HAPPY BIRTHDAY, AMERICA
The 244th birthday of the United States of America passed recently. Since most of the traditional Independence Day celebrations could not be held we were forced to face probably the biggest existential threat to our existance in my lifetime. It is not a single threat, but comes from multiple directions: we have a pandemic that shows no sign of waning. This is further complicated by a president that refuses to wear a facemask, and insists on throwing his people into a petri dish of Corona virus by putting them in close places with no demand for masks. We face an economic crisis brought on by that pandemic, and the necessary closure of businesses. Additionally there is ample evidence that much of the financial relief passed by congress is going to the richest businesses. We face a climate which is warming and its concomitant ecological damage. Some 96% of climate scientists agree on this danger and that it is caused by the burning of fossil fuels. Only businesses...