Year End Thought

Plutocracy is no future. 

CIA

Whether torture is effective (it is not) is the distraction. Torture is wrong. Torture is not us. Period. 

The Billionaires' Mouthpiece - The NFL in Crisis

Goodell is a shameless mouthpiece for 31 billionaires. Full stop. (And he's not very good at it.)

Stop with the Reagan Worship

In current crises, some people want to recall, with unwarranted fondness, what Uncle Ronnie did, or would have done, in similar circumstances.

Please check your facts before you too quickly harken back or believe those who would have you do so - the revisionist history is a bitch. And more often that not, distorted or untrue.

Enough already! Peace.

Sustainability

Climate change is real, so let's just deal with that first. Science is science, not a belief system.

Since the fact of climate change can't seem to get enough traction to create the necessary sense of urgency now, here is what will, and I hope not too late.

Climate change is impacting the world's food supply in a really bad way. When enough people are really hungry (and there are too many already), the grain (or lack thereof) will hit the fan.

I hope we do something before it gets to that point.

Peace.

Prejudice and Conflict

The civil war in Iraq, like so many other conflicts based on differences among people apart from their views, is based on the machinations of political, power-hungry people. The age-old divide between Sunni and Shiite Muslims is more about prejudice and caste than it is about different interpretations of the Quran.

More deeply, its premise is the soft underbelly of all prejudice: Preying on people's fears and pre-conceived notions, asking them to identify as one group or another because of their birth or color or religion or whatever, rather than engaging in a debate about what the real differences may or may not be.

The Second Amendment

We have been so desensitized to mass shootings that it hardly warrants more than passing comment on the news. Recent case in point: the university shooting in Washington.

Sad.

I don't know why we can't get sensible gun control in this country. Every other developed country has been able to do it.

And for those who wave the Second Amendment around as the barrier to doing so, not so fast. This is what the US Supreme Court says on the matter, through an opinion written by Justice Scalia, no less:

"Like most rights, the Second Amendment right is not unlimited. It is not a right to keep and carry any weapon whatsoever in any manner whatsoever and for whatever purpose..."

If not now, when?

D Day 70 Years

Eternally grateful to and for the brave soldiers who did the unimaginable 70 years ago today, and in so doing changed the course of human history.

News?

The apparently insatiable appetite for needing to "know" now has eviscerated journalism. Recent case in point: the prisoner exchange. Several "reputable" news agencies have reported "as fact," that six soldiers died trying to find the missing soldier. Now, it looks like that might not be so. Tomorrow, who knows what will be "reported." Here is what I know: that I don't know.

Distant case in point: the missing airplane. Over a month of constant coverage with nothing to report. And that which was "reported" invariably turned out to be wrong. Yet, CNN's ratings were higher than ever.

I remember when it wasn't news until the facts were checked and double checked with multiple reliable sources. Not so now. Get it on fast, the facts be damned.

A Reminder - The Fourth Amendment

Just a friendly reminder as you watch the Edward Snowden thing play out and decide where you come out on it:

The Fourth Amendment says -

"The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the person or things to be seized."

Memorial Day

Thanks to all who serve, and to all those who have served, to preserve and protect our freedom. And our deepest respect and gratitude to those who have made the ultimate sacrifice, and to those wounded and scarred in the process. Going forward, let's resolve that if a war is worth fighting, and we can afford to send our brave troops into harm's way, that when they return, we can afford to, and will without exception, take care of them with the highest and best quality of care and compassion. To do otherwise is unconscionable. Peace.

Comment on Fracking

Whether you're for or against hydraulic fracturing for the harvesting of natural gas, or even if you have no opinion on it, I think we can agree that disclosure of the chemicals going into the ground is a reasonable requirement as a condition precedent to going after the stuff. Finally, there are proposed rules to require such disclosures. Those proposed rules are open for public comment now, until August, 2014. You can comment by going to the link, below. It takes time, it's a pain in the ass, and it's not the highest thing on your priority list. But, you should do it.

Please take the time to let your government know what you think. Should companies that are sending chemicals and waste water into the earth's surface be required to let us all know what they're putting down there? Suggested answer: Yes.

The idea that disclosure should not be required because of trade secrets is preposterous in my view. Companies disclose confidential and proprietary information all the time in other legal and administrative proceedings, and there are a number of ways to protect legitimately confidential information: protective orders; confidentiality agreements; sealed disclosures, etc.

There is no reason that this industry should be exempt from disclosure requirements.

You'd have more red tape if you wanted to build a utility shed in your backyard. But you don't have a powerful utility shed lobby to spend millions to protect your interests.

Please, go to the link and make your voice heard.

http://www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=EPA-HQ-OPPT-2011-1019-0001