Sometimes the business section of the paper tells you more about how political decisions are made than the stories on the front page. Take, for instance, the story about Harold Hamm, a name that’s almost totally unfamiliar, unless you read about the fossil fuel industry. One of Trump’s earliest backers with a donation of $2 million, he encouraged other industry executives to push for Trump’s election as President.
His partnership began early. In 2012, alarmed at the influence of climate activists, he began working to elect a president who would roll back regulations and limitations on oil drilling and fracking. As chair and CEO of Continental Resources, he has managed to get the Interior Department, which is supposed to protect our lands, to issue reports favorable to fracking, oil wells on parklands, and to open old coal mines. Who needs pronghorns, mule deer and endangered plants, anyway?
Worth over $16 billion –that’s with a “b” – and contributing to climate crisis deniers, environmental groups can’t match his financial power. “We’re in the era of abundance,” he is quoted as saying. Abundance for whom? Certainly not for the rest of the world, but at the age of 78, he’s not concerned about the future for our children, only making money – lots of it.
Prayer for the Day
The early blast of winter shows the beauty of your creation, O God,
For its starkness opens us to wonder as well as work;
Now past the midst of Advent, we consider uncertain futures
And pray that hope will bloom as the spring.to come.
May we be open to your Spirit and look to the future with resolve,
As did the Child whose birth we will celebrate.
In the name of the One who is our support,
Even Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.
Thoughts for the Day
BLM is jamming through approval of this poorly designed program without regard for proper process or for the integrity of this vital ecosystem and the people who depend on it, We’re suing to hold BLM accountable to federal laws and to prevent harm to resources and values that cannot be undone. The Arctic is an irreplaceable resource for people and wildlife and should remain that way for future generations.
Ian Dooley, Earthjustice attorney, on report during shutdown
BLM approved 4,483 applications for permits to drill on federal and Native American land between Jan. 20 and Oct. 7 — a 73 percent increase over the same time frame in 2024.
POLITICO, published 10/10/2025
With my voice I cry to the Lord;
With my voice I make supplication to the Lord.
I pour out my complaint before God;
I tell my trouble before the Lord.
Psalm 142: 1-2