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Rolla Peace News December 5, 2017 |
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================================= Dear Friends:In this newsletter is: 1. NOON VIGIL FOR PEACE: THIS WEEK, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2017 2. THE SOCIOPATHS THAT RULE US 3. THE MISFIT MATHEMATICIAN (Tom's column, http://tomsager.org) a) Some Good News b) Increasingly Delusional
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We vigil for peace in front of the Rolla Post Office THIS THURSDAY, DECEMBER 7, 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. THE SOCIOPATHS THAT RULE US The GOP tax “reform” bill, which just passed the Senate last week, gives corporations and wealthy individuals a huge windfall, while raising taxes in many subtle and not-so-subtle ways on the rest of us. Here are some of those ways: * Eliminates the deduction for state and local taxes paid with taxable income.But that's not all it does: * It also eliminates tax credits for renewable energy (solar and wind), and for electric cars.In one stroke, decades of progress toward increasing our use of clean energy and reducing our reliance on fossil fuels is being wiped out — not to mention placing climate change deniers and fossil fuel enthusiasts at the head of any agency that has anything to do with the environment. All in all, this tax bill will create misery for all but the richest Americans, and further devastation of our earthly home. But, as Basav Sen points out: “None of this, of course, matters to congress people determined to Make Oligarchs Rich Again, even at the price of Making (Most) Americans Poor Again, Making the Gulf Coast Drown Again, and any number of other adverse consequences for people and planet — up to and including Making Earth Uninhabitable.” You might wonder, what kind of person would want to do such things to his fellow man? Well, there are 51 of that kind of person in the Senate, and several times that many in the House of Representatives. An ordinary citizen who had as his goal enriching himself by cheating, lying, and walking over other people would be called a sociopath. I've been reading The Sociopath Next Door, by Martha Stout. According to her research, as many as 4% of Americans are sociopathic — that is, they have no conscience. (Other countries that have a more collective-oriented culture have much fewer.) If you read this book, which I highly recommend, you will understand how so many of them end up in positions of power, and how they are able to fool the rest of us into putting them there. 3. THE MISFIT MATHEMATICIAN (Tom's column, http://tomsager.org) a) Some Good News b) Increasingly Delusional SOME GOOD NEWS Police in Honduras are refusing to suppress demonstrations against a corrupt and delusional ruling government. One police officer stated, “It's that we have family. We are tired. And our job is to give peace and security to the Honduran people, not repress them. We want all Hondurans to be safe.” When police refuse to do the bidding of a corrupt ruling elite, a nation is not very far from regime change. The current regime came to power in a 2009 coup supported by the Obama/Clinton government in the United States. INCREASINGLY DELUSIONAL And here at home, one has to wonder how long our corrupt and delusional government can remain in power. Abuses of power abound — and are certainly not limited to Donald Trump and his inner circle. Probably the most egregious abuse is the escalating confrontation with nuclear armed North Korea. So here's a scenario and a question: First the scenario: Suppose the Pentagon shuts down the government in a palace coup claiming that Donald Trump was about to launch the nukes, and the coup was necessary to the survival of humanity.Far-fetched? I don't think so. 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: near the 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 ### |