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GELFAND'S WORLD - Welcome to the official start of the era of global climate change generated by global warming, with all that this entails. Never seen a fire like this one before? They could be a regular feature in decades to come. Or maybe not. That's the problem with climate that changes with a certain level of irregularity. Maybe we'll have torrential storms and flooding once every few years, and then (just like this month) the resulting fires will go out of control. And the Gulf coast? Whatever that gulf ends up being labeled on future maps, it is going to be the source of super-violent hurricanes for the indefinite future.
And we have returned to the presidency a man who still refuses to admit that any of this is happening.
Words fail me. They really elected him? And he's really been selling his own version of bitcoins since even before the inauguration? Well, let's hope that he sticks mainly to good old fashioned grift, like all those $1 million dollar donations to his inaugural fund. Let this administration be a redo of the Nixon days, where everything is for sale, most particularly the president, and -- with a lot of luck -- not too many bad things occur.
The difference is that Nixon had some brains and just a little bit of shame.
Over the past few days, I have been reading old Robert A. Heinlein stories and essays. No, not Starship Troopers or Stranger in a Strange Land. I was reading essays he wrote in the immediate post-WWII era to wake people up about the danger of nuclear war. Admittedly, Heinlein was writing in an era in which the nuclear armaments race was ramping up. In addition, it was an era in which the ballistic missile was developing as a way of delivering nuclear bombs -- a method which would allow for almost no defense -- with nuclear warheads, you have to stop them 100% of the time, and there was no defense -- is no defense -- either then or now, which can guarantee that level of perfection.
I won't go into Heinlein's prescriptions in those 1950s moments, other than to say that he foresaw something along the lines of an international authority with total control over nuclear stuff and, while we're at it, over all aviation. If you want to see for yourself what he was saying, find an old copy of Expanded Universe or read The Last Days of the United States.
Why do I bring this old stuff up at this point?
It is to point out that there are elements of government which are important, not the least being the security of the United States against weapons which not only continue to exist, but which may emerge in adversary states such as Iran. You would expect that the leadership in this country would demand a Secretary of Defense who has experience, education, wisdom, and good judgment -- someone who really can deal with that telephone call at 2 AM that the Republicans used to talk about. Somebody who doesn't have a problem with drinking. There are probably half a dozen or more such people just in the ranks of the Republican Party alone. There are several more in the military. The new president has different priorities when it comes to the national defense, it would appear.
And one more thing. It should be traditional that the appointee be a known quantity, somebody who already has the respect of both military and politician alike. Does anybody see the current nominee this way?
It's important. Even now, we've seen Putin threaten the use of nuclear arms in what is, after all, a local war of Russian imperialism against our sovereign ally Ukraine. We need clear heads in charge of American policy, and they should be capable of rational thought based on the needs of the country as a whole.
We are probably going to be stuck with some truly atrocious cabinet officers, but let's hope that there can be some modicum of control over the Department of Defense, Health and Human Services, the FBI, and even (not a joke here) the weather service. There are still a few of us who remember when there was no polio vaccine. Measles could come back as a menace and killer.
There will be lots written over the next few months about the policies and behavior of the new administration. Will it sabotage NATO and Ukraine? Will it actually sabotage the little progress we have made against global warming? Will it actually enact tariffs above those which already exist?
And -- above all else -- will it be able to deal with the economic distress of the recent fires and hurricanes? If not, we will have encountered the economic version of global climate change, and this would be a far more powerful force than any little political ranting.
(Bob Gelfand writes on science, culture, and politics for CityWatch. He can be reached at [email protected])
