The Climate Reality Project

Here   The climate crisis won’t wait for the pandemic to end. Neither can we. 

Not when the Arctic hits 100 degrees. Not when nearly every wildfire season is a record-breaker. Not when those who suffer the most in a warmer world are the same poor families and communities of color hit hardest by COVID-19 and legacies of discrimination and racism. 

We know it’s time to act. We need leaders who do too. 

It’s time for our leaders to rise to the moment. To leave fossil fuels behind and halt rising temperatures while we have time. To build a just clean energy economy that works for families and workers instead of just the wealthy. To confront the racism and inequity at the heart of our system head-on. 

Because the only way we can solve these challenges and build the world we want is together. 

We get it. You get it. It’s time for leaders who get it too. 

Our future is on the line. The world we give our children is on the line. But the solutions are in our hands and a better future is possible. 

Join The Climate Reality Project

Trump’s Idea of Winning: US Coronavirus Pandemic

Well, I have lots more backed-up to post but

Jared Kushner: Coronavirus Crisis, Traitor

Here  

Jared Kushner is removing the National Stockpile of emergency supplies for Americans.

During one of the greatest crises in America’s history.

Then the Administration tries to spin and cover it up by changing the definition of the National Stockpile!!! #Traitors #TraitorJaredKushner #Coronavirus #CoronavirusJaredKushner

Kushner, President Donald Trump's senior adviser and son-in-law, said at Thursday's coronavirus briefing that states themselves have medical equipment stockpiled -- and argued that "the notion of the federal stockpile was it's supposed to be our stockpile; it's not supposed to be state stockpiles that they then use." (!!!!!!)

AND THEN AS IF THAT WASN’T BAD ENOUGH...

The website of the Strategic National Stockpile was edited on Friday to soften language about how the stockpile is supposed to be used by states -- a day after media outlets reported that the original version contradicted a claim by senior White House official Jared Kushner.

EXCEPT...

As of early Friday morning, the stockpile's home page had read: "Strategic National Stockpile is the nation's largest supply of life-saving pharmaceuticals and medical supplies for use in a public health emergency severe enough to cause local supplies to run out. When state, local, tribal, and territorial responders request federal assistance to support their response efforts, the stockpile ensures that the right medicines and supplies get to those who need them most during an emergency. Organized for scalable response to a variety of public health threats, this repository contains enough supplies to respond to multiple large-scale emergencies simultaneously."

These sentences were gone as of Friday afternoon. In their place were new sentences that emphasized that the stockpile is meant as a temporary backup for states' own supplies.

The revised page reads: "The Strategic National Stockpile's role is to supplement state and local supplies during public health emergencies. Many states have products stockpiled, as well. The supplies, medicines, and devices for life-saving care contained in the stockpile can be used as a short-term stopgap buffer when the immediate supply of adequate amounts of these materials may not be immediately available."

Coronavirus Facts March 10 2020 - Social Distancing - Schools and Sports Close, California March 13, 2020

Here
“If we slow it so that infections happen over 10 or 12 months instead of over one month, that’s going to make a big difference as far as how many people seriously infected, how many people may end up hospitalized, and how many they end up dying,” Smith says. “We talk about it as ‘flattening the epidemic curve’ — so that it’s not a big, sudden peak in cases, but it’s a more moderate plateau over time.”

But if it is seasonal, it doesn’t mean Covid-19 goes away after the summer. “It likely isn’t just going to magically go away,” Grubaugh says. “Next winter might end up being the big winter.”

And if it is seasonal, it’s still dangerous. It would be like the flu, “except potentially with a higher case fatality rate,” Rasmussen says. “Which is definitely a problem because the seasonal flu kills 30,000 to 60,000 Americans every year. And even if it’s the same case fatality rate of seasonal flu, that still presents a substantial public health burden.”

How this outbreak could truly end: With a vaccine

To end this outbreak, for good, we’ll need antiviral treatments or a vaccine. Those are currently being produced, and at record speeds. Researchers are working on new vaccine technologies — like mRNA vaccines that don’t use viruses at all in their production process — as well as cutting-edge therapeutic antibodies.

That said, it still could be a year or more before the safety and efficacy of these pharmaceuticals are proven. In medicine, effectiveness is not guaranteed.

Bye-bye, pipelines : Wall Street falling out of love with natural gas

Excerpt: For years investors were willing to pay more for shares of natural gas utilities compared to electric ones. That’s no longer the case.

In the past few days, electric utility valuations blew past those for gas, a sign that investor confidence in the future of fossil fuels has reached a tipping point. With climate advocates pushing to eliminate natural gas from homes and businesses and lawmakers from New York to California taking a stand against greenhouse gas emissions, pipeline developers are facing an uncertain future.

“Right now, anyway you look at it, natural gas is not seen as something that is very friendly,” says Shahriar Pourreza, an analyst at Guggenheim Securities LLC.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-03-03/wall-street-is-falling-out-of-love-with-a-once-coveted-fossil-fuel

William Barr, Bill Barr, Attorney General Bill Barr - Who Are You? How Corrupt Are You?

This guy is off the rails again, as Trump's fixer. It's unprecedented that an AG looks into sentencing by prosecutors and tamps down or removes the sentences. Barr has been on a rampage doing that for Trump's allies and friends who have already been found guilty or even pled guilty (Mike Flynn).

William Barr. Bill Barr. Attorney General Bill Barr.

DOJ walkout lays bare internal tension with Attorney General Willaim Barr

Attorney General William Barr and his lieutenants have increasingly exerted authority in politically sensitive investigations at the Justice Department, fraying ...

CNN59 minutes ago

Pelosi accuses Trump of 'political interference' in Roger Stone sentencing

video_youtubeFox News4 hours ago

The Roger Stone fiasco further diminishes the Justice Department

Top department brass intervene to help Trump's old friend.

The Washington Post3 hours agoOpinion

On Roger Stone, Trump and Barr Are Out of Control

The prosecutor who quit over the Roger Stone sentencing is sending a powerful message about political weaponization.

The New York Times3 hours agoOpinion

William Barr's efforts to protect Roger Stone are another blow to rule of law

Barr is a 'tough on crime' hypocrite, a Trump toady and chief law enforcement officer who makes a mockery of the legal system.

The Guardian7 hours agoOpinion 

Update Feb 15, 2020 

https://www.npr.org/2020/02/16/806525297/1-100-former-doj-employees-call-on-barr-to-resign-after-intervening-in-stone-cas 

Sign Petition: NO to Social Security and Medicare Cuts

Here Trump and his minions are going all reverse-Robin Hood on us again. Say no, help now -

Reject Trump's proposed budget cuts

Over the weekend, President Trump promised that his 2021 fiscal budget would not touch Social Security and Medicare. But just two days later, the White House’s new proposed budget included steep cuts to the social-safety-net programs millions of Americans rely on. 

If you agree that we shouldn't be slashing Social Security and Medicare, add your name now to stand with Kim >>

Petition Here 

February 2020: Senator Susan Collin’s Faux Moderate Schtick Exposed

What a week for Maine Sen. Susan Collins, huh? National laughingstock video here National laughingstock commentary here Collins' colleague, Utah Sen.  Mitt Romney, provided a master class in political principle, courage, and independence—you know, all those qualities Collins has pretended to possess during her too-long Senate career. Collins looked particularly gutless after the cringe-inducing interview she gave CBS to explain her vote to acquit impeached president Donald Trump, in which she said "I believe that the president has learned from this case." How much has Trump learned? Trump said he disagreed with Collins when asked about her comment by reporters. He said "It was a perfect call." Collins, made to look like a fool by the president she'd just voted to acquit, walked back her previous statement and said she "hopes" Trump learned his lesson. But fat chance of that! Just hours after Collins declared that Trump seeking political retribution against government officials who testified against him would be inappropriate, he axed Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman from the National Security Council. Now she's a national laughing stock, and the target of Saturday Night Live skits and Stephen Colbert monologues. But wait! The week wasn't over yet for Clown Collins! She had one last chance to save face, and bravely told local Maine media that she was "not going to discuss presidential politics at a time like this"—you know,presidential election year. Susan Collins has skated by in election after election with her faux moderate schtick. But now, after votes to pass Trump's tax scam in 2017, confirm Brett Kavanaugh in 2018, and acquit Donald Trump this week, she can't hide from the fact that she's a right-wing hack. Chip in now to beat Collins and break Moscow Mitch McConnell's majority. Keep fighting, Joan McCarter, Daily Kos

Senate Acquits Trump to Save Him From Removal From Office - Moderate Senators Collins and Murkowski Toe the Line - Senator Mitt Romney Tells the Truth

Video Here
Senators Collins (R-Maine) and Murkowski (R-Alaska)  will never be able to live this down. Here is retiring Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) explaining his capitulation and debasement to Donald Trump. What a horrible legacy.

The only GOP Senator to vote to impeach Trump on Abuse of Power. Good for Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah).

This is his statement:

The Constitution is at the foundation of our Republic’s success, and we each strive not to lose sight of our promise to defend it. The Constitution established the vehicle of impeachment that has occupied both houses of Congress for these many days. We have labored to faithfully execute our responsibilities to it. We have arrived at different judgments, but I hope we respect each other’s good faith.

The allegations made in the articles of impeachment are very serious. As a Senator-juror, I swore an oath, before God, to exercise “impartial justice.” I am a profoundly religious person. I take an oath before God as enormously consequential. I knew from the outset that being tasked with judging the President, the leader of my own party, would be the most difficult decision I have ever faced. I was not wrong.

The House Managers presented evidence supporting their case; the White House counsel disputed that case. In addition, the President’s team presented three defenses: first, that there can be no impeachment without a statutory crime; second, that the Bidens’ conduct justified the President’s actions; and third that the judgement of the President’s actions should be left to the voters. Let me first address each of those defenses.

The historic meaning of the words “high crimes and misdemeanors,” the writings of the Founders and my own reasoned judgement convince me that a president can indeed commit acts against the public trust that are so egregious that while they are not statutory crimes, they would demand removal from office. To maintain that the lack of a codified and comprehensive list of all the outrageous acts that a president might conceivably commit renders Congress powerless to remove a president defies reason.

The President’s counsel noted that Vice President Biden appeared to have a conflict of interest when he undertook an effort to remove the Ukrainian Prosecutor General. If he knew of the exorbitant compensation his son was receiving from a company actually under investigation, the Vice President should have recused himself. While ignoring a conflict of interest is not a crime, it is surely very wrong.

With regards to Hunter Biden, taking excessive advantage of his father’s name is unsavory but also not a crime. Given that in neither the case of the father nor the son was any evidence presented by the President’s counsel that a crime had been committed, the President’s insistence that they be investigated by the Ukrainians is hard to explain other than as a political pursuit. There is no question in my mind that were their names not Biden, the President would never have done what he did.

The defense argues that the Senate should leave the impeachment decision to the voters. While that logic is appealing to our democratic instincts, it is inconsistent with the Constitution’s requirement that the Senate, not the voters, try the president. Hamilton explained that the Founders’ decision to invest senators with this obligation rather than leave it to voters was intended to minimize—to the extent possible—the partisan sentiments of the public.

This verdict is ours to render. The people will judge us for how well and faithfully we fulfilled our duty. The grave question the Constitution tasks senators to answer is whether the President committed an act so extreme and egregious that it rises to the level of a “high crime and misdemeanor.”

Yes, he did.

The President asked a foreign government to investigate his political rival.

The President withheld vital military funds from that government to press it to do so.

The President delayed funds for an American ally at war with Russian invaders.

The President’s purpose was personal and political.

Accordingly, the President is guilty of an appalling abuse of the public trust.