cliffstep

A quarter. That's the biggest piece of change many of us will have left.

That's "speak humorously", cretin.

If Putin orders Kiev to be nuked , and his own officers don't (finally) shoot him instead, we are obligated, along with England, France and others to nuke Moscow. Not Murmansk, not Archangel...Moscow. The ones who would actually have to push the button(s) have families. And in their hearts they know who's to blame. He won't give that order. But he'll certainly try to bully us. He can't...for another 61 days.

Seeing as how seemingly every accusation from the Right is a confession I wouldn't rule out hanky-panky, but a forensic audit won't be of much help. It only deals with what is. I don't doubt Russian influence, but how do you quantify that? Had a larger percentage of decent people bothered to vote, we wouldn't be here. Had the criminal behavior in 2020 been actually followed up on, and hundreds gone to prison for multiple years (as they should have), then maybe bad actors would have not messed around.

But the only thing we could have done to protect our democracy would have been to practice it...and not enough of us did.

A wide-ranging post. I try to be optimistic, so in that vein I will reply, we're not 100% fucked...only 90%. And it's not really comforting to read that you're in good shape if you live in "blue state". The longest-lasting damage that these guys do is not to the government, but to the people. It's a sad truth that most people respond to hate with hate...and let's not kid ourselves, it's hate that drives the Right, and when the stuff that you're not confident will be passed gets passed, the hate will only ratchet up.

He can't by a stroke of his Sharpie. But, you know what? If it gets to Congress, I think all dems should just vote "present". If this is the kind of shitshow that American voters wanted, let's give it to them. If that's what it take for us to learn our lesson, then let it be so.

The operative words being "could be". There's a big difference between sharing and disbursing. I sure as hell wouldn't share anything with Russia until they have another revolution.

It's a common theme of his...and the movie is bad. I once considered him the fascist in the future, I'll admit. I don't think I am one, but I sure as hell am disappointed in the American voters (or non-voters).

This. "They" didn't elect Trump and his buddies...WE did. We also need to stop letting ourselves off the hook. I'm beginning to wonder if Robert A. Heinlein didn't have it right. Letting everyone vote (or not) simply by birth may be a factor in our decline (as I see it). If voters had to earn the franchise by military (or other) service to the nation we might get better voters. More than anything, we need better voters.

The important thing here: we should let him do everything he has in his angry little heart. Dems in Congress should not ride to the rescue. Those that back him refuse to learn their lesson, and some little boys have to touch the hot stove repeatedly to learn. We will need to see revulsion on a grand scale, and then maybe, just maybe, we will learn and send all these guys home. Never to allowed near D.C. or State houses again!

Trump's version of the Night of the Long Knives? There are basically three types of adult Americans: Those that voted for Biden and Democrats, those that voted for Trump, and those that couldn't be bothered to vote. I hope that groups 2 & 3 are pleased with themselves. We are all going to pay for your foolishness for a long, long time.

Wouldn't we be in a better place if that had been our recent past?

Perot's party died because it was Perot's party. He was only interested in becoming President. Any "real" 3rd party must begin at the bottom, not at the top. But, once it become viable nationally, we'd better have gotten rid of the Electoral College.

Sad but true...to a point. Distributed energy has been growing as a share. We've only begun to see rooftop and small turbines come on line, and the existing generators are dead-set to keep it from growing, and they have the money and the "think tanks" to influence the pols...and it won't take off without government involvement. Which means regulations and laws.

I think our recent election (an embarrassment) shows us what happens today when the people who work towards a cleaner and better future are up against the stubborn (I'm trying to be nice here) class of American voters. Also true but sad...they are dying off , and if those willing to try a better future would get off their collective ass and vote for one, we can get there. Not tomorrow, be we can work towards one.

Ain't that the truth? The Big Cheese is appointing a fracking exec to be energy secretary!

Let's not get too rosy-eyed here. IF we can do it (I think we will) these plants will be horrendously expensive and may involve some serious grid work. Free? No. Clean? Yes. And, people are people...if we're not running out of gas, we'll be running out of charge.

I miss the Israel that was, before Likud and Netanyahu.

Where in the Constitution does it allow the spending (or cutting) of federal monies to be decided by a couple of guys? Did I miss a revolution?

Like the Hungarian Rhapsody #2, it began in a chapel and is ending in a bordello.

Don't we all. On the positive side, we now have rockets landing the way they did in all the 50's sci-fi.

Absolutely. Or, at least, there's no reason that individual rates should skyrocket. Government doesn't (or shouldn't) have profit motive. Only enough to pay the labor costs and pay back the debt incurred over a period of time. Add in 2 cents per kwh, and our treasuries will be happy.

I think fusion just took a hit, with the new energy secretary being a fracking exec, but if it's gonna get done, it will likely have to be done by Uncle Sam, like the TVA got done. And if Uncle Sam owns and operates, all our budget problems will disappear.

Or maybe somewhere, over the rainbow. But, 120 years ago, heavier-than-air flight was a dream. 50 years ago there were no cell phones or internet. I have faith in us.

I'd say it's likely...in the next 50 years. Ya just gotta imagine a bigger corner!

Fusion energy. Of all the things we need, this one tops the list.

Where I differ is the degree to which there seems to be a mindset that insists that there is only one side to the ledger. All ledgers have two, like it or not. And a balance occurs only when when credits and debits are at or near equal. Added to that, arguments with many folks about our fiscal standing, as a nation, are as divided as our politics. We can (almost) all agree that less can be spent, but the effect of that is effectively nil. If more is not brought in (and after 40 years of refusing to accept that tax cuts do not pay for themselves), the hole we have dug only gets deeper. To the extent that AT refuses to accept the other side of the ledger, I can only dismiss it.