In my recent post on the Peace Dividend, I noted that a group of 50 Nobel laureates is suggesting that 2% of what the world now spends on the military be shifted to addressing problems like poverty, climate change, and pandemics.
It should come as no surprise that one member of this illustrious group is the Dalai Lama, whose anti-war viewpoints are well know, and summed up in the meme here.
Decent people everywhere felt as if they were about to vomit last January 11, as then-President Trump rewarded his ally Jim Jordan with the nation’s highest civilian honor, the Medal of Freedom. At the time, it was presumed to be a reward in exchange for the help Jordan had given Trump in warding off two impeachments.
Eleven months later, the real reasoning behind this disgusting act has come into focus: five days earlier, Jordan had played a major role in a coup attempt that sought to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.
With each revelation, arriving, as they are, on an hourly basis, the United States gets a bit closer to closing the door on this attempt to overthrow the federal government, and a little closer to justice for those who were involved. It really can’t come soon enough.
How would the world change if 2% of what it now spends on the military were shifted to addressing problems like poverty, climate change, and pandemics? Well, if a group of 50 Nobel laureates gets what it’s requesting, we’re about to find out.
Although 2% may not sound like a lot, that’s about $15 billion annually from the U.S. alone. And will the world be a more dangerous place with a tad fewer fighter planes and surface-to-air missiles? Hardly.
It’s interesting that highly intelligent people tend to concern themselves with the well-being of others. I hasten to add that this is not uniformly the case; there are some very bright Trump supporters and other people who could be described as “morally challenged.” But again, there is a significant correlation here.
Pictured above: “More than $1.2 billion worth of Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor fighter jets fly in formation above Indiana. (Photo: Col. Hiram Gates/USAF)”
Going through life lying and cheating must not be pleasant, and especially when you get caught with the whole world looking on.
I’m sure there are Fox News viewers who believe that their media source choice is actually telling the truth, and the entire rest of the planet is unfairly maligning them. I would hope, however, that this is a wake-up call for a lot of people who formerly lapped the BS up as if it were milk.
The past five years have seen progressives rooting for the ex-director of the FBI, the ex-CEO of ExxonMobil, and now this extremely conservative senator from Wyoming.
If, when Trump came to power in 2017, someone had offered me a bet that I’d be desperately hoping for the success of these three people, he could have gotten some pretty long odds.
As the author of the meme suggests, Cheney is brave indeed.
This bold and completely true statement comes from former Republican strategist Steve Schmidt.
No one knows what GOP leaders are planning, but we have to think it’s a mass disassociation from Trump, carefully timed and orchestrated so as to save face with traditional Republican voters. All these congresspeople from blood red districts need to be able say, “Look, I was loyal to Trump until it was revealed that the voter fraud allegation was a lie, and that he had tried to overturn a free and fair election. Now it’s time to let the justice process run its course, and for the party to begin a new era of serving the American people with 100% honesty.”
This may sound like a pipedream, but it’s hard to imagine this whole mess progressing in any other way. There has to be a limit as to how much damage will be allowed to be inflicted on the party.
Suppose this plays out in the manner that appears all but certain from the recent exchange of text messages, and it becomes clear that Trump committed treason. How much longer will he have support in Congress?
These people are all, every one of them, going to run for the hills. All I’m suggesting is that it will be a coordinated event.
Most of us understand that during the Trump years, Fox News was essentially a state-run media. Yet few if any of us had any clear evidence to that effect, until now.
Here’s an excellent point made in the light of the revelation that at least three Fox anchors implored White House Chief of staff Mark Meadows to urge Trump to intercede in the January 6th insurrection: Why would they have access to Meadows?
That’s quite a concept, isn’t it? Do you think Rachel Maddow has Mark Meadows’s cell number?
American democracy is not out of the woods, but those who attempted to usurp power via overturning the 2020 election have faced serious setbacks, namely, getting caught red-handed.
Here’s a slide from the now-famous PowerPoint presentation that was being circulated around the Trump administration.
We were within a hair’s breadth.
So true.
And so nice to see the charge being led by an extremely conservative Republican who has the integrity to put her country first. Republicans would have a far easier time if this were being driven by a liberal Democrat.
Even as it is, she’s perceived to be a Republican In Name Only, meaning that real Republicans stand by Trump regardless of the gravity of his crimes.
Growing up and losing one’s innocence certainly does come at a cost.
Speaking for myself, until Nixon came along when I was 13, I felt very sure that the grown-ups were doing everything possible to deal with our world’s problems: poverty, racism, pollution, ignorance, and the like. And yes, there was more honesty in government at the time.
But now it’s clear that the existence of solutions really isn’t the gating factor associated with helping the world’s people lead longer, healthier, and happier lives.
If you’re struggling to find examples, let me suggest climate change mitigation. Our planet’s on fire, but decarbonizing our energy and transportation sectors is eminently doable. All we’re fighting against is greed.
