Cubs co-owner spends $400,000 to kill 10 Nebraskans

Everybody knows the four kids of billionaire Ameritrade founder Joe Ricketts have spent hundreds of millions to bring Chicago a World Series. But most don't know one of those Cub co-owners has spent $400,000 to kill 10 Nebraskans sitting on Death Row. That's not hyperbole. Last year the Nebraska legislature voted to end capital punishment in Nebraska. Republican Governor Pete Ricketts, one of the aforementioned Cub owners, vetoed that measure but suffered the indignity of having his veto overridden. Incensed, 'Whack Em' Pete shelled out $300 grand to get a death penalty reinstatement referendum on the November 8th ballot; then ponied up another hundred grand to promote it.

Just like with the Cubs, Whack Em brought home a winner Tuesday, 62% to 38%. Death penalty opponents in the legislature vow another repeal measure after the first of the year. Meanwhile, Whack Em is conferring with his Attorney's General on ways to get banned lethal injection drugs to finish off the ten blokes sitting on Death Row, at a cost of $14 mil a year, as the repeal law hadn't gone into effect before it was rescinded.

Next time you spend a dollar on the Cubs, consider that a quarter of it goes to a loathsome specimen of humanity who will use it to commit legalized murder of his fellow man.

States cool with cannabis; Uncle Sam still nodding off

The four corners of the US are going to pot...cannabis that is. From California and Nevada in the west to Maine and Massachusetts in the east, millions of Americans have been added to the recreational variety Tuesday. Millions more in Florida, North Dakota, Arkansas and Montana will be getting medical relief from the medicinal version. Only recalcitrant Arizona turned down the opportunity to 'Don't worry...be happy.'

Meanwhile Uncle Sam is still nodding off...failing to gain insight into the quiet revolution battering down the 80 year federal war on cannabis created to demonize minorities and outsiders in lily white America. Its continuation as a Class 1 drug as harmful as cocaine or heroin is insane. Its stigma as not having any medical value is refuted by tens of millions getting relief without the cost of highly toxic and debilitating synthetic drugs is deplorable.

Even the Trump electoral wave can't dampen the enthusiasm generated by the greatest one day gain in the inevitable march to full legalization of cannabis in all 50 states. You may be 240 years old dear Uncle, but you can never be too old to step up to higher ground.

Ayotte second of 47 traitorous senators defeated Tuesday

New Hampshire Senator Kelly Ayotte conceded defeat to New Hampshire Governor Maggie Hassan, trailing by roughly a thousand votes out of 738,000 cast. That makes Ayotte the second of 47 Republican senators who signed the letter to Iran last year imploring Iran not to conclude the nuclear agreement negotiated with the US, Russia, China France, England and Germany, to lose their re-election bid. Their's may be the most visibly traitorous conduct ever undertaken by US senators; undermining presidential action which defused the most volatile flashpoint for another Middle East war. Kelly follows Illinois Senator Mark Kirk into retirement, defeated handily by Tammy Duckworth. Neither Hassan nor Duckworth are likely to repeat the traitorous conduct that thoroughly discredited Ayotte and Kirk.

That's the good news. The bad news? Forty-five of those 47 senators are still on the job promoting criminal war to keep war party coffers full, and undermining any efforts, such as the Iran Agreement, to achieve peace.

Hooray for Illinois 'Lock Box' Amendment

This retired 42-year veteran of the logistics industry was gratified the 'Lock Box' amendment to the Illinois Constitution was overwhelmingly approved 79% to 21% Tuesday. It prevents the governor and legislature from raiding user fees paid by motorists to shore up our crumbling infrastructure, to pay for non-infrastructure items starved for cash by an inadequate. regressive tax structure. The amendment gives hope Illinois can start creating a 21st century infrastructure vital for an economic revival and protect us 13 million Illinoisans from harm's way traveling a disgraceful transportation network. 

Opponents fretted Lock Box would cause crippling cuts to education, health and public welfare. Any such cuts will be the responsibility of a state government which clings to one of the lowest state income taxes in the country, and a flat rate regressive one, at that. Many states have a higher state income tax and a progressive one at that, Most state leaders and politicians support a progressive income tax in theory, but refuse to implement in governance. Why? It's politically expedient to ignore adopting a sensible tax structure when you have a tempting transportation piggybank to raid. With that crutch gone, Illinois legislators might finally be motivated to do the right thing and amend the Illinois Constitution to create the drastically needed progressive tax. It's a hard slog to amend: 60% of both legislative branches must approve six months or more the next general election in November, 2018. Then 60% of voters must approve on election day. Both tests were widely exceeded for Lock Box because economic growth, public safety and simple fairness prevailed. With similar resolve, a progressive income tax will become available in two years. In the meantime, Governor Rauner and legislative leaders must implement sensible spending cuts with a modest income tax hike to replace their reprehensible midnight forays on the infrastructure stash.        

Improved infrastructure and a sensible, progressive tax. That's what we with a tad of common sense and wisdom call a 'twofer'. 

A few election takeaways

Going low works

Initial belief Bernie would have been a stronger candidate likely true

Retired one Senate warmonger...Mark Kirk in Illinois

California and Massachusetts legalized recreational cannabis; North Dakota, Florida and Arkansas legalized medical cannabis. Wait, wait, that's not a takeaway...that's a tokeaway.

Let's restart peace movement January, 3, 2017

A month ago America marked the 15th anniversary of perpetual criminal war against the world. Regime change in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Ukraine, and attempted regime change in Syria, and even now Russia, have all failed and will fail. They have squandered trillions and cost hundreds of thousands, maybe even a million, their lives. They have have degraded the lives of millions more...including every American whose nation crumbles so weapons of mass killing can be manufactured for these criminal wars.

No candidate preaches real peace; even Bernie had to bow down to the phony, self destructive wars against ISIS and Syria. Mass media is massively in the tank for the war party. Tell the truth about the madness of rampant American militarism and suffer loss of access to government propaganda; a fatal step for any news outlet.

Let's all vow to re-start an American peace movement on January 3, 2017, the start of the 115th Congress. Demand an end to war from our new President and new Congress. Pray for the defeat of five virulent war monger Senators: Mark Kirk in Illinois, Ron Johnson in Wisconsin, Kelly Ayotte in New Hampshire, Marco Rubio in Florida and the most virulent of all, John McCain in Arizona. Join a peace movement organization. Demand war crimes investigation of the Iraq war cabinet of Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld and Rice. Cease supporting government and media war propaganda.

Unlike citizens of Germany and Japan during WWII, or even Americans in WWI, we can take all the above steps for peace without fear of being imprisoned, or worse.

American perpetual war is structured to insulate us from its consequences. Volunteer canon fodder slain or maimed are glorified as sacrificing themselves for our freedom...and we eat up that obscenity by the bowlful. Taxes are lowered instead of raised to finance war so the circus of daily life can continue unabated.

The 14,400 nukes roughly divided between the US and Russia remain the greatest threat to human existence, and America's restarting the Cold War against the Russian Bear the most dangerous development since launch of the murderous and criminal Iraq war.

If you're not working for peace...you're enabling perpetual war.