UPSIDE DOWN JUSTICE IN THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION

Just a quick note about the business as usual in Trump World. 

From CNN: Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Thursday denounced the release of "American Taliban" John Walker Lindh as "unexplainable and unconscionable...There is something deeply troubling and wrong about this," Pompeo said in an interview with Fox & Friends." (link)

From the NY Times: President Trump has indicated that he is considering pardons for several American military members accused or convicted of war crimes, including high-profile cases of murder, attempted murder and desecration of a corpse, according to two United States officials. (link)

On the one hand, a person convicted of crime who has served almost 18 years of a 20 year sentence is released early based on good behavior. He was tried, convicted, and served his time. This is not OK, according to the Trump administration. 

On the other hand, members of the U.S. military accused or convicted of war crimes might be pardoned by Trump because of their service to their country. This is perfectly OK, according to the Trump administration. 

Sigh...just another day in the topsy-turvy world of Donald J. Trump and his sycophants. 

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LISTEN UP, DEMOCRATS

Liberal democracy, as we have known it in our lifetimes, is under attack, and Donald Trump is a symptom, not the cause. There are too many signs that Trump can win again in 2020 for us liberals/Democrats to ignore, and we need to be concerned, and active. 

For starters, read the column in the Sunday NY Times by Roger Cohen about Steve Bannon (yes, that Steve Bannon) in Italy specifically, and the European Union in general. Leaders like Trump are being buoyed by populist, nativist movements very similar to that in the USA. I won't mince words, fascism is on the rise around the globe, including in the U.S., Britain, Italy, France, Germany, Poland, Hungary....and more. To be clear, fascism is: a political philosophy, movement, or regime ... that exalts nation and often race above the individual and that stands for a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, severe economic and social regimentation, and forcible suppression of opposition (Merriam-Webster). Sound familiar? 

I don't think the United States has a fascist government at this point; however, the trend is unmistakable. As Cohen points out, fascism today is not the same as fascism was in the 1930'3-40's in Europe. It has some differences, but the brand is the same. 

I want to believe that Donald Trump will be overthrown - voted out - by a huge margin in 2020, but the facts make that less than certain. Listen to interviews on the news of people who voted for Trump, are being negatively affected by his actions and policies - neither liking things he has done nor believing that those actions are OK - and yet say that overall he is doing a great job and, yes, they will vote for him again. 

People who have felt left out and ignored by government, have seen their wages stagnate while the wealthy class have become much wealthier, who have lost jobs to China or some other low-wage, non-union work force, who are caught in dying communities riddled with opium addiction and crime, and who see a flood of immigrants and refugees threatening them even more, are part of the Trump base. And unless Democrats can clearly explain that the booming economy and record low unemployment are not really signs that Trump and his Republican enablers are doing things right for the common people, we are doomed.

But remember, I said that Trump is a symptom, not the problem. The Republican members of Congress have supported Trump, no matter what horrible things he says and does. Democrats taking control of the Senate is a long shot in 2020, and even beyond, due to the way Senate seats are apportioned 2 per state, not based on state population size. And the GOP under Trump continues to pack the federal courts, including the Supreme Court, with judges who lean to the right on critical issues, and continues to wreak havoc on federal agencies and regulations. 

Meanwhile, the Democratic Party has 24 announced candidates for President, and counting. To say that the party is fractionalized is an understatement. Will voters loyal to a specific primary candidate not vote for the nominated candidate, as many did not in 2016? That was politically stupid then, it will be more politically stupid in 2020. 

We liberals need to understand that things are very different now. In spite of the progress made over the past few decades, we are once again in a climate of hate in which women, non-whites, immigrants, Jews and Muslims, LGBT people and others are under open attack, not just by young men carrying tiki torches, but by local, state and federal GOP legislators. We are in a climate in which our leaders are building de-facto walls around our country, isolating us from our allies, allying us with the worst authoritarian regimes, building up our military and provoking our adversaries with words, tariffs, and dropping out of important international agreements. The endpoint of these trends is not a pretty picture. 

Electing a Democrat in 2020 to be the POTUS is a very important step. But I fear that the fight we are in, the fight for the heart of the American promise, will be long and difficult. We need to steel ourselves for a future in which things aren't the way we want them, in which the other side has won and we have lost and the future of democracy in the world is at stake. Yes, it is that serious.

Let's be smart. Let's be active. Let's pull together under one banner. 

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CLIMATE CHANGE DENIAL EXPLAINED - AT LAST

I don’t know about you, but I’ve often wondered why supposedly smart people like, let’s say, GOP members of Congress, are climate change deniers. I know why Donald Trump is a denier - he’s an idiot. But the rest of them...?

Yesterday it all became clear. Actually, the hints have been there for some time, like this article from 2017: “Russian tanker sails througn Arctic without icebreaker for first time.” But a speech by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo a couple of days ago at the annual Arctic Council meeting (the Council members are: Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden and the United States) left no doubts about what motivates climate change deniers.

 As Time.com reports: “For the Trump administration, disappearing sea ice in the world’s “high north” appears to be first and foremost an economic opportunity to exploit rather than a crisis to mitigate.” Not once in his speech did Pompeo mention climate change. He did extol the effects of climate change, however, as providing new opportunities for commerce, including easier and faster shipping through the Arctic due to reduced sea ice, and new ice-free land areas to exploit for natural resources - oil and gas. And prior to the meeting, the United States insisted that the term “climate change” should not appear in any official documents of the meeting. 

I heard a radio report about this, and it included statements by a petroleum industry person about these new and wonderful opportunities to exploit the natural resources of the far north.

Take a look at this map of the world:

 

(Map source: geology.com)

Nothing on that map looks very familiar, does it? Yes, it is Earth from above the North Pole, and it shows the nations that have coastal areas in the Arctic. Think about what it means to have the Arctic Ocean ice free for a longer time during the year than previously, and have thinner ice, and have shrinking ice margins that expose more and more coastal areas; all a result of a warming climate. Get used to seeing this view of the world, because more and more news will be coming from there as competition for commercial routes and natural resources heats up between the Arctic Council members. It has already begun.

Russia has been building a large fleet of icebreakers, the most recent being a jumbo nuclear-powered vessel. The Russians have 40 ice breakers; the United States has 2. The Russians are building tanker and freighter ships designed to navigate the Arctic waters even when there is ice - thinner ice than “normal.” The article above about the Russian tanker reported that the trip from Norway to Korea with a load of liquified natural gas took 30% less time traveling the Arctic route than going the usual way through the Suez Canal. Russia is developing oil and gas resources along its northern coast. 

Think about it; the Republicans in the US Congress and the Trump administration deny human-induced climate change (or don’t want to talk about it), they are pushing a relaxation of oil and gas development rules, including environmental regulations, and they want to open all U.S. coastal areas to oil and gas development. Does having an ice-free Arctic have anything to do with this? What do you think? 

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