It’s always good to see progress being made in the form of reducing the use of plastics.
These leaves and fronds have a really nice look to them, as well.
This would be hard to pull off in the U.S., though most of us are doing our best to reduce, reuse, and recycle.
Here’s an article entitled: ‘He’s making everything all about him’: Republicans furious Trump is disrupting their plans.
It begins:
According to a report from the Guardian’s Ed Pilkington, Republican leaders are begging Donald Trump to put aside his complaints that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him because he is making their efforts to regain majorities in both chambers more difficult. (more…)
A few years ago, I was speaking with a man who is, I believe, the most intelligent person I’ve ever known, Dr. David Doty.
The discussion turned to human rights, and he told me that freedom from impoverishment should be among them.
This made a big impression on me, and the concept is certainly not lost on the author of the meme here.
From this article on Germany’s energy scene: Germany will completely stop buying Russian coal in August and Russian oil by the end of the year, marking a major shift in the source of the country’s energy supply, Joerg Kukies, state secretary in the German federal chancellery, says. (more…)
It’s easy to become cynical about environmental responsibility when we see the U.S. Supreme Court hamstring the EPA re: greenhouse gas emissions.
Yet we need to remind ourselves of how effective such regulations have been in the past, and what’s possible if we work together.
Young people may not get the meme here. In any case, it’s about belief in a conman to one’s great detriment.
Cult leader Jim Jones died with his followers in 1978. By contrast, Trump supporters won’t die because of their folly, but they will continue to suffer the scorn, ridicule, and ostracism of mainstream society.
The longer they hang on, the more foolish they will appear.
If these voters in red states can simply find another hateful demagogue to adore, the congresspeople in those states can disconnect themselves from Trump, and this international nightmare will come to an end.
Re: the meme here, it’s clear that we’ve lost a great deal of ground since 1993, as if we need another reminder.
A cosmetologist told me today that vaccines are a hoax because people can still get COVID even after they’ve gotten the shot. She maintains that she has a solid immune system; she honestly believes that she knows more about the subject than the medical scientific community.
What’s happened to take us so very low?
Here’s a good reason why neither you nor I could make it in politics: Neither of us would have the chutzpa to call for a “united Texas” in the year 2022.
There is nothing about Texas that is remotely unitable. Half the state calls for the proliferation of assault rifles, bans on abortion in every circumstance, an electric grid that freezes or roasts its citizens to death to make utility investors wealthier, and whatever atrocities at the southern border that are most effective in keeping the vermin from Central America out, regardless of what both domestic and international law may say on the matter.
The other half are connected to education and everything that it brings with it: compassion, intelligence, and an appreciation for rule of law.
Beto O’Rourke is a good human being, but it’s hard to envy him here. A “united Texas” is a sick joke, and he knows it.
Freedoms of speech and the press are complicated matters. Where do these freedoms take us vis-a-vis fraud, child pornography, incitement to violence, and violation of intellectual property law?
For my money, the U.S. Supreme Court has done a pretty admirable job in dealing with this over the years.
The folks who wish to keep The Grapes of Wrath and Catch-22 out of the hands of young readers, simply because these books cause our kids to think “impure” thoughts about American capitalism and imperialism, however, have a far more difficult challenge in front of them, at least in any country I’d like to call home.
If and when we make contact with extraterrestrial intelligence, we need to expect huge differences between the evolution of their civilization and that of our own.
The meme here brings up an interesting idea: What if we the people demanded to be led by people of science (vs. rhetoric and love of power).
Well, a few changes come top of mind:
• High priority on education with rich curricula delivered by well-paid teachers; everyone who wants a college degree gets one
• Common sense laws, e.g., gun legislation, that protect us from harm
• No religious-based wars and other forms of hostility based on those concepts
• No laws restricting personal choices that are based on religion, e.g., abortion
• A political and economic system that eliminates poverty
• A pristine and stable environment
• Full sustainability, based on the deployment of every relevant piece of technology
• Vigorous R&D re: future technologies to help us all lead better, healthier, and longer lives
Sound like utopia? To me it does.
Now, might there be dishonest and corrupt scientists, who would favor some approaches over others for personal gain?
Potentially.
But think about that for a minute, and compare that possibility to what we have now: a political scene that features Team Trump’s attempt to overthrow the most powerful country, and the most potent democracy, on Earth.
Here’s a good comparison about worrying about a little problem while ignoring a greater one. The caption: “Oh my God, we’re out of gin.”
