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So sad for the USA

Doug Kerr

Well-known member
I am so sad for what is happening to my beloved United States of America under president Donald Trump. He is destroying our nation by destroying our institutions of government.

Most insidious is his implanting in the various federal government agencies leaders who (a) do not believe that what that agency does should be done by the federal government at all and (b) do not believe that there is global climate change nor that human activities are a significant contributor to that.

The latest example is his nomination to head the National Aeronautics and Space administration (NASA), Jim Bridenstine, member of the US House of Representatives from Oklahoma. Bridenstine reportedly has no scientific credentials whatsoever and has gone on record as saying that he doubts that human activity has contributed to climate change.

But he has "repeatedly expressed a passion for space exploration". And he was reportedly the executive director of the Air & Space Museum & Planetarium in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

If Rep. Bridenstine were to be confirmed in this appointment, I will feel sorry for the many scientists and mathematicians at NASA involved in orbital calculations when they hear from the front office that the Earth is flat.

#KAGA - Keep American great, already. Eh?

Best regards,

Doug
 

Doug Kerr

Well-known member
Rep. Bridenstine, in an interview in 2016 with Aerospace America magazine, said (in support of his skepticism about the human contribution to current climate change):

The climate “has always changed,” he said. “There were periods of time long before the internal combustion engine when the Earth was much warmer than it is today.”

And that is certainly true. Not really relevant to our concerns today, but true.

The matter of global temperature change is a very complex one, but I find very valuable this brief monograph by James E. Hansen and Makiko Sato of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies:

https://www.giss.nasa.gov/research/briefs/hansen_15/

Especially interesting is the description (in a sidebar) of the period in which there was an ice sheet over a mile thick over what is now New York City.

Best regards,

Doug
 

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
The problem stems for the continued survival, by Federally funded support of school programs in Conservative Communities, of the conviction that evolution is a theory only and that fossils were put there by the Creator about 5,000 years ago. This mindset is found throughout diofferent churches from Baptist to Seventh Day Adventists.

It breeds an anti-science bias.

Yes, they see the benefits of electricity and mostly of modern medicine and surgery, but object when the same scientific method is used for social arguments, such as

  • that some folk are born with genes that tend for them to grow up prefering their own gender,
  • that species are to be protected
  • that streams can get polluted threatening humans and wildlife alike
  • that one cant be righteous and be racists at the same time

Global warming is such an argument that runs counter to religious dogma that they have above a God that will never again destroy the planet, as in the flood recounted in the story of Noah, or as historians would recognize in the great literary epic of Gilgemash which preseced the biblical account.

Politics is hijacked by such religious "memes" that infect the brains of those expsoed weekly to fiery sermons about miracles and the mercy of the One above. Logic cannot seem to penetrate the teflon coated belief systems in most right wind beleivers.

In the USA, at least, the denial of evolution and of such science, remains a drag on our entire educational system and ability to compete internationally.

Asher
 

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
Thankfully, however, men who have faced the reality of poverty around them, are humble enough to be open for change. The current Catholic Pontif in Rome does support working against man-made global warming and also to be brotherly to the population who are naturally gay. So all is not forlorn.

We would do well to understand what swayed the Pontif to get with the program and support science over creed. anyway, he is a good man and a light to the nations! We need more religious men to hold such a lantern to the value of science and the possibility that it can safely coexist with religious beleif.

Asher
 

Doug Kerr

Well-known member
Hi, Asher,

The problem stems for the continued survival, by Federally funded support of school programs in Conservative Communities, of the conviction that evolution is a theory only and that fossils were put there by the Creator about 5,000 years ago.

Indeed.

Respected archaeological research suggests that H. sapiens sapiens have lived in the Alamogordo area for at least 11,000 years, with the center of that habitation probably being in La Luz, a small town that immediately adjoins Alamogordo to the north.

We joke that if indeed God created the entire Universe (yes, maybe in six days, the seven-day work week already having been discredited by the organized labor movement of the time) about 5,000 years ago, it must have been a helluva shock to the people then living in La Luz.

Best regards,

Doug
 

Antonio Correia

Well-known member
I could not sustain a discussion with you about Trump but everybody sees he is diminishing the USA with his Tweets and his so frequent and obvious lies.

A shame, indeed but you have voted for him, haven't you ?

Sometimes, I wonder why - for the time being - he has not been impeached... perhaps powers don't want that to happen !
 

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
Antonio,

Me vote for Donald, selfish Trump? You have gotta be digging up strange ? s in the forrest to ?!

Asher
 

Doug Kerr

Well-known member
Hi, Antonio,

I could not sustain a discussion with you about Trump but everybody sees he is diminishing the USA with his Tweets and his so frequent and obvious lies.
Indeed.

A shame, indeed but you have voted for him, haven't you ?

Not I. And many who did are now sorry. But few will admit it.

Sometimes, I wonder why - for the time being - he has not been impeached... perhaps powers don't want that to happen !

Well, that is a bit problematical. It is not clear that his mis- and malfeasance rises to the level of what the Constitution gives as a warrant for impeachment ("high crimes and misdemeanors"). And of course impeachment has to be brought by the House of Representatives, which is controlled by the Republican party. And the trial to remove him from office would then be conducted by the Senate, which is controlled by the Republican party.

Then if he were removed from office, the vice president, Mike Pence, wouild become president. And he is every bit as dangerous as Trump, maybe more, and he is much sneakier.

When you have screwed yourself, it is hard to get unscrewed.

Best regards,

Doug
 

Tom dinning

Registrant*
In Australia (thats the slab of sand floating just west of New Zealand) we have our small share of doubters regarding global warming and the age of the earth. Most of them are openly laughed at except in Queensland where the sun is always shining and people still wear white shoes.
Most recent findings have identified that the indigenous population in n Australia have be n here for at least 70,000 years. I guess they must have met God on his way through.
We did have a politician who was a greenhouse doubter but he got delegated to the back bench before he ruined it for the rest of the party.
Evolution is heavily embedded in the national science curriculum and creationism doesn't get a mention although some private religious schools might sneak it in. My 6 year old ggd knows more about evolution than a great deal of Americans. As for the age of the earth, she might still believe I was there at the beginning since I'm the oldest person she knows. I can cope with that. As for God, I'm working on it. She thinks there is one but he's just there to make sure she washes her hands after using the toilet.
We are currently going through a process of enabling equal rights for ALL Australians. We haven't quite caught up with that yet. Marriage equality is a small issue that will survive the dogma quite soon. Indigenous Australians seem to be human but not mentioned in the constitution as such. Don't ask me how that works. But we are working on it. It's simple enough to most Australians but the lawyers need to make their fare share first.
Our prime minister doesn't text, has reasonable hair sense, and although he has a stack of cash and no idea what it's like to be poor, he seems a nice enough bloke. He even told trump to **** off. That's got to be a plus.
I'm saying all this because I'd like to let all my friends in the US that there is hope. Our greatest advantage is how the prime minister is elected. If he ****s things up he could be gone next week. In fact, a few years back, one prime minister went on holidays and came back with someone else sitting in his chair.
We don't worship the position of head of state. It's a job. If someone doesn't do their job we find someone better real fast.
We have a scientific body that people take notice of. They are government employee as well. We have a clear and concise separation of church and state. We have a compulsory and uniform school curriculum nation wide. We are by no means perfect and we have much to work on but I believe we have a solid base to work from.
I think it's time we reversed a few things and suggest that other countries shift their emphasis from the US and learn from us.
Mind you, I'm not real partial to our immigration policy or the policing of many of our responsibilities.
On most days I'm grateful to my grand parents for having moved here.
 

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
Tom,

I wish your prime minister would come here and tell Trump to **** off and perhaps his party might get the idea how to articulate a reasonable response to Trump rather than tolerate his tempestuous tweeting, arrogance and lies.

The religious right here are so full of themselves. Many are rich as descendants of the wealth made on the backs of slaves. I would love to have a rule whereby anyone who refers to God in political discussion for blessings and guidance should be automatically dismissed, irrespective of party or national standing.

I find most cultural inheritance, including religion has value in sentimentality and cohesion. I want to show mutual respect. However, it can only be recognized as private whimsical choices we have the right to self-indulge in and must have no place in political movements or positions!

Thankgawd we have Australia as an example of separation of Church and state and lack of "awe" of divine royalty, in the position of the head of state!

Asher
 

Tom dinning

Registrant*
Tom,

I wish your prime minister would come here and tell Trump to **** off and perhaps his party might get the idea how to articulate a reasonable response to Trump rather than tolerate his tempestuous tweeting, arrogance and lies.

The religious right here are so full of themselves. Many are rich as descendants of the wealth made on the backs of slaves. I would love to have a rule whereby anyone who refers to God in political discussion for blessings and guidance should be automatically dismissed, irrespective of party or national standing.

I find most cultural inheritance, including religion has value in sentimentality and cohesion. I want to show mutual respect. However, it can only be recognized as private whimsical choices we have the right to self-indulge in and must have no place in political movements or positions!

Thankgawd we have Australia as an example of separation of Church and state and lack of "awe" of divine royalty, in the position of the head of state!

Asher

Thanks Ash. We might be blunt, uncouth and curse a lot but we know who we are and take **** from few. Cutting down tall poppies is a pastime we all willingly participate in.
 

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
I value that we do take time off photography to address important social, political and ethical issues. That's a unique aspect of this forum which we can be proud of. But let's not neglect our attention to posted photographs in the process!

We are also hypocritical. My wife works in a neuroscience center which boast some of the legendary researchers in neuropsychiatric illnesses. They fully know about the toll of football, blunt force trauma injuries on the brains of the money winning football teams, but they don't say a work against this continued mega million dollar sports income obsession, that all the best US Universities all have pride in!

It's really spineless!

The same with an entire congress and senate where the USA has one party dominant, controlling everything, but hatred, prejudice and arrogance makes them hold on to selfish polices to try to return the USA to a "greatness", or actually a "whiteness" that never existed!

Would they be talking of deporting a million undocumented "dreamers", (folk who came here aged 3-6 and know no other place), if they were all Swedish fashion models? Trouble is they have names like Jesus and Jose, Maria and Marcella and these are definitely not from some angelic Nordic race of impeccable genomic perfection, LOL!

So again, they are hypocritical. That is the one constant characteristic of the Republicans in power and their Southern Democrat colleagues!

Enough. Now pay mind attention to the many fine pictures others have posted! ?

Asher
 

Jerome Marot

Well-known member
I am so sad for what is happening to my beloved United States of America under president Donald Trump.

I tend to believe that elected presidents are not the disease, they are a symptom of an underlying problem.

It is usually the little facts which are telling. I travelled to the USA 3 weeks ago. I don't normally watch TV at home (I don't own a TV set), but screens were on in restaurants and motel lobbies where I stayed. What I found surprising were the advertisements, practically all of them where for:
  • medecines
  • hospitals and doctors
  • lawyers and class action suits against medical malpractice.

There are various explanations for that. I was also surprised to find out that, apparently, general TV and radio are replaced by subscription services (in my hotel room, the TV set offered me to enter my Netflix or Hulu account and the rental car radio was set up for various streaming services), so that general TV probably only targets people without disposable income.
 

Tom dinning

Registrant*
I tend to believe that elected presidents are not the disease, they are a symptom of an underlying problem.

Like puss on a sore

It is usually the little facts which are telling. I travelled to the USA 3 weeks ago. I don't normally watch TV at home (I don't own a TV set), but screens were on in restaurants and motel lobbies where I stayed. What I found surprising were the advertisements, practically all of them where for:
  • medecines
  • hospitals and doctors
  • lawyers and class action suits against medical malpractice.

So what do you do in the evening? Talks to your partner?


There are various explanations for that. I was also surprised to find out that, apparently, general TV and radio are replaced by subscription services (in my hotel room, the TV set offered me to enter my Netflix or Hulu account and the rental car radio was set up for various streaming services), so that general TV probably only targets people without disposable income.

Trump has stated that a lack of disposables income was no excuse for denying an education at his university

Here's my hypothesis for what it's worth.
It's probably no coincidence that roughly the same % opted for Trump as are declared true believers of God.
Morons need a god figure. They need something to believe in regardless of how idiotic the ideal might be. Trump is perfect for that role.
 

Jerome Marot

Well-known member
Something else which surprised me.

I went to Chicago. Walking in the streets of the city, I was surprised at the number of beggars of apparent European descent (what is called "caucasian"). Conversely, they were apparently very few beggars of African or South American descent. On the other hand, I saw plenty of coloured people apparently employed.

The explanation is probably the following:
-it is normal that there is a majority of white beggars, because the majority of the US population is white
-the people one sees working on the street have low wages jobs: courier, car park valets, guards. Conversely, rich people would hide in their cars and offices.

But for the casual observer, it looks like the situation of the whites was markedly worse than the one of the african-americans and latinos, which is part of the new "alt-right" thesis.


Something else again: many of the beggars had signs. The story on the sign was practically always that themselves or somebody in the family went sick, ran a high hospital bill and they had to sell everything to cover up the fees. I have no way to know whether the stories were true or not. But I know that if a majority of beggars use the same kind of story, that story is believable for its intended audience.
 

Antonio Correia

Well-known member
What is Trump Twitting about this ?

i-wbGQJjw-XL.png
 

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
Something else which surprised me.

I went to Chicago. Walking in the streets of the city, I was surprised at the number of beggars of apparent European descent (what is called "caucasian"). Conversely, they were apparently very few beggars of African or South American descent. On the other hand, I saw plenty of coloured people apparently employed.

The explanation is probably the following:
-it is normal that there is a majority of white beggars, because the majority of the US population is white
-the people one sees working on the street have low wages jobs: courier, car park valets, guards. Conversely, rich people would hide in their cars and offices.

But for the casual observer, it looks like the situation of the whites was markedly worse than the one of the african-americans and latinos, which is part of the new "alt-right" thesis.


Something else again: many of the beggars had signs. The story on the sign was practically always that themselves or somebody in the family went sick, ran a high hospital bill and they had to sell everything to cover up the fees. I have no way to know whether the stories were true or not. But I know that if a majority of beggars use the same kind of story, that story is believable for its intended audience.

Jerome,

Poor destitute folk in LA get absolutely free medical care at the LA County Health Syatem. Long waits but competent and free care! Odd things. "MediCal" won't pay for immune suppression drugs at $1800 per month so a man loses his precious and perfectly functioning kidney transplant to autoimmune rejection. Now the same Medical willingly pays that same "$1800", 3 times a week, every week for the rest of his life, for renal dialysis. In any other Western Democracy, the immunosuppressive. Pills would have been supplied routinely without question for patients with a working kidney transplant. But this fellow actually is employed. Always have been but simply didn't have $1800 a month to pay for the needed drugs!

So, no doubt, a some unknown fraction of the beggars must have, through no fault of their own, been made unemployable by virtues of being denied some health care. In addition, poor folk arrested for a crime will be essentially coerced by the "system" to pleade guilty to some "offense" to limit their risk of a longer jail sentenc, or to simply stay out of jail right now, as they cannot raise the bail needed! Then they get either jailed or fired from their job for having a conviction and are now unemployable!

At least in the Los Angeles area, there are also organized gangs of professional beggers and team leaders might actually deliver folk with their placards to favorite locations. Then there are numerous army veterans who are mentally damaged with post traumatic brain injury who beg at intersections too. These groups can intermix. When you see a woman and her child and poster, being picked up around the corner from their "site" in a brand new SUV, one becomes cynical. Hispanics here work! Very few beg. In fact he have not noticed any!

A few blacks perhaps, near a homeless encampment they made for themselves at their location and "domain" they sort of have laid claim to might have a basket to drop change in. But most often, they keep to themselves!

In Europe, I have recognized teams of organized beggars with bandages or other aids or children. It looks heartbreaking but I have no idea what is real.

The real homeless don't seem to beg here!

Asher
 

James Lemon

Well-known member
Thankfully, however, men who have faced the reality of poverty around them, are humble enough to be open for change. The current Catholic Pontif in Rome does support working against man-made global warming and also to be brotherly to the population who are naturally gay. So all is not forlorn.

We would do well to understand what swayed the Pontif to get with the program and support science over creed. anyway, he is a good man and a light to the nations! We need more religious men to hold such a lantern to the value of science and the possibility that it can safely coexist with religious beleif.

Asher

Me and my cat's don't believe in science. But we have seen the great spirits and pray to them every day. We must fight this "Environmental Armageddon" we should pass laws that will put people in jail for over consuming.
 

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
Me and my cat's don't believe in science. But we have seen the great spirits and pray to them every day. We must fight this "Environmental Armageddon" we should pass laws that will put people in jail for over consuming.

So, would you be one of those jailed, James, or you have some indulgence certificate to forgo your actual penal penance?

So they sell indulgences still? There used to be a pretty car mprehensive priceliat!

Asher
 

Jerome Marot

Well-known member
Jerome,

Poor destitute folk in LA get absolutely free medical care at the LA County Health Syatem. Long waits but competent and free care! Odd things. "MediCal" won't pay for immune suppression drugs at $1800 per month so a man loses his precious and perfectly functioning kidney transplant to autoimmune rejection. Now the same Medical willingly pays that same "$1800", 3 times a week, every week for the rest of his life, for renal dialysis. In any other Western Democracy, the immunosuppressive. Pills would have been supplied routinely without question for patients with a working kidney transplant. But this fellow actually is employed. Always have been but simply didn't have $1800 a month to pay for the needed drugs!

So, no doubt, a some unknown fraction of the beggars must have, through no fault of their own, been made unemployable by virtues of being denied some health care. In addition, poor folk arrested for a crime will be essentially coerced by the "system" to pleade guilty to some "offense" to limit their risk of a longer jail sentenc, or to simply stay out of jail right now, as they cannot raise the bail needed! Then they get either jailed or fired from their job for having a conviction and are now unemployable!

At least in the Los Angeles area, there are also organized gangs of professional beggers and team leaders might actually deliver folk with their placards to favorite locations. Then there are numerous army veterans who are mentally damaged with post traumatic brain injury who beg at intersections too. These groups can intermix. When you see a woman and her child and poster, being picked up around the corner from their "site" in a brand new SUV, one becomes cynical. Hispanics here work! Very few beg. In fact he have not noticed any!

A few blacks perhaps, near a homeless encampment they made for themselves at their location and "domain" they sort of have laid claim to might have a basket to drop change in. But most often, they keep to themselves!

In Europe, I have recognized teams of organized beggars with bandages or other aids or children. It looks heartbreaking but I have no idea what is real.

The real homeless don't seem to beg here!

Asher


When someone is begging on the streets, I have no way to know the real story behind the person, especially in a foreign land and city. But I think that if the situation looks as if the poorer white population did not get the promises of obamacare delivered while the coloured population is doing comparatively well, some people are going to feel betrayed and vote accordingly.

Once again: the real economic reality behind the apparence is most probably different, as I explained above. But to some people, it probably feels that way and elections are decided by feelings.
 

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
When someone is begging on the streets, I have no way to know the real story behind the person, especially in a foreign land and city. But I think that if the situation looks as if the poorer white population did not get the promises of obamacare delivered while the coloured population is doing comparatively well, some people are going to feel betrayed and vote accordingly.

Once again: the real economic reality behind the apparence is most probably different, as I explained above. But to some people, it probably feels that way and elections are decided by feelings.

You may be correct, Jerome!

Merkel has a similar problem with 2 million Germansci. Russia she has lost support of because of sanctions against Russia and our insistence that Crimea, that the German Catherine celebrated in "acquiring", should be now obviously recognized as the natural property of mother Russia! Once folk get infected with this infectious meme, (and note that they watch just the Russian broadcasts and read mostly Russian Newspapers), they (like Trumps low-education white men, who believe the xenophobic harangues of right wing evangelists and giant public rallies, that the immigrant hoarded of illegal Hispanics are the enemies of the people!), are totally "immune" and closed off to any other ideas that threaten the core belief, the infectious meme has insidiously brought them!

Once folk get infected with such ideas, rational argument cannot penetrate their brains. One Harvard educated Geologist admitted that from the fossil and genomic sequence evidence, of all species examined to date, the overwhelming direction is clearly to support evolution of species by natural variations and selection, as the only plausible explanation. However, he insists, since in the Holy Bible, it clearly relates the truth that the entire world and light and darkness were created by God with all the animals and plants in one go, (except for women, (who required a rib from Adam), he is forced to dismiss evolution as false and support the absolutely convincing "truth" in "creationism"!

Seeing a few white men begging certainly reinforces the views of uneducated and rural blue collar white workers. But is it true? Some jobs have died, not because of Hispanics stealing the "good jobs" but because some industries simply age and die or use a more efficient labor force of robots!

However, good lick for a democratic politician to explain that to an uneducated white fellow!

Asher
 

Richard Millar

New member
Here in the the UK Trump is nothing but a figure of fun. In the past there have been US presidents that have been good and bad but never one that you simply can't take seriously
 

Antonio Correia

Well-known member
Here in the the UK Trump is nothing but a figure of fun. In the past there have been US presidents that have been good and bad but never one that you simply can't take seriously

Indeed. And that is very dangerous for the World and USA.

Welcome to the forum !
Care to post some images of yours ?

Thank you ! :)
 
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