Greenhouse Gas Emissions Accelerate Like a ‘Speeding Freight Train’ in 2018 - NYT

Here https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/05/climate/greenhouse-gas-emissions-2018.html 

It’s December 2018. And Donald Trump says he doesn’t believe in climate change.

His murderous dictator friends like Putin and Bin Salman are stuffing their pockets with fossil fuel profits. So are the backers of the US Republican Party.

And 

Global Carbon Emissions Reached New High In 2018, Scientists Say

Climate change will shrink US economy and kill thousands, government report warns

Here

And this report from the Trump Administration.

Which is doing nothing but make things worse, expanding drilling and weakening  EPA regulations.

Mankind is Helping Ozone Hole Heal

This is good news, on the eve of a tumultuous election.

The upper ozone layer above the Northern Hemisphere should be completely repaired in the 2030s and the gaping Antarctic ozone hole should disappear in the 2060s.

93 Percent of the Worlds’s Children Breathe Toxic, Polluted Air Each Day

Here. As this is a blog on sustainability, regardless of news cycles, we all have to constantly focus on improving the processes modern society employs. We need to modernize, we need to stop using fossil fuel. Period.

Humanity Has Wiped Out 60% of the World’s Animals Since 1970 - The Guardian

Here.  World Wildlife Study 2018. Shocking. Disgusting.

Mankind is not doing its job. Habitat loss and pollution. We have to do better than this ASAP.

It is a threat to our own survival.

As Stephen Colbert joked last night, health care is the #1 issue for Americans this election.

Which is a good sign as he said, because it shows that “despite Trump we want to live!”

Yes, survival.

Spy Bosses Warn Of Foreign Interference As Feds Unseal New Russia Charges - NPR News

Here

But the Trump Administration shrugs. And the #GOP shrugs.

And the election security for 2018 is not being addressed or taken seriously at all, let alone enough.

It is actionable dereliction of duty and negligence by the GOP and Trump Administration.

A hostile foreign power is attempting again to affect American elections and we sag to the ropes and allow the body shots to pummel our sovereignty. It's disgusting. I hope the smart and capable leaders of our best institutions eventually provide justice to those who are helping perpetuate this heinous offense against America.

Brett Kavanaugh Unethically Rammed Through to Supreme Court

TONS of ink will be spilled in perpetuity over this most-controversial of nominees.

My heart is still bruised that such a partisan, untruthful, erratic and violent man has become a Supreme Court Justice.


Video of Senator Charles Schumer's Comments on Brett Kavanaugh Decision

 

Jeff Flake and Susan Collins: Kavanaugh Apologists

Amazing. WH limited background check into Kavanaugh because it knew a real investigation could doom nomination, NYT reports.

(Never mind spin designed to distance Trump from this)

Remember, @JeffFlake and @SenatorCollins played key role 

F.B.I. Review of Kavanaugh Was Limited From the Start

Adam Shiff: 

How to do an investigation without really trying:

1.) Set artificial deadline

2.) Dictate which witnesses can be interviewed

3.) Decline to follow new leads

4.) Purposefully exclude main witnesses

5.) Declare vindication

White House made sure the fix was in from the beginning. 


Susan Collins' verbatim comments appear below on Brett Kavanaugh's stance on issues. These comments are from the middle of her "victory' speech defending her vote to confirm him.

Here in black and white. 

"I have also met with thousands of my constituents, both advocates and many opponents, regarding Judge Kavanaugh. One concern that I frequently heard was that Judge Kavanaugh would be likely to eliminate the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) vital protections for people with preexisting conditions. I disagree with this contention. In a dissent in Seven-Sky v. Holder, Judge Kavanaugh rejected a challenge to the ACA on narrow procedural grounds, preserving the law in full. Many experts have said his dissent informed Justice Roberts’ opinion upholding the ACA at the Supreme Court.

Furthermore, Judge Kavanaugh’s approach toward the doctrine of severability is narrow. When a part of a statute is challenged on constitutional grounds, he has argued for severing the invalid clause as surgically as possible while allowing the overall law to remain intact.

This was his approach in his dissent in a case that involved a challenge to the structure of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (PPH v. CFPB). In his dissent, Judge Kavanaugh argued for “severing any problematic portions while leaving the remainder intact.” Given the current challenges to the ACA, proponents, including myself, of protections for people with pre-existing conditions should want a Justice who would take just this kind of approach.

Another assertion I have heard often is that Judge Kavanaugh cannot be trusted if a case involving alleged wrongdoing by the President were to come before the Court. The basis for this argument seems to be two-fold. First, Judge Kavanaugh has written that he believes that Congress should enact legislation to protect presidents from criminal prosecution or civil liability while in office. Mr. President, I believe opponents miss the mark on this issue. The fact that Judge Kavanaugh offered this legislative proposal suggests that he believes that the President does not have such protection currently.

Second, there are some who argue that given the current Special Counsel investigation, President Trump should not even be allowed to nominate a justice. That argument ignores our recent history. President Clinton, in 1993, nominated Justice Ginsburg after the Whitewater investigation was already underway. And she was confirmed 96-3. The next year, just three months after Independent Counsel Robert Fiske was named to lead the Whitewater investigation, President Clinton nominated Justice Breyer. He was confirmed 87-9.

Supreme Court Justices have not hesitated to rule against the presidents who have nominated them. Perhaps most notably in United States v. Nixon, three Nixon appointees who heard the case joined the unanimous opinion against him.

Judge Kavanaugh has been unequivocal in his belief that no president is above the law. He has stated that Marbury v. Madison, Youngstown Steel v. Sawyer and United States v. Nixon are three of the four greatest Supreme Court cases in history. What do they have in common? Each of them is a case where the Court served as a check on presidential power. And I would note that the fourth case that Judge Kavanaugh has pointed to as the greatest in history was Brown v Board of Education.

One Kavanaugh decision illustrates the point about the check on presidential power directly. He wrote the opinion in Hamdan v. United States, a case that challenged the Bush Administration’s military commission prosecution of an associate of Osama Bin Laden. This conviction was very important to the Bush Administration, but Judge Kavanaugh, who had been appointed to the DC Circuit by President Bush and had worked in President Bush’s White House, ruled that the conviction was unlawful. As he explained during the hearing, “We don’t make decisions based on who people are, or their policy preferences, or the moment. We base decisions on the law….”

Others I met with have expressed concerns that Justice Kennedy’s retirement threatens the right of same sex couples to marry. Yet, Judge Kavanaugh described the Obergefell decision, which legalized same gender marriages, as an important landmark precedent. He also cited Justice Kennedy’s recent Masterpiece Cakeshop opinion for the Court’s majority stating that: “The days of treating gay and lesbian Americans or gay and lesbian couples as second-class citizens who are inferior in dignity and worth are over in the Supreme Court.”

Others have suggested that the judge holds extreme views on birth control. In one case, Judge Kavanaugh incurred the disfavor of both sides of the political spectrum for seeking to ensure the availability of contraceptive services for women while minimizing the involvement of employers with religious objections. Although his critics frequently overlook this point, Judge Kavanaugh’s dissent rejected arguments that the government did not have a compelling interest in facilitating access to contraception. In fact, he wrote that the Supreme Court precedent “strongly suggested” that there was a “compelling interest” in facilitating access to birth control.

There has also been considerable focus on the future of abortion rights based on the concern that Judge Kavanaugh would seek to overturn Roe v. Wade. Protecting this right is important to me.

To my knowledge, Judge Kavanaugh is the first Supreme Court nominee to express the view that precedent is not merely a practice and tradition, but rooted in Article III of our Constitution itself. He believes that precedent “is not just a judicial policy … it is constitutionally dictated to pay attention and pay heed to rules of precedent.” In other words, precedent isn’t a goal or an aspiration; it is a constitutional tenet that has to be followed except in the most extraordinary circumstances.

The judge further explained that precedent provides stability, predictability, reliance, and fairness. There are, of course, rare and extraordinary times where the Supreme Court would rightly overturn a precedent. The most famous example was when the Supreme Court in Brown v. Board of Education overruled Plessy v. Ferguson, correcting a “grievously wrong” decision–to use the judge’s term–allowing racial inequality. But, someone who believes that the importance of precedent has been rooted in the Constitution would follow long-established precedent except in those rare circumstances where a decision is “grievously wrong” or “deeply inconsistent with the law.” Those are Judge Kavanaugh’s phrases.

As Judge Kavanaugh asserted to me, a long-established precedent is not something to be trimmed, narrowed, discarded, or overlooked. Its roots in the Constitution give the concept of stare decisis greater weight such that precedent can’t be trimmed or narrowed simply because a judge might want to on a whim. In short, his views on honoring precedent would preclude attempts to do by stealth that which one has committed not to do overtly.

Noting that Roe v. Wade was decided 45 years ago, and reaffirmed 19 years later in Planned Parenthood v. Casey, I asked Judge Kavanaugh whether the passage of time is relevant to following precedent. He said decisions become part of our legal framework with the passage of time and that honoring precedent is essential to maintaining public confidence.

Our discussion then turned to the right of privacy, on which the Supreme Court relied in Griswold v. Connecticut, a case that struck down a law banning the use and sale of contraceptives. Griswold established the legal foundation that led to Roe eight years later. In describing Griswold as “settled law,” Judge Kavanaugh observed that it was the correct application of two famous cases from the 1920s, Meyer and Pierce, that are not seriously challenged by anyone today. Finally, in his testimony, he noted repeatedly that Roe had been upheld by Planned Parenthood v. Casey, describing it as “precedent on precedent.” When I asked him would it be sufficient to overturn a long-established precedent if five current justices believed it was wrongly decided, he emphatically said “no.”"

At the same Time: Progress “California aims to be entirely green powered by 2045, as Gov. Jerry Brown signs SB 100”

Here. #This = Straight #Progress Thank you!!! @JerryBrownGov

New! “Microsoft's Russian Hacking Revelations Spur U.S. Lawmakers' Ire”

Here  More Russian hacking. And Rick Scott is going to cozy up in Russia on 9/11. ? Umm, ?? History take note. #RussianHacking #RickScott #GOPInRussia

Supreme Court Nominee Brett Kavanaugh is Being Whitewashed

Here

By Susan Sharon, Maine Public • September 4, 2018 7:56 am

“Maine U.S. Sen. Angus King is among those raising concerns about a Trump White House decision to claim executive privilege and withhold 100,000 pages of documents relating to Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh’s years spent as White House counsel during the George W. Bush administration.”

 “I’ve already gone up to the office of the Judiciary Committee and read what we can and there were some things that disturbed me. And even that is circumscribed. I’m not allowed to talk about what I read,” Maine Senator Angus King said. “And this wasn’t about national security. There’s no earthly reason that I can think of that senators shouldn’t be able to ask questions about what they saw in these files.

A Lone Holdout Juror Actually Made It More Likely That Paul Manafort Will Go to Jail Even if Trump Pardons Him - Slate

Here   Well, there's that. Mr. Trump. And pardoning him is going to make you look so incredibly and indelibly bad. And then, he'll still probably go to jail for a very long time. So, there's that. A lifetime of corrupt decisions catches up to people oftentimes.

"A reckoning could be coming for Trump"

Here   "There's also little doubt that Tuesday's legal stunners, and the news that White House Counsel Donald McGahn testified to Mueller for 30 hours, have seeded new dark clouds around the President that could manifest themselves in ways impossible to predict right now."

"I believe in the wisdom and the good faith of the American people," Norm Eisen, White House ethics czar during the Obama administration, said on CNN International.

"Let's let it unfold. He is going to meet his day of reckoning."

John McCain halts treatment for brain cancer, family says

Here  I've always thought John McCain is a decent man, and particularly for a modern-day Republican. He thought torture was wrong, and tried to protect the environment with Lieberman. When the GOP demanded that their people get behind torture and to endlessly destroy our environment for fossil fuel profits. For that, and staying true to himself, and against the stain that is our current "President" and "administration," I'll say a heartfelt thank you John McCain. And again, thank you, thank you, thank you.

In July, he excoriated Trump for his cozy summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, blasting the encounter as "one of the most disgraceful performances by an American president in memory."

 

"The damage inflicted by President Trump's naiveté, egotism, false equivalence, and sympathy for autocrats is difficult to calculate. But it is clear that the summit in Helsinki was a tragic mistake," he said in a statement.

To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public. - Theodore Roosevelt

Here   Below speaks for itself. Congrats again, Donald Trump. And head's up.

To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public. Nothing but the truth should be spoken about him or any one else. But it is even more important to tell the truth, pleasant or unpleasant, about him than about any one else.

— Teddy Roosevelt, The Kansas City Star, 7 May 1918

Former intelligence leaders: Trump attempting to 'stifle free speech' by revoking Brennan's clearance

Here "(CNN)Over a dozen former senior intelligence officials -- a group that includes officials who served under both Democratic and Republican presidents -- are denouncing President Donald Trump's decision to revoke former CIA Director John Brennan's security clearance as "ill-considered" and "unprecedented."

With the exception of Brennan -- and excluding those who served under Trump -- every CIA director since George Tenet, who took over the agency in 1996, signed the letter."

 

Doing great Donald Trump. Cementing yourself as the most dishonorable shill to ever hold high office in the US. What a fool, and what a corrupt fool.

And Meanwhile "Trump spending his days watching, bragging about his own taped rallies"

Here  See below. Meanwhile... "Trump [is] spending his days watching, bragging about his own taped rallies."

History will howl with laughter at this imbecile and corrupted plant we had occupying the White House. In the meantime the joke is on us.

"If anything, his staff is probably grateful he spends so much time parked in front of the TV-mirror, because it means there's less time for him to foul up his day job."

#ImpeachTrump #Treason

Trump Doesn't Believe in Man-Made Climate Change: Europe is Sizzling

Here "PARIS — In Northern Europe, this summer feels like a modern-day version of the biblical plagues. Cows are dying of thirst in Switzerland, fires are gobbling up timber in Sweden, the majestic Dachstein glacier is melting in Austria.

In London, stores are running out of fans and air-conditioners. In Greenland, an iceberg may break off a piece so large that it could trigger a tsunami that destroys settlements on shore. Last week, Sweden’s highest peak, Kebnekaise mountain, no longer was in first place after its glacier tip melted.

Southern Europe is even hotter. Temperatures in Spain and Portugal are expected to reach 105-110 degrees Fahrenheit this weekend. On Saturday, several places in Portugal experienced record highs, and over the past week, two people have died in Spain from the high temperatures, and a third in Portugal.

But in the northernmost latitudes, where the climate is warming faster than the global average, temperatures have been the most extreme, according to a study by researchers at Oxford University and the World Weather Attribution network."

Great job Mr. "President". Keep supporting the fossil fuel barons and cement your legacy as the biggest fool and grifter to ever hold high office in the United States. To TRUMP is destined to be synonymous with FAIL.

USA TODAY: James Comey: 'All who believe in this country’s values must vote for Democrats this fall'

Here Former FBI Director James Comey: 'All who believe in this country’s values must vote for Democrats this fall'

James Comey FBI Director: July 29, 2013 - May 9, 2017

"This Republican Congress has proven incapable of fulfilling the Founders’ design that 'Ambition must ... counteract ambition.' All who believe in this country’s values must vote for Democrats this fall," Comey tweeted Tuesday night. "Policy differences don’t matter right now. History has its eyes on us."

Donald Trump's Treason Summit with Vladimir Putin

Here Mind-blowing. Mind-bending. Tone deaf political suicide. Trump sides with Putin over US intel agencies. Trump is a clear and present danger, a full-on dire threat and traitor to the United States.  #Treason #Traitor #TreasonSummit #ImpeachTrump 

Donald Trump’s press conference performance in Helsinki rises to & exceeds the threshold of “high crimes & misdemeanors.” It was nothing short of treasonous. Not only were Trump’s comments imbecilic, he is wholly in the pocket of Putin. Republican Patriots: Where are you???

— John O. Brennan (@JohnBrennan) July 16, 2018

Donald Trump Approves of Child Separation at US Boders & His Admin Plans to Withdraw the US from the UN Council on Human Rights

We have the most ethically challenged and cruel of despots in a high position of power in the US EVER.

Godspeed to Robert Mueller in uncloaking this imposter -- literally an actor -- who should have NOTHING to do with the governance of people in a fair and civilized society. NOTHING.

Godspeed to Robert Mueller.

U.S. plans to withdraw from U.N. Human Rights Council

Trump cannot blame policy of separating children on Obama 

U.N. Rights Chief Tells U.S. to Stop Taking Migrant Children From Parents

“The thought that any state would seek to deter parents by inflicting such abuse on children is unconscionable"

 

Walsh Calls Trump ‘An Embarrassment’ Over Child Separation Policy At Border 

"This is all on the the White House"

Petition: Stop separating children from their families at the U.S. border

Petition Here This horrible Trump GOP policy of separating children from their parents at the border needs to stop. Thank you Judge Dana M. Sabraw — because YES as you say “Such conduct, if true, is brutal, offensive, and fails to comport with traditional notions of fair play and decency”

Trump is planning to build tent cities in Texas for children. So there is no 'if true' -- it is clearly true and they are not good people and they are not being at all honest about their behavior.

Worse they are not representing the will of the people of the United States who reject this behavior.

Gun Control Petitions to sign TODAY

Gun Control Legislation is Needed NOW ASAP

Physicians Demand Stricter Gun Control Here

"...call for Congress to
1) ban the sale of automatic and semiautomatic assault weapons,

2) instate universal background checks and

3) lift restrictions on studies relating to the effects of gun violence on public health."


Pass Common Sense Gun Control Here

From a student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas HS

Congress: Stop blocking gun violence research Here

https://www.change.org/p/congress-stop-blocking-gun-violence-research

Trump’s Child Separation Policy is a Moral and Legal Abomination

Here  Heartless and cruel. Unnecessary and deeply upsetting. Abusive of the sacred bond between child and parent.

But Americans are fighting back against Trump and Jeff Sessions:

BREAKING: @RepJayapal is leading 108 colleagues with @BennieGThompson and @RepZoeLofgren to demand that Congress STOP FUNDING the Department of Homeland Security's abusive family separation practices. #KeepFamiliesTogether 

And 

Federal judge advances ACLU lawsuit challenging separation of parents, children at border

Something is afoot: Trump's shedding key GOP lawmakers on his 'spy' lie

Here   “Even Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley have chimed in on the lunatic notion that Trump could pardon himself.

Something appears to be afoot. It's unclear whether it's based on some revelatory polling that's terrified Republicans pre-midterms or perhaps the FBI’s Russia briefings for the Gang of Eight last week. But put a pin in this—...”

Second GOP senator breaks with Trump on suggesting Russia rejoin G-7

Here “No, Russia should not be added to the G-7”

Trump & His Adminstration are Off the Tracks

I will post some Tweets here soon. He is attacking Canada with tariffs, literally our closest ally. He is having patriot serenades for himself at the White House because the Super Bowl champs won’t come. He won’t fire Scott Pruitt: the swampiest, most over-spending, ethically corrupt cabinet member in recent history. He is isolating us from Europe by unilaterally withdrawing from the Iran nuclear deal.
Most of his campaign team is under investigation for wrongdoing or corruption in the election.
His lawyer Michael Cohen is facing multiple issues of misconduct, both personal and in relation to Trump. His campaign manager Paul Manafort appears to be tampering with witnesses (who reportedly themselves gave the info to the FBI) related to his two trials.

This is just off the top of my head in the last several days. It’s out of control.

It’s a shitstorm. A Harvard psychiatrist Lance Dodes is releasing his assessment that Trump is a “sociopath” and a “very sick individual.”

And we haven’t even mentioned the word “Russia” yet.

Or the “mob” or “money laundering.”

Oh my. Fucking goodness.

New York Times: In Rebuke of Trump, Tillerson Says Lies Are a Threat to Democracy

Here  Bump. Thanks for the belated candor Mr. Tillerson. But yes holy sh**.

Well, there ya go. Mr. Trump is all in.

Humans Are Changing the Location of Water Around the World, NASA Says

Here Water resources are variable and being severely impacted by human behavior.

*We cannot overuse groundwater supplies, particularly in drought susceptible areas.*

*We have to halt overproduction of greenhouse gases and need to halt our contributions to global warming.*

This is a preeminent duty for us all, and mankind’s duty for self-preservation, regardless of the political winds that shift around us.

Levels of ozone-destroying CFCs are mysteriously rising

Here There are big problems in the world, environmentally speaking. This is one of them now.

After being successfully curtailed, CFC’s are on the rise, from unknown sources. We all have to help collar and reverse this to protect our atmosphere.

Trump Kills NASA Carbon Monitoring Program as CO2 Levels Soar Past 'Troubling' 410 ppm Threshold

Here This is madness. We are all interested in sustainability and survival.

Trump and the GOP are interested in dirty fossil fuel profits.

This move is not like Nero fiddling while Rome burns, it’s like Nero making money and hastening Rome’s demise by throwing as much wood as the nation can find into the fire.

It’s so maddening it makes me want to punch something.

Trump and the fossil fuel gang are willing to throw the globe into serious jeopardy
and put numerous species at risk — including ours.

Same people, the majority of us, need to stop this and him. Immediately.

Do everything you can. Buy electric cars. Buy solar panels.

Fight Trump. Try to get him impeached.

Support the EPA’s mission. Vote Democratic in November.

Do everything you can.

Trumps Unilaterally Breaks Iran Nuclear Treaty - “...undermines... the very underpinnings of nuclear order...”

Here  According to Mark Fitzpatrick of the International Institute for Strategic Studies, who also spoke with CNN, the removal of restrictions on Iran's nuclear capability could lead to a new era of instability in the region. "Trump's rejection of the diplomatic solution to the Iran nuclear crisis undermines multilateral diplomacy and the very underpinnings of the nuclear order," he said. "It gives a new writ to nuclear lawlessness, since Iran's having abided by the agreed rules will be proven to have been in vain."

Trump’s False ‘No Collusion’ Tweet: FactCheck.Org

Here  FactCheck.Org: "President Donald Trump falsely claimed in a tweet that there were “No questions on Collusion” in a list of questions the special counsel reportedly has for the president. There are several inquiries about possible collusion among the questions published by the New York Times."

"The [New York] Times divided the list into four categories, related to: former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, former FBI Director James Comey, Attorney General Jeff Sessions and campaign coordination with Russia. That last category includes:

• During the campaign, what did you know about Russian hacking, use of social media or other acts aimed at the campaign? (A U.S. intelligence report released on Jan. 6, 2017, said Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered “an influence campaign” to help elect Trump. The report accused the Russian-based Internet Research Agency of overseeing an extensive pro-Trump social media campaign, and the Russian military intelligence agency of leaking damaging emails about Clinton and her campaign to WikiLeaks and other outlets.)
• When did you become aware of the Trump Tower meeting? (This is the June 2016 meeting arranged by Donald Trump Jr. with a Russian lawyer offering incriminating information on Hillary Clinton. Paul Manafort, who at the time was Trump’s campaign convention manager, and Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, also attended the meeting.)
• During a 2013 trip to Russia, what communication and relationships did you have with the Agalarovs and Russian government officials? (Russian pop star Emin Agalarov and his father were involved in setting up the Trump Tower meeting.)
• What knowledge did you have of any outreach by your campaign, including by Paul Manafort, to Russia about potential assistance to the campaign?
• What did you know about communication between Roger Stone, his associates, Julian Assange or WikiLeaks? (Stone, a friend and an informal adviser to Trump, said in Aug. 8, 2016, remarks to the Southwest Broward Republican Organization that he had “communicated with Assange,” referring to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.)
• What do you know about a 2017 meeting in Seychelles involving Erik Prince? (The Times notes that this meeting “brought Mr. Prince, an informal adviser to Mr. Trump’s team, together with a Russian investor close to Mr. Putin.”)

For more on the key moments in the FBI’s and special counsel’s probe of Russia’s interference in the 2016 election, see our “Timeline of Russia Investigation.”

U.S. and U.K. Jointly Warn of Russian Cyberattacks: Wall St. Journal

Here See below. But when will Trump, our Caesar, have his et tu Brutus moment?

Trump Declines to Add Sanctions Against Russians, Contradicting Haley: New York Times

Here Or is this the most corrupt thing to come out of #Trump #GOP Washington today?

Trump scraps sanctions against Russia — AGAIN. April 17, 2018.

Against the wishes of his National Security Team.

After our U.N. Embassador had already announced the sanctions.

Why?

Why?

WHY? Be so nice to the country enabling Syria’s use of chemical weapons? The country targeting, hacking and attacking our own elections, our grid, our infrastructure, our voters?

WHY??!

McConnell slams door on Mueller protection bill: 'We'll not be having this on the floor of the Senate'’: NBC News

Here Is this the most corrupt thing out of #Trump #GOP Washington today?

What a self-serving arrogant corrupt mummified puppet McConnell is. Blocking a vote to protect Mueller is reprehensible.
If the Senate wants to vote on something the American people want to see done,
how is it at all ok that he slams the door against that?
And what could be his motivation to publicly stake out such heinous ground?
#ProtectMueller He is doing his job Mitch McConnell.

How a win on CAFE could be a black eye

Here

We are reneging on our future and the promises of automakers when US taxpayers bailed out their companies.

Strong CAFE standards getting stronger is the only acceptable public policy. NOT going backwards.

Former White House Lawyer: “people are starting to realize this administration has been corrupt since day one”

Here  And this guy was a lawyer for George W. Bush! And ‘people’ that are starting to realize this are Republicans.

I’d submit that they’ve known that for some time too... and now it’s too bad not to
mention.

And perhaps there are more indictments coming down the pike... and those Trump supporting #GOP are starting to worry... that they will get caught on the really wrong side of the tracks here very soon. #Justice

Trump Attorney Michael Cohen is in a Boatload of Trouble and Stormy Daniels’ Lawyer is Piling On

https://m.dailykos.com/stories/2018/4/3/1754225/-Trump-attorney-Michael-Cohen-is-in-a-boatload-of-trouble-and-Stormy-Daniels-lawyer-is-piling-onHere

The cover-ups are getting overwhelming to manage. See the next, newer post. And the older post below. And pretty much any news.

Lots of people associated with Trump are going to be in far worse trouble than they bargained for.

SCOTT PRUITT: Head of Trump's EPA Crashing at Fossil Fuel Lobbyist's Posh Condo

Here  So shameful. Needs to be posted on my webpage for posterity. #ScottPruitt #ConMan #DestroysEPA #ShillforOil

And this from Scientific American -- remember science? And public health? And responsibility? Maybe doing the right thing for the public?

Scott Pruitt Will Restrict the EPA's Use of Legitimate Science

Fuck science says Pruitt and Trump's admin. They want fossil fuel profits. Just fuck science. It can go fuck itself.

So shameful juries and tribunals in the future will be jailing them like War criminals.

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/04/02/scott-pruitts-dirty-politics

Scott Pruitt Just Destroyed The EPA's Scientific Advisory Boards ...

Scott Pruitt's year of environmental destruction | TheHill  

How Industry Has Taken Over Scott Pruitt's EPA – Mother Jones 

At Least the Senate Admits It: US Getting Hacked & Hammered by Russia

Here   Well, Trump and the #GOP White House has been criminally negligent in addressing Russian attacks on our 2016 elections and on our energy and infrastructure grids. And the House #GOP has shuttered their Intell Committee investigation on Russia’s 2016 interference—with a denial that Russia tried to help Donald Trump! (That one will go down in infamy and hopefully throughout jail cells soon).

But the Senate Intelligence Committee got it right: yesterday “On Tuesday, committee members were united in their condemnation of Russia over its interference in the 2016 election, and in their dire warnings over the likelihood for future election-meddling from hostile foreign actors like Russia. Sen. James Lankford (R-OK) warned that the Russians have “set a path that others can follow” in the future.”

They condemned Trump’s inaction, in their words noting the White House failure to “clearly communicate to adversaries that an attack on our election infrastructure is a hostile act, and we will respond accordingly.”  

“Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have taken issue with Trump’s dismissive statements about Russian election-meddling and his apparent unwillingness to treat the issue with urgency, in addition to his administration’s hesitance to immediately and fully implement congressionally mandated sanctions against Russia in response to its election-meddling.” 

The Senate Intelligence Committee Recommendations / RUSSIAN HACKING 2016 ELECTION

RUSSIAN TARGETING OF ELECTION INFRASTRUCTURE DURING THE 2016 ELECTION
SUMMARY OF DRAFT SSCI RECOMMENDATIONS

The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence has examined evidence of Russian attempts to target election infrastructure during the 2016 U.S. elections. The Committee has reviewed the steps state and local election officials take to ensure the integrity of our elections and agrees that U.S. election infrastructure is fundamentally resilient. The Department of Homeland Security, the Election Assistance Commission, state and local governments, and other groups have already taken beneficial steps toward addressing the vulnerabilities exposed during the 2016 election cycle, including some of the measures listed below, but more needs to be done. The Committee recommends the following steps to better defend against a hostile nation-state who may seek to undermine our democracy:

1. Reinforce States’ Primacy in Running Elections
• States should remain firmly in the lead on running elections, and the Federal government should ensure they receive the necessary resources and information.
2. Build a Stronger Defense, Part I: Create Effective Deterrence
• The U.S. Government should clearly communicate to adversaries that an attack on our election infrastructure is a hostile act, and we will respond accordingly.
• The Federal government, in particular the State Department and Defense Department, should engage allies and partners to establish new international cyber norms.
3. Build a Stronger Defense, Part II: Improve Information Sharing on Threats
• The Intelligence Community should put a high priority on attributing cyber attacks both quickly and accurately. Similarly, policymakers should make plans to operate prior to attribution.
• DHS must create clear channels of communication between the Federal government and appropriate officials at the state and local levels. We recommend that state and local governments reciprocate that communication.
• Election experts, security officials, cybersecurity experts, and the media should develop a common set of precise and well-defined election security terms to improve communication.
• DHS should expedite security clearances for appropriate state and local officials.
• The Intelligence Community should work to declassify information quickly,
whenever possible, to provide warning to appropriate state and local officials.
4. Build a Stronger Defense, Part III: Secure Election-Related Systems
• Cybersecurity should be a high priority for those managing election-related systems. Basic but crucial security steps like two-factor authentication for those logging into voter databases can improve the overall election security posture. States and localities should also take advantage of DHS offerings, to include DHS’s network monitoring capabilities.

• The Committee recommends DHS take the following steps:
o Working closely with election experts, develop a risk management framework
that can be used in engagements with state and local election infrastructure owners to document and mitigate risks to all components of the electoral process.
o Create voluntary guidelines on cybersecurity best practices and a public awareness campaign to promote election security awareness, working through the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC), the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS), and the National Association of State Election Directors (NASED).
o Expand capacity to reduce wait times for DHS cybersecurity services.
o Work with GSA to establish a list of credible private sector vendors who can
provide services similar to those provided by DHS.

5. Build a Stronger Defense, Part IV: Take Steps to Secure the Vote Itself
• States should rapidly replace outdated and vulnerable voting systems. At a minimum, any machine purchased going forward should have a voter-verified paper trail and no WiFi capability. If use of paper ballots becomes more widespread, election officials should re-examine current practices for securing the chain of custody of all paper ballots and verify no opportunities exist for the introduction of fraudulent votes.
• States should consider implementing more widespread, statistically sound audits of election results.
• DHS should work with vendors to educate them about the vulnerabilities of both the machines and the supply chains.
6. Assistance for the States
• The Committee recommends Congress urgently pass legislation increasing assistance and establishing a voluntary grant program for the states.
o States should use grant funds to improve cybersecurity by hiring additional Information Technology staff, updating software, and contracting vendors to provide cybersecurity services, among other steps.
o Funds should also be available to defray the costs of instituting audits.

North Korea says it will halt nuclear and missile tests while talking with U.S., Seoul says: Washington Poast

Here  Well, considering sustainability and politics, I'd say this is an "A" development for the US and the world, and an "A+" development for North Korea. Let's up so. Both sides want this, let's go.

Gun Control NOW: Call Your Senators (202) 224-3121, Sign the Petition Below, ACT NOW!!

United States Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121
Here https://petitions.moveon.org/sign/gun-control-now-1
Here https://www.change.org/p/students-fighting-guns-since-adults-won-t
Here    https://www.change.org/p/congress-pass-common-sense-gun-control

Jared Kushner loses Top Secret Security Classification

Here Want this on my bog to be searchable. Jared Kusher, Donald Trump's son-in-law, for over a year at the "highest-level interim clearances — at the Top Secret/SCI-level" ... was informed (along with others) "...in a memo sent Friday that their clearances would be downgraded to the Secret level..."

What took so long? Any malfeasance by Kushner, such as illegal or ill-advised foreign communication or action, while he was a member of the White House administration, that comes to light will be damning. For chiefs of staff from Reince Priebus to John Kelly too, what gives? Many people in government and outside government were questioning this situation, allowing Kushner to review Top Secret information. It's about time he was downgraded. Michael Flynn had Top Secret access about a month after it was known that he should not have--and look at what happened to hm and what a stink that was. Jared Kushner?

Gun Control NOW: Call Your Senators (202) 224-3121, Sign the Petition Below, ACT NOW!!

United States Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121
Here https://petitions.moveon.org/sign/gun-control-now-1
Here https://www.change.org/p/students-fighting-guns-since-adults-won-t
Here    https://www.change.org/p/congress-pass-common-sense-gun-control

Well, this: "That time when the GOP was on the wrong side of every movement for freedom in the country"

Here #GOP #TheFuture #Repression #RegressivePolitics

"That's exactly what's happening. #neveragain. #dream. #metoo. They are all movements for freedom: Freedom from fear, freedom from oppression, freedom to self-determine. They are quite literally movements born of our Declaration of Independence credo: Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. 
And Republicans are undoubtedly and inescapably on the wrong side of every one of them. "

The Hill: Poll: Most say Trump, Congress could do more to stop mass shootings

Here Well, yes. "...62 percent of respondents said that Trump is not taking adequate action to crack down on the rash of mass shootings that has roiled the country. Even more — 77 percent — place blame on Congress."

And you know who has been controlling Congress -- the GOP. And who has been blocking meaningful gun control -- the GOP.

"According to The Washington Post, Democrats have introduced more than 30 pieces of legislation aimed at combatting gun violence in the past year. Only four have had GOP sponsors. While some GOP senators have expressed an interest in fixing some gaps in existing law, it has been President Trump and other Republicans who have launched several efforts to loosen gun-control laws."
Here

8 Ways Washington Has Blocked Gun Control Legislation Since Trump Took Office https://www.out.com/news-opinion/2018/2/15/8-ways-washington-has-blocked-gun-control-legislation-trump-took-office

And for pure fact checking, Trump even rolled back a common sense gun measure: "...it is true that Trump signed into law the repeal of a measure that would have plausibly prevented certain classes of mentally ill people from purchasing firearms by allowing a new data source to be included the system that runs those background checks."

And just as bad, "Trump Proposed Cutting Millions in Funding For the Background-Check System" -- two days before the Florida shooting. Here 

You do the math.

“America Is Under Attack and the President Doesn't Care”

Here Start by applying the bipartisan #RussianSanctions already @realDonaldTrump
Then fund the EAC and DHS to create an active task force to shield the US from interference in our 2018 elections.

“Trump’s gravest responsibility is to defend the United States from foreign attack—and he’s done nothing to fulfill it.”

Mueller charges 13 Russian nationals and 3 Russian entities with interfering in the 2016 US election

Here Does not seem like Russia is innocent or uninvolved in this most heinous attack on US sovereignty.
Wow. Wow. Wow. Wonder where else it leads, and who else is involved?

INTEL BOSSES WARN CONGRESS: Russian Threat To U.S. Elections To Persist Through 2018

Here "Along with [Director of National Intelligence Dan] Coats, CIA Director Mike Pompeo, FBI Director Christopher Wray and National Security Agency Director Adm. Mike Rogers also answered questions from lawmakers, as well as the heads of the Defense Intelligence Agency, Lt. Gen. Robert Ashley, and the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, Robert Cardillo.

The intelligence bosses were asked to restate their support for the 2017 report that concluded Russia had waged a campaign of what spies call "active measures" against the 2016 election. All of them did."

OUR GOVERNMENT BETTER PROTECT AND INFORM US BETTER IN 2018.

Trump’s [Projected] budget hits poor Americans the hardest

Here And this, after his tax 'reform' which benefits the rich, here.  You can connect the dots on the immoral vacuousness that is today's GOP and Donald Trump. #SenateDemocrats must #resist this budget.

U.S. Official Confirms That Russia Hacked a "Small Number" of Voter Rolls in 2016

Here This is chilling. It is so late for this to come out, and still such impartial and unemotionally disclosed. THIS IS A HUGE DEAL and we will find out it was WORSE in time.

We have no time for wishy-washy transparency. Government officials in charge of these things are admitting the RUSSIAN HACKING, while certain parts of TRUMP'S WHITE HOUSE and TRUMP still try to deny it and run a fictional counter-narrative for the people they want to continue believing their lies. Shameful is so over used -- it is arch, dark, brutally devastating behavior for the United States. Our United States, which has freedom and fair play and a hopeful future all over it. Except for these times, with Trump and these White House (and Russian) people.

Remove Nunes from House Intelligence Committee

Petition Here 
So desperate & shady for #GOP to release this unethical & underwhelming memo. And Nunes adds & edits after a version’s been approved?! His GOP cohorts must feel dirty about that. At least #censure and #removal is needed for Nunes from his committee leadership.

And Nunes is supposed to have recused himself from being involved in the Russia Investigation. HUH? #Notsomuch

And so

Republican lawmakers distance themselves from Trump on memo

The EPA made a surprise move that could protect the world's largest salmon fishery -- CNN

Here Well, this is a good surprise! What's up here? "In a surprise reversal, the Environmental Protection Agency announced it is withdrawing its plan to suspend environmental protections for an area of Alaska that is home to the world's most valuable wild salmon fishery.

[The EPA proposed last year to "reverse clean water safeguards" for the Bristol Bay watershed, paving the way for a massive gold and copper mine to be built in the region.]"

Trump's Solar Tariff Is Bad, But Not a Huge Deal -- Bloomberg

Here  "Bloomberg Gadfly’s Liam Denning reports that the tariffs will set the cost of solar electricity back by only around one year -- bad, but not much of a bump for a technology undergoing exponential growth."  

So, whether Trump mainly wanted costs to go up for solar to help his moribund pet coal industry, or wants American solar panel companies to make more profit and market share, it's a bump in the road. The horse has already left the corral for clean energy, and Trump ought to get with the desirability of local, clean energy for all the right reasons too. The rest of us are.

LeBron James on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

Elevated thoughts and positive mojo. Take notes Mr. Trump. This guy is burying you in the 'ought to be a leader' category. You should #resign and go back to being a full-time con man.


LeBron James honored King's memory today:

For us to stand here even though we're trying to be divided right now by somebody, today is a great day for people to realize how America was built and how we all have to stand united in order to be one…

Especially as Americans because we believe, we all know and we all believe, this is the greatest country in the world…

The state of racism will never die, but what we cannot do is allow it to conquer us as people. We can't allow it to divide us…

The guy in control has given people and racism, and negative racism, an opportunity to be out and outspoken without fear… 

But he's allowed people to come out and just feel confident about doing negative things…

We can't allow that to stop us from continuing to be together and preach the right word of living and loving and laughing and things of that nature... 

We are in a difficult state right now as Americans as well with the leader of our country…

But no matter the religion, no matter the shapes and sizes, we all have to continue to come together and shine a brighter light on ...

I don't want to use the word stupidity, but that's basically what it comes down to...

And because we've built such an incredible country and for us to be able to live free lives and be able to work and work together, no matter the color of skin tone or things of that nature. Or religion…

And we have to continue that…

To continue to keep people involved...

And giving the youth an opportunity to be as creative and as aware as they can be.

Coldest Winter Week in 150 Years in Quebec

Historic wildfires still barely contained after a month in California.

Trump, sold out to GOP fossil fuel trolls, teases of the cold ‘where is that global warming’?

I see the two headlines below, Dec. 5, 2018.

Surely this can’t be happening.

Climate Change Is Suffocating Large Parts of the Ocean - National Geographic

Coral reefs could die by 2050 as bleaching episodes get worse, report says - Toronto Star

Happy New Year 2018!

Hope it was a beautiful holiday season to you. Hope the season was restorative. And hope that 2018 brings warmth, kindness and goodness to you and yours. And extends in circles beyond that too. Happy New Year!

#OneLove