Paradox And Difficulty

Our waking life's desire to shape the world to our convenience invites all manner of paradox and difficulty.

-- Cormac McCarthy (1933 - 2023), American novelist, playwright, short-story writer, and screenwriter, Cities of the Plain (1998)

Knee High By The 4th Of July

When I was a kid I remember hearing the phrase, "Knee high by the Fourth of July".  The idea was that your corn crop was doing pretty well if it was as tall as your knees at that point in the growing season.  In my experience, the corn is quite a bit taller than that these days.  This year I managed to get a picture on Saturday July 4th to illustrate the point.

Brought to you by the miracles of modern agriculture.

Climate.us

Climate.us today launched the full version of its new independent, nonprofit climate information website, creating a public-backed home for trusted climate science at a time when access to federal climate resources has become increasingly vulnerable to disruption.

Built by former members of the team behind the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's popular Climate.gov website, Climate.us will keep climate information accurate, accessible, scientifically rigorous, and useful for the people who rely on it, including educators, students, journalists, scientists, community leaders, local and state decision-makers, and members of the public.

The website features Climate.gov's 15-year collection of climate news and stories, expert blogs, visual status reports on key climate indicators, maps and data pathways, climate literacy resources, classroom materials, and restored access to the Fifth National Climate Assessment.

-- Launch announcement from Climate.us, a non-profit created to host information formerly available at Climate.gov (23 June 2026)

Greatest Of All

It is the greatest of all mistakes to do nothing because you can only do little.

-- Sydney Smith (1771 - 1845), English clergyman, critic, philosopher, and wit, Elementary Sketches of Moral Philosophy (1849) Lecture XIX : On the Conduct of the Understanding, Part II

Stormy Weather

For the second night in a row I lost power at my house Thursday evening due to heavy thunderstorms in the area. As it happened, I lost Internet access and ended up a little late with my Trvth. The image shows the local weather radar at the time we lost power (for about 6 hours).

Cheers.

Buzzword Sandwich

[This decision] aligns with N.S.F.'s wider strategy to have a nimbler approach to prioritizing support for evolving scientific priorities and emerging technologies as well as a deliberate approach to smart life cycle management within its portfolio of research infrastructure.

-- Michael England, spokesman for the National Science Foundation, justifying the decision to dismantle the Ocean Observatories Initiative, a $368 million network of more than 900 deep-sea instruments collecting data in both the Atlantic and Pacific that has been critical to climate and ocean research, NY Times (1 June 2026)

Unable To Recognize Truth

A man who lies to himself, and believes his own lies, becomes unable to recognize truth, either in himself or in anyone else, and he ends up losing respect for himself and for others.  When he has no respect for anyone, he can no longer love, and in him, he yields to his impulses, indulges in the lowest form of pleasure, and behaves in the end like an animal in satisfying his vices.  And it all comes from lying -- to others and to yourself.

-- Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoyevsky (1821 - 1881), Russian novelist, short story writer, essayist, journalist, and philosopher, The Brothers Karamazov (1879–1880)

Far Worse

An ever-expanding capitalism and a fragile, finite ecology are on a calamitous collision course.  It is not true that the ruling politico-economic interests are in a state of denial about this.  Far worse than denial, they are in a state of utter antagonism toward those who think the planet is more important than corporate profits.

-- Michael Parenti (30 September 1933 - 24 January 2026), American political scientist, historian and media critic, Blackshirts and Reds: Rational Fascism and the Overthrow of Communism (1997) Anything But Class: Avoiding the C-Word, p. 156

In Conflict

The doctrine that the world is made up of objects whose existence is independent of human consciousness turns out to be in conflict with quantum mechanics and with facts established by experiment.

-- Bernard d'Espagnat (1921 - 2015), French theoretical physicist, philosopher of science, and author, best known for his work on the nature of reality, The Quantum Theory and Reality (November 1979) Scientific American p. 158

Inexhaustible Source

A mind which has once imbibed a taste for scientific inquiry, and has learnt the habit of applying its principles readily to the cases which occur, has within itself an inexhaustible source of pure and exciting contemplations.

-- Sir John Frederick William Herschel, 1st Baronet (1792 - 1871), English polymath active as a mathematician, astronomer, chemist, inventor, and experimental photographer, A Preliminary Discourse on the Study of Natural Philosophy (1831)

Political Capital

Political capital refers to the trust, goodwill, and influence that an individual or group has in the political arena.  It is an intangible asset that can be built through relationships, credibility, and public support, allowing individuals or organizations to leverage their position to achieve political goals.  Political capital is crucial for mobilizing resources, gaining support for initiatives, and influencing policy decisions.

-- Definition of "Political Capital" at AP Human Geography Review from Fiveable 

Autoimmune Disorder

The Trump Administration is an autoimmune disorder sabotaging the things that actually made America if not great at least powerful: its economy, its higher education system, its international relations, its crucial immigrant workforce, its functioning federal government, its public health systems, the rule of law, and lots of other things like food safety and clean water.

-- Rebecca Solnit (born 1961), American writer and activist, Notes on Unbearable Stupidity, January 6, 2026 Edition

Power Belongs

The Power Belongs to the people

In June, millions of everyday Americans from every walk of life peacefully took to the streets and declared with one voice: No Kings.  The world saw the power of the people, and President Trump's attempt at a coronation collapsed under the strength of a movement rising against his abuses of power.

Now, he's doubling down -- sending militarized agents into our communities, silencing voters, and handing billionaires giveaways while families struggle.  This isn't just politics.  It's democracy versus dictatorship.  And together, we're choosing democracy.

All No Kings events adhere to a shared commitment to nonviolent protest and community safety.  Organizers are trained in de-escalation and are working closely with local partners to ensure peaceful and powerful actions nationwide.

-- Text from NoKings.org regarding tomorrow's planned demonstrations against executive overreach by the Trump administration (17 October 2025)

RIP Jane Goodall

Confrontation can be counter productive.  Change happens by listening and then starting a dialogue with the people who are doing something you don't believe is right.

-- Dame Jane Morris Goodall DBE, born Valerie Jane Morris-Goodall (3 April 1934 - 1 October 2025), English primatologist, ethologist, and anthropologist most famous for her study of chimpanzee social and family life in the Gombe Stream National Park in Tanzania, interview at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, South Africa (26 August 2002)

The Real Threat

I urge this Committee to consider the real threat to Americans' freedom of expression, the one here at home.  I have noted a handful of areas where this administration is putting freedom of expression under direct attack.  Where is the opposition, let alone outrage, given the attack not only on speakers -- journalists, public media, professors, students, whistleblowers, civil servants -- but on every American's right of access to information about the issues important to our democracy and to our public's health?  That, I would respectfully submit, is the real threat to American speech and innovation. 

-- David Kaye, Clinical Professor of Law, University of California, Irvine School of Law, and former United Nations Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression, in testimony delivered to the House Judiciary Committee in a hearing titled "Europe's Threat to American Speech and Innovation" (3 September 2025) (h/t Peter Picucci)

Some Things Count

Don't forget that some things count more than other things.

-- William Saroyan (1908 - 1981), Armenian American author, The Time of Your Life (1939)

FEMA Katrina Declaration

TO: Members of Federal Emergency Management Agency Review Council

Twenty years ago, Hurricane Katrina made landfall along the Gulf Coast as a Category 3 hurricane, claiming an estimated 1,833 lives, leaving millions homeless, and causing approximately $161 billion in damage.  Hurricane Katrina was not just a natural disaster, but a man-made one: the inexperience of senior leaders and the profound failure by the federal government to deliver timely, unified, and effective aid to those in need left survivors to fend for themselves for days, and highlighted how Black, Indigenous, and low-income communities are disproportionally affected by disasters.  These failures prompted Congress to pass the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act of 2006 (PKEMRA), which introduced safeguards to ensure such shortcomings of disaster preparation and response would not be repeated.  However, two decades later, FEMA is enacting processes and leadership structures that echo the conditions PKEMRA was designed to prevent.

1) We oppose the reduction in capability of FEMA to perform its missions. 

2) We oppose the ongoing failure to appoint a qualified FEMA administrator, as required by law. 

3) We oppose the elimination of life- and cost-saving risk reduction programs.  

4) We oppose interference with preparedness programs that build capacity for our SLTT partners. 

5) We oppose the censorship of climate science, environmental protection, and efforts to ensure all communities have access to information, resources, and support.

6) We oppose the reduction of FEMA’s disaster workforce.

The signatories of this letter are FEMA employees from across the United States who are dedicated to helping people before, during, and after disasters, and who are members of the communities we seek to support.  In addition to named signatories, we include anonymous signatories who share our concerns but choose not to identify themselves due to the culture of fear and suppression cultivated by this administration.

-- "The FEMA Katrina Declaration" (25 August 2025), four days before the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina

All Others

"In God we trust.  All others must use data."

-- Mary Walton, The Deming Management Method (1986) Chapter 20 "Doing It with Data" p. 96

They Know We Know

They lie to us, we know they're lying, they know we know they're lying but they keep lying anyway, and we keep pretending to believe them.

-- Elena Gorokhova, A Mountain of Crumbs: A Memoir by Elena Gorokhova (2010), Chapter 13: A Tour of Leningrad, pp 172 and 173

Organic Sense Lives

Media are means of extending and enlarging our organic sense lives into our environment.

-- Marshall McLuhan (1911 - 1980), Canadian philosopher, futurist, and communications theorist, "The Care and Feeding of Communication Innovation", Dinner Address to Conference on 8 mm Sound Film and Education, Teachers College, Columbia University, 8 November 1961