Dok, thank you for these slim hopes. We're can't assume that Congress will remain, that the rule of law won't be applied unevenly, that the Executive branch won't purge the patriots and experts from its ranks, that Russia won't be even more involved in our nation's politics, that the police in all 50 states won't rush to do Trump's bidding, that the military will refuse to follow bad orders, that RW militias won't wild out without consequence...I'm crying again. Evil never sleeps, and I fear the guardrails are either gone, still will be, or will be ignored. I can't lose hope because of my kid and nieces and nephews and so on, but this might be the hardest thing: not giving up.
I REALLY hate it when the fossil fool industry has a win, as they have recently done since the deplorable fake stole the election courtesy of a corrupted 'supreme' court and lies. So it's a comfort that measures have been taken to roadblock the vandals.
Given Shitler’s new best buddy and economic advisor is in the electric vehicle business, one might expect some level of support for that, at least; on the other hand, it’s hard to see a partnership between two such imperious megalomaniacs lasting very long.
White Democrats do not care enough to fix and so by the time the environmental harm gets to your neighborhood despite the NIMBY denials and pushaways, it's too late and your ozone is already gone.
Thanks, Dok, for keeping us so informed and doing such great work on climate and environmental issues through the lens of politics. (and student loan issues, also too).
Big Fossil Fuel will be expecting their promised payoff for their campaign support. Last time they had their guy, Rexxon, installed in the cabinet. Will they get a cabinet post again?
Trump has two groups to account to. The rank and file chuds, the MAGA and the uber wealthy donors, the MEGA. They have opposing goals and agendas. So, which one do you suppose will have then louder voice? The MAGA have served their purpose and can now be disposed of The MEGA on the other hand are in position to make him very wealthy
Lived at the base of Neversink Mountain in Reading for 35 years. Today’s fire got exceedingly close to a highly-populated area, which voted overwhelmingly for the new regime. Now live in a Trump zone that is furiously fighting offshore wind farm. Wonder how they’ll feel about oil rigs or an LNG port in its place? Seems we might be about to FO.
The blue states are where all the emissions are, so those will go down, and in the red states, I am pretty sure the most widespread in a century US drought, and the subsequent rise in food prices and farm failures is going to make a lot of citizens of the rural counties start having a second thought about all this climate change stuff.
"Donald Trump has already made clear that when he returns to power in January 2025, he intends to reverse as many of Joe Biden’s climate policies as he possibly can."
And every other friggin' policy that rubs the 1% and big business wrong. We just can't have a country with clean air, clean water, and making an effort to control climate change if it will lower profits and incomes for the Fulvous Flatulence's butthole buddies.
-----
"the election won’t have turned Mike Johnson into a Nancy Pelosi"
Did anyone expect this kind of transformation from MAGA Mike? If anything, given the White House and Senate are already going red next year, and the (unfortunate) likelihood the RINOs will remain in a slim majority in the House, I think that Johnson will embrace MAGA even more than he has; he has no worries about this affecting him negatively with MAGA asshats running the show, and will show considerable concern to keep the Sandstone Snowflake happy.
My only hope is that MAGA Mike comes to be seen as another MyKevin, is ousted by the ironically named House Freedom Caucus, thus throwing the House into utter chaos which will prevent a full endorsement of the MAGA platform (this is all wishcasting, I don't expect any of this to actually happen).
-----
"Trump plans to do severe and lasting damage to Biden’s regulatory progress"
The Amber Ardipithecus ramidus plans to do severe damage to everything else he can that Pres Biden has done: the economy will tank*, social equality will not continue to improve -- albeit slowly -- but return to the antebellum, any repairs to our alliances will be broken again, women will again be relegated to the kitchen -- barefoot and pregnant....
(* Sure, the stock market has reached new highs since Tuesday, but this is not due to retail investors buying a 100 shares of this company or 500 shares of that one. No, the rise is due to mega-investors and privately held investment companies buying thousands of shares of companies that should prosper under the illiberal demands of the Sociopathic Marigold Swamp Monster. Most start-ups and small businesses face the threat that Freddie Mercury sang about, "another one bites the dust.")
-----
"That’s why Trump and his buddies in rightwing think tanks want to root out the “Deep State”: They want massive purges in government agencies, to eliminate experts who might stand in the way."
"Trump has announced his intention to reissue Schedule F “on day one” of his next administration. During his first term, government employees were frequent targets of public insults, threats, and retaliation. Echoing Trump, other elected officials have advocated “fir[ing] every single mid-level bureaucrat” and made campaign promises to begin “slitting [bureaucrats’] throats on day one.” https://protectdemocracy.org/work/trumps-schedule-f-plan-explained/
There is one ray of sunshine here. I was talking to a family member who has spent their entire career (within a year of retirement) in the "Deep State," and has risen to a senior management position. They told me that the way the bureaucracy is set up, dismantling it is basically impossible. While some who won't take an oath of fealty to the Pumpkin Pestilence will be fired, there are too many for the RINOs' version of the Great Replacement Theory.
-----
"more likely, refuse to defend them"
Taking a page straight out of the CSPOA playbook; don't defend/enforce what they don't like.
-----
"This time around, Trump will instead count on help from industry and think-tank experts"
The Mango Malignancy will listen to -- not count on -- what the experts suggest. Then he'll listen to the whining little insects circling the light that is the Desert Sand Demi-Demon. After that he'll decide the experts are like all of the other experts he has discounted, that they are clueless, and will instead follow the suggestions of his advisors: like Bobby Jr.
-----
"Texas may purport to love dirty oil and gas above all other energy, but it’s nonetheless the biggest state for wind and solar, and likely to remain so."
Given the highly effective Texas power grid I'm surprised that they have any concerns as to from where their energy comes. Through the efforts of Raphael, Cornyn, and Abbott Texas has the best independent power system in the country... hell, in the world.
Drumpfenfuehrer has spent that past four years pissing, whining, bitching and moaning that the 2020 election was "stolen" and belaboring his mulititude of vendettas. His brain is congealing into an even smaller, smoother lump of grey goo and he is incapable of organizing his gawd damned sock drawer. He has no grand "plan" for the nation going forward other than that horrific Project 2025 which discounts or blatantly ignores a number of constitutional edicts already long established that the PEOPLE are not inclined to relinquish.
The vaguely brighter point I'm attempting to make that if nothing else this foul fascist majority that's incoming will be bickering so much among themselves it will really cut in on their time destroying everything else.
The only challenge I give to folks is that those opinions have to be supported by facts to be considered credible.
So far I’m not seeing it.
That doesn’t mean it’s not there, but I think it does mean even if you don’t convince me, you’re gonna have to convince somebody. As we go further down the authoritarian rathole and they literally start tearing up documents — they’ve already sold some, already destroyed some others — “I just have faith” is probably not quite gonna do it.
But what evidence is that they'll try to subvert elections in two years? Yeah, they'll pull the typical voter suppression garbage. But in four years it's another matter, as Trump has made statements like "vote for me and you'll never have to vote again." That's if as an obese 78 year old man he lives that long.
I doubt there will be very many gas-fired power plants for the same reason nobody has built any refineries in the last few decades. The industry doesn’t want stranded assets
Dok, thank you for these slim hopes. We're can't assume that Congress will remain, that the rule of law won't be applied unevenly, that the Executive branch won't purge the patriots and experts from its ranks, that Russia won't be even more involved in our nation's politics, that the police in all 50 states won't rush to do Trump's bidding, that the military will refuse to follow bad orders, that RW militias won't wild out without consequence...I'm crying again. Evil never sleeps, and I fear the guardrails are either gone, still will be, or will be ignored. I can't lose hope because of my kid and nieces and nephews and so on, but this might be the hardest thing: not giving up.
I REALLY hate it when the fossil fool industry has a win, as they have recently done since the deplorable fake stole the election courtesy of a corrupted 'supreme' court and lies. So it's a comfort that measures have been taken to roadblock the vandals.
Great article, thanks!
Screw Trump? Screw the American media and voters…I’m done…bye!
Thank you for this post. I want more of this! The despair I feel about the climate after this election is so intense.
Yes. Thank you, Doc.
Drill Baby Drill, right into Trump's skill to understand just what the hell is wrong with him.
Given Shitler’s new best buddy and economic advisor is in the electric vehicle business, one might expect some level of support for that, at least; on the other hand, it’s hard to see a partnership between two such imperious megalomaniacs lasting very long.
Gary Chambers and Joy Reid have something on that
It really is exacerbated by the racism
ON BOTH SIDES
Republicans actively harm.
White Democrats do not care enough to fix and so by the time the environmental harm gets to your neighborhood despite the NIMBY denials and pushaways, it's too late and your ozone is already gone.
https://youtu.be/kJo21Ubm_T4?si=xL5u4cGdAjDfJvyO
Thanks, Dok, for keeping us so informed and doing such great work on climate and environmental issues through the lens of politics. (and student loan issues, also too).
Big Fossil Fuel will be expecting their promised payoff for their campaign support. Last time they had their guy, Rexxon, installed in the cabinet. Will they get a cabinet post again?
They’re going to BE the Cabinet
Trump has two groups to account to. The rank and file chuds, the MAGA and the uber wealthy donors, the MEGA. They have opposing goals and agendas. So, which one do you suppose will have then louder voice? The MAGA have served their purpose and can now be disposed of The MEGA on the other hand are in position to make him very wealthy
Yep, the election winning joke has no interest in the 'great unwashed', although almost one of them. All he wanted was their vote.
Lived at the base of Neversink Mountain in Reading for 35 years. Today’s fire got exceedingly close to a highly-populated area, which voted overwhelmingly for the new regime. Now live in a Trump zone that is furiously fighting offshore wind farm. Wonder how they’ll feel about oil rigs or an LNG port in its place? Seems we might be about to FO.
The blue states are where all the emissions are, so those will go down, and in the red states, I am pretty sure the most widespread in a century US drought, and the subsequent rise in food prices and farm failures is going to make a lot of citizens of the rural counties start having a second thought about all this climate change stuff.
https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/
"Donald Trump has already made clear that when he returns to power in January 2025, he intends to reverse as many of Joe Biden’s climate policies as he possibly can."
And every other friggin' policy that rubs the 1% and big business wrong. We just can't have a country with clean air, clean water, and making an effort to control climate change if it will lower profits and incomes for the Fulvous Flatulence's butthole buddies.
-----
"the election won’t have turned Mike Johnson into a Nancy Pelosi"
Did anyone expect this kind of transformation from MAGA Mike? If anything, given the White House and Senate are already going red next year, and the (unfortunate) likelihood the RINOs will remain in a slim majority in the House, I think that Johnson will embrace MAGA even more than he has; he has no worries about this affecting him negatively with MAGA asshats running the show, and will show considerable concern to keep the Sandstone Snowflake happy.
My only hope is that MAGA Mike comes to be seen as another MyKevin, is ousted by the ironically named House Freedom Caucus, thus throwing the House into utter chaos which will prevent a full endorsement of the MAGA platform (this is all wishcasting, I don't expect any of this to actually happen).
-----
"Trump plans to do severe and lasting damage to Biden’s regulatory progress"
The Amber Ardipithecus ramidus plans to do severe damage to everything else he can that Pres Biden has done: the economy will tank*, social equality will not continue to improve -- albeit slowly -- but return to the antebellum, any repairs to our alliances will be broken again, women will again be relegated to the kitchen -- barefoot and pregnant....
(* Sure, the stock market has reached new highs since Tuesday, but this is not due to retail investors buying a 100 shares of this company or 500 shares of that one. No, the rise is due to mega-investors and privately held investment companies buying thousands of shares of companies that should prosper under the illiberal demands of the Sociopathic Marigold Swamp Monster. Most start-ups and small businesses face the threat that Freddie Mercury sang about, "another one bites the dust.")
-----
"That’s why Trump and his buddies in rightwing think tanks want to root out the “Deep State”: They want massive purges in government agencies, to eliminate experts who might stand in the way."
"Trump has announced his intention to reissue Schedule F “on day one” of his next administration. During his first term, government employees were frequent targets of public insults, threats, and retaliation. Echoing Trump, other elected officials have advocated “fir[ing] every single mid-level bureaucrat” and made campaign promises to begin “slitting [bureaucrats’] throats on day one.” https://protectdemocracy.org/work/trumps-schedule-f-plan-explained/
There is one ray of sunshine here. I was talking to a family member who has spent their entire career (within a year of retirement) in the "Deep State," and has risen to a senior management position. They told me that the way the bureaucracy is set up, dismantling it is basically impossible. While some who won't take an oath of fealty to the Pumpkin Pestilence will be fired, there are too many for the RINOs' version of the Great Replacement Theory.
-----
"more likely, refuse to defend them"
Taking a page straight out of the CSPOA playbook; don't defend/enforce what they don't like.
-----
"This time around, Trump will instead count on help from industry and think-tank experts"
The Mango Malignancy will listen to -- not count on -- what the experts suggest. Then he'll listen to the whining little insects circling the light that is the Desert Sand Demi-Demon. After that he'll decide the experts are like all of the other experts he has discounted, that they are clueless, and will instead follow the suggestions of his advisors: like Bobby Jr.
-----
"Texas may purport to love dirty oil and gas above all other energy, but it’s nonetheless the biggest state for wind and solar, and likely to remain so."
Given the highly effective Texas power grid I'm surprised that they have any concerns as to from where their energy comes. Through the efforts of Raphael, Cornyn, and Abbott Texas has the best independent power system in the country... hell, in the world.
fnord
Drumpfenfuehrer has spent that past four years pissing, whining, bitching and moaning that the 2020 election was "stolen" and belaboring his mulititude of vendettas. His brain is congealing into an even smaller, smoother lump of grey goo and he is incapable of organizing his gawd damned sock drawer. He has no grand "plan" for the nation going forward other than that horrific Project 2025 which discounts or blatantly ignores a number of constitutional edicts already long established that the PEOPLE are not inclined to relinquish.
The vaguely brighter point I'm attempting to make that if nothing else this foul fascist majority that's incoming will be bickering so much among themselves it will really cut in on their time destroying everything else.
Agree! That jackass thrives on chaos and will probably have the same difficulties keeping his administration staffed as he did before.
Betting parlors across the nation are already taking the over/under on how long Susie Wiles will last as CoS.
...and then we can kick them all out in the mid-terms.
ASSUMING WE HAVE ELECTIONS.
Y'all seem to keep forgetting that part has to be SECURED against Elon/Russian/Chinese influence.
I'll wager elections in two years will be OK. My opinion of course.
Everybody can have all the opinions they want.
The only challenge I give to folks is that those opinions have to be supported by facts to be considered credible.
So far I’m not seeing it.
That doesn’t mean it’s not there, but I think it does mean even if you don’t convince me, you’re gonna have to convince somebody. As we go further down the authoritarian rathole and they literally start tearing up documents — they’ve already sold some, already destroyed some others — “I just have faith” is probably not quite gonna do it.
But what evidence is that they'll try to subvert elections in two years? Yeah, they'll pull the typical voter suppression garbage. But in four years it's another matter, as Trump has made statements like "vote for me and you'll never have to vote again." That's if as an obese 78 year old man he lives that long.
I doubt there will be very many gas-fired power plants for the same reason nobody has built any refineries in the last few decades. The industry doesn’t want stranded assets