Dr. Timothy Snyder is a historian; he knows whereof he speaks. Like me, he fears the political trend that brought Trump to the threshold of the Presidency riding an explosion of hate, prejudice, and denial of accepted reality. [Read more…] about Twenty Lessons from the Last Century
Not in My Backyard?
From The Nation 2/2014: Tillerson’s hypocracy:
Fancy a side of irony with your corporate hypocrisy? Last night on MSNBC, Nation Editor-at-Large Chris Hayes profiled ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson, a vocal proponent of hydraulic fracking, who is suing to prevent the construction of a water tower near his eighty-three-acre, $5 million horse ranch in Bartonville, Texas. The purpose of the tower? Storing water for fracking. Tillerson and his super-wealthy neighbors are concerned, the lawsuit states, that the fracking tower might “devalue their properties and adversely impact the rural lifestyle they sought to enjoy.” As Hayes put it, “Rex Tillerson is leading the fracking revolution, just not in his backyard.”
—Sam Adler-Bell
It takes a couple of million gallons of water to hydraulically fracture (Frack) each drill hole. There are six, eight, twelve holes per drill pad.
The “Angry Man” Has Spoken
You’ve gotten viral email like this. The vertical bars in the left margin signify that it has been copied and forwarded at least eight times. It resonated with many people who wanted to share it with their friends because it says something they wish everyone got and understood. I’m posting it because it reveals a lot about how Donald Trump won the hearts and minds of so many who venerate the “Angry Man” in America. (Don’t trouble to read the tiny print of the image, I’ve quoted it all below.) [Read more…] about The “Angry Man” Has Spoken
The Power of Fear
Fear has been a major component in the 2016 political campaign and continues to be a tactic of the Trump team as they prepare for him to take office. All of us need to understand how fear can cause us to make bad choices. But we also need to learn how to combat it. What follows is an excellent video that demonstrates how fear was used as a tactic in the campaign. The remainder of this post is remarks about Fear and Faith shared by Marguerite Chandler, my spouse, at the Newtown Friends Meeting this morning. [Read more…] about The Power of Fear
Gun Violence Facts Update
Vox offers these facts about gun violence in the US.
The most important thing to remember is this: violence is a public health and a social problem. Guns just make lethal violence easier and more efficiently deadly.
Is it Democracy?
This week one of my conservative friends and I had an email exchange about “Trump’s Landslide” numbers. He and his peers are gloating over the geographic dominance by the GOP in the election, and the wisdom of the Electoral College devised by the founding fathers. Here’s the thread:
Good Read
Doug Muder’s Weekly Sift blog is unusually good this week. (Click below to jump to the articles.)
News War
No facts? What does that mean?
Fake news is like Jessica Rabbit
Who Sent This and Why?
A couple of days ago this photo showed up on my Facebook timeline.
I’m a Navy Vet and, frankly, I’m offended by such disrespect of the US Flag. My first reaction was seething outrage at the two women. When I read the caption, it said something like “take back their welfare checks.” [Read more…] about Who Sent This and Why?
Can Chaos be a Blessing?
Each passing day brings headlines that foretell looming chaos and troubles sure to arise from Donald Trump’s White House tenure. His supporters commonly say that they ignored all his faults and voted for him because he would shake up the Washington Elite.
Be careful what you ask for, I say, but I’m open to the chaos producing something new if we all stay engaged. Renowned economist Tim Harford explains that embracing chaos and mess is the only way to be truly creative, innovative and resilient. Listen and see what your think. (Click for 1 hour Audio Talk) [Read more…] about Can Chaos be a Blessing?
People’s Choice? (Not!)
Many of my friends are distraught because Donald Trump’s Electoral College win on 11/8 and the subsequent deplorable events seem to say that as many as half of Americans either are bigots themselves or don’t care if the President of the US is one. The election results seemed to repudiate their belief that most Americans are good and decent folks that share a deep love of justice and diversity.
Take heart friends. Only about 19% of US citizens who should have voted elected Donald J. Trump. The majority couldn’t, wouldn’t, didn’t vote.
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