Putting Trumpism Behind Us
Most of the people on Earth are hoping desperately that all this criminality and insanity is over soon.
Putin Laying Flowers
From the reader who sent me this: After he met with President Trump, Vladimir Putin laid flowers at the graves of Soviet pilots in Alaska, while making the Orthodox sign of the cross.
Well, while he’s one of the heinous criminals in world history, he’s really a nice and compassionate human being. Is there any other conclusion we can draw?
Tagged with: Putin Nice Guy
Solar Energy in Norway?
Does this appear to be a cost-effective way to generate solar electricity?
Tagged with: Solar Energy in Norway?
Beef Prices: Ouch!
Sometimes, rising prices are sufficient to change our behavior. Boomers can recall the 1970s, when a pack of cigarettes cost $0.75, or, if you lived close to the tobacco-growing regions in and near North Carolina, it could be a quarter. Now there are plenty of people who’ve quit smoking simply because it’s expensive.
There are lots of reasons to eliminate beef from your diet, and spiking prices may be just one more motivating factor.
Tagged with: Beef Prices
How Little Regard We Have for the Truth
She was imprisoned for praying? How about a little honesty?
From the United States Attorney’s Office: Bevelyn Williams was sentenced to 41 months in prison for violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act (the “FACE Act”) in June 2020 in connection with her interference, including by threats and force, with individuals seeking to obtain and provide lawful reproductive health services at a reproductive health center in Manhattan. Williams was convicted after a nine-day jury trial of one count of violating the FACE Act before U.S. District Judge Jennifer L. Rochon, who imposed today’s sentence.
And I love this additional piece of dishonesty: “Joe Biden jailed her.” The President of the United States personally jailed this woman?
We live in an era in which truth means essentially zero.
Insulting Putin
From a reader: If you had it your way, you would be insulting Putin to no end instead of talking peace. Trump shows respect, because that is what brings people to the table. To insult and demean world leaders is what Biden did. That is why he brokered zero peace, and we were on the cusp of WW3.
“Insulting Putin to no end?” No, that’s not my style.
I would have him turned over to the International Justice System, where he would be tried for a wide variety of war crimes, convicted, and incarcerated for the rest of his life.
“Insulting” war criminals? Now that’s funny.
Tagged with: Insulting Putin
American Ignorance
Here’s something from the Facebook “chat” here in Central California.
We live among people who are so deeply ignorant that they don’t know that only U.S. citizens can vote.
It’s a truly pathetic time to be an American, and it can only get worse from here.
Further discussion:
Reader A: Are you still ignorant about who votes? What a bunch of crap you were fed by Trump. Work the polls sometime in November and get a little educated.
Me: I appreciate you. But seriously, do you seriously believe that people like this have any interest whatsoever in getting educated?
Tagged with: American Ignorance
What Lies Beneath Humankind’s Atrocities
Aldous Huxley put this thought by Marcus Aurelius a bit differently:
‘The propagandist’s purpose is to make one set of people forget that certain other sets of people are human.’
Tagged with: Humankind's Atrocities
Social Progress in the United States
As shown in the graphic here, the U.S. was making decent progress until fairly recently.
Some speculate that the emergence of Donald Trump on the political scene released a great deal of pent-up hatred, allowing, in fact encouraging, white people to be their “worst selves.”
Of course, there are other explanations, e.g.:
Historically, all democracies have limited life-spans
Fox News and the other misinformation “news” sources predated Trump by more than a decade.
Social movements tend to respond according to “pendulum swings,” and perhaps it was simply time for America to revert into darkness.
Tagged with: Social Progress in the United States
Finland and Homelessness
Finland’s tackling homelessness is a far easier challenge than one might think, insofar as they actually care about stuff like this. Everyone gets free education and healthcare in exchange for the taxes they pay, so their healthy and gainfully employed.
Perennially, it’s the world number one ranking country in the happiness rankings. That’s not hard to understand; it’s a society where everyone takes care of one another. Not a bad way to spend a lifetime.
Tagged with: Finland and Homelessness
