Trump's Financial Ties to Russia

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Saturday December 31, 2016 · 12:08 PM PST

2016/12/31 · 12:08

Lawyer and economist James S. Henry has written a fascinating and foot-noted article about Trump and Russian money called “The Curious World of Donald Trump’s Private Russian Connections” (The American Interest, December 19, 2016). It points to complicated and apparently long-standing reliance by Trump on easy money flowing from a variety of Russian sources after the fall of the Soviet Union and privatization of Russian public assets. Really worth reading.

How Fruits and Veggies Helped Me Survive the Election and Generally Changed My Life

Rona

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Saturday November 17, 2012 · 3:01 PM PST

2012/11/17 · 15:01

Problems I was having last July: I’m 20 pounds overweight. Food costs too much. I hate feeling hungry and deprived. Am I getting enough nutrients to be healthy? I don’t like writing down everything I eat. Fancy supplements and vitamins cost too much. Does red meat cause cancer? My joints ache. What can I take to the potluck? The upcoming election is making me nervous, and when I’m nervous I eat too much of the wrong stuff.

Three word solution: Fruit and vegetables.

More revelations below the golden pumpkin souffle.

Rona

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Thursday October 27, 2011 · 8:26 AM PDT

2011/10/27 · 08:26

The October 23 Sunday New York Times included a lavish, glossy, 66-page “Special Advertising Supplement” devoted exclusively to selling outrageously expensive men’s and women’s wristwatches. Apparently the mega-rich need to get a head start on their Christmas shopping. It struck me as ridiculously self-indulgent and tone-deaf, given the currently realities of unemployment, home foreclosures, escalating childhood poverty, disintegrating infrastructure, and growing alarm about the vast income and wealth disparities in our country.

No prices were listed with the watches being advertised, apparently following the cliché justification, “If you have to ask, you can’t afford it.” So I went on the internet and looked up the prices of some of random watches listed in the magazine. The first one I checked was $7,365, which is about $2000 more than the tuition and fees for a year as a full-time student at most campuses of the California State University. The next one was $60,753, which is more than twice the maximum possible annual social security benefit. This is absurd. There's something wrong here. Production and sale of these ostentatious time pieces (however beautifully and precisely engineered) is not going to result in jobs for people who need them or help insure a just, humane and strong society. Our focus needs to be on prosperity and opportunity for all, not opulent trinkets for the few.

Occupy My Mind

Rona

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Monday October 24, 2011 · 9:12 AM PDT

2011/10/24 · 09:12

(or How NPR’s Michele Norris Helped Me Think More Clearly About Occupy Wall Street)

Michele Norris, co-host of “All Things Considered” on NPR gave a great talk at Sacramento State University recently about her new book, The Grace of Silence. She has an ingenious way to make people think about the role of race in their lives and in American society (the subject of her book). She calls it “The Race Card.” Ms. Norris has invited people all over the country to record their thoughts, feelings, experiences, fears, about race in six words and mail them to her. Then she strings these 6-word essays together in fascinating narrative chains and uses them to provoke conversations.

At first, I thought this was a gimmick. How can you possibly say anything meaningful about a complex subject like race in six words? Actually, it turned out to be a powerful tool to distill thoughts and feelings to their central meaning and to force the mind to focus. Go try it at her website. (Six words.) If you start, you can’t stop. (Six more words.)

Some pundits want the Occupy Wall Street movement to be clearer and more concise about its “demands.” Others say if you can’t figure out what’s upsetting people in this political and economic climate, you are a poor excuse for a pundit. In any event, Michelle Norris’ six-word essays provided a way for me to think more clearly about my hopes for the Occupy Wall Street movement and generally about promoting greater civic health, prosperity, opportunity, and equality in our amazing country. None of the ideas in my mini-essays is original. But I like to make lists, so take a look at mine below. Then add your own, if you like.

Rona

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Sunday October 23, 2011 · 12:29 PM PDT

2011/10/23 · 12:29

Rob Zerban is running for congress in the 1st Congressional District in Wisconsin against Paul Ryan. In my opinion, Ryan's fixation on cutting government spending and gutting programs like Medicare, Medicaid, Pell Grants and Social Security would seriously weaken our country. It's not just a matter of fairness (although that is extremely important). It's a matter of survival as a strong society. Although I don't live in Wisconsin, I recently sent Rob Zerban's campaign a contribution because decisions in Congress obviously affect our country as a whole. He sent back an email that captures the kind of responsible, thoughtful approach we need much more of in the House of Representatives. Somehow, its straightforward, unhyperbolic tone really spoke to me. So I'm quoting most of it below as a thank-you note to Mr. Zerban. Check out his website, too.

Rona

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Wednesday April 29, 2009 · 8:52 AM PDT

2009/04/29 · 08:52

Even if you have cash to pay for medical services, the UC Davis Medical System will not accept you as a new patient if you don't have health insurance.

Rona

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Friday September 22, 2006 · 7:39 AM PDT

2006/09/22 · 07:39

All Saints and the IRS

Dan Walters, veteran columnist for the Sacramento Bee, nails the absurdity (click on lead and sign in for free) of going after an Episcopal Church in Pasadena for an anti-war sermon during the 2004 presidential campaign. The sermon, a mock debate among Jesus, President Bush, and Senator Kerry about the morality of the Iraq war, has led the IRS to threaten to revoke the tax-exempt status of All Saints Episcopal,and, most recently to serve summonses on the church demanding all 2004 "political" documents and an appearance by the Rector. Walters' main point is that

As long as churches aren't spending tax-exempt funds on behalf of specific candidates, the IRS should leave verbal exhortations alone...

Rona

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Sunday July 16, 2006 · 6:29 AM PDT

2006/07/16 · 06:29

People on DailyKos and elsewhere often express bewilderment about the thinking of thirty percent of Americans who continue to support Bush regardless of stunning and overwhelming evidence of failed policies, tragic incompetence, and pervasive dishonesty. Last week, in an airplane somewhere over the Midwest, I sat next to one of the thirty percent for a couple of hours and got to ask some questions. Most answers were depressingly predictable. Some were frightening. Some were enlightening. Some demonstrated an amazing ability to tolerate cognitive dissonance. A few provided some glimmers of hope for progressive candidates who hope to peel off a few votes from the Bush base. All seemed absolutely sincere. The following questions and answers are paraphrased from a friendly, two-hour chat. The quasi-hopeful, possible-basis-for-meeting-of-the-minds answers are at the end. It started with a discussion of a USA Today article about the Middle East. Read More

Pithy Quotes about Government

Rona

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Wednesday June 21, 2006 · 8:03 AM PDT

2006/06/21 · 08:03

Pithy Quotes about Government

Here are some samples from a collection of quotes about government that seem to have particular application to our current predicament.

"Blessed are the young, for they will inherit the national debt."
-- President Herbert Hoover
"It is not the function of our Government to keep the citizen from falling into error; it is the function of the citizen to keep the
Government from falling into error."
-- Robert H. Jackson
"When I was a boy I was told that anybody could become President: I'm beginning to believe it."
-- Clarence Darrow
"The punishment which the wise suffer who refuse to take part in the government, is to live under the government of worse men."
-- Plato
"Tell the truth. Do your best no matter how trivial the task. Choose the difficult right over the easy wrong. Look out for the group before you look out for yourself. Don't whine or make excuses. Judge others by their actions and not by their race or other characteristics."
-- The United States Marines

Can you find and post some other good ones?

Doolittle (CA-04) Fearlessly Protects Superwealthy at Lake Tahoe

Rona

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Monday May 29, 2006 · 8:35 AM PDT

2006/05/29 · 08:35

The Sacramento Bee reported this morning that Republican Congressman John Doolittle (CA-04) has taken some time out from defending himself against accusations of financial missteps related to Jack Abramoff, see also November 2005 diary by Mrs. Pastor, to reserve 770 acres of land at Lake Tahoe for 23 "estate-sized lots for the superwealthy." Read More

Crashing the Gate--Better than Soybeans

Rona

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Monday May 22, 2006 · 6:59 AM PDT

2006/05/22 · 06:59

Truthfully, I would rather read a 1000 page novel than a 200 page nonfiction book. Nonfiction often seems like soybeans--good for me and good for the planet but not very interesting--often bland and hard to digest at the same time. That's why I decided to write to tell you about why I liked Crashing the Gate so much. Here are my criteria: Read More

Democratic Dreamin'

Rona

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Saturday March 11, 2006 · 8:04 AM PST

2006/03/11 · 08:04

Any regular reader/participant in DailyKos must be absolutely convinced that Democrats do NOT suffer from a lack of ideas. Here's one way to crystallize them into an easily understood platform: Imagine we have taken back the House and the Senate. Close your eyes, take a deep breath, and savor it for a moment. OK--enough enjoyment. What are the highest priority items on your List of Things to Do? Read More

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Trump's Financial Ties to Russia

How Fruits and Veggies Helped Me Survive the Election and Generally Changed My Life

They Watch While America Struggles

Occupy My Mind

This is why I like Rob Zerban

Can't Pay Cash for Health Care

All Saints and the IRS

Close Encounters of the Conservative Kind

Pithy Quotes about Government

Doolittle (CA-04) Fearlessly Protects Superwealthy at Lake Tahoe

Crashing the Gate--Better than Soybeans

Democratic Dreamin'