WHEN YOU JUST HAVE TO TELL THE TRUTH, WITH A LITTLE SNARK

By Ruth A. Sheets

Yesterday, I was going through my emails as usual and occasionally signing and commenting on petitions to various organizations and individuals.  I tried to choose petitions I felt were worthy of my attention.  I am sure the letters usually sent are far too long for the limited attention spans of current officials, so I often modify them somewhat to be more concise.  Sometimes, however, I include a commentary as I go along.  I was really motivated and sent the following. 

Dear EPA officials:

I know you guys really don't care about science, people's health, or just about anything else except money and how much you all can rake in as whatever office you hold. 

I find it extremely upsetting but not surprising that Mr. Trump is moving to sabotage our national Mercury Air Toxics Standards, which greatly limit the amount of mercury and other air toxins that oil-and-coal-fired power plants can emit into our air. He doesn't care that mercury and lead are extremely hazardous to children, damaging their brains and reducing their ability to think and learn. His children/grandchildren, he thinks, won't face this hazard because they are rich enough and such “good people” that it will never affect them.  Who cares about anyone else.  If they are rich too, they'd figure out how to avoid the problems.

Mr. Trump doesn't understand the word toxin).  However, you guys should understand that these elements are dangerous for everyone, but particularly for some of the most vulnerable Americans, such as pregnant women (Oh wait, men don't have to worry about that either).

These standards were broadly supported when they were first introduced, and they offer a wide range of health, economic, and environmental benefits. They prevent up to 11,000 premature deaths, 4,700 heart attacks, 5,700 hospital visits, 130,000 asthma attacks, and 540,000 sick days every single year (that is EVERY YEAR!!!!), and are estimated to deliver annual health benefits up to $90 billion, (and we thought you guys   cared only about money, when you only really cared about the money you can get for yourselves, not what our nation can save).

Your own agency found that the standards' benefits for Americans greatly outweigh compliance costs for industry, and that for every dollar spent to reduce toxic pollution from power plants, the American public sees $9 in health benefits (Oh wait, that's a different department, so who cares about that, right?  Besides, we get it that you guys are only running this department until you get caught cheating or some other illegal act and can resign with the president's "blessing.") 

Even utilities, which bear the cost of these regulations, support keeping them in place, even going as far as to express their support in a joint letter to the EPA just several months ago.  Perhaps, like your cult leader, you don't read?)

You well know this proposal is just another pro-polluter scheme aimed at propping up Big Coal at the expense of the American public. I urge you to abandon these attacks and instead stand up for public health. (I know, I'm actually laughing too.)

OK, probably not my best effort, but I am finding that for my own mental health, I have to ADD a little snark to these petitions WHICH ARE OTHERWISE EXTREMELY DRY, INFORMATIVE, BUT DRY.  And, we know how dry information touches the hearts of the EPA and other agencies.

Later last evening I just had to comment to Republicans in Congress, following the Democratic take-over of the House.  I needed this one too.

I know you guys  don't really care about the wall except that the person in the white house with the maturity of an 8-year-old school yard bully wants it.  But, you are willing to put people's lives in jeopardy to give the spoiled child what he wants.  He has no clue what any of this means, but you, who should be the parents, let the child rule the family.  Shame on you.  People who act like children need to be respected, but given appropriate limits.  One limit is that there will be no wall because a wall is wasteful, racist, environmentally unsound and just plain stupid.  That is what you should tell the child, and stand by it.  Then, overwhelmingly pass the budget without the wall in a way it will override any veto.  That would take care of it, prove you are truly patriotic Americans who care about the people and the government you are serving, and provide appropriate limits to a misbehaving spoiled bully child. 

I actually have no idea where the online petitions go after signing.  Since I know most are elaborate fund-raising activities, I suspect they are deleted into the ether once financial goals are reached.

I must admit, I use the comment sections of petitions to relieve some of my anger over the childishness of this administration and the dysfunctional parents who are not appropriately tending and guiding this out-of-control child in the White House.  They cannot blame anyone else for their poor parenting as they brought this child into the White House and keep letting him run wild over our democracy with impunity.  Naughty parents!