'Toontime: We Have the Tapes!

credit: D. Wahmond

Nixon had his Rosemary Woods to delete 18 minutes of the White House voice recordings. We may never know what was said in that interval, but it might have been the smoking gun.  Trumpillini's telephone to Georgia's Secretary of State demanding that he find another 11,780 votes so he could be declared the winner of the state was recorded by that state official.  So was his call to the Secretary of State's chief investigator in which he fraudulently attempted to alter the outcome of the state's presidential election.  This gun is not only smoking, it is still warm!  There can be little doubt after this week's reporting that Individual One had corrupt intent to defeat and delay the federal election process utilizing a hair-brained scheme to create chaos by alleging non-existent voting fraud and thereby insert his electors into Congress' vote counting.  This is what the NYT wrote about two campaign memos it has obtained: "[they] were used by Mr. Trump’s top lawyer, Rudolph W. Giuliani, and others like John Eastman as they developed a strategy intended to exploit ambiguities in the Electoral Count Act", according to a person familiar with the matter. The Times goes on, "The memos were initially meant to address Mr. Trump’s challenge to the outcome in Wisconsin, but they ultimately became part of a broader conversation by members of Mr. Trump’s legal team as the president looked toward Jan. 6 and began to exert pressure on Mr. Pence to hold up certification of the Electoral College count." It is relevant to note that these memo were sent to Wisconsin two weeks before the Wisconsin vote was even certified by the state governor,  and a week after the deadline for requesting a recount.  Their methodology is clear: throw a monkeywrench into the machinery and see what breaks.  

Trumpillini was directly involved in efforts to seize voting machines--he asked three different federal agencies, Justice, Defense, and Homeland Security to do his bidding, all of which refused--and in the of filing false certificates by supporters posing as duly appointed Electoral College delegates.  As one veteran Watergate prosecutor put it, the "totality of the circumstances" undeniably demonstrate his corrupt intent to overthrow the duly elected government of the United States.  This narcissistic sociopath is a clear and present danger to democracy, and should never be allowed to hold public office again.

Dear reader, have you now realized why US Person labels the GOP "repugnant"?  This development should be enough explanation and justification: the RNC has declared the January 6th Insurrection, "legitimate public discourse" and censured two party members serving on the House Select Committee.   The GOP has become a obstructionist gang of cranks undermining democracy, NOT a legitimate political party.

credit: J. Ohman, Sacramento Bee
Wackydoodle sez:  He thought it was a hotel!

Another Year of the Tiger

Another year of the tiger has rolled around according to the Chinese lunar calendar. There is good news to report since the last year of the tiger in 2010 when range countries agreed to double their tiger populations by 2022. The results are uneven accross Asian rainge states, but strides are being made in four countries with the largest populations: India, Bhutan, Nepal and Russia. WWF tells US of twelve ways countries are responding to the challenge of increasing tiger numbers in twelve years:

• Countries are increasing connectivity of protected areas to allow tigers to roam naturally in search of prey and mates. Russia has seen its tiger population triple in the Land of the Leopard National Park located in the nation's Far East;
• Involving local human populations in tiger conservation is an important way of protecting the species at risk.  Nepals Khata Corridor has expanded from 248 acres to 9,390 acres as a result of local communtiy efforts.  This functional corridor allows tigers to move between Nepal and India
• WWF is working with governments to break the illegal trade in tiger parts.  An international black market demands cooperative law enforcement.  There has been an increase in regional cooperation leading to more political support for tiger conservation efforts.
• Expanding tiger habitat has led to sightings of tigers in new areas.  Nepal has recorded tigers at altitudes never before seen, expanding its habitat by 124 miles.
• In India, tiger reserves sometimes loose their indigenous tiger population as human activity encroaches or prey leaves the area.  Conservation officers have engaged in relocation activity in Rajaji Tiger Reserve, where breeding has not occurred since 2006.  As of January 2021 two adult tigers have been relocated from Corbett Tiger Reserve to Rajaji. More relocation are planned, since some tiger reserves are confronting an over-population problem
• Supporting the effort of rangers assigned to protect tigers helps.  Bhutan's Royal Manas NP has doubled its tiger numbers through improved ranger patrolling using a portable app called SMART which allows rangers to access a wildlife database and adapt their patrolling to the locations of greatest threat.
• Human-tiger conflict is increasing in the world's most populated regions. Pilibhit Tiger Reserve has community response teams that get involved in conflict situations by educating the public, understanding tiger behavior, and identifying tiger prints. They support local officials who respond to tiger conflict situations. This type of intervention can save lives--tiger and human.
• Thailand has lost many of its tigers, but is making an effort to restore prey species such as muntjac, sambar deer, and gaur in an important step towards tiger recovery.
• In Southeast Asia, snaring is extensively used as a away to catch food.  Snare also catch tigers, which leads to fatal results. Malaysia's tiger population continues to decline due to habit loss and snaring. Patrol teams in the Belum-Temengor Forest Complex have reduced active snares by 94%
• India registered 50 tiger reserves in 2020.  It has sixty percent of the world's population of tigers and   almost 1.4 billion people.  Within a year 14 of the reserves met sustainable conservation standards set by the CATS program (Conservation Assured Tiger Standards)
• The tiny country of Bhutan, partnering with WWF has set about obtaining sustainable financing for its network of protected areas including tiger corridors and high biodiverse conservation areas.  An amazing 51% of the nation in a protected status under the Bhutan for Life program.

This September, tiger range states will meet again to assess their progress, and hopefully, renew their commitment to saving the magnificent wild tiger.  Green Kudos go out to all!

Weekend Music: On Cline

US Person's got nothing against Dolly Parton--she is a talented songwriter and performer--but she's got some stiff competition from this woman, who was ahead of her times. She expanded country music beyond the 'hillbilly' audience to a wider popular music culture that Parton now enjoys. Hell, even rocker Linda Ronstadt covered her music. Linda rocked the world with her version of the Cline classic, "I Fall to Pieces". Listen to Patsy perform a favorite Cline lamentation:

Redwoods Turned Over to Tribes

A remaining redwood forest was transferred to a tribal counsel for conservation this week.  The announcement by Save the Redwood League on Tuesday returned more than 500 acres of ancestral lands to the InterTribal Sinkyone Wilderness Council to be protected from exploitation.  A group of ten tribes have inhabited the region for  thousands of  years called "Fish Run Place" in the Sinkyone language.  Tribal leaders called the transfer fitting and a blessing, one that their ancestors would welcome.

The property was last logged thirty years ago, but is recovering and still has surviving old- growth redwood trees.  The land was purchased with funds from PG&E, that is making an effort to refurbish its environmental profile. The company is emerging from five years of criminal probation imposed on it when  one of its gas lines blew up and destroyed a San Bruno neighborhood. It pleaded guilty to 84 felony counts of manslaughter for the Paradise Wildfire while on probation!  Now that is political clout!  The company has been criticized for destroying old trees in an effort to prevent sparking igniting more wildfires. [photo credit: Save the Redwoods]

The tract is a "puzzle piece" that connects other protected forests in the Lost Coast region of northern California.  Returning lands to the original inhabitants is a growing trend in the conservation movement.  For a long time, the important tribal role in land stewardship has been ignored.  Indigenous have been stewards of the land for thousands of years before the European colonists arrived, who marginalized them.  Inviting them back to the table is better for all of us.

'Toontime: This Week in Trump

credit: J. Oman, Sacremento Bee

The US federal judiciary has enough of the delay game from Trumpillini and his fellow coup plotters.  Judge David Carter ordered John Eastman, author of the coup memo, to speed up his production of documents pursuant to subpoena by reviewing at least 1500 a day and logging those he considers privilege for rulings. The J6 Committee's counsel, Doug Letter, criticized the pace of Eastman's response calling it "slow walking", a tactic with which Repugnants are familiar. The court ordered Eastman to begin preparing the privilege log on January 25th, but Letter told the court he had not even begun his review. The court also ordered Eastman to use a digital program that the Committee would pay for to speed the process with daily tranches of unprivileged material.

Meanwhile, the DOJ has taken an interest in the interstate fraud involving fake Electoral College certificates that have now been traced to none other than the former president's mouthpiece, Rudy Giuliani.That this man was once a respected US attorney for the Southern District of NY boggles the mind. However, this legalistic method of usurping a legitimate election fits his client's MO like a glove. Trumpillini is under investigation by New York State for crimes ranging from tax evasion to financial fraud. Fake certificates were a product of Eastman's six point plan to discredit Biden electors and submit alternative slates loyal to Herr Trumpillini, aka Il Douche. The fake certificates were created by Trump allies in Georgia, Arizona, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Nevada and New Mexico. The fraudulent certificates were sent to the National Archives which processes them for counting by Congress. Unfortunately the real certificates from Biden voters were already certified by the respective state governors according to law. No state actually had competing slates of electors, a condition that would trigger the 12th Amendment, putting the election result in the hands of the House of Representatives. All of this fantastic attempt to overthrow the federal government was made possible because of an anachronistic political institution and its arcane rules that have no place in a modern democracy and desperate, deranged man clinging to power. Only in the USA, which is still fighting to overcome its slave-owning past!

The J6 Committee has subpoenaed 14 people involved in the fake elector scheme, part of the Green Bay Sweep, the plot to overthrow the duly elected government of the United States. Full stop. The NYT reports the dirty fourteen are: Nancy Cottle and Loraine Pellegrino of Arizona; David Shafer and Shawn Still of Georgia; Kathy Berden and Mayra Rodriguez of Michigan; Jewll Powdrell and Deborah Maestas of New Mexico; Michael McDonald and James DeGraffenreid of Nevada; Bill Bachenberg and Lisa Patton of Pennsylvania; Andrew Hitt and Kelly Ruhof of Wisconsin. America, if it is to regain its sanity, must come to grips with this stark reality: a deranged, fascist celebrity will stop at nothing to keep himself out of prison including starting a race war.

COTW: Omicron Surges Despite Vaccinations

 

Despite being one of the most vaccinated countries in the world, Omicron cases are surging in Australia.  Israel in on its third shot for its population, but still the infection rate climbs.  The sad fact is that the vaccinations administer so far were built on an obsolete model, the Delta variant.  Omicron adapted to increase its transmissibility to new host, and become less virulent since a dead host is no host at all.  The pandemic has remarkably demonstrate how evolution works in nature.  Too bad humans were the test subjects.  US COVID DEATHS (est.) 1.1 million*

*based on CDC preliminary death statistics for COVID-19

 

Pristine Coral Reef Discovered

Even in the 21st century there are regions of our planet that are largely unexplored.  The largest such area is the deep ocean.  Man has only begun to explore the deep with robotic submersibles and submarines.  French scientists engaged in research off Tahiti have found a precious, untouched coral reef in an age in which most reefs are suffering tremendous damage due to climate change and ocean acidification.   First seen by recreational divers, scientists soon followed up to find a reef at depth--35 to 70 meters--largely unaffected by the conditions killing reefs around the world. Between 2009 and 2018 14% of the world's corals were killed.   UNESCO sponsored an expedition late last year to study and record this special organism. The newfound reef stretches for 3 kilometers.  Divers spent 200 hours mapping, measuring, and photographing the formations that resemble roses growing beneath the waves. [photo credit: A. Rosenfeld]

Recent volcanic eruption and tsunami that struck Tonga did no damage to the deep reef.  Scientists hope this pristine structure will give them insight into how corals might resist change in the planet's chemistry and what role they play in the deep ocean ecosystem.