“The demagogue is one who preaches doctrines he knows to be untrue to men he knows to be idiots.” ― H.L. Mencken
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| TRUMP IN REVIEW because of his limited self-reflection |
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| DAILY SPECIALS |
2 Chicago-area priests arrested in Miami Beach after being caught performing sex acts in car, police say
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| READ |
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| HIDDEN IN THE ATTIC |
Maj. Gen. Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain and his mixed brigade
of New Yorkers and Pennsylvanians were up early on the morning of April 9,
1865. Marching toward the sound of firing, the Federals could only guess what
might lie in front of them. Chamberlain’s men advanced in line of battle, up a
ridge. As they crested the ridge, “there burst upon our vision a mighty scene.”
It was the last stalwarts of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, holding
their last battle line. As the Yankees advanced farther—there was—not much
killing, or even hurting”—a solitary figure on horseback appeared, bearing
aloft a white flag. General Robert E. Lee and his vaunted army had surrendered.
The Civil War—at least in Virginia—had at last come to a close. [Civil War Trust, August
13, 2017]
LIFE IN THE PFAS LANE: EPA is holding another
all-day PFAS engagement meeting this morning — this time in Fayetteville, N.C.,
where agency officials will hear about the state waterways suffering from
contamination of GenX, a PFAS chemical similar to PFOA and PFOS. The chemical
turned into a major issue in the state after it showed up in the Cape Fear
River. Last December, both of North Carolina's Republican senators helped sink the administration's nominee to
head EPA's chemical safety office, in part because of the GenX crisis.
Republican Rep. Richard Hudson, who represents
Fayetteville, will deliver remarks this morning. He called GenX "a top priority" in a statement, adding he
will "work with federal, state, and local officials to help make sure the
right steps are taken to protect public health." Public comment begins at
3 p.m. See today's agenda here. [POLITICO's Morning Energy,
August 14, 2018]
EPA'S RFS STUDY TIMELINE: EPA
wants 14 months to finish up an air quality study of the Renewable Fuel
Standard, saying in a court filing Monday that the timeline "is
the most expeditious one for the agency to complete the anti-backsliding
study." The study could ultimately lead to new regulations if the agency
finds ethanol and other biofuels are creating too much pollution, Pro's Alex
Guillén reports . The review of the biofuels
program was mandated to ensure the RFS wasn't worsening air quality, but it was
supposed to be finished in 2010. Yet, EPA's inspector general previously found EPA had not yet acted in 2016.
The agency also asked the court Monday to
hold off on setting a deadline for any follow-up action that EPA may deem
necessary. "[W]hat the study says about the kind of impacts that renewable
fuel has on air quality could greatly affect whether EPA requires mitigation
measures as well as the types of measures it considers in a rulemaking,"
the agency wrote. [POLITICO's Morning Energy,
August 14, 2018]
COMMENTS ARE IN: The National Association of Manufacturers has weighed
in on EPA's proposed cost-benefit
analysis rule at the filing deadline Monday. The proposed rule could
potentially shift the balance in how the agency calculates costs and benefits
of its rules, which might make issuing future regulations more difficult.
In its comments , NAM lays out recommendations and how the new rule could
address existing issues within the current rulemaking structure, highlighting
the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for ozone and the proposed Waters of
the United States rule, among others. "Too often in the regulatory
process, the vital national public policy objectives of international
competitiveness and technological innovation are given short shrift due to
other competing mandates," NAM writes. [POLITICO's Morning Energy, August 14, 2018]
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| ENERGY |
ALEC VOTES SHOW DIVISION: Industry members of the
American Legislative Exchange Council were divided last week at the
conservative group's annual meeting in New Orleans in votes on vehicle
efficiency standards and energy subsidies, a sign of divisions within the group
over the Trump administration's aggressive deregulatory agenda.
State lawmakers on the energy task force voted
unanimously to support the administration's moves to roll back auto standards, but industry members voted
narrowly to approve the model resolution, passing it 15-11, according to one of a
handful of sources ME talked to who were present at the meeting. Attendees
spoke to POLITICO on the condition of anonymity because the vote breakdowns are
intended to be private.
A second resolution —
which would have opposed subsidies for "vehicles, energy, fuels, and
fueling infrastructure" — failed, with state lawmakers on the commerce
task force narrowly voting for the measure, and private-sector members voting
against it by a few votes, according to a different source. ALEC staffers did
not respond to confirm the vote outcomes. Measures are not final until ALEC's
board approves them. [POLITICO's Morning Energy,
August 13, 2018]
U.S. REFINERY INPUT HITS RECORD: The four-week average for U.S. refinery inputs exceeded
18 million barrels per day last month, hitting a new record level for refinery
runs. American plants are hitting record levels in response to strong domestic
and international demand for gasoline and distillate fuel oil, the U.S. Energy
Information Administration found .
Before the week of historic refinery runs ending July 6, EIA said the last time
the four-week average of U.S. gross refinery inputs came close to 18 million
barrels per day was the week of Aug. 25, 2017 — one week before Hurricane
Harvey made landfall, resulting in widespread refinery closures and shutdowns.
[POLITICO's Morning Energy, August 14, 2018]
TO THE GOLDEN STATE: Interior's Ryan Zinke
and Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue will visit with local authorities and
officials in northern California today as the deadly Carr Fire — ranked the sixth most destructive in the state's history — rages
on. Both Cabinet officials will partake in meetings and briefings, including a
walk through parts of Redding, Calif., where the fire has taken hold. Among the
officials meeting with the secretaries: Redding Mayor Kristen Schreder and
Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein, an Interior spokeswoman
told ME, as well as Rep. Doug LaMalfa (R-Calif.), who represents Redding.
The visit comes after President Donald Trump blamed California's "bad environmental laws" for
worsening the destruction and after the Commerce Department issued a directive to make clear that the
"protection of life and property takes precedence over any current
agreements regarding the use of water." Both actions have represented a
disconnect between the Trump administration and most state officials, who have
pointed to rising temperatures across the state driven by climate change. Cal
Fire spokesman Mike Mohler told ME last week water wasn't the issue. "We
have no issue with supplying water," he said. And Feinstein, for her part,
released a statement last week that called the president's words
"politically motivated attacks." She added: "The Trump
administration may choose to ignore the threats of climate change but we're
feeling the effects every single day."
During his visit, Zinke appeared Sunday on Sacramento's KCRA 3 where he wasn't asked
about climate change or Trump's tweets. Instead, Zinke discussed forest
management. "Temperatures are getting higher, the seasons are getting
longer, but the buildup of fuel, the health of our forest — when you look at
the dead and dying timber ... we need to go back to actively managing our forests."
[POLITICO's Morning Energy, August 13, 2018]
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| CYBERSECURITY |
SO VERY HIGH, LIKE A DRAGONFLY — While DHS and others have largely talked down the notion that Russian hackers are in U.S. electricity grid
and could trigger blackouts, the company that played a critical role in
uncovering their presence there, Symantec, thinks the debate misses the point.
"You know that these guys were doing this in 2014," Jon DiMaggio, senior
threat intelligence analyst for Symantec, told MC about the group of hackers
dubbed "Dragonfly" by the company. "They went away, they came
back, and now they're farther in these environments and the operational side.
What's going to be next? If they can get this far — suggesting that it's
impossible, this couldn't happen, is naive I think. Anything can be hacked
these days." [POLITICO's Morning Cybersecurity, August 13, 2018]
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| U.S. SUPREME COURT |
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| WHIMSEY |
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| MEDICINE |
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| TECHNOLOGY |
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