Trump wastes no time in assembling anti-science administration

[repoman]

So, I wonder what will happen in defense security briefings where Trump will get the dire (I side closer to "alarmists" than moderate scientists as to what AGW will do and how soon) warnings about the reality of Cimate Change from the CIA and top military. My guess is that the briefings will also be more dire than that for public consumption - or that they have been during Obama's term.

Will his appointees try to muscle in to them and be as Grima Wormtongue in response to these facts?

One of the best lectures of sea level rise I have seen was given for the navy, it is worth watching for a least a couple minutes to see the flavor.



But Trump is an incurious man by nature.

 

[ronburgundy]

Again, the fault isn't Trump voters. They have no regard for the environment and most of them don't believe in climate change either. Trump was elected because of the petulant imbeciles on the left and the middle who do pretend to care about the environment and climate change, but not as much as they wanted to claim they are disenfranchised by falsely equivocating the Hillary and the Trump (or the Dems and GOP more generally), and thus not voting for Hillary.
As was certain and known to all non-morons, the interests and goals of these people are already being negatively impacted by their choice (because "if you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice"). They had all the power needed to greatly impact environmental policy, but they refused to use it so they could make bullshit claims of injustice about their lack of power.

It does not really matter who's fault is this now, Trump was elected and Hillary was a crappy candidate as far as GW concerned.

She was infinitely superior to Trump on GW and more importantly would have appointed people who were infinitely superior to the worst possible people imaginable that Trump will appoint. Complaints that she wasn't the perfect candidate possible on GW is the kind of childish petulance that got us Trump, a consequence that will most definitely and predictably cause extreme reversal of any progress that has been been on the issue in the last decades.

It matters for all future elections that the asshats who didn't vote Hillary due to false equivocations or because she wasn't ideal should realize the very real and severe harm their actions have enabled and they should feel like the self-destructive hypocrites that they are and take a more rational approach next time.

If Trump starts appointing people who have no business to be appointed then degreed experts should tell him and his appointees what they think about it, preferably using words which would make people uncomfortable.
This is not fucking democracy, it's science.

Scientists have no impact on GW or any other policy that should be science-based, unless Trump let's them have influence, and he has made it clear that he will not. Once he is in power, EPA policy is no longer a matter of democracy or science, but a dictatorship. The voters only choose whether to put in a person in power that will defer to the scientific communities or defer to the corporate and religious communities.
Non-voters and 3rd party voters decided that difference doesn't matter as much as the petty bullshit or unreasonable expectations that they based their choice on.

 

[Elixir]

It matters for all future elections that the asshats who didn't vote Hillary due to false equivocations or because she wasn't ideal should realize the very real and severe harm their actions have enabled and they should feel like the self-destructive hypocrites that they are and take a more rational approach next time.

We all participated in this election and the run-up to it. To that extent we're ALL self-destructive hypocrites. We ignored the warning signs of discontent, and nominated one highly qualified mainstream candidate with a lot of baggage who was a prime target for the discontented, and one sociopath moron who voiced nothing of substance beyond acknowledging the discontented and promising them a magic elixir that would fix all ills. "Surely nobody is going to swallow that BS!" we all thought. I thought the same thing about Bush Junior... we should have known better this time.
IMO, those who voted for HRC in the primary are just as bad as those who voted for Trump in the election.

 

[repoman]

So, Trump's nominees will seemingly to have at least a fig leaf of qualification or it will damage Senators in risky seats if they approve a total moron. But he will make those fig leafs very, very small.

 

[southernhybrid]

So, I guess taking our country back meant it would again be lead by a bunch of stupid, old white guys. And just when we were beginning to make some progress. Gingrich is pushing for Secretary of State. Oy Vey! Dog help us.

 

[fromderinside]

But when you're dealing with Americans the level of ignorance cannot be underestimated.

OMG We agree!

Some guidance for the hand wringers. The only way policy and function will be changed is by changing funding.

Any agency located in more than 15 states with most population will have natural constituency.

 

[repoman]

So, I guess taking our country back meant it would again be lead by a bunch of stupid, old white guys. And just when we were beginning to make some progress. Gingrich is pushing for Secretary of State. Oy Vey! Dog help us.

Steven Chu was a Nobel Prize winner, can Trump get a NP winner for DOE if he even asks?

 

[barbos]

It does not really matter who's fault is this now, Trump was elected and Hillary was a crappy candidate as far as GW concerned.

She was infinitely superior to Trump on GW and more importantly would have appointed people who were infinitely superior to the worst possible people imaginable that Trump will appoint.

Being infinitely superior does not preclude from being crap.

Complaints that she wasn't the perfect candidate possible on GW is the kind of childish petulance that got us Trump, a consequence that will most definitely and predictably cause extreme reversal of any progress that has been been on the issue in the last decades.

It matters for all future elections that the asshats who didn't vote Hillary due to false equivocations or because she wasn't ideal should realize the very real and severe harm their actions have enabled and they should feel like the self-destructive hypocrites that they are and take a more rational approach next time.

If Trump starts appointing people who have no business to be appointed then degreed experts should tell him and his appointees what they think about it, preferably using words which would make people uncomfortable.
This is not fucking democracy, it's science.

Scientists have no impact on GW or any other policy that should be science-based, unless Trump let's them have influence, and he has made it clear that he will not. Once he is in power, EPA policy is no longer a matter of democracy or science, but a dictatorship. The voters only choose whether to put in a person in power that will defer to the scientific communities or defer to the corporate and religious communities.
Non-voters and 3rd party voters decided that difference doesn't matter as much as the petty bullshit or unreasonable expectations that they based their choice on.

You keep forgetting that non-non-voters (voters) decided that Hillary was better than Bernie Sanders.
And no, scientists do have impact. They are just too unnecessary polite.

 

[Crowcause]

James G. Watt was appointed Sec. of Interior by Reagan and was a total disaster at the time for selling mining rights and drilling rights of federal land to mining and oil corps. as well as numerous other changes in policies and rulings that set environmental gains back by decades. He was considered one of the most anti-environmental political appointees in history (up to that time -early '80s)
Trump is considering Sarah Palin for his Sec. of Interior nominee!
I thought sub basement was as low as my elevator goes, but my mood is finding new levels lower than that with each new morsel of news...

 

[ronburgundy]

She was infinitely superior to Trump on GW and more importantly would have appointed people who were infinitely superior to the worst possible people imaginable that Trump will appoint.

Being infinitely superior does not preclude from being crap.

However, it does mean that not voting for Hillary (the only way to prevent a Trump presidency), will have a major damaging impact on climate change and most environmental issues for generations to come. IOW, all those who care about these issues and didn't vote for Hillary b/c "she was still crap", irrationally caused very real harm to their own interests.

Complaints that she wasn't the perfect candidate possible on GW is the kind of childish petulance that got us Trump, a consequence that will most definitely and predictably cause extreme reversal of any progress that has been been on the issue in the last decades.

It matters for all future elections that the asshats who didn't vote Hillary due to false equivocations or because she wasn't ideal should realize the very real and severe harm their actions have enabled and they should feel like the self-destructive hypocrites that they are and take a more rational approach next time.

If Trump starts appointing people who have no business to be appointed then degreed experts should tell him and his appointees what they think about it, preferably using words which would make people uncomfortable.
This is not fucking democracy, it's science.

Scientists have no impact on GW or any other policy that should be science-based, unless Trump let's them have influence, and he has made it clear that he will not. Once he is in power, EPA policy is no longer a matter of democracy or science, but a dictatorship. The voters only choose whether to put in a person in power that will defer to the scientific communities or defer to the corporate and religious communities.
Non-voters and 3rd party voters decided that difference doesn't matter as much as the petty bullshit or unreasonable expectations that they based their choice on.

You keep forgetting that non-non-voters (voters) decided that Hillary was better than Bernie Sanders.

14% of eligible voters participated in the primaries. Thus, about 70% of Dem/lib leaning voters didn't bother to vote in the Dem primary. So, no, non-voters determined that result too. Also, given the GOP control of both houses (which would have happened regardless) there would have been minimal difference between what Bernie and Hillary would have done on these environmental issues compared to the HUUUGE difference between either of them and Trump. So, the only ones that did anything meaningful to prevent real harm to these issues are those who did do the only thing that would have stopped Trump, which is vote for whoever the Dem candidate was.

And no, scientists do have impact. They are just too unnecessary polite.

Scientist have little more impact as scientist than they do by merely being voters (and the vast majority probably did vote for Hillary). They can try to sway voters with science, but (coincidentally) lots of social science shows that is not very impactful, and less so than the kind of lies and emotional manipulations that anti-science advocates use. The voting public had all they needed to know that these environment issues matter and that Trump would cause far far more harm if elected. The voters didn't refuse to stop Trump b/c scientists were too polite, but because they are irrational, petulant, and have bought into nonsense that the far lesser of two evils isn't a good basis to vote, when in fact it often has more impact on their own interests than the difference between an ideal and a "crap, but by far not the worst" candidate.
There is virtually nothing that scientists can do now to stop the anti-science onslaught that non-voters decided they didn't care enough about to prevent.

 

[ronburgundy]

It matters for all future elections that the asshats who didn't vote Hillary due to false equivocations or because she wasn't ideal should realize the very real and severe harm their actions have enabled and they should feel like the self-destructive hypocrites that they are and take a more rational approach next time.

We all participated in this election and the run-up to it. To that extent we're ALL self-destructive hypocrites. We ignored the warning signs of discontent, and nominated one highly qualified mainstream candidate with a lot of baggage who was a prime target for the discontented, and one sociopath moron who voiced nothing of substance beyond acknowledging the discontented and promising them a magic elixir that would fix all ills. "Surely nobody is going to swallow that BS!" we all thought. I thought the same thing about Bush Junior... we should have known better this time.
IMO, those who voted for HRC in the primary are just as bad as those who voted for Trump in the election.

Bullshit. HRC would have easily won the general if those who pretend to care about these issues and the harm Trump will do just bothered to vote. Had those who supported HRC in the primary been as petulant and irrational as the Bern victims that didn't vote in the general, he would have lost too. It is not in any way clear that Bernie could have won the general. His extreme economic policies would have lost him tons of votes that Hillary did get, such as support from moderates and even right leaning voters that feared Trump so voted Hillary. Given the GOP control of Congress, the difference between a Hillary and Bernie presidency would have been minimal compared to the difference between either one of them and Trump. So, no, the blame for all the additional harm Trump causes lies far more with those who didn't vote for the Dem nominee (whoever it was), than differences in strategy to oppose Trump and the GOP that underlay primary voting.

 

[ZiprHead]

Laura Ingraham considered for press secretary according to CNN crawl.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

Laura Ingraham considered for press secretary according to CNN crawl.

Dr. Tarr and Prof. Fether!

 

[repoman]

Milo Yiannopoulus should be press secretary. Lesbians need more insulting by gay Brits with posh accents.

 

[TV and credit cards]

Trump in Transition

Good, somewhat comical, actually kind of sad story on Trump's transition and the fighting.

"Miiiiike!" "The Donald wants this fixed." "The Donald's getting mad."

http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/a...talls-as-kushner-said-to-oust-christie-allies

 

[Elixir]

Good, somewhat comical, actually kind of sad story on Trump's transition and the fighting.

"Miiiiike!" "The Donald wants this fixed." "The Donald's getting mad."

http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/a...talls-as-kushner-said-to-oust-christie-allies

Et tu Bloomberg?
I'm amazed at how hard these outlets try to keep their descriptions of this "transition" from sounding like... what it looks like. I.e. a posse of confused clowns, fighting over shotgun seats in the newly duct-taped together clown car. It's kind of encouraging, in the sense that it might portend their inability to get anything done. Ever. But the media don't report it...

 

[Tom Sawyer]

Good, somewhat comical, actually kind of sad story on Trump's transition and the fighting.

"Miiiiike!" "The Donald wants this fixed." "The Donald's getting mad."

http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/a...talls-as-kushner-said-to-oust-christie-allies

Et tu Bloomberg?
I'm amazed at how hard these outlets try to keep their descriptions of this "transition" from sounding like... what it looks like. I.e. a posse of confused clowns, fighting over shotgun seats in the newly duct-taped together clown car. It's kind of encouraging, in the sense that it might portend their inability to get anything done. Ever. But the media don't report it...

I like the way that they had the guys from Homeland Security going "Hey ... it would be nice if somebody got around to talking to us".