Peter Kalmus, the man speaking to the Greens, and what he really should be talking about

First of all, I have to "love" how the Green Party says its annual convention is going to be virtual this year because the world is still recovering from COVID. Worldometers says that's a lie, whether for the world as a whole or the US. And, if you really believe that shit, have fun as People's CDC and fellow travelers squaring off with the general antivaxxer types in the party, or the "libertarian Green" oxymorons.

Update, Aug. 7: There was a minor surge, end of July and start of August, yes, but the US never (AFAIK, having just gotten back from vacation, broke 100 deaths a day, and certainly not for more than 2 days straight. That is STILL *just* 36,500 a year, no worse than an average "just the flu" six-month season less than a full year.

Admit it's for budget reasons.

Or better, as Greens, say it's for climate reasons, to reduce fossil fuel emissions from jets and cars to travel. But, make sure to push Zoom attendees to be buying renewable electricity. (And, try to figure out why you didn't try Zoom or something similar, in at least odd-numbered years, pre-COVID, on that account.)

Peter Kalmus? Intense on the subject, per Pro Publica. Contra his hope not to be one, he's a doomer. And, why was he raising backyard chickens? Buy free-range commercial chickens, or semi-commercial larger lot backyarders from somebody else. And, eat less of them. He should know the carbon math about meat, even poultry.

Speaking of, per EPA, 7 percent of the 28 percent of the transportation sector's GHG emissions come from commercial aircraft. Kalmus could trim various portions of the pie chart, or get others to do so by, in the transportation sector, pushing for:

• Tighter fuel standards for SUVs;
• For both cars and trucks/SUVs, getting rid of the flex fuel loophole;
• Getting rid of E15 gas;
• Improving mass transit by not only getting funds for hybrid drive buses, but putting MORE but SMALLER buses on the street to run more frequent routes, thereby making mass transit more attractive.

Focus on that, and you'd probably get rid of half as much GHG as from getting rid of air travel entirely. Blindly attacking air travel, as Kalmus also does, along with the author, in a Counterpunch piece (commercial, not executive business and other private jets) has long struck me as a form of virtue signaling, mixed with medieval monastic hair shirts or flagellations.

Also, contra David Yearsley at that link? Johann Jakob Froberger and others 200 years ago left carbon footprints as part of their actual footprints. Horses don't fart or belch as much as cows, but they do. And, 200 years ago, not all their manure was recycled in gardens and fields; there's plenty a story about a late 19th century New York or London's problems with horse shit.

Back to the second main idea, though, on other ways to cut GHGs as good or better than addressing air travel.

On power? New federal legislation that says Fannie / Freddie will not buy up mortgages in states that don't promote rooftop solar on new homes. Game-changer right there.

For US aid for the developing world, with new advances in DC power allowing for longer distribution? Helping places like sub-Saharan African countries build more local DC power plants to distribute wind and solar. HUGE. (Update: Per this Wired piece, Just Energy Transition Partnerships are helping in some degree, but there's little in the way of hard numbers, especially on how much fiscal help is behind these things, and how much of that is loans vs grants and similar.)

Update, Aug. 19: Last night on Twitter, per "gay barista Paul" and others responding, Kalmus said he was "surprised" Biden hadn't declared a climate emergency. Unless that tweet was 110 percent rhetorical, it says a lot more about Kalmus than about Climatemonger Joe.

Support for racial justice protests: virtue signaling?

A new Gallup poll says two-thirds of Americans support the racial justice protests. A slight majority of all Americans said they have had their views changed. (That's good news IF they needed changing, but sad news THAT they did.) Almost three-quarters of Asian-Americans said this, perhaps influenced by Trump and other white wingnuts talking about "Kung flu" and other stupidities. "Only 36 percent" of Republicans said they had their minds changed either a lot (14%) or little (22%), also glass half full/half empty news. Asians have participated in protests as much as Blacks, while Hispanics have only participated a little more than Whites.

On the other hand, per Atlantic, a lot of this self-confessed mind-changing may be some mix of social conformity and virtue signaling. Jennifer Richeson says the thought that we're continuing to move forward is like riding a "Whiggish elevator." White non-wingnuts get to feel good about themselves, while Blacks in the protest get some new theoretical bit of hope to grasp. In turn, maybe that's part of why Hispanics haven't jumped in more.

I'm not saying it's all guaranteed to be virtue signaling about America, the land of progress, or naivete on similar grounds. Let's hope a fair chunk is real. And that the support is based on hope that turns out to be real.

Texas progressives talk JFK assassination issues with wishes of happy T-day and real green chile burgers

The Texas Progressives hope you have a happy Thanksgiving and safe travels through what looks like it could be a nasty weather system in West and North Texas.

I personally wish any shutterbugs, and chain gangs, who still have to work Friday Night Lights, or Saturday games, a day as safe, warm, dry, and perspective adjusted as well as possible.

And, let's dig in.


Dallas/JFK

SocraticGadfly, with Nov. 22 falling last week, has a twofer, first writing about the irony of Jackie's JFK Camelot legend  actually reflecting Kennedy reality beneath the legend, then, looking in part at Jack's assassination, noting — with examples —  how to distinguish conspiracies from conspiracy theories.

In the wake of another (fading?) JFK assassination anniversary, Texas Monthly takes a look at how much the Sixth Floor Museum is about capitalism (an area where Texas exceptionalism really IS No. 1) as much or more than it is about history.

There's also a live Dealey Plaza webcam, so that, if you don't believe me, you can see just how easy of a shot (relatively speaking) Oswald had. The cam also shows how Bugliosi and Posner are right in pointing out one Warren Commission error. Oswald's FIRST shot was surely the one that missed, with him firing slightly before JFK's limo had fully cleared into his line of fire, and so, Oswald hit a thin tree branch and his high-velocity Mannlicher-Carcano bullet was slightly deflected.

At the same time, Earth Cam's description of the cam is kind of weaselly:

This is the view from the window from which an assassin fired the shots that killed President John F. Kennedy and severely wounded Texas Governor John Connally as the presidential motorcade drove through Dealey Plaza on November 22, 1963. The Sixth Floor Museum, located on the sixth and seventh floors of the building, explores President Kennedy's life, death and legacy.

No "Lee Harvey Oswald," but yet, "the window from which an assassin fired the shots." OK, got it. 

Conspiracy theory nutbar author Robert Groden got married at the plaza. Jim Schutze has the story.


Houston

What? A Burger? vs. In-N-Out? There's better alternatives for a green chile burger, just not in (what really should and should not be) Texas.

Brains has his take on Houston runoffs.

HISD teachers' union sues TEA over its takeover of the district. (Marlin ISD teachers be thinking: We were a small district, poor, and not unionized. Damn!)

Off the Kuff has some thoughts on the planned effort to try again on a Houston Equal Rights Ordinance.

Mike McGuff shares the trailer for the documentary about legendary former Houston rock and roll station KLOL.

Want to find out if (or maybe better, how much) Houston police officers have been engaged in racial profiling on low-level drug arrests? Here you go. By officer name, too.


Texana and politics

TEA loses a lawsuit filed by a fired whistleblower. Interestingly, Kash blew the whistle on a no-bid special education contract in 2017. Nine months or more and counting since TEA settled with the feds on special education issues in general, many parents allege it's still not doing enough.

Many borderlands landowners are refusing to sign "build the wall"-related permissions agreements with the feds.

Statewide food news: Can Luby's survive? Read that in-depth piece for a take on what it's done wrong, and what's gone wrong, in the past 20 years.

The TPA wishes Emily Ramshaw and Amanda Zamora all the best in their new media venture as they go bowling for pink-themed sponsorship dollar or whatever. No, seriously, they may not be doing that, since their new gig isn't the Texas Tribune. But maybe they will be doing that? And I still don't get how the hell Ramshaw got from Focus Daily News to the Trib's top editor spot. Or even to her level at the Snooze. Oh, I do now. Family background, which gave her exposure, and even privilege, per this story. THAT, in turn, leads me to wonder why the hell she was working for Marlon Hanson's rag in the first place. That said, Robert Wilonsky, before HE jumped the Observer ship to jump the Snooze shark, slightly p'wnd her and very much did the Trib, with this brief.


Austin/politics

East Austin gentrifies. The Texas Observer reviews the book documenting it.

EMILY's list endorses ConservaDem Shannon Hutcheson, the Austinite equivalent of Wendy Davis.

The Texas Signal notes Greg Abbott's loss of affection for Chick-fil-A now that they have pledged to stop giving money to anti-LGBTQ groups.

Better Texas Blog tells the untold stories of the Texas budget.

RG Ratcliffe explains how to win Texas in 2020.


National

Brains looks at the carnage from the fifth Democratic debate.

What all Texans, besides Tricky Ricky Perry and Ken (Slimeball) Starr, who says he sees an impeachable offense (big deal, he's a Never Trumper but still a wingnut) are connected to Ukraine? Click the link.

Therese Odell was all over the Fiona Hill hearing.

What? A Burger? vs In-N-Out? A better option

Houstonians awaited with either bated breath or anger (versus What? A Burger?) the arrival of In-N-Out, and it's here now. Hell, Helltown? You're LA with skeeters and humidity; you ought to love Cally burgers.

Second, New Mexico's Blake's Lotaburger makes a better, original green chile burger, while spelling the word right, too. STFU and SMH.

Ask El Pasoans, the Texas city that's really culturally part of New Mexico, was historically part of it until Texas stole it, and might want separation today.

The reality is that What? A Burger" love is "born here or got here as soon as I can virtue signaling, just like Chick-fil-A for the wingnuts. (And it may not have actually kicked anti-gay folks to the donations curb after all. However, the folks that claim it hasn't? They don't have any proof, just Frankie Graham spinning. Plus every Christian person with a picture on their Twitter feed just happens to be a white Merikan Xn.)

That said, some New Mexicans overrate Lotaburger, and I'm virtue signaling both in favor of New Mexico and against Texas exceptionalism, which is as bad as American exceptionalism.