When Clinton rolled out a progressive set of policies for families at her May events in Lexington and Louisville, her explanation went something like this: We need a national system of paid family leave because too many women don’t even get a paid day off to give birth; workers don’t have a federal requirement for paid sick days; meanwhile, many dads and parents of adopted children don’t get any time off at all, and sons and daughters don’t get time to take care of aging parents. We also need to establish voluntary home-visiting programs, where new parents, especially those facing economic adversity, can get assistance in learning how to care for their children and prepare them to succeed in school, thus taking aim at unequal outcomes in the earliest years. Relatedly, we need to raise wages, because two-thirds of minimum-wage workers are women, which has an impact on single-parent and dual-earning homes and, when combined with high child-care costs, inhibits women’s ability to earn equal benefits, save for college, and put away for retirement. Minimum-wage workers currently spend between 20 and 40 percent of their income on child care; Clinton has a plan whereby no family would pay more than 10 percent on child care, but she also believes we need to increase pay for child-care providers and early educators, who in some places are paid less than dog trainers and who have their own families to take care of. All of this is tied to the need to strengthen unions and make health care more affordable through revisions to the Affordable Care Act as well.
Tuesday, May 31, 2016
The Pus That Is Donald's Racism/Sexism/Xenophobia
When Donald Trump went all the way to New Mexico to berate the top Latina in his party, he knew exactly what he was doing. He was being racist with a clinical precision. And it was a double whammy, because she is also a woman. He was able to be racist and sexist at the same time. And it worked. His poll numbers went up a little.
That sums up the next few months. This election will not be fought on policy, or ability to deliver. There is a cultural nationalism - if it can be called that - that is being peddled in the most naked way in the history of the republic. Granted it was always there, but now it is out in the open for all world to see. As I see it, it is bleeding pus. The Donald is bleeding out the pus. Hillary is going to heal the wound.
Racism, sexism and xenophobia have to be countered with clinical precision. That would be all.
Saturday, May 28, 2016
The Spiritual Ladder And Democracy
Humanity is a chain, only as strong as its weakest link. To you personally every single human being matters. Heaven On Earth is not possible unless every single human being is on board.
The big picture is, I am for a total spread of democracy, and I am for using every possible weapon of nonviolence to that end.
God is the one authority. And since the only place a human being can connect with God is in his/her personal space, the people collectively are the only legitimate source of earthly power.
That political proposition is urgent and global. If that means Arab countries need to switch to constitutional monarchies, then so be it. If that means the Chinese Communist Party needs to offer the people two candidates for president, governor and mayor, then so be it.
Every human being has a right to free speech. Free will is a gift from God to people. Every human being has a right to religious freedom. You can pray to God the way you choose to. Peaceful practice of religion is a political right.
Violence is not allowed. A legitimate state curbs possibilities of violence through threat of force.
This global political infrastructure with the right to free speech, and the right to peaceful religious practice firmly in place makes room for advanced spiritual undertakings. Advanced spiritual undertakings, as well as advanced economic and social processes.