One of the most annoying aspects of living under the Trump/MAGA regime is the sheer extent of its venality and stupidity. When I first began writing these daily observations, there would come times when I would begin on “empty”–when I couldn’t readily come up with a subject, and would cast around for ideas. That’s no longer the case. Every day, when I sit down at my computer to produce another blog post, I’m confronted with an avalanche of harmful, corrupt and indecent actions of this administration. My issue these days is what to choose from the onslaught.
It turns out that Trump’s AI post after the No Kings protests was accurate–he really is shitting on the country.
Today, my chosen subject is the incredible, truly evil lengths this administration has gone to in its fight to undermine efforts to combat climate change.
The New York Times has reported on one such effort–an effort that was, unfortunately, successful.
More than 100 nations were poised last month to approve a historic deal to slash pollution from cargo ships. That’s when the United States launched a pressure campaign that officials around the world have called extraordinary, even by the standards of the Trump administration’s combativeness, according to nine diplomats on its receiving end.
I have previously compared Trump to a Mafia Don, and the report amply confirmed the resemblance. An Asian ambassador was warned that if he voted for the plan, sailors from his country wouldn’t be allowed to disembark at American ports. Caribbean diplomats were threatened with being blacklisted from entering the United States. And according to the Times, Marco Rubio, the U.S. secretary of state, “personally called officials in several countries to threaten financial penalties and other punishments if they continued to support the agreement to cut ship pollution.”
These and other threats, including tariffs, sanctions and the revocation of diplomats’ U.S. visas, effectively killed the deal, according to the nine American, European and developing-nation diplomats directly involved in the negotiations. They spoke on the condition of anonymity out of fear of retribution from the Trump administration.
Although officials of the White House, State Department and Department of Energy denied making personal threats or engaging in tactics of intimidation, they did acknowledge derailing the deal and repeated their strong opposition to efforts to address climate change. They justified their opposition by asserting that the shipping fee would have hurt the American economy. (Like Trump’s insane tariffs haven’t done enough to hurt it all by themselves…)
But foreign diplomats said they were stunned by what they described as “nasty” and “very personal” threats made by State Department officials, which were mostly aimed at leaders from poorer or small countries that are economically dependent on the United States. Some of the delegations were summoned to the U.S. Embassy in London for these discussions, these people said.
Most countries had been ready to vote for the plan, which would have imposed a fee on heavily polluting vessels to push the industry to clean up. It was negotiated over several years by the International Maritime Organization, a United Nations agency that oversees shipping policy.
But the Trump administration was able to block the vote, the nine diplomats said, after numerous countries backed away in the face of the threats from the Americans.
The Trump administration has consistently denied the reality of climate change and has opposed any and all climate policies that might negatively affect fossil fuel interests . Promoting the sale of U.S.-produced oil, gas and coal is said to be a top administration priority. The administration has refused to send a representative to the UN climate summit in Brazil, to emphasize Trump’s rejection of the reality of climate change, and Trump is–once again– withdrawing the U.S. from the 2015 Paris agreement. Trump–arguably the most intellectually-limited person ever to occupy the Oval Office–has called global warming the “greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world” and has said that the science was developed by “stupid people.”
The shipping fee had been negotiated over decades and would have been a major step toward the elimination of greenhouse gas emissions from the shipping industry. Under the deal, large cargo ships would have paid a fee if their carbon dioxide emissions exceeded a certain level.
Senator Sheldon Whitehouse had a reaction to the administration’s tactics that was very similar to mine. He reportedly compared the administration’s bullying to that of “a bunch of gangsters coming into the neighborhood and smashing windows and threatening shop owners.” He described the administration’s strategy as a “shock-and-awe thuggery approach.”
Does anyone have a horse’s head handy?
Sad, sad, sad… thank you for sharing, but what dismal way to start the day!🥺 Thanks for your diligence and consistency…Here in Northeastern Indiana we’ve been “blessed” with a visit from our Secretary of Defense… who was invited by our
“ esteemed” Senator Banks…. 😟Sometimes the best response to lots of ickiness is just a good cup of coffee and an interesting book … exactly my solution. Wishing all Thursday with peace.☕️📖
Here’s what AI describes as Project 2025’s stance on climate change:
“Project 2025 promotes a stance of climate change skepticism and proposes a comprehensive agenda to dismantle U.S. climate policy, maximize fossil fuel production, and undermine environmental regulations and research.”
The Project 2025 minions in the administration are organised, thorough and competent. Trump certainly hates climate change, but it’s those minions that are the real danger. I don’t think this would have happened during his first term. There was no one around with the competence to organise it, and carry it out. This issue shines a light on the real and terrible danger of this administration. The mob boss isn’t _only_ surrounded by idiots this time.
With the cargo ships transporting 80% of all goods internationally its like Sheila says, we can’t afford to just ignore its impact.
The International Maritime Organization needs leadership that will help reduce emissions while doing what it can to increase efficiencies.
The IMO states its role” its role is to create a level playing-field so that ship operators cannot address their financial issues by simply cutting corners and compromising on safety, security and environmental performance. This approach also encourages innovation and efficiency.
Shipping is a truly international industry, and it can only operate effectively if the regulations and standards are themselves agreed, adopted and implemented on an international basis. And IMO is the forum at which this process takes place.
So these changes need to occur atleast partially.
Unfortunately Bill Gates has come against climate changes impact. Shocking!
Well, Bill Gates has an ulterior motive for retracting his claims about climate change. And, I believe John H. has it backwards: Trump 1.0 had people who obstructed or worked around Sleepy Don because they knew he was an idiot. Not so in Trump 2.0. He’s hired the most incompetent bunch of sycophants he could find, who do nothing but toss phony compliments on Don Snorealoni.
I promised Sheila she would get an abundance of material once Trump won. The flooding of the Shit River is a daily assault. Every time he posts on Truth Social, it makes front-page news. When the Coal King Kochs and Big Oil give you hundreds of millions for your campaign, you are indebted to them.
I haven’t read the article I received this morning, but Machado, the Nobel Peace Prize winner (which is a joke as bad as Trump), is offering to sell off $1.7 trillion in Venezuelan assets to US Oligarchs if Rubio gets his way and overthrows the Maduro government and installs her. I bet Big Oil is drooling, along with other US monopolies.
My favorite are the Epstein emails released that reveal Jeffrey had his eyes and ears on Evil Trump as the walls were closing in around him. It appears Jeffrey didn’t have a high opinion of Trump and thought he might be a snitch. Hmm??
First, we had the betrayal of Marjorie Green. Now, Lauren Boebert is leaking Epstein emails. And the racist and antisemite, Nick Fuentes, just announced that “MAGA is dead.”
We predicted they’d start eating each other, but in the 11th month? Will they even make it through the end of the year?
Protection Racket Policy. Anyone else notice how Rubio just sits and gazes into space as if wondering where his soul might have gone.
Todd, MAGA eating itself to death can’t happen soon enough. What’s scary is the realization that at least one of them will be left at the end of the last meal. Probably Stephen Miller, the immortal monster from Planet X.
The Epstein files won’t matter to the MAGA voters. This morning, polls showed Trump’s “popularity” and approval rates barely moving even with all the shit splattered on the walls of humanity and decency. They’re saying that somewhere are 37% still approve of how Trump is managing government.
Yes, we ARE a neighborhood being intimidated by thugs. It’s ALWAYS been who/what/how Trump has operated. Ask Michael Cohen. When you lay down with dogs, you’re bound to wake up with fleas.
NO, the greatest con job ever done on the world is Trump getting himself elected a second time!
Yes, a horrid way to start a day!
Those 37% probably have no idea about the sickness, and idiocy, emanating from this clown and his admin. Faux and Brietbart will not present real news any import, and that’s probably who they listen to. My idiot MAGA cousin will not read anything I might send her that has to do with Trump, thinks I live in an alternate universe, has said so.
Another way to look at this is to think that Trump is trying to make Hawking’s prediction that humanity will not live beyond the end of this century come true. What a guy!
Oh, waait…Rubio might have once had a soul??????
In only ten MONTHS Trump has destroyed much of the foundation of this nation it took 250 YEARS to build. And taken a wrecking ball to destroy the actual home of this government to destroy one-third of the physical home of our government’s leaders. But do not lose sight of the fact that he could not have done any of this without the full support of the current majority of Congress with the Supreme Court backing every one of his criminal activities, including murders at sea and in other nations.
I wake each morning hoping to find Breaking News of his demise. We have adjusted and adapted and accepted other Republican presidential candidates being elected knowing we will have a chance to remove them in our future. We are now wondering IF we have a future.
“Does anyone have a horse’s head handy?”
NO, but we have a horse’s ass we need to get rid of ASAP.
I have a couple of questions.
1) Is it possible to run out of fossil fuels before we have ruined Earth?
2) How many mountain tops do we have to blow up before we admit that we really don’t need coal? It’s dirty, nasty, and dangerous to acquire.
Politicians swear an oath to serve as agents of the people, for the people, and by the people of this country. That oath of office was just another of the endless lies by the President. His agency is first for the wealth of his own and his family, and second for the other oligarchs who infest our shores.
He is not a public servant; he is a private servant.
Coal is used in steel production, China being the leading producer of coal used in steel production. There are developing methods of steel production that use hydrogen and renewable electricity sources.
Fossil fuel producers are well aware of those methods and fear the market loss that results from further alternative fuel sources that are cleaner. Why do you think they were so willing to donate millions to dump’s campaign? Short term profit on the backs of those with little hope of more safe, rewarding and healthy jobs is one of the oldest stories of the last 200 years in this country. For that matter, coal has been the scourge of any country that used it as a primary fuel source for heating and industry. What its mining has done to those that actually do the work is the stuff of nightmares. Just ask the miners in Appalachia, Wales, just about anywhere that underground mining is done.
The one in three voters who still think dump is the second coming are too deluded to engage in any kind of meaningful dialogue. Anything stated as fact is dismissed as false without evidence.
The Epstein files will be dissected and rationalized once they come to light. He told us that he could commit murder in the middle of one of the busiest street in the country and they would still support him. And they do. He is committing murder daily with extrajudicial killings (over 18 instances so far) and his supporters are cheering him on. If they support murders what makes you think they won’t find a way to rationalize his pedophilia?
As we descend into autocracy, with or without him, the United States is no longer the bulwark of democracy and the world leader that once had at least a little interest in doing some good in the world for the world. No longer and probably never again.
Blocking progress and better environment for everyone so he can keep oil money pouring into his coffers again shows that his prime m.o. is extorting DIRTY money any way he can.
In a recent documentary Bill Gates was expounding on ways to combat the fallout of humans’ bad habits and shortsightedness that cause negative impact on climate. He was investing in huge outdoor CO2 vacuums that filtered the air. Seems like a good business/investment opportunity while current regime is being negligent in its duty to protect citizens.
I go back and read old novels that I didn’t appreciate the same way when in school. I’m currently reading Don Quixote, and his character brings to mind, demented trump, with his makeshift lance and armor, on a broken-down steed chasing toward those ominous monster windmills. Progress? NIMBY.