August 2, 2017


News and Views


I AM DELIGHTED TO SEE THAT TRUMP HAS SIGNED THIS BILL, BUT I NOTICE HE DID IT “UNDER PRESSURE FROM HIS OWN PARTY.” STILL, I AM GRATEFUL TO WHATEVER GODS THERE BE THAT WE DO HAVE A FIRMLY ENTRENCHED COMPLEX POLITICAL SYSTEM THAT IS REBELLING AT HIS GRAB FOR POWER. HE HAS BEEN REWRITING RULES THAT WERE HELPFUL, THOUGH. I THINK THE PRESIDENT SHOULD NOT HAVE SO MUCH POWER AS HE/SHE HAS COME TO HAVE IN THE LAST DECADES. I LIKE AS LITTLE “RULE BY FIAT” AS POSSIBLE.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-signs-bill-imposing-sanctions-russia-144327470--politics.html?soc_trk=gcm&soc_src=bad81b5f-db87-38f1-ad4e-b7e8e737f190&.tsrc=notification-brknews
Trump signs bill imposing sanctions on Russia
Vivian Salama, Associated Press
Associated Press August 2, 2017

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed a bill imposing new sanctions on Russia, conceding under pressure from his own party that a warmer relationship with Moscow was not in the country's best interest.

The legislation is aimed at punishing Moscow for interfering in the 2016 presidential election and for its military aggression in Ukraine and Syria, where the Kremlin has backed President Bashar Assad. It also imposes financial sanctions against Iran and North Korea.

Moscow responded to a White House announcement last week that Trump intended to sign the bill, ordering a reduction in the number of U.S. diplomats in Russia.

The House overwhelmingly backed the bill, 419-3, and the Senate rapidly following their lead on a 98-2 vote. Those overwhelming margins guaranteed that Congress would be able to beat back any attempt by Trump to reject the measure.

Provisions backed by Republican and Democrats would handcuff Trump on the Russia sanctions resulted from lawmakers' worries that he may ease the financial hits without first securing concessions from Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Republicans refused to budge even after the White House complained that the "congressional review" infringed on Trump's executive authority.

Faced with the embarrassing possibility of being overruled by Trump's own party, the White House announced late Friday that he "approves the bill and intends to sign it."

The proposed measures target Russia's energy sector as part of legislation that prevents Trump from easing sanctions on Moscow without congressional approval. Two White House officials said that the president signed the bill Wednesday morning. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly before the official statement.


BOY SCOUT ORGANIZATION HAS NO RECORD OF SUCH A CALL TO THE WHITE HOUSE. SHOULD TRUMP RUN AGAIN? YES, SO BERNIE CAN HAVE A CHANCE AT HIM.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/boy-scouts-disputes-trumps-greatest-ever-claim-about-his-speech/
By REBECCA SHABAD CBS NEWS August 2, 2017, 9:47 AM
Boy Scouts disputes Trump's "greatest ever" claim about his speech

The Boy Scouts are disputing President Trump's claim that he was told his speech last week at their national jamboree event was the "the greatest speech ever made to them."

In an interview with The Wall Street Journal after the event last week, the president claimed that he received a call from the head of the Boy Scouts praising his speech. This came after Mr. Trump appeared to get annoyed that a reporter said that there was "mixed" reaction to his speech.

"There was no mix there. That was a standing ovation from the time I walked out to the time I left, and for five minutes after I had already gone. There was no mix," Trump said, according to a transcript obtained by Politico.

"And I got a call from the head of the Boy Scouts saying it was the greatest speech that was ever made to them, and they were very thankful. So there was — there was no mix," Mr. Trump added.

gettyimages-821843776.jpg
President Trump waves after speaking to Boy Scouts during the National Boy Scout Jamboree at Summit Bechtel National Scout Reserve in Glen Jean, West Virginia, on July 24, 2017. GETTY

But the Boy Scouts told Time magazine and other outlets Tuesday that they aren't aware of a call being placed to the White House by national leadership, saying that a statement from the organization's chief scout executive last week speaks for itself.

"I want to extend my sincere apologies to those in our Scouting family who were offended by the political rhetoric that was inserted into the jamboree," Michael Surbaugh said in the statement last Thursday. "That was never our intent. The invitation for the sitting U.S. President to visit the National Jamboree is a long-standing tradition that has been extended to the leader of our nation that has had a Jamboree during his term since 1937. It is in no way an endorsement of any person, party or policies."

The speech from the president was highly political, with comments, for example, calling on Congress to repeal and replace Obamacare, boasting of states where he beat Hillary Clinton, and blasting the "fake media."


THIS IS NOT A NEW TREND, BUT IT IS A TERRIBLE ONE. CARTING IN WORKERS FROM CENTRAL EUROPE SO THEY WILL ACCEPT CHEAP WAGES IS DISGUSTING. I WILL SAY ONE THING, THOUGH. THE VIDEO ACCOMPANYING THIS STORY SPECIFIES THAT OUTSIDE CONSTRUCTION WORKERS WILL WORK FOR $10.00 AN HOUR AND OUR AMERICAN WORKERS FOR $40.00.

I DOUBT THAT ANYWHERE NEAR ALL OF OUR AMERICAN WORKERS GET $40.00 AN HOUR. LET’S LOWER THAT AND SPREAD THE WEALTH AROUND, LIKE A GOVERNMENT MANDATED WAGE OF $20.00, TO BE REVIEWED BY LAW EVERY FIVE YEARS OR SO FOR A REGULAR INCREASE; AND THERE COULD BE MODEST RAISES AT THOSE TIMES, OR IN DIFFICULT ECONOMIC TIMES, GIVE MORE. LIKEWISE, IF A FAMILY HAS AN ECONOMIC DISASTER SUCH AS A DIAGNOSIS OF A LIFE-THREATENING ILLNESS OR THEIR HOUSE BURNS DOWN, THEY CAN GET EXTRA HELP.

CONSTRUCTION WORK IS HARD LABOR, AND THEY DESERVE TO BE PAID WELL, NO MATTER WHO THEIR EMPLOYERS ARE, BUT THEY AREN’T NECESSARILY. GOOD FACTORY WORK ALSO USED TO BE WELL-PAID, BUT WITH THE USE OF ROBOTIC MACHINERY THESE DAYS THERE ARE TASKS THAT NO LONG USE HUMAN EFFORT. LIKEWISE, WE ARE EVEN DEVELOPING “ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE.” DID YOU KNOW THAT SOME NEWS SITES ARE USING COMPUTERS TO WRITE STORIES? THAT’S LIKE SELF-DRIVING CARS. I JUST DON’T TRUST IT. HUMANS DO SEVERAL KINDS OF THINKING THAT ONLY THEY CAN DO, SUCH AS WEIGHING ISSUES BASED ON HUMANE AND MORAL VALUE SYSTEMS, OR PERCEIVING BEAUTY. LET’S NOT OPEN OUR HANDS AND LET OUR HUMANITY ESCAPE BEFORE WE ARE AWARE THAT WE STILL NEED IT.


http://www.cbsnews.com/news/behind-the-lens-made-in-america/
By VLADIMIR DUTHIERS CBS NEWS August 1, 2017, 10:43 AM
Behind the Lens: Made in America*

Five months ago, when my producers Emily Rand, Rayner Ramirez, and I began discussing this investigation, I was unsure of what we would uncover. Emily is an experienced, award-winning investigative journalist, whereas my experiences as a reporter are rooted in bearing witness -- sharing with the world scenes and stories of people affected by forces beyond their control. I had done a few investigative pieces in West Africa when I was a foreign correspondent but a deep-dive investigation like this was a new and eye-opening experience for me.

Made in America* -- How the U.S. auto industry was built with foreign labor
When we began talking to laborers working at BMW in Spartanburg, South Carolina, and Mercedes in Vance, Alabama (among others), we learned that many were coming from Central and Eastern Europe -- in many cases, Slovenia and Croatia. That prompted us to take the investigation abroad.

These laborers were leaving their families, loved ones and friends to live in cramped apartment complexes in the American South with five or six other men for months at a time, looking for a decent paycheck. That this is happening is nothing new -- people from other countries have been coming to America to earn a living since the country was founded. But what was surprising was that they weren't coming from Latin and Central America -- places Americans typically considered when they think about immigrant labor -- or an impoverished country.

CBS News producers talk about their investigation, "Made in America"
Play VIDEO
CBS News producers talk about their investigation, "Made in America"
Slovenia is a member of the European Union. GDP growth is over 2 percent. Its capital, Ljubljana, is a beautiful city with an imposing castle overlooking a meandering river lined with charming cafés. I had visited the country as a college student when it was still part of Yugoslavia and it seemed to me that it was even more impressive than I remembered it. But the country was hit hard by the global recession in 2009 and at 11 percent, unemployment is fairly high for such a small country.

They aren't starving there, but for many, making ends meet is a struggle. That's why they chose to take jobs at American auto companies for wages far below that of what an American would earn at working them. Working 13-hour days or more, six to seven days a week, without health insurance, without any paid time off. They told us they knew they were being exploited by their subcontractors and by extension, the automotive companies they were working for. But their feeling was, if this could make life better back home, they would risk it.

That's what made this story so compelling to report. It challenged my own assumptions about immigrant labor, the USA's visa process, the concept of "Made in America" by Americans, the idea that people living in a beautiful, seemingly thriving European capital would take such risks earn a decent wage.

I realized that investigations generally begin by simply pulling a thread. How it unravels and where the story takes you can be surprising even to those of us reporting on it. And, I think it makes it even more surprising to our viewers.



I DO LIKE AL GORE. HE THINKS LIKE AN INTELLIGENT PERSON, AND NOT LIKE A PSYCHOLOGICALLY OR MORALLY COOPTED PERSON. I’M GLAD HE’S STILL AROUND.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/al-gore-says-fight-for-paris-accord-climate-will-continue-despite-trumps-policies/
By EMILY TILLETT CBS NEWS August 2, 2017, 9:14 AM
Al Gore says fight for Paris accord, climate will continue despite Trump's policies

While President Trump has made clear to the world that his administration will not support the Paris climate agreement, former Vice President Al Gore says he still has hope as a surge of activism has sprung up in reaction to Mr. Trump's policies.

Stunning photos of climate change
48 PHOTOS
Stunning photos of climate change

"Even though President Trump announced he was going to pull out of the Paris agreement, the very next day the world doubled down on their commitment," said Gore on "CBS This Morning" on Wednesday.

Gore applauded the work of state governors and local mayors who are committed to combatting the effects of climate change, saying, "It now looks as if the U.S. has an excellent chance to meet our commitments under the agreement, regardless of President Trump."

He said, however, even with the commitment of world leaders across the globe, "it's still not enough," but the support "lays a strong foundation on which to build stronger action."

"The world would benefit from U.S. leadership, but Tump is on other side of that," added Gore.

It's been over a decade since Gore's film, "An Inconvenient Truth" was released, highlighting the imminent impacts of climate change, and now, Gore says, extreme weather conditions linked to these changes have become "way more serious and common."

Gore's new film, "An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power", which serves as a follow-up to the 2006 release, highlights the continuing efforts to combat the effects of climate change across the country.

Al Gore: Crusader against the climate crisis
Play VIDEO
Al Gore: Crusader against the climate crisis

The former vice president says America needs to first "get over this phony discussion of 'is this real.'"

"These persistent levels of denial unique in the U.S. have been intentionally created by the large carbon polluters taking the playbook from the tobacco companies, hiring pseudo-scientists and putting out false data and all of us, as human beings, are resistant to thinking about something that's hard to think about," said Gore of climate change deniers.

He added, "If they can put out some false doubt, a lot of people will go, 'Oh, OK, we don't have to worry about this now' — but we do, because it's here now."

Those "persistent" deniers Gore refers to are even found in Mr. Trump's own cabinet — a situation Gore called "horrible"

"The president has surrounded himself with a 'rogues gallery' of climate deniers coming out of close ties with the carbon polluters," said Gore.

But Gore says that the recent uptick in support from a majority of Americans to find new ways to prevent the effects of climate change offers hope for the future.

"Carbon polluters have taken control of some parts of our democracy. We need to take it back. And this upsurge of activism is really encouraging."



UNTIL GOVERNMENT FAIRLY AND UNIFORMLY ESTABLISHES PRICE CONTROLS, WE WILL HAVE AN ECONOMY THAT MOST OF US CAN’T AFFORD TO LIVE IN. MEDICARE HAS MADE A WONDERFUL CHANGE IN MY LIFE, AND ONE OF THE THINGS IT DOES IS TO PAY A FIXED AMOUNT, ABOVE WHICH DOCTORS ARE NOT ALLOWED TO BILL THE PATIENT ON MOST MEDICAL NEEDS. IT IS TRUE THAT THERE ARE THINGS THAT ARE NOT COVERED, BUT IT ISN’T SOMETHING LIKE CANCER TREATMENT NOR “PREEXISTING CONDITIONS,” BUT THE LUXURY MEDICAL TREATMENTS, LIKE REMOVING THAT UNSIGHTLY LITTLE LUMP IN THE MIDDLE OF MY NOSE. (THANK YOU, MOTHER.) UNFORTUNATELY, IT DOES NOT STOP THOSE WHO ARE NOT ON MEDICARE FROM HAVING TO PAY AN ARM AND A LEG TO GET THE SIMPLEST THING DONE. THAT’S BECAUSE WE DON’T HAVE MANDATORY PRICE CONTROLS ACROSS THE BOARD, OR “MEDICARE FOR ALL!!”. BE SURE TO RUN AGAIN IN 2020, BERNIE!

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/08/02/money-pours-sanderss-new-medicare-all-digital-campaign
Wednesday, August 02, 2017
by Common Dreams
Money Pours In for Sanders's New Medicare for All Digital Campaign
"Bottom line is: if other countries around the world are providing quality care to all their people, we can do the same."
by Julia Conley, staff writer

Photograph -- Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is gathering support and ideas from voters ahead of his planned Medicare for All proposal on the Senate floor. (Photo: Edward Kimmel/Flickr/cc)

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is launching a campaign Wednesday to promote his planned Medicare for All legislation, engaging directly with voters across the nation.

The senator is asking supporters to sign on to the proposal as "citizen co-sponsors" via a digital ad campaign. In an article by the Guardian, Sanders's team described the operation as an effort to dispel myths about government-run healthcare, which is offered to the general populations of almost every western country and number of developing nations.

"Bottom line is: if other countries around the world are providing quality care to all their people, we can do the same," Sanders told NPR on Tuesday. "The American people are familiar with Medicare. By and large it's quite a popular program. But it starts now when you are 65 years of age...It should be available for every single person in this country."

A longtime proponent of Medicare for All, Sanders has laid out his plan for the system on his website, noting that it would be paid for with taxes on capital gains, dividends and estates of the wealthiest Americans, as well as with savings that would be gained by eliminating healthcare tax expenditures.

"We outspend all other countries on the planet and our medical spending continues to grow faster than the rate of inflation," Sanders's website says. "Creating a single, public insurance system will go a long way towards getting healthcare spending under control."

Ahead of the ad campaign, Sanders sent an email to his supporters asking for ideas regarding how to implement a Medicare for All plan, counter right-wing attacks on government-run healthcare, and bring all Americans into the fight for healthcare access. Within 24 hours, Sanders had raised $65,000 and received 19,000 responses.

The positive response follows months of signs that Americans and their lawmakers are embracing Medicare for All. The Pew Research Center found in June that 33 percent of citizens supported government-funded healthcare for all Americans, up five points since January and 12 points since 2014. Fifty-two percent of Democrats supported the plan.

Senators including Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Kirsten Gillbrand (D-N.Y.) have also spoken up in favor of Medicare for All, with Warren urging her party to strongly endorse government-run healthcare while Republicans attempt to do away with the Affordable Care Act.

Sanders's Medicare for All digital campaign will include ads on Facebook and Google and is planned to last through the Senate's August recess. When lawmakers reconvene after Labor Day, the senator plans to bring his proposal to the Senate floor for debate.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License
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THESE TWO ARTICLES ON IMMIGRANTS SHOW SEVERAL FORMS OF RESISTANCE AGAINST THE TRUMP RESTRICTIONS, AND TRUMP’S PATH THROUGH THE COURTS. I AM ENCOURAGED.

https://www.denverite.com/denver-prepares-another-immigration-fight-40237/
How far will Denver go to stop ICE? Two proposals reveal tension
Andrew Kenney
Posted on August 1, 2017 8:19 pm

Denver’s elected leaders have tangled for months with federal immigration authorities. They’ve been rewriting laws, drafting letters and trying to keep enforcement agents away from schools and courthouses, all to protect immigrant communities — even as they resist the “sanctuary city” label.

Through it all, there’s been this tension: How far would Denver go to resist the federal crackdown? We may soon find out.

Two Denver City Council members have introduced a bill that would forbid local cooperation with the feds, with limited exceptions. It comes up for an important meeting on Wednesday — and Mayor Michael Hancock’s office just released its own proposal.

Meanwhile, the federal Department of Justice has made specific new threats to cut funding to uncooperative cities. The council proposal may violate those rules, putting hundreds of thousands of dollars in question, while Hancock’s proposal may stay within the new requirements, hoping to avoid unnecessary federal attention, as one city attorney told The Denver Post.

FOR YOU: Aurora mother of four faces deportation, in part because of new federal priorities
Within hours, the contrast of the two proposals drew some heated criticism of Hancock’s office from immigrant advocates, presaging what could become a bigger fight over how much Denver can or should do to resist the federal government.

However, both groups of Denver officials say they have the same goal: Keep the city out of immigration enforcement.

“Whether it is in the form of a city ordinance or an executive order, we will be taking additional steps to stand with our immigrant and refugee community and protect their safety and rights,” Hancock said in a written statement.

His spokeswoman, Amber Miller, described the executive order as another option to accomplish the same objective, potentially with more flexibility.

Here’s what the two proposals would do.

The council proposal, the “Public Safety Enforcement Priorities Act,” is being drafted by council members Robin Kniech and Paul López. It was announced last month.

The mayor’s executive order is still being drafted. An initial version was released exclusively to The Denver Post on Tuesday.

They have several things in common:

ICE often requests that local jails keep immigrants in detention until agents can arrive. Denver, like most Colorado counties, already refuses to do that, saying it can only hold people for criminal matters, not immigration issues. Both proposals would make that policy permanent.

The council proposal expressly forbids ICE agents from entering secure jail areas to conduct investigative interviews. The mayor’s proposal doesn’t allow ICE to make arrests in jail, but it does allow for jailhouse interviews.

Both proposals generally declare that city resources should not be used to do the federal job of immigration enforcement.

“I think that both the City Council’s proposal and the mayor’s proposal are going to offend (Attorney General) Jeff Sessions,” said Chris Lasch, professor of law with the University of Denver.

And a couple of important differences:

The Kniech-López proposal says that Denver won’t notify ICE of the upcoming release of certain jail inmates who are wanted on immigration matters.

The “jail is currently providing voluntary notice to immigration enforcement about hundreds of individuals, including low-level traffic offenders,” according to a memo discussing the ordinance.

In contrast, the Post reported that Hancock’s executive order would allow deputies to notify ICE of people’s upcoming release from jail

“The fact sheet is stunningly silent on that point,” Lasch said of the mayor’s proposal. Notification could be a crucial point of contention, he said, because it’s part of a “pipeline” that can suck people in from a minor traffic offense to the deportation system.

Either way, Lasch noted that it often would be impossible to give 48-hour notice, since people who post bond are normally allowed to leave jail immediately, and neither proposal allows for extra detention for immigration purposes.

Denver has come in for harsh criticism when immigrants accused of crimes are released from jail without sufficient notice to ICE, as in the recent case of an inmate who killed another inmate in a fight (he was not charged in the death, as prosecutors believed it may have been self-defense) or earlier this year, when a man previously wanted on immigration violations was arrested in connection with a murder at a light rail station.

The mayor’s proposal also would create a new “legal defense fund” that would provide legal support for people facing deportation. It’s unclear whether it would be funded with city dollars.

This might tick off the Justice Department.

Late in July, the Department of Justice introduced some new rules for one of its major grant programs.

Cities now must allow immigration agents “to access any detention facility in order to meet with an alien” and interview them, according to a description on the DOJ website.

The council proposal appears to violate that requirement, as it bars ICE from entering secure areas for interviews. The mayor’s proposal seems to obey the new federal requirement. Miller argued that it’s better to allow ICE to interview, as the agents would otherwise try to get the interviews surreptitiously.

DOJ has also declared that cities must provide “48 hours advance notice to DHS regarding the scheduled release date and time of an alien in the jurisdiction’s custody,” if requested.

The council proposal may violate that new rule. It would only allow for ICE notification when inmates have convictions involving gang activity, felony convictions related to violent crimes, are wanted for homeland security purposes or when ICE has a warrant signed by a judge, as opposed to the administrative warrants ICE typically uses.

López and Kniech have said that city staff are “closely analyzing” whether they would run afoul of the DOJ rules. In a written statement they argued that the new DOJ guidelines will likely face court challenges because “criminal justice grants are not focused on immigration.”

The city recently has received more than $400,000 per year from the program in question.

Lasch pointed out that the Trump administration already has been held up by the courts in its attempt to limit other grants. He suspects that the administration is intentionally creating confusion among city leaders.

“The Trump administration is trying their best to create as much uncertainty as possible around the whole concept of who’s a sanctuary, who’s not a sanctuary,” he said, “and the game is pretty clear. What they’re trying to do is generate uncertainty so that jurisdictions will want to err on the side of catering to the administration’s goals.”

What happens next?

The two proposals may end up in competition. Kniech and López today released a written statement calling for more discussion.

“We recently learned from the Mayor’s Office that they are considering issuing an executive order to codify many of the practices the city already does regarding public safety,” they said. “We do not believe that their draft accurately does that or that it goes far enough to ensure greater safety for our Denver residents. The draft has not had the benefit of community input like our ordinance has.”

Hans Meyer, a prominent immigrant rights attorney, criticized the mayor’s approach in a written release.

“If Mayor Hancock wants to stand up for the principles he espouses and protect Denver’s immigrant community against the Trump administration’s deportation machine, then he should adopt all the substantive protections of the proposed ordinance and not simply cherry pick the parts that make for easy sound bites,” he wrote.

Hancock has not made an official statement on the council proposal. He supported earlier reforms meant to protect undocumented immigrants in jail, but he also has been cautious to avoid the “sanctuary city” label.

The mayor’s order does not require council approval. Like other executive orders, it could be reversed by the next mayor. Hancock would have the power to veto the council’s proposal if it is approved.

This story was updated with comment from the mayor’s office.

Author: Andrew Kenney
Andrew Kenney writes about public spaces, Denver phenomena and whatever else. He previously worked for six years as a reporter at The News & Observer in Raleigh, N.C. His most prized possession is his collection of bizarre voicemail. Leave him one at 303-502-2803, or email akenney@denverite.com. View all posts by Andrew Kenney



https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-vows-supreme-court-fight-over-sanctuary-city-defiance/2017/04/26/ba836a12-2a91-11e7-b605-33413c691853_story.html?utm_term=.06a1d6dccb34
Social Issues
Trump blasts ‘ridiculous’ court ruling that blocked his order on sanctuary cities
By Maria Sacchetti and Brian Murphy April 26

Play video – 2:36 Trump's sanctuary city order frozen over administration's hard-line talk -- A federal judge halted President Trump's executive order that would withhold federal funds from jurisdictions that don't cooperate with immigration authorities, on April 25. He called the administration's position on the order "schizophrenic." (Jenny Starrs/The Washington Post)



MSNBC TONIGHT

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show
THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 8/1/17
Trump obstruction case grows as role shown in Jr collusion story
Joyce Vance, former U.S. attorney, talks with Joy-Ann Reid about how prosecutors assemble an obstruction of justice case and how Donald Trump's role in deceiving about his son's meeting with Russians claiming to offer collusion with the Russian government ... more Duration: 9:17