Ford just took a $19.5 billion write-down, given what they spent, all for nought, into its foray into electric transportation. That’s about twice its annual earnings.
Worse, it means that Ford will become essentially irrelevant in about 10 years, according to the speaker in the video below, who is referring to the trend toward autonomous vehicles.
The tragic story of what has happened to the United States in general and the Kennedy Center in particular reminds me of a conversation I had with a lady on a plane years ago, headed for Las Vegas. She said that she had an offer to speak at a conference, which she had preliminarily accepted, until she learned that the venue was at the Trump Resort and Casino. She had other reasons to be in Nevada, here we were, seated next to one another.
She looked me in the eye and told me, “I would rather cut my right arm off than step foot into a building associated with Donald Trump.”
Unsurprisingly, ticket sales for The Kennedy Center have fallen off a cliff. Apparently, there are plenty of our country’s most sophisticated people who’d rather stay home and watch “Wheel of Fortune” than go to a national treasure that’s been co-opted by Trump.
Trump supporters come in two types: those who are well educated and financially strong but morally feeble, and the uneducated MAGA folks.
What Aldous Huxley said at left doesn’t apply whatsoever to the former group. They’re well aware that Trump is a terrible person who couldn’t care less about the common American, or even about the country as a whole, but their taxes are nice and low.
However, Huxley’s observation applies nicely to the latter group. They’re desperate for information that supports their belief that God sent us Trump to rid us of the vermin (immigrants), just like St. Patrick drove the snakes out of Ireland.
Regarding the claim at left, I doubt it.
It’s true that most reasonable people reject the ideas of Christian fundamentalists, whether we’re talking about creationism, or worse, the concept all non-believers–Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, etc.– are doomed to spend eternity in hell.
Having said that, I would suggest that most atheists simply don’t accept the assertion that an omnipotent being created the 200,000 species of insects on Earth, and so forth. They find no reason to believe this.
What are the effects of Trump’s dismantling the National Center for Atmospheric Research?
Well, according to this article in Forbes, there are (or “were”) eight benefits that each and every one of us derives.
“The United States was practically dead at the end of the Biden Administration but in less than a year, I (Donald Trump) have made it the hottest country on Earth.”
H.L. Mencken said that no one has ever gone broke underestimating the intelligence of the American people. Yet here, we just may have found the limit to that idea.
When his base listened to Trump’s speech the other evening, a large number of them went away shocked and disappointed. Even our country’s least educated and most hateful people are vaguely aware that, one year ago, our nation had a robust economy, and certainly a more cohesive social structure.
Moreover, they’re not thrilled that the president, in his arrogance and narcissism, is putting his name on public buildings and having plaques affixed to walls in the White House that point out the shortcomings of Trump’s predecessors, making it clear that his presidency is at or near the top in U.S. history.
We’re tired of this insanity. And by “we,” I mean pretty damn close to all of us.
How confusing is this?
The U.S. president bombs people who may be drug dealers (some are, some aren’t), for some purpose. To rile up his base? To lead us into war? To steal another country’s oil?
It’s hard to know, but in any case, it’s a clear violation of international law.
Here’s my question: When does the International Criminal Court get involved? Do more innocent people have to get murdered? How many more?
If you’re interested in this, you might want to ask yourself:
Do I have good wind conditions 10 – 20 feet off the ground, surrounded by other houses and trees?
Mustn’t there be a reason that real wind farms are cited away from buildings, and the turbines are hundreds of feet in the air?
Why did the small wind industry vanish about 15 years ago?
Readers: I’m conducting interviews on this subject. Please contact me if you know anyone whose life has improved due to the deportations.
I’m thinking about a variety of things, like more job openings, better prices on strawberries and other fruits/vegetables, more profitable farms and meat packing plants, lower crime rates, better service in restaurants, less expensive access to healthcare, higher satisfaction rates of citizens in “war-torn” cities like Portland due to the presence of our military, greater respect for the U.S. in foreign countries (perhaps resulting in more tourism), or more affordable housing due to our ridding ourselves of the impoverished people qualifying for mortgages and buying up all our real estate.
Anything.
I’m not picky.
Moronocracy
We have an anti-science crackpot in change of our healthcare, a climate denier heading up the EPA, and an alcoholic Fox News commentator running the most powerful military in human history.