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obituary
The Death of a Fascist Autocrat: On Pre-Writing Donald Trump's Obituary
The very decision to elect Trump to the presidency, not once, but twice, should be considered the popular equivalent of preparing an obituary not just for him but for this country, this planet, all of us.
Jan 29, 2026
Having reached a certain age and long been fascinated by obituaries, I sometimes think about both Donald Trump’s and my own. At 79, he’s just slightly less than two years younger than me, though of course I wasn’t the 45th president of the United States or the 47th one either. And eight chaotic years (or more?) as president (assuming he makes it that far) guarantee him a monster (and I do indeed use that word advisedly) set of obituaries when he dies, whereas almost a quarter-century at TomDispatch guarantees me nothing at all.
And I wouldn’t argue with that for a second. After all, Donald Trump has been (and continues to be) a truly one-of-a-kind president of the United States — though the word “kind” (as opposed to “king”) doesn’t actually apply to him, does it? Think of him, in fact, as the mad hatter of American presidents. If you remember, that Alice in Wonderland character was accused of “murdering the time.” And that, in its own strange fashion, seems like quite a reasonable description of at least one of the crimes of President Donald Trump.
The man who believes that climate change is a “green new scam” has tried, among other things, to shut down every major East Coast offshore wind power project in sight (though judges, including one he appointed to the bench, have so far denied him that right). Meanwhile, he’s been working to ensure that coal, the dirtiest of all fossil fuels, remains a major source of American energy. He and his crew aren’t even letting major coal-burning power plants whose days are all too literally past close.
Phew, that paragraph left me out of breath — so much for my wind power! — and I didn’t even get everything in. After all, he’s also had the urge to pull every last barrel of oil out of Venezuela (even if, once upon a time, he did all too accurately call that country’s petroleum the “worst oil probably anywhere in the world” and “garbage”). And in the process, he is indeed engaged in murdering time — at least, the time we humans have left to live reasonably decent lives on this planet, which is, it seems, no longer truly ours but, at least for now, significantly his.
At 79, he gives old age new meaning. He’s the anything-goes president on a planet going down, down, down. The only thing, it seems, that doesn’t go down (not yet, at least) is Donald J. Trump.
In some sense, you might say that Donald Trump is hard at work trying to ensure not only that he’ll get a major obituary on his death, but that humanity will, too. In that sense, give him credit. He’s trying to put us all in the paper and give us all the experience he’s had of being “the news.”
And I wonder if someday, if not your obituary and mine, perhaps those of our children or grandchildren will start out something like this: “He/she died in his/her home in the midst of a blinding heat wave/a devastating storm/a historically unprecedented flood [or you name it] on a planet still growing hotter and more uncomfortable by the decade, if not the year.”
The U.S. Is an Increasingly Violent Petro State
When it comes to obituaries, don’t think it’s just the climate that’s the problem. We are living in a distinctly mad world of the living (and the dead). And OMG, it’s increasingly apparent that, on a planet where wars are still proliferating from Ukraine to Gaza to Sudan (and the burning of fossil fuels to fight them is already adding significantly to the devastation of the planet), things are unlikely to get better any time soon. As the Costs of War project reminds us: “The U.S. Department of Defense is the world’s single largest institutional consumer of oil — and as a result, one of the world’s top greenhouse gas emitters.”
And just to take one grim example, “my” president wants to take our tax dollars and apply them even more strikingly — in fact, in a blindingly record fashion — to the Pentagon budget, the thing that, once upon a time, was called, however inaccurately, the “defense budget.” It’s already at somewhere close to a trillion dollars a year and, give him credit, he only wants to raise it by another half-trillion dollars to $1.5 trillion.
And no, that is not a typo! Believe me, there’s no misprint there! That’s what he thinks he needs to do to create a “dream military,” which (at least in his mind) would undoubtedly ensure that Greenland will become the 51st state, Canada the 52nd, Cuba the 53rd, and Colombia the 54th. The 55th, then, could well be China. (Or so he might dream anyway. Or perhaps the phrase should be: so he might nightmare anyway.) And don’t fret. That increase in the military budget is only likely to mean a $6 trillion increase in our taxes over the next decade (or roughly $45,000 per family).
Oh, wait, this is already the nation with by far the largest military budget on Earth that, over all the endless decades since it emerged globally victorious from World War II, couldn’t win a single significant war — not in Korea, nor in Vietnam, nor Afghanistan, nor Iraq, nor even, possibly, in the weeks to come on the streets of Minneapolis. Nowhere. And count on this, another half-trillion dollars a year will ensure only one thing: that the United States won’t win yet more wars ever more extravagantly, whether in Greenland or somewhere else entirely, while never learning even the most obvious lessons from such a grim reality.
And no, for some reason, Donald Trump has never actually used the word “nightmare” either in relation to himself or his presidency, though he certainly did accuse the Democrats of being the party of “the socialist nightmare.” Nor did he use it in his recent interview with the New York Times when he was asked about whether there were any limits whatsoever on his own global power. Instead, he responded this way: “Yeah, there is one thing. My own morality. My own mind. It’s the only thing that can stop me.”
So now, you can breathe a giant sigh of relief, right? Who could possibly worry about his mind? If Donald Trump’s “morality” is the only thing that stands between us and him doing more or less anything he wants, however destructively, on this planet of ours, then what could possibly go wrong?
And speaking of nightmares (or even obituaries), oil is Donald Trump’s dream liquid — and oil is hell. In the long run on this already overheating planet of ours, oil means war, not on this country’s potential enemies, or even Donald Trump’s, but on all of us. (And the U.S. is indeed an increasingly violent petro state, as Mark Hertsgaard has recently reminded us at the Nation magazine.)
The very decision to elect Trump to the presidency, not once, but twice, should be considered the popular equivalent of preparing an obituary not just for him but for this country, this planet, all of us. And it might read something like this. Or rather, let me just start it for you, since I know that you won’t have the slightest problem filling in the rest:
“Donald Trump, the 45th president of the United States, died yesterday. Born in New York City on June 14, 1946, he would come to be known for many things from the TV show The Apprentice to pussy-grabbing. (“I don’t even wait. And when you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything… Grab ’em by the pussy. You can do anything.”) And that admission, which came just before his first presidential election contest against Hillary Clinton, didn’t do the trick. He still won, which certainly tells you something about the United States (if, that is, we were writing an obituary not of a president but of a country).
But perhaps his presidency was most significant not for grabbing this country’s pussy, but for murdering time. He was America’s first green-new-scam president, the “drill, baby, drill” candidate who proved all too ready to devastate not just a few women, or a pile of American voters, but the planet itself. Hey, if you happen to want to close down wind farms, but keep coal plants open, you know just the man to vote for (yet again).”
The Anything-Goes President
We don’t know yet what our future holds. Donald Trump could have a heart attack tomorrow and kiss this planet and the rest of us goodbye. But if he lasts the next three years, having already figured out how to largely ignore Congress — really, who needs Congress to blow up ships in the Caribbean and the Eastern Pacific Ocean, or invade Venezuela, or take Greenland? — and do whatever the hell he wants to do, the Constitution be damned, there’s always the distinct possibility that he’ll deal with the 22nd Amendment, which prevents any president from having a third term in office, in a similar fashion. When it comes to running for president yet again, he’s already said: “I would love to do it.” And perhaps the key line in any future obituary of Donald Trump could prove to be that he broke new ground by becoming the first president since Franklin D. Roosevelt to win (or do I mean seize?) a third term in office and so become the first true American autocrat.
There’s no question, he’s the man, and if he can’t do it, nobody can. And believe me, if he succeeds, he won’t be forgotten, not on a planet he’s lent such a hand to sending down, down, down. In some fashion, you might say, he’s put a tariff on all of us when it comes to life on Earth and that’s no small… well, I hesitate to say it… accomplishment.
If only we could put a tariff on him — call it the autocrat tariff — and make him pay us for the suffering he’s caused and will undoubtedly continue to cause. I mean, when you think about his “accomplishments,” it’s no small thing the second time around to have left Congress largely in the lurch and done whatever pleased him most, with only his “own morality” to stop him.
At 79, he gives old age new meaning. He’s the anything-goes president on a planet going down, down, down. The only thing, it seems, that doesn’t go down (not yet, at least) is Donald J. Trump.
Having reached this point, I now wonder if my task in this piece shouldn’t have been writing obituaries for Donald Trump and me but writing one for humanity and Planet Earth (at least as we’ve known it all these millennia). In some sense, here’s the extraordinary thing: in November 2024, a near majority of American voters, 49.8% of us, to be exact, voted yet again for him as president. Anybody can understand and even excuse making a mistake once in this strange world of ours. But twice? Really? When it comes not just to a president of the United States but to the very fate of this planet?
I have a feeling that, if Trump makes it to a third term, he — not Congress — would have to change the preamble to the Constitution of these (dis)United States of America to read this way:
“I, the Only Person Who Matters in the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Autocracy, establish Injustice, ensure domestic and global Chaos, provide for a common offensiveness, promote the general Poorfare, and secure the Blessings of Autocrcacy to myself and my Posterity (if they even make it), do ordain and establish this Constitution for the (Dis)United States of America and a world going to hell in a handbasket.”
And having done that, I suspect that we would then have to start preparing an obituary (which might be headlined “Murdering Time in the Age of Donald Trump”) for this planet of ours, at least as we humans have known it all these endless centuries.
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World Mourns Passing of Bob Weir, Grateful Dead Founding Member (1947-2026)
"May we honor him not only in sorrow, but in how bravely we continue with open hearts, steady steps, and the music leading us home," said the iconic musician's daughter. "Hang it up and see what tomorrow brings."
Jan 10, 2026
Bob Weir, one of the founding members of the Grateful Dead, has died after a storied career as guitarist and singer for one of the most iconic American rock bands of the last century.
"It is with profound sadness that we share the passing of Bobby Weir," read a message posted to social media by the Weir family on Saturday evening. "We send him off the way he sent so many of us on our way: with a farewell that isn’t an ending, but a blessing. A reward for a life worth livin'."
Weir—along with Jerry Garcia, Phil Lesh, Ron "Pigpen" McKernan, and Bill Kreutzmann—formed the Grateful Dead in the Bay Area of California in 1965. Weir was only a teenager at the time, the youngest member of the band.
With the addition of Mickey Hart shortly after, and many others over the years, the band has toured the country in a variety of iterations ever since.
In their longer post about Bob's passing, the Weir family wrote:
He transitioned peacefully, surrounded by loved ones, after courageously beating cancer as only Bobby could. Unfortunately, he succumbed to underlying lung issues.
For over sixty years, Bobby took to the road. A guitarist, vocalist, storyteller, and founding member of the Grateful Dead. Bobby will forever be a guiding force whose unique artistry reshaped American music. His work did more than fill rooms with music; it was warm sunlight that filled the soul, building a community, a language, and a feeling of family that generations of fans carry with them. Every chord he played, every word he sang was an integral part of the stories he wove. There was an invitation: to feel, to question, to wander, and to belong.
Bobby’s final months reflected the same spirit that defined his life. Diagnosed in July, he began treatment only weeks before returning to his hometown stage for a three-night celebration of 60 years of music at Golden Gate Park. Those performances, emotional, soulful, and full of light, were not farewells, but gifts. Another act of resilience. An artist choosing, even then, to keep going by his own design. As we remember Bobby, it’s hard not to feel the echo of the way he lived. A man driftin’ and dreamin’, never worrying if the road would lead him home. A child of countless trees. A child of boundless seas.
There is no final curtain here, not really. Only the sense of someone setting off again. He often spoke of a three-hundred-year legacy, determined to ensure the songbook would endure long after him. May that dream live on through future generations of Dead Heads. And so we send him off the way he sent so many of us on our way: with a farewell that isn’t an ending, but a blessing. A reward for a life worth livin’.
His loving family, Natascha, Monet, and Chloe, request privacy during this difficult time and offer their gratitude for the outpouring of love, support, and remembrance. May we honor him not only in sorrow, but in how bravely we continue with open hearts, steady steps, and the music leading us home. Hang it up and see what tomorrow brings.
Across the world, as the news spread, people impacted by Weir's artisrtry, social activism, and the music he produced with the Dead and other bands—including Kingfish, RatDog, and various other adventures—shared their love, celebrated his life, and expressed their grief over his passing.
"I’m writing this with tears streaming down my face," wrote music journalist Vic Vela. "I sang Bobby’s songs on road trips, in the shower, while house cleaning, and, of course, at Dead shows. He provided the soundtrack of my life and his music was there for me through good times and bad. The Grateful Dead are my Everything and you started it all, Bobby. Go be with your brothers now, sir. Go be with Jerry and Phil and Pigpen— Heaven’s Heart of Gold Band. Fare thee well, Bobby We love you."
- YouTube youtu.be
"So incredibly saddened by the passing of Bob Weir," said Kyle Hollingsworth, keyboardist for the String Cheese Incident, one of the countless rock bands over the decades heavily influenced by the innovative and improvisational style of music created by the Grateful Dead. "I spent many of my formative years dancing and watching from the audience. What a blessing to have had a moment with him. May his love light shine on. Rest in peace, Bobby."
"The dancing bears are still," declared Martha Quinn, a former VJ on MTV. "Founding Grateful Dead member Bob Weir passed away. He & the Dead were in a class unto themselves, fans saw them 100x times. Deadheads became a global family. May Bob be jamming with Jerry & Phil. They will survive, in our hearts and minds. My condolences to his loved ones, who number many."
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Jane Goodall Dies at 91, Leaving a 'Legacy of Making Our Planet a Better Place'
"Jane Goodall was the best of us. May she rest peacefully, as we carry on."
Oct 01, 2025
Legendary English conservationist and primatologist Jane Goodall died Wednesday at the age of 91, eliciting a flood of remembrances from fellow scientists, activists, politicians, and fans of her decades of dedication to protecting the natural world.
Goodall died of natural causes in Los Angeles, California, while on a US speaking tour, according to the Jane Goodall Institute.
"Dr. Goodall's life and work not only made an indelible mark on our understanding of chimpanzees and other species, but also of humankind and the environments we all share," the institute said. "She inspired curiosity, hope, and compassion in countless people around the world, and paved the way for many others—particularly young people who gave her hope for the future."
"In 1960 Dr. Goodall established the longest-running wild chimpanzee study in Gombe National Park, Tanzania, which continues to this day," the institute continued. Footage from her early research in Africa was featured in the 2017 documentary Jane.
"She inspired curiosity, hope, and compassion in countless people around the world, and paved the way for many others—particularly young people who gave her hope for the future."
"She pioneered and sustained the Jane Goodall Institute's community-centered conservation initiatives across the chimpanzee range for over four decades," the organization added. "Her legacy includes the creation of JGI's international environmental and humanitarian youth program Roots & Shoots, which is actively driving change in 75 countries and counting around the world."
Social media networks swiftly filled with posts honoring Goodall as a "childhood hero," "patient, passionate revolutionary," and "incredible force for good" whose "love and knowledge and care with animals like chimpanzees helped us all transcend the too often vicious human world."
British primatologist Jane Goodall visits a chimp rescue center on June 9, 2018 in Entebbe, Uganda. (Photo by Sumy Sadurni/AFP via Getty Images)
Abigail Ruth Freeman, director of Science for Society at Research Ireland, wrote on social media Wednesday: "Such a loss for humanity. Her work showed us that traits we conveniently ascribe to humans only are widespread in other animals. That they deserve more respect and compassion, and we could use a little more humility."
The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund said that "we are deeply saddened by the passing of Dr. Jane Goodall, a groundbreaking primatologist and tireless conservationist. Her pioneering work with chimpanzees transformed our understanding of the species, and her lifelong advocacy inspired generations to protect wildlife and their habitats. Her legacy will continue to guide and inspire all of us in the fight to conserve our planet's precious species."
Goodall was named a United Nations messenger of peace in 2002. Highlighting that honor, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said that he was also "deeply saddened" to learn of her passing, adding: "She is leaving an extraordinary legacy for humanity and our planet. I'm grateful for her lifelong environmental protection efforts and her strong support for the UN."
Author and former US political candidate Marianne Williamson said: "For millions of us she was the consummate role model. Few people have left an imprint on the world of such beauty and significance. A huge spirit was here with us. May she rest in eternal bliss."
Primatologist Jane Goodall visits the Taronga Zoo in Sydney, Australia on July 14, 2006. (Photo by Greg Wood/AFP via Getty Images)
American journalist Yashar Ali wrote on his website that "few other people have had an impact on my life like Dr. Goodall."
"Because of her, countless women have pursued careers in biology, ecology, conservation, and other fields in STEM," Ali added. "Over the years, as I have traveled through the world and met some of the most prominent women in all areas of conservation and environmental sciences, all but a few told me they were inspired to get into their field by Jane Goodall's example."
Jane Goodall has died. She devoted her life to advocacy on behalf of chimpanzees and, after living among them,shared valuable insight into their lives. She advocated too for the wellbeing of other primates and the environmentShe has been a magnificent inspiration. Thank you Jane Goodall ♥️🙏🏽♥️
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— Mia Farrow (@miafarrow.bsky.social) October 1, 2025 at 2:41 PM
Some people shared their personal experiences with Goodall. American reporter Leigh Giangreco recalled that "Jane Goodall was one of my first ever interviews as a college journalist, and she had an immense respect for young people, I remember she wanted to hear from us specifically. I will never forget her discoveries or her empathy."
Scottish broadcaster Nicky Campbell said: "We have lost one of the greatest naturalists, zoologists, and activists. A great woman. I had the pleasure of meeting Jane Goodall. I was in awe of her. I will forever be in awe. She gave us so much. She gave her beloved chimps so much. She helped us understand them. And thereby understand ourselves. May this gentle, kind, wise, and wonderful woman rest in peace."
US Congressman Cory Booker (D-NJ) recorded a video about his experience meeting the renowned conservationist.
Thank you Jane Goodall for a lasting legacy of conservation, service to all of us, and for always being brave.
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— Cory Booker (@corybooker.com) October 1, 2025 at 2:46 PM
The US group 314 Action, which works to elect scientists and doctors, pointed out that just last week, its president, Shaughnessy Naughton, "was in the same room with Jane at Climate Week as she continued her lifetime of advocacy, until the very end."
"Jane Goodall was the best of us," the organization added. "May she rest peacefully, as we carry on."
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'We Have Lost a Giant': Broadcast Legend Bill Moyers Dies at 91
"Moyers believed that journalism should serve democracy, not just the bottom line."
Jun 26, 2025
The life and work of journalist Bill Moyers was being celebrated across the world of independent and public media on Thursday as news of his death at the age of 91 spread across the United States and beyond.
"RIP Bill Moyers, one of the greatest of the greats," Press Watch's Dan Froomkin said on social media as remembrances and celebrations of the legendary broadcaster, democracy defender, and longtime Common Dreams contributor poured in.
Moyers died of complications from prostate cancer at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City.
He began his long media career as a teenager, reporting for his local newspaper in Texas. He was also an ordained Baptist minister and former President Lyndon B. Johnson's press secretary.
"He believed deeply in the power and potential of public media, and he set the standard for public broadcasting by telling stories you couldn't find anywhere else."
A joint statement from the LBJ Presidential Library, his foundation, and the Johnson family noted that "Moyers played a central role in developing and promoting Johnson's Great Society agenda, an ambitious domestic policy program to eliminate poverty, expand civil rights, and improve education and healthcare nationwide."
Moyers left the White House and returned to journalism in 1967. He served as publisher of Newsday, then launched his award-winning television career, from which he retired in 2015. His website, BillMoyers.com, went into "archive mode" in 2017.
With his television programming—much of which aired on PBS—Moyers took "his cameras and microphones to cities and towns where unions, community organizations, environmental groups, tenants rights activists, and others were waging grassroots campaigns for change," Peter Dreier wrote for Common Dreams a decade ago.
In a comment to Common Dreams after Moyer's death, The Nation's John Nichols, who co-founded the group Free Press and co-authored The Death and Life of American Journalism, highlighted the late journalist's work during the era of former President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney.
"There were journalism and democracy campaigners before Bill Moyers, and there will be journalism and democracy campaigners who carry the movement forward now that he has passed," Nichols said. "But every honest history will record that the modern media reform movement—with its commitment to diversity, to equity, and to defending the sort of speak-truth-to-power reporting that exposes injustice, inequality, authoritarianism, and militarism—was made possible by Bill's courageous advocacy during the Bush-Cheney years. He raised the banner—as a former White House press secretary, a bestselling author, and a nationally recognized journalist and PBS host—and we rallied around it."
Free Press president and co-CEO Craig Aaron said in a statement that "Bill Moyers was a legend who lived up to his reputation. Moyers believed that journalism should serve democracy, not just the bottom line. He believed deeply in the power and potential of public media, and he set the standard for public broadcasting by telling stories you couldn't find anywhere else. He always stood up to bullies—including those who come forward in every generation to try to crush public media and end its independence. We can honor his memory by continuing that fight."
Many journalists weighed in on social media, sharing stories of his "very generous heart," and how he was "the rarest combination of curiosity, kindness, honesty, and conviction."
So sad to hear of Bill Moyers passing. An amazing thinker, journalist, interlocutor, supporter of anyone trying to engage in serious dialogue on any front. Just a lovely, generous, and kind human. A great friend to @motherjones. www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2...
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— Clara Jeffery (@clarajeffery.bsky.social) June 26, 2025 at 5:20 PM
"Bill Moyers was a close friend, a mentor, and a role model. In a media world where there's almost no solidarity, he guided my career and was an unwavering supporter of our accountability journalism at The Lever," said the outlet's founder, David Sirota, on Thursday. "This is terrible news. We have lost a giant."
"There's this idea of 'never meet your heroes'—and in my experience, I think that aphorism holds up for the most part," Sirota added. "But it was the opposite with Bill—as great a journalism hero as he was in public, he was just as great a mentor in private. He truly was the best of us."
Bill Moyers was enormously generous to @prospect.org over the years, mostly predating me. But I had the chance to speak with him a couple times and it was a great thrill. RIP.apnews.com/article/bill...
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— David Dayen (@ddayen.bsky.social) June 26, 2025 at 5:40 PM
Katrina vanden Heuvel, The Nation's editorial director and publisher, said Thursday that "Moyers distinguished himself as a journalist by refusing to be a stenographer for the powerful. Instead of providing yet another venue for the predictable preening of establishment leaders, Moyers gave a platform to dissenting voices from both the left and the right. Instead of covering the news from the narrow perspective of the political and corporate elite, Moyers gave voice to the powerless and the issues that affect them."
"We journalists are of course obliged to cover the news," Moyers said at an event hosted by the magazine in Washington, D.C., according to vanden Heuvel. "But our deeper mission is to uncover the news that powerful people would prefer to keep hidden."
Beyond the media world, Moyers was also remembered fondly. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said Thursday that "Bill Moyers, a friend, public servant, and outstanding journalist, has passed away. As an aide to President Johnson, Bill pushed the president in a more progressive direction. As a journalist, he had the courage to explore issues that many ignored. Bill will be sorely missed."
While Moyers has now passed, his legacy lives on in his mountain of work, more than 1,000 hours of which were collected in 2023 by the American Archive of Public Broadcasting, a collaboration between the Library of Congress and Boston's GBH. The Bill Moyers Collection is available online at AmericanArchive.org.
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Months After Oversight Battle, Rep. Gerry Connolly Dies at 75
The lawmaker announced in late April that he was stepping down from his ranking member position on the powerful House Oversight Committee.
May 21, 2025
Three weeks after announcing he would not run for reelection and would step down from his leadership role on a powerful U.S. House committee, Rep. Gerald Connolly died Wednesday at the age of 75.
Connolly (D-Va.) announced in November just after winning his reelection campaign that he'd been diagnosed with esophageal cancer.
Connolly's family stated that he "passed away peacefully at his home this morning surrounded by family."
"Gerry lived his life to give back to others and make our community better," said the Connolly family. "He looked out for the disadvantaged and voiceless. He always stood up for what is right and just. He was a skilled statesman on the international stage, an accomplished legislator in Congress, a visionary executive on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, a fierce defender of democracy, an environmental champion, and a mentor to so many."
His death came five months after he won the role of ranking member on the House Oversight and Accountability Committee. U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) also ran for the position, saying the role of the top Democratic lawmaker on the panel was a "profound and consequential one," with the ranking member empowered to subpoena members of the Trump administration should Democrats win the 2026 midterm elections.
A number of lawmakers and political observers expressed support for Ocasio-Cortez's bid, with former Obama administration staffer Dan Pfeiffer calling her "probably the best communicator in the Democratic Party right now."
Connolly signaled that he would take a reserved approach to the powerful position, suggesting in one interview that his colleagues who go "on cable television" to denounce the Trump administration were "performative"—comments that frustrated many progressives who believed Ocasio-Cortez would wage effective attacks on the Trump administration and would keep the crucial committee in the spotlight.
"He was a skilled statesman on the international stage, an accomplished legislator in Congress, a visionary executive on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, a fierce defender of democracy, an environmental champion, and a mentor to so many."
But much of progressives' ire over the Oversight battle was reserved not for Connolly but for Democratic leaders like Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who reportedly made "calls" to Democratic lawmakers urging them to join her in supporting Connolly.
Political organizer Max Berger, co-founder of the Jewish-led Palestinian rights group IfNotNow and the labor-focused media organization More Perfect Union, said Wednesday that Pelosi's interference ensured the victory of a lawmaker who was in frail health "over an up-and-coming Latino woman"—as then-President-elect Donald Trump and his billionaire ally, Elon Musk, were gearing up to dismantle federal agencies, fire hundreds of thousands of federal workers, secure financial benefits for Musk's aerospace company, and gut the social safety net in order to secure tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans.
"Have the past five months been an important time for congressional oversight?" Berger asked rhetorically on Bluesky. "As Trump and Musk were ransacking the federal government, congressional Democrats put a 74-year-old cancer patient in charge of providing oversight. He died within five months of taking the job. It's a form of political negligence that borders on criminal."
Amanda Litman, president of Run for Something, said Connolly "was a good guy, a good leader, and a committed public servant."
"It's so deeply sad on many levels that his final months of life were spent fighting to hold on to power," said Litman.
In the last two-and-a-half years, eight members of the U.S. House have died while in office. All have been Democrats, and three have died since Trump took office for his second term.
Both before and after his diagnosis and the Oversight fight that garnered national headlines, Connolly was a fierce defender of federal workers, including those at the U.S. Postal Service. In March he demanded a public hearing on the Trump administration's threats to privatize the USPS. He was also a fierce critic of Trump's plan to strip federal employees of job protections, and sponsored a bill that passed in the House in 2021 to block federal job reclassifications.
He sponsored the Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act in 2014, which was credited with speeding up processing times for and Social Security beneficiaries and veterans needing services, strengthening cybersecurity at hospitals, and expediting federal emergency responses—"his major legislative legacy to date," Mark Rozell, dean of the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University, told The Washington Post.
"It did transform a part of the operations of the federal government in what is considered by experts to have been profoundly important," said Rozell.
Connolly also led the Democrats' successful fight during Trump's first term against the addition of a citizenship question to the U.S. Census, saying it would provoke "real and palpable" fear in many households. In a memorable CNN interview in 2019, he said he would "go to the max" to ensure the administration complied with court orders and threatened jail time for officials who resisted subpoenas.
Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.), a member of the House Oversight Committee, called Connolly "a tireless champion of effective oversight, a brilliant legislator, and a cherished presence in the House."
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Progressive Movement Mourns Loss of Beloved Media Scholar Robert McChesney
"The world of media scholarship, journalists far and wide, and anyone who cares about a free press, a functioning democracy, and a better world has suffered a tremendous loss," said Common Dreams' managing editor.
Mar 27, 2025
Robert McChesney—prominent media scholar, Free Press co-founder, dogged defender of democracy, and friend of Common Dreams—died Tuesday at the age of 72.
McChesney's many books, nearly three dozen in total which he either wrote or edited, include: Rich Media, Poor Democracy (2000); The Problem With the Media (2004); The Death and Life of American Journalism (2010, co-authored with John Nichols); Dollarocracy (2012, also with Nichols); Digital Disconnect (2013); and Digital Democracy (2014).
He was the Gutgsell endowed professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign, and also co-founded the Illinois Initiative on Global Information and Communication Policy with Dan Schiller.
"Bob McChesney was a brilliant scholar whose ideas and insights reached far beyond the classroom. He opened the eyes of a generation of academics, journalists, politicians and activists—including me—to how media structures and policies shape our broader politics and possibilities," said Free Press president and co-CEO Craig Aaron.
Free Press mourns the passing of co-founder Robert W. McChesney, a brilliant scholar & generous mentor who captured corporate media's profound influence on the health of our democracy. https://www.freepress.net/news/press-releases/free-press-mourns-death-co-founder-and-scholar-robert-w-mcchesney
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— Free Press (@freepress.bsky.social) March 27, 2025 at 8:08 AM
"While McChesney spent much of his career charting the problems of the media and the critical junctures that created our current crises, he believed fundamentally in the public's ability to solve those problems and build a media system that serves people's needs and sustains democracy," Aaron continued.
"His ideas were bold and transformative, and he had little patience for tinkering around the edges," he added. "Rather than fighting over Washington's narrow vision of what was possible, he always said—and Bob loved a good sports metaphor—that we needed to throw the puck down to the other end of the ice."
A Common Dreams reader, contributor, promoter, and supporter for over 25 years, McChesney will be deeply missed by all those associated with the independent, nonprofit news organization.
"Both in my personal political development earlier in life and as a working journalist in the profession," said Common Dreams managing editor Jon Queally, "McChesney had a profound influence on how I came to understand media systems and the political economy overall."
"Rich Media, Poor Democracy pretty much changed my life, a book that I once taught to high school students—which they loved, by the way—as it explains, in an accessible but penetrating fashion, just how corrupting the news and information landscape can be when it is controlled wholesale by corporate interests," Queally continued.
"The world of media scholarship, journalists far and wide, and anyone who cares about a free press, a functioning democracy, and a better world has suffered a tremendous loss with the passing of Bob McChesney," he added. "Our hearts go out to his family and many friends."
Rutgers University communications professor Andrew Kennis also highlighted the importance of Rich Media, Poor Democracy. He told Common Dreams that McChesney—who along with Noam Chomsky wrote openers to his 2022 book Digital-Age Resistance: Journalism, Social Movements, and the Media Dependence Model—influenced his own work.
"Bob McChesney's impact on media was immeasurable," Kennis said in a phone interview. "He was a steadfast public intellectual who inspired millions with accessible critiques of capitalism and its corrosive effects on democracy. He argued that the United States' descent into neoliberalism came at the expense of popular sovereignty."
Kennis said he got to know McChesney through Chomsky, adding that "Noam called Bob 'pretty much the best political economist' in the country, and practically the world."
"Bob very much self-identified as a political economist in general, but especially about communications," he explained.
In a 2013 appearance on "Moyers & Company," hosted by Bill Moyers on PBS, McChesney joined with friend and frequent co-author Nichols, national affairs correspondent for The Nation, to discuss their book, Dollarocracy: How the Money and Media Election Complex Is Destroying America.
"Democracy means rule of the people: one person, one vote," McChesney explained to Moyers during the interview. "Dollarocracy means the rule of the dollars: one dollar, one vote. Those with lots of dollars have lots of power. Those with no dollars have no power."
U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) wrote the introduction to Dollarocracy. Jeff Cohen, founder of Fairness and Accuracy in Media (FAIR) and founding director of the Park Center for Independent Media at Ithaca College, called his friend McChesney a "proud socialist" who "told me how glad he was to go door to door" canvassing for Sanders when he ran for president in 2016 and 2020.
Writing for FAIR, Cohen said that "no one did more to analyze the negative and censorial impacts of our media and information systems being controlled by giant, amoral corporations."
"Particularly enlightening was his 2014 book, Digital Disconnect: How Capitalism Is Turning the Internet Against Democracy," Cohen continued, "in which McChesney explained in step-by-step detail how the internet that held so much promise for journalism and democracy was being strangled by corporate greed, and by government policy that put greed in the driver's seat."
"That was a key point for Bob in all his work: He detested the easy phrase 'media deregulation,' when in fact government policy was actively and heavily regulating the media system (and so many other systems) toward corporate control," Cohen added.
In 2015, at the National Conference for Media Reform in Denver hosted by Free Press, McChesney sat down with Common Dreams to discuss the importance of independent outlets as well as the inspiring promise of journalism that can "change the world" by exposing one person at a time to news or information they might not otherwise ever learn or come by:
Robert McChesney on Common Dreams
Nichols wrote for The Nation Thursday that while McChesney was a "globally respected communications scholar who was wholly welcome in the halls of academia," he "was never satisfied working within an ivory tower."
Indeed, a lesser-known aspect of McChesney's work was his immersion in one of the late 20th century's emerging music scenes.
"One of the first things that Bob did to have an impact on society was with the grunge movement in Seattle," Kennis told Common Dreams. "That was kind of his street cred before he went full nerd."
"Bob was doing some independent journalism and was studying in Seattle and was closely covering the emergence of Nirvana and other garage bands back then; that's how he got his first big dip into journalism," he said. "And he was a big fan, and part of the fabric of indie rock."
McChesney—who studied history and political economy at Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington and earned a Ph.D. in communications from the University of Washington in Seattle in 1989—co-founded the The Rocket, an alternative weekly newspaper that highlighted groups such as Nirvana, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, Screaming Trees, Sleater-Kinney, and Mudhoney as they rose to prominence. Ironically, The Rocket was sold to a big San Francisco publisher whose financial mismanagement killed the once-independent paper.
"Bob was a towering character," Kennis said, "always dedicated from the beginning to the end to the good fight."
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Congressman Raúl Grijalva, Defender of Working People and Planet, Dead at 77
"Rep. Grijalva fought a long and brave battle," his staff said. "He passed away this morning due to complications of his cancer treatments."
Mar 13, 2025
Condolences and remembrances swiftly mounted on Thursday after the staff of U.S. Congressman Raúl Grijalva announced that the Arizona Democrat died at the age of 77, following a fight with lung cancer.
"Rep. Grijalva fought a long and brave battle. He passed away this morning due to complications of his cancer treatments," according to the office of the late congressman, who announced his diagnosis last April.
Grijalva, who represented Arizona's 7th District, was first elected to Congress in 2002. While on Capitol Hill, he rose to leadership roles, including co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and chair of the House Natural Resources Committee.
"From permanently protecting the Grand Canyon for future generations to strengthening the Affordable Care Act, his proudest moments in Congress have always been guided by community voices," Grijalva's staff said. "He led the charge for historic investments in climate action, port of entry modernization, permanent funding for land and water conservation programs, access to healthcare for tribal communities and the uninsured, fairness for immigrant families and Dreamers, student loan forgiveness, stronger protections for farmers and workers exposed to extreme heat, early childhood education expansion, higher standards for tribal consultation, and so much more."
"From Tucson to Nogales and beyond, he worked tirelessly for transformational improvements. Rep. Grijalva pushed for new public parks, childcare centers, healthcare clinics, local businesses, and affordable housing [that] breathed new life into neighborhoods across Southern Arizona. Improvements to our roads, bridges, and streetcar system have improved our daily lives and attracted new businesses and industries to the area," the office added. "Rep. Grijalva's passion was not only for his community, but for preservation of the planet."
Grijalva's colleagues also highlighted key parts of his legacy. Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), a former House member, said that "I am heartbroken by the news of Congressman Raúl Grijalva's passing. For climate justice, economic justice, health justice—Raúl fought fearlessly for change. We served a decade together on the Natural Resources Committee, and I will forever be grateful for his leadership and partnership."
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who also previously served in the lower chamber, said that "I mourn the death of Rep. Raúl Grijalva, a former colleague of mine and one of the most progressive members of the U.S. House. Raúl was a fighter for working families throughout his entire life. He will be sorely missed."
Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) called his death "a genuinely devastating loss," adding: "Raúl Grijalva stood as one of the biggest champions for working people in all of Congress. His leadership was singular. He mentored generously and was an incredible friend. I will always be grateful for his lifelong courage and commitment."
Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.) said that "today we lost a dedicated progressive leader in Raúl Grijalva. The son of a bracero, Rep. Grijalva's 12-term commitment to our environment, to immigrant communities, and to his constituents in Tucson enriched this country. His passing is a monumental loss for our caucus and communities."
Congressman Maxwell Alejandro Frost (D-Fla.) wrote: "Wow. This is such a loss for Arizona and our country. Chair Raúl Grijalva has been a champion for progressive change his entire life. From the school board to Congress, his leadership and voice inspired so many. Myself included. Rest in power, Chairman Grijalva."
Rep. Yassamin Ansari (D-Ariz.), elected to Congress in November, said that "I'm devastated to hear of the passing of my colleague Raúl Grijalva. He was a fighter for Arizonans and a champion for Indigenous communities and our planet. We will all miss him dearly. My thoughts are with his family, friends, loved ones, and constituents."
Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), who switched chambers after the last election, said that "Congressman Grijalva was not just my colleague, but my friend. As another Latino working in public service, I can say from experience that he served as a role model to many young people across the Grand Canyon State. He spent his life as a voice for equality."
"In Congress, I was proud to see firsthand his leadership as chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee as he stood up for Arizona's water rights, natural beauty, and tribes," Gallego added. "I am praying for his family during this time of grief, and I hope that they find comfort knowing his legacy is one that will stand tall for generations."
Advocacy group leaders also weighed in, with Kierán Suckling, executive director and founder of the Center for Biological Diversity, calling his death "a heartbreaking, devastating loss for the people of Southern Arizona and everyone around this nation who loves the natural world."
"Raúl was a great friend and partner in our fight for clean air and water, our beautiful public lands, and wildlife great and small," Suckling said. "We can all look to him as the model of what every member of Congress and every person of dignity and hope should aspire to be."
"From Mexican wolves to spotted owls to the New Mexico meadow jumping mouse, every creature in this country had a friend in Raúl," Suckling added. "He was as fierce as a jaguar, and that's why we called him our Macho G. I'll miss him dearly."
According to KVOA, the NBC affiliate in Tucson, Grijalva's office "will continue providing constituent services during the special election" to fill his seat.
Grijalva's death follows that of Congressman Sylvester Turner (D-Texas), who died on March 5. His seat will also need to be filled by a special election.
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Cecile Richards, Reproductive Rights Champion Who Led Planned Parenthood, Dies at 67
"To honor her legacy and life, let's do everything we can in this moment to create the just world that everyone deserves," said former Texas lawmaker Wendy Davis.
Jan 20, 2025
Cecile Richards, the former president of Planned Parenthood and longtime champion of women's rights and other progressive causes, died on Monday at the age of 67. The cause was an aggressive brain cancer that had been diagnosed in 2023.
Richards' husband and three children confirmed her death in a statement posted on social media.
Richards, the daughter of forner Democratic Texas Gov. Ann Richards, had an early introduction to progressive politics. At 16 she worked on a campaign to elect Sarah Waddington, the lawyer who argued in favor of abortion rights before the U.S. Supreme Court in Roe v. Wade, and in college she helped push Brown University to divest from companies that supported apartheid in South Africa.
After years of labor organizing work, Richards became the president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America. She sat at the helm of the organization for 12 years, leading it as it became more vocal in electoral politics and fought state-level battles against abortion restrictions.
She was the national face of the organization and spoke frequently on its behalf at political events and galas, but also stood shoulder-to-shoulder with abortion rights supporters at pivotal moments in the fight against right-wing efforts to attack reproductive justice.
In 2013, after then-Texas state Sen. Wendy Davis (D-10) made national headlines by spending 13 hours filibustering an omnibus bill that contained a host of anti-abortion measures, Richards rallied supporters in the state Capitol to yell loud enough to halt the Senate debate over the legislation—a move that Republican lawmakers later blamed for the bill's failure.
"That was vital," Dave Cortez of Occupy Austin told The Texas Tribune. "Her support really helped put it all together."
Davis called Richards "a light, a champion, a force for good" on Monday.
Calling her death "a heartbreaking loss," Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) said the former Planned Parenthood leader "spent her life on the front lines, fighting for women's rights throughout this country."
After leaving Planned Parenthood in 2018, Richards co-founded the progressive political mobilization group Supermajority and toured the nation speaking out against President Donald Trump's nomination of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
She also cofounded the chatbot Charley, which connects people seeking abortion care with reproductive health organizations, and Abortion in America, a project that publishes the personal stories of people who have obtained abortions since the Supreme Court overturned Roe in 2022.
"The only thing people respond to and remember are stories," Richards told The New York Times last October. "We have to figure out: How do you catch the attention of people that, even if they could find the article, don't have 20 minutes to read it?"
Richards' death was announced just hours before Trump, who has bragged about his role in overturning Roe and mocked the family of one woman who died after being unable to receive standard care under Georgia's abortion ban, was to be sworn in for his second term in office.
"As if today wasn't bad enough, the passing of Cecile Richards, former Planned Parenthood leader, is beyond tragic for all women in U.S," said former Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.). "Her powerful voice for women's freedom has been silenced. Rest in power, dear friend."
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) said Richards "modeled guts and grit in public service, showing courage and fortitude beyond words as a champion of women's reproductive freedom."
In their statement, Richards' family asked that supporters who wish to honor her listen to "some New Orleans jazz, gather with friends and family over a good meal, and remember something she said a lot over the last year: It's not hard to imagine future generations one day asking, 'When there was so much at stake for our country, what did you do?'"
"The only acceptable answer is: Everything we could."
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Former President and Human Rights Champion Jimmy Carter Dies at 100
Carter served in the White House for four years and went on to work tirelessly for peace and human rights.
Dec 29, 2024
Former President Jimmy Carter, who served just four years in office and went on to win the Nobel Peace Prize for his decades of work promoting human rights and international peace, died on Sunday at his home in Plains, Georgia at the age of 100.
His death was confirmed by his son and came close to two years after the Carter Center announced that the former president had stopped medical treatment for health conditions and was entering hospice care.
Rights advocates have credited Carter for his championing of the rights of marginalized people including Palestinians, even as the U.S. political establishment remains overwhelmingly supportive of Israel's violent policies in Palestine.
"He was our greatest ex-president and a very good president despite GOP efforts to tarnish him," said James Zogby, founder of the Arab American Institute. "He was a peacemaker and a human rights champion. A humble man. He taught us how to live with principles and how to die with grace."
During his term, Carter helped to broker peace between Israel and Egypt, finalized a treaty that returned control of the Panama Canal to Panama, and signed an agreement with the Soviet Union to limit strategic weapons. But conservatives attacked him for presiding over a period of high unemployment and inflation, the Iran hostage crisis, and an energy crisis in which the price of oil tripled.
Carter was credited with being ahead of his time regarding environmental concerns—installing solar water heater panels on the White House that were later removed by his Republican successor.
"A generation from now,” he said at a televised event when the panels were installed, "this solar heater can either be a curiosity, a museum piece, an example of a road not taken, or it can be just a small part of one of the greatest and most exciting adventures ever undertaken by the American people."
He lost his reelection campaign to Ronald Reagan in a landslide in 1980. As the Republican president set about promoting trickle-down economics, with lasting effects on corporate power and income inequality in the U.S., Carter turned his attention to building affordable housing with Habitat for Humanity and promoting human rights and peacemaking around the world.
With his wife Rosalynn—who died in November 2023—Carter established the Carter Center in the early 1980s. The organization's health programs have been credited with helping to cure and control diseases including river blindness, trachoma, and Guinea worm disease in Africa, Latin America, and Asia.
Carter was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 "for his decades of untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts," including his leadership during the painstaking negotiations that ended decades of conflict between Egypt and Israel in 1978. In his acceptance speech, Carter warned against the invasion of Iraq.
He published the book Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid in 2006, comparing Israel's treatment of Palestinians to apartheid in South Africa. The book was treated as controversial, but he vehemently defended its central argument.
"The word 'apartheid' is exactly accurate," he told Democracy Now! "Palestinians can't even ride on the same roads that Israelis have created in Palestinian territory... The Israelis completely dominate the life of the Palestinian people."
In October 2023, the Carter Center issued a statement saying there was "no military solution" to the conflict between Hamas and Israel, and demanded a cease-fire.
Carter also distinguished himself among former presidents by speaking out against the Citizens United Supreme Court decision, saying the U.S. had become an "oligarchy with unlimited political bribery."
"My father was a hero, not only to me but to everyone who believes in peace, human rights, and unselfish love," said Chip Carter, the former president's son. "My brothers, sister, and I shared him with the rest of the world through these common beliefs. The world is our family because of the way he brought people together, and we thank you for honoring his memory by continuing to live these shared beliefs."
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Former Sen. Fred Harris, Champion of Economic Populism, Dies at 94
"The fundamental problem is that too few people have all the money and power, and everybody else has too little of either," said Harris in 1975.
Nov 25, 2024
Former Oklahoma Senator Fred Harris, a moderate Democratic lawmaker who fully embraced economic populism in his later political career and ran what one journalist called a "proto-Bernie" presidential campaign in 1976, died on Saturday at the age of 94.
Harris' death inspired tributes from an array of Democratic politicians and progressives, who remembered the former senator's outspoken support for working people and his championing of Indigenous rights.
Harris was voted into the Senate to replace Sen. Robert Kerr (D-Okla.) in 1964 after Kerr died of a heart attack. He began as a close ally of President Lyndon Johnson, supporting U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War and Johnson's Great Society programs aimed at reducing poverty.
But he "underwent a dramatic passage from moderate-conservative to liberal ideas," as The New York Times reported, embracing a "new populism" that was centered on promoting racial equality and a redistribution of economic and political power and fighting against the exploitation of workers. He also gradually changed his stance on Vietnam, calling for troop reductions and eventually a full withdrawal of the U.S. military in the region.
In 1967 he was a member of the Kerner Commission on Civil Disorders, convened to determine the root cause of riots in Black communities across the country. He concluded that "entrenched racism" was to blame.
He was also credited with sponsoring a bill that pushed President Richard Nixon to return Blue Lake, a site that was sacred to the people of the Taos Pueblo tribe, to them.
"In Senator Harris, Oklahoma sent a public servant to Washington, D.C. who gave voice to those in need, lifted up those the economy left behind, was a champion of civil rights, and was a friend to Indian Country," said Chief Chuck Hoskin, Jr. of the Cherokee Nation.
"His story is one that too few people know—the story of an Oklahoman who championed working families and fought for justice and equity at every turn."
Running for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1976, Harris called for higher taxes on the richest Americans and lower taxes for the rest of the country, stricter regulations on large corporations, a "moral" foreign policy, abortion rights, and "community control" of police forces.
Columnist John Nichols of The Nation said Harris adopted the slogan "No More Bullshit" during his presidential campaign.
Harris' presidential bid, said journalist Ryan Grim of Drop Site News, "was a road-not-taken that would have led to a much better world than we have now."
Harris told the Times in 1975 that the issue he was most concerned with was "privilege."
"The fundamental problem is that too few people have all the money and power, and everybody else has too little of either," he said. "The widespread diffusion of economic and political power ought to be the express goal—the stated goal—of government."
Harris' campaign garnered enthusiastic support from many voters, with the former senator taking aim at "the superrich, giant corporations" and leading efforts to gain the confidence of blue-collar workers, farmers, poor Black and white voters, and unemployed people.
"Those in the coalition don't have to love one another," Harris said. "All they have to do is recognize that they are commonly exploited, and that if they get themselves together they are a popular majority and can take back the government."
After his presidential run, Harris became a political science professor at the University of New Mexico at Albuquerque and left politics to raise chickens on a farm in Corrales, New Mexico.
In conversations with Axios reporter Russell Contreras in his later years, Harris expressed frustration with the Democratic Party, saying leaders didn't discuss poverty as much as they should.
"It's harder to get out of poverty today than it was back then," he told Contreras.
He added that showing a commitment to fight for working-class and low-income people would motivate people in Appalachia, the Mississippi Delta, and on Native American reservations across the country.
"We are grateful to see national media highlighting the life and legacy of former Senator Fred Harris," said the Oklahoma Democratic Party. "His story is one that too few people know—the story of an Oklahoman who championed working families and fought for justice and equity at every turn."
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