"I'm tired of egotists. They're more interested in themselves than in me." (My favorite joke lately.) I've been keeping a file of quotes and jokes…
BBC Says in June 2022
That’s me, jumping off the rope into Squaw Lake, similarly risky as posting online. The following is a log of what I put online in various forums during June. Because so few people read these, I’m not taking the time to arrange and edit them for our purpose here. If you have responses or additions, you can add them at the bottom.
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For those looking for my previous posting, Ira Flies, I’ve removed it and placed it in my archive. My son Ira is safely home again. Thanks for your concern.
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To Next Door Neighbor on guns:
6-3-22 Brad Carrier
We’ll only be safe and have peace when everyone has multiple guns ready to fire at any bad guys we fear. Because there might be lots of them, we each need machine guns with 100-round clips. To protect ourselves from our government we should also have cannons and tanks. What about people behind us that might attack? We should all have hats with guns pointed in all directions so we can shoot those who might sneak up from behind. Only more guns will keep us safe and peaceful. Only the GOP can save America!
To Cleantechnica comment mocking a flowered canyon as being ruined by solar:
Your objection is a red herring. That site is unsuitable for many reasons. However, there are lots of flat desert lands that could be beneficially shaded by solar panels. It’s cheaper to install many acres there than on rooftops and parking lots, though it isn’t either/or. Lots of benefits of having the electricity produced on buildings near where it is used, and adding solar to parking lots doubles as shade, keeping the cars cooler. Solar works in lots of sunny places that otherwise go unused and wasted. Once manufactured and installed, years of free, clean, quiet energy from parking lots, building tops, and vast deserts.
Thinkmorebelieveless responded:
Who says that you need flat land? Solar PV on South (or Southeast, Southwest) facing slopes works as well as tilted panels on flat land. The building contractors want the flat land, that is how they build everything….level and clear the land and then start in.
.
As for deserts, they are ecosystems too. Ask an environmentalist, they will tell you that there may be some protected horned toad, or spider, or plant, or something else that should not be disturbed. Humans see deserts as wasteland, the inhabitants don’t. Wetlands are where we should be siting solar PV. High mount solar PV can coexist well in a wetland, and as solar PV electricity displaces the GHG emitting FF electricity, solar PV can help mitigate the megatons of GHG methane emissions from wetlands.
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The article was about using public land for power plants. not private buildings and carports. Unless the BLM has many acres of roofs and parking lots, their contribution by using their “built” environment will be minimal.
And I responded to that person:
There is a lot of flat land and south-facing gentle slopes suitable for solar. Some wetlands and irrigation channels could benefit from floating solar. Both deserts and wetlands can benefit from the shade, in some cases providing unique growing environments beneath them. As to disturbing the ecosystem of deserts, sure, be careful. But impacts are minimal compared to the benefits provided, and some are so vast, even a huge solar farm is meager compared to the rest of the desert or wetland. These are good uses of public lands given adequate, affordable PV panels and access to transmission lines. In addition to public lands, private rooftops and parking lots make sensible sites for solar. Finding little things to quibble about doesn’t negate the overall beneficial application.
SJC replied:
Put panels over the California aqueduct to reduce evaporation
I replied:
Yes. Keeps water slightly cooler too.
I believe India covered their irrigation channels with solar in the hot Gujrat region.
There are lots of places where solar panels can serve dual functions, such as energy-gathering panels that shade parking lots, adding cooling while collecting energy fuel for the cars.
6-7-22 to Cleantechnica Steve Hanley on 2-year pause in tariffs for Chinese solar panels:
President Biden imposed the Defense Production Act to speed up the domestic supply of heat pumps, thus leading to a drastic reduction in ff use in favor of more efficient electricity.
Perhaps he should do the same for solar cell and rooftop material production, only instead of shunting vast profits to overpaid CEOs and shareholders, activate something like the CCC or the WPA to pay people decent but not opulent wages and salaries to do it. With automation, couldn’t we be producing PV panels and roofing more affordable and ubiquitous than importing them from China, Vietnam, etc.?
Well, the big expense in America is the process of getting local permits. Australia’s labor costs are the same as America’s, but installation is far cheaper there because of an improved permitting process.
And no, “with automation” is not necessarily cheaper. The Chinese now make cheap robots too. And then you need to pay an army of software techs to take care of them.
My reply to super390:
Fair enough. But as with all the other losses of our expertise and tooling to Mexico and Asian countries, we could stimulate our own economy and meet our needs more regionally, or so it would seem. The more the supply is affordably satisfied worldwide the more the demand can grow.
6-8-22 to KOS on photos of pulverized children:
Of all the silly images that go viral, why not photos of children with their heads shot off? Why protect us from the revulsion we should have? Why protect the feelings of the apologists who hype the overblown fear that they’re “eliminating the Second Amendment”?
Rather, publish the horrid photos in many venues along with the words, “well regulated?” We should be using the 2nd Amendment against the NRA and their ilk, demanding that guns be well regulated.
This is well regulated?
Bartskid1 replied:
Newspapers once did this in accidents. A friend of mine’s Mom was killed that way, in a car accident. She showed me an old news clipping, it’s horrible. She saved that last moment her whole life.
Bush 2 forbid us even seeing the caskets coming back from the Iraq wars, and the public has become TOO DESENSITIZED to the true horror of war, but I think the way to fix that is to do what one brave Mom did years ago, when white men beat her innocent son to death.
She said she, “Wanted everyone to see what they did to him.” It may take that to make the public see again. What we refuse to see is killing us and our kids live in fear, because “legislators may be bothered by us” when we boot them out of office..
6-9-22 to NatholieJacoby tweet asking if respondents 100% agree Trump is guilty:
Yes, of course, if we believe the rich and powerful are not above the law and are subject to it.
I had to scroll way down to find even one “No.” All these emphatic yeses renew my confidence in my fellow Americans. Thank you, Nathalie and fellow responders!
Same day to Cleantechnica on Texas not rebating Teslas:
I’m tired of Texas.
Reply from BigWu
Sadly, there isn’t yet a song about that like the Clash’s “I’m So Bored with the U.S.A.”
My reply to Big:
I’m tired of Texas. I’m tired of trauma. I’m tired of mucho macho postures that just don’t matter. Now, Molly Ivans, she was OK. Jim Hightower, all the way. Austin’s got the groovy beats. Abbot? He’s earned defeat. Beto? He could turn it Blue. Love to see that land renewed. Decent folk freed from their plight of fascist fools who just ain’t right.
Same day, reply tweet to Dan Rather on tonight’s Jan 6 presentation:
My faith, hope, and trust in our Congress and media are somewhat restored.
Confirmed facts and undeniable images were clearly presented to all citizens and congresspeople responsible enough to listen.
This is a historic pivot point in America’s story. From dread to hope.
Bill Bucolo tweet on Uvalde schools to hire more police:
As long as profoundly stupid people are in charge, they will use their power and our tax money to do profoundly stupid things.
My reply tweet:
Armed, defensive, reactionary, authoritarian stupidity, imposing it on children so they can learn.
Same day, in reply to an Adam Shift report of lies against him:
Publish the worst attacks. Show the world the level of “thinking” such types do. Use their attacks to throw them down.
6-13-22 to Democracy Now! regarding the missing report:
I looked in vain for the 2nd 6th Hearing episodes on my usual PBS station in Ashland, Oregon. It wasn’t there. Nor was it on any of the few broadcast channels I get. All we got was the usual schlock.
Did you not broadcast that for some reason, or did my local station fail to show it? I want to hear from you before I complain to them, so please let me know.
Same day to Facebook Thom Hartman on Fascist American Government
It’s a kind of person with a riled, fearful, hateful brain. Rome, Gengis Khan, the Inquisition, Nazis – they all get self-righteous about imposing their arrogant will on those distracted or passive enough to allow it. See Hannah Arendt for an explanation. Real patriots, like you, expose and prevent it.
6-14-22 to Rick Williams reply to a Kinzinger tweet, accusing him of being RHINO
Rick, if you’re going to try to insult Adam, you should know the difference between RINO and RHINO. A RINO is Republican in Name Only, as the entire Republican party lately. A RHINO is an innocent animal that creeps like Don Trump, Jr. tries to kill.
Same day reply to Gina McCarthy’s tweet on furnace standards:
Good that our government helps us easily understand which appliances use less energy.
I heard President Biden included heat pumps and solar panels in the Defense Production Act. Yes!
Investment in free, clean, renewable energy gathering and use helps rescue us from ff doom
Same day, to KOS Brian Parker comment on Thomas Paine and conservatives
True original patriot Thomas Paine took on Edmund Burke, point by point, in terms of entrenched hereditary government elites and the Bible. His “Age of Reason” is brilliantly detailed, but it offended Christians, leaving America’s martyr to die lonely and broke. Conservatives use religion and the Bible on us as they rule us. (Remember Trump’s holding the Bible and his being elected by evangelical Christians?) Paine was a liberal, a word smeared by conservatives and twisted, as in “neoliberal,” to be its opposite. We need a renewal of our liberal values and spirits.
MooeyG11 replied:
To Byrd on KOS
In the excerpt of a Kennedy speech puts forth brilliantly:
“What do our opponents mean when they apply to us the label, ‘Liberal’? If by ‘Liberal’ they mean, as they want people to believe, someone who is soft in his policies abroad, who is against local government, and who is unconcerned with the taxpayer’s dollar, then the record of this party and its members demonstrate that we are not that kind of ‘Liberal.’ But, if by a ‘Liberal,’ they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people – their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights, and their civil liberties – someone who believes that we can break through the stalemate and suspicions that grip us in our policies abroad, if that is what they mean by a ‘Liberal,’ then I’m proud to say that I’m a ‘Liberal.’ “
Here is a link for the entire speech: www.presidency.ucsb.edu/…
And I replied to him or her:
Thanks for that pertinent quote, Mooey. I merely use the dictionary definition. I have two tee shirts with that printed on them, you know, abundant, open-minded, libertine, etc.
Byrd to on KOS
Would that renewal of liberal be progressive?
My reply:
I prefer liberal, which includes progressive. Openminded, generous or abundant, not constrained by literalism, favors personal and economic freedoms, libertine, and able to try new solutions.
I notice slams on the word from the left (conflating corporate capitalistic rapaciousness as “neoliberal”) and the right (resenting increased inclusiveness and relaxed morals, insulting them as “libtards”).
Thomas Paine, though idolized by libertarians, very much cared for the poor. His was the liberal progressive stance opposed to Burke’s aristocratic rationalizations protecting kings and the entrenched wealthy elite.
Same day, respond to Ken Rutkowski tweet of house floating away at Yellowstone:
Another result of global warming. Forecasts of rain bombs, droughts, firestorms, rising sea, dying corals, all these coming true, only faster than predicted.
6-16-22 to Terri (OH) at Country1st Slack Thread:
Hey, Terry. My dad and uncle were Republicans, but of a different sort. I doubt they would have condoned how the “party of Lincoln” has become utterly RINO. I’m so alarmed and disgusted with what they’ve become, it’s good to remember there are decent Republicans who adhere to the basic principles, whatever they were. Reviewing European history reminds us of how crazy and mean some of our people can get when hyped up on murderous self-righteousness. Witness Roman colonialism (prior to all the other countries, some aided by Christianity, doing that), the Inquisition, the killing of so-called witches (Martha Carrier, wife of Thomas, hung for supposedly being a witch may be a distant relative of mine), the fascists and communists of WWII, and the KKK and lynching here, etc. The mean-eyed, armed attempts at intimidation, from the Capitol to the States to our local communities is an extremely dangerous trend, capable of reigniting civil war, only not so much by region as dispersed, citizens compelled to be afraid of each other for good reason. I have some faith in our country voting wisely despite the tons of secret money trying to trick them otherwise, and I am heartened by the truth-speakers like Jon Stewart, Steven Colbert, etc., and the spirit and plans of Country1st.
Same day to Cleantechnica Steve Hanley article on the 1977 memo and Jimmy Carter:
I liked Jimmy Carter then, and I still do. (Sweaters in the winter make sense, but dimming the Christmas lights was a meager point that darkened his legacy.) He was decent, honest, humble, and practical.
And he was hounded and tricked out of office by the Reagan crowd, delaying the release of the hostages while they shuttled drugs for the money to fund the contra mercenaries, the most egregious violation of our laws to torment those in Central America. The eventual release of the hostages was obviously-staged theatrics, an early version of faked news.
The pulling down the solar panels shows Reagan and his ilk knew such technologies would lead to less fossil fuel use.
Later, the Enron-transported bullies in south Florida and the deleting of thousand of names of blacks in corrupt Florida (as reported then by Greg Palast) led to our obsession with chads while the presidency went to Bush, not Gore (who has since gone on to champion our responsible path to forestall global warming (since renamed the ambiguous “climate change”) with free, clean, renewable energy). The Supreme Court helped make that coup, leading to decades of denial and delay in generating clean tech.
We’ve been duped and the whole world will suffer for it for generations to come. I’m for investigating whether criminal liability charges should be levied against those fossil fuel companies who at least financed FUD, if not also involved themselves in political trickery to keep such fuels and profits flowing no matter what it did, does, and will do to humanity and earth life.
How huge would such liability be? They’ve made lots of money. Shouldn’t some of it be put to our world’s repair and rescue? People gripe about high gas prices, ignoring the triple profits the fossil fuel companies are making.
A dollar a gallon tax would have funded lots of windmills and solar panels, etc., but more than that is instead going into their already top-of-the-world profits and our president is cozying up to the murderers in Saudi Arabia begging for more oil.
Sorry for the rant, and maybe I’m off on some points, but it still seems to me we’ve been duped for decades towards results that will linger for generations.
Same day to Next Door Neighbor about using dangerous fireworks on July 4th.
I have a suggestion. Instead of celebrating our country on aphelion day, July 4th, when the earth is farthest from the sun, instead celebrate exactly a half year later, on January 4th, perihelion day, when we’re closest to the sun. That time of year we could use the big fireworks we like without so much danger of fire. It could be the sort of town event that brightens the winter, even drawing tourists to town.
Then, replying to my own message:
And instead of cramming them all on one night, which diminishes our appreciation of each one, prep for the big night by shooting one off on New Year’s Eve at midnight, two on the 2nd just after dark, four on the 3rd, and sixteen or more on the 4th, also after dark but not late. Spread them out, perhaps assigning each to some worthy cause (and even paid for by that cause). Build up to a big show that brightens the winter and even becomes an occasion to draw tourists to town. Fireworks are fun when it isn’t so dangerous to enjoy them. Instead of Independence Day, perhaps it could be termed Interdependence Day.
Same day to Ralph Nader email saying to force the threatened filibuster so we can see how it’s going, and which party does what:
Ralph, (assuming this ever gets to him),
Good idea. But instead of a camera on only the speaker, show the house that he or she is supposedly speaking to. Show both sides of the room. Don’t hide their reactions and avoidance from us. How many such filibusters even have listeners? And instead of repetitive empty slogans to empty rooms, have enough debate to make such stalling telling and useful. Our process is a sham because most are in their offices raising funds. Make the sides talk WITH each other in front of the American voters.
6-18-22 to Cleantechnica Steve Hanley article on impending Sony/Honda alliance:
“You meet the nicest people on a Honda.” So started the moped/motorcycle uptick. It’d be nice to see the Sony/Honda alliance also tend to rideables, not just cars.
We just need to get persons and a few things from here to there. The less size and weight, the more space and efficiency.
If and as it can be done with comfort and safety, the more spacious and personable our formerly clogged cities. Such rideables will suit rural situations too.
Same day to Cleantech article on huge methane explosion in Texas, a short, barely descriptive article:
Plus, no photos of the huge explosion or mention of Texas. We can’t have images of exploding natural gas facilities or of children shot in their school. We don’t show the results of the dangers we endure. That would slow the sales of fossil fuels and guns.
Same day to Cleantechnica article on GM Ventures idea for a floating array of many smaller windmills:
Goofy looking, but I like their thinking beyond the current windmills. Kudos to GM Ventures.
The many rotors seems expensive and less efficient that a few big ones, but then again, I notice lots of drones and flying cars that also use multiple smaller rotors.
How about kites that fly high, tethered by their transmission lines, perhaps float-assisted by dirigibles?
We’ve only begun to find ways to gather our energy needs from free, clean renewable sources.
6-20-22 to Matthias YouTube on sucking air into a house with a fan as better than blowing it out:
Thank you! I win the argument I’ve been having with my sons! Exhausting the air sucks new air in via other windows and cracks faster than blowing it in. I use this method at night during the hot Oregon summers. By morning the house is cooled with night air, so I shut up the windows and ride out the heat during the day, perhaps using a fan and mister inside the house. Like Edward Qualls says below, my dad put in an attic fan as described (even with the lump in the belt) which cooled our house just fine. Finally, I saw a contest on who could blow up a long, thin plastic bag the fastest. Some tried to huff and puff straight into the bag quickly. The winner just blew into the bag from about half a foot from the opening, sucking air in along with his fast-moving breath. Matthias’ simple cloth on a stick showed how air enters a fan. I like how Matthias isn’t fancy but is factual. . . . . Such simple solutions would work in air-conditioned houses too. The night gives us free cooling. We don’t have to run compressors when a simple fan works.
6-24-22 to KOS article by Thom Hartman on our society getting meaner:
Fascist Christians are confused. They were supposed to emulate Jesus, not those passing judgment and driving the spikes.
Jesus and friends had the sort of self-righteous cruel power inflicted on them as later was deployed in the Christian Inquisition. Jesus advised kindness, not cruelty. Things get twisted.
Then,
Thom Hartman is a clear thinker. Let’s set him up to debate Tucker Carlson on TV in prime time.
Similarly, let’s put Alex Smith up against Alex Jones on Global Warming.
And then again,
The Dems should be publishing the vile vitriol and overt threats laid on our fellow representatives, governmental workers, and citizens. Show our society how ugly, cruel, and dangerous such people are.
Many people are barely politically aware. If they knew of this mounting danger, they’d find it reprehensible and un-American. Like an Aikido move, throw them down with their own aggressiveness.
Same day reply to Kinzinger tweet:
You, Liz, the Committee, and the media are restoring my faith and hope in government and media.
Boundless cynicism about government serves the paranoid mind and wears us out. It is suicide for a self-governing society.
You dared to object. You’re pivotal in rescuing us.
To KOS on Kinzinger:
In this thread:
That is the plain truth. They don’t deserve our vote until they start putting America first and stop profiteering off the backs of the people.
guidecca2
A glimmer of hope for Republicans is Adam Kinzinger’s “Country First” campaign to do in the Trumpistas and support those who voted to impeach him, especially at the primary level.
Byrd on KOS
There should be no hope for republicans, most of them should not have been elected in the first place!
elflord1
I share your disdain for Republicans in general. Since FDR they’ve done nothing positive for our country. They’ve sowed division with unrelenting ridicule and stubborn obstruction informed by willful ignorance. But I have to credit Liz and Adam for daring to buck their vitriol on principle. If there are laudable aspects to Republicans, perhaps these two (and those who may yet join them) can be pivotal in reforming that party away from renewing the civil war.
As fine a candidate as Adam Kinziger sounds, he’s still a Republican, and had no problem voting Republican during the Trump
Presidency. Leopards rarely change their spots, and this one is no different.
I share your apprehension about Adam and Liz as Republicans. He failed to vote for voting rights. However, he and she endure murderous vitriol for their principled stands. His “Country First” organization is attracting numerous Republicans and Democrats ready to take on the Trumpistas. I cautiously joined, and so far, I’m impressed.
6-28-22 to KOS thread on the Supreme Court blessing football prayer:
But historically, Thomas Jefferson was denounced as an atheist when he was really more of a deist. It isn’t God or Jesus that is mentioned in the declaration, it’s the Creator — very naturalistic.
Nor did Thomas Paine much like the Bible or Christianity. His last book, The Age of Reason, argued against Burke, the Bible, and Christianity. He incurred the wrath of those liking sanctimonious foolishness and died alone and broke. He’s the spiritual founder of our country, even if the judges of the Supreme(ly conservative Catholic) Court choose to ignore him while imposing what he was against.
Same day to other KOS thread on the surprise hearing:
What’s all the hubbub? Trump himself reassured us all that the violent, armed mob wasn’t out for him. He helped take down the metal detectors that would have revealed their numerous, deadly weapons. But at least, they weren’t for him. Now, what about worldwide inflation and the high price of gas? Pay no attention to these hearings. Ignorance allows knowledge and certitude! (s)
6-30-22 to Cleantechnica on Biden’s urging more charging stations, reply to Actuallythoughtfull about guessing we’d need as many charging stations as there are now gas stations:
Given how ubiquitous the “grocery store” of convenient snacks and a bathroom are around existing gas stations, you’d think they’d be eager to put in a charging station for the revenue it’d generate in their store.
Same day to KOS Jamal comment noting our 11 Circuit Courts are monitored by only 9 Supreme Court justices:
I like it. 11 Supreme Court Justices to match and monitor our 11 Circuit Courts.
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