Are We Doomed?

They say the world is divided between those who see the glass as half-full and those who see the same glass as half-empty.  To an Engineer the issue is simple: the container is too large for the volume of liquid.

Half empty

I think it depends on what is in the glass.  Some may think that I am a grumpy pessimist because I see a half-full shot glass of Jameson as "almost empty."

I must confess, I feel less confident about the future every day. This sense of impending doom grows deeper and darker every day as I watch the news on TV and read the morning paper.

No sensible person can deny that the Earth's climate is changing.  You can be a skeptic about the root cause and the popular solutions, but you cannot ignore the warming trend that has created droughts, wild fires and smoggy skies across the globe.   

It wont be long before we see vineyards dying off in Pasa Robles and popping-up north of Vancouver. 


On the election front, we are faced with the two worst-case candidates imaginable.  Both major party candidates carry so much baggage that the only way to get elected is to assert that "I'm not as evil as the other candidate."

With negatives that would dissuade a rational person from running for POTUS, neither candidate displays a high regard for the truth.  

An article in the Globe today reported that independent fact-checkers say 70% of what trump says is partially or wholly untrue. Hillary's score is only slightly better at 35%. 

Many informed voters see an un-resolvable dilemma. They are thinking of voting for the minor party candidates as a statement.  I think this is a mistake. 

Fact: Either Trump or Clinton will be elected president in less than 100 days.  The next president will be nominating the next two or three supreme court justices.  Decisions of SCOTUS reflect the character of our nation.  

A Trump supreme court would turn back many of the advances gained by liberals over the past several decades.  
Not to mention that his behavior demonstrates that he is unfit for any public office - including dog-catcher.

The only way to prevent this outcome is to elect Clinton.
Hold your nose and vote for progress.

Or we are most certainly doomed.