The Climate for Happiness 2017-07-18

| July 18, 2017

Happiness Factor as a F(x) of Weather: 3.25

COMING SOON?

(a term sometimes incorrectly used for locally heavy, but short-term, rains.)

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THIS WEEK'S SOUNDTRACK: CLICK HERE

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Here, There and Everywhere

So, what's the holdup? It's mid-July and I'm ready for our so-called Monsoon Season. While we've begun the Flash Flood Warning phase, it remains to be seen what's in store for us on the monsoon front. One thing's for sure - it's been hot!hot! hot! and some summer rains would be a welcome change.

Meanwhile, in California..."This is what good government looks like."

“I’m not here about some cockamamie legacy that people talk about,” he said, exhorting lawmakers to pass the bill. “This isn’t for me. I’m going to be dead. It’s for you. And it’s damn real.” - Jerry Brown, Governor of California

"In a hard-wrought victory for Gov. Jerry Brown and top Democratic lawmakers, the California Legislature late Monday pulled off a political triumph: passing with a supermajority vote a proposal to extend California’s signature program for regulating global-warming greenhouse gases through the end of 2030.

The deal — hashed out behind closed doors and blasted with opposition when it was unveiled this month — was thought to be in trouble as late as last week, when the vote was delayed until Monday. But it ultimately succeeded, a feat made possible largely by the pragmatic Brown and his liberal allies, who accompanied direct appeals with tax breaks and other deal-sweeteners to industry. Those moves brought major business interests — and some business-friendly moderates — on board.

“Tonight, California stood tall and, once again, boldly confronted the existential threat of our time,” a jubilant Brown said in a statement issued after the vote. Then, with a seeming nod toward Washington politicians who can’t find a compromise to deliver a simple majority vote on health care, he continued: “Republicans and Democrats set aside their differences, came together and took courageous action. That’s what good government looks like.” [To read the article, CLICK HERE]

Environmental groups and federal employees on Monday battled back against congressional budget cuts proposed for the Environmental Protection Agency, saying human and environmental health are threatened.

The House Appropriations Committee on Tuesday is expected to vote on a fiscal 2018 budget for the EPA that slashes the agency's budget nearly 8 percent across the board, or $528 million, to the lowest funding level since 2008.

Note to Diary: Scott Pruitt, the current head of the EPA, is under investigation for misleading Congress about his emails during his confirmation hearings. The Ethic Committee probe could get him disbarred. I don't know about all of you, but it sure seems to me we're having to spend an inordinate amount of time with special investigations, ethics probes, and suits brought against members of the current administration, including the President himself. This is not what good government looks like.

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Next Monday, July 24th - Civic Plaza - 6:00-8:00 PM

This is a New Mexico sister march (which will actually be a rally) in solidarity with the national “Millions Marching For Medicare 4 All” which is in D.C. on July 24th. Every state will have sister march or rally, some states will have several in different cities.

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And then there were 5

Republican Congressman Steve Pearce kicked off his campaign for governor of New Mexico last Monday, giving up a firm hold on a vast congressional district along the U.S.-Mexico border. He joins the governor's race as the only Republican candidate among the 5 announced. This pretty much sounds the death knell on an announcement from Albuquerque mayor Richard Berry. But back to Congressman Pearce...by throwing in his hat , the 2018 gubernatorial race has the possibility of being a "turning point referendum" on the future of our state. While he has been described as "a powerful and outspoken Tea Party extremist, Trumpian apologist, and climate change denier." It is that last item that bears some real consideration: climate change is alive and well in the Southwest and it is time for NM to develop realistic strategies to cope with it.

When all is said and done, my guess is it will be a Lujan-Grishman / Pearce contest.

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“You've gotta dance like there's nobody watching...

Love like you'll never be hurt,
Sing like there's nobody listening,
And live like it's heaven on earth.”

Talk about dancing like there's nobody watching - how about like there's no tomorrow? CLICK HERE

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Beach Reads for the Carefree and the Concerned

"The year is 1947. Charlie's posh Bennington College existence gets derailed by an unwanted pregnancy. Her domineering French mother hauls her off to Europe, heading for a clinic that will take care of her "Little Problem," as she calls her condition throughout the novel. En route, Charlie hatches an alternative plan — to track down her beloved cousin Rose, lost somewhere in France." (Source: NPR)

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