Stephan: When I read this story about a Republican politician in the Marshall Islands -- The Republic of the Marshall Islands is now a sovereign state in free association with the United States -- in a British paper I was left with the feeling that there is no level to which members of the Republican Party will not sink, no limit to what they will do. My personal feeling is the Republican Party should be dissolved, and members barred from holding office. It is basically a racist christofascist criminal organization.
Two children look at the flooding in a house on the Marshall Islands in 2014. The low-lying Pacific nation is among one of the most vulnerable to sea-level rise from climate change Credit: AFP/Getty
A former politician has been sentenced to six years for running an illegal adoption racket which took advantage of impoverished women from the Marshall Islands, a low-lying nation in the Pacific Ocean, where more and more citizens are being forced to flee because of the climate crisis.
Paul Petersen, a onetime Republican county assessor who was also an adoption attorney, illegally paid women to come to the US to give up their babies to Americans. Petersen had at least 70 adoptions cases in Arizona, Utah and Arkansas over three years.
Petersen “manipulated birth mothers into consenting to adoptions they did not fully understand,” said First Assistant United States Attorney Fowlkes of the Western District of Arkansas.
Judge Timothy Brooks, who imposed the sentence from Fayetteville, Arkansas on Tuesday, said that Petersen abused his position as an attorney by misleading or instructing others to lie to courts in adoptions that wouldn’t have been […]
Stephan: As the Trump world comes to an end, every day seems to bring another new story about the utter dishonesty and sense of entitlement of Trump and his family. Everything is seen as an opportunity for yet another grift. Here is the latest.
Jared Kushner
Sweeping data released by the Small Business Administration on who benefited from pandemic relief programs raises questions about the equitability and distribution of loans intended for small businesses, an initial analysis by NBC News shows.
The analysis found that properties owned by the Trump Organization as well as the Kushner Companies, owned by the family of Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser, profited from the program.
After months of litigation, the SBA released the dataset Tuesday night on every small business that received a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) or Economic Injury Disaster (EIDL) loan.
The data reveals the most complete accounting to date of the more than $700 billion in forgivable loans Congress and the Trump administration introduced in the spring for allowable expenses, including payroll, rent, utilities and mortgage interest payments.
Stephan: I have been telling you for years that Republican governance is always inferior, and that is particularly true for the non-wealthy. This is not a partisan statement it is a statement of fact based on endless social outcome data. Here is the latest proof. The incompetent ideological Republican governors who did not take the Covid-19 pandemic seriously, who did not implement proper social actions, who politicized masks, are each responsible for the deaths of thousands in their states. If you vote Republican you are voting for inferior governance that will degrade the life of you and those you care about.
Republican Governor Kristi Noem, one of the most incompetent governors dealing with Covid-19. Credit: CBS News
For months after Washington state imposed one of the earliest and strictest COVID-19 lockdowns in March, Jim Gilliard didn’t stray far from his modular home near Waitts Lake, 45 miles north of Spokane.
The retiree was at high risk from the coronavirus, both because of his age, 70, and his medical condition. Several years ago, he had a defibrillator implanted. So he mainly ventured out during the pandemic to shop for food.
There wasn’t much else to do anyway. Gatherings in his county were limited to no more than 10 people, there was a mask mandate, movie theaters were closed and many nightclubs and concert venues were shuttered because of a state ban on all live entertainment, indoors and out.
An hour away in Idaho, life was more normal. The state left key COVID-19 regulations up to localities, many of which made masks optional. Even in places that required face coverings, enforcement was laxer than in Washington. High school sports, canceled for the fall in […]
Stephan: It is my view that the two most interesting countries in the world are New Zealand and Norway, both of which govern on the principle that fostering wellbeing is the first priority of the state. Based on social outcome data both put the United States to shame.
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern Credit: AFP
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern declared a “climate emergency” on Wednesday, telling parliament that urgent action was needed for the sake of future generations.
Ardern said the science on climate change was clear and New Zealand had to acknowledge the threat.
The centre-left leader said the challenges posed by global warming meant parliament’s declaration — an act undertaken by more than a dozen other countries — was warranted.
“In those cases where we do issue declarations, it is often where there is a threat to life, a threat to property, and civil defence emergencies,” she told parliament.
“If we do not respond to climate change, we will continue to have these emergencies on our shores.”
Lawmakers passed the largely symbolic emergency declaration by 76 votes to 43 after Ardern urged them to back the move.
“Vote in favour of this declaration, be on the right side of history, be part of the solution we must collectively deliver for the next generation,” she said.
Britain’s parliament became the first in the world to declare a climate emergency, passing […]
Stephan: This article poses a question. The answer, on the evidence, I think, is yes.
John Cornyn, Ted Cruz and Nikki Haley Credit: Salon/Getty
Throughout this post-election period, the reaction from congressional Republicans has been entirely predictable. Mostly they’ve remained mum about the demented behavior of their president during the last month as he has continued his precipitous dive into a rabbit hole filled with conspiracy theories so delusional that it calls for medical intervention. A few have stepped up to say publicly that Trump has a “right” to pursue legal remedies in court, while privately assuring reporters that the president just needs to act out a little bit before he finally can emotionally accept what’s happened to him.
His stalwart manservant, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., initially involved himself in Trump’s attempts to strong-arm state officials into throwing out legitimate votes in order to help him win. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., has evidently been poring over some alleged statistical analysis he found on a dodgy website, and has convinced himself there’s something hinky about votes that were counted after midnight. And Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, the man Trump once accused of stealing […]
