Wake Up All

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

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Last week, the major renewable energy groups that have brought Texas to be the leading renewable energy state in the country (yes I said Texas...RED Texas) had a luncheon in the Special Events Room at the Austin Public Library.

The  relatively new Library just off Cesar Chavez is worth a visit and the events room can hold several hundred folks handily.  The occasion was the 40th anniversary and formal recognition of the merger of the Texas Renewable Energy Industries Association and Clean Texas.  Given that it actually happened during the first days of Covid in the spring of 2020, there was not much fanfare for the merger.

Since the mid 80s, TREIA had been the leading proponent of Renewable Energy Policy in the State. Back then, Texas was just turning red, but not the kind of angry RED we have today.  Consequently, with an original push given by Governor Richards, we found open doors for making Texas an Energy state that included all forms of energy.  Those doors remained open even as we transitioned into the administrations of Governor Bush and Governor Perry. 

Consequently, the Renewable Energy Industry was able to make the argument that wind and solar fields from far west Texas should be connected to the Urban Centers in the center of the state, just like we built Farm to Market roads to bring farm products to market almost 100 years ago.  These electric transmission lines were called CREZ lines and their creation and funding was a critical element of the Texas plan. And that Texas plan came out of a series of reports that were created by the Sustainable Energy Development Council.  These reports dealt with energy in all the demand sectors and it estimated the amount of efficiency that could be mined as a result of smart energy management.

Now, Texas has over 50 GWs of Wind, 30 something GWs of Utility Solar, and almost 15 GWs of stationary storage.  This on a 90 GW peak load grid called ERCOT.  Among the greatest achievements TREIA  helped craft was an energy only-market and postage stamp wheeling rates.  That was what our producers needed to become highly competitive in the newly deregulated market and in the Nodal Market that would emerge.

Having been appointed to several state wide positions by Governors Richards and Bush, I was in the thick of all this.  Plus, I was also President or on the Executive Committee of TREIA for many of those critical years. And I was a Co-Founder with Russel Smith.

So the planners of the event honored me with a  Visionary Founder Award. And here are my short acceptance remarks:

40th Anniversary Award Remarks, September 23rd, 2025
 
Thank you…thank you. Thank you Raina, Lenae, Melissa, Hala,
 
And all of you.
 
Awards like this are truly special and they are so appreciated. But in many ways, they are also misleading and even a little bit hard on some. The good work we did 40 years ago was accomplished by more than just a handful of dedicated people.
 
Even though Margaret Meade said: 
 
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”
 
It was almost 200 people who met at the Crest Inn in 1985 to start TREIA. It was exciting and there was so much future in front of us.
 
Surely some are here in this room today. (around 30 folks arise and  are recognized)

But even though we are gathered to honor the past, We need to use this time to contemplate the future. For the future  of our Industry faces uncertainty today,
 
Just like it did 40 years ago. 
 
And some of the predictions are pretty dire.
 
But some of them are not.
 
Here’s what the Sept 25 EIA ( Energy Information Administration) Report predicts:
 
We expect that total U.S. generation by the electric power sector will grow by 2.3% in 2025 and a further 3.0% next year. 
 
These growth rates are higher than expected at the beginning of the year when we forecast U.S. electricity generation would grow by an average of 1.5% each year. The higher growth in generation reflects colder-than-expected weather earlier in 2025 along with the incorporation of load growth assessments by grid operators in the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) and PJM systems.
 
Increasing electricity demand is being met by higher generation from most energy sources in 2025. We expect that utility-scale solar will grow the most, generating 33%, or 72 billion kilowatthours more electricity this year compared with 2024. 
 
New solar projects account for more than half of the new generating capacity expected to come online this year.
 
We expect wind will generate 4% more electricity in 2025 than it did in 2024, while we expect hydropower generation will grow by 2%.
 
We forecast that natural gas-fired power plants will generate 3% (61 BkWh) less electricity in 2025 than last year. In some regions, such as Texas and the Midwest, increasing generation from solar is also displacing some natural gas-fired generation.
 
Between now and 2026, the Short Term Outlook predicts that Gas will drop from 42 to 40 % of total generation, Renewables will grow  from 25% to 26%, nuclear remains flat at 18%, and coal still dropping falls to 16%.
 
We expect that total U.S. generation by the electric power sector will grow by 2.3% in 2025 and a further 3.0% next year. We expect that solar power will supply the largest share of the increase in both years.
 
They see GDP going up over 2% and WTI going down into the 50’s.
 
In closing I want to point out that some of us old die-hards have created the Historical Foundation for Texas Renewable Energy, also known as the Renewable Foundation, and we are archiving the 40 Years of work that got us where we are today.  Go to  the website and go back to the Newsletters in 92 when we got our first PUC Commissioner appointed, when the Utilities joined our ranks, and how we used the Governors STEPP project to create the policy that brought us an energy only market and the CREZ.
 
We’ve come a long way here in Texas.  We’ve got 40 GWs of Wind and 32 GWs of Solar, and 14 GWs of Storage on a 100 GW system.
 
If we work together we can stand tomorrow’s bad weather, because we know the climate is in our favor.
 
But I think we need to tell our story better.  Most do not recognize the sizable contribution of clean energy to their lives.  We need to fix that through organizations like this and other communication strategies. 

People need to know.
 
Thank you once again for this honor.
 
And now, allow me to do the honors and introduce Russel Smith, the Executive Director of TREIA for 3 decades." 

Yes, the Rs at the Texas State Capitol, and Drumph in DC are doing their best to slow this train down.   But the tracks are laid and the rest of the World knows that our current leadership is an embarrassment in this critical time of Climate Stabilization. 

His speech at the UN on Tuesday, the same day that I received my award will go down in History as colossal quackery    

But Hitler was an embarrassment until he proved that he was actually a menace.

And this Tuesday's likely government shutdown may prove to be more memorable than others. 

But as Yogi Berra said:

It's hard to Predict,

Especially if your talking about the Future. 

For we are in the hands of a foolish and cruel regime. 

I hope we Wake Up soon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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 * Poster by James Montgomery Flagg 1917

 

One Bad Ugly Bill

 

There is a lot of talk about budgets these days with the R controlled house passing the BBB with no votes to spare. That led me to start looking at the 2025 Federal Budget as it now exists. As you probably know, that Big Beautiful bill is very ugly for a lot of folks, but they got it half right because it is big.  Some say it is the biggest transfer of wealth from the poor and middle class to the rich in the sordid history of US taxation policies. It also tries to kill the good clean energy initiatives of Biden and the rest of the World.

Just to let you know how  Artificial Intelligence can lead down an alley that gets your brain mugged, I googled "what is the largest expenditure in the US Budget" and the answer it gave me was right but wrong. 

AI responded: The largest single expense in the U.S. federal budget is Social Security. 

Breakdown of Federal Spending:

• Social Security: Accounts for 22% of the total federal budget. 
• Medicare: Represents 14% of federal spending.
• Medicaid: Takes up 10% of the budget.
• National Defense: Constitutes 13% of federal spending.
• Net Interest: Interest payments on the national debt are also a significant expense at 14% of the budget.
• Other Mandatory Spending: Programs like veterans' benefits and food stamps fall under this category, accounting for 16% of the budget.
•  Non-Defense Discretionary Spending: This includes areas like education, transportation, and scientific research and accounts for 15% of the federal budget. 

Yes, if you look at the official budget from the White House, 22% of the budget is about 1.54 trillion which is about right.  But what is NOT included is the  1.29 Trillion in receipts for SS which means that the system spent about .30 trillion (300 billion) more than it took in. (not including medicare receipts)

And when you add the corpus and interest gained by Social Security's US treasury bond fund, the actual expense to the treasury is closer to zero. With asset reserves of about $2,908 billion ($2.9 trillion) at the end of December 2020, the system has just started to decline. Asset reserves have declined slightly to about $2,721 billion ($2.7 trillion) by the end of December 2024. To halt this decline, Congress must remove the caps on income for the wealthy and extend the retirement age of white collar workers.

But by far, the real single largest expense (excluding debt) in the US Budget is Defense.

And that is about 900 billion.  And the BBB would increase that by another 100 billion. 

 Ezra Klein says: 

Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” is the cruelest and most irresponsible piece of domestic legislation to be seriously proposed in my lifetime.

When you think about this bill, you should think about risk. It would increase our risk of a fiscal crisis by adding a hefty sum to our nation’s debt, at a time when we’re alienating the countries that typically buy our debt. It would slash food stamps and strip health insurance from millions of people, increasing the risk that the safety net won’t be able to catch any of us, at a time when President Trump’s tariffs have increased the risk of a recession.

According to Morning Joe, "Think about this: From George Washington's term through the end of Barack Obama's term on Jan. 20, 2017, the United States of America did not increase the national debt by as much as Mike Johnson's budget increases the national debt over the next decade."

The BBB is one Big Bungled Bunghole.

But what the Citizens of this Country and the World need right now is for the US do some honest work on its situation.  And first of all, we are not a business nor are we a household. We are the social fabric that preserves and protects its citizens.

As of May 30th, 2025, we are about 36 Trillion dollars in debt... that's a little over 100,000 a person.  (another good reason to keep the family small) 

Interest paid on that debt this year is about a Trillion dollars.  If interest rates stay where they are right now that will grow to 1.5 Trillion in 7 years. 

If you look at our receipts the thing that sticks out is the amount of Tax that business pays (.46 Trillion) versus the amount of tax that is paid by individuals (2.64 Trillion). 

                                                                            25      26      27     28     

You can see by the current Biden White House Budget that Outlays are about 7 Trillion and Receipts are about 5 Trillion. 

As for Receipts, individuals pay 3 Trillion (not including Social security and Medicare) and Business pays .5 Trillion (excluding SS).  It doesn't seem like a smart time to cut taxes.  Quite the opposite.  Business should pay for the defense department, especially since they get the money anyway.  Citizens should arguably pay for half of the non defense discretionary items of another Trillion.  

That would mean Business pays for the military and half of the non-military items or about 1.5 Trillion and individuals pay for all the rest  of the domestic spending which is about 4.5 Trillion RIGHT NOW.  That cuts the deficit  to less than a Trillion a year. (interest will remain the same)

Cutting Taxes for the wealthy and big business in these times is the wet dream of the oligarchy and a ridiculous zombie relic of a GOP past.

Yes, business will raise their prices to pay the tax, just like they would if they paid a tariff.

But tariffs will affect those who live pay-check to pay-check harder.

And speaking of relics of the past, it is now time to ponder the nature of international finance. With the issuance of more and more Bit Coin and other block chain constructions combined with the current political acceptance for uninsured FIAT money, dark clouds are on the horizon. 

Ironically and in time, these currencies will erode the government backed Fiat currencies.

And the normal swing between equities and bonds 

will be pulled over by the gravity of the imbalance.

And markets will heave. 

And a new balance sheet will arise. 

 

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Pot Luck Vibewave

  

 "Respect is the Hub" asked that an old post that he wrote 9 years ago be republished as Pot Luck Vibewave.  He believes that the time to eat together is well upon us given the political landscape we all now face:

Part of our primate/hunter-gatherer heritage is to sit around and share food, preferably with some small children running around.

It's not just the calories It's the social energy, as essential to our health as sleep and exercise. These gatherings should never be confused with work where food is present, such as a lecture, meeting or group work sessions.

Feeling depressed about current events?

Plan on regular get together's with like minded family, friends and neighbors: lunches, potlucks and even Tuesday night dinners. Schedule these islands of respite, warmth, sanity and love into your life now.

Remember, some of the best ideas are famously drawn on napkins or start as joking conversation.

Suggestion: Keep these regular and informal gatherings entirely off line. They may become so very important in the future.

Let us remember the wisdom that we have learned from South Park.

"There's no internet to find out why there's no internet!"

Groups of kind people sharing may become our only reliable internet.

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Respectism

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Respect is the Hub has been writing about Respectism in this blog for 18 years.  And many of his posts are among the most popular.  Here is his compilation of his works and of this key constituent for human success:

 

We All Live in 3 Miles of Breathable Air (Nine Essays)

 

Our Present Circumstances

https://earthfamilyalpha.blogspot.com/2007/11/branding-halo.html

https://earthfamilyalpha.blogspot.com/2017/12/the-econuclear-brink.html?m=1

https://earthfamilyalpha.blogspot.com/2021/09/

 

Tools of Respect

https://earthfamilyalpha.blogspot.com/2008/11/respectism-and-ak-47.html?m=1

https://earthfamilyalpha.blogspot.com/2011/12/respecticon-seeing-brand-of-respect-is.html?m=1

https://earthfamilyalpha.blogspot.com/2012/07/using-respecticon-to-build-respectful.html?m=1

 

 Creating the Mutually Respectful Society: 5 Hypotheses

https://earthfamilyalpha.blogspot.com/2011/06/respectism-and-endeavour-for-respectul.html

https://earthfamilyalpha.blogspot.com/2017/10/the-big-picture-on-saving-our-tiny-home_25.html

https://earthfamilyalpha.blogspot.com/2021/01/respectism-and-kinder-community.html

 

Epilogue and Prologue: Seeing Respect 

https://earthfamilyalpha.blogspot.com/2006/03/respect-others-self-place_19.html

 

What a perfect post for LEAP DAY

 

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Mary Elaine McMaster

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mary Elaine McMaster 1936-2023

 

 

 

 

 

 

A week before Christmas Eve, my partner and her six brothers and sisters lost their mother to the other side. Mary Carlson Sprute McMaster passed in the early morning hours of Sunday, December 17th.  It was a beautiful passing that I described here.

Mary or Mamo as she was called by those who loved her was quite a formidable force.  Having been a nurse for most of her working life, and a supervisory charge nurse for much of that, Mary knew how to manage her patients, and a lot of other things: her money, her personal affairs, her husbands, her kids, and their kids. As for "mother in laws", she was my favorite, and I've had a few.

Mamo was a huge sports fan.  Back when the Spurs were worth watching, she would text me and remind to watch the game.  One night, she had lost her internet connection, so I put an IPAD in front of our TV and she watched the game on facetime with us from 75 miles away.  She yelled and behaved as if she was in AT&T stadium in San Antonio.  She loved the Boise State Broncos and went to many of their games as she lived in Boise in summer and fall, and returned to San Antonio in winter and spring.

Mary traveled and made the most of her almost 88 years until the very end.  From Broadway plays to grandchildren playing in the Nutcracker, she was there.  She loved Esther's Follies here in Austin and we had a ticket for her for that Friday after that fateful Thanksgiving day when she finally fell quiet on that holiday morning.

When we made our trip to Idaho to see the totality eclipse there on the Payette River, she simply said "WOW" when the day went dark.  And she wowed and wowed until the dark once again became day.

Here is the obituary written by her first child Dana, (and my partner) along with input from her siblings:

Mary Elaine Carlson Sprute McMaster, 87, of San Antonio, Texas, completed her journey peacefully on December 17, 2023 surrounded by her loving family. She was born in Osburn, Idaho, June 8, 1936 to Russell and Laura Pearce Carlson. Mary was a beloved mother, grandmother, great grandmother, sister, and aunt and was loved and respected for her kindness, wisdom, humor, enthusiasm and a sense of adventure she embraced in all aspects of her life. She was lovingly called Mamo by her children and grandchildren, a nickname she embraced with gusto and a vanity plate on her Mini Cooper.

Mary was a graduate of Wallace High School, Wallace, Idaho and St. Patrick's School of Nursing in Missoula, Montana. She dedicated her life to caring for others as a nurse, always bringing comfort and compassion to those in need.  Mary worked for many years as a general surgery head nurse at St. Alphonsus Hospital in Boise, Idaho and mentored many young nursing graduates early in their career.  She was respected as a teacher and mentor who never asked anyone to do something she was not willing to do herself and had lifelong friendships form from these relationships.  Mary retired from the Methodist Hospital in San Antonio, Texas in 1999 after serving many years as a nursing house supervisor.  

Mary's love of dancing brought joy to her throughout her life.   She met her first true love (and soon to be husband) while on holiday break from nursing school when a handsome redhead in a camel coat walked into the local establishment, brushed snow out of his hair and stepped into her life.    

Gerald “Jerry” Sprute and Mary married in 1957 and spent many years dazzling friends and family with their playful, skilled dancing style.  Their passion for dance was contagious and they inspired others to join them on the dance floor.  Dancing has always been an important part of her life which she shared with her first husband and their seven children.   Throughout her life, one beloved family activity included going out to dance together for any celebration or to just sing and dance at home in the kitchen, living room or wherever we were inspired.   Jerry passed away after a short illness in 2000.  

Mary met John Browning McMaster, Jr. while ballroom dancing in San Antonio, Texas; John was a kind and gentle man who she married in 1994.  Their mutual love of dancing was shared through many years together dancing for pleasure and included participating in many dance competitions throughout the U.S.   John preceded her in death in 2012. 

Mary was an avid sports fan and loved to cheer on her children in their endeavors in baseball, skiing, football, gymnastics and wrestling.   Favorite memories of Mom as a fan include her pounding the mat with her fist as she cheered on her son during a wrestling tournament or beating another child to the end-zone when he was running in a touchdown.  She loved cheering on the Boise State University Broncos and was also a devoted San Antonio Spurs fan.  Mary will be deeply missed by her family and friends and her memory will forever be cherished by all who had the privilege of knowing and loving her.

Mary is survived by her loving children Dana Sprute, Gerald Gregory Sprute, Stephen Thomas Sprute, Christopher Jon Sprute, Jeffrey Carlson Sprute, Michael George Sprute, and Andrea Sprute Dickerson, brother John “Jackie” Barton, sixteen grandchildren, a great grandson and a large extended family, including many adoring nieces and nephews.   She was preceded in death by her daughter, Stana Sprute, husband, John Browning McMaster, Jr., former husband, Gerald Joseph Sprute, parents, Russell Carlson and Laura Barton, her sisters Edna Thornton and Peggy McGee, and her brother Russell "Buddy" Carlson.

A Celebration of Life gathering is planned for family and friends for August 2024 in northern Idaho.  In lieu of flowers, the family kindly requests that donations be made to the National Emphysema Foundation or the American Lung Association; contributions made in her honor will make a meaningful impact for those living with lung disease.

May Mary Elaine McMaster's soul rest in eternal peace, and may her memory be a blessing to all who knew her.  

She is forever in our hearts.

Mary in deed passed that morning with courage and heart.

And she leaves a legacy of the same.

She will be missed.

But she will mostly be long remembered.

Safe Crossing Mary.

 

 

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The War on Woke

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lately, our politics from the right have been so bereft of political content.  Gone are the days of the fiscal conservative and actual conservative thought.  Gone are the days of conservative state government keeping its mitts off of big business. They now live in the Cultural Wars of DeSantistan.

This from the Orlando Sentinal:

As he declared victory over Walt Disney Co. on Monday, Gov. Ron DeSantis lectured the corporate leaders of the state’s biggest employer in its lifeblood tourism industry.

He suggested new board members who will oversee Disney World’s reconstituted special district might want to influence the corporation’s new attractions, movies and other shows. clip

Bryan Griffin, a DeSantis spokesman, later clarified that the board once known as Reedy Creek doesn’t direct Disney’s content. Its duties are primarily focused on providing the infrastructure and other government services needed to keep Disney World’s sprawling theme parks and resorts running.

“However, Gov. DeSantis was 100% correct to point out that many hope Disney will abandon its woke agenda,” Griffin said in an email. “The district board members are now in place and will be examining all of the needed actions to get back on track.”

DeSantis touted his move to strip Disney of its self-governing powers in Florida in an op-ed titled “Why I Stood Up to Disney.”

“When corporations try to use their economic power to advance a woke agenda, they become political, and not merely economic, actors,” he wrote. “In such an environment, reflexively deferring to big business effectively surrenders the political battlefield to the militant left.”

Recently speaking in Texas, De Sanctimonious continued his war on woke, “The state of Florida — and the state of Texas — is where woke goes to die,” DeSantis said, refashioning a line from his January inaugural address to include the Lone Star State. 

So what is this woke and why must it go to Texas or Florida to die?

 The old meaning of the word defines woke as simply the past tense of wake, as in to wake up, or awake. And in  2017, a new meaning of the word "woke" was officially added to the dictionary.

Described by Merriam-Webster as “chiefly US slang”, the dictionary defines the word as: “Aware of and actively attentive to important facts and issues (especially issues of racial and social justice).” The use of the word reached mainstream vernacular when the Black Lives Matter movement used the hashtag #staywoke following the murder of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri by police in 2014.

And now, the far right R's want it to die. And running on its demise for President is not just blatantly racist, it is Pro-Comatose.

However, the War on Woke is a natural result of the R's other wars, like the war on science in their lack of support and more importantly, their undermining of the science of Climate Change.  In their adoption of the whacky belief that life doesn't begin when you are born but when you are conceived, they have taken basic rights from half of the population. 

This is not morality, it is transactional vote harvesting.

And finally, these Pro-Comotose R's would rather watch their "fox in the newshouse" than accept that their celebrity stars would lie on camera, while speaking the truth to each other behind their private doors.

This from the Atlantic:

Fox News lies to its viewers. Its most prominent personalities, among the most influential in the industry, tell their viewers things they know not to be true. This is not accusation, allegation, or supposition. Today, we know it to be fact.

Early in the Trump era, news organizations were torn over whether to refer to Donald Trump’s false statements as lies, because it is difficult to know an individual’s state of mind, to know what they know. In the throes of insecurity, ideological conviction, or carelessness, people can make statements that are false without malicious intent. The argument over what a person knows to be true or false can take on a metaphysical aspect.

Sometimes, though, you have proof that someone knew one thing and said another. With Fox News, examples of the network’s commitment to knowingly misleading its viewers abound. There was the irresponsible hyping of anti-vaccine propaganda even as it imposed a vaccine mandate on its employees. There were the text messages from Fox hosts released by the January 6 committee showing that they saw Trump as responsible for inspiring the mob that sacked the Capitol, even as they defended him on air and downplayed the significance of the event.

The most compelling example of Fox News consciously lying to its viewers, however, arrived yesterday with the evidence in the defamation lawsuits filed by the voting-machine company Dominion, over claims aired on Fox News echoing Trump’s lie that the 2020 election had been fixed by compromised voting machines.  

Voltaire said that  whoever can make you believe absurdities can also make you commit atrocities.  But the full quote is even more revealing.

"Formerly there were those who said: You believe things that are incomprehensible, inconsistent, impossible because we have commanded you to believe them; go then and do what is injust because we command it. Such people show admirable reasoning. Truly, whoever can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. 

If the God‐​given understanding of your mind does not resist a demand to believe what is impossible, then you will not resist a demand to do wrong to that God‐​given sense of justice in your heart. 

As soon as one faculty of your soul has been dominated, other faculties will follow as well. 

And from this derives all those crimes of religion which have overrun the world."

And this is how Woke goes to Die. 

 

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We Dissent

Most of us were not surprised this week when the United States Extreme Court formally ruled to take women's rights away with the aid of three new injustices appointed by an unfit president who won with the aid of foreign power even after tape was released in which the candidate spoke of grabbing women by the pussy.  When someone tells you who they are, believe them.

And we were not surprised when this new extreme court ruled that  New York's 105 year old gun law was found to be unconstitutional.  Sure took them a while.

Nor were we surprised when our 15th century Taliban band of black robes decided that a clearly delegated EPA cannot set standards to protect us from the  ravages of climate change.

But I was somehow surprised that they would allow a football coach to hold a prayer service on public land on the 50 yard line after the game. In all fairness, I don't blame him for praying, his win/loss record is abysmal. It's the public land thing that violates the constitution.

Here is what the court minority representing a super majority of citizens said of the Roe ruling:

“We cannot understand how anyone can be confident that today’s opinion will be the last of its kind,” the liberals wrote.

And the three justices took a sharp swipe at the contention from Justice Brett Kavanaugh that the Constitution is “neutral” on the question of abortion and that the decision should therefore be left to the states.

“When it comes to rights, the Court does not act ‘neutrally’ when it leaves everything up to the States,” the liberals wrote. “When the Court decimates a right women have held for 50 years, the Court is not being ‘scrupulously neutral.’ It is instead taking sides: against women who wish to exercise the right, and for States (like Mississippi) that want to bar them from doing so.”

Kavanaugh “cannot obscure that point by appropriating the rhetoric of even-handedness,” they added.

“In overruling Roe and Casey, this Court betrays its guiding principles. With sorrow — for this Court, but more, for the many millions of American women who have today lost a fundamental constitutional protection — we dissent,” they wrote.

In New York, the state legislature shot back immediately.  This from the NYT:

"A week after the Supreme Court issued monumental rulings loosening restrictions on carrying guns and overturning the constitutional right to abortion, New York enacted sweeping measures designed to blunt the decisions’ effects.

In an extraordinary session convened by Gov. Kathy Hochul that began Thursday and carried late into Friday evening, the State Legislature adopted a new law placing significant restrictions on the carrying of handguns and passed an amendment that would initiate the process of enshrining the right to abortion in the state constitution.

The new legislation illustrates the growing distance between a conservative-led court that has reasserted its influence in American political life and blue states such as New York — one of the most left-leaning in the nation, where all three branches of government are controlled by Democrats and President Biden easily triumphed over Donald J. Trump in 2020."

As for the EPA, the Guardian characterized it this way:

"In a 6-3 decision that will seriously hinder America’s ability to stave off disastrous global heating, the supreme court, which became dominated by rightwing justices under the Trump administration, has opted to support a case brought by West Virginia that demands the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) be limited in how it regulates planet-heating gases from the energy sector.  

The case, which was backed by a host of other Republican-led states including Texas and Kentucky, was highly unusual in that it was based upon the Clean Power Plan, an Obama-era strategy to cut emissions from coal-fired power plants that never came into effect. The Biden administration sought to have the case dismissed as baseless given the plan was dropped and has not been resurrected."

So the Court did not strike down a law, it prohibited the idea of such a law. 

Meanwhile the President made it clear that if D's gain 2 seats in the Senate and they hold the house, then he will support codification of Roe.

"President Joe Biden said Thursday that he would support an exception to the Senate filibuster to codify Roe v. Wade and federally protect access to abortion.

“I believe we have to codify Roe v. Wade in the law and the way to do that is to make sure that Congress votes to do that, and if the filibuster gets in the way, it’s like voting rights, it should be ‘we provide an exception for this’ — require an exception to the filibuster for this action to deal with the Supreme Court decision,” Biden said during a press conference at the NATO summit. "(Politico)

 This election is not just about Roe, it's about sanity.  It's about electing enough Democrats to stop this rogue supreme court before it rules in favor of state legislatures overruling the popular vote.

Fourteen years ago I wrote about the Texas Taliban, which was the Texas Republican Party.  Now, after withholding approval of Obama's supreme court pick, and fumbling the ball with RBG, we find ourselves in the hands of a ruthless gang of the same religious zealots in Washington.

We need to do more than Dissent.

We need to resist.

And we need to VOTE in epic droves in November.

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Climate Change Impact on Nuclear Destruction Infrastructure

 

 

If you don't have enough to lose sleep over at night, "Respect is the Hub" can fill your boat.

Respect is the Hub is all over the subject of Climate Change and how it is likely to increase the chance of nuclear war.  A few others are onto it also:

Susan D'Agostino: 

Is the U.S. Nuclear Community Prepared for the Extreme Weather Climate Change is Bringing? https://thebulletin.org/2021/04/is-the-us-nuclear-community-prepared-for-the-extreme-weather-climate-change-is-bringing/ 

 Michael Klare: 

 How Rising Temperatures Increase the Likelihood of Nuclear War.   https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/nuclear-defense-climate-change/ 

Matt Korda: 

When Talking About the Climate Crisis, We Can't Forget About Nuclear Weapons https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/climate-change-nuclear/ 

 The U.S. Nuclear Deterrent is not Prepared for Climate Catastrophe    https://www.forbes.com/sites/matthewkorda/2020/03/16/the-us-nuclear-deterrent-is-not-prepared-for-climate-catastrophe/?sh=1fdb41f63a1e 

 Do Young People Care About Nuclear Weapons? (Looks at connecting nuclear weapons to climate, health and social justice issues) https://inkstickmedia.com/do-young-people-care-about-nuclear-weapons/

 Jamie Kwong: 

A Troubling Forecast: Climate Change and the Future of Nuclear Deterrence. (This paper discusses 2019 flood at U.S. Strategic Command, potential disruptions related to thawing permafrost, etc. R.U.S.I. = Royal United Services Institute, a UK security think tank) https://static.rusi.org/201912_rusi_uk_poni_papers_2019_web.pdf Video Content Council on Strategic Risks: 

Can Climate Change Increase the Risk of Nuclear War? (security analyst panel discussion) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNrahMvbWVY Ira Helfand/PSR: 

 Dr. Ira Helfand: Risk of Nuclear War Increases with Climate Change (interview) https://youtu.be/3H5eltT4XIo 

Also: 

Seth Baum et al: "A Model for the Probability of Nuclear War" (60 historical incidents related to nuclear weapons) A Model for the Probability of Nuclear War by Seth Baum, Robert de Neufville, Anthony Barrett.

Respect is the Hub has a very active twitter account with over 1800 tweets.  Check it out:

 https://twitter.com/selfothersplace 

 

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Respectism and the Kinder Community

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Whereas the peoples of the United Nations have in the Charter reaffirmed their faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person and in the equal rights of men and women and have determined to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom, Whereas Member States have pledged themselves to achieve, in co-operation with the United Nations, the promotion of universal respect for and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms..." Universal Declaration of Human Rights (United Nations, 1948) 

 I refuse to accept the cynical notion that nation after nation must spiral down a militaristic stairway into the hell of thermonuclear destruction. I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. This is why right temporarily defeated is stronger than evil triumphant. Martin Luther King (Nobel Peace Prize Acceptance Speech, 1964) 

 When historians pick up their pens to write the story of the 21st century, let them say that it was your generation who laid down the heavy burdens of hate at last and that peace finally triumphed over violence, aggression and war. So I say to you, walk with the wind, brothers and sisters, and let the spirit of peace and the power of everlasting love be your guide. John Lewis (Farewell Essay, 2020) 

There is a community that believes in community. There is a community that believes in mutual respect for all and for our delicate life sphere. There is a community that believes in the common good for all. There is a kinder community that has always opposed cruelty and neglect and degradation of the natural. Our kinder community has always been here, part of the human community. It is time for this community to focus. 

This is like no other time in human history. 

We all live in a tiny bubble of air inside a very narrow strip of life. We are threatening our only home with destruction. The engine of destruction has many parts including nuclear weapons, climate crisis, resource depletion and mass extinction. 

The fuel for the engine is any human culture based on hatred, greed and fear. It should be clear by now that technology alone cannot save us, but can destroy us. It should be equally clear that only rapid, kind, and mutually respectful change in our human culture can save us from disaster. 

Our kinder community may wish to focus on the following hypotheses of life affirming cultural change: 

1) Following and universally advertising a model of respect for others, self and place. 

2) Separating abusive leaders, large and small, from power as respectfully as possible. 

3) Promoting fair dealing, justice and accountability based on listening dialogue, honesty, and equality. 

4) Using a rigorous, scientific metric of decreased violence, detention and neglect to measure our success. 

5) Using the clearest and simplest language possible. 

We are on the brink of a vast cultural change. Either enough of us will work together to build a better culture based on kindness and mutual respect, or a new culture formed by immense shared disaster and trauma will adhere to those who survive. 

Respectism is the belief that a mutually respectful society is a pragmatic necessity for our survival. Mutual respect is respect for self, others and place. Love is the soul of respect, and respect is the language of love. 

 Image: A view of the plenary hall in the World Conference Center in Bonn during a meeting of the UNFCCC. (Photo: IISD) 2017 

 

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