Stephan: I'm just going to let this story speak for itself.
Majority Leader Mitch McConnell
Although the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 did precious little to reduce the tax burden of middle-class Americans, it has been great for millionaires. And according to Peter Cary of the Center for Public Integrity, that includes many of the Republican senators and House members who rammed it through Congress.
Discussing the Center’s analysis of the 2017 law in an article for Vox this week, Cary explains: “Cutting tax rates for companies like Apple and hundreds of other stocks they own was one of many ways Republican lawmakers enriched themselves after they passed the tax law…. Democrats also stood to gain from the tax bill, though not one voted for it. All but 12 Republicans voted for the tax bill.”
After the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was passed, Cary explains, stock shares increased in price. Dividends were raised — and many of the Republicans in Congress who voted for the law just happened to own stock in the companies that paid higher dividends.
Stephan: People, particularly young people are spending more time in libraries than movies; I take this as very good news. And there are other interesting insights to be derived from this Gallup Organization research survey. Here's the data.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Library most frequented by young adults, women and low-income households
Average U.S. adult attended five movies and five live sporting events
Age and income among key factors in frequency of activities
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Visiting the library remains the most common cultural activity Americans engage in, by far. The average 10.5 trips to the library U.S. adults report taking in 2019 exceeds their participation in eight other common leisure activities. Americans attend live music or theatrical events and visit national or historic parks roughly four times a year on average and visit museums and gambling casinos 2.5 times annually. Trips to amusement or theme parks (1.5) and zoos (.9) are the least common activities among this list.
Americans’ Reports of Leisure and Activities
About how many times in the past year, if any, did you do each of the following? How about — [RANDOM ORDER]?
2019 Dec 2-15
Average
Go to a library
10.5
Go to a movie at a movie theater
5.3
Attend a live sporting event
4.7
Attend a live music or theatrical event
3.8
Visit a national or historical park
3.7
Visit a museum
2.5
Visit a gambling casino
2.5
Go to an amusement or theme park
1.5
Visit a zoo
0.9
Dec. 2-15, 2019
GALLUP
These data — collected in a Dec. 2-15, 2019 Gallup poll […]
Stephan: I suspect christofascism doesn't get the attention it should because most Americans consider religion a personal issue not to be questioned; it is a cultural taboo to criticize someone's religious activities. Christofascists know this and rely upon it. It allows them to operate in the open.
But christofascism, the blending of Christian fanatical religious fundamentalism with Republican politics is different. It operates with a very different agenda, that's why I have done so many articles on this trend. Here is a good assessment of these matters.
christofascists in the White House
The enemies of Israel have unleashed a massive air attack on the Promised Land. Hundreds of fighter jets streak across the sky. But before Israel can be destroyed, fire rains from the heavens and the enemy jets explode in mid-air with no explanation. Hailstones the size of golf balls follow the fire. The ground shakes. Birds pick clean the bodies of the fallen attackers. The enemy is vanquished without a single Israeli casualty, and the country is saved.
These are some of the opening scenes of the bestselling 1995 book Left Behind: A Novel of the Earth’s Last Days, by Jerry B. Jenkins and the late evangelical minister Tim LaHaye. But don’t mistake this scenario for a mere action sequence: It’s based on the war of Gog and Magog, a biblical conflict prophesied in the Book of Ezekiel. In the Bible, Gog is the leader of Magog, a “place in the far north” that many evangelicals believe is Russia. According to Ezekiel’s prophecy, Gog will join with Persia—now Iran—and other Arab nations […]
Hannah Knowles and Abby Ohlheiser, Reporters - Washington Post
Stephan: For those of you who are old enough to remember the Cold War and the Doomsday Clock, this article will be particularly alarming. Even at the height of that bipolar Soviet - American conflict matters were not this dire. In 70 years the clock has never before crossed the two-minute threshold.
The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists is moving the Doomsday Clock up to 100 seconds to midnight — a metaphor for the end of the world — in a recognition of growing threats from nuclear war, climate change and disinformation.
It is the first time the clock has passed the two-minute mark in more than 70 years of existence, a testament to the need for urgent action, the Bulletin said Thursday, as the nonprofit’s leader warned of influential leaders who “denigrate and discard the most effective methods for addressing complex threats.”
“The challenge is what do we do about it?” President Rachel Bronson told The Washington Post. In the clock’s grimmest moment ever, she believes years of dire warnings have begun to break through.
“People are starting to get it,” Bronson said, pointing to the movement ignited by teen climate activist Greta Thunberg. “But we need our leaders to be responding.”
Jerry Brown, the former California governor who serves as executive chair for the Bulletin, had a darker message after the clock was unveiled. The longtime Democratic politician said he sees “a world of vast, deep and pervasive complacency” toward the Doomsday Clock’s message across the political […]
Stephan: With impeachment placing all other stories to the side, this latest desecration by criminal Trump is not getting the response it should. Most people with whom I speak don't even seem to be aware it is happening. This is an awful trend.
Farmland abutting prairie potholes, a type of ephemeral wetland, in North Dakota. Credit: Jim Brandenburg/Minden Pictures
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration on Thursday will finalize a rule to strip away environmental protections for streams, wetlands and other water bodies, handing a victory to farmers, fossil fuel producers and real estate developers who said Obama-era rules had shackled them with onerous and unnecessary burdens.
From Day 1 of his administration, President Trump vowed to repeal President Barack Obama’s “Waters of the United States” regulation, which had frustrated rural landowners. His new rule, which will be implemented in the coming weeks, is the latest step in the Trump administration’s push to repeal or weaken nearly 100 environmental rules and laws, loosening or eliminating rules on climate change, clean air, chemical pollution, coal mining, oil drilling and endangered species protections.
The Rollbacks Continue
95 Environmental Rules Being Rolled Back Under Trump
