 home
archives
last week
feedback
Rolla Peace News January 24, 2017 |
|
================================= Dear Friends:In this newsletter is: 1. NOON VIGIL FOR PEACE: THIS WEEK, THURSDAY, JANUARY 26, 2017 2. BUEHLER PARK 3. A PARALLEL UNIVERSE 4. THE MISFIT MATHEMATICIAN (Tom's column, http://tomsager.org) a) An Alternative Truth b) Our Awesome Youth
================================
We vigil for peace in front of the Rolla Post Office THIS THURSDAY, JANUARY 26, 2017, (and all subsequent Thursdays until peace is established) from Noon to 1:00 PM. Please try to join us. The temperature is predicted to be in the 30s. If you do not feel comfortable standing with us in front of the Post Office, please consider driving by and showing your support for our message by honking your horn and flashing a peace sign. 2. BUEHLER PARK Please consider attending the meeting of the Rolla Park Board tomorrow, 5:30pm, Wednesday, 1/25 in the conference room at the Centre, 12th and Holloway. Both Buehler Park and the Rolla dog-park are on the agenda. 3. A PARALLEL UNIVERSE Those of us who were around in the 70s might remember a Star Trek episode where Captain Kirk went back in time and saved the life of a woman, thereby changing the course of history, so that when they went back to their own time, they found a wasteland that made Orwell's 1984 look like Disneyland. Reading the news today makes me wonder if something like that has happened here. Suddenly, this doesn't feel like my country any more. I didn't think that in my country, the President could forbid numerous federal agencies to communicate with the public or the press, but Trump has just done so. Read all about it! I didn't think that in my country, the President could be a habitual liar and get away with it time after time, but he is, and so far he has. See Tom's column below for more on the subject. A huge majority of the world's scientists agree that climate change is real, and that our polluting practices and use of fossil fuels largely contribute to it. But one man, our new President, and a few of his cronies are ready to step up fossil fuel extraction, mining, pipeline construction, etc., and to get rid of all the regulations that make these practices less damaging to the environment and our health. And we have to let them do it, because “we” elected him??? I'm wondering, what planet are we on, and how the Hell did we get here? And how do we get off? 4. THE MISFIT MATHEMATICIAN (Tom's column, http://tomsager.org) a) An Alternative Truth b) Our Awesome Youth AN ALTERNATIVE TRUTH “Sounded like the Truth;Many thanks to Donald Trump aide, Kellyanne Conway, for a brand new phrase. When asked about the discrepancy between the photos of Donald Trump's inauguration that showed about 250,000 attending and Donald Trump's claim of 1.5 million, Conway replied that Trump was presenting “Alternative Facts,” which is to say, to be charitable, he made up a big fish tale. Kellyanne, scholars of the English language will be forever indebted to you for that phrase. The Women's March on Washington the following day drew an estimated 1/2 million, double the inauguration, and that's in Washington alone. There were satellite marches all over the world, estimated at 4 to 5 million total. There were marches in St. Louis and Columbia, Missouri; but not, to my knowledge, in Rolla. Rolla boasted a Peace vigil the day before the inauguration that drew a crowd of four. But quality beats quantity any day of the week. The Rolla peace vigil was the only one of the three events that recognized a woman's Right not to be bombed by a mostly male military. Donald, you are unique among presidents. You are the only US president who within one day of your inauguration, drew a world-wide protest of millions. That's a feat that even the great Richard Nixon could not accomplish. I'd say that after five days in the White House you are already in deep doo-doo. The establishment was very generous with Richard Nixon. He was permitted to resign and go home in disgrace. I don't think Hillary and her friends will be nearly so charitable with you, especially after you threatened to put her in jail. Donald, I'd be sorry to see you go that way. Maybe, if you would listen, I could save your presidency; but listening is, unfortunately, not your strong suit. Do you know what really scares me, Donald? What comes next? I fear we may some day look back in nostalgia at the Trump presidency. Here are two short articles on the Trump presidency that make for good reading: Beyond the Spasmodic and Petty: An Open Letter to President-Elect Donald Trump by Ralph Nader. A Globalism of the 1%: Donald Trump Against the World by John Feffer. OUR AWESOME YOUTH “Reality must take precedence over public relations, for nature cannot be fooled.” —Richard P. FeynmanLike Nature (but unlike many of us old-timers who say climate change is a Chinese hoax) our youth cannot be fooled. 21 youngsters aged 9 to 20 sued the federal government asserting that, “through the governments affirmative actions in causing climate change, it has violated the youngest generation’s constitutional rights to life, liberty, property, as well as failed to protect essential public trust resources.” In November, U.S. District Judge Ann Aiken conferred standing to the plaintiffs opining, “Exercising my ‘reasoned judgment,’ I have no doubt that the right to a climate system capable of sustaining human life is fundamental to a free and ordered society.” Answering plaintiff's allegations, the US Department of Justice has admitted many of our youth's essential assertions such as: That the use of fossil fuels is a major source of CO2 emissions, “placing our nation on an increasingly costly, insecure, and environmentally dangerous path.”Closer to home: Watch this fantastic 7 minute video on climate change, “Do We Have To Change,” produced by Isabel Nauman, a Kirkwood High School student. It features an interview with Sarah Willey, outreach and development coordinator for Great Rivers Environmental Law Center. I've put together this climate change graph from NOAA data. I think it shows well the 2015-2016 El Niño (warming) event and that the La Niña (cooling) event of the last few months is cool only in relation to the 2015-2016 El Niño and probably only temporary. And click here for a good description of El Niño and La Niña. Here also is a graph of three year overlapping temperatures from NOAA data that I believe demonstrates the trend of the last century very well. Enjoy this wonderful NOAA data while it is available. With the Climate-Denier-in-Chief in charge, it may disappear any day now. The Army Corps of Engineers has published a notice of intent to require an Environmental Impact Statement for the Dakota Access Pipeline. Please consider making a comment. Remember, we here in Missouri are downstream from this dangerous project and many Missouri communities rely on the Missouri River for drinking water. ================== Rolla Peace News is distributed by email once a week on Tuesday evenings (except on rare occasions) and is posted on the web at http://tomsager.org (click on Grassroots Rolla: top of rightmost column).If you don't wish to get notices of peace events in the Rolla area, let me know and I'll take you off this list. If you want to be added to this list, let me know. Wage peace, Helen helenm (at) fidnet.com ### |