Agree that latent fear in the general public has increased.

I place the bulk of blame squarely on the Republican Party here, and other right-wing factions world-wide.

This is clearly caused by divide and conquer rhetoric in right-wing media tainted with machoism, racism, xenophobia and misguided religious dogma driven by nefarious plutocrats that want to control every aspect of our lives.

Strange that in reality, we have far less to really fear than most nations in the world. Most of our fear is internally created and self-inflicted, including that of those behind most mass shootings.

Fear begats fear, and worsening fear always creates or worsens mental illness in any population.

KY.....

We can bet this is a coordinated Rethug effort by right-wing think tanks...

and well financed by the plutocrats. Brings them bragging rights in the golf course club house.

One way we can help keep this issue in check is to support organizations fighting voter suppression such as these:

Let America Vote: https://www.letamericavote.org/

Shred, I suggest asking the Rethugs this....

"When there's a common function for society that the majority of Americans want and there's no benefit for there being competition in that task, then why add a layer of profit to the taxpayer's bill?"

That applies to, for example:
* Public schools,
* The military,
* Infrastructure such as roads and bridges, and
* Basic foundational healthcare.

KY.......

Ask any Republican out west about this abstract form of socialism...

See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_history_of_the_United_States#Land_grants

(snips)

Call it "Healthcare for All".

Free very basic health coverage for all members of the public including current Medicare recipients.

Then, layer Medicare enhancements for seniors on top of that, taken out of SS payments as done now (but less cost).

Others can buy layers of enhancements via private insurance.


KY.............

What's wrong with these pictures?

The pitter patter of little Rhino hooves...

A ray of sunshine: A megachurch preacher repents.

I fear we're heading toward massive population reduction rather than complete extinction...

to the point were we self-limit and live a far more simple existence with far fewer people.

My gut say we're heading toward multiple global conflicts as mass migration boils over, primarily caused by climate change and by increasing nationalism resulting in hard border controls and protectionism. Many millions will die in the process, if not already dying.

We're already seeing fresh water supplies dwindling, more sea life, plant and animal species disappearing, global warming and the associated sea level rises and drifting from traditional climate patterns. Scarcity of quality foods is increasing.

The human race is short-sighted and in denial. We continue to burn fossil fuels at an increasing rate and elect greedy psychopathic assholes to lead us.

Why am I so pessimistic? It's because humanity is currently doing the exact opposite of what we should be doing to slow or stop this process, thereby providing a positive feedback system that worsens the problem. That is a result of worsening economic inequality, a slow decline in foundational moral values and education of the general public and rampant greed in the high-wealth class.

There's also a mass drift toward individualism and away from charity, humility and willingness to change our path.

Whew, rant done.....

Ex-pharma chief charged with flooding Appalachian towns with opioids

Source: The Guardian

Federal prosecutors have charged a former president of a major pharmaceutical distributor with flooding parts of Appalachia with millions of opioid pills while ignoring evidence they were driving addiction and death. The arrest of Anthony Rattini, the ex-head of Miami-Luken, on criminal charges marks a significant shift in legal action to hold the drug industry to account for the US opioid epidemic as hundreds of civil actions against manufacturers and distributors head to court.

Rattini is accused of distributing powerful narcotic painkillers for other than medical reasons to more than 200 pharmacies across West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana and Tennessee.
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The company has previously acknowledged delivering 5.7m opioid pills between 2005 and 2011 to the small town of Kermit, West Virginia, with a population of just 380 people. In 2008 alone, it shipped 5,264 pills for every man, woman and child in Kermit.

Miami-Luken went out of business in January as federal prosecutors closed in. Its former chair, Joseph Mastandrea, was alone among drug distributor executives who appeared before Congress in 2018 in conceding that his firm had played a role in the spread of an epidemic estimated to have claimed more than 400,000 lives over the past two decades.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/jul/19/opioids-crisis-appalachia-painkillers-drugs