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David Gilmour, PPI & con artists

The Progressive Wing Posted on by

You may have heard about David Gilmour (Pink Floyd guitarist) auctioning off his most famous guitars the other day so he could donate the money to a group called ClientEarth.  He raised over $21 million.

Gilmour revealed that the money from the auction would benefit ClientEarth, which funds environmental lawyers and experts in the fight against climate change. “The global climate crisis is the greatest challenge that humanity will ever face, and we are within a few years of the effects of global warming being irreversible,” he said in a statement. “We need a civilized world that goes on for all our grandchildren and beyond in which these guitars can be played and songs can be sung.”

 

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/david-gilmour-guitars-christies-charity-auction-850597/

But, I’ve just learned that a so-called Democratic think tank is working against that ‘fight’.

Phil Goldberg, PPI’s director of its Center for Civil Justice, is leading the charge.

 

For over a year, PPI’s website has been showcasing Goldberg’s work attacking climate litigation, which he calls “copycat climate suits.” Goldberg is a former lobbyist for coal giant Peabody Energy, which his law firm still represents.

 

And while Goldberg’s bio on PPI’s website lists him as a partner in the corporate law firm Shook, Hardy & Bacon, there’s no mention of his hiring earlier this year by the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) to serve as special counsel in its fight against climate litigation. NAM’s Manufacturers’ Accountability Project, which it launched in 2017, targets climate lawsuits against the manufacturing industry’s energy sector.

PPI stands for Progressive Policy Institute.

PPI’s website also does not disclose Goldberg’s recent work for Grow America’s Infrastructure Now (GAIN), a front group funded by several oil and gas trade associations. In a report for GAIN titled “Vigilante Regulation,” Goldberg, along with two other Shook, Hardy & Bacon attorneys, detail how tort law can be employed to stem what the authors call “anti-pipeline activism.”

 

It’s just plain freaky that a hired gun for the fossil fuel industry would pretend to be neutral or, shockingly, even perhaps ‘progressive’ under the guise of PPI, which has a good reputation as a think tank,” said Denise Antolini, an associate dean at the University of Hawai’i-Manoa’s School of Law.

So many sharks in the water..I mean front groups, to store in the brain!

Goldberg previously served as an adviser to the Civil Justice Task Force of the “corporate bill mill,” the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), where he published reports against state-led climate lawsuits in the group’s publication Inside ALEC.

ALEC!

How in the world can PPI get away with calling itself ‘progressive’ when the director of its Center for Civil Justice has done work for ALEC??

Aha, here’s how:

PPI’s website, which greets its visitors with the banner “radically pragmatic,” does not publicize its funding sources. But the group’s funding seems to come at least in part through its parent organization, the Third Way Foundation, whose tax forms states it is “doing business as the Progressive Policy Institute.”

I hope Gilmour’s beautiful guitars help with much needed funds to counter groups like PPI!

PPI and others’ pushback against climate litigation will only intensify, predicts Robert Brulle, a sociology professor at Drexel University, who studies environmental movements and climate science disinformation campaigns.

 

“As these cases move toward discovery and eventual trial, the architects of the campaign to obstruct climate action, such as the National Association of Manufacturers, are gearing up for a long battle in the courts,” he said.

 

https://truthout.org/articles/a-democratic-think-tank-is-promoting-pushback-against-climate-lawsuits/

I’m cool with Bernie calling Third Way out. They say they welcome the attention, but I suspect they’d prefer to be operating in the dark.

I, for one, only believe the last eight words of the above tweet. That’s what con artists do, they mix a lot of lies in with a little truth. They need to be called out at every turn.

 

6/2 News Roundup & Bernie at Arab American Caucus #CADem2019

The Progressive Wing Posted on by

Happy Sunday everyone!!

Please feel free to use this as an open thread, I just thought this might be a good place to post this video of Bernie’s arrival at the Arab American Caucus meeting at the California Democratic convention.

 

Fair warning-I will be posting some other tweets from the CA convention down below.

But please post whatever you like on this fine Sunday!

Cheers!

 

Memorial Day 2019 & Open Thread

The Progressive Wing Posted on by

My wish for Memorial Day is having less people to memorialize.

Congress Needs to Take Responsibility for America’s Wars

We’re still sending troops into harm’s way under an authorization passed right after 9/11.

 

Bush invoked the AUMF on 18 occasions and Obama invoked it on 19, to justify action against terrorists—though many of them had nothing to do with 9/11 and some did not even exist at the time. The Trump administration has also cited the AUMF to argue that U.S. troops can stay in Syria without any new authorization from Congress.

 

This argument originated with Obama. In 2014, a “senior administration official” laid out the case in an email to the New York Times. The official argued that the AUMF justified military operations against ISIS in Syria because the Islamic State—as the group was also known—had a “longstanding relationship with al-Qaida” and because its leaders regarded ISIS as “the true inheritor of Osama bin Laden’s legacy.” Therefore, the president could rely on the AUMF as authority for the use of force against ISIS, “notwithstanding the recent public split” between ISIS and al-Qaida’s senior leadership.

 

As the Bipartisan Policy Center observed in an analysis of the law’s history, “Critics of the expansive use of AUMF argue that the last sentence”—noting the split between ISIS and al-Qaida—“is most telling.” The analysis added: “Though ISIS came into being as Al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI), it was disavowed by al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri in February 2014. … Furthermore, ISIS did not come into being until 2004—three years after the AUMF’s passage.”

 

In other words, the notion that the president has presumptive authority to keep troops in Syria or any other country—other than Afghanistan—has a flimsy foundation.

 

“flimsy”

 

On Tuesday, the House Appropriations Committee approved a bipartisan amendment that would repeal the AUMF and give Congress eight months to draft new legislation addressing the ongoing wars.

But:

 

the move to repeal or revise the law doesn’t necessarily mean that Congress will resist Trump’s—or any other president’s—march toward war. According to the Congressional Research Service study, on the 19 occasions when Obama mentioned the AUMF in reports to Congress on the use of force, he often emphasized his executive authority under Article II of the Constitution, noting almost in passing that his decision was also “consistent with” the AUMF. He was reporting the military operations to Congress, as required by the War Powers Act—which gives Congress 60 days to vote against a military operation, if it so desires. There was never a vote—nor did anybody expect one.

Will this time be different?

The truth is, whatever the fate of AUMF, most members of Congress don’t want the responsibility of going to war—or of stopping a war from happening. They would rather let the president, even a president they don’t much like, take the heat.

 

House Appropriations passes defense bill that would limit funds for border wall, pull US support from Yemen war

 

The bill reflects House Democrats’ desire to curtail Trump’s recent moves in foreign policy and along the border, most notably through Rep. Barbara Lee’s (D-Calif.) amendment to retire the 2001 authorization for the use of military force (AUMF). The provision would sunset the AUMF – used as legal justification for military operations against terrorist groups 41 times in 18 countries since it was passed – eight months after the bill is enacted, giving Congress time to debate and vote on a new AUMF.

 

The AUMF debate comes as Trump has threatened Iran with military force.

 

But GOP lawmakers argued ending the current war authorization without a new one already approved could hamper military operations.

 

“I can think of few things more dangerous and ill-conceived than removing a fundamental underpinning for US military operations without having consensus agreement on what is to replace it,” said the Defense subcommittee’s ranking member, Rep. Kay Granger (R-Texas).

Oh, and I hope you all are having an excellent Memorial Day!

🙂

I’m heading outside, but I hope to check in later. Please share whatever’s on your mind below.

Peace XO

Warren’s adorable dog & Sunday 5/19 Open Thread

The Progressive Wing Posted on by

Good Morning All!

Just thought I’d get a fresh thread going and that maybe it wouldn’t hurt your eyes to see this tweet from Elizabeth Warren’s Twitter account.

Please share anything down below!

I hope you all have a fine and happy Sunday!!

12/12 News Summary Open Thread & Theresa May faces vote of no confidence

The Progressive Wing Posted on by

Results of today’s vote are expected to come in soon, about 20:00 GMT (or 3pm EST).

The majority of Conservative MPs have publicly said they will support the PM but it is a secret ballot and there were signs of nerves among party managers ahead of the vote in Committee Room 14 at the Palace of Westminster.

The prime minister was greeted with applause, and the traditional banging of desks, as she went in to the committee room to address her MPs. Some of them were reported to be in tears.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-46535739

For you Lord of the Rings fans, here’s the actor who played Gollum’s take on May and Brexit:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=ucJ6RPez06s

A win for environmentalists & 9/25 Open Thread

The Progressive Wing Posted on by

Judge overules Trump as Yellowstone grizzly bears offered protection from trophy hunts

A welcomed judicial pushback on Trump assault on the environment, this time in the form of a judge overruling Trump’s efforts to remove grizzlies from the threatened species list.

Judges in the US ordered protections to be restored to grizzlies in and around Yellowstone National Park, halting plans for the first licensed trophy hunts of the bears in the region in more than 40 years.

US District Judge Dana Christensen in Missoula, Montana, sided with environmentalists and native American groups by overruling the President Donald Trump’s decision to strip the grizzlies of their status as a threatened species.

The outcome caps one of the most high-profile legal battles over the Endangered Species Act, rivaling previous disputes surrounding the gray wolf and northern spotted owl.

The ruling came as the Trump administration is seeking to rewrite regulations that scientists say would erode wildlife protection for the benefit of commercial interests.

While the decision only affects about 700 of the remaining 2,000 grizzlies in the ‘lower 48’, it’s a great step towards protecting the magnificent beast known as the grizzly!

The de-listing, welcomed by big-game hunters and cattlemen, had applied to about 700 Yellowstone-area grizzlies in Wyoming, Idaho and Montana.

Grizzlies, which are slow to reproduce, number fewer than 2,000 bears across the Lower 48. That is far below an historic high of 100,000 before widespread shooting, poisoning and trapping reduced the bears’ population to just several hundred by 1975, when they were placed under federal protection.

 

Environmentalists have said that while grizzlies have made a comeback, their recovery could falter without continued federal safeguards. They point to, among other things, alterations in the bears’ food supply from climate change and high levels of human-caused mortality.

And a win for Native American tribes as well!!

Native American tribes, which revere the grizzly as sacred, sought reinstatement of its threatened status as essential to protecting their religious practices.

Please add any news you want to share below. ?

Ted Cruz’s predatory mailers & 9/17 Open Thread

The Progressive Wing Posted on by

A follow up to a tweet I shared yesterday of a mailer that Ted Cruz’s campaign sent to an 88 year-old woman with very deceptive wording on the envelope. Our polarbear4 had asked if it was legal. It appears that it was not: Hello. This is violation of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act (DTPA). I know, because I passed this law in 2015. See below: https://t.co/9oga4Gq8Zy — Gene Wu (@GeneforTexas) September 16, 2018 Please feel free to share below and I hope you all have a great day!! UPDATE: LOL, you all are so nice to me-as far as … Continue reading →

Gillum shifts position on Israel & 9/7 Open Thread

The Progressive Wing Posted on by

Andrew Gillum vows support for anti-BDS legislation in unreleased campaign document Gillum’s 413-word platform on the issue outlines his belief in a two-state solution, support for former President Barack Obama’s 10-year, $38 billion military aid package to Israel, and endorsement of strong anti-BDS (Boycott, Divest and Sanction) policies that go as far as to include a bill preventing Florida “from investing in or doing business with” companies that protest Israel.   “I will continue to support anti-Boycott, Divest and Sanctions [BDS] legislation passed last year with overwhelming support in both houses of the legislature,” Gillum said, referring to Florida’s Senate … Continue reading →

Possible recount in MA CD03 & 9/5 Open Thread

The Progressive Wing Posted on by

With 100% of precincts reported, Lori Trahan leads Daniel Koh by just 52 votes in yesterday’s MA Democratic primary for the 3rd Congressional District.

This means that there’s a very good chance of a recount being requested for this race.

Despite the tight numbers, an automatic recount will not be issued since the results appear as if they would have a difference of less than 0.5 percent. Candidates can petition for a district-wide recount if they have 500 signatures by registered Democrats. They will have until 5 p.m. Friday to do so.

 

Should there be a recount, it would be done by hand in public with a welcome to spectators.

By my calculation, a margin of 52 votes means that the difference is less than 0.3 percent. The wording above is awkward, but certainly seems to say that a recount could happen if formally requested.

Koh is the former chief staff for of Mayor Marty Walsh and Trahan is the former chief of staff for former Congressman Marty Meehan. Both candidates were a part of a dozen individuals who ran to replace outgoing U.S. Rep. Nikki Tsongas, who announced she wasn’t seeking re-election last year.

 

“I would like to congratulate all of the amazing candidates on a wonderful race, especially Lori Trahan. And I ask you all to stick with me, to stay and we’re in for a little bit of a ride. So thank you, and let’s go,” Koh said.

Trahan has already declared victory.

Trahan declared victory shortly after midnight. “We’re going to claim victory,” Trahan said. “We are leading right now with 99 percent of the votes in,” she said. “I look at the numbers tonight and with 99 percent reporting, the numbers look good, so I’m very confident that we’re winning this election.”

The biggest news, of course, was the historic win by Ayanna Pressley, who it appears will become MA’s first black woman elected to Congress. And how could you not love Pressley’s initial reaction?

“We won? We won?”

Ahhhhh, “We”, sweet music to my ears.

Thanks to Benny and all of the participants for the lively election coverage last night!!

Please share what you will below.

Andrew Gillum on MSNBC & 8/29 Open Thread

The Progressive Wing Posted on by

Just saw the clip of Andrew Gillum on Morning Joe and was so happy to see how laser-focused he is on the issues.

Sam Stein tried his best to have the conversation turn to Trump (natch) but Gillum handled it wonderfully.

See the 5:40 mark.

I think Gillum is on the money on this.

UPDATE:

They finally posted the clip to YouTube about an hour ago, so that’s easy.

The comments under it are very positive which makes me happy.

Here’s a very good one, imo, from Elaine:

Mayor Gillum’s response should be the Democratic Mantra going forward, do not focus on tRumpf, focus on the people and their needs!!!!!!

Gillum is striking a chord with people!

This comment is also one that I’m in agreement with and I’ll bet many others will be/are too:

I really like his stateman-like, calm demeanor. That suddenly matters to me post 2016.

Update #2 at 7:30 pm,

Elaine’s comment now has 170 likes 🙂

8/27 Open Thread

The Progressive Wing Posted on by

Not much going on today,

but, I managed to find a few things I wanted to share with you.

And I’ll begin with a happy picture. Because that’s how I’m wired.

More below.

Please share!

Rashida Tlaib & Friday 8/10 Open Thread

The Progressive Wing Posted on by

Good piece on Rashida Tlaib posted on The Guardian by Khaled Beydoun, a man with solid credentials (whom I follow on Twitter).

My friend Rashida: far more than the first Muslim American congresswoman

I walked into Rashida Tlaib’s election watch party shortly after midnight.

Rashida sounds like the sort of candidate we need to pull this country back from the brink.

Hip-hop, salsa, Detroit house and Arabic music thumped from the speakers. The cafe walls, where the party was being held, were adorned with the work of local artists. There were no suits or gowns, just the squeak of sneakers and blue campaign T-shirts filling the room. Tlaib’s party felt like a real party, where millennials of all races mingled naturally with middle-aged and elderly supporters that were celebrating as the results rolled in.

When I read about her primary win I was surprised that I’d never heard of her before. How did I miss her?

Her message was intersectional long before “intersectionality” was catapulted into the prevailing social justice lexicon. Fighting American Islamophobia was her mandate before the phenomenon became a catchy buzzword. She tenaciously challenged anti-black racism years before the Black Lives Matter movement mainstreamed it into popular consciousness. Rashida defiantly stepped up against the state, and land-seizing billionaires, to defend the rights of vulnerable elements in her community, south-west Detroit, which was predominantly Latinx.

“brilliantly diverse sea of people”

Twelve years later, this commitment to social justice and grassroots organizing is what fueled Rashida to knock down the ultimate door, and make history as America’s first Palestinian and Muslim congresswomen. And indeed, that was the very spirit represented by the brilliantly diverse sea of people that celebrated until Rashida was ready to declare victory, at 2.46am on Wednesday morning.

And she has such a positive message that resonates:

Flanked by her son, Adam, her younger brother Rachid, and her campaign staff, Rashida, in tears, shouted: “I love this campaign and what it represents. It inspired people around the country to know that you do not need to sell out, you do not need to change who you are, to run for office. Be who you are – it’s what our country needs right now.”

Khaled is doing his part on pushing back on the hate and the fear (two negative forces that so often seem bound together). That is also what this country “needs right now”.

Please share anything you’ve picked up on the beaches of our media below!

Happy July 4th birdies!!

The Progressive Wing Posted on by

Bernie was up in VT yesterday for Montpelier, VT’s Independence Day Celebration. It looks like he made at least one person happy.

More down below, please feel free to throw something in.

I hope you’re all having a great day!!

This is what I’m sipping on right now:

The story of Yuengling is the story of the American Spirit. It’s a tale of shared dreams, individual tenacity and an unwavering dedication to standards of quality. Like many American stories it starts amid the dreams of countless young immigrants looking for opportunity and emerges from the strength and will of one family determined to build their legacy in a new country. The story of America’s Oldest Brewery began when David G. Yuengling arrived from Wuerttemberg Germany to settle in the sleepy, coal-mining town of Pottsville, Pennsylvania.

The Yuengling story is not without its controversies, but right now I’m just enjoying the refreshing flavor thinking about some lovely people I know in Ohio who are the ones who introduced this brand to me. Plus, I’m grateful have been able to splurge a little on beer today, lol. 😉

Cheers!