Category: Science

The Trump Administration’s Plan to Dismantle Climate Science

melting glacier in Greenland

The Trump Administration is not only trying to confuse the truth of climate change; the administration is actively working to dismantle the actual science behind the reality of climate change.

This is a deadly endeavor by men, coal lobbyists, oil lobbyists, who will not be alive in a couple of decades as the worst continues to hit.

Essentially, do no projections that go further than 40 years or so. This is akin to what totalitarian regimes put out statistics.

And people laugh when these regimes put out these stats.

Are we laughing?

From Michael Barbaro at the New York Times:

From Day 1, the Trump administration has tried to dismantle regulations aimed at curbing climate change. Now officials are attempting to undermine the very science on which such policies rest. Guest: Coral Davenport, who covers energy and environmental policy for The New York Times. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily.

Background reading:Parts of the federal government will no longer fulfill what scientists say is one of the most urgent jobs of climate science studies: reporting on the future effects of a rapidly warming planetHere is a breakdownof the 1,656-page report released last fall that warns of a damaged environment and shrinking economy.

Here’s The Daily on this topic:


Donald Trump Calls Out Pittsburgh, and Pittsburgh Responds

Donald Trump smug smile

Donald Trump mentioned Pittsburgh today, and that was a mistake.

The Bumbler In Chief called out Pittsburgh today when he announced that he would ditch the Paris Agreement.

The reaction from Pittsburgh has been a fast and furious rebut.

From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

Pittsburgh is hogging the national spotlight, and it’s being shone on the city courtesy of President Donald Trump, who in a climactic moment about the climate, made the alliterative assertment that, when it comes to which accords he’ll agree to, he “was elected to represent the citizens of Pittsburgh, not Paris.”

Which was surprising to Pittsburghers, because It’s worth noting that in November’s presidential election, Allegheny County and Pittsburgh were won by Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.

So far, reaction has been swift.

And then there were the tweets, these from Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto:

And the voices go on from there.


Lawmaker Names Bill Banning Conversion Therapy After Mike Pence

Mike Pence conversion therapy

Mike Pence.

A well-deserved jab at dangerous Mike Pence recently from a New York Erie County lawmaker:

The Prevention of Emotional Neglect and Childhood Endangerment — or PENCE — would block the harmful practice of trying to “change” the sexual orientation or gender identity of LGBT minors in New York’s Erie County.

More from our friends at The Advocate:

Erie County Legislator Patrick Burke is trolling the president-elect by introducing a law banning conversion therapy under his name. Known as the Prevention of Emotional Neglect and Childhood Endangerment — or PENCE for short — the legislation, if passed, would make the New York county just one of a few municipalities to block the practice. Currently, five states and D.C. prohibit the use of conversion therapy outright.

The name is a direct jab at Mike Pence’s 2000 campaign website, which openly supported the harmful practice of attempting to “change” the sexual orientation or gender identity of LGBT minors.

Well done.


Congresswoman Robin Kelly Is Up For Re-Election, And You Should Vote For Her

From Congresswoman Robin Kelly:

Believe it or not, it is that time again.
I am running for re-election for Illinois’ 2nd Congressional District.
 I need your help, because without your support we cannot continue to fight to reduce gun violence, stimulate economic development and job creation, provide high quality educational options for our children and affordable health care within our communities.
 Much has been achieved, but much work remains.
 Please join me for a volunteer meet-up on Thursday, October 15, 2015, 6:00 PM – 7:30 PM, at the Quarry Event Center, located at 2423 E. 75th Street, Chicago, Illinois, (corner of Essex Avenue and 75th Street). Complimentary parking available. 
 Please stop by for some refreshments, critical campaign information and take some petitions. I need to get at least 3500 signatures.
 If you are not able to attend the Kick-Off Event, please sign up here to volunteer.
 For additional information regarding the campaign and volunteer updates, please visit my website at  www.robinkellyforcongress.org.
Thank you in advance for your support.
We are happy to offer our support.
And our vote.

Watch: Nobel Economist Destroys 35-years of Trickle-Down Reaganomics in Two Minutes

From OccupyDemocrats.com:

In this clip, Nobel-prize winning economist Joseph Stiglitz is asked whether there is really such a thing as the “American Dream”, and his answer a damning indictment of our “failed system” of trickle-down Reaganomics that has left workers out in the cold while coddling billionaires and large corporations.

Read More


Watch: Stephen Colbert on the #Ebola Deathpocalypse

Stephen Colbert skewers those spreading fear about the non-issue Ebola virus.

Yup.

Watch the second part of the video for the science.


Video: Vermont Approves Single-Payer Health Care: ‘Everybody in, nobody out’

From our friends at Occupy Democrats regarding the state of Vermont adopting a single-payer health care system where all hospitals will operate as not-for-profits:

The program will be fully operational by 2017, and will be funded through Medicare, Medicaid, federal money for the ACA given to Vermont, and a slight increase in taxes.  In exchange, there will be no more premiums, deductibles, copay’s, hospital bills or anything else aimed at making insurance companies a profit.  Further, all hospitals and healthcare providers will now be nonprofit.

This system will provide an instant boost the state economy.  On the one side, you have workers that no longer have to worry about paying medical costs or a monthly premium and are able to use that money for other things.  On the other side, you have the burden of paying insurance taken off of the employers side, who will be able to use the saved money to provide a better wage and/or reinvest in their company through updated infrastructure and added jobs.  It is a win-win solution.

Win-win indeed.

This, by the way, is precisely the way Canada moved to a single-payer health care system: state by state.

And now it’s our turn.

Thank you, President Obama!


The Science of Arousal and Rape: Popular Science

Worth your time to drop over here and read this article.

An excerpt:

Rape is not always violent. Some survivors surrender to protect themselves or their loved ones. Some are intoxicated, drugged, physically or mentally incapacitated, or in a position without power. Some (doubly horribly) are children. Rape does not always include penile penetration. Some rapists are married to their victims. Some rapists are women. Some women rape men. And sometimes, in the middle of an act that is always a violation, a rape survivor will experience increasingly intense physical sensations leading to climax – an orgasm.

Judges, juries, prosecutors, all in the legal system need to be aware. An orgasm during rape does not imply consent. In fact, it only makes the shame greater.

Worth your time.


Rick Santorum’s Wife had a Second-term Abortion – But That’s Supposed to be Different

We must tread lightly regarding family members of candidates. Still, when anyone takes radical positions, preaches endlessly and with great sanctimony, well, that candidate merits closer attention – especially if that candidate wants to be President of the United States.

Frankly, I am in shock as I write this.

Rick Santorum’s wife had a second-term abortion to save her life, so reports oursilverribbon.org:

Rick Santorum is one dangerously confused denialist. The former Pennsylvania Senator and presidential aspirant is best known for his inability to associate his professed compassion for life at the level of the zygote, with the physical realities of human sexuality.  He has equated loving same-sex relationships to bestiality.  He is opposed to abortion under any circumstance. Almost.

In October, 1996, his wife Karen had a second trimester abortion.  They don’t like to describe it that way. In his 2004 interview with Terry Gross, Santorum characterizes the fetus, who must be treated as an autonomous person, as a practically a gunslinging threat, whom the mother must murder in self-defense. Karen has had to justify her decision to save her own life by explaining that if she died her other children would have lost a mother.

The compassionate side of me says this is an incredibly private family issue. However, the Santorums have already discussed this publicly.

Read for yourself and decide: http://oursilverribbon.org


MSNBC: Government Tested AIDS Drugs on Foster Kids Without Federal Law Protection

Incredibly disturbing news from MSNBC:

Government-funded researchers tested AIDS drugs on hundreds of foster children over the past two decades, often without providing them a basic protection afforded in federal law and required by some states, an Associated Press review has found.

The research funded by the National Institutes of Health spanned the country. It was most widespread in the 1990s as foster care agencies sought treatments for their HIV-infected children that weren’t yet available in the marketplace.

The practice ensured that foster children — mostly poor or minority — received care from world-class researchers at government expense, slowing their rate of death and extending their lives. But it also exposed a vulnerable population to the risks of medical research and drugs that were known to have serious side effects in adults and for which the safety for children was unknown.

Read more and weep for the children.