TWIT: "Spam Risk--Egypt"

credit P. Guerra
BC Idonwanna sez: That's his buddy, Reichminster Joe next to him 

That is what Don Olde's 'burner' phone registered on Michigan Majority Leader's cell phone when he called to influence the counting of Electoral College votes in that state.  For those readers not familiar with organized criminal behavior, 'burner' phones are cheap, disposable cell phones favored by drug dealers and mobsters to thwart tracing by law enforcement.  What we have here is not a "fayure to comuncate", but a call routed through servers located in Egypt.  Ask yourself this question: why would a President of the United States be using a burner phone to conduct official business?  NOT.  The communication was not recorded in the daily presidential call log.  

According to a deposition in the evidence appendix submitted by Jack Smith, All-American Prosecutor, the Repugnant House Speaker was informed that a call from Don Olde would be forthcoming identified as "Spam Risk--Egypt" on his phone.  They discussed counting votes on the surreptitious call, and candidate Trump expressed concern that fraud may be affecting the vote count in Michigan.  The Electoral College system makes such illegal interference possible.  It should be abolished in favor of a popular vote.  If the Democrats control Congress after this election, they are in a position to approve the Popular Vote Compact when it reaches 270 electoral votes, thus avoiding the necessity of the supermajorities required to pass a constitutional amendment*. 

The Orange Menace and his fascist stooges are preparing the same "Big Lie" this time around.  They plan to declare victory early in the tally when they might hold a temporary lead. The only way to counter this type of seditious agitprop is to vote in such numbers against the dictator-in-waiting that his repeated claims of fraud are not plausible in any way.  America's democracy depends on putting this outrageous, criminal con-man in our rearview mirror.  PLEASE VOTE for democracy by November 5th.

credit: Tom Tomorrow

*Apologists point to the Electoral College Reform Act of 2022 as the solution to the problem of gaming presidential elections.  It does not solve the problem of giving undue voting weight to a few swing states that results in skewing campaigning to those states.  The fact is that the scheme was born of a compromise with slavery in the southern states.  'Reforming' such an obsolete, morally suspect system is not a solution, but another patch on an already feeble scheme that is anti-democratic in nature since it operates agains the one person, one vote principle enshrined in constitutional law.  Besides, another clever conservatie lawyer like John Eastman may come along and manipulate the reform to partisan advantage.  The Electoral College has outlived its raison d'être and should be abolished, period.

On another issue, Trump's radical tariff proposal, besides being considered ruinous by many economists, has its roots deep in US history.  Robert Morris, a wealthy Philadelphia merchant--an Elon Musk of the 18th century--became superintendent of finance during the Revolutionary War.   He was the money man responsible for funding the conflict.  He insisted that the Confederation pass an impost (tariff) on foreign imports as a means of funding bonds issued to pay for the war.  Morris and his friends owned the top tier of these bonds. Naturally, they wanted to be paid.  His proposal met with stiff resistance from the states as an infringement of their sovereign right to tax residents.  Morris saw the impost as the beginning of a strong central government.   An impost was not passed until the Confederation became a nation-state in 1789.  A high tariff now would be inflationary by increasing the cost of living, and would lead to retaliation against U.S, exports that could set off a recession. Hardly a liberal periodical, The Economist has endorsed Kamala Harris. His claim that foreign nations would pay for the tariff is equivalent to his claim that Mexico would pay for his wall folly. Tarriff costs would be passed on to consumers. Elon Musk owns millions in federal government contracts. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Tarantulas Have Got It

Charisma that is. iders in general have a lot of attention from humans.  That is a good thing and a bad thing.   Humans often think twice before killing one, but they are captured for exploitation. Tarantulas because of their large size and colorful, furry shape especially have this problem i. Collection of tarantulas as a hobby is reaching dangerous proportions, together with climate change and habitat loss, theatening to endanger the species. They have become part of the multi-billion dollar illegal wildlife trade. Because of their long life, 30 years or more, they are particularly vulnerable. Females breed infrequently and later in their lifespans.

Some endemic species like Poeciltheria from Sri Lanka and India are already threatened by extinction. The US Fish and Wildlife Service is considering listing them as endangered under the Endangered Species Act.  Not all are collected as pets.  43% are collected as souvenirs post mortem.  The Internet makes illegal trade easier by connecting potential buyers with traders.  Shipping is less of a problem since babies can be shipped internationally with ease.  A German man in 2010 packaged hundreds of baby tarantulas in multi-colored straws and sent them by USPS.  In 2021 a couple in Columbia was detained at the airport when 230 tarantulas were found in their suitcase. [photo credit: Getty Images]

There are at least 1000 known species of tarantula.  Lack of data on the arachnids hampers assessing the impact of illegal trade.  Only species listed under CITIES are tracked, which represents only a small fraction #%) of the species in trade.  Negative stereotypes and arachnophobia leading to a lack of research funding also make conservation difficult.

Some tarantula hot spots like India, Central and South America are attempting to control the illegal trade.  Given the ease of international shipment and the proliferation of trade in the insects, worldwide regulation is unlikely. Captive breeding may be an answer to saving the spiders from extinction and meeting the demand for specimens provided a legitimate monitoring and tracking system is in place. Mexico has successfully created a legal captive tarantula breeding program.  Breeders are worried that captive breeding cannot keep pace with demand. The genus Brachypelma contains several colorful Mexican tarantulas popular in the commercial trade.  Spiders may creep you out at first, but given a dose of education on how valuable they are to an ecosystem by providing insect control, and as food for larger animals,  you quickly get over your aversion...or compulsion as the case may be.

COTW: Bat Deaths Linked to Increased Infant Mortality

A new study from a University of Chicago professor published in the journal Science says that when bats  die from widespread white-nose syndrome, farmers increase pesticide use by 31%.  This increase correlates with an increase in infant mortality in affected counties of 8%.  The study covered 245 counties from 2006 to 2017.  Damages from the fungal disease is estimated at $39.4 billion. [credit: Bat Conservation International; infected little brown bat]

White-nose syndrome, first detected in the mid 2000s, has now spread to 40 states and Canadian provinces killing 90% of populations among three species of bats.; These include the northern long-eared bat(Myotis septentrionalis) which is listed as endangered in the U.S.; the tricolored bat (Perimyotis subflavus) which is proposed to be federally protected as endangered in the U.S.; and the little brown bat (Myotis lucifugus) Bats are enormous insectivores, providing free insect eradication services to farmers. When that ecological service is lost due to disease, farmers resort to more pesticide use to keep food prices in-line. Multiple studies have found connections between infant health and pesticides that adversely affect environmental conditions.  A 2023 survey found pesticides in maternal serum, placenta and umbilical cord.  A bat conservation organization reported that 52% of bat species are at risk of extinction in the next 15 years.  The fungus inhibits bat's ability to  hibernate resulting in increased energy use and eventual starvation.  The fungus is thought to have been transported by humans from Europe. {05.26.2011}

Conservation efforts are underway, but the task is huge and complex.  Solutions will be several including vaccination, fungus eradication in known hibernation sites and increased forage efficiency by bats. The problem is nationwide, spreading from east to west beginning in 2006 and reaching the west coast by 2022 [map]: The study looked at other potential causes for the correlation such as unemployment and drug abuse, but found no other causes.  A reproductive epidemiologist at Harvard told the NYT that a growing body of research is showing the health effects of toxic chemical use in the environment although a precise cause and effect linkage has not yet been determined.  He is not afflicted with the new study, but the author Eyal Frank, has studied the effect of vulture die off in India that led to an increase of half a million deaths due to rotting livestock carcasses and an increase in feral dogs and water pollution.

His latest study has been called groundbreaking in its demonstration of the public health implications of ecosystem disruption.  Frank estimates base on his statistical study that 1,334 infants have died in affected counties.  

TWIT: Fascist Daddy Climate Denier

credit: M. Wueker
Wackydoodle sez: OMG look at those balls!

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory has estimated that climate change is responsible for a 50% increase in hurricane rainfall in some parts of Georgia and North Carolina. Helene killed 150 people accross the southeast region. Yet despite these facts the Olde Liar-in-Chief continues to issue baseless claims for media consumption that climate change is "one of the great scams of all time". Who should know better than the greatest con-man in modern history? He courts financial support from the oil and gas industry, and even proposed the oil industry give him a $1 billion campaign contribution in return for disposing of environmental regulationsif he is elected to destroy American democracy.

Project 2025, written by his closest supporters and the Heritage Foundation, proposes ending the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) flood insurance program, replacing it with private flood insurance that companies refuse to issue in flood prone areas or make it prohibitively expensive.  NOAA's disaster preparedness grants would also be eliminated, while the agency itself would be privatized. North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper estimates that the state suffered $53.6 billion in damages from Helene. This policy bluebook exhibits MAGA hostility to government programs and agencies on every page.  Climate change policy initiatives would be largely dismantled. A climate advocate told the Guardian,“When American communities are devastated by extreme weather, Trump’s plan is to increase their suffering while handing out $110 billion in tax breaks to big oil.”

On another front of the bizarre Trumpian presidential con-job,  jumping Elon Musk, former illegal alien, has been warned by the DOJ in a letter that his 'sweepstakes' giving a million to swing state voters who register to vote and sign a petition supporting the First and Second Amendments may violate federal law. The US Code prohibits anyone from incentivising voter registration.   His America PAC intends to give away one million randomly to swing state voters who sign up. A UCLA law professor has said that the scheme is essentially a lottery open only to register voters in swing states, thereby creating an incentive or reward for registration. The scheme is simply another example of gaming the anachronistic Electoral College system.  Kamala Harris should own this extremism by pledging to work for the system's replacement by a popular vote for president.  Meanwhile™they are burning USPS ballot collection boxes in Maricopa County (D) Arizona where early voting is already taking place.  Twenty mail-in ballots were damaged before firefighters extinguished the blaze. One person has been arrested.

Another corruption of the legal process by the Trump Gang has been revealed by ABC News. Former immigrant Aileen Cannon dismissed the Espionage Act case against Don Olde, that is currently on appeal to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. Perhaps not surprisingly she is second on the list of possible Attorney Generals in a second Trump regime.The list was drafted by Trump advisors with input from Boris Epshteyn, who is the top legal advisor to the Orange Menace and under indictment in Arizona for his role in the attempted coup. Talk about quid pro quo!

US Person is asked: how can the election be this close, if one of the candidates is an adjudged sex abuser, fraudster, twice impeached malignant narcissist, and convicted felon? Three words: misogyny, ignorance and bigotry. This union is far, far from perfect. For those whose nails are mere nubs now due to skewed polls, historian Alan Lichtman has predicted based on 13 keys that Kamala Harris will be the next president of the United States. His model is based on 120 previous elections' data. He correctly predicted nine of ten presidential elections since 1984 (the re-election of Ronald Reagan) using his method.

credit: A. Zygus, The Buffalo News

Famous Yellowstone Bear Killed in Car Accident

Grizzly 399 was killed in a car accident south of Jackson Hole, WY Tuesday.  She was estimated to be about 28 years old.  The mother bear became an icon of Yellowstone wildlife as the oldest known reproducing female in the Yellowstone ecosystem.  Her latest cub, Spirit, was with her when the accident occurred and may have been involved.  He has not been seen since Tuesday night when the accident occurred on a highway in the Snake River canyon.  399 adopted a strategy to protect her cubs from aggressive males by staying close to human traffic, which of course made her a favorite of tourists and wildlife photographers.  She is estimated to leave behind more than 20 cubs and grand cubs.  The sow was hazed by wildlife managers after repeatedly coming close to residences in south Jackson Hole looking for food in 2021, but on the whole she had a good record of coexistence with humans. [photo credit: T. Mangelsen]

Forty-nine bears have been killed this year in traffic accidents.  Conservationists say more needs to be done, such as building wildlife crossings, to protect wildlife from human traffic.  Grizzly bear population has risen considerably to more than 1000 individuals since legal protection under the Endangered Species Act began in the 1970s. The vehicle involved is reportedly "totaled", but the driver unharmed.  No traffic violations have been reported.  The speed limit in the area is 55 mph.  An ambassador for her species, 399 will be missed by thousands of her admirers around the world.

Creature Feature: Salmon Return to the Klamath

Within a two months of the dams being removed from the Klamath River, salmon have returned to the unblocked portion of the river! The Yurok Tribe is monitoring their return and posted a video picked up by a local news station. Now is time to remove the final Boyle dam in southern Oregon, so the Klamath can return to the wild after serving man for over a century. Watch:

The Fracking of Dimock, PA

The UK Guardian tells US that it may be hard to find votes for either Trump or Harris in this small Pennsylvania village (pop. 1200) since both have gone out of their way to endorse fracking. Dimock has the misfortune of sitting atop the most prolific gas reservoir in the United States, One Texas company, Coterra Energy Inc. is drilling down 7,000ft into the Marcellus shale formation to reach an estimated 1.3 trillion cubic feet of gas worth about $3.9 billion. Dimock is unfortunate because the process of enhanced recovery using a cocktail of chemicals, water and sand has polluted the town's water supply, released toxins into the air and brought radioactive waste to the surface. Drilling is banned from the town center but laterals that bend horizontally from the wellhead snake beneath 80 Dimock properties. Hydraulic pressure and caustic chemicals are forced into the boreholes to literally shatter the shale and release natural gas, which is a highly potent greenhouse gas.

Fracking is a divisive issue in Pennsylvania with many people supporting gas development for its beneficial economic impact. Many want the process banned for its undeniably adverse environmental and health impacts. In 2020 then Attorney General Josh Shapiro brought an indictment of eight felony charges against Coterra Energy Inc., then known as Cabot before a merger, for endangering the town's drinking water. The case was settled out of court with the company agreeing to plea to a single misdemeanor and build a $16 million waterline for the town. Not uncoincidentally the state's department of environmental protection lifted a ban on Coterra from drilling in the area for more than a decade after it fground d that the company had contaminated 19 private water wells that turned drinking water into a brown sludge. A notable documentary on fracking, Gasland, shows residents igniting their tap water polluted with natural gas.

Despite the obvious threat to public health and a state constitutional provision that guarantees
Pennsylvanian's right to “clean air, pure water and to the preservation of the natural, scenic, historic and esthetic values of the environment” now Democratic Governor Shapiro is unapologetic about his support for the gas industry in his state. A spokesperson called him an "all of the above" energy governor. Vice President Kamala Harris supported banning fracking in her 2016 run for the Democratic nomination. But in her debate with Olde Trump, she said she had changed her position on the issue, and would not ban fracking. Since the process has not changed, nor its recognized adverse impacts, Pennsylvania's role as a key swing state with 19 electoral votes must weigh heavily in her shift on the issue.

contaminated Dimock well water

A consulting engineer for affected residents said that the fracking operations are much larger now using millions of gallons of water, and although monitoring of water contamination has been put in place, and old wells plugged, no company can guarantee new wells will not leak. "Once wells are drilled, they will leak", according to the Cornell University environmental engineer. "The nine square miles of Dimock is a goldmine of natural gas...When you look at the people of Dimock, you see pain and uncertainty in their eyes."

A resident of Dimock for thirty years and an active fracking opponent, Ray Kimble, told the Guardian,“Sure as hell, I’m not voting for either of those two assholes,” referring to the two major party presidential candidates. Kimble will leave his home of thirty years because of the water, which now resembles odiferous brown mud. He donated his home to a non-profit research group that will test the water, plants, and soil to inform new legislative proposals. A 2016 federal study found unhealthy levels of cadmium, lead, arsenic and copper in 27 Dimock homes, with 17 in danger of exploding because of leaked gas build-up. Said Kimble, "...there's going to be a scientist behind every tree. I'm tired of all the bullshit, all the stories, and all the f**ing crap. I want the hell out of here." Tell that to Kamala.

TWIT: Swaying the Vote

BC Idonwanna sez: Notice how modern fascists look alike!

Breaking:  Four volumes of evidence have been released to the public. The surprise: 80% of it is redacted.  Public access?  Give US Person a break! One public tidbit: 59 cyber security experts agree that there is no credible evidence of material election fraud, or that allegations are "technically incoherent".  That tweet was by Kris Krebs, Olde Don's own cybersecurity director in December 2020.  He fired him shortly thereafter for speaking truth to power. Thank you, Popock for reading through 1889 pages of redacted evidence.  A lot of the evidence in the appendix is already in the public domain.

Latest:  As expected Judge Chutkin denied Don Olde's request to further stay release of the evidence appendix.  The public right to access in a public justice system outweighed any possible prejudice against the defense. There is no jury to prejudice now and will not be until six months to a year later.  Any possible corruption of a speculative jury pool can be cured by rigorous voir dire. Chutkin reminded the defense they are in a courtroom, not a political campaign. The redacted release is expected any time after the entry of a minute order.  The appendix is expected to contain witness testimony, documents, transcripts, recordings, forensic analysis of digital communication, and other admissible evidence against Don 'Olde': "We didn't have guns. The others [police] had guns." [emphasis added]  Enough said.

Update: On the last day of the seven day continuance granted by Judge Chutkin,  Olde Trump's legal team filed a motion to stay public release of a redacted version of the prosecution's evidence appendix.  The judge will decided, shortly, whether to keep the public in the dark about the extent of the defendant's involvement in the conspiracy to usurp the peaceful transfer of power.  To do so would be an extreme disservice to democracy because people in a democracy have a right to know before they vote.  The Supreme Court has ordered in its remand a fact-intensive review of the evidence against the defendant.  In its motion the defense claims that pre-election release will prejudice the minds of any potential jurors since the defense does not have a contemporaneous opportunity to file its evidentiary appendix. Left unexplained is how he is prejudice if he files his evidentiary index after the election but before trial. Any prejudice to the defendant, if any. is outweighed by the public's right to know the evidence of candidate Donald Trump's criminal activities.   The real concern of the defense is the effect the evidence will have on voters, NOT jurors.  If their client looses the election, he is in more serious legal jeopardy. 

{17.10.2024}What else can he do--he's got nuthin'.  The pressure must be immense: facing incarceration if he looses, behind in key swing states, no policy that makes common sense forcing him to rely on fear-mongering ("the enemy within").  The oldest presidential candidate in history at 79, in questionable health, is simply overwhelmed.  This is what comes of a lifetime of grifting and bad diet.  His so-called town hall in swing state Pennsylvania was a PR disaster.  He subjected his shrinking number of supporters to 39 minutes of swaying to the soundtrack (dancing is too generous a word).  No wonder people leave early. The long con is finally coming to an ugly end.  It was fun for the alienated while it lasted too long--watching the demented, orange clown stick it to the political establishment with the 'weave' and 'fake news'.

Just the facts, ma'am: The voluminous new evidence filed under seal by Special Prosecutor Jack Smith is about to be released in redacted form by the DC federal district court since Old Don has missed the deadline to file an appeal, request a stay, or petition for emergency relief or otherwise prevent the bombshell about to be dropped on him. The fact is that this evidence release so close to the election is the direct and undeniable result of the MAGA Court's attempt to give the first criminal president in this nation's history a get-out-of-jail free card.  Smith also filed a brief arguing that the Fischer decision, one of the three Justice Robert's decisions supporting Trump's autogolpe is satisfied. The Trump co-conspirators attempted to use false elector certificates from seven swing states to persuade the Vice President to accept an alternative slates of electors supporting Trump's election.  Still to be decided is the question of whether Jack Smith was unconstitutionally appointed.  Based on precedent that argument is a looser too.  

COTW: Solar Builds Out in 2023

2023 was a record year for the amount of installed solar generating capacity in the United States.  Berkeley Labs tells US  that an additional 18.5 GW was installed bringing the total to 80.2 GW across 47 states. The ERCOT grid in Texas added the most capacity with 4.2 [see map above]

Meanwhile ™installed costs continue to drop, 8% over 2022 compared to nuclear power stations astronomical cost increases:

A massive pipeline of more than 1TW of utility-sized solar installations exists in interconnection queues across the country,  At the end of 2023 1.085 GW of solar capacity was in interconnection queues. Historically, because of high interconnection costs or other factor only 10% of requested capacity are built. The key to solar reliability 24/7/365 is associated battery capacity.  53% of the 2023 total solar capacity is coupled with battery installation. In California that figure reached 98% (CASIO). Another factor to improving solar power cost is grid optimization, which is why US Person supports grid standardization and national ownership.

New Marine Sanctuary

Yesterday,  Joe Biden's administration announced the establishment of a new marine sanctuary along the central California coast.  It will be the third largest in the United States, and jointly managed with the Northern Chumash Tribe that led the fight for the reserve for more than a decade. The native people consider this stretch of coastal waters to be their homeland. Their ancestors have lived here for more than 10,000 years.  In their belief people passing to another life do so from Point Conception.[map]  

The area was nominated for protection in 2015 with the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The Chumash people lived in villages along the coast and are estimated to have had a population of 20,000.  After white settlement, that numbered dwindled from displacement and disease.  The waters are also home to kelp forests, sea otters, seals, dolphins and migratory whales. [see video] .  Now, tribal members are being trained to collect samples for DNA analysis and monitor conditions in the reserve.  Scientists at Stanford University are compiling a baseline survey of marine species living in the Sanctuary.

Seventeen marine sanctuaries in the US are protected from development such as oil and gas drilling and wind farms, but commercial fishing is allowed and regulated.  The national system of sanctuaries was created in 1969 after the massive Santa Barbara oil spill. Chumash Heritage NMS is located between the Monterey Bay NMS and the Channel Islands NMS.  The Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant is located on the reserve's northern boundary.  The original proposal would have connected it to the Monterey Bay NMS to the north.  Nevertheless, a  reduced size still covers more than 4500 square miles.  Support for conservations actions like this one, makes you a "radical left Marxist" in Don Legit's deranged opinion.  So show him you don't care what he thinks and vote against him in November.

Mutnomah County Sues for Climate Deception

It is the state's most populous county, deep blue, and location of Portland's metroplex.  It has joined Northwest Natural, the biggest provider of natural gas in the state to a suit filed last year alleging that seventeen fossil fuel companies deceived the public about the climate crisis.  The suit came after a record-shattering heat dome killed 69 people across the county. Research shows that climate change, caused by fossil fuel combustion, greatly exacerbated the heat wave of 2021. NW Natural is responsible for about 9% of Oregon's carbon dioxide emissions. Natural gas is mostly methane, a potent greenhouse gas, 80 times more potent in trapping heat than carbon dixoide. The suit alleges that,“NW Natural engaged in an enterprise of misrepresentation about the effects its products would have on the climate,” The company has touted its comittment to a carbon-neutral future, but has not implemented any changes that would reduce carbon emmissions according Multnomah County. 

 The lawsuit could be precedent setting, especially if successful in establishing liability for a major utility company. Advocates and lawmakers have petitioned for years to have the utility investigated by the state's Department of Justice for false advertising. Multnomah County also named an advocacy group for the first time, the Oregon Institute for Science and Medicine, which environmentalists say has spread climate denial.  Also for the first time, the international consulting firm of McKinsey & Company was sued for its work with the oil industry.  The county is one of two dozen local and state governments that have resorted to suing the fossil fuel industry for damages suffered as a result of climate change.  It asks for $50 billion for the 2021 heat dome, and an addition $1.5 billion for future damages due to climate change.  Polling shows that a majority of Americans support litigation against big oil for its role in changing the Earth's climate patterns.

TWIT: Election Scheme 2.0

His mentor

Update:  Federal District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan denied Trumpilini's request to keep the government's evidence proffer sealed until after the election.  Of course he does not want the voting public to know the massive amount of evidence the Special Counsel has collected to prove his crimes related to the January Sixth Uprising,  Chutkan quickly wrote in a brief decision that Don 'Legit's' political concerns were not "judicially cognizant" to justify further delay.  She did grant him a brief 7 day extension of time for him to assess his "litigation options",  presumably to file an emergency appeal to the DC Court of Appeals or with his friends at the Supreme Court.  Unless stayed by higher authority, the public will get to know the redacted version of the evidence annexed to the government's immunity brief before November 5th. Surprise, it's October!

credit: P. Molina

{6.10.2024} Old Don 'Legit' is the oldest candidate for president in history.  At 78 his deterioration is beginning to show so much that even the New York Times is commenting on it. Up until now the coverage of the age question has been totally one-sided--against Joe Biden. It lit\terally forced him out of the race after his questionable debate performance. The CMM has given the Ochre Menace a pass on the issue of cognitive decline. This is what the Times had to say:

He rambles, he repeats himself, he roams from thought to thought — some of them hard to understand, some of them unfinished, some of them factually fantastical. He voices outlandish claims that seem to be made up out of whole cloth. He digresses into bizarre tangents about golf, about sharks, about his own “beautiful body". He relishes“a great day in Louisiana after spending the day in Georgia. He expresses fear that North Korea is“trying to kill me” when he presumably means Iran. As late as last month, Mr. Trump was still speaking as if he were running against President Biden, five weeks after his withdrawal from the race.

America cannot afford a president who has a sociopathic personality. A president's finger is on the nuclear button.  His political hero is apparently William McKinley, who supported high tariffs, in an age before almost instantaneous international commerce. Simply put, the man is separated from current reality. Even his former chief of staff, John F. Kelly, called his White House, "Crazytown". You decide.

Update: Judge Chutkan ruled that no more briefs will be filed before the election. She did allow the defendant to file a Sur-reply after the election and gave him more pages. This totals four briefs, two for each side,  However, the 200 page appendix of evidence with footnotes already filed under seal by the government will be released before the election.  

{02.10.2024}The old saying goes to be careful what you wish for because you might get it.  When the Supreme Court commanded a "factbound" review by Judge Chutkan to determine what acts fall into prosecutable categories, they did not anticipate that the judge would order the immediate public release of the government's factual case against Don the Con. She did exactly that this week (Wednesday). The government filed a 165 page brief containing a stunning volume of incriminating evidence against Trump The brief detailed a premeditated criminal conspiracy affecting seven states to obstruct counting electoral votes and thereby defraud the American public of their constitutional right to elect the highest public office in the land. The acts described and supported by direct evidence are beyond a reasonable doubt private acts by a desperate presidential candidate that are not subject to the immunity blanket granted by six MAGA justices. Popock is calling the brief a "mini trial" of the former president. Trump minions opposed publication screaming foul, saying the release is intended to influence the election. They conveniently forget this factual preview was imposed on the District Court by the six justices they have in their pocket. Anybody but a former president and current candidate would have been convicted months ago. 

It is worth quoting the government's proffer from the brief, which is amply supported by admissible direct evidence showing his central role in the coup attempt:

His [Trump's] efforts included lying to state officials in order to induce them to ignore true vote counts; manufacturing fraudulent electoral votes in the targeted states; attempting to enlist Vice President Michael R.Pence, in his role as President of the Senate, to obstruct Congress’s certification of the election by using the defendant’s fraudulent electoral votes; and when all else had failed, on January 6, 2021, directing an angry crowd of supporters to the United States Capitol to obstruct the congressional certification. The throughline of these efforts was deceit: the defendant’s and co-conspirators’ knowingly false claims of election fraud.*

The government's reply brief containing even more evidentiary material will be filed before the end of the month providing an "October Surprise" for the Orange Menace. America's nine-year Trumpian nightmare will come to an end if Kamala Harris is elected president, but the existing hazard demands the abolition of the tainted Electoral College compromise+, which made his plot possible. 

credit: E. Wexler
BC Idonwanna: He's doing it again!

* JD Vance, his extremist running mate, continues to deny that Don the Con lost the 2016 election, preferring instead to "focus on the future".  US Person would too if he were on the same ticket as a convicted felon.

+ Dissatisfaction with the original method of electing senators by state legislatures began in the mid 1860s with calls for reform of a system perceived to be corrupt and which sometimes ended in deadlock without representation in the US Senate. (See the life of William Clark, Montana copper plutocrat) The issue came to a head by 1892 when direct election was made part of the famous "Omaha Platform" of the Populist Party.  In 1908 Oregon became the first state to adopt a popular vote for US Senator.  Nebraska soon followed.  Ten states had popular non-binding primaries.  In 1913 the Congress adopted the 17th Amendment after ratification by three-quarters (36) of state legislatures.  

Popular election of a President by constitutional amendment is impractical given modern political conditions.  The Interstate Popular Vote Compact is a way to achieved the same result as an amendment. The Compact is nearing the 270 electoral votes needed to go into effect with 209 enacted by state legislatures and 50 more pending enactment. Congressional approval of the Compact before it goes into effect is probably required under existing legal precedent.  Sponsors of the proposal have said that they will seek such approval if the 270 threshold is reached.

New Hope for Ocelots in Texas

People do not think of ocelots (Leopardus pardalis) as being native to Texas and southwest, but they hang on to existence in two small populations on the Texas Gulf Coast. Once ranging accross the southwest, less than 100 individuals survive in the wild. It is inevitable that such a small population is beginning to suffer from inbreeding. There is hope for rescuing the small wildcat from oblivion. There is an ambitious agreement between the US Fish & Wildlife Service, conservationists and local landowners to reintroduce cats bred in captivity to suitable habitat. A 75 acre patch of suitable habitat exists to the west of current population, which would insure survival of the species in the event of a catastrophic storm killing off ocelots living along the coast. [map] The new location also would free reintroduced cats from encircling human development. The reintroduction would take place on private land in the absence of protected wildlife refuges. This condition requires the cooperation of landowners in the area. The reintroduction project grew out of a decade intense study of the feline in the wild.

The two current wild populations live in two separate locations. The larger population lives on the El Sauz Ranch, and the smaller in the Laguna Atacosta Wildlife Refuge. The Laguna Atacosta population has suffered from road collisions, and the two groups no longer interbreed, which threatens the species survival The possibility of breeding with Mexican ocelots is also problematic due to human development and construction of more boarder wall. [photo credit: Fin & Fur Films]

Reintroduction will rely on the Eastman Foundation that owns the El Sauz Ranch and the 150,000 acre San Antonio Viejo Ranch, the proposed reintroduction site. The Cesar Kleberg Reserach Institute at Texas A&M University will provide the habitat conservation and breeding expertise. The federal government provided a $12.2 contract to operate the breeding program. Ocelots will come from zoos, and perhaps in the future, from wild Mexican specimens to improve genetic diversity. Captive breed animals have one drawback, the lack of wild mothers to teach cubs how to survive. To date only one reintroduction of small felines from captive breeding has been successful: Iberian lynx in Spain and Portugal

Lack of suitable habitat, thorn scrub, is constricting factor to successful reintroduction of the native wildcat. The two existing population have good habitat, but the islands are cut off by roads, development and the South Texas Sand Sheet to the north.  The 3,000 square miles of dunes and grasslands [yellow on the map] is too open for the cats to live there.  To the west of the sand sheet lies the San Antonio Viejo Ranch contains large tracts of thorn scrub with potential for ocelots to expand deeper into their former range, even to Mexico.  Obstacles exist to such expansion, not the least of which is the border wall that may cut off access altogether in the future. Texas began its own wall building program dubbed "Operation Lodestar".  Private funding also exists for private landowners to contribute their walls to a continuous barrier that does not stop migrants, but does stop migrating wildlife. ecently, Biden waived 26 federal environmental and historical preservation rules to permit further construction in the Lower Rio Grande Valley, becoming the first Democratic president to do so.  Sprawling Brownsville and McAllen also prevent ocelots from expanding to the south, except for a hard fought coastal corridor. Because acquiring land for a border wall requires condemnation in most case, building a wall on existing border reserves is a cheaper alternative.

If the USFWS can engender private landowner cooperation there is still a lot of suitable habitat to the west of the lower Rio Grand Valley particularly between Laredo and Del Rio.  Conservationists should not give up on the idea of connecting Mexican and American wild habitat for preserving species like the ocelot.

Monkey Pox Vaccination Begins in DRC

But only after 859 people died this year of the virus. 265,000 vaccine doses donated by the US and EU were distributed in the city of Goma, epicenter of the outbreak that was declared a health emergency by WHO two months ago.  The easter province of Kivu accounts for 80% of all monkey pox cases in Africa and almost all of the deaths. {24.08.2024} Most infections occur in children under 15. The vaccine is being administered to adults in high-risk populations and frontline health care workers. About 3 million doses approved for children are expected to come from Japan soon. 

Creature Feature: Its the Season for Tarantulas

A lot of people, including US Person, like autumn. So do tarantulas (Mygalomorphae)! Dateline La Junta, Colorado:

Colorado Clerk Sentenced to Nine Years

Sixty-nine year old Tina Peters, the Mesa County Clerk, who gave access to vote counting machines to a Trump supporter, was excoriated by District Court Judge Mathew Barrett before he sentenced her to nine years imprisonment for the data breach. He told her she never took her job seriously, as well as labeling her 'a charlatan". She became a hero of election-deniers, and is unapologetic for her role in stoking fears of a stolen election. She claims "wireless devices" could have hacked the vote in Mesa County. The judge grew exasperated with her claims, telling her, "I've let you go on enough about this, the votes are the votes". Peters' actions have cost the county $1.4 million in legal fees and lost employee time according to Republican County Commissioner Cody Davis who testified at the sentencing hearing. He also added that her behavior made the county, "a national laughingstock".  She has persisted in accusing Dominion Voting Systems of Colorado, who provided Mesa County with their voting equipment, of stealing votes. Her defiance was a factor in Judge Barrett's sentencing.

Peters was convicted of three counts of attempting to influence a public official, one count of criminal impersonation, and first degree official misconduct. The Secretary of State said in response to the sentencing that Colorado will not allow any one to threaten its elections, and looks forward to another secure and successful election in November. This is the longest sentence so far for involvement in the election fraud coup led by Don the Con. US Person or 'Brand X' thinks the sentence is stiff for a first-time offender, but appropriate given the gravity of the crimes.

Melting Glaciers Cause Border Shift

Italy and Switzerland have redrawn their international boarder because of glacial melting.  Large sections of the border follow glacieal ridge lines which have shifted due to melting.  One such area is beneath the famous Matterhorn Peak. [photo]  A bilateral commission recommended the border change in 2023.  Switzerland signed the agreement on Friday and Italy is expected to follow with its ratification.  Statistics published last September show Switzerland's glaciers lost 4% of their volume in 2023 after melting a record 6% in 2022.  The record losses are due to consecutive warm summers and low snowfall amounts. If these weather patterns continue, the melting will acclerate.  The monitoring agency has warned that some Swiss glaciers are melting so fast they cannot be saved even if the world meets the 1.5℃ temperature rise set at Paris.

The melting has uncovered some interesting objects.  The remains of a German climber missing since 1986 were found on the Matterhorn.  Climbers crossing the Theodul Glacier noticed climbing equipment and a boot protruding from the ice.  In 2022 the wreckage of an airplane that crashed in 1968 emerged from the Aletsch Glacier. The body of a missing British climber was found in 2014 by a helicopter pilot delivering supplies to a mountain refuge.

In another climate related development, the United Kingdom will end the burning of coal to generate electric power after 142 years. Ratcliff on Soar, the UK's last coal-burning power plant, will end operations this week that have continued since 1967.  This closure marks a milestone in the nation's efforts to reduce carbon emissions melting the Alps' glaciers. The United Kingdom was the birthplace of coal power during the 18th Century Industrial Revolution.  The first coal-fired power generating plant in the world, Edison's Holborn Viaduct  plant, was built in 1882, which lighted the streets of London. In 2010 renewable energy accounted for just 10% of power generated by the UK. By the first half of 2024 renewable energy accounted for more than 50% of the country's power generation.  GREEN KUDOS to UK!