Understand The US Department Of Education

"One of President-elect Trump’s campaign pledges was to eliminate the Department of Education. He claimed that the department pushes 'woke' ideology on America’s schoolchildren and that its employees 'hate our children. He promised to 'return' education to the states.

"In fact, the Department of Education does not set curriculum; states and local governments do. The Department of Education collects statistics about schools to monitor student performance and promote practices based in evidence. It provides about 10% of funding for K–12 schools through federal grants of about $19.1 billion to high-poverty schools and of $15.5 billion to help cover the cost of educating students with disabilities.

"It also oversees the $1.6 trillion federal student loan program, including setting the rules under which colleges and universities can participate. But what really upsets the radical right is that the Department of Education is in charge of prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race and sex in schools that get federal funding, a policy Congress set in 1975 with an act now known as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). This was before Congress created the department."

Click on this link to understand the history and function of this much-maligned US government department.

Abusing The Disabled: A Government Program Not Doing Its Job

"John Oliver discusses why disability benefits can be hard to get and easy to lose, how getting them can turn people’s lives upside down, - - - "

Click on the link below for the details. As a side comment, my professional role as a physical therapist included being an ergonomic specialist and evaluating jobs for their risks of work-related injuries. This was followed by testifying in legal proceedings regarding my findings. The frequent unjustified rejection of the claims by workers was disheartening.

Disability Benefit Denial

Mathematics Debunks Democracy

"Democracy might be mathematically impossible – here’s why."

Click here for a fascinating trip through the history of attempts to devise the perfect model for achieving a true and fair democracy.

The USA Has Always Struggled With Trusting "We, The People"

"Spirits among Kamala Harris supporters, Democrats, and anyone opposing Trumpism are at an all-time high right now. That's both fortuitous and crucial to the upcoming election. By the very nature of Trumpism, this election will be the most flagrantly contested in history with far more Trump loyalists in place ready to throw wrenches in the works wherever they can. Nothing short of an overwhelming victory for the Harris/Waltz ticket is necessary to stave off a constitutional crisis."

Click on the link below for a "wake up" call regarding how close the USA is to losing its representative democracy, and how even the Founding Fathers didn't want to share power with "the other." The first election only had 6% of the population voting: "Only white male landowners need to apply."

The threat of minority rule through election denialism

All Experts Out Of The US Federal Government If Republicans Win

"In a scathing dissent from the bench on Friday, Justice Elena Kagan excoriated her conservative colleagues for inserting themselves into the realm of current and future regulation and warned of an impending massive shock to the administrative system.

'A longstanding precedent at the crux of administrative governance thus falls victim to a bald assertion of judicial authority,' Kagan said of the court’s ruling. 'The majority disdains restraint, and grasps for power.'

"In a 6-3 ruling, the justices on Friday ended the 40-year practice that informed federal judges’ decision-making when federal agencies and their actions were challenged. The high court's 1984 ruling in Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council had limited judicial decision-making in favor of agency expertise.

"A range of experts jumped on Kagan’s premonition, joining her in warning that Friday's decision will have far-reaching effects. From the halls of Congress to federal courtrooms, they say the decision opens the window for an increase in litigation against federal rules, as well as a potential chill on new ones.

“The federal government and environmental groups are going to be up to our ears in litigation just trying to preserve the status quo,” Sam Sankar, the senior vice president of programs at Earthjustice, said in a press briefing following the ruling."

As bad as the recent "Presidential Immunity" decision of the US Supreme Court was, this may have more harm. 

Click on the link below for more:

Ignorance and power trump expertise 

- - - - - - - - -

Click here to help save consumer protections.

Food Insecurity

"In a world full of unrest, fears are mounting about access to our most vital resources — food and water. "The Grab" is a documentary that chronicles the way certain governments are attempting to control these global resources. The journalist and director behind the film, Nate Halverson and Gabriela Cowperthwaite, join the show to discuss whether the fight over our most precious commodities could lead to geopolitical conflict."

Click on the link below for a video focused on the dangers of large food producer corporations being bought by nefarious foreign governments.

How World Leaders are Scrambling to Secure Food in the Shadows

Government CREATES The Free Market

"Between the 1930s and 1970s, America’s middle and lower-middle class offset the power of big corporations and the wealthy through labor unions, small businesses, small investors, and local political parties.

"Since then, though, all such centers of countervailing power have withered."

Click on this link for a debunking of the myth that the government gets in the way of the free market.

How About A Secular Country For All?

"First, in the absence of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, about three-quarters of Americans, including 80% of Democrats and 64% of Republicans, would choose a democratic Israel that’s no longer Jewish, over a Jewish Israel without full citizenship and equality for non-Jews living under its authority." (https://www.brookings.edu/articles/how-do-americans-feel-about-zionism-antisemitism-and-israel/)

Why aren't more people who find what is going on in the Middle East abhorrent addressing the need for a political solution? There is much more heat than light on the subject. The survey in the above link presented a surprising finding to me: the majority of both major US political parties want a democratic SECULAR Israel!  The proposed maps for a Two-State Solution look too segregated and unequal to me to realistically expect the Palestinians to accept. Why not a ONE-State solution that is secular, representative, and democratic? The Palestinians probably would balk at the name "Israel" and the Israelis would probably balk at the name "Palestine", so how about a new name?

Chocolate: You Will Not Like How You Get It

Click on the link below for a shocking expose' of the chocolate industry by John Oliver:

Chocolate: Last Week Tonight

The US Supreme Court: It's Worse Than You Thought

"The U.S. Supreme Court — that over sixty years ago ruled against state-led prayer in public schools — has swung back the other way with a vengeance. The ultra-conservative majority on the current court has reversed 60 years of progress and put the rights of non-believers in jeopardy.

"In this episode, Jim Underdown speaks to Nick Little, former Director of CFI’s Legal department, and Eddie Tabash, Chair of the CFI Board of Directors. The two lawyers talk about the state of the court, recent decisions, and the problematic future for secular Americans."

Click on the link below for a podcast exposing, not just its destruction of the separation of religion and government, but essentially the foundation of the entire US Constitution:

Supreme Injustice

Republican America Is Worse Than Democrat America

Republicans like to lie about the difference between rural Republican areas of the US as compared to the more urban Democratic areas. 

Click on the link below that presents the FACTS that are readily available. Note how they are comparing per capita statistics and not the gross numbers that distort the truth because of the generally less populated areas:

The Truth About Red And Blue USA

The Elements Behind Theocratic Dictatorships

"Today, we compare the far-right religious extremists who are fighting to gain power in the US with the protests against the theocratic regime in Iran supporting women's rights in the country."

Click on the link below for a podcast presenting the dangers and realities of theocratic government using the USA and Iran as examples:

How Theocracies Begin And End

Trump Was The Nerve Center To A Wide Conspiracy

 "The conventional narrative of former President Donald Trump’s effort to overturn the 2020 election frames Trump as the culprit and most Republican lawmakers as tolerating it or tagging along out of political expediency. But the leak of a massive trove of text exchanges between Mark Meadows, Trump’s former chief of staff, and dozens of Republican lawmakers highlights how that narrative lets the GOP off too easily. The texts, published by Talking Points Memo, show Trump wasn’t a lone actor, but something closer to a nerve center of anti-democratic activity. Republicans didn’t just put up with Trump, but worked proactively with him to try to discredit the election both before and after the Jan. 6 insurrection."

Click on the link below for an expose of what REALLY happened regarding the attempt to destroy democracy in the US:

Mark Meadows' leaked texts destroy the Trump lone actor narrative

The Political System In The USA Sucks

"Elections are coming up in the United States, so I thought it was a good opportunity to talk about the world's best and worst voting systems. Why are US elections so weird? And how can it be fixed?"

Ironically, the USA has one of the best Constitutions in the world. Too bad it fails so badly in its application. Click on the link below for a video exposing just how badly the USA performs in being a genuinely representative democracy:

The One Where I Get Slightly Political And Lose Half My Subscribers

Republicans Are Wrong About Government

"If the Democrats fail in restoring Americans’ faith in the ability of government to solve problems and serve the people, get ready. The next Jackson, Mississippi will be your town."

Listen carefully to the most libertarian Repugnants when there is a disaster in their red state. They like talking about "pulling yourself up by your bootstraps", but are the first in line for Federal Government help when needed. Click on the link below to be reminded about the truth of good government:

Reagan lied! Government Is The Solution

Science & The US Major Political Parties

The days of the media being justified in calling for equal coverage of both the Democrats and the Republicans are long gone (if it ever was warranted). Science is the bedrock of societal stability and improvement and only one of these parties respects and promotes it. Below are two links presenting diametrically opposite views on science:

How Trump damaged science — and why it could take decades to recover

The White House on protecting the integrity of government science

Government And Mandates

" - - - the cases are actually about something even more important: the future power of federal administrative agencies to regulate … anything."

The SCOTUS is about to paralyze any Federal government action during any crisis that affects its constitutional mandate to "promote the general Welfare." The Founding Fathers thought that this mandate was so important that they included it in the first sentence of the US Constitution. In addition, there are solid precedents in US law in support of science-based government action when health and safety are threatened. Click on the link below for a deeper understanding of why these cases are so important to the welfare of us all:

Supreme Court's Covid vaccine mandate cases are more important than you think

The Elephant In The Room Last Night

Joe Biden spoke to Congress last night, outlining his plan for the USA. I thought it was very good, emphasizing progressive policies that have been needed for decades. However, as you can see from the image above, the unconstitutional Motto of "In God We Trust" was literally hanging over his head and the nation as a whole. Also, there’s NO reason to mention God in a speech as a government representative. Stop “officially” marginalizing the non-religious. The USA is officially a constitutional secular democratic republic.

In my opinion, there will be no significant change as long as magical thinking continues to be mainstream. Why? Religion, and all other pseudoscience, poisons the mind to accept claims without evidence. I will never see it, but I believe the Motto needs to be changed to:

The History Of US Oligarchy

 "Thom Hartmann, progressive radio host joins David to discuss his new book 'The Hidden History of American Oligarchy: Reclaiming Our Democracy from the Ruling Class.' Get the book: https://amzn.to/3pNdyzK"

An oligarchy is a small group of people having control of a country, organization, or institution. Click on the link below for a 17-minute video history lesson of a major societal problem that we are dealing with today in spades.

How Did America Become an Oligarchy?

Also: don't overlook social media within this topic (link), and how the Republicans need bigots to hold power (link).