November 29, 2017

Draining the Swamp and the Desert

Last month President Trump’s Bureau of Land Management decided to reverse course on a 2011 decision and greenlight a project that would allow construction of a 43-mile pipeline through Mojave Trails National Monument, enabling a company to pump massive amounts of groundwater out of ancient desert aquifers without any environmental review. This is illegal and irresponsible and today, we’re (EarthJustice.org) taking them to court. This is where to go to see the area of concern: https://www.blm.gov/programs/national-conservation-lands/california/mojave-trails-national-monument. It is comprised of a stunning mosaic of rugged mountain ranges, ancient lava flows, and spectacular sand dunes. Mojave Trails National Monument protects irreplaceable historic resources including ancient Native American trading routes, World War II-era training camps, and the longest remaining undeveloped stretch of Route 66. Additionally, the area has been a focus of study and research for decades, including geological research and ecological studies on the effects of climate change and land management practices on ecological communities and wildlife.

This is just one of many examples of the Trump administration putting private interests before the public good. Daunting as it may seem, we must keep fighting back—there’s simply too much at stake. These lands belong to us, the taxpayers, not private interests

June 24, 2017

VP Mike Pence checks in with the boss: a pause to refresh

Source: TheHill via GreenMountainDaily

In the face of multiple official investigations into Trump campaign’s possible Russian contacts heating up and a key vote due in the Senate to repeal the Affordable Care Act (aka ObamaCare) and trash Medicaid funding, Vice President Mike Pence Pence somehow found time to sneak off and have a private chat with Charles Koch.the koch machine

According to The Hill.com the first instinct of the Veep’s office was to deny the meeting took place. But it turns out while at a conservative Christian celebration in Colorado, Pence had an unannounced meeting with Charles Koch and representatives from the Koch brothers’ political finance and policy arm, Americans for Prosperity.

Pence, in town to headline a banquet celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Christian conservative group Focus on the Family, sat down with the chairman and chief executive of Koch Industries, along with key members of the Koch team.

The meeting was not on the vice president’s schedule released by the White House late Thursday.

A spokesman for the vice president’s office denied to The Hill earlier Friday that Pence would be meeting with the Koch brothers’ network. The spokesman did not respond to requests for comments late Friday.

Read more: http://www.greenmountaindaily.com/2017/06/24/vp-mike-pence-checks-in-with-the-boss-a-pause-to-refresh/

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This has been the plan, all along. Hoping americans will think anything will stink less than Drumpf.

June 19, 2017

Repuglicans store voter info in public cloud.... It's hard to find good talent!

Especially anyone who will work for them. Perhaps some inbred relatives...

https://www.upguard.com/breaches/the-rnc-files

May 23, 2017

Trump wasnt always so linguistically challenged. What could explain the change?

Trump speaking style interviews

It was the kind of utterance that makes professional transcribers question their career choice:

“ … there is no collusion between certainly myself and my campaign, but I can always speak for myself — and the Russians, zero.”

When President Trump offered that response to a question at a press conference last week, it was the latest example of his tortured syntax, mid-thought changes of subject, and apparent trouble formulating complete sentences, let alone a coherent paragraph, in unscripted speech.

...

Now, Trump’s vocabulary is simpler. He repeats himself over and over, and lurches from one subject to an unrelated one, as in this answer during an interview with the Associated Press last month:

“People want the border wall. My base definitely wants the border wall, my base really wants it — you’ve been to many of the rallies. OK, the thing they want more than anything is the wall. My base, which is a big base; I think my base is 45 percent. You know, it’s funny. The Democrats, they have a big advantage in the Electoral College. Big, big, big advantage. … The Electoral College is very difficult for a Republican to win, and I will tell you, the people want to see it. They want to see the wall.”

January 29, 2017

First it seemed like just random acts of violence

I first penned this after Sandy Hook but think has some relevance to the political and social situation that the recent "election" has brought upon us.

First it seemed like just random acts of violence – no obvious connection except for perhaps some mental instability and the types of weapons used.

Although this had happened to some level in the past in this country, there seemed to be an increase in frequency and intensity of the violence.

Predictably there was a general sense that something needed to be done; whether treating the possible mental illnesses or limiting access to the weaponry. A political will was forming to perhaps address this, altho the money was on the other side.

The media was finding this problem to be another good lead issue to improve audience ratings and advertising revenues. Apparently random acts of terror are more affecting than the day-to-day threats.

Paid-for shills on K Street and sitting in the Capitol; bloodthirsty and greedy manufacturers; willfully ignorant supporters.

Industries and their trade groups (weaponry, media, mental services) had a vested interest in how this situation would be handled. Some members of the government were influenced by the commercial organizations.

The populace became more and more polarized about how to handle this. Typical progressive/conservative grounds.

Non-action was the likely outcome – common answer/inertia.

The adherents of the viewpoint that the choice of weaponry is solely their own started to believe that the government would try to confiscate or limit their rights.

- Hunting clubs
- Gated communities
- Private security
- Guerilla tactics
- Non-violence confrontations
- Local police, Army/NG – unable to deal with homegrown insurgency
- Police/military may have bonds to the weaponry activists
- Households becoming safe-havens in name only. No policing possible given number of attacks
- One border country closes due to large-scale immigration attempts – not clear how long they can last.
- Other border country started this weaponization and terror earlier – lessons learned. (I'm not sure what I meant.)