Today we look back on last week’s posts, offer a 2-minute video on the Navajo water crisis, and a funny but scary video of Bill Maher wondering if Trump would graciously exit should he lose in November.
Tuesday’s Zoominar with Dahr Jamail & Greg Rogers Is Almost at Capacity
On Tuesday from 6:30 – 8:00 pm we will host a Zoom conversation with Dahr Jamail and Greg Rogers, both internationally respected for their insights into the looming climate catastrophe and the ways in which the gas and oil industry marches on, impervious to their impact on our future.
Dahr Jamail is an internationally known journalist and activist whose book The End of Ice was named one of the 10 best science books of 2019 by Smithsonian. An EcoLit review of The End of Ice stated that: “Dahr Jamail’s The End of Ice: Bearing Witness and Finding Meaning in the Path of Climate Disruption is at once a memoir of the author’s experiences in nature and a report of the state of the planet amid rapid climate change. This well-researched, passionate book is about the end of more than ice—Jamail takes us into the oceans and into the forests as well—and the tapestry of the author’s firsthand experiences woven among interviews with experts, from international scientists to local leaders, reveals a planet facing unprecedented challenges.” Dahr recently published an article, “Could COVID-19 Spell the End of the Fracking Industry As We Know It?” focused on NM and the implications of the collapse of oil on our economy. Read the article in advance at this link. His insights into the future of fracking and the implications for NM will be the focus of the Zoominar.
Greg Rogers is an expert in how the gas and oil companies avoid being held accountable by using questionable accounting practices. It should be an interesting conversation, and there will be an opportunity for Q & A. You must pre-register to participate. Click here to register.
The Story of Plastic: A brilliant documentary
Unfortunately, we found out about the free screening the day the link was expiring. While about 50 of you signed up to watch, I am not sure how many actually caught this documentary. Roxanne and I watched it slack-jawed. It is quite clear that the gas and oil industry see the door closing on their use of gas and oil to drive our cars and fuel our homes and businesses, but they have a business solution: Plastic. Plastics industry spokesmen (all men, all white), were captured over a period of decades, and you see how the dawning of the age of plastics was foisted on us through the media. Unthinkingly, America plunged into a plastic world that made things easier and quicker. But with typical American hubris, there was not a thought given to what to do with this stuff once its single-use purpose had been fulfilled. This is a tremendous documentary, and we are working with the producers to organize a virtual screening so that with adequate preparation, we can garner the kind of audience this film deserves. The screening will be followed by a Zoom conversation. The producers also have an action toolkit that we will share with you. Stay tuned.
Will Trump Exit If He Loses?
I watched a few videos of the protesters in California, Michigan, and at our Roundhouse this weekend. The protesters reminded me of the folks who come armed to the Roundhouse to advocate for gun rights. Yes, they have a right to be there, but maybe they don’t understand how threatening they appear.
Watching these folks with their automatic weapons, flak jackets, Confederate flags, and Nazi slogans is disturbing. One couple in Santa Fe carried a sign saying: “I won’t give up my freedom to protect your safety.” Think about that for a moment. A person actually feels their personal liberty to do whatever they want is more important than actions possibly leading to the death of others.
A picture of the protest inside the Michigan capitol showed an angry protester, mask-less, screaming, mouth agape just inches from the face of a sheriff. The crowd was packed in tight. It was beyond scary. I had to ask myself, what will these same folks do if Trump loses the election?
Before answering that question, I’ll ask another. What will Trump do? In Bill Maher’s video (bottom of post), he asks: “Can you imagine this statement coming from Trump the evening of November 3: ‘I want to congratulate my opponent on a great campaign. I have been honored to serve this country for the past four years, but the people have spoken and so I will do all I can to facilitate a smooth transition.’ ” Think about it: have you ever heard Trump utter a single gracious statement? Admit he lost? Admit he made even the tiniest error in judgment?
So, how will he react? Undoubtedly with all kinds of unhinged Tweets about how the election was stolen, how he is questioning the legitimacy of the totals, etc. He will do enough to incite those same white supremacists –“good people on both sides” — who ran over a female student in Charlottesville, those same people who march with guns at the Roundhouse every session, those same people in Sacramento and Michigan on Saturday. And Fox will echo those cries of an election stolen.
And now this is my fear: What will these people do? How will they react?
And now another question: How do we react? Bill Maher poses some of these same questions interspersed with quotes that will curl your hair.
Navajo Water Project: Donations Needed
One in three Navajo still don’t have a sink or a toilet. So the Navajo Water Project brings clean, hot and cold running water to families across New Mexico, Utah, and Arizona.
The Water Project began with a single family in Thoreau, NM — the Bensons — and has grown to serve more than 250 families across 9 towns in New Mexico alone. In 2018, they opened new project offices in Navajo Mountain, UT, and Dilkon, AZ, and they continue to expand across the Navajo Nation.
“We are United States citizens but we’re not treated like that. You can hear the frustration, the tone of my voice. We once again have been forgotten by our own government.”
Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez, April 2020
Click here to donate to the Navajo Water Project.
The Navajo Water Project in Two Minutes.
Guide to Getting and Using an Absentee Ballot
Our pal, Andy Fertal, has put together a VERY clear and straightforward “How to” for obtaining and submitting an absentee ballot. There is no need to put your health at risk by venturing out to the polls, but you need to take a few easy steps. Thanks, Andy. Well done.
A Look At Last Week’s Posts
- On Wednesday we reported on Trump’s plan to withhold relief to states that have sanctuary cities.
- On Thursday we examined how the “normal” we are all yearning to get back to is actually killing us.
- On Saturday we focused on the coronavirus spreading like wild fire in Navajo and Hopi Nations, with videos depicting the scale of the challenge and the heroic relief effort to address that effort.
Trump To Deny Future Covid-19 Relief to States with Sanctuary Cities: Are you livid yet?
Wednesday, April 29. Feeling powerless about national politics these last 4 years, we often just shrug at each new offense. But Trump’s vile behavior is killing people. We can not abide 4 more years. Today we offer motivation and options to act. Trump has decided that because some states have tried to shelter and protect their neighbors from other countries, we should be punished for that compassion. This post is more than information about yet another moral offense, it includes specific actions you can take.
We Can’t Go Back to the “Normal” That Is Killing Us
Thursday, April 30. Right now, all of us are yearning for some form of normalcy. And political leadership, especially among the GOP, are panting at the prospect of returning the workforce to their jobs so that their lost stock values and earnings can return to “normal.” Certainly, it is understandable that most people with an eye on a diminishing checking account are also eager to return to “normal.”
In this post, we examine a Resilience piece from Cylvia Hayes about why we can’t return to the “normal” that is killing us and the planet. We also examine the outrage over Michael Moore’s controversial film, “Planet of the Humans.” Click here to read the full post….. a worthwhile read.
Pandemic Continues Out of Control in Navajo-Hopi Nations
Saturday, May 2. We devoted this post to Indian Country, with an update on plans for hearings on EPA efforts to expand fracking around Chaco Canyon, followed by a series of powerful video on the Navajo-Hopi Covid relief effort.
Very Funny, Very Scary…..Bill Maher on Why We Should Worry Trump Won’t Leave Office
I’ve written about my fears that Trump will not exit office gracefully. Bill Maher lays out exactly why I feel this way….and the truth is, I have no idea what we could do about it. If you’ve watched any of these lunatics protesting the pandemic shutdowns, you realize that if Trump loses, he will declare the election a fraud and Fox will echo that view. Within hours, the same idiots who protest the government’s response to the pandemic will be in the streets, armed and angry, with Trump tweeting his encouragement. Check out this video. Maher is both funny and frightening.
In Solidarity,
Paul and Roxanne
Categories: Uncategorized
This post, together with Heather Cox Richardson’s post yesterday (https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/may-3-2020?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=cta), discourage me to no end. Wealthy crybabies (“crybaby billionaires”) who have always thought they are entitled to so much more than everyone else (how much wealth can you really use?), just cannot stand limits on their prerogatives. For many decades, they have brainwashed us with idiotic ideas of individualism that serve THEM, not us as individuals. We are idiots for having fallen for that crap. Of course, they use racial fears and resentment all the time, creating the lie of lazy minorities and such.
Re: your question, “Will Trump Exit If He Loses?”: this all-too-predictable probability has been on my mind ever since Michael Cohen’s testimony before the House Oversight Committee when he said he feared Trump would not concede the election if he lost. I’ve believed that’s exactly what he would do ever since. It bothered me that during the presidential debates, no one asked any of the candidates what he or she would do if Trump fulfilled Cohen’s prediction. That question needs to be asked of Joe Biden, and it needs to be pursued if he tries brushing it off. Dealing with a belligerent election-denier Trump will be Biden’s first challenge as the newly-elected President. I’m not sure he’s ready and able to handle it well.