The Control of Nature

The Control of Nature

I started the day (Sunday, March 29, 2020) in relatively good spirits. The Sun was bathing nature in light and pleasant warmth. Spring and flowers were everywhere. My wife and I were walking in our beautiful neighborhood in Claremont, California.
Poisoning the Wind
But, suddenly, a man holding a sprayer was furiously drenching his front yard with  chemicals. I asked him what he was spraying and why and he angrily said miticides, and, besides, he said, it was none of my business what he was doing.
Mites are tiny insects related to spiders and ticks. And, like most pesticides, chemicals designed to kill mites, miticides, are toxic poisons that may harm the brain and the nervous system and probably cause cancer.I continued my walk and  tried to forget my unpleasant
confrontation with this illiterate and irresponsible person. However, he is not alone. In the last three years of the Trump administration, I have seen enough infractions of civilized life, that I am almost certain Trump’s influence has reached even in this small town in southern California. Several of the houses for sale are covered with a canvas for fumigation. More home owners or their “gardeners” attack the natural world with poisons.
Read more at https://www.counterpunch.org/2020/04/03/the-control-of-nature/

In the Grip of Disease

Even more than war, the corona virus pandemic is causing chaos. It is threatening the people of the United Kingdom as well as human beings all over the world. The virus is invisible. It can be everywhere and nowhere.
Virus of confusion
You turn on the radio or television and the only discussion is about this incomprehensive enemy. Restaurants are closed. Schools are closed. Libraries are closed. Even factories and airplanes are shutting down.
Meanwhile, the Trump administration is back to its tricks of lining the pockets of the rich. Congressmen and senators are fighting the virus with tons of money, something like 2 trillion dollars, as if money will order the virus to take a vacation. Democrats say we need to help the unemployed workers and the Republicans say we must fund airlines, hospitals, hotels and corporations. To top this Tower of Babel, Trump is preaching nonsense, but zeroes in the corruption of the money likely to go to his tower company and  other billionaires. As for the spread of the virus, the Trump message is confusing, ignorant, and immoral.
Read more at https://www.counterpunch.org/2020/03/27/in-the-grip-of-disease/