TWIT: Merrick the Timid

credit: M. Luckovich

Now that his taxes for the last six years are public record, pundits have been diving into the details, and they are finding a lot of potential illegal tax evasion by Herr Trumpillini.  My goodness, what is it going to take to get an indictment of this white-collar criminal, who happens to be a former el presidente?  Perhaps the most blatant evasion is his repeated use of Schedule C to claim business losses for businesses that did not make a dollar of income.  He suffered a defeat in a 1984 New York administrative court battle for exactly this practice of offsetting taxables income with Schedule C losses from companies he owns (Trump Org is composed of over 500 taxable entities).  The judge in that case wrote a scathing opinion disallowing the deductions.  Trump filed 65 Schedule Cs of which 26 had zero revenue in the returns made public.  Quite a hobby!  David Cay Johnston explains Trumpillini's tax scheming in his book "Big Cheat".

Congresse's resident tax experts, the Joint Committee on Taxation have raised five red flags that merit further inquiry.  In just one example from 2016, Trump registered $30 million in earnings, but claimed $60 million in losses.  He paid just $750 in taxes that year; in 2020 he paid none.  Some of those losses may be personal expenses, which are not deductible.  In several instances the income reported exactly matched the losses reported.  For example the filing for DT Endeavor LLC showed income of $680,886.00 and the exact same amount in losses.  He deducted expenses of $342,182 for a rental property that did not generate a single dollar of income, raising the question of whether the property was for personal use.  He deducted what may be gifts to his children which he reported as loans to avoid the stiff gift tax rate of 40%.

Then there is the $21 million deduction for a land conservation easement on his New York Seven Springs estate in 2015 that is being litigated by New York's Attorney General.  She alleges that the property received inflated asset valuations to increase the size of the conservation deduction.  And he also took a $1.3 million credit for taxes paid to foreign countries in 2018 without providing a receipt.

If Merritt Garland gives this grifter/tax chet a pass he will destroy what is left of the DoJ's claim to fair and impartial law enforcement in this country.  His apparent unwillingness to prosecute a person who committed the greatest crime in the United States of this century--one that corrupted the very fundamental political process on which our Republic rests--is incomprehensible and unacceptable.  Passing legislation to plug the obvious lacuna in our federal election process is simply an inadequate response.  The man "who lit the fire" must answer for his crimes in federal court.

credit: B. Plante
BJ Idonwanna sez:  Repugnant? You bet'cha.

COTW: Europe Finds Alternative Gas

At the beginning of the war on Ukraine, the EU was dependent on Russian natural gas supplies.  Putin knew this, so began using natural gas as weapon against the west for its support of Ukraine's fight against aggression.  Northern European nations began searching for alternative supplies last summer to replace Russian cutbacks.  This chart of the benchmark Dutch natural gas futures, shows how they are performing:

From a spike in August,  futures are now trading at €82/MWh, down 77%.  The plunge in price is caused by two factors, a reduction in demand (conservation) and new sources of gas supply.  LNG imports from the US have surged. Norway has increased its production by 8% over last year to record levels.  The NATO nation supplies the most natural gas to Europe.  New infrastructure has also been constructed.  In an amazing engineering feat, Germany built an LGN terminal and 26 miles of pipeline in 5 months.  Storage facilities are close to capacity:  Germany, France, Belgium, and Denmark are all over 80% full.  Austria is at 90%.  Russia is loosing a lot of money in the face of European resolve.  It cannot sell its supply to other customers because the distribution network is fixed, and there are no LGN export facilities linked to the production sites.  

This is good news for Ukraine.  Europe is not feeling pressured to abandon its support because of a manufactured energy crisis.  Ukraine continues to win on the battlefields. Its forces on are on the verge of retaking another major Donbas town, Kreminna.  Observers say if the town is recaptured, the entire Russian front line could collapse since it offers a direct path to the industrial cities of Sievierodonetsk and Lysychansk.  Ukraine's courageous soldiers continue to hold on to Bakhmut despite what both sides describe as a "meat-grinder" in the bitter cold.  President Zelinsky should be careful not to overplay his hand, however. Retaking the Crimea by force will be a Herculean task.  Putin indicated that he was ready to talk now that his army has suffered devastating losses in men and material.  Zelensky will do well to call his bluff.

 

Happy Holidaze from PNG!

Oswald and the CIA

US Person told you how Kennedy was actually killed when he started this blog in 2006.  He largely ignored the recent release of more government records concerning the assassination sixty years after the fact.  He considered the documents released to be inconsequential, or concerning information already in the public domain.  That assumption has proven accurate, but Intercept.com draws his attention to some interesting, previously unrevealed facts.

The relationship Oswald surely had with the CIA is one of the enduring mysteries of modern American history.  One of the intersections between Lee Harvey and the "company" occurred during his service at Atsugi Naval Air Station, Japan in 1957.  Stationed there as a young radar operator,  Oswald had access to top secret material.  The station was a starting point for secret U-2 spy plane missions over the Soviet Union.  It was also a location for the CIA's experimentation with LSD as an interrogation tool, and for doping agents to be sent overseas on dangerous missions.  Author David Talbot wrote in his Devil's Chessboard biography of spymaster Allen Dulles, that some investigators of Oswald's bizarre life think he was subject to this experimentation as a young Marine at Atsugi.

One of the documents released last week is a memo refuting the allegation that Oswald was recruited by the CIA at Atsugi. This claim was made by a former GS-4 finance clerk who served the agency in Tokyo in 1960-64.  James Walcott Jr. told the House Select Committee on Assassinations in 1978 that the CIA hired Oswald.  Recall that this period of time was the height of the Cold War, yet nine days after his discharge from the Marines the broke Oswald sailed to England and hitched a ride on a military aircraft to Finland. He stayed two nights in expensive Helsinki hotels before boarding an overnight train to Moscow.  There Oswald requested asylum, and eventually renounced his American citizenship,  He was given a job in a radio factory and met his wife.  This sojourn is astonishing, but not as astonishing as his return to the US two and a half years later.  Could a recently discharge enlisted Marine with top secret knowledge of spy flights make such a trip without the cognizance or even the cooperation of the CIA?  US Person thinks that scenario very implausible, if not impossible.  It makes more sense that, indeed, Oswald was working for the agency.

Oswald may even have had a control by the name of George de Mohrenschildt, a sophisticated businessman, who became Oswald's unlikely friend in the months before the assassination.  That Mohrenschildt was a CIA asset is known, but two documents in the release show the CIA conducted searches of de Mohrenschildt as he traveled to the East Coast in the Spring of 1963. CIA's Domestic Operations Division covert arm was then run by E. Howard Hunt, who later went on to be head of Nixon's "plumbers" unit responsible for the Watergate break-in.  Later in his life, Hunt allegedly told his sons he knew of a high-level conspirarcy involved in  the Dallas ambush.  Hunt is  not a credible witness.  Nevertheless, a majority of Americans believe that Kennedy was the victim of a conspirarcy that went far beyond Lee Harvey Oswald.  He was at work in the Book Depository Building  on February 22nd, but he did not fire the killing shot.  Available forensic evidence suggests that shot came from the grassy knoll in Dealey Plaza.  A third of Americans  think that the CIA or its personnel were involved. Even Oswald himself told Dallas police that he was only a "patsy" before being killed by mobster-affiliated Jack Ruby in the basement of police headquarters.  Dead men tell no tales, and the secrets are still being kept. 

COTW: Flat-lined

 See this chart from WolfStreet.com?

The flat green line along the X axis is 50% of the rest of us--meaning that our wealth is so small in comparison to the top 1% that it does not register on this chart of the growth in wealth per household! The bottom 50% (63.9 million households) have so little wealth in stocks or mutual funds that the Feds "wealth effect" has no effect.  This 'effect' is due to asset price inflation which it has encouraged with cheap money also known as QE.  QE ended in 2021 when it started QT or raising interest rates in an effort to curb inflation.  The wealthy 0.1% (127,000 households) have a lot of money invested in the markets--on average $53.9 million per household in this analysis--which are pumped-up by QE.   QT has the opposite effect, showing a slight drop in their accumulated wealth (red line above), but the disparities between rich and poor in the US have never been greater.  Average net worth for the bottom--$70,800; average net worth for the top--$132.4 million.  Buddy, can you spare a dime? 

UN Biodiversity Conference Reaches Agreement

A historic agreement to protect what remains of the planet's biodiversity was reached in Montreal, Canada on Monday after extended negotiations among 190 participating nations.  The COP-15 conference was chaired by China.  It remains for individual nations to implement the agreement.  It calls for 30% of land and water important for protecting biodiversity to be protected by 2030.  Currently only 17% of terrestrial and 10% of marine habitats are protected. While conservationists are generally positive about the meeting's outcome, some fear it may not be enough and too late.  Current extinction rates exceed by a thousand times greater than expected. The agreement delays prevention of species extinction and preserving genetic diversity within populations until 2050. [photo credit: AP]

Still the agreement breaks new ground in the era of the Sixth Great Extinction, generally considered by scientists to be the product of man's development and exploitation of natural resources.  It provides for raising $200 billion by 2030, and another possible $500 billion by eliminating subsidies for Nature' protection.  $20 billion annually will go to poor countries, double what they receive now.  That figure will increase to $30 billion by 2030.  Indigenous peoples' rights were explicit recognized for the first time with provisions for insuring they have a voice in decision making.

TWIT: Justice NOT Denied

It took 18 months but the January 6th Committee did its job and defended the Constitution.  Today the Committee voted to refer four federal crimes committed by the insurrectionist in chief, Donald J. Trump to the Department of Justice.  It also recommended that four of his leading co-conspirators face prosecution for plotting the overthrow of the United States government including, Mark Meadows, Rudy Giuliani, and John Eastman. The Committee summed up its extensive findings with this statement,“Each of these actions by Donald Trump was taken in support of a multi-part conspiracy to overturn the lawful results of the 2020 Presidential election.” The four criminal actions referred are: inciting or abetting an insurrection,18 USC§1512(c); conspiracy to make false statements to the United States, 18 USC§§ 1001, 371; conspiracy to defraud the United States, 18 USC § 371; and obstructing an official proceeding 18 USC § 1512(c).  The charge of seditious conspiracy was not referred to DOJ since the members could not reach an agreement on it.  Of course if more evidence is developed by the Special Prosecutor from high- level insiders, evidence of the requisite specific intent may be found.  What is clear at this point is that Individual One intended to contest a loss of the election months before it occurred. 

It should be noted that while these recommendation are not binding on the Justice Department, the referrals put considerable pressure on the Department to bring indictments. The Committee's staff was stacked with former federal prosecutors, so their evaluation of the evidence against the Conspirator in Chief should be persuasive, if not authoritative. Failure to indict the former president would undermine what credibility the Department has for impartiality,  

This is the first time in American history that a former president has been referred by Congress for prosecution.  In addition to recommending he be indicted, the Committee referred four Congressmen who refused to comply with its subpoenas to the House Ethics Committee. They are: Scott Perry (R-PA) Jim Jordan (R-OH) Andy Biggs (R-AZ) and Kevin McCarthy (R-CA).  Given that control of the House switches to Repugnants in January, it is unlikely they will face any consequences for their contempt.

One positive development in the aftermath of this unprecedented attempt to corruptly seize power is the anticipated passage of legislation reforming the 135 year-old Electoral Count Act, which the conspirators sought to manipulate, and thereby install their leader into the Oval Office.  Absent a Constitutional amendment eliminating the antiquated and undemocratic Electoral College, reform of these rules is absolutely necessary to prevent another coup attempt by a desperate sociopath in the future.

credit: M Luckovich, Atlanta Journal-Constitution
MAGAMan sez:  All I want for Christmas is bail!

Los Angles' Celebrity Mountain Lion Euthanized

P-22 who became famous by appearing on security cams in the Hollywood Hills was euthanized on Saturday morning after sustaining injuries from is believed to be from a vehicle collision. Subsequent exams revealed a fractured skull and diseases of the kidney and liver.  A possible sign of declining health was his suspected killing of a Chihuahua mix being walked in the Hills.  He normally hunted coyotes and deer.  P-22 lived in Griffith Park until the age of 12, a prolonged life span for a wild male puma. The park spans only 8 square miles. He Territories of male cats normally range up to 150 square miles in area. His life inspired activists to campaign for wild space connectivity that resulted in the construction of a wildlife crossing over US Hwy 101 to the Santa Monica Mountains.  Construction began this year; when finished in early 2025, the crossing should be named in his honor.

P for puma 22 sometimes got into trouble.  He mauled a kola in the zoo; got sick after consuming a carcass filled with rodenticide; and in 2015 got stuck under a house. He never posed a danger to humans despite living in close proximity. P-22 was captured on December 12th in a Los Feliz backyard and given a CT scan.  Officials said he would either face confinement in a sanctuary or euthanasia because his prognosis was poor.  A director of the National Wildlife Federation was correct in saying, “We are part of nature and he reminded us of that.” Because of P-22's influence, many wild creatures will not have to brave death crossing the busy freeways of the metropolis.

TWIT: Return of the Clown

Are you as sick of Herr Don Trumpillini, aka superhero MAGAMan, as US Person is?  This flim-flam guy knows no bounds of propriety: he would sell you the Brooklyn Bridge after renaming in Trump Span.  One thing you can bet on--his con never stops.  He may be facing a criminal referral from Congress and indictment for the Mar-a-Lago Papers rip-off, but he is always selling the only thing he has, the Trump brand. That product may soon be in tatters if it is not already.

This week it was revealed that Trump Org, a conglomeration of 500 companies owned by him was secretly held in contempt of court for disobeying grand jury subpoenas and court orders.  New York judge Juan Manuel Merchan ruled the Org was willfully disobeying four subpoenas and three court orders, leaving prosecutor ill-prepared to question witnesses in the tax fraud case recently concluded with a jury verdict of guilty on 17 counts.  Trump's company was fined $4000, the maximum allowed by law.  The contempt finding was issued on December 8th, but kept under seal until the conclusion of the tax fraud prosecution.

Trump's $99 NFT

Wisdom, Alone Again

The oldest known Laysan albatross (Phoebastria immutabilis) in the world, who lives on Midway Island, is alone again having outlived her partner.  Wisdom has outlived several partners and some biologists at an estimated age of 71.  She was banded on Midway in 1956 and was then conservatively estimated to be five years old.  Her long term partner, Akeakamai did not return to breed in 2021.  Wisdom was spotted on Midway this year, but Akeakamai was still missing. Typically males return to their island home before females. She has contributed prolifically to the population of albatrosses in the Mid-Pacific fledging an estimated thirty chicks. Native Hawaiians believe Laysan albatrosses are the embodiment of their diety, Lono.

Albatrosses are monogamous for the most part, but will mate with another if their partner disappears.  Biologists will keep a sharp lookout for band #Z333, which has not been seen recently.  Perhaps she is looking for another loyal partner like Akeakamai.  Mating begins in November and is an elaborate ritual of dancing and preening. Other albatrosses on Midway Atoll have already laid their single eggs this season.  Wisdom is special not only for her longevity and fertility, but for the contribution she has made to understanding her species and guiding conservation efforts.  Good luck, Wisdom and thank you. [photo courtesy: US Fish & Wildlife]

Bring Jaguars Back Home

El Jefe

Conservationists want to re-introduce the jaguar (Panthera orca), the America's only surviving big cat to its historic southwestern habitat.  Individual males have been photographed roaming the borderlands in Arizona and New Mexico, but there is no resident population above the border with Mexico.  A small resident population survives in Sonora, hundreds of miles to the south.  The first jaguar photographed north of the border was in the Dos Cabezas mountains in 2016.  The Center for Biological Diversity petitioned the US Fish & Wildlife Service to expand critical habitat for the cat in remote areas and begin an experimental reintroduction into New Mexico's Gila National Forest along the Arizona state line.  Historically, jaguars ranged throughout the southern United States before being nearly totally exterminated by man.  Re-introduction would also benefit the dwindling Mexican population by allowing genetic interchange.

The Center was involved in the successful re-introduction of grey wolves, including the distinct and rare sub-species the Mexican wolf.  It was listed as endangered in the 1970's.  A captive breeding program was begun by Mexico and the United States to recover the species when their number was only seven individuals.  The latest survey released in March shows this wolf has increased to 196 in Arizona and New Mexico, marking the sixth straight year of increase.  The campaign to re-introduce the jaguar has never had the momentum of the wolf re-introduction program.  Grey wolves now colonize the upper Midwest and six states in the Rocky Mountains and Pacific Northwest.  Conservationists see an opportunity for the jaguar with suitable habitat on public land and a migration corridor, the San Rafael valley, from Mexico north across the boarder.

But now, thanks to an incredible act of perverse vengence by the outgoing Repugnant governor of Arizona that route may be closing if action is not taken to reverse an irresponsible petty politician.  Workers have steadily double-stacked steel shipping containers on the boarder at the direction of former Governor Doug Ducey as makeshift barrier to illegal immigrants.  The work was slowed by protests from the federal government and environmentalists, but Ducey pressed ahead with his stupidity, even suing the federal government so he could continue his folly over objections that the construction was illegal and could damage natural water systems and endangered wildlife like the jaguar.  The makeshift "wall" was begun in Yuma, a popular crossing point, but now it extends into the San Rafael Valley were there are few illegal crossings. Apparently Ducey is attempting to plug holes in the deranged leaders much touted wall against immigration.  As of last week cranes have transported 900 rusting and variously hued containers into the valley, stacking them 17 feet high.  Still there are gaps on steep terrain or in marshy areas large enough for a determined migrant to easily pass through.

The incoming Democratic governor, Katie Hobbs told media she does not know how much it will cost to remove the ersatz barrier.  Much of the ecological damage has already been done.  Remote Guadalupe Canyon was blasted beyond recognition, and steel bollards erected that block wildlife corridors used by elf owls, pronghorns, bears, ocelots and jaguars.

COTW: Trump's Insanity Getting Old

 LOOK at this chart from the WaPo:

Donald Trumpillini is now battling singer Taylor Swift for public attention, if Google search volume is any indication.  Which proves a point: a crazy act wears out fast with the masses.  His niece warned in an interview that if the Repugnants desert him--some of whom are talking up candidate alternatives--he will "burn everything down if he feels like he is going down". Mary added that her uncle is, "the most dangerous person to the Republican Party right now".  US Person for one would much rather watch a World Cup match than Der Leader's pompous blather.  He is facing multiple litigations, including criminal investigations, that pose an existential threat to his current status as twice impeached, three time candidate for President.

 

TWIT: Goring the Ox

credit: P. Bagley, Salt Lake Tribune
BC Idonwanna sez: Need bigger Sharpie®!

Trumpillini's companies, Trump Corp. and Trump Payroll Corp were found guilty of 17 counts of tax fraud by a Manhattan jury.  The verdict was delivered in relatively short time indicating that the evidence the companies engaged in tax evasion was clear.  The verdicts should give prosecutors seeking to indict the boss for crimes confidence that a jury is willing to convict the former President should the evidence be sufficient beyond a doubt.  The Manhattan DA insisted that Trumpillini knew about the long-running scheme in which executives were paid off-the-book perks to reduce their salaries and achieve lower corporate taxes.

The month long trial featured testimony from seven witnesses including Alan Weissleburg, former CFO and Jeffery McConney, former Controller. Both testified that they committed the crimes to enrich themselves, minimizing their motive to benefit the company.  Jurors did not accept that defense argument, zeroing in on the falsification of business records by company officials.  The Trump Org faces more criminal prosecution, as DA Alvin Bragg told the media that a prosecution looking at the integrity of the Trump Organization financial records is on-going.

Meanwhile™the Mar-a-Lago Papers case continues with a stunning development.  After months of Trump's attorneys declaring that all classified documents have been turned over to the government, two more classified documents were found in a West Palm Beach storage facility. The search had been ordered by the chief federal district judge overseeing the grand jury investigating the matter. Trump lawyers hired an independent company to conduct a search which included Trump Tower in New York City and his Bedminster Golf Club in New Jersey. The judge ruled against DOJs request to hold Trump in contempt of court for disobeying the subpoena requiring surrender of all government documents in his possession. Incredibly, the deranged narcissist had the temerity to demand on his digital soap box that all seized documents be returned to him immediately, and then demanded that the Constitution be terminated!

credit: M. Wuerker, Politico
Wackydoodle axes:  Do you do windows?

COTW: Budget Buster

The House of Representatives approved a record national defense bill (NDAA) of $858 billion, $45 billion more than President Biden asked.  The vote was bipartisan and lopsided, 350 -80.  A look at this chart tells the story:

The US spends more on its military by far than any other country, enemy or friend. Given the support for Ukraine and the increasing tension with China over Taiwan, there is no political will to reduce military spending. Here is a comparison to our potential adversary, China:

Given the astoundingly poor performance of Putin's military machine, China has to be considered the USA's main potential adversary. Still, military spending in this country is out of bounds.  The 2023 NDAA includes funding for the ridiculously complex and expensive F-35 jet fighter, deactivation of the problem-plagued littoral combat ships and $800 million in security aid to Ukraine.  The USA cannot afford to give its admittedly vital railroad workers seven days paid sick leave, but can waste billions on unnecessary and defective weapons systems.

Manchin's Dirty Deal Is Dead (Again)

Like a zombie rising from the dead, Joe Manchin's dirty deal to weaken environmental protection laws and speed up approval of energy projects like the trans-Appalachian Mountain Valley gas pipeline in his state in return for voting for Joe Biden's "inflation reduction act" was reintroduced to the Senate as an amendment to the must-pass defense appropriations bill. (NDAA) The surprise here is that environmental activists rose up and compelled congressional Democrats to reject the bill once again. It is a sign that Manchin's leverage over a fifty-fifty Senate is at an end with the win in Georgia by Senator Warnock. His defeat came despite the support of congressional leaders like Nancy Pelosi and the President. 

Seven hundred and fifty organizations sent a letter to House Speaker Pelosi calling the provision a "cruel and direct attack" on the environment, warning that supporters of the dirty deal would be held accountable. Activists said that his bill is not dead yet and that the industry will try again before the end of this Congress. Manchin receives more campaign contributions from the fossil fuel industry than any other senator, so his latest effort is consistent with his sources of funding. One environmental organizer said,“Nobody wants Manchin’s filthy lump of coal, no matter how many ways he tries to polish it,” [photo credit: Guardian]

Bats Are Vocal Virtuosos

You have to hand it to bats.  They are a highly successful species packed full of special abilities.  They have fortified immune systems, and they are the only flying mammal on Earth.  Of course their echolocation abilities are phenomenal.  Scientist have discovered that bats have the largest vocal range of any mammal.  One species can emit sounds from 1 kilohertz to 120 kilohertz--a seven octave range--while humans mostly have three.  A study from Denmark and published in PLOS Biology has determined how bats produce such a wide range of sound using high-speed videography.

Myotis daubentonii, named after French naturalist Louis Jean-Marie Daubenton, has two sets of vocal structures.  One produces the high pitch 'shrill' used to locate prey and navigation.  The other produces low pitched 'growls' used to express discomfort and antagonistic social calls.  The research team used excised larynxes to study how air moves through them, but also live bats which they gently prodded with paintbrushes to induce the mammal to emit low pitched sounds.  

The two registers are distinct physically and also adapted to the distinct purposes,  High-frequency sound waves travel much faster for short distances, which is suited for locating pursued prey or avoiding collision with obstacles.  Low-frequency waves travel farther, which allows communication with distant bats.  Daubenton bats have vocal folds and membranes.  Vocal membranes are extremely thin and low-mass allowing them to vibrate rapidly.  Vocal folds are much heavier.  These so-called "false vocal cords" were found to produce the growls used for social communication.  Not all bat species have this arrangement, using instead clicks or hisses.

Rolls-Royce Tests Hydrogen Jet Engine

Rolls-Royce, the British aerospace and car company, successfully tested a hydrogen fueled jet engine.This development is good news for the Earth because air transport is a significant contributor to global warming.  Hydrogen combustion produces water as its primary waste product. Moreover, the hydrogen used to power the converted AE-2100-A regional aircraft engine was made using tidal and wind power. The test run took place at Boscombe Down, Wiltshire, the company said on Monday. Green hydrogen was supplied by European Energy Center facility in the Orkney Islands.

Rolls said it was planning a second set of static tests, and plans to fit a second version of the engine tested on the back of a superjumbo A-380 for aerial testing. The aircraft maker warned that commercial airliners will rely on conventional engines until 2050 due to the significant design changes in airframes and infrastructure needed. Testing was conducted a low speed, but it was a proof of concept welcomed by Rolls' partner, Easy Jet. That company's CEO said,"We've come to the conclusion that hydrogen is a very exciting proposition for us."

The AE-2100 is generally used in turbo-prop aircraft that run at slower speeds than a jet engine. The energy density required to power a jet aircraft the size of 747 would take one million liters of hydrogen compared to 250,000 liters of jet fuel.  Liquid hydrogen fuel must be stored at high pressure and -253℃, necessitating complete re-design of fuel tanks and airframe. Nevertheless, a few companies are pressing ahead with hydrogen as an alternative to fossil fuel. Airbus is working with engine manufacturer CFM International to test hydrogen propulsion. Engineers have come to the tentative conclusion that large electric airliners are impracticable due to the weight of current batteries. Hydrogen provides much more power per kilogram than batteries.

TWIT: End of the Line?

credit: M. Lukovich, Atlanta Journal Constitution

The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals told MAGA judge Aileen Cannon to take a hike by overturning her decision to appoint a special master in the Mar-a-Lago Papers case.  Her decision gave the Trump camp an opportunity to beat the clock by litigating over each document among some 11,000 lawfully seized by the FBI during its search of his compound.   The three judge panel pointedly wrote that it could not create case law that would potentially allow any defendant to interfere and delay a criminal investigation.  In other words, absent callous disregard of his constitutional rights, no special treatment for the former guy. In a rant about Hillary Clinton's e-mails on his media platform, he confessed he stole the documents from the White House.  If he holds true to form he could appeal the Court of Appeals ruling to the Supreme Court and ask MAGA justice Clarence Thomas to impose a stay pending a decision.  If he does, the Court is likely to rule against him and quickly.

Trumpillini's tax records were finally handed over to the House Ways and Means Committee after three years of litigation.  It is not likely his returns will be made public, but most of the information has already reached the public domain by other means.  That information paints a picture of an artful dodger willing to circumvent the rules to avoid paying taxes.

In the most significant development this week, a federal trial jury has established the factual existence of a seditious conspiracy to overthrow the legitimate government of the United States by blocking the Electoral College vote count in Congress.  Just typing that sentence leaves US Person breathless.  A DC jury found the leader of the Oathkeepers militia group, Elmer Stewart Rhodes. guilty after three days of deliberation on Tuesday. All five defendants were found guilty of obstructing Congress on eleven of 28 counts.  Now that a historic factual predicate has been established, it remains for Jack Smith to connect the dots to the focus of that conspiracy, Individual One. Both sides in the case acknowledged that Rhodes was in contact with Stone, Alexander and Flynn during the post-election period. If Smith is worth his salt as a prosecutor, it should be a fairly easy proposition to prove the former president conspired with Rhodes and others to overturn the results of the election beyond a reasonable doubt. His boss, Attorney General Merrick Garland, has repeatedly stated in public that conspirators will be prosecuted without regard to their former status. Most recently he told the media,“The Justice Department is committed to holding accountable those criminally responsible for the assault on our democracy on January 6, 2021.”  Trump has threatened to issue pardons to January 6th defendants if elected in 2024.

credit: R. McKee

France Restarts Coal Plants

France is the icon of nuclear power electrical generation.  The last coal fired generation plant in Saint Avold halted coal burning earlier this year, but due to energy shortages imposed by Putin's War on Ukraine the plant fired its furnaces to keep heat and electricity on this winter.  France joins Czech Republic resorting to coal burning for heat and energy. Nearly half of France's nuclear power facilities are off-line for maintenance and repair.  The French government was forced to issue to issue a decree allowing Saint Avold and another plant in western France to continue to burn coal. President Macron had stated he would close all coal burning plants by the end of the year.

Coal burning is not only disastrous for reducing global warming, but is also a human health hazard that releases particulates, mercury, and nitrogen oxides.  Czechoslovakia had catastrophic air pollution at the end of the communist era.  The decline of manufacturing and mining, along with improved pollution standards imposed by the EU have greatly improved air quality.  Czech Republic has large coal deposits that make coal cheaper than natural gas. So many citizens opt for burning coal in their homes.  A 2021 study ranked the regional capital of Ostrava as one of the ten most polluted cities in Europe.  Some 50,000 old furnaces that emit toxic fumes, must be replaced in the Ostrava region, and even more in neighboring  Poland.  The Czech government has reversed plans to cease mining coal in the region due to enormous demand. Fifty percent of Czech electricity is produced by coal generation plants.

Coal burning power plants only account for about 3% of France's electricity mix.  Sixty percent comes from nuclear facilities. Government declares the resort to coal is only temporary, and has called upon the France people to reduce their energy consumption by ten percent to avoid rationing and rolling blackouts.

  

CITIES Convention Establishes New Protections

The nineteenth convention of the parties to the CITIES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species) ended in Panama after two weeks of negotiations.  Member states agreed to establish  new trade restrictions on 600 species of animals and plants, including sharks that are experiencing a drastic decline in their numbers because of the trade in shark fins.  The decision to protect hammerhead and requiem sharks and guitarfish is significant since these species account for about 95% of the global fin trade.  Under CITIES Appendix II export permits are requried for export. Glass frogs, a unique family (Centrolenidae) of frogs with semi-transparent skin, are subjected to the international pet trade.

Freshwater turtles are also traded regularly, so the parties voted to protect 52 species including the matamatas sp. Chelus, prized for their knobby shells and triangular shaped heads. [photo credit: WCS] Songbirds are popular especially in Asia for song contests. Receiving legal protection CITIES are two songbirds, strawheaded bulbul (Pycnonotus zeylanicus) under Appendix I and white-rumped shama (Copsychus malabaricus) on Appendix II. Appendix I ban nearly all trade in a species at high risk of extinction. According to the IUCN specialist group, forty-three songbird species are in urgent need of protection from trade.

Trees were not forgotten at the meeting of the parties. One hundred forty threatened tropical species were added to Appendix II. Protection for paduak, pod mahogany and African mahogany group will go in effect in ninety day, but two groups of Latin American species--cumaru and trumpet trees--will not take place for two years. Conservationists are worried that these over-exploited trees will be subjected to more explotiation before the trade restrictions take effect. One prominent specie that did not make the protected list, is hippopotamus. Trade in hippo teeth as alternative to elephant tusk is taking a toll on the river dwelling animals. A two thirds majority is needed to list a species, but the hippo vote was tied at 56. Despite setbacks and disappointments, the conference is considered a success for conservation given the number of species receiving protection under the treaty. More is needed to stop the international trade in animal parts--especially regulatory enforcement. CITIES is only as successful as the efforts of member nations to enforce its provisions and prevent biodiversity collapse.

TWIT: Bad Day @ Mar-a-Lago

credit; Signe Wilkinson, Philadelphia Inquirer

Merrick Garland should be ashamed of himself for abdicating his responsibility to bring Herr Trumpillini to trial.  Instead he made the politically expedient move of appointing another special prosecutor.  Despite the legal background of his choice, a career prosecutor whose experience includes prosecuting war crimes at The Hague, a special prosecutor could easily take a year or more to decide on an indictment. (Jack Smith is currently recovering from a biking accident in the Netherlands). This scenario works perfectly for the real artful dodger, Individual One.  He is counting on the political controversy that will no doubt arise around prosecuting a presidential candidate during an election campaign. No matter how guilty he may appear to the average guy, prosecuting a national political figure and former President may be more than our frail judicial system can bear.  The timing of a trial close to another election would influence potential jurors without question--making it impractical to conduct a trial with the appearance of fairness.  It is a fact that Trump legal minions are already using a version of this same agreement:  "You cannot do that because Der Leader is so special and a presidential candidate."  Listen to the recording of the oral argument in the Mar-a-Lago Papers case, linked below.  Remember, in his supporters' deluded minds, he never lost!

But there is some good news for US, nevertheless.  Three years after his tax returns were requested by a congressional committee and defiance by Trump regime appointees of federal law requiring the IRS to hand over the records to Congress, the Supreme Court refused to hear Trumpillini's appeal to prevent the IRS from turning over his returns to the House Ways and Means Committee.  A Trump-appointed federal district court judge, Trevor MacFadden, delayed the case for over a year by refusing to rule.  It is unclear at this late date whether the Democrat controlled House committee will have time to actually access these records before this session of Congress is adjourned and a new one begins in January controlled by Repugnants. Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-TX) told media he hopes to get the records by next week. The Solicitor General sided with Congress saying that the Committee has articulated a legitimate legislative need for Trump's tax records. The Senate Finance Committee chaired by Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) has the same authority to request tax returns.  However, the tax case exemplifies the extent to which a determined litigant with funds can delay or even stop the grind of justice. 

In the Mar-a-Lago Papers case, oral arguments took place on the question of whether the appointment of a special master, which has significantly slowed progress in the investigation, was an abuse of discretion by his pocket judge, Aileen Cannon.  Comments made by the three judge panel, two of whom are Trump appointees, indicated to observers that the Eleventh Circuit will rule Cannon  exceeded her authority in the extraordinary appointment of  a special master since the FBI search at Mar-a-Lago was indisputably legal.  At one point in the proceedings, the conservative chief judge asked Trump's attorney if he could show that the search was conducted in violation of Trump's constitutional rights. and if not, he asked, "Then what are we doing here?" Good question your honor, the answer--running out the clock.  Regardless of wether he intended to sell the secret documents in question or use them as a bargaining chip, Trump indisputably removed the government's documents from the White House and then hid them among his personal effects at Mar-a-Lago while refusing to relinquish them all upon official request. His belief, no matter how delusional, that the papers where his, is simply implausible beyond a reasonable doubt.

TWIT: He's Baaack!

credit: KAL The Economist

The deranged grifter, Herr Trumpillini, announced his third run for President this week, one day after his legal minions filed suit to block the House Select Committee's subpoena for his testimony and records.  It is a tragic indictment of 'Merica's legal and political systems that a twice impeached former president and alleged leader of an unprecedented coup can plausibly run for the nation's highest office.  In a better world he would be cooling his heels at Mar-a-Lago waiting for trial on federal and state charges relating to his campaign to illegally usurp power after loosing the 2016 election.  If federal lawyers want to maintain any semblance of legitimacy they must indict Il Douche even if that means during a national political campaign. About 900 people have been indicted for the Insurrection of January 6th.  About half have pleaded guilty and 23 have gone to trial and convicted.  Yet the chief instigator remains an unindexed co-conspirator thanks to his litigations and delaying tactics. How could any reasonable citizen not concluded that there are two systems of justice in this country--one for the manipulative rich and one for Joe Blow, who is SOL.

Individual One has successfully reached what he sees as political cover for his crimes, running for office a third time.  He is doing so for totally self-serving reasons, not because he care to "make 'Merica great again".  Anyone who believes that slogan to be anything more than a sales pitch ought to consult a psychiatrist.  Undoubtably the ultimate game plan is to influence any potential jury pools by running for office with its attendant media blitz, and perhaps delaying any trials until 2024 when the Justice Department may decide to defer a prosecution under its election year policy. 

The two investigations against Trump that have the highest likelihood of a successful prosecution, are the federal Mar-a-Lago Papers investigation, and the Georgia election interference investigation in Fulton County.  Both have been delayed significantly by the Trump legal team.  The appointment of a master by a biased federal district judge has caused  legal wrangling over the status of individual documents.  Judge Cannon will rule on whatever special master decides.  Then there is the possibility of further appeals to the Eleventh Circuit and the Supreme Court.  So this egregious breach of national secuirty will not go to trial anytime soon.  Fulton County's special grand jury investigation has met repeated resistence from witnesses in the Trump camp.  However, judges have ruled against a significant list of witness.  Former Governor Brian Kemp testified just before Trump announced his candidacy.  Former national security advisor Mike Flynn has been ordered to testify, as have House Speaker Mark Meadows, Senator Lindsey Graham and former House Speaker, Newt Gingrich.

In a move that will not engender more public confidence, Attorney General Merrick Garland announced the appointment  of a special prosecutor to handle these politically charged cases.  It remains to be seen if this added layer of authority will speed the legal process due the former guy.  Probably not.

credit: S. Stantis

Klamath River Dams to Come Down

In a historic decision to save Pacific salmon, the FERC decided to approve the decontruction of four Klamath River dams. Regional tribes have been fighting for decades to allow the spawning grounds of their traditional food to be restored to the salmon James Jones, chairman of the Yurok Tribe said in a press statement,"The people have earned this victory and with it we carry on our sacred duty to the fish that have sustained our people since the beginning of time." The Kalmath River flow has beconme depleted and is infested with parasites that thrive in warm water, making the river inhospitable to migrating coho and Chinook salmon that need fresh, cold flowing water in order to complete their migration upstream.

The four dams are located on federal land and owned by PacificCorp a part of Warren Buffet's Berkshire Hathaway holding company. The company decided to reliquish the dams rather than comply with federal regulations requiring fish ladders and screens. The dams were becoming increasly uneconomic, producing only 2% of PacificCorp's total power production when running at full capacity, an infrequent status under current river conditions. A company spokesperson said the decision to reliquish its federal operating licenses was ultimately a business decision. The company is contributing $200 million to the project from a surcharge on its customers in California and Oregon. The voters in California approved a $250 million bond levy to fund the largest dam removal project in the nation's history. Across the US, 1,951 dams have been demolished as of February, the trend has increased as the facilities age and come up for relicensing.  [Iron Gate dam, credit: AP]

The Kalamath River watershed covers 14,500 square miles, and the river was once the third largest salmon producing river on the West Coast. But the four dams, built between 1918 and 1962 essentially cut the river in half, preventing spawning salmon from reaching their spawning grounds. Consequently the runs have dwindled for decades. Coho are listed as endangered under federal and state law. Their population has fallen drastically. Spring Chinook, once the largest run of all, are reduced in number by 98%. Fall chinook have all but disappeared from the Klamath. Yurok fishers canceled their annual fish harvestin 2021 for the first time in living memory. The smallest of the four dams, Copco 2, could be removed as early as next summer.

COTW: SS Trust Fund Busted?

Not so much.  Wolf Blitzer @WolfStreet.com tells US that the Trust Fund is in good shape right now.Since 2010 the OASI Fund has risen by 12.1%.  LOOK at the chart:

There was a small decline (1.2%) in the balance last fiscal year. The fund invests in Treasury securities and certificates of indebtedness not traded in the secondary market, which is a good thing because it does not subject the fund to the fluctuations of the secondary market. The fund holds these securities until they mature. This policy also results in ultra-low administration expenses--around 0.14%. of assets held.Compare that to your average stock fund.

Conservatives are very fond of predicting the insolvency of the Trust Fund, which coincides with their endemic hostility toward the 'socialist' Social Security program--the most popular social program in the history of the US. In the fiscal ending September 2022, the gap between fund outflows and income narrowed to just $32 billion. At this rate, the Trust Fund would not be depleted until 2085. Despite the good news, Social Security was never intended to be a replacement for saving and investment as a method for financing retirement.  One reason the Boomers are working beyond traditional retirement age.

Crimea: A Historical Perspective

Russia made a tragic miscalculation by invading Ukraine. The Kremlin underestimated the ability of Ukraine's fighting forces, western financial and logistical support, and the abilities of its own military.  The   Ukrainian War has become Russia's Vietnam in which that nation has lost more men than the USA in Southeast Asia.  This is not the first time Russia has faced defeat in the region.  It lost the Crimean War in 1856 when Britain, France and their Turkish allies signed the Paris Peace Treaty*. They lost their naval base at Sebastopol, and ceased to dominate the Black Sea.  During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, the Tsar began rebuilding Sebastopol. By WWII the Soviets had regained the peninsula, but  Sebastopol was again destroyed by Nazi bombing. Stalin ordered it restored to its former neoclassic glory.

Russia's relationship with Crimea is long and complex, essentially beginning when Catherine the Great annexed (yes, even then) it after defeating the Ottoman Empire at the Battle of Koludzha.  The strategic land mass gave Russia military dominance over the Black Sea region, and a gateway to the wider Mediterranean for its naval forces.  Then, somewhat inexplicably at the time, the Presidium under Khrushchev assigned Crimea to the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic by decree in 1954.  Documents later uncovered from Soviet archives show that the transfer was intended as a "noble act of the Russian people" to "commemorate the 300th anniversary" of the unification of Russia and Ukraine in consideration of the territorial proximity of Crimea and the commonality of its culture and economy with Ukraine. The 300th anniversary mentioned was a reference to the Treaty of Pereyaslav, between the Cossack Hermanate and Tsar Alexsei I of Moscovy.  The shared culture and economy was largely changed by Stalin's ethnic cleansing policy of forced deportation of 200,000 Tartars to Central Asia, immigration of ethnic Russians into Crimea (chart, above) and the economic aftermath of WWII.

More recent historical research indicates the motivation for giving up "Russian" Crimea (see chart above) was the power struggle between Khrushchev and his party rivals, notably Prime Minister Georgii Malenkov. He was elevated to party First Secretary in 1953, but was still consolidating his power in 1954. He hoped to enlist in his power struggle theUkrainian party leader and Presidium member. Earlier in his career Khrushchev was head of the Ukrainian Communist Party. During his tenure from the late 30's to 1949, he oversaw a fierce civil war in Ukraine's western annexations, Galicia and Volynia. That bitter war was over by 1954.Apparently Khrushchev actually saw the transfer of the Crimea to Ukraine as a way of consolidating Soviet control over the region after winning the civil war, and a means of winning his power struggle with Malenkov whom he eventually unseated in 1955. About 860,000 ethnic Russians would immigrate to the Ukraine to insure a close relationship within the Union.  Bringing in the Crimea with its majority Russian population would bolster Soviet control over Ukraine.

The political landscape changed once again when the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991. In August 1991, Ukraine declared its independence from the Soviet Union. The Russian Federation formally accepted Ukraine's borders at the time, which included the Crimea. A treaty signed in 1997 allowed Russia to keep its Black Sea fleet in Sebastopol under a lease agreement extending until 2042. In 2014 Putin forcibly annexed Crimea in violation of its previous agreements with Ukraine.  One of the justifications offered was the majority status of Russian residents. Another  huge influx of about 247,000 ethnic Russians, mostly from Siberia, followed. At the same time about 140,000 people have left, mostly Ukrainians and Tartars. Russian then invaded eastern Ukraine this year, seeking once again to reassert Russian control over the Donbas region, which harbors Russian separatist movements.

In the context of the current war that has deep historical roots, Ukraine is adamant about recovering its recognized national borders including the oblast of Crimea. Retaking Crimea by military force is a difficult task given the land area involved, the mass of Russian military power on the peninsula, and the demographics that have been altered by Russian policy. When Russia took over in 2014, it held a referendum in which the overwhelming majority voted to rejoin Russia. That referendum has not received international acceptance as legitimate, but it may be a good indication of where popular sentiments lie regarding the status of Crimea. Now that Kyiv has regained the port city of Kherson, an opportunity to weigh the cost of retaking the peninsula is open to serious consideration.

*In a bloody prelude of WWI, the allies laid siege to the city of Sebastopol for a year in what became the final major battle of the war. A simultaneous attack by the British on the Great Redan was unsuccessful, but French Zouaves under General MacMahon seized the Malakof Redoubt and the Little Redan, making defense of the city untenable. The Russian suffered some 2-3 thousand casualties a day under relentless shelling from massed allied artillery.

The Environmental Toll of Putin's War

Almost all of the fighting in the eight month war on Ukraine has taken place within its borders, and the environmental damage is mounting. A staggering 6 million Ukrainians are without safe drinking water, and 692,000 acres of forest have been destroyed according to the World Wildlife Fund. Pollution caused by toxic munitions, destroyed fuel dumps and vehicles will last for decades. The cost of cleaning up the damage is emmense. President Zelensky has demanded reperations from Russia to help pay the costs of Putin's unprovoked invasion.

AP: destroy fuel dump near Kalynivka

Residents of the village of Demydiv saw their drinking water turn cloudy, taste contaminated and leaving  a residue on their cooking pots and pans. The village was under Russian control until April when the Russians failed to take Kyiv and withdrew. Ukrainian authorities began shipping in fresh water, but those shipments stopped in October when the tanker truck broke down, forcing the inhabitants to resume consuming their polluted water. Russian forces, stymied on the battlefield, have resorted to attacks on civilian infrastructure such as power plants and waterworks. Collateral damage also occurs regularly. A pond used for recreation as well as a fish farm before the war, is now polluted by fuel oil after a dump near the village of Kalynivka eighteen miles southwest of Kyiv was hit by a Russian missile. Dead fish now litter the pond's surface. 

Massive fires started by artillery fire have polluted the atmosphere. A product of combustion, nitrogen dioxide readings have increased in areas west and southwest of Kyiv. Direct exposure can cause skin irritation and burns, while chronic exposure can cause repiratory problems. Fires have impacted this year's crop harvest and killed livestock. Ukrainians have demonstrated they are a resilient people, but the multiple adversities they now face in the war have taken a heavy emotional and psychological toll. The government has provided assistance where it can, but resourece are stretched to the maximum for the war effort. Dimydev residents were given $540 each, to compensate for the flooding cause by the demolition of a dam to hinder the invaders. But that modest amount does not compensate families who have lost everything including the health of their land.

TWIT: Red Wave Bust

credit: B. Plante

Der Leader's political fortunes took a bad turn this week with a dismal performance in the mid term elections.  As expected the traditional switch to the other party during a presidential term occurred in the House of Representatives. Repugnants may have a slim majority after all the votes are counted.If that comes to pass it means the end of the Select Committee investigating the events of January 6th and the plotting that lead up to it. It's work is largely done, however and it must produce a report to Congress. The pregnant question is: will they recommend the criminal prosecution of the coup leader, the former President. Now that his political influence is waning (and its his wife's fault), Repugnant hypocrites like Mitch McConnell are coming out of the woodwork to voice their disapproval of the deranged grifter. Just a tad late, guys!

On the legal front this week, Trump fared little better. His appeal of the appointment of a fiduciary in the prosecution of his company was denied. A monitor of the company's assets was ordered after he created Trump Org 2, which could receive assets in an attempt to move them out of the jurisdiction. His former controller, Jeffery McConney, testified in court that Trump knew about the efforts to avoid taxes because he discussed reducing CFO Allen Weisselberg's salary in compensation for in-kind perks such as paying for private school tuitions according to what the CFO told him.  Mc Conney is testifying in return for immunity from prosecution. McConney is nevertheless a reluctant witness, who had to be prompted for the truthful answer to the question by "refreshing his recollection" with his grand jury testimony.

McConney also testified that some executives were treated as independent contractors for tax purposes when bonuses were paid.  The abusive practice dated back to the 1980s.  A former general counsel of the company received bonuses as a non-employee until an accountant told McConey to stop.  Trump signed off with his initials to a reduction in executive Mathew Calamari's salary by 72,000, the amount of his apartment rent. 

Amazon Rainforest Close to Point of No Return

People concerned about the health of the planet know that during the tenure of the Brazilian Trump, Bolsanaro, the Amazaon rainforest has suffered increasing despoilation. WWF says in a recent report that the biome, an important carbon sink and oxygen producer, could disappear altogether soon, if drastic action is not taken to rescue it. The report was released at Sharm-El Sheikh where the COP27 is being held. Ranching, minning and land speculation and wildfires have destroyed 18% of the forest and degraded another 17%. Currently there are more than 600 development projects and twenty road projects planned within the region. About 4.7 million square miles were cleared last year alone. 

Peruvian forest destroyed by gold mining,
credit R. Butler

The tipping point would bring a irreversable transition from wet forest to dry sahvanna. Clear signs of this transition is already visible in Brazil and Bolivia. The threshold is considered by some experts to be between 20 and 25%. The Amazon current recycles 75% of the moisture it produces. A dry savannah biome cannot perform this vital climatic function. Precipitation will drop drastically, further altering the world's climate conditions and contribution to more wildfires. 500 indiginous tribes that live in the forest will lose their tradtional homes. The report noted that these people will play a crtical role in preserving native vegetation. Saving the rainforest will require massive committment from both governments and corporations currently exploiting this invaluable resource.

Hundreds of Animals Die from Drought in Kenya

The Kenyan Wildlife Service reports that hundreds of wild animals including elephants and endangered Grevy's zebra have died on eastern Kenyan preserves due to prolonged drought. Officials have counted the bodies of 205 elephants, 512 wildebeest, 381 common zebras, 51 buffalos, 49 Grevy's zebras and 12 giraffes in the past nine months. The preserves affected include well-known national parks--Amboseli, Tsavo and Laikipia-Samburu. The actual number of deaths is undoubtably much higher, Kenya has gone four seasons without adequate rainfall with dire effects for humans andd their livestock. Experts have urged the provision of water and salt licks in the affected regions. Kenya's drought is part of a much wider region covering the horn of Africa that has dried up due to the lack of precipitation.

In Mississippi,USA state officals approved the city of Jackson's request for $35.6 million of federal funds to repair a crumbling water system disrupted by flooding this summer that left 150,000 residents without water for days. A boiied water decree ligered before the flooding event after the city's drinking water tested unsafe to drink. EPA says it is now safe to drink, but is testing to see if there is too much copper and lead in the city's water to meet federal standards.

The federal funds will be matched by the state under an infrastructure repair program. The $71.3 will be spent on seven water and sewer projects, including repair of a raw sewage pump at the beleaguered O.B. Curtis water treatment plant. EPA is investigating whether the state discriminated against Jackson by refusing to fund water system improvements in a city that is 80% black and a quarter of its residents live in poverty

'Toontime: Beat the Clock

credit: A. Zyglis

Update:  The Wall Street Journal  reports that Cash Patel has agreed to testify to the federal grand jury in the Mar-a-Lago Papers case in return for immunity.This is a significant development since Patel, a former high national security official in Trump's regime, publicly claimed that Trump declassified the secret document stashed at his Florida compound.  Patel invoked the Fifth Amendment against self-incrimination in his previous appearance before the grand jury.  No evidence of such claimed declassification has emerged during the months of investigation into the illegal retention of government documents, nor has any such allegation be made in court filings by the crime boss' legal team.

{11.02.2022} Because of feckless Washington careerists, Trumpillini's plan to delay his prosecution until his 2024 presidential campaign begins appears to be succeeding.  After his campaign begins he can shout "political persecution" until his voters drop their ballots,  Helped by the likes of minions Lindsey Graham, Rudi Guiliani , John Eastman, Clarence Thomas, Virginia Thomas, Eileen Cannon and others, Trump has litigated at every possible juncture. His mercenary army of lawyers paid for by endless and sometimes misleading fundraising.  He does not have to win every courtroom battle, but only hold the ball until the clock runs out.  He has had a lot of practice in this technique during his lifetime.

The Supremes handed him another setback this week, denying Lindsey Graham's appeal of the subpoena ordering him to testify in the Fulton County grand jury investigation of attempts to illegally influence the 2020 election outcome.  Lindsey allegedly wanted to "explore the possibility of more favorable outcome", possibly by throwing out some absentee ballots as invalid according to Georgia prosecutors.  Lindsey made at lease two phone calls  to Georgia's Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and his staff,   The deranged Trump was recorded asking Raffensperger to "find 11,870 votes".  

Lindsey was subpoenaed in July.The Supreme Court rejected Lindsey's argument that his meddling was protected by the Constitution's speech and debate clause this week  The conservative Court is still running interference for him because the Chief Justice temporarily blocked the appeals court order requiring Trumpillini to turn over his tax returns to the House Ways and Means Committee.  Litigation over his returns has been going on since 2019 when that committee requested the IRS to turn over his tax returns as part of its probe into how the Service handles presidential audits.  Trump was the only recent president to refuse to make his returns public.

Fulton County DA Fani Willis is expanding her office's investigation into a wider probe of a, "multi-state, coordinated plan by the Trump Campaign to influence the results of the November 2020 election in Georgia and elsewhere"--notably swing states where state legislators might have been swayed into submitted alternate slates of electors to Congress.  Communications from his campaign lawyers show they were counting on Justice Thomas to delay certification of Georgia's electors for Biden.

A federal district court judge ruled on Monday that former chief of staff Mark Meadows must testify before the January 6th Committee   The federal ruling comes just days after a South Carolina judge ruled that Meadows must also testify pursuant to the Fulton County grand jury's subpoena.  Meadows has been fighting the federal demand for testimony since receiving a subpoena at the end of last year,  He may appeal the case to insure more delay.  His tactics seem to have worked since Repugnants in the House have vowed to disband the Select Committee if they take control of the House in January.  Accountability you scream?  VOTE DEMOCRATIC before your democracy dies a tragic but avoidable death.