THE SHORT VERSION: Republicans want to make abortion illegal, Democrats want to make it unnecessary. THE LONG VERSION: Criminalizing abortion tells women their bodies are not their own by codifying the radical idea that government is best suited to make decisions about their bodies, lives and healthcare. THE QUESTION: Isn’t the real, core issue unwanted […]

Do you really think legislators are writing the bills they introduce? Think again. Have you ever wondered why Republican governors, representatives and senators almost always vote as a block, even on bills that would be detrimental to most individuals, small businesses and family farms? Look to the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), for an answer. In ALEC's own words, large and multinational corporations have…"a VOICE and a VOTE" on specific changes to the law [sic] that are then proposed in your state. ..” (The Center for Media and Democracy, ALEC Exposed). Disguised as the work of our lawmakers, members of ALEC generate so called “model” bills, that are little more than fill-in-the blank legislation with titles and descriptions that are meant to deceive. They are put forth in one state Capitol after another, frequently word for word, quietly advancing the agenda of big business and global corporations.

While simultaneously trying to stay safe and reopen the economy, the COVID 19 pandemic reminds us daily that we are all part of the interconnected web of life on earth.  We are struggling with unprecedented disruptions in healthcare and the economy, as climate disasters increase in frequency and intensity, exacerbating health risks. (1) Long after this wave of infections ebb, and a vaccine is developed, we will still live with the reverberations . In the grand scheme of things, Mother Earth doesn’t give a fig about politics, the stock market, big profits, or the lines we draw in the sand that divide us.  Nor does she need us.  Basically, we live on a big rock floating in the vast cosmos, with a unique environmental system of which we are a very-small part. Our lives depend on a thin, delicately balanced layer of invisible gases (2)  and a massive, diverse population of flora and fauna. (3) This is her environment and it is up to us to figure out how to live within her ecosystem.  If we screw it up, we live or die with our choices. Everything we do, affects the whole…think of the butterfly effect as metaphor.(4) When we pollute air molecules here, they keep going around the earth; when we pollute water molecules here, they continue around the earth – no passport required.

Having chest pains?  Cut off a finger?  Need medical care now? For anyone living in a rural area there is no guarantee the closest hospital can provide needed emergency care.  Signs may say “Hospital” and the doors may be open, but odds are they will not have the capability or staff to care for an urgent need or life-threatening emergency.  Logic tells us in an emergency increased time and distance can be life-threatening.  One study found that rural hospital closures are associated with a 5.9 percent increase in inpatient mortality.