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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics — No Comments ↓

In my recent post called “86,”  I told the story about how my father liked to use the Army lingo he’d learned in 1942 when he entered WW II.  He explained to my brother and me that it meant to be out of something, especially in the kitchen, e.g., “Sorry, we’re 86 eggs.”

It turns out that “86” means more specifically to “Throw (something) Out,” as T and O on an old rotary phone are 8 and 6 respectively.

Thus “8647” means “Throw out the 47th president.”  Note that to throw out a president can be accomplished through nonviolent and completely legal means, e.g., impeachment or removal via the 25th amendment.  Yet the ultra-right-wing media is pretending not to understand this, and is telling its audiences of hateful idiots that James Comey was calling for the president to be assassinated.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics — No Comments ↓

When my brother and I were little, our father took great delight in amusing us with lingo he learned in basic training, prior to his being commissioned into the Army Air Force as a bomber pilot in WW II.

One term I remember his making frequent use of was “86,” meaning to be out of something.  E.g., “Sorry boys, no pancakes this morning.  We’re 86 on flour.”

I bring this up to suggest that James Comey was probably simply urging his nation to get rid of Trump by some legal means.  That’s what I do virtually every day of the week.

Of course, thinking that the GOP might act fairly in a case like this is like expecting your dog to play the violin.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics — No Comments ↓

When boomers were young, we were almost exclusively Democrats, but it’s common now to see people under 30 gravitate to the Republicans.  What changed to make this possible?

In a word, I would say anti-intellectualism.  It used to be cool to be smart, compassionate, and involved.  Now, the opposite is true: it’s cool to be rich, and uninterested in the well-being of other people. Where Trump would have been regarded as a laughable pig just a decade or so ago, now he’s an icon for the “might makes right” generation that cares about nothing other than money.

Re: the meme here, do I see this happening?  No, but things could change.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics — No Comments ↓

I wish I knew a few Trump supporters well enough to ask them for their candid opinion of the concept at left.  In particular, do they think it’s “presidential” to lose focus on the issues of the day, e.g., a frightening economy, to attack pop stars who disagree with you?

Republicans admire Ronald Reagan.  Can you imagine “The  Gipper” lowering himself to a verbal slap-fest with, perhaps, Frank Zappa who may have made a derogatory comment about  him?

Don’t you think there is something insanely childish and mentally ill about this?

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics — No Comments ↓

It’s heartening to see anti-Trump sentiment rise all around the country, with folks of all ages and all geographies picking up all manner of signs and banners to express their feelings to the public at large.

I know that this is splitting hairs, but I don’t think Trump is a moron, or, to put it another way, his level of intelligence is irrelevant.  He’s a greedy and evil criminal, which makes him perhaps the least qualified person on the entire globe to lead the free world.

Again, we can dispense with the subtleties here.  I applaud the man in the photograph above, regardless of his choice of words.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics — No Comments ↓

The words at left come from American author Kevin Gauthen.

I disagree.  Though he has a point to make about ripping off the “illiterate rubes,” there is a clearly laid out goal to today’s right wing, as articulated in “Project 2025.”

It means white supremacy, the end of rights for women, LGBTQs, and religious minorities, the deregulation of the environment, the end to safety nets for the poor and disabled, the dismantling of any aspect of government that might help the common American, tax cuts for billionaires, the end of democracy as laid out in the U.S. Constitution, and the demise of rule of law.

It’s horrifying and it’s evil, but it most certainly does exist.

 

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics — No Comments ↓

So proud to have a president who focuses on the issues that affect all Americans: the economy and jobs market, rule of law, healthcare, education, the environment, our country’s status on the world stage, and our relationships with our historic allies.

So glad we aren’t being led by a petty a**hole whose only interests are his own enrichment and self-aggrandizement, and his ruthless, asinine attacks on his opponents.

So stoked to be an American right now.

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Climate Change — No Comments ↓

Earlier today, I caught a radio show on geoengineering, at the conclusion of which the host solicited listeners’ thoughts of the subject.  Here are a few of mine:

There are six completely different approaches to geoengineering, each of which has at least some scientific legitimacy, but which one is best?  In particular, which has the greatest safety associated with it, i.e., fewer and least potential damaging unintended consequences? A client asked me to edit this paper on Sea Cooling and Tropical Cloud Generation, and I personally favor it over the others, for what that’s worth.

As a practical matter, it’s unclear how a such a broad solution could happen in a world with more than 200 sovereign nations each demanding representation.  Keep in mind that after initial implementation, periodic decisions must be made.  Who would control the world’s thermostat?

At what point should we pull the trigger?  That is, how far above pre-industrial times should we let the temperatures of our oceans and atmosphere to rise before taking such drastic action?

Being realistic, the decarbonization of our energy and transportation sectors is relatively easy, if we commit ourselves to nuclear and renewable energy, and more responsible uses of land.  But since we are making such pathetic level of progress in this much simpler endeavor, it seems an impossible task to get even a serious discussion of geoengineering on the table.

We’re a civilization that loved to disagree, often with great violence.  Nations around the globe go to war at the drop of a hat, sending millions of young people to die each year for purposes that are usually judged to be meaningless soon after the conflicts end.  If we can’t agree that vaccinations prevent disease, can we agree to shoot gigatons of some chemical into our atmosphere?

The vast majority of the wealthiest people on this planet have essentially zero interest in this subject, since they know that there are no scenarios in which they will be affected personally.  Yes, more lives will be lost each year to the depletion of resources, floods, wildfires, and the loss of landmass due to sea-level rise, but rich people aren’t directly threatened by any of these events, and their pathological love of money is their only guiding voice.

The religious right believes that only God can destroy the Earth, as is explicit in the book of Genesis, and they’re going to have a collective seizure if our civilization gets anywhere close to implementing a science-based planetary solution to climate change.

 

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics — No Comments ↓

If would be interesting to know how many Trump supporters have recanted their votes, and specifically why they feel this way.

After all, there have been few surprises here, in terms of what Trump promised to do on “day one.” And notably, there are still two major cable “news” channels that endeavor to make the president appear to be honest and effective leader in their 24/7 coverage.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics — No Comments ↓

To the author of the meme here: I know exactly how you feel.

The majority of Americans strongly disapprove of Trump, and we hope something happens soon that results is his removal from office.  But, barring an unlikely event, we’re resigned to  wake up every morning, worried about an economic meltdown, the end of democracy and rule of law, more pain being inflicted on poor people, our nation’s cozying up to the world’s great butchers, the further degradation of American education, the shuttering of government institutions that formerly added real value to our lives, and military threats against (former) American allies.

 

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