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Author: Leslie Eastman

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Leslie Eastman

I am an Environmental Health and Safety Professional, as well as a science/technical writer for a variety of news and professional publications. I have been a citizen activist since 2009, and am one of the co-founders of the San Diego-based group, Southern California Tax Revolt Coalition.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on August 24, 2017 29 Comments
The dramatic resignation of the Obama-era holdovers from President Trump's administration continue, as a UC Berkeley professor who was the science envoy for the State Department officially gave his notice.
A prominent UC Berkeley energy professor resigned his post with the U.S. State Department on Wednesday in response to President Donald Trump’s “attacks on the core values” of the country. “Your actions to date have, sadly, harmed the quality of life in the United States, our standing abroad, and the sustainability of the planet,” wrote Professor Daniel Kammen in his resignation letter to Trump on Wednesday.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on August 21, 2017 26 Comments
I would like to expand upon Professor Jacobson's excellent post on Charlottesville, Reversal of Reality. He notes that the failure of the American press to fairly report the truth -- that both sides were violent during the protest/counter-protest -- goes beyond mere criticism.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on August 19, 2017 19 Comments
I have noted in previous posts, President Trump's National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is returning to its original mission: Focusing on space exploration and research. In the past month, the agency released plans for an ambitious project related to Earth's protection from asteroid strikes.
On Friday, the space agency announced plans to redirect the course of a small asteroid approaching Earth, as part of the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART), according to a NASA press release.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on August 19, 2017 53 Comments
The scorched-history tactics of American press and progressive social justice warriors, which were in full display this past week, may have inspired the pepper-spraying of of Confederate re-enactors who were marching in a North Carolina parade.
Police arrested a man after Confederate veteran re-enactors were pepper sprayed during the 2017 Soldiers Reunion parade in Newton on Thursday.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on August 18, 2017 2 Comments
While the American Press has been navel-gazing after the Charlottesville violence, there has perhaps been a more significant clash on the other side of the world that seems...under-reported. This weekend, I noted that India’s military has increased operational readiness along the eastern Indian border with China, as the nations have been embroiled in a two-month confrontation on the Doklam plateau (claimed by both China and India’s ally, Bhutan).

Posted by Leslie Eastman on August 15, 2017 20 Comments
This week's battle between President Donald Trump's administration and California has escalated, as the state has officially filed a lawsuit over the cut-off of federal funding due to sanctuary city policies:
Intensifying California’s standoff with the Trump administration over immigration policy, the California attorney general sued the Justice Department on Monday over the administration’s plans to cut off millions of dollars in federal funding to so-called sanctuary cities unless they begin cooperating with federal immigration agents.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on August 14, 2017 9 Comments
Legal Insurrection has been keeping an eye on the excitement about the Great American Solar Eclipse. While many people are flocking to the path of totality that will stretch across 14 states in this nation, there are concerns that scammers are trying to sell eclipse enthusiasts unsafe viewing glasses:
“We should have anticipated that some unscrupulous people would try to cash in on the eclipse with no concern for public safety. It’s one thing to sell T-shirts with logos that you don’t have permission to use — nobody really gets hurt. It’s quite another to sell eclipse glasses or other types of solar viewers that are not known to be truly safe,” Rick Fienberg, a spokesman for the American Astronomical Society (AAS), tells FOX Business.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on August 12, 2017 7 Comments
Last month, we reported that a territorial dispute along the China-India border is threatening to turn into a military conflict. Now, while the world's attention is focused on North Korea, India has increased its alert level amid increased tension with China.
India's military has increased operational readiness along the eastern Indian border with China, sources said, as neither side shows any sign of backing off from a face-off in a remote Himalayan region near their disputed frontier.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on August 12, 2017 15 Comments
After having to retract its "scoop" in the wake of facts about the Trump administration's handling of climate change reports, The New York Times is trying a different battle tactic. The Gray Lady is saying that critics are accusing Scott Pruitt, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency, of...carrying out his agenda in secret!
When career employees of the Environmental Protection Agency are summoned to a meeting with the agency’s administrator, Scott Pruitt, at agency headquarters, they no longer can count on easy access to the floor where his office is, according to interviews with employees of the federal agency.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on August 11, 2017 19 Comments
Today, I got a call from a client wanting to update their Business Contingency Plan to address fallout from a nuclear attack. This is not entirely surprising, given the escalation of North Korea's threats against Guam and the United States. The Millennials have long enjoyed a "peace dividend", courtesy of President Ronald Reagan's peace-through-strength policies, that have now been entirely spent. Perhaps realizing this, internet searches on surviving a nuclear attack have exploded in the last 48 hours.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on August 10, 2017 37 Comments
The last time I fact-checked The New York Times, the Gray Lady was getting a much needed geography lesson about Arkansas. The lessons continue! Earlier this week, the newspaper-of-record published a front-page, bombshell report stating that a leaker had sent them a draft report of the National Climate Assessment, an analysis that the contact feared was being suppressed by the Trump administration. According the original article, the material wasn't being released because it contradicted the views of Team Trump.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on August 09, 2017 14 Comments
As I have noted in previous posts, Trump's EPA chief has refocused the agency back to its core mission of protecting the environment from actual pollutants. Legal Insurrection readers may recall that President Donald Trump picked Georgia's former governor, Sonny Perdue, to head the United States Department of Agriculture. Like Scott Pruitt, Perdue is scaling back positions and making significant changes in his agency's policies. For example, there have already been alterations in the Michelle Obama's signature school lunch program.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on August 09, 2017 25 Comments
Americans have dealt with some devastating natural disasters in their history. Some examples include Hurricane Katrina, the eruption of Mount St. Helens, and the 1906 San Fransisco Earthquake. We have even experienced many solar eclipses since our nation's inception, varying in degree of darkness. Generally, the eclipses have generated more wonder than chaos. However, in this new millennium, it appears that this spectacular natural event must be treated as a potential disaster.
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