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).