PATRIOT Act put forward by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, which would greatly expand the U.S. Attorney General's surveillance powers under FISA.



by Jake Johnson, staff writer
"These Fed facilities are not supposed to direct aid specifically to certain companies or industries—particularly not ones that were in dire financial shape even before the coronavirus crisis began."



by Jake Johnson, staff writer
"We're facing the biggest economic crisis since the Great Depression—subsidizing the insurers is not going to cut it."


coronavirus

by Andrea Germanos, staff writer
Assuring all Americans have access to a vaccine is both "the moral thing to do" and "good public health policy," said the Vermont senator.



by Jake Johnson, staff writer
"The steps that our international coalition of lawmakers is proposing are not radical," said Sanders. "It is the very least that these financial institutions should do to prevent an unimaginable increase in poverty, hunger, and disease."


Facebook feed

by Andrea Germanos, staff writer
"No surprise—it's fighting back as lawmakers conduct an antitrust probe and are realizing what happens when we leave tech monopolies unchecked."


A woman named Mary at the Mangaten IDP Camp in South Sudan holds up her hands, which bear the message, "Peace will give us our home back."

by Jessica Corbett, staff writer
Despite efforts from diplomats and world leaders—including United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres—the international community has failed to establish a global ceasefire during the coronavirus pandemic, which advocates argue is essential to help protect two billion people from Covid-19, according to Oxfam International.



by Julia Conley, staff writer
Following her call for former Vice President Joe Biden to reach out to progressives in order to win the 2020 general election against President Donald Trump, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez accepted an invitation to co-chair the Biden campaign's "unity task force" on the climate.



by Jake Johnson, staff writer
"The historic crisis Americans are facing will not end on its own. To end it, these three things—getting people paychecks, ensuring access to healthcare, supporting businesses and their workers—are critical. But this legislation does not yet address them at the scale necessary."


Former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort (R) arrives at the Albert V. Bryan U.S. Courthouse for an arraignment hearing as a protester holds up a sign March 8, 2018 in Alexandria, Virginia. (Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images)

by Jon Queally, staff writer
"I'm not upset Paul Manafort was released," said one criminal justice reform advocate. "As always, I'm upset that people who aren't rich, white, & connected (nearly everyone of the millions currently caged) aren't treated with the same care, consideration, or humanity."

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As other countries have shown with far more grace, the alternative isn’t shutting down forever — it’s investing in testing and social safety nets. (Photo: Shutterstock)

by Negin Owliaei
The wealthy may be fine with sacrificing the vulnerable, but workers are fighting for the sanctity of human life.


Any rush to reopen without adequate testing and tracing—a massive increase from what we’re doing now—will cause even more deaths and a longer economic crisis. (Photo: Screenshot)

by Robert Reich
He’s trying to force the economy to reopen to boost his electoral chances, and he’s selling out Americans’ health to seal the deal. No matter the cost, Donald Trump’s chief concern is and will always be himself.


The future is up for grabs. Let’s not let the kingpins be the only ones reaching for it. (Photo: Screenshot)

by Laura Flanders
History is made, not decreed, which is why on May 11th, activists from dozens of different countries launched Progressive International, a global initiative with a mission to unite, organize and mobilize progressive forces.


There has been the conversion of the commons into part of the structure of rent-seeking, and the US-designed intellectual property rights regime has come to dominate global capitalism. (Photo: Oli Scarff/Getty Images)

by Guy Standing
The themes the Left should be coalescing around are dismantling rentier capitalism, offering a new income distribution system in which basic income divorced from the performance of labor is the anchor, and reviving all forms of commons and commoning.


As members of the nonprofit Young Elected Officials Network, which is predominantly made up of people of color, we take the fight against racism to heart. (Photo: Shutterstock)

by Janice Li, Svante Myrick
Against harassment and bigotry, Asian-American officials are finding ways to care for their communities through this crisis.


People stand six feet apart before participating in a 2.23 mile walk for Ahmaud Arbery on May 8. Arbery was shot and killed while running in Brunswick, Georgia on Feb. 23. (Photo: Nicole Hester/Mlive.com)

by Jesse Jackson
His slaying has become a global embarrassment for whites. But when the camera turns away, the savage injustice that embarrasses us becomes simply business as usual.

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