Trump Says Drop Dead To Planet
By Thom Hartmann A...
It's official. After days of speculation, Donald Trump announced yesterday that he would pull the US out of the Paris Climate Deal.
Why is this so-called nationalist president trying to surrender America's climate leadership role to China?
"I have one obligation, and that obligation is to the American people. The Paris accord would undermine our economy, hamstring our workers, weaken our sovereignty, impose unacceptable legal risk, and put us at a permanent disadvantage to the other countries of the world.
It is time to exit the Paris accord."
That's the kind of nationalist rhetoric we've come to expect from President Trump.
But by leaving the Paris climate deal, is he putting "America first"?
Or turning our country into global pariah?
Comments
#2
Thank God we have Jerry Brown, CA will lead the way as we always have. As the 6th largest ecnomy in the world I think we have a little pull. Now I read where NY and WA will join us in developing our own relationship with the Paris Accord. Plus we are underway to establishing close environmental ties with Canada, Mexico and China...That's what leaders do....Lead!!!
#3
What trump did is vile, he is amongs friends though, who are so full of themselves and so delusional they think they are so powerful they can raise a middle finger to Nature. But at this point it doesn't matter we are way beyond saving Life on Earth. Things are so far gone that the Earth it;self is throwing it's own carbon into the mix, and that's not all. While we are focued on carbon not many are paying attention to all the water vapor going into the atmosphere. Water Vapor is also a powerfull greenhoue gas. And then there is methane. The fake news war waged by the profesional denier construct has numbed the people enough that they don;t really pay attention to it. That will change soon, This is not at all about saving our children or their children. Everyone alive today wil have to face the piper including Trump. There is no where for him to hide.
#4
Utter disaster, like every thing DJT touches. It sets the US back further and further. Every move he makes takes us backwards in progress. His reign is far more unsettling already than I imagined. He has betrayed the people who voted for him, he has betrayed the American people, he has betrayed and violated the life of every human, animal, and plant. As that old Native American proverb states: "Treat the earth well: it was not given to you by your parents, it was loaned to you by your children. We do not inherit the Earth from our Ancestors, we borrow it from our Children."
#5
You are mischaracterizing this as nationalist rhetoric. It is merely oligarchs doing what is best for themselves. This needs to be seen as class warfare. If you make it into the US vs the World you are helping Trump. You have been in DC too long.
#6
Mar-a-lago is among the first.
#7
Just another example of the has been tv show personality illegal selected president is attempting to isolate the American people from the world for the time he makes his move to turn America into a fascist state. Hopefully the republicans have determined the time for a New American Revolution by announcing they will end health care by the end of July. The Forth of July would be appropriate.
#8
Njabulo #4: Excellent! Very poignant and timely! Thank you for that. It's too bad the Native American culture didn't win the day during the European expansion across the continent. Also, an absolutely awesome link, which deserves to be reposted everywhere (a sure keeper to spread around):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfGMYdalClU
None of the anti-science mishmash of nonsensical gibberish that Blow Lip's "two Steves" ( swamp-wing hacks, Bannon and Miller) slapped together for his public justification to commit history's most serious crime against humanity -- and all life on Earth -- has anything at all to do with his real reasons. No, this vindictive little man with a shallow little mind really, really hates everything Obama, liberal, democratic, or European, and his only motivation is to stick it to those who don't stroke his fat ego and stand in awe of his stolen authority.
Of course, the fake president also needs to appease his shrinking base of ignorant fools, pathetic bigots, and fragile snowflakes, who only whine and bitch about how abused and misunderstood they are; although, all of these useful idiots are merely an afterthought, bugs crunching under his $800 Gucci wingtips.
The "very, very bad people" in that accursed cosmopolitan world of tree-hugging elites are out to get him! Paranoid Donnie craps his diapers, kicks his crib, and throws temper tantrums whenever he doesn't get his way. It really is that simple. There is no sense in trying to read anything more into any of the asinine decisions issuing forth from the "very good brain" of superhero "Orange Sphincter." (--Bill Maher)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/bill-maher-donald-trump-superheroes_us_591fda91e4b034684b0c9e2a
http://www.tomdispatch.com/blog/176288/tomgram%3A_engelhardt%2C_thank_you%2C_donald/
#9
Uh, Thomm,
When you say 'America First'. Is that the same as cutting in front of someone in a line? Ya know, the 'me first, screw you.. No - I don't have an respect for you' attitude.
We are either losing more friends, or do we have any left to lose??
#10
I'm really sick of these shit-head lowlifes that call into talk shows and suggest that climate change is "unsettled science." What the fuck does that mean? What is unsettled science? What is settled science?
There are no absolutes!
Everything is relative!
Be that as it may, there are universal phenomena that are observable and can be tested and regarded as fact. Also, we create standards that are accepted as fact. For instance, there are 12 inches in a foot, 36 inches in a yard and so on. We also regard as a fact that if we walk out in the rain unprotected, we will get wet. We regard it as a fact.
Knowledge and use of such facts make it possible to function. Period!
And yet all of these facts are still relative and not absolute. If a twelve inch ruler is accelerated at close to the speed of light, it will change in size and time will slow. These theories have been tested and proven to be accepted facts.
Yes, nature affects the climate, but if lightning (a natural phenomenon) strikes your house and sets it on fire, you don't put it out by pouring gasoline on it. Just as if nature puts too much carbon in the atmosphere, you don't solve the problem by adding more carbon.
One astronaut observed that the earth's atmosphere is like an onion skin when seen from outer space. To think that humans dumping billions of tons of pollutants into this relatively thin layer since the dawn of the industrial age and that all life on the planet depends on, does not affect the climate, is pure insanity.
Just because rich corporations can pay a few scientists to muddy the water does not make the science "unsettled." It only makes it possible for the greedy, immoral lowlife trash of the world to rationalize their lack of caring for what happens, to even the future of their own children, while they smugly pursue their wasteful and wanton ways.
Therefore, when someone tells you that climate change is "unsettled science." They are just some despicable, rotten, lying, selfish asshole!!! And they know it!
#11
I don't understand the how this changes anything. Solar panels, electric cars and wind turbines will still be built. This agreement meant nothing. China and India didn't have to do anything for the environment for 15 and 20 years. Trump just saved Americans 100 billion dollars that can be used for healthcare or education. Now let's renegotiate a agreement that actually cleans the planet up.
#12
Not at all Kend. My electric utility restructured how they charge for electricity. They now charge based on your peak usage, which totally discourages going solar. Your peak usage will be at night. This is in one of the sunniest states in the nation. FL is doing similar. This is legal and supported by corporate right wingers. China and India are both doing a lot to lower carbon output. Both would be severly hurt by rising sea levels. As one of the leading carbon output per capita country setting an example for others to follow is important. 195 countries signed onto this plan. I do not know of any other plan that has had such support. We join Syria and Nicaraqua in not being in it. Suggest that you truth check Trumps speech. This is not a left or right wing problem. It is a world problem.
http://www.ucsusa.org/global_warming/science_and_impacts/science/each-co...
#13
Legend. China and india are building thousands of coal fired power plants. China is devastating the earth by mining earth metals for solar panels and batteries. My point is the Paris agreement does nothing to stop this or help you with your utility bill it is worthless paper. Climate change is not a religion it is a science. It is about time a world leader used some common sense instead of emotion to make the right decision and get out of this and start in the right direction and clean the planet up. Trump has already reduced CO2 levels as much as Obama, both have reduced them by zero.
#14
I recently read that The Donald has been offered 20 billion dollars, upon leaving office, if he serves the interests of the military-industrial complex. This same article also said that Al Gore accepter 100 million dollars if he would not challenge the Florida count and allow Dubya to become POTUS. If this is true, it would explain a lot of things.
#15
So, let's review. Trump dumps the Paris Accords. Maybe he should have sent the agreement to the US Senate for ratification. Oooops, Obama could have done that, but he didn't. We all know why.
The Paris Agreement did NOTHING for the climate. Yet, as I read these posts and if I didn't know better, I might think the world was going to end tomorrow. Ohhh, the sky is falling, woe is us, we are doomed, etc. I have been hearing these things for most of my 60 years. (ref Paul Erlich; The Population Bomb)
Yet, when I got up this morning, the sun was still shining, the birds were all chirping, the flowers were blooming, the grass was still growing (evidence the sound of lawnmowers).
I am so sick of hearing these phony outrages that mankind (esp the US) is destroying the planet simply by our mere existance and trying to improve everyone's lot in life. We are constantly improving mankind's standard of living, and by doing so, somehow we are endangering the earth. Hogwash.
I also laugh at the notion that human beings can control the climate. We (as humans) can't predict the weather 24 hrs in advance and yet people are predicting what the climate will be in 20, 50 or 100 years from now. And don't feed me this bs about how weather and climate are two different things. Climate is measured by averaging weather conditions over a specified period of time. It stands to reason, if we can't control the weather, then we certainly can't control the climate.
This all leads to the absolute absurd notion the liberals (true believers in agw) that humans will abandon fossil fuels for some pie-in-the-sky dream that wind and solar can solve all of our energy needs. You climate change belivers just cannot accept the truth. We, as human beings, will be pumping fossil fuels from the earth for many, many generations to come. Just look around. My advice; start getting used to it.
K2
#16
Of course none of you deniers would look up a fact or post a reference. That is something that right wingers cannot seem to do.
Kend you a dead wrong that under Obama CO2 emissions went down by zero.
https://www.google.com/#q=co2+emissions+us
Both China and India have been cancelling coal plants since the Paris Accord was signed. In fact coal plant construction is described as in a free fall.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/mar/22/coal-power-plants-gr...
https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2017/6/2/15723988/winners-los...
https://www.yahoo.com/news/france-trolls-trump-apos-corrected-054549826....
#17
ErinRose #14
"I recently read that The Donald has been offered 20 billion dollars, upon leaving office, if he serves the interests of the military-industrial complex. This same article also said that Al Gore accepter 100 million dollars if he would not challenge the Florida count and allow Dubya to become POTUS. If this is true, it would explain a lot of things."
Let's ask Legend about this fact. He seems to have a handle on the duckduckgo machine.
#18
That is a problem when people post what they consider to be fact without references. Most of it is faIse facts. I call people out on it. Diane and OU812 are among the worse for it.
#19
Based on Kilosgrd's #15 reasoning, I might as well drop my homeowners insurance. Hell, I woke up this morning and the roof was over my head and all the windows and doors were intact. What am I paying for?
Why do I bother to lock the doors at night? I've never had my home broken into. I woke up this morning and I was alive and well and all my possessions were still there.
Might as well get rid of my health insurance. Even though I'm about to turn 71, I woke up this morning, walked a mile and swam 60 laps. What could possibly ever go wrong?
While I'm at it, I might as well get rid of my auto insurance. I haven't had an accident in over 40 years. I woke up this morning and my car was out in the carport just the way I left it. In fact, why do I bother having the oil changed and getting new tires. I woke up this morning and that was all fine too.
Thanks Kilosgrd. You're gonna save me a ton of money.
However, I do have to disagree with you about weather prediction. I get up every morning and watch the weather and they tell me almost exactly how hot and cold it will be that day, and the rest of the week for that matter with amazing accuracy. In fact, they tell me how hot it will be at every hour of the day. They tell me if I should expect wind or rain and they even tell me when to expect it and what direction it will come from so accurately I can almost always count on it. In fact I do count on it! They even tell me when there will be unusual dips in the temperature or other unusual meteorological events such as frost freezes so I know to cover the plants. And I find all of that to be extremely accurate too.
No doubt, they are not as accurate as grandpa's arthritic bones and bunions or the old barometer on the wall, but they often have a very attractive lady reporting the weather, so it kinda makes it OK that they are not as accurate as the old fashioned methods. All in all, weather prediction is one of the few things in the modern world that I can count on.
#20
stopgap: Ha, very entertaining read! ...Real-life objective lessons and tongue-in-cheek wisdom. Excellent response; you nailed it!
It's less than a week after Memorial Day, and already the stumbling herds of zombie science deniers have risen from the dead...
Kilosqrd: Deny, deny, deny, get sick, laugh all you want, stick your head in the sand, whistle past the graveyard, compare apples to oranges, (pick your metaphor), jump to conclusions, invent your own "scientific" theorems, assume real scientists are all conspirators in some goddamn worldwide "librul" plot to reduce your standard of living (Oh, the humanity!), accept runaway pollution and short-sighted, self-centered human behavior that is destroying the environment at an ever-accelerating, unsustainable rate ...and, you know, just "start getting used to it."
Although, the "many, many generations to come" for whom you so smugly speak may not share your own "pie-in-the-sky" optimism. Please take to heart the old Native American proverb that Njabulo (#4) shared with us: "Treat the earth well: it was not given to you by your parents, it was loaned to you by your children. We do not inherit the Earth from our Ancestors, we borrow it from our Children."
BTW, the Paris Agreement is just the beginning of a long journey to morality and responsibility. If you do nothing, nothing will change. If you don't take that first important step, you won't reach the final destination. It takes time and commitment. Americans are addicted to fast food, instant gratification, and myopic vision. Your "Orange Sphincter" superhero serves you well. Thank god for the other 194 countries that are willing to face reality.
Kend: (In fairness, you're not a zombie denier and do bring up thoughtful points.) Trump has ceded leadership to China, which is planning to spend billions in green energy technologies -- because the populations in her industrial cities are literally choking on smog (a thick, greasy blanket from the view of the international space station)! That infrastructure investment alone will spawn up to 14 million new, high-paying jobs that could be ours -- and, when factoring in the "multiplier effect" of job creation, a return on investment in the trillions for many decades to come.
That makes Trump's paltry, wildly exaggerated "savings" pale in comparison. In fact, his GDP and job numbers sink deeply into negative territory when estimating the full, long-term, economic impact of the coming (You know it!), full-on deregulation of the fossil fuel industry (a lumbering dinosaur from last century). This is the consensus assessment from the majority of leading, non-partisan economists, who have issued many reports on green energy compared to dirty energy in the last several years.
So, why did Trump not really put America first in finally making up his lamebrain mind about the Paris accord? Or, does he just hoot and holler about "jobs, jobs, jobs" for political expediency, as a cover to enrich his billionaire oil buddies at the expense of American workers? These are not just rhetorical questions, since his failure of leadership will affect millions here at home and billions worldwide.
You are correct that climate change is science (the denial of which borders on religion) ...so, why should anyone, regardless of their political strip, not study the actual research and heed the warning of the top climate scientists? That one is rhetorical.
https://climate.nasa.gov/vital-signs/global-temperature/
http://www.ucsusa.org/global_warming/science_and_impacts/science/each-co...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfGMYdalClU
Diane: ...oh, never mind. Refer to the previous comments in the last blog. Savor once more the morsels from me arse.
#21
Deepspace, You do realize that Dianereynolds is reportedly a pseudonym used by Chelsea Clinton when checking into hotels. I've long thought that Di-nold is not really a woman at all, but a male of sorts, that thinks using Dianereynolds is some kind of right-wingers inside joke, that he/she finds cynically amusing. You know, like when they say Democrat Party instead of Democratic Party.
To quote Pee Wee Herman: "that's so funny, I forgot to laugh."
#22
Haha, good one! I was thinking her handle was a play on Disney World, i.e., living in fantasy land. She and Hotdog Lady do provide cheap entertainment though. What wingers consider amusing is serious, and what they consider serious is amusing.
#23
Stopgap - I would suggest that "they do not know it!"
Sociopathic comes to mind
#24
Stopgap,
Your response to my post is rather interesting. It reveals quite a lot about the hypocrisy the left wallows in everday.
Whether or not you carry homeowners insurance and how much is entirely up to you. Not the government.
Lock your doors at night do you? Why? Never had your home broken into? I submit that everyday for the past untold number of years your home has been broken into. Illegals are crossing the border everday. They are breaking into your home. You may not seem to care but this is my home too.
Health insurance? At 71? I figured you are on medicare. Go ahead, drop it.
Then you tell me you drive a car? Oh, you nasty polluter. What? It needs an OIL change? New tires? Can't make tires without using OIL.
Finally we get to the weather. I work in the field of aviation. I deal with weather forecasts everyday. If weather forecasts are so accurate, why do they change 6 times a day? Yes, TAF's (terminal area forecats) are updated 6 times a day. Current conditions are updated once an hour, sometimes more. Why? I have seen weather forecasts claiming it will be a beautiful day only to find an hour later visability has dropped to 1/8 mile and heavy overcast at 100 ft. How did the forecasters miss that?
Well, as I type, this just popped up: IAH (that's Houston Tx) TAF:
KIAH 040912Z 0409/0512 VRB02KT P6SM VCSH FEW020 SCT028 BKN250
FM041500 20005KT P6SM -RA VCTS SCT020CB BKN035
Issued today, the 4th, at 0912Z Visibilty greater than 6 statute miles thru 1500Z.
Now notice the current conditions issued at 0957Z:
KIAH 040957Z 02005KT 1SM R27/P6000FT BR SCT004 BKN012 BKN024
24/23 A2982 Visibilty at 1 statute mile.
So much for accurate weather forecasting, right? Comparing the current conditions to the forecast, the forecasted visability is wrong and the cloud cover is wrong. The only thing right is the rainshowers in the vicinity (within 10 miles of the airport). But we can see that on the radar.
That leads us to this. Can someone on the left please answer the question as to why Pres Obama did not send the Paris Agreement to the Senate for ratification?
K2
#25
"This all leads to the absolute absurd notion the liberals (true believers in agw) that humans will abandon fossil fuels for some pie-in-the-sky dream that wind and solar can solve all of our energy needs. You climate change belivers just cannot accept the truth. We, as human beings, will be pumping fossil fuels from the earth for many, many generations to come. Just look around. My advice; start getting used to it." From Kilosquared post 15
The idea is that Fossil fuels will not be eliminated but replaced where possible. While you are talking about pie in the sky ideas the world of technology is passing you by. The island of Kauai is now 100% solar eletricity. Battery banks charged during the day supply the island at night. Replacing the expensive diesel generators. Tucson Electric recently purchased 24 hour a day solar power for 20 years at 4.5 per kilowatt hour. Cheaper than any other source. Trains in Denmark are 100% solar. You say that you work in Aviation. Every airport should be 100% solar. With panels on the roof and in between taxi ways. Battery storage for the operation of LED landing lights at night. The west has vast open space for solar panels. The mid-west has Continuous wind for wind energy because the east sucks. Have you driven an electric car? They are awsome. You have said that they will never replace diesel rigs but they all ready have started. Most of the world uses electricity for trains rather than the diesel belching ones that we use. The world will be vastly different in 20 years. Remember what computers were like 20 years ago? You sound like a senile old man that does nothing but complain all day. Get those kids off of your damn lawn.
https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/06/03/this-is-the-biggest-news-in-el...
https://www.theverge.com/2017/3/8/14854858/tesla-solar-hawaii-kauai-kiuc...
#26
"Climate policy has almost nothing to do anymore with environmental protection, says the German economist and IPCC official Ottmar Edenhofer. The next world climate summit in Cancun is actually an economy summit during which the distribution of the world’s resources will be negotiated". – Ottmar Edenhofer (Ottmar Edenhofer is the co-chair of the IPCC Working Group III.)
http://www.pik-potsdam.de/ipcc
"At a news conference last week (3/2016) in Brussels, Christiana Figueres, executive secretary of U.N.'s Framework Convention on Climate Change, admitted that the goal of environmental activists is not to save the world from ecological calamity but to destroy capitalism.
"This is the first time in the history of mankind that we are setting ourselves the task of intentionally, within a defined period of time, to change the economic development model that has been reigning for at least 150 years, since the Industrial Revolution," she said.
Referring to a new international treaty environmentalists hope will be adopted at the Paris climate change conference later this year, she added: "This is probably the most difficult task we have ever given ourselves, which is to intentionally transform the economic development model for the first time in human history."
http://www.investors.com/politics/editorials/climate-change-scare-tool-t...
When you mash all the air bubbles out of this "Paris Accord" BS, it boils down to this: the internationalist 'community' wants to tax the living hell out of the world's "rich" countries to subsidize air purification initiatives of various sorts in "poor" countries. And actually cutting toxic emissions? Nobody would be required to do anything except on a volunteer basis. Utility rates especially would skyrocket in the United States, which today has next to no air pollution problems except occasionally in places like Los Angeles and Phoenix.
Summation:
America and the "rich" nations would inflict "carbon taxes" on their citizens and give the money, ultimately, to "poor" nations -- a classic demonstration in transfer-of-wealth economics... one of the primary engines of Leftie/Socialism.
Sorry Al Gore, you should have stopped getting rich from your royalties for inventing the internet.
#27
Diane, 195 of 197 countries signed it. The 2 that did not are embroiled in civil strife.
#28
Gee Kilosgrd, I don't know why you're jumping on my case. Didn't you see where I thanked you for setting me straight. In fact, you've emboldened me so much, I now feel free to drive on any side of the road that I want to. Never mind stopping at all those annoying stop signs. Never again!
Incidentally, I've been negotiating with your neighbor to open either a radioactive dumping site or an outdoor rock & roll venue. We didn't bother with the permit process because it's his property and he can do whatever he wants. Glad you are OK with it.
I'm sorry to say that I won't be firing my Mexican gardner though, even though he might have came here illegally. Living in the desert southwest, it's virtually impossible to find anyone else to get out there and do that work. Especially when the temperature gets above 110 degrees.
Kilosgrd old buddy, if all those government weather forecasts are so bad, why do you bother checking them anyway. Just hop in the plane and take off and fly wherever you like. By the way, use whatever runway you want and no need to put in a flight plan either. That kinda stuff just humors the government anyway!
I've already notified all my friends throughout the U.S. that my good friend Kilosgrd says ignore the weather forecasts. I told my friends in Florida to ignore hurricane warnings. Don't bother evacuating…go about your business as usual. I called my friends in the midwest and told that I have it from a reliable source to ignore tornado warnings…go ahead with your picnic.
Since you've straightened me out that there is no danger from burning fossil fuels, I plan to take a nice nap this afternoon. I'll pull the o'l Hummer into the garage, close all the doors so it will be nice and dark and keep the engine running. The purring of the engine is like a nice sedative. I should be able to take the most relaxing nap ever. If I don't respond to your next post, it's probably because I'm still enjoying my nice long nap. Thanks again.
#29
Legend,
Sometimes we talk past each other. Never have I stated that I am against clean energy or a clean environment. I am glad to see someone on the left acknowledge that fossil fuels will not be eliminated.
I read a lot of left wing material. There is a significant percentage of progressives (liberals) who say we must cease all uses of fossil fuels. The "leave it in the ground" bunch. You know, the Bill McCibben types. "Alice in Wonderland" was one of those types.
There is no disagreement between all of us wanting a clean world. I believe the USA has led in this effort. Exiting the Paris Agreement in no way changes that. We will continue to work towards that goal even without a "Paris Agreement" because that's what we do. American ingenuity has always been that way. We will get there but let us do it on our own terms. Peace.
K2
#30
Stopgap, your attempts at sarcasm all fall way off the intended mark. You know, the secret to good humor must have an element of the truth within. None of which was in your reply. Your rebuttal was nothing short of stupid. Please by all means, retire to your garage, start your Hummer and close all the doors. You'll be doing us a huge favor.
K2
#31
Legend yes you are right 195 out of 197 did sign up for this but everyone one of those 195 know they have to to get re elected and this sells well, it doesn't matter if it's good or not. Trump could care less. He is doing what he sincerely believes that this is in the best interest of America. Good for him for putting country first. In Trump's own words "I am running for President of the United States not the President of the world". America buys half of the worlds products, the world needs America, America doesn't need he world. As a Canadian lie many other countries this scares the hell out of us. Americans are not going to pick up the tab for anything any more. Agree with him or not at least he is putting Tax paying Americans first.
#32
Darn it Comrade Kilosgrd, I'm sorry to report that my nice long nap did not go so well. After reading your posts yesterday I ran out an bought that big red Hummer that I've always been dreaming about. So, I pulled it into the garage, closed all the doors, turned off all the lights and settled into what I though would be a wonderful nap.
And sure enough, I was sawing logs in dreamland when the next thing I knew, I was laying out on the driveway with the fire department holding me down and covering my face with an oxygen mask. Turns out some nosey, interfering neighbor heard my Hummer, humming away, in the garage, opened all the doors and called the 911.
They told me that in another minute or two, I would have been dead. I just laughed in their face. I said, talk to my good buddy Comrade Kilosgrd. He and his friends on the right have informed me that burning fossil fuels is virtually harmless and infact, the more you burn, the better.
At that point, they just shook their heads, packed up their stuff and left. I do have to admit though, being woken up so suddenly from such a deep sleep gave me a terrible headache.
Another case of the "nanny state" run amok.
I'm sorry that my posts are not as funny as yours. Believe me, we all get a good laugh out of your razor sharp wit.
#33
Hey, wait a minute Kilosgrd. Turns out that exhaust from your car can actually be fatal. So when you say, "Please by all means, retire to your garage, start your Hummer and close all the doors. You'll be doing us a huge favor" you were actually trying to get me to kill myself…and your telling me that I'm supposed to regard you as a paragon of truth. Frankly, I'm beginning to have my doubts!
But I was lying a bit too! I don't really have a Hummer, nor a garage either. But at least now, I know how you feel.
I guess conservatives think that those they perceive to disagree with should kill themselves. If not, conversatives will find more painfully sadistic ways to dispatch with them.
#34
Former President Kerry did a fine job speaking out on behalf of climate justice this AM on Meet the Press. It's unfortunate however that NBC is giving Putin propaganda time tonight at 7PM EST. He's being interviewed by a Foxaganda person.
It looks like NBC is trying to cash in on the misinformation business.....as if citizens need to be more confused.
#35
BTW: Putin is using the Teapublican party as a weapon to destroy our country from within. Word is out that he has many enemys close to him and they want to end his Fascism and establish a true democracy. They want to do this one way or another soon.
#36
Diane's summation: "America and the 'rich' nations would inflict 'carbon taxes' on their citizens and give the money, ultimately, to 'poor' nations -- a classic demonstration in transfer-of-wealth economics... one of the primary engines of Leftie/Socialism."
Typical, her synopsis is upside down, backwards, inside out, fragmented, inconclusive, and exclusive -- hell, some "leftie/socialist" must have planted a cherry bomb in her stack of research papers! Here's a quick video of an actual "classic demonstration in transfer-of-wealth economics ...one of the primary engines of " ...poorly-regulated, runaway, crony capitalism (It's dated 2013; today in 2017, wealth distribution is even more skewed to the top one percent.):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWSxzjyMNpU
"When you mash all the air bubbles out of" their heads and carefully pick out the sparse dollops of mushy protein from their carbohydrate-heavy word salads, the naive and gullible "useful idiots," who gorge on right-wing, billionaire-sponsored propaganda as their spoon-fed daily diet, invariably reduce all the momentous issues of our times and all the world's vast complexities into three basic, oversimplified categories that, in a black and white world, are easily digestible and just enough to provide minimal nourishment for the energy requirements of their surviving neurotransmissions:
A. The Great War between capitalism and socialism.
B. The Great War between religions. (In Meerkkka, that would be radical extremist Christianists against all of Islam.)
C. "Leftie-DumbocRAT-libtard-losers -- they're all a bunch a wicked, evil, heathen assholes ...because every single one of 'em are filthy, sissy, socialist bastards who wanna take mah money and guns, love Muslim sand monkeys, and hate JEEEsus and the USA, USA, USA! Yes indeedy, Ah even hate them worthless sonsabitches worse 'n all them fockin' n----rs, sp-cs, ch-nks, and f-gs, who 'r votin' ileegul!"
Never mind that these contrived, zero-sum, ideological battle royals coincidentally happen to reward very handsomely their already obscenely wealthy promoters. Never mind all those other pesky side issues too hard to process in a Foxmerized brain stuffed with "alternative facts." Never mind the real topics actually threatening the world.
Another strange coincidence is that the only two solutions to every single problem always seems to be: CUT TAXES ...on the wealthy and GUT REGULATIONS ...on their cash cows, the transnational mega monopolies, duopolies, triopolies, oligopolies, or whatever. Easy-peasy, such a simple world, the sun comes up, birds sing, poor people are moochers -- don't complicate it, gawdammit!
Here's a partial list of the billionaire purveyors of propaganda responsible for nearly all of the misinformation, half-truths, and big lies inflating the right-wing bubble of true-blue believers, who worship the God of Money, and of bubble-brain airheads, who deny the critical importance of anthropogenic climate disruption:
Koch bros, Wilks bros, Bradley Foundation, Mercer, Luckey, Anschutz, Coors, DeVos, Dunn, Howard, Pope, Scaife, Searle, and Seid, et al. (These are the worst financiers of Big Lies; there are many more lesser demons also worming into the foundation of the First Amendment.)
Here's the 8 men with as much wealth as the 3.6 billion dirt-poor people, or half the planet's entire population (Liberal and conservative finer distinctions are evidently meaningless when it comes to raping the world's economies.):
Bill Gates ($75 billion); Amancio Ortega ($67 billion); Warren Buffett ($60.8 billion); Carlos Slim Helu; ($50 billion); Jeff Bezos ($45.2 billion); Mark Zuckerberg; ($44.6 billion); Larry Ellison ($43.6 billion); Michael Bloomberg; ($40 billion).
Lest our eyes glaze over with big numbers and we lose perspective, just one billion is a thousand million, and a mere one million is a thousand thousand. Raise your hand if you have a pittance in your retirement account yet, beyond social security or a company pension, say a couple hundred grand or so. Do you have your house paid off, your car, college, your kids' colleges? Can you afford weekend golf junkets to Mar-a-Lago yet ...if ever? Oh well, watered-down tap beer is still cheap ...kinda. LOOOSER!
And remember, we live in the richest country on Earth. As Ted Kennedy, the "Lion of the Senate," once roared from the Floor, "When does the greed stop?!" Answer: it doesn't.
Summation: Wealth has already been radically redistributed ...upwards! The richest nations are by far the worst polluters (China #1; USA #2). The poorest nations are by far the victims suffering the most from both wealth disparity and pollution. (By the way, utility rates would not "skyrocket" -- if cooperatives and private companies convert to green energy sources. In fact, utility rates would go down, if clean energy could compete fairly with dirty energy, which is heavily subsidized by taxes, fees, and predatory pricing sucked out of low-paid workers, who would have a helluva lot more good-paying jobs in an economy based on renewable energies rather than last century's fossil-fuel conglomerates, who are grabbing us all by the short hairs.)
Short of thermonuclear annihilation (which is still a huge threat -- even more so with Generalissimo Trumpnino's little bitty finger wagging over the big red, pulsating button!), the looming climate nightmare is humanity's most urgent crisis. Even our top military planners, as well as Russia's and China's, who game out future threat scenarios, consider the deleterious effects of our rapidly changing climate one of the most crucial factors to consider, calling global warming an "accelerant of instability" (e.g. Syria), "threat multiplier," the "mother of all risks."
Note: All the so-called climate talks are only the first baby steps in approaching a daunting problem of such magnitude that it staggers the imagination. Finding pragmatic solutions that are feasible for everyone affected is no small task; it won't happen quickly. But we have to start somewhere, don't we? The Paris Accord, the I.P.C.C., the U.N., and all the various committees, panels, symposiums, working groups, etc., who are negotiating one of the most complex problems ever to face civilization, are populated by not only scientists but also by politicians, economists, human rights groups, business interests, and many other deeply concerned representatives of various interests of every flavor from all over the world. Anyone who thinks the United States can go it alone is a damn fool!
Of course it's complicated! Why wouldn't it be? Of course one can always cherry pick various credentialed members who may editorialize their own personal perspectives, which at first glance would seem to lend a veneer of credibility to preconceived partisan notions, such as Diane's.
The IPCC and NASA are good jumping off points for serious research; however, even to begin to comprehend the truly immense totality of the problem of anthropogenic climate disruption and how thoroughly intertwined it is with just about every other major issue, one must also range far outside the twin bubbles of partisan politics. It is helpful to read what actual climate scientists have to say, especially since their work -- from whence all data is derived -- is, or should be, the most integral part of the negotiation parameters of the climate talks.
One particular compilation that promises to focus in on the bigger picture and bring together the various elements, is a book just published by the widely respected science writer, Julian Cribb: "Surviving the 21st Century: Humanity's Ten Great Challenges and How We Can Overcome Them."
http://inequality.org/global-inequality/
https://www.oxfam.org/en/pressroom/pressreleases/2017-01-16/just-8-men-own-same-wealth-half-world
https://phys.org/news/2017-04-early-out-of-control-climate.html
http://drexel.edu/now/archive/2013/December/Climate-Change/
https://climate.nasa.gov/evidence/
http://www.businessinsider.com/climate-change-national-security-threats-risks-2017-6
http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-military-climate-change-20161103-story.html
#37
deepspace, As always, another absolutely brilliant post.
The fact that Donzilla and his bloviating hordes, finds a non-binding agreement with voluntary standards, supported by 195 countries throughout the world such as the Paris Accords, so threatening to their very existence on the planet speaks volumes about the extremes of their paranoia. That even this largely symbolic, small baby step towards bringing the world together to confront its most critical problem is way beyond even their most minimal level of tolerance and must be squashed…tells us all we need to know about who they are. Greed and bigotry and paranoia are the only feelings they truly possess. They are completely void of empathy. In fact they regard empathy as profanity and those that have empathy must be mercilessly thinned from the herd.
For Donzilla of course, the fact that a Black Democratic president helped lead to a historic coming together of nearly all the countries on the planet for such a profoundly symbolic agreement was nothing short of blasphemy. It could not be allowed to stand! To Donzilla and his xenophobic supporters this was an action of the antichrist in league with all of the satanic evil-doers of the world plotting against them.
They literally seem to spiritually nourish themselves on and draw such heavenly ecstasy from undoing any and all of his achievements. To them the consequences of such undoing are mere insignificant formalities that they cannot be bothered with. This is their religious crusade... get back at the black guy that dissed their thin-skinned, vengeful Dear Leader.
#38
In the end, it's about morality.
#39
When "scientists" are shoveled mountains of money to provide "research" to those leftie/socialists that have a vested interest in the outcome and typing multiple paragraphs of pony poop deflection won't change the fact that the Paris treaty, oops! I mean accord is a scam.
Why is it an accord in the US but a treaty everywhere else? I never get a straight answer on that question.
#40
The Koch brothers, Rex Tillerson and the other energy billionaires got what they want out of this. No limits to their pollution. Keystone tar sands polluting what is all ready called chemical alley. But Billions more in their pockets at the expense and health of the 99%. When you talk about "vested interest" who do you think really has a "vested interest"?
The Treaty of Paris ended WW1. It is the Paris Agreement or Paris Accord. In the French language Accord is Agreement. If you spent a little time researching and less time watching Fox News and right wing websites you would learn something. If that is possible. If your right wing website are calling it the Paris Treaty they are wrong.
#41
Congratulations dianereynolds, You've uncovered the great leftist/socialist plot to promote the "climate change" hoax.
I was a climatologist working long hours every day, pouring over endless charts, crunching infinite mathematical formulas, struggling just to maintain a middle class standard of living, when one day, this leftist/socialist guy came up to me and said, " how would you like to never have to do all this hard work ever again?" How would you like to live in the lap of luxury for the rest of you life?" Sounds to good to be true I thought. What do I have to do?
He replied, " all the poor leftist/socialists around the country have secretly pooled together all the money they get from welfare, social security, pensions and savings, to payoff all of the thousands of climate scientists to say that man is causing climate change."
Personally, I thought common sense would have the fitly rich .01% that have 90% of the wealth, pay off a few scientists just to say the opposite. And for the life of me, I can't figure out what's in for these leftists/socialists to promote climate change. But what do I care now that I'm living in the lap of luxury in my upscale gated community, playing golf everyday with all my climatologists buddies. "What's that honey?" "You're tired of the Lexus and want a Mercedes." "Don't worry, I call up the leftist/socialist guy and tell him we need more money."
Hard to imagine that these leftist/socialists can get together enough money to satisfy our newly riche climatologists demands, even here in the US. Imagine what it must be like for those leftist/socialists in poor third world countries to pay off all those scientists there.
But again, what do I care? I'm thinking that I might need my own private plane. "Honey, get the leftist/socialists guy on the phone again." These lefty/socialists will just have to dig deeper into their life savings if they want to keep this hoax going.
#42
Pigeons don't make great climatologists but like ponys, they do poop a lot of nonsense.
#43
Pony poop? Ouch! I'm so insulted.
C'mon now, you can do better than kindergarten taunts. Add some color. Perhaps a touch o' Irish will help sharpen your tongue a wee bit, cailleach: "You're as thick as manure but only half as useful."
DianeyWorld: "When 'scientists' are shoveled mountains of money to provide 'research' to those leftie/socialists that have a vested interest...blah,blah,blah ...poop."
That you put scientists and research in quotes followed by poop says everything, óinseach.
Doo Doo Di seems to have some kind of kinky fetish with the bodily functions of animals and with upside down and backwards positions-- no, no, don't explain ...way too much information! Don't really wanna know what's going on in do ol' noodle!
In keeping with your favorite metaphor, methinks something was "shoveled" alright, but it certainly wasn't green:
http://drexel.edu/now/archive/2013/December/Climate-Change/
"You're as mad as a box of frogs and as sharp as a beach ball."
Slán.
}:--))
Thom's Blog Is On the Move
By webmaster
Hello All
Thom's blog in this space and moving to a new home.
Please follow us across to hartmannreport.com - this will be the only place going forward to read Thom's blog posts and articles.
Images of Thom
From The Thom Hartmann Reader:
"Through compelling personal stories, Hartmann presents a dramatic and deeply disturbing picture of humans as a profoundly troubled species. Hope lies in his inspiring vision of our enormous unrealized potential and his description of the path to its realization."
From Unequal Protection, 2nd Edition:
"Beneath the success and rise of American enterprise is an untold history that is antithetical to every value Americans hold dear. This is a seminal work, a godsend really, a clear message to every citizen about the need to reform our country, laws, and companies."
From The Thom Hartmann Reader:
"Never one to shy away from the truth, Thom Hartmann’s collected works are inspiring, wise, and compelling. His work lights the way to a better America."
Trump is a bad dream. We need to save the planet by OUR OWN INDIVIDAL CHOICES AND CARBON FOOTPRINT. Waiting for Gadot is a waste of time, I saw the play! :)) I burn 15 gallons of gas in my 14yo VW per month, which sits for days at a time while i walk allover the small town I moved to for this purpose. I shop at the small local market but get fresh organic free range meats and fresh vegetables at the weekly farmer's market, a short walk from my apt. in a rehabed 112yo HS bldg. I have a reproduction quotient of 0.5 and recommend one-child families to solve the greatest environmental problem on earth: too many humans. Really want to save the plant, forget tRump and DC popiticians. All real change is individual. Reduce your carbon footprint:don't fly, walk, ride a bike, avoid plastic, stay out of big box stores that sell cheap products brought across oceans from 3rd world sweat shops, buy local (pay a little more, use less) and stop waiting for someone else to solve your problems. Feel me? Stress R Us.