The vast majority of 2GreenEnergy readers are too young to have watched The Andy Griffith Show of the 1960s.
Having said that, this excerpt from one of its best episodes speaks to guns and policing. Worth a watch.
An important element of a sustainable society is one that has respect for, rather than fear of, law enforcement.
Is there a contest, one with fabulous prizes, for the climate change meme that represents its author as the biggest imbecile? If so, perhaps we have a winner here.
If Al Gore actually does own oceanfront property, with an understanding that, depending on where it’s situated, it will be underwater by the end of the century, that hardly makes him insincere re: his concern about global warming.
As any person with a junior high school education can explain, what’s causing sea-level rise is a combination of thermal expansion of the oceans’ waters as they warm, and the melting of the ice sheets on Antarctica and Greenland.
If I were a son of the late Gene Wilder, I’d be aggressively suing everyone who’s making my father seem like a blithering idiot.
At left is something from a reader on Facebook.
The idea that there is a significant number of people living in the U.S. who “hate America” is one that can only be held to be true by total morons. I think that’s why nobody will repost this; most people have a natural aversion to looking like fools. Virtually all of us either love America as it exists, or love America enough to want to see it become a better country, a more decent and compassionate place to live.
I don’t mean to single out John Barberio, the apparent author of the meme, as a “moron” or “fool.” An entire political party, representing about 55% of the total electorate, is constantly criticized for “hating America.” That’s the level of intelligence into which we’ve fallen.
There is a point to be made here, though it’s obscured by the ridiculous use of “nobody” and “everyone.”
We are surrounded by people whose life work is improving conditions for each resident of this planet–now, and for generations to come.
I wrote this post, however, to underscore an idea that has great importance as we move forward and our environment continues to degrade, i.e., the rich will be far less affected by all this than “the other 99%.”
Here’s a good example of what I’ve been writing about since the launch of 2GreenEnergy.com in 2009: the rich economic value that lies in the transition to renewable energy. I hope readers will check out this report from the Pew Charitable Trust: Wind Farms Deliver Economic Jolt to Rural Middle America.
The evangelicals have seen the light, if you’ll pardon the pun.
Hundreds of those who remain are in federal prison on a variety of felony convictions associated with conspiracy to overthrow the U.S. government.
There are still all manner of conspiracy theorists, QAnoners, and other nut-jobs left, but their numbers are dwindling.
Former U.S. Labor Secretary Robert Reich’s statement here is interesting, but I think the answer is even simpler.
Our country is roughly equally divided between those who care about the well-being of others, and those who crave reasons to think of themselves as better and more deserving than others: those with whiter skin color, more advantaged national origin, socio-economic class, religion, or sexual orientation.
Today’s Republicans have tapped into the ignorance and hatred of the latter, and have established their political platform accordingly.
The GOP’s behavior at this point is completely predictable. If a certain element of American society, in this case labor unions, benefits the common person, Republicans will do their level damndest to remove it from our lives. The same applies to better education, access to healthcare, environmental responsibility, and everything else that makes us a happier and healthier society.
The imperative: Reject science and all aspects of common sense and decency, if it makes rich donors happy.
It’s what makes living in America rather pathetic for people of kindness and decency. It’s why the rest of the civilized world, when asked about the United States, says essentially, “We simply feel sorry for you. If this had happened in Botswana or Azerbaijan, we would have barely noticed. But we never, ever, thought it could happen to you.”
We’ve previously noted that Trump supporters tend to be anti-vaxxers, and that anti-vaxxers are far more likely to die of COVID-19 than the rest of the population.
Something that needs to be added on top of this phenomenon (death), however, is removal from society by way of incarceration. Here’s the fellow, a Republican who lost a local election in New Mexico by a landslide (74% to 26%), who became convinced that the election was rigged, and then, with a team of hired thugs, went about shooting into the homes of the Democrats who beat him.
Felony charges range from aggravated battery to illegally discharging a firearm to conspiracy. We don’t have to worry about seeing this sociopath on the streets for a least a few decades.
I suppose we need to thank these people for making themselves disappear, rendering our world, incrementally, a bit safer and saner.
The rise of ultra-right-wing personalities in countries that are historically democratic should be a concern to all.
Yet we need to know that the United States is unique in both its economic strength (world’s #1 GDP), and its promotion of lunatics to positions of great power.
In an earlier post I mentioned that there are several reasons not to eat meat. Here’s one of them. Enjoy.
