This is actually a very serious subject, but the cartoon below should make you smile.

The man has no sense of shame–sadly, a huge advantage in the business world.

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Those who don’t understand that January 1 represents nothing more than an arbitrary point in our Earth’s path as it revolves around the sun would do well to check out this video.

 

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Joe Turk, one of my mentors as a young man, writes as follows:
Tomorrow will mark the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Clean Air Act by Nixon. An Act lobbied against by: Big Oil, Coal, the Auto Industry, Electric Utilities, etc. In spite of this intense pressure, the Bill passed the Senate unanimously and the House with one no vote. Can you imagine anything like that happening today? The Act mandated reductions in emissions that weren’t even possible with the available technology, but those legislators remembered how innovative American Industry became during the war and were convinced they could do it again. So what happened?

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As anyone could have predicted, Trump’s decision to pardon the mass murders who, until their incarceration worked for the brother of the president’s Education Secretary, has been met with international condemnation.  The United Nations made this statement on the subject: “These pardons violate U.S. obligations under international law and more broadly undermine humanitarian law and human rights at a global level.”

There has never been a time in this nation’s history when the United States was more detested on a global scale than it is right now.  We’re universally reviled by the entirety of the civilized world, and it will require decades of herculean efforts on our part to turn this around.

Most Americans understand that all this is driven by Trump’s efforts to burn the country to the ground between now and the time he leaves office.  Writing for the “no holds barred” Irish Times, staff columnist Fintan O’Toole said this: Trump has unfinished business. A republic he wants to destroy still stands.

 

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For anyone who may be interested, here’s a conversation I’m having with some old college friends on constitutional originalism, a concept regarding the interpretation of the U.S. Constitution that asserts that all statements in the constitution must be interpreted based on the original understanding “at the time it was adopted.”

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Here’s distinguished scholar of religions Reza Aslan explaining Trump’s popularity among white evangelical Christians.

About 8 minutes long, worth ever second.

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Virginia’s Dominion Energy has filed construction and operations plans to build a 2.64 GW offshore wind project, located 27 miles off the coast of Virginia Beach, to be completed in 2026.

The project will make use of Dominion’s 12 MW turbines, far larger than what we find implemented in onshore wind farms.  That’s due to the expense dynamics associated with installing these devices; since the cost of anchoring offshore turbines is much higher than that of terrestrial wind plants, deploying huge machines is required to justify the expenditure.

It’s always great to see traditional utilities moving the ball forward, though it’s not like they have a choice.  Virginia’s Clean Economy Act requires Dominion to be 100 percent carbon-free by 2045.

 

 

 

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“I was able to do my part to defend this nation in a meaningful manner, and expose corruption by the president.” – Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, Former Director for European Affairs for the United States National Security Council
Some of us will be able to live with ourselves after all this is over, Vindman certainly among them.
In a way, I feel sorry for the others.  Trump has ruined countless lives, in dozens of different ways, none the least of which is forcing them to compromise their integrity so profoundly that it’s hard to imagine that they’re capable of self-respect.
Aren’t we all glad we’re not a parent of White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany?  Speaking for myself, knowing that my daughter is a professional liar would not sit well with me.
Hats off to Col. Vindman.  Thank you for your honesty. Sorry it cost you your job.
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… and it isn’t long, my little pretty; it isn’t long.

Trump is losing the support of the rank and file GOP, as this whole situation comes down to one question: Who’s willing to commit sedition, simply to avoid Trump’s wrath?

Well, as “Trump’s wrath” has become no more threatening than a mosquito bite, it looks like the answer is pretty damn few.

Yet it’s possible that Pence will do the unthinkable on January 6th and invalidate the 2020 election.  He did say, quite recently, “We will never give up until every legally cast vote is counted, we will win Georgia, we’re going to save America.”

I happen to have a friend who’s a professor at Georgetown Law.  Here’s an opinion piece in the New York Times written by a colleague of his at that same institution, which doesn’t make me feel any better.

 

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As we all know, an enormous amount of work needs to be done to re-establish the 100+ environmental safeguards that the Trump administration removed over the last four years.  But are they all equally important?  How should they be prioritized?

The good people at EnvironmentalAmerica.org believe they have the answer.  Linked above is their list of the 15 easiest environmental fixes that the Biden administration should jump on immediately.

As you’re reading this, know that there are over 200,000 groups working feverishly to make our society a greener and better place to live.  That’s a lot of horsepower.

 

 

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