Okay --- so WHAT ARE THE NEXT STEPS?

These are the things we need to address:

Popular Vote vs Electoral College (Hillary is winning popular vote, folks)
LOBBYING,
PAY-TO-PLAY,
Tax Codes
Health Care
PACs,
the revolving door of Wall Street/Govt players,
ACA,
Immigration
Homelessness
Debt
War
Border control
Infrastructure
Public Education
Media blight
Climate Change
Energy spending

a reply to: BuzzyWigs

Probably the first actions in Congress would be with the Reps doing their "repeal and replace" with the ACA and working with an infrastructure bill to weaken wages and stop "big govt" forcing companies to "buy American".

There would be a fight when Congress proposes to allow resource extraction on Federal lands and/or either selling or giving federal lands to states (primarily out West) with the purpose in mind for states to privatize fed land for resource extraction.

This resource extraction would exacerbate current air and water pollution as well as bring air and water pollution to new areas.

Like the original space efforts decades ago, we need a national effort for alternative energy. We should be world leaders in renewable, clean energy, not a follower of China and India.

Immigration, make sure visa holders are complying with their visas and that employers are not illegally employing them (as well as those who cannot be legally employed). Koch ideology wants free flow of labor, but most Americans do not.

Perhaps there could be some bipartisan support for changes to tax laws to ensure that the oligarchy do not weaken the American economy further by continuing to take money out of America. Money taken out doesn't circulate in America. It makes off shore banks and foreign economies rich. Corporations need to Invest in America, not off shore. And it would be nice if they use their own money and not suck off state tits.

(I just have to interject here, that I have seen some people now claiming that it is a good sign that Trump is bringing so many uberwealthy to run Washington, as they have enough money and can't be influenced. Jeeza Louisa, have they never heard of greed, hoarding money, or the saying, "You can never be too rich or too thin"?? )

It would be nice to stop the decades long transfer of wealth upward, but I doubt that the new Congress will want to do that.

Ok, Happy New Year coming up!

a reply to: desert

We can still hope so and say so and act....for now....

Just occurred to me....the "Muslim Registry" thing - that Trump promised.......just like finding and rounding up the immigrants who are here without 'creds' .....

both scenarios being impossible to execute....

but "registered Dems and Independents," well ---- aren't we already being watched? So now there's a new 'watcher'....

a reply to: BuzzyWigs

both scenarios being impossible to execute....

And yet his rally followers cheered when he made those campaign promises.
There was sensible immigration reform that both parties could agree on, maybe it will come back. The main thing is in the future to hold corporations and businesses accountable (white collar crime) for who they hire, no more letting them off the hook. Illegal hiring exploits labor.

"registered Dems and Independents,"

lol... and it wasn't just Santa watching last year....

Russian Hackers Targeted Nearly Half of States' Voter Registration Systems, Successfully Infiltrated 4

Because we are prohibited from spying on our own citizens, we get our info on our own citizens from our friends that do it for us. "If Russia or any other country or person has Hillary Clinton's 33,000 illegally deleted emails, perhaps they should share them with the FBI!", Trump said.

a reply to: desert

Probably the first actions in Congress would be with the Reps doing their "repeal and replace" with the ACA and working with an infrastructure bill to weaken wages and stop "big govt" forcing companies to "buy American".

I know the plan is to repeal/replace Obamacare with something that actually makes health care affordable and available, but I haven't heard anything about lowering the minimum wage or keeping government from using American suppliers. As a matter of fact, enough infrastructure repair work should boost wages as the labor market ramps up to meet supply.

You know already how I feel about preserving national wilderness.

Like the original space efforts decades ago, we need a national effort for alternative energy. We should be world leaders in renewable, clean energy, not a follower of China and India.

China and India are not ahead of us in energy technology (except that they have more cheaper energy because they don't block it with regulations). The simple fact is that humanity cannot at this point in time build anything that replaces fossil fuels, except for nuclear reactors. Everything else is limited either by technological capability, physical availability, or economic costs.

I believe we will one day (hopefully soon) discover another way to produce energy cleanly and adequately, but that day has not yet arrived. When it does, it would be nice if it could be marketed without regulations raising the price so high no one could afford to use it.

Immigration, make sure visa holders are complying with their visas and that employers are not illegally employing them (as well as those who cannot be legally employed).

We agree again! I fully support prison time (mandatory) for anyone who knowingly hires an illegal worker or instructs someone under them to do so, or even knowingly allows someone under them to do so.

Perhaps there could be some bipartisan support for changes to tax laws to ensure that the oligarchy do not weaken the American economy further by continuing to take money out of America.

How about two birds with one stone?

Reduce tax rates to corporations down to a more moderate level, as long as they comply with ensuring they are positively affecting the US economy. For example, limit the amount of money that can be stored in overseas banks/investments. Feel free to keep your money offshore, but if you do you won't see the new tax rates. Include in the new rates room for a bonus cut, based on how many new full time positions over a certain amount of pay are created each year, and tack on a little extra if the new positions are filled by someone who has not held a full-time position in the last three months... that to include veterans returning from active service.

You stimulate business investment and force businesses to either get with the program or pay out the yin-yang.

I have seen some people now claiming that it is a good sign that Trump is bringing so many uberwealthy to run Washington, as they have enough money and can't be influenced.

It's not the wealth that is a potential problem, but how they think about wealth. Money is not the root of all evil; the LOVE of money is the root of all evil.

That said, I'm watching them pretty hard at the moment. There is an awful lot of wealth sitting in DC right now.

TheRedneck

a reply to: TheRedneck

Re infrastructure

In a shot across the bow this month, Paul Ryan stripped the "Buy American" provision out of the House Water Infrastructure bill. The GOP platform...

“We renew our call for repeal of the Davis-Bacon law, which limits employment and drives up construction and maintenance costs for the benefit of unions.” The 1931 Davis-Bacon Act requires that federal construction projects pay “prevailing” (typically union-scale) wages.

The 115th Congress will make for some interesting watching.

Re non-fossil fuel and nuclear energy. While CA is doing some amazing ramp ups to cutting our traditional energy sources by 50% (and we're decommissioning our nuclear power plant), I wonder why it is China that must come to the US and fund solar plants and solar home developments ....OTOH maybe it is just the return of dollars Americans send to them when they buy Made In China products! States should be doing the max they can to get the nation off of fossil fuels. Each state should determine the allotment of alternative sources particular to that state/region. The future.... algae fuels, biomass, wave power.

Down the road from where I live, where there used to be acres of rangeland, I was surprised to see that the land owner had (probably) leased his land to a solar power company. As far as I could see over the low hills, I estimated at least 80 acres of panels! And that didn't include other land conversions in that area! The Tehachapis have wind farms that distribute electricity. There is also quite a bit of solar going in to power individual homes, schools, and businesses.

Re money.... for sure, the LOVE of money, hoarding it, is what is the problem. We'll see if those with the money are going to set the rules in Washington so they can accumulate more of it, continue the transfer of American wealth upward.

Re tax proposal ... I like it, I wonder how long it will take corporate lawyers and accountants to come up with a way around it or lobby for "special considerations" or complain to the public how they're being persecuted, how big govt doesn't like big business, etc blah blah blah. .... I'm hopeful but cynical....

Ok, I gotta be AFK now, so I will leave this present to you, TheRedneck. You mention engineering. The book I am currently reading is about Project Azorian, the attempt to raise the Russian sub that had sunk in 1968 in the Pacific. This was back in 1974, and I remember seeing the Glomar Explorer when it was in Long Beach at the time. A huge different looking ship! But.... what's even more of an amazing engineering feat to me was the "capture vehicle" to actually lift the sub, so that EVERYTHING fit inside the Glomar Explorer! Huge! Search "glomar explorer submarine capture vehicle" and go to images. American engineering at its finest!!

a reply to: desert

I appreciate your continued contributions.

a reply to: desert

In a shot across the bow this month, Paul Ryan stripped the "Buy American" provision out of the House Water Infrastructure bill.

That is worrisome. I can think of a couple possible non-evil reasons, but only a couple. I really think, in the vast majority of cases, the Federal government should give preference to American businesses. Of course, I'm not a Republican and hold no loyalty to Ryan... my hope is that Trump will stop this kind of nonsense, and he has been a very pro-American advocate as long as I can remember.

The Davis-Bacon act: I am undecided on the actual value it has. On one hand, I do not like price controls, even on labor, but on the other hand, employees should be paid a fair wage. I guess the devil will be in the details for me when and if it is challenged.

The future.... algae fuels, biomass, wave power.

Redneck like.

I haven't heard much lately about algae fuel or biomass, but they were showing promise. I am a huge proponent of wave power! If all went as planned, there was a full-size pre-commercial model that went online off the coast of Denmark earlier this year, using some amazing new technology to adapt tried-and true hydro generation to harness wave energy.

Down the road from where I live, where there used to be acres of rangeland, I was surprised to see that the land owner had (probably) leased his land to a solar power company. As far as I could see over the low hills, I estimated at least 80 acres of panels! And that didn't include other land conversions in that area! The Tehachapis have wind farms that distribute electricity. There is also quite a bit of solar going in to power individual homes, schools, and businesses.

That's actually one of the drawbacks to solar energy: the area it has to cover to produce substantial energy. That's 80 acres that are now useless for anything else, and each acre produces a fraction of the power produced by an acre using traditional fuels.

I really wish public sentiment was not quite so anti-nuclear. While I fully understand the dangers, the fact is that properly-designed plants have a very good safety record. Fukushima was a good example of how NOT to design, build, and operate a nuclear power plant. PWR reactor designs are much safer than BWR.

There is also the issue of spent fuel disposal, but I have faith that science can handle that problem.

Wind farms are a good supplement, but I have concerns about pulling too much energy from prevailing wind patterns.

We'll see if those with the money are going to set the rules in Washington so they can accumulate more of it, continue the transfer of American wealth upward.

Agreed. But we already have plenty of financial corruption in DC, so I'll actually be happy at this point if the level of corruption just decreases. I will definitely be watching for signs of financial corruption among the new administration.

I wonder how long it will take corporate lawyers and accountants to come up with a way around it or lobby for "special considerations" or complain to the public how they're being persecuted, how big govt doesn't like big business, etc blah blah blah. ....

Oh, I'm sure they'll try. One way to help make their task harder, though, would be to not actually raise taxes on anyone, just offer incentives that lead to a lower rate for cooperative businesses. It would be pretty hard under those conditions to effectively claim prosecution.

Thank you for the link; I'll check it out.

TheRedneck

a reply to: BuzzyWigs

I shall do my best! Fasten your seat belts, it's going to be a bumpy ride!


a reply to: TheRedneck

I gotta be AFK again, but I wanted to drop off another link. That HUGE submersible barge that was used to build the capture vehicle ended up being used to build a Navy stealth ship, the Sea Shadow. The link shows a small pix of both barge and ship. .... the barge alone was about the size of a football field!

I see a bad moon rising!

I just learned that Tom Price, who Trump picked for Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), is in favor of "balanced billing".

Balanced billing simply means that the health provider can collect whatever portion of the provider’s bill that your insurance company does not pay on your behalf. This is not a co-pay or a deductible. It’s the entire unpaid balance.

So, for Medicare, that means that seniors (and anyone else receiving these services) would once again be forced into bankruptcy, in order to pay this difference. Such billing is currently not allowed in Medicare. But Republicans now control all the power in Washington, and they see this as a chance to finally get what they have wanted for years. They will change Medicare and Social Security. Lovely, Make Americans Bankrupt Again!

And this already occurs in private insurance in some states. I can see the push under Republican Trumpcare for "balanced billing" being mandated for all health insurance policies in every state. Make Americans Bankrupt Again!

Balanced Billing Is the Ugly Beast of Medical Insurance

a reply to: TheRedneck

I haven't heard much lately about algae fuel or biomass, but they were showing promise. I am a huge proponent of wave power! If all went as planned, there was a full-size pre-commercial model that went online off the coast of Denmark earlier this year, using some amazing new technology to adapt tried-and true hydro generation to harness wave energy.

Ok, so I was going to laugh and say, yeah, what "waves" in the Gulf, but it's not the same as surfing lol. So, for sure, it could be a possibility off Alabama. And I don't see any reason for Alabama to not have research in algae or biomass.

I think one problem is the length of time required from development to regular use. What private corporation is going to have the funds or time to do bring it to fruition? OTOH a national effort such as the space program should have been done years ago, but three things.... conflicts with the fossil fuel industry, we are not in an "energy race" as we were with the "space race", and it is not as "sexy" as a space program was. The problem behind that thinking is that we are setting ourselves up for being behind the curve in alternative energy development. We've instead allowed ourselves to get bogged down in the stupid "debate" (misdirection) of "global warming", when it's really pollution we're talking about.

No, we're stuck now with a power in Washington that could care less about renewable energy, plus the fact that their end game is the complete dismantlement of Washington, except for defense and courts. States will never have the money alone, and business won't bother. Actually, CA, having a major world economy, can continue with alternative energy. And we will, as our air quality depends on it.

Oh, and that 80 acres wasn't being used for much anyway, which I think is why it made it attractive for solar development. Southern Calif Edison has been doing a great job of promoting solar panels to cover existing parking lots and other such usable spaces besides rooftops.

a reply to: desert

Ok, so I was going to laugh and say, yeah, what "waves" in the Gulf, but it's not the same as surfing lol. So, for sure, it could be a possibility off Alabama. And I don't see any reason for Alabama to not have research in algae or biomass.

Haha, yeah, compared to Cali we don't exactly get a lot of waves in the Gulf. But check this out:

You are obviously familiar with surfing waves. the shape of the coastline seabed determines to large extent how big those waves get. The platform for wave energy I mentioned uses complex math to predict the most efficient shape for maximizing the wave height. The platform has these shapes built into its base just under the waterline. Waves approaching it become breakers and crash over into the center. That center is just a big bowl with a drain connected to a classic hydro turbine.

It's an ingenuous idea!

I think one problem is the length of time required from development to regular use.

Yes, these things do take time... but then again, we haven't been sitting on our hands the whole time either. Research is fascinating to me, but it just doesn't get mentioned on the evening news much.

No, we're stuck now with a power in Washington that could care less about renewable energy, plus the fact that their end game is the complete dismantlement of Washington, except for defense and courts.

I think you exaggerate.

I don't see Trump as enamored with the idea of renewable energy, but I also don't see him as opposed to it. If it works, it's a boon for all mankind, and if we boon it, we're in the drivers seat for world energy supplies. That's what every businessman instinctively searches for: the bigger, better deal, the more efficient way, the more perfect solution. And to be honest, I see many of the recent stories coming out of Washington concerning the strife between Trump and pretty much everyone else as indicative of a refusal to play the old oil-or-bust game that has led to our Middle East fiasco. The administrations have all been in on it, from Carter to Obama and everyone in between... probably several before Carter. Republican, Democrat... none of that matters as much as the price of beans in China when it comes to oil.

But... not being enamored with the idea means it will have to be proven viable before we waste time and resources on a pipe dream. I consider that a good thing.

Oh, and that 80 acres wasn't being used for much anyway, which I think is why it made it attractive for solar development.

Well... I'm pretty sure it was converting solar radiation into heat, which it is doing a lot less of now. Maybe that will offset some of the CO2 fears?

TheRedneck

a reply to: desert

I see a bad moon rising!

Ohhh!!! You mean: "There is a Bathroom on The Right".......

That's the thing I heard on the radio back in the 60s, on the transistor while my auntie and I "laid out" in the sun....

and later my own surname was made into a "nickname" -- clearwater.......

also, Frito Bandito.......
again, based on my last name and the routine mockery of 10-year-olds toward one another. Blatant mockery......and yet, it was preferable to absolute indifference. If they picked on you, it meant you were someone they couldn't ignore.
(Or understand.)

Anyway - tty next year - I'm letting go now.....won't be back until 2017.

a reply to: BuzzyWigs

Yay! You got my Fun Old Reference Of The Day..... here.... ..... or maybe .... oh, heck, have both!

I had a pocket transistor radio glued to my ear back then. And I loved... love.... Creedence.

Mockery... what doesn't kill ya makes ya stronger... Yay! We survived and are strong!

to being back here in 2017!

a reply to: TheRedneck

Wow! I learned something about the wave energy mechanism! Did not know that!

Some wave trivia.....There are some monster waves about 100 miles off the So Cal coast, that seem to rise out of nowhere, but it's really because of the sea floor that is really an underwater mountain and reef. A swell crossing the Pacific from Hawaii comes rolling in and hits the just-below-surface rocky reef. 100 ft waves are not uncommon at the Bishop Rock on the Cortes Bank. I just learned of them a couple years ago.

Re the influence of the Koch ideology. I wish I were exaggerating. I've been aware of the Kochs for quite some time. I've been watching the Republican Party take on more and more of their ideas, especially lately at the state level. Not the old timers, but the new guys, like the Tea Partiers. The Koch Bros have done a tremendous job of getting their ideology mainstream. This year was the perfect storm, and they took advantage of it.

Most people act like Trump had some kind of ideology, viewers as well as commentators. Trump is a charlatan, a conman. He is a weak man, who would have been fine if he had not jumped into the political arena. But he had to bluster and puff himself up and bully, because he is weak inside and had to project a machismo on the outside. He's a phony, which is ok as a celebrity, where image is everything.

He may act the part of a POTUS, but it's all an act, a con. People kept believing him, I quit believing him early on and just watched his act. The Koch Bros believed his con, too, until they realized this guy is a phony and they could come in for the capture and manipulate him. And that's what his last campaign handlers did. That team took him across the finish line and right into the Koch lap.

This from a week ago
Trump meets with one-time adversary David Koch at Mar-a-Lago

The rocky relationship began to change in late November, when Trump began surrounding himself with cabinet members and advisors closely knitted to the Kochs. Vice president elect Mike Pence, White House Counsel Don McGahn and campaign manager Kellyanne Conway, for example, are all connected to the Kochs in various ways.

And the list goes on and on.

I learned a very valuable lesson about 12 years ago. I was ranting and raving to a friend about how could those good people we both knew vote the way they do. He said, because they're good and decent people who sincerely believe that the people they vote for are good and decent like themselves. You know what, he was right.

Now, with Trump, I know good, decent people voted for him but knew they were NOT like him. They weren't pussy grabbers or liars or conmen. Those good, decent people believed him, and that shows what a good con he is. .... there are a few Christian types who have rationalized Trump by saying God can work through "flawed" men.

Trump can no more lead a country than a blind mule lead a pack train. But, yet, he will be POTUS Jan 20. .... sigh... well, we all will have to live with it. I shake my head when so many people on tv are just stunned and shocked at his cabinet picks and tweets. At least I'm not shocked. No, it all fits together like a jigsaw puzzle.

And because he's weak and was given an ideology, Trump will protest little over what Koch protege Paul Ryan and the Senate present to him to sign, nor will he criticize them much. Ryan knows how to work with Trump's flaws, and he Ryan will take every advantage to get his way. 2017 will be an interesting year.

Well, I could end up enjoying the show, especially if Linda McMahon helps out. I had relatives who thought that WWE was real; whenever I watched that stuff with my sons, I enjoyed the show. And I was never disappointed.

a reply to: desert

Wow! I learned something about the wave energy mechanism! Did not know that!

Believe it or not, alternative energy is one of my passions. I have no love for fossil fuels. They're dirty, bulky, require a lot of heavy processing, and the last after them is a major source of conflict in the world.

But I also have to be realistic. Oil is really all we have for an energy foundation. For now.

Even wave energy has limitations. Power can really only be transferred a couple hundred miles at most without losing so much it becomes impractical. So more than that from the coast, like me, and we're back to oil or nuclear.

But every watt that we get from waves or biomass or anything else is a few drops less oil... a little less fracking... a little less to fight over. That's a good thing.

there are a few Christian types who have rationalized Trump by saying God can work through "flawed" men.

That is actually historically true. Samson was a killer who let his lust get the best of him. King Saul tried to kill David (very vigorously). Moses was a serious hothead. Paul was a serial murderer with a badge.

But I don't put Trump in that category. I see him as a guy with a head start who used it to make a name for himself. He's a bit of a horn-dog who likes hot women and can get them. He's got an ego the size of Texas, and is probably a little insecure in social situations; his bluster is his way of combating that insecurity. He's also got a knack for dealing with people and an innate sense for business, two things that have been sorely lacking in the past several administrations.

I know you fear this Koch ideology, and I can understand why. But I don't think it is a danger, because even if it does start to be implemented, Trump will see what's happening, realize it is not good for the US, and quash it like a bug. That's what CEOs do.

TheRedneck

The End of Journalism or a New Beginning?

If our first fake news election turns out to mark the end of democracy as we know it, I think I can pretty precisely date when the end began. More than 20 years ago, I and a bunch of other Washington journalists were packed into a classroom at American University for a weeklong boot camp designed to teach us about computers and this new-fangled thing that was just beginning to be called the internet. One of the guest speakers, a self-described “technology guru” for the then-fledgling Clinton administration gleefully informed us that we were all dinosaurs.

This is a very worthwhile read. It talks about "the olden days" - when reporters had 'beats', and only after they had been thoroughly vetted and put through significant apprenticeships.

Now, anyone can be a "journalist". Even a videographer/documentary producer! (Including producing the drama BEFORE writing the story.)

I hope all have better futures than what we've endured.

a reply to: TheRedneck

But I don't think it is a danger, because even if it does start to be implemented, Trump will see what's happening, realize it is not good for the US, and quash it like a bug. That's what CEOs do.

They do that even if they think "climate change is a hoax created by China"? Do they? I have trouble trusting that he would see it at all. His campaign was mostly pretending it was a hoax. He put Rick Perry in charge of the DoE! THAT IS NOT 'seeing what's happening'. You don't replace an MIT scientist with weird hair and an uber-brain with ...... Rick Perry.

He got a "D" in a class called "MEATS."

In pre-Veterinary school......he got a grade "D" !!! That's one notch above being bounced out altogether." In "MEATS."

But you think Trump will "see" what's happening? I want SO MUCH to believe that, but the problem is that he has hired people who don't see it either! He not only doesn't really believe it, he hasn't the SLIGHTEST, FOGGIEST NOTION about what it would entail to mitigate it.

He is right now talking out his twitterhole about stuff he doesn't understand. at. all.
To people who are equally out of step with MOST SCIENTISTS on the PLANET.

I read your thing about "fossil's all we got". I respect your thoughtfulness and sharing your own views. I think you are giving Trump WAY WAY WAY more benefit of the doubt than is healthy or prudent.

a reply to: BuzzyWigs

Firstly, Global Warming is not exactly a hoax... it's more akin to a scam. The worst part of it is that a few intellectually-dishonest 'scientists' started it, and over time have convinced others through repetition and data manipulation that it's true. When the truth finally comes out, I doubt science will recover from the lack of faith people will have left in it for at least a century.

Academic intelligence does not preclude dishonesty or gullibility.

In pre-Veterinary school......he got a grade "D" !!! That's one notch above being bounced out altogether." In "MEATS."

I hope he never becomes a veterinarian then.

I doubt I could pass first-year theater classes. Not my thing. That has nothing to do with my abilities in other areas.

I read your thing about "fossil's all we got". I respect your thoughtfulness and sharing your own views. I think you are giving Trump WAY WAY WAY more benefit of the doubt than is healthy or prudent.

Fair enough. Neither of us know the future, so it is completely possible that I am giving Trump too much credit. Time will tell.

Until it does, though, we'll just have to wait. I choose not to scare myself with excessive worry over what might happen. That way when and if something does happen, I won't be worn out from worrying.

TheRedneck

a reply to: TheRedneck

It's New Years Eve... I recommend you put the Kool-Aid down and get yourself a real drink.

There's no talking reason to people who turn their backs on the overwhelming scientific concensus on Climate Change.