I sent my older brother the "Honest Government" video on climate change as an example of extremist propaganda. He is a member of a climate change activist group in the US. They are currently reading "Unsettled: What Climate Science Tells Us, What It Doesn't, and Why It Matters," by Steven E. Koonin, PhD.
Dr. Koonin was a professor of theoretical physics at Caltech for almost thirty years, after which he served as Undersecretary for Science in the US Department of Energy under President Obama from 2009 to 2011, where his portfolio included the climate research program and energy technology strategy. Dr. Koonin was the lead author of the US Department of Energy’s Strategic Plan (2011) and the inaugural Department of Energy Quadrennial Technology Review (2011).
According to my brother, Dr. Koonin's book (which I have not read) offers a nuanced view of climate change, suggesting that scientists do not precisely know how much of it is caused by humans and how much occurs naturally.
The video you included in your post is designed to excite and disturb, as most videos of this type are, and requires an investment of only a few minutes of one's time, and far less intellectual rigor than reading a whole book on science. The video is the Twinkie of educational offerings, lacking any real nourishment, not to mention being grossly misleading.
However, the media, both mainstream and social, have been dominated for years by such easy-to-consume idiocies, which is what many people want to consume. They want Twinkies, and so that is what they are given. You have helped in that regard.
If Trump is the fascist dictator in the making that so many claim he is, then he is a very poor one, for he has failed dismally at one of the critical steps of tyranny: taking absolute control of the media. Outside of Fox News, most media have been vehemently anti-Trump and pro something else, a new ideology that has wormed its way into every nook and cranny of the Western world, from the streets of Los Angeles to the music festival of Glastonbury, UK.
For those of us not drinking the Woke flavored Kool-Aid, we wonder: Who is really in command of the global narrative? Who develops the technology that controls every aspect of our lives? Who dominates social media? Who dominates mainstream media? How many conservative voices do our young people hear? How many conservative professors are on staff at our universities? Who is fanning the fires of fear and panic with clever memes and glossy videos? Is it Trump and his goons, or is it another group entirely, with a different blueprint for how the world should look?
Like me, you moved outside the US to gain a broader perspective of the world. Now do it.
Thanks Brant, I'm always open to perspective shifts, I'll check out the book and Dr. Koonin's work. I'm fully aware that climate change is a complex topic and I surely am not an expert on it, the video in my eyes is more of a parody around "everything being fine" when it's clearly not fine and that is the reason I reposted it.
Thank you, Brian, for a polite and thoughtful response. Whenever I become worried about things being “not fine,” I review a work of art called "The Ambassadors."
Painted in 1533 by Hans Holbein the Younger, it depicts (through symbolism) a host of crises plaguing the 16th Century world: Martin Luther's Protestant Revolution; the "Black Death" that killed half of Europe's population; the tyrannically reign of King Henry VIII; the discovery of strange and fearful new worlds; and so forth. The globe shown in the bottom half of the painting is depicted upside down, suggesting that the world had gone mad.
My point is: Every generation thinks the world has gone mad, is “not fine” (or "fucked" as the video put it) and must, therefore, be near its demise. And every generation has been wrong -- so far, at least.
The doomsayers and Chicken Littles will always be among us, and while we are compelled by their shrill cries and our instinctive schadenfreude to notice them, we have the opportunity to ignore them, not participate in their fear-mongering, and march to a different drummer.
Yes great painting, I checked it out last time when you mentioned it. I hope this post didn't come off as a doomsdayish, that surely was not the intention!
I re-read your essay this morning to get a better sense of its "doom and gloom" quotient, and noted early on this statement: "I’m deeply concerned that the current administration is "destroying the country and our entire planet along with it." To me, this dour statement seems to be your essay's theme, supported by the two videos.
In yesterday's Free Press, an article by Tyler Cowen explains why the US is in such a funk. Maybe you can relate.
I submit that the "bad vibes" Cowen describes extend beyond the US and to much of the Western world, which are the beneficiaries of "The Long Peace" and levels of health and wealth unknown in history. Much of the present-day developing world can only dream of having just a small piece of the lifestyle these spoiled whiners enjoy.
I refuse to participate in the complaining. I hold dear to Gandhi's advice to "Be the change you want to see in the world." I believe what we see in the world says more about us than it does about what we think we see. I urge you to read one of my latest posts to gain a greater understanding of what I mean.
As for Trump "destroying the country and our entire planet along with it," I know the new Superman movie just came out, but planet-killing villains belong in comic books, not in the essays of an intelligent person like you.
Tyler is one of my favorite commentators to read and listen to, I'll check out the article and get back to you on that.
As for Trump "destroying the country and our entire planet along with it" - I don't view this as a complaint but instead a statement of fact.
The outright lies and bullying is is causing so much pent up frustration among society in the US as well as much of the Western World.
I think it's foolish to just sit back and accept that without speaking up? Am I off here? Would love your feedback on this, always up for being challenged on my views!
I wonder if Bitcoin will do well as the USD gets weaker vs everything else. Dalio ignored Bitcoin for years but even he seems somewhat interested in it now (along with gold and others).
Before I respond, please let me thank you for reading my essay, and more importantly, for your polite and inquisitive responses. That's such a refreshing departure from what one typically finds on social media nowadays that it begs to be noticed. I appreciate your comportment. Thank you!
As I said in an earlier comment, a functioning democracy, one that is forever working toward a more perfect Union (always toward!) demands that we participate, speak up and out, march, protest, vote, educate ourselves, write our elected officials, and so on. All of the above and more are "being the change."
As a peace advocate, I usually draw the line of necessary activism at violence, although I cautiously agree with Thomas Jefferson, who wrote, “The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is its natural manure.”
But enough shit talk. When it comes to making bold predictions about our future as "statements of fact", such as "We're all fucked," or Trump is destroying the country and our entire planet," I separate such forecasts into two camps: political and scientific.
Regarding the political, no one (and I mean no one!) can predict the future. History is replete with examples of unforeseen twists and turns in human destiny that even our most clairvoyant Oracles and best Intelligence Agency madmen could not envision. I recommend watching this lecture by University of Washington history professor emeritus Jon Bridgman, on the causes and effects of Pearl Harbor, and how it correlates with 9/11. The blind turns and surprises are many and legendary.
Who could have foreseen in 1941 that by defeating Imperial Japan, in part to liberate "free" China, the U.S. would, 80 years later, bring the U.S. to the brink of war with Communist China? No one.
Who could predict that toppling Saddam Hussein after 9/11 would lead to forever wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, with Iran in our crosshairs? Precious few.
Geopolitics is a complex guessing game, although many on social media, including me, are verbose armchair warriors with ready opinions. Most of them are poppycock.
I take most predictions about Trump's empirical ambitions with a grain of salt. Not that he doesn't have any (he probably does), but I have enough faith in the American people to believe his wings will stay clipped.
I also remind myself that it was a free and fair election that brought Trump to power, despite fearful cries beforehand that our democracy was in peril. While I did not vote for him, I respect the people who did. I do not think of them all as deplorables and am disgusted when I see them portrayed that way.
Science is altogether different. We can make predictions with reasonable accuracy, provided money and politics don't pollute the scientific process. Sadly, when it comes to climate science, quiet corruption appears to be the case. I recommend watching this interview with climate scientist Judith Curry to learn where and how science gets misguided. Don't assume what Curry's critics say about her. Watch and decide for yourself.
I've given you more than enough to chew on in one day, but I've saved the least important for last -- my own opinions about making predictions, and how they are almost always wrong.
Thanks for the mention, Brian! And I’m with Ryan here - to me it definitely feels like a time for experimentation also when it comes to investing. Having a small bet on alternative financial systems like crypto seems like a smart hedge in these interesting times. 😉
I sent my older brother the "Honest Government" video on climate change as an example of extremist propaganda. He is a member of a climate change activist group in the US. They are currently reading "Unsettled: What Climate Science Tells Us, What It Doesn't, and Why It Matters," by Steven E. Koonin, PhD.
Dr. Koonin was a professor of theoretical physics at Caltech for almost thirty years, after which he served as Undersecretary for Science in the US Department of Energy under President Obama from 2009 to 2011, where his portfolio included the climate research program and energy technology strategy. Dr. Koonin was the lead author of the US Department of Energy’s Strategic Plan (2011) and the inaugural Department of Energy Quadrennial Technology Review (2011).
According to my brother, Dr. Koonin's book (which I have not read) offers a nuanced view of climate change, suggesting that scientists do not precisely know how much of it is caused by humans and how much occurs naturally.
The video you included in your post is designed to excite and disturb, as most videos of this type are, and requires an investment of only a few minutes of one's time, and far less intellectual rigor than reading a whole book on science. The video is the Twinkie of educational offerings, lacking any real nourishment, not to mention being grossly misleading.
However, the media, both mainstream and social, have been dominated for years by such easy-to-consume idiocies, which is what many people want to consume. They want Twinkies, and so that is what they are given. You have helped in that regard.
If Trump is the fascist dictator in the making that so many claim he is, then he is a very poor one, for he has failed dismally at one of the critical steps of tyranny: taking absolute control of the media. Outside of Fox News, most media have been vehemently anti-Trump and pro something else, a new ideology that has wormed its way into every nook and cranny of the Western world, from the streets of Los Angeles to the music festival of Glastonbury, UK.
For those of us not drinking the Woke flavored Kool-Aid, we wonder: Who is really in command of the global narrative? Who develops the technology that controls every aspect of our lives? Who dominates social media? Who dominates mainstream media? How many conservative voices do our young people hear? How many conservative professors are on staff at our universities? Who is fanning the fires of fear and panic with clever memes and glossy videos? Is it Trump and his goons, or is it another group entirely, with a different blueprint for how the world should look?
Like me, you moved outside the US to gain a broader perspective of the world. Now do it.
Thanks Brant, I'm always open to perspective shifts, I'll check out the book and Dr. Koonin's work. I'm fully aware that climate change is a complex topic and I surely am not an expert on it, the video in my eyes is more of a parody around "everything being fine" when it's clearly not fine and that is the reason I reposted it.
Thank you, Brian, for a polite and thoughtful response. Whenever I become worried about things being “not fine,” I review a work of art called "The Ambassadors."
Painted in 1533 by Hans Holbein the Younger, it depicts (through symbolism) a host of crises plaguing the 16th Century world: Martin Luther's Protestant Revolution; the "Black Death" that killed half of Europe's population; the tyrannically reign of King Henry VIII; the discovery of strange and fearful new worlds; and so forth. The globe shown in the bottom half of the painting is depicted upside down, suggesting that the world had gone mad.
My point is: Every generation thinks the world has gone mad, is “not fine” (or "fucked" as the video put it) and must, therefore, be near its demise. And every generation has been wrong -- so far, at least.
The doomsayers and Chicken Littles will always be among us, and while we are compelled by their shrill cries and our instinctive schadenfreude to notice them, we have the opportunity to ignore them, not participate in their fear-mongering, and march to a different drummer.
Yes great painting, I checked it out last time when you mentioned it. I hope this post didn't come off as a doomsdayish, that surely was not the intention!
I re-read your essay this morning to get a better sense of its "doom and gloom" quotient, and noted early on this statement: "I’m deeply concerned that the current administration is "destroying the country and our entire planet along with it." To me, this dour statement seems to be your essay's theme, supported by the two videos.
In yesterday's Free Press, an article by Tyler Cowen explains why the US is in such a funk. Maybe you can relate.
https://www.thefp.com/p/tyler-cowen-why-wont-socialism-die?r=1g9mu8&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false
I submit that the "bad vibes" Cowen describes extend beyond the US and to much of the Western world, which are the beneficiaries of "The Long Peace" and levels of health and wealth unknown in history. Much of the present-day developing world can only dream of having just a small piece of the lifestyle these spoiled whiners enjoy.
I refuse to participate in the complaining. I hold dear to Gandhi's advice to "Be the change you want to see in the world." I believe what we see in the world says more about us than it does about what we think we see. I urge you to read one of my latest posts to gain a greater understanding of what I mean.
https://open.substack.com/pub/branthuddleston/p/a-tale-of-twos-2-dogs-2-wolves-and?r=1g9mu8&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false
As for Trump "destroying the country and our entire planet along with it," I know the new Superman movie just came out, but planet-killing villains belong in comic books, not in the essays of an intelligent person like you.
Tyler is one of my favorite commentators to read and listen to, I'll check out the article and get back to you on that.
As for Trump "destroying the country and our entire planet along with it" - I don't view this as a complaint but instead a statement of fact.
The outright lies and bullying is is causing so much pent up frustration among society in the US as well as much of the Western World.
I think it's foolish to just sit back and accept that without speaking up? Am I off here? Would love your feedback on this, always up for being challenged on my views!
"Be the change" does not mean sitting back. A well-functioning democracy demands active, civil involvement.
I'll refrain from further comment to give you time to read through the two links I sent.
Although this is a sobering essay, I admire your willingness to tackle a such a difficult subject.
I wonder if Bitcoin will do well as the USD gets weaker vs everything else. Dalio ignored Bitcoin for years but even he seems somewhat interested in it now (along with gold and others).
As the dollar weakens at the fastest rate since 1973, alternate currencies will start taking over in my opinion.
Great post! I’m curious to see what will happen in the next few years. Beso de pez!
Brian:
Before I respond, please let me thank you for reading my essay, and more importantly, for your polite and inquisitive responses. That's such a refreshing departure from what one typically finds on social media nowadays that it begs to be noticed. I appreciate your comportment. Thank you!
As I said in an earlier comment, a functioning democracy, one that is forever working toward a more perfect Union (always toward!) demands that we participate, speak up and out, march, protest, vote, educate ourselves, write our elected officials, and so on. All of the above and more are "being the change."
As a peace advocate, I usually draw the line of necessary activism at violence, although I cautiously agree with Thomas Jefferson, who wrote, “The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is its natural manure.”
But enough shit talk. When it comes to making bold predictions about our future as "statements of fact", such as "We're all fucked," or Trump is destroying the country and our entire planet," I separate such forecasts into two camps: political and scientific.
Regarding the political, no one (and I mean no one!) can predict the future. History is replete with examples of unforeseen twists and turns in human destiny that even our most clairvoyant Oracles and best Intelligence Agency madmen could not envision. I recommend watching this lecture by University of Washington history professor emeritus Jon Bridgman, on the causes and effects of Pearl Harbor, and how it correlates with 9/11. The blind turns and surprises are many and legendary.
https://youtu.be/jYzR913VSaY?si=LjHiktFT1vO7BtH6
Who could have foreseen in 1941 that by defeating Imperial Japan, in part to liberate "free" China, the U.S. would, 80 years later, bring the U.S. to the brink of war with Communist China? No one.
Who could predict that toppling Saddam Hussein after 9/11 would lead to forever wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, with Iran in our crosshairs? Precious few.
Geopolitics is a complex guessing game, although many on social media, including me, are verbose armchair warriors with ready opinions. Most of them are poppycock.
I take most predictions about Trump's empirical ambitions with a grain of salt. Not that he doesn't have any (he probably does), but I have enough faith in the American people to believe his wings will stay clipped.
I also remind myself that it was a free and fair election that brought Trump to power, despite fearful cries beforehand that our democracy was in peril. While I did not vote for him, I respect the people who did. I do not think of them all as deplorables and am disgusted when I see them portrayed that way.
https://branthuddleston.substack.com/p/i-was-horrified-by-the-24-us-election?r=1g9mu8
Science is altogether different. We can make predictions with reasonable accuracy, provided money and politics don't pollute the scientific process. Sadly, when it comes to climate science, quiet corruption appears to be the case. I recommend watching this interview with climate scientist Judith Curry to learn where and how science gets misguided. Don't assume what Curry's critics say about her. Watch and decide for yourself.
https://youtu.be/U0PQ1cOlCJI?si=EEk5JIYF7TvWV9lP
I've given you more than enough to chew on in one day, but I've saved the least important for last -- my own opinions about making predictions, and how they are almost always wrong.
https://open.substack.com/pub/branthuddleston/p/hurricanes-scattered-leaves-and-other?r=1g9mu8&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false
That's it for now. Thank you again for your respectful discourse. I hope you have a great day.
R,
Brant
Thanks for the mention, Brian! And I’m with Ryan here - to me it definitely feels like a time for experimentation also when it comes to investing. Having a small bet on alternative financial systems like crypto seems like a smart hedge in these interesting times. 😉
Doesn’t seem like the national debt matters to anyone leading the USA , ………until it does .