We Must Get the Big, Ugly Money Out of Our Election System and Government

Jennifer Lawrence says what I've been saying for at least a few years.



Don't let anyone say or tell you we can't do this.

We can and must.

It has to come from us.

Links:

Get the Big, Ugly Money Out of Our Election System and Government

End corruption. Defend the Republic. | RepresentUs

My Valentine

In case you've never seen it.



Happy Valentine's Day, everyone.

How Much Do We Have to Lose Across the Planet Until We Accept Climate Change?

Did you see this?

Did you see how many head of cattle, alone, were lost recently in Australia, with their flooding?

Queensland floods: 500,000 Cattle Survived Years-Long Drought Only to Die in the Rain

500,000 head of cattle--or more, if you read the article--died last week in the flooding in Australia.

And this doesn't include all the other animal life that died in their scorching heat waves in the last month. I posted on this earlier.

Australia's Heat Wave Has Been Devastating For Animals

Australia's Heat Wave Is Taking A Toll On People, Animals

'Boiled' Bats Fall from Sky in Australian Heat Wave

Stifling Heat Wave Descends on Australia, Killing Dozens of Horses

And that's just Australia, of late. Check out what it's done in California last year.

California: Wildfires losses at $3.3 billion

Then there is around the world.

2018 Global Disasters Cost $160 Billion

At what point do the climate change deniers actually look, recognize the losses and damage and agree with us we need to do things to change?

What more does it have to take?

What Is It With Republicans Undoing Voters', Constituents' Expressed Wishes?

Time and again both in Missouri and across the nation, Republicans have been shown to be working to undo things their constituents already voted on. It's happening right now, right here in Missouri.

Defying voters, Missouri House Passes ‘Radical Undermining’ of Open Records Law

Missouri Legislators Trying to Change Open Records Law; Critics Say They Are Gutting It

We Missourians all voted to have more openness in our government and to know what's going on in it. Those pesky Republicans want nothing to do with it so they're working to undo our vote.

There is, fortunately, just one little problem with their trying to undo the voters' will, at least this time.

Lawmakers rush to undo ‘Clean Missouri’ Open Records Reform. 

That’s Unconstitutional

But it's not just here in Missouri. Republicans in other states, too, have, time and again, gone against their own constituents, gone against the will of the people, the popular vote, people be damned.

This is from last month.

Missouri's GOP Governor is Trying to Block Voter-Approved Limits on lobbyists, gerrymandering

This is happening now, too.

Utah Republicans Poised to Undo Voter-Approved Medicaid Expansion

We know they want to do the will of their already-wealthy sponsors/donors--owners?--and corporations that give them big campaign money but go against our own stated will? Go against the people?

How long are we going to put up with this, folks?

How long are we going to tolerate this?

Link:

Get the Big, Ugly Money Out of Our Election System and Government

Oh, Yeah. Tax the Already-Wealthy

I am, in fact, in favor of what some people claim to be a new thought of eliminating the possibility of being a billionaire, I have to say. Strongly in favor.

For anyone who knows me, this will come as no surprise.

If you're worth 999 million dollars---isn't that enough?

What could you possibly want that isn't attainable for you at that level of wealth?

Jeff Bezos of Amazon, et. al, is worth an estimated $130.7 billion dollars.

Not only that, but he had to be recently publicly shamed into giving his employees a raise up to a whopping $15 per hour. And even then, he took some away from their benefits plan. That is some chutzpah.

Seriously.

That is insane.

And immoral. Just obscene.

There are people, not just in your own nation but across the planet that are hungry, indeed, starving, literally, homeless and a lot more--but you need, somehow, a billion dollars? And/or more?

Really?

Besides the poor of the nation and world, we should all keep in mind, as has been said elsewhere, many times, that when the US was collecting 90% and 70% taxes of the uber-wealthy, we were a far stronger nation, we built a national highway system and went to the moon, among all else.

So yeah, let's do this.

Links:

Yes, Tax the Rich. But Do It Right

Fact Sheet: Taxing Wealthy Americans 

Tax the rich: Millionaires' tax popular among public

Poll: Majority approve of Warren wealth tax

Rich Class fighting 99%, winning big-time 

For Those Who Don't Believe in Global Warming and/or Climate Change

For any out there who may still not believe in or accept that the planet is warming and that human activity is having a large role in all of it, please read on. For starters, this winter, this was the middle of last month, January, while much of our nation was in a deep freeze.

Australia heatwave reaches it peak with record temperatures

Australia suffers through searing temperatures

Australia's Heat Wave Is Taking A Toll On People, Animals

Dozens of wild horses die of thirst in Australia's heatwave

Australia: Heat Wave Causes Overheated Bat Die-Off

Hundreds of flying foxes die in searing Australian heat

Naturally, it wasn't simply Australia that was blistering hot, either.

Heat wave scorches Southern Hemisphere with record-shattering temps

Still Australia, this article posted 6 days ago, as if the heat and their losses from it weren't enough.

20,000 homes feared lost in Australia floods

Remember last Summer and the record California wildfires?

California Wildfire Insurance Claims Total $11.4 Billion

We're very familiar with the Polar Vortex that effected so much of our nation in the last few weeks.

Making Sense of the Polar Vortex and Record Cold on a Feverish Planet

This is taking place presently.

Winter storm dumps record snow on Seattle, Pacific Northwest with more to come

Seattle normally gets 0.7 inches of snow per year. A few weeks ago, they got nearly 2 inches. Now, today, they got another 10 inches and as the headline shows, they are apparently going to get still more. Seattle wasn't alone, of course.

Yakima gets 10 inches of snow in winter blast

Then there's the overall picture.

2018 was 4th hottest year on record for the globe

This year is no better and we're not even 1/4 of the way into it..

2019 may be the warmest year on record

Then that's having predictable effects, of course.

Arctic permafrost is melting faster than predicted

Arctic sea ice is vanishing far faster than anyone thought

Finally, if that all isn't enough on our planet, there is this. When all else is deniable or ignored, there is the CO2, the carbon dioxide levels in our planet's atmosphere that comes from what we humans are pumping into it.

Let's do something before it's too late. 

Some things.

How about it?

Catholics Hit a New Low

We've known Catholic leaders, mostly Priests, have abused children and students and not for just years, which would be horrible enough, not just decades--even more frightening--but for hundreds of years. Centuries. Catholic leaders have been abusing, sexually abusing children of the Church and for centuries.

It's a fact.

Stunning and unforgivable as all that is, it's a documented fact.

And it's across not just a nation.

Not just nations.

Not just a continent.

But across continents.

Across the world.

And again, for centuries.

It should be unbelievable.

Sadly, very, very sadly, it's not unbelievable.

Far from it.

Now, the impossible has happened.

It's gotten worse.

Much worse.

They've outdone themselves. There's another new discovery, this week.

Pope admits clerical abuse of nuns including sexual slavery

It is stunning the continuing revelations that seem to take place within this Church. 

You wouldn't think you could outdo abusing children. But they've done it.

Here's hoping there are no further revelations out there from these people (no pun intended).

Hopefully this is the last, worst thing they'll have to also admit to.

At what point, Catholics, are you going to say "Enough!"

At what point are you people going to rein these people in?