It’s all coming too fast and furious! I’m amazed that DC hasn’t imploded under all this news!! ;-( First, this breaking news that the State Dept. didn’t know the Mexican foreign minister was in town:
https://twitter.com/nktpnd/status/839994036417093633
Ankit PandaVerified account @nktpnd 2h2 hours ago
Wowwowwow. State Dep't Acting Spox Mark Toner had zero idea the Mexican foreign minister was in Washington. DoS totally cut out. (!!!)
pic.twitter.com/zYclfJIq6q
UPDATED: Maddow is on this!
Maddow BlogVerified account @MaddowBlog 11m11 minutes agoThere may be a communication problem between the White House and the State Department.
Jake TapperVerified account @jaketapper
Secretary of State Tillerson about to embark on first major trip to Asia in the midst of North Korean crisis. Not bringing any reporters.
EPA
And then someone who’s worked years to help minorities avoid being the dumping grounds for pollution gives up, saying there’s no way he can do his job:
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/323209-epas-environmental-justice-head-resigns
The head of the Environmental Protection Agency program aimed at protecting minority populations from pollution has resigned.
Mustafa Ali, who has worked at the EPA for 24 years, is leaving as the Trump administration is proposing to completely defund environmental justice efforts at the EPA.
Ali submitted a resignation letter Wednesday to EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt in which he implored the agency's new leader to take seriously the concerns of minority communities, which often bear the brunt of air and water pollution and live in areas near major industrial centers.
He told InsideClimate News, which first reported on the letter, that he does not see in the Trump administration “any indication that they are focused or interested in helping those vulnerable communities. My values and priorities seem to be different than our current leadership and because of that I feel that it's best if I take my talents elsewhere.”
...
“We’ve had both [Republican and Democratic administrations] over time and none of them tried to do anything to destroy what the previous administration had done,” Ali told InsideClimate. “Folks are just hoping that this one will wake up and see value in continuing this important work.”
I’m struggling to keep up, and to keep up my spirits. Oh, yeah — then there’s the blow to class action suits, like the one that brought down Rump University…
The HillVerified account @thehill 8m8 minutes ago
House passes bill restricting class action lawsuits http://hill.cm/Nnosk5N pic.twitter.com/FA5EqvknDG
But there are two small bright spots — first, someone who realizes young people probably can’t afford NYT subscriptions… and helps them out:
The HillVerified account @thehill 5m5 minutes ago
Anonymous donor gives NY Times $1M for student subscriptions http://hill.cm/kSvbBXw
And a good article about how to keep up hope in this time...
https://medium.com/@abby.brockman/despair-is-not-a-strategy-15-principles-of-hope-deba7ac2cb29#.jav851ih8
I keep clinging to small signs of hope… how about you?