'Toontime: While the World Burns

credit: M. Wuerker, Politico.com; BC Idonwanna sez: Quick, call fireman!

Democrats in Congress procrastinate while the crises get worse. Rather than take a straightforward approach to passing overwhelmingly popular reforms by ridding themselves of a Jim Crow rule, they make fruitless attempts to engage with a revanchist cult bent on taking away their slim majority by hook or crook (mostly crook). The ludicrous impasse reveals what many pundits have repeatedly said, the Democratic Party is an inauthentic opposition engrossed by plutocracy, now only distinquished by the Right's lemming-like embrace of white national extremism. Let us call that what it is: modern American fascism.

Democrats have a rare chance to forge a multi-cycle majority by embracing non-nativist Populism. Biden's proposals for infrastructure rebuilding, climate action, and social program expansions enjoy widespread support among voters, urban and rural. The problem is that the party is reliant on the Money Power that controls policy since the days of Clinton who forged an alliance with Wall Street over Main Street. This explains why Biden backtracked on his election promise to support a public option for healthcare, and his willingness to indulge reactionary elements in his own party at the cost of degrading the planet and loosing democracy. America bashing? Ask Amos--not so much!

Liberty Crossing Closer to Reality

The highway crossing that may save southern California's remaining mountain lions is now closer to reality. Gov. Newsom signed a transportation bill that includes $7 million to fund construction along with $54.5 million for other wildlife crossings in the state. Crashes on California highways involving wildlife occur at a surprisingly high rate with an estimated 7,000 a year. These incidents cost an estimated $1 billion between 2015 and 2018. More than just dollars is the fact that crossings allow animals, some endangered, to live longer, healthier lives.

Highway 101 bisects mountain lion habitat in the Santa Monica Mountains. The remaining lions face extinction in the next fifty years unless man extends a helping hand. The Angora Hills overpass {19.09.15} will allow cougars to intersperse to avoid inbreeding of isolated populations that would lead to an "extinction vortex". Building the overpass, likely the world's largest dedicated wildlife structure, would help prevent that, but also increase the regions biodiversity. The project is expected to cost $87 million is funded with public and private donations. The Anneberg Foundation contributed $25 million. Actor Leonard Di Caprio's foundation chipped in $250,000. Caltrans, the state road building department, is not accustomed to building bridges and tunnels for wildlife to use. But that many change if Senate Bill 790 is approved. It creates an incentive system that would allow Caltrans to get mitigation credits from the state if it retrofits highways with new crossings for 'critters'. The bill received overwhelming bipartisan support in the Senate and is now in the Assembly for consideration.

Governor Newsom has a family legacy of cougar conservation. More than thirty years ago his father, William Newsom, championed the legislation that prohibited hunting lions in California. He told the Sacramento Bee that he recalls licking envelopes to promote the ban. Unfortunately the legislation he supported as a kid came with a Catch-22: lethal permits for cougars that kill livestock. The Bee determined that with the availability of depredation permits, more cougars have been killed since Prop 117 was passed in 1990. Part of the problem appears to be the mandatory language of the law that requires a permit to be issued upon request. P-56, a member of the threatened Santa Monica population, was killed using such a permit after he killed his 12th sheep. Thirty years later, conservationists are pressuring Gov. Newsom to place mountain lions on the state's endangered species list. Agricultural interests insist Prop 117 cannot be amended without a new ballot initiative, or a three-fifths vote in the state legislature.

The ground breaking overpass at Liberty Canyon is an opportunity for the state to begin a new legacy of conservation, while making highways safer for humans and saving a rare, iconic species from certain extinction. “I wish I could bring P-56 back, but I can’t, and I have regret about that,” Chuck Bonham, Newsom’s top wildlife appointee told the Fish and Game Commission, “We do not want to be the people who watch that rare population of lions in Southern California go extinct.”

Grasshoppers Cover the West

The extreme and prolonged drought affecting the western United States has generated another plague Pharaoh would be familiar with: grasshoppers. The dry conditions are favorable to large hatches of grasshopper eggs, normally kept in check by natural forces. Eastern Oregon has been particularly hard hit by the winged insects; thirteen western states report crop and range damage from grasshoppers. Their prolific appetite for grass make them a formidable pestilence, costing thousands of dollars to control. One eastern Oregon rancher estimated a $50,000 loss in range land forage. A sixth generation rancher near the California border told an interviewer, “The damage that they do when they come into crops is just absolutely horrific.” [photo credit: AP]

Broadcasting insecticides in problematic. Untargeted chemicals kill other often beneficial insects as well as contaminate wildlife and soils. Dimlin, the most specific insecticide is effective only against young grassphopers and between molts when adults shed their exoskeletons to grow. If the window is missed, farmers must wait until next year. In Oregon grasshoppers are hatching early and maturing sooner due to climate change making suppresion more challenging. This year's suppression campaign is recogned to be the largest in 35 years. Left to their own fate, grasshopper bursts die off after predators and pathogens catch up to the population growth. Grasshopper popularity as prey makes them key to ecological equilibrium most of the time, until population density turns them into pests.

Trump's First Hotel in Manhattan: The Commodore

The first hotel Trump built in Manhattan was the renovation of the old Commodore Hotel that originally opened in 1919 next door to the Grand Central Station. This project is often cited as an example of Donald Trump's accumen, but is on close examination, a prime example of cronyism and deceit with which he has become synonymous. (Aka John Baron, an alias he used to bamboozle Forbes magazine to increase his stature on their list of richest Americans. His youngest son is also named Baron.) Baron-Trump took great advantage from the fact that when he offered to "buy" the building in 1975 from a bankrupt railroad, Penn Central, the city was in deep financial crisis. New York was nicknamed "Fear City" by its disgruntled police force, crime was rampant, the city suffered from insanitation, and its political leaders were at a loss for solutions to many seemingly intractable problems. One of those was losing tax revenue to urban blight. In these dire straits, the erstwhile millionaire developer looked like a knight in shinning armor to the rescue. NOT.!

The once grand but aging Commodore was in danger of becoming blighted. Baron-Trump described the dingy lobby as belonging to a "welfare hotel". But he saw the thousands of commuters going in an out of Grand Central each day and thought the location excellent for a revitalized hotel. 'Baron' only had his father's money to play with and some bank loans, but he was determined to break into the Manhattan real estate game, something his father Fred never achieved. Fred was content to build houses in the outer boroughs with the help of the FHA and amass a great fortune. Trump's clever plan was to buy the hotel cheap from the bankrupt railroad which was in the process of selling off some of its unprofitable assets. He would then transfer the hotel to the Urban Development Commission for a nominal consideration. However, he needed to convince the city to give the project fifty years of tax abatements to make it a profitable deal. His father's connections to city and state leaders, notably Mayor Abe Beame, and Gov. Hugh Carey, developed over the years would prove very useful in this regard. He would convince the Hyatt corporation, which did not own any Manhattan hotels at the time--to actually run the business. Trump knew very little about running a large hotel.  He did not even own the site or have an option to buy when he began negotiating with the Mayor's office.

His renovation would be superficial and intended to cost no more than $100 million. He would clad the building in modern reflective glass and create an overhanging atrium, but skimp on the inside. Early 20th century rooms were still small. Although each had the then novel luxury of an en suite bath, the plumbing remained unchanged, the aging elevators slow, and the heating still centralized. New York Review of Books commented, "Trump had produced the kind of shiny artifact that tourists like, though at the same time he had damaged forever the texture of East 42nd Street." The American Institute of Architects’ guide to New York buildings referred to the glass façade as an “utter and inexcusable outrage.”

Trump utilized fear tactics against "Fear City"to bully his deal through. He told city officials that unless they approved his deal, the seedy hotel with a dirty brick exterior would close down, lie vacant, and pay no taxes. The hotel was already in arrears some $15 million in taxes. In his deal, the state's Urban Development Corp. would own the building thereby facilitating eminent domain evictions. Trump would leaseback the building and pay rent to the city. Urban blight was anathema to the city's economic advisors. “A closed Commodore would have a very serious blighting influence on the east midtown area,” said Alfred Eisenpreis, New York’s Economic Development Administrator of the time. As an added effect, Trump convinced hotel managers to close the hotel two days before his tax abatement request was put to a vote before the city Board of Estimate. Trump was still without formal ownership of the Commodore, or an option at that time despite telling the Board he did. A copy of an option in the city's possession was signed, bu only by Trump; no one asked questions of the politically connected young developer*. The sale of the hotel to Trump by Penn Central was not completed until 1978 at a 1975 price ($9.5 million), With few alternatives and the city facing bankruptcy, the Board voted to give him almost what he wanted: forty-two years instead of fifty years of no or reduced taxes. Over the first 36 years of the tax abatement, the hotel would have paid about $360 million in taxes; instead, the owners paid only $202 million in rent and fees. The "new" Commodore, renamed Grand Hyatt, would go on to rent rooms for as much as $1000 a night.

Changes in transportation modes eventually made the hotel less profitable. A current developer, TF Conerstone, announced in 2019 that it would tear down the Grand Hyatt and replace it with a 1600 foot tower complex if the city approves. Trump-Barron's early success story--"part shill game, part intrigue"--would be no more. So what is the lasting legacy of the Commodore Hotel, named after 19th century rail tycoon 'Commodore' Cornelius Vanderbilt? Why the tax abatements, of course! As Wayne Barrett, writer for the Village Voice put it, the abatements were the " largest symbol of the new state and city resolve to “stimulate economic development” by giving away the future....These abatement programs are the moral-obligation bonds of a future city collapse." Segue to the future now where Barron's company, Trump Org, is on trial for evading close to a million dollar in taxes. New York's early largesse towards the boy wonder seems to be paying negative dividends! Perhaps it is not too late to settle the score.

*A Penn Central witness in a Philadelphia bankruptcy case testified “The [bankruptcy] estate was putting its property in the hands of a developer. It was uppermost in our minds that…the developer…be very high in his political position. Trump is doing what, in our judgment, if anyone can do, he can do....[zoning] is highly political activity in the City of New York,” Fred Trump and Abe Beame went back thirty years as Madison Club friends and members of the same Brooklyn political machine. The son contributed heavily to  Brooklynite Hugh Carey's, political campaigns. Trump employed a Carey fundraiser as his director for "special projects" who registered as an Albany lobbyist. During the three years that Louise Sunshine worked for Trump, she also served as Hugh Carey's campaign finance director. When Fred Trump's east side Trump Village housing project came under state scrutiny, the investigating committee noted his “talent for getting every ounce of profit out of his housing project.” Fred ingrained this talent in his son who is still charging the taxpayer for Secret Service stays at his hotels.

 

art of the deal, 'John Baron' style

'Toontime: State of Deadlock

credit: M. Wuerker, Politico.com; BC Idonwanna sez:  They have the meat!

Two 'toons worth a thousand words. Allegedly unfriendly US Person wishes you a relaxing Fourth of July. Be patriotic--instead of playing with fireworks, get vaccinated if you have not done so already, or ask your state's US senators to support voting rights and end the filibuster. Or do you want to die of heat stress? Its your choice.

credit: P. Bagley, Salt Lake Tribune; Wackydoodle sez:  Only the happy news, man!

Joe Machin a 'Go To' for Exxon-Mobil

UK's Greenpeace organization revealed a video showing an Exxon-Mobil lobbyist, Keith McCoy, telling an undercover interviewer that he he lobbied key senators to remove and/or diminish climate change measures from President Biden’s US $2 trillion infrastructure and jobs bill as it proceeds through the legislative process. At the top of his go-to list is the senator from West Virginia, Joe Manchin. McCoy said friendly senators are, "a captive audience. They know they need you. And I need them." He goes on to name 11 senators who he says are “crucial” to Exxon-Mobil: Senator Shelley Moore Capito, Senator Joe Manchin, Senator Kyrsten Sinema, Senator Jon Tester, Senator Maggie Hassan, Senator John Barrasso, Senator John Cornyn, Senator Steve Daines, Senator Chris Coons, Senator Mark Kelly and Senator Marco Rubio. All of these except Kelly and Hassan have received political donations from the company according to FEC data. Eleven members of the Senate—Sens. King (I-Maine), Cassidy (R-La.), Perdue (R-Ga.), Moran (R-Kan.), Kennedy (R-La.), Roberts (R-Kan.), Scott (R-Fla.), Wyden (D-Ore.), Capito (R-W.V.), Collins (R-Maine), and Cruz (R-Texas)—have as much as $856,000 invested in Exxon-Mobil stock. No fossil fuel stock is owned by a greater number of senators.

"Kingmaker" Manchin received at least $12,500 from the Exxon-Mobil Political Action Committee in declared disbursements since the beginning of the 2011-12 election cycle. The oil and gas industry has given $131,000 to Senator Manchin's campaign organizations. Electric utilities, which use fossil fuels, have chipped in $357,102. Manchin is publicly against including climate related provisions, such as a national carbon standard, in any infrastructure bill. He is also against funding for electric vehicle infrastructure, and was the only Democratic senator to vote against protecting the Arctic Wildlife Refuge from drilling in 2017. Manchin has also voted to approve construction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline, expedite the approval process for natural gas pipelines, and override an Obama administration rule requiring coal companies to protect groundwater from toxic coal mining waste.

McCoy explained his company's efforts to support the 'bipartisan' infrastructure bill pending in the Senate, “That’s a completely different conversation when you start to stick to roads and bridges. And instead of a $2 trillion bill, it’s an $800 billion dollar bill. If you lower that threshold, you stick to highways and bridges then a lot of the negative stuff starts to come out...Why would you put in something on emissions reductions on climate change to oil refineries in a highway bill?” The company says its lobbying efforts are legal, and accused Greenpeace of  "waging a multi-decade campaign against our company and industry, which has included false claims and unlawful actions at our facilities as well as those of other companies around the world." The company spent more than $11 million on expenses related to lobbying the federal government in 2018. Scientists and executives at Exxon-Mobil have known since 1977 that burning fossil fuels contributes to global warming and would have catastrophic effects on the environment, but the company suppressed the information and funded misinformation in order to protect its profits. When the Money Power has bought your elected officials, US Person says, way to go Greenpeace !

'Toontime: False Prophet

credit: D. Whamond; Wackydoodle sez: He may be a liar, but he ain't no crook!

Latest: Prosecutors threw the sink at Alan Weisselberg, yesterday. The now unsealed indictment charges him with 15 counts of financial fraud and tax evasions carrying a total penalty of 80 years in prison for an 'off the books' conspiracy to avoid paying taxes that lasted fifteen years.  Journalist David Cay Johnson, who has followed Trump Organization for years, told MSNBC that charging the company with tax evasion indicates a broader intent by prosecutors to hold the company accountable under New York racketeering statutes.If found guilty of violating Article 460, the company could be placed in receivership. It is unclear how the criminal indictment will affect its current business dealings, but it could make credit harder to obtain. Forbes estimates the organization owes about $1 bn, some of which is personally backed by Trump.

Update: It appears from press reports that Allen Weisselberg, financial gatekeeper of the Trump Organization for more than three decades will be charged with financial crimes by the Manhattan District Attorney. Whether the charges will be enough to convince Weisselberg to cut a deal with the prosecution in return for state's evidence against his boss remains to be seen; so far he has rejected prosecution overtures. The criminal investigation is on-going and more charges against the company, but not Trump himself, are expected. Apparently both of Weisselberg's sons received hundreds of thousands of in-kind compensation and company executives were paid bonuses that were not reported on tax returns.

Trump's lawyer called the case "embarrassing" and "much ado about nothing", paraphrasing the Bard. Readers of PNG, aka "the animal channel", who have followed the Don since he descended Trump Tower's escalator to prey upon the "Trumpenvolk" surmise his company was run as a RICO (Racketeering Influenced Corrupt Organization), based in part on his family's historic business ties to the New York mob and more lately, Russian criminal organizations. He effectively used the legal shelter of his presidency however, to blunt investigations of his business dealings and corruption while in office. Pinning criminal wrongdoing on the former guy will be difficult without insider cooperation. This is clear: convicting him of multiple crimes is a one sure way of preventing the fascistic Orange Menace from reoccupying the "bully pulpit" in 2024.

{25.06.21} Even Repugnants in Michigan are forced to distance themselves from the Big Lie that is too absurd to be credible except for those suffering from mental illness or white supremacy syndrome. A GOP state senate committee concluded that the allegations of voter fraud in the state were without merit. A 55 page report comprehensively debunked claims of voter fraud, especially in Antrim County where election poll workers transposed voting numbers before correcting the error. The investigation blamed Repugnant Party "operatives" for the chaos that unfolded at Detroit's election center on Election Day. “The Wayne County Republican Party and other, independent organizations, ought to issue a repudiation of the actions of certain individuals that created a panic and had untrained and unnumbered persons descend on the TCF Center,” the report states. There was no "dumping" of ballots by Wayne County officials, either. A photo allegedly showing a worker dumping ballots circulated on the Internet, but was falsely labeled. The senate report by three Repugnants and one Democrat also exposes lies perpetuated about the vote-counting process in Georgia.

Bonus good news: Rudy Guilliani, formerly "America's Mayor" and top Manhattan federal prosecutor, temporarily lost his license to practice in New York for making false and misleading statements in court perpetuating the Big Lie. In its decision, the New York appellate court said that Giuliani’s actions represented an “immediate threat” to the public and that he had “directly inflamed” the tensions that led to the Capitol riot in January. He is still subject to disciplinary action by the state bar.

Ms. Pelosi, Speaker, announced that a select committee of the House will be formed to investigate the Insurrection of the Sixth of January. This announcement comes after the Party of Sedition refused to participate in a bi-partisan commission to conduct a needed comprehensive investigation into the facts of the Insurrection and its genesis. Why would Repugnants resist such a bi-partisan effort? For one thing, Individual One told them not to participate. The other more significant reason is that a complete investigation of the riot's antecedents will no doubt reveal the regime's deeper involvement beyond a reckless, inflamatory address by the Antichrist who told his minions to go to the Capitol to stop an election.

Ye shall know them by their fruit....Mathew 7:15-20