This President Is Getting Frightening to the Point of Dangerous

This is my biggest fear and concern about this President and for our nation. This is how he is most dangerous. He's bad enough at attacking Democracy and our Constitution, no exaggeration, but this is where he gets most frightening.

There's a rebellion brewing 

and Trump is egging it on

A bit from the article:

There's a Covid-19 rebellion brewing in Pennsylvania, where counties led by Republicans and some businesses have said they'll defy Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf's restrictive orders.

Wolf has said he'll withhold stimulus funding from those counties if they ignore his orders. He's taken a tiered strategy to reopening the state and moved scores of counties to a new, more open "yellow" phase. Some of those still on "red" don't want to wait for the state anymore.

President Donald Trump, naturally, cheered on the counties on Twitter on Monday, and accused Democrats of trying to slow-walk the opening to hurt him in November. (For Trump, it's always about Trump, even if it's actually about public safety.)

The President's tweet:

"The great people of Pennsylvania want their freedom now, and they are fully aware of what that entails. The Democrats are moving slowly, all over the USA, for political purposes. They would wait until November 3rd if it were up to them. Don't play politics. Be safe, move quickly!

He, this President, is stoking dangerous fires here. He is fomenting confrontation, at least, if not out and out rebellion and/or violence instead of cooperation among us. In the face of the worst not just pandemic but killing, deadly and international pandemic in the last more than 100 years, this President is urging people to rebel and revolt instead of work together. And he has a history of it, too.

Trump’s History of Encouraging Violence

This is where he is most dangerous. Most dangerous to us all, to the nation. This President and his administration are legitimately a threat to Democracy, the Constitution and the rule of law, all 3.

He foments and stokes racism.

Violence Against Asian Americans Is on the Rise

'Trump stokes racism that leads to violence:' 

Then, not done there, there is this. This took place just a few days ago.

Donald Trump just made Vladimir Putin very happy

On Thursday, President Donald Trump called the federal investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election a "hoax" while on the phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

I said, 'You know, it's a very appropriate time, because things are falling out now and coming in line showing what a hoax this whole investigation was, it was a total disgrace, and I wouldn't be surprised if you see a lot of things happen over the next number of weeks,"' Trump told reporters about his conversation with Putin.

I'm telling you, folks, you just can't make this stuff up.

Yet they still support this man. If it were anyone, anyone else but Donald Trump, this would be unbelievable.

This President and his administration are legitimately a threat to Democracy and our Constitution and the rule of law, all 3, no exaggeration, provably, verifiably, documentably.

Thanks, Republicans.

Would you all keep your boy in check there?

Please?

Links:

Trump Foments Protests Against Governors

Trump encourages violence against reporters

Donald Trump Encourages Violence At His Rallies

Trump is celebrating violence and nationalism at his rallies

All the Times Trump Has Called for Violence

Thousands of Ex-Prosecutors Urge Flynn Judge to Question Barr's Move to Drop Case

Trump Is Lying More Than Ever: Just Look At The Data

Here Are 16 Examples Of Donald Trump Being Racist

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.

Back When the NRA Had Not Yet Lost Its Collective Way

Quote of the Day

What people who turn to guns and bombs and violence don't understand.

Kansas City Takes 2 Hits

Yes sir, it seems our Kansas City area takes two hits today, in the media, with an article just out.

The 30 places in the U.S. where 

you're most likely to be murdered

This really surprised me and for a couple reasons. 

Naturally, I hoped Kansas City wouldn't even be on the list, in any way. After that, if we were on it, as I thought we might be, I figured it would only be one city or area, not two.

It wasn't to be.

At number 26 of the 30 is our own Jackson County, Missouri.

I thought sure this would be the only area on the list, first, and frankly, I am pleased we're all the way down to 26, at the end of the list.

Here's the shocker:

Kansas' Wyandotte County was in the (rather high) number 12 spot.  They just missed the top 10.

That's depressing.

But for Missouri, there's really bad news. 

I figured Detroit was maybe in the number one spot, right?

No.

Who was it? Who is it?

Our very own St. Louis.

Scary.

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.

On this day, April 4, 1968, for the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr.

History, a reminder and even still, from then to now, an inspiration:

"What we need in United States is not division;

what we need in the United States is not hatred;

what we need in the United States is not violence and lawlessness

but is love and wisdom and compassion toward one another,

a feeling of justice toward those who still suffer within our country

whether they be white or whether they be black."

Want less crime in Kansas City? In America?

Of course we want less crime. Naturally. We all do.

We'd all like to see less crime in our neighborhoods, our cities, heck, our nation. Certainly.

How to get it?

It's an old idea. And we can keep it simple.

Chicago gave hundreds of high-risk kids a summer job. Violentcrime arrests plummeted

We invest in our kids, in our people, in our citizens. We invest, heck, in our own infrastructure.

We have to stop buying so many bombs and guns and bullets and bombers and start investing more--much more---in our people and our nation.

It's not rocket science.

Quote of the day -- On This Anniversary

The Kids Know, Anyway

The kids know.

We adults need to get this fixed.



More here--a great, really comprehensive article from The New York Times:

Children and Guns - The Hidden Toll

Quote of the day -- on violence and war

On Israel and Palestine, too

America, guns and solutions

Quote of the day--for the "Lord's Day"

 

 

 

Quote of the day--on kids, children, and sanity

On America, bombs, guns and tragedies

Face it. Let's face it, America has had it.

We've had it with tragedies.

We've had it with innocents being killed. And hurt. And maimed.

We've had it with Tuscon, Arizonas and Aurora, Colorados and Oklahoma City, Oklahomas and Newtown, Connecticuts and now, with Boston, Massachussetts.

We're reaching the ends of our ropes of patience, I think. We've had it with senseless, cowardly and/or insane attacks on innocents of whatever source and by whatever tool.

Doesn't that seem true?

This isn't emotionalism, either, far from it.

It's why, even though today was bombs in Boston, this will effect American's attitudes toward what we want for our nation. That's one more reason the time may have come, begun with Newtown, finally, to do something about, yes, mental health background checks but also background checks for criminal history and then closing the gun show loopholes and waiting periods for weapons purchases and finally, a true, strong but simple ban on assault weapons.

Weapons of war don't belong in societies.

"It is no longer a choice, my friends, between violence and nonviolence. It is either nonviolence or nonexistence."   --Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr.

From Grief to Action (guest post)

This was an advertisement in this past Sunday's New York Times and reprinted on The Huffington Post website that day, too:

Randi Weingarten: From Grief to Action

Gun violence is a tragic, pervasive part of American life. Assassins' bullets have felled presidents and national icons. Americans are 20 times more likely to be killed by a gun than residents of other developed countries. Even those who had grown numb to the everyday carnage were shaken last month by the unthinkable murder of the most innocent of innocents--young children in their classrooms. In the weeks since the tragedy in Newtown, Conn., more than 900 people in the United States have died from gun violence.

This must end.

On Monday, America will honor and mourn a great man whose life was cut short by a bullet. And we will inaugurate a president committed to curbing gun violence through commonsense measures. Yet, in the decades since the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. and in the wake of the shooting deaths at Sandy Hook Elementary School, the gun lobby--which is not synonymous with responsible gun owners--has vigorously fought virtually every attempt to reduce gun violence. While the gun lobby may be doubling down, there is widespread public support for many gun safety measures, even among gun owners.

There is a recognition that Second Amendment rights, like First Amendment and other rights, come with responsibilities and limitations. There is no reason both sides of the gun debate can't support policies that both protect the right to legally own guns for sport and safety, and reduce the likelihood of mass fatalities.

After the shootings in Newtown, I spent time with educators who were in Sandy Hook Elementary School that day. They, and their colleagues who died or were injured as they protected their students, are remarkable heroes. Think about the teacher who sheltered her students in a closet with only her body and a thin door between them and the shooter. And just last week, after another school shooting, we learned that a teacher and a guidance counselor bravely talked an armed student into putting his weapon down. That's who teachers and school staff are, and we owe it to our children and those who care for them to ensure our schools and communities are safe havens.

Just how to create these safe havens is open to discussion. The AFT has suggested ways not only to reduce gun violence, but also to create and maintain safe, secure and nurturing school environments and to increase access to mental health services. Some schools have trained security personnel as part of their safety plans, and others may follow suit. Many schools desperately need caring professionals like guidance counselors and social workers to ensure students' emotional, social and educational needs are met. But proposals to arm teachers are irresponsible and dangerous. The role of educators is to teach and nurture our children, not to be armed guards.

How can we best honor the legacy of nonviolence of Martin Luther King Jr.? How can we pay tribute to the children of Sandy Hook Elementary, who had only just begun to live their lives, and to the countless young people gunned down every day by senseless and heartbreaking violence?

Commonsense steps such as those taken this week by President Obama will help fulfill what Vice President Biden calls our "moral obligation" to address gun violence.

Sandy Hook Promise, a group of Newtown residents including some who lost family members in the school shooting rampage, called this past week for a national dialogue on guns, mental health and public safety. Their mission statement is a series of promises, including the promise to do everything in their power to be remembered not as a town filled with grief and victims, but as a place where real change began. The National Rifle Association, rather than airing repugnant commercials invoking the president's children, should take a page from these Sandy Hook residents.

The real change we seek must come swiftly. A child or teen dies from guns every three hours in America. We ask the 113th Congress to act posthaste and send legislation to curb gun violence to President Obama, whose signature would mark a defining achievement of his presidency and of our time.

Ms. Weingarten is the President of the American Federation of Teachers

Poignant, timely quote from Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. on his day

Sunday Quote of the Day

"Violence, we believe, has no place in religion and is no way to honor religion.

Islam, like other religions, respects the fundamental dignity of human beings, and it is a violation of that fundamental dignity to wage attacks on innocents. As long as there are those who are willing to shed blood and take innocent life in the name of religion, the name of God, the world will never know a true and lasting peace."

--Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, this past week

Salutations, Anaheim

Police State!

(Sung to the tune of the "Mickey Mouse TV Show") Based on the rash of police shootings of late. See links below.

Who's the holder of the club
That beats on you and me
P-O-L-I-C-E S-T-A-T-E
Hey! there, Hi! there, Ho! there
You're as bloodied as can be
P-O-L-I-C-E S-T-A-T-E

Police State!

Police State!

Forever let us hold our banner
High! High! High! High!

Come along and sing a song
And join the jamboree!
P-O-L-I-C-E S-T-A-T-E

Police State club
We'll have guns
We'll kick new faces
High! High! High! High!

We'll shoot people
We'll go places
All around the world
We'll go marching

Who's the holder of the club
That beats on you and me
P-O-L-I-C-E S-T-A-T-E
Hey! there, Hi! there, Ho! there
You're as bloodied as can be
P-O-L-I-C-E S-T-A-T-E

Police State!

Police State!

Forever let us hold our banner
High! High! High! High!

Come along and sing a song
And join the jamboree!
P-O-L-I-C-E S-T-A-T-E

Links: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/news/police-shooting-civilians

http://pocho.com/pocho-ocho-excuses-anaheim-pd-gave-for-shooting-civilians/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/23/manuel-diaz-police-shooting-protests_n_1694459.html

And then, earlier this year, from the other side of the nation: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jul/25/nypd-occupy-protests-report

Thanks and credit to one Chris Lowe--from and on Facebook--for lyrics, above.

Sociological work that needs to be done

There seems to me to be a great deal of people in the nation--whites, mostly, if not exclusively--who have come to the conclusion that black Americans are violent, culturally, rather intrinsically, and that there is really nothing anyone can do about it.

I see and read it all the time.

Sure, it's by people who aren't sociologists or doctors or professionals in any way but it's not only a deeply held belief but it's a widespread one, too.

I see it online, written in comments sections, I see it over in the comments on Tony's Kansas City blog, I see it on Facebook. It seems to be a fairly ubiquitous opionion.

And every time some new article or news story comes out about black on black crime, the opinion gets made stronger.

This is only the latest such article:

Two former Auburn players killed, one player injured in shooting

"The Auburn community is mourning after former Auburn football players Ed Christian and Ladarious Phillips were shot and killed during an off-campus party Saturday night. Offensive lineman Eric Mack also was injured in the shooting, but his injuries are not considered life-threatening. A third person, who was not a football player, also died in the shooting."

The people with these opinions point to cities like Detroit, St. Louis, now Chicago and--yes--Kansas City, sadly.

So I think it's important that someone, somewhere do some in-depth research on this topic so we can put this idea and assumption to rest. And the sooner, the better.

Link: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/ncaaf-dr-saturday/two-former-auburn-players-killed-one-player-injured-211745842--ncaaf.html

http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/06/11/12166475-chicagos-bloody-weekend-8-dead-40-plus-wounded?lite?ocid=twitter