The hypocrisy of the Times editorial board know no bounds. History is flipped on its head and rewritten yet again. If anything, the Trump administration is undoing a fraction of the weaponization and politicization of Federal agencies put into play under President Obama. Not to mention the FBI/NSA Russia fiasco. Why do I have the feeling that the Time is perpetually running interference and damage control for these failed initiatives?
A more accurate portrait.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/thomasbasile/2014/01/31/obamas-weaponization-of-government/#62858f521b92
3
Law, under the Trump/Barr era, isn't worth the paper it is written on.
41
I offer this simple slogan: "Throw him out."
Try it. It works. In the plural also.
45
This latest thrust by this illegitimate administration is just another brick making up the wall of "Trump Fatigue Syndrome." Yes this "administration" aggressively seeks to destroy the environment while we are in the midst of a climate crisis, It also looks the other way while North Korea builds nuclear submarines, makes back channel deals with Putin, destroys our system of alliances, foments racial hatred at home, sympathizes with Nazis, tortures children, lies to its citizens, and is doing everything it can to destroy America's social fabric. Fighting the Trump "administration,"as well as the red hat wearing Republican party that enables it, is not a fight against your political opponents. At its core it has become a fight against evil.
President Obama did say that we get the leaders we deserve. We allowed Trump to be elected and we deserve what we got. Our allies are now saying that they can finally clearly see who we really are. November 2020 is now only 14 months away. The world is waiting to watch us affirm who we really are.
44
Somebody pass this editorial on to Brett Stevens. Apparently only Putin does this stuff!
Say it ain’t so Brett!
10
We can always mop up the mess with a Red, White and Blue rag...
4
The Justice Department has become a crooked branch of the crooked White House. Impeach Barr, impeach Trump, and vote ALL Republicans out of office! Has our nation ever seen the likes of them and their enablers?
36
First of all the California emission exemption was part of the original Clean Air Act passed by Congress in the 70s, as such, by what authority can Trump, or any other president, now disqualify this exemption in such arbitrary and unilateral manner? Secondly, why is an overt agreement between California and car manufacturers an anti-trust violation? The agreement does not limit the number of participants nor does it fix prices or creates sales exclusion zones. In fact, according to the DoT itself, the California standards would increase car prices, thus being a deterrent to sales, if anything. The DoT claim that the standards would also be a safety risk is unsubstantiated nonsense as tests on such vehicles have yet to be made. And does it not infringe on state rights, those vaunted principles the Republicans defended so vigorously in the past? But principles be damned for this gang of grifters and extortionists whose only goal seems to enrich themselves and their financial backers. If we don't succeed in exorcising this evil next year we and our descendants will face harsh irreversible consequences.
46
The enemy of the state is the state.
Barr's pathetic performance re the Mueller report was a clear signal he would be a hitman for your corrupt president.
33
I'm tired of you pointing out problems. How about an editorial with a solution. When will you write an editorial in support of impeachment?
When will your front page reflect that we have, to quote the brilliant Sarah Kendzior, "a transnational crime syndicate masquerading as a government." Stop acting like all in the US is business as usual. It is not. Your news coverage should reflect that.
32
Are we winning yet?
8
America is becoming the laughingstock of the world.
23
He's off the rails.
16
Department of Justice? Is that like the Department of Corrections? what a pathetic joke.
10
Speaker Pelosi, tell me again why Why WHY this man should not be impeached
15
Russia benefits from global warming.
14
The members of the Republican Party need be voted out of
office: they are all traitors who would not protect our country
from climate change; they are also not willing to protect our
lives : the health of our nation; and our entire world...
These GOP cowards should all be named and voted out of office.
Not only is Trump destroying our nation; but every GOP member of the present Congress are abrogating their
oath of office; they are NOT defending our Constitution, they
are all in defiance of our Constitution; We need to name
these cowards and oust them all....out of government
20
Add this to the pile of impeachable offenses which Nancy Pelosi will do nothing about.
10
Trump would prefer a gold marionette
7
Since they are blurring together I need a black Sharpie to try and delineate a line between ignorance, incompetence, spite, corruption and fascism of this Administration. Anyone have one I can borrow?
18
And still republicans wont care how Trump abuses the DOJ,
8
Lady Justice? She left a good while ago. Now we have a WrestleMania ref.
10
On the Trump DOJ’s theory, it is anti-competitive for appliance manufacturers to sell only energy-efficient refrigerators, or chicken processors to sell humanely-raised chickens. Free markets be damned! We must give consumers the choice to be wasteful and cruel, even if they don’t want to be. The mind boggles.
14
For Trump the Justice Dept and ICE have become his Brown Shirts. Shame on them all and the Republican leaders who placed Trump in the Oval Office.
15
Eventually it goes to the courts where they stop Donald in his tracks !! I'd like to know how Barr got away with misleading the public about the Mueller Report...now he's throwing his parties at Trump's Resorts. I thought...they were draining the Swamp?? Well I know...we were told told Mexico would pay for the Wall...that never worked out either. Neither have the tarrifs...and now we are paying the farmers subsidies. Kim Jung Un never Denuclearized etc, What are Trump supporters supporting?? MAGA? You must be kidding ...it's a Hoax !! Trump,the GOP,and Fox Nation ...are hoodwinking their supporters !!
15
Barr and the DoJ are just another "sharpie" in the tool chest.
15
Bravo!
2
Pot meet kettle.
1
I guess we have an answer to Trump’s question “Where’s my Roy Cohn?”
15
It is an abuse of the judicial process to file a frivolous lawsuit for the purpose of getting back at a party that has embarrassed you. Any such abuse must be punished for what it is: contempt of court.
14
Trump just had a toady at NOAA issue a false report backing his false contention that Alabama was threatened by hurricane force winds in any potential models issued by that agency with respect to Dorian. All that just to justify his idiocy, compounded by his vanity and stubborn idiocy.
Trump's psychopathic pursuit of revenge, abusing his powers over the Department of Justice to leverage anti-trust as a personal political weapon is yet another example of now too numerous to list serious impeachable offenses. Instead of engaging in wit, the Times would do well to exercise outrage calling upon Senator Schumer and Nancy Pelosi to finally act on Impeachment.
18
Another example that Trump, and his spineless Republican backers in Congress, have no desire to support what has traditionally been another tenet of the Republican party - namely, government regulations. What is the rationale that 3 auto-makers voluntarily agreeing to higher fleet mileage standards represents collusion to harm the public? The logic here would be that Trump believes that burning more gas is good for the public! Really? The companies are voluntarily agreeing to a higher standard; that this might cause their car prices to be higher reflects no advantage to them in the market place, but could allow other companies that do not incur extra costs of production while adhering to lower mileage standards to raise their prices. If this happens, the buying public can make the choice - pay more for lower mileage vs more for better mileage. And the winner will be.....? I guess Trump really does believe that Americans are stupid. How the companies choose to engineer and manufacture their cars is their concern as long as they meet standards, there should be no penalty for surpassing them. I guess the Trump DOJ will initiate an anti-trust action for any company that surpasses safety standards next.
13
THIS is an abuse of power pure and simple.
Hey people:
Boycott M-B vehicles for caving into trumps princely ambitions. Audi and Porsche make fine quality vehicles. Money talks!
disclaimer: I have no financial interest in any of these companies. I DO have an interest in trumps removal from office ASAP.
13
The core motivations for the Trump voters are racism, xenophobia, and economic insecurity. The anti-science and anti-intellectualism are peripheral, if still important positions for them, buttressed by their professed religiosity. So it is a natural thing for the rabble rouser, Trump, to fight against sane environmental policies. One hopes our august Constitution and some shreds of our normal politics will prevail. How this can happen when the Republican Party is a smoking ruin is problematic, to say the least. Before Gingrich, we did have a functional two party system. If we can't achieve a new consensus across the political spectrum, the future is too bleak to contemplate. We have only to remember the great wars of the twentieth century to know where continued hatred and polarization will lead us.
12
"It [the Justice Department] might as well wheel out the statue of Lady Justice and replace it with a bronze marionette."
I'd like to see the four car companies counter sue for malicious prosecution. Except, oh, it's not an actual prosecution, just an investigation. More of Trump/Barr lies and bullying. All corrupt, all political all the time. Isn't it time to impeach this mess?
11
The right-wing in this country seems to have determined that the USA has run its course, and we're a corpse for the picking of scavenger animals. No future, thus, no need for things like economic development, environmental protections, preparation for climate change, preparation for automation, AI, alternative energies, transportation, infrastructure, etc. Just get as much as they can while the pickings are good. Feed the masses stale bread and cheap circuses and they won't mind being a nation of rickshaw drivers, as long as they're white, self-made and the "others" know their place.
12
In addition to everything else, the threat is legal balderdash. Anti-trust law allows companies to work in concert when they petition the government for action, which is what the companies did with California. It is called the Noerr-Pennington doctrine and it provides an affirmative defense to anti-trust charges.
13
Our federal government is out of control.
10
It's not his contempt for the environment; it's not his contempt for immigrants; it's not his contempt for people of other skin color than his own. It's his machiavellian intensity of destroying anything and everything his predecessor accomplished simply because Obama embarrassed him at the WH Correspondents' Dinner. The Republican and Democratic establishment placed an infantile ego maniac as president and now we get to be placed in harm's way, either by his rescinding future MPG standards, giving our national treasure away to the worst of the industrialists, and even altering hurricane forecast maps thus placing people in actual danger. When we're attacked by some foreign adversary, Russia, Iran, or China anyone, and the anointed one calls us to arm, who's going to believe that an actual emergency exists? There's a reason why many of our bureaus, the Fed, the FEC, the EPA, the NOAA, NASA, are apolitical institutions kept out of the hands of would be despots.
9
Bill Barr will probably be very rich at the end of this. Probably some very flush bank accounts in Cayman Islands. Wilbur Riss is probably coaching him. I can’t imagine another reason he’d debase himself or his office to such a degree.
4
Auto manufacturers do "collude" to produce vehicles they think consumers will buy. As a matter of fact, many consumers want vehicles that guzzle gas. Look around. California is simply legislating that just as you can't throw trash out your auto's window, you can't blow unlimited amounts of pollutants into California's air.
131
A definition of fascism:
1. A political philosophy, movement, or regime. . . that stands for a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, severe economic and social regimentation, and forcible suppression of opposition
2: a tendency toward or actual exercise of strong autocratic or dictatorial control.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fascism
13
If there was ever any doubt that Barr is nothing more than a flunky for Trump, this should settle it. And people rushing in to defend his ridiculous weather prediction about Alabama. Are they not ashamed of themselves for their sycophantic behavior? Are they so attached to their cushy jobs, pensions and perks that they are willing to compromise all ethics and intelligence in service to a con man who would be king? I really have a hard time comprehending it.
9
This criminal Trump needs to be defeated and then prosecuted for the myriad of crimes as president (and before), put in prison or better yet let him go into exile with his buddy, Putin the RICO the Trump organization and take everything to pay the people he cheated.
5
Yes, the Department of Justice has assumed a permanent position of kneeling in reverential obeisance to the President. Lock, stock, and barrel, the DoJ is only kowtowing like this to be like the rest of the federal government. There is not one shred of independence left in Washington. The play is Trump uber alles.
But why pick this particular fight? How can it be worthwhile to the administration? Just to ease the pressure on the fossil fuel barons who have paid so much in donations to Trump?
Well, certainly, that fits. But there's another facet to this as well, which shows clearly how Trump is emotionally unstable and not fit for office:
"That falls short of an Obama administration rule ... But it is certainly better than the goal ... favored by the Trump administration."
Ah, yes. See the words "Obama administration rule"? There's the rub. In Trumpworld, if something came from Obama, it must be eradicated forthwith and completely. No remnants from Obama are allowed to exist. Every last thing from Obama must be deleted.
It makes one wonder what would have happened if Obama had submitted his resignation letter to Congress. Would Trump repeal that, too? Well, since it came from Obama... you make the guess.
7
Just what else would you expect from a corrupt Trump government that has filled the swamp with greedy creatures? Our only saving grace is that most of the Trump Administration efforts to kill this planet and poison our children can be reversed in 2021. Let's pray for sanity in the next election.
5
Obama weaponized the IRS to eviscerate the Tea Party and all those promoting a conservative agenda.
When confronted with the facts, the Obama Administration closed ranks and squashed the investigation.
No one in the IRS was held to account for their politically directed acts. When the liberal left cries foul, it's difficult
to give it any degree of credence. It's the same old liberal whine.
It will be entertaining to observe a reputable anti trust judge address this giggle test when DOJ (RIP) brings the case before the court.
5
So Trump has finally replaced Cohn now with Barr. He has his fixer.
Barr is like Scalia in many ways. Very Catholic with the smug certainty that he is doing god's work in protecting the Republican Party who is the last refuge of the religious patriarchy that by protecting Trump he saves the party from an election Blue wave.
He seems to care little about his present reputation or how history will see him as a toady aid and abetting the most morally corrupt president since Nixon.
8
The idiocracy of this Administration surpasses all that came before. We need them out of the White House. It is an absolute Horror Show
8
The lady with the scales balanced in her hand is weeping.
5
The whole MAGA plan is ruled by nostalgia for a previous time. Our leader is ruled by this essentially irrational desire to go back in time to some mythical past when America was great. With his thin skin and terrible insecurity and inferiority he turns more and more government resources to trying to make his pathetic pipe dream rational. If you sue car companies and roll back MPG standards he rationalizes that as making these companies more competitive. But like all rationalization this tries to mask what is fundamentally an irrational impulse. All of this stuff is in pursuit of an impossible desire to return to a great past time that never actually existed. But when our loser president gets criticized, when he's laughed at, he doubles down. He's determined to ram his ridiculous ideas down everyone's throat. Mexico paying for the wall, you name it. He will waste any amount of money, force government workers to work to ram these ideas down everybody's throats.
He's a very sick and disturbed man. His behavior is largely (self) destructive and he will take us down with him if he can. These are surface manifestations of a fundamentally disordered mind. If the GOP doesn't go into the WH and walk right into the oval office and tell him, like with any CEO, "you're done, clean out your desk and leave. You're fired. And if you don't go we'll join Dems to impeach you and remove you that way."
The GOP has to do this or they will be destroyed.
8
We all know what Trump is, so this antitrust action, clearly a means of retribution against the auto companies for “siding” with the state of California, is no surprise. Nobody “crosses” the gangster in chief, or they get dragged into court under some ridiculous false allegation. However, the real villain in this case is the AG, and Trump fixer, Billy Barr, who, in less than 6 months, has utterly incinerated the credibility of the Department of Justice. Not only is Barr Trump’s legal hit man, but he also denies his responsibility to protect the rights of all Americans citizens and residents, rights which are under attack by the most corrupt White House in US history. Barr should be disbarred by the American Barr Association in order to affirm that our system of justice may be bleeding, but not dead.
5
When I started reading this editorial, I began to form a comment in my mind. When I finished reading it, I realized I had absolutely nothing of value to add. Well done.
5
I'm sick of this man who stole the Oval Office doing everything possible to undermine our Country! When are those who can do something do something? Americans need to demand it!
7
Talk about selling your soul to the devil.....
William Barr graduated with a B/A from Columbia University and obtained a law degree from George Washington University Law School graduating with highest honors. He is married with three daughters.
If/when the Republicans lose the White House he will most certainly lose his position.
And yet he seems willing to do whatever the president wants irregardless of any consideration for morality, integrity, and just plain decency.
I confess I am totally unable to comprehend what could possibly motivate him to destroy his life and the respect of his family; indeed of all decent human beings.
10
Only a sociopath would use a cabinet office to legally pursue a case of a corporation acting responsibility.
9
Impeach Barr now! Force the Republican senators to defend his actions.
Play their lame defenses on a continuous loop when they hyperbolically, hypocritically, and hysterically accuse the next Democratic president or AG of engaging in similar behavior.
Don’t need ipecac anymore, their rank cowardice and hypocrisy is vomit-inducing enough.
6
What law are they breaking by making cleaner cars???
9
Yet another example of abuse of power by the governmental perversion known as The Administrative Branch of Government.
Yet another reason that unhinged couch-candidate Trump and Federalist Society ideologue William Barr both need to be impeached.
6
This administration is the most publicly corrupt in history. Vote them OUT.
6
Bully Barr, The Donald's wind-up toy.
He should be dis-barred.
6
Trump believes it is a trust
when two people agree.
He’ll send the DOJ to bust
like-mindedness. You see,
he’s worried that you may not think
like he does. You’re a threat.
With others you may build a link.
Free speech is next. You bet.
4
Note to all businessmen ... If you want to be involved in illegal ,anti-competitive business practices ... you sign on with the Trump administration. ( please bring signed copy of NDA to speed your application process)
2
How about, for a change, the Governor of California take up the issue of homelessness of OUR AMERICAN citizens in his state. All these causes he is focusing on, undermining the authority of the President ( anyone who would be President) seems to take away from the real issues in his state. And, boy, does he have a lot of issues.
@bsb: You’re changing the subject. Dealing with auto emissions has nothing to do with homelessness. Dealing with one issue does not preclude dealing with the other.
25
There is no reason he can’t do both.
3
Nice whataboutism there! As if both issues are not important enough to engage the Gov....
5
Trump's need to control everything--even what kind of car consumers can buy is scary indeed. The Senate Republicans could do something about the horrors Trump visits upon us--if they would only wake up to the dangers he poses.
5
"The four automakers, by contrast, are acting in the public interest." That seems highly unlikely. It's more likely they're trying to project a good image to consumers.
Donald Trump is a self-serving jackass. And the same goes for his "Just-Us-Department".
8
The absurdity of Trump and the DOJ that he’s personally co-opted is on full display ... again. On the bright side, this provides still another reason for dismissing him from office as soon as possible. That is, unless one wants a dictator to control the nation. In service to himself, Trump does disservice to the nation. In destructive fashion, here it’s as if he aggressively champions an un-clean environment, looking for legal justification to that end. Maybe it’s to get back at President Obama. From Trump’s point of view, this surely distracts from his criminality before taking office and while in office, including obstruction of justice. A slight-of-hand tactic. One may be inclined to say, “Unbelievable.” Except with him, it’s not that in the least.
2
More evidence of an evolving authoritarian government.
12
This is only possible because Trump Republicans have convinced themselves that they and their children don't need to breathe. It's a faith thingy.
7
trump turned it into the Injustice Department, just like Nixon.
4
Public opinion and purchases will outweigh his directive.... that's why he is a failed business man... he only listens to the voices in his head instead of what people are wanting... but now we are paying for these pathological investigations into "his enemies"
6
This is Barr. Hard to fathom. Why does someone with a heretofore solid professional reputation choose at his advanced age to destroy himself by advancing these low-life shenanigans? What ideological higher-purpose does he very mistakenly think he is serving with this? Whose interests does he think he needs to advance and why - in other words who put him up to it?
5
Every day when you open the paper there is a new outrage, another abuse of power.
But will the Democrats impeach this mad man? No. The Democratic response to the White House thunder and lightening is a deafening silence. And yet the Democrats, who have proven nothing but their fecklessness, are asking us to trust in them and give them our vote. (Oh I know, even fecklessness is better then Trump.)
By the time the election rolls around Trump will have done so much damage (while the Democrats stand and watch in silence) that even if the Democrats take back the White House, the damage will be too great to repair.
4
The fossil fuel empire strikes back. The American people are yet to unite to win this fight for human life on this planet.
5
I'm no psychologist, don't pretend to be. trump has some deeply embedded psychological issues that can't be explained away by just saying he's against Obama and auto companies, and that the wall is such an important campaign promise to his base that he diverts funds from our soldiers to build it, or that his ego is so big he'll have a Federal Agency lie so he can be right. Anyone that isn't troubled by his erratic and psychotic behavior isn't being honest with themselves. Mitch, if you care about our Country, and not just about stacking the courts, do something, the man has beyond lost it, and if you stay on your "hear no evil see no evil" course you'll be the master enabler.
9
For those of you thinking this fight over mpgs and air pollution is the bottom of the barrel in the era of Trump, wait until next year. He and Bill Barr will be even more desperate in an election year.
8
Let's hope democrats have picked up on the aggressive in your face politics of republicans once they have achieved election victory. Barak Obama was milquetoast compared to Trump. Enough with Mr. Nice Guy politics. Let's get something done after 2020.
2
Doesn't matter, 54.5 average by 2025 isn't good enough anyway.
1
The obeisance of Trump’s Justice Department and its willingness to take up a cudgel for his injured ego is the clearest sign we have of a fully functional autocracy.
11
Let's call a spade a spade, this has to do with one thing only, Trump's hate for Obama. If it was an Obama policy, Trump wants it trashed. That has been his only agenda since day one. It's frightening that a US president is willing to sacrifice the air we breathe because of a personal vendetta.
265
@scott k. It's not just a "personal vendetta," it's a racial one. This "president's" instinct is the same one that drove slaveholders and overseers to beat their slaves when one of them became "uppity" and showed that s/he had intelligence. It was an offense for an enslaved man or woman to best their white "superiors."
47
@scott k. You have to include the fact that California is mostly liberal, protects the environment, welcomes people of color, is the 6th largest economy in the world and is a democratic state. Trump hates us because we are a very successful liberal State despite the Californians for Trump that sow hatred and lies.
69
Today, the tRump "administration's" effort to destroy our trust in essential government agencies, like the "Department of Justice," is almost complete. I hope there will be an opportunity, and a mission, to prosecute William Barr, after the 2020 election. Make an example out of him. However, Corporate Democrats are likely to tell us "forgive and forget," because THEY don't want to burn the bridges to their corrupt donors, who give huge amounts to BOTH parties. Thus, the status quo, which is unacceptable to most Americans.
8
This should come as a surprise to no one.
After all, with Donald Trump it's all about control -- and ever since he got into the White House he has done his utmost to bend and shape our government to fit his own purposes.
First, by usurping the Republican Party.
Then by filling every one of his cabinet positions with friends, family members and acolytes willing to be subjected and publicly humiliated at his will.
That much became clear with his first appointment and the subsequent dismissal of Jeff Sessions.
And why did the attorney General have to go?
Because Mr. Sessions had the temerity to do the right thing by recusing himself in a case that would have clearly caused a conflict of interest.
Too bad the same thing can't be said of the Justice Department in its decision to roll along with Trump's determination to poison the environment and every American along with it.
We are slowly becoming less of a democracy every day.
Remember this come Election Day.
10
Trumps supporters will continue to by gas guzzling trucks and SUV’s no matter the price of gas or cost to the environment and their children’s future. It’s up to all caring, conscious and compassionate individuals to buy electric vehicles, take motor scooters, bicycles, public transportation or WALK! Only smart consumer spending can save us now.
2
Getting rid of tRump is the only thing that matters.
This is why I root for slower GDP, falling jobs numbers and for the stock market to go down.
Whatever it takes to get tRump out of office is well worth some temporary pain.
6
@Chris Manjaro:
Unfortunately, trumpsters think the same way. He's hurting them financially but somehow they let it slide because they think he's intelligent or that he's "the chosen one".
Strange thing though! The four automakers are not disobeying the Trump mileage rule. Clearly if you’re agreeing to a 51 mpg standard you are agreeing to the lesser standard! Punishing them for giving Trump more than he asked for! That’s a new twist!
6
I hope that someone initiates a boycott against Mercedes as long as they refuse to join California's fuel efficiency deal. I'm sure that the company sells far more cars to blue America than red, and it would put the company in a tough position that might force it to reverse its decision.
6
The editorial states that the four company voluntary agreement could lead to higher vehicle prices. This may or may not happen. What would happen is the agreement would lead to lower fuel costs over the lifetime of the vehicles. And at the time of sale or trade-in, with increasing fuel prices, vehicles with almost 20 percent better fuel economy will bring a higher price.
Further, if Trump forces cars sold in the U.S. have lower gas mileage, they will not be competitive n the world market. Vehicle makers will then need to decide if they will make two versions of the same vehicles. Low mileage versions for the U.S. market and high mileage versions for the rest of the world.
This is insanity.
11
We should not be surprised by this twist. The political right wing has a history of mocking those who support anti trust legislation. When the Sherman Act was passed the courts narrowly construed the law to make it ineffective against the business trusts it was intended to bust but freely applied it to trade unions in order to prevent labor from organizing. It wasn't until the passage of the Clayton Act which exempted unions from its application to prevent that twist. Perhaps another legislative fix will be required to lay this current mockery to rest.
7
"That falls short of an Obama administration rule that would have required average fuel efficiency of 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025."
And there's your answer. Obama was in favor of higher efficiency standards, so therefore Trump *must* oppose them in any form that they might take - even voluntary agreements.
There has never been such an effort to erase the record of a predecessor since Thutmose III sent out workers to erase any record of his predecessor and step-mother Pharaoh Hatshepsut.
4
As with guns, the American car culture is deeply ingrained. The American muscle car, big engine, high torque, the big SUV and pick up truck are its later incarnations. If climate change is the existential threat that many claim it is, it will kill billions of people. This is many orders of magnitude compared to what guns would ever kill. But we seem to be much more aggressive in trying to control guns than cars. And owning a car is not even a constitutional right, so it would be easy to outlaw large SUVs and trucks, and any car over two cylinders. However, there seems to be more energy on controlling what gun we own than what car we own. This appears to be a case of misplaced priorities.
1
Those auto manufacturers did indeed consult with each other about the stricter emissions standards, but there was NO COLLUSION!
6
@graygrandma I seem to recall that recently the administration of Trump and his lackies stated that collusion is not a crime.
5
Cancer causing windmills, coal as the fuel of the future, increased methane emissions, etc, etc.. Now, threatening manufacturers of low emission vehicles. Trump's vision for our nation can only be described as dystopian. There is a point where a president's policy is, if you can call it that, is grounds for impeachment.
11
@Robert O.: The riot of Trump impeaches the whole broken US liberty to enslave travesty of democracy.
This is why, despite green new deals, Medicare for all, the squad and socialism, I don't care what a Democrat says or does.
The only thing that matters is getting rid of tRump.
I don't care if Biden doesn't know what day it is and can't count past 3.
If he gets the nomination I'm voting for him.
22
Our mad king Donald.
8
ahem, why won't times demand barr resign?
7
Trump will always be a cheap punk bully. Nothing unusual here.
5
People ask us all the time why we live in California, and I say to them, this is why! Because I refuse to live in any other part of this nation that lacks the gonads to do what California does - which lately is the right thing all of the time!
15
Antitrust law is an embarrassing oxymoron of intellectual duplicity and perfidy.
Neither economics nor law are sciences. Neither economists nor lawyers are scientists.
There are way to many unknowns and variables to craft the double-blind controlled experimental tests that provide predictable repeatable results that are the essence of science. There is no 'science' in any social 'science' from the anthropology of culture to the political.
At best economists and lawyers are glorified historians plus arithmetic with governing and political power along with mass media attention. At worst economists and lawyers are charlatans, fortune tellers, journalists, oracles, politicians, professors and pundits.
Thus 'cruel parody' is and always been the nature of antitrust.
'The law is a ass-- an idiot' from 'Oliver Twist" by Charles Dickens
There is no Nobel Prize in Economics. There is the Swedish National Bank Prize in memory of Alfred Nobel.
1
@Blackmamba: Economists don't even understand the need to separate variables like the quantity of currency and the velocity of currency exchange. That's why their field is unscientific.
1
Science has a broader meaning than you assert. “Science” comes from the Latin “scio”, to know. It is the investigation of the world, to know it better.
We know why babies have blue eyes, but no one has ever done a double-blind experiment. We know what causes AIDS and polio, without anyone being infected to prove it. We know seatbelts save lives and lead causes brain damage, without experimentation. We know because science.
There are charlatans and tools who pretend at economics, but economists aren’t charlatans. Keynesian theory describes the Great Depression and has prevented its recurrence. That’s a remarkable record for a public policy tool, considering how many, like yourself, utterly fail to understand its barest principles.
2
In the space of a week, this president wielded the power of two arms of the federal government not for the public good, but in his own personal interest.
He had the Justice Department use the antitrust laws not against any remotely anticompetitive arrangement but as a cudgel against private companies that embarrassed him. And he had NOAA compromise its own credibility, not to mention that of its dedicated weather forecasters, in the sole interest of vindicating his mistake about Dorian’s hitting Alabama and his repeated lies to cover that mistake up.
This is not a banana republic dictator wielding governmental power as his own, but the president of the United States of America, once the “shining light” of democracy “on the hill.” And he is enabled by the Attorney General, who has said in so many words that the president can direct his administration however he sees fit, even if it’s strictly in his own interest or that of his family. And meanwhile the Grand Old Party not only looks the other way but continues to stock the federal courts with judges who will give their stamp of judicial approval to this kind of personal and political use of presidential power.
Trump’s antitrust effort was plainly a parody, and his use of NOAA was no doubt petty. But with every such action, he is flexing the power of a dictator.
22
@Steel Magnolia: The last hold-out nation from the Metric system is hardly even of this planet.
It appears the Justice Department no longer wishes to be the Justice Department.
17
This action is environmentally counter-productive for America, our planet, its future for our children and the world's descendants.
8
Holy mother of Jesus, Taco Tuesdays and that fresh laundry smell. You can't swing a dead cat without hitting something transparently corrupt and bogus this administration is doing.
So what if the Senate won't impeach? The system has to demonstrate it has even a fraction of integrity and validity. Come on House Dems. Throwing a cup of water on an inferno may look pointless, but anything less--the less you look committed to--tells us the American experiment is over. Give us a drop of counter-evidence, a reason for hope and beliefe.
15
My biggest fear is that his fan club somehow likes this destruction of civilized society or is completely ignorant of what is going on enough to reelect him for a second term. God help us all.
12
Or, we could impeach Trump. Think, think, think: Which is better?
4
"If (Trump's) Justice Department wants to get serious about antitrust enforcement..."
OUCH - snorted burning coffee HARD when I got to this line! Everything about this editorial left me whimpering. And no joke, I am leaving in a few minutes to go car shopping this morning for a HYBRID (though now I'll have to eat about a dozen popsicles first!)
4
The Times Editorial board, as with almost everyone else, has done too little too late. Words will not stop the evil at the Whitw House, neither will democratic means. It's time for actions.
6
The Republican Party, the party of states’ rights, unless they conflict with Republican policy.
13
The closing words of this excellent editorial opinion says: "This investigation is an embarrassment. It might as well wheel out the statue of Lady Justice and replace it with a bronze marionette."
I suggest Barr's Justice Department tear down and haul off the Statue of Liberty and replace it with a Wall as they pass by Trump Tower to pay homage to its Dear Leader. That would really make our Narcissist in Chief gloat in his Tweets.
[
4
I think this is more an attack on California and its right to set its own, higher standards for air quality.
What this president and AG are doing are making me sick...figuratively and, if they get their way, literally.
7
Trump's model for American “greatness” is looking a lot like Afghanistan, a warring tribal society that worships ignorance.
7
The trump administration has so many terrible policies it’s difficult to keep track. Most of them are reversible by a new administration. The climate change vandalism is not. And its impact is felt globally. It’s especially hypocritical when these people call themselves Christians: aren’t we the stewards of God’s creation and the creatures he made ? There’s been four years of these hooligans seemingly doing everything they can to make a bad situation worse. Another four years would unleash more policies with terrible consequences. Eight years of not just standing still but going backwards. I can hardly bear to think about it.
5
This is the latest exmple of why Bill Barr was installed as AG. Doing Trumps work.
8
When is this criminal so called president going to be impeached?! Trump is breaking so many laws including the emolument laws, usurping the powers of congress, and doing the bidding of foreign governments. Clinton, in contrast, was impeached for lying about a consensual affair! Has our country gone nuts?! Trump is doing lasting harm to our country, to the environment, to our relationships with our allies and to the economy. Trump is also directly responsible for the deaths of many immigrants as he continues to create even more draconian measures like deporting even legal immigrants that are here for medical treatment and putting children in cages separated from their families. When will this madness end?!
9
Why expect anything else from the Justice Department (a complete joke) or the Trump administration across the board. If T says jump, even the J Dept will say how high!
Nobody should be under any illusions that the J Dept cares about ordinary Americans, except perhaps GOP voters and the racist right wing of that party .
6
First you pack the courts with politically compliant judges. Then you turn law enforcement over to your henchmen. Happens all the time in places you probably don’t want to live in. Hungary, Poland, Russia, and China for example.
The truly disturbing part is the lack of pushback in the Department of Justice itself. When Nixon tried to muscle his way in, it was the beginning of the end.... for Nixon. Barr is a lackey, but dept lawyers with integrity should be resigning in mass right now.
7
I guess Trump finally got the AG he wants.
7
Trump surely knows that by doing this he "owns the libs" of present day. But does he also appreciate the power he owns over all future peoples?
1
This administration is simply the most toxic, noxious, corrupt and incompetent in the history of our country.
It’s one thing to obstruct public-protective regulation in favor of corporate profits. Republicans have been doing that for decades.
But these people are acting not only to deny that climate change and pollution exist, but to intentionally make them worse! In ways companies don’t even want. And for what reason - vindictiveness toward Obama? It is absolutely insane.
November 3, 2020 cannot come soon enough.
8
Amoral Trump worshipers using the moral authority of the government to find and punish non purists is evocative of power-consolidating Church leaders in the Middle Ages rooting out and punishing heretics.
5
I would like to see the potential cost for automakers to retrofit their assembly lines to dumb down their emissions systems to trump standards. It’s like asking a city in an earthquake zone to make buildings less earthquake resistant. Insanity!
7
Cruelty to children, cruelty to the poor, cruelty to the planet.
For what? All for a pile of gold.
7
This is how democracy dies. Prison sentences will be in order when this parasite leaves office.
6
Obviously there is no bar too low for Bill Barr.
Barr will do ANYTHING for a SCOTUS seat of his own.
5
Did it seriously take you this long to figure out how this administration operates ?
CNN, after much antitrust related noise from the White House, got its merger passed - and now they have the RNC's former communications #2 ( and Sean Spicer's deputy ) literally running their politics desk
Coincidence ?
Come on ...
1
Republicans repeat America is a republic not a democracy to justify the electoral college abuses. In fact, it's a banana republic.
2
Canada, earlier this year, conceded that parity with U.S. federal emission standards would no longer be possible as those of the U.S. Federal government no longer aligned with Canadian objectives. As a result, Canada signed an agreement with California to harmonize with that state's standards going forward. Mercedes-Benz may well choose to sit out the U.S. reversal, but Canada won't. So I imagine that Trump will now slap 25% tariffs on cars built in Canada because they just don't pollute enough. The U.S. has become a really messed up place....it is one thing to trample the independence of the judiciary and democratic rights in your own country, but actively moving to increase global warming out of some childish desire by a fat white guy intent on proving he's better than his black predecessor is going too far.
6
Beyond appalling.
Come on America, you’re better than this.
199
@Chris
Sadly Chris I think you're wrong. trump's approval sits at a solid forty percent of those polled and a whopping 90% of republicans polled. Most would consider this a pretty large minority. He is projected to even win re-election. The election is that close, even after all the horrors. For his supporters there is no low that is too low or no policy or action that is too appalling to cause them waiver in their support.
I believe a large segment of our country is truly insane, evil or both.
39
@Chris Being optimistic, that remains to be seen.
11
@Chris
No, Chris. Apparently we're not.
23
“Farce” is about the kindest word I can use to describe this latest abuse of executive privilege. Another good descriptor would be, “antediluvian” (to all you Trump supporters out there: Look it up).
The US is going to get left in the dust while all other western countries forge ahead with technologies of the future. Here in France, we have a 2019 Citroën C3, a wonderful little 4-door with 1.2 liter turbo gas engine that’s plenty powerful enough. We average about 55 mpg. And on the point of the Sprint—T-Mobile merger, we pay about $60/month for mobile service in the US, while here in France we pay $12/month for similar service. What’s the difference? France, like most European countries, does way more to protect consumers than the US. Last time I checked, France’s auto manufacturers and mobile-phone providers were still profitable. It’s all a matter of balance between corporate interests and consumers. The US is going backwards.
7
Ronald Reagan was instrumental in passing the clean air act in California. Can the people of California sue Trump and his administration for causing bodily harm. Diseases asthma to Alzheimers can be laid at the door of air pollution.
4
At what point does this behavior simply stop being "power grab" and "bullying" and be called out for what it is: autocracy. maybe then more Americans will take note.
3
The next time that I hear someone say, "I believe in the free market", I just may say a prayer for him/her. Then one for the rest of us. Then laugh out loud.
1
It's an emblematic description of any of "its" actions or proposed policies.
A cruel parody of (fill in the blank).
The real question is why? I have no doubt that neither Trump nor attorney general Barr thought of this lawsuit on their own.
Clearly this concept sprang from the brains of oil company lobbyists who used their influence to convince Trump and Barr to prosecute.
This effective of such conduct is further complicated by the absence of a functioning judiciary and the safety net which it once provided against such obvious political influence.
7
The trump admin said "companies may have colluded by collectively agreeing to the tougher standards" wow - somebody defying the planet threatening role put in place for the oil lobby. Maybe someone should point this out to the NRA.
2
So what next? A ban on EV's and hybrid vehicles? Prohibiting battery powered leaf blowers and lawn edgers? What about LED and CFL lighting (the Trump administration already is working to make these less financially attractive)?
Trump's anti-environment, pro-global warming actions is the behavior of a twisted mind.
5
The car companies seek to reduce costs by standardizing both within and across regions. The EU fuel economy std is equivalent to 57 mpg by 2021. It's better for the car companies if the US is close to the same fuel economy std, better for the environment, for you and me, our children, and our pocketbooks. The only loser is the fossil fuel industry.
Trump and Barr throw this win-win-win-win-win out the window and show us their middle fingers.
3
This is real simple. In Trump's mind, he is dictator, the Chosen One, and all must follow his every edict. Increased fuel consumption benefits the oligarchs who bought him the WH, and Climate Change is a hoax, according to them. The real crime lies with the senate that blocks impeachment.
In a civilized society that cherished its democracy, millions of us would be picketing non stop at the litany of offenses this ruthless autocrat has committed but all of the spunk must have left America because we sit around and do nothing while Trump morphs into Putin, his role model.
4
Actually some ARE doing something about GOP control. Get out on the web and use a search engine. Do some research on the performance of local Deocrats in the nation's 3rd largest county, Harris, whose county seat is Houston, in the blood red state of Texas. Almost every Democrat running for county public office won. 19 Republicans on county and district judicial benches WON. Congresdional 7th District of Texas was hit by an activist generated lightening bolt. 20 year GOP conservative Congressman John A. Culberson was trounce by Dem Lizzie Fletcher. This district is changing demographically but it has lots of very wealthy, powerful GOP residents. It was George H W Bush's district. He turned it GOP in 1964 and it has been red ever since until this year.
How? Activists--Swing Left District Seven, Indivisible Houston, Texas Pantsuit Republic,Texas Organizing Project and many other groups,
Volunteer Deputy Voter Registrars block-walking and setting up non partisan registration outdoors in public places, Democratic Precinct Chairs getting off their butts and organizing block walking, Every Dem Club in the County blockwalking. . .
The GOPand its constituent minions have Bernie battery acid for 40 years state by state, corroding, gerrymandering, propagandizing IN EVERYSTATE. Dems have played politics like it is a civics club in the past. The GOP executes symbolic global nuclear war on its political opponents. No. More. Stand UP! Fight BACK! NOW! Adios, Trump!
1
While this action by the Justice Department, the former somewhat independent Justice Department, now exclusively working for all things Trumpian and Republican, regardless the deleterious effects on American lives, it is crystal clear that the current government of the United States of America, is entirely corrupt, and no one should have any remaining doubts whatsoever about the role Trump plays in this Criminal Incorporated government.
Trump is the criminal boss of this Criminal Enterprise, taking his orders from any and all corporate entities intent on destroying regulations that protect the public and the environment.
That said, and as I opined earlier this week, this action, along with all the other dastardly actions of this administration during these past three years, is actually the death knell of this Criminal Enterprise, and come November 2020, the American people will trash all things Trumpian, sending him and his partners to oblivion.
7
This is the true madness of Trump. Worse than Nero, he not only fiddles while Rome burns, he casts gasoline on the flames and encourages other world leaders, like Brazil's president, to join him in trying to destroy the planet. It is now too late for Republicans to say him nay; we have to vote the entire GOP out of office if we are to save what's left of our environment.
7
Almost by the day, the Trump administration abuses its political power at progressively higher levels of arbitrariness enough to justify articles of impeachment. In so doing it damages the security of United States at home and abroad.
Whether it reprimands the Birmingham Alabama weather office for correcting a false presidential hurricane forecast, extorts Ukraine to launch a nakedly political investigation of Joe Biden, or bullies car manufacturers for teaming up to protect our deteriorating environment, the Trump administration is a walking, talking, living high crime and misdemeanor.
All the while, a feckless Democratic Party sits on its hands, playing Hamlet on the Potomac. At least a hanful of British conservatives are displaying the backbone to challenge a brainlessly malign autocracy. Here? No such luck.
3
Bill Barr should have been impeached and state disbarment proceedings should have been opened the second he lied to the public and then lied under oath about the contents of the Mueller report. The Attorney General isn't supposed to function as the president's mob lawyer; he's supposed to represent the interests of the people of the United States, and enforce the laws of the United States, even when (especially when) they conflict with the will or the actions of the President. Another Republican who cares more about Party and power than the rule of law or our country.
Only one thing to do: Vote for the Democrat. Every election; every level of government.
5
Election have consequences.
To all the couch surfing non voters who sat out elections.
1
I watched a little of the U.S. Open tennis match that went on for about 4 hours, to me a superhuman feat for the players, but then I thought I know of someone much more indefatigable than them: President Trump. He doesn't fight his opponents for a mere 4 hours at a time, but goes against them continually, day after day. One day it's the weather bureau, the next the major car companies, always the environment. He doesn't take on little guys like the NRA and white nationalists, he stands firm against the American people, especially those who believe in fairness to all.
2
It would be a mistake to see this as a Trump take over of government, because it is worse than that. If Trump were to retire to a golf course tomorrow, the DoJ and judicial appointments would remain in the service of the GOP and the next anointed one.
Consider, Republicans are quite open about gerrymandering to oldster their power; the same corruption of government is what we see now with the power of the DoJ. It is a coup, we are frogs watching the pan beginning to shake.
3
They didn't collude to beat competitors. They engaged in very American capitalism and agreed to make cars that would sell in America's largest car market. And their choice slows global warming.
The other maufacturers would be wise to join in, and increase sales in a country now motivated by climate change. Mercedes Benz should not allow itself to be bullied.
What the DOJ and Trump are doing is coercion, and it's illegal.
§ 11.406 Criminal coercion.
(a) A person is guilty of criminal coercion if, with purpose to unlawfully restrict another's freedom of action to his or her detriment, he or she threatens to:
(1) Commit any criminal offense; or
(2) Accuse anyone of a criminal offense; or
(3) Take or withhold action as an official, or cause an official to take or withhold action
This is what Trump and the DOJ are doing.
It's difficult to fight off government coercion--victims don't have the resources.
And, who can punish these actors? Especially when the President, the DOJ, elected Republicans and the Supreme Court majority support Trump's "increase global warming" stance, to the detriment of all Americans.
California, car manufacturers, Americans, world--fight against this call for more death. Buy low consumption or electric cars. Refuse to be bullied--because that's what's happening now.
And vote the Reeps out in 2020.
4
There is no power that the Trump people won't abuse, but we have ourselves to blame.
We granted them this power; we did it ourselves.
4
Why isn't there an outcry about Amazons anti-competitive behavior. Their control of Amazon Web Services (AMS) allows Amazon to out compete their rivals in every other sector. Struggling JC Penney is forced to use AMS for advertising because it is the best service but then Amazon uses the information they acquire to compete against Penney in retail. Netflix streams through AMS which then piggybacks its Prime Streaming service through the same servers. For years, Amazon sold goods for below cost losing money and only making a profit from their AMS division. Their predatory pricing is putting most brick and mortar retailers on a road to bankruptcy. Instead of pushing this story, the Times is saying there is to much anti-trust enforcement.
The House needs to open impeachment hearings on AG Barr for his malfeasance in connection with the Mueller report and flagrant abuses of power, including this absurd misuse of antitrust laws to punish automakers for agreeing to lessen harmful emissions in California.
Barr has no personal appeal and no public following. He’s a poster child for the corrupt and soulless toadies on which tyrannies depend. He needs to be brought down.
3
You could not make this up. For decades, the auto industry colluded to flight safety and emissions laws, with no antitrust action. Now that some cooperate to protect the public health, to their cost, Orange Julius Caesar throws a hissy fit and prosecutes them. He thinks of ways to be a vile despot that no one could have imagined.
4
If someone puts another into a locked garage with a car running, and the person locked-in dies from asphyxiation, the other is charged with murder. Forcing the auto industry to put California, even the whole country and outside our borders into a global garage with auto and coal emissions is slow murder. Trump and his stooges should be put on trial for at least attempted murder of a state and nation.
2
“This investigation is an embarrassment. It might as well wheel out the statue of Lady Justice and replace it with a bronze marionette.”
That’s exactly right. (And don’t ask NOAA for a weather forecast, either. ) What an object lesson we’re getting in just how frail our “democratic” society’s structures really are. The fact is, people haven’t changed. Most can still be intimidated by narcissistic bullies into any misdeeds. In the final analysis America isn’t nearly the shining bastion of freedom it thinks it is. Trump’s tire tracks all over our hard-won environmental and ethical rules certainly demonstrate that. In four more years he’ll have sculpted the Supreme Court and any standards of justice to his whims, too.
3
The final paragraph notes that this investigation is an "embarrassment". It should be clear that Trump, Barr, and Republican legislators are way beyond caring about embarrassment. They lie, violate the laws, dismiss "norms" as "political correctness" --- which is to be cursed and belittled at every turn.
After a few weeks of atrocious and dangerous behavior by Boris Johnson, over 20 members Parliament from his party have voted against his self-serving and horrible approach. After nearly 3 years of more reckless and criminal lies, actions, inactions and insults, few of Trump's party have the gumption and patriotism to show a hint of resistance, let alone vote against Trump. That's much more than an embarrassment. It's a dangerous conspiracy to undermine our democracy and our nation. Wake Up. Act. Vote.
4
So Bill Barr is willing to throw away what ever is left of his legacy just to keep his position for what might well be little more than a year longer. I am amazed at how many people who once had respectable reputations can't see that this presidency ends in disaster and disgrace for all who participated in it.
2
The Times mentioned the T Mobile merger but failed to mention that T Mobile had a huge event at the Trump hotel before the merger was approved. I hope the next administration investigates and puts lots of people in jail, Trump people, T Mobile people, Mercedes Benz, all of them.
3
It should be added that the Sprint merger came after the companies spent around $200k at a Trump hotel while the WH was making its decision.
A new Fresh Air show details the continuous financial corruption of this disgraceful administration.
5
In other words if a handful of companies collude to manipulate the market in pursuit of the Left's agenda well that is just hunky dory and the Justice Department should turn a blind eye.
Do I have that right?
And because the Feds don't oppose the Sprint/Tmobile merger then what? There should be no scrutiny of any corporations and their actions?
The authors well know that if the auto makers had colluded to LOWER standards then the NYTimes would react with furious demands for a DOJ investigation. As well they should.
We ought all to agree that corporations colluding FOR ANY REASON is a threat to our civil society and should be investigated.
To quote the refrain hurled at Trump for the past three years: If they have nothing to hide why do they object to an investigation?
Well?
Whatever happened to states’ rights? Aren’t the Republicans the ones committed to avid—some might even say “rabid”—defense of the Tenth Amendment, preserving the rights (where not prohibited by the Constitution or federal statute) of California and the other forty-nine to act for the good of their people?
1
President Trump's offenses against the U.S. Constitution grow more brazen as he becomes more unraveled. He obviously views the Department of Justice (along with the Republican Senate) as his personal protection and enforcement squad. AG Barr is happy to genuflect to his wishes. Mr. Trump, perhaps correctly, views the Supreme Court as his ultimate defender.
This can only get worse.
1
Isn't the GOP supposed to be the party of state rights?
1
Trump and the Justice Department are violating the Constitution and their Oath of Office.
Both Trump and Barr should be removed from office.
5
Whatever happened to states’ rights? Aren’t the Republicans the ones committed to avid—some might even say “rabid”—defense of the Tenth Amendment, to preserving (where not prohibited by the Constitution off federal statue) the rights of California and the other forty-nine to act in the interest of their people?
The Justice Department has gone “rogue”-where is the fury, where are the investigations in Congress?!Trump, the GOP(Great Oil Party) and all the mining interests are trying hard to make the air dirty again.Very soon we will be saying,we can’t breathe!
2
why do we the tax payers pay for Bill Barr's salary and security
and the justice department since they have become DONALD TRUMP'S personal attorneys and protect him all the time. Let Trump pay their salaries and let us get a new Attorney General who actually reperesents and protects the interests of the American puiblic
Trump is like a child who misbehaves knowing that it will bring him attention - the oxygen of his shallow life. To have the Justice Department waving on healthcare mega-mergers, while attacking efforts to bring predictability to the manufacturing business that the president occasionally considers a priority - and improve the next generation's environment - is a waste of taxpayer resources.
"This investigation is an embarrassment."
______________
More than that, it is a red flag of abuse of power of an out of control administration.
2
Why is anyone surprised at this well-founded allegation of presidential interference in our justice system? Democracy died on November 6, 2016 and will never be revived in the USA in any of our lifetimes, in any recognizable form. Because Trump has made himself emperor for life, who will refuse to acknowledge the 2020 electoral results should they be unfavorable to his continued rule. And since he has thrown the red meat of tax abatement to his plutocratic supporters, we can forget about the sun ever rising on our free country again...
2
I read this one twice.. just to make sure.. Orwell would have loved this, he could have run all day with the idea of a justice department .. anyway.. "ignorance is strength."
The DOJ and Supreme Court have been stolen by the GOP, more specifically by our increasingly emboldened and empowered plutocrats. It's been going on for a while -- Gore v Bush, Citizens United, but I don't think I'll ever get over the Kavanaugh hearings, the total joke it all was. "They're having fun at our expense." This is how democracies die, not w a bang but a whimper.
At times it seems as if Mr. Trump is intent upon doing everything he can do to destroy the environment and speed up climate change as if he wants to prove that this "hoax" is really a hoax.
While governments can and do over do it in the area of regulation, this knee-jerk belief that all "regulation is bad" is destructive. Regulations were never made simply to make them. They are written to address an identified problem, which does not merely evaporate because someone hates all regulation.
203
Actually, there might be antitrust issues if the four automakers had colluded to FIGHT California’s emission rules. But instead, understanding market forces and direction, they are willing to conform to the standards.
TheTrump regime’s position is bizarre, to say the least. It apparently wants to force all the auto companies, not just these for, to conform to its weaker standards, thus creating the decidedly anti-business position that the companies must ignore the marketplace and obey the federal government!
American businesses, take note. Free enterprise lobbyists, take note. Republican “small government” proselytizer, take note. Your fearless leader has once again sold you a bill of goods.
3
Any state has the right to establish regulations fo companies operating within the state. California has had its own automobile emissions standards for decades, and that is perfectly legal. Automakers do not need to sign agreements with the government of CA; they just have to prove that they meet the standards. But CA is pushing into new territory. Automakers are probably telling CA that cars with the higher emission standards are more expensive and/or not as desirable by the consumers. And CA is signing these agreements to pay incentives and give exclusive access to these companies to manufacture low emission vehicles. This article fails to explain why is it necessary to have these agreements signed. It seems to me that CA could have continue doing what it was doing in the past. And the DOJ should have gone after CA and not the individual manufacturers. It seems all these parties are playing political games, and a more in-depth article is due.
Trump wants a dictatorship where he controls what the media reports, what laws Congress enacts, what decisions the courts hand down, what cars people drive, what thoughts people have, what decisions the central bank, private corporations, and individual states make, and what hotel his Vice President visits. That's all.
4
Seems to me that Mr T hasn’t got an original idea in his head. He is simply an instrument of corporate greed and the anxieties of the oil industries. He is a funnel and enforcer that fulfills all their wishes. When you pull the dog’s chain he will bark.
William Barr has now moved from using the power of his office to shield Trump from prosecution to using it to go after Trump's enemies. This is how authoritarian regimes use their institutional power force their will on citizens. We need only to look to Hong Kong as a precedent. Like the brave citizens of Hong Kong we have to fight back. The survival of the planet's eco system is at stake. I think the best option at this point is to start a boycott movement against car companies that have not signed onto the California standards.
7
The other car companies should jump on board this agreement, fast. No idea why they haven't yet. Canada also signed onto the agreement - a smaller market than California but bigger than most of the smaller states put together. For people who claim that California forces the rest of America to pay for their "virtuous moves" I say - seat belts, back up cameras, anti-lock brakes, elimination of lead from gasoline, catalytic converters, etc etc - all are innovations that the car industry would not have made themselves, and we have all paid a bit more for cars to have them make us safer and healthier. Some of these were led by California, but all have improved the destruction caused by our need for cars for every venture out (unless you live in a big city) I want more of these, not less. Vote Trump out! He's bad for us, and worse for our children and their children.
5
It is very sad to see how quickly we are loosing all that had made the US a great nation despite some historical baggage of slavery and racism. The US has been the beacon enlightenment and hope in the last century. Now under a autocratic leader enabled by a sycophantic Senate and the judiciary we are rapidly demolishing our institutions that propelled progress and development. Saddest is the deterioration of our cultural norms and ethos that are sustaining such process of decline. How long can only a few media channels in print and electronic continue their valiant effort to uphold our democratic ideal?
4
Every winter for many years we in northern Utah get to experience the brown air crisis which is attributed to both an inversion of temperatures and auto/industry pollution.
The state has attempted to clean the air, and has been somewhat successful.
I remember the days of the coal fired power plant close in the metropolitan area, coal fired central heating and virtually no pollution controls on industry-mining and petroleum.
The air is much cleaner and we can attributed that to a somewhat progressive legislative bodies which are GOP majority.
Then along comes a con artist who apparently reviles and rejects science, rejects any idea that is not his own (see the "president" revising weather forecast maps) and will punish those who dare question his authority or "decision making process".
California is being punished by a toddler because the state made him mad. This isn't about keeping autos at a lower price. It is all about him.
And we the people across this nation will suffer from his tantrums.
However, will his supporters cheer in glee as they cough and suffer respiratory issues at the same time?
5
California is a sovereign entity with a long-established record of setting environmental standards that lead Federal standards. Trump would lose a court challenge of California's jurisdiction over its environmental standards, which Is why he chose an anti-competition case. But if negotiating an agreement with the State of California is anti- competitive, then the higher standards California required before the agreement was signed come into force. Trump loses, and environmental standards win, either way.
2
Trump's stunt is simple, lower fuel standards, means the oil/gas industry continues to pump oil and gas, and make hefty profits. This comes on the heels of lowering air quality standards, for release of methane, and opening up public lands to carbon extraction industries.
Remember, Congress gave the executive branch a great deal of power, to abuse, with the Patriot Act. In a warped way the Justice Department/Homeland Security can say that all this is necessary for "national security". Just like the border wall, interment camps, consolidation of media (by mostly conservative entities), etc.
Another week, more tweets, more executive orders, less freedom, less democracy and more autocracy. And where is Congress? On vacation and kowtowing to the 1% for their donations.
10
It’s time for other automakers to show some backbone and commit to the California agreement.
7
The 4 companies that want to go with California account for 30% of the market. These companies will have to spend more per vehicle. The rest of the market is preserving their ability to do whatever they want. Supposedly the advantage of going with California relates to predictability. How that gives the 30% companies an advantage over the companies with total flexibility is beyond me. The 30% companies are saying we don’t mind being more expensive than the 70% crowd as long as you save us from being flexible. Or, in other words, we think we will be better off if the governor of California tells us what to do. Since when do we all believe nonsense spouted by auto company CEO’s?
@michjas " Since when do we all believe nonsense spouted by auto company CEO’s?
or Trump's DOJ for that matter.
1
@cec. Unfortunately, far too many comments merely state the obvious.
What Trump and his “Justice” Dept do not seem to understand is that the regulations in question are no longer a California thing, or an America thing, they are a world thing. Auto companies are spending R&D money to meet stricter standards in Europe and Asia, and they also know that things will go back to “normal” in the U.S. after the insanity of the current administration finally ends. The world trend is toward higher mpg, lower carbon output standards regardless of what Trump wants.
19
Apparently the Auto Industry did not give enough money to Trump's re-election campaign.
Isn't Trump stamping on States rights . He and the GOP who always brings up States Rights when it is a firm Republican State?
Such as a Woman's Right to Choose, Gerrymandering, Voters Suppression, etc?
There is no sense or reason that trump keeps disrupting this country or the world . It i just because he can.
Trump needs to go . Please McConnell and GOP come to your senses.
13
Who would ever have believed that today we would look back to the elfin Jeffrey Beauregard Sessions's AG stint as the Halcyon days of the US Justice Department?
21
An ignored factor is that by reducing corporate average fuel economy standards, Trump led to the closing of plants that manufactured small and midsized models. In a complex math equation that determines CAFE, every 16 mpg Ram pickup needs to be balanced with the sale of one or more efficient sedans. Those sedans, especially the smaller ones, were sold close to or below the cost margins because they allowed larger sales of highly profitable trucks and SUVs.
3
I feel sure that this particular policy battle will loom large in our cultural memory, even if it isn't particularly attention grabbing at present. Unlike the moral outrages that have occurred, this is entirely lacking any sort of ideology — nefarious or otherwise.
Neither Trump nor his cronies stand to profit off of this in a tangible way. The manufacturers are the ones fighting for the environment; the president and his administration, unable to accept defeat on any front, are currently fighting for a "pro-pollution" agenda.
9
Every day Donald Trump tears up another piece of our Constitution seeking to replace its "rule of law" with his "rule of Trump." We have a clearly out-of-control Executive branch in open defiance of Congressional oversight and its "separation of powers" aided by Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and a so far much too passive Democratic-controlled House that still fears passing authorization to formally begin impeachment hearings. As long as those charged with honoring their oath to defend the Constitution continue to fail to do so, we will continue to lose our democracy to an autocratic Executive like Donald Trump. Speaker Nancy Pelosi has been playing a very high-stake, high-risk political game by her unwillingness to say "No" and allow the Constitution to go undefended. Gambling on the 2020 election risks facing an autocrat who has seized enough power to make its outcome moot, especially when Trump has left our very voting system open to Russian hacking.
17
The companies are acting in their own interest, but to benefit the public.
9
@Paul How so?
In nearly all two-car households, the second car should be an electric vehicle. No more gas, no more oil changes. And if you have PV panels, then you drive it on solar energy—and, beyond the investment in them, for free.
15
When someone is a victim of a crime, we demand justice.
When our Constitutional principles are being victimized, we should likewise demand justice.
If our President and his Administration think they will be immune from prosecution once he leaves office, we should never allow that to happen.
They are abusing the Office of the Presidency for political and personal gain and, when the smoke clears, they should be made to pay.
31
The notion of punishing members of the previous political organization is fraught with peril. We have generally avoided this in the US, thinking that the new broom of the incoming administration will sweep clean the mess made by its predecessor. Maybe that tradition has to stop now. While I hate to see still another aspect of civil political process swept away as a result of Trumpism, it certainly seems justified to go after those who aid in for co-opting the Justice Department to punish Trump's political enemies. Nixon's henchmen paid a price. It is going to be incumbent on us to be sure Trumpist thugs do as well.
8
@Thomas Hall Sow the wind and reap the whirlwind. We simply cannot allow a President and his Administration commit crimes in office and then just turn away.
4
Every day now, Trump tries to weaken sanity, logic, understanding, and the quality of life, not just in America but in the world. My fellow citizens, even you Republicans who refuse to notice or act, I submit that he and his acolytes in the administration are working at cross purposes to the good of our country. Please, open your eyes and ears and do something to end this scourge. By benign neglect or worse, we made mistakes in the past but had enough moments of clarity to rectify or at least mitigate many of them. Give me a cogent reason why we should make the same ones again. (And Childe Donnie having his feelings hurt doesn't count.)
20
Where do the desires of car owners and car buyers come into the equation? Why is the federal government discouraging car makers from making cars that consumers want? Whose interests does this administration serve?
22
@Bill: This is solely about Trump's oversized ego, nothing else: Retaliation against the automakers who defied him. My next vehicle will be from one of the four.
The Editorial Board is also duty bound to draw attention to same thing happening in the largest democracy in the world where police, investigative agencies, income tax department are harassing and imprisoning political opponents and media critical of the ruling party. The scale dwarfs what is happening here in US
1
What gives California, or 4 auto companies the right to negotiate federal regulations independently. California, and a few auto makers have no authority to negotiate for the federal government, or the industry. I immediately thought this was illegal. Trump should give the industry a choice, his regulations, or Obama’s. California has no authority to negotiate federal standards, absolutely none.
They didn't negotiate federal standards. They negotiated California standards.
44
@Sqwerdon standards lower than the ones proposed by the Trump Administration. If the Obama Standards stay, they negotiated a deal lower than federal standards. California, not the auto companies have THAT right.
2
@Jay
You really need to learn something about this subject. CA has the authority to set its own standards and has had for decades dating back to the days when they had huge smog problems in the state. Many states follow their lead and the auto industry because it doesn't want to create chaos by selling two different sets of cars has used these as the basis for emissions standards. It's been accepted practice for decades. A classic case of facts on the ground creating their own laws. Now Trump to the general horror of the auto industry (not just these four corporations he's attacking) want to change the status quo. It's very doubtful he'll succeed but in political terms it's a loser at various levels. It's hard to believe the supine Republican party isn't uneasy about this and it's not going to play well with voters who are overwhelmingly in support of action to combat climate change.
43
Taking America from the standard of the world serving as an example to others to a Banana Republic in less time than it takes to develop and bring a new car to market is the living and lasting legacy of President Donald J Trump and the enabling Republican party.
53
Europe and the rest of the world are heading to more hybrid and electric cars, China is leading the world in solar/photovoltaic power while America looks back to coal and oil. America should be looking to the future not the past. It will lose out.
50
This is not the first time that the anti-trust laws are used as a tool of intimidation. In 1890, Congress adopted the Sherman Antitrust Act. The Sherman Act forbade conspiracy in restraint of trade. This Act was used against the American Federation of Labor and other unions accusing them of conspiracy and restraint of trade.
4
If the MPG for cars and trucks is reduced, every driver will need to use more fuel for any given use. This means commutation costs go up as well as transportation costs for nearly every product the consumer buys. It is thus inflationary and every consumer and business will feel the pain. Every business with the exception of the oil companies who will see a surge in sales and profits.
Scary times.
27
@ken vote Trump out of office and the problem is solved.
Most perplexing about these lawsuits, is that it appears that no one in Justice or the Trump administration or the GOP have children or grandchildren. You would think that the same folks that so “right to life” would be align themselves with policies that will insure clean air for generations to come. One could argue that the Trump administration is actively participating in wholesale child neglect, if they knowingly pursue any action that leads to toxic air quality. What am I not understanding here?
Do these same people let their kids ride bikes without helmets and let their kids take candy from strangers? Of course not; yet let’s increase the odd their children's risk of having compromised respiratory systems. Sounds about right.
21
Years ago on an airplane (yes, consuming lots of energy per mile) I overheard someone talking about how unsafe small, efficient cars were, basing this in part on having seen an accident where a small car was crushed by a semi. He advocated for his big car/truck preferences for personal safety.
I see this person as behind Trump, to keep his options open to own and use and consume fuel in a larger vehicle. Freedom for many in Red states means the freedom to drive a gas guzzler into the foreseeable future and gas up with cheap, low-taxed gas. This is notwithstanding substantial safety improvements in small energy efficient cars.
It will be interesting if not frustrating to see this antitrust case progress - I am hard pressed to see a per se violation here, and there is abundant support for this being reasonable. If Trump/DOJ are to attack CA for having its own stricter laws, it seems this is not the fault of the auto makers.
8
Real antitrust enforcement should be easy. Prohibit any company from buying any other company. After all, the Supremes say corporations are people. Owning them must be slavery.
Think how much more productive research and development and investment there would be if a company couldn’t just buy up a competitor. Think how much real competition to invent the next big thing.
16
"Antitrust law grants the government broad authority to police anticompetitive practices..."
Four automakers want to compete with other makers building vehicles with reduced standards. Trump is thwarting this competitive urge. Trump is putting his thumb on the free market scale again. I hope the people who voted for him at least recognize that our president is using the power of the federal government to squash innovation. We have gone through the looking glass and now have turned our backs on the very thing that has made America great over the last two centuries i.e., technological innovation.
18
And yet Pelosi continues to dither and enable Trump's high crimes and misdemeanors by refusing to launch impeachment proceedings. Brazenly corrupting the justice department for political ends is only one in a long, long list of offenses for which Trump not only belongs out of the white house but, likely, in prison. Every moment that Trump's attacks on democracy go unchecked - and I don't mean unTweeted against or uneditorialized against but unchecked through the actual exercise of congressional power - they become more normalized, their results more firmly established as the status quo, they acquire more legitimacy and Trump, himself, becomes more and more powerful. When will enough be enough? Apparently, never. Trump himself boasted that he could shoot someone on Fifth Avenue and not lose support among his base. To all appearances he could do so not be impeached, either.
9
@David
I completely agree. The incoherent, doddering Nancy Pelosi is invisible as Trump, through BLATANT corruption, destroys our democracy and country. The 79 year old Nancy Pelosi is very wealthy and comfortable in her San Francisco mansion, so why bother to do her job.
I believe quite earnestly that administrations like Trump’s - he is not alone: Boris Johnson (UK), Doug Ford (Canada)- are not out to support any given industry or corporation, but to destroy the public good that regulation of these entities has historically inspired. The result would be a vaunted “levelling of the playing field,” or, more accurately, a return to a primal state of survival of the fittest in an unregulated jungle. Their brand is chaos from which certain players are poised to emerge triumphantly while others founder.
Trump rails against the automakers because they are ostensibly betraying him. In his world, corporatists fall into line in order to make more money in the now regardless of social or economic cost in the future. Rarely, they demonstrate pragmatism of this sort. Clearly, this shows that Trumpism has a finite shelf life when its customers rebel.
The automakers know that the public will punish their participation in Trump’s plan by buying environmentally friendly vehicles from other makers, thus destroying their market edge. They believe that human caused climate change is a genuine event. Other industries will follow suit and Trumpian ideologies will fail.
519
@Marcus Brant Trump and his fellow "destroyers" (we know who most of them are) will stop at nothing less than the destruction of the world as we know it. The most troublesome part of this observation is that it was only a few weeks ago when Trump looked skyward and said "I am the chosen one." That is probably what Jim Jones said to his thousand followers right before they committed mass suicide in Guyana. Trump has far more power at his disposal than Jim Jones ever had.
123
@Marcus Brant
You don't get it. Nobody is telling the car companies they can't sell low emission cars.
The problem if when they cut a deal not to lower prices by selling a different, cheaper version. They aren't being altruistic. They are rigging the market for profit.
2
How is it rigging the market to produce a better product for the market?
The thrust of the administration’s argument is that technological innovation is anti-competitive. That doesn’t pass the laugh test.
118
When Obama was President, I had considerable trust that he possessed the requisite decency, intelligence, dedication, and compassion to pursue policies in the best interests of all Americans—and that trust was largely extended to those he took care to appoint to serve in his Administration.
With Trump as President, a paler than pale imitation of his predecessor (and every other man to occupy that office), I have anti-trust. He, his anti-Justice Department, and the entirety of his revolving-door Cabinet cannot be relied on to pursue policies in anyone's interest but their own and those of their fellow plutocrats.
Lady Justice, avert your eyes.
840
@David J. I firmly believe with scientific certainty that Trump World and the current GOP are togther and separately existential threats to whatever truly makes Nations and Peoples great.
They undermine modernity, truth, ethics, and secular non-ideological reason and rationality.
They rail against things that truly advance health, prosperity, equality, fairness, serenity, liberty, peace, and tranquility for the greatest part of "all" possible.
They have World Views and drives associated with forces we fought (often at great sacrifice) against and thought we beat down sufficiently.
They have warped the fairness and reason of rule by the People so that their minority World View prevails.
They have internally differing intellects and thought patterns and charms and talents - a Bannon vs. a Trump vs. a McConnell, etc., but they all point away from liberal modern democracy and toward autocratic unchained plutocracy. The GOP's in particular tinged with theocracy, elitism, and social demagoguery.
It is NOT that "they" are technically always wrong or not ever "the better choice - again technically. Like M and H did in Europe circa 1930 they have their good points. So do amphetamines as H could testify.
But here is the rub - THEY WILL DESTROY YOU DIRECTLY AND INDIRECTLY! They will take you/family/associates down!
And if the 58% - Conservative - Progressive - in between - that I think has the psyche to see the dangers they pose do not en masse VOTE D 2020 etc. we are sunk!
75
@David J. I agree - and it is not just Obama, it includes most presidents, as flawed as they could be. Trust was what they called on to help us believe they were putting us first, not last on their priority list VOTE!!!
24
@IAmANobody: In a word, Trump and his followers are GROSS. Their crude and cruel attitudes towards the less fortunate, bullying nature, and selfish greedy..."I go mine, now you get yours!" attitude is destructive and invariably ill informed.
19
Wait a minute, I thought the GOP was the party of free enterprise. I thought they were selling let "free enterprise" address any environmental problems that exist. So much for that...
726
@rd "Free"? You've got to be kidding. All this "enterprise" is going to be very, very expensive.
19
@rd
They also supposedly champion states rights.
55
@rd The GOP has never had any genuine values. Conservatives HAVE no ideology, other than "Anything liberals want is bad."
They're for State's Rights, except when the States do something that goes against their party platform. They're for the Free Market, except when a company does something that goes against their party platform. They're Pro-Life, except when you're talking about poor people, sick people, brown people, inmates on death row and people who are not Christian. They're for gun rights, except when people of color are the ones bearing arms (See: Mulford Act, 1967).
The entire conservative ideology is a sham. These people don't have any values, they just parrot whatever politically convenient line that Moscow Mitch is feeding them this week.
43
We in California have the right to regulate our air quality. Some of the worst air in the U.S. is right here in the San Joaquin Valley, and some of the highest rates of childhood asthma also.
We set those standards in the 1960s, the auto companies complained but you could not register a car in California if it did not have the smog controls. People tired bringing in cars from out of state, but had to retrofit them.
Mercedes will regret this when they can not sell in California, for Germany to tell them to ignore our air quality rules is criminal. This is not just a global warming issue, it is a health issue in our state. The attorney general can also be impeached.
857
@David Underwood Yes. I agree. It’s not just a global warming issue, it’s a health issue in California and in every state. Why don’t Trump supporters want to breathe clean, unpolluted air? Why are they against drinking uncontaminated water?
276
@David Underwood,
"We in California have the right to regulate our air quality."
You certainly do. Besides, I thought "states' rights" was the GOP holy grail. For abortion, "stand your ground" laws, etc, they can't get enough of states' rights. But I guess that's only for when it's politically convenient.
162
Mr. Trump and his family should be obliged to drink polluted water and breathe dirty air every day. If pollution is what makes America great, they should welcome the opportunity.
What’s so creepy is that every Republican Senator is silent - even those that voted for environmental legislation in the past. And, that the DOJ is now apparently in the business of settling political scores. No wonder Trump envies Viktor Orban. I’m sure he’d be happy to lock up his critics without trials.
America is not immune to a fascist takeover. Only precedent-shattering voter turnout for Democrats- even ones people dislike personally, can save our nation from going over the edge.
162
How is this anti-competitive? Consumers have many options in the automobile marketplace. Antitrust laws come into play when consumer options are severely limited to the point of giving producers monopoly pricing power. Agreeing to make cleaner, more efficient cars does not give these four monopoly pricing power. What if buyers want the better cars and will gladly pay a few dollars more for them?
That is what Trump is afraid of. He is afraid that these manufacturers, by offering the public what it wants, will force their competitors to likewise produce similar vehicles to maintain market share. This is how free market capitalism is supposed to work. What Trump is trying to do is impose Soviet style forced obsolescence to keep legacy industries going.
The Soviet Union collapsed. Someone should remind Trump of that.
966
@Bruce Rozenblit So Bruce that is a great analogy. I never thought of it that way. Between coal/oil deregulation you are correct he is trying to keep alive proven obsolete practices. Deregulation saves money for companies while it will create more expenses to clean it up for "we the people"
52
@Bruce Rozenblit the " social costs of producing a product like an automobile should be reflected in it's price. The company that makes them should recognize this, and yet they struggle to avoid it. My next car, will be a volkswagen, and hopefully Toyota will start making electric pick up trucks. Maybe we should outlaw gas golf carts. To the trump admin " Do your Job"
28
@Bruce Rozenblit:
This is about saving Chevy and Cummings, who coordinated in abandoning their smaller sedan lines in lieu of larger SUVs and Pick Ups and <20 mpg. You know, those "contractor sized" trucks that have never seen a job site and ride your rear in traffic to show manliness. Those current business models are incompatible with the 2026 standards. Chevy made this decision, let them live with it; no bail out this time. This is government favoritism, not competition or advancing public health. BTW, I'm a Subaru and VW owner, both of which greatly out compete American-owned quality control (Subaru is assembled in IN, VW in Bavaria).
26
This "Justice Department" is an absolute farce. Every attorney in it is a disgrace to the profession.
12
Lame, but it could work. There are plenty of people willing to buy vehicles that muck up the environment if it saves them any money at all. It's stupid policy because it guarantees more expense and real losses of property, habitat, and human lives, but in the future.
8
@Casual Observer mortgaging your children’s future...does it get more selfish than that?
This article exemplifies the duty of a free press envisioned by our founders in the constitution. Keep it up!
21
@John Casana It is not a game.
And free press is not an exception of the founders of the American constitution.
They got the idea from European philosophers.
This thing from Americans that the world started in 1776 is embarrassing for its stupidity .
And the US press is not particularly free. It is very conservative.
Read the European press if you can read French or German or Italian. Much better written, much better thinking.
I have said it before but will repeat it again.
Forget impeaching T, just vote him out.
But do bring impeachment proceedings against Barr Devos and other admin officials on the grounds of obstructing justice conflicts of interest and other appropriate grounds. Barr certainly would want to preserve what little remains of his prior reputation and others might be concerned for their futures. Devos probably doesn't care and will retire eith her yavhts and billions.
9
@expat Can appointed Cabinet members be impeached? I don't think so, although to be fair I'm not 100% sure. Either way, every one of them immediately disappears the minute Trump leaves the White House.
What really has to happen is these criminals need to be criminally prosecuted for their corruption and willful destruction of this country, once they are no longer protected by their positions
This s so perverse, it's hard to articulate the frustration with the fact that the US government is increasingly moving towards the practices of a banana republic where the will of a dictaor prevails over the rule of law.
10
The DOJ, NOAA, the EPA, ad infinitum; when will America decide enough is enough?
15
Anyone with integrity and dignity has long ago left this administration. We now have the crew closest to Trump's heart. Lawyers, bureaucrats, sycophants, and pretenders drunk with power and without a clue. This is what a fawning nihilism looks like. Not pretty - and not much longer.
11
@jim morrissette don’t forget the relatives.
1
@jim morrissette If the NYT was doing the job of investigating real stories with the same effort as giving traveling details about Sicily or Albania, the public would be better informed than with those superficial opinion pieces that lead to nothing .But of course this will not see the light .
What will be left of the Justice Department when Barr and Trump have contorted it to their unscrupulous desires?
It’s a shame shared by all Americans.
8
Anti-trust administration now means that the public cannot trust the administration. The criminality is plain to see for anyone not averting their gaze.
10
Trump and his spineless republican enablers are intent on killing this planet. Down the road we will have justice. Crimes Against Humanity: Guilty on all counts.
9
"The investigation is an act of bullying, plain and simple: a nakedly political abuse of authority."
More grounds for impeachment--not only of Trump but Barr as well. Hypocritical Republicans who tout free market economy until it makes Trump look like the lying dolt that he is.
9
Another piece, DOJ, of the American patchwork crumbles in the ethically challenged trump administration. Everything he touches truly does die.
10
Although Barr gained some notoriety under George H.W. Bush he was largely unknown to the general public when Trump appointed him as “his” Attorney General. Now, after having tried to denigrate and redact the Mueller Report out of existence in favor of executive power, attempting to give himself more power in applying immigration law according to Trump’s wishes, and now with this current spurious antitrust investigation allowing the DOJ to be weaponized in order to carry out Trump’s never ending vendetta against “blue” California, and global warming in general, Barr seems determined to top the list of the worst AGs this country has ever seen. He has succeeded beyond his and the president’s wildest dreams.
17
@Susan Barr makes Sessions look good....think about that.
How many businesses out there are quietly saying to themselves "We have had enough of this guy"? There won't be a public rebuke of Trump. There won't be business leaders openly suggesting that people not vote for Trump. They will quietly just go about their day to day activities and pull the lever for someone else in November 2020. I mean....it's not like they lost money during the Obama years. In fact Obama bailed out the automakers. How many are starting to see Obama was headed in the right direction with climate change and health care? This isn't just about California. Do you think places they sell cars to overseas are interested in Trump's way to help the fossil fuel industry or do you think they are interested in cleaner, more efficient cars? So who will China or India or anywhere else buy their cars from? You just can't make different cars for different places. So business leaders have to ask themselves if keeping Trump for another 4 years is really 'good for business' or not. There is an easy way to get out of "Trump's Protection Racket". No one has to get hurt, here. Just vote against Trump and it all will go away.
10
Four years is too long. When are we going to impeach?
4
Am I gaslighted enough that it's perverse and ironic that I think there is something reassuring that corporate power can't stop this menace? I mean, weren't we all told corporations really ran everything and had all the real power?
So what are we to think? "trump" really does have this power? These automakers are really shaking in their boots?
Who exactly is it that cheers this on? The dudes that burned rubber in their Ford F-150s with the MAGA flags?
3
The emperor’s minions continue to do his bidding and prop his belief systems while the US population largely remains complacent and thus complicit.
No room for refugees. Interment camps. Cancelling primaries to diminish democratic process. Enacting policies that exacerbate climate crisis risking lives of future generations. Protecting the use of automatic weapons against fellow human beings.
Have you no shame?
5
@FWHS the answer is clearly “no.”
Remember when the consensus was that William Barr would be a pillar of probity and rectitude as AG, and bring some adult competence to the Trump White House? Guess again. His zeal for turning the US into a rightist authoritarian theocracy, first by ensuring the continuing flow of ardent conservative justices and judges onto the federal bench, has perverted any sense of professional objectivity and impartiality he may have had (which all along was less than people imagined - after all, he was a Boyden Gray protege out of college).
7
Isn't it time we do something about this? Of course if we march for our freedom and civil rights t will order his hence men to mow us down and they will get away with it.
3
Maybe Trump wants to have it both ways and have cars run on coal
5
All involved should refuse to cooperate, stall, sue, sue again, delay and obstruct just like the president. They have the power along with CA to shove this down Barr and Trumps throats and I am waiting for it to happen.
16
And we should all buy stock in and cars from the companies that are acting in the public interest to produce cleaner cars.
4
I’ve become comfortably numb.
6
"If the Justice Department wants to get serious about antitrust enforcement....."
I had to laugh when reading this. The DOJ under Barr is nothing more than trump's enforcer. Organized crime at its finest.
8
This will not stand.
1
We must maintain hope and keep fighting for our republic and our planet.
3
The automakers know that Trump's days are numbered. Why doesn't the Justice department?
5
Once Trump politicised the DOJ, it was just a matter of time until the DOJ was used against his political opponents.
This is classic dictatorship behaviour.
Next step is to start using the DOJ against journalists and opposing politicians.
Don't think it can't happen here ... because the groundwork has already been laid .
(remember "lock-her-up" ?)
13
The pace at which Trump is morphing and subsuming our government into the Trump Organization has increased tenfold in the last six months. Unfettered by threats of non-existent consequences, with a compliant Republican Party and a weak Democratic one, he has accelerated his consolidation of power. We are, as a country, almost completely under the control of one man now and the trajectory is so fast now that by November 2020, there will be nothing left to save. I don’t see the ballot box solving this crisis, because if a Democrat wins, Trump will declare it invalid, backed now, apparently, by even a compliant military, as evidenced by Politico’s terrifying report on planes being forced to refuel at airports near Trump properties, at a great cost to taxpayers, while money pours into his properties from the servicemen forced to stay at his hotels (and most likely from kickbacks, too).
9
@Frau Greta the Dems are shamefully weak.
Trump needs to resign. Case closed.
4
There is no justice in our Justice Department. Under Barr it has become “The Enemies of Trump Enforcement Police”.
4
We all thought Trump was scary, then Barr came along. He is downright bone-chilling.
5
This is a blatant abuse of power.
Not to mention the ultimate hypocrisy: our government using its muscle to dictate how corporations run their businesses.
Tea Party - O - Tea Party - wherefore art thou Tea Party?
(Oh yes - too busy shining his shoes...)
6
@Ladybug The TEA Party was always a racist sham. They claimed to care about budgets, but somehow they all just disappeared the moment a black guy was no longer President. Who cares how big a deficit Trump runs, who cares how much he increases the national debt by. He's not black, so the TEA Party couldn't care less about anything he does.
This is just so wrong. And this farce needs to stop!
5
Just one more reason to vote the un-American republicans out of office in 2020.
March
Register to vote
Vote in 2020
8
The most pernicious monopoly in the US is the Republican Party.
12
It's like Trump wants to ruin everything.
316
@David Appell I wish his mother and father had paid more attention to him when he was young so we wouldn't have to now. He is still a sad child.
16
@David Appell. You mean like he's evil and facilitates the evil actions of his followers and cabinet. Yes, it's true! By extension does that make the Republicans evil too? To the extent that they support him, the answer is "YES".
23
@David Appell
Trump already is. Think Tax Reform, a scam, Better Healthcare under him, another scam . And that is just for starters.
16
I'm 73 and marched in my first protest the month after Trump won the election in 2016. I got so depressed and could barely drag myself out of bed for days. Soon I got mad and decided I was going to fight back and joined the local Democratic Party. It was very therapeutic because I met so many good people that feel as I do about this horrible Administration. I realized I wasn't alone and found a great group of people.
Now three years later it's 2019, I still carry signs, join protests, voter canvas neighborhood or gave out political buttons, bumper stickers, try to connect with my friends, family, and neighbors about voting or there's many small things to be involved
In like mailing flyers, setting up posters and yard signs, etc.
Joining the local Democratic club was the best thing I did for me changed all my frustration into positives steps by helping Democrats get elected. I am still appalled on a daily basis about the corruption and lies in Washington but I am pushing back as much as I can.
I am very optimistic because of all the people and groups I talk to are organizing many voters and Democrats and are passing on the activists training to their friends, coworkers, church, etc, if you are feeling frustrated come out to your local Democratic Club and you will be welcomed by some like minded people.
Joining my Democratic club helped me and now I'm helping and giving back to my Democratic Club. I proudly call myself an Activist for my Democratic Party.
13
Under Trump and Barr, the DOJ has become a parody.
7
It’s okay Mercedes, give it a few more years and no American will be able to afford your cars anyway.
9
Why is the lead enemies? NYT sets this up as a conflict. Opposition does not mean enemy. In this case, it is intelligent opposition to a demagogue.
2
Anyone else need further convincing that one dare not displease "The Dear Leader"? How much longer will Congress dither on an actual impeachment proceeding?
5
This is something one might expect in an administration run by Erdogan or Putin. Attorney General Barr should be impeached for this blatant misuse of the powers of the Department of Justice.
15
This whole thing is so ridiculous: Americans are convinced that making fuel-efficient cars is prohibitively expensive. That's just not true!
The automakers already have the technology, there are many solutions (including SMALLER cars!). Over here in Europe, where gas is very expensive (about $7.50/gallon in Germany at the moment), the government mandates and the people want fuel efficient cars -- and the automakers deliver them.
My own car, a VW Polo bought 1 year ago, gets about 63 mpg on the highway and 44 mpg in city driving, or an average of 53,5 mpg. So it is not the case that the technology does not exist or is too hard to implement. The idea of setting 37 mpg as the goal for 2025 is frankly ridiculous.
26
If the electorate does not throw out the Republican Party in 2020, the people will suffer and lose freedoms gained over four generations. Already unions have been decimated, retirement had healthcare insurance stolen, social security and Medicare on the brink of failure due to lack of funding, and now they are going after the very air we breathe and water we drink. Wake up America!
19
This matter could backfire against Barr. There is a lot of good environmental stuff that business don’t do because of the antitrust laws. One expert notes that fixing prices on some goods might help save the rain forest, but companies won’t discuss it because it appears to be an antitrust violation.
Arguably, there needs to be a public interest exception to the antitrust laws. Presumably, that is what the auto companies will argue here. And if they win, that will be a big deal. The private sector will surely pay a whole lot to clean up this mess. Giving them the power to work together would help them deal better with competitive incentives to pollute.
4
Will it ever dawn on Americans that the system of government they take such outsized pride in is deeply flawed? How many glaring examples are required to shake that unthinking certainty in America's exceptionalism. The president has proven to be completely above the law. Unindictable. He has shown that the Justice Department is just an extension of his personal will. He is happy to bully agencies into providing official cover for his own obvious errors, even relatively insignificant ones. He is unchallenged in avoiding Senate oversight of important appointments by leaving acting individuals in place indefinitely. He can take billions from multiple agencies to fund a project in open defiance of the will of Congress.
Two things demand attention. Will Americans ever register the gaping chasm between their idealized view of their system of government and the dark spectacle of present reality? And second, given the lengths Trump has already gone to game an evidently defenseless system, how much further will he go to subvert the 2020 election?
31
Yes, thank you. It occurred to me that the administration is overturning and fighting each boundary that has been set because any environmental regulation is evidence that there is global warming, or that species are in danger of dying out, or that a chemical harms us or other living things. In an utterly transactional, objectified world, life in its vast variety, is the enemy. Life is larger than any one person, and that is what they cannot bear.
12
If auto companies cooperating together to agree on a common standard represents illegal anticompetitive behavior, doesn’t the same logic apply equally well to software companies working together to form agreed standards on security or other best practices? In some very limited way the security standards employed by the internet increase costs by adding unnecessary overhead. Will the Trump Administration force us to abandon online banking and e-commerce in the name of promoting fair competition?
13
Is it the duty of the Inspector General to examine undue influence? Our lawmakers should request Inspector General to investigate.
19
I completely agree with you on this.
But where were you when Obama was abusing the power of the presidency to punish political opponents via the IRS?
Citizens need to give their Congressional Representatives the backbone to stand up to the President of either party and prevent this country from becoming an autocracy. Executive orders should be curtailed and power should be put back in the hands of Congress, which however dysfunctional, represents the people.
2
@GBJ
Wrong, wrong, wrong. Conservative groups were not targeted.
59
@GBJ they did investigate the so-called IRS targeting and found nothing. A nothing burger. put it to rest.
9
@GBJ Better review that case. Should we talk about Trumps interference with mergers or the emoluments clause? Besides curtailing the powers of the executive branch overturning Citizens United would be a good start.
6
It has been almost 3 years of thinking it cannot get worse. But it does. Trump treats the government the same way he dealt with his foundation, only that a judge cannot order the dissolution of the government.
Trump also orders the Senate like its boss (successfully) and gives his ignorant opinions when judges doing their jobs sentence against the president's wishes (not that successfully ordering them, yet).
I just read that Gorsuch is publishing a book stressing the separation of powers and how important it is for the Republic. Gorsuch told a journalist that most Americans cannot name the 3 branches of government. It would be very much appreciated by the minority who does understand the separation of powers if he takes a short ride to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave and, lecture Trump about it. In very simple terms, please. And, use drawings with a Sharpie.
Otherwise, it might not be enough to " ...wheel out the statue of Lady Justice and replace it with a bronze marionette." But we would have to switch the Great Seal to a gold image of Trump. My educated guess is that the Cabinet and the GOP will not object,
38
@Aurace Rengifo: Does Gorsuch understand the separation of powers. No. He, and the ultra-right wing majority on the Supreme Court, have been rubber-stamping just about everything the White House and Congressional vomitories can spew out. The right will cite the court's decision on the ACA as evidence to the contrary but that decision which did whittle away parts of the ACA was neither broad nor inclusive, i.e. the doors to do away with it remain ajar.
And there are reasons why Americans don't know the three branches of government: until Obama's election white Americans could not have cared less about government at all--everything was hunky-dorey. For blacks and other minorities knowing the three branches is a meaningless exercise--especially today when the lines separating those branches are very blurry and getting erased one step at a time by the Trump administration and an obsequious Senate.
1
You can't expect justice from the justice department. You can't expect environmental protection from that agency. You can't rely on the investigators at the FBI. You can't rely on the intelligence of those agencies. When crooks are at the helm, the honor of an agency goes with it.
73
Four automobile companies – one American, two German and one Japanese – worked hard to improve their vehicles enough to meet the stringent emissions standards of California, the state where more vehicles are sold than anywhere else in America.
The corrupt Department of Justice under William Barr then conspired to charge those companies with criminal conduct under U.S. antitrust laws for good engineering and for respecting the environment, both of which activities apparently are classified as crimes by Mr. Barr, the consigliere for the Don, Mr. Donald Trump.
We’ll have to wait to find out who else in the Trump administration is getting paid bribes and by which companies the bribes are being paid in this scheme.
Right now, the usual suspects for having paid the bribes are the big players in the fossil fuel industry.
100
A dictator drunk on the smell of unbridled power draws people like himself to his aid. Over time, he is able to bend the machinery of each government agency to his will. When he has captured the Department of Justice and bends it to pursue people and companies he perceives as impeding his power, the nation is in very serious trouble indeed. Republicans in Congress — all obeisant to the smell of unbridled power. And the Democrats can't seem to understand that when a person like Trump has gained access to presidential power, if he isn't stopped (by impeachment), he gains the power to do more damage to democracy every day until it is very hard if not impossible to depose him. The Republican Party avoiding primaries -- wait til we see all the tricks they pull out in the next election. They've fully revealed their intent to play as dirty as they can get by with.
92
@Anne Sherrod
They'e always played as dirty as they could (and then some) at the national level.
5
And you can’t seem to remember that the majority of Congress is, for now, Republican, the party of criminal inaction.
4
Trump is attempting to prosecute American businesses for not polluting. Deregulation and the support of free enterprise are no longer the goals. Pollution itself is the goal.
It used to be about saving money. But Trump loves pollution so much he wants to make companies spend more to increase their pollution output. This behavior would be too outlandish for a cartoon supervillain, yet somehow it's what America has to put up with in real life.
45
@Ryan Think Alabama.
Absolutely correct. And actually, more than one Trump apparatchik has expressed contempt for Liberty Enlightening the World.
25
At one point in his career AG William Barr was considered to be a legitimate lawyer. His behavior shilling for Criminal Trump is beyond appalling. It's time for stand-up lawyers to speak up and call him out. This is not normal.
96
@Markymark no, it’s on the way to a dictatorship with the passive acquiescence of the American people.
6
@Markymark I’m still trying to figure out what’s in it for him? He could have retired as a respected lawyer and decided to trash it. Can’t be the money. If he wanted fame he will be remembered in unflattering terms
3
Interesting. I thought Republicans believed in states' rights. Apparently that only applies to Southern states and then only to certain "peculiar institutions."
119
@Dieterich Buxtehud Conservatives never had any genuine values. Conservatives HAVE no ideology, other than "Anything liberals want is bad."
They're for State's Rights, except when the States do something that goes against their party platform. They're for the Free Market, except when a company does something that goes against their party platform. They're Pro-Life, except when you're talking about poor people, sick people, brown people, inmates on death row and people who are not Christian. They're for gun rights, except when people of color are the ones bearing arms (See: Mulford Act, 1967).
The entire conservative ideology is a sham. These people don't have any values, they just parrot whatever politically convenient line that Moscow Mitch is feeding them this week.
2
This action by the Trump Administration against civic-minded automakers, along with the myriad rollbacks of environmental regulations and other detrimental actions, reeks, to me, of something more sinister than simply complying with the agendas of his oil and gas cronies, or fulfilling some campaign promise.
It is truly, truly puzzling. It seems he is purposefully leading an effort to hasten climatic catastrophe. But why? To what end? I let my Imagination run wild for a few moments and conjured up a far-out, but not implausible fantasy. To wit:
Is it beyond Mr. Trump’s twisted mind, to enter into an evil compact with Putin (remember Helsinki and other instances) and Xi (secret comms) to boost climate change and create catastrophic chaos in the world more quickly so as to allow the three largest standing military machines on earth to render humanity into autocratic subjugation?
I really doubt the outcome of that scenario — but . . . there has to be something in what little mind he has left that is driving this dangerous and absurd agenda
26
@JMS Normally I would say that is far-fetched, but having witnessed the aberrant actions of this administration, I too wonder what the endgame might be. Is there a strategy beyond dismantling anything Obama achieved? Will 2020 result in a free and fair election? Will the results be respected? Can the country come together and reject divisiveness? We are in uncharted waters here and in dire need of responsible leaders to steady this ship of state.
36
@JMS You know, I wake up in the morning and I go to bed at night trying to figure out what that trump guy and his minions are up to. That it has to be more sinister is insanely ridiculous, owing to the fact that we reside in the United States of America! There are over 325 million of us and only one of him - well yes, and of course add in those minions - Barr, White House Admin, White House Staff, the Republicans, etc., Fox News, his "BASE", white supremacists, etc. So now I guess we have to start subtracting those mortals from the noted U.S.population, and now THAT group is growing
And this is what gets to be blood curdling...how could that or any number follow and embrace such an evil, heinous ideology?
It continues to push towards the front of my forehead that it has happened before. And that is important - it has happened before so we should be prepared to STOP IT, NOW! Why aren't we? Why are we just standing around, repeating over and over "This just cannot be happening!"
So JMS I wish to heaven I could just sneer at you and shout you are crazy! Instead, JMS while sobbing and shaking, I'm so sorry that I think your conjured fantasy is not a fantasy.
1
@JMS
You're thinking chess, he's playing checkers, badly. Don't look past his bruised ego.
1
Bottom line 1: $$$. Trump's oil and gas friends want to keep America driving lower efficiency cars for as long as possible regardless of any environmental cares. Dollar over country is the politics of the new republicans. This is what America is like with a failing cut throat business man at the helm.
Bottom line 2: Trump's failing ego is very stubborn and will never back down from denying climate change (unless he can check a box and get a tax break or free $ for repairing storm damage at his failing coastal resorts).
31
@Pablo
What about the Saudi? I do not think Trump is only try to please America oil and gas.
2
You put too much thinking to his actions. He is a crook, working for money, to be paid to him by our enemies, to destroy our country.
4
@Pablo kleptocracy.
Threatening the environment? Coal lobbyist Andrew Wheeler and the rest of Trump's oligarchic foxes are completely destroying the EPA hen house. These environmental gangsters are out to savage the US water and air standards, while also despoiling our national forests and all federal lands.
Thank goodness they only get one more year to wreak their environmental havoc, before we vote in 2020 to take back our beautiful country from these natural resources parasites, and make sure that it is again safe for future generations of Americans.
31
President Trump's Injustice Department is on a roll, defying subpoenas, investigations of former employees fired by the President. This new AG Barr is just what the boss ordered, go after anyone or anything that opposes some god awful rule change or disagrees with the President.
Just hope the four automotive companies fight back, we need them.
33
I'm seeing a pattern here. Actually I've seen it for a while.
8
If this doesn't wake up the Republicans to the danger they have put themselves into, I don't know what will. A GOP president is attacking the auto industry, the people who write all those campaign donor checks and hire all those ex-pols as lobbyists. To paraphrase Mel Brooks, "Gentlemen, it's time to protect our phony-baloney jobs!"
Those Republican Congressmen (they're just about all men), better start taking to heart that old union song" Which Side Are You On?
20
Hard to believe, isn't it? We've crashed through the looking glass, folks. 14 months until the election and counting...
15
With this feckless Administration, led by its intrepid “leader”, clearly falling apart at the seams and spiraling towards defeat in 2020, one has to wonder whether this antitrust nonsense is but an example of the types of cynical ploys it will desperately resort to in the coming months. Americans can expect a ramping up of more and more outrageous, unprecedented executive actions going forward as it purposefully attempts to create an atmosphere of calculated chaos on numerous fronts to wear out its opponents, while discouraging the electorate from even participating in voting. The Fake President, fearing defeat at the polls followed by multiple indictments, will resort to his treacherous fallback position of purposefully sowing discord and resulting hopelessness.
25
Can conservatives continue to pretend they have any principles, and that they stand for a free market. Their hypocrisy is laid bare. They don’t want free markets or free peoples, they want corporations and people to do what they want them to do .
It has always been clear to me this was the case , now it should be clear to everyone.
This is true for states rights and corporations.
30
I expect Trump's Justice Department will now go after toy manufacturers who dare to make safe toys...safer. Imagine making something better than required. How un-American.
16
And the Republicans on The Hill reacted to this...how?
Merely imagine the spluttering Republican rage had this strong-arm tactic been employed by President Obama's Justice Department.
The GOP's silence on the Trump administration's predations against the environment and the automakers, who, for once, thought about their consumers' comforts.
As has been said and written in many places here, this is how fascism takes root: by government edict and control. Today, the automobile manufacturers and selected states (blue California, e.g.); tomorrow, another industry that either ignores or ducks under a Trump edict. And these are just the ones that we know about.
No. 45 is ruining the country. And the Republicans stand by, silently applauding. By doing or saying nothing.
46
It would be outstanding if the NYT Editorial Board could run for president, staff the Supreme Court, and serve as our Congress. I know none of these are possible, but the thought helps me go to sleep at night, while bracing for the 'now what did he do' morning news.
5
I used to believe that these actions by trump were motivated by his desire to benefit the 1%. I have come to believe that he is acting out of a pathological, irrational obsession to undo every action that President Obama took.
32
@barbara schenkenberg Trump is unhinged.
It's because we have a cruel parody of a federal government.
423 days, one minute, 44 seconds 'til November 3, 2020.
17
How can Trump threaten the environment?
Bernie already has a solution for the problem.
Trump is just waiting for the drug companies to ramp up production on birth control pills, so he can send them to poor countries and solve this once seemingly unsolvable global warming problem.
2
@Bhaskar. He'd do better sending birth control to rich countries, which produce far greater emissions per capita than poor countries. The truly poor don't drive, fly, consume lots of electricity, or eat lots of beef.
3
This is where the rubber hits the road.
This is the concrete damage done by Trump. Not nasty tweets, presidential smirks, tantrums or Mussolini jaw-thrusting. This isn't the venal posturing or world class pouting that constitutes most of Trump's media coverage.
This is letting the dogs out, a full-on assault on hard-won progress in the face of denial, deceit and dissembling by energy conglomerates and their GOP toadies fighting their dinosaur-status.
This is a crime against earth, a perversion of justice that isn't law enforcement but political sabotage.
This is William Barr's Justice Department and Trump's minions doing their ideological dirty work -- not for the automakers who want to be part of the solution -- but for Trump's oil and gas donors who see the planet as plunder and profit.
Recovery and restoration come 2020 won't be enough. There also needs to be retribution.
49
@Yuri Asian Barr should be tarred and feathered.
This sort of thing has happened so many times over the last few years, the story should no longer be what despicable thing the Trump administration is doing, but why they are able to get away with it.
16
Oddly enough, after all the insanity of Trump's presidency, all the ridiculous headlines and too absurd to be believed stories, I think this is the tipping point, where the republic either falls or somehow manages to right itself. This is a blatant politicization of the Justice Department that is far more harmful than those that have come before. Trump is using it to attack his political enemies and the rule of law is lying down to let him.
Where is the Republican party? Where is Susan Collins and her famous conscience? What about Lisa Murkowski? Mitt Romney? Is there no one willing to stand up against the abuses of this president? Will they all just sit and watch as a spoilt, angry, petulant toddler lights our republic on fire? 2020 can't get here soon enough, and when it does, vote like the future of this country depends on it. Because it does.
47
This act of authoritarianism combined with the continued assaults on the air, water and soil of America are acts of madmen who appear intent on destroying not just the environment, but who also intent on destroying sanity, government and the future.
Who would wage such an inexplicable attack on civilization except for someone in the throes of deep Presidential mental illness ?
We have met the enemy....and he is the President of the United States of America.
November 3, 2020.
184
As a young man I immigrated (yes, legally) to the USA. I left a Banana republic where El Presidente appointed his family members to important jobs, and used the government agencies to intimidate opponents, and help cronies make money.
Today, I live in the USA, a Banana Republic with the same type of El Presidente. Too bad I left, it was warmer back where I left.
46
Why?
Why reduce fuel standards, and in addition, go after those who voluntarily elect to raise them?
Why?
We need some mental-health professionals to weigh in on this
10
Every day we hear of a new outrage coming from Trump but we're told we can do nothing about it until we vote him out in 2020. Meanwhile, he corrupts everything that was once thought of as good and beautiful about our country. He's set himself up to avoid the 25th Amendment by having a cabinet comprised of mainly "acting" members who cannot derail his insanity. We have a Republican Senate too cowardly to stand up to him. Perhaps they're afraid Trump will sue them or tweet something mean about them. We have gotten ourselves into a mess with Trump. He's leading us into perdition and November 2020 may not come soon enough to save us from his madness.
21
@Linda And a democratic House too______ (political? timid? cowardly?) to stand up to him in a meaningful way. Speaker Pelosi is quoted as having said this week that the public isn't yet supportive of impeachment. But the so-called impeachment "inquiry" so far is ineffectual and isn't educating the public about reasons to support impeachment.
Sounds to me the heavy hand of a socialist/communist/planned economy to me. Did Bernie do that?
1
Does anyone remember a time long ago in a universe far, far away, when the Republicans formed a cottage industry to make up tales of the Obama administration using the heavy hand of government to punish political opponents? Their new cottage industry is inventing denials of actual abuse of powers by Trump. #shameless
25
I thought the GOP was for states' rights over federal fiat.
15
Welcome to Trump's Oligarchy/Kleptocracy which will get a lot worse if he gets re-elected. Trump is willing to use the Justice Dept and EPA to enforce his political will rewarding his cronies and punishing those who defy him. Trump is taking his clues from Putin and will try to rule as a dictator using the enormous power of the federal govt to ride roughshod over anyone who defies him. Martial law awaits any dissidents that march vs him and he will order the military and police to bash heads of those who defy him. Trump is drunk with power now if re-elected he will try to shut down the free press and jail political opponents and Barr as his sheriff and McConnell will cover his romance with Puti as he has sold out as well.
11
so basically what you're saying here is that the DOJ has become trumps' "enforcer", the de facto law firm of trump inc., a criminal organization unto itself, refusing to even acknowledge trumps' crimes against humanity, turning a blind eye towards his abuse of power and become a weapon to be used against his political enemies and those who disagree with him.
13
@Steve You are correct. I fear that might mean he is now a dictator, in fact, not just in desire.
Flipping a coin to decide who was the most contemptible, Trump or his minions, I found the coin had come down neither heads nor tails but stood on its edge.
Truly a brave new world we now live in.
9
Trump reduces everything to lowest common denominator. Who is he grandstanding for? Of course it is those who are blinded to the risks to our environment for a few extra bucks in car expense.
In the fifties we had leaded gas and pollution you could cut it with a knife, but for better air standards we invested in unleaded gas and catalytic converters. It is called progress and concern for ourselves and our children. But Trump if he could would turn us back to those bad old days, but in frustration will stop the country from taking the next step, the salvation of our world ecosystem.
Many of us would like to have the right to see that better world, but it is the rights of those who do not care about our planet that Trump plays to and in the end we will all suffer for it no matter how climate change denierswill keep their head in the sand.
3
The current Department of Justice, under the rein of Trump's personal attorney William Barr, is indeed a disgrace, willing to pursue clueless and cruel Trump's xapricious whims punctiliously. Under ordinary circumstances, who wouldn't want the full cooperation of Car Companies to minimize fouling the environment...by trying to increase the mileage with less fuel? What Barr is doing is no less than 'criminal'...by accelerating climate changes and it's noxious effects. That Trump is shameless is one thing; but Barr ought to know better!
7
Is it permissible to file a RICO suit against our own Executive Branch?
16
The party of the Tenth Amendment now looks like one straight out of the Duma.
6
Trump abuses power not only because he is dead set on a given issue, but because he likes to abuse power.
And as we all saw with Jeff Sessions and James Comey, Trump fancies the Justice Department an extension of his presidency...
12
For the Justice Department trying to subvert anything that helps mitigate climate change
Imagine a Category 5 hurricane sitting over the Fla Keys for 2 days. Corruption at least is understandable. Plotting your own demise is not.
7
So what?
It is evil. Sure.
But it will be lost in the chaff of identity politics and its wars.
And the evil will be written off because absent the identity politic fanatics no trust or believes what they say.
Win win for fascists.
I hope the whole crowd of it is not fascism because no state capitalism crowd is paying attention. Which is another vain hope.
This move by the Trump administration makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. Donald Trump needs to get over the vendetta he holds for Barack Obama and his accomplishments especially when this irresponsible action by the justice department threatens the environment.
7
@Jean W. Griffith Think Alabama.
Another lurch in an autocratic direction. By a demagogue and his party who could not care less about democracy. They worship in the church white dominance, simper before power and greed. What happened to the vital longstanding tradition of a nonpartisan independent DOJ? Not hard-coded in the Constitution or in law. Democracies fail like this.
5
Trump and Barr are using the Justice Department in virtually the same way Nixon used the IRS to punish his perceived political “enemies”. That became one of the bases for impeaching Nixon and led to his resignation rather than face a likely adverse vote in the Senate. Similarly, Trump should be impeached for his blatant political use of the Justice Department to attack California and the four auto companies which are merely seeking to improve the environment: something Trump bitterly opposes. Trump has adopted a role worse than Big Brother and Dr. Strangelove combined.
19
Dear lord. Add all of this to all the emoluments violations and conflicts, including government agencies directly enriching Trump via his otherwise-money-losing properties, the ongoing collusion with hostile foreign powers, essentially shutting down the FEC to stop it from preventing foreign election interference, the trade wars, and the open and notorious racism, sexism and homophobia. At what point (a) can we just come out and call the Trump regime what it is - completely corrupt, lawless, and authoritarian; and (b) will the House Dems officially commence impeachment inquiries?
36
It comes down to money - money to be made by strums, his Administration, lobbyists, oil companies.
This proposal is anti-competitive- Robbing companies who have been developing, at great cost, how to meet stringent standards. Now the bar is lowere, allowing other organizations a way in to grab market share on the cheap.
Who is benefitting from thing? Somebody always is getting a benefit in this Administration.
11
The companies, which are now people after all (at least for political donations) can always claim that polluting the air is contrary to their religion. It's worked before.
23
Enough with the anonymity of Justice Department lawyers who are doing so much damage to our system of government. Name them. Make them personally and publicly accountable.
187
@Dana Zhukova
Most of the Justice Department lawyers are likely sick to their stomachs, and wonder daily about their respective career choices to join a formerly respected government department. The problem nearly always lies with management. Attorney General William Barr is the culprit, not his subordinates.
26
@Stop and Think any accomplices are coconspirators.
6
So how is getting over 50 miles a gallon a bad thing; especially if automakers agree to provide it?
57
@logic. How? Ask the Koch brothers (dead or alive) and their band of merry fossil-fuel climate change deniers.
6
These auto executives are not doing this for altruistic reasons. They know where the markets are going, they know where the profits are and they do what's right for their industry, not Trump's presidency. The truly shocking thing is that the only reason Trump had for reversing the law in the first place was because Obama got it done. Even when the people Trump is, presumably, fighting for tell him they are fine with the law he still wants to change it not for industry reasons, not for economic reasons but for nutso reasons. Honestly what sane man would want part of his legacy to include polluting the air we breathe and hurrying global warming? Only a madman would want that, and a rusting wall, to be what people remember you for.
107
@Rick Gage you are correct - we own one Tesla and our son just bought one. I am looking at another one or definitely a hybrid when I buy my next car. Most of my friends already own hybrids or are planning to get one for their next auto purchase, This is a trend that is already in motion and making cars that consume more fossil fuel (or ethanol for that matter) is just not in the cards for most of us. But it fits with donor-pleasing and "MAGA" in Trumps mind, and clearly the rest of his government are happy to pile in behind him. Are there no whistle-blowers in Justice ?
4
I think threatening the environment is the point. The purpose is to punish environmentalists psychologically and therefore give Trump's base another thing to cheer about. These days environmentalist keep seeing depressing news which means out there far right wingers are cheering. Whether it is increasing greenhouse gas emissions, destroying habitat of animals, increasimg pollution from industry, reducing protection of drinking water, etc the far right wingers have finding much to cheer about and that means votes for Trump.
43
@Bob Depolrables. For real.
"...an attempt that would surely end up in court."
Which is precisely why Mitch McConnell is loading up the courts with as many right-wingers as can be found, in life-time appointments.
68
Until now, i've resisted drawing parallels between Huxley's most famous book, 1984, and what the Trump junta (think Military-Industrial Complex...) seems to be trying to achieve. However, this latest straw on the long-ago-broken camel's back has tipped the balance. Truth is lies. Ignorance is strength. Just believe the lie until it becomes the truth. He who controls the past controls the future......seem familiar? Now we have the spectre of the State being used by Big Brother to settle personal beefs - millions and millions of dollars is to be spent trying to bully companies who are actually acting in the public's best interest by voluntarily choosing to increase the fuel economy of their vehicles, despite Trump wanting them to NOT do this, in order to throw his billionaire cronies in the fossil fuel industry, even more bones than he's already sent their way. Thank goodness for Supreme Court leader Roberts: even though appointed politically, he is showing some backbone every now and then, and will hopefully keep the very worst Trump dissasters from coming to pass, long enough for him to be booted out via an almost-democratic process.. providing the Russians can be constrained a bit better than in 2016, of course!!
30
@Joseph Ross Mayhew
Agree with you 100 percent. Except Huxley wrote "Brave New World". 1984 is Orwell.
6
Your points are excellent, and kudos for you contribution to the debate — but the book was by George Orwell.
6
@Joseph Ross Mayhew --Sorry, friend, Huxley did not write "1984." But I get your point.
5
I sincerely hope the auto companies tell DOJ to go pound sand. I see no way any antitrust action could hold up in court. It’s also obvious that, from an economic standpoint, following California’s regulations just makes sense. It’s by far the largest, most lucrative car market.
50
There may not be standards for presidents, but attorneys have ethical obligations. The antitrust claims must be scrutinized to see if they have ANY basis in law, or whether the lawyers should be sanctioned.
50
@John What ethical obligations did the DOJ attorneys display when they stood before the Supreme Court and lied to their faces about the citizenship question for the census? If they were the only automakers there might be a case, but the options are to many
3
Just politics, with no thought about the good of the country, which unfortunately is a common dilemma for politicians who only seek their own power and glory, and in the wake of it leave us all the consequences.
21
I would like to know why the Justice Department decided to investigate possible anti-trust violations by the auto companies and the State of California, but they have not to my knowledge investigated violations of the emolument clause in the U.S. Constitution by the Trump family. The latter seems prima facia to provide a much stronger case than do the possible violation of the anti-trust laws.
431
Because, perhaps, ordinary folks, all around continue to BE
complacent, when not complicit.
Choose to be willfully blind.
Choose to be willfully deaf.
Choose to be willfully indifferent.
Choose to be willfully ignorant.
Choose to wait for someone else to solve a solvable problem.
Choose to be silent, when targeted outrage is needed.
19
Look at Asia. They are showing us how to protest against repressive regimes. Myself included, we just write about it in the Times.
21
@Patrick. We're too lazy and complacent to actually go out and do something about a problem. It's much easier to just be outraged on the internet and then go back to sleep.
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Antitrust is a description of our present government. Whatever they do, don't trust them to have the public interest in mind.
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It is astonishing, especially in light of the hundreds and thousands of blatant antitrust issues which go ignored.
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We need to stop yammering and start meeting, planning, marching, dialing, and most importantly voting for Democrats.
Taking positive action will make us all feel better and stronger, and get the blue wave rolling.
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This is what we have come to under Trump. After decades of the government trying to get automakers to lower emissions, now the government is investigating automakers for wanting to lower emissions too much!
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Lives are in the balance regarding this policy. Are the administration's intentions ecocidal?
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I hope Democrats are taking names, so when they do eventually capture the Senate and the Presidency again a lot of people complicit in Trump's corruption will eventually be investigated, fired, and even sent to jail. And that includes people in the DOJ who seem to think they are above the law, and allowed to distort it.
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@David Put Barr behind bars for life.
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I suspect (hope) some of the longer term Justice Dept staff is taking names and drafting the indictments that will be filed in 2021.
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And we were reassured before his confirmation that William Barr would be a fair and impartial Attorney General. That was a good one! Just add his name to the long list of characters in the Trump Administration that will be mentioned in U.S. history books as embarrassing anecdotes. Why are so many so eager to go down on the wrong side of history? The money they are pocketing must be incredible.
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@Dave G - Anyone who believed that hadn't read the news during the 90s. William Barr orchestrated the Iran Contra coverup. This is par for the course for him.
And no, I don't even think it's money, just power. Consolidating power in the hands of the GOP and keeping it away from Democrats. I think the GOP has been on this path since Gingrich and the rot started to set in with Reagan, but they've really shown their true colors in this administration. Party before country to the point where the country can burn as long as they're the ones pulling the levers.
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@Jennifer You're right, it's not really about the money. But there are different ways to get power -- they choose the gang of GOP, Heritage Fdtn, Koch Bros etc. because the racism and misogyny is at the root of it all. Always has been, if we'd be honest about it.
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A little political trivia: There are more Democratic survivors of the 1994 mid-terms in Congress today than there are remaining Republican members of Gingrich’s revolutionary class.
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I am no antitrust expert. I am a retired corporate bankruptcy lawyer, but do the antitrust laws even apply to an agreement when one of the 50 states is a party? It would seem odd to me that the antitrust laws can bar the states from making agreements with private entities.
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@James Ricciardi A good point. As to municipalities, immunity is waived only when they are acting outside of the governmental sphere. Clearly California's regulations fall squarely under traditional police powers.
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@James Ricciardi
The deal with California itself is no doubt fine legally. But California can't give private companies a dispensation to violate the law in other parts of the nation. That's presumably the issue.
In fact, I imagine that the inclusion of a state entity in the agreement is exactly why they thought they could get away with it. There are no doubt some interesting policy and legal issues here.
But the only angle that interests this paper is, of course, attacking evil Trump.
Usually he's incompetent. But today they decided he's omnipotent.
The agreement only involves cars sold in California, not other states. California has been able to set its own standards on cars for over 60 years.
Btw, federal CAFE standards set a floor, not a ceiling, on emissions. It would be impossible to violate the standards by voluntarily exceeding them, which is why the Trump Justice Department isn’t making that argument.
You don’t see a problem with politicizing the Justice Department and using it to punish your enemies?
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Has anyone noticed that climate action initiatives all include big tax increases + higher costs to manufacturers and higher costs to consumers, leading inevitably to lower sales and reduced employment, which is to say, recession? Democrats when asked about this have two answers: a) never mind about that, we're saving the planet, and b) government subsidies. Leaving a) aside, who pays for b)? Taxpayers. And when will climate action show any payoff at all? Oh, maybe in a century or so! At the same time, aren't we presently hearing muffled leftist hysteria about a possible recession this year and how intolerable that would be? Yet the very climate initiatives they think so vital would give us not only a recession, but a long lasting depression. When questioned about this Democratic candidates reply with glib comebacks like eat less meat, have fewer children, ride bicycles. What's going on here? Have Democrats gone mad; do they think voters have?
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@Ronald B. Duke, I assume you are aware that some of the biggest investors in green energy are the energy companies? The companies that own coal mines and oil wells are investing in solar, wind and extensive research into other forms of alternative energy. Believe me, big business will not lose money on green energy projects.
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@Ronald B. Duke While your argument might be true in the short run, the ravages of deepening climate change will make those projected cost increases look like a speed bump. What will it cost to save all of Florida and New Orleans and Galveston and Houston when they are under water from rising sea level changes? How many more power plants will we have to build to cool down our homes when most of the country has a climate like Phoenix? Where will we find the fresh water to grow crops because it won't be falling from the sky? How about those costs?
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@jim—agreed. R.B. Duke, the energy companies only care about profits, they want the green changeover on their timeline, and with them retaining their market share. No pesky start-ups wanted or allowed.
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Republican Bible: "States Rights" for guns, abortion, voter suppression, etc.
When it comes to an issue that may affect their donor base (fossil fuels), the federal government takes precedence.
Add the "Obama Did It" factor to seal the deal.
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@cretino
"Republican Bible: "States Rights" for guns, abortion, voter suppression, etc."
Democratic Bible: "Human Rights".
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@cretino
Also in the Republican Bible: "Let the people decide." But only as regards to Supreme Court nominees nominated by non-Republicans. The people don't get to decide if they want to vote against Trump in a primary election.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/06/us/politics/states-drop-republican-primaries.html
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"This summer, for example, the department blessed T-Mobile’s acquisition of Sprint, a deal likely to harm mobile phone consumers and workers, and to impede innovation."
That reminds me — T-Mobile recently quit selling me a phone contract that was virtually complete when I declined their request to let them share my private information with unspecified third parties.
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@polymath And all it took was a bunch of T-Mobile executives staying at trump's DC hotel
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If justice still means anything, I doubt that the Trump administration will win the court challenges that it has pursued. But this isn’t just about punishing four auto makers who struck the deal with California. First and foremost, it’s a continuation of Trump’s legal modus operandi for decades, filing suits to try to wear down opponents; the difference now is rather than hire private attorneys, Trump has a stable of attorneys in the Department of Justice. But more significantly, it’s a warning to other auto makers not to join the four, because if they do, it will unleash opposition not just in CAFE standards, but in every other policy issue that the administration has been pursuing. Just like China facing opposition in Hong Kong, the preeminent concern is erosion of authority away from the immediate focus.
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@Ockham9 - Exactly. California was in negotiation with other big automakers both foreign and domestic to get them to sign on. As the article mentioned, Mercedes Benz was warned off by the German government when they heard about the antitrust case. No corporation wants to get tied up in DOJ litigation. I'm sure they'd love to kill the deal but more than that, they want to make sure no one else joins.
Newsom stole a march on the White House - if news reports are correct the Trump administration didn't even know the California agreement was in the works - and Trump will always take revenge against someone who made him look stupid. Not only did California and four major automakers defy him, none of his corporate buddies even bothered to clue him in about it. The latter probably bothered him more than the former.
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@Ockham9
" . . . Trump has a stable of attorneys in the Department of Justice. . . . " Don't those lawyers have any morals or pride in their profession?
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@Alan Flacks no, that why they work at DOJ.
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Seems like each day Trump takes an action which will make our planet less & less inhabitable for his children and grandchildren.
The window of opportunity to effectively mitigate Climate Change is rapidly disappearing.
The remaining 2020 Democratic Candidates will try to cut & paste portions of Governor Jay Inslee’s comprehensive & actionable Climate Change Mitigation Plan.
We must go with the real deal.
The winning Democratic Party 2020 Ticket: Warren (save the economy) + Inslee (save the planet)! W+IN 2020!
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@Phillip Stephen Pino Please don't take our Governor. He is running for a third term.
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@Phillip Stephen Pino
Warren won't save the economy.
Her structural changes will cause chaos resulting in massive disruption to our economy.
Her "plans" to redistribute the wealth (tax the rich) in order to pay for everything else makes her the enemy of the rich and corporations and banks.
All those retirees with portfolios that have increased 25% under Trump? All those seniors living (longer and better) on their 401ks? All those putting away money in their 401k retirement plans? Trump's campaign will target them as victims of Warren's "destruction" of capitalism.
Her candidacy means another four years of Trump.
@Mimi My monthly stipend decreased this year. My father the CPA who worked hard, saved, and invested saw most of it go to caring for my mother with Alzheimer’s. Most of the wealthiest think they should pay more.
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Antitrust law grants the government broad authority to police anticompetitive practices.
-----------------------------------
"Collusion" among four automakers will put the ability of other automakers who may follow the Federal guidelines in jeopardy, and will constitute anticompetitive practices.
The automakers could have decided to produce more fuel efficient cars that give mileage in excess of Federal mandate but did not have to "collude" by signing an agreement with California.
I am not sure why you do not get it.
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I’ve met 1Ls that have a better understanding of how the antitrust laws have been enforced over the last century.
Most people don’t understand antitrust issues and the ever developing interpretations that must be applied, especially when new technologies are at issue, but if you’re going to make a comment then at least make an attempt at pretending you know what you’re talking about.
How don’t people understand that trump is a good president, because trump is a good president. Right?
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@PiSonny. No collusion, just a business agreement that works for all parties concerned. If you want to see collusion, look at what Trump is agreeing to do for wealthy special interests in exchange for contributions to his fake reelection campaign. I am not sure why you don’t get it.
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Because this is not some secret, restricted, anticompetitive agreement. CA has the statutory right to set its emission stsndards, and these companies are willing to play by that market's rules. Moreover, any other company is free to do so. This investigation is not even part of some consistent policy on regulation. It is an attack on the notion of regulations which do not further particular Trump policy goals driven by the fossil fuel industry. The collusion continues to take place in the White House.
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It’s very difficult to discern, from all the conflicting possibilities, what Donald Trump, the powers within the GOP and conservatives in general are trying to accomplish at present.
The president appears bound and determined to commit political suicide. His behavior has become aberrant to the point of being alarming on a daily basis. Dropping nuclear weapons onto hurricanes?!?Is he setting up an insanity defense for the trials that are likely to follow his chaotic term of office?
On the other hand, Mr. Trump may view the indignity of four more years as THE absolutely unfit president, to be more than he can bear.
What about the hapless republicans in the senate and congress? They’ve allowed their detached-from-reality president to make a mockery of the U.S. constitution, the rule of law and the normal operations of the federal government for so long now, and to such an unbelievable degree, I suppose they can find no plausible path that leads to them standing up to Trump. The possibility of the GOP heavyweights making stand for God and Country, faded quite a while back. To try now, would amount to no more than a sad gesture.
And the rank and file American conservative —> the thoughtful folks who haven’t been wearing red hats and bleating what they’re told, when they’re told to, what of them? A disaster of the first order has torn their once-stable world apart.
To escape the insanity and stigma of Trump and the Trumpists, it’s likelybtime to start a new conservative party.
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"an insanity defense"
I'd call it an insanity offense.
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@Tom W - you can bet that when it's all over, they will deny they ever supported him, and carry on like they believe it.
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We the public can only vote them out on 2020. But before then, we have the power of our voice and our purse. The brands that don’t get on board, the brands that chicken out should all be boycotted. No Toyota or GM cars for me. And now maybe no Mercedes as well. And I’m in the market for one soon....
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All I can do is replace my Mercedes with a different car as soon as my lease ends.....
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@BR It takes approximately 50 barrels of oil to make a new car. If you want to be more environmentally conscious, buy a used one.
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@BR Those other companies, if they have a shred of decency, should sign on immediately. I am not certain that Toyota didn't sign because they know they will hit the targets anyway, I'd need to do some research, but MB should get on board, and so should GM. I plan to buy the best luxury hybrid I can get next car, or a fully electric. I am tired of putting corn fuel as a subsidy to GOP-district voters in my cars.
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Antitrust is archaic. There is no way to prosecute an antitrust case these days, both because of the time it takes and because of the variety of ways that companies can avoid being fingered on any particular offense. What we need is progressive corporate taxation that needs to be paid. In that case, the market can decide whether it is more profitable for shareholders to break the company into multiple smaller growing pieces or whether to continue to grow as a single entity.
Get the government out of the decision; get the courts out of the decision; let the markets make the decision; but make sure that we are not overrun by a tiny number of gargantuan corporations.
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@WJL -
Before we abandon antitrust, let’s let Elizabeth Warren give it one last try...
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Aside from the climate problem, a government regulation to make a manufacturer produce a less efficient product seems straight out of "Alice in Wonderland", Do not blame Trump for being most peculiar for that is merely the way he is and none of us can be otherwise. The responsibility lies directly with the organization that placed him in power and that is far more serious.
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Why was Trump allowed on Ballot in first place. No filtering out of "an inexperienced politician, a TV star with dubious real estate experience" begs the real question. Cha Ching was first on this mans thoughts--Money Money Money. This election should've been legally challenged DAY One and never let him step into the Oval Office.
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@TWShe Said Cha ching was also first on the minds of the RNC. He’s been a cash cow for their coffers and with more and more leaving the party they will need the cash
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@TWShe Said Yes, I agree. The republican party should have said "no" immediately to trump as a candidate. That he rose to this level is an indicator of the level of corruption in the party. And, yes, it's always about money and power. They want to rule the roost and the welfare of the people and the plant be damned.
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What does collusion mean when it is in the name of the public good? If car manufacturers all agreed to install seat belts in the 1960s, how many lives would have been saved? Airbags in the 70s? Even if the four renegade car manufacturers are appealing for a sales advantage to those Americans who would like better gas mileage and a better environment, their cars will still benefit us all.
So c'mon now! This is the baldest, most cynical play to Big Oil yet. It is time for the country to unite behind Anyone-But-Trump and throw all the bums out.
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So easy to “open an investigation”.... so hard to prove a case in court on their tenuous theory of competitive injury. The former was a piece of cake; the latter will NEVER happen. The Trump Administration - which now, sadly, includes a partisan DoJ as a less than independent law enforcement agency - is retaliating against those who “misbehave” and sending a message to business that they should think twice before crossing this President. Unfortunately, they will achieve that near term objective without ever having to answer or otherwise be held accountable for their actions. Such is state of the rule of law in 2019!
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Contained within this discussion is a question begging for an answer: why was an inexperienced politician, a TV star with dubious real estate experience nominated for President? We may be slowly understanding the "how" (unfiltered social media, gerrymandering, new media, etc.), but the "why" of the question remains without an answer. What does Mr. Trump gain by this particular action, and who else will benefit?
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@et.al.nyc oil extraction industries, and maybe the Saudis benefit. Maybe even Russia because of the flows of oil around the world. Trump get donations from oil extractors, and maybe the others too, we just can't tell. That's the obvious reason for this. But why Justice is going along with it is a mystery. Even if Trump got 4 more years in 2020 the effects of this change could be reversed and the car companies know it. That's why they want to go ahead anyway.
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@et.al.nyc He was nominated for president because (a) he was on a reality tv show for a long time, and a lot of his base watched it; (b) his base is so disillusioned with the way they've been treated in the past 40 years that they were ready to vote for complete chaos; and (c) his base is a credulous bunch of fools who would believe almost anything, which Trump tested by floating his birther lies and finding that many Americans believed him. So he could lie and get away with it. And here we are now.
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@et.al.nyc - He never thought he'd win. I don't think he even thought he'd get the nomination. This was a publicity stunt, supposedly for some kind of political TV channel. He didn't realize the American people were dumb enough to take him seriously.
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The extent to which Pres Trump willfully ignores climate science and the WORLD'S consensus on the urgency of action, and continually rolls back any and all environmentally beneficial regulation (automobile emissions, methane emissions, light bulbs, etc) is staggering. This Justice Dept action is a farce, pure and simple. November 2020 cannot come soon enough.
Vote Out Every Republican. It's the only way to save our democracy, our standing in the world, and our planet.
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@Aneliese
Will the opposition's resolve hold when their 1st or 2nd choice candidates doesn't win their primary? Or will people just stay home and sulk, handing over RBG's legacy, the environment, immigration, etc. to this "Justice" Department?
We'll see... Trump supporters will show up, for certain. Can a fractured Democratic Party win against a united GOP that can overlook any lie, any nonsensical policy, any corruption? Or will "principles" overcome the political will needed to throw this administration and Senate majority out?
The polls gave Trump no path to victory last time. Can voters just ignore polls and resolve to show up this time, be it Bernie, Biden, Warren, Harris or Sponge Bob?
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@MIPHIMO
One reason Trump eked out a victory 2016 is because the polls showed Clinton would easily win and that Trump would not.
That "reassurance" led to (1) Dems staying home and not voting and (2) Dems voting third party. Both made these choices because they believed their votes wouldn't matter given the polls showing a slam dunk win for Clinton.
THIS is the phenomenon that must be avoided. 2020 looks better in terms of ousting Trump because there is no third party candidate (at least not yet). But all these polls showing the top four Dems beating Trump make me nervous.
Maybe the media should "guilt shame" those who want Trump out of office into voting.
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@MIPHIMO SpongeBob would be easily be a far more environmentally conscious president than the sad excuse now have.
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