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solarbirdMostly these are sub-fascism level Trumpian horrors, but it's not just that.
----- 1 -----
Trump administration seeks to drill on more than two-thirds of nation’s largest swath of public land
By Juliet Eilperin
and Steven Mufson
June 25, 2020
https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/trump-administration-seeks-to-drill-on-more-than-two-thirds-of-nations-largest-swath-of-public-land/
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration proposed on Thursday to open more than two-thirds of the nation’s largest piece of public land to oil and gas drilling, removing wildlife protections for the Alaskan tract that have been in place for more than four decades.
Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management wants to allow fossil fuel extraction in roughly 82 percent of the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska on the state’s North Slope. Less famous than the neighboring Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, it is one of the most ecologically valuable tracts of federal property — providing a critical refuge to polar bears as well as tens of thousands of migrating caribou and waterfowl.
The reserve, about the size of Indiana, is also one of the most promising onshore oil prospects in the country. A recent analysis by the U.S. Geological Survey suggests that it could hold as much as 8.7 billion barrels in undiscovered oil and 25 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.
Under the current plan, finalized in 2013, only half the nearly 23 million-acre reserve is open to drilling. The new plan would increase the area open to development by about 7 million acres.
----- 2 -----
Fact check: Trump falsely claims Biden, who has committed to the debates, is trying to get out of debating
By Daniel Dale
Updated 4:43 PM ET, Fri June 26, 2020
https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/26/politics/fact-check-trump-biden-debates/index.html
Washington (CNN)President Donald Trump falsely claimed again on Thursday that his Democratic opponent, former Vice President Joe Biden, is using the coronavirus pandemic to try to get out of debating him.
"Now, he's already saying that he can't do debates because of Covid. Do you believe it? 'I can't do the debates because of Covid.' That was -- I just heard a little inkling of it two days ago. I said, 'Watch this one,'" Trump said during a Fox News town hall event in Wisconsin with host Sean Hannity.
Facts First: Trump's claim is entirely baseless. Biden has officially committed to participating in the three scheduled presidential debates -- and Biden has repeatedly said he is eager to debate Trump even if the pandemic forces them to hold the event online rather than in person.
Trump, conversely, has not officially committed to the scheduled debates. Instead, his campaign has been seeking changes to the debate schedule, and, according to the New York Times, wants an unusual role in selecting the moderators.
----- 3 -----
Trump administration asks Supreme Court to invalidate Obamacare
By Ariane de Vogue, Tami Luhby and Sarah Mucha, CNN
Updated 9:42 AM ET, Fri June 26, 2020
https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/25/politics/trump-administration-obamacare-supreme-court/index.html
(CNN)In the midst of a global pandemic with the presidential election just months away, the Justice Department asked the Supreme Court on Thursday to invalidate the Affordable Care Act, the landmark health care law that enabled millions of Americans to get insurance coverage and that remains in effect despite the pending legal challenge.
In a late-night filing, Solicitor General Noel Francisco said that once the law's individual coverage mandate and two key provisions are invalidated, "the remainder of the ACA should not be allowed to remain in effect."
The justices will hear arguments in the case sometime next term, although it is unclear if they will occur before the November election.
The dispute ensures another major shift in the political landscape during the election season on an issue that has dominated American politics for the last decade. It will be the third time the court has heard a significant challenge to the law. The case pits a coalition of Democratic attorneys general led by California and the House of Representatives, which are defending the law, against the Trump administration and a group of red state attorneys general led by Texas.
----- 4 -----
Collin O'Mara
twitter.com/Collin_OMara
26 June 2020
https://twitter.com/Collin_OMara/status/1276599048494092288
It’s like appointing an arsonist to lead the fire department...
President Trump just nominated William Pendley—who has spent his entire career working to sell off, exploit & destroy—our public lands to lead the Bureau of Land Management & its 246M acres.
[LINK TO: White House press release:
https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/president-donald-j-trump-announces-intent-nominate-appoint-individuals-key-administration-posts-43/
]
----- 5 -----
Trump Mulls Ending Heads-Up to Congress on U.S. Weapons Sales
Administration officials say they are tired of regular efforts by Capitol Hill to review arms exports to Saudi Arabia and other nations.
By Robbie Gramer, Jack Detsch | June 25, 2020
https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/06/25/trump-end-review-weapons-sales-congress/
The Trump administration is in discussions to end a decades-old practice of informally notifying Congress of major arms sales to foreign countries, in a move that reflects mounting tensions between the administration and Capitol Hill, officials and congressional aides tell Foreign Policy.
The proposal comes amid mounting frustration from senior administration officials over informal holds from lawmakers on arms sales to countries like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, two close U.S. partners in the Middle East. Lawmakers have tried to block weapons sales to these countries over concerns about human rights issues and the prospect of civilian casualties, particularly with the Saudi-led coalition’s war against Iran-backed rebels in Yemen.
The proposal sets the stage for another potential showdown between the Trump administration and lawmakers. It comes amid broader debates on Capitol Hill over the president’s ability to wage war without prior congressional approval—centered on U.S. military support for the Saudi coalition in Yemen—and an ongoing congressional investigation into Trump’s firing of the State Department inspector general, who was probing the administration’s emergency arms sale to Saudi Arabia last year.
If the administration moves forward with the plan, officials and congressional aides said, it would still send formal notifications to Congress for review, giving lawmakers a legal avenue to block sales in a 30-day window of time by passing a joint resolution to oppose the arms sales. (For close U.S. allies such as NATO members, Israel, Japan, or Australia, that window is 15 days.) But it would eliminate a practice dating back to the 1970s of informally notifying Congress of planned arms sales well in advance, so that lawmakers and congressional staffers, the State Department, and Pentagon officials can hash out concerns and disagreements about such sales behind closed doors.
----- 6 -----
Daniel Dale
twitter.com/ddale8
26 June 2020
Trump Tuesday: "We will always protect people with pre-existing conditions."
Trump Thursday:
[QUOTED TWEET]
Sahil Kapur
twitter.com/sahilkapur
25 June 2020
https://twitter.com/sahilkapur/status/1276356142457851904
The Trump administration SCOTUS brief includes a section explicitly arguing that the ACA’s preexisting condition protections should be killed.
[THREAD CONTINUES AT SECOND LINK]
----- 7 -----
‘We’re just tired of what’s going on:’ Metro employees protest racial bias at transit agency
By Heidi Groover
Seattle Times staff reporter
June 25, 2020
https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/were-just-tired-of-whats-going-on-metro-employees-protest-racial-bias-at-transit-agency/
Bus drivers, mechanics and other workers called on King County Metro Thursday to do more to address racism in the workplace after a small statue of a Black person was found near a flagpole on Metro property.
The incident, which happened in early June and is under investigation by Metro, motivated some employees to speak about racism they see in their daily work at the county transit agency.
A photo showing the statue near the flagpole as well as cords that appear to be hanging from the flagpole circulated among some employees and on social media this month. Metro said that while it does not know the intention of the person who placed the statue there, it “could be interpreted as a racist symbol and form of harassment, neither of which Metro will tolerate under any terms.”
A union official said the placement was unintentional and the worker who put it there has apologized.
“The intention is very clear to me and very clear to a lot of Black people who work in Metro,” said Dennis Robinson, who works as a transit purchasing specialist.
Several dozen people gathered Thursday for a demonstration at the Metro base in Tukwila where the statue was found, calling on Metro to address bias in the workplace. Among their demands, organizers said Metro should provide restitution to workers who have previously filed complaints about bias or harassment.
“This is years in the making,” custodian Juan Hood III said. “This is a powder keg.”
The calls come as protests across the country have denounced police brutality and entrenched racism, including in workplaces.
----- 8 -----
Dr. Thrasher
twitter.com/thrasherxy
26 June 2020
https://twitter.com/thrasherxy/status/1276346911927173125
[THREAD]
1. THREAD: I spent tonight at the new occupation in Lower Manhattan, not so far from Occupy Wall Street, which I covered nearly nine years ago for the now defunct Village Voice. Much is the same, much has grown anew & beyond that occupation
[EMBEDDED IMAGE]
[THREAD CONTINUES AT LINK]
- Trump administration seeks to drill on more than two-thirds of nation’s largest swath of public land
- Fact check: Trump falsely claims Biden, who has committed to the debates, is trying to get out of debating
- Trump administration asks Supreme Court to invalidate Obamacare
- It’s like appointing an arsonist to lead the fire department...
- Trump Mulls Ending Heads-Up to Congress on U.S. Weapons Sales
- Trump Tuesday: "We will always protect people with pre-existing conditions." Trump Thursday: Explicitly argues to Supreme Court that ACA’s preexisting condition protections should be killed.
- ‘We’re just tired of what’s going on:’ Metro employees protest racial bias at transit agency
- I spent tonight at the new occupation in Lower Manhattan, not so far from Occupy Wall Street
----- 1 -----
Trump administration seeks to drill on more than two-thirds of nation’s largest swath of public land
By Juliet Eilperin
and Steven Mufson
June 25, 2020
https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/trump-administration-seeks-to-drill-on-more-than-two-thirds-of-nations-largest-swath-of-public-land/
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration proposed on Thursday to open more than two-thirds of the nation’s largest piece of public land to oil and gas drilling, removing wildlife protections for the Alaskan tract that have been in place for more than four decades.
Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management wants to allow fossil fuel extraction in roughly 82 percent of the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska on the state’s North Slope. Less famous than the neighboring Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, it is one of the most ecologically valuable tracts of federal property — providing a critical refuge to polar bears as well as tens of thousands of migrating caribou and waterfowl.
The reserve, about the size of Indiana, is also one of the most promising onshore oil prospects in the country. A recent analysis by the U.S. Geological Survey suggests that it could hold as much as 8.7 billion barrels in undiscovered oil and 25 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.
Under the current plan, finalized in 2013, only half the nearly 23 million-acre reserve is open to drilling. The new plan would increase the area open to development by about 7 million acres.
----- 2 -----
Fact check: Trump falsely claims Biden, who has committed to the debates, is trying to get out of debating
By Daniel Dale
Updated 4:43 PM ET, Fri June 26, 2020
https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/26/politics/fact-check-trump-biden-debates/index.html
Washington (CNN)President Donald Trump falsely claimed again on Thursday that his Democratic opponent, former Vice President Joe Biden, is using the coronavirus pandemic to try to get out of debating him.
"Now, he's already saying that he can't do debates because of Covid. Do you believe it? 'I can't do the debates because of Covid.' That was -- I just heard a little inkling of it two days ago. I said, 'Watch this one,'" Trump said during a Fox News town hall event in Wisconsin with host Sean Hannity.
Facts First: Trump's claim is entirely baseless. Biden has officially committed to participating in the three scheduled presidential debates -- and Biden has repeatedly said he is eager to debate Trump even if the pandemic forces them to hold the event online rather than in person.
Trump, conversely, has not officially committed to the scheduled debates. Instead, his campaign has been seeking changes to the debate schedule, and, according to the New York Times, wants an unusual role in selecting the moderators.
----- 3 -----
Trump administration asks Supreme Court to invalidate Obamacare
By Ariane de Vogue, Tami Luhby and Sarah Mucha, CNN
Updated 9:42 AM ET, Fri June 26, 2020
https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/25/politics/trump-administration-obamacare-supreme-court/index.html
(CNN)In the midst of a global pandemic with the presidential election just months away, the Justice Department asked the Supreme Court on Thursday to invalidate the Affordable Care Act, the landmark health care law that enabled millions of Americans to get insurance coverage and that remains in effect despite the pending legal challenge.
In a late-night filing, Solicitor General Noel Francisco said that once the law's individual coverage mandate and two key provisions are invalidated, "the remainder of the ACA should not be allowed to remain in effect."
The justices will hear arguments in the case sometime next term, although it is unclear if they will occur before the November election.
The dispute ensures another major shift in the political landscape during the election season on an issue that has dominated American politics for the last decade. It will be the third time the court has heard a significant challenge to the law. The case pits a coalition of Democratic attorneys general led by California and the House of Representatives, which are defending the law, against the Trump administration and a group of red state attorneys general led by Texas.
----- 4 -----
Collin O'Mara
twitter.com/Collin_OMara
26 June 2020
https://twitter.com/Collin_OMara/status/1276599048494092288
It’s like appointing an arsonist to lead the fire department...
President Trump just nominated William Pendley—who has spent his entire career working to sell off, exploit & destroy—our public lands to lead the Bureau of Land Management & its 246M acres.
[LINK TO: White House press release:
https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/president-donald-j-trump-announces-intent-nominate-appoint-individuals-key-administration-posts-43/
]
----- 5 -----
Trump Mulls Ending Heads-Up to Congress on U.S. Weapons Sales
Administration officials say they are tired of regular efforts by Capitol Hill to review arms exports to Saudi Arabia and other nations.
By Robbie Gramer, Jack Detsch | June 25, 2020
https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/06/25/trump-end-review-weapons-sales-congress/
The Trump administration is in discussions to end a decades-old practice of informally notifying Congress of major arms sales to foreign countries, in a move that reflects mounting tensions between the administration and Capitol Hill, officials and congressional aides tell Foreign Policy.
The proposal comes amid mounting frustration from senior administration officials over informal holds from lawmakers on arms sales to countries like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, two close U.S. partners in the Middle East. Lawmakers have tried to block weapons sales to these countries over concerns about human rights issues and the prospect of civilian casualties, particularly with the Saudi-led coalition’s war against Iran-backed rebels in Yemen.
The proposal sets the stage for another potential showdown between the Trump administration and lawmakers. It comes amid broader debates on Capitol Hill over the president’s ability to wage war without prior congressional approval—centered on U.S. military support for the Saudi coalition in Yemen—and an ongoing congressional investigation into Trump’s firing of the State Department inspector general, who was probing the administration’s emergency arms sale to Saudi Arabia last year.
If the administration moves forward with the plan, officials and congressional aides said, it would still send formal notifications to Congress for review, giving lawmakers a legal avenue to block sales in a 30-day window of time by passing a joint resolution to oppose the arms sales. (For close U.S. allies such as NATO members, Israel, Japan, or Australia, that window is 15 days.) But it would eliminate a practice dating back to the 1970s of informally notifying Congress of planned arms sales well in advance, so that lawmakers and congressional staffers, the State Department, and Pentagon officials can hash out concerns and disagreements about such sales behind closed doors.
----- 6 -----
Daniel Dale
twitter.com/ddale8
26 June 2020
Trump Tuesday: "We will always protect people with pre-existing conditions."
Trump Thursday:
[QUOTED TWEET]
Sahil Kapur
twitter.com/sahilkapur
25 June 2020
https://twitter.com/sahilkapur/status/1276356142457851904
The Trump administration SCOTUS brief includes a section explicitly arguing that the ACA’s preexisting condition protections should be killed.
[THREAD CONTINUES AT SECOND LINK]
----- 7 -----
‘We’re just tired of what’s going on:’ Metro employees protest racial bias at transit agency
By Heidi Groover
Seattle Times staff reporter
June 25, 2020
https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/were-just-tired-of-whats-going-on-metro-employees-protest-racial-bias-at-transit-agency/
Bus drivers, mechanics and other workers called on King County Metro Thursday to do more to address racism in the workplace after a small statue of a Black person was found near a flagpole on Metro property.
The incident, which happened in early June and is under investigation by Metro, motivated some employees to speak about racism they see in their daily work at the county transit agency.
A photo showing the statue near the flagpole as well as cords that appear to be hanging from the flagpole circulated among some employees and on social media this month. Metro said that while it does not know the intention of the person who placed the statue there, it “could be interpreted as a racist symbol and form of harassment, neither of which Metro will tolerate under any terms.”
A union official said the placement was unintentional and the worker who put it there has apologized.
“The intention is very clear to me and very clear to a lot of Black people who work in Metro,” said Dennis Robinson, who works as a transit purchasing specialist.
Several dozen people gathered Thursday for a demonstration at the Metro base in Tukwila where the statue was found, calling on Metro to address bias in the workplace. Among their demands, organizers said Metro should provide restitution to workers who have previously filed complaints about bias or harassment.
“This is years in the making,” custodian Juan Hood III said. “This is a powder keg.”
The calls come as protests across the country have denounced police brutality and entrenched racism, including in workplaces.
----- 8 -----
Dr. Thrasher
twitter.com/thrasherxy
26 June 2020
https://twitter.com/thrasherxy/status/1276346911927173125
[THREAD]
1. THREAD: I spent tonight at the new occupation in Lower Manhattan, not so far from Occupy Wall Street, which I covered nearly nine years ago for the now defunct Village Voice. Much is the same, much has grown anew & beyond that occupation
[EMBEDDED IMAGE]
[THREAD CONTINUES AT LINK]
