New Ads Target GOP Lawmakers Ready to Shut Down Government to Fund Billionaire Tax Handouts

A screenshot of the Unrig Our Economy ad

A new ad campaign by Unrig Our Economy calls out congressional Republicans for threatening to raise healthcare and other costs and shut down the government. 

(Photo: Unrig Our Economy/Youtube/screen grab)

“Republicans in Congress are once again putting wealthy donors and billionaires ahead of hardworking families.”

BRETT WILKINS

Sep 29, 2025 (CommonDreams.org)

A progressive economic advocacy group on Monday launched a scathing ad campaign calling out congressional Republicans “for raising Americans’ healthcare costs and threatening a government shutdown” so that they can give tax breaks to the superrich.

The Unrig Our Economy ads target 14 GOP lawmakers who the group says “repeatedly put the wants of billionaires over the needs of working families by cutting Medicaid, backing cost-raising tariffs, and giving massive tax breaks to the ultrawealthy.”

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The ad’s narrator says: “Republicans in Congress are threatening to shut down our government unless they get what they want—ending tax credits for healthcare and raising your insurance premiums. Now they’re willing to shut down the government for even higher costs for us, our neighbors, and our entire community.”

Unrig Our Economy campaign director Leor Tal said in a statement introducing the new ads that “Republicans in Congress are once again putting wealthy donors and billionaires ahead of hardworking families.”

“By threatening to shut down the government unless they can allow healthcare tax credits to expire, they are putting millions of Americans at risk of paying even higher costs or losing healthcare entirely,” Tal added. “These ads urge Republicans in Congress to reverse course to actually protect Americans’ healthcare and avoid a government shutdown.”

As Wednesday’s midnight deadline to avert a shutdown fast approaches, healthcare and consumer advocates are warning that millions of Americans would either lose insurance coverage or see their premiums spike. Some critics say that’s exactly what GOP lawmakers want.

Last week, the White House Office of Management and Budget also directed federal agencies to prepare to fire large numbers of employees if the government shuts down, a move critics claim OMB Director Russell Vought is using as leverage against Senate Democrats who blocked advancement of a short-term spending measure passed in the House.

Democrats, meanwhile, are attempting to negotiate a bipartisan bill containing an extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies, which are set to expire at the end of the year. The expiration is expected to raise healthcare premiums by an average of 75% for millions of Americans.

US President Donald Trump is set to meet Monday afternoon with the four top congressional leaders at the White House to discuss the looming shutdown.

Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.

BRETT WILKINS

Brett Wilkins is a staff writer for Common Dreams.

Full Bio >

Trump Threatens to Cut All Federal Funds to NYC If Mamdani Is Elected

Democratic New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani

Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic nominee for New York City mayor, participates in an endorsement event with Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-NY) in Manhattan, New York, United States, on July 10, 2025. 

(Photo by Kyle Mazza/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Trump falsely labeled Mamdani a “communist” and said his ideology “has failed, always, for thousands of years.”

BRAD REED

Sep 29, 2025 (CommonDreams.org)

US President Donald Trump on Monday doubled down on his threat to cut off federal funding from New York City if its voters elect Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani as mayor.

In a post on his Truth Social page, Trump falsely labeled Mamdani a “communist” and predicted that “he is going to have problems with Washington like no Mayor in the history of our once great City.”

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Trump then elaborated on the “problems” Mamdani would face.

“Remember, he needs the money from me, as President, in order to fulfill all of his FAKE Communist promises,” Trump wrote. “He won’t be getting any of it, so what’s the point of voting for him? This ideology has failed, always, for thousands of years. It will fail again, and that’s guaranteed!”

Trump has not made a formal endorsement in the New York City mayoral election, although various reports have suggested he and his allies have been working behind the scenes to boost former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, whom polls show is in second place behind Mamdani.

Cuomo’s campaign got a potential boost this weekend when incumbent New York Mayor Eric Adams dropped out of the race, although Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa remains in the race.

Mamdani on Sunday put out a video in which he linked Cuomo to Trump, who is deeply unpopular in the city.

“Andrew Cuomo, you got your wish,” he said. “You wanted Trump and your billionaire friends to help you clear the field. But don’t forget: You wanted me as your opponent in the primary too. And we beat you by 13 points. Looking forward to doing it again.”

The mayoral election is set to take place on November 4.

The city’s budget for the 2025 fiscal year included nearly $10 billion in federal funds, with the New York City Department of Education receiving more federal funding than any other agency. Significant federal dollars also go to the city’s housing and social services agencies and its Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program.

Last week, the U.S. Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights notified New York City schools that it would strip them of $15 billion in funding allocated last year to create six magnet high schools unless it committed to ending transgender protections.

Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.

BRAD REED

Brad Reed is a staff writer for Common Dreams.

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Today’s calls to action

  • Click here to Stop Trump from Deploying Troops in U.S. Cities
  • Click here to End Trump Witch Hunt Against James Comey
  • Tell Congress: Reject any funding bill that fails to protect our health and hold Trump accountable. Your voice can stop backroom deals and protect millions from losing care. ➡️ Send Your Letter »

America Has No Kings—And We’re Rising to Prove It

Join the Movement for NO KINGS. Saturday October 18, 2025

Progressive Town Hall: Sunday September 28, 2025 with guest Nina Turner

Progressive Democrats of America Sep 30, 2025 PDA Weekly Town Halls Nina is the featured guest on this Sunday’s PDA Town Hall at 4pm E/1pm PT. Tell all your friends, family members, co-workers – and everyone you know – that they’ll want to be present for this Town Hall. Why? Because we know the American people do not want to live in an authoritarian state; yet, we seemingly are on an inexorable march to exactly to that terrible end. The “establishment” political opposition is unable to inspire the population – in fact, the dire state of that establishment opposition remains the strongest weapon in the hands of Trump and his MAGA base. Simply put, we need a political opposition that can inspire people. No one knows how to do that better than Nina Turner, just as no one knows the failings of the “establishment Democrats” better than her. All of which is not to speak ill of establishment Democrats – indeed, we’ll need them as allies – but the reality is that they have failed and are failing to protect us from fascism. We need a new, revitalized opposition – and building that opposition will be the focus of this Town Hall with the great Nina Turner.

AI: BOUQUETS OF FLOWERS FOR ICE IN PORTLAND

  • Google AI Overview

Peaceful protesters, including religious groups, brought flowers to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Portland, Oregon, on September 27, 2025

. The event occurred before a larger protest and followed an announcement by former President Donald Trump that he would send federal troops to Portland. 

Event details

  • When: The peaceful demonstration with flowers took place during the daytime on Saturday, September 27, 2025.
  • Who: Approximately 100 peaceful protesters, including families and members of various religious congregations, participated in the event.
  • Where: The demonstration was held outside the ICE facility located at 4310 S Macadam Ave in southwest Portland.
  • Why: The protest was a response to escalating tensions after Trump announced his intention to send federal troops to Portland.
  • How: The group marched in a circle in front of the building, distributing flowers as a gesture of peace and defiance. 

Context of the protest

The peaceful protest with flowers was followed by a larger and more contentious protest later that evening. Tensions remained high throughout the day, with drones reportedly operated by authorities flying overhead and a helicopter circling the area for several hours. 

Flowers as a symbolic gesture

The use of flowers during the protest is not an isolated event. A separate project, “Flowers on the Inside,” also uses flowers symbolically by sending postcards with art from undocumented immigrants to migrants in detention. 

Local ICE facility information

  • Address: 4310 S Macadam Ave, Portland, OR 97239.
  • Hours: Open Monday to Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m..
  • Phone: (503) 326-4165. 

AI responses may include mistakes. Learn more

Germany  prepares to treat ‘1,000 injured soldiers a day’ in war with Russia

Sunday, September 28th, 2025

Author:     Gergana Krasteva
Source:     Metro
Publication Date:     September 22, 2025 | (schwartzreport.net)
Link: Germany  prepares to treat ‘1,000 injured soldiers a day’ in war with Russia

Stephan:  

The Russians are doing something quite ominous in Europe, and because of the dismantling of American democracy, it is getting very little attention in the U.S.. Countries across the EU are having drones enter their airspace, and as this article describes, the Europeans are taking it quite seriously. Aspiring dictator Trump and his incompetent Secretary of State Marco Rubio clearly don’t get it. Trump is trying to sound a little tougher against Putin, but I think it is all show. As I have said before, I think the Russians have some kind of humiliating video of Trump, probably dating back to 1987, that he is scared they will release. So he always bends the knee to Putin.

German soldiers take part in the Lithuanian-German division-level international military exercise ‘Grand Quadriga 2024’ at a training range in Pabrade, north of the capital Vilnius Credit: AP

As many as 1,000 German soldiers are set to be wounded every day if Vladimir Putin launches a war on Nato, Germany has warned.

The Kremlin has rejected any suggestions it might be preparing for a war with the Western military alliance.

But the latest incursions of Russian fighter jets and drones into PolandRomania and Estonia have suggested otherwise – and raised fears of any escalation.

Germany‘s surgeon general Ralf Hoffmann said that the number of injured troops in a potential conflict would depend on the intensity of a battle and which military units were involved.

He explained, “Realistically, we are talking about a figure of around 1,000 wounded troops per day.”

Learning from lessons on the frontline in Ukraine, Europe is stepping up preparations for potential conflict with Russia.

In addition to increasing its military spend and considering reintroduction of conscription, these also involve medical services.

Citing a shift from gunshot injuries to blast wounds and […]

Read the Full Article

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Underreported Memo Is ‘Declaration of War’ Against Trump Opponents

A Trump balloon floats above signs at a protest.

Protesters hold signs and flags and a large balloon with an image of US President Donald Trump during the nationwide “Hands Off!” protest against Trump and his adviser, Tesla CEO Elon Musk, in downtown Los Angeles on April 5, 2025.

 (Photo by Etienne Laurent/AFP via Getty Images)

“By targeting beliefs and protest activity, the directive positions dissent itself as a potential crime,” one news organization said.

OLIVIA ROSANE

Sep 28, 2025 (CommonDreams.org)

In between his highly publicized designation of Antifa as a domestic terror organization and his indictment of former FBI Director James Comey, US President Donald Trump signed a little-reported national security memorandum that gives law enforcement new tools to target his critics.

Trump signed National Security Presidential Memorandum 7 (NSPM-7) on Thursday. The directive, titled “Countering Domestic Terrorism and Organized Political Violence,” focuses exclusively on “anti-fascist” or left-wing activities, and mandates a “national strategy to investigate and disrupt networks, entities, and organizations that foment political violence so that law enforcement can intervene in criminal conspiracies before they result in violent political acts.”

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“I don’t want to sound hyperbolic but the plain truth is that NSPM-7 is a declaration of war on anyone who does not support the Trump administration and its agenda,” journalist Ken Klippenstein wrote in a piece raising alarm about the directive on Saturday.

Klippenstein argued that the memorandum was worrying on several fronts. For one, its focus on preventing crimes before they are committed opens the door to rights violations.

“In other words, they’re targeting pre-crime, to reference Minority Report,” Klippenstein wrote.

For another, the memorandum casts a very wide net, targeting groups, individuals, funders, and “entities” and listing several protected beliefs as “indicia” of extremism.

These include:

  • “Anti-Americanism, anti-capitalism, and anti-Christianity;
  • Support for the overthrow of the United States Government;
  • Extremism on migration, race, and gender; and
  • Hostility towards those who hold traditional American views on family, religion, and morality.”

What’s more, the memorandum entrusts enforcement to the FBI’s over 4,000-strong Joint Terrorism Task Forces (JTTF), which removes the legal challenges to directing the National Guard or other military forces to quash domestic dissent.

“For the Trump White House, the beauty of using an already existing network is that it bypasses Congressional oversight and scrutiny and even obscures federal activity to governors and legislatures at the state level,” Klippenstein wrote.

https://x.com/DropSiteNews/status/1972105642925347184?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1972105642925347184%7Ctwgr%5Ebc41094cd1f91a3a4cf4ff8330712870adf0c6c9%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.commondreams.org%2Fnews%2Ftrump-war-on-critics

The types of activities that will be targeted are also quite broad, with the document defining “organized doxing campaigns, swatting, rioting, looting, trespass, assault, destruction of property, threats of violence, and civil disorder” as “domestic terrorist acts.”

The memorandum also targets any individual or group who might fund activity the administration deems terrorism and directs the Internal Revenue Service to “take action to ensure that no tax-exempt entities are directly or indirectly financing political violence or domestic terrorism,” which could be a means of threatening the status of nonprofits.

Finally, as Drop Site News pointed out, the memo authorizes the attorney general to designate domestic groups as terrorist organizations for the first time in US history.

“By targeting beliefs and protest activity, the directive positions dissent itself as a potential crime,” Drop Site wrote.

https://x.com/kenklippenstein/status/1972018274180501763?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1972018274180501763%7Ctwgr%5Ebc41094cd1f91a3a4cf4ff8330712870adf0c6c9%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.commondreams.org%2Fnews%2Ftrump-war-on-critics

The Trump administration’s focus on violence associated with left-wing beliefs and groups is not supported by the facts. National Institute of Justice data found that right-wing violence had led to 520 deaths since 1990 compared with 78 deaths due to left-wing violence. However, the administration removed that study from the Department of Justice website shortly after Charlie Kirk was killed, The Guardian reported earlier this month.

The administration’s efforts, while accelerated, build on processes that began during the US response to the September 11 attacks, as Klippenstein explained:

A “pre-crime” endeavor, preventing attacks before they happen, is core to the post-9/11 concept of counterterrorism itself. No longer satisfied to investigate acts of terrorism after the fact to bring terrorists to justice, the Bush administration adopted preemption. Overseas, that led to aerial assassination by drones and “special operations” kill missions. Domestically, it led to a counter-terrorism campaign whose hallmark was excessive and illegal government surveillance and the use of undercover agents and “confidential human sources” to trap (and entrap) would-be terrorists.

However, the Trump administration is expanding the War-on-Terror mandate with fewer guardrails.

“Now, with Donald Trump’s directive retooling the counter-terror apparatus to go after Americans at home, this means monitoring political activity, or speech, as an investigative method to discover ‘radicalism,‘” Klippenstein said, noting that the NSPM-7 breaks with post-Watergate national security documents by failing to mention the First Amendment rights to protest and organize.

White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller is already eager to make use of the document.

“We are witnessing domestic terrorist sedition against the federal government,” he wrote on social media on Friday. “The JTTF has been dispatched by the Attorney General, pursuant to NSPM-7. All necessary resources will be utilized.”

In an interview with Greg Sargent for the New Republic, Trump ally Steve Bannon confirmed that Miller and others in the administration were preparing to go after left-liberal groups and media whose criticism of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) could be interpreted as “goading” on violence against the agency.

Referring to Miller’s comments that calling ICE authoritarian incited violence and terrorism, Bannon responded, “Stephen Miller is correct—more importantly he’s in charge.”

The threats of investigations put liberal and left-leaning organizations in a tough place. On the one hand, they want to prepare as best they can. On the other, they do not want to obey in advance.

“Officials at these groups tell me they must strike a balance between being clear-eyed about how bad this could get while not letting it discourage political activity,” Sargent wrote. “That latter form of surrender is exactly what Trump and Miller want. And under no circumstances should anybody willingly hand it over to them.”

Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.

OLIVIA ROSANE

Olivia Rosane is a staff writer for Common Dreams.

Full Bio >

‘AN EGREGIOUS ABUSE OF POWER’: TRUMP ORDERS TROOPS TO PORTLAND, ORE; OKS ‘FULL FORCE’

Protest in Portland over the death of George Floyd

People carrying banners march to protest over the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who died after being pinned down by a white police officer, on May 31, 2020 in Portland, Oregon.

 (Photo by John Rudoff/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

“This unilateral action represents an abuse of executive authority, seeks to incite violence, and undermines the constitutional balance of power between the federal government and states,” Oregon lawmakers wrote.

OLIVIA ROSANE

Sep 27, 2025 (CommonDreams.org)

In his latest attempt to turn the US military on an American city, President Donald Trump said on Saturday that he was sending troops to Portland, Oregon and had authorized them to use “Full Force, if necessary.”

“At the request of Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, I am directing Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, to provide all necessary Troops to protect War ravaged Portland, and any of our ICE Facilities under siege from attack by Antifa, and other domestic terrorists,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

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Trump’s announcement follows his deployment of the National Guard in Los Angeles and Washington, DC, as well as his threats to send the military to Chicago and Memphis. These deployments have been widely condemned and legally challenged as a massive overreach of executive authority.

Portland and Oregon leaders were no less vehement in their opposition to Trump’s order for their city.

“Trump is plunging further into authoritarianism every single day.”

“President Trump has directed ‘all necessary Troops’ to Portland, Oregon. The number of necessary troops is zero, in Portland and any other American city,” Portland Mayor Keith Wilson said in a statement on Saturday. “Our nation has a long memory for acts of oppression, and the president will not find lawlessness or violence here unless he plans to perpetrate it.”

Democratic Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek said that she had not been informed ahead of time of any reason for the deployment of federal troops.

“In my conversations directly with President Trump and Secretary Noem, I have been abundantly clear that Portland and the State of Oregon believe in the rule of law and can manage our own local public safety needs,” she wrote on social media. “There is no insurrection. There is no threat to national security.”

Rep. Maxine Dexter (D-Ore.) said in a statement: “The President of the United States is directing his self-proclaimed ‘Secretary of War’ to unleash militarized federal forces in an American city he disagrees with. This is an egregious abuse of power and a betrayal of our most basic American values.”

“Authoritarians rely on fear to divide us,” she continued. “Portland will not give them that. We will not be intimidated. We have prepared for this moment since Trump first took office, and we will meet it with every tool available to us: litigation, legislation, and the power of peaceful public pressure.”

Dexter also posted a photograph of a tranquil park on social media, mocking the idea that Portland was a war zone.

https://x.com/RepDexterOR/status/1972027526634786984?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1972027526634786984%7Ctwgr%5Eacfe34f2aa40b97fd2a41b40df24b8798135f794%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.commondreams.org%2Fnews%2Ftrump-troops-portland

Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) adopted a similar strategy, posting videos of downtown Portland and of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility that has been the site of protests Trump has characterized as out-of-control.

Dexter and Wyden were among the seven members of Oregon’s congressional delegation who sent a letter to Trump, Noem, and Hegseth on Saturday urging them to reconsider.

“Portland is a vibrant and peaceful city, and does not require any deployment of federal troops or additional federal agents to keep our community safe,” the lawmakers wrote. “This unilateral action represents an abuse of executive authority, seeks to incite violence, and undermines the constitutional balance of power between the federal government and states. We urge you to rescind this decision, and withdraw any military personnel and federal agents you have recently sought to deploy.”

As of Saturday, Oregon National Guard spokesperson Lt. Col. Stephen Bomar told The Associated Press in an email that “no official requests have been received at this time.” However, Oregon officials noted an uptick in the presence of federal agents and armored vehicles in Portland on Friday.

In a press conference Friday evening, Mayor Wilson suggested that the deployment was a “distraction” from the looming GOP-driven government shutdown.

“Imagine if the federal government sent instead 100 teachers or 100 engineers or 100 addiction specialists,” Wilson said.

Earlier in the week, Trump also smeered Portland protesters as “professional agitators and anarchists,” according to the Portland Tribune.

“We’re going to get out there and we’re going to do a pretty big number on those people in Portland,” Trump said.

The federal deployment threatens to reopen wounds from 2020, when Portland was the site of massive protests sparked by the police killing of George Floyd and the first Trump administration sent federal and border agents to the city.

As the Oregon lawmakers wrote:

Portland residents experienced the consequences of an unnecessary and outrageous federal deployment five years ago. In summer of 2020, the White House unleashed federal agents on Portland like an occupying army, complete with military-grade equipment and violent tactics that were utterly unacceptable on American soil. A federal agent shot a peaceful protester in the head with a crowd-control munition, sending the man to the hospital with a fractured skull. Federal agents were captured on video jumping out of unmarked vans and grabbing people off the streets without explanation. A county commissioner was tear gassed along with other non-violent protestors. A Navy veteran was filmed being beaten by federal agents after he questioned them about their actions. These examples, and many more that occurred in Portland, demonstrate that the federal agents who were parachuted into Portland incited violence and trampled over the constitutional rights of Americans. There is no question that another deployment by your administration will result in similar abuses.

However, the risks of abuses are perhaps even higher as the second Trump administration has designated “antifa,” which is not an actual, coherent group, as a domestic terrorist organization, a dubious legal move that experts warn is an attempt to restrict the First Amendment rights of leftists and others critical of the administration.

“If ever there was a time not to normalize Trump’s authoritarian fever dreams, this is it,” said journalist Mehdi Hasan on social media. “This should be impeachable. ‘War ravaged’ Portland? He’s insane—& insanely power hungry. The script is set—call an imaginary group a terror group and then send in the troops.”

Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) urged his constituents not to give Trump the confrontation he is clearly seeking.

“Trump is sending troops to Portland with the goal of ‘doing a number’ on the city. We know what this means. He wants to stoke fear and chaos and trigger violent interactions and riots to justify expanded authoritarian control,” he said in a video posted on social media. “Let’s not take the bait! Portland is peaceful and strong and we will take care of each other.”

Other advocates and lawmakers also took issue with Trump’s characterization of Portland.

Human Rights lawyer Qasim Rashid pointed out that Portland had actually experienced the most dramatic drop in homicides among all US cities during the first half of 2025.

https://x.com/QasimRashid/status/1972010837515919644?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1972010837515919644%7Ctwgr%5Eacfe34f2aa40b97fd2a41b40df24b8798135f794%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.commondreams.org%2Fnews%2Ftrump-troops-portland

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) said the description of Portland as “war ravaged” was “delusional and dangerous.”

“Sending troops into American cities doesn’t make our communities safer—it just stokes fear and stirs up chaos,” she wrote on social media. “Trump is plunging further into authoritarianism every single day.”

Civil rights lawyer and author Alec Karakatsanis said that the mainstream media needed to reflect on how its reporting had enabled Trump’s false narrative about Portland.

“This kind of outrageous misinformation would not be possible without the culture of fear spread for years by the mainstream media,” Karakatsanis wrote on social media. “He is playing on the prodigious ignorance and irrational fear cultivated by the way the news media distorts our sense of safety.”

“Portland, needless to say, is nothing remotely like what Trump describes,” he continued. “But the mass media has created an entirely delusional public perception of what threats we face and from whom.”

Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.

OLIVIA ROSANE

Olivia Rosane is a staff writer for Common Dreams.

Full Bio >