the donald's legacy?   ....Make America Grieve Again.

‘Shameful’: US virus deaths top 400K as Trump leaves office

https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-pandemics-public-health-coronavirus-pandemic-f6e976f34a6971c889ca8a4c5e1c0068

12 hours ago, placeholder said:

I think if they came to an understanding based on an offer of access to a huge amount of money, it clearly should disqualify them.

you may find this of interest.

No True Scotsman

https://www2.palomar.edu/users/bthompson/No%20True%20Scotsman.html

no "real" indigenous group would come to a monetary agreement with an oil conglomerate.

5 minutes ago, placeholder said:

I don't know if they qualify as "Native Americans".  Not sure if the American in Native American refers to the North American Continent, the 2 American continents, or to the USA. If the last, then they're not native American. And since they don't seem to have a genuine territorial interest, it looks like more of a transparent PR ploy with a big payday in the offing for members of this tribe.

should that be filed under "no true scotsman"?  i would expect the issues would be similar for "indigenous peoples" on both sides of an artificial political border.  that one group can come to an understanding, for money even, shouldn't disqualify them and they don't count.

36 minutes ago, Slip said:

I note that a poster claims there are hits on this and a troll used that to do what he does best.  Here's my result:

 

do you know how the googles works?  if you use the quotation marks, mr googles looks for that exact quotation, and valhalla!, it finds only a link to this very forum.

you gotta do a little more than a surface skim, experiment with other combinations of words, try (without quotations) "indigenous support xl pipeline" or "native xl pipeline invest" if you're not specifically looking for "proof" of absence.

point is that indigenous people are not one massive block that always agree on everything.  some individuals, groups, tribes, and communities do in fact support the pipeline.  whether a (alleged) troll uses the facts for nefarious purposes doesn't negate the reality.

49 minutes ago, simple1 said:

"Revenge is a dish best served cold"

i don't want revenge(*).  i want a president that acts presidential.  that enacts the best policies for the country based on real science, not on opinion polls or donations or malice.

but if joe wants revenge, he can be the best president ever for all the people.  he can be a statesman and a leader and a patriot and an environmentalist and more, all at the same time.

that of course will mean that not everyone gets everything they want.  it means that sometimes his supporters will be disappointed, it means that sometimes even the right-wingiest of the right-wing extremist radicals will be pleasantly surprised.

(*)  not wanting revenge, doesn't mean you don't want justice.  those are other matters that state and national authorities will be looking into...

29 minutes ago, Mama Noodle said:

 

You really contradict yourself here. You have it in your noggin that everything Trump did was to stick it to Obama, when in reality alot of it was because they were bad, restrictive policy that curtailed American energy and manufacturing. Straight up. 

 

At the moment, the only one thats actually being a vindictive little turd is Biden. 

not at all.  trump was preoccupied with overturning any and every obama policy he could, and tearing down anything the prior regime had built.

that he sometimes coincidentally made the right decision, for the wrong reasons, doesn't in the long-term lead to maga'ing.

i don't see biden as being vindictive in this instance, but rather rewarding some of his supporters.  politics as usual.

to be truly vindictive, joe would have to revoke the approval for the vaccines currently being distributed because.......trump.

8 minutes ago, Jeffr2 said:

They already have a pipeline in place. This is just a shortcut.

this is an expansion, serves additional facilities i believe, and increases total throughput.

thing is, the oil is going to move one way or another.  if pipelines are cheaper and safer and more environmentally-friendly than the other options, is it a good choice to increase emissions and potential for spills for what appears to be political posturing?

it looks good in the press, and it makes the base happy, but the net effect for the environment will be negative.

the oil will move.  we can build one pipeline, or run 10-12 mile-long trains per day.  one of those things will happen. 

we should not celebrate joe sticking it to trump by reversing his policy the same way trump's supporters celebrated donald sticking it to obama, especially if it turns out we're making things bigly worse.

14 minutes ago, placeholder said:

I googled "native american tribes who support Keystone XL" No hits. 

Shocking really. I mean who wouldn't expect the Native American position to be "Thanks for taking away even more of our land."

there are some hits.  not many, but some.

Keystone XL pipeline project : Natural Law Energy to acquire 12% stake for $763m

https://www.oilandgasnews365.com/keystone-xl-pipeline-project-natural-law-energy-to-acquire-12-stake-for-763m/

Indigenous group to invest in Keystone XL as Biden set to determine pipeline fate

https://www.spglobal.com/platts/en/market-insights/latest-news/oil/111720-indigenous-group-to-invest-in-keystone-xl-as-biden-set-to-determine-pipeline-fate

Canadian indigenous deal with KXL oil pipeline took years, aims to unlock long-term wealth

Natural Law Energy’s (NLE) planned investment was billed by TC as the biggest-ever indigenous investment in an oil project, highlighting how some communities are seeking to share in the industry’s profits while others oppose it.

Adding indigenous support may help efforts by Canada and TC to convince U.S. President-elect Joe Biden not to revoke the permit of the $8-billion Keystone XL when he takes office as he has promised.

If they are successful, millions of dollars will flow over a generation into indigenous communities to help youth afford university or pay for business investments, said Chief Alvin Francis of Nekaneet First Nation in Saskatchewan, one of five involved in NLE.

https://www.reuters.com/article/tc-energy-keystone/canadian-indigenous-deal-with-kxl-oil-pipeline-took-years-aims-to-unlock-long-term-wealth-idUSKBN28A1I7

trying to find the numbers is difficult, but.....

if an average train pulls 100 tankers, each with about 30,000 gallons, that's 3 million gallons per train.

the xl pipeline pumps about 700k barrels per day, around 29.5 million gallons, or 10 trains running concurrently.  every day.

at peak, i think that means when the new leg is fully operational, that goes to 830k barrels per day, about 35 million gallons or about 12 trains.

the oil is gonna move whether we like it or not.  question is, do we want all that black gold in a small number of pipelines, or a larger number of moving trains, or even larger number of truck tankers or barges?

i hope joe, unlike the previous regime, follows the science.

1 hour ago, placeholder said:

"The pipeline was a more efficient and safer way to transport the crude."

You sure about that?

Keystone Pipeline Spills 200,000 Gallons of Oil

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2017/11/keystone-oil-spill-south-dakota-spd/

 

Keystone Pipeline leaks 383,000 gallons of oil in second big spill in two years

https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2019/10/31/keystone-pipeline-leaks-gallons-oil-second-big-spill-two-years/

 

Keystone Pipeline Spills 9,120 Barrels of Oil in Dakota Wetlands

https://eos.org/articles/keystone-pipeline-spills-9120-barrels-of-oil-in-dakota-wetlands

those sound like big numbers, and they are, but

1 rail car tanker = 3.25 truck tankers = 700 barrels = 111,000 liters = 29,500 US gallons = 117,500 US quarts As you can see below there are different capacities of DOT-117 rail cars: Canada ships about 150,000 barrels of oil PER DAY on rail, mostly from the Alberta Oil Sands, because there is no more pipeline capacity remaining in the system:

https://www.partisanissues.com/2018/10/how-much-oil-can-a-rail-car-transport/#:~:text=1 rail car tanker %3D 3.25 truck tankers,no more pipeline capacity remaining in the system%3A

those two links equal approximately 12-13 tanker cars.  (same accident in both reports)  here's a train that spilled about 400,000 us gallons of oil.

CP Rail Train Derailment Spills 1.5 Million Litres Of Oil In Saskatchewan

https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/saskatchewan-freight-train-oil-spill_ca_5df2271de4b06a50a2eaeff7

that's just the spills.  now add in the daily spills at multiple loading and unloading facilities, the fuel used to move the fuel, wear and tear on infrastructure, etc.  then consider where the spills occur...when oil is moved by railcar or truck or boat.  are we looking at just the raw number of gallons spilled, or the overall environmental impact of where and how the spills occur.

i'm concerned joe's gonna make the problem worse simply to appease part of his base.

i thought that's what we voted to put a stop to.

6 hours ago, placeholder said:

The year is 2021, not 2000. 

Already it is cheaper to build solar and wind energy projects than it is just to keep running coal power plants. In addition batteries have plummeted so much in cost that now it is cheaper to use solar plus battery storage than it is to run gas peaker plants. Over the last 10 years battery costs have declined by 89%. New technologies, such as zinc-air, are already at the crucial $100 per kilowat hour of capacity. Solid state batteries are now coming online that beat standard lithium-ion batteries in storage power and safety.

if this is indeed the case, then the market will sort it out.  big oil, big pharma, big coal..........they're in it for the bucks, not for dogma.  if green power is cheaper, more efficient, more lucrative, then they'll be first in line offering products and services.

corporations are composed of investors who want bigly returns.  they won't turn down projects promising higher returns because they don't pollute enough.  capital follows the greater returns.

7 hours ago, simple1 said:

Military have declined trump's request for 21 gun salute and military band when he departs Washington by plane on 20th.

 

https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/world/us-news/2021/01/18/trump-farewell-rejected/

cool, so this is a request made by the departing president, an honor bestowed by the military.  i had assumed it was something the boss could order on a whim.  groovy.

so he's gonna skulk off while the new regime is inaugurated.  sad.

i do hope when joe and kamala are on the steps, they take their oaths on the very same bible trump abused four months ago.

this looks promising.  (entertainment value only)  G seems convinced he can testify under oath to congress about voter fraud, with affidavits.  he also seems to be confeved about incitement.

Giuliani says he's working on Trump's impeachment defense, would argue voter fraud claims

"If you can prove that it's true... they are no longer fighting words," he said.

"They basically claimed that anytime [Trump] says voter fraud, voter fraud -- or I do, or anybody else -- we're inciting to violence; that those words are fighting words because it's totally untrue," he said. "Well, if you can prove that it's true, or at least true enough so it's a legitimate viewpoint, then they are no longer fighting words."

https://abcnews.go.com/US/giuliani-working-trumps-impeachment-defense-argue-voter-fraud/story?id=75302032

5 hours ago, billd766 said:

Actually the military can ignore that order and what can Trump do about it. Sack the military chiefs the day before he exits, and then what?

not a chance.  military "law and order" is above personal preferences.  ignoring a direct order (especially because of feelz, not illegality) will result in biden's pentagon team throwing the book at the offending commanding officers.  unless they've got some law or regulation as backup, they've just disregarded an order from their commandeer in chief, and effectively ended their careers.   otherwise discipline completely breaks down, and nobody gots to take orders from nobody if they don't likes 'em.

*Deleted post edited out*

yes, he was impeached. 

the house votes on whether or not to approve the article(s) of impeachment.  if they vote yes, then he has been impeached.

the article(s) are then sent to the senate where they vote for conviction.  if approved, he is impeached AND convicted.  if not approved, then he is impeached but not convicted.

now he's been impeached twice.

22 hours ago, Puccini said:

Did you get your vaccination recorded in the WHO-style international vaccination certificate?

no certificate yet.  that will be printed out and stamped on saturday after the second jab.  i'll post a copy when received.

i did carry my yellow shot record booklet, wrote in the details myself and had them stamp it with their official clinic seal.  cause why not.

maybe they could try the discount rack behind harbor freight?  i hear they've got great deals on quality, pre-loved long march 4's.

https://spacenews.com/china-moves-to-next-stage-of-super-heavy-rocket-development/

honestly sad to see what's become of nasa, the guys that put men on the moon back in the day with slide rules and duct tape.

3 minutes ago, bangsaenguy said:

And now resorting to pay people to come to his send off. Sorry. I just made that up

military personnel don't have a choice.   when the commander in chief orders it, they must comply unless the order is illegal.  distasteful or morally repugnant is not grounds for refusing orders.  no problem to fill the bleachers with thousands of photo-op props.

best part is they're free!  saves trump the trouble of stiffing them.

On 1/16/2021 at 8:27 AM, simple1 said:

 

People with active brain cells won't be thinking how low USA has become, more like trump and his awful enablers. Only five more days before commencement of recovery by the Biden Administration!

 

trump has again confirmed the terrible error of judgement by so many Americans by voting for trump, trump will be departing Washington hours before the swearing in of Biden. Reason? so trump can use Airforce One to fly to Florida without having to ask permission from the new Administration. the guy is beyond pathetic.

it's more than just air force one.

he's also planning a yuuuge departure ceremony with full military honors, 21-gun salute, honor guard, red carpets, military band and fighter jet flyover.

meanwhile.........

Weekly deaths exceed CDC’s estimate for flu-related deaths for entire 2019-2020 season

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/global-deaths-from-covid-19-near-2-million-as-us-suffers-most-weekly-fatalities-since-start-of-the-pandemic-2021-01-15

The death toll from Covid-19 has now passed 380,000 across the US, according to Johns Hopkins University – closing in fast on the number of Americans killed in the second world war, or about 407,000. Confirmed infections have topped 22.8m.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jan/13/us-covid-coronavirus-death-toll-cases-vaccine

5 hours ago, impulse said:

 

Affidavits are sworn statements made under penalty of perjury.  Point to one instance where one of the witnesses has been prosecuted for making a false statement.  Because I guaranty you the Trump haters would love to make an example of a few of them, to shut the rest up.

 

affidavits are not statements of fact, they are statements of what one believes to be true.  although the claimants were incorrect in their assumptions, they did not (necessarily) make knowingly false statements if they truly believed what they affidavited.

it's not that affidavits must be proven false, it's that the claims made must be proven true.

in order to get past the "binders full of affidavits" stage, some evidence must be provided.  that has failed to occur 60:1 so far.  i tried to google the single win of the elite legal strike force to confirm, but google wasn't much help.

The Trump campaign initially had a single win, when a Pennsylvania judge ruled on November 12 that first-time voters were supposed to confirm their IDs with county boards of election by November 9, rather than November 12. The decision opened the door to disqualify the ballots of people who didn't verify their IDs in time. But the state Supreme Court later overturned that decision.

https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-campaign-lawsuits-election-results-2020-11

12 minutes ago, polpott said:

The plan is to orchestrate widescale insurrections, similar to last Wednesday, at as many state capitols as possible, on the 17th. PA is a major target, orchestrated by Mr. My Pillow. Trump then calls martial law thus delaying the inauguration for the period of martial law is maintained, which is under the control of Trump, i.e. forever.

 

Another cunning plan to subvert US democracy which is already in the gutter. Oh how the rest of the world is laughing at this, self proclaimed, "bastion of Democracy".

 

 

trust the plan?

and all that juicy casino business goes to cambodia.  might as well keep it in-house where you can tax it, get the benefits of employment, and skim a little off the top.  if they're gonna gamble anyway, might as well have it in the open and legal.