Before a review of last week’s posts, we offer links to 2 articles, one detailing the Trump administration’s six-month bullying of CDC scientists, the other a swing-state polling update & call to action. Then a revealing video from Pence’s chief aide and member of the COVID task force from day one.
I had intended to include a post that laid out the complex laws, compacts, river basins, and constitutional constraints within which we are charged with managing our water in NM. It has turned out to be a rather daunting task, consuming most of the weekend and a good chunk of Friday. It is still not ready for prime time, needing another day or two to wrestle it to the ground. Expect that Tuesday or Wednesday.
Last week’s blogs appear at the bottom of this post, and at the very end is a video from Olivia Troye, a blistering assault on the Trump administration from VP Pence’s former senior-most aide and a member of the COVID Task Force from the very first meeting. She is unsparing in her roasting of the President’s policies on COVID. The brief commentary that follows her statement is also well worth listening to.
If you know Trump supporters who are able to process real information, it would be good to share the link to this video. It came from a lifelong Republican who viewed her position in the White House as the highlight of her life…. Until it wasn’t.
News In Brief
- From The New York Times: “Emails Detail Efforts to Silence CDC and Question It’s Science.” The article outlines how White House advisors and Trump appointees bullied CDC scientists repeatedly over a five-month period. The article includes copies of the emails themselves, illustrating how a part-time assistant professor of health research persisted in dismissing findings from CDC scientists with decades of experience and then essentially reversed scientific recommendations to fit Trump’s political goals. The language used in the emails is absolutely stunning in its hubris.
- From The Guardian: “Election Tracker: Who Is Winning in the Swing States.” This piece succinctly presents rolling average polling numbers for 8 key swing states. While Biden is leading in seven, only in Michigan, Wisconsin, Arizona and Pennsylvania are the leads more than 3%. In short, it is still very close, despite Biden’s more substantial lead in national polls.
Election Update & Call to Action: 43 Days Til Nov. 3
While the polling data remains promising even 3%+ leads in polls should provide little comfort, as we saw what happened in in 2016, with pollsters the day before the election giving Clinton a 90% chance of winning. What’s more, if Biden wins those four swing states above and holds the states that Clinton won in 2016, he wins 280 electoral votes at a minimum, but as RBG’s passing makes abundantly clear, the Senate matters and there are several key races where your financial and time contributions could be pivotal. Here is my ask.
This morning, carve away 30-45 minutes to make calls for one of the Senate candidates below, and/or go to our election page and take a shot at implementing the GOTV strategy, getting involved in one of our State races, or use SwingLeft to find a swing state and take those 30-45 minutes to make calls or send texts.
- Arizona: Mark Kelly–D vs Martha McSally–R: Kelly + 11.3%
- Colorado: John Hickenlooper–D vs Cory Gardner–R: Hickenlooper + 9 %
- Iowa: Theresa Greenfield–D vs Joni Ernst–R: Greenfield +0.3%
- Maine: Sara Gideon–D vs Susan Collins–R: Gideon +4.5%
- North Carolina: Cal Cunningham–D vs Thom Tillis–R: Cunningham+ 4.0%
- Michigan: Senator Peters–D vs. John James–R: Peters + 4.0%
- Georgia: Jon Ossoff–D vs David Perdue–R: Perdue + 4
- Montana: Steve Bullock–D vs Steve Daines–R: Daines + 1%
Today, please sit down and identify 2-3 races where you will make contributions. We can have no regrets when we wake up on November 4. Please, if you haven’t made calls or sent texts before, jump outside your comfort zone. When done, you will feel flush with satisfaction and eager to do more.
A Look Back at Another Momentous Week
As we inch toward November 3, every day is of great import. Last week, we staged our Zoom on the NM Water Crisis and followed it up with a post on how you can take action and encourage Democratic leadership to protect our people and planet. Of all the pieces published last week, I’d say that the one describing how NM is failing to protect us from produced water spills and obscene levels of methane, is most important, as it points to the root of the problem: failure of the Democrats to invest the necessary resources to adequately staff agencies responsible for water management, oil spills and methane releases. The Friday, Sept 18 post lays this out with both a suggestion as to how to use revenue enhancement strategies to restore these agencies to pre-Martinez levels, while also offering you speaking points and contact info so you can raise your voice.
State Faces Extreme Statewide Water Depletion
with Hands Tied
Monday, September 14. We previewed our NM Water Crisis Zoom with a deep dive into the 2004 State Water Plan and its 2006 update to incorporate the potential impact on NM water supplies from climate change. The good news here is that our water experts knew what what coming, understood how ill equipped we were to address it, and had a clear vision for how to address the challenge. The bad news is that the plan has been utterly ignored for the past 15 years.
In case you missed it, the post also included links to the posts for the prior week, including a shift in our election strategy, a view to 2021 and what may be a time of momentous change (a very uplifting post if you missed it), and a post on the opportunity for transformation in NM’s energy future.
Click here to read the full post.
God, Guns, Bats, and Patriotism: A Guest Blog from Portland & Horrific Quotes Suggesting What Is Coming
Tuesday, September 15. We offered a glimpse of what lies ahead, beginning with a News In Brief from Heather Cox Richardson detailing how Trump is fomenting misinformation & violence. We then handed the reins to a member of Portland Veterans for Peace and a Vietnam vet with his view on the threat of right-wing militia & what very likely lies ahead. This is a bracing report, but we need to have our eyes open and be aware of the depth of the threats to what little remains of our democracy.
Click here to read the full post.
State Agencies Utterly Fail to Protect Our Land, Water, Air & YOU! A Timely Update to the Water Zoom with Actions for You
Friday, Sept 18. This post was overlooked by many readers, but it warrants review by all of you. We posted links to our recording of Tuesday’s shocking Zoom “NM Water Crisis,” recounted how the state is failing to safeguard our public lands and our public health from methane releases and produced water spills. The post also offered actions you can take to press the MLG administration to act responsibly with speaking points and contact information. Also, we announced our Dec. 1 Zoom with Speaker Brian Egolf & Senator Peter Wirth.
Click here to read the full post.
A Very Brief Tribute to RBG &
What You Can Do NOW To Honor Her Legacy
Saturday, September 20. We offered a touching tribute to RBG from Heather Cox Richardson who did an excellent job revisiting the life and contributions of RBG. We also included links to a Vox report on GOP options & challenges in rushing a nomination through before the election or during the lameduck (hopefully) period between Nov. 4 – January 20. Lastly, we included a link to a 2018 Retake post on how Dems can fix the Supreme Court in 2021. The later post suggests that there is historic precedent for adding to the number of justices and that the one thing the Democrats will have to do if they retake the Senate, is to eliminate the filibuster. While we didn’t discuss it, I fervently hope this last obscene act by the GOP will bury any notion of reaching across the aisle in 2021. We tried that in 2009 and I am still waiting for any GOP gesture of collegiality. They play hardball. We need to do so beginning now.
But mostly, we offered our heartfelt tribute to a true justice champion.
Click here to read the full post.
We offer a scathing 2-minute video commentary on Donald Trump from Olivia Troye, who is a lifelong Republican who had been in the Task Force room from day one of COVID-19. Despite viewing her role in the White House as the highlight of her career, she grew increasingly disgusted with Trump’s complete lack of concern about the lives and deaths of Americans. There is so much to hear in this courageous commentary. The moderator who follows Troye also offers very perceptive remarks about the implications of Trump’s comments about COVID relieving him from having to shake hands with his constituents. Very worth sharing with Trump supporters who Trump finds disgusting when he is being honest behind closed doors.
In solidarity and hope,
Paul & Roxanne
Categories: Climate Change, Agriculture, Land Use & Wildlife
Hey, don’t forget Kansas! Second-highest “voter power” of all U.S. Senate races – our time and money can do more there than most other races. https://election.princeton.edu/senate-race-voter-powers-by-state/
(This is per the Princeton Election Consortium/Sam Wang’s “moneyball” election evaluation system.)
Problem with his theory is that is winds up with your putting your $$ and time into Montana and Kansas that won’t elicit any electoral votes….it is a tough choice.