Environmental Protection Agency

55 Years Of Earth Day And The Environmental Protection Agency!

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On April 22, 1970, the first Earth Day was declared by Richard Nixon, although it was a number of Democratic Senators, including most notably Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin, who pushed the idea, accepted and made official by the US government.

On April 22, 1994, the 25th Earth Day declaration, Richard Nixon passed away, now 30 years having passed since then.

Joe Biden has been very active in promoting environmental reform, and many environmental groups, including the Conservation Lands Foundation have hailed Biden as one of the best Presidents on the issue of the environment!

Much work has been done, but the environmental movement still faces threats from MAGA Republicans and Donald Trump, who if returned to the White House, would cut back on advancements that have occurred!

So the battle for the future of the environment still rages!

Right Wing Supreme Court A Threat To All Federal Regulations, Attempt To Repeal All Reforms Since Theodore Roosevelt Onward!

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The Right Wing Supreme Court can be seen as a threat to all federal regulations, as the Federalist Society and other right wing extremist groups are clearly attempting to wipe out all federal regulations that have occurred in the past century since the Progressive Era, through the New Deal and Great Society, and expanded further by Barack Obama and Joe Biden’s time in the Presidency.

If left to their whims and desires, the Supreme Court would wipe out the regulatory roles of many federal agencies that have evolved from Theodore Roosevelt onward.

These include;

The Food and Drug Administration

The Environmental Protection Agency

The Consumer Product Safety Commission

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration

Department of Health and Human Services

Department Of Labor

Department of Education

and many federal laws promoting regulations of banks and corporations in the public interest, voting rights, working against discrimination towards women and various racial and ethnic minorities, and so much more!

Ohio Train Derailment And Nebraska Child Labor Scandal Signs Of Corporate Abuse!

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Sadly, in 2023, we have examples of corporate abuse as seen with the recent East Palestine, Ohio derailment of dangerous chemicals, on a train two miles long, with only two workers operating the train.

Also, in Nebraska, we have early teens doing dirty and dangerous work as cleaning workers in a slaughter house, breaking the child labor laws, and exploiting immigrant children.

How this is possible is due to continued big business and conservative and Republican attempts to weaken federal regulation, as occurred under Donald Trump and earlier Republican Presidents, despite the work of Barack Obama to strengthen such regulation.

The issues of government regulation of business and labor rights were dealt with in the Progressive Era of Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson; again in the New Deal of Franklin D. Roosevelt; and again in the 1960s under John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson. It emerged again in the Obama Presidency, but then was backtracked on under Donald Trump, as with earlier Republican Presidents, particularly Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush.

It is essential to have actions to prevent the kinds of tragedies that have occurred recently. The answer is not to attack Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and President Biden. And the Republican attack on the Environmental Protection Agency, Federal Emergency Management Agency, and other federal regulatory agencies must stop!

New Third Party Movement, “Forward”, Formed By Andrew Yang, Christine Todd Whitman, David Jolly!

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A new third party movement, known as “Forward”, has been formed by former Democratic Presidential and New York City Mayoral contender Andrew Yang; former Republican New Jersey Governor Christine Todd Whitman, who headed the Environmental Protection Agency under George W. Bush; and former Republican one term Congressman David Jolly of Florida, now a political commentator on MSNBC.

Already, there is strong criticism that such a movement will hurt the Democrats more than the Republicans, at a time when Donald Trump and the extreme right wing that controls the Republican Party is a clear and present danger to American democracy.

One has to wonder if any substantial political leaders will join the “Forward” party, as right now, it comes across that its leadership is not very impressive nor “heavy weight” in any sense!

Doug Mastriano, Pennsylvania Republican Gubernatorial Nominee, Clear And Present Danger!

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Doug Mastriano, the Republican nominee for Governor of Pennsylvania, is seen as a clear and present danger, were he to be elected.

He is an extreme far right winger, promoting Christian nationalism, the idea that there is no separation of church and state, and he has embraced Q-Anon conspiracy theories.

Additionally, he was involved in the US Capitol Insurrection on January 6, 2021, and breached US Capitol police barriers, although claiming not being involved in assault and destruction.

He is Isamophobic, antisemitic, and homophobic, and has promoted September 11 conspiracy theories in the past.

Mastriano comes across as unhinged, and nine Pennsylvania Republicans have repudiated him as too extremist for them to support him, after he won the gubernatorial nomination with only 40 percent of the vote against multiple candidates more moderate than he is in his views.

He has only been a Pennsylvania State Senator since mid 2019, having spent his career in the military, reaching the level of Colonel in the US Army.

He opposed removal of Confederate monuments, and has been a bitter critic of COVID 19 Policies, including opposing masking, and promoting drug treatments that are shown to be sham.

Mastriano has made clear that if elected, he would appoint a Secretary of State who would only accept that the Republican Presidential nominee in 2024 won the state’s electoral votes, no matter what the popular vote demonstrates.

He is against any exceptions for abortion, including rape, incest, and life of the mother; and supports gun rights without restrictions; and is a major critic of the Environmental Protection Agency regulations.

Also, Mastriano has said his governorship, if elected, would be much more right wing conservative than Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, calling him an “amateur”!

Democratic nominee, state Attorney General Josh Shapiro leads in polls, but every effort to prevent this right wing extremist from being elected must be mounted, as Mastriano’s election would be disastrous for Pennsylvania and American politics!

Joe Biden Must NOT Appoint Mitch McConnell Lackey To Federal District Court Lifetime Appointment!

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Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is the single most significant figure to have brought about the horrendous extreme right wing Supreme Court, which has reversed abortion rights, extended gun rights, and undermined the Environmental Protection Agency in recent Court decisions.

Now, there is evidence that President Biden was ready to appoint a Mitch McConnell lackey, Chad Meredith, to a Federal District Court Judgeship for the Eastern District of Kentucky, but the Court’s decision in Dobbs V. Jackson Women’s Health Organization caused a delay in that announced appointment.

The Democratic Governor of Kentucky, Andy Beshear, has publicly complained at the idea of picking Chad Meredith, who is described as a version of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas on the abortion issue and so many others, and many other Democrats are protesting the idea of his appointment, supposedly to insure that McConnell does not block other Biden nominations in the last two years of his term in office.

Biden should rescind any such deal, as Mitch McConnell is unreliable, manipulative, deceitful, and making any so called deal with him is like dealing with the devil!

If Biden allows this nomination, he will lose the support of many Democrats and undermine his own Presidency, and this author and blogger will be furious with him, and wonder if it is time to move on and look elsewhere for the Democratic Presidential nomination contest in 2024!

Supreme Court Declares War On Environmental Protection Agency

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Republican President Richard Nixon signed into law the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency in 1970, and goes down as one of the best environmental Presidents.

Fifty years later, the Right Wing Extremist Supreme Court has declared war on the EPA, and it indicates the beginning of a direct attack on the “Administrative” state and the “Regulatory” state for the long term.

With the growing global warming and climate change crisis worldwide, the United States is being prevented from curbing carbon pollution from coal and oil.

This is short term and long term suicide for the US and the planet, and can only be curbed, as things stand, by adding members to the Court under a Democratic President.

We are in a constitutional crisis with an extremist, runaway Court out of control, and promoting only what is good for the wealthy upper class, while the middle and lower classes will face the dangers of the damage the Supreme Court is engaged in!

Right Wing And Republicans Gone Mad: The Threat To Destroy Modern Times!

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It is becoming very clear that right wing conservatism and Republicans have gone mad, as they wish to destroy modern times, and the advancements of the New Deal, Great Society, Warren Supreme Court, and promotion of change under Barack Obama and Joe Biden!

If they had their way, and it is becoming more likely, we would see women’s rights, civil rights of racial minorities, gay and lesbian rights, and privacy rights of the past generations being erased!

And corporate domination over workers’ rights would be worse, and agencies designed to make America a better place, such as the Environmental Protection Agency and the Consumer Product Safety Commission, would be denied the ability to do their work, or even maybe be eradicated!

And the role of evangelical religion would grow ever more rapidly, despite the fact that the majority of the nation is far less religious over time than it has been in the past!

It is difficult to be optimistic about the future in a nation which has gone into reverse on so many issues, both within Congress and in the federal judiciary, due to appointments by former Republican Presidents, including George W. Bush and Donald Trump!

Earth Day Celebrated For 53rd Year Since Inception In 1970 By Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson

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Today is the 53rd Earth Day, first occurring in 1970 when Democratic Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin promoted the first national celebration of the significance of the environment.

President Richard Nixon, however, joined in promoting the concept, and signed into law the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency the same year.

And Nixon stands out as regarded as the second greatest environmental President after Theodore Roosevelt.

He encouraged and signed into law numerous pieces of legislation, primarily promoted by Democrats, but as a Republican President, despite his many shortcomings, Nixon advocated the importance of the environment.

And ironically, Nixon died on the 25th Earth Day on April 22, 1994!

Donald Trump Presidency Far Worse Than Richard Nixon Presidency, Which Had Positive Developments

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The Presidency of Richard Nixon has long been understood to have been the most dangerous time of Presidential abuse in American history, but now with Donald Trump out of office, it is clear that the 45th President was much more abusive, and much more negative, than the 37th President a half century ago!

Nixon was involved in many illegal actions, culminating in the Watergate Scandal, but more more than just that scandal, and he was facing impeachment and removal from office had he not resigned.

But Nixon also made some major advancements in domestic policy making, signing into law Democratic initiatives that he could have vetoed, and would not have become law, including;

The Environmental Protection Agency
The Consumer Product Safety Commission
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

He also supported Affirmative Action, and appointed Associate Justice Harry Blackmun to the Supreme Court, and also, in foreign policy, opened up to mainland China, and accomplished the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty with the Soviet Union.

Even though Nixon’s negatives, causing more indictments and convictions than any President, were major in other actions, he ranks in the mid to low 20s in ranking among Presidential scholars for his positive initiatives.

Donald Trump ranks near the bottom of listings of Presidents, and was ever more lawless, with many revelations yet to come, and he also set out to destroy much of the Nixon domestic accomplishments. And the fact that he was impeached twice, and lost the popular vote massively twice, adds to his negatives!

So Donald Trump elevates Richard Nixon, and even Presidents seen as primarily disasters, including George W. Bush!