Politics

U.S. President Donald Trump is infamous for his corruption and nepotism and his COVID-19 relief package is no exception. As reported by ProPublica, a venture backed by Trump’s son and Kushner companies, all received tax dollars as part of the federal government's relief package. Businesses tied to Trump’s family and associates stand to receive as much as $21 million in government loans. Trump donors were also major beneficiaries. According to the Associated Press as much as $273 million in federal coronavirus aid was awarded to more than 100 companies that are owned or operated by major Trump donors. By far...

We are on the cusp of the collapse of civilization and yet a powerful minority of climate deniers continue to use their influence to resist climate action. The polls show that although most Americans support climate action, there is still a significant minority of people who are resistant to facts. As reported by The Guardian, Australian researcher Rebecca Huntley has found that science-based arguments are not getting through to some people. These are the people who vote for climate-denying governments in places like the US, Australia, and Brazil. According to Huntley, research shows that climate denial has increased since 2003....

Trump is swimming against the tide of history and he is hemorrhaging support. The polls indicate that Trump is on the wrong side of almost all of the key issues of the day. The combination of racism, mismanagement of the coronavirus pandemic, environmental rollbacks, tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans and overt corruption are causing this presidency to implode. Trump has removed those with expertise from all levels of government. In their place he has given foxes the run of the hen house hiring fossil fuel industry advocates rather than qualified individuals. He has fought with allies like Canada while...

Canadians often see the systemic racism of their southern neighbors as a uniquely American phenomenon. However, the evidence suggests that racism and is alive and well in Canada. There are hundreds of hate groups in Canada and Canadians are involved in thousands of online channels that espouse racism, misogyny, and other extreme right-wing views. Canada is a bastion of the white supremacy movement. As reported by the Canadian Anti-Hate Network there are over 300 active right-wing extremist groups in Canada. These groups target Muslims, Jews, women, LGBTQ+, Indigenous people, and people of color. Research shows that Canadians are among the...

Canada's federal Liberal government has put forth the most progressive climate action plans the country has ever seen, but they also support fossil fuels. The federal government has bought the Kinder Morgan's Trans Mountain pipeline which was designed to ferry tar sands bitumen some of the dirtiest, most carbon intensive energy in the world.  Tar sands oil is not only a major contributor to climate change it is also a threat to biodiversity. Such policy dualism can best be described as an oxymoron. Climate change was a key issue in the 2019 federal election and with the exception of the...

Private organizations and state governments have successfully leveraged the courts to check the Trump administration's anti-environment, pro-fossil fuel agenda. Many environmental groups and state attorney Generals are suing the Trump administration over environmental rollbacks. The New York state attorney general has launched 17 lawsuits against the Trump administration's agenda, and Washington state’s attorney general has launched 19 similar lawsuits, California leads the pack having sued Trump more than 50 times. In recent days the U.S. Supreme court has ruled against president Trump on a number of key fronts. This includes protecting LGBT rights in the workplace, preventing the administration from...

With a bit more than four months until election day President Donald Trump and Republican lawmakers appear to be on the wrong side of many of the major issues of the day. According to a recent New York Times and Siena College poll Democratic challenger Joe Biden leads the incumbent by 14 points. Only a bit more than a third of Americans say they will vote for Trump. Biden's commanding lead is not just in coastal cities, it extends to 6 key battleground states. The most concerning poll for GOP is the generic ballot which as of the end of...

People in cities across the U.S. are taking to the streets to decry systemic injustice. Racial inequality is one of the most pernicious and enduring forms of injustice in the United States and the callous insensitivity of the GOP and the ruling administration leads many to believe that protest is the only way to make their voices heard. The evidence indicates that overt racism has worsened under this president as have other less obvious forms of racial injustice. Racist-and-chief Data from a wide range of sources clearly indicate that racism has been exacerbated by U.S. President Donald Trump. In the...

President Donald Trump's cuts to environmental protections are even more deadly in the era of COVID-19. The United States has reached the grim milestone of 100,000 coronavirus deaths, that is more than 33 times the number of people that died in 9/11 and more than the number of US troops killed in the Korean and Vietnam wars combined. Trump's denial, slow response, and mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic made the situation far worse which is why he has been blamed for the deaths of tens of thousands of Americans. According to research out of Columbia University, the Trump administration's failures...

Despite a plethora of scientific warnings and the overwhelming economic logic of climate action, the alliance between Republicans and the fossil fuel industry is keeping climate denial and dirty energy alive. Republicans have systematically undermined democracy through protracted campaigns of disinformation that distort the facts and muddies public confidence in science so that they can manipulate the American public, hold on to power and line their pockets. Republicans are gaming the system and their insidious disinformation campaigns extend to our schools.  They use a wide range of tactics to hold onto power including voter suppression, redistricting, hate, efforts to undermine voter...