‘Raise Your Voice’ Archives
On the Evolution of Lampreys*
from the Series Raise Your Voice... By PETER MOLENAAR Peter Molenaar When pondering the glory of biological evolution, one must at least acknowledge the appearance of intelligent design, that is, the intervention of an unseen “higher power”. Those who believe that consciousness is a product of the evolution of matter are not exempt from this consideration, even as a theologian must pose the question: whence the parasitic lamprey? SCIENTISTS AND THEOLOGIANS UNITE! It was not so terribly long ago; that the original planktonic mix gave birth to some zillion critters with the advantage of bilateral symmetry. Eventually, this massive genomic potentiality would render us the echinoderms with their exoskeletons and radial symmetry (think starfish, sea urchins, etc.). Fun fact: the larval stage of all echinoderms retains the original bilateral symmetry. Perhaps every school child is familiar with the fossilized remains of the crinoid, species of which exist to this day. [...]
One Last Fling
from the series Raise Your Voice... Peter Molenaar By PETER MOLENAAR Responsible neighbors who sought their polling places remain aware that the back page of the ballot was devoted to the election of numerous judgeships. For me, this was as daunting as a college entrance exam! Why do respected election officials not inform us that our ballots count if not fully filled out? Let us enhance voter participation, not suppress it, please. Now hear this: Trump won’t be winging it this time. Rather, he will commence with a fully worked out billionaires’ agenda. So, expect another round of tax cuts for the rich, coupled with public service cuts for the rest of us. How was it possible for such an outstanding citizen to win once again? Was bigotry the key ingredient? Actually, I prefer to think that skillful agitation of economic angst won the day. Truly, one wonders if the capitalist system will collapse before the end of this century. But guess what? It was price gouging [...]
Tax Fairness Matters!
From the series Raise Your Voice! By PETER MOLENAAR Peter Molenaar From the most recent post from Americans for Tax Fairness coalition*: “The numbers don’t lie, but corporations sure do… that’s why we just released a damning new report that pulls back the curtain on 12 of America’s largest corporations, exposing a web of tax dodging, executive excess, and worker exploitation.” How then is it possible that many of us regular folks live in MAGA land? Our East African immigrant neighbors are a wiser lot, many having been recruited to work for Amazon. Indeed, over a five-year span, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos-–earning $3.5 M per hour—watched his personal fortune increase by $115 billion, while wages inched up to the “scrape-by level”. Yet, one worker I contacted while phone banking from the Labor Centre stated: “I remain on the fence!” I expect, sooner or later, our overheated planet will blow him off! Sadly, over the same five years, Boeing aircraft [...]
