The Costs of War
One of the most important externalities of the consumption of fossil fuels is the cost of war. By that, we mean a combination of the hard costs of operating (by far) the world’s largest military, but also the horrific loss of life.
Rabid Consumerism
There have been many attempts to inform our society that consumerism is a choice, but so is a more minimalist lifestyle. “The Story of Stuff,” founded by environmentalist Annie Leonard, is perhaps the best example.
I once met Annie at a conference and told her that I write about her organization. I can’t describe the smile I got in return.
We’re all familiar with the refrain: “Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle.” There is a reason the “reduce” comes first, and that is that if we use less to begin with, we won’t have to spend resources to reuse and recycle.
“President Trump Has United the World”
What is most amazing about this entire deal with Trump is that there seems to be no limit to the pure idiocy of what his base will accept as fact.
Tagged with: "President Trump Has United the World"
Removing Trump
Heads of states have nearly complete power over their country’s citizens, which means that an unscrupulous leader can be extremely difficult to expel.
A couple of hundred years ago, an armed uprising may have been possible, but certainly not in modern America, where the U.S. president controls 1.3 million law enforcement personnel and a military whose annual budget is approaching $1 trillion.
There are ways that Trump can be removed: a military coup, or the 25th Amendment/impeachment. Note that both of these mechanisms are out of the hands of the individual citizen. We have to hope that our leaders do the right thing.
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What Has Happened in the United States Recently
Here’s a good reminder of how the United States is regarded today.
No, it’s not like it was just a few years ago when we were a land of laws, and we had allies all around the world that admired our democracy.
Now, the leaders of Canada, Panama, and Greenland all fear for their safety, and the world lives in fear of the insanity into which the U.S. has descended.
Making the Existing Model Obsolete
We’ve all read what the great 20th Century American engineer “Bucky” Fuller said here at least a hundred times, but maybe it’s time to explore its truths and its limits.
If we want to replace landline telephony with cell phones, we all get it. Maybe you want to invent the automobile that will replace the horse and buggy. Excellent.
If we want to address the fact that our planet is being taken over by sociopathic criminals, you have a thornier issue.
Perhaps you’re concerned that this planet is in the process of baking itself, due to nothing other than human greed.
If Fuller were still here, I would have liked to speak with him about this.
The United States Is Going to “Run” Venezuela
Pete Buttigieg, always on point, brings clarity to the matter.
At home, we have tax cuts for billionaires while children starve, stagnant wages for the working class, homeless veterans, the National Guard in our streets in an effort to solve a problem that doesn’t actually exist, the catastrophic decline in our educational system, the abdication of our duty to prevent environmental collapse, and the most disgusting display imaginable of corruption and other forms of criminality in the Trump administration.
Most people wouldn’t trust you to walk our dogs, let alone run another country.
Tagged with: homeless veterans, Pete Buttigieg, stagnant wages for the working class, tax cuts for billionaires while children starve, the abdication of our duty to prevent environmental collapse, the catastrophic decline in our educational system, the most disgusting display imaginable of corruption and other forms of criminality in the Trump administration, the National Guard in our streets in an effort to solve a problem that doesn't actually exist
The United States Descends into Darkness
As the author of the words at left suggests, the Founding Fathers probably did give us too much credit.
But to be fair, they couldn’t have possibly imagined that the descendants of their countrymen would have, 250 years later, devolved into a nation in which criminal thugs would be held in the highest regard by a country full of ignorant and hateful people.
When we Boomers were growing up in the last half of the 20th Century, crime bosses were viewed as scum, even when they somehow avoided dying in prison. Now they have taken over the country, and the greatest of all time lives in the White House.
Wise Words from a Woman of Intelligence and Compassion
The words at left come from an old college friend who had a stratospheric career in law, especially as it applies to the workplace, and went onto to teach, coach, mentor, and author books on the subject.
Invading Venezuela Is Not Making America Great
America at this point is on the same moral footing as Russia in its illegal invasion of Ukraine.
With its long history of democracy and rule of law, it could have been argued that the Unites States was a great country at some time in the past.
Now, we’re a disgrace on the world stage.
