I’ve got a lot to do — I’m feeling rather overwhelmed by it all, in fact — and haven’t felt particularly inspired today. So maybe y’all can keep the plates spinning for me. For us all…
Some possible topics:
- Judge rules in favor of same-sex marriage in SC — The judge in question is Richard Gergel, who signaled this intention a week or two back.
- Rosetta mission makes history, lands on comet 300 million miles away — Very cool stuff. It’s been so long since we’ve had a space milestone like this. Too long… Of course, “we,” as Americans, didn’t accomplish this. But “we,” as a species, did.
- US and China strike deal on carbon cuts in push for global climate change pact — I wonder what, if any, will be the practical effect of this. Will the Chinese, with the phenomenal rate at which they’ve been building coal-fired power plants, uphold their end? Will this country, given the president’s lack of political capital, uphold our end? I don’t know enough to answer that, but I’m not optimistic.
Or bring up your own topic; see if I care…
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That business of “300 million miles away” reminds me of one of my favorite Douglas Adams quotes:
The SC Supreme Court has ruled, finally, for poor school districts in a case that has dragged on for two decades. Think about it -– the children for whom the suit was originally filed are parents now, and it is their children who may benefit, at last.
Wow. That must have broken right after I looked. That needs to be a separate post…
By the way, ladies and gentlemen, note that our regular Lynn T has opted for total transparency. Welcome to full participation, with all rights and privileges, Lynn Teague.
She adds class to our discussions, given her well-deserved reputation of thoughtfulness on advancing our representative democracy…
Lynn told me earlier that her only hesitation in using her full name was that she wanted everyone to know she was speaking only for herself, and not the League of Women Voters. So y’all are all hereby advised…
You are too kind, Brad. I have been known to put foot firmly in mouth. I will try not to do so too often while recognizable under my full name, but can never guarantee it.
Yes, Reason Two why it’s a great day in South Carolina. Can we go for three?
Wow, looks like the only reference on here to the other big case, Kathryn.
South Carolina still has a civil rights problem. That’s not surprising, but it is beyond unfortunate. Is Alan Wilson going to continue to rack up the legal fees fighting a battle that’s already decided? Is he going to squander the credit he earned showing leadership in his pursuit of Harrell? Or is he going to find the strength to accept, acknowledge and pave the way forward for this state? This is a huge opportunity to further demonstrate, instead of erode, his political courage and leadership on what appears here to be a morally ambiguous issue – regardless of whether or not it really is such a thing (it is not).
I assume he intends to run for other political offices down the road. This anti-Constitutional stand will not serve him well over the long term. Even people in SC will one day look back and wonder what all the fuss was about. It is time to square social conservatism with political conservatism. Freedom should win out.
You said it’s been a long time since anything like this. What were you referring to? It hasn’t been that long since the Curiosity rover, for instance.
Well… we’ve had robots wandering around Mars for years. I shouldn’t be blase about that, I know, but hey — this is a COMET!
It’s like the publicity guy said in “The Right Stuff” when Yeager broke past Scott Crossfield’s Mach 2 record: “The press likes a nice, round number.” Mach 3 might impress, but not 2.2 or whatever…
We ink-stained wretches are simple-minded creatures. You have to flash something new and shiny in our faces to get us to pay attention.
Oh, wait — that DID happen in the case of Curiosity recently, didn’t it?…
RE #3, doesn’t the Senate have to ratify it?
One would certainly THINK so…
According to CNN, the Senate does not have to ratify it. See the 4th paragraph from the bottom.
Rueters calls the agreement “largely symbolic”. I guess that’s good since they’re not asking the Senate to ratify it.
China is already ahead of the US in terms of total energy production from renewables, so this may not be that much of stretch for them. More importantly, China is–by far–the world’s largest producer of solar panels, so it’s to their economic advantage to get other countries to increase their solar energy output.
Germany is the poster child for solar. They produce aver 30% of their electricity using solar power, and have at times boosted solar production to 50% of their needs. Most European nations have made a concerted effort to use renewables for electrical generation. In this country, it’s still treated as a political issue rather than a national security/growth issue. This ought to be easy. I really don’t get why it’s not.
It’s nice to see both of our nations leading on this.
Norm –
The US China agreement is meaningless. As climatologist Patrick Michaels reports: “Roger Pielke, Jr., has already calculated that this means that the Chinese will have to put the equivalent of one nuclear power plant per week on line between now and then. As Roger wryly noted, ‘some people take it seriously’.”
The president through the EPA and other agencies certainly can strangle our economy by shutting down US generating capacity, but the GOP will certainly fight that even though their only weapon is the power of the purse.
We’ll have to see if that’s enough.
Welcome back to Mike Cakora! Folks, this is Mike’s first comment in a long while. He’s always been a thoughtful, discerning contributor, and it’s great to have him back…