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

We’ve all heard the adage, “If guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns.”

It has a nice ring to it, but it really doesn’t hold water in the real world, where counties with strict gun laws, e.g., Japan, England, and Australia have very low rates of violent crime.

Note: these countries don’t have an NRA, a fabulously wealthy lobbying organization that controls their lawmaking apparatus as it pertains to gun regulation.

Moreover, outside the United States, it’s very hard to find a place where a potentially mentally unstable person can go into a store and walk out with a weapon of war, capable of killing 50+ people per minute.

 

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

Actually, it wouldn’t have required a PhD in chemistry to predict what would happen to a large pool of untreated fresh water during a hot summer in our nation’s capital.

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

No one doubts that China is trying to take over the world; in fact, it could be argued that this has been an on-going effort for the last 6000 years.

Yet, unlike the United States, these people are patient and prefer to accomplish this task economically rather than militarily.

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

I challenge anyone to watch this short video and explain how Trump still has enough standing with the American people to remain president.

This is just so embarrassing.

Rich Americans aren’t happy that their country is a laughingstock around the world, but their fortunes are multiplying, so what’s the big deal?  How does personal integrity come into play when there is so much money at stake?

The MAGA crowd, i.e., uneducated white people, believe Trump when he says that he has brought back respect for the United States.

 

 

 

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

At left is the ultraconservative crap that Fox News feeds its viewers.

In fact, the theme of U.S. 250th birthday party would be liberty and justice for all Americans, not just rich white people.

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

Maybe turning the White House into an attraction for the country’s least educated people (some say “trailer trash”) isn’t a good idea. It’s often referred to as the most demeaning moment in U.S history.

But let’s be real.  Our nation is at its lowest point since its founding.  Maybe we can, as a country, use this moment of extreme degradation as alcoholics refer to as “hitting rock bottom.”

 

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

I met a fellow earlier today who, with a partner, owns and runs a company that imports a wide variety of goods into the United States from China.

I asked him, naively, how tariffs are affecting him.  He said, “Well, until recently, taxes on our goods were 3.5%; now they’re 45%. I pass most of this this on to my (retailer) customer, and he passes it on to you.  If you’re wondering why the price of a stick of deodorant has just gone through the roof, you’ve just figured it out.”

In retrospect, I shouldn’t have brought it up in the first place.

 

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

I met a gentleman from South Africa yesterday, and I told him that I’m sure he knows that Trevor Noah is a huge thing here in the U.S.

He replied that he doesn’t like Trevor Noah and explained that he doesn’t think politics and comedy should be mixed.

I thought that to be peculiar, as political humor has been a big deal here for centuries, and has grown mightily since the 1970s.  Think of Saturday Night Live and all the late-night television hosts that have come along and achieved huge popularity.

More to the point, this is Trevor Noah’s brand. It’s what he does and sells for a living. It’s like Nike and its swoosh and its “Just do it” slogan.

I have a feeling that what he objects to is the mixing of left-wing politics and comedy, because he doesn’t like to see progressive ideas promoted in society.

 

 

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Uncategorized — No Comments ↓

The short video here presents an interesting viewpoint on home schooling, and it’s one that resonates with a growing number of Americans today. In summary, it suggests that the public school system is all about indoctrinating kids, where children taught by their parents are steered clear of this evil.

I guess it’s all a matter of what you choose to believe.  Yes, kids in school will learn about the true history of American slavery, climate change, the theory of evolution, and the fact that there are other political/economic structures in the world other than unbridled capitalism.  Kids will not learn that Jesus is Lord.  If that upsets you, you’re not alone, and perhaps home schooling is for you.

But if that’s the case, please don’t try to tell me that you object to your kids’ being “indoctrinated.”  They’re just being fed into another mental wood-chipper that focuses on one particular religious sect, the rejection of science, and the glorification of a country that has its faults. You’re stifling your kids’ capacity to think for themselves.

Own that.

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

I’m not a financial pro, but here’s some advice:

Don’t live on a budget.  Make a lot of money and live far beneath your means.  What value does luxury actually bring to your life, especially if it makes you nervous about running out of cash?

As I told my kids when they were growing up, “Unless you’re completely shallow, showing off your money is an idiotic thing to do.  You make false friends and have people glomming onto you to sell you stuff you really don’t need.”

Warren Buffett still lives in a modest house in Nebraska, a state in which he could buy an entire county.  Maybe there is something about him and his values that could benefit you.

 

 

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