A Global Apology

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Today I feel shattered.

The last time I felt shattered was on 11/8/16.

The time before that? 9/11/01.

What happened today?

Donald Trump announced the US withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accord.

This is a big deal. This is a huge fucking deal.

 

All the countries in blue signed the Paris Climate Accord. Today the USA reneged on the agreement. Only two other countries have not signed. Nicaragua and Syria. And the former refused to sign because the Accord…was not tough enough.

 

So, as of today America sides with but a single country which does not think we need to protect the global environment: Syria.

Jesus Fucking Christ.

Jesus Fucking Christ.

Jesus Fucking Christ.

So, are you an American? If so, how do you feel about being in league with Syria????????

 

This will hit the newsstands tomorrow.

 

The menace in the White House explained the reasons for his decision, but all these reasons make no sense, are distortions, lies, or based on flawed studies.

[Sidebar: In April, this blog had almost 100,000 views, the most ever. Among readers are people across the globe and liberals and conservatives. I know Trump supporters read this blog. This latter group will likely object to my calling Trump the menace in the White House, as I will do for the rest of this post. And I will not apologize. No longer. This menace bragged about sexually assaulting women. I have had dozens of menace supporters tell me: “That is just locker room talk.” No, it is not. Grabbing a woman by her genitalia is NOT talk. That is action. That is sexual assault. And this profound disconnect of menace supporters, typical for ALL criticism against the menace, is enormously disturbing and terrifying to me. People that I care about, people that are intelligent, are suddenly utterly blind when it comes to their political tribalism. It is like they have evidenced a psychotic break regarding the menace in the White House. No matter how awful and atrocious his actions and words, THEY JUST REFUSE TO SEE IT.]

 

The quote on top is from the menace in the White House. It is a lie.

 

From VOX:

The Paris agreement, signed in 2015 by 195 countries, does four simple things.

  1. It sets a global goal of keeping global average temperatures from rising 2°C (compared to temperatures pre-Industrial Revolution) by the end of the century.
  2. It sets a non-binding agreement for countries to reach peak greenhouse gas emissions “as soon as possible.”
  3. It adds a framework for countries to become more aggressive in reaching those goals over time. In 2020, delegates are supposed to reconvene and provide updates about their emission pledges, and report on how they’re becoming more aggressive on accomplishing the 2 degree goal.
  4. It asks richer countries to help out poorer countries: to give them capital to invest in green technologies, but also to help them brace for a changing world.

None of this is binding, as the menace in the White House states. It is all voluntary. But if forms a framework, at least, TO DO SOMETHING. And the menace today said: Fuck everybody.

From VOX: It imposes absolutely no practical or legal constraint on [Trump’s] actions — not on trade policy, not on domestic energy policy, nothing,” Roberts writes. “That means all talk of Paris being a ‘bad deal’ for the US, or hurting US trade, or affecting the US coal industry in any way, is nonsense.

This will not make America stronger. Right now, California, with the most strident environmental regulations in the country, is enjoying a thriving economy. Germany, with draconian environmental regulations, is also enjoying a robust economy.

There is zero evidence showing that focusing on a fossil-fuel-based economy makes sense. The opposite is true. States and countries which are dedicated to clean fuel, clean technologies, and new clean jobs are doing really well. And this win/win situation? Whereby doing the right thing ALSO creates jobs? The menace in the White House said screw it.

The menace also lied about just wanting to create jobs. His action today is like shutting down Netflix so Blockbuster Video could be made strong again. Like shutting down automobile production to revive the horse and buggy business. The menace in the White House is locked in a 1950s view of America and jobs, all the while India, for example, is committed to 100% electric cars by 2030.

India leads. America goes backwards.

Do you understand how bizarre this is?

How do you feel about this?

I want my country to be the leader in all this. I want my country to be beacon of sustainability and attract the most brilliant technicians and scientists and engineers helping to create a sustainable future for you and me and our children.

But the menace in the White House just destroyed this dream. And today the President of France extended invitations to the most brilliant technicians and scientists and engineers helping to create a sustainable future. “Come to France. We will support you.”

 

The menace in the White House wants you and me to live again in smog-filled cities, rather than the blue sky cities brought about by the EPA, which a Republican signed into law (Nixon). I am old enough to remember smog-choked cities. I don’t want to go back. I also recall when rivers caught fire because they were so polluted. I don’t want to go back.

 

The menace in the White House is also going against what MOST American’s want, even most Republicans. How do you feel about this?

 

Keith Olbermann has now posted 82 RESISTANCE videos about the menace in the White House. These videos have been watched well over 100 millions times. I repeat: well over 100 million. Today, his post states that there are now but two parties in America: Republicans and Americans.

 

The Governor of New York ordered Freedom Tower to be lighted green tonight in solidarity with the Paris Accord, and to let the world know that New York will comply with the Accord no matter what the menace in the White House says.

 

And even buildings in Washington DC are doing the same (the city voted 96% for Hillary).

 

Lovely. And powerful.

 

From Denver (click to enlarge).

 

“The world cannot wait—and neither will we”

 

From the CEO of Disney. Elon Musk also resigned.

 

Global opinion has been brutal.

 

The President of France threw specular shade at the menace in the White House.

 

Can somebody please explain how this makes America stronger? Safer? I am glad I don’t travel. I would be terrified in another country BECAUSE I am an American.

 

Two days ago, der Spiegel (a hugely popular German news magazine read throughout Europe) published a devastating piece on the menace in the White House. I quote…

 

…from the article:

Donald Trump is not fit to be president of the United States. He does not possess the requisite intellect and does not understand the significance of the office he holds nor the tasks associated with it. He doesn’t read. He doesn’t bother to peruse important files and intelligence reports and knows little about the issues that he has identified as his priorities. His decisions are capricious and they are delivered in the form of tyrannical decrees.

He is a man free of morals. As has been demonstrated hundreds of times, he is a liar, a racist and a cheat. I feel ashamed to use these words, as sharp and loud as they are. But if they apply to anyone, they apply to Trump. And one of the media’s tasks is to continue telling things as they are: Trump has to be removed from the White House. Quickly. He is a danger to the world.

Smack.

So, today I apologize to the globe. I did not vote for the menace in the White House, and nor did 80% of my fellow citizens. This menace has bragged about sexually assaulting women, he has appointed viciously anti-LGBT people to high positions, he is under investigation for treasonous ties to Russia, he has insulted Mexicans and Muslims and Gold Star families and war veterans. And more. So much more. Tragically more.

Yet this menace still has supporters who are blind to all of the above.

I apologize. And beg you to please remember that we are not all so blind.

 

Their home is melting. The menace in the White House does not care. Do you?

 

 

32 Comments

  1. Jason Baker on June 1, 2017 at 11:24 pm

    And just like that I am done. Great blog on design and etc, but you it seems you could not resist the temptation to lecture us with your misguided political agenda. As a fellow blogger, you ought to know that you just marginalized your own relevance.

    • Ross on June 1, 2017 at 11:34 pm

      Thank you for the kind words.

      Funny though this statement: “As a fellow blogger, you ought to know that you just marginalized your own relevance.”

      I did a political post at the end of December. Several people replied with basically the same words as you.

      But my views JUMPED. In December I had 80,000 views. In January I had 90,000. And in April I had almost 100,000.

      So, I do not think that my speaking out marginalizes me. Indeed, the majority of America agrees with my views.

      And I will be sad to see you go, Jason.

      • Sandra Lee on June 2, 2017 at 12:02 am

        I’m with you Ross 100%!!!

        When the seas rise due to polar ice melts, Florida & especially Palm Beach will be submerged– Mar-A-Lago will sink like Atlantis. Unfortunately so will a lot of other lovelier places, polar bears will be extinct as will orangutans due to Indonesia ‘s jungles will be deforested. This is a travesty!!!!

        Please let him be shamed.

        • Ross on June 2, 2017 at 12:07 am

          Thank you, Sandra Lee.

          The Republican Congress also recently got rid of a law prohibiting hunters from going inside the dens of hibernating bears and killing them. And their cubs.

          This makes me want to vomit.

  2. Diana on June 2, 2017 at 12:33 am

    Yes, Ross! Yes! I don’t understand the people who don’t understand.

    • kizilod on June 2, 2017 at 4:59 am

      This New Yorker article, “Why Facts Don’t Change Our Minds”, which discusses psychological studies of peoples’ beliefs, helped me feel more understanding.

      And this New York Times article has some suggestions about what each of us can do in our own lives to reduce our carbon emissions.

      • Ross on June 2, 2017 at 7:40 am

        Thank you, kizilod.

        I love this quote from the New Yorker article:

        “If your position on, say, the Affordable Care Act is baseless and I rely on it, then my opinion is also baseless. When I talk to Tom and he decides he agrees with me, his opinion is also baseless, but now that the three of us concur we feel that much more smug about our views. If we all now dismiss as unconvincing any information that contradicts our opinion, you get, well, the Trump Administration.”

        And here is another excellent New Yorker article.

  3. tiffaney on June 2, 2017 at 2:40 am

    So I’m reading that this won’t take effect until 2020. Coincidentally, the day after the presidential election. Trump can’t just up and leave, apparently. Hopefully what I’m seeing is correct, and it won’t be a huge issue. That said, if states take up the mantle individually, all the better.

    I live in DC and him being elected has ruined the experience. I was so proud to live here under Obama. Now, I’m happy we’re moving next month.

    • pk on June 2, 2017 at 5:58 am

      Well said Ross. I feel deeply depressed and angry about this too.

    • Ross on June 2, 2017 at 7:46 am

      Hi Tiffany!

      It is true that the menace cannot just unilaterally pull out of the Accord. So, in typical menace fashion: A tale. Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.

      Nonetheless, I fear the damage will be immense. It destroys the credibility of my country. It will lead to more damage to the planet. And the menace has just signaled to companies that they can pollute at will and nothing will happen to them.

      The menace has also gutted funding for the EPA.

      • tiffaney on June 2, 2017 at 12:59 pm

        Oh completely agreed. We do NOT look good after this. And his habit of appointing people to head departments that they don’t believe in is a HUGE PROBLEM.

        I’m genuinely disgusted by what’s going on, so I try to cling to the little things. Ugh.

  4. Miriam Righter on June 2, 2017 at 6:44 am

    Well said, Ross. And I agree 100%! I am also guessing that as soon as you started talking negatively about Trump, the respondent who disagreed immediately stopped reading. Trump supporters don’t want to learn new information. They want to believe the lies they have been fed. So trying to educate them is a lesson in futility! I have also tried. It is a scary situation for our country and our world.

    • Ross on June 2, 2017 at 7:53 am

      Thank you, Miriam,

      I agree that menace supporters refuse to learn new information, and nothing I wrote above will make a difference to them, save their become MORE supportive of the menace. (See this New Yorker article which kizilod mentioned above.)

      That though is not why I wrote the post. Mostly, I did it for me. I need to vent the rage I feel. I also want to reach out across the globe and connect with the vast majority of people who feel the same rage. We are not alone.

      In addition, I want to globally apologize, and to let the world know that not all Americans are deluded by the menace in the White House.

  5. Gabi on June 2, 2017 at 6:48 am

    I haven’t slept well since this man (too kind of a word really) was elected. My late father sold a business in Germany in the early 50’s to bring a family of 6 to this great country for a better opportunity for his children. Now his grandchildren are getting screwed big time! We’ve got to get him and all the Republicans out of Washington ASAP!!

    • Ross on June 2, 2017 at 7:56 am

      Thank you, Gabi,

      Ironically, your family would now likely be better off back in Germany!

  6. Cindi M on June 2, 2017 at 7:34 am

    Thank you, Ross, for your comments and bravery, for putting your principles above popularity. God bless you!

  7. Chad on June 2, 2017 at 8:52 am

    Hey Ross, since these political posts always get a couple people in a huff about content they don’t like that you write at no cost to them, you should make a Patreon account that allows people to pay you a recurring subscription fee to mute/hide them. I saw some that do the opposite and give Patreon subscribers exclusive content, so this should work, too, right?

  8. Mary on June 2, 2017 at 11:14 am

    Ok, I have to respond. I’ve been a reader here for several months (I love antiques & collectibles of all kinds, including old restored houses!). I am NOT a Trump supporter. I have never before disliked a US President before. I may have not liked a few specific things some of them have done, but I never severely disliked any of them, until Trump. I was born in 1963, so I DO remember everything about Nixon. You could not NOT hear all the Nixon stuff going on. He still was not as bad as Trump.

    So I could not understand the Trump supporters. I happen to have a brother, who owns a small business for 20+ years. He works like a dog, goes out of his way to accommodate a customer, and often gets stabbed in the back by people. Over & over again. Several other family members also have small struggling businesses. They really have it hard. I would not want to be in their shoes for anything. I have worked in accounting for 30+ years and for many different types of businesses. My brother is a Trump supporter. Many of his colleagues are Trump supporters. I love my brother. He is a very intelligent person. His job requires a lot of engineering and technical knowledge, as well as a lot of people skills to make things work out.

    So I had to ask him WHY he is a Trump supporter. It’s not that they think Trump himself is so great. It’s that they think BECAUSE Trump is so different from all the other politicians he may actually get some things changed that these blue-color white men so desperately want changed. They are THAT desperate. They say they are tired of all the sob-storied people getting things changed for them (such as recent legal changes for LGBT people, etc.).

    These middle-aged white men have been struggling so long, and not one hears them. For example: their businesses cannot get loans due to the crackdown on banks from the financial crisis (due to BIG bank failures), the BIG businesses seem to get all the breaks, the local taxes keep penalizing the little businesses, etc. etc.

    So I see their side. However, I don’t see that Trump has ANY ability to get ANYTHING accomplished except to irritate and alienate people. He may have been able to swindle millions of dollars out of people and the government (taxes) by his real estate businesses, but he surely does not know how to get laws passed or how our government works. I think Trump and his supporters take it for granted what all the OTHER Presidents politicians, congressmen, governors, etc. have done to make things go so well up to now. Yes, some things do need adjusting, But Trump is undoing a lot of good things and making more problems instead of fixing them. -M.G.M.

    • Ross on June 2, 2017 at 11:31 am

      Thank you, Mary, for your wonderful comment. Thank you.

      I, too, have heard the same things from menace supporters. “I like that he is not a politician! He’s different!”

      During the election campaign I asked these people: “Would you hire a totally inexperienced mechanic to work on your car?”

      “No!”

      “Would you hire a totally inexperienced carpenter to add a room to your house?”

      “No!”

      “Would you hire a totally inexperienced surgeon to operate on you?”

      “No!”

      “Would you hire a totally inexperienced lawyer to prepare a defense case for you?”

      “No!”

      “So, you think experience and having qualification matters EXCEPT for the hardest job on the planet????????”

      I never got a response to the last question.

  9. Patti on June 2, 2017 at 11:46 am

    So why wasn’t this treaty brought before the Senate for ratification instead of just signed into being by Obama? Because it lacked support among even Democrat senators. If it’s such a wonderment, let it go through the constitutional process.

    FYI – a woman letting you grab her nether regions is not sexual assault. The key word is LET! And please, I’ve heard worse language in the stands of a football game to say nothing of a locker room.

    • Ross on June 2, 2017 at 1:11 pm

      Hello Patti.

      Thank you for joining the conversation.

      May I respond to your comments?

      1) “So why wasn’t this treaty brought before the Senate for ratification instead of just signed into being by Obama?”

      The Paris Accord is not a treaty. It is a non-binding agreement. We could ignore it without penalty.

      Such an agreement did not need Congressional approval. This is also why Trump could renege without Congressional approval.

      Obama did not sign the Accord into being. John Kerry signed the accord, which already existed, and which was signed by every other country on Earth save Syria and Nicaragua.

      2) “it lacked support among even Democrat senators”

      Can you please provide a link to a credible source backing up that statement?

      3) “a woman letting you grab her nether regions is not sexual assault.”

      Agreed. But Trump did not brag about consensual sex. He bragged about sexual assault: “I don’t even wait. Grab ’em by the pussy. You can do anything.”

      THAT is sexual assault.

      • Sarah on June 2, 2017 at 9:27 pm

        That is most-definitely sexual assault and as a woman it deeply saddens me to see other women defend this behavior. Two steps forward, one step back, I suppose.

  10. Erin on June 2, 2017 at 12:07 pm

    Thank you for these posts. I appreciate them. Please don’t let those who disagree shut you down. And if you are brave enough, don’t put them behind a password protected wall. Not only will those who disagree find a way in but those who are looking for support in the darkness will have a hard time finding you.

    • Ross on June 2, 2017 at 1:15 pm

      I will never put a wall around this blog.

      I don’t believe in walls.

      Except in great old houses!

  11. Sue C. on June 2, 2017 at 5:25 pm

    Thank you for this post, Ross. I agree with you 100%! I have been sick to my stomach since 11-8-16.

  12. Nathan on June 3, 2017 at 11:50 pm

    Ugh. Spot on. Though I do see why some people, even intelligent ones, support trump (I won’t repeat it as it was already explained quite well by Mary) I don’t agree with it. As a Canadian I am rather bothered by the people who say ” oh well I’ll move to Canada now” but just saying we’ve got plenty of room for Rosses. I’m sure we could arrange for the cross house to be airlifted. Trudeau ain’t perfect but he’s a shit ton better than he who must not be named.

  13. Sharon@LaurelhurstCraftsman on June 4, 2017 at 7:43 am

    Like you, I have tried to stay away from politics in my blog. I think the guy is the White House is a moron. The only thing that is keeping me sane is that I happen to live on the west coast where we basically flip off Washington and do our liberal thing. Yes, we have more than our share of white supremists who feel emboldened by the GOP, but I am sustained by my hope that these idiots will lose their majority in 2018 and we’ll be able to get rid of them. I sure hope so anyway because otherwise I might have to go for plan B where I try and find a civilized country to move to.

    • Chad on June 4, 2017 at 8:25 am

      As scary as the rightist agenda is, I think it would be more dangerous to leave than to stay since the people who can’t leave would really get screwed of people like us all took off. I read a thing that our real duty would be to live in red/swing states. I’m sorta doing that in Philadelphia but don’t think I could stomach the parts of the state’s that person really meant. Even though there are great houses for cheap there.

      • Traci on June 4, 2017 at 10:11 am

        I’ve been thinking about that. I don’t have the energy any more to move somewhere red, but when I was younger, I would have in a heartbeat. It would be cool if there was a way to relocate young democrats to red states.

        • Ross on June 5, 2017 at 10:12 am

          We don’t need to relocate.

          We just need to VOTE!

          A third of eligible voters did NOT vote in 2016. And the menace won by just 70,000 votes.

  14. Catherine on June 10, 2017 at 2:27 pm

    Ross:Since stumbling across your blog several weeks ago, I allowed myself the luxury of starting at the beginning and I read a few posts every day, whenever there were spare moments between caring for my beloved elderly parents and working on my late-1800’s farmhouse in rural Nova Scotia, Canada. Like you, and so many other kindred spirits, my house is like an extension of my soul but on a considerably smaller scale from your house.

    I promised myself that when I caught up, I would not only sign up to receive notification of new posts, but I would also post a comment. I’ve never, EVER commented on any blog I’ve ever read but your authenticity compels me. Since starting back at the beginning of the blog, I thought about how best to express myself when I caught up but now that I’m here I feel a little shy and tongue-tied about introducing myself to you.

    Nevertheless, I want to add my voice in thanking you for your stalwart guardianship of the Cross House. Thank you for teaching me soooo much about homes of yore. Thank you for enabling me to further develop an appreciation and respect for House Beauty. Thank you for giving me a heightened awareness of such delicious words as gobsmacked, extant, in-situ and zounds. ????

    I have also read every single comment on every single post and felt myself to be on the fringes of a very special community of people. Some of the people who comment are extraordinarily articulate and knowledgeable. What a joy!

    Interestingly, the post that most moved me was your political despair from the end of December, 2016. It was whilst sitting alone in a Tim Hortons coffee shop (a quintessentially Canadian activity). I read that devastating post and was about half way through the comments when I unexpectedly felt so sad that I couldn’t stop myself from weeping openly–a ridiculously un-Catherine-like behaviour that was upon me before I even knew it was coming. I almost commented that day. It was a beautiful, brave, and genuine post and it rocked me to my core. It’s interesting that I got caught up to present day by finishing with another rare political post. (For the record,no tears today????)

    I feel I need to wrap this up and I’m not even sure I have said anything of consequence.

    I just wanted to thank you for the gift of you, for the joy you exude (almost all the time), for your love of kitty cats, for your innate kindness and positivity,for your understanding of the inestimable value of a hug and your tender way of articulating restoration philosophies that help me untangle my own questions about how best to serve a lovely old house.

    I guess for someone who was tongue-tied I have managed to say more than enough so I’ll wrap it up. Be well, keep your faith, and know you are loved. I send you a hug. And I say again: Be Well.

    • Ross on June 10, 2017 at 8:04 pm

      Dear Catherine,

      I was deeply moved by your comment. Thank you.

      Very occasionally I wonder if doing this blog makes any sense. The time, the effort, and to what purpose?

      Then a comment like yours springs forth and all my doubts are erased. Thank you. It seems extraordinary that I can write words in Kansas and find that people across the globe hear these words; and respond. My heart is deeply touched.

      Oh, and this made me laugh: “Thank you for giving me a heightened awareness of such delicious words as gobsmacked, extant, in-situ and zounds.”

      Much much much love,

      Ross

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