Stuff to Read

A couple of articles to read together — see “An Opportunity Gamed Away” by Chico Harlan and “The Dream World of the Southern Republicans” by Howell Raines. The first article in particular illustrates how deeply entrenched racial segregation and discrimination in the deep South is still impacting the region.

Paul Solotaroff asks “What’s Killing the Babies of Vernal, Utah?” A fracking boomtown in Utah is experiencing a spike in stillbirths and birth defects. Is the fracking to blame? Correlation ain’t necessarily causation, but the political powers that be are blocking a serious inquiry. And the midwife who raised the alarm is getting death threats.

Papa Francisco is mincing no words, calling out the excesses of global capitalism. He’d better hire more bodyguards and stay in the Popemobile, if they still have it.

The Smarter Brother Reveals Serious Family IQ Deficit

Anyone who harbored the thought that Jeb might be a better man than Dubya by now should have evicted that thought and changed the locks. Raw Story:

In an interview with the Union Leader, aspiring 2016 Republican presidential nominee Jeb Bush took a slap at the foreign policies of President Barack Obama, stating that the leader of the  free world uses too many big words and wastes his time at conferences with world leaders instead of forging ahead.

In video captured by C-SPAN, Bush criticized the White House’s nuclear negotiations with Iran calling it, “the Clinton-Kerry-Obama foreign policy playing out.”

Bush then advocated for more blunt and simple type of statesmanship — reminiscent of the style of his brother, former President George W. Bush as well as Vice President Dick Cheney — in dealing with world.

“You don’t have to be the world’s policemen, but you have to be the world’s leader and there’s a huge difference,” Bush explained. “This guy — this president and Secretary Clinton and Secretary Kerry – when someone disagrees with their nuanced approach where it’s all kind of so sophisticated it makes no sense. You know what I’m saying?”

Bush continued, “Big syllable words and lots of fancy conferences and meetings and – We’re not leading. That creates chaos. It creates a more dangerous world. So restoring the alliances that have kept the world safer and our country safer – getting back to a position in the Middle East where there’s no light between Israel and the United States.”

One wonders whom the Bushies hire to help Jeb use a fork and tie his shoes.