August 31, 2021

Does anyone know of any organizations looking for housing for Afghan refugees?

I'd be willing to take a family in if needed

August 27, 2021

Former soldier Elliott Ackerman on CNN was complaining bitterly about the withdrawal

He said the Biden people should have kept other airports open to get people out and we should have started months ago.

It seems to me we put out notices for people to leave months ago.

I'm not sure how many airports we could have kept open with the 2,500 soldiers we had left there.

But this guy was really upset and complained about all the chaos.

He did and we should all praise our troops for the job they are doing.

But I'm not sure how we were supposed to make Americans leave early if they didn't want to go.

And for several reasons we couldn't really get Afghans out until the end.

August 26, 2021

I thought Trump eliminiated ISIS? (sarcasm)

So how can they have attacked us?
https://twitter.com/williamlegate/status/1430918950062264321?s=20

August 21, 2021

Why are there so many non-military Americans still in Afghanistan anyway?

I remember the Biden people were telling non-essential staff to get out months ago.

And certainly once it was clear the Taliban was taking control, shouldn't they have gotten to the airport first?

Is it media types or what? They say thousands of Americans left in country.

August 20, 2021

Maine Will Make Companies Pay for Recycling. Here's How It Works.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/21/climate/maine-recycling-law-EPR.html


The law aims to take the cost burden of recycling away from taxpayers. One environmental advocate said the change could be “transformative.”

Recycling, that feel-good moment when people put their paper and plastic in special bins, was a headache for municipal governments even in good times. And, only a small amount was actually getting recycled.

Then, five years ago, China stopped buying most of America’s recycling, and dozens of cities across the United States suspended or weakened their recycling programs.

Now, Maine has implemented a new law that could transform the way packaging is recycled by requiring manufacturers, rather than taxpayers, to cover the cost. Nearly a dozen states have been considering similar regulations and Oregon is about to sign its own version in coming weeks.

Maine’s law “is transformative,” said Sarah Nichols, who leads the sustainability program at the Natural Resources Council of Maine. More fundamentally, “It’s going to be the difference between having a recycling program or not.”

Long piece but quite good and I hope more states go this way

August 4, 2021

We Can't Tackle Climate Change Without You

https://www.wired.com/story/what-you-can-do-solve-climate-change/

From there, the conversation naturally spiraled into the undercurrent of terror that comes with being alive today. Australia was ablaze, and the embers had barely cooled in the Amazon. A typhoon was encroaching on the Philippines. And that wasn't counting the countless other disasters underway in Africa and Latin America that never made the headlines. Even on our way in, we couldn't help but notice that it hardly seemed like December outside.

I could tell that it felt good to talk like this: open and honest about the experience of watching the world fall apart in front of our eyes. To say our fears out loud and have them, and ourselves, accepted and understood.

It was almost like I could see the weight lifting from our shoulders. But as that weight lifted, it only rose so far. It hung in the air, just above our heads like a heavy ominous cloud, until someone finally popped the question that brought the weight back down on us:

“But what can we, as individuals, do?”

The piece doesn't really offer any specific action items but still it's important that we all do SOMETHING, especially speak out to make this issue more pressing for lawmakers.