Month: December 2021

What is Liz Cheney’s Wyoming?

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By Monica Chen If someone only knew about Wyoming from paying attention to Liz Cheney, they might think it was a cozy, domestic kind of place. A state that likes to hold a lot of meetings in rooms with pin-cushioned couches. A state that holds a lot of conferences in comfy banquet halls. And a place where people really like Zoom meetings. They also might think people in Wyoming are frothing at the mouth angry about what happened on Jan. 6 and desperately want their Congressional representative, the Republican Cheney, to take action. But Cheney was ousted from the Wyoming Republican party in November for her role on the committee and also because she was a no-show at county party meetings. In response, as CBS News reported, Cheney’s office turned up its nose: “She is bound by her oath to the Constitution,” a spokesman said. “Sadly, a portion of the Wyoming GOP leadership has abandoned that fundamental principle, and instead allowed themselves to be held hostage to the lies of a dangerous and irrational man.” …

A big problem with the “Civilian Climate Corps”

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By Monica Chen On social media, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., has been pushing for the “Civilian Climate Corps” and its inclusion in the $2 trillion Build Back Better Act. But more than a joint project between AmeriCorps and the Department of Labor, the proposed entity would cut into the work done by the National Parks system, as well as state and local government parks. “To me the greatest risk is doing nothing on climate or doing too little,” Ocasio-Cortez said at the press conference pushing the Green New Deal in April, held in front of The Capitol. “That is a greater political risk,” she added, according to CBS News. Civilian Climate Corps has been planned to be large. But it’s not proposed as its own entity. It would be part of several federal agencies, but not give them oversight and giving no space for public input. In her statements, Ocasio-Cortez has said the Civilian Climate Corps would cost $30 billion and hire 300,000 people, and would be administered by AmeriCorps and the Department of Labor. …

Nancy Pelosi’s $200 million gift to the Presidio Trust

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By Monica Chen Despite Republican outcries of earmarks and payoffs earlier this year, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has kept $200 million in appropriations for The Presidio Trust in the Build Back Better plan. Tucked into the massive 2,000-page bill are two paragraphs giving the organization that sum, to be doled out in fiscal year 2022 and available until 2026, for “carrying out projects.” The trust manages the Presidio National Park, a 1,480-acre park at the northern tip of San Francisco overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge. When Pelosi’s office was asked by reporters in September why the trust needed that money, the answer was that it was “to help meet the needs of this incredibly popular national park in this difficult financial moment.” “Sadly, it’s clear Republicans would rather play politics than preserve our national treasures,” a spokesperson said to Fox News. But the Presidio National Park is mostly used by San Franciscans, unknown to the rest of the country. The trust is also flush with cash. In 2021, its total revenue was $131 million, according …