December 29, 2019

Yes. Each year, my family has a tradition of watching the movie

Schindler's List. That because we must never forget the Holocaust.

Last night was the night we watched Spielberg's masterpiece. My daughter asked how many Jewish people there were in Poland in 1940. The answer was three million.

Do you know how many Jews are in Poland now? Around 15,000.

So, no surprise at all that Jews are going underground and are taking Antisemitism very seriously. I'm sorry they are going underground. I'm sorry that Muslims also must worship in fear, as must African Americans.

I am sorry for the for-profit concentration camps all over this country that are charging taxpayers $750 per day per head to house brown-skinned people in filthy cages with inadequate blankets, medical supplies, toiletries and food.

And I'm angry about it. Very angry.

Furious at Donald Trump and his racist supporters.

Mark my words, there will be an accounting for these crimes against humanity, this genocide. Indictments of everyone responsible, from Trump down to the lowliest guard, trials in international tribunal and then the meting out of justice. I don't want to hear Democratic politicians giving these criminals a pass, saying things like, "Democracies don't charge past presidents with crimes."

No. We gave Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld and Rice passes for war crimes back in '08, but I'm DAMNED if we're gonna give Trump and his henchmen passes. Not for what they've done.

December 28, 2019

My wife texted me this. Video from CNN the number of Trump's lies well worth watching.

https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2019/12/28/victor-blackwell-president-trump-claims-gumballs-2019-sot-ndwknd-vpx.cnn

Here's the title: Blackwell uses gumballs to portray Trump's false claims


CNN's Victor Blackwell used jars of gumballs to represent President Donald Trump's 15,413 false or misleading claims since taking office, according to a count by the Washington Post.

December 28, 2019

Well, THIS is my 9800th post!

I want to dedicate it to the wish that 2020 is a GREAT year for all of us.

Not just getting Trump out and painting this nation deep blue. Yeah I do hope that, for sure.

But I also hope that for each and every one of you, and for your families, that 2020 is a much better year than 2019.

December 26, 2019

Colorado day care owner charged after allegedly hiding toddlers behind a false wall

Source: CNN

(CNN)The owner of a Colorado day care that allegedly used a "false wall" to hide 26 toddlers in a basement has been arrested and charged, court documents show.

Carla M. Faith, 58, was arrested Monday and faces charges related to child abuse and attempting to influence a public servant, according to the documents. Her bond was set at $3,000.

The charges stem from November, when officers went to Play Mountain Place in Colorado Springs after complaints about overcrowding. There, they found 26 children younger than 3 with two adults behind the false wall.

The day care had a licensed capacity of six children, according to May 2019 data on the Colorado Department of Human Services website.

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2019/12/25/us/colorado-day-care-false-wall-trnd/index.html

---

OK, so let's talk about child day care and early childhood education.

First of all, not excusing Faith, there is a serious policy issue here. We must ask if it was ONLY her greed that caused her to over fill her daycare home? or was it pressure from market demand?

Consider these four facts:
A. There are not enough childcare centers. There are not enough licensed daycare homes.
B. Childcare workers are paid minimum wage, generally, and owners of child care licensed homes are capped so income is capped.
C. It costs literally an arm and a leg to put your kids in a childcare home and if you're middle class there's NO subsidy.
D. Colorado Springs is an urban area, and there are problems; there literally isn't any childcare in most rural areas. None.

So, while we recoil in horror at Trump and his disgusting antics, and hear the Republicans positively CROW about how GREAT the economy is, be mindful that because of the structure of our child care system and the fact that it doesn't seem to matter much to policy makers, the REALLY IMPORTANT people who provide this care for our pre-school age kids earn driddle squat and struggle to make ends meet every month.

Early childhood education (pre-school) again because of no subsidies, is stratospherically priced - only about 6% of kids even go because it is so expensive.

And we all know teachers in K-12 don't make nearly enough.

But, hey, sports stars earn kazillions of bucks and we have a brand new shiny space force!

December 22, 2019

Internet shutdowns used to be rare. They're increasingly becoming the norm in much of the world

This is scary, because many of us depend on the internet. For many things - communication, cloud computing, news, and research. So now, besides the Arjit Pai ruling that allows ISPs to slow or speed streaming based on how much you pay, we have countries jamming access as well.

Here's an excerpt:

November 23, 2019

Wednesday's marijuana legalization vote was truly historic -- here's why

BY JUSTIN STREKAL, OPINION CONTRIBUTOR, THE HILL — 11/21/19 03:00 PM EST

https://thehill.com/opinion/civil-rights/471521-wednesdays-marijuana-legalization-vote-was-truly-historic-heres-why

Here's an excerpt!

Let's hope Moscow Mitch doesn't kill this one in the Senate, too. FINALLY!!! If this passes and is signed into law it will be a great day.

November 23, 2019

Putin has relished US political chaos. He may now fear Trump's impeachment

Analysis by Matthew Chance, Senior International Correspondent, CNN

Updated 8:13 AM ET, Tue November 12, 2019

https://www.cnn.com/2019/11/12/europe/russia-putin-trump-impeachment-intl/index.html

Here's an excerpt:

Think about this for a minute. Russia must own the entire GOP.

November 22, 2019

The Trump administration is dialing up efforts to 'build that wall,' records show

Source: CNN

(CNN)Three years after chants of "build that wall" became a rallying cry for the candidacy of Donald Trump, his administration is engaged in an increasingly aggressive land grab along the Southwest border to make a new wall a reality, a CNN review of federal court filings shows.

Through November 15, the Trump administration had filed 29 eminent domain suits tied to border-wall construction this year, up from 11 each of the past two years, according to federal court records. All but four of this year's suits were filed in Texas. Eminent domain is the right of a government to seize private land for public use, while providing compensation.

The eminent domain suits are the tip of a much broader effort to take private land, say attorneys representing landowners. "The lawsuits are only a fraction of the condemnations that have been settled outside of litigation," said Ricky Garza, a staff attorney at the Texas Civil Rights Project, which is representing some landowners.

Since 2017, the US government has also filed at least 35 notices -- called "declarations of taking" -- in Starr and Cameron counties, confirming that federal authorities have acquired land or easements to property through the process of eminent domain.

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2019/11/22/us/trump-administration-seizing-border-wall-land/index.html

---

I'm sure this is making Trump very popular with those Texas landowners.

You know, the guy is getting impeached - the whole house of cards is about to fall on him, and he's STILL working to get that wall built. Kind of reminds me of the German trains back in '44 and '45.

October 27, 2019

Well, sure. Let's have a bit of history. In concept, a national health care plan dates clear back

to Teddy Roosevelt. It was in the Democratic Party platform in 68 when we nominated the Hube to run against Nixon after Bobby had been killed.

In 72 it was 'a system of universal National Health Insurance which covers all Americans with a comprehensive set of benefits including preventive medicine, mental and emotional disorders, and complete protection against catastrophic costs, and in which the rule of free choice for both provider and consumer is protected.'

In 76, Carter said, 'We need a comprehensive national health insurance system with universal and mandatory coverage' that would paid for by a combination of mandatory employer outlays and public tax dollars.

In 1980, it was 'a comprehensive, universal national health insurance plan.'

In 1984, we backed off even further with Mondale opposing the snake Reagan. We said, "The states must be the cornerstone of our health care policies,” and that the federal government would simply “assure that health care is available to all who need help at a cost we can afford."

In 88, the party platform promoted “a national health program providing federal coordination and leadership” but focused on restraining costs.

In 1992, Clinton defeated HW on a platform that maintained that all Americans should have universal access to quality, affordable health care—not as a privilege, but as a right.

However, after the policy defeat the Clintons experienced after Hillary failed in trying to create a national healthcare system in 93, we backed off again in 1996 to being 'committed to ensuring that Americans have access to affordable, high-quality health care.'

In 2000, the platform evolved to call for us to "take concrete, specific, realistic steps to move toward the day when every American has affordable health coverage” in a “step-by-step” approach. OK, 'all deliberate speed' is how I read that.

Then, in 2004, as we fell prey to the constant Republican screech about how taxes are always bad, the platform changed to say that we want to "help businesses cope with the skyrocketing cost of health care by reforming our health care system and cutting taxes to help small businesses pay for health insurance."

In 2008, the platform stated, "We believe that quality and affordable health care is a basic right” and promised “every American man, woman, and child be guaranteed affordable, comprehensive health care.” On the question of who would run the health care system, however, the Democrats steered clear of a government-run structure, stating: “Health care should be a shared responsibility between employers, workers, insurers, providers and government.”

Now, in 2008 I did observe Hillary Clinton during a debate refusing to answer the direct question about whether she saw healthcare as a right or a privilege. She was also famously quoted as saying, "Give me something I can believe in," when a group of doctors visited her to advocate single payer.

In 2012, Obama won again, and this time the platform was, "We believe accessible, affordable, high quality health care is part of the American promise, that Americans should have the security that comes with good health care, and that no one should go broke because they get sick."

Finally, in 2016, the platform said that Democrats believe that health care is a right, not a privilege, and our health care system should put people before profits. Then, it positioned the party to "fight to make sure every American has access to quality, affordable health care.” And, as I maintain, that change can be credited to Bernie's people on the platform committee to try and smooth over the massive rift in the party that happened during that primary. You and I were on opposite sides back then, if you'll recall.

First, here's the source of the history above: https://www.healthaffairs.org/do/10.1377/hblog20190815.209963/full/

As to the Dingells and Wasserman-Schultz, that may be, but they aren't national figures in the same way that a presidential candidate is, and certainly did not represent the party platform, as you have seen above.

Now we are once again fighting the good fight. Shall we have people over profit, or profit over people? Medicare for all is good policy because it would in fact cut costs, particularly of middle class people like me and my wife, who pay in a normal year around $19-20K for crummy, rationed healthcare with financially crippling copays. If we both have to be hospitalized in a single year, for God's sake, we have to cough up $6K. That's supposedly our 'maximum' out-of-pocket, but there is a loophole clause our HMO is inserting this year that states that some types of 'services' may not be included in the maximum. This HMO counts things like hip replacement as 'elective surgery' so they can cut costs by denying post-operative physical therapy.

I cannot say that I love Bernie, but I can say that I love the policies he introduced in 2016, and that he has fleshed out now. What I do love is his advocacy that this nation do the right thing for once and put people over profit.

We both know, George, that there are millions of dollars lined up against even a public option. Big pharma and for-profit health insurance will be fighting tooth and nail with all the dark money they can put forward. We already see this with the media focusing on asking Warren the gotcha question about raising middle class taxes.

Other posts give my counter argument in more detail, but in a nutshell, yes, taxes will rise, but people will no longer have premiums, deductibles, copays and coinsurance, so costs would actually go down. If she answered it like this, though, you know as well as I that ALL the media would trumpet out is 'Warren will raise taxes on the middle class!' The media is, after all, corporate-owned.

Of course, Medicare for All has the additional MORAL advantage of covering the 39 million Americans who don't have healthcare coverage at all as we speak here, now. And the additional 38 million who are considered 'under-insured.'

I mean, the ONLY reason we're even having this debate is fear of the dark money from pharma and health insurance corporations that will poison the debate. We're going to have to raise taxes anyway, and you know this too. The 2017 tax cut for billionaire parasites and corporations was the very height of fiscal irresponsibility, and the next recession will be a doozy, so our party will be forced into raising taxes at a time when the economy is in recession. But we will have to.

And, we will have to go against the very powerful MIC also, because we simply do not need to spend $733 billion on war, and we do not need 200,000 people on the ground in 167 countries. We don't. Silly me, I'd rather have healthcare than a space force.

I am supporting Warren now, by the way, because I did not like that many Bernie supporters refused to back Clinton when she was the nominee. That's not how we should roll. Plus, I think Warren is a bit more well rounded. Certainly from the standpoint of an economist, her policies are great, but she also has that sensibility to individuals Bernie seems to lack.

So there you have it, because I thought you deserved a thoughtful response.

October 13, 2019

Indeed. This is part of the deeper reason behind the systematic union-busting.

Wages have gone down, stagnated, and real purchasing power has gone down along with union membership.

Now, it is a given that you will have to either live with roommates, or you will have to have two incomes just to keep your nostrils above water. In the meantime, you get nickel and dimed. Student loans, planned obsolescence, unaffordable housing and all the rest.

At the same time, companies like Comcast earn huge profits ($11.3 billion in 2018) and their CEOs stratospheric 'salaries,' (For Comcast, the CEO 'earned' $35 million in 2018).

I was watching a movie that had a profound dialog in it. I will paraphrase: "It costs around $95,000 to get someone elected to the US House of Representatives, and the average tenure is 18 years. A Congressman is the BEST investment a company can make."

So, in this system based on lust to amass wealth and lust to amass power, we end up having a massive transfer of wealth to fewer and fewer individuals - billionaire parasites - while the rest of us fight over a smaller and smaller piece of pie. When the top 1% of 'earners' hold 42% of the nation's wealth, when 25,000 people in the world STARVE to death each day, when lies are propagated by big oil and plastics to cast doubt on their environmental impact just so they can keep making massive profits, when big pharma and for-profit healthcare line up billions of dollars in opposition to healthcare for all Americans, then we truly have a problem.

To facilitate this, those who wanted to create this criminal imbalance in the first place realized they needed to dumb down schools, take over the media and make it profit-driven and systematically control information. This is why Arjit Pai took away net neutrality, and why AM radio so proliferated in the 90s. It is why the bought-and-paid-for judges 'decided' in favor of Citizens United, and why the Chicago School of economics invented 'trickle down.'

Sure.

But we all have to do what we can, and those of us who can more easily 'do' should do more. Nothing excuses us each from fighting the good fight every day. We cannot give up, because this cancer of 'free market' shareholder-driven capitalism is in its last gasp and is unsustainable for us as a species. We will either have to rethink the way we organize ourselves, and the way we 'do' economics, or else we will end up extinct and this planet a smoking cinder circling the earth.

Right now, we are such a cancer on this earth that if we went extinct today, EVERY other form of life would be better off.

And that, my friends, is a truly terrifying reality to confront.