MAY 2 AND 3, 2018


NEWS AND VIEWS


THE GOOD NEWS TODAY IS THAT CAMBRIDGE ANALYTICA IS SHUTTING DOWN AROUND THE WORLD. IMMEDIATELY. FACEBOOK HAS JUST CUT OFF COMMUNICATION WITH THEM AS WELL. THANK HEAVENS. I DO THINK THAT BIG DATA IS AT LEAST AS DANGEROUS AS THE NEWLY POPULAR MILITARIZED CITY POLICE FORCES, IF NOT AS UGLY. AS SOON AS SOMEONE ELSE REPLACES TRUMP, I WANT THAT LAW DISMANTLED THAT ALLOWS THE MILITARY TO SEND ITS CASTOFF TECHNOLOGY TO ITS POORER RELATIVES IN THE CIVILIAN WORLD TO BE REUSED. THAT’S ANOTHER THING THAT SHOCKED ME WHEN I FIRST SAW IT ON THE EVENING NEWS. COPS COMING DOWN THE STREET IN FERGUSON MO IN TANKS. THAT’S NOT A GOOD WAY TO DO POLICE WORK.

WILL MUELLER SUBPOENA CAMBRIDGE MANAGEMENT TO TESTIFY? WE KNOW THE COMPANY HAS BEEN LINKED IN AN UNHOLY MANNER WITH TRUMP AND THAT AN ATTEMPT (SUCCESSFUL, IF TEMPORARILY SO), TO OVERTHROW THE US GOVERNMENT BY SUBTERFUGE HAS ALREADY OCCURRED WITHOUT MOST AMERICANS EVEN BEING AWARE OF IT. I HAVE NO DOUBT THAT IT IS HILLARY CLINTON’S “VAST RIGHTWING CONSPIRACY.” I DOUBT THAT THERE’S ANOTHER ONE, AT ANY RATE, AND I CAN’T THINK OF ANYTHING BETTER TO CALL THOSE ACTIVITIES THAN AN ATTEMPTED “OVERTHROW.”

I ALSO DOUBT STRONGLY THAT DONALD TRUMP IS NOT ABSOLUTELY UP TO HIS NECK IN IT ALL. COULD THERE BE TWO CONSPIRACIES THIS VAST, INTERCONNECTED, MALIGN AND UNPRINCIPLED? I BELIEVE WE NEED TO PUT JAMES BOND ON THEIR TRACKS, OR BETTER STILL SHERLOCK HOLMES. [WHEN YOU HAVE A COUPLE OF HOURS, READ ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE’S “THE FIVE ORANGE PIPS,” AND THEN THINK OF THIS SITUATION WE ARE IN NOW UNDER TRUMP.]

THIS HAPPENED BECAUSE THE GOOD GOD-FEARING AMERICAN PUBLIC CHOSE TO CONTINUE THEIR PATTERN OF PAYING NO ATTENTION TO WHAT IS GOING ON, AND IF THEY DO OBSERVE SOMETHING CONCERNING, FEELING THAT TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT IS “UNPATRIOTIC,” OR “NOT MY PLACE.” WE HAVE BEEN A VERY, VERY LAZY DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC, AND THE RESULT IS THAT THINGS IN OUR SOCIETY HAVE BEGUN TO IMPLODE. A VERY DANGEROUS CROWD HAS TAKEN OVER – ALMOST.

FEAR NOT, THOUGH. MUELLER, THE ACLU, THE SPLC, COPWATCH, CERTAIN SENATORS AND CONGRESSMEN, THE ANTIDEFAMATION LEAGUE, THE FBI, AND OTHERS I’M UNAWARE OF AT THIS TIME ARE BUSILY INVOLVED IN NEUTRALIZING THIS RIGHTWING ATTACKER OF AMERICAN LIFE AND HONESTY, SO I WILL CONTINUE TO LOOK FOR STORIES ON THE SUBJECT AND POST THEM. I CAN’T DO ANYTHING EXCEPT READ, RESEARCH AND TALK SO THAT’S WHAT I’LL CONTINUE TO DO.

I AM GLAD TO SEE THAT BLACK LIVES MATTER AND THE NEW AND SOMEWHAT AGGRESSIVE-ACTING ANTIFA GROUPS, ALL OF WHOM ARE CONCERNED ABOUT CIVIL RIGHTS ISSUES, ARE PATROLLING THE STREETS. ON THE SUBJECT OF COPWATCH, DO VIEW THIS BING VIDEO -- WHICH INCLUDES A BRIEF, INFORMAL INTERVIEW WITH THE POLICE. THE OFFICER IS VERY, VERY CAUTIOUS, SINCE THE COPWATCH REPORTER IS FILMING THE WHOLE THING. CLEARLY THE POLICE DON’T LIKE BEING FILMED AT ALL, JUST ON GENERAL PRINCIPLES. https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=copwatch+videos&view=detail&mid=B73AB64E9C23AF3418C1B73AB64E9C23AF3418C1&FORM=VIRE.

THERE IS A VINE PLANT IN THE SOUTH CALLED “DODDER,” WHICH HAS NO CHLOROPHYLL, SO IT IS A SICKLY YELLOW COLOR AND HAS A HIDEOUS PARASITIC RELATIONSHIP WITH PLANTS THAT CAN MAKE THEIR OWN FOOD. IT RUNS UP THE STEM AND OUT THE BRANCHES DOING THE SAME THING THAT A LEACH DOES – IT SUCKS THE NUTRITIOUS MATTER OUT OF THE HOST PLANT. NEEDLESS TO SAY, THAT WILL KILL YOUR PRETTY GARDEN PLANTS. IT LOOKS AS UNATTRACTIVE AS IT SOUNDS.

THAT IS WHAT THE TRUMP/RUSSIA/CAMBRIDGE ANALYTICA/KOCH BROTHERS/DIXIECRATS/BREITBART GROUP ET AL. HAVE BEEN DOING TO THIS COUNTRY, AND SOMETHING DECISIVE NEEDS TO BE DONE TO THEM IN DEFENSE. FOR ALL THE ACTIVE INDIVIDUALS AND CORPORATION OWNERS IN THAT CABAL, I BELIEVE A FELONY CONVICTION WOULD BE GOOD. IF THOSE THINGS AREN’T ILLEGAL (JUST IMMORAL) THEN WE NEED TO FIX OUR LAWS IN WHATEVER WAYS WE CAN, INCLUDING THE CONSTITUTION ITSELF, IF NEEDED. AS FOR TRUMP, PERSONALLY, HE SHOULD BE BOUNCED OUT OF THE OVAL OFFICE ON HIS DUFF (JUST MY OPINION.)

SO, WHAT DO YOU THINK? I KNOW CAMBRIDGE ISN’T SUDDENLY CLOSING ITS’ DOORS OUT OF A NEWFOUND SENSE OF HONESTY. WHAT I THINK IS THAT SOMETHING HAPPENED THAT FRIGHTENED THEM. DID ROBERT MUELLER AND A TEAM OF ARMED AGENTS SWARM THEIR HEADQUARTERS, PRESENT THEM WITH A SUBPOENA AND IMMEDIATELY BEGIN A SEARCH? HE DID SOMETHING SIMILAR TO THAT AT LEAST ONE OTHER TIME DURING ALL THIS BUSINESS. THERE’S SOMETHING ABOUT THE LOOK ON ROBERT MUELLER’S FACE THAT MAKES ME FEEL MORE CONFIDENT IN THE FUTURE OF OUR HOMELAND WITH HIM ON DUTY.

“.... IT IS NO LONGER VIABLE TO CONTINUE OPERATING THE BUSINESS, ....” COULD THIS SITUATION INCLUDE THE FINANCIAL ABANDONMENT OF THE FIRM BY THE MERCER FAMILY? IF SO, DOES THAT MEAN THAT THEY PERSONALLY ARE IN LEGAL TROUBLE, TOO? I HOPE SO.

https://www.cnn.com/2018/05/02/politics/cambridge-analytica-closure/index.html
Cambridge Analytica announces closure
By Eli Watkins, CNN
Updated 4:48 PM ET, Wed May 2, 2018

Washington (CNN)Cambridge Analytica, the embattled data firm that worked on Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign, announced it is shutting down operations.

"The Company is immediately ceasing all operations," it said in a statement Wednesday, announcing bankruptcy proceedings would soon begin.

The company has come under fire over allegations it misused the personal Facebook data of millions.

The company has likewise struggled with the fallout of undercover recordings by Channel 4 News in the UK that showed executives at the firm discussing Cambridge Analytica's efforts on behalf of the Trump campaign and the lengths to which they said they would be willing to go for prospective clients, including then-CEO Alexander Nix suggesting they would "send some girls around" in order to obtain compromising material on a hypothetical candidate.

Cambridge Analytica said in a statement in March it was suspending Nix and has denied it misused Facebook data for the Trump campaign.

In its statement on Wednesday, the company stood by its actions, saying it maintains "unwavering confidence that its employees have acted ethically and lawfully," but that "the siege of media coverage" had driven away its customers and suppliers.

"As a result, it has been determined that it is no longer viable to continue operating the business, which left Cambridge Analytica with no realistic alternative to placing the Company into administration," the statement read.

How Steve Bannon used Cambridge Analytica to further his alt-right vision for America

Controversy around Cambridge Analytica's alleged misuse of Facebook data raised a host of new questions about the social media giant's role in the public discourse and elections, and helped prompt renewed scrutiny in Washington, where last month Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg testified before committees in both houses of Congress.

Christopher Wylie, the former Cambridge Analytica employee who blew the whistle on its alleged misuse of Facebook data, told CNN in a statement on Wednesday that the company's closure must not be allowed to curtail ongoing inquiries into its activities.

"Cambridge Analytica has been exposed as a company undermining democratic institutions around the world," Wylie said. "There are still many unanswered questions, and we must be sure that its decision to close is not merely a rebranding exercise or a way to circumvent ongoing investigations."

Wylie also said the closure should not distract from broader issues surrounding the role of social media companies in democracies.

"This story is the canary in the coal mine," he said. "Our democracies are still vulnerable to attack from hostile agents and Cambridge Analytica will not be the last."

CNN's Donie O'Sullivan and Simon Cullen contributed to this report.

a politically-and religiously-tinged fight


APPARENTLY, CONROY’S NOT BEING AN EVANGELICAL SOUTHERN BAPTIST, AND TO MAKE THAT WORSE, HAVING SPOKEN COURAGEOUSLY FOR THE POOR AND AGAINST THE UNPOPULAR TAX BILL IS BEING “TOO POLITICAL.” THE VIDEO WITH THIS ARTICLE SPECIFICALLY STATES THAT RYAN TOLD HIM, SHORTLY AFTER THAT “POLITICALLY TINGED” PRAYER, TO “STAY OUT OF POLITICS.”

TO MISQUOTE SHAKESPEARE A LITTLE BIT, I WILL SIMPLY INTONE PIOUSLY, “A REPUBLICAN IS A REPUBLICAN IS A REPUBLICAN.”

FOR THE IMPRESSIVE WORDING OF CONROY’S RETRACTION LETTER, HIS POLITICAL POSITION ON ROBBING THE POOR AND GIVING TO THE RICH, AND HIS APPARENT COURAGE, MAKE ME LIKE HIM A GREAT DEAL, THOUGH I KNEW NOTHING ABOUT HIM BEFORE THESE LAST FEW DAYS. THOSE THINGS, TAKEN WITH RYAN’S RECENT ANNOUNCEMENT THAT HE WILL NOT SEEK REELECTION, MAKE ME WONDER WHAT MORE THERE IS TO THIS WHOLE STORY.

SEE: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ousted-house-chaplain-rescinds-his-resignation/. THIS IS AN INTERESTING LETTER IN THAT IT GIVES CONROY’S REASONS, INCLUDING HIS STATEMENT THAT UNDER THE ADVICE OF HIS LAWYER, HE IS TAKING BACK THE REQUEST OFFERING HIS RESIGNATION. IN FACT, HE DARES RYAN TO FIRE HIM, “IF YOU HAVE THE AUTHORITY.” NEVER GET AN IRISHMAN’S DANDER UP!

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2018/05/03/house-chaplain-retracts-resignation-asks-ryan-let-him-remain-post/578631002/?csp=chromepush
House chaplain retracts resignation, and Speaker Ryan lets him remain in post
Deirdre Shesgreen, USA TODAY Published 4:40 p.m. ET May 3, 2018 | Updated 6:36 p.m. ET May 3, 2018

PHOTOGRAPH -- AP HOUSE CHAPLAIN FIRED A FILE USA DC
FILE - In this June 13, 2016, file photo Rev. Patrick Conroy, chaplain of the House of Representatives, delivers an interfaith message on the steps of the Capitol in Washington for the victims of the mass shooting at an LGBT nightclub in Orlando. Conroy, a Roman Catholic priest from the Jesuit order, has been forced out after seven years by House Speaker Paul Ryan after complaints by some lawmakers claimed he was too political. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) ORG XMIT: WX103
(Photo: J. Scott Applewhite, AP)

WASHINGTON — House Speaker Paul Ryan reversed his decision to oust House chaplain Patrick Conroy on Thursday after Conroy challenged his forced resignation and essentially dared Ryan to fire him.

In a remarkable two-page letter to Ryan, Conroy disputed the speaker's public explanation for removing him and said he wanted to retract the resignation letter he submitted at Ryan’s direction last month.

“I have never been disciplined, nor reprimanded, nor have I ever heard a complaint about my ministry during my time as House chaplain,” Conroy, a Catholic, wrote in a letter to Ryan. “It is my desire to continue to serve as House chaplain in this 115th United States Congress and beyond …”

Hours after Conroy's letter became public, Ryan said he accepted Conroy’s retraction and "decided that he will remain in his position as Chaplain of the House." The Wisconsin GOP leader defended his original decision, saying it "was made in what I believed to be the best interest of this institution."

Ryan asked Conroy to resign in mid-April — a move that has sparked a backlash in both parties and across religious lines among lawmakers who felt blindsided by the House speaker’s decision and felt Conroy was treated unfairly.

Conroy, in his letter on Thursday, said that Ryan never spoke with him directly about his ouster. He said Ryan dispatched his chief of staff, Jonathan Burks, to ask for his resignation.

Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-WI) answers questions from children who joined their parents for 'Take Your Child To Work' day during his weekly news conference at the U.S. Capitol on April 26, 2018 in Washington, DC. (Photo: Alex Edelman, Getty Images)

When Conroy asked why, “Mr. Burks mentioned dismissively something like ‘maybe it’s time that we had a chaplain that wasn’t a Catholic,’” Conroy stated in the letter.

Conroy said Burks also mentioned a prayer Conroy had delivered in November, as Republicans were preparing to vote on their tax cut bill, that urged lawmakers not to create “winners and losers” and to keep in mind those who “continue to struggle.”

In a statement Thursday, Burks disputed Conroy's account. "I strongly disagree with Father Conroy’s recollection of our conversation," Burks said. "I am disappointed by the misunderstanding, but wish him the best as he continues to serve the House.”

Conroy said he initially felt he had “little choice but to resign,” but had since reconsidered – especially in light of comments Ryan made last week saying he fired the chaplain because “a number of our members felt like the pastoral services were not being adequately served, or offered."

Ryan, who is also Catholic, repeated that in his statement on Thursday. "To be clear, that decision was based on my duty to ensure that the House has the kind of pastoral services that it deserves," the speaker said.

Conroy said questions about his pastoral services never came up in his conversation with Burks.

"In fact, no such criticism has ever been leveled against me during my tenure as House chaplain," Conroy wrote in the letter to Ryan. “ ... You may wish to outright ‘fire’ me, if you have the authority to do so, but should you wish to terminate my services, it will be without my offer of resignation.”

For the House chaplain to push back so publicly against the House speaker was remarkable. In reversing himself on Thursday, Ryan clearly hoped to quell a politically-and religiously-tinged fight that had escalated in recent days and threatened to serve as a distraction as Republicans head into a tough 2018 election season.

"It is my job as speaker to do what is best for this body, and I know that this body is not well served by a protracted fight over such an important post," Ryan said. "I intend to sit down with Father Conroy early next week so that we can move forward for the good of the whole House.”

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said she welcomed Ryan's decision to let Conroy stay in his post.

"However, many distressing questions must still be answered about the motivations behind Father Conroy’s unwarranted and unjust dismissal,” Pelosi said.


IF YOU HAVE WATCHED THE STORIES ABOUT TRUMP’S MANNER TOWARD CRUZ, YOU MAY HAVE NOTICED A LACK OF RESPECT ON HIS PART. IT LOOKED LIKE SIMPLE TRUMPIAN RUDENESS TO ME, BUT IT IS MORE. AFTER THIS CBS STORY, READ ALSO THE NPR REPORT BELOW.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/fema-extends-housing-program-for-displaced-puerto-ricans-offers-transportation-home/
CBS NEWS May 3, 2018, 1:00 PM
FEMA extends housing program for displaced Puerto Ricans, offers transportation home

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced Thursday it is extending its Transitional Shelter Assistance (TSA) program for Puerto Ricans who were displaced by deadly Hurricane Maria, CBS News correspondent David Begnaud reports. FEMA also announced it will offer transportation back to Puerto Rico for families who are still in the program in the continental United States.

"For those individuals interested in taking advantage of transportation back to Puerto Rico, FEMA will conduct outreach to the applicants currently participating in the TSA program," the agency said Thursday.

Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rosselló had requested the extension of the program, which will now run until June 30. This will be the final extension of the program for hurricanes Irma and Maria, according to FEMA.

The program provides short-term shelter assistance for people unable to return home following a disaster and is only intended to be "a stop in their journey to longer term housing," FEMA says. About 2,300 families are still in TSA-participating hotels in more than 30 U.S. states as well as Puerto Rico, according to FEMA. In total since October, the program has provided hotel rooms for more than 7,000 families.

"Survivors currently participating in the TSA program now have 60 days to solidify their recovery plans to locate longer-term housing," FEMA said.

The program went into effect for Puerto Ricans in the wake of Hurricane Maria, a Category 4 storm that slammed into the U.S. territory in September. As of April, FEMA spent $73.3 million on the TSA program since it was approved following Maria.

The hurricane knocked out power to the entire island and at least 64 people died. More than 135,000 people reportedly left Puerto Rico for the U.S. mainland. It is considered the most logistically challenging natural disaster in modern U.S. history.

As of Thursday, 28,308 customers in Puerto Rico were still without power. Gov. Rosselló said last week the U.S. territory is finally "starting to reach normalcy," but described the recovery process as "highly frustrating."

© 2018 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.


NPR TAKES A CLOSE LOOK AT US/PR RELATIONSHIPS BELOW THE SURFACE.

https://www.npr.org/2017/03/02/517999997/puerto-ricans-reflect-on-a-century-of-limited-citizenship
Puerto Ricans Reflect On A Century Of (Limited) Citizenship
March 2, 20179:41 AM ET
Heard on Morning Edition
TRANSCRIPT
March 2, 2017 9:41 AM ET
GREG ALLEN, MARISA PEÑALOZA

PHOTOGRAPH -- Guanica Bay is where American troops commanded by General Nelson Miles landed on July 25, 1898. At the site, a stone marker engraved by the 3rd Battalion of the U.S. Army commemorates the invasion.
Greg Allen/NPR

On Puerto Rico's southwestern corner, the sleepy seaside town of Guanica is where, nearly 120 years ago, the U.S. relationship with the island began during the Spanish-American War. The town's museum director, Francisco Rodriguez, takes visitors to the town's waterfront where the invasion began. In Spanish he says, "This is Guanica Bay, where the American troops commanded by General Nelson Miles landed on July 25, 1898." At the site, a stone marker engraved by the 3rd Battalion of the U.S. Army commemorates the invasion.

Nearly 19 years after the invasion, President Wilson signed the Jones-Shafroth Act, granting citizenship to people born on the island. But it's a limited form of citizenship. The law puts Puerto Rico under federal control but doesn't allow the island voting representation in Congress. Residents also can't vote for president. That law started a debate that continues today over what exactly the island's relationship with the U.S. should be. And now in Puerto Rico, there's a new push to fix what many see it [sic] as a deeply-flawed relationship.

For decades, Puerto Rico's three political parties have pushed for three basic positions: statehood, independence or the status quo or commonwealth status. But nearly all Puerto Ricans agree on one thing, says Gov. Ricardo Rossello.

"Regardless of what ideological twist people may have, about 90 to 95 percent of our population really values our citizenship, so it's of utmost importance," he says.

One reason Puerto Ricans treasure U.S. citizenship is that it allows them to travel freely to the mainland. Over the last decade, while the island was mired in a recession, hundreds of thousands of Puerto Ricans migrated to Florida, New York, Texas and other states.

PHOTOGRAPH -- The Capitol of Puerto Rico, Capitolio de Puerto Rico, in San Juan. Puerto Rico is under federal control, but isn't allowed voting representation in Congress, and residents can't vote for president.
Greg Allen/NPR

Rossello is with the New Progressive Party, which advocates statehood. He says Puerto Rico's strength is its status as part of the United States. "The bad side of it is that we are not a full part of the United States," he says. "We're a territory or a colonial territory. We're aiming to change that and of course, from my perspective, I'd want Puerto Rico to become the 51st state of the nation."

Today the question of Puerto Rico's status is one debated on the campaign trail. But over the last century, the push for Puerto Rican independence several times led to violence, including an attempt to assassinate President Truman in 1950 and then, four years later, an attack on Congress, in which five lawmakers were wounded.

Since then, support for outright independence has declined on the island as the Puerto Rican population has grown on the U.S. mainland. Support also has declined, at least among elected officials, for maintaining the status quo. Last year, a Supreme Court decision undercut the island's long-standing claims of autonomy. Around the same time, struggling with more than $70 billion in public debt, Puerto Rico was forced to hand over financial control to an oversight board established by Congress.

Manuel Natal, who serves in Puerto Rico's House of Representatives with the party that supports the current commonwealth status, believes change is needed, but worries statehood would force Puerto Ricans to give up things they've long treasured.

"We can talk about language, our cultural identity," he says. "We can give plenty of examples of things that are important to the people of Puerto Rico on day-to-day, and we are not sure how we would come about if statehood was a reality."

PHOTOGRAPH -- Francisco Rodriguez, is the museum director in Guanica. Most people there support statehood because of the town's historical connection to the U.S.
Greg Allen /NPR

Natal supports a political status called free association. That would enable Puerto Rico to maintain its close relationship with the U.S. while allowing the island autonomy to make its own trade deals.

He thinks the U.S. Congress might find free association more acceptable than statehood, in part because statehood would grant Puerto Rico more power in Washington — two U.S. senators and as many as five House members, numbers that could affect Republican control in Congress. And, Natal says, with President Trump's pledge to build a wall on the U.S. border, Washington is unlikely to welcome a state where Spanish is the first language.

"I'm a Puerto Rican citizen, a U.S. citizen with a thick accent," he says. "I understand what's going on there and I know that statehood is not a possibility."

In June, Puerto Ricans will go to the polls to choose between two options: statehood or independence/free association.

In Guanica, Rodriguez says most support statehood, in part because of the town's historical connection to the U.S. "Puerto Rico lacks resources, but that's not the fault of the U.S.," he says.

But it's a town with a mixed legacy. Every year, Rodriguez says, members of the island's independence movement come to Guanica to protest. It's a place that's both a source of pride, and for many, a symbol of colonialism and a century-long dysfunctional relationship with the U.S.



FOR COMMENTS ON THE SUBJECT OF INTERPERSONAL REACTIONS BETWEEN MAINLAND AMERICANS AND PUERTO RICANS, WHICH WILL PROBABLY BE AN ISSUE IF WE HAVE STATEHOOD, SEE BELOW. THIS ARTICLE REPORTS THAT JOBS FOR PUERTO RICANS IS WORKING BETTER THAN FOR THOSE FROM MEXICO AND FARTHER SOUTH. THAT’S GOOD NEWS, BECAUSE LOTS OF THE PRESENT DAY PR CITIZENS WILL BE HAVING TO MOVE OUT UNLESS THE ECONOMY THERE IS REPAIRED AND REPLACED.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/posteverything/wp/2018/01/19/how-the-u-s-will-replace-immigrant-workers-with-puerto-ricans/
PostEverything Perspective
How Puerto Ricans fit into an increasingly anti-immigrant U.S.
By Yarimar Bonilla January 19 Follow yarimarbonilla

Yarimar Bonilla is the author of “Non-Sovereign Futures: French Caribbean Politics in the Wake of Disenchantment” and a founder of the Puerto Rico Syllabus. She is an associate professor of anthropology and Caribbean studies at Rutgers University and a visiting scholar at the Russell Sage Foundation.

PHOTOGRAPH -- The United States has always turned to Puerto Rico to help make up labor shortages. It doesn’t always work out well for the island. (Paul J. Richards/AFP/Getty Images)

Last week, I received a text message from Luz, a recent evacuee from Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico currently residing in a New York City hotel paid by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. A few days earlier, we had spoken about her anxieties regarding her uncertain future after the FEMA voucher program ends. But now she wrote with reassuring news: Her hotel stay had been extended until March, which would give her ample time to continue looking for a new job and home. Like thousands of others, Luz has used the FEMA Transitional Shelter Assistance program not as form of temporary shelter while rebuilding her damaged home in Puerto Rico, but as way to relocate and start a new life on the mainland.

Since Hurricane Maria, nearly 300,000 Puerto Ricans have left for Florida alone. At first, most of those leaving were elderly, disabled or in need of critical medical care. Now planes are leaving full of young people economically stranded in the post-Maria landscape. These departures will only compound the already historic migratory wave caused by the island’s fiscal crisis, possibly resulting in an overall 25 percent population loss by the end of the decade.

In an attempt to pressure the federal government for more aid to hurricane victims, some local officials, including Gov. Ricardo Rosselló, have rallied these fast-growing migration rates as a threat. In a political climate dominated by xenophobia and the politics of closed borders, one might expect that an influx of Latino evacuees to the mainland would be unwelcome. However, throughout the United States evacuees are sought after and even recruited. In the face of expected labor shortages caused by President Trump’s anti-immigration policies, many employers are eager to hire bilingual workers for whom the minimum wage of a U.S. state represents a significant boost in income.

[Why would anyone in Puerto Rico want a hurricane? Because someone will get rich.]

Both the federal and Puerto Rican government have facilitated the exodus. In the absence of a true plan for recovery on the island, migration has become a form of disaster relief. For the first time in the agency’s history, FEMA created an “air bridge” and chartered cruise ships to evacuate residents. Initially, new arrivals had to seek shelter with family members or in homeless shelters, but they are now being offered hotel stays for up to three months. Traditionally, FEMA offers temporary shelter to homeowners who have been affected by a disaster while they carry out the arduous task of rebuilding. However, in the case of Maria, that rebuilding has been severely stalled by the lack of electricity and running water, and the inability of the U.S. government to supply even the most basic materials, such as tarps.

Those leaving are not just escaping destroyed homes, they are also fleeing a shattered economy. Nearly four months after the storms, many restaurants, stores and offices remain closed — either because of structural damage or the financial hardship of operating on generators. Most hotels are operating with reduced personnel serving only FEMA workers, and some, like El Conquistador in Fajardo, have laid off almost all their workers. Just last week, Walmart, the largest private employer on the island, announced it was closing three of its Sam’s Club stores, including one that had not opened since the storm. Meanwhile pharmaceuticals, which account for nearly half the manufacturing jobs on the island, are carefully weighing their options after the GOP tax bill treated Puerto Rico as a foreign jurisdiction, despite its status as a U.S. territory.

[How the GOP tax bill will wreck what’s left of Puerto Rico’s economy]

Employers on the mainland have been quick to take advantage of this economic disaster. In South Dakota, a turkey plant manager saw in the news of the hurricane an opportunity to recruit workers fleeing what to his eyes looked “like a third world country.” The company provided airfare, to be deducted from paychecks over time.

Likewise, the Hospitality Staffing Solution firm has been holding local job fairs to recruit temporary hotel workers to places such as North Carolina, Georgia and Kansas. Across Florida — the state with the largest number of new arrivals — job fairs have been organized with employers from the construction, health-care and hospitality industries hiring interviewees on site. In places like Ohio, there is hope that those displaced by the storms might revitalize towns that have yet to recover from the decline of the steel and motor industries, which led many of those laid off to move elsewhere. In Texas and Florida, developers hope that Puerto Rican labor will alleviate an expected shortage of construction workers as their own hurricane recovery gets underway.

These job fairs began long before Maria. Over the last decade, teachers, police officers, doctors, nurses, even engineers were being directly targeted by both public and private employers. In Houston, where roughly one third of schoolchildren are native Spanish speakers, school districts were already conducting multiple recruitment trips per year to the island. Police departments in Dallas, Charlotte, Baltimore, and Washington all turned to Puerto Rico as they sought to diversify their departments with more Latino officers. Recruiters lure workers with what appear to be high salaries when compared with the depressed incomes of an island in crisis. However, these jobs often become demotions as workers must recertify and reenter their industries from the ground floor.

It may be coincidental that the influx of Puerto Ricans displaced by the storm coincides with the expiration of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program and, most recently, the end of temporary protected status for Central American and Caribbean migrants who had also fled natural disasters. However, that Puerto Ricans were being aggressively recruited long before the storm reminds us that the island plays a key role in U.S. labor markets. The fact is that the increased criminalization of migrants — a move that predated Trump’s election but that has become official ideology during his presidency — places the United States at risk of losing an immigrant working class that, however politically popular it is to disavow, is central to the nation’s economic growth.

The use of Puerto Rican workers to supplement immigrant labor is not a new phenomenon. As residents of a U.S. territory deemed by the Supreme Court to be “foreign in a domestic sense,” Puerto Ricans have long blurred the lines between citizens and migrants. In the 1940s, when the United States sought to address labor shortages after World War II, the Puerto Rican Farm Labor Program operated in tandem with recruitment initiatives like the Bracero program that brought workers from Mexico. Although they are U.S. citizens, the depressed wages on the island have long placed Puerto Ricans in a pool of underpaid labor that supplements the work of immigrants.

For the Puerto Rican government, the current migratory wave provides an escape valve. The corruption, mismanagement of funds and inexplicable delays in the restoration of public services after the storm would have surely resulted in mass protests, were it not for the fact that so many have simply left.

Again, this is not new. Migration has long served as a form of governance on the island. In the 1940s, the displacement of agricultural workers through U.S. guest worker programs was central in transforming the island into a glittery “showcase” of American-led modernization. The Puerto Rican Department of Labor was the only agency of its kind to have an official migration division, with charter offices throughout the United States. The facade of prosperity that was once billed as the result of Puerto Rico’s relationship to the United States came at the expense of the exile and labor of those sent far from its shores.

[Puerto Ricans are going to flee if Trump doesn’t fix hurricane relief]

In the wake of the fiscal crisis, economic policies put into place by both the federal and local government — including furloughs, wage cuts and higher prices for the working poor, combined with tax breaks to lure foreign investors — had already begun to fuel a mass exodus. Government policies following the hurricane have only accelerated that. Since the storm, organizations typically devoted to aiding international refugees have found themselves tending to these displaced U.S. citizens instead.

At a recent event in Kissimmee, Fla., Roselló denounced Trump’s recent anti-immigrant comments and called upon recent migrants to follow the example of Cuban exiles by organizing as a voting block across party lines for the 2018 midterm elections. It is too soon to say what impact these new arrivals will have on federal policy toward the island or on the anti-immigrant sentiment that has been fueling under the current administration.

But at the hurricane recovery center in New York, Luz had already sought out instructions on how to obtain her city resident ID card. And she had also registered to vote.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story incorrectly identified Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Roselló as Pedro Roselló. Pedro Roselló, a former governor, is the current governor’s father.

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Trump’s move against Salvadorans won’t make them leave — or help U.S. workers



TRUMP’S MAIN EMPHASIS FROM THE BEGINNING OF THIS WHOLE RUSSIA MESS HAS BEEN ON HIS OWN FEAR OF BEING A TARGET OF THE INVESTIGATION. SAME FEAR THEN, SAME FEAR NOW – LOOKS LIKE A LIKELIHOOD OF GUILT TO ME. I’LL LEAVE THAT TO MUELLER TO DETERMINE, HOWEVER.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/giuliani-comey-was-fired-because-he-wouldnt-say-trump-wasnt-a-target-of-russia-probe/
CBS/AP May 3, 2018, 9:50 AM
Giuliani: Comey was fired because he wouldn't say Trump "wasn't a target" of Russia probe

Rudy Giuliani, President Trump's new attorney, said in an interview on Fox News that Mr. Trump fired Comey last year "because Comey would not, among other things, say that he wasn't a target" of the special counsel's Russia investigation. The explanation was at least the third offered by Mr. Trump and his advisers.

It also comes as the president's legal team is debating whether to allow Mr. Trump to be interviewed by special counsel Robert Mueller's team. Mueller has shown an interest in questioning Trump about his motivation for firing Comey as his investigators probe possible obstruction of justice.

CBS News' Major Garrett reported that sources close to the process confirm Mr. Trump's newly configured legal team had met last week with Mueller and staff to discuss a possible interview.

Sources said the probability of a Trump-Mueller interview is now higher than it was in the immediate aftermath of the Michael Cohen raids. Those raids antagonized Mr. Trump and stalled interview talks. Giuliani was brought it with the hopes of rekindling those negotiations and that appears to have occurred.

Giuliani appears to be taking the lead role as potential closer on the interview and public face of the team.

In announcing the firing, Mr. Trump initially cited the FBI director's handling of the probe into Democratic rival Hillary Clinton's emails. He later told NBC's Lester Holt that he was thinking of "this Russia thing."

On Fox News Wednesday night, Giuliani said Trump did the Lester Holt interview "to explain to the American people the president was not the target of the investigation."

© 2018 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.



I REALIZE THAT THE STORMY DANIELS SCANDAL IS IMPORTANT AS A POSSIBLE INDICATION OF CRIMINAL ACTIVITY, BUT OTHERWISE, I DON’T FIND HIS SEX LIFE VERY INTERESTING. BOTH TRUMP AND COHEN ARE GUILTY OF LYING ABOUT IT – OF COURSE, TRUMP “DIDN’T KNOW.....”

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-repaid-michael-cohen-stormy-daniels-lawyer-stunned-giuliani-comments/
CBS NEWS May 3, 2018, 11:34 AM
Stormy Daniels' lawyer "stunned" by Giuliani statement on Trump's hush money reimbursement

Adult film star Stormy Daniels' lawyer, Michael Avenatti, told "CBS This Morning" he was "stunned" and "speechless" after he heard President Trump's lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, say the president reimbursed attorney and fixer Michael Cohen for a $130,000 payment he made to Daniels from personal funds as part of a non-disclosure agreement.. Daniels alleges she had sex with Mr. Trump in 2006, which Mr. Trump denies, and Cohen paid her to keep quiet 11 days before the election.

"It makes our case that much stronger and I think it makes our efforts to depose the president that much stronger," Avenatti said Thursday morning. He said this is a "clear example" of the president and Cohen "lying repeatedly to the American people."

Michael Cohen to plead the Fifth in Stormy Daniels suit

"With each passing week, more information comes out. And much of it is very inconsistent. It's time that people are forced to raise their right hand and testify under oath exactly what happened. And by that I'm not talking about on 'Fox & Friends,'" Avenatti said.

President Trump tweeted Thursday morning that Cohen "received a monthly retainer, not from the campaign," through which he entered into the agreement. Mr. Trump called such deals "very common among celebrities and people of wealth." He emphasized, "Money from the campaign, or campaign contributions, played no role in this transaction."

Asked last month whether he knew about the payment, Mr. Trump said, "No. No. What else?" He then added, "You'll have to ask Michael Cohen."

Giuliani said the president did not know the details at the time.

"He didn't know about the specifics of it, as far as I know, but he did know about the general arrangement that Michael would take care of things like this," Giuliani told Fox News Wednesday evening.

Avenatti said he doesn't think Giuliani's statement is "accurate at all."

"These guys are making it up as they go along. They're not looking at the big picture, they're not telling the truth, and ultimately it's going to cost them dearly," he said.

Daniels "feels more and more vindicated," Avenatti said, "because the predictions that we've made in this case the last two months continue to come true."

"I hope they keep talking and I hope they keep tweeting because our case just keeps getting better," Avenatti said.

© 2018 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.


IS THE SCOTTISH NATIONAL PARTY’S BABY BOX DANGEROUS TO SOCIETY, OR IS IT JUST MORE INEXPENSIVE AND THEREFORE A DRAG ON THE FURNITURE MANUFACTURERS’ PROFIT MARGIN? FOR SOME REASON THE TORIES REALLY DISLIKE THE IDEA. HOW IMPORTANT COULD THIS POSSIBLY BE?

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-43992711
Sturgeon slams baby box 'scaremongering'
MAY 3, 2018 45 minutes ago

PHOTOGRAPH -- Scottish government advice states that the box is a "safe and comfortable place for your wee one to sleep"

Nicola Sturgeon has accused the Conservatives of scaremongering over the Scottish government's baby box scheme.

The Tories have called for "complete transparency" over the advice the government received on how safe the boxes are for a baby to sleep in.

It came after an expert on cot deaths was reported to have questioned their suitability for sleeping.

Ms Sturgeon said safety certificates had been published for the boxes.

And she said the Scottish Conservatives should be "deeply ashamed of themselves for needlessly trying to frighten parents".

About 22,000 expectant mothers have been given a baby box since the scheme was introduced last year.

Do baby boxes really save lives?
The cardboard boxes contain essential items including baby clothes, a digital thermometer, towel, changing mat and books.

They also include a mattress, with government advice stating that the boxes are a "safe and comfortable place for your wee one to sleep".

But the Guardian newspaper reported on Wednesday that Dr Peter Blair, a leading expert on infant mortality, had questioned whether the boxes should be promoted as a safe sleeping space.

Dr Blair was said to have raised concerns that the high-sided boxes meant parents could only check on their infant if they were standing directly above the child.

'Complete transparency'
And he said there was no evidence that the boxes could help to reduce the number of cot deaths, as is sometimes claimed.

Dr Blair, chairman of the International Society for the Study and Prevention of Perinatal and Infant Death, was quoted by the Guardian as saying he would only recommend using the box to sleep in if a baby fell asleep in a dangerous place, such as a sofa, and there was no cot or baby carrier nearby.

He stressed: "I'm not saying don't use the baby box, I'm just saying that you've got to be careful with the advice of how much you can promote it as a safe sleeping space."

His concerns echo similar doubts expressed by the Lullaby Trust cot death charity last year.

Image copyrightSCOTTISH GOVERNMENT
Image caption
The baby box contains a range of essential products for newborn babies

Miles Briggs, Scottish Conservative health spokesman, said there should be "complete transparency" from the SNP over the advice received about the boxes, which have been delivered to more than 22,000 families since they launched last August.

But responding to his call for all safety accreditation for the boxes to be published, Ms Sturgeon responded: "That was done nine months ago and I don't believe Miles Briggs doesn't know that.

"The question, therefore, is why is he trying to wilfully mislead people about that?

"The baby box conforms to all relevant safety standards. There isn't yet a specific British standard for baby boxes but the baby box conforms to the standards in place for a crib or a cradle for domestic use, and that includes passing all of the necessary stability, static load and strength safety tests."

'Good thing'
She added: "I just wonder, what is it about the baby box that so offends the Conservatives? Is it just because it is SNP policy or is it because it's giving state support to families when the Tory preference is always to take that away from families?

"Or is it because we haven't insisted on a rape clause for eligibility for the baby box? The baby box is a good thing and the Tories should stop unfairly criticising it."

The British Standards Institution (BSI) confirmed it was considering developing a standard specifically for baby boxes, which are inspired by a similar scheme in Finland.

A BSI spokesman said: "At present there is no standard that covers baby boxes. There may be some clauses of the BS EN 1130 furniture, cribs and cradles for domestic use series that could be applicable to baby boxes, but BS EN 1130 is a furniture standard and not intended for cardboard baby boxes."



HERE IS A NEW DOCUMENTARY SERIES STARRING TOM ARNOLD SHOWING A HUNT FOR ANTI-TRUMP VIDEOS, AND MAYBE MORE. SEE BELOW.

http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2018/05/02/tom-arnold-to-star-in-anti-trump-documentary-series.html
The Hunt for the Trump Tapes with Tom Arnold (Trailer)
POLITICAL 53 mins ago
Tom Arnold to star in anti-Trump documentary series
By Tyler McCarthy | Fox News

Tom Arnold to star in new anti-Trump docuseries from Vice. (Reuters)

Tom Arnold, ex-husband of Roseanne Barr, has been outspoken about his distaste for Donald Trump. Now, he’s doing a deep dive into old footage of the president in the hopes of finding something that can dethrone him.


On Wednesday, Vice announced Arnold as the host of a new 8-part documentary series, “The Hunt for the Trump Tapes with Tom Arnold.” The premise of the new series, which is set to air later this year, is to capitalize on the president’s long history in TV to find another leaked tape similar to the infamous Access Hollywood hot mic moment in which he could be heard saying he could “grab women by the p----.”

The show will allegedly take a look at old footage and outtakes from “The Apprentice” and much more with Arnold at the helm. The site’s announcement notes that he’ll be joined by a handful of experienced journalists as well as any whistleblowers that want to check out Vice’s secure website with tips.

“The host will draw on his high-profile network of celebrity friends, entertainment executives, and crew members he's met over more than 35 years in showbiz to dig for evidence on Trump's most incriminating moments—and, being a comedian and all, he'll have a little fun along the way,” the announcement reads.

“Nobody thought I could ever be an investigative journalist, but then again, nobody thought Donald Trump could be President,” Arnold, 59, says in a press release (via People). “Let’s hope this marks the end of both our new careers.”

You can view the teaser trailer below.