Boundary Waters Safe for Twenty Years

Earthjustice, the environmental litigation group, announced a victory in the pristine Boundary Waters Wilderness Area of Northern Minnesota.  After decades of activism, the Biden administration reversed  Trump's revival of two sulfide mineral leases in the Wilderness that could have had catastrophic impacts on the water quality and wildlife habitat.  Sulfide mining is particular pernicious since the mineral when brought to the surface reacts with the atmosphere to produce sulfuric acid and heavy metal leachates.  These sources of toxic pollution posed a threat to the recreation based economy of Ely, MN and the wild rice farming by tribes in the area.  The Forest Service said in a 2016 memo to the Bureau of Land Management that the risk posed by the reinstated leases to the only protected sub-boreal forest in the lower 48 was "unacceptable".  The Boundary Waters are noted for their purity. Some 2000 pristine lakes dot the region along the Canadian border providing abundant water recreation opportunities.  It is the home of the endangered gray wolf, Canadian lynx and long-eared bat.

A Chilean company, Twin Metals wanted to establish a mining complex near Ely to exploit copper-nickle sufide deposits.  Minnesota has a long history of mining, having supplied most of the iron ore need to fight WWII.  Through a combination of public lobbying and timely litigation, including suits brought by Earthjustice, conservation advocates convinced the Biden administration to cancel the mining leases in 2022 and in 2023 it declared a twenty year ban on new mining in 200,000+ acres of the Superior National Forest.  The company plans to appeal the cancellation of its leases.  After a long fight, this is a significant win for Nature.

Weekend Music: More Than a Feeling

While US Person was busy listening to CCR and Dobbie Brothers, he short-changed the excellence of Boston.  Recently viewing the film, "Men Who Stare at Goats" a humorous, new-age satire of the post-Vietnam Army starring three good actors, Clooney, Spacey and Bridges, Boston was mentioned as the band one of the lead characters in the "New Earth Army" used for inspiration while "remote viewing". Want to know more?--see the movie. 

Boston's anthem, "More than a Feeling" played during the credits inspiring him to drag out his air guitar and play along (the distorted chord-only chorus accompanied by hand claps kicks butt). Tom Scholtz (bass) wrote the song and engineered the album using some unusual techniques like fade-in, peaked mid-range frequencies, pick scrapes, and guitar harmonics. Brad Delp's powerful vocals are out of this world. The band's 1976 debut album, Boston, ranks as one of the best-selling debut albums in US history, selling 17 million copies.  So, US Person posts More than a Feeling here for your long weekend enjoyment:

If you want to dive into the complex musical structure of this amazing song that makes it so memorable view this video by musician Rick Beato who analyses the tune, one of the classics of rock. https://youtu.be/ynFNt4tgBJ0

TWIT: Georgia Grand Jury Nothing Burger

US Person has looked at the released portions of the special grand jury report and he is underwhelmed. It seems the authorities are focused on running their investigations into the wire of the 2024 election.  As readers probably know by now, the Department of Justice has a policy of not prosecuting during an election cycle.  Fulton County DA Fanni Willis convinced the judge not to release any portion of the grand jury's report that might prejudice a criminal defendant's right to due process.  She told the judge indictments are "imminent" over a month ago.  

The released portions are mostly boilerplate, and no names of possible defendants are revealed.  In fact the only public conclusions the grand jury reached were that the election of 2020 was fair, and that Trump's theories of fraud are not supported by facts. Thank you, we knew that already. It also states that a majority thinks several witnesses lied during their testimony.  If the grand jury identified specific crimes and the identity of persons committing them, that information is in the hands of the Fulton County District Attorney.  The jury set out violations of law it found in a sealed portion of its report saying “We set forth for the Court our recommendations on indictments and relevant statutes, including their votes by the Grand Jurors. This includes the votes respective to each topic, indicated in a ‘Yea/Nay/Abstain’ format throughout.”and the jurors, "acknowledge the discretion of the District Attorney to seek indictments where she finds sufficient cause." It is her move now. Although a state prosecution for election fraud of the Orche Menace would not be barred by DOJ's internal policies, it would be highly unlikely that a prosecution of a political figure would take place in the later stages (say after a primary) of a presidential election, despite the smoking gun of his phone call to Georgia's Secretary of State demanding 11,000 more votes for him be "found". In the bizarro world of his own, the Orche Menace is claiming exoneration because his name was not mentioned in the released portions of the report. The guy is really out there.

On another front against Trump, the Special Counsel investigating him for the attempted coup has subpoenaed Mark Meadows, former chief of staff and a key figure in the conspiracy. Meadows avoided appearing before the January 6th Committee by feigning cooperation and ignoring a congressional subpeona. He released some of his digital communications, which apparently proved useful, but it was a carefully calculated move on his part. His latest subpoena is both a good and bad thing. Getting his testimony under oath is important to proving Individual One's participation in the historic conspiracy and his criminal intent to subvert the election process by fraudulent means. But under another obscure DOJ rule, a witness before a grand jury cannot be a target of the investigation. This means Meadows will not be charged with a crime related to the coup attempt, if he complies with process. Of course, he is still vulnerable to perjury charges if he lies under oath.  According to CNN the Special Prosecutor is locked in eight secret court battles to enforce subpoenas or divulge evidence.  The difficulty of prosecuting elected officials and former elected officials with various types of privilege is apparent.  One of those cases involves Repugnant Scott Perry of Pennsylvania.  DOJ wants access to his cell phone records, which Perry claims are protected under the speech and debate clause of the Constitution.  What is becoming increasingly clear from all this is that members of Congress aided and abetted the insurection.

On the question of Trump's intent, the WaPo printed a story that says Herr Trumpillini went so far as to retain outside research consultants to examine whether any of the claims of fraud advanced by his campaign were supported by evidence. The consultants told Trump that there was no material evidence of fraud. This conclusion was in addition to the sixty-two civil cases in which there was no finding of significant election fraud. This mountain of evidence did not stop the sociopathic liar in office from continuing his efforts to overturn the election results. Willful ignorance of fact is not a legal defense.

As previously stated here the name of Trump's legal defense is delay. His sycophantic sidekick, Mike Pence, has announced he will fight the grand jury subpoena for his testimony. Apparently his attorneys agree that executive privilege has been undeniably waived by Pence, who published a memoire about his conversations with Herr Trumpilini on or about January 6th. Give them credit for innovation. They have concocted a novel, if ridiculous, argument that Pence, acting as president of the Senate on January 6th has immunity under the speech and debate clause of the Constitution. That clause only applies to members of Congress' speech in either house. Pence was not a member of Congress, but a member of the Executive Branch acting in a ceremonial capacity. The novel argument is only calculated to get Pence to the conservative Supreme Court. But even MAGA jurist Clarence Thomas could not swallow such a preposterous rationale, but it will take more time to process his constitutional claim. Senator Lindsey Graham from South Carolina already tried this gambit before the Georgia Special Grand Jury and lost in federal court. Eight months and counting.

credit: M. Ramirez
Wackydoodle sez: How' bout a John Gotti?

Deep Sea Mining Poses Threat to Cetaceans

Mining the deep seabed for valuable metallic minerals could begin soon.  The UN regulatory body, International Seabed Authority, is finalizing regulations to govern mining activity in international waters.  Supporters of seabed mining say that digging for minerals on the seabed is far less destructive than on land, and would help meet short supplies of minerals used in the transition to alternative energy sources.  However of concern to conservationists is the paucity of data concerning the effect of deep sea mining activity on cetaceans that transit mining locations and forage in the deep sea using sonar.

Seabed mining is noisy. Scientists think that frequencies that overlap with communications frequencies used by cetaceans could lead to behavior changes and interfere with their ability to locate food.  While some information has been collected for seabed dwelling fauna, that is not the case for mobile marine mammals like whales, dolphins and porpoises. 

One form of mining is the dredging of polymetalic nodules containing copper, cobalt, and titanium from the abyssal plains. All of these material are used in renewable energy technologies.  A Pacific island nation, Nauru sponsors a Canadian company involved in a proposal to begin mining within two years under a provision of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) that allows mining to take place under existing regulations.  Some member nations like New Zealand, France, Chile and Palau want to impose a moratorium on seabed mining as do companies like Renault, BMW and Samsung SDI out an abundance of caution since so little is known of environmental impacts and the potential for irreparable damage to ancient ecosystems that support life on the planet. [mining equipment painted green; photo credit, Greenpeace]

It is reasonable to assume that commercial mining operations would  be conducted 24/7, emitting a variety of frequencies that could disrupt normal behaviors of creatures that rely on sound in a region of the Earth's surface that previously had no human created noise.  There has been no independent, peer- reviewed of the effect of these mining related noise on cetations.  The Canadian company, TMC is required to submit to the ISA acoustic data it is collecting as part of its environmental impact statement when applying for an operating license.  Noise is not the only problem that could impact these animals.  Sediment plumes from seabed mining vehicles could increase water column turbidity and mobilize contaminates previously undisturbed by man. Man's environmental track record when opening new frontiers for exploitation has been disastrous.  There is no reason to think seabed mining will be any different.

COTW: The Solution to January 6th

The fact that a determined sociopath was able to come close to overthrowing the elected government of the United States should indicate a need to reform that part of the Constitution that addresses presidential elections. Undoubtably the problem lies in the antiquated mechanism of the Elctoral College. That institution has outlived its relevance, if it ever had any. The framers were determined to limit the power of big states to dominate Congress by imposing an upper house not elected on a population basis. Small states get the same representation as big states. It also adopted a henous voting compromise to placate slave holding states--the Electoral College. The College stands between voters in each state and the outcome of a presidential election. Previously, the College was justified on grounds that a largely rural nation may not be sufficiently informed or literate to make an informed choice. Obviously, in this age of instant communications and almost universal literacy that justification is no longer operative. In a democracy the majority decides. 

While Joe Biden won the Electoral College 306-232 and the popular vote 51-47, his actual margin of victory was extremely narrow, and is why an autocratic incumbent thought he had a reasonable chance of overturning the election results by fraudulently flipping the electoral slates from a few key states. Wisconsin, which allowed Biden to reach the only vote total that actually counts of 270 electoral votes, was won by just 0.6%. If Trump could have found a few more votes, he could have won re-election without winning the popular vote. This disturbing result is possible under the current system of indirect voting for president,  and has occurred before in the past. 

There are two ways to change this situtation for the better under Article Five of our Constitution: a vote of two-thirds of both houses of Congress or a Constitutional Convention called by two-thirds of the states. In our modern era of divided governemt such a call to amend the Constitution is highly unlikely. Nor would the proposed amendment to abolish the Electoral College receive ratification by three-fourths of the states or at a Convention. Fortunately, another way has been proposed to avoid this political deadlock. The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact is an agreement between states that have adopted the Compact to award their electorial votes to the winneer of the popular vote in their state provided enough states have signed to reach 270 electoral votes. Currently fifteen states and the District of Columbia have signed the agreement binding thier respective state legislatures. These states control 195 electoral votes, requiring another 75 votes to join. Here's the map:

After the results of the mid-term election, Democrates in Minnisota have taken control of the state legislature for the first time in eight years. They have moved the Compact to a floor vote soon. Adding Minnesota's 16 electoral votes bring the Compact going into effect within possibilty, as soon as 2028 (blue states on the map). Five states voted for it during the reign of Trump; the revelations brought about by the House Select Committee on January 6th and the possibility of the former President being criminally indicted may motivate more to join the effort to short-circuit the College without attempting an unfeasible amendment process.

Democrats came close to obtaining Virginia's consent together with Nevada's and Maine's. No Repugnant legislator will vote for the Compact since the current indirect system gives them a partisan edge, which is the very reason the Ochre Menace wanted to throw the 2020 election into the House of Representatives by crying "Fraud" on every public platform he could reach. Another blue wave in 2025 could put the Compact over the top. Pennsylvania could add its 19 votes by winning three more seats in the state Senate. Nevada could join by flipping only one seat to override the Governor's veto. Michigan, now under Democractic control, could vote for a popular presidential election by passing the Compact into law. Doing so would certainly eliminate the uncertainty that now overshawdows our national elections becuase of an archaic voting system born in slavery.

What Is Combined Arms Warfare?

Followers of Putin's War on Ukraine have read the term "combined arms" warfare is needed to defeat
Russia's army in the field. It is a warfare doctrine developed since Cambrai that relies on the synchronized use of multiple weapon systems to attack enemy positions. A video showing the doctrine in operation against an entrenched defense line of mines, armor and mechanized infantry is worth a thousand words. Note especially the use of close air support to eliminate deep, high-value targets, such as artillery batteries and ammo dumps, supporting the enemy's defensive line, similar to what Ukrainian forces may encounter if they attempt to sever the land bridge to the Crimean peninsula. It is only sixty miles from Donetsk to Mariupol, but that sixty miles is filled with Russian military assets. When Ukrainian forces stopped an armored assault at Vuhledar, they defeated another ill-planned, poorly executed maneuver by Russian forces. Video shows BMPs driving over RAAM (Remote Anti-Armor Mines) sown via 155mm artillery shells. Combined arms doctrine aims to prevent such failures.

Warning: A lot of military jargon is used in this video, but the depiction of various assets used in the phased, synchronized brigade assault gives the viewer an idea of the scope of this complex maneuver. The Ukrainians are smart and resourceful fighters, but you cannot learn the details of this mechanized war dance overnight.

TWIT: Witness to History

credit: Tom Tomorrow
Wackydoodle sez:  He's better than Al Capone!

Finally, the Special Counsel investigating the historic insurrection of January 6th, has subpoenaed former VP Mike Pence, something the January 6th Committee of the House did not do. Pence participated in two critical phone calls with Trumpillini in which the would-be dictator attempted to coerce him into rejecting the Electoral College votes from swing states without a legal basis for doing so. His furious boss called him "weak" and a "wimp" during the calls in the evening of January 5th and the morning of January 6th, prior to the ceremonial counting in a congressional joint session.

Having failed to convince a normally pliable Pence he had the power to overturn the election, Trump was reduced to relying on the mob he incited to march on the Capitol to delay the peaceful transfer of power. While the mob was at the Capitol, Trump tweeted, “Mike Pence didn’t have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our Country and our Constitution.” That tweet appeared to motivate the insurrectionists storming the building. 

Pence's testimony will put first-hand evidence of Trumpillini's criminal intent on record under oath. Versions of his conversations appear in Bob Woodward's book, Peril, and in Pence's own memoire. One of the alleged reasons for the House Select Committee not subpoenaing Pence earlier, was that it did not want to become embroiled in protracted litigation over executive privilege. Pence refused to appear without a subpoena.  That litigation is still a distinct possibility with the federal grand jury. However, a grand jury's subpoena in a criminal investigation carries more weight under the law, and some legal experts think privilege is a loosing argument since the conversations involved the commission of a crime by a former president, not official government business, and Pence has publicly revealed the communications' content. 

Prosecutors appear to be focusing on the scheme to replace electors awarded to Biden with electors fraudulently pledged to Trump. Subpoenas have been issued to state election officials demanding evidence of communications with Trump or his campaign aides. DOJ successfully secured answers from top Pence advisers Greg Jacob and Marc Short in significant court victories that will make it more likely the criminal investigation reaches further into Trump’s inner sanctum where omertà still reigns.

 credit: D. Chappette