Why is our democracy broken? Because Donald Trump beat Hillary Clinton fair and square according to the rules of the game. So, of course
Will our broken democracy fail the climate test?
We have entered a pivotal period in American history, one that will tell whether our arthritic, not-so-representative democracy can respond to the critical challenge of the 21st century.
That, of course, is climate change. The world faces a well-known, well-researched, well-documented, and increasingly evident peril from the human-caused warming of the planet. We need large reductions of carbon-dioxide emissions by 2030. And yet, in the last two-and-a-half years, the United States has gone from a global leader on the issue to a laggard whose gridlocked government simply ignores the problem.
Events in recent days underscore the see-no-warming, hear-no-warning nature of our government. Fewer than three years ago, we had, in Barack Obama and John Kerry, a president and secretary of state who helped lead the world to adopt the Paris Agreement, a hopeful if not wholly adequate step to stave off the worst effects of climate change. But Donald Trump is pulling us out of that landmark pact and, as Foreign Policy reports, has put us on the sidelines in the United Nations’ planning for a fall summit on climate matters.
That would be the pact that was a) voluntary, and b) crafted to avoid the need for elected U.S. lawmakers to vote on it, right? Anyhow, after much whining about Trump Trump Trump
And yet, it’s still acceptable in Republican circles to put off action with vapid and easily refutable deflections: There is no consensus on human-caused climate change; or the climate has changed before, and this is nothing different; or, there was once a magazine article about global cooling, so today’s scientists shouldn’t be believed; or even, carbon dioxide can’t be contributing to global warming because human beings emit it when they exhale. Which is why a Republican government, led by a denialist president who didn’t win the popular vote and abettedby a small-minded coal-state senator, twiddles while the globe burns.
We have a broad national consensus about the problem and the need for change. We have policy tools. We have viable energy alternatives. What we lack are federal leaders ready to act. If we can’t produce them in the 2020 election, our system will have proved itself too dysfunctional to contend with the threat we face.
See? If Republicans who refuse to be members of the Cult of Climastrology win, well, that means Democracy is broken! You know what’s really broken?
Oops: Sustainability evangelist says she drives a fossil-fueled vehicle because she can't find an electric vehicle big enough for her family of FIVE KIDS. https://t.co/q5Rs8Wk5X3
— Tom Nelson (@TomANelson) May 10, 2019
It would be the Cult of Climastrology, chock full of people who refuse to practice what they preach, but happy to attempt to get government to force you to make changes.
from the article: “There is no consensus on human-caused climate change; or the climate has changed before, and this is nothing different; or, there was once a magazine article about global cooling, so today’s scientists shouldn’t be believed; or even, carbon dioxide can’t be contributing to global warming because human beings emit it when they exhale.”
A list of flawed arguments made by non-warmists.
Anyone who doesn’t understand that our democratic systems are teetering is not paying attention.
They stopped being concerned with American citizens over a decade ago.
Anyone who doesn’t understand that our democratic systems are teetering is not paying attention.
Not so fast, little missy.
Let me lay down some universal truths really quick. The United States of America has lifted more people out of abject poverty, spread more freedom and democracy, and has created more innovation in technology and medicine than any other nation in human history. Not only that but our citizenry continually breaks world records with charitable donations, the rags to riches story is not only possible in America but not uncommon, we have the strongest purchasing power on earth, and we encompass 25% of the world’s GDP. The list goes on. However, these universal truths don’t matter. We are told that income inequality is an existential crisis (even though this is not an indicator of prosperity, some of the poorest countries in the world have low-income inequality), we are told that we are oppressed by capitalism (even though it’s brought about more freedom and wealth to the most people than any other system in world history), we are told that the only way we will acquire the benefits of true prosperity is through socialism and centralization of federal power (even though history has proven time and again this only brings tyranny and suffering).
–Alyssa Ahlgren (a millenial who gets it.)
She continues:
<¡>Why then, with all of the overwhelming evidence around us, evidence that I can even see sitting at a coffee shop, do we not view this as prosperity? We have people who are dying to get into our country. People around the world destitute and truly impoverished. Yet, we have a young generation convinced they’ve never seen prosperity, and as a result, elect politicians dead set on taking steps towards abolishing capitalism. Why? The answer is this, my generation has ONLY seen prosperity. We have no contrast. We didn’t live in the great depression, or live through two world wars, or see the rise and fall of socialism and communism. We don’t know what it’s like not to live without the internet, without cars, without smartphones. We don’t have a lack of prosperity problem. We have an entitlement problem, an ungratefulness problem, and it’s spreading like a plague.
With the current political climate giving rise to the misguided idea of a socialist utopia, will we see the light? Or will we have to lose it all to realize that what we have now is true prosperity? Destroying the free market will undo what millions of people have died to achieve.
My generation is becoming the largest voting bloc in the country. We have an opportunity to continue to propel us forward with the gifts capitalism and democracy has given us. The other option is that we can fall into the trap of entitlement and relapse into restrictive socialist destitution. The choice doesn’t seem too hard, does it?†Amen and Amen
— Alyssa Ahlgren
Lil Bitch,
Perhaps you misunderstood. You’re not claiming that the relationships between Congress and the White House these past decades have been helpful the nation’s people, are you?
Neither Congress not President’s have had an interest in governing for many years. Gridlock, shutdowns, little useful legislation, executive orders…
Our “democratic system” which isn’t democratic is teetering on the brink of a coup d’etat by Democrat traitors who refuse to accept the last election or the Mueller Report. as far as AGW goes I ran across this little video and though it needed some analysis.
https://youtu.be/jJkkEN-FYBs
The author wrote:
Yet, in the very blue state of Washington, in the very much representative democracy of direct citizen vote, the voters rejected Governor Jay Inslee’s carbon tax proposal, and did so by a landslide margin.
Everybody seems to want to do something about
global warmingclimate change . . . right up until the point of doing something costs them money.“The world faces a well-documented …..increasing peril from human caused warming of the planetâ€. Actually it’s not documented at all, just computer guesses. “Human caused warmingâ€. Warming is warming. Doesn’t matter if it’s natural or by man. “There was once a magazine article on global coolingâ€. There were over 280 papers on global cooling. Nice research job, guys.
Do you have proof that China or Russia will invade America at some time? What, no proof?
Yet, you insist on crippling the US taxpayers by spending trillions of tax dollars on the military and weapons systems.
They’re only pissed about us bailing on the Paris Accord because they intended for the US to provide all of the financing (redistribution). As usual.