Pentagon Moving Forward with Transgender Ban 3/13/19

The Defense Department has signed a memo stating that it is moving forward with a plan to stop Transgender individuals from serving in the military if they require hormone treatments or surgery for transition.

The plan is expected to take effect on April 12th, but critics point out that the Pentagon’s own studies contradict the need for this policy:

A 2016 Pentagon-commissioned study found that any impact on cost or military readiness from having transgender troops would be marginal. It estimated there were around 2,450 transgender troops at the time [1].

The policy was allowed when the new Supreme Court allowed the ban to take place, overruling the ruling by the lower-courts [2].

Sources

Source 1: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-military-transgender/pentagon-sets-limits-on-transgender-troops-idUSKBN1QU06M

Source 2: https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/22/politics/scotus-transgender-ban/index.html

Manafort get’s 6 years, 9 months total, plus State Charges 3/13/19

President Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman Paul Manafort was sentenced to about 3-1/2 more years in prison and was hit with a fresh set of criminal charges in New York on Wednesday, drawing sympathy from a president who declined to say whether he would issue a pardon.

Minutes after receiving 3.5 more years in Federal Prison, Paul Manafort was charged with a 16-count indictment for falsifying business records to gain millions of dollars in mortgages.

The key detail to the State of New York charging Manafort is that, if sentenced, his crimes in the State Court will not be removed by any Pardon given by Trump.

Source: https://www.reuters.com/article/usa-trump-russia-manafort-int/ex-trump-aide-manafort-hit-with-3-1-2-more-years-in-prison-new-charges-idUSKBN1QU194

Brexit’s Future Unknown – 3/12/19

With 17 days before the deadline for the “Brexit” of Britain from the European Union, Prime Minister Theresa May has again failed to pass a plan to leave the EU with certain guidelines on how their connection to the EU will end up.

A vote was taken in Parliament today that failed with a vote of 242 for the measure and 391 against.

The vote puts the world’s fifth largest economy in uncharted territory with no obvious way forward: exiting the EU without a deal, delaying the March 29 divorce date, a snap election, or even another referendum are all now possible.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-eu/britain-and-brexit-in-chaos-uk-parliament-rejects-mays-eu-deal-again-idUSKBN1QT0ZO

Massive Election Law Will be Blocked by Republicans 3/11/19

The Democrats passed H.R. 1, also known as the ‘For the People Act’, a massive bill that attempts to clean up our voting structure in the US. The Bill was passed on party lines, with none of the Republicans in the House voting for the Bill.
by doing the following:

A Constitutional Amendment to end Citizens United, which funnels in massive amounts of Corporate Money into politics.
Disclose Dark Money donors that invest in Political Campaigns.
Pass the Honest Ads Act, which forces tech companies to disclose where the money for the ads on their sites came from.
Require those running for President and Vice President (including Trump as it works retroactively) to reveal their past 10 years of Tax Return Documents.
Prohibiting Voter Purging from voter rolls (as we’ve seen recently).
Force States to use Independent Commissions to Redistrict the State, to end Gerrymandering for Racist or Political reasons.
Automatic Voter Registration for citizens.
Making Election Day a Federal Holiday across the country.
Require Poll Workers give the public a weeks notice for all Changes to Polling Locations.
Make Colleges and DMV places to Register to Vote.
Adding more Poll Workers for Polling Stations.
Increase Election Security Funding.
Allows for Matching funds from Small Donors for Congressional and Presidential Candidates.
Bars members of Congress from serving on Corporate Boards.
Restructures the Federal Election Commission, which oversees money in politics.
Allows citizens to Register to Vote Online.

Mitch McConnell, however, has stated he will refuse to let the Bill come for a vote in the Senate, effectively killing the Bill.

Republicans also had complained about wanting the bill to state only Citizens would be allowed to vote, a non-issue, since it’s already illegal for anyone but Citizens of the United States to vote in Federal Elections due to the Federal Voting Rights Act, and only Green Card holders are allowed to vote in State and Local elections, and even then, depending on the State laws in which they reside.

Sources

Source 1: https://www.npr.org/2019/03/08/701455283/house-passes-extensive-election-and-campaign-finance-overhaul-bill

Source 2: https://www.axios.com/house-hr1-anti-corruption-package-vote-a5ce4105-1684-458e-b1b9-4e41cdad70c1.html

Source 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBClMces-HE

Source 4: https://www.npr.org/2019/03/08/701455283/house-passes-extensive-election-and-campaign-finance-overhaul-bill

Source 5: https://www.thoughtco.com/can-i-vote-1951751

Week in Review 3/7/19

This week has been a major news week in politics across the world.

A depressing story about the alleged rape of an 18 year old woman by two Detectives in Brooklyn.
Detectives Eddie Martins and Richard Hall picked up Anna Chambers in September 2017 for marijuana possession.
Anna states that both officers took turns raping her in the back of their squad car after her arrest, even getting a positive match for both officers semen with a rape kit she was tested with after they released her.
The officers however, allege that she consented to the sex, which, at that point in time in NY, was not against the law (it has been instituted in the state since due to this incident), and the officers are only being charged with taking bribes and official misconduct [1].

“She decided to speak out, and they shut it right down. It’s a very bad message to future victims of sexual violence, especially against law enforcement.”
Chambers’ attorney Mike David

The US Government, in coordination with Mexico, created a secret database of activists, journalists, and social media influencers tied to the migrant caravan and in some cases, placed alerts on their passports.
This has led to continual questioning and interrogation by border officials to those that were at the caravan who have been routinely monitored since the event and some have been barred from access to other countries [2].

In an ever developing story, the White House may have abused their power to get security clearances for Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner despite opposition from Security Agencies and the WH Security Office [3].

Because of this revelation, both the House Oversight Committee and the group
CREW (Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington) are attempting to look into the issue [4], with the House Oversight Committee submitting a request to the White House for documents related to the security clearances.
The White House chose, in response, to reject their request for documents, a move that will lead to a subpoenas being handed out, possibly even to Trump himself [5].

Speaking on subpoenas, it seems likely, as stated by Judge Napolitano of Fox News, that Michael Cohen’s testimony may lead to multiple investigations within the House that, if they so choose, may subpoena the White House if documents are asked for and not handed over to the investigations [6].
This may come to fruition sooner than expected however, as the House Judiciary Committee has begun investigating:

The committee told reporters Monday that the investigation will focus on three primary issues: whether the president obstructed justice by interfering with criminal investigations; potential corruption such as violation of campaign and financial reporting laws, as well as possible misuse of office for personal gain; and abuses of power to include misuse of the pardon power and attacks on the press, judiciary and law enforcement agencies. [7]

Fox News reportedly knew of the Stormy Daniels story before the 2016 Election and refused to publish it (as well as avoiding coverage of it across their prime-time shows):

“But Falzone’s story didn’t run—it kept being passed off from one editor to the next. After getting one noncommittal answer after another from her editors, Falzone at last heard from LaCorte, who was then the head of FoxNews.com. Falzone told colleagues that LaCorte said to her, ‘Good reporting, kiddo. But Rupert [Murdoch] wants Donald Trump to win. So just let it go.’” [8]

Due to this story, the DNC has barred Fox News from hosting any of their Primary Debates, citing that the DNC believes the station cannot be ‘fair and neutral’ [9].

Reports from South Korea have indicated that North Korea has begun rebuilding their rocket testing sites they had promised to destroy after the initial summit with Trump, with US National Security Adviser John Bolton stating that it may lead to further sanctions [10].

The lack of urgency in the Trump Administrations methods to ensure ending North Korea’s nuclear armament is what is leading to their likelihood of succeeding in becoming a nuclear power, as the more time the US wastes not ensuring the end of their nuclear projects, the higher the chance of success for North Korea.

A massive uncovering of a Russian money laundering operation of over $9 Billion involving Citigroup, Raiffeisen, and Deutsche Bank, as well as Prince Charles, has been exposed by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project and the Lithuanian news site 15min.lt using leaked data shared with others including The Guardian that led to the discovery. [11]
Dubbed “the Troika Laundromat,” it allowed for “Russian oligarchs and politicians to secretly acquire shares in state-owned companies, to buy real estate both in Russia and abroad, to purchase luxury yachts, to hire music superstars for private parties, to pay medical bills, and much more, to protect themselves, the wealthy people behind this system used the identities of poor people as unwitting signatories in the secretive offshore companies that ran the system.” [12]

The US has closed it’s Consulate in Jerusalem, causing massive tensions with Palestinian officials. Previously, Palestine had utilized the Consulate in a way similar to having their own Embassy to the United States. This move has caused Palestinian leaders to believe the US has stopped believing in and is moving away from a Two-State Solution. This move, along with the move of the US Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem and cutting hundreds of millions of dollars in humanitarian aid to Palestine has enraged the Palestinian leadership, but the Trump Administration points out the avoidance of peace negotiations with Israel as a major factor [13].

The House Passed a Resolution condemning antisemitism and bigotry in response to Representative Ilhan Omar, in which she stated:

“I want to talk about the political influence in this country that says it is OK for people to push for allegiance to a foreign country. I want to ask, ‘Why is it OK for me to talk about the influence of the [National Rifle Association], or fossil fuel industries or Big Pharma, and not talk about a powerful lobbying group that is influencing policy?'” [14]
Rep. Ilhan Omar

However, many progressives in the Democratic party came to her side, including three candidates for becoming the Democratic Presidential Candidate, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, and Kamala Harris, who stated that asking questions and criticizing Israel should not automatically be seen as antisemitic [15].

House and Senate Democrats Wednesday morning introduced a new three-page bill that would restore the FCC’s 2015 net neutrality rules. Dubbed the Save the Internet Act, the proposal would also restore FCC authority over internet service providers, stripped away in the wake of last year’s controversial repeal.

The original FCC rules prohibited ISPs from unfairly throttling or blocking websites or services they compete with. It also required that ISPs be entirely transparent with consumers about just what kind of broadband connection they’re buying.

“The Save the Internet Act would enact true net neutrality protections by codifying the FCC’s 2015 Open Internet Order as a new, free-standing section of law,” Congressman Mike Doyle told attendees of a morning press conference.
“We are on the right side of history, and we will not give up this fight,” Senator Ed Markey noted. “It begins today, and this coalition will not stop until we win.”
…

ISPs have a rich history of trying to use their role as internet gatekeepers both to nickel and dime consumers—and to disadvantage competitors.

In 2005, one North Carolina ISP banned internet phone provider Vonage because it didn’t want the provider competing with its own phone services. In 2012, AT&T blocked FaceTime unless iPhone users ponied up more money. More recently, AT&T has been imposing arbitrary usage caps on broadband users if they use streaming competitors like Netflix, but not if they use AT&T’s own streaming offerings.

Mobile carriers like Sprint have toyed with throttling all video, music, or games unless users pay an additional fee. Verizon now offers “unlimited” data plans that ban HD streaming unless you pay them more money, and the company was also caught last year trying to throttle and upsell firefighters in the midst of a historic forest fire.
Given the lack of competition in many markets, users often can’t switch to another ISP if their existing provider behaves anti-competitively. That’s why net neutrality rules were seen as a useful stopgap measure until lawmakers are willing to embrace policies that drive more competition to market—something telecom lobbyists work tirelessly to avoid. [16]

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has been discovered to have asked former Justice Minister (in charge of administration of Judiciary) Jody Wilson-Raybould to help a major construction firm called SNC-Lavin Group Inc avoid criminal trial.
The reason behind his actions seems to be based on the fact that SNC-Lavalin employs 9,000 Canadians and is a major employer in Quebec, but in order to do so, repeatedly pressured Wilson-Raybould to avoid going to trial even after she had decided they needed to do so.
Wilson-Raybould was then unexpectedly demoted in January and became a whistleblower after leaving the government [17].

Sources

Source 1: https://www.buzzfeednews.com/amphtml/claudiakoerner/anna-chambers-nypd-rape-charges-officers-dropped

Source 2: https://www.nbcsandiego.com/investigations/Source-Leaked-Documents-Show-the-US-Government-Tracking-Journalists-and-Advocates-Through-a-Secret-Database-506783231.html

Source 3: https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/05/politics/ivanka-trump-security-clearance-pressure/index.html

Source 4: https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/433037-watchdog-organization-calls-for-investigation-into-kushner-clearance

Source 5: https://www.axios.com/white-house-rejects-house-oversight-request-security-clearances-3dafb296-376f-4b9b-8bd3-0601f240c28f.html

Source 6: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YEjFs9JSKo

Source 7: https://www.npr.org/2019/03/04/699976689/house-judiciary-launches-probe-of-allegations-of-obstruction-by-president-trump

Source 8: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/03/04/fox-news-reportedly-killed-stormy-daniels-story-its-downplayed-it-since/?utm_term=.7ae2994c2b0e

Source 9: https://www.npr.org/2019/03/06/700807729/dnc-bars-fox-news-from-hosting-2020-primary-debates

Source 10: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-northkorea-usa-nuclear/south-korea-sees-signs-north-korea-restoring-part-of-launch-site-it-promised-to-dismantle-idUSKCN1QM1ZA

Source 11: https://www.businessinsider.com/expos-on-russian-money-laundering-operation-entangles-banks-2019-3

Source 12: https://www.occrp.org/en/troikalaundromat/

Source 13: https://www.timesofisrael.com/us-closes-jerusalem-consulate-demoting-palestinian-mission/

Source 14: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/rep-ilhan-omar-criticized-again-what-critics-call-anti-semitism-n978521

Source 15: https://www.vox.com/2019/3/7/18254616/2020-democrats-ilhan-omar-israel

Source 16: https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/d3mk5w/democrats-unveil-new-bill-to-fully-restore-net-neutrality

Source 17: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-canada-politics-snc-lavalin/under-pressure-canadas-trudeau-denies-impropriety-offers-no-apology-idUSKCN1QO1NF

Trumps Warm Embrace of Dictators 3/3/2019

The news about Trump siding with Kim Jong-un when it came to the torture and eventually death of US Citizen Otto Warmbier is troubling.
This is the third time that Trump has sided with a dictator and disagreed with US National Intelligence conclusions and reports.

Putin – Trump stands with Putin’s statement on not hacking our elections [1]
Mohammad Bin Salman – Trump states that MBS did not know about the killing of Jamaal Kashogi, a US Resident [2]
Kim Jong-un – Trump believes the Korean Dictator did not know about the torture and eventual death of Otto Warmbier, a US Citizen [3]

The irony of his poor international relations comes in how he treats US Allies in the exact opposite way, behaving much more crass and damaging well-planned and thought-out deals with countries like Iran.

Trump’s continued tariffs on Canadian and Mexican Steel and Aluminum. [4]
Planning to reduce forces in South Korea even though North Korea continues to build their Nuclear armaments and do not hold their end of the deal Trump made with Kim Jong-un. [5]
Left Japan off our list of countries exempted from our steel and aluminum tariffs implemented by Trump. [6]
Endangering European allies by ending the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty with Russia. [7]
Calling Germany “Captive to Russia” due to allowing a pipeline to import gas from Russia (which is still not complete). [8]
And of course, removing the Iran Nuclear Deal. This deal allowed international checks on their nuclear stores and limits their uranium and nuclear stockpiles until 2030. Thankfully, the other countries in the deal (Germany, France, and Britain) will stay in and protect the deal. [9]

Sources

Source 1: https://www.cnn.com/2018/07/16/politics/donald-trump-putin-helsinki-summit/index.html

Source 2: https://www.cnbc.com/2018/11/20/trump-says-us-stands-with-saudi-arabia-despite-khashoggi-killing.html

Source 3: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/inconceivable-kim-jong-un-wasn-t-aware-otto-warmbier-ex-n977696

Source 4: https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/trudeau-trump-call-1.5039047

Source 5: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/03/world/asia/trump-troops-south-korea.html

Source 6: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/23/world/asia/japan-trump-tariffs-trade-.html

Source 7: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/10/world/europe/world-war-i-trump-macron.html

Source 8: https://www.vox.com/2018/7/11/17559364/trump-nato-leaders-russia-germany-captive

Source 9: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/08/world/middleeast/trump-iran-nuclear-deal.html

Equal Rights for Women 3/2/2019

The United States and other foreign countries are lagging behind when it comes to establishing equal rights for women in today’s day and age.

There is so much more that can be done.

” Belgium, Denmark, France, Latvia, Luxembourg and Sweden scored full marks of 100 in the bank’s “Women, Business and the Law 2019” report.

…

But countries in the Middle East and Sub-Saharan Africa averaged a score of 47.37, meaning the typical nation in those regions gives women under half the legal rights of men in the areas measured by the group.

…

The criteria analyzed were: going places, starting a job, getting paid, getting married, having children, running a business, managing assets and getting a pension. Those were broken down into questions such as: “Can a woman travel outside her home in the same way as a man?” and “Is there legislation specifically address domestic violence?”

Overall, the global average came in at 74.71 — an increase of more than four and a half points compared to a decade ago. But the score indicates that in the average nation, women receive just three-quarters of the legal rights that men do.

The United States scored 83.75, placing it outside the global top 50. The United Kingdom achieved a score of 97.5, Germany measured at 91.88, and Australia scored 96.88. “

Source

https://edition-m.cnn.com/2019/03/02/europe/world-bank-gender-equality-report-intl/index.html

Oregon forces Rent Control Statewide 3/1/2019

Rental costs have continually risen in the US, while wages have been stagnant in most of the country.
Something needs to change, and while this is a measure that may be a part of the solution, it cannot be achieved without other changes, such as affordable housing and wage increases to allow for a more enriched middle-class.

In hearings for the bill passed, tenants testified that they have struggled to keep up with skyrocketing rents, with many said they’ve been forced from their homes. Kori Sparks, a resident of the fast-growing city of Bend, said she relies on disability and has “to deal with the stress of losing an accessible home on short notice.”
She said rent control will protect vulnerable people from “a predatory system where profit comes before people and denies them of a basic human right.”
Builders in Oregon have not been able to construct enough houses and apartments to meet the demands of the thousands of people moving to the state for jobs and in some cases, for a lower cost of living. Many people move to the state from California.
A state report estimated that a renter would need to work 77 hours a week at minimum wage to afford a two-bedroom apartment. Many renters in Oregon are paying more than 50% of their income on rent, far higher than the Congressional-set definition of housing affordability, which suggests setting aside 30% toward rent.
In the Portland metropolitan area, rent began to plateau in 2017 after four consecutive years of rent hikes averaging 5% or more. The average rental unit costs about $1,400 a month, according to data released by the city.
Oregon is also suffering from a lack of affordable housing and has one of the highest rates of homelessness in the country.

Source

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/oregon-approves-statewide-mandatory-rent-control-2019-02-28

Gov. Jay Inslee joins race for President 3/1/2019

Governor Jay Inslee has joined the massive group of candidates for the Democratic bid for President.

Gov. Jay Inslee of Washington, who entered the presidential race on Friday on a bold bet: that a singular focus on combating climate change can distinguish him in one of the largest Democratic fields ever.
…

• He has been outspoken in favor of gun control, and after the shooting in Parkland, Fla., last year, he confronted President Trump on live television, denouncing Mr. Trump’s suggestion to arm schoolteachers. Among other measures, he wants to expand background checks and restrict some semiautomatic weapons. His advocacy on the issue goes back many years; he lost his seat in Congress after voting for the 1994 assault weapons ban.

• He supports universal health care in some form and recently proposed a government-funded “public option” on Washington’s insurance exchange, which he cast as the first step toward a universal program.

• While he has not released a federal tax proposal, he recently introduced a plan in Washington State that would increase several taxes and institute a 9 percent tax on some capital gains. (The state doesn’t tax capital gains now.) His budget would increase spending by about 20 percent to fund anti-climate-change programs, education and mental health services, and to protect endangered orcas.

• He backed legislation to increase Washington’s minimum wage from $9.47 an hour to $12. Voters approved that increase in 2016, and it has been phased in gradually.

• He supports legalizing marijuana and announced a program in January that will pardon some Washington residents previously convicted of marijuana possession.• He opposes the death penalty as currently administered and suspended executions in Washington in 2014, saying the risk of wrongful convictions was unacceptable. “There are too many flaws in the system,” he said at the time, “and when the ultimate decision is death, there is too much at stake to accept an imperfect system.”

Source

Foreign News 2/28/2019

For some Foreign News, I’d like to talk about four things happening while America was focused on Cohen:
The North Korea Summit, the new India-Pakistan conflict, Netanyahu being charged for corruption, and the Colombian-Venezuelan conflict.

Trump visited North Korea this week and left without a deal [1]. Based on what North Korea wanted to bargain for (which was a complete removal of sanctions against NK), I think it was a great thing for Trump to have turned down the agreement brought to the table. When scaled by what is expected from Trump, this was a success due to his refusal to accept a poor deal.

That being said, when compared with other presidents, he’s already made mistakes. He should not have gone to meet Kim Jong-un until there was something agreed upon. He should focus more on an agreement to have international inspectors review their facilities routinely and on an un-prepared schedule, just like what was done with the Iran Nuclear Deal created by Obama in conjunction with the UK, France, China, Russia, and Germany [2].

This week, India’s Air Force conducted air strikes in Kashmir (on the Pakistan side) in retaliation for attacks conducted by the terrorist organization Jaish-e-Mohammed. No casualties we’re reported by either country, though key to the conflict is knowing that Pakistan has a history of supporting terrorist cells in an attempt to protect themselves from India [3].

Throughout the week, there has been exchanges of fire along the border, with minor wounds and casualties reported so far (4 dead).
On February 27th, Pakistan announced that they had carried out an airstrike on multiple targets and had shot down two Indian aircraft’s near the border and have taken one of the pilots hostage.

Currently, Pakistan is promising to return the pilot as a sign of good peace and to open negotiations to end the conflict [4].

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been indicted for bribery and breach of trust charges. He’s been under investigation since 2017, and became the first sitting Prime Minister to be charged with a crime.

It will take years before the trial and judgement will be handed down, as well as going through the appeals process. In Israel’s laws, he cannot be removed until charges are formally laid, and the next election takes place on April 9th for a 4 year term [5].

This week, conflict’s began springing up on the Venezuelan-Colombian border due to the aid that’s trying to be given to Venezuela.

Part of the issue was due to Guard, the opposition candidate, traveling to the country for support, while another part is the over 300 people hospitalized on Colombia’s side of the border [6].

Colombia has called on the UN Human Rights Council to end Venezuela’s humanitarian crisis and to help in a transition to a free election, and their human rights councilor openly called out Nicolas Maduro as a dictator to the UN Human Rights Council [7].

Sources

Source 1: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/28/world/asia/trump-kim-vietnam-summit.html

Source 2: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-33521655

Source 3: https://www.brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2018/01/05/why-pakistan-supports-terrorist-groups-and-why-the-us-finds-it-so-hard-to-induce-change/

Source 4: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/28/world/asia/pakistan-india-pilot-kashmir.html

Source 5: https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/28/middleeast/israel-benjamin-netanyahu-indictment-intl/index.html

Source 6: https://www.vox.com/2019/2/24/18238579/venezuela-border-clashes-colombia-weekend-violence

Source 7: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-politics-colombia-un/colombia-calls-at-un-for-action-on-venezuela-crisis-idUSKCN1QG1FU