Charles writes that people shouldn’t fly … right after he just took a trip by flying.

Your hypocrisy is s truly astounding, Chuckles.

"Because of billionaires, thousands of people live on the streets...."

Charles your willful misunderstanding of economics is astounding. The existence of billionaires has jack shit to do with the existence of homeless people. The current crop of people we have living homeless would be homeless in any economic condition, they would have been homeless under feudalism, they would have been homeless under collectivism. Well they might not actually have been homeless under collectivism, because I'm sure our communist friends from the Soviet Union would have hauled their slothful asses to a fucking Siberian gulag.

And as @1 points out you are astoundingly hypocritical. The current crop of billionaires exist because of the globalization trend that started to drive western capitalism thirty years ago.

One result of that globalization (As You Well Fucking Know!) is a drastic reduction in worldwide poverty and desperation. Yes some things are much suckier in Akron, Ohio because of globalization, but they are actually quite a bit better in Kolkata and Bangalore.

That globalization that you decry is actually what enabled your father to establish the fucking trust fund that allows you to not live in sweltering Harare, but instead in cool temperate Seattle, with the occasionally side trip to British Columbia for lunch.

@2 "Well they might not actually have been homeless under collectivism..."

You're mistaken. Been there, seen that. Lots of homelessness...and vodka.

@3 Never went to Moscow. East Berlin, at least what I was allowed to see, was universally grim.

Bizarre drivel! Now the squirrels are communicating with him. Unfortunately we are stuck with moo-doo-doo, who else would hire him?

Folks who read Charles's writing without poetic and metaphysical pondering and reflection will always be disappointed.

as the Commentariat shifts rightward
the World continues to Burn

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFTLKWw542g&ab_channel=billyjoelVEVO

Happy Christmas!

@8 That may be true but many of the comments are not wrong. Well @5 is a shit-heel for sure but the others have a point despite their political leanings.

It's a bit much expecting Charles to act as an individual and not fly. There needs change at a social and civilizational level which would preculd him and all the rest of us from flying. That way us messing about with.all this onesy twosey being the change you want to seesy not ever really getting anywhere can be put to an end.
And what constitutes as the great collective ape will do what it knows is best for us.

Mean while I'm half way around the world where it's in the mid seventies at night because I don't have anything better to do.

We will never be able to win the fight against climate change by restricting people and limiting their carbon usage. Quite simply that solution would require a massive shift in behavior as @10 alluded too but also it would most certainly result in many people living in poverty and/or dying. The only solution to climate change is through advancements like the recent breakthrough in fusion and the work being underdone that can remove carbon for the atmosphere. The focus should continue to be on solutions not restrictions.

start up the fucking Factories
declare War on Climate Catastrophe
and let's BUILD our way Outta this Mess*

(but first we may need to put an
Excess Profiteerings Tax in place)

we Did it for WWII - built an Army
in Months' time Exported most of it
and then Built one for Ourselves. don't
Disremember what the USOFA's Capable of.

so instead we Spend it
on keeping the Planet
safe for Democracy.*

all those places we Invaded
or whose Governments we
Overthrew? they Love to
hear That one Part-
icularilly.

@12 kristofarian for the WIN! +1

Charles, if you're such an enthusiastic fan of frigidly below 0 weather conditions, then why didn't you take a job reporting from above the Arctic circle? Some of us here in the greater Puget Sound region would like to be able to get around safely, whether driving, taking public transportation, biking, or on foot.
And you're hearing this from a Seattle native.

@11 "We will never be able to win the fight against climate change by restricting people and limiting their carbon usage."

Therefore we will lose the battle against climate change. We aren't the first species to overpopulate our habitat and the consequence of that behavior is always the same. We will be like the frog that simply sits in the pot of water as it becomes warmer and warmer until it's time for dinner.

I guess that it's possible that we could pull a technological rabbit out of the hat in time to save the planet from a repeat of the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum. But if you follow the tech closely, there's really no reason to believe that to be true. It's just wishful thinking. Certainly fusion won't be ready in time and that's only once possible piece of the puzzle anyway. Our grandchildren, if they remember us at all, will spit when our names are mentioned.

The conundrum that we face as a species is that free markets and technological advances have generated the enormous global wealth (in the ordinary meaning of the word) that has lifted billions of us out of abject material poverty, dramatically extended individual lifespans, significantly enhanced the physical quality of our day to day lives (clean water, electricity), etc., etc. Mitigation of our destruction of the Holocene will require the abandonment of much of this material progress. I agree that this isn't a price that most humans will be willing to pay. The entire apparatus of modern global trade and long distance travel (sailboats are okay) - just two of many possible examples - will need to be dismantled within the decade. We won't come close to doing what would be required to live in balance with our biosphere. Seriously. People go nuts when you raise the price of gas by a couple of bucks or when apples cost twice as much as last year.

Our planet will become quite warm. The ice will melt and we will experience a massive extinction event. It has already started. Climate change of this magnitude has happened before so we know what to expect: the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM).

"...55 million years ago Earth was ravaged by extreme floods followed by extreme droughts and massive wildfires. The oceans acidified, dissolving the shells of mollusks and shelled plankton. Mammals shrunk in size..."

@14 in either of your scenarios millions of die, one due to climate change and one due to the measures yiu think we need to enact to avoid climate change. Of course even with #2 there is still a probability it won’t matter. For my part I think you underestimate how well humanity works with a deadline, in fact I’d argue that’s the only time we actually seem to get shit done. I hope 2023 brings you more faith.

@2 If ever someone best argued why they should die in a Stalinist Gulag, you have achieved that!

not bad for a 'liberal Dem'
who 'thinks outside-the-Box,' eh?

@16: He didn't argue anything of the sort. Be nice now. Santa's watching.

" The current crop of people we have living homeless would be homeless in any economic condition, they would have been homeless under feudalism, they would have been homeless under collectivism. "

Total bullshit. Hell, the people who are homeless in Seattle wouldn't be homeless if we simply had more of a free market when it comes to housing. That, and a little bit more public (AKA social) housing, and you solve the problem. https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2023/01/homelessness-affordable-housing-crisis-democrats-causes/672224/

"@14 in either of your scenarios millions of die, one due to climate change and one due to the measures you think we need to enact to avoid climate change. "

Bullshit. The measures that need to be taken would at worst lead to a lower standing of living for the wealthy. At worst. A large carbon tax is not going to kill people. If anything, it will spread the wealth, and limit at least some of the stratification in various parts of the world (the Middle East, Angola, Texas). Being largely dependent on a limited resource is a really bad thing, and it is the cause of way too much suffering. Imagine if the price of oil was irrelevant. Inflation would be much lower, and so would interest rates. The U. S. economy would be booming like it did back in the 90s (with low inflation and low unemployment). Like that period, we would be building the middle class again.

Or imagine a big tax on beef. Suddenly alternatives -- many of which are healthier -- become a lot more popular. Lab beef advances and becomes popular, for our pets if nothing else. Cattle no longer fuck with the plains -- or in the case of Brazil, the forests -- screwing up the natural ecosystem. Agriculture is actually more efficient, and thus cheaper for the vast majority of the world.

Adjusting to a new world would be difficult, but once we get there, things would be much better. Unfortunately, people are pussies and dipshits. Politicians who know how to solve the problem are too afraid to insist we solve it, and others are too stupid to realize it needs solving. So instead we hold out hope for a magic solution. Yeah, it could happen, but it is far more likely that it won't. Many, many people will suffer. Not the rich of course -- they can buy an ark (figuratively speaking). But much of the world will be displaced, which will lead to a lot more instability, and make Syria look like a picnic.

Probably. Cross your fingers -- maybe it won't be that bad.

@19 "if we simply had more of a free market when it comes to housing."

Yes Invisible Hand Of The Freemen's Market Man* will save us!

You are right of course, the solution to homelessness is to allow poor misunderstood and under appreciated real estate developers to build as many $1,000,000 townhomes as they want.

Yea, that will totally help the lunatic raving at the moon while wondering into traffic.

Next we can solve food insecurity by eliminating USDA inspections, eliminate workplace injuries by abolishing OSHA, and improve the environment by eliminating the EPA.

IHOTFM-Man!* He can do anything!

*Shout out to Tom Tomorrow!

@21 Yes Invisible Hand Of The Free Market Man*

Merry Christmas to everyone!

speaking of Merry Christmas:

Buses
of Migrants Arrive
at Kamala Harris’s Home on Christmas Eve

WASHINGTON — Over a hundred migrants arrived near Vice President Kamala Harris’s home on Saturday evening, one of the chilliest Christmas Eves on record in the capital, according to a mutual aid group.

Volunteers anticipated three buses with about 130 immigrants to arrive in New York on Christmas Day, but the buses were rerouted to the Washington area because of road closures and frigid conditions…

Migrants arrived in Washington after a 36-hour journey, some with little more than a T-shirt or a light blanket…

The mutual aid group said the buses were sent by the Texas Division of Emergency Management, which follows the directive of Gov. Greg Abbott’s office.
--Stephanie Lai, today

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/25/us/politics/migrants-kamala-harris-christmas-eve.html?action=click&algo=bandit-all-surfaces-shadow-lda-unique-diversify-time-cutoff-30&alpha=0.05&block=trending_recirc&fellback=false&imp_id=46711709&impression_id=41c77c69-84ab-11ed-8a19-c7c1d881c3c6&index=0&pgtype=Article&pool=pool%2F91fcf81c-4fb0-49ff-bd57-a24647c85ea1&region=footer&req_id=297609092&shadow_vec_sim=-0.01237924610674928&surface=eos-most-popular-story&variant=0_bandit-eng30s-diversify-shadow-lda-unique

Worst Storm in Decades!

"Have a Nice Christmas, Illegals!"

'Republicans' surely
Know how to
Par-tay.

Merry Christmas
Anyfucking Ways!

@23 Phoebe in Wallingford: Happy holidays!

@24 kristofarian: That's the RepubliKKKan Party of Orange Turd for you. They're getting even more shamelessly Dickensian by the New York minute. May the Orange Turd and its bootlicking ilk get convicted and cornholed raw in prison, preferably the General Population--and the end of the GOP be swift. Icing on the cake of all this happens before the RepubliKKKans reclaim the gavel in January. U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland would become a world hero, right up there with Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Washington Attorney General SuperBob Ferguson. +1 Merry Christmas Anyfucking Ways, indeed!

I don't know about Charles, but I'm glad the worst of the Arctic blast is gone, thanks to PNW rain and 45+ degree Fahrenheit outdoor temperatures. Stay warm, dry, and safe, holiday revelers! Methinks New Year's Eve 2022 is gonna be a particularly crazy one.

@24: Terrible but it's not like they're leaving a warm bed and hot meals in Texas for a lot of them. Facilities are overrun and migrants are living on the streets in El Paso and town and cities all along the border and interior. Republicans are politicizing the crisis and dems are supposedly increasing funding but otherwise ignoring it. When was the last speech on immigration, huh Joe? huh Kamala? Crickets.

Cruel as it is, the migrants on those buses dropped off in liberal limousine land will fare a little better, even though Kamala didn't have the courtesy to serve hot cocoa and snacks to greet them.

@26 - they'll likely be better off but only because TX is willfully NOT dealing with migrants properly. The TX and FL "leaders" need a better hobby and political platform than "stick it to the libs".

'Cruel as it is... "

yeah shipping them off into
a "Generational Winter Storm" IS
likely Vastly better than any Treatment
they're likely to receive in good ole Texas

thnx for pointing that out

I spoke too soon. President Biden is addressing the issue. Let's hope the Republican house members acknowledge the need for migrant workers, Democratic house members acknowledge the need for more border security and infrastructure, and Senate leaders of both parties to remain civil and ol' Joe could pull a rabbit out of a hat once again. Happy New Year.

https://www.axios.com/2022/12/21/biden-immigration-reform-inflation

Whatever happened to Tyler Smith who was going to prey on all us lowlanders when the crash came?

https://komonews.com/news/local/buckley-doomsday-prepper-facing-gun-charge

I assume that's him or his buddies celebrating xmas by blowing up powerstations in Pierce County

Seriously. Will somebody please wake me when the Orange Turd and its most loyal of batshits are in handcuffs, in the General Population, and cornholed raw through a FlavorStraw?