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When I began Schwartzreport my purpose was to produce an entirely fact-based daily publication in favor of the earth, the inter-connectedness and interdependence of all life, democracy, equality for all, liberty, and things that are life-affirming. Also, to warn my readers about actions, events, and trends that threaten those values. Our country now stands at a crossroads, indeed, the world stands at a crossroads where those values are very much at risk and it is up to each of us who care about wellbeing to do what we can to defend those principles. I want to thank all of you who have contributed to SR, particularly those of you who have scheduled an ongoing monthly contribution. It makes a big difference and is much appreciated. It is one thing to put in the hours each day and to do the work for free, but another to have to cover the rising out-of-pocket costs. For those of you who haven’t done so, but read SR regularly, I ask that you consider supporting it.
Jennifer Hansler and Kylie Atwood, Reporters - CNN
Stephan:
Biden has changed his position on Israel and its genocide, and I think this is happening because of the large demonstrations at colleges and universities across the country. I believe the Democrats and Biden are beginning to realize his unquestioning support of Netanyahu may cost him the election. In Israel, Biden’s public statements are provoking shock and anger in Netanyahu’s administration. We will see how this develops. I hope Biden takes an even stronger position against what Israel is doing.
President Biden Credit: CNN
The Biden administration said Friday that it is “reasonable to assess” that US weapons have been used by Israeli forces in Gaza in ways that are “inconsistent” with international humanitarian law but stopped short of officially saying Israel violated the law.
The report which was drafted by the State Department said that investigations into potential violations are ongoing but noted that the US does “not have complete information to verify” whether the US weapons “were specifically used” in alleged violations of international humanitarian law.
“Given the nature of the conflict in Gaza, with Hamas seeking to hide behind civilian populations and infrastructure and expose them to Israeli military action, as well as the lack of USG personnel on the ground in Gaza, it is difficult to assess or reach conclusive findings on individual incidents. Nevertheless, given Israel’s significant reliance on U.S.-made defense articles, it is reasonable to assess that defense articles covered under NSM-20 have been used by Israeli security forces since October 7 in instances inconsistent with its IHL obligations or with established best practices for mitigating civilian harm,” the report said.
Recently I have had several readers write me, often criticizing me, and asking why I say the Red States, particularly the Red States of the South, have such inferior governance, and such poor wellbeing. They tell me they accept the social outcome data I publish frequently. but they don’t understand or deny my conclusions. So why do the old Confederacy states continue such poor governance? Here is the answer. The Red States are not governed to product wellbeing. They are governed to further enrich a White minority and maintain White supremacy. Facts are facts whether you believe or like them or not.
Summary: The Southern economic development model has failed to create shared prosperity in the region. In fact, this model was deliberately designed to do the opposite—to extract the labor of Black and brown Southerners as cheaply as possible. This report examines the racist roots of the model and provides the necessary context to challenge the enduring racial hierarchy in the South.
Key findings
From low wages to unfair tax policies to a weak safety net, the Southern economic development model ensures that businesses continue to have access to cheap Black labor even after the abolition of slavery.
A key component of the Southern economic development model is low wages. Twenty states still use the federal minimum wage of $7.25, and half of these states are in the South.
On top of struggling with low wages, many Southerners—particularly Black and brown Southerners—have trouble accessing unemployment insurance and other benefits, which are often inadequate.
Policymakers have worked to limit Southerners’ rights to unionize and bargain collectively since unions make it hard to keep wages low and benefits stingy.
Why this matters
Analyzing the roots and evolution of the Southern economic development model shows that civil rights are deeply connected to workers’ rights. We need an economic strategy that reverses the impact of 150 years of racist, anti-worker policymaking in the South.
There are all these pro-Palestinian demonstrations and tent camps at colleges and Universities across the United States, but I wonder if these young people realize the actual political reality. Biden, although he is not, in my opinion, doing a very good job is still the one trying to stop the carnage, and the Republicans are the party that wants more bombs to be sent to Israel. Here in their own words is the evidence.
Speaker of the House Republican Mike Johnson Credit: The Hill
President Biden’s move to pause a shipment of heavy bombs to Israel has drawn the fury of Republicans, further polarizing U.S. efforts to deter Israel from launching a bloody campaign in southern Gaza.
The U.S. held back some 3,500 bombs that had already been approved for Israel as the White House is growing increasingly frustrated with the civilian toll in Gaza and is concerned about a looming Israeli full-scale invasion of Rafah, a southern city where more than a million Palestinians are sheltering.
But the decision to hold back weapons shipments is among the most significant actions that Biden has taken to assert U.S. leverage amid Israel’s war in Gaza. While progressives have long called for such weapons restrictions, Republicans responded to the move with blistering statements attacking Biden.
House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) and House Armed Services Chair Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) said in a joint statement Wednesday they were “appalled that the administration paused crucial arms shipments to Israel,” accusing […]
This story about the Republican politicians in Louisiana is disgusting. I don’t know how Republicans live with themselves. As this report describes how would you ever get the image of a raped child delivering a baby while holding her Teddy Bear out of your memory? I certainly couldn’t. But then most of these anti-choice politicians have never seen anyone deliver a baby. All they care about is White male dominance. And the Tradwives who vote for Republicans seem to find their submission the most important factor in their lives.
A state legislative committee in Louisiana has blocked the advancement of a bill that was designed to allow young people who are pregnant as the result of rape or incest to obtain abortions.
But the House Committee on Criminal Justice voted 7-4 against the measure, with all opposing votes coming from Republican lawmakers, some of whom tried to justify their votes by claiming they were protecting the “innocence” of fetuses.
The world of the next century is going to be very different than it is today. It isn’t just climate change, it is also dramatically changing population levels, and vast migrations both internally and across nations. Here is the headline on population from this research paper. “In the decades immediately ahead, East Asia will experience perhaps the modern world’s most dramatic demographic shift. All of the region’s main states—China, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan—are about to enter into an era of depopulation, in which they will age dramatically and lose millions of people. According to projections from the Population Division of the UN Department of Economic Social Affairs, China’s and Japan’s populations are set to fall by eight percent and 18 percent, respectively, between 2020 and 2050. South Korea’s population is poised to shrink by 12 percent. And Taiwan’s will go down by an estimated eight percent. The U.S. population, by contrast, is on track to increase by 12 percent.”
In the decades immediately ahead, East Asia will experience perhaps the modern world’s most dramatic demographic shift. All of the region’s main states—China, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan—are about to enter into an era of depopulation, in which they will age dramatically and lose millions of people. According to projections from the Population Division of the UN Department of Economic Social Affairs, China’s and Japan’s populations are set to fall by eight percent and 18 percent, respectively, between 2020 and 2050. South Korea’s population is poised to shrink by 12 percent. And Taiwan’s will go down by an estimated eight percent. The U.S. population, by contrast, is on track to increase by 12 percent.
People—human numbers and the potential they embody—are essential to state power. All else being equal, countries with more people have more workers, bigger economies, and a larger pool of potential soldiers. As a result, growing countries find it much easier to augment power and extend influence abroad. […]
Here is some good news — not great news, it could be better, but good — about humanity emerging from the carbon era and addressing the pollution humans have created that is destroying the earth’s matrix of life.
According to Ember’s executive summary of the report, record solar and wind construction in 2023 means “a new era of falling fossil generation is imminent.”
“The renewables future has arrived,” said Dave Jones, Ember’s global insights director. “Solar, in particular, is accelerating faster than anyone thought possible.”
The report pointed out that, while electricity demand worldwide has continued to rise, renewables have helped slow fossil fuel growth by nearly two-thirds in the past decade, The Guardian reported.
The report found that green energy had increased from 19 percent of the power supply in 2000. The main contributor to the growth was solar, which added more than twice the generation of new electricity as coal last year. Solar’s surge was the fastest for the 19th year in a row and the biggest new electricity source again after surpassing wind power last year.
“The decline of power sector emissions is now inevitable. 2023 was likely the pivot point […]
West Virginia has never been a well-governed state. The population is poor, poorly educated, and getting more elderly because young people don’t stay in the state. It is the only state to see its population decline. As this article describes all manner of hourly worker jobs now can not be filled and as a result all kinds of businesses are closing down all over the state. I lived in Shepherdstown a lovely college town in the Panhandle of West Virginia for several years. It is a beautiful state except where coal mining destroyed and polluted the environment, but except for a few places like Shepherdstown, it does not welcome new people, even those coming from other states, and certainly not immigrants. The state, I am afraid, has a rather grim future unless something changes, and since the older White people always vote for Republicans, I don’t see what that change might be. West Virginia is also an extreme example of something going on in Red States all over the country.
Desperate for Workers but Dead Set Against Migrant Labor: The West Virginia Dilemma. Credit: The Wall Street Journal
FRANKLIN, WEST VIRGINIA—Not many places need warm bodies more than this picturesque town in the Appalachian Mountains. There are so many elderly people and so few workers to take care of them that some old folks have died before getting off the wait list for home visits by health aides.
“We advertise all the time,” said Janice Lantz, the local senior center’s director. “We can’t hire a direct-care worker.”
West Virginia shares a demographic dilemma afflicting many parts of the country: an aging population and unfilled jobs. Decades of migration out of Appalachia have left West Virginia older, less educated and less able to work than other parts of the U.S. Its labor-force participation rate—the share of the 16-and-older population either working or looking for work—was 55.2% in March, the second-lowest in the country.
Some other states, including Maine, Indiana and Utah, have sought immigrants to shore up their workforces. But while West Virginia represents one extreme in its […]
Obesity has become one of the defining characteristics of the American population. It is one of the main ways Europeans and Asians identify American tourists on sight. It is also, as this report describes, costing us almost $200 billion dollars in health costs because it is the source of a whole spectrum of health problems. It is also, although nobody talks about this, one of the defines of the Great Schism Trend. Look at the list of the top 10 most obese states. What do you notice, what stands out? Of the top 10 states, nine are Red States. The only exception is Delaware.
The American obesity epidemic costs the U.S. health care system approximately $173 billion each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The condition has been tied to a range of other serious health problems – from diabetes and heart disease to cancer and stroke – with some research also showing an association between obesity and a higher risk of death.
Yet the problem stubbornly persists in the U.S.: At least 35% of adults in 22 states in 2022 were obese – defined as having a body mass index of 30 or above – while no state met that threshold a decade ago. Nationally, the median obesity prevalence was nearly 34% in 2022, with 24 states posting a rate higher than that mark and three states where at least 40% of the adult population was considered obese.
As part of the 2024 Best States rankings, U.S. News evaluated adult obesity rates for all 50 states based on self-reported survey data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, a partnership between […]
