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Which 4 Republicans Voted Yes Today

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Which 4 Republicans Voted Yes Today

I Do Solemnly Swear That I Will Support And Defend The Constitution Of The United States Against All Enemies Foreign And Domestic; That I Will Bear True Faith And Allegiance To The Same; That I Take This Obligation Freely Without Any Mental Reservation Or Purpose Of Evasion; And That I Will Well And Faithfully Discharge The Duties Of The Office On Which I Am About To Enter So Help Me God

Mortality.

It’s something that you don’t really consider when you’re young. You can do anything. You’re invincible.

But as we grow older, we start considering that mortality.

It’s time we start considering the mortality of America.

I spend a substantial amount of time working in two different arenas – the world of law enforcement and the business world.

That travel that I referenced – both in the business world and supporting the LE world – has afforded me countless opportunities to work side by side with some of the greatest patriots in America.

My closest friends are either in law enforcement or either active or retired members of some of the most elite military forces in America. And from our greatest warriors to our everyday citizens… I can tell you the underlying fear that so many are thinking about – and that’s the seemingly inevitable collapse of society if we don’t make some monumental changes.

As a Christian, I believe we are in the middle of some serious spiritual warfare. But you don’t have to be a Christian to understand that the very soul of America is under attack right now. And the rapid erosion of the Thin Blue Line has us sitting on a powder keg.

Historically, if you look at the collapse of some of the greatest empires in the world, it happened from within. Simply put, it raises the distinct danger that America won’t be conquered by foreign enemies … but rather from domestic ones.

Economic issues

Environmental issues

Political issues

Mcconnell Among 19 Republicans To Vote For Infrastructure Bill Here Are The Republicans Who Helped It Over The Finish Line

A group of 19 Senate Republicans, led by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, joined the entire Democratic caucus in passing a $1.2 trillion infrastructure package on Tuesday.

The bill passed with a vote of 69-30, more than two weeks after President Joe Biden declared “we have a deal” with a bipartisan group of negotiators.

But the final bill included some noteworthy dissent.

Republican Sens. Jerry Moran of Kansas and Todd Young of Indiana were part of the bipartisan coalition backing the deal in July, but both voted against the bill on Tuesday, citing concerns about the national debt and Democrats’ plan to take up a $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation package after the infrastructure vote.

Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., was not present for the vote but said he would not support the bill even though he also was part of the initial bipartisan group.

What’s in the infrastructure bill? Roads, broadband and bridges: Here’s what’s in the infrastructure agreement

In the split Senate, the bill still drew support from enough Republicans to pass the chamber, even as they faced pressure from former President Donald Trump to not give Biden a legislative win.

Biden said after the vote on Tuesday that he called most of the 19 Republican senators who voted for the infrastructure bill to praise them.

Here is how the Senate’s 50 Republicans voted:

The Tree Of Liberty Must Be Refreshed From Time To Time With The Blood Of Patriots And Tyrants It Is Its Natural Manure

We are seeing groups here in America demanding open borders. Demanding the decriminalization of crossing into our country illegally.

At the same time, across our great country, we are seeing the CRIMINALIZATION of law enforcement. It’s gotten so bad in states like the People’s Republic of California and Connecticut that we’re seeing the crash and burn of morale in law enforcement.

We’re seeing agencies desperate for officers, because as more and more retire , we see a deficit in the number of incoming recruits. After all, why would you want to live a life of service when you’re just going to be attacked for that service?

We see political activists masquerading as police chiefs. We see them working hand in hand with liberal politicians to not only attack the rights of law-abiding citizens, but also to destroy the morale of their own departments. We watch as they flat out disrespect the oath of office they took and put officers in no-win situations.

If I were to design a road map for how to collapse America, starting with law enforcement, here’s what it would look like.

Capitol Police Chief Apologizes For Security Failures During The Assault Including A Delay In Calling For Guard Troops

The acting chief of the Capitol Police apologized to Congress on Tuesday for the agency’s extensive security failures on Jan. 6, acknowledging during a closed-door briefing that the department knew there was a “strong potential for violence” but failed to take adequate steps to prevent what she described as a “terrorist attack.”

Yogananda D. Pittman, the acting chief of police, also confirmed that the Capitol Police Board, an obscure panel made up of three voting members, had initially declined a request two days earlier for National Guard troops and then delayed for more than an hour as the violence unfolded on Jan. 6 before finally agreeing to a plea from the Capitol Police for National Guard troops, according to prepared testimony obtained by The New York Times.

In an extraordinary admission, Chief Pittman, who was not the acting chief at the time of the siege, told members of the House Appropriations Committee, which oversees funding for the agency, that the Capitol Police “failed to meet its own high standards as well as yours.” She added, “I am here to offer my sincerest apologies on behalf of the department.” Chief Pittman’s predecessor, Steven Sund, resigned after the riot.

Chief Pittman’s comments offered the fullest detailed account to date about police preparations for Jan. 6, when thousands of angry protesters, believing false claims that the election had been stolen, marched on the Capitol at the behest of former President Donald J. Trump.

List Of 17 Cowardly Republicans Who Voted To Break Filibuster And Allow Massive Infrastructure Bill To Come To Floor

2.2Kshares

The so-called “infrastructure” bill is expected to be around $1.2 trillion over eight years with roughly $550 billion in new spending, but details on key components were still being worked out. Some procedural steps still lie ahead before the final passage.

CNN correspondent Manu Raju tweeted about the 17 cowardly Republicans who voted this afternoon to advance Biden’s climate change infrastructure bill to the Senate floor:

67-32, 17 Senate Republicans voted to break a filibuster and proceeed to the bipartisan infrastructure plan. All Democrats voted yes. Measure expected to be on the floor for at least a week and bipartisan coalition will have to deal with amendment process

— Manu Raju July 28, 2021

“Clearing the Fog” clarified why this bill is not a done deal:

Just to be clear, the infrastructure bill has not been passed. 17Republicans agreed to break the filibuster, and allow it to come to the floor. It isn’t nearly over.

Just to be clear, the infrastructure bill has not been passed.

17 Republicans agreed to break the filibuster, and allow it to come to the floor.

It isn’t nearly over. https://t.co/7LcB7mw17d

— ClearingTheFog July 28, 2021

Save up to 66% on MyPillow products. Use promo code FedUp, and save up to 66%.

Conservative Fox News host Laura Ingraham also tweeted about the vote by the feckless Republicans who continue to sell the future of our children down the river:

Thom Tillis

Todd Young

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Despite Partisan Rhetoric At The Colorado Capitol Just 44% Of Bills This Year Passed Along Purely Party Lines

The analysis, the second such study conducted by The Colorado Sun in three years, once again indicates more bipartisanship in the Colorado General Assembly than might be expected

Sandra FishJesse Paul

Credibility:

This article contains new, firsthand information uncovered by its reporter. This includes directly interviewing sources and research / analysis of primary source documents.×closeOriginal Reporting

As a news piece, this article cites verifiable, third-party sources which have all been thoroughly fact-checked and deemed credible by the Newsroom.×closeSources Cited

This Newsmaker has been deemed by this Newsroom as having a specialized knowledge of the subject covered in this article.×closeSubject Specialist

A record 504 bills introduced in the Colorado legislature became law this year, and 94% of them had at least one Republican vote.

And half of the 39 Republicans in the state House and Senate voted for 58% of those bills, according to a Colorado Sun analysis.

That’s despite a third year of Democratic rule at the Colorado Capitol and GOP complaints that the majority party and Democratic Gov. Jared Polis are enacting policies that are too liberal and unfair to businesses and taxpayers.

The Sun analyzed final third-reading votes on the 504 bills that became law, omitting the four bills vetoed by Polis and the 114 measures that died in committees or never received a final vote on one of the chamber floors.

Janet Yellen The First Woman To Be Treasury Secretary Is Sworn In By The First Woman To Be Vice President

Janet L. Yellen was sworn in as the secretary of the Treasury Department on Tuesday by Vice President Kamala Harris, a history-making moment as both are the first women to hold two of the most powerful jobs in the United States government.

Ms. Yellen is the nation’s 78th Treasury secretary and the first woman to head the institution in its 232-year history. She is also the first woman to have held all three top economic jobs in the government, having served as chair of the Federal Reserve and the Council of Economic Advisers.

She is taking the job at a time of economic crisis, with millions still out of work and the recovery slowing as the coronavirus persists. Ms. Yellen will quickly be thrust into fraught negotiations over how to design and pass a robust stimulus package to help revive an economy that has been hammered by the pandemic.

Standing outside the White House, Ms. Yellen took the oath of office with her husband, the economist George Akerlof, and her son by her side. At the conclusion of the ceremony, Ms. Harris said, “Congratulations, Madam Secretary,” to which Ms. Yellen replied, “Thank you, Madam Vice President.”

Ms. Yellen said on Twitter that she was proud to be joining the Treasury Department and described the field of economics, and the agency’s mission, as one that can “right past wrongs and improve people’s lives.”

transcript

Senate Republicans Block Landmark Voting Rights Bill In Significant Setback For Democrats As It Happened

All 50 Republicans voted against advancing the legislation

Manchin tells Chuck Schumer he will vote to advance legislation

Senate Democrats to fall short of 60 votes needed to begin debate

New Yorkers vote in Democratic primary for New York mayoral pick

Wed 23 Jun 2021 01.27 BST First published on Tue 22 Jun 2021 13.58 BST

01:03

Capitol Riot Investigation Will Slow As Officials Work To Build More Complicated Cases Justice Dept Says

Justice Department officials said on Tuesday that the fast-moving federal investigation into the assault on the Capitol is expected to slow as investigators turn their attention to more complex matters such as conspiracy and sedition cases, the investigation into the death of Officer Brian D. Sicknick of the Capitol Police and violent attacks on members of the press.

In the 20 days since rioters stormed the Capitol, the F.B.I. has received over 200,000 digital media tips and identified more than 400 suspects. Federal prosecutors quickly charged 150 criminal cases, many of which have now been elevated to felonies.

But the manhunt and investigation is expected to “reach a period of a plateau,” said Michael R. Sherwin, the U.S. attorney in Washington, as investigators shift from identifying and rounding up individuals to putting together more complicated conspiracy cases related to possible coordination among militia groups and individuals from different states who had planned to travel to the Capitol and engage in criminal conduct before the attack.

“We have to have the proper evidence to charge these, and we’re going to get it,” said Steven M. D’Antuono, the F.B.I. assistant deputy in charge of the Washington field office. “All these cases are not based upon social media and Twitter and Instagram posts. We also have traditional law enforcement tools we need to use — grand jury subpoenas search warrants — and you don’t get that overnight.”

Republicans Defy Kevin Mccarthy And Gop Leadership To Vote With All Democrats In Favor Of Forming A 9/11

The House passed a bill that would create a commission to investigate the January 6 MAGA riot, with a vote of 252-175

Thirty-five Republicans defected from leadership and voted in favor of the bill that would create a bipartisan commission with subpoena power

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy came out against the bill Tuesday, followed by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on Wednesday

‘I beg you to pass this bill,’ said Republican Rep. John Katko, who had negotiated with Democrats to get the bill finished

Katko received applause on the House floor for saying the legislation was dedicated to members of the Capitol Police and their families

Earlier, an un-official letter from some members of the Capitol Police circulated shaming Republicans for not wanting to investigate January 6

Senator Patrick Leahy 80 Is Briefly Hospitalized As A Precaution After He Reported Feeling Unwell

Senator Patrick J. Leahy of Vermont, the longest-serving senator and the president pro tempore, was briefly taken to a hospital in Washington for observation early Tuesday evening after he reported not feeling well, his spokesman said. He returned home a few hours later after an evaluation.

Mr. Leahy, whose position in the Senate puts him third in line for the presidency, oversaw the start of the impeachment proceedings against former President Donald J. Trump earlier on Tuesday. At 80, Mr. Leahy is one of the oldest senators and has served in the Senate since 1975.

After he reported not feeling well in his office, Mr. Leahy “was examined in the Capitol by the attending physician,” said David Carle, the spokesman. “Out of an abundance of caution, the attending physician recommended that he be taken to a local hospital for observation, where he is now, and where he is being evaluated.”

Mr. Leahy was taken to George Washington University Hospital, where he received tests and “a thorough examination” before being released, Mr. Carle said.

The senator “looks forward to getting back to work,” Mr. Carle said.

Mr. Leahy has received both vaccine shots for the coronavirus, and it was unclear what his symptoms were.

Senator Charles E. Grassley, Republican of Iowa and Mr. Leahy’s predecessor as president pro tempore, was among those who wished Mr. Leahy well in a tweet Tuesday evening.

Here Are The 17 Republican Senators Who Voted To Advance The $1 Trillion Infrastructure Bill

Washington When the Senate voted Wednesday to open debate on a roughly $1 trillion infrastructure package, more than a dozen Republicans sided with Democrats to advance the legislation.

proposal,

Roy Blunt of Missouri

Richard Burr of North Carolina

Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia

Bill Cassidy of Louisiana

Kevin Cramer of North Dakota

Mike Crapo of Idaho

Lindsey Graham of South Carolina

Chuck Grassley of Iowa

John Hoeven of North Dakota

Mitch McConnell of Kentucky

Thom Tillis of North Carolina

Todd Young of Indiana

Biden Calls Putin To Discuss Navalny Government Hack Ukraine And Malign Actions By Russia

President Biden called President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia on Tuesday to address a long list of grievances — from the hacking of U.S. federal agencies, to the poisoning and detention of the Russian dissident Aleksei A. Navalny as well as a host of other “malign actions by Russia,” Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary, said.

Mr. Biden struck a more confrontational tone — a sharp break from former President Donald J. Trump’s chummy approach to Mr. Putin — committing to the protection of Ukraine’s “sovereignty,” and pressing for the extension of the New Start treaty for five years, which would limit both countries to 1,550 deployed strategic nuclear weapons.

“President Biden made clear that the United States will act firmly in defense of its national interests in response to actions by Russia that harm us or our allies,” according to a White House readout of the conversation. “The two presidents agreed to maintain transparent and consistent communication going forward.”

When Mr. Biden was asked at an event at the White House on Tuesday what Mr. Putin had to say, the president joked, “He sends his best!”

Mr. Biden attacked Mr. Trump and Mr. Putin with abandon during the 2020 campaign. But although he was able to mock Mr. Trump’s relationship with the Russian leader when he was a candidate, as president he must keep the peace between uneasy nuclear rivals.

But he quickly pivoted to the need for cooperation in “mutual self-interest,” and the treaty.

transcript

Lloyd Austin The New Defense Secretary Prepares To Address Sexual Assault In The Military

After years of failure to curb the scourge of sexual assault in the military, Lloyd J. Austin III, the new secretary of defense, is open to to how those crimes are prosecuted, a potential sea change that generations of commanders have resisted.

Overhauling the way the military handles sexual assault cases — by taking them outside the chain of command and assigning them to prosecutors with no connection to the accused — would need approval by Congress, where some legislators have long pushed for such a system.

President Biden has been a vocal proponent of these changes, even as general after general has gone to Capitol Hill to argue against them over the past decade. “I had a real run-in with one of the members of the Joint Chiefs in the cabinet room on the issue,” Mr. Biden said last year at a fund-raiser.

Mr. Austin’s first act as secretary was to order a review of how the Pentagon has been handling sexual assault cases. He is also being pushed by Congress. Senators repeatedly asked him how he planned to handle the problems of sexual harassment and assault in the military during his confirmation hearing this month.

If Mr. Austin, a retired four-star army general, were to embrace these changes, he would be the first secretary to do so, a major shift in position for the Pentagon.

The Capitol Attack Wasnt A False Flag Gop Officials Continue To Spread The Theory Anyway

In the hours after supporters of President Donald J. Trump engaged in a violent assault on the U.S. Capitol, some Republicans began advancing a fantastical alternative theory: that the attack was actually led by far-left activists trying to frame Republicans.

The outlandish claims have been widely discredited by the authorities, and some of the faces in the Capitol crowd were recognizable right-wing figures. The numerous arrests since the assault have overwhelmingly involved devoted Trump supporters and far-right adherents. But despite the clear evidence, the so-called false flag theory continues to persist in Republican circles.

Last week, the Oregon Republican Party passed a resolution falsely claiming that there was “growing evidence that the violence at the Capitol was a ‘false flag’ operation designed to discredit President Trump, his supporters and all conservative Republicans.” Bill Currier, the chairman of the Oregon Republican Party, said in a video discussion that state party officials were working with counterparts across the country to “coordinate our messaging” around the Capitol attack, the response to it and the continuing efforts to impeach the president.

Mr. Currier said other states would be adopting similar resolutions. “There will be many states doing this,” Mr. Currier said. “We’re not the only ones.”

Gop Leader Mccarthy: Trump ‘bears Responsibility’ For Violence Won’t Vote To Impeach

Some ambitious Republican senators have never been as on board the Trump train as the more feverish GOP members in the House, and the former might be open to convicting Trump. But their ambition cuts two ways — on the one hand, voting to ban Trump opens a lane to carry the Republican mantle in 2024 and be the party’s new standard-bearer, but, on the other, it has the potential to alienate many of the 74 million who voted for Trump, and whose votes they need.

It’s a long shot that Trump would ultimately be convicted, because 17 Republicans would need to join Democrats to get the two-thirds majority needed for a conviction. But it’s growing clearer that a majority of the Senate will vote to convict him, reflecting the number of Americans who are in favor of impeachment, disapproved of the job Trump has done and voted for his opponent in the 2020 presidential election.

Correction Jan. 14, 2021

A previous version of this story incorrectly said Rep. Peter Meijer is a West Point graduate. Meijer attended West Point, but he is a graduate of Columbia University.

Party Leaders Including Mcconnell And Trump Had Urged Colleagues To Reject Proposal

[email protected]

WASHINGTON—Senate Republicans blocked the creation of a bipartisan, independent commission to investigate the Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol by a pro-Trump mob, after GOP leaders urged colleagues to reject it.

The bill needed 60 votes to advance in the evenly divided Senate, thanks to the chamber’s longstanding filibuster rule. That means 10 Republicans would have had to vote with all 50 members of the Democratic caucus to allow the bill to proceed. Only six did, and the legislation fell short, with 54 votes in favor, 35 against and 11 senators not voting.

The six Republicans who voted in favor of proceeding with the legislation were Sens. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Rob Portman of Ohio, Mitt Romney of Utah and Ben Sasse of Nebraska. All but Mr. Portman had voted to convict former President Donald Trump in February at his impeachment trial on charges of inciting insurrection on Jan. 6. Mr. Trump was acquitted.

Two Democrats weren’t present for the vote: Sens. Patty Murray of Washington state and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona. Nine Republicans also didn’t vote, including Sens. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania and Richard Burr of North Carolina, both of whom were among the seven GOP senators who voted to convict Mr. Trump earlier this year.

House Votes To Impeach Trump But Senate Trial Unlikely Before Biden’s Inauguration

9. Rep. John Katko, New York’s 24th: Katko is a moderate from an evenly divided moderate district. A former federal prosecutor, he said of Trump: “It cannot be ignored that President Trump encouraged this insurrection.” He also noted that as the riot was happening, Trump “refused to call it off, putting countless lives in danger.”

10. Rep. David Valadao, California’s 21st: The Southern California congressman represents a majority-Latino district Biden won 54% to 44%. Valadao won election to this seat in 2012 before losing it in 2018 and winning it back in the fall. He’s the rare case of a member of Congress who touts his willingness to work with the other party. Of his vote for impeachment, he said: “President Trump was, without question, a driving force in the catastrophic events that took place on January 6.” He added, “His inciting rhetoric was un-American, abhorrent, and absolutely an impeachable offense.”

The White House Press Briefings Will Include An American Sign Language Interpreter

The Biden administration announced this week that it would include an American Sign Language interpreter in its daily press briefings, a step that the previous administration avoided taking until a court ordered it to do so late last year.

The move is a “historical first,” according to Howard A. Rosenblum, the chief executive officer of the National Association of the Deaf.

Past administrations have occasionally had A.S.L. briefers at some White House events and meetings, Mr. Rosenblum said, but President Biden is the first to make it a fixture.

“The president is committed to building an America that is more inclusive, more just and more accessible for every American, including Americans with disabilities and their families,” Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary, said during Monday’s briefing. She introduced the interpreter as Heather.

Last year, Mr. Rosenblum’s advocacy group and five deaf Americans sued the Trump administration for holding briefings on the coronavirus without a sign language interpreter present, arguing that it was a violation of the First Amendment.

The government responded that it had provided closed-captioning, but the plaintiffs said that was not an adequate substitute. A federal judge in Washington sided with the plaintiffs, and the Trump administration started including an interpreter in November.

Fox Gives A Show To One Former Trump Aide But Shoots Down Claims It Hired Another

Larry Kudlow, the former CNBC star who served as director of President Donald J. Trump’s National Economic Council, is returning to broadcasting.

Mr. Kudlow was named the host of a new daily show on Fox Business set to begin later this year, the network said on Tuesday. He will also appear on Fox Business and Fox News as an on-air financial analyst starting Feb. 8.

This is the first major television gig secured by a senior Trump aide who stayed in the White House until the president’s term ended last week. It is also something of a hiring coup for Fox Business, which competes against CNBC and will now feature one of its rival’s longtime featured players.

Fox said that it would provide more information about Mr. Kudlow’s new weekday program at a later date.

Mr. Kudlow’s hiring is the latest example of the revolving door between Fox News and members of the Trump administration. But another prominent Trump defender may not be headed to the Rupert Murdoch-owned network so soon.

Kayleigh McEnany, the former White House press secretary, included an “employment agreement” with Fox News on a federally mandated disclosure form she filed earlier this month, signaling that she had landed a job at the cable channel.

Fox News on Tuesday had a different message for Ms. McEnany: not so fast.

“Kayleigh McEnany is not currently an employee or contributor at Fox News,” the network said in a statement.

Ms. McEnany did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.

Democrats Weigh Next Options As Senate Republicans Filibuster Voting Rights Bill

“They don’t even want to debate it because they’re afraid. They want to deny the right to vote, make it harder to vote for so many Americans, and they don’t want to talk about it,” Schumer, D-N.Y., said on Tuesday. “There is a rot — a rot — at the center of the modern Republican party. Donald Trump’s big lie has spread like a cancer and threatens to envelop one of America’s major political parties.”

Vice President Kamala Harris, who has been tasked by the White House to work on voting rights, presided over the Tuesday debate in the Senate.

The legislation is cosponsored by 49 Democratic members of the Senate. The one holdout, Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., said Tuesday he’d vote to begin debate after receiving assurances that the Senate would consider a compromise version that he has said he can support.

“Today I will vote ‘YES’ to move to debate this updated voting legislation as a substitute amendment to ensure every eligible voter is able to cast their ballot and participate in our great democracy,” Manchin said in a statement, while adding that he doesn’t support the bill as written.

“We’ll keep talking,” he said after the vote. “You can’t give up. You really can’t.”

Schumer said the vote was “the starting gun, not the finish line” in the battle over ballot access and vowed that Democrats “will not let it die.”

He told reporters on Tuesday that the state-led system held up well in the 2020 election.

It has been rejected by top Republicans as a nonstarter.

Trump Calls For ‘no Violence’ As Congress Moves To Impeach Him For Role In Riot

This time, there will be more. Some Republican senators have called on Trump to resign, and even Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he is undecided at this point.

Trump’s impeachment won’t lead to his removal — even if he is convicted — because of the timeline. The Senate is adjourned until Tuesday. The next day, Biden will be sworn in as the 46th president. But there’s another penalty the Constitution allows for as a result of a Senate conviction that could be appealing to some Republican senators — banning Trump from holding “office” again.

While there is some debate as to the definition of “office” in the Constitution and whether that would apply to running for president or even Congress, that kind of public rebuke would send a strong message — that Republicans are ready to move on from Trumpism.

The Collapse Of Law Enforcement Will Usher In The End Of America As We Know It

Editor note: Late last year, our National Spokesman Kyle Reyes launched an article about the challenges America is facing right now. It exploded. And it’s arguably even more relevant today than it was then.

Many of you have been asking about how you can get involved. We’d invite you to consider joining our membership program – LET Unity. We take the proceeds and reinvest them into capturing more of these stories.

The majority of our content producers for Law Enforcement Today are active, retired or wounded law enforcement officers. The revenue we make helps provide for their families and helps bring a TRUE voice about what’s happening in America.

For the rest of you… simply keep following, keep reading, and keep sharing.

—

Rep Tim Ryan: Probe Underway On Whether Members Gave Capitol Tours To Rioters

7. Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, Washington’s 3rd: Herrera Beutler was swept in with the Tea Party wave in 2010, but her district is a moderate one. Trump won it 51% to 47%. Herrera Beutler gained prominence several years ago for giving birth to a child three months early, born without kidneys and a rare syndrome. Her daughter, Abigail, became the first to survive the often-fatal condition. The now-mother of three and congresswoman from southwest Washington state declared on the House floor her vote in favor of impeachment: “I’m not choosing sides, I’m choosing truth.”

8. Rep. Peter Meijer, Michigan’s 3rd: Meijer is a freshman, who won his seat with 53% of the vote. He represents a district that was previously held by Justin Amash, the former Republican-turned-independent who voted in favor of Trump’s impeachment in 2019. Meijer, a Columbia University grad who served in Afghanistan, is a social conservative in favor of restrictions on abortion rights and against restrictions on gun rights and religious freedoms. But he said Trump showed no “courage” and “betrayed millions with claims of a ‘stolen election.’ ” He added, “The one man who could have restored order, prevented the deaths of five Americans including a Capitol police officer, and avoided the desecration of our Capitol, shrank from leadership when our country needed it most.”

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newstfionline · 3 years

Text

Wednesday, April 14, 2021

Wealth tax? (Bloomberg) United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is calling on nations to institute a wealth tax to help reduce global inequality exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic. There has been a $5 trillion surge in the wealth of the world’s richest in the past year even as those at the bottom were made increasingly vulnerable, Guterres told a UN economic and social forum on Monday. With the Covid-19 fallout causing government debt to swell, and hurting poorer people most, wealth taxes are being debated from California to the U.K.

U.S. government spent $660 billion more in March than it collected in revenue (Washington Post) The federal government spent $660 billion more than it collected in tax revenue this March, the Department of Treasury said Monday, as the Biden administration’s stimulus package pushed the U.S. monthly deficit near record highs. The resulting deficit is the third largest ever in American history, Treasury officials said, eclipsed only by April and June of last year—when the U.S. authorized larger levels of emergency spending to head off the economic crisis caused by the pandemic. The monthly deficit had contracted relative to the summer months as federal spending expired and the U.S. economy began to heal. Many economists and lawmakers clamored for the additional spending as necessary to help the economy recovery from one of the worst shocks in decades, with millions of workers still out of a job. Over the first six months of the current fiscal year, the government’s budget deficit has reached $1.7 trillion, a massive sum for this early in the year. America’s annual deficit hit $3.1 trillion in 2020, an all-time high that far surpassed the previous record of $1.4 trillion, which came in 2009 during the depths of the Great Recession. Democrats and Republicans authorized much of the emergency spending last year as a way to try and stop an economic collapse. They are at odds, though, over spending levels in 2021.

Poll: 15% of Americans worse off a year into pandemic (AP) While most Americans have weathered the pandemic financially, about 38 million say they are worse off now than before the outbreak began in the U.S. Overall, 55% of Americans say their financial circumstances are about the same now as a year ago, and 30% say their finances have improved, according to a new poll from Impact Genome and The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. But 15% say they are worse off. The problem is more pronounced at lower-income levels: 29% of Americans living below the federal poverty line say their personal finances worsened in the past year. Roughly that many also find themselves in a deepening financial hole, saying they struggled to pay bills in the past three months. The pandemic has wreaked havoc on the economy—the United States still has 8.4 million fewer jobs than it had in February 2020, just before the pandemic struck. The government has passed three major relief bills in response, which included direct economic relief payments to individuals. That has helped ease the suffering of some.

Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala deploy troops to lower migration (AP) The Biden administration has struck an agreement with Mexico, Honduras and Guatemala to temporarily surge security forces to their borders in an effort to reduce the tide of migration to the U.S. border. According to White House press secretary Jen Psaki, Mexico will maintain a deployment of about 10,000 troops, while Guatemala has surged 1,500 police and military personnel to its southern border and Honduras deployed 7,000 police and military to its border “to disperse a large contingent of migrants” there. Guatemala will also set up 12 checkpoints along the migratory route through the country.

Ecuador picks conservative for president; Peru sets runoff (AP) Ecuador will be led for the next four years by a conservative businessman after voters rebuffed a left-leaning movement that yielded an economic boom and then a recession since taking hold of the presidency last decade. That election certainty, however, did not extend to neighboring Peru, where the presidential contest is headed to a runoff after none of the 18 candidates obtained more than 50% of the votes. Peruvian elections officials on Monday said leftist Pedro Castillo had 18.9% of support, with 90% of ballots processed. He was followed by opposition leader Keiko Fujimori at 13.2%, right-wing economist Hernando de Soto with 11.86% and ultra-conservative businessman Rafael López Aliaga at 11.83%. The crowded presidential contest came months after the country’s political chaos reached a new level in November, when three men were president in a single week after one was impeached by Congress over corruption allegations and protests forced his successor to resign in favor of the third.

Britain Rejoices (NYT) After months of coronavirus restrictions that encroached on almost every aspect of daily life, the English celebrated a hopeful new chapter, many of them in what seemed the most fitting way possible: with a pint at a pub. “It’s like being out of prison,” said Kate Asani, who was sitting at a small table with two friends in the back garden of the Carlton Tavern in the Kilburn area of London, where they basked in each other’s company as much as in the sunshine. Just past the stroke of midnight on Monday, a few select establishments in England served their first drinks since being forced to close in December and January, and more than a year after the first of three national lockdowns was imposed to limit the spread of the virus. Later in the morning, thousands of gyms, salons and retail stores opened their doors for the first time in months, bringing a frisson of life to streets long frozen in a state of suspended animation. Friends reunited, and families shared a meal at outdoor cafes for the first time in months.

Moscow says U.S. military support to Kyiv ‘serious challenge’ (Reuters) Moscow on Tuesday said active U.S. military support to Kyiv was a serious challenge for Russia’s security and accused Washington and NATO of turning Ukraine into a “powder keg” with increasing arms supplies, Russian agencies reported, citing the foreign ministry. Russia would do everything possible to ensure its security in the event of an escalation in Ukraine, agencies quoted Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov as saying. Earlier on Tuesday, Ryabkov warned the United States to ensure its warships stayed well away from Crimea “for their own good”, calling their deployment in the Black Sea a provocation designed to test Russian nerves.

China tests Taiwan (Foreign Policy) The Chinese air force flew 25 aircraft into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone on Monday, in the largest reported incursion since Taiwan began regular reporting last year. The mission, which involved 18 fighter jets and four bombers, is considered part of Beijing’s increased military activity around the island in response to what it has called “collusion” between the United States and Taiwan. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday expressed concern about China’s actions in the Taiwan Strait, warning that using force to change the region’s status quo would be a “serious mistake.”

Japan to start releasing Fukushima water into sea in 2 years (AP) Japan’s government decided Tuesday to start releasing treated radioactive water from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean in two years—an option fiercely opposed by fishermen, residents and Japan’s neighbors. The decision, long speculated but delayed for years due to safety concerns and protests, came at a meeting of Cabinet ministers who endorsed the ocean release as the best option. The accumulating water has been stored in tanks at the Fukushima Daiichi plant since 2011, when a massive earthquake and tsunami damaged its reactors and their cooling water became contaminated and began leaking. The plant’s storage capacity will be full late next year.

Attack on Iran’s Natanz plant muddies US, Iran nuke talks (AP) The attack on Iran’s Natanz nuclear facility is casting a major shadow over the resumption of indirect talks between the U.S. and Iran over resurrection of the international accord limiting Iran’s nuclear program. Neither Iran nor the U.S. say the incident will crater the negotiations. But the attack and the destruction of a significant amount of Iran’s uranium enrichment capability add uncertainty to the discussions set for Tuesday in Vienna. The attack gives both sides reason to harden their positions, yet each has incentives to keep the talks on track. Iran wants Washington to lift sanctions that have contributed to damaging its economy, including measures not related to its nuclear program. For the Biden administration, the talks are a high-stakes gamble that it can salvage what the Obama administration considered one of its prime foreign policy achievements and slow Iran’s programs.

Egypt seizes the Ever Given, saying its owners owe nearly $1 billion for Suez Canal traffic jam (Washington Post) A few weeks ago, Egypt was frantically trying to get the massive container ship Ever Given out of the Suez Canal. Now, authorities are saying the vessel is not allowed to leave. In the latest complication to the ill-fated voyage, Egypt has seized the Ever Given over its owners’ “failure to pay an amount of $900 million,” the state-run news outlet Ahram Gate reported. That amount represents the total compensation that Egypt says it is owed for the six-day blockage of the Suez Canal, including lost revenue from ships that ordinarily would have traveled through the canal during that time, as well as costs for damage to the crucial waterway and the equipment and labor deployed in the 144-hour scramble to free the ship. Since it was dislodged from the narrow section of the canal where it ran aground in late March, blocking commerce worth billions of dollars, the Ever Given has been anchored in Egypt’s Great Bitter Lake, at the midpoint of the canal. Twenty-five crew members, all Indian nationals, remain stuck on board.

#headlines #news

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itsfinancethings · 4 years

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New story in Politics from Time: How Kamala Harris’ Senate Record Reveals What Kind of National Leader She May Be

The election hadn’t gone the way she expected, so Kamala Harris needed a new plan. Late on the night of Nov. 8, 2016, the newly elected U.S. Senator gathered her campaign team in a drab gray room in the Los Angeles event venue where she was celebrating her victory–just as most Democrats were mourning the unexpected win of President Donald Trump. “This is some sh-t,” Harris said mournfully, describing a godson who’d come to her in tears. The staffers’ faces were grave and a siren wailed in the background as she groped for words to describe what she was feeling. “We’ve got to figure out how to go out there and give people a sense of hope,” she said.

The four years since that night have been eventful ones–for America, for the U.S. Senate and for Harris, tapped Aug. 11 as the Democratic Party’s vice-presidential nominee. The ambitious pol who won her first national office that day expected to be helping a President Hillary Clinton confirm a Cabinet and Supreme Court, craft comprehensive immigration reform and pass legislation to address climate change. Instead, she found herself in Trump’s Washington, crusading against the President’s polarizing nominees, searching mostly in vain for policy victories, and before long running to oust him.

Harris’ time in the Senate is a relatively unexplored chapter of her record. Scrutiny of her background during her presidential run focused on her time as a prosecutor and her campaign positioning, both of which drew criticism from the left. On the near geologic scale of the Senate, her time there has been but a moment, and she began running for President just two years after she arrived. Yet Harris’ Senate profile sheds light on what she brings to the Biden campaign and what sort of Vice President she could be if elected. It also raises questions about what kind of national leader she may become.

Harris became famous in the Senate for her performance on camera. Colleagues, aides and Senate watchers describe a hard-driving and determined leader who found ways to be effective, creating viral moments with her cross-examinations of witnesses.

“The Senate is a place where they want you to sit and be quiet for three or four terms, and then, after 20 or 30 years, they might pay attention to you,” says Virginia Senator Tim Kaine, who was the vice-presidential nominee four years ago. “But Kamala has really made a mark.”

Off camera, Harris is harder to define. She worked to learn policy and advance legislation, playing a major role in shaping 2018’s landmark bipartisan criminal-justice reform and shepherding it to passage. Allies say she learned quickly on the job. But she lacked a signature cause of her own, and struggled to find her footing on other issues important to Democrats, such as climate, health care and national security. She struck some observers as wanting to be all things to all people–simultaneously progressive and moderate, principled and compromising, a partisan warrior and a dealmaking pragmatist.

Her defenders say her thin record and evolving positions are the natural result of her experience: junior Senator from California was her first time as a lawmaker. Those who have worked with her say Harris thinks through problems like a lawyer, a deliberative style that can appear indecisive but actually reflects an active intellect. Her fans also see undertones of sexism and racism in critiques of her as attention-seeking or opportunistic, qualities that are practically prerequisites to a political career. The Senate’s old “workhorse or show horse” heuristic is a cliché unsuited to today’s dysfunctional Congress and polarized politics. But her tenure reflects the same difficulties that eventually doomed her presidential campaign: a privileging of personality over substance and a lack of a clearly articulated vision. Whether it stemmed from open-mindedness or political posturing, the effect was the same.

What was never in doubt, all observers say, was her instinct for the fight. That night in 2016, with her desolated campaign staff on the brink of tears, Harris outlined a path forward. “I think our campaign is actually not over,” she said. “But it’s a different kind of campaign. It’s not to win an office. But it’s going to be a campaign to fight for everything that motivated us to run for this office in the first place.”

Jacquelyn Martin—APHarris rose in Senate hearings, grilling Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh in September 2018

The questions were coming fast, and Jeff Sessions began to stammer. It was June 2017, and Harris kept interrupting the then Attorney General to ask about his contacts with Russians during the 2016 campaign. “I’m not able to be rushed this fast,” he complained. “It makes me nervous.”

It was an attempt at levity on Sessions’ part, but the comment quickly went viral, as liberals relished the sight of a Trump apparatchik squirming under Harris’ gaze. Episodes like these became Harris’ calling card as a Senator, racking up hundreds of thousands of views online. She would go on to earn similar attention for her September 2018 questioning of then Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh and May 2019 interrogation of Sessions’ successor, William Barr. Kavanaugh appeared positively stumped when she asked, “Can you think of any laws that give the government the power to make decisions about the male body?”

Harris was already a political star when she arrived in the Senate, but the hearings helped cement her reputation. In an interview last September, Harris told TIME her interrogations reflected her frustration. “I am new to the United States Congress, and seeing this stuff up close, it’s shocking, the lack of consequence and accountability,” she said then. (The Biden-Harris campaign did not respond to a request to interview her for this article.)

Republicans sometimes accused her of being overly partisan. On two early occasions, the late Senator John McCain interrupted and upbraided her for not letting witnesses finish answering her questions. Those exchanges, in turn, further elevated her profile when fans accused McCain and other Republicans of trying to silence her. Some of her questions that seemed suggestive in the moment didn’t bear fruit, like when she asked Kavanaugh about his contacts with Trump’s personal lawyer’s law firm. Her questioning of Kavanaugh also drew the ire of Trump, who has referred to her as “nasty,” “angry” and a “mad woman” since her addition to the ticket.

But Harris’ colleagues say she didn’t just grandstand; more than many lawmakers, who chew up half their allotted time giving speeches, she actually used hearings to elicit information from often hostile witnesses. “For all of the talents of members of Congress, it still shocks me how infrequently a member can get to their question within the first two or three minutes,” says Senator Brian Schatz of Hawaii. “Kamala, without appearing rushed, without appearing hostile, can dismantle an adversary with a smile on her face.”

Harris’ hearing performances were well suited to a Senate that in recent years has done little traditional legislating. “It’s such a weird time in the Senate, because nobody really does anything,” says Adam Jentleson, a former aide to former Senate majority leader Harry Reid. “It is not a time that has tested people’s dealmaking abilities because there are no real deals to be made, and the few that do get negotiated are mostly done at the leadership level,” says Jentleson, who supported Elizabeth Warren in the presidential primary and is writing a book about Senate dysfunction. As a Democrat, “you’re mostly just voting against Trump stuff the whole time–that’s not a knock on her, it’s just the nature of the institution right now.”

The grillings were also central to why she made the Democratic ticket. They showed her mastery of the modern media environment–a key asset in a campaign against Trump. Introducing Harris as his running mate on Aug. 12, Biden praised her for “asking the tough questions that need to be asked and not stopping until she got an answer.”

With the cameras off, Harris’ prosecutorial edge vanishes, Democratic Senators say, revealing a warm, funny and accessible colleague who wears her star power lightly. In caucus meetings, they say, she provides important context for policy conversations by drawing on her experience as a person of color–one of just six elected Black Senators in U.S. history–and as the child of immigrants. Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon recalled her looking up at him when they first met–he is 6 ft. 4 in. to Harris’ 5 ft. 3 –and cracking, “With you, I’m going to need a ladder!” Senator Mazie Hirono of Hawaii was walking out of the chamber one day last summer when she saw Harris getting into a car and called out, “Kamala, are you going to Iowa?” Harris replied, with a laugh, “I’m fcking moving to Iowa”–an exchange that was overheard by a reporter and subsequently put on T-shirts sold by an Iowa boutique. “Kamala made sure I got one of those T-shirts,” Hirono says.

Aides admit Harris is a tough boss, demanding hard work from those around her and rewarding them with fierce loyalty in return. Early in her tenure, one recalls, Harris held an event at a Syrian restaurant in California addressing Trump’s ban on travelers from Muslim countries. Afterward, her staff sat down to brief her, but she stopped them, insisting that everybody take a breather to eat and talk about their lives. She has worked hard to assemble a diverse staff, not an easy thing to do in an institution that has historically been overwhelmingly white and male.

Many aides recall Harris’ devotion to her former press secretary Tyrone Gayle, a fellow descendant of Jamaican immigrants who died of colon cancer in October 2018. Harris’ mother had died of the same disease in 2009, and she treated Gayle with maternal affection when his disease recurred. “She found a way to treat him with so much compassion and love, but she also held him to a really high standard, which Tyrone wanted and appreciated,” his widow Beth Foster Gayle recently recalled on CNN. “He didn’t want her to go easy on him.” The day he died, Harris dropped her Senate work to join his family at the hospital in New York City, holding his hand and making him smile. To this day, her Senate office is festooned with Clemson pennants in his honor.

Harris drew praise from Republicans and Democrats alike for her work on the intelligence committee. She was “a quick study” and “very effective,” the panel’s former GOP chairman, Richard Burr of North Carolina, told BuzzFeed last year. The committee is known for its unusual levels of both secrecy and collegiality. Because so much of its work occurs behind closed doors, “there’s no press to shine for, and it doesn’t really break down along partisan lines,” says the committee’s top Democrat, Mark Warner of Virginia. Harris’ task was made harder by the fact that she was near the bottom in seniority, he noted. “She’s down there at the end of the line, a spot where most of the questions have already been asked, but she would always find something that hadn’t been asked thoroughly enough or come up with a new line of questioning.”

J. Scott Applewhite—APHarris, with the intelligence committee in 2018, won GOP praise for her hard work offstage

During the presidential campaign, Harris’ record on criminal justice drew harsh criticism from civil liberties advocates and many on the left, who charged that as a prosecutor she perpetuated a punitive and unequal system rather than seeking to fix it. In the Senate, she focused much of her policy energy on criminal-justice reform. The first bill she introduced was a proposal to give people in immigration proceedings the right to a lawyer. (The bill has since passed the House but not advanced in the Senate.) She teamed up with Republican Senator Rand Paul on a bail-reform bill, which would encourage states to reduce the use of cash bail–a practice that opponents say criminalizes poverty and contributes to unequal outcomes. (That bill also has not advanced.) She worked with Democrat Cory Booker and Republican Tim Scott, the Senate’s other two Black members, on antilynching legislation that is currently blocked despite near unanimous support. Along with Booker, she was a key driver of the federal prison and sentencing reform bill that Trump signed in 2018, one of the few bipartisan accomplishments of his presidency.

Even as many of her proposals have stalled, Booker argues, she has brought fresh thinking to the tradition-bound halls of Congress. “A lot of times, when you bring out a new idea, you’ve got to get people familiar with it,” he says, noting that such efforts may take years to bear fruit. “Kamala came into the Senate and made an impact.”

Harris and Booker also collaborated on the Democrats’ police-reform bill that followed this summer’s racial-justice protests. It passed the House, and the Senators believed it was a good-faith effort at a compromise Republicans might be able to support. But Senate Republicans offered their own bill instead, putting it on the floor instead without the opportunity for committee deliberation, and Democrats blocked it from advancing. “It’s unfortunate that majority leader [Mitch] McConnell was not willing to give that legislation adequate hearing, because I think she was very effective in making the case,” says Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen. But Scott, the Republican bill’s author, accused the Democrats of playing politics. In a July interview with TIME, he alluded to Harris’ position in the Veep-stakes, saying, “I’m hoping that the presidential politics of choosing a running mate does not stand in the way of Senate Democrats coming to the table.”

Harris’ defenders say her shift to the left on criminal justice reflects not the political expediency of a primary candidate seeking to please the base, but the evolving national dialogue on a fraught issue. Advocates who worked with her on the topic say she was engaged, substantive–and realistic. “I’m a little frustrated by a lot of the criticism of her evolution on criminal-justice issues,” says Holly Harris, a Republican lawyer who serves as executive director of the Justice Action Network. “We don’t ask a lot of male bill sponsors to explain their evolution. We’re just grateful to have their support.”

Harris had a harder time finding her footing on issues further afield from her own experience. Her presidential campaign notably struggled with the central issue of health care: as a Senator, she co-sponsored Bernie Sanders’ single-payer legislation, but after months of conflicting statements, she issued a plan that would preserve the private insurance system. “Legislating is totally different than being an attorney general,” says an aide to another Democratic Senator. “Not being a veteran of these issue debates, she didn’t necessarily know the fine points of something like Medicare for All.”

Climate change was another issue on which Harris got more assertive over time. She was an original co-sponsor of the left-wing Green New Deal and signed a pledge not to take campaign money from the fossil-fuel industry. But climate activists were skeptical of her as a presidential candidate, particularly when she was the only major candidate not to immediately commit to a September CNN town hall devoted to the issue. After criticism, she changed her mind, and in her 33-minute segment she vowed to back ending the filibuster if Republicans held up climate legislation, endorsed a fracking ban and called for the prosecution of fossilfuel companies. “Everybody was pretty much leading in a progressive direction,” says Julian Brave NoiseCat, a climate activist who is vice president of policy and strategy at the progressive group Data for Progress. “And the question was, How far were you willing to go?”

The initial trepidation followed by outspoken position taking was typical of Harris’ approach to the high-profile issue. Harris subsequently found a niche that suited her comfort zone: environmental justice and environ-mental litigation. In July, she partnered with Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to introduce a Climate Equity Act that would require environmental legislation to receive an “equity score” that judged how it would affect at-risk communities and create new burdens for administrative action. Her office released a new version of the proposal just days before she was announced as Biden’s VP pick. “She’s not driven by a desire to protect the polar bears,” says RL Miller, a California Democratic activist and political director of Climate Hawks Vote, a group that advocates for aggressive climate-change policies. “She is driven by the desire to protect low-income African-American people living next to the Los Angeles urban oil field.”

Harris’ lack of firm stances on many issues contributed to her campaign’s demise. But as a vice-presidential candidate, that flexibility could be an asset. Colleagues and aides say she is passionate but not doctrinaire, a team player open to others’ good ideas. Even some of the progressives who regard Harris with suspicion express hope that her malleability means she can be nudged leftward. The challenge for Harris will be establishing herself as a national figure in that role–showing that her flexibility comes from pragmatism, not opportunism.

When Biden was Vice President, he brought the perspective of an old foreign policy hand to the White House and served as a sort of Senate whisperer for President Barack Obama, who had, like Harris, spent just four years in the chamber. Biden, who fetishizes the Senate as an institution, is unlikely to cede that duty to his own second-in-command. But some on the left hope recent experience will make Harris more inclined than Biden to play hardball with McConnell, who they believe has abused procedural norms to destroy the traditional policymaking process. “I don’t see anything in her record in the Senate that suggests she’s not a strong progressive,” says Jentleson, the former Reid aide. “But the rubber will hit the road on issues like the filibuster. When you want to advance a very progressive policy and get stopped, do you reform the Senate to get things done?”

Aside from Harris’ campaign promise to end the filibuster to pass climate legislation, neither she nor Biden has committed to major changes to Senate rules–a proposition that’s highly contentious within the chamber on both sides of the aisle. Without such changes, it will be an uphill battle to enact the sweeping policy agenda articulated at this summer’s Democratic convention, even if the party wins the Senate majority in November. Would Harris’ time in the gridlocked body lead her to argue for drastic measures? If Biden and Harris are inaugurated next January, how Kamala Harris regards the U.S. Senate could be the question on which a Biden presidency’s legacy depends.

–With reporting by Anna Purna Kambhampaty, Justin Worland and Julia Zorthian

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actutrends · 5 years

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Trump takes massive gamble with killing of Iranian commander

” General Soleimani was actively developing plans to assault American diplomats and service members in Iraq and throughout the region,” it included, blaming him for current attacks on U.S. soldiers and the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad. “This strike was targeted at preventing future Iranian attack strategies.”

Iran’s foreign minister, Javad Zarif, implicated the U.S. of “global terrorism” and said it “bears obligation for all effects of its rogue adventurism.”

Even the possibility that the U.S. had actually directly targeted Soleimani– especially on Iraqi soil– sent out shockwaves around the globe, surging oil costs and leading to instantaneous evaluations of the potential fallout. U.S. officials have long illustrated Soleimani as a paramilitary and terrorist mastermind, deemed accountable for attacks on American troops in Iraq and versus U.S. interests all over the world.

” It is hard to overemphasize the significance,” said retired Gen. David Petraeus, who supervised the “surge” of American troops in Iraq in the violent years after the 2003 U.S. intrusion. “But there will be reactions in Iraq and likely Syria and the area.”

Some present and former U.S. authorities, along with veteran Iran observers, said the killing was an escalatory relocation far beyond what they had actually ever anticipated.

” There’s no possibility in hell Iran will not respond,” said Afshon Ostovar, a specialist on Soleimani and author of “Vanguard of the Imam” a book about Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

The strike likewise supposedly eliminated Iraqi militia commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, who was taking a trip in the very same convoy as Soleimani. It astonished even some members of the Trump administration who said eliminating the Iranian general had actually not been seriously considered– a minimum of not just recently.

” I can’t think it,” one U.S. official stated. “The instant issue for me is: What’s the next action from Iran? Is this the beginning of a local blaze?”

A previous U.S. official who handled the Middle East said the strike was especially noteworthy since it targeted the leader of a state device, rather than a non-state star.

” We require to be prepared that we’re now at war,” he stated.

A Middle Eastern official said that a retaliation by Iran– understood for its own assassinations abroad– might occur anywhere.

” It could be targets in Africa, it could be in Latin America, it could be in the Gulf, it could be anything,” the authorities said. “I do not think they’re going to take the assassination of among their crucial people and just turn the other cheek.”

Soleimani had actually been leading the Quds Force, an unit of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps that lags much of Iran’s military actions outside its borders. He was a hugely popular figure in Iran, and a regular rhetorical target of President Donald Trump and his aides.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, for example, repeatedly singled out Soleimani for criticism as part of the Trump team’s broader anti-Iran “optimal pressure” project. Part of that project included designating the IRGC as a foreign terrorist organization.

Trump’s “optimal pressure” project has intensified in recent months, as the U.S. has clashed with Iran and its proxies. Simply days back, an American professional passed away in Iraq after an attack by an Iraqi militia allied with Iran. The U.S. responded by battle websites held by the group, killing some two dozen militiamen.

Within days, protesters thought to be linked to the Iran-backed militia breached parts of the U.S. Embassy substance in Baghdad. The Iraqi government, meanwhile, condemned the U.S. airstrikes, noting that the militia had ties to its own security forces.

In remarks Thursday that may have foreshadowed the strike, Esper cautioned that the U.S. reserved the right to strike preemptively in Iraq or the area. “If we get word of attacks, we will take preemptive action too to secure American forces, safeguard American lives,” the defense secretary informed reporters at the Pentagon. “The game has changed.”

But the killing of Soleimani was a stunning development, even thinking about how tense U.S.-Iran relations have actually grown under Trump. The president has loaded economic sanctions on Iran’s Islamist program and sometimes threatened Tehran with military action.

Trump also pulled the United States out of the internationally negotiated nuclear deal with Iran, stating it was too narrow and ought to have curbed Iran’s non-nuclear aggressions in the area as well as its nuclear program.

The two countries almost pertained to a direct military clash previously this year after Iran was blamed in a string of attacks on international oil tankers. The U.S. and Iran even downed each other’s drones, but Trump pulled back at the last minute from staging a military strike directly on Iran.

Though he has actually sent thousands more troops to the area, Trump has actually said repeatedly that he doesn’t wish to take part in a new war in the Middle East. The possibility that Iran will feel forced to react with escalatory actions of its own could involve the president in a politically risky fight in the middle of an election year.

Democrats responded cautiously to Soleimani’s killing, however instantly raised concerns about its legality, even as Republicans hailed it as an unalloyed victory.

” Soleimani was an enemy of the United States.

Former vice president Joe Biden, the Democrats’ prominent presidential prospect, stated that while ‘no American will mourn Qassem Soleimani’s passing,” his killing was a “hugely escalatory relocation” that would prompt Iranian reprisals. “President Trump just tossed a stick of dynamite into a tinderbox.”

The death of Soleimani is most likely to have deep ramifications in Iraq and other nations in the area, where Iran has powerful political allies and proxy forces.

The most instant effects will be felt in Iraq, which for many years has actually been a battlefield for influence between Washington and Tehran. Iran has long looked for to press U.S. soldiers out of Iraq, where they’ve kept an existence since the 2003 invasion that fell dictator Saddam Hussein.

Lots of Iraqis are ill of Iranian influence in their country. Current extensive demonstrations have actually included chants versus Tehran and the Shiite clerics who mainly run its religion-infused program.

However Iraq also wants to avoid ending up being ground absolutely no for a U.S.-Iran war, while keeping up friendly relations with Iran to assist its own economy.

” It is just fair for Iraq to make every effort to attain this balance however provided the ‘beef’ between Iran and the U.S. it’s a lost effort,” a previous Iraqi diplomat told POLITICO. The “Trump administration is on a zero-sum mission vis a vis Iran, and expects Iraq to choose one side only.”

Trump’s hard line toward Iran has actually made applause from other Middle Eastern nations, especially Israel, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which consider Iran an implacable opponent set on manipulating the region in its favor.

Still, Saudi and UAE diplomats in current months have attempted to cool tensions with Iran. And while they’re most likely to shed couple of tears for Soleimani, they might stress over the blowback Iran and its allies can developing in their own nations.

The Pentagon had actually thought about striking Soleimani before, throughout the height of U.S. participation in Iraq, when the Quds Force was providing bombs and other weapons to Iraqi Shiite militia groups that the military estimated killed over 600 U.S. soldiers.

In 2006, according to an Army study of the Iraq War that was eventually declassified, the U.S. military head office in Iraq “prepared a plan to eliminate or record Qods Force commander Qassem Soleimani, who had actually made his method into Iraq for a minimum of the second time” that year, the next time he went to the nation.

However U.S. leaders “eventually avoided doing something about it against Soleimani, enabling the Iranian basic to enter and leave Iraq unrestricted,” says the study. It does not describe why the military did not act upon the proposal or whether it was considered at greater levels, such as at the military’s Central Command or the Pentagon.

U.S. task forces in Iraq did detain some of Soleimani’s Quds Force associates throughout raids later on in 2006 and 2007, though, after the Bush administration approved expanded authorities for the elite troops to pursue Iranian targets in the country.

Those captures showed controversial with the Iraqi federal government, which often gave Quds Force members diplomatic resistance and demanded their release.

While Soleimani’s death is no doubt a significant loss for the Iranian program, it is not likely the judgment clerics and their military aides were entirely unprepared for it.

Ostovar, the Soleimani and IRGC specialist, stated in all likelihood Iran will name a successor quickly due to the fact that its systematic method to their rule is “really strong.”

” He was actually just sort of the forward or outdoors face of the Islamic Republic,” Ostovar stated. “He was the face of their technique, but their strategy goes beyond him.”

The post Trump takes massive gamble with killing of Iranian commander appeared first on Actu Trends.

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gyrlversion · 5 years

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Heres Where The Major 2020 Candidates Stand On Federally Funding Abortion Care

By Christianna Silva

On Wednesday, June 6, former vice president and current Democratic presidential hopeful Joe Biden confirmed that he still supports the Hyde Amendment, a measure that prohibits the use of federal funds for abortion, despite the procedure being legal across the country.

Biden immediately faced backlash from the Democratic Party, and particularly progressive members, given how the amendment disproportionately and negatively affects poor people and people of color, who may see cost as a barrier from safely receiving an abortion procedure.

What is the Hyde Amendment?

Simply put, the Hyde Amendment bans federal funds for abortions. The amendment passed in 1976, just three years after the Supreme Court ruled in Roe v. Wade that abortion is a legal right; it has since been voted on every single year as a part of the annual Health and Human Services appropriations bill for the past four decades, according to the American Civil Liberties Union. (Appropriations bills are passed to fund various governmental programs, and must be passed annually.)

There have been a few different variations of the amendment over the past 42 years, but the current version includes exceptions that allow Medicaid funds to be used for abortions in cases of rape, incest, or the health of the pregnant person, according to the American Center for Law and Justice. All other federal funding of abortion is currently banned.

The amendment was named after one of its biggest anti-choice advocates, the late Republican congressman Henry Hyde from Illinois. But from the outset, pro-choice groups like the Reproductive Freedom Project, the Center for Constitutional Rights, and Planned Parenthood said that the amendment unfairly affected poor women. They took the amendment to the Supreme Court, where, in 1980, SCOTUS ruled it to be constitutional.

According to a 2009 report from NPR, during the three years after Roe v. Wade legalized abortion and before the Hyde Amendment banned federal funding for the procedure, tax dollars funded about 300,000 abortions annually — roughly 25 percent of the abortions performed legally during that time. After the Hyde Amendment went into effect, abortions financed by the federal government dropped to a few thousand a year, though the actual number of abortions being performed has not declined as steeply. (For that, however, Planned Parenthood has credited better access to contraception and comprehensive sex education, not legislation, given that the birth rate hasn’t increased, either.)

Why does it matter?

The ACLU argues that the Hyde Amendment is pretty blatantly sexist, saying “for no covered medical service that men need does the federal Medicaid program restrict the standard for reimbursement as it does for abortions.”

Moreover, the union argues that in practice, putting restrictions on public funding for the procedure effectively takes away the right to an abortion from poor people, and especially poor people of color, who are pregnant. However, people with higher incomes can afford to travel to have the procedure or pay for their abortions out-of-pocket.

“The problem is, the Hyde Amendment affects poor women, women of color, black women, Hispanic women,” Patti Solis Doyle, who served as Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign manager in 2008 and has also worked for Biden, told the New York Times on Wednesday. “And women of color will elect the next president of the United States.”

Where do the candidates stand on it?

The Hyde Amendment originally had bipartisan support in Congress, and maintained that support for some time, according to the American Center for Law and Justice. Since it is part of the annual appropriations process, nearly every sitting member of Congress has voted on it as part of the HHS appropriations bill.

One of the first presidents to campaign against it was then-President Bill Clinton in 1992. He urged Congress to overturn it, but, after politics got in the way, compromised to amend the act and allow federal reimbursement for abortions in cases of rape or incest, according to the library at the Eternal Word Television Network. President Barack Obama didn’t make his opinion on the amendment clear, but he did include similar protections in the Affordable Care Act, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, banning federal funds for abortion services except in the cases of rape, incest, or when the life of the pregnant person is in danger.

The amendment is quite popular among constituents, according to polls reviewed by Vox, so Democratic candidates typically steered clear of the legislation. But after grassroots activism made the Hyde Amendment a topic of discussion again, arguing that abortion needs to be not just legal but also affordable, most Democratic presidential candidates have pivoted to supporting the repeal of the amendment.

In fact, the Equal Access to Abortion Coverage in Health Insurance (EACH Woman) Act is a bill in Congress right now that would effectively repeal the Hyde Amendment. Senators Kirsten Gillibrand, Kamala Harris, Amy Klobuchar, Elizabeth Warren, Cory Booker, Bernie Sanders, Eric Swalwell and Seth Moulton — all of whom are running for the Democratic nomination – are all co-sponsors. The only sitting members of Congress who aren’t co-sponsoring the bill are Michael Bennet, Tulsi Gabbard, and Tim Ryan.

Democrats have been asking President Donald Trump to repeal the amendment since 2016; his entire track record suggests that won’t happen under his watch. Here’s where all of the Democratic presidential candidates stand on the Hyde Amendment:

Michael Bennet supports repealing the amendment. He tweeted: “Defenders of women and their health care rights have agreed for decades: the Hyde Amendment is federally sanctioned discrimination. It is wrong and should be overturned immediately.”

Bill de Blasio supports repealing the amendment. He tweeted: “The Hyde Amendment only hurts low income women, especially women of color. If you don’t support repeal, you shouldn’t be the Democratic nominee.”

Cory Booker supports repealing the amendment. He tweeted: “The Hyde Amendment is a threat to reproductive rights that punishes women and families who already struggle with access to adequate health care services.”

Steve Bullock supports repealing the amendment. In late May, he told a #RightsForAll ACLU volunteer that he would lift the Hyde Amendment if he was elected president.

Pete Buttigieg supports repealing the amendment, according to his website.

Julián Castro supports repealing the amendment. He tweeted: “All women should have access to reproductive care, regardless of their income or the state they live in. Abortion care is health care—it’s time to repeal the #HydeAmendment.”

John Delaney hasn’t made any public comments about the Hyde Amendment, but he told ThinkProgress in late April that he supports federal funding for abortion.

Tulsi Gabbard hasn’t made any public comments about the Hyde Amendment, but she told ThinkProgress in late April that she supports federal funding for abortion.

Kirsten Gillibrand supports repealing the act. “Repealing the Hyde Amendment is critical so that low-income women in particular can have access to the reproductive care they need and deserve,” she tweeted. “Reproductive rights are human rights, period. They should be non-negotiable for all Democrats.”

Mike Gravel supports repealing the act. In a statement made to MTV News, his spokesperson said he “supports the immediate repeal of the Hyde Amendment and believes that Joe Biden should be ashamed of himself for supporting such a monstrous provision.”

Kamala Harris supports repealing the amendment. She tweeted: “No woman’s access to reproductive health care should be based on how much money she has. We must repeal the Hyde Amendment.”

John Hickenlooper supports repealing the amendment. He tweeted: “At a time when women’s rights are under attack, we need to stand tall for our values. The #HydeAmendent actively harms women by limiting access and choice. It needs to be repealed.”

Jay Inslee supports repealing the amendment. He tweeted: “I voted against the Hyde Amendment in 1993. It was wrong then and it is wrong now. Reproductive health care is health care. Period.”

Amy Klobuchar hasn’t said anything publicly about repealing it, but is a co-sponsor of the EACH Woman Act, a bill that would repeal the amendment.

Wayne Messam hasn’t made any public comments about the Hyde Amendment, but he told ThinkProgress in late April that he supports federal funding for abortion.

Seth Moulton hasn’t said anything publicly about repealing it, but is a co-sponsor of the EACH Woman Act, a bill that would repeal the amendment.

Beto O’Rourke supports repealing the amendment. In May, he tweeted “Repeal the Hyde Amendment” along with a video of a speech calling for more funding for family planning centers like Planned Parenthood.

Tim Ryan supports repealing the amendment. He told MSNBC in May, “we’ve got to get rid of the Hyde Amendment.”

Bernie Sanders supports repealing the amendment. “There is #NoMiddleGround on women’s rights,” he tweeted. “Abortion is a constitutional right. Under my Medicare for All plan, we will repeal the Hyde Amendment.”

Eric Swalwell supports repealing the amendment. He tweeted: “We can’t live in the past when it comes to women’s health. The next president must appoint judges who #ProtectRoe BUT also MUST fight to #RepealHyde.” He also tagged Planned Parenthood, as well as NARAL, and its president, Ilyse Hogue.

Elizabeth Warren supports repealing the amendment. She told reporters after a rally in Indiana, “This isn’t about politics, this is about what’s right. The Hyde Amendment should not be American law.”

Marianne Williamson hasn’t made any public comments about the Hyde Amendment, but she told ThinkProgress in late April that she supports the Women’s Health Protection Act and the EACH Woman Act, which would provide federal funding for abortion.

Andrew Yang has not said anything public about the Hyde Amendment and did not immediately respond to a request for comment from MTV News.

The post Heres Where The Major 2020 Candidates Stand On Federally Funding Abortion Care appeared first on Gyrlversion.

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newstfionline · 4 years

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Saturday, January 2, 2021

Chaotic Congress winds down (AP) Congress is ending a chaotic session, a two-year political firestorm that started with the longest federal government shutdown in U.S. history, was riven by impeachment and a pandemic, and now closes with a rare rebuff by Republicans of President Donald Trump. In the few days remaining, GOP senators are ignoring Trump’s demand to increase COVID-19 aid checks to $2,000 and are poised to override his veto of a major defense bill, asserting traditional Republican spending and security priorities. It’s a dizzying end to a session of Congress that resembles few others for the sheer number of crises and political standoffs. Congress opened in 2019 with the federal government shutdown over Trump’s demands for money to build the border wall with Mexico. Nancy Pelosi regained the speaker’s gavel after Democrats swept to the House majority in the midterm election. The Democratic-led House went on to impeach the president over his request to the Ukrainian president to “do us a favor” against Biden ahead of the presidential election. The Republican-led Senate acquitted the president in 2020 of the charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. When the pandemic struck, Congress rallied with unusual speed and agreement to pass a $2 trillion relief package, the largest federal intervention of its kind in U.S. history. The Congress had few other notable legislative accomplishes, and could not agree on how to respond to the racial injustice reckoning that erupted after the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and other Black Americans at the hands of law enforcement.

Dollar posts worst year since 2017 (Reuters) The dollar posted its biggest yearly loss since 2017 on Thursday, capping off a manic year that saw the currency serve as a safe haven in March when panic over the spread of COVID-19 in the United States peaked, before dropping on unprecedented Federal Reserve stimulus. The greenback soared to a three-year high of 102.99 against a basket of currencies in March, before ending the year at 89.96, down 6.77% on the year and 12.65% from its March high. An improving global economic outlook as COVID-19 vaccines are rolled out, rock-bottom U.S. interest rates and ongoing Fed bond purchases have dented the dollar’s appeal. “I expect the dollar to depreciate further over the next few years as the Fed keeps rates at zero whilst maintaining its bloated balance sheet,” Kevin Boscher, chief investment officer at asset manager Ravenscroft, told clients. “The magnitude of the twin deficits dwarfs any other major economy,” he said.

Expensive, faulty weapons (Bloomberg) The Pentagon has put a decision on approving full-rate production of Lockheed Martin’s $398 billion F-35 fighter program, the subject of numerous design defects and even a criminal investigation, on indefinite hold. The plane has yet to demonstrate its effectiveness against the most challenging Russian and Chinese air defense systems and aircraft. Meanwhile, the U.S. Navy’s plan to deliver on time the first of its $128 billion next-generation missile submarine fleet is at risk because of inexperienced contractors with spotty quality control, a government watchdog warned. And the cost overrun could be as much as $384 million—for the one boat.

Why California’s immigrants are heading back to Mexico (The Guardian) California’s most vulnerable immigrants have faced unprecedented challenges this year, with some weighing whether it’s worth staying in the United States altogether. Ten months of a pandemic that has disproportionately sickened immigrants and devastated some of the industries that rely on immigrant labor, combined with years of anti-immigrant policies by the Trump administration have exacerbated insecurities for undocumented people and immigrants working low-wage jobs across California. For immigrants at the bottom of the economic ladder, it’s never been easy in the US, said Luz Gallegos, the executive director of the immigrant advocacy group Training Occupational Development Educating Communities Legal Center (Todec). “But California was also always a place where my family—my parents and grandparents—believed they could build a better life,” said Gallegos who was born into a family of immigrant activists and organizers. “It was always a place with potential.” Until this year. “There’s been so much fear and trauma—just layers of trauma,” she said. Javier Lua Figureo moved back to his home town in Michoacán, Mexico, three years ago, after living and working in California for a dozen years. Since the pandemic hit, several of his friends and family members have followed his lead, he said. “Things aren’t perfect in Mexico,” Figureo said in Spanish. But at least there’s access to healthcare, and some unemployment benefits for those who need it, he added. “In comparison to what it was in the US, the situation for us in Mexico right now is much better.”

Brexit’s Silver Lining for Europe (NYT) It is done at last. On Jan. 1, with the Brexit transition period over, Britain will no longer be part of the European Union’s single market and customs union. A great loss will be consummated. Loss for the European Union of one of its biggest member states, a major economy, a robust military. Loss for Britain of diplomatic heft in a world of renewed great power rivalry; of some future economic growth; of clarity over European access for its big financial services industry; and of countless opportunities to study, live, work and dream across the continent. “Brexit is an act of mutual weakening,” Michel Barnier, the chief European Union negotiator, told the French daily Le Figaro. But the weakening is uneven. Britain is closer to fracture. The possibility has increased that Scotland and Northern Ireland will opt to leave the United Kingdom and, by different means, rejoin the European Union. The bloc, by contrast, has in some ways been galvanized by the trauma of Brexit. It has overcome longstanding obstacles, lifted its ambitions and reignited the Franco-German motor of closer union. “Brexit is not good news for anyone, but it has unquestionably contributed to a reconsolidation of Europe, which demonstrated its unity throughout the negotiations,” François Delattre, the secretary-general of the French foreign ministry, said.

Coronavirus overshadows Japan’s New Year’s Day festivities (Reuters) New Year’s Day is the biggest holiday in Japan’s calendar, but this year’s festivities have been subdued following record highs in new coronavirus cases nationwide and calls from the government to stay home. Japan’s Emperor Naruhito appealed to the public to work together through the pandemic in a videotaped New Year’s Day address to the nation released on Friday. “I am wishing from my heart that everyone can move forward during this hard time by supporting and helping one another,” he said in the address, which was released in place of an annual public appearance by the imperial family during the New Year holidays. The event was cancelled this year because of the pandemic. New Year’s Day festivities in Japan involves spending time with family and praying at local temples, where hordes of people wish for good luck in the coming year.

Philippines to ban U.S. travellers from Sunday (Reuters) The Philippines will prohibit the entry of foreign travellers from the United States from Sunday after the more infectious new variant of the coronavirus was detected in Florida. The travel ban, lasting until Jan. 15, covers those who have been to the United States within 14 days preceding arrival in the Philippines, President Rodrigo Duterte’s spokesman said in a statement.

Floods ravage South Sudan (AP) On a scrap of land surrounded by flooding in South Sudan, families drink and bathe from the waters that swept away latrines and continue to rise. Some 1 million people in the country have been displaced or isolated for months by the worst flooding in memory, with the intense rainy season a sign of climate change. The waters began rising in June, washing away crops, swamping roads and worsening hunger and disease in the young nation struggling to recover from civil war. Now famine is a threat. On a recent visit by The Associated Press to the Old Fangak area in hard-hit Jonglei state, parents spoke of walking for hours in chest-deep water to find food and health care as malaria and diarrheal diseases spread.

Gratitude (NYT) Numerous studies show that people who have a daily gratitude practice, in which they consciously count their blessings, tend to be happier, have lower stress levels, sleep better and are less likely to experience depression. In one study, researchers recruited 300 adults, most of them college students seeking mental health counseling. All the volunteers received counseling, but one group added a writing exercise focused on bad experiences, while another group wrote a letter of gratitude to another person each week for three weeks. A month later, those who wrote gratitude letters reported significantly better mental health. And the effect appears to last. Three months later the researchers scanned the brains of students while they completed a different gratitude exercise. The students who had written gratitude letters earlier in the study showed greater activation in a part of the brain called the medial prefrontal cortex, believed to be related to both reward and higher-level cognition. Send an appreciative email or text, thank a service worker or tell your children, your spouse or a friend how they have made your life better. You can send emails or post feelings of gratitude on social media or in a group chat. Or think of someone in your life and write them a letter of gratitude. (You don’t have to mail it.) Fill your letter with details describing how this person influenced your life and the things you appreciate about them. Or keep a daily gratitude journal. “I think the full potential of gratitude is realized when people are able to express gratitude in words,” says Y. Joel Wong, chairman of the department of counseling and educational psychology at Indiana University. “When we are able to say what we’re grateful for and explain why, it shifts our attention from what’s negative to what’s positive in our lives.”

#headlines #news

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itsfinancethings · 4 years

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Jacquelyn Martin—APHarris rose in Senate hearings, grilling Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh in September 2018

J. Scott Applewhite—APHarris, with the intelligence committee in 2018, won GOP praise for her hard work offstage

–With reporting by Anna Purna Kambhampaty, Justin Worland and Julia Zorthian

#IFTTT #Blogger

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