Scenes from an authoritarian regime

"Though a step in the right direction, this is not enough to end Microsoft's complicity in the genocide perpetrated by Israel," one legal advocate said after the company cut off the Israeli military from some cloud storage and other technology. www.commondreams.org/news/microso...

"Our opposition and upset over Jimmy Kimmel being taken off air have led to Kimmel coming back. Let's organize that much noise for reporters like Mario Guevara detained (despite being here legally) for filming police and ICE." www.commondreams.org/news/mario-g...

Good to see Italy and Spain stepping up. Especially Spain. Article by @corbettjessica.bsky.social

"Donald Trump is redrawing election maps to force through a Congress that only answers to him, not the people," @aoc.bsky.social says in a new video ad promoting California's Proposition 50. www.commondreams.org/news/2026-el...

The gap between the weekly wages of US public school teachers and other college graduates not only continued to grow last year, but "reached a record high," according to @ceprdc.bsky.social and @epi.org. www.commondreams.org/news/teacher...

"AFRICOM's perfunctory acknowledgment and empty condolences are not just underwhelming, they are a profound injustice," ​said the rights group Hūmānus, which represents two families of victims killed by US strikes in Somalia. www.commondreams.org/news/us-airs...

"The combination of cruelty and impunity in pursuit of a mass deportation crusade is dangerous," said one rights advocate after a family accused ICE agents of trying to use a 5-year-old autistic girl to lure her immigrant father outside. www.commondreams.org/news/immigra...

"Rest in peace to the presidency, and long live the king," quipped one attorney after the Supreme Court let Trump fire an FTC commissioner and agreed to review a 90-year-old precedent. www.commondreams.org/news/trump-ftc

The battle over Texas' Senate Bill 10 continues, with families in the state filing a federal lawsuit to block the display of the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms. www.commondreams.org/news/texas-t...

"It is unconscionable that the agency charged with protecting Americans from environmental threats would consider rescinding policies based on years of evidence-based practice," said the head of one nursing group. www.commondreams.org/news/climate...

"The fact that he may now be put on a plane to El Salvador, a country he fled out of fear, at any moment, despite a clear path to becoming a permanent resident, is despicable," an @aclu.org attorney said of journalist Mario Guevara. www.commondreams.org/news/mario-g...

"​What ICE just did to me was a violent abuse of power—and it’s still nothing compared to what they’re doing to immigrant communities," said Illinois congressional candidate Kat Abughazaleh. www.commondreams.org/news/kat-abu...

"While Palestinian mothers in Gaza are left to watch their children waste away from starvation under Israel's genocide, arms companies and others continue to reap substantial profits," said @amnesty.org secretary general @agnescallamard.bsky.social. www.commondreams.org/news/israel-...

"No one wants Lecornu or Macron anymore," said one National Assembly member as hundreds of thousands of people joined protests across France over the government's proposed austerity measures. #18septembre www.commondreams.org/news/french-...

"It is no surprise that the Trump administration continues to retaliate against me for my exercise of free speech. Their latest attempt, through a kangaroo immigration court, exposes their true colors once again," said Mahmoud Khalil. www.commondreams.org/news/mahmoud...

At least 142 people were killed and four were confirmed missing last year for "bravely speaking out or taking action to defend their rights to land and a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment," according to an annual Global Witness report. www.commondreams.org/news/environ...

The Federal Reserve's small interest rate cut "will do little to address Trump's economic turmoil," warned one economist. www.commondreams.org/news/federal...

“When military troops police civilians, we have an intolerable threat to individual liberty and the foundational values of this country," the head of the ACLU's National Security Project said of Trump's deployment to Memphis. www.commondreams.org/news/trump-m...

"As climate scientists, public health experts, and economists, we can attest to the indisputable scientific evidence of human-caused climate change, its harmful impacts on people’s health and well-being, and the devastating costs it is imposing on communities." www.commondreams.org/news/endange...

"Missouri Republicans have ignored the demands of their constituents in order to follow the demands of a power-hungry administration in Washington." www.commondreams.org/news/missour...

"EPA cannot avoid the climate crisis by simply burying its head in the sand as it baselessly cuts off its main source of greenhouse gas emissions data,"​ said one Sierra Club campaigner. www.commondreams.org/news/greenho...

CAIR urged Congress "to immediately act on" Sens. Jeff Merkley and Chris Van Hollen's findings on Gaza "by halting all military aid to the Israeli government, enforcing existing US human rights laws, and supporting international accountability efforts." www.commondreams.org/news/us-cong...

One ACLU leader warned the bill that 11 Dems helped Republicans pass "would hand the Trump administration more tools to criminalize immigrants and terrorize communities at the same time they are deploying federal agents and the military to our streets." www.commondreams.org/news/republi...

"The US government seeking to punish those who make light of the incident is a complete betrayal of the First Amendment and spits in the face of the principle of free speech and debate," a lawyer said of a Trump official's threat about Charlie Kirk posts. www.commondreams.org/news/charlie...

"We're talking about real people who died, real crops that failed, and real communities that suffered, all because of decisions made in corporate boardrooms," one campaigner said after a new study tied fossil fuel giants' pollution to deadly heatwaves. www.commondreams.org/news/heatwav...

"What does it say about us that the news of a conservative political activist getting assassinated may need to compete for coverage with yet another school shooting?" www.commondreams.org/news/charlie...

"We're still on the Missouri House Floor because democracy is worth the fight," said state Rep. Ray Reed. "The GOP is trying to rig our maps in the middle of the decade at Trump's demand."​ www.commondreams.org/news/missour...

"Donald Trump and his departments of alphabet boys and National Guard troops aren't welcome and aren't needed in Chicago." www.commondreams.org/news/midway-...

The Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention said it "stands in firm solidarity with all of the brave people aboard the Global Sumud Flotilla, the international fleet of more than 50 boats that is headed toward Gaza to break the Israeli siege." www.commondreams.org/news/gaza-fl...

And let's not forget, for every one of the two dozen women who came forward to describe how Trump sexually assaulted them, knowing that speaking out would probably ruin their lives, there had to be MANY more women he did the same thing to, but who understandably remained silent.

🚨 Exclusive | Drop Site has obtained the 100-word ceasefire “proposal” Trump sent Hamas. “It looks like it was written by the Israelis,” a senior Hamas official told us. Full report by @jeremyscahill.com and Jawa Ahmad. www.dropsitenews.com/p/exclusive-...

Chicagoans and Illinois' elected officials continue to prepare for US President Donald Trump's militarized "invasion" of the country's third-largest city. www.commondreams.org/news/trump-i...

"Raiding work sites isn't reform, it's political theater at the expense of families, communities, and our economy," said one advocate after hundreds of arrests at a Hyundai plant in Georgia. www.commondreams.org/news/trump-w...

"I believe that we must set the example of supporting the party's nominee," Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said of Democrats—such as Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries—who haven't endorsed NYC mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani. www.commondreams.org/news/aoc-zoh...

"Alligator Alcatraz remains an unlawful, dangerous stunt that wastes taxpayer dollars and tramples on human dignity," a Florida senator said after two Trump judges ruled the immigrant detention center can stay open. www.commondreams.org/news/florida...

"This is about standing up to corruption, calling out a genocide when we see one, and building a Los Angeles that we can afford," said Angela Gonzales-Torres, the candidate endorsed by Justice Democrats. www.commondreams.org/news/angela-...

"The Constitution gives this authority to the states and Congress, not you!" said the head of Democracy Defenders Fund, threatening a lawsuit if Trump issues an executive order trying to require voter ID nationwide. www.commondreams.org/news/trump-v...

What are critics saying about Trump's pocket rescission effort? "Constitution-mocking." "Lawless and absurd." "Authoritarianism 101." www.commondreams.org/news/pocket-...

Make America Healthy Again is "a great slogan," wrote Sen. Bernie Sanders. "The problem is that since coming into office President Trump and Mr. Kennedy have done exactly the opposite."​ www.commondreams.org/news/bernie-...

An Israeli airstrike in Yemen killed several Houthi government officials, including Prime Minister Ahmed al-Rahawi. www.commondreams.org/news/israel-...

"We will protect our Constitution, we will protect our city, and we will protect our people," Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson declared. "We do not want to see tanks in our streets. We do not want to see families ripped apart."​ www.commondreams.org/news/trump-c...

"Sens. Van Hollen and Merkley have taken a bold and necessary step by confronting the Israeli-manufactured and US-backed humanitarian calamity in Gaza head-on," said the Council on American-Islamic Relations. "Their mission must not stand alone." www.commondreams.org/news/congres...

"It is a dark and dangerous moment for this country when our government chooses to target orphaned 10-year-olds and denies them their most basic legal right to present their case before an immigration judge." www.commondreams.org/news/trump-d...

"Texas: Land of the free! Also Texas: We want you to surveil your neighbor, see if they've missed their period, snoop through their trash and mail, and sue whoever sent them medication abortion." www.commondreams.org/news/texas-a...

As Gov. Greg Abbott signed a new congressional map gerrymandered for the GOP, one critic warned that Republicans' "reckless, partisan power grab will harm our democracy for years to come."​ www.commondreams.org/news/texas-map

One labor leader called Trump's new executive order "another clear example of retaliation against federal employee union members who have bravely stood up against his anti-worker, anti-American plan to dismantle the federal government." www.commondreams.org/news/trump-f...

The far-right Israeli finance minister's remarks follow comments last week in which he said: "Whoever doesn't evacuate, don't let them. No water, no electricity; they can die of hunger or surrender."

In the wake of a "Wednesday night massacre" at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and related resignations, @sanders.senate.gov called for an immediate congressional probe. www.commondreams.org/cdc-director

ACLU expert: The Trump administration's refusal to participate in a UN review "is a chilling attempt to evade accountability, setting a terrible precedent that would only embolden dictators and autocrats and dangerously weaken respect for human rights." www.commondreams.org/news/trump-u...