Grandpa, why is it so hot now in 2020? .. Young fella, hate to say .. way back in 2012 many too many frowned at the best global warming science of the time .. sad to say your great grandpa was one of them critters .. some were called Teabaggers ..
Grandpa were teabaggers conservatives?
Bet your bottom ice-cube they were, young fella. To the core.
Here is my last ice-cube .. suck on it .. make it last ..
"Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow" is a short story by Kurt Vonnegut written in 1953, and first published in Galaxy Science Fiction magazine in January 1954. The title comes from Shakespeare's famous line from the play Macbeth "Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow." The name "Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow" appears in Vonnegut's collection of short stories, Welcome to the Monkey House. The story was originally titled "The Big Trip Up Yonder" when published in Galaxy Science Fiction magazine.
Setting
The story is set in 2158 A.D., after the invention of a medicine called Anti-Gerasone, which is made from sawdust and dandelions and is thus inexpensive and widely available. Anti-Gerasone halts the aging process and prevents people from dying of old age as long as they keep taking it; as a result, America now suffers from severe overpopulation and shortages of food and resources. With the exception of the very wealthy, most of the population appears to survive on a diet of foods made from processed seaweed and sawdust.
Plot
The Schwartz family, headed by 172-year-old Harold ("Gramps"), lives in a three-room New York City apartment located in what once was southern Connecticut. Gramps' grandson Louis, his wife Emerald, and 22 other descendants are crowded into the space, perpetually jockeying for Gramps' favor. Gramps gets the best food and the only private bedroom, and controls everyone's life by constantly revising his will to disinherit anyone who earns his dislike.
Emerald thinks about killing Gramps by diluting his Anti-Gerasone, but Louis talks her out of it. An offhand remark by him prompts Gramps to disinherit the couple and exile them to the worst sleeping space in the apartment. Louis then catches another family member diluting Gramps' Anti-Gerasone; fearing Gramps' reaction to such a scheme, he tries to empty the bottle and refill it with the full-strength mixture. He breaks the bottle and is caught by Gramps, who only tells him to clean up the mess. The next day, the family finds Gramps' bed empty, with a note informing them that he is dead and a newly rewritten will that bequeaths his estate to his descendants without dividing it.
A riot breaks out as the family members start fighting over who gets the bedroom, leading to everyone being arrested and jailed at the police station. Louis and Emerald find the cells to be comfortable and spacious compared to the apartment, and hope that they will be sentenced to prison so they can keep these living arrangements. Meanwhile, Gramps has returned to the apartment, having spent the day at a nearby tavern, and hired a lawyer to get everyone convicted. He sees a television commercial for the new product Super-Anti-Gerasone, which can reverse the aging process instead of just halting it, and starts thinking about being able to enjoy life again.
MOST important, neither entrepreneurs nor the rich have a monopoly on brains, sweat or risk. There are scientists — and artists and scholars — who are just as smart as any entrepreneur, only they are interested in different rewards. A single mother holding down a job and putting herself through community college works just as hard as any hedge fund manager. A person who takes out a mortgage — or a student loan, or who conceives a child — on the strength of a job she knows she could lose at any moment (thanks, perhaps, to one of those job creators) assumes as much risk as someone who starts a business.
Enormous matters of policy depend on these perceptions: what we’re going to tax, and how much; what we’re going to spend, and on whom. But while “job creators” may be a new term, the adulation it expresses — and the contempt that it so clearly signals — are not. “Poor Americans are urged to hate themselves,” Kurt Vonnegut wrote in “Slaughterhouse-Five.” And so, “they mock themselves and glorify their betters.” Our most destructive lie, he added, “is that it is very easy for any American to make money.” The lie goes on. The poor are lazy, stupid and evil. The rich are brilliant, courageous and good. They shower their beneficence upon the rest of us. .. http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=76576427
Survivors of Victoria's devastating 2009 Black Saturday bushfires have secured a $500 million payout, in what lawyers have called the biggest class action settlement in Australian legal history.
Maurice Blackburn Lawyers said victims of the Kilmore East-Kinglake bushfire, which started on February 7, had got "some justice today".
The action against power distributor SP AusNet and asset managers Utility Services Group involved 10,000 people, including relatives of the 119 people killed in the fire, people injured and those who lost their homes and property.
The blaze razed 125,000 hectares and destroyed more than 1,000 homes.
The case came about after the Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission found the Kilmore East-Kinglake bushfire was caused by an ageing SP AusNet power line.
In a statement, SP AusNet said the settlement was without admission of liability by the company and other parties.
It said it believed it was likely to win the lawsuit, but the uncertainty, complexity and scale of the case lead them and other parties to settle.
"SP AusNet extends its deepest sympathy to those who suffered losses in the Black Saturday bushfires," the statement said.
"SP AusNet's position has been, and continues to be, that the conductor which broke and which initiated the fire was damaged by lightning, compromising its fail-safety design in a manner which was undetectable at the time.
"It is a tragedy that the conductor eventually failed on one of the worst days imaginable.
"SP AusNet's management of its network did not involve any negligence."
Under the proposed settlement, the state of Victoria will pay more than $100 million for inadequate warnings at the time of the fire and insufficient controlled burns.
Premier Denis Napthine said the Government's insurance would cover the cost.
"It won't affect our budget, won't affect our bottom line, will not affect services," Dr Napthine said.
"This is a normal insurance procedure and our decision on this matter is based on the best legal and professional advice."
Dr Napthine said he hoped the settlement would bring some closure to those affected by the tragedy.
"I think that anybody who lost a loved one in these fires, it's very difficult even when the settlement is reached. It is still a very difficult and painful process," he said.
'Nothing will take away the pain'
Carol Matthews, the lead plaintiff in the case, lost her son in the bushfire and said the trial had held parties accountable, which previous investigations had not done.
--- "It's exposed many of the failings that occurred on that day, failings that were very avoidable." Carol Matthews, lead plaintiff ---
"Nothing will take away the pain of losing my son and today's settlement won't change what has happened, but today there is an element of relief and a sense of comfort that this settlement will ease the financial struggle that so many people are still facing," Ms Matthews said.
"It's exposed many of the failings that occurred on that day, failings that were very avoidable.
"I find it unthinkable that the primary concern of SP AusNet was not for the survivors and the 119 lives that were lost, but purely to try and reduce their liability regarding a fire that was completely preventable."
Ms Matthews said she hoped the action would lead the parties involved to reassess their standards of operation to prevent further tragedies.
The head of Maurice Blackburn's class action department, Andrew Watson, said they were waiting for the court to approve the settlement.
"No amount of money will ever compensate those who were affected by the fire for the losses they have suffered," Mr Watson said.
"But this settlement of nearly $500 million, represents a measure of justice and some real compensation that will ease the financial burden of their suffering."
He said due to the large number of people involved it could take up to 18 months for the money to be distributed.
--- "A lightning strike caused this fire in the same way that the formation of the sun created human life on earth." Andrew Watson, Maurice Blackburn Lawyers ---
Mr Watson also disputed SP AusNet's claim that a lightning strike was the cause of the fire.
"A lightning strike caused this fire in the same way that the formation of the sun created human life on earth," he said.
"Yes, it was the ultimate cause, but there were a lot of steps in between, and the reality is that what we alleged in the proceeding was there was a series of failings by SP AusNet.
"They haven't admitted them, they're never going to admit them... but what we hope is regardless of their failure to admit as part of this settlement, they take on board some of the criticisms we made of their procedures and factor that into their future operations."
Uncertainty, complexity and scale of case led to settlement
Those seeking compensation have received more than double the previous highest Australian class action settlement of $200 million.
SP AusNet has agreed to pay $378.6 million, while Utility Services Corporation Ltd will pay $12.5 million.
State parties, which included Victoria Police, the CFA and the Department of Sustainability and Environment, have agreed to pay $103.6 million.
The Black Saturday bushfires were the worst in Victoria's history, with a total of 173 people killed in a series of bushfires that burnt across the state.
The class action took place in the Melbourne Supreme Court and ran for more than 200 sitting days in a specially-designed courtroom.
SP AusNet also said it remained a party in the Murrindindi fire class action and would "vigorously defend that claim".
Firefighters in South Australia and Victoria are battling out-of-control bushfires, with warnings today's conditions in the Adelaide Hills are the worst since Ash Wednesday more than 30 years ago.
Dozens of homes are feared to have been lost, and a major emergency has been declared. A wind change is expected to push the fire eastwards this afternoon.
.. total aircraft involved upped from 48 to 63 .. this afternoon fears of wind-shift from northerly to westerly .. thunderstorm with lightning expected later today .. winds about 70mph with gusts .. on the biggest firefighters having mainly to work to save houses and humans rather than to control ..
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