Whining, the American Way

Whining, the American Way

We are in the the middle of yet another wildfire in Shasta County. This time the fire, which is finally contained, caused hundreds of people, who live in a remote area surrounding Shasta Lake to be evacuated.

I-5, the major highway linking the west coast together, was closed because of the fire. People were cut off from Redding, that has services, and many wound up being evacuated to Lakehead, CA., a very small village next to the lake with few services.

Evacuatees were upset, because they couldn't get to Redding. They were upset because Lakehead did not have the capacity to be an adequate disaster center. They were upset because of the "inconvenience" the fire caused.

And, thinly veiled, they were upset that federal and state firefighting services did not make them 'comfortable'.

Meanwhile, I am watching CNN, and they are reporting the historical drought that is affecting 50% of counties in the United States. The commentator is explaining that the Mississippi River is running so low, that cargo must be off loaded from barges, else they run aground and block the river. He is predicting that 'consumers' will be 'inconvenienced' by high food prices because the drought has killed millions of acres of produce.

Meanwhile, another report is dealing with the fact that the armed forces cannot fill their ranks, because recruits are so fat they cannot pass enlistment standards. Fully 1/4 of all recruits are too fat, and must lose weight before they can enlist. Remember, we don't have a draft, 1/4 of people who really want to join the service, are failing to qualify. I shudder to see what it would be if everyone were eligible.

Ok, once again, global warming is real. Global warming is a major cause of the world economic downturn we are experiencing. Government will be more necessary, not less, in the future to deal with the multiple effects of global warming AND peak oil; the stuff that is causing the CO2 to spoil the environment is ironically running out, causing more 'inconvenience' to 'consumers'.

Look, damn it, for once pay attention: The free ride is over. The days of cheap energy are done. We cannot rely on cheap petroleum based energy anymore. Global warming is just beginning, once it really kicks in, millions will simply perish from starvation, floods, hurricanes, who knows what else. And, the oil to run the machines to deal with the crops is running out!

Wildfires are caused by drought, fed by a warming earth, that then pours tons of CO2 into the atmosphere, making the whole thing worse. Living in the forest is not smart, given they are now like nuclear bombs, just waiting to explode. And, we all need to stop bitching and start eating better.

The eating part will take care of itself for many, since they won't be able to afford food anymore. People are starving already, and the damn thing has not even really started yet. That's right, we are just at the beginning of real global climate change.

We can slow it down, if we right now reduce carbon emissions. But the rich petroleum companies, who own the Republican Party, will not allow it.

And the only way to cope with this is competent, caring government, that we participate in, for the greater safety and good. We need to share sacrifice, share the cost of recovering the earth.

And, in the face of all this, the cons want more tax cuts for the RICH for Christ's Sake, as the only way to cure our ills. And, their cure for the inconvenience, is LESS GOVERNMENT. As usual, they are going exactly the wrong way!

So, that lady that was bitching about the inconvenience caused by poor evacuation planning, will at least not have the government to complain about anymore; if the cons win.

It will be everyone for themselves. And when we continue whining, we can only whine to ourselves, because we will only have ourselves to blame.

Any many of us, if not all, will die alone, solitary in our whining.