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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

Bulldozing the East Wing.  The National Guard in U.S. cities.  Executing untried Venezuelans.  Charging for entry to White House events.  Getting rid of food safety.  Grab ’em by the pussy.  Overt racism.  Jeffrey Epstein. Extreme tariffs.  Bailing out Argentina.  Annexing Canada and Greenland.  RFK, Jr. and Pete Hegseth. Fake assassination attempt.  Killing wind and solar energy.  Prosecuting political enemies.  Mass redistricting. Alligator Alcatraz.  Orchestrating January 6 and pardoning its participants.  Self-enrichment.  Pardoning war criminals convicted in military courts. Mass deportation without due process.  Defiance of court orders.

It seems that almost every day we get news of something Trump did that is so outrageous it defies words.

There are people who believe that, when November 2028 comes along, the Unites States will be in such a state of chaos that there will be no way to have a free and fair election, and that Trump will use this to stay in power.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

Agreed. Hope things turn out well for him and his country. It’s a shame the “civilized” world can’t do a better job in protecting and defending them.

Speaking of “loading up a plane with money (and concubines),” this is what I expected of Iraq’s Saddam Hussein in his final days.  Obviously, he was a man completely devoid of honor.  But why was he also stupid enough to stay around and get hanged?

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

It’s not exactly “new news,” but (at least in the United States), there are two completely antithetical versions of Christianity, those who:

1) Live by the teachings of Christ, e.g. loving one another and taking care of those who most need our help, and

2) Follow the very worst characteristics of human beings and somehow call it Christianity.  Here, I’m talking about war, savagery, torture, slavery, racism, and ignorance.

What causes the divide here?  No one knows.

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Synthetic Fuel

Virtually every molecule of gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel we use here in our human civilization came from decomposed plants and animals that were on Earth hundreds of millions of years ago.

Within the last decade or so, scientists have performed computer simulations that demonstrate that point sources of carbon dioxide and hydrogen, made from electrolyzing water, can be brought together with large amounts of off-peak energy from wind farms or nuclear plants to create compounds that are chemically identical to those we use to fill our automobiles, cargo ships, and jets.

There are a few nasty problems standing in the way, however:

1) The idea is perceived to be risky, and the company who’s patented the concept hasn’t been able to raise the venture capital required to build a prototype.

2) As mentioned above, the idea requires point sources of CO2, e.g., coal-fired power plants or concrete manufacturing plants, with concentrations of CO2 north of 30%, rather than the air we breathe with concentrations approximately 0.04%. The meme above is pure nonsense.

3) At a certain point I was quite bullish on synthetic fuels, but now it seems that electric transportation is likely to win the day.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

I have a very good friend who’s about my age, i.e., getting old, who writes:

We the People either find a way to break Trump’s party’s grip on the wheel, or we go down with the ship….Like many of our older citizens, I’ve been fighting against this evil current for decades, and with many in later generations who’ve also been waking up and grabbing oars, I still hope we may together turn the tide.

In many, probably hundreds of talks we’ve had on this and related subjects, you’ve always been the more optimistic one. And that’s a good thing, as pessimism is a self-fulfilling prophesy.

I agree that there are scenarios under which Trump is removed from office before our nation becomes another Russia.  Yet my imagination is running thin, as each day we have an event that boggles the mind: he did WHAT to the East Wing of the White House?

Does Washington D.C. need a new ballroom?  Our course not.  Trump has a need, however, and that is to show the American people that, to use my favorite French expression: les carottes sont cuites, i.e. “the carrots are cooked,” a metaphor for “the dinner I’ve made is a disaster and it’s too late to save it because the carrots need to be served immediately,” which is in turn a metaphor for “the situation at hand is a catastrophe and it can’t be fixed at this point.”

Most of what he does on a daily basic is patently illegal, and, while some are small acts, like executing a few Venezuelans on the high seas with no proof of guilt of a crime may seem trivial, what they really mean is this: “Obviously I know that this clearly violates both domestic and international law. That’s the whole point. Do think I don’t have any lawyers for Christ’s sake?   I can do anything I want, and no one can stop me.”

So, can anybody stop him?  We’ll soon see.

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

…. just like 32 of the world’s most productive nations.

Why is this so hard to fathom for the citizens of the wealthiest country on Earth?

News flash:  We don’t want sick, ignorant people!

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Business

This from the pro-democracy Lincoln Project, with a few comments below:

First, Trump screwed over American soybean farmers with his pointless trade war with China.

Now, Trump’s screwing over American ranchers by promising to import millions of dollars of Argentinian beef.

Trump hates America’s farmers.

Betrayal really is the right word.

Don’t forget, Trump won 93% of rural areas less than a year ago. Farmers voted for this guy because they thought he would have their back. But since coming into office, all Trump has done is screw them over. We’re not surprised.

But now’s not the time to say “ha, ha, I told you so!” – even though that’s kind of our jam.

Now, we need to reach out to the Americans Trump lied to. Show them they’re not better off. And show them the way forward is kicking this liar and his enablers out of office. Their costs are going up, too.

Trump’s bottom line is… well, the bottom’s falling out. If Trump wants his party to even have a prayer at keeping their majorities, he needs to carry the rural vote. And from what it looks like now, the rural vote is about ready to turn on the party they supported in the last cycle.

A few points.

1) Trump doesn’t “hate” farmers, any more than he hates real estate agents or pastry chefs.  One thing we have learned about Trump over the years is that everything and everyone in his life is a transaction. If someone can do something good for him in terms of wealth and/or power, he’s a friend.  For now.

The only people he “hates” are people who never, under any circumstances, are in a position to help him.  That’s why he said the other day, “I hate Democrats,” meaning those people who support preserving democracy and rule of law, while repelling fascism.

2) I’m sure that farmers are keenly aware that Trump’s tariffs have hurt them; they don’t need to be told this.    I know tons of these people, and they’re very good at basic math in terms of tons/acre, dollars/ton, etc.

3) Not only are farmers aware of the fact that Trump’s tariffs have begun to hurt them financially, but they are also upset.  I use the word “begun” because the real economic damage that tariffs create emerges over a period of years, not weeks or months.

4) Let’s consider for a moment the mindset of the typical American farmer.  Sure, financial success is important but so are (in most cases) extreme conservative values.

A few years ago, my brother told me, speaking about someone we both know well, “He’d vote for an orangutan before he’d vote for Hillary Clinton.”

In any case, good for the Lincoln Project for doing what they can to help the United States climb out of the pit into which it’s fallen.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

ICE agents have every reason to fear for their lives when protesters present this sort of nasty demeanor.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

Here’s a beautiful piece of writing by political commentator Rick Wilson the demolition of the East Wing of the White House.

Perhaps this is stupid question, but I need to ask it nonetheless: Does the president of the U.S. have the right to do something like this? I presume he doesn’t have a deed to the White House.  As such, can he sell it? Build a Pizza Hut on the property?

How is this situation different than my walking across the street to the park, where I commence cutting down trees because they block my view of the mountains in the distance?

I would expect to be in handcuffs within a few minutes.  Why?  It’s not my property.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

Here are a couple of remarks on Trump’s destroying the East Wing of the White House:

From Dan Rather

Witnessing any part of its demolition is a gut punch. Trump crossed an invisible line by destroying something that wasn’t his to destroy. You could say that about so much of what he has done, but the visual of seeing a bulldozer taking down part of this national treasure was a painful reminder of how he and his administration work every day at dismantling our democracy.

From the District of Columbia Preservation League

The demolition of the East Wing of the White House represents a collective loss—a serious affront to United States history and architectural heritage. While some may argue that modernization justifies this project, the country cannot overlook the profound cultural significance of the East Wing and its role within the White House complex. Its loss results in the irreplaceable erasure of a rich chapter in our national narrative.
Dating to the early 20th century, the East Wing has facilitated the initiatives of countless First Ladies, promoted public engagement, and welcomed millions of visitors, embodying the principle that government belongs to the people. Tearing down this vital space limits future opportunities for civic involvement and increases the risk of a lost connection between the presidency and the public.
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