"...a clear and present danger to American democracy", AND MORE

 The title above is how retired Judge Michael Luttig described Donald J. Trump and his followers.  The kicker is this:  Judge Luttig is one of the most respected conservative judges in the USA.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/jun/16/trump-clear-present-danger-to-us-democracy-conservative-judge-warns

This should mean all Main Street people still in the Trump Cult will re-evaluate their mistaken beliefs, but I'm not holding my breath.  Cult members rarely ever are rational in any sense of the word.

It also should mean the hijacked Republican Party finally will come to its senses and dump Trump.  Politics being as irrational as it is, again I'm not holding my breath.  In general, the two major Parties of the current era appear to care little about honor, principles, ethics, the Law, and especially, the Constitution.  Instead, their number one priority is re-election...at any cost.

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The entire political scene in the USA is an embarrassment to the country.  It's also a danger.  Plus, it has caused most of the world to lose respect for us.  Finally, it's not really much of a stretch to say our political scene is an existential threat not only to us, but to all life on Earth as well.  Why?  Simply put, the actions or lack of action on the following "fronts" are a threat to the existence of our species & all others:  nuclear weapons & nuke waste; unprecedented ecological damage; societal disintegration; economic chaos; perpetual war; a belief in unlimited economic growth; corporatism; corporate globalization; and politics lacking common sense & ethics.  We must get off that path if Life is to survive and thrive.

Here's my contribution to a paradigm shift:

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-beginning-of-the-path-to-human-extinction-and-how-to-get-off-it-scott-haley/1141364431?ean=2940160947181

or

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09Z4QL6NB

Shortly, I'll begin posting excerpts of the work on this venue.

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Not only my opinion.  Be Well

Spend less than two minutes of your time on this...

A foreboding by Carl Sagan a quarter century ago which rings true today is found below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGanLUnjoPI

Start the clip at 2:25.  Everything described is due mostly to neoliberal policies, the influence of Plutocrats, crony capitalism, casino capitalism, a lack of Adam Smith capitalism combined with democratic socialism, the manipulation of Main Street by fearmongers, and the combined efforts of Establishment Democrats & Republicans.  This predicament is found in most of the developed world, especially in the USA.  A paradigm shift is needed to prevent a societal collapse.

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Not only my opinion.  Be Well

This is the one...THIS IS IT: The Great Simplification!

 Without question, this is the best, most informative description of the ecology of the human species I've seen in the last fifty years.  It clearly & concisely lays out our relationships to Earth, Energy, Economics, Life in general, and all life forms.  Topics include:  the carbon pulse, energy blind, the temporary energy surplus, the human superorganism, money v. wealth, our ecological overshoot, the great simplification, and more.

https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/animations

At the link above, you can watch the full piece (32 minutes), or scroll down a bit for the individual parts/episodes (four of them).  At the very least, watch Part 4 (only 9 minutes).  Below is a link to the full clip on YouTube---

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xr9rIQxwj4

What was, what IS, and what's coming (there are many choices regarding what's coming) in the human story.  If you want valuable insights to the predicament in which we find ourselves, don't miss it. 

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Not only my opinion.  Be Well

Stock Market 101, the Steady State Economy, & the Trophic Theory of Money

 The U.S. Stock Market appears to be on the cusp of a serious decline, perhaps even an outright Crash.  Here's an ecological economics view of the situation---

https://steadystate.org/sell-your-stocks-and-enjoy-the-slide/

Brian Czech is a long-time ecologist in the realms of both wildlife and humans.  He's the Executive Director of the Center for the Advancement of the Steady State Economy.

Here's everything you need to know about the trophic theory of money---

https://royalsoc.org.au/images/pdf/journal/152-1-Czech.pdf

This journal article will make it clear to you why ecological economics is the most reasonable option for attaining a sustainable society, one which is fair, just, and environmentally friendly.  It's a brilliant piece.

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Not only my opinion.  Be Well

Stunningly Beautiful

 "Legacy", a full-length documentary on Amazon Prime, and probably elsewhere online.  I would have titled it:  "Beauty, Energy, and the Human Story".  After a brief intro of the French documentarian's forty years of work involving the Life-Energy Cycle around the globe, it begins a narrative of Humans-Energy-Earth.  Aerial photography illustrates the story, and transports the viewer out of his/her Ego.  If the first twenty minutes or so doesn't grab you, your spirit probably has dried up and blown away.  [That last statement most likely is hyperbole, but it drives home a valid point:]

L  E  G  A  C  Y, well worth the watch.

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Be Well

KUDOS to the Hot Shot Wildfire Fighters

 I'm recently back from a 2nd wildfire evacuation which lasted well over two weeks.  The first one lasted only a tad over four days.  We had three days at home until the second evac.  What a nightmare, especially for people my age.  This post will be shorter than most because I'm pretty well exhausted.

The Hermit Peak fire merged with the Calf Canyon fire to become the largest fire in New Mexico's history.  It ravaged (among other places) the little valley where I live.  A tiny town a few miles down the road from me (Mora, population about 1,000 or so) is now housing approximately 900 Hot Shot firefighters.  Even though the fire is now past our valley, they expect to keep Mora as their base until the end of July.  Their herculean efforts here saved most of our homes, including mine and all my neighbors.

In my opinion, these firefighters (as well as all urban firefighters) have jobs as tough as any combat soldier does.  They deserve every bit as much respect and thanks.  KUDOS to all of them.

All the extreme, over-the-top wildfires have various causes, and at the top of that list is anthropogenic Climate Disruption.  Until we seriously and significantly address that issue, look for more beyond-the-pale fires.  At least, such is my opinion...and that of all other ecologists I've read or heard in the last twenty years.

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Be Well

The Pandemicene: especially for humans who think they are separate from & above Nature

 Climate Change/Disruption (along with wildlife habitat damage/destruction by humans) is causing many animal populations to find a new home.  The result is an increase in contact and sharing of new viruses among different animals.  A new study in the journal, Nature, shows how that scenario likely will result in more pandemics in the human population.

https://www.democracynow.org/2022/4/29/ed_yong_pandemicene

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-04788-w

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-01198-w

Meanwhile, too many national Leaders around the globe appear to be working on window-dressing solutions to Climate Change, or simply kicking the can down the road in other ways.  On top of that, Leaders in a few places have launched wars during this time of an existential threat labeled the socio-eco-econ-ethical crisis.  Having done so, they exhibit monumental ignorance.  It's no wonder that many Main Street people are losing faith in the capabilities of national politicians...all across the political spectrum.

Not all, but most of the progress toward solutions to the crisis are happening below the national level.  Such is orders of magnitude better than nothing, but it will not suffice.  In fact, more is needed than just national efforts.  The crisis is global, not only national, or provincial, or city-wide.  Global planning and cooperation is crucial if civil society is to survive and thrive.

To those who may be concerned primarily with their national territorial imperative (see the book by Robert Ardrey, The Territorial Imperative) and the freedom of independence, please consider the following points---

1)  Neither of those two concepts will do you much good if you have insufficient food, potable water, clean air, unpolluted soil, etc., or if we all are ravaged by viral diseases, or have collapsed economies, or exist in a neofeudal society with only the very Rich and the relatively Poor, or if we're sick from a toxic environment.

2)  Cooperating to combat/mitigate/alleviate an existential global crisis does NOT have to mean losing nationhood or freedom in general.  Some sacrifices will have to be made by all of us, but you won't become a slave.

3)  In a real sense, the current system is making you a slave--- to Debt, and to the Rat Race of unlimited economic growth + overconsumption...while polluting our limited/finite habitat.  Who benefits?  Overwhelmingly, it's the Super-Rich, the Upper Crust, the new aristocrats.

Bottom line:  stop drinking the Propaganda Kool Aid coming from the State-Corporate-Financial Complex.  Ignore the sound bites and the molding of the public mind.  Question everything.  Ignore the Bread & Circuses.  Dig deep when you study an issue.  Think out of the box we've all been put into.

The public and private Powers-That-Be want you to believe technology is going to save us from the existential threat we're facing.  Without a paradigm shift in values/ethics, it won't.

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Not only my opinion.  Be Well