Daily Quick Read - July 23, 2019

Suck On This Liberals

The willingness of the Trump administration to stick its thumb in the eye of the environment movement through the most petty of means can be seen in his re-election campaign’s “own the libs” sale of Trump labelled plastic straws. 

In response to news that Donald Trump is selling plastic straws to his supporters because “liberal paper straws don’t work,” Greenpeace Oceans Campaign Director John Hocevar said:

“Donald Trump has based his entire presidency on lies and divisiveness, so it is no surprise that he is selling plastic straws because his presidency is a cheap throwaway with disastrous long term consequences. As usual, Trump has either missed the point or is outwardly lying to his base. The vast majority of plastic straws are not recycled in the U.S., which means they end up incinerated, piling up in landfills, or polluting our oceans. As communities across the country rally around various plastic bans, understanding that only 9 percent of all plastic has actually been recycled, Donald Trump is doubling down on preserving a lifeline for his friends in the chemical and fossil fuel industries. Shocking.”

Whaling Delayed in Iceland

                                                                                 NOAA

Whaling is universally held in low regard, but some traditional whaling nations can’t give up the barbaric practice.  The Icelandic government decided to not issue fin whaling permits and the ancient minke whaling vessel is unseaworthy.

“This is good news for Iceland’s fin whales, and we thank the Icelandic government for its decision not to issue a fin whaling permit. AWI will continue to monitor the situation, as the Hvalur company has temporarily suspended hunting in the past, only to resume,” explained Kate O’Connell, marine wildlife consultant for AWI. “We remain concerned that repair work is continuing on these antiquated vessels and that the hunt might resume next year.” In addition, Iceland’s minke whalers will forego hunting this summer, as the owner of the whaling vessel Hrafnreyður announced that his company will not whale, despite having received a permit from the government. A second minke whaling vessel, the Rokkarinn, was not issued a permit for 2019.

Shocked, Shocked, I Tell You.

I'm shocked, shocked to find that Trump is violating ethics requirements.

Once again Trump's gang is ignoring ethic requirements.  

…the Government Accountability Office, found that the administration “did not consistently ensure” that appointees to E.P.A. advisory panels met federal ethics requirements. It also concluded that Trump administration officials violated E.P.A. guidelines by not basing the appointments on recommendations made by career staff members.

“This report shows that the Trump administration rigged influential advisory boards to favor its polluter backers,” Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, a Rhode Island Democrat, said in a statement. He called the findings “yet another example of Donald Trump handing the keys to Americans’ government to big industries that government is supposed to police.” 

Trophy Hunters Suck

This couple appears to be on a crusade to murder as many wild animals as possible.  To bad their social media accounts caught them up.

A French couple have been forced to sell their supermarket franchise after pictures of them hunting big game in Africa surfaced online, causing outrage.

Jacques Alboud and wife Martine, who owned a Super U franchise inL’Arbresle, near Lyons, were pictured in Tanzania years ago standing above the corpses of lions, leopards, buffalo and hippos they had shot.

The images appear to have been available on social networks since they were taken, but only began circulating in France this week, prompting people to call for a boycott of their store and send them death threats.

If only public opinion in the US worked this way.  These clowns might be out of job, too.

Donald Trump Jr and Eric Trump - Great White Hunters

Coal Company Goes Bankrupt - Stiffs Employees

Blackjewel LLC shut down its operations in several states, declared bankruptcy and bounced employee’s last pay checks.  And, in some states failed to make unemployment insurance payments.

One of the largest coal mining operators in the United States, Blackjewel abruptly shut its mines after filing for bankruptcy, jeopardizing the jobs of about 1,700 workers in Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky and Wyoming.

Workers are still unsure if they will be permitted to return to work and for how long, if they will be paid for bounced checks and what will happen to their health insurance and benefits.

“It’s been very hard, not knowing if your going to be able to put food on the table for your three kids,” said Mark Turner, a Kentucky miner at a Blackjewel-operated mine. He’s unsure how he is going to afford his upcoming house payment, electric bill or buy clothes and supplies for his children with the new school year approaching.

Jimmy Justus, 22, a mine worker for Blackjewel in Virginia, owes his bank more than $1,400 because his last paycheck bounced.

“Now my account has been closed,” he said. On 1 July, Justus was sent home under the impression work would restart the next day, but then heard from co-workers the company had filed for bankruptcy. “The day shift foreman had no intention of telling anyone anything”