hurricane

Has The World Gotten Scarier?

…or is it just me?

I mean, seriously: There’s a new COVID variant; monkeypox and a deadly flu are now going around; ebola is making a comeback. Russia in Ukraine is retreating, but on the other hand tactical nukes. Trump’s in the headlines; last time that happened, he became president. There’s hurricanes, floods, famine, plague, earthquakes, tsunamis, and you just know there’s about to be a volcano erupting somewhere, right?

This is worse than that Billy Joel song. When does it all end?!

(more…)

Climate Change Is Nothing To Worry About

Look: Climate changes. That’s what it does.

Mountains rise and crumble, get washed away and turned into silt, and eventually end up shoving a new set of moving islands out into the ocean. Deserts and ice caps grow and sink. Ten thousand years ago, all this used to be ice, ninety years ago it was a dust bowl, and a hundred fifty years ago there were blizzards in June and no crops grew. Tomorrow, Manhattan will sink into the sea, and if we’re really lucky, so will Washington, D.C. God only knows what things will look like in twenty years, much less a hundred or a thousand.

(more…)

It Doesn’t Go Without Saying

The Not Fake News, as a general rule, tends to focus on events that fell out of the headlines too soon, or angles on stories that have plenty of merit but somehow get discarded by the major media.  My reasoning behind this is simple:  CNN has a zillion reporters, a massive staff, and a huge budget.  I’ve got me, my internet Brain Trust of volunteers, and whatever spare change people kick into the pot to pay my web costs.

Buy Me A Coffee

There’s no need for me to repeat work that CNN (more…)

On Nuking Hurricanes

It’s all over the internet and everyone’s re-posting it, but it’s a myth.  Best as I can tell, there’s zero evidence to the effect that Donald Trump ever seriously suggested we should use nuclear weapons to stop hurricanes.  Sorry, Cillizza; Axios may beat BuzzFeed as a source, but this is still not real news.

Which in a way is kind of a pity, because it’s not as insane as it sounds.

I know, right?  Not a high bar.  But there really is a fascinating (more…)

Whitefish: The Unpleasant Truth

You’ve been reading for a couple of weeks about Whitefish Energy, a small Montana company (with all of two full-time employees) that shares a hometown with Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke.

You already know they were awarded a massive contract to repair hurricane damage in Puerto Rico, that the investors are personally acquainted with the Secretary and donated to the Trump campaign, that there’s been massive media outcry against them and a call for Congressional investigation.  You might even be aware that the F.B.I. (more…)

How To Fix The World

The NFL is being boycotted in retaliation for some players kneeling in protest during the national anthem.  The protests began as against police brutality, particularly against members of minorities.

There was another mass shooting, this time against a crowded open-air concert.  Thoughts and prayers are being sent, and they’re being ridiculed by people demanding gun control — never mind that no practicable gun laws would have prevented this latest atrocity.

Marches and protests and riots.  Tearing down statues.  Congressional stalemate matches.  Hurricanes, floods, fires, earthquakes.  Bad economy, lousy job, sick parents and sick kids, student loans we can never pay back and an underwater mortgage.

Not just the country but the whole world is in rough shape, my friends, and small wonder there are protests.  But I put it to you that there are better ways (more…)

This Is Getting Ridiculous

When I look back over the majority of my articles written since January, I find a single recurring phrase:  “Look, I don’t like Trump either, but…”

And I’ll tell ya what:  I’m getting sick of writing it.  I’m coming to the conclusion that the average Democrat on social media is whiny, petty, and incapable of seeing any good at all in the opposition.  Don’t get me wrong, mind; we already knew that about most of the Tea Party.  But I thought there was supposed to be a difference.

Seriously, now — What is it we all, even the Tea Party members among us, detest about the Tea Party?  It seems to attract people incapable of real thought.  I’m all about disputing (more…)

Trump Caves Pointlessly

I’ve argued it before, and I’ll argue it again; I’d shout it from the rooftops if I thought it would help:  We need to do something about the damned Jones Act before we strangle Puerto Rico’s economy for good.

Just… not today. (more…)