Re Irma won't "wake up" climate change-denying Republicans. Their whole ideology is on the line.

["Dave Farber" <farber () gmail com>]

Begin forwarded message:

> From: Michael Robertson <mr () michaelrobertson com>
> Date: September 11, 2017 at 6:18:21 PM EDT
> To: David Farber <dave () farber net>
> Subject: Re: [IP] Irma won't "wake up" climate change-denying Republicans. Their whole ideology is on the line.
>
> I think it's important to be intellectually honest and that means if one is going to say a storm is proof of anything 
> than they must defend the point that the absence of storms is also proof of the inverse. 
>
> One significant storm hitting US shores is not proof of any change in climate just like no major hurricanes hitting 
> US shores for the 10 years priors proves no changes in climate. 
>
> -- MR
>
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> > On Mon, Sep 11, 2017 at 3:09 PM, Dave Farber <farber () gmail com> wrote:
> >
> >
> >
> > Begin forwarded message:
> >
> > > From: Dewayne Hendricks <dewayne () warpspeed com>
> > > Date: September 11, 2017 at 4:28:07 PM EDT
> > > To: Multiple recipients of Dewayne-Net <dewayne-net () warpspeed com>
> > > Subject: [Dewayne-Net] Irma won't "wake up" climate change-denying Republicans. Their whole ideology is on the line.
> > > Reply-To: dewayne-net () warpspeed com
> > >
> > > Irma won’t “wake up” climate change-denying Republicans. Their whole ideology is on the line.
> > > By Naomi Klein
> > > Sep 11 2017
> > > <https://theintercept.com/2017/09/11/irma-donald-trump-tax-cuts-climate-change-republican-ideology-capitalism/>
> > >
> > > As one of the most powerful storms ever recorded bore down on the continental United States, with much of Florida 
> > > under evacuation order, President Donald Trump was focused on a matter of grave urgency.
> > >
> > > He gathered his cabinet at Camp David and said there was no time to waste. With Hurricane Irma set to potentially 
> > > devastate huge swaths of Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina, now was the time, he said, to rush 
> > > through massive … tax cuts.
> > >
> > > Yes, that’s right. He wasn’t focused on getting massive aid to those most affected. He wasn’t focused on massive 
> > > change to our energy and transit systems to lower greenhouse gas emissions so that Irma-like storms do not become a 
> > > thrice-annual occurrence. His mind was on massive changes to the tax code — which, despite Trump’s claims that he 
> > > is driven by a desire to give the middle class relief, would in fact hand corporations the biggest tax cut in 
> > > decades and the very wealthy a sizable break as well.
> > >
> > > Some have speculated that seeing the reality of climate change hit so close to homethis summer — Houston 
> > > underwater, Los Angeles licked by flames, and now southern states getting battered by Irma — might be some kind of 
> > > wake-up call for climate change-denying Republicans.
> > >
> > > As Trump’s address to his cabinet makes clear, however, Irma only makes him want to double down on his reckless 
> > > economic agenda. Flanked by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, he explained that 
> > > they were going to discuss “dramatic tax cuts and tax reform. And I think now with what’s happened with the 
> > > hurricane, I’m gonna ask for a speed up.”
> > > Some have pointed out that this is a classic example of what I have called the “shock doctrine” — using disasters 
> > > as cover to push through radical, pro-corporate policies. And it is a textbook case to be sure, especially because 
> > > when Trump made his remarks, Irma was at the very height of its potential threat.
> > >
> > > But Trump’s timing is even more revealing for what it shows about what’s really driving climate change denial on 
> > > the right. It’s not a rejection of the science, but a rejection of the consequences of the science. Put simply, if 
> > > the science is true, then the whole economic project that has dominated American power structures since Ronald 
> > > Reagan was president is out the window, and the deniers know it.
> > >
> > > Because if climate change is driving the kinds of catastrophes we are seeing right now — and it is — then it 
> > > doesn’t just mean Trump has to apologize and admit he was wrong when he called it a Chinese hoax. It means that he 
> > > also needs to junk his whole tax plan, because we’re going to need that tax money (and more) to pay for a rapid 
> > > transition away from fossil fuels. And it also means he’s going to have to junk his deregulatory plan, because if 
> > > we are going to change how we power our lives, we’re going to need all kinds of regulations to manage and enforce 
> > > it. And, of course, this is not just about Trump — it’s about all the climate-denying Republican governors whose 
> > > states are currently being pounded. All of them would have to junk an entire twisted worldview holding that the 
> > > market is always right, regulation is always wrong, private is good and public is bad, and taxes that support 
> > > public services are the worst of all.
> > >
> > > Here is what we need to understand in a hurry: Climate change, especially at this late date, can only be dealt with 
> > > through collective action that sharply curtails the behavior of corporations, such as Exxon Mobil and Goldman Sachs 
> > > (both so lavishly represented at Trump’s cabinet meeting). Climate action demands investments in the public sphere 
> > > — in new energy grids, public transit and light rail, and energy efficiency — on a scale not seen since World War 
> > > II. And that can only happen by raising taxes on the wealthy and on corporations, the very people Trump is 
> > > determined to shower with the most generous tax cuts, loopholes, and regulatory breaks.
> > >
> > > [snip]
> > >
> > > Dewayne-Net RSS Feed: http://dewaynenet.wordpress.com/feed/
> > > Twitter: https://twitter.com/wa8dzp
> >
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