Trumps Magic Tricks
What we are finding out now will terrify you!
While Trump was diverting our attention with his rhetoric, threats, and treasonous behavior, behind the scenes he was breaking down our national structure. Destroying the planet seemed to be high on his list as well. All done in the name of profit. When trying to justify Trump’s moves in court, the argument was always that the current law was wrong. Trump’s philosophy, “Corporations should not be restricted from making the highest profits possible.” It is the way.
Listed here is a rollback summary and not a complete one at that. Visit the New York Times article listed in the Sources to view the details.
The Environment
· The Environmental Protection Agency, the main Trump target for the bulk of the rollbacks, diminished Obama-era limits on carbon dioxide emissions from power plants and gas-driven vehicles; rolled back protections from more than half the nation’s wetlands.
· The White House announced lowering restrictions on the sale of certain military-grade drones to foreign countries, benefiting some powerful defense companies and can now be sold abroad with less scrutiny.
· Under Trump’s minions, the Interior Department was hard at work limiting wildlife protections and weakening environmental requirements. This resulted in opening more land for oil and gas leasing.
· Overturned six decades of protections for the largest remaining stretch of wilderness to allow oil and gas development in Alaska.
· Lifted a ban on logging in Tongass National Forest, Alaska.
· Formally withdrew the United States from the Paris climate agreement.
· Cancelled several methane emission reporting standards and set up minimum pollution thresholds.
· Rolled back air pollution and clean water standards allowing waste dumping to resume in rivers and lakes. In the consumer area, loosened water and efficiency standards for showerheads, washers and dryers.
· At the end of his term in office, Trump planned to relax restrictions on carbon dioxide emissions from coal and natural gas plants.
· Approved the Keystone XL pipeline without an environmental survey. The Supreme Court shot that down and President Biden struck down the approval in his first week in office.
· Rolled back numerous hazardous and safety regulations in many industries, putting employees in danger once again.
The list goes on and on. The New York Times article lists 112 actions that effect animals, water and air pollution, safety regulations, and rescinds penalties for corporations that break the rules.
This list does not include new rules proposed by the Trump administration that do not roll back earlier policies, nor does it include court actions that effect environmental policies independent of executive or legislative action. Not surprising, the Trump administration tried to block proposed rules that set public reporting standards.
Civil Rights
Next the Trump administration turned its wrath on civil and human rights. Keep in mind, most of his cabinet positions were empty. Someone was preparing this list for Trump. In his first three months in office, he issued:
· Executive Order banning Muslim refugees
· Executive Order outlining principles for regulating the U.S. financial system, calling for a review of existing laws.
· FCC revoked the Lifeline Broadband Provider designations reducing the number of providers offering broadband.
· Homeland Security updated immigration enforcement guidance, vastly expanding the number of people subject to detention and deportation. The guidance drastically increased the use of expedited removal and essentially ended the priorities for deportation.
· Attorney General Sessions withdrew an earlier memo that set a goal of reducing and ultimately ending the department’s use of private prisons. President Biden has restored the goal of ending private prisons with his Executive Order.
By summertime, the push to purge voters and limit voting rights was in full swing.
· The drama of the Mexico-USA border wall begins along with deportation instructions.
· The campaign starts to slow down or stop legal immigration.
As the leaves started turning, Trump unveiled tax principles that supplied trillions of dollars of unnecessary tax cuts for millionaires, billionaires, and wealthy corporations.
· Repealed the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Review Act eliminating legal protection for victims of fraud.
· Education Secretary DeVos rescinded 72 guidance documents outlining the rights of students with disabilities.
This is just Trump’s first year. Hundreds of other actions followed in the years to come, including the execution of 13 people in 2019/2020.
It is simply too depressing to continue itemizing the hit list through 2020. The New York Times article has the complete scoop. The depth of this this list caused some major corporations to speak out against their implementation. They realized to ensure their own bottom line, the planet must be repaired and security measures put in place to prevent future desecration. Yet, the Republican congressional response, the key to halting this surge, was missing in action.
We know from observing President Trump, he did not put this list together. He neither knows or cares about the environment, equal rights, or people. Others set this in motion, he was just the puppet that signed the paperwork. It feels like a publicity stunt somehow, knowing that a new Democratic regime will swoop in to save us once again.
Don’t you find it strange that in recent years policies that benefit the people of this nation are put in place by the same political party time after time? Policies that push Americans into poverty and national shame come from the Republican club. If we had a third party, we might work this out to help all citizens.
Sources:
Drones: https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2020/07/trump-new-rules-on-drones
Trump Rollbacks: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/climate/trump-environment-rollbacks-list.html
Civil Rights: https://civilrights.org/trump-rollbacks/
