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.
There was a time when Benjamin Netanyahu appeared to have all the cards. The Palestinian Authority was largely passive, the occupied West Bank was relatively calm, Israel's diplomatic reach was expanding, and the United States seemed ready to bend international law to accommodate Israel's desire for complete control over Palestine.
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.
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
There are now credible reports from many sources that the levels of
extermination and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in the Gaza strip is
higher than officially released and in 19 months could be over 250,000 [1].
The evidence is so compelling that all human rights organizations and the
UN documented GENOCIDE and ETHNIC CLEANSING [2]. Over 200,000 are already
out of the Gaza strip (enriching pockets of Egyptian officials who demanded
$5000-10,000/person for exit) and 95% of the remaining population
homeless. Perhaps that is why Trump is now speaking about taking one
million (who are left) Palestinians to Libya after Israel finished cleaning
them from all areas of Gaza towards the south concentration camp of Rafah.
Meanwhile 'business' goes on as usual: billions milked from corrupt Arab
dictators, Israeli embassies function around the world (no sanctions), the
Zionist lobby infiltrated more organizations and governments globally,
blackmailing/extorting weak politicians like Trump and Bin Salman with
scandalous videos and information gathered by Mossad agents like Epstein,
One of my favorite sections of an afternoon. I'm eating lunch in my living room while reading a new book: Fearless Vampire Killers….Bad Brains Photographs by Akashic Books———> By Glen E. Friedman.
I now am using a Flex Capacitor. Now, I'm at A7 in the 1980’s New York looking at Bad Brains perform is a space the size of either Skylab or the Legion of Doom. I'm looking at PMA inspiring cultural evolution in the context of rejection of our fascist government.
In Fearless Vampire Killers, Friedman follows Bad Brains from A7 into the L.A. Sunset Strip. A7 is a small NY punk venue. L.A. is where Bad Brains sneak Black Flag on stage because Black Flag was banned because of punk riots. Fearless Vampire Killers is Glen E. Friedman in a moment working for skateboard media while participating in hardcore punk. Punk, and Hip Hop unleashed Bad Brains, Dead Kennedys, Public Enemy, BDP, Beastie Boys etc. Friedman took iconic flicks of all of these icons.
