White House quietly issues OMB report vindicating Obama regulations

More facts to help expose the lie behind Libertarians Deregulation Siren’s Song.  Here's another example of Enlightened Self-Interest showing itself to be the more rational constructive way to approach our problems.  I’ll leave the rest of this story to someone who can explain it better than I can.  

These are the facts we need to learn about and share with others. 

_______________________________

REGULATIONS

Contradicting Trump, OMB report highlights rule benefits

Maxine Joselow, E&E News reporter

Published: February 26, 2018 

https://www.eenews.net/eenewspm/2018/02/26/stories/1060074795

The White House Office of Management and Budget on Friday evening released its annual report on the costs and benefits of federal regulations, showing that the benefits of major Obama-era rules far exceeded the costs.

E&E News broke the story, but it’s only available to subscribers so I’ll relate David Roberts report from VOX.com:

________________________________________

Trump White House quietly issues report vindicating Obama regulations

It was easy to miss, but OMB demolishes the GOP’s deregulatory claims.

By David Roberts  |  david@vox.com  |  Mar 6, 2018, 9:30am EST

https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2018/3/6/17077330/trump-regulatory-agenda-omb

_________________________________________________________________

For a copy of the Report itself, this has been posted by E&E News.net

   

2017 Draft Report to Congress on the Benefits and Costs of Federal Regulations and Agency Compliance with the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act

   

https://www.eenews.net/assets/2018/02/26/document_pm_01.pdf\

_________________________________________________________________

President Donald Trump’s administration has been on a deregulatory bender, particularly when it comes to environmental regulations. As of January, the New York Times counted 67 environmental rules on the chopping block under Trump.

¶ Open let LaPlata BoCC - re anonymous letter(s?) - February 28th, 2018

An open letter to the La Plata County Commissioners

Brad Blake

Julie Westendorff

Gwen Lachelt

February 28, 2018

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hello County Commissioners,

I live in rural La Plata County and yesterday I was called by a neighbor about an unsettling anonymous letter received in their mail.  The letter isn't threatening per se but it does intimidate, 'we know who you are, where you live, and we don't like what you say in public!' sort of thing.  Besides the intimidation, its content is vague, inaccurate and directed at the wrong people. An angry myopic venting that deserves a response.

It’s not worth calling the sheriff, but on the other hand it is certainly worth reporting and making a big deal about since I believe it's another example of outside forces bringing high-powered ruthless political practices into our community.  It's pure poison.

Stoking hostility and misunderstanding and yes intimidation is not the American way to go, that’s the stuff of totalitarianism and hopeless conflict.

Our current land code planning controversies can only be resolved by recognizing that time does change our reality.  Our population has been exploding and population densities do matter a great deal, no matter how much our nostalgia wants to wish it away.  

Dreaming about the freedom of a bygone wild era, when the nearest neighbor was a mile or many miles away, are not going to help us deal with today’s down to Earth problems and moving into the future.  That past is gone.

Koch Brothers Exposed [2014] Robert Greenwald documentary

Here's a look at what the Koch Brothers were up to until about 2014, their investment seems to be paying off handsomely.  These are not "libertarian" defenders, they are predators and taking over our government is their goal.  At least that's what all the evidence consistently points to.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLvpwrCfqFI  |  55 minutes  |  Robert Greenwald

Koch Brothers Exposed - 2014 Edition - challenges David and Charles Koch's abuse of money in politics. Robert Greenwald's updated film has new stories on corporate greed, environmental abuse and the buying of elections.  ______________________________________________________________________

KOCH EXPOSED - The Center for Media and Democracy Project - 2017

Here's a portal to a virtual library full of details about how Koch and pals are managing their hostile takeover bid on our US democracy.  You may think I'm exaggerating.  Take a look.  See what you think of the evidence.

_______________________________

https://www.prwatch.org/topics/koch-exposed

PR WATCH HOME  ~  SOURCEWATCH  ~  ALEC EXPOSED

The Center for Media and Democracy, publisher of ALEC Exposed, brings you this unique wiki resource on the billionaire industrialists and the power and influence of the Koch cadre and Koch cash.

Key Koch Articles

• Americans for Prosperity Foundation

• Stand Together

• Freedom Partners Institute

• Grassroots Leadership Academy

• Concerned Veterans for America

• The Kochs and Criminal Justice Reform

• The Libre Initiative

• New Documents: Like His Dad, Charles Koch Was a Bircher.

• Lisa Graves on Democracy Now!

• Koch Brothers

• Charles Koch

• David Koch

• Koch Family Foundations

• Americans for Prosperity

• Freedom Partners

• Cato Institute

• Heritage Foundation

• National Right to Work

• Koch Universities

• American Enterprise Institute

• Americans for Tax Reform

• Institute for Humane Studies

• Coalition for American Values

• NFIB

Koch Funding Vehicles

• Aegis PAC

• Koch Family Foundations

• Koch Network

• Freedom Partners

• Knowledge and Progress Fund

• American Encore

• DonorsTrust

• Donors Capital

Koch Services

• i360

• Aegis Strategic

• Freedom Partners Shared Services

Secret Election Spending

• Koch Candidates 2016

• Americans for Prosperity

• Freedom Partners

• Generation Opportunity

Koch Lieutenants

• Eric O'Keefe

• Sean Noble

• Richard Fink

• Tim Phillips

• Edward Crane

• Marc Short

Former Koch-Backed Groups

• 60 Plus Association

• American Future Fund

• Americans for Job Security

• Trees of Liberty

• TC4 Trust

_______________________________________________________________

¶ Why the fear? From the front line.

Watching USA’s political landscape unfolding, or more accurately unraveling, these past years I’ve been infected with a growing pessimism. Now after a couple weeks of studying up on Americans for Prosperity, henceforth, Americans for (Kochs) Prosperity, that pessimism has given way to a palpable sense of terror. 

Why do I worry? Our presidency was taken by a strategy of hate-mongering and lies. Our Republican Party shows complete disregard for the popular will of the people and Congressional rules of fair play, in favor of obsequious servitude to the oligarchs who paid for their elections.

Add to that our Democratic Party of Complacency who still haven’t figured out how to convey to liberty loving Americans what a clear and present existential threat our democracy is facing. 

Then the coup de grâce, learning details of the Koch, et al. octopus of front groups such as the AFP with their self-defensive absolutism, their misrepresentation of facts, and their melodramatic demonizing of all things progressive or liberal.

Please consider our history, this past century is full of epic hard fought democratic battles to reform our Government and how it dealt with social, health and environmental problems. Reforms that forced our democratic government to pay attention to the needs of a growing population and to recognize the importance of a healthy society and environment, you know, our life support system.

Koch Shadow Network Funding Dangerous Candidates - H.Nations - 2016

Paul Weyrich, "father" of the right-wing movement and co-founder of the Heritage Foundation, 
Moral Majority and various other groups (1980)

________________________________________

With that preamble I'll dive right into this short video of Farron Cousins interviewing attorney Howard Nations.  Below the fold I have notes from the talk along with additional reading sources that offer further support of the claims being made, along with offering important background.  

The Koch Shadow Network Is Funding 
Dangerous Candidates All Over The Country - 

The Ring of Fire  -  Jul 7, 2016  |  14:10 min

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdEqMjFgRhk

The Koch brothers announced months ago that they were going to spend close to one billion dollars in this year’s elections.  We know that they aren’t giving this money to Donald Trump, so where is it going?  

http://www.TROFIRE.com

____________________________

00:53 -   ... Rove and Edelson were tweeted to death by donald trump.  But the Koch

 brothers are still very much alive and well and working their magic.  The Koch brothers are omnipresent but they’re under the radar.  

When you see that do-nothing House of Representatives that's the Koch brothers.  When you see legislative races, State Attorney General races, Congressional races, that's the Koch brothers.  They are still the most powerful single force in the Republican Party. and they manage that as well as anything else through the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) which carries out the Koch brothers legislative agenda. 

____________________________________

WHO IS ALEC?

https://www.alecexposed.org