A LETTER TO MY CONGRESSMAN

 

A few weeks ago I wrote my Congressman, Lloyd Smucker (R-PA) to express my concern regarding co-president Elon Musk and his young minions gaining access to Treasury Department files and data. I eventually received a reply telling me not to be concerned, and that he supported the co-presidents' and DOGE's efforts. That reply did not assuage my concern over personal data getting into the hands of zealots having no accountability for their actions. As I began to draft a response, the actions of DOGE were beginnning to look more ominous. Here, then, is the letter I wrote to Congressman Smucker in response to his blithe reply.

Thank you for your reply to my recent message regarding Elon Musk's intrusion into the Treasury Department and the cutting of its staff. I believe it is as important for elected officials to reply to constituents' concerns as it is for those constituents to make their concerns known. You replied, "I support DOGE’s efforts to make our federal government more transparent and fiscally responsible." I believe that quite the opposite has been happening--there is a lack of transparency and accountability, and the results have been wasteful and irresponsible. Nor do I believe its guiding principle is, as you say, ensuring "every taxpayer dollar is spent as intended and to eliminate inefficiencies."

There is much resistance to DOGE's actions not to defend bad accounting and waste, but, rather, to defend programs that serve vital health and national security purposes from being slashed haphazardly. Musk's claims of money saved have been largely fictitious and, in some cases, completely opaque. Claims that Social Security payments have been made to numerous dead people are false. Claims of money saved from cancelled contracts are disingenuous--many of those contracts had already been cancelled, had been completed, or were not projecting future payouts.

The [not a real department] DOGE spree of cutting funds and firing federal employees has gone well beyond just the Department of Treasury--it has impacted a wide swath of government operations intended to help maintain American security and the welfare of its citizens. Its claims of savings in money and efficiency are largely false; Musk claimed cuts of $6B, but that is not true. He did, however, cut $109.7M in biotechnology research, which could have improved health and saved lives; $102.5M in life sciences, which would have broad applications to health, agriculture, and other fields; $86.8M in social sciences, which could have benefited health and public safety; and $171.7M in Laboratory services, consulting, and support which could help make possible various fields of research. DOGE also cut funding to studies of early childhood development; chronic lung disease; and drugs to treat Alzheimer's Disease and traumatic brain injury. Furthermore, Musk halted studies that had already been paid for, as well as studies that were in the final stages. All of these cuts to significant research that would benefit the health and welfare of many Americans, for the purpose of allowing large tax cuts for the already very wealthy without exploding the federal deficit.

Do you honestly believe an improvement in efficiency comes from rushing to fire numerous workers, only to realize they were essential to the security and welfare of the United States, and then frantically try to rehire them? The co-president did this more than once: US Department of Agriculture people who were developing a government response to bird flu (which has the potential to lead to a pandemic, not to mention its effect on the price of eggs); an Ebola prevention effort (part of USAID) was cancelled and then reinstated (or not--it's unclear); more than 300 staffers who work to secure America's nuclear weapons were suddenly fired--oops!--that was incredibly serious and irresponsible! The Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee was to have met in March to determine which virus strains for which to develop the next round of influenza vaccines; that may result in delays in vaccine availability. The Musk-Trump administration is considering pulling funding for development of a Moderna bird flu vaccine. It seems they would prefer to wait until after a new pandemic begins before preparing for it. Does the firing of thousands of federal employees who work hard to process taxes, keep our air travel safe, enable citizens to make reservations and to visit our national parks, really make any sense? Really?

Yes, examples of waste and abuse can be found within government operations. For example, this month President Trump visited Daytona to appear at the Daytona 500, a distance of about 200 miles by automobile. But instead of being driven there, he flew on board Air Force One, at a total cost of about $5,000,000 of taxpayers' money. His limousine was also brought to Daytona, anyway. Can you, with a straight face, explain the government efficiency this stunt illustrates? It is clearly an example of waste, fraud and abuse. Consider, also, that Trump has played golf on approximately 30 percent of his days in office (less than two months), costing taxpayers an estimated $10.7M (including travel). You said in your reply, "Every dollar spent on waste, fraud, and abuse is a dollar stolen from American taxpayers." Is Donald Trump a thief? Or take the case of the firing of those who oversee government contracts with Space-X and other Musk-owned companies; this obvious conflict of interest raises the possibility of blatant fraud. Is this the sort of government behavior Americans should trust?

Certainly, government agencies ought to be evaluated for efficiency. But it should be done in a careful manner, considering the agency missions, not willy-nilly by people who do not understand the agency missions or the science or economics on which their work is based. There are already procedures and standards in place to do that. The Government Accounting Office has been engaged in such work for over a century, with a well-trained, experienced staff. Furthermore, many of Musk's actions are contrary to law and some even contrary to the U.S. Constitution.

Musk's orgy of firings and his desire to greatly reduce or eliminate agencies and even entire departments, seems destined to bring about the same results as his actions had on Twitter after he took that company over--its value has plummeted, users have been abandoning it, and it now provides an outlet for frequent hate speech and bigotry. An important difference is that Twitter was a private company, not a government which has laws and constitutional mandates regarding the structure, creation and elimination of agencies and departments; Musk is not held accountable and is exceeding his legal authority. The changes his minions are making are beginning to impact the health, safety, and economic well-being of Americans and other people, for whom American assistance has been life-saving. An example of the unappreciated complexity of the dismantling of the government: by defunding USAID, not only are many lives jeopardized by cutting off food and medicine, but many American farmers are facing severe economic consequences by losing the market for their crops.

Overall, the so-called "government efficiency" efforts by the Musk-Trump administration will not make America "great" again, but will make America, in Donald Trump's word, a "shithole" country. Congress can help prevent this by reclaiming its Constitutional authority as the legislative branch of government. As you said, under the Constitution, Congress has the power of the purse. Many of DOGE's actions defy that Constitutional power; other actions defy Congress by eliminating positions and agencies that require an act of Congress to eliminate.

Thoughts and Prayers...

Once again, they offered their thoughts and prayers, but there was still blood on their hands.

Albrecht Dürer's Praying Hands, ca. 1508, with some color added.

Cannon Fodder

In wars of the past, masses of soldiers were thrown at each other in battle with no consideration of their humanity. Kings and emperors treated men like some cheap commodity: "Shovel on more coal!" Whence the term "cannon fodder" for those people who were held in such low esteem that they could be shovelled into battle like coal feeding a steam engine or hay feeding cattle.

The modern American equivalent of cannon fodder is the army of working men and women shovelled with contempt into low-wage occupations that stifle thought and personal growth. These days it is the wealthy class, rather than kings and generals, that handle the shovels. This is the reason science and history are despised by the ruling class--they require the modern cannon fodder to fuel their wealth, not inquisitive persons who question things or are skeptical of what their rulers tell them. Politicians promote this state of affairs by convincing the masses to vote for them in the belief that the policies called for by the politicians will bring them, too, into the aristocracy of wealth. The masses can be mollified by dreams of a better life.

Promise them anything--"I promise not to cut Medicare, Medicaid, or Social Security! I promise to make the economy grow at an unprecedented rate! I promise a new system of health care insurance that will cover everybody, more cheaply, and will be fantastic!"

But when you examine what promises are being kept, they are not these. Autocrats don't make promises to cannon fodder. Those who are pleased with the autocrat's actions are the exceedingly wealthy and the executives of corporations with lots of money to contribute, those who have a realistic chance of influencing the Dear Leader.

Fodder is only useful as long as the oxen are plowing the fields.

W's Happy Dance

I heard that yesterday, former President George W. Bush was seen and heard in the street doing a "happy dance" and singing over and over again, "I'm not the worst presnint ever after all!" I can't verify this, but I guess in Trumpterms, that means it must be true as an alternative fact.
 

Birth Certificate and Golden Shower

We're all familiar with the long-lived yet long-discredited Republican myth: Barack Obama was born in Kenya, his Hawaiian birth certificate is a forgery, and conspirators placed a false announcement of his birth in the local paper many, many years before he ran for president. Today, everybody except the congenitally deluded understands this myth was just an expression of the ignoratti's racial animus toward our nation's first African-American president.

A new story has just arisen, this time with regard to president-elect Donald Trump. It follows close on the heels of news of the Russian hacking of the presidential campaigns and Trump's involvement as a puppet or useful idiot of Vladimir Putin. It includes "perverted" sexual activities that Putin might use to blackmail the soon-to-be leader of the free world, with an episode of "golden showers" in particular. Some elements of this story lend it credibility: Trump has visited Russia; Trump campaign people had been involved in lobbying for Putin's desired outcome in Ukraine; and Trump has been filmed bragging about his sexual activities with numerous women to whom he was not married.

This story has not been verified. Conceivably, the whole thing may be a story made up by "some dude" sitting at a computer. A precedent for that is the alleged quote by George W. Bush regarding having to act within the bounds of the Constitution: "It's just a goddam piece of paper!" All citations of that quote linked to the same source (if any link was provided) and that source provided no evidence of its veracity.

But you know, Donald Trump continued to bring up the false birth certificate myth long after it was debunked. It would serve him right if for years people refer to him as "Pissident Trump" and giggle over a leak from the White House, and wonder if his next speech will be live streamed. Indeed, a golden age of comedy.

Kiss a Rock Week

Ribbon Limestone, Moselem Member of Virginville Formation (Ordovician), near Shoemakersville, Pennsylvania

October 9-15 is Earth Science Week. This year's theme is "Our Shared Geoheritage."  Rather than focusing on one aspect of earth science, this year's theme considers a variety of geologic fields and how people interact with earth features and resources and are affected by them.

Earth Science Week promotes education and understanding of our environment. There are activities for the classroom, other activities that focus on specific areas, and contests. And, very helpful, a directory of geoscience agencies, companies, and organizations around the country.

So go ahead and learn more about how geology has affected history and continues to affect life, politics, and the economy. Check out Earth Science Week for more information and local events.

Thank You, Americans for Prosperity (for reminding me why I should vote for Katie McGinty)

I received a flyer in the mail today from Americans for Prosperity (AFP), the evil spawn of the Koch brothers, pleading for me to vote against Katie McGinty. Their chief argument is that McGinty, as senator, will support energy policies that might be disadvantageous to fossil fuels.

Should I be surprised that a bunch of rich old farts want me to vote in a way that will make them richer? At my expense? Of course AFP favors continued use and extraction of fossil fuels, just as Big Tobacco favors continued smoking.

The flyer threatens that electricity costs will go up, groceries will cost more, and wages are down, and it is all, according to AFP, Katie McGinty's fault. But AFP fails to mention the costs that will be incurred if energy policy ignores climate change and the pressing need to switch away from fossil fuels.

According to The Cost of Delaying Action to Stem Climate Change, issued by the White House, "a delay that results in warming of 3 deg C above preindustrial levels, instead of 2 deg C, could increase economic damages by approximately 0.9 percent of global output." And these costs are incurred every year. But the Koch brothers won't be paying--your children and grandchildren, and their children, will pay. If mitigation is attempted, but delayed, those "costs increase, ,on average, by approximately 40 percent for each decade of delay." Not only does mitigation become more expensive, it also becomes more difficult.

Unemployment in the past decade has been strongly affected by the severe recession that began during the George W. Bush administration. The Economic Policy Institute (EPI) estimates that the Clean Power Plan will likely increase jobs by about 360,000 in 2020, with slower rates of job creation down to a gain of about 15,000 jobs in 2030.

Changes in weather patterns resulting from climate change will lead to greater monetary losses in coastal zones. According to the Risky Business Project (co-chaired by Michael R. Bloomberg, Henry M. Paulson, Jr., and Thomas F. Steyer), under the business-as-usual scenario, $66B to $106B worth of coastal property will be inundated by rising sea level, and that figure rises to $238B to $507B by 2100. Losses due to hurricanes will grow by more than $42B due to the effect of higher sea level on the inland reach of storms. Potential changes in hurricane activity could increase that figure to $108B. Increased incidence and duration of extreme heat threaten productivity, energy systems, food production, and health. Health impacts of extreme heat have already cost lives in Europe and Russia.

So, cleaning up emissions, particularly carbon dioxide, from power generation and transportation sources is extremely important from the standpoint of global warming. But it is also very important for its consequences on health. A study published in Nature Climate Change, predicts immediate, substantial health benefits coming from a strong Clean Power Plan, with expected prevention of 3,500 premature deaths in the United States annually, as well as reduced incidence of heart attacks and hospitalization.

So AFP and the Koch brothers don't give a damn if you take a loss on property or miss out on the rising tide of employment in the renewable energy field, or even get sick and die--the Kochtopus doesn't have all your money yet, so it still has a reason for being. And they want you to believe that you, too, will gain from their efforts.

And then there is a whole 'nother issue not mentioned in the AFP flyer--if you vote against McGinty, for whom do you vote? There are three candidates listed: Democrat McGinty, Republican Toomey, and Libertarian Clifford. The flyer does not suggest which of McGinty's oppnents one ought to vote for. Well, they legally cannot do that, because as a 501(c)(4) "social welfare organization," they are obliged to be non-partisan, neither supporting nor opposing any political candidates (and yet they are opposing McGinity?). It's obvious (Clifford who?) that AFP prefers Pat Toomey for U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania. Like the Koch brothers, Pat Toomey denies humans have had anything to do with changing climate: "My view is: I think the data is pretty clear. There has been an increase in the surface temperature of the planet over the course of the last 100 years or so. I think it's clear that that has happened. The extent to which that has been caused by human activity I think is not as clear. I think that is still very much disputed and has been debated." The overwhelming consensus among climate researchers is that human activity is the primary contributor toward global warming. But Toomey is a politician; he don't need no stinkin' science!

For the reasons discussed above, as well as for his desperate efforts to deny the reality of climate change and his giving fossil-fuel profits higher priority over human health, Pat Toomey is unfit for reelection to the United States Senate. But there is still another factor to disqualify him. He has refused to discharge his Constitutional duty to vote on President Barack Obama's nominee for justice of the United States Supreme Court. Sure, he cannot bring the name up for a vote on his own. But he could argue with the other dodging senators (particularly Justice Committee chair Grassley and Majority Leader McConnell) and try to convince them to allow the Senate to fulfill its duty. When I wrote urging Toomey to do the job he is being paid to do, he responded very condescendingly, saying (as I translate) "I hope I hope I hope a Republican will be elected president in 2016!" Well, Sen. Toomey, how's that Donald working out for you?