It’s coming down to this: we must call “bullshit” on all the perpetrators of same, and be relentless in doing so. The media’s insistence on covering both sides as of the narratives are equally valid (narrator: they’re not) must also be called out.
On climate change: I lived in Northern California for 30 years. We lived at the end of a dead end lane with many trees and grasses near-by in open space. We were also on a hill. The community had evacuation drills in case of fire. There were only two ways out of town (Mill Valley, CA) to hopeful safety near SF Bay. There would have been horrendous traffic jams if the fires of 2018 (or any other year) had spread to Mill Valley. People would have been literally running for their lives, which happened in the Wine Country fires.
We also had incredible years of El Niño winter storms and atmospheric rivers. This past winter (2022-2023) was an example. Being near SF Bay and two creeks that run through town, the flat parts of Mill Valley would flood. If there was also high tide, the flooding would create so much water accumulating people would use canoes and rowboats to photograph the scene and even rescue others plus their pets! Then, during one bad storm just a few houses a way a garage slid down the hill into my neighbor's backyard and kitchen. Everyone survived, but still ----
On Politics: I cannot read news after 12 pm. I get up at 4 am. About 5 am I take a few deep breaths and try to read some news and several Substack subscriptions. If I read news after noon I find it hard to sleep at night. Yesterday afternoon I read the first 25 pages of the indictment. I had a nightmare about an evil looking Russian general entering my home. My family and friends all discuss how much anxiety/stress related disorders we seem to be experiencing just reading the news. It's going to be this way for at least two more years. We need to take breaks. Get out in nature, explore new music, check out the art scene, whatever works to restore your sense of calm.
Linda, I also lived in Northern California, but only for one year. Your comment hits home. I remember the Tubbs Fire in Santa Rosa in 2017, which killed 22 people and burned more than 5K structures. I worked at a Santa Rosa hospital, I have friends affected by that fire. My cousin who lives in the East Bay has an interesting viewpoint. “It’s as if all the news stations in New York City don’t realize what we deal with in the west coast.”
I also shut off the cyber feedbag about 5pm. I read, take walks, and avoid the news. Substack is now my favorite place to read the news.
Thank you for your comment. I take a sabbatical from the news from about noon on Friday to Monday morning. Yes, Substack is the best. I'm also on Post.News. The founders have managed to get certain reliable news sources on this site, including news from Ukraine. It's civil and informative there. They have content moderation.
Steven, allow me to be less emotionally outraged (though I am in both cases) and more clinical/analytical. With regard to climate change and pollution, we allowed our environment to degrade in the post war era and only began fighting in 1970 with the first version of the Clean Air Act and 1972 Clean Water Act. The air in many places looked like what NYC was last week..on a regular basis! Rivers and lakes caught fire. Why? Nobody “owned” the commons of the the environment and so it was easy to use it as a free dumping ground. These acts were the first time government stepped in and took “ownership”, caused polluters to incur real costs, and things improved. But with air and the energy industry the major breakthrough did not happen for 20 years until the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments which closed major loopholes and used market based approaches to solve the pollution problem. It worked and continues to work more than 30 years later. You may ask what does this have to do with the “misinformation and rhetorical pollution” spewed by Trump MAGA? The 1st amendment protects speech, but not libel, and not speech that presents a clear and present danger. It would be dangerous to assign “ownership” of the public information sphere to any one group or individual, but we can identify such dangerous speech and sue those engaged in it and even use it to prosecute today. And we should be doing that more. That is society needs to take ownership of the public information square. Say something stupid and hateful, there are economic consequences in terms of losing work, market share, endorsements, etc. Disney has done this to that idiot governor in my home state. Workers have done it by leaving and walking off the job and leaving Florida in a major economic bind. Media can and should not give air to the Kari Lakes of the world, the DJT of the world. Make them pay for their transgressions. Call out and shame publicly early and often those who support MAGA. We are afraid to do this in too many cases but must stand out ground (yes, I used that phrase purposefully) and fire back with consequences. Even Ivanka Trump no longer wants to be Trump! If we take ownership and responsibility of the public sphere and inflict costs on those speech polluters, we can beat these malign influences back and make them pay as we do to polluters of the environment.
Steven this is a great analogy of where we are in two very different areas of American life.
On one hand we feel like there is little that we can do but on the other hand we know that we MUST do something.
Climate change can be reversed but how will we educate the many who do not believe or at the least believe that there is nothing one person or family can do.
But there is much we can do together as an enterprise to help turn the tide.
EX: switching from liquid detergent to sheet or dry powder detergent. Savings of fossil fuel, reducing the production of fossil fuel plastic bottles, reducing land fill requirements.
Simple quick and at a cost savings! That is so small nut if done by the many it will start some changes. I switched much of my power requirements from coal fired electrical production to Solar electrical generation. My electric bills went from $340/ mo. Now to $30/ mo. Yes it cost me $48,000 to do it but it is again a small start that if done by the many a change will be seen and perhaps felt.
Changing the body Politic is similar. In the past 40 years we have become complacent and as in the climate issues we have looked away, taking our eye off the ball thinking it can't happen here and before we knew it we were surrounded by hate, mistrust and out right lies and conspiracies which are false.
We knew that the demons were among us but we ignored them at our own peril until DJT came along and in just six short years has nearly destroyed our Democracy. He was ready and we were not. Nearly end of story. Now we are definitely aware and have our eyes wide open and many , many are preparing for a fight to the death against extremism, racism, fascism and those that would take us all to hell with them and their cultist leaders in our Government.
A simple thing like spreading the words of joy regarding Democracy to anyone even the nay sayers as often as possible. By joining together with all supporters of our future. Using the likes of "Substack" to encourage the less bold to join us in our struggle to save this Country.
That is my feelings and thoughts. I welcome others to join in the fight today and forever!
Love the combination of pollution and poison from industry and from politicians. Both are existential issues for the United States, its democracy and its people. I grew up on Long Island in the 1950s. We lived in a cul-de-sac and many winters there would be so much snow, that when the snow plow came through to clear the pavement in our little cul-de-sac, it would create mountains of snow. “King of the Mountain” was our favorite game, climbing to the top of a huge snow mountain and trying to stay up top while other kids climb up to try to push you down the mountain and de-throne you. I raised my kids on Long Island in the 1970s and only once was there so much snow that it became a real problem. While we did not live in a cul-de-sac when raising my children, I doubt that there was ever a snow worthy of King of the Mountain. Most winters there was hardly any snow. It was a very noticeable change in 20 years. With a political pollution, we will never have democracy until we deal with the news streams, making them be honest. Different opinions of coarse or fine… But “alternative facts“ are tearing us apart, and helping autocrats and oligarchs take control. I try in vain to convince people who say things like “Well how do you know who to believe?” to stick with the newspapers that have been around since the 1800s and the traditional network news. But now so many people have grown up with Fox News that they don’t see it as a “new” outlet. They don’t see it as the oligarchs’ efforts to take control by fostering division by promoting lies.
We are at a crossroads in history, and not just American history, but the world is watching. The climate crisis is very real as is the chaos created by the Don. He will not change, and until the government gets less concerned about his right to free speech and to his real threat not only to our democracy, but to the world based on his thoughts about climate change and the support he receives from the fossil fuel industry and others opposed to climate change, we are headed in the wrong direction. He continues to spew the same lies over and over and over (you tell a lie long enough, a bunch will believe it), reported on by even the most liberal press, yet no one really calls him out - not really. He is a liar, but more importantly, he is a TRAITOR. Wake up, folks. Until we can call him what he is and mean it, it ain't going to change. These latest indictments might help, but unless there are those willing to silence him, i.e., jail (not house arrest and not assassination) where he cannot spew his hatred and misinformation. Now we have to deal with a judge that is obviously a Trump sycophant overseeing his trial. How can the court system allow this? Where is the justice in this? Another example of our government not really being serious about quieting insurrection right in front of their noses. We are falling right into the MAGA's planned trap. Shame on us - again!
Steven, your words could not be truer. What concerns me is the overwhelming adoption of disregard/disinterest in the great majority of my friends and family of the awaiting calamity of allowing the growth of the MAGA movement as well as the ever present degradation of our planet.
Strong medicine is needed, now, to push back in both cases. What medicine you ask?
I suggest the creation of PACs whose sole purpose is to visually show the horrors and devastation that both growing dangers have already shown and what they could look like in a few years if if not pushed back on now.
As far as the deranged last president, it is clear to anyone with a brain he broke the law and if anybody else did that, they’d be in prison for the rest of their life. He has avoided accountability his whole life and thrown tantrums like a baby to distract from his behavior. I hope those who threaten are visited by law enforcement this time and warned about the consequences of threatening violence. I have to believe or I’ll go nuts, that a majority of voters in this country do not want him back in office. They don’t want violence, threats and fascist presidents either. Whether the will of the people is realized and people are able to vote, is another question.
As far as climate change, i live in the west and fire season is a part of life but the last 5 years of fires and drought were the worst I’ve seen in 52 years living here. We were fortunate that the “change” part of the concept happened last winter so we at least have water but it remains to be seen how fire season is going to be. It also remains to be seen if we’re going to have another wet winter. I think the thing is there is no predicting anything, no one knows what’s going to happen and when.
I greatly fear that the cancer that Donald Trump has loosed in the American body politic is now incurable. Things are getting worse, not better.............
I grew up 70 miles from Titusville, PA where the first productive oil well in the world was drilled in 1859. There was a screeching well in the lot next door. My mother who longed to return to the central part of the state-home-hated it. Many are the times she would cover her nose with a hankie because of the smell. The water tasted like oil. We kids had to be careful sled riding on the hill for fear we would end up in one of the sludge pits where waste was kept , for fear we would fall in , sink, and never be found. We threw rocks and watched them disappear.Drilling was a main occupation. Perhaps this was the beginning of the climate change phenomenon. It was unnoticeable and the weather there is still cool to cold.-65 today compared to 90 in FL. My dad would give me $2.25/week to pay for bus tokens and school lunch. To save some for myself, I would walk home from high school in such frigid cold that my white rubber boots would leave a raw ring on my legs.
I live in FL now, only to be near my daughters, but like Mother, homesick for the North. I say FL has 2 seasons - summer and February. 320,000 people move here per year to avoid cold, snow. They better think twice. Rent a year before buying. I think most who live here do not even go to the beach, leaving it to tourists. We stay inside with fans and A/C to avoid the sweating humidity and fear of skin cancer. Building of new homes, appt. houses, malls can be seen on every street. The traffic , thus the exhaust fumes we breath daily, is atrocious. Besides, it is very expensive in every way except property taxes are lower. About a mile from me in the area called Lakewood Ranch, the former CEO of Walmart just bought a house for $11.25M.
And then, there is God -Ronald Dion DeSantis !!
Meanwhile, the gov't considers maintaining oil pipe lines, building new ones, and old Joe Manchin, living on his boat and breathing good air, insists on maintaining the coal industry and its consequences of black lung and pollution, kept in office because the Democrats can't afford to lose a party member.
We must remember, however, that we are but one country contributing to this health crisis. China is first, we-second.
While the above pollutes our bodies, trump and his goombahs , soldiers and consiglieres pollute our minds, our society. He really is a wannabe Mussolini, thinks the world revolves around him. Everything concerning him is either the best or the worst of anything ever that happened in the country. Even thinks he is better than Jesus. He is a bully, a childish name caller, an inciter, a criminal who commits fraud, rapes, lies. Future analysts and authors will have plenty to study and write about. And why are there 74,000,000 unAmericans rooting for him? The old grey mare ain't what she used to be was a prelude to a future of this country. He has even added to our vocabulary-rigged, triggered, fake news, and the latest, weaponized. Every Republican now mimics his vocabulary.
So much is the fault of the media. Nothing but trump, trump, trump on TV, facebook, twitter, they even highlight people like Greene, Lake. Although they did some untoward things, Chris Cuomo and Don Lemon should not have been fired. Journalism needs to make a U Turn.
I am commenting a few days after this opinion piece was written.. During that time, Donald Trump made another Cameo appearance, this time in Florida. Ever flamboyant and waving like royalty, he pleaded not guilty, and claims he 'has done nothing wrong,' What appears to escape him is that 37 charges in Federal Court hold considerable gravity. He epitomises what can happen when a malignant psychopath is given absolute power, and is allowed to go unchecked and off the rails of accountability He is an avid climate-change denier. But pictures and video on the the National News, illustrate just how inadequate our defences are, against environmental disasters. Here in Canada's this has been the WORST season for wildfires IN A CENTURY, and we aren't even half way through the month of June. Our land mass exceeds that of the United States, but our population is about 1/10 that of the USA. Hotter temperatures, unusually dry conditions, lots of forested areas combined with human error and irresponsible behaviour set the stage for incendiary disaster. Firefighters from Argentina, Australia, Chile, France, South Africa, Spain and the United States have been dispatched to Canada, to help in the effort; a veritable International delegation. Think about that. ...2/
I live in the Seattle area. We've been having smoky summers for some time now. I'm glad the East Coast got a taste of this. I hope now more people will take it seriously. As to Trump, we ignore him at our peril. His ego won't let him stop trying to get back into power. His followers will continue to absorb his pollution. It's up to those of us who recognize the source of the problems to put things right.
Let's revisit Matt Gaetz filing a complaint to the Department of Congressional Ethics over Nancy Pelosi tearing up a photocopy and the Dolt stating that it was illegal for her to have done that, when it wasn't.
Thanks, Steven, for this article on two very important issues. I agree with you completely that it is important to call this out, not ignore it. I remember what Joseph Campbell said about saying "yes" to evil. Not that you agree with evil but that you are affirmative in fighting it, as opposed to hiding under the covers or ignoring it You have been at the forefront, speaking against the evil that Trump represents from the beginning, even when it was a more lonely and challenging stance to take. Thank you for being a voice of reason and decency during this challenging time for our country
...2/ Empathy is not a universal trait. When people see someone suffering, or they face hardship themselves, their capacity for empathy can deepen. Denialists on the other hand, like Donald Trump, are not tethered to reality. He lives in an altered state of cognitive dissidence. He constant assaulted our senses with his bellicose belligerence. Any semblance of honesty and integrity in the GOP was washed away. His adverse behaviour was tolerated, and even praised by his supporters. I don't believe there will ever be a normal, that we recognise, again. So much was upended by Trump, and he revels in continuing his reign of destruction. GOP sycophants actually defend him, illustrates their fealty to evil. Their ethical compass is empty and their train has missed the Station. You are correct. Steven, we must pay attention, to what matters.
It’s coming down to this: we must call “bullshit” on all the perpetrators of same, and be relentless in doing so. The media’s insistence on covering both sides as of the narratives are equally valid (narrator: they’re not) must also be called out.
On climate change: I lived in Northern California for 30 years. We lived at the end of a dead end lane with many trees and grasses near-by in open space. We were also on a hill. The community had evacuation drills in case of fire. There were only two ways out of town (Mill Valley, CA) to hopeful safety near SF Bay. There would have been horrendous traffic jams if the fires of 2018 (or any other year) had spread to Mill Valley. People would have been literally running for their lives, which happened in the Wine Country fires.
We also had incredible years of El Niño winter storms and atmospheric rivers. This past winter (2022-2023) was an example. Being near SF Bay and two creeks that run through town, the flat parts of Mill Valley would flood. If there was also high tide, the flooding would create so much water accumulating people would use canoes and rowboats to photograph the scene and even rescue others plus their pets! Then, during one bad storm just a few houses a way a garage slid down the hill into my neighbor's backyard and kitchen. Everyone survived, but still ----
On Politics: I cannot read news after 12 pm. I get up at 4 am. About 5 am I take a few deep breaths and try to read some news and several Substack subscriptions. If I read news after noon I find it hard to sleep at night. Yesterday afternoon I read the first 25 pages of the indictment. I had a nightmare about an evil looking Russian general entering my home. My family and friends all discuss how much anxiety/stress related disorders we seem to be experiencing just reading the news. It's going to be this way for at least two more years. We need to take breaks. Get out in nature, explore new music, check out the art scene, whatever works to restore your sense of calm.
Thank you for your observations, Linda. Your advice to take breaks and fund calm is useful guidance for all of us.
Linda, I also lived in Northern California, but only for one year. Your comment hits home. I remember the Tubbs Fire in Santa Rosa in 2017, which killed 22 people and burned more than 5K structures. I worked at a Santa Rosa hospital, I have friends affected by that fire. My cousin who lives in the East Bay has an interesting viewpoint. “It’s as if all the news stations in New York City don’t realize what we deal with in the west coast.”
I also shut off the cyber feedbag about 5pm. I read, take walks, and avoid the news. Substack is now my favorite place to read the news.
Thank you for your comment. I take a sabbatical from the news from about noon on Friday to Monday morning. Yes, Substack is the best. I'm also on Post.News. The founders have managed to get certain reliable news sources on this site, including news from Ukraine. It's civil and informative there. They have content moderation.
Steven, allow me to be less emotionally outraged (though I am in both cases) and more clinical/analytical. With regard to climate change and pollution, we allowed our environment to degrade in the post war era and only began fighting in 1970 with the first version of the Clean Air Act and 1972 Clean Water Act. The air in many places looked like what NYC was last week..on a regular basis! Rivers and lakes caught fire. Why? Nobody “owned” the commons of the the environment and so it was easy to use it as a free dumping ground. These acts were the first time government stepped in and took “ownership”, caused polluters to incur real costs, and things improved. But with air and the energy industry the major breakthrough did not happen for 20 years until the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments which closed major loopholes and used market based approaches to solve the pollution problem. It worked and continues to work more than 30 years later. You may ask what does this have to do with the “misinformation and rhetorical pollution” spewed by Trump MAGA? The 1st amendment protects speech, but not libel, and not speech that presents a clear and present danger. It would be dangerous to assign “ownership” of the public information sphere to any one group or individual, but we can identify such dangerous speech and sue those engaged in it and even use it to prosecute today. And we should be doing that more. That is society needs to take ownership of the public information square. Say something stupid and hateful, there are economic consequences in terms of losing work, market share, endorsements, etc. Disney has done this to that idiot governor in my home state. Workers have done it by leaving and walking off the job and leaving Florida in a major economic bind. Media can and should not give air to the Kari Lakes of the world, the DJT of the world. Make them pay for their transgressions. Call out and shame publicly early and often those who support MAGA. We are afraid to do this in too many cases but must stand out ground (yes, I used that phrase purposefully) and fire back with consequences. Even Ivanka Trump no longer wants to be Trump! If we take ownership and responsibility of the public sphere and inflict costs on those speech polluters, we can beat these malign influences back and make them pay as we do to polluters of the environment.
Steven this is a great analogy of where we are in two very different areas of American life.
On one hand we feel like there is little that we can do but on the other hand we know that we MUST do something.
Climate change can be reversed but how will we educate the many who do not believe or at the least believe that there is nothing one person or family can do.
But there is much we can do together as an enterprise to help turn the tide.
EX: switching from liquid detergent to sheet or dry powder detergent. Savings of fossil fuel, reducing the production of fossil fuel plastic bottles, reducing land fill requirements.
Simple quick and at a cost savings! That is so small nut if done by the many it will start some changes. I switched much of my power requirements from coal fired electrical production to Solar electrical generation. My electric bills went from $340/ mo. Now to $30/ mo. Yes it cost me $48,000 to do it but it is again a small start that if done by the many a change will be seen and perhaps felt.
Changing the body Politic is similar. In the past 40 years we have become complacent and as in the climate issues we have looked away, taking our eye off the ball thinking it can't happen here and before we knew it we were surrounded by hate, mistrust and out right lies and conspiracies which are false.
We knew that the demons were among us but we ignored them at our own peril until DJT came along and in just six short years has nearly destroyed our Democracy. He was ready and we were not. Nearly end of story. Now we are definitely aware and have our eyes wide open and many , many are preparing for a fight to the death against extremism, racism, fascism and those that would take us all to hell with them and their cultist leaders in our Government.
A simple thing like spreading the words of joy regarding Democracy to anyone even the nay sayers as often as possible. By joining together with all supporters of our future. Using the likes of "Substack" to encourage the less bold to join us in our struggle to save this Country.
That is my feelings and thoughts. I welcome others to join in the fight today and forever!
Thanks for your solutions-focused mindset, Al. And I agree on finding and amplifying reasons for positivity whenever we can.
Love the combination of pollution and poison from industry and from politicians. Both are existential issues for the United States, its democracy and its people. I grew up on Long Island in the 1950s. We lived in a cul-de-sac and many winters there would be so much snow, that when the snow plow came through to clear the pavement in our little cul-de-sac, it would create mountains of snow. “King of the Mountain” was our favorite game, climbing to the top of a huge snow mountain and trying to stay up top while other kids climb up to try to push you down the mountain and de-throne you. I raised my kids on Long Island in the 1970s and only once was there so much snow that it became a real problem. While we did not live in a cul-de-sac when raising my children, I doubt that there was ever a snow worthy of King of the Mountain. Most winters there was hardly any snow. It was a very noticeable change in 20 years. With a political pollution, we will never have democracy until we deal with the news streams, making them be honest. Different opinions of coarse or fine… But “alternative facts“ are tearing us apart, and helping autocrats and oligarchs take control. I try in vain to convince people who say things like “Well how do you know who to believe?” to stick with the newspapers that have been around since the 1800s and the traditional network news. But now so many people have grown up with Fox News that they don’t see it as a “new” outlet. They don’t see it as the oligarchs’ efforts to take control by fostering division by promoting lies.
We are at a crossroads in history, and not just American history, but the world is watching. The climate crisis is very real as is the chaos created by the Don. He will not change, and until the government gets less concerned about his right to free speech and to his real threat not only to our democracy, but to the world based on his thoughts about climate change and the support he receives from the fossil fuel industry and others opposed to climate change, we are headed in the wrong direction. He continues to spew the same lies over and over and over (you tell a lie long enough, a bunch will believe it), reported on by even the most liberal press, yet no one really calls him out - not really. He is a liar, but more importantly, he is a TRAITOR. Wake up, folks. Until we can call him what he is and mean it, it ain't going to change. These latest indictments might help, but unless there are those willing to silence him, i.e., jail (not house arrest and not assassination) where he cannot spew his hatred and misinformation. Now we have to deal with a judge that is obviously a Trump sycophant overseeing his trial. How can the court system allow this? Where is the justice in this? Another example of our government not really being serious about quieting insurrection right in front of their noses. We are falling right into the MAGA's planned trap. Shame on us - again!
Steven, your words could not be truer. What concerns me is the overwhelming adoption of disregard/disinterest in the great majority of my friends and family of the awaiting calamity of allowing the growth of the MAGA movement as well as the ever present degradation of our planet.
Strong medicine is needed, now, to push back in both cases. What medicine you ask?
I suggest the creation of PACs whose sole purpose is to visually show the horrors and devastation that both growing dangers have already shown and what they could look like in a few years if if not pushed back on now.
As far as the deranged last president, it is clear to anyone with a brain he broke the law and if anybody else did that, they’d be in prison for the rest of their life. He has avoided accountability his whole life and thrown tantrums like a baby to distract from his behavior. I hope those who threaten are visited by law enforcement this time and warned about the consequences of threatening violence. I have to believe or I’ll go nuts, that a majority of voters in this country do not want him back in office. They don’t want violence, threats and fascist presidents either. Whether the will of the people is realized and people are able to vote, is another question.
As far as climate change, i live in the west and fire season is a part of life but the last 5 years of fires and drought were the worst I’ve seen in 52 years living here. We were fortunate that the “change” part of the concept happened last winter so we at least have water but it remains to be seen how fire season is going to be. It also remains to be seen if we’re going to have another wet winter. I think the thing is there is no predicting anything, no one knows what’s going to happen and when.
I greatly fear that the cancer that Donald Trump has loosed in the American body politic is now incurable. Things are getting worse, not better.............
I grew up 70 miles from Titusville, PA where the first productive oil well in the world was drilled in 1859. There was a screeching well in the lot next door. My mother who longed to return to the central part of the state-home-hated it. Many are the times she would cover her nose with a hankie because of the smell. The water tasted like oil. We kids had to be careful sled riding on the hill for fear we would end up in one of the sludge pits where waste was kept , for fear we would fall in , sink, and never be found. We threw rocks and watched them disappear.Drilling was a main occupation. Perhaps this was the beginning of the climate change phenomenon. It was unnoticeable and the weather there is still cool to cold.-65 today compared to 90 in FL. My dad would give me $2.25/week to pay for bus tokens and school lunch. To save some for myself, I would walk home from high school in such frigid cold that my white rubber boots would leave a raw ring on my legs.
I live in FL now, only to be near my daughters, but like Mother, homesick for the North. I say FL has 2 seasons - summer and February. 320,000 people move here per year to avoid cold, snow. They better think twice. Rent a year before buying. I think most who live here do not even go to the beach, leaving it to tourists. We stay inside with fans and A/C to avoid the sweating humidity and fear of skin cancer. Building of new homes, appt. houses, malls can be seen on every street. The traffic , thus the exhaust fumes we breath daily, is atrocious. Besides, it is very expensive in every way except property taxes are lower. About a mile from me in the area called Lakewood Ranch, the former CEO of Walmart just bought a house for $11.25M.
And then, there is God -Ronald Dion DeSantis !!
Meanwhile, the gov't considers maintaining oil pipe lines, building new ones, and old Joe Manchin, living on his boat and breathing good air, insists on maintaining the coal industry and its consequences of black lung and pollution, kept in office because the Democrats can't afford to lose a party member.
We must remember, however, that we are but one country contributing to this health crisis. China is first, we-second.
While the above pollutes our bodies, trump and his goombahs , soldiers and consiglieres pollute our minds, our society. He really is a wannabe Mussolini, thinks the world revolves around him. Everything concerning him is either the best or the worst of anything ever that happened in the country. Even thinks he is better than Jesus. He is a bully, a childish name caller, an inciter, a criminal who commits fraud, rapes, lies. Future analysts and authors will have plenty to study and write about. And why are there 74,000,000 unAmericans rooting for him? The old grey mare ain't what she used to be was a prelude to a future of this country. He has even added to our vocabulary-rigged, triggered, fake news, and the latest, weaponized. Every Republican now mimics his vocabulary.
So much is the fault of the media. Nothing but trump, trump, trump on TV, facebook, twitter, they even highlight people like Greene, Lake. Although they did some untoward things, Chris Cuomo and Don Lemon should not have been fired. Journalism needs to make a U Turn.
I am commenting a few days after this opinion piece was written.. During that time, Donald Trump made another Cameo appearance, this time in Florida. Ever flamboyant and waving like royalty, he pleaded not guilty, and claims he 'has done nothing wrong,' What appears to escape him is that 37 charges in Federal Court hold considerable gravity. He epitomises what can happen when a malignant psychopath is given absolute power, and is allowed to go unchecked and off the rails of accountability He is an avid climate-change denier. But pictures and video on the the National News, illustrate just how inadequate our defences are, against environmental disasters. Here in Canada's this has been the WORST season for wildfires IN A CENTURY, and we aren't even half way through the month of June. Our land mass exceeds that of the United States, but our population is about 1/10 that of the USA. Hotter temperatures, unusually dry conditions, lots of forested areas combined with human error and irresponsible behaviour set the stage for incendiary disaster. Firefighters from Argentina, Australia, Chile, France, South Africa, Spain and the United States have been dispatched to Canada, to help in the effort; a veritable International delegation. Think about that. ...2/
I live in the Seattle area. We've been having smoky summers for some time now. I'm glad the East Coast got a taste of this. I hope now more people will take it seriously. As to Trump, we ignore him at our peril. His ego won't let him stop trying to get back into power. His followers will continue to absorb his pollution. It's up to those of us who recognize the source of the problems to put things right.
Let's revisit Matt Gaetz filing a complaint to the Department of Congressional Ethics over Nancy Pelosi tearing up a photocopy and the Dolt stating that it was illegal for her to have done that, when it wasn't.
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/illegal-pelosi-tear-state-union-speech-trump-claims/story?id=68827767
Thanks, Steven, for this article on two very important issues. I agree with you completely that it is important to call this out, not ignore it. I remember what Joseph Campbell said about saying "yes" to evil. Not that you agree with evil but that you are affirmative in fighting it, as opposed to hiding under the covers or ignoring it You have been at the forefront, speaking against the evil that Trump represents from the beginning, even when it was a more lonely and challenging stance to take. Thank you for being a voice of reason and decency during this challenging time for our country
...2/ Empathy is not a universal trait. When people see someone suffering, or they face hardship themselves, their capacity for empathy can deepen. Denialists on the other hand, like Donald Trump, are not tethered to reality. He lives in an altered state of cognitive dissidence. He constant assaulted our senses with his bellicose belligerence. Any semblance of honesty and integrity in the GOP was washed away. His adverse behaviour was tolerated, and even praised by his supporters. I don't believe there will ever be a normal, that we recognise, again. So much was upended by Trump, and he revels in continuing his reign of destruction. GOP sycophants actually defend him, illustrates their fealty to evil. Their ethical compass is empty and their train has missed the Station. You are correct. Steven, we must pay attention, to what matters.