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Snarkoleptic
Snarkoleptic's Journal
Snarkoleptic's Journal
July 18, 2017
Karen Budd-Falen, the Bundy familys lawyer, may be Trumps pick to manage federal lands
Now Trumpco is trolling anyone to the left of Rand Paul.
https://www.salon.com/2017/07/18/karen-budd-falen-the-bundy-familys-lawyer-may-be-trumps-pick-to-manage-federal-lands/
During the presidential campaign, Donald Trump rejected the radical anti-federal land movement, made famous during the Bundy family occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. Trump claimed to hold the more mainstream view that federal lands should stay in public hands and he picked former Rep. Ryan Zinke, a Montana Republican who likes to compare himself to conservationist Teddy Roosevelt, as interior secretary.
In the months since he took office, however, Trump has done nothing but defy the promise to protect and preserve public lands. That began with the president’s unprecedented executive order calling on Zinke to “review” the national monument designations of the Obama administration and continued with his nomination of energy industry lobbyist David Bernhardt as deputy interior secretary.
But always seems to be true with Trump, things could get even worse. Journalists who cover environmental issues in the western United States, along with some environmental activists, believe that Trump is considering a Wyoming lawyer named Karen Budd-Falen, who worked on the presidential transition team, as director of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), a federal agency that controls almost 250 million acres of publicly owned lands.
The appointment of Budd-Falen at BLM would demonstrate that the Trump administration is embracing a right-wing fringe movement that is hostile to conservation efforts on federally owned lands and, in many cases, objects to the idea that the federal government has any right to own land at all.
In the months since he took office, however, Trump has done nothing but defy the promise to protect and preserve public lands. That began with the president’s unprecedented executive order calling on Zinke to “review” the national monument designations of the Obama administration and continued with his nomination of energy industry lobbyist David Bernhardt as deputy interior secretary.
But always seems to be true with Trump, things could get even worse. Journalists who cover environmental issues in the western United States, along with some environmental activists, believe that Trump is considering a Wyoming lawyer named Karen Budd-Falen, who worked on the presidential transition team, as director of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), a federal agency that controls almost 250 million acres of publicly owned lands.
The appointment of Budd-Falen at BLM would demonstrate that the Trump administration is embracing a right-wing fringe movement that is hostile to conservation efforts on federally owned lands and, in many cases, objects to the idea that the federal government has any right to own land at all.
July 16, 2017
Yale historian warns Trumps rise perfectly mirrors frightening ascent of Fascism & Nazis in 1930's
http://www.rawstory.com/2017/07/yale-historian-warns-trumps-rise-perfectly-mirrors-frightening-ascent-of-fascism-and-nazis-in-the-1930s/“During the 2016 campaign, Trump spoke of ‘America first,’ which he knew was the name of political movement in the United States that opposed American participation in the second world war,” Snyder explains. “Among its leaders were nativists and Nazi apologists such as Charles Lindbergh. When Trump promised in his inaugural address that ‘from now on, it’s going to be America first’ he was answering a call across the decades from Lindbergh, who complained that ‘we lack leadership that places America first.’ American foreign and energy policies have been branded ‘America first.'”
“Conservatives always began from intuitive understanding of one’s own country and an instinctive defense of sovereignty. The far right of the 1930s was internationalist, in the sense that fascists learned one from the other and admired one another, as Hitler admired Mussolini,” Snyder continued.
“One of the reasons why the radical right was able to overcome conservatives back in the 1930s was that the conservatives did not understand the threat. Nazis in Germany, like fascists in Italy and Romania, did have popular support, but they would not have been able to change regimes without the connivance or the passivity of conservatives.”
“Conservatives always began from intuitive understanding of one’s own country and an instinctive defense of sovereignty. The far right of the 1930s was internationalist, in the sense that fascists learned one from the other and admired one another, as Hitler admired Mussolini,” Snyder continued.
“One of the reasons why the radical right was able to overcome conservatives back in the 1930s was that the conservatives did not understand the threat. Nazis in Germany, like fascists in Italy and Romania, did have popular support, but they would not have been able to change regimes without the connivance or the passivity of conservatives.”
July 16, 2017
Eric Trump Leaves Plate Of Seared Foie Gras Outside Bedroom Door Of Despondent Donald Trump Jr.
http://www.theonion.com/article/eric-trump-leaves-plate-seared-foie-gras-outside-b-56389WASHINGTON—After gently knocking on his brother’s door and insisting he really should eat something, Eric Trump left a plate of seared foie gras outside a despondent Donald Trump Jr.’s bedroom door, sources said Wednesday. “Hey, Donny, you sure you don’t want a little supper?” said Trump, telling his brother that he might be feeling sad, but that didn’t mean he had to go all day on an empty stomach. “It’s got pear puree and beluga caviar, too. We know how much you like that. Okay, how about I just leave this right here, and you can have some anytime you get hungry? And, hey, we saved you a blackberry mousse torte. It’ll be in the fridge whenever you feel like coming down.” Despite insisting he wasn’t hungry and wanted to be left alone, Donald Trump Jr. had at press time opened his door halfway, brought the plate into his room, and quietly closed the door behind him.
July 14, 2017
Simulator help you jump Trump off a cliff, into a volcano, down a manhole cover, or be devoured by a dinosaur.
http://www.pushtrumpoffacliffagain.com/
It's been a looong week...And now for something completely different.
Simulator help you jump Trump off a cliff, into a volcano, down a manhole cover, or be devoured by a dinosaur.
http://www.pushtrumpoffacliffagain.com/
July 4, 2017
It goes on, and on, and on....
Trump's alarming environmental rollback: what's been scrapped so far
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/jul/04/trump-emvironmental-rollback-epa-scrap-regulations?CMP=fb_guTimeline of the rollbacks
14 February Trump signs a bill repealing an anti-corruption rule that required energy companies to disclose payments to foreign governments. The regulation was scrapped under the Congressional Review Act.
16 February The stream protection rule, which prevented mining companies dumping their waste into streams, is axed under the Congressional Review Act. Trump calls it a “terrible job-killing rule.”
28 February Trump instructs the EPA to rewrite the ‘waters of the United States’ rule, which expanded the definition of the Clean Water Act to protect the water supply for around 117 million Americans. Many farmers, real estate developers and golf course owners opposed the rule.
2 March On 1 March, governors and attorneys general from several Republican-led states write to Scott Pruitt to request the EPA stop collecting methane emissions data from around 15,000 oil and gas operations. A day later, Pruitt says he has decided to oblige “after hearing from industry”.
14 February Trump signs a bill repealing an anti-corruption rule that required energy companies to disclose payments to foreign governments. The regulation was scrapped under the Congressional Review Act.
16 February The stream protection rule, which prevented mining companies dumping their waste into streams, is axed under the Congressional Review Act. Trump calls it a “terrible job-killing rule.”
28 February Trump instructs the EPA to rewrite the ‘waters of the United States’ rule, which expanded the definition of the Clean Water Act to protect the water supply for around 117 million Americans. Many farmers, real estate developers and golf course owners opposed the rule.
2 March On 1 March, governors and attorneys general from several Republican-led states write to Scott Pruitt to request the EPA stop collecting methane emissions data from around 15,000 oil and gas operations. A day later, Pruitt says he has decided to oblige “after hearing from industry”.
It goes on, and on, and on....
July 3, 2017
snip
snip
Robert Reich: There's a More Frightening Possibility Than Trump Is Just Nuts
http://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/robert-reich-theres-more-frightening-possibility-trump-just-nuts...Trump’s attacks on the press were his way of distracting public attention from a week of embarrassing news – the Congressional Budget Office’s conclusion that the Senate’s version of Trumpcare would cause 22 million Americans to lost their coverage, and the inability of Senate Republicans to pass it; the refusal of election officials in most states to cooperate with Trump’s commission on voter fraud; and the news that Republican financier Peter W. Smith last fall assembled a team of computer experts to
contact hackers connected with the Russian government, saying he was working with Trump campaign advisor Michael Flynn.
snip
As the tweets and rallies become shriller and more provocative, their clear message is that Trump’s critics are bad people who are conspiring to undo his presidency – people whom Trump supporters must “not let” silence him, who deserve to be slammed the way Trump took it out on CNN in the mock video he posted Sunday morning.
snip
In one recent video from the National Rifle Association, for example, Dana Loesch, an N.R.A. spokeswoman and former editor at Breitbart News, charges that a left-wing cabal “use their media to assassinate real news. They use their schools to teach children that their president is another Hitler. They use their movie stars and singers and comedy shows and award shows to repeat their narrative over and over again.”
As black-and-white images of recent protests play in the background, Loesch says “the only way we stop this, the only way we save our country, and our freedom, is to fight this violence of lies with a clenched fist of truth.”
This “clenched fist” theme is being legitimized by the President of the United States who’s on a warpath against news organizations and professionals who criticize him.
July 3, 2017
On edit, they've 'fixed' it!
War on Terriers, Terrior, Terra, Terror...Indiana War Memorial Faux Pas
http://www.wthr.com/article/terrorism-misspelled-on-bench-at-indiana-war-memorialCOLUMBIA CITY, Ind. (AP) - The designer of a Vietnam War memorial in northern Indiana says a misspelling on a bench seems to be getting too much attention.
The memorial was put in place Tuesday outside the Whitley County courthouse in Columbia City. The word "terrorism" was misspelled on a nearby bench.
Memorial designer Ty Murphy put tape over the errant "i." He tells TV station WANE it's a "pretty small thing to worry about" but phones have been ringing "off the hook."
Murphy says many people overlooked the mistake, including the Muncie company that made the stone bench. The mistake will be fixed or the bench will be replaced.
The memorial was put in place Tuesday outside the Whitley County courthouse in Columbia City. The word "terrorism" was misspelled on a nearby bench.
Memorial designer Ty Murphy put tape over the errant "i." He tells TV station WANE it's a "pretty small thing to worry about" but phones have been ringing "off the hook."
Murphy says many people overlooked the mistake, including the Muncie company that made the stone bench. The mistake will be fixed or the bench will be replaced.
On edit, they've 'fixed' it!
July 2, 2017
4th Of July in Trumpland!
July 1, 2017
snip
Budget impasse could have 'accreditation consequences' for Illinois colleges and universities
Alternate headline "Republican Gov. Bruce 'Ruiner' Rauner's stubbornness on full display during manufactured crisis."
http://thesouthern.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/budget-impasse-could-have-accreditation-consequences-for-illinois-colleges-and/article_25e3ba6d-f97f-5b52-a37d-cbd06bfc4421.html
CARBONDALE — The regional accrediting agency responsible for assuring the quality of colleges and universities, including Southern Illinois University, sent a letter this past week to the governor and legislative leaders warning them that there could be “accreditation consequences” if a budget deal is not reached in short order that provides adequate financial support for Illinois institutions.
The Higher Learning Commission is the regional accrediting agency responsible for ensuring universities and colleges are making the grade, so to speak, in 19 states, including Illinois.
The Higher Learning Commission is the regional accrediting agency responsible for ensuring universities and colleges are making the grade, so to speak, in 19 states, including Illinois.
snip
SIU was first granted accreditation in 1913 and has held that distinction for more than 100 years through various ups and downs. The most recent reaffirmation of accreditation for the Carbondale campus was granted in 2009-2010 for 10 years. SIU Carbondale is due for a reaffirmation of accreditation review again in 2019-2020, according to information made available to the public on the Higher Learning Commission's website. The SIU Edwardsville campus was first granted accreditation in 1969, shortly after the younger sister campus was founded in the Metro East, and has received reaffirmation since then, most recently in 2014-2015. The Edwardsville campus is not due for a reaffirmation of accreditation review again until 2024-2025.
July 1, 2017
About 40,000 gallons of crude oil leak after derailment
https://www.dailyherald.com/news/20170630/about-40000-gallons-of-crude-oil-leak-after-derailmentAs many as 25 railroad tanker cars derailed early Friday evening in Plainfield, resulting in a leak of about 40,000 gallons of crude oil, according to Plainfield police.
The derailment disrupted traffic, as the rest of the train continues to block several crossings, Plainfield Police Sgt. Mike Fisher said.
No one was hurt, he said, and firefighters managed to keep the oil from flowing in to the DuPage River, he said.
"It is quite a distance away from the river, but it is still too close for comfort," Fisher said.
The derailment disrupted traffic, as the rest of the train continues to block several crossings, Plainfield Police Sgt. Mike Fisher said.
No one was hurt, he said, and firefighters managed to keep the oil from flowing in to the DuPage River, he said.
"It is quite a distance away from the river, but it is still too close for comfort," Fisher said.
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Current location: Chicago
Member since: Fri May 4, 2007, 12:12 PM
Number of posts: 5,997
