Columns

Padilla's Bill Would Make the West Coast Oil-Free!  

On February 3, Team Padilla, the activist bloc working with our newly minted US Senator, Alex Padilla, sent the following message: "Since taking office, President Biden has taken on the fight against climate change by taking bold, historic action. President Biden has signed executive actions to suspend new leases for natural gas and oil development on federal lands and waters, and created a commission focused on green jobs and environmental justice. But there’s even more we can do!" 

And here's what Team Padilla has in mind: a bill called the West Coast Ocean Protection Act to "permanently ban oil and gas drilling in federal waters off California, Oregon, and Washington." 

Padilla is co-sponsoring the WCOPA and needs the signatures of 10,000 "citizen co-sponsors." Just click the following link to become a citizen co-sponsor.  

Cash into Trash and Money to Burn 

According to a recent report on KCBS, the Federal government destroys more than 7,000 tons of worn-out currency every year. Is that even possible? Sure is! We pay the Federal Reserve big bucks to operate 28 "cash-processing facilities" that shred tens of millions of worn-out bills. Most of the wilted bills are transformed into compost and home insulation, but the Fed's Los Angeles facility burns tons of minced money in local power plants that provide enough electricity for 20,000 homes. 

Minimum Wage Woes 

Speaking of devaluing our nation's currency, let's take a look at the Minimum Wage. 

According to the US Department of Labor, the first federally mandated Minimum Wage was instituted on October 24,1938 and it guaranteed workers a lawful wage of . . . twenty-five-cents-an-hour (or two bucks a day). 

A year later, the Federal Minimum Wage (FMW) was hiked to 30 cents-per-hour. Six more years passed before the next adjustment raised the FMW to 40 cents-per-hour. An American worker's pay didn't hit $1/hour until 1956. 

Over the course of 82 years, the FMW has only been raised 28 times. 

The last time the FMW was hiked (to $7.25) was in 2009—more than a decade ago. (According to Raise the Minimum Wage, "more than 40 cities and counties have raised the minimum wage locally since 2012." Colorado currently requires a $12 hourly wage.) 

Since the FMW topped a dollar in 1956, the rate of inflation has soared by 852%. Adjusted for inflation, the current hourly wage should be $9.52. The sad truth is that the inflation-adjusted value of the "minimum wage" has been in steady decline ever since it was introduced. 

Who Gets Most of the Pentagon's Money? Not the Soldiers 

The Pentagon has no such worries. In 2018 (while workers' wages remained frozen at 2009 levels), the DOD's billion-dollar budget was increased by 5.53%. In 2019, while workers wages remained frozen, the DOD's budget swelled by 7.22%. 

In 2020, the Pentagon was handed nearly $20 billion in additional cash. There wasn't much of a "trickle down" benefit for workers, however, because around half of the entire military budget "cascaded down" into the coffers of the weapons industry—folks like Raytheon, Boeing, General Dynamics, Lockheed Martin, Northrup Grumman. Meanwhile, the Pentagon's adjusted pay for its own employees (aka "soldiers") was boosted by 3.1%—"the largest [increase] in a decade." 

Oh, What a Relief It Is

"Those giveaways include: 

— A $2.5 billion break for racecar tracks 

— A $6.3 billion write-off for business meals, i.e. the “three-martini lunch” deduction 

— A new provision under the Paycheck Protection Program that allows forgiven loans to also be tax-deductible, giving businesses the ability to 'double dip' into the program 

"The bill also creates an independent commission to oversee horse racing—at the behest of Mitch McConnell.  

"There’s no question about it: This pandemic has both revealed and exacerbated our already staggering economic inequality.  

"Republicans didn’t blink twice when they handed out $6.3 billion in tax breaks to their wealthy corporate backers, but when it came to getting direct relief to struggling Americans, $600 was the best they could do. Their priorities couldn’t be clearer." 

Fight the Impulse 

A fund-raising letter from Sen. Elizabeth Warren that recently arrived in an envelope bearing a request to "stay in this fight," contained a letter that used the word "fight" no less than 11 times. Instead of complaining about politicians' habit of comparing politics to a barfight, I thought I'd send the Senator a list of 10 words that could be use instead of the word "fight." How about: campaign, struggle, organize, contest, contend, challenge, endeavor, engage, overcome, and, of course . . . , persist! 

Barbara Lee's Fighting Words 

Our militarized culture continues to salt our lingo with verbal land-minds. In a recent fund-raising letter, Rep. Barbara Lee noted: "it’s important we find time to rejoice because we beat the odds by electing Jon Ossoff and Rev. Warnock, flipping the Senate, and making Mitch McConnell minority leader (Yes)! Now, with a Democratic White House and Congress, we have an unprecedented opportunity to enact the transformational change we’ve worked long and hard for." 

And then Rep. Lee added: "Republicans have shown us that they will stoop to any low — including inciting violence — to maintain power. We must be prepared to fight back when those challenges come our way." 

But a call to "fight … violence" risks escalation. As Dr. King taught, we need to overcome. 

The Women Are Coming … And Leading 

How a Pope Besmirched Mary Magdalene 

Like many Christians, I grew up believing that Jesus had befriended a former prostitute named Mary Magdalene. So I was surprised when I read the Epilog to Magdalena, author/adventurer Wade Davis' epic celebration of the signature river that courses through the nation of Colombia. As Davis points out, Mary Magdalene was falsely accused of carnal cavorting. The actual prostitute was another Biblical Mary. 

The source of the confusion was Pope Gregory (590 A.D). Pope Greg apparently misread the scriptures and confused two of the New Testament's Marys. (And we thought Popes were "infallible.") The mistake endured for 1,400 years and wasn't corrected until 1969 when Vatican II officially confirmed that Mary Magdalene was not the sinful Mary of Luke 7:36-50. 

It turns our there are three different Marys in the Scriptures (not counting Mother Mary). No wonder the Pope got confused. The gospels have an account of Mary of Bethany (the sister of resurrected Lazarus) anointing Jesus’ feet and wiping his toes with her hair. (Luke 10:38-42; John 11; John 12:1-7.) But there also is a Biblical account of a third sinful Mary who washed the savior's feet in Simon's house. 

For six centuries, pop culture wrongly identified Mary Magdalene as a sex worker. In medieval paintings, the modern musical Jesus Christ: Superstar, and Mel Gibson’s movie The Passion of the Christ, Mary Magdalene was depicted as a reformed prostitute. But it was a chaste and virtuous Mary who traveled with Jesus and his disciples, who attended the crucifixion, and who was the first to see the resurrected Christ. (Luke 8:2; Mark 15:40; John 20:11-18.) 

Postscript: It's possible that the third Mary's "sin" may not even have involved prostitution. Biblical scholars note that prostitution was only one of several misbehaviors that led to women being scorned. Other "sinful" practices included "adultery, debt, and being married to someone with a dishonorable occupation"—such as a tax collector. 

A Punishing Pastiche for Pastis 

In his latest edition of the Hightower Lowdown, progressive pundit Jim Hightower, wrote that his favorite cartoon strip is "Pearls Before Swine" by Stephan Pastis. 

Lawyer-turned-cartoonist Pastis is known for (among other things) staging elaborate puns. 

In a recent strip, one character (Pig) tells another (Rat): "Our library added a whole new Indian wing. It has Indian prose and Bollywood movies starring Aamir Khan, Shar Ruch Khan and Salman Khan." Another character (Goat) arrives and asks: "You guys talking about the new library? What do you think?" To which Pig replies: "It has prose and Khans." 

A while back, I sent Pastis my attempt at matching one of his longer, more elaborate Sunday Puns. It went as follows: 

Panel 1: Pig is seen lacing up a pair of running shoes. 

Rat: "Hey, Pig. What's up?" 

Panel 2: Pig: "Saami, my friend from Lapland, just invited me to run a mile with him."
Rat: "But, pig, you're no runner." 

Panel 3: Pig: "Not a problem. Saami offered to strap me to a belt around his waist. It's a weight-training exercise. I won't have to do a thing." 

Panel 4: [Sign-box: "An hour passes. . . ." Pig returns, looking disheveled.] 

Rat: "Pig! You look awful. Did you run your mile?" 

Pig: "No. There was a problem…." 

Panel 5 

Rat: "What happened?" 

Pig: "My Lapp's lap collapsed before my laps elapsed." 

Last Panel: [Rat holding baseball bat over Pastis' head.] "Let's call that a lapse of judgment." 

What If Israel Occupied Berkeley 

A satirical literary meme inspired by The Onion has been circulating via email—and it's being quickly updated for every locality it lands in. The version I received—ostensibly a report from Charlottesville VA—was sent by author, journalist, and radio host David Swanson. The following faux news version has been revised for Berkeley readers. It begins with an unsettling headline: 

Israel Begins Building Settlements In Downtown Berkeley 

In a move that shocked and angered city residents, including families that have called the area home for centuries, an increasingly bold Israel announced Tuesday that it had begun building settlements for its citizens in downtown Berkeley, CA.  

“Our High Planning Committee has approved 1,200 new Israeli homes in Berkeley’s central business district and will soon move forward with plans to expand into the nearby UC Campus and West Berkeley neighborhoods as well,” said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who confirmed that Peoples Park would soon be demolished to make way for brand-new Israeli subdivisions.  

“We will also be taking measures to protect these new settlements by building a barrier wall alongside the 580 freeway, which can only be crossed by those holding an Israeli passport. In addition, we’ll have IDF troops patrolling all of Berkeley to keep the peace, and any American resident charged with a crime will be tried in our military courts.”  

In his cover letter, Swanson (who serves as executive director of World Beyond War and is a campaign coordinator for RootsAction.org) noted: "At press time, the US government had pledged to provide Israel with an additional $3 billion in military aid to help the nation defend its new territory." 

Drain the GOP Swamp: Sedition Edition 

The Progressive Change Campaign Committee PAC proudly confirms that "Home Depot is the latest corporation to announce that they are suspending PAC donations to Ted Cruz, Josh Hawley, and all the other Republican traitors who voted to overturn our democratic election." (The PCCC is promoting its campaign by placing "EXPEL" billboards in Texas and Missouri, respective home states of Cruz and Hawley.) 

Judd Legum, the Popular Information reporter whose research inspired the PCCC's #DrainTheTraitors campaign, notes that it's "hard to overstate how significant this Home Depot move is. They are an extremely conservative company. The fact that it is moving to create distance between itself and these Republicans shows how toxic they are right now." 

Since the launch of the #DrainTheTraitors campaign, more than 60 mega-corps have halted PAC donations to Cruz, Hawley, and the other 145 turn-coat Republicans who voted to overturn the 2020 election. 

Unrelenting pressure—from phonecalls, letters, emails, and tweets—have had an impact. Amazon, Comcast, Disney, Pfizer, Morgan Stanley, Oracle, and others who have "suspended" PAC donations to Trump-allied Republicans. Universal Music Group, Intel, Charles Schwab, Exelon, and Holland & Hart have announced they will permanently halt PAC donations to the Treasonous Trumpublicans. Hallmark has taken an extra step and is demanding a refund of all past donations! 

Click on #DrainTheTraitors to see which corporations have stopped bankrolling the would-be coupsters. 

Flushed from the White House and Facing Impeachment #2 

A Parting Parody from Founders Sing