The NRA and Gun Lovers, In a Nutshell

Face it, Archie had the NRA's and gun lover's position down pat when he spewed these gems.


True then, all those years ago. Certainly still true today. They haven't budged a bit. Nothing's changed in any way.

"MORE GUNS!"

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?

How many more bridges collapse in America until we get a jobs/projects bill from Congress?

First a bridge collapses in Minneapolis, Minnesota last year--a major city of the nation--and now one in Seattle.

How long, how long until our Congress gives us a jobs bill so we can take care of the infrastructure of our nation and, at the same time, create jobs the nation also needs so badly?

How long?

How long until we stop paying attention to trumped-up, imagined "scandals" and start taking care of the business, the true business, of the nation?

How long until we stop being partisan for our political party and start doing what's right for the entire country?

This is America? We have bridges collapsing now? And this is acceptable?

We need more thought and thinkers like this, instead:

Links:

A bridge falling into the water and a vision for the future gone missing

Radioman's Kansas City: Every Single Senate Republican Voted ...

Another Bridge Falls — Fixing Infrastructure Fixes Jobs And Deficits

Collapse: Does Washington Bridge Expose the Crumbling of a Nation

Quote of the day

"...when a gunman takes out kindergartners in a bucolic Connecticut suburb, three days after a gunman shot up a mall in Oregon, in the same year as fatal mass shootings in Minneapolis, in Tulsa, in a Sikh temple in Wisconsin, in a theater in Colorado, a coffee bar in Seattle and a college in California — then we’re doing this to ourselves.

...Every country has a sizable contingent of mentally ill citizens. We’re the one that gives them the technological power to play god.

...America needs to tackle gun violence because we need to redefine who we are. We have come to regard ourselves — and the world has come to regard us — as a country that’s so gun happy that the right to traffic freely in the most obscene quantities of weapons is regarded as far more precious than an American’s right to health care or a good education."

--Gail Collins, "Looking for America", The New York Times

Link to complete article: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/15/opinion/collins-looking-for-america.html?src=un&feedurl=http%3A%2F%2Fjson8.nytimes.com%2Fpages%2Fopinion%2Findex.jsonp

Want to "buy American"?

Sure, we say we'd rather buy American-made products so here's your chance--on clothing, anyway. GQ magazine just came out with a list of several sources for American made clothes. They are: 1. Pendleton Woolen Mills Pendleton, OR. Est. 1909. Best known for its vibrant blankets, but no slouches in the way of plaid shirts, either. 2. Filson Seattle, WA. Est. 1897. These outdoorsy goods are a staple of urban woodsmen nationwide. 3. Red Wing Red Wing, MN. Est. 1905. Iconic producers of resurgent, Rust Belt-ready work boots. 4. Alden Middleborough, MA. Est. 1884. Stalwart of respectable brogues and loafers; rare company with legit claim to having never gone out of style. 5. Quoddy Lewiston, ME. Est. 1909. Its handmade moccasins are so popular that they're often on back order. 6. L.L.Bean Brunswick, ME. Est. 1912. The iconic mail-order outfitter's duck boots are ubiquitous, and with good reason. 7. Billykirk Lancaster Co., PA. Est. 1999. Amish-made leather shoulder bags, wallets, and key fobs. 8. Gitman Bros. Pilot Mountain, NC. Est. 1978. Some of the most solid (and, uh, patterned) ties around, made in a county known for its quarries. 9. Hamilton Houston, TX. Est. 1883. The dress shirts are from the Lone Star State, but they're classy enough for offices on the coasts. 10. Tony Lama El Paso, TX; Est. 1911. Because you don't want cowboy boots that were stitched anywhere but the Wild West. 11. Levi's Los Angeles, CA This one we knew, right? Est. 1873 If you're an authenticity junkie, you're after Levi's Cali-born, archive-based Made & Crafted line. Link to original post: http://shopping.yahoo.com/articles/yshoppingarticles/866/trendy-made-in-america-brands/

Some good news for the new year

A little good news... 8 states are raising their Minimum Wage rates on New Year's Day, including Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Montana, Ohio, Oregon, Vermont and Washington. Their rates will increase by 28 to 37 cents an hour to between $7.64 and $9.04. The National Employment Law Project (NELP) calculates that will bring nearly 1.4 million full-time minimum wage workers an extra $582 to $770 per year. Studies show that even during times of high unemployment, raising the minimum does not lead to a loss of jobs. Actually, the number of jobs has grown after each of the 19 times the federal minimum has increased over the past 73 years. Happy new year, y'all.

Iowa, one of top 5 states saving on energy

A report out today shows that neighboring state Iowa is one of the "The 5 States With the Most Installed Wind and Solar Power Saw the Least Increase in Electricity Prices from 2005-2010." The top 5 states are Texas, California, Iowa, Minnesota, and Oregon. As the article says, "The health, environmental, and direct job creation benefits of renewable energy vs. traditional forms of power generation are widely accepted. All other things being equal, it would be a foregone conclusion that renewable energy should be chosen over other types of generation." If one only looked at these factors,cost, above, it seems the investment in clean, "green" solar and wind energy makes sense. If one also takes into account the carbon dioxide and pollution, at minimum, that is not released into the atmosphere, the benefits continue to mount. Think happy thoughts, y'all---and enjoy your Sunday. Link to original article: http://thinkprogress.org/romm/2011/12/18/390865/states-most-installed-wind-solar-power-least-increase-in-electricity-prices/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+climateprogress%2FlCrX+%28Climate+Progress%29

"Occupy" shutting down the ports (update)

Um, excuse me? Why? Why are you doing this? Why would you shut down the shipping ports on the West Coast? What does that prove? What does that do? What does that do for your movement? I'm with you on taking back the nation from the corporations and the wealthy, especially by killing "campaign contributions" to politicians but this? Even the unions are against this and they're on your side. What are you doing? Do you even know? What does this gain you except bad press? I don't get it. Someone explain it to me, please. It makes no sense. It seems to be action for action's sake, with no positive side to it. Links: http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/12/12/9389446-occupy-activists-on-west-coast-disrupt-ports; http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/blog/2011/dec/12/occupy-west-coast-ports-shut-down; http://www.newser.com/article/d9rj22o00/occupy-protesters-seek-to-shut-down-west-coast-ports-despite-rejection-by-longshore-union.html UPDATE HERE: A friend sent me this response: http://cleanandsafeports.org/blog/2011/12/12/an-open-letter-from-america%e2%80%99s-port-truck-drivers-on-occupy-the-ports/

More good Kansas City news

US News & World Report has an article out right now on the "25 Worst Cities for Young People"--AND KANSAS CITY AIN'T ON IT. Take that, Kansas City haters. Denver? Yep. Portland, Milwaukee, Louisville, Columbus--all on it but we aren't. See? Things can always be worse. Link: http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/10/20/worst-cities-for-young-people-from-seattle-to-cincinnati-photos.html

Think the banking crisis was "last year's news"?

I wasn't sure how this was going, the banking industry crisis, but I really did hope the worst was behind us. It turns out, it's not. The FDIC closed banks last night in "Florida, Georgia, Oregon and Washington, lifting to 108 the number of U.S. banks to fail this year as the industry has struggled to cope with mounting loan defaults and recession." And here's the clincher: The number of bank failures is expected to peak this year and be slightly higher than the 140 that fell in 2009. That was the highest annual tally since 1992, at the height of the savings and loan crisis. The 2009 failures cost the insurance fund more than $30 billion. Twenty-five banks failed in 2008, the year the financial crisis struck with force; only three succumbed in 2007. Well, that and this: The growing bank failures have sapped billions of dollars out of the deposit insurance fund. It fell into the red last year, and its deficit stood at $20.7 billion as of March 31. The number of banks on the FDIC's confidential "problem" list jumped to 775 in the first quarter from 702 three months earlier, even as the industry as a whole had its best quarter in two years. A majority of institutions posted profit gains in the January-March quarter. But many small and midsized banks are likely to continue to suffer distress in the coming months and years, especially from soured loans for office buildings and development projects. The FDIC expects the cost of resolving failed banks to total around $60 billion from 2010 through 2014. Additionally, with consumer confidence--and spending--both at deep lows, don't look for this to change or improve any time too soon, either. Here's hoping for the best, eh? Try to have a terrific weekend. Link to original post: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100731/ap_on_bi_ge/us_bank_closures;_ylt=AsObbyWHpmK7E_A1HA9oaoiMwfIE;_ylu=X3oDMTM1bWNjdXQ2BGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMTAwNzMxL3VzX2JhbmtfY2xvc3VyZXMEY2NvZGUDbW9zdHBvcHVsYXIEY3BvcwM2BHBvcwM2BHNlYwN5bl90b3Bfc3RvcmllcwRzbGsDcmVndWxhdG9yc2Ns