The circled blotch of light is from an area of burning oil and gas field flares. It’s the size of Chicago! This recognition comes from an astronomy club, keenly interested in light pollution. It also illustrates the enormous scale of oil and gas fields in contemporary extraction.
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Guns, Minorities and Politics
This is another in one of my favorite themes: the power of political minorities. Here it is the National Rifle Association. Their membership is a little over 1% of the US population. Why are they important? Clearly they are granted a lot of free publicity and political attention. Part of my interest is in how…
Farm Bill
The Farm Bill is mostly corporate welfare for large agri-businesses. The PR have been well facilitated by the media. The echo chamber repeats the fear of milk prices doubling, as if that we’re all we live on. The news reporting is incredibly shallow. Additionally, small farmers are interviewed on the impact of the lapse of…
A Divided House
Another in my favorite theme, “It’s the Stupidity, Stupid!”. This is a letter to the New York Times. The article published January 1, “Divided House Passes Tax Deal in End to Latest Fiscal Standoff”, summarizes well the political situation. What is at the root of this? “It’s the Stupidity, Stupid!” If Republicans really wanted to…
Why does the middle class vote Republican?
A recent Politico poll showed that a majority of the middle class supports Romney and the Republicans. My first thought is surprise, that so many would think Republicans are working for the middle class, when clearly they are working for the special interests of wealth. Some of this is more attributable to the fear of…