Republicans' Right to Carry

Republicans across the country in different states are pushing for more "right to carry" laws so virtually any of us can have a gun, a weapon on us anywhere, everywhere, at any given place or time in our cities and on our streets. This is what that gets us.

Quote of the Day -- On Un-American Vote Suppression

"43 states are debating 200 different voter suppression bills right now. Today alone, Iowa shortened early voting by a week, and the Georgia Senate passed a bill ending no-excuse absentee voting. We must end the filibuster and pass HR1 and the John Lewis Voting Rights Act." --Julián Castro @JulianCastro

Republicans, Jim Crow much? Again? Some more? Now? In 2021? Really?

Interesting Data On How States Are For and To Women

There's an article out this week that ranks the best and worst states for women.

2018’s Best & Worst States for Women

Let's take a look at the highs and lows.

First up is neighboring Arkansas, next to worst at 50.

Also neighboring Oklahoma down there, too, at 48.

Here's where it gets more local and interesting yet.

Missouri?

37     The bottom, worst half

37. Missouri

Total score: 50.85th
Ranking for women’s economic and social well-being: 36
Ranking for women’s health and safety: 38th

Missouri landed in the mid-30s in other Wallet Hub rankings as well, coming in at 38 out of 51 on the list of best states for working moms and 37 out of 51 for best states to have a baby.

Then there's Kansas.

Still in the bottom, bad half, at 28 but at least they’re more in the middle, than the low, low worst ¼

.
28. Kansas

Total score: 56.21
Ranking for women’s economic and social well-being: 33rd
Ranking for women’s health and safety: 25th

Kansas performs better in the category of women’s health and safety than it does when it comes to women’s economic and social well-being.

Texas, still in the bottom, worst half at 42. Shame on you, Texas.

Neighboring Nebraska, in the far more respectable top half

17. Nebraska

Total score: 64.82
Ranking for women’s economic and social well-being: 19th
Ranking for women’s health and safety: 14th

Nebraska shares the distinction of having the lowest unemployment rate for women with four other states.
Going the other way, next door Illinois ranks far higher and better.

11. Illinois

Total score: 69.07
Ranking for women’s economic and social well-being: 7th
Ranking for women’s health and safety: 20th

Only two states have a lower homicide rate for women than Illinois, which also boasts the fourth-highest median earnings for female workers.

Now, to the North? Iowa In the top 10.

9. Iowa

Total score: 69.11
Ranking for women’s economic and social well-being: 10th
Ranking for women’s health and safety: 9th

Iowa boasts the fifth-highest high-school graduation rate for young women.

No. 1 position??

I’m very proud and happy to say my daughter’s adopted state of Minnesota is number 1! Fantastic!

1. Minnesota

Total score: 78.22
Ranking for women’s economic and social well-being: 1st
Ranking for women’s health and safety: 3rd

Minnesota, hats off to you! The Land of 10,000 Lakes topped the list of best states for women by three points. It’s easy to see why — and tough to find a positive economic marker this state doesn’t possess. Minnesota has the third-highest life expectancy rate for women, the fifth-lowest rate of women without insurance, the fourth-highest women’s high-school graduation rate, the fifth-lowest percentage of women in poverty and the second-highest median earnings for working women. Go, Gophers!

One interesting side note, North Dakota came down at an extremely respectable 4 on the list while neighboring South Dakota was far tougher on women at 24.

The conclusion?

Missouri and these other low-ranking states would do well to look around and see just what, precisely these other, higher-ranking states are doing to get these results. Not only is this for 1/2 of our population but it's for our mothers, daughters, sisters, cousins, all. 

It's not like we have to go far for the answers, after all.

Women's--and So, Our--Election Gains This Past Tuesday

Herewith, some of the wins, gains by women in elections this past Tuesday.

NEW JERSEY: Former US Navy pilot Mikie Sherrill is running for Congress from New Jersey in the open seat being vacated by GOP Trump protégé Rodney Frelinghuysen. She won her primary Tuesday night, and she's the real deal. Donate here.

NEW MEXICO: Deb Haaland won her primary Tuesday, and is set to become the first Native American woman to ever serve in Congress. Donate here.

TEXAS: Veronica Escobar is set to become the first Latina congresswoman from Texas. Donate here.

ARIZONA: Kyrsten Sinema is running for the US Senate, and would be the first openly-bisexual US Senator. Donate here.

IOWA: Abby Finkenauer won her primary on Tuesday, and will be the youngest woman elected to Congress if she beats Tea Party Trump-supporting GOP congressman Rod Blum this fall. Donate here.

KENTUCKY: Former Marine fighter pilot Amy McGrath is running for Congress as a Democrat from the 6th district in Kentucky. McGrath just won her primary Tuesday. Now let's take her across the finish line. Donate here.

NEVADA: Jacky Rosen has the best chance to unseat a Republican US Senator this fall, in her battle against TrumpCare architect Dean Heller. Donate here.

Posted in a quest to get more women, hopefully, elected to public, government offices. They make up 52% of the population, after all, yet are vastly under-represented in those offices.

With thanks to John Aravosis and his Americablog for the summary, links and really, all of the above, honestly.

Links:

Women 50:50

About Us - Women 50:50

An Open Letter to Oklahomans

Dear Oklahomans,

Years ago, you all decided fracking for oil was and is okay, in spite of evidence and concerns otherwise but hey, you're oil people. We guess you're going to go after it no matter what and no matter how.

But now that you've been at it a while and it's spread all over your state (I guess), it's been giving you more and more earth temblors and earthquakes.

Oklahoma's rise in quakes linked to 

man-made causes

And it's clear what that it's from fracking, too. Let's not kid ourselves. Just check out the results.

Oklahoma has more earthquakes in 2015 

than all of continental U.S.

But now you've gone too far, Oklahoma. You've gone way too far.

It's one thing to frack in your state and it would be okay if only you suffered any repercussions, sure. Then we'd say, fine, you're leaving us alone so we'll leave you alone. But now, today, we got this.

Oklahoma earthquake rattles six surrounding states

And it wasn't a little one, either.

5.6 earthquake, strongest in state history, 

rattles Oklahoma

You, Oklahoma, and 6 other states got rattled by a 5.6 earthquake that was felt as far away as Iowa. We certainly felt it here in Kansas City. I understand it was felt as far away as Omaha, Nebraska and in Iowa.

And sure, we can joke about it.

But the fact is, it's not funny.

The earthquakes are getting more numerous and they're getting stronger. Neither is a good trend. At all.

Earthquake Rattles Oklahoma; One Of Strongest Recorded In State

So here's the deal, Oklahoma. Either you cool the fracking, either cut it down or stop it or we're going to have to have Uncle Sam step in and make you. You're starting to mess with your neighbors. Not only do we not like it but it's not good for us any more than it's good for you.

And we have this little thing over here in the Southeast Missouri area we don't want to wake up. You may have heard of it. It's called the New Madrid fault?

New Madrid Seismic Zone

If that thing "wakes up", your 5.6 rattler will seem like a dishwasher going on in the house, in comparison. You won't like it and neither will all of us in Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Texas and a lot more, likely.

The New Madrid Earthquake That Will Divide 

The United States In Half

A New Madrid Earthquake Is Coming And America 

Will Be Shaken

So stop it, Oklahoma. Cut it out. It's for your good and the good of America, frankly. It's not a threat. We're begging, really.

Be a good neighbor. Be a good citizen.

Sincerely,

All Your Neighboring States and a Good Number of Your Fellow Americans

Kansas City Makes A Great Cut

Yes sir! Kansas City makes part of a great top ten, nationally:

The Top Ten Cities for Creatives

From The Huffington Post . First, a bit of a description:

A thriving creative class is a key feature of nearly every successful modern city. A vibrant culture is not only valuable in its own right, it also often serves to attract and inspire talented workers in non-creative fields, creating a rising tide that benefits the entire city...

...the financial realities of creative fields such as dance, photography and music often mean that creatives cannot afford to live in many of the places where they have historically had the most success and influence. Cities like New York and Los Angeles have, simply put, become too expensive for many working artists.So which cities present the best opportunities for today's creative workers? To answer that question, SmartAsset compared the cost of living in major U.S. cities to the concentration of creative workers in those cities. We considered 28 different professions in our analysis, including jobs like graphic designer, choreographer and photographer.

And here it is. Kansas City makes the top 10, nationwide:

10. Kansas City, Missouri

Kansas City has emerged in recent years as a creative hub to rival those in the northeast and on the West Coast. The city's Crossroads Art District has gained national recognition for both its growth and the quality of its offerings. Crossroads alone has more than 70 art galleries, to go along with larger institutions like the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art and the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art.

Now, then, what's interesting, though, and what needs to be mentioned  and acknowledged, too, though, great as this is for KC, is that nearby neighbor Des Moines, Iowa "beat us out" at the number 8 spot and none other than Omaha, Nebraska came in at 7. 

 Gadzooks.

We gotta' get busy, Kansas City. We have to do better.

Kansas vs. Missouri

Why on Earth would Missouri want to follow this lead?

Kansas, Missouri, the US and gun deaths

From the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence on Facebook comes the following article and chart:

How Many Gun Deaths Are There In Your State?

Then, after looking below, note Missouri is HIGH on the list, in the top 1/2 at number 14.  Kansas, while still lower, is also high, at position 23.  And check out next door neighbor Iowa, at near bottom at 43.  People say there's so much killing going on in Chicago yet Illinois comes in down at 37.

Interesting stuff.

But pitiful, too.

Notice, also, that it's the "Red", Republican, Right Wing states where most of the killing occurs.

Coincidence?

You can bet it's not.

We need a jobs bill from this Congress

From 2008 on, we have experienced the worst downturn in the American economy since the Great Depression, 80 years earlier.

No small fact.

Then, additionally, there is this report, breaking yesterday:

Many US bridges old, risky and rundown

A little from the article:

An Associated Press analysis of 607,380 bridges in the most recent federal National Bridge Inventory showed that 65,605 were classified as "structurally deficient" and 20,808 as "fracture critical." Of those, 7,795 were both—a combination of red flags that experts say indicate significant disrepair and similar risk of collapse.

And here's a kicker for us, in Missouri:

There are wide gaps between states in historical bridge construction and their ongoing maintenance. While the numbers at the state level are in flux, Iowa, Nebraska, Missouri and Pennsylvania have all been listed recently in the national inventory as having more than 600 bridges both structurally deficient and fracture critical.   (Bolding added for emphasis).

When you take that into consideration along with the fact that 2 bridges in the nation collapsed last year, it seems extremely clear what needs to happen.

We need Congress to come up with a jobs/projects/infrastructure bill.

We need the work, as a nation, as a people and our highways and bridges and streets and sewers and all kinds of infrastructure need updating and improving and even saving.

Our own I-70, as I have written here so many times, needs widening and improving and being made safer, alone, from Illinois on the East, all the way to Kansas on the West.  It's a no-brainer yet here we sit.

Instead, they legislate on women's reproductive rights and on loosening gun laws and trying to have us default on our debt.

It's irresponsible, reckless and nearly insane.

Link:  Don't worry ... that bridge you're driving over won't collapse. Probably.

Another Republican Governor Goes for "Obamacare"

Yes, sir, yet another Republican governor--this one from next door Iowa, no less--buckled in his opposition to "Obamacare" for the citizens of his state and is now supporting it:

Iowa Medicaid Expansion Gets Boost As GOP Governor DropsOpposition: Report

Great stuff.

From the article:

Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad is poised to become the ninth Republican governor to support expanding Medicaid under President Barack Obama's health care reform law, the Dubuque Telegraph Herald reported Wednesday.

Now if only Missouri and Kansas can follow these leads.

Here's hoping.

The Best College Towns--Two of ours in top 10

The American Institute of Economic Research ranked the "75 Best College Towns" and two of ours came in the top 10:

Mizzou, number 10

Lawrence, KS, number 8

Based on this criteria:

• Student Concentration: number of college students per 1,000 population

• Student Diversity: percentage of student body that are non-U.S. residents

• Research Capacity: academic R&D expenditures per capita

• Degree Attainment: percent of the 25-to-34-year-old population with bachelor’s degree or higher

• Cost of Living: based upon average rent for a 2-bedroom apartment

• Arts and Leisure: number of cultural and entertainment venues per 100,000 population

• City Accessibility: percentage of workers over age 16 who commute on foot or by public transportation or bicycle

• Creative Class: percentage of workforce in the arts, education, knowledge industries, science and engineering, management and other fields

• Earning Potential: income per capita

• Entrepreneurial Activity: net annual increase in total number of business establishments per 100,000 population

• Brain Gain/Drain: year-over-year ratio of population with B.A. degree (it is only population with B.A degree, not all the college level) living in the area

• Unemployment rate

It should be noted, too, that Iowa City, Iowa came in 4th and Ames, Iowa came in 2nd.

 

Kudos to those Midwest sensibilities.

 

Link to original post:  AIER Names 75 Best College Towns and Cities for 2012-2013

Area cities "Best...for Jobs"

There's an article out on MSN's carrer page of the latest news showing "13 of the Best Cities for Jobs" and some area cities are on the list.

Most notable are Lincoln, Nebraska at number one.

1. Lincoln, Neb.
Unemployment rate: 3.8 percent
Percent change from last year: -0.8
Mean annual earnings: $39,310

And Columbia, Mo at number 11:

11. Columbia, Mo.
Unemployment rate: 4.8 percent
Percent change from last year: -2.0
Mean annual earnings: $37,780

Other things to be noted on the list overall is that there are more than a few cities from the midwest, most notably in the Dakotas and Iowa with Bismarck (ND) at no. 2,
Fargo (ND) at 4, Ames (Ia) at 5, Iowa City (Ia) at 6 and Sioux Falls (SD) at 7. It seems the growth in the nation is here in the midwest and heartland.

Link: http://msn.careerbuilder.com/Article/MSN-2980-Job-Info-and-Trends-13-of-the-best-cities-for-jobs/?SiteId=cbmsnhp42980&sc_extcmp=JS_2980_home1

Missouri River: One of American's "most polluted"

Yessiree, our own Missouri River is ranked as one of "America's Top 10 Most Polluted Waterways." To anyone who knows anything about it, that should come as no surprise. I once heard a statistic--I'll have to verify it--that once the water gets here, it's already been through 5 human systems. If true, that's the least of our concers. Anyway it's in the latest edition of "Mother Jones" but the original data is from the Environment America Research and Policy Center. (Both links below). Why the Missouri, you ask? Well, it gets 4,887,971 pounds of total toxic discharges put into it every year and 19,553,305 pounds of toxic discharges put into it from its entire watershed region. Unfortunately, the "Big Muddy" isn't the only river in the region that is cited in the report. It seems the Kansas River also gets 10,485 pounds of "developmental and reproductive toxicant releases" put into it, too. These are "those shown toimpede the proper physical and mental development of fetuses and children" so if we can't do this for ourselves and/or the fish and wildlife, as we ought, maybe we can and should do it for our children and grandchildren.

There are two more rivers, too, in Missouri that receive these developmental and reproductive toxicant releases. They are Crooked Creek and Bee Fork Creek. They're getting these "...because of heavy discharges of lead from mines and smelters operated by the Renco Group and Doe Run Resources Corp." The name of the original report gives you an idea, I think, of just what we're talking about here, too: "Wasting Our Waterways 2012; Toxic Industrial Pollution and the Unfulfilled Promise of the Clean Water Act" The report goes on to emphasize that the Federal Government needs to both follow the original Clean Water Act but also toughen it. We need it. Besides creating fish kills, the discharges we're talking about here are frequently highly carcinogenic, again, no surprise. Corporations won't want it but it's what we need to do, for all of us. In the current environment, I just don't see that happening but there's always hope. This is one more thing we will have to demand of our government representatives and government, in order to get what is needed. It has to come from us. Links: http://motherjones.com/blue-marble/2012/03/top-10-polluted-rivers-waterways; http://www.environmentamerica.org/reports/ame/wasting-our-waterways-2012

Mike Thompson change his stance on human-caused global warming?

I read once where Mike Thompson, meteorologist at Fox4KC took a pretty public stance that our weather status, to date, was not likely made worse by human activity, specifically, our carbon dioxide output, at least. Well, ABC Evening News reported last evening that 1300 heat records were broken in one week, last week, while there was snow, conversely, in Arizona and outside San Diego. Additionally, there have been, so far this year, 250 tornadoes--twice the normal number. And check out some of those record highs in this video: Chicago, which should be in the 40's, has been in the 80's, like Kansas City and Atlanta. Cedar Rapids? Same thing---in the 80's. International freaking Falls, Minnesota, usually one of the coldest spots in the country, hit 79 degrees, smashing their previous record high by 22 degrees. And sure, this could be just a fluke but still, it's happening. In addition to the temperature records being broken, there's this: there was a pollen count in Atlanta, Georgia yesterday of 8,164 and even that is breaking--smashing, actually--records so it's temperatures and pollen counts, both. A normal count for June would be 100. The bigger issues for me and the world, I think, are the polar ice caps and glaciers all over the world are melting and shrinking at record paces. Since Mr. Thompson took such a stance earlier, it would be interesting to see if and when he ever comes down off his earlier proclamations and stances. Link: http://thinkprogress.org/romm/2012/03/19/447610/fixing-errors-uk-met-office-says-2010-2005-hottest-years-on-record-world-warming-faster-than-thought/?mobile=nc

Mittens, taking it on the chin

Did you hear about the actual turnout of the Iowa Republican Caucuses? Turns out Mitt didn't win by 8 votes after all. It turns out Rick Santorum won , instead, and by a whopping (if you can call it that) 34 votes. Ol' Mittens is really getting beat up, between this and the fact that the die-hard "Conservative" Republicans and a lot of mainstream Evangelical Christians really don't want the Mitt as their candidate next Fall. Who can say how it will turn out but right now, other than being a multi-millionaire, it stinks to be Willard "Mitt" Romney. Links: http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2012/01/final-iowa-results-santorum-tops-romney-but-well-never-know-who-won/; http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/2012_Primaries/States?value=IA

Quote of the day, after Iowa caucus

Missouri, Kansas & Iowa ranked as some of the worst states for "Home health workers"

Missouri, Kansas and Iowa are ranked some of the worst states in the nation for these important workers--that is, very important, once you need them. (see link below). None of these 3 states have either a minimum wage or offer overtime pay for home health workers so companies don't have to pay a true "living wage". Making it even worse is the fact that that's the way most of the nation is, too. Nice, huh? And with mostly Republican and Right-wing leaders runninng too many statehouses, it won't change any time soon, either. Pitiful. So much for that middle-class we used to enjoy. Link: http://stateimpact.npr.org/new-hampshire/maps/home-health-pay-and-overtime-policies-by-state/

Iowa, one of top 5 states saving on energy

A report out today shows that neighboring state Iowa is one of the "The 5 States With the Most Installed Wind and Solar Power Saw the Least Increase in Electricity Prices from 2005-2010." The top 5 states are Texas, California, Iowa, Minnesota, and Oregon. As the article says, "The health, environmental, and direct job creation benefits of renewable energy vs. traditional forms of power generation are widely accepted. All other things being equal, it would be a foregone conclusion that renewable energy should be chosen over other types of generation." If one only looked at these factors,cost, above, it seems the investment in clean, "green" solar and wind energy makes sense. If one also takes into account the carbon dioxide and pollution, at minimum, that is not released into the atmosphere, the benefits continue to mount. Think happy thoughts, y'all---and enjoy your Sunday. Link to original article: http://thinkprogress.org/romm/2011/12/18/390865/states-most-installed-wind-solar-power-least-increase-in-electricity-prices/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+climateprogress%2FlCrX+%28Climate+Progress%29

The big Iowa endorsement: oh, here's a shock, huh?

Breaking Republican political news: Des Moines Register backs Mitt Romney for GOP nomination Wow, didn't see that coming, huh? Link: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/des-moines-register-backs-mitt-romney-gop-nomination-014155146.html

Des Moines and Lincoln (NE) on "Healthiest Cities" List

Yes, you saw it right. Des Moines, Iowa and Lincoln, Nebraska got some more ammunition for the Convention and Visitors Bureau in the last 24 hours. Parents Magazine rated 150 cities in the nation and decided Des Moines is 6th healthiest: It's easy to live in this Midwestern town, which happens to be the home of Meredith Corporation, publisher of Parents. You can drive from the 'burbs to downtown in less than 20 minutes -- even during rush hour. The city also offers free yoga classes at some public parks, daily recess for all elementary-school students, 40 miles of fitness trails, and enclosed downtown skywalks so families can keep active even in bad weather. Lincoln came in at 10: It's gone green. Through its "Cleaner Greener" program, Lincoln installed 13 hybrid buses, maintained 130,000 neighborhood trees, and is close to having a park within a half mile of every house in the city. That's on top of the excellent air and water quality; Lincoln didn't exceed the ozone or particle pollution levels on any day in 2010. And families can feel safe while being outdoors on the city's 128 miles of trails. The crime rate is low and the average commute in town is 17 minutes, so you have more time to spend with the kids. Even with our new Kauffman Arts Center, I just don't think we'll hit the top 10 next year, either. At least, not with that pesky more-than-100-persons-killed ranking we have this year. Last notes: San Francisco was number one, Kansas City didn't even make it in the top 35 though Overland Park--of all places--made it in at 26. Finally, St. Louis was number 11, though. St. Louis? A "healthiest city"? That shocks me. So it goes. Link: http://shine.yahoo.com/parenting/the-10-healthiest-cities-for-families-2583271.html