Democracy is in trouble....

[luchog]

At some point, it's clear that nuclear is going to be the way to go. Molten salt sounds like a great idea, if we can develop the technology and make it affordable. I fear that people's hysteria over nuclear is going to cost us dearly, however. Perhaps it already has.

Given that this needed to start at least 20 years ago, yeah, I'm going with it's likely already cost us more than we can fix at this point. We really need to get moving on it as quickly as humanly possible if we're going to have any chance of minimizing the damage to the point where we can continue living on this rock. Not seeing that happening, however.

 

[Belz...]

Given that this needed to start at least 20 years ago, yeah, I'm going with it's likely already cost us more than we can fix at this point. We really need to get moving on it as quickly as humanly possible if we're going to have any chance of minimizing the damage to the point where we can continue living on this rock. Not seeing that happening, however.

Sounds like it's time to drink that sorrow away!

 

[Allen773]

When has democracy not been in trouble?

 

[lomiller]

Read quote again. I said I don't like what they want to do. Your snide response noted. Is that all anybody wants to do here now?

I worry about both left and right. I see no options in the middle and I am less concerned about social issues and more about how people spend our tax dollars. Being from California I have every reason to fear liberal policies.

Being from the US you should be more concerned about Republican spending policies. 2/3 of the US discretionally budget is defense related and Republicans are always insisting on spending more.

The bulk of mandatory spending goes to the elderly to support Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. While they occasionally make noise demanding Democrats cut these things, the fact is when they have control of congress they not only don’t cut them they expand them. Since this is a voting group that swings heavily Republican, don’t expect big spending Republicans to slow down any time soon.

 

[lomiller]

the two (and soon to be three) commercial breeder reactors, but thorium-process reactors as well.

Wikipedia has a list of Gen III designs. The only breeder reactor is a Russian demonstration reactor, but hey Russian demonstration reactors are safe right? The only Thorium enabled design is a Candu design that has been dropped in favor of older Candu models because it too expensive.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generation_III_reactor

Gen IV reactors are still a decade away, and while there likely will be a Molten Salt Reactor design in Gen IV it will be a solid fuel MSR not liquid-fuel. Liquid fuel MSR has been dropped from the Gen IV research, but hopefully makes it back for Gen V. Solid-fuel MSR lacks many of the safety advantages liquid-fuel MSR enjoy over current designs. Burning Thorium may not be practical in solid-fuel MSR designs.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generation_IV_reactor


https://www.world-nuclear.org/infor...d-future-generation/molten-salt-reactors.aspx

There is now renewed interest in the MSR concept in Japan, Russia, China, France and the USA, and one of the six Generation IV designs selected for further development is the MSR in two distinct variants, the molten salt fast reactor (MSFR) and the advanced high temperature reactor (AHTR) – also known as the fluoride salt-cooled high-temperature reactor (FHR) with solid fuel, or PB-FHR specifically with pebble fuel. The Generation IV international Forum (GIF) mentions 'salt processing' as a technology gap for MSRs, putting the initial focus clearly on burners rather than breeders.

Since the 2002 Generation IV selection process, significant changes in design philosophy have taken place, according to a 2015 report by Energy Process Developments Ltd (EPD). The first is to design simpler, less ambitious, molten salt reactors that do not breed new fuel, do not require online fuel reprocessing and which use the well-established enriched uranium fuel cycle. In this regard, both American researchers and the China Academy of Sciences/SINAP are working on solid fuel, salt-cooled reactor technology as a realistic first step into MSRs.

 

[jimbob]

Or maybe it's left wing lunacy that is driving everyone else to the breaking point? Can only speak for myself but that is a big part of it for me.

Bit of a necro... but I just wondered how this post has aged?

 

[Gord_in_Toronto]

Like Gorgonzola cheese? Gets smellier as it ages.

 

[No Other]

Evidence right here:


'The parting on the left, is now the parting on the right'. - Who

That was Buzzfeed saying something without proof.

 

[Mader Levap]

I liked that silly nuclear discussion. Especially that "Theoretically 4.5 billion tons of uranium are available from sea water at about 10 times the current price of uranium." part. Why nuclear power proponents would be bragging about already very costly power source being 10x more costly is beyond me. Oh wait, it is fuel alone? Riight, 2x costly is no biggie, maaan.

In general, nuclear power is uneconomical, period.

You can set up wind/solar literally 10 times faster (1-3 years, not 10-30 years), for significantly less $ with significantly more power generated, with unlimited "fuel", with no risk of making surrounding space unusuable for hundreds/thousands/gazilion years.

And both solar/wind and battery tech is improving rapidly. I don't see future for nuclear (fusion is different story, but has major financial issues - no bucks, no buck roger).

It is nobrainer, except for people emotionally and irrationally invested in nuclear energy, of course.

 

[johnny karate]

Bit of a necro... but I just wondered how this post has aged?

If you think that one is bad, you should seek out this poster’s manifesto screed about how liberals made them vote for Trump. It’s a real hoot and perfectly embodies the entitlement of the Conservative Persecution Complex that is the driving force for these fascist clowns.

 

[mgidm86]

Originally Posted by mgidm86 View Post
Or maybe it's left wing lunacy that is driving everyone else to the breaking point? Can only speak for myself but that is a big part of it for me.

Bit of a necro... but I just wondered how this post has aged?

I'll tell you how my post above aged...TERRIBLY!!!

I haven't posted in probably a year or more. I have followed along for much of that time though, more-so recently. My last posts were not very nice and I haven't looked at my notifications following that.

My views have changed tremendously and I have been thinking that at some point I should come back here and say so. Give credit where it is due.

I'll keep it short for now because I'm not prepared for anything more today. I'm only responding because I have not seen myself quoted in a long time, so I figured what the heck, let's do this now.

Short version:
I hate Trump like I've never hated anyone in my life. I now see the Republican fear-mongering for what it is. I guess it took someone as bad as Trump for me to finally see it. And you guys helped as well.

The ISFers, many of whom I argued with, ignored and "hated", were right all along about this guy. I was wrong to ever defend him in any way.

I repeat, I was so wrong. He IS a racist. He IS deeply mentally disturbed. He should under no circumstances be President of this country.

I never supported Trump (that can be argued by people here and I'm fine with that), I just hated the libs that bad, as my above quote alludes to. That's all the Republicans have.

For all the Hillary hating I did here, I would vote for her over Trump any time.

That quote above is what ALL of the Trump supporters I know use as their main, possibly only, reason that they give for still supporting Trump. The libs are worse!

So now I'm in the position where I'm one of very few Trump haters in my family. The rest think I'm crazy now.

My sister said in an email recently, "Biden lies and is incompetent. He said 120 million people died of Covid!"

Seriously, that's all you got? She's worried about Biden stuttering, after Donald just tried to take away our right to vote? Her response, silence. Oh and she's sick of hearing about it all and covers her ears. I'll take that as a sign of knowing she's wrong, at least deep down somewhere.

I say it again - you guys were right about this clown all along. I still can't even believe how right you were and how blind I was.

You deserve credit for helping me see it.

But changing my views was difficult and took a long time. Scary part is that for people who know nothing about skepticism and bias, I have no idea what could change their minds.

And knowing that the people I love think this way has been a real struggle for me. I mean it is one of the biggest sources of stress I have right now. I felt like I had to do something.....

So I chose my Mom as a "student". Rather than telling her how bad Trump is I have been teaching her basic critical thinking. She is really into it, and has just bought Flim Flam. I tried to recommend a book that wasn't too text-bookie and more easy to read for her to get her feet wet.

My Mom also got scammed really bad last year, so hopefully she'll learn some things.

I figured I'd have more luck teaching her how to think than telling her what to think. And she's the only person in my family willing to listen to me. She is now challenging her friends and it's pretty cool to see.

She is seeing the light, but STILL has reservations in saying that Biden is the better choice, even after the capitol riot! "We'll see what happens" Uh....what?

But okay, I feel I've made a lot of progress so I accept that answer for now. Sigh.

Anyways, I've been wanting to post this here for awhile, but I do NOT want to start posting here every day. It's one reason I hesitated in posting this at all. I don't want to get sucked into this time-pit of a forum Seriously, as I've lurked here for the past year, every time I think I have something I need to say, someone else says it so I don't have to.

I have so much more I want to say, but that will be for another thread.

On Trump supporters:

One thing I will mention is that a lot of you guys are overthinking (poor word choice maybe) the reasons why people still support this guy. In my experience, it is very simple:

It doesn't even have to make sense:

- "Look at the riots in Portland! Libs want that! They're violent!"
- "They want our guns"
- "Biden has dementia and says stuff wrong!"
- "They want to take away my rights!"

That's it! Nothing more, and they certainly have nothing positive to say about Trump.

My Dad asked me one day. "Let me ask you, what is so great about Biden?"

My answer, "He isn't Trump, that's how bad Trump is!"

My Dad watches FOX, so he didn't know that Trump threatened to sue CNN for posting a poll showing Trump losing, or any of the gaffes he makes. He doesn't know about ANYthing because he watches FOX.

It's that simple. FOX almost won Trump the election. FOX can make Trump look competent and Presidential. Scary stuff.

I have not asked his opinion since election day. I'm both afraid to know, and hoping that he will see the light over time.

Trump voters are afraid of the evil libs. Every Trump voter I have talked to says the same thing and nothing else. Every article I read, every comment here...there is nothing but fear.

Sorry for the rambling post. I wrote this pretty fast and don't feel I articulated myself as well as I'd like, but it's a start.

Is this the answer you expected?

I have a lot more that I'd like to say someday.

 

[dirtywick]

it really can be exhausting trying to talk to family members about trump, it's such a strange and unsettling devotion. i hope that everything ends well no matter whether you're successful or not

 

[Meadmaker]

mgidm86,

Cool. Thanks.

Yeah, he's that bad. Conservatives are not that bad. Trump, though, is bad. Very, very, bad.
Fortunately, he's gone in about 40 hours.

 

[bruto]

Yes, mgidm86, thanks for that post, for being honest enough not just to write it but to post it. I see it's been nominated already. Good on ya.

 

[johnny karate]

I'll tell you how my post above aged...TERRIBLY!!!

I haven't posted in probably a year or more. I have followed along for much of that time though, more-so recently. My last posts were not very nice and I haven't looked at my notifications following that.

My views have changed tremendously and I have been thinking that at some point I should come back here and say so. Give credit where it is due.

I'll keep it short for now because I'm not prepared for anything more today. I'm only responding because I have not seen myself quoted in a long time, so I figured what the heck, let's do this now.

Short version:
I hate Trump like I've never hated anyone in my life. I now see the Republican fear-mongering for what it is. I guess it took someone as bad as Trump for me to finally see it. And you guys helped as well.

The ISFers, many of whom I argued with, ignored and "hated", were right all along about this guy. I was wrong to ever defend him in any way.

I repeat, I was so wrong. He IS a racist. He IS deeply mentally disturbed. He should under no circumstances be President of this country.

I never supported Trump (that can be argued by people here and I'm fine with that), I just hated the libs that bad, as my above quote alludes to. That's all the Republicans have.

For all the Hillary hating I did here, I would vote for her over Trump any time.

That quote above is what ALL of the Trump supporters I know use as their main, possibly only, reason that they give for still supporting Trump. The libs are worse!

So now I'm in the position where I'm one of very few Trump haters in my family. The rest think I'm crazy now.

My sister said in an email recently, "Biden lies and is incompetent. He said 120 million people died of Covid!"

Seriously, that's all you got? She's worried about Biden stuttering, after Donald just tried to take away our right to vote? Her response, silence. Oh and she's sick of hearing about it all and covers her ears. I'll take that as a sign of knowing she's wrong, at least deep down somewhere.

I say it again - you guys were right about this clown all along. I still can't even believe how right you were and how blind I was.

You deserve credit for helping me see it.

But changing my views was difficult and took a long time. Scary part is that for people who know nothing about skepticism and bias, I have no idea what could change their minds.

And knowing that the people I love think this way has been a real struggle for me. I mean it is one of the biggest sources of stress I have right now. I felt like I had to do something.....

So I chose my Mom as a "student". Rather than telling her how bad Trump is I have been teaching her basic critical thinking. She is really into it, and has just bought Flim Flam. I tried to recommend a book that wasn't too text-bookie and more easy to read for her to get her feet wet.

My Mom also got scammed really bad last year, so hopefully she'll learn some things.

I figured I'd have more luck teaching her how to think than telling her what to think. And she's the only person in my family willing to listen to me. She is now challenging her friends and it's pretty cool to see.

She is seeing the light, but STILL has reservations in saying that Biden is the better choice, even after the capitol riot! "We'll see what happens" Uh....what?

But okay, I feel I've made a lot of progress so I accept that answer for now. Sigh.

Anyways, I've been wanting to post this here for awhile, but I do NOT want to start posting here every day. It's one reason I hesitated in posting this at all. I don't want to get sucked into this time-pit of a forum Seriously, as I've lurked here for the past year, every time I think I have something I need to say, someone else says it so I don't have to.

I have so much more I want to say, but that will be for another thread.

On Trump supporters:

One thing I will mention is that a lot of you guys are overthinking (poor word choice maybe) the reasons why people still support this guy. In my experience, it is very simple:

It doesn't even have to make sense:

- "Look at the riots in Portland! Libs want that! They're violent!"
- "They want our guns"
- "Biden has dementia and says stuff wrong!"
- "They want to take away my rights!"

That's it! Nothing more, and they certainly have nothing positive to say about Trump.

My Dad asked me one day. "Let me ask you, what is so great about Biden?"

My answer, "He isn't Trump, that's how bad Trump is!"

My Dad watches FOX, so he didn't know that Trump threatened to sue CNN for posting a poll showing Trump losing, or any of the gaffes he makes. He doesn't know about ANYthing because he watches FOX.

It's that simple. FOX almost won Trump the election. FOX can make Trump look competent and Presidential. Scary stuff.

I have not asked his opinion since election day. I'm both afraid to know, and hoping that he will see the light over time.

Trump voters are afraid of the evil libs. Every Trump voter I have talked to says the same thing and nothing else. Every article I read, every comment here...there is nothing but fear.

Sorry for the rambling post. I wrote this pretty fast and don't feel I articulated myself as well as I'd like, but it's a start.

Is this the answer you expected?

I have a lot more that I'd like to say someday.

Well done.

 

[jimbob]

mgidm86,

Cool. Thanks.

Yeah, he's that bad. Conservatives are not that bad. Trump, though, is bad. Very, very, bad.
Fortunately, he's gone in about 40 hours.

Yes, thanks mgidm86, and agreed Meadmaker. There should be a choice of a decent liberal and a decent conservative party. Otherwise there's no choice.

 

[angrysoba]

I'll tell you how my post above aged...TERRIBLY!!!

I haven't posted in probably a year or more. I have followed along for much of that time though, more-so recently. My last posts were not very nice and I haven't looked at my notifications following that.

My views have changed tremendously and I have been thinking that at some point I should come back here and say so. Give credit where it is due.

I'll keep it short for now because I'm not prepared for anything more today. I'm only responding because I have not seen myself quoted in a long time, so I figured what the heck, let's do this now.

Short version:
I hate Trump like I've never hated anyone in my life. I now see the Republican fear-mongering for what it is. I guess it took someone as bad as Trump for me to finally see it. And you guys helped as well.

The ISFers, many of whom I argued with, ignored and "hated", were right all along about this guy. I was wrong to ever defend him in any way.

I repeat, I was so wrong. He IS a racist. He IS deeply mentally disturbed. He should under no circumstances be President of this country.

I never supported Trump (that can be argued by people here and I'm fine with that), I just hated the libs that bad, as my above quote alludes to. That's all the Republicans have.

For all the Hillary hating I did here, I would vote for her over Trump any time.

That quote above is what ALL of the Trump supporters I know use as their main, possibly only, reason that they give for still supporting Trump. The libs are worse!

So now I'm in the position where I'm one of very few Trump haters in my family. The rest think I'm crazy now.

My sister said in an email recently, "Biden lies and is incompetent. He said 120 million people died of Covid!"

Seriously, that's all you got? She's worried about Biden stuttering, after Donald just tried to take away our right to vote? Her response, silence. Oh and she's sick of hearing about it all and covers her ears. I'll take that as a sign of knowing she's wrong, at least deep down somewhere.

I say it again - you guys were right about this clown all along. I still can't even believe how right you were and how blind I was.

You deserve credit for helping me see it.

But changing my views was difficult and took a long time. Scary part is that for people who know nothing about skepticism and bias, I have no idea what could change their minds.

And knowing that the people I love think this way has been a real struggle for me. I mean it is one of the biggest sources of stress I have right now. I felt like I had to do something.....

So I chose my Mom as a "student". Rather than telling her how bad Trump is I have been teaching her basic critical thinking. She is really into it, and has just bought Flim Flam. I tried to recommend a book that wasn't too text-bookie and more easy to read for her to get her feet wet.

My Mom also got scammed really bad last year, so hopefully she'll learn some things.

I figured I'd have more luck teaching her how to think than telling her what to think. And she's the only person in my family willing to listen to me. She is now challenging her friends and it's pretty cool to see.

She is seeing the light, but STILL has reservations in saying that Biden is the better choice, even after the capitol riot! "We'll see what happens" Uh....what?

But okay, I feel I've made a lot of progress so I accept that answer for now. Sigh.

Anyways, I've been wanting to post this here for awhile, but I do NOT want to start posting here every day. It's one reason I hesitated in posting this at all. I don't want to get sucked into this time-pit of a forum Seriously, as I've lurked here for the past year, every time I think I have something I need to say, someone else says it so I don't have to.

I have so much more I want to say, but that will be for another thread.

On Trump supporters:

One thing I will mention is that a lot of you guys are overthinking (poor word choice maybe) the reasons why people still support this guy. In my experience, it is very simple:

It doesn't even have to make sense:

- "Look at the riots in Portland! Libs want that! They're violent!"
- "They want our guns"
- "Biden has dementia and says stuff wrong!"
- "They want to take away my rights!"

That's it! Nothing more, and they certainly have nothing positive to say about Trump.

My Dad asked me one day. "Let me ask you, what is so great about Biden?"

My answer, "He isn't Trump, that's how bad Trump is!"

My Dad watches FOX, so he didn't know that Trump threatened to sue CNN for posting a poll showing Trump losing, or any of the gaffes he makes. He doesn't know about ANYthing because he watches FOX.

It's that simple. FOX almost won Trump the election. FOX can make Trump look competent and Presidential. Scary stuff.

I have not asked his opinion since election day. I'm both afraid to know, and hoping that he will see the light over time.

Trump voters are afraid of the evil libs. Every Trump voter I have talked to says the same thing and nothing else. Every article I read, every comment here...there is nothing but fear.

Sorry for the rambling post. I wrote this pretty fast and don't feel I articulated myself as well as I'd like, but it's a start.

Is this the answer you expected?

I have a lot more that I'd like to say someday.

Wow! Assuming this is not a hack or someone using his account without permission, fantastic post, man!

This is a truly rare sight and all the more laudable for it.

Nommed!

 

[Mike!]

mgidm86,

Cool. Thanks.

Yeah, he's that bad. Conservatives are not that bad. Trump, though, is bad. Very, very, bad.
Fortunately, he's gone in about 40 hours.

Yes, mgidm86, thanks for that post, for being honest enough not just to write it but to post it. I see it's been nominated already. Good on ya.

Well done.

Yes, thanks mgidm86, and agreed Meadmaker. There should be a choice of a decent liberal and a decent conservative party. Otherwise there's no choice.

Wow! Assuming this is not a hack or someone using his account without permission, fantastic post, man!

This is a truly rare sight and all the more laudable for it.

Nommed!

I'll say it right now, if his post doesn't win TLA next round, the voting will have clearly been rigged.

 

[Dr. Keith]

Not to jump on the bandwagon, but thanks for posting all that when you really didn't have to and probably would have rather been fishing. (must have been a bad weather day!)

I remember your story about your mom as my dad had been scammed in a different way and it dawned on me that he was just as susceptible to that sort of scam. It was heartbreaking and I hope your family is recovering. If they can learn something from the experience, that's a silver lining, I suppose.

Glad to see you back. I hope you find more time to join in, but if you don't that's good, too.

Take care.

 

[dudalb]

I'll tell you how my post above aged...TERRIBLY!!!

I haven't posted in probably a year or more. I have followed along for much of that time though, more-so recently. My last posts were not very nice and I haven't looked at my notifications following that.

My views have changed tremendously and I have been thinking that at some point I should come back here and say so. Give credit where it is due.

I'll keep it short for now because I'm not prepared for anything more today. I'm only responding because I have not seen myself quoted in a long time, so I figured what the heck, let's do this now.

Short version:
I hate Trump like I've never hated anyone in my life. I now see the Republican fear-mongering for what it is. I guess it took someone as bad as Trump for me to finally see it. And you guys helped as well.

The ISFers, many of whom I argued with, ignored and "hated", were right all along about this guy. I was wrong to ever defend him in any way.

I repeat, I was so wrong. He IS a racist. He IS deeply mentally disturbed. He should under no circumstances be President of this country.

I never supported Trump (that can be argued by people here and I'm fine with that), I just hated the libs that bad, as my above quote alludes to. That's all the Republicans have.

For all the Hillary hating I did here, I would vote for her over Trump any time.

That quote above is what ALL of the Trump supporters I know use as their main, possibly only, reason that they give for still supporting Trump. The libs are worse!

So now I'm in the position where I'm one of very few Trump haters in my family. The rest think I'm crazy now.

My sister said in an email recently, "Biden lies and is incompetent. He said 120 million people died of Covid!"

Seriously, that's all you got? She's worried about Biden stuttering, after Donald just tried to take away our right to vote? Her response, silence. Oh and she's sick of hearing about it all and covers her ears. I'll take that as a sign of knowing she's wrong, at least deep down somewhere.

I say it again - you guys were right about this clown all along. I still can't even believe how right you were and how blind I was.

You deserve credit for helping me see it.

But changing my views was difficult and took a long time. Scary part is that for people who know nothing about skepticism and bias, I have no idea what could change their minds.

And knowing that the people I love think this way has been a real struggle for me. I mean it is one of the biggest sources of stress I have right now. I felt like I had to do something.....

So I chose my Mom as a "student". Rather than telling her how bad Trump is I have been teaching her basic critical thinking. She is really into it, and has just bought Flim Flam. I tried to recommend a book that wasn't too text-bookie and more easy to read for her to get her feet wet.

My Mom also got scammed really bad last year, so hopefully she'll learn some things.

I figured I'd have more luck teaching her how to think than telling her what to think. And she's the only person in my family willing to listen to me. She is now challenging her friends and it's pretty cool to see.

She is seeing the light, but STILL has reservations in saying that Biden is the better choice, even after the capitol riot! "We'll see what happens" Uh....what?

But okay, I feel I've made a lot of progress so I accept that answer for now. Sigh.

Anyways, I've been wanting to post this here for awhile, but I do NOT want to start posting here every day. It's one reason I hesitated in posting this at all. I don't want to get sucked into this time-pit of a forum Seriously, as I've lurked here for the past year, every time I think I have something I need to say, someone else says it so I don't have to.

I have so much more I want to say, but that will be for another thread.

On Trump supporters:

One thing I will mention is that a lot of you guys are overthinking (poor word choice maybe) the reasons why people still support this guy. In my experience, it is very simple:

It doesn't even have to make sense:

- "Look at the riots in Portland! Libs want that! They're violent!"
- "They want our guns"
- "Biden has dementia and says stuff wrong!"
- "They want to take away my rights!"

That's it! Nothing more, and they certainly have nothing positive to say about Trump.

My Dad asked me one day. "Let me ask you, what is so great about Biden?"

My answer, "He isn't Trump, that's how bad Trump is!"

My Dad watches FOX, so he didn't know that Trump threatened to sue CNN for posting a poll showing Trump losing, or any of the gaffes he makes. He doesn't know about ANYthing because he watches FOX.

It's that simple. FOX almost won Trump the election. FOX can make Trump look competent and Presidential. Scary stuff.

I have not asked his opinion since election day. I'm both afraid to know, and hoping that he will see the light over time.

Trump voters are afraid of the evil libs. Every Trump voter I have talked to says the same thing and nothing else. Every article I read, every comment here...there is nothing but fear.

Sorry for the rambling post. I wrote this pretty fast and don't feel I articulated myself as well as I'd like, but it's a start.

Is this the answer you expected?

I have a lot more that I'd like to say someday.

I sumbolically kill the fatted calf for this returned Prodigal.