Res. to request info on Trump-Russia likely to be buried

From Rep. Nadler's website, 2017/02/24: http://nadler.house.gov/press-release/nadler-calls-out-republicans-trying-bury-debate-resolution-inquiry

"First, House Republicans chose to consider this resolution in committee—as opposed to allowing debate on the House floor—because they would prefer that only a few of their safest members be forced to take a vote on this matter. The Majority must decide between conducting basic oversight of President Trump, on the one hand, or being complicit in potential misdeeds by Trump and his associates, on the other."

"Second, committee leadership has scheduled the markup for Tuesday in an obvious attempt to bury our debate in the heavy media coverage of President Trump’s address to a joint session of Congress."

The Chairman of the committee used the equivalent of lorem ispum to introduce an amendment to the resolution. If I follow, the idea is that the amendment would require debate - another way to cut off debate on the resolution itself.

"Chairman Goodlatte also gave notice of an amendment in the nature of a substitute to my resolution, with wording virtually identical to H. Res. 111. That amendment only exists as a threat to cut off debate on the underlying resolution. I urge the Chairman not to break from the longstanding practice of the House Judiciary Committee, and to allow a full debate on the resolution of inquiry."

"Members of Congress have an obligation to conduct oversight of the Executive Branch."

Perhaps not all is lost. Also from 2017/02/24: http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/politics/sd-me-issa-maher-20170224-story.html

"Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Vista, said on Friday that a special prosecutor needs to lead an investigation into the alleged ties between President Donald Trump’s campaign and Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s regime."

Alas, this is just talk, not actual legislative action.

President Of Audi Of America Tells Dealers To Embrace Plug-In Electric Vehicles | CleanTechnica

President Of Audi Of America Tells Dealers To Embrace Plug-In Electric Vehicles | CleanTechnica:

""And [Keogh] advised them to start thinking now about opportunities to earn money around battery-electric vehicles to offset the lower service and parts revenue they will provide.""

"Interestingly, Keogh also mentioned that he thought widespread price discounting was setting up dealers for future problems. The loss accompanying price discounting is typically being recovered by service and parts revenue, something that won’t persist into a future with strong plug-in sales."

Trump Has Already Blown It | Foreign Policy

Selected quotes from Trump Has Already Blown It | Foreign Policy:

"After telling us that he knows “much more” than the generals, his “secret plan” for dealing with the Islamic State turns out to be “ask the Defense Department to come up with one,” as if nobody at the Pentagon had given any thought to the matter."

"And all the while Trump and his surrogates continue to demonize anyone with the temerity to disagree with Fearless Leader or to question his infallibility, in a matter more reminiscent of Mussolini, Stalin, or the Kim family in North Korea than of Washington, Lincoln, Franklin Roosevelt, or any of Trump’s other predecessors in the Oval office."

"It takes a danger of considerable magnitude to get realists and neoconservatives to agree on anything, but we agree on Trump."

"Which raises the obvious question: Why is he acting this way?"

"[a third possibility] Instead of recognizing America’s remarkable strengths and security and many unique virtues, the Breitbart worldview that has infested the White House believes it has to destroy our current democracy in order to save it."

Here's how incredibly difficult it is for a refugee to get admitted to the US - Vox

Here's how incredibly difficult it is for a refugee to get admitted to the US - Vox:

"Trump’s refugee suspension is a solution in search of a problem"

"The intense investigation that Almshhad underwent in order to be admitted to the US was not unusual. The arduous vetting process involves investigations by a coordinated network of US law enforcement and intelligence agencies, all actively looking for any indication that an individual could potentially pose a threat in the future."

US Clean Energy Jobs Surpass Fossil Fuel Jobs | CleanTechnica

This CleanTechnica post uses a broad definition to sweep jobs into the "clean energy" category. I wish it had considered jobs related to energy efficiency separately. Even so, it appears from the summary that:

• electricity production from clean energy sources employs more people (350,000) than does production from fossil fuel sources (200,000)
• the number of jobs in the clean electric industry is growing, whereas fossil fuel jobs are declining slightly

US Clean Energy Jobs Surpass Fossil Fuel Jobs By 5 To 1 | CleanTechnica

"More than 350,000 people last year worked in part or in whole on solar energy production ... exceeds the combined employment of coal, gas, and oil workers connected with producing electricity that reached just under 200,000. "

"All told, nearly 1 million Americans are working near- or full-time in the energy efficiency, solar, wind, and alternative vehicles sectors. This is almost five times the current employment in the fossil fuel electric industry, which includes coal, gas, and oil workers. "

Riding to the Wreck

The Intercept on the FBI's Powers

"One of the documents contains an alarming observation about the nation’s police forces, even as perceived by the FBI. Officials of the bureau were so concerned that many of these police forces are linked to, at times even populated by, overt white nationalists and white supremacists, that they have deemed it necessary to take that into account in crafting policies for sharing information with them."

"now the groups most loyal to Trump are those that possess a state monopoly over the use of force"

The Immigration Ban is a Headfake

"It is a much bigger deal that the DHS felt they could ignore a federal court than that Trump signed an EO blocking green card holders in the first place. It is a much bigger deal that Trump removed a permanent military presence from the NSC than that he issued a temporary stay on immigration."

The best theory for why Trump tells such obvious lies - Vox

The best theory for why Trump tells such obvious lies - Vox:

"Objectively empowering Trump while signaling a lack of loyalty to him is a dangerous game."

You got that right. I am amazed at the smug self-assurance of Members of Congress who seem to think they can use Trump to their advantage, and still reign him in whenever they want.

"Trump continues to staff his White House with hardcore Ryan critics. When his own position is more secure, he could easily move to depose Ryan at some future time."

IFTF: It Doesn't Have to Happen Here: Saving Our Democracy

It's only 0635 MST and my brain is already full for the day. I'll have to come back to this summary of a recent "convening" at the Institute for the Future. The meeting appears to have identified several problems arising from social media and current journalism practices, and to have produced surprisingly (to me) concrete ways of addressing those problems. IFTF: It Doesn't Have to Happen Here: Saving Our Democracy:

"As a rule, journalists are not accustomed to fighting back against threats in a unified way. Story exclusivity is important to an individual journalist’s livelihood, and, as a group, they’ve had little reason to share information with competing journalists."

"Social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter are de-facto publishers, but they don’t want to be. Editorial curation is expensive...What’s needed, said Aviv Ovadya of Media Window, is a layer that displays credibility scores for online news."

"Current funding models for journalism consider readers to be eyeballs for advertisers, and so stories are designed to maximize clicks... novelist William Gibson’s 2002 description of the typical media consumer as a “vicious, lazy, profoundly ignorant, perpetually hungry organism… that can only express its mute extremes of murderous rage and infantile desire by changing the channels on a universal remote. Or by voting in presidential elections.”"

Oops, they just described me. It's hard enough to read and excerpt passages of interest from online news, let alone re-state it or create a summary analysis. For example, consider this post :)

"But, said David Bornstein, a New York Times columnist and co-founder of the Solutions Journalism Network, stories can be written that create a sense of outrage and a sense of self-efficacy. The secret is to stop writing ”negative” or “positive” stories, and instead write specifically about how problems are being solved, which has the effect of engaging people."

Scottish Government Increases Emission Reduction Targets To 66% By 2032 | CleanTechnica

I do wish the U.S. had gotten out in front of this in the early 1990s. Scotland is showing there is a market for energy efficiency and for renewable energy generation. But never mind the lamentations. I don't know Scotland's starting line, in terms of per capita CO2 emissions, but to have already reduced emissions by 42% from 1990 levels is really impressive. Scottish Government Increases Emission Reduction Targets To 66% By 2032 | CleanTechnica:

"Scotland's renewable energy expertise is so well-honed at home that it is now being sought after around the world, and as of December, Scottish renewable energy businesses were involved in projects across more than 40 countries."

Swamp Things

In which Corey Lewandowski demonstrates that "drain the swamp" means "replace its current occupants." He uses typical authoritarian tactics, treating any question as an attack. Corey Lewandowski: my new firm does not violate pledge to stamp out lobbying | US news | The Guardian:

"You want to accuse me and make disparaging comments about me and my family, that's where I draw the line," he added, although nothing had been said in the interview with respect to his family. "If you want to make gross accusations about the president of the United States and saying he's going to be influenced by money, that's where I draw the line."

Advice for anti-Trump protesters - The Washington Post

Anne Applebaum spends part of her time in Poland, where she has observed what has and hasn't worked for protesters against a new authoritarian government. It's well worth reading: Advice from Europe for anti-Trump protesters - The Washington Post:

"...targeted, well-organized, broadly based single-issue protest had far more impact than the general marches, and the government withdrew the law."

"Five Democratic senators could do more to block extremist judges or damaging policies than 5 million — or even 50 million — people chanting slogans."

I take this to mean that our members of Congress need more feedback from us. We need to contact them, with either criticism or praise, depending on how they act on issues that concern us. Their job really is to represent us. They can't do that if we don't tell them what we want. Mea Culpa We're all products of our times. In my world it has been disreputable, uncivil even, to engage in politics. Vote every couple of years, but don't do more than that. Don't feed the bureaucratic beast. Don't help pave the road to hell: you may think you know how to make the world better, but you're probably wrong. Cynical disengagement is far wiser. I believe this worldview has enough adherents to have nearly cost us our civil liberties. It is well past time for a different approach.

A => B

A: N.S.A. Gets More Latitude to Share Intercepted Communications B: Signal

This Is Why You Don't Kiss The Ring

This summary of our current situation is well written. This Is Why You Don't Kiss The Ring:

"The press and the Congress are the only two institutions standing between a dangerous man and total power. They must both realize this is not the time to salute and grovel... This is the time for them to rise to the occasion. And the occasion is a fight for civil society."

Some of the week's news has been encouraging. For a few moments, including the exchange between Sen. Marco Rubio and Rex Tillerson, it looked as though the thug-elect might not be able to steam-roller the Republicans in Congress. But there has been plenty of bad news, and the "press conference" was just one instance. Lies, bullshit and bullying from start to finish show that Tramp and his gang have no respect for democratic rule. "This is not the time to salute and grovel..." The Republicans still seem to think they can limit Il Donaldo while pushing through their own sweeping changes. Their confidence is misplaced. They should never forget what he did to them during the primaries. [Edit: To expand on that last point: Stop Underestimating Donald Trump.]

Juxtapose

It's Time to Change the Narrative About Clean Energy

I have not tried to fact-check any of this, but it's pretty interesting. It's Time to Change the Narrative About Clean Energy:

Between 2014 and 2015, the solar industry alone created one out of every 78 jobs in the United States. If including wind, LED lighting, and other clean energy categories, that number could be closer to one in 33. For the solar industry, a majority of these new jobs are blue-collar construction and manufacturing jobs that pay an average of $21 per hour – far higher than the $16-per-hour, non-union manufacturing jobs touted by South Carolina later in that episode.

...the solar industry has hired more veterans than anyone else, retrained coal workers, and even found a soft landing for oil and gas workers who had lost their jobs. The vast majority of solar and wind workers are trained in less than six months because their previous work experience and training is completely transferrable.

In 2015, the manufacturing part of the solar and wind industries had over 100,000 people making pieces and parts in the United States. This indicates a 20 percent increase, or over 20,000 more people, since the previous year. In fact, this number is only expected to continue to grow at that rate for the next five years.

Independence is the heart of American identity. Clean energy is independence turned into electrons.

Also see 10 Clean Energy Facts...

I watched a populist leader rise in my country. That's why I'm genuinely worried for America. - The Washington Post

I watched a populist leader rise in my country. That's why I'm genuinely worried for America. - The Washington Post:

"halting elected post-truthers in countries split by partisan fighting is much more difficult than achieving freedom where it is desired by virtually everyone."

Haraszti makes several recommendations to those hoping to limit the damage Trump will do to the Constitution. The entire article is worth reading. Here are a few segments that stood out for me. His first lesson, based on the Hungarian experience and one that he considers vital, is not to expect logic, fiascos, or existing statutes to help keep things under control.

"Populists govern by swapping issues, as opposed to resolving them. Purposeful randomness, constant ambush, relentless slaloming and red herrings dropped all around are the new normal. Their favorite means of communication is provoking conflict. They do not mind being hated. Their two basic postures of “defending” and “triumphing” are impossible to perform without picking enemies."

Labeling

If you want to open eyes to the damage done, Haraszti hints that labeling is important. For example, don't say "conflicts of interest". That's a weak phrase unlikely to trigger an emotional response. "Conflicts of interest" are just a special case of "corruption", and "corruption" is a better, stronger label.

Protect Those Who Oppose Corruption

"It probably helps to be as watchful as possible on corruption, to assist investigative journalism at any price, and to defend the institutions that enforce transparency and justice. And it also helps to have leaders in the opposition who are not only impeccably clean in pecuniary matters, but also impress as such."

There will probably be blood. Look what happens to investigative journalists in Russia. Look at before and after photos of Ukraine's Viktor Yushchenko. "At any price" is not a cliche.

Beliefs Trump Reason, Always

I know from experience that some who recognized Trump as a danger, but who still voted for him, are already rationalizing vigorously. They see his pre-inaugural behavior, and his cabinet picks. And they respond that their other choices would have been just as bad – that, "we would have been screwed either way". They see his conflicts of interest, and they respond by pointing to quotes, taken out of context, from the Benghazi hearings. The belief that we are screwed no matter what will be hard to dislodge. Until it is, these voters will not perceive leaders in the opposition as providing a real alternative to the evil emperor, and they won't be moved to join the popular majority who voted against him in the first place. I don't know how to persuade them. Putting Benghazi quotes in context may help. Admitting the imperfections of the opposition may hinder at first, but it may also tell rationalizers you respect their reasoning and intellect. And that may make them more willing to consider that the opposition leaders are better in significant ways, that perhaps we aren't screwed no matter what. It will take time to understand how to persuade apathetic rationalizers. But I think it is necessary to do so. In any case, thanks to Haraszti for giving us the benefit of relevant experience.

Elija Lovejoy and the Mob

Our fate was sealed long before November 8 (and not because the election's rigged):

"To Lovejoy, the greatest threat was not death, but the abdication of one's principles – the selfishness of self-preservation in an era of mob rule. That is the clarity of conscience that bides your time to the grave."

I think this is the first time I've heard about Elijah Lovejoy. The article uses him to make larger points, among them:

The press has no true power if it is afraid to document attacks on the most vulnerable citizens, and to challenge those who abet such attacks... fear of the mob, a fear openly expressed by writers who are targeted by Trump fans.

Now consider Trump posse browbeats Hill Republicans.

"It’s little wonder that Capitol Hill Republicans have papered over their not-insignificant policy differences with Trump, shying away from any statement about the president-elect that might possibly be construed as critical. They’re terrified of arousing the ire of their tempestuous new leader — or being labeled a turncoat by his army of followers."

"Nobody wants to go first," said Rep. Mark Sanford (R-S.C.), who received nasty phone calls, letters and tweets after he penned an August op-ed in The New York Times, calling on Trump to release his tax returns. "People are naturally reticent to be the first out of the block for fear of Sean Hannity, for fear of Breitbart, for fear of local folks."

WTH. He was bullied because he wanted Trump to release his tax returns, a simple request that would help the electorate make an informed decision? Quoting out of sequence:

"In early December, Rep. Bill Flores made what seemed like an obvious observation to a roomful of conservatives at a conference in Washington. Some of Donald Trump’s proposals, the Texas Republican cautioned, “are not going to line up very well with our conservative policies," though he quickly added that there was plenty the incoming president and GOP Congress could accomplish together."

"The TruthFeed post linked to Flores' Twitter handle and Facebook page and listed his office phone number. Soon people were threatening his physical safety and warning that his political career was on the line."

WTH again. He was threatened with violence because he pointed out that conservatives might not agree uncritically with every one of Trump's proposals. Trump is a fascist. He and his followers are using time-tested fascist tactics. What do we do about this?

Gödel's Loophole

Sometime in the late 80s or then-abouts, when I first read the story of Kurt Gödel's citizenship interview, it was amusing. Morgenstern on Gödel Citizenship:

"[Gödel] rather excitedly told me that in looking at the Constitution, to his distress, he had found some inner contradictions and that he could show how in a perfectly legal manner it would be possible for somebody to become a dictator and set up a Fascist regime, never intended by those who drew up the Constitution."

It's less amusing by the day. Gingrich: Congress should change ethics laws for Trump - POLITICO:

"And should someone in the Trump administration cross the line, Gingrich has a potential answer for that too.

"In the case of the president, he has a broad ability to organize the White House the way he wants to. He also has, frankly, the power of the pardon," Gingrich said. "It's a totally open power. He could simply say, 'Look, I want them to be my advisers. I pardon them if anyone finds them to have behaved against the rules. Period.' Technically, under the Constitution, he has that level of authority.'"

Update 2016/12/22: Gingrich is trying hard to set the stage for Nuremburg II:

Dave Winer nails it again

Sometimes Dave Winer says things that make no sense to me. Sometimes he says brilliant things so directly that they seem obvious. Ignore Trump as much as you can:

Trump is the outrageous distraction that draws your attention while the magician is doing his magic.

The Logic of Xenophobia

Censored Photos From Inside U.S. Japanese Concentration Camps - Counter Current News:

"The very fact that no sabotage has taken place to date is a disturbing and confirming indication that such action will be taken." – General John L. DeWitt, head of the U.S. Army's Western Defense Command