“We will mine more, drill more, cut more timber.” — James Watt, Ronald Reagan’s first Interior secretary.
As we wait for the incoming Trump administration to identify its nominee for Interior secretary, we can't help but envision what the outcome could be. Among those said to be under consideration, or jockeying for the job, are retiring U.S. Rep. Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming, U.S. Rep. Rob Bishop of Utah, and Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin, all Republicans who favor energy exploration over conservation.
What shouldn’t go unnoticed is that Donald Trump could place the immediate future of hundreds of millions of acres of publicly owned lands — lands that all 321.4 million Americans have a vested interest in — into the hands of a politician who hasn’t shown they have the country’s best interests in mind when it comes to fracking regulations, public lands stewardship, or environmental protection.
- Rep. Lummis has supported legislation that would give states control over fracking regulations on federal lands in their state; has opposed the Obama administration’s climate change program; signed legislation that opponents said “would prevent the EPA from protecting the world class fisheries of Bristol Bay, Alaska” from the proposed Pebble Mine; and voted along the lines of the League of Conservation Voters just 5 percent of the time during her eight years in the House.
- Rep. Bishop has tried time and again to restrict the president’s use of the Antiquities Act to designate national monuments; helped found the Federal Land Action Group, FLAG, which works to transfer federal lands to states; declined requests that he denounce “Bundy-style thuggery and lawlessness on our nation’s public lands;” and been criticized for introducing legislation that opponents claim would weaken the Clean Air Act, the Federal Land Policy and Management Act, the National Forest Management Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, and the Wilderness Act.
- Gov. Fallin has embraced pro-oil policies in Oklahoma; been criticized by the Sierra Club for having “been an absentee governor on all important environmental issues in our state during her term;” signed legislation that prohibited local governments in Oklahoma from banning hydrologic fracking; and in October led a day of prayer “to thank God for the blessings created by the oil and natural gas industry and to seek His wisdom and ask for protection.”
If you believe James Conca, a contributor to Forbes on energy and the environment, who on November 10 wrote that “energy in the new Administration will be just what the industry ordered,” you can further appreciate how any nominee Trump chooses for Interior will be bad for public lands management if you oppose energy exploration, want additional national monuments, and support federal land ownership.
And there has been much speculation over whether Mr. Trump could rescind monument designations bestowed on such places as Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument in Maine as well as Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in Utah.
The prospect of the next Interior secretary being a hard-line conservative who believes lands managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management or U.S. Forest Service should either be given to the states within which they exist or simply opened up to more energy exploration and logging is understandably concerning to those who appreciate public lands for recreation and habitat conservation and oppose rampant, loosely regulated fossil fuel energy production.
Then, too, there’s the economic return from preserving public lands. According to the Center for Western Priorities, one study indicates that 90 percent of America’s public lands already are open to oil and gas leasing, while just 10 percent are set aside for recreation, conservation, and other uses. Too, it's been demonstrated that counties with more protected lands, such as national monuments, perform better economically than counties without such protected areas. Additionally, surveys conducted by Colorado College conclude that majorities of voters in Western states believe public lands should remain under control of the federal government.
While the National Park System may not be directly impacted by energy development under the next administration, it very well could be adversely impacted by land management along its borders.
At the end of the day, we should question whether an Interior secretary who believes in aggressive energy exploration, reducing the size of public lands ownership, and weakening environmental regulations would be acting in the best interests of the entire U.S. population or simply in the interests of a fraction of that population and industry heads.
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Comments
Well the answer to your last question is clear it would be in interest of the entire population. Everyone benefits from lower energy and raw materials costs. The percent of the gains that would go to "a fraction of that population and industry heads" is minimal.
One of the primary purposes of the federal government is to protect the interests of the minorities amongst us. If not, the selfish "speaking for the majority" will rape and pillage, as Watt wanted to and as Bishop et al would. Some, obviously, who speak for the selfish, would have you think that is laudable. Once a mountain is gone, it is gone. Once a lake is filled with pipeline spillage, it is gone. Once a speciwes population is extinct, it is gone. Apologists for rape and pillage of the environment have no more moral or ethical high ground than apologists for any other sort of rape.
Well said, Rick.
Glad to see you support the electorial college Rick. As to removing mountains, filling lakes or losing a species, non of those are necessary by products of the extraction industries. And if you want to talk morals, the price of higher energy costs hits hardest and most disproportionatley on the poor. But I guess in your mind, it is OK to rape them.
Ooooh. The tit for tat Kurt hates.
"At the end of the day, we should question whether an Interior secretary who believes in aggressive energy exploration, reducing the size of public lands ownership, and weakening environmental regulations would be acting in the best interests of the entire U.S. population or simply in the interests of a fraction of that population and industry heads."
A good question, Kurt. However, why did no one ask it of Ken Salazar or Sally Jewell? In the category of "agressive energy exploration," what is wind and solar? As for "reductng the size of public lands ownership," what about the 40 million acres "designated" for those projects? Is a wind turbine any less disruptive than an oil rig? Ask the eagles, hawks, owls, and bats, that yes, were deemed "expendable" by the Obama Administration while it weakened the Endangered Species Act. As for serving "industry heads," Mr. Obama served many, led by Jeffrey Immelt at GE.
I don't know whether to laugh or cry at what is deemed "journalism" by the press these days. Mr. Trump gets a call from Taiwan, and suddenly he is breaking four decades of diplomatic protocol. Mr. Obama calls Raoul Castro, and is suddenly hailed as opening a new era with Cuba. Mr. Trump saves 800 jobs at Carrier, and suddenly is criticized with not saving enough. And look at the "incentives" that cost! Yes, and here in Washington State, our last two Democratic governors gave Boeing $7 BILLION in tax breaks, and again were hailed as saviors of the middle class.
When a Democrat does it, it's diplomacy. When a Republican does it, he's selling out. You think the American people didn't see that in the last election and ask: "Why are journalists taking sides?" Now with 33 governorships, 66 houses out of 98 legilsatures, the House of Representatives, the Senate, AND the White House, we're going to have to get along with these folks, and no, I don't think they're going to destroy the public lands any worse that the last bunch we put in office. In fact, didn't fracking triple on President Obama's watch, or am I being "unfair?" Pogo: "We have met the enemy, and he is us." He isn't just the President-Elect.
Dr. Runte is right when he speaks of the blame plague that has infected us these days. The idea that "The Other Side" can do no right and "Our Side" can do no wrong is perhaps our biggest nataional problem.
When will we finally grow up and begin to remember that what we MUST do is learn to sit down and talk rationally with one another to seek sensible, middle-of-the-road compromises to our challenges?
Extremist websites pouring out fake news stories and the suckers who believe them are ruining our nation.
But how do we bring that nonsensical garbage to a stop?
And here I must respectfully disagree with Dr. Runte, for as I read his post above, I see the same kind of one-sided blame game being played as the post is filled with inflammatory rhetoric.
Remember that old saying, "Be the change you want to see in the world." Perhaps if we ALL were to begin to state our opinions in less incindary terms, it would be a good beginning.
(( And Kurt, is there any way you guys could increase the type size in the box used for posting comments. My old eyes are having trouble seeing it. Holding a magnifying glass and typing at the same time doesn't work very well. ))
Just home from the gym where I watched President Obama's speech to military personnel at ??? military base. It was broadcast on FOX. Judging by the amount of applause, his talk was welcomed by the troops. It was basically a reiteration of his foreign and military policies for the last 8 years and a clear message to the incoming president that some of the inflammatory statements of the campaign would place us in grave danger if they are actually put into play. Following the speech, three FOX talking heads and a man named NIgel Farage -- a British politico who let the Brexit effort -- popped up the disect the speech. It was as if we had all watched a different talk and not the one delivered.
This is a great example of what I meant in my previous post today. The network response was entirely slanted and very heavily biased. Obviously designed to inflame viewers' opinions.
I'm afraid, based on what I've seen so far of our new president, that our national parks and public lands may very well be among the least of our worries. It appears that we are heading into a four-year run of Celebrity Apprentice -- except this time it will really be reality TV.
At a time when we need to come together, I'm afraid the preferred tactics of our TV "news" networks and even the new president's coterie will be to continue to divide us in hopes of maintaining their power.
That's downright frightening.
Lee...
Robert A. Heinlein wrote many novels which had a common thread of a 'future history'. The books largely written in the 40s and 50s, looked forward and one notable step on the Future History chrono=logy was 'The Crazy Years'. which most of us have thought referred to the 60s. I'm beginning to think that the Crazy Years are resuming right about now. If only RAH were here to help steer us through safely.
RAH???? Sorry, Rick, I forgot where I put my memory. RAH??
OH, you mean Robert A. Heinlein! Gotcha. Just a little slow . . . . .
There is a lesson to be learned from times such as we seem to be facing. It is much too easy to take the good times for granted and become complacent about issues that all-too-often get put on the back burner thinking that there to be plenty of time to deal with them at some more convienient time. Life - and obviously politics - are unpredicable. It is important to take on improtant and sensitive issues when the time is ripe and before they become "institutionalized". The national parks will always be under attack by those who see short-term profit as more important than long-term protection of the priceless value of our natural and cultiural heritage. If the protection of the parks declines during so-called "good times" it makes them even more at risk when the political winds shift - as they may now.
I am not worried about the future of our great system of National Parks. Our parks are woven tightly into the fabric of American history and the American people will not permit their destruction. What I have been worried about is the slow process of the decay of our park infrastructure and lack of staffing over the past several years. I hope this trend is reversed and that we face up to the responsibility of adequate funding of our national parks to keep them safe and well maintained for now and into the future.
I am not so sure about the future of the many national monuments proclaimed during the end of the Obama administration. These sites were proclaimed without proper consultation with the states concerned and in many cases with the local communities. This is where the trouble may come from. They are not funded and face criticism by many people. Not all of these national monuments will survive the next administration.
Harry,interesting post. I am reading Dr. Pyne's latest book, "Fire to Fire", very good. The breath of the book as it deals with the multiple agencies involved, local citizen interests, extractive uses, urban sprawl, and the politics of it all is extremely educational. Touches much on many of the discussions we have on Traveler. In my own view, I hope the monuments stand, it will interesting to see how it plays out.
In NATIONAL PARKS: THE AMERICAN EXPERIENCE, I make this point about our public lands. As national parks, we only save the spectacular leftovers. Most everything "productive" is already gone. Imagine Washington State's forests BEFORE Olympic National Park. And so on. What would Donald Trump be "attacking?" The attack happened a century ago. Indeed, our national parks still have some spectacular leftovers, but leftovers they remain.
Trump would now be attacking the American business community, which effectively controls the national parks. In Zion this summer, there were at least a dozen tour buses parked outside the lodge every day. Who owns those buses? Who buys those tours? Who eats and/or stays at the lodge? The very people Mr. Trump knows best. Tourists with money to spend!
Mr. Obama didn't even know those tourists. A community organizer, he knew nothing about starting or running a business. What he did know--and perfected as president--was how to give a speech. But governing is not about a speech. When I brought serious issues to Mr. Obama's attention, I never heard a peep.
I have, on the other hand, heard from Mr. Trump. Not directly, nor was it an invitation to me personally. But it was uplifting--and very encouraging. I take it that some members of his Transition Team have read some history. In fact, sales of NATIONAL PARKS are currently through the roof. Why? The centennial? Frankly, most people in the Park Service admit to never having read my books--nor those of Stephen Pyne, Roderick Nash, et al. They simply assume, as does the media, that only Democrats are serious environmentalists, with the exception of that honorary Democrat, Theodore Roosevelt.
In my books, you will not notice that mistake. You will not notice an R or a D beside the name of any political figure. In history, the actions speak, not the labels. The labels themselves are constantly changing, is the point. An R or a D of today is totally unlike anything in both parties yesterday. But there you have it--what thinking in sound bites has done to thinking period. We are supposed to believe the label and get indignant. My, God! The country elected a Republican! How could "they" have been so blind!
I warned you in a previous post what was coming, But historians? Hey, what do we know? I know this. In eight years I never heard from President Obama. In eight days I heard from Donald Trump. Relax, good people, and have a drink. And don't believe what you hear from the press. Your national parks are in good hands--the same corporate moguls that founded and opened them, and now reap the billions in tourist dollars they are worth. Kill the golden goose? No president is that stupid, but yes, we will have to remain vigilant about those leftovers that suddenly appear "valuable" for other uses, which itself is nothing new.
Hehehehe. So sorry President Obama snubbed you. Obviously, with monitoring Saturday Night Live and skipping intelligence briefings, Trump has chosen prioritizing you better. Hehehehe.
I agree with Dr. Runte insofar as his comment about what sound bites have done to thinking.
Now we will have governing by Tweetings.
A report on FOX "News" just this morning informed us that the Tweeter in Chief tweeted a tweet about the price of drugs and the pharmaceutical industry's stocks fell with a thud. Boeing was tweeted yesterday and their execs are having indigestion this morning.
The next four years are gonna be about like watching stuff float by in the primary settling tank at the sewage plant.
Look at what sound bites and tweets gave us in the recent election!
The next four years are going to require a lot of very careful thought and action by those of us who are still capable of rational thought. I hope there are enough of us left to prevent a complete derailment of America.
http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/4680858-155/bagley-cartoon-the-strongman
PE Trump just picked Scott Pruitt, OK attorney general, to be the head of the EPA. Mr. Pruitt has a record of attacking efforts to address global warming, particularly those dealing with fossil fuels. This is equivalent to having the fox guard the hen house. Not a promising sign for the parks.
Donald J. Trump has selected Scott Pruitt, the Oklahoma attorney general and a close ally of the fossil fuel industry, to run the Environmental Protection Agency, a transition official said, signaling Mr. Trump’s determination to dismantle President Obama’s efforts to counter climate change.
The point is, Rick. President Obama snubbed anyone the moment that someone disagreed with him. Barely a month after the election, President-Elect Trump has met with his staunchest critics, up to and including Al Gore. That shows me a man who wants to govern, not just give a speech.
Of course, I could be wrong. The point is: Speculation is merely that. It isn't news until something happens. Which is to say, I will not be concerned about what Mr. Trump MIGHT do until he actually does it. Four weeks into Mr. Obama's presidency, I recall no one in the press jumping up and down about his "picks." Now? The press can't wait to make a headline before there even is a headline. TRUMP SKIPS INTELLIGENCE BRIEFINGS, as if the President-Elect, like a common eight-year old cutting class, has no other way to get that information.
Before "reporters" were paid like rock stars, there was something called the news. It wasn't news that JFK slept with Marilyn Monroe. It is not news what Donald Trump thinks of Saturday Night Live. He'll get it, but will the press ever get it? Not if they think that everything but the news is news. Obviously, many Americans now prefer the rumor mill. Fine. Just remember that it isn't news.
OK, Al. Personally, I find you losing credibility with each sentence you add to this., other than "Of course, I could be wrong. The point is: Speculation is merely that".
Give him a chance to do something? Like nominate Ben Carson to HUD, whose only credential is that he lives in a house. DeVos, for Education, to manage public education in the country - she who was born to millions, never in public schools, also sent her kids to private schools. Her brother being the founder of Blackwater is just an oh-by-the-way. Like most of the other nominations. Those are indeed actions. Without exception they spell malignancy.
Al looks at events through the lens of an historian, which is rightly so. Journalists look through a different lens. They typically are asked to analyze and condense what is happening now, on a daily basis...not wait for it to happen and then go back and analyze the aftermath.
I will wholeheartedly agree with him, though, that there's a lot of curious journalism being practiced these days...but also a lot of serious journalism.
Speculation over whom the president-elect might pick for his Cabinet plays a vital role...anyone want to wager that the president-elect -- anyd president elect or president -- doesn't float trial balloons to see how they're received? Beyond that, shouldn't candidates be publicly vetted before they're nominated? After the fact doesn't always do a lot of good.
For instance, shouldn't reporters cover the process into the proposal to delist grizzly bears by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and possibly influence the agency's decision by bringing issues to the fore, or wait until it's a done deal and write articles only then about what might have been overlooked or wrongly interpreted?
As to then-President-elect Obama's picks and related speculation, the Traveler archives contain these stories:
http://www.nationalparkstraveler.com/2008/12/salazar-pick-interior-secre...
http://www.nationalparkstraveler.com/2008/12/whats-latest-search-interio...
http://www.nationalparkstraveler.com/2008/12/green-groups-lobbying-see-r...
http://www.nationalparkstraveler.com/2008/11/president-elect-obamas-team...
http://www.nationalparkstraveler.com/2008/11/dont-be-surprised-see-clint...
Reporters should report the facts as they are with no agenda or intent to influence. Commentators have broader latitude and can legitamately interject their own opinions with the intent to influence. It's important that journalist and the audience know which is which. Unfortunately there has been far to much commentary and very little actual reporting.
Okay, Rick. Let's talk about "experience." Do I first need to jump off the Empire State Building to know that it would hurt? Ben Carson, a distinguished brain surgeon, has no "qualities" he can bring to HUD?
But yes, I "get it." Dr. Carson might be African-American. It's just that he's not "one of us." In that case no matter what experience he has will ever be good enough. He should have asked our permission first.
That itself is to explain charter schools, private schools, and all the rest. Those who can afford it take their children out of public schools to escape the patronizing tone. We know what is best for your children. We are the experts, and you just the parents.
Dr. Carson does not speak down to parents. He deserves HUD, and I find him the perfect choice. The other appointments I will have to wait and see.
Meanwhile, thanks for posting those articles, Kurt. I will be sure to read them in the proper spirt, as you say, that journalists cannot always wait for "events."
Not saying that you're casting aspersions, EC, but the Traveler long has committed itself to the following:
Within those boundaries, we follow commonly accepted journalistic practices and our intent is that all content on the Traveler is as accurate and as clear as possible. To that end, we review all comments from readers about the articles on this site, including suggestions for possible improvements and corrections. Changes that improve accuracy and/or clarity are made as promptly as possible.
Al, many times the process is part of the event. If it weren't, we wouldn't have had to endure the past 18 months of campaigning.
Kurt - I was making a general observation not a comment specific to the Traveler. I think you do a good job of destingishing opinion pieces from those that are reporting the news.
We are facing either a promising future or a major disaster.
At this point, I find very little about which to be optimistic.
Lee, along with the interminable election cycle Kurt describes, we have a veritable maze of checks and balances. In his own frustration, President Obama reached for executive orders, only to find that the courts rarely went along. Mr. Trump will find the same. Sure, he is not about to appoint a cabinet from Portlandia. No matter, they, too, will have no choice but to obey the rules.
What we need to remember is the culture and not the politics all the time. In general, those who provide our natural resources are part of the Republican Party. In general, those who provide our social services are part of the Democratic Party. But what social services would we have to provide if lacking the natural resources to provide them? In this election cycle, the Democrats forgot the providers--the farmers, truck drivers, machinists, mill workers, construction workers, etc. etc., who have suffered from income redistribution meant to "level the playing field." The Democrats and the Press could only call them white. The Establishment neither understood them nor did it understand history. These were the very people on which The New Deal (and the Democratic Party) had been built.
They rebeled, and every good historian saw it coming--and sees what is coming now. Mr. Trump is no more in love with the Republican Party than FDR's working class. He just used it to get where he wanted to be. The fact of the matter is, he knows how to talk to the working class. My father, a machinist, would have voted for him in a heartbeat. Take from me and "give" to someone else without asking about my needs? my family? I believe in charity, father would have said. But taking my job isn't charity.
The mother who showed my brother and me the national parks had just buried that hard-working man. He had virtually died on his feet--working six, ten hour days every week to support not only our family, but a mother, father, five sisters and their husbands trying to recover in war-torn Germany.
At least he had a good paying job. Now most working stiffs don't even have that. Some academic at Harvard calls it free trade. Some academic at Cornell calls it deregulation. They haven't a clue what FDR would have called it. After all, they don't know a lick of history. FDR would have called it communism. If you take from my people just to give to other people, how is that charity and not stealing? The last straw, history will show, was the word "dreamer." If your kids can dream, but my kids can't dream, again, how is that charity and not stealing?
It was close, but only because Mr. Trump acted like a nut (Peggy Noonan). A sane man with the same message would have taken ten more states. California? Forever dreamers. Massachusetts and New York. Dreamers, too. The rest would have gone redder than red.
We who have been blessed with so much need to remember that this country came from hard-working stock. We who hear from the Press that it is all about race, class, gender, and diversity need to remember that is Portlandia speaking and not the country. The country is still hard-working stock--and still wants to work and succeed. There are still pockets of racism, yes, but for the most part the country doesn't care. If you work hard and play hard, you are an American. If you ask me to give it up, I will remind you of that history.
The national parks will be just fine, certainly no worse than they were under an Interior Department flush with a nobility of self-importance. We're saving the planet, Al. Don't you get it? Yeah, I get it. When you can't do the job you have, you might as well reach for God's. And she isn't talking this morning now that Mr. Trump's pick for EPA has been pilloried by the Press as "a denier!"
Well, at least he seems to understand the working class. For now I'll take comfort in that.
While I agree with much of what Dr. Runte wrote above, I must doubt the last sentence: "Well, at least he seems to understand the working class."
I'm not at all sure of that.
The great American philosopher, Garrison Keillor had this to say: http://www.sltrib.com/csp/mediapool/sites/sltrib/pages/printfriendly.csp...
I also know that, If we work together to achieve it, environmental preservation and economic values of our resources are not incompatible. But profit margin greed makes working together much more difficult.
Lee, I also respect Dr. Runte and many of his accomplishments. That said, I disagree with his post. Mr. Trump is a master demagogue, at least in my view. he taped into the politics of fear, intolerance, bullying, beyond the pale attacks on anyone in disagreement. I do agree that the economics of neo-liberalism, trickle down, or whatever one wants to call it (both parties bought into it), has led to much anger and frustration, the rich are richer, the poor poorer. I do hope Dr. Runte is right about the checks and balances, but it remains to be seen by a new administration coming into power that has shown little respect for government or adherence to the role of said, let alone any respect for the rule of law. I must admit it will be interesting to see it play out.
Ron - the media has you blinded. Trumps win had nothing to do with fear, intolerance or bullying. As long as the left continues to believe that to be the case, the Republicans will win at the voting booth.
Ron - I agree with you. Trump's win had everything to do with fear, intolerance, and bullying. As long as these are the tactics of the right, closer comes the day when they find how painful the equal and opposite reaction will be.
Rick, so you really believe half the country is into fear, intolerance and bullying? Keep thinking so and we will keep electing officials with an R by their name.
Nope. There are the other two groups that make up your minority of the votes. Those who have a vested interest in some way and ignore the ethics and those who are too clueless and just follow what they are misinformed about. I figure you for the first group.
Intolerance, Rick? Yesterday you were the one implying that an African-American surgeon lacked the skills and experience to be running HUD. A master demagogue, Ron? I believe it was Hillary Clinton who called the working class "deplorables" and "irredeemables." Yes, I would agree that Adolph Hitler was a master demagogue. Both the term and the history fit. But the term fits nothing about Mr. Trump's background, other than his determination to break through the fog of political correctness by remaining true to his base.
You imply that base is corrupt--easily bullied and easily misled. Forgive me, but my father was neither a bully nor a racist. But yes, he asked tough questions of his government, having known the German trenches of World War I. Is it not fair to ask tough questions rather than be spoonfed the "results?" Is it not fair to ask that the country take care of its legal citizens, for example, before inviting new citizens in? Like my maternal grandfather and grandmother, my father entered the United States through Ellis Island, there to renounce the worst of Europe.
Today, it's all about pronouncing and not renouncing. No one need give up a thing. Except the working class, which is asked to pay for it all, and if they don't go along we should call them what? Why, how about bullies and racists?
As Peggy Noonan rightfully asks, just how long did the Democratic Party think that could go on? Am I being "intolerant" to say "wait your turn?" My father waited ten years, as near as I can tell. By the 1920s, stricter immigration laws were in place. He came in 1928, ten years after World War I, five years of which he spent in Brazil. Not until 1944 did he secure a full-time job, that as a machinist at Ansco-Ozalid in Binghamton, New York. There he met mother, a farmer's daughter, with a ninth-grade education matching his eighth.
In the United States, when you start calling these people deplorables, you are certain to be despised (Peggy Noonan). They obeyed the rules; they followed the law. They took nothing out the system they hadn't earned. No one can "demagogue" them; no one can "bully" them; nor do they "fear" the truth. They just got sick and tired of hearing from poseurs all the time what they "owed' the poseurs (Peggy Noonan). You owe me your vote! I know better than you what your country is all about.
My "accomplishments," if you will, began by my owning up to my history--a history my father just couldn't escape. He died from his wounds, both psychological and physical, just as many people in the working class are suffering now. Who stands up for them? Trump dared, and didn't the Democratic Party go crazy, again arguing that "they" had had their "chance."
Yes, chances galore, beginning at Lexington and Concord, then the Bloody Angle, Pearl Harbor, and Omaha Beach. FDR knew his party; Hillary Clinton never did. Even when Bill pleaded with her to visit the Old Neighborhood, she could only repeat what she had been told. Don't worry about "them." Worry about "me." Only history knew to be suspicious of "me" over "us," but again, no one teaches about "us" in Women's Studies.
To be sure, I hear there is to be a women's march on Washington, DC, January 21 to protest the new administration. Again, let's not think about "us." Let's think about "me." FDR must be rolling in his grave.
That is right Rick, nobody with a vested interest voted for Hillary. LOL. By the way, what is my vested interest? The only ones that are clueless are the ones like Pelosi and Reid that think Trump won because his supporters were clueless (or deplorable). But keep thinking that way - it will lead to a long run for the Republicans.
How much of Tweet's win may have been due to voters who were so frustrated with both parties that when it came time to vote voted for him as protest believing he had no chance of winning. How many of those folks are now wondering what the heck happened. Ron and Alfred are both right because the bottom line of it all is the this nation --- and its ordinary citizens have been slipping deeper and deeper in to a cesspool of oligarchy.
While we need to work together to help the country, it doesn't mean that those of us who are sensible enough to realize that our nation has made a terrible mistake at the polls must remain silent. It will be our duty as citizens to stand firm and try to oppose policies and politics that may harm us.
That is patriotism at its finest. Blindly following a dishonest fool is simply stupidity.
Now, as Garrison wrote, we sit back and watch in disbelief.
And Esteemed Comrade, perhaps you need to check your math.
Sorry, Al. When i try to trudge my way through your standard-issue overly written post, i can't help but think "apologist/enabler of trump publish or perish many words to say apologist/enabler of trump". Tenured historians of the future, if they are allowewd to, will make point by point comparisons of Hitler's rise and Trump's rise.
So, Eric - are you still claiming without a shred of proof that the millions of voters that Hillary outscored Trump with were all illegal? You tried to assert it a while back and when challenged said no more. I say again, prove it or shut up.
Just a friendly remindernudge from the moderator to try to stay civil.....
Rick, what you think you know about European history is sadly lacking in the facts. But yes, you are right. The sickness that is now the American university is confident that Donald Trump is Adolph Hitler. No brown shirts, of course, and no SS. No concentration camps that I can see. But hey, why spoil a good rant with the facts? Charge $60,000 a year for another safe zone and call it an "education."
Rick, if you don't like being serious, I will not take you seriously. But don't play posuer with me. I write these posts because I enjoy The Traveler. A serious publication, it deserves a serious readership. And serious writers, too.
As for the popular vote, there are now some eye-opening analyses, and surely there will be more to come. As recently reported in THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, between 2 percent and 15 percent of voters, dependent on state, county, precinct, etc., MIGHT (emphasis on might) have been illegally registered. Either they were dead, not citizens, or felons. Here in Washington State, you can register on line and simply check the box for citizenship. You don't have to show ANY proof.
There may not have been VOTER fraud, but there sure might have been REGISTRATION fraud. The experts simply don't know how much.
If that doesn't trouble you, what does? Steroids in the ballpark? Doping on the Tour de France? What is your threshold for lying and cheating?
My threshold is lying and cheating period. And playing fast and loose with the facts. Now, find a comfortable safe zone and read THE RISE AND FALL OF THE THIRD REICH, by William L. Shirer, and tell me there is any comparison to Donald Trump. While you're at it, throw in HITLER'S WILLING EXECUTIONERS: ORDINARY GERMANS AND THE HOLOCAUST, by Daniel Jonah Goldhagen, and tell me there is any comparison there to the American people.
Get educated, in other words. Don't wait for the professors to do it, for you see, we already have. The professors of the future? I don't know about them, and can't speak for them, and the point is: Neither can you.
Rick, perhaps that is what you wanted to hear but that is not what I said. I suggested it as a possibility and did not state it as fact so there is nothing for me to prove.
We are already seeing America's new version of greatness playing out. Today, among other things, The Tweeter in Chief tweeted an appointment for Secretary of Labor who feels that many American wages are too high. However, the appointee has stated that anyone who cannot find a job providing a living wage will be able to receive free catsup on any hamburgers they buy at Hardee's or Carl's Jr.
And then we learned that Tweetie tweeted a couple of tweets in which he personally attacked a union president in Indiana who dared question the numbers of jobs supposedly saved at Carrier.
CBS News also reported this evening that The Tweeter will moonlight as producer and perhaps a performer in the ongoing "reality" TV shows The Apprentice.
And in a recent news flash, our own Esteemed Comrade finally admitted that his posts are baseless opinions or "suggestions" with no factual content.
How much greater can we possibly become?
I can hardly wait to find out what kind of "greatness" is coming next to America.
I keep hoping that I'll wake up and find it was all a dream. But I'm afraid it's not.
In the meantime, we still have our national parks to which we may retreat in search of quiet, peace, and at least some sanity. For now, at least.
Lee, do you have any concept of what happens to workers whose wages are more than the value they add? Hint: http://newsexaminer.net/food/mcdonalds-to-open-25000-robot-run-stores-by...
The whole concept of a "living wage" is fake news.
Finally admitted? Nice try to twist things Lee - as usual. There are times I state facts, there are times I state opinions. My language always indicates which is which.
Esteemed Comrade, do you have any idea what really happens to workers who can't find a job that pays living wages? Try volunteering to help and you will have plenty of opportunities to meet them and learn that they are not always the "parasites" that some of our hate groups pretend them to be.
I tried your link to the McDonalds "report." I also prowled around a little on the News Examiner website. Among other things I found was a section that seems to pretend to be a "fact checker" looking for fake news on the Internet. One of the stories it reports as true is that Ted Cruz has been confirmed to be the Zodiac killer. Another story in the "breaking news" section claimed that Obama was planning to run for a third term. Still another claimed that the FBI is using light aircraft filled with electronic monitoring equipment to spy on American cities. Here are a few of their other "headlines":
Obama Tweets Series of 50 Cent Lyrics At Putin After Russian Bombers Attack US Base
Ted Cruz: “I Will Endorse Donald Trump For President If He Makes Masturbation Illegal”
Is Bill Clinton The Father Of Bristol Palin’s Latest Baby? PROBABLY!
Donald Trump Announces Sheriff Joe Arpaio As His VP Running Mate In 2016
I invite other Traveler readers to click the link in our Comrade's post and explore it for yourselves.
When someone uses a web site such as this to try to support an argument, the argument kinda falls apart, doesn't it? Fake news is real -- and it's a real threat when gullible people actually believe it.
As I've tried to say before, with administration by Tweets and public opinion shaped by fake news sites, our public lands may well be the least of our national worries.
Yes, they either obtain the skills that help them find jobs that provide living wages or they live the consequences of not doing so. If they demand ( or the government forces) wages that aren't justified, the jobs go away or are replaced by robots.
Its not the cite implementing robots, its economics.
Ah so . . . . now have you heard of a new website called Homie that will make realtors obsolete? It's just economics, ya?
If it makes realtors obsolete? Ya. It will be up to realtors to add value to keep themselves relevant, and valuable. It won't be up to the government to force people to pay realtors.
Thanks, Al, for the advice, but already did it. After studying management in college initially I spent a decade or so in the corporate world. Hated it but partially vested a pension. At age 40 I went back to follow my dream and calling, got a nursing degree and spent the next 20 years in medicine. Saved a lot of lives, literally, improved even more, and retired 5-6 years ago. Now I study for enlightenment and pure pleasure rather than career or degree. You'll always have more initials after your name than I, but I'm content with my world, my contributions, and my life. Those who know me, face to face, think well of me. Am I always serious? No. No reason to be unless I want to be sonorously thought of as A Serious Person. Humor is the only way to get through the next four years. If I chose to insert frivolity into somber discourse, sometimes it needs to be lightened up. I certainly wouldn't want to be thought of as a pompous pedant any more than you would.
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Eric - you cited Darius Rubics? Oh, lordie. That reminds me - I need to change the straw in my chicken coop in the morning.
Interesting thoughts on this subject but I think we will just have to wait and see what happens. I continue to think that the change of administrations will have a positive impact on the management of our national parks. The years under the Obama administration with Jarvis and his friends in control of the national park system have not been good. Lack of staffing and funding for the growning list of maintenance problems facing our national parks have cripple the national park system. These issue were not being addressed. I hope that whoever becomes the new Secretary of the Interior/Director of the National Park System will restore competent management and work to address the many issues that have been neglected for too long. I am looking forward to the change and hope for the best.+
" I am looking forward to the change and hope for the best.+"
Gee, weren't HOPE and CHANGE bad words for the last eight years?
I just HOPE we get through the next four and don't expect much CHANGE.
I won't be surprised at all if the next NPS director comes from the upper management levels of Disneyland, Busch Gardens, or Universal Studios.
Well Rick, since I don't know who Darius Rubics is, I doubt I cited him. But then, you do like to hear what you want to hear so you can make your attacks.
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