The Only Way We'll Stop Polluting the Planet

I've worked at a couple huge, national corporations and noticed a continuing, repeated thread running through them.

Corporations and all the employees that work for them throw away and waste a great deal of plastics and papers and cardboard and aluminum cans and glass.

Corporations, with all those people, create and then throw away all these materials.

And they do it daily. Weekly. Month after month. Year after year.

And they have no desire nor motivation to reduce the amount of waste and wastes and what ends up as pollution, landfill.  It's what gets us these results:

Plastic Garbage Patch Bigger 

Than Mexico Found in Pacific

'Plastic in All Sizes' Found Everywhere 

in Once Pristine European Arctic

Nasa animation shows how ‘garbage islands’ have taken over the seas in the last 35 years

Corporations are all about profit and profits, of course. Because of that, they're also about cutting costs. They're about cutting costs at all costs. Recycling requires commitment. It requires spending. Those are costs they don't want to assume or commit to.

So let's face it. The only way we, as a nation and planet, can get them to start recycling and at least reduce, if not end polluting will be for government and governments, state by state and nation by nation, to require them to do so, to start and keep recycling.

Think about the waste.

Think about how much paper and plastic alone each McDonald's restaurant throws out. Daily. Then think of the entire company.

AT&T

GE

Alcoa

Dupont

Bayer

The list goes on. Company after company. All over the nation, continent and world.

We must do this. We must require this. We have to call them out on this. They won't do it on their own.

An upside to all this, besides that we'll clean up our planet is that it will also create jobs. Those are two huge wins for humanity and the planet.

The thing is, it must come from us, from the people.

Links:

Just 100 companies responsible for 71% 

of global emissions, study

Just 90 companies caused two-thirds 

of man-made global warming

Just 90 companies are to blame for most climate change

The Toxic 100: Top Corporate Air Polluters 

in the United States

The Oceans Are Drowning In Plastic -- 

And No One's Paying Attention

And it's not just the oceans, of course.

Landfill photos from six cities that highlight 

the global waste problem

Landfills: Are we running out of room for our garbage?

This President and His Administration Don't Even Pretend for Whom They're Working

You have to hand it to this Republican President and his administration.

They don't even remotely  pretend to be working for the average, working Joe and Jane out here in America. They don't make any attempt of any kind to try to appear they're working for the middle- and/or lower- and working classes. I give you this article from none other than Rupert Murdoch's own very Right-Wing, business-friendly Wall Street Journal.

An End to Airline Red Tape—

Or Consumer Protection? 

This is just the beginning of the article:

Airlines want to nix a host of rules that attempt to keep them from mistreating customers. The Transportation Department is considering it.

The DOT has asked airlines to suggest changes or cuts to regulations, part of a broad initiative from President Trump, once an owner of a small airline, to reduce government red tape. It comes as DOT fines against airlines fell by half last year.


The rules matter because DOT is just about the only protection consumers have in U.S. air travel. If the airlines get what they want, the government would weaken the tarmac delay rule, which imposes hefty fines for stranding passengers on planes for long periods, and eliminate a requirement that they show the full price of a ticket when people shop.

Carriers also have asked DOT to scrap the 24-hour grace period for a full refund when buying a ticket—you would pay a change fee even if you realized right away you booked the wrong date or made a mistake in the passenger name. They want to eliminate a rule that requires them to honor tickets sold for “mistake fares,” and they are asking for flexibility from a requirement they provide “prompt” wheelchair service. They argue the term “prompt” is ambiguous and complain that providing wheelchair service at zero charge costs the industry $300 million annually and exceeds benefits.

They also want their own booking systems to be free from the DOT ban on display bias so they don’t have to disclose to consumers they exclude competitors’ flights, and they want to drop requirements to show on-time and cancellation data with flights.

It's insane.

It's obscene.

What little protections we have, that we've been able to gain, as customers and passengers on airlines and these people are working to take them away. They're actually asking the airlines what rules they don't like and what they want to have done away with.

This guy and his henchmen and women are working, fighting for the already-wealthy and corporations, folks, not you and I, not, again, the middle class. 

They just recently handed out huge, deficit-creating tax credits and deductions to and for the, again, already wealthy and corporations. Then they have Betsy DeVos working for the same wealthy people in our schools, against the working schlubs like you and I. And then there's Scott Pruitt at the EPA, eviscerating our clean air and water and soil rules.

Here's further proof, today, from The New York Times:

Administration Imposes Sweeping Limits on Federal Actions Against Companies

Not only are they doing it, they're all but throwing public parties to celebrate it all.

Why anyone but the wealthy votes Republican is beyond me.

Meanwhile, we've seen lots of predictions and projections of just where, exactly, his and the Republicans tax package will take us. They already are.

Trump's America will be saddled with debt – 

like his bankrupted hotels 

God help us, America.

Not that we deserve it.

Missouri Republicans, You're Killing Us Out Here

Seriously depressing news out of our state today and lately.

First this, from the Star:

Senate candidate wants daughters to be homemakers

More on this Right Wing, Republican clown:

Senate candidate Courtland Sykes, a Missouri Republican, says feminists have 'snake-filled heads'

Missouri Senate Candidate Sykes: 

Women Are Here To Cook My Dinner

And this wouldn't just be for wives, either, with this guy.

Republican Senate candidate is slammed for calling feminists 'she devils', saying his  daughters will be homemakers and that he expects his fiancée to cook him dinner every night

This would all be marvelous, sure, if maybe companies and business owners paid a good, true,fair living wage but in 2018 America, presently, that's not happening. Besides, this would only be great if it's an option. It shouldn't be commanded, as Mr. Sykes seems to want it.

Republicans, not done there, what we get from them and their philandering Governor:

Greitens’ budget speeds up Missouri’s slide to mediocrity

As so frequently happens with Republicans, as we saw in the last few years in Kansas, they want to slash taxes for the wealthy and corporations--because, hey, they just don't have enough--they also, then, cut education budgets, rather mindlessly.

Again, this is what we get with Republicans, folks.

Keep it in mind this coming November.

Please.

Quote of the Day -- Sunday Edition

Links:

James Baldwin - Wikipedia

James Baldwin | About the Author | American Masters | PBS

James Baldwin - Writer - Biography.com

People Whom I Can't Understand Vote Republican

Herewith, a short list of people who I cannot, for the life of me, understand why they would be or call themselves or, God forbid, vote Republican.

• Gays
• Transgendered
• Black Americans
• Middle Class Americans
• Lower Class Americans
• Elderly (unless they're already wealthy, of course)
• Women
• People in the military
• Veterans
• Anyone with an education
• Anyone who considers themselves to be Christian

I just don't get it.

God knows they're out there but...

Wow.

Links:

GOP platform 2016: Republicans vote against same-sex marriage

Anti-Gay Politicians | List of US Leaders Against Gay Rights

How Voter ID Laws Discriminate Against Racial Minorities

GOP Voter ID Laws Would Disenfranchise Millions Of Blacks

Getting a photo ID so you can vote is easy. Unless you're poor, black

AARP warns senators against supporting GOP healthcare bill

After Passing Senate Tax Bill, GOP to Target Seniors' Earned Benefits

Unjust GOP budget and tax plan cuts the safety net for seniors

Senate Republicans reject equal pay bill

GOP blocks minimum wage, sick leave proposals 

House rejects $2 billion in new funding for VA's healthcare

Republicans Vote Against our Veterans — Again

GOP Voted Against 7 Bills to Help Veterans

41 Republican Senators Voted Against a Landmark Veterans Bill

U.S. Senate Republicans block veterans' health bill

How often do Republicans undermine veterans? Here's a list

Senate Fight Stalls Funding for Troops, Veterans 

Republicans? Really??

Think about this.

Locally, on the state level, and on the national level, what do Republican government representatives get us?

Let me give you some very recent examples. We have to look no farther than neighbor Kansas for some real beauties, to start.

In 2012, very Right Wing, "conservative" and Republican Governor Sam Brownback and his Republican Party statehouse members slashed taxes for the state for the already-wealthy and corporations. The results are now famous and disastrous.

The GOP Tried Trump-Style Tax Cuts 

in Kansas. What a Mess

Kansas' tax cuts are a spectacular failure

Kansas's ravaged economy a cautionary tale

Kansas taxpayer debt far outpaces 

surrounding states

Kansas Confronts Yet Another Budget Crisis

Kansas faces $74.5 million budget shortfall 

amid school funding fight

Plan to fix Kansas budget through school cuts 

implodes in state

Study: Kansas cuts K-12 education funding 

by fourth-most in nation

S&P drops Kansas credit rating, 

citing lack of cash reserves

S&P revises Kansas rating outlook 

to negative on budget pressures

I could post yet more but it would be overkill.

Then there's what the current Republican President and his Republican Party allies recently, infamously did in Congress with their very similar tax cuts for the, again, already-wealthy and corporations.

GOP tax bill slashes rates for corporations 

and wealthy

Tax bill: Ample tax cuts for business, 

wealthy in new GOP tax plan

Senate tax bill would cut taxes of wealthy and increase taxes on

 families earning less than $75,000 by 2027

And here is what this tax plan will do.

Why the GOP Tax Bill Will

 Make Wealth Inequality Worse

Why stop there? Why not also effect people's health insurance and health care?

CBO: Obamacare repeal bill would 

boost uninsured by 32 million

And this. Keep in mind, this is from the people who are supposed to be crazy about our national debt.

Under Dynamic Scoring, House Tax Bill 

Still Explodes the Debt

Senate Tax Bill Will Add $1.4467 Trillion 

to Deficit, CBO Says

The Republican Tax Plan Would Add 

$1.7 Trillion to Federal Deficits

1.4467 trillion, 1.7 trillion.  Let's not quibble.

So that's what they do to us, we citizens, by state and nationally. Now, this is who they are personally.

Trump Gets Caught Saying "Grab Her by the Pussy"

WSJ: Trump lawyer arranged 

porn star payment for her silence

Those are just two of the many I could post. That's enough. It shows who and what he is.

Then there are these guys, these also Republicans.

Remember Mr. "Wide Stance", back in 2007? Senator Larry Craig?

Sen. Craig arrested in "lewd conduct incident" 

at airport restroom

More recently, there's this guy--

Video shows Oklahoma senator caught 

with teen boy in hotel

That wasn't bad enough, the guy not only did this but was into sex trafficking, to boot.

Oklahoma Republican pleads guilty 

to child sex trafficking

Oklahoma Lawmaker Arrested 

on Child Prostitution Charges

Then there's this one, from Ohio.

Anti-LGBT politician resigns 

after being 'caught having sex with man

Now, lately, recently, here on the Missouri, state level, we just had this little revelation from our new gonzo Governor Greitens.

Blackmail alleged as Governor Greitens 

admits to extramarital affair

I love this headline, true as it is.

'Family Values' GOP Missouri Governor 

Cheated On Wife

Not only did he have an affair, which he admitted to, he's accused of trying to blackmail her--with pictures, I understand--to keep her quiet.

Wow.

That is one heckuva list, folks.  And that's only a portion of what they do and who they show they are and repeatedly.

So between what they do to us all and who they seem to repeatedly show themselves to be, I have to ask America....

Why do we elect these people?

What Donald Trump and the Republican Party Represent and Offer the US and Its Citizens Presently

Oligarchy is rule by the few.

Plutocracy is rule by the wealthy.

Corporatocracy is rule by corporations, by business.

Kakistocracy is by the least qualified or most unprincipled.

We've got all that, presently in Washington, DC, at least, if not also in too many state houses.

Literally.

Another definition of kakistocracy is rule by the worst element of society, government by the worst people.

Links, definitions:

Oligarchy 

Plutocracy

corporatocracy

Kakistocracy

American Kakistocracy

Entertainment Overnight --- Winter

Winter Song

It's Donald Trump and the Republican Party vs the Rest of the World

When you think about this past year, with Donald Trump, President (it still depresses me), you have to recognize and accept that it's all become, yes, in fact, Donald Trump vs everyone else, vs all others, groups, individuals, everything and everybody.  Really. Think about it.

During the campaign last year and even after, it was him vs even what was supposed to be his own political party:

Trump Attacks Republicans for Giving Up 

on His Campaign

Donald Trump Berates Paul Ryan 

and 'Disloyal' Republicans

To prove my point further, once he became President, it didn't stop.

Trump's attacks stun Republican senators

Fallout grows as Trump continues attacks 

on fellow GOP members 

And they weren't easy attacks:

Trump Attacks Republicans As 'Fools'

Once President, he took us, the US out of the Paris climate accord, the only nation in the world against it, suddenly.

The US is now the only country 

not part of Paris climate agreement

Syria Joins Paris Climate Accord, 

Leaving Only U.S. Opposed

Next, he's followed that up with his and the Republican Party's tax bill they've created, fought for and just passed yesterday.

Most Americans think the Republican tax bill 

is a bad idea

Why Everybody Hates the GOP Tax Bill

Economists were against this latest Trump/Republican Party tax plan, for pity's sake.

Economists Say The Trump Tax Plan Will Have Disastrous Consequences

Here's a best example.

The Republicans' “Win” on Taxes Is a Loss 

for American Democracy

Now, today, of course, Mr. Trump and his representative at the United Nations are all going after any and all other nations that vote in that body against his bone-headed idea of making Jerusalem the capitol city of Israel.

Trump threatens to cut aid 

to countries over UN Jerusalem vote

I'm telling you, it is this man, this President (shudder) and his political party are both, all against the rest of the world. If you're not already wealthy and/or a corporation, you are not on his side, their side. He's against you. They're against you.

We Should Have This National Conversation For and About Women, Equality and Our Nation

I proposed/asked this earlier tonight out on Facebonkers:

Can you imagine how different, how likely radically different our country would be, our legislation, our laws, if 50 percent of our government legislators were women?

Honestly, we should have this conversation. A national conversation.

I'd love to hear it, first of all, and then I'd like to hear it at least locally and then go nationally.

On the issues of health care and child care and schools and, heck, war and our war machine?

And then there's equal pay for equal work, along with really an untold list of what would be different and changed.

Can you imagine how different even the legislative conversations would be, let alone the results of their legislation

I'm no fool on this. I don't for a minute think we'd hit some Nirvana.

I just think we would be a radically different society and nation. Our government would be radically different and so, our nation would, as well.

Scotland is ahead of us on this. They even have an organized group, pushing for 50% of their representatives to be female.

Women 50:50

There are more  people out there in the world, proposing this idea, this framework and working on and for and toward it than I knew, before today. Here's another example.

Can We Create Planet 50-50 by 2030? 

The UN is in on it, too.

Get involved: Step It Up for gender equality: 

About Step It Up

Think about it.

How insane is it that we're still so horribly unequal, that there is still so much gross inequality, not just in the world but here in the US in the 21st Century? We agreed the part about "All men...created equal" meant men and women long ago, I think most of us agree.

Imagine.

I'd love to hear at least one show, one full hour out on KCUR, maybe on Steve Kraske's show.

It would be perfect for that station, him and his program.

KCPD and Target Doing a Very Cool Thing Today

I had some time away from the office today and had to run some errands. One of those errands took me to the Target store at Ward Parkway Mall.  Those pesky vacuum cleaner bags, you know?

I pulled into the parking lot and, before getting parked, noticed a Kansas City, Missouri police department squad car, parked there but far out in the lot. It seemed odd. I never see that.

I got inside, of course, only to see an officer. "Ah, that's the one who parked there", I thought.

Then I saw another officer.

And another.

And sure, it's the holidays but the store seemed unusually busy for the middle of the week and middle of the day.

Pretty soon, I noticed there were police--and families with them, it seemed--all over the place.

I stopped this one young officer and asked him what was up.

He said that, yes, the KCPD did this, every year, I guess. Today there were going to be 152 kids go through with them, shopping, today alone. They call it their "Shop With a Cop" program, you guessed it, for the holidays.

I congratulated and thanked him and a few of the other officers there.

What a fantastic program. Seems Target sponsors it.

Shop With A COP Program‎

Seems it's quite the national program. Lee's Summit does it, as does Parkville and  Prairie Village, on the Kansas Side and lots of other cities and towns in the area. Unknown to me, it's been going on for years. This video, from KMBC News, is from 2014.



So kudos, KCPD, and to you, too, Target and really, all of Kansas City.

What a great thing. What a great, even beautiful thing to do.

It's enough to give a person hope.

Happy holidays, y'all.

Links:

shop with a cop

Shop with a Cop - City of Parkville