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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

I admit that there is a great deal I don’t understand about the United States at this point, but here’s something that completely eludes me: Trump just commuted the seven+-year prison sentence of George Santos, convicted of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.

What did Trump want to communicate to his audience?  That he’ll do anything to align himself with pure human scum?  That law and order means nothing once you’re a dictator?

I am seriously struggling here.  Even my Fox News-loving mother would have, I’m sure, been unable to give me as much as a guess as to why Trump might have done this.

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

At left are some wonderful pieces of advice, though I would guess that at least 99% of the participants in the rally are already coming in with precisely these viewpoints.

I was amused by this comment:  Please keep President Trump safe from those who would like to overthrow him and make themself a king. We only need one of those, and that is Jesus Christ!

I would doubt that there will be a single person there whose motive is to overthrow Trump and make himself king, but I suppose one never knows.  🙂

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Wind Energy

A proponent of the wind turbine shown at left writes:

I commented this 6 year’s ago . It is so simple even if you put in small stream 1 000 000 small turbines like this one, you will have more power. It’s the same for the wind , we don’t need this big huge wind Parks we need small efficient and most important easy for fixing and easy for installation. Not forgetting we can make smaller things with eco friendly materials.

Me:

There are a few reasons that claims like this are bullshit. The main one is that the power extracted from the wind is proportional to the square of the radius of the blades.  We recall from our childhoods the formula: Area (of a circle) = pi r-squared.  This is why real (not fictional) wind turbines are so large (and getting larger all the time).

Also, as I mention frequently, today’s wind turbines capture about 90% of the theoretically available kinetic energy from moving wind; given the laws of physics, there is no room for any significant increase in efficiency/output.

Even if neither of these were true, which would you rather cover the cost of maintaining: one large turbine or a million little ones?

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

Here’s a conversation that illustrates the impasse in which this country finds itself. In response to the “We hate what Trump is doing to (America), we have:

We in the army of Christian builders disagree with you. President Trump Republican leaders are not working alone. God‘s mighty hand is guiding them, directing them to the right plan for this country. Christian values for our children to grow up in. They come together and pray with the power of the Holy Spirit For God’s direction, wisdom and discernment. There is power in agreement with them and the army of Christian believers. Prayer is powerful. Nothing is hidden from a holy God that made this great world in six days. That is a lot of God.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

At the rate we’re going, there won’t be a single law-abiding institution left in the entire federal government by the time 2028 rolls around.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

I just saw a question on social media: do you want your tax dollars going to feed someone else’s kids??

Yes.  I’d like to live in a world in which no kids go hungry, and I don’t have a problem contributing to create that world.

This may sound like a tall order, especially given the variability of wealth in the world’s countries.

But let’s stick with the U.S. for a minute.  In the US, nearly 14 million children live in food-insecure households, a statistic that has risen recently, with some reports indicating that one in five children face hunger.

This is disgraceful.

So again, yes.  Please sign me up to allocate a portion of my tax dollars to feeding hungry kids.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

I’m not too sure about this.  What about all the teachers, scientists, college students, healthcare professionals, retirees, corporate employees, government workers, librarians, park rangers, entertainment professionals, restaurant employees, and airline workers?

Yet there are millions of Americans who take the Trump administration’s statement here as gospel, without a moment’s thought or hesitation.

Of the 10 million participants in the upcoming “No Kings” rally, I wonder how many are going to be “Hamas terrorists.”  Interesting.

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

I think it’s also fair to say that the Founding Fathers never thought the U.S. electorate would have disintegrated into hundreds of millions of greedy pigs and hateful idiots, that would fully support a criminal conman.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

Condemning horrific behavior is better than writing it off as acts of “boys will be boys.”

Yet the problem lies in the fact that, condemned or not, it’s what the Republican party is dealing with in the year 2025: a seething hatred of minorities and an indifference to the suffering of other people.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

Suppose you were trying to pick a U.S. city that could possibly be riddled by violence due to drug cartels, street gangs, or some other sort of violent crime (even though none of these were reported by the major news agencies).  Perhaps the last place you would go would be Portland, or any other place in Oregon.

That’s because (per AI), Oregonians are known for:

  • Love of the outdoors: 

    Many Oregonians are passionate about outdoor activities like hiking and biking, thanks to the state’s natural beauty. 

  • DIY and foraging culture: 

    The state has a strong do-it-yourself ethic, visible in hobbies like knitting and brewing, as well as a culture of foraging for items like mushrooms and fruit. 

  • “Oregonian” identity: 

    There is a sense of identity tied to being “different” and sometimes a playful aversion to anything seen as “Californian”. 

  • Environmentalism: 

    Oregonians have a reputation for being environmentally conscious, with a history of pioneering environmental protections and progressive policies. 

  • Quirky and authentic:
    Oregon has a reputation for being “weird” and “wonderful,” with a unique sense of humor and a drive to do things differently.
    Moreover, Portland boasts well-educated, well-read, people, many of whom are affluent due to various forms of involvement in the tech industry.
    It’s vaguely possible that federal troops are going to encounter people with guns, though it’s far more likely that they’ll find wealthy, retired people dressed as frogs.
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