CAN WE… SHOULD WE… OVERCOME GLOBAL WARMING?

Martin Luther King Day has just passed... but his memory remains with us - as it should. One of the many marching songs and hymns voiced – reflecting both the goals to be achieved and challenges of the effort was and is “We Shall Overcome…”.

Recognizing a challenge and setting a course correction and goals to be achieved was set and is reflected in the Civil Rights movement.  There are other issues that require attention. One of those is a potential threat to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” both here and abroad – CLIMATE CHANGE! Can we “overcome” this challenge that has been visited upon us all, all across the globe? Do we recognize the level of challenge that we face and the potential consequences that may result from poor planning and little response? Shall we sing “We Shall Overcome” and march arm-in-arm or sit by the sidelines and do little or nothing to address  GLOBAL WARMING?

The following is just one of 7 ELEs – “EXTINCTION LEVEL EVENTS” - projected as a possible death knell for our civilization. Extinction level events or ELEs are calamities that result in the annihilation of most species on the planet. Scientists can predict some ELEs, but most are neither predictable nor preventable. Perhaps this one – GLOBAL WARMING – and its consequences – can be addressed. The following is an explanation as published by “ThoughtCo” recently, on 12/2, 2022.

“In the end, the ultimate cause of mass extinctions is global warming or global cooling, usually caused by one of the other events. Global cooling and glaciation are believed to have contributed to the End-Ordovician, Permian-Triassic, and Late Devonian extinctions. While the temperature drop killed some species, the sea level fall as water turned to ice had a much greater effect. Global warming is a much more efficient killer. But, the extreme heating of a solar storm or red giant isn't required. Sustained heating is associated with the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum, the Triassic-Jurassic extinction, and the Permian-Triassic extinction. Mostly the problem seems to be the way higher temperatures release water, adding the greenhouse effect to the equation and causing anoxic events in the ocean. On Earth, these events have always balanced out over time, yet some scientists believe there is potential for Earth to go the way of Venus. In such a scenario, global warming would sterilize the entire planet.”

THE MOUNTAINTOP

The place that we call home – the Northern Catskill Mountains - and many other East Coast ski areas – have again discovered “warmth, rain, and little snow.” Our economic base – the winter ski season provides visitors and profits for both Hunter and Windham, expands employment in the area, and provides customers for all of the local businesses – from hotels to restaurants and to shops and stores. This applies to ski resort towns and villages across the country and around the globe.  GLOBAL WARMING IMPACTS US ALL.

An entry is “The Week” magazine (1/20, 2023) notes on page 4 that Killington and Stowe were left with almost no skiable snow by weeks of warm temperatures. “It was so warm, in fact, the resorts couldn’t make snow that would stick.” It doesn’t stop there…. In the very same publication, on page 14, Author Matthias Benz of the “Neue Zurcher Zeitung”- a Swiss publication, notes that the Alps population witnessed “an appalling site or green mountainsides in the middle of ski season.” The New Year’s Day scored the highest temperature ever recorded – 68 degrees F in the mountain towns!  One suggestion in the article proposes that local ski area should re-adapt and re-brand into spring, summer, and fall destinations in the hope that people will come to prefer mountains for vacation rather than “broil” on a hot beach! In fact, the ALBANY TIMES UNION (1/15, 2023) noted that a report submitted by the Catskill Advisory Group - a governmental group established to review current practice - concluded that the CATSKILL PARK must be managed “more intensively.” The report - focused on the Hunter area – notes that summer increased visitation represents more positives for the region. Visitors “present new opportunities for towns and businesses that depend on tourism for a significant portion of their economy... and, to educate a new generation of visitors about the natural world around them, how it is changing, and how they can help protect it.”

SUMMER AND ELSEWHERE – THE “DEAD POOL”

LAKE MEAD

Recent headlines in “The Week” and other media have reported the dry nature of the western regions in the US.  Fires, drought, heavy rainstorms resulting is saturated landslides and floods have been recurring for many years. So much so, that frequent reports on the loss of water in both Lake Mead at the Hoover Dam and Lake Powell at the Glenn Canyon Dam – both along the Colorado River and both supply water diversion for residents businesses, and farming in their respective regions as well as Hydro-power from Dam turbines turned by water running through the Dam structures. Locations like Scottsdale, Phoenix, Arizona City, San Diego, Las Vegas, and Los Angeles and many other locations – people and farms – are supplied power and water from these facilities. These reservoirs – as well as the hydro-power supply in the region – are “evaporating” rapidly. This photo is a section of Lake Mead – empty and revealing of many artifacts that have been submerged for years.

Lake Mead and the Hoover Dam have been abandoned by Colorado River water year after year. Currently the water stands at near “dead pool” drought” as well as well below the ability to turn the turbines supplying electricity for the region – including Las Vegas and Los Angeles. Further reductions represent a threat to farms and far more, not to mention water supply to homes.      

LAKE POWELL - JUST 37 FEET ABOVE MINIMUM 

This photo is at Lake Powell and the Glen Canyon Dam – also on the Colorado River located earlier in the river flow to Lake Mead. As you can see, just at Lake Mead, Lake Powell has receded to a historic low level revealing many petroglyphs in caves and surfaces long submerged below the water surfaces. In fact, Powell is just 37 feet above the minimum water level needed to turn the turbines in the dam – a “dead pool” condition – with virtually no flow at all. You can note the “rings” that appear on the rocks as they may have done in your bathtub…

This evidence of drought - resulting from Global  Warming – are not singular examples of the challenge and the ELE emergency that presents itself.  Another recognizable example is Salt Lake City and the Great Salt Lake.

The Great Salt Lake has lost most of its water due to increased consumption and less in-flow. You know that the “Salt Lake” results from the presents of minerals mixed with water. Increased consumption resulted from a growing need for water and the construction of water “processing plants” to desalinate salt water, making it usable for people and for plants. According to recent studies, Utah’s great Salt Lake could “disappear within 5 years due to drought and overconsumption of water. 60% of the Lake bed is currently exposed and it stands at just 37% of its former volume. The Salt Lake Tribune reports that the region faces an “all-hands-on-deck emergency.” The report calls on Utah and nearby states to cut use of the lake’s water by up to half the current consumption.  

THE GREAT SALT LAKE - RECEDING

Faith in farming and fresh water availability – both east and west… north and south …. in the US as well as Europe…. is in peril. Isn’t it time that we follow Greta Thunberg and other environmental advocates – here on the Mountaintop, out west, in the US South, in Europe, Greenland, and the entire globe to slow, inhibit, and defeat GLOBEL WARMING and the consequences that are resulting?  Stand Up!  Speak Out! And join the green movement….

“WE SHALL OVERCOME???”

Bobby J

Tannersville, NY

IS THERE A "CIVIL WAR ELECTION" TAKING PLACE ON NOVEMBER 8TH? IN IRAN? IN THE USA? BLUE V. GREY? OR IN 2022 - BLUE V. RIGHTWING RED? GO VOTE - SAVE DEMOCRACY.... AGAIN.

 

TIME MAGAZINE:  October 24, 2022: “The View”. Page 25:

“THE WOMEN OF IRAN SPEAK”

Time Magazine presented this article in “THE VIEW” section this week. As an uprising sweeps across Iran – led by women and those men who support their campaign for freedom - grows and attracts a violent response from the Ayatollah and his henchmen, I see a shocking similarity between last-century Iran and today’s USA. Here, in part, is the front page of the article cited above…

“In a country where a man’s voice has historically been louder, the women of Iran now lead the fight for change… change has been supercharged by the country’s fearless women and girls calling for individual, social, civil, and economic reforms.”                 (Tara Kangarlou, author.)

Sound strangely familiar? Through the late 1800s, have property-owning white men in the US been in charge casting votes, making decisions, and far louder than women who could not vote? We are two weeks away from making a choice regarding a woman’s Freedom to Choose and a boatload of other free choice issues – economic, educational, civil and voting rights, and equal opportunity. THINK ABOUT IT – whether our democracy will function as “the shining city on the hill” as described by President Ronald Regan. Is this a war between Lords and Serfs? Rich and Poor? Patricians and Plebians? Corporatists and working families? Which is Rightwing Red and who is Blue fighting for freedom and equality? 

STAND UP! SPEAK OUT!

Progress has been made steadily over centuries and decades – abolition of slavery; opening the doors of democracy to those of color and to female citizens as well; expanding educational opportunity, unemployment benefits, food access, Social Security for seniors, healthcare via Medicare, Medicaid, and Kid Care.  We have expanded civil rights and a variety of freedoms including freedom to love and marry who you wish, and freedom of choice for women – especially in cases of rape, incest, and the health of the mother. We have been in a forward “march” to freedom – from FDR, to the Edmund Pettus Bridge, to the Halls of Congress.  Quite the adventure in Democracy!

ARE BURKAS NEXT? MARCH BACKWARD?

Then – from Gingrich to the Donald – an effort to march BACKWARD to the days of the past. Grab power by whatever means, apply the painful tools to dismantle it all – Acts of Congress; erase regulations or refuse to enforce the adopted rules though in place; load the federal courts with ultra-right conservative judges who swear that they will drag us back into the past with the “Contract on America”, “Jim Crow” and, later, the MAGA lunacy. Resist and challenge election outcomes, stop voting reform, increase corporate profits by cutting their taxes and celebrating profits, oppose any increase in the minimum wage are all designed to inflate wealth deflate working families. Pick the pockets of the middle class and those of modest income while stocks rise and bonuses flow up – not down. Now… why did I begin with the Women of Iran?

Last summer, the US Supreme Court led the confederate “charge” backward! They “erased” a woman’s right to choose under Roe v. Wade some 50 years ago, eliminating a woman’s Freedom of Choice. Justice Thomas, Roberts, and Alito were joined by three recent appointees from the “Orange Clockwork” Donald – a complete misogynistic narcissist using fraud and lies to become an American Autocrat modeled on Russia’s Autocrat Putin and Dictator Stalin, and Dictator Kim Jong-un of Korea. THIS MUST STOP! The celebration of our Democracy… our want for freedom and liberty, making our own decisions regarding ourselves and our future… must drive the effort to SAVE OUR DEMOCRCY!  The future is in your hands… and the hands of your friends and family. Stand up! Speak Out! Go Vote!  If you give up, we lose our freedoms and our democracy. If you STAND AND FIGHT…. ENGAGE… AND WORK FOR THOSE CANDIDATES TO STAND UP FOR US.  GO AND VOTE – November 8th.

If we save ourselves from an impending MAGA disaster… if we vote in legions to advance and protect our Democracy… and if we - and those that we support - win the election, the Time Magazine headline of the November 14^th Issue may be:

THE WOMEN OF THE UNITED STATES HAVE SPOKEN!

 

CHOICES TO BE MADE.... AND CONSEQUENCES TO BE EXPERIENCED.... VOTE NOVEMBER 8TH!

 

ARE WE '"ON THE EVE OF DESTRUCTION??? RESTRICTION ON FREE CHOICE??? ARE OUR RIGHT BEING ERODED? LIES, FRAUDS, RACISM, SEDITION???

A “funny thing happened on the way to the US Supreme Court”…. A Looney tune in the White House nominating individuals who lied under oath before the Senate Judiciary Committee…. Saying that they would “respect” long-held Supreme Court precedents when asked about their view of Roe v. Wade, adopted nearly 50 years ago. The 2022 vote erasing the rights of women to make their own healthcare/family choices took place on June 24^th with 5 Justices voting to erase women’s rights and to restrict their ability to choose....          Two of the five were appointed by the Bush presidents – Thomas and Alito, and three by the former president elected in 2016 – Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Barrett. Essentially, they agreed that the states should decide whether women had “rights” or not…. Since then, the “Freedom of Choice” pot has been BOILING – in both Red and Blue states. The first firestorm took place in Ruby-Red Kansas….. August 2, 2022….  

STAND UP!  SPEAK OUT! AND VOTE!!!

Kansas was the first state to hold a statewide referendum to completely remove a woman’s FREEDOM OF CHOICE…. Although pre-vote polling suggested a close call in a “Red” state, when the votes were counted on August 2^nd the restrictive referendum was soundly DEFEATED! PISSED-OFF Women in Kansas stood up, registered to vote and cast their ballots!  Meanwhile, South Carolina Senator Lindsay Graham introduced federal legislation that would outlaw a Women’s Choice across the nation! At home in NY State a woman’s Right to Choose was protected, expanded, with a new law adopted. Sponsored by our Senator Michelle Hinchey, the new law expands access to reproductive health care and to protects the medical rights of patients and their doctors here at home. On November 8^th, this        election and vote places a "woman's choice" at risk.

Michelle Hinchey our candidate for re-election to the NY State Senate is a sponsor of the Woman's Right Bill in NY that - again - protects a woman's right to choose within our borders. Meanwhile,  Michelle's opponent OPPOSES A WOMAN’S RIGHT TO CHOOSE… and has a long history of voting to criminalize abortion and to reject reproductive rights protections. Michelle authored NY legislation to protect women and their healthcare providers as well as expanding access to emergency contraception.  On the federal level, Josh Riley has been and will continue to protect Women’s Rights, while his opponent is yet another anti-woman Republican candidate seeking to erode a women’s freedom to choose.  

I have had enough of restrictions... for a woman's right to choose!  For the voting rights of each and every citizen! For your freedom to attend an advanced school or college - regardless of income! Restrictions on negotiating the costs of necessary medical scripts for Medicare folks! And,  worse, to restrict or deny healthcare - even in the face of an emergency! South Carolina Senator Lindsay Graham proposed a national law eliminating a woman's right to choose across the nation - including NY.  Should the Right-Red Republicans like Graham get to the majority in the Senate, this half-century right for women will get rolled back and handed to the Republican House that has pledged to make "Choice" illegal! history as it happened, get back to the era of "Jim Crow" and manipulation of elections and voting... and, should they ;loose... then refuse to accept a loss and pick up arms to become an insurrection!  THE CRAZIES ARE OUT THERE! 

Lets see.... Restrict women's rights... voting rights... healthcare rights... freedom of belief and religion... threaten colleges and universities with "penalties" for teaching 

NO SENSE SUPPORTING CANDIDATES... FOR WHATEVER OFFICE... WHO WANT TO ADVANCE THEIR OWN WEALTH AND RESTRICT THE WELL-BEING OF THOSE OF MODEST INCOME! That is where Molinaro stands against Josh Riley...VOTING FOR CANDIDATES AGAINST INCREASING THE MINUMUM WAGE? That is where Molinaro stands... against Josh Reilly....AND TAX CUTS FOR WEALTHY COMPANIES AND INDIVIDUALS??? That is where Molinaro stands against Josh Riley... VOTING FOR CANDIDATES THAT PLEDGE TO CUT TAXES ON THE WEALTHY AND REDUCE BENEFITS - SOCIAL SECURITY, MEDICARE, MEDICAID, FOOD STAMPS, AND MORE - FOR THOSE OF MODEST INCOME OR IMPACTED BY POVERTY? That is the Republican platform in both House and Senate... and not where Democrats stand! ONE MAN - ONE VOTE!  ONE WOMAN - HER CHOICE! A HAND-UP FOR THOSE IN DESPERATE NEED!  HEALTHCARE FOR ALL! INCREASE THE MINIMUM WAGE! REBUILD THE INFRASTRUCTURE! HEALTHCARE FOR VETS! AND RESTORE AMERICAN MANUFACTURING.  THAT IS WHERE WE STAND... AND THAT'S WHAT WE ASK YOU TO SUPPORT AND VOTE FOR! 

THE TIME IS NOW.... STAND UP! SPEAK OUT! MAKE CALLS! AND, GO VOTE!!!

                              Stand up! Speak Out! VOTE!                                                            

 

SAVE OUR DEMOCRACY - NOVEMBER 8, 2022 - STAND UP! SPEAK OUT! AND GO VOTE!

 

STAND UP! SPEAK OUT! GO VOTE!!! 

Will the US Constitution "crumble?" As equal citizens with guaranteed quality healthcare, women’s control over their own bodies, education of our youth, teaching factual history of our nation and the world, continuous voting rights, increasing the minimum wage, workplace safety, environmental protections, and more… are ALL AT RISK! Is this all in the hands of the state?  Federal law and regulation? Is there a Voting Rights Act in NY State? With the US Supreme Court repeal of Roe v. Wade, has NY taken “action?” And, given the Supreme Court marching BACKWARD to a collection of “independent states” with their own laws – relative to a woman’s choice?  Who to marry? And more? Are we dissolving into “warring” regions, devolving into a separated collection of troubled “tribes?” The point is – has our time passe? Are we bearing witness to the evaporation of our democracy and the elimination of the centuries-long societal “melting pot” of equal integration and inclusion of citizens of all background, religions, genders, and races?

The Republican Plan to overthrow our “one man-one” vote voting system with ease of access to casting a ballot is witnessing 299 out of 569 Republican candidates currently running continue to refuse to accept the outcome of the 2020 election. Or any clear election outcome – unless they win! Right now – in Republican “Red” states, state laws are being enacted that “gerrymander” and engineer “special” election districts, enact unpopular laws against women’s choice in healthcare, open voting, and any election outcome that they don’t like. And, in both Houses of Congress, the Republican budget plans call for cuts to Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, repealing the American Healthcare Act, and to keep corporate taxes low and Pharmacy drugs high to benefit those outfits – Big Pharma – that fund their campaigns. Patricians against Plebians. Barons against serfs. Billionaires and millionaires against working families. Haves v. the have nots.

These are simply questions and facts. Should we ENGAGE?  Should we convince our friend and family to vote in their own interests and for those candidates that care about their future and vote BLUE or… simply give up? That is our choice… and YOUR choice to make in 2022. We have arrived at a “fork in America’s road to the future.” Will you choose to stay in the bus stop shelter? Or, will you board the bus headed down one road or the other??? I know my choice… Do you know yours??? Get off the bench and into the game! 

The future is in your hands… and in the hands of your family and your friends. History will continue to unfold. Will YOU help shape the American future??? Or , will you sit on the sidelines or, in the audience and watch the “battle” from your seat? That is up to YOU.

Go ring a doorbell…. Call your family and friends… get yourself and your neighbors out to vote! The time has come to .........

SAVE OUR DEMOCRACY – NOVEMBER 8^TH.

Bobby J

ENGAGE! KNOCK ON DOORS, MAKE CALLS, GO VOTE!!!

AN AMERICAN ELECTION: WALKING THE ELECTORAL TIGHTROPE...

 

THE RED REPUBLICAN  CLOWN CAR CANDIDATES - 2022

                   SEND IN THE CLOWNS... SEND IN THE CLOWNS.... (Judy Collins, 1975) 

The GREAT DEBATE currently underway across all the media outlets regarding the outcome of the November Election is that the race is tight. That either political party - Republican or Democrats - could score a win in either or both Houses of the Congress.  Afterall, we are in the midst of a mid-term election... and mid-term elections have a history of the incumbent President's party loses seats in both. If that holds up statistically this season, the Republicans may gain control of either or both Houses!  Should that occur, you can bet your bottom dollar that McConnell in the Senate and McCarthy in the House WILL BLOCK ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING proposed by President Biden and the Democrats. After all, that is what happened to President Obama - every proposal blocked, including the nomination of Merrick Garland to be appointed to a Supreme Court vacancy, as blocked by McConnell. Garland currently serves as US Attorney General. 

So, the question is - will the current polling data showing a "tight race" across the nation indicate the likelihood that the Republicans will win one Congressional Chamber - House or Senate - or both? Will we "Send in the Clowns?" I think not, especially if moderate and liberal Democrats take the battle to the field of play and make the case that the far-right Republicans have attempted - and continue to attempt - to alter our democracy into a corporatist and theocratic autocracy! Something NOT TO DO! And, you may ask... why would we "take the field" and what is the basis of rejecting "clown car candidates?" The answer to these questions lies in the validity of data sources and the issues tested. 

                                                                  POLLING DATA

RELIABILITY OF CURRENT POLL DATA?

Over the last 20 years, off-year elections have shown two important elements.  The first is that the data shows and the election results reflect that the incumbent President's party loses seats in the House, the Senate, or both. The second - best displayed in the 2016 election polling - is that the numbers 90 days out and then the week before the vote were way off the mark. The Trump win came as a complete surprise, if not a total shock.  The outcome did not reflect the polling data?  Why was that? The answer lies in how valid the polling data base surveyed may have been. What is the source of the lists of voters called in the conduct of the poll undertaken? Is the data base "tilted" in one way or another and is the outcome predictable? Consider the following... the "data desert" displayed above... This time, off year in 2022...

POINT ONE: IS THE DATA BASE AN EQUAL AND RANDOM SELECTION OF THE SURVEY TARGETS?  What has made polling efforts more and more difficult and less accurate in the past decade and more is the gradual transition from published telephone land lines to unpublished cell numbers. As the ability to make contact was diminished, is the poll accuracy impacted? Polling during the 2016 campaign was considerably off base - likely for these very reasons - a large number of registered folks with cell phones fell off the data base. This year - once again - there are those who question poll accuracy. In my opinion, here is a good example... 

THE US SUPREME COURT - DOBBS V. WOMENS' HEALTH RIGHTS 

Since this past Summer and the US Supreme Court decision that reversed Roe v. Wade after 50 years that guaranteed women the right to make their own choices about their future (more on this later), a massive "rumble" began to take place in voter registration and activism. Since that decision, the very first "test" of that ruling took place in "Ruby Red" Kansas... Poll data at that point indicated that the Kansas electorate would likely vote in favor of banning abortions in the state.... Let's see... 

The Republican State Legislature in Kansas placed a referendum on the ballot for August 5, 2022 - just last month! Their purpose was to confirm the Supreme Court decision that states could chart their own course on the women's "Right to Choose" and that the Kansas Legislature would make their choices for them - OUTLAW THE WOMAN'S RIGHT TO CHOOSE!  If the referendum had been adopted in this deep "Red" state, the Supreme Court's decision to deny women their healthcare rights would be sustained as Kansas women would be denied their right to choose. To me - AN OUTRAGE! 

The statewide referendum was held on August 5th - an unusual date that was selected by the anti-woman element in the Kansas Legislature - believing that the voter turnout would be reduced and that the referendum to deny women's rights would easily pass. HELLO!!! Women in Red Kansas STOOD UP, SPOKE OUT, AND MARCHED TO THE POLLS TO EXPRESS THEIR HEALTHCARE RIGHTS AND THEIR RIGHT TO VOTE. The Supreme Court, the Kansas Red Legislature, and those wanting to deny women their ability to choose - LOST.  The vote for Women - and the right to choose - was upheld on a 60/40 vote! This was a 50% "Blue" difference in a "Red" state!!! This outcome simply did not match the poll data as reported! 

SO MUCH FOR THE WICKED WITCH OF ANTI WOMAN

One important reason for that outcome - beyond Women's Rights - was that women's anger that resulted from the Supreme Court reversing Roe v. Wade (1973) ignited a heavy registration and engagement "fuse." Right across the board - urban, suburban, and rural women headed for their county HQ to register and vote. Many of those already registered - Republican, Democrat, or Independent, were "STOKED" to vote in the referendum. The result was a dramatic increase in voter registrations - especially women, and in a voter turnout far exceeding the expected number of votes cast. The late poll data in Kansas reported that the margin could go either way... the "split" was thin. Well... it wasn't. The referendum vote went 60% for women's rights and 40% against. In this case, the poll data demonstrated a substantial error - a 50% error rate!

ANGER RESULTS IN ACTION AND VOTES

As pointed out above, the polling DATA BASE was created, printed, and shared as close to the election as possible.  That means months before... and well before the new voter registrations are recorded in broad data. And, who made up the "sea" of new registrations? PISSED OFF WOMEN! Others were young folks who had not registered but wanted to preserve their democracy and their rights to choose! Both of those data cohorts were not in the polling data bases used for polling. Add to that that phone landlines are rapidly evaporating and replaced by unregistered cell phones. Those cell numbers are not in a directory and, upon calls received from an unrecognized number ( a polling source) are less likely to be picked up or responded to. That means that newly registered and active pissed off women and younger voters cannot be reached or recorded.... but, they voted in Kansas and, in my view will vote come November - even as they avoid their inclusion in polling. Poll data was skewed due to the absence of angry women and young new registered voters with cell phones.  

FIGHT BACK -  AND SAVE OUR DEMOCRACY

POINT TWO: What does all that mean? 

Voters not in current polling data base materials will, in fact, vote but are not represented in the polling outcomes as reported. And, as evidenced by the Kansas example, are heavily weighted BLUE and against RED.  Is this "all she wrote?"  Nope! Other HOT ISSUES DRIVE VOTERS! Issues that make them stand up, speak out, and vote! Registration comes first... and that added to the flaws and MIAs in the polling data. Some of those issues - aside from Women's Choice which is the hottest of hot buttons - include the "Insurrection", sedition, and attempted Coup that took place on January 6th, 2021; Trumpian and Q-Anon lunacy; gun registry and restrictions - "do the right thing" with weapons of war. The passed gun legislation adopted reasonable rules for the possession of lethal guns, artillery, bombs, and more to prevent death and destruction currently at unheard of levels - far beyond other nations on the globe. Today - in the US - there are more guns in circulation than the entire population of this nation. Another negative that is growing is the Trumpian lies, fraud, tax evasion, record theft of TOP SECRET DOCUMENTS, and much more.  Just ask Cheney.....  

And, what did the Republicans in the Senate and House oppose - aside from a Woman's Right to Choose?  A great leap forward in gun control.  Not, making AKs illegal - the Republicans blocked that. But, other and tighter rules apply. The Republicans voted against the expansion of VA protections to address illnesses resulting from "burn pits" in war zones; an investment in overcoming climate change consequences regardless of floods and wild fires; investments in infrastructure, expansion of micro-chips at home in the US; economic expansion and deficit decrease through wealthy corporations paying their "fair share" of revenue - to invest in our future. The Republicans voted against and opposed an expansion of voting rights and a reduction in "gerrymandering." Their position has been - and continues to be - help the rich, short the poor, assist corporations with tax relief and eliminate rules and regulations, oppose control of Pharma pricing to increase profits and oppose any increase in the federal Minimum Wage - not raised in more than 20 years, deny Climate Change, oppose voting rights, and prevent the expansion of healthcare for Americans. 

Take a look at the Republican Senate Campaign Plan authored by Senator Scott (R-FL). The Scott Republican Senate Platform Plan is to reduce Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, Veterans Benefits and more to a 5-year program that can be trimmed and/or eliminated every 5 years - not the permanent programs that all of us paid for over our entire working lives or during our military service. To me, this is an outrage... and to McConnell, this is a Scott program "bush" that he is hiding behind as he avoids the Scott Platform....

More on these other issues in the next pre-election day postings.  These postings will equip you with the data and the positions that reflect the wants and needs of the American public. The "swing" in polling accuracy, massive new registrations, heavy off-year turnout, and anger in the districts has begun a process that may very well result in quite a different off-year federal election.  If I am right, the Dems will pick up seats in both Houses - as the "secret" and newly registered and unpolled voters flood the polls come the November election.  IT BEGAN WITH THE US SUPREME COURT'S REVERSAL OF ROE V. WADE AND THE TRASHING OF A WOMAN'S RIGHT TO CHOOSE. 

Stay tuned..... Meanwhile:

STAND UP... SPEAK OUT... AND VOTE!!!

  

                                                                

AMERICAN EXCEPTIONALISM #1: GUNS, GORE, AND KIDS..... THE TIME HAS COME TO ACT!

HORROR AND HESITANCY IN OUR SCHOOLS...

PARKLAND.... MARJORY STONEMAN DOUGLAS.... SANDY HOOK.... VIRGINIA TECH.....

                    AND, NOW.... UVALDE ELEMENTARY.... KIDS AND TEACHERS LOST...

GUNS AND BLOOD.....

AKs OUTLAWED IN THE US - 10 YEARS

In 1994, Congress adopted a new law on guns.  The AK 47 and others of its ilk, were banned in the United States! When the law took effect, such war weapons were reduced... and the rate of mass murder dropped. The legislative goal under President Clinton WORKED! That American Law continued for a period with a 10-year "sunset" provision - reflecting the expiration date contained in the bill signed into US Law. The new Assault weapons ban was adopted in the House on a vote of 235-195; in the Senate 95-4; and signed by President Clinton in 1994. The debate and the adoption of the law followed a mass murder in Stockton, CA with the loss of 34 kids and a teacher and another in Killen TX at Luby's Cafeteria in 1991with 24 dead and 27 injured. The 1994 law banned "semi-automatic assault weapons" - the weapon of choice in each case noted. What impact might this new law have had on mass murder in public places - schools, markets, parks, office buildings, clubs? You can imagine that any number of studies have been conducted over the 10-year period - and after. Here is the study often cited and is the basis of the Gifford campaign to eliminate assault weaponry. 

Review this chart.  Of course, year by year, the numbers vary and the "curve" isn't smooth in any means - nor should this data be "trendy." Still, note the "dip" that took place during the 10-year ban... and the increase that followed. Even worse, note the rapid and steep INCREASE in mass murder that followed the expiration date and the NRA effort to BLOCK THE RENEWAL OF THE BAN. This chart does not include events after 2017 - the last 5 years. In that period - 2017-2022 - some 360 mass shooting deaths took place with another 800+ injuries in some 53 events. The numbers continue to rise.... During the decade period, mass murder was 70% less likely.  After the law sunset came, the death rate rose from 4.8 to 23.8....

In 2022 - we continue to match the worst year of mass murder shootings in the US - 2021. There were a total of 692 in 2021. As of June 5th this year (2022), we are on track to match 2021 and stand at 246 to date - more mass shootings than days! That trend has recurred each year since 2020... and is a part of a 3-year increase that began in 2020. Between 2019 and 2020 the number of mass shootings jumped from 417 to 610 - a 46.3% increase year over year. The number again increased in 2021 to 692. So far, this year - 2022 - 240+ mass shootings has resulted in 1357 people shot with 278 deaths. Compare to 2021 with 1293 people shot and 280 deaths in the very same period. According to the Albany Times Union (June 5, 2022) quoting the US Gun Violence Archive, "gun violence claimed the lives of 152 children under 12, and 543 teen lives. 1725 children under 18 were wounded." Also, so far this year, 21 Law Enforcement Officers - 21 good guys with guns - have been killed. These facts underscore the growing prevalence of gun violence in American life...  In the first week of June, 2022 shootings took place at graduation parties, a nightclub, a church, and a strip mall - 13 mass shootings with more than a dozen lives lost and more than 70 injured. 

Why is that "American Exceptionalism?" Negotiations continue in the US Senate... as they have for weeks if not years. The House passed a gun control bill more than a month ago... and the 50-50 Senate continues to seek the Filibuster Rule 60 vote threshold to take a new path on gun possession and use. Why is this difficult or impossible a life-and-death issue in the United States? Is gun violence common around the globe? How do we compare with other developed nations?  Let's take a look... Where is this issue and who has  a serious problem with gun bloodshed?                                                                                       

NOTE:  MORE US GUNS THAN CITIZENS! 

NOTE: GUN COUNT PER 100 RESIDENTS.

The NY Times quoted from a research report constructed by William Patterson University, NJ on May 26, 2022. The study did a count of mass shootings that had taken place between 1998 and 2019. The United States leads that list with 101 incidents followed by France in 2nd position at 8 cases; Germany 5, Canada 4; Finland 3; Belgium, Italy, Netherlands, Switzerland, nd the Check Republic at 2; and the rest at 1 - including the UK, New Zealand, Australia, Austria, and others. What explains the difference between nations and their citizens? The 2020 election? Radiation?  Chemicals in the water? Economic stresses? Much more "mental illness" in the US compared to the rest of the world? Or, is the simple difference - given all of the differences in language, education, culture, and history - just access to guns and weapons of war? Do we - as the United States of America - continue to be the "shoot 'em up" Wild West?  The US Senate closed-door debate goes on.....

The Gifford Project and many other efforts to adopt the GUN CONTROL PROGRAM - especially restricting weapons of war - contain any number of debate demands.  These include the following:

1. Thorough universal background checks for all gun purchases, including juvenile records. Eliminate any and all loopholes, including gun show sales without a background check.
2. Increase minimum age from 18 to 21. Maturity counts. 
3. Adopt a three day waiting period. This would allow a complete follow-up on the background check and a "cooling-off" period for anyone who buys a gun because they are angry or upset.
4. An assault weapon ban making weapons of war - commonly used in deadly mass shootings - completely prohibited.  If adopted, at a minimum this restriction would make mass shootings less deadly, pushing determined gunmen to less effective weapons. Needless to say, this restriction would not stop a mass attack altogether, but would make it far less lethal. 
5. Another gun limit would be either adopted in Federal Law or be passed on to the states along with a series of effective incentives.  This would encourage the adoption of "Red Flag Laws." These would be a denial of a required gun license - including training and test passage before licensing. Evidence or warning signs of violence, mental illness issues, extreme anger or stress, threatening their family, friends, co-workers, or peers in person or on social media, would prevent the sale of a gun or cause any owner gun or guns to be removed or confiscated to prevent bloodshed. 

All of these initiatives are under debate behind closed doors with a Senate Committee of 10 members - 5 Ds and 5 Rs. The beat goes on.... attacks continue... mass shootings have happened since the Committee first met.... BLOOD FLOWS.... It has got to stop!  

American Exceptionalism? For sure.... Guns, bullets, and gunpowder everywhere.... Far more than anywhere else and in every other nation. Lives lost... innocent children killed... blood shed... debate goes on....time to end this carnage....

Bobby J

US SUPREME COURT - OFF THE RAILS??? HERE COMES THE BATTLE OF THE BANANA REPUBLIC.....

 

JUSTICE THOMAS AND GENNI - HEAD OFF TO WORK...

Rarely does the US Supreme Court unanimously agree on any issue before it. Although Jackson was confirmed by the Senate and will be sworn into her position on the Court, the split on the Court – Rightwing Conservative and more Liberal, individual rights-based Members – 6-3 continues.  On one recent occasion – much to the surprise of most – the Court decision fell in a near-unanimous vote of  8-1, Thomas dissenting. The issue was a case brought by the T***p advocates to prevent the submission of White House texts, emails, and other communications during the January 6^th  2021 Insurrection events to the Congress and/or the House January 6^th Committee. All of the T***p appointees – all three – voted with the majority to underscore that US law, practice, and the National Archives rules and regulations require the release of “public documents” to the Congress or it’s committees seeking access to such evidence or public records.  Why would Justice Thomas be the lone dissenting vote? Keeping in mind that other issues are about to be before the Supreme Court – including the Right to Choose and other abortion issues (recall the restrictive Texas change in state law that the Court refused to enjoin pending their review of Roe v. Wade). Further issues pending include gun rights, abortion issues, healthcare, immigration matters, and more. The Supreme Court’s history of non-political, non-partisan, ands even-handed judgment regarding the issues before them, have been based on law, individual rights, and the US Constitution. So, in this recent case - public records submitted to a House Committee – why was Justice Thomas the lone dissenting vote?  Did partisanship intervene and interfere?  Let’s see…..

Only one dissenting vote - Justice Thomas???

Ginni Thomas has a long history of ultra-right conservative activism. In more than 29 conspiracy-ladened text messages, she repeatedly urges White House Chief of Staff Meadows to overturn the 2020 election! Indeed, on the brink of January 6^th, she called for a “coup” and the continuation of the then-present administration and its leader, the Donald. Ginni Thomas, long a member of Q-Anon and present at the January 6^th Rally aimed at preventing the Congress from officials certifying the presidential election outcome - as the Constitution outlines - through the formal acceptance of the Electoral Votes certified by each of the 50 States. Ginni urged that the US Laws and Constitution be ignored or overthrown through the House or the Senate refusing to certify the election outcome. Justice Thomas dissent was defended as “having nothing to do with” Ginni’s activism and view of the outcome….

Justice Thomas refused to recuse himself from the Supreme Court debate and vote, taking the position that he and his wife Ginni do not discuss such matters at home. Really? This is a couple who have described themselves as so close that they are “melded into one being.” Well…. Throughout their marriage, Ginni has been paid hundreds of thousands of dollars by conservative activist groups that have taken strong stands on issues before the court, including shinning “sunlight” on White House communications – a public record. These include abortion issues, immigration matters, gun rights, Obamacare and much more. Justice Thomas has refused to recuse himself from any of these matters even though his own household is financially and ethically compromised. He and Ginni have created the impression of “extreme bias.” He should recuse! Needless to say, he has refused to do so - at any point or on any case or issue that worked its way from the District Court to the Court of Appeals and is currently presented before the Supreme Court. So, let's ask a pertinent question - If YOU call the White House and ask for the Chief of Staff, will he get on the line? Will he or his staff take your call??? I think not.... Will your email or text (to who?) get through and "followed?" I don't think so.... So, why does Ginni Thomas have the phone number for the White House Chief of Staff Meadows and get through in texts, emails, and calls - all on the record at the White House and part of the official records? Might it be because her husband - Clarence Thomas sits in judgment on the US Supreme Court? Does the cash register "sing" when he votes on matters of concern and importance? If recused, no cash??? No dinner??? No fun???

Think about it....  Bobby J

PS: Much of this article should be credited to the source - THE WEEK MAGAZINE, April 8, 2022, page 6, "Controversy of the Week."