A Follow-Up To Donald Trump's War On Colorado: Now Denying Disaster Aid

The NCAR building in Boulder, Colorado. There's been
more fallout related to this, including Donald Trump
denying disaster relief from Colorado, and a 
looming brain drain from the United States. 

You might remember my post a few days ago, in which the Trump regime is breaking up an important and renowned climate and weather research center in Colorado. 

The Trumpsters said they plan to break up the National Center For Atmospheric Research or NCAR which conducts a wide array of meteorological and climate research. 

The Trump people said they want to break up the science center because they are guilty of "climate alarmism," whatever that is 

The timing of the announcement was interesting, to say the least. 

Former Mesa County, Colorado Clerk Tina Peters is still cooling her heels in state prison, having been found guilty in a state court for giving Trump supporters unauthorized access to a voting machine after the 2020 election. 

Trump earlier this month tried to pardon Peters, but he can't do that because she's convicted on state charges. Colorado refuses to touch Peters' nine-year prison sentence. So, it appears Trump might be exacting revenge on Colorado for this unforgivable slight - insert major eye roll here).

Well, there's even more signs of possible revenge by the Trump folks. President Trump has rejected requested disaster declarations for two wildfires and a serious flood earlier this year in Colorado. 

The denials got strong responses from Colorado's governor and the state's congressional delegation. 

"President Trump's decision to deny Colorado's request for critical federal assistance is unacceptable," said Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colorado. "Trump continues to use Coloradans for political games; it is malicious and obscene. A disaster is a disaster, regardless of what state in the country in took place."

Gov. Jared Polis said: "Coloradans impacted by the Elk and Lee fires and the flooding in southwestern Colorado deserve better than the political games President Trump is playing."

Colorado will appeal Trump's decision.  

Trump's denial of disaster assistance echoes what he's done in other blue states where he is especially unpopular. In October, Trump denied federal assistance for flooding in Illinois, Maryland and Vermont, all blue states. But Trump did approve disaster aid in red states like Alaska, Nebraska and North Dakota. 

In their joint statement today, Colorado's Polis, Bennet and Sen. John Hickenlooper hinted that they could play Trump's game, too. 

The three pointed to a recent study that showed that for every $1 Coloradans pay in federal taxes, the state only receives $0.90 in federal investments.  

Meanwhile, the potential breakup o NCAR could well contribute to a brain drain from the U.S. brought on by Trump's virulently anti-science agenda. 

Canadian climate scientists say dismantling NCAR would not only harm climate science worldwide, it would also cause a loss of expertise on emergency responses, and innovations in weather forecasting.

But as CTVnews.ca reports, Trump's actions could be an opportunity for Canada and Europe. American scientists have already left the U.S to work elsewhere. Canada has already announced funding to attract top talent to the nation, including U.S. researchers. 

"This is an opportunity for Canada to really establish itself as a leader," said Anna Soer, co-president of the Environmental Studies Association of Canada.  

Trump Cancels Green Energy Projects In Mostly Blue States To "Punish" Democrats For Disobeying His Lordship.

Trump canceled nearly $8 billion in clean energy projects,
and many observers think this to punish states
that lean Democratic. 

Democrats are "the enemy" in Donald Trump's world. 

So why not make the best of a government shutdown to punish those Democrats?

Per the Washington Post:

"The Energy Department on Wednesday canceled $7.56 billion in funding for 223 projects aimed at research and deployment of clean energy and other climate-friendly technology mainly in Democratic-led states."

People in the Trump administration could barely keep a straight face when they said that this wasn't a punishment against Democrat-led states. No! It was just about rooting out waste of taxpayer dollars. 

 More WaPo

"An Energy Department press release late Wednesday said the projects 'did not adequately advance the nations energy needs, were not economically viable, and would not provide a positive return on investment of taxpayer dollars.' 

But of course the Trump people just can't help themselves.  The money that was shitcanned was "Green New Scam funding to fuel the Left's climate agenda," said Office of Management and Budget Director in a post on X.

So much for high government officials showing any semblance of dignity. 

 Of the affected states, 17 are led by Democrats, and seven are led by Republicans. But one of those Republican-led states is Vermont. The governor, Phil Scott is a moderate, non-MAGA type, and as everybody knows, Vermont is politically as blue as blue can get.

The cuts include:

$1.2 billion for a public/private partnership to kick start the hydrogen industry in California.

$1.1 billion in energy grants for Washington State, including the Pacific Northwest Hydrogen Hub. 

$400 million to add 28 gigawatts of new energy generation the Minnesota power grid, mostly from wind and solar.

$90 million to build Pennsylvania's biggest solar array on the site of an old coal mine. 

$30 million for battery storage at a California children's hospital. 

Under the Trump administration, the job market is getting shaky. California Gov. Gavin Newsom said the hydrogen project would have created 200,000 jobs.

But screaming that climate change is a hoax is more important than creating jobs, I guess. 

The cuts we're talking about here. came on the same day the Trumpsters froze $18 billion in funding for two big infrastructure projects in New York City.  The city is represented in Congress by some of the nation's most prominent and popular representatives. 

One of those New York Democratic congress people is Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who said, "Instead of playing politics with the shutdown, President Trump should be working on bipartisan solutions to lower Americans' costs and create jobs."

Good luck with that. Trump spent the weekend playing golf. To be fair, the weather was awfully nice. 

As CNBC reported, some of the projects involve manufacturing, which Trump allegedly wants to promote. For example, $500 million was earmarked for a project that produces carbon-neutral cement. Another canceled project in Massachusetts was aimed at manufacturing low carbon cement.  

But the Trump and his minions don't care. It's all about revenge and whining instead of governance with these folks. 

Federal Employees Hunkering Down In The Face Of Trump, Musk Threats

Federal workers at NOAA are among those at 
government agencies who are scrubbing their social
media accounts to appease Donald Trump. 
If someone says something "outrageous" like
climate change is real, these workers
fear retribution from the thin-skinned
soon to be president. 

 Donald Trump hasn't even officially taken office yet, and already climate science is already starting to take a hit.  

Trump hates anyone he thinks is disloyal to him.  Disloyalty in his mind includes any disagreement with his worldview. 

Since Trump still thinks climate change is a hoax and the overwhelming majority of scientists think the opposite, those professionals are now vulnerable. Especially those who work for the federal government. 

The includes anyone from National Weather Service meteorologist, to climatologists to the many who work in government agencies that deal with the environment.  The environment, after all, is affected by climate change.  

These scientists are hunkering down. 

According to the Washington Post:

"One meteorologist at the National Weather Service recently deleted all references on his social media accounts to the threats climate change poses for extreme weather, along with any mention of union support, 'to make everything about me much more apolitical,' he said. Trump has long rejected climate science and cast doubt on the dangers of climate change." 

The National Weather Service is part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which could end up being dismantled, if the folks who came up with Project 2025 or Elon Musk's dreams come true

"I generally take people at their word, and these people have said some pretty awful things about federal workers," the meteorologist told the Washington Post. He remained anonymous because he doesn't want a target on  his back from Trump or his minions.

During Trump' first term, some federal climate change researchers left those jobs and were not replaced, but at least none of them were fired over Trump's anti-climate ideology.

This time, nobody is so sure. 

Some divisions are changing the names of research projects so they don't get flagged by Trump's minions as pro-environment type activities, according to WaPo. Also, some agencies are removing the names of career scientists from projects so they don't garner Trump's negative attention. 

I don't know whether all this prep is fear, or resistance, or self-preservation or all of the above. But it's a shame people have to hide their professions from the soon to be leader in what is supposedly a free country. 

Autocracy has arrived. And it's only going to get worse.