Fracking, It’s Bad for Water.

Fracking water needs a closer look, EPA says. CREDIT: AP Photo/Brennan Linsley.

Fracking water needs a closer look, EPA says. CREDIT: AP Photo/Brennan Linsley.

Has everyone recovered from the surprise and shock that fracking is bad for water? I suppose it’s good that the EPA finally managed to spit this one out, now that it will most likely be dismantled.

The Environmental Protection Agency has concluded that hydraulic fracturing (fracking) can affect drinking water.

In light of the facts that tap water near some fracking wells has become flammable, that two families in Pennsylvania last year won a court case over the impacts of fracking on their water, and that scientists have found arsenic in water sources near fracking, the EPA’s announcement Tuesday should not come as a surprise.

But it does, since just 18 months ago, a draft version of the EPA’s fracking report said that the EPA “did not find evidence that these mechanisms have led to widespread, systemic impacts on drinking water resources in the United States.”

[…]

It’s not clear that the science will continue to be investigated, at least in the near term. President-elect Donald Trump has suggested dismantling the EPA, and his nominee to head the agency has come out strongly in favor of oil and gas development.

Trump is in the process of assembling what will be the most anti-environment, pro-fossil fuel cabinet in modern history. Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt, who has fought EPA regulations for years, has been tapped to run the EPA.

It’s worth noting that water quality is not the only thing at risk from fracking. Fracking has been linked to numerous air quality concerns, including in areas where fracking wells are located close to schools. Fracking has been tied to asthma, migraines, and other health impacts.

And let’s not forget that fracking causes earthquakes. We really don’t need to cause earthquakes, they are bad enough when they happen naturally. The government that is poised to take power seems to want to hasten the death of our earth, and all of us on it.

Full story at Think Progress.

A History of False Balance Journalism.

CREDIT: NAACP via the Library of Congress.

CREDIT: NAACP via the Library of Congress.

Racist mobs murdered African Americans with bullets, nooses, and knives. Innocent people were mutilated, strung up, and roasted alive. In the late 1800s, when these killings reached their peak, more than a thousand African Americans were killed in just five years. In one year, 1892, “there were twice as many lynchings of blacks as there were legal executions of all races throughout the United States.”

And yet, as media scholar David Mindich details in his book, Just the Facts: How “Objectivity” Came to Define American Journalism, elite press coverage of these murders typically presented them as morally ambiguous affairs that pitted a crowd’s desire for immediate justice against the horrific — and, very often, fabricated — crimes of the black victim.

The same ethic, in other words, that leads modern day reporters to claim Hillary Clinton’s denunciation of racists is the moral equivalent of Donald Trump’s racism also led journalists from another century to be extra careful to include the murderers’ perspective when writing about lynching.

[…]

Eighty-five years after Wells’ death, newspapers are hardly blind to the financial incentives that placed balance before truth.

Many opinion editors, the Washington Post reports, are alarmed that they do not have any columnists who share the racist belligerence of our incoming president. They are now struggling mightily to find writers who will defend the views of a man that a large minority of Americans voted for.

Meanwhile, writers who suggest that the news media did a sub-optimal job of explaining the relative shortcomings of Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are often met with a brush off no less dismissive than the one the Times gave to Ida B. Wells.

Ian Millhiser’s article about false balance journalism is fascinating, and provides a much needed insight into just how journalism works, and who and what is the driving factor in most media. Highly recommended reading: The dark history of how false balance journalism enabled lynching.

Oceti Sakowin Camp.

Photo by Tom Jefferson.

Photo by Tom Jefferson.

There are still people at the Oceti Sakowin camp, a considerably smaller number, around 2,000, who will stay until DA is gone. They are requesting that no one new come into camp right now, as weather conditions are very harsh. Those of us fighting the Black Snake still need help. You can signal boost, get involved in various actions, or donate, all is appreciated, deeply.

Have a look at the Oceti Sakowin Camp site, and see if there is a way to add your voice to the many.

The Dakota Access Pipeline may be on hold, but Water Protectors are still fighting for their freedom.

This Is The Age of Puritan Nazis.

Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT). CREDIT: AP Photo/Evan Vucci.

Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT). CREDIT: AP Photo/Evan Vucci.

Republicans from all over the place have been jubilant over the possibilities of legislating their hatred, in particular, their hatred of LGBTIA people. Much old legislation is having the dust blown off, polished up, and gleefully presented once again, their hopes high on being able to oppress people, and have that oppression stick.

FADA is a bill (HR 2802) that would create a special status of protection exclusively for individuals who oppose same-sex marriage or premarital sex. The federal government would be prohibited from taking any “discriminatory action” against them, including denying tax exemptions, withholding grants or contracts, or denying any federal benefit. In other words, it would require the federal government to prop up anti-gay (and anti-sex) discrimination.

“Hopefully November’s results will give us the momentum we need to get this done next year,” Conn Carroll, Lee’s spokesman, told BuzzFeed. “We do plan to reintroduce FADA next Congress and we welcome Trump’s positive words about the bill.”

FADA co-sponsor Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) similarly boasted, “The prospects for protecting religious freedom are brighter now than they have been in a long time.”

This is not about protecting religious freedom, or religious anything, and it never has been. This is the bare assertion that Christians have a legal right to hate, and to oppress people based on a specific religious belief. Christians do not need protecting, in any way, shape, or form. In spite of their constant desire to present themselves as persecuted, nothing could be further from the truth here in uStates. People are free to pray wherever the hell they want to, and unless you’re into the anti-biblical kind of showy praying, how would anyone even know you’re praying? You can carry a bible anywhere you like. The fact that others are free to walk away, argue, or criticise you if you whip it out? That’s not persecution. If you think you require legal protection from all the evil sluts who want something horrific, like contraception, then I’d suggest the field you find yourself in is not a good fit. Really, it’s not difficult to get along without crying a persecution game, and convincing yourself you need protection from the menacing tide of perfectly normal, nice people is simply evil.

Christians just love a narrative of persecution, implying they are the brave soldiers, standing strong for their god, a god who must be quite the weakling, considering it can’t ever stand up for itself, but the insistence on legislating bigotry and hate points to only one thing: cowardice. Craven, cringing, cowardly Christians, who just cannot face a day where they might encounter a queer person doing something hideous, like offering money for a service, oh my!

The only refuge LGBT people might find if both Congress and the White House turn against them is in the courts. For example, in July, Federal Judge Carlton Reeves, an Obama appointee, ruled against Mississippi’s HB 1523, which largely mirrors FADA’s protections for those who oppose marriage equality. “A law declaring that in general it shall be more difficult for one group of citizens than for all others to seek aid from the government is itself a denial of equal protection of the laws in the most literal sense,” he wrote.

But if FADA or similar legislation passes, LGBT people will have to fight it with the Justice Department working against them.

If we can be sure of one thing, it’s that republicans will be presenting a near overwhelming amount of anti-LGBTIA legislation, and at least some of it is sure to pass.

Zack Ford has the full story at Think Progress.

Pray for Trump Because…

Credit: Kingdom Life.

Credit: Kingdom Life.

Rev. Franklin Graham told CNN’s Carol Costello that he backs President-elect Donald Trump’s plan to bring back manufacturing jobs because people are not proud of modern jobs in computer science.

During an interview on Tuesday, Graham praised Trump for finding a way to “work with the thugs” like Russian President Vladimir Putin “so that we can have peace in this world.”

There are none so blind as those who refuse to see. Trump loves Putin, because Putin says nice things about him, and in Donald’s world, that’s what matters. They are also both consumed by money and power. Best buds. I’m afraid if you’re going to call Putin a thug, you have to call Trump one, too. In no way will their working together bring peace to this world. If the Exxon and Rosnet deal goes through, that’s 500 billion for power-mad tyrants to play with.

“That’s the problem with the politicians in Washington,” he said. “They sit down there and they do nothing. Now we’ve got a man who’s coming into the White House who wants to get things done. And I hope and I pray — we all as Americans, we need to pray for the president-elect and vice president-elect.”

Well yes, republicans aren’t overly keen on working, unless they’ve cooked up some sort of legislation to oppress marginalized people even more. Then you see some enthusiasm.

“Start working to make America great again, that’s what Trump wants to do,” the pastor continued. “We need jobs, we need to get employment up, we need to have hope for the future. And the only way you’re going to have hope for the future is if a kid goes to college and comes out and knows, ‘I can get a job and I can get a good paying job and maybe I can work my way up the ladder.’”

Oh for Crispy Fried Christ’s Sake. No. I addressed this in an earlier post, but going to college should not be tied to “get a good job”, it should be tied to a love of learning. And, as too many young people have found out, and keep finding out, a college degree is no guarantee of getting any sort of job. As for that “up the ladder” isht, I’d dearly love to see that colonial minded concept die. No. Learn to be content, learn when enough is more than enough. Learn that you do not need to compete your whole life long, with yourself, your neighbours, colleagues, or anyone else. Who gives a flying fuck what they think?

According to Graham, graduates are not finding jobs because companies have shifted to overseas manufacturing.

“This is terrible. I live in North Carolina where so much of our manufacturing base has gone to other countries,” he insisted. “And people are out of jobs, are out of work. And they say, ‘But we’ll retrain you, we’ll let you be a computer programmer.’”

Nothing wrong with that, it’s a job, right?

“They don’t want to be a computer programmer!” Graham continued. “They want to do the same job as their fathers and their grandfathers. There was pride in the manufacturing and the building. And we’ve taken all that away and it’s sad.”

Oh for fuck’s sake, make up your bloody mind. Either they go to college and get jobs which are not factory jobs, or they don’t go to college, and get a factory job. As for Trump, well, he’s not overly keen on anything being manufactured here, costs too much, y’know, those workers, they want to be paid a living wage. And unions! Oh, the archenemy of billionaires everywhere. Trump happily scammed the hell out of people with the whole Carrier deal, and now Carrier is richer by millions, big tax cuts, and they are going to use that money to automate people right out of a job. (Carrier one, Carrier two.) Trump has no intention of “bringing back jobs”. Trump is interested in making more money, and making sure his fellow billionaires make more, too.

So, go ahead and pray, Mr. Franklin, for all the good it will do. You’re providing a fine example of why we are so very fucked.

Via Raw Story.

SUF Uppsala: Demonstration mot DAPL!

https://twitter.com/SUFUppsala

Perry the Prayer to Be Energy Secretary.

Rick Perry speaks to Fox News (screen grab).

Rick Perry speaks to Fox News (screen grab).

Rick Perry, the former governor of Texas, whose style of governance was basically “hey, let’s pray!”, has been tapped by Trump to be Secretary of Energy.

CBS is reporting that President elect Donald Trump has chosen former Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) to be his energy secretary.

[…]

According to Major Garrett of CBS, two sources have confirmed Perry will be offered the spot  and will accept.

As CBS notes, Perry sits on the boards of two major energy companies, including Energy Transfer Partners which owns a subsidiary Dakota Access LLC, which is attempting to build the Dakota Access Pipeline.

It’s not enough to say all these rich assholes are living in one another’s pockets, they are living in each others rectums. It’s quite the racket Trump is setting up, making sure that all his investments don’t suffer by protecting his fellow investors, all of whom are climate change deniers, and pro-fossil fuels. (See here for the Exxon mess.)

People must get serious about fighting filthy energy, our lives are at stake. When we remove the earth’s ability to sustain us, we’ll die, and not pleasantly so. When we have poisoned all the water, we’ll die. And once again, water systems are not neatly contained puddles. Water flows, it meets other water, it’s an intricate and beautiful network, one which is vital to the health of our earth, and the life residing on it. Everywhere you look, more pipelines are being approved, against public sentiment and wishes. Trudeau, who styled himself a friend to the Indigenous nations of Canada, recently approved two major pipelines. Trump has vowed to okay Keystone XL, and while he won’t be pinned down on DAPL, he says “there will be a fast resolution”. As he’s heavily invested in ETP, I’m sure it doesn’t take much work to figure out which way he will go. The coal industry is also getting much more pushy, pinning their hopes on a Trump presidency. As usual, much of the pipelines and planned coal stations will be on Indigenous land, and treaties will be broken left and right, while colonialists happily destroy the ability of Indigenous people to sustain themselves, and make sure their land and water is always at risk of being poisoned beyond repair.

Does anyone think that the blatant disregard shown by Trump and his appointees won’t matter? Climate change is real, and we are already feeling the effects of it. Sea levels are rising. Water is routinely poisoned by gas and oil. Land which used to yield food is now rendered blasted and useless from fracking. Things will continue to get worse unless we change things right. fucking. now. Trump and his cronies have no interest in that at all. They plan to accelerate all the damage. When great swathes of the U.S. are no longer inhabitable for 3 to 6 months a year, what’s going to happen? Do you have enough money to purchase alternate residences, and the money cushion involved in moving back and forth? Are you going to get out your precious, beloved gun and start shooting people who don’t have resources? What do billionaires care about any of that? The entitlement brought on by having endless amounts of money and power allows them to think they will never, ever be victimized by such things, but planetary climate change doesn’t care about billionaires, and while it might get them last, it will get them.

The most recent pipeline leak here in nDakota, it was not detected by all that supposed early detection equipment, so no more of the same, tired bullshit about how safe pipelines are, and oh, they have detection equipment, because that crap does not work, and pipelines leak, end of story.

People in Arkansas and Oklahoma need help to stop a pipeline.

…More. Right. The orange man is on deck. Trump the troll. His minions. Pipeline lovers. Oil-addicted junkies. Wall builders and bigots. The illegal immigrants in this country are not brown. I’ve said this before. Many times. These gibbed geeks are the descendants of European invaders. But enough of that. Word is the oil-and-gas fat cats at Energy Transfer Partners are pissing and moaning into their whiskeys and ryes. Whiny brats. They said they’ll push on. President Andrew Jackson pushed on, too. The Trail of Tears happened anyway. “Justice Marshall made his decision, now let him enforce it.” Another whiny brat.

There’s little justice in this world, but on December 4, Native Americans got a taste. It’s always a fine feeling when good prevails over evil. And that’s what these pipelines are. Evil. Pure. Unadulterated. How could they not be? The oil oafs and their seedy oligarch asshat homies know pipelines leak. And they know people get sick when they do. Just ask the folks in the gulf who are still suffering from the massive BP oil spill. They agonize from chronic respiratory illnesses and skin diseases. THEY know what happens when pipelines leak and poison the water, sink into the soil. But these paunchy pipeline pricks turn a blind eye in the name of profit. They are gibbed vermin, and they deal in deception. …

Excerpt from Simon Moya-Smith, writing from the Oceti Sakowin Camp.

Standing Rock: No DAPL Roundup.

web_resize_ict_editoon_120916

© Marty Two Bulls.

The Twists and Turns of Extortion.

Foreign governments and lobbyists have rushed to book rooms at the new Trump International Hotel in D.C., expecting to curry favor with the president-elect. Chip Somodevilla/Getty

Foreign governments and lobbyists have rushed to book rooms at the new Trump International Hotel in D.C., expecting to curry favor with the president-elect. Chip Somodevilla/Getty.

Newsweek has broken a story about the twisty financial ties of Trump, and how very easy it would be for foreign governments to do some serious arm twisting, to get Trump to do their bidding. As I hope has been made clear through dozens upon dozens of posts, Trump is primarily concerned with his name and his wallet. This whole government thing, not so much. Anyone who thinks Trump will actually divest prior to inauguration, oh please, make it back to reality land. That simply won’t happen. Trump has already stated he doesn’t care if it’s a violation of the constitution. Unfortunately, that particular mess does not rest there. If you need one more reason to actively fight against Trump, here it is – this is person who thinks of the presidency as nothing more than a good business opportunity. He not only does not understand the implications, he does not care. This is just the tip of the iceberg, one which spells out, very clearly, that Trump is placing the U.S. government in a prime position to be blackmailed by an assortment of other governments.

Despite universal condemnation of the ongoing slaughter of Filipinos, Trump signaled his approval of Duterte’s policies during a phone call on December 2. According to Duterte—an account that has gone uncontested by Trump—the president-elect endorsed his tactics as “the right way.” Duterte added: “[Trump] was wishing me success in my campaign against the drug problem.” (He also said Trump invited him to the White House, a courtesy not yet extended to Theresa May, the prime minister of Britain, America’s most important strategic ally.)

[…]

One thing, however, is clear: The Trump family has an enormous financial interest in keeping Duterte happy. Trump Tower at Century City in Makati, Philippines, is on the verge of completion, with potential buyers having placed deposits on at least 94 percent of the condominiums, according to Century Properties, the Trump Organization’s business partner there. During the U.S. presidential campaign, Trump’s sons Donald Jr. and Eric traveled to Makati to shovel some dirt in a ceremony to celebrate the structural completion of the building; a photograph of the two men shoveling alongside top Century Properties executives was posted on the building’s website. (On that same website, a line of jewelry by Trump’s daughter Ivanka is offered for sale, and it is expected to be available for purchase at the $150 million property.) As with almost every property with Trump’s name on it built over the past decade, his company is not the developer; it merely sold its name to Century Properties to use on the building. Although details of the transaction are not public, contracts for other Trump branding deals reviewed by Newsweek show that they require a multimillion-dollar up-front payment as well as up to 25 percent of the developer’s revenue, year after year. So, under the deal, Trump’s children will be paid millions of dollars throughout their father’s presidency by Jose E.B. Antonio, the head of Century Properties.

Duterte recently named Antonio the special government envoy to the United States. The conflicts here could not be more troubling or more blatant: President Trump will be discussing U.S. policy in Southeast Asia with one of his (or his children’s) business partners, a man who is the official representative of a foreign leader who likens himself to Hitler. Also note that the Trump family has an enormous financial interest in Duterte’s deadly campaign: Rooting out crime in the Philippines is good for the real estate values.

The full, in-depth article is here.

Rachel Maddow also addressed highly troubling concerns when it comes to a Trump financial tangle and Turkey.

According to Maddow, Trump has a business relationship with the Doğan family, owners of Doğan Holding, which is building twin towers in Turkey bearing the Trump name for which the Trump family stands to make millions of dollars.

[…]

Maddow then got to the heart of the matter.

“Turkey desperately wants the U.S. government to extradite an imam [Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen],” Maddow explained. “They [the U.S.] have said that they are not extraditing him. But if that’s what you wanted, what if you could squeeze the personal financial interests of the American president as a way to get what you want from the American government?”

“I mean, the Trump family and the president-elect themselves, they stand to make millions of dollars from their relationship with the Doğan group in Turkey. That will stop if they get locked up,” she continued. “So they started locking them up. Nice leverage, right? It would be one thing if it was business leverage — but it’s leverage against all of us as Americans.”

As Eichenwald notes in his article: “If Erdoğan’s government puts more pressure on the company that’s paying millions of dollars to Trump and his children, revenue flowing from that tower complex in Istanbul could be cut off. That means Erdoğan has leverage with Trump, who will soon have the power to get Gulen extradited.”

Full story and video here.

Day of Tears.

Ben Cline (Facebook).

Ben Cline (Facebook).

Here’s a fine example of what republicans are good for, which is not much. Not much at all. “Day of Tears”. This is a Virginia delegate’s idea of meaningful legislation, to make the anniversary of Roe v Wade into “Day of Tears”, complete with flags flown at half mast.

The bill, pre-filed by Cline on Monday, would encourage Virginians to lower the flag to half-staff on January 22, 2017, and every subsequent year. The text reads:

“Whereas on January 22, 1973, the majority of the members of the Supreme Court ruled that abortion was a right secured by the Constitution; and whereas since that fateful day, over 58 million unborn children have perished; now, therefore, be it resolved that January 22 shall be called the Day of Tears in Virginia and that the citizens of the Commonwealth of Virginia are encouraged to lower their flags to half-staff to mourn the innocents who have lost their lives to abortion.”

The smug self-righteousness of republicans knows no bounds, and the only thing which truly shines where they are concerned is their utter uselessness. The only thing they know how to do in regard to government is to remove human rights. Roe v Wade, which is most certainly threatened, is no day of tears. It’s a day of relief, of care, of love, of health, and more than anything, a day which should remind everyone that women are indeed full human beings, with the right to full bodily autonomy. If there is a day of tears to connect with abortion, why is it smarmy, nasty “pro-lifers” are never dropping tears over the wealth of women who died because abortion was illegal? You won’t ever see that, because they do not care about adult women in the slightest, and all those women who died? “Oh, they deserved it!” they spit, designating them all as evil sluts. There’s nothing quite like the republican hatred of women, of their most cherished of foundation stones.

Full story.

Standing Rock: No DAPL Roundup.

Sacred Stone Media/YouTube Grassroots coalition against DAPL announces December as a month of action, focused on banks.

Sacred Stone Media/YouTube
Grassroots coalition against DAPL announces December as a month of action, focused on banks.

We, the below stated, are a coalition of grassroots groups living and working in the Dakota Access resistance camps along the Cannon Ball River in Oceti Sakowin treaty lands.

Sacred Stone Camp | Indigenous Environmental Network | International Indigenous Youth Council | Honor the Earth

The following is a coalition statement on the next steps for the #NoDAPL fight:

As we reflect on the decision by the U.S. Army (NOT the U.S. Army Corps) to suspend the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) river crossing easement and conduct a limited Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), the resistance camps at Standing Rock are making plans for the next phase of this movement.

Standing Rock Sioux Tribal Chairman Dave Archambault II has asked people to return home once the weather clears, and many will do so. Others will stay to hold the space, advance our reclamation of unceded territory affirmed in the 1851 Treaty of Ft. Laramie, and continue to build community around the protection of our sacred waters. They will also keep a close eye on the company, which has drilled right up to the last inch it can, and remains poised and ready to finish the project.

[…]

[Read more…]

High Disapproval.

1_1The Pew Research Center has a new report out, an 8 page report. Personally, I find it disturbing, because while disapproval of Trump is very high at the moment, the survey reflects a forlorn hope that somehow or another, actually being president will somehow make Trump okay at the job. That, or some people may be pinning their hope on Pence actually doing all the work, but that’s hardly good news. It would certainly be worse news for the queer community.

My point of view is that this just another example of American apathy swinging into place. “Well, he was elected, he’ll get better once he’s actually in office. That will tame him.” To that, I say the fuck it will. He’s already setting the stage for mass destruction, and he’s not in office yet. Why in the hell anyone would think it might be better once he gets in the white house is beyond me. For the zillionth time, he’s a conman, a known fraud. This is not news, and there are piles of evidence of his fraudulent practices littered all over the place. He is a compulsive liar and a sexual predator. Trump is an extreme narcissist, and he will not change once he has his feet under the presidential table.

I understand people wanting to pull some sort of protective shell around themselves, hell, if I had a bunker, I’d probably be in it by now, pretending none of this happened. It has happened though, and telling yourself little fairy stories about how it will somehow magically be alright – that won’t help. It won’t help you, it won’t help anyone else. We must all be brave, and stare reality in the face, eyes wide open, and fight back.

Pew Research Center Report in Full.

 

Russia Hacks; Trump Lies.

trump-modok-spider-gwen-188535More information continues to come out in regard to Russia’s interference in the election. They have proved to be adept masters at manipulation, not that it was particularly difficult to manipulate a good portion of the American people. Really, all it took was playing to the implicit and explicit bigotry of many white Americans, and playing on the fears of the rest. There was a time, decades ago, when America in general didn’t have a problem with intelligence. Intellect was considered to be a good thing, along with the tools to use it. There was a push to get everyone into college, and I think that was a mistake because it was done for the wrong reason, it was promoted as college = good job, rather than stressing the opportunity to learn, to expand your personal horizons, and simply to instill a lifetime love of learning.

There’s always been a serious strain of resentment bubbling along in America, the resentment of colonial minded people who are always prepared to think they’ve been denied their big ol’ piece of the pie, here in the land of the self-made man. That goes hand in hand with the idea that “lesser” people (non-white) have no business “taking jobs” away from them. This was at the bottom of the massive shift to anti-intellectualism, the eschewing of intelligence as a good or desirable trait. I’d place the serious start of this around the time of Reagan. It was slow to start, but rapidly gained ground.

Throughout the years, people got sleepy and apathetic, on all sides. We suffered through a number of years of remarkably bad leadership, this just being one of them:

Ignoring intelligence briefings can have real, disastrous consequences. In August 2001, President George W. Bush was handed a memo entitled, “Bin Laden Determined to Strike in U.S.” But after receiving that briefing, Bush downplayed the intelligence, reportedly telling the briefer, “All right. You’ve covered your ass, now.” Just over one month later, Bin Laden struck with the September 11 attacks.

Pretty sure most people know the consequences of that instance of lousy leadership. That consequence so scared many Americans, who were living in their insular bubble, that they voluntarily started giving up their rights, one after the other. We’re still dealing with the fucking snarled mess created in the aftermath, and none of it is right. We took rights away from citizens, but gave every right to militarized cops. Citizens are expected to be under constant surveillance, but cops are not expected to have visual records of their behaviour, and no one seems to care if they tamper with what records do exist. So, Putin takes a good look at his buddy, Trump. Then he takes a good look at all the money which could be made if Trump were to be elected. Then he takes a look at the mob. A mob fueled by bigotry based hate, with a hard on against intelligence and critical thought, but enamored with conspiracy theories. People soaking up fake news with nary a thought to flex their index finger a couple of times to verify. Not difficult to manipulate at all. The timing was exquisite, and the hack worked exactly as planned. Time for homework:

Trump claims no one discussed Russian hacking before the election. His own tweets prove he’s lying.

Trump says it’s OK if he skips intelligence briefings because he’s ‘a smart person’.

McConnell Covered Up CIA Reports That Russian Hacks Were Aimed At Electing Trump.

Russian media expert tells CNN: ‘They’ve succeeded in hacking our elections’ and now ‘the damage is done’.

Trump’s response on Russia draws pushback from Republican senators.

All of the Republicans supporting a congressional investigation into Russian election interference.

An Unholy Trinity.

Russia’s $500 billion oil deal with Exxon was killed by U.S. sanctions. CREDIT: Wall Street Journal, 9/11/2014.

Russia’s $500 billion oil deal with Exxon was killed by U.S. sanctions. CREDIT: Wall Street Journal, 9/11/2014.

For those people who may have read all the posts about Standing Rock, DAPL, and ETP, and wondered why there was a fuss, it’s just a pipeline, right? Well, you need to read, and understand that all these smaller actions by big oil are just the tiny feeder roots of what they really want to do, and what they really want to do is stuff their already overflowing pockets, and if our earth is damaged past the point of no return, eh, who cares, because money.

There’s been little reaction to Russia’s role in making sure Trump was elected, and that should be an electric shock to all those people who care about democracy, among other things. The insane amount of attention paid to “emails! emails” when it came to Clinton was near unbelievable, but there’s solid evidence of just how much Russia did influence and manipulate this election, and all of a sudden, conservatives don’t give a shit? You may think that marching fascism in is okely dokely, because you think it’s wrapped in Christian Jingoism, but it’s going to bite your head off too. This is a game of serious money and power, and the only ones who count are those who have the goods to ante up. The rest of us? We do not matter, and that message needs to hammered home, hard. We. Do. Not. Matter. People, please, wake the fuck up.

The aligning interests between Russian President Vladimir Putin, Russia’s choice for U.S. president (Donald Trump), and Big Oil represents the gravest threat to humanity (and democracy) since the rise of the Axis powers in the 1930s.

That’s because while Trump may not be able to destroy global climate action and the landmark 2105 Paris climate deal all by himself — as he pledged to do during the campaign — he probably could do that with help from Russia and the trillion-dollar oil industry.

So much is explained by Trump’s Secretary of State choice. Media reports now say it will be Rex Tillerson, CEO of oil giant ExxonMobil, which had made a $500 billion oil deal with Putin that got blocked by sanctions.

Stalling the biggest oil deal ever did not just “put Exxon at risk,” as the Wall Street Journal reported in 2014. MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow explained last week this deal was so big it was “expected to change the historical trajectory of Russia.”

This deal could explain why Putin appears to have interfered in U.S. elections in favor of a Trump victory. Recently, “the C.I.A. altered its formal assessment of Russia’s activities to conclude that the government of President Vladimir V. Putin was not just trying to undermine the election,” as the New York Times reported Saturday, “but had also acted to give one candidate an advantage.”

You can certainly make a plausible case, as many have, that Putin had enough motivation to interfere simply to undermine the legitimacy of U.S. elections.

[…]

But for Putin and the kleptocrats who benefit from his rule, little matters more than enriching coffers right now. It is no coincidence that just last week, Putin revealed Russia had sold a 19.5 percent stake in the Kremlin-controlled oil giant Rosnet for $11.3 billion to Qatar and others, “confounding expectations that the Kremlin’s standoff with the West would scare off major investors,” as Fortune reported in a must-read piece that connects major pieces of this puzzle.

There’s so very much to this story, the full article is at Think Progress. If for some reason, you think the Paris accord will help or make a difference, you need to go read just how easy it will be for Trump and Putin to nullify it. If for some reason, you think democracy is still alive, you need to disillusion yourself – that’s close to gone, and the celeb-elect has not yet taken office. Once he does, the the death knell sounds.