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IN TODAY'S RADIO REPORT: Trump EPA to reportedly kill off money-saving, energy-saving Energy Star program; Trump's cuts to science funding are hurting the U.S. economy; Most Americans rely on federal science every day, but don't realize it; PLUS: Republican-controlled Congress targets California's clean air standards and more... All that and more in today's Green News Report!

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IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA' (see links below): Land under the country's largest cities is sinking. Here's where - and why; Water a weapon in India/Pakistan conflict; Anti-government group threatens crucial weather radars, NOAA warns; Congress asks whether FEMA is ready for hurricane season amid cuts; 17 states sue Trump Admin for blocking funds for electric vehicle charging; Trump Admin. decommissions sea ice data that warned of climate change... PLUS: Coal ash waste could be a rare earth reservoir... and much, MUCH more! ...

STORIES DISCUSSED ON TODAY'S 'GREEN NEWS REPORT'...

• Trump EPA to kill off popular Energy Star program:
• E.P.A. Plans to Shut Down the Energy Star Program (NY Times):
  
  "The Energy Star program and all the other climate work, outside of what's required by statute, is being de-prioritized and eliminated," Paul Gunning, the director of the E.P.A. Office of Atmospheric Protection, told employees during the meeting, according to the recording obtained by The New York Times. Mr. Gunning's office itself is also slated for elimination...In March, dozens of companies and trade organizations, including the United States Chamber of Commerce, implored Lee Zeldin, the E.P.A. administrator, to protect Energy Star.
• Trump administration plans to eliminate the 3-decade-old Energy Star program (CBS News)
• Trump admin. plans to shut down money-saving Energy Star program soon, sources say (CNN):
  
  "Eliminating the Energy Star program would directly contradict this administration's promise to reduce household energy costs," said Paula Glover, president of the nonprofit coalition Alliance to Save Energy.
• Energy Star, efficiency program that has steered consumer choice, targeted in cuts AP)
• Trump admin announces plans to shut down the Energy Star program (Engadget):
  
  It's technically illegal for a presidential administration to end this program without Congress, but the same goes for many of Trump's pronouncements and executive orders.
• Appliance Makers Are Fighting the EPA's Reported Plan to End Energy Star Labeling (NOTUS)
• EPA 'reorganization' to eliminate multiple climate programs:
• Trump EPA Reorganization Signals End to Climate Work (E&E News):
  
  EPA is getting rid of the two offices that are primarily responsible for regulating climate and air pollution..."When they have a choice between using a scalpel or a laser on the one hand, or a sledgehammer and a meat cleaver on the other, they'll choose the sledgehammer and the meat cleaver," Goffman said.
• Shake-up at EPA threatens Energy Star, climate offices (Yahoo News)
• E.P.A. Plans to Shut Down the Energy Star Program (NY Times):
  
  A chart obtained by The New York Times indicates that other programs on the chopping block include the E.P.A.'s work on climate economics, climate science, climate policy, greenhouse gas reporting, and a voluntary program in which industries work with the agency to slash emissions of methane, a potent greenhouse gas.
• What EPA's reorganization could mean for its climate staff (E&E News):
  
  Administrator Lee Zeldin plans to shrink the workforce as he tries to free the agency from the statutory obligation to regulate climate pollution.
• GOP-controlled Congress attacks CA's clean air standards and much more:
• Republicans in Congress Use Obscure Law to Roll Back Biden-Era Regulations (NY Times):
  
  As G.O.P. lawmakers have largely ceded power to President Trump, they are also pushing the bounds of a little-known statute to undo federal rules — and potentially undermining the filibuster.
• Senate overturns EPA rule on seven highly toxic air pollutants (Washington Post):
  
  If also passed by the House as expected, the action will be the first time Congress has weakened protections under the Clean Air Act.
• Senate votes to overturn EPA rule that limits 7 hazardous air pollutants (CBS News)
• US House votes to block California’s nation-leading vehicle emissions rules (AP):
  
  [T]he Senate Parliamentarian, who sides with the U.S. General Accountability Office in saying California’s policies are not subject to the review mechanism used by the House.
• AUDIO: The House strikes a blow against California in a fight over EVs (NPR)
• Poll: Most Americans rely on federal science but don't realize it:
• New ASTC survey shows gaps between public support for science and understanding of how science is impacted by federal actions (Association of Science and Technology Centers)
• Your weather forecast depends on federal research. (The Verge)
• Most Americans use federal science information on a weekly basis, a new poll finds (NPR)
• Trump Admin. destruction of federal science will cause long-term economic harm:
• Preliminary Estimates of the Macroeconomic Costs of Cutting Federal Funding for Scientific Research (American University)
• Trump's Cuts to Science Funding Could Hurt U.S. Economy, Study Shows (NY Times):
  
  U.S. gross domestic product, adjusted for inflation, would be 3.8 percent smaller in the long term --- a decline similar in magnitude to that in the Great Recession, which ended in 2009. The drop in output would be much more gradual than that downturn, taking place over years rather than months. But it would also be more lasting. Cuts to scientific research would sap innovation, leading to slower productivity growth and, as a result, permanently lower economic output. "It is going to be a decline forever," said Ignacio Gonzalez, one of the study's authors. "The U.S. economy is going to be smaller."
• Study: Cuts to Science Funding Will Yield Great Recession-Level Economic Hit (Splinter)
• VIDEO: Gov. Pritzker blasts Republicans and ‘do-nothing Democrats' in fiery speech (FULL) (YouTube)
• Transcript: JB Pritzker's speech in New Hampshire, April 27, 2025 (Eric Zorn):
  
  If the best and the brightest around the world no longer flock to this shining city on a hill, then the U.S. economy is likely to fail. But failure, it's starting to look like that's the point of all this, doesn't it?

'GREEN NEWS EXTRA' (Stuff we didn't have time for in today's audio report)...

For a comprehensive roundup of daily environmental news you can trust, see the Society of Environmental Journalists' Daily Headlines page

• Land under the country's largest cities is sinking. Here's where - and why. (Washington Post)
• Water a weapon in India/Pakistan conflict (This Is Not Cool blog)
• Even as Trump vows tech upgrade, FAA’s leaders are fleeing via DOGE cuts (Washington Post)
• Anti-government group threatens crucial weather radars, NOAA warns (Washington Post)
• Congress asks whether FEMA is ready for hurricane season amid cuts (Inside Climate News)
• Trump Administration is said to target park service grants (NY Times)
• 17 states sue Trump Admin for blocking funds for electric vehicle charging (AP)
• Trump Admin. decommissions sea ice data that warned of climate change (Inside Climate News)
• House Republicans push to sell 100,000s of acres of public lands in the West (AP)
• Study on air pollution and racial inequities caught in NSF funding freeze (Inside Climate News)
• More on Coal Ash as Rare Earth Reservoir (This Is Not Cool blog)
• A guide to the 4 minerals shaping the world's energy future (Grist)
• Wall Street Journal: Clean energy transition is unstoppable (This Is Not Cool blog)
• Can we avoid the enshittification of clean-energy tech? (David Roberts, Volts)
• Stop emissions, stop warming: A climate reality check (Dr. Andrew Dessler, Climate Brink)
• The Climate Fight Will Continue (This Is Not Cool blog)
• Who Will Care for Americans Left Behind by Climate Migration? (Pro Publica)
• Is the Atlantic Overturning Circulation Approaching a Tipping Point? (The Oceanography Society)
• How Oil Companies Manipulate Journalists (Drilled)
• Abrupt reduction in shipping emission as an inadvertent geoengineering termination shock produces substantial radiative warming (Nature)
• How To Spot 5 Of The Fossil Fuel Industry's Biggest Disinformation Tactics (Guardian)
• The Oceans We Knew Are Already Gone (The Atlantic)
• Plug-in hybrids vs. electric cars: We did the math on which is better for you (Washington Post)
• How to electrify your life when you rent (The Verge)
• Complete Series: Farmers Under Attack for Supporting Clean Energy (This Is Not Cool blog)
• Feeling Overwhelmed About Going All-Electric at Home? Here's How to Get Started (Inside Climate News)
• Feeling Hopeless About the Climate? Try Our 30-Day Action Plan (The Revelator)
• Climate Change Will Force a New American Migration (Pro Publica)
• Exxon's Snake Oil: 100 years of deception (Columbia Journalism Review)
• Project Drawdown: 100 Solutions to Reverse Global Warming (Drawdown.org)

First up, before we get to our guest, some quick news, including some election news...

• After six months of trying to undermine democracy and invalidate tens of thousands of lawfully cast votes in North Carolina from last November's election, Republican Judge Jefferson Griffin has finally conceded, giving up his post-election challenge against Democratic incumbent Justice Allison Riggs who defeated him in last year's election for state Supreme Court by 734 votes. Just two days after a Trump-appointed federal judge declared Griffin's challenge --- attempting to change the rules of an election after the election --- to be unconstitutional, while giving him seven days to decide if he wanted to appeal, Griffin gave up the ghost. We've been covering the contest over the past six months and revisited its ugly details on yesterday's BradCast on the heels of Monday's federal court ruling. It took a while --- and revealed a lot of villains in the Republican Party and on the NC Supreme Court --- but Democracy has won this round, at least, in the last unsettled race of 2024.

• Speaking of Republican losers, despite an endorsement from the Vice President of the United States, J.D. Vance's half-brother, Republican Cory Bowman, was trounced on Tuesday by Aftab Pureval, the incumbent Democratic Mayor of Cincinnati in the city's mayoral primary. Pureval defeated Bowman by nearly 70 points (82.5% to 12.9%) in the three way race. As the top two vote-getters, however, both will go on to compete head-to-head in November's general election. Cincinnati hasn't elected a Republican Mayor since 1967 and they don't seem ready to do so again any time soon.

• On Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court let its cruelty and corruption shine once again, by barring trans service members from serving in the military even while challenges are still underway in lower courts, despite many of those members serving openly and with distinction for years. That the Trump-packed SCOTUS would go along with his cruel mandate is not all that surprising. But the fact that they did so on an "emergency" basis, on the so-called "shadow docket", without explanation or briefing or oral argument, even as trans service members had been suing --- and winning --- at the lower court level, is particularly galling and cowardly. All three of the Court's liberal Justices dissented.

But, speaking of galling news from the High Court, last week, SCOTUS heard oral argument last week in Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board v. Drummond, a case engineered by rightwingers to challenge --- really, to tear down --- the Constitution's First Amendment establishment clause meant to protect the separation of church and state.

The case involves a wannabe remote charter public school called St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School. It would be run by the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City in "deep red" Oklahoma. The state's Charter School Board narrowly approved its application for public funding, despite its plans for "the evangelizing mission of the Church," including "that God created persons male and female" and that those who reject the Holy Trinity will "end up in hell". That approval would mean that, as a certified public school, it would receive taxpayer dollars in support of that "mission" whether taxpayers agreed with it or not.

While the state's Republican Governor and Superintendent of Public Schools support the idea of publicly funding religious charter schools, both the state's Republican Attorney General and its Republican-majority Supreme Court decidedly do not. The state Supremes blocked St. Isidore's charter, citing both the First Amendment of the Constitution and state law which prohibits the expenditure of public money on any "sectarian institution" and requires that public schools be "free from sectarian control."

That, in a state which has, in recent years, reduced some K-12 schools to just four days a week for lack of public money in the wake of GOP tax cuts. If SCOTUS reverses the state Supreme Court, as appeared likely during last week's oral argument, money from secular public schools will be diverted to religious education. In fact, as my guest explains today, states across the nation are likely to be mandated to approve and pay for such religious institutions --- even schools indoctrinating children into religions that today's proponents of St. Isidore may not wish to see funded by taxpayer dollars.

We're joined today by DANIEL MACH, Director of the ACLU's Program for Freedom of Religion and Belief, which is supporting opponents of this radical assault on 250 years of American separation of church and state. The ACLU's coalition includes Oklahoma faith leaders, parents, and public-education advocates, including national charter school advocate associations which object to turning public schools into Sunday schools.

"Oklahoma officials are not just blurring these lines separating church and state," Mach wrote when sending up alarm bells about this case back in 2023, "they’re attempting to completely eviscerate them." Our friend, legal journalist Mark Joseph Stern of Slate argues that this case is likely to "bury what remains of church–state separation, forcing every American to subsidize the indoctrination of children into faiths they may not share. And it would further enfeeble secular public education, diverting billions of dollars away from inclusive public schools toward religious academies that openly discriminate against those outside their faith."

But there is hope. A little. Justice Amy Coney Barret has recused from the case, meaning that if Chief Justice John Roberts --- the only Justice who appeared to be at least moderately uncertain of his final verdict last week --- decides in favor of the Oklahoma Supreme Court, then SCOTUS would be tied 4 to 4 and the Oklahoma high court's ruling would stand.

"This was a strong decision by the Oklahoma Supreme Court," Mach tells me today, explaining that their opinion "wasn't even close", pronouncing the Charter Board's decision as "so far beyond the pale...so far beyond what we have decided as a country that our government should and should not be doing" that even a Republican high court in a very Republican state had to say no to it.

"It's an interesting moment," says Mach, "because we have a conservative movement and an extremely conservative U.S. Supreme Court that supposedly cares about states' rights. But a ruling for the Catholic school here would be giving no weight to Oklahoma state statutes, the Oklahoma constitution, the Oklahoma Republican Attorney General, and the state Supreme Court, which interpreted its own state law. All of which made absolutely clear that charter schools in Oklahoma are public schools."

There is much more in my conversation with Mach today that you'll want to tune in for, much of which defies conventional wisdom about all of this...even if it may not be enough to prevent the corrupted U.S. Supreme Court from further undermining the Constitution and the original intention of its Framers. That, he says, would be not just a "seismic shift in the law", but "a ground-breaking disaster"...

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]]> https://bradblog.com/?feed=rss2&p=15384 https://bradblog.com/?p=15383 https://bradblog.com/?p=15383#comments Wed, 07 May 2025 01:40:18 +0000 Brad Friedman North Carolina BRAD BLOG Media Appearance Rights And Freedoms U.S. Constitution Freedom of the Press Military/Overseas Voting Journalist Intimidation Accountability Voter Registration Immigration Vote Caging/Intimidation/Suppression Republicans U.S. Supreme Court Vote-by-Mail KPFK Donald Trump Climate change U.K. Venezuela BradCast Germany Electric vehicles Pat McCrory NOAA Tulsi Gabbard Twitter/X Election 2024 Elon Musk https://bradblog.com/?p=15383 Constitutional Due Process plays a starring role in today's BradCast --- as it damned well should --- in several different stories of note. [Audio link to full show follows this summary.]

• Today, we revisit the ridiculous story about the one election from 2024 that is still unsettled. At least it was before Monday, when a federal district judge may have finally put an end to it. We'll see. This is the contest for a North Carolina Supreme Court seat, where incumbent Democratic Justice Allison Riggs' re-election was challenged by her opponent, Republican Judge Jefferson Griffin. At least two recounts found that he lost by 734 votes out of more than 5.5 million cast. Nonetheless, Griffin has been deploying a playbook clearly created for Donald Trump prior to last year's election, in demanding some 65,000 lawfully cast ballots be tossed out entirely --- though only in a few Dem-leaning counties, and only for his race. We unpack all the details again on today's show. But, long story short: The state Supreme Court (dominated 6 to 2 by Republicans, or 6 to 1 in this case, since Riggs recused herself) recently okayed the potentially disenfranchisement of thousands of NC voters to help out Griffin. But Riggs then took the matter to federal court, where U.S. District Court Judge Richard Myers --- a Trump-appointee --- on Monday said absolutely not. You may not change the rules of an election after an election and violate the Constitutional Due Process of voters in the bargain, according to his order [PDF]. This is, of course, very good news for Riggs, but also for democracy itself. Hopefully, it's finally over. We'll see if Griffin chooses to keep his six-months of idiocy and attempted vote suppression going on appeal. Myers has given him one week to decide.

• Trump said over the weekend that he just doesn't really know if the Due Process mandates of the Constitution are actually, ya know, mandatory. He was answering questions about his use of the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to detain and deport alleged gang members from Venezuela to a gulag in El Salvador for a life sentence, without ever allowing them a day in court to make their case, or even contact with lawyers or family. But the AEA law may only be invoked in the first place against migrants from nations that have declared war on the U.S., or in the event of "invasion" or "incursion" directed by a foreign government. That is certainly not the case with Venezuela, though Trump argued otherwise in his invocation of the wartime law. Earlier this year, reporting from the New York Times and Washington Post revealed that the U.S. Intelligence Community (IC) found back in February that there was no evidence of Venezuela's President directing an invasion of the U.S. Trump made his proclamation to begin deportations in March anyway. At the time, the Admin claimed the reporting was wrong and the DoJ vowed extraordinary measures to track down the leakers. But, according to a redacted memo released on Monday under the Freedom of Information Act by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, summarizing the IC's findings, the newspapers had it right and --- I hope you're sitting down --- it appears the Trump Administration was lying about all of this from the jump.

• In related news, yet another federal judge --- this time in the Southern District of New York --- has enjoined the Trump Administration from moving migrants detained under the Alien Enemies Act until they are given full Due Process. The ruling was not unlike one from a Trump-appointed federal judge in South Texas last week. In this case, U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein, a Clinton appointee, found [PDF] that since the Administration has "not demonstrated the existence of a ‘war,’ ‘invasion’ or ‘predatory incursion,’ the AEA was not validly invoked by the Presidential Proclamation."

• Meanwhile, the fortunes of Trump buddy and richest man on earth, Elon Musk --- also, potentially, the world's most hated --- are really beginning to nose dive. Aside from users fleeing Twitter/X in droves this year in the wake of both his partnering with Trump and the Nazification of the social media site, the future of his Electric Vehicle company appears even bleaker. The stock price of Tesla is down some 40% since he DOGEd himself to Trump last December and subsequently outed himself as a far-right extremist. But sales of the company's cars in Europe have fallen even farther. According to new numbers out this week from both Germany and the UK, where, even as overall sales of cars is dropping, EV sales are booming --- at least for companies not owned by Musk --- Tesla sales continue to drive over a cliff. They are down 46% in Germany compared to last April, and a whopping 62% in Britain. Sad!

• Finally, Desi Doyen joins us for our latest Green News Report, as drastic cuts to the National Weather Service are now beginning to endanger public safety, according to its former leaders; Trump's DoJ is suing states to block climate laws and lawsuits; and the Administration plans to shrink National Parks in the U.S. to make room for more mining and drilling, and violate international law by mining the sea floor...

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]]> https://bradblog.com/?feed=rss2&p=15383 https://bradblog.com/?p=15382 https://bradblog.com/?p=15382#comments Tue, 06 May 2025 17:45:44 +0000 Desi Doyen New York Vermont Environment Dept. of Justice Michigan Green News Hawaii Donald Trump Natural gas Oil Wind energy Climate change Oceans/Sea Level Rise Mining Dept. of Interior Public lands NOAA https://bradblog.com/?p=15382

Follow @GreenNewsReport...




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IN TODAY'S RADIO REPORT: Drastic cuts to National Weather Service endanger public safety, former weather chiefs warn; Trump Justice Department sues four states to block climate laws and lawsuits; PLUS: Trump moves to open up the sea floor to mining and shrink national monuments... All that and more in today's Green News Report!

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IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA' (see links below): 75 percent of North America’s bird species are in decline, study says; Rural communities were promised millions in disaster funds. Trump says no; Scientists map where orphan wells pose threats to aquifers; Trump admin. plans to shut down money-saving Energy Star program soon, sources say; Park Service suspends air-quality monitoring at all national parks; 150+ Nobel-Prize winning scientists warn of imminent global famine... PLUS: Treated Like Dirt: Uncovering the toxic soil lurking in L.A.'s burn zones... and much, MUCH more! ...

STORIES DISCUSSED ON TODAY'S 'GREEN NEWS REPORT'...

• Drastic cuts to NWS endanger public safety, former weather chiefs warn:
• US weather forecasting is more crippled than previously known as hurricane season nears (CNN):
  
  There is not a single manager in place at the hurricane-prone Houston-Galveston forecast office, according to a NOAA staff member who requested anonymity for fear of reprisal...One NWS forecast office, in Goodland, Kansas, is no longer operating 24/7, with about a dozen more likely to shift to non-24-hour operations if action isn’t taken this month.
• Former National Weather Service leaders warn about "loss of life" from NOAA cuts (CBS News):
  
  "Our worst nightmare is that weather forecast offices will be so understaffed that there will be needless loss of life," their letter said. "We know that's a nightmare shared by those on the forecasting front lines — and by the people who depend on their efforts." Some forecast offices might be so short-staffed they have to function only part-time, they warned.
• Former Weather Service Leaders Warn Staffing Cuts Could Lead to ‘Loss of Life’ (NY Times)
• Scientists don't know why atmospheric CO2 levels spiked in 2024:
• A Grim Signal: Atmospheric CO2 Soared in 2024 (Inside Climate News):
  
  Scientists are worried because they can’t fully explain the big jump, but they think it might mean that carbon absorption by forests, fields and wetlands is slowing down—a major problem for the world.
• Scientists Alarmed by Signs of Collapse in Earth’s Natural Carbon Sinks (Mother Jones, 10/15/2024)
• Trump administration minimized federal climate scientists’ findings of record CO2 growth (CNN)
• Trump DOJ sues four states to block climate laws and lawsuits:
• Justice Department sues Hawaii, Michigan, Vermont and New York over state climate actions (AP):
  
  The DOJ lawsuits, which legal experts called unprecedented, mark the latest of the Trump administration’s attacks on environmental work and raises concern over states’ abilities to retain the power to take climate action without federal opposition.
• Trump and GOP confront state climate plans on two fronts (Axios):
  
  "The idea the federal government can preempt states from even attempting to file lawsuits is outlandish, and the complaint does not fairly represent relevant legal authorities," Jonathan Adler, a professor at Case Western Reserve University, tells me via email.
• Trump Is Picking New Climate Fights With States. Here’s Why. (NY Times):
  
  When the executive order was first issued, many legal experts said it amounted to little more than a signaling exercise because presidents do not have the power to alter state laws. The new legal actions will test the limits of that theory, and also test the willingness of states to pursue their climate plans.
• In ‘Highly Unusual’ Move, Trump DOJ Sues to Block States From Holding Fossil Fuel Companies Accountable for Climate Crisis (EcoWatch)
• New ‘Climate Superfund’ Laws Face Widening Legal Challenges (NY Times)
• Hawai'i takes action to address climate impacts:
• Hawaii lawmakers raise hotel tax to help the state cope with climate change (CNN)
• "Hawai'i will not be deterred" from suing Big Oil (Exxon Knews)
• Trump Admin. moves to shrink boundaries of at least 6 national monuments
• Trump officials consider shrinking 6 national monuments in the West (Washington Post)
• AUDIO: Interior officials are reviewing the ‘appropriate size’ of 6 national monuments in the Mountain West (NPR)
• Trump administration expected to shrink six national monuments (Center for Western Priorities)
• Burgum confirms the administration is reviewing national monument boundaries (The Hill)
• Trump signs executive order to expand deep sea mining:
• AUDIO: Scientists are raising the alarm about Trump's deep sea mining executive order (NPR):
  
  [F]or years, there have been international talks about whether to allow this industry and what the rules should be, but this executive order directs U.S. agencies to basically ignore those negotiations and act on their own..."This is just going to say, you know, the U.S. is going to stake claim to a part of international waters that is supposed to be for the benefit of all humankind and say, no, this part is ours, and we're going to do what we like with it."
• UN body warns over Trump's deep-sea mining order (AFP/Yahoo News):
  
  "No state has the right to unilaterally exploit the mineral resources of the area outside the legal framework established by UNCLOS," ISA head Leticia Carvalho said in a statement, referring to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.
• Trump deep sea mining order violates law, China says (BBC)
• 18 states sue Trump Administration to halt attacks on wind energy:
• States sue Trump administration over halt on wind energy development (Utility Dive)
• States sue Trump administration for blocking the development of wind energy (AP):
  
  Attorneys general from 17 states and Washington, D.C., are challenging an executive order Trump signed during his first day in office, pausing approvals, permits and loans for all wind energy projects both onshore and offshore. They say Trump doesn’t have the authority to unilaterally shut down the permitting process, and he’s jeopardizing development of a power source critical to the states’ economic vitality, energy mix, public health and climate goals.
• 18 States Sue Over Trump’s Halting of Wind Power Projects (NY Times):
  
  The halt threatens jobs and holds back energy production at a time the president has claimed an "energy emergency," state attorneys general said.
• 17 Democratic-led states [+ D.C.] sue over Trump anti-wind moves (The Hill)

'GREEN NEWS EXTRA' (Stuff we didn't have time for in today's audio report)...

For a comprehensive roundup of daily environmental news you can trust, see the Society of Environmental Journalists' Daily Headlines page

• 75 percent of North America’s bird species are in decline, study says (Washington Post)
• AUDIO: Rural communities were promised millions in disaster funds. Trump says no. (NPR)
• US seeks to weaken global development finance efforts, UN document shows (Reuters)
• Treated Like Dirt: Uncovering the toxic soil lurking in L.A.'s burn zones (LA Times)
• Scientists map where orphan wells pose threats to aquifers (Inside Climate News)
• Trump admin plans to shut down money-saving Energy Star program soon, sources say (CNN)
• Most Americans use federal science information on a weekly basis, a new poll finds (NPR)
• Park Service suspends air-quality monitoring at all national parks (Washington Post)
• More than 150 Nobel-Prize winning scientists warn of imminent global famine: 'We must act now' (Techorean)
• Republicans say EVs don’t pay their fair share. Here’s the math. (Washington Post)
• Scientific societies say they’ll step up after Trump puts key climate report in doubt (AP)
• A guide to the 4 minerals shaping the world's energy future (Grist)
• Wall Street Journal: Clean energy transition is unstoppable (This Is Not Cool blog)
• Can we avoid the enshittification of clean-energy tech? (David Roberts, Volts)
• Stop emissions, stop warming: A climate reality check (Dr. Andrew Dessler, Climate Brink)
• The Climate Fight Will Continue (This Is Not Cool blog)
• Who Will Care for Americans Left Behind by Climate Migration? (Pro Publica)
• Is the Atlantic Overturning Circulation Approaching a Tipping Point? (The Oceanography Society)
• How Oil Companies Manipulate Journalists (Drilled)
• Abrupt reduction in shipping emission as an inadvertent geoengineering termination shock produces substantial radiative warming (Nature)
• How To Spot 5 Of The Fossil Fuel Industry's Biggest Disinformation Tactics (Guardian)
• The Oceans We Knew Are Already Gone (The Atlantic)
• Plug-in hybrids vs. electric cars: We did the math on which is better for you (Washington Post)
• How to electrify your life when you rent (The Verge)
• Complete Series: Farmers Under Attack for Supporting Clean Energy (This Is Not Cool blog)
• Feeling Overwhelmed About Going All-Electric at Home? Here's How to Get Started (Inside Climate News)
• Feeling Hopeless About the Climate? Try Our 30-Day Action Plan (The Revelator)
• Climate Change Will Force a New American Migration (Pro Publica)
• Exxon's Snake Oil: 100 years of deception (Columbia Journalism Review)
• Project Drawdown: 100 Solutions to Reverse Global Warming (Drawdown.org)

]]> https://bradblog.com/?feed=rss2&p=15382 https://bradblog.com/?p=15381 https://bradblog.com/?p=15381#comments Tue, 06 May 2025 01:51:30 +0000 Brad Friedman BRAD BLOG Media Appearance Rights And Freedoms U.S. Constitution Accountability Immigration Los Angeles KPFK Donald Trump Canada Australia BradCast Trade Policing Hunter Biden Alexander Smirnov Election 2025 https://bradblog.com/?p=15381 Today on The BradCast: The President of the Unites States' war on the U.S. Constitution and Rule of Law continues, even as he keeps losing battle after battle in courts of law, at ballot boxes and in the court of public opinion. [Audio link to full show follows this summary.]

Among our coverage today....

• At the beginning of last week, we reported the news of the Canada's Liberal Party overcoming an enormous deficit against the Conservative Party last December to triumph in national elections on Monday, when the Conservative Party's Trumpy Leader even lost his own seat in Parliament. By week's end, we saw damned near the exact same story in Australia, where the Labor Party Prime Minister on Friday retained his post (the first time that a ruling PM was elected twice in a row over the past 20+ years) and the conservative opposition lost in a landslide that saw its Trumpy party leader also lose his seat in Parliament as well, for the first time in Australian history. If nothing else, Trump's obnoxious behavior toward our longtime allies seems to be working wonders for center-left political parties in those countries.

• Trump announced over the weekend that he will place a 100% tariff on movies "produced in foreign lands". Apparently, that would include American-made films shot in other countries, though he didn't explain --- and nobody in the Administration seems to yet know --- how such a "tariff" would actually be levied. Many fear it could also devastate the U.S. film industry. The new tariffs are necessary, Trump lied, because foreign film production is somehow a "National Security threat", according to his social media announcement. (It isn't a national security threat, of course. But I explain on today's show why Trump needs to pretend as much.)

• As Trump revealed on NBC's Meet the Press over the weekend, he's not entirely sure if Constitutional Due Process, as cited by the 5th and 14th Amendments, is actually mandatory. That despite the Supreme Court making clear that it very much is, and despite his sworn oath earlier this year upon taking office for a second time to "preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."

• Clearly, the Rule of Law and Constitution don't mean all that much to Donald Trump, as again illustrated by his four Executive Orders, so far, targeting four different law firms that dare to represent people he regards as political enemies. His clearly unconstitutional orders bar attorneys at those firms from entering federal buildings, interacting with federal officials or taking federal jobs, etc. The largest and first of those targeted firms to challenge an Order is Perkins Coie. They won a resounding victory on Friday when a U.S. District Court Judge in D.C. found [PDF] the entire Order targeting them to be a clear cut case of "unconstitutional retaliation and viewpoint discrimination, plain and simple." She nullified the entire Order in the bargain.

Meanwhile, out here in Los Angeles, three prosecutors in the U.S. Attorneys office for the Central District of California tendered their resignations over the weekend, after Trump-appointed acting U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli appears to have struck a deal with former L.A. County sheriff's deputy Trevor Kirk, after his felony conviction by a jury in February.

Kirk was found by a jury to have injured a 58-year old black woman during what police body cam footage revealed as to be an "unjustifiably violent" arrest. The woman apparently had nothing to do with the robbery that the cops were called to respond to at a grocery store in Lancaster, an hour or so north of L.A., in 2023. But she claimed to be live-streaming the arrest of her male companion, who apparently wasn't involved in the reported robbery either. Kirk threw the woman to the ground, threatened to "punch" her "in the face", hand-cuffed and pepper-sprayed her twice.

The unusual deal between Essayli and Kirk was struck after the jury verdict, but prior to sentencing, which could have resulted in as many as nine years in prison for the now-former cop. The new agreement would change his felony conviction to a misdemeanor with prosecutors seeking probation for Kirk instead of jail time, and no bar on him serving as a cop in the future. None of the attorneys who obtained Kirk's conviction signed on to the new agreement struck on behalf of Trump's acting U.S. Attorney. It must still be approved by a judge.

We're joined today by independent L.A. based legal affairs reporter MEGHANN CUNIFF who was the first to break the story of the agreement before the ensuing resignations of the career prosecutors in the L.A. U.S. Attorney's office in what appears to be a response to the deal their new boss struck, undermining their case. Cuniff, who acknowledges how unusual it is for a deal to be struck after conviction and before sentencing, argues that it's possible the prosecutors might be resigning for other reasons in addition to the unusual post-verdict deal.

After making clear that she is not reporting a direct line between D.C. and the Trump-appointed loyalist Essayli and his deal to drastically reduce Kirk's sentencing, she concedes: "I've never seen it before. It's totally unheard of. You might see it if there's an issue of misconduct during the trial or somebody is cooperating afterward. But the prosecutors are definitely outraged after this."

Cuniff is also not at all certain that the U.S. District Court Judge who oversaw the case will agree to the terms of the deal struck by Trump's prosecutors. At the same time, L.A. County has struck a settlement in a $3 million civil lawsuit filed by the two victims in response to their wrongful arrests.

In addition to the Kirk case, the same U.S. Attorney's office is now reviewing the conviction of Alexander Smirnov, who pleaded guilty to lying to federal officials in 2020 about Hunter Biden having corrupt business dealings with a Ukrainian oil company, "in what prosecutors described as a Russian-influenced operation," says Cuniff.

"As soon as Trump took over, all of a sudden, they are trying to get this guy --- who took a plea deal and was sentenced in January --- out of prison, pending appeal, saying they are going to support his appeal," she explains. "The trial judge wouldn't do it, but they're going to the 9th Circuit [Court of Appeals]. The assistant U.S. Attorney who argued for this is the same one who went to court to argue for Trevor Kirk for a sentencing delay" to allow Trump's attorneys to strike a deal with the dirty cop...

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]]> https://bradblog.com/?feed=rss2&p=15381 https://bradblog.com/?p=15380 https://bradblog.com/?p=15380#comments Sun, 04 May 2025 13:35:23 +0000 Brad Friedman Toons https://bradblog.com/?p=15380

...IN MEMORIAM...

...NEXT WEEK!...

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]]> https://bradblog.com/?feed=rss2&p=15380 https://bradblog.com/?p=15379 https://bradblog.com/?p=15379#comments Fri, 02 May 2025 01:51:45 +0000 Brad Friedman BRAD BLOG Media Appearance National Security Rights And Freedoms U.S. Constitution New Hampshire Accountability Immigration Democrats Republicans U.S. Supreme Court KPFK Donald Trump Canada Climate change Venezuela BradCast Ukraine Race Fascism/Autocracy Michael Flynn Kamala Harris J.B. Pritzker Pollution Voice of America (VOA) Mike Waltz Mark Carney Election 2028 https://bradblog.com/?p=15379 On today's BradCast: If the 101st Day is any indication, it doesn't look like the second hundred are gonna go any better for him than the first. [Audio link to full show follows this summary.]

Among our coverage today...

• On our roundtable program yesterday with Digby and Driftglass, we discussed who was likely the first top Trump Administration official to be tossed under the bus in the wake of Donald Trump's dismal and worsening approval ratings. Today we know: Trump National Security Adviser and Signal group chat enthusiast, Mike Waltz. At least he outlasted Trump's first (of four) NSAs in the first term. The disgraced and loony Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn survived just 24 days before being tossed and eventually pleading guilty to criminal charges of lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russians. At least Waltz gets a consolation prize. Trump tapped him to be U.N. Ambassador.

• Last week, Senior U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth --- a Reagan-appointee --- ordered the rehiring of staffers and contractors at the Congressionally-mandated and funded Voice of America and its similarly critical global sister networks Radio Free Asia and Middle East Broadcasting after the Trump-order shutdown in March of its parent agency, the U.S. Agency for Global Media. This week, Judge Lamberth ordered the Administration to restore $12 million in funding to another VOA sister network, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty --- broadcasting to dozens of countries in dozens of languages since the Cold War --- while issuing both a history lesson and an important Constitutional lesson for the Trump Administration (and, arguably, for Congress) about the important roles of the three co-equal branches of Government in his order [PDF].

• In still more Trump-is-a-Loser news today, a Trump-appointed federal judge in South Texas, issued a first-of-its-kind permanent injunction on Trump's "unlawful" use of the wartime Alien Enemies Act of 1798 --- in peacetime --- to deport alleged gang members from Venezuela to a gulag in El Salvador. "The President's invocation of the AEA...exceeds the scope of the statute and is contrary to the plain, ordinary meaning of the statute's terms," U.S. District Judge Fernando Rodriguez Jr. wrote in the order [PDF], concluding that Trump's attempt to falsely proclaim the U.S. was being "invaded" by Tren de Aragua gang members at the direction of the Venezuelan government was patently false, "exceeds the scope of the statute and, as a result, is unlawful."

• Also of note today, the Board and shareholders of one of the companies most closely associated with America, Coca-Cola, flatly rejected two proposals to abolish the company's anti-discrimination programs, often smeared by Trump and fellow wingnuts as "DEI". Shareholders and the Board of Directors at yet another iconic American company, Levi Strauss, reportedly did the same last week.

• It's not just courts and a few iconic U.S. companies that are pushing back at Trump's nonsense of late. Even Democrats, if you can believe it --- at least a couple who are clearly eye-balling Presidential runs in 2028 --- are now more aggressively doing the same, especially now that the public has turned so clearly against out tinpot dictator-wannabe. Last night, at an event in San Francisco, former Vice President and Presidential nominee Kamala Harris offered her first substantive public remarks since losing to Trump last year, deriding his "wholesale abandonment" of American values. That came on the heels of a stem-winder by Illinois' Democratic Governor J.B. Pritzker, taking on Trumpers and go-along, get-along, "do nothing" Dems alike, at a fundraiser on Sunday in New Hampshire. We share extended excerpts from both speeches today.

• And finally, Desi Doyen is here with our latest Green News Report to help us close things out near the end of a week that began with a huge loss for our failing President, as his attempts at hectoring our neighbor to the north and meddling in Canada's elections completely backfired, producing not just another Liberal Party Prime Minister, whose election might have been unthinkable last December, but a climate and energy action champion at that...

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]]> https://bradblog.com/?feed=rss2&p=15379 https://bradblog.com/?p=15378 https://bradblog.com/?p=15378#comments Thu, 01 May 2025 17:36:36 +0000 Desi Doyen California Environment Los Angeles Green News EPA Donald Trump Canada Climate change Ukraine Electric vehicles Mining Pollution Mark Carney https://bradblog.com/?p=15378

Follow @GreenNewsReport...




(Or use "Click here to listen..." link below.)

IN TODAY'S RADIO REPORT: Liberal Party Prime Minister Mark Carney, climate action expert, wins critical election in Canada; Trump White House announces deal to access Ukraine's rare earth minerals and vast natural resources; PLUS: Half of Americans are breathing dangerous levels of air pollution... All that and more in today's Green News Report!

Click here to listen or download MP3 (6 mins)...

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Got comments, tips, love letters, hate mail? Drop us a line at GreenNews@BradBlog.com or right here at the comments link below. All GNRs are always archived at GreenNews.BradBlog.com.

IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA' (see links below): In first 100 days, Trump launched an 'all-out assault' on the environment; Study: Cuts to science funding will yield Great Recession-level economic hit; Citing N.I.H. cuts, a top science journal stops accepting submissions; GOP House strikes a blow against California in a fight over EVs; Spain's grid denies dependence on solar power to blame for blackout; China adds 60 GW of new solar capacity in 1Q of 2025... PLUS: Ice all but disappeared from this Alaskan island. It changed everything... and much, MUCH more! ...

STORIES DISCUSSED ON TODAY'S 'GREEN NEWS REPORT'...

• Trump White House announced deal to access Ukraine's rare earth minerals:
• Ukraine and the US have finally signed a minerals deal. What does it include? (AP):
  
  According to Ukrainian officials, the version of the deal signed Wednesday is far more beneficial to Ukraine than previous versions, which they said reduced Kyiv to a junior partner and gave Washington unprecedented rights to the country’s resources. The agreement --- which the Ukrainian parliament must ratify --- would establish a reconstruction fund for Ukraine that Ukrainian officials hope will be a vehicle to ensure future American military assistance.
• U.S. and Ukraine sign long-awaited minerals deal to rebuild Kyiv and repay aid (NBC News):
  
  Ukraine and the United States will jointly manage and maintain co-ownership of the investment fund, with neither side holding a dominant vote, Svyrydenko said. It will be financed by new Ukrainian oil, gas and critical mineral licenses, with 50% of all revenue from the licenses going toward the fund.
• VIDEO: Kyiv residents react after Ukraine and the US sign a mineral deal (AP)
• Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney wins critical election victory:
• 'It's almost like a mania': How Trump won Carney the federal election (Global News)
• Mark Carney Has a Sterling Resume. Here’s the Part That Matters Most. (Politico)
• Mark Carney, Canada’s Newly Elected PM, Has a Very Squishy Climate Plan (Mother Jones)
• With Mark Carney’s Win, Trump Is Now Sandwiched Between Two Climate Leaders (Time)
• VIDEO: Prime Minister Mark Carney's full victory speech (YouTube)
• Transcript: Mark Carney's election victory speech (National Post)
• EPA's War on Children and Minorities ramps up:
• E.P.A. Set to Cancel Grants Aimed at Protecting Children From Toxic Chemicals (NY Times):
  
  The cancellations, set to apply to pending and active grants, also affect research into "forever chemicals" contaminating the food supply.
• EPA canceling nearly 800 environmental justice grants (The Hill)
• The EPA is canceling almost 800 environmental justice grants, court filing reveals (Washington Post)
• Half of Americans are breathing dangerous levels of air pollution:
• State of the Air Report 2025 (American Lung Association)
• Nearly half of Americans breathing in unsafe levels of air pollutants – report (Guardian):
  
  Almost half of Americans are breathing in dangerous levels of air pollutants, a new report shows, a rise compared with a year ago and likely to further increase in coming years thanks to the climate crisis and the Trump administration’s sweeping environmental rollbacks. Just over 156 million people live in neighborhoods with unhealthy levels of soot or smog – a 16 percent rise compared with last year and the highest number in a decade, according to the American Lung Association (ALA) annual state of the air report.
• Los Angeles remains nation’s smoggiest city for 25th time in 26 years, despite progress (LA Times):
  
  The association’s annual "State of the Air" report noted that L.A. held on to the infamous title for the 25th time even though the number of unhealthy ozone days has dropped nearly 40 percent since 2000...The report comes roughly a month after the Environmental Protection Agency announced its plan to loosen or eliminate a wide swath of environmental regulations that many experts worry could negatively effect air quality, reversing decades of progress in California.
• Air pollution still plagues nearly half of Americans. That does a number on our health (NPR)
• Exposure to wildfire smoke increases the risk of developing dementia, study says (NPR, 11/26/2024)
• EPA Moves to Overturn California’s Motor Vehicle Emission Standards (Green Building Law Update, 2/25/2025)
• GOP House strikes a blow against California in a fight over EVs (NPR)
• California invests big in clean electric school buses:
• California expands its electric school bus fleet as federal freeze paused efforts elsewhere (AP):
  
  The expansion contrasts efforts in other states that were hampered by the uncertainty over federal funds. For months, over 500 districts nationwide waited on around $1 billion from the Environmental Protection Agency to cover more than 3,400 electric buses, sparking panic and confusion. Some districts delayed or canceled their purchases.
• California spends $500M for 1,000 zero-emission electric school buses (Ventura County Star)
• 1,000 more clean school buses coming soon to California roads as state sees big demand for zero-emission buses and trucks (Office of CA Gov. Gavin Newsom)

'GREEN NEWS EXTRA' (Stuff we didn't have time for in today's audio report)...

For a comprehensive roundup of daily environmental news you can trust, see the Society of Environmental Journalists' Daily Headlines page

• In first 100 days, Trump launched an 'all-out assault' on the environment (Inside Climate News)
• Study: Cuts to science funding will yield Great Recession-level economic hit (Splinter News)
• Citing N.I.H. cuts, a top science journal stops accepting submissions (NY Times)
• GOP House strikes a blow against California in a fight over EVs (NPR)
• Spain's grid denies dependence on solar power to blame for blackout (Reuters)
• Meanwhile, in China, 60 GW of new solar capacity added in first quarter of 2025 (Renew Economy)
• Ice all but disappeared from this Alaskan island. It changed everything. (Washington Post)
• Trump Administration kicks off rewrite of LNG safety rules (E&E News)
• Ohio Lawmakers Pass Bill Ending Ratepayer Subsidies Of 2 Coal Plants (AP)
• Trump’s Policies Are Creating Uncertainty for Fossil Fuel Companies (Wired)
• USGS Water Data Centers May Soon Close, Threatening States’ Management (Inside Climate News)
• A guide to the 4 minerals shaping the world’s energy future (Grist)
• Wall Street Journal: Clean energy transition is unstoppable (This Is Not Cool blog)
• Can we avoid the enshittification of clean-energy tech? (David Roberts, Volts)
• Stop emissions, stop warming: A climate reality check (Dr. Andrew Dessler, Climate Brink)
• The Climate Fight Will Continue (This Is Not Cool blog)
• Who Will Care for Americans Left Behind by Climate Migration? (Pro Publica)
• Is the Atlantic Overturning Circulation Approaching a Tipping Point? (The Oceanography Society)
• How Oil Companies Manipulate Journalists (Drilled)
• Abrupt reduction in shipping emission as an inadvertent geoengineering termination shock produces substantial radiative warming (Nature)
• How To Spot 5 Of The Fossil Fuel Industry's Biggest Disinformation Tactics (Guardian)
• The Oceans We Knew Are Already Gone (The Atlantic)
• Plug-in hybrids vs. electric cars: We did the math on which is better for you (Washington Post)
• How to electrify your life when you rent (The Verge)
• Complete Series: Farmers Under Attack for Supporting Clean Energy (This Is Not Cool blog)
• Feeling Overwhelmed About Going All-Electric at Home? Here's How to Get Started (Inside Climate News)
• Feeling Hopeless About the Climate? Try Our 30-Day Action Plan (The Revelator)
• Climate Change Will Force a New American Migration (Pro Publica)
• Exxon's Snake Oil: 100 years of deception (Columbia Journalism Review)
• Project Drawdown: 100 Solutions to Reverse Global Warming (Drawdown.org)

]]> https://bradblog.com/?feed=rss2&p=15378 https://bradblog.com/?p=15377 https://bradblog.com/?p=15377#comments Thu, 01 May 2025 00:52:50 +0000 Brad Friedman RFK Jr. BRAD BLOG Media Appearance Immigration Democrats Republicans Economy KPFK Donald Trump Dick Durbin China BradCast Gavin Newsom Fascism/Autocracy Trade ICE J.B. Pritzker Elon Musk Pete Hegseth https://bradblog.com/?p=15377 I've got no clue why so many in the media decided yesterday (Tuesday) was the 100th Day of Donald Trump's second term in office, when it is actually today (Wednesday). Am I missing something? No matter how many times I checked, counted, re-checked, recounted, asked AI, the 100th day --- not that any of it actually matters, unless you find accuracy from your media to be helpful --- is today. So, today is when we officially "celebrate" it on The BradCast. [Audio link to full, rollicking show follows below this summary.]

As we are wont at landmark moments in the second Trump Presidency, we are joined again today by two of our old school blogger friends who have been right about almost everything over the past 20+ years, whether the rest of the world wanted to notice or not. HEATHER DIGBY PARTON is the award-winning columnist at Salon and proprietor of Digby's Hullabaloo blog, and 'DRIFTGLASS' is the notorious eponymous blogger and co-host of the weekly Professional Left Podcast. They've both got plenty of thoughts to share at this particular "landmark moment".

Trump's approval ratings are plummeting on virtually every single issue via every single legitmate poll released over the past few days. Perhaps most notably, for the moment --- and for his own softening supporters --- his self-induced tanking economy is top of mind today. But, he's a loser on his immigration and mass deportation policies as well. Now, why would that be, given that he was supposedly elected for his great economic prowess ("Tariff is the most beautiful word in the dictionary of words!," he declared repeatedly in last year's campaign and right on up through his fateful "Liberation Day" on-again, off-again worldwide tariff proclamation earlier this month) and to "solve" the immigration issues that he and Republicans and Fox 'News' have been stoking and worsening for political purposes over so many years?

But none of it is working, as it turns out China is refusing to cower in the face of Trump's 145% tariffs because, as their Foreign Minister explained this week, "it will only make the bully want to push his luck more." There are quite a few elite American law firms, universities and media outlets that may wish to take notice of that response from the largest exporter of goods purchased by Americans, as ships will soon no longer be arriving and shelves at stores may be bare by the time we get to Christmas. That, as new economic numbers out today find that American GDP in the first quarter has fallen by 0.3% after increasing by 2.4% in the final quarter of last year under the economic guidance of President Biden, and more than two-thirds of Americans now predict a Trump Recession on the near horizon.

As to the violence, recklessness and fecklessness of his mass deportation policy, both of our guests concur that is backfiring as well. His supporters also seem to have begun to take notice. As Driftglass argues, they are seeing that "if anyone without a visa can be locked up and deported overnight, you can be, because now we have no Due Process." As Digby observes, "this is happening to people just like you who voted for Trump. And it could be you. They are not discriminating."

But there is much more on our plate to discuss today --- from why all of this is happening and whether it meets or exceeds our guests expectations; to what each of them expect to be Trump's response to his plummeting polls; to who they expect to be the first Trump cabinet member to fall; to what sort of Democrat is needed out there to guide the party back to relevance and put Humpty-Dumpty back together again --- if it can be.

Digby says she's "aged 10 years in the last 100 days" --- me too! --- as Driftglass breaks down what he describes as Trump's "fascist death spiral". Let it be true.

Join us, won't you?...

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