Quote of the Day -- On Wealth Inequality and Inequity

"Advocates of capitalism are very apt to appeal to the sacred principles of liberty, which are embodied in one maxim: The fortunate must not be restrained in the exercise of tyranny over the unfortunate." --Bertrand Russell

Said so many years ago but still so applicable today. Hear this, Mr. Bezos? Waltons?

Righting a Wrong for Washington, DC

Good to great news today. The House of Representatives in Washington passed statehood for Washington,DC today.

Could you imagine living in Washington, DC and paying taxes, everything but YOU HAVE NO REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS? Really? Greater population than Wyoming but zero representatives in Congress. So wrong. Obscene.Let's do this. #DCStatehood #DCStatehoodNow

Quote of the Day -- On Fair, Living Wages

One Week In

 One week into this new Joe Biden Presidential Administration. This is where we are. Already.

1. We can now ignore Twitter
2. The White House briefing room is not an Orwellian nightmare of lies
3. We are now confronting white domestic terrorism
4. We are not paying for golf trips
5. There are no presidential relatives in government
6. The tenor of hearings is sober and serious
7. Qualified and knowledgeable nominees have been selected for senior spots
8. We have a first lady who engages with the public
9. We have not heard a word from presidential children
10. We are now tough on Russian human rights abuses
11. We get normal readouts of sane conversations between the president and foreign leaders
12. The White House philosophy is to underpromise and overdeliver, not the other way around
13. Manners are in, bullying is out
14. You feel calmer after hearing the president
15. Fact-checkers are not overworked
16. Quality entertainers want to perform for the White House
17. We have seen the president’s tax records
18. The president is able to articulate policy details, coherently even
19. The worst the press can come up with is the president’s watch
20. We have a White House staff that looks like America
21. We have a national covid-19 plan
22. Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Anthony S. Fauci is liberated, sounds happy and even looks younger
23. Fauci, not the president, briefs on the science of covid-19 and efficacy of vaccines
24. Masks and social distancing in the White House
25. The White House has policy initiatives and proposals, not merely leaving it all to Congress
26. The administration is committed to releasing information, not covering it up, on the slaughter of journalist Jamal Khashoggi
27. The Muslim ban is gone
28. It is the Republicans not the Democrats who are in disarray
29. The national security adviser has not been fired for lying to the FBI
30. No Soviet-style fawning over the president by his subordinates
31. The president takes daily, in-person intelligence briefings
32. The president does not care about Air Force One colors
33. We have a president familiar with the Constitution
34. Real cable news outlets get high ratings, others not so much
35. President Andrew Jackson is out of the Oval Office, Benjamin Franklin is in
36. Voice of America is back in the hands of actual journalists
37. We get memes about Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), not crowd size
38. We are back in the Paris climate accord and the World Health Organization
39. Instead of running it like a business, the new administration will try running government competently
40. We have a president who doesn’t think military service is for “suckers” and who doesn’t send his “love” to people assaulting law enforcement
41. The secretary of treasury nominee has her own Hamilton lyrics
42. Amanda Gorman is a household name
43. More than two-thirds of Americans approve of the White House covid-19 approach.
44. No more work-free “executive time” in the presidential living quarters
45. We have a churchgoing president “who has spent a lifetime steeped in Christian rituals and practices.”
47. The vice president’s spouse does not teach at a school that bars LGBTQ students
48. The White House takes the Hatch Act seriously
49. The administration wants as many people as possible to vote
50. The president will talk more to our allies than to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Not perfect, certainly. But it's good. It's very good. It's a huge, huge improvement.

Good on you, America. 

No, great on you.

This Pandemic and Male vs Female Leadership

 Compare. What does that tell you?

This is also playing out, statistically and factually, I believe, between Kansas and Missouri just now with Kansas' Governor Kelly vs Missouri's Governor Parson, too.

On Facebook, search and join at More Women Need to Lead the World.

Quote of the Day: Black/White in America

From Southern writer William Faulkner, and decades ago, describing white American fear that lasts even unto today. The reason for Black Lives Matter.

That’s what the white man in the South is afraid of: that the Negro, who has done so much with no chance, might do so much more with an equal one that he might take the white man’s economy away from him, the Negro now the banker or the merchant or the planter and the white man the sharecropper or the tenant. That’s why the Negro can gain our country’s highest decoration for valor beyond all call of duty for saving or defending or preserving white lives on foreign battlefields, yet the Southern white man dares not let that Negro’s children learn their ABC’s in the same classroom with the children of the white lives he saved or defended.

© 2017 Faulkner Literary Rights, LLC. All rights reserved. Courtesy of the Literary Estate of William Faulkner, Lee Caplin, Executor.

From “On Fear,” which appeared in the June 1956 issue of Harper’s Magazine.

The Two Political Parties, In a Nutshell

The two political parties, ladies and gentlemen, broken down.

Dems: We'd like cops to stop killing minorities.

Reps: Dems hate police.

D's: Women should have the right to choose.

R's: Dems want to kill babies.

D's: We need reasonable immigration policies.

R's: Dems want open borders.

D's: We kneel in protest of inequality.

R's: Dems hate the flag, soldiers and America.

D's: We should wear masks to protect others.

R's: Dems want to take away your freedom.

D's: We should have background checks.

R's: Dems want to take your guns.

D's: Feds should not be policing in cities.

R's: Dems encourage rioting.

D's: People should have a living wage.

R's: Dems want to give everyone free stuff.

D's: We want religious freedom for everyone.

R's: Dems want Sharia Law.

D's: Taxes should be used for the benefit of everyone.

R's: Dems want socialism.

D's: We want people to be able to vote safely during a pandemic.

R's: Dems want to rig the election.

D's: People need more unemployment assistance.

R's: Dems blocked unemployment assistance.

D's: Listen, we just want to find ways to help people.

R's: Listen, we just want to find ways to misrepresent everything you say in order to scare people into voting for us, even though we offer zero solutions.

Quote of the Day -- Memorial Version

(Click on picture for easier reading).

Rest in peace, Representative Lewis. 

You've certainly earned it. 

We'll keep up the good fight.

We must.

On This Day, June 12, 1963

On this day, June 12, 1963, civil rights activist Medgar Evers was shot and killed in the driveway of  his home in Mississippi by a white supremacist.

How long, Amerca?

How long?

Quote of the Day -- Timely, Protest, Riot Version

"Justice will not be served until those who are unaffected are as outraged as those who are."

--Benjamin Franklin

No Justice. No Peace

God
It's my face man
I didn't do nothing serious man
please
please
please I can't breathe
please man
please somebody
please man
I can't breathe
I can't breathe
please
(inaudible)
man can't breathe my face
just get up
I can't breathe
please (inaudible)
I can't breath sh*t
I will
I can't move
Mama
Mama
I can't
my knee
my nuts
I'm through
I'm through
I'm claustrophobic
my stomach hurt
my neck hurts
everything hurts
some water or something
please
please
I can't breath officer
don't kill me
they gonna kill me man
come on man
I cannot breathe
I cannot breathe
they gon kill me
they gon kill me
I can't breathe
I can't breathe
please sir
please
please
please I can't breathe

Quote of the Day -- Timely, Sadly Still Relevant Edition

"I contend that the cry of 'black power' is, at bottom, a reaction to the reluctance of white power to make the kind of changes necessary to make justice a reality for the Negro. I think that we've got to see that a riot is the language of the unheard." 

--Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., August 28,1963

Still sadly true--and relevant--today.

This President, This Impeachment and What We're Witnessing

The whistleblower: "He did it."

The Inspector General: "He did it."

The partial call transcript: "If you look right here, you'll see him doing it."

Donald Trump: "Of course I did it! I'll do it again, too! Look, I'm doing it right now on live TV!"

Rudy Giuliani: "WE DID IT TOGETHER! AS HEROES!"

Mick Mulvaney: "You're damn right he did it! That's politics, baby! If you don't like it, go fork yourself!...wait, can I change my answer?"

Noah Feldman and Pamela Karlan: "It looks like he did it, which is an egregious violation of the Constitution and a textbook impeachable offense."

George Kent: "He did it."

Alexander Vindman and Jennifer Williams: "Oh yeah. He did it. That still matters in America, right?"

Kurt Volker and Tim Morrison: "Yep, he definitely did it."

Gordon Sondland: "He 100% did it. Everyone was in on it. Here are some text messages proving it."

Fiona Hill: "Yes. He did it."

Marie Yovanovitch: "He had to get me out of the way in order to do it."

David Holmes: "I acutely remember overhearing a phone conversation in which he was doing it."

OMB: "Yeah, we withheld the aide on his orders. Obviously, he did it."

The Government Accountability Office. He did it and, in doing so, he broke the law.

Lev Parnas: "He did it, and I helped. Here's a treasure trove of documents showing how we did it."

Republicans: "There's just no reason to think that he did it. If only you had some witnesses."

What Do You Suppose It Will Take To Get KCPT To Recognize There Is a Hispanic Community Here?

Really, this puzzles me.

It took far too long to get KCPT to get one token black person reliably, week after week, on their weekly news programs, "Ruckus" and "Week In Review" and even now, they still get left off some weeks.

That was bad enough but the station still hasn't recognized or accepted or something there is a Hispanic Community in the metropolitan area.

Sure, we still get loads and loads o' white folk what with Right Wing, Republican Mike Shanin and his also Right Wing, Republican buddy Woody Cozad (don't get me started) but the shows are heavily, heavily weighted with bleached white people.

As I've said before, their commercials are all the time putting up minorities in them, asking people to send their money like so many Christian churches but what is it going to take to get a token Hispanice on both these shows each week?

They've recognized there is the Dos Mundos newspaper, having one of their staff on not long ago. You'd think they could--and would--maybe call them up once a week and ask if someone would show up for the program.

At least they let women---one, usually, each week, another token--on the program but once again, it's usually a white woman to round out that very varied group.

This week on Ruckus, they had 3 white people---ONE WOMAN!--and Terry Riley, a former City Council person.

And forget about "Week in Review" this week. The entire show was bleached white people. Every one of them.

Minorities??

Bah!

They don't live here in Kansas City!

Right, KCPT?

I would like to now take this time and place to formally challenge KCPT---a PBS station, after all--to please, for the love of God and fairness and decency and all that is good, to start having, reliably, one Hispanic, one member of the black community, one woman and one---ONLY ONE--white guy on these two programs each week, going forward, indefinitely.

Seriously.

It just doesn't seem like too much to ask.

They say they rely on our contributions in order to survive, exist.

How about including ALL of us?

KCPT?

Have you no shame whatever?

Fairness? Balance? Decency in journalism?

Any of that?

Quote of the Day -- Poignant Sunday Edition

Enjoy your Sunday and holiday, y'all.

An Open Letter to Davis Hammet, KCUR, KCPT, Steve Kraske, The Kansas City Star and All Kansans

So yes, first of all, this is going to be an open letter and it's to several entities so thanks for your patience and I'll do my best to be brief but first, an introduction.

Davis Hammet is a young man living in Kansas, Topeka, to be exact, who moved here--from Florida, I believe--because he felt like it was important and there was work to do. So move he did.

He was and is a political science student (not unlike yours truly) so he knows a bit of what should and should not and can and cannot happen in government.

So he came here and began his work.

His work is educating now-fellow Kansans on their state government at all levels, trying to get more "average people" involved and by so doing, getting to more justice, fairness and some equality in the state.

Noble goals.

With that brief introduction, the open letters.

Mr. Hammet,

Thank you, first, for coming to Kansas.

I don't know how you picked this state or how you came here but thank you and thank goodness you did. Your work, already, in the presumably short time you've been here has been pretty monumental. With your research and time spent at the State Capitol in Topeka and writing and videos you have gotten a great deal of information out to Kansas and Kansans they wouldn't otherwise have and in a very quick, informative, palatable and apparently complete format.

I thank you and I don't even live in Kansas.

What you're doing is extremely important---and helpful. You're making big changes and all for the people.

So now to KCUR, KCPT, Steve Kraske, The Kansas City Star and all the Kansans out there.

You media sources need to have Mr. Hammet on your programs AND BADLY. All one need do is see his brief, concise, very informative YouTube videos (see some below) on his organization, LOUD LIGHT, and you can tell he is a serious young man doing some terrific work and he's extremely informed. This man is headed places.

So please, please have him on your programs, Interview him, write about him, let him speak. He is a voice of the people. Whether Right Wing or Left, Republican, Democrat, Libertarian or Independent, it's difficult to be against someone who is merely reporting good, hard, timely information on the state government and who wants justice for his fellow citizens.

So again, Mr. Hammet, thank you. Thank you very deeply and sincerely. Thank you for your work, your energy and the information you give us. Thank you for your intentions. Thank you for coming to Kansas and the Midwest.

Missouri badly needs someone very like you in Jefferson City.

Heck, every state in the nation does.

And Kansas, you are very, very fortunate. Congratulations on your "acquisition." You are very fortunate indeed. You need to know and follow this young man.

Links:

Just some of his YouTube videos, reporting on the Kansas Statehouse.













Additional links:

Loud Light

Loud Light - Home | Facebook

Loud Light (@loud_light) | Twitter

Loud Light - YouTube

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 

A Few Reasons I'm a Democrat

This leaves out, of course, all the things Republicans do and have been doing, in Congress, across the states, across the nation, to their respective states, to their constituents and so, to the nation so yes, it's a long but partial list.

The KCPD Is Hurting Itself This Week. Big Time

Man drives car into stopped cars.

Innocent teen killed. 17 years old.

Also critically injuring his father and sister.

Car destroyed. 2 other cars also damaged.

Weather, dry. Road, clear.

No ticket issued.

17 days ago.

You and me?

We’d have been ticketed. On the spot. At the very least.

The difference?

He’s a police officer.

He was off-duty.

From the article:

“Although multiple witnesses and other drivers gave statements to police that were reflected in the crash report, the off-duty officer driving the van did not.

He still had not given a statement to investigators two days later, when Police Chief Rick Smith said he had ‘no idea’ what caused the wreck”

How many things are wrong with this?

“Investigators reported that the off-duty officer showed no evidence of alcohol use.”

Was the officer tested, on the scene or shortly thereafter, for alcohol use? Was he given a breathalyzer? The articles make no mention of it.

Does this not look like the police trying to protect “one of their own”, laws and justice and even common sense, be damned?

If it’s not, explain to us all why it’s not, please.

“Until Thursday,…” (yesterday, Nov 8) “…the Police Department had not released a standard police report from the wreck, even though Missouri law requires it.”

“As in all open investigations where possibility exists for a person to face charges, the identity of that person (is) to be withheld,” Colón said. “We respect the legal process and will honor it by not releasing the officer’s identity until which time is allowable.”

“…respect the legal process…”? Really? See above.

Since the wreck, Chandan’s father and sister have remained hospitalized.

His father Krishna Rajanna, 81, remained in the intensive care unit at Truman Medical Center.

Krishna Rajanna suffered multiple internal injuries in the wreck, including severe arm, rib and leg fractures.

Chandan’s sister Lisa Allen suffered a brain injury and was recently moved to a rehabilitation hospital in Lincoln, Neb.

Justice much?

By contrast and comparison, check out what happens to someone who isn’t a police officer. This posted yesterday.

Man charged in deadly Overland Park hit-and-run

Found 2 days later, he’s been arrested and charged.

But he's a regular schlub like you and me.

Go figure.

Quote of the Day -- On Health

"It is no measure of health to be well-adjusted to a profoundly sick society."

--J Krishnamurti