Good Morning, this is the Commonwealth Report.
News for the public, not the powerful.
Did Trump Send American Paratroopers to go Into Iran in Secret?
The Pentagon quietly flew paratroopers from the Army’s storied Geronimo battalion into Israel, and they hid it from you. Journalist Ken Klippenstein reports the deployment order went out April seventh, part of a contingency plan with Israel for seizing Iranian territory that’s been on the books since February. The Pentagon told the press the troops were headed to CENTCOM. They never said Israel. Why the secrecy? Because launching from Israel means no Gulf state gets a say, and no public debate gets in the way. The report says the quiet kept Americans from arguing over a joint operation inside Iran. That’s how wars start now. Not with a vote in Congress, but with a press release that leaves out the most important word.
Should a Senator’s Coal Empire Get a Free Pass on Poisoning Your Water?
This year the Trump administration killed a federal criminal investigation into the coal empire owned by Senator Jim Justice, Republican of West Virginia and a close Trump ally. Prosecutors at the EPA and Justice Department believed they had a strong case over thousands of Clean Water Act violations. Then the Deputy Attorney General’s office told them, quote, “pencils down.” The DOJ charges only about a dozen criminal water cases a year, so killing one this early is almost unheard of. A former prosecutor of twenty four years said there shouldn’t be an untouchables list. But that’s exactly what we’ve got. Coal mines leach arsenic into the water working families drink, and the message from the top is clear. If you’re Trump’s friend, the law looks the other way.
Republicans Slip Billionaires a Tax Dodge Inside an Air Safety Bill
After a military helicopter killed dozens over the Potomac, Congress finally moved on air safety. Then House Republicans slipped in a gift. The provision says aircraft tracking data can’t be used to identify planes for collecting revenue from owners. Translation, private jet billionaires get help dodging the taxman. A Los Angeles County assessor told Politico that for one year that data brought California thirty five million dollars in revenue. One Senate Democrat put it plainly, quote, “helping private-jet billionaires avoid paying taxes.” This comes a year after Trump and Republicans made private jets fully tax deductible. So a bill written to keep planes from crashing into each other now doubles as a coupon for the superwealthy. That’s who they work for, and it isn’t you.
Is the Ocean Dying While We Argue About Everything Else?
The United Nations just dropped its third World Ocean Assessment, the work of nearly six hundred scientists from eighty six countries. The findings are grim. The rate of sea level rise has doubled in a decade, from about two millimeters a year to four point three. Every year fifty two million tons of plastic pour into the sea. More than four thousand marine species are now hit by microplastics. Fish stocks that feed billions are collapsing under pollution and industrial fishing. Greenpeace called it an urgent wake up call. The ocean absorbs ninety percent of our excess heat and a third of our carbon. It’s been quietly saving us for generations now. Now it’s buckling, and the people in power would rather sell you a coin.
Speaking of Coins, Has the Grift Ever Been This Shameless?
On his birthday Sunday, Trump will watch a UFC brawl staged outside the White House. To mark it, the Trump Organization and the UFC are hawking Freedom two fifty coins stamped with his face, priced from two hundred fifty dollars up to twelve thousand. They drop today, supposedly to honor America’s two hundred fiftieth birthday. Every patriotic moment, branded and sold. And here’s your palate cleanser. Trump showed up to Game Three of the NBA Finals, got loudly booed during the anthem, appeared to nod off, and watched the Knicks lose for the first time in forty six games. Fans are calling it the Trump Curse. One fan said, quote, “everything he touches turns to shit.” Even basketball isn’t safe.
And that’s the way it is, Today Tuesday, June ninth, two thousand twenty six. I’m Thom Hartmann.
