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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

As suggested in the meme here, another reason the Republicans are getting killed at the polls is their effort to throw sand in the gears of the U.S. military.  I’m referring of course to Alabama Republican senator Tommy Tuberville’s ploy to raise awareness for the need to ban abortion, by blocking thousands of promotions with in our armed forces, thus gumming up our entire defense apparatus.

Again, here’s something so obvious that I can’t believe I’m typing out these words: Most Americans respect our military, and want to see it function with the greatest possible efficiency, unimpeded by political grandstanding.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

As suggested by the Arabic proverb here, we face a real threat from Donald Trump who says that, if re-elected, he will use the federal government to punish his enemies.

If America gets this wrong in 2024, it will be one hell of a long time before it gets another chance.

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

Donna Kay Smedley writes:

I’m sorry, but I find the case of Steve Bannon perplexing. This man has openly scammed Americans, had a part in some capacity of engaging in the 1/6 insurrection, but a judge has allowed him to walk freely by defying a Congressional subpoena. Any other person would have been in jail already and serving his sentence. Everyone should be treated equally not differently when committing crimes or just blowing off subpoenas.

I’m with you 100%.  The two-tiered system of justice here is a clear violation of the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.  If I were the judge in this case, I’d feel deeply ashamed of myself for ignoring the oath of office I took and participating in this travesty of fairness and equality.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Science

This quote from Hippocrates reminds me of something astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson said to an interviewer who asked him, “Well, if there is all this stuff in the universe that we don’t understand, why can’t that be God?”

He replied, “If that’s the way you want to play it, that’s fine.  Just keep in mind that you’re standing on an island that’s getting smaller every year.”

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

It’s so gratifying to see these victories for organized labor.

A strong middle class gives back so many gifts to U.S. society, in the form of a stronger democracy, lower crimes rates, and better educational standards.

On top of that, we have quality of life; it’s nice to know that millions of Americans are benefiting from greater affluence and lower levels of poverty.

One further point: notice that this happened under a Democratic administration.  This truly is the party that cares about working people.  I know this is often lost in our political conversations, but it really is the truth.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Fossil Fuels

From the American Energy Society:  US supermajor Chevron acquired Hess for $53 billion two weeks after Exxon Mobil purchased Pioneer Natural Resources for $60 billion and while BP doubled its YOY profits ($27B). Note: Many SMEs believe the sector’s historic performance is far from over and that the Permian Basin in Texas will likely remain the centerpiece of all activity in the foreseeable future.

I’m reminded of a boss/senior partner I had as a young man who liked to say, on occasions such as these, “Well at least now it’s getting real.”

Yes, the gloves are off, and Big Oil no longer seems to care that its standing in the world of PR is really no better than that of Hamas.  They are baking the planet for profit, and there is not a goddamned thing we can do about it, at least in the short-term.

In the long-term, of course, we can electrify everything and then hope there is a path back to methane and CO2 levels that stabilize the climate here on the only planet we call home.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainable Building

Here’s a video explaining how mashed potatoes can be made by boiling a popular brand of potato chip (Lay’s).

Why not take all those chemicals, fill a syringe with them, and inject them directly into a vein?

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

As I mentioned in a post yesterday, American politics has reached a point where one of its two major parties, the Republicans, seems to have become aware that it offers nothing of value whatsoever to its base.

Its platform consists of a number of extremist positions, which are repugnant to most Americans: banning abortion, unlimited gun rights, cutting Social Security and Medicare, environmental devastation, the rejection of science, withdrawing support for Ukraine, and, most of all, kowtowing to a sociopathic criminal former president, has turned out to be entirely unappealing to most voters.

A year ago, one could have said that its policy of stopping whatever the Democrats want was held in high regard, but that also ceased to register at the polls.

How is it possible that it has taken so long for all this to emerge on the political landscape?  I have no clue.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Electric Vehicles

Needless to say, I’m not too impressed by the author of the meme here.

Unless you completely reject science, you understand that our consumption of fossil fuels is causing global warming, ocean acidification, the loss of biodiversity, and a variety of different diseases affecting the human race and the animal kingdom at large.

And, unless you don’t pay any attention to the world economy, you know that every major automaker on the planet is somewhere in the process of phasing out internal combustion engines in favor of electric powertrains.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

Perhaps what happened in Kentucky’s gubernatorial election yesterday (see left) is evidence that the American people have seen enough.  Enough of the criminal insanity, the gun mania, the rejection of science, the suppression of women, and the religious fundamentalism.

This could be that point of inflection that all sane people have been hoping for.   

I don’t know any more about U.S. politics than the next guy, but it sure looks like we’ll see voter turnouts in 2024 that shatter all records,  and renounce the entirety of GOP extremism.

 

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