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~ my 2cents ..., ~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Birthright, birthers, citizenship, economy, and austerity …

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a repost

just another continued rant on citizenship …  2013 …

The sole mission of this Republican Party of No – is to turn back the clock … It is beyond offensive and will affect all our family’s past, present, and future.

This is yet another necessary and assertive commentary on citizenship… 2013..
Amazingly, Republicans thought they could bury the birther issue for good, only to resurface after a couple of Romney flip-flops. Now that he’s back in Congress, numerous Republican members and governors are still insisting that Americans’ concerns don’t matter—that Birtherism is real, the War on Women and their rights are deemed less significant. Republicans in Congress need to prioritize the people’s business; instead, this group seems more focused on hearings that serve no purpose and on revenge politics, dismissing constituents entirely. We must confront the facts as we approach the next elections: Trump was in office for just two years, and the Treasury Department was scrambling to address financial turmoil. It’s outrageous! Not to mention that Trump chose Monica Crowley for Treasury Secretary—a Fox contributor and lobbyist with a track record of plagiarism and no real financial experience. Despite the mess caused by Republicans, our economy is slowly recovering, thanks in large part to President Obama. While progress is happening without austerity measures, Mitch McConnell and his allies continue to filibuster against it. Austerity remains the mantra of the new Republican nationalists. Americans seem oblivious to the reality unfolding before them, but as the truth surfaced at town hall meetings, some finally recognized the detrimental impact of the plans being pushed. The current 115th Congress needs to face scrutiny because their economic strategies will only benefit the top 1-3%. Ignorance is not bliss—it’s a trap. Amidst the clamor of confusing economic narratives, the Republican Party’s behavior is hitting new lows. Birtherism might seem ridiculous, but the ideology fueling it continues to infiltrate conservative discussions and their notion of “Religious Conscience.” It’s time to question whether religion, consciousness, and instinct belong together, especially given the destructive policies coming from the current administration of white nationalists. We must respond—so lace up your marching shoes. The issues affecting women, immigrants, workers, minorities, students, voter rights, and religious freedom are all deeply tied to Republican agendas. The harsh reality is that many states are passing stringent, harmful legislation against the middle and lower classes under the guise of new, bright promises of prosperity. The Ryan agenda, full of promises of prosperity, fell apart almost immediately, revealing that Trump had taken an extreme right turn, full of continued tantrums and chaos. His presidency is still the face of the Republican Party—and racism and birtherism are mere tools for their fearmongering. The Republican Party of the 21st Century is not even close to what our parents had to face; instead, it has become a far more dangerous entity, seemingly trying to take us back to colonial days. The extreme right has swapped places with the short-lived Dixiecrats, perpetuating a divisive ideology that continues to thrive in today’s version of the Southern Strategy. We must recognize the perilous path that conservatives are attempting to lead us down—it has the potential to dismantle our democracy. Moreover, we should not be afraid to call out the absurdity of any pledge, let alone this conservative pledge—especially this “Purity Pledge” from the organization N.O.M. It’s utterly offensive to pledge to harm and exclude others, yet all socially conservative presidential candidates signed this disgraceful document. This pledge boldly demands commitments that are not just archaic but downright harmful, insisting participants never engage in premarital or extramarital affairs, abandon all forms of pornography and gambling, refuse to marry individuals of the same gender, and oppose any government action supporting civil unions for same-sex couples.

It’s time to challenge this narrative—this purity pledge doesn’t represent true American values, and we must demand better.

The sole mission of this Republican Party of No – is to turn back the clock … It is beyond offensive and will affect all our family’s past, present, and future.

~ my 2cents ...

Has your state implemented a ban or reduction plan for Plastic Bags? 2014

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   It’s now 2019 and bag bans and or plastic bans are being implemented again or changed to reflect upon current issues at hand but still, there’s a big problem knowing exactly how to recycle … straws, tetra paks making sure the stuff you put in the bin are actually clean and dry 

More shopping means more plastic … unless your State is going green

So, if you live in LA remember to BYO .. reusable bag! because plastic is banned and paper bags will cost you. ..  10cents. After seeing the latest move made by Governor Brown who would like to implement the ban quickly, it’s apparent the people of Cali need some recycle classes, better information and some enlightenment.  As ugly, as the reusable bags are to you and the notion that Plastic bags are more convenient is possibly true, but to say that they double as garbage bags is disturbing. The environment needs help which in turn keep us healthy, a lifestyle that younger folks need to take up and a battle that will be ongoing while cities need to provide containers that help consumers sort out their garbage with little or no confusion and keeps the smell to a minimum … thanks

   Poly-bags are made from petroleum, are non-biodegradable and manufacturing paper bags requires large quantities of wood. The problem and question is whether the attempt to clean up our act state by state has a great department where folks are determined to regulate the use of these environmental killers properly so that our next generation has a chance.

Do you know how many states are banning plastic bags ?

The ban or reduction of plastic bags was implemented on July 1 of 2012 in Seattle, WA.

 It’s now 2017 and as spring& summer weather begins, folks start shopping.  I get it, it is not lucrative to ask for reusable bags or to inform the public about the .5 to .10 cent charge for each bag, but given the idea that we all should be concerned about the environment; I do expect a little more effort to push reusable bags.  Some states have implemented their Ban or Reduction plans, but not much information is available about who will or is enforcing the new rules or how they are measuring the reduction rate, if at all.

The struggle to clean up our environment should not be this complicated or hard and hopefully our city councils will keep at it with great zeal as the plastic’s industry has big $$ incentives to stall or stop it …

a repost from 4/2013 and will continue to

~ Nativegrl77

~ my 2cents ...

More States and Countries are choosing to Ban and or Reduce access to Plastic Bags

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beaseedforchangestickersGREEN a repost … and more posts to follow on what is As the years go by Washington state is slowing banning plastic bags ..

happening now 2017 …  Tacoma, WA plastic ordinance starts 7/12/2017  and 2012 seems like eons ago

I have to include an 2015 update to what seemingly was a ban in 2012, was in reality. a choice to pay .5 – .10cents for plastic bags if you want them? The good news is that the transition to an actual ban on plastic as a choice is happening in some parts of Washington state! YAY I have been shaking my head for the last 2yrs when more often than not the checker goes into auto-reaction mode and grabs the plastic if the consumer didn’t bring their own. I am not sure what I expected, but having forgotten my own bags on several occasions the response or offer for a reusable bag was seldom or none and makes me wonder just how much of an impact is being made since the statistics are probably tainted with how many plastic bags are given out each day versus paper or offering a reusable bag. Now, in this year of 2015, no plastic bags are available at more grocery stores and if you don’t have your reusable some of the clerks actually say paper or you can buy one of ours …. finally.

In March of 2012, I heard that Alameda County California voted to implement their “ban” on single use bags not regulate them sometime around January 2013. It just so happens that at or around the same time things were being finalized in different parts of our beautiful state of Washington. Though it has been a long struggle for Washington State to move towards an ordinance that would “ban” bags at retail outlets due to big MONEY in the plastics industry. However, in late December, word was that the City Councils Zero Waste Initiative to “ban” plastic bags in limited and in graduated way realized after four years. In 2008, the Council banned Styrofoam and though they tried to regulate plastic bags they got serious push back from the industry, which spent about $1.4 million, collected signatures with rumors of leaving out some info … then had the ordinance repealed. It was nice to read about Council Bill 117345, a bill to protect Puget Sound, our marine wildlife and our Environment in general joining about twelve states and up to twenty nations. The Seattle City Council voted 9-0 to implement the ban on plastic carry out bags.

After years of pulling out my small recycled bags for the checker to shove my groceries into, Washington State is joining the global movement to protect marine wildlife; the ordinance will take effect on July 1, 2012. It may be a cliché, but this ordinance is a change we can all believe in. I have to say, at first; in my experiences; checkers seemed a little annoyed at having to fight with the reusable bags. The word from most Checkers back in the day was, that plastic is just easier. Yes, the first reusable bags were too small, the dye ran the material was unforgiving, but as folks found better ways to make them; the cost came down and more people bought them including me.

Now, the bags not only cost a little bit more, they are bigger more stylish, last forever are definitely more flexible, and a highly recommended investment. The move to switch from plastic to” bring your own bag” will be difficult for some at first; I intend to carry a few extra to give away or sell; on my website because documented studies show that birds, sea turtles and other wildlife eat plastic bags and some are made with toxic chemicals that could be harmful. The time for a behavior change is now. We all know change is tough, but here we are in the 21st Century and that floating garbage circle, called the ” Great Pacific Garbage Patch“ discovered in the 90′s by Charles Moore, is only getting bigger. There will always be push back from the plastics industry, their supporters as well as environmental activists who all feel the government does not go far enough and they may be right, but we have to start somewhere.

It baffles me at how complicated people have made the effort to clean up our environment; we all know the need to reduce TRASH as a whole and it starts at home, although Seattle is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the nation, only 13 percent of plastic bags are recycled or re-used.

We owe it to our next generation…

Grocery stores, as well as food service outlets owe it to consumers and the environment.

It took quite sometime and we’ve come a long way from fighting the plastic industry to now finding that Indeed some Grocers feel the same way by eliminating plastic bags period ~ 2015

stay tuned in … who are the enforcers?

repost from 2013