Meanwhile at the White House...

All perfectly normal

"I don't need no stinking security clearance..."

...just to change diapers..."

"...or write the boss little notes."

Wednesday protest in Hope Valley

Burning Questions Confront Wildland Firefighters in Maine and Across New England

Can't count on the feds

By Sydney Cromwell

New England’s dense populations amid vast forests
mean that even a small, localized wildfire can threaten
homes or lives. Credit: Maine Forest Service

This article originally appeared on Inside Climate News, a nonprofit, non-partisan news organization that covers climate, energy and the environment. Sign up for their newsletter here.

Wildfires in New England rarely make national news. The spotlight is more often on the catastrophic fires of Western states, but the Northeast’s fire season has been quietly heating up.

In 2025, severe drought quadrupled Maine’s late summer fire activity. In 2024, another drought quintupled Connecticut’s fall wildfires, and one firefighter died while controlling a blaze. It was also Massachusetts’ most active fall fire season in 40 years. 

It can and does happen here. 2024 wildfire

Across the border, Nova Scotia saw its largest wildfires in recorded history in 2023, and more than 10 million acres burned in Quebec, creating a smoky haze that spread thousands of miles southward. Canadian wildfires created haze on the East Coast again this July.

“We think that the Northeast is an important place to have on the map when we’re talking about fire, and we often get ignored,” said Erin Lane, the director of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Northeast Climate Hub.

As forest managers and firefighters stretch their resources to respond to wildfires in a changing climate, they’re also dealing with new uncertainties from the Trump administration’s plans to radically alter the Forest Service and the new Wildland Fire Service. 

Study ties COVID vaccine conspiracy theories to distrust of government, mainstream media

If you've been wondering "What's wrong with these people?"

Meghan Holohan

As soon as the COVID-19 vaccine rollout began early in the pandemic, conspiracy theories about them started swirling. Some people claimed that the vaccines contained microchips, while others were suspicious about the intentions of the government or pharmaceutical companies. 

Researchers surveyed people in Japan about their beliefs in COVID-19 conspiracy theories to understand who adheres to such ideas. The findings were published last week in Scientific Reports.

“When people think about conspiracy beliefs, attention often focuses on highly extreme claims,” lead author Hitoshi Yamamoto, PhD, of Rissho University in Tokyo, said in a university press release. “However, our findings suggest that more common forms of conspiracy-related thinking are associated with the persistent distrust of social institutions and the mainstream media.” 

Catholic immigrant rights group wins major court battle against Trump ban on people from 75 countries

No discrimination based on national origin

Jon Queally for Common Dreams

Federal Judge Jeannette Vargas has struck down the Trump administration's suspension of immigrant visas for nationals of 75 countries, ruling the State Department policy violates federal immigration law and exceeds Secretary Marco Rubio's authority. Judge Vargas ruled federal law expressly prohibits nationality discrimination in issuing immigrant visas.

A federal judge in New York has ruled that Donald Trump and the US State Department overstepped their authority when they suspended the processing of visa applications for people from 75 nations earlier this year, a move that critics at the time called a “travesty,” cruel, and counter to the rule of law.

US District Judge Jeannette Vargas, a Biden appointee, ruled Friday that the pause in visa applications—which Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio claimed was necessary to prevent immigrant visitors from freeloading on US taxpayer dollars—was “contrary to law and in excess of statutory authority.”

Beyond shock and outrage

Surviving a madman

Robert Reich 

Posted by Trump about himself. What kind of
person does this?

Friends,

Trump claimed this past week that his job approval ratings are “fabulous” — they’re “above 60%.”

He also asserted that the United States is enjoying “the greatest economy we’ve ever had.”

And that the U.S. has “total control” over the Strait of Hormuz. “I THINK WE WILL KEEP IT,” he wrote on his Truth Social platform.

Trump’s braggadocio doesn’t just mask his failures. His statements wildly contradict the calamities he’s created for America and the world.

To be sure, since he first entered American politics, we’ve been shocked and outraged by his lack of morality, scruple, or shame. It’s been difficult to conceive of such a person because we’ve always been taught to distinguish right from wrong and to do the right thing. 

Yet Trump has no conception of right and wrong. He isn’t unethical. He’s non-ethical. He isn’t immoral. He’s amoral.

But his latest fabrications are so contrary to the realities of his monumental failures — his losing war with Iran, the near-collapsing U.S. economy, and his underwater approval ratings — that they’re not merely non-ethical or amoral. How can they be explained?

One possibility is his conman brain still firmly believes the public will go along with whatever he says and thinks he can manufacture success even when he’s going down the toilet.

But this can’t explain the extreme dissonance; he reads the same polls everyone else reads, and he knows the public isn’t buying.

Another possibility is that the sycophants surrounding him are telling him he’s wildly successful and don’t want to inform him of the depths of his failures for fear of his reaction.

Yet he constantly watches television, and even the networks he favors — such as Fox News — have lately been broadcasting his cataclysmic failures.

So what’s really going on? How can his assessments be so utterly unhinged from the enormity of his defeats?

The only possible explanation is that he’s finally lost his grasp on reality. He’s dangerously delusional. Trump is losing his mind.

It’s hard for most of us to take in the full import of this. Even those of us who detest him find it difficult to accept the seriousness of his dementia because we think of him as loathsome rather than oblivious.

We’ve spent so many years seething that no one has held him accountable for all the awful things he’s done that we’re disoriented by the possibility he’s now unaware. We don’t want to let him off the moral hook by reason of insanity. Yet what moral compass do we use to judge a president who is wildly and dangerously delusional?

This has become the wrong question. The problem is no longer Trump’s lack of ethics or his amorality. The current challenge is how to survive under a madman.

If he is no longer responsible for what he says or does, we should move beyond shock and outrage to outright fear. He could blow the world up. We must call on our elected representatives to remove him from office via the 25th Amendment as soon as possible, by reason of insanity.

What do you think?

He was especially horrified because he hates dogs

Suck it up

Trump’s 50% Tariffs Take Hold After US-Canada Trade Talks Collapse

We’re back to war with Canada, our oldest and closest ally, jacking up tariff taxes on US consumers

Jon Queally for Common Dreams

While courting North Korea and Russia, Trump
destroys ties with our historic allies and
says this make US stronger and safer.

“It’s war.”

That’s how one Canadian journalist described developments between the governments of the US and Canada after trade talks between the two were suspended on Friday night without a deal in place to avoid the imposition of 50% tariffs threatened by Donald Trump on a wide swath of Canadian goods.

Both nations accused the other of scuttling the deal, with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney citing “last-minute changes” by the Trump administration and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer pointing to “new demands and walk backs” by the Canadians.

Asked earlier on Friday if a deal was within reach, Trump responded, “I think so, yeah, we’ll see.” But by late Friday night, it was clear the talks had collapsed entirely as Carney summoned Canada’s representatives back to Ottawa.

In his statement on Friday night, Carney said, “We have recognized from the beginning that America has changed, and that we will not return to our old relationship. Our government understood, before many, that America is altering all its trade relationships. Putting tariffs on its closest allies and charging for access to its vast market.”

Here are Trump's demands on Canada: 

"French language rules in Quebec?" WTF!

Unexpected findings add new insight on cannabis and heart health

Might have some heart benefits

By University of California, San Francisco

Edited by Sadie Harley, reviewed by Robert Egan

Habitual cannabis users experienced about 9% fewer premature heartbeats on days they inhaled cannabis compared with days they abstained, a counterintuitive finding that adds to the complex and evolving understanding of how cannabis affects the heart, according to new UC San Francisco-led research.

The study, published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, is among the first to examine the acute cardiovascular effects of inhaled cannabis in people living their normal daily lives. While the findings challenge assumptions drawn largely from observational studies, the researchers caution that they should not influence medical or behavioral decisions around cannabis use.

With millions of Americans using cannabis, studies like this are increasingly important for understanding its health effects, the researchers said.

"We were surprised by the results because they contradicted our original hypothesis," said Gregory Marcus, MD, MAS, an endowed professor of atrial fibrillation research in the UCSF Division of Cardiology. "That's why randomized trials are so important. When the data challenge our expectations, our job as scientists is to understand them, not ignore them."

The trial enrolled 108 adults who regularly smoked or vaped cannabis but had no history of clinically diagnosed cardiac arrhythmias. Over 14 days, participants were randomly assigned each day to either inhale cannabis or abstain while wearing a continuously recording electrocardiographic monitor, activity tracker, sleep monitor and continuous glucose monitor.

Participants served as their own controls, allowing investigators to compare physiological changes during cannabis use and abstinence days.

What To Do with Us Boomers?

Why We're a Problem

Robert Reich

I keep hearing that we Boomers are to blame for just about everything wrong with America — unaffordable housing (because we bought up most of the housing stock and now refuse to leave), the depletion of Social Security (because we’re collecting it now), the national debt (because so much of it is being spent on Social Security, Medicare, and other benefits for us), inequality (because apparently we have so much money), climate change (because we’ve been polluting longer than anyone else alive), and even Trump (because he’s one of us).

I don’t have standing to contest these claims because, well, I’ve also made them. They’re a theme of my latest book, Coming Up Short (out in paperback in a few weeks).

All of this seemed confirmed by a recent headline in The Economist: WHY PEOPLE OVER THE AGE OF 55 ARE THE NEW PROBLEM GENERATION.

But not for the reasons I supposed. According to The Economist, the real problem with us Boomers is we’re partying too hard. We were too wild, crazy, and irresponsible back in the day, and we’re still too wild, crazy, and irresponsible.

The Economist opines that compared to younger generations, we’re drinking more and using drugs more, and we’re going to wild retirement-community parties where sometimes we’re even — oh my goodness! — having sex.

Who are the winners in this culture war?

The defense of transgender student rights shifts, once again, to the Westerly School Committee

Steve Ahlquist

Dozens of people attended the August 19 meeting of the Westerly School Committee to advocate against agenda item 12d, “Request of Counsel to seek written opinion from Rhode Island Attorney General’s Office regarding SCOTUS Decision as to transgender athletes.” The decision is West Virginia v. B.P.J., in which the United States Supreme Court upheld state laws, such as West Virginia’s “Save Women’s Sports Act,” that banned or restricted transgender women athletes from participating in women’s school sports teams on a 6-3 vote.

You can watch the relevant parts of the School Committee meeting here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltJLTv1o0g8

“You folks who came to the mic tonight wondering who put this item on the agenda,” said Westerly School Committee member Peter Nero. “It was me. The reason I put it on the agenda is that I want final clarity on where Rhode Island law stands, and I want the Attorney General to put that in writing, because I don’t want to have any more of these long nights… Bottom line: I wanted clarity on this so we don’t have more meetings like this, and we put an end to this now. That’s why it’s on the agenda.”

The long nights Committee member Nero is referring to are likely the meetings where the school committee takes up potential changes to their Transgender, Gender Nonconforming & Transitioning Students Protocol and a large number of people fill the room to advocate for transgender student rights.

Committee member Timothy Killam seemed exasperated. He wanted to talk about what he considered the positive things happening in Westerly, like the opening of a new school in a couple of weeks. “Why are we going around in circles about this instead of talking about some forward progress? In my opinion, we have a protocol in place. We don’t have a problem right now. Why are we taking the time about this?”

Committee member Killam sought to assure the people in the room that they had misunderstood the agenda and that nothing would be decided during the meeting. “I want you all to understand: if you read the agenda, we’re not voting on anything today,” said Committee member Killam. “That was never on the agenda. And if you interpreted it that way, you are incorrect. No vote is being taken tonight. Period. There is not. It was simply a statement to ask for something in writing.”

Seventeen minutes later, the School Committee voted 4 to 3 against seeking an opinion from the Attorney General. Later in the meeting, Committee member Angela Goethels apologized for her yes vote, saying that upon further reflection she was against it.

Ahead of the vote, when asked about seeking a written opinion from the R.I. Attorney General’s Office about the status of the State Law regarding transgender students, Attorney William Nardone said, “I’m not sure what you want me to ask the Attorney General. If you want me to ask him for ‘his opinion on a decision,’ frankly, I would be embarrassed to send that letter to the Attorney General…”

The “clarity” desired by Committee member Nero doesn’t exist, opined Attorney Jennifer Wood, who has decades of legal expertise in the education space.

“I wasn’t going to comment tonight because I saw that you didn’t have an agenda item that you were voting on this evening - although it ended up being voted on - and I didn’t want to attenuate further what has been a painful and difficult conversation for your committee over several evenings,” said Attorney Wood. “And I definitely never wanted to discourage anyone from seeking an opinion from the Attorney General. I would never be so arrogant as to suggest that that should not be done.

“I appreciate the desire for clarity and finality on this issue that this committee and that a lot of others in the community are yearning for. I am here to share the bad news that it is not yet available. [In the] West Virginia v. BPJ case, the Supreme Court ruled narrowly on one aspect of the issue that relates to transgender athletes’ participation in sports. But on page three of the decision, in footnote number one, it’s quite straightforward: Brett Kavanaugh, writing the majority opinion says, [paraphrasing] ‘We’re not deciding most of this issue in this decision. All we’re saying is that the 27 states who have state law that permits the exclusion of transgender women in women’s sports, they can do that. And the 23 states that do not have state law, and among them, Rhode Island, states that permit the participation of students in sports teams that are aligned to their gender identity can also do that. We’re not opining on that today. We weren’t asked to; it’s not in the case, and we’re not doing that.’ Then they, in the footnote, the court further excludes: We’re not talking about trans men participating in men’s sports.

“So the clarity and finality that I think everyone wants isn’t there.”

Public Testimony

Public testimony lasted over an hour. Every person who spoke was there in defense of transgender students. Here are some excerpts, edited for clarity:

NOT A JOKE: Trump threatens US bond market with military intervention

Trump actually said this yesterday...

Trump congratulates himself

Plus he CHEATS

The EPA’s data on cancer risk from air pollution has gone dark

Ending your right to know

Sachi Kitajima Mulkey, Reporter

"This story was originally published by Grist. Sign up for Grist's weekly newsletter here."

Darya Minovi was mapping pollution from medical sterilization plants across the country when many of the communities she was speaking to began asking the same question. The facilities emit ethylene oxide, a potent carcinogen, and those who lived nearby wanted to know how much the emissions were increasing their cancer risk. She turned to data compiled by the Environmental Protection Agency to find out.

The resulting maps, published in 2023 by the Union of Concerned Scientists (SEE SCREENSHOT BELOW), a nonprofit where Minovi is a researcher, revealed that more than 14 million people lived in a 5-mile radius of ethylene oxide-emitting facilities. Crucially, the map highlighted 23 sterilization facilities that the EPA had found emit ethylene oxide at levels that definitively contribute to elevated cancer risk. The project helped raise awareness and was used to push the government to tighten limits on ethylene oxide emissions.

But now, the cancer risk data that made Minovi’s analysis possible has quietly gone offline. After more than two decades of sharing this information with the public, the Environmental Protection Agency has omitted cancer risk estimates from its latest update to national air pollution data. The agency is continuing to release raw pollution figures, but it is no longer providing information on the additional cancer risk that the emissions cause. It has also not updated its searchable U.S. map of cancer risk from air pollution with the most recent data.

The risk assessments are routinely used by communities to understand the effects of the pollution in their neighborhoods, as well as by journalists and nonprofits to inform the public and hold polluters accountable. Withholding this information would shift the burden of interpreting pollution data — a technically demanding task requiring specialized experience and an understanding of EPA protocols — onto the public, Minovi said, making it harder for communities to access this vital public health information.