Today was one of those days! I missed my alarm and awoke 5 minutes before physio. I was going to be very late so we rescheduled to 14:30. I promptly fell back asleep for 2 hours. So much for getting some chores done. Over 2.5 hours of physio, which included 40 minutes of peddling my sasquatch butt on the recumbent bicycle, I was done. Tomorrow I take the furbabes for their annual checkups and vaccinations. I am guaranteed to be tired after corraling the beasts and transporting them. Their godfather (the vet) will be very glad to see them! When I saw my mother Sunday, I told her that her grandcats said "meow, meow, meow!" and she gave me a big smile.
Short Takes
Alternet — … William J. Kruvant described the process in a 1975 journal article:
“Disadvantaged people are largely victims of middle- and upper-class pollution because they usually live closest to the sources of pollution—power plants, industrial installations, and in central cities where vehicle traffic is heaviest. Usually they have no choice. Discrimination created the situation, and those with wealth and influence have political power to keep polluting facilities away from their homes. Living in poverty areas is bad enough. High pollution makes it worse.”
Environmental racism. I had not heard the term before, but it certainly makes sense. And that same idea also extends to poor people. I remember as a small child living in a small house in a very working class neighbourhood. Next to the house (within 20 feet) was a railroad line that carried industrial supplies so trains were heavy and rattling. On the other side of the tracks was a canal, heavily polluted with industrial waste. Directly across the street was a hydro-electricity plant, and just across the canal on the same side as the plant, was the Massey Ferguson plant (manufactured farm implements) and all it's spewing of pollution. As soon as they could afford it, my parents moved us to a neighbourhood away from the pollution. Click through to see 7 US communities of colour subjected to a toxic assault. Here is the report mentioned in the article: Toxic Wastes and Race at Twenty 1987—2007 . Look at pages 124-133 to see New Orleans, post Katrina, and pages 134-151 to view Dickson County, Tennessee.
Huffington Post — A Texas grand jury has indicted two anti-abortion activists in a case involving covert videos on fetal tissue procurement talks with Planned Parenthood and found there was no wrongdoing on the part of the health group, a district attorney said on Monday.
The grand jury decision was a result of a probe launched last year under Texas Governor Greg Abbott, a Republican, who accused Planned Parenthood of the "gruesome harvesting of baby body parts." No evidence was provided by Texas to back the claim.
Good news! Now will there be a conviction when the case goes to trial?
Mother Jones — On Monday, the US Supreme Court permanently laid to rest North Dakota's controversial "fetal heartbeat" law that would have banned abortions as early as six weeks into a pregnancy. …
After a series of appeals, a federal judge again ruled the law unconstitutional in July. Once more the state appealed the ruling and it went to the Supreme Court. But the court on Monday refused to review the lower court's ruling, effectively overturning the ban.
More good news!
My Universe —
And that's not all the dog blocked!
9 Responses to “Squatch’s Open Thread 25/01/2016”
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Alternet: So true, of environmental racism. Our little town has this, and as a community we should be more aware of this. Many can't afford to move to a better place. Sad.
HuffPo: Glad to see an indictment by a Texas grand jury on Monday, the charge carries a felony charge up to 20 years in prison. This is right down the road from me, so I'll be listening/reading the proceedings.
MJ: Great news!!!
My Universe: Kitty, oh so cute! Dog: Definitely anxiety issues….poor thing, he missed his mama!!
Awww…nothing better than a mother's smile, you are a good daughter. You have a busy day ahead! I have another day *(or more), of waiting, as my codes were not correct for my Medicare med appt. this a.m. Ugh! Enjoy your day, get some rest, thanks, Lynn.
Wowie! Two out of three good news posts to celebrate! Thanks Lynn
AlterNet – Yes. New Orleans post-Katrina is fairly well known, but apparently not well-known enough. News flash: New Orleans isn't romantic any more. Sad. It is all sad. So, what does it take to bring this to public attention? Is it for the middle class to be squashed down enough that it sees (has to live in) conditins that it used to be part of creating? Very sad indeed.
HuffPo – This is a great example of what a grand jury in fact can do. It was convened to investigate evil Planned Parenthood (the Governor pushed it on that premise.) But the DA was committed to following the facts, and not only did it exonerate Planned Parenthood, but it indicted the conspirators. Think this tidbit will be on Fox News? I am not holding my breath. Although it might be, with a negative spin.
MoJo – Some of the quotes coming from Scalia beggar belief in the 6-3 decisions we are seeing this week. It's just nice to be able to breathe easier.
Universe – As we have all been told many times, Cat is where it's at.
Your body was telling you something, Lynn, if you missed your alarm an then slept another 2 hours, and you better listen to it. I don't begrudge you your visit to the vet with your furbabes. That is a task I dread most of all.
Alternet: Environmental discrimination is not as new as presented here, the poor having to live in the worst environmental circumstances is something that goes back centuries. In the 17th century the rich left Amsterdam's canals behind them in the summer and retreated to their country estates for fresh air, as far away from the awful stink and the sick-making vapors emanating from the raw and ripe sewage in those canals while the poor had to stay and endure. From the middle ages the poor had to endure living in overcrowded cities with sewage in the streets, as well as offal from slaughterhouses, toxins from tanneries and so forth while the gentry lived in much cleaner surroundings. The industrial revolution made things even worse for the poor living in overcrowded slums next to the filth bellowing factories. And although this problem has only worsened over time and the health of the poorest even more compromised, very few administrations have done something about it.
HuPo: We may tend to forget there are a lot of very sensible people in Texas, shouted down by right-wing extremists as they are, and this grand jury decision is proof of that. Let's hope that the people deciding on this case's faith are of equally sound and sensible mind.
MoJo: And at SCOTUS sanity has prevailed for once too, the justices just didn't take it on, so this ridiculous and unconstitutional ban is off the table. Until Republicans find another loophole of course and the whole circus starts anew.
My Universe: That dog looks mighty proud of his blocking.
Sounds like you needed more rest.
It does make sense, but all poor people suffer those effects. So I think it's indirect: Racism –> Poverty –> Environmental Impact.
Great minds fall in the same ditch.
I'm shocked!
It's always the dawg's fault!!
Shocked indeed! I had to read it several times to ensure I was reading correctly!
I had to read it too!
Good to see Karma AND Schadenfreude at work in TWO of your articles!
Thanks everyone!