Home › Blog › Page 697

by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

Seems like a good time to remind Americans that socialism and capitalism do not exist in their pure form anywhere on this planet.

Take a moment and imagine our lives without our physical infrastructure, police, fire fighting, criminal justice, national defense, public education, labor laws, auto and food safety standards, air traffic control, TSA, libraries, emergency medical care, environmental regulation, social security, Medicare, national parks, bank regulations and deposit insurance, copyright and patent laws, federal dams to provide electrical power, flood control, the Weather Service, consulates and embassies, FEMA, veterans affairs, public water systems, monitoring of all international cargo, NASA, border protection, and the National Institutes of Health.

All progressives want to add to the list are universal healthcare, free education, greater environmental stewardship, and a few social programs to alleviate some suffering and foster productivity.

Tagged with: , , ,

by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

We all understand that good people outnumber bad people by many orders of magnitude.  Sadly, that’s not the issue that’s going to serve as the make/break point in determining the outcome of human civilization.

The power of unchecked evil runs through a population of good “like crap through a goose,” as Patton is supposed to have said.

Keep in mind that the most powerful people in the United States plotted a coup, and are still trying to pull it off.

There is nothing vague or theoretical about this evil; it’s manifesting itself in our daily lives.

 

Tagged with:

by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

The concept of a “national divorce” is brand new, and people equate it with civil war.  I get that, but divorce can be amicable; it doesn’t have to be acrimonious.  And trust me, if there were a way to get all Trump supporters to form a new country and secede from the union, I don’t think a single tear would be shed.

Of course, all this is pure fantasy, but it’s fun to imagine a United States that values healthcare, environmental responsibility, rule of law, equal justice for all, quality education, compassion and human rights, diplomacy, and social justice.

Tagged with: , , , , ,

by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

Republicans, of course, don’t see it the same way Dan Rather does.  They’re falsely claiming a combination of voter fraud and caravans full of immigrants flooding across the southern border, who apparently are granted instant citizenship.

In the old days, before the descent into lunacy, the GOP actually had a platform that was developed to offer their voters  what they value: a strong police presence and military, the sanctity of heterosexual marriage, family values, small government, fiscal conservatism, and personal  accountability.

Now, it’s Donald Trump, “Stop the Steal,” white supremacy, evangelical Christianity, and the denial of science.

 

 

by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Science

Well, Hugo, you’ve nailed precisely how deeply implanted in abject stupidity we people across the pond are.

We have lost the ability to process information.

Tagged with:

by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

Bannon, former advisor to President Donald Trump

Here’s Hillary Clinton on 2024:

“If I were a betting person right now, I say Trump is going to run again. … I think that could be the end of our democracy. Not to be too pointed about it, but I want people to understand that this is a make-or-break point.  If he were or someone of his ilk were once again to be elected president, and if especially he had a Congress that would do his bidding, you will not recognize our country.”
Until 2016, it seemed impossible that any of this crap could have happened.  That’s how quickly things change.  We really are looking down the barrel of a shotgun.
Tagged with:

by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

I wish I could think of something nice to say about American society as we enter the year 2022, but we’re not getting much right.

In particular, we have an extremely cruel healthcare system, held in place only because of the corruptive influence of big money in our law-making apparatus.

The entire remainder of the developed world makes sure all its citizens receive free healthcare (and education).  That we simply can’t make this happen signals our continuing decline in our standing in the world.  It’s pitiful.

Tagged with: , , ,

by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

The man brags about committing treason.

Not much to add here.

Surreal.

Tagged with:

by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics
Reader A: (Given how Biden stole the presidency) How on Earth can we ever trust the election process again?
Reader B: We have to fix it. WE. You and I and others. We the people for whom this country was created. We let it happen and now we have to fix it.
Me: I can see that you are both earnest in your beliefs that the election was stolen, an idea known to the world in general as the “Big Lie.”
But what you’re talking about here, i.e., “fixing it,” is going to be quite an undertaking, won’t it? Keep in mind that more than 60 units of the judiciary branch, including the U.S. Supreme Court, have reviewed the claims of voter fraud and have found nothing of any significance.
In the legislative branch, Republicans (not Democrats) are under an extremely broad and aggressive investigation for inciting the insurrection–one that’s gaining steam with the revelations of each passing day.
On top of that, the Department of Justice within the executive branch has brought charges against the first (of many to come) who are in contempt of Congress.
All this is happening at the federal level. Don’t forget about the State of Georgia and the Southern District of New York.
The sad part of all this is that, although you have been duped by the most successful conman in human history, you will be hard-pressed to admit it, now or ever, regardless of what further evidence emerges and how Team Trump is handled by the justice system.
That’s not a happy place to be, and I feel genuinely sorry for you both.
Tagged with:

by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

Critiques of capitalism have been rolling around in human civilization since the publication of Das Kapital in 1867.

I’m not here to add anything substantive to that conversation, except to address the issue posed here by the late Desmond Tutu. If you want unbridled capitalism, you will have increasing numbers of people falling into the river.

Ultimately, we will experience the breakdown of organized human society, accelerated by our many excesses: carbon pollution, toxins, poverty, and disease.

Tagged with: , , , ,