#Trump Infrastructure

[rejectingrepublicans]

[mtnman451]

Past Experience

Democratic Presidential Nominee Kamala Harris wants us to think that she will be able to build all the New Homes everyone who doesn't have one needs under her Administration should she get elected. I find that claim rather dubious based on The Biden/Harris Administration's past experience with much smaller things.

[tomorrowusa]

« I belong to neither party and have voted for both Democrats and Republicans — but because I believe him to be a defender of the Constitution and a public servant of honor and of grace at a time when extreme forces threaten the nation. I do not agree with everything he has done or wanted to do in terms of policy. But I know him to be a good man, a patriot and a president who has met challenges all too similar to those Abraham Lincoln faced.

Here is the story I believe history will tell of Joe Biden. With American democracy in an hour of maximum danger in Donald Trump’s presidency, Mr. Biden stepped in the breach. He staved off an authoritarian threat at home, rallied the world against autocrats abroad, laid the foundations for decades of prosperity, managed the end of a once-in-a-century pandemic, successfully legislated on vital issues of climate and infrastructure and has conducted a presidency worthy of the greatest of his predecessors. History and fate brought him to the pinnacle in a late season in his life, and in the end, he respected fate — and he respected the American people. »

— Historian Jon Meacham in a guest column at the New York Times on the legacy of President Joe Biden.

Biden restored calm, stability, and sanity to the federal government after a coup attempt and the horribly botched Trump response to the COVID-19 pandemic. He did more than anybody else outside Ukraine to keep it from falling into the kleptocratic totalitarian hands of imperialist Vladimir Putin. And Biden's infrastructure and stimulus programs have restored American manufacturing jobs which Trump's empty bombastic promises failed to do.

Historically, imagine combining Gerald Ford's modesty, John F. Kennedy's determination to prevent the spread of totalitarianism, FDR's efforts to create jobs, with Barack Obama's inclusiveness and you come close to defining the Biden presidency.

Of course Biden still has six months to go. He can now concentrate on governance without the distraction of an election campaign.

[meandmybigmouth]

WHY AREN'T RED STATE MAGA REPUBLICANS THAT VOTED AGAINST BIDEN LEGISLATION REFUSE TO ACCEPT THE MONEY ON BEHALF OF THEIR "SAVING AMERICA AGENDA"? OTHERWISE THEY ARE COMPLICITE IN AMERICA'S DESTRUCTION BY HIM....RIGHT?

[justinspoliticalcorner]

John Nichols at The Nation:

Donald Trump has made no secret of his determination to govern as a “dictator” if he regains the presidency, and that’s got his critics warning that his reelection would spell the end of democracy. But Trump and his allies are too smart to go full Kim Jong Un. Rather, the former president’s enthusiasm for the authoritarian regimes of Russia’s Vladimir Putin, Turkey’s Tayyip Erdoğan, and Hungary’s Viktor Orbán suggests the models he would build on: managing elections to benefit himself and his Republican allies; gutting public broadcasting and constraining press freedom; and undermining civil society. Trump, who famously demanded that the results of Georgia’s 2020 presidential voting be “recalculated” to give him a win, wants the trappings of democracy without the reality of electoral consequences. That’s what propaganda experts Edward Herman and Frank Brodhead once described as “demonstration elections,” in which, instead of actual contests, wins are assured for the authoritarians who control the machinery of democracy. The outline for such a scenario emerges from a thorough reading of Project 2025’s Mandate for Leadership, which specifically proposes a Trump-friendly recalculation of the systems that sustain American democracy. The strategy for establishing an American version of Orbán’s “illiberal democracy” is not spelled out in any particular chapter of Mandate. Rather, it is woven throughout the whole of the document, with key elements appearing in the chapters on reworking the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and the Federal Election Commission (FEC). In the section on the DHS, for instance, there’s a plan to eliminate the ability of the agency that monitors election security to prevent the spread of disinformation about voting and vote counting.

How serious a threat to democracy would that pose? Think back to November 2020, when Trump was developing his Big Lie about the election he’d just lost. Trump’s false assertion that the election had been characterized by “massive improprieties and fraud” was tripped up by Chris Krebs, who served as director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) in the DHS. The Republican appointee and his team had established a 24/7 “war room” to work with officials across the country to monitor threats to the security and integrity of the election. The operation was so meticulous that Krebs could boldly announce after the voting was finished: “America, we have confidence in the security of your vote, you should, too.” At the same time, his coordinating team declared, “The November 3rd election was the most secure in American history.” This infuriated Trump, who immediately fired the nation’s top election security official.

In Mandate’s chapter on the DHS, Ken Cuccinelli writes, “Of the utmost urgency is immediately ending CISA’s counter-mis/disinformation efforts. The federal government cannot be the arbiter of truth.” Cuccinelli previously complained that CISA “is a DHS component that the Left has weaponized to censor speech and affect elections.” As for the team that worked so successfully with Krebs to secure the 2020 election, the Project 2025 document declares that “the entirety of the CISA Cybersecurity Advisory Committee should be dismissed on Day One.” The potential impact? “It’s a way of emasculating the agency—that is, it prevents it from doing its job,” says Herb Lin, a cyber-policy and security scholar at Stanford’s Center for International Security and Cooperation.

This is just one way that Project 2025’s cabal of “experts” is scheming to thwart honest discourse about elections and democracy. A chapter on public broadcasting proposes to defund the Corporation for Public Broadcasting as part of a larger plan to upend NPR, PBS, and “other public broadcasters that benefit from CPB funding, including the even-further-to-the Left Pacifica Radio and American Public Media.” More destabilizing than the total funding cut that Project 2025 entertains is a parallel plan to end the status of NPR and Pacifica radio stations as “noncommercial education stations.” That could deny them their current channel numbers at the low end of the radio spectrum (88 to 92 FM)—a move that would open prime territory on the dial for the sort of religious programming that already claims roughly 42 percent of the airwaves that the FCC reserves for noncommercial broadcasting. And don’t imagine that the FCC would be in a position to write new rules that guard against the surrender of those airwaves to the Trump-aligned religious right.

[...]

While project 2025 seeks to rewire the FCC to favor Trump’s allies, it also wants to lock in dysfunction at the Federal Election Commission, the agency that is supposed to govern campaign spending and fundraising. Established 50 years ago, the FEC has six members—three Republicans and three Democrats—who are charged with overseeing the integrity of federal election campaigns. In recent years, however, this even partisan divide has robbed the FEC of its ability to act because, as a group of former FEC employees working with the Campaign Legal Center explained, “three Commissioners of the same party, acting in concert, can leave the agency in a state of deadlock.” As the spending by outside groups on elections “has exponentially increased, foreign nationals and governments have willfully manipulated our elections, and coordination between super PACs and candidates has become commonplace,” the former employees noted. Yet “the FEC [has] deadlocked on enforcement matters more often than not, frequently refusing to even investigate alleged violations despite overwhelming publicly available information supporting them.”

John Nichols wrote in The Nation about how Project 2025’s radical right-wing wishlist of items contains plans to wreck and subvert what is left of America’s democracy.

See Also:

The Nation: June 2024 Issue

[bijoumikhawal]

frankly, the response that you all have to people hating Biden because he has been brazenly aiding genocide and even with these recent aid drops is being utterly monstrous (dropping expired non-halal items) and is not using the power he has to actually stop this... it is not only about Palestinians, though they are the primary concern. For some of us, it is a reminder that if the US started aiding our people's destruction, you'd stand by it out of cowardice that criticism might make your life harder.

[thisisabernieblog]

The Trump distraction as 15 million lose healthcare, China-UAE Yuan gas sale, China works towards peace in Yemen, US 'leaks', MSNBC owned by Matt Taibbi, Israel attacks Gaza and Lebanon as BBC defends apartheid, 2 Black lawmakers expelled from Tennessee Legislature and billionaire parasites buying up our fresh water!

@lordandgodoftheobvious @brendanicus @apas-95 @missedthestartgun @cavern-creature @whatevergreen @dicknouget @definitely-ellie @infectedwithnyanites @theothersparrow @nandomando @venerabledreadnought @mirtifero @comrade-bastard @marxism-transgenderism @goatse-syndicalist-69

[awesome-casuallyfamouscollector]

The number of Tesla Superchargers - stalls (globally):

1st: September 2012

10,000: June 2018

20,000: November 2020

30,000: November 2021 (+10,000 in 1 year)

35,000: June, 10 2022 (+5,000 in roughly 7 months)

40,000: November, 22 2022 (+10,000 in 1 year)

45,000: April 9, 2023 (+5,000 in less than 5 months, +10,000 in 10 months)

[randyite]

[aurianneor]

The Rust Belt

The Rust Belt made the eastern USA rich and prosperous. From 1850 to 1980, the largest American companies were located near the Great Lakes: US Steel, Ford, General Motors, etc. Millions of Americans worked in these factories, at first in difficult conditions, then these conditions improved thanks to the organization of workers into unions. These struggles helped create a relatively prosperous middle class. Multi-billionaires such as J.P. Morgan, William Durant and Henry Ford were their benefactors.

This highly concentrated activity around the world’s second-largest drinking water reserve has led to a great deal of pollution. In 1969, the Cuyahoga River in Cleaveland caught fire.

“The River Caught Fire”: The Cuyahoga River Fire of 1969 – CHE: https://www.healthandenvironment.org/environmental-health/social-context/history/the-cuyahoga-river-fire-of-1969

Burn On (Remastered): https://youtu.be/XVNuT4fkjAs?si=gku492UQ7CR0mvrE

In the 1980s, billionaires wanted to increase their margins. They used their influence on Ronald Reagan to relocate their factories to Mexico and continue selling tax-free in the USA. The people of the Rust Belt were abandoned first by their employers, then by the unions who didn’t fight hard enough against this, then by governments who didn’t organize social security and built prisons in the face of rising crime. When the Democrats returned to power under Bill Clinton, they did nothing for the Rust Belt. In the early 2000s, the opioid crisis hit this region, particularly in the poorest neighborhoods. Many residents were driven out of their homes because without work they couldn’t pay the rent or their mortgage. As no one wanted to buy in the area, some owners were forced to stay in their properties. The communes became as poor as their inhabitants, and could no longer organize public services such as school transport or health care. Pollution was still present, making people ill. The Barack Obama administration has equally neglected the Rust Belt.

When the US faced an influx of Syrian refugees in 2015, the majority of these refugees were relocated to the Rust Belt.

A Lonely Life for Immigrants in America’s Rust Belt – The Atlantic: https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/05/a-lonely-life-for-immigrants-in-americas-rust-belt/394082/

The Rust Belt is now home to the largest Muslim community in the United States.

Donald Trump was the first to take an interest in the people of the Rust Belt. He campaigned there, appearing on local TV and radio shows. He promised a return to a factory-industrial past, presented as a golden age. He attacked the Muslim community as a source of competition in the workforce and promised to close the border with Mexico. This population in turn voted for him in 2016. He kept none of his promises once in power.

On the other hand, the Biden-Harris administration, supported by both Democrats and Republicans, passed a $1200 billion plan to invest in infrastructure and public services in the Rust Belt. The Rust Belt states benefited from a budget equivalent to that of the army. For example, 9,000 new school buses have been purchased for Michigan. Factories like Intel and TSMC (microprocessor manufacturers) were relocated. Federal money has been invested to create wind power plants and ensure that these states have 100% renewable energy by 2050. These huge projects will take time to show results, but these states are no longer abandoned.

Biden’s legacy will be transforming the Rust Belt into the EV Belt – The Hill: https://thehill.com/opinion/white-house/3612263-bidens-legacy-will-be-transforming-the-rust-belt-into-the-ev-belt/

Rust Belt To Green Belt: https://www.rustbelttogreenbelt.com/

Michigan’s unemployment rate, at 3.5%, is the lowest since 1969.

‘Fixing the damn roads’: A look at the Biden administration’s investments in Michigan – The Michigan Daily: https://www.michigandaily.com/news/government/a-look-at-the-biden-harris-administrations-investments-in-michigan/

Joe Biden refused to use force to end the 2023 strikes as demanded by the vehicle manufacturers. Instead, he personally supported the striking factory workers, who won a 25% pay rise.

We are proud to be ‘rednecks’. It’s time to reclaim that term – The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/apr/14/redneck-pride-west-virginia-protests-strikes

Continuing what Joe Biden started is the best thing that can happen in the Rust Belt. Their degraded environment needs environmental measures to protect residents from polluters.

Kamala Harris, when she was California Attorney General, brought down one of America’s biggest oil companies, Exxon Mobile, and the Obama administration for failing to protect people from pollution. What sets her apart from her predecessors is that she has attacked the biggest polluters, and even politicians of her own political persuasion.

Harris is ‘perfect person’ to prosecute big oil, climate advocates say – The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/aug/02/kamala-harris-oil-industry-election

Kamala Harris said she would defend the Palestinians’ rights to security and self-determination. She supports Ukraine.

Trump ‘likelier winner’ unless Harris tackles two failings, says ex-ambassador – The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/sep/15/trump-likelier-winner-unless-harris-tackles-two-failings-says-ex-ambassador

The Rust Belt has relied on billionaires for its prosperity, and that has led to ruin and misery. Donald Trump is a billionaire who did nothing for the Rust Belt when he could. What’s more, the golden age he promises is a polluted age where it’s hard to breathe and drink.

Kamala Harris proposes new, non-polluting industries and continued investment by the Biden administration.

Roger & Me – IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0098213/

Randy Newman – Mr. President (Have Pity On The Working Man): https://youtu.be/tem0mfWJv-0?si=3sUZ86hRZx692KqL

Fahrenheit 11/9 – IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8632862/?ref_=nm_flmg_t_1_dr

Now, Kamala Harris Must Hear From Us: 80 Days to a Better World – Michael Moore: https://www.michaelmoore.com/p/now-kamala-harris-must-hear-from?utm_medium=email

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)

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La Rust belt: https://www.aurianneor.org/the-rust-belt/

El Rust belt: https://www.aurianneor.org/el-rust-belt/

Humiliated by the Republic: https://www.aurianneor.org/humiliated-by-the-republic/

Will you get what you expect from Trump? Chaos is unpredictable: https://www.aurianneor.org/will-you-get-what-you-expect-from-trump-chaos-is-unpredictable/

Work, it’s an all-or-nothing option: https://www.aurianneor.org/work-its-an-all-or-nothing-option/

A slice of the cake: https://www.aurianneor.org/a-slice-of-the-cake/

Immigration: https://www.aurianneor.org/immigration-2/

Basic Income is possible: https://www.aurianneor.org/basic-income-is-possible-the-instrument-of/

The American people’s choice: https://www.aurianneor.org/the-american-peoples-choice-fahrenheit-119/

Fahrenheit 11/9, Michael Moore: https://www.aurianneor.org/and-that-if-this-is-the-america-were-trying-to/

Restricting personal wealth: https://www.aurianneor.org/restricting-personal-wealth/

We’re all in it together: https://www.aurianneor.org/were-all-in-it-together/

Drugs: https://www.aurianneor.org/drugs/

Housing: https://www.aurianneor.org/housing/

The moral compass: https://www.aurianneor.org/the-moral-compass/

Ecoterrorism: https://www.aurianneor.org/ecoterrorism/

[gem-3-2-7-1-3-20-24]

Fire the Secret Service

FreedomF.LTD. will handle all duties of keeping the WORLD safe...

THE NEW REPUBLIC IS A MUCH BETTER PLACE TO LIVEYOUR DREAMS AND RAISE YOU'RE BLESSING TO GROW UP AND LEAVE YOU'RE LAGACY OR YOUR MARK. NO ONE EXCLUDED WE ALL WIN......

[garyconkling]

A New Voice with a New Message

Replacing Joe Biden on the Democratic presidential ticket may not be enough to change the minds of voters in November. Columnist David Brooks suggests a new voice needs a new message pledging an energetic presidency to move forward, not backward. “Many foreign observers saw us, and we saw ourselves, as the dynamic nation par excellence. We didn’t have a common past, but we dreamed of a common…

[mtnman451]

Efficiency of Democrats

7 Stations in two years. I guess that's The Democrats Idea of getting rid of Red Tape and Streamlining "The System" to get things done.

[tomorrowusa]

Trump's most famous promise was to make Mexico pay for his squalid and corrupt border wall.

Amount collected from Mexico: 0 centavos.

Trump did give tax breaks to billionaires while giving COVID-19 to much of the rest of the country.

Trump's promises are as worthless as degrees from Trump University.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Ilana Berger at MMFA:

The Biden administration is cutting car pollution and incentivizing automakers to produce electric vehicles. Right-wing media repeatedly misconstrued these efforts, falsely claiming they were attempting to take away voters’ gas-powered cars or forcing them to buy electric vehicles. No such federal mandate exists. Yet now the Trump-Vance campaign has adopted this false claim.

Harris has supported efforts to expand access to electric vehicles during her time as vice president, but that did not include a federal mandate

The EPA finalized a tailpipe emissions rule in March, but it was not a mandate. In March, the EPA established tailpipe emissions standards for the auto industry in a bid to slash greenhouse gas emissions. According to NPR, “The EPA rules are not written as an EV mandate or a ban on the sale of gas cars. … Instead, the EPA sets standards that apply across an entire fleet – meaning an automaker still can make vehicles with higher emissions, as long as they also make enough very low or zero-emission vehicles that it averages out.” [NPR, 3/20/24]

E&E News clarified that “there is no EV ‘mandate’ from the administration, although President Joe Biden and Vice President Harris have backed a series of climate policies that seek to incentivize the production and purchasing of EVs.” [ E&E News, 9/3/24]  

The New York Times also wrote of the EPA rule that it “does not mandate sales of electric vehicles, and consumers can still buy and drive gas-powered cars.” [The New York Times, 3/20/24]

The Inflation Reduction Act allocated billions toward supporting the adoption of EVs through tax credits, loans, and funding for charging networks, critical minerals, and battery manufacturing. Harris cast the tie-breaking vote that passed the Inflation Reduction Act, which created $47 billion in EV investment on top of tax credits and loans. [Atlas EV Hub, 9/2/22; accessed 9/6/22; Twitter/X, 8/7/24]  

Harris also oversaw parts of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act that distributed funding to school districts for electric buses and to states for EV charging stations.The act, also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, provided $7.5 billion to build a network of charging stations, and $900 million of that went to the electric school bus initiative. [AP News, 12/13/21; Spectrum News, 5/29/24]

Donald Trump’s campaign has echoed right-wing media lies about electric vehicles, such as falsely insinuating that Kamala Harris and the Democrats want to eliminate gas-powered cars and that they have issued an EV mandate (when no such thing exists).