California is following suit with various parts of the EU in phasing out gasoline and diesel.

A reader notes: I’m fully supportive of this, but it has to come with a massive upgrade of the U.S. energy grid.  (more…)

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I urge you to join me in signing this petition to ask Chevron not to drill in the arctic wilderness.

Having said that, I have news: Chevron doesn’t give a damn what you or I think of them.  There are only two things that will prevent this atrocity from occurring: a) drilling seems unprofitable, or b) a new presidential administration reinstates its prohibition.

 

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We see stories like this all the time.

If COVID-19 deaths were limited to those who have behaved stupidly and maliciously, I think we’d all be fine with that.

Unfortunately, that’s not the case.

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The meme here got me thinking: who’s voting for Trump?  Or, maybe it would be easier and more instructive to list a few groups of people who aren’t voting for Trump: the vast majority of educators, Hispanics, blacks, medical professionals, scientists, LGBTQs, young people, veterans, top-level military, urbanites, intellectuals, atheists, people whose religions call for compassion, those who eschew pathologic lying, and woman who resent sex criminals. (more…)

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A few-second clip of a kid, summarizing the majority of Americans’ opinions, and those of the vast majority of folks around the globe.

As my wife likes to say, “This is a classic.”

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It affects no one except (in the U.S.):

• 204,340 dead plus their families and friends

• Another 6.7 million people suffering from the disease, plus their families and friends

• The owners of 20% of all small businesses that are closed (more…)

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Appealing to evangelical Christians is a key part of Trump’s re-election strategy, but what sort of American isn’t deeply rattled by top-listed candidate for the U.S. Supreme Court whose life’s mission is to transform the United States into a “Kingdom of God?”

No, that’s not a misquote; Amy Coney Barrett said, “(A) legal career is but a means to an end … and that end is building the Kingdom of God.”

I read an article in Christianity Today, hoping it would say something like: (more…)

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Yesterday, police uncovered another ghastly hate crime, this one in Iowa, outside of a community well known for white supremacist activity. A black grandfather’s body was founding burning, lying in a ditch.

It’s not news to Americans that the incidence of race-based crimes and hate-group activity is skyrocketing.  And, as shown below, it’s really not news to anyone anywhere that the image of the U.S. on the world stage has taken a terrible hit.  (more…)

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If you object to vulgar language, you’re going to want to skip this one. If, on the other hand, you’re not offended, I hope you’ll check out this wonderful video that describes Australia’s approach to climate change mitigation.

In the United States, the facts and figures aren’t identical, but Americans will note the striking (and disgusting) similarity between the Aussies and us.

 

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I’ve heard this argument, and I’m sure there is some truth to it.  After all, more than 90% of the news we receive comes from one of only six different corporate entities, and making money with news means sensationalized journalism.

But look at it this way:  70,000 children, many under four years old, either are or are not in cages.  The Russians either have or have not put bounties on the heads of U.S. troops.  Climate change either is or is not destroying the quality of our planet.  The U.S. president either did or did not lie about what we knew about the pandemic.

Now, as it turns out all of these four things are true; there is no credible evidence that suggests that any of these is false.

OK, how upset should we be?  What actions should we take to remedy these situations?  That part may be controversial, but the facts themselves are not in doubt.

We can get rid of the news, but that doesn’t get rid of the problem.  Or, as Aldous Huxley said…..

 

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