Daily Kos

Open thread for night owls. Reviewer: Too much Al Gore in 'An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power'

Wednesday Jul 26, 2017 · 8:01 PM PDT

2017/07/26 · 20:01

A scene from “An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power.”

Jordan Reife reviews Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power” at TruthDig:

While George W. Bush was mired in the lowest approval ratings of his presidency, former Vice President Al Gore was on his way to becoming the most successful also-ran in history. His climate change documentary, “An Inconvenient Truth,” was a surprise hit in 2006, racking up $50 million worldwide and an Oscar. In 2007, Gore won a Nobel Peace Prize for “efforts to build up and disseminate greater knowledge about man-made climate change, and to lay the foundations for the measures that are needed to counteract such change.”

The movie’s follow-up, “An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power,” to be released Friday, follows Gore, now 69, as he delivers his famous PowerPoint presentation to disquieted civilians and the Climate Reality Leadership Corps, 10,000 concerned citizens from 135 countries who are bent on saving the planet. [...]

A visit with glaciologist Konrad Steffen in Greenland illustrates how such epic transformations begin with a trickle of melting ice that morphs into a torrent emptying into the North Atlantic. It might be the very water Gore wrings out of his socks in a later scene after he trudges through the flooded streets of Miami to deliver yet another lecture.

While Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., compared “An Inconvenient Truth” to “Mein Kampf”and called global warming “the greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the American people,” Gore finds common ground with Trump supporter Dale Ross, the mayor of Georgetown, Texas, which is 100 percent reliant on renewable energy. Ross might appear to be an outlier among conservatives, but it’s not just liberals who have been behind the 275 percent growth in renewables from 2002 to 2012. [...]

Where the first film is firmly focused on climate issues, the sequel is half climate change update, half celebration of all things Gore.

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QUOTATION

“Seemingly every culture before our own has had a single acceptable way to raise a baby. These cultures wouldn't have cared about the new scientific findings: they already knew how babies worked. Their answers were all very different, mind you, but they had this in common: all the other answers were wrong.”
~Nicholas Day, Baby Meets World: Suck, Smile, Touch, Toddle: A Journey Through Infancy (2013)

TWEET OF THE DAY

Mazie Hirono has stage 4 cancer. She's been at rallies trying to protect our care. She voted no. She didn't get a standing ovation.
— Kimya Forouzan (@kimyaf) July 25, 2017

BLAST FROM THE PAST

At Daily Kos on this date in 2009—The System At Work:

The GOP goal is to kill healthcare reform outright; their strategists are saying as much. Not to kill single payer or a public option, but to kill the whole notion of reform. The legislators tasked with coming up with alternative plans declared, this last week, that none were needed; Senator Inhofe muses out loud about how much his party might be helped if they can manage to stop reform outright.

I suppose it is worth pondering the how and the why of such things. Do they earnestly believe that there's absolutely nothing that needs to be done about health care in this country? Are they so transparently in the pockets of the lobbyists that they are willing make a bold stand on "everything is fine", when a mere look out the window says it's not?

It's puzzling that such a stance could even be remotely effective. Everybody in America seems to hate their insurance provider, at least everyone who has ever had to use it because they actually got sick. Everybody knows how bad getting actual healthcare has become in this country; everybody has stories of being screwed roundly by their insurance, or not being able to get insurance in the first place, or knows someone else who has had worse experiences.

On today’s Kagro in the Morning show, Zombie Treasoncare voting is on, which costs us our visit with Joan. But we give you TMI on procedure, anyway. McCain does the McCain thing, and is lionized for it. Racist weirdos on a MF-ing boat. Rick Perry is Teh Dum. Donald Trump: American PsychOTUS.

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Republican health care vote: The butcher's bill

By Mark Sumner

Wednesday Jul 26, 2017 · 7:31 PM PDT

2017/07/26 · 19:31

WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 24: (L-R) U.S. Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY), Sen. John Thune (R-SD), Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), Senate Majority Whip Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), and Senate Majority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) participate in a news briefing after the weekly Senate Republican Policy Committee luncheon May 24, 2016 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. Senate Republicans held a policy luncheon to discuss GOP agenda. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Glioblastoma multiforme is considered a rare cancer. It affects only about 3 people in 100,000. And yes, that sounds pretty rare. Thank goodness.

However, according the the CBO, the various versions of the GOP healthcare bill will take health care away from 22 to 32 million Americans. With numbers like that, even a rare disease runs up quite a tally. Somewhere between 600 and 1,000 Americans will be without the insurance it takes to fight that rare cancer. Of course, they might be able to fund it out of their own pockets. After all, the cost of treating a brain tumor is only around $700,000. Some of those people might also be lucky enough to wander into an ER where a non-specialist is sharp enough to diagnose what’s wrong with them and take some action. Some of that action might even be in time.

So it’s not fair to say that every one of those 600 to 1,000 people is going to die because of the vote made today by the Republicans. Just most of them.

Of course, that’s a pretty small number compared to the more than 60,000 heart attacks that could be expected every year among that uninsured population. More than 130,000 of those people are going to find themselves hit with some form of cancer. Even the 1,400 or so children who will die of childhood cancers is larger than the number who fall to glioblastoma.

So the people who will die of glioblastoma because of the vote today? That number is relatively small.

It just seems particularly poignant.

A rather gullible Sen. Bob Corker: 'I don't get any sense at all' Trump will fire Jeff Sessions

By Hunter

Wednesday Jul 26, 2017 · 7:01 PM PDT

2017/07/26 · 19:01

WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 31: Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN), speaks to reporters while going to the Senate Chamber for a vote on Capitol Hill, January 31, 2017 in Washington, DC. The Senate voted 93-6 to confirm Elaine Chao to head the Transportation Department. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images) — No matter what Trump does, Republicans remain eager to defend him and dismiss his scandals.

Republicans lawmakers continue to give Donald Effing Trump the benefit of the doubt, despite no past instance in which the obsessive, narcissistic lunatic has earned such a thing. Here's Republican Sen. Bob Corker, doing his best impression of a man standing in front of a burning fireworks factory, telling everyone else there's nothing to see here.

Corker on Sessions: "I don't get any sense at all from the White House, and I've checked in, that they're going to fire him"
— Igor Bobic (@igorbobic) July 26, 2017

Mind you, Trump has gone out of his way to insult Sessions and make it perfectly clear he has no confidence in the now-insufficiently loyal toady, firing him has evidently been the subject of ongoing White House discussions, and the White House has been floating names like Rudy Giuliani or Ted Cruz to be his replacement. But rest assured Sen. Bob Corker has spoken to Donald Trump's unfailingly trustworthy team and they say there is no truth to any of this nonsense. Sen. Bob Corker believes them, because Sen. Bob Corker knows Donald Trump is an honorable man.

But there's more.

Corker on Mueller: "I can't imagine there's any serious discussion about firing him. I mean, it's out of bounds."
— Igor Bobic (@igorbobic) July 26, 2017

Corker didn't even bother to check in with Team Trump on this one, apparently. He just has that much confidence the current Republican White House, this White House, the one we are all living with on a daily basis, is not about to do an unfathomably stupid thing.

Sen. Bob Corker may be surprised.

The new 'Jane Crow' in the foster care system separates children from their poor mothers

By Kelly Macias

Wednesday Jul 26, 2017 · 6:41 PM PDT

2017/07/26 · 18:41

ATLANTIC CITY, NJ - AUGUST 26: A homeless mother holds her daughter while staying at the Atlantic City Rescue Mission on August 26, 2015 in Atlantic City, New Jersey. After years of decline in Atlantic City, in 2014 some 8,000 people were layed-off when four of the city's major casinos closed, bringing Atlantic City's unemployment rate to more than 11 percent, double the national average. As unemployment assistance has begun to expire for many people, shelters like the Rescue Mission have seen a large jump in need. They serve upwards of 700 meals and house some 300 people a day, including many families. The mass unemployment has produced the highest foreclosure rate of any metropolitan U.S. area, with 1 out of 113 homes now in foreclosure in Atlantic County. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images) — The number of requests for child removals filed in family court in New York City alone almost doubled in the first quarter of 2017.

Ideally, in America, people would not be punished simply because they are poor. And yet we know the reality is that many systems and structures in society are designed so that people with money and influence can navigate life in ways that allows them to escape certain forms of punishment. This has been well documented in many instances like bail reform, punishment of the Wall Street bankers who helped create the 2008 economic crisis, and our current president, his son, and son-in-law who have clearly colluded with Russia to influence the outcome of the 2016 presidential election—despite their claims to the contrary.

One way we don’t often think of how this manifests is when it comes to parenting. Yet many women, most often women of color, find themselves the victims of children’s services agencies who can take custody of their children for child endangerment—often with little evidence to support those claims.

[In New York City, the Administration for Children’s Services] requests for removals filed in family court rose 40 percent in the first quarter of 2017, to 730 from 519, compared with the same period last year, according to figures obtained by The New York Times.

In interviews, dozens of lawyers working on these cases say the removals punish parents who have few resources. Their clients are predominantly poor black and Hispanic women, they say, and the criminalization of their parenting choices has led some to nickname the practice: Jane Crow.

There’s no denying that some people shouldn’t be in charge of the welfare of any children—theirs or otherwise. But poor parents who are struggling to make ends meet, who overwhelmingly love and take care of their children, and have no history of abusing them should not be penalized for making mistakes that do not warrant removal. This can disrupt the lives of their kids for long periods of time or even permanently. It can also be devastating for parents—who end up spending hours fighting for custody. Even worse, it seems as if several thousand of these families have their children returned to them in a month or less, which means the cases weren’t as dire as the agencies made them out to be.

Vivek Sankaran, a professor at the University of Michigan Law School, has examined short-term placements of children in foster care. He learned that in the 2013 federal fiscal year, 25,000 children nationwide were in foster care for 30 days or fewer, about 10 percent of the total removals.

“We’ve inflicted the most devastating remedy we have on these families, then we’re basically saying, within a month, ‘Sorry, our mistake,’” he said. “And these families are left to deal with the consequences.”

New survey: Nearly half of U.S. Muslims say they've been discriminated against in the past year

By Gabe Ortiz

Wednesday Jul 26, 2017 · 6:20 PM PDT

2017/07/26 · 18:20

Demonstrators protest agaist President Trump's executive immigration ban at Chicago O'Hare International Airport on January 28, 2017..US President Donald Trump signed the controversial executive order that halted refugees and residents from predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States. Trump boasted Saturday that his "very strict" crackdown on Muslim immigration was working "very nicely," amid mounting resistance to the order which has been branded by many as blatantly discriminatory. / AFP / Joshua LOTT (Photo credit should read JOSHUA LOTT/AFP/Getty Images)

Donald Trump has inaugurated a new era of hate, with research showing that hate crimes against U.S. Muslims have skyrocketed since his popular vote loss. Now in a Pew Research Center survey of over 1,000 U.S. Muslims, 48 percent of respondents say they have been a victim of discrimination during the past year, an eight-point increase compared to a decade ago. Respondents told researchers they’ve experienced “a broad sense of anxiety and unease about their place in the United States and with a president who most consider unfriendly toward Muslims:

About a third of Muslims said they have been treated with suspicion at least once over the past year, the highest in Pew surveys since 2007. Nearly 1 in 5 said they have been called offensive names, and a similar share have seen anti-Muslim graffiti in their communities. Six percent said they were physically threatened or attacked, identical to the share saying this in 2011.

Those who appear Muslim — either because of the way they look, dress or speak — are significantly more likely to experience discrimination for being Muslim, and women overall are more likely to report discrimination than men.

“Nearly three-quarters said Trump is unfriendly toward Muslims, compared with just 4 percent who said that of President Barack Obama in 2011. And about two-thirds said they don’t like where the nation is headed.”

While “the study found that Muslims are overwhelmingly proud of both their Muslimness and their Americanness,” just over half say they feel non-Muslims are friendly toward them. Still, researchers note, that’s an increase from 2011, underscoring “a strange optimism amid the wariness toward Trump and the anxieties about hate crimes.” Said Amaney Jamal, a Princeton University professor who served as an adviser on the study: “In a sense, with rising Islamophobia has come more support from the American public.”

The slight rise is good news, but it’s simply not enough.

'Undocumented and unafraid': 15 immigrant youth, allies arrested defending DACA at Texas Capitol

By Gabe Ortiz

Wednesday Jul 26, 2017 · 6:01 PM PDT

2017/07/26 · 18:01

Screen_Shot_2017-07-26_at_12.54.16_PM.png — Activists block intersection leading to the Texas State Capitol

More than a dozen immigrant youth and allies were arrested in a demonstration in support of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), including four immigrant youth protected by the program. Supported by a crowd of 50 chanting “undocumented and unafraid” and “sí se puede,” the group of activists blocked a busy intersection leading to the Texas State Capitol. Following a group of anti-immigrant Republican hardliners—including Texas’s Dan Patrick—threatening to sue the Trump administration unless it ends the program, the state has become a battleground in the fight to defend and preserve DACA:

“I want my community to know that politicians do not get to decide who is deserving of dignity and who is not,” Catalina Santiago, a DACA recipient arrested in Tuesday’s action, said in a statement. “DACA is under attack while my parents, who are farmworkers, were never even given the temporary protection DACA provides. I am getting arrested today to tell my parents, my community, and the rest of the 11 million that no matter what politicians say, you are worthy and we will not settle for the crumbs they offer us in exchange for being the economic and labor force that sustains this country day in and day out.”

“Texas is ground zero for discrimination against Latinos, immigrants and all people of color,” said Jolt’s Cristina Tzintzún, also referencing SB4, the racist, “show me your papers” law recently passed by the Texas legislature and signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott, a Trump ally. “Efforts by Governor Abbott to promote SB4 and stop the DACA program are hateful, discriminatory and will put our communities in danger. We commend the organizers of today’s DACA action for following the American tradition of using non-violent civil disobedience to advance the rights of people of color.”

Schumer calls Trumpcare process a 'sham,' says Democrats won't be a part of it

By Joan McCarter

Wednesday Jul 26, 2017 · 5:40 PM PDT

2017/07/26 · 17:40

WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 28: Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY) speaks to reporters while flanked by Sen. Thomas Carper (D-DE), after attending the Senate Democrat policy luncheon, on Capitol Hill March 28, 2017 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images) — Chuck Schumer

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Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has declared the Trumpcare process in the Senate a "sham" and says that Democrats will not participate in it by offering any more amendments until "the majority leader shows his hand, reveals what his bill will actually be," at which time, "Democrats will use the opportunity to try and amend the bill."

We know the Republicans are not going to take a final vote on the underlying house bill, which is still the pending legislation. And now the Republican leadership team has been telling the press about a yet to be disclosed final bill. If the reports are true, the Republicans will offer a skinny repeal plan. […]
If the reporting is accurate and skinny repeal is their plan, it makes premiums far higher than they are today. We don't know if skinny repeal is going to be their final bill. But if it is, the CBO Says it would cause costs to go up and millions to lose insurance. Now in the meantime, madam president, Democrats are not going to continue to try and amend the house plan that is already dead. Certainly while we're not going to do that while there's some secret legislation—skinny repeal it's reported—waiting to emerge from the leader's office. The Republican leader has said that this is a robust amendment process. No, it isn't. Far from it. We don't even know what bill to direct our amendments to.

Certainly a process that bypassed the committees and public hearings was never an open and transparent process. It was never a robust amendment process to this bill. But now it's gotten even worse. Since the beginning of this debate, we've just been taking votes on amendments to a piece of dead legislation. What kind of process is this?

Then he gave a little dig at Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) and his colleagues for playing along, saying "Anyone who listened to that speech should blush at this sham of an amendment process thus far."

By the way, what he's talking about with the CBO is some fast work they did on behalf of Democratic Sens. Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Patty Murray (D-WA) on what "skinny repeal" could mean. One outcome: 42 million losing insurance next year.

Schumer is showing what a farce this whole process is, and if Republicans were capable of feeling shame, they would. However, Democrats are losing an opportunity to get Republicans on the record on some really politically damaging things already. It is stopping Democrats from dragging this process out, but there were real limits to how long they could keep the Senate from moving. At any point, McConnell could have called an end to the amendment process, so their were limits on that protest as well.

And maybe they figure a Republican taking a vote to raise premiums astronomically and kick 42 million people off of insurance in one year (an election year) is embarrassing and politically damaging enough.

Make your Republican senator feel the heat. Call their office EVERY DAY at (202) 224-3121 to demand that they say NO to repealing Obamacare and ripping health care away from millions of Americans. (After you call, please tell us how it went.)

Failed Gov. Sam Brownback to flee Kansas for a job as a Trump 'ambassador at large'

By Hunter

Wednesday Jul 26, 2017 · 5:21 PM PDT

2017/07/26 · 17:21

Sam Brownback with hands up — Goodbye everybody, have fun finding that billion dollars.

Having driven the Kansas budget into a ditch by taking all of the Republican trickle-down nonsense conservative think tanks have long been demanding and stupidly putting it into practice, Kansas Governor Sam Brownback is getting the hell out of Dodge—well, Topeka—and the $1 billion budget shortfall his policies created. After being reelected last November despite all of that, he’ll be quitting the job early and fleeing the state in the only getaway car he or Trump could come up with.

I mean, this is just sad.

President Donald Trump announced Brownback’s appointment as ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom Wednesday evening. Brownback had long been expected to be named to the post.

So, not even an ambassadorship to an actual country, but an ambassador-at-large position for the abstract concept of "religious freedom", Republican-style. Sam Brownback, hapless destroyer of conservative economic propaganda, is now going off to stump for a new version of “religious freedom” that, no doubt, conspicuously leaves out every other world religion but his own.

But really, this is just pathetic. It's long been known that the now-despised Brownback was trying to get out of Kansas and his governorship, but to go from a governorship to this? That’s embarrassing even in the context of wingnut welfare. Donald Trump has hundreds of administration positions to fill, and this is the best anyone was willing to do for the Kansas Destroyer?

While instinct suggests that this is the last we will be hearing from the terrible Sam Brownback for a while—the position is, shall we say, not exactly high-profile—we should have faith in the man. There's absolutely no way he can manage to get through a tenure as a "religious freedom" ambassador without fucking it up entirely, this time on the world stage instead of within the confines of a single state, and so will no doubt be back in the news sooner than any of us expect.

Democrats held a crucial state Senate seat in New Hampshire on Tuesday. Here's how.

By Carolyn Fiddler

Wednesday Jul 26, 2017 · 5:01 PM PDT

2017/07/26 · 17:01

Candidate Kevin Cavanaugh with young girl — This adorable child's parents probably got a phone call or visit from a Cavanaugh staffer

On Tuesday, Daily Kos-endorsed Democrat Kevin Cavanaugh scored a decisive 55-44 win in New Hampshire state Senate District 16. This special election was called to replace a Democrat who’d tragically died of cancer just a few months after winning the seat in November—the first Democrat to hold this district since 2010 and the only Democratic pickup in the chamber last cycle. Cavanaugh’s victory bears historic significance, as well: According to the state Democratic Party, Tuesday’s race was the first Democratic win in a state Senate special election since 1984.

By holding this seat, Democrats have kept the GOP’s edge in the Senate to 14-to-10. That keeps Democrats within striking distance of flipping the chamber next year and dislodging the GOP’s “trifecta” control over all three branches of New Hampshire’s government: the state House, the state Senate, and the governorship. Had Republicans prevailed, though, they’d have found themselves with a more daunting 15-to-9 advantage in the chamber—and would have stymied Democratic momentum.

This Democratic victory was no easy feat. Cavanaugh faced a skilled opponent with solid name recognition: specifically, the Republican who had held this Senate seat up until his successor’s swearing-in just this past January. Former Sen. David Boutin drew on his long-established ties to moneyed interests, as well as more than $37,000 brought over from his previous campaigns. Republicans also have a registration edge in this district (35 percent to Democrats’ 29 percent, with 36 percent registered as “undeclared”), and while Clinton won it narrowly last fall, Republican Gov. Chris Sununu and former U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte both carried the seat by “substantial margins.”

Cavanaugh entered the race as an underdog in this swing district, and high-profile Republicans worked hard to deliver a win for Boutin: Both Sununu and Ayotte cut radio ads for him, and the New Hampshire Republican Party raised and spent about $61,000 on direct mail and radio.

But in the weeks preceding the election, Granite State Republicans reminded voters of the damage they can inflict when holding unchecked power. Sununu signed a heinous new voter suppression and intimidation measure into law about two weeks before the special, and some observers in the state think voter turnout (nearly 21 percent, “impressive” for an irregular summer election) spiked as a result. This relatively high turnout and dramatic Democratic over-performance (11 percent better than Clinton’s numbers last fall) continues a remarkable and consistent trend in special elections held since Trump’s election.

But there’s more to the big turnout and impressive Democratic performance in this special election beyond voter backlash.

Missouri senator calls state's abortion bill 'trash.' Plus, it's likely to get reamed in court

By Meteor Blades

Wednesday Jul 26, 2017 · 4:31 PM PDT

2017/07/26 · 16:31

Missouri State Sen. Jamilah Rasheed, Democrat — State Sen. Jamilah Nasheed speaks plainly about Missouri's abortion bill.

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Huzzah to State Sen. Jamilah Nasheed. After the Missouri legislature sent its latest forced-birther bill to the governor, the St. Louis Democrat, first elected in 2012, didn’t hold back in her characterization of yet another obstacle added in the path of women seeking abortions. She said:

“This trash piece of legislation, which isn’t worth the price of the paper it’s printed on, will go down in flames in a court of law.”

That’s the kind of language we ought to hear a lot more often whenever lawmakers in Missouri or any other state choose to make abortion more difficult, more expensive, more time-consuming, more shaming, more a slap in the face to Roe v. Wade and Whole Women’s Health v. Hellerstedt.

Nasheed thinks the new legislation sent to Eric Greitens, the Republican governor who calls himself “pro-life,” will wind up in court just as some previous regulations have done. In April, a federal judge blocked a Missouri law requiring hospital admitting privileges for physicians who perform abortions and requiring clinics providing abortions to be mini-hospitals. In its Hellerstedt ruling last year, the U.S. Supreme Court knocked down similar provisions in a Texas law. Missouri taxpayers also had to cough up more than $156,000 to reimburse Planned Parenthood for legal bills it had to pay in fighting a dispute over a clinic’s abortion license.

Missouri is one of seven states that now have just a single abortion clinic. Lawmakers in several of those states have been eager to try to shut down those solo clinics as well. But their efforts have also run afoul of the federal courts.

As their rocky bromance continues, an upset Jeff Sessions refuses to give up on his boss—for now

By Kelly Macias

Wednesday Jul 26, 2017 · 4:01 PM PDT

2017/07/26 · 16:01

WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 09: U.S. President Donald Trump (C) put his hand on the shoulder of Sen. Jeff Sessions (R) after introducing him before Sessions's swearing in ceremony in the Oval Office of the White House February 9, 2017 in Washington, DC. Trump also signed three executive orders immediately after the swearing in ceremony. Also pictured is U.S. Vice President Mike Pence (L). (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images) — Donald Trump and Jeff Sessions when their relationship was much stronger than it is now.

Lennon and McCartney, Jay-Z and Kanye West, Joey and Chandler from Friends: Whether we know them from TV, popular music and culture, or real life, there is a certain feeling of sadness when we see a great bromance come to an end. But sadness isn’t quite the right word to apply to what appears to be a rapidly fading bromance between Donald Trump and his hand-picked Attorney General Jeff Sessions. In fact, nothing right now is more bizarre and downright incomprehensible than how Donald Trump insists on bullying and publicly humiliating his former buddy in an effort to discredit him and get him to resign.

Of course, Jeff is not at all on board with this plan. He’s holding on tight to their dynamic little duo—not so much because of his endless love for The Donald but because of an intense desire to keep his dream job. Though he’s been fairly quiet as he bears the indignity of being repeatedly dissed by his boss, it turns out that Jeffy is not happy right now. In fact, according to people who know him, he’s pissed.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions has no plans to leave office, as friends say he’s grown angry with President Donald Trump following a series of attacks meant to marginalize his power and, potentially, encourage his resignation.

“Sessions is totally pissed off about it,” said a Sessions ally familiar with his thinking. “It’s beyond insane. It’s cruel and it’s insane and it’s stupid.”

As with any messy breakup, mutual friends of the pair are often forced to chose a side—and this case is no exception. From his own mouth (and James Comey’s), we know that Trump demands loyalty of his partners. When he doesn’t get that, he acts out and has a temper tantrum worthy of the worst-behaved toddler. But loyalty is in short supply here, as Republicans are not with Trump on this. They are clearly choosing Jeff’s side—which will only make Trump angrier. But it also provides all the ammunition Sessions needs to remain firmly entrenched in his position. He’s not resigning. That’s his story and he’s sticking to it.

Spotlight on green news & views: Sea World's last captive-bred orca dies; Lamar Smith—wacko

By Meteor Blades

Wednesday Jul 26, 2017 · 3:31 PM PDT

2017/07/26 · 15:31

A rainy day in Letchworth State Park of New York. The gorge in the photo is often called the "Grand Canyon of the East." See owktree's post on the park below.

This is the 514th edition of the Spotlight on Green News & Views (previously known as the Green Diary Rescue) usually appears twice a week, on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Here is the July 22 Green Spotlight. More than 27,440 environmentally oriented stories have been rescued to appear in this series since 2006. Inclusion of a story in the Spotlight does not necessarily indicate my agreement with or endorsement of it.

OUTSTANDING GREEN STORIES

ecostar writes—Coal Country and I'm done with Trump voters. Sometimes they say things we need to hear: “Even if you're not a fan of natural gas, it’s one of the reasons coal is dying and it has the benefit of being substantially cleaner and less climate forcing. At the same time, onshore wind is both cheaper and cleaner than even natural gas, though it is not as dispatchable (a measure of how reliable it is 24/7 and its ability to get power to communities quickly). If we account for environmental harm, Solar is also cheaper and cleaner than coal and natural gas. But, even if we discount the environmental effects of coal and natural gas, Solar’s LCOE (the cost of the power generating resource over its lifetime) will also be cheaper than dirty coal by 2020/2022. Herein lies the rub. I know these things as a researcher. But, I’ve also talked to people that live in coal country and I have no good answer to people whose jobs rely on coal. Saying Solar employs more people than coal doesn’t mean those solar jobs will go to coal country. Ultimately, their problems are all of our problems. The wealthy taking advantage of workers that have few options.”

golives writes—Technology Cannot Save Us From Ourselves: “Despite our mind boggling technological and scientific advancement, we are not-so-slowly destroying our planet. Yet one of the many well-known nonpolitical causes of climate skepticism (paywall) is that day to day change is essentially unobservable, and given our biologically based psychological bias toward incremental change it is easy to intuit that it is not happening at all (one might recall the Senator with the snowball who had the epiphany that the climate debate was settled because it snowed in D.C.). Nonetheless, the rate of this destruction, like that of technology, is accelerating geometrically. While Tech gurus titillate the population with their armchair musings about colonizing Mars (viz. Elon Musk) or building floating Libertarian utopian nation states on the high seas (viz. Peter Thiel), we mere mortals occupy ourselves with quotidian chicken-cackling about the utility of the latest app, the battery life of the newest laptop, or how intuitive the controls are for our Internet of Things devices. Indeed, I expect that the tech world will be bickering about some banality of a tech issue on social media when global warming really gets its groove on and we begin to boil in our own excrement.”

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