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Author | Topic: The Trump Presidency | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Heathen Member (Idle past 1283 days) Posts: 1067 From: Brizzle Joined:
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Been watching with nothing short of despair as daily the news from the US rolls in re: Trump's policies.
I struggle to understand how a lot of these policies can be justified even to a sympathetic ear.Case in point: House Republicans Vote to End Rule Stopping Coal Mining Debris From Being Dumped in Streams Time "Moving to dismantle former President Barack Obama's legacy on the environment and other issues, House Republicans approved a measure Wednesday that scuttles a regulation aimed at preventing coal mining debris from being dumped into nearby streams." How is it that anyone can think that it is good for mining run-off and debris to end up in rivers and streams? I genuinely want to understand the thought process that decides, "yes, this is a good idea".It surely can't be the case that the GOP sit in a room rubbing their hand together and explicitly plot environmental destruction in a cartoon manner. They must have some rationalisation for these policies. or am I being too idealistic? I invite anyone to attempt to justify this Edited by Heathen, : No reason given.
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vimesey Member Posts: 1398 From: Birmingham, England Joined: |
Well, the motivation is clearly money. Maybe they feel that Trump's win means that money is now all the justification you need.
It's like the racists and hard right thugs such as Yiannopoulos, who believe that they now have a mandate and popular support for their vile cesspits of ideas. There's been a move to the right and to populism - the extreme right and the rich are cashing in.Could there be any greater conceit, than for someone to believe that the universe has to be simple enough for them to be able to understand it ?
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Heathen Member (Idle past 1283 days) Posts: 1067 From: Brizzle Joined: |
Yes I understand that the real motivation is money, but are they that blatant?
Are their policy documents stating "screw the environment, let's cash in" or is there some kind of argument that dumping this crap in the rivers is actually harmless?
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Phat Member Posts: 18262 From: Denver,Colorado USA Joined: Member Rating: 1.1 |
I think they weigh the benefits of doing business with the same regulations that competitors enjoy. They probably hired some expert to tell them that the streams damage was minimal and that the benefit of freeing up business and minimizing government regulations was worth it.
Chance as a real force is a myth. It has no basis in reality and no place in scientific inquiry. For science and philosophy to continue to advance in knowledge, chance must be demythologized once and for all. —RC Sproul "A lie can travel half way around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes." —Mark Twain " ~"If that's not sufficient for you go soak your head."~Faith Whoever trusts in his own mind is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom will be delivered.~Proverbs 28:26
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vimesey Member Posts: 1398 From: Birmingham, England Joined: |
I genuinely believe that at the moment, they think they can get away with anything. No one in authority in politics is opposing anything Trump does.
The Democrats appear not to have a leader of any substance or eloquence - the GOP are either gleeful or silent - and anyone in a functional role in government just gets replaced if they speak up. The Courts and lawyers seem to be doing what they can, but it's firefighting and not a concerted opposition. There are protests, but no organised voice of opposition and sense. As long as this situation prevails, I think that corporate greed genuinely feels it no longer has to even pretend. Could there be any greater conceit, than for someone to believe that the universe has to be simple enough for them to be able to understand it ?
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RAZD Member (Idle past 1405 days) Posts: 20714 From: the other end of the sidewalk Joined: |
The Courts and lawyers seem to be doing what they can, but it's firefighting and not a concerted opposition. There are protests, but no organised voice of opposition and sense. Trump is working hard to bring all these people together to make America Greater ... by our ability to understand Rebel☮American☆Zen☯Deist ... to learn ... to think ... to live ... to laugh ... to share. Join the effort to solve medical problems, AIDS/HIV, Cancer and more with Team EvC! (click)
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Percy Member Posts: 22392 From: New Hampshire Joined: Member Rating: 5.3
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There's a good editorial in today's New York Times (The Peculiar Populism of Donald Trump) that explains how the left lost its working-man's base. As people grow more affluent their concerns evolve from the basics of living to less immediate concerns like the environment and LGBT rights, and the left evolved right along with them, to the point where they no longer seemed to represent the concerns of the working man.
But Trump doesn't represent the working man, either. His populism *feels* like it speaks for the common man, but in reality all Trump promised was to make the United States the baddest-ass country in the world, one that would be respected or else. This evidently has some strong appeal, but it contains no economic promise. How fast will the common man wake up? Will it happen when his insurance disappears? When his fishing streams disappear? When a highway rumbles through his back yard? When his clean water dries up? Who knows. Trump is a populist with an amazing ability to convince people he's on their side. --Percy Edited by Percy, : Grammar.
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Percy Member Posts: 22392 From: New Hampshire Joined: Member Rating: 5.3
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In some unexpectedly good news on the foreign affairs front, Trump says he will not lift Russian sanctions until Russia leaves the Crimea and stops destabilizing the Ukraine, and that Israel should stop expanding West Bank settlements beyond current boundaries because it hurts the chances for peace, and that sanctions on Iran would be about the same as those planned by the Obama administration.
There's hope for this administration, perhaps, at least in foreign affairs? --Percy
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Phat Member Posts: 18262 From: Denver,Colorado USA Joined: Member Rating: 1.1 |
I don't trust him yet. I think he is playing give and take.
Chance as a real force is a myth. It has no basis in reality and no place in scientific inquiry. For science and philosophy to continue to advance in knowledge, chance must be demythologized once and for all. —RC Sproul "A lie can travel half way around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes." —Mark Twain " ~"If that's not sufficient for you go soak your head."~Faith Whoever trusts in his own mind is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom will be delivered.~Proverbs 28:26
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RAZD Member (Idle past 1405 days) Posts: 20714 From: the other end of the sidewalk Joined: |
There's a good editorial in today's New York Times (The Peculiar Populism of Donald Trump) that explains how the left lost its working-man's base. As people grow more affluent their concerns evolve from the basics of living to less immediate concerns like the environment and LGBT rights, and the left evolved right along with them, to the point where they no longer seemed to represent the concerns of the working man. Nice article. I liked the image that shows income inequality geographically:
The blue and light blue represent 55% of US GDP. The CALexit people note that California has the 6th largest economy in the world, and I suspect that the Washington to Boston corridor, and that leaves a lot of left out low income in "fly-over" America.
... to the point where they no longer seemed to represent the concerns of the working man. And because of the Clintonism neo-lib plan to crowd the GOP ever further to the right while feeling entitled to votes from their old base constituents, the labor unions, the blacks and immigrants, etc, assuming progressives would choose republican-light over republican-dark, assuming people would vote even when nobody on the ticket represented their issues.
How fast will the common man wake up? Will it happen when his insurance disappears? When his fishing streams disappear? When a highway rumbles through his back yard? When his clean water dries up? Who knows. Trump is a populist with an amazing ability to convince people he's on their side. There is hope ...
quote: So this turnabout occurred due to massive grass roots protests from sportsmen (and women) as well as the environmentalists. Guess the republicans thought they could ignore "fly-over" America just as much as the DNC/DINO democratsby our ability to understand Rebel☮American☆Zen☯Deist ... to learn ... to think ... to live ... to laugh ... to share. Join the effort to solve medical problems, AIDS/HIV, Cancer and more with Team EvC! (click)
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NoNukes Inactive Member |
There's hope for this administration, perhaps, at least in foreign affairs? Perhaps. In another note, the Trump administration is saying that maybe new settlements in the Gaza strip are not helpful to peace. They are still hedging and not saying that such settlements are harmful, as ought to be obvious enough. Perhaps a little OJT as Cats Eye called it is occurring. Meanwhile, in defending the ban on Muslims from seven countries Kellyanne Conway talked about the cover-up of a Bowling Green massacre that never happened. Edited by NoNukes, : No reason given. Under a government which imprisons any unjustly, the true place for a just man is also in prison. Thoreau: Civil Disobedience (1846) History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people. Martin Luther King I never considered a difference of opinion in politics, in religion, in philosophy, as cause for withdrawing from a friend. Thomas Jefferson Seems to me if its clear that certain things that require ancient dates couldn't possibly be true, we are on our way to throwing out all those ancient dates on the basis of the actual evidence. -- Faith Some of us are worried about just how much damage he will do in his last couple of weeks as president, to make it easier for the NY Times and Washington post to try to destroy Trump's presidency. -- marc9000
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NoNukes Inactive Member |
How fast will the common man wake up? Will it happen when his insurance disappears? When his fishing streams disappear? When a highway rumbles through his back yard? When his clean water dries up? Maybe when the black lung health coverage disappears, but the coal mining jobs don't come back? As best as I can tell, these are the non-Democrats most likely to hold Trump responsible for any failures. Under a government which imprisons any unjustly, the true place for a just man is also in prison. Thoreau: Civil Disobedience (1846) History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people. Martin Luther King I never considered a difference of opinion in politics, in religion, in philosophy, as cause for withdrawing from a friend. Thomas Jefferson Seems to me if its clear that certain things that require ancient dates couldn't possibly be true, we are on our way to throwing out all those ancient dates on the basis of the actual evidence. -- Faith Some of us are worried about just how much damage he will do in his last couple of weeks as president, to make it easier for the NY Times and Washington post to try to destroy Trump's presidency. -- marc9000
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Percy Member Posts: 22392 From: New Hampshire Joined: Member Rating: 5.3
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The Republicans keep failing to learn history and the rest of the country keeps paying for it. The 2008 financial meltdown was just the most recent crisis, and it happened for reasons we know very well because they've happened before: insufficient cushions built into the financial system.
While the reasons for each crisis differ, that there will be financial crises is one thing we can be sure of. That's why we have laws about financial reserves that the Republican periodically role back, forcing us to relearn the lessons of the past all over again, that robust financial institutions are essential to a strong and healthy economy. Banks are required to keep on hand a certain percentage of deposits as insurance against stresses in the financial system, and those reserves are not available for making loans or employing in other money-making ways, so Banks would prefer to dedicate as few funds to reserves as possible, but it was lack of sufficient reserves that caused the financial crisis of 2008. Now the Republicans in congress are working to roll back Dodd-Frank, the set of financial rules the Obama administration put in place to restore faith in the financial system that collapsed due to the mortgage security scandal. Who knows when the next financial crisis will come, but we can be sure that it *will* come because there's always another financial crisis, and when it does we'll again be just as vulnerable as we were in 2008. And who will pay for it? Not the financial fat cats, that's for sure. We'll pay for it again in the form of government bailouts, just like we did in 2008. --Percy
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Theodoric Member Posts: 9076 From: Northwest, WI, USA Joined: Member Rating: 3.7
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And they are going to let financial advisors continue ripping off retirees
Facts don't lie or have an agenda. Facts are just facts "God did it" is not an argument. It is an excuse for intellectual laziness.
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Tanypteryx Member Posts: 4344 From: Oregon, USA Joined: Member Rating: 5.9
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A number of Trump's cabinet appointees are climate deniers. They told bald-faced lies about their beliefs with regard to climate change and global warming during their hearings. anything to get the appointment.
I ran across this article today: Here’s What a Defunded EPA Means for America, The agency Trump plans to eviscerate does much more than fight climate change. BY John Light, Feb. 3, 2017
The George Washington Bridge in heavy smog, photographed during the early 1970s before many of today's clean air protections were put in place. This photograph is part of the Environmental Protection Agency's series to "Photographically Document Subjects of Environmental Concern," compiled 1972-77. (The US National Archives/Flickr)What if Eleanor Roosevelt had wings? -- Monty Python One important characteristic of a theory is that is has survived repeated attempts to falsify it. Contrary to your understanding, all available evidence confirms it. --Subbie If evolution is shown to be false, it will be at the hands of things that are true, not made up. --percy |
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