Welcome to the world, human No. 8,000,000,000

Living world human No. 8,000,000,000 was born today.

Still remember back 62 years ago to the day in 1960 when heard the news world population reached 3,000,000,000. 'We're sure getting overcrowded I thought. 'How can we possibly support that many folks.'

Took thousands of years for Mother Earth to house a billion souls in 1804. Another 123 years passed till 2 billion came around in 1927. It took just 11 years for 7 billion to become the 8 billion today.

Mother Earth not doing a good job of feeding those 8,000,000,000 mouths. Around 10%, 800,000,000, are food insecure. 34 million of those going hungry are right here in the richest country on earth. Conversely, those poor folks are dwarfed by the 130 million Americans suffering obesity.

Think about that the next time you're crying about high food prices on the luscious goodies you're filling up your ravenous stomach with.

Less could be more for the folks who have little....and better for those 130 million with expanding waistlines.

Zelensky's false flag in Ukraine war beyond the pale

After an errant Ukraine defense missile killed 2 in neighboring Poland, Ukraine's unhinged President Zelensky said this to the world Tuesday. “Hitting NATO territory with missiles. … This is a Russian missile attack on collective security! This is a really significant escalation. Action is needed,”

The action Zelensky referred to starts WWIII if the US and NATO do what he wants...attack Russia. US and NATO officials immediately called out Zelensky's lies that Russia fired the missile, careful not to directly call him a war mongering liar. Unfazed, Zelensky double downed on his false flag Wednesday saying, “I have no doubt that it was not our rocket. I believe that it was a Russian missile based on the credibility of the reports of the military.”

Tiring of Zelensky's recklessness, a NATO diplomate lowered the boom on the guy trying to lower the boom on all of us. “This is getting ridiculous. The Ukrainians are destroying [our] confidence in them. Nobody is blaming Ukraine and they are openly lying. This is more destructive than the missile,”

Once again Ukraine President Zelensky wildly overplayed his hand. The next time he tries to provoke WWIII, we all may not be so lucky. Time to cut he weapons gravy train to Zelensky and put him on the peace train to the negotiating table. We can only dodge so many nuclear bullets before they find the mark.

Red state legislators self-destructed over abortion initiatives

There are 2 ways to get measures on the ballot to change state constitutions. One is for advocacy groups to get tens of thousands of signatures, meeting the minimum number to get their initiative on the ballot. The other is for state legislators to vote a constitutional amendment on the ballot for voter approval or not.

Anti-abortion legislators in Kansas last August; Montana and Kentucky Tuesday, were too smart by half in trying to use the latter route to outlaw abortion in their state constitutions. The August 2nd Kansas vote crushed the proposed abortion ban there by 165,000 votes (18%). The Kansas vote was a harbinger of the votes Tuesday in Kentucky and Montana, where red state legislators jumped on the Dobbs decision overturning Roe v. Wade to get their abortion restrictions embedded in the state constitution, and ultimately state law. Neither vote was close: Montana rejected the provision by 5.2%; Kentucky by 4.8%. In all 3 red states a whole bunch of Republican voters rejected ending privacy for women’s most important and personal medical decision.

Republican legislators weaponizing the abortion issue with their base were better off with Roe v. Wade standing. Getting their wish, allowing them to vote the end to one of the most cherished privacy issues enshrined in the US Constitution for a near half century, is proving to be an electoral nightmare, It was one of several factors that not only prevented a Red Wave Tuesday. It helped keep in play control of Congress, still possible to tilt Democratic 4 days after the election.

Anti-abortion zealots in red state legislatures have learned a hard lesson. Be careful what you wish for….you might get it.

Uline Foods better than fake Uline newspapers

Illinois shipping supply mogul Dick Uihlein sure has a lot walking around money. Make that running around money, as he’s spent over a hundred million in the last 4 election cycles promoting the most ultra-conservative candidates running in Illinois since Attila the Hun.

One of his pet crusades is to fund the publication of fake newspapers he’s rained down on hapless Illinois voters like ticker tape at a parade for his hero Donald Trump. The $42 million he forked over to conservative Illinois political gadfly Dan Proft to publish fakes, bought quality paper but not quality content. They are slick, high quality rags with catchy names like Chicago City Wire, Will County Gazette and the one that clogged my mailbox, DuPage Policy Journal.

But the stories and so dishonest and mean spirited it took me about 5 seconds to toss the first in recycle, their only value whatsoever. Looks like most of their unsolicited recipients did the same, as once again, every candidate the scandal sheets supported went down under Illinois’ Blue Wave.

Sure wish billionaire Dick would have an epiphany and use some of that wasted loot to do something really honorable. How bout buying up the now shuttered Whole Foods at 63rd and Halsted in Englewood, a devastating blow to good food deprived poor there, and re-opening it at even lower prices than formerly at the now empty shell?

What a novel way to repair his damaged soul. Instead of feeding lies and gratuitous personal attacks to a not so gullible electorate, he would be feeding the finest food available to nourish the most impoverished minds and bodies in Chicagoland.

If he did, I wouldn’t even mind if he called it Uline Foods.