The Walton Family and Their Fortune
A few fun facts:
• The Walton family is worth $190.5 billion, making it the richest in the U.S.
• Walmart employs 2.2 million “associates” internationally, 1.5 million in the U.S. (more…)
Tagged with: Walton Family and Their Fortune
Why Trump Is Toast
A miracle will be required for Trump to recover in the polls and win re-election in November. What put him in the ground, IMO, was the events of the past week, fanning the flames of racial tension following the murder of George Floyd, resulting in violence and death that would have easily been avoided had any sane and compassionate human being been the U.S. president. (more…)
Tagged with: 17 U.S. intelligence agencies findings that Russia tampered with the 2016 election, 20000+ lies and misleading statements, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff we are at an inflection point, character and ethics, Trump represents a live threat to the United States of America, white supremacists are "very fine people" or whatever
Recognizing the Difference Between a Press Release and a News Report
Here’s an article praising Vistra Energy, the parent company of TXU Energy, a retail electricity provider serving residential and business customers in deregulated regions of Texas since 2002.
To my amusement, it boldly announces, “Vistra has transformed its electricity generation portfolio from one that produced 70% of its output from coal to one that contributes less than 20% of its earnings from coal.” (more…)
Reactions of Protests Against Racial Violence Are Not Uniform
Protesting against racism is socially acceptable to almost everyone in America’s cities and suburbs, but all this gets a little tricky out in the country, where the politics is fairly “God-and-country,” and where guns, pick-up trucks, and cowboy boots are a regular part of life. What happens on social media when protests are announced out here? (more…)
Tagged with: Protests Against Racial Violence
Trump, Catholics Part Ways
It’s easy to see how Catholics in America find themselves between so many rocks and hard places. Trump’s decision to run for office on a platform to the right of Mussolini has made him a darling to those who are categorically anti-abortion and, in some southern states, have brought forth laws that enable the courts to penalize offenders with death. (If anyone knows of a greater irony, please notify me at once.) (more…)
When Electing a President We Should Examine…What??
“When electing a president we should examine ….the candidates’ character? Their ethics?
Well, that’s a radical notion, isn’t it? I’m not sure we’re ready for anything like that. Shouldn’t we be more impressed with presidential candidates who can stir up hatred and other irrational emotions, who can tell nothing but lies that snow 40+% of the nation?
Seriously, we’ve reached the point at which we need to be told that character and ethics really matter. And that, btw, is what’s brought us to the point that our nation is on fire, and the president is pouring on the gasoline.
GMOs
It’s hard to listen to scientifically illiterate people claim that GMOs are harmful to human health.
As suggested here, human beings have been “genetically modifying” our food sources for quite a while. The plant at the right was what Central Americans were cultivating at the dawn of human civilization 9000 years ago. All we’re doing today is making these changes happen more rapidly and accurately, as genetic material is manipulated in a laboratory, rather than out in a field.
Unmodified apples were the size of ping pong balls and tart, like radishes.
Trump Worsens Racial Tensions
It was only a matter of time before Trump’s compulsion for self-aggrandizement drove him to do something that severely chafed even right-wing sensibilities, and fanning the flames of tension between blacks and whites was an example of exactly what we should have been expecting.
Now we have the country’s top law enforcement officials scrambling to control the damage, with directions to the president like the one given yesterday by Houston’s Chief of Police: “On behalf of the police chiefs in this country, if you don’t have anything constructive to say, keep your mouth shut.”
Though I hate to predict bad things, I’m afraid we need to look for this to worsen as Trump’s star falls further and his defeat in November becomes increasing certain. He’ll be doing things that would disturb even a Stephen King reader.
Tagged with: Trump Worsens Racial Tensions
Any Functioning Adult
In our rural, God-and-country neighborhood, displaying this banner would be very likely to incite vandalism.
When I worked for the Bernie Sanders 2016 campaign in nearby Santa Barbara, I had to refuse an invitation to put a bumper sticker on my car, which I explained as follows: because I don’t want a sledge hammer through my windshield.
Antifa
FWIW, this is what public intellectual Sam Harris says about atheism. He asserts that there is no reason even to have a name for it, asking: Is there a word for people who don’t believe in Zeus?
