On the EPA Blackout and the March for Science

I remember a friend, on election day, when the results were certain, consoled me that our President-elect would be a "lame duck."

Four days in, and the new administration has moved quickly and viciously, signing 10 executive orders in 4 days, gaslighting the press, threatening federal intervention in Chicago, reopening Keystone XL and DAPL pipelines by executive order...

and--chief topic of today--Freezing the EPA and placing it under media blackout.

Well. That's quite a busy duck given its presupposed quadriplegia. There are so many topics to broach, but this one seems emblematic of all the things progressives feared: the work of the Water Protectors rolled back, the media treated as insolent children rather than a check on the government, a veil of darkness and silence to drape over an establishment of thieves.

But he does not do this to a meekly accepting public, and there are a few pinpricks in the veil. Two employees of the EPA, at great personal risk, informed Reuters that the administration plans to remove all evidence of climate change from their website, and that the administration will be sifting through research case-by-case.

It's not so much the action itself that's surprising, but the speed at which it moves--already they're pushing scientific consensus out of respectable platforms, destroying all research that goes against the corporate narrative, turning moderates into radicals overnight. Once it was only the radical conservative that mocked those who mentioned climate change--before long, without response from the citizenry, it will be a great majority.

Thankfully, we have a pissed off citizenry. The educated in this country are much more numerous than they used to be. And so there is a response to this tyranny. For one, NASA has released photographic evidence of climate change in response to the administration's actions.

For another, there is a Scientist's March on Washington already in the works for March 4th, and they would like to organize protests in sister cities as well. I implore everyone here to join their Facebook group and spread the word. We must never allow the illusion that this happens with the consent of the people to take root. Talk to your friends and get a march started in the nearest city, or even in your home town.

If you're registered to vote, you ought to make a habit--whether monthly, weekly, or daily--of contacting your representatives and reminding them how they keep their jobs. Find your precinct in your voter's card and call 202-224-3121 for your US House rep and Senator. Tell them the administration's actions MUST be fought, and don't wait. Make sure you're polite to the staffers--they just work there, and you never know who might be open to reason. One guy on our side in, say, Ted Cruz's office, can work wonders. Files can be lost, meetings delayed. We start with small things and work our way up.

Throughout all this the populace must not be silent. The government's power comes from the people and it may be removed by the people. The greatest power we have now is to force the hands of those in power.