Constitution of the United States of America 1789 - 2020

By a vote of 51 to 49, the U.S. Senate terminated the rule of law. We can only hope Republicans will pay a price for their cowardice.

The failure to call witnesses in [von Clownstick's] impeachment trial comes after he refused to cooperate with the House impeachment inquiry, an act that led to the article of impeachment charging obstruction of Congress. While previous presidents fought congressional efforts to obtain documents during impeachment investigations, none made such a blanket denial of documents and witnesses as [Dear Leader] did.

Congress no longer has the power to stop a president from doing anything they want to do. Amanda Marcotte notes that the Senate votes "to shut down witness testimony and to acquit [his majesty] should be understood as the consummation of the GOP's long courtship with authoritarianism".

They are not voting to declare the president innocent of the charges against him, since that is clearly absurd. They are voting to announce that, in their eyes, there's no limit to what can or should be done to maintain the Republican hold on power.

Update (February 2):  Carl Bernstein criticizes the Senate action as "violence done to the Constitution". It sets a dangerous precedent.

[T]he president of the United States can do almost anything without being held accountable.

Update (February 5):  The U.S. Senate voted 52 to 48 and 53 to 47 to acquit Fuckface von Clownstick on the two articles of impeachment. Mitt Romney made the news for being the only Republican Senator to find Dear Leader guilty of abuse of power.

Paul Blumenthal argues that parts of the constitution are "unusable".

[T]he Republican Party has shown it will take full advantage of that dysfunction in order to protect its president and maintain power as its base of support shrinks. The result is a presidency that quite literally can do no wrong.

Republicans were able to conduct a sham impeachment trial because the authors of the impeachment clause of the Constitution did not anticipate senators who would act to protect their political party instead of their branch of government.

Update (February 6):  In an interview with Bill Moyers, Steven Harper quotes Hannah Arendt.

[I]f everybody always lies to you, the consequence is not that you believe the lies, but rather that nobody believes anything any longer ... . And a people that can no longer believe anything, cannot make up its mind. It is deprived, not only of its capacity to act, but also of its capacity to think and to judge. And with such a people, you can then do what you please.

Update (February 9):  Dear Leader is taking his revenge amid other fallout. Bob Cesca says the stakes are even higher now.

The best-case scenario is that enough American voters will turn out to vote — overwhelming the impact of [Fuckface's] cheating and directly punishing [him] and McConnell's Senate with indisputable defeats. In fact, [the] acquittal [makes] it even more imperative that sane Americans in every state should take matters into their own hands and make [von Clownstick] pay electorally for what he's done. [He] can't just lose: The loss has to hurt.

100 Seconds to Midnight

Mary Robinson announces the latest update:

The Doomsday Clock now stands at 100 seconds to midnight, the most dangerous situation that humanity has ever faced. Now is the time to come together—to unite and to act.

Our planet faces two concurrent existential threats: the climate crisis and nuclear weapons. We are faced by a gathering storm of extinction-level consequences, and time is running out.

Members of The Elders joined the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists in making the announcement.

This situation—two major threats to human civilization, amplified by sophisticated, technology-propelled propaganda—would be serious enough if leaders around the world were focused on managing the danger and reducing the risk of catastrophe. Instead, over the last two years, we have seen influential leaders denigrate and discard the most effective methods for addressing complex threats—international agreements with strong verification regimes—in favor of their own narrow interests and domestic political gain. By undermining cooperative, science- and law-based approaches to managing the most urgent threats to humanity, these leaders have helped to create a situation that will, if unaddressed, lead to catastrophe, sooner rather than later.

Divestment

Youth climate activists have a message for world economic leaders:

At Davos we will tell world leaders to abandon the fossil fuel economy

The world of finance has a responsibility to the planet, the people and all other species living on it. In fact, it ought to be in every company and stakeholder’s interest to make sure the planet they live on will thrive. But history has not shown the corporate world’s willingness to hold themselves accountable. So it falls on us, the children, to do that. We call upon the world’s leaders to stop investing in the fossil fuel economy that is at the very heart of this planetary crisis. Instead, they should invest their money in existing sustainable technologies, research and in restoring nature. Short-term profit should not trump long-term stability of life.

Update (January 27):  A study describes six "social tipping interventions" that could "could spark societal change towards climate stabilization and planetary sustainability".

1. Removing fossil-fuel subsidies and incentivizing decentralized energy generation
2. Building carbon-neutral cities
3. Divesting from assets linked to fossil fuels
4. Revealing the moral implications of fossil fuels
5. Strengthening climate education and engagement
6. Disclosing information on greenhouse gas emissions

Second Warmest Year

The Copernicus Climate Change Service reports that the global mean temperature for 2019 was only 0.04 degree Celsius cooler than 2016 which remains the warmest year in the temperature record. Jean-Noël Thépaut:

The past five years have been the five warmest on record [globally]; the last decade has been the warmest on record: These are unquestionably alarming signs.

Update (January 15):  A study published in Advances in Atmospheric Sciences finds that "the world’s oceans (especially at upper 2000 m) in 2019 were the warmest in recorded human history".

Update (January 19):  NOAA and NASA confirm the findings for 2019.

Update (February 16):  NOAA reports that last month was the warmest January in the temperature record.

[T]he average global land and ocean surface temperature last month was 2.5F (or 1.14C) above the 20th-century average. This measurement marginally surpassed the previous January record, set in 2016.