Is it wrong to call Donald Trump “crazy?”

Former RI Rep. Patrick Kennedy says yes. He says calling the Republican presidential candidate “crazy”  demeans people who are mentally ill. Kevin Drum says its OK. He writes, at Mother Jones: There are lots of words that have both ordinary meanings as well as technical medical meanings. When I say that Donald Trump is a cancer …

So…who’s ahead, again?

Mother Jones has an interactive map where you can go, read ’em, and perhaps weep.

His right to die: Kevin Drum

Leftover sends this incredible piece by Kevin Drum, at Mother Jones. It includes this: There’s no known treatment that puts multiple myeloma in complete remission, but the goal is to get close enough to zero that the cancerous cells are undetectable. I’m nowhere near that yet. I may still get there. And if my current …

More on John Lott, gun fraud

Lott, an economist, was an early proponent of using data to study gun violence, and his work tended to be loved by gun lobbyists everywhere, but as his work came under scrutiny, hole upon hole was found in his research, and in his conclusions. Mother Jones profiles him here. And thanks, Leftover, for the link.

So who’s running for President?

It’s almost easier to figure out who isn’t. I’m not. Are you?

If we stopped honoring racists by naming schools after them…

…that would allow us to honor people who really deserve the attention, yes? Read this Mother Jones piece on not just lowering the Confederate battle flag, but renaming all those schools after supporters of a white supremacist state, such as Nathan B. Forrest, pictured.

So what does gun violence cost us?

$229 billion. 2. 2. 9. Billion. Read more at the above Mother Jones link. They’ve been studying the topic since the 2012 Colorado theater mass shooting that left 58 wounded and 12 dead. All told in the last decade, gunshots wounded at least 750,000 Americans and 320,000 killed. Do we really want to keep listening …

Soon, elections will simply be billionaires duking it out every four years

This is from Mother Jones, which charts the demise of the small-time political donor. Why? Because it’s more cost-efficient to go after the big money, as this Washington Post story attests. And why is this important? As Mother Jones’ Kevin Drum says: it has the potential to alienate the electorate even more. Things are bad …

Have a Coke and a…uh…

80 Percent of Public Schools Have Contracts With Coke or Pepsi, says Mother Jones. Even if you don’t consider the other contents, check out how much sugar‘s in those drinks — which makes this kind of corporate double-speak, yes?

You have 47 bosses.

According to this Mother Jones report by Andy Kroll and Tasneem Raja, just 47 people give the bulk of money to those super-PACs that have so much sway over your world. Do be sure to hit the link and learn more disheartening stuff. And thanks, DickG., for the link.