US Politics-2022

[anarchist100]

Republicans blaming the failed efforts of renewable energy for the rise in gas prices. The very actions that could have saved the US from an energy crisis that they continually fought against, and killed.

But they didn't, (assuming you're talking about Biden cancelling the Keystone Pipeline) America is still very dependent on fossil fuel, green energy is not advanced enough, and not affordable enough for average people, all it did was make life harder for the American people, if in any way it helps advance green energy, it will come from some brilliant capitalist using this as an opportunity to market their own green energy, by selling it for a lower price than the price of fossil fuel, and no government has the ability to predict whether this will happen or not.

 

[silva]

But they didn't, (assuming you're talking about Biden cancelling the Keystone Pipeline) America is still very dependent on fossil fuel, green energy is not advanced enough, and not affordable enough for average people, all it did was make life harder for the American people, if in any way it helps advance green energy, it will come from some brilliant capitalist using this as an opportunity to market their own green energy, by selling it for a lower price than the price of fossil fuel, and no government has the ability to predict whether this will happen or not.

I wasn't refering to the Keystone, which was nothing but a environmental catastrophe in the making, as well as displacing indigenous people to make money for nothing.
I was speaking of every green energy bill the republicans voting down.
Your response speaks of the ignorance I was referring to

 

[anarchist100]

I wasn't refering to the Keystone, which was nothing but a environmental catastrophe in the making, as well as displacing indigenous people to make money for nothing.

Well, none the less if the hadn't cancelled it, fuel prices would not be as high as they are now.

I was speaking of every green energy bill the republicans voting down.

What green energy bill? Pretty much all the arguments I've heard for high fuel prices being Biden's fault are centered around him cancelling the keystone pipeline, so I don't know what you're talking about when you say republicans are blaming some green energy bill.

Your response speaks of the ignorance I was referring to

It's condescending and obnoxious to always be calling people you disagree with ignorant, lefties almost always assume that the only reason a person would disagree with them is that they're ignorant.

 

[Sax]

But really, the President doesn't have authority to set the prices that private enterprises can charge.

Am I missing something? I don't think anyone suggested that.

Inflation is the biggest issue on voters minds, and if a firmly leftwing Biden voter like myself feels he isn't doing enough that's a bad omen for Dems in '22 and '24. Biden needs to find policies and messaging to change public perception. Blaming Putin isn't the answer, and neither is simplistic thinking like the president telling companies what to charge.

 

[silva]

Well, none the less if the hadn't cancelled it, fuel prices would not be as high as they are now.

B.S. The pipeline was never functional, and nothing but a money grab for those promoting it, and a false promise to republican supporters to put blame where it doens't belong.

What Is the Keystone XL Pipeline?

How a single pipeline project became the epicenter of an enormous environmental, public health, and civil rights battle.

www.nrdc.org

What green energy bill? Pretty much all the arguments I've heard for high fuel prices being Biden's fault are centered around him cancelling the keystone pipeline, so I don't know what you're talking about when you say republicans are blaming some green energy bill.

Oh about every one in my lifetime has been voted down by the republican party, and all the climate change deniers. There is no clean energy to save us because it was never funded. Trumps term has killed every bit of progress we hoped to make. The Trump Administration Is Stifling Renewable Energy on Public Lands and Waters
Yet all those repubs will point fingers at the environmentalist as if it had all been down and failed, instead of the grim reality that it never begun

It's condescending and obnoxious to always be calling people you disagree with ignorant, lefties almost always assume that the only reason a person would disagree with them is that they're ignorant.

You do a good job of that yourself.
It really is ignorance I'm complaining about, not conspiracy theories

 

[Mischief]

Am I missing something? I don't think anyone suggested that.

Inflation is the biggest issue on voters minds, and if a firmly leftwing Biden voter like myself feels he isn't doing enough that's a bad omen for Dems in '22 and '24. Biden needs to find policies and messaging to change public perception. Blaming Putin isn't the answer, and neither is simplistic thinking like the president telling companies what to charge.

So what are you suggesting?

 

[beancounter]

Ultimately, OPEC and the Saudi's are responsible for high fuel prices. Gas is traded on an international market....

The U.S. is energy independent. If the global market collapsed, we would be able to fuel ourselves. The issue would be how much to charge since it would not longer be traded internationally.

 

[Sax]

So what are you suggesting?

I'm not going to pretend to have expertise in macroeconomic policy or political messaging strategies. I'm also not going to pretend that that's the bar I need to clear to share my views and opinions here. I'm just expressing concern and frustration with how Biden is handling the #1 issue on voter's minds.

 

[Lou]

Although I can't think of any jokes right now, this Florida math textbook ban seems all to ripe for making fun of. I am hoping the late night comedians will have a field day. I won't be satisfied till I see some practice text questions in these unsuitable books.

This is so reminiscent of the whole evolution in science textbooks of the 80s and the Common Core controversy in the 2000s. Both of those set text books quality back. Not sure if it had any lasting effects. California is the USA's largest consumer of textbooks. But Florida and Texas are #2 and #3. I remember that in some instances there were two versions of some science textbooks.

 

[Chryssie]

I just read an article about that math textbook ban. Another example of stupid DeSantis policies!

Florida nixes dozens of math textbooks over critical race theory, Common Core standards

The Florida\u00a0Department of Education rejected 41%\u00a0of math textbook submissions\u00a0on Friday because of publishers’ attempt to “indoctrinate” students.

www.news-journalonline.com

The comments are good though.

 

[Lou]

The comments are good though.

I had to create an account to read the comments. Pretty good. I liked "Here’s a math question: if a corrupt governor gets 4,076,186 votes and his opponent gets 4, 083, 723 votes how many signatures on ballots does he have to reject to remain in power?"
Hope to see more of this tomorrow night on the late night shows.

Meanwhile, I hadn't realized that the Common Core Controversy had reappeared. although I am not a fan of Common Core, the right wing use of it as a whipping boy is reprehensible.

I also find that examples of what they found wrong with the textbooks is not being provided.

“They haven’t shown us what’s inside the books that they claim is critical race theory indoctrination, and there’s a reason they won’t show us, because it’s not there,” Smith said in an interview. ”It’s all right-wing fantasy, and it’s the latest example of how the right-wing Moms for Liberty ideology is now in charge of setting public education policy in Florida.”​

​

Eskamani, who said she requested the list of banned textbooks, tweeted: “I wonder if these math books highlighted statistics of racial disparities & that’s what they don’t like?​

​

“If those statistics make you uncomfortable maybe do something about it instead of erase them?”​

It my mind I can draw parallels with the ag-gag laws. or maybe even better, Floridas State legislature banning the words "climate change" and "Global Warming" from bills and discussion. (as Florida slowly disappears under rising ocean levels).

 

[Lou]

This is the price of insulin in various countries.

Top 10 Countries Where Insulin is Most Expensive (2018 RAND Corporation):​

1. United States — $98.70
2. Chile — $21.48
3. Mexico — $16.48
4. Japan — $14.40
5. Switzerland — $12.46
6. Canada — $12.00
7. Germany — $11.00
8. Korea — $10.30
9. Luxembourg — $10.15
10. Italy — $10.03

Cost of Insulin by Country 2024

worldpopulationreview.com

So when the US House of Representatives passed a bill to cap the price of insulin at $35,
" a mere 12 Republicans voted for the legislation"

GOP Makes “Price Gouge Diabetics on Insulin” Part of Its Official Party Platform

One hundred and ninety-three House Republicans voted against capping the price of insulin at $35 a month.

www.vanityfair.com

"Rep. Matt Gaetz justified his vote against a bill that would cap insulin at $35 a month for most Americans by suggesting people with diabetes should first lose weight before Congress steps in to help. "

Gaetz justifies 'no' vote on insulin cap bill by saying diabetics should lose weight

Twelve House Republicans broke party ranks to vote on a bill that would cap insulin at $35 per month for most Americans. Gaetz voted \

www.usatoday.com

 

[Amy SF]

The Week’s Best Cartoons 4/23

 

[Calliegirl]

In response to the book ban...

The Brooklyn Public Library (BPL) is counteracting a ban on certain books by letting anyone in the US aged 13 to 21 apply for a digital library card. This gives teens and young adults, regardless of their location in the United States, access to the library’s entire ebook collection.

Brooklyn Public Library is offering free digital library cards to young adults in the US

The BPL is fighting back against book removals.

www.theverge.com

 

[beancounter]

This guy is throwing their hypocrisy right back in their face...

Florida man asks schools to ban Bible following the state's efforts to remove books

Activist Chaz Stevens says the book isn't age appropriate and contains references to rape and bestiality. It's a not-so-subtle dig at Florida's recent efforts to ban books.

www.npr.org

 

[PTree15]

This guy is throwing their hypocrisy right back in their face...

Florida man asks schools to ban Bible following the state's efforts to remove books

Activist Chaz Stevens says the book isn't age appropriate and contains references to rape and bestiality. It's a not-so-subtle dig at Florida's recent efforts to ban books.

www.npr.org

Hah, well done by this guy!

 

[Lou]

This guy is throwing their hypocrisy right back in their face...

Florida man asks schools to ban Bible following the state's efforts to remove books

Activist Chaz Stevens says the book isn't age appropriate and contains references to rape and bestiality. It's a not-so-subtle dig at Florida's recent efforts to ban books.

www.npr.org

Haha!!!

Stevens proceeded to question whether the Bible is age-appropriate, pointing to its "casual" references to murder, adultery, sexual immorality, and fornication. "Do we really want to teach our youth about drunken orgies?"​

​

I remember after reading the Red Tent I couldn't believe that stuff was in the bible. so I got an Old Testament and read the first chapter. OMG!!!

 

[Lou]

Some good LOL moments here.

Trevor Noah's best jokes at the WHCD

The headliner quipped that it was his “great honor” to speak at the “nation’s most distinguished superspreader event.”

www.politico.com

 

[Mischief]

In response to the book ban...

Brooklyn Public Library is offering free digital library cards to young adults in the US

The BPL is fighting back against book removals.

www.theverge.com

Also, for anyone who is interested: for a $50 annual fee, anyone in the U.S. can get a membership card for the Brooklyn Public Library that allows them to access the library's ebook & audiobook collections, as well as all of its other electronic resources. This is a really good deal for anyone whose local public library's ebook collection is very limited. AFAIK, Brooklyn is the only major public library which offers this service.

 

[Lou]

Also, for anyone who is interested: for a $50 annual fee, anyone in the U.S. can get a membership card for the Brooklyn Public Library that allows them to access the library's ebook & audiobook collections, as well as all of its other electronic resources. This is a really good deal for anyone whose local public library's ebook collection is very limited. AFAIK, Brooklyn is the only major public library which offers this service.

I wouldn't dis-encourage anyone, but personally I would not pay $50 for access to ebooks. Although if there is good access to new e-textbooks, this could be a real nice investment for a college student.

Here in the US most county library systems have at least some kind of shared database. So you are not reliant on just what is available locally.

And most systems have access to Hoopla.

Years ago I wrote this article for a different forum. It may be a little out of date.

----------------------

Free books from Amazon

Amazon.com : free ebooks

The Baen Free Library
http://www.baen.com/library/
This is a paperback book publisher. What they have done is put some of their older titles on line to help promote their newer titles. Most of these books are science fiction. Looks like about a hundred books.

Free eBooks at Barnes and Noble
Download Free eBooks to Read with the Free NOOK App
Again it’s promotional. These books would work with just about any of the “eReaders”. And they must work with the B&N eReader. I don’t see anything I want to read, though. Looks like they have a hundred though.

eBook Store
http://www.ereader.com/servlet/mw?t=freebooks&si=59
Looks like they have a hundred or so.

Fictionwise
http://www.fictionwise.com/eBooks/freeBooks.htm?cache
They have 50 free ones.

Internet Archive
Internet Archive: Digital Library of Free & Borrowable Books, Movies, Music & Wayback Machine
“The Internet Archive is building a digital library of Internet sites and other cultural artifacts in digital form. Like a paper library, we provide free access to researchers, historians, scholars, and the general public.”
This place is huge! Tens of thousands of files
All of this stuff is out of copyright (I think that means 19th century and older).

Project Guttenberg
http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Main_Page

• Thirty thousand free eBooks.
• All in the public domain.
• Most books in the public domain are at least 100 years old.
• However that does include Doyle, Twain, Austin, Carroll, Joyce, and Stoker.
• Multiple formats.
• iPhone should have no problem with these.

ManyBooks
http://manybooks.net/
They are pretty user friendly and they make it easy to browse. Lots of formats. There are user reviews of books.

TomeRaider
This site is for the TomeRaider e-reader. But they have an iphone app so it works. Some good stuff here. Four thousand free books.

iTunes Store
There are at least 100 free books here. Alice in Wonderland, Sherlock Holmes, Pride and Prejudice, Peter Pan...........

Wowio
http://www.wowio.com/index.asp
This is a pretty cool site. Their free files are all PDFs. I haven’t fooled around with these on the iPhone at all. But tablets should be ok with these. file this for further study.