Monday, September 23rd, 2019
MATTHEW ROZSA, Breaking News Reporter - Salon
Stephan: Here is another woman christofascist Trumpers hate. They see her as uppity and extreme. I see her as honest and committed to creating a government based on wellbeing, and I agree with her disgust and outrage at the Democratic leadership's feckless, spineless, incoherent response to Trump and his endless criminality.
Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Credit: ABC News
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., criticized House Democrats on Saturday for their unwillingness to impeach President Donald Trump despite new revelations that he may have pressured Ukraine to dig up dirt on one of his potential Democratic rivals in 2020, former Vice President Joe Biden.
“At this point, the bigger national scandal isn’t the president’s lawbreaking behavior – it is the Democratic Party’s refusal to impeach him for it,” Ocasio-Cortez tweeted on Saturday night.
She also retweeted 2020 presidential candidate and former Rep. Beto O’Rourke, D-Texas, who responded to a story about House Speaker Nancy Pelosi refusing to reevaluate her position on impeaching Trump in spite of the Ukraine story by saying, “What is Congress waiting for? This is crazy. Unless we take action now, we will see the end of American democracy.”
The New York congresswoman also retweeted Rep. Brendan Boyle, D-Pa, who wrote that “for the sake of our Constitution, and for the sake of our country: Donald Trump must be impeached, convicted in the Senate, removed from office, and […]
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Monday, September 23rd, 2019
Sam Brodey and Sam Stein, Congressional Reporter | Politics Editor - Daily Beast
Stephan: It is my view that unless there is a change history is going to condemn Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats for their failure to put politics aside and stand up for the integrity of American democracy. We experience day after day of criminality by Grifter Trump and his administration of zombies because the Democrats are feckless and lack the courage to do what is right and called for. But this article suggests that may finally be about to change. We will see.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi
Credit: Alastair Pike/AFP/Getty
No one on Capitol Hill has yet seen the potentially explosive complaint involving President Trump that an anonymous whistleblower is trying to show lawmakers.
But in the span of less than 48 hours, it’s become the focal point of House Democrats’ ongoing impeachment drama—with some pro-impeachment lawmakers casting it as a do-or-die moment for holding Trump accountable and, more glaringly, protecting constitutional bedrocks.
“If any of these allegations are true, these are probably the most serious allegations against the president,” said Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), an impeachment supporter. “I do think this is going to probably move more of the members to start calling for that [impeachment] hearing… My guess is, those numbers are going to continue to go up.”
Several reports have indicated that the whistleblower’s complaint focuses on a call that Trump had in July with the newly elected Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, in which Trump urged him to investigate the business dealings of Joe Biden’s son, Hunter, in the country. Trump […]
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Sunday, September 22nd, 2019
Carl Zimmer, Columnist - The New York Times
Stephan: The bees are vanishing. The butterflies are nearly gone. And now the birds are in sharp decline. I do SR every day and read something like 80 publications to prepare each edition so that I can understand the trends that are shaping our future. Increasingly and mostly the determinant trends are: stupidity, greed, incompetence, indifference, racism, and more greed. These forces shape everything in America. They are why we don't have healthcare, why our schools are failing, why we have such ridiculous wealth inequality, our prisons are centers of human rights atrocities, the Republican Party is a cult, the Democratic Party is weak and feckless, and why we are literally destroying the ecology of which we are a part, even though it means our own destruction.
I foresee the death of millions and the collapse of American society, and I guess that is what it is going to take to bring about the change necessary for humanity to survive. I feel so sorry for the Millennials, Gen Zs, and those even younger. I am afraid their lives are going to be very very hard, and I am embarrassed and apologetic. None of it was necessary. All of it could have been avoided.
The skies are emptying out.
The number of birds in the United States and Canada has fallen by 29 percent since 1970, scientists reported on Thursday. There are 2.9 billion fewer birds taking wing now than there were 50 years ago.
The analysis, published in the journal Science, is the most exhaustive and ambitious attempt yet to learn what is happening to avian populations. The results have shocked researchers and conservation organizations.
In a statement on Thursday, David Yarnold, president and chief executive of the National Audubon Society, called the findings “a full-blown crisis.”
Experts have long known that some bird species have become vulnerable to extinction. But the new study, based on a broad survey of more than 500 species, reveals steep losses even among such traditionally abundant birds as robins and sparrows.
There are likely many causes, the most important of which include habitat loss and wider use of pesticides. “Silent Spring,” Rachel Carson’s prophetic book in 1962 about […]
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Sunday, September 22nd, 2019
A. W. Geiger, Associate Digital Producer and Writer - Pew Research Center
Stephan: There is a fundamental change going on as to how people obtain news and information. Here are the facts.
Credit: Karen Bleier/AFP/Getty
The digital news industry in the United States is facing a complex future. On one hand, a steadily growing portion of Americans are getting news through the internet, many U.S. adults get news on social media, and employment at digital-native outlets has increased. On the other, digital news has not been immune to issues affecting the broader media environment, including layoffs, made-up news and public distrust.
As digital journalists gather for the Online News Association’s annual conference this week in New Orleans, here are some key findings about the way Americans get news online – as well as how digital newsrooms in the U.S. are faring, compiled from recent Pew Research Center surveys and analyses.
1The share of Americans who prefer to get their news online is growing. In 2018, 34% of U.S. adults said they preferred to get news online, whether through websites, apps or social media. That’s compared with 28% in 2016. (Television remains the most popular source of news, with 44% of Americans citing a preference for TV.)
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Sunday, September 22nd, 2019
James Ayre , - CleanTechnica
Stephan: I have been telling you this was coming, and now it is here, and will be getting worse and worse. The collapse of coastal real estate may have the ability to throw the American economy into crisis, so I advise those who live on the coasts to find out what your area will face and be prepared.
Florida Keys sea rise and flooding
Credit: Union of Concerned Scientists
How much longer does southern Florida have until real-estate values in the region collapse on the back of flagging demand? At some point the reality that the region is not long for this world will have to sink in, and when it does, demand for homes in the region will crater to a degree that not many living there now probably fully comprehend … so, when will that be?
Possibly not all that long from now — if an interesting article that Bloomberg recently published is to be believed. That article noted that events such as Hurricane Irma are slated to make it abundantly clear to all of those who aren’t senile that South Florida is in an incredibly vulnerable position with regard to sea level rise and climate change.
For example, a situation detailed in the article involves someone who sold their house in Coral Gables because of worries about sea level rise and […]
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