Giving the Bird to Trump

You may recall Trump's recent unhinged rant about how windmills are detestable because they kill birds.

But if it's bulldozers or pollution slaughtering birds, Trump doesn't care.

Across the country birds have been killed and nests destroyed by oil spills, construction crews and chemical contamination, all with no response from the federal government, according to emails, memos and other documents viewed by The New York Times.

Not only has the administration stopped investigating most bird deaths, the documents show, it has discouraged local governments and businesses from taking precautionary measures to protect birds.
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In nearly two dozen incidents across 15 states, internal conversations among Fish and Wildlife Service officers indicate that, short of going out to shoot birds, activities in which birds die no longer merit action. In some cases the Trump administration has even discouraged local governments and businesses from taking relatively simple steps to protect birds, like reporting fatalities when they are found.

“You get the sense this policy is not only bad for birds, it’s also cruel,” [Noah Greenwald, the endangered species director for the Center for Biological Diversity] said.

Cruelty is where Trump lives. Any policy that he can put into force, if there is an element of cruelty, know that Trump is reveling in it.

Spray DDT over a place where birds nest? As long as you can claim that you were trying to kill pests and that you really truly Scout's honor didn't mean to kill the birds, you're good.

Fortunately, there are companies and agencies that still try to do the right thing. But companies are largely amoral entities; they won't do the right thing unless forced. And Trump's never going to force them.