Re-Gain

​Thirty years ago, I drove a neighbor home as she vented her outrage over the sheer number of billionaires and the obscenity of their wealth. Ironically, her own home housed roughly $80 million in inherited artwork—including Picasso sculptures and multi-million-dollar paintings—which she later donated to the National Gallery of Art. ​Even among those with substantial fortunes, the true scale of inequality is hard to grasp. Teachers, firefighters, construction workers, and nurses face an economy where the top 1% holds over $40 trillion in total wealth, far outpacing the bottom 99% combined. ​The middle and upper-middle classes feel the pressure, too. While households in the 80th to 95th percentiles hold significant wealth compared to those below them, many in this bracket still feel financially squeezed. Meanwhile, the broader middle class remains distinct from those living in poverty, yet what little wealth they possess is largely locked up in home equity, offset by mortgag...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbKIPSdjlh0 ​ The American spirit cannot truly thrive until it reconciles with truth and justice. ​My commitment to this reconciliation began in college. Driven by outrage over how our government historically treated—and continues to treat—First Peoples, I set out to study social welfare.  ​ My journey reached a pivotal moment in 1978 during the Longest Walk, a five-month, 2,800-mile peaceful march from Alcatraz Island to Washington, D.C. Marchers walked across the continent to oppose federal bills that threatened Indian treaties, eliminate reservations, and strip away tribal sovereignty. ​When the marchers arrived in D.C., I went to the Lincoln Memorial to offer my support. I donated my teepee—which became the sacred medicine tent for the gathering—along with my first car, a VW Bug I handed over and never saw again. ​ Years later, amid the heavy emotional aftermath of 9/11, I helped organize several sweat lodges with Richard Moves Camp, a Lakota med...

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Managing Waste at Sporting Events https://share.google/uG03nU14x8tJiYb7z

​ Orphaned Oil Waste & Wells: A Hidden Climate Crisis ​ Years ago, I developed an expertise in used motor oil recycling. Thanks to my father’s background as a congressional tax expert, I had a front-row seat to observe how subsidies and financial incentives drive cradle-to-the-grave economics. ​ This background led me to testify before a House subcommittee in support of funding the Used Oil Recycling Act of 1980. Our goal was to launch public awareness campaigns targeting the tens of millions of do-it-yourself oil changers who, at the time, routinely poured their oil drainings directly into the environment. ​ A few months earlier, in 1981, I helped build a multi-million-gallon used oil recycling plant in Alexandria, Virginia. Proximity was on our side: just several hundred yards away sat an asphalt plant with a daily demand for 10,000 gallons of No. 4 industrial fuel. It was proof of concept, yet a frustrating reality remained—and still remains—that hundreds of millions...

Commentary: The Social Security crisis | Nvdaily | nvdaily.com https://share.google/WI6EKSuWJnJCx9kon

https://youtu.be/D9n73JsZ2kU?feature=shared Once a week, I become a court jester, mocking modern tyranny in the only garb outrageous enough to survive the purge. ​Historically, only the jester could mock madness without losing his head—though these days, even the fool must dodge the falling blade. I meet tragedy with comedy now. Satire is my alchemy, turning unbearable reality and sorrow into survival. Laughing and crying offer a similar emotional release, but I would much rather laugh. Otherwise, I would collapse under the weight of despair. ​It all began on April Fools’ Day in 1988, when I first appeared on the Capitol steps in full jester regalia. My Republican congresswoman helped sponsor the act and showed up at noon to watch. Since then, one question has echoed louder than the bells on my hat: Who’s the real fool? ​ My first live comic protest was a total bomb—figuratively, thank God. I called it a "FUNeral." The crowd wasn’t dying laughing, but I nearly was from stage ...