Political Current Events March 7-12

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nycfan said:

Industry-Backed Legislation Would Bar the Use of Science Behind Hundreds of Environmental Protections​


www.propublica.org

Industry-Backed Legislation Would Bar the Use of Science Behind Hundreds of Environmental Protections

Two bills in Congress would prohibit the Environmental Protection Agency from using hundreds of chemical assessments completed by its IRIS program in environmental regulations or enforcement.
www.propublica.org www.propublica.org

“… For decades, Republican lawmakers and industry lobbyists have tried to chip away at the small program in the Environmental Protection Agency that measures the threat of toxic chemicals.

Most people don’t know IRIS, as the program is called, but it is the scientific engine of the agency that protects human health and the environment. Its scientists assess the toxicity of chemicals, estimating the amount of each that triggers cancer and other health effects. And these values serve as the independent, nonpartisan basis for the rules, regulations and permits that limit our exposure to toxic chemicals.

Now IRIS faces the gravest threat to its existence since it was created under President Ronald Reagan four decades ago.

Legislation introduced in Congress would prohibit the EPA from using any of IRIS’ hundreds of chemical assessments in environmental rules, regulations, enforcement actions and permits that limit the amount of pollution allowed into air and water. The EPA would also be forbidden from using them to map the health risks from toxic chemicals. The bills, filed in both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives earlier this year, are championed by companies that make and use chemicals, along with industry groups that have long opposed environmental rules. If it becomes law, the “No IRIS Act,” as it’s called, would essentially bar the agency from carrying out its mission, experts told ProPublica.

“They’re trying to undermine the foundations for doing any kind of regulation,” said William Boyd, a professor at UCLA School of Law who specializes in environmental law. Boyd noted that IRIS reports on chemicals’ toxicity are the first step in the long process of creating legal protections from toxic pollutants in air and water.

“If you get rid of step one, you’re totally in the dark,” he said. …”
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That will show that fucking anti-business liberal named, <check notes> Ronald Reagan.
 
Mulberry Heel said:
How in the world does this not violate freedom of speech or peaceful assembly for American citizens? They're literally muzzling the Bill of Rights for American citizens. And yet our Trumper posters here will defend, defend, defend. They're witnessing the dismantling of the Constitution before their very eyes and yet all they can see is a handful of transgenders playing women's sports and the gheys can marry and boy aren't we owning those libs! It's sick, twisted, and crazy. And if a Democratic POTUS were doing this to them they'd be screaming bloody murder and calling them a tyrant.
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It does violate freedom of speech. If it ever becomes more than an executive order, it will be overturned in half a second.
 
Mulberry Heel said:
I posted the Guardian article about how unlikeable and hateful Vance is. It fits the MAGA personality perfectly that he would attack other people for using their kids as shields but then uses his kids to whine and complain about how "unfairly" he is being treated. Buckle up, big guy, this is just the beginning.
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Was telling my wife how utterly loathsome and vile I find Vance. Trump is a petty fool, Elon is a deranged drug addict with a personality disorder… JD is obviously smart but amoral and consumed in his striving for power. Just an absolute worm of a person. I’m going to become obsessed with him the way Hunter S. Thompson was with Nixon.
 

HHS grants DOGE access to child support database, overriding objections​

An HHS official said the associates of Elon Musk’s group had sought ‘read-only’ access.


“… The government database — created to help enforce child support payments and overseen by the Administration for Children and Families, or ACF — contains substantial amounts of personal income data linked to nearly all U.S. workers. The people spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.

An HHS official confirmed that DOGE received access to the system, saying that DOGE’s agents sought “read-only access” to the system and were required “to take all necessary trainings” before being granted permission to use it.

… A career civil servant had initially objected to allowing DOGE to access the child support database, but that person is no longer at the health department, according to three of the people familiar with the situation.

DOGE has defended its efforts to penetrate sensitive government systems as necessary to identify and cut government fraud and waste, but these requests have sparked alarm among civil servants who say they risk breaking federal law and compromising important safeguards. Some HHS officials told The Post that there already are safeguards in place to check for fraud using the ACF system, known as the Federal Parent Locator System. DOGE was particularly interested in a component of the system known as the National Directory of New Hires, which draws on data reported by employers and state agencies. …”
 

Trump’s Justice Dept. ousts national security officials in latest purge​

The transferring of at least three national security officials amounts to a complete gutting of leaders


“…
The transferring of at least three national security officials amounts to a complete gutting of leadership in the highly sensitive National Security Division, which is charged with working with the FBI and other intelligence agencies to protect the nation from threats.

It is unclear if the national security officials were provided a reason for their removals. They were technically not fired, with at least some of them being transferred to other parts of the Justice Department in less desirable positions, according to people familiar with the transfers. …”
 
nrsair said:
Was telling my wife how utterly loathsome and vile I find Vance. Trump is a petty fool, Elon is a deranged drug addict with a personality disorder… JD is obviously smart but amoral and consumed in his striving for power. Just an absolute worm of a person. I’m going to become obsessed with him the way Hunter S. Thompson was with Nixon.
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IMO, I think he has almost no chance of succeeding Trump. He utterly lacks Trump's personal charisma and entertainment value, and comes across as smarmy, insincere, and not all that different from the type of Democratic pol that working-class Republicans love to hate, although his beliefs and political positions are obviously very different. I also think that Trump doesn't care for him and holds him in contempt. At any rate if Dear Leader does decide to not run again in 2028 (and I think he'll try even though he's blocked by the 22nd Amendment), then Vance will not be the designated successor, and likely won't even get the GOP nomination, although he'll certainly try hard to. He reminds me of another DeSantis, to be honest.
 
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