Thorium

One of the main safety problems with uranium nuke plants is the use of high pressure steam. When the power goes off cooling water pumps fail and steam gets out of control and blow pipes and escapes. Thorium plants do not use steam and operate at atmospheric pressure. In addition thorium plants shut down when the power is lost and cannot melt down. The US went with uranium over thorium because thorium plants do not produce materials that can be used to build bombs. In addition thorium waste is much easier to dispose of and thorium plants can use stored radioactive materials as fuel and over time can deplete the nuke waste pile. Thorium is found in nature at much higher quantities than uranium and is much cheaper. This is a no brainer but politics is in the way. The Greenies don't want thorium and neither does the fossil fuel industry. Until the people wake up this is the way things will stay.

Cults

One definition of a "cult" is a misplaced admiration for some person or thing. This term was applied to some Trump voters but for most it referred to his personality as opposed to his policies. In the same manner the word can be used to describe the new green deal. It refers to the hidden agenda of social change and not climate change. These people are well aware that planes cannot fly on batteries but but they close their eyes to this in order to promote the redistribution of wealth. It is their goal to take money from one group and give it to another group as they decide who gets what. It increases their power to determine the life styles of others. Any legitimate scientist will say that wind and solar cannot replace fossil fuels yet this basic fact is not discussed in the press. It makes no sense to charge up your electric car with power generated in a coal fired power plant whereas it makes perfectly good sense to do the same with power from a nuclear plant. To move the entire production of electric power to thorium nuke plants would solve the problem of climate change but would do nothing to change the social structure including the who gets what.

Thorium

Shortly after the development of the atomic bomb the science moved toward nuclear power plants. Early experiments used uranium and thorium but uranium won out because it could be used to produce bombs but thorium could not. New technology has shown thorium to be a more efficient way to produce electric power and countries like China and Indian are moving in that direction. The US is bogged down by the fossil fuel industry and the greens who want to use wind and solar to change the social structure of the country. If the thorium industry had paid experts to sell its product like the other two groups things might change. Even though the nuclear power industry has a sterling safety record thorium plants are even safer, but these other groups keep Americans leery of its use for personal gain. This is just one more example where politics is interfering with science. Thorium is three times more abundant in nature than uranium. Compared to uranium reactors, thorium reactors produce far less waste and the waste that is generated is much less radioactive and much shorter-lived.

Tea Party

The Tea Party was a conservative movement that began in 2009 and lasted about 5 years. Polls show that about 10% of voters participated. The goal was smaller government and lower taxes. The NY Times said the Party unleashed the "Politics of anger". There was little to no rioting, looting, burning or breaking into government buildings. The Party opposed Obamacare as they saw it as the first step to universal healthcare and most of the members had company health insurance which they would lose. The party is credited with the republicans taking back the house in 2010 with over 60 new members elected. The black lives matter movement received more positive press even though it brought on a lot of violence which is still going on nightly in places like Portland. The occupy Wall Street movement received similar positive coverage. For many in the press violence is OK when the cause is OK but they all say they are opposed to violence.

Collecting unemployment

If you wanted to avoid paying the penalty for not having health insurance under Obamacare you just answer yes to the question, did you have health insurance. If you want to continue to receive unemployment benefits you answer yes to the question, were you available for work and no to the question, did you refuse any work. The question arises, will people lie on these reports. Here is one answer. A funny thing happened in 1987 when, for the first time, the Internal Revenue Service required taxpayers to list the Social Security numbers for children age 5 and over they were claiming as dependents. What happened is that about 7 million children simply vanished--at least from tax returns.

Virus source

Early last year when the Covid first appeared in Wuhan, China some suspected that it came from a nearby lab where research on Covid like viruses was taking place. According to US experts the lab was not designed with proper safety protocols and had a history of problems regarding safe procedures. When some suggested that the virus may have come from this lab they were dismissed as conspiracy theorist. The better explanation was that it came from animals called pangolins that were sold at a wet market. Would the logic of the situation indicate that the lab was the more likely source and if so why wasn't the lab considered the prime suspect. There is now an investigation under way which is a way to kick the can down the road until everyone forgets about the whole thing until the next virus hits.

Marxism

Many Americans believe the nuclear family is the foundation of our society but that is not the way Marx saw things. Marxists argue that the nuclear family performs ideological functions for Capitalism – the family acts as a unit of consumption and teaches passive acceptance of hierarchy. One of the many results of the war on poverty was the breakdown of the family especially in Black intercity families. In 1965 single mom Black families represented 25% but today that figure is 75%. As families break apart the people become more reliant on government to care for them. Statistics show that if a young woman graduates from high school and does not have child until she marries she has a 95% chance of staying out of poverty. Whenever the gap between rich and poor becomes large some leader will gain power by promising to share the wealth. While it sounds enticing, history shows it doesn't work.

Hydrogen

The new green deal is so contaminated with politics that it has lost track of its goal which is to limit CO2. Instead of emphasizing wind and solar to produce electricity and then building electric cars they should be looking at thorium nuke plants to produce electricity to produce hydrogen to run all transportation and to heat all buildings and homes. The only byproducts from burning hydrogen are water and heat. It is the way to meet the Biden commitment of carbon free by 2050. Wind and solar people will join forces with the fossil industry to oppose this solution.

Jews

New data April 25 analysis of the just-released FBI hate crime statistics uncovers a disturbing trend in the United States: Jews are at least three times more likely to experience a hate crime in America than any other ethnic group. 2019 data shows Hate crimes motivated by religious bias accounted for 1,650 offenses reported by law enforcement. A breakdown of the bias motivation of religious-biased offenses showed: 60.3% were anti-Jewish compared to 13.3% that were anti-Islamic (Muslim). There were more than 800 incidents and offenses committed against 920 Jewish victims. This is not news worthy because it has always been this way.

Racism or not

It was heartening to hear President Biden say the country is not racist. “No, I don’t think the American people are racist,” Biden told “TODAY.” Previously he said, White America has to admit there's still a systematic racism. Systemic racism is a stain on our nation's soul. Does that mean that the country is racist but the people are not. Are people judged as racist based on what they say. There are few statements more racist than Biden's description of former President Obama when he said, " I mean, you got the first mainstream African- American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice looking guy. I mean, that's a storybook, man." Does that mean that ordinary Black men are not articulate, not bright and not clean. Biden talking about himself said, anyone struggling to decide whether to support him or President Donald Trump in the general election "ain't black." Does that mean that all Blacks are the same. Many Blacks feel they are individuals and cannot be lumped together.

Israel

The war between Israel and Palestine started when Israel became a state in 1948. Since that time there have been 6 wars. This is from the preamble to the covenant of Hamas Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it, just as it obliterated others before it" (The Martyr, Imam Hassan al-Banna, of blessed memory). This makes it difficult to start talks about a two state solution.

Germany

Germany only spends 1.3% of its GDP on defense as compared to the US which spends 3.4%. They can get away with this because NATO promises to defend them against attack from Russia. This includes money to NATO from the US along with US troops stationed in Germany. Germany gets natural gas from Russia and just completed a second pipeline from Russia. Germany could be buying natural gas from the US and not be dependent on Russia but they chose to do otherwise. Germany is considered to be a friendly ally of the US. Russia took over a part of Ukraine called Crimea and they have designs on the rest of Ukraine. The old gas line runs through Ukraine and Russia pays transfer fees to Ukraine but the new line by-passes Ukraine. This was a major source of income for Ukraine and weakens their economy. Some feel this is just one more step in Russia's plan to take over Ukraine.

Police

A friend of mine was a police officer and once told me that when he received a call about a fight in a bar he always took the long way to get there feeling that the fighters would wear themselves out by the time he arrived. This might be a good policy for police to follow when they receive 911 calls. The other day an officer responding to an emergency call got there just in time to shoot a woman who was trying to stab another women. This officer was roundly criticized for not taking some other course of action. Some suggested he fire a warning shot. If he had arrived just a few seconds later the stabbing would have taken place and the stabber would have disappeared. The officer would then just call the ambulance and start taking down names of witnesses and received no criticism.

Attitude

There are large numbers of people in the United States today who believe that the country is tyrannical in its social mores. They concentrate on how groups are treated and minimize individual rights. They pit one group against another. The rich vs poor, the white vs non-white, gay vs straight, conservative vs liberal, college educated vs non-college, young vs old and coastal America vs middle America. In each of these groups they see the oppressor and the oppressed. The rest of the world sees a different picture. Millions of people from around the world, mostly of color, want to come to America. Millions of disadvantaged within the country have moved up the ladder to middle and upper middle economic status. While many people remain proud to be Americans there is a growing group who seem to be ashamed of America. They see themselves as victims and are blinded to the opportunities that abound. They wait for things to change instead of taking action. It is not circumstances that hold people back it is attitude. There are myriads of examples of people who have overcome dysfunctional family situations to become productive citizens. If you look to the past to find reasons why you cannot succeed you will find plenty but it won't help you much. Learn from the past but don't live in the past.

Fentenyl

While the attention on the border has focused on things like unaccompanied minors and Covid spread there is another problem of equal importance which has garnered little to no coverage. In the first three months of this year fentanyl seizures have exceeded all of last year. CBP is seeing a drastic increase in fentanyl seizures this fiscal year – more than 360 percent higher than this same time last year.

Carbon free

When Obama was elected he said, “this was the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal . He never said how this was to be accomplished except to refer to green energy. On Day One, President Biden fulfilled his promise to rejoin the Paris Agreement and set a course for the United States to tackle the climate crisis at home and abroad, reaching net zero emissions economy-wide by no later than 2050. Once again no specifics on how this would be done. These are nice words to heal much like the Paris Agreement which has no enforcement. "Untold human suffering" is in our future as nations miss their Paris Agreement targets by a long shot. The only way that these goals can be reached is to use hydrogen fuel and while that can be produced through electrolysis of water using electricity from any source, the best source is thorium nuke power plants. It is currently not possible to replace military and civilian planes with batteries. The same can be said for trains, farm and heavy construction equipment and ocean liners. If we do that then running cars on hydrogen makes sense. Is it time for some scientist to stand up and ask what the plan is to meet this 2050 goal. Is it time for the press to ask.

Flu

In a typical flu season somewhere between 22,000 and 60,000 people die but this past season the CDC estimates only 453 flu-related deaths. In addition many people have reported fewer colds. Is this a sign that flu precautions are worth the effort. Social distancing, frequent washing hands and mask may be the thing in all future flu seasons.

Police

After the fatal shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and the choking death of Eric Garner on Staten Island in New York City, both in 2014, Obama established the President's Task Force on 12st Century Policing. The task force in 2015 urged that police killings be investigated by independent prosecutors. The task force also called for ending all racial profiling by law enforcement agencies, more community policing and a better relationship between police officers and neighborhood institutions. There followed investigations in 20 police departments. Reforms were recommended. It is now 7 years later and Biden will form a task force to investigate police departments in two cities.

Cyberwar

The latest tech stuff kind of goes right over my head but I am told there are a lot of young people who play around on their computers and tend to get in trouble. Is it possible that these youngsters could be recruited to fight the digital wars of the future. Would it be a good investment in national security to make cash awards to anyone who could attack and destroy the programs of hackers. How about telling that teen who sits at home in the basement that he/she could earn a handsome reward simply by busting up something like Ransomwear. Pick up a quick college scholarship or some cash. This would have the added benefit of training future cyber warriors.

Biden letter

Today in the mail, I got what I first thought was a piece of junk mail but on closer inspection the envelop said IRS but from Austin, TX. I opened it and found out it was a letter from President Biden telling me that the law he signed is sending me $1,400 to go along with the $600 he previously sent me to bring the total to $2,000 which is what he promised. Trump was criticized for putting his name on the first stimulus check, a check that most people did not see since most had automatic bank deposit. I haven't heard any mention in the press about this letter from Biden. His letter starts, On March 11, 2012 I signed into law the ARP, a law that will deliver economic relief to you.

Trillions

The government pays $345 billion in interest payments on the national debt. This problem is lessened because the average interest rate paid by the government is only 1.2%. This is with an annual inflation rate of less than 2.5%. One of the many concerns about rising inflation is how it will effect the interest payments. Interest rates of 6% were the norm for much of the past 50 years and that would raise the interest on the debt to over one trillion dollars per year. Not to long ago that would have raised warning signs but in today's world of trillions it doesn't seem so bad.

Florida flu

Different states handled Covid in different ways. There are numerous articles trying to explain the difference especially between Florida and California. These two states represent the extremes in how things were handled. Most of the articles are looking for reasons why Florida did so much better. They don't like the simplicity of saying California locked down and Florida was open so they dig for details to find other reasons. It is even confounding that Florida has such a large elderly population but they look for things like humidity. One article states that droplets don't travel as far when it is humid. The latest info from the CDC confirms what people in Florida knew all along and that is the chance of spreading Covid outdoors was very small. The original report from CDC said the chances were less than 10% but new reports suggest less than one percent. Florida zeroed in on the elderly and that was the secret of their success. Who didn't know that the flu hits the elderly and the sick the hardest.

Center right country

The US is a center right country in 2019 with 37% conservative, 35% moderates and 24% liberal according to Gallup. Here is how Trump would be rated on policy from favorable to non favorable. Lowest unemployment for minorities and women, real income increases for middle income groups, Covid vaccine, Abraham accords, moving the embassy to Jerusalem, import taxes on China and Europe, First Step Act, built up the military, lower taxes, less regulation, trade agreements with Japan and South Korea, quieting North Korea, reforming the VA, allowing Vets to go to private hospital, replacing NAFTA, opportunity zones in the inner cities, getting NATO members to pay more, securing the border, putting sanctions on Iran, financial aid to Black colleges, making the US energy independent, not joining the TPP, dropping out of the Paris accords and residing the Iran nuke deal

Full employment

The democrats, under the auspicious economic idea favored by Bernie Sanders called modern monetary theory, have decided to spend money for various projects. The theory says you can deficit spend as long as you have less than full employment without causing inflation. The full employment part is questionable because many people who could be working are not working because they can make more from unemployment benefits than they can make by working. This distorts the data and brings into question the use of the theory. If inflation results the theory will be discredited but it is not a fair test. Anyone earning less than $34,000 per year can make more money by not working and collecting unemployment compensation. This will continue until September with talk about extending it to the end of the year. When the federal government gets this involved in the economy the law of unintended consequences rears its ugly head. Currently 12 million Americans are receiving federal unemployment payments of $300 per week and the number of job vacancies soared to nearly 15 million by mid-March, but discouraged, hesitant and fearful job seekers means many positions are still unfilled, according to new data from online job site ZipRecruiter. If these people went to work the country would be at full employment.

Skin color

The success of Asian Americans has long been used as an example that racism is not the problem with Black Americans. Asian Americans were able to overcome racism by life style which is called a myth by many. To the extent that all myths are rooted in truth, this model minority stereotype recognizes a real pattern of Asian upward mobility. A century ago, Asian Americans were known as laborers of the lowest wage. They were ditch diggers, launderers, miners. Yet over the decades, despite poverty, racial violence and widespread discrimination, many Asians managed to clamber up the socioeconomic ladder. One group says this is the result of keeping the family unit together combined with a strong emphasis on education. The other side represented by Brown University economist Nathaniel Hilger who reports that society simply became less racist toward Asians. If what Hilger says is true then the question arises are people prejudice against Blacks because of skin color or because of life style. If you stick with skin color you can excuse life style and this results in victims whose circumstances are beyond their control. It does not explain the millions of Blacks who have succeeded in becoming productive citizens. Do we judge people by their behavior or does their behavior influence our judgment. Are we prejudice against a whole group of people or just some within group. If the group are Black Americans does this mean that only some are Black or is it something other than skin color.

Better red than dead

As WW 2 came to an end the world found itself with two major powers, Russia and the United States. Russia was developing and would become a communist state while the US remained a free market capitalist system. Stalin and then Khrushchev both said that the two systems cannot co-exist and that communism will win out because capitalism will create a small wealthy class and a large working class, similar to the days when nobility lived in their castles and the peasants toiled in the country side. Communism on the other hand would create equality for everyone following the Marx idea of from each according to his ability to each according to his needs. Interestingly enough Khrushchev's son is now living in Rhode Island working with a green card toward his citizenship. Communist could not beat the free market in open competition so now they are trying to undermine the US by pitting one group against another using race as their first weapon.

Biden tax plan

Biden promised to reverse the Trump tax cuts and said only those earning more than $400,000 per year would see their taxes increase. This made no sense since the Trump tax cuts lowered taxes of middle income people. Now that someone has taken the time to evaluate Biden's position they have change plans and now will keep the tax cuts for the middle income group while raising taxes on higher income groups. This makes more sense. No one in the press pointed this out when Biden promised not to raise taxes on lower income groups.

2016 election

After the 2016 presidential election the democrats and many in the press suggested that Trump won because of Russian interference and while there was interference it soon morphed into Trump/Russia collusion. This led to the appointment of Robert Mueller as special prosecutor and a two year investigation which determined there was no collusion. This did not satisfy many of the anti-Trumpers who continued the claim that Trump was an illegitimate president. On September 18, 2017, nine months after Trump took office, Hilary said she won't rule out questioning the election, but there is no clear means to do so. On September 6, 2019 two years after Trump took office Hilary dismissed President Trump as an "illegitimate president" and suggested that "he knows" that he stole the 2016 presidential election in and CBS News interview to be aired Sunday. The press did not claim that this was a threat to our democracy or an attempt to overthrow the government.

Patents

The Biden administration has made, what appears to be, an off the cuff decision to turn over covid vaccine technology to the world by waiving patent laws. Much of this science has been the result of years of research at a cost of billions of dollars and millions of man hours. The US industry will quickly produce 12 billion doses and share those with the world at reasonable cost. The big hold up is supply chain. The vaccine requires hundreds of ingredients from dozens of countries and the US has the fastest production facilities. If the technology is released other countries will be competing for the same materials and this will slow down US production and cause the world to wait for other countries to pick up production at less efficient facilities. It also causes concern about future investments by pharma companies. Will their research dollars be wasted if the results of their work is forced to be shared with the rest of the world.

Nuke power

Climate change has been seen as an environmental issue but evidence suggest there is a political agenda. The Greens suggest that the problem is severe to the point that the would as we know it will end a few years. These same people refuse to discuss thorium nuke plants which would solve the problem. The reasons they opposed nuke plants in the past is the fear of meltdown and the disposal of waste products. Thorium solves both of those problems as there can be no meltdown and they use waste products as fuel. The Greens ignore the environmental damage caused by the mining and disposal of rare earths and lithium. They seem not to understand that wind and solar need back up systems. They seem not to understand that jet engines run by the expanding gas from exploding fossil fuel. Even if the weight problem associated with batteries were overcome do they want to go back to spinning propellers. The US gets 20% of its power from nuclear and has been operating these plants for 60 years with one minor accident. The new thorium plants would be even safer. The sensible approach would be to use all sources of power. There is a place for wind and solar and that is on any fixed structure and next to power plants.

Global tax

Biden has proposed a global corporate tax to even the playing field which would prevent companies from moving in order to get lower taxes. In reality most countries are lowering their corporate tax rate to compete and encourage business to move to their country. Ireland is a good example of how this brings business to their shores. Almost 1,000 multinational companies have chosen Ireland as their strategic European base due to our pro-business environment and attractive taxation rates. Ireland has one of the lowest corporation tax rates in Europe at 12.5%. Companies can avail of a 25% tax credit against research and development costs. Let’s say you are a business that needs lots of patents, like a technology, manufacturing, or pharmaceutical firm. Any income you make from Irish patents you own is taxed at 6.25%. To Ireland, this encourages a robust research and development sector; to big American firms, it means they have an incentive to get lots of Irish patents.

Police stops

The police make on average 50 million contacts per year resulting in 10 million arrest. Of these about 100,000 result in some form of confrontation. This results in about 1,000 shooting deaths per year. "the Washington Post’s database of fatal police shootings showed 14 unarmed Black victims and 25 unarmed white victims in 2019". This is a spike since over the past 20 years 160 unarmed Black men have been killed by police or 8 per year. Here is the data going back to 1968. https://www.reneeater.com/on-monuments-blog/tag/list+of+unarmed+black+people+killed+by+police Contrast that with the fact that each year 6,000 black men are killed by 6,000 black men.

College

Back in the 50's when I went to college we went to school part time and worked full time. The old way of using the GI Bill was not available as it was discontinued. I was a SOTA, students older than average because I was in school for nine years. One day in economics class I had a heated argument with the professor. He said the purpose of business was to provide goods and services and I said the purpose was to make a profit. After class he came and thanked me for expressing my opinion and said this is how he and the rest of the students learn. It appears in today's world that students are not encouraged to disagree and some are even punished for expressing their opinions. The university setting is the place to exercise your free speech rights and should be encouraged. In many schools this is no longer the case. Many students find their opinions are considered hate speech or outright lies and they are shut down by the teachers. Too bad.

Stimulus checks

Has anyone noticed that many of those who are most concerned about Covid safety are getting paychecks and those who are unemployed are more concerned about the economy. Do most people believe that if teachers and school administrators would have closed schools if they did not get paid. Do most people understand that all government employees continued to get paid whether they worked or not and they will all get the latest free money from the government. They got $1,200, $600 and now $1,400. This is $3,200 and they have never lost a paycheck. Polls show that these programs are very popular. The poll found that 78 percent of Americans supported the stimulus checks, including 90 percent of Democrats and 64 percent of Republicans. I wonder what a poll for a forth stimulus check would show.

Racism

The dictionary definition of systemic refers to it as medical term meaning infecting the entire body. President Biden says systemic racism is a stain on nation's soul. Biden said he had a mandate “to achieve racial justice and root out systemic racism in this country.” Does this mean that everyone is racist or just some are racist and if it is only some who are they and how do you know they are racist. Does making a general statement like that divide or unite the country. Recall that most people feel that what the president says is important and should be taken seriously. Does the average white person now feel that the president thinks he is racist. Is the president racist. How many people do you know who are racist and why do you believe that. Are you racist and if so how do you know. The same question if you are not racist. Does the President have an ulterior motive for making such a questionable statement or what legitimate reason might he have. Calling someone a racist ranks right up there with child molester or smut purveyor. Isn't it necessary to have some evidence before making such a claim or in today's world is it OK to make the claim without evidence. The effectiveness of cancel culture is based on the fact that once a claim is made the evidence becomes unimportant. Does this make people uncomfortable and if not why not. Remember innocent until proven guilty.