Tag: climate change

Wenzda’s Wandering Political Thoughts

I was one to jump on the stage when we asked before the flash flooding in Texas killed so many, “Why weren’t they warned?” Now we have more insight into the answer. And yes, the path to this disaster goes right through DOGE.

As the Texas Floodwaters Rose, One Indispensable Voice Was Silent

When a reporter demanded to know why the summer camps along the Guadalupe River weren’t evacuated before its waters reached their deadly peak on July 4, Rob Kelly, the highest-ranking local official, had a simple answer: “No one knew this kind of flood was coming.”

Why not? Kerr County, Texas, had lots of history to go on — as Kelly went on to explain: “We have floods all the time. This is the most dangerous river valley in the United States.” The National Weather Service had even brought in extra staff that night. Most important, the service had issued three increasingly dire warnings early that morning — at 1:14 a.m., 4:03 a.m. and 6:06 a.m.

What Kelly didn’t mention, but which has since become well known, is that the Weather Service employee whose job it was to make sure those warnings got traction — Paul Yura, the long-serving meteorologist in charge of “warning coordination” — had recently taken an unplanned early retirement amid cuts pushed by the so-called Department of Government Efficiency. He was not replaced.

Read more here…

This is infuriating. This was one of the many warnings we progressives, liberals, and Democrats voiced time and again: Trump and the right wing want to destroy government. They don’t care who is killed or impoverished when they do, as long as it isn’t them. And it wont’ be them; they’re protecting themselves.

We see similiar stories emerging with taxes, education systems and school districts, disaster responses, diseases, trade, employment, deportation, rising crime, and healthcare emerging across the nation. It’s horrible to read these stories. But so many blindly follow Trump and the GOP, they voted for their own ruin. And many still swear, “Yes, but this is better than what the Democrats were offering.”

What is it that they thought the Democrats were offering, they can’t really explain. They just insist that President Biden was destroying the United States. They rallyed around the price of eggs.

The price of eggs are higher now. Do they really think they gained anything by supporting Trump and his treacherous agenda, which is clearly based on Project 2025, which he dismissed over and over again.

When will they learn and reject the Trump Regime’s incompetence and destruction? How many more dead Americans will we count before they finally awaken? Repu

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Sunda’s Wandering Political Thoughts

Southwest Nebraska medical center announces plans to close, blames uncertainty over funding

The uncertainty over federal Medicaid funding appears to have claimed its first victim in Nebraska.

Community Hospital in McCook announced Wednesday that it will close Curtis Medical Center in Curtis, winding down its services over the next several months.

“Unfortunately, the current financial environment, driven by anticipated federal budget cuts to Medicaid, has made it impossible for us to continue operating all of our services, many of which have faced significant financial challenges for years,” Troy Bruntz, President and CEO of Community Hospital, said in a news release.

The budget reconciliation bill that the House of Representatives voted to approve on Thursday contains several provisions that experts say will slash Medicaid, which rural hospitals are more dependent on than their urban counterpart

Read the rest…

Mauna Loa Observatory captured the reality of climate change. The US plans to shut it down

The greenhouse effect was discovered more than 150 years ago and the first scientific paper linking carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere with climate change was published in 1896.

But it wasn’t until the 1950s that scientists could definitively detect the effect of human activities on the Earth’s atmosphere.

In 1956, United States scientist Charles Keeling chose Hawaii’s Mauna Loa volcano for the site of a new atmospheric measuring station. It was ideal, located in the middle of the Pacific Ocean and at high altitude away from the confounding influence of population centres.

Data collected by Mauna Loa from 1958 onward let us clearly see the evidence of climate change for the first time. The station samples the air and measures global CO₂ levels. Charles Keeling and his successors used this data to produce the famous Keeling curve – a graph showing carbon dioxide levels increasing year after year.

But this precious record is in peril. US President Donald Trump has decided to defund the observatory recording the data, as well as the widespread US greenhouse gas monitoring network and other climate measuring sites.

Read the rest…

The Dilemma of the Fourth of July
As we finish out this holiday weekend, it’s a good moment to reflect on how the Fourth of July is a complicated holiday for many of those living in the United States. At Native News Online, author Mark Charles looks at the contradictions in the experience of July 4th for many Native communities.

“The other day I was eating dinner with my wife in a restaurant located in Gallup, New Mexico, a border town to the Navajo reservation. Gallup was recently named “Most Patriotic Small Town” in a nationwide contest. Soon after sitting down I noticed that we were seated at a table directly facing a framed poster of the Declaration of Independence.

The irony almost made me laugh.

When our server, who was also Native, came to the table, I asked if I could show him something. I then stood up and pointed out that 30 lines below the famous quote “All men are created equal” the Declaration of Independence refers to Natives as “merciless Indian savages.”

The irony was that the restaurant was filled with Native Americans customers and employees and there in plain sight, a poster hanging on the wall was literally calling all of us “savages.”

Read more…

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Frida’s Wandering Political Thoughts

We have violence escalating in the Middle East and the United States as the Ukraine-Russia War burns on. This is the forefront. In the momentary background are tariffs and trade wars, climate change and natural disasters like wildfires. Always thinking ahead *cough cough, yes, that’s very thick snark*, a Florida right wing sheriff is threatening to kill protestors, Gov. DeSantis in Florida beams and tells drivers that it’s okay to hit protestors with their cars (anyone remember Charlottesville, VA?), Gov. Abott in Texas is calling out the National Guard, and so is Gov. Kehoe in Missouri. That First Amendment and its right to assemble really terrifies the right wing. Which, I guess we can infer means that We the People terrify them.

The current situation isn’t triggering joy and optimism in me. I could play whatif games about Trump, Putin, and Netanyahu being more restrained and diplomatic. These games are as pointless as wishes Kamela Harris won the election in 2024. Or Hillary won in 2016. Or Gore in 2000. Or that spineless Republicans like Mitch McConnell stood up, did his job, and impeached Trump in the latter’s first term. Or the Roberts Supreme Court didn’t behave like an overindulgent absent father and ruled to appease the right wing. We’re beyond those things mattering, except the ripples are still going.

That’s the thing. I, we, gotta ride the ripples. Do what I can, what we can, to mitigate their impact. Survive and help others do the same. And seize the opportunity to help change the world — again — when the chance comes.

Stand up this weekend. Stay calm. De-escalate violence but stand for your principles. Be reasonable in the face of absurdity. It can be painful. It will take courage and strength. It can be done.

No kings. No fascism. Not in the United States of America. Not now. Not ever.

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Saturda’s Theme Music

Yesterday was a hot one, as they advertised. Today, Saturda, May 31, 2025, is expected to cool into the mid-80s. It’s 72 F and sunny now, and the clouds have ran away for grayer skies.

It’s May’s last day. Five months of 2025 are history. It’s been as chaotic as a Black Friday sale in the United States. As we spring into summer, I’m not enthused about what will come out of the Gold House, as Nan calls it. Her reasoning is spot on. It ssed to be the White House, but the present occupant, PINO TACO, is remaking it in the right’s craven, gold-worshipping image. They say that’s what the Bible says to do.

From Gold House, I crossed to Heart of Gold. My Neurons went onto a Neil Young kick. Soon they had “Old Man” playing in the morning mental music stream. The music faded for a while as I rambled through a litany of problems, stories, and challenges. Some were personal and narrowly defined from my novel-writing half of living. Thoughts about Mom’s health boiled in, and then came sympathy for a friend who is enduring a mess in his life. Prosaic matters like fixing the oven — the part has arrived — took over. Then there’s the ever-growing worries about the human rights, war, climate change, the nation, the world, and measles.

I read in MedicalXPress this morning:

There are 1,088 confirmed measles cases in the U.S., up 42 from last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday. Texas, where the nation’s biggest outbreak raged during the late winter and spring, reported 10 additional cases this week for a total of 738.

There are three other major outbreaks in North America.

The Neurons shot a gap to bring “Don’t Let It Get You Down” by Neil Young into the morning mental music stream. It’s a 1970 song which will probably get you down, because it makes you listen, think, and feel. I once heard a DJ say that Young announced this song by saying, “This song is guaranteed to bring you down. It’s called “Don’t Let It Get You Down”.” It was a song I preferred to hear with a glass of red wine, either overlooking a body of water at sunset, or in a dark room, alone.

Into the day I go, with a cuppa coffee to help me carry the load. Funny, but our existence is fleeting in the great rush of time and space, but sometimes it seems so long.

Here we go. Cheers

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Frida’s Theme Music

I’m still riding a good mood. Knock on wood, right? Well, depends on your age and beliefs, I guess. I was speaking with someone the other day who claimed that ‘knocking on wood’ was to summon good spirits. I always heard/slash read it was the opposite: to scare off evil spirits or to avoid tempting fate.

Today is Frida, May 23, 2025. Sunny in Ashlandia, we’re anticipating a warm stretch. It’s not going to be a steady rise. Today will be 75, tomorrow will be 82 F, and then it drops a little again before rising into the nineties by Wenzda. Clouds lurk like spectators at a crime scene but blue sky and sunshine are on the main stage.

Per usual in Trumpland, the news is a blender full of good and bad news. Supreme Court rulings, miscarriage of justice, vindictive DOJ action on Trump’s behalf, redistribution of wealth to the wealthy at everyone else’s expense catch most of my attention. I was intrigued to see how expensive beef is becoming. I don’t eat much beef so prices have skyrocketed without me noticing. Lot of it is driven by Texas beef and the cost of feed. The cost of feed has increased because of drought. Don’t worry; Trump will be all over this, as he’s a big advocate of addressing climate change. Yes, that’s snark. We know Trump will try to blame former President Joe Biden and the Democrats for it. I’ll just shake my head and move on until the rest catchup. With tariffs on beef from multiple countries, beef prices are set to increase more.

Today’s music is related to a dream. I was in the kitchen, chatting with Papi, aka butter butt, about his brekkie when dream snippets floated in on my brain waves. As more dream made its way into memory, I recalled an individual in the dream telling me, “Don’t forget me when I’m gone. I won’t forget you.” It’d been a touching dream scene.

The Neurons were on that like Trump jumping on a woman. “Don’t Forget Me (When I’m Gone)” was soon playing in my morning mental music stream. I had no idea what year it came out or who performed it. The net helped me learn that it was 1986 and a Canadian group called Glass Tiger.

Alright. Got my coffee at the coffee shop. Sunshine is warming the outside world, and shadows grow shorter and sharper as we move into the afternoon. It’s Memorial Day weekend and vehicle traffic in Ashland has jumped. Hope you have an awesome day. Cheers

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Twosda’s Theme Music

Sunshine has found us again. It’s Twosda, final Twosda of April, the 29th day of the month in the year of 2025. Next to last day of April. 49 F temp. Upper sixties will win the day.

My cynicism is running strong this morning. News that Amazon is going to show the true price and then show the added tariff amounts has Trump shouting, “Treason!” Just an itemized listing to me. You know, transparent. I see why Trump is shouting about it. Like many vermin, he prefers operating in darkness. Light and transparency are his enemies.

Trump is always claiming that tariff is a great word. A beauiful word. Why is against his beautiful word being on display?

Trump also loudly and repeatedly said that foreign governments pay the tariffs. So what if Amazon shows what foreign governments are paying. You see this repeated on several right wing sites. “Why are the Democrats (or Liberals) so upset about tariffs? Foreign governments pay it.” Right. So why your your prezzi be upset by that information being displayed? Unless — gasp! — the tariffs are paid by the importing company, who passes it on to the customers, which causes prices to rise and volume to drop, further causing greater scarcity and shortages, which result in empty shelves and low stock, further increasing prices.

No way, right? No way.

The other aspect to consider is the ‘treason’ part. Anything that is against Trump is labeled as nasty, corrupt, and treason. But it’s not against the nation; it’s against him. He thinks he is the state. Trying to make it so. And the GOTP is trying to shore him up.

“My Heads in Mississippi” by ZZ Top is in the morning mental music stream. As the Eagles sang, “I can’t tell you why.” I do have clues. Like reading news about Mississippi that had me head shaking. But then it got buried by other news and more information. That could be it.

One other thing I read about are the projected coffee price increases. I’ve stocked up and will stock up more. But every time I brew or buy a cup of coffee, I’ll remember why my coffee price is increasing. One, climate change. Which Trump disavows. Says it’s fake news. Won’t allow it to be said anywhere in ‘his government’. That doesn’t change facts. Climate change is happening. It’s affecting produce and products. Such as coffee. And he won’t do shit about that. Two, tariffs. They unnecessarily increased coffee prices. Because of Trump’s ignorance, the GOTP’s complicity and spinelessness, my morning fix will be more expensive.

On the other end of that, MAGA will blame Democrats for the tariffs, for the scarcity etc. Probably declare the ‘Deep State’ is behind the shortages and price increases. Will laugh to one another and talk about ‘owning the libs’. All they’re owning is one another.

On to my low price coffee. Hope your day works out well. Hope mine does as well. Let’s get rockin’. Cheers

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Trump is Crashing Another Piece of Democracy

FEMA cancelled BRIC projects.

April 8, 2025. Friday, FEMA announced that it is ending the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program and canceling all BRIC applications from Fiscal Years 2020-2023. If grant funds have not been distributed to states, tribes, territories and local communities, funds will be immediately returned either to the Disaster Relief Fund or the U.S. Treasury. It has also canceled the fiscal year 2024 notice of funding opportunity (NOFO), where $750 million in grants was to be allocated. 

FEMA’s press release says ‘President Trump’ and Kristi Noem eliminated waste.

Ending this program will help ensure that grant funding aligns with the President’s Executive Orders and Secretary Noem’s direction and best support states and local communities in disaster planning, response and recovery. 

Just a reminder, but BRIC was established and funded by Congress. The canceled projects were jointly developed by state, Federal, and local officials using history, engineering, insights, and science to identify problems and develop ways to mitigate the potential impact.

But these projects don’t meet Donald Trump’s understanding of how government is supposed to work in the United States. He has no empathy, and as he often does, he looks backward. He’s not forward thinking. His actions are not those of a President. They are not the actions of a servant of We the People.

Peruse this abbreviated list of the many projects, states, and communities affected. And call your Congressman.

Let them know that the United States is not the sole domain of one citizen.

Funding cut to Austin’s flood mitigation program

Grants Pass loses $50 million grant for water plant as FEMA program is killed

FEMA cancels grant program, funding for projects in Tulsa, Stillwater

Conway scrambles for new funding after FEMA halts grant for flood prevention project

Loss of $20 million in FEMA infrastructure grants ‘devastating’ to North Dakota communities

FEMA slashes $300 million in flooding, hurricane relief projects in Florida

Update: Baton Rouge flood projects paused after FEMA program cut

Mapleton Water District faces setback due to cancellation of FEMA’s BRIC program

N.C. town hit hard by floods could lose millions in federal dollars

Catskills town hit by Irene loses FEMA assistance after federal program cut

Trump cuts upend major NJ storm protection projects

FEMA Cuts Will Stop Flood Mitigation Projects in Brooklyn

Elected officials blast Trump over FEMA cuts affecting Queens flood mitigation

FEMA cuts $30 million grant earmarked to improve flooding, drainage issues in Savannah

Napa County ‘Deeply Concerned’ As FEMA Cancels $35M Wildfire Resilience Grant

Puerto Rico Loses FEMA Funds for Climate Adaptation



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Saturda’s Wandering Political Thoughts

We’re witness to the Great Undoing. Anyone fired from a job or who suffers loss from a death that alters their routines know about the undoing. Habits and routines created by job needs or the deceased one are now changed. Those gaps yawn before you. You exercise mental thought processes… “Oh, I don’t need to leap out of bed at six AM, hurry through a shower, dressing, and breakfast to jump on the highway to commute to work to get into the office by — ” Fill in your times.

Likewise, when someone who is part of your regular circles passes, you’re face to face with the change: “Oh, they’re not there to greet me. I don’t need to stop and speak with them, or check on them. They’re not there.”

Many in the United States are working through forms of undoing. Federal workers are suddenly enduring the shock of not having to roll out of bed, dress, and do the morning work dance. They’ve been fired. Terminated. Let go by Imperial Presidential Executive Orders.

Around the country, the monies provided by U.S.AID are gone. The routines associated with getting children to school where they’re provided a meal are over. Churches and charities dependent on that fund stream are going through undoing because the money isn’t there. If the money is gone, so is the food and shelter. Workers and employees suddenly endure the undoing as the routines of helping the impoverished are ended by Imperial Presidential Executive Order. Not just in foreign countries but here in the U.S., too.

Contracts to provide new buildings and essential services have been ended by Imperial Presidential Executive Order. The great undoing commences as workers are released from those projects. Buildings stand unfinished. National Park Visitor Centers stayed closed and dark. Trash goes uncollected. Nobody mans the towers to watch for fires.

Trump’s Hiring Freeze Throws Wildfire Fighters Into Disarray

As anti-vaccination is encouraged the health and safety enjoyed by communities across the nation go through an undoing. Children and the vulnerable elderly are closely watched for signs of diseases long ago stamped out by vaccinations, more victims of limited intelligence, less compassion, and Imperial Presidential Executive Orders.

Air travel is adjusted as staff are cut. More undoing. Traffic congestion in New York leaps up again. Accident rates rise. Confidence in government systems fall, part of the undoing of having regulations and requirements slashed away, along with inspectors to see what went wrong to prevent it from happening again. People become skeptical, leery of these systems…use falls. Airlines see the results.

From DC to Arizona: Why are so many planes crashing in 2025?

Farmers study crop prices and markets and endure the bitter undoing. Veterans protected by DEI programs are released from work positions and begin undoing their daily functions. Students helped by grant programs begin undoing their education hopes and dreams. Children affected by the undoing no longer go into facilities to play, learn how to socialize, visit with friends, and hearing stories read to them, undoings of things just begun.

Billions of Dollars at Stake for Farmers Hit by Trump Funding Freeze, Pause on Foreign Aid

Financial and economic experts study revenue and spending trends, note the stability created by an intelligent network of regulations developed after previous financial disasters and begin preparing their clients and institutions for the undoing, unsure how it will play out, as this is early days. Stock prices drop.

Walmart stock tumbles after the retailer lowers its sales outlook: “We are in an uncertain time”

All part of the Great Undoing undertaken by a group of people dismissing the government’s influence as overbearing, dismissing history as wrong, insisting scientists and professionals don’t know what they are doing. They know better.

Science under siege: Trump cuts threaten to undermine decades of research

And so, as Imperial Presidential Executive Orders destroy the government’s ability to function, as the United States withdraws from treaties, alliances, trade agreements, and mutual assistance organizations, the Great Undoing spreads, fallout from the Great Shitstorm of 2025, the result of the 2024 U.S. elections.

As Imperial Presidential Executive Orders are issued, undoing the work of Congress and previous administrations, we will see what happens with our constitutional system of checks and balances. Will it hold?

Freshman Congressman tells constituent he is powerless to stop Musk’s budget cuts

Or will the Great Undoing be the United States’ undoing?

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Saturda’s Wandering Political Thoughts

We have a new version of The China Syndrome happening, right here in the U.S. of A.

The original idea behind the China syndrome is a nuclear reactor meltdown that causes the nuclear plant to figuratively melt through its containment building, and keep going until it goes through the earth and emerges in China on the other side of the world. In other words, it’s a baaaddd disaster. A movie starring Jane Fonda, Jack Lemon, and Michael Douglas was made about it. Released in 1979, it’s called The China Syndrome.

That’s not quite what we’re talking now. Instead, we’re talking the nuclear family and some wrong-headed ideas about population growth. One of these wrong-headed ideas that China had was that they could control and direct their nation’s population growth by laws. See, their population was growing too much and too fast. Pursuing efforts to stop it, China’s government implemented ‘The One-Child Policy’. it was wickedly wrong in many ways, including what happened to female children because families wanted a male as their one child. Males were more highly prized than females in that society.

Now China faces a problem caused by an aging society. Oh, gosh, how did that happen? Could limiting child births have anything to do with that? Why, yes, of course.

And so we saw another edition of ‘unintended consequences’ demonstrated to us. You’d think that would make others think about trying such efforts.

But not everyone is willing to think and learn from the mistake of others. That’s the new China Syndrome.

All this comes to mind because of a new memo from the new Trump administration. New DOT Memo Directs Funds To Communities With Higher ‘Marriage And Birth Rates’.

WASHINGTON ― The federal Department of Transportation has issued a memo ordering programs supported by the agency to prioritize funding projects for communities with “marriage and birth rates higher than the national average.”

The article later notes:

Newly confirmed Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy buried his agency’s oddly specific requirement by describing the memo as focused on economic growth ― rather than population growth ― and echoed Trump’s criticisms of programs to improve diversity, equity and inclusion.

“The American people deserve an efficient, safe and pro-growth transportation system based on sound decision-making, not political ideologies,” Duffy said of the memo.

Ha,ha,ha, see what old Sean Duffy did there? He’s using ideology to make decisions and pretending otherwise. And he’s apparently doing it without any irony or self-awareness that he’s doing it.

Cause, gosh, the declining population growth in the U.S. probably doesn’t have anything to do with stagnant wages and misplaced priorities, such as pretending climate change doesn’t exist even as droughts, wildfire, and extreme weather events wipe out crops and housing, causing increased housing and food costs. Yes, and the low population growth probably has nothing to do with the healthcare insurance industry and their record profits and the high price of having a child. Nor does the low population growth have anything to do with the need to have both parents work because wages suck and the cost of everything is so high.

But no, let’s pretend that those things don’t matter. Have a child, get a road! There we go, that’ll increase the population. Makes total fucking sense. At least, in Trumpworld.

Sounds like more FAFO will be forthcoming.

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