The so called right to life politicians are pulling the plug on USAID thus increasing the death rate.

The so called right to life politicians are pulling the plug on USAID thus increasing the death rate.

Cutting off foreign aid could be seen as a crude way to reduce world population.

It's possibly from the law of unintended consequences. I think much of the anti immigration push, plus the cutbacks in foreign aid are like a subconscious reaction to a crowded planet.

Support for birth control causes far less misery.

Elon Musk foolishly supported and now gets burned by the MAGA cult.

Much of the MAGA world is having to eat it's own vicious medicine. I'm not surprised that there would be a falling out between Elon Musk and Trump.

Fire brand Steve Bannon, a media personality and former Trump aid, has also entered the fight. Without our government's checks and balances, Trump could, conceivably, seize, Musk's Space X company on national security grounds; as Bannon suggests. It's likely the courts would try to stop this, however; remember Trump's bullying of Harvard.

Space X has been a very important defense and space contractor. It's been the only reliable US provider for human space flight. Without it, astronauts would have no way to get back and forth from the International Space Station; except for riding on Russia's Soyuz capsules.

The US and Russia are no longer on friendly terms either, but scientists, on the Space Station, can still work together. If scientists can work together, why can't anyone else?

Religious fanatics, politicians, media stars and much of the public engages in nasty feuds. The volume of these feuds has been in high gear as folks like Trump, Musk and Bannon keep blathering.

I remember having quite a bit of respect for Musk with his reusable rockets, but more recently, it seems like he has bought the MAGA bug and gone off the rails; his Space X company still functioning thanks to calmer minded technical staff.

Maybe, if real scientists had more say in world affairs, we would be in much better shape.

Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) give some Republicans worry about their image. To be honest, the choices are difficult.

Warning: This mentions death.

As Republicans struggle with lowering the federal deficit, I think the biggest slice of the spending pie is Medicare, which I rely on. So far, it's off the cutting table, but Medicaid is another large pillar of life that could be on the table.

Like political "hot rails" politicians mess who these items risk committing "political suicide." These comments from Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) give some Republicans worry about their image. To be honest, the choices are difficult.

Other big budget items include things like interest on the debt, military, veteran benefits and Homeland Security. Beyond that it's many small slices of the pie that keep the country going; such as the Weather Service.

Link to article on Yahoo News.

While the Democratic Party seems better at protecting status quo than Republicans, many on the left want bigger change. There seems to be little consensus for the direction of change, however.

Some people want to make big changes in the Democratic Party as the same old party lost in the past. Problem is, it seems like there is little consensus, among the American people, for which direction to change. Many people want big change, but little agreement on what the big change should be.

I see voting for the Democrats as a way to protect democracy; somewhat like the role of a placeholder.

Transformational change is needed; especially to deal with climate change. Eventually, I hope that some clear consensus can emerge among the American people for strategies moving forward. I know what my own agenda would look like. In a nutshell; less emphasis on money and consumerism, but embrace technology and don't be too anti business. Encourage patience and healthier lifestyles. Encourage less automobile dependent planning and so forth.

I would love to see a consensus for this, but I don't see it so far. We do need some kind of consensus, if not this something at least, if we want to move the country in a new direction that sticks.

Blaming the people for our society's problems can empower the people to act differently in the marketplace and to make better choices when voting.

I tend to blame the people for our society's problems. It's mostly the people. Institutions and business play a part, but I think the people, who make up the mass markets and the voting public, are the main problem.

I would hope that this thought could empower people as we can make the changes and I think institutions would still follow; for the most part.

Rather than blaming individuals, I blame culture in mass.

In 2024, US voters chose a path toward the US becoming an oligarchy where power becomes more concentrated at the top and in one person.

I'm hoping voters will make different choices going forward if they still have a chance.

Wrongful death lawsuit says Big Oil contributed to heat wave and woman's death.

I personally doubt that a law suite against an oil company would be up-held; especially given the many Republicans on Supreme Court. If an oil company were to be fined, however, it would be like a carbon tax, which I basically favor. Raising the price of fossil fuels that gets passed on to the consumer.

The Republican Party, itself, could be target of blame for climate denial. Below I excerpted this from article.

The current administration has been quick to disregard climate change and related jargon. Under President Donald Trump, the U.S. withdrew from the Paris climate agreement, again; the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration — an agency whose weather forecasting and research workforce has been gutted — will no longer track the cost of weather disasters fueled by climate change; and the Environmental Protection Agency has been called on to a rewrite its long-standing findings that determined planet-warming greenhouse gases endanger public health and welfare.

Another one of my thoughts is how deadly cars can be that people drive everyday. Sitting in a car, even in shade, can be deadly on a hot day if the air-conditioning is not working. If driving, its better to try and find an air-conditioned business to stop at and walk into the cool space, I guess.

I wrote this blog post after I found an article in May 29, 2025 Huntingdon Daily News. About someone from Ferndale, near Bellingham.

Got a response like this where I posted somewhere else.

Carbon taxes put the burden on working people as the rich don’t notice it and big companies just pass it on. It’s a regressive tax.

We NEED to outlaw burning of Fossil Fuel with enough lead time before it goes into effect to change over to sustainable fuels.

My reply.

It does seem like many people rebel against laws. If we kick the can down the road and outlaw fossil fuels in 10 years, it would probably still be a hardship. We may need a 10 year plan, but folks would say it's like the 5 year plans under Stalin's Soviet Union.

Back in the 1970s, there was a law for gas rationing to try and allocate the short supply during the Arab oil embargo. The wealthy were not allowed to jump the cue like in more of a market driven system. When Reagan came along, deregulation and the market became more like a god, I guess. The market and higher prices brought more oil production from shale and so forth.

In some ways, I miss the days of odd / even gas rationing. Those were my college days. Back then, I remember somewhat smugly saying, I don't drive. I can still say that today.