Author: Common Dreams

The first night of the 2020 Republican National Convention featured Mark and Patricia McCloskey, the couple famous for pointing guns at Black Lives Matter protestors in front of their mansion in St. Louis. The next night, armed right-wing vigilantes confronted Black Lives Matter protestors in Kenosha, Wisconsin where two people were shot to death and a third severely injured. Kyle Rittenhouse, a seventeen-year-old Illinois resident, was charged with murder. In Tweets, public statements, and mass campaign emails over the last few months, Trump has repeatedly referred to those protesting police killings as dangerous criminals and terrorists. In doing so...

“My dad was a healthy 65-year-old. His only pre-existing condition was trusting Donald Trump, and for that, he paid with his life.” – Kristin Urquiza Several speakers at the Democratic Convention made good points about what’s at stake in this November’s election. Even more on target were the grassroots organizers who, along with Bernie Sanders and Ilhan Omar, highlighted the hard-hitting UnitedAgainstTrump virtual rally during the convention organized by a coalition of social justice groups. But it was an announcement from the GOP about who would speak at this year’s Republican National Convention that painted the most vivid picture...

It is easy for lazy thinkers to gloss over the deep-seated reasons for the anger and violence of downtrodden people. The recent looting of upscale shops on Chicago’s Magnificent Mile brought out waves of disgust for the ‘thugs’ who were said to care little for human values. But an honest review of the facts should compel rational thinkers to redirect their disgust away from racist conclusions, and toward the outrageous indecencies that a well-to-do society forces on its less fortunate members. 1. For Every $100.00 in Median White Wealth, Black People Have $8.70 In 1968, it was $9.43. It...