Mountain View
Karen Madej
Opinion: Who else has earworms from Bridgerton's classic covers of modern songs?
Bridgerton seasons one and two portray a fantasy world of what could be a reality if the people who believe themselves to be superior because of the color of their skin would accept we are all equal humans. Regardless of our race, color or creed.
Opinion: Working Americans pay their taxes, but billionaires don't
The wealthiest Americans and business employers have had the upper hand for decades. They’ve reaped more and more gains from the economy in the last four decades. They pay less tax than ordinary Joes or Josephines or no tax when they take loans out with their shares as collateral to avoid paying a much higher tax if they had sold their shares.
Opinion: Do the advantages of living off-grid outweigh the conveniences of urban living?
Many of us have a kind of longing for freedom from artificial ties. Life in the wilderness with no paid for running water or electricity. Also, no supermarkets, no drug stores, and no medical facilities. I wouldn’t survive, would you?
Opinion: Has social distancing caused us to resist physical and emotional closeness, and what can we do about it?
Pre-pandemic, 36.48 million people were already living alone, but at least they had friends and family they could regularly see. I once read about a woman who had a massage every few weeks just for the touch of another human. My son was the only other human who hugged me for two years, with one exception. How about you?
Opinion: Could you survive on 1 gallon of water per day if you had to?
You’ll be surprised how much we use on an ordinary day. How much water, on average, do you think we use globally?. Africans can and do survive on 5.28 gallons of water per day. A typical Brit will use about 41 gallons per day, whereas an average American uses between 100 to 175 gallons of water per day.
Opinion: Starlink connects indigenous North American Hoh Tribe to the Internet but not all tribes welcome satellites
The FCC Eighth Broadband Progress Report finds that approximately 19 million Americans—6 percent of the population—still lack access to fixed broadband service at threshold speeds. In rural areas, nearly one-fourth of the population —14.5 million people—lack access to this service. In tribal areas, nearly one-third of the population lacks access.
Opinion: German colonialists used genocide for racial cleansing while the US favored advertising of soap
University of Washington, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. German colonialists’ genocide of two African tribes started in 1904, but North America started racial cleansing much earlier. The biologically based racial cleansing of Nazi policy started before WW1 in Germany’s African colonies. Two populations of the colonies rose against their oppressors. The Hereros and the Nama.
Opinion: What do Kellogg's Cornflakes and Lifebuoy Soap have in common?
Why are breakfast and personal hygiene so important to North Americans?. Like breakfast being the most important meal of the day, according to Mr. W. K. Kellogg, imagine how many personal hygiene product companies want Americans to keep washing daily. The owner of Kellogg’s cornflakes wanted to sell his product. The marketing campaign and famous quote made people’s mornings easier based on a ready-to-eat meal.
Opinion: New York City, Madonna, Vogue, and Black, Brown, LGBTQ+ community ball culture
By DVSROSS - New York Pride 50 - 2019-246, CC BY 2.0. Queen of Pop, Madonna, brought worldwide attention to a dance style with her hit single Vogue in 1990. But had you ever heard of voguing before then? She showcased the moves of the young Harlem African-American and Latin American underground LGBTQ+subculture ballroom community.
Opinion: Why do we keep buying from four US asset management companies that own five household names?
Every time we buy something, we line the world’s top asset management firms’ vaults with our hard-earned cash. Aren’t you tired of making rich people richer?. If you are curious to learn more, keep reading.
If you have over $1 million in assets, would you volunteer to pay more tax and work to restore public trust?
This month, an open letter was published before the World Economic Forum’s ‘online Davos’ on the In Tax We Trust website. It addressed the ultra-rich people blamed for being part of the problem, and 102 humanitarian billionaires and millionaires signed it. The letter makes it obvious the billionaire space travelers who benefited astronomically from the pandemic, pay almost no tax, and don’t pay workers enough are part of the problem.
Opinion: How our relationships with each other, our communities, and our food have changed since the 1970s
When did the world change from walking to a local grocer, butcher, and fishmonger and returning with a shopping basket full of fresh produce to driving to a supermarket and filling a trolley with enough processed food to last a week? In the UK, that’s what we did in the 1970s before women started working and had to have their cars to transport them to work.
Opinion: Kissing is the long-term way to a woman's heart and could be a natural matchmaker!
We know the obvious reasons for what's in a kiss; to say hello to friends and family with a peck on one or both cheeks or to share an affectionate moment. However, we are attracted by breath smell or the taste of saliva.
Opinion: Should everyone making over $400,000 per year pay their fair share of tax?
Affordable healthcare.Photo by Kampus Production from Pexels. US Whitehouse representative Pramila Jayapal is optimistic that the democrats can get Build Back Better done without the republicans and the wealthy paying their fair share. Those who earn over $400,000 per annum will see their taxes increase, while anyone earning less than $400,000 will not pay a cent more tax.
Opinion: Is Lady Liberty a welcoming beacon or a warning to immigrants?
The Statue of Liberty has graced the skyline of New York since 1886. What is its true meaning? At first glance, tourists will stand in awe of her beauty and presence. They wonder as they climb up inside her to see through her eyes if freedom is what she offers. Her torch lights the way to the American Dream.
Opinion: Wildlife crossings save endangered lives and reduce the cost of vehicle collisions on US highways
US Fish and Wildlife Service Southeast Region, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. Work starts this month on the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing. Last year, the Annenberg Foundation sponsored the largest spanning overpass of its kind - 210 feet over ten lanes of the 101 Freeway at Liberty Canyon to the tune of $25 million donated to the National Wildlife Federation's #SaveLACougars campaign.
Opinion: given a choice of anything you wanted, what would you do with your life?
We don’t have to do jobs we don’t like these days. If we decide we want to do something different we can find some free or paid courses to learn how to do what we love. And then work towards our dream job. In the US in Q3 2021, there were 10,721,666.66667 unfilled job vacancies.
Opinion: What price will American families pay if Senator Manchin rejects the progressive Build Back bill again?
I have to admit when I read about Joe Manchin’s stance, I thought he was in the wrong party. The Guardian reported the Democrat voted no on Sunday 19 December. At the time, it looked as though the $1.75tn Build Back Better plan would fail.
Opinion: studies show expectations of buying stuff, long-term relationships, and dieting are misconceptions
You know all that stuff you buy? A twenty-year study by Nickerson et al. (2003) showed that a materialistic lifestyle does not make you happy. Consumerism harms your mental health.
Opinion: is it right we go into debt at Christmas to satisfy our families, friends, and neighbors for tradition?
VISA, Mastercard, and other credit card companies know how to catch you and keep you paying. Usually, the minimum amount every month with little to no chance of ever paying the whole amount off. Not unless a rich relative leaves you their fortune.
Karen Madej
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Passionate about climate change and living a debt-free, sustainable life. Determined to learn how to and build an adobe house or Earthship. The goal is to live off-grid and off the land. Energy for heat and to power electrical devices and appliances will use solar, wind, and hydro-powered electricity. No trees will die to make my home.
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