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Greetings Earthlings. You've probably heard some of our past shows concerning the ongoing destruction of the Connecticut River by the corporados who pump vast amounts of water and all the aquatic life within it through turbins up into the Northfield Mountain Pumped Storage pool. Juxtapose that with Connecticut River Defenders who have been pushing back against such madness for awhile now and are now thinking amphibiously. Priscilla Lynch and Terisa Turner join us for that. As always, we will also introduce you to this week's Fool-on-the-Hill, Those Whose Brains Were small, Who Left the Door Open and way more but first it's time for........Revenge of the Critters! Tables turned on a fisherman Down Under.
This week's Fool-on-the-Hill is a high profile Dem in the House who recently stepped in it: "...it was reported that House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries met secretly in recent weeks with Jared Kushner, the far-right son-in-law of [the] President, who has also served as a top White House advisor and envoy. The New York Times reported Sunday that the two men “met privately in recent weeks” in order to discuss “potential areas of common ground” if the Democrats regain control of one or both chambers of Congress in the midterms." Common ground??
Our Doublespeak of the Week may set the record for Great Moments in Irony: "The spring of 2025 brought a rush of Trump-themed currency bills. Representative Joe Wilson, a Republican of South Carolina, proposed creating a new $250 bill bearing Trump's portrait, calling it a tribute to his "transformational leadership." Transformational indeed, Joe but not at all as you meant.
Last time we awarded the entire MAGA b.s. show in DC with our "Who Left the Door Open" segment and this week we'll do it again as they "Flood the Zone" with their never ending septic spew. Exhibit #1 US Congressman Greg Casar on Thursday repeated his call for the.. administration to close the immigration detention center in southern Texas where it’s held thousands of children over the past 18 months—children, the progressive Democrat said, who “should be playing soccer, going to school, living their lives, not being arrested on the streets,” as one of the center’s newest detainees, 5-year-old Liam Tadeo, was earlier this week." Then we have this: "A coalition of two dozen Democratic-led states filed a lawsuit on Wednesday challenging [the Administration's] attempt to use the US Postal Service as a vehicle for [its] assault on mail-in voting, which [it] has targeted incessantly during both.. White House terms." And the Sierra Club informed us last week: "Our undeveloped national forests are the heart of our public land. But now one of the most important -- and most underappreciated -- conservation policies is on the verge of being cut by [the White House]. If the Roadless Area Conservation Rule is repealed, 45 million acres of pristine national forests across the country would be opened up for the first time in over 20 years to road building and the logging, mining, and extractive industries that come with that." Pushback!
His Malignancy's budget director Russell Vought and his boss get "Their Brains Were small and They Died" this week for having "cancelled billions of dollars for hundreds of clean energy grants, "based solely on the political identity of the grant recipient's state." Not based on merit. Not the public good. Just politics, targeting states that voted for Democrats in 2024.....now, with his own Project 2025 as a guide, Vought is using federal grantmaking to punish Americans for how their neighbors voted, while similar projects in Republican-led states moved forward. Send a message to your U.S. Representative: Impeach Russell Vought. These dinos need to evolve away from lower brain stem bullshit and get a life.
Speaking of reptilian brains, we note how obsessed The Mad King (#NoKings) is with plastering his name and likeness over most everything. It's embarrassing (though not to him) what a fool he makes of himself. Case in point: He "has been trying for months to slap his name on the Kennedy Center. But a federal judge stopped him. So now his people are trying something even crazier -- threatening to demolish the Kennedy Center if his plans are not approved." Nah! Or this: "...administration sycophants are reportedly stripping [African-American] Pearl Harbor hero Doris “Dorie” Miller’s name from an upcoming aircraft carrier -- and naming it after His Malignancy instead. Yes, they are trying to name an aircraft carrier for the man who just left an aircraft carrier (The Lincoln) in a war zone, dangerously short of essential supplies, and then mocked its exhausted sailors by suggesting they should remain at sea even longer." Last winter "A banner featuring a photo of [His Malignancy] and the words “Make America Safe Again” was hung from the Justice Department’s headquarters in Washington... in one of the most public signs of the president’s influence over a department that once brought criminal charges against him...The Justice Department has traditionally operated with a degree of independence from the White House." George Orwell should have lived to see it. Of course, there's always more pathetic vanity with this guy.
We have Breaking News! This just in on Saturday morning: "The Trump administration looks to give a piece of Yosemite National Park to a developer." There go more of the family jewels. Reading on: The "administration has proposed trading away a small parcel of land in Yosemite National Park in California so a private developer can gain access to the park, according to federal officials and documents reviewed by The New York Times. The potential deal has alarmed conservationists and former National Park Service officials, who say that Yosemite, the crown jewel of the nation’s park system, should be off limits to development.' " Ya' think?? At the same time these fools steal the jewels they are also busy undermining the agency that's supposed to protect them.
Closer to home in The Enviro Show Echo Chamber we find His Malignancy's Memory Hole Mobiles we reported about in July may be headed to the Big E, September 18 – October 4, right here in the CT River Valley? Yup, unless we do something about it, that is. Indivisible Northampton posted this in their recent newsletter:
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After our conversation with Priscilla and Terisa it's on to the Bus Stop Billboard:
First Here's Indivisible Northampton — Swing Left Western Mass's complete daily listing of all the pro-democracy events in WMass: https://in-slwm.org/wp-content/uploads/Calendar/cal.html. If you're looking for an easy weekday way to jump into the climate movement, you'll love the State House Stand Out! We gather at the Massachusetts State House in Boston between 10 am and 2 pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Volunteers stand together for 2-hour "shifts," either outside or inside depending on weather, and talk with visitors and State House staff about the Climate Crisis. Wednesdays and Thursdays, 3 – 4pm.: Indivisible's What's the Plan with Leah and Ezra. Go HERE. Fridays, 1:30 to 3pm: De-ICE Hanscom Airfield Stand Outs, Hanscom Rotary, Lincoln, MA. Go HERE. ALSO:
Friday July 24, 4 to 5pm. Indivisible West Quabbin's Wisdom Way Bridge Visibility Brigade Rte I-91 every 4th Friday. Overpass standout located on Wisdom Way, Greenfield, MA. For more information or to sign up go to Mobilize or contact westquabbinindivisible@gmail.com . Saturdays, 11am to 1pm: No Fear w/Street Theatre, Burlington ICE Facility, Burlington Mall Rd. @ District Ave., Burlington, MA Go HERE
Friday September 4, 11am. Boston XR's Annual Labor Day Red Rebel Bridge Standout. Every Labor Day Weekend the traffic heading into Cape Cod brings the entrance to the Cape at Bourne Bridge to a halt. Thousands of people in their cars sit in idling traffic heading to their vacation weekend on one of the country's most vulnerable geographical areas to the effects of climate change. This is a great opportunity to get some outreach to the thousands of people that have nothing else do while they idle but hear our call. Let's give them some entertainment and alert them to the fragility of the beach areas we know and love and want to protect. Go HERE.
Friday September 4, 6pm. Ukes for Ukraine at The Leverett Village Co-op, Rattlesnake Gutter Road, Leverett, MA. The Ukes for Ukraine sing and play tunes from Tin Pan Alley, donating their proceeds to good causes in Ukraine. They have raised over $7000, so far. And a good time is had by all. Order your pizza ahead of time. 367 9794
Pt. 6 - Battery Storage Siting & Permitting webinar. MACC Lunch & Learns are FREE and open to all - members and non-members alike! This webinar is the 6th and final part of our Clean Energy Siting & Permitting Lunch & Learn Series. Speakers from the Executive Office of Energy & Environmental Affairs (EEA), Department of Energy Resources (DOER), and Energy Facilities Siting Board (EFSB) will share information on the new siting and permitting process for battery storage energy infrastructure projects in the Commonwealth. This is a very important webinar for conservation commissioners to attend.
Saturday September 19, 2pm. Extinction Rebellion U.S. (XRUS) All-Chapter Gathering. As we head into September and ever more extreme weather, it's a good time to be finalizing plans for Fall Rebellion. Why not do it in the company of other rebels from around the country? If you haven't already done so, please register for the September All-Chapter Gathering at the link HERE.
Wednesday, September 23, 6 to 9pm. 101 course’ in siting and permitting: each will provide a basic introduction to 225 CMR 29.00 - regulations for the siting and permitting of small clean energy infrastructure facilities – and other essential information that they will need to know as the regulations come into full force on October 1. In person at the Belchertown Town Hall, 1 South Main Street, Belchertown, MA 01007 (See above)
River Restoration & Climate Resilience. The Bronx, New York. The Henry L. & Grace Doherty Institute for Climate & Resilience at Save the Sound invites you to celebrate Climate Week NYC by joining us for a documentary screening with our partners at the Bronx River Alliance! We will start with a tour of their LEED certified building, River House, followed by a screening of Save the Sound’s documentary, Reconnected, on river restoration and dam removal. After the screening, we will have a panel Q&A with expert practitioners to discuss the intersection of river restoration and climate resilience. Learn more.
Wednesday September 30, TBA. Mark your calendars for a potential protest!
Governor Healey is hosting a NE governors conference to promote new nuclear as "affordable" yet, those efficiencies have yet to be demonstrated at the scale necessary to establish a competitive commercial industry. She is still calling for the repeal Chapter 503. The governors gathering at the University of Massachusetts Lowell’s Rist Institute for Sustainability and Energy is focused on “safeguarding our collective energy future through advancement of a diverse energy strategy that includes nuclear power.” "UMass Lowell also worked with the Healey administration, starting last fall to develop advanced nuclear and fusion energy roadmaps to guide the state’s consideration of the technologies." STAY TUNED.
Wednesday September 30, 6 to 9pm. 101 course’ in siting and permitting: each will provide a basic introduction to 225 CMR 29.00 - regulations for the siting and permitting of small clean energy infrastructure facilities – and other essential information that they will need to know as the regulations come into full force on October 1. In person at the Franklin Regional Council of Governments, 12 Olive St, Bill Allen Meeting Room, Greenfield, MA 01301 (See above for details)
