Beginning retroactively with the 2021 heat wave that killed 1400 people in the Pacific Northwest:
The Shell Oil Heat Dome
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021_Western_North_America_heat_wave
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seattle_Arctic_drilling_protests
While it’s infuriating to see millions of people denying the existence of climate change, formerly known as global warming, the fact is that we are in the 6th mass extinction, a truth that billions of people from all ideologies are afraid to face.
And here we have another gem from the obnoxious 43 year old libertarian edge lord’s exhaustive repertoire of unwanted opinions.
The Birmingham WMD industry is second only to Russia, which is, has always been, and will always be, number one in everything. Do not piss on the nationalist propaganda parade.
What are you on about? No, if you read the article you can see this is about food grown in the UK, meaning the United Kingdom. This has nothing to do with Ukraine.
The US has become a cautionary tale for:
• Refusing Universal Healthcare
• Opposing Racial and Cultural Equity
• Revoking Women’s Bodily Autonomy
• Expanding Excessive Incarceration
• Exonerating Police Violence
• Dismissing Effective Gun Control
• Ignoring Mass Shootings
• Denying Veteran and First Responder Care
• Allowing Environmental Toxins
• Approving Carcinogens in Food
• Condoning High Infant Mortality
• Eradicating LGTBQ+ Rights
• Encouraging Religion in Government
• Dismantling Social Services
• Rejecting Living Wage, Retirement, and Pension Issues
• Persecuting the Low-income and Homeless
• Promoting the Purchase of Politicians and Judges
Not dealerships, but 43 US states plus DC, have dram shop laws that allow a drunk driver to sue the establishment that overserved.
What a fascinating read! Thank you for sharing this article.
And this species is just the latest to feel the impact of climate change. A report last year published by the World Wildlife Fund for Nature found that out of nearly 32,000 animal populations worldwide, there was an average decline of 69% since 1970. That sharp decline, the report warned, is a “code red for the planet (and humanity).”
“The message is clear and the lights are flashing red,” WWF International’s director general Marco Lambertini says in the report. “Our most comprehensive report ever on the state of global vertebrate wildlife populations presents terrifying figures: a shocking two-thirds decline in the global Living Planet Index less than 50 years.”
I stopped using deodorant when I moved from the Gulf Coast to the PNW mountains near BC. I just don’t sweat much in drier climates, but I do bathe or shower every day and I shave my armpits plus I use a deodorant soap. I think if I stopped shaving or didn’t shower every day, I’d probably still need deodorant?
Thank you for your clarity. I don’t know how common it is for people to directly question existence, social contracts, our roles and purposes, but I imagine your thoughts resonate with many of us; the experiences and perceptions you shared are deeply familiar to me.
Since your story helped me understand where you’re at, I will reciprocate with a story for you.
I never quite succeeded at living a life that resulted in genuine acceptance from relatives, religious circles, authority figures , or peers. I tried to fit in for awhile, and to even please others a few times, but it isn’t who I am and it shows. This disconnect allowed me to metaphorically wander into the wilds.
For over 30 years, I explored almost all big religions and some philosophies, and by the time I was in my late 40’s I finally embraced my atheism with a growing sense of liberation, although I don’t mention it around theists. I think it scares them, and who am I to yank away anyone’s security blanket?
I’ve lived a long and unconventional life with my own credo. Sometimes this meant fine tuning who is in my life, and who is excluded, which can be controversial - but for me it’s been a relief. Also, controversy is just one spice in a feast.
I agree with you that institutions or culture leaders or mythological deities can’t dictate what is good. My direction has always come from within because that’s the loudest voice*, and when I need to be reminded of what that means, I focus on the REAL life around me.
I don’t look for a purpose or a life well-lived because humans are no different than fish or rabbits or deer … except for how we lost our way. Seriously, look at the animals; this is what I mean by REAL life. They don’t waste their energy striving for someone else’s declared ideal. They don’t worry about yesterday or tomorrow. They don’t get wound up in possible outcomes or fake rewards. They just … are.
As you stated, we are briefly here on an insignificant rock spinning around in a tiny solar system of a regular galaxy, in one universe among countless universes, and we weren’t deliberately placed here to hoard crap, exert “dominion”, destroy everything, or delude ourselves that we should be famous or rich or impactful. (Okay, I took your thought and ran a bit with it.)
My life is filled with the things I need to do for survival, with interludes of connection that bring me joy. I try to not think too much about the survival part because for humans it’s so contrived, and it blocks natural feelings. My biggest struggle is keeping that shit where it doesn’t ruin the things that matter.
And what matters is YOUR call. Time with the people you love or being immersed in music or reading or looking at stars or laughing at how your dog zooms or touching trees or breathing or … whatever you want. As long as you can be in the moment with your true self, you aren’t wasting this magical blink of life.
*I don’t have an actual voice within, because I have total Aphantasia.
There are some philosophical undertones here, and I’m wondering what you really want to ask. Could you elaborate?
IIRC, he was caught withholding congressionally allocated money from Ukraine in order to extort them into an investigation on Hunter Biden, in the hope it would impact the 2020 election. And I don’t recall any repercussions.