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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.
Stephan: Yet another proof of Schwartz' first and second laws of climate change. First Law: Whatever is predicted the change will be worse than predicted. Second Law: Whatever time frame is predicted will occur faster than predicted.
Since the end of the last Ice Age 20,000 years ago, Sea levels have risen dramatically, sometimes at a very fast pace. Chart by John Englander
Of the many threats from climate change, sea-level rise will most certainly be among the most impactful, making hundreds of thousands of square miles of coastline uninhabitable and potentially displacing over 100 million people worldwide by the end of the century. This threat is a top concern for national security experts because forced migration poses significant risks to international security and stability.
The magnitude of this threat depends heavily on how much the oceans rise in the coming decades. But because of the complex dynamics of massive ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica, exact estimates remain elusive, ranging from just over a foot to several feet above current levels. That disparity is the difference between tens of millions of people forced from their homes or a much more unmanageable hundreds of millions displaced.
Stephan: We are a nation in crisis because our entire political system has broken down. We no longer have a two-party system with each party committed to democracy. Now we have one party still supportive of democracy and another party in conflict with itself, mostly dedicated to White supremacist christofascist authoritarianism. Worse yet, there is a large percentage of Americans who seem to support the end of democracy in the United States, although they would never admit that. As with their religion, they keep the words and forms, but not the substance.
This year, 2021, I think is going to be the year when we either recommit to democracy or slide into christofascist authoritarianism, and the great American experiment ends. The country will go on, slowly disintegrating, but it will not be the America we have known. Georgia will give us a first look revealing which way it is going. The choice is up to each of us, as to which side we are on.
Trump supporters outside of the Georgia State Capitol Building in Atlanta in November 2020. Credit: Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire
Republican lawmakers in key states that President-elect Biden won have vowed to crack down on voting reforms implemented amid the coronavirus pandemic that made it easier for Americans to vote, according to AP.
Why it matters: The popular reforms contributed to this year’s record turnout and did not produce widespread fraud as claimed by President Trump and his supporters, according to the Department of Justice.
Context: Attorney General Bill Barr told AP in early December that the department did not uncover evidence of widespread voter fraud that would change the outcome of the 2020 presidential election.
The big picture:
Georgia: Republicans in Georgia, which Biden narrowly won, have proposed requiring a photo ID when voting absentee, a ban on drop boxes and requiring an excuse for mail voting.
Georgia’s two U.S. Senate runoffs in January will take place under current law.
Pennsylvania: Republicans, who hold a majority in both Pennsylvania legislative chambers, are discussing changing a law that extends mail voting to all […]
Stephan: I completely agree with this. As I have watched what has happened since the election it has become clear to me that this is not a situation where one can just go on as if nothing had happened, as occurred with Nixon when Ford pardoned him. If democracy is to be preserved it can only happen if there is accountability, not only with Trump but with the orcs with whom he surrounds himself, as well as the 126 House Republicans who played their role in the madness of the last few weeks. If there is no accountability it is a confirmation that the president and other high-ranking government officials are simply above the law and can do as they wish; that is authoritarianism, not democracy.
The Signal: Trump is now talking the sedition talk on a daily basis, and, one has to assume, actively planning ways to walk the sedition walk over the next month. He is meeting regularly with Sidney Powell, Steve Bannon and other plotters, and daily he is being fed a diet of ever more extreme scenarios for overturning the election results. This is no idle chatter, and even if we had once been inclined to dismiss it with words to the effect of “Oh, it’s only the crazy old guy blowing off steam,” we no longer have that luxury. In increasingly specific language, Trump and his band of traitors are advocating some combination of martial law, national emergency, and paramilitarism as a way to cling to power.
Witness: On Friday, Trump reportedly argued, to the dismay of many of his top officials, that he should appoint Sidney Powell (of “Hugo Chávez stole the US election” fame) as a special counsel to investigate election fraud. That was, apparently, too nuts an idea even for Rudy Giuliani to stomach; it […]
Stephan: It is time to face this difficult truth: The problem with America is Americans. My own view is that because 64% of Americans have never been outside the boundaries of the United States, a majority of Americans have no idea what happens when a nation sinks into authoritarianism. Not a clue. And that is coupled with a culture that has grown to see every person for himself as the norm, and profit as the only social priority. It is a form of mental illness, and the failure to recognize it, and address it, is literally destroying us.
Only a massive financial and psychological restructuring of American culture is going to allow us to continue as a democracy, and create a society where fostering wellbeing is the systemic goal.
For those interested in the primary research paper upon which this article is based: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0191886920305468
Sandeep Roy, a doctoral candidate with a major-applied focus on clinical psychology at the University of North Texas, explained the correlation between the two.
“My interest in the relationship between pathological personality traits, such as those captured by psychopathy, and prejudicial tendencies originated from my experiences working with offenders in the Arizona correctional system prior to graduate school,” said Roy.
He added, “I noticed offenders who were elevated in psychopathic propensities, as measured by the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R; Hare, 2003), frequently used racial epithets to denigrate me and other staff. When I began studying this personality disorder more in my graduate training, I noticed a paucity of literature relating psychopathy to prejudice.”
Roy went on to explain what inspired his research as he […]
Stephan: Boy did the picture of Jesus story I ran on Christmas stir up a lot of emails. A reader who is an internationally recognized professor of religious studies sent me this, and said it is generally recognized amongst scholars as the most accurate likely representation of Jesus. It certainly accords with my research and thinking.
He also recommended, as does this article, for those who are interested in more scholarship on this issue, Joan Taylor's book, What Did Jesus Look Like?
Jesus
Bas Uterwijk, Dutch artist, did something remarkable. He took a variety of artistic renditions of people who lived before the era of photography, including paintings, status, icons, and whatever else happens to be available. He fed those to an artificial intelligence program to see what emerged out of the combination and commonalities among them. The results are very striking. No one will be surprised that, however interesting the rendering of Vincent van Gogh might be, I was far more captivated by the way Jesus is depicted. You can see that image above.
Someone who shared the image on Facebook wondered whether the icon Christ Pantocrator of St. Catherine’s Monastery at Sinai was the or a main image used. When I saw it my first instinct was to wonder what the influences were, since I saw the image before I read about the artist’s method. Once I understood it, I too immediately began thinking of particular depictions of Jesus.
I am struck by the fact that, by allowing artificial intelligence to create a realistic human face based on some of […]
Stephan: Here is the latest on plastic pollution and it is horrifying. Babies are being born with their bodies already polluted by microplastics in the womb. The implications of this trend seem to grow worse with each passing year, and yet few politicians seem willing to take on the corporations that make these plastics. I wonder what it will take to create the public pressure needed to force politicians to deal with this threat to the wellbeing of humans and other beings?
One charity said: ‘Babies are being born pre-polluted.’ Credit: Zffoto/Getty/iStockphoto
Microplastic particles have been revealed in the placentas of unborn babies for the first time, which the researchers said was “a matter of great concern”.
The health impact of microplastics in the body is as yet unknown. But the scientists said they could carry chemicals that could cause long-term damage or upset the foetus’s developing immune system. The particles are likely to have been consumed or breathed in by the mothers.
The particles were found in the placentas from four healthy women who had normal pregnancies and births. Microplastics were detected on both the foetal and maternal sides of the placenta and in the membrane within which the foetus develops.
A dozen plastic particles were found. Only about 4% of each placenta was analysed, however, suggesting the total number of microplastics was much higher. All the particles analysed were plastics that had been dyed blue, red, orange or pink and may have originally come from packaging, paints or cosmetics and personal care products.
The microplastics were mostly 10 microns in size (0.01mm), meaning they […]
Stephan: Lindsey Graham and Ted Cruz, two Republican senators, and prominent Trump orcs are doing everything they can to keep the United States from addressing climate change, or creating a proper relationship between the U.S. and Iran. Thanks, Texas and South Carolina voters you are doing everything you can to degrade America's standing in the world, and cripple our nation's response to climate change. Have you no shame?
Republican Senator and Trump orc Ted Cruz. Credit: Jim Lo Scalzo/Getty
In an early example of the opposition and obstruction that President-elect Joe Biden is expected to face from right-wingers in Congress, Sens. Ted Cruz and Lindsey Graham are already hard at work attempting to ensure that he cannot deliver on his campaign promises to return the United States to the Paris climate accord and Iran nuclear deal.
President Donald Trump made a big deal of ditching both international agreements that were finalized under the Obama administration, for which Biden served as vice president. Trump left the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), as the Iran deal is officially known, in May 2018, ignoring concerns that doing so could increase the chances of war — and despite the climate emergency, the U.S. formally exited Paris just after Election Day last month.
RealClear Politics revealed Tuesday the Cruz, R-Texas, who has acted as an ally to Trump during his presidency after intensely criticizing him ahead of the 2016 presidential election, is pushing the outgoing president and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to submit both deals […]
Stephan: Many people disgusted by the rampant police brutality are lobbying to cut the budget of the police and sheriff departments. I strongly disagree. In my opinion the current probems all stem from the kind of people hired, and the way they are trained. What I think needs to happen is that there has to be a very different approach to who departments hire, and those hired need to undergo a very different kind of training. Norway would be the model I would look at.
Instructor Javier Sola teaches frisking and handcuffing methods to police recruits at the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission facility in Burien, Wash., on Thursday, Oct. 22, 2020. Washington State requires all new recruits to go through the state-run Basic Law Enforcement Academy, except for those becoming state patrol officers. Credit: Jovelle Tamayo/ TIME
Until Earl McGhee was hired in 2018, Dodge County, Wisconsin, had never had a Black sheriff’s deputy, so when the county sent him to a police academy at a local technical college, McGhee wasn’t all that surprised to be the only Black cadet in the class.
But a few weeks into the course, McGhee was stunned when the instructor used the N-word during a lecture. “Out of nowhere he looks me in the eyes and points his index finger directly at me” while uttering the slur, McGhee wrote in a statement to the school, the Madison Area Technical College, shortly after the Jan. 25, 2019, incident. “The entire class was looking at me.”
The instructor apologized the next day, but only after McGhee spoke […]
