The Tulsa Forum by TulsaNow

That is all folks....

And here is more:

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/07/us/politics/scott-pruitt-epa-trump.html?_r=0 (http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/07/us/politics/scott-pruitt-epa-trump.html?_r=0)

The Earth is going to die

What could possibly go wrong?

(http://media.dcentertainment.com/sites/default/files/MAD-Magazine-Alfred-E-Neuman-Norman-Mingo.jpg)

Lets see if I have this right...

- Head of the EPA thinks the EPA has no place in government and seems to have covered up the link of the energy industry to earthquakes
- Head of education thinks public education is a hindrance to society when public money could go to religious schools (but hey, she also inherited tons of money and gave a lot o the Donald, right?).
- The Defense Secretary is a retired general nicknamed "mad dog" who was discharged by the DOD (guy could be a great general, but civilian control of the DOD is kind of important).
- DHS secretary is another retired general, who used to run Guantanamo Bay
- National security adviser is a retired general known for conspiracy theories, his subordinates called "Flynn facts," before he was discharged fro the DOD. Tried to get his son security clearance before he seems to have unapologetically inspired an attack on a pizza parlor over a conspiracy theory. Criticized for anti-Muslim rhetoric.
- The CIA director thinks we need a database connecting all information on all citizens and seems to think that the 4th Amendment is a hindrance to democracy. Criticized for anti-Muslim rhetoric.
- His HUD director has acknowledged having no experience in government, running a huge organization, or anything that HUD actually does ($60bil agency with ~10k employees!).
- The attorney general was OK with the KKK, until he learned they smoked pot. Because racism is cool and he has a zero rating with Human Rights watch, but no good people smoke pot. Wants to double down on the failed war on drugs, mandatory minimums, etc.
- And his White House adviser is famous for running a bombastic website (recall all the concern with fake news recently?) that he brags is the voice of the alt-right (code for white nationalists).

Add to that list the fact that a good percentage (all?) of his picks are loyalists, long time political insiders (drain the swamp!), and/or Wall Street "wolves." Fill up that swamp!

I heard Hoffa for Labor Secretary.

At least he's out of Oklahoma?

Trying to find a silver lining here......

If he could just make Crazy Mary and Mike Ritze go away now.

Im predicting an earthquake or twenty, and having to get used to the taste of Arkansas chicken poop in the water.
Think he will abandon suing Colorado for Being Another State or just pass the baton?


What if the President-elect nominates someone whose career has been dedicated to undermining the agency he has been chosen to lead, and opposing the laws he would be asked to enforce?

 Effective and efficient environmental rules, however, have not been Pruitt’s focus. Instead, he has made attacking environmental protection the cornerstone of his political career. Since becoming Oklahoma’s attorney general five years ago, Pruitt has tried to stop national efforts to reduce soot and smog pollution that crosses interstate lines. He has sued EPA to stop limits on emissions of toxic mercury, arsenic, acid gases and other toxic pollutants from power plants. He has sought to block efforts to improve air quality in national parks and wilderness areas. Each time, he has failed, with courts dismissing his arguments and confirming EPA’s legal and scientific views.

Pruitt characterizes these legal challenges as a righteous assault on overweening federal power. But their real impact would have been simply to allow the powerful to pollute without legal consequence — while doing real harm to American families. The common-sense efforts he sought block are cutting pollution, saving lives, preventing dangerous brain-development issues in children, reducing asthma attacks and increasing worker productivity.

Pruitt also doubts the established science of climate change. He has questioned “the degree and extent of global warming and its connection to the actions of mankind.” That would make him perhaps the only national environmental chief in the world to hold that view. It is a position at odds with overwhelming scientific consensus, majority American opinion and the views of most leading corporations.

http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/scott-pruitt-threat-article-1.2902332

I believe he was also instrumental in crafting the language for sh1tburger SQ-777.  Based on his record, I’m pretty certain he was all for that measure.

I’m still not entirely taken in by man-made global warming climate change climate phenomena.  Mostly because that has become an industry unto itself and it’s been over-politicized.  I don’t see the harm though in reducing emissions and being better stewards of the earth wherever practical and/or critical to do so.  

Appointing someone with common sense to run the EPA would be a great idea.  Appointing someone who is a flat-earther on anything environmental is very much a bad idea just as it would be a bad idea to appoint someone who only has draconian notions of regulation.  We got the flat-earther.

Scott Pruitt to head EPA is like asking a dingo to watch your baby.

All the people who voted for Trump are probably gonna be surprised that the won't get what they wanted or thought they were gonna get.   But they WILL get what they deserve.   Sadly, the rest of us will also be afflicted....

Great John Oliver reference.  He said that about the incoming FCC commissioner in 2014.

https://youtu.be/fpbOEoRrHyU?t=6m41s

The link takes you to the spot in the piece where the reference is made, but the whole segment is funny.  And some of it is NSFW.

Here are some of those 'surprised people'.  LOL.

https://trumpgrets.tumblr.com/

Just the beginning.  When blue collar folk start to figure out what he is gonna do to them....


Mark Levin - LOL !!   Love it.  Right up there with Tomi Lahren for Biggest Loser.

This is going to come as a huge shocker, but THEY DONT CARE.  Trump is their team, that's it, nothing more.  Most of them don't care about his policies or what they mean.  Facts don't matter.  Hypocrisy doesn't matter.  That they know he said X to them and went down the street and said Y, doesn't matter.  If you're an OU supporter, Mixon just defended himself.  If you waive an orange flag on gameday, Mixon is a monster who shouldn't be allowed to play.  Go team!

So many won't even realize that he has gone from "drain the swamp" to filing DC up with Gold-Man-Sacks execs, political elites, and generals who were forced out after decades in Washington.  They have no clue what  Secretary is or does. They don't have any notion of what is "normal" for a cabinet post or that these people are usually imminently qualified, not patronage positions (that's why we have a ambassador to New Zealand, right?).

So you can grab a Trumpster by the toe and point out that he is stuffing the swamp to the brim. That he wants to trounce States under a stronger Federal government (already talking about removing states ability to regulate conceal carry, rolling back legalized marijuana, etc.). That he has already rewarded companies with socialists tax breaks while making fun of the union representing the workers. or that nearly every economist (as well as the GSA) indicates his economic policy proposed is a net loss for most Americans, but makes the top 5-10% boatloads of money.

Walk up to a Trumpster and show them these facts, it won't matter at all.  Team Trump 110% baby!

Like the caller to KRMG said on the radio this morning, "Scott Pruitt will do a much better job running the EPA than Al Gore did."  Reality doesn't matter...

We are among the leader states in exporting Idiocracy.

Just wait until he nominates Sally Kern to the Supreme Court   :o

If we all go down together, Trump can take credit for unifying the country.

Meanwhile, Pruitt's corruption is astounding:
https://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/07/us/politics/energy-firms-in-secretive-alliance-with-attorneys-general.html

Oklahoma’s Attorney General Misled Supreme Court About Letter On Execution Drug Availability
https://www.buzzfeed.com/chrismcdaniel/oklahomas-attorney-general-misled-supreme-court-about-letter

Being over-politicized doesn't change any of the facts or data.
The ones "politicizing" it are the likes of Scott Pruitt

Trump has said he wants to throw out all of NASAs climate-change research because it's too "politicized".
As opposed to wanting to throw it out because of bad data, methods, conclusions, etc.
Making something political and then dismissing it because it's been politicized... is...  trump logic.

Trump Logic, my new favorite oxymoron.

T.A.R.D in full effect.....Heh....

At this point I'm expecting Joseph Hazelwood to be named Secretary of the Navy.

He's holding off on the big announcement of Sarah Palin as abassador...wait for it...to Russia.

Hey come on now, she could see Russia from her front porch, ya know.

I wonder what all the blue collar union guys in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Michigan think about his choice for labor secretary - Andy Puzder.  He is best known for running the parent company of Carls Junior/Hardees. In general, he opposes anything that seems to be good for workers (higher minimum wage, sick leave, lunch breaks, overtime rules, etc.). His theory is that the only way to save American jobs is to make sure they remain cheap labor or else they will all be replaced.  Ergo, the problem with the American economy is that workers make too much money. That all makes sense, his profits are dependent on cheap labor.

What doesn't make sense is that Trump says the guy has an extensive record fighting for workers... but other than assuring labor remains cheap, no one seems to know exactly what that means.  But, in his defense, he did give lots of money to Donald Trump/his super PACs. Here is what labor has to say about the guy:  "Puzder as labor secretary is like putting Bernie Madoff in charge of the Treasury.”  Basically, in the battle between labor and management, Trump has sided with management, but I assume his "populist" supporters won't notice.

Fun fact:  Trump thinks the BLS (the official staistics on employment) are a "hoax" and the "real" unemployment rate is 42% (of course there were no facts to back this up, because it isn't real).  His new pick will be in charge of the BLS too, so I really hope we "fix" those statistics.

http://money.cnn.com/2016/12/08/news/economy/andrew-puzder-trump-labor-secretary/
https://mic.com/articles/161681/andrew-puzder-net-worth-here-s-what-we-know-about-the-millionaire-ceo-of-cke-restaurants#.XahCzuDqx
http://www.cnbc.com/2016/12/08/trump-expected-to-name-fast-food-ceo-andy-puzder-as-pick-for-labor-secretary-source.html

I brought this up with a couple of Trumpsters that I know. One drives for a local company. His response was "I don't know anything about him, but if he has run a business then he knows the problems workers face." Oooooook. Never could get him to understand that running a business does not equal sympathizing with workers and in many cases means quite the opposite.

The other guy, who owns his own business and has 10 or so employees didn't even know there was such a thing as Secretary of Labor.

(http://i.imgur.com/czhHppj.gif)

Read an article that noticed how Trumps people were wanting info from some current government agencies like the EPA and were asking questions about the employees that seemed rather disturbing like "What kind of organizations or groups employees belonged to outside of work?" "What kinds of papers, articles, research, etc. had any of them done or had published or peer reviewed." etc.  Basically the context seemed to imply "If you believe X "In climate change for instance" and we find proof of that, you may be out of a job, we may defund that job and or replace you with someone who believes as we do. One was part of an agency that was supposed to non-biased and not political but to simply supply research information upon which to  to inform the public and businesses.  May be that the information we get in the future is "correctly adjusted".

If this is really the case, one could make a similar inference that it is possible agencies have previously been staffed with people who support a specific agenda.

I’m not defending Trump’s choice of Pruitt to lead the EPA but pointing out if it’s possible to staff an agency to support an agenda now, then it has always been the case.

/tinfoil hat off.

Republican President Richard Nixon wanted to give the feds a tool to counter individual state's corruption involving unchecked pollution of our water and air when he created the EPA. 

Some things tend to work better at the federal level.  Printing money, major disaster relief, national defense.  Demanding clean water might be an agenda, but its something most people wouldn't be willing to give up.


William...
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2016/12/09/trump-transition-team-for-energy-department-seeks-names-of-employees-involved-in-climate-meetings/

When it comes to rivers, ground water, and air which all cross state lines it makes sense for federal regulations.  That is until you get a troglodyte like Pruitt trying to help ensure changes to state constitutions to usurp federal authority in terms of air and water.

The silver lining is perhaps we will get a new AG who understands, you know, the law.

I'd have a difficult time placing a wager on this.

Support whatever agenda you want.  My pet peeve is ignoring or manipulating evidence if it doesn't fit your agenda.  There is plenty of ground for making changes to the EPA without having to flat out reject science, let alone passive aggressively threatening people who are actually conducting science ("what?  You did a peer reviewed study that reached a conclusion I don't like!  I demand to know your funding level..."  that's basically telling other researchers what results they better get).

I'm looking forward to the hearings on scientific evidence.  All steps taken by the EPA are supposed to be based on evidence back science (burning coal produces mercury, mercury causes health issues with humans, ergo - regulating mercury output is OK) and there are hearings where that can be challenged.  based on history, Pruitt is willing to argue that stopping Colorado from legalizing marijuana is a matter of Oklahoma's "states rights,"  that the Ten Commandments are in no way religious, and that Federal Preemption isn't a real thing.

So I suspect we have some sad hearings ahead...

Reminds me of a Cards Against Humanity Card.  I only wish this would be funny.  It won’t.

http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/politics/article/It-s-a-tough-time-in-Oklahoma-except-for-Scott-10808432.php

Amidst all the ugliness of the coming years...let's have a little beam of light and hope for better...


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fj6r3-sQr58

Quite nice. Thank you. Italy?

Barcelona

Hes got big swamp money behind him:
http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/government/d-c-report-gop-group-pushing-scott-pruitt-s-nomination/article_b090e7d7-30f0-594d-be96-34409e3b0f74.htm




 "It's Got What Plants Crave"

Scott Pruitt, President Trump’s EPA Nominee, Ordered to Release Thousands of Emails

Oklahoma County District Judge Aletia Haynes Timmons told Pruitt's office that it would have to hand over the emails to the Center for Media and Democracy, or CMD, which requested the first batch of documents in 2014, or to the court.
But the CMD and Pearson said Pruitt's office intentionally withheld documents. Of the 411 emails it received for its initial request, the investigative group identified 27 that had been provided to The New York Times in a 2014 Pulitzer Prize-winning investigation that revealed that Pruitt had taken fracking rules drafted by Devon Energy, an Oklahoma oil company, and passed them as his own.

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/scott-pruitt-president-trump-s-epa-nominee-ordered-release-thousands-n722161

Not quite up to Bush's 22 million emails deleted from a private server hosted in the White House but same process in mind.

He's going to be confirmed today.

Will he be next weeks crisis for the administration as his emails are poured over by the press starting today? I'm guessing so. Trump's vetting processes seem to be lacking. But then, ALL Trump's processes seems to be lacking.

So at least we will now get the opportunity to resume our spot as #1 in earthquakes - since he says he is gonna remove all regulations from oil companies.   Bring on the injection wells!!

Senate confirmed him

What next? Victoria Jackson for the Department of Education? Oh, wait....

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. — As a result of an Open Records Act request and lawsuit filed by the Center for Media and Democracy, on Tuesday night the Oklahoma Attorney General’s office released a batch of more than 7,500 pages of emails and other records it withheld prior to Scott Pruitt’s nomination as EPA Administrator last Friday.

The AG’s office has withheld an undetermined number of additional documents as exempted or privileged and submitted them to the Judge Aletia Haynes Timmons for review. A number of other documents were redacted, and CMD will be asking for the court to review those as well. On February 27, the AG’s office has been ordered to deliver records related to five outstanding requests by CMD.

“There is no valid legal justification for the emails we received last night not being released prior to Pruitt’s confirmation vote other than to evade public scrutiny,” said Arn Pearson, general counsel for CMD.

http://www.exposedbycmd.org/Scott-Pruitt-Missing-Emails

I like how they are patting themselves on the back for transparency after a couple of years and a Court order...


http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/usworld/epa-head-scott-pruitt-s-emails-with-energy-companies-to/article_71b58f26-0c26-5ac1-baf1-bef88b749d3f.html

Second post - would this be considered spamming?   Maybe if it weren't so true and pertinent.


https://www.facebook.com/AwarenessAct/videos/1295228900491644/

Fox News destroyed EPA chief Scott Pruitt over climate change
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2017/04/03/the-left-and-right-agree-fox-news-destroyed-epa-chief-scott-pruitt-over-climate-change

Fox News of all places.

Why's he using a Tulsa backdrop.   I don't want him associated with Tulsa.

Well he's from here and apparently spends a good deal of time here now. I saw him at my son's lacrosse game a couple of weeks ago. His son plays for Cascia. Maybe he's not popular at the actual EPA?

The "lets give him a chance" crowd hang on the belief that he will surround himself with smarter people, but who picks the smarter people?

Did you know that there is a Kremlin, Oklahoma?

Trick question...?

Not Trump...universal answer.

This makes no sense. Scott Pruitt is a very well known quantity. And is well owned by the energy industry.

I may well see him again tomorrow. We play Cascia again tomorrow night, this time at Cascia at 7:00 if anyone wants to come to talk to Scott. I'm going to refrain as it's my son's game and the game should be about the kids. The last game got really chippy as Cascia is big and tough and not very good. When the score started to get out of hand they got pretty dirty with cheap shots.

Horrible..just horrible.


http://hotair.com/archives/2017/04/05/and-then-depression-set-in-at-the-epa/

Knowing you boss' goals are to undermine your work and eliminate your job must be the new "plush."

That. Or the days of their job killing overrugulation are over and gravy train stopped.

Thanks Trump
(http://cdn.history.com/sites/2/2013/11/pennsylvania-coal-miners-P.jpeg)

Yeah, Gweed. Happy days are here again.

The entire coal industry employs fewer people than Arby’s

(https://img.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/files/2017/03/coal_jobs.png)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2017/03/31/8-surprisingly-small-industries-that-employ-more-people-than-coal/

Yeah. The days of kids in coal mines are coming back because the EPA employees are depressed. Drama queens are everywhere.

For a man whose posts reek of exaggeration and spin like a top you sure seem offended when its used to answer. Republicans have never looked worse than when they wear the garb of Bannon and Breitbart style hate filled ultra conservatism. It suits you though.

It's about time somebody reigns in an out of control EPA......

Lol..Climate change...What a joke....

Yeah...really funny.

I'm sure you think the Earth is flat also, like Shaq.

 ::)

(https://pics.onsizzle.com/imsteve-bannon-liberals-fear-me-6597731.png)

Loathe him is more accurate. I fear ignorance being passed on to youth.

That was my fear when Obama said there was 57 states, and 10,000 Americans were killed in a Kansas tornado, and that breathalyzers are used as an emergency treatment for asthma.

Your fear?  Come on man.  The problem is not the immediate mistake or gaffe.  Heck Bush had those all the time.  And while yes people joked about them, no one seriously thought he was going to try to stand by the statement.  Trump and his ilk actually try to defend the statements and convince people that they are right.  They intentionally create and provide "alternate facts", etc.  That's the difference.

The Obama comparison is ridiculous.  All of them are simply gaffes in the moment, which he owned up and clarified.  The breathalyzer one was fixed even before he finished the sentence, he just couldn't find the right word. 

(On the "57 states" quote)
"Talking with reporters at a later campaign stop, Senator Obama expressed concern that he’d recently misstated both the number of potential victims of a recent cyclone in Burma and the number of states he’d visited, saying: “I hope I said 100 thousand people the first time instead of 100 million. I understand I said there were 57 states today. It’s a sign that my numeracy is getting a little, uh …”

(From Fox, regarding KS tornado)
As the Illinois senator concluded his remarks a few minutes later, he appeared to realize his gaffe.
"There are going to be times when I get tired," he said. "There are going to be times when I get weary. There are going to be times when I make mistakes."

(Breathalyzer)
“Everybody knows that it makes no sense that you send a kid to the emergency room for a treatable illness like asthma. They end up taking up a hospital bed. It costs when, if you, they just gave, you gave, treatment early, and they got some treatment, and uhhh a breathalyzer, or uhh, an inhalator, not a breathalyzer...”

I love it when the counselor comes on here with his ODS.

Now, I wonder where all the outrage from the right will be regarding this?

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/donald-trump-travel-expenses-10-weeks-us-taxpayer-fifth-barack-obama-eight-years-mar-a-lago-us-a7670541.html

Pay is slightly better...

But the working conditions... Arby's is pretty rough though, so...

Hoss, its too late for him or anyone weened on the Fox network. But I really do fear for the younger set being polluted by the mindset of the hoaxers and their network of disbelief. I am starting to see and hear outrageous "science" statements from homeschooled, fundamentalist school graduates. Science doesn't care about their politics or their "prophecy" view of the world. Add to that the anti-intellectualism being foisted on us for the same reasons and pretty soon we really will be an Idiocracy.

See...exactly what I have been talking about when the RWRE won't go past the sound bite...they just keep on getting it wrong every single time.

(http://i.imgur.com/avHnbUZ.gif)

(http://i.imgur.com/PijcGEU.gif?noredirect)

Still king of the AV world I see....does that translate well in your litigation?

Just curious.   :P

I keep asking... no one of the RWRE ever answers... What over-regulation??  As in an example beyond the sound-bite Faux Fox News lies, distortions, and fabrications....

Looking for examples...  For years, still haven't heard one single valid objectionable example.

Mandating companies with over 50 employees to provide health insurance is over-regulation. That's an easy one.

The Dodd-Frank regs (voluminous) are putting smaller banks out of business while helping the very thing that we labeled as a risk not that long ago. There has been single digit creation of new banks since, and I doubt that is a coincidence, since as far as I can tell lending/investing money still seems to be a fairly profitable enterprise. At least it looks that way when I walk into virtually any regional or large bank branch.

Google the REINS Act. To address this very thing. But I'm sure it's just made up by some wingnuts that watch too much FOX News. Good for Congress for un-delegating some of it's responsibilities.

Prohibiting lead bullets
Prohibiting pesticides that double as chemical weapons
Prohibiting asbestos
Mandating higher gas milage
etc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2QXMGYluzo

BS.  There is no absolute requirement that a company over 50 provide insurance.  There IS however a provision that prevents a company from doing that without providing relief to the rest of us who then have to subsidize that cost - the cost of uninsured people riding on the backs of people who do participate and pay for the entire infrastructure - there is a tax for not providing insurance.  Sadly, it is most likely lower than the cost of insurance and would never offset the cost we have to pay to let those freeloaders carry on with business as usual.


As for Dodd-Frank.  Interesting thing - a bill disguised as "regulatory overhaul" that really just lets the biggest banks continue on with business as usual, while as you noted, blocking new banks from starting up.  That is not regulatory - that is monopoly enhancement.  Written BY big banks - FOR big banks.

Next...!?


How about the EPA?  Since that is the nominal topic?  Or OSHA?   FMCA?

So your strategy is to not call a reg a reg, and claim there are no regs.

Got it.

And I grew up on a family farm. EPA is a four letter word. Which coincidentally, many EPA regs seem to tilt the scales toward much larger farm producers as well. All though it's not a coincidence at all. But you know that.

See a trend here. Agencies generally are just a blunt object with which competition is beaten down.

I love the sarcasm!!   Fits my personality perfectly!!


I do have one comment about higher mileage - and the good things that have happened since that started.  All the associated "added costs" really have not raised the price of a car in real terms at all.  Still looking and will post when I find it - comparison on Honda cost over about 30 years - the price of the car was within a few dollars in real terms (inflation adjusted) to the cost 30 years ago - tens of dollars, not hundreds.  But in that time, in the quest for more power in the same engine volume, vast changes have been made in a wide range of areas to comply with mileage and pollution regulations.  

Starting with the simple little EGR valve - when they were first put into cars, I remember all the people I knew took them out, so they could continue to direct vent the crankcase without a trip through the carb and combustion cycle.  Except that always cut their mileage with no noticeable increase in power/performance - no matter how much they tried to lie about it!  You could always get better performance by adjusting the ignition timing and dwell a little bit.

Then electronic ignitions came along.  Hardened valve seats to allow unleaded gas.  Better spark plugs.  All these things combined to make it so that today, most new car buyers will never own a car long enough for it to need a 'tune-up'.  Every car I had until 1980 - and my 70 Cutlass still - required new plugs, points, distributor cap, rotor EVERY 10,000 miles!!  No matter what!!   They STOP running not long after that without the maintenance....    So imagine how people would react if they had to go spend $400 every 6 to 9 months on a tune-up!  Lol...

Oil changes - were 2,500 miles.  Today what...about 5,000 or more?  Better oil and better filters.  And yeah, there is still the cheap junk filter available - FRAM - but you can get a WIX and have a very good oil filter!   Lately the oil companies have started re-formulating their oils, especially for diesel engines...and it has NOT been a step forward !!

I got as high as 21 mpg on the Cutlass in the past - during the era of 55 mph speed limits, with a tail wind.  14 - 15 was the more normal highway level.  1980 Olds Delta got 17 city, 23 highway.  We have stagnated horribly - 2007 Merc only gets a little better - 21 city, 26 highway.  That is ridiculous that it isn't better.  And a Honda/Toyota/Lexus - exactly the same!    Case of needing more regulation!  Which we had, then got taken away again by Trump.

And a huge step backwards - my 80's cars all had 5 mph bumpers meaning there was NO damage in a collision up to 5 mph.  And it worked!!   But then the anti-regulation clown show took that away...what does a 5 mph collision cost today?   Thousands!!   Who was helped by the elimination of those regulations??   Certainly not real people.

Turns out I had more than one comment...

No...just when there is no real regulation to be discussed.

EPA - yeah, I can see how not being allowed to continue the practices that ended up with the Cuyahoga river catching on fire might be construed as "restrictive".  Or the dust bowl...  "Gee whiz...I can't keep on indiscriminately trashing the world around me..." and all the long term effects on the rest of the population, would be a culture shock.  EPA regulations have not gone far enough on the herbicide front - RoundUp.  Usage has skyrocketed because it is no longer effective on a quickly broadening range of "pest" plants.  At the same time, Roundup resistance genetics are being put into the seed to allow even higher dosage rates.  Stupid stuff going on in your food !!

Regulations have often been bought and paid for by corporate America - see any activity engaged in by DuPont/Monsanto, etc.  But there have been many that actually helped real people INCLUDING small farmers!!  And if you have not totally walked away from your heritage, you would see the huge resurgence going on in the small farm world for the last couple decades!  I grew up in the 50's/60's family farm environment - I didn't live on one, but ALL my cousins did and we visited a LOT.  Only one (out of maybe 25 - 30) remains on a farm, and he is getting ready to retire.  I am starting up again in that world FOR retirement!

Today's small family farm is not fighting regulations - they are fighting the big corporate farms who have taken over agriculture!   Just try to grow ANY field crop today - the alternative, natural, heritage variety - on a small farm.  If you grow specialty corn you WILL run into problems with Monsanto genetics contaminating your crop!  And then, if you complain, Monsanto will sue you for 'stealing' their IP.   Same with beans.  Wheat hasn't quite got to that point - there are quite a few emmer and spelt growers out there doing very well.

Anything you grow, though, from fruits to nuts will have trouble from time to time.  And if you complain, you will be pushed down.

So because some regulations are good, all regulations are good.

For some reason the only thing I ever think of when I discuss things with you is this...

(http://www.azquotes.com/picture-quotes/quote-the-trouble-with-our-liberal-friends-is-not-that-they-re-ignorant-it-s-just-that-they-ronald-reagan-24-11-94.jpg)

With that quote coming from the master of Trickledown...so much irony.

You also realize corporations as competitors are not hurting the family farm in Oklahoma? They are all but outlawed in this state. Except maybe in livestock production. Now, corporations like Monsanto and such you could maybe make that argument, but it is generally going to just be a pricing issue.

Generally speaking the issues with regulation come at costs. Who is going to bear the costs. Since no one seems to want to pay more for food that is being produced on less and less acres, the farmer is taking the brunt end of it. At some point I believe that we will come to a tipping point.

And you think the farmers now and then wanted the dust bowl to happen. "Modern" farming practices at the time led to the dust bowl (that and virtually no rain for 8 years, which I might add would be bad for just about any region). Modern farming practices that were widely accepted by our government, our regulation creating body. They did what they were supposed to and it didn't work out. Linking that and fiery rivers is beyond ridiculous. Farming practices have changed immensely over the decades thanks in large part to another government body (Oklahoma State University and the like across the country). It the vary same set of weather circumstances arose today however, I doubt the outcome would be dramatically different. That truly was a disaster beyond mankind stopping it.

In many cases though, our fair government, in the name of conservation, does exactly the opposite. Generally speaking, federally regulating something like farming is a fools errand as it "farming" varies so widely from state to state. THAT is the problem.

And do you really think, a farmer, who intends to hand it off at some point, is looking for a quick buck at the expense of his land. The land IS the commodity. The corn/wheat/beans are a byproduct of the land. I wish people would get that. But they know better.

"No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size" Ronald Reagan
I can pull quotes out of context too :D

Mine isn't out of context though.

You certainly are old enough to understand that you don't have to "own" something - in this case land - to control the use of it.  Think Tyson.  They don't own a sq foot of land in this state, but exert a lot of control.  Just because there is a "law" doesn't keep the thing from happening the law was written for.   And yeah, they do hurt, not just the family farm in Oklahoma, but overlap other areas of activity.  Been to the Illinois River lately??

Monsanto - much more than just price fixing and collusion - I touched on that in the post.  They actively go after people who complain about their crops being contaminated by Monsanto "largesse" in the form of their genetics being spread all around the area.

Dust bowl - you are making my point - there was no regulation.  Just as there was no understanding of the land they were on trying to apply practices from other areas that just didn't apply.  The plains had really just been farmed for a couple decades, with the 20's having a huge expansion.  By the way, we are in drought here, too, right now - some of it extreme.  Our practices are different, so we are not getting the big dust storms seen then...well, except for one we had in 2005 that was pretty good size...  And even after all that, we did the same thing over again in the 40's during WWII.  And the 50's - when the govt paid people to grow pasture instead of wheat.  Dodged a bullet on that one...   And OSU was trying to get farmers to diversify and get away from monoculture as early as 1905 - 1910.  But people would not listen and since there were NO regulations or govt buyback programs to stop the effects, the landslide just gathered steam and headed over the edge.  I have a grandfather and uncle who came to Stillwater area at the first land grab and set up farming.  His ledgers mention how he would talk to OSU people regularly for advise - he was much more progressive than most.  By the late teens they went back to KS due to age.

Kind of like global climate change - since we don't understand, maybe we should be moving cautiously..??   We also see a big experiment like this going on in South America where the rain forest "desert" is being decimated to get 2 or 3 years of crops like wheat, corn, beans, etc.  And then when it is ecologically reduced to rubble, move on to the next freshly cut plot.

Here is a map of precipitation going back to the 1890's.  The 30's really weren't that much worse than other times - like the 50's and 60's.  It's what you do during those times that count's.  And the 40's problems - well there was above average rain, but due to farming practices, big problems.  Mankind brought the problems on and mankind stopped it (see 50's and 60's) by doing what they should instead of all the "rugged individualists" being bad stewards of the land...

http://climate.ok.gov/index.php/climate/climate_trends/precipitation_history_annual_statewide/CD00/prcp/Annual/oklahoma_climate


Getting rid of regulation is what that state question wanted to do last year - make it so large corporate groups could do whatever they wanted with no oversight.  So, yeah, there is definitely a place for regulation.

Finally something we are 100% aligned together one - the land is what is important - if you take care of it, it will take care of you!   Except too many don't actually agree with that.  And it's really much more than a commodity....

No more gym memberships...

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/pruitt-ends-epa-gym-memberships/article/2620217

Wouldn't want sound bodies/sound minds working for Pruitt.  They'd be too smart for him.

Oklahoma sure can breed them.

Christmas gift idea for you. Buy a gym membership for your favorite EPA worker.

Go get yourself an anus to eat

(http://clipartix.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Thumbs-up-clipart-cliparts-for-you.jpg)

Have a blessed and reflective Good Friday and Easter.

You also Guido.  If it isn't raining, I'll be at the sunrise service at Guthrie Green. 

Never been to that one. I go to Easter Vigil and then Sunday night. Also did Mass of the Lord's Supper Thursday and Stations today. Had kiddo duty for Good Friday Mass.

WASHINGTON — A high-ranking political appointee at the Environmental Protection Agency has been cited by federal regulators for unspecified violations while serving as the top executive at an Oklahoma bank.

Albert “Kell” Kelly was hired earlier this year as a senior adviser to EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt. Kelly was previously the chairman of SpiritBank, headquartered in Tulsa.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/adviser-to-epa-chief-cited-for-federal-banking-violations/2017/08/28/e5c40762-8c3a-11e7-9c53-6a169beb0953_story.html?utm_term=.791da2072546

In other EPA news, Pruitt said recently that science shouldn't be thrown about to dictate policy in the United States, what we need is televised "debates" about settled science, then we can base policy off of that.... I guess?  Just as long as it isn't science.  From the head of the EPA.  Which is supposed to base EVERY decision off of science.

http://www.iflscience.com/environment/epa-chief-scott-pruitt-science-dictate-policy/

https://www.epa.gov/aboutepa/our-mission-and-what-we-do

Unless you don't like the best available scientific information?  Bah, just change the policy statement.

Pure insanity.

You couldn't possibly be surprised by any of this...   It's Trump World.

Just because you expect the crazy, doesn't change the fact that it IS crazy.

Absolutely!!   It is beyond crazy...!   The guy is well into dementia - could be Alzheimers.  But given his history of like behaviour for so long a time, he may just be plain old paranoid schizophrenic.  Hard to say without more info.


What is more concerning to me is the way to apparent willingness in complicity of the entire Republican party, with only a very few notable exceptions, to not only condone but, with inaction, actively endorse this completely immoral regime and President.  It says so much about the true "good family values and Christian beliefs" of these people than any other commentary and action we have ever seen before.

So this rather helps prove my point that things like climate science can be influenced or filtered by political agendas, eh Cannon?

No - but the stupid can

Nope.  Rather than helping your point it deals a significant blow. I think you've been trying to say that there is a scientific debate going on with climate change, this reinforces the notion that it is merely political.

I mean, sure.  Any subject can be influenced or filtered by political agendas.  Trump could demand tomorrow that schools that receive Federal funds teach that babies come from storks.  That doesn't change the science behind it that say otherwise.  Scott Pruitt can say science doesn't matter, climate change is "unsettled", and that we must debate this on TV.  That doesn't change the science one bit.

So I agree in so much as the denial of climate change is a political agenda item, not a scientific debate.  Which explain why the head of the EPA feels the need to make such ridiculous statements.

We could guard Beyoncé for less than what it costs to protect EPA chief
http://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/opn-columns-blogs/carl-hiaasen/article174938816.html

Cone of $ilence.

E.P.A. to Spend Nearly $25,000 on a Soundproof Booth for Pruitt
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/26/climate/pruitt-epa.html

Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/scott-pruitt-spending-epa_us_59cc2a95e4b05063fe0ef9b3

Pruitt is a D-Bag but it seems like false outrage on the part of Huff-Poo.

They probably didn't bother to check that there are no commercial flights between Tulsa and Guymon, and Guymon and OKC. Those east coast/west coast opinion writers have the luxury of commercial shuttles everywhere along the coasts.

Perhaps, but its good to have an accounting for when Pruitt tells us what a great Governor he will be.

E&E News published a fascinating piece on how religion may inform Pruitt's deregulatory ideology. The takeaway is that the creation story in Genesis shows that God has given mankind dominion over Earth. In contrast, environmentalists, as one pastor in the piece put it, "have started worshiping God's creation, the planet and all the living organisms on it, instead of God."

...and God says "drill baby drill"

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/paloma/the-energy-202/2017/11/01/the-energy-202-pruitt-cites-bible-in-ending-way-epa-committees-staffed/59f8f39c30fb0468e7653f76/?utm_term=.112823033050

I’m sorry I could have sworn that said “derogatory ideology”.  Very apt in this case.

Okrahoma is gonna love it.

The Environmental Protection Agency spent $120,000 of taxpayer money to hire a public relations firm that specializes in public opposition research for Republican politicians.

There has been some speculation that Pruitt intends to use his position as EPA administrator as a stepping stone in his political career, potentially running for Sen. Jim Inhofe’s (R-OK) seat should the 82-year old senator decide to retire in 2020. Because of (Definers Corp) history as a political opposition research group for Republican politicians, some critics voiced concern on Friday that the contract could be politically-motivated.

“Pruitt has already taken the millions in contributions from corporate polluters, but now he’s wasting the taxpayers dime to advance his political career and cover his tracks,” Sierra Club Legislative Director Melinda Pierce said in a press statement.

https://thinkprogress.org/epa-hires-republican-oppo-pr-firm-cf3ebc7e1358/

I hear Pruitt is a heavy drinker.  He appears to prefer a good stiff vinegar and water.

Blech! 

I'd rather he prefer a decent adult beverage.

Well vinegar and water is pretty much all you will find in a d0uce bag and Pruitt is one.

Hopefully they do better than the ones under the Obama administration.

https://www.gao.gov/products/B-326944
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) violated publicity or propaganda and anti-lobbying provisions contained in appropriations acts with its use of certain social media platforms in association with its "Waters of the United States" (WOTUS) rulemaking in fiscal years 2014 and 2015. Specifically, EPA violated the publicity or propaganda prohibition though its use of a platform known as Thunderclap that allows a single message to be shared across multiple Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr accounts at the same time. EPA engaged in covert propaganda when the agency did not identify EPA's role as the creator of the Thunderclap message to the target audience. The agency's #DitchtheMyth and #CleanWaterRules social media campaigns did not implicate the publicity or propaganda prohibition. EPA also violated anti-lobbying provisions though its hyperlinks to certain external Web pages in an EPA blog post. Both of the external Web pages led to appeals to the public to contact Congress in support of the WOTUS rule, which taken in context, constituted appeals to contact Congress in opposition to pending legislation. EPA associated itself with these messages through its decision to include the hyperlinks in its blog post.

To paraphrase Sarah Palin... You betcha.... same thing totally!  Except for....NOT!!

Geez....

Never said it was the same thing.   Apparently you have a comprehension problem.   What I said was, I hope that they can do a better job than the previous ones...   TYou know, the ones that were found by the GAO to have "violated publicity or propaganda and anti-lobbying provisions contained in appropriations acts."

(For the price he is paying, I would hope so.)

Clean water, or the stuff coming out of the EPA drinking fountains?

(https://video-images.vice.com/articles/5a343024a1507266b3dd6751/lede/1513372315501-poop.jpeg)



“Mr. Pruitt appears not to understand that the two most valuable assets E.P.A. has is the country’s trust and a very committed professional work force,” said William K. Reilly, the E.P.A. administrator under George Bush. “This shows complete insensitivity, complete tone-deafness, or something worse.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/17/us/politics/epa-pruitt-media-monitoring.html

Stick that in your America Rising surveillance program.

Scott Pruitt has tasked a banker who was banned from the banking industry for life with oversight of the nation’s Superfund program.

http://www.tulsaworld.com/homepagelatest/banned-from-the-banking-industry-for-life-a-scott-pruitt/article_3b076180-6388-5281-b560-0f00d38f74c3.html

Pruitt also engaged in some Orewllian newspeak when he said:

"We have been blessed, as a country, with tremendous natural resources. ... I believe that we have an obligation to feed the world and power the world, with a sensitivity, as far as environmental stewardship, for future generations,” he said.

“But for the past few years, we have been told it’s prohibition, it’s put up a fence, it’s do not touch."

In effect, he's saying we're going to burn more fossil fuels because it's the environmentally correct thing to do. He's fully embraced the "mental" part of environmental.

If the trend keeps up, it won't matter that he keeps burning fossil fuels.    People are moving more and more toward renewable regardless of his stances.

https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/06/solar-wind-renewable-energy-record/

For his Tulsa audience:

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/03/02/scott-pruitt-epa-evolution-theory-abortion-gay-marriage-433284

Regardless of what the assclown in charge of the EPA brings forth as policy, if any of us feel strongly about it, we can limit our own consumption of fossil fuels.  Some of the biggest climate change alarmists I personally know are huge carbon emitters.  It starts with a lot of the hot air they emit and goes from there  ;). Literally, these are people who never seem to plan one simple trip for multiple errands, still driving an older, less fuel efficient vehicle, refuse to upgrade decades old A/C and furnace equipment but they like to complain that no one is doing enough for regulations to slow climate change.  Let's not get started on celebrities and wealthy libs keeping their G-5's in the air and cruising around in their Hummers.

Ive been banned from banking, can I be an EPA official instead?

https://theintercept.com/2017/12/28/scott-pruitt-failed-banker-running-epa-superfund-program

Wow.  Just wow.

OKLAHOMA CITY — A controversial cleanup contract for the Tar Creek Superfund site in Ottawa County cost five times more than it should have, state Auditor and Inspector Gary Jones said Monday.

“The LICRAT audit wasn’t about Scott Pruitt, left-wing environmentalists, Andy Lester, or politics,” Jones said in a written statement. “As the state auditor I have taken the position that the people of our state deserve to know why the LICRAT Board spent over $3.6 million on a project when the cost could have been less than $600,000.”

Pruitt subsequently ordered the report sealed.

http://www.tulsaworld.com/homepagelatest/state-auditor-claims-overspending-on-tar-creek-project/article_3deca65f-2776-5e78-8268-850e4ad7bb0e.html

The EPA told Politico that Pruitt has a “blanket waiver” from federal standards limiting government employees from booking
first-class tickets because of concerns about his security.

When pressing about that "blanket waiver," the agency told reporters to file a Freedom of Information Act request instead
of answering questions.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/paloma/the-energy-202/2018/02/14/the-energy-202-how-the-pruitt-first-class-flight-story-spun-out-of-control/5a83700c30fb041c3c7d7866/

Then the story changes:

The EPA this week told reporters that Pruitt had a “blanket waiver” allowing him to bypass coach class whenever possible. Federal regulations, however, say that “blanket authorization of other than coach-class transportation accommodations is prohibited and shall be authorized on an individual trip-by-trip basis.”

“Pruitt’s explanation is absurd and assumes that it’s easier to protect someone in first class than in economy,” “Members of Congress who routinely fly coach should be offended by his lavish travel habits.”
On Wednesday afternoon, the agency backed away from its earlier statements.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/epa-chief-has-unusual-waiver-to-fly-in-first-or-business-class/2018/02/14/9f29a658-11b0-11e8-9570-29c9830535e5_story.html



As an example, Barnet recounted on incident from October at the airport in Atlanta. An individual approached Pruitt with his cell phone recording, yelling at him “‘Scott Pruitt, you’re f---ing up the environment,’ those sort of terms,” Barnet said.

...but it turns out the first class travel habit started when he was still just a local politician.
https://newsok.com/scott-pruitt-traveled-first-class-a-few-times-when-he-was-oklahoma-attorney-general/article/5586000

#BootPruitt campaign revs up

10 national environmental groups, including the Sierra Club and Natural Resources Defense Council, will begin a new campaign to remove Pruitt from office, citing what they say is Pruitt’s habit of “spending lavishly on himself.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/paloma/the-energy-202/2018/03/28/the-energy-202-epa-chief-fires-back-on-flight-costs-as-bootpruitt-campaign-revs-up/5abaa98b30fb042a378a2eb5/

Maybe he should pay the carbon credits for those trips and all the libs will be happy.

I wonder what the EPA would say to this....

China is testing cutting-edge defence technology to develop a powerful yet relatively low-cost weather modification system to bring substantially more rain to the Tibetan plateau, Asia's biggest freshwater reserve. From a report:

The system, which involves an enormous network of fuel-burning chambers installed high up on the Tibetan mountains, could increase rainfall in the region by up to 10 billion cubic metres a year -- about 7 per cent of China's total water consumption -- according to researchers involved in the project. Tens of thousands of chambers will be built at selected locations across the Tibetan plateau to produce rainfall over a total area of about 1.6 million square kilometres (620,000 square miles), or three times the size of Spain. It will be the world's biggest such project.

The chambers burn solid fuel to produce silver iodide, a cloud-seeding agent with a crystalline structure much like ice. The chambers stand on steep mountain ridges facing the moist monsoon from south Asia. As wind hits the mountain, it produces an upward draft and sweeps the particles into the clouds to induce rain and snow.

http://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/2138866/china-needs-more-water-so-its-building-rain-making-network-three

They'd probably say that people have been trying to manipulate the weather for just about ever and thus far have had very limited and not cost-effective results.  That is, if the American EPA had anything at all to say about China's efforts to increase rainfall on the Tibetan plateau...

So man cannot manipulate weather??  B...but I thought man-made climate change was manipulating the weather!

(Sorry, you know I had to.)

No, man-made climate change is changing the climate.  Weather is something else.  From what I've read on this forum, weather is unrelated to climate change.
 
 ;D

Related, but not the same.  Best simple example I ever heard is to imagine a pot of water that is right on the edge of boiling.  It's got all those little current swirls going on, and there is the occasional small bubble.  Now, put a clear lid on it to trap more of the heat.  (Similar to increasing CO2 in the atmosphere)  The pot may or may not boil, but the specific swirls and stuff change a lot due to that small increase in trapped energy.  Similar to climate.  The overall pot (earth) may not boil, but the specific patterns will change dramatically.

But I don't see this China thing as directly related to any of this.  All they are doing is cloud seeding with Silver Iodide, albeit on a massive scale.  It probably won't work as well as they want, but it isn't related to climate change at all.

 

Seems like burning a bunch of solid fuel for this project would increase CO2 levels at the scale proposed.

I guess you can read it how you want...   I would have thought the "enormous network of fuel-burning chambers" would have sent some people over the edge.   You know it would have if it had been proposed in the US.  I guess as long as it's a foreign country, the environment over there doesn't matter (as it is on a separate level of the flat earth.)

Weather is derivative of climate change, similar to how velocity is derivative of velocity.  We were at a point in climate history (position), with climate change moving at some rate (velocity).  We applied trillions of tons of CO2 and derived weather (acceleration).

And the third derivative,... well that is Trump.   If you remember from calculus and engineering school, that would be a Jerk.

Nope, nope, nope.  Listen to the narrative, Heir.  Weather and climate are different, neither affects the other.  It's liberal logic at its finest.

Who says that?  If anyone said that, they would not be using any form of logic.  Let alone paying attention to science.

Weather and climate are different. Weather is for short term observations - it was hot out today (weeks, months, years).  Climate is longer term observations - it is hot in Saudi Arabia (years, decades, centuries). But climate definitely affects the weather - E.g., a blizzard is not likely in Miami and it is not likely there will be a hurricane in Chicago. The respective climates are not conducive to those weather events.  However, if the climate around lake Michigan was as warm parts of the Gulf of Mexico - perhaps Chicago could have hurricanes (ignoring the geography of the Lake making that very unlikely for other reasons).  If the climate around the Gulf of Mexico saw much less energy, the weather event we call a blizzard would be much more likely in Miami.  Those are made up examples, but...

if the climate around the Gulf of Mexico is consistently warmer it is more likely that there will be more hurricanes, that more water will evaporate, that coastal winds will increase.  If the climate over Greenland is warmer, it is likely that the weather will be above freezing more days and the ice sheet will melt, which will likely affect the salinity of water, which may change the gulf stream, which may lead to colder weather in England (even to the extent it could affect the climate in England).   A warmer climate means more energy, more energy means more evaporation... which can mean more rainfall for areas if they are downwind from large bodies of warming water, or it can mean drier conditions for other areas (if prevailing winds shift or there is no more rainfall but increased evaporation in the area). 

Weather is a derivative of climate, geography, and mathematics we do not fully understand. Weather is definitely affected by climate.

Here's NASA's & NOAA's "liberal logic" on the subject:
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/noaa-n/climate/climate_weather.html
https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/weather_climate.html

Scott Pruitt used an obscure provision in the Safe Drinking Water Act to increase the salaries of two close aides at the agency last month after the White House refused to boost their pay.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2018/04/03/epas-pruitt-gave-big-raises-to-two-close-aides-after-being-rebuffed-by-the-white-house

Supposedly both Trump and Kelly called Pruitt to congratulate him on circumventing the White House.

Both young females he has sitting on his, um, staff.  Is it just me or does Pruitt have the most punchable face in an administration since, Steve Bannon?  Maybe it's that hayseed gap tooth look that reminds me of Alfred E. Neumann.

You forget about Stephen Miller?

(https://www.rawstory.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/nbc_mtp-Stephen-Miller.jpg)

Sabotaging the EPA was a Trump goal, so the headline pretty much sums it up:


On one hand, Pruitt is a huge ethical headache. On the other, he's doing exactly what Trump wants.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/politics/wp/2018/04/03/on-the-one-hand-pruitt-is-a-huge-ethical-headache-on-the-other-hes-doing-exactly-what-trump-wants

That's mighty punchable.

He was being sarcastic/satirical...


It quite literally is a mathematical relationship - weather derives from climate.  They are different, but interconnected.  Much like peanut butter and jelly on a sandwich!!   Mmm...PB&J !  Time for breakfast!!

Please, send him to jail.  Do not let him come back to Oklahoma to run for governor.  We are screwed enough without his screwing you and I. 

He still thinks hes going to replace Sessions as A.G.   Can you imagine what a disaster that would be for the justice system?

Trump Can’t Decide If Pruitt Is Too Corrupt to Lead the EPA – Or Just Corrupt Enough to Be His Attorney General
http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2018/04/trump-cant-decide-whether-to-fire-pruitt-or-promote-him.html

I keep thinking he has to the slimiest person in the admin, and then I remember Jared. And then Trump himself. 

Next step is for Trump to adopt him.  Fits right into the family dynamic.

Its apparently safe to do now without fear of the Ninja Assassins.


We have a new frontrunner for America's Next Top Swampmonster in the form of EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt, who apparently felt entitled to live like an oligarch on the taxpayer dime. One of his big excuses for that appears to be falling apart.
https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/a19717300/scott-pruitt-death-threats-epa/

I guess it depends on your news source.  (I have no idea who these people are...  I just did a quick google search, and apparently I am a better researcher than esquire.)

https://www.eenews.net/stories/1060070805

At least three arrests were made in fiscal 2017 related to threats against EPA facilities or personnel, Sullivan said. Nevertheless, some of those cases have not advanced much further.

E&E News Source is a subscription-based online news service that covers energy and environment policy and markets. Based in Washington, D.C. with an estimated 40,000 subscribers.  Maybe that is why this company loves them some Scott Pruitt.  (Didn't take that long to find this out)  Who knows, maybe Esquire considered E&E a possible source of fake news. 

...as illustrated by this expert analysis:

"Someone was drinking a little too much when watching Rachel Maddow." https://www.eenews.net/stories/1060070805


The "threats" were declined prosecution; almost all were non-specific, lumping in the EPA as part of "the government" and representing little more than just busywork for the FBI/Tulsa Police Joint Terrorism Task Force.

According to the internal EPA memo, the "threats" include protesters attempting to disrupt one of Pruitt's closed-door speeches, a letter from a prisoner, and a postcard that included the greeting: "CLIMATE CHANGE IS REAL!!! We are watching you"
Among specific incidents, the agency said one person had approached Pruitt in the Atlanta airport while yelling, "Scott Pruitt, you’re f---ing up the environment."
https://www.politico.com/story/2018/04/10/documents-contradict-epa-claims-threats-984459

The EPA itself admitted that there were "no records" about death threats in reply to Freedom Of Information requests.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/details-hazy-on-death-threats-against-epas-scott-pruitt_us_5acabfeae4b0337ad1e9624b

So, the employee who wrote the security assessment downplaying threats to Pruitt has now been fired.  But it had nothing to do with his dismissive memo legislators cited in questioning the millions in over-spending expenditures for Pruitt's safety, apparently he was fired over another job he held 10 years ago.  Happens all the time, I know.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2018/04/10/scott-pruitt-security-spending/505437002/

Pruitt wants to replace the EPA's "marijuana leaf" coin logo with his name and a bible verse
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/11/climate/pruitt-epa-challenge-coin.html

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/72/Environmental_Protection_Agency_logo.png/220px-Environmental_Protection_Agency_logo.png)

How was he not suffocated in a fraternity prank back in college?

Sorry, I know I really shouldn't but...damn.

I think one has to at least be a Pledge. 

EPA's Scott Pruitt knew about raises, former aide tells Senate Dems

https://www.cnn.com/2018/04/12/politics/epa-scott-pruitt-travel-security-congress/index.html (https://www.cnn.com/2018/04/12/politics/epa-scott-pruitt-travel-security-congress/index.html)

Lying to Congress is pretty much a career change.

Well, that's one way to put it, yes.

I'm just curious how anyone can stand to be in the same room with Pruitt with the strong smell of vinegar and water emanating from him.

Yeah...gets you in line to get elected President.  Like Trump...

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/usworld/ny-times-editorial-scott-pruitt-has-become-ridiculous/article_04e74a2e-1641-569e-8c8c-f7876de4418b.html

Clearly a hit piece but I couldn't resist:

"Great job Scottie!"

I found a great Pruitt meme but cannot figure out how to get images to copy properly from teh Googlz anymore.

Just to help the heartburn a little bit... cover of "Ice Ice Baby".  That I actually like...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YC3IxxYsIN8&list=RD_nLmM9kcBKs&index=3

You say "hit piece" but was any of it untrue? Did he not send thousands for the telephone hush box? Did he not want to use lights and sirens to cut through traffic? Did he not insist on flying first class for "security" reasons or insist on using Delta to accumulate frequent flier miles?

I take issue with the headline... he has not 'become' -he has always been ridiculous!

If one is good, it ain't bragging if it's true...

Conversely, if one is bad, it ain't a hit piece if it's true.  It's just truth.

From the tone, it is an angry Op-Ed, not hard news. 

And shouldn't we be angry at what he's done?  Trump isn't draining the swamp, he's installing one.  Moreso than DC was before, if that's even possible.

The link does say "editorial"

Most of the dumb masses will skim past that.

I have to say, Pruitt has to be the dumbest cabinet appointee since Joycelyn Elders.  But then again, not much of what Trump does makes logical sense.  Could explain why he's been bankrupt multiple times.

And don't forget, adding almost $2 trillion more to the debt over the next 2 years!  He is going for the George W Bush record.

Smoke and mirrors, just like the "Clinton" surplus.  never happened.

Oh, yeah...there will be more than 2 trillion added...


Surplus...well, yeah, there was one.  Didn't stop the debt from rising slightly those years, as seen in the Federal Debt history, but the rising rate was WAY down the other direction from Republican times since 1981.  Just like with Obama...going from George's last of $1.9 trillion to about $1.55 trillion Obama's first year.  Cut by almost $400 billion.  During the worst recession and the effects of W's massive multi-trillion dollar bailouts to his and Dick's buddies.

You've got to do a better job of learning when someone is busting your balls.  A simple LOL would have sufficed to my smoke and mirrors comment.  I could likely and probably do recite the debt and deficit (real or imagined) figures in my sleep.

I know you are being facetious, but there are SOOO many out there that don't realize that and will take to the Fake News Airways in a flash with it...

Or this

Trump steaks and pee tests -- a history of Trump products
https://youtu.be/SYxdH9KosJQ

but back on topic

Scott Pruitt Before the E.P.A.: Fancy Homes, a Shell Company and Friends With Money
http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/state/scott-pruitt-before-the-e-p-a-fancy-homes-a/article_0692cad3-be0f-5f39-ac24-4df66ad84c2d.html

Embattled EPA administrator faces Congress

https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/epa-pruitt-congress-hearing/h_f49c105f27b02d79055dc5519b776be0 (https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/epa-pruitt-congress-hearing/h_f49c105f27b02d79055dc5519b776be0)

just click the link...this guy is a goddamned mess

What a lying sack 'o crap...

Tom Cole just invoked a large manufacturer in OKC area - York Air Conditioning - to 'help' Pruitt try to make his case to get back at California!  Birds of a feather.  They are applying Oklahoma environmental conditions to the LA basin.  Good job, Scott...Not!

I do have to laugh though that my Twitter alerts are full of leftist journalists screaming about Pruitt lying to Fox about the pay raises like that is perjury.  Since when did leftist journalists give Fox the time of day anyhow?

Yeah...that's the Fake Fox News normal now....


None of that takes away from the fact that he still is a piece of crap.

Even Fox is unhappy about how the story seemed to change:
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2018/04/26/pruitt-admits-knowing-about-controversial-raise-despite-past-denial.html

Original interview to Fox:
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2018/04/04/epas-scott-pruitt-pushes-back-on-pay-raise-condo-controversy-in-fox-exclusive.html

Washington Post piece:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2018/04/05/top-epa-ethics-official-says-he-lacked-key-facts-about-pruitts-condo-rental/?utm_term=.3525e925fc99


It isn't good for the narrative when it seems the "lying media" is serving as an effective fourth estate.

As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be...Fake Fox News lying without end.

Lying Fox News reporting lies.  When did that ever happen?

Lol..Dino Yasss!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHEs5k7nGZc

EPA attempted to distract from boss’s troubles by planting stories that would reflect poorly on the secretary of the interior.

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/1857/11/epa-leaks/559607/


https://www.politico.com/story/2018/05/01/scott-pruitt-security-superfund-chief-leave-561761

Here Are The Actual Threats Made Against EPA Chief Scott Pruitt
https://www.buzzfeed.com/zahrahirji/scott-pruitt-epa-death-threats

(http://s.newsweek.com/sites/www.newsweek.com/files/styles/embed-md/public/2018/02/06/20180216cover1800-x-2400.jpg)

Thin skin much?

He is just reporting the facts.

Ahem, as in Pruitt having thin skin.

The same idiots made the Indian Brewery in Broken Arrow change its name (as it was culturally insensitive.)

You never know when a crackpot is more than just a keyboard tough guy.

Oh...yeah!   No doubt about Pruitt...I guess I just figured that was so widely understood...


And having one of Ed's 5:00 am moments...at varying times during the day.

If Blue Dragonflies or Blu (insert umlaut here) Dragonflies ever get offended, my businesses are jacked.

Scott Pruitt’s EPA and the White House sought to block publication of a federal health study on a nationwide water-contamination crisis, after one Trump administration aide warned it would cause a "public relations nightmare," newly disclosed emails reveal.

The intervention early this year — not previously disclosed — came as HHS' Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry was preparing to publish its assessment of a class of toxic chemicals that has contaminated water supplies near military bases, chemical plants and other sites from New York to Michigan to West Virginia.

The study would show that the chemicals endanger human health at a far lower level than EPA has previously called safe, according to the emails.

More than three months later, the draft study remains unpublished, and the HHS unit says it has no scheduled date to release it for public comment.

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/05/14/emails-white-house-interfered-with-science-study-536950

No kidding!  What a crock of carp!   The guys are Native Americans.  They talked to several tribes about it.  Would love to know what candy-a$$, non-Native, a...  I guess I better not say that...

Whoever complained needs to get out their jumbo Crayon set and sit down and color!  Shut up and let the adults talk!  And don't show their ignorant faces at the place.  Ever!

They are now calling it Broken Arrow Brewing Co.  Still a very cool building and I am looking forward to their opening and going out to visit!

Scott Pruitt asked for a 24/7 security detail, which he has blamed on security threats, before he ever started working at the agency, the EPA’s internal watchdog said Monday.

http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/387639-pruitt-asked-for-24-7-security-before-starting-at-epa-watchdog-says

EPA Director Pruitt was so sorry for blocking select reporters from covering a water pollution summit that he did it again the next day
http://abc7news.com/epa-criticized-for-again-blocking-reporters-from-chemicals-summit/3512543/

Trump Mini-me.

Pruitt’s scheduler Millan Hupp told Oversight staff she worked with the managing director of the Trump International Hotel in hopes of securing an old mattress.  She said Pruitt had told her someone at the hotel indicated he could purchase the mattress, though she did not know why he wished to do so and did not know if he ultimately bought it.
 
https://www.politico.com/story/2018/06/04/scott-pruitt-trump-hotel-mattress-592165


Ugh.

It's a rapidly gentrifying area with remodeled rowhouses and new condo buildings.  A few subway stops from the Hill.  A 30 minute walk from the EPA HQ. Here's the Google map of the area, go forth and drop a pin.   (https://www.google.com/maps/@38.9136778,-77.0295937,434a,35y,39.36t/data=!3m1!1e3)


I love that area.

Lol...This guy is doing a great job...As the freak out is just as bad....24/7-365...

What is it that he is doing that is great?

Providing a bad example for all our children to see and avoid.

Preserving old mattress DNA for future generations to enjoy and appreciate?

You must have something to show for his work if you're responding so lovingly. 

What has he done to show you he's doing a great job?

You took that one little step past the sound bite - he has no response.  Can't think that far forward into the future.

Dogturd (I'm referring to him/her as Dogturd going forward) is just posting to post.  He/she has some unfulfilled wants.

Eewwwww....there you go, painting pictures that I don't wanna see...!!  Unfulfilled wants...Yuck!   We have seen little 'bubbles' of his rise to the surface here over time...not pretty!


Don't know him or where he 'burns' bread - bakery guy in town..??   Now I am hoping I never get to 'experience' whatever it is he does make...


As for nickname, well I haven't taken to calling him names 'cause I don't wanna be down at his level.  Could happen, I guess, but not quite yet.

The ultimate $hitposter.

Here...!   This...!!    Need a break from the day to day BS and grind???  This is mesmorizing, requires no particular amount of brainpower to watch, and is really kind of beautiful - I can hardly wait til Theo gets the herds released into the wild so they can live their lives free and unencumbered by the worries of life!!

If you ever needed an example of why the arts are so important in school, even the most unenlightened should be able to make a STEM connection to this!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KsqlnGMzMD4


Enjoy!   The music ain't bad, either!

https://slate.com/technology/2018/06/how-gross-are-hotel-mattresses-make-hotel-bed-cleaner.html

What kind of sick 'fanboy' thing has Pruitt got going on that he wants a used mattress from the Trump hotel...??   Think about it...but don't think to long - that goes down a rabbit hole that is more of a Donny Darko Rabbit hole...!!

"Troubled" is probably one of the nicest things to be said about that.

Salty Language:

Pruitt on Chick-fil-A: 'We need more of them in Tulsa and we need more of them across the country'
https://www.cnn.com/2018/06/06/politics/scott-pruitt-chick-fil-a/index.html

Why are articles being published about Pruitt and used mattresses in the first place?  SRSLY?

Who the hell buys a used hotel mattress? That's disgusting.

a) that's disgusting
b) he had his staff running personal errands for him

This is what presidents, monarchs, legislators, and emperors er bureaucrats do.

Yeah...mediocre food at too high a price...we need a lot more of that!!

Apparently our senior citizen senator is getting tired of the stuff his protege is trying to pull. 

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/epa-scott-pruitt-gop-senator-inhofe_us_5b217e6be4b09d7a3d79e013 (https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/epa-scott-pruitt-gop-senator-inhofe_us_5b217e6be4b09d7a3d79e013)

“All these things that are coming out are really not good things,” Inhofe said. “I’ve kind of taken the position that if that doesn’t stop, I’m going to be forced to be in a position where I’m going to say, ‘Well, Scott, you’re not doing your job.’ And hopefully that will change.”


Now for those of you who seem to enjoy saying things about me.  Go for it. 

You have a nice mustache.

Oh, Inhofe.  Like any line-toer he gives his blessings to anyone with the same letter in parentheses after their name, until they figure out they dont actually share as many values as they thought, or their neck hurts from looking the other way.
Its also possible our Kamikaze senator kind of liked not being the center of the nations ire over Okie politicians for a while.

Got nothing right now about you...  will try to come up with something later...


Inhofe - well he is the same kind of slug that Pruitt is, so it is very strange hearing him cast aspersions about things he brags about doing.  Not sure what is going on there, except maybe continuation of his dementia.


Oh, got something...don't let the Bass-Trds get you down.  Keep on truckin' !!

https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.kotapparel.com/images/categories/kk-251-cat.png&imgrefurl=http://www.kotapparel.com/index.php?main_page%3Dindex%26cPath%3D1&h=200&w=200&tbnid=2z36HbbdneULGM:&q=keep+on+truckin&tbnh=186&tbnw=186&usg=__W50242PRH12nlMi08EBGxCF6lUg%3D&vet=10ahUKEwjmvsqXsNPbAhWOrVkKHRYyDv8Q_B0IvQEwEQ..i&docid=-PtGZoE0LFkS8M&itg=1&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjmvsqXsNPbAhWOrVkKHRYyDv8Q_B0IvQEwEQ

I was suspicious when Inhofe actually made some seemingly rational comments a few days ago about his good buddy, Pruitt.  Something was just way out of whack....

Back to the natural order - Inhofe retracts his original correct statements and goes with his standard fare.

https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/republican-senator-takes-back-criticism-153740307.html

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) told lawmakers this week that it abandoned plans to establish an office for Administrator Scott Pruitt in his home town of Tulsa, Okla.

“Although the EPA staff did explore whether office space was available in Tulsa, this possibility was ultimately abandoned,” Troy Lyons, the EPA's associate administrator for congressional affairs, wrote in a Tuesday letter to Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Texas), the top Democrat on the House Science Committee.

Early on in Pruitt's tenure at the agency, and even before he was confirmed, the agency wanted to rent office space for him in Tulsa, according to Lyons' letter.

Johnson and two other high-ranking Democrats on the panel previously obtained documents showing EPA staff trying to establish the office. Johnson asked about the office in May, saying it would be an unnecessary and ethically questionable expense.

“Establishing a new EPA office in Tulsa may be personally convenient for you, but it seems ethically questionable, professionally unnecessary, and financially unjustified,” Johnson and her colleagues wrote in a letter to Pruitt dated May 1.

Pruitt has been under fire in recent months for various ethics and spending scandals, centered in part around allegations that he has sought to use taxpayer resources for personal gain.

In his first few months on the job, he frequently traveled to Tulsa for business and then stayed at home for the weekend. The EPA’s inspector general is investigating whether the trips were a proper use of agency funds.

Lyons also sent the Democrats a series of emails, some of which the lawmakers appeared to already have.

They show that shortly after Trump's inauguration, Ryan Jackson, who at the time was chief of staff for Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), reached out to EPA staff asking them to research office space in Tulsa that Pruitt could use when he was home. After Pruitt was confirmed by the Senate, Jackson became his chief of staff at EPA.

“Pruitt wants to know when he goes home to Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he can work,” Jackson wrote to James Blizzard, in EPA’s congressional affairs office, on Jan. 30, 2017, when he was still on Inhofe's staff.

Jackson later got more specific about what Pruitt would need.

“Office for him, meeting room, lobby space but that’s largely it I think,” he wrote on Jan. 31, adding that he'll also need a secure compartmented information facility "in the event he is working on spill info or otherwise protected information.

"Of course when the President communicates with the Cabinet those communications are protected so we will need to be able to accommodate that,” he added.

Jackson said Pruitt also would need a secure computer and phone, 24-hour access and a parking garage. He added that he wanted the space to be “consistent with previous Administrators,” saying former EPA head Gina McCarthy had a similar setup in her hometown of Boston when she served during the Obama administration.

Jackson said he didn’t think it was necessary to ask for a provision in EPA’s annual appropriations legislation to fund the office space.
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/393201-epa-says-it-abandoned-plan-for-pruitts-hometown-office

The job is in Washington - by definition.  If he didn't want to be there, he should not have taken the job.

But then we would have been stuck with his BS around here, too.  It's a dilemma.

"Pruitt’s high security costs are justified because of the 'unprecedented threats' against him and his family, Inhofe said."

The security he ordered the day he was confirmed, before any of the "threats" took place?

EPA requested 24/7 security for Pruitt on day one
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/pruitt-requested-247-security-day-epa-internal-watchdog/story?id=55159257

You were there Jimmy, you should know.

Pruitt, according to a tweet from herr Donald, has tendered his resignation today as EPA Director.

Pruitt is out. Good. To much of a distraction. The acting EPA guy is far more experienced and aggressive than Pruitt in deregulation. Very happy

White House turnover:

Deputy Chief of Staff
National Security Adviser #1
Dept. national Security Adviser
Surgeon General
FBI Director
Communications Director #1
Government Ethics Director
WH Press Secretary #1
WH Chief of Staff
Communications Director #2
Chief Strategist
Dep. Assistant to the President
HHS Secratary
Consumer Financial Protection Director
Dept. national Security Adviser
Communications Director WH office of Public Laison
Dept. Chief of Staff
CDC Director
WH Staff Secretary
Communications Director #3
NEC Director
Secretary of State
FBI Deputy Director
National Security Adviser #2
Veterans Affairs Secratary
Homeland Security Adviser
WH lawyer
President Personal Lawyer
EPA Administrator

Hired and Fired: the Unprecedented Turnover of the Trump Administration (https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/03/16/us/politics/all-the-major-firings-and-resignations-in-trump-administration.html)

Tracking Turnover in the Trump Administration (https://www.brookings.edu/research/tracking-turnover-in-the-trump-administration/)

Trump's staff turnover is the highest of any US administration in modern history (http://www.businessinsider.com/trump-turnover-rate-firings-resignations-compared-obama-bush-clinton-2018-3#trumps-senior-staff-turnover-not-including-cabinet-secretaries-in-year-one-was-over-three-times-higher-than-obamas-1)

https://www.vox.com/2018/3/6/17088334/hagin-deputy-chief-of-staff-trump-white-house-departures

Next stop prison or running a mega church?

Even money?

Next guy just as bad.  If not worse.

Consummate Washington insider.   Consummate swamp creature.

Then there is this comment on the World's fb page.  Poor guy, he was the victim so they say.

 That's just awful. He was doing such a good job rolling back all the Obama regulations and overreach. From what I have been told, it was Scott Pruitt's aides from Tulsa, Millan Hupp, Sydney Hupp and Sarah Greenwalt that were responsible for all the problems. They are young and just don't understand how things need to be done in Washington. I hope they are prosecuted by Congress or a special prosecutor. It is sad that a good and god fearing man like Administrator Pruitt now has to pay the price for their dishonesty and lack of knowledge. The only good news is that Administrator Pruitt is now freed up to come back to Oklahoma to seek higher office. I have heard from reliable sources that James Inhofe will be retiring soon and Mary Fallin will be appointing Scott Pruitt to take his place in the Senate till the good folks of Oklahoma elect him as United States Senator from Oklahoma.

(https://media.giphy.com/media/wWue0rCDOphOE/giphy.gif)

Grifters gotta grift, and believe me, Mary Fallin knows about grifters.

This next guy may poison our children even faster.

Cognitive dissonance much?  Apparently this writer is unaware of how he ran the AG's office like a monarchy.  SMH.

Scott Pruitt Before the E.P.A.: Fancy Homes, a Shell Company and Friends With Money
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/21/us/politics/scott-pruitt-oklahoma-epa.html


“Whatever Scott Pruitt’s problems, whether they were self-inflicted or not, it really doesn’t matter, in my view, because his approach was correct, and that needs to continue,” said Dewey F. Bartlett Jr., an oil executive and former mayor of Tulsa.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/08/us/pruitt-oklahoma.html

Last cheesy, cheap shot... of course.


https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/scott-pruitt-loophole-glider-truck-182905847.html

There is more.  http://www.publicradiotulsa.org/post/ousted-epa-head-pruitt-denies-receiving-improper-gifts-income (http://www.publicradiotulsa.org/post/ousted-epa-head-pruitt-denies-receiving-improper-gifts-income)

Well dang, I posted to quickly.  https://thinkprogress.org/former-epa-boss-scott-pruitt-is-thinking-about-becoming-a-coal-consultant-c9c2b579ba3b/ (https://thinkprogress.org/former-epa-boss-scott-pruitt-is-thinking-about-becoming-a-coal-consultant-c9c2b579ba3b/)

And anyone in this country would be surprised, why??

‘Fox & Friends’ Fed Interview Script to Trump’s EPA Chief
https://www.thedailybeast.com/fox-and-friends-fed-interview-script-to-trumps-epa-chief-emails-show



Billionaire GOP donor gave Scott Pruitt $50,000 for legal expenses
https://www.washingtonpost.com/energy-environment/2018/12/07/billionaire-gop-donor-gave-scott-pruitt-legal-expenses

Trump jokingly congratulated acting EPA chief on not acting like Pruitt
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/423165-trump-jokingly-congratulated-acting-epa-head-on-not-acting-like

President Trump has reportedly jokingly congratulated acting EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler on avoiding ethics scandals that plagued his predecessor, Scott Pruitt.

The Washington Post reported Friday citing senior administration officials that Trump on more than one occasion congratulated Wheeler for not attempting to buy a used mattress from the Trump hotel in Washington, D.C., which Pruitt once reportedly tried to do.

The detail came in a story examining Pruitt's job prospects in the wake of his departure from the Trump administration following months of scrutiny over his first-class travel and other decisions.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2018/national/scott-pruitt-epa-expenses/

Over $800,000 in travel costs in Pruitt's first year.  About like Trump...oh, wait, no - Trump spends millions per trip to Mar A Lago...

Our very own, dearest Scott Pruitt finally has another job!!   Good for him...

Lobbying for coal.  In Indiana.  Well, I guess...if anyone can be convinced to believe in him, it has to be coal.  Heather Tryon company manager for his only client, RailPoint Solutions LLC, a Delaware corporation created in January that has no listed street address or website.

She also appears to be the CFO of Terre Haute-based Sunrise Coal, which operates four coal mines in the state.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/ex-epa-chief-pruitt-registers-005445825.html

Bless his heart....  in the MOST Southern definition of the phrase possible.

Before leading the war on clean air and water as head of the EPA, former Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt asked the U.S. Supreme Court to declare Colorado’s legalization of marijuana unconstitutional on this day in 2014.

https://tulsaworld.com/news/local/history/throwback-tulsa-oklahoma-joins-nebraska-in-fight-against-marijuana-on-this-day-in-2014/collection_dfa220d8-290a-11eb-bbb9-33e8ba467c78.html

File it under "Dont Make This Mistake Again"

Scott Pruitt’s political comeback began Friday.

Four years after exiting the Environmental Protection Agency’s top spot amid a hail of ethics and management scandals and complaints, the former state senator and Oklahoma attorney general walked unannounced into the Capitol at midday Friday and filed for U.S. Senate.

Asked how he would address questions about the circumstances of his 2018 departure from Washington, Pruitt essentially blamed political enemies for the bad publicity.


https://tulsaworld.com/news/local/former-epa-chief-oklahoma-attorney-general-scott-pruitt-resurfaces-files-for-u-s-senate/article_58308736-bccd-11ec-b28a-63b3ab07a0a9.html