Russ Vernon-Jones

love, justice, and climate change … I know you can make a difference.

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Stop the Billionaire Heist

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There are many ways to describe and to analyze what is happening in the federal government since Donald Trump was inaugurated. But the clearest and most consistent pattern is that the billionaires have taken over and have started to destroy anything that interferes with them becoming richer and richer. Their greed appears to know no bounds. I find this truly frightening.

Two of the biggest casualties are 1.) the idea that we work together for the common good and 2.) the idea that we take care of each other. The federal government’s role, at least since the 1930’s, has included taxes, health care, education, human rights, democracy, health and safety regulations, and protection from the excesses of big business. The ultra-rich see each of these as limiting their pursuit of unlimited wealth. They are out to eliminate or disable all of them.

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Will We Stop the Coup?

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There is a coup underway in our country. We are in danger of losing our democracy. This is not the traditional coup of armed rebel militants taking over the executive and legislative buildings and the radio stations. This is a coup where a corrupt elected President has put often incompetent and morally compromised billionaires in charge; has, often illegally, dismissed inspectors general, the experienced leadership of the FBI, attorneys at the Justice Department, key figures in many departments, and countless government workers–experienced and dedicated public servants; and made it impossible for many important agencies to serve the public effectively.

The richest man in the world, Elon Musk, endorsed by Donald Trump, has taken over the government’s payment system and immense amounts of data about all of us. He has inserted staff and caused turmoil throughout the government. He shuttered the USAID and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). This is a bureau that has obtained more than $21 billion in relief for wronged consumers. All of the 11 agencies already investigating complaints against Musk’s private businesses have been derailed.

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Resisting the MAGA/Musk Agenda

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Many of us wondered what Donald Trump’s first weeks in office would look like. It has been horrendous– with more appalling news every day. You may have been following all the details or you may have been intentionally avoiding the news. We’ve gone from incompetent and dangerous cabinet nominees to Trump pardoning all of the January 6th insurrectionists, including those who assaulted and injured police officers. The devastating raids on immigrant communities and subsequent deportations have begun.

On climate, the President not only pulled us out of the Paris Agreement, but also ordered even more drilling for gas and oil, suspended renewable energy incentives under the Inflation Reduction Act, gutted EPA regulations that protected health and air and water quality, prohibited new offshore wind power installations, and cancelled all programs assisting other nations to respond to the climate emergency. It’s full speed ahead for more emissions.

Then we got firings (many of them illegal) of inspectors general, prosecutors involved in January 6th cases, and FBI leaders and rank and file, eliminating impartiality in the criminal justice system and making the Justice Department an instrument of the President’s personal retaliation and revenge.

Then came the news that Elon Musk’s team has taken “control of the Treasury’s payment system ….

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People’s March and MLK, Jr.

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This past weekend I went to Washington, DC to be part of the People’s March. Although advance publicity and outreach was limited, thousands of people showed up to demonstrate their resistance to the Trump/MAGA agenda and their solidarity with each other.

There was a remarkable sense of unity, even as people carried signs about many different issues. Immigrant justice, climate justice, women’s rights, Palestinian liberation, racial justice, LGBQT+ rights, opposition to oligarchy, democracy, and other issues, all had vocal, visible advocates. There were marchers of all ages.

While we were there to indicate our resistance to the cruel, selfish, climate-damaging plans of the incoming administration, what we are in favor of seemed more prominent than what we oppose. Those who spoke, and many of the signs that people carried, called for justice, for human rights, for a society where everyone is included, respected, and has their basic needs met; and where the wealth of the society is shared more equally among all its members.

I believe that this is an agenda that over time can attract a sizable majority ….

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No Tax Cuts for Billionaires

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The U.S. is the wealthiest country in the world. Our economy has been tremendously productive and our total wealth has grown dramatically. Yet millions of people in the U.S. don’t have enough to eat; millions lack adequate homes; and millions still lack health insurance. We seem unable to adequately fund our schools or to find the funds to address the climate crisis.

The problem is that the tremendous wealth our nation has accumulated is distributed in a grossly unfair manner.
• The top 1% holds 30% of the wealth of the nation.
• The top 10% holds 66%.
• While the bottom 50% holds only 2.5%.
At the very top, the wealth of the nation’s 801 billionaires is greater than all the wealth of the bottom 50% (66.5 million households) of the nation combined.

This is simply the way our current political-economic system works. It funnels wealth to the already wealthy. According to Time magazine, since the time of Ronald Reagan, the economy has moved $50 trillion from the bottom 90% of the population to the top 1%. It doesn’t have to work this way.

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Winning Hearts and Minds in the Battle Against Authoritarianism

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Many of us are wondering how we can be most effective in blocking authoritarianism from completely taking over the United States now that Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans are about to assume political power. This is not an easy question, but it’s an important one. I’m sure that we will need to join with others and keep thinking about it and trying things throughout the coming months and years.

First, I want to express my deep gratitude to everyone who supported the Kamala Harris campaign. We didn’t win the election, but we did enough that we prevented Trump from winning a landslide and limited him to less than 50% of the vote. This will make a significant difference in our efforts to prevent the rise of fascism over the next four years. Whether you made a donation, wrote postcards or letters, called voters in other states, went door to door, or helped in some other way, thank you!

The MAGA Republicans will have great political power, will do unconscionable harm to our collective health and safety, and will undermine equity and justice at every turn. Despite our best efforts they will frequently succeed in eliminating regulations, enacting policies, and passing legislation that benefit their wealthy supporters at the expense of the rest of us.

However, full-blown authoritarianism also requires capturing the minds of a majority of the population. They have not yet done this and this is where we can struggle and win.

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No Mandate for Extremism: Debunking Lies in the Trump Era

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A great many of us in the U.S. are distraught about Trump winning election to the presidency. We watch with some horror as he proceeds with his plans to undermine the rule of law, deport immigrants, target LGBQT+ people, use the government for his personal revenge and financial gain, eliminate many health and safety protections, and make the ultra rich even richer and more powerful. We know that it will be important for us to not be silent or complicit, but many of us don’t know what to do in this moment in history.

Here is a suggestion that I hope can be useful to you. They are based on my reading others’ analyses and recommendations, listening to webinars, and talking with friends.

Implanting myths and lies in the minds of the public
One of the techniques used by aspiring dictators, and currently by the MAGA Republicans, is to plant key myths or lies in the public consciousness that seem to justify their extreme actions to come. They are currently ….

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Not giving up on the climate

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The election of Donald Trump is catastrophic in so many ways.  It will mean untold suffering for many people and for our country as a whole. It will also  be disastrous for the global climate crisis.

We are at a moment in history when the entire world needs to come together to reduce, and then eliminate, greenhouse gas emissions. What a time for the most powerful country in the world to elect a leader who calls climate change “a hoax.”

Trump has said that he will ….

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Beyond Election Day

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I’m writing to you just before Election Day. By the time you get this and read it, we may, or may not, know more about the election results. In any case, I’ve been thinking about what perspectives may be helpful to us as we go through these tumultuous times.

The struggle against fascism will need to continue, regardless of whether Donald Trump or Kamala Harris becomes the next president. One of our two major parties, supported by nearly half of all voters, has virtually no attachment to the truth and little attachment to democracy. The Republican party has been captured by those who favor authoritarianism, white Christian nationalism, and a government that primarily benefits the wealthy and will make the climate crisis much worse.

How this could have happened is an important question and many analysts are writing about it. Right now, I’m more concerned with the fact that it has happened, and how we  find our way forward in this new situation.

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To Progressives Who Are Not Supporting Kamala

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Millions of people in the U.S. are ready to vote for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz. They are pleased that we have an opportunity to elect a woman president. They see Kamala’s policies on climate, democracy, social policies as vastly preferable to Trump’s. They are very pleased that we have a viable alternative to the nightmare that would result from having Trump become president a second time. Many are working hard to get Kamala elected. They value Kamala’s commitment to bringing people together and the joy and caring she communicates.

Other voters, including a number of progressives, are having trouble getting behind Kamala. They are deeply upset by her support of President Biden’s policy of continuing to provide arms to Israel while the Israeli army is brutally killing Palestinians and now other Arabs. Some see it as unforgivable that she didn’t invite a Palestinian speaker to address the Democratic National Convention. Others feel betrayed by her withdrawing her previous support for banning fracking, and failure to prioritize climate action.

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Good News on Clean Air – If …

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When we think about the climate crisis our minds often, quite rightly, go to how greenhouse gas emissions are causing the global temperature to rise, causing catastrophic storms, floods, fires, and hunger. We sometimes forget that burning fossil fuels is also the primary cause of global air pollution and its horrendous effects on health and mortality.

In 2021 more than 8 million deaths worldwide were attributed to air pollution. That’s roughly one out of every 8 deaths caused by air pollution. New studies show that about 61% of these are attributable to pollution caused by fossil fuels. That means that air pollution from fossil fuels kills close to 5 million people a year globally. Of course, the number of people suffering from asthma and other respiratory diseases caused by air pollution is much greater than that.

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Worst Debt Crisis in History

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One of the major obstacles to solving the global climate crisis is the extreme debt crisis in much of the Global South. Just when the whole world needs nations in the Global South to participate in addressing the climate crisis, many of these nations are hobbled by impossibly high levels of debt.

The Pope’s message to a recent debt crisis meeting was reportedly, “The world’s poorest countries are being crushed by unmanageable debt and richer nations need to do more to help.”

This is more than a debt and climate crisis, of course. This is a crisis in health, education, and basic living standards, too. Across 144 developing countries, debt service is absorbing an average of 41.5% of government revenues. In the first quarter of this year in Nigeria, servicing the national debt consumed 74% of all federal government revenue. How can any nation function under such circumstances?

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