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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 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.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on August 08, 2017 8 Comments
While the American press focused on a supposed Russia-Trump connection, the new head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently reminded the country about a real domestic disaster caused by the Obama Administration: The Animas River Spill. Scott Pruitt visited the Animas River site last week, where over 3 million gallons of acidic, heavy-metal-laden waste water was accidentally released into the environment, and had some harsh words for Team Obama.
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt marked the two-year anniversary of the Gold King Mine disaster in Colorado on Friday by pointing out how the Obama administration erred in causing the massive 3 million gallons toxic spill.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on August 07, 2017 22 Comments
Americans love their pets. In fact, we spend over $60 billion on them annually. Furthermore, many social justice warriors who seemingly despise their fellow humans will often be found protesting on behalf of animals. Progressives who love animals and truly believe in climate change may have trouble fully embracing the assertions of a UCLA professor who says our pets are contributing to global warming.
In a study released Wednesday, a geography professor at UCLA calculated that the meat-based food Americans’ dogs and cats eat – and the waste those pets produce – generate the equivalent of about 64 million tons of carbon dioxide a year.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on August 04, 2017 14 Comments
Legal Insurrection readers will recall President Donald Trump's address earlier this summer, in which he outlined all the reasons he was withdrawing the United States from the international climate agreement his predecessor signed in Paris. The U.S. Department of State has now officially filed notice to begin the formal process of withdrawal from the Paris accord.
Today, the United States submitted a communication to the United Nations, in its capacity as depositary for the Paris Agreement, regarding the U.S. intent to withdraw from the Paris Agreement as soon as it is eligible to do so, consistent with the terms of the Agreement. As the President indicated in his June 1 announcement and subsequently, he is open to re-engaging in the Paris Agreement if the United States can identify terms that are more favorable to it, its businesses, its workers, its people, and its taxpayers.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on August 02, 2017 13 Comments
The Department of Homeland Security trumped the Environmental Protection Agency, waiving numerous rules that could have delayed the construction of the border wall between the United States and Mexico with lawsuits or studies.
Laws intended to protect endangered species and habitat at the border by requiring environmental impact reports can be circumvented by a wavier issued by the department, it said. The announcement was only tied to the San Diego area.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on August 02, 2017 46 Comments
The last time we checked on #CalExit, the California secession movement, supporters of the #CalExit ballot measure officially ended their efforts. However, a second #CalExit proposal is moving forward as the state attorney general's office released an official title and summary for the initiative ("California Autonomy From Federal Government" initiative) and is permitting backers to gather signatures.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on August 01, 2017 12 Comments
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld created a stir when he dividing the continent into what he called "old Europe" and "new Europe." In the summer of 2009, after the first Tea Party protests, SoCal Tax Revolt Coalition representatives were invited to to meet with young politicos from Europe by the U.S. State Department. This future leaders made the request to learn more about the nascent citizen activist organizations.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on July 19, 2017 9 Comments
As I noted in Morning Insurrection last week, I will be spending 18 days touring Central Europe and the Balkans. During our stop in Budapest, Hungary, motorcades are rolling down our street continuously and Israeli flags are flying high. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is in town, and he is now making news with a rather stark assessment about his country's relationship with the European Union.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu launched a blistering attack against the European Union during a closed-session meeting Wednesday morning in the Hungarian capital of Budapest, telling the premiers of Hungary, the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia that the EU's behavior toward Israel is crazy.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on July 16, 2017 12 Comments
The American press obsession with Russia is leaving vital news on the cutting room floor. For example, Judicial Watch is reporting that the state auditor of Mississippi is demanding that Virginia Democratic Governor Terry McAuliffe’s former company, GreenTech, repay millions in public money because the electric vehicle company shut down and failed to deliver on its promises to create new jobs.
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