Opportunity Lost?

Since Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait in 1990 I've been wondering why the U.S. has ignored opportunities to develop technologies - for improved energy efficiency and alternative energy – that would have such an obviously large market around the world. Talk about lost opportunities: Three Reasons to Believe in China's Renewable Energy Boom:

"It’s not just pollution that’s driving the determined focus on renewable power. Leaders have made clear that they view clean energy as a powerful engine for job creation."

"“It’s about setting up for manufacturing dominance,” Liu says. “China sees green energy as an opportunity where it can become a manufacturing monster the way it has in clothes and toys.”"

Edit: forgot to add the counterpoint. Rick Perry is a bright spot in a very dismal, autocratic administration. (The following are mostly quotes of quotes.)

"Although EPA Chief Scott Pruitt seems more than happy to blow up his own agency, Perry has gone in the opposite direction. The Energy Department has been cheerleading non-stop for renewables and clean tech with a flood of press releases, and Perry has backed that up with missives from his own @SecretaryPerry Twitter account."

"More than 133,000 energy efficiency jobs were added in 2016, bringing the total number of Americans working in the sector to 2.2 million people. More than half of those jobs (1.4 million) are in the construction industry alone."

"More than a quarter of the energy efficiency workforce (552,000 workers) is related to efficient appliances, including high efficiency heating and cooling equipment. That’s a 58% increase from 2015."

"DOE-backed research in solid-state lighting has yielded more than 260 patents and a significant industry footprint, with literally millions of products currently on the market based, at least in part, on these technical advancements. These products are estimated to have contributed to more than $2.8 billion in savings for consumers and businesses – an impressive return on an investment of about $350 million."

The Economist examines another Authoritarian Govt

Why is Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro still in power?

"NICOLÁS MADURO, Venezuela’s president, is deeply unpopular. Four out of five Venezuelans think his government is doing a bad job."

"Mr Maduro has his predecessor to thank for his survival. During his 14-year presidency, Hugo Chávez systematically weakened all the main institutions in the country, stacking everything in the ruling party’s favour, and ensuring opposition-led change would be challenging or impossible."

This is relevant to the U.S. situation, given the time remaining to the midterm elections:

"Only one institution remains independent, and that is the national assembly. It became opposition-controlled after a massive swing vote in December 2015. But that has not really mattered to Mr Maduro. He can instruct his compliant supreme court to overrule the assembly as required."

Also relevant:

"The opposition has come to the conclusion that its only viable option is to take to the streets. It hopes mass protests will demonstrate who really holds majority power in Venezuela, and prompt serious concessions from the government, or even some sort of uprising. But Mr Maduro holds a trump card: the army. The supposedly neutral but heavily politicised institution is semi-embedded in Venezuela’s political structure. Officers or former officers run 11 of the government’s 32 ministries."

Trump Is Trying to Control the FBI. It's Time to Freak Out.

Trump Is Trying to Control the FBI. It's Time to Freak Out.:

"If the FBI is operating out of loyalty to the president, then one of the most important barriers between a democratic government and an authoritarian one has fallen."

Anne Applebaum - Don't forget those smiling images of Trump and the Russians - The Washington Post

Don't forget those smiling images of Trump and the Russians - The Washington Post:

"Nor are any of them much interested in the fate of Dan Heyman, the West Virginia reporter arrested recently for persistent questioning of Tom Price, the health and human services secretary. Due process, rule of law, all of the dull rules and procedures that deliver justice are uninteresting to men who believe in personalized power unconstrained by traditions, institutions or constitutions. Look at how pleased they were to see one another – and compare those pictures with Trump's stiff and awkward news conferences with democratic leaders such as Germany's Angela Merkel or Britain's Theresa May."

Garry Kasparov on Trump's authoritarian instinct - NY Daily News

Garry Kasparov on Trump's authoritarian instinct - NY Daily News: Summary paragraph:

"If the rule of law and the separation of powers are to mean anything in the U.S., an independent investigation into Trump’s Russia ties and his finances is more critical now than ever. It won’t be easy, but it’s only going to get harder. Trump will keep finding new ways to accrue power — and he won’t care at all how bad it looks."

The whole article is worth reading. I'll refrain from quoting it in its entirety.

"It's a simple formula: Always take whatever power is available. And don't worry about how it looks, because if you accumulate enough power quickly enough, appearances can't hurt you."

"“We’re in uncharted territory.” But this territory has been very well charted — in Russia, Turkey, Venezuela and in many other democracies that turned toward despotism. We watched Vladimir Putin navigate from the same map in Russia as he systematically destroyed every check on his power."

"Trump is surrounding himself with loyalists and family members, and dismissing anyone he thinks might be a threat to him."

"As if to emphasize how little he cares about optics, Trump followed up the Comey firing by meeting with the Russian foreign minister and ambassador at the White House the very next day."

"Trump would love to turn the FBI into a personal security and intelligence force to use against his enemies, the way Putin uses the FSB in Russia and abroad."

Only I can...

It may not be obvious why anyone would worry about how much power Trump can hold in his hands. Vox again: Experts on authoritarianism are absolutely terrified by the Comey firing - Vox:

"It's not that the elected leaders in these countries set out to become an authoritarian, per se. It's that they care about their own power and security above all else, and do things to protect their own position that have the effect of removing democratic constraints on their power."

Who holds the cards?

This Vox explainer implies an imbalance of power, given the current distribution of parties in executive and legislative branches. Special prosecutor: can bring charges. Can be fired by (deputy) A.G., therefore subject to executive pressure. Independent commission: can publish findings. Cannot bring charges. Must be created by legislation, therefore can be vetoed by President. Special committee: can focus on assigned subject of investigation. Can publish findings. Cannot bring charges. Recent instances have produced unsatisfactory results.

"This Is Not a Drill"

This Is Not a Drill David Frum, 9 May, in The Atlantic:

"He could well resent the search for truth, even without being particularly guilty of anything heinously bad. But we all now must take seriously the heightened possibility of guilt, either personal or on the part of people near him—and of guilt of some of the very worst imaginable crimes in the political lexicon."

"The question has to be asked searchingly of the Republican members of Congress: Will you allow a president of your party to attack the integrity of the FBI? You impeached Bill Clinton for lying about sex. Will you now condone and protect a Republican administration lying about espionage?"

"The question has to be asked of all the rest of us: Perhaps the worst fears for the integrity of the U.S. government and U.S. institutions are being fulfilled. If this firing stands—and if Trump dares to announce a pliable replacement—the rule of law begins to shake and break. The law will answer to the president, not the president to the law."

Twitter weighs in:

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The Comey debacle calls to mind a paragraph from 'On Tyranny.' Democracy is rarely stolen, but given away in a democratic process. Chilling.

Snyder, Timothy. On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century (Kindle Locations 172-177). Crown/Archetype. Kindle Edition.

"Some of the Germans who voted for the Nazi Party in 1932 no doubt understood that this might be the last meaningfully free election for some time, but most did not. Some of the Czechs and Slovaks who voted for the Czechoslovak Communist Party in 1946 probably realized that they were voting for the end of democracy, but most assumed they would have another chance. No doubt the Russians who voted in 1990 did not think that this would be the last free and fair election in their country’s history, which (thus far) it has been. Any election can be the last, or at least the last in the lifetime of the person casting the vote."

— beth can't with this (@bourgeoisalien) May 10, 2017

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"no longer any serious possibility that he will respect the norms of conduct ... only questions are how far his fellow Rs...will let him go" https://t.co/dmOHUI3BqD

— Brendan Nyhan (@BrendanNyhan) May 10, 2017

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Among the amazing things in this story [Politico: Behind Comey’s firing: An enraged Trump, fuming about Russia].

1. Trump thought firing Comey would help him control the Russia investigation.
2. Trump was angry that Comey would not support his claims that Obama bugged him.
3. The fallout from the firing took WH by surprise. It had no communication strategy.
4. "Trump had talked about the firing for over a week, and the letters were written to give him rationale to fire Comey."

— Jack Goldsmith (@jacklgoldsmith) May 10, 2017

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Sleight of Mouth

In recent days I realized I've been thrown off-track by DJT's wording.

The DoJ and Congressional committees are investigating possible financial ties between Trump and Russia. To this, Trump says (paraphrasing), "I don't have any investments in Russia!"

Eric Trump has said, "We have all the funding we need from Russia." The younger Trump reminds that "financial ties" encompasses not just investments by Trump, but also investments in Trump - among other things.