Rita's Spur to Action

It seems that the Koch brothers with their friends and partners  have already bought the Congress ,the Senate of the United States, and probably the Supreme Court as well. They  are now about to buy the next upcoming 2016 elections. If power and fame is what they want they may succeed but their names will live on in infamy. I have a wonderful idea for these fellows. They have already declared that they will spend at least a Billion dollars on the next 2016 election. Well  I think I have a better idea for them. They could invest in the failing infra structure of the country. They could invest in the rebuilding of the roads and bridges across the Nation. They might even make some money along the way. They could name every road and every bridge after themselves. Their names would live long after they have left this veil of tears, and they would be remembered for the good they will have done for this country and the people who inhabit it.

I’ve been writing about the ugly tall buildings since early September 2014. It is only now that the New York Times has begun to look at the skyline of Manhattan and to begin writing about the destruction of the City……

See New York Time Article Here

Well it looks as though they have  finally caught on to the idea that these ugly tall buildings will destroy the city. It will be a cavernous nest of dark streets. No one living in Manhattan will be able to see the sky ever again. Dark streets are usually empty streets and this is an open invitation to criminals and street people to take over the deserted spaces. If enough people understand what the real Estate industry and the Politicians are doing to Manhattan in the name of money, maybe we can stop the process.

Climate Change is happening rapidly. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)has  announced national limits on carbon pollution from existing power plants,  the single largest source of carbon emissions in the Untied States.

Even though a majority of the Americans in our country today want our government to take forceful steps to combat climate change, Congress does not seem to recognize our concern. The wealth and power in the fossil fuel industry are aligned with a cadre of climate denying Representatives and Senators who continue to block any reasonable attempt by Congress to protect the American people from the growing threat of climate change.

Industry groups such as the National Association of Manufacturers, The American Petroleum Institute, the Coal Lobby, and once the again, the infamous KOCH BROTHERS are spending hundreds of millions of dollars on an all out assault on the EPA climate action. Their great ally Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell is on record that he will block any attempt by the EPA to limit carbon emissions from the power plants. Thanks to him and his cohorts, the global carbon emissions have continued to rise. In fact carbon emissions are rising at twice the rate in the 21st century over where  they were in the last decades of the 20th century.   These groups will tell you that putting limits on power plants will hurt the economy and destroy jobs. History does not bear this out. The power industry has cleaned up many dangerous pollutants such as Sulfur Dioxide, Nitrogen Dioxide and other particulate matter. Their industries have continued to profit and the US economy has nearly doubled in the past 25  years, and Americans have been healthier due to these actions.

I keep reading articles by scientist from around the world, who are now reporting that if human kind does not take immediate and aggressive action to combat climate change, within fifteen years the problem will be virtually unsolvable with the technology available to us  today. We the citizens of this country, we the citizens of our planet are in serious trouble. We need to act now. Write to your Congress.Force them to hear from the majority of Americans who want bold action on climate change. This means YOU.

What kind of people have we become in this country? Every time I open a newspaper or a magazine I read about graft, theft, fraud and greed.  Today I found myself enraged when I read that an American soldier, Capt. Elder Saintjuste who had fought in that worthless war in Iraq, after serving three tours of duty in Iraq, has been forced to retire as a sergeant. He served in the army for twenty years. He served at the behest of the then President of the United States of America, Mr. George W. Bush  who took this country into a War that has totally destroyed the Middle east and has cost this country it’s wealth both in lives and dollars. Now a soldier who has risen through the ranks to become a Captain in the army, thinking that he had a great job and a secure retirement for his family ,has been forced to retire at  $1200 a month less than a Captain’s pay because he hasn’t been a Captain long enough to receive full retirement pay for that rank.. Why should those people who have risked their lives to save ours, why should they be deprived of their pay and not the members of the Congress, and the Senate who seem to serve only themselves these days and not the people of this country. They, who have spent vast fortunes for their elections should surely sacrifice something for the people who have risked their lives for them.

Rita Fredricks, actor, activist, blogger

On a recent trip to Costco uptown on 116^th Street, I noticed that almost all the children were overweight and most of the adult customers as well. The average weight of the American child has been climbing since the 1980s. Now 1 in 3 kids are obese or overweight. Projecting this observation, in about 10 or 15 years, more than half the adult population would be dangerously overweight. There will be millions of cases of diabetes, stroke and heart disease.

Apparently, President Obama tried to address this problem. He got behind the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, which was to impose strict new standards on all foods sold in public schools. It became law in 2010 with overwhelming support in Congress. Although at the time the Republicans in the Senate seemed to support this bill, they now attack it as a nanny state intrusion. Food companies argue that the standards are too severe and some kids don’t like the food. It looks as though if the Republicans gain control of the Senate this fall, they will immediately gut the program within a year and with it will also be lost the fight against childhood obesity.

Last time the Republicans had the opportunity, they decided that the price of lunch would be driven up, that sodium reductions would be expensive and that children wouldn’t necessarily eat the lower sodium food. Apparently in the Reagan Administration, they allowed schools to count ketchup as a vegetable and pizza as a vegetable. It seems as though the Republicans again have no regard for the health of the nation.

It is clear that the population of our country is truly obese and not healthy. Something must be done. Healthy food may require children to change their eating habits. Maybe the schools need to have small gardens so the children can learn more about food and nutrition. Of course there is a cost but the cost is far lower than what we will be paying when these children are older and suffer from obesity, diabetes, colon cancer, high cholesterol and heart problems. Spend the money now to save money in the future.

Vote now for the candidates who will support the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act.