Fusion?

It is a breakthrough by any means, but it is a game changer by no means.  Not for awhile, anyway.

The Livermore National Laboratory in California achieved nuclear fusion by creating a force of heat and light that generated more energy than it took to produce it - the same way the sun generates heat and light.  Nothing of this magnitude has ever been done before.  Trump supporters would certainly agree that this achievement, undertaken on American soil, has made American science great again . . . if in fact they believed in science. This energy source, clean and free of waste, could theoretically wean us off fossil fuels and traditional nuclear energy. 

While this achievement is new worthy, skeptics - there are always skeptics, and they always claim to know better - are quick to point out that this energy source won't become viable until long after we need to replace fossil fuels with renewables.  And maybe not in our lifetimes.  One need only be reminded of the infamous 1989 annoceunmet from Martin Fleischmann and Stanley Pons that they had achieved "cold fusion" fusion conceived at room temperature - only to be unable to replicate their "experiment."  

This fusion breakthrough from Livermore, however, is still a positive step toward a sustainable energy future that our children's children - or at least our children's grandchildren - will appreciate.

At any rate, we're likely to have viable, mass-produced fusion energy sooner than we're likely to get high-speed passenger rail in America. 😛

No Appeal

Coal is a dirty energy source, nuclear power is too dangerous for America (though in France they handle it with little trouble to speak of, but then the French can make bullet trains and did make supersonic airliners), and both coal and nuclear energy are dying in These States.  So how do you keep Mr. Peabody's coal train and Mr. Neutron's reactors humming along if you're Donald John Trump, champion of coal and nuclear power and President of the United States?  You might issue a directive to the Energy Department telling them to keep coal-powered and nuclear-powered electricity-generating plants from closing based on national security reasons, which would stifle competition from alternative-energy power sources, even though a more diverse energy portfolio would enhance national security by allowing some electricity-generating plants to run if others were disabled.

So much for the free market.

Lawsuits are expected to be filed against this directive, but Trump, still flexing his presidential prerogatives, has made it clear that this, like the Veterans' Day military parade, is what he wants, and there's no stopping it.  There is no appeal to a Trump decision.  What he wants is what he gets.  That's why Rudolph Giuliani says Trump can pardon himself and doesn't have to answer subpoenas.           

It won't be long before the Democratic Party and all minor parties are outlawed by a Republican congressional majority happy to appease Trump.

For national security purposes, of course.