Sunday, January 29, 2017

INDIVISIBLE Lesson 6 - What is the Organizational Glue?

www.IndivisibleGuide.com offers a "PRACTICAL GUIDE FOR RESISTING TRUMP’S AGENDA.”  It contains basic lessons in how to productively deal with congressional staffers and representatives.  Its been compiled by volunteers who have been congressional staffers themselves and who understand how the system works.  

As we found out in the last election, it doesn't matter that we have a skewered political system, it's what we have and it's still important that massive amounts of citizens participate.  If we don't learn to how use it, the radical absolutist christian right certainly does know all the tricks - and they are more than happy to railroad us, given the opportunity, as we certainly have.  Citizens, it’s our last chance.  What INDIVISIBLE has produced needs to be shared far and wide, which is why I plan to sharing all their videos and hope others will find this helpful.  Beneath the fold I have screenshots of the main points.  Feel free to copy and share, this information needs to be circulated and utilized.

What is the Organizational Glue?

What is the organizational glue? - 
What are the roles you and your volunteers may take? 

If you want to connect with others, visit http://www.IndivisibleGuide.com, and follow #AntiTrumpEd on Twitter. All content in these training video is "open source" licensed under the Creative Commons (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/)

INDIVISIBLE Lesson 5 - How To Organize Political Pressure

www.IndivisibleGuide.com offers a "PRACTICAL GUIDE FOR RESISTING TRUMP’S AGENDA.”  It contains basic lessons in how to productively deal with congressional staffers and representatives.  Its been compiled by volunteers who have been congressional staffers themselves and who understand how the system works.  

As we found out in the last election, it doesn't matter that we have a skewered political system, it's what we have and it's still important that massive amounts of citizens participate.  If we don't learn to how use it, the radical absolutist christian right certainly does know all the tricks - and they are more than happy to railroad us, given the opportunity, as we certainly have.  Citizens, it’s our last chance.  What INDIVISIBLE has produced needs to be shared far and wide, which is why I plan to sharing all their videos and hope others will find this helpful.  Beneath the fold I have screenshots of the main points.  Feel free to copy and share, this information needs to be circulated and utilized.

How To Organize a Political Pressure Group
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ca0RGLn0ygs


How do you organize a political group? - If you're ready to get organized, watch this video. If you want to connect with others, 
visit http://www.IndivisibleGuide.com, and follow #AntiTrumpEd on Twitter. 

Friday, January 27, 2017

INDIVISIBLE Lesson 4 - What Matters to Members of Congress

www.IndivisibleGuide.com offers a "PRACTICAL GUIDE FOR RESISTING TRUMP’S AGENDA.”  It contains basic lessons in how to productively deal with congressional staffers and representatives.  Its been compiled by volunteers who have been congressional staffers themselves and who understand how the system works.  

As we found out in the last election, it doesn't matter that we have a skewered political system, it's what we have and it's still important that massive amounts of citizens participate.  If we don't learn to how use it, the radical absolutist christian right certainly does know all the tricks - and they are more than happy to railroad us, given the opportunity, as we certainly have.  Citizens, it’s our last chance.  What INDIVISIBLE has produced needs to be shared far and wide, which is why I plan to sharing all their videos and hope others will find this helpful.  Beneath the fold I have screenshots of the main points.  Feel free to copy and share, this information needs to be circulated and utilized.


What Matters to Members of Congress
What matters to Members of Congress? - How to figure out what motivates your Members of Congress (MoCs).

visit http://www.IndivisibleGuide.com, and follow #AntiTrumpEd on Twitter. All content in these training video is "openhttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/)

INDIVISIBLE Lesson 3 - Who Hold the Levers of Federal Power

www.IndivisibleGuide.com offers a "PRACTICAL GUIDE FOR RESISTING TRUMP’S AGENDA.”  It contains basic lessons in how to productively deal with congressional staffers and representatives.  Its been compiled by volunteers who have been congressional staffers themselves and who understand how the system works.  

As we found out in the last election, it doesn't matter that we have a skewered political system, it's what we have and it's still important that massive amounts of citizens participate.  If we don't learn to how use it, the radical absolutist christian right certainly does know all the tricks - and they are more than happy to railroad us, given the opportunity, as we certainly have.  Citizens, it’s our last chance.  What INDIVISIBLE has produced needs to be shared far and wide, which is why I plan to sharing all their videos and hope others will find this helpful.  Beneath the fold I have screenshots of the main points.  Feel free to copy and share, this information needs to be circulated and utilized.

Who Holds The Levers of your Federal Power

Published on Jan 8, 2017
Who holds the levers of your Federal Power? - You have more political influence than you may think, if you use it right. If you want to connect with others, 
visit http://www.IndivisibleGuide.com, and follow #AntiTrumpEd on Twitter. All content in these training video is "open https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/)

INDIVISIBLE Lesson 2 - Understanding Tea Party Effectiveness

www.IndivisibleGuide.com offers a "PRACTICAL GUIDE FOR RESISTING TRUMP’S AGENDA.”  It contains basic lessons in how to productively deal with congressional staffers and representatives.  Its been compiled by volunteers who have been congressional staffers themselves and who understand how the system works.  

As we found out in the last election, it doesn't matter that we have a skewered political system, it's what we have and it's still important that massive amounts of citizens participate.  If we don't learn to how use it, the radical absolutist christian right certainly does know all the tricks - and they are more than happy to railroad us, given the opportunity, as we certainly have.  Citizens, it’s our last chance.  What INDIVISIBLE has produced needs to be shared far and wide, which is why I plan to sharing all their videos and hope others will find this helpful.  Beneath the fold I have screenshots of the main points.  Feel free to copy and share, this information needs to be circulated and utilized.


Published on Jan 8, 2017
Why was the Tea Party effective? - Review some hard lessons learned from watching the Tea Party. If you want to connect with others, 
visit http://www.IndivisibleGuide.com, and follow #AntiTrumpEd on Twitter. All content in these training video is "open https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/)

INDIVISIBLE YouTube Lesson 1 - Organizing Against Trump

www.IndivisibleGuide.com offers a "PRACTICAL GUIDE FOR RESISTING TRUMP’S AGENDA.”  It contains basic lessons in how to productively deal with congressional staffers and representatives.  Its been compiled by volunteers who have been congressional staffers themselves and who understand how the system works.  
As we found out in the last election, it doesn't matter that we have a skewered political system, it's what we have and it's still important that massive amounts of citizens participate.  If we don't learn to how use it, the radical absolutist christian right certainly does know all the tricks - and they are more than happy to railroad us, given the opportunity, as we certainly have.  Citizens, it’s our last chance.  What INDIVISIBLE has produced needs to be shared far and wide, which is why I plan to sharing all their videos and hope others will find this helpful.  Beneath the fold I have screenshots of their main points.  Feel free to copy and share, this information needs to be circulated and utilized.

Published on Jan 8, 2017
Introduction - learn what these videos are all about. If you want to connect with others, 
visit http://www.IndivisibleGuide.com, and follow #AntiTrumpEd on Twitter. All content in these training video is "open source" licensed under the Creative Commons (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/)

Diary 1/27/17 - To roll over or fight? That is the question. And INDIVISIBLE.com

There’s simply too much to keep up with and not enough time - so please excuse yet another diversion - this time it's for the most constructive thing I've seen in months, the “INDIVISIBLE: PRACTICAL GUIDE FOR RESISTING TRUMP’S AGENDA it’s the first ray of hope in an long time.  Thus I’m once again preempting the scheduled programming for some self justifying thoughts and then on to a closer look at this guide for patriotic American citizens concerned with saving our democracy.

Thursday, January 26, 2017

#14b Debating GOP Disconnect AGW - Gore’s AIT(1-4) vs SPPI, Monckton's 35 lies

 *  EM’s response:   Okay, you’ve got me on this one. I did in fact confuse myself between climate science in the media vs the climate science community. I was mainly referencing outlandish claims from Al Gore in “An Inconvenient Truth”  by relying on the Republican's outlandish PR fraudster the Lord Monckton - now that's what self inflicted delusion is all about, allow me to explain.  

In this continuation of my debate with EM I have allowed him to distract me with SPPI's 35 Errors, Lies and Deceptions contrivance that their "Lord" Monckton has so successfully astro-turfed all over the internet.  I will demonstrate that SPPI and Lord Monckton are in fact the malicious liars who ruthlessly politicize the science in order to confuse and stupefy innocents like my pal EM and to further their self-interested myopic and destructive agenda.  Here I review points 1 through 4: sea level claims, islands drowning, thermohaline circulation slowdown, CO2 drives temps.

After my introduction
*   I will first quote SPPI’s Lord M’s claim.  
*   Then share Gore’s relevant AIT quotes so you can decide for yourselves how honesty (or not) it was described.  
*   This is followed with some commentary intended to add perspective to the Lord’s spin to offer ‘the rest of the story’ regarding the issue in question.  
*   Rounding up the exercise I’ll include authoritative links and some YouTube videos to offer genuine learning opportunities regarding the questions raised. 
    
Reviewing Lord Monckton’s 35 SPPI Errors, Lies and Deceptions Regarding “An Inconvenient Truth.”  (The cloned version I copied for this came from Scottthong.wordpress.)

Wednesday, January 25, 2017

#14a EM, blast from past 1997 + 2007 Fat Cats and Dirty Tricks

Check it out EM, a 1997 review of a little noted book Global Spin.  I share it because it's an early look at where the politicizing of climate science actually started.  That's followed by a video of the 2007 China-U.S. Climate Change Forum discussing the challenges of communicating climate science and hearing from people across the globe.  I finish with a bit of information from NOAA's just released (three hours ago) Global Analysis - Annual 2016 and another from the World Meteorological Organization's 2011-2015 report.  You can deny this stuff all you want, yet it remains unavoidable.  Learn from this historic perspective.
________________________________________________________
Review : Fat cats’ dirty tricks

By Hugh Warwick, December 13, 1997 |  NewScientist.com

THIS week, politicians returning from Kyoto may ask their spin doctors what they really decided about global climate change. Many of the world’s largest multinational corporations, meanwhile, will be calculating whether their investment has paid off.

They have been fighting hard to prevent any serious action being taken at Kyoto. Using their immense financial muscle, they are working to undermine the successes of the environmental movement. By coopting a handful of dissident scientists, these corporations and their front groups create the impression that the apparently hardening certainties of global climate change are foundering in a sea of unknowns—despite the consensus among the 2500 climate scientistsof the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

In her excellent Global Spin (Green Books, £10.95, ISBN 1870098676), Sharon Beder traces the rise of this backlash: the funding of think-tanks, the promotion of the “Wise Use” Movement and the creation of an artificial grass-roots movement sometimes dubbed “astro turf”. But perhaps the most insidious technique outlined in Global Spin is the use of the law against individuals who voice their concerns.

Saturday, January 21, 2017

Monbiot assesses Trump's energy policy

Once again George Monbiot has written a brutally honest article assessing what we (American citizens and voters) have allowed to happen to our government.  How we're going to recover from this, I don't know.  But, I do know that honestly assessing the situation is a requirement if there's to be any hope at all.    
I thank Mr. Monbiot for his permission to repost his incisive article.
Posted: 20 Jan 2017 01:50 AM PST

Dirty industries spend more on politics, keeping us in the fossil age.

By George Monbiot, published in the Guardian 19th January 2017

Make America Wait Again. That’s what Donald Trump’s energy policy amounts to. Stop all the clocks, put the technological revolution on hold, ensure that the transition from fossil fuels to clean power is delayed for as long as possible.

Trump is the president corporate Luddites have dreamt of; the man who will let them squeeze every last cent from their oil and coal reserves before they become worthless. They need him because science, technology and people’s demands for a safe and stable world have left them stranded. There is no fair fight that they can win, so their last hope lies with a government that will rig the competition.

To this end, Trump has appointed to his cabinet some of those responsible for a universal crime: inflicted not on particular nations or groups, but on everyone.

REJECT REX TILLERSON - SIGN PETITION, MAKE PHONE CALLS

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee will hold a vote on Rex Tillerson’s (the just retired, lifetime EXXON man) confirmation on Monday to head our US State Department and we cannot afford to let up the pressure. {Also make your voice count, call your Senator, below you can find a list of the Foreign Relations Committee members}


In Tillerson’s confirmation hearing on Wednesday, Jan. 11, the ex-CEO of oil-and-gas-giant Exxon Mobil gave an unacceptable series of non-answers on issues ranging from man-made climate change to whether Russia’s Vladimir Putin is a war criminal. He may have even perjured himself by lying about Exxon Mobil’s documented history of lobbying against Russian sanctions.

Tillerson recently left his position at Exxon Mobil with a $180 million retirement package, just two months ahead of his scheduled retirement.1 We don’t need another climate-denying corporate executive in Washington – especially as the nation’s top diplomat.

Friday, January 20, 2017

Trump's Attack on Climate Science Begins - within minutes of inauguration.

For starters Trump wants to eliminate all mention of Climate Science and Obama's initiatives.  Fortunately, it's too late for that.  The records can be found here" 
https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-record/climate, for the details read on.

The muzzling is already beginning.

Trump’s White House Website Now Only Mentions "Climate" in His Plans to Ax Obama’s Policies


Today, the peaceful transition of power took place, with President Barack Obama passing the White House baton over to President Donald Trump. 
Behind the glitz and glamor and pomp and circumstance came another key White House transition: the Trump White House has gotten rid of the climate change section of the White House website. The URL www.whitehouse.gov/energy/climate-change now takes those surfing the internet to a page which “could not be found.”

Thursday, January 19, 2017

Diary 1/19/2017 and "Trump's Promises Score Card"

For those of you who are into keeping score on how well, or poorly, Trump is at keeping his many promises, you'll want to bookmark this link https://thinkprogress.org/trump-made-a-lot-of-promises-about-what-he-will-do-as-president-weve-documented-663-of-them-3d28f0131e7f#.x7ni4arpr because ThinkProgress had put together a list and a team of journalists who will be keeping track.  My intended short introduction turned into a full on essay of sortsafter which I have much more information about the ThinkProgress "Trump Promise Score Card."

* You'll have to forgive me for not giving Trump any benefit of the doubt.  He has repeatedly shown that he lives within a narcissistic bubble detached from down to Earth reality.  I have yet to see the slightest indication he possesses any scruples or empathy.  Trump doesn't read and beyond money and marketing appears to know nothing, no history, no science, no geography, no evolution, nor any philosophy beyond,
"The Golden Rule"  ~  The man with the gold makes the rules! 
No different from a few thousand tribal warlords and emperors who came before, to dominate, destroy, get destroyed.  When I was a kid, we had this idea going around that humanity may finally be able to learn from that repetition of historic lessons.  How wrong we were.  I think my generation lost our focus.  We learned to detach and take it all for granted.  For the most part we were all too willing to turn our backs on the lessons of the 70s - namely, that we as a global society needed to power down a bit.  Less baby making.  Wiser resource consumption with an eye toward sustainable systems.  (For instance why couldn't tire manufactures lease their tires, then repurpose returning tires?  Same with batteries and other such short duration resource rich items?  Simple things like that.)  Also, incorporating an appreciation for the profound impacts increasing our planet's atmospheric insulation was sure to have on the biosphere we depend on.

Future, long term survival was dependent on a mature appreciation for this planet Earth and the myriad of biological systems and subsystems along with our global climate engine all interwoven in amazing ways.  But, fast cars, fast food, kick ass movies and music and sports and fantasizing about having riches and ever increasing profits became all we needed.  At best it was a Faustian Bargain.

Wednesday, January 18, 2017

Columbia Journalism Review - open letter to Trump - Jan 17, 2017

I'm working on EM Debate #14, unfortunately now he attacks Al Gore's Inconvenient Truth with clear-cut nonsense - exposing himself as either very gullible or not the serious student he projects.  Since I'm sick of all the stupidity I've come across regarding Gore's IT errors, I'm reviewing the endlessly repeated and mimicked Contrarian Lord's "35 Scientific Errors (or Intentional Lies) in An Inconvenient Truth" - and it's eating up precious hours I don't have near enough of.  But, I'll get er done, yet.

In the mean time I came across an excellent letter to Mr. Trump written by "The Press Corp" that’s worth sharing over here - It seems that along with many other America's they have woken up, taken stock of what happened this past year and are now ready to go forward into our self-inflicted frightening new political reality with a renewed sense of purpose and mission.

Welcome back America's once grand Fourth Estate, we certainly need you more than ever, I hope it's not too late.

Columbia Journalism Review

DEAR MR. PRESIDENT ELECT:
In these final days before your inauguration, we thought it might be helpful to clarify how we see the relationship between your administration and the American press corps.

It will come as no surprise to you that we see the relationship as strained. Reports over the last few days that your press secretary is considering pulling news media offices out of the White House are the latest in a pattern of behavior that has persisted throughout the campaign: 
You’ve banned news organizations from covering you. 
You’ve taken to Twitter to taunt and threaten individual reporters and encouraged your supporters to do the same. You’ve advocated for looser libel laws 
and threatened numerous lawsuits of your own, 
none of which has materialized. 

You’ve avoided the press when you could and flouted the norms of pool reporting and regular press conferences. You’ve ridiculed a reporter who wrote something you didn’t like because he has a disability.

Sunday, January 15, 2017

#13 Debating GOP Disconnect AGW - self-interest vs. objective learning?

Here I respond to EM's points #14 to #17, no fireworks, still I found it interesting in that it nudges the dialogue towards the question of 'motivated learning.'  For instance, my life long pursuit of Earth and climate learning is driven by my need to understand this wondrous planet I was born into as well as possible. Whereas EM, and I dare say, the entire Republican pursuit of climate science is driven by its threat to their short-term economic/political "interests".

It helps explain why they can so easily ignore the overwhelming evidence in favor of the established scientific "consensus."  We are fools not to recognize this.  We are but at the beginning of the human fossil fuels burning warming trajectory and unless we rearrange our priorities in a hurry, or there will be hell to pay.  

To finish this installment I provide some sources that make plain that infrastructure and life destroying extreme weather events are being driven by an increasingly warming global climate engine and that Republicans minimize the threat at all of our own peril.  (Some touch up edits Monday morning)

National Summary Information - December 2016
Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters: Table of Events

National Climate Assessment - 2014

The National Academy of Sciences
ATTRIBUTION OF Extreme Weather Events
IN THE CONTEXT OF Climate Change

American Meteorological Society
State of the Climate in 2015

NOT JUST THE KOCH BROTHERS: 
NEW DREXEL STUDY REVEALS FUNDERS BEHIND THE CLIMATE CHANGE DENIAL EFFORT
____________________________________________________________
  1. EM’s point #14, quoting me:  If you look at this blog you’ll see plenty of very specific critiques, were I offer objective supporting evidence for my claims.  I know what I’m talking about and ignoring my critiques doesn’t make their substance go away.
    1. EM responds:  I have neither the time nor the desire to read all of your blog posts, as this site is not easy to navigate and I have other things to do than read through all of your (all pretty much the same) posts. 
____________________________________
With all due respect, then you haven’t looked very far.  As for quality of presentation, I agree it leaves much to be desired.  But I’m no professional blogger, doing the best I can with what I have, in the limited moments I can spare from the rest of my day to days.  
__________________________________________________________
    1. EM responds:  I don’t argue with the evidence you present; because I’m not arguing AGW’s existence or the fact that rising global temperature is a net-negative for the planet. 
____________________________________
Actually you are, in that you are dismissing AGW’s already clear and present impacts on our global society and biosphere.  

Thursday, January 12, 2017

Senator Gardner - Democratic decency requires NO VOTE on Rex Tillerson as Secretary of State

Since Colorado’s own Senator Gardner is on the Committee of Foreign Relations and is hearing Rex Tillerson’s nomination I decided to send his staff this open letter that I hope they’ll pass along.  I've sent it to our Durango Telegraph as 'letter to the editor' and I want to share it over here.  It might help some gather their own thoughts for sending messages to their own senators.  It's all we have right now, so everyone that cares needs to make an effort. http://civilrights.org/action_center/resources/calling-congress.html 
{Sorry about that early posting screw up}    It's been noted that mine is not the most diplomatic of opening paragraphs.  So be it.  It's not like Republicans have been anything but ruthlessly hostile to anyone on the other side of their world outlook divide.  Maybe, it's time they stop being so absolutist and progressive types stop being so accommodating !

Honorable Senator Gardner and staff,

Please take the time to think about the many objections to Rex Tillerson becoming our country’s Secretary of State. 

You’ll note right away that I can be categorized (and discarded) as a “tree hugger” type.  Indeed, I have hugged a few in my day.  I know too well how my kind is easily vilified and dismissed by Republicans.  Still I would beg you to consider the reality that we very much depend on a healthy climate and biosphere for everything we have and love.  

No matter what your personal religion tells you about your God, the basic inescapable reality is that we were born of this Earth and shall die back into it.  It is a beautiful reality, once you grow to appreciate evolution and understand what a fantastical pageant you are part of.

But, I digress.  What I really want to beg of you and your staff to consider is all the reasons Rex Tillerson, great oil-businessman though he may be, he should never be allowed to become USA’s Secretary of State.  A position demanding respect for our Constitution and a much broader understanding than a dedicated oil man(42+years), someone who knows nothing but drilling for profits is capable of acquiring.  No insult, fundamental reality.  Secretary of State requires immensely broad and deep understanding of governmental matters and a different sphere of relevant matter than a pure cold blooded businessman like Rex can acquire.

No matter now many big shot deals he may have closed, he’s unfit for the State Department!  Why can’t America at least get an experienced individual?  As for ‘outsider’ that just means he doesn’t know what’s going on.  That may work in the movies, but this is real life and there’s no going back.

Reject Rex Tillerson, EXXON's Russian Obligate Oil Guy - Here's why.

A collection of informative articles about Rex Tillerson and why we should never allow such a single-minded corporate machine to become USA’s Secretary of State.  A position demanding respect for our Constitution and a much broader understanding than a dedicated oil man(42+years) who knows nothing but drilling for profits is capable of acquiring.  No matter now many big shot deals he may have closed! 

Why are supposedly patriotic Republicans so accepting of Tillerson’s oh so cozy, nay intimate, ties to Russia’s Putin, which he is disingenuously back peddling?  More importantly Tillerson is a corporate guy who despises our government for interfering with his business dreams.  Given the powers of the Secretary of State you can be sure that his objective will not be to uphold his oath and USA's constitution but to rearrange USA from a government of the people, by the people, and for the people, into the Corporation of Amerika, a government fully owned and dedicated to the interests of today’s corporate oligarchs.  People who have utter disregard and contempt for anything beyond their own oh so myopic self-interests. 

Also consider, Tillerson still deludes himself about the scientific understanding regarding manmade global warming.  Yet another issue that should have disqualified him outright - but than what can we do when most Republican politicians are so beholden to corporate money that they themselves remain steadfastly willfully ignorant on an issue that is already inflicting substantial damages to our global economy, infrastructure and its vulnerable citizens.  With the guarantee of worse on the way, while we sleep.

I share the following full text of “Tillerson Called Out for 'Lying About Climate' During Confirmation Hearing  thanks to Common Dreams generous “Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License” ~ I also include quotes and links to a variety of articles, listed below:


** United States 115 Senate Committee on Foreign Relations list
__________________________________________________

Tillerson Called Out for 'Lying About Climate' During Confirmation Hearing

Published on 
Wednesday, January 11, 2017

'Listening to his hearing, it would be easier to conclude Tillerson is under criminal investigation than under consideration for secretary of state'


At his senate confirmation hearing on Wednesday, U.S. secretary of state nominee Rex Tillerson on Wednesday dodged questions about ExxonMobil's long history of denying climate science, lending credence to claims his tenure would be a disaster for the planet.

When pressed by Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) about the major charges unearthed by the ongoing ExxonKnew investigation—namely, that the oil company hid evidence going back to the 1970s of how the burning of fossil fuels impacts the climate, and funded misinformation campaigns to spread skepticism about growing scientific consensus—former Exxon CEO Tillerson "essentially pled the fifth," said Oil Change International executive director Stephen Kretzmann.