I’m reminded of the Christmas song here, rewritten as the title of this post.
Who could have thought, just a few months ago, that we’d be right around the corner from nailing Trump and his top goons on what is perhaps the sexiest charge imaginable?
I was afraid this was going to takes years, and end up with something as banal as income tax evasion. Sure doesn’t look that way now.
It’s hard to disagree with this.
I’m always amazed at the twisted arguments the ultra-right raises about the common sense measures that our society is taking to protect itself against the threats it’s facing. Aren’t they ashamed of themselves?
There was a congressman not too long ago who claimed that wind turbines were slowing the breezes down to such a degree that it was causing the temperature of the Earth’s surface to rise. Can you imagine standing in front of 400+ people and saying something like that?
This is an interesting perspective, isn’t it?
Why we as a civilization are so uninterested in averting all-but-certain climate catastrophe is a complex matter.
It seems that we’ve evolved as a species to be more or less indifferent to the suffering of others if they are outside our immediate circle of friends and family.
I use this quote from explorer and author Freya Stark as part of the signature in my email: “Few are the giants of the soul who actually feel that the human race is their family circle.”
Few indeed.
The graph here is from the Pew Research Center. I would speculate on many different causes, and suggest that it’s probably a combination.
• Evangelicals are terrifying people. Hypocrisy is everywhere.
• Despite the anti-vaxxers and/or QAnon, respect for science is growing, and it’s seen as the only answer to the world’s most pressing problems, e.g., climate change and COVID-19.
• Bad times call into question the existence of an omniscient being who’s not (apparently) helping.
• Those of us who are following orders so as to curb the pandemic resent (putting it mildly) the selfish idiots who say, “faith over fear.”
• Our understanding of child abuse is growing every day, and it’s a horrific phenomenon.
I’m sure Trump did enjoy watching the violence on January 6th, but that’s not the point, IMO.
Liz Cheney asks, “Did Donald Trump, through action or inaction, corruptly seek to obstruct or impede Congress’s official proceeding to count electoral votes?”
Well, it remains to be seen how, if at all, his actions obstructed, but it’s 100% clear that his inactions did. He watched the goddamn riot for more than three hours. Is there anything even a little bit hazy here?
I have to love “Honey’s” quote at the bottom.
We come across pieces on the climate change hoax, renewable energy not ready for prime time, oil offers energy independence, etc. Where do these come from? Those who profit from the lies.
Neither my wife nor I eats a single Kellogg product, so we can offer our emotional support to the enormous boycott that’s being leveled against this corporate swine.
One would think that a purveyor of consumer staples like this would have the smarts not to become abhorrent to millions of customers, but maybe that’s just me.
In my recent post on the Peace Dividend, I noted that a group of 50 Nobel laureates is suggesting that 2% of what the world now spends on the military be shifted to addressing problems like poverty, climate change, and pandemics.
It should come as no surprise that one member of this illustrious group is the Dalai Lama, whose anti-war viewpoints are well know, and summed up in the meme here.
Decent people everywhere felt as if they were about to vomit last January 11, as then-President Trump rewarded his ally Jim Jordan with the nation’s highest civilian honor, the Medal of Freedom. At the time, it was presumed to be a reward in exchange for the help Jordan had given Trump in warding off two impeachments.
Eleven months later, the real reasoning behind this disgusting act has come into focus: five days earlier, Jordan had played a major role in a coup attempt that sought to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.
With each revelation, arriving, as they are, on an hourly basis, the United States gets a bit closer to closing the door on this attempt to overthrow the federal government, and a little closer to justice for those who were involved. It really can’t come soon enough.
How would the world change if 2% of what it now spends on the military were shifted to addressing problems like poverty, climate change, and pandemics? Well, if a group of 50 Nobel laureates gets what it’s requesting, we’re about to find out.
Although 2% may not sound like a lot, that’s about $15 billion annually from the U.S. alone. And will the world be a more dangerous place with a tad fewer fighter planes and surface-to-air missiles? Hardly.
It’s interesting that highly intelligent people tend to concern themselves with the well-being of others. I hasten to add that this is not uniformly the case; there are some very bright Trump supporters and other people who could be described as “morally challenged.” But again, there is a significant correlation here.
Pictured above: “More than $1.2 billion worth of Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor fighter jets fly in formation above Indiana. (Photo: Col. Hiram Gates/USAF)”
