I’m mentioning all of this because Tucker Carlson says the country’s white supremacy problem “is a hoax. Just like the Russia hoax. It’s a conspiracy theory used to divide the […]
Thursday, August 8th, 2019
CHRIS MILLS RODRIGO and REBECCA BEITSCH, - The Hill
Stephan: We are very close to hopelessly unprepared for climate change because of Trump. Yet, I just looked at fivethirtyeight and discovered that Gilroy, El Paso, and Dayton have had NO effect on Trump's approval rating. At the moment he has 42,1% approval rating across all reliable polls.
As I have said over and over, Trump is a symptom, not the disease. The truth that few in media will say or write is that four out of ten American voters are just fine with what has happened to America. As the New York Times reported today, "The share of Americans who say they have a favorable view of him has increased significantly since the 2016 election."
That being true I am afraid that America, at the federal level, and in many states, is going to make wholly inadequate preparations for climate change. So you better get started working at the local level.
A top climate scientist is quitting the Department of Agriculture (USDA), accusing the Trump administration of attempting to bury a report he authored about rising carbon dioxide levels affecting rice yields, Politico reported Monday.
Lewis Ziska, a 62-year-old plant physiologist who has worked at the USDA for over 20 years, told the outlet that department officials not only questioned the findings of the study but also tried to suppress press coverage of it.
“You get the sense that things have changed, that this is not a place for you to be exploring things that don’t agree with someone’s political views,” he said in an interview. “That’s so sad. I can’t even begin to tell you how sad that is.”
Ziska’s study found that rising carbon dioxide levels were causing rice to lose nutrients.
A USDA spokesperson told The Hill in a statement that objections to promoting Ziska’s rice study were based on scientific disagreement, not political considerations.
“This was a joint decision by ARS national program leaders — all career scientists — not to send out a press release on this paper,” the spokesperson said, citing three concerns with the data used in the report.
“USDA is not suppressing climate change research,” they added.
The move comes as USDA is already losing a large portion of its scientists and research staff as it
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Wednesday, August 7th, 2019
LYDIA SAAD, - The Gallup Organization
Stephan: America has a gun psychosis. Other countries have guns, other countries have mental illness, have racial problems, but other countries do not have 255 mass shootings in 216 days. And, oh by the way, multiple research studies have shown that video games do not produce violent behavior. Like everything Trump and the Republicans say, it is all lies.
But the Republican nonsense put aside, the problem of guns and violence is our existential truth and it is literally tearing the guts out of our country. So let's start with some facts. Like a physician's blood lab order, it will tell us something about the true state of our health, which is not good. I find it hard to believe but facts are facts. The majority of Americans do not want a ban on assault rifles.
Here’s a quick guide to Gallup’s key data on gun violence and gun policy.
- Americans support stricter gun laws in Gallup’s most recent updates on gun trends, but the majority don’t embrace bans on handguns and assault rifles. (emphasis added)
Six in 10 Favored Stricter Gun Laws in October 2018
U.S. Majority in 2018 Opposed Ban on Assault Rifles
- Gallup finds widespread support for background checks and other restrictions on gun purchases.
Americans Widely Support Tighter Regulations on Gun Sales
- The importance of gun control as a voting issue has increased in the past two decades.
One in Four Will Only Vote for Candidate Who Shares Their Views on Guns
- Americans supported six of seven ways to deter mass school shootings a month after the 2018 school shooting in Parkland, Florida, with Republicans and Democrats agreeing on five.
Public Opinion on Solutions to School Shootings
- At the same time, Americans thought prevention efforts (mental health screenings, school security) would be more effective than stricter gun laws.
Two Broad Approaches to Preventing School Shootings
- After the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, Gallup found nearly […]
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