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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

Let’s not forget that the criminal case against Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg is just one more iron in the fire when it comes to sending the former president to prison.

From this:

A New York State judge ruled Friday that a criminal fraud and tax evasion prosecution against the Trump Organization and its former CFO, Allen Weisselberg, can proceed.

Weisselberg and the company asked a judge in February to dismiss all 15 counts charged against them. Judge Juan Merchan dismissed one of several tax fraud counts against the Trump Organization, but allowed all others to remain.

I don’t know the first thing about Weisselberg, other than that the sheer scope of the charges he’s facing will, if he’s convicted, send him away for several decades, which, one would think, would be a powerful incentive to “flip” on his former boss.

I’ll admit that there is very little “sexy” about fraud, and even less about tax evasion.  It’s clear from what we already know that Trump committed treason, by sending a mob he knew to be armed to go to the Capitol and “fight like hell.”  Finding Trump guilty here would be much more satisfying to all Americans who care about justice.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

Say what you will about Trump, but the man is a headline-making machine.

I keep using phrases like, “When we have all this insanity safely put behind us, …..”  I’m starting to get the feeling like Trump as a news item might outlive my Earthly existence.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

This piece in the Guardian is a wonderful short essay on the topic.

I speculate the following:

• That China is effectively sinking the U.S. with economics.

• Russia has hurt us very badly installing Donald Trump as president.

• The dictator of North Korea is insane, but he knows that a pre-emptive nuclear strike will result in the immediate incineration of his country and, more importantly, himself.

• Similarly, the other nuclear powers perceive no upside to nuclear conflagration.

The real issue here however, lies in another arena of American life, where there are plenty of other horrors to occupy our attention: ongoing pandemic variants, catastrophic climate change, and fascism–both abroad and at home.  For God’s sake, we have a former president desperate for a return to power who tried to overthrow the government.  Does it get much worse?

In short, the threat of nuclear war is no longer required to enable Americans to conjure a miserable future.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

The latest from “Back the Blue” Marjorie Taylor Greene and a number of other Republicans.

Shop now.

This is your “law and order” party.

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

The death of the man who attacked an FBI office in Cincinnati reminds us that, by the time Trump is removed from our lives, and his active influence finally dissipates into virtually nothing, the amount of damage he will have done will be incalculable.  You’d have to measure him against Joseph Stalin to find a more evil influence.

Consider:

• The hundreds of thousands who died of COVID and those living with permanent health issues, who could have been saved by an honest response to the disease

• The few hundreds who are incarcerated for their roles in the insurrection

• The tens of millions of Americans who no longer believe in the integrity of our elections

• The thousands of parents who are separated, many permanently, from their young children at the southern border

• The millions of QAnoners who got their introduction into the Cult of Stupidity from a pathological liar and criminal conman

• The tens of millions of American kids who will receive substandard educations from a system that was deliberated devastated

• The thousands of schoolchildren killed by lunatics with assault weapons, and their bereft families

• The millions of people with health conditions related to the relaxation of environmental standards, and all those people around the globe who will live on a planet whose temperature is rising uncontrollably

It’s a horrible legacy, among the very worst in world history.

 

 

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

One might have thought that watching several hundred of their MAGA brethren be tried, convicted, and punished for their roles in the insurrection would have had a chilling effect on the hateful idiots who want Trump to return in 2024, and who object to actions of the DoJ to bring him to justice.

From where I sit, at least, it seems abundantly clear that Merrick Garland and his team are committed to rule of law, and that means prosecuting all those who are trying to nullify it, regardless of who they are.

Having said that, and as the meme here implies, there are hundreds of millions of guns out there, and many of them are in the hands of people whose capacity to think is extremely feeble.  Perhaps not a recipe for a peaceful coexistence with the rest of the nation.

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Business

The “receipt” here makes me wonder what Biden could possibly do to improve his dismal (40%) approval rating.  As suggested by the falling gas prices and by the buoying of the Dow Jones, the market seems to believe we have a grip on inflation.  We’ve also had victories in jobs, infrastructure, climate, and gun safety.   Most people believe the Justice Department is handing a terrible situation honorably and effectively.

What would impress all these Americans?  They seem to be in a bad mood?  Is it some sort of major depressive disorder on a national scale?

 

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

The meme here reminds me of a conversation I had with a park ranger in the Sierra Nevada mountains in Eastern California, when I went into her office to get a permit for our party to hike and camp.  I noticed a diorama showing that some of the trees in the area bear evidence that the Earth is older than 6000 years.

I asked, “Don’t deeply religious people challenge you on its veracity?”  She replied, “Happens often.  I try to change the subject as quickly as possible.”

It’s sad that such an evolved species of animal can’t use its “big brains” any better than this.

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

I understand Mr. Wortman’s point here, but I disagree.  Trump doesn’t have to be guilty.

What does need to exist is probable cause that meaningful evidence of a crime was located at Mar-a-Lago before Monday’s raid.

The presumption of innocence is central to our Constitution and to our democracy as a whole.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Climate Change

The drought in Europe is having devastating effects on everything from wildlife to tourism to supply chain logistics, as products that are traditionally delivered by riverboat are stranded far from their destinations.

France hasn’t seen a drought like this in 500 years.

From Wikipedia:

Two thirds of (France) is at crisis alert.[5] It has reportedly been caused by the historic heatwaves that have hit the country.[6] July was reportedly the driest month in France for 60 years.[7] By August, 100 villages have ran out of drinking water.[8] Water use has been restricted in nearly all metropolitan departments of France.[9] The Prime Minister of France Élisabeth Borne has called it “the country’s worst drought in history”.[10] On 5 August, she announced the creation of an inter-ministerial crisis unit.[11]

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