Resistance is NOT Futile
Trump Clearly plans a smaller and much less effective EPA with fewer rules to getting the way of profit. His strategy in appointing someone who has fought EPA and other environmental rules all his life is to wreck the apparatus of government hence manufacturing proof that government regulation doesn't work.
New York Times
Scott Pruitt, Trump’s E.P.A. Pick, Backed Industry Donors Over Regulators
WASHINGTON — A legal fight to clean up tons of chicken manure fouling the waters of Oklahoma’s bucolic northeastern corner — much of it from neighboring Arkansas — was in full swing six years ago when the conservative lawyer Scott Pruitt took office as Oklahoma’s attorney general.
His response: Put on the brakes.
Rather than push for a federal judge to punish the companies by extracting perhaps tens of millions of dollars in damages, Oklahoma’s new chief law enforcement officer quietly negotiated a deal to simply study the problem further.
NYT
Scott Pruitt, Testifying to Lead E.P.A., Criticizes Environmental Rules
WASHINGTON — Scott Pruitt, President-elect Donald J. Trump’s choice to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, offered a vision of a far smaller and more restrained agency at his Senate confirmation hearing on Wednesday. He criticized federal rules protecting air and water and tackling climate change, and forcefully advocated a states’ rights approach to environmental regulation.
Faulting the agency for what he called overreach under President Obama, Mr. Pruitt said that as Oklahoma’s attorney general, he had seen “examples where the agency became dissatisfied with the tools Congress had given it to address certain issues, and bootstrapped its own powers and tools through rule-making.”
Democrats on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee pressed Mr. Pruitt aggressively on his record, noting that he had sued the E.P.A. 14 times in an effort to block federal air and water pollution regulations. In particular, the senators criticized Mr. Pruitt repeatedly about letters drafted by energy lobbyists that were sent on state stationery to federal agencies and even to Mr. Obama, outlining the economic hardship threatened by the environmental rules.
Pruitt is now being confirmed now is the time to act, now is the time to call your congressman and demand that he not be confirmed,
CALL YOUR MEMBER OF CONGRESS 202-224-3121
CALL YOUR MEMBER OF CONGRESS 202-224-3121
The Brave New World of Trump begins Friday
Electronic Frontier foundation Defending your rights,
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2017/01/our-100-day-plan
On Friday, President Elect Donald J. Trump will swear the oath of office, pledging to uphold the Constitution. But as EFF has learned in the course of defending our fundamental rights over four American presidencies, our civil liberties need an independent defense force. Free speech and the rights to privacy, transparency, and innovation won’t survive on their own—we’re here to ensure that government is held accountable and in check.
Technological progress does not wait for politicians to catch up, and new tools can quickly be misused by aggressive governments. The next four years will be characterized by rapid developments in the fields of artificial intelligence, autonomous vehicles, virtual and augmented reality, connected homes, and smart cities. We welcome innovation, but we also expect to see an explosion of surveillance technologies designed to take advantage of our connected world to spy on all of us and our devices, all the time. That data will be used not only to target individuals but to project and manipulate social behavior. What will our digital rights look like during these uncertain and evolving times? Will our current rights remain intact when the baton is passed on once again?
Make no mistake: privacy, liberty, and accountability are not partisan issues.
We’ve seen digital rights come under threat no matter which party controls the Oval Office. In 1995, we sued President Bill Clinton’s Department of Justice to overturn unconstitutional export restrictions on encryption. We sued President George W. Bush over illegal domestic surveillance. We sued the Obama administration for mass surveillance of digital communications. And we expect to file new lawsuits in the next four years. Now, more than ever, we will fiercely resist any legislation, policy, regulation, ruling, or prosecution that would impinge on our civil liberties.
The first 100 days will set the tone for the rest of Mr. Trump’s time in office. The transition team has laid out what they hope to accomplish over this period. Some of the things he and his team said have us preparing for the worst. Based on statements about surveillance, net neutrality, and press freedom, we anticipate attempts to undercut many of the hard-won protections for technology users and thwart efforts to reform broken laws.
In a matter of days, the United States will enter a new era.read more
Monday, January 16, 2017
Weekly check list for Democracts
What to Do This Week of Jan 15, 2017
Actions for Democrats, Independents, & Republicans of Conscience
Actions for Democrats, Independents, & Republicans of Conscience
The intention of this weekly document is to make clear suggestions for action backed with well-considered research. Although these actions are intended to be helpful, they are still subject to human error. Please do your own research!
If you'd like to subscribe to this weekly action list, please go here:
http://jenniferhofmann.com/…/weekly-action-checklist-democ…/
http://jenniferhofmann.com/…/weekly-action-checklist-democ…/
Hi there!
Every Sunday for the last eight weeks, I’ve sent out a weekly message that includes activism ideas for people of conscience to oppose the president-elect and the incoming leadership.
The 7,100 subscribers to this list (you!) have worked your tail off signing things, boycotting, donating, making calls, and probably have been doing a fair amount of fretting on top of it all. This week’s list is deliberately lighter than usual. We all need a reprieve eventually (more on that in a moment).
This week!
1. Use your feet
In case you haven’t heard, there are rallies, protests, and marches happening all over the country on and around Inauguration Day. Joining others who care about the integrity and goodness of our country could be an incredible experience.
Go here for a list of women’s marches.
Or Google your closest city and “protest” or “rally” or “march” to find out what‘s happening near you.
Go here for a list of women’s marches.
Or Google your closest city and “protest” or “rally” or “march” to find out what‘s happening near you.
2. Change tack
When the wind changes direction, a sailboat must take a different tack to keep moving forward. Same thing for us this week. The man who has been our POETUS will soon be our POTUS. It’s time to change strategy for the journey ahead.
During the inauguration, I propose doing the following:
Leave your TV on a station NOT airing the inauguration as a ratings protest.
Spend that time reading the Indivisible Guide. Everyone says, “Oh yeah, I downloaded that!” But it’s time to actually read it. With your thinking cap on. It’ll take you 20-30 minutes.
Choose one action based on what you read in this document. Seriously.
Spend that time reading the Indivisible Guide. Everyone says, “Oh yeah, I downloaded that!” But it’s time to actually read it. With your thinking cap on. It’ll take you 20-30 minutes.
Choose one action based on what you read in this document. Seriously.
The Indivisible Guide is the single best resource I’ve seen for making a difference using proven, time-tested strategies.
3. Consider this important issue
We need you here for the next four (or--God forbid--eight) years. We need you sane and resourceful. We need you focused, not swallowed by anxiety and despair. If you don’t take care of yourself, you will burn out.
As important as it is to take action right now, it is also vitally important to do things not even remotely related to politics. That’s why this week’s list is short.
You need sleep, fresh air, heart connections, and good chocolate. Maybe your thing is walking in the woods or playing with your pets. Whatever it is, make time for it in spite of everything. One, this will nourish you from the inside. Two, it will help you remember that not everything is craptastic. Babies are still laughing. The moon is still glowing. Ben and Jerry’s still tastes amazing.
On a brief personal note, I just returned from a week at a mountain retreat center with no wifi or cell phone reception (the other reason this week’s message is short). I meditated, journaled, and even colored just for fun. When it snowed, I marvelled at how snowflakes sparkle and how the ice-covered trees glinted at dawn. In short, I felt like a human again for the first time in almost three months.
I needed that. And you do too (or you may eventually). Self care is a profoundly radical act. Be courageous this week, and do something that nourishes you. We need you in this for the long haul.
If you’re not sure what nourishes you, read this wonderful list of ideas by a faith leader I really admire.
Next week
Next week, my regular What To Do This Week checklist will be back, full of well-researched actions, good news, and the best reading I’ve found this week. In the meantime, take good care of yourself.
Housekeeping
If you’d like to subscribe for this weekly message, please visit this link.
To see archives of past What To Do checklists, click here (and scroll to the bottom)
If you’d like to contribute, click here.
To see archives of past What To Do checklists, click here (and scroll to the bottom)
If you’d like to contribute, click here.
We're stronger together!
CALL YOUR MEMBER OF CONGRESS
202-224-3121
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