Yes, a picture is worth a thousand words.  I feel Pope Francis’ pain…  Can we trade the Pope for tRump?  Please?

From NPR:

‘He Is Something’: Trump Visits Pope Francis At The Vatican

And dig this, from the NPR report:

“At the end of the audience, the pope gave Trump copies of his writings,” NPR’s Sylvia Poggioli reports from Rome, “including his encyclical on climate change — a topic on which Trump has a very different opinion.”

To the guy who doesn’t read.  If only he would.  Here are a couple of prior posts about The Pope:

Pope Francis hits it over the fence!

Rep. OH Gov. Kasich & Pope on Trump

 

James McIntyre was shot outside an open house for a dam project, “Site C” for the dam.  You know, those open houses they hold to tell the public what they’re going to do before they do it… There was an investigation of the shooting by Canada’s “Independent Investigations Office,” and I’d had an alert and checked now and then, particularly a year after the shooting, but didn’t find the articles on the IIO’s November release of information until yesterday!  Here’s the report from the IIO:

07-16-2015-Dawson-Creek-Firearm-Death-2015-000104

Here are some press write ups:

Police ‘begged’ Site C activist to put down knife before shooting him, witness says

IIO clears RCMP in shooting of James McIntyre

RCMP officers cleared in shooting death of Site C protester in Dawson Creek

Look at the way the press framed this article:

RCMP officer cleared in shooting death of B.C. activist that sparked Anonymous revenge campaign

This shooting of McIntyre hit home for me because of my routine of going to the open houses and hanging out at the door, and I know so well how angry people get when there’s infrastructure proposed in their community, on their land.  They published my LTE about this in the Alaska Highway News:

UTILITY INFRASTRUCTURE LEAVES DEEP IMPACTS

Your coverage of the RCMP shooting of James McIntyre has been thorough in this general dearth of information.

I’ve spent the last 20 years advocating against utility infrastructure in the U.S., and the killing of McIntyre by RCMP is horrifying.  

A big part of my schtick is to stand at the door (not inside where I’d be “interfering”) and enthusiastically greet everyone, hand them a flyer about how to participate, and direct them to the meeting.  Had I been at that open house, I’d be the one they found at the door.  Had they told me to leave, I’d have argued and resisted, as always, ramping up if they pushed.

In my experience, utilities have now and then requested police presence, and when I see it, I let the organizers know it’s offensive and off putting, chilling public participation.  People have a right to speak out against a project, and they have a right to be angry!  I talk to the officers too, find out if I can who wanted them there, and let them know it’s inhibiting and threatening to the public.  I figure they just add me to their list of people to watch.  But this atmosphere of blind fear is not acceptable.  Don’t Canadians have a right to free speech?  Civil disobedience is an appropriate response.  Civil disobedience is NOT a death sentence with law enforcement as judge, jury and executioner.

People are being steam-rolled by utility infrastructure projects such as dams, transmission lines, and pipelines, and no one wants to hear about it.  They want opposition to just go away.  People are losing their land, communities are deeply affected, and those affected are not compensated sufficiently to make it acceptable — and money is not the answer to everything!  

Is the Site C project worth the impacts?  Is generating electricity and profiting from it sufficient reason to inflict these impacts, including this death?  Maybe BC Hydro should think again.

—Carol A. Overland, Utility Regulatory Attorney, Minnesota

Here are my older posts about the shooting, including a video of the shooting by someone in the hotel who was looking out the window:

RCMP shoots hydro dam protester? Nope, misidentified!

James McIntyre ID’d as man shot by RCMP

It’s been a year since McIntyre was shot in BC

The corruption and collusion of tRump — the tip of the iceberg.

REAL NEWS: Senate has requested financial information on tRump from the Department of Treasury, and will get it.

First on CNN: Senate Russia investigators ask Treasury for Trump team financial information

Russia Probe: Senate Requests Documents From Money-Laundering Agency

Treasury’s financial intel unit to turn over financial records to Senate for Trump-Russia probe

The Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network:

A Treasury Department unit that specializes in combating money-laundering will share financial records with an expanding Senate probe into possible ties between Russia and President Donald Trump and his associates, according to people familiar with the matter.

That’s appropriate, as it was the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network that nailed Trump for money laundering — here’s the Settlement Order that was accepted by the Delaware Bankruptcy Court — read this to get the details and an idea of the magnitude of the violations:

Settlement: 3/2/2015: In the Matter of Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort

This was public information — do explain — WHY WAS THIS NOT AN ISSUE IN THE ELECTION?

It was not the first time Trump’s casino was nailed for money laundering violations:

1/28/98: FinCEN ANNOUNCES PENALTY AGAINST TRUMP TAJ MAHAL ASSOCIATES

Just for the record, here’s the tRump casino’s Comment on Rulemaking to Treasury:

5/22/2006 – Comment Letters Notice of Proposed Rulemaking – Proposed Amendments to Bank Secrecy Act Regulations regarding Casino Recordkeeping and Reporting Requirements – 31 CFR Part 103 RIN 1506-AA84 – 71 FR 14129-14132

The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission rulemaking for Minn. R. Ch. 7849, Certificate of Need, and 7850, Routing and Siting, is slowly moving forward. Here are the final drafts up for review before they go to the Commission for a rubber stamp and release for general comment:

20173-129606-02_Draft 7849

20173-129606-03_Draft 7850

Final initial comments on drafts were due on Monday and here they are, in alphabetical order:

20175-131641-01_Commerce DER

20175-131640-01_Commerce EERA

20175-131687-01_Goodhue Wind Truth – Marie McNamara

20175-131650-01-1_Great River Energy

20175-131683_ITC Comments and Attachments

20175-131698-01_Just Change

20175-131686-01_NoCapX – U-CAN – NRG & GWT

20175-131675-01_Wisconsin Power & Light

20175-131688-01_Xcel Energy

Reply comments are due by 4:30 p.m. on May 31, 2017.  eFiling is preferred!  If you need to register to eFile, GO HERE!  It’s easy, quick, and makes filing a breeze.  Get to work — there’s a lot here to comment on!

… it’s BAAAAAACK!  The screenshot of tRump’s “Donald J. Trump Statement on Preventing Muslim Immigration” above has been on tRump’s campaign website since forever… and has been posted through his signing of Executive Order 13769 and Executive Order 13780.

It’s been posted through federal court pleadings and hearings, used as evidence of his intent on banning Muslim immigration:

06112723217_TRO

TRO as Filed

VA_TRO-order-signed

MD Federal Court_Trump EO13780

I’ve been watching this page, because I couldn’t believe the arrogance, the obliviousness, of leaving that page up, whatever are they thinking?  Today, special thanks to Mary Turck, who noted that it was removed yesterday.  The day before today’s hearing on the Executive Order, sometime before 21:36:59 yesterday.  Good grief!  That isn’t going to make it go away.  Ever hear of the Wayback Machine?  DOH!  Screenshot time!

Stupid.  Bigly stupid, SO stupid.