You know who is to blame for all the climate catastrophes?

Everyone who mocked Jimmy Carter back 50 years ago when he preached to ween us off fossil fuels back in the 70's. When Reagan got elected, the first thing he did was remove the solar panels from the white house. He chose a Vice-President from Texas who was connected to the oil industry.

Look, combating climate change now is nearly impossible. It will take 50 years to reduce the effects. It certainly won't happen overnight. And it most certainly won't happen when the most powerful nation in the world has a climate change denier at the helm.

As we place blame in each instance of devastating hurricanes, floods, draughts and wildfires, the seeds of our demise were sewn long ago, back during the industrial revolution and the invention of automobile. But those folks can be forgiven, as they were ignorant to the damage they were causing. Not so much the folks in the seventies and eighties. They knew better and refused to act, mocking those with the foresight to see the danger.

The definition of bullshit

"No man is above the law". BULLSHIT

Mike Pence's Wife Snubs Trump at Carter Funeral

The priceless snub of the piece of shit occurs at the 3:12 mark of the posted video.

Must see

Some things we can't change, but at least we should acknowledge

The extreme weather of all kinds, all over the world is a result of climate change. I know everyone here at DU believes that, but I'm astonished at the amount of climate deniers there are in the US, especially Trump and his allies.

I also believe that it's too late to fix. We, as a people, are going to have to attempt to mitigate the effects. We have passed the tipping point, in my opinion. Or, at least past the tipping point for many of us, as I'm 72 years old and I think it would need a strict 50-year plan to reverse the effects of climate change.

There are so many things none of us can change. Like that America was built on the backs of slaves and that the Western Europeans stole the land from native Americans through genocide. My ancestors came to America at the turn of the 20th Century, so I. and they had nothing to do with that. But that doesn't matter because I benefited from those actions. Even though I can't change what happened, at least I (and we) should acknowledge that.

So, climate change is real. Many of us baby boomers have benefited from the actions that caused it. The least we can do is acknowledge that it's real. And one of the most obvious ways of doing that is to not vote for politicians who claim that climate change is a hoax, or who want to sanitize and re-write history.

"...Onimous sign for Trump..."

I've been reading reports of the effects of the Speaker's fight in the House with many MSM outlets referring to it as a Trump "victory". I watched the whole thing, live (2:00 AM on Saturday, Jan 4th here in the Philippines) and I thought it was chaos. To have to hold the vote open for an hour to get 6 holdouts and flip 3 more votes to re-elect a Speaker with no other candidate from within his own caucus is far from a "victory". The opposition to Mike Johnson seems quite organized to me. It is no coincidence that the 6 holdouts and 3 opponents add up to the exact number needed to call for a vote to vacate the Speaker's chair and only 2 or 3 Republican members voting for someone else prevents Johnson from serving as Speaker. Those renegades sent a message and although most of the MSN either ignores that message or diminishes it, I read the message loud and clear. Since I still subscribe to the Boston Globe, I was heartened to read an article that captures my interpretation, so I have linked it here. 

Speaker Mike Johnson’s bid to retain his job was in trouble as three hard-right conservative members within the razor-thin Republican majority in the House voted against him. The revolt threatened to plunge the chamber into the same chaos of two years ago, when Republicans were unable to choose a speaker for four days in a foreshadowing of the dysfunction to come.

Some last-minute maneuvering Friday helped Johnson pull out a first-ballot win and allow new House members to be sworn in and get to work. But the drama in performing the most perfunctory task of governing doesn’t bode well as Republicans grapple with balancing the slimmest House majority since the 1930s with approaching deadlines on government funding and increasing the nation’s debt limit.

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2025/01/03/nation/mike-johnson-reelected-speaker

Although Johnson won on the first ballot

The thug element of the Repuke party made its point. With 3 votes for another candidate and 6 members not answering the roll call when their names were first called, they demonstrated that they have the necessary 9 members willing to petition Johnson to vacate the Speakership if he crosses them.

I thought 9 members would vote for a different candidate on the first round and change to Johnson on the second ballot (well, 8 anyway) to make this point. But they did it a different way but made the same point.

With dozens of Republican members unwilling to pass a budget or raise the debt ceiling without dramatic cuts in spending, there is no way Johnson can govern without Democratic support. And the rogue element of his party will punish him for compromising the Dems.

Good luck and pass the popcorn.

An unsourced prediction

The destructive goons in the Republican controlled House caucus can end up having their cake and eating it, too. If they organize into a block. If they can put together at least 9 votes against Mike Johnson on the first ballot but, better yet from their perspective, get as many as 15. In order for this move to have any teeth, it needs to be at least 9 members, because that's the number that will probably be the rule to call for a vote to vacate when the House finally convenes after a Speaker is chosen. This plan will push the Speaker vote to a second ballot, in which the number of opposition votes can be reduced. Finally, Johnson can be chosen on the third ballot, thereby allowing the House to certify Trump on Jan. 6.

What this plan will do is signal to both Johnson and Trump that if the thugs don't get their way, not only will the budget not pass thereby shutting down the government, but the debt ceiling will not be raised, causing an even greater catastrophe. This message will allow this block to hold the trump card (no pun intended) of vacating the Speaker should Johnson compromise with the Democrats.

Oh, these two years are going to be a lot of fun to watch.

Pass the popcorn.

By Trump's logic, Reagan is to blame for attack in New Orleans

The terrorist who ran down, killed and wounded dozens of people in New Orleans in the wee hours of the morning on New Year's Day was born in Texas in 1982.

Donald Trump's initial tweet blamed Biden because of the supposed laxity of the border. What a moron. That's his narrative without facts. The terrorist was born on American soil during Ronald Reagan's first term. Using Trump's convoluted and absurd logic, the blame should rest with Reagan.

Trump plans DC rally on Jan. 19

We may have a strong ally in Steve Job's widow