Tuesday, February 28, 2017

It was never a power grab.The rule is to protect the waters of Americans especially due to the Climate Crisis.

True to form extremists always are dysfunctional communicators taking everything to unbelievable heights that every person uneducated about such a measure as this will be screaming to stop and end the torture of businesses

That is an incredible drought map. See the heart over Oklahoma and Arkansas. 

That heart shaped area are the San Bois mountains (click here) and drainage has left it in drought.

Below is a map that illustrates the geological location of the San Bois mountains.


February 28, 2017
By Evan Halper

...The directive (click here) to undo the clean water initiative is expected to be closely followed by another aimed at unraveling the Obama administration’s ambitious plan to fight climate change by curbing power plant emissions.

“It is such a horrible, horrible rule,” Trump said as he signed the directive Tuesday aimed at the water rules. “It has such a nice name, but everything about it is bad.” He declared the rule, championed by environmental groups to give the EPA broad authority over nearly two-thirds of the water bodies in the nation, “one of the worst examples of federal regulation” and “a massive power grab.”

While the executive orders are a clear sign of the new administration’s distaste for some of the highest profile federal environmental rules, they also reflect the challenge it faces in erasing them. Both the climate and the clean water rules were enacted only after a long and tedious process of public hearings, scientific analysis and bureaucratic review. That entire process must be revisited before they can be weakened. It could take years....

For Earth to have achieved that drought map, it removed all the water vapor from the ITCZ, sent it to the north pole. Then the Arctic Vortex renewed with turbulence from the exchange of hot and cold water sent it back down to lower latitudes along with some sublimed ice. And then there were floods and floods and more floods. The ITCZ and the Arctic Circle is a very large volume of water vapor. Snow and rain and more snow and more rain and the USA has currently very little worry about drought; ie: California's high altitude Oroville Dam.


The "Waters of the United States" rule developed over decades is a fairly sophisticated rule. It acts to protect water that serves as potable water to the American people. One of the things we know about the Climate Crisis is there will be shifting water sources over time. When a river floods it doesn't simply go back into it's banks, it can erode the banks and change it's course. That is also true of small creeks, streams and headwaters. That is why watersheds are assessed for any problems.

This rule would allow the US EPA to enforce potable water without going through individual episodes of contaminated water sources due to flooding or drought. 

During times of drought, (click here) vegetation is visibly dry, stream and river flows decline, water levels in lakes and reservoirs fall, and the depth to water in wells increases. As drought persists, longer-term impacts can emerge, such as land subsidence, seawater intrusion, and damage to ecosystems. Unlike the immediate impacts of drought, however, long-term impacts can be harder to see, but more costly to manage in the future.

The rule empowers the people of the USA to maintain clean water supplies. That is what this rule was drafted for. If a water source develops contamination for one reason or another, the people can take action quickly to resolve the problems. It is a good thing, however, a President "Hubris" Trump is in the Oval Office so anything goes, including a valuable tool to protect citizens from the effects of the climate crisis. 

There are other ways of doing things. It will just take longer.

I am far more interested in the group, it's members, what was discussed and what was promised.

Ms Conway (click here) tries to capture the perfect photograph.

Ms. Conway is former campaign staff. This posture is not unusual for her. I am sure Mr. Trump's staff is far more informal in their demeanor as well.

Isn't that the Kennedy desk?

It looks like it to me.

On second thought, maybe not.

Please don't disgrace a Navy Seal by retreating into political antics. That is beneath this country's integrity.

February 28, 2017
By Matthew Rozsa

Less than a week (click here) after President Donald Trump’s raid on Yemen was denounced by the father of the SEAL who was killed in combat there, officials are reporting that it has not provided meaningful intelligence — which was initially cited as the reason why the raid had been a success.

Senior officials are saying that they don’t know of any so-called “actionable intelligence” gathered by the raid, according to NBC News. One senior congressional official with inside knowledge also told NBC News that he didn’t know why al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula was even targeted by the SEAL raid, since he is unaware of any impending threat from that particular al-Qaeda chapter....

THAAD - Parking missile defense at the borders of Russia and China.

February 28, 2017

South Koreans (click here) have staged a protest against a land-swap deal which will see their country host the controversial US defense missile system THAAD. Some living near the host site have also filed a lawsuit against the Defense Ministry, according to attorneys.

Demonstrators holding signs and chanting slogans gathered in front of the Seoul headquarters of retail giant Lotte on Tuesday to protest its deal with the South Korean government....

General Mattis is expected to speak to Japan about THAAD as well. It should be obvious why North Korea is in such a hurry to arm itself.

IT SHOULD ALSO BE OBVIOUS WHY RUSSIA HAS SUCH A DESIRE TO BE COMFY WITH TRUMP!

It doesn't matter if Mattis is promoting THAAD, he is operating under his own steam. There is a good chance Trump may be disapproving Mattis activities. Trump can't complain about General Mattis priorities, he demanded Congress legislate his place in history.

February 3, 2017
By Bruce Harrison


The new U.S. secretary of defense, (click here) retired Marine Corps Gen. James Mattis, arrived in South Korea Thursday where he recommitted Washington to deploying an advanced missile defense battery to the Korean Peninsula.
But amid South Korea’s fractured politics, it’s still very unclear if the deal brokered under the leadership of now-impeached President Park Geun-hye will hold up.
“Mattis sought to lock in the case, but he has little leverage over the political dynamics in Seoul,” said Mark Fitzpatrick of the International Institute for Strategic Studies.
Mattis is the first member of President Donald Trump’s Cabinet to make an overseas visit. Key Asian ally South Korea is his first stop; Japan is next on the itinerary.
After campaign threats of possibly drawing down military support for South Korea, Trump may be trying to soothe hurt feelings by sending Mattis to Seoul. He may also be attacking an early challenge to his administration: North Korea....

The reporting by CNN is important and valued outside the USA as well.

February 27, 2017
By Rebecca Harrington


After President Richard Nixon resigned because of the scandal, President Jimmy Carter sought to give the Justice Department as much insulation from politics as possible, to keep investigations independent of meddling from the White House or Congress.
Other administrations have since strengthened this distinction, explicitly outlining what officials can and cannot do in Department of Justice memoranda.
But President Donald Trump's administration appears to have flouted this longstanding ethical protocol, experts and former FBI and Justice Department officials say, prompting new questions about the impartiality of the FBI's look into Trump and his associates' ties to Russia.
CNN reported Thursday that the FBI (which is housed within the DOJ) rejected a White House request to publicly shoot down a New York Times story reporting repeated communications between Russian operatives and the Trump campaign....


What would Bernard Shaw say about speaking to power?

By 

At his press conference last week, (click here) President-elect Trump refused to take a question from CNN reporter Jim Acosta, denouncing the network as a purveyor of “fake news.” Trump’s ire was in response to CNN’s explosive report that U.S. intelligence chiefs had briefed Trump on claims that the Kremlin had collected compromising information on him. In the wake of CNN’s report, BuzzFeed published the unedited, and unverified, opposition-research dossier referenced in the intel briefing, which included lurid allegations about Trump’s behavior and his campaign’s ties to Russia.

On Tuesday morning, I sat down with CNN Worldwide president Jeff Zucker for a wide-ranging discussion about that controversial scoop, Trump’s threat to press freedom, and why he’s not worried about losing access to the White House....

The protests should start now and continue through to the next election cycle. It worked when "W" wanted $2 trillion from Social Security.

February 28, 2017
By Noam N. Levey

Republicans came into office this year (click here) promising to rescue Americans from rising healthcare bills by repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act.

But the party’s emerging healthcare proposals would shift even more costs to patients, feeding the very problem GOP politicians complained about under Obamacare....

...Meanwhile, other GOP plans to overhaul Medicare — which Ryan and Price have championed — would provide seniors with vouchers to shop for commercial health plans, an approach that independent analyses suggest could leave many patients paying more.

Those are politically risky ideas, said Robert Blendon, an authority on public attitudes about healthcare at Harvard University. “Skin in the game has been never popular,” he said. “It may be an economist’s dream. But it’s never been something people say they want.”

The GOP proposals — many bedrock conservative healthcare ideas — also could prove a major obstacle as Republicans labor to convince increasingly skeptical Americans that they have a better alternative to Obamacare....

"W"s announcement regarding his plans to take $2 trillion from Social Security was a disaster as well.

Social InSecurity; Bush 's $2 Trillion Boondoggle. (click here)

Republicans always covet other people's money. They do it when there are elections and take monies for buying elections and they attempt to remove monies in places the American people consider sacred. It never fails. They always tamper with success of large programs funded by the American people.

February 28, 2017

President Donald Trump held a meeting with executives (click here) to get them on board with Republican plans to dismantle the health law.

...CQ Roll Call: Trump To Health Insurers: We've Got A 'Great Plan' 
President Donald Trump told insurance executives Monday his plan to overhaul the health care system would be "a great plan for the patients, for the people, and hopefully for the companies." He shared no details about the proposal but said it will be “a very competitive plan” that reduces health care costs and improves access to care “very, very substantially." "I think people are going to like it a lot," the president said, according to a pool report. Participants included top executives from major insurers, including UnitedHealth Group, Aetna, Cigna, Humana, Anthem, Kaiser Permanente and the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, as well as several smaller plans, including Florida Blue, Independence Blue Cross, and Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina. Matt Eyles, an executive vice president at the insurance company's lobbying arm America's Health Insurance Plans, also attended. (Mershon, 2/27)....

Florida and North Carolina do not have the Medicare Expansion and people have died because of it.

I don't know if Trump is baiting the companies to take over the reform effort so it works or holding them hostage.

Will the NYTimes, LA Times  and Time magazine kindly ask the CEOs in the room what insight they can provide and what they object to about the Affordable Care Act. Then be sure to ask if a Public Option would have made a difference in the rollout in 2014?

February 28, 2017
By Sarah Varney

Princeton, Ill — Commuting past the barren winter fields in northern Illinois, (click here) Cathie Chapman worries about the future.

More than a year ago, she lost her job at a nearby rural hospital after it closed and, as Republicans work to dismantle the Affordable Care Act, wonders whether she’ll soon be out of work again.

“Many of my friends did not find jobs they love,” she said. “They’re working for less money or only part time. Some haven’t found any jobs yet, even after a year.”

Now she runs the pharmacy at Perry Memorial Hospital here, warily watching the Republicans’ repeal efforts.

“I think everybody who works in health care now feels a little uneasy,” said Chapman. “We don’t know what’s coming around the corner, and how it will affect us. But we know that change is happening so fast, it is exhausting and difficult to keep up with.”

Rural hospitals have long struggled to stay open. They have far fewer patients and thin profit margins. Dozens have closed across the country in recent years, mostly in states that didn’t expand Medicaid....

Yeah, yeah, yeah, Kasich is not president, but, his statements are a clear understanding of his citizens, their needs and the best approach to protect their health.

As Governor Chris Christie has stated, "...this administration has no experience in government..." That statement was a bit pandering for sympathy for the Trump administration. I am sorry, Governor Christie, but Americans don't have time for the Trump administration to 'get up to speed' to protect their health. The ethical issues and the speed this administration is racking them up should be a very clear warning sign to Americans.

They were living the dream.

February 27, 2017
By the Editorial Board

“I have a question (click here) in my mind,” Sunayana Dumala said after her husband, an Indian engineer, was shot dead last week in a Kansas bar. “Do we belong?”

There is no satisfying response to her concern, which is widely shared. The gunman reportedly yelled “get out of my country” before killing Ms. Dumala’s husband, Srinivas Kuchibhotla, as he was having a glass of whiskey after work with a friend, who was wounded.

President Trump and his administration have not only tried to keep many immigrants and foreign visitors out of the country, they have done so by casting them as criminals, potential terrorists and trespassers, out to steal the jobs and threaten the lives of Americans.

Ms. Dumala and millions of other members of minorities are integral to the United States, which is almost entirely made up of immigrants and their descendants. But this history might not comfort marginalized groups who hear the administration’s words and see what is happening in this country and wonder if it is safe to stay here, or come here....

25 February 2017
By Rajini Vaidyanathan

Sunayana Dumala last saw her husband when he left for work on Wednesday morning

The widow of an Indian man (click here) killed in a suspected race crime in the US has said her husband "loved America" and came to the country "full of dreams".
Sunayana Dumala, who flew to India after the shooting to be with her husband's family, told the BBC she was "devastated" by his death.
Srinivas Kuchibhotla was shot dead in a bar in Olathe, Kansas. His friend Alok Madasani and an American were injured.
Adam Purinton, 51, has been charged with premeditated first-degree murder.
Ms Dumala said that she had grown anxious about racial hatred after the election of Donald Trump, but she said her husband was "dedicated" to their life in the US and to his job as an engineer.
"Just last week we drove to Iowa to see our friends and their new baby," she said. "When we came back, he was working in the car while I was driving. That's how much he loved working... He personally wanted to do so much for this country."...

The Trump Administration cannot continue to exist within their own dreamscape.

...The White House press secretary, Sean Spicer, initially dismissed as “absurd” any link between it and Mr. Trump’s rhetoric, but on Monday called the anti-Semitic attacks and the Kansas shooting “equally disturbing.” Each act of hate is easily explained away as the work of a disturbed person. Yet, had these attacks been perpetrated by a Muslim or an undocumented immigrant, the president would surely have claimed that he was right all along....