Random Notes from a Crank

The other day I watched a commercial that touted "pre-tariff pricing." I suspect we might see more of that kind of advertising in the future. 

Here are some statistics from the July and August Harper's Indexes:

• Percentage of Americans who fear that they or a loved one will be deported: 19
• Portion of Americans who say they have recently delayed a major purchase because of tariffs: 1/3
• Who say they have cancelled such a purchase entirely: 1/4
• Percentage of Americans who said last year that foreign trade represented an opportunity to grow the U.S. economy: 60
• Who say so now: 81
• Average number of instruction hours that it takes to become a lawyer in the United States: 1,250
• To become a licensed hairdresser: 1,500
• Number of excess deaths projected to occur by 2040 if cuts to foreign aid remain in place: 25,300,000
• Portion of people worldwide who say they would contribute 1 percent of their income toward combating climate change: 7/10
• Of Americans who say they would do so: 1/2
• Percentage of Americans who said that the Bible was "true" in 2016: 36
• Who say so now: 48
• Portion of Americans who regard religious leaders as trustworthy sources of medical information: 1/3

I'm surprised the fear of someone being deported is that low. I thought it would be higher. However, maybe the stat reflects the percentage of the Latino population in the U.S. 

Fucking tariffs. 

81% saying that foreign trade is a good thing is reinforced by President Adolf's stupid policies. 

The number of projected deaths because of lack of foreign aid is mind boggling. 

Too few Americans care about climate change. It's embarrassing. 

Regarding the Bible being "true" and trusting religious leaders, way too many people believe in magical thinking. Imbeciles.

Two of the biggest scams in the U.S. is how much ministers get paid and that churches don't get taxed. 

The nonsense Moscow Don is doing with Washington D.C. only strengthens my feelings that both D.C. and Puerto Rico need to become states. 

Puerto Rico has a larger population than these states: Arkansas, Kansas, Mississippi, New Mexico, Nebraska, Idaho, West Virginia, Hawaii, New Hampshire, Maine, Montana, Rhode Island, Delaware, South Dakota, North Dakota, Alaska, Vermont, and Wyoming. That's 18 states. 

D.C. has a larger population than two states: Vermont and Wyoming.  

Random Notes from a Crank

 

I saw this image from the Radical Centrist on FB. I thought I'd share. 

If you were to make a Venn diagram of these assertions, that Venn diagram don't hunt. 

I don't understand why Tottenham Hotspur appears not to be showing any interest in the Canadian striker Jonathan David. 

He's a free agent. He's two-footed. He's productive. He's in his mid-20s. And there's no transfer free. I think he's a fabulous player. 

In a recent YouGov daily survey, 50% of people polled said "Yes" to this question:"Would you ever vote for a third party or an independent candidate?" I said Yes to that question. I'd vote for one for sure if the candidate was viable. 

The third question was "Do you think a third major political party is necessary for the United States, or are the Democratic and Republican parties enough?" 55% answered "A third party is necessary in the U.S." Only 20% agreed with "The Democratic and Republican parties are enough to represent Americans." 25% were "Not sure." 

Mother Jones has a solid short article that describes the importance of preserving and probably expanding wetlands: "The Economic Case for Preserving America's Wetlands." 

As the author relates, wetlands work like sponges, so they can prevent the massive flooding events that are only going to be more frequent because of climate change. Unfortunately, under the the administration of President Adolf, I doubt many projects like the one in Raleigh are going to get going.  

A frightening article in that same issue of Mother Jones is one about Clearview AI, a facial-recognition tech company whose founders have ties to right-wing extremists, Holocaust deniers, and Neo-Nazis. 

Check out "The Shocking Far-Right Agenda behind the Facial Recognition Tech Used by ICE and the FBI."

Here are some interesting statistics from the June "Harper's Index":

• Percentage by which tourism to the United States is projected to decrease this year: 9
• Percentage increase this year in seizures of eggs being smuggled into the United States: 48
• Percentage increase last year in the number of U.S. households that owned chickens: 28
• Factor by which the word "notable" appears more frequently in AI-generated sentences than in those written by humans: 13
• By which the word "esteemed" does: 120

I'm surprised the decrease in tourism is only projected to be 9%. I thought it would be in the high teens.

I'll be on the lookout for "notable" and "esteemed." 

Stay Positive: Red Wolves Surviving

The Washington Post has an article about the ups and downs of reintegration of endangered red wolves into a certain part of North Carolina. 

I thought the red wolf was native to the Southwest, but apparently they are a native species to the Southeast. Apparently, I'm quite mistaken. 

The article, "Inside the 'Roller Coaster' Effort to Save Endangered Red Wolves," describes the waxing and waning of the wolves' population. The two biggest threats now are climate change and cars. 

Random Notes from a Crank

There's an extensive article in The New York Times about carbon-capture technologies that are being backed my large conglomerates. It's titled, "Can We Engineer Our Way Out of the Climate Crisis?"

The short answer is No. But you can mash the link and read for the various opinions on these ventures. 

Here's a noteworthy statement about these moves: 

“This is a new wave of denial, deception and delay,” said Lili Fuhr, director of the fossil economy program at the Center for International Environmental Law. “You have the fossil fuel industry trying to say we can engineer our way out of this without any major changes to business as usual.”

I discovered that Hulu now has the MLB Network. I'm watching baseball like a drunk on a bender since I haven't had the network since we switched from DirectTV many years ago. 

Of course, I still can't get Marquee Network to watch the Cubs because of Ricketts working with the evil Sinclair Broadcast Group to create the Marquee Network. If I ever switch allegiances to a National League ball club, it'll probably be the Brewers. They were one of my favorite AL ball clubs back when they were in the American League.

Or I guess I could just more closely follow AL teams I like: the Royals and the Twins.

It's hard to switch from the Cubs for me though because I've been so emotionally and intellectually attached to them for so long.

Being a Cubs fan brings with a certain mindset, what one might consider a positive fatalism. You have hope, but you're realistic. The mindset fits with me being a highly skeptical agnostic.

Based on this article in The Washington Post, "Cancun, Cabo, or Puerto Vallarta: Which Mexico Resort Is Best for You," if we go to Mexico again, I'm thinking Vallarta is place to be.

Random Notes from a Crank

If you're someone like me who gives a damn about our planet, read Ben Ehrenreich's "We're Hurtling Toward Global Suicide" in The New Republic. It a solid, sober article about the climate crisis and how one underlying assumption is highly problematic.

Most climate models and climate change purveyors still assume unlimited growth in relation to finite resources works. It doesn't. 

I've been watching the European Championship 2021 so far this summer, and it's been fun. Ronaldo's Portugal won the last one.

Here are the teams I'm rooting for. I like England's squad because they have mainly Premier League players, but I also Denmark since I'm part Dane and Wales because I like Gareth Bale and Joe Rodon because of their affiliation with Tottenham Hotspur. Denmark, unfortunately, had a massive scare with what happened to Christian Eriksen. 

If I'm a betting man, I'd put my money on France. They are the front runner in the competition. 

Random Notes from a Crank

Here are some enlightening factoids from "Harper's Index" and Harper's Findings from the January issue:

• Number of children the Trump Administration separated from their parents at the border whose parents have yet to be located: 666
• Estimated portion of those parents who have been deported without their children: 2/3
• Factor by which the word "hate" is said more often on Fox News than on MSNBC: 5.5
• Number of climate-related disasters worldwide between 1980 and 1999: 3,656
• Between 2000 and 2019: 6,681
• Percentage by which sales on Minibar, an alcohol e-commerce site, exceeded the average on the day Biden was declared president: 76
• By which sales of champagne exceeded the average: 386
• "Five of the six early Homo species were driven to extinction by climate change." 
• "Hot days worsen test scores for black and Hispanic children."

I featured this article in the previous post about albums of the year, but do yourself a favor and read "The Words To Describe 2020," which is a recount of the words that Washington Post readers used to describe the year. The top three were "exhausting," "lost," and "chaotic." But my favorite submission was this one: "Like looking both ways before crossing the street and then getting hit by a submarine." 

Random Notes from a Crank

Here are some interesting factoids from the November "Harper's Index": 

• Portion of local U.S. parks that saw an increase in visitors this spring: 2/3
• Portion of U.S. parks-and-recreation agencies that have been asked to reduce spending this fiscal year: 2/3
• Percentage by which the population of the average wildlife species has declined globally since 1970: 68
• In Latin American and the Caribbean: 94
• Rank of deforestation among the causes of wildlife decline on land: 1
• Percentage decrease in the length of the average work meeting since the onset of the pandemic: 20
• Percentage by which the unemployment rate of recently graduated U.S. physics majors exceeds that of art history majors: 60
• Average factor by which countries led by men have had more COVID-19 deaths than countries led by women: 1.9
• Factor by which mainstream newspapers cite organizations that oppose climate change more often than those that support: 2
• Portion of Americans who admit to not relying on the news sources they regard as the most trustworthy: 1/3

Since Mrs. Nasty and I don't commute that far to work, we're willing to get paid for carbon offsetting other people's long commutes. If you're interested in assuaging your liberal guilt, you can pay me via PayPal. 

I absolutely should not donate to any US Senate campaign. I gave money to Theresa Greenfield's campaign because I despise Joni Ernst. In addition, I gave money to Jaime Harrison because I despise Lindsey Graham even more. And I'd love to see Democratic US Senator from the Deep South. Both challengers lost, unfortunately. 

As the pandemic rages, Moscow Don does nothing but spite: "As Trump Stews over Election, He Mostly Ignores the Public Duties of the Presidency." 

Stay Positive: Solutions for Climate Change

In an old issue of Mother Jones, Kevin Drum has an excellent, clear-eyed article about what we need to do to seriously address climate change. The article is "We Need a Massive Climate Effort--Now." 

As he states early on, "The real issue is this: Only large-scale government action can significantly reduce carbon emissions." 

The other main point he has in the article is that we have to invest in major Research & Development, which often has happy inventions and discoveries like M&Ms during WWII.

The latter section provides information about these solutions:

• Renewable Energy
• Nuclear Power
• Energy Storage
• Land Use
• Carbon Capture
• Concrete
• Adaptation
• Biofuels
• Less Meat, Mostly Plants
• Fusion Energy
• Geoengineering

Read the article. 

Random Notes from a Crank

The Washington Post has a fine article about the efforts of Denmark to be a carbon-neutral country: "What It Takes To Be Carbon Neutral - For a Family, a City, a Country." The U.S. could so this if we had smart leadership. 

Speaking of some of our so-called leaders, a word I need to use more often is "dullard." 

A while back, I did a workshop for someone who used the word "amazing" way too often. Everything, to her, seemed to be "amazing." When everything appears to be amazing, then nothing is amazing. 

There's also a sensible editorial in The Washington Post by the newly elected governors of Kentucky and Louisiana: "How Democrats Can Win, Everywhere." 

Random Notes from a Crank

I am in support of the global movement of the "Fridays for Future" movement. As detailed in this Washington Post article, "School Climate Strikes Draw Thousands to the Streets in Cities Around the Globe," the movement entails this: "students forgo classes each week in favor of something they have said is more important: pleading for action on an issue that will affect every person on the planet, but young people most of all." I find it heartening that people are protesting when many of them can't even vote yet. 

Meanwhile a majority of the GOP and Moscow Don either don't want to do anything about climate change or stupidly describe it as a "hoax." 

Clowns. 

Stupid, stupid clowns. 

Their nonsense reminds me of a great quotation from a fine book by Catherine Nixey: The Darkening Age: The Christian Destruction of the Classical World:

• "One can achieve a great deal by the blunt weapons of indifference and sheer stupidity." 

Here in Illinois, the state legislature has passed a law that is going to the new Governor that is making the legal age of buying tobacco products at age 21. I don't know about this bill. If there is any legal age that needs to be changed, the legal age to buy alcohol should move back down to 18. I do see teenagers vaping as a major issue, however. 

Random Notes from a Crank

The recent effects of the polar vortex has me thinking about a saying I've heard said before when it's cold as heck: "It's colder than a witch's tit." 

I don't get that. Why would one assume that a witch's tit is cold? She could be horrible, but that doesn't necessarily mean her tits are cold. To that end, does that mean warlocks' tits or dicks are cold? 

Ah, sexist language patterns, you reveal yourselves in so many varied ways.

"The Phrase Finder" website has a bit of research about the saying. 

I've always wondered what exactly makes up these chicken nuggets. Rubber is apparently an option if you're going by the article by The Washington Post: "Tyson Nuggets Recall: 36,000 Pounds May Have Been Contaminated with Rubber."

That's why they might always taste so .... wait, wait, wait, wait for it ............  rubbery. 

Moscow Don has the scientific knowledge and acumen of a seven-year-old to which scientists reponded with a comic to make it simple and understandable: "NOAA Scientists Debunk Trump's 'Global Warming' Tweets with a Cartoon." 

Random Notes from a Crank

A few weeks ago we got a new dog, one of the breeds that I always wanted. He's an eight-year-old Brittany named Sampson. And the name is apropos because he's the tallest Brittany I've ever seen. Breed standard is 25-40 pounds, and he weighs in at 60some pounds. And he's not fat. 

He's just tall, really tall for that breed, so that maybe why his name is Sampson (after Ralph Sampson?). 

Our other dog, a twelve-year-old beagle-lab mutt hated him for weeks, but now I think she's gotten used to him. Knock on wood. She's a grouchy, territorial, old broad. 

The excellent deal about the new dog is that I'm walking him almost every day, so both of use are getting exercise. I think I might have lost some weight already or at least something off my waistline. 

If you ever want to get frustrated, try coaching certain fifth graders to play football. As parents know, there is a difference between hearing and listening. 

Listening and following directions will get you places no matter what your age. 

In good news, Spokane, WA had made news by committing to going 100% renewable energy. In what I hope are prophetic words, the state Chair of the Sierra Club said, “Cities across the country are demanding clean energy not just because it’s the right thing to do for the environment and public health, but because it’s cheaper in the long run than fossil fuels. Spokane’s leadership on this measure will help kickstart clean energy development in the Pacific Northwest and speed the transition to a cleaner, cheaper future.”

In bad news, Grist reports about Moscow Don's propping up of a dying and polluting industry is just going to hurt communities: "When Trump Tries to Bring Back Coal, These Communities Pay the Price." 

And as is related, "The EPA's Coal Plan is a Ripoff for Americans, According to the EPA." So the US is now looking forward to "more hospital visits, more sick days away from work and school, and the early deaths of up to 1,400 people each year, by 2030."

The change is going to cost a shitload of money for Americans: "EPA’s press officers aren’t exactly highlighting the findings that the proposal would leave Americans worse off. In a fact sheet, for example, the EPA trumpets its finding that ACE could save power-plants up to $6.4 billion in compliance costs. But wade into the details to look up that scenario (check out table 18 on page 165), and you see that the EPA weighs that $6.4 billion against health costs that run between $16.6 billion and $75 billion."

Random Notes from a Crank

There are a number of reasons why I would not want to live in the Southwest, but the brutal heat is one of them. Check out the AP article "'Urban Island' heat tests Phoenix, Other Large Cities." As the article states, "Phoenix is warming at three times the rate of the planet as a whole." 

In somewhat more positive news, the citizens of Puerto Rico are turning to solar and wind power because of their storm-ravaged and inconsistent power grid: "Tesla, Others Help Puerto Ricans Go Solar Amid Power Turmoil."

Having seen the movie, I was interested to read the book Choke by Chuck Palahniuk. I really enjoyed the novel, and I have to say the screenplay adaption was pretty true to the original. There are some significant differences in plot of course, but there hasn't been a novel I've enjoyed as much as Choke as far back as I don't know when. 

I'll be reading more of Palahniuk's work. 

Now I'm on to rereading Gaiman's American Gods. I just got done teaching a one-week course in world mythology, and I want to see the old Gods in action. 

 I wonder if there are any graphic novels based on Native American coyote myths? I know the graphic novel I bought based on Beowulf is pretty kick-ass. I wager some written about Coyote would be even better. 

The aspect of the coyote/trickster myths I enjoy he can be good, lewd, dumb, smart as hell, wonderful, vindictive, slightly evil, or magnanimous depending on the myth you read. Or a combo of some of the above. Coyote reveals the frailty and potential of human character. 

Coyote is us. 

We are Coyote.

Random Notes from a Crank

There have been a number of articles speculating about how Democrats might take back the House of Representatives. 

We'll see. 

In addition, here's an article that focuses on a key Senate race, the midterm race to replace Bob Corker. In "Trade War Changing Minds in Senate Battleground," the authors recount how Moscow Don's trade wars might be significantly influencing the midterm elections because higher costs for steel and worries about international markets being less competitive for US products like pork. 

As the article relates, "An estimated $1.4 billion in Tennessee exports are threatened by Trump's trade moves, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, a longtime Republican ally." To take a more comprehensive view, the Chamber notes "$75 billion in exports will soon be subject to retaliatory tariffs." 

The emphasis on pork exports makes me think of my home state of Iowa, a state that has more pigs than people. I wonder how all those pork and soybean producers feel now about this trade war with China?  

Make America More Tariffed Again? Not very catchy though...

Regardless, when the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is speaking out against a Republican president's trade policies, that act is an eye-opener. 

When I was a kid my parents put the old fashioned pencil sharpener in our detached garage. I always used to complain when I had to go sharpen pencils in the dead of winter in northern Iowa. During the rough winter months I'd have to put on a winter coat to sharpen pencils. 

So, of course, where do you think I placed our pencil sharpener? In the garage. 

The sins of the father...

The Washington Post article, "Scientists Link Record Heat and Power Outages in Southern California to Climate Change," informs readers about temperatures in southern California making demand for air conditioning outpace supply. This was correctly predicted by climate scientists over a decade ago. 

It's way past time to start listening to real scientists. 

Random Notes from a Crank

The other day I was at an establishment getting my car's oil changed. An older gentleman was there, and he had on a hat that said "Cold War Veteran." I respect veterans. I have all kinds of veterans in my family in fact. But if a person lived during the Cold War, aren't they too Cold War veterans in a sense? 

As a recent article relates, battling global warming will also save loads of money: "By Getting Serious about Limiting Global Warming, the World Could Save Itself More than $20 Trillion." 

I've never figured out why people get so angry about people speaking something other than English in the USA. As another recent articles informs us: "Spanish Still Polarizing in US."  With Moscow Don's idiocy about the wall and Mexicans and other immigrants, such English-only nonsense is only getting worse, unfortunately.

Stay Positive: The Eco-Right

Yesterday Grist published an article about the eco-right, a group of traditionally conservative organizers, thinkers, and political candidates who are trying to mobilize the right and the GOP about climate change. 

The article, "Seeing Red on Climate" by Zoya Teirstein, is worth anyone's time. 

Many of them support a carbon tax, which I support. 

One of the movement's leaders, if we can indeed call it a "movement," is Alex Bozmoski, who was once a denier but "when challenged to justify his skepticism, Bozmoski found he had drawn erroneous conclusions fueled by conservative radio shows and Fox News." 

Well, there are a crapload of people like that, unfortunately. 

Here's to staying positive to people who actually believe in science.

Stay Positive: Transitioning to Clean Energy

In a world in which a narcissistic, climate-change denying, corrupt, sexual harassing, pathological liar is President of the United States, it's hard to stay positive. 

But these articles from Yes! Magazine should provide a bit of solace. 

Mash "Fairness in Renewables" to read "The Transition to Renewables Is Hard -- And Easy" by Stephen Miller, "Why Not Even Trump Can Stop the Renewables Revolution," and "Why Climate Change Is a Civil Rights Issue" 

Random Notes from a Crank

Over at Informed Comment, Juan Cole tells us about how "On One Day in May, Italy got 87% of Its Electricity from Renewables." And Scotland, Spain, France, India, and China are making major steps to move toward a sustainable future as he relates. 

This is kind of old news, but it's related. France banned fracking, and Macron made a pitch to professionals who give a damn about the environment: "Green France." 

The Guardian's "The Observer" provides a spot-on analysis to the world in which the White House and the U.S can't be trusted to do much of anything: "The Observer View on Donald Trump's Unfitness for Office." I enjoyed the Shakespearian references: "Like some kind of Shakespearean villain-clown, Trump plays not to the gallery but to the pit. He is a Falstaff without the humour or the self-awareness, a cowardly, bullying Richard III without a clue."

Lee Schubert, a transgender women, writing for The Globe and the Mail gets it right in her editorial, "What Trump and His Base Get Wrong about Transgender Americans." Somewhere around 15,000 transgender troops already serve in the U.S. military. The fourth ¶ hits the mark on the "reasoning" behind his tweet about transgender troops: "So let's look behind all the poppycock at the real reason the President wants to keep transgender men and women from serving their country in the military: It is the religious conservatives who helped elect him but who have always questioned whether he is really one of them. (Of course, he isn't - but he does feel he must pander to them)." 

Random Notes from a Crank

Some people get obsessed with how their lawns look. I don't. There are already too many herbicides polluting the hell out of our waterways. This time of the year my lawn is sprouting lots of clover, which I find appealing. I like the way it looks ~ this little white sprouts dotting the lawn. Also, honeybees like clover, and honeybees need all the help they can get these days. 

MoscowDon pulled the US out of the Paris Climate Agreement. Here's the op-ed piece by the co-director of the MIT Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change. He basically calls the current president on his bullshit and lies: "Trump Used Our Research to Justify Pulling out of the Paris Agreement: He Got It Wrong." 

I'm currently watching the Comey Hearing. Some of these dipsticks are really going to run with the wording of "I hope..." Stop the bullshit. MoscowDon was asking Comey to gut the Russia investigation. That is obvious morons.

Random Notes from a Crank

CVS enjoys giving me coupons, but what's the point if I can't use them on booze and milk? 

Speaking of booze, I watched the initial episodes of Brockmire, and that character really enjoys his Sazerac Rye. 

Can't say that I blame him. 

Great show so far by the way. 

I finally got around to reading Alan Moore and David Lloyd's V for Vendetta, a dystopian graphic novel about Britain under fascist rule. Page 2 of the first issue features radio news/propaganda playing, and one panel says this: "Mr. Karel went on to say that it is the duty of every man in this country to seize the initiative and make Britain great again." 

Let that sink in. 

If I were at this dude's college, I'd take his class for sure: "Professor Caveman." 

Another interesting article from The Atlantic is "Welcome to Pleistocene Park." Scientists in Siberia are combating climate change by bringing back grasslands. The really sexy part of the whole project is that they want to genetically resurrect wooly mammoths.