TWIT: The Stench of Corruption Surrounds You

credit: M. Raimerez

It is all but certain that Trumpilini will get his rematch against Biden in 2024.  How a criminal defendant facing 91 felony charges and suffering two impeachments during his term in office speaks volumes about the degraded condition of politics in this nation.  The sins of the past are finally catching up with 'Merika, exacerbated by a demigod who is expert at exploiting mass-edia and legal lacunae in the constitutional system. 

A bright spot in the desolation of another years' end is the fact that two states, Maine and Colorado have decided to throw him off the primary ballots in their jurisdiction. Unfortunately, three states, Minnesota, New Hampshire and Michigan have decided he is not disqualified from office for having led an insurrection agains the central government. Under the filter of the Electoral College--the only one that counts--he is ahead in the horse race since those states control more electoral votes (29 versus 14). However, the verdict is still out in several western states including Nevada and Arizona, both swing states. California, a decidedly blue state, will keep the insurrectionist on its ballot.  The US Supreme Court will decide this issue of disqualification eventually. As the Maine Secretary of State said,  "Trump chose to light a match".  It is the electoral system that is burning brightly this Yuletide.

On the criminal defense front, the Special Counsel's case in DC is on hold while the Supremes decide whether he is immune from criminal prosecution for crimes committed while in office.  Altogether a sorry state of affairs.

TWIT: Blut und Land

A conspiracy is everything ordinary life is not...

Conspirators have a logic and daring beyond our reach.

All conspiracies are a taut story of men who find coherence 

in some criminal act.

                                    Don Delillo--Libra

More:  Conservatives on the Supreme Court refused to grand certiorari to the Special Prosecutor and immediately hear Herr Trumpilini's claim of absolute immunity. Instead they handed the defandant a Christmas gift by opting for an opinion from the Circuit Court of Appeals before deciding the issue--obviously a decision influenced by politics.  Compare United States vs. Nixon. The decision moves the game piece another square towards an election deadline.  ln the meantime, audio recordings of phone calls have surfaced in which the coup mastermind pressures two Repugnant functionaries in Wayne County, Michigan to refuse certifying the election results in that state.  His fingerprints are also over this tangled web of deceit.

Breaking: The decision is sure to be appealed to the United States Supreme Court, but by a 4 to 3 vote the Colorado Supreme Court has declared Trump to be disqualified from holding office of the President of the United States therefore he cannot appear on the primary ballot in that state under the state's election code. The order is is stayed until January 4th giving him time to appeal.

The Colorado Supreme Court specifically found that Trumpilini was an officer of the United States and engaged in insurrection within the meaning of Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment. That ruling reversed the state district judge who found that he was not an "officer of the United States" under Section 3. even though she found that the former president did engage in insurrection.

More: Herr Trumpilini continues to invoke Hitlerite themes in his campaign speeches. The latest is his use of the concept of dilution of the blood that leads to cultural collapse. This psuedo-scientific rubbish was used in part to justify Nazis' final solution to the Jewish question. Hitler wanted the Aryan race, also a misconception, to be kept pure. Trump is clearly a dangerous crackpot who has captured a good sized portion of the American electorate susceptible to the appeal of nativist, white nationalism. After he was struck from the ballot in Colorado, he issued a message to his supporters saying, "This is how dictatorships are born". This guy is not joking around. He means to seize power in a manner reminiscent of Hitler's party winning election to the Bundestag in1932. Hitler was appointed Chancellor in January, 1933. Once in office, Herr Trumpilini means to stay there by any means necessary including using the military to enforce martial law.

Dictatorships are born by a lack of resistence from democratic forces. Very late in the game, the federal judiciary may be waking up to Trumpilini's nefarious legal maneuverings, and bring him before a jury of his peers before the election, but democracy still faces the hurdle of a conservative Supreme Court willing to put party above nation.  The case of defendant Trump is testing to the limits 'Merica's commitment to democracy.  It raises the fundamental question: do the American people have a right under our Constitution to elect a Neo-fascist dictator?

credit: M. Wuerker, Politico.com
BC Idonwanna sez:  His copy is bookmarked!

Wolves Come Back to Colorado

credit: Denver Post

Five wolves were released in an undisclosed location in Grand County, Colorado in fulfillment of a vote of the people to reintroduce the predators in the state.  Two juvenile males, two juvenile females and an adult male were given their freedom on Monday.  The wolves were given to Colorado by Oregon, which has a growing population despite culling by the state at the behest of livestock owners. The last count was about 178 in 24 known packs. Colorado's wolf management plan calls for the release of fifty wolves over the next three years. One pack that formed naturally in Moffat county was eradicated when it crossed the border into wolf-hating Wyoming. The state has an agreement with New Mexico, Arizona and Utah to recapture and return re-introduced wolves 

The governor said that history was being made with the re-introduction since wolves were eradicated in the state in the 1940's. They were captured from helicopters and shipped to Colorado in crates. The animals were fitted with GPS collars, vaccinated and given a health check before release. Reintroduction of wolves in the West is controversial, and has become mired in the culture wars. For progressives the wolf is a symbol of restoring healthy ecosystems, while conservatives see the wolf and an implacable enemy that must be eliminated.

 

King of the Desert

That honorific belongs to the sand cat (Felis margarita), a small, elusive member of the feline family.  It lives in the hot deserts of Africa, southwest and central Asia, and hunts primarily at night so little is know about the species, until European researchers made a concerted effort to know more about this cat. Fortunately it is not endangered and of least concern on the IUCN's list, but that might change after the latest research is evaluated.

The cat is superbly adapted to the blazing hot sands of the Sahara. It's stripped yellow coat blends in with he dunes and its paws are equipped with thick, black fur between their toes that allow it to travel without leaving paw prints. Drinking water rarely, the small feline relies on the moisture contained in its prey, primarily rodents. Sand cats only weigh about 6 pounds, allowing them to hide under bushes to escape the scorching sun or pursue prey. [photo credit: A. Silwa]. Acute hearing allows it to hear the faint scratchings of burrowing prey and curious scientists up to 600 feet away.

a lesser jerboa, a favorite prey animal

Given their small size and elusive natures, sand cats were not categorized by science until 1858.  Their range is based on rare sightings, scant camera trap recordings, and informed speculation.  Two persistent and resourceful scientists, Alexander Silwa and Gregory Breton,  found three sand cats in southern Morocco, motivating them to apply to the Moroccan government for permission to study the species more systematically.  They overcame early difficulties to track the animals,   repeatedly losing track of collared cats, eventually realizing that the range of their GPS equipment was 12 miles, while the cats' home ranges were huge.  Home ranges for males can extend to over 120 square miles; for females its 100 square miles. They do not appear to be particularly territorial, tolerating others, even aggregating if conditions are right. One piece of data from the research stands out: sand cats are more rare than previously thought. 

The researchers think that IUCN status should be upgraded to "vulnerable" based on what they found in the field.  Their research has provided the most comprehensive morphological and ecological data available on Felis margarita.  As more research is done, science will be better able to assess its population status.  Better GPS equipment for such small subjects will aid in new research.  The more science knows about the "desert king", the more they will know about deserts and how they are changing as the world warms.

The Depravity Continues

Two US citizens have been charged with killing 3600 birds including their nation's protected symbol, the bald eagle, for profit. Parts and feathers were sold on the black market. A Montana grand jury indicted Simon Paul and Travis Branson for illegal traffiking and violating the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act of 1940. The men hunted around the Flathead Indian Reservation using deer meat to entice the birds of prey. The pair made substantial sums of money from their illegal activity according to the indictment. Records show the sold a pair of bald eagle wings, four golden eagle tails and an entire golden eagle. They face up to eleven years in prison and fines of $275,000 each. Their trial is in January. [photo credit: Getty Images]

Eagles have made a recovery from the devastation caused by the indiscriminate use of DDT decades ago.  The pesticide was banned in 1972, after the publication of Rachel Carson's landmark book, Silent Spring.  The birds still face severe dangers in the their environment.  Lead pellets from ammunition and fishing tackle poses a dangerous health risk and often death.  Researchers reported high levels of lead exposure in 46% of eagles sampled in 38 states.  Lead is a neurotoxin that impairs a birds to fly, hunt and reproduce.  In high doses it causes seizures, breathing difficulties and death.  According to an expert, a lead fragment the size of a pin is enough to kill an eagle. Lead ammunition for wildfowl hunting was banned in 1991, but upland bird and big game hunters still use lead in their guns.

TWIT: Fifth Avenue

In an unanticipated move, Jack Smith Special Prosecutor, moved the US Supreme Court to grant certiorari in the Jan 6th case.  It was a wise move to cut off the endless delay tactics employed by Don 'Legit'. Smith asked the court to consider the issues of double jeopardy and immunity from prosecutions for criminal acts committed while in office. The conservative court voted to consider the government's petition. Argument of double jeopardy is unlikely to succeed since an impeachment and Senate trial for much the same criminal activity does not count as 'jeopardy' in the legal sense. The immunity claim is slightly more consequential, but informed pundits think there is at least a five vote majority against the proposition of instilling the divine right of kings in an elected leader of a republic.  See Article I, Section 3, Clause 7 of the US Constitution.*

Not to be outdone, MAGAists like Justice Clarence Thomas countered by granting certiorari on Wednesday in the case of United States v. Fischer. Defendant Fischer, a former police officer, participated in the Capitol attack. He was charged with, among other offenses, obstructing an official proceeding--the counting of electoral votes. There is evidence that Don Trumpilini intended the violent riot to disrupt the counting procedure long enough to convince poltical supporters to reject duly qualified electors and throw the election into the US House of Representatives where his party has a numerical advantage. The Court wants to examine the application of the obstruction statute in Fischer's circumstances. This concern does not bode well for Jack Smith's case against the former President, who is also charged with obstruction. More indications the highest Court has become a partisan political institution.

In New York, the civil fraud case against Don 'Legit" is coming to a close. The defense rested this week without calling the compulsive liar to the stand. Trumpilini ridiculously claimed that he could not testify because of the gag order imposed upon him and re-instated on appeal.The state expects to call only a few rebuttal witnesses.  The only issues before Judge Engoron relate to damage recovery for his persistent fraud. 

credit: A. Telanaes, Washington Post

 * Justice Brent Kavanaugh, a Trump appointee, wrote a law review article as a student attending Yale Law School.  In it he concluded that the framers contemplated the possibility of prosecuting a former president for crimes committed while in office.

COP28 Not Far Enough

Getty Images: Tuvalu

The deal was struck when small island nations, the most vulnerable to the effects of climate change, were out of the room.  Nations present including the US, China and the EU, agreed to "transition away from coal, oil and gas.  That language was a step down from "phasing out fossil fuels" which western nations approved.  Still, even the weaker language was a unexpected outcome from a 200 nation conference in oil-rich United Arab Emirates presided over by that nation's CEO of the national oil company, Sultan al-Jaber. He expressed satisfaction with the conference outcome despite push-back from oil nations like Saudi Arabia and Iraq.  US climate envoy, John Kerry, also said the 21 page agreement was a "step forward" in the difficult context of war in Ukraine and Palestine.  Activists were less satisfied with the compromise, calling the agreement "weak" and a "litany of loopholes".

Countries committing to the agreement have just six years to cut carbon emissions by 45%.  Many countries are nowhere near reaching that goal.  A climate scientist at the talks said there may be a lot of back-slapping going on, but "the physics will not care" since the agreement locks in high levels of emissions for years to come.  Temperatures and sea-levels will continue to rise.  The host for the next conference on climate change is gas-rich Azerbaijan. God help us!

Kill 500,000 Barred Owls?

That is what the US Fish & Wildlife wants to do in an effort to protect the endangered spotted owl Strix occidentalis in the northwest.  The barred owl Strix varia out-competes the spotted in forests it inhabits. [photo] To reduce the competition USF&W proposes to allow hunters to kill half a million owls over the next thirty years. 

Barred owls are considered invasive in the northwest.  They have been here since the 1950's spreading over California, Washington and Oregon, and supplanting the native spotted owl.  Their success is attributed to their larger size, aggressiveness, and more varied diet.  Studies have shown that barred owl removal has a salutary effect on the decline of spotted owl populations.  Nevertheless, hunting such an iconic bird of prey is unthinkable.  Would you be willing to kill a bald eagle?

Culling is a tragic method of controlling the population of problematic species.  It should be used as a method of last resort.  Other options such as sterilization are more expensive and labor intensive.  There are now over 100,000 barred owls in spotted owl territory.  A great deal of effort and controversy went into preserving old growth forest in the northwest so as to provide habitat for the spotted.  The habitat is there, but now the barred is moving in, big time.  US Person occasional hears the "hoot-hoot woohoo" of a barred in the night in the big firs outside his home.   It is always an inspiring sound.

Lost Golden Mole Found

credit: N. Souness

Researchers in South Africa have rediscovered a lost mole species not seen since 1936. De Winton's golden mole (Cryptochloris wintoni)
lives in the sand dunes of the northwest coast. Near Port Nolloth, the habitat is currently unprotected and threatened by development. Researchers used a specially trained border collie to sniff out the blind rodents that live mostly underground. More than 100 sand samples were collected and tested for DNA shed by the burrowing moles. The DNA collected was compared to the DNA from a De Winton's mole specimen kept in a Ort Nolloth museum. De Winton's golden mole is one of twenty-five "most wanted" list. The Endangered Wildlife Trust hope to use the rediscovery to advocate for protection of the mole's habitat.

TWIT: No Joking Matter

More:  The Nevada Attorney General has indicted six individuals including the chairman of the state RNC who posed as qualified presidential electors in that state as part of the scheme employed to stay in power illegally,  Michigan and Georgia have already filed charges.  Ken Chesebro was released from the conditions of his pre-trial release in Georgia to travel to Nevada to cooperate with that Attorney General's case.  Chesebro will no doubt also travel to Arizona where the the Democratic AG promised to investigate the fake electors scheme in her state. Trump electors there did not even bother to qualify their selection as provisional in case the official slate was rejected.  That did occur in New Mexico, which probably explains why no investigation is going forward there.  Michigan will hold a probable cause hearing in its case next week.

The defendants in Nevada will undoubtably rely on the historic precedent of President John F. Kennedy's campaign in Hawaii in 1960.  Their reliance is misplaced.  Kennedy's people compiled a contingent slate of electors in the event he was declared the winner of a disputed election.  They were not submitted to Congress until after he was declared the winner of Hawaii's election. His slate of electors were then submitted for counting. The Trump conspiracy submitted their slate of electors to Congress after Joe Biden was declared the winner of the Arizona presidential election.  Clearly not the same situation.

{07.12.23}Don Trumpilini can be called a lot of names: malignant narcissist, chauvinistic boor, failed businessman,  criminal defendant, and wanna-be dictator.  One category he does not fall into is stupid.  He has the cunning of a mobster, and the scruples of a con-man.  His attorneys are attacking the US justice system in its vulnerable precincts by filling appeals left and right in the hope of delaying proceedings until the election decides whether he goes scot-free.  The legal system is failing in its ability to handle an unprecedented criminal defendant. No one in US history has run for office while facing four criminal indictments and 91 felonies.  Legal scrupulosity is making a hash out of what should be a straightforward criminal prosecution supported by abundant publicly known facts. His lawyers' latest gambit is to request the entire proceedings, including time-consuming jury selection, in DC be put on hold, while a notoriously slow DC Circuit of Appeals considers his dubious argument that he has absolute immunity from prosecution for acts committed while President of the United States. 

It has already been determined as a civil matter that presidential immunity is not absolute. See PNG post, "The Delusions of Orange Jesus". It boggles the mind to think that a sitting President is entitled as a matter of law to commit crimes while in office. If that were the case, the War of Independence was fought in vain.  The fact that he is running for office should be entirely irrelevant to the issues before the bar in his various criminal prosecutions. The justice system is playing into his hands by allowing him to use his campaign for a second term as a shield and excuse to launch public vitriol against the courts' officers. The US justice system's standing in the world as an impartial arbiter is disgraced, making a sick joke of the often expressed opprobrium, "No one is above the law."

the Ochre Menace exposed

Panama's Giant Copper Mine Is Illegal

Panama's Supreme Court ruled on October 20th that the giant copper mine owned by First Quantum Minerals illegal because the concession was not tendered by the state properly. Minera Panama, a subsidiary, will have to close the mine in face of the unanimous court decision. Last year, the mine produced 86,000 tons of copper around 1% of the world's total production. The mine has sparked popular protests; observers say the protests are part of a growing movement among Mesoamericans to protect natural resources against extractive industries. The mine is located near the Carribean coast were several rivers converge, supplying the region with fresh water. During a drought which has led to restriction of traffic in the Panama Canal, water consumed by the mine could have been used to keep the Canal operating a full volume.

Cyanide Bombs Banned

In a victory for wildlife, the BLM has banned the use of infamous M-44 cyanide bombs to kill predators. The little known Wildlife Services bureau within the Department has used the devices to kill tens of thousands of animals over the past decade. The devices [graphic] are indiscriminate and have even been known to injure humans and their pets like Canyon Marshal and his dog Kasey, releasing a cloud of poisonous sodium cyanide gas if triggered by an animal. The fight against M-44s has been long and difficult.

Canyon Mansfield was walking on the hillside behind his Pocatello, Idaho home with his dog in 2017 when he spotted what looked like a sprinkler head.  When he reached down to pick it up, the spring loaded device released a cloud of gas. The poison killed his dog and injured him. The agency had planted M-44s on the public land adjacent to the Mansfield property. Now, the focus of the fight shifts to other land management agencies in the federal government to ban the use of inhumane device. Oregon was the last left coast state to ban their use in 2020.

TWIT: The Delusions of "Orange Jesus'

credit: D. Whamond

One of Don 'Legit' Trumpilini's most cogent legal arguments, among many frivolous one, is that a sitting President is immunity from liability. The argument fits perfectly the delusional personality involved. He has escaped responsibility for his bad business decisions and criminality for most of his life. He once quipped he could shoot somebody on Fifth Avenue without loosing political support. His many public statements clearly show he believes he has the power of absolute monarchs when in office. The DC Circuit Court of Appeals has told him he is wrong. The opinion comes out of several lawsuits filed by Democrats and police officers seeking to hold him accountable for the damage done on January 6th. A three judge panel concluded that a President is not always dong official business when in office. When he acts in a private capacity, such as running for re-election or formeting insurrection, he does not continue to enjoy official immunity. The opinion was unanimous and written by chief judge Sri Srinivasan. Judge Tanya Chutkin, presiding over Special Counsel Jack Smith's criminal insurrection prosecution, also rejected his argument of absolute presidential immunity. It may prove influential in the criminal cases against him where he is making a similar arguemnt. As part of his stonewall tactics the decisions will be appealed to the US Supreme Court. A spokesperson for Trumpilini called the decision, "limited, narrow and procedural". Outed Repugnant congresswoman, Liz Cheney, who served as co-chair of the House Select January 6th Committee has written that Donald Trump is the “most dangerous man to inhabit the Oval Office.”  Ditto by US Person. 

The Justice Department, which was late in recognizing the unique threat to democracy posed by Don 'Legit', reversed its decision to represent Trumpillini in the second E. Jean Carrol defamation suit. New evidence suggests that the former guy acted out of a personal grievance against the former Elle journalist steming from events that pre-dated his term of office. A trail is expected to go forward in January. Carrol is seeking $10 million in damages. The jury awarded her $5 million in the first defamation suit.

The title of this post is blasphemous.  Don't blame rude US Person for that, he is simply quoting the Repugnant sycophants in Congress.  The depth of their hypocrisy is endless.

credit: B. Bramhall, New York Daily News

Kissinger Has Departed the Building

Henry has left US.  For a man so influential in US politics, one would think there would be an effusion of eulogies.  But not.  It is very hard to ignore his prominent role in prolonging the Vietnam War, the killing of thousands of civilians in Cambodia and Laos, and the overthrow of an elected government in Chile.  According to a Pentagon report in 1973 Kissinger approved each of the 3,875 secret bombing raids of Cambodia in 169 and 70. [photo] 

He told CIA Director Helms in a phone call that, "We will not let Chile go down the drain", referring to the election of Marxist President Salvador Allende.  US covert operations led to the assignation of Chile's Commander in Chief Rene Schneider, and eventually to the assignation of President Allende in a coup. August Pinochet took power and killed hundreds of citizen in a repressive campaign of political violence conducted by the military and the security agency, DINA.  Kissinger also opposed the leftist rebels in Angola, aligning the US with the repressive dictator of Zaire, Mobutu Seese Seko, in that civil war. The rebels eventually won with help from Cuba.  But. the war lasted for years, killing perhaps half a million people. He was also on the wrong side of the black liberation of Rhodesia led by Robert Mugabe.  He also supported repressive regimes in Latin America.

Yes, he participated in the Paris peace process to finally end the Vietnam war, but at the cost of thousands

killed in the carpet bombing of the North. Yes, he facilitated the opening of diplomatic relations with China, but he did that while stepping on the bodies of millions. He won the Nobel Peace prize, but it is stained with blood. The Chilean government now wants to see a complete disclosure of what the Nixon administration did to bring about the tragic events in that country.  The reckoning for Henry has yet to come. [photo credit: Getty images]

A Rare Birth in Sumatra!

A new rhino baby has entered the world, a member of the critically endangered Sumatran rhinoceros subspecies( (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis) Only fifty animals are thought to survive in the wild. The male calf was born to  seven year old Delilah at Way Kambas Rhino Sanctuary on Sumatra.  The sire is Harapan, who was born at the Cincinnati Zoo. The unnamed fifty-five pound calf was ten days premature.  He was found by a keeper on Saturday morning next to his mother. He is now able to stand, walk and breast feed.

Most of the remaining Sumatran rhinos live on the island of Sumatra in the remnants of their forest homes. Several are in captive breeding programs. The new birth is the second in 2023 of a total of five born at Way Kambas.  The new calf's grandmother, Ratu, gave birth to a male named Andatu, the first rhino born in Indonesia in 124 years.  Sumatran rhinos typically have a life span of 35-40 years.  Good luck little guy!

Wild Turkeys in Decline

Now that you have stuffed your face with factory raised turkey meat, here is a story of wild turkeys.  Turkeys were a 20th Century conservation success story.  They were brought back from eradication and re-established to their home ranges with such success that several states brought back hunting seasons.  The bulky birds are still more common than they were several decades ago, showing up on roadsides, college campuses, yards and parks.  But the endemic bird, once considered for the national emblem, is in steep decline in the south and midwest.  Scientists have not yet been able to explain the steep drop in their numbers in these regions, while populations in the northeast and west are stable or growing.

Kansas was once a destination for turkey hunters.  Today the state has curtailed its hunting seasons
as the state's turkey population has declined by sixty percent since 2007.  Being a generalist and very adaptable to changing environments, their decline is a bit of a mystery.  Research is being done on the question, but there are no firm answers yet.  Conservationists point to several factors such as loss of habitat, climate change, disease, or pressure from predators.  The likely explanation is a combination of such factors.  Tracking turkeys is not easy work as researchers attempt to understand what is happening.  Wild turkeys  never do what you expect them to do.  One explanation of why they are still with us.  Gobble, gobble!.

Dominca Set to Protect Sperm Whales

The island nation of Dominica in the Caribbean announced the first marine reserve to protect sperm whales, Physeter macrocephalus, this month. It is a 304 square mile area on the island's west coast that protect the endangered whale's nursing and breeding grounds by limiting human activity.  The prime minister of Dominca called the resident sperm whales "prized citizens" of his nation, noting that they inhabited the waters before people inhabited the island.  Protecting them will enhance human health too, he added.  The new reserve increases by 70% the nation's total marine reserves.

a sperm whale family

The largest of the toothed whales. sperms are known for their deep diving, plunging to depths of  6,000 feet in search of their preferred prey, giant squid. They can hold their breath for 90 minutes. Besides being superb athletes, they are very social, forming tight knit family groups known as "clans".  The Dominican whales are part of the Eastern Caribbean Clan, thought to number fewer than 300.  The population has been declining by 3% annually since 2010 due to human pressures.  Members of the same clan have their own dialect of click patterns to identify each other. Newborns are often cared for communally by near relatives.  The whales encourage plankton growth by defecating at the surface between dives. The plankton absorbs carbon dioxide and release oxygen. [photo credit: B. Skerry]

Besides the beneficial ecological effects, Dominca's whales contribute to the nation's important tourist industry. Tourists will still be able to visit and even swim with the whales, but on a controlled basis.  An official monitor will be appointed to insure the rules are followed. Green Kudos go to Dominica!

PGE Does Good For Salmon

Columbia basin salmon have it hard, facing several man-made barriers in their annual, arduous journey to upstream spawning grounds.  This situation is one reason for their precipitous decline in numbers in  modern times.   Millions of dollars have been spent attempting to increase populations, including resort to culling other protected species (sea lions). Pacific Gas and Electric, the local utility company for the Portland metro, is contributing to the efforts to save salmon by improving fish passages around dams and other obstructions. The company reported record returns for the third consecutive year of coho salmon, Oncorhynchus kisutch at their North Fork Dam on the Clackamus River since record keeping begn in 1958. The 17,000 adult coho have apparently learned a safe route through what must appear to be a bewildering maze of metal troughs and tanks. Salmon swim up a fish ladder into a trap and are sorted hands-free. Only wild salmon are allowed to proceed to their spawning grounds in the upper Clackamas basin. They are distinguishable from hatchery-raised salmon, which have their adipose fin clipped when young.

More juvenile cohos have also returned, as well as 4,770 wild chinook Oncorhynchus tshawytscha. PGE's bypass system allows fish to avoid three dams, contributing to a thriving river system where salmon and steelhead can safely breed.  Favorable conditions at sea have also contributed to the resurgence seen at North Fork. Fish have grown more robust and resilient, enabling them to withstand the stress of migration, perhaps due to reduced fishing pressure during the pandemic years. 

TWIT: "Vermin"

credit R. Bolling

More: A Colorado judge has ruled that despite aiding and abetting an insurrection, the 14th Amendment disqualification provision does not apply to presidents. Judge Sarah Wallace concluded that, “Trump engaged in an insurrection on January 6, 2021 through incitement, and that the First Amendment does not protect Trump’s speech". Her decision makes three strikes against the proposition (Michigan, Minnesota), so it may be dead for practical purposes, but the issue could still make it to the US Supreme Court.  Judge Wallace's 102 page opinion does seem incongruous with the plain language of Section 3: No person...shall hold any office civil or military....who having previously taken an oath...as an officer of the United States..." [emphasis added]. In her analysis, she relied on a distinction in oaths between Congress and the President that does not make a material difference.* Perhaps the state judges concluded sub silencio that it would be more consistent with democratic principles for the people of the United States to decide the political fate of the sociopathic boy-king.  US Person has his doubts about the wisdom of that choice given the election results of 2016.  Hillary was bad, but not as bad as Don 'Legit', who successfully conned his way into office. He is not on Fifth Avenue now.

{16.11.2023}As the possibility of imprisonment draws nearer, the would-be American dictator let his Nazi flag fly on Veteran's Day when he promised to eradicate political opponents he called "vermin".  That terminology is straight out of Hitler.  Astute readers may recall that the Nazis produced propaganda in which Jews were called the "vermin of Europe". In trademark fashion he claimed the threat of domestic enemies to be greater than those from foreign adversaries.  Dismiss his ranting if you must to maintain your grip on sanity, but remember that upwards of 40% of the American people are sympathetic to this neo-Nazi; he is outpolling the current democratically elected president.  One expert on authoritarianism told a TV host, "we are sleepwalking towards authoritarianism."  It seems Don 'Legit" actually read the Hitler autobiography he kept by his bedside.  His supporters are already building an army of loyalists, pre-screened by AI, to fill positions in government should he take office in '24.  The only thing needed now are the armbands.

Big Bavovna in Fulton County! The profers made by the co-defendants in the Georgia trial made it to the press.  Predictably the leak was made by a co-defendant's attorney.  The attorney for Jenna Ellis told Judge McAfee that he leaked the deposition because he though it would help his client and that the public has a right to know.  DA Willis was not pleased with the leak and has asked the judge for a protective order.  Whether the leak helped his client is debatable; it did inform the public about the quality of evidence of the Boss' corrupt intent.  Dan Scavino, former top aide in the White House, told Ellis at a Christmas party that Trump was "not going to leave the White House under any circumstances", regardless of loosing sixty some legal cases on the fraud issue.  When Ellis told Scovino, "it doesn't quite work that way". Scavino replied, "We don't care." No wonder she got a sweet plea deal from the DA!

credit: M. Luckovich

* In the presidents oath he promises to "preserve, protect and defend the constitution of the United States", while Congress members vow to "support the Constitution of the United States".  Clearly the President has a higher duty that includes merely supporting it.  Wallace has created, perhaps unintentionally, an exception to disqualification for future insurrectionist presidents or former presidents.  The fact there is no established procedure for making a rogue candidate like Trump ineligible for election under the Fourteenth Amendment begs precedent be established now by courts of law in this country.  US Person encourages Colorado plaintiffs to take their case to the Colorado Supreme Court and the US Supreme Court, if necessary because Judge Wallace's opinion, while finding Trumpilini engaged in an insurrection as predicate, it is logically flawed at its conclusion.  This is not a "political question", but rather an issue of correct statutory interpretation of Section 3's plain language.  Trumpillini has already availed himself of the statutory federal officer liability exemption in the E. Jean Carrol defamation case.  He is probably collaterally estopped from using the argument that he is not one for the purposes of the 14th Amendment.

Idaho Extremists Plan to Kill Wolves

The name of the agency is enough to tell you what their policy is: Idaho Wolf Depredation Control Board.  These extreme radicals have no regard for the survival of a wild creature simply trying to survive. They plan to hire private contractors to kill wolves by trapping, snaring, and gunning from aircraft.  They took this decision without public input.  A brutal scofflaw from Elko, NV named Trevor C. Watch stands to benefit the most from three contracts worth over $100,000.  The Nevada chief game warden labeled his activities, "blatant illegal behavior".  He has left trapped animals to die slowly of dehydration and starvation 

The Board authorized unlimited removal of wolves in their core range despite successful efforts by the Wood River Project to teach ranchers and others to co-exist with wolves.  The field season this year resulted in zero losses to predation among 24,000 sheep in the project area.  The project regularly documents the lowest predation rates in the state. Yet Idaho legislature has voted to remove 90% of the states wolf population.  A livestock operator from Blaine County said that the extermination efforts will likely result in more predation as pack relations are destroyed, and inexperienced juveniles disperse to kill livestock in order to survive. He also pointed out that the cost of these vindictive pogroms usually exceeds the value of livestock killed statewide in Idaho.  These efforts to exterminate wolves also make a mockery of the considerable resources devoted to bringing back wolves from near extinction.

Non-lethal deterrents work, but that fact does not make any sense to Idaho authorities who are operating on a culture war agenda.  The Control Board only funds lethal actions; no money is allocated for non-lethal programs.  The Wood River wolf pack has lived alongside sheep and sheep hoarders for sixteen years peacefully.  Do they deserve elimination by man?  That question hardly needs to be asked in a sane world.  Sixty percent of the land in Idaho is public land, and the public elsewhere in America has made their decision to protect wolves very clear.  US Person thinks the federal government needs to step in and prevent this irrational slaughter from occurring by extending emergency protection to Idaho wolves under the Endangered Species Act.  Write to the US Secretary of Interior today!

Nuclear Renaissance is a Myth

The so-called "nuclear power renaissance" is turning out to be non-existent.  The only approved small-scale, modular, nuclear reactor was cancelled Wednesday by its owner.  Research and development of smaller nuclear plants is funded by the national government. Both the Idaho National Environment and Engineering Laboratory and Oregon State University participated in development. Advocates argue that plants (SMRs) in the 50 to 100MW range that can be built on a modular basis are cheaper, safer and more efficient that the megaliths of 1000MW or more of the past.  These have proven extremely expensive and complicated to operate, as well as being vulnerable to natural disasters and terrorist attack.  The Biden Administration has made clear its commitment to a new generation of nuclear power.  His administration has provided $6 billion to keep America's aging reactors operating and added $100 million to the $600 million already spent on SMRs. [photro courtesy NuScale]

NuScale Power was founded on the technical research a quarter-century ago.  Its first SMR design was approved by the Nuclear Regulatory Agency in February. The company planned to build six 77MW modules by 2030, a delay of 2025 start date, as it ran into technical difficulties and the usual cost overruns that ballooned the cost estimate from $3 billion to $6.1 billion. Its first small reactor project was scuttled after NuScale's utility partner backed out when cost estimates escalated further to $9.3 billion.  Utilities that might have signed up to buy power also got cold feet, causing NuScale to admit,"it appears unlikely that the project will have enough subscription to continue toward deployment."

NuScale has turned its attention to SMRs in Eastern Europe. But the example of the massive Zaporizhzhia nuclear station in Ukraine has brought home to utilities and governments the dangers of a nuclear plant in a war zone.  That six reactor unit, the largest in Europe, has been shut down since shelling took place near it.  The potential for a toxic release of radiation due to battle damage is just too great to continue operation.  The same concerns occur in earthquake-prone regions--witness the Fukushima  station destroyed by an earthquake and tsunami in 2011.

The only new US reactors built recently, in Georgia, are seven years over schedule and cost $34 billion.  The original cost estimate was $14 billion. The cost overruns and delays led to the bankruptcy of Westinghouse Inc. a company founded in 1886.  Nevertheless, an SMR is planned for Ontario, Canada.  It is scheduled to begin operation in 2028--clearly and overly optimistic forecast.  SMRs, like their larger forerunners, are simply not economical without government subsidies compared to solar and wind installations that are much simpler in design and can be erected relatively quickly.  GE-Hitachi building the Ontario project says it can produce electricity at $60MW/hr.  Solar installation with storage capacity figures at $45MW/hr and wind at $30MW/hr. Nuclear has provided about 20% of the nation's energy production since the 1990s, but going forward it will be difficult to get investors and governments interested in new nuclear projects. US Person has no chip on his shoulder; nuclear power is still NOT too cheap to meter. 

Attenborough's Chimera

Readers of PNG know that US Person is a fan of Sir David Attenborough, the well-know naturalist and narrator of BBC's excellent nature programs. But he did not know that Attenborough also has the honor of an animal namesake. The long-beaked echinda of New Guinea (Zaglossus attenborougi) is named after him. But the species had not been seen in sixty years in its home of the Cyclops Mountains, that is until a trail camera captured video of one om the last day of a four week expedition led by an Oxford University scientist. James Kempton retrieve the image from the last memory card of eighty cameras scattered about the forest. He was elated at the discovery, since the shy, burrowing creature is notoriously difficult to find in the wild. His team survived an earthquake, malaria and even a leech attached to an eyeball! 

The echidna is truly a strange creature, a chimera of made up incongruous body parts: spines of hedgehog, snout of  anteater, and feet of mole. It is ancient, perhaps 220 million years old, a member of the Monotream order that includes another egg- laying strange-o, duckbill platypus. This echidna species has been recorded only once before in 1961 by a Dutch scientist. It is deeply embedded in native folklore. In one tradition a dispute could be settled by sending one party to the conflict into the forest to find an echidna and the other to the ocean to locate a marlin, which could take years, by which time the dispute would be forgotten.  A different Echidna species also occurs in Australia.  [photo credit: UK Guardian]

TWIT: "That's a Problem"

Photogenic Ivanka Trump smiled her way through testifying in the NY civil fraud case. While smiling, she took a predictable path between further incriminating her old man and lying under oath by answering, "I don't recall" numerous times. Her selective memory did not improve after the prosecutor showed her several documents and emails indicating her involvment in deals--Doral Golf Club and the Old Post Office--that significantly over-stated her father's net worth. In one email she wrote to a Trump lawyer that a minimum net worth required by Deutsche Bank--$4.0 billion--to grant a favorable loan would be a "problem" for Trump. Her admission exposes the motive for inflating the numbers--receiving favorable treatment from counterparts--and establishes the materiality of Trump's persistent fraud.  As Letitia James put it to press after the days proceedings, "numbers don't lie."

Don Legit will get another bit at the apple as he will be called by his defense team as one of 127 potential witnesses.

credit: N. Anderson

COTW: The World in 2100

A lot of the Earth's problems in terms of pollution and destruction of natural habitat is driven by human population growth.  So you may ask when it [growth] end?  The chart this week shows the major population models with the UN's projection being the most widely referenced:

UN predicts that in 2100 the world's population will be around 10.5 billion people, with the peak arriving around 2086. Fortunately,US Person will not be around for that occurrence. Unless we solve the climate crisis, Earth will be a hellish place to live, and the starships full. The differences in the projections are due to projected fertility rates.  Both Asia and Africa are predicted to experience sharp declines in birth rates as countries there experience further economic development.  Sub-Saharan Africa, which has open of the highest fertility rates in the world, is not expected to reach replacement rate of 2 births per woman until 2070.  Birth rate changes in high fertility areas have a significant impact on when peak population will occurr.

Texaco's Toxic Legacy in Ecuador

Some of the sludge pools hidden in the jungle are over 6 meters deep, the legacy of decades of oil production and exploration by Texaco, now Chevron. Chevron faced a land mark and higly controversial lawsuit in which it was assessed $9.5 billion in damages and costs. A decade later the clean up has yet to materialize in the Sacha field, Orellana Province. Fruit trees will not in the contaminated soil covering the pools, or if they do struggle to survive they do not produce fruit. People living nearby are forced to use polluted water wells until they finally leave the area. There are an estimated 3,568 sites in Ecuador's Amazon that the government lists as sources of contanmination. Satelite imagery produced for litigation showed 990 waste pits scattered about the forest floor. Texaco was deemed responsible for 1,107. Rather than remediate the waste sites, the company covered them up, despite the fact that it signed a remediation plan. 

The Sacha field is now owned by Petroecuador, the state oil company. The country has been extracting oil from the rainforest since the 1960s, but there is little research and data on the health effects on local populations directly affected by extraction. So far Petroecuador has done very litle to clean-up the mess, recognized as one of the largest ecological disasters in the world. Over the years the waste oil buried by Texaco has seeped up to the surface in Orellana and neighboring Sucumbios province. [photo credits:A. Lara]

Despite international litigation and arbitration against Chevon, which acquired Texaco in 2001,  Ecuador has come out a looser probably due to incompetence-or perhaps coruption--of its former Attorney General, Ignio Salvador. Successive governments have become accustom to ignoring the disasterous pollution caused the dumping of 650,000 barrels of oil and billions of gallons of contaminated water. Petroecuador repeatedly claims that it has remediated 51 million cubic feet of soil and eliminated 1,127 sources of contamination. but the state company does not provide data to corroborate up its public claims, and people continue to die of cancer from toxic exposure. In a famous study of oil exploitation affects on rural health by physician Miguel San Sebastian, people living in San Carlos, Orellana face a cancer risk 2.3 times higher than residents of the capital, Quito. Undiagnosed diseases abound in the region. One resident told interviers, "This is not a spill. This was dumped here forty years ago, and they knew what they were doing."  

TWIT: "I pour concrete"

credit: M. Wuerker

Latest:  Judge Chutkin has set jury selection in the January 6th federal criminal case to begin February 9th. She reinstated her gag order against Don 'Legit' on Sunday after pausing it for briefing. Team Trump continues to find ways to delay all proceedings by filing motions unlikely to succeed.  

California lawyer John Eastman has been found culpable in a disciplinary trial lasting 32 days.  The proceedings now move to the punishment phase.  Possible penalties include disbarment. 

And Eric lies as well.  That was the top line from Eric Trump's testimony in the NewYork civil fraud case against him, his older brother and daddy.  Eric opened his testimony by disavowing any knowledge or involvement in his father's fraudulent statements of financial condition used by the Trump Org to obtain favorable loans, insurance and avoid taxes.   The prosecuting attorney promptly confronted him with emails and documents that showed him participating in preparation of the statements and signing off on documents as the trustee for his father's revocable trust established during his term in public office.  Eric was eventually forced to admit that it "appeared" he did have knowledge and participation in the persistent fraud for which he is being tried.  

Don 'Legit" is scheduled to testify beginning Monday and his daughter goes last on Wednesday. He already know that Trumpilini will dissemble in a maze of word salad. However, the order of the family witnesses is significant because it places Ivanka in a perjury vice. Ivanka was the principal point of contact with Deutsche Bank, that several large loans to the Trump Org. She has been cleared of wrongdoing by virtue of a statute of limitations, but she could still face legal jeopardy if she lies on the witness stand about the fraud already found to have taken place by Judge Engoron. Her last ditch effort to delay her appearance on grounds of school days for her children was rejected by the appellate court. Spin may work in the business and political worlds, but not on the witness stand under oath and cross examination. The family that crimes together, lies together.

Keeping you up to speed, the campaign to bar Trump from election ballots under the 14th Amendment is picking up steam in several states.  A trial in Denver, CO started Monday on the issue of whether Section 3 of the amendment applies to what Trump did or did not do on January 6th when his mob attacked the Capitol.  The section drafted to keep former Confederates from holding public office, prohibits anyone who takes an oath of office and participates in, or gives aid and comfort to an insurrection, from holding public office.  Two prominent conservative legal scholars have publicly supported the idea that its disqualification should be applied to Trumpilini. The issue is not clear cut since there is understandably very little legal precedent. Whatever a lower court decides will be appealed all the way to the Supreme Court by Trump's legal minions.

The case was brought by several registered Republican and a couple of unaffiliated voters.  People have written to their Secretaries of State demanding that Don 'Legit' be barred from appearing on state ballots in New Mexico, Florida, New Hampshire, Ohio and Wisconsin.  US Person has also made a similar request to the Oregon Secretary of State. Write your Secretary of State today!  Many legal challenges lay ahead for the efforts.  A court could decide that private citizens do not have standing to bring a lawsuit challenging the qualifications of candidate, or that the suit is not ripe for adjudication, since candidates have not yet formally filed for ballot access.

credit: R. Molina

 

Recovering the American Chestnut Tree

Once it was the dominant over story tree of the eastern American forest.  The species is fast growing and large, reaching heights of 80ft and three to four feet in diameter. [photo]  Its tree is prized for it wood that has straight grain and hardness.  Chestnuts were roasted over an open fire (at least according to Nat King Cole) and fed the hogs, which were released into the forest to feast on the burrs.  Wildlife likes chestnuts too.  The species was all but eliminated by a blight introduced through Japanese specimens beginning in New York in 1904, considered one of the largest ecological disasters in modern times.  A staggering four billion trees were killed in just forty years. A few wild chestnut trees have managed to survive, and stumps continue to produce shoots that succumb within a few years. So the pure genetic code is still available to us.

Efforts are underway to restore the chestnut tree to its place in American deciduous forests.  The American Chestnut Foundation is conducting research to develop blight resistant strains.  Asian chestnut trees are resistant to blight, so a back-cross breeding program is underway to find a suitable variety to reintroduce.  Breeders want to retain as much American genome as possible while obtaining blight resistance from Asian genes.  Asian trees look different and grow differently in the forest.

The blight fungus lives in the tree's cambium where it spreads and girds the tree killing it.  A resistant tree forms a canker which stops the fungus from spreading.  The University of Virginia has been conducting breeding research for fifty years and is working with the Foundation to establish a breeding colony from which seedlings can be planted in Virginia's forests.  This type of breeding program is important for other species such as ash and white pine, both of which are suffering from disease.  

New Plant Species in Hawaii

Its name is Clermontia hanaulaensis and it was discovered during routine survey of Pohakea Gulch on Maui. The plant has a purple flower on a shrub that seemed familiar to biologist Frank Oppenheimer, Clermontia gaudich This plant is slightly different-- its flower having white variegations, convex petals, and elongated lobes. [photo]

Earlier this year after study the plant was named a new species of the genus being morphologically different from all other known species. It is present on six of the Hawaii islands. The genus dispersed from the oldest island, Kauai'i (5.1 mya). The discovery was somewhat surprising since the area--mountain terrain east of Lahaina--has been studied for over one hundred fifty years. If the plant had not been flowering at the time of discovery, it might not been distinquished from the other Clermontia growing nearby. C. hanaulaensis immediately became targeted for conservation. The Plant Extinction Prevention Program (PEPP) collects seeds from wild plants to preserve their existence. Oppenheimer thinks plants like the newly discovered species have a right to exist, even if it is only in cultivation. 

Approximately 250 endemic Hawaiian plants have less than fifty individuals surviving in the wild. Scientists estimate that 130 plants have gone extinct. Key threats to Hawaii's native plants include invasive species such as slugs, pigs and rats. On Maui the invasive axis deer are a particular problem, along with the lack of native forest birds that provide pollination services. PEPP works with partners in conservation to save native plants from extinction. Sometimes that means working with reluctant land owners who need convincint that conservation is worthwhile. Despite obstacles, Oppenheimer remains optimistic. “All the issues can be addressed and the problems solved if we have enough resources,” he told an interviewer. He continued, “It would be easy to be sucked into a negative thought process of gloom and doom, It’s surprisingly emotional; To me, that underscores the kind of people that work in conservation.”

Wolves Coming Home to Colorado

Wolves have not inhabited Colorado since they were exterminated there in the 1940s. Coloradans wisely voted to reintroduce the species in 2020, but it has taken until now for their return to become a reality. The first wolves are expected to be released in December to selected west slope habitats.

Oregon has said it is willing to donate ten of its wolves to the Rocky Mountain state. They will be captured in the northeast which has a strong population of wolves. Wolves have had a hard time in Oregon with the total population flat-lining due to poaching and state-sponsored culling.  Wildlife authorities here are appreciative of having another method of non-lethal removal at their disposal. The Nez Perce tribe has also expressed interest in donating some of its wolves to Colorado. Support the effort to re-establish wolves by buying an attractive T-shirt here. US Person did! A portion of the purchase price will go to the Endangered Species Coalition.

TWIT: Trump Tracker

Latest: Ivanka Trump has been ordered to testify against her father in the New York fraud trail. Her attorneys attempted to dispute a subpoena served on her at her office on Fifth Avenue.  Judge Erdogan ruled she is a material witness over whom the Superior court has personal jurisdiction.  Don 'Legit' has also been called as an adverse witness by the state.

Update:  Six more defendants have been offered plea deals in the Georgia RICO case.  Three have been named: Robert Cheeley, Mike Roman and Misty Hampton.  Attorney Cheeley has rejected an offer.  It appears the DA is reserving trial for the main players: Trump, Giuliani, Eastman and Meadows.  Meadows is especially important since he has already received federal immunity from Special Counsel Jack Smith in an effort to get the goods on Don 'Legit', but that immunity deal does not affect a state prosecution. So far, thanks to some smart lawyering and despite ignoring a congressional subpoena to testify, Meadows has escaped unscathed.  DA Willis is approaching the point where she can conveniently try the remaining defendants, perhaps in two batches with the principal conspirators going first.  US Person sees the main event being the televised trial of Trump, Meadows, Eastman and Guiliani.  The second batch consists of Robert Cheeley, Jeffrey Clark, Ray Smith, David Shafer, Shawn Still, “Pastor” Stephan Lee, Harrison Floyd, Cathy Latham, and Trevian Kutti.  If the reporting is right, only three deals remain unidentified.  It is doubtful Clark gets a plea offer since he is a significant conspirator involved in attempting to pressure Georgia officials to alter the election results, and might be logically tried with the first group. Latham is a friend of Hampton, who has agreed to be a state's witness, so she is likely to accept a deal too.  A couple of these remaining defendants are simply foot soldiers, like Trevian Kutti and Harrison Floyd who coerced election worker Ruby Freemen, who would probably accept a deal, leaving a second group of six or fewer to be tried.

The New York Times has provided a convenient flow chart showing the legal troubles of Trump and his upcoming trial.  Since he has deliberately blurred the lines between his legal defense and campaigning for a second term, it is paramount that the American people have before them the complete story of his conspiracy to overturn democracy in this country.  He must be brought to trial before 2024 election, thirteen months away,  To that end, judges must be careful not to allow him to derail proceedings with an appealable restriction on his right to speak.  That consideration has to be balanced by the need to conduct fair proceedings by protecting witnesses from intimidation.   A delicate balance to be sure, and Trump can be counted on to test it.

Judge Engoron has already fined Trumpilini twice for his out-of-control press statements in the hallway outside the courtroom. The latest fine is $10,000.  Engoron took the unusual step of calling Trump to the stand to testify.  He found as the trier of fact that Trump's testimony he was referring to Michael Cohen and not his principal law clerk in his press rant to be "incredible". 

Is is interesting to note, and somewhat ironic, that American labor leader and socialist Eugene Debs campaigned for President in 1920 while incarcerated for violating the 1917 Espionage Act.  He received his highest popular vote total, 915,000, in that campaign. There is no constitutional restriction on a convicted felon holding office.  He would be disqualified from voting however.  Trump is certainly no Eugene Debs, but a narcissistic conman bent on destroying our republic.

"Ohh....that hurt!"