Republicans' Right to Carry

Republicans across the country in different states are pushing for more "right to carry" laws so virtually any of us can have a gun, a weapon on us anywhere, everywhere, at any given place or time in our cities and on our streets. This is what that gets us.

What Republicans Are Doing or Trying to do to Your, Our Vote, Votes and Elections

We must fight this assault on our elections state by state, the nation over as well as at the federal level in Washington. We must fight it in Topeka and Jefferson City and all over the nation, state by state.

End vote suppression. It's un-American.

Quote of the Day -- Conservatives and Coronavirus Edition

"Mask refusers appeal to liberty. But even staunch libertarians know that checking the spread of disease is a legitimate government function. The hostility to masks isn't libertarian. It's nihilistic. Nihilism has come to characterize a significant part of today's 'conservatism.'" --Bill Kristol @BillKristol

Timely, Thanksgiving Day Reminder of Trickle Down Economics

 If "trickle-down economics" is or were so great.

Meanwhile, this is a line for food recently in our own Dallas, Texas.

A growing number of Americans are going hungry

26 million now say they don’t have enough to

eat, as the pandemic worsens and holidays near

54 million Americans are going hungry

40 million Americans are at risk of eviction

Thanks, Senator McConnell.

Thanks, Republicans.

Very Sobering Headline and Article Today on America and this Pandemic--and KCMO is here, too

I thought this important to share from The Hill today.

COVID-19 surge pushes US toward deadly cliff

The coronavirus is spreading at ever-faster rates in a broad array of states, putting the U.S. on the precipice of an explosion of illness that threatens to overwhelm the nation's health care system.

The painful economic lockdowns imposed in March gave the country time to flatten the epidemiological curve and contain the virus. But that window of opportunity, which came at great economic cost, is quickly slamming shut. Health experts say all signs point to a deadly summer and fall unless government leaders implement a much more robust national strategy.

The breadth of the spread is staggering. Forty-three states have seen the number of cases confirmed on an average day increase in the last two weeks. The number of patients in hospitals has risen over the same period in 29 states. More than 80 percent of intensive care beds are occupied in Alabama, Arizona and Georgia.

The same models that predicted surges in Phoenix, Houston and Miami now show a new and broader round of cities as the likely next epicenters. The number of confirmed cases is likely to rise substantially in places like Atlanta, Kansas City, Mo., Tulsa, Okla., and Greenville, S.C.

The virus also appears to be traveling north along the I-95 corridor. Cities like Philadelphia and Baltimore, which struggled through earlier peaks of viral transmission, are now seeing early signs of a second wave. Transmissions even appear to be rising in New York City.

On the other side of the country, outbreaks in California have grown to unprecedented proportions. The Golden State is now averaging more than 7,900 new cases a day, substantially more than its seven-day average just two weeks ago.

Public health experts warn that the U.S. has only a fleeting window in which to wrestle the virus back under some form of control. Without a stronger national response, including restrictions on large gatherings and requirements that people wear masks in public, the risk of a second peak could bring new lockdowns and more economic harm, derail the beginning of the new school year and even overwhelm local health systems.

"Our projections show that without immediate actions to significantly reduce travel and social distancing nationwide, this virus will not only threaten our ability to reopen schools in the coming weeks, but our capacity to care for the sickest individuals," said David Rubin, director of PolicyLab at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia whose models forecast higher case counts.

More than 3.1 million Americans have tested positive for the virus, though the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that as many as 25 million people in the U.S. may have contracted it. More than 133,000 people have died, almost twice as many victims as in Brazil, the second-hardest hit country.

Cities that successfully avoided early explosions of cases are now in the crosshairs after the loosening of restrictions in some states and regions that helped avoid what studies have suggested would have been tens of millions of infections.

"I would be lying if I didn't say I was concerned," Kansas City, Mo., Mayor Quinton Lucas said in an interview. "We have looked at the trends out of Texas, Arizona and Florida. Those states kind of reflect the political choices that were made statewide in Missouri, and that does give us concern."

The Kansas City metropolitan area has confirmed more than 10,000 coronavirus cases. The PolicyLab model shows Jackson County, Mo., is likely to experience more than 200 new cases every day by the beginning of August.

Rubin warned that smaller cities are likely to experience significant outbreaks in the coming weeks, potentially straining health systems that are not as prepared to handle a high volume of patients in need of intensive care. College towns like South Bend, Ind., and Tuscaloosa, Ala., are beginning to see case counts rise even with most students gone.

"We're starting to see a mild uptick," said James Mueller, South Bend's mayor. "We're in a much better position now than we were for the first increase or the first peak."

At other levels of government, some who have sought to downplay the severity of the American outbreak have pointed to an increasing number of tests being conducted across the country, which they say will naturally lead to identification of those who have only minor symptoms or asymptomatic cases. But the number of cases is rising faster than would be accounted for by the increase in testing; the share of tests coming back positive is rising in 38 states.

More than a quarter of tests conducted in Arizona are coming back positive, according to state data. More than 15 percent of tests are coming back positive in Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, South Carolina and Texas.

Governors in 23 states have ordered residents to wear masks in public, though President Trump has refused to order a nationwide mask mandate. Trump has instead focused on reopening the economy, insisting that schools operate as normal in the months before he faces voters in November.

__________________________________

We have GOT to pull together, people, America, Americans. All of us.

Link:

Florida records more than 15,000 new COVID-19 cases in one day, the highest single-day increase in any state

Surgeon general says U.S. can reverse coronavirus surge in a few weeks 'if everyone does their part'

Leaving World Health Organization marks major foreign policy blunder

Coronavirus Today, Lest Anyone Think It's Over

Following are all current reports today, Sunday, July 5, 2020.

Miami mayor says city 'breaking record after record after record' of coronavirus cases

Miami-Dade mayor: Residents 'kind of let their guard down' during reopening

Phoenix mayor: 

'We opened way too early in Arizona'

Public health expert: 'Mixed messaging' on masks, social distancing contributed to 'perilous moment' for US

Austin mayor: Trump's 'ambiguous' messaging 'makes me angry'

Texas hits another record f

or daily new coronavirus cases

Houston mayor: Hospitals will be overwhelmed 'if we don't get our hands around this virus quickly'

Republican governor on Mt. Rushmore event: 'There should have been face coverings'

FDA commissioner says he can't predict when vaccine will be ready after Trump's timeline claims

FDA commissioner declines to confirm Trump claim that 99 percent of COVID-19 cases are 'harmless'

Gottlieb: 'The total number of deaths is going to start going up again'

New Jersey governor: 'We went through hell. We cannot afford to go through hell again'

Note, too, they are all from one source, The Hill, which is not an overly emotional nor one-sided, Left or Right Wing source for stories. My point being, I didn't go all over the internet to get these stories.  I think this gives a good, cold, if sobering overview of where we stand right now, as a nation and even in our area, the Kansas City metropolitan area, on this pandemic.

(Note: The Gottleib mentioned above is Former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb).

Have a great day, everyone. Enjoy your Sunday.

Stay safe.

Going Forward---Something to Think About

More and more, I keep seeing first this person and then another hinting at, suggesting about if a crash, an economic crash, should occur, what with this rather relentless killing, international pandemic and the effects it's having on us and our economies and institutions. Some examples. This first I got from my brother.

The decline of the U.S. dollar could happen at ‘warp speed’ in the era of coronavirus, warns prominent economist

Pandemic Upends World's 2 Largest Economies

The economic devastation wrought by the pandemic could ultimately kill more people than the virus itself

Coronavirus could spark another Great Depression

Coronavirus pandemic's effect on global economy in 7 charts

The medical community seems convinced we're still on the "first round" of this coronavirus pandemic, not the 2nd wave and it just keeps hitting bigger and bigger numbers of Americans who contract it and then the numbers that die, too. We have more cases of coronavirus and more deaths in the nation, both, THAN ANY OTHER NATION ON THE PLANET. And those numbers keep growing.

Put that into perspective, too, folks. We have a little over 4% of the nation's population--a fraction of China's or India's, for a best comparison--yet we have, by far, the most cases of the coronavirus and the most deaths in this pandemic.

If a crash does, in fact, come, an economic crash---God and heavens forbid--and this man, Donald J.  Trump is still at the helm?

Seriously, God and heavens help us all.

Link:

There is some hope out there. It's not all bleak.  Not completely.

Why COVID-19 Won’t Trigger Another 

Great Depression

Be safe out there, y'all. Be and stay safe.

And keep up that hope.

Meanwhile, this broke this morning, minutes ago.

Texas pauses reopening as hospitals inundated with 'explosion' of COVID-19 cases

And Now the Psychotic Presidency

This now psychotic Presidency, I swear.

Check out that headline on this article. It broke yesterday.

Trump cheers on governors as they ignore White House coronavirus guidelines in race to reopen

This President, through his White House and staff, has set guidelines for reopening the nation, our businesses, because, of course, of this killing pandemic but--wait for it---this same President is actually cheering on governors across the nation, supporting them, for opening early, against his own guidelines because, you know, business is important.

What the absolute what?

Thanks, Republicans.

Precisely How Poor, How Bad This Republican Party President's "Leadership" Is

This is what it's come down to.  This is how bad, how poor the excuses for leadership from this White House, from this President has gotten.

The TV networks break away from the PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES because he goes counter to his own, our own health experts.

TV networks cut away from the White House coronavirus briefing as Trump contradicted his health experts

• CNN, MSNBC, ABC News, NBC News, and CBS News cut away from President Trump's lengthy coronavirus briefing on Monday night.
• During the briefing, Trump chafed at the idea of continuing the widespread order for people to stay home, saying it was harming the economy. His top infectious-diseases expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, had said social-distancing measures would need to be in place for "several weeks."
• CBS told Insider that it "plans to continue covering briefings whenever possible" but may cut away for other programming. MSNBC told Insider that it "cut away because the information no longer appeared to be valuable to the important ongoing discussion around public health."
• Critics of the president have called for networks to stop airing the briefings. "All of us should stop broadcasting it, honestly," MSNBC's Rachel Maddow said on Friday. "It's going to cost lives."
• On Tuesday, Seattle's NPR station, KUOW, also announced it would not broadcast the briefings live "due to a pattern of false or misleading information."

Thanks, Republicans!

Meanwhile, I just ran across this.

President Trump is as popular as he's ever been right now

It's not saying a great deal because he's never enjoyed traditional support most Presidents get and we are in a national emergency so I get that his supporters are behind him but still.

Additionally, more reason for concern.

60% of Americans approve of Trump's coronavirus response: poll

I don't know what's more frightening--the coronavirus pandemic or Trump's handling of it. Neither are predictable and both could kill.

And then there was this cold, incredibly callous ignorance from, yes, another Republican only yesterday.

Texas' lieutenant governor suggests grandparents are willing to die for US economy

And keep in mind, this is from a man who is 69 years old.

So again, thanks, Republicans! Many thanks.

Additional links:

Trump claims if stopping coronavirus 'were up to the doctors' the world would be shut down 'for a couple of years'

Trump Shakes Everyone’s Hands at Coronavirus Press Conference—Ignoring CDC Guidelines

Trump slams NBC’s Peter Alexander in coronavirus press conference

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.

Women's--and So, Our--Election Gains This Past Tuesday

Herewith, some of the wins, gains by women in elections this past Tuesday.

NEW JERSEY: Former US Navy pilot Mikie Sherrill is running for Congress from New Jersey in the open seat being vacated by GOP Trump protégé Rodney Frelinghuysen. She won her primary Tuesday night, and she's the real deal. Donate here.

NEW MEXICO: Deb Haaland won her primary Tuesday, and is set to become the first Native American woman to ever serve in Congress. Donate here.

TEXAS: Veronica Escobar is set to become the first Latina congresswoman from Texas. Donate here.

ARIZONA: Kyrsten Sinema is running for the US Senate, and would be the first openly-bisexual US Senator. Donate here.

IOWA: Abby Finkenauer won her primary on Tuesday, and will be the youngest woman elected to Congress if she beats Tea Party Trump-supporting GOP congressman Rod Blum this fall. Donate here.

KENTUCKY: Former Marine fighter pilot Amy McGrath is running for Congress as a Democrat from the 6th district in Kentucky. McGrath just won her primary Tuesday. Now let's take her across the finish line. Donate here.

NEVADA: Jacky Rosen has the best chance to unseat a Republican US Senator this fall, in her battle against TrumpCare architect Dean Heller. Donate here.

Posted in a quest to get more women, hopefully, elected to public, government offices. They make up 52% of the population, after all, yet are vastly under-represented in those offices.

With thanks to John Aravosis and his Americablog for the summary, links and really, all of the above, honestly.

Links:

Women 50:50

About Us - Women 50:50

Quote of the Day -- Police Officer Edition

"I know some have strong feelings about gun rights but I want you to know I’ve hit rock bottom and I am not interested in your views as it pertains to this issue. Please do not post anything about guns aren’t the problem and there’s little we can do. My feelings won’t be hurt if you de-friend me and I hope yours won’t be if you decide to post about your views and I de-friend you." 

"...people at the state level and the federal level in too many places in our country are not doing anything other than offering prayers. I'm grateful that I'm working a city with the mayor who is transformative, Sylvester Turner, and what we're starting to see is that local governments are starting to make a difference, and I think that the American people, gun owners, the vast majority of which are pragmatic and actually support gun sense and gun reform in terms of keeping guns in the right hands. We need to start using the ballot box and ballot initiatives to take the matters out of the hands of people that are doing nothing that are elected into the hands of the people to see that the will of the people in this country is actually carried out."

-- Art Acevedo, Chief of Police, Houston Texas

Link:

Transcript: Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo On "Face The Nation," May 20, 2018

Two Headlines That Tell All About Guns In America

Yet another shooting.

Yet one more mass shooting in America.

This one in Santa Fe, Texas.

More students killed in their own grade school.

And with all we know about these and however much we don't want them to occur, there were two very telling headlines, articles in the news this week that describe the situation we're in. It tells of what we're allowing, what with all the far-too-easy-to-obtain weapons. Here they are. Here's the first:

Santa Fe school shooting is 2nd this week, 3rd this month and 16th this year

Let's face it, there are so many shootings, so many mass shootings in America, we can't even keep track of them, it's that obscene.

Here's the second headline and article.

2018 has been deadlier for schoolchildren 

than service members

It's nearly incomprehensible that even one of the above is true, let alone both.

It's unconscionable this is our situation. It's unconscionable we allow it.

What's it going to take America?

How many innocent Americans---of any age, really---have to die before we have simple, intelligent, meaningful weapons reform and controls so these at least happen less frequently?

The rest of the world does it.

We should, too.

Link:

Santa Fe school shooting: 10 dead 

and 10 wounded in Texas

Another Shooting. Today. More Students Dead

Students and parents at Santa Fe High School in Santa Fe, Tex., where there were reports of an active shooter on campus Friday.CreditMichael Ciaglo/Houston Chronicle, via Associated Press

10 killed, 10 wounded in Texas school shooting

10 more people dead, today, this morning.

No more "thoughts and prayers."

NOW is the time to talk about gun control.

Now is the time to ENACT weapons controls.

Background checks for mental stability and criminal history, at the very least, required, coast to coast, for all weapons purchases.

For starters.

The Weather Events Our Media Don't Seem to be Reporting

Sure, we're getting coverage, some, anyway, of first Hurricane Harvey that hit Southeast Texas and Western Louisiana. And then we got coverage of Hurricane Irma that hit Florida---and, far more devastatingly, the Caribbean but hey, let's focus just on our 50 states, right?

We and our media have already seemed to have moved on from the Houston area.

Unless you've actively sought out information on that area and storm, Texas and Louisiana and Harvey, it doesn't seem like we're seeing or reading or hearing much about their plight now. We have, again, moved on, as a country, as a people. We're no longer paying them any "never mind."

Meanwhile, as a matter of fact, yet another hurricane is out there and building strength and heading for the same areas. It is Hurricane Marie, thank you very much. And tropical storm Lee is right behind.

So yeah, we're moving on. We're too busy to keep up with all that rebuilding down there in the ravaged South.

And speaking of moving on, how about the areas of the world that have also, in even recent weeks, let alone the last month or so, been ravaged by weather events? Do you have any idea what's been happening lately, around the world?

The Climate Catastrophe We're All Ignoring

Flooding in Bangladesh has submerged a third of the country. (Photo: British Red Cross)

"...multiply the damage from Harvey and Irma a hundredfold and you’ll get a feeling for the climate-related suffering taking place right now in the rest of the world. In India, Bangladesh, and Nepal, an estimated 40 million people have been affected by massive flooding, with over 1,200 deaths. More than one third of Bangladesh’s land mass has been submerged. As if that’s not enough, Africa has been suffering its own under-reported climate disasters, with hundreds of thousands affected by flooding in Nigeria, Niger, Congo, Sierra Leone, and Uganda.

So yeah, maybe we need to know and recognize what, exactly, is already taking place in the world so we can put things, everything, in perspective. The climate scientists have said our planet is warming. They said devastating climate events would increase, from droughts to floods, at least.

Maybe we need to pay attention?

Listen?

Act?

What the Last Week Wrought on the World

Naimey, by the way, is in Niger.

And this doesn't include Nepal or Sierra Leone or Bangladesh or California's blistering heat wave and the wildfires there and across the Western US.

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

Republicans in Jefferson City, At It Again

Image: Think Progress

Yessir, Republican legislators in Jefferson City are at it again. They're writing and trying to pass very self-serving legislation, all in the guise of "protecting our vote." Here it is.

Missouri voter photo ID measures pass 

House committee

Never mind that it's been proven, time and again, that there really is no significant problem with vote fraud of any kind.

How Voter ID Laws Are Being Used 

to Disenfranchise

Never mind that the costs of voter ID far exceeds any value obtained in keeping voting rolls any more clean and accurate than they already are.

How Republicans Rig the Game 

This is yet more un-American, Right Wing, Republican vote suppression and disenfranchisement of Americans. It helps them get and keep the poor, blacks, Hispanics, the elderly and physically-challenged, at minimum---read: possible Democratic Party voters---from voting.

It's not just wrong but deeply wrong and we need to fight this, we need to end it in America. They've been pushing these "voter ID" laws and gerrymandering for far too long. It all needs to end and we need to get started on it. We can and should tolerate this no longer.

Links:

Texas Voter ID Law Is Unconstitutional and Discriminates

Federal Court Rejects Texas' Voter ID Law As Unfair

Dartmouth Study: N.C. Voter ID Law Unfair to Black Voters

The Possible Incredibility of Our American Presidency

Sure, I'd prefer Senator Sanders to win not just the Democratic nomination but presidency but.....

but think of this.

If the first black President the Democrats gave the United States was followed by the first female president...

Who then also gave us the first Hispanic vice president....

Clinton-Castro Appearance in San Antonio

But think about it. Think about this 2016 presidential race. 

It looks very like a Democrat will win the whole thing.

When you look at the Republican candidates, it seems clear their candidates are, honestly, far too extreme, at the very least, to be elected, if not just downright.....   well.....  dumb.  Honestly. Legitimately.

So, truth be told, again, we're going to go from the first black president to either the first female...

Or the first, oldest, Jewish president in the nation's history.

Fantastic times, ladies and gentlemen.

Fantastic times.