1. Puerto Rico: Donald Trump’s malignant neglect of the American territory in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria’s devastation is nothing short of a human-rights atrocity, and one of the most significant climate stories of the decade. 2. Paris pullout: Trump’s announcement of his plans to abandon the 2015 Paris climate agreement sparked an international backlash–and […]
climate change
Posted inPolitical Animal
Is Anti-Trump Climate Litigation the New Brown v. Board of Education?
We need not rehash my misgivings about the legal effort by adolescents and pre-adolescents in Oregon to force the Trump administration to implement policies to reduce carbon emissions; opinions on this lawsuit have hardened, and I don’t expect to change anyone’s minds one way or the other about the case. However, I did raise an […]
Posted inPolitical Animal
How Not to Save the Planet
Last year, I expressed misgivings about efforts by those concerned about the climate crisis to rely upon the “necessity defense” when prosecuted for acts of civil disobedience intended to raise awareness about America’s refusal to commit to an expedited transition away from fossil fuels. At the time, I was concerned that if climate hawks were […]
Posted inPolitical Animal
Sour Home Alabama: Roy Moore Remains the Odds-on Favorite to Be the State’s Next Senator
It doesn’t matter how many women come forward. It doesn’t matter how many Republicans say he should pull out of the race. It doesn’t matter how horrified the country as a whole is over the allegations. Roy Moore will not drop out of the special US Senate election scheduled to take place on December 12 […]
Posted inPolitical Animal
The Greatness We Had Then, The Madness We Have Now
I still remember how nervous I was. I spent the entire day anxious about something possibly going wrong in Ohio due to voter suppression. I was convinced that it would be over after one term, that the old GOP gang would get back together again, that the progress of the previous four years–especially on climate […]
Posted inPolitical Animal
A Place Called Hope
It was the moment that we began to make America great again. No, not one year ago next Wednesday, when Putin’s plaything seized control of the White House. The moment when America became better occurred twenty-five years ago this week, when Bill Clinton liberated the White House from a dozen years of Republican control. I […]
Posted inPolitical Animal
The Case for Preemptive Impeachment
If this past week has not strengthened Tom Steyer’s case for the expedited removal of Donald Trump from the White House, nothing can. It is inevitable that the Mueller investigation will discover the smoking gun of unprecedented illegality in the Trump administration. It is inevitable that Trump will stoop to any depth to retain his […]
Posted inPolitical Animal
Only the Knave: Hollywood’s Embrace of Trumpism
The next time one of your MAGA-hat-wearing friends goes on some mindless rant about how “left-wing” Hollywood is, show them this story and shut them up: Brad Parscale, the digital media director for Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, was hired by the makers of “Only the Brave” to help the action-drama appeal to red-state moviegoers, […]
Posted inPolitical Animal
Who Can Blame McCain for Loathing Trump?
His hatred of the man is more than justified. The obvious contempt Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) holds for Donald Trump goes beyond the bigoted billionaire’s idiotic insult of the one-time Vietnam POW in 2015. When McCain looks at Trump, he sees a man who is soiling the residence he wanted to occupy. Yes, one can […]
Posted inPolitical Animal
Trump Uncorks, Says Bob’s A Dork
I guess Donald Trump had to find something else to complain about because Alec Baldwin wasn’t in the SNL cold open last night: Sen. Bob Corker, the Republican chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, on Sunday called the White House “an adult day care center” after President Trump attacked him in a morning Twitter tirade. […]
