Twitter Light on #GOP

Here

@EdKrassen 12.18.17
"Dear GOP,
When you say "America First" that really means you put America ahead of your party, your President and your own agenda.  It means allowing due process, unimpeded investigations, and allowing the court systems to decide who did or did not break the law!
#MondayMorning "

Trump Transition Emails: "would not be held back in any law enforcement" actions" "no expectation of privacy can be assumed."

Here 

"[GSA Deputy Counsel Lenny] Loewentritt — whose LinkedIn represents that he has worked at the agency since 1972 — disputed the claims made in the letter sent by the Trump campaign.

"Beckler never made that commitment," he said of the claim that any requests for transition records would be routed to the Trump campaign's counsel.

Specifically, Loewentritt said, "in using our devices," transition team members were informed that materials "would not be held back in any law enforcement" actions.

Loewentritt read to BuzzFeed News a series of agreements that anyone had to agree to when using GSA materials during the transition, including that there could be monitoring and auditing of devices and that, "Therefore, no expectation of privacy can be assumed."
...
As to whether the Trump campaign should have been informed of the request, Loewentritt said, "That's between the Special Counsel and the transition team."

Asked about Langhofer's letter and Loewentritt's statements — and after publication of this story — a spokesperson for the Special Counsel's Office, Peter Carr, told BuzzFeed News, “When we have obtained emails in the course of our ongoing criminal investigation, we have secured either the account owner’s consent or appropriate criminal process.”

Cyprus is at the Heart of Trump's Circle of Corrupt Russian Financing

Here

Wow, this is so heinous it just reeks. So much shady dealing it's truly hard to believe.

And infuriating that such con men have infiltrated the US political system so well at this point.

Canada seeks U.S. buy-in on ocean protection as part of G7 climate initiative

Here

This is good news. Good for Trudeau, essential.

The Times Picayune: Most accurate climate change models predict the most alarming consequences, study finds

Here  These figures are getting super-dangerous for the web of life on Earth. When we decide not to adhere to the best and most rigorous truths of science, our species is in trouble.

Each of us has to do better, and urge our local, state, and national governments to do better.

We have to keep fossil fuels in the ground.

"Under a high-warming scenario in which large emissions continue throughout the century, the models as a whole give a mean warming of 4.3 degrees Celsius (or 7.74 degrees Fahrenheit), plus or minus 0.7 degrees Celsius, for the period between 2081 and 2100, the study noted. But the best models, according to this test, gave an answer of 4.8 degrees Celsius (8.64 degrees Fahrenheit), plus or minus 0.4 degrees Celsius."

The Guardian: Climate change is the story you missed in 2017. And the media is to blame

Here  While Donald Trump thrashes about and the GOP try to stuff their fossil fuel donor pockets, #this headline. Regardless of how many chips Trump and Tillerson and who knows who has on Rosneft and Russian oil and gas... the planet is heating too fast.

Smarter and better people will need to prevail. Will need to show up, fight, lead and prevent the worst that these these terrible people could do to the planet, and us all.

GOP Tax Plan a Money Grab In A Big Way

http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2017/nov/30/donald-trump/will-gop-tax-bill-cost-donald-trump-fortune-no/ 

Shameful that middle class families get hit and the debt gets hit, so the top 1% GET A LARGESSE.

People are keeping track of this. Shameful, irresponsible, black-hearted money grab by the have's, damn the have-nots. AND TRY TO RAID MEDICARE, MEDICAID AND SOCIAL SECURITY TO PAY FOR WHILE YOU ARE AT IT. #ridiculous #GOP #trainrobbery

BAN Bump Stocks - Sign Petition to Congress here

Here

Ban bump stocks and any accessory that make semi automatic weapons fire fully automatic. 

STOP Gutting Federal Gun Laws - Sign petition Here

Here

Tell Congress #Enough. Sign this petition to tell Members of Congress to:

• Vote no on H.R. 3668, the SHARE Act that would gut long-standing regulations on silencers and loosen restrictions on armor piercing bullets.
• Block H.R. 38, the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act that would force states to honor the concealed carry weapons permits of every other state, regardless of how lax the other state's law.
• Ban weapons of war: assault weapons and large capacity magazines, which have no place in the hands of private citizens. 

Thousands of scientists issue bleak ‘second notice’ to humanity - The Washington Post

Thousands of scientists issue bleak ‘second notice’ to humanity - The Washington Post 

We have to take stock of where our hearts are, where our values are, and come together as a people -- as a species -- and agree upon working for our communal survival.

"In late 1992, 1,700 scientists from around the world issued a dire “warning to humanity.” They said humans had pushed Earth's ecosystems to their breaking point and were well on the way to ruining the planet."

“If not checked,” wrote the scientists, led by particle physicist and Union of Concerned Scientists co-founder Henry Kendall,
“many of our current practices put at serious risk the future that we
wish for human society and the plant and animal kingdoms, and may so
alter the living world that it will be unable to sustain life in the
manner that we know.”

But things were only going to get worse.

To mark the letter's 25th anniversary, researchers have issued a bracing follow-up. In a communique published Monday in the journal BioScience,
more than 15,000 scientists from 184 countries assess the world's
latest responses to various environmental threats. Once again, they find
us sorely wanting.

“Humanity
has failed to make sufficient progress in generally solving these
foreseen environmental challenges, and alarmingly, most of them are
getting far worse,” they write.

Trump Jr. corresponded with WikiLeaks privately on Twitter | TheHill

Trump Jr. corresponded with WikiLeaks privately on Twitter | TheHill 

Holy shit! Complete evidence of back and forth collusion and cooperation between Trump Jr. and WikiLeaks, arms of Pro-Putin Pro-Russia internet subterfuge and hacking.

Just wow, this is big. What a #tool. #Traitor

"The WikiLeaks Twitter account sent a direct message to Trump Jr. in
late September 2016 alerting him that an anti-Trump site run by a
political action committee (PAC) was “about to launch.” The message
offered the password to the site.

"The PAC is a recycled pro-Iraq
war PAC. We have guessed the password. It is ‘putintrump.’ See ‘About’
for who is behind it. Any comments?" WikiLeaks wrote, as first reported by The Atlantic.

“Off
the record I don’t know who that is, but I’ll ask around,” Trump Jr.
responded to the account the following day. It is unclear if he followed
through with the offer."

Trump Jr. later confirmed the interactions on Twitter:

Just wow, this is big. What a #tool. #Traitor

Now it looks like this via Scott Dworkin:

"To recap Don Jr:

-Did business in Russia since 2005
-Conspired with Kremlin agents
-Conspired with Wikileaks
-Conspired with the campaign
-Spreads fake news
-Lied about all of this publicly
-Knew what he was doing was illegal
-Is a traitor
-Is terrible "

#TrumpRussia

Top Democrats stage anti-Trump revolt at Bonn climate summit - POLITICO

Top Democrats stage anti-Trump revolt at Bonn climate summit - POLITICO 

#This

'I want to make it clear: The federal government
is not just the president of the United States,' Sen. Ben Cardin says.

#Godspeed #PutGreedBehindUs #OneFuture #KeepItInTheGround

"Several Democratic U.S. senators began meeting last week with officials from other countries, seeking to minimize Trump’s withdrawal from the Paris climate agreement. Meanwhile, the governors of California, Virginia, Oregon and Washington — along with mayors from throughout the nation — were expected to touch off a blitz of public appearances at the conference as the meeting enters its final week."

“We are still in!”

Russia's Social Media Propaganda Was Hiding in Plain Sight

Russia's Social Media Propaganda Was Hiding in Plain Sight 

This is heartbreaking. Fraud on Twitter and Facebook for so long. Evil-doers like the Russians misled and lied and brutally hijacked our election, here and in other ways.

Infuriating and completely unacceptable.

"A common misconception about Donald Trump’s rise to
presidential power — as well as the role Russia-backed social media
allegedly played in getting him there — is that no one saw it coming. In
reality, scholars, activists, and regular social media users had warned
that platforms seemed to becoming weaponized for political purposes in a
way that felt new and dangerous. The hearings on Russian disinformation
over the past two days are a bitter coda to a symphony of discontent to
which tech gurus responded slowly.

They do not have that option anymore. But the bigger question is why they ever thought they did.

Since 2014....

Paul Manafort, Rick Gates charged with conspiracy in connection with special counsel probe - The Washington Post

Paul Manafort, Rick Gates charged with conspiracy in connection with special counsel probe - The Washington Post   Papadopoulos pleaded guilty earlier this month to making a false
statement to FBI investigators who asked about his contacts with a
foreigner connected to Russian officials, and the agreement was unsealed
Monday.



Wow, wow, wow!!!

What is Albert Einstein's theory of happiness? - The Washington Post

What is Albert Einstein's theory of happiness? - The Washington Post 



"A calm and modest life brings more happiness than the pursuit of success combined with constant restlessness."

New Zealand's new leader Ardern: Capitalism is a Blatant Failure

https://www.truthdig.com/articles/new-zealands-new-prime-minister-says-capitalism-failed-people-video/

Well, hundreds of thousands in poverty. You decide.

“If you have hundreds of thousands of children living in homes without enough to survive, that’s a blatant failure. What else could you describe it as? …

“The measures [such as GDP] for us have to change. We need to make sure we are looking at people’s ability to actually have a meaningful life, an enjoyable life, where their work is enough to survive and support their families.”

Jeff Flake: 'I Will Not Be Complicit' - The Atlantic

Jeff Flake: 'I Will Not Be Complicit' - The Atlantic 



And this lovely tribute, from another mainstream member of Trump's political party.



“Reckless, outrageous, and undignified behavior has become excused and
countenanced as ‘telling it like it is,’ when it is actually just
reckless, outrageous, and undignified,” Flake said on the Senate floor.
“And when such behavior emanates from the top of our government, it is
something else: It is dangerous to a democracy. Such behavior does not
project strength—because our strength comes from our values. It instead
projects a corruption of the spirit, and weakness.”

Senator Bob Corker on Twitter: "Same untruths from an utterly untruthful president. #AlertTheDaycareStaff"

Senator Bob Corker on Twitter: "Same untruths from an utterly untruthful president. #AlertTheDaycareStaff" 

Senator Bob Corker‏Verified account @SenBobCorker

Same untruths from an utterly untruthful president. #AlertTheDaycareStaff 

And this, from a leader in his own political party.

UK's Johnson urges North Korea to 'change course' on nukes - ABC News

UK's Johnson urges North Korea to 'change course' on nukes - ABC News 



Well, rogue nations are not good. "Diplomatic imagination" has created the global will to reduce and limit the number of countries with nukes. This makes sense, and is testament to the power of powerfully good -- and necessary -- ideas.



I like these quotes from Boris Johnson.



".... diplomacy had succeeded in limiting the spread of atomic weapons beyond a handful of countries.

He said that if North Korea changed tack, "the world can show that it is
once again capable of the diplomatic imagination that produced the
Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty" and the Iran nuclear deal."

Lloyd Doggett says 80 percent of Republican-sought tax cuts flow to wealthiest 1 percent | PolitiFact Texas

Lloyd Doggett says 80 percent of Republican-sought tax cuts flow to wealthiest 1 percent | PolitiFact Texas 

That's where the plan would end up in 2027 (per analysis by the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center, a joint venture of the Urban Institute and the Brookings Institution.)

Straight off the bat, "...at least half the framework’s tax cuts would flow to the wealthiest 1 percent of residents."

"We the People"... or "we the rich 1% circumventing Democracy to create a perfect 1%."

This is a shameful, crass, greedy, upper-class, pocket-stuffing "governance" attempt that our forefathers would have thrown back into Boston Harbor. Then they would have sent the backers of such aristocratic defrauding back to England.

EPA photos show what US looked like before pollution regulation - Business Insider

EPA photos show what US looked like before pollution regulation - Business Insider 



Wow. Just wow. Yikes, disgusting and so unhealthy.

EPA chief to sign rule on Clean Power Plan exit on Tuesday

EPA chief to sign rule on Clean Power Plan exit on Tuesday 



Polluters gonna pollute. Shame. Under the guise of "fairness" when all the terrible social costs (health, asthma, cancer, climate, storm damages from climate-enhanced storms, etc.) remove any reasonable comparison to clean power.



Shady charlatan and hype man for polluting fossil fuels. Black-hearted as coal.