10 thoughts on “Thursday Open Thread”

1. Morning.

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   1. No.

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2. Let me guess…….

   Has the Reverend Marion Pat Robertson pronounced Hurricane Michael to be God's revenge inflicted because Democrats questioned Brett Kavanaugh? If so, this guy really needs to get an atlas or Google maps since not a single blue state was touched.

   Maybe Ron DeSantis and his 3 year old kid should be building their wall along the Florida beaches.

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   1. ^^^THIS^^^

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3. WOTD from Vox: "10 Ways to Accelerate Progress against Climate Change"

   Vox has been kicking it on the science and economics of moving away from carbon-based economy. They have three good articles this week alone on the issue of climate destruction and renewable energy.

   Utility companies ran ideas past a panel of consumers in an effort to find what language would protect their investment in carbon dependent infrastructure. The short message is that they've already lost the argument: 100% renewable has captured the public imagination. Politicians don't seem to realize that 100% renewables is a great slogan to campaign on!

   Top ten potential improvements on reducing carbon, from a book ranking 100 Solutions to Climate Change:

   Refrigerant Management
   Wind Turbines
   Reduced Food Waste
   Plant-Rich Diet
   Tropical Forest
   Educating Girls
   Family Planning
   Solar Farms
   Silvopasture
   Rooftop Solar.

   There are some things in there you wouldn't realize at first; the thrust of Vox's coverage has been to think widely and deeply about the problem.

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   1. From the 100 Solutions article, which is an interview with Paul Hawken, who summarizes conservative (i.e. today's technology) solutions in his book “Drawdown”:

      David Roberts

      So all these models we see in the popular press, the ones that hit, for example, 80 percent carbon reductions by 2050 — none of those actually reach drawdown?

      Paul Hawken

      None.

      And not only that, they’re about energy — they’re all energy models. There’s an assumption that if you get 100 percent renewable [energy], you basically have a hall pass to the 22nd century. That’s simply not true. It’s a scientific howler. It’s extremely important that we [get to 100 percent renewables], but to put all of it on energy …

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4. Real Clear Politics has a new no-toss ups map of Senate races post-Kavanuagh confirmation.

   It has the GOP ending up with 52 to the Dems' 48. Two pick for the GOP:  Missouri and ND, one for the Dems: Arizona.

   https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2018/senate/2018_elections_senate_map_no_toss_ups.html

    

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5. Interesting report at Slate that the state of Washington's Supreme Court struck down the death penalty.

   Washington Supreme Court Outlaws Death Penalty in the State for Good

   the court held Thursday that capital punishment is imposed in “an arbitrary and racially biased manner” and “fails to serve any legitimate penological goals.” The problems go beyond race: Most prosecutors in the state have stopped seeking the death penalty, so all current capital sentences arise from just six of Washington’s 39 counties. The location of your crime may therefore determine whether you live or die. This “random” and “capricious” application of the ultimate punishment, the court ruled, fatally undermines any state interest “retribution and deterrence of capital crimes by prospective offenders.”

   How many counties (or districts) in Colorado have gone for the death penalty?

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   1. The three men currently on death row are (1) black; (2) attended the same high school; and (3) were prosecuted out of the 18th Judicial District.

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      1. And, 4, commited especially atrocious crimes, like witness murder, that challenge the very nature of a lawful society. 

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