Oh Please! Oh Please!

Oh please, let there be a Trump National Golf Course within sight of one of the lease areas the Interior Department wants to open up for drilling, oh please!

Today, we learned from Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke that

Responsibly developing our energy resources on the Outer Continental Shelf in a safe and well-regulated way is important to our economy and energy security, and it provides billions of dollars to fund the conservation of our coastlines, public lands, and parks. 

Today's announcement lays out the options that are on the table and starts a lengthy and robust public comment period. Just like with mining, not all areas are appropriate for offshore drilling, and we will take that into consideration in the coming weeks. 

We all know how much a fan of energy production this president is -- he literally drips energy, 'all of the above' energy, without playing favorites or picking winners and losers, remember? Except when it comes to his own properties, well, all bets are off.

In this post from last April, I noted that when Trump found out there might be wind turbines off the coast of his Aberdeenshire golf course, he sent 16 letters to government officials, noting how damaging it would be for the country of Scotland.

Don't destroy your coastline and your countryside with these monstrous turbines. Your economy will become a third world wasteland that global investors will avoid. 

And, there was this -

Its adverse visual impact on my development and the beautiful Aberdeen coastline will be disastrous and environmentally irresponsible.  

Now, I don't know about you, but if the president got that bent out of shape about a dozen wind turbines in Scotland, can you imagine how he'd feel about oil rigs within sight of one of his American resorts? It doesn't even have to be all that close, just close enough to get a glimpse of off in the horizon...you know, the deep water horizon.

Or, even better, maybe we could put one off the coast of his pride and joy, Mar-a-Lago?

Wouldn't that be too, too perfectly ironic?

Drillbabydrill! Unleash our energy independence, right in front of the president's private club!

On another note, oh please, oh please let there be tape recordings of the interviews that went into Fire and Fury, the explosive new book about the Trump White House!

I don't really care that the GOP is experiencing a collective um, er, a collective 'happy moment' about the downfall of Steve Bannon, or whether he's the bigger believer in the Trump agenda than the GOP  leadership is (because of course, he is) and I don't even care that a really rich Republican donor like Rebekah Mercer has to publicly release a statement disavowing Bannon. That's a real first world problem right there, don't you think?

No, what I care about is wanting to know the truth about the Trump administration.

If it's as unhinged as people have been saying all along, as disjointed as the media has been reporting all along, we deserve to know.

If there are tapes, interview notes, and all of the other tricks of the journalism trade to support what's in the book, then we will know who's lying, finally, and we'll know what kind of shape the country might really be in with Trump in the Oval Office.

It doesn't mean that we'd be any better off, immediately - it will only mean that we would know, and wouldn't have to guess any more. And then, if needed, appropriate steps could be taken.  If, on the other hand, there's proof that what Michael Wolff has in his book is NOT true, then we will know that, too.

Oh please, oh please!

TGIF 10/27/17

Time to put another week to bed.

We'll have a tax bill to look at next week, it seems, and it can pass as long as there no more than a couple of Republican defections, even though many Americans don't think it's a priority. 

The House this week narrowly approved  their budget bill, kicking off the opportunity for the Senate to do tax reform as part of 'reconciliation' instead of through regular order, which would require the participation of Democrats to reach the 60-vote majority needed for passage. It'll be fun to see how well Mitch McConnell herds his cats this time, after the debacle on health care.

So, other than yet another opportunity for vice president Mike Pence to cast the most important vote of the day, what does the tax reform plan really mean? If rumors are true, folks like me in blue states are apt to lose, while folks in deeply red states are apt to win - no surprise there. And those other people, the bricks and mortar ones, will win as well. it seems.

I'm doing my best to remain patient and see what actually ends up in the plan, though isn't it kinda cool that we mere citizens in the cheap seats are being treated the same as most members of Congress, who also have no real clue what's headed their way? Stay tuned on this one.

What else did we have this week? Well, there was the fascinating tale of the two-dude energy company from Whitefish, MN who landed a $300M contract to restore power to Puerto Rico. There is no reason to think that the company being from the hometown of Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke had anything to do with their getting the contract, but there are LOTS of reasons to look into the deal, including these little nuggets:

• it was a no-bid deal
• it contains a no-audit clause
• it contains a 'no claim against the contractor' clause if work is delayed
• it includes a $330+ per day per worker accommodation payment
• the Governor of Puerto Rico says he wasn't involved in the deal
• FEMA says they weren't involved in the deal

Zinke said he had nothing to do with it either, although he did talk to someone at the firm and that relevant documents would be turned over to the "appropriate officials." Can't you just hear Trey Gowdy (R-Benghazi) saying Whitefish! Whitefish! Whitefish!  Nah --- me neither. 

Rumor has it that Utah Senator Orrin Hatch, the longest-serving Senate Republican since sliced bread, is not going to run again -- and that Mitt Romney, who is the most popular politician and possibly the most popular human in the entire state of Utah will be his replacement. One good thing about Romney? I've already got a Mittenverse tag in the veritable pastiche inventory.

And finally, I would be remiss if I didn't wish Lee Greenwood a happy birthday. 

I know pretty much nothing about Lee Greenwood, except his Proud to be an American song, but because I follow the Tweeter in Chief, I now know it's his birthday. 

In case we missed it the first time, there was a second tweet to remind us.

I'm proud to say TGIF.

Oh Battlefield, My Battlefield

Stephen Crowley/NY Times photo

As you may have heard, president Trump has just donated his first three months' salary to the National Parks Service (NPS).

The picture in the article linked above shows two hands holding a check, but no faces. One hand is in what is clearly an NPS uniform.

In the interest of advancing the journalistic profession, here's the part of the picture that shows the face of Tyrone Brandyburg, who at the time the picture was taken, was the Superintendent at West Virginia's Harpers Ferry National Historical Park. Brandyburg looks about as excited as I would have been to be at this particularly galling photo op.

On the campaign trail, Trump had promised to donate his salary to charity. I'm not immediately sure whether that's what he thought he just did, but I am certain he has dashed the hopes of the press, who were advised by White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer that they would be the ones to choose the charity, and I'm sure they would have relished the chance to do good with $78,333.32.

Why characterize this as a particularly galling photo op? Well for starters, Trump has proposed cutting the NPS budget by nearly 12% this fiscal year in his America First: A Budget Blueprint to Make America Great Again.

That's about $1.5B, in case you were wondering, so his piddly donation, which he wants to be used to help maintain and improve our historic battlefields, seems to be an insult of $1,421,666.68 proportions. Not only did he choose a governmental agency whose funding he plans on decimating, he opted to support the battlefields, which are already some $229M behind in maintenance.

Nonetheless, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke seemed suitably impressed.

As a veteran myself, I want to say I am thrilled at the president's decision to donate the check he did today. We're excited about that opportunity.  Want some Kool-Aid?

OK, he didn't really ask if anyone wanted some Kool-Aid.

He'll need it for himself, as he will have to figure out how to allocate the bulk of his limited budget dollars to rerouting traffic patterns and reconfiguring tourist amenities to accommodate all of the planned Diverse American Mining Needs (DAMN) and Collaborative Resource Acquisition Parcels (CRAP) that will soon populate our national parks and historic sites.

It's not known at this time whether the battlefields the president newly holds dear will come out on the other side of these upcoming NPS changes in any way resembling their current state. We do know, though, that 'history' is just another word for Stuff We Interpret Loosely, Lady (SWILL), so there's at least some possibility that Superintendent Brandyburg may not even recognize Harpers Ferry when all is said and done - assuming he's still employed, that is. After that picture gets widely circulated, his long-term employment may not be guaranteed.

That said, new signs have already been ordered to place around all of the historical battlefields, to commemorate the donation and to help advance the tourist experience and the mission of the Park Service.

The National Park Service (NPS) preserves unimpaired the natural and cultural resources and values of the national park system for the enjoyment, education, and inspiration of this and future generations. The National Park Service cooperates with partners to extend the benefits of natural and cultural resource conservation and outdoor recreation throughout this country and the world.

I'm sure everything will become clear once the signed are all installed. I can't reveal my sources, but I managed to get my hands on the template that was sent to the manufacturer.

They're going to look just great, wouldn't you agree? With a lighted flagpole?  Can't wait.