Prices of the electricity we use to charge

[Ghost1951]

The Education of a Libertarian

www.cato-unbound.org

An interesting read, but I think it conflates a lot of disconnected ideas.

Essentially - woosh was pointing out the fact that the USA has slid, almost in hibernation, towards oligarchy.

It has been happening for a while. The only reason they have such dreadful candidates for the Presidency and perhaps for the seats in the other bodies, is the disproportionate influence of wealth, either owned by the candidates themselves, or handed to them in patronage by wealthy interests. No way were Biden and Trump the best that America has, and neither was Harris. It was money which put them on the ballot, and most of it came from mega donors, not the ordinary people.

Musk, in direct conflict with laws on paying people to vote, or to register to vote, ran a lottery handing out million dollar prizes every day to conservatives in swing states, to register to vote. Essentially, the ruse did exactly that. To be eligible, you had to be registered on the electoral roll, and you had to vote for a conservative proposition. He has not been hauled up in court. He is far too rich. He is an oligarch in all but name, and now he owns the President elect. He will be rewarded amply by holding massive influence over policy.

That said, I am by nature a Libertarian. We have too many constraints on the freedom to act in ordinary ways - to use own own property as we wish (planning control).

Being of libertarian mind set does not though mean no limits. Rules on protecting legal and political institutions from the influence of wealth are important. Limits on lobbying and political contributions should be strict and be respected. Penalising people who pay their taxes and also pay for private schooling is wrong. There is a happy medium somewhere.

 

[matthewslack]

Reform of the electoral college would make a vast difference. Crazy that the few swing states determine the outcome.

 

[flecc]

Reform of the electoral college would make a vast difference. Crazy that the few swing states determine the outcome.

Of course, it isn't remotely a democracy at present.
.

 

[flecc]

It is the end of American Democracy.

It lasted 238 years. 1787 to 2025.

And they haven't noticed yet.

I'd have put the end long before 2025, judging by the high proportionof US presidents who came from one very restricted group in the 20th century.

Here's what your favourite ChatGPT has to say about that:

The "400 Club" refers to an exclusive group of influential American political figures, specifically U.S. senators, that had an enormous impact on political decisions, often shaping policy in ways that favored certain elites or powerful interests. The name "400 Club" comes from the fact that at one point, it was made up of about 400 members of various power centers, especially senators, members of Congress, and others in prominent political circles.

The term "400 Club" was often used to describe a group of people involved in political decision-making and political donations. A notable aspect of this club was its power over legislative processes, with its members often deeply involved in political campaigns and fundraising. Over time, the club played a significant role in shaping American political life. Many people in this club had close relationships with presidents, running for office or influencing presidential elections through campaign finance.

Many presidents and potential presidential candidates have belonged to this network, using it to access the necessary financial and political capital to pursue their goals. However, it's essential to note that the specifics of who exactly was part of the "400 Club" and its influence can be somewhat murky, as it operated more as a loose network rather than a formal membership organization.
.

 

[MikelBikel]

Seeing stories about Musk's Grok AI being used to analyse the 1,547 page "federal funding bill" (last one was 21 pages, just fed funding).
Bill turned out to have 40% pay rise for Congress , etc, etc, everything except the kitchen sink!
Did they get it down to the 118 pages I read about?
Deciphering gov twaddle may be the only useful thing it can do?
"Renewably" powered, of course, Hehe

President Musk? | WMD #225

Elon's DOGE and astute X users gave the country a major gift the week before Christmas this year. Once again, at the 11th hour, the parasites in Congress tried to rush through a 1,500+ page spending b...

odysee.com

 

[MikelBikel]

How to Bypass AI #shorts #funny #ai credit: officialbradhuber

youtube.com

 

[soundwave]

were all going to die

 

[Woosh]

were all going to die

We will have warp drive before Betelgeuse goes supernova. On that note, I am going to bed.
Happy new year everyone.

 

[lenny]

Ukraine to end transit of Russian gas to EU

Ukraine to end transit of Russian gas to EU

Russia will still be able to pipe gas to Hungary, as well as Turkey and Serbia, through the Black Sea.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[soundwave]

needs more power

 

[flecc]

We will have warp drive before Betelgeuse goes supernova. On that note, I am going to bed.
Happy new year everyone.

Like you didn't wait for New Year, went to bed early. Woken up at just gone midnight by fireworks being let off on gardens by those deluded enough to think the new year would be any better than the old one.

I wasn't to be disappointed, woke this morning to grey skies, pouring rain and winds battering the trees, just like the last few decades since we messed up the climate.
.

 

[Woosh]

I woke up minutes before midnight by the fireworks too, watched Bextor Ellis show on bbc1 until the fireworks at the London Eye on bbc1. Pretty good really. Same time 10 years ago, I was in Sydney Harbour on a boat. Time flies. Feel really disappointed with all that went on in the last 10 years. People seem to pay more attention to trivials like tik tok top 100 on itv than wars and famine.

 

[Ghost1951]

Like you didn't wait for New Year, went to bed early. Woken up at just gone midnight by fireworks being let off on gardens by those deluded enough to think the new year would be any better than the old one.

I wasn't to be disappointed, woke this morning to grey skies, pouring rain and winds battering the trees, just like the last few decades since we messed up the climate.
.

Yes - we never had bad weather before did we.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Flood_of_1771

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Sea_flood_of_1953

 

[Ghost1951]

I woke up minutes before midnight by the fireworks too, watched Bextor Ellis show on bbc1 until the fireworks at the London Eye on bbc1. Pretty good really. Same time 10 years ago, I was in Sydney Harbour on a boat. Time flies. Feel really disappointed with all that went on in the last 10 years. People seem to pay more attention to trivials like tik tok top 100 on itv than wars and famine.

There have always been wars and famine and these days there is less of that than probably in most periods of history. Certainly fewer people die in natural disasters than ever before right now, in spite of the howling pessimism propagated all over our sources of news and public discourse.

The famine and disaster on a large scale that we do see now is ENTIRELY the result of savages running amok, mostly in Africa and the Middle East and slaughtering people who want nothing to do with them. Of course, the real looming disaster which WILL come is the vast rate of population growth in those same areas. You, like many here will recall the Biblical style famine in Ethiopia in the early 1980s, when Michael Buerk showed us terrible scenes of starving infants and wretchedly thin mothers. It was caused by overpopulation, coinciding with the regular and predictable droughts which affect the Sahel in general. It is a very arid area - and has been arid for thousands of years. Approximately every 20,000 years, the Sahara transforms into a savannah covered with lush grasses due to the angle of the Earth's axis changing.




At that time, in the early 1980s, the already too large population of Ethiopia dependent on pastoral , dry land farming, was 39 million.

NOW THE POPULATION OF ETHIOPIA IS 132 million - more than 3 times larger.

What is said about that in the press? Bugger all. It isn't as fashionable as whining about a one degree rise in mean global temperature.

FACT - the earth is in an inter-glacial period and is almost at the coolest it has ever been in the last half billion years.





Source - AMERICAN GOVERNMENT - NOAA .

 

[Woosh]

Climate scientists changed the buzzword from global warming to climate change about 10 years ago. The issue is really burning fossil fuels. The oil companies make immense profits, their pr budget is still very much unlimited.

 

[flecc]

Yes - we never had bad weather before did we.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Flood_of_1771

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Sea_flood_of_1953

You'll have to do better than that, two isolated far apart extreme samples.

As my post made clear, I was commenting about the continuous gloomy, depressing weather that so afflicts us now compared to the one time norms. The four seasons scarcely exist any more, especially in Southern England.

It's not rosy specs to remember how common the clear blue skys and sunshine were of mid winters long ago, especially during the war years when traffic was at an all time low even compared to pre-war.
.

 

[Woosh]

View attachment 61592



Source - AMERICAN GOVERNMENT - NOAA .[/B][/COLOR]

Why should we worry about the long cycles in millions and billion years? What matter is earth temperature and climate change in the last 200 years. The current technology revolution fosters huge increase in population and energy consumption. We risk destroying the world well before we find the solutions to a sustainable world.

 

[lenny]

 

[lenny]

Bus fare cap: Passengers in England face £1 rise

One leading lobby group said it would result in a "costly start" to 2025 for many bus passengers.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[lenny]

One killed as cybertruck explodes at Trump Las Vegas hotel

Police probing cybertruck explosion at Trump Las Vegas hotel

The driver was killed and seven people were injured in the explosion, police said without naming any suspects.

www.bbc.co.uk