A Citizen Describes Trump in Two Words
I had to laugh when I saw this.
Of course, being a “vulgar pig” is not a crime, so I suppose the assertion here is actually fairly mild.
Tagged with: Trump in Two Words
No, We Don’t All Have a Basic Grasp of Science, But the Problem Lies Even Deeper
Actually, I never assumed that everyone, or even most people, had a basic grasp of science.
What has shocked me is how many people openly reject entire scientific disciplines that fly in the teeth of their political or religious beliefs.
When I was young, nuttiness like this was confined to minute and roundly discredited bits of society. Christian Scientists, for example, refuse medical treatment for disease, on the basis that their faith in Christ will heal them. Again, that was, and continues to be, a negligible part of our total population.
The problem is that now we have tens of millions of anti-vaxxers and climate deniers. We have the believers in the stolen election, and those who hold that education represents an overall harm to our children. And let’s not count out those who believe the stories in the bible are literally true, and that the Earth is 6000 years old, despite all the evidence that we’ve gathered from molecular biology, anthropology, archaeology, paleontology, etc.
I’m not asking that everyone read up on chemistry, physics, and biology, but it sure would be a blessing if the scientifically illiterate could somehow be prevented from ruining our civilization.
Tagged with: climate deniers
No, Trump Cannot Be Disqualified (at this point) from Running in 2024
As much as I appreciate the sentiments that president hopeful Asa Hutchinson is expressing here, I would respond: If you truly care about rule of law, you need to understand that the 5th Amendment and its presumption of innocence makes it unlawful for you to deprive a person without due process.
Putting War in the Past
From the late poet and writer Eve Merriam: I dream of giving birth to a child who will ask, “Mother, what was war?”
Let’s hope that the International Criminal Court have some major success in prosecuting war criminals, as this may create a deterrent for those who would wage aggressive wars and commit dozens of other war crimes.
In the absence of this, the Vladimir Putins of the world will see no reason not to illegally invade their neighbors, torturing and murdering innocent people.
As More People Are Starting to Recognize, Human-Caused Climate Change Is Real
As time passes and temperature records continue to be broken, we will see fewer and fewer people speaking like the frog in this cartoon.
Some will realize that they have been conned by the lies of Big Oil, but most will simply get on board with climate science without knowing precisely why.
Sadly, it really doesn’t matter what the majority of people believe, nor, really, does it matter how they vote. Keep in mind that 91% of voters are demanding mandatory background checks for prospective gun owners, but that issue cannot even be discussed on the floors of Congress.
What will eventually happen is that the forces of pure market economics, e.g., the plummeting costs of solar, wind, energy storage, etc. will overwhelm the fossil fuel industry and make it obsolete. How much damage will have been done in the process is anyone’s guess.
Do Extremely Profitable Corporations Honestly Care About the Displacement of American Workers?
If workers can be replaced with AI, or a variety of other technologies, what’s the incentive for CEOs and their corporations’ investors to keep labor alive? In this less than one-minute video, former Labor Secretary Robert Reich argues that unemployed, suddenly poor people can’t afford to buy the stuff that these corporations produce. He says in summation, “We’re all in this together.”
I’m not sure. What does the impoverishment of a few million American workers mean to multinational corporations, most of whose customers live in far-flung regions around the globe? What they can’t sell here, they’re selling all over Europe and Asia.
My local drug store, a CVS, has laid off its check-out clerks in favor of automated checkout machines. They have 9967 extremely profitable locations and a market cap of $92 billion. If you think they care an iota about their formerly employed Americans who are now living off food stamps, you’re an idiot.
Tagged with: Profitable Corporations
Working Class Republicans Consistently Make Matters Worse for Themselves
One of the great mysteries of American politics is why the people who are in the greatest need of good jobs, quality education, and free healthcare vote for people who ensure that their constituents will continue to live miserable lives.
Trump’s Accusations Are Quite Revealing
If there is anything we’ve learned from watching Trump in action over the eight years since he came on the American political scene, it’s that he always accuses his enemies of the precise set of crimes of which he himself is guilty.
Get a load of what he told a conservative audience the other day. From Ring of Fire: During his speech at this past weekend’s Turning Points conference in Florida, Donald Trump claimed that the United States had become a “third world hellhole” that is being run by “perverts” and “thugs.”
Tagged with: Trump's Accusations
Bill Barr: Donald Trump Will Always Put His Interests Ahead of the Country’s
I guess there are people who are impressed with Bill Barr’s integrity, now that he’s starting to tell the truth about Trump.
During the years Barr was Trump’s attorney general, he looked the other way while his boss was desperately trying to overthrow the U.S. government, but now we’re getting some actual candor.
Personally, I’m not too taken by a man who tells the truth only when he has nothing to lose and everything to gain.
Tagged with: Bill Barr: Donald Trump
What’s Truly Important
Kudos to cartoonist “Emmerson” whose work appears below.
We do indeed have a twisted sense of priorities.
Most Americans are aware of climate change and other elements of environmental collapse, but we’re a) stressed about near-term aspects of our lives, and b) largely apathetic, given that human civilization seems to be making such a pathetic amount of progress in decarbonizing its energy and transportation sectors.
In addition, we’re victims of propaganda coming from Big Oil, and, to a lesser degree, Big Meat.
