Tom on Climate Change

 

Climate change may be due to manmade causes such as the demonstrated effects of the Industrial Revolution of the early 19h century, or the exponential growth in human population in recent decades.

The matter of the effects of industrial activity largely speaks for itself, but the question of population growth deserves some explanation.  To that end, I turn to the 18th century economist, Thomas Malthus, who  offered a novel thesis of population growth in 1798.

His fundamental assumption was that, while the resources that mankind depended upon for basic survival and growing prosperity were increasing at a linear rate, human population was increasing at an exponential rate. As Malthus explained, there would come a point where the carrying capacity of the planet would be overwhelmed by the increase in population which would  lead to what economists call a "Malthusian Crisis".  When that happens, large numbers of people will die from such causes as hunger and thirst. Dreaded diseases will ravage the populace in the souks of Baghdad and Cairo; in the slums of Mumbai and Lagos. Frightened national leaders will fight wars over the control of increasingly scarce resources, and the die-off could be beyond our ability to comprehend, especially if nuclear weapons come into play.

Malthus's dire predictions never came to pass, in part because he failed to take into account the degree to which advances in science and technology increased the carrying capacity of the planet. Mankind learned to understand the disease process and developed the insights and tools needed to successfully overcome the problem of unnaturally early death. We transformed agriculture so that a relatively small number of farmers could easily feed the world, and those displaced from the farms could find more appropriate employment that treated them as men rather than animated agricultural implements.

The 19th century saw the development of mechanised agricultural implements that vastly reduced the number of people needed to work farms, and the 20th century brought us rapid growth in more effective agronomy, culminating in the so-called "Green Revolution of the 1960s that transformed India and Pakistan from regular importers of food to self sufficiency.

The downside of that achievement is that the transformation to high-yielding agriculture requires the extensive use of fertilizers ,and expensive hybrid seeds which has led to the marginalisation of traditional family farms in favor of the industrial behemoths that increasingly provide the bulk of our food at least in the developed world 

But now that climate change is wreaking havoc over the land, it may be time to revisit the dark predictions of Rev Malthus, if only as a reminder of what awaits us if we don't begin addressing the coming apocalypse. It's useful to remember what the 4 Horsemen of the Apocalypse represented: War, Famine, Pestilence, and Death. That will be mankind's fate if we don't begin taking immediate steps to deal with the problems facing us. We'll be living in a Malthusian dystopia for however long it takes to rebalance the planet's carrying capacity. 

Monday Morning Smile

 

Tom on the Bidens

 Both Joe and Hunter Biden were in the news albeit for different reasons Joe referred to Chinese President Xi as a "Dictator"in remarks made at a fundraiser in Marin County late Tuesday and indicated that Mr Xi was ignorant of the Chinese spy balloon kerfuffle that took place earlier this year While the conventional wisdom holds that Mr Biden is a senile old coot who has no idea what he's saying half the time But I think that Mr Biden is a bit more clever than most observers give him credit for As I see it he has two opponents in this instance The first is geopolitical and the second is domestic 

In the first instance Mr Biden is insulting Mr Xi in a couple of different ways By referring to him as a 'Dictator' he's taking a direct slap at Mr Xi's legitimacy Xi has always fancied himself as some sort of Philosopher-King whose life's purpose is to guide his people to a promised land of 'Happy Shiny People who have faith in their omniscient leader Mr Biden called out  Mr Xi for being the thin-skinned thug that he really is rather than the benevolent father figure that he imagines himself to be In the second instance Mr Biden is sending a message to his domestic foes that he's not afraid to confront both the Chinese and those who doubt his resolve in dealing with the threat posed by China By thinking him an addled fool the opposition underestimates him The Chinese philosopher Lao-Tzu once said that: “There is no greater danger than underestimating your opponent.” Whatever you might think of Mr Biden just realise that a politician doesn't survive or thrive in the cesspool that is our nation's capital as long as he has without knowing how to mix it up in dark alleys 

And then there is the matter of Young Hunter Biden Yesterday he pleaded guilty to a few charges brought by David Weiss the US Attorney for the District of Delaware Two were charges of failure to file tax returns in a timely manner for the 2017 and 2018 tax years and those charges were settled years ago when taxes owed were paid in full along with applicable interest and penalties The remaining charge was that Mr Biden committed the unspeakable crime of possession of a gun while addicted to drugs Mr Biden has agreed to plead guilty to the charges and the US Attorney has agreed to accept a plea bargain that calls for a sentence of probation Now given that certain elements of the Republican Party have been howling for Mr Biden's head since at least 2017 you might think that there would be a sigh of relief that this modern day version of "Jarndyce v Jarndyce" was finally over If you thought that you would be wrong Despite the fact that both the US Attorney who brought these charges and the Judge judge who will actually pronounce the sentence on Mr Trump's appointees congressional Republicans are furious because they believe that their florid allegations are always true despite the fact that there is no evidence to suggest that they the accusations are true 

I mentioned above the that Washington DC was something of a 'cesspool and today's response to an unpublished story in Politico by Justice Samuel Alito in today's Wall Street Journal underscored just how normalised casual corruption has become on the nation's highest court In Justice Alito's case he accepted a posh vacation trip to a remote Alaskan resort to fish for King Salmon His tab for this sumptuous trip was picked up by billionaire investor Paul Singer who had a case involving an Argentine default  Justices Thomas and Gorsuch sold properties to buyers who paid above market rates for those properties and also had cases before the court We already know about Justice Thomas's vast appetite for luxury vacations that he doesn't have to pay for Justice Sontamayor ruled on a case involving her publisher Chief Justice Roberts refused to testify before Congress on judicial ethics and in about a week the justices will scatter to the 4 corners of the earth and rake in the cash for little real work 

Just True Facts

 

Monday Morning Smile

 

Monday Morning Smile

 

Tom on Trump's Indictment

 Now that Donald Trump is under numerous indictments for the many violations of laws pertaining to his Mar-A-Lago classified document storage facility, (his bathroom), much of the Republican Party officeholders, both state and federal ,as well as most of the declared GOP presidential candidates, have engaged in a frenzy of teeth gnashing and garment rending at the unfairness of it all. They see Mr Trump as a mythic hero, like Joan of Arc or Jesus H Christ, who were ultimately betrayed by their own people.

Republicans portray themselves as the 'Law and Order' Party, an appellation that dates back to the Nixon Administration. When Democrats are under the legal microscope Republicans howl for blood like so many ravening hyenas, but when Republicans stand accused of misconduct they cry "Witch Hunt" and claim "Unfair Prosecution". 

In the matter of Mr Trump's litany of problems, anyone who feels that he is some sort of victim is guilty of Magical Thinking at the very least. His legal problems are mostly self-inflicted and are  growing apace, and one of these days the legendary 'Million Pound Shithammer' will come crashing down on his prematurely orange head. And that's not even taking into account the federal charges that he faces for his role in the Jan 6 insurrection, or the state charges that he faces in Fulton County down in the Land of Georgia. 

Being simplistic about the array of legal issues that Mr Trump faces, we can reduce the possible outcomes to two: Trump is convicted or Trump is acquitted. Although he is currently leading the race for the Republican presidential nomination, I see no way that he can prevail in a general election. So if Mr Trump manages to dodge all of the bullets aimed in his direction, he can spend the remainder of his days playing golf and basking in the adulation of his acolytes like an obese and disagreeable manatee.

But what happens if he's found guilty? The current set of charges that he faces carries possible penalties of over 400 years in a federal prison. Now nobody in their right mind would expect a sentence that is draconian to be imposed in the event of a conviction, but Mr Trump is pushing 80. A 5 year sentence would likely turn out to be a life sentence. I fear that the imposition of such a sentence might lead to a certain amount of civil unrest. What's a judge to do?

I found myself pondering that very question earlier today. There's nothing much that we can do about Mr Trump if he manages to navigate the legal gauntlet he faces unscathed. But if he's found guilty, what would be the best way of dealing with him? I remembered a short story that I read in high school called "The Man Without a Country" ,that told the story of an army officer on trial for treason. He was convicted, and because he had denounced the United States, he was sentenced to spend the rest of his life confined to US Naval vessels, but never again be allowed to step foot on US soil. And I found myself wondering if that might be the way to deal with a guilty Mr Trump.

Let us say that Mr Trump finds himself standing before a Judge awaiting sentencing. But the Judge surprises everyone and offers Mr Trump a deal. He can accept a 10 year prison sentence which will commence immediately. He will not be free pending appeal. His next meal will be some of the execrable vegetable loaf that is commonly served in state and federal prisons. Or he can renounce his American citizenship and accept exile to one of the following countries: Saudi Arabia, Russia, North Korea, or Hungary. It sounds more than a bit off kilter, but sometimes you have to think outside the box..

Educate Yourself on Trumps Indictment, share with a MAGAT

 Quote from Jack Smith

“Our laws that protect national defense information are critical to the safety and security of the United States, and they must be enforced, violations of those laws put our country at risk.”

Hear Jack Smith

READ the full indictment at this link:

https://d3i6fh83elv35t.cloudfront.net/static/2023/06/trump-indictment.pdf

Monday Morning Smile

 

Tom on the GOP in 2024

 It seems that every Republican who has ever looked into a mirror and seen a potential president grinning back at him, (or her), has begun touring early primary states like so many 'Common Nightwalkers', (whores),in search of potential clients.

It's beginning to look like 2016, when a crowded primary field had the effect of handing the nomination to Donald Trump. Some pundits say that the result this year will be the same, due to Mr Trump's enduring popularity with his vaunted "base", combined with the aforementioned crowded field of presidential aspirants. 

But history doesn't really repeat itself, as the old adage suggests. Rather, similar themes tend to recur over time. In this instance, the Trump of 2016 was a relatively fresh face, (at least if you didn't read the New York tabloids). But the Trump of 2024 has been exposed as a grifter and narcissist who cares nothing for America and what it stands for. In addition, his legal problems are considerable. He's in the crosshairs of Fani Willis, the Fulton County DA, over allegations of electoral interference and fraud. He's facing charges in New York. And perhaps the most serious threat to his aspirations for a second term in office is the 2 headed investigation by Special Prosecutor Jack Smith, who is charged with investigating Trump's potential interference with the orderly transfer of power (The events surrounding the Jan 6 insurrection), and the irregularities concerning the classified documents that he'd squirrelled away at Mar-A-Lago. 

And Florida Gov Ron DeSantis, who once appeared to be the inevitable successor to Mr Trump as the head of the GOP, has shown himself to be a small man who sells a message of mean-spirited disregard for anyone who is not White, Straight, or Christian, while engaging in battle with a cartoon mouse. He has the voice of a boy just now reaching puberty, and when he speaks, he vomits forth pearls of bumper sticker wisdom that are long past their sell-by date. When he grows up he wants to be Benito Mussolini. Our Ron will make the trains run on time, but they won't serve Black areas, nor will they pick up girls who are holding hands or young men who appear to be overly sissified.

The reasons for this exponential growth of Republican candidates for the presidency are twofold; the most important being the perception of the leading candidates as being seriously flawed human beings who bring to the table an inordinate air of perpetual grievance, and a fantastical ideation that largely rejects commonly accepted truths. 

Some candidates are banking on  people  longing for a "Return to Normalcy", rather than continuing down the path of discord and personal enmity that has characterized our recent political history. The phrase "Return to Normalcy", was the campaign slogan of Ohio Sen Warren G Harding in the 1920 presidential election campaign. His opponent, Gov James Cox, was also from Ohio. The third candidate in the 1920 race was the Progressive Eugene V Debs, who campaigned from prison, where he found himself sentenced on what were essentially political charges. The good news for Donald Trump is that someone has actually waged a presidential campaign from a jail cell. The bad news is that Debs only got about 3 percent of the vote. Harding won the election with over 60 percent of the votes cast. An interesting side note is that both major party candidates for the Vice Presidency later went on to become president themselves Massachusetts own Calvin Coolidge took office when Harding died after eating a Bad Oyster, although there are some who claim that he was murdered. Gov Cox's running mate was the former Secretary of the Navy, Franklin D Roosevelt of New York 

1920 was one of those elections that seemed bigger than life, largely because of the societal issues surrounding it. The incumbent president, Woodrow Wilson, had presided over a chaotic second term, in which he brought the US Into WWI, after winning the 1916 election on the basis that he kept the US out of the European War. Wilson suffered a disabling stroke in 1919, and Wiison's wife Edith and the White House physician, a Dr House, essentially ran the country for the remainder of Wiison's term. The economy had cratered in the wake of WW1, and unemployment rose to 12 percent in 1919.  As is the case today, Republicans have an instinctive fear of Socialism that may have had a basis in reality, since Russia's Communist Revolution had taken place only 2 years earlier.  Let it suffice to say that the months leading up to the 1920 election were tumultuous. Voters were sick of the never-ending drama that typified American politics. Sounds like what many people are feeling today 

Politicians seem to have the same ability that sharks have to detect trace amounts of blood in the water and to respond with aggression when they do so. Because Mr Trump is in great legal peril, and because Gov DeSantis's carefully constructed veneer of invincibility has not appeared strong enough to dissuade potential challengers who are detecting plenty of blood in the water off the Florida coast.

Happy Memorial Day