SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
On the Disaster in Haiti, and the Coverage
The footage from Haiti is absolutely heartbreaking.
If you've got a loved one in Haiti, my thoughts are with you. I can only imagine the anguish you must feel today.
Every person there is precious. Every injured person and every
fatality represents a disaster for a family. I can only hope that
rescuers arrive swiftly to save all those who can be saved, and that
relief arrives promptly with food, clean water, and hospital supplies.
I'm donating, as I'm hoping you'll do, too. Every little bit helps.
Jan 15, 2010
The footage from Haiti is absolutely heartbreaking.
If you've got a loved one in Haiti, my thoughts are with you. I can only imagine the anguish you must feel today.
Every person there is precious. Every injured person and every
fatality represents a disaster for a family. I can only hope that
rescuers arrive swiftly to save all those who can be saved, and that
relief arrives promptly with food, clean water, and hospital supplies.
I'm donating, as I'm hoping you'll do, too. Every little bit helps.
And I don't want to fixate on the casualty figures, as Wolf Blitzer
is doing. He acts like he'll be sorely disappointed if it doesn't
exceed 100,000. He's turning himself into a pornographer of disaster, a
carnival barker of death.
And I don't want to hear, as I did on the Weather Channel, of all
places, about how pathetic Haiti is, and always was. Nor do any of us
need to hear the rantings of Pat Robertson blaming yet another calamity
on the victims.
I had to turn to BET to hear some welcome insight about how Haiti
has a rich history of fighting for freedom and how its art, music,
religious practices, and literature add tremendously to the world's
cultural stockpile.
What I want to hear, now, is how the people in Haiti themselves are fighting heroically to save lives.
And I want to know, now, is that our government is doing all it can in this regard, too.
We are not Americans. They are not Haitians. We are all human beings.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
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 |
© 2023 The Progressive
Matt Rothschild
Matt Rothschild is the executive director of the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign. Prior to joining the Democracy Campaign at the start of 2015, Matt worked at The Progressive Magazine for 32 years. For most of those, he was the editor and publisher of The Progressive.
The footage from Haiti is absolutely heartbreaking.
If you've got a loved one in Haiti, my thoughts are with you. I can only imagine the anguish you must feel today.
Every person there is precious. Every injured person and every
fatality represents a disaster for a family. I can only hope that
rescuers arrive swiftly to save all those who can be saved, and that
relief arrives promptly with food, clean water, and hospital supplies.
I'm donating, as I'm hoping you'll do, too. Every little bit helps.
And I don't want to fixate on the casualty figures, as Wolf Blitzer
is doing. He acts like he'll be sorely disappointed if it doesn't
exceed 100,000. He's turning himself into a pornographer of disaster, a
carnival barker of death.
And I don't want to hear, as I did on the Weather Channel, of all
places, about how pathetic Haiti is, and always was. Nor do any of us
need to hear the rantings of Pat Robertson blaming yet another calamity
on the victims.
I had to turn to BET to hear some welcome insight about how Haiti
has a rich history of fighting for freedom and how its art, music,
religious practices, and literature add tremendously to the world's
cultural stockpile.
What I want to hear, now, is how the people in Haiti themselves are fighting heroically to save lives.
And I want to know, now, is that our government is doing all it can in this regard, too.
We are not Americans. They are not Haitians. We are all human beings.
Matt Rothschild
Matt Rothschild is the executive director of the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign. Prior to joining the Democracy Campaign at the start of 2015, Matt worked at The Progressive Magazine for 32 years. For most of those, he was the editor and publisher of The Progressive.
The footage from Haiti is absolutely heartbreaking.
If you've got a loved one in Haiti, my thoughts are with you. I can only imagine the anguish you must feel today.
Every person there is precious. Every injured person and every
fatality represents a disaster for a family. I can only hope that
rescuers arrive swiftly to save all those who can be saved, and that
relief arrives promptly with food, clean water, and hospital supplies.
I'm donating, as I'm hoping you'll do, too. Every little bit helps.
And I don't want to fixate on the casualty figures, as Wolf Blitzer
is doing. He acts like he'll be sorely disappointed if it doesn't
exceed 100,000. He's turning himself into a pornographer of disaster, a
carnival barker of death.
And I don't want to hear, as I did on the Weather Channel, of all
places, about how pathetic Haiti is, and always was. Nor do any of us
need to hear the rantings of Pat Robertson blaming yet another calamity
on the victims.
I had to turn to BET to hear some welcome insight about how Haiti
has a rich history of fighting for freedom and how its art, music,
religious practices, and literature add tremendously to the world's
cultural stockpile.
What I want to hear, now, is how the people in Haiti themselves are fighting heroically to save lives.
And I want to know, now, is that our government is doing all it can in this regard, too.
We are not Americans. They are not Haitians. We are all human beings.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.