Frankly, I don't see why population growth is so highly valued. The world population is reaching unsustainability if it hasn't already. Perhaps we are looking at this all wrong.
Especially if it means all those leaving NYS are MAGAts headed for hell holes Florida, Texas, Louisiana (sorry, Ken, but a state that returns Johnson, Scalise and Kennedy to Congress is a lost cause LOL), Idaho ....... you get the idea. BTW, if we lose two Congressional seats, please make it any combination of Lawler, Tenney and StefaniQ.
I like to say I live in the state of New Orleans. Certainly agree about the rest of Louisiana politics. Sen. Bill Cassidy - a doctor - allowed RFK Jr. to be confirmed. But New Orleans is a whole different story.
I think it may be because of the economics. If you do not have workers, you can produce the servies and income a society needs to go forward. Just a a thought.
Population growth is typically discussed as a necessity. But if you examine its rationale, it seems to come down to the economy. Capitalism thrives in a growth environment. More people = more consumers = more buyers = more profit.
The costs of population growth are rarely discussed, such environmental harm and pollution, resource strain such as water shortages and overuse of non-renewable resources. and more waste creation.
Rather than accepting population growth as an article of faith, perhaps we should look for ways of living better with the population we have (including those who emigrate to our country, as well.)
You mention water. The west is having trouble supplying water to the people it has. Unless they want to desalinate the ocean, they are already over the limit based on available resources even though they have plenty of available land. I am saying this as someone who has traveled extensively out west and loves it, but really, you have to live within your means.
Hoping this video gets widest dissemination possible. It has left TV commentaters in tears. The power of his lyrics, coupled with the horrific scenes, can hopefully stir the souls of other entertainers, athletes and elected officials to use their voices for Truth vs. protecting their center stage celebrity status.
NY State’s population trends portend more disaster ahead. Large swaths are emptying out. Populated areas are unaffordable to many. For what’s left of the working and middle class, taxes rise, but wages don’t.
I've been saying for some time, Rep. Elise Stefanik's No. 1 concern in her district should be the population losses and the problems they are causing to people who voted for her.
Cook Political Report a reliable, non-partisan political forecaster rates the NY 21CD solid red. Smullen has pretty much said he'll win the district. Citizens, unfortunately, don't often change their voting habits.
Listened to it over and over on full blast in my car yesterday. Didn’t make me cry. Made me angry. I have never been so consistently angry In my life. I wake up at night seeing the horrific murders over and over again. I know I had to see them, conversely I wish I never did. Will pay tribute at a vigil to my fellow nurse and the 8 others (and counting) murdered by ice. And WHERE are the 1200 from alligator Alcatraz?????
I still haven’t been able to bring myself to watch them. I forced myself to watch the murder of George Floyd because I felt it was necessary to see for myself, and it was a horror beyond what I could have imagined watching the life drain out of him as his murderer held him down. I’ve seen still pictures of these latest atrocities. That’s enough for me. I don’t think I could bear to see more.
The ICE Budget at $10B annually and now an additional $75B injected into the budget so $85B to use at will over the next 4 years...imagine, we could eliminate childhood poverty and do so much to improve the lives of all of us.
And we still don’t know how many gazillions of dollars were siphoned out of all the government agencies which Elon Musk and his DOGE boys invaded after forcefully evacuating staffers…then commandeering computers and confiscating critical data which they are no doubt weaponizing against us.
Trump is bankrupting our country like he bankrupted his casinos, multiple business failures all while lining the Trump family pockets with taxpayer money. Now Trump is suing the IRS for $10 billion dollars because he claims they sullied the Trump family name. Can't make this stuff up.
This new song reminded me Woody Guthrie protest songs and Bruce cites Woody as a big influence. While we know Woody wrote the protest song This Land is Your Land, I looked into it and found Woody also wrote “Old Man Trump” about his Fred Trump’s discrimination in NY apartment leasing in the late 60s. The protest song legacy continues…
One of the many things I’m concerned about with the Trump regime is its building a technological infrastructure dedicated to identifying, tracking, and ultimately arresting citizens and journalists for exercising their constitutional rights.
For example, ICE is using facial recognition software to identify both undocumented immigrants and protestors. This software, combined with the access the regime already has to personal data such from Social Security and IRS, provides tools a police state can use to tamp down protests, intimidate citizens and immigrants alike, and make arrests based on false accusations. This police state infrastructure can also be used to intimidate voters during elections.
The Trump regime has already proven its willing to do anything and everything to exert its power.
National population growth has dropped to about 0.5% due to several factors including an aging population, lower birth rate, and steep decline in immigration.
Immigrants tend to have much higher birth rates than natural citizens.
If N.Y. embraces immigrants and immigration we can re-populate shrinking towns with a younger population and retain our representation numbers or even increase them if states like Florida and Texas continue to be unfriendly to immigrants.
So, Florida and Texas, if you’re listening please send us your tired, your poor,
I believe a few years ago, the city of Rutland tried to make it a hub for immigrants because it needed more residents - I forget which country - and it did not go well.
It might have been the Syrians around 2017-2019. I don’t know a lot of details. But Vermont is a small state and small numbers make a big difference. During pandemic Vermont had a big gain but it has tapered in population since and is one of only a handful of states to lose population in the latest estimates. Vermont has a population where deaths outnumber births and people are out-migrating. It’s a lot like the north country in that way. A few hundreds of immigrants could make a big change for the state.
Killing Alex Pretti also endangered the lives of the thousands of veterans this ICU nurse would have helped save during the next 30 years of his VA hospital career, now gone forever. The COVID pandemic killed, disabled, burned out, and forced the quitting of probably a million nurses nationwide, at least. It's not a deep bench to replace Pretti, given the thousands of VA staff cuts.
How personal can this get? My mother, mother-in-law, favorite aunt, were nurses. Trump lied on CNN in 2020, saying every nurse got $2000 every time they "faked" a death certificate. putting "Covid" as the cause, defaming every US nurse.
I, my father, 2 stepfathers, a brother, 2 uncles, cousins uncounted, are all veterans whom Trump called suckers & losers. Trump's secret ICE/CBP police, armed, masked, no ID or badges, have status equal to Russia's KGB, Hitler's gestapo. Immigrants are the "new Jews." Are you and/or I next? Bruce Springsteen's song is a warning.
I had heard Springsteen's song - just watched the video - this will fire up and bring more people into this fight and it should. Viet Nam and civil rights had their music - this should be the music of this fight.
I love freedom. I also love the Constitution, our representative democracy, and a civil people settling their disagreements peacefully.
The scores of millions who voted for secure borders and the deportation of illegal aliens have a right, having won that election, to see that policy carried out in a lawful manner.
Everyone has a right to speak, to peaceably assemble, and to express profound disagreement.
But those who break the law in their efforts to hinder the deportation of illegal aliens are in the wrong, and when their actions lead to tragedy they are not noble martyrs for a just cause.
This is all very carefully worded, but I think you need to be careful with this argument. They are degrees to the laws being broken. Under what circumstances is it appropriate to kill someone? I don't think deadly force. was warranted in either of these two cases. And if you are arguing that it was, then god help us all.
"Everyone has a right to speak, to peaceably assemble, and to express profound disagreement."
I agree. A major problem our country faces right now is the president of the United States and his administration disagree, and act accordingly. Trump and his supporters are in the wrong.
Yes they do have a right to see what they voted for carried out in a lawful manner. Key word here being LAWFUL. Secure borders would require actually carrying out the laws we have on the books already. It would require investment in immigration judges and courts to process asylum claims, clear and reasonable rules for work visas (not every immigrant wants to become a citizen, some just want to make money and go back home eventually), and some kind of path to citizenship for all the people who are here illegally but are actually good, hard working people who have made America their home and are contributing citizens in everything but name only. It would require doing some actual work to find out who has committed a crime and finding them and deporting them. This administration is attempting NONE of this. They are sending poorly trained goon squads to terrorize anyone they feel like, even citizens, who have the ABSOLUTE right to demonstrate, follow them, and film them. They are not even following proper police procedures, let alone the law.
I seriously wonder about your professed love for freedom, the Constitution, representative democracy, and civil people settling their disagreements peacefully, because you seem to be a supporter of this administration and its policies. Since Trump has been working steadily since 2015 to erode and pervert them, this puts you in opposition to all these things you say you love. That’s a strange kind of love.
The irony is when I am at the gym there is a bad classic satellite station playing.. and they always play five people.. often the five same songs each night... one of them is Springsteen.. and I was thinking how important Bruce Springsteen was to me in my 20's and that he is still a great artist, but not so relevant...
It was released twice on Mr.Springsteen's youtube channel in the last two days.. the second with images from Minneapolis.. each with more than a million views
I've written more columns during the past four year than I did in my last 10 years at The Post-Star. And I think they are better, so I agree that your Third Act can be your best act.
certainly heart felt.. but I don't know if your last thought is right...
(this crtique comes KNOWING there is lots to talk about in a column and understanding that)
While you have had some amazing columns in the last year..there were some pretty good ones in the books you have published.. and I would suggest you are at your best when you write about one person or subject that have a beginning and middle that lead to a sentimental* ending
* if not sentimental.. then a worthy cause understood
I listened to the streets of Minneapolis this morning. Saw about it yesterday but couldn't find a link. Found one today.
Before I checked back and saw you just put this up.
I couldn't agree more Ken.
Bruce's quip on Miller and Noem. Perfect
To hear it poetically stated.
The strangers among us.
Resist the darkness be light.
Frankly, I don't see why population growth is so highly valued. The world population is reaching unsustainability if it hasn't already. Perhaps we are looking at this all wrong.
Especially if it means all those leaving NYS are MAGAts headed for hell holes Florida, Texas, Louisiana (sorry, Ken, but a state that returns Johnson, Scalise and Kennedy to Congress is a lost cause LOL), Idaho ....... you get the idea. BTW, if we lose two Congressional seats, please make it any combination of Lawler, Tenney and StefaniQ.
I like to say I live in the state of New Orleans. Certainly agree about the rest of Louisiana politics. Sen. Bill Cassidy - a doctor - allowed RFK Jr. to be confirmed. But New Orleans is a whole different story.
I think it may be because of the economics. If you do not have workers, you can produce the servies and income a society needs to go forward. Just a a thought.
I agree.
Population growth is typically discussed as a necessity. But if you examine its rationale, it seems to come down to the economy. Capitalism thrives in a growth environment. More people = more consumers = more buyers = more profit.
The costs of population growth are rarely discussed, such environmental harm and pollution, resource strain such as water shortages and overuse of non-renewable resources. and more waste creation.
Rather than accepting population growth as an article of faith, perhaps we should look for ways of living better with the population we have (including those who emigrate to our country, as well.)
You mention water. The west is having trouble supplying water to the people it has. Unless they want to desalinate the ocean, they are already over the limit based on available resources even though they have plenty of available land. I am saying this as someone who has traveled extensively out west and loves it, but really, you have to live within your means.
I live in the Adirondacks..
We need more doctors...
but I agree with you
Hoping this video gets widest dissemination possible. It has left TV commentaters in tears. The power of his lyrics, coupled with the horrific scenes, can hopefully stir the souls of other entertainers, athletes and elected officials to use their voices for Truth vs. protecting their center stage celebrity status.
producer/keyboardist of the song (Ron Aniello) posted that is #1 on itunes in 19 countries (on his insta)
and 4,169,751 views here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWKSoxG1K7w
Lots of comments from around the world. The World is watching us.
and we should be embarrassed by what they are seeing
!
NY State’s population trends portend more disaster ahead. Large swaths are emptying out. Populated areas are unaffordable to many. For what’s left of the working and middle class, taxes rise, but wages don’t.
And the band plays on.
https://albellenchia.substack.com/p/a-fast-start
I've been saying for some time, Rep. Elise Stefanik's No. 1 concern in her district should be the population losses and the problems they are causing to people who voted for her.
Cook Political Report a reliable, non-partisan political forecaster rates the NY 21CD solid red. Smullen has pretty much said he'll win the district. Citizens, unfortunately, don't often change their voting habits.
Listened to it over and over on full blast in my car yesterday. Didn’t make me cry. Made me angry. I have never been so consistently angry In my life. I wake up at night seeing the horrific murders over and over again. I know I had to see them, conversely I wish I never did. Will pay tribute at a vigil to my fellow nurse and the 8 others (and counting) murdered by ice. And WHERE are the 1200 from alligator Alcatraz?????
Crimes against humanity!
I still haven’t been able to bring myself to watch them. I forced myself to watch the murder of George Floyd because I felt it was necessary to see for myself, and it was a horror beyond what I could have imagined watching the life drain out of him as his murderer held him down. I’ve seen still pictures of these latest atrocities. That’s enough for me. I don’t think I could bear to see more.
The ICE Budget at $10B annually and now an additional $75B injected into the budget so $85B to use at will over the next 4 years...imagine, we could eliminate childhood poverty and do so much to improve the lives of all of us.
And we still don’t know how many gazillions of dollars were siphoned out of all the government agencies which Elon Musk and his DOGE boys invaded after forcefully evacuating staffers…then commandeering computers and confiscating critical data which they are no doubt weaponizing against us.
Trump is bankrupting our country like he bankrupted his casinos, multiple business failures all while lining the Trump family pockets with taxpayer money. Now Trump is suing the IRS for $10 billion dollars because he claims they sullied the Trump family name. Can't make this stuff up.
Trump is essentially suing himself and the agency heads will settle with him in an enormous conflict of interest.
When have republicans had any interest in conflict of interest?
Another worry.
This new song reminded me Woody Guthrie protest songs and Bruce cites Woody as a big influence. While we know Woody wrote the protest song This Land is Your Land, I looked into it and found Woody also wrote “Old Man Trump” about his Fred Trump’s discrimination in NY apartment leasing in the late 60s. The protest song legacy continues…
Sounds like "Old Man Trump" song should be brought back!
Had not heard that on
🙏🏼❤️🙏🏼
One of the many things I’m concerned about with the Trump regime is its building a technological infrastructure dedicated to identifying, tracking, and ultimately arresting citizens and journalists for exercising their constitutional rights.
For example, ICE is using facial recognition software to identify both undocumented immigrants and protestors. This software, combined with the access the regime already has to personal data such from Social Security and IRS, provides tools a police state can use to tamp down protests, intimidate citizens and immigrants alike, and make arrests based on false accusations. This police state infrastructure can also be used to intimidate voters during elections.
The Trump regime has already proven its willing to do anything and everything to exert its power.
Former CNN anchor Don Lemon was arrested today.
For what?
National population growth has dropped to about 0.5% due to several factors including an aging population, lower birth rate, and steep decline in immigration.
Immigrants tend to have much higher birth rates than natural citizens.
If N.Y. embraces immigrants and immigration we can re-populate shrinking towns with a younger population and retain our representation numbers or even increase them if states like Florida and Texas continue to be unfriendly to immigrants.
So, Florida and Texas, if you’re listening please send us your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to NY.
I believe a few years ago, the city of Rutland tried to make it a hub for immigrants because it needed more residents - I forget which country - and it did not go well.
It might have been the Syrians around 2017-2019. I don’t know a lot of details. But Vermont is a small state and small numbers make a big difference. During pandemic Vermont had a big gain but it has tapered in population since and is one of only a handful of states to lose population in the latest estimates. Vermont has a population where deaths outnumber births and people are out-migrating. It’s a lot like the north country in that way. A few hundreds of immigrants could make a big change for the state.
Killing Alex Pretti also endangered the lives of the thousands of veterans this ICU nurse would have helped save during the next 30 years of his VA hospital career, now gone forever. The COVID pandemic killed, disabled, burned out, and forced the quitting of probably a million nurses nationwide, at least. It's not a deep bench to replace Pretti, given the thousands of VA staff cuts.
How personal can this get? My mother, mother-in-law, favorite aunt, were nurses. Trump lied on CNN in 2020, saying every nurse got $2000 every time they "faked" a death certificate. putting "Covid" as the cause, defaming every US nurse.
I, my father, 2 stepfathers, a brother, 2 uncles, cousins uncounted, are all veterans whom Trump called suckers & losers. Trump's secret ICE/CBP police, armed, masked, no ID or badges, have status equal to Russia's KGB, Hitler's gestapo. Immigrants are the "new Jews." Are you and/or I next? Bruce Springsteen's song is a warning.
I had heard Springsteen's song - just watched the video - this will fire up and bring more people into this fight and it should. Viet Nam and civil rights had their music - this should be the music of this fight.
I love freedom. I also love the Constitution, our representative democracy, and a civil people settling their disagreements peacefully.
The scores of millions who voted for secure borders and the deportation of illegal aliens have a right, having won that election, to see that policy carried out in a lawful manner.
Everyone has a right to speak, to peaceably assemble, and to express profound disagreement.
But those who break the law in their efforts to hinder the deportation of illegal aliens are in the wrong, and when their actions lead to tragedy they are not noble martyrs for a just cause.
This is all very carefully worded, but I think you need to be careful with this argument. They are degrees to the laws being broken. Under what circumstances is it appropriate to kill someone? I don't think deadly force. was warranted in either of these two cases. And if you are arguing that it was, then god help us all.
"Everyone has a right to speak, to peaceably assemble, and to express profound disagreement."
I agree. A major problem our country faces right now is the president of the United States and his administration disagree, and act accordingly. Trump and his supporters are in the wrong.
Yes they do have a right to see what they voted for carried out in a lawful manner. Key word here being LAWFUL. Secure borders would require actually carrying out the laws we have on the books already. It would require investment in immigration judges and courts to process asylum claims, clear and reasonable rules for work visas (not every immigrant wants to become a citizen, some just want to make money and go back home eventually), and some kind of path to citizenship for all the people who are here illegally but are actually good, hard working people who have made America their home and are contributing citizens in everything but name only. It would require doing some actual work to find out who has committed a crime and finding them and deporting them. This administration is attempting NONE of this. They are sending poorly trained goon squads to terrorize anyone they feel like, even citizens, who have the ABSOLUTE right to demonstrate, follow them, and film them. They are not even following proper police procedures, let alone the law.
I seriously wonder about your professed love for freedom, the Constitution, representative democracy, and civil people settling their disagreements peacefully, because you seem to be a supporter of this administration and its policies. Since Trump has been working steadily since 2015 to erode and pervert them, this puts you in opposition to all these things you say you love. That’s a strange kind of love.
Streets of Minneapolis
The irony is when I am at the gym there is a bad classic satellite station playing.. and they always play five people.. often the five same songs each night... one of them is Springsteen.. and I was thinking how important Bruce Springsteen was to me in my 20's and that he is still a great artist, but not so relevant...
and then BOOM
I posted the lyrics here: https://edwardlow.substack.com/publish/posts/detail/186315653/share-center with the video
I'd argue that over the past 25 years, Springsteen may have produced some of his best music, but that is an argument for another day.
not safe for work protest song from Sacred Ketchup: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PUOhAJG5EU
couple more thoughts on: "Streets of Minneapolis" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDaPdpwA4Iw)
It was released twice on Mr.Springsteen's youtube channel in the last two days.. the second with images from Minneapolis.. each with more than a million views
I looked up Springsteens age: 76.
anyone anybody, any age can be the difference
but all of us can be part of it.
I've written more columns during the past four year than I did in my last 10 years at The Post-Star. And I think they are better, so I agree that your Third Act can be your best act.
certainly heart felt.. but I don't know if your last thought is right...
(this crtique comes KNOWING there is lots to talk about in a column and understanding that)
While you have had some amazing columns in the last year..there were some pretty good ones in the books you have published.. and I would suggest you are at your best when you write about one person or subject that have a beginning and middle that lead to a sentimental* ending
* if not sentimental.. then a worthy cause understood