I’ve run into quite a few investment bankers since Trump took office who have explained that the president’s removal from office, regardless of how it comes about, will be good for world stock markets. The core reason, of course, is certainty and predictability. Trump by nature is impulsive and erratic; he’s a man whose decision-making is rooted solely in what he happens to perceive to be good for him in that very moment of time. (more…)
Here’s a good video on geothermal energy that explains the science in a way everyone can understand.
Not surprisingly, it suggests there’s more promise here than there actually is, since most of the planet’s land mass is completely unsuitable for this technology. I had to laugh when the guy said, “In places that meet all these criteria, geothermal energy could grow by as much as 28% over the next four years. That’s 6.4% per year, which is essentially what General Motors pays its bondholders.
Here’s an interesting way of putting the whole thing about Trump and racism.
Suppose you’re one of Trump’s supporters and you want to deny that he’s a racist. You think it’s cool that he pardoned Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who was found guilty of criminal contempt of court, where, in the words of U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton, Arpaio had “willfully violated an order of the court,” persisting with his decades-long policies of race-biased policing practices.
Suppose further that Trump’s repeated failure to condemn white supremacy similarly doesn’t convince you that he’s a racist.
Still, you have to admit that the Nazi’s, the neo-confederates, the KKK and the rest absolutely adore him. Makes one wonder.
In large measure, these times here in the United States are defined by an astonishing level of selfishness.
Hell, we have a president who clearly couldn’t care less about anyone but himself. (more…)
If you were a political strategist, is this what you would recommend to the President of the United States, running in the battleground state of Pennsylvania? Swearing to take vengeance on all its 13 million people?
Personally, I’d be more inclined to promise, however insincerely, to put people back to work, protect them from the pandemic, build/repair infrastructure, reduce taxes, somehow arrange for them to have more frequent and satisfying sex….anything but revenge, swearing to inflict suffering one every Pennsylvanian in retaliation for some insult I received from the state’s governor.
Yet I need to qualify my remarks: these are just my own personal instincts. In truth, this could be an excellent strategy; perhaps masochism is a characteristic lots of people back in the Keystone State share in common. Maybe my failure to see this is why I’m only an author/consulting in environmental sustainability and not pulling down the big bucks in the Washington lobbying scene.
Those trying to arrive at the truth behind what Trump is claiming re: COVID-19 will learn a great deal from the video here. Please take a few minutes and check out what a former CDC intelligence officer says about a half dozen of Trump’s talking points.
That we’re being led by a pathological liar was frightening even before our lives were at stake. At this point, there are no intensifiers in the language that can be used to explain the level of danger we face.
Trump will lose because there are simply too many American voters who understand the truth of what Olivia Troye, Vice President Pence’s lead staffer on COVID-19 said here.
Just too many.
If you’re in need of inspiration as to the true nature of the American body politic, I welcome you to watch this video featuring a Black Lives Matter protest, and see what happens in about one minute.
It’s easy to believe the United States is in a hopeless situation, but it’s just as easy to keep fighting, and keep moments like this one top of mind.
By any measure, the United States is struggling with COVID-19, at least in part due to the fact that this has become a political matter–one in which the president believes that “playing it down” will improve his chances for re-election. And, since he couldn’t care less about the welfare of the American people, our nation’s efforts to control the spread of the virus are in disarray.
As I hit “publish,” the major indices of the stock market are down 3% on more bad news.
Given all the political dissonance in today’s culture, not to mention cognitive dissonance, I thought I’d throw a change-up, and offer a different look at the subject.
Here’s a short video featuring American conductor, pianist and composer Michael Tilson Thomas.
