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A Farewell Poem for Donald Trump

(Assuming, of course, that he doesn't attack Iran, declare a national emergency and degree martial law so he can remain White America's Tweeter-in-chief.)

Jail to the Chief!

Donald says he wants a Wall

I say, "Give him four!"

With a bigly cot

And a chamber pot

And a padlock on the door. 

A Petition to De-park The Donald 

Back in the 1990s, Donald Trump purchased 494 acres of prime rural New York real estate. Hoping to turn the wooded acreage into a money-milking golfing resort, he followed up by building a massive family retreat on the land and deducting its "upkeep" as a "business expense." 

When the golf plan went bust, Trump "donated" 436 acres to the state to create a park. Trump stipulated that the park would need to be named after himself and then claimed a $26.1 million charitable deduction for his "gift." 

Now, with Trump's DC departure on the horizon, the good people at Change.org are circulating a petition asking New York Governor Andrew Cuomo to rename the park after Ruth Bader Ginsberg. 

There's only one alternative that might bring greater anger from Trump and greater satisfaction to his detractors—rename the park after John McCain. 

Freeloader by Founder's Sing 

The Sierra Club's 2021 Resolutions for California Leaders 

Courtesy of the Sierra Club: 

• For oil and gas lobbyists: Your success means the planet dies. Make 2021 the year you change your client base.
• For food packagers: Stop using plastic. There are so many affordable alternatives now, and there’s no need to wait for legislation or a ballot measure.
• For the California Energy Commission: Be brave, be bold and remember that there isn’t a Plan B for the planet: Do the right thing and decarbonize new buildings through the Title 24 Building Code.
• For the California Air Resources Board: Keep being a brave, bold example for the California Energy Commission—and the rest of the world—to follow. Improve equity and opportunities internally and externally. As always, California’s breathers are depending on you.
• For the Department of Water Resources: End your tunnel vision. There are so many better things you could be doing to help make sure Californians have a safe and sustainable water supply.
• For newly elected California legislators: Lobbyists of every sort feign subservience. They laugh at your jokes and compliment you on your intelligence, over and over again. Commit to not letting it go to your head. Remember that not everyone thinks you’re an essential worker.
• For returning California legislators: Many of you failed to step up on environmental legislation this year. Make 2021 the year you wake up and demonstrate a political will to assertively address the existential crisis we’re all facing.
• For Governor Gavin Newsom: What can I say that will be constructive but adequately reflect the effect of your inaction on so many key issues affecting California’s air, water, climate, parks, people and wildlife? Maybe this: Keep your resume updated.
• For Sierra Club members: Watch the inauguration on January 20 and feel proud that you played a significant role in helping roll back a dangerous threat to democracy.
• For everyone: Stay safe, stay healthy, and wear a mask until this pandemic is over. And when it has clearly passed, dance with someone you’ve missed. 

Mixing Metaphors 

The publicists for the San Francisco Silent Film Festival just released a press-statement that began with an epic example of colliding parables. The urgent headline read: "The train is at the station! Don't miss the boat!" Appropriate, in a way, given that the promo was designed to advertise Gian Luca Farinelli's Grand Tour Italiano, "a guided film tour through Italy at the beginning of the 20th century" with footage "shot between 1905 and 1914 documenting the new Italian nation from Sicily to Venice." But maybe the clashing references were intended: odds are some travel by rail and sail must have been involved. 

Our Militarized Language 

It's been amusing to hear news stories on the vaccine scene in Britain, where people are reportedly eager to pull up their sleeves and get their "jabs." 

Initially, I joined the guffawing crowd of listeners who found the word "jab" to be "quaint." But the chuckling stopped when I suddenly realized that Americans have introduced a much darker word into the popular medical vocabulary. In the US, we don't call them "jabs," we call them "shots." As in rifle, pistol, machinegun. I've made a vow never to use that word again for a procedure that is correctly called "an injection." 

WestBrae Neighbors Blame AT&T for Wi-Fi Woes 

The introduction of hundreds of powerful 4G/5G microwave transmitters to power "The Internet of Things" has triggered a debate over the safety of the technology. The World Health Organization has classified the radiation as a possible "class 2B carcinogen," the California Medical Association has called on the FCC to update its regulations to address the adverse effects of wireless radiation, and California's Department of Public Health and UC Berkeley's Department of Public Health have expressed concern over peer-reviewed scientific studies that link cell-phone radiation to DNA damage, reproductive harm, and certain cancers. 

Protests by local residents earlier this year failed to prevent installation of AT&T Wi-Fi transmitters atop wooden poles near the Berkeley Natural Grocery on Gilman and the Monterey Market on Hopkins. And now, several months after the transmitters were mounted, some North Berkeley residents believe AT&T has quietly activated the antennas—without informing nearby residents. (In related news, many North Berkeley residents have complained that AT&T failed to provide advance notice of the planned installations, as required by law.) 

One long-time local resident (a neighbor who prefers to remain anonymous while exploring legal action against AT&T) recalls walking by a cellphone tower at Cedar-Rose Park recently and experiencing an unusual level of discomfort. 

"It was very strong. I was completely bombed out." Fearing the transmitter had been quietly "energized," she wondered if the antenna might be "exceeding permitted levels." She has joined other residents who want Berkeley officials to conduct independent monitoring of these new Wi-Fi sites. 

Because her home sits just 500-600 feet from the new Gilman Street transmitter, she purchased a $200 radio-frequency (RF) meter to monitor ambient radiation levels. During a recent visit to Berkeley Natural, she was shocked to see the meter registering the highest level of red-zone radiation yet encountered. 

"I was only out there for five minutes but I got very sick, and then the alarm on the meter started shrieking. It was shrill. The worst possible level. Over the top, unbelievable." 

Meanwhile, "meter readings inside our bedroom are still in the green region but our yard is red," she said. New window blinds made from steel help to cut down the radiation but she continues to suffer. As recently as a week ago, she was walking an hour a day; now she has difficulty getting outside the house. Her legs hurt and she feels sick. On December 22, she woke at 4 AM with her hands feeling as though they were on fire. When she looked at her fingers, they were visibly reddened. 

Like other Westbrae neighbors, she fears becoming a Radiation Refugee. And she's not alone. A couple in a house only 120 feet from the Gilman transmitter recently opted to quit Berkeley and move to a second home a neighboring county to avoid what seemed to be a sudden increase in radiation exposure. 

"This is scary," my neighbor said. "Just in time for the holidays. Just in time for Christmas. Just in time for Hanukkah. 'Let's irradiate the people! Let's light 'em up like a Christmas tree.' But I don't want to be lit up like a menorah. I just want to live a normal life." 

How about this for a holiday gift: Replace Berkeley's current, weak Wi-Fi ordinance with stronger regulations to assure public safety. Other California cities that already have done it include Encinitas, Mill Valley, Petaluma, San Anselmo and all of Marin County! 

Dead People Did Vote—and They Voted for Trump 

There's been a dearth of widespread voter fraud but the Republicans can finally point to at least one case of Grade-A Voting Vice. 

So why aren't they pointing? 

Because Bruce Bartman, a 70-year-old Pennsylvanian who is facing a jail term for voter fraud, is also a life-long Republican. Bartman allegedly pretended to be his own dead mother and he also registered as his dead mother-in-law, which allowed him to cast three votes for Trump in the 2020 election. 

"This is the only known case of a 'dead person' voting in our county, conspiracy theories notwithstanding," Delaware District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer noted. Voter fraud is extremely rare in the US. According to a Heritage Foundation database, there have been only 193 convicted cases of voter fraud between 2000 and 2020 out of 250 million votes cast. 

If convicted on all charges, The Philadelphia Inquirer reports, Bartman could spend up to 19 years in prison—much longer than his political hero is likely to spend behind bars. 

What are the odds that Trump will issue Bartman a presidential pardon as one of his parting acts? 

Scheer Brilliance 

I was delighted to discover that there is a new documentary about Robert Scheer, the former Berkeley radical who became an anti-Vietnam-war firebrand, a proudly Left political candidate, and a now-legendary journalist. Crusading filmmaker Oliver Stone has called Robert Scheer: Above the Fold, "an inspiring portrait of a great American." Above the Fold is a compilation of Scheer's full-bore muck-raking and opinionated news-making over the course of several decades (and continuing today). The film also features interviews with the likes of Norman Lear, Jane Fonda, Arianna Huffington, and Daniel Ellsberg. 

More good news: The film is available for free screening on Kanopy. All you need is a public library card or a university ID. 

Money for the Many 

The Alliance for Retired Americans (AARP) is circulating a petition in support of H.R. 2654, the Strengthening Social Security Act, which would add $800 to the government's annual Social Security payments. The present average SS check provides $1,461 in added financial aid to retired Americans but, as ARRP points out, this is "barely above the federal poverty level of $1,041." Not too empowering when, for 25% of Americans over the age of 65, their monthly SS checks constitute 90% of their monthly income. 

AARP notes that today's SS checks "buy less than they did in 2000" because the cost of living in the USA has "risen faster than the [federal] cost-of-living adjustment." In other words, a loaf of bread that cost $2 in 2000 would cost $3.02 in 2020. 

Black Mamas Bail Out 

Color of Change sent out an unusual holiday invite asking for donations to provide bail for jailed moms of color. "'Tis the season to support Black Mamas and Caregivers in our 2nd Annual Black Mama’s Bail Out: Toy and Winter Coat Drive!” Last year, Color Of Change helped the National Bail Out (a coordinated effort by community organizations, advocates, and families) raise more than $1 million to free Black mothers to rejoin their families for the holidays.  

The NBO campaign offers a stunning statistic that underscores the injustice of the "racist cash bail system." In the "land of the free," nearly half a million people (three-fourths of the US jail population) have not been convicted of a crime. They are simply awaiting trial. And 90 percent of this prison population is suffering in jail simply because they can't afford to pay the bail needed to be released. 

Bill McKibben Bids Goodbye 

Bill McKibben, author, activist and founder of the climate protection group 350.org has announced his retirement from the organization he founded. Here are some of his thoughts as we approach another critical year of do-or-die decision-making: 

This is the last year I get to write my annual fundraising letter for 350.org. I’m stepping back from my duties — I’ve had my last board meeting, and as the year ends even my volunteer job as ‘senior advisor’ transitions to emeritus status. 

It’s always hard to leave behind an institution one helped found, but the time is right: the people now doing most of the work at 350.org need the space to assert their own identities, become public figures in their own right. 

I’m very proud of our work together fighting pipelines, divesting trillions of dollars from fossil fuel, and standing up to banks — but there are other battles ahead that need new ideas. 

And those battles will need resources. From the South Pacific to South America, from the Arctic to Australia, from London and Paris to DC and New York, 350.org remains the essential global grassroots climate campaign. We have people scattered across the planet — 150 or so hardy souls, most of them young, together catalyzing a vast volunteer base to take on the entire fossil fuel industry. 

It might seem like a mismatch, but in fact we’re winning: I took a day to celebrate this year when the news came that Exxon was no longer the world’s biggest energy company, that it had been surpassed by a solar and wind company. There will be more important news like this if we keep fighting. 

I’m of course nostalgic right now, thinking back to the early days of 350.org, when the climate movement was tiny. But I’m also thinking ahead — to the new projects I’ll be working on but also to the work that 350 will be undertaking in every corner of the globe. As long as I’m alive I’ll be here to help out in some way with those fights — and I hope you will too. 

Let me just finish by saying thanks. It’s been the privilege of my life to work shoulder to shoulder with y’all. 

On we go, 

Bill McKibben 

A Song for the Holidays from Randy Rainbow