Not Just Another Monday Reads: Living through Traumaverseries
Posted: August 29, 2022 | Author: dakinikat | Filed under: Climate Change, Climate change, Climate/Inflation Package, corporate greed, corporatism, Environment, Environmental Protection | Tags: Hurricane Katrina anniversary | 15 Comments
It's difficult to explain how much one date could traumatize and change an entire American city but today is one of those days. 17 years ago, the levees topped after Hurricane Katrina directly hit the city. It's still very hard for me to look at these pictures of the devastation my youngest daughter took in the Lower 9–across the canal from me–on the Thanksgiving weekend following Katrina. They were still pulling dead bodies from the debris at that time.
This top picture shows one of the few houses that didn't collapse with its Katrina cross, indicating someone had died in that home. I watched all of this on CNN from the safety of a pink futon on the floor with my two yellow labs and Miles the Wondercat from a motel in St. Charles, LA that would later be devastated by Hurricane Rita.
My house sat high and dry on the high ground with a nearly new roof and some minor wind damage. The following six months were an experience of camping out in your own home with minimal electricity and chasing around to find working gas stations and open grocery stores. I also made a daily pilgrimage to the Red Cross station in the Quarter to pick up cleaning supplies and food. I really experienced survivor guilt too. Something I hadn't had since I wound up being the only person known to survive the rare type of cancer I had five years before that. That was definitely not an enjoyable emotional experience either.
I'm also reminded of Hurricane Ida last year, which disrupted my life and significantly impacted my house. However, now, my insurance company wised up, gave me a $10k deductible, and basically told me I was on my own. Thankfully, I got a FEMA grant.
Teacher of the year and Katrina Survivor Chris Dier has a tremendous long thread on the federal mishaps that led to our devastation and the crony capitalism that has crippled us since then.
In 1965, the Army Corps of Engineers built the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet (MRGO), a canal to expedite oil shipping to the Gulf of Mexico. During Katrina, the MRGO channeled the storm's surge and led to the engineering failures experienced by the region's protection network. pic.twitter.com/cMT3H6wv8Z
— Chris Dier (@chrisdier) August 28, 2022
Diel lived in extremely hard-hit St. Bernard Parish, with most houses and infrastructure destroyed. He was 17 at the time. He's chosen a series of articles to orchestrate the steps that have led us to where we are today, which is not fully recovered or whole. It's also left us, victims, to charter schools and AirBNBs.
Today, I'm here to remind you that climate change is real and has already had devasting impacts all over our sweet mother earth and ecosystems and the life it supports. Failure to deal with it is a failure of global governance.
From The Washington Post: "Greenland ice sheet set to raise sea levels by nearly a foot, study finds. New research suggests the massive ice sheet is already set to lose more than 3 percent of its mass, even if the world stopped emitting greenhouse gases today".
Human-driven climate change has set in motion massive ice losses in Greenland that couldn't be halted even if the world stopped emitting greenhouse gases today, according to a new study published Monday.
The findings in Nature Climate Change project that it is now inevitable that 3.3 percent of the Greenland ice sheet will melt — equal to 110 trilliontons of ice,the researchers said. That will trigger nearly a foot of global sea-level rise.
The predictions are more dire than other forecasts, though they use different assumptions.While the study did not specify a time frame for the melting and sea-level rise, the authors suggestedmuch of it can play out between now and the year 2100.
"The point is, we need to plan for that ice as if it weren't on the ice sheet in the near future, within a century or so," William Colgan, a study co-author who studies the ice sheet from its surfacewith his colleaguesat the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland, said in a video interview.
Highly recommend y'all watch the excellent documentary @m_esealuka's put together here.
Louisiana's coastal communities are under threat not only from climate change, but also policymakers who care more about industry than people https://t.co/klRvtwy9mN
— Jackson Voss (@JacksonVoss) August 29, 2022
This is the link to the above Twitter and is from Southerly Magazine. Minorities and the poor are the ones suffering the most from the impact of climate change. " 'They want us gone': Black Louisianans fight to rebuild a year after Ida. Residents of Ironton and West Point a la Hache are still pushing federal and state agencies to help them make their communities safer before the next storm."
A year after Hurricane Ida brought eight to 15 feet of floodwater to Plaquemines Parish—a coastal parish in Southeast Louisiana—historic Black communities Ironton and West Point a la Hache are still fighting for a just recovery. Slow-moving action from federal agencies like HUD and FEMA, a massive shortage in affordable housing, and inadequate flood protection have left residents facing a difficult decision: leave behind neighbors, traditional lifeways, and ancestral lands to migrate in search of housing, or fight to rebuild, elevate homes and make the coast more resilient to intense storms.
I've been working as an organizer in Plaquemines Parish since 2020, starting with a successful campaign to stop an oil terminal from excavating a cemetery where enslaved people were laid to rest. I continue to support residents in their efforts to rebuild after Ida and advocate for stronger flood protection. Recently, I spoke with several residents to hear about their experience with recovery from the storm. A year since Ida's landfall, nearly all of my friends in Plaquemines Parish have yet to return home.
Many residents are still living in temporary housing. FEMA has long been criticized for its inability to address emergency housing needs in a timely manner. In Southwest Louisiana, some families whose homes were destroyed in Hurricane Laura waited 10 months for FEMA to issue temporary trailers. After the 2021 hurricane season, Louisiana set up a new emergency housing program called the Ida Sheltering Program to issue travel trailers more quickly, and the state has housed nearly 12,000 residents through this program. But it's unclear what other housing options are available to them. Louisiana faced a severe shortage of affordable housing before the hurricane.
Ironton residents have hung signs throughout their community to let Plaquemines Parish know they intend to come back and rebuild.
The Biden Administration and Democratic Congress have made meager but credible steps toward alleviating Climate Change devastation. But will it be enough for Democrats to hold on and improve their position in Congress to continue the fight?
In Nevada, the intense heat brings drought and different problems due to climate change. This is from The Washington Post. "In fast-warming Nevada, climate bill may not lift Democrats. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) has campaigned on the biggest climate bill in U.S. history. But her pitch may not resonate with voters who are more worried about the rising cost of living." Is it really the short-term economic woes that will draw voters?
About a week after President Biden signed into law the largest climate bill in U.S. history, Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) laid out to voters here how she helped get $4 billion in the bill to combat the acute drought now punishing the American West. Outside the air-conditioned offices of the Las Vegas Valley Water District where she spoke, the temperature stood at 93 degrees — on its way to an oppressive 106 later that day.
"As you all know, the western U.S. continues to face a historic drought, and we need to do all we can to combat it," Cortez Masto said Monday, standing before a photo showing the nation's largest reservoir, Lake Mead, at record lows. "That's why I have been championing measures to help Southern Nevada further conserve, recycle and reduce water use."
Cortez Masto — one of the most vulnerable Democratic senators up for reelection this year — has spent recent weeks courting Nevada voters who want leaders in Washington to prioritize the climate crisis. Yet climate change has rarely decided the outcome in congressional races, even in Las Vegas, the nation's second-fastest warming city in a region experiencing the most extreme drought in 1,200 years.
Voters across the country have consistently ranked the economy and health care as a higher priority than global warming. And if Democrats cannot successfully sell their environmental agenda in Nevada, which has seen a cascade of climate disasters this summer, it's unclear whether climate concerns will ever become paramount in key national races.
Don't call it a 'drought': Climate scientist Brad Udall views Colorado River crisis as the beginning of aridification https://t.co/PIGR8Y3VDh via @MtnWestNews
— Ann Morgan (@annjmorgan) August 29, 2022
Warning of doom: 'Hunger stones' surface in drought-stricken waters
Any part of the country served by the waters of the Colorado River is bound to be uninhabitable sooner than later. The Deserts and Coasts of our country are rapidly becoming places where life cannot be sustained.
The generous monsoon season along the Upper Basin of the Colorado River has been a relief to those who remember recent summers suffocated by wildfire smoke in the American West. But according to Brad Udall, senior water and climate research scientist at the Colorado Water Institute and director of the Western Water Assessment at Colorado State University, the relief we're feeling now is a sign of bigger problems for years to come.
"Next year's runoff will be really interesting to see what happens, it will be a test of this theory of depleted soil moisture," Udall told a packed room at the Betty Ford Alpine Gardens Education Center on Aug. 19. The theory he referenced examines how the recent precipitation affects the trending drought conditions, drying reservoirs and the lowering state of the Colorado River, which is the primary source of water for over 40 million people spread across seven Western states, over thirty Native American tribes and into Mexico.
Udall's relationship with the Colorado River goes deeper than just the focus of his studies. He grew up along its banks and worked as a river guide in his earlier years. He also comes from a long lineage of family members who have been influential in the river's management for more than a century. His father, former congressman Mo Udall, fought to channel river water to Arizona. His uncle, Stewart Udall, was the former Secretary of the Interior who opened the Glen Canyon Dam. And his great great grandfather, John D. Lee, established Lees Ferry in Arizona. "Udalls are, in fact, Lees," he told the crowd.
With a litany of charts, peer-reviewed studies and side-by-side chronological photographs of depleting reservoirs, Udall's presentation, titled, "Colorado River Crisis: A Collision of 19th Century Water Law, 20tth Century Infrastructure and a 21st Century Population Growth and Climate Change," broke down the intricacies of the compact that draws the water rights between these states, while establishing the environmental agitators that have formed, and grown, since the compact was agreed upon in 1922.
Merriam-Webster defines "drought" as "a period of dryness especially when prolonged." According to Udall, we are beyond treating the Colorado River crisis as something that will soon pass, or ever will.
People walk near a bank of the Loire River as historical drought hits France, in Loireauxence, France, August 16, 2022. REUTERS/Stephane Mahe
From Daily Sabah: "Warning of doom: 'Hunger stones' surface in drought-stricken waters."
Carvings in boulders that were used to record historic droughts are resurfacing in waterways across drought-stricken Europe.
Ancient ominous warnings carved on usually submerged boulders along the Elbe River had for centuries driven fear into the hearts of Czechs, but their reappearance during this year's drought is just a reminder of how tough people had it.
The stones can only be seen above the water surface during droughts and are used to presage bad harvests, interrupted river navigation and consequent famine. Now, the messages appear weeks after weather and crop forecasts.
Such a stone on the banks of the Elbe River, which starts in the Czech Republic, and ends in Germany dates back to 1616. The boulder was inscribed with "Wenn du mich seest, dann weine" – "If you see me, then weep," according to a Google translation.
A view shows a branch of the Loire River as an historical drought hits France, in Loireauxence, France, August 16, 2022. REUTERS/Stephane Mahe
From Reuters: "France's river Loire sets new lows as drought dries up its tributaries."
France's river Loire, famous for the hundreds of castles gracing its shores, is a shallow river at the best of times, but this year even its flat-bottom tourist barges can barely navigate waters greatly reduced by a record drought.
Even some 100 kilometers from where the Loire empties into the Atlantic Ocean, sand banks now stretch as far as the eye can see, large islands connect to the shore and in places people can practically walk from one side of the river to the other.
This is not normal. The nations in Africa address Climate Change today in a conference in Gabon.
"Come and join us in Libreville & help us find African solutions to this global #ClimateChange challenge."
1 day ahead of #AfricaClimateWeek, Gabonese Minister of Forests, Oceans, Environment & Climate Change @LeeWhiteCBEO explains the key topics for the regional climate event. pic.twitter.com/bNXoTSbguI
— UN Climate Change (@UNFCCC) August 28, 2022
One last thing from Louisiana!
Lagniappe: never forget that Katrina was also a catastrophe wreaked by climate change. Please sign this petition to ask Biden and Congress to do more to act against climate change to prevent these disasters in the future. https://t.co/Ri29HSRmbU
Okay, maybe two! What's on your reading and blogging list today? It's okay to put other topics up. Our threads are always open!
Sunday Reads: Terrorwatts
Posted: February 28, 2021 | Author: JJ Lopez aka Minkoff Minx | Filed under: Climate Change, Democratic Politics, Domestic terrorism, energy, Environment, morning reads, open thread, Political and Editorial Cartoons, Republican politics, the GOP | Tags: CPAC | 14 Comments
This next link truly is mind boggling…
Electricity needed to mine bitcoin is more than used by 'entire countries' https://t.co/FzhYujjYKP
— The Guardian (@guardian) February 27, 2021
I don't understand this Bitcoin shit…
The cryptocurrency's value has dipped recently after passing a high of $50,000 but the energy used to create it has continued to soar during its epic rise, climbing to the equivalent to the annual carbon footprint of Argentina, according to Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index, a tool from researchers at Cambridge University that measures the currency's energy use.
Bitcoin mining – the process in which a bitcoin is awarded to a computer that solves a complex series of algorithms – is a deeply energy-intensive process.
"Mining" bitcoin involves solving complex math problems in order to create new bitcoins. Miners are rewarded in bitcoin.
Earlier in bitcoin's relatively short history – the currency was created in 2009 – one could mine bitcoin on an average computer. But the way bitcoin mining has been set up by its creator (or creators – no one really knows for sure who created it) is that there is a finite number of bitcoins that can be mined: 21m. The more bitcoin that is mined, the harder the algorithms that must be solved to get a bitcoin become.
Now that over 18.5m bitcoin have been mined, the average computer can no longer mine bitcoins. Instead, mining now requires special computer equipment that can handle the intense processing power needed to get bitcoin today. And, of course, these special computers need a lot of electricity to run.
The amount of electricity used to mine bitcoin "has historically been more than [electricity used by] entire countries, like Ireland", said Benjamin Jones, a professor of economics at the University of New Mexico who has researchedbitcoin's environmental impact. "We're talking about multiple terawatts, dozens of terawatts a year of electricity being used just for bitcoin … That's a lot of electricity."
Seriously…when I read this article, I could feel the blood vessels in my head bursting.
"I understood that the governor wanted to sleep with me, and felt horribly uncomfortable and scared. And was wondering how I was going to get out of it and assumed it was the end of my job."
Gov. Cuomo Accused of Sexual Harassment by 2nd Former Aide https://t.co/K8LjgAvMV8
— Ben Max (@TweetBenMax) February 27, 2021
Second ex-aide accuses Andrew Cuomo of sexual harassment https://t.co/mnYvdvlSSi
It should be noted…that if you live in a red state, it is more likely that the schools are open…and have been for a while now.
The Guardian: Golden Trump statue turning heads at CPAC was made in … Mexico.
Because …. Republicanshttps://t.co/V2mkmB0Gi6
— 🖕🏻Aunt Crabby Calls Bullshit 🖕🏻 (@DearAuntCrabby) February 27, 2021
It's quite something how quickly we went from "How dare you call us Nazis" to "We're Nazis, get over it."
— Steve Silberman (@stevesilberman) February 27, 2021
Dear @Hyatt
Are you okay with Nazi symbols being used on your properties?
Because if you fail to speak out & do something about this immediately, I'll be sure to no longer patronize any of your properties ever again. #CPAC2021 #CPACstage #CPACNazi pic.twitter.com/beFauYAMwO
— Sari Beth Rosenberg (@saribethrose) February 27, 2021
Exeter: WW2 bomb detonated after homes evacuated – video https://t.co/5uVGpRaQ3y
Second world war bomb detonation damages buildings in Exeter https://t.co/YxpXpBTapR
So, here we have a bomb from WWII having to be detonated…while a cryptocurrency uses as much electricity as an entire country just to "mine" it. What the fuck?
Well, try and have a pleasant day.
Sunday Super Thread
Posted: February 7, 2021 | Author: JJ Lopez aka Minkoff Minx | Filed under: Climate Change, COVID19, Environment, morning reads, open thread, Political and Editorial Cartoons, racism, Trump | Tags: Christopher Plummer, Cloris Leachman, Hal Holbrook Cicely Tyson | 7 Comments
Just a few cartoons…
So today is Super Bowl Sunday…and I wanted to remember the best halftime performance ever…
A post shared by Prince (@prince)
And just a few links:
Cha-ching!https://t.co/s723gjdHMh
— Maddow Blog (@MaddowBlog) February 6, 2021
NEW: former President Donald Trump's 2020 campaign disclosed paying people & firms behind the January 6 rally before rioters stored the US Capitol *OVER $2.7 MILLION*—but secretive shell companies & "dark money" hide details of Trump ties to those protests https://t.co/ABgwnBvo0S pic.twitter.com/NZ3LVSzsVg
— Anna Massoglia (@annalecta) January 22, 2021
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds decision to lift state's mask mandates AND social distancing for all gatherings starting Super Bowl Sunday is like eliminating DUI laws starting New Year's Eve.
— Janice Hough (@leftcoastbabe) February 6, 2021
Why Super Bowl parties could become superspreader events — NBA Finals & World Series watching parties were probably a factor in California's devastating autumn-and-winter COVID surge https://t.co/Nim9VKg0m6 @seangreene89 @LukeMMoney pic.twitter.com/QS432k6E2r
— Ron Lin (@ronlin) February 6, 2021
* Kyle Rittenhouse at a bar playing pool then goes out of sight.
* the QAnon Sharman gets organic food.
* now, the Texas florist will get to visit Mexico.
White justice. This is pathetic! If they were Black or Brown they would be in jail (w/our organic food) or dead!
— Amy Siskind 🏳️‍🌈 (@Amy_Siskind) February 6, 2021
I just— https://t.co/xJObdyqrTK
— ⚓️🚢Imani Gandy 🚢⚓️ (@AngryBlackLady) February 7, 2021
A Utah school is allowing parents to opt their children out of Black history month curriculum https://t.co/IrYOaHAbBm
— chris evans (@notcapnamerica) February 7, 2021
Terrill Thomas died in April 2016 after being denied water for seven days at Milwaukee County Jail.
Jacob Chansley stormed the U.S. Capitol and was moved to a Virginia jail so corrections officials can provide him with organic food.
There are two justice systems in America. pic.twitter.com/wCRyEqv5w8
— Grande Capo (@VoLinxx) February 5, 2021
Something like a tenth of the people who live in the South and the Southwest — from South Carolina to Southern California — will decide to move north in search of better economy and environment.
Those who stay will be disproportionately poor and elderly. https://t.co/FmqMQcbzaK
— ProPublica (@propublica) February 6, 2021
Hollywood legends…we have lost four over the last few weeks.
A post shared by Mhairi Harrison (@mhairiharrison)
Christopher Plummer, Sound of Music star and oldest actor to win an Oscar, dies aged 91 https://t.co/OBw83G0ADT
— The Guardian (@guardian) February 5, 2021
From Captain to Klingon General and everything in between, Christopher Plummer leaves behind so many memorable performances in an Oscar-winning career that spanned over six decades.
We will always cherish the times we were fortunate enough to spend with him. #TCMRemembers pic.twitter.com/T0z7YGTC4c
— TCM (@tcm) February 5, 2021
Christopher Plummer had so many great roles, but I'll always remember him this way. pic.twitter.com/Aqq6NHZvzz
— Rep. Eric Swalwell (@RepSwalwell) February 5, 2021
A post shared by Turner Classic Movies (@turnerclassicmovies)
A post shared by Dame Julie Andrews♛ (@julieandrewsedwards)
A post shared by all things oldies (@vlntageclassics)
Remembering the life and iconic career of #ChristopherPlummer. 💙 https://t.co/YWE9Lzabdd pic.twitter.com/STcqIpJ4UW
— IMDb (@IMDb) February 6, 2021
Hal Holbrook
Hal Holbrook, an actor who carved out a substantial career in TV and film but who achieved his widest acclaim onstage embodying Mark Twain in a one-man show, died on Jan. 23. He was 95. https://t.co/zHWO2NsRDy
— The New York Times (@nytimes) February 2, 2021
Hal Holbrook, Emmy and Tony-Winning Actor Who Portrayed Mark Twain, Dies at 95 https://t.co/PKI67ShsOP
— Variety (@Variety) February 2, 2021
Hal Holbrook (1925-2021) as Mark Twain: pic.twitter.com/PJDvIfL2N1
— Michael Beschloss (@BeschlossDC) February 2, 2021
Hal Holbrook, the craftsman who reincarnated Mark Twain on stage and screen for more than six decades and also stood out as Abraham Lincoln and Deep Throat, two other American legends, has died. He was 95 https://t.co/LmNRDiwwEf
— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) February 2, 2021
A post shared by moviesmike-apedia (@moviesmike)
A post shared by Jonny Question (@jonny_question)
Cicely Tyson passed away only two days after the publication of her memoir, "JUST AS I AM", which is an honest and revealing look at the trailblazing life and career of one of the most important and influential actors of our generation. pic.twitter.com/ThuPG4klHT
— TCM (@tcm) January 31, 2021
When shooting this touching moment in SOUNDER ('72), Cicely Tyson revealed in an interview that when she heard Sounder bark she saw Nathan and her reaction was completely authentic.
Cinematographer John Alonso was so moved, he teared up and thought he didn't get the scene. pic.twitter.com/SDj7ZNiSOG
"Legacies are not footprints in the sand, destined to lose depth and meaning as the wind of time blows. Instead, think of them as a compass, pointing the generations that come after in the direction they must go." https://t.co/8YaxK3d0ay
— Los Angeles Times (@latimes) February 1, 2021
Here's a beautiful tribute to the amazing Cicely Tyson written by my writer friend John Romano. A great loss but a great life. pic.twitter.com/rQbfnKDP0s
— John Lithgow (@JohnLithgow) January 30, 2021
A post shared by Dr. Thema (@dr.thema)
A post shared by Vintage Stardust (@vintage_stardust)
A post shared by BLACK ARCHIVES (@blackarchives.co)
A post shared by Joy-Ann Reid (@joyannreid)
"I've done my best, that's all." – Cicely Tyson #BETRemembers pic.twitter.com/U52rmo5AAF
— BET Her TV (@BETherTV) February 1, 2021
A post shared by Julia Louis-Dreyfus (@officialjld)
A post shared by MICKEY SUMNER (@sumnermickey)
A post shared by Jamie Lee Curtis (@curtisleejamie)
A post shared by Vanity Fair (@vanityfair)
Keep well, and stay safe.
And just a little shoutout to my hometown team…go Bucs!
Sunday Reads: Don't bitch to us…
Posted: December 29, 2019 | Author: JJ Lopez aka Minkoff Minx | Filed under: 2020 Elections, Climate Change, Democratic Politics, Diplomacy Nightmares, Domestic Policy, Donald Trump, Elections, Environment, Environmental Protection, Main Stream Media, morning reads, open thread, Republican presidential politics, The Media SUCKS, WE TOLD THEM SO | 11 Comments
With all the bullshit lately about fucking Bernie Sanders…and since the one person who could stand up to tRump has/was left to drop out (Kamala)…to where we are seriously looking at a old white guy (Biden)…to wit, do we honestly think the elections are actually "secured" anymore (Putin)…
I feel that when tRump is re-elected, we here can tell all those news media assholes, BernieBros, Biden Shills, Tom Perez and the rest of the damn fools…
Hey! You listen to me, wacko.
See this fist?
I'm about ready to use…
that hatchet-face
of yours as a punching bag.
Now sit down and shut up!
Mole's right, Peggy.
I am sick of listenin'
to your bitchin'.
The next time you feel a fit
comin' on, go outside and bitch.
Bitch at the air.
Bitch at the trees.
But don't bitch at us!
Gotta love John Waters Desperate Living!
As 2019 winds down I get to reflect back on the work I've done this past year. Here are my top ten cartoons. Thank you all for the support. Couldn't do it without you. • #topten #top10 #yearinreview #goodbye2019 #politicalcartoons #fucktrump #politicalart #resist #guncontrol #mostliked #mostlikedphoto #hello2020
A post shared by Benjamin Slyngstad (@slyngstad_cartoons) on Dec 28, 2019 at 1:02pm PST
No shit…but in all seriousness, if tRump is re-elected, the USA will turn into a Mortville:
(Once you get past the roaches, you'll see what I mean.)
Since this post is a total downer, let's take a look at who died this year.
Now the video does not include, Sue Lyon Dies: 'Lolita' Star Was 73
She was 14 when Kubrick cast her as Lolita back in 1962. She was two years older than my mom.
More, "Gone but not forgotten…"
13 Trailblazing women:
Cokie Roberts, Toni Morrison. Gloria Vanderbilt.Getty Images/AP
From the NYT: In a Year of Notable Deaths, a World of Women Who Shattered Ceilings
Just a few tweets to round this thread up:
Horrified by terrorist bombing in Mogadishu, Somalia which killed at least 78 people.
Many victims were young students returning to university.
Too early to say for sure, but the attack bears the hallmark of al-Shabab. Another grim reminder of the terror threat that remains. https://t.co/LF7KCTwSqA
The President of the United States has, today alone, retweeted 2 QAnon fan accounts, a Pizzagate account, an account that compared his following to a cult, and an account that described Obama as "Satan's Muslim Scum." And this insanity isn't even a blip on the news radar.
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) December 28, 2019
this is fine pic.twitter.com/SSQTai7fKS
— Ad Infinitum (@Ad_Inifinitum) December 27, 2019
Bernie Sanders needs to stfu about Joe Biden voting for the Iraq War
Tulsi Gabbard voted for the war, joined the Military to help W on the ground & supports Modi, Assad & Netanyahu
Sanders loves Tulsi Gabbard even though she's the 167th most progressive
Something is amiss pic.twitter.com/HIH5khWSqq
Nope. And this is why I am not VBNMW. Folks who screamed any old blue won't due and smeared Barack and Hillary do not now get to tell me "Unity!!!" with a straight face.
Tom Perez may have bought that ish but I am not.
— Rohit ⚖️⚖️⚖️ (@columbiatexan) December 27, 2019
You, should be directing your kumbaya towards the berners who insist on threatening, berating, and insulting people on social media. 25% of them voted for trump. He is their fault & they can stfu.
— theagowdy (@agowdy) December 28, 2019
👀👀👀 pic.twitter.com/JVWHWmivNq
— ⚖️Bernie Sanders Voted For The Crime Bill⚖️ (@KHiveQueenB) December 28, 2019
I'm gonna rig the primary against Bernie by being a person of color and voting in it.
— An Antic Disposition 🍩 (@pavanvan) December 28, 2019
It's truly something that 7,800 media workers lost their jobs in 2019 and not one of them was Bret Stephens
— Kim Kelly (@GrimKim) December 28, 2019
All I can say to this next tweet is…If only:
Berners sure fear Kamala.
Half the trolls are trolling me about her & the other half are trolling me about Bernie.
Weird, because the Kremlin also fears Kamala Harris.
It's like they're all scared she'll
jump back in the race five seconds before Iowa & win too many delegates.
https://twitter.com/raising_hill/status/1210746457801625602?s=21
In record heat Australia and South Australia, where temperature have risen to 40 degrees, koalas approached cyclists on the road to seek water. pic.twitter.com/DvW84gbaRq
— Akki (@akkitwts) December 28, 2019
Government photographer Simon Edelman was fired by the Trump admin after he leaked a photo of Energy Sec. Rick Perry hugging a coal exec. Perry announced his resignation today. pic.twitter.com/unfz2QtkP3
— Tomthunkit™ (@TomthunkitsMind) December 27, 2019
Oh yeah, this tweet reminds me:
Giuliani pals leveraged GOP access to seek Ukraine gas deal
Check it out, Nixon got something right:
Forty-six years ago today the #EndangeredSpeciesAct was signed into law by President Richard Nixon. Since then the law has saved more than 200 species from extinction: https://t.co/8qSaQgal8Z
— Raja Krishnamoorthi (@CongressmanRaja) December 28, 2019
Dec 24: Christmas Eve
Dec 25: Christmas Day
Dec 26: Boxing Day
Dec 27-30: Every day feels like a Sunday, proof that time is a social construct
Dec 31: New Year's Eve
Jan 1: New Year's Day
Jan 2: Reality hits
— James Cosgrove (@MrJamesCosgrove) December 27, 2019
And lastly:
Didja know that Nancy Pelosi has the right to submit Donald Trump to an 'involuntary' psych evaluation? https://t.co/LcFcgH2A7f pic.twitter.com/0nrpLP1ZCk
— act.tv (@actdottv) December 27, 2019
This has been a difficult year, I miss my mama like crazy. Just wanted to get through all the sad depressing rehash of who we lost this year. Some I have left out on purpose. Can y'all guess who?
After I wrote this post, news of the latest anti-Semitic attack/hate crime in NYC:
Breaking: Multiple people were reportedly stabbed tonight at a Jewish house of worship in Rockland County, New York. https://t.co/Y7aHgVHywb
— NBCWashington (@nbcwashington) December 29, 2019
I am deeply disturbed by the situation unfolding in Monsey, New York tonight.
There is zero tolerance for acts of hate of any kind and we will continue to monitor this horrific situation.
I stand with the Jewish community tonight and every night.
— NY AG James (@NewYorkStateAG) December 29, 2019
Another incident of anti-Semitic violence in a year that has already seen too many. https://t.co/qDQi3H5eEm
— Joyce Alene (@JoyceWhiteVance) December 29, 2019
BREAKING: At least 3 people have been stabbed by a man with a machete inside a synagogue in Monsey, New York. More here: https://t.co/BPHbnAboHA #CBSNewYork
— CBS New York (@CBSNewYork) December 29, 2019
Three Jews stabbed in a synagogue in Monsey tonight. An intruder came into Rabbi Rottenberg's shul with a machete.
There are no words to describe the anxiety of this moment. pic.twitter.com/F4VBhNWMpz
— Avital Chizhik-Goldschmidt (@avitalrachel) December 29, 2019
Posted: May 4, 2018 | Author: dakinikat | Filed under: Climate Change, Environment, Environmental Protection, Environmentalists, morning reads | Tags: BLM. Department of Interior, EPA, Scott Pruitt, the environment. climate change | 20 Comments
Disney Storyboard Drawing of a Dinosaur from Fantasia (1940)
I've always loved SF and fantasy but I've also loved delving into the mysterious past. What kid doesn't like stories about dinosaurs and spaceships? One of all time favorite things to watch is Disney's Fantasia. I love the animated Dinosaurs brought to life to the strains of Stravinsky's 'The Rite of Spring'. There's some news dealing with the EPA, our planet, and our dependence on fossil fuels I'd like to share today. Climate change is real. The current administration only cares about enriching itself and its friends. What does this mean for our fragile time on this planet?
From The Grist: Humans didn't exist the last time there was this much CO2 in the air.
The last time atmospheric carbon dioxide levels were this high, millions of years ago, the planet was very different. For one, humans didn't exist.
On Wednesday, scientists at the University of California in San Diego confirmedthat April's monthly average atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration breached 410 parts per million for the first time in our history.
We know a lot about how to track these changes. The Earth's carbon dioxide levels peak around this time every year for a pretty straightforward reason. There's more landmass in the northern hemisphere, and plants grow in a seasonal cycle. During the summer, they suck down CO2, during the winter, they let it back out. The measurements were made at Mauna Loa, Hawaii — a site chosen for its pristine location far away from the polluting influence of a major city.
Increasingly though, pollution from the world's cities is making its way to Mauna Loa — and everywhere else on Earth.
In little more than a century of frenzied fossil-fuel burning, we humans have altered our planet's atmosphere at a rate dozens of times faster than natural climate change. Carbon dioxide is now more than 100 ppm higher than any direct measurements from Antarctic ice cores over the past 800,000 years, and probably significantly higher than anything the planet has experienced for at least 15 million years. That includes eras when Earth was largely ice-free.
Not only are carbon dioxide levels rising each year, they are accelerating. Carbon dioxide is climbing at twice the pace it was 50 years ago. Even the increases are increasing.
That's happening for several reasons, most important of which is that we're still burning a larger amount of fossil fuels each year. Last year, humanity emitted the highest level of greenhouse gas emissions in history — even after factoring in the expansion of renewable energy. At the same time, the world's most important carbon sinks — our forests — are dying, and therefore losing their ability to pull carbon dioxide out of the air and store it safely in the soil. The combination of these effects means we are losing ground, and fast.
From the New York Times: 'It was 122.4°F This Week in Pakistan, Probably a World Record for April'
Even in Pakistan, no stranger to blistering heat, the temperature on Monday stood out: 122.4 degrees Fahrenheit.
The reading came from Nawabshah, a city of 1.1 million people in southern Pakistan, and meteorologists say it is the highest temperature ever reliably recorded, anywhere in the world, in the month of April.
The World Meteorological Organization keeps global temperature records, but not by month, which means Monday in Nawabshah cannot be officially confirmed as the hottest April day. But experts on extreme temperatures say it probably is.
Christopher C. Burt, the author of "Extreme Weather: A Guide and Record Book" and a contributor to Weather Underground, said that 122.4 degrees, or 50.2 degrees Celsius, appeared to be the hottest reliably measured April temperature "in modern records for any location on Earth." Only one reading might challenge it: 123.8 degrees Fahrenheit, or 51 degrees Celsius, recorded in Santa Rosa, Mexico, in April 2011. But Mr. Burt said that measurement was "questionable because the site was a regional observation site and not of first order."
Fantasia "Rite of Spring" Concept Art (Walt Disney, 1940)
From Montana's KRTV 3: 'Clean-up plan being developed for oil spill on Fort Peck Indian Reservation'.
A oil spill occurred at an oil well operated by Anadarko Minerals Inc. near Lustre, which is located in the central region of the Fort Peck Indian Reservation.
According to a press release, the spill was reported to the Tribes' Office of Environmental Protection (OEP) on Friday, April 27.
The spill was spotted by a rancher doing a flyover in the area. The exact date that the leak occurred has not yet been determined. The well had been shut-in in late December of 2017.
Wilfred Lambert of the Fort Peck Tribes OEP and officials from the federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM) initially estimated that 600 barrels of oil and 90,000 barrels of production water, also known as brine, were released from the well.
The oil and brine flowed approximately 200 yards downhill to a stock pond used by tribal entities for watering livestock.
The press release states that the extent of the stock pond's contamination has not been determined. Early assessments indicate about three to six inches of oil sitting on top of the water.
I don't think these three event require much explanation and cannot be viewed with too much consternation. We've been warned about all of this by the scientists and Cassandras of earth science and climate science. It's all getting worse at a much faster and more disturbing rate than projected.
Meanwhile, Scott Pruitt is the swamp thing that administers our EPA. You know, that agency that was the pride of the Nixon administration meant to clean up our messes and perpetual destruction of our environment. He also frets his brow over the Bureau of Land Management and the Department of Interior. The BLM came about during the Truman years. The Department of interior has been around since 1849 and has its roots as far back as Madison although it was established through the Polk administration on the eve of Zachary Taylor's inauguration. It is the agency which took the main approach to Native Americans after a number of Secretaries of States argued that the land and indigenous people of America was not best served by their Departments. These agencies really are most responsible for our past and our future in numerous ways.
Both the Department of Interior and the EPA are headed by knuckle dragging, corrupt fools. There also seems to be some internecine drama between their dueling ids. Both have taken the idea of using a Federal position for personal benefit and show boating to new heights.
As Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt faces a seemingly endless stream of scandal, his team is scrambling to divert the spotlight to Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke. And the White House isn't happy about it.
In the last week, a member of Pruitt's press team, Michael Abboud, has been shopping negative stories about Zinke to multiple outlets, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the efforts, as well as correspondence reviewed by The Atlantic.
"This did not happen, and it's categorically false," EPA spokesman Jahan Wilcox said.
The stories were shopped with the intention of "taking the heat off of Pruitt," the sources said, in the aftermath of the EPA chief's punishing congressional hearing last week. They both added, however, that most reporters felt the story was not solid enough to run. On Thursday, Patrick Howley of Big League Politics published a piece on the allegations; he did not respond to request for comment as to his sources.
Abboud alleged to reporters that an Interior staffer conspired with former EPA deputy chief of staff Kevin Chmielewski to leak damaging information about the EPA, as part of a rivalry between Zinke and Pruitt. The collaboration, Abboud claimed, allowed the Interior staffer to prop up Zinke at the expense of Pruitt, and Chmielewski to "get back" at his former boss.
Abboud offered to connect reporters with Healy Baumgardner as a second source, according to a person with direct knowledge. Baumgardner, a former Trump campaign official, is a global energy lobbyist for the U.S.-China Exchange. She's close to some EPA officials, the source, as well as an EPA official, confirmed. Baumgardner did not immediately return a request for comment.
According to the two sources, Interior staffers who fielded the reporters' calls were able to ascertain that Abboud, who is a former Trump campaign official, was behind the stories. The Interior Department's White House liaison then called the White House Presidential Personnel Office to complain about his conduct.
There is a stream of complaints about Pruitt's conduct. None of them garner the proper attention.
Scott Pruitt's itinerary for a February trip to Israel was remarkable by any standard for an Environmental Protection Agency administrator: A stop at a controversial Jewish settlement in the West Bank. An appearance at Tel Aviv University. A hard-to-get audience with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
One force behind Pruitt's eclectic agenda: casino magnate and Republican megadonor Sheldon Adelson, a major supporter of Israel who arranged parts of Pruitt's visit.
The Israel trip was canceled days before Pruitt's planned departure, after The Washington Post revealed his penchant for first-class travel on the taxpayers' dime. But federal documents obtained by The Post and interviews with individuals familiar with the trip reveal that it fit a pattern by Pruitt of planning foreign travel with significant help from outside interests, including lobbyists, Republican donors and conservative activists.
After taking office last year, Pruitt drew up a list of at least a dozen countries he hoped to visit and urged aides to help him find official reasons to travel, according to four people familiar with the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal agency deliberations. Pruitt then enlisted well-connected friends and political allies to help make the trips happen.
Ongoing allegations of Pruitt's attempts to the EPA into his person bank and travel agency are astounding. They keep oozing out of his swamp. From EWG: 'Reports: Before Confirmed, Scott Pruitt Wanted EPA Office, Private Phone Booth in Okla.'
Congressional leaders are demanding information from Environmental Protection Agency head Scott Pruitt over allegations he wanted taxpayers to open an office in his hometown of Tulsa, Okla., before he was confirmed by the Senate.
Democrats on the House Science, Space and Technology Committee sent letters this week to Pruitt and the head of the Government Services Administration seeking all records that may show there was an attempt to find an office in Tulsa.
The letters say that in early 2017, Ryan Jackson – now Pruitt's chief of staff but then a top congressional aide – wanted the GSA to look for office space in Tulsa, 250 miles from the EPA regional headquarters in Dallas. Jackson asked that the office include a private, secure phone booth, like the one Pruitt later spent $43,000 to install at EPA headquarters in Washington.
"It appears that even before he was confirmed, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt had dreams of dismantling programs to protect air, water and kids from pollution from the comforts of an office in his hometown," said EWG President Ken Cook. "What better place to have a secure phone booth to receive instructions from the energy lobby, and avoid the pesky expertise of agency scientists and lawyers?"
"Each day brings new evidence of Pruitt's obsession to embellish the trappings of his office and adorn his days with pricey perquisites, taxpayers be damned. Historians will make note of Pruitt's record of fleecing the public and attacking public health as signature 'accomplishments' of the Trump presidency."
Trump appears unwilling to deal with Pruitt. This is from VOX: 'Why Trump would really, really rather not fire Scott Pruitt. The EPA administrator has given the White House most of the few policy wins it has to date.' That's rather disturbing.
Scott Pruitt's tenure as head of the Environmental Protection Agency is now deeply tainted by a stunning number of alleged ethical and legal violations. There are at least 10 investigations into potential violations like his $43,000 phone booth, his 20-person security detail, and his housing deal with a lobbyist's wife. And fallout, like the resignation and new congressional scrutiny of the head of his security team, Pasquale Perrotta (just reported by ABC News), continues.
To some Democrats in the House and Senate, environmental groups who've launched the Boot Pruitt campaign, and former top ethics officials, what should happen now is very clear: Pruitt should resign.
"I think your actions are an embarrassment to President Trump and distract from the EPA's ability to effectively carry out the president's mission," said Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ) during one of two House hearings on Pruitt last week. (A whistleblower, by the way, is now saying Pruitt lied during the hearings.)
Yet in an administration afflicted with unprecedented turnover, Pruitt has remained startlingly resilient.
His subservience to Trump appears to be one reason why he has dodged the ax. "People are not people to [Trump], they are instruments of his ego," Tony Schwartz, the ghostwriter on Trump's book The Art of the Deal, told the New York Times. "And when they serve his ego, they survive, and when they don't, they pass into the night."
Pruitt must be impeached if Trump refuses to deal with him. This from Forbes.
No self-respecting prosecutor would be proud of winning a shoplifting conviction for a suspected murderer. But that's almost exactly what's happening in the congressional investigation of Environmental Protection Agency head Scott Pruitt.
Last week, lawmakers grilled Pruitt for renting a ridiculously cheap luxury condo from the wife of a lobbyist trying to get EPA approval for a client's project. They asked why he reassigned investigators of criminal violations of environmental laws to his personal security detail.
It was all about the "appearance" of corruption. But the truth is that these petty corruptions pale in comparison to Pruitt's actual policy record at the EPA.
The EPA is a science agency. It's supposed to consult closely with scientists and base its decisions on rigorous evidence. While adherence to this principle has never been perfect, under Pruitt's leadership it's been trashed beyond recognition.
Even as he was about to face his congressional questioning, Pruitt announced a deceptive science "transparency" initiative. It's a proposed rule stating that only scientific studies which are reproducible, and in which all underlying data are publicly available, can be used as the basis for regulation.
It sounds unobjectionable. But it would end up keeping a whole lot of public health data—on the impact of pollution, pesticides, or climate change, for example—out of the EPA's hands.
For obvious ethical reasons, many public health studies can't be repeated—not if they'd entail intentionally exposing people to toxins—and raw data on individuals' health histories usually can't be disclosed. Several hundred scientists pointed out these facts in a letter to Pruitt, but Pruitt doesn't care what scientists think.
It gets really egregious when you look at what kind of data political appointees at the EPA want to exempt from the rule: proprietary corporate data, according to internal discussions obtained by the Union of Concerned Scientists. The proposed rule provides wide discretion to the EPA administrator—and only the administrator—to grant exemptions to the transparency requirement on a case-by-case basis. And Pruitt seems far more inclined to grant those exceptions to polluting industries, not
So many policies and actions of modern Republicans basically are aimed at killing every one. They are either extremely shorted sided or actually believe that they will some how escape the karma they're bringing on to the planet and country. It might be that they are simply a cult of mass destruction since so many of them are whack-a-do Dominionists and actively seek an ends times.
They are bringing on an end times or a dystopia or whatever it is that I used to watch and read about in those old books. I'm not seeing a Star Trek future in any of this. In any case, we must stop this administration before these things cannot be undone. Enough of what's gone on recently appears irreversible as it is.