Many of the readers of Bill’s Focus also subscribe to Jessica Craven’s “Chop Wood, Carry Water” newsletter. If not please check it out. Jessica works hard (very, very hard) on the things that matter. And on Sundays we get a bonus. “Extra, Extra” features an extensive list of positive things that happened during the week. It’s uplifting. It sets a tone for the coming week. It suggests that every little thing we do can make a difference. Call or write your House Rep or Senator…or The White House. Think local. Donate to a cause. Convince someone to vote! It all adds up. Click the link below and see some results and some reasons to be hopeful.
I subscribe to several good newsletters for different perspectives. But “Chop Wood, Carry Water” gives me action tips as well as a hopeful view of life. Sign up if you want ideas on how to help turn the nation back to progress and to help us heal the Planet. Sign up if you want to start your week with a bit of celebration. Enjoy.
A previous President didn’t have the self confidence or nerve to appear at the White House Correspondents’ Association Annual Dinner. It’s an event where self deprecation and jibes are on the menu. Apparently our guy hit it out of the park with some stinging and eloquent commentary. I guess we won’t need to worry about our President when he steps up to the debate stage. You go Joe.
Recent headlines have been about Fox News lying about their lying and denying that they have been lying about their lying. The revelations from the Dominion lawsuit are stunning. Liars, liars, pants on fire. But enough. Is anyone shocked?
stock photo of Fox fanatic
Many Fox News watchers are older white guys who are immersed in bigotry and their hate for the “libs”. That will never change. Forget about it. We could focus elsewhere.
There is another group of voters that will determine the results of all future elections. And most of them don’t watch much TV – except perhaps to stream some fun entertainment.
Generations Y and Z will represent almost 45% of the eligible voters in America next year. And one of them has already made a big difference. His impact on the future of democracy and freedom cannot be overstated. His name is Zev Shapiro. And he has a team that is finding potential voters where they live. On their phones.
Go to this page of the Turnup.us website to learn about their five initiatives which include training programs, their online presence, their own phone app and high school outreach. Four million Americans will turn 18 in 2023. Turnup.us will be there to inspire them to vote.
Most members of Gen Y and Z have experienced diversity since birth. The majority will say that they judge their peers based on behavior. Not color of skin, not ethnic origin, not sexual orientation or preference. And they expect governments to help with issues of poverty, healthcare and education. They are disgusted that previous generations have placed profits over people. They are very angry that politicians seem to value guns more than the lives of their kids. They have grown up experiencing “active shooter drills”. They think it’s nuts that they are not safe in a school. It is nuts.
And most of all, they are outraged that previous generations have done so much to ruin the planet they are inheriting. The Climate Crisis and it’s impacts on the Earth is at the top of the “concern list” for young people.
With that in mind, shouldn’t our political energies and resources be focused on this group? Take a break from the blather of Main Stream Media and read about an organization that is effectively getting voters to the polls.
I write to President Biden when I feel passionate about a subject. Recently, I expressed my anger at his approval of the ConocoPhillips Willow oil drilling project in Alaska. I still feel that he should have stood up with his Secretary of the Interior (who opposed the project) and shouted “Hell, NO!”
I continue to be a big fan of President Biden and how he leads us. But on this subject, he missed a big opportunity to send a message to younger generations. He just lost a lot of support. A lot.
Here is the response from the White House. It’s nice to be acknowledged even if you know it’s “boiler plate”. Read it and develop your own opinion. And try writing to him. It’s easy. Here is the link: Contact the White House We can be supportive and/or critical. But he needs to hear from us.
April 7, 2023
Dear Mr. Alstrom,
Thank you for writing about the proposed Willow Project on the north slope of Alaska.
Recently, my Administration scaled back a proposal to drill for oil on decades-old leases on federal public lands in Alaska. These actions cut the number of drill sites by 40 percent and will limit future industrial development to help protect local wildlife like caribou, polar bears, and migratory birds. I have also taken action to protect the entire Arctic Ocean from any future oil and gas leasing and released an Ocean Climate Action Plan to harness the tremendous power of the ocean to help in our fight against the climate crisis.
I want to be clear: Fossil fuels are not a permanent solution to our long-term energy needs. In order to fight climate change and achieve true energy independence, my Administration is taking bold, historic steps to build a clean energy future and protect and conserve our country’s natural treasures.
I signed into law the largest investment in climate, environmental justice, and conservation that the world has ever seen, and I protected more lands and waters in my first year than any American President since John F. Kennedy. We recently added to that list by establishing two new national monuments and initiating protections for all United States waters around the Pacific Remote Islands.
We are also investing more than half a trillion dollars in clean energy and climate action over the next decade, building batteries, solar panels, wind turbines, and more. These efforts will make us more resilient to the devastating impacts of climate change while preserving America’s natural heritage for generations to come.
Thank you again for your thoughts. I will keep your letter in mind as I continue our land and water conservation work and deliver the most aggressive climate agenda in our Nation’s history.
Sincerely,
If you wish to receive regular email updates from the White House, please click here. You may also follow President Biden and the White House on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.
The following article is from a financial newsletter I subscribe to called “Seeking Alpha”. At the same time that Charlie Munger (partner with Warren Buffet at Berkshire Hathaway) is pitching investment in Chinese automakers, Vanguard makes this stunning announcement. I don’t like the tea leaves I am reading.
“Vanguard, the world’s second largest exchange traded fund issuer announced that it will be shutting down its operations in China. The Pennsylvania based asset manager told Chinese authorities of its intention to close its Shanghai office.
The news comes roughly two years after the firm stated that it would not follow through on building up a fund management unit in the area. The retraction from China leaves approximately 27 trillion yuan or $3.9T on the table for competitor investors to grab.
Vanguard also stated that it intends to withdraw itself from a robo-advisory joint venture with Jack Ma’s Ant Group.
Vanguard with its $7T assets under management looks to remain focused on markets away from China in hopes to bolster its assets in some of Wall Street’s most popular funds.”
For many years I have been astonished that so many Americans looked upon President Carter with disdain…referred to him as a failure. I believe the failure is within ourselves. What Carter asked of us was tiny personal sacrifices for the greater good. That’s what leaders are supposed to do. If they are truly interested in the greater good. A shared effort to buoy up the boat we are all sailing in.
It’s interesting that JFK could say such things – “Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country.” Kennedy has been applauded for that speech and his brief presidency has been enshrined in a temple of idol worship. Carter was specific and he got pummeled for it. He asked us to wear a sweater! He suggested we economize on driving during a gas shortage. Outrageous!
I disagreed with Carter on some issues. Like nuclear power. But he put solar panels on the White House. The guy knows his science. I don’t embrace his religion. But when that institution strayed from the actual teachings of his prophet, he moved to another church. Jimmy Carter is the most moral and courageous US President in modern history. The fact that he didn’t play Washington politics effectively is more a statement about the nature of our system than a failure on his part.
Today there was a guest essay that really said it the way I needed to hear it. Jimmy Carter is drawing his last breaths as I write this. He should be honored in a fresh way. Read what he means to Jennifer. She says it perfectly for me. (this link bypasses the NY Times paywall)
A country the size of the state of Maryland is second only to the US in exports of food. Everything from meat to onions. From tomatoes to broccoli. Cheese and eggs.
As we Americans play our pathetic political games, this European nation has developed a food system that embraces technology, innovation and the available natural resources of good soil and immigrant labor.
Read the article. It is stunning in its scope and scale. While we fight among ourselves, others produce and provide.
Many of those American workers who lost their jobs to globalization, NAFTA, outsourcing of all types and robotics could be employed in an industry that feeds – not fights. And of course, there are hundreds of thousands of hard workers applying for work at our southern border. What if we helped them escape the brutality of their lives by giving them jobs feeding the world?
If Americans focused on the innovative techniques in this article, there would be no reason for a single human being to be hungry. We have the land, we have the technology, we have the human resources.
What if we dropped our culture war weapons and got busy growing food on a scale that this tiny country has demonstrated is entirely possible?
”The Netherlands has used advances in vertical farming, seed technology and robotics to become a global model.”
“They Are Russians Fighting Against Their Homeland. Here’s Why.
In the Free Russia Legion, soldiers repelled by Vladimir Putin’s invasion have taken arms against their home country, engaged in some of the most heated fighting in the war.”
Hundreds of thousands of Russians have left their homeland. Many are disgusted and ashamed of their nation and it’s dictator. Others left out of fear of being drafted into a war they find abhorrent. They know they will be thrown into a conflict with little to no training. That being sent to the front is a death sentence.
But here is an aspect of the war on Ukraine that has gotten little publicity. The “Free Russian Legion” could be a force for the future. It is inspiring and encouraging. These are Russians who consider themselves patriots and who consider Putin to be a murderous dictator. They are putting their lives on the line. The front line.
“A real Russian man doesn’t engage in such an aggressive war, won’t rape children, kill women and elderly people,” said one Russian fighter with the military call sign Caesar, ticking off atrocities committed by Russian soldiers that motivated him to leave his native St. Petersburg and fight for Ukraine. “That’s why I don’t have remorse. I do my job and I’ve killed a lot of them.”
“My task is not just to protect the people of Ukraine,” said Caesar, 50. “If I remain alive after this phase and all Ukrainian territory is liberated, I will absolutely continue fighting, with a weapon in my hand, to overthrow this Kremlin regime.”
Here is a state headed in the right education direction
Good stuff happening in the Keystone State!
Governor Josh Shapiro removed the requirement of a bachelors degree from the bulk of state government jobs. In a highly competitive job market, the governor made a common sense BRILLIANT decision.
”His move opens up 92 percent of state government jobs — approximately 65,000 positions — to anyone with “the relevant work experience and skills-based training, regardless of their educational attainment.” Job postings will emphasize experience over education.” NYT Here is the NYTimes article without a paywall.
Here is the concluding paragraph: ”Expanding the terms for who can get hired is a change that would reverberate far beyond individual jobs and job seekers. It would bring a greater degree of openness and fairness into the labor market and send a message about government’s ability to adapt and respond to the concerns of its citizens. In a country where a majority of people do not have bachelor’s degrees, policies that automatically close off jobs to so many people contribute to the perception that the system is rigged against them. A healthy democracy recognizes and promotes opportunity for everyone. Americans need to hear that message.”
Say what? A judge has finally said what I have been moaning and groaning about for decades. Funding school budgets via property taxes is a recipe for inequality. Zip code funding of education is fundamentally wrong – discriminatory and IMO, dysfunctional. It is highly unlikely that will change anytime soon. But there certainly are ways for states to level the playing field. It could involve requiring towns and counties to share revenue. And/or it could involve providing state funding to balancing out the funding inequity. The bottom line: EVERY kid in America has a fundamental right to the same amount of K-12 educational opportunity. And that means the same amount money spent per child. Otherwise, we continue to under fund the kids who could be some of our future leaders, entrepreneurs and business leaders. We are not tapping our entire gene pool. We are not competitive globally.
A judge declared Pennsylvania’s school funding system unconstitutional Tuesday, a historic decision that should transform the way the state funds public education.
The lawsuit filed by multiple school districts, parents, and advocacy groups in 2014 argues the state’s funding of K-12 education is inadequate to the point that it violates its constitution.
Commonwealth Court Judge Renée Cohn Jubelirer, a Republican, agreed.
Jubelirer said petitioners demonstrated “manifest deficiencies” between low- and high-wealth districts over the course of the more than three-month trial, which wrapped almost a year ago.
“Students who reside in school districts with low property values and incomes are deprived of the same opportunities and resources as students who reside in school districts with high property values and incomes,” Jubelirer wrote in her 786-page decision.
“As a result of these disparities, petitioners and students attending low-wealth districts are being deprived of equal protection of law.”
Jubelirer said in order to comply with its constitution, Pennsylvania must provide the resources necessary for all students to access a “comprehensive, effective, and contemporary” system of public education and a “meaningful opportunity to succeed academically, socially, and civically.”
Wow. Just wow. I am having really good feelings about Pennsylvania. A state I have never paid much attention to. But maybe President Biden’s good karma (he’s from Scranton) has been spreading through the state.
I hope the other states are watching these developments and are inspired to make the changes that Governor Shapiro and Judge Jubelirer have had the courage to make. Kudos, Pennsylvania!
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