Category: Domestic Affairs,

Dumbed-Down Security Briefings Still Too Difficult for Trump

On By peanutgallerynhIn Domestic Affairs,, UncategorizedLeave a comment

When Donald Trump was elected president, it quickly became obvious that the traditional national-security briefing a person in his position receives daily would be well beyond his zone of proximal development. The briefings were slimmed down in length, chopped up into easy-to-digest bullet points, and decorated with lots of graphs and pictures. Alas, the Washington Post reports, even the kiddie version of the presidential brief has proven too challenging. Now, Trump gets his briefing verbally.

…Also, Trump does not receive his verbal briefing daily, but instead “about every two to three days on average in recent months, typically around 11 a.m.” That’s when “executive time” ends and Trump has to turn off Fox News to listen to officials for a while, before he gets more screen time later in the day.

Perhaps not surprisingly, while the verbal method comports with Trump’s preferred learning style, he does not show very strong listening skills.

Dumbed-Down Security Briefings Still Too Difficult for Trump

Jeezus…..

GOP Cuban-American lawmaker defends Emma González from racist reactionary troll, Steve King

On By peanutgallerynhIn Domestic Affairs,, Local Interest,, Media and Culture,, Race,Leave a comment

Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) on Tuesday came to the defense of Parkland student Emma González after Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) shared a photo criticizing her.

…”Many #Miami homes also have Cuban flags, @SteveKingIA,” said Ros-Lehtinen, a fiery critic of Castro.

“That doesn’t equal support 4 Castro. Folks should learn about our community before criticizing a high school student.”

GOP Cuban-American lawmaker defends Emma González from Steve King | TheHill

hmmmm

New Indiana law requires doctors make women confess abortion history or go to jail

On By peanutgallerynhIn American Injustice System,, Chick Stuff,, Local Interest,Leave a comment

This truly is straight out of the Handmaid’s Tale. Indiana has a new law which requires doctors and hospitals to interrogate women about whether they’ve had an abortion when they are seeking “treatment for a physical or psychological condition that is in any way connected to a past abortion.” Any provider who fails to submit an “abortion complications” report to the State Department of Health “risks being charged with a Class B misdemeanor, punishable by up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine, for each instance of noncompliance.”

New Indiana law requires doctors make women confess abortion history or go to jail

My god….

Afghan war vet deported to Mexico and left ‘homeless and penniless,’ his Chicago family says

On By peanutgallerynhIn Domestic Affairs,, Military,, Race,Leave a comment

Ending a 16-month quest to stay in a country where he was raised and that he fought to defend, Miguel Perez Jr., a veteran who held a green card, has been deported to Mexico, where he has not lived since childhood.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement confirmed Sunday that Perez boarded an ICE Air Operations flight at Gary International Airport and was flown to Brownsville, Texas. There, ICE officers escorted Perez across the U.S.-Mexico border and turned him over to Mexican authorities.

Perez was deported without the customary warning and opportunity to say goodbye to his family. He had no money or clothes and was left in a border town on the U.S. travel warning list, advocates said. His family will fly to Mexico on Monday to help him gather resources and ensure his safety.

Afghan war vet deported to Mexico and left ‘homeless and penniless,’ his Chicago family says

What a fucking horrible thing to do to a veteran! Especially one whose troubles wouldn’t have started if the military was responsible enough to provide the post combat support he needed in the first place….

Washinton, NH: Small-town criminals, or so says the state

On By peanutgallerynhIn Granite State,Leave a comment

Washington, a charmingly scenic town about 40 miles west of Concord, boasts that it’s the first town in the brand new United States named after George Washington. Its picturesque common is, at 1,507 feet in elevation, the highest town center in the state, and its 1,100 or so hearty residents are scattered around nearly 50 square miles of rugged landscape crisscrossed with rural, often-unpaved roads.

Its Currier and Ives perfection, though, masks the fact that Washington is also home to a nest of criminal scofflaws headed by a ruthless gang leader, one Barbara Gaskell.

…After sentencing Gaskell to the 21st-century equivalent of a public stockade, state bureaucrats informed her and other town officials that a new election will be held at a date chosen by the state and that the secretary of state “will appoint an election monitor to directly observe all aspects of your conduct” in that election.

Yes, an “election monitor”! The sort of thing usually reserved for scofflaw nations considered unlikely to adhere to the law!

Katy Burns: Small-town criminals, or so says the state

hmmm

Judge rejects Trump request to toss lawsuit accusing him of violating Constitution

On By peanutgallerynhIn Domestic Affairs,, Money, Class, and Poverty,, UncategorizedLeave a comment

A federal judge denied on Wednesday a motion to dismiss a lawsuit accusing President Donald Trump of receiving improper payments from states and foreign governments — or emoluments — through his Washington hotel in violation of the U.S. Constitution.

According to court documents, U.S. District Judge Peter J. Messitte ruled that the plaintiffs, the state of Maryland and the District of Columbia, had legal standing to challenge Trump’s involvement with his eponymous company, but narrowed the scope of the suit to the Trump Organization’s business in the District of Columbia.

…The Constitution bars public officeholders from accepting payments or titles from foreign governments without approval from Congress, a clause designed to prevent officials from being corrupted.

If it withstands likely appeals, the suit could allow prosecutors — two Democratic attorneys general, Maryland’s Brian Frosh and D.C.’s Karl Racine — to seek documents from the Trump Organization on how much money is sent there by states and foreign governments, something that is not publicly known.

…If this suit progresses, it is sure to bring some history into the courtroom, since the plaintiffs are pointing to 230-year-old decision as part of their legal argument. According to the opinion released Wednesday, Maryland argued that the anti-corruption Emoluments Clauses in the Constitution were key “to its decision to enter the Union and that it retains the power to enforce those provisions today.”

Judge rejects Trump request to toss lawsuit accusing him of violating Constitution

hmmm

Trump ousts Shulkin from Veterans Affairs, taps his doctor

On By peanutgallerynhIn Domestic Affairs,, Military,Leave a comment

President Donald Trump fired Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin on Wednesday and nominated White House doctor Ronny Jackson to replace him in the wake of a bruising ethics scandal and a mounting rebellion within the agency.President Donald Trump fired Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin on Wednesday and nominated White House doctor Ronny Jackson to replace him in the wake of a bruising ethics scandal and a mounting rebellion within the agency.

…[Jackson’s] profile rose after he conducted a sweeping press conference about the president’s medical exam in January in which he impressed Trump with his camera-ready demeanor and deft navigation of reporters’ questions as he delivered a rosy depiction of the president’s health.

…Shulkin is the second Cabinet secretary to depart over controversies involving expensive travel, following former Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price’s resignation last September.

…[Shulkin] had agreed to reimburse the government more than $4,000 after the VA’s internal watchdog concluded last month that he had improperly accepted Wimbledon tennis tickets and that his then-chief of staff had doctored emails to justify his wife traveling to Europe with him at taxpayer expense.

…Shulkin had used a member of his security detail to run personal errands.

…The VA change comes as Trump is trying to expand the Veterans Choice program, fulfilling a campaign promise that major veterans’ groups worry could be an unwanted step toward privatizing VA health care. His plan remains in limbo in Congress after lawmakers declined last week to include it in a spending bill.

…Trump selected Robert Wilkie, undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, to serve as the acting head of the VA.

…The selection of Wilkie bypasses VA Deputy Secretary Tom Bowman, who has come under criticism for being too moderate.

Trump ousts Shulkin from Veterans Affairs, taps his doctor

hmmm

Ecuador blocks Julian Assange internet access, bars visitors

On By peanutgallerynhIn Domestic Affairs,, Media and Culture,, Privacy,, The Americas,Leave a comment

Julian Assange is now completely isolated from the world after the Ecuadorean embassy cut off his internet access and banned him from receiving visitors.

Ecuador announced over night that it had cut off the WikiLeaks founder’s internet connection at its London embassy after his recent activity on social media decrying the arrest of a Catalan separatist politician and calling a British MP a “snake.”

In a statement, officials said Mr Assange’s recent posts “put at risk” the good relations Ecuador maintains with nations throughout Europe and had decided as of Tuesday to suspend his internet access “in order to prevent any potential harm.”

Ecuador blocks Julian Assange internet access, bars visitors

Facebook’s ID Scraping Is Even Worse Than We Suspected

On By peanutgallerynhIn Privacy,Leave a comment

I started by taking a look at the Contact Info section. Incredibly, five of the first six contacts on the list were not my Facebook friends. Yet I had their names and phone numbers right there in my contacts. The name at the top of the list was someone I only met and communicated with, completely outside Facebook, for the first time last week. My contact with that person was via email on various devices and over the phone from my iPhone.

…When I called the first person on the list, they were surprised I had access to that information as, even though they had put their phone number into Facebook, they had only elected to share it with friends.

When I looked at their profile on Facebook, their phone number was hidden from me. Yet, it was available through my archived history. In fact, when that person checked, he had locked his account down so that the number wasn’t even available to his friends.

Facebook’s ID Scraping Is Even Worse Than We Suspected | Lifehacker Australia

hmmmm

Paul McCartney honors John Lennon at March for Our Lives

On By peanutgallerynhIn Domestic Affairs,, Media and Culture,Leave a comment

The former Beatle told CNN Saturday that he is participating in the New York March for Our Lives rally to honor his late, former bandmate.

“One of my best friends was killed in gun violence right around here,” McCartney told the news station. “So it’s important to me.”

Lennon was shot to death while walking home near Central Park on Dec. 8, 1980 by Mark David Chapman. Chapman, who pled guilty to second-degree murder, was sentenced to 20-years-to-life. Lennon was 40.

Paul McCartney honors John Lennon at March for Our Lives

awwww…
Way to go,  Sir Paul!

Jared Kushner’s Younger Brother Had Vowed To #MarchForOurLives. And He Did. | HuffPost

On By peanutgallerynhIn Domestic Affairs,, Media and Culture,, Money, Class, and Poverty,Leave a comment

Josh Kushner, the younger brother of …Jared Kushner, joined the “March For Our Lives” protest march in Washington on Saturday.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BgrtJxUHiNl/?utm_source=ig_embed

Josh Kushner made headlines earlier this month for donating $50,000 to March For Our Lives. 

…Kushner has described himself as a “lifelong Democrat.” In 2016, he said through a spokesman that he would not be voting for Trump.

At the Women’s March in Washington the day after Trump was inaugurated last year, Kushner was photographed in a crowd of demonstrators.

Jared Kushner’s Younger Brother Had Vowed To #MarchForOurLives. And He Did. | HuffPost

hmmmm

The Banking Bill Could Hurt Black Homeowners

On By peanutgallerynhIn Domestic Affairs,, Money, Class, and Poverty,, Race,Leave a comment

Today—50 years after the passage of the Fair Housing Act, 40 years after the passage of the Community Reinvestment Act, and a decade after the subprime-loan crisis—that black family would be 5.6 times more likely to be denied a conventional mortgage than that white family, a damning report released last month by the Center for Investigative Reporting found.

…Redlining and other forms of discriminatory lending practices remain a defining feature of the American housing market, and they have profound consequences in terms of wealth-building, equality, and equity.

…The legislation in process includes a number of technical changes that stand to put borrowers of color, mobile-home owners, and rural residents at risk. Chief among these is a change letting banks that make fewer than 500 mortgage loans a year report less data to the government on who they lend to and at what rates—data meant to help show whether financial institutions are discriminating against families of color.

…The Trump administration, for instance, has hollowed out the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development is removing its mandates for inclusion and consumer protection from its mission statement.

The Banking Bill Could Hurt Black Homeowners – The Atlantic

Sigh…

A Star Is Born: MLK’s Granddaughter At The March For Our Lives

On By peanutgallerynhIn Domestic Affairs,, Media and Culture,Leave a comment

Evoking her grandfather’s clerical technique of call and response, she said:

“Please repeat these words after me: Spread the word!”

The crowd repeated. Then she rhymed:

“Have you heard?”

The crowd repeated. Then she said:

“All across the nation!”

The crowd repeated. Then she said:

“We! Are going to be! A great generation!”

At each exclamation point, the crowd exclaimed back. Then Ms. King said:

I’d like you to say it like you really, really mean it!”

And then she repeated the entire sequence twice more, each iteration rousing the crowd higher and higher.

When it was all done, Ms. King said,

Now give yourself a hand!”

Let’s give her a hand. A star is born.

A Star Is Born: MLK’s Granddaughter At The March For Our Lives

warm fuzzies

Alton Sterling case: No charges for La. officers in black man’s shooting death

On By peanutgallerynhIn American Injustice System,, Gulf Coast Region,, Race,Leave a comment

Sterling, a 37-year-old black man, was shot to death July 5, 2016, as two white officers pinned him to the pavement outside a Louisiana convenience store where he had been selling CDs.The officers were responding to the report of a man with a gun. Officer Blane Salamoni shot and killed Sterling during the struggle. Officer Howie Lake II helped wrestle Sterling to the ground, but Lake didn’t fire his gun.

The killing was captured on cellphone video and circulated widely online, sparking demonstrations across Baton Rouge.

Alton Sterling case: No charges for La. officers in black man’s shooting death – CBS News

Apparently murdering black men is legal in Louisianan, as long as it is done by a police officer.

Cambridge Analytica is an ‘example of what modern day colonialism looks like’

On By peanutgallerynhIn Africa,, Domestic Affairs,, Media and Culture,Leave a comment

The firm’s work on Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta’s successful 2013 and 2017 election campaigns was described in the report.

“We have rebranded the entire party twice, written their manifesto, done two rounds of 50,000 (participant) surveys,” Mark Turnbull, managing director of Cambridge Analytica Political Global, said in the undercover video.

“Then we’d write all the speeches and we’d stage the whole thing — so just about every element of his campaign,” Turnbull added.

Cambridge Analytica is an ‘example of what modern day colonialism looks like’

hmmmmm