Well, another Black Friday has come and
gone. We have seen the usual stampeding crowds.
But something else happened during the
start of this holiday shopping season. A report was issued by the
federal government, yes, the same federal government led by President
Donald Trump.
There is some speculation that the
timing was deliberate. You know, everyone distracted by the annual
holiday shopping frenzy and partying for Thanksgiving that somehow
they wouldn't notice. Ahhh, but those nasty press types were quick
to make note of this rather dire report.
Now we see the talking heads that have
denied climate change basically saying, yes, there is climate change,
but there is no real proof that man is at fault or that we could
actually make a difference if we tried. Our climate is always
changing. Basically parroting what Donald Trump has come up with
for his new position. I say new, because in the past he was of the
belief that climate change was a hoax.
I hate to throw multiple things out
there all at once, but I feel I really need to make mention of
something that goes hand in hand with climate change, and that is
species extinction. While we have focused so much of our attention
on climate change we may have overlooked something that has just as
great an impact on the health of this planet, at least with respect
for human life. If you have a moment please listen to Elizabeth
Kolbert, the author of “The Sixth Extinction”, on her book and
this critical topic.
I would remind people that Donald Trump
is 72 years old. Unless there is a sudden snapping of the Earth's
climate, which is something that has been speculated on because there
is nothing to say this will be gradual, Donald Trump will not live to
see the extreme's that the recent report enumerate. His children
may, but he will not. And yet, he is having an inordinate amount of
influence on what the Untied States does to deal with this very
serious issue. An issue that will affect all of humanity in the
coming decades.
Perhaps it is time for us, “we the
people”, to try to stop and take a moment in our busy lives to look
a little more closely at climate change and species extinction.
Because while we may blame Donald Trump, he is only the expression of
what so many people out there believe. Because he and his followers
are what WE have allowed to be elected to run our government.
59 comments:
I think, from Trump's point of view, he figures his heirs will be rich. They'll be in a position to cope with it, maybe even profit from it.
Possibly so. Although it can't do much for the Trump brand to be known as a relative of someone who was in a position to do something for the world, but didn't.
Yet you advocate for every possible policy that leads to continued and worsening over population. A key driver behind both climate change and species extinction.
"…you advocate for…"
I'm assuming Lynnette is the intended referent on the second person pronoun there. (Although, honestly, it doesn't apply to her either.)
I've noticed that the office of White House Counsel (Trump's official White House Lawyers' office) is running extremely short staffed these days, running at about 70% of its standard lawyer contingent, with even more of the senior lawyers indicating they'll soon be seeking other employment.
Trump has a fairly non-conventional approach to many things political, but that's a highly questionable strategy to pursue when the Democrats in the House just got subpoena powers.
Oh, yeah, and the White House's official position is that the Democrats must now come to Trump and seek compromises with him on his agenda. Yeah, right, that's about as clever as runnin' short-staffed on lawyers. (Although, I do recall Trump said a little while back that they'd get nothin' from him unless they gave up on the notion that they were going to investigate his campaign, or the "Russia thing", or his people. All off limits; he pronounced himself untouchable, no investigations would be permitted. Yeah, right; like that's gonna happen.)
I noticed in passing a headline on the CNN site that said the GOP strategy for any Democratic investigation was to resist. Nice. Same old, same old. They would be better served long term to dump Trump instead.
Yet you advocate for every possible policy that leads to continued and worsening over population. A key driver behind both climate change and species extinction.
Which policies did I advocate for?
I rather think that it was he developed world that has made the most contribution to climate change and those countries are actually losing population, except for new immigrants. I was just reading that Japan was going to try to attract more workers as they have lost so much population and those that are left are quickly aging out of the workforce.
While climate change will affect everyone, it will adversely affect many poorer countries with rising populations to a greater degree as they do not have the resources to deal with it.
Although in that latest climate report it appears that the US economy will probably be shaved by 10%. Hopefully I won't be around to see that! It's bad enough the stock market tanking now.
"They would be better served long term to dump Trump instead."
I'm no longer hoping for them to do well long-term.
There will be a realignment later. The Democratic Party will become a bit more conservative and a bit more populist and will spin off its radical left wing. For a time we'll have three parties working, the Socialists, the Democrats (more to the middle), and a right-wing party that may or may not still call itself ‛Republicans’, but which will resemble mostly the right-winger Party of Trump. That won't last long, but it's likely to last a presidential cycle or two, or maybe even three.
TheGuardian drops a bombshell. While working for the Trump campaign Paul Manafort was making secret excursions to the Ecuadoran Embassy in London to visit Julian Assange.
Lee: "The Democratic Party will become a bit more conservative and a bit more populist and will spin off its radical left wing."
You sure about that? BC historically those who increasingly support radicals tend to get up eaten by their own Golem. The way the Dems are heading right now I would rather foresee a purge of the "middle road Democrats" and a rise of the socialist lefties.
Then again, maybe you're right, BC maybe that trajectory can be stifled with money, since money is such an integral part of US "democracy". Although I'm not so sure. I think a younger version of Bernie might well be the Dem front runner next time around.
And yes, I do see the same trend on the right, no need to point that out.
The divide isn't gonna get any smaller any time soon, that at least seems certain.
"You sure about that?"
Fairly confident. The ‛Democratic Socialist’ leftist radicals have been getting a lot of press, but they've only been winning in what were already solidly Democratic districts. The Democrats took the majority in the House this last time not by electing leftist radicals, but by electing middle-of-the-road types in the American suburbs that used to go Republican. The Democrats' left wing is about 10% of their party, maybe 20% max--it's in the middle where they're picking up ground on the Party of Trump.
Oh, and the lefties were gonna purge Nancy Pelosi from the Democratic leadership. Turns out that ain't happenin’.
Lee: "The Democrats took the majority in the House this last time not by electing leftist radicals, but by electing middle-of-the-road types in the American suburbs that used to go Republican."
Or, or you could say that Dems won in places the Rep in choice was a never-trumper. That is the truth. In areas where the Republican candidate endorsed Trump and where Trump went to shore him up, that Republican also won. But in areas where you had a never-Trump kinda middle of the road Republican, that Republican also lost. (Because he was seen as fake and gay and couldn't muster the support he needed - but we can't say that outright can we, even if it's plainly true)
"In areas where the Republican candidate endorsed Trump
and where Trump went to shore him up, that Republican also
won."
Trump, worried about his own image as always, went only to exclusive and select venues where he was certain to be able to fill an arena with cheering Trumpkins. Of course those areas returned Trump-friendly electoral results--he special picked those areas on account of that result was already assured. (Other places less certain might get a tweet or two--but no appearance by the Great Orange.)
(The thing you gotta get a grasp on here is that, two years into his term, Trump can go to fewer and fewer places and still expect to keep his string of ‛wins’ alive. There's fewer and fewer places guaranteed to return a electoral victory for a Trumpkin follower, and hence fewer and fewer places he can still go to campaign without risk of exposure. Few enough that the Republicans lost their House majority and picked up only one (1) senate seat so far in a hugely favorable map--second seat will probably go Republican in today's runoff in Mississippi for a net gain of only two (2) in a hugely favorable map.)
(Oh, yeah, and another part of the evolution here… Moderate Republicans aren't winning in the suburbs anymore. Moderate Democrats are winning there. Moderate Republicans who want to win in the suburbs have to start thinking about switching party affiliations and becoming moderate Democrats. --That or find another business to get into--or go full dedicated Trumpkin type, and those types are losing in the suburbs worse than moderate Republicans, so it's a pretty clear choice for a lot of 'em.)
GM is planning to close multiple factories, laying off close to 15,000.00 workers.
Very sad for those workers right before Christmas. Not good for Trump either considering his promises on the campaign trail to bring back jobs.
"Not good for Trump either…"
Yes, he is reacting poorly to the news.
I'm not one to get outraged over the Trump of the day (I deemed him unfit so long ago it's almost impossible for me to get outraged over his antics now), but this pushes the line for me--got a double take out of me before the sense of wonder started to fade. TrumpTweets a suggestion that a whole slew of opposing politicians and/or law enforcement types should be tried for treason--yep, he actually posted that, ‛treason’.
Head of the Fed has suggested this morning that there'll be no need to raise interest rates this time 'round, and the Dow/Jones has jumped up today. Maybe that'll make Trump happy.
I'm thinking that Trump is misunderstanding the definition of treason with regard to our democracy. Perhaps he was asleep when he took the oath of office because he seems not to understand what that oath is too.
Maybe that'll make Trump happy.
I don't know about Trump, but I have breathed a little sigh of relief. I say little because if it is due to the feds choosing not to raise interest rates, then that means they are not sure that the economy will continue on in as robust a manner.
Those sorts of instant returns on information often prove ephemeral.
Have you been reading about the employee protests at Amazon fulfillment centers? Apparently workers aren't too thrilled with the raising of productivity requirements, saying they are almost impossibly fast. At least that is what they are saying here in Minnesota. I'm guessing that the protests in, was it France, are along the same lines.
That and the GM closing/restructuring, as well as the current Republican controlled government and it's policies remind me a bit of that video I posted not too long ago about the run up to the Great Depression.
Oh, yeah, the volatility in the stock market doesn't help either.
It was in this post:
The Great Depression
You just don't want to mess too much with people's livelihood too quickly.
"I posted not too long ago about the run up to the Great Depression."
There is a risk there. The central bankers and the politicians didn't learn from the Great Recession of the year 2000. They're back at the same games that damn near brought the system down, and they could do it again--for real this time. There is the risk.
Here is an Op-Ed by Thomas Friedman, writing in the NewYorkTimes that Lynnnette will probably like, if, for no other reason, because he seems to argue that it is our responsibility to fix the world.
But, as usual, he does have some valid points to make.
The Kremlin confirmed this morning that there would be a one-on-one meeting between Putin and Trump come this next G20 in Argentina. Then Trump announced that he was going to cancel said meeting.
Mueller's got 'im spooked.
... because he seems to argue that it is our responsibility to fix the world.
I have become more realistic perhaps. Because I don't see the group of countries he mentions standing up and contributing much of anything to the welfare of smaller countries, particularly Russia.
But the point of trying to help people in their own country is valid. It would certainly go a ways to help with immigration problems in various countries.
I have a feeling that Marcus would appreciate Mr. Friedman's mention of the population explosion in various areas of the world.
Mueller's got 'im spooked.
I can just see him squirming. Not the behavior of an innocent man.
"…Mr. Friedman's mention of the population explosion…"
One of his valid points I think.
Been talkin' to a some dedicated Trumpkins I know (they tend to avoid talking Trump in front of me on account of I have an unfortunate tendency to correct their ‛alternate’ facts). But, it has come up lately that they're ready to accept the fact that Trump ‛colluded’ with the Russians to win the 2016 election, and support him in spite of such ‛collusion’.
The basic idea appears to be that it's better to be openly allied with Vladimir Putin than to allow the Democrats to ‛nullify’ the victorious Trump.
They are more ready to accept this than most of their supposed Republican ‛representatives" appear to know.
Could get interesting as the Republican Senate majority comes to understand where the Trumpkin base is on this question.
Trump's in Argentina this morning, but his morning Trumptweets are about the Mueller investigation, which appears to live large in his thoughts these days.
The basic idea appears to be that it's better to be openly allied with Vladimir Putin than to allow the Democrats to ‛nullify’ the victorious Trump.
We've sunk to a new low when we prefer a Putin to an American, even if a Democrat. It would seem that there are some out there who are simply gullible. Not deplorable, just foolish.
Andrew Sullivan goes after the Republican/right-winger coalition on the subject of climate change.
Honduran caravaners escaping the brutal civil war in Syria and getting gas bombed by the dictator Assad decide that wating in the shithole that is Mexico for months on end is too harsh and decide to return and get killed by honduran gang-members in shithole Honduras where they originated:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/faced-with-months-long-wait-in-mexico-some-caravan-migrants-decide-to-go-home/2018/11/28/a62828e8-f32e-11e8-99c2-cfca6fcf610c_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.9e431413b388
I guess a fence and some ICE troopers actually made a difference. Now think of what a WALL would do (accompanied with drone survellience and rapid reaction forces of course).
You really are some right inhumane bastards over there. Back here, when Eritrean, Somali, Pakistani and Afghan refugees were escaping that same brutal civil war in Syria, and the gassings of insane dictator Assad, our Mother Merkel just up and said "wir shaffen das" and let 'em all in.
"I guess a fence and some ICE troopers actually made a difference."
That's what I've said all along. Get those fat-asses out of their air-conditioned offices and out of their equally air-conditioned SUVs and put to work on the border, and we don't need a wall.
Wall's a waste of money. (Didn't need active duty troops either; equally a waste of money.)
Following a two and a half hour meeting in Buenos Aires Trump has agreed to hold off on any new tariffs on Chinese products and the Chinese have agreed to make happy talk until the Democrats take over the House of Representatives in late January and give Trump something else to think about. NBCNews
word chowder and Republican climate vandalism
I rather like Sullivan's turn of phrase. These are very apt.
How to wake more people up to the danger? That is the puzzling question. That so many people are foolish enough to still support Trump and to turn a blind eye to what our planet is telling us is extremely frustrating.
I've heard people before talk about Trump speaking in a form of ‛word salad’, so I don't Sullivan too much credit for employing the ‛chowder’ variation. But, ‛climate vandalism’ seems both accurate and descriptive, so he gets points from me for that one.
Back here, when Eritrean, Somali, Pakistani and Afghan refugees were escaping that same brutal civil war in Syria, and the gassings of insane dictator Assad, our Mother Merkel just up and said "wir shaffen das" and let 'em all in.
There may come a day when we will be the refugees and need a place of sanctuary. One can only hope there will be someone out there who would show us the compassion to take us in.
It snowed here yesterday and while I shoveled last night the plow came by and pushed some more into my driveway. *sigh* Welcome to winter.
Maureen Dowd does a downer on the Clintons. One of the things she misses though is that Hillary is still a big deal on FoxNews which, to this day, still features Hillary Clinton at a rate six times higher than either CNN or MSNBC ‛Tis true. Vox Perhaps the FoxNews infatuation with Hillary helps her with the delusion that she's got a shot at redeeming herself for that loss to Trump. But, she's got no shot.
(I kinda thought that she'd have learned campaigning lessons from the 2000 loss to Obama, but she ran as bad a campaign the second time as the first, maybe even worse--no reason to think she'd be any better at that part of it if she tried it a third time.)
"Sun Dec 02, 12:09:00 pm" ↑↑
Should have been the 2008 loss to Obama, of course. Sloppy proofreading there.
"I guess a fence and some ICE troopers actually made a difference."
I meant to mention this earlier, but forgot… It wasn't ICE who turned back the immigrant protests at the Tijuana border. ICE is "Immigration and Customs Enforcement" and they hunt down immigrants who've made it into the country and integrated into local Hispanic/immigrant communities. The folks at the Tijuana border crossing were simple Border Patrol agents. They proved themselves perfectly capable of gassing women and children all by themselves, without the assistance of ICE, or the National Guard, or active-duty federal soldiers.
Seems to be a general consensus among the pundit class (both on the left and the right) that Trump had a generally successful G-20 meeting. He got nothing of significance accomplished, but (and this is THE important part), he managed to get back home without making another public mess in front of the foreigners.
... but (and this is THE important part), he managed to get back home without making another public mess in front of the foreigners.
LOL! Indeed, that was unusual for a Trump appearance abroad.
It seems that former President George H.W. Bush wanted Trump to come to his funeral. Perhaps in some effort to unify our country. I am not sure that this will do it. But it was a nice last gesture on his part.
"…that was unusual for a Trump appearance…"
I believe that result was facilitated by the fact that Trump's entourage managed to convince him that the death of President G.H.W. Bush was cause for him to avoid both the press (no press conferences) and his Twitter feed (mostly) until after the corpse is interred.
Lynnette: "There may come a day when we will be the refugees and need a place of sanctuary. One can only hope there will be someone out there who would show us the compassion to take us in."
Well, you're a woman so you they will probably let in, force convert and sell off as a wife, or possibly just stuff into a brothel. But me and Lee they will just kill off.
But nah. Whites don't do refugee. We invade instead, if it ever comes down to it, which it won't, BC we don't do shitholery either.
Trump got off to a late start on his Twitter feed yesterday, but then he more than made up for it.
Be interesting to see where he goes with it today. (Gonna be stressful week for him comin' up here, and he's probably already winding himself up about it.)
It appears that the investor rush they got from the news that The Fed wasn't interested in raising interest rates this quarter has worn off. The final flush of the rush seems to have drained away today.
Whites don't do refugee.
It really depends on circumstance more so than skin color, Marcus. If the history books are correct there were quite a few refugees in Europe during the World Wars.
And climate change is really a roll of the dice as to who benefits and who doesn't.
The final flush of the rush seems to have drained away today.
I think they are over the first glow of hearing that there may be a deal to at least talk about trade. Probably reality has set in that with Trump and China that is a pipe dream.
"…may be a deal to at least talk about trade."
Might be that, or it might be that investors have had time to consider the implications of The Fed passing on that interest rate hike, meaning The Fed is expecting the economy to cool off.
The Fed is expecting the economy to cool off.
Yes, that could be. There seem to be some people who are thinking we are headed into a downturn long about 2019/2020.
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