September 1, 2017


News and Views


FIRST YOU SAY YOU WILL, AND THEN YOU WON’T.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-to-end-daca/
CBS NEWS September 1, 2017, 11:49 AM
Trump to end DACA

President Trump has decided to end the 2012 program implemented by President Obama that has deferred deportations for people who came to the U.S. undocumented as children, CBS News Chief White House Correspondent Major Garrett reports.

During the signing of a proclamation for a day of prayer for victims of Hurricane Harvey, Mr. Trump told reporters that his decision would be announced "sometime over the weekend, maybe this afternoon."

Asked whether DACA recipients, known as colloquially as "dreamers," had anything to worry about, he said, "We love the dreamers. We love everybody," and later added, "I think the dreamers are terrific."

Soon after, during a briefing on Harvey relief efforts, the president said that the decision would be announced over the weekend, possibly as late as Monday, which is Labor Day.

The president will end the program by not accepting new permits and by allowing existing permits to expire with no opportunity to reapply, Garrett reports, citing two Republican sources on Capitol Hill. The message from the White House to Congress is that if lawmakers like DACA, they should write legislation for it, and the White House will consider it, likely favorably.

The timing of the announcement of end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program, known as DACA, is fluid -- it's expected by some on Capitol Hill to be Friday days before a Sept. 5 deadline, Garrett says, citing the two Republican hill sources. However, a senior administration official told Garrett that the formal announcement could be delayed until next week.

Several Republican attorneys general have imposed a Sept. 5 to end DACA or they will sue the Trump administration.

The decision comes after a review by the White House. DACA has deferred deportations for people who entered the U.S. as children, or who were under the age of 31 before June 15, 2012. Fox News first reported the president's plan to end DACA.

Some top Republican lawmakers are urging the president not to rescind DACA, however. Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, tweeted a statement saying that rescinding DACA would "further complicate a system in need of a permanent, legislative solution." He called for a permanent solution for individuals "who entered our country unlawfully as children through no fault of their own and who have built their lives here." That solution, he said, needs to come from Congress.

House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wisconsin, also weighed in, telling radio station WCLO that he doesn't think Mr. Trump should end DACA. "I believe that this is something that Congress has to fix," he said. He also said he's had "plenty of conversations with the White House about this issue," and he pointed out that Mr. Trump himself has said "he wants to have a humane solution to this problem."

As of March of this year, the program has deferred deportations for more than 787,000 people, according to a Department of Homeland Security report released in June. Since Mr. Trump's inauguration, undocumented students have feared that the president will reverse the DACA program.

Applicants must have continuously lived in the U.S. since June 15, 2007 and come to the U.S. before his or her 16th birthday. Those who have been convicted of a felony, significant misdemeanor or three or more other misdemeanors or who pose a risk to national security or public safety are not eligible for the program.

A bipartisan group of mayors from across the country had called on the president to continue the program. Several hundred tech industry leaders have also called on the president to preserve the program, as well.

Obama announced the DACA program on June 15, 2012 in a speech from the White House Rose Garden in which he said his administration was taking steps "to lift the shadow of deportation from these young people."

"Now, let's be clear -- this is not amnesty, this is not immunity. This is not a path to citizenship. It's not a permanent fix. This is a temporary stopgap measure that lets us focus our resources wisely while giving a degree of relief and hope to talented, driven, patriotic young people," he said. "It is the right thing to do."

The president said he was moving forward with it because Congress had failed to tackle immigration reform on its own.

At a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in 2015, then-U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Director León Rodríguez said that all individuals requesting DACA are subject to biographic and biometric background checks and each request is considered on a case-by-case basis. He then shared a story of two twin sisters who were born in Mexico and brought to the U.S. by their mother when they were 5 years old.

"Prior to DACA, these young women, who had spent nearly their entire childhood in the United States, did not know if they would ever go to college because they were undocumented," Rodríguez said. "The sisters were accorded deferred action pursuant to DACA, and went on to graduate from high school with honors. Now, they attend a prestigious college and have said they are committed to continuing to work hard so they can give back to the university and the nation."

The Department of Homeland Security formally rolled back Obama's 2014 immigration actions that created Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents, or DAPA, program that would have deferred deportations for the undocumented parents of U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents who have been in the U.S. since before 2010. A Supreme Court 4-4 tie nullified the case.

Meanwhile, Sens. Dick Durbin, D-Illinois, and Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina, recently revived a version of the Dream Act that would grant legal status and a path to citizenship for some immigrants who came to the U.S. illegally as children.

CBS News' Alan He, Arden Farhi and Margaret Brennan contributed to this report.



VEERRY INTERESTING!! IT SEEMS MORE LIKE 9 MONTHS SINCE THE FIRING INSTEAD OF JUST 4 MONTHS. IT HAS BEEN A TRAUMATIC TIME FOR ME, AND FOR THE WHOLE COUNTRY. IT’S AS IF THE WHOLE WORLD HAS TURNED OVER BACKWARDS SINCE THAT TIME. THE KKK IS MARCHING AGAIN, THE IMPORTANT DEPARTMENTS COVERING THINGS LIKE INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMACY, JUSTICE, HEALTH, EDUCATION AND WELFARE, THE ENVIRONMENT, HEALTHCARE “FOR THE MASSES,” WHICH MEANS ME, ETC. HAVE ALL BEEN AT LEAST PARTIALLY EVISCERATED, AND TRUMP ISN’T NEARLY FINISHED. LEGISLATORS ARE MAKING RUMBLING NOISES ABOUT AN IMPEACHMENT, BUT THAT ISN’T A REALITY YET. MUELLER GIVES ME HOPE AND COURAGE, HOWEVER. HE’S A GOOD MAN.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/01/us/politics/trump-comey-firing-letter.html?_r=0
Mueller Has Early Draft of Trump Letter Giving Reasons for Firing Comey
By MICHAEL S. SCHMIDT and MAGGIE HABERMAN
SEPT. 1, 2017

Photograph -- James B. Comey, the former F.B.I. director, testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee in May, less than a week before he was fired by President Trump. Credit Gabriella Demczuk for The New York Times

WASHINGTON — The special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, has obtained a letter that President Trump and a top political aide drafted in the days before Mr. Trump fired the F.B.I. director, James B. Comey, which explains the president’s rationale for why he planned to dismiss the director.

The May letter had been met with opposition from Donald F. McGahn II, the White House counsel, who believed that some of its contents were problematic, according to interviews with a dozen administration officials and others briefed on the matter.

Mr. McGahn successfully blocked the president from sending Mr. Comey the letter, which Mr. Trump had composed with Stephen Miller, one of the president’s top political advisers. A different letter, written by the deputy attorney general, Rod J. Rosenstein, and focused on Mr. Comey’s handling of the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s private email server, was ultimately sent to the F.B.I. director on the day he was fired.

Photo

Stephen Miller, one of Mr. Trump’s top advisors, helped the president draft a letter explaining the rationale for firing Mr. Comey. Credit Al Drago/The New York Times
The contents of the original letter appear to provide the clearest rationale that Mr. Trump had for firing Mr. Comey. The Times has not seen a copy of the letter and it is unclear how much of Mr. Trump’s rationale focuses on the Russia investigation. Mr. Trump told aides at the time he was angry that Mr. Comey refused to publicly say that Mr. Trump himself was not under investigation, something Mr. Comey had told the president privately.

Mr. Comey later confirmed in testimony to Congress in June that he had told the president that he was not under investigation, but said he didn’t make that public because the status could change in the future.

Mr. Mueller is conducting a wide-ranging investigation into Russia and associates of Mr. Trump, including whether the president obstructed justice when he dismissed the F.B.I. director.

The Justice Department turned over a copy of the letter to Mr. Mueller in recent weeks.

Ty Cobb, a White House lawyer, declined to discuss the letter or its contents. “To the extent the special prosecutor is interested in these matters, we will be fully transparent with him,’’ he said.

Mr. Miller drafted the letter at the urging of Mr. Trump during a weekend in May, when Mr. Trump and his team were at the president’s private golf club in Bedminster, N.J. During that same weekend, as Mr. Trump and a small group of aides were in Bedminster devising a rationale for Mr. Comey’s dismissal, Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Mr. Rosenstein were working on a parallel effort to fire Mr. Comey.

During testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee in May, Mr. Comey gave the first detailed explanation for his handling of the investigation of Hillary Clinton, saying “it makes me mildly nauseous to think that we might have had some impact on the election.”

His conduct during the hearing added to concerns held by Mr. Sessions and Mr. Rosenstein that the F.B.I. director had botched the Clinton investigation and had overstepped the boundaries of his job.

[118 COMMENTS]

Two days after Mr. Comey’s testimony, Mr. Rosenstein had a meeting with a White House lawyer at the Justice Department, where Mr. Rosenstein expressed concern about how the F.B.I. director had handled the Clinton investigation. The White House lawyer relayed the details of the conversation to his bosses at the White House.

Mr. Comey was fired on May 9.



EVEN IN ITS’ DEATH THROES A HURRICANE CAN BE DEADLY, AND AT LEAST VERY DESTRUCTIVE. WEATHER IN THE SOUTH HAS ALWAYS BEEN EXCITING AND, IN ITS’ WAY, BEAUTIFUL. I DO HATE SEEING THE WRECKAGE AFTER A STORM, THOUGH, AND ESPECIALLY THE SICK AND DISCOURAGED LOOK ON THE PEOPLE’S FACES.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/harvey-deep-south-flooding-tornado-damage-likely/
CBS/AP September 1, 2017, 2:39 PM
Harvey spreads its misery into Deep South

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Harvey spread its misery into the Deep South as flooded creeks drove people from their homes in Tennessee and an apparent tornado damaged homes and toppled trees in a rural area of northwest Alabama.

More than 50 people were evacuated from a Nashville neighborhood due to flooding from Harvey, but no deaths or injuries have been reported, according to a statement Friday morning from the Nashville Office of Emergency Management.

The agency said remnants from Harvey dumped nearly 9 inches of rain in some areas over a 24-hour period and crews responded to dozens of calls overnight requesting aid. About 40 people took refuge in a Red Cross shelter set up at a church.

Richard Williams said he and his wife were rescued from their home south of Nashville overnight. He told CBS affiliate WTVF-TV that his wife had to be rescued from her hospice bed by raft.

"When I woke up, the water was up to my waist and up to my wife's hospital bed," Williams said.

How to help Harvey flood victims
Houston mayor: "We'll bounce back like never before"

By Friday morning, most watersheds in the Nashville area were returning to normal levels, emergency officials said.

Near Monteagle, northeast of Chattanooga in south-central Tennessee, Interstate 24 was shut down in both directions Friday after high winds knocked down powerlines across the highway. Traffic was backed up for miles.

The rains also caused flooding in low-lying streets in Memphis, as the western Tennessee city reported power outages late Thursday and rivers in the area swelled. Though still a tropical depression, Harvey also began to shed its tropical characteristics overnight as its rainbands extended farther across Tennessee and Kentucky on its forecast path toward the Ohio Valley.

Houston mayor on Harvey response: "You can always improve"
Play VIDEO
Houston mayor on Harvey response: "You can always improve"

At 4 a.m. CDT Friday, Harvey's core was located about 40 miles southwest of Nashville, the National Hurricane Center reported. The storm had maximum sustained winds of 30 mph and was moving northeast at 16 mph. Forecasters said the storm likely would dissipate Saturday evening around Ohio.

Meanwhile, flood warnings remained in effect near rivers in western and middle Tennessee. Flash flood warnings also were in place for parts of Kentucky. Those came as the storm slogged deeper into the nation's interior after its catastrophic drenching of parts of Texas and Louisiana, where severe flooding was continuing.

Harvey has been blamed for at least 37 deaths in Texas, CBS News confirms.

In Houston, Mayor Sylvester Turner says it's time for him to turn his attention to recovery, to helping the thousands displaced by Hurricane Harvey and assessing how the city will deal with the catastrophic damage in its wake.

"The city certainly does need more assets, high water vehicles, high water trucks, high water boats, first responders need more equipment," Turner told CBS News correspondent Mark Strassmann. "And in a storm like this, when some of your roads are cut off and your airports may not be functioning at that point in time, it makes it much more difficult to get to people as soon as you would like to."

Southeast Texas Inundated After Harvey Makes Second Pass Over The Region

Homes are surrounded by floodwater after torrential rains pounded Southeast Texas following Hurricane and Tropical Storm Harvey on August 31, 2017 in Sugar Land, Texas. SCOTT OLSON / GETTY

In east Texas, residents are desperate to leave the flood zone and helicopters are still pulling people out of floodwaters. The city of Beaumont has been without running water for 24 hours. Evacuees lined up at Beaumont's airport Thursday, boarding planes and buses headed out of town. Many didn't care where they were going, CBS News correspondent Anna Werner reports.

There are roughly 12,000 people in shelters, many of whom will need help long-term.

In northwest Alabama, high winds damaged several homes near the city of Reform and minor injuries were reported, news outlets said. Jason Holmes, a meteorologist with The National Weather Service in Birmingham, said Thursday that a tornado was the likely cause of the damage.

Photographs published online by the Tuscaloosa News in Alabama showed huge trees splintered and toppled, houses with their shingles torn away and one mobile home so shattered it was barely recognizable. Men with chainsaws went out after the storm had passed to clear downed trees from roads.

Authorities said Harvey's remnants contributed to the death of a motorist in a head-on crash with a tractor-trailer Thursday on Interstate 40 in Memphis. The motorist's name was not immediately released.

In western Tennessee, flood warnings were in effect along or near several rivers, including two leading tributaries of the Mississippi River. Forecasters said some spots in Tennessee got nearly 10 inches of rain, though most areas received between 2 inches and 8 inches.

About 4 inches of rain fell in Memphis during a 12-hour period ending at 7:15 p.m. Thursday, the National Weather Service said.



THE POOR BABIES! WHAT WOULD THE SITUATION HAVE BEEN IF THESE YOUNG MEN HAD BEEN POOR AND OF ANOTHER SKIN COLOR? IF INTELLIGENT AND SERIOUS-MINDED PARENTS WOULD LOOK HONESTLY AT THE REALITY OF “GREEK LIFE” ON OR OFF CAMPUS, THEY WOULDN’T ALLOW THEIR SON’S TO JOIN. THEY TEND TO TURN THEIR BOYS OUT INTO THE WORLD WITHOUT MUCH RESTRAINT SOONER THAN THEIR GIRLS. I MUST SAY, THOUGH, I HAVE NEVER HEARD A SCANDALOUS STORY LIKE THIS ONE ABOUT A SORORITY HOUSE. RATHER THAN GIVING THEM THEIR HEAD, THEY SHOULD BE CONSTRAINED MORE.

WHATEVER SOCIAL BOOST OR PROFESSIONAL ADVANTAGES MAY COME OUT OF MEMBERSHIP, THEY MAY NOT BE WORTH THE FINAL RESULTS. BESIDES, THE DORM IS A SOMEWHAT MORE PEACEFUL PLACE TO DO SOMETHING REQUIRING CONCENTRATION, LIKE STUDYING THEIR CLASS ASSIGNMENTS.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/most-serious-charges-dropped-against-penn-state-frat-brothers-in-pledges-death/
By CRIMESIDER STAFF CBS/AP September 1, 2017, 11:50 AM
Most serious charges dropped against Penn State frat brothers in pledge's death

BELLEFONTE, Pa. -- A judge has dropped the most serious charges against Penn State fraternity members linked to the death of a pledge whose agonizing night after a fall down stairs was captured by security cameras.

District Justice Allen Sinclair made his ruling Friday over whether prosecutors have put on enough evidence to send the charges against the now-shuttered Beta Theta Pi fraternity and 16 former members to county court for trial.

In all, 18 fraternity brothers faced charges that for some included involuntary manslaughter and aggravated assault, while others are charged with less serious allegations. Two defendants waived the hearing and agreed to stand trial.

Eight faced the most serious charges of involuntary manslaughter and aggravated assault, but the judge on Friday dropped those charges.

Four of the defendants who were charged with single counts had their cases dismissed, but the rest were ordered to stand trial on the remaining charges including reckless endangerment, hazing and tampering with evidence.

Fourteen fraternity brothers are now headed to trial in the case.

"Obviously now the teeth have really been taken out of the commonwealth's case," defense attorney Michael Engle said.

Centre County District Attorney Stacy Parks Miller said she will seek to have the involuntary manslaughter charges re-instated. She may also seek to refile felony charges of aggravated assault. Defense attorneys say they will oppose such efforts.

The ruling follows a hard-fought, unusually long, seven-day preliminary hearing in which the defendants and a platoon of defense attorneys wedged into the courtroom fought against allegations that a night of hazing and heavy drinking caused the death of Tim Piazza on Feb. 4.

Penn State frat brothers' texts reveal panic after hazing death
Play VIDEO
Penn State frat brothers' texts reveal panic after hazing death
Miller has argued that members of the fraternity pressured Piazza and other pledges to drink heavily, plying them with wine, vodka and beer after a ceremony to mark their decision to pledge the organization.

That pressure included running them through a speed-drinking "gauntlet" and directing them to collectively drain a large bottle of vodka.

The security video recorded Piazza, 19, a sophomore engineering student from Lebanon, New Jersey, appearing intoxicated and being led to a couch after 11 p.m. A few minutes later, he fell head-first down a set of basement stairs and had to be carried back up in an unconscious state.

For several hours members of the fraternity appeared to take half-hearted and even counterproductive measures to tend to their injured friend, pouring liquid on him and strapping on a loaded backpack to prevent him from rolling over and choking on vomit.

In the early morning hours Piazza was pictured stumbling from the couch to other areas on the vast house's first floor, including falls into a door and onto a stone floor.

He somehow ended up back in the basement the next morning and was again carried back upstairs to a couch. It took another 40 minutes for fraternity members to call an ambulance.

Authorities said Piazza had ingested a dangerous amount of alcohol and suffered severe head and abdominal injuries. He soon died at a hospital.

Piazza parents: Penn State reforms "good start" but more needs to be done
Play VIDEO
Piazza parents: Penn State reforms "good start" but more needs to be done

Defense attorneys have sought to convince Sinclair that their clients' roles were minimal or their actions did not amount to criminal behavior. They argued the students had little reason to anticipate tragic results from a night that also included an alcohol-fueled social mixer with a sorority group.

"Yes, there's excessive drinking on college campuses," defense attorney Theodore Simon argued Thursday. "That does not transform it into criminal behavior."

Parks Miller said many of the defense arguments would be more suitable for a jury to consider. She disputed a suggestion that defendants would not have known of the danger because no one had died during the fraternity chapter's long history.

"As far as this idea, 'Well, nobody died before,' do they really think they get a free death before someone is held responsible?" Parks Miller told the judge.

Defense attorney Michael Engle argued that "the voluntariness of the drinking" is an important factor when considering Piazza's fate.

"What we have is evidence from this record that this tragic death was simply not foreseeable here," Engle said.

He challenged Parks Miller's approach to charging the men as accomplices, arguing that would require a principal actor that was not established.

"You've heard over and over again, all of these individuals are accomplices, but as a matter of law, these individuals can't be accomplices with one another," he told the judge.

Parks Miller said the speed-drinking gauntlet was designed by the group "for maximum devastation."



I’M GLAD TO SEE THIS SPEECH IN PRINT, BECAUSE WORDS, BEING MERELY ENERGY WAVES CARRIED ON THE AIR, DISAPPEAR IMMEDIATELY, AND MY BRAIN DOESN’T USUALLY RECORD THEM FULLY AS STATED. I WANT TO KEEP THIS ONE BECAUSE I WAS WATCHING WHEN HE SAID IT, AND IT TOOK MY BREATH AWAY. JOHN MCCAIN IS NO MORE A TYPICAL REPUBLICAN THAN IS DONALD TRUMP. THE DIFFERENCE IS THAT MCCAIN IS A GOOD INFLUENCE. I AM SO SORRY THAT HE HAS A TERRIBLE DISEASE. MAYBE MODERN MEDICINE WILL LICK THAT CANCER, THOUGH, AND ALLOW HIM TO LIVE MANY MORE YEARS. HE IS ONE OF THOSE WHOM I CONSIDER TO BE “A STATESMAN.”

THIS MSNBC WRITER STEVE BENEN IS REALLY EXCELLENT IN MY OPINION. HE, LIKE JOHN MCCAIN, WITHOUT GETTING RUDE AND CRUDE, PULLS NO PUNCHES, AND IS OF THE SAME TURN OF MIND POLITICALLY AS I AM. RACHEL MADDOW IS ALSO A STAR.

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/mccain-takes-aim-poorly-informed-trump?cid=eml_mra_20170901
McCain takes aim at ‘poorly informed’ Trump
09/01/17 09:39 AM—UPDATED 09/01/17 12:20 PM
By Steve Benen

Photograph -- U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ) listens during a news conference on the terror attack that killed four Americans in Benghazi Feb. 14, 2013 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. Photo by Alex Wong/Getty

In late July, just two days before casting the deciding vote against his party’s regressive health care agenda, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) delivered a striking speech on his concerns about contemporary politics and what’s become of the legislative process. That the veteran senator had just been diagnosed with brain cancer made his remarks that much more dramatic.

McCain’s medical treatments have apparently gone well, and the Arizona Republican will return to Capitol Hill when Congress gets back to work on Tuesday. But before lawmakers’ summer break ends in earnest, McCain published an op-ed in the Washington Post, returning to some of the themes he stressed on the Senate floor on July 26.

Congress will return from recess next week facing continued gridlock as we lurch from one self-created crisis to another. We are proving inadequate not only to our most difficult problems but also to routine duties. Our national political campaigns never stop. We seem convinced that majorities exist to impose their will with few concessions and that minorities exist to prevent the party in power from doing anything important.

That’s not how we were meant to govern. Our entire system of government – with its checks and balances, its bicameral Congress, its protections of the rights of the minority – was designed for compromise. It seldom works smoothly or speedily. It was never expected to.

All of this is easy to embrace and not at all controversial. What stood out as especially notable in the piece, however, were the not-so-subtle shots the senator sent across Donald Trump’s bow.

“Congress,” McCain wrote, “must govern with a president who has no experience of public office, is often poorly informed and can be impulsive in his speech and conduct.”

And then he went just a little further.

“We must respect his authority and constitutional responsibilities. We must, where we can, cooperate with him. But we are not his subordinates. We don’t answer to him,” McCain added. “We answer to the American people. We must be diligent in discharging our responsibility to serve as a check on his power. And we should value our identity as members of Congress more than our partisan affiliation.”

For Trump critics, this no doubt sounds encouraging, and I imagine we’ll see another round of headlines about McCain being a “maverick.” But it’s hard to say with confidence whether, and to what extent, he intends to follow through.

Those who follow politics closely have probably noticed a pattern when it comes to circumstances like these: John McCain will signal a degree of independence, receive plaudits from pundits, but fall back into partisan habits almost immediately thereafter.

This has been true throughout the year. When Trump nominated Rex Tillerson, who’s enjoyed close ties with Vladimir Putin’s Russian government, to serve as Secretary of State. McCain was asked whether there was a “realistic scenario” in which he’d vote to confirm such a nominee to serve as the nation’s chief diplomat. “Sure,” the Arizona Republican replied. “There’s also a realistic scenario that pigs fly.”

Soon after, McCain voted for Tillerson anyway.

This wasn’t an isolated incident. The longtime GOP senator frequently generates attention by raising “concerns” about various partisan priorities, but McCain’s actions haven’t consistently matched his rhetoric.

Maybe developments in August have shaken the senator’s perspective. Perhaps we’re poised to see McCain challenge Trump in many of the same ways he challenged the Bush/Cheney White House in early 2001.

I don’t know what we’ll see from him in the coming months, but I suppose writing in the Washington Post that Trump is an inexperienced, ignorant, and impulsive president is a decent start.


THE URGE TO GIVE FOR ITS’ OWN SAKE IS INVOLVED HERE. THIS HAS BEEN SUCH A PAINFUL SITUATION THAT EVERYONE IS MOVED BY IT. THE CAJUN NAVY OF LOUISIANA AND OTHER VOLUNTEERS ARE DOING A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT, AIDED BY THE NATIONAL GUARD AND OTHER DISASTER GROUPS SUCH AS THE RED CROSS. EVENTUALLY THE LAND WILL DRY UP AND HOUSES WILL EITHER BE REFURBISHED OR DEMOLISHED IN SOME CASES. IN THE AFTERMATH OF KATRINA, A NEWS CREW WENT IN A BOAT THROUGH PARTS THAT WERE STILL FLOODED. MANY OF THOSE HOUSES WERE TORN DOWN. WITH THE THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS DISPLACED AS THEY ARE IN THIS CASE, MANY WILL GET STUCK IN FEMA TRAILERS, ETC. AS THEY DID AFTER KATRINA. MAYBE THE REBUILDING WILL PROVIDE A BUSINESS BOOM THERE, TO FUND THE CITY ANEW.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/just-say-yes-and-go-do-it-on-the-ground-with-houston-rescuers/
By DAVID BEGNAUD CBS NEWS September 1, 2017, 7:14 PM
"Just say yes and go do it": On the ground as Houston's recovery begins

HOUSTON -- "I don't know how I could ever repay you," said Howard Holmes to the local recovery volunteers who came to help him.

"Don't have to. We are the hands and feet of Christ to serve you, today. That's it, man," they answered.

Howard Holmes accepted the generosity of strangers. Ninety percent of his Houston street was flooded.

Share your Hurricane Harvey story
"You switch from everyday life to survival mode," Holmes explained.

begnaud-harvey-cleanup-2017-9-1.jpg
The cleanup begins in Houston after Harvey. CBS NEWS

He moved here in 2005 with his wife, Charissa, after their former house burned down.

"We are going to have another house, we are going to rebuild our life. This is Houston. We are Houston proud. Houston strong," Charissa said.

The men helping to clean out their home are local recovery volunteers, but on Monday, they were rescuers.

begnaud-harvey-cleanup-2-2017-9-1.jpg
Local recovery volunteers who turned volunteers in Harvey's shadow. CBS NEWS

Truett Allen led his navy of civilian Samaritans as they rescued roughly 200 people like Laura Blanton, who was rescued on her birthday.

And along the way, they documented. There was the baby found floating in a fishing bucket. And a message from a woman who wrote Allen: "You saved my brother's life."

Rescuers like Jeff Venghaus only took a break from saving lives and rebuilding lives to say a prayer.

"I feel like my life has just stopped to some degree and has shifted to just helping people," Venghaus said. "We just say yes and go do it."

begnaud-harvey-cleanup-4-2017-9-1.jpg
Jeff Venghaus is helping in the recovery in Houston. CBS NEWS

Some neighborhoods in Houston got nearly 10 feet of floodwater. At Holmes' house, they got just 19 inches -- but it ruined nearly everything. Holmes' neighbors, just around the corner from him, are sleeping in their front yard in a tent, trying to protect what's left from looters.



THE FOLLOWING SCENE BETWEEN POLICE AND AN HEROIC NURSE SHOWS, AGAIN, A POLICE VS THE PUBLIC STANDOFF. “IN THE VIDEO PAYNE'S PARTNER COULD BE HEARD TRYING TO CALM HIS PARTNER DOWN DURING THE ARREST. ANOTHER OFFICER IS HEARD SAYING, "I DON'T THINK THIS ARREST IS GOING TO STICK." THIS IS JUST ANOTHER DAY IN THE WORLD OF UNDERQUALIFIED AND HIGHLY EMOTIONAL POLICE ACTIONS.

SEE THE TEXAS BASED ARTICLE BELOW ON THE SAME SITUATION. “NO REFUSAL WEEKENDS” – IN TEXAS IN THIS CASE – ARE OFTEN HOLIDAYS KNOWN FOR HEAVY DRINKING, BUT THIS ARTICLE SAYS THAT IT MAY BE A MORE ORDINARY EVENT AS WELL. IT AMOUNTS TO THE FACT THAT JUDGES ARE ON CALL TO AID OFFICERS IN OBTAINING A QUICK WARRANT TO MANDATE THE BLOOD WITHDRAWAL. WITHOUT A WARRANT, HOWEVER, THE POLICE ARE VIOLATING THE SUSPECT’S RIGHTS IF BLOOD OR BREATHALYZER TESTS ARE MADE AGAINST THE DRIVER’S WILL.

IN THIS CASE, THE DRIVER WAS IN INTENSIVE CARE, PROBABLY UNABLE TO SPEAK ON THE ISSUE OR UNDERSTAND WHAT WAS OCCURRING, AND THE OFFICER WANTED TO FORCE THE NURSE TO DO IT WITHOUT A WARRANT, THUS BREAKING THE LAW AND HER RESPONSIBILITIES. SHE REFUSED, BACKED UP BY HER SUPERVISOR WHO WAS SPEAKING TO THE OFFICER ON THE PHONE ABOUT THE SITUATION, AND WAS FORCIBLY ARRESTED.

THE SALT LAKE CITY MAYOR AND THE POLICE CHIEF MIKE BROWN BOTH ARE PUBLICLY AGHAST AT WHAT OCCURRED AND HOW IT HAPPENED. HOWEVER, ACCORDING TO THIS ARTICLE, THOUGH THE OFFICER HAS BEEN SUSPENDED FROM THE BLOOD DRAW PROGRAM, HE IS STILL ON ACTIVE DUTY OTHERWISE, AND ANY CHARGES THAT HE MAY BE FACING HAVEN’T BEEN STATED. THIS IS ANOTHER SICKENING CASE OF A POLICE OFFICER WHO IS NOT EMOTIONALLY AND INTELLECTUALLY UP TO THE TASK’S TO WHICH HE IS ASSIGNED, CONTINUING ON THE FORCE. I’M SURE NURSE WUBBELS AND THE INJURED DRIVER WILL BE ABLE TO SUE AS A RESULT OF THIS, THOUGH, AND THE SALT LAKE CITY PD AND CITY GOVERNMENT WILL BE ON THE DEFENSIVE. HTTPS://WWW.VERSUSTEXAS.COM/CRIMINAL/NO-REFUSAL-WEEKENDS/.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/nurse-says-cop-assaulted-arrested-her-for-not-drawing-blood-from-unconscious-patient/
By CRIMESIDER STAFF CBS/AP September 1, 2017, 12:24 PM
Nurse says cop assaulted, arrested her for refusing blood draw from unconscious patient

SALT LAKE CITY - A Utah police officer's body camera video shows a hospital nurse being handcuffed after refusing a blood draw from an unconscious patient.

The video taken at University Hospital in Salt Lake City on July 26 shows nurse Alex Wubbels calmly explaining to Salt Lake detective Jeff Payne that she couldn't allow a blood draw on a patient who had been injured in a car accident. She told the officer a patient was required to give consent for a blood sample or be under arrest. Otherwise, she said police needed a warrant.

Wubbels calmly points out to Payne that these parameters are spelled out in an agreement between the hospital and the department.

CBS affiliate KUTV reports that Wubbels had the backing of her bosses, one of them was on the phone with her and could be heard on the video telling Det. Payne, "Sir you are making a huge mistake right now because you are threatening a nurse."

Despite the warning, Payne is heard saying, "We are done, we are done, you are under arrest."

He can then be seen grabbing Wubbels and cuffing her as she screams, "You're assaulting me stop! I've done nothing wrong! This is crazy! This is crazy!"

In the video Payne's partner could be heard trying to calm his partner down during the arrest.

Another officer is heard saying, "I don't think this arrest is going to stick."

nurse.gif [stillshot only] Video shows Detective Jeff Payne grabbing nurse Alex Wubbels and arresting her on July 26 KUTV

On Friday, Salt Lake City Mayor Jackie Biskupsky issued a statement saying that what she saw on the video was "completely unacceptable," and a "troubling set-back" to her office's efforts to promote de-escalation techniques by police.

Salt Lake City Police Chief Mike Brown also issued a statement saying he was "alarmed" by what he saw on the video. He stated that Payne has been suspended from the department's blood draw program and that program's policies have been updated. KUTV reports that the department has opened an internal investigation into the incident but that Payne is still on active duty.

Wubbels says she's very upset that none of the University of Utah officers came to her rescue and just stood by and watched it happen.

"I just feel betrayed, I feel angry and I feel a lot of things," said Wubbels during a press conference. "The only job I have is to keep my patient safe. Blood is your blood that is your property. When a patient comes in in a critical state that blood is extremely important. I don't take it lightly."


ON THE ISSUE OF DRAWING BLOOD WITHOUT PERMISSION OR A WARRANT

https://www.versustexas.com/criminal/no-refusal-weekends/
No Refusal Weekends in Texas | What is a No Refusal Weekend?
What are No Refusal Weekends in Texas?
By Benson Varghese

This article is not dated, so I assume it is valid information at any time until it is removed from the Internet.

Law enforcement agencies throughout Texas seek to prevent intoxicated drivers from getting on the roadways during No Refusal Weekends. Prosecutors widely support these efforts for the deterrent effect that No Refusal Weekends have.

What is a No Refusal Weekend?
A No Refusal Weekend is a period of time during which law enforcement agents are prepared to obtain warrants and blood evidence quickly. While the name of the initiative may lead you to believe that individuals do not have the right to refuse to give breath or blood, what “No Refusal” truly means is that a refusal won’t keep an officer from getting a warrant to obtain your blood.

What’s the difference on No Refusal weekends?
If a person refuses to give a breath or blood test during a No Refusal Weekend, the process for obtaining blood pursuant to a search warrant is expedited. Generally, when you are pulled over for suspicion of driving while intoxicated an officer will ask you to take field sobriety tests and/or submit to a breath or blood test. Your options are to either consent or refuse to all of those tests. If you consent, the officer proceeds with the tests. However, if you refuse the tests, the officer must obtain a search warrant if he wants to get a sample of your blood. This is true every day of the year.

During No Refusal weekends, local agencies use grant funding to increase their resources to obtain blood pursuant to warrants. These resources may include a magistrate who is readily available to review and sign affidavits for search warrants, blood-draw nurses, and officers dedicated to enforcing DWI offenses. During No Refusal operations, every police officer will likely seek blood evidence when a person refuses to give a specimen.

The point of No Refusal is to put everyone on high alert that officers are watching for drunken drivers. The purpose is to discourage anyone who has been drinking from getting behind the wheel. But this does not mean you cannot refuse. Be aware that if an officer detects an odor of alcohol on your breath, he is likely to ask you to do field sobriety tests, which in turn is likely to lead to an arrest. Just because you have had a drink, does not mean you are intoxicated. It is legal to drive in Texas after you have been drinking, as long as you are not intoxicated. Yet, at the arrest stage, the officer is only trying to develop probable cause for an arrest. The question at that moment is not whether there is proof beyond a reasonable doubt that you are actually guilty.

To consent or not to consent: That is the question.

Do not consent to a breath or blood test. It’s important to note that if you refuse to take a breath or blood test in Texas, an officer must obtain a search warrant to obtain a breath or blood test.

From the defense perspective, there are a couple of reasons why you should not consent:

First, if you consent, there is little recourse to overcome the fact that you agreed to the breath or blood test.

Second, in order for the officer to obtain the search warrant, he must submit an affidavit establishing there was probable cause. If a magistrate judge determines the officer has established probable cause, the magistrate may issue a search warrant. If you have refused and the officer cannot establish probable cause, blood cannot be forcibly drawn.

Third, you will not offend anyone by politely refusing. Just as in any criminal case, the police have a job to do and they can do it without you offering evidence against yourself.

Lastly, even if your blood is drawn pursuant to a warrant, the officer’s affidavit can later be reviewed by a defense attorney and the trial court. If probable cause was improperly determined by the magistrate who signed the warrant, the blood evidence may be excluded by the trial court judge.

What should you do if you are stopped on a No Refusal Weekend?
Politely decline. The prudent course of action is to politely decline both field sobriety tests and any alcohol evaluations. Be sure to remain calm, polite, and compliant to any court order that requires blood to be drawn. Texas law does not make it a separate offense for refusing to take such tests. If you refuse a test, your license will be suspended for a minimum of 180 days, but you will not be subject to punishment for an offense solely for refusing to submit to testing. If you provide a sample and it shows a Blood Alcohol Concentration of above .08, your license will be suspended for 90 days. Your attorney will be able to assist you in getting an Occupational License if necessary after first fighting the suspension at an ALR hearing.

Remember that not driving after you’ve been drinking is always the best course of action, but if you are stopped after you’ve had a drink during a No Refusal Weekend, you still can and should refuse to provide a specimen.

A DWI can cost you over $20,000. Save your money: Take a cab, an Uber, or use a designated driver.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Benson Varghese
Facebook Twitter Google+

Benson Varghese is the Managing Partner of Varghese Summersett PLLC. He is a state and federal practitioner who has handled thousands criminal cases and taken over 100 cases to trial by jury. Benson is frequently called upon to handle cases that require a high degree of knowledge in technology, scientific evidence, forensic evidence, as well as serious intoxication cases. The lawyers at Varghese Summersett PLLC exclusively handle criminal defense matters.



PROTECT DEMOCRACY FIGHTS BACK AGAINST THE DOJ AND TRUMP ON ARPAIO PARDON

Trump’s Arpaio Pardon? Not so fast.
Ian Bassin, Protect Democracy
Dear Friend of Democracy,

Donald Trump’s presidency has presented an escalating series of threats to the rule of law. His unprecedented pardon of former Sheriff Joe Arpaio takes things to a new level.

That’s why we’re fighting back. As The Washington Post reported yesterday, Protect Democracy has challenged the Justice Department (DOJ) to answer for this abusive pardon — in court.

If that alone is enough to join the fight, click here to retweet our call and build pressure on DOJ.

If you want to get nerdy with us, read on.

Many lawyers and pundits have been rushing to conclude that President Trump’s pardon power is virtually unlimited. We think that’s both wrong and dangerous.

It’s wrong because the pardon power can’t be read to supersede other provisions of the Constitution. For example, if a President admitted to pardoning all defendants convicted of a certain crime because they are white while declining to pardon those defendants who are black, surely that would violate the Equal Protection Clause.

Similarly, issuance of a pardon that violates the Fifth Amendment’s Due Process Clause is also suspect. Under the Due Process Clause, no one in the United States (citizen or otherwise) may “be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.” But for due process and judicial review to function, courts must be able to restrain government officials. Due process requires that, when a government official is found by a court to be violating individuals’ constitutional rights, the court can issue effective relief (such as an injunction) ordering the official to cease this unconstitutional conduct. And for an injunction to be effective, there must be a penalty for violation of the injunction—principally, contempt of court.

(We warned you this was going to get nerdy.)

Arpaio was held in contempt for just this reason. He was found to be systematically violating the constitutional rights of Arizonans by engaging in unlawful racial profiling (and did a host of other racist and abusive things as well, like hiring an investigator to track the Judge's wife). And when the Judge ordered him to stop, he ignored the court. He was charged and convicted of contempt, and now the President is pardoning him for that.

The rush to judgment on the pardon is dangerous because Trump is already emboldened. He’s reportedly quite enamored with the power of the pardon pen — which is not surprising for an autocrat. If not sufficiently checked, we could be sliding down a slippery slope toward Trump pardoning his associates, family members, or even himself.

That’s where we come in.

We’re demanding DOJ take a stand. We have asked the chiefs of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section, Raymond N. Hulser and John Dixon Keller, to oppose Sheriff Arpaio’s motion to throw out his case thanks to the pardon. And with the judge overseeing the case asking DOJ to take a position on Arpaio’s request, we have a real chance that career public servants will stand with us.

But we all need to participate for this to work. Click here and retweet or comment to amplify our call.

We need all of us to raise our voices loud and clear that this pardon is legally dubious. At critical moments in our nation’s history — from the fight for civil rights to the fight for free speech — our Justice Department and our courts have been influenced by the American people rising up. This can be such a moment. It requires us all to speak together, loudly and publicly.

Join the call now.

In hope,

Ian, Jesse, Justin, Anne, Cameron and the whole Protect Democracy team

P.S. - You can read more about the pardon and underlying Arpaio case at these links:

Protect Democracy's letter to the Department of Justice urging them to oppose Arpaio's motion to vacate his conviction.

The ACLU’s overview of the original case that found that Arpaio was violating Arizonans’ constitutional rights.

A news report detailing why Judge Snow, who presided over the original case, referred Arpaio for criminal contempt charges to be brought.

A Twitter stream from Judge Snow's former clerk with details about the original case.

Professor Martin Redish’s column outlining the due process problems with the Arpaio pardon.

A news report about the motion Joe Arpaio filed to have his original conviction vacated to which our letter to DOJ is a response.

Jennifer Rubin’s Washington Post column about Protect Democracy and Free Speech for People’s letter.

Garrett Epps’ take on how the Supreme Court might respond to abusive pardons.

Copyright © 2017 United to Protect Democracy, All rights reserved.
You are receiving this email because you opted in at our website, unitedtoprotectdemocracy.org. To contact us, please email info@protectdemocracy.org.

Our mailing address is:
United to Protect Democracy
2020 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
#163 Washington, D.C. 20006


BERNIE SANDERS SPEAKS AT A SOLD-OUT BOOK PROMO, AUGUST 31, 2017; FOLLOWED BY HIS ANNOUNCEMENT SPEECH IN 2015 FOR THE PRESIDENCY.
HE’S ONE OF THE FEW PEOPLE WHOSE SPEECHES DON’T GET BORING TO ME.

http://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/government/bernie-sanders-slams-trump-in-front-of-packed-hancher-crowd-20170831
Bernie Sanders slams Trump in front of packed Hancher crowd
B.A. Morelli The Gazette
Aug 31, 2017 at 9:42 pm

Photograph – Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) greets the crowd as he takes the stage to speak as part of a book tour for his newly released book “Bernie Sanders Guide to Political Revolution” at Hancher Auditorium in Iowa City on Thursday, August 31, 2017. (Cliff Jette/The Gazette

IOWA CITY — Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders slammed President Donald Trump for threats to end the Obama-era DACA program, which protects immigrant children, during a speech in Iowa City on Thursday evening.

Trump reportedly as soon as today may end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or the Dreamer program. Formed in 2012 by executive order the program defers deportation for those who came to the United States illegally as children.

Follow
Brian Morelli @bmorelli
This is what sold out at the new Hancher Auditorium to hear .@sensanders looks like
8:19 PM - Aug 31, 2017
1 1 Reply 3 3 Retweets 4 4 likes
Twitter Ads info and privacy

“It is shameful. It is disgraceful,” said Sanders, who sought the Democratic presidential nomination in 2016. He said 800,000 children could be affected.

“We have to do everything we can to stop that from happening, and if it does happen call on Congress to pass legislation to protect those young people.”

Sanders spoke for about an hour during the event promoting his new book, “Bernie Sanders Guide to Political Revolution.” The 1,800-seat Hancher Auditorium sold out.

He touched on the book, Trump, health care, social issues and many other topics from the campaign trail. Sanders finished second in a virtual tie with former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in the Iowa caucus in January 2016, kicking off an unexpectedly competitive primary with the eventual Democratic nominee, Clinton.

The book, published by Henry Holt Books for Young Readers, is intended to guide teens to get involved and effect change in the country. The Democratic Party needs an infusion of young people and their “idealism,” Sanders said.

“We must stand up for a new set of priorities that says, ‘We are not going to turn our backs on millions of people around the world who are dying unnecessarily,’” Sanders said.

Sanders criticized the Democratic Party, suggesting it ignored many working-class Americans, and said Democrats lost the election versus Trump winning.

Sanders called for raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour, improving affordability of public colleges and universities, and protecting the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, which he said has worked. It must go further and health care must become a guaranteed right for all, he said.

View image on Twitter
View image on Twitter
Follow
Brian Morelli @bmorelli
Local and statewide candidates rally at .@TheMilliowacity following packed Bernie Sanders speech tonight
10:37 PM - Aug 31, 2017 · Iowa City, IA
1 1 Reply 1 1 Retweet 2 2 likes
Twitter Ads info and privacy

Sanders addressed the flooding in Houston, calling the property damage unbelievable and suffering immense.

“The silver lining is the reminder that we are one nation and one people and what we are seeing in Texas is people coming together whether black or white or Latino, whether gay or straight, born in America or not,” Sanders said.

Abagael Shrader, 26, of Iowa City, said the comments about unity and Americans coming together regardless of difference struck a chord with her. So did discussion of student debt, she said, noting she’s carrying $100,000 in student debt as a public school teacher. She fears her students someday will face the same situation, she said.

“I came to get remotivated,” she said. “It’s been daunting.”

Sanders levied heavy criticism on Trump for “trying to win cheap political points by trying to divide us up.” He also offered his assessment of why Trump won.

Trump said he heard the pain being felt by people around the country, who largely were ignored by the mainstream media and the Democratic Party, he said.

“He said, ‘I hear you,’” Sanders said. “It was a strong and effective speech, except he lied and he lied and he lied ... Just because he lied doesn’t mean his analysis was incorrect.”

Trump vowed to take on the establishment during his campaign, but changed course favoring the 1 percent since taking office, Sanders said.

Brad Dunlap, 47, of Coralville, also was on hand. He said he supported Clinton, but he aligns with much of what he heard from Sanders on Thursday.

“It sounded like he was trying to mobilize people to take up the cause,” Dunlap said. “Whether it’s to support him or the vision, is not clear to me.”



SANDERS CANDIDACY ANNOUNCEMENT

https://berniesanders.com/bernies-announcement/
VIDEO
Bernie’s Announcement
MAY 26, 2015