Recent polls suggest and advise us that the two looming and rapidly approaching existential threats that threaten both the planet and family of man are not even ranked among citizens as priority concerns.
Catastrophic climate change and impending nuclear Armageddon rank below the pump price of regular unleaded. Much of the blame for this omission of the two greatest threats to global survival can be attributed to the unrelenting 24/7 greed of corporate news and of course the Goebbel’s network – Fox news.
The wholesale indifference outlined in recent polls will be short lived. As a species we need to unite as one and come to terms with these impending and what some would say are irreversible threats to civilization.
Reasoned, caring and committed people worldwide need to with urgency sound a sustaining and unmistakable global alarm – the end times are indeed approaching unless immediate action is taken to mitigate both the growing likelihood of nuclear Armageddon and the unthinkable end results of climate catastrophe.
Our collective citizen involvement and organization will need to reach and sustain levels unmatched in human history. Modern humanity will need to rework all of life’s traditional priorities. Our priorities can no longer include saving for a house, saving for a new car, investing in hot stocks or building a college fund for our loved ones.
For our loved ones- children there’s really only one way for us to express our love and commitment to them and that is building and sustaining both anti-nuclear modernization and climate catastrophe opposition moments. Decent people are reaching out and asking “what can we do to make a difference?”
Well, here are a few strategies citizens can take that will have both a short and long term impact:
• Join and support “350.org”
• Join and support “Physicians for Social Responsibility”
• Support “Extinction Rebellion”
• Join and support “Greenpeace”.
• Join the “Union of Concerned Scientists”
Subscribe to 3 to 4 independent magazines that are not corporate mouth pieces; such as The Progressive, Mother Jones, The Nation and others.
Join and support organized energetic political organizations opposed to both the expansion of nuclear arsenals, militarism and climate catastrophe.
The key – get involved. Dedicate 1-2 hours a day towards this effort. Join others and be part of the movement that gives both mankind and the planet a real and authentic hope for the future.
JIM SAWYER, Edmonds, Wash.
If the For the People Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act are passed by the Senate by November, those laws in Republican states designed to steal elections will be made illegal. But all Republican senators will vote against the passage of those two bills. If those bills aren’t passed by November it will be too late and Republican states will be perpetually able to “elect” enough Republicans to control the house and senate and “elect” a Republican president regardless of how people vote.
As far as I know nothing is being done to get those two Senate bills passed. But there is a way that could get them passed. What if every senator knew that millions of people have pledged to do everything they can to remove from office any senator who doesn’t vote to pass those two bills? This could be done if the organizations that send messages to people by email and other media would stop asking for donations and pool their contact lists and send the below pledge to everyone possible. Those receiving it would be told how it will work only if it goes viral and millions of people sign it and that the only way for that to happen is for everyone to forward it to everyone they can. The pledge would be signed by everyone and returned. All senators would be shown the pledge and the number of people who signed it. There should be enough Republican senators in states with fair election laws who will, rather than risk being voted out of office, vote to pass those two bills even if it means voting to kill the filibuster. Also, if the infrastructure of the proposal is left in place it can be used to pass bills the people want but the rich and powerful don’t, such as single payer healthcare. To keep this country from becoming fascist something has to be done, and quickly.
DEEK CROWLEY, Wayne, Maine
The purpose of this letter is to encourage you to support efforts to limit access to assault rifles and reduce gun violence. As an Army Combat Engineer Officer, I qualified “Expert” on an M16 assault rifle. I own a .22 caliber rifle and a shotgun, but see no reason for me or any other civilian to own an assault rifle. While renewing the ban seems unlikely, I would like to see assault weapons treated like cars, with serial numbers recorded and traceable and owners licensed (pass a test and demonstrate proficiency with the weapon to get a license, which is revocable for cause, and pay a licensing fee). Age requirements and background checks are a start but not comprehensive enough in my opinion. If I was an Uvalde parent, I would take legal action against the dealer that sold an 18-year-old two assault rifles and ammunition days apart on credit with apparently no questions asked.
An assault rifle bullet explodes on contact and causes horrific damage to the target. Many of the victims of the Uvalde school shooting were so disfigured, DNA evidence was used to identify them.
Using an assault rifle for hunting for food would kill but cause extensive damage around the wound, reducing the amount and quality of edible meat.
Threats to ban assault weapons have resulted in increased sales. Bans on large-capacity magazines have reduced fatality rates in mass shootings. The next generation of assault weapons are capable of piercing body armor. Do we want this weapon on the street? In the hands of civilians?
Last week I received a “Notice of Confiscation,” a personal letter from Wayne LaPierre, and a request to become a member of the National Rifle Association (NRA) and fight efforts to confiscate my guns and face jail time if I don’t comply. I am not an NRA member and don’t intend to become one.
I was also a classroom teacher at one time. I had trouble keeping track of my keys and teaching materials. Keeping track of a concealed, loaded weapon would be an added responsibility for most teachers. I hope that is not the solution to classroom and student safety.
GEORGE CUMMINS, Charles City, Iowa
You know, the Republicans sanctify the Second Amendment but are now up in arms over the fact that the IRS is adding new agents and allowing them to carry guns. Hey, what happened to that sacred, all-inclusive Second Amendment that the Republicans always blatantly espouse and thast has evolved from a musket over the fireplace to Armalite rifles and their knockoffs being used for mass murders? Doesn’t the IRS, whether you hate them or not, have the same Second Amendment right to bear arms as an 18-year-old mass murderer of innocent grade-school kids and teachers does?
MIKE EKLUND, Mercer, Wis.
Most historians regard the Supreme Court’s Dred Scott decision of 1857 as the most immoral ever enacted by the nation’s highest court. In that case, the court ruled that Dred Scott, an ex-slave who had lived in free territory, had no rights because (as Chief Justice Roger B. Taney proclaimed), Blacks, who are “beings of an inferior order … had no rights that a white man was bound to respect.”
Do you see a parallel between the despicable Dred Scott decision in 1857, and the decision to overthrow Roe vs. Wade in 2022? The former denied the rights of people because of the color of their skin, and the latter denies the rights of people because of their gender. Both trample on human dignity, and the latter cancels a woman’s right to decide what’s best for her health and welfare.
Roe vs. Wade became a pivotal landmark towards women’s full emancipation. But now, five people’s religious dogma (which has nothing to do with jurisprudence), have returned women to their mission of “childbearing,” which St. Paul proclaimed as their path to salvation in I Timothy 2:15.
Before Roe vs. Wade, countless women died because of the unsanitary conditions in which illegal abortions were performed. And now, thanks to those five people, the deaths will resume. Yes, they’ve taken away the rights of women to control their own bodies, and relegated that authority to 13th Century theology.
Overturning Roe was not only a dark day for women’s autonomy, but also for all of us who cherish freedom.
DAVID QUINTERO, Monrovia, Calif.
Let me tell you about what an ectopic pregnancy means and why we need to keep abortion safe and legal. nnSeveral years ago, when I still lived in Wisconsin, my former boss told me about when she had an ectopic (tubal) pregnancy and suddenly had to go to the emergency room. This was a woman who already had three thriving kids and was a very committed Catholic. Yet she had to have surgery, technically an abortion, to save her life.
Many women who suffer an ectopic pregnancy already have kids, and frankly, those kids really NEED a mom!
Don’t let your state cut off treatment options for life-threatening situations like these. Contact your state representatives and ask them to support laws that keep abortion safe and legal. Having such a law in place could save the life of your mom, sister, aunt, or niece.
LAURA SOSNOWSKI, Albert Lea, Minn.
After reading your brilliant article of Aug. 1 by Jim Hightower [“From Lame President to Lame Duck”] — we all know without a doubt that HE should be our next president. I am about to be 100 years old in a few short months. I can have any damned old fantasy I want. And that’s what I want.
Bravo to all of you!
CORRINE SUTILA, Los Angeles, Calif.
From The Progressive Populist, September 15, 2022
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