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Opinion

Opinion: The needle seems to be moving from the desire for personal wealth to the need for community or global health.

Published

6 years ago

3 minute read

Opinion from Garfield Marks (twitter @garfieldjohn)

The intense desire for personal wealth at the cost of community health may just be ebbing. Perhaps the cost to our personal wealth from the decline in community health is the reason? There are those who judge others by the class of their BMW or the newness of their Cadillac, but there seems to be more of those, who are thinking higher of those, going car less.

People may be coming to the realization that they do not always have to strive for the fanciest and newest car on the block, the biggest RV, or the biggest toy, because there will always be someone with a newer, bigger, fancier or classier one.

The race for material acquisition and/or consumption may be taking it’s toll. May be, climate change is forcing people to reconsider? It is early in the year and we have seen multiple floods and wildfires already and consensus has it, climate instability by humans, is the cause.

There have been pictures and stories of million dollar homes destroyed by water and fires, expensive cars and RV’s destroyed but the most heart felt were the stories about the photos, mementos and personal items lost.
The focus has been on personal wealth, especially the last few decades, but we are starting to weary of the constant battle for signs of wealth, the rat race to keep up with the Joneses, and the need to be seen as the same or better than the others.

When we maintain our homes, there are hidden costs that do not scream “Look how much I have”. Have we neglected them, our roof, windows, plumbing or electrical to have a larger tv, or a newer car? The earth is our home and perhaps we have neglected it? Too much CO2 in the air, too much paving of paradise, too much sewage in our water?

The signs of climate instability is all around us and the costs seem insurmountable but perhaps it is just that the “Rat Race” is not for everyone? We do not need to move to some Caribbean Island to escape the rat race, to slow down, and to spend more family time. We can do it right here.

Just prioritize Community health over personal wealth.
COMMUNITY HEALTH > PERSONAL WEALTH.
It will be tough. You won’t get a medal, people won’t go “OOH” or “AAH”, except those closest to you, you know, the ones that really count.

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conflict

Trump: ‘We’ have control over Iranian airspace; know where Khomeini is hiding

Published on June 17, 2025

By

From The Center Square

By Sarah Roderick-Fitch 

President Donald Trump broke from a meeting with his national security team Tuesday to share a series of social media posts signaling trouble for Iran.

The president announced control over Iranian airspace and knowledge of where Ayatollah Khomeini, Iran’s supreme leader, is being held while also calling for an “unconditional surrender.”

Trump claims Khomeini is “safe” for now but wouldn’t rule out killing the leader.

“We know exactly where the so-called ‘Supreme Leader’ is hiding. He is an easy target, but is safe there – We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now. But we don’t want missiles shot at civilians or American soldiers. Our patience is wearing thin. Thank you for your attention to this matter!” Trump posted on Truth Social.

Israel has conducted five days of bombings inside of Iran an an attempt to destroy facilities housing its nuclear program and other military infrastructure. Iran has retaliated, bombing Israel, including civilian locations.

Before the president’s post on the Iranian leader’s whereabouts, he touted complete control over Iranian airspace.

“We have complete and total control of the skies over Iran. Iran had good sky trackers and other defensive equipment, and plenty of it, but it doesn’t compare to American made, conceived, and manufactured ‘stuff.’ Nobody does it better than the good ol’ USA,” Trump posted.

It is unclear if the president was referring to U.S., Israeli, or a combination when talking about “we.”

Achieving control over Iranian airspace could be key to any U.S. involvement in carrying out missions to eliminate nuclear capabilities inside the Islamic Republic.

The Iranian Fordow nuclear site, located deep below a mountain, may only be penetrated by a Massive Ordinance Penetrator, also called a bunker buster. Currently, Israel is not equipped with a bunker buster and a B-2 bomber used to drop the explosive device.

The posts come as Trump swiftly returned to the White House early Tuesday morning, ahead of schedule, from the G7 summit in Alberta, Canada.

Upon returning to the White House early Tuesday, the president said he would head to the situation room. He argued that returning to the White House allowed him to learn more.

Trump told reporters onboard Air Force One earlier Tuesday that he wasn’t looking for a ceasefire but is seeking “a real end” with the Islamic Republic “giving up entirely” on their nuclear weapons program.

The president underscored previous comments regarding Iran not having nuclear weapons.

“Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. It’s very simple – you don’t have to go too deep into it. They just can’t have a nuclear weapon,” Trump told reporters.

“I’m not too much in the mood to negotiate [with Iran],” Trump told reporters. “An end, a real end, not a ceasefire, real end.”

Trump posted an ominous message to Iran and its people Monday afternoon, warning them to evacuate.

“Iran should have signed the ‘deal’ I told them to sign. What a shame, and waste of human life. Simply stated, IRAN CAN NOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON. I said it over and over again! Everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran!” the president posted to Truth Social.

He followed the warning with another post, reiterating that Iran should not have nuclear weapons.

“AMERICA FIRST means many GREAT things, including the fact that, IRAN CAN NOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!” he posted later.

As the conflict enters the fifth day of fighting, Israel Defense Forces announced that it had “eliminated” another top Iranian military commander.

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conflict

Trump Threatens Strike on Khamenei as Israel Pounds Iranian Military Command

Published on June 17, 2025

By

‘UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER’: Trump Warns Iran as Israel Kills Top General

In a dramatic escalation Tuesday, President Donald Trump issued a direct and unprecedented warning to Iran’s leadership, stating that U.S. intelligence has positively identified the location of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and could kill him—though, for now, the U.S. is choosing not to.

“We know exactly where the so-called ‘Supreme Leader’ is hiding. He is an easy target, but is safe there — We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now,” Trump posted to his Truth Social account Tuesday afternoon. “But we don’t want missiles shot at civilians, or American soldiers. Our patience is wearing thin. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”

Minutes later, Trump posted again: “UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!”

The remarks came after Trump met with top national security officials in the White House Situation Room, following fresh reports from the Pentagon and U.S. intelligence agencies indicating that Iran is preparing further ballistic missile launches after Israeli strikes rocked key military sites in Tehran.

The president’s language—a blend of strategic ambiguity and a raw, public threat against a sitting head of state—appears unprecedented in modern diplomatic history, and marks the clearest signal yet that the United States is prepared to intervene militarily if Iran refuses to abandon its nuclear enrichment program or if American forces come under attack.

Meanwhile, Germany’s political leadership broke its relative silence with statements backing the U.S.-Israel alliance and condemning Tehran. Chancellor Friedrich Merz, still at the G7 meetings in Alberta that Trump abruptly left Monday night, said in a blunt interview with ZDF: “This is the dirty work Israel is doing for all of us. We are also victims of this regime. This mullah regime has brought death and destruction to the world.” Merz warned that unless Iran backs down, “it will mean the total destruction of its nuclear program — which Israel cannot achieve alone, not without the United States.”

The conflict, now in its fifth day, has reportedly claimed nearly 300 lives—about 240 in Iran and more than two dozen in Israel. Israeli military sources say a “third wave” of operations is underway, focusing on Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps units and missile launchers in western Iran. The Israeli Air Force has reportedly conducted deep-penetration strikes using U.S.-built F-35 stealth fighters.

Meanwhile, Israel claimed Tuesday that it had killed another top Iranian military official, and international monitors said Israeli strikes had inflicted greater damage to a key Iranian nuclear facility than previously understood. Since Israel began bombing Iran on Friday, it has effectively crippled Iran’s military leadership—killing at least 11 senior generals—and disrupted command-and-control operations tied to Iran’s nuclear infrastructure.

On Tuesday morning, the Israel Defense Forces announced it had killed Maj. Gen. Ali Shadmani, describing him as the most senior military commander in Iran. Shadmani had reportedly been appointed to his position just four days earlier, replacing another general killed in an Israeli strike on the first day of hostilities.

While Israeli bombardment shows no signs of slowing, Iran’s retaliatory missile barrages appear to have diminished in intensity over the past 48 hours.

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