The author of the meme here would have a valid point if:
Our life expectancy were 35 years, and
A college education conferred no other value than income/wealth.
It’s hard to gauge Putin’s approval rating among the Russian people, and we have to think that the heavy censorship and propaganda are at least somewhat effective in buoying the dictator’s popularity.
However, he’ll soon be facing a huge problem, as illustrated here, i.e., that the Russian economy is entering free-fall. Contrast this against prior invasions, like Georgia in 2008 and the first assault against Ukraine in 2014, where economic times were fairly good.
Yes, Putin is going to be very hard to overthrow, but we could be entering an age where the vast majority of the Russian people would kill (literally) to see him removed.
The story here about Dr, Suess is a great one by all accounts, but what struck me hardest was the phrase “chance encounter….old college friend.”
I wish to take away absolutely nothing from Dr. Suess and the amazingly positive effect he’s had on young people everywhere, but I do want to point out that a very slim minority of people on this planet are in positions where such experiences like his are possible. (more…)
I wrote a post recently on how conservatives hate California, and tend to represent it as a dystopia that has come about from decades of socialist policies and general mismanagement, In response, a reader notes:
As someone who’s lived in California for more than 40 years, I never cease to be amazed at how aggressively conservatives hate this state–a deep obsession that goes far past Donald Trump’s revulsion for the state.
Republicans tend to represent California as a dystopia that has come about from decades of socialist policies and general mismanagement. (more…)
Internet search engines are modern miracles for clearing up areas of confusion, big or small. For most of us, Google is our dictionary, thesaurus, encyclopedia, and real-time news channel, where YouTube is our online university and movie theater.
Maybe it’s just me, but there are certain things I just can’t get through my head, and I find myself looking up the same subject again and again, because it doesn’t seem to stick. (more…)
The Brits generally have never tried to conceal their deep disgust for the former president. They respect people of class, intelligence, humility, subtlety, good humor, honesty, and decency, and they recognized instantly that Trump possessed exactly zero of these traits.
The Scots in particular had to go though the nauseatingly painful experience surrounding Trump’s golf course, and his bad-faith negotiations to get a permit to ruin miles of pristine Scottish coastline.
In addition to the many obvious horrors associated with the Russian bombardment of Ukraine, there comes a hidden one: the glorification of war. We see countless images of old ladies and preteens with machine guns, farmers towing away armored tanks, and Miss Ukraine in battle fatigues, and we think collectively how cool and brave all this is.
True, this invasion, unlike many, is the epitome of good versus evil, but it’s terrifying to think what this is doing to the world population in terms of riveting into place the concept of war as the go-to means of resolving our differences.
Politically, one thinks of farmers as Republicans: God-fearing, no nonsense, rugged individualists. Yet, Trump’s economic decisions, while they were excellent for the ultra-rich, were catastrophic for others, especially those whose financial conditions rise or fall dramatically according to seemingly small pressures put on supply and demand.
In particular, the nation’s farmers took a terrible hit to their bottom lines due to Trump’s capricious trade war that cut them off from huge chunks of their customer bases.
For these folks, Biden’s policies have resulted in a healthy recovery.
Here’s an interesting piece of a unique solar-architected house, a concept that is under development in Morocco.
From the piece linked above: (more…)
