Author: KJ McElrath

Climate Denier Trump Meets Unexpected Opposition: Exxon Mobil

Climate Denier Trump Meets Unexpected Opposition: Exxon Mobil

Posted by | Apr 4, 2017 | , |

Trump’s plan to pull the U.S. out of the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement and undo the Obama Administration’s Clean Power Plan (CPP) has run into resistance from a highly unexpected source: oil company giant Exxon-Mobil. Prior to signing the Executive Order repealing the CPP, Trump – naturally ignoring the clear majority of Americans who supported it – consulted one of the powerful corporate “persons” he really serves in order to get what he hoped would be support for his anti-environmental, pro-corporate actions. He didn’t get the answer he had hoped for; in a letter sent only days before he...

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Trump Taking Credit for Opioid Treatment Investment Put In Place By Obama

Trump Taking Credit for Opioid Treatment Investment Put In Place By Obama

Posted by | Mar 31, 2017 | , |

There are two things you can count on from Donald Trump: (1) virtually everything he says is either a flat-out lie or an exaggeration, and (2) he will always take credit for someone else’s achievements. Case in point: Trump’s “promise” to “expand treatment for those who have become so badly addicted” to opioids. Since announcing his run for the White House, Trump has made over 100 “promises” – only five of which have been kept, and only one of which was of any possible benefit to the working people of this country – which was pulling the U.S. out...

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Trump Loosens Rules of Engagement: More Than 200 Civilians Murdered In U.S. Airstrike

Trump Loosens Rules of Engagement: More Than 200 Civilians Murdered In U.S. Airstrike

Posted by | Mar 30, 2017 | , |

Last week, U.S. military officials reported that as many as 200 civilians – or more –  were killed during airstrikes against an ISIS stronghold in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul. Speaking with NBC News yesterday, Lt. General Stephen Townsend acknowledged that there is a “fair chance” that U.S. forces were responsible. He added that it if the reports were accurate, it was an “unintentional accident of war.” But it also may very well be a consequence of the Trump Administration trying to rewrite the “Rules of Engagement.” More details have been emerging from news sources abroad. According to...

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Big Pharma’s Big Secret: Study Finds Legal Weed Reduces Rate of Opioid Overdose

Big Pharma’s Big Secret: Study Finds Legal Weed Reduces Rate of Opioid Overdose

Posted by | Mar 29, 2017 | , , |

There is a reason for hope in the ongoing tragedy of America’s growing opioid crisis – and that is medical marijuana. According to a study coming out in the April issue of the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence, hospital admissions for opioid addiction and emergency room visits for opioid overdose have dropped significantly in states that have legalized the sale of medical cannabis. On the other hand, fears that marijuana users would start entering hospitals and treatment centers en masse have failed to materialize. The study was conducted and written up by Dr. Yuyan Shi, a professor of public...

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From Bad To Worse: Big Tobacco is On Its Way to Cornering the E-Cigarette Industry

From Bad To Worse: Big Tobacco is On Its Way to Cornering the E-Cigarette Industry

Posted by | Mar 28, 2017 | , , |

One would think that Big Tobacco had learned its lesson after having its head handed to it almost twenty years ago. The Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) ultimately cost the “Big Four” at least $206 billion – and that price tag could go higher. Apparently, Big Tobacco has not learned its lesson. Since the rise in the popularity of e-cigarettes, the large tobacco companies have been attempting to corner the market for the devices – and having a fair amount of success at it. Today, R.J. Reynolds has a “Vapor” division. Philip Morris has joined forces with Altria in...

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