DL Open Thread: Friday, January 28, 2022
Judge Tosses Out Massive Gulf Of Mexico Oil And Gas Lease Sale. The Biden Administration had been placed in the position of having to go forward with the sale even though they didn’t want to. Why did this judge toss it out?:
In his ruling, Judge Rudolph Contreras concluded that the Interior Department’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management had based its decision to hold the sale on a flawed environmental analysis that miscalculated the greenhouse gas emissions associated with future oil and gas drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. Completed under the Trump administration, the analysis found that the climate impacts would be worse if the acreage went unsold because oil companies with lower environmental standards would increase their production overseas, leading to more greenhouse gas emissions.
That’s what I call a Rose Mary Woods-style analysis.
Biden Administration Revokes Mining Leases In Minnesota. Yet another reversal of Trump Era environmental destruction:
Opponents argue that allowing the project to move ahead could forever sully the vast network of federally protected rivers, lakes and creeks, often pointing to the hard-rock mining industry’s long legacy of polluting water resources across the country. Extracting sulfide-bearing minerals like those Twin Metals is after could trigger the release of toxic sulfuric acid that can persist indefinitely.
In a legal opinion on Wednesday, Ann Marie Bledsoe Downes, the Interior Department’s principal deputy solicitor, wrote that the Trump administration had “improperly” renewed the leases and violated department regulations by “customizing lease terms specifically for Twin Metals.”
Is Crypto The New Sub-Prime? Maybe yes, maybe no. But Paul Krugman explains it so that even I can begin to understand it:
What’s this crypto thing about? There are many ways to make digital payments, from Apple Pay and Google Pay to Venmo. Mainstream payment schemes, however, rely on a third party — usually your bank — to verify that you actually own the assets you’re transferring. Cryptocurrencies use complex coding to supposedly do away with the need for these third parties.
Investors in crypto seem to be different from investors in other risky assets, like stocks, who consist disproportionately of affluent, college-educated whites. According to a survey by the research organization NORC, 44 percent of crypto investors are nonwhite, and 55 percent don’t have a college degree. This matches up with anecdotal evidence that crypto investing has become remarkably popular among minority groups and the working class.
Now, maybe those of us who still can’t see what cryptocurrencies are good for other than money laundering and tax evasion are just missing the picture. And it’s OK for investors to bet against the skeptics.
But these investors should be people who are both well equipped to make that judgment and financially secure enough to bear the losses if it turns out that the skeptics are right.
Unfortunately, that’s not what is happening. And if you ask me, regulators have made the same mistake they made on subprime: They failed to protect the public against financial products nobody understood, and many vulnerable families may end up paying the price.
Will Clarence Thomas Recuse Himself On Affirmative Action Case? He clearly should, based on the rabid involvement of his wife on this issue. But, will he?
Kowalko’s Retirement Announcement. Real nice article from WDEL:
“I have held these values which are so dear to me throughout my career as a legislator. I am proud of my continuous and resolute support for not only organized labor but for all working people and their families, and for all of Delaware’s citizens. My bills, and the bills I put my name on support ordinary people, working people, parents, children, the homeless, and Delaware’s small business community. I have always supported government transparency, good government, and open government. I have always supported and sponsored bills improving healthcare, voting rights, gender equity, and the environment.
DuPont Spoils Bring Millions At Auction. Something tells me that those tomahawks were not made by family members, nor were sold to them by Indigenous Americans. Conspicuous wealth from plutocrats who merely inherited it.
What do you want to talk about?
“Will Clarence Thomas Recuse Himself On Affirmative Action Case?”
Fuck no. His judicial philosophy seems to be “Get revenge on my enemies” very wholesome.