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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

Meat-eaters nowadays seem to have deep-seated emotional issues with vegans, for reasons that remain unclear.  Why all this aggression against people who may have compassion for the welfare of other sentient beings. or may be concerned about their own health, or that of the planet as a whole?

I have to admit that some of these arguments are kind of funny, e.g., “Eat beef, because the (American) West wasn’t won on salads.”

But the meme here doesn’t impress me with any of that cleverness, if only because the life expectancy of the cave people of the paleolithic period was roughly 33 years.  Our ancestors’ early deaths were principally the result of two things: infection and poor nourishment. Aren’t the burger-lovers happy to be part of the modern era of better nutrition, living longer, healthier lives?

 

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Climate Change

I wish I had a dollar for every time I’ve had this conversation with someone.

While it’s true that we can’t stop using fossil fuels tomorrow, we can establish an energy policy that calls for phasing them out at the maximum feasible rate.  We can also use our economic influence around the world to lead the way among other countries, especially those that are less affluent.

The gating factor, of course, is greed. Big Oil will be damned if it’s going to relinquish control of the world energy supply, and its capacity to make obscene levels of profit by baking the planet.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

Young voters may not recall a time when this country would have rejected an “outlaw and a hillbilly” as candidates to lead our nation.

Believe it or not, our country used to believe that intelligence, compassion, decency and honesty were good qualities.

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

A reader notes:  Kari Lake, a senator? Forget it. She is ruined after Fox News reveals crushing polls (now 14 points behind), which means she will get annihilated.

I’m not a political advisor, but it’s possible that she made a mistake by aligning herself with a common criminal like Mike Lindell, the MyPillow guy.  Arizona is not unlike many other U.S. states: lots of well educated and affluent people in and around its cities: Phoenix, Tucson, Mesa, Tempe, and the like.  On top of that, there are artsy places like Sedona that remind one of Santa Barbara, CA where, try as you might, you really can’t find a Trump supporter.

OK, so does Lindell help or hurt a political figure in this state?  Well, keep in mind his position on the 2020 presidential election, which is as follows:

Lindell:  I have absolute proof  that the election was stolen from Trump.

Journalists: Do you mind sharing that with us?

Lindell: I’d love to, but I can’t.

Might honesty have been a better course for Kari Lake?  I don’t know, but again, you’re asking the wrong guy.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Uncategorized

Let’s start here:  Who exactly is economist Mark Zandi?

Mark M. Zandi (born 1959) is the chief economist of Moody’s Analytics, where he directs economic research.  Zandi’s research interests encompass macroeconomics, financial markets and public policy. He analyzes the economic impact of government spending policies and monetary policy response. A trusted advisor to policy makers, he has testified before Congress on the economic outlook, the nation’s fiscal challenges, fiscal stimulus and financial regulatory reform. 

What about Trump’s assertion that the economy is in freefall, and our country is a shambles?  Outside of Trump himself, there are three groups of people who support these beliefs:

• Republican members of the U.S. Congress, who have sacrificed any level of integrity they may have had earlier in their now-pathetic lives in a nauseating attempt to stay in public office, with all the money, power, and prestige it provides.

• The amoral rich.

• The grossly undereducated whom Trump is using as if they were hammers ands screwdrivers.

As a friend once wrote, “If you’re a Trump supporter and you wonder which of these three groups you belong in, all you need to do is ask yourself two easy questions:

Are you in Congress?  If not, look at your bank account statements so as to determine: are you worth at least a few millions of dollars?  If not, bingo.  

 

 

 

by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

There is no way this country will forget about the January 6th insurrection.

For Trump to escape prosecution, he’ll have to convince the appellate courts and perhaps SCOTUS that trying to overthrow the U.S. government was an “official act,” and that won’t be a piece of cake.

More than 890 people have been found guilty of federal crimes thus far, and 541 have been sentenced to periods of incarceration.  Does anyone honestly believe that the principal architect of the riot will walk free?

Maybe Jack Smith will renounce the oath he took swearing to protect and defend the U.S. Constitution.  Sure.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Climate Change

The abolition of NOAA will put an end to the flow of weather-related information that helps to protect Americans’ lives and property from natural disasters like hurricanes.  If the Heritage Foundation, as a representative of the extreme right-wing in the United States can pull this off, that will be quite an accomplishment for those who want to punish us with their anti-science views.

But wait a second.  Remember that the U.S. represents only 4% of the world’s population, and only about 20% of the world economy.  Fortunately, the other 200+ countries around the globe are not saddled with this stupidity.  Regardless of what the Heritage Foundation wants, every other nation on the planet will continue their efforts to decarbonize their energy and transportation sectors.

 

 

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Business

I’m sure this subject has been studied countless times by sociologists and economists.  If I were asked to explain it, I would suggest the following:

Certain states place less value on education, and therefore their people ultimately become less productive in the workplace, thus poor relative to the rest of the country.

Poor and uneducated people are naturally afraid that their lives might get even worse, and are thus easy targets for a political party that sells fear, i.e., the fear that migrants are flooding across the southern border, stealing white people’s jobs and voting for Democrats.  When a Republican president refers to immigrants as “animals” and “vermin,” he has an attentive audience and a solid voter base.

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

The message on this guy’s truck tells us a great deal about him: his level of intelligence, compassion for others, and understanding of the world around him.

He seems unaware that virtually every American supports our troops (though we may question the validity of the situations we send them into).

Now, is it possible that this guy is not a Trump supporter?  Of course.  And I might be a bald eagle, too.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics
Here we have former Kansas U.S. Senator Nancy Kassenbaum (retired in 1996), a Republican, whose smile may derive from the fact that she just endorsed Kamala Harris for President.
It’s interesting to see that there is very little correlation between well educated, true conservatives and Trump supporters.  As a state, Kansas is about as red as it gets, going for Trump over Biden by more than 13 points in 2020.  Yet people like Kassenbaum (master’s degree in diplomatic history from the University of Michigan) understand the need to keep Trump as far from the White House as possible in 2024.
In other words, she’s a conservative, not a traitor.
Fortunately, there are a great number of them out there.
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