The NYT reports (not paywalled) on MAGA thugs completely eliminating all EPA research functions:
Trump Administration Aims to Eliminate E.P.A.’s Scientific Research Arm
The Environmental Protection Agency plans to eliminate its scientific research arm, firing as many as 1,155 chemists, biologists, toxicologists and other scientists, according to documents reviewed by Democrats on the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology.
Lee Zeldin, the administrator of the EPA, has said he wants to eliminate 65 percent of the agency’s budget. That would be a drastic reduction — one that experts said could hamper clean water and wastewater improvements, air quality monitoring, the cleanup of toxic industrial sites, and other parts of the agency’s mission.Molly Vaseliou, a spokeswoman for the E.P.A., said in a statement that the agency “is taking exciting steps as we enter the next phase of organizational improvements .... We are committed to enhancing our ability to deliver clean air, water and land for all Americans. While no decisions have been made yet, we are actively listening to employees at all levels to gather ideas on how to increase efficiency and ensure the E.P.A. is as up to date and effective as ever.”
The E.P.A.’s science office provides the independent research that undergirds virtually all of the agency’s environmental policies, from analyzing the risks of “forever chemicals” in drinking water to determining the best way to reduce fine particle pollution in the atmosphere. .... Its findings tend to support stronger regulations to protect against exposure to air pollution, hazardous chemicals and climate change. And that has made it a target of many industries.
That's sad, frightening and deeply insulting.
Q: How is it possible to get rid of most of an agency, while ensuring the EPA is as effective as ever?
A: If effective as ever means unable to stop or regulate pollution, then gutting the EPA is the way to do the job. Businesses that profit by pollution will love this. Consumers and workers can just live with more poison in their lives. And if they don't like the added poisons, they can just go pound sand.
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A NYT opinion makes an interesting argument about MAGA's authoritarianism: Trump Has Gone From Unconstitutional to Anti-Constitutional -- But there are other ways to evaluate the actions of a government. You can ask a somewhat different question: not whether an action is constitutional, but whether it sits opposed to constitutionalism itself. You can ask, in other words, whether it is anti-constitutional. .... An anti-constitutional act is one that rejects the basic premises of constitutionalism. It rejects the premise that sovereignty lies with the people, that ours is a government of limited and enumerated powers and that the officers of that government are bound by law. The new president has, in just the first two months of his second term, performed a number of illegal and unconstitutional acts. But the defining attribute of his administration thus far is its anti-constitutional orientation.
Now that is an insightful way of describing what MAGA's authoritarianism is. It is anti-constitutional. In the end if MAGA wins and our democracy really gets killed, I continue to believe we will face a kleptocratic, three-headed monster, djt ruling as quasi-dictator, billionaires ruling as ruthless plutocrats, and Christian nationalist zealots ruling as bigoted theocrats.
Sure, it is possible there will be a falling-out among the three main authoritarian wealth and power contenders, but I don't have a feel for how that war for wealth and power would play out. If that happens I suspect the Christian nationalists will lose out to the plutocrats maybe leaving djt as an even more powerful dictator-kleptocrat. Why might the plutocrats win? Maybe this logic: money talks, religion walks. Plutocrats already have money, Christianity just wants it.
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The Independent reports about Fox News propagandist Jessie Watters, who wishes that MAGA glee over job losses from federal spending cuts could be “a little bit less callous.” The Independent writes: MAGA superfan Jesse Watters once again laments DOGE cuts that impact him -- Johns Hopkins University announced staff layoffs as a result of massive funding cuts to federal aid programs – where Watters’s sister works. -- On Thursday evening’s episode of Jesse Watters Primetime, the host, once again, praised President Donald Trump, billionaire Elon Musk and the newly-formed Department of Government Efficiency for making massive cuts to federal programs to curtail what they believe is “waste, fraud and abuse.” But also lamented that it would be “a whole family thing” to deal with the fallout over the weekend. .... “She’s texting me. It’s going to be a whole family thing, so we’re going to have to deal with that over the weekend,” Watters said.
Poor Jessie. Apparently his mommy is ticked that her collaterally damaged daughter lost or might lose her job due to MAGA's mindless destruction machine. Jessie's reaction is that he wishes MAGA people would not gloat about people who lose their jobs due to MAGA's onslaught. What a kind, empathetic guy. /s
An outpouring of sympathy for Jessie
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Bonus non-MAGA bit!!: The Guardian writes: Chuck Schumer clung to belief Republicans would ‘expel’ Trump, book says -- Even as 2024 election loomed, reporters say, Democratic Senate leader was sure GOP would ‘expel the turd of Trump’ -- The revelation comes .... amid serious Democratic backlash against Schumer for failing to provide stiff enough resistance to Trump’s actions.
Good grief! The Dem leadership is worse than clueless. They are stupidly and/or cynically complicit, whether they know or believe it or not. How can they possibly be so stupid or ignorant as to afford any benefit of any doubt to any Republican in power in the federal government. What the hell is wrong with those people? Schumer actually believed that the GOP would return to its old self. That is idiotic.
Other Dems seem to be equally clueless or ignorant. Chris Murphy said that his vote for Marco Rubio for Secretary of State was "a mistake." He falsely thought Rubio would stand up to djt, particularly on issues like Russia's involvement in Ukraine, but he failed to do so. Similarly, Chris Van Hollen expressed regret, noting that Rubio had previously championed American values and acknowledged Russia as the aggressor in Ukraine. However, Van Hollen now sees that Rubio adopts Trump's positions. That should have been obvious before the confirmation vote in the Senate. Those Democratic Party US Senators grossly misunderstood djt's mindset. They just did not get the gigantic, well-known point about djt demanding loyalty to himself above everything else, including the rule of law, the US Constitution and inconvenient facts and truths, e.g., the 2020 election was stolen and his violent 1/6 coup attempt was just a pleasant "day of love."
The Dem turds that really need to be expelled include Schumer, Murphy and Van Hollen. Are they fools, idiots, complicit, ignorant, childishly gullible or some combination?
Q: Is it time for rank and file Dems to demand a house-cleaning to get rid of the party's worse than useless old politicians? Or, is everything mostly hunky-dory?
