Etiquette



DP Etiquette

First rule: Don't be a jackass.

Other rules: Do not attack or insult people you disagree with. Engage with facts, logic and beliefs. Out of respect for others, please provide some sources for the facts and truths you rely on if you are asked for that. If emotion is getting out of hand, get it back in hand. To limit dehumanizing people, don't call people or whole groups of people disrespectful names, e.g., stupid, dumb or liar. Insulting people is counterproductive to rational discussion. Insult makes people angry and defensive. All points of view are welcome, right, center, left and elsewhere. Just disagree, but don't be belligerent or reject inconvenient facts, truths or defensible reasoning.

Monday, December 2, 2024

Updates: Project 2025; MAGA criminals in power; Environmental protections in collapse


Trump Disavowed Project 2025 During the Campaign. Not Anymore.
President-elect Donald J. Trump has filled his administration with people who have ties to the right-wing manifesto

During the campaign, President-elect Donald J. Trump swore he had “nothing to do with” a right-wing policy blueprint known as Project 2025 that would overhaul the federal government, even though many of those involved in developing the plans were his allies.

Mr. Trump even described many of the policy goals as “absolutely ridiculous.” And during his debate with Vice President Kamala Harris, he said he was “not going to read it.”

Now, as he plans his agenda for his return to the White House, Mr. Trump has recruited at least a half dozen architects and supporters of the plan to oversee key issues, including the federal budget, intelligence gathering and his promised plans for mass deportations.

The shift, his critics say, is not exactly a surprise. Mr. Trump disavowed the 900-page manifesto when polls showed it was extremely unpopular with voters. Now that he has won a second term, they say, he appears to be brushing those concerns aside.

“President-elect Trump has dropped all pretense and is charging ahead hand in hand with the right-wing industry players shaping an agenda he denied for the whole campaign,” said Tony Carrk, the executive director of Accountable.US, a watchdog group that has been tracking Mr. Trump’s cabinet picks with ties to the project.
Mr. Trump has picked Russell T. Vought, one of the authors of Project 2025, to lead the powerful Office of Management and Budget. In choosing Mr. Vought, Mr. Trump will have someone who views the position as far more expansive than just overseeing the budget.

Mr. Vought wrote in Project 2025 that the person picked for the job should view themselves as an “approximation of the president’s mind,” while establishing a reputation of the keeper of “commander’s intent.”
If that isn’t authoritarian intent, I don’t know what is.
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________

President-elect Donald Trump on Saturday named Charles Kushner, a real estate developer and father of Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, as his nominee for U.S. ambassador to France.

Charles Kushner, convicted felon and
US Ambassador to France

The announcement, made on Trump's Truth Social platform, praised Charles Kushner as "a tremendous business leader, philanthropist, and dealmaker."

"I am pleased to nominate Charles Kushner, of New Jersey, to serve as the U.S. Ambassador to France. He is a tremendous business leader, philanthropist, & dealmaker, who will be a strong advocate representing our Country & its interests," Trump wrote. "Together, we will strengthen America's partnership with France, our oldest Ally, & one of our greatest!"

The nomination comes after Trump controversially pardoned Charles, along with several other close associates, in 2020. Charles was sentenced to two years in prison in 2005 after he pled guilty to 18 counts, including tax evasion and witness tampering.  
The legal case was prosecuted by Chris Christie, a then U.S. attorney for New Jersey and later governor of the state and Republican presidential candidate. .... Christie had previously described Charles' actions during a January 2019 interview with PBS as "one of the most loathsome, disgusting crimes that I prosecuted when I was U.S. attorney," and alleged in a 2019 book that he was fired from Trump's transition team because Jared held a grudge against him over the elder Kushner's prosecution.
If that isn’t corruption, nepotism and astonishing sleaze, I don’t know what is. The rule of law is taking a massive pounding right in front of our eyes, right now.
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________

Not surprisingly, international efforts to protect the environment are stalling:

Plastic waste

Divided over whether to stop making plastic, U.N. treaty talks collapse
Delegates from more than 170 countries huddled for a week of marathon negotiations but came up short on delivering a deal

Global talks to forge a landmark treaty aimed at reducing plastic pollution broke down after negotiators from more than 170 countries remained deadlocked over how to curb the world’s growing mountain of plastic waste. .... More than 100 countries favored measures to ratchet back plastic production, while oil-rich nations pushed back, arguing that the world should target plastic pollution, not plastic itself.  
Each year, the world produces more than 450 million metric tons of plastic, mostly from fossil fuels, and generates 350 million metric tons of plastic waste. About half of that waste is dumped into landfills, .... Another 19 percent is incinerated, while less than 10 percent gets recycled [about 9% is recycled]. A little less than a quarter is mismanaged, with some of it ending up in rivers and oceans.
A big pile of plastic


A sad sight, but profits must not be impaired!
Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)