GOP

There were some very fine people who stormed the US Capitol on Jan. 6 and they should not be prosecuted for trashing the heart of America’s government.

That’s a growing feeling among Republicans, according to a Pew Research poll conducted Sept. 13-19.

Pew found that only 57 percent of Republicans say it is important or somewhat important for federal law enforcement agencies to prosecute the rioters.

That’s a steep drop off from earlier this year. Nearly eight in ten (79 percent) of Republicans in March favored prosecution of the Capitol Hill mob.

Democrats held steady at 95 percent in favor of prosecution. Among the overall public support for prosecution dipped from 87 percent in March to 78 percent.

GOPers also want the media to ease up on their reporting of the aftermath of the rioting and ongoing investigations.

Sixty-five percent of conservative Republicans say too much attention has been given to the Jan. 6 uprising. Forty-one of liberal/moderate Republicans agree with that viewpoint.

The nation dodged the bullet on Jan. 6. Republicans may be outwardly cheering future rioters on the next time they seek to overturn the election results and squelch America’s democracy.

Have we no shame? Part of the so-called American Dream used to include the idea that children will be better off than their parents. That sounds like a quaint notion these days.

A report in the journal Science says the average six-year-old today will live through three times as many climate disasters as their grandparents did.

That assumes the planet continues to heat at its current pace. Today’s kid will witness twice as many wildfires, 3.4 times more river flooding and 2.3 times as many droughts as a person born in 1960 experienced.

Science called its study “intergenerational inequities in exposure to climate extremes.”

Wim Thiery, an author of the report, told the Washington Post: “Young people are being hit by the climate crisis but are not in a position to make decisions, while the people who can make the change happen will not face the consequences.”

Aggressive moves to reduce the use of fossil fuels can help stave off disaster.

The much-hailed Paris Accords’ goal of limiting warming to 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit is not worth the paper that is written upon.

The UN reported this month that countries have failed to live up to their climate pledges.

Greenhouse gas emissions are now projected to rise 4.9 degrees Fahrenheit by the end of the century.

Decision-makers have another shot at turning down the heat at the UN Climate Change Conference slated for Glasgow on Nov. 1-2.