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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

I met a middle-aged couple from Denmark yesterday, and I had the opportunity to ask them about their country’s perennial standing in the top five of the World Happiness Rankings.

Me: Why do you think this is the case?

The man: We pay a bit more tax than you, but we get a great deal of value for it.  Your top tax rate is 37%, plus whatever state tax may apply, for example, 10% if you live in California.  Our top rate is 50%, but all healthcare and education is free.  In fact, we have two sons in university who are being paid by the government to stay in school and graduate.

We have almost no crime, no homelessness, and no government corruption.

The woman: And no guns.  Even our police don’t have them.  Our children are safe from getting gunned down.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Science

When this guy says, “Change my mind,” the response of most of us is: Why?

There’s a popular meme circulating that implores Christians to learn how to deal with atheists.  Again: Why?

The 8.1 billion inhabitants of this planet are divided among people who honestly believe in one god, many gods, or no gods.  None of us is going to be at all effective in changing the minds of any of the rest of us.

If religion weren’t at the root of so much hate and mayhem, this would all be a sick joke.  Unfortunately, it’s been tearing apart the fabric of our civilization for millennia, and it’s getting worse by the day.

 

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Science

I would add:

Carbon dating has been used since the late 1940s to establish how long ago a member of a certain species lived and died.

and

There are trees living today that are far older than 4000 years.

I had a funny chat with a park ranger in the Sierra Nevada where I had taken my son and some friends camping.  The office where we were to get our permits had a display of some of these older trees and explained how scientists have confirmed their ages.  I ask the woman, “I’m sure you have an occasional visitor who disputes this on the basis of biblical texts.  How do you deal with that?”  She responded, “By changing the subject–immediately. Trust me; I’ve gotten quite adept at this over the years. Did you know that black bears are the least dangerous of their genus?”

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

Once rule of law becomes meaningless in a certain country, as appears has happened here in the United States, it’s hard to plot a course for the future. Obviously, it’s not good, but how far can it go in the other way?

When the Germans lost the right to vote in the 1930s, they didn’t get it back until 1946, and the only reason they got it back at all was that the Nazis met sufficient military pressure from the Allies that they were eventually forced to surrender.

In the case of the United States 85 years later, it’s unclear where we’re going. As shown at left, the conservative justices  who were on the Supreme Court bench when Trump was elected in 2016 were joined by three new ones, and this majority, for now at least,  seems to have gotten the better of our democracy.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

I would say that there were helpful definitions, until the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the President of the United States enjoyed immunity from any crimes he may have committed as long as they were “official acts,” like stealing classified documents, attempting to overthrow the federal government, committing fraud for the purpose of affecting the outcome of an election, and inciting an insurrection.

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

Just a decade ago, none of this would have been imaginable.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics
From Senior Energy Analyst Glenn Doty:
It’s worth remembering that when you vote for the president, you’re voting for something like 1500 people that they bring with them.
Honest people surround themselves with honest people. Biden himself may be far from the perfect candidate, but he has a good cabinet and a good team.
Trump is a liar, a rapist, a racist, a misogynist, a felon, and a thoroughly corrupt fascist asshole. He surrounds himself with criminals and white supremacist scum that want to dismantle basic democracy.
I hate that this is our choice. But it’s still an easy one. Biden has a good heart, and a good staff. The US is moving forward. Under Trump we had the greatest health catastrophe in over a century, the greatest economics crash ever, and the greatest loss of standing in the world that we’ve ever had.
I’ll stick with the competent staff moving things forward rather than the fascist scum trying to dismantle democracy and steal everything that isn’t nailed down.
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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Electric Vehicles

Perhaps it’s because I’m in the business of writing material on electric transportation, or that I’m a natural extrovert (or some combination of the two), but whenever I have an easy opening to ask an EV driver about his level of satisfaction with his car, e.g., a shared parking lot, I take advantage of that opportunity.

More than fifteen years later, I can’t imagine how many drivers of Nissan Leafs, Teslas, and the rest share how happy they are with their cars.  I would say that at least 95% are ecstatic.

Some Fox station claims to have “data” to the contrary.  I’d love to see it.

 

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Electric Vehicles

In his statements to his supporters, Trump has no issue with insulting the living hell out of their intelligence.  Here’s a great example, where he claims that the absence of sunlight at night eliminates the feasibility of using electricity for aircraft.

The world’s engineers are unaware that the sun sets?  No one’s ever heard of batteries?  That’s a pretty low estimation of your audience’s capacity to think.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

Just came across this cartoon, which echoes the thoughts in my recent post “Are There Really Any “Independent Voters?” about those who may be sitting on the fence in the upcoming election.  I quoted the old joke:

To be on the fence in this case is like being asked to choose between two dishes on a cross-country flight, chicken, or a plate of dogs**t, infused with shards of broken glass, and then to ask how the chicken is prepared.

 

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