Thursday, December 15, 2016

The reign of Gaius Furius Trumpus commences in a mere 5 weeks

Source: Baltimore Sun
I don't take the comments on Yelp seriously, but they are thoughtful and well-written compared to the offal served up on the bOregonian ("Trying to preserve climate data before Trump takes office: Washington Post opinion:).The oped-ed piece is pretty accurate, and the author has articulated his position quite well, in my opinion. On the other hand, these comments represent perfectly well the complete lack of thinking by our Banana Republicans, with the inevitable consequences.:

1. You all realize that this is a perfect example of FAKE news! It's not "reporting" anything! Let's see, which side of the aisle did it originate from?

2. You all are correct this is not "Fake New". It is an opinion piece which happens to be a total fantasy.

3."If you believe, as I do, that climate change is among the most serious problems we face as a global society and that, on our current path, climate science dictates a time scale of years, not decades, before truly catastrophic long-term planetary change is irreversibly locked in, then alarm is an appropriate response."
Nope I don't believe that, and I am suspicious at the lengths that promoters of AGW go though to quell debate, and opinions to the contrary. Most who promote it seem to believe their opinion is greater and more important than any individual, or their present need. They also refuse to respect that others just plain believe diferently[sic], and resent being forced - legislated - into accepting, paying for, and praising those who are forcing them to do thing, that are not in their best interest. There-in lies the problem.
Those promoting AGW Climate Change are currently FAILING to teach our children effectively, or adequately, which is an indication of incompetence, so they lack credibility. Give it a rest, you will continue to not receive the attention you want, because of your inadequacies, not everyone elses.

4. Hilariously disingenuous. He appears to be more than willing to overlook NASA's massive altering of observed data, and subsequent destruction of the archive, since their predictions were horribly wrong, and they were trying to save face/funding.
But that destruction of data was OK?

5. Quick, the sky is falling.

Science isn't disappearing. Added CO2 will still cause additional warming, with all the attendant dangers. If the USA does not fulfill its moral obligation to act as a world leader in reducing carbon emissions, then we will face the highly-likely outcome of an extremely dangerous increase in global temperatures (4°C or more on the 'business as usual' representative concentration pathway), and those consequences will be experienced world-wide by 2040 or so and get worse as the century advances, because the long-term consequences will be 'baked into' dynamics of the climate system as a whole.

Remember how C+ Augustus screwed around with the DSCOVR satellite?

Source: NOAA
Originally known as Triana, named after Rodrigo de Triana, the first of Columbus's crew to sight land in the Americas, the satellite's original purpose was to provide a near-continuous view of the entire Earth and make that live image available via the Internet. Gore hoped not only to advance science with these images, but also to raise awareness of the Earth itself, updating the influential Blue Marble photograph taken by Apollo 17. In addition to an imaging camera, a radiometer would take the first direct measurements of how much sunlight is reflected and emitted from the whole Earth (albedo). This data could constitute a barometer for the process of global warming. The scientific goals expanded to measure the amount of solar energy reaching Earth, cloud patterns, weather systems, monitor the health of Earth's vegetation, and track the amount of UV light reaching the surface through the ozone layer.

In 1999, NASA's Inspector General reported that "the basic concept of the Triana mission was not peer reviewed", and "Triana's added science may not represent the best expenditure of NASA's limited science funding." The Bush Administration put the project on hold shortly after George W. Bush's inauguration. Members of the U.S. Congress asked the National Academy of Sciences whether the project was worthwhile. The resulting report, released March 2000, stated that the mission was "strong and scientifically vital."

Triana was removed from its original launch opportunity on STS-107 (the ill-fated Columbia mission in 2003). The $100 million satellite remained in storage for the duration of the Bush administration. In November 2008 the satellite was removed from storage and began recertification for a possible launch on board a Delta II or a Falcon 9. The Obama administration revived DSCOVR; it was launched February 11, 2015.

Twelve years of time-sensitive valuable research down the drain.
 Cartoon by Thomas Nast in Harper's Weekly

Now I want you to imagine what the next 14 years is going to be like. That is, at a minimum, how long the one-party state will be in power, because Banana Republicans will control the entire federal government, AND the overwhelming majority of state legislatures, thus controlling redistricting. If we wish to avoid dangerous warming (an increase of 2°C or more in global surface temperatures), the developed world will need to have reduced carbon emissions by 90% by 2030, and the BRIC+China nations will have to cut emissions by 60% in the same time frame. What do you think Gaius Furius Trumpus will do? What do you think Banana Republicans will do?

And remember that C+ Augustus did not protect the nation, got us into needless (and fruitless) wars, raped the environment, pillaged the treasury, ruined education, gave tax breaks to the rich, and then watched as Wall Street stole $15 trillion in pensions, home equity, and personal saving from average Americans. Gaius Furius Trumpus will be much worse.

RBG will not live forever (but may she live long and prosper), but it is extremely likely that there will be openings on the court that Gaius Furius Trumpus will use to cement his position in the usurpation. The one-party state will do everything in its power to eliminate all political opposition. Trumpus has not yet take over the reins of government, and this is already happening.

From Daily Kos:
All hell breaks loose: North Carolina GOP's coup d'état starts tomorrow

According to the state constitution, the state House Speaker and Senate President can themselves call a super-extra-special session of the legislature, upon the petition of two thirds of legislators. Which petition (dated last Monday!) the GOP super-majority produced immediately after gaveling the Governor’s session to a close.

Tomorrow’s extra-special-super-dooper session of the General Assembly begins at 9 AM. Preceding it at 8:30 AM will be several committee meetings (all controlled by Republicans), including the committees on Election Law, Appointments, and Redistricting. During those half-hour sessions the committees will ‘consider’ bills submitted by members, and refer them to the House and Senate for votes.

Word on the street is that the bills to be brought up for a vote will strip incoming governor Roy Cooper (D) of many of his executive powers, importantly including the power to appoint members of the Board of Elections and directors of executive branch departments.

I see no path forward except complete resistance to the one-party state.

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