MARCH 1, 2018


NEWS AND VIEWS


“UNPRECEDENTED, ROUND-THE-CLOCK, SECURITY DETAIL” –
THIS IS THE SECOND TIME I’VE HEARD THIS INADEQUATE EXPLANATION FOR WHY HE NEEDS SO MUCH ATTENTION PAID TO HIS PERSONAL SECURITY PROTECTION. WHAT HAS HE DONE THAT I DON’T KNOW ABOUT? MAYBE HE’S A POOR CHOICE FOR THE JOB. THE ONLY PEOPLE WHO MIGHT WANT HIM DEAD ARE THOSE WILD-EYED BUNDY MEN -- OKLAHOMA CATTLE MEN WHO ARE BOUND AND DETERMINED TO PASTURE THEIR CATTLE ON PUBLIC LAND FREE OF CHARGE. THEY’RE OF THE “SOVEREIGN CITIZEN” TURN OF MIND.

SERIOUSLY, WE NEED TO ASK WHY (1) HE IS RECEIVING SO MUCH HOSTILITY -- OR IS IT JUST THINGS THAT HE CONSIDERS TO BE POOR MANNERS SUCH AS CHEWING GUM AND POPPING IT LOUDLY -- (2) SPECIFICALLY WHAT HAVE THE THREATS BEEN AND WERE THEY VERBAL AND MADE TO HIS FACE OR ANONYMOUS -- PERHAPS BY UNSIGNED NOTE? (3) WHEN DID THE THREATS START? (4) SHOULD HIS AND TRUMP’S PUBLIC POLICY BE REEXAMINED AND CHANGED? WELL, WITH ALL THE MONEY THAT HAS ALREADY BEEN SPENT ON HIS LUXURY FLIGHTS, IS ANYONE IN CAMP TRUMP SURPRISED? THAT MAKES ME ANGRY, THOUGH NOT ENOUGH TO SHOOT HIM. (5) PEOPLE DON’T LIKE TO SEE AMOUNTS OF MONEY WHICH WOULD PAY FOR A YEAR’S EXPENSES SPENT ON A LUXURY LIKE A $40,000 AIRLINE TRIP BECAUSE HE IS AFRAID TO SIT AMONG THE PUBLIC. (7) THERE IS ALSO THE OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY’S WRECKING OF THE ENVIRONMENT IN VARIOUS TYPICALLY REPUBLICAN WAYS. HE’S FROM THE OIL INDUSTRY, AFTER ALL. (8) HE, IN RACKING UP ALL THESE EXPENSES, HAS COMMITTED AT LEAST ONE UNSCRUPULOUS AND MAYBE ILLEGAL ACT.

THIS CBS ARTICLE ON PRUITT’S SUDDEN CHANGE OF HEART ABOUT FLYING AMONG THE BEST PEOPLE ONLY, IS VERY INTERESTING, IN THAT LIGHT. “THE STATE” REFERRED TO IN THIS WEBSITE IS SOUTH CAROLINA. SEE ALSO:

HTTP://WWW.THESTATE.COM/NEWS/POLITICS-GOVERNMENT/ARTICLE127074744.HTML,
EPA NOMINEE DIDN’T JUST SUE THE AGENCY, HE ALSO ASKED INDUSTRY FOR THE MONEY TO DO IT
BY STUART LEAVENWORTH
JANUARY 17, 2017 05:34 PM
UPDATED JANUARY 17, 2017 10:22 PM

[I REALLY DO WANT TO HEAR WHAT EXTREME UNPLEASANTNESS OCCURRED.]

FROM CBS:

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/scott-pruitt-my-very-next-flight-will-be-coach-epa-administrator-the-takeout-interview/
CBS NEWS February 28, 2018, 9:55 PM
Scott Pruitt: "My very next flight" will be coach

Video – Pruitt on travel 3:10 duration
Video – Pruitt under fire for travel costs 1:12 duration

Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt told CBS News chief White House correspondent Major Garrett there is a "change coming" in his security, which he claimed was the reason behind his controversial expensive travel. Pruitt told Garrett in the latest edition of CBS News' "The Takeout" podcast that he had been flying coach until receiving "unprecedented" threats, which led to a "threat assessment."

"There's a change coming, because look the security threat matters," Pruitt said. "What I've told them going forward is this: There is a change occurring, you're going to accommodate the security threats as they exist, you're going to accommodate those in all ways, alternate ways, up to and including flying coach, and that is what's going to happen on my very next flight. So those things are happening right away."

Earlier this week, House Oversight Chairman Trey Gowdy issued a letter to Pruitt demanding records related to his taxpayer-funded travel. Pruitt has said security concerns were raised after unpleasant interactions* with other passengers.

Sources have told CBS News that Pruitt regularly flies in first class along with his unprecedented*, round-the-clock, security detail.

On a return flight from Milan on June 11, Pruitt flew on Emirates Airlines, CBS News' Julianna Goldman reported earlier this month. Emirates Airlines' business class cabins are some of the world's most luxurious, complete with an onboard lounge that promises what the airline calls a "truly unique journey."

Pruitt needed special dispensation to take the flight. Government officials are bound by the Fly America Act, which requires them to "use U.S. air carrier service for all air travel ... funded by the U.S. government."

The entire trip cost more than $43,000, according to travel vouchers obtained by the Environmental Integrity Project. To make his departing flight to Rome on June 7, Pruitt flew on a military aircraft from Cincinnati, where he had attended a rally with the president.

Pruitt insisted to Garrett there is a "legitimate security issue," saying the "threats I have faced are unprecedented." Pruitt said there had been four to five times the amount of threats against him than against the last EPA administrator. Pruitt said he was flying coach until a threat assessment.

"There have been incidents in airports and those incidents you know occurred and they are of different types, but here what I really wanted to try to convey to you is that these threats have been unprecedented from the very beginning and that the quantity and type are unprecedented," Pruitt said. "You're gonna accommodate security threats as they exist, up to and including flying coach."

Pruitt called outgoing communications director Hope Hicks a "wonderful individual" and a "tremendous asset" to the administration. He also called White House chief of staff John Kelly a "tremendous leader" and said he has made a "tremendous difference." As for the White House's handling of spousal abuse charges against former White House staff secretary Rob Porter, Pruitt said "those kinds of matters I don't follow as closely as you might think. John [Kelly] is someone who does things the right way."

© 2018 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.


SEE THIS INTERESTING ARTICLE BELOW ABOUT THE “SAFEST SCHOOL IN THE COUNTRY,” AND HOW THEIR SYSTEM WORKS.

THIS SCHOOL HAS EMPLOYED A NUMBER OF WAYS TO COMBAT GUN VIOLENCE IN SCHOOLS BESIDES, OR IN ADDITION TO, A “GOOD GUY WITH A GUN.” I’VE BEEN THINKING OF A COUPLE OF THESE. THEY ARE COMMON SENSE AND SHOULD HELP. SOMETIME IN THE LAST TWO DAYS I DID MENTION ONE OF THESE – THE “EMERGENCY FOB” (NOT MY WORD FOR IT) – THAT SETS OFF A LOCAL ALARM AND NOTIFIES POLICE OF THE EMERGENCY IMMEDIATELY, ONLY I SAW THAT AS A BUTTON TO PUSH.

JUST BECAUSE SOMEONE COMES DOWN THE HALL ISN’T REASON ENOUGH TO HAVE ALARMS STARTING TO GO OFF. THIS ARTICLE SAYS THE ALARM BUTTON SHOULD BE SITTING CLOSE BY, BUT I THINK IT SHOULD BE WORN AROUND THE NECK OR ON CLOTHING, UNLESS IT’S TOO LARGE FOR THAT. ANOTHER GOOD WAY WOULD BE A THOROUGH SYSTEM OF ELECTRONIC EYES, MOTION SENSORS, AND CAMERAS IN ALL THE HALLS, LINKED TO THE EMERGENCY ALERT SYSTEM. I WOULD ALSO WANT A GUARD AT FRONT, STAIRWELL, AND BACK ENTRANCE. IDEAL WOULD BE AN ID CARD READER AT THE ENTRANCE TO EACH HALLWAY. THE TROUBLE ON ALL THIS WOULD BE THE PRICE TAG; ALSO, ONLY A HUMAN CAN MAKE A JUDGMENT CALL ON THE SITUATION.

I DIDN’T UNDERSTAND THE “SMOKE CANNONS IN THE HALLWAY,” THOUGH. HOW DOES IT WORK, AND HOW DOES IT HELP? DEAR OLD GOOGLE TOLD ME: http://www.flashfogsecurity.com/. FLASHFOG IS ONLY ONE BRAND. ON AMAZON THIS FLASHFOG BRAND IS NOT MENTIONED, BUT TWO OTHERS ARE, RANGING FROM $30 TO ALMOST $100.00 EACH, AND THE FLUID TO PUT IN THEM IS ALSO EXPENSIVE. YOU NEED ONE PER HALLWAY AT LEAST.

ALSO, FLASHFOG IS TRIGGERED BY A BURGLAR ALARM, BUT MAYBE NOT BY A PUSHBUTTON OR ANOTHER MECHANICAL DEVICE. ALL IN ALL, IF I WERE THE SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENT, I MIGHT PREFER A PLEASANT BUT ALERT PERSON AND THE EMERGENCY BUTTON BEING WORN BY TEACHERS, RATHER THAN THIS MECHANICAL SETUP ALONE.

LIKEWISE, THE TROUBLE WITH CAMERAS ALONE IS HOW TO DISCERN THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A STUDENT WITH A BOOK BAG IN HIS HAND, AND A GUNMAN WITH THE WEAPON IN A GUITAR CASE. THE TRICK IS TO GET HELP IMMEDIATELY TO THE PLACE WHERE THE TROUBLE IS. A TWO-WAY COMMUNICATION SYSTEM IN EVERY CLASSROOM, HALLWAY OR OFFICE WOULD HELP.

I WONDER, TOO, IF A VERY BRIGHT LED STROBE LIGHT AND LOCALLY AUDIBLE ALARM ALONE MIGHT NOT DO THE TRICK; THAT IS, “FLASHFOG” WITHOUT THE SMOKE. IF FRIGHTENING THE WOULD-BE KILLER ENOUGH TO STOP THE IMMEDIATE ASSAULT IS THE GOAL, THAT COULD BE RIGGED TO A SYSTEM OF PERMANENTLY LOCKED SCHOOL ROOM DOORS WHICH RESPOND ELECTRONICALLY TO AN ATTEMPT TO OPEN THEM, EXCEPT BY ELECTRONIC KEY, SETTING OFF A BLINKING LIGHT ALARM. EACH TEACHER OR OFFICIAL COULD CARRY AN ELECTRONIC KEY TO UNLOCK THE DOORS. THAT WOULD MEAN THAT THE TEACHER WOULD HAVE TO BE THERE EVERY MINUTE UNTIL CLASS STARTS TO LET STUDENTS IN AND OUT FOR THE CLASS ITSELF. I CAN’T IMAGINE TEACHERS WOULD LIKE THAT, BUT IF ATROCITIES CAN BE STOPPED, THAT IS WORTH THE PRICE, I THINK.

FLASHFOG [http://www.flashfogsecurity.com/]
“How FlashFog Works

“Burglars can't steal what they can't see. This simple concept is the key to FlashFog's effectiveness as a burglary protection system. When a burglar triggers your alarm, the FlashFog system jumps into action to protect your valuables. Within seconds, the area is completely filled with a thick white fog, reducing visibility to inches. As if this wasn't enough to deter the burglar, the system also includes an incredibly bright, flashing strobe light. The rapidly flashing light prevents any attempts to see through the fog, and draws attention to the scene. The end result is always the same: a fleeing burglar, and your area protected until police have time to arrive. . . . .”


https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2018/02/22/safest-school-america-indiana/362210002/
How an Indiana school protects against mass shootings as the 'safest school in America'
USA TODAY NETWORK Nate Chute and Justin L. Mack, The Indianapolis Star Published 7:37 a.m. ET Feb. 22, 2018 | Updated 2:38 p.m. ET Feb. 22, 2018

Video -- President Donald Trump says he's considering backing proposals to promote concealed carrying of weapons by trained school employees to respond to campus shootings. (Feb. 21) AP 2:06

INDIANAPOLIS — Cameras with a direct feed to the county sheriff office. Teachers who wear panic buttons. Smoke cannons in hallways.

These pieces of equipment are a big reason Southwestern High School in Shelbyville, Ind., has been referred to as "the safest school in America" since the airing of a segment on NBC's Today in 2015 (the network recently revisited the school). Shelbyville is about 27 miles southeast of Indianapolis.

The system was implemented in 2015 after the Indiana Sheriff's Association chose the school district for the first-of-its-kind security program. The school declined an interview about the program Wednesday, but an administrator previously discussed that school shootings can happen anywhere.

Feb. 21: 'America is watching you': Young people hold town hall in wake of Fla. deadly attack

Feb. 21: The conspiracy theory that won't end: 'Enough is enough'

“I think that Newtown, Sandy Hook, really made people understand, made us all understand this could happen to us," Dr. Paula Maurer, superintendent of Southwestern Consolidated Schools, told WXIN-TV in Indianapolis when the program was revealed in 2014. “Now is the time to do something about it. We have some answers. We have the technology. We have ways to make our kids safer, and we have to do it.”

The school and law enforcement tout the real-time capabilities of the system to communicate with police and to track a suspect at the school. Here's how the safety program works:

• In the event of an active shooter, a teacher can press his or her emergency fob, which sets off a school-wide alarm and notifies local law enforcement. Students then barricade themselves in a corner out of view of a potential shooter looking through the window of a locked, bullet-proof door.

• Another device in each classroom allows for a teacher to tell law enforcement their classroom is safe, signal they need medical aid or ask for help if they've seen the suspect.

• With a live view of hallways, the county can see the shooter's movements and if necessary, launch what they call "hot zones." Dispatchers can shoot smoke out of cannons to distract and limit the visibility of the suspect in hallways.

Feb. 21: Trump vows tougher background checks, mental health screens for gun buyers in meeting with students

Students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School walked to the Florida Capitol in Tallahassee on Wednesday, to lobby legislators on gun laws. Andrew Salinero, USA TODAY NETWORK

The system, dubbed the Safe School Flagship and “Best Practice Solution” by the Indiana Sheriffs' Association, was created with the hope of becoming the new standard in school safety nationwide.

In a statement released after its unveiling, Sheriffs' Association Executive Director Steve Luce called it a "paradigm change in public safety."

“Your children deserve to be safe, you as parents deserve to have your kids come home safely to you after school, your teachers deserve to be teachers and not bodyguards, your communities deserve to move to a higher standard of safety in all your educational environments," Luce said in a statement. "You deserve to be protected by the Best Practice Solution."

Feb. 21: Florida school shooting could be 'tipping point' in 2018 races

Feb. 21: Jeff Flake: 'A kid too young buy a handgun should be too young to buy an #AR15'

The entire system was reported to cost $400,000, Today reported in 2015. Net Talon, the Virginia security company behind the design, funded a large portion of the installation, with the rest coming from grants.

But funding for such programs is limited. When introduced under then-governor Mike Pence in 2013, the Indiana Secured School Grant Fund had a budget of $20 million. Today, it's half of that.

Districts who apply for the grant can be awarded up to $50,000 if they have more than 1,000 students, $35,000 if their enrollment is less than that.

At least 17 dead in school shooting in Parkland, Fla.

A police officer helps direct traffic as Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School students begin arriving for their first day of school since the shooting on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2018 in Parkland, Fla. ANDREA MELENDEZ/USA TODAY NETWORK

Follow Nate Chute and Justin L. Mack on Twitter: @nchute and @justinlmack

Feb. 21: 'Never again!' Florida shooting survivors confront lawmakers; protests gain steam nationwide

Feb. 20: Florida shooting rampage renews focus on gun laws that allow courts to remove firearms from the mentally ill

Feb. 20: 'I'm coming and I'm not being quiet': Florida school shooting survivors take bus to state capitol

Feb. 20: These Florida shooting victims are activists, just like the woman their school is named after



THE FOLLOWING IS SO DISTASTEFUL THAT I AM SURPRISED ANYBODY IN GOVERNMENT THESE DAYS WOULD SAY THIS, AND ESPECIALLY TO CBSNEWS.COM. SADLY, IT’S TOO OBVIOUSLY THE CASE THAT THEY WOULD THINK IT EVEN IF THEY DIDN’T SAY IT, OF COURSE. THOUGHT PRECEDES ACTION, RIGHT? I KNEW WE WERE IN TROUBLE WHEN PRIVILEGED YOUNG PEOPLE STARTED SAYING “POLITICALLY CORRECT” TO MEAN “POLITE.” THAT’S JUST ANOTHER BIT OF “CONSERVATIVE” HEARTLESSNESS. THAT’S WHY RACIST, ANTI-IMMIGRANT AND ANTI-SEMITIC ACTIONS ARE BACK IN THE NEWS TO THE EXTENT THAT THEY ARE – NO MORE SELF-CENSORSHIP.

THE “WHITE IS RIGHT” PHILOSOPHY IS HERE TO STAY IN THE USA, AND SOME OF THE PRIVILEGED YOUNG MEN AND WOMEN, ARE MAKING SURE THAT THEY MAKE THEIR VIEWS ON THAT CRYSTAL CLEAR. THE REMARK WAS MADE, THOUGH, TO JEWISH CONGRESSMAN DIMITRI SHEIN AFTER HE ASKED YOUNG HOW HE IS GOING TO “MAKE MY CHILDREN SAFER.” I SUSPECT YOUNG WAS ANNOYED AT THE QUESTION, AND OUT OF SPITE MADE A COMMENT ABOUT THE HOLOCAUST. SHEIN IS CHALLENGING YOUNG FOR HIS SEAT.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/congressman-suggests-jews-wouldnt-have-died-in-holocaust-if-they-were-armed/
By KATHRYN WATSON CBS NEWS February 28, 2018, 1:22 PM
Congressman suggests Jews wouldn't have died in the Holocaust if they were armed

Photograph -- House Speaker Paul Ryan administers the House oath of office to Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, during a mock swearing in ceremony on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2017, as the 115th Congress began. ZACH GIBSON / AP

Alaska's only congressman last week seemed to suggest Jews could have avoided being "put into the ovens" in the Holocaust if they were armed, according to a video recording of his comments at the Alaska Municipal League last week.

Rep. Don Young, a Republican, suggested "millions" of people died because they were "unarmed," according to a video recording uploaded to YouTube by Dimitri Shein, a Democrat who is running for Young's seat. Young made the remarks after Shein, who was present at the event, asked him what he is doing to make the schools safer for his children. Young, known for his gruffness, was made dean of the U.S. House of Representatives earlier this year, a largely ceremonial post that goes to the body's longest-serving member.

Young, before launching into his comments related to the Holocaust, noted how many die in car accidents, and blamed video games for moral decay.

"They say let's ban the AR-15. OK, let's ban that," Young said. "Then what else are you going to ban? What else? The shotgun? Then long rifles, then sling shots, bows and arrows. Knives. How many millions of people were shot and killed because they were unarmed? Fifty million in Russia, because their citizens weren't armed. How many Jews were put into the ovens because they were unarmed?"

Don Young - Guns for Teachers by dimitri shein on YouTube
[http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/gop-congressman-jews-were-killed-in-the-holocaust-because-they-didnt-have-guns/article/2650283]

Murphy McCollough, press secretary for Young, said the comments were "taken entirely out of context."

"Congressman Young's statement last week has been taken entirely out of context," McCollough said in a statement provided to CBS News. "He was referencing the fact that when Hitler confiscated firearms from Jewish Germans, those communities were less able to defend themselves. He was not implying that an armed Jewish population would have been able to prevent the horrors of the Holocaust, but his intended message is that disarming citizens can have detrimental consequences. A defenseless people are left up to the mercy of its leaders. In today's society, people are desensitized to extreme violence which the Congressman is very concerned about. Our children are surrounded by images of violence in social media, films and throughout the internet which has led to an alarming societal disconnect and isolation. Congressman Young remains committed to developing new solutions to bring our communities together and strengthen mental health services to address these issues facing our young people."

Young, 84, was first elected to Congress in 1973.

The idea that the effects of the Holocaust could have been diminished by gun ownership is not new among some outspoken Second Amendment advocates. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson, in a book he published in 2015, suggested a similar sentiment.

"German citizens were disarmed by their government in the late 1930s, and by the mid-1940s Hitler's regime had mercilessly slaughtered six million Jews and numerous others whom they considered inferior," Carson said in a 2015 interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer, "Through a combination of removing guns and disseminating deceitful propaganda, the Nazis were able to carry out their evil intentions with relatively little resistance."

© 2018 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.



WALMART IS JUST ONE OF SEVERAL BUSINESS GROUS MENTIONED YESTERDAY AND TODAY IN NEWS STORIES, WHO ARE TAKING STEPS AGAINST ABUSE OF THE 2ND AMENDMENT IN THIS COUNTRY, INCLUDING ONE WELL-KNOWN GUN OUTLET. IF CONGRESS WON’T DO WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE, LET BUSINESSES DO IT. IF ENOUGH DO IT, THE FAR-RIGHT GROUPS WILL BE SHAMED; AND THOUGH THEY WON’T CHANGE THEIR STRIPES, THEY WILL PAINT ANOTHER MORE POPULAR COLOR OVER THEM. WALMART HAS MADE SEVERAL SMALL CHANGES IN WORKER PAY, HOWEVER, WHICH LEADS ME TO THINK THEY REALLY DO CARE ABOUT PEOPLE.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2018/02/28/walmart-bans-gun-sales-anyone-under-21-after-parkland-florida-school-shooting/383487002/?csp=chromepush
Walmart bans gun sales to anyone under 21 after Parkland, Florida school shooting
Nathan Bomey, USA TODAY Published 7:03 p.m. ET Feb. 28, 2018 | Updated 7:35 p.m. ET Feb. 28, 2018

Walmart is banning sales of guns to people younger than 21, becoming the second major retailer to make such a move Wednesday following the Parkland, Fla. school shooting.

The nation's largest private employer and retailer made the announcement hours after Dick's Sporting Goods earlier said it would make a similar move.

The decision comes amid billowing pressure on political leaders and business executives to take action to stem gun violence.

Walmart said it would make the policy change "as quickly as possible" and said it would require shoppers to be 21 to buy ammunition.

"In light of recent events, we’ve taken an opportunity to review our policy on firearm sales," the company said in a statement. "Going forward, we are raising the age restriction for purchase of firearms and ammunition to 21 years of age."

The company had already banned sales of assault-style guns in 2015. Dick's banned sales of such weapons at its big-box locations in 2012 but extended the ban to its 35 Field & Stream shops Wednesday.

More: Dick's Sporting Goods bans sales of assault-style weapons after Parkland, Florida school shooting

MORE: NRA fallout: See the list of companies that cut discounts for NRA members after Parkland, Florida school shooting

More: Could Dick's Sporting Goods ban on assault-style rifles change sales?

More: Sales of bulletproof doors and windows boom as Parkland students return to school

Walmart also said it would remove "items from our website resembling assault-style rifles, including nonlethal airsoft guns and toys."

"Our heritage as a company has always been in serving sportsmen and hunters, and we will continue to do so in a responsible way," Walmart said.

Unlike Dick's Sporting Goods, which called for policy changes to outlaw assault-style rifles and raise the minimum age for purchasing a gun to 21, Walmart made no similar political call.

Follow USA TODAY reporter Nathan Bomey on Twitter @NathanBomey.


I HAVE HEARD IT SAID THAT POLICE OFFICERS CAN BECOME HARDENED BY “SEEING TOO MUCH,” WHICH SOUNDS LIKE THE DESCRIPTION GIVEN HERE OF THE PERSONALITY CHANGE THAT THE AUTHOR CANTU’S BORDER PATROL JOB DID TO HIM. MAYBE IT’S A MISTAKE TO ALLOW AN INDIVIDUAL TO WORK “ON THE FRONT LINES” IN A POLICING ROLE FOR MORE THAN A FEW YEARS.

https://www.vox.com/conversations/2018/2/14/17009704/border-patrol-agent-immigration
He was a Border Patrol agent. What he saw gave him nightmares.
How the job “can cause you to bottle up compassion or internalize violence.”
By Hope Reese Updated Feb 15, 2018, 10:20am EST

Photograph -- An US Border Patrol agent checks the area near the border fence in Columbus, New Mexico, on February 19, 2017, on the US-Mexico border. Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images

Francisco Cantú never thought he would become a US Border Patrol agent.

The grandson of a Mexican immigrant, Cantú had been studying international relations in college, but became “tired of reading about the border in books” and wanted to see the realities of border life for himself. So in 2008, he went to Arizona to enlist in the US Customs and Border Protection Border Patrol Academy.

During his four years as a Border Patrol agent, Cantú sent men, women, and children trying to cross the American border back to Mexico. He spoke with people whose loved ones had been injured or killed during the treacherous journey, saw the desperation of those who sought work and a better life, and witnessed young girls being stopped from entering the US to reunite with their mothers.

As the years went on, he was tormented by nightmares. “A huge part is conditioning you to accept all these violent or traumatic things that can be part of the job, and to see that as part of your day-to-day work,” Cantú said.

In The Line Becomes a River, Cantú shares his experience working for four years as a Border Patrol agent, exploring how immigration statistics “[do] little to account for all the ways that violence rips and ripples through a society, through the lives and minds of its inhabitants.”

But over the past week, Cantú has come under fire as he promotes the book’s publication. Some critics argue that his book humanizes Border Patrol agents, and activists in San Francisco have called for his book reading to be canceled. An NPR headline — the “Border Patrol Does Good Work” — was “particularly damaging,” Cantú said in a statement. Instead, he said his primary aim in writing the book was to illustrate “the dehumanization of migrants.”

This conversation has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

Hope Reese
You became a Border Patrol agent because you had studied the border and wanted to see what it was like firsthand, but what about your co-workers? What draws people to this kind of work?

Francisco Cantú
I wasn’t a law enforcement-type person, so expected to be the odd man out. But I was surprised. Nearly a third to a half of the Border Patrol is Hispanic. A huge number come from the Southwest. Their parents were migrants. I’ve heard of agents who crossed over as kids and are first generation themselves. So all of those stereotypes — of, for instance, a white racist who wants to keep Mexicans out of the country — were turned on their head.

There are 18,000 agents — there are more Border Patrol than FBI, DEA — when you talk about that many people, there are people who are cruel and callous, and there are also some of the most kind and compassionate people I’ve ever met. For many, it’s a way out. For some, you either join the cartel or join the Border Patrol agency. People growing up in small communities near the border would see that the people who were the most well-off were either working for the cartel or working for the Border Patrol. It’s a generalization, but that’s something I heard.

Hope Reese
You write of being in Border Patrol: “It’s true that we slash their bottles and drain their water into the dry earth, that we dump their backpacks and pile their food and clothes to be crushed and pissed on and stepped over, strewn across the desert and set ablaze.” And recently, Border Patrol agents were accused of destroying water stations that had been installed by a humanitarian group. Is this behavior typical?

Francisco Cantú
It’s important to me to know that I never did that. But I saw it happen. I knew it happened. I wore a uniform, and I tried to grapple with this — my own culpability, and the ways I could and couldn’t extract myself from the institution I worked for.

One of the most impactful experiences was when I encountered a dead body in the desert. For me, to see the dead body and be the one talking to that person’s family in person when they’re in the middle of grappling with that death — I carry that with me all the time. Our policy of prevention through deterrence — pushing those crossing out from the heavily patrolled urban areas to the remote areas of the desert — serves to weaponize the landscape. That’s why people are dying in the desert.

The humanitarians that set up those water stations are working to fill a deadly void that has been left open in our policy. So for Border Patrol to destroy the aid they leave is unacceptable.

Hope Reese
You grappled with the question of what it means to be a “good” agent. How do you think about that now?

Francisco Cantú
There were parts of my nature that made me a good agent. I liked to be outdoors, to learn to read the landscape. And there was something exciting about the detective elements of the work — learning to cut for signs, track people through the desert, investigate smuggling cases.

But for me, there was always tension knowing that all these people I was positioned against were risking everything for a better life. You reach a point where you think: If I was a parent separated from my child, I would do the same.

There was a middle-aged woman who had become lost, and I was responsible for taking her back to the station. She had these silver dollar-sized blisters on her feet. I had also become licensed as an EMT, and I bandaged her feet. She watched me and thanked me. She called me a humanitarian. It was a strange moment. I’m not a humanitarian. I’m part of a system that is sending you back to a place from where you are risking your life to flee.

Hope Reese
How is the Border Patrol different or similar from the police or the military?

Francisco Cantú
Border Patrol is paramilitary — it’s between these two worlds. A huge part is conditioning you to accept all these violent or traumatic things that can be part of the job, and to see that as part of your day-to-day work. There isn’t a culture of talking about the ways you might be impacted by the trauma — that creeping unease about how a job can cause you to bottle up compassion or internalize violence.

Hope Reese
How critical are you of the Border Patrol as an institution?

Francisco Cantú
It’s important to remember that in the summer, the entire Border Patrol becomes a search-and-rescue mission. The realization that people are dying in the desert … Border Patrol agents on the ground aren’t writing border policy. But we’re enforcing it. The Border Patrol is simultaneously there to put out the fire, and the institution is what started the fire.


That’s what’s missing from our conversation about immigration reform. We still don’t acknowledge these people who are dying in our debate.

Hope Reese
You write about how it’s more difficult to attempt to cross the border than it was 20 years ago. What are the side effects of that “success”?

Francisco Cantú
Human smugglers are going to charge more, so it becomes more and more expensive for the people who are trying to cross. It also becomes more and more lucrative for the smugglers. The immigrant really becomes more and more of a commodity — it’s just another part of the spiral toward dehumanization.

Another part of what’s happened is that the drug cartels, as they have become more powerful, have taken control of the human smuggling operations.

Hope Reese
You observe that the language we use to describe migrants can be dehumanizing. Can you elaborate?

Francisco Cantú
We talk about immigration as a “flood.” A “wave” of migrants. In Spanish smugglers are called “polleros,” which means “chicken rancher.” And the migrants are chickens. What all of those metaphors do is lump the migrants into this indistinguishable mountain of people.

Hope Reese
After you left the Border Patrol, you worked at a coffee shop, and a man named José would come there to eat breakfast with you, every day, for two years. Then he left the US, his home of 30 years, and traveled to Mexico to visit his dying mother. When José attempted to return home to his wife and sons in the United States, he was arrested at the border and deported.

Francisco Cantú
José’s story transformed the way I see all of this. It gave me a deeper and more devastating understanding of the way the border rips through a person’s life. Not just the person who’s crossing, but the lives of their family.

For someone in José’s situation, if he’s on the other side trying to get back to his family, he’s terrified walking around in a border town because he’ll be preyed on by human smugglers. Human trafficking and drug trafficking in these communities are closely tied.

José’s family was literally extorted for money, and his life was threatened. He was afraid. And that happens to a lot of crossers. Or he will try to cross and be kidnapped by someone who will hold him for ransom. If he does make it, he’ll be terrified of getting pulled over on his way to work. I talked to some people who were afraid a helicopter would land on their yard and kidnap them in the middle of the night. It makes these people live a life in fear.

Hope Reese
What were your thoughts when you first heard Trump’s proposal of a wall?

Francisco Cantú
People don’t understand that there are already border walls, and 700 miles of fencing. At the station where I worked, there were several miles of 20-foot-high fencing, made up of these huge panels of steel mesh, and it really didn’t stop much. Smugglers would pry open panels from the ground, put these hydraulic tire jacks underneath, and lift them up so cars could drive underneath. Other smugglers would bring welding torches and weld doors or areas to crawl through.

In my experience, that’s not an argument for a bigger, stronger wall. No matter what obstacle we put up, people will find a way around it. So do we spend more time and money on a wall? Do we ask our policymakers to conceive of new ways to make our border more hellacious to cross? Or do we find ways to reform our system? Or send aid to these countries? There could be much better uses for that money.

Hope Reese
Was there a moment when you realized you wanted to leave the Border Patrol?

Francisco Cantú
At the time, I wouldn’t have told you I was leaving the Border Patrol because of all these nightmares, or because I had come to disagree with the work. I got a Fulbright fellowship to the Netherlands to study rejected asylum seekers who were remaining after their deportation orders. Pursuing studies was a way to get out that looked like I was moving forward. It wasn’t until I had distance that I began to grapple with what the dreams meant.


A few months before I left the Border Patrol, I went to see a movie about a guy who slowly lost the ability to tell the difference between his dreaming life and waking life. I remember driving home and breaking down, pulling over to the side of the road and weeping. I had to look at myself and realize — something’s happening here, you’re not all right.

Hope Reese
You have received some backlash in the last couple of days, with critics saying that your book humanizes Border Patrol agents and activists in San Francisco even calling for your book reading to be canceled. How do you respond?

Francisco Cantú*
In some of the interviews I gave, I’ve been asked, “Oh, the Border Patrol rescues people a lot, right?” Which is kind of a leading question. And I’ve said, “Sure, the Border Patrol rescues people.” But the larger picture is the violence of this policy of enforcement through deterrence is what is putting people there in the first place. It’s like the fire chief setting a fire and the firefighters getting praised for putting it out. One quote I gave in an interview was pulled out of context. I said “the border patrol does good work.” But I want to be clear: That’s not my message.

On a larger level, what I’ve seen unfold, even in this short week, is that there’s an eagerness among some media to humanize the Border Patrol. Since I represent a relatable Border Patrol agent, a lot of the media about the book has been focused on that, and given more weight to humanizing me as a former Border Patrol agent, or Border Patrol agents in general, over focusing on my message: the dehumanization of migrants.

The Border Patrol is backed by the most powerful country in the world. They wear the uniform of the US government. The migrants are the ones we need to be talking about and humanizing. They’re the ones whose identities and names are being overlooked. Migrants are constantly made anonymous by border policies.

*After answering this question from Hope Reese, Penguin Random House also provided Cantú’s statement to the news site Splinter.

Correction: The term “chicken rancher” used to describe smugglers is “pollero” in Spanish.

Hope Reese is a journalist in Louisville, Kentucky. Her writing has appeared in the Atlantic, the Boston Globe, the Chicago Tribune, Playboy, Vox, and other publications. Find her on Twitter @hope_reese.


CONGRATULATIONS A G SESSIONS!

“SESSIONS RESPONDED TO THE PRESIDENT'S NEWEST CRITICISM LATER ON WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON, PUSHING BACK IN A STATEMENT, "WE HAVE INITIATED THE APPROPRIATE PROCESS THAT WILL ENSURE COMPLAINTS AGAINST THIS DEPARTMENT WILL BE FULLY AND FAIRLY ACTED UPON IF NECESSARY." HE ADDED, "AS LONG AS I AM THE ATTORNEY GENERAL, I WILL CONTINUE TO DISCHARGE MY DUTIES WITH INTEGRITY AND HONOR, AND THIS DEPARTMENT WILL CONTINUE TO DO ITS WORK IN A FAIR AND IMPARTIAL MANNER ACCORDING TO THE LAW AND CONSTITUTION.”

AS THEY SAY IN THE SOUTH, “‘NUFF SAID!”

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-slams-sessions-suggestion-of-ig-probe-into-fisa-abuse-as-disgraceful/
By EMILY TILLETT CBS NEWS February 28, 2018, 11:03 AM
Trump slams Sessions' announcement of IG probe into FISA abuse as "disgraceful"
Last Updated Feb 28, 2018 1:31 PM EST

President Donald Trump is once again attacking Attorney General Jeff Sessions, this time for asking the Justice Department's inspector general to look into allegations that the FISA court was misused to surveil Trump campaign adviser Carter Page, an issue raised by a House Intelligence Majority memo released earlier this month.


Donald J. Trump
✔
@realDonaldTrump
Why is A.G. Jeff Sessions asking the Inspector General to investigate potentially massive FISA abuse. Will take forever, has no prosecutorial power and already late with reports on Comey etc. Isn’t the I.G. an Obama guy? Why not use Justice Department lawyers? DISGRACEFUL!

9:34 AM - Feb 28, 2018
61.6K
52.3K people are talking about this
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"Why is A.G. Jeff Sessions asking the Inspector General to investigate potentially massive FISA abuse. Will take forever, has no prosecutorial power and already late with reports on Comey etc.," the president tweeted on Wednesday.

He then questioned whether the inspector general was holdover from the Obama era (he is -- Michael E. Horowitz was sworn in as inspector general for the Justice Department in 2012) and later probed why Sessions would not "use Justice Department lawyers" instead. "DISGRACEFUL!" the president added.

Sessions said Tuesday that the IG would be looking into the handling of FISA warrants during a news conference.

The DOJ inspector general has an ongoing investigation into how the Clinton email investigation and other matters related to the 2016 campaign were handled by the FBI and Justice Department.

The president's reaction differed from White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders' initial response. She was asked Tuesday about the president's reaction to Sessions' announcement of the investigation into FISA abuses. Sanders noted that it was an issue Mr. Trump "clearly had frustration over, so I would imagine he certainly supports the decision to look into what we feel to be some wrongdoing." She added, "I think that's the role of the Department of Justice, and we're glad that they're fulfilling that job."

The president's tweet is his latest salvo against Sessions and his leadership of an embattled Justice Department. Last year, the president raged against Sessions' decision to recuse himself from all matters related to the ongoing Russia investigation, telling the New York Times he regretted appointing Sessions in light of his recusal and referred at the time to the attorney general in a tweet as "beleaguered."


Donald J. Trump
✔
@realDonaldTrump
So why aren't the Committees and investigators, and of course our beleaguered A.G., looking into Crooked Hillarys crimes & Russia relations?

7:49 AM - Jul 24, 2017
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Sessions has repeatedly refuted reports that his departure from the Justice Department might be imminent, given the president's critiques, most recently telling lawmakers on Capitol Hill he has conducted himself "honorably and in a manner consistent with the high standards and responsibilities of the Office of Attorney General."

"I spent 15 years in that department, I love that department, I honor that department and will do my best to be your attorney general," Sessions emotionally exclaimed to the House Judiciary Committee in November.

Sessions responded to the president's newest criticism later on Wednesday afternoon, pushing back in a statement, "We have initiated the appropriate process that will ensure complaints against this Department will be fully and fairly acted upon if necessary."

He added, "As long as I am the Attorney General, I will continue to discharge my duties with integrity and honor, and this Department will continue to do its work in a fair and impartial manner according to the law and Constitution.

CBS News' Andy Triay and Paula Reid contributed to this report.

© 2018 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.



MADDOW TIME
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show

THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 2/28/18
Loans to Kushner business followed meetings at White House: NYT
Jesse Drucker, business and taxes reporter for The New York Times, talks with Rachel Maddow about new reporting that companies loaned hundreds of millions of dollars to the Kushner family business after meeting with Kushner at the White House. Duration: 15:06


THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 2/28/18
'Javanka' faction falling apart as Hope Hicks, others quit W.H.
Rachel Maddow reports on the resignation of White House communications director Hope Hicks, her legal context in the Trump Russia scandal, her political context as an ally of Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner in the White House, and her personal context for Donald Trump. Duration: 18:00


THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 2/28/18
Mueller queries getting at heart of Russia collusion question
Carol Lee, national political reporter for NBC News, talks with Rachel Maddow about new reporting that special counsel Robert Mueller is asking interviewees whether Donald Trump knew about hacked DNC e-mails before they were released. Duration: 5:32