Data Centers: Consuming Our Water and Polluting Our Air

Utah is swamped with data centers, each swallowing up water. About 40 of them stretch from Ogden to St. George. Now, two large data centers are being proposed for Millard County. How much water might they use? The Utah Rivers Council estimates such large data centers can consume up to 5 million gallons of water per day-- enough to serve a city with 40,000 people for a year.

Utah should be concerned. This is arid desert country. We should be very protective of our water as it is a precious commodity. 

Of the two projects in Millard County, one says it will have a closed-loop cooling system, using non-water fluids and thus resulting in 90 percent less water use. These two claims, however, come from the company and have not been independently verified.

The second project in Millard is expected to be the largest data center in the nation. It too will have a closed-loop heating and cooling system. No water usage estimates have been released for it.

Company officials at the larger data center have said it will have its own power plant. Owners of the other center-- the Creekstone/Creek Energy project-- have hinted at the same, but that has not been confirmed. The larger project-- the Joule center-- is to be powered by 69 natural-gas generators per building. Since six buildings are proposed, that adds up. With that many generators running night and day, it means toxic emissions of nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxides, volatile organic compounds, and particulate matter all being poured into Millard County and Utah's air.

(Blog)

Bless and Praise Anthropic

You might recall that the Pentagon used and AI model from Anthropic to help capture Venezuela's Nicolas Madero. Anthropic reminded the Pentagon of the company's guardrails, suggesting AI should not be used for mass surveillance of the public and it must not be given power to kill without a human control.

The Trump administration did not like that, so it terminated Anthropic's Pentagon work and banned other federal agencies from using Anthropic. Anthropic sued, and a judge blocked the government from blacklisting Anthropic. 

From its start, Athropic’s entire identity is built upon a foundation embedding safety principles directly into AI behavior. The company should be lauded, praised and honored for placing such moral in its AI models. It is an all-American company. In an age of corruption, it still holds to ethics. Other companies—OpenAI, Google, xAI—accepted government contracts lacking the guardrails that Anthropic requires.

Checkpoints for Violent Immigrants

Too often, immigrants come to the U.S. and commit heinous crimes, Opponents of immigration use this to argue for deportation and for keeping the immigrants from coming in the first place. They argue that for every 10 good immigrants, there will be one who will pull off terrible crimes and thus we should lock them all out.

I'd hate to see that. For the good part, these are people seeking the freedom of the U.S., and to join families, and to work.

I'm wondering if some kind of checkpoint program might catch such criminals. Traffic-stop checkpoints? Checkpoints at bars? Checkpoints at grocery stores? I'm not sure. For one thing, you do too much of this and the average citizen might feel hassled.

But I would like to believe such a system would work, even if it had to be done on a scaled-down basis.

 

 

Fewer Deaths in Iran War

The Iran War boasts the lowest opening‑month U.S. soldier fatality count of any major conflict American conflict.

Just 13, just 13.

Compare that to some other conflicts: World War II lost thousands in the first month; The Vietnam War lost hundreds; The Korean War, thousands; the Gulf War,147, mostly during the first month; The Iraq War, 139; the Afghanistan War, dozens; the war on ISIS, more than 13 in opening months; the Revolutionary War, unknown, but still far higher than 13; the American Civil War, 500-1,000; World War I, from hundreds to thousands in the first month of it becoming a major conflict.

We can be glad more lives have not been lost in Iran.

 

Same Old Sergeant

It's the same old sergeant in the same old town—

the same old shouts and commands.

His power continues to rise;

it just expands and expands.

He barks at the privates— that's you and me.

He orders us to stay in line:

“Just do as I say,” he says,

“and everything will turn out fine.”

The commander, the king—

whatever you want to call him—

I've had my fill;

I've had it to the brim.

He's the same old sergeant in the same old town,

except he's getting worse and worse.

How I wish, and how I pray,

we could get rid of this curse.

 

 

The Cowboys

I would speak to the cowboys—

for the cowboys I will call them.

These are those who value war,

who think that it's a gem.

Cowboys pull their guns and fire;

they aim to shoot and kill.

And if anyone asks them why,

they say it's just their will.

We live in a world of cowboys.

We live in a world of war.

They love to see the enemy die.

They love to see blood and gore.

 

The Day of Thunder

Did we come close to World War III?

That's what I wonder.

More missiles, and tanks, and fighter jets—

in the Day of Thunder.

What if the nations of Europe joined in?

What if they joined the war?

What if Iran then counterattacked them—

wouldn't that mean the world would be less peaceful

than it had been before?

Tonight—tonight, when I go to bed,

I shall surely whisper a prayer.

And I'll give a sigh of relief

that we've escaped this scare.

In America 

In America, they don't elect people; they elect parties and factions. They don't elect character and integrity; they elect pledges and promises. Win their votes with words, not with silly good deeds. In America, they play a game, taking it so seriously it soon is a game no more. They divide into two teams and start yelling and screaming at each other -- and the one spewing the most hatred and profanity wins. In America, they fight over patriotism, both sides professing to be more patriotic than the other. But they see the other side as anything but patriotic; one side sees the other as commies and socialists, and the other side sees them as Nazis and fascists. In America, both sides swear they are truthful and honest, while the other side is a pack of liars. In America, they even fight over who is the Christian. And do they consider their opponents Christians? No, the other side is nothing but a cult of devils and demons. The two sides point at each other, crying, "Evil, evil." In America, the one side treats the other as a pariah, and the other side treats them as a pariah. In America, there are no adult voters; they're all a bunch of children. In America, they tell you we need to return to the good ol' days. And maybe that's the one thing they get right. Supposing there was once a day when we didn't fight like this, then, yes, it would be great to return to the good ol' days.

(Blogs)

 

I'm No Longer a Poet

I'm no longer a poet—I'm a politician,

for a man is what he does.

I no longer write poetry all day;

that's just a thing that was.

Now I'm a politician—I am.

I scurry around seeking votes;

I spend all my money getting elected—

it's sad there are so many bank notes.

A politician I am, a politician,

and the poet has faded to the back.

The poet in me has been silenced;
he's hanging on the rack.

 

 

Nightmare III

When it began, it was known as the Iran War, but by the time it was over, it was named the Great Oil War of 2026.

Okay, I'm just fantasizing, and the dream in my wide-awake mind is a nightmare, dark and forbidding. What started as Iran's blowing up oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, expanded to both sides targeting and taking out any and every oil facility they could in the Middle East.

Pump prices skyrocketed. Consumers suffered mightily. Cars and Trucks backed up for blocks, knowing that recent shipments of oil would soon be gone and they would be left without fuel. Nor was an empty tank the only way customers suffered. We have said the "suffered mightily" and you tell me if this was not mightily: The price of items derived from oil soared even as those items disappeared from store shelves. Cell phones, laptops, certain pharmaceuticals, heating oil, plastic bags, food containers, foam cups, nylon, polyester, and acrylic clothing, fertilizers, solar panels . . .  The list goes on. A modern world cannot survive without these products.

This nightmare is not likely to come to pass but could it. Two warrior nations are each going for the other's jugulars. But there is something good that would happen. Stop to consider that jet fuel would be affected. Yes, passenger jets would be grounded as air flight prices soared. But note also that the jets dropping the bombs right there in the Middle East would be removed from the skies.

Nightmares, Part II

Another nightmare comes to my mind tonight as I consider on news of the naturalized citizen from Lebanon who drove into Temple Israel in Michigan. There are perhaps 4.5 million Muslims in America and we can assume that a share of them side with Iran in the war that is raging.

In my nightmare, Muslim attacks snowball. When one Muslim attacks, others hear of it and decide to join in. Soon there are attacks all over the nation.

Most Muslims are great-- wonderful people, but with 4.5 million of them, there are enough who could decide to commit terrorist attacks. In my nightmare, our land becomes riddled with such attacks.

Drones in the Skies of America

A nightmare flashes in my mind upon hearing of the precautionary warning that Iran has plans to launch killer drones at California. I image Iranian terrorists buying a manufacturing facility in one of our western cities and turning it into a plant to manufacture drones. These terrorists are not so foolish as to launch their weapons of destruction from their plant but build launch sites in spots out in the country that can fold back into the ground-- not to be discovered once the drones have been launched.

The drones whistle into the skies, knocking down passenger airliners. They blow up seats of government throughout the west. They destroy freeways, explode National Guard sites in an effort to add to the number of American servicemen killed, and take out hydropower dams and energy plants.

Could the Iranians pull off such a harrowing nightmare? One wonders.

(Blogs)

 

Suicide, You Say, or Was It?

Epstein's death was ruled a suicide, but has a full investigation been done? I mean, has it? Even if you've interviewed everyone concerned, did you give proper weight to all the evidence?

Take the bank records showing that an officer charged with watching his cell received a $5,000 check just before the death. Has anyone pressed her as to who wrote her the check, and why they gave her such an inordinate amount of money?

I call for a full investigation. 

 

Circle Back and Check Again

A recently released document from the Epstein file says an inmate says he heard a voice say, "You dudes killed that dude" the morning Epstein died, He even fingers who the alleged killer was. The inmate claimed his fellow inmates said, "Miss Noel killed Jeffrey.," that being a reference to the female guard, Tova Noel.

Convicts are often not treasures of honesty, assuredly and admittedly. This inmate could be just trying to make a name for himself or stir things up. Plus, it is true the FBI investigated the death and ruled it a suicide. So did the DOJ inspector general. In fact, the DOJ has investigated the case several times. And the medical examiner also found it to be a suicide.

But do not close the door so quickly. 

The medical examiner originally did not mark either box --homicide or suicide, instead picking the "pending studies" box. A supervisor soon ruled it suicide. But Epstein's brother, Mark, does not believe it a suicide. Years later he pulled in a forensic pathologist who found inconsistencies. The fractures in the neck were not consistent with suicide, he said. And there wasn't anything high enough above in the room that Epstein could have attached the sheet (or whatever was used for the hanging).

Sometimes, when things are bothersome enough, you circle back and check yet another time. The House Oversight Committee should hire an independent investigator.

This just in: That committee today said it intends to interview Tova Noel. That's good. And it should also interview the prison guard. What he said is being dismissed as a rumor. I would suggest, though, he is a witness.

 

Principled Democracy

I believe in democracy. And that means not marginalizing the voice of any group or any individual. I do not believe in efforts to gerrymander, or to make it difficult for Native Americans to vote. Nor will I fall in with high-handed politicians who have repeatedly rejected the will of the people.

 Save the Great Salt Lake

The Great Salt Lake is home to one of the nation's greatest bird habitats. Do we want it to dry up? It is the largest saltwater lake in the Western Hemisphere. The Great Salt Lake produces enormous quantities of brine shrimp and brine flies, forming the base of a globally significant food web. I ask again, are we going to allow it to dry up? The exposed lakebed is already one of the largest sources of toxic dust in North America, the dust spreading arsenic, lead and other heavy metals to the lungs of those breathing the air along the Wasatch Front. This is our lake and we need to save it. Join me in fighting for it.

'One, Two, Three-- What Are We Fighting For?' Joe McDonald has died. "One, two, three, what are we fighting for?" he asked in his band's biggest hit, the same question being asked with the Iran War. "Next top is Vietnam," he continued. Even so, we wonder about the next stop in our possible trajectory of wars.