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Kaiba White chants during a protest against data center development outside the Austin Marriott Downtown on Wednesday, September 2, 2026.
AI data centers are suddenly intruding into thousands of communities across America, sucking up people’s land, water, electricity, and democratic control. And the president is on the data centers' side.
To cope with the imminent danger posed by today’s arrogant, profiteering AI billionaires, President Donald Trump says the only thing America needs is a “STRONG AND SMART (High IQ!) PRESIDENT!”
Well, yes—let’s try to find one of those!
The president we have now is quite the opposite. Take the politically explosive issue of massive AI data centers suddenly intruding into thousands of communities across America, sucking up people’s land, water, electricity, and democratic control. Even red state MAGA conservatives are in furious rebellion against what amounts to a corporate sneak attack on millions of us.
Zeldin has also unilaterally reframed the purpose of the EPA. He’s declared making the United States “the artificial intelligence capital of the world” one of the EPA’s five central priorities. That’s not the priority of any regular person I know.
Where’s the president when we really need him? He’s plotting with the tech invaders to publicly trash those who are rebelling against the tech giants, and deploying autocrats to rig the rules to silence us opponents.
For example, Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin is now decreeing there’s no need for local communities to be notified that a data center is moving in on them—nor should there be a public comment period on air pollution issues.
This means that residents’ first notice that a sprawling data center will be built next door will be the roar of bulldozers. Worse, Commissar Zeldin wants to let data center billionaires start building their acres of polluting facilities before permits are approved.
Also, this MAGA bureaucrat insists that such massive facilities be reclassified as “minor” air polluters, like a car repair shop or local laundromat.
Zeldin has also unilaterally reframed the purpose of the EPA. He’s declared making the United States “the artificial intelligence capital of the world” one of the EPA’s five central priorities.
That’s not the priority of any regular person I know. While real people are fighting data centers, this government is fighting the people.
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
To cope with the imminent danger posed by today’s arrogant, profiteering AI billionaires, President Donald Trump says the only thing America needs is a “STRONG AND SMART (High IQ!) PRESIDENT!”
Well, yes—let’s try to find one of those!
The president we have now is quite the opposite. Take the politically explosive issue of massive AI data centers suddenly intruding into thousands of communities across America, sucking up people’s land, water, electricity, and democratic control. Even red state MAGA conservatives are in furious rebellion against what amounts to a corporate sneak attack on millions of us.
Zeldin has also unilaterally reframed the purpose of the EPA. He’s declared making the United States “the artificial intelligence capital of the world” one of the EPA’s five central priorities. That’s not the priority of any regular person I know.
Where’s the president when we really need him? He’s plotting with the tech invaders to publicly trash those who are rebelling against the tech giants, and deploying autocrats to rig the rules to silence us opponents.
For example, Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin is now decreeing there’s no need for local communities to be notified that a data center is moving in on them—nor should there be a public comment period on air pollution issues.
This means that residents’ first notice that a sprawling data center will be built next door will be the roar of bulldozers. Worse, Commissar Zeldin wants to let data center billionaires start building their acres of polluting facilities before permits are approved.
Also, this MAGA bureaucrat insists that such massive facilities be reclassified as “minor” air polluters, like a car repair shop or local laundromat.
Zeldin has also unilaterally reframed the purpose of the EPA. He’s declared making the United States “the artificial intelligence capital of the world” one of the EPA’s five central priorities.
That’s not the priority of any regular person I know. While real people are fighting data centers, this government is fighting the people.
To cope with the imminent danger posed by today’s arrogant, profiteering AI billionaires, President Donald Trump says the only thing America needs is a “STRONG AND SMART (High IQ!) PRESIDENT!”
Well, yes—let’s try to find one of those!
The president we have now is quite the opposite. Take the politically explosive issue of massive AI data centers suddenly intruding into thousands of communities across America, sucking up people’s land, water, electricity, and democratic control. Even red state MAGA conservatives are in furious rebellion against what amounts to a corporate sneak attack on millions of us.
Zeldin has also unilaterally reframed the purpose of the EPA. He’s declared making the United States “the artificial intelligence capital of the world” one of the EPA’s five central priorities. That’s not the priority of any regular person I know.
Where’s the president when we really need him? He’s plotting with the tech invaders to publicly trash those who are rebelling against the tech giants, and deploying autocrats to rig the rules to silence us opponents.
For example, Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin is now decreeing there’s no need for local communities to be notified that a data center is moving in on them—nor should there be a public comment period on air pollution issues.
This means that residents’ first notice that a sprawling data center will be built next door will be the roar of bulldozers. Worse, Commissar Zeldin wants to let data center billionaires start building their acres of polluting facilities before permits are approved.
Also, this MAGA bureaucrat insists that such massive facilities be reclassified as “minor” air polluters, like a car repair shop or local laundromat.
Zeldin has also unilaterally reframed the purpose of the EPA. He’s declared making the United States “the artificial intelligence capital of the world” one of the EPA’s five central priorities.
That’s not the priority of any regular person I know. While real people are fighting data centers, this government is fighting the people.