Coincidentally, Race Riots From 1921 to Today--But of a Different Sort

Someone no doubt needs to inform this President and all those who say there is no racism or need for any protests of the significance of this date, as just one more example.

On The 99th Anniversary Of The Tulsa Race Massacre, America Still Has A Long Way To Go

Tulsa's prosperous African-American community destroyed

Tulsa race massacre

Tulsa Race Massacre

Tulsa race riot of 1921

On this day, June 1, 1921, Tulsa's prosperous black community was destroyed in what became known as the Tulsa race riot.

"Known as the 'Black Wall Street,' and the nation's wealthiest African-American neighborhood, the Greenwood district of Tulsa, OK, is attacked by gangs of marauding whites. When the Tulsa race riot ends, 35 city blocks have been burned, 800 are injured, upwards of 300 are dead, and 10,000 left homeless."

From the founding of our nation, through 1921 to today.

Let's do better, America.

Much better.

#justice    #equality

Interesting Data On How States Are For and To Women

There's an article out this week that ranks the best and worst states for women.

2018’s Best & Worst States for Women

Let's take a look at the highs and lows.

First up is neighboring Arkansas, next to worst at 50.

Also neighboring Oklahoma down there, too, at 48.

Here's where it gets more local and interesting yet.

Missouri?

37     The bottom, worst half

37. Missouri

Total score: 50.85th
Ranking for women’s economic and social well-being: 36
Ranking for women’s health and safety: 38th

Missouri landed in the mid-30s in other Wallet Hub rankings as well, coming in at 38 out of 51 on the list of best states for working moms and 37 out of 51 for best states to have a baby.

Then there's Kansas.

Still in the bottom, bad half, at 28 but at least they’re more in the middle, than the low, low worst ¼

.
28. Kansas

Total score: 56.21
Ranking for women’s economic and social well-being: 33rd
Ranking for women’s health and safety: 25th

Kansas performs better in the category of women’s health and safety than it does when it comes to women’s economic and social well-being.

Texas, still in the bottom, worst half at 42. Shame on you, Texas.

Neighboring Nebraska, in the far more respectable top half

17. Nebraska

Total score: 64.82
Ranking for women’s economic and social well-being: 19th
Ranking for women’s health and safety: 14th

Nebraska shares the distinction of having the lowest unemployment rate for women with four other states.
Going the other way, next door Illinois ranks far higher and better.

11. Illinois

Total score: 69.07
Ranking for women’s economic and social well-being: 7th
Ranking for women’s health and safety: 20th

Only two states have a lower homicide rate for women than Illinois, which also boasts the fourth-highest median earnings for female workers.

Now, to the North? Iowa In the top 10.

9. Iowa

Total score: 69.11
Ranking for women’s economic and social well-being: 10th
Ranking for women’s health and safety: 9th

Iowa boasts the fifth-highest high-school graduation rate for young women.

No. 1 position??

I’m very proud and happy to say my daughter’s adopted state of Minnesota is number 1! Fantastic!

1. Minnesota

Total score: 78.22
Ranking for women’s economic and social well-being: 1st
Ranking for women’s health and safety: 3rd

Minnesota, hats off to you! The Land of 10,000 Lakes topped the list of best states for women by three points. It’s easy to see why — and tough to find a positive economic marker this state doesn’t possess. Minnesota has the third-highest life expectancy rate for women, the fifth-lowest rate of women without insurance, the fourth-highest women’s high-school graduation rate, the fifth-lowest percentage of women in poverty and the second-highest median earnings for working women. Go, Gophers!

One interesting side note, North Dakota came down at an extremely respectable 4 on the list while neighboring South Dakota was far tougher on women at 24.

The conclusion?

Missouri and these other low-ranking states would do well to look around and see just what, precisely these other, higher-ranking states are doing to get these results. Not only is this for 1/2 of our population but it's for our mothers, daughters, sisters, cousins, all. 

It's not like we have to go far for the answers, after all.

Route 66 Endangered---And What You Can Do

I saw this news just broke yesterday:

U.S. Route 66 on national list of 11 endangered historic places

Seems the National Trust for Historic Preservation just came out with its list of endangered historic places---and Route 66 is on it.

A proposal has been made, to help save it, by making it a National Historic Trail, officially. To do this, to  support Route 66 becoming a National Historic Trail, the trust has set up an online petition. You can go to it here and sign up/sign on:

I Support a National Historic Trail Designation for Route 66!

Thank you in advance for your support, for signing.

Now, let's do this!

Missouri Makes a Very Dark List

Wow.

Missouri not only made the top, worst 10 on a new survey of the 50 states in America, it actually made the top, worst 5.

America's 10 worst states to live in 2017 

- CNBC.com

"These are the 10 worst states in the US for quality of life, including crime, health, social tolerance and the environment."

So check out what they say about our own Show Me state:

5. MISSOURI

Show Me how to stay safe in Missouri, where violent crime in all categories has been rising, in some cases by double digits. Missouri also lacks statewide protections against discrimination based on sexual orientation, marital status, and gender identity. And the state is near the bottom for public health funding.

2017 Quality of Life score: 99 out of 300 points
Weaknesses: Crime rate, health, inclusiveness
Strength: Attractions
2016 Quality of Life rank: No. 49

Note that last statistic, too.  2016 Quality of Life rank:  49.  Out of 50, of course. Only one state worse than us, whoever that is. 

Even on this list, we're worse than Mississippi, for God's sake. 

WORSE THAN MISSISSIPPI.

Let that sink in.

I know I personally take no comfort whatever in learning that neighbor state to the South, Arkansas, is ranked 4th worst or that, again, neighbor state Oklahoma is ranked number 3.

We should no way be on this list. This is horrible.

We must do better. We have to.

And we start by getting Republicans out of public office.

Let's get started.

What Trump's Proposed Economic Plans Already Did To Kansas and Oklahoma

Donald Trump's plans of cutting taxes further for businesses and corporations and the already-wealthy have already, famously been tried before. Heck, we've seen this for some time, right next door in Kansas, since 2012 and Governor Sam Brownback's and the Republican's "trickle down economics."

Kansas expects budget shortfall 

around $350 million this fiscal year

As if that isn't and hasn't been horrible enough, check out what the rocket scientist Republicans have done in their beloved red state Oklahoma.

Oklahoma budget hole nearly $900 million

And besides these plans, of cutting taxes for the wealthy and corporations, Mr. Trump also wants to beef up our military and their budget, as though they don't waste millions and billions enough already.

Trump appears to subtweet Putin as both express desire to beef up nuclear capabilities

US Army fudged its accounts by trillions 

of dollars, auditor finds

So get ready, America. Those pesky, hard-headed Republicans, with their ideas of shoveling yet more money to corporations and again, the already-wealthy and the military are now coming at the entire nation.

God help us all.

And thanks, Republicans, once again, in advance!

An Open Letter to Oklahomans

Dear Oklahomans,

Years ago, you all decided fracking for oil was and is okay, in spite of evidence and concerns otherwise but hey, you're oil people. We guess you're going to go after it no matter what and no matter how.

But now that you've been at it a while and it's spread all over your state (I guess), it's been giving you more and more earth temblors and earthquakes.

Oklahoma's rise in quakes linked to 

man-made causes

And it's clear what that it's from fracking, too. Let's not kid ourselves. Just check out the results.

Oklahoma has more earthquakes in 2015 

than all of continental U.S.

But now you've gone too far, Oklahoma. You've gone way too far.

It's one thing to frack in your state and it would be okay if only you suffered any repercussions, sure. Then we'd say, fine, you're leaving us alone so we'll leave you alone. But now, today, we got this.

Oklahoma earthquake rattles six surrounding states

And it wasn't a little one, either.

5.6 earthquake, strongest in state history, 

rattles Oklahoma

You, Oklahoma, and 6 other states got rattled by a 5.6 earthquake that was felt as far away as Iowa. We certainly felt it here in Kansas City. I understand it was felt as far away as Omaha, Nebraska and in Iowa.

And sure, we can joke about it.

But the fact is, it's not funny.

The earthquakes are getting more numerous and they're getting stronger. Neither is a good trend. At all.

Earthquake Rattles Oklahoma; One Of Strongest Recorded In State

So here's the deal, Oklahoma. Either you cool the fracking, either cut it down or stop it or we're going to have to have Uncle Sam step in and make you. You're starting to mess with your neighbors. Not only do we not like it but it's not good for us any more than it's good for you.

And we have this little thing over here in the Southeast Missouri area we don't want to wake up. You may have heard of it. It's called the New Madrid fault?

New Madrid Seismic Zone

If that thing "wakes up", your 5.6 rattler will seem like a dishwasher going on in the house, in comparison. You won't like it and neither will all of us in Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Texas and a lot more, likely.

The New Madrid Earthquake That Will Divide 

The United States In Half

A New Madrid Earthquake Is Coming And America 

Will Be Shaken

So stop it, Oklahoma. Cut it out. It's for your good and the good of America, frankly. It's not a threat. We're begging, really.

Be a good neighbor. Be a good citizen.

Sincerely,

All Your Neighboring States and a Good Number of Your Fellow Americans

What They're Saying About Our Trolleys---and City

Check out this headline posted 2 days ago on The Huffington Post.

The Stone Age Is Over. Kansas City Definitely Got The Memo.

New technology offers a glimpse into what 21st-century urban life should look like.

Sure, plenty of people here will be or already are grunging about our trolleys---what they cost, heck, even that they're here but---news flash---mass transit really does make sense. They make good sense.

A note about the article, too. Not once in it do they mention our Mayor, Sly James but really, this is a big, big win for him, politically and about all other ways.

Also, it's more than just the trolleys. Much more. It's also about the computerized kiosks along the route, the lighting technology, the safety features, the wifi along the route and more.

Now let's just hope the trolleys successful. I mean, the money is spent. It's here. Love it or hate it, for it or against it, wouldn't it be better if it works, if it's successful?

Remember the song?   "Everything's up to date in...

Let's live up to it.

Kansas City In Top Ten Cities Facing the "Most Danger Days"

With the warming of the planet, proven, scientifically, it becomes important to know what's in front of us.
There's a rather important article out last month from the online environmental magazine Grist:

Top 10 cities facing the most “danger days” due to climate change

So what is a "danger day"?

A danger day is when the combination of heat and humidity (also known as the heat index) make it feel like it’s 105 degrees F or hotter. Warming temperatures are about to push U.S. cities into a new regime where danger days happen regularly.
With the globe's warming temperatures, it's projected we will continue to have ever-climbing temperatures.

Of the 144 U.S. cities Climate Central analyzed, only 12 of them averaged more than one danger day per year since 1950. Most of those cities are clustered in the South where humidity tends to be worst in the morning while temperatures peak in the late afternoon.

But by 2030, a whopping 85 cities — home to nearly third of the U.S. population — are projected to deal with at least 20 danger days annually. Only nine cities are projected to experience less than one danger day per year. By 2050, just three cities could have as little as one danger day per year, while 109 cities that are home to 125 million Americans will experience 20 danger days or greater annually.

So where does this tend to look likely to hit worst? Where, in the nation, will be most heated and have the most of these "danger days"? Here are the top 10 cities projected now. And look who's right about in the middle of it all:

There is a lot of the Midwest there. Tulsa, Oklahoma, Jackson, Missouri, Wichita, Kansas all along with our own Kansas City.

Some of the ripple effects?

All that added heat will change the daily rhythm of life across the U.S. The impact on health will be a top concern, particularly for children and senior citizens. When the heat index rises above 105°F, heat exhaustion can set in and cause fainting, dizziness, confusion and vomiting. When humidity crosses 60 percent, the body also loses its ability to cool itself by sweating. Hot, humid conditions have made high school football a focal point for heat exhaustion as heat-related deaths have tripled since 1994.

Some states and cities have responded by setting up rules to cancel sports practices based on the weather forecasts while others have cooling centers and warning systems to help deal with oppressive conditions. Rising temperatures mean those plans will have to be adjusted and relied upon more regularly.

Outdoor laborers will see their productivity fall. According to findings in the Risky Business report, the productivity of farmers, construction workers, landscapers, and others who work outside could drop by 3 percent by century’s end.

It will also drive up how much people spend on energy as air conditioning goes from being handy to being a necessity. If greenhouse gas emissions continue on their current trend, energy expenditures could rise by up to 7 percent by 2050 and 21 percent by 2100. That added capacity will strain the electricity grid, and even violent crime could rise.

Once again, it doesn't look pretty, ladies and gentlemen.

It would be nice if our legislators---all of them---would start taking action on climate change. Heaven knows some in the business community and the lots of the military, both, already have.

An American History Anniversary (guest post)

The American history we don't know.

The American history we're not taught.

The American history we don't want to know.

BLACK WALL STREET - Today is the 94th anniversary of the Race Riot and Bombing of Black Wall Street in Tulsa Oklahoma, May 31st, 1921.Read The Article: You do know that Black Wall Street was rebuilt by the Black residents after the bombing took place in 1921. They rebuilt it with their own money and got no government support.

"After the riot, black Tulsans, who were living in tents and forced to wear green identification tags in order to work downtown, still managed to turn the tragedy into triumph. Without state help, they rebuilt Greenwood, and by 1942 the community had more than 240 black-owned businesses.

"If we did it once we can do it again.

http://www.theroot.com/…/greenwood_oklahoma_from_the_black_…

Sign up for The African History Network email newsletter by texting the word "Kemet" to 22828.

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If you want to learn more about African History and African-American History to counteract the negative images we see of ourselves on the TEL-LIE-VISION (TV), please visit www.AfricanHistoryNetwork.com. We have information to Educate, Empower and Inspire people of African Descent throughout the Diaspora and around the world.

Listen to “The African History Network Show” with host Michael Imhotep, every Thurs, 8pm-11pm EST and “The Per Ankh Hour Q & A Show” with Prof. Kaba Kamene (aka Booker T. Coleman) of “Hidden Colors 1 & 2” and Michael Imhotep of The African History Network every Wednesday 10:00pm-11:30pm EST athttp://www.blogtalkradio.com/theafricanhistorynetworkshow orwww.AfricanHistoryNetwork.com by phone, when we are LIVE at (914) 338-1375. Call in with your questions and comments. Archived episodes are available for you to listen and are also archived on www.Itunes.com.

And in our national history, it's not that isolated an incident, either, this Tulsa, Oklahoma killing and murder. Don't think for a moment that it is.

Missouri Makes A Good to Great List For Business Starts

Yes, sir, Missouri made a good list for people wanting to start a new business and here it is:

The Best (and Worst) Cities to Start 

a Business In

Trouble is, Kansas City is not in the top ten.

Not close.

Springfield is, however.

Best Cities to Start a Business
1. Shreveport, LA
2. Tulsa, OK
3. Springfield, MO
4. Chattanooga, TN
5. Jackson, MS
6. Sioux Falls, SD
7. Memphis, TN
8. Augusta, GA
9. Greensboro, NC
10. Columbus, GA

Surprised me.

Kansas City, meanwhile?

KCMO came in at number 36.

Wichita, Kansas, a not-too-shabby 16.

Omaha---30

If you check the list, the worst cities for it are in California and most of the best come from the heartland, the midwest. One thing that surely contributes, surely, is the lower costs associated with beginning a business, I should think.

One thing to note however, if "Best Cities to Start a Business In" means either next to no government oversight and/or that they pay little or no taxes, then the list becomes not just unimportant but a negative in my book. They need to be responsible members of the society, it should go without saying.

Side note: Someone needs to remind these people it's still not good grammar to end a sentence with a preposition. But especially the headline.

Link:   2015's Best Cities to Start a Business

What We Need To Do To Get Our States Back

They've had Oklahoma for a long time.

They've had Kansas for a long time and took even more control of that state.

Then they took over Missouri.

We have to get this back. This is a good way to start.



Vote.

Then let's fight to end campaign contributions.  We have to  Get the Big, Ugly Money Out of Our Election System and Government.

Congratulations, Missouri!

You're not on the list!

You're not in the top (bottom) 10:

The Unhealthiest State Is...

Neighbor Tennessee?  Yep.

Oklahoma?  Yes.

Kentucky? Check.

Arkansas?  Oh, yeah.

But Missouri? In the 10 most unhealthy states?



No!

Not this year, anyway.

So, enjoy, Missourians! Celebrate!

Just don't overdo it.

Kansas vs. Missouri

Why on Earth would Missouri want to follow this lead?

On this day...in nearby Oklahoma, 1921

From the  Zinn Education Project

In 1921, Greenwood (in Tulsa, Oklahoma) was one of the most prosperous African-American communities in the U.S. Serving over 8,000 residents, Greenwood’s commercial district was known nationally as the ‘Negro Wall Street’. The community boasted two newspapers, over a dozen churches, and hundreds of African-American-owned businesses. On the evening of May 31, 1921, Greenwood was ravaged by a white mob. By the conclusion of the riot at midday, June 1, virtually every building in a 42-square-block area of the community--homes, schools, churches, and businesses--was burned to the ground and thousands were left homeless. Over 1,200 homes were destroyed. Every church, school, and business in Greenwood was set on fire. Approximately 8,000 African-Americans were left homeless and penniless. (Continue reading here: http://bit.ly/1pGWfv5.)

(People) need to learn the hidden history of the 1921 Tulsa race riot (massacre) and how this links to racial wealth inequality today. Read "Burning Tulsa: The Legacy of Black Dispossession" by Linda Christensen of Rethinking Schools and see her classroom lesson: http://bit.ly/1fDOUvG


You can read and see more about that ugly, fateful day, here:

What happened to Black Wall Street on June 1, 1921?

Which brings up this article from this past week from The New Yorker:

What We Talk About When We Talk About Reparations

And it is based on this recent article from The Atlantic

The Case for Reparations

Most Americans likely don't know there were, in fact, some reparations paid for slavery just after the Civil War, as Ta-Nehisi Coates points out.  Trouble is, they were paid to slave owners.  How's that for irony?  And hypocrisy.

Food for thought.

Enjoy your Sunday, everyone.

Missouri and Kansas--both--on list of "least healthy eating states"

True.

The states of Kansas and Missouri were just recently ranked in the bottom 10 states, out of all 50, of course, for "healthy eating" according to a Gallup Poll:

Vermont No. 1 in Frequent Exercise, Produce Consumption

How embarrassing.

And check out what state ISN'T in the bottom 10 of this list.  Freaking Mississippi.  Kansans and Missourians are eating less healthy than the people in Mississippi? Are you kidding me?

Geez, people,  can't we do better than this?

A LOT better?

Big drought in America presently

Okay, we were all cold here a week ago in America, what with the "polar vortex" that came out of the North.

And for a few days or a week or more, the climate change deniers---you know, the ones ignoring the glacial and ice cap melts and the rising oceans, those people?  Well, they all said, for a few days, "This proves global warming doesn't exist."

Yeah, whatever.

Well, along with the glacier ice melts and the polar ice caps doing the same and the oceans rising from all that melt (how you ignore all that, I don't know), we have these:

Record Driest Year in California, Parts of Oregon

Extreme Fire Danger, Record Highs in California as Drought Worsens

And this is winter, obviously, when the West Coast usually gets most of its rainfall.

North California drought threatens farmers, ag workers, cities – and you

So whaddya' think?  

Shall we keep on doing nothing whatever about climate change?

What's it going to take? How long do we wait?

Until people are starving?

Missouri makes a pretty disgusting list

According to a Kaiser Family Foundation  study, well, read it for yourself:

Living in a red state is hazardous to your health

The 12 states with the highest mortality rates:

1. Mississippi
2. Alabama
3. West Virginia
4. Oklahoma
5. Kentucky
6. Louisiana
7. Arkansas
8. Tennessee
9. South Carolina
10. Georgia
11. Indiana
12. Missouri

 

As the Daily Kos article states:

 

Of the 25 states above the national average, 19 are blue and just six are red. Of the 25 states below the national average, 17 are "red" and just eight are "blue."

Environmental policies, access to health insurance, workplace safety regulations ... these things matter.

So, congratulations, Jefferson City, Missouri legislators and Missourians. You're getting exactly what you're voting for and spending on.

And it isn't people's health or best interests.


 

Quote of the day --here's your "wealth distribution" for you

At what point do we learn? At what point do we change?

I was speaking last evening, late, with a friend that recently retired from the federal government's National Weather Service and told him what I thought--that all it's going to take, I expect, is one more hit, one hit in Florida of some major city, heaven forbid, and finally, finally more people will think there likely is a good chance of humans effecting weather with all the CO2 we're putting into the atmosphere.

Heaven forbid it's Miami but there it sits, like a bit of a big bullseye, jutting out into big bodies of water. 

Purely coincidentally, after I wrote this entire piece, I ran across this article:

As hurricanes loom, Florida insurance lives on borrowed time

Because of its size and geographical position, with 1,200 miles of coastline on a peninsula sticking out into the warm waters where the Caribbean meets the Atlantic, Florida is a uniquely risky insurance market. Most of its insured residential and commercial property - 79 per cent - lies in coastal areas vulnerable to both wind damage and flooding.

Coastal property is valued at just under $3 trillion, according to a report due to be released next week by AIR Worldwide, a global leader in catastrophe risk modeling. Florida accounts for almost 30 percent of the nation's entire $10 trillion coastal exposure, AIR found.

Only New York has as much exposure, with $3 trillion in coastal property, and that compares to $239 billion in South Carolina and $107 billion in Georgia.

Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Daytona, you name it. When/if that should happen, it'll be game over for Florida, if it's a big enough storm. There will be lots more believers.
In the meantime, there's Oklahoma and Oklahoma City, repeatedly hit by tornadoes in the last week.

Did you know there were 9--nine tornadoes in the last 36 hours?

And in the last 24 hours, there was this:

5 dead in tornado in Oklahoma City area, 50 hurt

And that, of course, is on top of the direct hit the suburb of Oklahoma City took in Moore, the previous week.

At what point do we think maybe the way we humans live on this planet maybe isn't sustainable?

At what point do we maybe think we need to stop pumping carbon dioxide into the atmosphere?

Missouri on list of "10 States Most at Risk for Major Disaster"

And while the bad news is Missouri is on this list, if there's good news, it is that we're ranked in last place:

10 States Most At Risk For Major Disasters

What they have to say about us:

The Show-Me State has been shown disastrous weather in every month of the year: severe snow and ice storms in winter, tornadoes during the spring, summer and fall, and flooding at virtually any time.

Major disaster declarations since 1953: 53

Yikes. 

Check that out. Every month of the year.

I live here and didn't know that.