Donald Trump uses surrogate Marco Rubio to spread horrible lies about Democrats by using rants about "isms" of unknown origin

Echo opinion published in the Boston Globe, by 

Stephen Kinzer, a senior fellow at the Watson School of International and Public Affairs at Brown University.  
Marco Rubio got it wrong❗
How the secretary of state warped the meaning of a proud American tradition.

In a fire-and-brimstone speech last month that often bordered on the bizarre, Secretary of State Marco Rubio identified “a distinctive and unique evil.” Rubio ranted and called it “far-left terrorism” and asserted that it poses a “serious threat” to the United States.

“It is time for the people of the civilized world to defend ourselves,” Rubio told an audience at the State Department, “to stand united against this encroaching darkness, and fight for what is ours.”

Much of Rubio’s speech was a boiler-plate rant reflecting Donald Trump’s cultist obsessions. Its central premise is dubious at best, since “far-left terrorism” is in fact quite low on the list of dangers that face the United States and the world. The oddest piece of this speech, though, was Rubio’s mention of anti-imperialists as part of the evil coalition.

“They can call themselves 🤥anti-capitalist or 🤥anti-imperialist or 🤥communist or 🤥anarchist or 🤥Marxist, but the fundamental character is always the same,” he asserted. “It is a 🤥poisonous resentment cloaked in the language of equality and justice and liberation.”  💩💩💩❗

TRUTH❗ Anti-imperialism has no relation to communism, anarchism, or Marxism. In fact, anti-imperialism is a rich American tradition. Especially at this point in our American history, it should be taken seriously. Rubio has every right to embrace the imperial idea. Other Americans, however, have an equal right to oppose it without being demonized as allies of communists or anarchists.

Debate over imperialism is as old as our Republic. It addresses a profound question: Should the United States seek to impose its will on foreign nations or allow them to go their own way❓

George Washington warned future generations of Americans not to become involved in “obstinate, envenomed, and bloody contests.” John Quincy Adams declared that the United States “goes not abroad in search of monsters to destroy.” 

Abraham Lincoln opposed the American invasion of Mexico in the 1840s, and Ulysses Grant called it “a wicked war.”

The widest-ranging debate over imperialism exploded in 1898, when the United States set out to crush Spanish power in the Philippines, Guam, Cuba, and Puerto Rico. 

Massachusetts was the epicenter of opposition.

Headquartered in an office near what is now Liberty Square in Boston’s financial district, the Anti-Imperialist League became a major force in American life. It was headed by George Boutwell, a former Massachusetts governor. Its eminent supporters included Andrew Carnegie, the richest man in the United States; Samuel Gompers, the country’s most prominent labor leader; former president Grover Cleveland, who had unsuccessfully opposed the annexation of Hawaii; and Mark Twain, who forthrightly declared: “I am an anti-imperialist. I am opposed to having the eagle put its talons on any other land.”

In the debate over whether the United States should begin imposing its will abroad, the most powerful arguments were presented by the two US senators from Massachusetts. George Frisbie Hoar called it “the greatest question ever discussed in this Chamber from the beginning of the Government” and colorfully denounced the rising imperialists: “You have no right at the cannon’s mouth to impose on an unwilling people your Declaration of Independence and your Constitution and your notions of freedom and notions of what is good!”

To this, the silver-tongued internationalist Henry Cabot Lodge had an equally powerful response. The United States, he said, “has a great mission in the world — a mission of good, a mission of freedom. I would have it fulfill what I think is its manifest destiny.”

Senators voted narrowly to ratify the treaty by which the United States turned the Philippines, Guam, and Puerto Rico into American colonies. Anti-imperialists appealed to the Supreme Court, arguing that the Constitution gives the government no power to impose its will on foreign lands. The Court rejected their argument by a 5-4 margin. In a ringing dissent, Chief Justice Melvin Fuller wrote that overseas military expeditions are “wholly inconsistent with the spirit and genius, as well as with the words, of the Constitution.”

This debate reemerged repeatedly. Following World War II, Senator Robert Taft, known as “Mr. Republican,” opposed the creation of NATO because “the building up of a great army surrounding Russia” would set off “an inevitable arms race.” Debates over US intervention in Vietnam and Iraq also echoed those of the late 19th century.

Anarchism and Marxism are ideas that came to the United States from Europe. Neither ever found much support. Anti-imperialism is the opposite: a homegrown ideology that has long been embraced by a significant minority of Americans. 

Rather than a “far-left” idea, it is essentially a conservative one. It argues for humility, restraint, and limits on America’s role in the world. Liberal utopianism is what drives the idea that American intervention in other countries will ultimately lead to peace and prosperity for all.

Lumping anti-imperialism with communism also reflects a deep misunderstanding of history. Countries that have proclaimed themselves Communist, notably China and the Soviet Union, were built on imperial conquest at least as fully as the United States was.

Whether “far-left terrorism” is truly the deep threat that Secretary Rubio perceives may be debated. So may the question of whether the United States should seek to project military power around the world. To describe anti-imperialism as a form of 🤥 “far-left terrorism,” however, is a slander that ignores American history.

This article about Leprosy (Hanson's Disease) endemic to Central Florida is interesting

I am a registered nurse.  This article about Leprosy - Hansen's Disease- in Florida is of interest because, when my family lived in the Philippines, we visited Tala, in Manilla (see below), and I participated in several humanitarian missions to deliver supplies there, because of my affiliation with relief groups on the Subic Bay Naval Base. This echo report is published in the Harvard Medical news (and in the Orlando Sentinel):

For most people in the US, leprosy is not a major health concern. In recent years, about 180 cases of leprosy have been diagnosed annually. Though this represents an uptick from fewer than 100 cases in 1999 and 2000, the disease remains rare in the US.

Worldwide, it's a different story: according to the World Health Organization, more than 200,000 cases in 120 countries are diagnosed each year. The highest numbers of cases are in Brazil, India, and Indonesia.

Has leprosy become common in Florida?  No. There have been about 20 cases per year in Florida since 2015. As is true nationally, this represents an increase from prior years.

But some experts speculate that leprosy may be endemic now in central Florida, where about 80% of the state's cases are diagnosed. Endemic means there are enough sources of infection (such as infected people or animals) in a particular area to allow the disease to spread, even if no new cases are brought in from elsewhere.

Since some people with infection have no risk factors for the disease, it's possible leprosy has become endemic there. But that remains unproven. 

Myth versus truth: Common misconceptions about leprosy

Misunderstanding fuels stigma and discrimination against people who have leprosy. Maybe you've heard some of these falsehoods.

The myth: Leprosy is extremely easy to spread. In the past, this myth led to isolation of people with leprosy in "leper colonies" that quarantined entire communities of people with the infection.

The facts: About 95% of people are naturally immune to leprosy. And, because spread of infection between people requires close and prolonged contact, it's not nearly as contagious as many other infections. So it's not readily spread by being in a room with an infected person, or by touch. And, within one week of treatment (see below-long term antibiotic therapy), a person with leprosy is no longer contagious. As a result, isolation from others is unnecessary.

The myth: Leprosy causes parts of the body, such as fingers or ears or the nose, to fall off. (When my family lived in the Philippines, I visited people with leprosy who lived and were being treated for the disease at the Tala -Manilla- comminity Central Luzon Sanitarium*. I was able to visit the ward where people who had a particular leprosy infection lived in wrapped gauze because their wounds would not heal.  Seeing them in this rare condition was quite difficult.  Also, contrary to this physician's report about loss of body party, I saw patients who had lost fingers to the disease, but the cause was probably the result of long term nerve damage, so the infected areas were probably amputated.)

The facts: Body parts do not fall off (Ahhh....wellll 😕😧❓ hmmm- probably true, if and when the infectious disease is caught, diagnosed and treated early). Sometimes, surgical amputations are needed to treat nonhealing wounds and infections, two complications of longstanding nerve damage related to leprosy.

The myth: There are no treatments for leprosy.

The facts: There are effective antibiotics for leprosy. To cure the infection, people may need to take a combination of different antibiotics for a year or more.

The bottom line: Some of the news coverage on the case of leprosy in Florida seems more dire than necessary. In fact, the risk of developing leprosy in central Florida, or elsewhere in the US, remains exceedingly low.

And it's highly unlikely leprosy will become the next pandemic. However, some experts predict that vulnerable populations in the US, such as homeless people living in close contact with poor hygiene and inadequate medical care, could experience outbreaks of leprosy in the future.

While risk seems low now, it's a good idea to keep leprosy in mind if you have unexplained rashes or nerve damage, especially if you live in a place where the disease is common or have had contact with an infected person. Otherwise, there's little reason to have leprosy on your short list of health concerns.

Follow me on Twitter @RobShmerling.  About the Author




Robert H. Shmerling, MD, Senior Faculty Editor, Harvard Health Publishing; Editorial Advisory Board Member, Harvard Health Publishing. Dr. Robert H. Shmerling is the former clinical chief of the division of rheumatology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC), and is a current member of the corresponding faculty in medicine at Harvard Medical School. … 

As of March 26, 2024, there were three cases of leprosy in Florida, each in a Central Florida county: Polk, Sumter, and Volusia.

Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease, is a rare infectious disease that affects the skin and peripheral nervous system. While it's curable with (R.N. nurse note: long term) antibiotics, it's important to be aware that it's still being transmitted.

Here's some information about leprosy in Florida:  There have been about 20 cases per year in Florida since 2015. As is true nationally, this represents an increase from prior years. But some experts speculate that leprosy may be endemic now in central Florida, where about 80% of the state's cases are diagnosed.

* History

Founded in 1940 by the American colonial government to treat Hansen's Disease patients on the island of Luzon

Location:  130 hectares of land in the Tala district of Caloocan, Metro Manila

Current role: The main referral hospital for leprosy patients in the Philippines, and a training and research center for leprosy care and management

UNICEF sounds the alarm about growing measles outbreaks

Measles alert - An echo published in The Guardian- Global Health

There is no effective treatment to cure measles, making vaccines the effective prevention.

“We have a safe, effective and inexpensive vaccine against a highly contagious disease – a vaccine that has saved almost a million lives every year over the past two decades."

Measles- Shock rise in global measles outbreaks 'disastrous' for children, UN warns

UNICEF calls for improved vaccination as study shows Ukraine, Brazil and the Philippines among 10 worst affected countries.

Cases of childhood measles are surging to shocking levels around the globe, led by 10 countries that account for three-quarters of the rise.

Amid warnings of “disastrous consequences” for children if the disease continues to spread unchecked, a worldwide survey by the UN children’s agency, Unicef, said 98 countries around the globe reported a rise in measles cases in 2018 compared with 2017.

That total includes a number of countries that had previously eradicated the disease.

The increases were noted not only in countries affected by serious conflict, where access to vaccination has been disrupted, but also in states that have experienced an increase in “vaccine hesitancy” because of misinformation spread by anti-vaccination advocates.

Highly contagious, measles spreads more easily than Ebola, tuberculosis or influenza, infecting the respiratory tract. It is potentially fatal to malnourished children and babies too young to be vaccinated.

In addition, once infected, there is no specific treatment for measles, making vaccination a life-saving tool.

Among the 10 countries worst affected, Ukraine, the Philippines and Brazil experienced the greatest increases in measles cases. 

Last year, Ukraine recorded 35,120 cases of measles ; the disease has claimed 30 lives in thee country since 2017. 

Western Ukraine, where attitudes to vaccination have led to low rates of immunization and vaccines are in short supply, was worst hit.

According to the government, a further 24,042 people have been infected in the first two months of 2019 alone.

In the Philippines, 12,736 measles cases and 203 deaths have been recorded so far this year, compared with 15,599 cases in the whole of 2018.

“This is a wake-up call,” said Henrietta H Fore, Unicef’s executive director. “We have a safe, effective and inexpensive vaccine against a highly contagious disease – a vaccine that has saved almost a million lives every year over the past two decades."

“These cases haven’t happened overnight. Just as the serious outbreaks we are seeing today took hold in 2018, lack of action today will have disastrous consequences for children tomorrow.”

The report blames the global surge on a perfect storm of inferior health infrastructure, conflict, poor health education, complacency and vaccine hesitancy. The combined impact of these various factors has contributed to serious outbreaks in both developed and developing countries.

For example, in the US the number of measles cases increased sixfold between 2017 and 2018, reaching 791 cases. 

More recently, the US has had outbreaks in New York and Washington state.

Some of the worst affected countries are embroiled in serious conflict or political crisis, like Yemen and Venezuela. However, the presence of France on the 10-strong list appears to be linked to anti-vaccination sentiment in a country with an MMR vaccination rate among the worst in Europe. France has one of the lowest rates of vaccine confidence in the world.

“Almost all of these cases are preventable, and yet children are getting infected even in places where there is simply no excuse,” Fore added.

“Measles may be the disease, but, all too often, the real infection is misinformation, mistrust and complacency. 

We must do more to accurately inform every parent, to help us safely vaccinate every child.”

Women in the Roman Catholic Church and clergy - observe Sister Donna Ciangio

This amazing resume of Sister Donna Ciangio impressed me while I was reading about a panel discussion, schedule at Fordham University, to highlight Roman Catholic women deacons.  

My husband and our family lived in the Philippines for three years, when we were a Navy family. Sister's background describes awards she received while serving in the Philippines. Also, very impressive are Sister's publications. I wish we were able to attend the Fordham University program on January 15, but it's a long road from Maine to New York City. Perhaps, there will be a podcast. Meanwhile, enjoy reading Sister Ciangio's biographical profile, posted on the Archdiocese of Newark website. 

Ciangio Named Chancellor of Newark Archdiocese
August 27, 2018

Sister Donna Ciangio O.P. is the Chancellor of the Diocese of Newark

Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin, C.Ss.R., Archbishop of Newark, has appointed Sister Donna L. Ciangio, O.P., D. Min. of the Dominican Sisters of Caldwell as Chancellor of the Archdiocese of Newark, effective September 1, 2018.

She succeeds Rev. Msgr. Michael A. Andreano, KCHS, who had served in the role as Chancellor since 2012 and who earlier this year accepted new responsibilities as pastor of Ss. Peter and Paul Church, Hoboken.

In commenting on the appointment, Cardinal Tobin stated: “Sr. Donna’s extensive experience in the areas of parish vitality and pastoral direction, congregational and leadership development, faith formation, Small Christian Communities, parish pastoral council development, and consulting with parishes and dioceses will serve the people of the Archdiocese well in the coming years as we begin to formulate and implement a vision of this local Church of Newark into the future.”

Sister Donna has spent the past 11 years as Principal and Founder of Church Leadership Consultation, an organization specializing in mission advancement, training and pastoral planning. In this role, she has worked nationally and internationally with dioceses and parishes to facilitate, among other things, a diocesan synod, parish missions, parish pastoral councils and adult faith formation initiatives. From 1994 until 2007, she served as Director of Pastoral Services for the New York-based National Pastoral Life Center.

From 1982 until 1993, she served as Associate Director-US Operations, and Director-International Operations, respectively, for RENEW International, a parish renewal process begun by the Archdiocese of Newark supporting evangelization efforts in more than a hundred dioceses in the United States, Canada, and around the world.

Sister Donna is involved in many professional organizations and community activities. She serves on the Caldwell University Board of Trustees and the Board of Directors of the Center for Ministry Development. She is the Chairperson of the North American Forum for Small Christian Communities (NAFSCC), through which she works with small faith sharing groups around the US and Canada, and is also a consultant for RCL Benziger Publishing Company. She also has served on the Waterfront Planning Task Force for the Archdiocese of Newark.

Her articles have appeared in Today’s Parish, Liguorian, Church magazine, and in publications from Crossroads, Paulist Press, and St. Anthony Messenger Press. A recent book is “Open Our Hearts: A Small Group Guide for an Active Lent” a faith sharing book (with Rev. Thomas Iwanowski) from Ave Maria Press and the most recent article, The Parish as a School of Discipleship, in Catechetical Leader, May 2014. Her most recent Lent book is entitled Conversations that Matter.

Sister Donna earned a B.A. in Fine Arts and a B.A. in Religious Studies from Caldwell University. She received her M.A. in Fine Arts from New York University and her Doctor of Ministry, with distinction, from Drew University. She also holds Teacher Certification in the states of New Jersey and New York.

She is the recipient of the Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice Papal Award, the Diocesan Award of the Diocese of Malolos, Philippines for outstanding service to the people of that diocese, the Diocesan Award of the Archdiocese of Agana, Guam, and the Msgr. Thomas A. Kleissler award from Renew International.

Well done Sister Donna Ciangio!

Syria and all dangerous conflicts - what we know and what we don't know

"...congratulate those who carried it out. It sounds like it was a very successful mission." Senator Mitch McConnell (R)

"...courage showed by those who carried out the mission is immeasurable,..."

Yup. It's hard for those #Fox_and_Friends righties to admit, the recent brazen raid by US Special Forces into Syria, where they successfully killed the evil-ISIS chief finance officer (CFO) Abu Sayyaf and took his wife hostage,  was a "boots on the ground" success.

Nevertheless, even though the righties choke when they agree on the amazing efficiency of the invasion, kill and capture, the danger faced by the Special Forces on this raid were overwhwelming.

Obviously, I've never been to Dier Az Zor, in Syria, where the invasion occured, it seems to me the location must be difficult to enter and just as challenging to arrange an escape.  

Salute to those Special Forces who accomplished this mission.

Even in the midst of the extraordinary success, it's important for military strategists to remember how success cannot raise the expectation of unlimited captures. 

There's an unlikely premise for my cautionary words.

In fact, I recall only too well how we were warned, when we lived in the Philippines, to be very aware of how smart monkeys would use their own babies to lure humans into traps.  When kind humans tried to rescue a baby monkey, the tribe would descend on the attepted rescuier and literally tear them apart, just because it was a game.  I'm not saying the evil-ISIS would do what conniving monkeys would do, given the opportunity. Oh no.  Instead, I believe the evil-ISIS would do worse without compulsion.  

My unqualified advice to military strategists is to be aware of the potential for evil ISIS traps, using hostages as bait.  Similar to how the monkeys threw their babies into harms way, the  evil ISIS is highly capable to doing the same and who knows what else?Interesting to know how the evil wife of the now dead Sayyaf was, in fact, in charge of the ISIS hostages.  Hmmmmm, surely, she'll have key intelligent information about plots, traps and the keys to how to locate hostages.  What we don't know is how many more of these clandestine raids are in the planning.

Meanwhile....here's the scoop on how the right wing is having a tough time with President Obama's successful strategy to capture and kill a high level evil ISIS leader.

US special forces kill ISIL's Abu Sayyaf in Syria raid

US Defence Secretary Ash Carter says Abu Sayyaf's wife was captured during the operation.

16 May 2015 14:14 GMT | Middle East, ISIL, Syria

US special forces soldiers have killed a senior leader of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group during a raid carried out in eastern Syria, the US secretary of defence said.

Pentagon chief Ash Carter said in a statement on Saturday that the raid in al-Amr had killed Abu Sayyaf when he "engaged US forces".

Al Jazeera's Omar al-Saleh, reporting from the Bekaa valley in neighbouring Lebanon, said two US helicopters had taken part in the operation at an oil field east of the city of Deir Az Zor.

"Activists from the area say at least six people from ISIL were killed, including at least two of Arab nationalities; a Saudi and an Iraqi," Saleh said.

"We believe the operation may have taken place overnight or early Saturday."

The US put the number of ISIL deaths at about a dozen, and said no US soldiers were killed during the incident.

Republicans like Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) have been forced to admit on the Sunday shows that the Obama approved raid on ISIS in Syria has been successful.

On ABC’s This Week, Sen. McConnell said, “Well, the president has done a good job with these special operations type missions. Where I think the administration has fallen down is they tend not to favor, generally speaking, capture and interrogation. Although it’s good that the wife of this terrorist was captured and will be interrogated. I’ve been distressed, for example, about the willingness to release prisoners at Guantanamo. Look, this is not a criminal type matter. 

This is a defense matter. What you want to do is you want to capture people, you want to interrogate them, and you want to try to prevent the next atrocity. I wish we’d had, you know, frankly, more emphasis on capturing, detaining and interrogation than on strikes. Although the strikes are important, and I congratulate those who carried it out. It sounds like it was a very successful mission.”

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) said on Fox News Sunday, “For now, let’s just say it was a successful raid, and it’s good news. Obviously, anytime you can take away and degrade top leadership of an organization it’s a positive step forward….It remains a risk, but obviously we want to congratulate the men and women in uniform who carried it out and the President for undertaking the mission.”

McConnell and Rubio are two of the Republicans who tried to sabotage President Obama’s foreign policy with their letter to Iran, so for Republicans to not only admit the mission was a success, but also praise the president is something that has been virtually unseen during the Obama presidency.

Reports are that the US raid in Syria has killed 32 ISIS members including four leaders. The symbolic message that the raid sends is that terrorists are not safe anywhere on this Earth. It takes an unspeakable amount of leadership for the President to authorize a mission where special operations forces are going into a territory where they have no allies on the ground.

The courage showed by those who carried out the mission is immeasurable, but they wouldn’t have been there if Obama would not have approved the mission. As much as it must drive Republicans crazy, even they are admitting that President Obama has been successful.

Julie's P.S. And the next time Congress says "thank you for your service" they must also remember the bravery of these and others who are taking enormous risks to protect the world from growing more terrorism....

Electrical power in third world developing countries

Mother Jones magazine reports on how a Tanzanian is using solar power to generate enough electricity to power a small television for the purpose of watching the news.

(It occurs to me, the nations of the world where electricity is a luxury are often where support for terrorism grows. Meanwhile, ordinary people create social networks and cottage industries to access communication technologies.)

When my family lived in the Philippines for three years, during the 1970's, we appreciated the support of a domestic woman "maid" named Norma.  

Norma worked hard. She was dedicated to a goal of having her only son qualify for enlisting in the US Navy. Prior to qualifying, her son had to pass a written exam, but he needed an electric light to allow him to study, especially into the evening hours. Norma had to pay bribes to municipal officials to receive a permit to have one electric line extended from the grid into her modest house. Then, she had to pay for someone to install one electric bulb with a switch. After the installation, she paid expensive electric bills. Nevertheless, Norma was determined to see her son qualify for enlistment in the US Navy, so she worked tirelessly to earn money to pay for one electric light bulb.

Unfortunately, little has changed regarding the allocation of electricity in third world countries, like the Philippines.  

Nevertheless, entrepreneurial efforts have created opportunities for developing nations to participate in using modern technologies.

When my husband and I visited Cambodia a few years ago, we commented on how many people used cell phones. In fact, it seemed like every person had use of a cell phone. How did these telephone batteries access electric charges in a nation where most people didn't have electricity? It so happened, people could afford cell phones because the Cambodian government offered subsidies to promote the service. Those who owned a cell phone participated in gas powered generator co-ops, to provide the electricity needed to charge the phones. Each user paid a charging fee, thereby spreading the cost of the generator across the number of people who accessed the electrical service to charge their cell phones.

Mother Jones: There's a Place in the World That Is Fighting Poverty with Solar Power. Solar power is taking off in villages where connecting to the grid is seen as a bad joke. (I remember how much graft Norma paid to access one line off the grid.)

Lusela Murandika just wants to be able to watch the evening news.

The 76-year-old farmer lives in Kanyala village in northern Tanzania, 60 miles from the nearest town that's connected to the electric grid. For years, he's powered a tiny TV set in the dim sitting room of his concrete house here with a diesel generator, spending roughly $10 each month on fuel—money that could otherwise buy more than 20 pounds of rice in a country where the per capita GDP is $695.

Earlier this year, on the advice of friends, he invested $400 in a small, 80-watt solar system. After charging all day under the East African sun, it can run his TV for two hours. The system was a pain in the neck to install, he says, and the battery is unreliable, but it's still an improvement over the generator. And here, as in most of rural Africa, there aren't many options.

"It's a joke to think we'll all be connected to the grid," he says with a rueful grin.

Nineteen percent of the global population lives without access to electricity, according to the International Energy Agency. In Africa, that number is 58 percent. The vast majority of those without power are in rural areas. In Tanzania specifically, 86 percent of the population has no electricity, a fact that was illustrated when the lights cut out at President Obama's hotel in Dar es Salaam during a visit he made there last year to dedicate $7 billion for energy access improvements across the continent.

Tanzanians still get 76 percent of their energy—mostly for heating and cooking—from charcoal, wood, and other biomass. So there's more at stake than turning on the lights: Indoor air pollutionkills more than 4 million people every year, more than AIDS and malariacombined. Increasing access to clean energy is literally a matter of life or death.

In Tanzania, the population is predominantly rural and scattered in small villages across vast reaches of terrain, while the state-owned utility is chronically cash-strapped and urban-focused. So Murandika's pessimism about the grid is almost certainly justified. But, just as the mobile phone revolution in Africa dramatically reduced the need for telephone landlines, solar power is now leapfrogging the electric grid. Like Murandika, thousands of rural Africans are turning to solar as the solution, in a clean-energy boom that development experts say could become a catalyst for widespread economic empowerment.

These aren't the oceanic fields of solar panels some German entrepreneurs have proposed to build in the Sahara, nor the grid-connected rooftop systems that power entire American homes. Instead, these are small kits that come complete with the necessary panels, wiring, power converters, and batteries to power a few lightbulbs, a small appliance, or a cellphone charger.

The ingenuity of developing nations' populations to create access to electricity is impressive. Yet, it remains to be seen whether or not these ambitions will mobilize them to oppose pervasive government corruption and destructive terrorism networks.

Trickle Down Economics - Proof it Doesn't Work

Finally a pin was put to busting President Ronald Reagan's fantasy balloon about trickle down economics. 
Pope Francis debunked the "trickle down" myth.  
He said there's no proof it works.

Pope Francis Slams ‘Trickle Down’ Economics and Greed at the Top

In fact, Pope Francis surprised the world with his comments on homosexuality, abortion and birth control. Now, Pope Francis has taken on “trickle down” economics.

Pope Francis took issue with so-called “trickle down” economic theories, which in the U.S. are closely associated with President Ronald Reagan’s economic policies. (Trickle Down Economics has never been challenged by such a high profile person as Pope Francis.)

Francis said trickle down policies have not been proven to work and they reflect a “naïve trust in the goodness of those wielding economic power.”

“In this context, some people continue to defend trickle-down theories which assume that economic growth, encouraged by a free market, will inevitably succeed in bringing about greater justice and inclusiveness in the world,” Pope Francis wrote.

“This opinion, which has never been confirmed by the facts, expresses a crude and naïve trust in the goodness of those wielding economic power and in the...workings of the prevailing economic system,” the 76-year-old pontiff added.

Thank you, Dear Pope Francis. Your opinion directly addresses a hot political debate raging in the U.S. about whether or not governments should cut taxes for businesses and the wealthy. The theory is that the economic benefits will “trickle down” the economic ladder to the poor and middle class.

And Francis didn’t stop there. He also denounced tax evasion and economic inequality, and he exhorted governments to ponder a saying that “not to share one’s wealth with the poor is to steal from them and to take away their livelihood.”

Indeed, if trickle down policies really worked, the income growth between the rich and poor couldn't be widening. But it is.

Likewise, there's also an employment gap.

The gap in employment rates between America's highest- and lowest-income families has stretched to its widest levels since officials began tracking the data a decade ago, according to an analysis of government data conducted for The Associated Press.

Rates of unemployment for the lowest-income families—those earning less than $20,000—have topped 21 percent, nearly matching the rate for all workers during the 1930s Great Depression.

U.S. households with income of more than $150,000 a year have an unemployment rate of 3.2 percent, a level traditionally defined as full employment. At the same time, middle-income workers are increasingly pushed into lower-wage jobs. Many of them in turn are displacing lower-skilled, low-income workers, who become unemployed or are forced to work fewer hours, the analysis shows.

On the other hand, Americans have proof of how wealth sharing improved our nation's economic condition. Income sustaining programs like minimum wage laws, unemployment benefits, income assistance with Medicaid and pension benefits through Social Security have all been operational during the past 70 years during a time of enormous US economic growth.

Although I'm not an economist, it's clear to me that American standard of living has improved as a result of wealth sharing.

I've lived in the Philippines for 3 years. I know the difference between living in a nation where the government shares the wealth, in the US, rather than puts its money in Swiss bank accounts. Although the Philippine government claims it's recovering 500 million dollars of Swiss bank account money stashed away by President Marcos, I submit that amount of return is chump change. Americans gave the Marcos government billions and practically none of the money was shared except with his friends.

Obviously, I've no idea just how much money really landed in the Philippines as a result of American support for President Marcos. This is what I do know, because I've seen it. At any given time, I saw five American aircraft carriers in Subic Bay at one time. There are a minimum of five thousand people on each aircraft carrier. All of those people, on those aircraft carriers, eventually found themselves spending American dollars in Philippine towns and cities. In spite of this enormous amount of money spent in one small country over a period of at least 10 years, there were no advances in public plumbing, paved roads or paved streets.  

Five hundred million returned from Swiss banks to the Philippines? Ha! Chump change. What happened to trickle down economics in the Philippines? It trickled up. The US money, stashed in Swiss banks, sustains many status concious and elete Filipinos living a very high standard of living in gated communities.  Meanwhile, the standard of living for most oher Filipinoes hasn't advanced very much. Big slums remain in Manila.

Although Republicans like Sarah Palin and David Brooks are skeptical about the opinion Pope Francis shared about the wrong mindedness of trickle down economics, the proof is in the outcome. 

Where's proof that trickle down economics works? David Brooks told Public Broadcasting "News Hour" that capitalism has improved the lives of Asians.  Well, Mr. Brooks, when did you live in Asia?

There's no proof in support of trickle down economics and Pope Francis is saintly to have finally put a pin to this ridiculous myth. 

Typhoon Haiyan - Philippines in Peril: Reflections of a Former Resident

Typhoon Haiyan - one of the most powerful storms on record to make landfall. 

One hundred million Filipones were in the storm's path. Let's also remember those who live outside the Philippines and cannot connect with their families - aka "ATM" parents.

Filipinos are beautiful and resilient people. My family lived in Subic Bay PI for three years and traveled a good deal throughout Luzon Island. It's hard to imagine anything left standing from what we remember of the country as we knew it, after Typhoon Halyan hit with record breaking ferocious winds this weekend.

Although the Filipinos themselves are traumatically wiped out by this horribly dangerous storm, my thoughts and prayers also extend to the collateral population of "ATM Moms and Dads".These Filipinas and Filipinos are exported labor for wealthier people in countries like Singapore and in the Middle East.Their only connection with their families are often via the money they deposit from their meager incomes into automatic banking machines or "ATMs". These people are domestics and laborers who send nearly all of their incomes back to their families in the Philippines, where their money is drawn down from inside the country's ATM machines.

With the Philippines currently in post storm turmoil for the foreseeable future, the communications via ATM, snail mail and satellite cell phones are down. The fate of these separated families will have to wait an agonizing amount of time before the outcomes of this terrible Typhoon Halyan are known.

Meanwhile, CNN reports the devastation at "ground zero" in Leyete, where the storm hit hardest, includes hundreds of bodies washed up on beaches and this is an early assessment. Monster winds plowed across this section of the country killing people and damaging everything in the path of the storm. In Tacloban, Philippines CNN reports that no building in the coastal city of 200,000 residents appears to have escaped damage from Super Typhoon Haiyan.

All the Philippines are in peril as a result of this storm and the devastation will likely extend for decades.  

Our family lived in the Philippines for three years. Out heartfelt prayers and sympathies pour out to these beautiful and brave people who were our friends and neighbors for three years.

Americans were once the colonizers of the Philippines. Our humanitarian response must extend to those impacted by this tragic weather event. Our help is essential. 

Compassionate recovery efforts must reach out to help our friends and allies who have few, if any, safety net options. Many will likely never fully recover from this storm's terrible destruction; but we're obligated to help these people who are fellow human beings and international allies.

A World Without Rice

Living in the Philippines for three years, I know how vitally important rice is for a huge chunk of the world's population. 

To think of a world rice shortage, or the horrible potential for no rice, is clearly unthinkable. Such an event will be more catastrophic than melting ice in Antarctica.

Now, the ominous specter of rice shortages is showing up in supermarkets around the world, because the earth’s population is growing and the cost of growing rice is becoming more expensive, due to rising energy costs.

There's absolutely no substitute for rice. Rice is one of the few foods in the world which is entirely non-allergenic and gluten-free. Rice is consumed by nearly one-half the entire world population and many countries, like Asia, are completely dependent on rice as a staple food. Rice is naturally free of fat, cholesterol and sodium. It is a complex carbohydrate containing only 103 calories per one-half-cup serving.

Culturally speaking, rice is more important than protein in Asian cuisines, particularly in poor countries like the Philippines. Filipinos eat rice with their hands and mix it with almost everything. They fry, steam and boil it. They stuff it in their Lapu-lapu (feasting fish). Filipino fried rice is mixed with eggs.

Japanese are persnickety about their rice, preferring the short grain to the long grain. Japanese also like their rice cooked until “sticky”, so it’s easier to control on chop sticks.

I learned to cook rice from Norma and Ester, my lovely Filipina maids. They taught me the one knuckle technique. It works, regardless of how little or much rice is being cooked.

First, rinse the rice until the water runs clear, usually about three times.

Put the amount of rice you want to cook, anywhere from one-half cup to one gallon or more, into a pot, adding clear water until the rice is covered.

You measure the water to rice ratio by putting your index finger into the water, inserting it to touch the top layer of the rice. When the water is as deep as the first knuckle of your index finger, then you have the correct ratio for perfectly cooked rice.

Bring the rice pot to a boil and then immediately turn off the heat. The rice is left to steam until all the water is absorbed. It's the one knuckle approach to perfect rice every time.

Rice is sold by the kilo in Asian markets and displayed in outdoor grocery stalls as raw mountains of white. Unlike the sterile bags of rice we’re accustomed to seeing, Asian rice is displayed like it’s sitting in a silo. It's not sold in bags because, frankly, many Filipinos cannot afford to buy rice in great quantities. They sometimes buy it by the cup.

Rice is a staple of Philippine entertaining. You begin cooking rice and everything else is secondary.

I recall one time, when rice was all we were offered to eat.

As a church group, we were invited into the jungle to visit a Christian missionary village on Luzon Island. Treating us like we were dignitaries, the native people cooked about 50 pounds of rice for our feast. Thankfully, we were foresighted enough to bring boxed lunches, because , we quickly realized that the mountain of cooked rice attracted every black fly in the jungle. A child was assigned to brush the flies away with a banana leaf strung on a pole, which was swished back and forth, like a primitive ceiling fan. The child's efforts were for naught, because as soon as the banana leaf swept the flies away from one side of the rice, the swarms quickly resettled themselves on the other side. The banana leaf was merely for show, because the Filipino natives didn't want to offend us by serving fly infested rice. Nevertheless, we didn't eat the rice, regardless of the banana leaf guardian's futile attempts to dispel the flies. On the other hand, the natives couldn't wait to feast on such a huge quantity of rice. Frankly, they were thankful we turned it down leaving plenty of leftovers for them and their children to eat, after we left.

When Saigon fell to the North Vietnamese in 1977, I witnessed thousands of the refugees with their bags of rice, all they owned, tied in satchels to their bodies, as they arrived, traumatized, in Subic Bay, in the Philippines.

I’m positively distraught when I think about a world rice shortage. There’s no need for this to happen. People were growing rice for thousands of years before this civilization somehow created a shortage. Virtually every continent, except Antarctica, grows rice. There should be more than enough rice available to give some away to every man, woman and child in the world. But, instead, we’re told there is likely a rice shortage looming. What kind of mismanagement of resources brought this on?

This potential rice shortage is not the result of an incurable virus or world drought.

Unlike diseases and natural disasters, we can actually control rice production. It’s essential for us to do so, because rice is oftentimes the only source of nutrition for millions of desperately poor people.

A world without rice will mean a future too bleak to foretell.

Therefore, I chose to focus on the joy rice brings to the tables of millions of people in the world. I think about delicious Filipine fried rice. Likewise, I contemplate those beautifully delicate Japanese rice bowls, presenting cooked rice like it’s a crowned jewel on the dinner table.

I think about how little rice it takes to make millions of people feel valued and fed.

Thinking about a world rice shortage brings negative thoughts and questions about the rest of the story. The possibility of intentionality, of creating famine for millions of innocent people because of common industrial greed, is too horrible to comprehend.

If I could only do it, I truly wish there was a way for me to bring 50 pounds of rice to Norma and Ester, right now.

Blog Post Responses: from Don Levesque in Madawaska Maine:

Bonsoir, Juliana,

I think it is shameful and sinful that we are beginning to burn food for
fuel in the "civilized" countries.

Oh, I understand the need to stop relying on fossil fuels but burning food
for what, in the grand scheme of things, can seem fairly trivial, is almost
beyond comprehension. Poor people around the world are rioting because they
are starving. In 2008.

And here we sit, well fed, contemplating burning food so we can go to the
mall in our SUV.

Thanks for the touching and warm reminder, Juliana.

don