COMMON DREAMS: OPINIONS

 

The US Shouldn’t Waste $125 Billion on Dangerous New ICBMs

A wide array of experts, including scientists, disarmament groups, top U.S. military officials, and even a former U.S. defense secretary, agree that land-based ICBMs have outlived their usefulness.

excerpt:
Last December, Utah Sen. Mitt Romney issued a press release crowing about all the money he secured for his state in the National Defense Authorization Act, the annual bill that lays out what the government will spend on the U.S. military in the following fiscal year. He specifically cited the $4.3 billion in the legislation for the new Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) system, a chunk of which will go to the system’s manager, the Hill Air Force Base, 30 miles north of Salt Lake City.

Ultimately, the Air Force is poised to spend more than $125 billion on 650 Sentinel ICBMs, deploying 400 of them to replace the Cold War-era Minuteman III ICBMs siloed in five Great Plains states. The new ICBMs are part of the Pentagon’s plan to spend more than $1.5 trillion over the next 30 years to replace the entire nuclear arsenal with new weapons and delivery systems.

Romney claims that the land-based leg of the nuclear triad is “vital” to nuclear deterrence. The evidence, however, suggests otherwise. That’s why experts inside and outside of the government have called for completely eliminating silo-based ICBMs, maintaining that a nuclear dyad of bombers and nuclear-armed submarines would be more than adequate to deter a nuclear attack or, in the unlikely event of such an attack, retaliate. They also warn that the ICBMs are destabilizing—and deadly. Russian missiles could reach them within a half hour, giving the U.S. president at most 10 minutes to decide whether to launch them before they were destroyed on the ground.

Even if current political realities will saddle Great Plains states with ICBMs for the time being, the Air Force can take steps to protect them—and the rest of us.

https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/us-125-billion-icbms

Massachusetts: Remember the 
extremist Republicans who failed 
to gather their FACTS and endorsed 
DESANTIS!

To Save Our Democracy, Stop DeSantis’ Racist Education Crusade

A personal reflection on the counterrevolution against Black history from a civil rights attorney. 

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks during a press conference held at Bayview Elementary School on October 7, 2019 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. 

(Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images)


https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/stop-desantis-racist-education-crusade

Bezos’ Move Isn’t an Argument for Not Taxing Local Billionaires

Right-wing harrumphing about the foolishness of raising taxes on the rich rests on a relative handful of high-profile anecdotes that profoundly distort the actual tax-the-rich story.

https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/bezos-move-taxing-billionaires

Dispelling the Illusion of Military-Fueled Prosperity

https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/illusion-military-fueled-prosperity

The opportunity costs of throwing endless trillions of dollars at the military means far less is invested in other crucial American needs, ranging from housing and education to public health and environmental protection.

Reassembling the Scattered Majority to Defend Democracy

Reconstituting democratic community requires an affirmative alternative to demagogic recidivism that advances an ethos of equality, diversity, inclusion, fairness, tolerance, commonweal, liberty, rights, lawfulness, nonviolence, and deliberation.

https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/reassembling-the-scattered-majority-to-defend-democracy

Independent Journalism Is Vital to Our Future and We Must Help It Thrive

Campaigns to discredit news are especially dangerous in a changing media landscape—and as threats within our power to resolve continue to increase, from pandemics to climate disruption to authoritarianism.

https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/help-journalism-thrive

No, Progressives Didn’t Ruin Cities Like San Francisco

Locally and nationally, the City by the Bay is being weaponized like a two-pronged pitchfork aimed simultaneously at erasing local progressive change and mobilizing Republican voters motivated by anti-urban fear.

https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/progressives-didn-t-ruin-san-francisco

MAGA's Plan to "Legally" Steal the 2024 Election

Trump Republicans are committed to abandoning America’s historic embrace of democracy.

https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/magas-plan-to-steal-the-2024-election-legally

If We Want Mid-East Peace, We Must End the US War on Terror, Too

We need to be equal-opportunity critics and consider not only the most highly reported conflict of the moment but also the chronic ones fought, whether we realize it or not, distinctly in our names.

https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/end-us-war-on-terror

From Assange to Navalny, Powerful Nations Show Their Contempt for Press Freedoms

It is not surprising that politicians in power do not want to encourage whistleblowers and autonomous journalists. Those who rule the world prefer to indulge in their power games in secrecy.

https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/julian-assange-alexei-navalny-press-freedoms

Housing Is a Human Right, Not a Luxury Commodity

The U.S. needs to prioritize making housing affordable, accessible, and habitable for everyone.

https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/housing-human-right-2667353150

Behold! Trump's GOP Theocracy Is Coming

A society where one set of religious views is imposed on a large number of citizens who disagree with them is not a democracy.
https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/donald-trump-theocracy-gop

10 Questions Corporate Media Isn't Asking About Israel-Gaza But Should

There has been so much reporting since October 7, but we are still missing answers for key issues.

https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/media-coverage-israel-gaza-war

There Can Be No Climate Justice Without a Fossil Fuel Phaseout

We have a responsibility to protect future generations and support vulnerable communities. The best way to do that is to put an end to the extraction and consumption of coal, gas, and oil.

https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/climate-justice-fossil-fuels-africa

No, Immigrants Aren’t Taking US Jobs

It is clear the labor market is both absorbing immigrants and generating strong job opportunities for U.S.-born workers, including those in demographic groups potentially most impacted by immigration.

https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/immigrants-aren-t-taking-jobs

Trump Is the Heritage Foundation’s Instrument to Bring Orbánism to the US

The foundation and its leaders see Trump not for his policies, but as a means to embed Orbán’s oppressive ideology within the U.S. political framework.

https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/heritage-foundation-trump-orban

Senate Vote to Cut UNRWA Funding Is Cruel and Unusual Punishment

UNRWA employs over 30,000 people and responded swiftly and adequately to allegation, yet the U.S. and their allies are collectively punishing the organization in this critical moment on the basis of accusations.

https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/senate-unrwa-funding-cruel

Restoring the 52% Corporate Tax Bracket Would Make America Stronger

The higher wages and increased innovation that derive from a high corporate tax rate all benefit the company, the workers, and the communities where they operate.

https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/corporate-taxes-make-america-stronger

One Key Reason Behind Israel’s War on Gaza? Gas

Israel’s desire to seize Gaza’s gas can partially explain Netanyahu’s intransigence when it comes to cease-fire initiatives, as this project hinges on Israel maintaining security control over the territory and expelling the Palestinian population.

https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/gas-reason-behind-israel-war

There are numerous other articles to inform that you can read.