Stephan: What plagues Republicans like a curse is that even when their talk is Biblical their mental state is materialistic. People with this perspective seem to be incapable of understanding that we live in a matrix of consciousness and that every action has a reaction, and it is often unanticipated because they cannot see that all consciousness is interdependent and interconnected. They show their limitation through actions like those described by this article. It's not big news, and it doesn't get much attention, but it is a destructive trend that can do great damage.
Wildlife scientists say the bills, which would affect gray wolves and grizzly bears, “are harmful to wildlife, harmful to the image of hunters, contrary to science and wrong for Montana.” Credit: Dennis Fast/VWPics/Universal Images Group/Getty
HELENA, Mont. — In addition to its spectacular landscape of mountains, rivers and prairie, Montana, the third least populous state in the country, has long been known for something else — wildlife policies that have protected animals of all sorts, including ones like grizzly bears and gray wolves that are often seen as threats to humans and to farming and ranching.
The state’s abundance and variety of wildlife has been a selling point for tourism, a source of pride to many Montanans and something that has set it apart from its less ecologically minded neighbors in the Mountain West. Even as its neighboring states of Idaho and Wyoming have aggressively reduced their wolf population, for example, Montana has managed its numbers largely through hunting seasons and targeted lethal control actions by wildlife biologists.
Now, with its first Republican governor in 16 years, Greg Gianforte, and a solidly Republican […]
Stephan: What kind of politician would sign such a bill as described in this report? Republican Governor of Arkansas Asa Hutchinson. How thoughtless, and inhumane, but then Asa Hutchinson has always shown himself to be a despicable man. What kind of doctor would violate his Hyppocratic Oath and not treat another human in need? Apparently, Arkansas has lots of them to its great shame.
Republican Governor Asa Hutchinson, a truly despicable human being
Arkansas Republican Governor Asa Hutchinson Friday afternoon signed into law a bill designed to give medical professionals, hospitals, insurance companies, and other medical providers – including students – legal protections to discriminate against LGBTQ patients while claiming they have a religious or moral right of “conscience” to do so. SB 289, the “Medical Ethics and Diversity Act,” is a sweeping law that could have devastating implications on the health and well-being of every LGBTQ person in the state.
SB 289 is sponsored by Republican state Senator Kim Hammer, a Missionary Baptist preacher and hospice pastor who earlier this year declared war on Democrats after then-President Donald Trump had been impeached.
As NCRM reported earlier, when Hutchinson’s “Medical Ethics and Diversity Act” goes into effect this summer a physician could refuse to treat a transgender person, a mental health professional could end treatment with a young teenager who just revealed to them he is gay, a pharmacist could refuse to dispense contraceptive medication […]
Stephan: More good news from the Biden administration. Finally, we have a president and an administration that takes the transition out of the carbon-energy era seriously, which means our civilization has a better chance of surviving climate change.
President Biden in front of an array of solar panels
The Biden administration on Thursday set a goal to cut the cost of solar energy by 60% over the next decade as part of an ambitious plan to decarbonize the United States’ power sector by 2035.
The U.S. Department of Energy said the goal accelerates its previous utility-scale solar cost target by five years. For the U.S. power grid to run entirely on clean energy within 15 years, a key pillar of President Joe Biden’s climate change agenda, solar energy will need to be installed as much as five times faster than it is today, DOE said.
To get there, the agency committed to spending $128 million on technologies including perovskite solar cells, which are regarded as a promising cheap alternative to the silicon cells that dominate the market. Funds will also support research on cadmium telluride and concentrating solar technologies.
Part of the funding will also seek to extend the lifetime of existing photovoltaic solar plants by improving components like inverters, cables and racks.
Mark Z. Barabak, Columnist - The Los Angeles Times
Stephan: One of the positive trends I see playing out is the increasing involvement in the government of the United States at all levels of women who understand the importance of social wellbeing. Of course, there are the Marjorie Taylor Greenes, the Lauren Boeberts, and the Kristi Noems, but they seem more interested in their egos than formulating policy, and I don't think they will be enduring political presences.
Most importantly where these wellbeing fostering women are in power things get better. Nevada is one example.
Legislative leaders Nicole Cannizzaro, left, and Robin Titus reflect the rise of women in Nevada politics. Credit: Mark Z. Barabak / Los Angeles Times
CARSON CITY, NEVADA — On the walls outside Nevada’s Senate chamber are rows of sepia portraits celebrating members of the legislative “Hall of Fame.” Dozens of men, several flamboyantly hirsute in the Old West style, vastly outnumber the women.
But just steps away, seated in her leadership office, Democrat Nicole Cannizzaro embodies a dramatic shift in this seat of government.
Nevada is the first and only state in the country where women make up a majority of lawmakers, a historic breakthrough that arrived two years ago. Since then, women have expanded their ranks to 60% of the 63-member Legislature, considerably more than any other state.
The result can be measured in dollars and sensibilities. Among the changes are new laws expanding access to healthcare and family planning, fortifying abortion rights, strengthening the penalties for domestic violence and giving prosecutors more and better tools to fight sex crimes.
“Of course we’re going to focus on the business of the state,” said Cannizzaro, the Senate […]
Stephan: Whenever you encounter someone with advanced gun psychosis your might send them this.
The Founders
According to the Mass Shooting Tracker, there have already been 124 mass shootings in the United States in 2021. Most mass shootings are domestic violence incidents that never make the news. Unfortunately, the past two weeks have seen two tragic public mass shootings. Last week eight people, including six Asian women, were shot in Atlanta and this week a man killed 10 people in a grocery store in Boulder, Colorado.
A week before the shooting in Boulder, a judge ruled that Boulder could not enforce its citywide ban on assault rifles that would have included the rifle used in the deadly shooting. An AR-15 style rifle was also used in the Las Vegas shooting, the Tree of Life shooting, Sandy Hook, Parkland, the Orlando nightclub shooting and more.
The judge’s ruling in Boulder is particularly upsetting when you consider that 82 percent of mass shootings are committed using legally obtained weapons. Additionally, evidence shows that cities and states with stronger gun-control laws have fewer mass shootings […]
