What a Predicament

01 Thursday Sep 2022

Posted by in Climate Change

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            There’s a saying about being between a rock and a hard place and the world is in that spot. We have a huge disaster looming and the alternative is also a disaster. The rock is climate change and the hammer is the need for petroleum and natural gas.

            Scientists and environmentalists tell us we must get away from fossil fuels and hope we can keep the Earth from getting too hot destroying not only our way of life but life itself. We know the Greenland and Antarctic glaciers are melting which will raise the oceans over 200 feet flooding most of the world’s major cities.

            The only way to prevent this disaster is to quickly reduce our dependence on carbon dioxide and methane. It will take thousands of years for what is already dumped by humans into the air to fall back to the surface. Science is working to find a way to reduce that amount faster.

            However our problem is we want to replace the power plants, vehicles, and other uses with renewable energy and nuclear power. Currently the power source for vehicles and storage batteries is lithium which will be depleted by the end of the century if we don’t recycle. The current cost to replace batteries on any electric vehicle is several thousand dollars and should be done within ten years. In addition the capacity of the battery could have declined 30% of its original capacity. Relying on wind and solar during windless cloudy days will overtax community storage facilities. The current and anticipated use of nuclear plants won’t make up for the loss.

            If we don’t cut back on the pollution and embrace the change, we will die and if we do economies may be destroyed now. Ouch!

Most Valuable Land

01 Thursday Sep 2022

Posted by in Population

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            Our house sits on one and one-half acres in a rural subdivision. More houses will soon be built as more land is to be developed. This land represents our little piece of the planet because when we bought the lot in 1977 the World’s population was about 4,000,000,000. Shortly after November the World’s population should pass 8,000,000,000. By the end of this decade 8,500,000,000 is probable. Twenty more years will add 1,200,000,000 more. By the end of the century the world’s population could reach 12,000,000,000. See why we value our little piece of the Planet?

            The United States will grow from today’s 340,000,000 to nearly 500,000,000 by mid-century and possibly 750,000,000,000 in 2100. Why are projections higher than what will probably happen? Climate change will reduce the population because of starvation and thirst. Here we will see major disruptions as those people who live in Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, California, Utah, Nevada, and Oklahoma are going to be looking for water. Instead of moving south, all those people and industries will be going back North.

            When a futurist looks at food production they will want to see where the cattle are raised and the vegetables, fruit, and nuts are grown. California is already reducing water for crops and orchards. A cow requires over ten gallon of water a day. California is a major dairy producer. Tens of thousands of acres of alfalfa hay are required to feed them and most of it is on irrigated ground.

            See why we value our little piece of the World?

Appropriate Place

23 Tuesday Aug 2022

Posted by in President Trump

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            During Donald Trump’s last year as President, he sent representatives to several states asking if they would put his likeness on a mountain. His first choice was Mount Rushmore since it is a National Park and he had appointed the Interior Secretary. He though that would be enough. It wasn’t! His next choice was Stone Mountain in Georgia. He thought he had been racist enough to be up there with the Confederate Generals. Apparently not enough, because they also declined.

            Then being an extremely deep thinker he saw he had a golf course in Florida. So his team is looking for a suitable location to get his likeness on a prominent mountain. He thinks it should be at least the scale of crazy horse to match his importance. Not having a flair for geography of Florida, or anywhere else he seems unaware that the highest point in Florida is only 345 feet above sea level.

            My last trip to Florida was shortly after Hurricane Andrew. Andrew had devastated the area West of Miami. The debris had been piled in long ridges about 200 to 300 feet high that could be seen for miles. Assuming they are still there, I think I would contribute to have his face put on that waste heap.

Necessary Pains in the Butt

23 Tuesday Aug 2022

Posted by in Democracy, Journalism

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            In order for a Democracy to exist we need ethical investigative journalists and unbiased companies to spread the truth. Around the world authoritarians are squelching the free and unfettered press to prevent them from ending Democracies in those countries. When the media companies are either the arm of the government or influences controlled outlets become so dominate that they destroy the real journalism Democracy dies.

            In today’s cable news and social media’s podcasts many are designed to create division and promote the destruction of a free democracy. Perhaps the first of that genre is Fox News. It was designed and created by Roger Ailes and owned by Rupert Murdock. Both of these men have publicly repeated their desire to have the American Presidents, Legislatures, and Courts reflect their views.

            Journalists find and report crime by local and National politicians and companies who strive to cover up those crimes. However some reporting has succumbed to reporting sensational stories in lieu of real news. One example is the flamboyant candidate who was one of the weakest nominees, Donald Trump, was one of the weakest nominees. He got the majority of the news cycles for free. His racist and immoral rants and threats were continually reported while he constantly said the media was biased against him. He and his supporters have been and are destroying the free press denigrating the uncontrolled Press or just buying up the outlets. They are setting out rules of reporting or in the case of newspapers, just closing them down.

            A free and unfettered press is necessary for Democracy even if it is often a pain in the butt.

Not Above the Law

23 Tuesday Aug 2022

Posted by in President Trump

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            Why was former President Donald Trump’s taking of all those secret documents from the White House so egregious? Some of those documents are so secret that less than one hundred people even know what information is on the sensitive ones. Of course that was before Trump would show them to friends and visitors at parties and meetings.

            The following is the chain of events: Trump’s people included many files of confidential documents in the personal boxes to be moved to Mar-a-Lago. Whether the National Archives found some listing or was told by people who knew he had stolen them necessitating contact with his lawyers. Some documents were turned over. The National Archives were told by someone that more existed. Another meeting got more boxes and signed assurances no more existed. They were then told many more existed so the FBI obtained a search warrant and recovered the rest. Trump now wants to know who in his entourage the leak is.

            Before condemning the Justice Department remember a Chinese spy was caught trying to enter Mar-a-Lago last year. How did she know something was there? Was she the first spy to attempt or was she the first to get caught? How many other people from other countries haven’t succeeded or DID and we don’t know? Those documents, especially the nuclear ones, are worth millions which means international gangs might sell the pictures of those unguarded documents. Of course Trump had been showing them to many people for his ego but there are many financial possibilities for him to use them.

            We have locked many people up for doing less with documents of less importance. As the Attorney General said “No one is above the law.”

Flip-Flop

15 Monday Aug 2022

Posted by in President Trump, Republican Party

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            For decades the GOP has claimed to be the law and order party. The leaders have tried to pin the Democratic Party as the party of de-funding the police when only a few of the far left have proposed that. The past couple of days Fox and other extreme right “media” have gotten GOP leaders to agree with reducing the size or eliminating the FBI just because they retrieved boxes of extremely classified documents from former President Donald Trump’s residence.

            These documents were classified as confidential, secret, and what is commonly called “eyes only” and read only in highly secure rooms. Few people remember a Chinese spy was caught getting into
Mar-a-Lago Resort. She would only have done so if she knew about that trove of documents. Remember, she was caught before he returned about thirty boxes. So when she was entering he had over forty boxes setting in a basement with absolutely no security on the area or locks on the room. Few Secret Service Agents would say she had never sneaked in before or if any other spy had been inside. At that time we only thought of assassination since we didn’t know what was being shown to people.

            What is the real reason why the leaders of the GOP are falling all over themselves to want to besmirch the FBI? The FBI director, the judge who signed the warrant, and the insider who reported the documents existence are Republican and Trump appointed them. A cancer is destroying the GOP from the inside.

Paddling Nowhere

15 Monday Aug 2022

Posted by in Politics

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            If you missed the July 13 comic strip “Monty” you missed one of the best thought provoking strips I have ever read. The first block showed a man sitting in the front of a canoe paddling as hard as he can while other canoes are going past. In the second block he yells at the other guy in the back of the canoe to paddle faster because they seem to be going backward. In the third block we see the whole canoe with the bigger guy in the back paddling as fast as he can facing in the opposite direction.

            Is the strip portraying Congress doing nothing or Biden trying to right the ship and Congress fighting his efforts? Is it the conflict between Green Energy and Fossil Fuel? Is it the need for American’s to support Ukraine while complaining about commodity prices increasing? Is it one major party fighting the other? Is it that we are fighting each other about whether to preserve the right to own a gun, or vote, or many other issues?

Need Real Laws

15 Monday Aug 2022

Posted by in Gun Control

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            We already have laws that people don’t feel violates the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The use of the Thompson Sub-machine gun was banned because of its use by gangsters against each other, police and civilians caught in the crossfire. Many other weapons of war are considered to not be eligible for use by civilians. Many groups decided the Second Amendment to be open ended. These groups are funded and prompted by manufacturers and people who have been brainwashed to believe they must have those guns to survive. Some video games make shooting people as realistic as possible so the player is conditioned to shoot people with assault style weapons.

            Commonsense laws would help to reduce these incidents since nothing can totally end mass shootings. Some of those restrictions would make ownership of all assault style weapons illegal whether they are already possessed or not. No sale of a gun without a check on the buyer no matter how or whether the transfer of the gun occurs. The ownership of every weapon must be registered whether the gun is in the home or a shooting club. The age of legal purchase should be 21 years of age. The so called “Red Flag” confiscation of all guns from a person suspected of having certain mental problems for one year, not two weeks as some states have. End all advertising of those guns not related to bolt action rifles and revolvers. Just as shot guns are supposed to be limited to three shot magazines, no rifle or pistol magazine should hold more than 9 rounds. Those pistols and rifles with greater capacity shall use restricted magazines. Sale or manufacture of parts turning semi-automatic guns into fully automatic should be banned. All guns must have key trigger locks to prevent kids use.

            Violators to be locked up and not fined and released.

Historic Decision

06 Saturday Aug 2022

Posted by in President Trump

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            What a decision Attorney General Merrick B. Garland has to make in the next few months. No former President has ever been tried for a crime. AG Garland may well be forced to make the decision to form a grand jury to try former President Donald Trump for several crimes including treason.

            Garland has to decide if he tries Trump, what the reaction will be from Trump’s deceived followers and is it worth the possible violence. Should he hold off until after the mid-term election? What should he request in the pre-trial negotiations for Trump’s punishment? The possibilities are jail time, home confinement, parole with no politicking, social media, interviews, public meetings or something else. All would involve public statements about how and why he conned people into believing “The Big Lie” and other conspiracies put forth by his friends and others.

            If he decided to go the max and put Trump in jail, where would it be and where would his security detail be? Perhaps the Secret Service agents who have been covering for him should be his protective detail inside the prison. There is a difference between physical protection and criminal activity like destroying records and tests.

            The Attorney General is supposed to be independent and Garland has shown he agrees with that policy. Whichever path he decides to take will probably be expedited to the Supreme Court where Trump placed three Justices – one of which is Clarence Thomas. Thomas is sure to overturn any conviction of Trump.

            Whichever way Garland goes it will make him the most historic Attorney General since Mitchell.

Time to Vote for Honesty

06 Saturday Aug 2022

Posted by in Elections

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            This November, American voters will have to decide whether or not to vote for liars and con-people who know they are lying to voters. They know, or are just stupid, that former President Donald Trump lost the 2020 election badly and is just trying to remain involved to keep in view. Trump has a fairly small base of believers who follow his directions and unknowingly contribute to him personally.

            Americans say we want people who are honest to represent us in government. If those who continue to retell Trump’s lies and seek the support of his followers continue to run, are they the ones we want to lead us? Do we want people who say they would support someone who wants to overturn the elections in 2020 and those in the future so they and Trump can do away with Democracy. Trump’s friends and role models are dictators who have complete control of their countries. Do we want people who think more of themselves than a Democratic America?

            Several states are going to vote for whether they want the right wing legislatures, governors, and Attorney Generals who have said they will determine whether your future votes will be counted. Once they get into office, your vote against them won’t be counted. Will this be our last chance for an honest vote in those states? Several Republicans are telling America we are in danger of a dictatorship. It is time for voters to decide to vote for honesty and those who believe an oath to preserve the Constitution rather than those who want to destroy it.