Not just the fastest, or the cheapest, or the best, but the *only* possible solution to climate change is a rapid global buildout of clean energy infrastructure. If you're standing in the way of that, you're not working on climate change & should be honest with yourself about your priorities.
One fake scandal after another after another. Eventually someone does a report or an investigation that "reveals" that it was all fake all along, but by then the damage is long done. Political reporters know how this works & they participate willingly.
This has been the fundamental mechanism through which political media operates my entire life. The right makes a bunch of noise about a fake scandal, the mainstream media "covers the controversy," & normie voters get the vague impression that Dems are constantly involved in scandal.
RE: https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:2amnkge5a6hplfwyesmxqkfl/post/3myda3fmoss2v
First you have to vote no on a measure that would repeal an income tax on the wealthy -- a double negative.
The one on "parental rights" is completely impenetrable. I just voted "no" because the progs all told me to. I still couldn't tell you exactly what it means.
I voted last night: sat at my dinner table, read several voter guides, discussed the choices with my family, filled out my ballot, put it in an envelope, dropped it in a ballot box. Civilized, safe, reliable system.
I'll say though: the wording on the ballot initiatives is *opaque* this year.
Right-wing billionaires now own the Washington Post, the LA Times, CNN, CBS News, virtually every local TV station, virtually every news radio station, most local newspapers, X, Facebook, Threads, and TikTok. (Did I miss any?)
They own almost the entire information environment.
RE: https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:47ho2jwvy5ekmbpzrj3wtuwu/post/3my445wxths2f
For obvious reasons "desperate triage/harm reduction" is not a popular or particularly inspiring pursuit. It's not going to fire people up or activate them. It's not going to get normies out to vote or whatever. So I don't talk about it much. But for me at least, it's always there in the background.
At this point -- though I try not to communicate in this register all the time, as it's exhausting to me & to readers -- I think something close to panic is warranted & that anything with even a hope of knocking us off our current trajectory, even a little bit, is worth desperately clutching.
Many times in my life I've seen my cohort say something along the lines of, "let's not eat this half-ass shit sandwich, let's hold out for the good & righteous world we want," which sounds good in a speech, but in practice has just led to worse & worse choices, bigger & bigger shit sandwiches.
A lot of my policy & political positions are informed by an underlying view that the status quo is carrying us at an accelerating rate toward various intersecting apocalypses, that hopes of changing course are pretty slim, & that the urgency of the situation warrants taking some big risks.
I think something similar is true of a lot of social problems: gambling, violent crime, drug addiction, dangerous driving, etc. It's a relatively small number of repeat offenders responsible for the large bulk of incidents. It argues for social policy specifically targeted at those top deciles.
RE: https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:ccrabc6xdnjx4l7btvynnng4/post/3mxzgxlpewk2z
Is Visionquest good enough to justify me subscribing to Disney+?
Which of these is not like the others?
Turns out deliberately dimming the sun might have some downsides.
They War-Gamed Dimming the Sun...
"They might tax some of my billions or put some mild regulatory restraints on the growth of my businesses, therefore I will endorse fascism" is not savvy. It's not clever. It's not understandable or forgivable. It's shitty, just like it looks on the surface.
I consider myself a fairly compassionate & empathetic person, but the more I read about people in this particular demographic -- wealthy Gen X white men radicalized by social media & group chats -- the more I loathe them. I understand them *too well* to sympathize. They are contemptible & weak.
RE: https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:n5vn7dakcsx467cznu3laszn/post/3mxwusnhmhs2f
A memo from senior insurance-industry officials warning that insurance modelers are being pressured to downplay climate in their models & that many insurers are already planning their exist from key markets. An explosive fuckup on the scale of the mortgage crisis is building.
static1.squarespace.com/static/697b3c8...
“I think there is a real possibility that someone who is 30 today will see major changes associated with climate tipping points during their lifetime,” said William J. Ripple, a professor of ecology at Oregon State University and lead author of the new study.
Cool cool cool.
The Earth’s vital signs are co...
Since 2020, electricity bills have risen 34% for customers of investor-owned utilities, but only 19% for customers of publicly owned utilities.
Nuking the IOU model & making all distribution utilities publicly owned: people are saying.
One Home’s Power Bill Is $500....
Just wild that this is the explicit message.