It is still raining cats and dogs and my arthritis is running wild. I managed to make some barley vegetable soup and I can smell it through out the house. I know what is for supper tomorrow night. Homemade soup and the knowledge that I won my Fantasy Football match this week will keep me going. Sorry Viv but that FF win feels really good. This is a busy week coming up so I'd best get this posted.
Short Takes
LA Times — Donald Trump is branded with all manner of unflattering labels, but one that hasn’t seemed to much bother him is “climate pariah.”
The president-elect is unabashed in his disdain for America’s global warming policy. He has placed a staunch climate-change doubter and antagonist of mainstream science in charge of reshaping — or as Trump has suggested, dismantling — the Environmental Protection Agency. He has talked frequently about reneging on the historic Paris global climate treaty the U.S. took a lead in drafting. And he has said he wants every federal green-energy program eliminated. …
Coal trucks leave a power plant operated by PacifiCorp, Huntington, Utah. (George Frey/Getty Images)
Major U.S. trading partners that signed on to the nearly 200-nation accord reached in Paris last year are already signaling that they will retaliate if the United States backs out, possibly by slapping environmental trade tariffs onto some American products.
None of those potential consequences faze the free-market think tanks urging Trump to go rogue. Just weeks ago, these groups were on the lonely fringe, pursuing an agenda written off as wacky by the mainstream science community, but now find themselves helping drive policy at the highest levels.
There are multiple consequences for every decision and they must be weighed carefully. With Trump vowing to be a climate change denier extrordinaire threatening to pull out of the Paris Climate Agreement, other countries could step in to fill the void and the US could suffer sanctions. One upmanship has its drawbacks. With Trump at the helm, is the US in danger of losing its self anointed title of "leader of the free world"?
NY Times — President-elect Donald J. Trump said on Sunday that he had fallen short in the popular vote in the general election only because millions of people had voted illegally, leveling the baseless claim as part of a daylong storm of Twitter posts voicing anger about a three-state recount push.
“In addition to winning the Electoral College in a landslide, I won the popular vote if you deduct the millions of people who voted illegally,” Mr. Trump wrote Sunday afternoon.
The series of posts came one day after Hillary Clinton’s campaign said it would participate in a recount effort being undertaken in Wisconsin, and potentially in similar pushes in Michigan and Pennsylvania, by Jill Stein, who was the Green Party candidate. Mr. Trump’s statements revived claims he made during the campaign, as polls suggested he was losing to Mrs. Clinton, about a rigged and corrupt system.
As usual, Trump is making accusations without evidence to support them, and proving just how vindictive and sniveling he is. It is going to be a long four years unless it is cut short by some means.
Daily Beast — Ben Carson spent the weekend thinking about his offer to be the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development in Donald Trump’s administration, and if he accepts, the retired neurosurgeon could complicate progress made on anti-housing discrimination laws during the Obama administration.
While it is somewhat unclear as to what Carson’s goals would be in the position, he has criticized a recent HUD fair housing rule, which requires local communities to assess patterns of income and racial discrimination in housing.
He has referred to the rule, known as “Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing,” as a “mandated social-engineering scheme,” and in one instance said it was indicative of policy in a “communist” country.
From Wikipedia:
In his book America the Beautiful (2013), he wrote: "I believe it is a very good idea for physicians, scientists, engineers, and others trained to make decisions based on facts and empirical data to get involved in the political arena."
A novel concept for a Republican, making decisions based on facts and empirical data. Hmmm . . .
My Universe —
Tomorrow is Monday!
6 Responses to “Squatch’s Open Thread 27/11/2016”
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LAT: Even our little ones know how the climate is changing, and most of them are concerned at these events happening now. They see, and feel these effects in their world, as we all do. We must stand in unity with participating countries with the Paris agreement! "The news that the agreement will take effect this year diminishes the chances that it can be undone by Donald Trump should he be elected president. Trump has called climate change a “hoax” and promised to scrap the deal. The document locks participants into the deal for at least three years and requires a one-year waiting period once a withdraw is announced." *Time
NYT: Ugh! He makes things up as he talks/twitters or whatever. He's not even in the WH, and I'm already cringing at his antics!!
DB: We'll have to wait and see how Carson handles his appointment.
MU: #1. Oh, how funny! I'd be miserable, but I could never pass up cake. #2. Exactly! ; )
We are getting rain for today, and the weather seems to fit my mood. I do hope that your arthritis gets less painful, I can feel mine too. Change of the weather cycle?
Enjoy your day, and Thank you, Lynn for post.
It's getting close to dinner time here, so your description of your soup makes my mouth water, Lynn. Congrats on your win, by the way.
LAT: Lynn, I appreciate your "With Trump at the helm, is the US in danger of losing its self anointed title of "leader of the free world"? (emphasis mine). I'm afraid that very few other nations still believe that this title is as appropriate as it once may have been. Especially Russia and China are quite happy with Drumpf's election as it has fortified their own position in the world. Asiatic countries are now flocking to China in droves, and not only for its green energy politics. Ex-president Sarkozy of France had indeed suggested to put a carbon tax on American products, but he didn't make it through France's yesterday primaries, so that may never fly. However many countries fear a new trade war when Drumpf is in charge, so this suggestion might soon resurface. All in all, America, not just Drumpf, might soon be treated like the (climate) pariah he is turning the country into.
NYT: Oh, right, all those people who voted for Clinton on the West and East coast were illegals, of course. You have to admire those Democrats for organizing such complicated rigging involving millions of illegal immigrants, don't you 😀 . How did they do it without anyone noticing all those illegals waiting in line to vote? Drumpf should find out who organized it so well and hire them to work for him; he'll desperately need those brilliant riggers like that as his nonexistent plans already start to fall through.
For now his base still believes in him and will eat this up like they did all the rest of his outrageous lies, and love to hear that they brought him a landslide victory of the Electoral College. For now. I just hope that America will never see the day when this base has had enough and turns on him. It will get so ugly then.
DB: If Ben Carson accepts the offered position Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, all Drumpf's buddies in real estate and project developers will be slapping Drumpf on the back for days and be sending him yuge presents to thank him for thinking of them and giving this job to such a douche bag. The housing world will be their oyster.
MU: My feelings exactly.
LAT – Did not everyone see this coming? I have even made snarky comments that this is the "silver lining" in his election – "I'm worried now, but I won't be worried long" – because I will be extinct soon. /snark. And didn't I read that President Obama handed off the title of "Leader of the free world" to Angela Merkel last week? Oh well, if it was a hallucination, it was a nice one.
NYT – No, Popular-Vote-Loser Trump, you and your goons haven't taken over yet, it's still legal for all citizens to vote, even if they don't vote for you. I would not be surprised if it soon won't be.
DB – I think we need to wait until the entire Cabinet is chosen before trying to work out which appointment is the biggest disaster. No, I don't mean we should normalize him or them, but we are becoming scattered trying to look at each appointment as it comes up. We need to look at it as a body, depressing though that may be. (Footnote – Would Bonkers Ben know a fact or a piece of empirical data if one bit him on the a$$?
Universe – Like Lona, I feel the same.
Congrats!
The world should sanction us and boycott our products, if he does.
There's that ditch again.
He has also called it Communist and stated a desire to undo it.
No Today is Monday!!
I could see Dr. Ben Carson maybe at HHS (Health & Human Services) – but HUD?
Trump mendaciously claiming he actually won the popular vote clearly reinforces uniform medical opinion that he has a quite a few serious mental issues.
The "If You're Happy & You Know It – Go to Hell" cartoon made me chortle!
So maniacally wonderful!
Dr. Ben wrote that? He who can't tell a fact from a wet fart?