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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.
Stephan: MAGAT world has become fascinated with civil violence. Why? I think because none of the MAGATs, indeed no American born here has any concept of what mass civil violence in a country is like. It hasn't happened in the United States since 1861, and with their fascination with violence and guns, MAGATs see it as exciting.
MAGATs clash with police and security forces as they storm the US Capitol in Washington, DC on January 6, 2021. – Demonstrators breeched security and entered the Capitol as Congress debated the a 2020 presidential election Electoral Vote Certification. Credit:Roberto Schmidt /AFP/ Getty
Nearly half of all Republicans in the U.S. believe that “a time will come when patriotic Americans have to take the law into their own hands.”
The revelation, which emerged as a part of a June poll by George Washington University, comes just six months after the January 6 riot, in which thousands of self-described “patriots” stormed the Capitol building to forcibly stop President Biden from being confirmed by the Electoral College.
While 47% of Republicans agree with the prediction – that a group of patriotic citizens will usurp government authorities and run the country themselves – just 9% of Democrats could say the same.
The poll, which surveyed 1,753 registered U.S. voters from June 4 to June 23, found a wide set of disparities between Republicans and Democrats on a number of principles.
For example, 82% of Republicans agreed that it’s […]
Stephan: We are not only destroying our democracy with White supremacy, male dominance, christofascism and the wealth inequality and corruption it has produced, we are also destroying the pride young Americans have in their country. This is very serious business, and not properly appreciated.
Group of people waving American flags Credit: Shutterstock
On Friday, Newsweek reported that new polling reveals a decline in pride to be American among younger generations — and explored some of the factors driving this phenomenon.
“Ipsos polling of 1,026 people between June 25 and 28 showed a similar pattern. Overall, 69 percent said they were proud to be American. This figure was boosted by Gen X and Baby Boomers, with 71 percent and 84 percent respectively saying they were,” reported Jacob Jarvis. “Among Millennials, however, just 52 percent said the same. Of those in Gen Z, 58 percent were proud to be America. It is a majority in both younger brackets, but there is a clear generational divide.”
According to the report, one reason is that the country is facing a “racial reckoning” — driven by recent police killings like the murder of George Floyd and educational revolutions like the 1619 Project that center the role of slavery in the founding of America — which has set off a
JILL COLVIN and HANNAH FINGERHUT, - Associated Press
Stephan: MAGAT world continues to pledge allegiance to Donald Trump, but they are beginning to get a little nervous about the Republican Party's future. I want to see literally millions of people out in the streets demonstrating on behalf of the Voting Rights Bill, and the other bills the Democrats have put forward. The nastiness of the MAGATs will cause them to scream in opposition, but if democracy is to survive in American the moment to stand up for it is now.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Most Republicans want former President Donald Trump to have at least some influence over their party’s direction even as many who side with the GOP say they are uneasy about its future.
A new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research captures widespread unease among Republicans over everything from the direction of the country to the state of American democracy and, in particular, President Joe Biden. Just 15% approve of the way Biden is handling his job, and 66% continue to say the Democrat was illegitimately elected, a lie perpetuated by Trump that underscores his persistent grip on GOP voters.
Republicans have plenty of concern about their own party, too. Fewer than half of Republicans, 41%, say they are optimistic about the GOP’s future. Just 13% say they are “very” optimistic. And one third, 33%, say they are pessimistic.
Just a few seats shy of majorities in the House and the Senate, Republican leaders hope they are within striking distance of retaking control of Congress in next year’s midterm […]
Stephan: Every week now the science community issues another dire warning. But since the Republican Party and its followers have nothing but contempt for science, what desperately needs to be done, doesn't get done. It is the same stupidity that fuels the anti-vaxxers, and it is going to have the same effect. Masses of people will have their lives torn apart and a good number of them will die. I am really, really, tired of stupid.
Human activity may be pushing the climate beyond dangerous ‘tipping points,’ say 14,000 scientists. As the extreme drought emergency continues in California, historically low water levels are visible at Lake Oroville on July 22, 2021 in Oroville, California. Credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty
More than a year after the Covid-19 pandemic shut down economies around the world and sharply reduced worldwide travel—sparking speculation among some that emissions would plummet as a result—a coalition of scientists said in a paper published Wednesday that the planet is nonetheless reaching multiple “tipping points,” with levels of sea ice melt, deforestation, and other markers revealing that urgent action is needed to mitigate the climate emergency.
“The extreme climate events and patterns that we’ve witnessed over the last several years — not to mention the last several weeks — highlight the heightened urgency with which we must address the climate crisis,” said Philip Duffy, co-author of the study and executive director of the Woodwell Climate Research Center in Massachusetts.
The “World Scientists’ Warning of a Climate Emergency 2021” which was published in the journal BioScience, states that 18 out of 31 […]
Damian Carrington, Environment editor - The Guardian (U.K.)
Stephan: As I tell my readers regularly, New Zealand is the most interesting country in the world. why is this? Because in contrast to the United States with its corruption and failing democracy, New Zealand, in contrast, has explicitly committed that all its social policies must foster wellbeing and that the state be run honorably. Now comes this, and I think this is an accurate assessment.
Bunker repurposed for a US ‘doomsday’ community. A study proposes that countries able to grow food for their populations, protect their borders from unwanted mass migration and maintain an electrical grid, are best placed to withstand severe shocks. Credit: Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA
New Zealand, Iceland, the UK, Tasmania and Ireland are the places best suited to survive a global collapse of society, according to a study.
The researchers said human civilisation was “in a perilous state” due to the highly interconnected and energy-intensive society that had developed and the environmental damage this had caused.
A collapse could arise from shocks, such as a severe financial crisis, the impacts of the climate crisis, destruction of nature, an even worse pandemic than Covid-19 or a combination of these, the scientists said.
To assess which nations would be most resilient to such a collapse, countries were ranked according to their ability to grow food for their population, protect their borders from unwanted mass migration, and maintain an electrical grid and some manufacturing ability. Islands in temperate regions and mostly with low population densities came out on […]
Stephan: I have been noticing that the Supreme Court although definitely and deliberately skewed to the right, has become more nuanced than was originally understood or intended. Sarah Isgur does a good job of laying this out, and these are important distinctions.
Supreme Court Building, Credit: AP/J. Scott Applewhite
After Amy Coney Barrett replaced Ruth Bader Ginsburg onthe Supreme Court last fall, plenty of court watchers assumed that the bench would start churning out an endless line of conservative opinions. But that didn’t happen. While there were some conservative wins—most notably on the limits of the Voting Rights Act and unionizing—this past term was far more notable for all the sweeping conservative opinions that never came.
With six Republican appointees on the court, why aren’t we seeing the consistent conservative outcomes that the right cheered for and the left warned of?
The answer lies with the two-dimensional nature of the Supreme Court. Many court watchers are still plotting the justices along a single, horizontal axis of legally conservative to legally liberal. And they are left reaching for increasingly head-scratching explanations for why a justice like Brett Kavanaugh—with a long history of conservative opinions from his days as a lower court judge—can find himself often siding with someone who is quite liberal, or against another justice just as conservative.
Georg Bieker, - The International Council on Clean Transportation
Stephan: Can we please stop arguing about this? Here are facts, from a rigorous well-designed study. Electric cars are more supportive of wellbeing than petroleum ones.
EVs are the future. Biden is correct, and all the data shows that. It also shows this transition will have an enormous and positive effect on the Matrix of Consciousness and, thus, our lives since all life is interconnected and interdependent.
This wide-ranging life-cycle assessment (LCA) examines the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of passenger cars, including SUVs. Performed separately and in-depth for Europe, the United States, China, and India, the analysis captures the differences among those markets, which are home to about 70% of global new passenger car sales. It considers present and projected future GHG emissions attributable to every stage in the life cycles of both vehicles and fuels, from extracting and processing raw materials through refining and manufacture to operation and eventual recycling or disposal.
In addition to its global scope, the study is methodologically comprehensive in considering all relevant powertrain types, including plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), and an array of fuel types including biofuels, electrofuels, hydrogen, and electricity. The life-cycle GHG emissions of cars registered in 2021 are compared with those of cars expected to be registered in 2030. In addition, this study is distinct from earlier LCA literature in four key aspects:
It considers the lifetime average carbon intensity of the fuel and electricity mixes, including biofuels and biogas. Based on stated policies, it accounts […]
Stephan: I don't always agree with Naomi Klein, but she thinks about these issues, and that happens so rarely that it is notable. We are not prepared for what is coming.
A helicopter prepares to make a water drop as smoke billows along the Fraser River Valley near Lytton, British Columbia, Canada, on July 2, 2021. Credit: James MacDonald/Bloomberg /Getty
Many people here think they are safe from climate change, the journalist from a German newspaper explained to me. They don’t see it as an immediate threat, like Covid-19. They see the Greens as scolds who want to take away their cheap holidays. “What do you have to say to them?”
The question came via video call in late June, and I was, at that very moment, pickled in my non-air-conditioned home, gripped by a heatwave that would, before the week was done, kill about 500 people in British Columbia, Canada, and cook perhaps a billion marine creatures on scorching shorelines. Over the years, I have faced many such “why should I care” questions, and I usually try to reach for some kind of moral argument about our responsibility to fellow humans even when we aren’t immediately impacted. But because I was far too hot and angry for high-mindedness, what I had […]
