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Scientists Issue Scathing Rebuke Of EPA's 'False Narrative' On Climate Change

Scientists Issue Scathing Rebuke Of EPA's 'False Narrative' On Climate Change

Nearly a hundred climate scientists penned a letter to the Department of Energy urging officials to reconsider an alarming new report that veers away from climate change findings. In a comprehensive review released on Tuesday, 85 scientists collectively said that Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin seem to be leaning on confirmation bias to justify their ongoing efforts to dismantle the EPA.

The EPA report, scientists said, “undermines” previous scientific studies on climate change and creates a “false narrative” that “downplays the scale of recent atmospheric changes and the degree to which those changes are attributable to human activities.The report unjustifiably downplays human impact on warming,” the reviewt added.

Speaking to Inside Climate News, Texas A&M Professor Andrew Dessler said that Zeldin and Wright’s report “makes a mockery of science.”

“It relies on ideas that were rejected long ago, supported by misrepresentations of the body of scientific knowledge, omissions of important facts, arm waving, anecdotes, and confirmation bias,” he added.

Of course, a report claiming that climate change and greenhouse gases are actually not a big deal would fit in really well with Zeldin and Wright’s agenda. In recent months, Zeldin has not only slashed the EPA workforce into a fraction of what it used to be, but he also wants the employees left to stop enforcing pollution limits on power plants and, even, to stop collecting data on greenhouse gases altogether. Zeldin also announced that the EPA would no longer consider greenhouse gases a danger to public health.

“The proposal would, if finalized, amount to the largest deregulatory action in the history of the United States,” he said during a press conference, adding that the change would get rid of emission limits on vehicles.

Then again, as Interior Secretary Doug Burgum pushes ahead by expanding coal mines and allowing more oil leases, removing the science that would raise alarms would make sense. While the administration works to dismantle years of effort to reel in pollution that—according to scientific findings—is negatively impacting the environment, they’re also working overtime to stifle science.

Reprinted with permission from Daily Kos

Zeldin Steps Away, But McDaniel Faces Two Challengers For RNC Chair

Zeldin Steps Away, But McDaniel Faces Two Challengers For RNC Chair

Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY), an election denier who voted against certifying the 2020 election results, announced Wednesday that he’d hold off, for now, on challenging Ronna Romney McDaniel for the Republican National Committee’s top spot.

Zeldin — fresh off a defeat in the grueling New York gubernatorial election, a race he refused to concede hours after it was called — was considered a strong contender for the position, which he had been “seriously” mulling for about a month.

In a statement on Twitter announcing his decision to withdraw from the race, Zeldin slammed incumbent McDaniel’s re-election bid and demanded that she step aside for some “fresh blood.”

"RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel should not run for a 4th term. I won’t be running for RNC Chair at this time with McDaniel’s reelection pre-baked by design, but that doesn’t mean she should even be running again. It’s time the GOP elects new leadership! It’s time for fresh blood!" Zeldin wrote.

The Long Island Republican said McDaniel had acted in seeking to retain the RNC Chair “as if the disappointing results of every election during her tenure, including yesterday in Georgia, do not and should not even matter."

Indeed, McDaniel, also a close Trump ally, had just overseen a disappointing midterm election for the GOP, which had, in the months before, fervently anticipated sweeping up both chambers of Congress in a “red tsunami" but ended up with the smallest of majorities in the House and losses down ballot as well.

The Republican party’s historically underwhelming midterm performance culminated in a run-off defeat of the Trump-endorsed Republican candidate for Senate in Georgia, Herschel Walker.

Like many Republicans subservient to Trump, McDaniel revels on the fringe side of political discourse. She peddled false allegations of wrongdoing in the 2020 elections; refused to acknowledge Joe Biden as president more than a year into his tenure; mocked Democrat John Fetterman’s post-stroke speech issues; and kept mum about Trump’s recent attack on the Constitution.

Besides Trump’s endorsement, McDaniel earned the support of many RNC voting members for her far-right stance, which stood in stark contrast with views disseminated by her centrist conservative uncle, Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT).

In a signed letter Friday, a large bloc of RNC voting members endorsed McDaniel’s bid for a fourth bout as party chair, writing: “We, the undersigned members of the Republican National Committee, are proud to offer our endorsement for your re-election as Chairman of the Republican National Committee.”

Despite the rousing endorsement, several Republicans are considering challenging McDaniel, including South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem and former White House aide Mercedes Schlapp.

McDaniel has two declared challengers thus far, including My Pillow CEO Mike Lindell, a conspiracy theorist of interest to the House Select Committee and the U.S. government for his participation in the Trump-led effort to undermine the 2020 elections.

The pillow-peddler denounced McDaniel for “fail[ing] in her leadership” and said, “we need someone who knows how to run a business to lead one of the most important organizations in our country.”

Various right-wing commentators and agitators, many aligned with Trump, also have taken umbrage at McDaniel’s re-election biid.


Was Zeldin 'Keychain Assault' Incident A Republican Set-Up?

Was Zeldin 'Keychain Assault' Incident A Republican Set-Up?

Mainstream media outlets have largely followed conservative media’s framing after a man allegedly attempted to injure Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY) with a small self-defense-style keychain tool at a July 21 speech. Right-wing media, often quoting Zeldin or people associated with his campaign, have used the event to attack New York state’s modest bail reform laws. Several mainstream outlets adopted this basic template, further spreading the incorrect idea that the reforms were to blame for the alleged assailant’s release from custody.

There are two key pieces of information that have been almost entirely ignored in the mainstream national press but were reported in local media. First, the initial prosecutor in the case, Monroe County District Attorney Sandra Doorley, was listed publicly as Zeldin’s campaign co-chair as recently as July 25. The Albany Times Union reported Doorley’s connection with the campaign in its coverage, but was given conflicting responses by the various parties as to whether Doorley was in fact an active campaign co-chair. (Doorley has recused herself from the case.)

Second, as the Times Union also reported, Doorley’s office charged the alleged perpetrator, David G. Jakubonis, with second degree attempted assault on Friday, July 22. That nonviolent charge – which was not eligible for bail – was a surprise to many, the Times Union reported, because “law enforcement in Monroe County is known for pressing heavier charges than prosecutors in many other counties.” The previous year, Monroe prosecutors had only brought that charge one time, instead usually pursuing far harsher penalties that would include bail. (Jakubonis was separately arrested and charged in federal court, and is in custody pending a hearing scheduled for July 27.)

Initial reporting from The Washington Post, The Associated Press, Politico, and CNN all failed to mention Doorley’s close ties to the Zeldin campaign. However, each one similarly mentioned New York’s bail reform laws, either implicitly or explicitly in a negative light. The AP, for example, twice referenced calls to “toughen” the laws. None of those stories included direct quotes from any proponents of bail reform.

Additionally, Politico included an absurd quote from GOP congressional candidate and New York state Assembly member Mike Lawler, who said the bail reforms had an “Attempted Assassination Loophole.” The piece’s headline adopted conservative talking points wholesale.

A follow-up story from CNN had only one subheading, capturing the tenor of almost all the mainstream coverage:

The New York Times didn’t mention Doorley’s links to Zeldin until the 24th paragraph of its story. Instead, the paper foregrounded Zeldin’s position in the second paragraph, paraphrasing his argument “that the episode viscerally drove home the need to increase policing and tighten New York’s bail laws to make it easier for judges to hold people charged with certain crimes.”

The unusually lenient charge from an office known for pursuing harsher penalties led some bail reform advocates to speculate whether Doorley’s office’s decision virtually to ensure that Jakubonis would be released quickly was deliberate.

New York lawmakers passed a bill in 2019 eliminating cash bail “for most misdemeanors and some nonviolent felony charges,” according to the NYCLU, which argued the change was “an overdue recognition that a person’s wealth should not determine their liberty.”

Then, in 2020, police, prosecutors, and reactionary politicians from both parties used misleading data and deliberate misinformation campaigns to blame the reforms for the increase in some – but not all – categories of crime. There is in fact no evidence linking these issues. Nonetheless, the reforms were rolled back and “two dozen crimes [were added] to the list of serious charges for which a judge could impose cash bail,” according to the New York Times. “They included sex trafficking, grand larceny, second-degree burglary, vehicular assault and any crime that results in a death.”

Conservative media outlets are pushing to weaken the reforms even further. Mainstream media shouldn’t adopt their misleading framing to help them in that campaign.

Reprinted with permission from Media Matters.

Republicans Who Don't Represent New York City Are Furious Over Its Vaccine Mandate

Republicans Who Don't Represent New York City Are Furious Over Its Vaccine Mandate

House Republicans are blasting a new COVID-19 safety requirement implemented by New York City, including several who don't represent districts anywhere near the city.

"Mayor de Blasio will impose a first-in-the-nation vaccine mandate for all PRIVATE sector workers in NYC," Arizona Rep. Andy Biggs tweeted on Monday. "Bill de Blasio isn't a mayor, he is a tyrant."

Michigan Rep. Lisa McClain wrote, "Mayor de Blasio is placing vaccine mandates on the NYC private sector. Maybe he doesn't understand what the word private means."

"Just because Bill de Blasio lost his job doesn't mean he has to make New Yorkers lose their jobs," complained Texas Rep. Lance Gooden.

Rep. Lee Zeldin, whose New York district does not include any of the city, also added, "No one wants to live through this de Blasio gone wild power kick anymore. This new COVID vax mandate isn't just wrong & disastrous for NYC, but it's also illegal. If courts don't intervene, many NYC residents are about to lose their job which they don't deserve & can't afford."

They were upset that Mayor Bill de Blasio, who is term-limited and serving out the final weeks of his time leading New York City, announced a private sector vaccine mandate earlier in the day.

Under the order, which de Blasio calls a "pre-emptive strike" to prevent another wave of COVID-19 cases, nearly all in-person workers will be required to get vaccinated by the end of the month. Everyone above age 5 will also be required to get vaccinated before entering dining or entertainment venues.

The new order comes as coronavirus cases are trending back up nationally and the first domestic omicron variant cases are being reported.

It also comes as new data shows that areas with high rates of vaccination are faring noticeably better than those with lower rates. A Washington Post analysis on Saturday found that death rates were far below the national average in counties with the highest rates of vaccination.

And in large part due to high vaccination rates in Democratic-leaning areas, an NPR report on Sunday noted, the COVID-19 death rates in counties that voted heavily for ex-President Donald Trump in the 2020 election were nearly three times as high as in counties that favored President Joe Biden.

Despite significant data indicating that vaccine requirements work, congressional Republicans have fought to block them.

More than 200 House Republicans last month signed on to an effort to overturn Biden's requirements that workers at businesses with 100 employees or more either get vaccinated or get tested for COVID-19 weekly. Biggs, Gooden, McClain, and Zeldin all are co-sponsors of that effort.

Now, in addition to opposing a national policy, these lawmakers are trying to dictate what elected officials in localities far from their own districts can do to combat the pandemic and keep their constituents safe.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.

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