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Tag Archives: environment
Worst Quotes of the Week – July 23, 2022
“The way the Constitution set up for you to advance that position is to convince your fellow citizens, and if you succeeded in convincing your fellow citizens, then your state would change the laws to reflect those views. In Obergefell, the court said, ‘No, we know better than you guys do, and now every state must, must sanction and permit gay marriage.’ I think that decision was clearly wrong when it was decided. It was the court overreaching.”
Sen. Ted Cruz, on the 2015 Obergefell vs. Hodges Supreme Court decision that legalized same-sex marriage
He added, “Obergefell, like Roe v. Wade, ignored two centuries of our nation’s history. Marriage was always an issue that was left to the states. We saw states before Obergefell, some states were moving to allow gay marriage; other states were moving to allow civil partnerships. There were different standards that the states were adopting.”
“Without carbon dioxide, we die. Carbon dioxide is not a pollutant. The federal government doesn’t even have regulatory authority to regulate it. It’s not a pollutant. What is it? It is oxygen for plants. In essence, plants use carbon dioxide to create oxygen for you and me. Remember, we used to like the Amazon; we used to like trees; we used to like all those things. Well, they suck up our carbon dioxide and push out oxygen.”
Mark Levin, offering his view of the environment, while criticizing President Joe Biden’s energy policies
Filed under News
Next!
“First they came for the Communists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Communist
Then they came for the Socialists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Socialist
Then they came for the trade unionists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a trade unionist
Then they came for the Jews
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Jew
Then they came for me
And there was no one left
To speak out for me.”
We’re still in shock here in the U.S. In just a matter of weeks, the conservative majority on the U.S. Supreme Court undid decade’s worth of progressive social reforms. The reversal of Roe vs. Wade last month garnered the most attention, but they didn’t stop with that.
In Vega vs. Tekoh, the High Court ruled that a violation of Miranda rights doesn’t provide a basis for civil damages. The original Miranda vs. Arizona decision ensured people accused of criminal behavior have the right to legal counsel and to remain silent in the face of police interrogation. Miranda was decided in line with the U.S. Constitution’s Fifth Amendment, which had already established certain guidelines for addressing criminal procedures. The Vega ruling now ensures that law enforcement can act with impunity. I suspect it’s a response to the vitriolic reactions to high-profile police killings over the past…well, several decades; the ‘Black Lives Matter’ protests and all that. In Vega, the SCOTUS majority noted that, if the original Miranda court intended to create a constitutional right versus a prophylactic rule, it would have definitively declared that immediately upon deciding Miranda. The 1966 Court knew how to use its words, the current Court essentially declared, and those words used were not “constitutional right.” See how verbiage can be twisted so easily by academics?
In West Virginia vs. the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Court undercut the latter’s efforts to regulate greenhouse gases. SCOTUS agreed with Republican-led states and energy companies that the 1970 Clean Air Act gave the EPA too much power over carbon emissions. The decision was also a strike back against the 2015 Clean Power Plan – an Obama-era policy that targeted adverse climate change. To environmentalists, it wasn’t surprising that energy conglomerates were adamant in reversing the CPP, as well as the CAA. But the West Virginia ruling falls in line with the belief of conservatives that climate change is a hoax. That’s why energy companies overwhelmingly support Republican candidates. I have to note West Virginia is a top coal producer. It also ranks as one of the poorest states in the union.
In his statement regarding the Dobbs ruling, Justice Clarence Thomas suggested the Court should revisit other high-profile rulings, including Griswold vs. Connecticut, which declared the legal usage of contraceptives; Lawrence vs. Texas, which struck down anti-sodomy laws; and Obergefell vs. Hodges, which legalized same-sex marriage. Curiously, he didn’t call for a review of Brown vs. Topeka Board of Education, which declared that racial segregation in schools was unconstitutional or Loving vs. Virginia, which legalized interracial marriage. I guess this is because overturning these decisions would impact Thomas, a Negro married to a White chick. It’s amazing how some people have no problems enacting laws that wouldn’t affect them personally.
In the 1983 film “The Star Chamber”, Michael Douglas portrays a relatively young judge who becomes engaged with a group of other jurists who find the legal system has gone awry in favor of criminals and decide to enact vigilante justice to right those perceived wrongs. They hire assassins to kill certain criminals who have escaped incarceration. The movie is replete with scenes where highly articulate lawyers help defendants get out of trouble. In one early scene, Hal Holbrook’s character tells Douglas, “Someone has hidden justice inside the law.” It’s an attempt to justify the group’s brutal actions.
That’s how I often view the legal system. Charismatic lawyers prancing around even the most heinous of crimes with carefully-crafted verbiage; a kind of Tolkien-style language only they understand, but something the rest of us have to deal with toiling away in the trenches of reality. I certainly don’t recommend assassination as a viable resolution to our nation’s political ills. That’s where the treasured right of voting comes into play. People need to take their voting rights seriously and understand the significance of not voting. We’ve seen the fruits of voter apathy in my home state of Texas. In recent years, the right to vote has come under fire from conservatives. As with many other rights, this isn’t a surprise. Conservatives have always tried to suppress voting. You know…the way totalitarian regimes like Russia have. I’ve noted more than once that the (fair and legitimate) elections of Barack Obama prompted (mostly White) conservatives to launch their assault on the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. During their convention last month, the Texas Republican Party called for repeal of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, which guarantees the right to vote regardless of race. They did this because…well, because that’s what conservatives do – at least here in the U.S. They were quick to abolish fascism in Europe during World War II, but weren’t so eager to do the same at home.
With this in mind, I wonder if many conservative queers who voted for the likes of George W. Bush and Ted Cruz are satisfied with their decisions. Along with many mainstream right-wingers, some are ecstatic that Roe was overturned. But now, I hate to see their reactions at the thought of reversing Lawrence or Obergefell. But the neo-Nazi clowns who have targeted the so-called “liberal agenda” for years are coming for their faggot asses next! I just hope they’ll be happy sitting in their designer closets polishing their Ronald Reagan Glee Club pins.
If anyone in the U.S. believes democracy is functioning just perfectly and nothing is wrong, they need to consider this: five of the current justices on the Supreme Court were chosen by presidents who did NOT win the popular vote. George W. Bush didn’t really win the 2000 presidential election and he barely won the 2004 election; yet he was able to appoint two justices – Samuel Alito and John Roberts. Donald Trump certainly didn’t win the 2016 presidential election (perhaps the most corrupt in U.S. history), but he was able to appoint three justices to the Court: Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney-Barrett. Gorsuch’s selection came because Republicans refused to grant President Obama’s nominee, Merrick Garland, the decency of a hearing upon the death of Antonin Scalia in 2016; claiming it was an election year and the next president should choose the nominee. However, Barrett’s nomination came after the death of Ruth Bader Ginsberg in 2020. The same band of Republicans who denied Garland a hearing rammed through Barrett’s confirmation without hesitation.
I don’t know if most Americans fully comprehend the significance of the Dobbs decision that overturned Roe. It could lead to much worse. But this is what happens when people don’t bother to vote in even the most mundane of elections. Liberals seem especially reticent to take local races seriously. I can only recommend everyone concerned about our democracy to make that concerted effort to vote. I understand how many people feel their votes don’t count, particularly after the 2000 and 2016 presidential elections and all the corruption involved in both.
Yet, democracy is not a natural form of governing. Humanity is more likely to construct an oligarchy-style system. In worse case settings, totalitarianism can take root, as it almost did with Donald Trump in the White House. People need to be wary of the current U.S. Supreme Court and its fascist leanings, disguised as social conservatism. (Then again, fascism and conservatism are pretty much the same ideology.)
It’s starting with the Roe reversal. Unless we place more moderates into public office, it will only get worse.
Bottom image: Michael de Adder
Filed under Essays
Earth Day 2022
“We are called to assist the Earth to heal her wounds and in the process heal our own.”
Filed under News
Best Quotes of the Week – February 12, 2022
“The extremists have gone off the rails and chosen to endorse violence as ‘legitimate political discourse.’”
U.S. Rep Colin Allred, on a Republican Party resolution that downplays the January 6, 2021 attack on Capitol Hill as “legitimate political discourse”
“Throwing plastic into the sea is criminal. It kills biodiversity; it kills the Earth; it kills everything.”
Pope Francis, during an interview on Italy’s RAI
He added: “Looking after creation is an education (process) in which we must engage.” He also cited a song by Brazilian singer Roberto Carlos in which a boy asks his father why “the river no longer sings” and the father responds that “we finished it off”.
Francis also reiterated some key themes of his papacy, condemning excessive spending on armaments, defending the rights of migrants, and condemning ideological rigidity by conservatives in the Church.
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Funniest Quote of the Week – April 24, 2021
“It’s vital for all of us to show that this is not all about some expensive politically correct, green act of bunny-hugging, or however you want to put it… This is about growth and jobs, and I think the [US] president was absolutely right to stress that.”
Prime Minister Boris Johnson, during a virtual world summit on climate change
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Earth Day at 50
A lion pride naps on a road in Kempiana Contractual Park, South Africa, an area tourists do not see. The park has been shut down due to COVID-19 concerns.
Alfred Hitchcock’s 1963 film “The Birds” was an innovative horror film. A small, peaceful town in northern California suddenly finds itself the target of avian rage. Seemingly unprovoked and without explanation, untold numbers of birds begin assaulting the townsfolk; leading to death and destruction in the most surreal ways. Some film historians consider “The Birds” to be a call to action for the burgeoning environmental movement.
But I consider a movie that came out nine years later, “Frogs”, to be an even greater homage to environmental action. It points specifically to environmental degradation caused by irresponsible and reckless human activity. Whereas “The Birds” deals with one type of animal that suddenly goes insane, “Frogs” gathers an entire gallery of creatures that seek revenge on their human adversaries. Just about everyone likes birds. But few truly like spiders, snakes and alligators – the monsters that seem to band together in “Frogs”. Even snapping turtles and clever geckoes get into the act! And yes, frogs join in the mayhem with their ominous croaking, as if directing the chaos.
Unlike “The Birds” where both characters and audience are perplexed by the deranged airborne assaults, it becomes clear the frightening swamp creatures inhabiting “Frogs” are colluding to exact their own brand of justice. As laughable as the antics can be at times, I always find myself gleeful at the sight of upper class people, trapped on an island off the coast of Georgia on Independence Day weekend, suddenly realizing their wealth and luxurious possessions can’t save them from the brewing ecological nightmare.
It’s the same feeling I get when I see bullfighting matadors gored by the massive horned beasts they stab with spears or when a circus elephant decides to bitch slap people dancing on its back. It’s also the identical sense of euphoria I’ve been getting in recent weeks as I read of vacant cities resulting in clear skies and see pictures of wild animals strolling through urban streets because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Today marks the 50th anniversary of Earth Day 2020, a movement begun as the realities of an industrialized society became brutally clear. A number of celebrations and gatherings had been planned for this day. The COVID-19 pandemic, however, has stifled those activities, and the revelry has been limited to virtual commemorations. But, as raucous as some festivities have been in the past – with the usual cadre of corporate scions sneering overhead – perhaps there may be no better way to celebrate Earth Day than watching the world go quiet.
Satellite photos of many locations taken before and after mandatory quarantines and lock-downs exhibit how the reduction of human and vehicular traffic has resulted in less-polluted skies. On clear days, for example, overhead views of Lake Michigan often reveal shipwrecks on the sea bottom. But recent COVID-19 restrictions have produced many more of these days.
Undoubtedly, the disease has been heartbreaking and tragic. But as Earth Day 2020 quietly sunsets, I still feel things couldn’t be more glorious with quarantining and social distancing have become common practice.
A fox wanders through a residential street near West Middlesex University Hospital in London, England on April 2, 2020. (Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP)
Jackals howl in Hayarkon Park, in the heart of Tel Aviv, Israel. (Oded Balilty/AP)
A Hindu holy man feeds monkeys at Pashupatinath Temple in Kathmandu, Nepal, the country’s most revered Hindu temple on March 31, 2020. Guards, staff and volunteers are ensuring animals and birds on the temple grounds don’t starve during the country’s lockdown, which halted temple visits and stopped the crowds that used to line up to feed the animals. (Niranjan Shrestha/AP)
Horses in Huajchilla, Bolivia, on the outskirts of La Paz, wander a deserted highway amid government restrictions that limit residents to essential shopping in an attempt to contain the spread of the new coronavirus on April 15, 2020. (Juan Karita/AP)
Two women take pictures of the pelicans in a deserted St James’ Park due to the Coronavirus outbreak in London, England on April 14, 2020. (Alberto Pezzali/AP)
Cats eat food on a street that is almost empty before a nighttime curfew imposed by the government to help stem the spread of the coronavirus in Beirut, Lebanon on April 3, 2020. (Hassan Ammar/AP)
A lone peacock walks along a street in Dubai on April 1, 2020, past shops closed during the pandemic. (Karim Sahib/AFP via Getty Images)
Fallow deer from Dagnam Park in Romford, England rest and graze on the grass outside homes in the Harold Hill community on April 2, 2020. The deer are a regular sight in the area around the park, but as the roads have become quieter due to the nationwide lockdown, the deer have staked a claim on new territories in the vicinity. (León Neal/Getty Images)
A young puma wanders the streets of Santiago, Chile shows on March 24, 2020. According to Chile’s Agricultural and Livestock Service, the animal arrived from nearby mountains in search for food as fewer people occupy the streets due to COVID-19. (Andres Pina/ATON CHILE/AFP via Getty Images)
A wild deer, from a herd used to mingling with and be fed by the local population, roams a deserted street during a government-imposed nationwide lockdown, in the port city of Trincomalee, Sri Lanka on March 31, 2020. (STR/AFP Getty Images)
Mountain goats roam the streets of Llandudno, Wales. The goats normally live on the rocky Great Orme but are occasional visitors to the seaside town, but a local councilor told the BBC that the herd was drawn this time by the lack of people and tourists due to the COVID-19 outbreak and quarantine measures. (Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)
A stray dog walks in front of an empty historic India Gate as a nationwide lockdown continues over the highly contagious coronavirus (COVID-19) on March 30, 2020, in New Delhi, India. (Yawar Nazir)
Stray dogs stand on a deserted square in Pristina, Kosovo on April 1, 2020, during a government-imposed curfew from 5pm to 5am as part of preventive measures against the spread of the COVID-19. (Armend Nimani/AFP)
Sika deer cross a road on March 12, 2020, in Nara, Japan. Like a number of tourist hotspots around the country, Nara, a popular ancient city where free-roaming deer are an attraction for tourists, has seen a decline in visitor numbers in recent weeks amid concern over the spread of COVID-19. Some groups of deer have begun roaming in the city’s residential area due to shortage of food partially fed from tourists, according to media reports. (Tomohiro Ohsumi)
A seabird swims across clear waters by a gondola in a Venice canal on March 17, 2020, as a result of the stoppage of motorboat traffic, following Italy’s lockdown within the new coronavirus crisis. (Andrea Pattaro/AFP)
Sea turtle hatchlings scamper towards the water. (Ben Hicks)
The History Channel’s “Life After People” series examined what the world could look like if humanity disappeared. It didn’t describe what might cause a massive die-off of humans, but a variety of experts discussed how flora and fauna would slowly consume and ultimately destroy human-made creations and induce a chemical- and pollution-free world.
Hm…would that be a bad thing?
Filed under Essays
Happy Earth Day 2014!
“Look again at that dot. That’s here. That’s home. That’s us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every “superstar,” every “supreme leader,” every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there-on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.”
– Carl Sagan, “Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space.”
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Happy Earth Day 2013!
“Can earth be Earth when all its trees are gone,
And sudsy waters have become unfit,
And poisoned life no longer greets the dawn
With raucous sounds that death has caused to quit?
Will trees no longer wave, with limbs unfurled,
On hapless earth, that ever in orbit roams?
Will human ego sacrifice the world
To satiate its lust for pompous homes?
Will distant space look down on orb that’s bald.
I now can hear the mother say,
“I was once called Earth.
But now, bereft of mirth, I weep.
That treeless orb’s no longer Earth”
Can Earth Be Earth? – Garvit Agarwal
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Chief Writing Wolf 