#america is one of the most climate diverse countries in the entire world and i feel like making the REPRESENTATION OF AMERICA not be able t

[nolongerexistingsadcatface]

Ok yes America hating the cold is funny (eh) BUT. have you considered that I like the imagery of an America sitting alone in the forest in the bleak mid-winter landscape of an east coast woods, all alone in both body and mind, agonizing over her seeming doom to be stuck in the throes of loneliness for all eternity?

[qqueenofhades]

Okay, y'all. Time to do this one more time. Let the fact that there are so many of these posts right now reinforce the point. Many of you already know this, and I see and love you, but for anyone still ~undecided about their choice, should they be an American citizen of voting age on November 3, 2020:

Time to not be. It was time a long, long while ago, but I am going to have to say it again.

Primary season is over. The endless fine-tooth combing of candidates' policies and positions is over. We are all deeply well aware that the candidates on the Democratic ticket, being human beings and establishment politicians, are flawed. "BUT WHAT ABOUT THIS POSITION FROM 19/ 20-WHENEVER AS JUSTIFICATION FOR WHY IT'S TERRIBLE TO VOTE FOR -- "

No. Stop. Just stop. Stop threatening to hold the rest of us hostage, in the middle of a pandemic, the Great Depression, and racial inequality and protests on a scale not seen from the 1960s, because you did not get Barbie Dream Candidate. That is the behavior of terrorists and toddlers. If your supposedly enlightened morally pure ideology does not involve any action to mitigate the harm that is directly in front of you, it isn't worth a shit as an ideology actually devoted to helping people. If your approach to politics is to shout about how Pure your ideas are on twitter and tear down anyone working within a system of flawed choices to do the good that they can: you're not helping, and frankly, your constant threats to withhold your suffrage as a punishment to us aren't convincing the rest of us that we really need to listen to you or that you have anyone's best interests at heart. The Online Left TM is as much a vacuous, self-reinforcing noise chamber as the Online Right TM, and can sometimes tend to be even more dangerous.

I was saying this in 2016. A lot of us were saying this in 2016. I am just about to turn 32 years old and have been voting in federal elections for almost 15 years. For what it's worth.

This is not an ordinary election. This is not a contest between two flawed candidates who respect the system and want to work to enact their policies in the ordinary way. One is a flawed 90s era Democrat who nonetheless has already been pushed CONSIDERABLY left in his policies and platforms since the end of the primaries (and his existing platform would already make him the most left president elected, even more than Obama). The other is a fascist dictator who has openly spoken about refusing to accept the election results, his desire to abolish term limits and serve for life, and complete the pillaging of any remaining fragile American public funds for him and his cult of cronies. He does not respect the system. He does not want to do anything for anyone that is not himself. 160,000 and counting needless deaths of American citizens have already happened. Will keep happening.

This is the last time Trump has to face voters. This is the last chance the country has to repudiate his entire poisonous ideology and its marching Nazi minions. IF he steps aside, which is already far from guaranteed, he can ride off into the sunset as a vindicated two term president and probably be rehabilitated like George W. Bush was within a few years of leaving office. American political memory is very short. It will happen. Again, if he even leaves.

RBG is 87 and has cancer again. She will NOT survive another four years. Stephen Breyer is 81. Their seats could both come up in the next four years. The Supreme Court could be a right wing rubber stamp for whatever time we all have left before climate change and coronavirus kill us all.

"But if people just thought for themselves and did their homework and didn't vote the party line like sheep, we could support a third party/write in -- " Stop. Just stop. Attend a ninth grade civics class and learn about how politics work in America. Yes, the two-party system sucks. Yes, the Electoral College is a hot steaming pile of absolute bullshit. Magical unicorn fairy dust fantasies WILL NOT change that.

Do not vote for Kanye (who has pretty much openly admitted he is trying to play spoiler to Biden on behalf of his buddy Trump). Do not vote for godforsaken fucking Gary Johnson or Jill Stein who appear on ballots just to give sanctimonious leftists the illusion of virtue-signaling. If you want any chance of fixing the mess that 2020 has left America and the world in, you need to vote for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. The end.

Biden is a flawed old man who was our last choice, sure. He is also a distinguished public servant who has already been in the White House for eight years under Obama and thus we KNOW what to expect. He is an empathetic man who connects with people's personal tragedy and picked as his running mate a younger Black/biracial woman who directly confronted and called him out on past behavior. While the pundit class was simpering and whining about how it was Disrespectful and how could he consider her, Biden did so, and that speaks well to me of the fact that he is willing to learn, to take criticism, and not just accept it from a former Black female rival, but make her his second in command and the potential first female president of the United States.

Can you EVER picture Trump doing that? Not in eight thousand million years.

As for Kamala, we are all aware of her previous checkered history as a prosecutor (and even then, she did plenty of good things as well!). Since joining the Senate, however, she has consistently become one of its most progressive members. She is the co-sponsor of an economic aid package designed to give every American $2,000/month, backdated to March (the start of the coronavirus pandemic) and continuing at least a few months after its end. A Biden-Harris White House could make that happen. Especially if they are put into office with a Democratic House and Senate (for the love of God, Kentucky, kill Mitch McConnell with fire). That is just one example.

Harris's nomination is obviously historic. And Biden didn't choose another Biden (or another Tim Kaine, the blandest white man imaginable). He chose another Obama: a younger rising star of an immigrant background, a person of color, a former lawyer and someone who represents the diversity of the country that the white supremacists and the Cheeto in Chief have tried to paint as its worst and most degenerate evil.

A vote for Biden and Harris means getting rid not just of Trump, but Mike Pence, Vladimir Putin, Jared Kushner, Betsy Devos, the Trump crony destroying the Postal Service, the rampant coronavirus misinformation and bullshit, the destruction of Social Security and Medicare, the spread of Nazi propaganda from the President's twitter account, the likely two Supreme Court picks that would be as bad as Brett Kavanaugh or worse... on and on. Biden and Harris would be elected by progressive voters and thus answerable to them in 2022 midterms and 2024 general. They can both be, and already have been, pushed further left. They are reasonable and competent adults who have demonstrated experience and compassion. I KNOW about their flaws and past actions I don't agree with. But I'm frankly done with any more counterproductive straw man bitching about This One Bad Thing They Did and how it makes it a terribad awful choice to vote for them. Open your eyes. Look at the alternative. LOOK AT WHAT HAS ALREADY HAPPENED AND THE FACT THAT THIS IS NOT EVEN AS BAD AS IT COULD STILL GET.

Check your registration or register at vote.gov.

DO NOT LOOK AT POLLS AND DECIDE "EH BIDEN IS CLEARLY GOING TO WIN, I DON'T NEED TO VOTE." THAT IS HOW WE LOST LAST TIME.

Unseating incumbents is HARD. It is even harder when the other side has openly laid out their plan to cheat in great detail, and there is nothing really stopping them from doing it. The only thing, in fact, is massive, unfalsifiable results on an undeniable scale.

So:

Vote.

Vote for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.

Thanks a lot.

[personal-blog243]

Sharing...not my list

I have heard from people that they want a reason to vote FOR Biden beyond that he's not Trump. Okay, I respect that, so I went on his website, poured through his policies, and came up with 100 reasons to vote for Biden that don't mention Trump.

1.) $15.00 federal minimum wage

2.) Reinstate DACA – allowing new applicants to apply

3.) 12 Weeks federal paid family leave

4.) Universal Pre-Kindergarten/Childcare for ages 3 and 4

5.) Tuition free college for those with household income less than $125,000.00

6.) Allow student loans to be relieved in bankruptcy

7.) LGBTQ+ Equality Act in the first 100 days in office

8.) Rejoin the Paris Climate Accords

9.) Decriminalize cannabis use and expunge convictions

10.) Eliminate cash bail system

11.) Eliminate mandatory minimum sentences

12.) Outlaw all online firearm and munition sales

13.) Restore the voting rights act

14.) Create a new $20 billion competitive grant program to spur states to shift from incarceration to prevention.

15.) He’ll triple funding for Title I Programs

16.) Appoint the first Black Woman to the Supreme Court of the United States

17.) Reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA)

18.) Ensure the US achieves a 100% clean energy economy and net-zero emissions no later than 2050

19.) Protecting Biodiversity, slowing extinction rates and helping leverage natural climate solutions

20.) Develop a plan to ensure that America has the cleanest, safest and fastest rail system in the world, for both passengers and freight

21.) Expand the safety net for survivors

22.) Confront online harassment, abuse and stalking

23.) End the rape kit backlog

24.) Address the deadly combination of guns and domestic violence

25.) Change the culture that enables domestic violence

26.) Support the diverse needs of survivors of violence against women

27.) Protect and empower immigrant women

28.) Lead the global effort to end gender-based violence

29.) End capital punishment

30.) End federal private prisons

31.) End all incarceration for drug use alone and divert individuals to drug courts and treatment

32.) Invest in public defenders’ offices to ensure defendants’ access to quality counsel

33.) Expand and use the power of the US Justice Department to address systemic misconduct in police departments and prosecutors’ offices

34.) Reform qualified immunity for officers

35.) Ban choke-holds/neck restraints by police

36.) Launch a national police oversight commission

37.) Stop transferring weapons of war to police force

38.) Free access to testing for all with national testing board

39.) Double drive through testing sites

40.) 100,000 contact tracing workforce

41.) Guarantee first responders have priority access to PPE

42.) Emergency paid leave for anyone who gets COVID or needs to take care of a loved one

43.) Free housing for health care workers to quarantine

44.) Ramp up large scale manufacturing of as many vaccine candidates as necessary

45.) Nationwide vaccination campaign to guarantee fair distribution

46.) Ask every American to wear a mask

47.) End the mismanagement of the asylum system, which fuels violence and chaos at the border

48.) Surge humanitarian resources to the border and foster public-private initiatives

49.) End prolonged detention and reinvest in a case management program

50.) Rescind the un-American travel and refugee bans, also referred to as “Muslim bans.”

51.) Order an immediate review of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for vulnerable populations who cannot find safety in their countries ripped apart by violence or disaster

52.) Ensure that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) personnel abide by professional standards and are held accountable for inhumane treatment.

53.) Revitalize the Task Force on New Americans and boost our economy by prioritizing integration, promoting immigrant entrepreneurship, increasing access to language instruction, and promoting civil engagement.

54.) Convene a regional meeting of leaders, including from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and Canada, to address the factors driving migration and to propose a regional resettlement solution

55.) Raising the corporate tax rate to 28 percent.

56.) Requiring a true minimum tax on ALL foreign earnings of United States companies located overseas so that we do our part to put an end to the global race to the bottom that rewards global tax havens. This will be 21% — TWICE the rate of the Trump offshoring tax rate and will apply to all income.

57.) Imposing a tax penalty on corporations that ship jobs overseas in order to sell products back to America.

58.) Imposing a 15% minimum tax on book income so that no corporation gets away with paying no taxes.

59.) Raising the top individual income rate back to 39.6 percent.

60.) Asking those making more than $1 million to pay the same rate on investment income that they do on their wages.

61.) Tackle the crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women

62.) Ensure tribal nations will have a strong voice and role in the federal government

63.) Restore Tribal lands and safeguard natural and cultural resources

64.) Joe will dramatically increase funding for both public schools and Bureau of Indian Education schools.

65.) Invest $70 billion in Tribal Colleges and Universities and Minority Serving Institutions.

66.) Ensure full inclusion of people with disabilities in policy development and aggressively enforce the civil rights of people with disabilities.

67.) Guarantee access to high-quality, affordable health care, including mental health care, and expand access to home and community-based services and long-term services and supports in the most integrated setting appropriate to each person’s needs and based on self-determination.

68.) Expand competitive, integrated employment opportunities for people with disabilities.

69.) Protect and strengthen economic security for people with disabilities.

70.) Ensure that students with disabilities have access to educational programs and support they need to succeed, from early interventions to post-secondary education.

71.) Expand access to accessible, integrated, and affordable housing, transportation, and assistive technologies and protect people with disabilities in emergencies.

72.) Advance global disability rights

73.) Double the number of psychologists, guidance counselors, nurses, social workers, and other health professionals in our schools so our kids get the mental health care they need

74.) Invest in our schools to eliminate the funding gap between white and non-white districts, and rich and poor districts

75.) Improve teacher diversity

76.) Support our educators by giving them the pay and dignity they deserve.

77.) Invest in resources for our schools so students grow into physically and emotionally healthy adults, and educators can focus on teaching.

78.) Ensure that no child’s future is determined by their zip code, parents’ income, race, or disability.

79.) Provide every middle and high school student a path to a successful career.

80.) Start investing in our children at birth.

81.) Double funding for the State Small Business Credit Initiative.

82.) Expand the New Markets Tax Credit, make the program permanent, and double Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) funding

83.) Improve and expand the Small Business Administration programs that most effectively support African American-owned businesses.

84.) Increase funding for the Minority Business Development Agency budget.

85.) Make sure economic relief because of COVID-19 reaches the African American businesses that need it most

86.) Reserve half of all the new PPP funds for small businesses with 50 employees or less

87.) Help families buy their first homes and build wealth by creating a new refundable, advanceable tax credit of up to $15,000

88.) Protect homeowners and renters from abusive lenders and landlords through a new Homeowner and Renter Bill of Rights.

89.) Establishing a $100 billion Affordable Housing Fund to construct and upgrade affordable housing

90.) Fully implement Congressman Clyburn’s 10-20-30 Plan to help all individuals living in persistently impoverished communities

91.) Expand access to $100 billion in low-interest business loans by funding state, local, tribal, and non-profit lending programs in Latino communities and other communities of color and strengthening Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs

92.) Expand broadband access to every American.

93.) Protect and build on the Affordable Care Act to improve access to quality health care in rural communities.

94.) Expand access to high-quality education in rural schools.

95.) Transform our crumbling transportation infrastructure – including roads and bridges, rail, aviation, ports, and inland waterways.

96.) Expand bio-based manufacturing to bring cutting-edge manufacturing jobs back to rural America.

97.) Strengthen antitrust enforcement

98.) Introduce a constitutional amendment to entirely eliminate private dollars from our federal elections

99.) End dark money groups

100.) Ban corporate PAC contributions to candidates, and prohibit lobbyist contributions to those who they lobby

[queernerdywitch]

100 reasons to vote for #JoeBiden that don't mention Trump. I didn’t compile the list, and I think there’s LOTS more on climate science, but anyway, what are your favorites? 13, 18, oh geez, all the 50s and 70s... not that he can DO all this....

1.) $15.00 federal minimum wage

2.) Reinstate DACA – allowing new applicants to apply

3.) 12 Weeks federal paid family leave

4.) Universal Pre-Kindergarten/Childcare for ages 3 and 4

5.) Tuition free college for those with household income less than $125,000.00

6.) Allow student loans to be relieved in bankruptcy

7.) LGBTQ+ Equality Act in the first 100 days in office

8.) Rejoin the Paris Climate Accords

9.) Decriminalize cannabis use and expunge convictions

10.) Eliminate cash bail system

11.) Eliminate mandatory inimum sentences

12.) Outlaw all online firearm and munition sales

13.) Restore the voting rights act

14.) Create a new $20 billion competitive grant program to spur states to shift from incarceration to prevention.

15.) He’ll triple funding for Title I Programs

16.) Appoint the first Black Woman to the Supreme Court of the United States

17.) Reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA)

18.) Ensure the US achieves a 100% clean energy economy and net-zero emissions no later than 2050

19.) Protecting Biodiversity, slowing extinction rates and helping leverage natural climate solutions

20.) Develop a plan to ensure that America has the cleanest, safest and fastest rail system in the world, for both passengers and freight

21.) Expand the safety net for survivors

22.) Confront online harassment, abuse and stalking

23.) End the rape kit backlog

24.) Address the deadly combination of guns and domestic violence

25.) Change the culture that enables domestic violence

26.) Support the diverse needs of survivors of violence against women

27.) Protect and empower immigrant women

28.) Lead the global effort to end gender-based violence

29.) End capital punishment

30.) End federal private prisons

31.) End all incarceration for drug use alone and divert individuals to drug courts and treatment

32.) Invest in public defenders’ offices to ensure defendants’ access to quality counsel

33.) Expand and use the power of the US Justice Department to address systemic misconduct in police departments and prosecutors’ offices

34.) Reform qualified immunity for officers

35.) Ban choke-holds/neck restraints by police

36.) Launch a national police oversight commission

37.) Stop transferring weapons of war to police force

38.) Free access to testing for all with national testing board

39.) Double drive through testing sites

40.) 100,000 contact tracing workforce

41.) Guarantee first responders have priority access to PPE

42.) Emergency paid leave for anyone who gets COVID or needs to take care of a loved one

43.) Free housing for health care workers to quarantine

44.) Ramp up large scale manufacturing of as many vaccine candidates as necessary

45.) Nationwide vaccination campaign to guarantee fair distribution

46.) Ask every American to wear a mask

47.) End the mismanagement of the asylum system, which fuels violence and chaos at the border

48.) Surge humanitarian resources to the border and foster public-private initiatives

49.) End prolonged detention and reinvest in a case management program

50.) Rescind the un-American travel and refugee bans, also referred to as “Muslim bans.”

51.) Order an immediate review of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for vulnerable populations who cannot find safety in their countries ripped apart by violence or disaster

52.) Ensure that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) personnel abide by professional standards and are held accountable for inhumane treatment.

53.) Revitalize the Task Force on New Americans and boost our economy by prioritizing integration, promoting immigrant entrepreneurship, increasing access to language instruction, and promoting civil engagement.

54.) Convene a regional meeting of leaders, including from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and Canada, to address the factors driving migration and to propose a regional resettlement solution

55.) Raising the corporate tax rate to 28 percent.

56.) Requiring a true minimum tax on ALL foreign earnings of United States companies located overseas so that we do our part to put an end to the global race to the bottom that rewards global tax havens. This will be 21% — TWICE the rate of the Trump offshoring tax rate and will apply to all income.

57.) Imposing a tax penalty on corporations that ship jobs overseas in order to sell products back to America.

58.) Imposing a 15% minimum tax on book income so that no corporation gets away with paying no taxes.

59.) Raising the top individual income rate back to 39.6 percent.

60.) Asking those making more than $1 million to pay the same rate on investment income that they do on their wages.

61.) Tackle the crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women

62.) Ensure tribal nations will have a strong voice and role in the federal government

63.) Restore Tribal lands and safeguard natural and cultural resources

64.) Joe will dramatically increase funding for both public schools and Bureau of Indian Education schools.

65.) Invest $70 billion in Tribal Colleges and Universities and Minority Serving Institutions.

66.) Ensure full inclusion of people with disabilities in policy development and aggressively enforce the civil rights of people with disabilities.

67.) Guarantee access to high-quality, affordable health care, including mental health care, and expand access to home and community-based services and long-term services and supports in the most integrated setting appropriate to each person’s needs and based on self-determination.

68.) Expand competitive, integrated employment opportunities for people with disabilities.

69.) Protect and strengthen economic security for people with disabilities.

70.) Ensure that students with disabilities have access to educational programs and support they need to succeed, from early interventions to post-secondary education.

71.) Expand access to accessible, integrated, and affordable housing, transportation, and assistive technologies and protect people with disabilities in emergencies.

72.) Advance global disability rights

73.) Double the number of psychologists, guidance counselors, nurses, social workers, and other health professionals in our schools so our kids get the mental health care they need

74.) Invest in our schools to eliminate the funding gap between white and non-white districts, and rich and poor districts

75.) Improve teacher diversity

76.) Support our educators by giving them the pay and dignity they deserve.

77.) Invest in resources for our schools so students grow into physically and emotionally healthy adults, and educators can focus on teaching.

78.) Ensure that no child’s future is determined by their zip code, parents’ income, race, or disability.

79.) Provide every middle and high school student a path to a successful career.

80.) Start investing in our children at birth.

81.) Double funding for the State Small Business Credit Initiative.

82.) Expand the New Markets Tax Credit, make the program permanent, and double Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) funding

83.) Improve and expand the Small Business Administration programs that most effectively support African American-owned businesses.

84.) Increase funding for the Minority Business Development Agency budget.

85.) Make sure economic relief because of COVID-19 reaches the African American businesses that need it most

86.) Reserve half of all the new PPP funds for small businesses with 50 employees or less

87.) Help families buy their first homes and build wealth by creating a new refundable, advanceable tax credit of up to $15,000

88.) Protect homeowners and renters from abusive lenders and landlords through a new Homeowner and Renter Bill of Rights.

89.) Establishing a $100 billion Affordable Housing Fund to construct and upgrade affordable housing

90.) Fully implement Congressman Clyburn’s 10-20-30 Plan to help all individuals living in persistently impoverished communities

91.) Expand access to $100 billion in low-interest business loans by funding state, local, tribal, and non-profit lending programs in Latino communities and other communities of color and strengthening Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs

92.) Expand broadband access to every American.

93.) Protect and build on the Affordable Care Act to improve access to quality health care in rural communities.

94.) Expand access to high-quality education in rural schools.

95.) Transform our crumbling transportation infrastructure – including roads and bridges, rail, aviation, ports, and inland waterways.

96.) Expand bio-based manufacturing to bring cutting-edge manufacturing jobs back to rural America.

97.) Strengthen antitrust enforcement

98.) Introduce a constitutional amendment to entirely eliminate private dollars from our federal elections

99.) End dark money groups

100.) Ban corporate PAC contributions to candidates, and prohibit lobbyist contributions to those who they lobby

Compiled by David Frree

***EDIT*** thisis all from his website. I, David, literally copy pasted the bullet points from his website. If you go on his website, click Joe’s Vision, he has different themes. “Criminal justice reform, helping America’s farmers, etc.” I clicked through a bunch of those, and tried to get the quickest bullet points from his website.

[scotianostra]

The Botanist David Douglas was born on 25th June 1799 at Scone, Perthshire.

Ask the average Scot about Douglas and they will look at you blankly, but this guy is quite famous in the US, and especially in Oregon, in fact,  no other botanical explorer in western North America is more famous than David Douglas. His name is associated with hundreds of western plants, and may also be found on mountains, rivers, counties, schools and even modern-day streets. He was a remarkable adventurer even though the fates were mostly unkind to his person.

Truth be told I've only known about him for about 7 or 8 years and I think most Scots will agree that the only botanist we have heard of was the Englishman David Bellamy. a larger than life character.

After attending school for a few short years, a young David, at eleven began his botanical career at the garden estate of the Earl of Mansfield. For the next seven years, young Douglas worked on the estate under the strict tutorage of the head gardener, William Beattie, who didn't believe in a formal education.

Upon completing his apprenticeship, Douglas moved to Valleyfield and the estate of Sir Robert Preston, where he tended a diverse variety of plants from around the world—those grown both indoors and out. He also had access to Sir Robert's library and began again his education among these garden and botany books.

In the spring of 1820, Douglas obtained an appointment at the botanic garden at Glasgow University. A few months later a new professor of botany, William Jackson Hooker, was appointed, and he and Douglas began their long professional association.2 By 1821, Hooker and Douglas were in the field, with Douglas learning the fine art of pressing and drying plants. After two years together, Hooker recommended his young assistant to the Royal Horticultural Society of London. They were looking for a skilled gardener and collector to send abroad.

In 1823 he was supposed to go to China but the country was unsettled so he went to the US – particularly for fruit trees. He was the first plant hunter to work in a temperate climate – his brief was to collect plants not in cultivation or not described. In June 1823 he left for the east coast of America. It was September when he first set foot into a forest and was amazed by the American natural scenery. Went to see Niagara Falls ‘ I am like most who have seen them, sensitively impressed with their grandeur but particularly with a red cedar which grew out of the rocks on the channel of the river”. By December he was ready for home and returned with his collection of fruit trees, oaks and other plants in the nurseries of New York and Philadelphia.

His next mission in 1824 was to the Pacific coast of North America. The ship stopped at Madeira, in August then Rio in September round by Cape Horn, stopping at Juan Fernandez and the Galapagos Islands taking 8 months in all. He later had problems drying specimens when it rained constantly – lost 45 bird specimens. On the 7th April they arrived at the Columbia River – ‘his highway to the floral wealth of N.W. America’  He explored further up the river by birch bark canoe manned by native Americans. His first summer was spent exploring lower Columbia where he made trips to the Grand Rapids in the Cascade Mountains covering two thousand miles in his first season before returning to Fort Vancouver in September.

Douglas was able to send back nearly 500 plants, seeds, letters, journals and skins of birds and animals. In 1827 he began to travel east and by April he started to cross the Rockies by foot during this time he met Thomas Drummond, who had been with Sir John Franklin’s Arctic expedition – Drummond ended up looking after a box of Douglas’ herbarium specimens for a time. Eventually Douglas and Drummond sailed back together in same ship from Hudson Bay. Botanical circles were amazed by the number and importance of his discoveries. Many familiar plants today were brought by him into general cultivation, I wont bore you will them all, but the most famous "new" discovery was the “Douglas Fir” Pseudotsuga menziesii – one of his introductions which alone was then considered to be well worth the entire cost of the expedition, at that time less than £400 a small fortune.

He left again in 1830-32 for an exploration of California – even though by now seeds from any accessible country could be obtained by correspondence. He came across the ‘Giant Redwood’ Sequoia sempervirens and was the first botanist to describe them, although it was discovered by Archibald Menzies some years before, they are impressive trees I have seen them first hand in Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park in California.

I'll leave it at that for now and will pick up the post on July 12th, the date of his passing, if you can't wait till then the full story can be found here https://todayinsci.com/D/Douglas_David/DouglasDavid-BotanicalCollector.htm

[snarksandkisses]

David Ferree, September 22

I have heard from people that they want a reason to vote FOR Biden beyond that he's not Trump. Okay, I respect that, so I went on his website, poured through his policies, and came up with 100 reasons to vote for #JoeBiden that don't mention Trump. 

1.) $15.00 federal minimum wage

2.) Reinstate DACA – allowing new applicants to apply

3.) 12 Weeks federal paid family leave4

.) Universal Pre-Kindergarten/Childcare for ages 3 and 4

5.) Tuition free college for those with household income less than $125,000.00

6.) Allow student loans to be relieved in bankruptcy

7.) LGBTQ+ Equality Act in the first 100 days in office

8.) Rejoin the Paris Climate Accords

9.) Decriminalize cannabis use and expunge convictions

10.) Eliminate cash bail system

11.) Eliminate mandatory minimum sentences

12.) Outlaw all online firearm and munition sales

13.) Restore the voting rights act

14.) Create a new $20 billion competitive grant program to spur states to shift from incarceration to prevention.

15.) He’ll triple funding for Title I Programs

16.)  Appoint the first Black Woman to the Supreme Court of the United States

17.)  Reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA)

18.) Ensure the US achieves a 100% clean energy economy and net-zero emissions no later than 2050

19.) Protecting Biodiversity, slowing extinction rates and helping leverage natural climate solutions

20.) Develop a plan to ensure that America has the cleanest, safest and fastest rail system in the world, for both passengers and freight

21.)  Expand the safety net for survivors

22.) Confront online harassment, abuse and stalking

23.) End the rape kit backlog

24.) Address the deadly combination of guns and domestic violence

25.) Change the culture that enables domestic violence

26.) Support the diverse needs of survivors of violence against women

27.) Protect and empower immigrant women

28.) Lead the global effort to end gender-based violence

29.) End capital punishment

30.) End federal private prisons

31.) End all incarceration for drug use alone and divert individuals to drug courts and treatment

32.) Invest in public defenders’ offices to ensure defendants’ access to quality counsel

33.) Expand and use the power of the US Justice Department to address systemic misconduct in police departments and prosecutors’ offices

34.) Reform qualified immunity for officers

35.) Ban choke-holds/neck restraints by police

36.) Launch a national police oversight commission

37.) Stop transferring weapons of war to police force

38.) Free access to testing for all with national testing board

39.) Double drive through testing sites

40.) 100,000 contact tracing workforce

41.) Guarantee first responders have priority access to PPE

42.) Emergency paid leave for anyone who gets COVID or needs to take care of a loved one

43.) Free housing for health care workers to quarantine

44.) Ramp up large scale manufacturing of as many vaccine candidates as necessary

45.) Nationwide vaccination campaign to guarantee fair distribution

46.) Ask every American to wear a mask

47.) End the mismanagement of the asylum system, which fuels violence and chaos at the border

48.) Surge humanitarian resources to the border and foster public-private initiatives

49.) End prolonged detention and reinvest in a case management program

50.) Rescind the un-American travel and refugee bans, also referred to as “Muslim bans.”

51.) Order an immediate review of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for vulnerable populations who cannot find safety in their countries ripped apart by violence or disaster

52.) Ensure that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) personnel abide by professional standards and are held accountable for inhumane treatment.

53.) Revitalize the Task Force on New Americans and boost our economy by prioritizing integration, promoting immigrant entrepreneurship, increasing access to language instruction, and promoting civil engagement.

54.) Convene a regional meeting of leaders, including from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and Canada, to address the factors driving migration and to propose a regional resettlement solution

55.) Raising the corporate tax rate to 28 percent.

56.) Requiring a true minimum tax on ALL foreign earnings of United States companies located overseas so that we do our part to put an end to the global race to the bottom that rewards global tax havens. This will be 21% — TWICE the rate of the Trump offshoring tax rate and will apply to all income.

57.) Imposing a tax penalty on corporations that ship jobs overseas in order to sell products back to America.

58.) Imposing a 15% minimum tax on book income so that no corporation gets away with paying no taxes.

59.) Raising the top individual income rate back to 39.6 percent.

60.) Asking those making more than $1 million to pay the same rate on investment income that they do on their wages.

61.) Tackle the crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women

62.) Ensure tribal nations will have a strong voice and role in the federal government

63.) Restore Tribal lands and safeguard natural and cultural resources

64.) Joe will dramatically increase funding for both public schools and Bureau of Indian Education schools.

65.)  Invest $70 billion in Tribal Colleges and Universities and Minority Serving Institutions.

66.) Ensure full inclusion of people with disabilities in policy development and aggressively enforce the civil rights of people with disabilities.

67.) Guarantee access to high-quality, affordable health care, including mental health care, and expand access to home and community-based services and long-term services and supports in the most integrated setting appropriate to each person’s needs and based on self-determination.

68.) Expand competitive, integrated employment opportunities for people with disabilities.

69.) Protect and strengthen economic security for people with disabilities.

70.) Ensure that students with disabilities have access to educational programs and support they need to succeed, from early interventions to post-secondary education.

71.) Expand access to accessible, integrated, and affordable housing, transportation, and assistive technologies and protect people with disabilities in emergencies.

72.) Advance global disability rights

73.)  Double the number of psychologists, guidance counselors, nurses, social workers, and other health professionals in our schools so our kids get the mental health care they need

74.) Invest in our schools to eliminate the funding gap between white and non-white districts, and rich and poor districts

75.) Improve teacher diversity

76.) Support our educators by giving them the pay and dignity they deserve.

77.) Invest in resources for our schools so students grow into physically and emotionally healthy adults, and educators can focus on teaching.

78.) Ensure that no child’s future is determined by their zip code, parents’ income, race, or disability.

79.) Provide every middle and high school student a path to a successful career.8

80.) Start investing in our children at birth.

81.) Double funding for the State Small Business Credit Initiative.

2.) Expand the New Markets Tax Credit, make the program permanent, and double Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) funding

83.) Improve and expand the Small Business Administration programs that most effectively support African American-owned businesses.

84.) Increase funding for the Minority Business Development Agency budget.

85.) Make sure economic relief because of COVID-19 reaches the African American businesses that need it most

86.) Reserve half of all the new PPP funds for small businesses with 50 employees or less

87.) Help families buy their first homes and build wealth by creating a new refundable, advanceable tax credit of up to $15,000

88.) Protect homeowners and renters from abusive lenders and landlords through a new Homeowner and Renter Bill of Rights.

89.) Establishing a $100 billion Affordable Housing Fund to construct and upgrade affordable housing

90.) Fully implement Congressman Clyburn’s 10-20-30 Plan to help all individuals living in persistently impoverished communities

91.) Expand access to $100 billion in low-interest business loans by funding state, local, tribal, and non-profit lending programs in Latino communities and other communities of color and strengthening Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs

92.) Expand broadband access to every American.

93.) Protect and build on the Affordable Care Act to improve access to quality health care in rural communities.

94.) Expand access to high-quality education in rural schools.

95.) Transform our crumbling transportation infrastructure – including roads and bridges, rail, aviation, ports, and inland waterways.

96.) Expand bio-based manufacturing to bring cutting-edge manufacturing jobs back to rural America.

97.) Strengthen antitrust enforcement

98.) Introduce a constitutional amendment to entirely eliminate private dollars from our federal elections

99.) End dark money groups

100.) Ban corporate PAC contributions to candidates, and prohibit lobbyist contributions to those who they lobby

***EDIT*** this again is all from his website. I literally copy pasted the bullet points from his website. If you go on his website, click Joe’s Vision, he has different themes. “Criminal justice reform, helping America’s farmers, etc.” I clicked through a bunch of those, and tried to get the quickest bullet points from his website.

[traveltofrance]

Travel to France

Before you go to France, use this comprehensive online France travel guide to find out all the basics about customs requirements, the culture, weather, currency and more. Also, get tips on when to go and where to go in France.

About France Travel

France is a diverse and rich nation, filled with destinations to suit every taste. The French, while often stereotyped as rude or snobbish, is actually a proud but friendly people. The key is to understand cultural differences. The food in France is among the finest in the world, and it is the largest wine-producing nation in the world.

The French value cuisine, arts, culture, and history. Each region has its own flair and uniqueness. You are about to embark on an enticing adventure, but there are certain details and rules you should know before you go.

How To Get In

All foreign visitors must have a passport. (If you don't have a current passport, start this process as early as possible. Glitches, like a missing birth certificate, can drag this out.) Americans planning to visit for 90 days or longer, or those who plan to study in France, must get a long-stay visa.

Where To Go

Think of France, and most people automatically think of Paris. But there is much more to this country, whether it be the robust stews and beer of the Alsace or the laid-back attitude and sunny beaches of the Riviera and Monaco. There are many other underrated but wonderful cities, as well as unique spa resorts and villages and lovely beaches all around the coastline from the north to the border with Italy.

France is divided into regions, and I would recommend you read up about the distinct personalities of each before deciding on a destination.

Getting There

Most major U.S. airports fly to Paris, some going non-stop, and Roissy-Charles de Gaulle in Paris is the most popular airport in France. Some airlines also fly into other major French cities, such as Lyon and Strasbourg. It takes around 7 hours to get to France from the East Coast.

Getting Around In France

There are many economical and handy ways to get around France. You need to examine where you will be going and how flexible you are.

If you plan to visit villages not accessible by train, a rental car is ideal. The French drive on the same side of the road as Americans, but there are some differences. While traffic lights are commonplace in the States, many intersections in France are traffic circles instead. These are actually much more efficient but might take getting used to. Also, it becomes far more crucial to have good maps if you will rent a car. (Try asking for directions in a foreign language. Not pretty.) Check out the advantages of long term Renault Eurodrive Buy  Back Car Leasing.

If you are visiting cities with train stations, rail is convenient and can be inexpensive. The key is to determine whether you will just buy point-to-point tickets (preferable if you will be taking few trips or short trips), European rail passes (if you plan to go country to country) or a France Rail Pass (if you will travel often and long distances, all on one country).

If you plan to visit French cities that are far apart (say Strasbourg and Carcassonne), you might want to check into flying within the country. It's relatively cheap and can save you hours of train travel.

Train Travel

In addition, many cities also have their own transportation system (such as Paris' metro). Even many smaller villages have a bus system. France's transportation system is much more extensive than that of the U.S. Check with the city or region's tourism office.

Next: When to go, Cultural differences, Official holidays and French language

When To Go

Deciding when to go depends on both your temperament and that of France. Climates and the popularity of a region depend heavily on the time of year and vary dramatically from one region to the next.

The North of France is at its busiest in late spring and early summer. The weather is best, but the attractions are packed and the prices are the highest. Also, you might want to avoid the North in August, when most of the natives are on vacation in the South. If swarms of tourists aren't your thing, fall is a wonderful time to visit the north. While you are sure to have a few overcast, windy, rainy days to contend with, things are still very happening this time of year. Winter can be blustery, but there are keen benefits then as well, such as ice skating in Paris or Christmas Markets in Alsace. See Christmas In France.

The South of France is attractive almost any time of year. But remember that it is jammed in August. In May, the Cannes Film Festival packs that city and those nearby, visit city of Nice or the Monaco city-state. Even in fall, sometimes you can dip your toes in the Mediterranean. Don't be fooled, though. Provencal winters can be unexpectedly chilly. Find out more with the France Travel Monthly Calendar.

What Time/Day Is It?

France is one hour ahead of Greenwich Mean Time, and five hours ahead of New York City. The country does honor daylight savings time, so during that time, it is one more hour ahead, or six hours later than in New York. The French also celebrate several holidays, and visiting during this time can result in some good things (festivals abound and many museums and restaurants remain open) and bad things (most businesses and shops are closed). These are the holidays in 2017:

January 1 - New Year's Day

April 16/17 - Easter Sunday/Monday - Pâques

May 1 - Labor Day  - Fête du Travail

May 8 - Victory in Europe Day 1945  - Fête de la Victoire 1945 (marks the end of WWII)

May 25 - Ascension

June 4/June 5 - Whit Sunday/Pentecôte

July 14 - Bastille Day  - Fête Nationale

August 15 - Assumption Day  - Assomption

November 1 - All Saints Day  - La Toussaint

November 11 - Armistice Day (End of WWI)  - Le 11 Novembre

December 25 - Christmas Day - Noël

How To Communicate

If at all possible, it is very helpful to at least learn a few basic phrases, especially ones you will use often (such as transportation and menu terms, etc.). Although the French are taught English in grade school, some do not know much English (what do YOU recall from high school Spanish, after all?). They also are more likely to reveal their ability to speak English if you at least make an attempt to speak their language first.

How To Blend In

Many times, people presume the French are being rude when it's actually just due to cultural differences. The French, for instance, always greet each other before speaking. So if you run-up to a French person looking for directions by saying, "How do you get to the Eiffel Tower?" you have just been rude by French standards. Acquaint yourself with French Culture.

Next: Euros; What to Pack; How to plug it in; Calling home and Extra Tips and information

How Much Is That?

In France, the euro is the local currency. This involves a little less math than the previous franc (although I still miss the colorful franc with interesting themes such as "La Petite Prince").  When the euro is more valuable than the dollar, just round up a little (such as, you spend 8 euros and estimate $10 in your head just to be conservative).

Even those who know a little French language may have trouble understanding shop keepers who recite prices. When you ask "Combien?" (How much?), keep a small pad handy so shop keepers can write the amount down.

What To Pack

What to pack for your French trip depends heavily on which region you will visit, where you will stay and how mobile you will need to be while visiting.

If you will be traveling all over the country, hopping the train from one destination to another, pack light. A rolling backpack is great for this, by allowing you to choose between rolling it along or popping it onto your back. If you will, say, fly into Paris and stay in one luxury hotel the entire time, you can be more flexible and pack heavier.

Don't presume you can just find it in France if you need it, however. Good English-language maps or guide books can be tough to find, and it is challenging even in a big city to get an adaptor plug designed to convert an American appliance into the French plugs. (Think about it. They have plenty that allows French appliances to be plugged in while in America because most of the shoppers IN France need that). To be sure you don't have packing regrets, check out this list of the Free France Travel Packing Checklist or these tips for packing light.

How To Plug It In

If you want to use American appliances in France, you will need an adaptor and a converter. The adaptor allows you to plug it into the wall, while a converter changes the electrical current to the French standard. For example, if you have a hairdryer that allows you to change the electrical current, you would only need the adaptor. What some visitors fail to realize is that phone plugs also need adaptors, and without them, you will not be able to connect your laptop. Be sure you also get a telephone adaptor if you plan to take a laptop.

How To Call & E-mail Home

Placing a call home from France involves certain knowledge, but once you get the hang of it, it is surprisingly affordable and relatively easy. But first, you must know the basics. For one thing, most French payphones do not take change, but instead, use "telecasts." These can be purchased at many spots, such as tobacco and convenience stores, for a few euros. You slide the card into the slot on the phone, wait for the prompt on the display, and then enter the phone number (starting with the country code, such as "1" for the U.S.). The display will show how many units you have remaining. Calling on off-hours will eat far fewer units. You can take advantage of time differences by, for instance, calling later in the night when it is late afternoon or early evening in the States.

How To Get Stuff Home

Dreaming of lugging cases of delectable French wine home with you? Think again, unless you want to pay. The U.S. government offers the following restrictions:

Most visitors are allowed to bring back $800 of French goodies without paying duty.

The duty includes up to 200 cigarettes and 100 cigars.

One liter of alcohol is also included in duty-free.

[berniesandersniece]

The Fluid Mosaic of Planet Earth (Revised)

Olivia Johnson

The biological term fluid mosaic is most commonly used to describe the phospholipid bilayer of plasma membranes encasing most cells, and refers how molecules move fluidly within the membrane, which is embedded with various kinds of proteins. Just as the fluid mosaic provides structure and variety on a cellular level, the term can also be applied on a much larger scale to illustrate the diversity and interconnectedness of the environment on earth. Various ecosystems, each containing numerous species, interact with each other in a careful balance, and small disruptions can pose large threats. The fluid mosaic of life on earth is currently under direct threat from human activity, which has resulted in the increasingly severe degradation of the earth’s natural capital, the ecosystem services and natural resources which sustain not only humans but all species on earth. The subject of environmental studies seeks to address the ecological challenges brought on by the reckless pillaging of natural capital. According to the text Living in the Environment, the integrating theme of all environmental issues is sustainability: the capacity of the earth to support all species and adapt to changing environmental conditions.

Figure 1, Natural Capital, Miller, 7.

Currently, humanity is operating unsustainably, depleting resources and producing pollution at above the earth’s natural ability to regulate. Several main causes of our current environmental crisis include exponential population growth, wasteful and unsustainable resource use, poverty, the omission of harmful environmental and health costs of goods and services in market prices, increasing isolation from nature, and competing environmental world views.

Figure 2, Natural Capital Degradation, Miller, 11.

Perhaps the most concerning of these causes is the final one; when people in positions of power refuse to acknowledge scientific evidence of the damning effects of environmental degradation, entire populations can be put at risk. Living in the Environment incorporates ethics into the issue, asking, “Should every person be entitled to equal protection from environmental hazards regardless of race, gender, age, national origin, income, social class, or any other factor?”1. The answer expressed by many business leaders, politicians, and other individuals holding a human-centered environmental worldview is a resounding no. This is especially evident when looking at the disparity between more-developed countries and less-developed countries in terms of natural capital consumption. More-developed countries which consist of 17% of the global population consume 70% of the world’s resources, while less-developed countries which consist of 83% of the global population consume only 30%2. 

Figure 3, Ecological Footprints, Miller, 13.

If everyone in the world consumed resources at the level of the United States in 2012, we would need five planet earths to sustain that demand. Even as a vegetarian who solely uses public transportation and attempts to live sustainably, we would still need 3.2 earths to sustain my own personal resource demands if everyone lived as such3.

Currently, our atmosphere, water resources, oceans, soil, forests, and living species are being degraded as a result of unsustainable human activity. However, this is by no means new information, and these concerns were outlined in the World Scientists’ Warning to Humanity, a formal address represented by the Union of Concerned Scientists almost 30 years ago. The origin of environmental degradation on a large scale dates back long before the 1990s, and can be seen in the entitled and exploitative nature of Western colonialism which began in the 1500s. The “discovery” of the Americas was accompanied with the attitude that the earth was full of inexhaustible resources which were to be “conquered” by the white man and used in whatever way and extent he might please. This mindset is clearly still at play, even with 500 years of scientific research and undeniable evidence of ecological destruction. During the past century, rapid global industrialization has exacerbated existing environmental issues and introduced additional concerns. Public demands against harmful pollution resulted in the establishment of the United States’s Environmental Protection Agency in 1970, whose regulations were met with backlash from business leaders and the onset of disinformation campaigns in order to protect economic interests.

Scientific, unbiased reports are issued in order to combat “fake news” and other misinformation that might hinder efforts to control and heal our environment. Published in 2005, the UN Millennium Ecosystem Assessment provided a comprehensive summary of the current environmental concerns of the time, as well as outlined their own findings and specific problems that must be addressed so that life on earth can be sustained. The report, which involved 1,360 experts from 95 counties, stated, “Humans are fundamentally, and to a significant extent irreversibly, changing the diversity of life on Earth, and most of these changes represent a loss of biodiversity”4. What I found particularly alarming in this report is how these changes disproportionately affect certain groups of people, increase inequities among vulnerable populations, and exacerbate poverty on a large scale. Developing countries, indigenous populations, and those living in poverty are forced to suffer the extreme consequences brought on by the unsustainable living standards demanded by first world countries such as the United States.

Something I had never before considered is how the worsening environmental crises affect women differently, and put them at an even greater risk. Environmental disasters such as floods, droughts, and fires force communities to move from their homes, often resulting in unstable and unsafe temporary living conditions that put women at increased risk of sexual assault and human trafficking. Adequate reproductive resources and sanitary products may become unavailable; these effects are detrimental, especially in cultures where women act as the backbone of their households. 

Figure 4, Women Carrying Water, Urevig, Andrew, “When It Comes to Addressing Climate Change, Gender Matters.” Ensia. Accessed January 21, 2020. https://ensia.com/notable/gender-climate-change/.

According to the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, “The pattern of ‘winners’ and ‘losers’ associated with ecosystem changes– and in particular the impact of ecosystem changes on poor people, women, and indigenous peoples– has not been adequately taken into account in management decisions”5. There is an evident and complete lack of respect or even acknowledgement of these groups and the battles they must face as a result of environmental degradation. This is equally as frustrating as it is depressing, but reading over these materials also brought me a sense of empowerment. I am aware that I live in a country that depletes natural capital at an alarming and unsustainable rate, but also has the resources available to combat environmental injustices and repair damages that we have made. The vast amount of opportunities offered by Fordham, as well as outside internships, research positions, and organizations available in New York City excites me, as I am deeply passionate about the environmental issues we face in this critical time. As an empowered individual, I want to empower others to take responsibility and face the reality of what is needed to be done to save the beautiful diversity of the fluid mosaic that is life on earth.

Q: The text mentioned multiple times that we have seen some developments in environmental crises during the past few decades, but failed to include what exactly those changes are. Is this merely part of the construction of a positive narrative about environmental progress, or have we as a society actually made some substantial change in the right direction?

Word Count: 1204

__________________________

1Miller, G. Tyler. Living in the Environment. S.I.: Cengage Learning, 2020, 20.

2Miller, 9.

3“How Many Planets Does It Take to Sustain Your Lifestyle?” Ecological Footprint Calculator. Accessed January 20, 2020. https://www.footprintcalculator.org/.

4Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, 2005. Ecosystems and Human Well-being: Synthesis. Island Press, Washington, DC, 4.

5Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, 13.

[stjglobal]

For all of the places I visited, I both intentionally and unintentionally learned more and more about the issues that citizens of the countries were facing.

There is something amazing about being able to see the sights of Europe: The Eiffel Tower, The Colosseum, Sagrada Familia, and so on. And while I enjoyed getting to see the rich history here and learn all about these historical and sacred places, the thing that I’ve taken away most from my trip abroad is the volume of current things going on in Europe that I simply had no idea, or only a vague idea, about. My theology professor here has been living in Italy for eight years or so, and she says that she remembers how different it is in The United States. It’s like being in your own world entirely, so far removed from other countries. Because of the proximity and relationships within the European Union (EU), I think that it simply isn’t as easy to be disconnected from the rest of the world here. When you add in the size of The United States and relationships with the rest of North America and South America, Europe barely stands a chance to truly enter our news network. 

 For all of the places I visited, I both intentionally and unintentionally learned more and more about the issues that citizens of the countries were facing. I have been fortunate enough to travel to Paris, Barcelona, Zurich, Edinburgh, Bucharest, and, of course, Rome and around Italy. In this post, I hope to help you to travel with me and see what I’ve learned about these places and their trials. While most of the information has been compiled throughout the semester, I linked some fact-checkers and ways to read/watch more about these issues below. One of the main themes highlighted by St. John’s University’s Study abroad programs is migration. It is integrated to every class possible, and this has helped me understand the issues. With the current climate all across Europe, there couldn’t be anything more appropriate.

 The first place I would like to focus on is France. My first stop in Europe was in Paris, France, and I was immediately amazed by its wonder and beauty. However, there is no question about the political and social turmoil that has been occurring there for years. While many of us have heard about the attacks on Paris and Nice, there is a much deeper disdain toward foreigners that is not far removed from these attacks. In the United States, we refer to ourselves as a melting pot, a blending of cultures to create a diverse society. In France, it couldn’t be more the opposite. A dirty word in American history, assimilation, is their reality. When you are immigrating to France, you are expected to become French. While I’ve noticed that this is a theme around Europe and the hyphenated identities (African-American, Irish-American, Italian-American, etc.) of the US don’t exist here, it runs deeper in France. The culture that is not their own is washed away here, especially when it comes to religion.

 In 2004, French began the consideration of outlawing wearing burqas, hijabs, kippahs, and large displays of crosses. The one that came into effect is of any sort of face-veil, which directly targets Muslims, but it is widely encouraged to not wear any religious symbols and make yourself a target. Outside of religion but not far from it, immigrants tend to be living in suburbs or lower socioeconomic areas of Paris. They isolate themselves because they don’t feel welcome, and they create their own communities that are segregated from the whole of Paris and therefore France. While this brings in the question of open- vs. closed-borders and integration, it also creates a breeding ground for terrorists. In fact, the Paris attacks of 2015 had French natives involved. 

One of my classes studied how people can feel drawn to join a terrorist group and act when they feel that they are not being represented. In a society where culture erasure is meant to create a unified whole, it instead has created tense relations that have lead to attacks. In the US, we can obviously relate with recent immigrant issues at the forefront of politics. Rome, and Italy as a whole, had similar issues with immigration. Italy quickly has become the liaison between the Middle East and North African (MENA) countries to the rest of Europe. Many people from MENA countries will enter into Italy through the Mediterranean with the intention of staying until they can make it further north. This has caused a great strain on the economy and relationships between natives and the new demographic. In this country, strict self-segregation can also be seen. 

In my economics class, we took a trip to a town called Torpignattara, which has been dubbed “Banglatown”.This town is full of heavily concentrated immigrants, many from Bangladesh as implied by the name, and they have made more of a town of their own than become a part of Rome. Their town is filled with stores with their native clothing, food, and other goods. They support their own small economy, not the whole of Rome. Rather, they send a majority of their money home. All of these issues have brought immigration to the forefront of Italy’s political atmosphere. There have even been talks of leaving the EU to allow them to have more ability to control their immigration laws. Another effect that has happened to Italy is called ‘The Brain Drain’. Basically, well-educated individuals are leaving the country in search of better job opportunities. This makes it hard for the country to continue to develop and westernize since the best of the best are leaving.

 By far the most interesting thing to learn about was the potential secession of Catalonia from Spain. Catalonia is to Spain what, for example, Pennsylvania is to The United States. While it is just a region, it functions more as a state with its own government. This region includes Barcelona, a city that was my first international trip leaving Rome. Upon arriving, it was clear that there was some strong political movement going on. Every single apartment building had plenty of windows donning the Catalonian flag (which I initially thought were weathered Puerto Rican ones) and signs along the lines of “we won’t be silenced” and “free Catalonia”. Out of intrigue, I did some research while there to try to figure out what was going on. Catalonia is the richest region in Spain, and because of this they pay high taxes. However, much of that tax money they don’t see coming back to their own region. Rather, it is used for other regions in Spain. Aside from this main issue, Catalonia has an entirely different culture and even their own language, Catalan. Catalan is more similar to Italian and French than Spanish, which definitely threw me off while I was in Barcelona. I am by no means a Spanish speaker, but I think that everyone in the US picks up a few things. 

Having traveled to Puerto Rico not long ago, I thought I could at least order french fries (papas fritas), but even that wasn’t immediately recognizable (patates fregides). The most interesting part of this whole thing to me was the numbers about who really wants this. 90% of the population that chose to vote in the referendum said that they wanted to secede. There is much more that goes into this whole issue, including violence, some people in jail or in hiding in other countries, and some lost votes. Overall based on what I saw and what the numbers show this is a very real and pressing issue in this area. Because Spain is a country that is in the Western world and there was violence involved, I assume that this is something that I would have heard of. It just enlightened me even further to how little I am in touch with the rest of the world.

Rebeka Humbrecht, Spring 2019 Social Media Ambassador

[ratfuck]

In 2050, what will life on Earth be like?

this is going to be a long post because I am extremely interested in futurism and predicting the future with scientific, social and economic models. I’ve spent countless hours viewing content like futuretimeline.net, futurism.com and youtuber Science & Futurism with Isaac Arthur, and have written a few papers on predictions of the future. Just to make things more convenient for me though I’m going to round this up to 2050-2070, because I think there will be events in, say, 2064 that definitely rely on things that happen in the 2050s. I’ll also break this down under different sections such as technology, economy, environment, politics, society, etc to make it easier to read rather than one giant mess of paragraphs.

That being said, I’m not very optimistic about 2050. I think if we avoid the climate scenarios I list and force change through sociopolitical and economic revolutions, we will see a much brighter future, but at the rate now I’m honestly so worried about where we’re heading because the consequences will have an impact on every single human being on the planet.

TECHNOLOGY

Probably the most optimistic part of this. Technology by this time will have changed everything from global communications, to manufacturing, to even the clothes you wear. Widespread advances in medical and genetics technology will have vastly expanded lifespans for those with access to healthcare. Diseases like AIDS and Alzheimer's will have vaccines or cures, and cancer, while not truly curable, will be very treatable with survival rates nearing 100% - for those who have access to it. The rich will be able to afford “designer babies”, being able to pick desirable traits for their children in vitro. Nanotechnology has advanced to the point it is feasible and used in everything from the construction of houses, fighting diseases in the body, mitigating climate change, and clothing. Computational power continues to grow exponentially, Moore’s Law is dead. Artificial Intelligence will be everywhere, and has advanced to the point that it may seem sentient to people. Automation has taken most of the jobs on Earth, with service, factory, and accounting jobs being long gone. The majority of cars will be smart cars with self-driving capabilities. Green energies like solar, hydroelectric, wind, and even biofuels and nuclear power (possibly including very limited fusion power) will slowly replace fossil fuels such as coal as the primary power source, but oil will still be in great demand. National space agencies such as NASA, the ESA, Roscosmos and private corporations like SpaceX will have solved the long-time problem of immense costs of launching things into space through the use of new fuels, rocket designs, and launching systems such as mass drivers, leading to the beginnings of space infrastructure and industry orbiting Earth. A new space station to replace the long since decommissioned ISS will be created completely in orbit, likely with a rotating wheel design for simulated gravity. The moon will have a small scientific outpost on it, and Mars will have a permanent, yet tiny human settlement. Space tourism will be a thing, albeit for the wealthy, and the benefits of low gravity will allow for automated manufacturing in space. Asteroid mining will take off around this time. Cybernetics as seen in science fiction and cyberpunk media will become a reality, as prosthetic limbs and artificial organs will have advanced to being as physically capable as the real thing, though I doubt they will be as widespread as featured in sci-fi media. Most people in developed countries will have technology on them at all times, either it being smart clothes, the implants that allow 24 hour access to the internet in their skull, or the nanomachines in someone’s blood.

SOCIETY

Society is under great stress around this time. The consumer culture and hyper-spending of the 20th and early 21st century will be nonexistant or mostly phased out across the globe, as economies are forced to adjust to diminishing resources and political upheaval around the globe. Newer generations resent the older generations - blaming them for the cause of many problems. World population growth has stagnated around 9.8-10 billion people, with the majority of the population aging, with a drain on capital as the worker-to-elderly ratio begins to fall. Media has become completely decentralized and diverse. Athough the number of democratic countries has risen significantly over the years, many have turned inward, cutting off foreign relations. Revolutions, wars and failed states have produced a strikingly different geopolitical map than seen at the beginning of the century.The gap between the rich and the poor widens to the point of upward social mobility being nigh impossible, at the same time as the world’s first trillionaire appears. Massive demonstrations and rioting increase around the globe. Food and water shortages are common everywhere, even in the “first world.” Poorer and arid countries are struck the worse. There are 150 million climate refugees, a six fold increase since 2010. Radical parties on both sides of the political spectrum, from communist and eco parties on the left side to anti-immigrant and fascist parties on the right side, both promising to relieve the stress of the people, explode in popularity. News of revolutions and military coups in developing countries are seen almost daily. Nationalism and xenophobia surges across the globe as people become heavily distrustful of foreigners and immigrants. The vast majority of people live in massive, sprawling megacities. As more and more wealth trickles upwards to the hyper-rich elite, there is a growing consensus that money itself – the profit motive – is a major obstacle to future progress, and a new driving force  may be required for civilization to flourish. Free market capitalism is largely viewed as a woeful and broken system, as people shift away from consumerism towards a more conservational economic system.

ECONOMY

As more wealth trickles to the hyper wealthy elite, the average person feels the burden of a more and more uncertain and often times recessive economy. Decades of stagnation has produced a fragmented, chaotic global economy. Nearly half of every country on the planet has shit credit ratings, effectively making them bankrupt. US national debt has now surpassed almost 400% GDP, exceeding even the levels seen during World War II. China has surpassed the US in GDP, but itself will be surpassed by India, all three will stagnate or worse depending on political and ecological events that will happen around this time. As said before, majority of service, manufacturing, and accounting jobs have been taken over by AI and automated services, creating a class of people that have no income that could represent as much as 66% of the population of a given country. Governments are forced to initiate programs such as a universal basic income. Megacorporations have become a thing, and corporations profit from climate change mitigation and even war and international conflicts. Nearly the entirety of the working US population at this time is employed by a corporation, with “self employed” people being merely contract employees or artisan creators. The world is facing an economic recession worse than the 2007 recession, with climate change being a major factor.

ENVIRONMENT

The deadline set by the Paris Agreement for eliminating carbon emissions by 2035 had been missed. The result in 2050 has lead to conditions that could be called apocalyptic. Arctic ice melt has lead sea levels to rise nearly a meter, greatly impacting coastlines and low-land areas. Cities like New York, London, Hong Kong, Honolulu, and many more have erected great sea walls and pumping systems to keep out seawater. Cities like Venice have been greatly depopulated or outright abandoned due to flooding, and entire small island nations face destruction and collapse as they cannot stop the erosion of their coastline. Many of the islands in the South Pacific and Indian Ocean have been completely abandoned, moving to Australia or Eurasia. Warmer seas have lead to massive superstorms that kill hundreds of thousands, up to a million, each year. Coastal regions are battered by typhoons and hurricanes that far exceed the damage caused by storms like Hurricane Katrina. Tornado Valley in the United States expands and covers states as far as Ohio, with tornadoes becoming more and more extreme each year. Drought and heat waves are excessively common. Desertification has expanded as far north as Spain and the Mediterranean in Europe, and the breadbasket states in the US. Permafrost melt in Russia and Canada and Greenland have turned these countries into agricultural superpowers. Mining settlements and even cities are being founded in coastal Antarctica as global warming has melted the ice and caused temperatures to increase to a cold, yet tolerable. The equatorial region of the Earth has become so hot and arid that few stable countries exist in the region. In Africa, South America, and Asia, rivers begin to run dry, causing regional skirmishes and resource wars over water with upriver countries holding what little water flows as a political tool. Over half of the Amazon rain forest has been deforested for farms that last only a few years at most, creating deserts and parched scrublands. Wildfires have tripled in areas such as California and Australia. The 6th Mass Extinction, known as the Holoscene Epoch and caused by man, is in full effect, environmental destruction has reached it’s apex, with 0.5% of animal and plant species going extinct each year in tropical forests alone. Overfishing, warming seas, and ocean acidification has resulted in mass amounts of marine wildlife dying off, effecting food supplies of humans and animals heavily. 1/5 of all reptile species are extinct at this time, with amphibians being effected even more. Outbreaks of super-resistant bacteria and viral infections are worsened by the climate. The shortage of food and water worldwide, extreme droughts, superstorms, and flooding coastlines along with the political conflicts such as war and economic depression that arises from the climate crisis has created over 150 million climate refugees throughout Asia, Africa, South America, the Middle East, and Oceania. With nowhere to turn, they head to Northern regions such as Europe, North America and Eurasia for relief, creating the single largest migration crisis in recorded history that heavily effects international politics.

POLITICS

Global political systems are in a period immense transition and struggle. Due to worsening climate change, a depressed global economy, and political upheaval across the globe, the state of the planet is in an immediate threat to world peace. Much of the world has moved into a rapidly degrading geopolitical situation, with climate change and a seemingly unending stream of climate refugees driving the crisis. Throughout this period, increasing numbers of equatorial countries are now classified as failed states, with collapsed governments and directionless populations. Civil war is becoming common in most regions. Countries adjacent to equatorial regions are experiencing severe political and social strife, with anti-immigration gripping the US, Europe, and Africa far, far worse than current times. The Mediterranean and Eastern Europe has become highly militarized with Italy, Spain, and Greece hit with massive migrations, resulting in nationalist and fascist governments coming to power. Countries in Europe are in a political deadlock over food and water, with the EU likely collapsing at this time. The country of South Africa has turned into a war zone as it aggressively turns back refugees from Central Africa, which has almost entirely been consumed by desertification. Asia is facing multiple problems as well, with countries like Bangladesh slowly being emptied of it’s population. South East Asian populations are fleeing to neighboring countries such as China and India, which themselves are seeing populations flee to Europe and elsewhere. At the southern border of the US, the situation is extremely pressing. Massive flows of immigrants from South and Central America due to political and economic collapse has caused anti-immigration to surge to extreme levels in the US, with extreme nationalistic and fascist parties gaining support. Though Brazil and Argentina have managed to retain some stability, the mountainous northwestern countries like Peru and Bolivia have degraded and collapsed into armed camps protecting water supplies. Central America collapses into civil war. Countries such as New Zealand, Japan, and the UK have stabilized themselves by completely cutting themselves off and becoming self-sufficient. The equatorial droughts and worldwide instability has left the Middle east as a wasteland of destructive anarchy, with only a few countries remaining somewhat stable. It is very likely that a low-scale nuclear war will erupt between countries like India and Pakistan or Israel and Iran over immigration, water, and food. As the Arctic has melted, freeing up resources that have yet to be tapped such as oil, Russia and the United States race to claim territories in the far north, leading to escalation and political tension and possible war between the two countries. It is likely that at least one city will be devastated by a terrorist nuclear weapon by 2050, with massive amounts of weapons grade nuclear material disappearing from Russia after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in the 1990s. Bioterrorism and even nanotech terrorism can occur, as gene editing and nano manufactoring technology has become widely more accessible. Amidst the massive instability and suffering worldwide, many end times and primitivist movements arise across the globe. Institutions such as the UN, the EU, NATO, and BRICs will likely dissolve around this time. It is possible the world may enter World War 3 over the lack of resources, the worsening climate, the climate refugees, and claims to water.

I know this is a REALLY fucking dark outcome, and I’ll probably be wrong with a lot of this, but this is what I’m expecting to happen around 2050. I’ve studied a lot of these articles and futurism sites for a long time now and this is what I’ve put together from all of those. While I think we face a dark and uncertain future, I think the world will actually recover and get better a little further in the future.

[carnegiemuseumnaturalhistory]

Counting Your Chickens: The World’s Most Numerous Bird

By Eric Dorfman

View this article on Eric’s blog

If you Google “the world’s most numerous bird,” you will likely be given articles about the Red-Billed Quelea (Quelea quelea), also known as the Red-Billed Weaver Bird or Red-Billed Dioch that lives across most of sub-Saharan Africa. It’s considered the most numerous wild bird on earth,  the population sometimes peaking at 1½ billion individuals.

Individually, it’s a pretty little bird. Breeding males have a black facial mask, surrounded by a purple, pink, rust, or yellow wash on their head and breast. It wouldn’t be hard to imagine keeping them as pets. In fact, some people do.

Collectively, however, it’s something of a phenomenon. It feeds in huge flocks of millions of individuals, with birds that run out of food at the rear flying over the entire group to a fresh feeding zone at the front, creating an image of a rolling cloud. They avoid forests, preferring open scrubby habitat – exactly the kind of environment that results in land clearing for agriculture, where their massive numbers have made them a severe pest to farmers. It’s a positive feedback loop that speaks directly to the Anthropocene and the scourges humanity creates for itself when emptying the landscape of it’s natural diversity.

I could go on about the Quelea and sub-Saharan Africa, but I won’t. That’s because I want to talk about the world’s most numerous bird, and it’s not the Quelea, but the Domestic Chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus). In preparing for this post, I wanted to find out how many chickens actually exist worldwide. It’s not as easy as you might think. Estimates vary widely in the media, so I went to the source: the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). They have a very handy calculator (FAOSTAT) that allows you to tally up the number of  chickens – or just about anything – produced for food in any country, between 1961 and 2016. I had a look at chickens out of curiosity, but aside from telling a story about food security, it also points to social equality and intangible natural heritage.

In 2016, worldwide, almost 66 billion chickens were produced. That’s a lot. The most numerous wild bird ever known, the Passenger Pigeon (Ectopistes migratorius) probably only ever reached a total population of 5 billion. China leads the pack with 9.6 billion chickens produced, followed by the USA, with 8.9 billion. Brazil is next, with about 6 billion and then Indonesia and India, each with about 2.5 billion. It tails off relatively quickly after that.

What’s more sobering however, is that the global tally is up from only 7.5 billion chickens 55 years earlier. Comparing it to the human population, however, is where it gets really interesting. In 1961 (December figures), there were just over 3 billion people worldwide (data from World Bank). In 2016, the human population was almost 7. 5 billion. This means that in 1961, there were 0.0024 chickens per person, or one chicken for about 400 people globally, whereas in 2016 there were 8.82 chickens for every person.

People are starting to think a lot about the the way the the Earth’s crust will look in the future, especially through the lens of the Anthropocene. In 2016, Damian Carrington of The Guardian, wrote a compelling article demonstrating how the domestic chicken will define much of the present-day global landscape as it’s represented in the fossil record of the next millennia. It seems undeniable.

I’m left wondering what it says about our changing relationship with nature as a context, and a commodity. We are more distant from nature and perhaps this makes us more rapacious. Is this just a Western phenomenon? Are we so distracted by our First World Problems that we aren’t noticing what we’re doing to the rest of the planet? Perhaps. Out of curiosity, I wanted to see the difference in ratio between 1961 and 2016 between the United States and the Developing World. I picked Kenya, in lieu of doing a robust analysis.

So. Both countries increased their production by about 360% between 1961 and 2016. However, over that time, whereas America’s human population increased by 176% (2.6B to 9.6B), Kenya’s population increased by a whopping 580% (8.36M to 48.46M). This means that the chickens that were produced had to be spread across a lot more people.

American chicken consumers were clear winners in this comparison. Here, the population of chickens went up from 14 birds for every person in the country to 30 birds per person. By stark contrast, the ratio of chickens to people in Kenya went down from roughly on bird for every person to about one bird for every two people. This semi-natural biological resource has become twice as scarce in Kenya over three generations. As human populations continue to increase over the next decades, questions about how biological entities interface with human survival (and, of course, their own) will become ever more pressing.

Does each American need 30 chickens? Perhaps not. In 2013–2014, the National Center for Health conducted a survey of obesity in the United States. Almost 3 in 4 men (73.7%) were considered to be overweight or have obesity, and about 2 in 3 women (66.9%) were considered to be overweight or have obesity. The same surveydemonstrated that a quarter of all people in the US to die between ages 24 and 65 were related to obesity. Our evolutionary drive that makes us strive always for ‘more’ can cloud our judgement, which is detrimental to our health and that of the planet.

The Anthropocene is concerned with the trace we leave behind in the geological record of the distant future. So on some level, the Anthropocene conversation intertwines ideas about how we commodify nature; create, distribute and transport resources; how societies treat one another; and – perhaps most fundamentally – how we view ourselves as part of the global ecosystem.

Eric Dorfman is the Daniel G. and Carole L. Kamin Director of Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Eric oversees strategic initiatives, operations, and research at the museum. He is an active advocate for natural and cultural heritage and has published books on natural history and climate change, as well as children’s fiction and scholarly articles on museology and ecology.

[brentwatchesmovies]

Top 10 Movies of 2017

Another year is behind us, so that means it’s time for everyone’s ‘my favorite ________ of 2017’ lists. This year, I’m folding to peer pressure and changing the ‘top 8’ favorite movies to ‘top 10’ because honestly, there were too many awesome movies and I originally only did it because that’s how Tarantino narrowed his picks and I wanted to seem cool or something. (On a quick related note, I can’t believe this is my 8th year of doing one of these dumb things. Crazy.) On a personal level, 2017 has been a wild year for me. I got married to my best friend, started a much better and satisfying job, and found out we’re going to be parents this year. It’s going to be an incredibly busy and life-changing 2018, and I can’t wait for it.

In terms of the past year in cinema, it’s been amazing as well. I wanted to see as many movies as I could before finalizing my favorites, and was pretty successful, with a few exceptions. I wasn’t able to see Phantom Thread, The Post, The Florida Project, The Emoji Movie or Coco, to name a few (not seeing the new PTA and Spielberg movies before writing this KILLS me). A lot of the choices on my list might be predictable, especially if you follow me on Twitter, or read movie sites/blogs. Twitter has kind of taken over my actually writing posts for this blog anymore, and maybe one day I’ll get better at coming back here and putting thoughts down (probably not though). Like I’ve said in previous years, these really don’t have a ranking, unless I specify it’s my ‘favorite’ over the others. This is a 100% subjective list, based on an incomplete sampling. The movies listed below either moved me in a huge way, were a complete blast, and/or stayed with me long after I saw them. That’s enough preamble though, let’s get to my favorites of 2017!

In my eyes, this whole reboot-prequel-whatever trilogy is a cinematic miracle. This series, on it’s surface is a very campy, B-movie concept. What Rupert Wyatt and now Matt Reeves have done here is a staggering directorial achievement. This entry further fleshes out the already relatable and complex characters, and continues to add emotional depth that the originals could never even touch. In my eyes, this is what makes this the best movie trilogy since The Lord of the Rings. War Apes (what I find to be the best shorthand for this entry) is the ‘Return of the King’ equivalent of this trilogy. It takes Caesar’s story in darker, more unexpected places, and in a perfect world, would net Andy Serkis an Oscar nomination for best actor. If you’ve slept on this series because it seemed silly, or not really your jam, definitely take the time to catch up with it, it’s most definitely worth it.

This was one of the last movies I saw before making this post, and having just seen it a few days ago, it’s the movie I’ve been thinking about most. In a year that I think a lot of people would call ‘complete awful garbage’, (or something similar), Guillermo Del Toro’s love story of the ‘others’ in society; the forgotten and the disenfranchised, hits home. I’m still working through my thoughts on all of it, but it’s up there with my favorites of his filmography. I don’t think GDT has ever made a movie so unapologetically ‘him’. A sequence near the end of the movie is one of my favorite things I’ve seen all year, and I thought to myself during it that nobody other than this one enigmatic, creative and strange man could make something so unique and beautiful. This one definitely isn’t for everyone, but if you like GDT’s movies, I have a feeling you’ll be on board with this one as well.

From this point forward, if Taylor Sheridan has a new movie coming out, I’ll be there to see it. The previous writer of such films as Sicario and Hell or High Water makes his directorial debut with Wind River. It follows a standard neo-western trend of his previous films, but this time moving the story to snowy Wyoming. Setting the location on an American Indian reservation allows Sheridan to bring up timely themes as well, such as the incredibly high rate at which Native American women disappear on reservations, and how few are ever actually found. It’s an incredibly moving and intense story that plays out after the initial murder/mystery is established, going to some of the most intense places thematically that I’ve seen in a movie this year. The cast all around is stellar, and Jeremy Renner specifically has never been better than he is in this movie. If you’re a fan of neo-westerns or Sheridan’s other movies, Wind River is absolutely worth checking out.

I had been anticipating this movie since I heard about it, having been a huge fan of ‘The Indoor Kids’ podcast, hosted by Emily Gordon and her husband Kumail Nanjiani. It’s a video game podcast that they ended a few years back, but every now and then, they would hint at how they met. This movie is how their eventual marriage came to be, and it’s a beautiful love story, which just so happens to fit the mold of one of the best romantic comedies ever made. Not only is it a great comedy, but also dramatically complex due to Emily’s time spent in a coma at the beginning of their relationship and Kumail’s meeting of her two parents. Everyone in this movie gives it their all, with Ray Romano and Holly Hunter standing out as Emily’s parents. The movie also tackles what it’s like to be the child of an immigrant in America, and that perspective was fresh and eye-opening for a big Hollywood movie. This is definitely one to watch with the family.

*potential spoilers for mother!*

If you read my post I wrote about ‘Noah’, you’ll probably understand why I love this movie so much. This is the second film by Darren Aranofsky that explores the morality of not only God, but of the entire bible this time around. Something about that intent clicks with me. Maybe it’s being raised in church until my late teens or the religious cynic inside me, but I love when he tackles these issues. The fact that this religious interpretation is only one of many possible ways to read this movie is what makes it fascinating. Is it about climate change and how we’re destroying the earth? Is it a dramatization of the Bible and God’s relationship with humanity? Or is it about the relationship between artists, the things they create, and the audience? On top of these questions, Mother! Is beautifully shot, acted and constructed. I was pretty much in shock for the entire last third of the movie and that’s more than I can say for almost any movie I’ve seen this year.

Y’all probably knew this was coming, right? I’m so in the bag for Star Wars movies that any objectivity is completely out the window at this point. I also understand that many people REALLY do not like this movie, and I’ve been grappling with that and processing it since I saw the movie a couple weeks ago. Unfortunately I haven’t been able to see the movie a second time, so this is based entirely off my first time seeing The Last Jedi. This movie was everything I wanted and more. It absolutely has faults worth talking about, but to me, the highs of TLJ far outweigh the lows. There were moments in this movie that I yelled in joy, smiled ear to ear and also cried on numerous occasions. For the first time since watching the original trilogy as a kid, I felt like I was watching a true Star Wars movie, with the original series characters, and the great new ones established in VII as well. The prequels have their moments, and Rogue One and Force Awakens were fun diversions in fan fiction, but to me, this movie felt true to what I love about Star Wars. I can’t wait to watch it again.

Sometimes I just think to myself, “it’s really damn cool that I’m around at the same time as Christopher Nolan.” The guy will go down as an all-time great director, and I love that with Dunkirk he proved that he doesn’t need a high concept idea and a ton of exposition to sell it. All you need to tell a gripping story is a camera and a story with baked-in drama, like the evacuation of Dunkirk. The movie is almost a silent film with how little dialogue there is, relying solely on Hoyte van Hoytema’s beautiful cinematography and Nolan’s adherence to old-school film techniques, with as little CG as possible. Dunkirk makes for the most intense theater going experience I’ve probably had all year, and I fear that seeing it at home can never reach the levels of seeing it on the big screen. Regardless, Dunkirk is possibly Nolan’s best film yet, an exciting evolution of his directorial skill, and one of the best war films of all time.

In my opinion, there was no greater surprise at the theater this year than Jordan Peele’s ‘Get Out’. A social horror film in the vein of such classics as ‘Rosemary’s Baby’ and ‘The Step-ford Wives’, and on the same level of quality as well. I’d also have to say that Get Out epitomizes the state of our country the best of any other movie I’ve seen this year, perfectly nailing racial tensions much more nuanced than your typical racist-redneck-murder-family horror movies ever could. I rewatched the movie again over Christmas (this and the Witch make great Christmas movies btw) and it reaffirmed how tightly written, acted and directed it truly is. Every setup has a fulfilling payoff, every character a great/exciting/terrifying moment, and it has one of the most subversive, ingenious endings I’ve seen of this, or any year.  Get out is a certified horror classic, and easily one of the best movies of the year.

Coming-of-age stories are very often ‘my jam’, as I’m sure you could surmise from any number of posts on here from the past. What I loved so much about Luca Guadagnino’s ‘Call me by Your Name’ is the sincerity and honesty in every one of the characters in the movie. The two leads (played by Timothée Chalamet and Armie Hammer) wear their hearts on their sleeves, and soon find themselves in a summer love affair. What this movie captures so well is that feeling of young ‘love’, or at least infatuation with amazingly believable ease. It also features a moment between Timothée Chalamet’s character and his father (played by the always great Michael Stuhlbarg) that crushed me. It hit me right in the nexus of all my dad baggage, past and present, and turned me into a weeping mess. I aspire to be the kind of loving, understanding and wise father that Timothée Chalamet’s character is blessed with in this movie.

Alright guys, time for my favorite movie of the year, and it’s easily Denis Villeneuve’s science fiction masterpiece: Blade Runner 2049. No movie transported me completely like this film did. The entire run time of the movie was almost like an out of body experience. It was surely aided by seeing it on the massive downtown IMAX screen, but when myself and a couple friends walked out of this movie, we were practically in shock. I’m sure I sound hyperbolic right now, but in my eyes this movie is a top-to-bottom cinematic masterpiece. It expands and even improves on themes and ideas that the first film only flirted with. It deepens the philosophy of the world in interesting ways, and does all this with a far more emotional core than the first ever had as well. I’d be remiss not talking about how beautiful this movie is as well. If Roger Deakins doesn’t win his first Cinematography Oscar for this film, somebody should get 25 to life. The second this movie ended, I knew it was my movie of the year, regardless of what else I saw in 2017. It’s a sequel for the ages, and a science fiction film that people decades from now will look back on with intrigue and wonder.

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Thor Ragnarok

Brigsby Bear

Brawl in Cell Block 99

Okja

Baby Driver

Your Name

Logan

John Wick: Chapter 2

Spider-Man: Homecoming

I, Tonya

That’s going to do it for my top films of 2017, thanks so much for reading! If you have thoughts or opinions on my list, hit me up on Twitter or Facebook and let’s talk about them (unless it’s a bad Last Jedi take, those won’t do). It was incredibly hard to cut out some of the honorable mentions but overall I’m extremely happy with my list and all of the movies I was lucky enough to see this year (and lucky enough to have an awesome wife who understands and accepts my movie-going addiction!) Share this post with your friends if you’d like, and I hope you have a great 2018!

[craedesigns]

Ashley Furniture in Richmond

The Most Unique Furniture Store in the World! At the point when you stroll into the Richmond Furniture Gallery interestingly you might feel as though you are strolling back on schedule. After you enter under a craftsman's diversion of a 40-foot seat, you are welcomed with unique antique punched tin roofs and lavish oak woodwork that enhance the workplace region also, the World's Largest Dining Room Chair and An Amazing Handmade Penny Castle. Notable Postcards, exploded to the size of bulletins, are shown all through the store. In the wake of being boarded closed and empty for a very long time, we have meticulously brought this structure "Back to Life." Surprises anticipate you everywhere! So unwind, and go on an outing through a world of fond memories. Appreciate one of the Country's Largest Selections of New classic furniture, all at the Guaranteed Lowest Prices. Legacy Classic furniture in Richmond Gallery was originally the “Miller Bros Hardware Store” built in 1886. George Miller was one of nine poor children whose father died when he was only twelve years old, leaving him to help his mother work their way out of poverty. Through hard work and sheer determination, by 1910 the Miller Bros. Hardware store had grown to the third largest hardware store in the United States, doing over $1,000,000 in business when the average worker made less than twenty cents per day. The Furniture Gallery in Richmond This Historic Area was known (and is known today) as the “Depot District” because of the famous Pennsylvania Railroad Depot built by Daniel Burnham just a few blocks away. At Miller Bros. all hardware and merchandise was moved in by train. The original railroad “Spur” is still at the back of the building. The original “Huge Metal Doors” are still here along with the “Boards” used to unload the boxcars. The original “Skylights” are still on the top floor. You can still see how the floors were hinged on the first and second floors to allow the sun to illuminate the entire building. All the ceilings were left “Intact” as well as the old “Shelving,” “Inventory Tags” and “Wooden Ladders” which still hang from the ceilings. Today, visit our themed rooms, including the “Presidential Room” and see memorabilia of the twenty-two Presidents, including Abe Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, Truman, and Kennedy, who have all been through the Depot District. The Historical Furniture in Richmond The "Old Richmond Room" contains a pictorial history of the Richmond region. See WWII things belonging to Paul A. Richet, 78th Lightning Division overcomer of the "Clash of the Bulge." You will be awed by our 80-foot long and 22-foot tall hand-painted "JAZZ MURAL" in the appropriately named "Jazz Room." Liberty furniture in Richmond "Origination of Recorded Jazz." See the Starr-Bennett Foundation's Jazz Museum and Gift Shop. All space and continues from all deals are 100% given to this present establishment's honorable aim. The "Christmas Room" is a Winter Wonderland for the child in us all. Appreciate occasional Kiddie Train Rides and Model Train shows the entire year, civility of the Richmond Area Model Train Association.

Showcases of the "Most extraordinary HULL Pottery Pieces Ever Made" can be found in the front office. Bowknot Baskets, Mermaid grower, an original Hull Plaque, and the most uncommon exceptional "Test Vase" Are there for your happiness. The Most Beautiful Furniture in Richmond: Over beck Pottery, made locally by sisters from Cambridge City when the new century rolled over is shown here for your pleasure, as well! The Over beck Sisters were instrumental in the Arts and Crafts Movement of the United States, and a considerable lot of their pieces sell for a great many dollars to gatherers around the world.

Come in and have a good time! Visit the "Most Unique Furniture Store in the World," the Nostalgic Liberty furniture in Richmond — And Remember "I'll SAVE YOU MONEY!" Visit our Outlet Locations, as well! Muncie Furniture Outlet, New Castle Furniture Outlet and Richmond Furniture Outlet Buy It Today, Have it today! With more than 120,000 square feet of value furniture, we have a great many things in stock at this point. Purchase your furniture today and get it today or have it conveyed. Shop at Richmond Furniture Gallery and our Outlet Locations for Top Name Brand Furniture from Ashley Furniture in Richmond, Ashley Signature Design, Serta, Simmons Beauty Rest, Lane, Corsicana, Jackson, Klaussner Therapies, Catnapped, Southern Motion, IFD, Vaughn-Bassett, A-America, Best Home Furnishings, and Many More! Bring for a walk through a world of fond memories in our new, completely rebuilt 1890's store in HISTORIC RICHMOND. Acclaimed specialists have established an interesting climate with beautiful paintings and took this structure back to its unique bygone era wonder and appeal. See what's going on in the Historic Richmond Depot District. Step back on schedule for antiquated assistance and bygone era costs. Feel the appeal and sentimentality of days gone by when you visit the Historic Ashley Furniture – I'LL Save You Money!

[pjstafford]

The American Character of Truly Like Lightning by David Duchovny

Spoilers for Entire Book

I am in deep contemplation of the deeply meditative fourth novel by David Duchovny.

This is a timely book which manages to define and explore the conflict of the American Character during a time where the dualism of the character is set, again, to tear the country apart. This blog attempts to place the themes of the novel within the framework of the American character.

On one hand, the American character was formed in our pioneering days by the concept of American exceptionalism, the belief that we should build the city on the Hill and that the expansion West was our manifest destiny. Deeply ingrained within our country’s populace is that belief in individualism, that sense of adventure, that ability to do and to conquer, to create cities and communities out of wilderness. Those traits are often noble. Yet they assume that the destiny of the people who were already on the land was ours to control. They assumed unlimited land resources and that the land itself was made to conquer; a dynamic which sets us up for the climate crisis of today. The Hollywood portrayal of our Western expansion showed the cowboy and outlaw as the heroes and fueled the myths that individuals settled the West by doing what it took as opposed to pioneering communities struggling together for survival. There is so much good and bad in this period of our history and the common traits developed as part of how we think about what it means to be an American. We sometimes choose the mythology over the history. In Truly Like Lightning Bronson Powers represents the bold, strong adventuring American spirit, moving away from the city to live life on his terms. He has his faith, a hard land to live off of, his large family. He doesn’t pay taxes or raise his children by regulations or government rules. His family survives or dies by their own set of rules and with little outside human interaction. He is as strong mythological character seen from afar as Paul Bunyan. Of course, up close, as we see him clearer. We see some aspects of him and life we might not like. Because he is a human and not a myth.

On the other hand, the Founding Fathers of the United States represented the thirteen colonies who were breaking away from the English tyranny. They were not the pioneers of the Western expansion. There was a deeply intellectual component among these men who founded the great American experiment in Democracy. As imperfect as these mostly slave owning men were, they wrote documents that united all of us as one. It is We the People not We the individuals. They set up a system of governing documents that said all men (albeit all white men) were equal. This intellectual bias towards community and union was reinforce in our American culture by the Immigration of the 19th and early 20th century. We are the great diverse culture, melting pot or distinctive stew of choice. There are the Native Americans and the descendants of slaves who are part of We the People today, but, also the descendants of those who fled famine and persecutions and wanted a better life. The West was “conquered” as much by those immigrants as the descendants of the first puritans or pilgrims. The Spanish were already in the West. Asian and Irish Americans largely built the railroads. We are all here to share in some way the American Dream; even those victimized by it. We are the United and not individual states of America. In Truly Like Lightning we see how messy this interaction of people and cultures can become. We see bureaucracy at its worse. We see people disenfranchised. Yet we see Deuce Powers fighting for the common good. Duchovny doesn’t make this element of our character seem as glamorous, does he? Its a hard life to live in Rancho Cucamonga but individual talents shine through. Pearl has the ‘It”. Deuce can achieve the American dream of an Ivy League education. Yet the unity of We the People has given way to the sixties anthem of Power to the People which rings hollow, I guess, in 21st America but at least the struggles seem real. Most of us can relate.

It is the warring conflict in the American character which makes the population specifically vulnerable to the unique American invention, the conman. Be it Joseph Smith or P.T.Barnum or Malouf or Trump. The American con artist will go for the Big Lie every time. He will play on your emotions about American exceptionalism and what you deserve to become rich and fat off of you. There is nothing the con will stop at because there is never enough to satisfy. This works best when we are lost in the parts of the American identity where the conflicts lie.

Maya is the embodiment of the U.S right now. She is the white girl who is a little ethnic. She wants to protect the environment after she gets what’s hers out of it. She is trying to make it in a difficult world and so it’s ok to play by the rules of the game, even if you disagree with the game, because as a single sort of ethnic female she is the underdog. She is drawn to Malouf, the con, but is equally drawn to that other myth of a man, Bronson. She doesn’t want to be one of the nameless people who are part of the middle class. She wants the big win. It’s the American way, but...part of it doesn’t feel right. She will write a check to Janet in atonement. She is playing with children’s actual lives for a buck. Yet we like her, in a way, don’t we?

In the end, after nine men are dead and she is fired, she heads into the fire. She will fight for what’s right. She will give of herself to the greater “good.” Isn’t that too the American way? Isn’t fighting for the nobler cause part of our heritage as well. Where are our gentler angels today?

The novel of meditation leaves you thinking. The author couldn’t have known about the January 6th insurrection, but I can see that as a “fire” in the desert. I feel like the two sides of the American character are looking at one another. I don’t think our conflict is over. This novel doesn’t give you answers. No more than Bronson standing in the desert looking at the sky gets an answer from his God. The novel does ask the right questions framed in a compelling tale.

*Pamela Stafford has a Master’s degree in American Studies.

[chameleonsoulparadise]

“I have heard from people that they want a reason to vote FOR Biden beyond that he's not Trump. Okay, I respect that, so I went on his website, poured through his policies, and came up with 100 reasons to vote for #JoeBiden that don't mention Trump.

1.) $15.00 federal minimum wage

2.) Reinstate DACA – allowing new applicants to apply

3.) 12 Weeks federal paid family leave

4.) Universal Pre-Kindergarten/Childcare for ages 3 and 4

5.) Tuition free college for those with household income less than $125,000.00

6.) Allow student loans to be relieved in bankruptcy

7.) LGBTQ+ Equality Act in the first 100 days in office

8.) Rejoin the Paris Climate Accords

9.) Decriminalize cannabis use and expunge convictions

10.) Eliminate cash bail system

11.) Eliminate mandatory inimum sentences

12.) Outlaw all online firearm and munition sales

13.) Restore the voting rights act

14.) Create a new $20 billion competitive grant program to spur states to shift from incarceration to prevention.

15.) He’ll triple funding for Title I Programs

16.) Appoint the first Black Woman to the Supreme Court of the United States

17.) Reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA)

18.) Ensure the US achieves a 100% clean energy economy and net-zero emissions no later than 2050

19.) Protecting Biodiversity, slowing extinction rates and helping leverage natural climate solutions

20.) Develop a plan to ensure that America has the cleanest, safest and fastest rail system in the world, for both passengers and freight

21.) Expand the safety net for survivors

22.) Confront online harassment, abuse and stalking

23.) End the rape kit backlog

24.) Address the deadly combination of guns and domestic violence

25.) Change the culture that enables domestic violence

26.) Support the diverse needs of survivors of violence against women

27.) Protect and empower immigrant women

28.) Lead the global effort to end gender-based violence

29.) End capital punishment

30.) End federal private prisons

31.) End all incarceration for drug use alone and divert individuals to drug courts and treatment

32.) Invest in public defenders’ offices to ensure defendants’ access to quality counsel

33.) Expand and use the power of the US Justice Department to address systemic misconduct in police departments and prosecutors’ offices

34.) Reform qualified immunity for officers

35.) Ban choke-holds/neck restraints by police

36.) Launch a national police oversight commission

37.) Stop transferring weapons of war to police force

38.) Free access to testing for all with national testing board

39.) Double drive through testing sites

40.) 100,000 contact tracing workforce

41.) Guarantee first responders have priority access to PPE

42.) Emergency paid leave for anyone who gets COVID or needs to take care of a loved one

43.) Free housing for health care workers to quarantine

44.) Ramp up large scale manufacturing of as many vaccine candidates as necessary

45.) Nationwide vaccination campaign to guarantee fair distribution

46.) Ask every American to wear a mask

47.) End the mismanagement of the asylum system, which fuels violence and chaos at the border

48.) Surge humanitarian resources to the border and foster public-private initiatives

49.) End prolonged detention and reinvest in a case management program

50.) Rescind the un-American travel and refugee bans, also referred to as “Muslim bans.”

51.) Order an immediate review of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for vulnerable populations who cannot find safety in their countries ripped apart by violence or disaster

52.) Ensure that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) personnel abide by professional standards and are held accountable for inhumane treatment.

53.) Revitalize the Task Force on New Americans and boost our economy by prioritizing integration, promoting immigrant entrepreneurship, increasing access to language instruction, and promoting civil engagement.

54.) Convene a regional meeting of leaders, including from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and Canada, to address the factors driving migration and to propose a regional resettlement solution

55.) Raising the corporate tax rate to 28 percent.

56.) Requiring a true minimum tax on ALL foreign earnings of United States companies located overseas so that we do our part to put an end to the global race to the bottom that rewards global tax havens. This will be 21% — TWICE the rate of the Trump offshoring tax rate and will apply to all income.

57.) Imposing a tax penalty on corporations that ship jobs overseas in order to sell products back to America.

58.) Imposing a 15% minimum tax on book income so that no corporation gets away with paying no taxes.

59.) Raising the top individual income rate back to 39.6 percent.

60.) Asking those making more than $1 million to pay the same rate on investment income that they do on their wages.

61.) Tackle the crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women

62.) Ensure tribal nations will have a strong voice and role in the federal government

63.) Restore Tribal lands and safeguard natural and cultural resources

64.) Joe will dramatically increase funding for both public schools and Bureau of Indian Education schools.

65.) Invest $70 billion in Tribal Colleges and Universities and Minority Serving Institutions.

66.) Ensure full inclusion of people with disabilities in policy development and aggressively enforce the civil rights of people with disabilities.

67.) Guarantee access to high-quality, affordable health care, including mental health care, and expand access to home and community-based services and long-term services and supports in the most integrated setting appropriate to each person’s needs and based on self-determination.

68.) Expand competitive, integrated employment opportunities for people with disabilities.

69.) Protect and strengthen economic security for people with disabilities.

70.) Ensure that students with disabilities have access to educational programs and support they need to succeed, from early interventions to post-secondary education.

71.) Expand access to accessible, integrated, and affordable housing, transportation, and assistive technologies and protect people with disabilities in emergencies.

72.) Advance global disability rights

73.) Double the number of psychologists, guidance counselors, nurses, social workers, and other health professionals in our schools so our kids get the mental health care they need

74.) Invest in our schools to eliminate the funding gap between white and non-white districts, and rich and poor districts

75.) Improve teacher diversity

76.) Support our educators by giving them the pay and dignity they deserve.

77.) Invest in resources for our schools so students grow into physically and emotionally healthy adults, and educators can focus on teaching.

78.) Ensure that no child’s future is determined by their zip code, parents’ income, race, or disability.

79.) Provide every middle and high school student a path to a successful career.

80.) Start investing in our children at birth.

81.) Double funding for the State Small Business Credit Initiative.

82.) Expand the New Markets Tax Credit, make the program permanent, and double Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) funding

83.) Improve and expand the Small Business Administration programs that most effectively support African American-owned businesses.

84.) Increase funding for the Minority Business Development Agency budget.

85.) Make sure economic relief because of COVID-19 reaches the African American businesses that need it most

86.) Reserve half of all the new PPP funds for small businesses with 50 employees or less

87.) Help families buy their first homes and build wealth by creating a new refundable, advanceable tax credit of up to $15,000

88.) Protect homeowners and renters from abusive lenders and landlords through a new Homeowner and Renter Bill of Rights.

89.) Establishing a $100 billion Affordable Housing Fund to construct and upgrade affordable housing

90.) Fully implement Congressman Clyburn’s 10-20-30 Plan to help all individuals living in persistently impoverished communities

91.) Expand access to $100 billion in low-interest business loans by funding state, local, tribal, and non-profit lending programs in Latino communities and other communities of color and strengthening Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs

92.) Expand broadband access to every American.

93.) Protect and build on the Affordable Care Act to improve access to quality health care in rural communities.

94.) Expand access to high-quality education in rural schools.

95.) Transform our crumbling transportation infrastructure – including roads and bridges, rail, aviation, ports, and inland waterways.

96.) Expand bio-based manufacturing to bring cutting-edge manufacturing jobs back to rural America.

97.) Strengthen antitrust enforcement

98.) Introduce a constitutional amendment to entirely eliminate private dollars from our federal elections

99.) End dark money groups

100.) Ban corporate PAC contributions to candidates, and prohibit lobbyist contributions to those who they lobby

***EDIT*** this again is all from his website. I literally copy pasted the bullet points from his website. If you go on his website, click Joe’s Vision, he has different themes. “Criminal justice reform, helping America’s farmers, etc.” I clicked through a bunch of those, and tried to get the quickest bullet points from his website.”