Take Your Media... Government & Your Life Back

How?
Seek truth. Find truth. Live truth. Only accept the truth. That's how we get our media, government and our lives back.

Is Lying Bad for Us?
"Perhaps the most powerful moral argument for honesty has to do with what the French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre called "bad faith." Liars deceive others, but in a sense, liars also deceive themselves. When we lie we tend to distort our own view of reality, and the more often we lie, the more habitual this distortion becomes. Over time, the habit of lying divorces us further and further from reality, so we see less and less clearly the choices before us and what is at stake in them. Eventually, we may find ourselves unable to see what we are really doing and how it is affecting others and ourselves. We end up leading inauthentic and irresponsible lives."
Is Lying Bad for Us?, Dr. Richard Gunderman, The Atlantic, 13 Feb 2013.

Richard Gunderman, MD, PhD, is a contributing writer for The Atlantic. He is a professor of radiology, pediatrics, medical education, philosophy, liberal arts, and philanthropy, and vice-chair of the Radiology Department, at Indiana University. Gunderman's most recent book is X-Ray Vision.

Don’t Believe Everything You Think: Marketing, Manipulation & The American Mind,
(extract) by Samuel C. Spitale

Conclusion
"Since Beliefs are based in fear, abandoning Belief requires bravery."

"It’s all too easy to disregard new information that disrupts our understanding of the world. It’s easier to rely on bigoted Belief systems we inherited from former generations, institutionalized in our culture.

"It is always useful to think badly about people one has exploited or plans to exploit. Modifying one’s opinions to bring them into line with one’s actions or planned actions is the most common outcome of...cognitive dissonance.

"You can cobble together and defend an assortment of facts that bolster your identity and satisfy your psychological needs. On history, as on science, as on economics, conservatives have done just this: they’ve written a powerful and compelling, though inaccurate, script that reinforces their system of beliefs in both a logical and an emotional way. A narrative they can then pass on to children at their earliest ages.

"These long-held Belief systems continue to thrive because they work. It’s how the powerful subjugate the powerless.

"But it traps us in a prison of Belief. We are unable to see the bars made of our own bias.

“The ultimate failure of the United States will probably not derive from the problems we see or the conflicts we wage; it will more likely derive from our uncompromising belief in the things we consider unimpeachable and idealized and beautiful.” —Chuck Klosterman, But What if We’re Wrong?

"Rejecting information that challenges our Beliefs keeps us from evolving. Remaining trapped in a partisan vacuum, we deny infinite knowledge only a keyboard click away.

"When we avoid discomfort in favor of ignorance, we sacrifice democracy in the process.

"This is the high cost of low politics. And why America’s future remains uncertain. The forces that peddle lies have too much at stake to correct course, and they are only growing more powerful.
A pseudo-aristocracy of wealth finds a way to assert its social power. We see how inherited wealth grants status without any guarantee of merit or talent. To wit: would we know Donald Trump, George W. Bush, Jesse Jackson Jr., or such Hollywood names as Charlie Sheen and Paris Hilton, except for the fact that these, and many others like them, had powerful, influential parents?

"Following in the footsteps of authoritarian regimes, the Trump presidency ensures that lies muddy the truth more than ever. Very shrewd people know how to push our buttons. And they are paid good money to do so.

"The principles of Propaganda and Psychology are at work tirelessly whether we realize it or not.

"These merchants of Marketing will not go quietly, nor relinquish their reigns in a moment of conscience. Their money buys influence. Their influence buys power. And power has no conscience. It is only concerned with control.

"Controlling the message is how they control the people.

"The only way to break free is through critical thinking.

“Civilization is in a race between education and catastrophe. Let us learn the truth and spread it as far and wide as our circumstances allow. For the truth is the greatest weapon we have.” –H.G. Wells
The biggest mistake of those who don’t use Propaganda is that they underestimate its power.

We often assume people are smart enough to see through the slander. But we’re weened on a media diet that knows no boundaries.

"We each live in different target markets, segmented by race, gender, and class, reinforced by media messages tailored to our preferences.

"Our Beliefs are a combination of stories we are sold, and stories we are told, mythologized by our environment.

"If those stories aren’t based in truth, they may be doing more harm than good.

"Belief is not truth. It is manufactured consent.

"Life is not fair. And the world is not just.

"Believing it is... only ensures it won’t be.

"To paraphrase a successful ad campaign:
How does America spell Belief?"

“O - U - R — B - I - A - S”

Please go here for the entire article:
Don’t Believe Everything You Think: Marketing, Manipulation & The American Mind, Samuel C. Spitale, The Huffington Post, 1 May 2017.

Samuel C. Spitale is a Los Angeles-based writer. His social and political commentary on inequality, income disparity, and the struggles of the Middle Class can be found on his personal website: www.SamuelCSpitale.com. He has founded a humorous story-sharing site about disaster dating in the digital age: www.ItGetsWorseBlog.com. His essays have been featured on Advocate.com. Samuel previously wrote for The Star Wars Insider and www.starwars.com and worked in Product Development for over ten years at Lucasfilm Ltd. Samuel is a graduate of LSU, with a Bachelor in Mass Communication and a Master in Media Management.

Thank You Austria... for Smartflower

The Story Behind Smartflower

Smartflower POP All-In-One Solar System - BTF

(3 Apr 2017) Behold The Future...smartflower POP – the world’s first all-in-one solar system. Thanks to its extraordinary construction and the perfectly synchronised components, the system delivers, on an average, approx. 4,000 kWh per year, thus fulfilling the complete average electricity requirement of a household in the central European region.

smartflower POP represents changing times. The size of the system alone is no longer the measure of all things. What counts is a fairly constant production rate during the course of the day, in order to enable a more effective use of the produced energy.

smartflower POP achieves a degree of self-utilisation of around 60% – a significant improvement over a comparable rooftop unit, which averages just around 30%. Now that is what we call smart!

As the sun rises in the morning, smartflower POP unfolds itself completely automatically. It directs its solar modular fan (with a surface area of 18 m2) towards the sun and begins producing electricity for you – for your hot shower, your fresh coffee, the breakfast radio. Thanks to dual-axle sun tracking, the fan moves reliably along with the sun throughout the day.

The result: in comparison with the static rooftop system, the unit starts earlier in order to produce the exact amount of electricity you need. It consistently maintains the electricity supply and even uses the energy from the last sun rays efficiently enough to cover your early evening electricity requirements. Only then, does it close up to its secure position, which is also completely automatic.

5 reasons why you should buy smartflower POP... All-in-One solar solution without extensive installation (Plug & Play) Efficient energy production: up to 40% more output due to innovative smart tracking, on demand exactly when you need it Thanks to smart cooling and smart cleaning, common losses in output due to heat and contamination are prevented by up to 15% Ideal if your roof is not an option (installation, aesthetics, rental property): smartflower POP can be set up in the garden and can be taken along when you move Highest quality made in Austria and best support from local dealers

https://www.smartflower.com/en/smartflower_pop

I’ll Print My Solar Panels, Thank You!

“Our printed solar solution continues to function consistently in low light
and under cloud cover, which means that users don’t experience dips in productivity.”
 Professor Paul Dastoor, University of Newcastle (UON), Australia.

Remember the old days when solar panels looked like jigumbus rectangular glass / aluminum box?

Not anymore. Today you can print your solar panels thanks to the people at the University of Newcastle in Australia.

“No other renewable energy solution can be manufactured as quickly. On our lab-scale printer we can easily produce hundreds of metres of material per day, on a commercial-scale printer this would increase to kilometres. If you had just ten of these printers operating around the clock we could print enough material to deliver power to 1000 homes per day,” said Professor Paul Dastoor.

Please check the video clip below and go here for the whole story…
The clever electronic inks rewriting our energy future, 15 May 2017, University of Newcastle Australia.

What if printers could power our future?
University of Newcastle (UON), Australia 

Putting our Rivers Back to Work

We pass over them every day. Some are deep and wide. Some are just trickles. Still, we rarely give them a thought. It’s time we did.

It’s way past time for us to once again recognize that our rivers are not only for sailing or fishing or swimming, they are also brimming over with an abundance of low-cost energy.

From the olden days of water wheels and grinding mills to the last century dams and hydroelectric plants, rivers loaned their power for a plethora of uses.  Today, many dams are deteriorated, no longer maintained, or obsolete in 20th century terms. Their power goes untapped.

Why is that? The answer might be found not in the river water but in the applied power-producing technology. Simply speaking, it’s obsolete.

Today, along with solar and wind, the hydrokinetic energy now flowing in our rivers can be put to work producing pollution-free electricity.

The technology breakthrough to make it happen was created by Dr. Michael Bernitsas, professor in the Department of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering, University of Michigan.

A device called VIVACE developed at the University of Michigan draws power out of slow water currents to produce clean electricity. It imitates the swim strategy of a school of fish. Here’s the story:

Using Vortex Induced Vibrations to Generate Hydroelectricity

Out of the Blue - Episode 104 - VIVACE- University of Michigan

Dr. Michael Bernitsas - Saturday Morning Physics - 03/12/11

Please go here for more

http://ns.umich.edu/new/multimedia/videos/24187-tech-startup-bets-on-slow-water-to-power-our-future
and here
http://www.vortexhydroenergy.com/

Downriver Baseball and Kindness

Ed Mierkowicz was a reserve outfielder for the Detroit Tigers.
He (was) the last living player from the 1945 World Series, the Cubs' last appearance.* TNS

My Good Friend Ed
By David L. Dyer

It is quite an honor for me to be asked to speak at this service as we celebrate the life of my good friend Ed Mierkowicz.  That is especially so since I have known Ed for only two years, while I’m sure many of you have known him for many, many years.  So with all that being said I will give you nothing less than my very best effort.  It was a terrific feeling to be able to bring a few smiles to his face and a few tears of happiness during the last two years of his life. This is my story, chronologically to the best of my memory.

At Christmas time in the year of 2014 my friend Linda Harmon gave me a framed photo of a few people crossing the Golden Gate Bridge as a Christmas present.  I later asked her for the significance of that photo.  She told me it belonged to a man who had moved from his condo a couple of years ago.  She also mentioned that he was an ex Detroit Tiger baseball player.  Now that perked my interest.  I have been a Detroit Tiger fan since way back in the year of 1949.  Linda did not know his name.  Another friend, Jane Emmerich not only knew his name but the correct spelling of it and his phone number.  I called that number and bingo, Ed answered.  I found out he was a member of that World Series Championship team of 1945.  He was in fact the only member still alive that played in that World Series.

I told him I remembered so well many of the names of the players from 1949 and rattled off a few names:  Hoot Evers, Johnny Groth, Vic Wertz and he not only remembered them he told a story about each of them.  I continued, Dizzy Trout, Hal Newhouser, Aaron Robinson and he talked about all of them.  That phone call was as much of a thrill to him as it was to me.

The very next day Ed fell and broke his hip.  He had surgery and a couple of days later was sent to a rehab facility in Troy.  My good friend, the late John Conroy drove me to that nursing center and that is when I met Ed and his daughters Brenda and Lisa for the first time.

Ed Mierkowicz's 1945 World Series championship ring rests on an
old newspaper article about him.* (Zbigniew Bzdak/Chicago Tribune/TNS)/TNS

Prior to going I did some research.  Ed was born and raised in Wyandotte as was his best friend Bob Kuzava.  Bob was a pitcher for the New York Yankees back in those championship years of the 50’s.  In the year of 1942, Ed was a senior at Roosevelt High School in Wyandotte.  He was also a three sport star.  He was an all-state tight end for the football team, but let’s stick to baseball.  Fordson High School in Dearborn had an all- state pitcher who hadn’t lost a game in three years.  Roosevelt was matched up with them in a championship game.  A very well known Detroit Tiger Scout, by the name of Wish Egan came to Wyandotte to watch and meet this pitcher from Fordson.  Ed soon made Wish Egan’s trip to Wyandotte well worth it.  He hit two of the longest home runs ever hit by a high school player.  Both of them well over 400 feet and both of them off that all- star pitcher.

Ed was called into the Army upon graduation.  It wasn’t long before he developed rheumatic fever and was discharged.  A few months later Wish Egan signed Ed to a professional contract.  His career began in Hagerstown, MD.  The next year he advanced to the Tigers top farm team, the Buffalo Bisons.  Ed was branded with the nick name “Autch” as in sneezing.  Most all the players had nick names in those days.

The Tigers were in a very tight pennant race in 1945.  In September when the rosters were expanded, “Autch” Mierkowicz was called up to the parent team.  Hank Greenberg, arguably the greatest first baseman to ever play the game, hit a grand slam home run to defeat the defending champion St Louis Browns and put the Tigers into the World Series against the Chicago Cubs.  Greenberg played left  field during that series so the Tigers could get the bat of Rudy York into their lineup.  The teams split the first six games.  Throughout the series 21 year old Ed Mierkowicz and 19 year old fellow rookie Billy Pierce ( who went on to a hall of fame career with the Chicago White Sox) cheered the Tigers on and were just itching to get into a game.

In the ninth inning of the seventh game with the Tigers leading 9-3, Hank Greenberg told the manager he had some kind of an injury and couldn’t finish the game.  Now listen to this:  Hank Greenberg returned to the Tigers at mid- season after being discharged from the Army and played every inning of every game through the rest of the season.  He also played every inning of every game during the World Series.  Instead of arguing with Hank the manager sent Ed into left field for the final three outs.  Ed Mierkowicz not only went into left field he went into the box score of that game and thus received his piece of the pie which included the World Series Ring that he wore as he squeezed my hand 70 years later in that nursing center. The way that story went left me no doubt that Hank Greenberg was showing the humanistic side of him by faking an injury so Ed could get into that game.

Now back to the present.  Brenda called me and said Ed had fallen again and broke the same hip a second time and a few days later he was sent to a Nursing Center in West Bloomfield.  In the articles I had written I asked people to send get well cards.  This time I asked them to send a word of thanks for the memories in addition.  Why you might ask should we thank Ed?  All he did was play a half of one inning and a couple of unremarkable years with the Tigers.  Most of his baseball career was in the minor leagues.

 I’m going to ask you to do something I did and I will guarantee it will bring tears of joy to your eyes.  Guaranteed.  I was too young to remember that wonderful year of 1945, but I closed my eyes and put my thoughts on how it must have been.  The war was over, the Tigers won the pennant and the World Series.  I thought about my Mother and my Grandmother.  They were both ardent Tiger fans.  I could see the wide smiles on their faces.  What a wonderful sight it was.  Now I had the opportunity to send a note of thanks to someone who had a part, regardless how small, of creating those smiles.  There was no one else to thank.  Ed Mierkowicz was the only member still living that played in that World Series.

When that story was published, Ed began receiving cards of thanks from several people.   He even had a visit from a man he played baseball with at Roosevelt in 1942.  The word spread throughout the nursing center and he became a very popular person once again.

I told my friend Pamela Frucci that I believe this story needs as wider audience.  Without hesitation she handed me a phone number she just happened to have.  It was that of Tom Gage, the Hall of Fame sportswriter for the Detroit News.  I called the number, Tom answered, I told him the story and the next morning he was knocking on my door.  We set up an interview for the following Friday.  Brenda  was excited to hear of the upcoming interview.  She prayed to God he wouldn’t be too confused to respond to questions.  That Thursday evening she told me his facial color was changing and he was very depressed and unresponsive.  She was afraid she would lose him that very evening.
The next day my wife, Janet and I arrived a little early and I immediately began talking baseball with Ed and he seemed to come out of that shell.  When Tom arrived he joined me and the more questions we had, the livelier Ed became.  That story not only made the front page of the Detroit News but the Chicago Tribune as well.

When that interview ended Janet and I went back to say goodbye to Ed.  I then received the greatest compliment that made all my efforts past or future well worth it.  He reached his hand to mine, the one that bore that 70 year old World Series Ring.   He squeezed my hand and with uncontrollable tears he said “Thank you, thank you.  Who are you and why are you doing all this.  You make me so happy.  Most people are forgotten when they are in their 90’s?”

I quickly thought to myself:  How do I respond to this man?  Just a month ago I didn’t even know he existed.  The deep welling in my eyes kept me from answering him.  The next day Brenda told me her dad has made a remarkable recovery.  She said they even got him out of bed and on his feet and for the first time since he was hospitalized he started walking.  Then I thought if just talking baseball can make that much of a change in a man then “God Bless Baseball.”

A week later I was told that Guy Gordon from channel four was going to interview Ed.  In the meantime I had purchased a package for Janet and I to attend spring training.  Sure enough that interview took place while we were in Florida, but I do have it taped.  That spring training package included having dinner with the players.  I was able to read my Ed Mierkowicz story to the players and Jim Price and Bryan Holiday joined Janet and me for dinner.

One year later John Conroy asked me to join him in the Senior Olympics.  I told John: “You now there is no way I could compete in any sport with this Parkinson’s Disease.”  I begged out of that invitation until I heard the opening ceremonies would be held at Roosevelt High School in Wyandotte.  I did sign up and attended the opening ceremonies with my friend Jack Frucci.  While there Jack and I roamed throughout the lobby of the high school.  We looked at all the photos of the people that excelled in sports or other things.

I told Jack I didn’t see Ed Mierkowicz’s photo even though there were a couple of others from as far back as 1942. Within earshot of my words was Joe Palamara the Wayne County Commissioner who was running for re-election.   He said to me “Do you mean “Autch” Merkiewicz.”  I said yes and he went on to tell me that his father was Ed’s best friend and he had seen him just two weeks ago.  The next day Joe came to my house and I gave him copies of all the stories I had written about Ed for his father.

Even though I didn’t compete in the activities during the week I did have tickets to the banquet.  I tried to get Ed to go with me to that banquet but he was contented in staying right where he was and refused to go anywhere.  I asked Brenda if she would like to go and she said she would love to.  That Friday morning Brenda arrived at my house.  She drove us over to Crystal Gardens.  We were escorted to our seats.  We were seated with about eight others.  I soon heard someone mention baseball.  I then asked “Has anyone ever heard of Ed Mierkowicz?”  Dan Valascho jumped up and said “I sure do remember Ed.  He owned the Blossom Bar in Wyandotte and sponsored our baseball team over thirty years ago.”

A few months later I had an urge or a wanting to go and see Ed again.  I called Dan and asked him if he would like to go with John and me.  “Would I ever” he replied.  I purchased a birthday cake and off we went.  Dan said he doubted Ed would remember him since it was over thirty years ago.  He wore his Blossom Bar shirt.  When we arrived I introduced Dan to Ed.  Ed not only remembered Dan, he remembered the street he lived on.  Brenda talked about how much she loved that Blossom Bar.  Dan took off his shirt and gave it to Brenda.  Brenda in turn gave Dan one of Ed’s baseball shirts.  To this day I do not know who got the best of that trade.

Just a few days ago following the service for John Conroy I was approached by a woman who told me the next time I visited Ed Mierkowicz she would like to go.  When she told me her name was Stephanie I remembered her being a very good friend of Ed’s.  I told her I would call Dan next week and ask him to drive us to  visit Ed.  That was my intention.  My plans were interrupted by an Email I received from Brenda.  That Email began with these words:  “Hi David, I’m sorry to inform you that my Dad is dying …. That my friends is what brought me here today.

Ed's service will be June 1st from 10 to 11:30am  at Martenson's in Trenton. David will be reading this eulogy.

Please Read
* Ed Mierkowicz, sole survivor of Cubs-Tigers 1945 World Series, Patrick M. O'Connell, Chicago Tribune, 15 Oct 2016.

Eenie-Meanie-Chili-Beanie...

What is going on with these people???

If it weren't so sinister looking I'd say the photo reminds me of the olden, better days when Rocky & Bullwinkle, would say: "Eenie-meanie-chili-beanie, the spirits are about to speak... are they friendly spirits???"

I hope the spirits says something epiphany-like and life-affirming to them.

One Salmon, One Life-Affirming Choice

It may not be important to some of the Congressional “R” people or to the man occupying the Oval Office, but to members of the Warrior Science Club at Wyandotte’s Wilson Middle School, it is obvious that we must preserve our waterways and our Great Lakes.

Perhaps it’s because they are Downriver Michigan young people and experience the rivers and lakes first hand or because they are fortunate and have an astute teacher, like Mr. Michael White, and a sponsor like the HuronValley Sportfishing Club.

Regardless, these young people are learning to make life-affirming choices for their environment, themselves and their future. And, that lesson is more valuable than all the gold in the world. 

Here's the story...

Huron Valley Sportfishing Club, Warrior Science Club, Wilson Middle School, Wyandotte, MI.

Wyandotte students help Huron River, one salmon at a time

“Members of the Warrior Science Club at Wyandotte’s Wilson Middle School tied their all-time high of releasing 177 Chinook salmon into the Huron River when the children made their annual visit on April 28.”

“This has become a tradition for the club for the last six years. The salmon are released and then make their journey upstream.”

“Mike White, a Wilson teacher and former Marine, has been teaching science in the community for 32 years and organizes the event.”

Please go here for the whole story:

Wyandotte students help Huron River, one salmon at a time,Eric Eramo, The News-Herald, 8 May 2017.

Great Lake Swimmers - River's Edge [Official Music Video] - 2010

Insanity Reigns in the Oval Office

Many years ago, one of my closest friends observed that my attention was not focused on my business and I was letting important things fall to the side while I concentrated on just one client’s dream. That, in fact, was true. While concentrating on helping another person reach his goal I was losing sight of my own. It was wise counsel then as it is for all of us today.

Unfortunately, the game is much bigger for us, though. Back then I stood to lose my life-long business and my retirement savings. 

Today, we stand to lose not only our nation but our lives, too.

As each day dawns, the person occupying the White House Oval Office appears more unhinged.  Like a scary Stephen King novel, the plot thickens more and more with each passing hour as unbelievably he somehow manages to bumble from one self-induced crisis to the next, tossing scapegoats under the nearest bus in poorly veiled attempts to misdirect attention from his own ineptitude, malfeasance and misfeasance.

Insanity reigns in the Oval Office. God help us all.

Putting the mental health of the President of the United States aside (for a  moment, at least), where should we be directing attention?

In a recent article, Dr. Andrew Bacevich* underscored a few of the most important issues which our media, our politicians and our president should be addressing. 

“Let me suggest that any one of these two dozen issues -- none seriously covered, discussed, or debated in the American media or in the political mainstream -- bears more directly on the well being of the United States and our prospects for avoiding global conflict than anything Donald Trump may have said or done during his first 100 days as president.  Collectively, they define the core of the national security challenges that presently confront this country, even as they languish on the periphery of American politics.”

“How much damage Donald Trump’s presidency wreaks before it ends remains to be seen.  Yet he himself is a transient phenomenon.  To allow his pratfalls and shenanigans to divert attention from matters sure to persist when he finally departs the stage is to make a grievous error.  It may well be that, as the Times insists, the truth is now more important than ever.  If so, finding the truth requires looking in the right places and asking the right questions.” **

*Dr. Andrew J. Bacevich, Sr. is Professor Emeritus of International Relations and History at the Boston University Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies. He is a retired career officer in the Armor Branch of the United States Army, retiring with the rank of Colonel. He is a former director of Boston University's Center for International Relations (from 1998 to 2005), now part of the Pardee School of Global Studies.

**Here Are 24 of the Biggest Issues Facing the Country—And the DC Elites and Media Don't Bother Addressing Them, Andrew J. Bacevich, 7 May 2017, Tom Dispatch.

The Dead Zone - 1983

Cowardly Lion Had More Courage than all the Congressional R People Combined

It’s Wed am, following Pres. Trump's firing of FBI Dir. James Comey* and I am taking in today’s beautiful sunshine on gloriously beautiful Grosse Ile, MI. It’s a rare day indeed.

The U.S. House is on spring break after the R people passed Trump Care. The thought occurred to me… How are those Town Hall meetings going?  You know, those meetings when members of Congress go home to talk with the “Joe and Jane Lunch Bucket” people (the 99.9%) they are supposed to represent.

The answer appears to be they are going, but without the R people answering their constituents’ questions.

Why, you might ask?

Well, it’s because they are a bunch of cowardly no shows.

Unlike the Lion of Wizard of Oz fame, the R people will never get their medal for courage. After all, the Lion overcame his fear and did go into the Wicked Witch’s palace.

Overcoming one’s fear demons is very hard. Especially if your happen to be a soulless, psychopathic R person.

But, I understand. Looking into the faces of all those hometown people you have just screwed over and trying to think up a whole bunch of alternative facts must be really, really difficult.

*Critics at Town Halls Confront Republicans Over Health Care,Jacey Fortin and Daniel Victor, New York Times, 9 May 2017.

**Five questions for Trump after FBI firing, Katie BoWilliams, Jordan Fabian and Morgan Chalfant, The Hll, 10 May 2017.

King of the Forest - Courage - Bert Lahr - 1939

Real "Winner" Thinking vs. Obsolete "Loser" Thinking

An industry that keeps doubling in size is a WINNER

Renewables’ share of power generation. Scale is shown in doublings. Source: BNEF (Bloomberg)

Once again, obsolete thinking, the type that comes with the "R" for Republican brand on it, is directing the USA down the wrong path under the heavy-handed direction of Pres. Trump's "anti-renewables crusade".

Here's just one more example: the Trump people intend to eliminate funding for new job training and healthcare for out-of-work coal miners plus remove environmental protection laws which supposedly hinder the rich coal mine owners - all under the fact-free-myth that producing more unsalable coal will make America Great Again.

Here's the real story: THE WHOLE WORLD IS MOVING AWAY FROM COAL

Wind and Solar Are Crushing Fossil Fuels*

Wind and solar have grown seemingly unstoppable.

While two years of crashing prices for oil, natural gas, and coal triggered dramatic downsizing in those industries, renewables have been thriving. Clean energy investment broke new records in 2015 and is now seeing twice as much global funding as fossil fuels.

One reason is that renewable energy is becoming ever cheaper to produce. Recent solar and wind auctions in Mexico and Morocco ended with winning bids from companies that promised to produce electricity at the cheapest rate, from any source, anywhere in the world, said Michael Liebreich, chairman of the advisory board for Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF).  

"We're in a low-cost-of-oil environment for the foreseeable future," Liebreich said during his keynote address at the BNEF Summit in New York on Tuesday. "Did that stop renewable energy investment? Not at all."

Go here for more.

Wind and Solar Are Crushing Fossil Fuels, Tom Randall, Bloomberg, 6 Apr 2016.

Tennessee Ernie Ford - 16 Tons - 1956

To Change for the Better - Think Different

Who creates jobs?
Many years ago, I remember reading that wealthy people created jobs. They invested wealth into businesses and hired people to make products for sale.

Today, I know better. I personally have learned through years of experience helping entrepreneurs create businesses the real answer to the question: Who creates jobs.

I learned that customers create jobs.

While my life-long friends certainly did create their businesses, managed them, expanded them and grew them into successes, they could not have done so without customers. Customers bought the products and services my friends offered because they met their needs. My friends are savvy businessmen. They knew they could become successful beyond their wildest dreams by meeting the needs of their customers. And, they did.

Along the path to meeting their customers’ needs, countless excellent, well-paying jobs were created. Customers received the goods and services they needed; employees got jobs; franchisees built their own businesses; and investors and shareholders realized tremendous return on their investments.

That’s how our economic system works.
The “trickle-down”, massive tax breaks for the super-wealthy .01% does not make our economy work.

It’s time to put aside the myth that trickle-down economics will create jobs. It never has and never will. It's time to make the system work for you, your children and grandchildren.

Tine to think different. Understand… and most importantly make those office-holding political people understand… that our 2017 economy is a complex, adaptive ecosystem. It's easier to understand than you might imagine.

If you employ people, pay them a living wage so they can buy your goods.

A Threat, Not a Theory, Nick Hanauer, summer 2016, www.democracyjouranl.org
"It’s simply not true that as wages go up, jobs go down. But trickle-downers need people to believe it."

The Gardens of Democracy: A New American Story of Citizenship, the Economy, and the Role of Government, Eric Liu, Nick Hanauer, PBS, Charlie Rose, Part 1

Charlie Rose Part 2
Charlie Rose Part 3

French Connection

The D - Detroit - has a French connection dating from the 1600s. France is in our genes, so to speak, and following what goes on with our European brothers and sisters is second nature to us.

But that is only one reason for Detroiters to learn about the "Third Industrial Revolution" now underway in Hauts-de-France, an industrial region similar to Metro Detroit.

The most important reason is understand that the world is moving forward with new technologies and sustainable jobs rather than backwards to the 1930s as some people are pushing us now.

Please, just take a look...

Please go here for more of the story: Will The Third Industrial Revolution Create An Economic Boom That Saves The Planet? 

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