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In the spring of 2025, central Illinois was swallowed by a wall of dust so dense it erased the horizon—and lives along with it. Vehicles collided in a deadly chain reaction on Interstate 55, as visibility vanished and the dust became a visible cry from the land, a desperate signal of the devastation being wrought upon it. This was not a natural disaster. It was the consequence of decades of extractive farming practices that leave the land bare, lifeless, and vulnerable. It was a warning that when we abuse the soil, we unravel the systems that protect our safety, our health, and our future.

The dust storm that caused the deadly multi-vehicle pileup on Interstate 55 in Illinois was not an anomaly—it is part of a disturbing trend.

Triggered by 35 to 45 mph winds lifting bare, degraded soil from recently tilled farmland, the storm reduced visibility to near zero and resulted in the deaths of at least eight people.

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Renewable Energy Leads New Generation

Solar and wind accounted for almost 98 percent of all of the new electrical generating capacity added to the U.S. grid in the first quarter of 2025 and were the only sources of new generating capacity in the month of March.

According to recent data from FERC, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, March 2025 was the 19th consecutive month where solar was the largest single source of electrical generating capacity on the U.S. grid, dating back to September of 2023.

For the first quarter of this year, solar accounted for 72.3 percent of new generating capacity. Generation from wind turbines provided nearly 25 percent of the nation's new electrical resources.

Generation from wind accounts for 11.8 percent of the nation's electricity, followed by solar with 10.7 percent. 

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Israel has been massacring and starving Palestinian families in Gaza while violently invading the West Bank. These acts of genocide are directly funded through our taxpayer dollars. Gaza can't wait. The West Bank can't wait. And we can't look away while our tax dollars enable these atrocities.

Email your members of Congress now to demand: Support an immediate ARMS EMBARGO to halt all weapons to Israel, Enforce U.S. law that prohibits military funding for human rights violations, and Push for unobstructed humanitarian aid and a permanent ceasefire.

Our tax dollars should fund care, not killing. Books not bombs. Homes not drones. Healthcare not warfare. 

Letter To The editor: LTE/LATimes

Start by following the money: 

Nowhere is nuclear power (which DOES emit heat, toxic poisons and radioactive & other carbon) cost competitive with modern renewables.

Solar & wind are VERY substantially cheaper than old operating nukes AND projected new small ones.

Continuing to operate the two uninsured nukes at Diablo Canyon is costing us $11+ billion over market...with no accounting for the unsolved waste problem, local health impacts & the virtual certainty of uninsured apocalyptic explosions when the next quake hits. 

Newsom's war on rooftop solar has already cost CA more than 17,000 jobs & is the chief reason our rates are the highest in the continental US.

The principle challenge to going 100% renewable is the cost & toxicity of lithium-based batteries. the soon-to-come conversion to sodium (already being deployed in electric cars produced by the Chinese BYD) will seal the deal.

CA's 1.8m solar rooftops deliver electricity far cheaper than any fossil/nuke sources. for at least part of virtually every day CA's energy supply is 100% solar/wind/geothermal, at far cheaper cost. 

In the coming months, tens of millions of public citizens will rally to fight fascism worldwide.  Especially with Donald Trump trying to turn the US into his personal dictatorship.
To oppose the rising fascist tide, we can expect countless great gatherings that energize the masses while impressing the media. 

Fortunately—-especially since Trump’s 2017 first coming—-rally organizers have grown increasingly adept at using these gatherings to build the data bases needed to follow through with a critical political mass.

Some methods work better than others  

Individuals hand gathering signatures, e-mails and phone numbers with lists on clipboards can be inefficient and error-prone.  

Fliers can be wasteful, clunky & prone to discard, especially if they lack a union bug or are printed on something other than hemp or recycled paper.  

But trial-and-error, plus some deep discussion (grassrootsep.org), have offered up a viable alternative worth considering:  business cards with QR codes that lead quickly and easily to pre-programmed websites.  

RICHARD ESKOW: In a recent column you asked, “What’s preventing a united front against the Trump regime?” You say, “America desperately needs a united front to restrain the wrecking ball of the Trump regime.” I get the “wrecking ball,” but why do we need a united front? What’s wrong with a multi-pronged approach from various groups and actors?

 NORMAN SOLOMON: There’s a serious lack of coordination at the political level. The Democratic Party is a constellation of 50-plus state and other local parties, and there are many organizations which are—or should be—independent of the party.

 To the extent there is any governing body, it's the Democratic National Committee. The DNC should provide leadership at times like these. But there’s still no leadership, several months into a second Trump regime that’s much worse than the first. There's energy to oppose, but it’s uncoordinated.

 Rethinking the Left and the Party

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We need your help to Stop Senate Bill 153, an attack on Ohio voters' rights and our democratic process.

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