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When I began Schwartzreport my purpose was to produce an entirely fact-based daily publication in favor of the earth, the inter-connectedness and interdependence of all life, democracy, equality for all, liberty, and things that are life-affirming. Also, to warn my readers about actions, events, and trends that threaten those values. Our country now stands at a crossroads, indeed, the world stands at a crossroads where those values are very much at risk and it is up to each of us who care about wellbeing to do what we can to defend those principles. I want to thank all of you who have contributed to SR, particularly those of you who have scheduled an ongoing monthly contribution. It makes a big difference and is much appreciated. It is one thing to put in the hours each day and to do the work for free, but another to have to cover the rising out-of-pocket costs. For those of you who haven’t done so, but read SR regularly, I ask that you consider supporting it.
John Alexander lays out an excellent outline of how American culture has changed. It is a very sad and tragic outline, and I hope you will take some time to think about it in depth and what you can do to counteract this decay in the spirit of the United States.
Over 350,000 people had starved to death in Somalia. Then, “In 1992, President George Bush desired to strengthen the UN peacekeeping capability. President Bush and his administration looked to the UN as a tool to assist the U.S., ‘shape a world consistent with American values and interests.’” Notably, the lame duck, President Bush the Elder, for the first time in history, deployed the U.S. military in support of “American Values.” Notably, Operation Restore Hope was done in coordination with then-President-elect Bill Clinton.
Imagine, just 30 years ago America, on a bipartisan basis, and upholding “American values,” was willing to commit American forces on a massive humanitarian effort to save starving people in Africa. Of course, a President Trump would later identify Somalia (and all of Africa) as a “shithole country.” How America has changed!
During and following World War II, the United States became a leading influence in the world. The first to develop nuclear weapons, we became the most powerful nation on Earth from a military perspective. That capability emerged as a stabilizing force and counterbalance to the Soviet Union and expansion of Communism. The Apollo Lunar exploration program established American technological dominance. Concurrently, our middle class burgeoned forth and based […]
Rachel Leingang, Democracy Reporter - The Guardian (U.K.)
Stephan:
I think it is time that we admit that about a third of the White population in the U.S. neither understand nor want America to be an equalitarian democracy — where all people are created equal. Instead they are Republicans, which means they are White nationalist fascists who see women as a subordinate species. This is tearing America into two countries and the Republican Party is actively, as this article describes, trying to destroy democracy.
The US representative Paul Gosar, left, talks with Anthony Kern, now a state senator, in 2020. Credit: Ross D Franklin / AP
A proposal from an Arizona lawmaker calls for the state legislature to decide on presidential electors instead of adhering to a popular vote.
The state senator Anthony Kern, a Republican, served as a fake elector in 2020, falsely asserting that Donald Trump won the state. Those involved in the fake electors schemes in several states have been charged. In Arizona, the fake electors are under investigation by the Democratic attorney general, her office has confirmed. Kern also attended the 6 January 2021 rally at the US Capitol.
The senate concurrent resolution says that the “sole authority to appoint presidential electors” should fall to the legislature. It calls on the legislature to stay in session during presidential election years for this purpose. As a concurrent resolution, the proposal does not require the governor’s signature and does not have the force of law; it functions more to state the legislative body’s position on an issue.
Aaron Blake , - Microsoft Start / The Washington Post
Stephan:
When I tell you that the Republican Party is trying to destroy America’s over two-century-old democracy I want to be clear that I am not exaggerating. Here is yet another example of what I mean. If you care about democracy, if your family and friends care about democracy you must all vote for only Democrats. Why? Because if you don’t by the end of 2025 America will no longer be a democracy, and trust me, you really won’t like that. The poor sad MAGAt people don’t seem to understand what they are supporting. They are pathetic and very dangerous.
Republicans now say it might be okay to ignore the Supreme Court Credit: Jabin Botsford / The Washington Post
A consequential development of the Trump era is what increasingly looks like the Republicans’ acrimonious divorce from the rule of law.
The party that once prided itself as the law-and-order side has leaped headlong into highly speculative theories about the “weaponization” of the justice system, spurred by former president Donald Trump. Both Trump and his former lawyer Rudy Giuliani recently flouted civil defamation verdicts against them by continuing todefame their victims — cheered on by many on the right. Republican voters increasingly want a president who is willing to break both rules and laws to get things done.
But some members of the party have in recent days crossed a new threshold: by suggesting that it’s okay to disregard the Supreme Court.
After the Supreme Court ruled last week that federal authorities can remove razor wire that Texas put on the U.S.-Mexico border, Rep. Chip Roy (R-Tex.) posted on X, formerly Twitter, […]
Because of the Great Schism Trend that is rendering Congress dysfunctional and tearing America apart, we are falling further and further behind the other developed nations. It isn’t just China that is leaving us behind, in everything from healthcare, to literacy, to the transition out of the carbon era, we are second or third tier. Nobody in the media talks about this and neither do politicians of either party, but those are facts. The issue for us, in my opinion, is whether the American people want to remain one country.
Aerial view of the second phase of China’s largest renewable energy power base under construction at Tengger Desert in Zhongwei, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region of China on Dec. 9, 2023 . Credit: Yuan Hongyan / VCG / Getty I
China is the world leader in renewable energy, including 40 percent of the planet’s entire solar capacity, reported Rystad Energy. The United States comes in second place with 12 percent.
Last year, China installed more new solar capacity than the total amount ever installed in any other country, Bloomberg reported.
“China’s solar sector is set to break records in the coming years. When installed capacity crosses the 500 gigawatts (GW) mark by the end of 2023, it will have taken 13 years to reach that milestone. That total, however, will be doubled to 1 terawatt (TW) in just three additional years,” Rystad Energy said.
According to China’s National Energy Administration (NEA), the country increased its solar capacity by 216.9 GW last year, eclipsing its record of 87.4 GW from the previous year, reported Bloomberg. That’s more than the U.S. total […]
I am seeing more and more reports on measles. If you have an unvaccinated child, or are yourself unvaccinated, I urge you to rectify that. I have had both kinds of measles. Not something I would like to have again, and people die from catching the long form. Also measles are very contagious. Someone who catches measles and comes into contact with someone unvaccinated passes it on. That’s how pandemics begin.
Measles viruses. 3D illustration showing structure of measles virus with surface glycoprotein spikes heamagglutinin-neuraminidase and fusion protein
The United Kingdom is facing a measles outbreak, while cases have also popped up in a few U.S. states in recent weeks, leading to health authorities on both sides of the pond to issue urgent warnings.
The virus, which was declared eliminated in the U.S. in 2000, is a wake-up call for the importance of vaccination to personal and public health. The U.K. only recently reachieved measles elimination status in 2021 after having lost the distinction in 2018.
Unlike COVID-19 vaccines, which help prevent serious illness but don’t prevent infection, the measles vaccine is almost 100 percent effective in preventing infection. And almost everyone who has been recently infected in the U.K. and U.S. is not vaccinated against measles.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Thursday advised health care providers to be alert for potential measles symptoms, which include a rash; cough; sore or swollen eyes; and flu-like symptoms. Providers should also be aware of patients who have […]
Ethan Zuckerman, Associate Professor of Public Policy, Information and Communication at the University of Massachusetts - Amherst. - Prospect
Stephan:
Here is a good exegetic essay on the current debate about AI and its effect on humanity. Well-reasoned and detailed but, like the entire AI debate based on materialism. It does not recognize that consciousness is causal and fundamental and that, as Max Planck the founder of quantum mechanics said in 1931, “spacetime arises from consciousness, not consciousness from spacetime.”
Illustration by Vincent Kilbride
Late last year, the technology world was captivated by stories of a fast-moving coup at OpenAI, the organisation that created the program that has provoked so much conversation about the future of artificial intelligence, ChatGPT. At the centre of this boardroom drama—which saw Sam Altman briefly ousted as CEO, only for him to return days later—appeared to be a debate between two rival schools of thought regarding the dangers of AI. It’s worth understanding the terms of this debate, if only to know what questions are dominating discussions within companies developing such transformative technology.
On the board of the nonprofit that owns OpenAI were a number of thinkers who believe AI could lead to the destruction of humanity. Such thinkers are known as “doomers”, and their concerns focus on the risk that advanced AIs could decide to eliminate humanity, either in order to gain more power or prevent further environmental degradation. Opposing the doomers are the accelerationists, who believe the AI-enabled future is one where rapid scientific achievement will […]
Here is where the Great Schism Trend I have been describing for years now is taking us. I find Marjorie Taylor Greene to be a loathsome person, but she tells me two things. First, she reveals a great deal about the people of Georgia. Who would vote for a person like this? Second, she says out loud and publically, what the Republican leadership says amongst themselves privately when they are together.
MAGAt Republican Representative of Georgia. Credit: Anna Moneymaker / Getty
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene called for a “national divorce” between red and blue states amid the escalating standoff over migration at the Texas border.
The Georgia congressman responded to a post on X listing Democratic-leaning states that have sided with the federal government in the dispute with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.
“When I said we need a National Divorce this is exactly what I’m talking about and a serious example as to why,” Greene wrote.
Greene’s national divorce idea is not new — she has often suggested splitting up the United States along political lines— but it is divisive. It has drawn criticism even from fellow Republicans.
The dispute between Abbott and the federal government has been intensifying after the Lone Star state’s governor said he would continue to install razor wire at the border to deter migrants from entering from Mexico.
The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in favor of the federal government this week, saying the US […]
