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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

Social Security came into being in 1935, and thus every American alive today paid into the fund from the moment they entered the workplace until the moment they left.  Yet, as we’re seeing, the GOP believes that a tenable platform is simply this: let’s rip these people off.  Again, this isn’t some marginalized fringe group; it’s the entirety of the U.S. electorate.  If you’re a political strategist, does this seem like a good idea?

A progressive since a small boy, I’ve never liked Republicans.  I still remember distinctly my take as a nine-year-old on Barry Goldwater in ’64, and George Wallace, who got my grandfather’s vote four years later.  I was not impressed, putting it kindly.

Yet at that point, I understood that some folks, many of them older, might be drawn to more conservative values.  But what’s appealing about whacking the retirement plan that literally every American worker paid into?

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

There are two main answers to this excellent question.

First and most obviously, about half of the U.S. electorate supports Donald Trump as our next president.  At a minimum, that means anti-intellectualism and the rejection of science in policymaking. This applies especially to environmentalism; in particular, these voters believe that climate change is a hoax, that climate scientists are bilking taxpayers, and that efforts in this space are engineered to weaken U.S. capitalism.

Secondly, by virtue of the popularity of Trump/MAGA, the Democrats have to be careful not to go too far to the left.  There is essentially zero demand for a candidate like Elizabeth Warren, Chris Murphy, Jeff Merkley, Cory Booker, Pete Buttigieg, or any other progressive.

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Science

No.

If you’ve ever visited Northern Europe, you’ve noticed that the fare is more about meat and potatoes than it is the rich salads and vegetable plates of the Mediterranean.  The reason for that is that higher latitudes have less solar irradiation, even in summer, than their lower latitude cousins, regardless of of how many hours of (extremely weak) sunlight they receive.

Below is a photo of the sunshine near the summer solstice in the northern part of Sweden.  Yes, it’s 24 hours a day, but does this seem like an environment in which veggies are going to thrive?

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Electric Vehicles

With the possible exception of the causes and potential cures for cancer, perhaps no subject has received more rigorous study over the past few decades than the environmental effects of replacing fossil fuels with electricity generated by a grid-mix that is growing cleaner with each passing year.

Of course, this doesn’t prevent idiots from posting the same memes that were so popular in the late 1990s.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

Anyone who imputes any honesty and sincerity to the evangelical Christians is an absolute fool.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

If you’re concerned about gun safety and the protection of our children, that’s wonderful–and there is no question that any Democrat is a better answer for you than any Republican.  The same can be said about quality education, healthcare, women’s rights, and dozens of other humanitarian issues.

Yet what sits at the top of the decision-making tree when it comes to Biden and Trump is that one of them is simply old, and other is a criminal sociopath.

That’s huge.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

FWIW, I completely agree with Julia Louis-Dreyfus here.  Being “PC” means having a sensitive awareness of other people, and that’s never a bad thing, IMO.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Climate Change

Do you ever get a text that starts like this?  “Hi, (Craig).  Joe Biden here, asking you for your support in the upcoming election….”

Anyone’s first thought would be that the president of the United States is most definitely not sending out text messages, and that’s a good thing, considering that his time would be better spent on arenas related to world peace, managing Russia’s unprovoked attack on Eastern Europe, growing the job market, controlling inflation, and moving the nation forward in climate change mitigation.

Similarly, the advertisement shown above was not written by Biden, but the reason I’m confident in that is different: it invokes the grammatical prowess of perhaps a 7th grade kid who’s struggling with English.

“Myself” is a reflexive pronoun, and is not a substitute for the word “I,” which is the subjective first person singular pronoun. Also, if there is more than one subject of the sentence, as is the case here, “I” belongs as the last one.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

We’re surrounded by the words of human history’s greatest minds, many of whom seem to be reminding us of the jeopardy in which we find ourselves today.

After the president of the United States who was elected in 2016 lost in 2020, he went on a mission to retain power, and in the most blatantly illegal means imaginable.

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Science

Most of us would agree that music programs are wonderful things to have in our schools, but we need to learn how to think logically at the same time.

Is it possible that:

Schools with music programs are simply better than average schools, with other characteristics, e.g., better teachers, that cause higher graduation rates?

Students who attend schools with music programs come from more affluent families that encourage graduation?

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