President Biden?

As I write this, both Fox News and CNN show Biden to be ahead of President Trump in electoral votes - both projecting Biden to be closer to the magic 270, although the two networks disagree on the totals so far. Fox is giving Biden 264 with CNN giving Biden 253.

The election isn't over at this point, and either candidate can, in theory win. However, to my way of looking at the numbers, Biden has the much easier path to victory.

So, what can we expect from a Biden presidency? Probably not much.

It looks as though the Republicans have maintained control of the Senate, and Biden will have difficulty getting anything passed - much less something radically Leftist. Even if Biden wins the Electoral College, he will not have won 25 States, which shows that future control of the U.S. Senate by Democrats is unlikely.

The U.S. will remain divided in spite of Biden's claim that under his Presidency there will be no "blue States, no red States, just the United States". Biden has no original ideas, and he stole this line from Obama. It didn't come true under Obama, and it won't under Biden either.

I don't expect Biden, should he become POTUS, to survive the first term. If he wins, Kamala Harris will become the first female POTUS.

During the first year of a Biden/Harris presidency, the radical Democrats in the House will attempt to push their agenda onto the American public. This will probably lead to the Republicans flipping the House in 2022.

This election settles nothing.

Trying to Make Sense of Google Adsense

 

I've mentioned several times - on this blog, as well as on another of my blogs- that although sorryalltheclevernamesaretaken has been around since 2006, someone at Facebook has decided that blog doesn't adhere to Facebook's community standards. I've been given no credible reason why I should not be allowed to post links to that blog on my Facebook page.

As I said, that blog has been around since 2006 and has been displaying Google Adsense ads for quite a long time. It's important to me have the blog links on Facebook, as a way to attract readers to the blog, readers who might have an interest in some product advertised there.

The solution seemed obvious to me. I would begin a new blog which Facebook hasn't "banned". There is by no means anything out of the way posted on this new blog. It's quite tame, as a matter of fact.

As I've already  Google Adsense ads displyed on two blogs, it seemed logical to me to have ads on this new blog as well.

Unfortunately, Google Adsense has yet to approve this new blog. The content on this new blog is just as varied as the content on my other two blogs. I don't quite see the logic of their refusal.

Below is a video explaining the best practices one can use to get a site approved. To the best of my knowledge, I've followed their suggestions but yet this blog is still unapproved.

Rest In Peace, Mr. Bond

 

I noted in February, that I had discovered the first four James Bond films at ok.ru. In addition to watching the four films, I also went to fadedpage.com to download copies of Ian Fleming's Bond novels. It had been my intention to read all 15 in the series, but so far, I've only read the first five.

It stands as a testament to Sean Connery that even when I read the Bond novels, I see him as James Bond.

Like millions of others, I've been a fan of Sean Connery for most of my life. I can remember the first time I saw a James Bond film. It was in 1965. Goldfinger had just recently been released, and I was almost 13. My oldest cousin, who was 18 at the time, took his younger brother, myself and my younger brother to a triple feature of the three Bond films being shown at a local drive-in theater in Atlanta.

The three films were shown in the order they were released - Dr. No, From Russia With Love and Goldfinger. This was my first time seeing a Bond film, and I was especially looking forward to seeing Goldfinger......it was the latest one at the time, so it had to be the best.

1965 was a long, long time ago and things have certainly changed. In those days, kids weren't allowed to stay up all hours of the night and by the time Goldfinger started, it was way past my normal bedtime. As near as I can recall from those fifty-five years ago, I fell asleep in the back of my cousin's car before the final movie started.

It would be years before I was finally able to watch Goldfinger.

(Note - this post was simultaneously published on one of my other blogs. It is being posted here in order that I may link to it on Facebook.)

Typhoon Rolly and Climate Change

 

Naturally, with the coming of this Super Typhoon to Philippines, I've been pondering the effect climate change is having on tropical storms. For years I've read and heard that with the increased temperatures, the number and intensity of the storms will also increase. Recently, however, I heard a conservative pundit state that this idea had been "debunked".

Contradicting that conservative pundit we have this article:

How Climate Change May Be Impacting Storms Over Earth's Tropical Oceans:

"There’s no easy answer, says Joao Teixeira, co-director of the Center for Climate Sciences at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, and science team leader for the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) instrument on NASA’s Aqua satellite. 'Within the scientific community it’s a relatively well-accepted fact that as global temperatures increase, extreme precipitation will very likely increase as well,' he says. 'Beyond that, we’re still learning.'
While there’s not yet a full consensus on the matter, in recent years a body of evidence linking extreme weather with climate change has begun to emerge. Evidence from satellites, aircraft, ground measurements and climate model projections are increasingly drawing connections. Quantifying those interconnections is a big challenge".

My take from the article is that, while it may not yet be settled, it's logical to assume that climate change is having some effect.

Assuming, for the sake of argument that storms are intensifying due to climate change, I see no solution in sight. There is very little chance that carbon emissions will decrease to acceptable levels. Fossil fuels are here to stay. The internal combustion engine will not vanish over night.

No one wants to voluntarily lower their standard of living - "it's ok for the other guy, but not for me" seems to be the general attitude.

I live as "carbon neutral" as I can get - I do very little driving and the little I do is to places near my house. I can't say that for the majority of people I know in the U.S.. Long commutes to and from work is common.

Our electricity on this island comes from a geothermal plant which emits little carbon dioxide, very low amounts of sulfur dioxide, and no nitrogen oxides. The same cannot be said for most people on the planet.

We try to use as many locally produced foodstuffs as we can. That cuts down on fuel costs, somewhat, but there are some items which we consider "must have" which come from other locations. That's certainly true for many people in the world. Just as it's too hot in Philippines to have locally produced cow's milk, it's too cold in the U.S. to grow bananas, coffee, tea and a million other items Americans want on their grocery store shelves.

As I said, no one wants to voluntarily lower their standard of living. It would take a planet wide, totalitarian government determined to alter lifestyles. In spite of what some of my more conservative friends may believe, I don't see that happening.