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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics
Most Trump supporters take him at his word that his presidency has restored the trust of the world’s people and agree that the United States is again a trustworthy friend. The truth is that the planet has an extremely negative perspective of the current U.S. president; their approval rating averages about 20%.
Here are the results of a recent survey:
Highly Negative Views (Low Confidence):
  • Mexico (91% little/no confidence)
  • Sweden (85% little/no confidence)
  • Germany (81% little/no confidence)
  • Spain (80% little/no confidence)
  • Turkey (80% little/no confidence)
  • Australia, Canada, France, and the Netherlands also show widespread lack of confidence. Many Europeans view him as a threat to peace and security in Europe. 

Interesting, here are some competing views:

Positive Views (High Confidence):
  • Nigeria (79% confidence)  
  • Israel (69% confidence)
  • Kenya (64% confidence)
  • Hungary (53% confidence)
  • India (52% confidence) 

Comments:

Nigeria: This poll was taken before Trump started making plans to invade Nigeria before the dubious claim came forth about the Islamic genocide of Christians.

Israel: Received $158 billion in support from the U.S. since 1948.  That might buy a lot of votes in surveys like this, though I know this is a far more complicated situation.

Kenya: Has been the recipient of extremely positive trade agreements with the U.S.

Hungary: Seems to have a considerable affinity for dictators; no one could have foreseen this until fairly recently.  The world weeps at this country’s moral decline.

India: This may be an unkind comment, but in the world’s most populace country, it’s unclear how well informed some of these people are.

 

by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Uncategorized

I agree with what Trump said at left, but for the precise opposite reason that he clearly intended.

Unless our country is so destroyed completely that it becomes irrelevant, which is a distinct possibility, November 5th, 2024, will be remembered as the day that Americans voted to take their country back into one of the many dark moments in world history.  Perhaps we’re talking about the days of feudalism, where kings had absolute power, and where the serfs were so unaware of what was going on that they actually adored the man wearing the crown.

Of course, not everyone here is in such pathetic mental condition; Trump won by only 1.5% of the popular vote.  But that was enough to usher in a man whose entire strength is his capacity to lie, to con, to steal, to cheat, to stoke hate in our hearts, and to destroy everything good about the United States.

 

 

by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

It’s widely known that rocker Bruce Springsteen and Donald Trump are not on friendly terms (which is good news), and that a lot of this is finding its way into the news.

Personally, if my approval rating were in the 30s, I’d be loath to pick a PR fight with one of our nation’s most beloved celebrity musicians. Most of us in that unwelcomed position would be inclined to let stuff like this slide, but it’s just not in Trump’s DNA to let insults pass without making a big deal of them and further making himself look like a pathetic madman.

It’s funny that Trump called The Boss “overrated.” Apparently, he likes the word, insofar as that’s what he called both actress Meryl Streep and former defense secretary James Mattis, about which Mattis quipped, “I guess that makes me the Meryl Streep of generals.”

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Science

It’s extraordinary when you come across a meme like this one and you realize how stupid some people are.

Literally every one of us (post-puberty) had the same experience.  We woke up one morning, strangely attracted, as if by magic, to a certain sex. For about 96% of males, that means girls.

The point of the meme here, I guess, is that people choose their sexuality.  I really wouldn’t have a huge problem with that were it not for the fact that literally none of us has had that experience.

I like what Jodie Foster said recently: “Being gay and being left-handed are strangely alike, in that some of us are, most of us aren’t, and no one really knows why.”

It is for this reason that homophobia is strictly for idiots.  It makes no more sense that hating left-handed people.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

Some strong language in the meme here.  I think of Trump supporters as:

(If rich) “morally defective.”

(If not rich) “lacking intelligence, morally defective, or (probably) both.”

While none of this is complimentary, it’s not quite as aggressive as the author of the meme.

Having said all this, the longer all this pushes on and the more desperately insane his positions become, the more blame I think his supporters merit.

This country would be so much better off if it didn’t have Fox News, Newsmax, and OAN, which meticulously avoid covering Trump’s lunacies, while blaming any problems the nation encounters on the Democrats.

This is another good reason to revere Canada, which simply makes it illegal to deliberately lie and call it “news.” Our extremely strict interpretation of the First Amendment to our constitution makes this impossible here.  Canada protects free speech, but they don’t take it to the extent that it ruins their country by poisoning the minds of its citizens for profit.

by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Uncategorized

Well, let’s examine this.

The president of the United States claimed, without evidence, that the 2020 election was “rigged” in favor of his opponent, and convinced ~70 million voters that this was true.

On January 6, 2021, he encouraged a large group of angry supporters, many of them armed, to “go to the Capitol and fight like hell.”

The ensuing riots did massive amounts of property damage and injured 174 police officers.

For more than three hours, the president watched the mayhem as it was broadcast on live television.

1575 people were criminally charged in the attack, 1270 of whom were convicted in various federal courts.

When Trump was re-elected in 2024, he pardoned all but 14.

At the conclusion of all this, nine members of congress, seven Democrats and two Republicans, formed a committee to investigate.

Now, as shown above, some Trump supporters want these nine people to be criminally charged.

If you think this is just, and you call yourself a patriotic American, you may want to rethink your position.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

The only thing I think about life on Earth that is bizarre is that it has evolved to the point that it is now in the process of collapsing.

The late Jane Goodall asked how it was possible that the most intelligent species in the world is destroying its only home.  The answer, of course, is that intelligence is just one of the many characteristics of humankind.  We mustn’t forget about greed, cruelty, and a host of cognitive biases that make it (apparently) impossible to get along with one another.

Had anyone been watching the goings-on here on Earth for the last four billion years, they would have been stunned that a) Homo sapiens was such a tribal species, and b) we were unable to overcome this critical frailty–even as people are starving, the planet is baking, our schools are failing, wars are raging, and so forth.

To those who think I’ve missed the mark here, ask yourselves how it’s possible that we’ve just re-elected Donald Trump to be the most powerful person on Earth.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability
AI Overview on “Kid Rock Slurs”:
Kid Rock has used multiple slurs publicly over the years, most recently an ableist slur (the “R-word”) during a live TV interview in October 2025. He has also used a homophobic slur and a racial slur (the N-word) in other past incidents. 
Recent Incident (October 2025)
During an appearance on Fox News’ Jesse Watters Primetime, when asked what he planned to dress as for Halloween, Kid Rock replied he was going as “a r—-d” while holding a face mask over his mouth. The Special Olympics organization condemned his use of the word in an open letter, with Chief Inspiration Officer Loretta Claiborne stating the “R-word deeply demeans and harms people with intellectual disabilities” and urging him to acknowledge the harm caused. 
But is this news?  “Demeaning and harming people?”  Like that’s a bad thing?  Indeed — it’s the whole point.  Fans of Kid Rock and other Trump supporters view this type of cruel, childish behavior as humorous.
If you asked the people of France, or Japan, or Brazil, if hurting people’s feelings had value in their society, they’d look at you as if you were insane.  Here in the U.S., it’s what gets someone elected to the White House.
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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

Here’s an article in which Trump and his top people lament that the 22nd Amendment of the U.S. Constitution forbids anyone from running for a third term as president.

Trump told reporters, “It’s a very interesting thing. I have the best numbers for any president in many years. And I would say that, if you read it, it’s pretty clear. I’m not allowed to run. It’s too bad.”

Of course, Trump’s reference to his polling numbers is a complete lie.  From the article:  Overall, the latest poll found Trump’s approval rating at its lowest level since he returned to office in January.  Just 39 percent of people approve of the job he is doing, while 58 percent disapprove, resulting in a net approval rating of -19 points.

My prediction:  If Trump is still in office at the time of the 2028 election, he will find some mechanism to stay in power, in a way similar to what Vladimir Putin has done in Russia.  Putin can legally remain in power until at least 2036, after constitutional amendments were passed in 2020 that reset his previous term count, allowing him to run for two more six-year terms. He began his fifth term in 2024, which is scheduled to end in 2030, after which he can run again to potentially serve until 2036. 

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

As we all know, there has been a battle being fought for hundreds of years between the Christians who follow the teachings of Jesus and the hateful warmonger hypocrites.  Yet seldom has this been expressed any more beautifully than what Rev. Benjamin Cremer wrote at the left.

 

 

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