COTW: Welcome to the Pliocene!

Earth is now experiencing the hottest temperatures since the Pliocene 2.58 million years ago.  Climate scientist predicted the global increase in temperatures due to combustion of fossil fuels on a global scale, but it is happening much faster than expected.  Look a this chart of North Atlantic surface temperatures:

The spike in temperatures is frightening.  Riders in the Tour de France are wearing "ice vests" to keep from collapsing in the unnatural heat.  In 2022, 257 people died from heat stroke in Arizona compared to the average of 38 between 1995 and 2015.  Preliminary data from the World Meteorological Organization shows the first week of July, 2023 to be the hottest on record.  Two reasons US Person moved to the northwest:  more water and lower temperatures.  Believe science!

credit M. Luckovich, Atlanta Journal-Constitution

TWIT: Deep in the Heart of MAGA

credit: M. Luckovitch

Update: Judge Cannon set May 20, 2024 as the new trial date, basically splitting the difference between defendant's "after the election" and the government's suggested date.  

DA Fani Willis will charge a RICO crime against Trumpilini based on at least two predicate acts: the pressure campaign against Georgia election officials, most notably the Secretary of State Brad Raffensburger, and  Coffee County officials allowing access to confidential computer voting records by "cyber ninjas" hired by lunatic Trump lawyer Sidney Powell.

{19.07.2023}In a tiny Ft. Pierce, FL courtroom packed with journalists, MAGA jurist Aileen Cannon heard arguments for indefinitely delaying Don 'Legit's' trial for unlawfully retaining classified national security secrets and obstruction of justice.  According to a Wall Street Journal reporter at the scene on Tuesday, Cannon sided with the defense team on the December 11th date suggested by the government. She emphasized the amount of evidence and laborious classification procedures made that date unrealistic. She did not accept the defense's argument that their client could not get a fair trial before the election. Significantly, Cannon did not set a trial date from the bench, saying only she would rule "promptly". Then she denied the government's request for a protective order on the grounds that the Government did not adequately confer with defense counsel when it was the defense counsel that dodged a meeting with DOJ.  Based on her questions during the Tuesday hearing, she is leaning towards declaring the case "complex" that would further slow the process towards trial.

So we are waiting again, thanks to a judge who is clearly sympathetic to the defendant, and facing a potential juror pool full of his fanatical MAGAites. Every day of delay brings the Ochre Menace closer to the election and a political shield against prosecutions. However, it seems that Jack Smith is set on bringing some charges for the most serious crime, a nationwide conspiracy to overthrow the United States Government, before the 2024 election begins in earnest. Smith sent Individual One a "TARGET" letter informing him that he is the focus of the Washington DC grand jury investigating the January 6th attempted coup.  These letters are usually a step before a true bill is handed down. Apparently, Smith will stop short of charging him with fomenting an insurrection to prevent the peaceful transfer of power. Because Trumpilini is an expert of circumlocution and innuendo, time constraints may prohibit Smith from attempting to prove a more complicated crime heavily dependent on evidence of specific intent to incite violence. Nevertheless, US Person expects Smith to charge Trumpilini with conspiracy, attempting to defraud the United States, and obstruction of an official proceeding. These charges arise from his leading the fake elector scheme, pressuring state officials to find more votes, and attempting to obtain the Vice President's collaboration in stopping the electoral vote count.

At the state level, the Michigan Attorney General announced felony charges against 16 political activists and party officials for forgery and conspiracy to commit forgery. These individuals participated in the attempt to submit false certification that they were Michigan's "duly elected and qualified electors" to the Vice President counting the votes in Congress. Michigan's electoral votes were won by Joe Biden. The Attorney General Dana Nessel said each of the defendants knew that the certifications was false. Those charged include Meshawn Maddock, who served as co-chair of the state Repugnant Party, and Kathy Berden, a member of the Repugnant National Committee.  Maddock claimed the charges were a personal vendetta and part of a "coordinated national effort to stop Trump".  Investigations are still on-going in Georgia and Arizona.  It appears Fulton County, Georgia DA Fani Willis will obtain an indictment next month for similar criminal activity in Georgia.  The former guy and criminal defendant could potentially be confronting four criminal indictments before the end of this year. Mafiosi got nothing on Don 'Legit'!

The Michigan fake electors gathered on December 14, 2020 to sign false certifications after the electors pledged to Biden met in the state capitol and signed the actual certifications.  These electors were approved by the State Board of Canvassers and their certifications transmitted to Washington for counting at a joint session of Congress.  The Eastman plan supported by Trump partisans and approved by Trump was to create the illusion of disputed slates of electors in seven swing states that would cause the Vice President to submit a disputed election to the House of Representatives pursuant to the Twelve Amendment where Repugnants have a majority of state delegations.  Ms. Nessel began investigating this scheme in early 2021, but because of the interstate aspects of the conspiracy, referred the investigation to federal law enforcement in January 2022.  However, due to inaction by the DOJ, she re-opened the case this year.

Giant Armadillos vs. Bees

When conservationists heard of aparists complaints against giant armadillos (Priodontes maximus) destroying bee hives in Brazil, they were skeptical since the armored mammal was known to feed on ants and termites. Camera traps provided the evidence of the giants toppling bee hives not to feed on honey, but for the bee larvae. [photo credit: WACI]  It is an easy, protein rich meal for armadillos, but a loss of income for beekeepers.  So retaliatory killings are the result of the conflict. Armadillos are very slow reproducers, producing just one pup every three years. Any loss of an adult has an impact on the species' survival chances.  

An NGO, Wild Animal Conservation Institute, sponsors a program to encourage peaceful co-existence between humans and armadillos. Beekeepers are allowed to sell their honey at a higher price if they employ mitigation measures instead of killing the otherwise unobstrusive creatures. The certification provided to cooperating farmers increases the value of their product by about 20% in local markets in the Cerrado region. Conservationists want to expand the program into the Amazon rainforest.

Apiarists in the Cerrado place their hives near native flowers for their bees to pollinate. This location is also near the armadillos who inhabit what remains of the Cerrado native biome. An armadillo can destroy five bee hives in one night. One beekeeper lost 120 hives in two weeks, representing a significant monetary loss. The animals are large and strong, and their scales protect them from bee stings. They stand on their hind legs and use their head to topple bee hives mounted on racks 2-3 feet above the ground. Bee hives weigh around 75-80 pounds. [photo above].Beekeepers appreciate Nature since their livelihood relies on natural surroundings, so many are willing to engage with the sustainable honey program. Armadillos turn to bee larvae for survival if their habitat is disturbed, as in the heavily fragmented Cerrado savanna where fifty percent of the land has been converted to agriculture.  In the Pantanal, giant armadillos do not eat bee larvae because Nature there is more pristine. Unable to eat bee larvae, they go back to eating their normal food, ants and termites. 

Armadillos are valuable members of the ecosystem. They dig deep tunnels that often shelter twenty other species including peccaries, ocelots and giant anteaters.  Like elephants they are ecosystem engineers, modifying the landscape for the benefit of all.  Fortunately for armadillos the conflict with humans is rooted in one cause, destruction of beehives.  Unlike the conflict with jaguars, which is affected by cultural bias.  Once mitigation measures make it impossible for the animals to destroy hives, the conflict abates and everyone can live in peace.

Joe's Boondoggle Gets Blocked

Update: The Supreme Court, without dissent, lifted the 4th Circuit's stay so construction of Joe's favorite pipe can continue on Thursday.

The price of Joe Manchin's support for raising the debt ceiling was approval of the controversial Mountain Valley Pipeline through the Appalachians.  The project was temporarily halted when the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals  sitting in Richmond issued a stay order on Monday affecting a segment passing through the Jefferson National Forest.  Manchin backed the project in the Senate, and was visibly peeved that it got blocked by a federal court.  He tweeted his displeasure by calling the order unlawful.  One of the provisions of the debt ceiling bill removed the Fourth Circuit's jurisdiction over the project and gave it to the DC Court of Appeals.  Whether this provision is constitutional remains to be seen.  The Wilderness Society's case against the pipeline will probably end up in the Supreme Court on jurisdictional grounds.

The Fourth Circuit has repeatedly issued orders against he project going forward, including unanimously vacating its federal permits in April.  Local opposition to the project is significant, and inclusion of the pipeline in the debt ceiling deal was controversial in the Senate.  The pipeline is about 55% complete, projected to extend 303 miles through Virginia and West Virginia. Since construction began in 2018 at least 350 water quality violations have occurred. Mudslides, rolling equipment, slipped pipe and muddy waterways and behind schedule budget overruns have also resulted.  The fast-tracking of this fossil fuel project to appease one Senator is in stark contrast to the administration's efforts to do something significant about global climate change, and another example of bad policy being made by closely divided government.

A Real Death Valley Story

Death Valley is living up to its name in spades. With place names like Furnace Creek and Badwater Basin,
a traveler should get the idea to avoid the lowest point in North America.  Furnace Creek, an unincorporated settlement officially recorded 128℉ on Sunday.  That is just under the all time record recorded in 1913 at 134℉.  But that record is disputed by some who think 130 is the highest reliably recorded.  Temperatures above 130 have only been recorded worldwide a few times. Furnace Creek is home to the National Park's Visitor Center where tourists enjoy posing next to the large digital thermometer for pictures. The unofficial thmometer registered 132 at one point. [photo credit Getty Images]  High temperatures extend across the southwest and southeast in a heat wave bringing discomfort to millions. Phoenix hit 114℉ on the same day, just one day of an extended period of hot weather expected to break a record for the most consecutive days (18) of 110 or higher. 

Meteorologists expect 2023 to go down in the books as the hottest year on Earth since records began in the 19th century. June was the hottest on record.  Scientists think that global warming is responsible for the increasingly severe, and in some instances deadly heat waves on three continents.  

TWIT: Carrying Boxes for the Boss

credit: A. Telnaes, Washington Post

US Person has been posting for months that Team Crazy and their obnoxious leader use every trick in the law book to extract more delay from the system. The Special Master gambit is a prime example. Trumpilini even resorted to using his servant's lack of a local attorney to screw a three more weeks out of the judge in the Mar-a-Lago Papers case. The repeated use of delay tactics were confirmed beyond doubt this week when Trump lawyers requested an indefinite delay in the case until all substantive motions have been decided.  Of course the DOJ filed an objection to the request citing the Speedy Trial Act, which requires a date certain for trial,and the lack of legal justification for such an unprecedented delay request.

Jack Smith called the defendant's ludicrous invocation of the Presidential Records Act as a defense to an Espionage Act criminal prosecution "borderline frivolous". The 6th Amendment speedy trial provision protects both the defendant and the public.  Clearly the public would not be served by delaying the trial until after the election in 2024. If Trumpilini should win the White House again, it is a certainty he will direct his Attorney General to stop his prosecution. Barring that, he would grant himself a pardon. The tactics are clear: create political opposition in public to his criminal prosecution in a court of law until the next election.  The evidence in the case is so strong that this is his only hope, outside of a hung jury from deep red West Palm Beach. Not bringing the case in Washington DC, where the crimes began, was a mistake. If Judge Aileen Cannon grants the defendants' request for an indefinite delay, it would be another clear of instance of her bias for which the DOJ should seek recusal in the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Down in Fulton County, Georgia, two grand juries were empaneled this week. One of those will hear the evidence in the election interference case against Don 'Legit'.  DA Fani Willis previously announced that a true bill will be handed down sometime in August or September.  Observers think that the indictment will include a RICO count against the former guy as well as violation of Georgia election law.

credit M. Lukovich, Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Wackydoodle sez:  But they is his boxes!

Grizzlies Reclaim Lost Habitat

Grizzlies in the Northern Rockies are on the move.After decades of protection under federal law, the big bears are beginning to move out of the artificial boundaries set for them by man. Grizzlies (Ursus arctos horribiles), a subspecies of brown bear once ranged as far south as Mexico where they were called "oso plateado" or silvery bear due to the grayish cast of fur on their backs. When Lewis and Clark explored the West on behalf of a young nation, an estimated 50,000 populated the landscape. Those were hunted and trapped until only a 1,000 remained. They disappeared from California in the mid 1800s and their southern limit contracted to the Yellowstone basin ecosystem. The surviving bears retreated to the high forests of the northwestern US. Finally in 1975 the species was placed on the Endangered Species list in six identified ecosystems.

America spent millions through taxes and donations to restore the iconic apex predator, one that can easily kill a human. Some of the money was spent on relocations. Wildlife biologists supplemented the Cabinet-Yaak population with bears from Canada in the 1990's. It is those bears that have now moved into the Bitteroot Range near the Montana-Idaho boarder, which was devoid of bears for decades. The Yellowstone population has expanded northward. Bears in the Northern Continental Divide recovery zone are moving south. These two population are now only 50 miles apart, the closest they have ever been, and which demonstrates the need for protected connective habitat. The species now numbers just below 2,000 in the contiguous states. This increase represents a significant conservation success story, especially for a large carnivore with a slow reproductive rate. An adult male can have a range of over 600 square miles, and is a danger to humans, having four inch claws and 800+ pounds of muscle and fat.  Only the wolf engenders more hatred and distrust.

The southern range states--Wyoming, Montana and Idaho--want to re-introduce trophy hunting now that the bear is becoming more numerous and visible. In 2007 the federal government declared the Yellowstone population recovered and removed protection under the ESA.  Wildlife advocates disputed that finding on grounds that the USFWS failed to consider the impact of climate change on the white bark pine, a critical food source for the Yellowstone bears.  The court agreed with the 'bear huggers'.  Responding to the loss in court, the government conducted its own study of grizzly food sources.  Researchers concluded that the bear does rely on the white bark, but it eats more meat than other populations.  The study proposed that cubs and yearlings were dying because they are crowded into limited space.  Adult males will kill cubs not their own.  Federal authorities again recommended culling the population.  In 2017 grizzlies lost their legal protection for a second time. Less than a year later Wyoming began selling grizzly hunt tags for only $20. Eight thousand nimrods signed up. The white bark pine, suffering from a beetle infestation exacerbated by rising temperatures, was declared endangered in 2023.

Government was sued again, this time by the Tribes who faulted wildlife managers with not seeking to connect the isolated bear populations so Yellowstone bears could disperse naturally. Since 2016 more than 100 Indigenous Nations have signed a treaty committing themselves to restoring grizzly bear populations across North America. A tribal chief wrote, “In our Genesis, it was the great grizzly that taught the people the ability for healing and curing practices, so the grizzly is perceived as the first ‘medicine person.’ ... It is no coincidence that the spiritual reawakening of Native people on this continent has coincided with the modest recovery of the grizzly since the 1970s --a recovery that will end with delisting and trophy hunting in a return to the frontier mentality of the 1870s.” Fortunately the judge presiding over the conservationists suits ruled that the decision to de-list without considering the impact on other bear populations was premature.  Trophy hunting has abated for now.  All grizzlies in the lower 48 are still protected under the ESA, but in February 2023 the Service once again announced it would review de-listing for the Yellowstone and Northern Continental Divide populations.  It seems the grizzly is a victim of the never-ending human culture wars.

As the number of Montana bears grows, they are coming down from the mountains and into contact with humans.  In 2019 the state paid out $261,000 in compensation to ranchers for livestock kills. In 2021 the state paid $340,00 with twice as many kills by bears than wolves.  Humans have had to adapt to the bears increasing presence.  Ranchers have installed electric fencing, which requires less maintenance than barbed wire, and allows elk to migrate safely.  Educating the public on how to live safely with bears has played an important role in conservation efforts. The leading scientific expert on grizzlies, the man who oversaw the recovery of bears in Yellowstone, Chris Serhveen says the lower 48 could support 3400 bears, or at least 1000 more than are already there. Right now, there are no grizzlies living in the North Cascade recovery zone. Ultimately, part of the solution to more bears in human areas is more protected habitat for them to live in peacefully.