Does the GOP want citizens to die young? Their priority, instead, is the profitability of the companies in their states & keeping the taxes on their oligarchs low…
And the apparent paradox is that the voters in Red States continue to vote for the very people who are harming them.But it isn't a paradox if you understand their real motivation and motivators.
They prioritize the culture war above all else. So long as them there liberals, blacks, gays, "feminazi's" get their come uppence, and kept in their place, then all is well in their universe, even if it means taking a hit themselves.
And the motivators are pulpit and press.
I have lived above and below the Mason Dixon line, and know for a fact, the the right wing denizens of the south, are gripped in a headlock by their preachers.
Case in point, the new Speaker of the House, most certainly a Southern Baptist, if not a Dominionist, and if there is something to fear it is Dominionism, or Christian Reconstruction, https://www.sullivan-county.com/nf0/fundienazis/royal_race.htm Ted Cruz's father Rafael was a co founder along with Rushdoony, they infiltrated the Air Force Academy,, when the last brick was laid, and these ChristoTaliban, opened the first mega church in Colorado Springs, and the city is now infested.
"So long as them there liberals, blacks, gays, "feminazi's" get their come uppence, and kept in their place, then all is well in their universe, even if it means taking a hit themselves." You said a world there, but I don't think they see the part where it's harm to themselves. Weird internalization of "zero-sum" fantasy. The religious context is so scrummed up with essential "authoritarian" nature. Poor Jesus.
Here's the cynic, if I offend your beliefs, I'm sorry, but religions, all of them, were created by men for the purpose of controlling other men. For instance. Mike Johnson is a dweeb, he has no personal authority, however he uses his god as a sock puppet, to create a world or society, that is safe for his insecure ass. There is aa good book on the subject alas out of print
Every dictator, every Emperor ever has used the sock puppet god (in different names) from Ahkenaton to HAMAS, as their authority, after all who can doubt the word of god, without being a heretic, an infidel and suffering the penalty of such
As regards this Jesus. There is the opinion, that some Hebrew priests, realizing that they could not overthrow Rome by force, came up with the idea to destroy it from within, and thus cooked up a subversive scheme to rot the Roman Empire from within by promoting pacificsm, and they set about proselytizing their ideology in the market places of the Roman Empire, It worked well enough for a legion commander, vying for control of the Empire by the name of Constantine, to see it's usefulness as a tool of control, and made it the official religion of his empire, after his victory over the competition at the battle of the Milvian Bridge. However there were some Romans like the Piso family, that were smart enough to realize that this new religion of Constantine, was subversive, so they had inserted sentences like Render Unto Caesar that which is Caesar, and unto god that which is god's.
The sacralized documents, weren't written down as the "Gospels" until centuries after this putative Jesus death, and only after Constantine had gathered up all of the proselytizers,
and transported them to far off Nicea, out of reach of the population, confined them to a villa, set guards at the door, plied them with wine and young boys, and telling them not to come out until they had arrived at a consensus. the Trinitarians won out, after beating the crap out of the rest of the subversives.
Now they had a consensus theology, but he needed a document to justify the ideology, so he had a dude named Jerome, and assisted by a Manichean priest who had converted to Christianity after watching Pope Leo "The Great" throw Manicheans to the lions, assisted Jeromein producing the first bible, the Latin Vulgate, in which Augustine (not his real name, but a title meaning the Great One, inject Manichean (a Greek version of Zoroastrianism) concepts like the dual gods into the "Gospel", Venus, as the morning star aka the Light Bringer, as it precedes the appearance of the sun, in Greece and the Mideast and Persian, Venus was worshiped and feared as a fierce, warrior goddess, even into Europe. Quran calls it al Uzza, Hebrews Esther, Greeks and others as , Astar, Astarte, and among Germanic peoples . Easter or Eostre
At the battle of the Milvian Bridge, when Constantiine faced off against Maxentius, whose legions outnumbered his.
The Romans and their legions, were very superstitious, Constantine worshiped Mithra, the Iranian god of the sun, justice, contract, and war in pre-Zoroastrian Iran. Known as Mithras in the Roman Empire during the 2nd and 3rd centuries ce, this deity was honoured as the patron of loyalty to the emperor.
But also believed in other gods and the most feared was Astarte, Astar, Ashera, Esther, Eostre
Besides being a fertility goddess, she was most feared, as she never lost a battle, and was ruthless to her enemies. Her signet was the Chi Rho overlaid one on the other and is the papal seal today. She he had the Chi Rho painted on the shields of his legions, a bold move of psychological warfare, and i worked, the legions of Maxentius were terrorized and many broke ranks and ran away.. The cult of Rome has made up another story of the event, that Constantine saw a cross in the morning sun, and painted that on his shields..
It was after he consolidated power, that he realized that Rome was ungovernable with all of these freaks soap boxing their own version of a new religion, not yet called Christianity, and realized the benefit, to him, of eliminating the expensivr and bothersome, hundreds of gods, major and minor, were, especially when each was agitating their devotees to construct temples and gain access to the Emperor and Teasury. The same motivation, that caused Ahkenaton to shelve all of the Egyptian gods in favor of the Aton, the Sun, formerly called Ra.
Cleopatra,Ancient Greek Kleopátra (Κλεοπάτρα), meaning "glory of her father",, but in Egyptian her father was Ra, and she the daughter of the Sun.
Men use something called god, or Allah,or Krshna, or Buddha, as a sock puppet, to control people and nations, pick their pockets, and to gain and enjoy power over the masses, and they do it by allying with the thug or thugs who have gained power via politics or armed force.
Thus Attila and the Witch doctor, a tenuous symbiotic relationship between the two, they need each other, Charlemagne essentially created the Pope, by selecting a Bishop of Rome, poor and indigent proclaiming him to be the divine leader of the cult, and then having the Pope (Leo III) crown him Emperor as proof that he was chosen by god., and thereafter all of the crowned heads of Europe called themselves chosen by god, and who can argue with or dispute god, especially when doing so will have you burned at the stake.
Because of the electoral college and the fact that cows and trees count more than humans in the Senate, it might be possible to outvote them in vacant states like Wyoming and the Dakotas.
Millions of PRs who receive SSI, who would rather live on the island, but currently live in the states. That SSI is portable. (436,000 people in Puerto Rico may potentially qualify for SSI).
What if they deployed themselves so that they could enable PR statehood?
DC is a reliable blue. PR more purple. Several of the Commonwealth governors have been Republican. Both, especially PR, should be granted statehood. End the colonialism.
About 3.5 million drivers nationwide, making it the most common job in 29 states. All but three are Trump states. Eliminated a key exemption for dining and living expenses while on the road.
Also many truckers have "repetitive traumas" that could entitle them to benefits. Here's a typical fact pattern. Truckers have one of the most grueling and dangerous jobs across all industries—from days or weeks away from home, long driving hours, and intense physical and mental demands. So it’s not surprising that trucking injuries make up a huge percentage of workers’ compensation claims nationwide.
Occupational accidents involving truckers take various forms, causing an array of injuries that can negatively affect an injured truck driver’s life. The following are the most common South Florida trucker injuries drivers should be aware of:
Injuries from Falls
Aside from driving, you may have to climb onto elevated areas on the truck, use stairs and ladders, or deliver packages to upper floors in construction sites, warehouses, and buildings. You could slip and fall on stairs, ladders, unsecured openings, and even when entering and exiting your truck. Possible injuries can include broken bones, sprains, head trauma, and brain injuries, among others.
Repetitive Stress Injuries (RSIs)
Also known as repetitive trauma or strain injuries, these result from the repeated positioning or motions that you perform while working. These can also include overuse syndromes, repetitive motion disorders, and cumulative trauma disorders. RSIs typically affect soft tissues, including nerves, muscles, ligaments, and tendons. Common RSIs that truckers can develop include:
Bursitis
Carpal tunnel syndrome
Trigger finger
Tendinitis
Tennis elbow or epicondylitis
Ganglion cysts
Tenosynovitis
You might feel pain, tingling, numbness, weakness, and other sensations where you have a repetitive stress injury. Driving can lead to such injuries depending on how many hours you drive, how much rest you get, how you drive, and your posture while driving.
Struck Against or By Objects Injuries
Truck drivers know that opening cargo containers, lifting hitched trailers, and attaching trailers come with moving components or objects, such as winch bars, lift gates, pallet jacks, cartons, or boxes. Many drivers can get hurt while doing these tasks when they get struck against or by these things or loose cargo.
Musculoskeletal Injuries
Musculoskeletal injuries to the back, neck, and limbs can result from unloading and loading containers, cartons, boxes, bins, or tanks from trucks. They can also result from using loaders and dollies and while working on tires. In general, these are caused by overexertion, such as lifting heavy objects, but can also develop due to less strenuous movements, like climbing in and out of the truck.
In addition, musculoskeletal injuries are common among truckers because of the truck cab’s design, which can significantly impact your posture. Because the truck is your workspace, how you sit while driving for hours on end, how the mirrors are positioned, and how your body is positioned relative to the transmission, steering wheel, and other controls can have an impact on your musculoskeletal system.
Injuries from Truck Crashes
Truck crashes are among the most common causes of injuries for truckers. While truck crashes can be devastating when smaller vehicles are involved, truckers also get injured and killed in such accidents. In 2021 alone, 1008 truck occupants died in truck collisions, and many more were seriously injured. Injuries that truckers can suffer in collisions include fractured or crushed bones, traumatic brain injuries, facial and head injuries, severe lacerations and bruising, whiplash, internal organ damage, spinal cord injuries, burns, etc.
Although being screwed by Republicans. Truckers are conservative and by and large Trump Humpers. They sit in their cab s 6 to 8 hrs a day, listening to hate radio, and their minds are warped, trucking is not a job, which requires any kind of menta;l skills, definitely not a place to develop critical reasoning skills.
Progressive stations were bought out by Sinclair and Heartland, and now feature sports or hate radio.
Democracy's problem is that there are no progressive billionaires, because when they become millionaires, the only thing that they are concerned with is their own money, status, and power and thus perceive progressives, the supposed base of the Democratic party, as a threat to be extinguished, that they might have perpetual peace, to enjoy their ill gotten wealth and power
We sorely need a lot of single issue voters to bring down the haters. Single issue, women's reproductive freedom, single issue gays, single issue minorities, but they also need to be able to hold the people that they elect to account, and do like the MAGA crowd does, put the fear into them. That's how the Trump humping, racist, religious fascists have taken control of the GOP.
We need to do the same as they. Because it works.
America has been led to believe that the middle of the road and compromise is the soul of America. I'm of the mind of the Texas politician who said the only thing you will find in the middle of the road are yellow stripes and dead armadillos.
Anytime you compromise with the devil, the devil wins (I'm an atheist so strike the d in devil and you got evil.
The GOP has come to power, because they haven't compromised. SCOTUS is not compromising, The red side of the senate and house don't compromise, Trump doesn't compromise. Democrats compromise and it is one step forward and two steps back on the road to fascism.
But I am pissing in the wind, and know it. We are already a plutocracy, and the only thing that all of our bickering has achieved is to be witness to the irrevocable rise of the money powers.
No matter what happens, it always winds up, with tax cuts, deregulation and perks for the Plutocrats. Queer billionaires like Peter Thiel, gleefully sell out LGBT, because their wealth protects them, blacks like Clarence Thomas, Tim Scott, Kanye, Herschel Walker reap the benefits of selling out their own race. Women like Boebert, MTG, Joni Ernst, sell out women, because they know the path to money and power is carrying water for the patriarchy.
People of principle do not get anywhere in business or politics, because principles are a threat to the money powers and religious freaks (like Mike Johnson).
Scary stuff... even in blue states it’s becoming very difficult to obtain timely healthcare. Urgent Care centers manned by medical students and nurse practitioners are the only option (mostly good... sometimes better than overworked MDs). All in the name of profit. Even expensive concierge care does not fulfill the doctor advocate role promised. Sad and deadly.
Can we hold the right wingers responsible for killing and causing suffering for millions of Americans? Attorney general Merritt Garland will get right on that. Just as soon as he prosecutes all of the GOP seditionists. The odds of the GOP becoming a dictatorship and stealing all of our wealth is much greater than the odds of them being prosecuted for being psychopaths. The citizens of Palestine voted in Hamas and look what that got them? Right winger seem to never learn how to serve God.
45 years ago I was involved in litigation over nuclear plants in Pa. Plaintiffs alleged that downstream the rates for cancer and other terminal diseases was increased. Wasn't successful. Today, the result may be different. One reason Republicans hate the EPA is that they've been successful. https://cfpub.epa.gov/enforcement/cases/
Employees who prevail under major federal environmental laws are entitled to:
Reinstatement
Back pay with interest
A complete “make-whole” compensation (including restoration of seniority/sick leave, etc.)
Compensatory damages (for emotional distress and loss of professional reputation)
Attorneys’ fees and costs
“Affirmative Relief” (such as requiring a letter of apology and formal posting of the decision)
Our whistleblower statutes generally do not preempt state common law actions for wrongful discharge in violation of public policy. English v. General Electric Co., 496 U.S. 72 (1990); although some states require employees to elect a remedy and preclude state claims where the remedy under federal law is adequate. At least 38 states have adopted statutory whistleblower protections, though most of these statutes protect only employees in the public sector.
Thanks Daniel. Mississippi and Louisiana , and east Texas, up to Beaumont is Cancer Alley, and where most of our oil refineries are located. My fathers family relocated to Cancer Alley in 1944, from what was later known as Cancer Capital of America, Crossett, AR, home of the Koch Families, Georgia Pacific pulp mill that makes cardboard, Angel Soft and Brawny.
In both locales, the family has suffered and died from cancer, aunts, uncles 1st, 2nd and 3rd cousins.
The common thread between Louisiana, Mississippi and West Virginia is the carbon industry, As is Kentucky whose major industry is coal mining, that produces coal refuse heaps (slags, tailings) which pile up and leach poisons into the water table, streams and occasionally break and dump the tailings into waterways.
Merrick the Meek isn't called "the Meek" for nothing. He never wanted to indict over J6 until public opinion forced his hand, so he called in a surrogate, Jack Smith - who is great, but still not sufficient DOJ emphasis. They J6 seditionists tried to turn our country to a dictator, against the will of the voters. If that doesn't merit Garland's attention, what does? Foot soldiers are in jail, with sentences too light to suit me, but what about the planners and inciters? They're running around free, still instigating insurrection, intimidating and threatening justice officials and witnesses alike. Why is Bannon still free? We get a weak "gag order" against Trump's stochastic terrorism that is immediately lifted and then hastily put back into place and then laughable "fines" for Trump continuing his inciting speech ($10K to a supposed billionaire is nothing (the judge involved knows this), and besides, he'll just get it back from his zombies.)
Change is disorienting to people and they lower their social status, the more they fear it, because things generally do not get better for them. Therefore, people don't change until the pain of not-changing outweighs the pain of changing. Apparently people in the red states just aren't hurting enough? Yet they just keep pulling the lever for "R."
Death is the final frontier. "While not coming right out and saying that people live longer in Blue states than Red states, that’s largely what the study found. And it’s not a small effect:"
They also earn less, have higher crime rates, etc.
If they continue to die, and have to leave to earn a living, and as felons won't be eligible to vote, eventually won't be many of them.......
Laughs out loud, maybe I am not a 100% pessimist Daniel, considering your comment, hope springs eternal in my breast, that their fecklessness, bigotry, ignorance and hatred will lead to their demise.
Reminiscent of COVID, so many of those virulent anti vaxxers dies of their own gullibility, and their slavish devotion to Trump. Only problem is there wasn't enough of them, say a couple of million more, to make up for the voter roll purging, and voting nullification in which the sorry S.O.B.s are so involved.
I know it is not nice of me to wish such on people, but when it comes to the MAGAts and white Christian nationalists. I am not nice and have no desire to be either. Certainly not a Christian either., and to tell the truth I don't believe in Karma.
People misunderstand the concept of Karma. It doesn't mean "if I steal the parking space you've waited 15 minutes for, something bad will happen to me later in the day." Karma is simply consequence for actions, sometimes not occurring until months or years, even decades, later. Karma is what is going on in Gaza right now - both for long term issues with Israel's mishandling of the Palestinians, and of Hama's absolute free-for-all descent into savagery and gleeful barbarism in their sneak attack. This is karma on both sides - the consequence of actions in the past. Karma ALWAYS happens, but not always in the way we think it might or in ways we want. The parent who doesn't not help a child develop self-restraint and lets them do whatever they want, whenever they want, often finds that child is a problem in their adult life. That's karma.
But they’ll be just enough of them by population count, not voter rolls, to make sure minority rule continues. The problem with the Electoral College - a majority of people live in a minority of states while a minority of people live in the majority of states.
And don’t forget, it was Reagan who invited the church into government when he insisted that volunteerism would be the new safety net: hungry? Go to your local church. And so on. Mega-churches stepped right up to the money trough.
“In the eleven months since Republicans have taken control of the US House of Representatives, child poverty in America has doubled.” and the sentences that follows reads just like the email I received this morning from my member of Congress, Sarah Jacobs. The Dems need to emphasize and run hard in 2024 on how Republicans have made things worse for the average American since 1981 with special emphasis on the nose dive under the current House of Representatives. It’s the stuff the average American is not hearing, let alone being told, by not only right wing media but the soft overly generalized main stream media.
How do we overcome the "average American is not hearing" part? I just don't know. If, for instance, an anti-mask, anti-vacc citizen of Shasta County, CA, is informed that the death rate from Covid has been higher in the county and county by county across the country that voted for Trump, that person will just go, like, that's a lie. There's just no cure for that.
The unfortunate majority of people are desperately ignorant to the deeply cynical maneuvering (mostly from the GO Putin caucus, wRong wing billionaire psychopaths, and their prized asset, Agent Orange) beyond the surface of daily life. Absolutely clueless. And those unfortunate enough to be "blessed" with vision are confined to small spaces where we can all just reaffirm what we already know to be true.
I often wonder what we'll wish we had done differently when it finally dawns on us that the GOP and Putin have murdered American and global democracy - leaving our final thoughts to the tragic despair that is "If only I had...".
"and more healthy years within that life expectancy"
That's the part of your opener that caught my eye; so much about your health depends on stress and quality of life. My Blue state has services available that my family has needed. What a load off your mind. It really helped them, and I could carry-on working toward a pension and paying taxes.
This care and financial aid breaks the cycle of poverty. The problem is that the Republicans could care less about that subject. Their policy is to bring the kids into the world and then let them have a miserable short life. Despite the Constitution explicitly stating that we formed our government to "promote the general welfare", Republicans do not want to DO THEIR JOB!
We must advocate for the good people stuck in those Red states and counties. My county is Red, but thank goodness my state is Blue. Without that and Social Security, I might not be dead, but I'd feel like I might as well be.
And the apparent paradox is that the voters in Red States continue to vote for the very people who are harming them.But it isn't a paradox if you understand their real motivation and motivators.
They prioritize the culture war above all else. So long as them there liberals, blacks, gays, "feminazi's" get their come uppence, and kept in their place, then all is well in their universe, even if it means taking a hit themselves.
And the motivators are pulpit and press.
I have lived above and below the Mason Dixon line, and know for a fact, the the right wing denizens of the south, are gripped in a headlock by their preachers.
Case in point, the new Speaker of the House, most certainly a Southern Baptist, if not a Dominionist, and if there is something to fear it is Dominionism, or Christian Reconstruction, https://www.sullivan-county.com/nf0/fundienazis/royal_race.htm Ted Cruz's father Rafael was a co founder along with Rushdoony, they infiltrated the Air Force Academy,, when the last brick was laid, and these ChristoTaliban, opened the first mega church in Colorado Springs, and the city is now infested.
"So long as them there liberals, blacks, gays, "feminazi's" get their come uppence, and kept in their place, then all is well in their universe, even if it means taking a hit themselves." You said a world there, but I don't think they see the part where it's harm to themselves. Weird internalization of "zero-sum" fantasy. The religious context is so scrummed up with essential "authoritarian" nature. Poor Jesus.
Here's the cynic, if I offend your beliefs, I'm sorry, but religions, all of them, were created by men for the purpose of controlling other men. For instance. Mike Johnson is a dweeb, he has no personal authority, however he uses his god as a sock puppet, to create a world or society, that is safe for his insecure ass. There is aa good book on the subject alas out of print
https://www.amazon.com/Word-controlled-humans-brief-history/dp/091475212X
Every dictator, every Emperor ever has used the sock puppet god (in different names) from Ahkenaton to HAMAS, as their authority, after all who can doubt the word of god, without being a heretic, an infidel and suffering the penalty of such
As regards this Jesus. There is the opinion, that some Hebrew priests, realizing that they could not overthrow Rome by force, came up with the idea to destroy it from within, and thus cooked up a subversive scheme to rot the Roman Empire from within by promoting pacificsm, and they set about proselytizing their ideology in the market places of the Roman Empire, It worked well enough for a legion commander, vying for control of the Empire by the name of Constantine, to see it's usefulness as a tool of control, and made it the official religion of his empire, after his victory over the competition at the battle of the Milvian Bridge. However there were some Romans like the Piso family, that were smart enough to realize that this new religion of Constantine, was subversive, so they had inserted sentences like Render Unto Caesar that which is Caesar, and unto god that which is god's.
The sacralized documents, weren't written down as the "Gospels" until centuries after this putative Jesus death, and only after Constantine had gathered up all of the proselytizers,
and transported them to far off Nicea, out of reach of the population, confined them to a villa, set guards at the door, plied them with wine and young boys, and telling them not to come out until they had arrived at a consensus. the Trinitarians won out, after beating the crap out of the rest of the subversives.
Now they had a consensus theology, but he needed a document to justify the ideology, so he had a dude named Jerome, and assisted by a Manichean priest who had converted to Christianity after watching Pope Leo "The Great" throw Manicheans to the lions, assisted Jeromein producing the first bible, the Latin Vulgate, in which Augustine (not his real name, but a title meaning the Great One, inject Manichean (a Greek version of Zoroastrianism) concepts like the dual gods into the "Gospel", Venus, as the morning star aka the Light Bringer, as it precedes the appearance of the sun, in Greece and the Mideast and Persian, Venus was worshiped and feared as a fierce, warrior goddess, even into Europe. Quran calls it al Uzza, Hebrews Esther, Greeks and others as , Astar, Astarte, and among Germanic peoples . Easter or Eostre
At the battle of the Milvian Bridge, when Constantiine faced off against Maxentius, whose legions outnumbered his.
The Romans and their legions, were very superstitious, Constantine worshiped Mithra, the Iranian god of the sun, justice, contract, and war in pre-Zoroastrian Iran. Known as Mithras in the Roman Empire during the 2nd and 3rd centuries ce, this deity was honoured as the patron of loyalty to the emperor.
But also believed in other gods and the most feared was Astarte, Astar, Ashera, Esther, Eostre
Besides being a fertility goddess, she was most feared, as she never lost a battle, and was ruthless to her enemies. Her signet was the Chi Rho overlaid one on the other and is the papal seal today. She he had the Chi Rho painted on the shields of his legions, a bold move of psychological warfare, and i worked, the legions of Maxentius were terrorized and many broke ranks and ran away.. The cult of Rome has made up another story of the event, that Constantine saw a cross in the morning sun, and painted that on his shields..
It was after he consolidated power, that he realized that Rome was ungovernable with all of these freaks soap boxing their own version of a new religion, not yet called Christianity, and realized the benefit, to him, of eliminating the expensivr and bothersome, hundreds of gods, major and minor, were, especially when each was agitating their devotees to construct temples and gain access to the Emperor and Teasury. The same motivation, that caused Ahkenaton to shelve all of the Egyptian gods in favor of the Aton, the Sun, formerly called Ra.
Cleopatra,Ancient Greek Kleopátra (Κλεοπάτρα), meaning "glory of her father",, but in Egyptian her father was Ra, and she the daughter of the Sun.
Men use something called god, or Allah,or Krshna, or Buddha, as a sock puppet, to control people and nations, pick their pockets, and to gain and enjoy power over the masses, and they do it by allying with the thug or thugs who have gained power via politics or armed force.
Thus Attila and the Witch doctor, a tenuous symbiotic relationship between the two, they need each other, Charlemagne essentially created the Pope, by selecting a Bishop of Rome, poor and indigent proclaiming him to be the divine leader of the cult, and then having the Pope (Leo III) crown him Emperor as proof that he was chosen by god., and thereafter all of the crowned heads of Europe called themselves chosen by god, and who can argue with or dispute god, especially when doing so will have you burned at the stake.
There all red meat single issue voters. The What’s Wrong with Kansas syndrome.
Because of the electoral college and the fact that cows and trees count more than humans in the Senate, it might be possible to outvote them in vacant states like Wyoming and the Dakotas.
Consider that there are millions of people who could relocate to such places, that are begging for workers and where the cost of living is low. E.G. S. Dakota is number 1 in high pay for entry level jobs, https://www.cnbc.com/2023/08/29/best-states-for-high-paying-entry-level-positions-.html#:~:text=Altogether%2C%20when%20it%20comes%20to,1%20in%20Resume.io's%20ranking.
The Stealth Blue Migration. I like it.
For years I've been suggesting that Puerto Rico and DC should be states, 4 senators. At least 3 more House seats. Currently SSI is not available to PR because of a POTUS decision. https://www.cnbc.com/2022/04/21/supreme-court-decision-hurts-puerto-ricans-who-need-federal-benefits.html
Millions of PRs who receive SSI, who would rather live on the island, but currently live in the states. That SSI is portable. (436,000 people in Puerto Rico may potentially qualify for SSI).
What if they deployed themselves so that they could enable PR statehood?
DC is a reliable blue. PR more purple. Several of the Commonwealth governors have been Republican. Both, especially PR, should be granted statehood. End the colonialism.
The PR in the US diaspora are 75% Democratic.
Plus single issue voters. Here's what I posted elsewhere.
Marketing. Target the market. For many MAGATS Trump cost them money.
How many of Thom's readers are accountants? Lots of examples!
E.G. Truck drivers. I used to "among others" hear Surface Transportation Assistance Act whistleblowers. Trucker safety. Can document that Republicans are opposed. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/gop-industry-defeat-safety-rules-kept-tired-truckers-off-road
Some truckers also lost big because of the Trump tax "cuts." https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2019/04/trump-tax-bill-truckers-truck-drivers-deduction/
About 3.5 million drivers nationwide, making it the most common job in 29 states. All but three are Trump states. Eliminated a key exemption for dining and living expenses while on the road.
Also many truckers have "repetitive traumas" that could entitle them to benefits. Here's a typical fact pattern. Truckers have one of the most grueling and dangerous jobs across all industries—from days or weeks away from home, long driving hours, and intense physical and mental demands. So it’s not surprising that trucking injuries make up a huge percentage of workers’ compensation claims nationwide.
Occupational accidents involving truckers take various forms, causing an array of injuries that can negatively affect an injured truck driver’s life. The following are the most common South Florida trucker injuries drivers should be aware of:
Injuries from Falls
Aside from driving, you may have to climb onto elevated areas on the truck, use stairs and ladders, or deliver packages to upper floors in construction sites, warehouses, and buildings. You could slip and fall on stairs, ladders, unsecured openings, and even when entering and exiting your truck. Possible injuries can include broken bones, sprains, head trauma, and brain injuries, among others.
Repetitive Stress Injuries (RSIs)
Also known as repetitive trauma or strain injuries, these result from the repeated positioning or motions that you perform while working. These can also include overuse syndromes, repetitive motion disorders, and cumulative trauma disorders. RSIs typically affect soft tissues, including nerves, muscles, ligaments, and tendons. Common RSIs that truckers can develop include:
Bursitis
Carpal tunnel syndrome
Trigger finger
Tendinitis
Tennis elbow or epicondylitis
Ganglion cysts
Tenosynovitis
You might feel pain, tingling, numbness, weakness, and other sensations where you have a repetitive stress injury. Driving can lead to such injuries depending on how many hours you drive, how much rest you get, how you drive, and your posture while driving.
Struck Against or By Objects Injuries
Truck drivers know that opening cargo containers, lifting hitched trailers, and attaching trailers come with moving components or objects, such as winch bars, lift gates, pallet jacks, cartons, or boxes. Many drivers can get hurt while doing these tasks when they get struck against or by these things or loose cargo.
Musculoskeletal Injuries
Musculoskeletal injuries to the back, neck, and limbs can result from unloading and loading containers, cartons, boxes, bins, or tanks from trucks. They can also result from using loaders and dollies and while working on tires. In general, these are caused by overexertion, such as lifting heavy objects, but can also develop due to less strenuous movements, like climbing in and out of the truck.
In addition, musculoskeletal injuries are common among truckers because of the truck cab’s design, which can significantly impact your posture. Because the truck is your workspace, how you sit while driving for hours on end, how the mirrors are positioned, and how your body is positioned relative to the transmission, steering wheel, and other controls can have an impact on your musculoskeletal system.
Injuries from Truck Crashes
Truck crashes are among the most common causes of injuries for truckers. While truck crashes can be devastating when smaller vehicles are involved, truckers also get injured and killed in such accidents. In 2021 alone, 1008 truck occupants died in truck collisions, and many more were seriously injured. Injuries that truckers can suffer in collisions include fractured or crushed bones, traumatic brain injuries, facial and head injuries, severe lacerations and bruising, whiplash, internal organ damage, spinal cord injuries, burns, etc.
And hemorrhoids from sitting so much and stretching out the time between restroom breaks.
Although being screwed by Republicans. Truckers are conservative and by and large Trump Humpers. They sit in their cab s 6 to 8 hrs a day, listening to hate radio, and their minds are warped, trucking is not a job, which requires any kind of menta;l skills, definitely not a place to develop critical reasoning skills.
Progressive stations were bought out by Sinclair and Heartland, and now feature sports or hate radio.
Democracy's problem is that there are no progressive billionaires, because when they become millionaires, the only thing that they are concerned with is their own money, status, and power and thus perceive progressives, the supposed base of the Democratic party, as a threat to be extinguished, that they might have perpetual peace, to enjoy their ill gotten wealth and power
We sorely need a lot of single issue voters to bring down the haters. Single issue, women's reproductive freedom, single issue gays, single issue minorities, but they also need to be able to hold the people that they elect to account, and do like the MAGA crowd does, put the fear into them. That's how the Trump humping, racist, religious fascists have taken control of the GOP.
We need to do the same as they. Because it works.
America has been led to believe that the middle of the road and compromise is the soul of America. I'm of the mind of the Texas politician who said the only thing you will find in the middle of the road are yellow stripes and dead armadillos.
Anytime you compromise with the devil, the devil wins (I'm an atheist so strike the d in devil and you got evil.
The GOP has come to power, because they haven't compromised. SCOTUS is not compromising, The red side of the senate and house don't compromise, Trump doesn't compromise. Democrats compromise and it is one step forward and two steps back on the road to fascism.
But I am pissing in the wind, and know it. We are already a plutocracy, and the only thing that all of our bickering has achieved is to be witness to the irrevocable rise of the money powers.
No matter what happens, it always winds up, with tax cuts, deregulation and perks for the Plutocrats. Queer billionaires like Peter Thiel, gleefully sell out LGBT, because their wealth protects them, blacks like Clarence Thomas, Tim Scott, Kanye, Herschel Walker reap the benefits of selling out their own race. Women like Boebert, MTG, Joni Ernst, sell out women, because they know the path to money and power is carrying water for the patriarchy.
People of principle do not get anywhere in business or politics, because principles are a threat to the money powers and religious freaks (like Mike Johnson).
Great book!
Scary stuff... even in blue states it’s becoming very difficult to obtain timely healthcare. Urgent Care centers manned by medical students and nurse practitioners are the only option (mostly good... sometimes better than overworked MDs). All in the name of profit. Even expensive concierge care does not fulfill the doctor advocate role promised. Sad and deadly.
Can we hold the right wingers responsible for killing and causing suffering for millions of Americans? Attorney general Merritt Garland will get right on that. Just as soon as he prosecutes all of the GOP seditionists. The odds of the GOP becoming a dictatorship and stealing all of our wealth is much greater than the odds of them being prosecuted for being psychopaths. The citizens of Palestine voted in Hamas and look what that got them? Right winger seem to never learn how to serve God.
California sued Exxon Mobil, Shell, BP, ConocoPhillips, and Chevron, as well as the domestic oil industry's biggest lobby, the American Petroleum Institute for misleading the public on climate change. https://www.npr.org/2023/09/16/1199974919/california-oil-lawsuit-climate-change?fbclid=IwAR3iPeh8HDOBxyAJebl_Varaos-QwsnZWfvsZewKrdotHNCScdDv7CX_o1w
Imagine places where exposure to pollution is highest. In 2020, Mississippi had the lowest life expectancy at 71.9 years, followed by West Virginia and Louisiana, with life expectancies of 72.8 years and 73.1 years.. https://usafacts.org/articles/which-states-have-highest-and-lowest-life-expectancy/
45 years ago I was involved in litigation over nuclear plants in Pa. Plaintiffs alleged that downstream the rates for cancer and other terminal diseases was increased. Wasn't successful. Today, the result may be different. One reason Republicans hate the EPA is that they've been successful. https://cfpub.epa.gov/enforcement/cases/
When I was working, part of my jurisdiction included whistleblower cases involving environmental statutes, https://www.dol.gov/agencies/oalj/PUBLIC/WHISTLEBLOWER/REFERENCES/REFERENCE_WORKS/EDIGC
Employees who prevail under major federal environmental laws are entitled to:
Reinstatement
Back pay with interest
A complete “make-whole” compensation (including restoration of seniority/sick leave, etc.)
Compensatory damages (for emotional distress and loss of professional reputation)
Attorneys’ fees and costs
“Affirmative Relief” (such as requiring a letter of apology and formal posting of the decision)
Our whistleblower statutes generally do not preempt state common law actions for wrongful discharge in violation of public policy. English v. General Electric Co., 496 U.S. 72 (1990); although some states require employees to elect a remedy and preclude state claims where the remedy under federal law is adequate. At least 38 states have adopted statutory whistleblower protections, though most of these statutes protect only employees in the public sector.
Thanks Daniel. Mississippi and Louisiana , and east Texas, up to Beaumont is Cancer Alley, and where most of our oil refineries are located. My fathers family relocated to Cancer Alley in 1944, from what was later known as Cancer Capital of America, Crossett, AR, home of the Koch Families, Georgia Pacific pulp mill that makes cardboard, Angel Soft and Brawny.
In both locales, the family has suffered and died from cancer, aunts, uncles 1st, 2nd and 3rd cousins.
The common thread between Louisiana, Mississippi and West Virginia is the carbon industry, As is Kentucky whose major industry is coal mining, that produces coal refuse heaps (slags, tailings) which pile up and leach poisons into the water table, streams and occasionally break and dump the tailings into waterways.
Merrick the Meek isn't called "the Meek" for nothing. He never wanted to indict over J6 until public opinion forced his hand, so he called in a surrogate, Jack Smith - who is great, but still not sufficient DOJ emphasis. They J6 seditionists tried to turn our country to a dictator, against the will of the voters. If that doesn't merit Garland's attention, what does? Foot soldiers are in jail, with sentences too light to suit me, but what about the planners and inciters? They're running around free, still instigating insurrection, intimidating and threatening justice officials and witnesses alike. Why is Bannon still free? We get a weak "gag order" against Trump's stochastic terrorism that is immediately lifted and then hastily put back into place and then laughable "fines" for Trump continuing his inciting speech ($10K to a supposed billionaire is nothing (the judge involved knows this), and besides, he'll just get it back from his zombies.)
Change is disorienting to people and they lower their social status, the more they fear it, because things generally do not get better for them. Therefore, people don't change until the pain of not-changing outweighs the pain of changing. Apparently people in the red states just aren't hurting enough? Yet they just keep pulling the lever for "R."
Death is the final frontier. "While not coming right out and saying that people live longer in Blue states than Red states, that’s largely what the study found. And it’s not a small effect:"
They also earn less, have higher crime rates, etc.
If they continue to die, and have to leave to earn a living, and as felons won't be eligible to vote, eventually won't be many of them.......
Laughs out loud, maybe I am not a 100% pessimist Daniel, considering your comment, hope springs eternal in my breast, that their fecklessness, bigotry, ignorance and hatred will lead to their demise.
Reminiscent of COVID, so many of those virulent anti vaxxers dies of their own gullibility, and their slavish devotion to Trump. Only problem is there wasn't enough of them, say a couple of million more, to make up for the voter roll purging, and voting nullification in which the sorry S.O.B.s are so involved.
I know it is not nice of me to wish such on people, but when it comes to the MAGAts and white Christian nationalists. I am not nice and have no desire to be either. Certainly not a Christian either., and to tell the truth I don't believe in Karma.
People misunderstand the concept of Karma. It doesn't mean "if I steal the parking space you've waited 15 minutes for, something bad will happen to me later in the day." Karma is simply consequence for actions, sometimes not occurring until months or years, even decades, later. Karma is what is going on in Gaza right now - both for long term issues with Israel's mishandling of the Palestinians, and of Hama's absolute free-for-all descent into savagery and gleeful barbarism in their sneak attack. This is karma on both sides - the consequence of actions in the past. Karma ALWAYS happens, but not always in the way we think it might or in ways we want. The parent who doesn't not help a child develop self-restraint and lets them do whatever they want, whenever they want, often finds that child is a problem in their adult life. That's karma.
But they’ll be just enough of them by population count, not voter rolls, to make sure minority rule continues. The problem with the Electoral College - a majority of people live in a minority of states while a minority of people live in the majority of states.
Most excellent analysis SuZie
And don’t forget, it was Reagan who invited the church into government when he insisted that volunteerism would be the new safety net: hungry? Go to your local church. And so on. Mega-churches stepped right up to the money trough.
“In the eleven months since Republicans have taken control of the US House of Representatives, child poverty in America has doubled.” and the sentences that follows reads just like the email I received this morning from my member of Congress, Sarah Jacobs. The Dems need to emphasize and run hard in 2024 on how Republicans have made things worse for the average American since 1981 with special emphasis on the nose dive under the current House of Representatives. It’s the stuff the average American is not hearing, let alone being told, by not only right wing media but the soft overly generalized main stream media.
How do we overcome the "average American is not hearing" part? I just don't know. If, for instance, an anti-mask, anti-vacc citizen of Shasta County, CA, is informed that the death rate from Covid has been higher in the county and county by county across the country that voted for Trump, that person will just go, like, that's a lie. There's just no cure for that.
We have the capacity to outvote them. By next year 40% of the electorate, 70% who trend Democratic will be young people.
Channel Taylor Swift.
The GOP has "smashed" red-state constituents' mental-health like a post-Halloween jack-o-lantern.
It's as if their self-hating victims have Stockholm Syndrome. On steroids.
You nailed it Sir.
No. We will not.
The unfortunate majority of people are desperately ignorant to the deeply cynical maneuvering (mostly from the GO Putin caucus, wRong wing billionaire psychopaths, and their prized asset, Agent Orange) beyond the surface of daily life. Absolutely clueless. And those unfortunate enough to be "blessed" with vision are confined to small spaces where we can all just reaffirm what we already know to be true.
I often wonder what we'll wish we had done differently when it finally dawns on us that the GOP and Putin have murdered American and global democracy - leaving our final thoughts to the tragic despair that is "If only I had...".
United States Infant mortality worsening actually made the radio traffic/weather/news
San Francisco Bay Area AM 740, what the heck, give them a shout! Of course, they don't get into the political policies causing more babies to die.
"and more healthy years within that life expectancy"
That's the part of your opener that caught my eye; so much about your health depends on stress and quality of life. My Blue state has services available that my family has needed. What a load off your mind. It really helped them, and I could carry-on working toward a pension and paying taxes.
This care and financial aid breaks the cycle of poverty. The problem is that the Republicans could care less about that subject. Their policy is to bring the kids into the world and then let them have a miserable short life. Despite the Constitution explicitly stating that we formed our government to "promote the general welfare", Republicans do not want to DO THEIR JOB!
We must advocate for the good people stuck in those Red states and counties. My county is Red, but thank goodness my state is Blue. Without that and Social Security, I might not be dead, but I'd feel like I might as well be.