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KY_EnviroGuy

KY_EnviroGuy's Journal
KY_EnviroGuy's Journal
January 23, 2019

What about child separations at the southern border?

What about children shot dead with guns left unattended?

What about children starving due to GOP budget cuts?

What about children (fill in your example).........

January 22, 2019

A UK doctor works to get past racism and it's inspiring.

I found this article refreshing, particularly where she describes the very positive responses she's received from around the world.

My patient made racist remarks about me. I decided to do something about it
I’ve encountered racism since I was a junior doctor. We rarely talk about it, but it hurts like hell and damages the NHS
Punam Krishan, as told to Sarah Johnson
Tue 22 Jan 2019

Link: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/jan/22/patient-racist-remarks-nhs

(snips)

Her Tweet: Dr Punam Krishan (@DrPunamKrishan)

Patient “I don’t want an Asian doctor”

Receptionist “she is Scottish”

Patient “she doesn’t look Scottish.”

Receptionist “what do Scottish people look like?”

Silence. Appointment card taken. So proud of my team

I’ve encountered racism across the years. When I was a junior doctor, one of my colleagues was called “a ninja” by a nurse out in the waiting area. The nurse thought it was a joke but my colleague felt she couldn’t speak up, and I found her crying quietly in the doctors’ mess. When something like this happens, it hurts like hell. It’s also a wider issue: if we are exposed to bullying, harassment and racism, it impacts on the quality of care we provide, our mental wellbeing and ultimately leads to absenteeism and staff turnover.

It’s difficult to swallow because our job is to look at the whole human. We don’t judge. When people are on their last breath, they’re all the same. Two people suffering from cancer are still human beings going through the same processes. You can’t judge them because of the colour of their skin or the religion they follow. When we sign the hippocratic oath, we speak up to look after our patients and provide a duty of care. It’s never compromised. Patients are entitled to that, but it’s also their responsibility to give the same back to their healthcare professionals.

Those words I highlighted in bold apply to many in public service, yet we sometimes fail to appreciate what they go through when encountering racism, xenophobia or misogyny themselves. Let's try to remember to give them a heart-felt thanks for their unselfish service.
January 22, 2019

CTyankee, good luck with your research and please keep us posted.

I've been on Sen. Harris' email list for a long time and appreciate her efforts to help Democrats get elected in the mid-terms and I also like her openness. She seems to be very intelligent and a good orator willing to face the hardest of challengers. I'm just delighted we have her along with several others with these important characteristics!

One of my hopes for the 2020 election is that we don't get distracted by every detail of a candidate's past record serving in local and state offices. Right-wing media will try to bait us with a barrage of those items, along with any crazy little thing they did in their youth.

People serving in any public office have an obligation to carry forward their constituent's desires for their government, and those of us that are several states away should not criticize them being faithful to that obligation.

I hope all our candidates issue policy papers outlining their views on a wide variety of issues so we can make rational decisions going forward.

......................

January 21, 2019

"My Brother's Keeper" - print by artist Watson Mere

One of the best political works of art I've seen in a while and it applies to the entire Republican party. Note that some of the Twitter posts have his name incorrectly shown as Walter.

Good article with artist interview notes here on PRI:

This Haitian American artist's image of MLK hushing Trump goes viral again
PRI's The World
January 15, 2018 · 12:15 PM EST

Link: https://www.pri.org/stories/2018-01-15/haitian-american-artists-image-mlk-hushing-trump-goes-viral-again

(snip)

"I wanted to do something — not over-the-top — that would show a better way, how to be a better leader."

The picture is a gentle rebuke to Trump, says Mere.

"And [King is] just wishing and hoping that Trump would think with a more equality-type of mind rather than the negative stuff that he has been putting out into the universe."

Thanks for the OP, kpete.............
January 21, 2019

The question though is one of public safety BEFORE a labor action.

In '81, I think the disagreement was over the union's demand for more money, and the government claimed that if they struck, the public safety would thereafter be in danger.

Here, we have a group that's rightfully saying the public will soon be endangered if nothing changes, so that a work slowdown or stoppage is justified for public safety's sake so that controllers can get rest and do their job without undue stress.

If they have not already, it would seem wise for the controllers to sue the government for reckless endangerment toward the general public. And, the thing that reinforces that case is that they were very short-handed prior to this event.

It's hard to believe our courts wouldn't stand behind them if they reach a point of stress where they no longer can function.

January 21, 2019

Perspectives on this event from Kentucky.

Thanks so much for that summary. You saved a bunch of us some major stress..... .....Many of us already have more than enough stress from the constant barrage of Trumpian bullshit.

Those Kentucky kids should have had adult supervision from the school that in a normal world would have prevented this event. In addition to that, their chaperons should have been wise enough to not allow wearing any potentially inflammatory Trump gear, and particularly in consideration of that location with numerous protests.

That tells me that the school apparently openly sanctions right-wing propaganda, and they are willing to endanger kids safety to advertise their political views and lack of wisdom.

..........

January 21, 2019

Beautiful show here in north central Kentucky.

The clouds faded way earlier in the evening, yielding a crystal clear sky. Moon was absolutely brilliant before and after eclipse.

While it was progressing, I opened a live YouTube session presented on a site called Virtual Telescope, where an astronomer in Italy was linked to several astronomer/photographers that had good views, mostly in the USA. Poor guy couldn't shoot anything there in Rome due to horrible weather and he had the flu to boot, but did a good job presenting all the good telescope sites.

Anyway, because it's so damned cold here, I bobbed back and forth between the YouTube channel with their gorgeous live photos and outside here with binoculars. The views here were excellent and I only wish I had my telescope set up. It would have been very time consuming to do considering the cold and snow, and I just bought it a couple of months ago. It would have needed to acclimate to the bitter cold, so I decided against doing that exercise (which I would have done in my earlier years).

Regardless, my son and I enjoyed seeing it in person and I captured several screen shots from YouTube for the memories.

Thanks for the OP and great photo, LakeArenal.........

January 20, 2019

It is refreshing to read of a politician admitting to past mistakes....

and errors of judgment. That is in such stark contrast to Republicans, most of which consider it a cardinal sin to admit doing wrong, else St. Ronnie might arise from the grave and spank them.

And, it's particularly refreshing to me because her regret is with regards to everyday people who have been marginalized and severely demeaned, and to an extreme since 2016. We almost never see that from the other side of the isle.

I admit to knowing little about her past record and could care less about her future aspirations at this time, but this little snapshot again makes me feel good to be a Democrat on an otherwise very depressing day.

January 19, 2019

Buzzfeed's reporting is meaningless for this Democrat.

The only thing that does matter is what sworn testimony is given before a grand jury, or before a judge, or before a trial judge and jury, or before a Congressional investigative committee. Those are the only things that can lead to convictions, unless I'm missing something there (I'm not an attorney).

Those are the only things that may ultimately punish Trump and a number of his associates for any crimes for which they have been indicted, and then their being removed from power.

An impeachment of Trump would be good but does not necessarily expose and punish any and all crimes he may have committed and may not stop his administration's deconstructing of our government. It would, however be sweet revenge for his non-stop lying to the public.

For what little it's worth, Buzzfeed did acknowledge the statement from Mr. Mueller's office in an updated article. See.....

https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/jasonleopold/trump-russia-cohen-moscow-tower-mueller-investigation

............

January 18, 2019

Here's a new twist for you...

Found on Twitter: Steve Vladeck @steve_vladeck

Our local federal court (the U.S. District Court for the [enormous] Western District of Texas) has just issued a general order freezing all civil litigation involving the federal government (except forfeiture cases) for the duration of the shutdown:

https://www.justsecurity.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/AmendedOrderAbeyanceCivilMatters011719.pdf

https://twitter.com/steve_vladeck/status/1086025029710680065
and an appropriate comment:

GWLaw @pgh_law
Replying to @steve_vladeck

Now Trump has managed to cripple the Judicial Branch. So be it. We cannot give in to this kind of hostage taking by that floch of malarial dreck. Otherwise, the ransom will be higher the next time.

...........

Profile Information

Gender: Male
Hometown: TN, KY
Home country: USA
Current location: KY
Member since: Thu Jul 6, 2017, 07:43 PM
Number of posts: 14,489
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