It’s been about 34 years since Ronald Reagan removed the photovoltaic panels Jimmy Carter had put on the White House in an effort to lead the nation away from our dependence on fossil fuel. … This was the golden opportunity to declare our independence from fossil fuel and Carter set an example for the nation and the world of how we could generate our own electric power and clean our air by utilizing the sun among other clean energy-producing modalities.
Just imagine where we would be today in our control of global warming if Reagan hadn’t made a deal with Iran to hold the hostages until after he was elected with the promises of giving them supplies for the military equipment we had sold the Shah, which was useless to Iran unless they could get the material to use it. Surprise, Reagan made a deal with Israel to deliver the goods … And it worked. Carter was defeated, measures to delay or prevent global warming were delayed. And what we are about to experience in the next 10 years will change your lives so dramatically that only visionaries can imagine it.
Imagine electric vehicles with batteries so efficient hundreds of miles without charging will be possible. Even that will eventually be unnecessary with photovoltaic or improved similar modalities, even now being researched to provide endless power. Fear of power loss will be a thing of the past, with every home and building having its own battery to hold and provide power even when the power grids are down.
The present electric Tesla automobile’s main attribute is Elon Musk’s development of a battery that sustains it going for 300 miles without charging. Musk is now vigorously researching what will be called a battery wall, for home installations that will eliminate needing to be grid connected. It is reported that in its present state it will sustain the household’s needs for a week, with much longer soon to be realized. But Musk isn’t the only one in the field. Many others are promising even greater sustainability. Oh, you lucky younger generation. If only Carter hadn’t been defeated I too could be living the good life awaiting you younger folks.
Reagan won the presidency by blaming all our problems on big government and promising to shrink it. He did just the opposite and proceeded to triple its size and raise our debt in eight years to more than it had in the previous 300, but worse still, he stopped our progress to self sufficiency for nearly 30 years. Disregarding the antitrust regulations accelerated the merging of companies and their moving operations overseas to destroy unions and escape taxes.
Alton Eliason
Northford, Conn.
Your opening [editorial] in the 9/15/15 issue, “Anger Babies Roil GOP,” makes good sense but then other articles in that issue of TPP make it clear that we have some anger babies of our own. In order of appearance:
Page 10: “China protects its Workers; America Doesn’t Bother” by Leo Gerard — no, Mr. Gerard, American workers, especially those who are unionized, are far better protected than are Chinese workers. I do agree it may be reasonable to take some modest measures to stem the tide of outgoing American jobs but I think Mr. Gerard will find that any returning manufacturing operations will not be accompanied by a large number of blue-collar jobs because of continuing automation. In any case, no informed American worker would ever dream of trading places with his Chinese counterpart.
Page 11: “What Does Black Lives-Matter Want?” by Mary Sanchez — Perhaps the BLM representatives may correctly be described as “vehement and unapologetic and ... only getting warmed up,” but I doubt it will do anyone much good. Blacks, as a percentage, do not, as a rule, vote as much as whites and that is what will ultimately dictate how seriously they will be taken by the political establishment. In addition, as a substitute teacher in schools at all levels in my county, I cannot help but note that black students are often not as well prepared as whites (and, in West Virginia, the bar is pretty low overall for student preparedness!). Of course BLM is correct that police need to held to a very high standard when lethal force is used, but is seems the movement has evolved beyond that narrow issue. It might be, as Ms. Sanchez claims that candidates ... just might win some praise for admitting that anger ... is justified,” but praise from activists unaccompanied by votes, probably will not mean much.
Page 16: “Europe’s Bully and Europe’s Victim” by Wayne O’Leary —It has been said, I believe, that in any political argument, the first person to mention Nazis will lose the argument. Mr. O’Leary, would, in my opinion, be well advised to consider that dictum. The Greek government is (or has been) evidently more corrupt that most Europe governments (too many government workers, who do not seem productive; low success in collecting taxes due), and this is part of the problem. Enough with Nazi references, already.
So, if “anger babies” are wrecking their own political unity—great. But let’s not join them.
John D Palmer
Charleston, W.V.
Thank you for your 9/1/15 editorial somewhat clarifying the unfortunate demise of Ed Schultz on MSNBC. Being retired, I was able to watch him daily at 2 PDT here in California. I wholeheartedly doubt that rating decline had anything to do with his firing. I believe it was because he was truthful and named names when necessary. He brought out the corruption behind the Keystone pipeline; the total fraud behind the corporate-sponsored secret Trans-Pacific Partnership; the big monied oil corruption behind the Gulf Coast BP oil disaster; the Katrina aftermath and coverup; and on and on.
How can we find out how much [Fox News head] Roger Ailes paid the new NBC News boss Andrew Lack to kill MSNBC?
How can there be a news network that tells the truth and stands for democracy with good journalism declining in ratings while a network that only produces lies and making fraudulent factless claims, as does Ailes/Murdoch Fox, get sky-high ratings? Seems like there might be a polling conspiracy because this doesn’t smell right.
Maybe Eric Boehlert could do an article about the three network competition (MSNBC, CNN, Fox) and find out the truth about the corrupt corporate influence and control. I enjoy Eric’s columns in TPP and have seen him many times on various MSNBC shows and respect his opinions.
Bob Bazzetta
Larkspur, Calif.
By now the civilized world has seen the gruesome photo of the 3 year old, named Aylan Kurdi, lying lifeless on the beach. Shocking, yes! But not to Ayatollah Khameni of Iran and not to King Salman of Saudi Arabia. They are indirectly responsible and both leaders know that such death and destruction will continue to happen as long as the chasm between the Shias and the Sunnis remains. Already thousands of people (Shias and Sunnis, and not to mention Christians) have been killed in Iraq, Pakistan, Syria, Yemen and other parts of the Islamic World because of this intense animosity between two major groups of Islam. People in such countries are disgusted for lack of security, human rights, lawlessness and dearth of jobs. It is not such a surprise that most want to migrate to Europe. No serious attempts have been made for rapprochement to bring the two sects together — till such times there will be unfortunately more “Aylan Kurdis”.
M. Askanan
New York, N.Y.
Margot Ford McMillen’s column, “GOP Ignores Non-Abortion Services” [9/1/15 TPP] leaves unchallenged the implication that crisis pregnancy centers are comparable to Planned Parenthood except for the fact that they provide a narrower range of services. In fact, the mission of CPCs is to divert women seeking abortions into other means of coping with an unintended pregnancy by purveying misinformation about the consequences of abortion — i.e., that it leads to sterility, cancer, depression, and suicide. Thus, while Planned Parenthood offers a full range of science-based educational, clinical, and research services, CPCs work to thwart science and replace it with religious doctrine.
The GOP doesn’t “ignore” Planned Parenthood’s non-abortion services, it dishonestly and purposely strives to create in the mind of the public the impression that PP is only an abortion provider, and, sadly, it seems to be succeeding in its goal. Even Ms. McMillen leaves us with the impression that If Planned Parenthood would just “change its image” it could survive and thrive, and defends it on the grounds that “Not all PP clinics are abortion providers.” Why should Planned Parenthood apologize for its legal, ethical, medically sound, and clinically appropriate services? The GOP will never support Planned Parenthood, even if it never provides another abortion, because it offers scientifically sound health care, reproductive and otherwise. This is unacceptable to a party of men who are falling over themselves in hopes of appealing to a radical fundamentalist “Christian” base that is determined to take women’s rights back to the 18th Century.
Margaret Hornick
Great Barrington, Mass.
It’s no secret that Native Americans are as poor as the poorest who live in third world countries. Yet, I find it shocking that they are also more likely to be killed by police than any other racial group [“Native American Lives Matter Too” (9/15/15 TPP)].
Of course the bells toll with heavier sadness for those who die by violence, no matter their skin color or ethnic background. And we should not only grieve their deaths, but clamor that justice be served for all of them.
Even today, it’s obvious that more than a few police officers agree with Captain Phillip Sheridan who, during the Indian Wars, said, “The only good Indian is a dead Indian.”
So where is the outrage over the disproportionate killing of Native Americans by our police?
Thank you, TPP, for providing information which, if not for your publication, I’d never have known.
David Quintero
Monrovia, Calif.
From The Progressive Populist, October 15, 2015
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