Credo

Although I totally agree with you, anybody with an ounce of common sense would much rather sit on a cactus while petting a skunk that run afoul of vulgar-mouthed Trump.

This is interesting. I wonder if it means that the building blocks of life actually exist on other planets and accidentally ended up here? Where did the asteroid actually originate?

It's sad when this happens in an institutional setting. I would expect people to be much better prepared to deal with these situations.

I don't quite understand what you are saying about the DNA of viruses being about as near to animal virus's as humans were in DNA to something like a fish. Most viruses do not have DNA. They have RNA. Covid-19 virus is an RNA virus. Genetically, the closest virus being worked with in the lab that we know about is the bat virus, RaTG13, which is 96% identical to the human Covid. 96% is really a long way to get to Covid. Most virologists want to see a 99% similarity to make the genetic jump to another species. Genetically, it seems that the Raccoon dog appears to be a better fit. Scientists and researchers will continue to look at all the genetic changes that led to it being infectious to humans. Thus far, this doesn't seem to lead to the Wuhan lab. In addition, nothing very likely or plausible leads from the lab to the outside world. The lab is a bit of a black hole because it is large, it is hard to know everything they were doing, and the Chinese gov't may have thrown a veil over the information that would either exonerate or show a link to the virus.

I am curious what he thinks the difference is between misleading and lying?

The sun has well known and well documented cycles that do affect climate. This is not what we are talking about, any more than we are talking about the tilt of the earth is responsible for seasons. Go back to the early beginnings of life -- and you can look at the gas formations caught in rock formations. Ancient Earth had an atmosphere 70 percent carbon dioxide approximately 2.7 billion years ago. CO2 and its ability to trap heat kept the earth warm. The earliest life forms used CO2 (much like plants today), they also gave off O2 which was toxic to early life that gradually evolved to tolerate O2. Prior to life, there was no free O2 in the atmosphere. Oxygen, as you probably know, is highly reactive. Much of it reacted with elements such as iron and formed rust. At the earliest times, it quickly combined with carbon to form CO2 and with hydrogen to form water. As the earliest life forms ate up huge amounts of CO2 and expelled large amounts of O2, the atmosphere begin to have lower levels of CO2 and low, but increasing amounts of O2. As CO2 levels dropped, so did temperatures. The increasing levels of O2 led to life forms that were able to breathe and use it, just like we do today. But in order for O2 levels to increase, carbon levels needed to decrease because left on its own, oxygen will combine with carbon to form CO2. Over time, more and more carbon was taken out of the air and buried in the form of coal and oil. This left more O2 and eventually the earth reach a state of homeostasis in which the plants using CO2 were in balance with animals using O2 and much of the excess carbon being tied up in the earth to eventually become oil and coal and large amounts tied in plants such as trees. So, now we are releasing huge amounts of carbon back into the air and it is doing what it does and combining with O2 to become CO2, which is a greenhouse gas and thus we have Climate Change.

Well, the MAGA crowd doesn't really have a history of peaceful protest now, do they?

The US is in a precarious situation with everything from the economy to the culture wars, and yet the right-wingers think they can legislate an answer to a question that may take many years to unravel. The most likely and plausible start of the virus is a jump from animals to humans at the wet market. That doesn't eliminate any of the other possibilities. It's not even known if it originated in bats. Bats are just one of the animals that has a long history of being able to harbor and live with Coronaviruses. Researchers are still uncovering information about the Spanish Flu epidemic and about the Plague.

It is absolutely baffling that anyone would support either of these two. Neither has anything in the way of a platform. Name-calling and attacking drag queens is about the zenith of what they propose.

It sounds like the racketeering charges from RICO are a reality.

It sounds like some of the NATO members need to up their game when it comes to military performance. These are troubling times. You want good soldiers, well-trained and able to engage any enemy. For that, you do need to make sure they have all the equipment, arms and ammunition they need.

I find it amusing that they pass a law, but won't prosecute the person who actually breaks the law and has an abortion. I wonder how that works other than to scare the <deleted> out of any medical personnel from providing any care. So, a Wyoming lady crosses a border, gets the prescription and then goes home and takes it. There isn't much they can do.

OMG. I just had shudders. I feel particularly sorry for the poor guy that does the cavity search!

This does not bode well for Climate Change in general. The area in the Arctic is very sensitive.

This is another tragic event that was preventable. It's sad to see so many people being treated as poorly as cattle headed to slaughter.

What does America not recognizing the Court's jurisdiction have to do with anything? This is a major court, and being charged is both serious and embarrassing for Putin. Let's see where he goes the next time he leaves Russia. His circle of places to go is limited, and most of the places he would be safe traveling to are not going to raise his profile on the international stage. He's a pariah.

Working in something like a government office (and a lot of large companies) makes it a little more relevant and scary to navigate. Those further up the line tend to err on the side of caution. But we've always had something that needed to be dealt with.

I tend to agree with much of what you are saying, but I think the definition of a man/woman becomes legal and political. People's gender identity is something that is highly personal. I don't worry about it because I don't think it's a common situation or one that is going to be somehow disruptive. So a trans person with intact female reproductive organs decides she is a man, then that's up to her. They shouldn't be mistreated or discriminated against. Whether you or I decide they will be in our social circle is up to us. We don't individually have to accept these things that we don't like, but we can't stop people from being and feeling the way they do and wanting to be able to express it.

None of the groups discussed are any danger to children. None.

Turkey is a strategic country. It has the only connection between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean. It is geographically situated close to the troubled Middle East. Turkey is quite well aware of their importance, and they quite often play the West against other adversaries. As irritating as they can be, especially with people like Erdoğan around, we need them more than they need us.

And there has always been a reason. The reason now is because of greenhouse gases. Ancient Earth had an atmosphere 70 percent carbon dioxide approximately 2.7 billion years ago. CO2 and its ability to trap heat kept the earth warm. The earliest life forms used CO2 (much like plants today), they also gave off O2 which was toxic to early life that gradually evolved to tolerate O2. Prior to life, there was no free O2 in the atmosphere. Oxygen is highly reactive. Much of it reacted with elements such as iron and formed rust. At the earliest times, it quickly combined with carbon to form CO2 and with hydrogen to form water. As the earliest life forms ate up huge amounts of CO2 and expelled large amounts of O2, the atmosphere began to have lower levels of CO2 and low, but increasing amounts of O2. The increasing levels of O2 led to life forms that were able to breathe and use it. But in order for O2 levels to increase, carbon levels needed to decrease because left on its own, oxygen will combine with carbon to form CO2. Over time, more and more carbon was taken out of the air and buried in the form of coal and oil. This left more O2 and eventually the earth reach a state of homeostasis in which the plants using CO2 were in balance with animals using O2 and much of the excess carbon being tied up in the earth to eventually become oil and coal and large amounts tied in plants such as trees. So, now we are releasing huge amounts of carbon back into the air, and it is doing what it does and combining with O2 to become CO2, which is a greenhouse gas, and thus we have Climate Change.

I don't understand why people get so worked up over things that don't affect them. I remember when everyone was sure that gay marriage was going to cause the collapse of western civilization. It didn't. It hasn't. It hasn't affected anyone, except gay people. I totally can't get my head around trans people, but it is real, they do exist and they have zero affect on my life. None. I can't imagine anyone wanting to undergo surgery unless they felt it was necessary. I've known one translady, but she had transitioned long before I met and worked with her. She was a fantastic person. I also knew one young man who I knew as a man who I later met with her boyfriend. I didn't recognize her, and it was later in the evening when she said, "You don't remember me, do you?" I didn't. I was surprised. He was a nice looking young man and now she was a nice looking lady. But again, no effect on me or my life. I am glad they are both happy. Drag Queens are entertainers. If you enjoy their entertainment. Go. If not, don't. I've never seen a drag queen walking around the grocery store all glammed up -- that's a lot of time to get ready. Again, nothing to do with me or my life. Everybody who lives should be treated with respect and be allowed to live their life as they wish. If they aren't hurting anyone, let them be. And none of them are hurting you.

This should keep him looking over his shoulder and well off the international stage.

You can't write with an eraser, and this is nothing more than an attempt to erase scientific facts. Climate Change is not caused by natural events. It's not associated with any natural event, like the sun cycle or volcanic eruptions. The link between CO2 (and methane) has been proven in the laboratory -- there are several small experiments that can be used in HS to show how it works. It's been shown in places like the biosphere, and now it is happening in real life and real time.

Well, Trump can no longer feign ignorance of the laws on campaign financing.