On April 30, 1975, the United States learned an important lesson. The capture of Saigon by the People’s Army of Vietnam (PAVN) would mark the defeat of the world’s most powerful military force by an army of guerrilla fighters. No matter the scale of its military, or the weight of the iron fist it used to maintain its power, brute force would not always be enough to win wars. The guerrillas possessed a key weapon that the U.S. did not: the support of the people. The U.S. defeat in Vietnam caused a cataclysmic shift in its strategy of warfare, which today has morphed into hybrid warfare. To...…On April 30, 1975, the United States learned an important lesson. The capture of Saigon by the People’s Army of Vietnam (PAVN) would mark the defeat of the world’s most powerful military force by an army of guerrilla fighters. No matter the scale of its military, or the weight of the iron fist it used to maintain its power, brute force would not always be enough to win wars. The guerrillas possessed a key weapon that the U.S. did not: the support of the people. The U.S. defeat in Vietnam caused a cataclysmic shift in its strategy of warfare, which today has morphed into hybrid warfare. To...WW…

Published on by"CFPB is continuing a deregulatory, anti-transparency, anti-accountability, anti-consumer protection rulemaking agenda, even in the face of Covid-19."Kathy Kraninger, director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, testifies at a House Financial Services Committee hearing on Thursday, March 7, 2019. (Photo: Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)Amid an driven by the novel coronavirus pandemic, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is reportedly pushing ahead with a series of rule changes that watchdog groups say would reward predatory lenders and leave vulnerable people more...…Published on by"CFPB is continuing a deregulatory, anti-transparency, anti-accountability, anti-consumer protection rulemaking agenda, even in the face of Covid-19."Kathy Kraninger, director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, testifies at a House Financial Services Committee hearing on Thursday, March 7, 2019. (Photo: Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)Amid an driven by the novel coronavirus pandemic, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is reportedly pushing ahead with a series of rule changes that watchdog groups say would reward predatory lenders and leave vulnerable people more...WW…

Published on by"This country is in an unprecedented health crisis and needs the expertise of Dr. Bright to lead the nation’s efforts to combat Covid-19," said whistleblower's lawyers.Dr. Richard Bright, deputy assistant secretary for preparedness and response for Health and Human Services, speaks during a House Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee hearing in Washington, D.C., on March 8, 2018. (Photo: Toya Sarno Jordan/Bloomberg/Getty Images)The federal watchdog agency that oversees complaints by government employees has concluded there are "reasonable grounds to believe" that the...…Published on by"This country is in an unprecedented health crisis and needs the expertise of Dr. Bright to lead the nation’s efforts to combat Covid-19," said whistleblower's lawyers.Dr. Richard Bright, deputy assistant secretary for preparedness and response for Health and Human Services, speaks during a House Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee hearing in Washington, D.C., on March 8, 2018. (Photo: Toya Sarno Jordan/Bloomberg/Getty Images)The federal watchdog agency that oversees complaints by government employees has concluded there are "reasonable grounds to believe" that the...WW…

Dear Common Dreams Readers:Common Dreams is the one news source that cares about making the world a better place. We don’t just transcribe the events of the day, checking our values at the door. We believe in providing the news in a way that makes a better world possible. And that is needed now more than ever.We believe that with a pandemic spiraling out of control, people desperately need information they can trust. And we believe that hard-hitting journalism is essential to hold the Trump administration accountable for their deadly incompetence. Common Dreams’ Spring Fundraising Campaign...…Dear Common Dreams Readers:Common Dreams is the one news source that cares about making the world a better place. We don’t just transcribe the events of the day, checking our values at the door. We believe in providing the news in a way that makes a better world possible. And that is needed now more than ever.We believe that with a pandemic spiraling out of control, people desperately need information they can trust. And we believe that hard-hitting journalism is essential to hold the Trump administration accountable for their deadly incompetence. Common Dreams’ Spring Fundraising Campaign...WW…

Dear Common Dreams Readers:Common Dreams is the one news source that cares about making the world a better place. We don’t just transcribe the events of the day, checking our values at the door. We believe in providing the news in a way that makes a better world possible. And that is needed now more than ever.We believe that with a pandemic spiraling out of control, people desperately need information they can trust. And we believe that hard-hitting journalism is essential to hold the Trump administration accountable for their deadly incompetence. Common Dreams’ Spring Fundraising Campaign...…Dear Common Dreams Readers:Common Dreams is the one news source that cares about making the world a better place. We don’t just transcribe the events of the day, checking our values at the door. We believe in providing the news in a way that makes a better world possible. And that is needed now more than ever.We believe that with a pandemic spiraling out of control, people desperately need information they can trust. And we believe that hard-hitting journalism is essential to hold the Trump administration accountable for their deadly incompetence. Common Dreams’ Spring Fundraising Campaign...WW…

Published on by"Abbott does not care about the lives of Texans... Our governor is morally bankrupt."Texas Gov. Greg Abbott speaks during a press conference at the Texas State Capitol in Austin on Sunday, March 29, 2020. (Photo: Tom Fox-Pool/Getty Images)Greg Abbott, the Republican governor of Texas, with lawmakers last week that his decision to lift Covid-19 safety guidelines and reopen the state's economy "will lead to an increase and spread" of the virus that has infected more than 34,000 Texans and killed nearly 1,000."How do we know reopening businesses won't result in faster spread of...…Published on by"Abbott does not care about the lives of Texans... Our governor is morally bankrupt."Texas Gov. Greg Abbott speaks during a press conference at the Texas State Capitol in Austin on Sunday, March 29, 2020. (Photo: Tom Fox-Pool/Getty Images)Greg Abbott, the Republican governor of Texas, with lawmakers last week that his decision to lift Covid-19 safety guidelines and reopen the state's economy "will lead to an increase and spread" of the virus that has infected more than 34,000 Texans and killed nearly 1,000."How do we know reopening businesses won't result in faster spread of...WW…

Published on bySome lawmakers want a remote Congress so they can remain AWOL and pretend to deal with the many crises remotely."So far Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who is on the job, is resisting remote voting. Republican Senate Leader Mitch McConnell said he agrees, but he led the flight out of Congress back to Kentucky a month ago." (Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic a careening, confused president is fibbing, flailing, breaking laws, and mishandling money. As the domino effect of this crisis mounts, the public is asking: "Where is the Congress?" Our...…Published on bySome lawmakers want a remote Congress so they can remain AWOL and pretend to deal with the many crises remotely."So far Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who is on the job, is resisting remote voting. Republican Senate Leader Mitch McConnell said he agrees, but he led the flight out of Congress back to Kentucky a month ago." (Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic a careening, confused president is fibbing, flailing, breaking laws, and mishandling money. As the domino effect of this crisis mounts, the public is asking: "Where is the Congress?" Our...WW…

Teaching across an abyss of silence. Perhaps it’s a rare opportunity to acknowledge that our nation’s public schools should not be left so alone to provide food, mental health care, and digital connectivity for our nation’s children. That should be, in a fashion almost unimaginable in America today, the role of the larger society. Do you hear that silence? That’s the absence of footsteps echoing through our nation’s public school hallways. It’s the silence of teaching in a virtual space populated with students on mute who lack a physical presence. It’s the crushing silence of those who...…Teaching across an abyss of silence. Perhaps it’s a rare opportunity to acknowledge that our nation’s public schools should not be left so alone to provide food, mental health care, and digital connectivity for our nation’s children. That should be, in a fashion almost unimaginable in America today, the role of the larger society. Do you hear that silence? That’s the absence of footsteps echoing through our nation’s public school hallways. It’s the silence of teaching in a virtual space populated with students on mute who lack a physical presence. It’s the crushing silence of those who...WW…

Published on by"The Trump administration on Monday slapped wind and solar power companies operating on federal lands with retroactive rent bills. (Photo: Axel Schmidt/AFP/Getty Images)While giving fossil fuel companies access to relief funds ostensibly meant for small businesses struggling due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Trump administration on Monday slapped solar and wind power firms with retroactive rent bills dating back two years.The Interior Department is from renewable energy companies operating on federal lands, two years after it suspended rent for the operators as it...…Published on by"The Trump administration on Monday slapped wind and solar power companies operating on federal lands with retroactive rent bills. (Photo: Axel Schmidt/AFP/Getty Images)While giving fossil fuel companies access to relief funds ostensibly meant for small businesses struggling due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Trump administration on Monday slapped solar and wind power firms with retroactive rent bills dating back two years.The Interior Department is from renewable energy companies operating on federal lands, two years after it suspended rent for the operators as it...WW…

Organization Profile: Contact: WASHINGTON - On Wednesday, the Senate Judiciary Committee will convene a hearing on the EARN IT Act, a bill that threatens all online communications and the encryption technologies used to secure those conversations. Introduced by  Sens. Lindsey Graham (R–South Carolina) and Richard Blumenthal (D–Connecticut), the legislation would open a door to online-content screening by a governmental commission serving under U.S. Attorney General William Barr. The EARN IT Act has already earned the disapproval of leading free-speech and digital-rights groups that have...…Organization Profile: Contact: WASHINGTON - On Wednesday, the Senate Judiciary Committee will convene a hearing on the EARN IT Act, a bill that threatens all online communications and the encryption technologies used to secure those conversations. Introduced by  Sens. Lindsey Graham (R–South Carolina) and Richard Blumenthal (D–Connecticut), the legislation would open a door to online-content screening by a governmental commission serving under U.S. Attorney General William Barr. The EARN IT Act has already earned the disapproval of leading free-speech and digital-rights groups that have...WW…