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The far-right’s culture wars are a distraction so oligarchs can keep looting the working class
Thom Hartmann, - AlterNet
_Stephan:_
_I have been telling you for years that the GOP is owned by christofascist oligarchs and they back scumbags like Marjorie Taylor Greene and Matt Gaetz because they do the oligarchs bidding when it comes time to voting and they generate what I will call the hate theater that consumes the media, and ... ⌘ Read more_
And Child Care for All
BINYAMIN APPELBAUM, Editorial Board Member - The New York Tiimes
_Stephan:_
_The treatment of children in the United States is one of the country's defining characteristics, and it is shamefully bad. I have written about this for years, it stands out so strongly to me, the data is appalling but irrefutable. I agree with Appelbaum, speaking for The New York Times Editorial board. The Biden Administration has not made this enough of a priority. Not fostering wellbeing amongst ... ⌘ Read more_
Alaska says it’s now legal “in some instances” to discriminate against LGBTQ individuals
KYLE HOPKINS, - Salon
_Stephan:_
_The sexual dysfunction of the right, and its obsession with the LGBTQ community of Americans is radically changing the Red state environment against LGBTQ people. Alaska is just the beginning. I think the result is going to be that many of this community will move to a Blue state, and that this is going to have a ... ⌘ Read more_
The Gender Pay Gap Has Barely Changed In Two Decades
RAKESH KOCHHNAR , Researcher - Pew Research Center - truthdig
_Stephan:_
_Male dominance is so universal across time, space, and geography that I think it is genetic; we are high-order primates after all. But that doesn't mean it can't change. It is all about culture and individual choice. Those societies that choose equality are going to prosper, they already do, compared with nations that don't get it. And the dif ... ⌘ Read more_
Prosecutor Fani Willis Is Investigating Trump. By Sheer Coincidence, The GA Legislature Has Decided To Investigate Prosecutors.
LIZ DYE, - Above the Law
_Stephan:_
_Georgia is about to politicize its legal system so that Republicans can control who is prosecuted, thus protecting Republicans like Trump, and removing prosecutors who offend Republican politicians. Variations of this idea have passed ... ⌘ Read more_
Every domestic extremist murder last year was committed by right-wingers: report
AREEBA SHAH, Staff Writer - Salon
_Stephan:_
_We are a country sliding into christofascism and one of the signs is that the principal civil violence we experience is being perpetrated by far right supporters._
_Citation: the research study upon which this article was based: [Murder and Extremism in the United States in 2022](https://www.adl.org/resources/repor ... ⌘ Read more_
Trump Calls US Democracy a ‘Very Dangerous System’ at CPAC
Jon Queally, Staff Writer - Common Dreams
_Stephan:_
_Watching footage about CPAC and, particularly criminal Trump's address, what struck me is how openly fascist the Republican Party has become. They don't even bother to disguise it anymore. I'm not sure their full intentions have been fully comprehended by most Americans. Merrick Garland's lack of spine about indicting Trump is going to now cause a horri ... ⌘ Read more_
In an earthquake, these rats with tiny backpacks are trained to find survivors
Adele Peters, - Fast Company
_Stephan:_
_I just loved this story. Rats so long despised can now be saviors. Also, just conceiving of this system, and then making it real, as described here, is an amazing example of creative innovation; a new way of thinking._
_A modern rat explorer Credit: ... ⌘ Read more_
Editor’s Note – Good Trends
Stephan A. Schwartz, Editor - Schwartzreport
_Stephan:_
_This is a very difficult period of history, not only for the United States but the entire world. Day after day as I do the research and prepare SR I am always in search of good trends, positive social patterns that foster wellbeing. Not single one-off events but trends. As you know, if you read SR regularly, there are not a lot of them to be found. But today's edition is entirely about good trends and I hope it ... ⌘ Read more_
Nations agree on ‘world-changing’ deal to protect ocean life
Leo Sands and Dino Grandoni , Reporters - The Washington Post
_Stephan:_
_As reported, "More than 190 countries have reached a landmark deal for protecting the biodiversity of the world’s oceans, agreeing for the first time on a common framework for establishing new protected areas in international waters." This is good news and a positive trend. Seventy percent of the planet is ocean, and a healthy oc ... ⌘ Read more_
Remnants of Two Banned Insecticides Nearly Eliminated in Great Lakes Region
, \\- Yale Environment 360
_Stephan:_
_Not only does this show how a concerted effort can eliminate deadly toxins, it provides guidance for other such efforts, and it shows we can have a cleaner healthier world_
_North America’s Great Lakes. Credit: NASA_
Two banned insecticides known to linger ... ⌘ Read more_
‘100,000 years of power’ | US-Japan team hails H2-boron plasma fusion breakthrough
Darius Snieckus , - Recharge
_Stephan:_
_This is very interesting and, potentially, very positive news. Nuclear power in my estimation has been a disaster because of the waste problem, and the crises created when a nuclear reactor experiences a breakdown such as occurred in Chernobyl and Fukushima, Fusion, however, offers a very different and positive potential ... ⌘ Read more_
Photovoltaic-thermoelectric tech with potential efficiency of 65%**
EMILIANO BELLINI, -
_Stephan:_
_A photovoltaic system that produces power at night. Now that is something that will change the game. I am beginning to feel modestly optimistic that in spite of the millions the carbon industries are flooding into the pockets of American congress members it will not stop or even seriously impede the transition to non-carbon power._
_Advocates gather for a rally at the state Capitol co ... ⌘ Read more_
Gender-Affirming Care Ban in KY Could Have “Deadly Consequences,” Experts Warn
Chris Walker, News Writer - truthout
_Stephan:_
_This is another example of how mentally deranged the Republican Party has become over sexual issues. I think we are going to see significant numbers of LGBTQ people as well as people of color moving out of Red states. This derangement on the part of Republicans I think should be seen as part of the Great Schism Trend. T ... ⌘ Read more_
South Carolina Woman Arrested For Allegedly Taking Abortion Pills
ARIANNA COGHILL, Assistant News and Engagement Writer - Mother Jones
_Stephan:_
_Yet more is this Republican sexual insanity. I predict this woman being arrested for taking an abortion pill is going to be the first of many such arrests in Red states._
_Credit: Meg Kinnard/ AP_
A South Carolina woman was arrested th ... ⌘ Read more
60% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck — ‘inflation is part of their everyday lives,’ expert says
Jessica Dickler, -
_Stephan:_
_American wealth inequality is a social obscenity. Media keeps talking about the United States as the world's richest country. In an absolute sense that is true, But it is at the functional level a lie. The financial security, health, and quality of life of most Americans is significantly lower a ... ⌘ Read more_
Exercise better for mental health than prescription drugs or therapy
John Anderer, - Study Finds
_Stephan:_
_Obesity and lack of exercise are two major trends in American culture, and so is a growing crisis of mental illness. We are not a healthy society. Here is some good news about how to deal with your mental health_
_Citation: [Effectiveness of physical activity interventions for improving depression, anxiety and distress: an overview of systema ... ⌘ [Read more](https://www.schwartzreport.net/2023/03/04/exercise-better-for-mental-health-than-prescription-drugs-or-therapy/)_
A nascent men’s movement eschews orgasms for health reasons. Experts say the science doesn’t add up
TROY FARAH, Staff Writer - Salon
_Stephan:_
_I am becoming increasingly aware and concerned that MAGAt men are so sexually dysfunctional that it is a form of mental illness, and it is having a very deleterious effect on American culture. You can see it in the obsession with drag performers, the virulent hated of LGBTQ people, ... ⌘ Read more_
ERs staffed by private equity firms aim to cut costs by hiring fewer doctors
BRETT KELMAN and BLAKE FARMER, - npr / Kaiser Health News
_Stephan:_
_American healthcare continues to deteriorate because the stranglehold the illness profit system has on Congress si so strong no one has been able to overcome it. The Republicans don't care because the illness profit industries fund members with millions of dollars, and the Democrats don't have enoug ... ⌘ Read more_
Sorry, Calvinists: A four-day workweek actually makes employees healthier, more productive
MATTHEW ROZSA, Staff Writer - Salon
_Stephan:_
_A few days ago I did something on this research. The social outcome data is so clear-cut. I don't know why it is so hard for people to see that policies that foster wellbeing produce by every measure better outcomes. Which they unquestionably do, as this report of research done at Cambridge Unive ... ⌘ Read more_
How long you need to meditate to see results for your body and brain
ALEXA MIKHAIL, - Fortune Well
_Stephan:_
_It is my view that developing the daily practice of meditation is perhaps the best gift you can give yourself. That has certainly been the case in my life. I think this is so important, and I spent years studying meditation and nonlocal consciousness. Out of that research, I produced a 20 minute digital program you can download that takes yo ... ⌘ Read more_
Watch: Right-wing host wants to ‘ban transgenderism entirely’ because of ‘occult sexual rituals’**
Brandon Gage, Staff Writer - AlterNet
_Stephan:_
_Part of the MAGAt reality is deep sexual dysfunction. It is such a strong cultural trend and yet it gets very little discussion. Conservative White supremacist, male dominant christofascists have as a defining characteristic sexual dysfunction. The obsession with drag, transgenderism, ... ⌘ Read more_
“Disgusting hatred”: Iowa Republicans propose amendment that would ban same-sex marriages
CHRIS WALKER, - Salon
_Stephan:_
_This is another example of the conservative sexual dysfunction. They are enraged and frightened at the same time by marriage between people of the same gender. The Republican Party is not about governing. It has no real policies, It is about cultural issues in which they are the minority and feel victimized, and ... ⌘ Read more_
Dark money and special deals: How Leonard Leo and his friends benefited from his judicial activism
HEIDI PRZYBYLA, - Politico
_Stephan:_
_The corruption of Leonard Leo described in this report is one of the reasons, perhaps the main reason, we have Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Barrett on the most corrupt Supreme Court in our history. And it was all possible because uniquely amongst American courts or, indeed, the high courts of ... ⌘ Read more_
‘A Decent Society Would Not Let This Happen’: 30 Million Across US Face Food Aid Cuts
Jessica Corbett, - Common Dreams
_Stephan:_
_My reaction upon reading this was: What kind of country would do such a thing to poor people, including many children? This is just sheer nastiness. Having healthy well-educated people is a plus for any country._
_A sign confirms that ... ⌘ Read more_
Majority of countries guarantee paid paternity leave — but not the U.S.
Emily Peck, - Axios
_Stephan:_
_I don't think Americans really understand how poor United States' social wellbeing is compared with other countries. Here is an example of what I mean. I think the question is: why do we elect to office people who do not have fostering wellbeing as a priority?_
Bernie Sanders: ‘Oligarchs Run Russia. But Guess What? They Run the US as Well’**
Tim Adams, - Reader Supported News / The Guardian (U.K.)
_Stephan:_
_Bernie Sanders, in my opinion, is one of the smartest, most ethical, clearest thinking members of Congress. Had it been my choice he would be president. He tells the truth and here it is._
_Vermont Independent Senator Bernie ... ⌘ Read more_
National divorce would be ‘devastating’ for red states — here’s why
Travis Gettys, - Raw Story
_Stephan:_
_I have been telling you for years now that the Republican Party is trying to split the United States into two countries one run by White Supremacist, male dominant christofascist MAGAts, one run by social progressives who are fostering wellbeing in their states. The Great Red / Blue Schism I call it. And I have also told you that based on fact-based s ... ⌘ Read more_
The Catastrophe of American Health Care
Abby Cartus, Postdoctoral Research Associate with the People, Place, and Health Collective at Brown University School of Public Health - The New Republic
_Stephan:_
_Everyone who reads me knows my views on the American Illness Profit System that passes for healthcare in this country. Here is another researcher who has come to her own conclusions about U.S. healthcare, and her views mirror my own from a slightly different perspective. What al ... ⌘ Read more_
TX Gov Abbott says diversity programs are racist – against whites
, \\- Daily Kos
_Stephan:_
_If you can bear to listen to MAGATs long enough they will eventually tell you the truth about themselves. As an example here is Greg Abbott making his White supremacy racism clear. I was deeply involved in the 1950s and 60s in the civil rights movement, but I don't ever remember White supremacy, except for a few Southern states, being as prevalent and as strongly a ... ⌘ Read more_
Lab Leak Most Likely Origin of Covid-19 Pandemic, Energy Department Now Says
Michael R. Gordon and Warren P. Strobel, - Reader Supported News / Wall Street Journal
_Stephan:_
_There is the most amazing sewage of misinformation on the internet about this question: Where did Covid come from? Here, I think, is as accurate an answer as we currently have, and even this answer is not a universal consensus amongst people with access to the best infor ... ⌘ Read more_
Alone and Exploited, Migrant Children Work Brutal Jobs Across the U.S.
, \\- DNYUZ
_Stephan:_
_At breakfast this morning I asked my wife, "How is it possible these companies, and the people who run them, are okay about employing children in dangerous jobs? Has America really become that bad, that immoral? I mean how do you sit down for breakfast as we are doing knowing you have 13-year-olds working the night shift in your slaughterhouse cleaning up the guts and blood of dead animals? Doesn't the morali ... ⌘ Read more_
More people over 45 are getting pregnant — and abortion laws aren’t ready for the complications
Mary Elizabeth Williams, Senior Writer - Salon
_Stephan:_
_The other day I published data showing women are having children at an older age, while younger women are marrying later, and are having fewer babies. This report brings that trend into closer focus, and introduces an aspect of the anti-choice laws passed in Red states, and wh ... ⌘ Read more_
Cacti replacing snow on Swiss mountainsides due to global heating
Alessio Perrone, - The Guardian (U.K.)
_Stephan:_
_Are Cacti becoming a problem in Switzerland? Yes, as this report details. Welcome to climate change._
_As global heating intensifies, the residents of Valais are finding an invasive species of cacti taking over their slopes. Credit: Peter Oliver Baumgartner_
The r ... ⌘ Read more
People Have Been Having Less Sex—whether They’re Teenagers or 40-Somethings
Emily Willingham, - Scientific American
_Stephan:_
_A few days ago I published a report on the increasing loneliness amongst men particularly, but women as well although to a lesser degree. Now this report. I have also published reports on the fact that Americans are marrying at an older age, and that families are having children later in life. You should see all these ... ⌘ Read more_
Asian Americans grapple with long-term reality as reported hate incidents top 11,000**
Shawna Chen, - Axios
_Stephan:_
_Racism has become such a strong trend in the United States, greater in many ways than even the 1950s and 1960, that the other day I ran a report on Asian Americans arming themselves because of a gross increase in racist hate crimes aimed at them by White MAGAts. Here are some facts explaining why they feel as they do. T ... ⌘ Read more_
Republicans Unveil Bill to Make AR-15-Style Rifle the “National Gun”**
Sharon Zhang, News Writer - truthout
_Stephan:_
_Last year over 45,000 people were killed by gunfire in the United States, and many of those deaths resulted from murderers using AR-15 assault rifles. The Republicans, having nothing better to do in Congress, want to pass legislation making it the "National Gun." This is an example of what the Republican Party has become. I'll just leave ... ⌘ Read more_
Mississippi sees 900% rise in number of infants born with congenital syphilis
Maya Yang, Contributing Writer - The Guardian (U.K.)
_Stephan:_
_Last week I dedicated an entire issue of SR to focus on Mississippi to demonstrate what I meant by a failed state so my readers would understand what I was talking about when I mentioned the Great Schism Trend. Well, as it turns out Mississippi is even more of a third-world country than I thought. The Re ... ⌘ Read more_
Poor People’s Campaign, Families Demand DOJ Probe of Over 100 West Virginia Jail Deaths
Brett Wilkins, Staff Writer - Common Dreams
_Stephan:_
_West Virgilnia is another failed state controlled by Republicans. Not quite as bad as Mississippi, but with social outcome data notably and glaringly inferior to its neighbors Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Delaware. Even Red state Ohio puts West Virginia to shame. And once again it is n ... ⌘ Read more_
Feds fine Mormon church for illicitly hiding $32 billion investment fund behind shell companies
Rob Wile, Business News Reporter - NBC News
_Stephan:_
_With the notable exception of the Quakers, something has gone dreadfully wrong with religious denominations in the United States. It's not just the sexual molestation issues that plague so many religious groups. It's the prejudice against the LGBTQ communities, the White Suprem ... ⌘ Read more_
Economist Paul Krugman tears down right-wing arguments that Social Security and Medicare are doomed
Alex Henderson, Staff Writer - AlterNet
_Stephan:_
_I have spent a few hours looking at the lies and misrepresentations about Social Security and Medicare being put forward by MAGAt Republican politicians and their propaganda media. It really is amazing stuff because it is almost entirely bogus. They just spew this stuff an ... ⌘ Read more_
The American climate migration has already begun
Jake Bittle, Environmental Commentator - The Guardian (U.K.)
_Stephan:_
_For several decades I have been telling you these internal migrations were coming and, now, as the article describes, it has started. Depending on which study one looks at somewhere between 10 and 15 percent of Americans are going to lose their homes and be caught up in what is going to be an an ongoing catastrophe and politicians, particularly Republ ... ⌘ Read more_
Bernie Sanders supports a 4-day workweek. These companies tried it — here’s what happened.
Andrew Keshner, -
_Stephan:_
_Four-day work week. If that became the norm what would be the effect? Is there any actual data on this? As it happens there is, and here it is. And what does it show? Once again that fostering wellbeing produces the best social outcome. And, once again, it is clear that politicians like Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth W ... ⌘ Read more_
Marjorie Taylor Greene: ‘Democrat’ voters should be banned from voting if they move to red states
David Badash, Staff Writer - AlterNet / New Civil Rights Movement
_Stephan:_
_In contrast to Democrat Elizabeth Warren, and Independent Bernie Sanders who, as described in the previous article, are working to foster wellbeing the Republican Party has made Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene one of its leaders and she... well she ... ⌘ Read more_
Meet the new face of gun owners in the US: Asian Americans
Kyung Lah, Reporter - CNN
_Stephan:_
_White supremacists are attacking Asian Americans with a dramatically increased frequency. So in America what is the response? Why, of course, Asian Americans are arming themselves. I understand the response. What I don't understand is why Americans can't seem to understand that more guns only enrich weapons corporations and result in more death. The real problem is w ... ⌘ Read more_
‘Treasonous’: Marjorie Taylor Greene Slammed for Celebrating President’s Day by Calling for a ‘National Divorce’Published**
, \\-
_Stephan:_
_Republican Party leader Marjorie Taylor Greene_
**U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene** (R-GA) celebrated the Presidents’ Day ... ⌘ Read more
Rep. Eastman sparks outrage after asking about the potential economic benefits of the deaths of abused Alaska children
Sean Maguire, Reporter - Anchorage Daily News
_Stephan:_
_This is the Republican Party. You may find it hard to believe, but let them say it in their own words. Is this a person you would invite over for dinner? Me either._
_A depressed single man. Credit: Daily Mail_
More than 60 percent of young men are single, nearly twice the rate of unattached young women, ... ⌘ Read more
Poll: 7.2% adults in US identify as LGBTQ, more than a double than a decade ago
, \\- New York Daily Mail
_Stephan:_
_Here is another major change in American culture. Combined with the data from the previous story one see clearly see that gender status and relationships are undergoing major and little recognized changes. This is what is driving MAGAt world crazy._
_Credit: Maskot / Getty_
Nearly 10% of U.S. adults experience at least one depressive episode e ... ⌘ Read more
Texas school superintendent left his gun in bathroom where it was found by third grader
Adam Serwer, - Reader Supported News / The Atlantic
_Stephan:_
_Think about this for a minute. This is what we have become in the United States._
_Child holding gun Credit: Shutterstock_
A school superintendent in Rising Star, Texas is taking criticism from some local re ... ⌘ Read more
An Activist Group Is Spreading Misinformation to Stop Solar Projects in Rural America
MIRANDA GREEN and MICHAEL COPLEY, - npr / Floodlight Environmental News
_Stephan:_
_I have been looking at the anti-solar movement, and my takeaway from this research is that rural Americans, overwhelmingly White, low income, low education level, frightened, and resentful, are being easily manipulated by far-right corporate interests like Koch, that ... ⌘ Read more_
The outrageous new way corporate America is ripping us off
Thom Hartmann, - Raw Story
_Stephan:_
_1. “For 17 of the 20 top-selling drugs worldwide, drugmakers made more money from U.S. sales than from sales to all other countries in the rest of the world _combined_.
2. “For 11 of the 20 top-selling drugs worldwide, U.S. sales revenue was double or more the revenue for sales in the rest of the world.”_
_Here we see exactly how the pharmaceutical industry milks ... ⌘ Read more
Tyre Nichols’ Killing Is The Result of a Diseased Culture
GOLDIE TAYLOR, - Time Magazine
_Stephan:_
_We've had 79 mass killings in the first 50 days of this year, more than one a day. We have the largest incarcerated population in the world, and the most dangerous and violent police. And basically the solution the MAGAt world has for all of this is to not talk about it. We are a very sick culture and getting sicker._
_Stephan:_
_Yet another objectively verifiable measure showing that the United States is moving in the wrong direction. As the report says, "The US ranks worse on impunity than Hungary and Singapore, one a poster child for democratic backsliding and the other an illiberal democracy." This all arises from the reality that American culture is focused ... ⌘ Read more_
Huge Chunk of Plants, Animals in US at Risk of Extinction
Brad Brooks, Reporter - Reader Suported News / Reuters
_Stephan:_
_The world in general, and the government and people of the United States very particularly, just don't seem to get it. Climate change is going to radically and, in many cases, catastrophically, going to change the environment and the lives of every being (human or otherwise) in dramatic and negative ways. Do you see anyone on television talk ... ⌘ Read more_
New Solar Farm Is A Carbon Sink & Prairie Preserver, Too
Tina Casey, - Clean Technica
_Stephan:_
_So many of the trends in the United States are negative that I am glad to share with you this positive trend, part of the movement that is gaining momentum to exit the carbon energy era. But it does other good things as well, as this article describes._
_A new solar farm in Colorado will do trip ... ⌘ Read more_
Mike Pence calls to end Social Security and Medicare in Fox News interview
David Edwards, Staff Writer - Raw Story
_Stephan:_
_It is amazing to me that anyone who receives Medicare, Social Security, Medicaid, childcare assistance, or a number of other social support programs would vote for a Republican, knowing that, as Mike Pence makes clear, want to gut those programs. Would i make a difference to you if that happened? If you know someone who r ... ⌘ Read more_
Emergency Rooms as Hospitals Look to Cut Costs
Blake Farmer, Healthcare Reporter - KHN (npr)
_Stephan:_
_American healthcare, as this article proves for the thousandth time, is not about wellbeing. Individual physicians and nurses may care about wellbeing, but the system itself cares about only one thing: maximizing profit. And yet so strong is the hold healthcare corporations have on the U.S. Congress, particularly the Republican Party, that year after year, in spite of th ... ⌘ Read more_
Editor’s Note – Thank you
Stephan A. Schwartz, Editor - The Schwartzrreport
_Stephan:_
_I want to thank all of you who are helping support SR. It means a lot to me, and it makes I want to thank all of you who are helping support SR. It means a lot to me and makes operating SR much easier. For instance, it helps pay for the security that assures the site operates properly. Here is how many attempts to hack the site have been blocked in the last 47 days._
[There is no click tthrough]__
_
Majority of Republicans Support Christian Nationalism – Less Than Three in Ten Americans Overall Do: Report
David Badash, Staff Writer - The New Civil Rights Movement
_Stephan:_
_For the Founders, the absolute separation of church and state was one of the fundamentals of the country they were establishing. Whole states, Rhode Island, for instance, were basically grounded in this separation. Why did they feel so stron ... ⌘ Read more_
Food aid for poor families, student debt relief and more: GOP previews new austerity targets
Jake Johnson, Staff Writer - AlterNet / Common Dreams
_Stephan:_
_I am becoming increasingly worried that because the Republicans really don't have real programs, all they have is grievance and theater and debt ceiling is an easy cheap shot, if you don't care about fostering wellbeing. It is important to remember that the Republican Party ... ⌘ Read more_
‘Slavery by any name is wrong’: the push to end forced labor in prisons
Michael Sainato, - The Guardian (U.K.)
_Stephan:_
_You may remember that a week or so ago, In the Mississippi edition, I made the comment that The United States, which has the largest incarcerated population of any nation in the world. (See SR Archive). as turned that population into a new kind of slavery that has emerged in the United States. Here is much more on this trend that ... ⌘ Read more_
Biden Pledged to Take On “Junk Fees.” He Should Start With Jails and Prisons.
Mike Ludwig , Staff Writer - truthout
_Stephan:_
_Junk fees are part of the new slavery._
_President Joe Biden arrives to deliver remarks on the economy, outlining his plan to to target and end bank ‘junk fees’, in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on October 26, 2022 in Washington, D.C.
... ⌘ Read more_
How US gun culture stacks up with the world
Kara Fox, Krystina Shveda, Natalie Croker and Marco Chacon, Reporters - CNN Wire Service / The Mercury News
_Stephan:_
_This was written three weeks ago, so it misses several mass murders, Michigan, for instance. They happen so frequently now -- we have had 67 mass killings (4 people or more died) in the last 46 days -- that it is hard to keep them all straight. I spent part of the day watching CNN. MSNBC, and BBC interview school ... ⌘ Read more_
America’s Disease It Won’t Cure
Allan Lengel, Editor - tickle the wire
_Stephan:_
_In Florida, in Texas, and in other Republican-controlled states governors and state legislatures are trying to reduce or eliminate gun regulations. They would like the regulations to allow even young children to carry canceled weapons, with no licensing or training. Basically, the Republican Party wants the number of mass murders by random shooters to go up in the United States. Do you live in a Red state? Ho ... ⌘ Read more_
Parroting Industry Talking Points, GOP Goes to Bat for Fraud-Riddled Medicare Advantage
Jake Johnson, Staff Writer - Common Dreams
_Stephan:_
_When I tell you that the Republican Party is owned by the oligarchs and the corporations they control, and that they rent senators and representatives as needed to protect their interests, this is what I mean. This is what corruption looks like in the United States._
_Brandy Nichols, a single mother of four children who are 8 ... ⌘ Read more_
The changing face of Congress in 8 charts
KATHERINE SCHAEFFER, - Pew Research Center
_Stephan:_
_Pew Research provides us with some very important and revealing information about the new Congress. What stands out for me is that both houses are getting younger, better educated, more racially diverse, and with more LGBTQ members. I see this as excellent good news. The problem, of course, is that the oligarchs who own the Republican Party are backing loonies in their attempt to de ... ⌘ Read more_
San Diego Catholic Diocese Could Declare Bankruptcy to Pay Hundreds of Sex Abuse Victims
Bill Feather and Brooke Martell , - NBC News (Channel 7 - San Diego)
_Stephan:_
_The Roman Catholic Church for decades, probably centuries, perhaps millennia, has had ongoing problems about sexual molestation I think this arises from its unnatural ritual of celibacy. The church has never been able to deal with the issue because they won't recog ... ⌘ Read more_