Weekend Reading

The Oceans We Know Won't Survive Climate Change
Tax Aversion And The Legacy Of Slavery
How Slavery Shaped American Capitalism
Amid Trade War, Farmers Lean On New Crop: Hemp
Federal Judge In Trump Tax Case Picks Apart DOJ Rule Barring Indictment Of President
How To Get Away With Gerrymandering
For The First Time In History, U.S. Billionaires Paid A Lower Tax Rate Than The Working Class Last Year
Federal Deficit Estimated At $984 Billion, Highest In Seven Years
No More Half-Measures On Corporate Taxes
How A Brief Socialist Takeover In North Dakota Gave Residents A Public Bank

Sunday Reading

Trump's Tax Cut Is Failing Spectacularly As The GOP's Prediction Go Down In Flames
The Solution To The Country's Debt And Deficit Problem
The Oceans We Know Won't Survive Climate Change
The Cost Of America's Oligopoly Problem
43 Percent Of White Students Harvard Admits Are Legacies, Jocks Or The Kids Of Donors And Faculty
Bernie Sanders Proposes A Wealth Tax: 'I Don't Think That Billionaires Should Exist'
A New 'Report Card' On America's Diet: It's Not An 'F' But...
Beer Made Milwaukee Famous. Can Water Quality Keep The Legacy Alive?
Rethinking State Economic Policies
Comparing Wisconsin And Minnesota

The Last Straw

Chrisitan Schneider, in-house agitator for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, had another nonsensical rant, regarding the recent movement to ban straws, as an avenue to spout worn-out and unfounded right-wing complaints.

According to Schneider, Straw bans are just another bogus eco-fad. Damn environment! It's been holding us all back for far too long!

As Radhika Viswanathan notes, the straw ban is not the answer to all our problems, but it will help in combating plastic pollution in the oceans. Chemotherapy might not cure your cancer, but it's a good start and it's the best option we have right now. Banning straws aren't the end-all-be-all, but it's a good start.

Schneider feels that since the U.S. isn't responsible for the majority of plastic straw pollution, we shouldn't bother changing our behavior. He labels this another eco-fad. 

Saving the planet we all depend on is an "eco-fad" for Republicans. Stupid planet!

Also, does anyone actually have straws in their home? I can't recall ever using a straw in my life at someone's private home. Why does Schneider feel so entitled that private businesses need to provide him a straw? Suddenly when he's out in public he has to drink through a straw? Talk about a snowflake.

Schneider even implies this straw ban will create a black market for straws. Yeah, he really wrote that.

Here's an idea for the drinking-without-a-straw challenged -- carry your own fucking straw around with you if you need it so badly! It's not as though there are no longer any straws available. It's just that restaurants are moving away from providing them. You can still bring your own if you need it that badly. Where's that independent, can-do attitude the Republicans are always blathering on about?

For Further Reading:

The Oceans Are Drowning In Plastic - And No Ones Paying Attention

7 Ways To Reduce Ocean Plastic Pollution Today

The Problem Of Marine Plastic Pollution

Fast Facts About Plastic Pollution

We Made Plastic. We Depend On It. Now We're Drowning In It.

Ocean Plastic Pollution Is Hazardous Waste The U.S. Should Ban