Obama Wiretapping Cartoons

South by Southwest faces firestorm of scrutiny over immigration clause in contract

Uproar over language in the contract for performers at the South by Southwest music festival in Texas will force the event’s organizers to review the documents for next year and future shows.
The outcry came after Told Slant, a New York City-based band, said they were pulling out of the Austin-based festival because of the language in the contract, which reportedly states that the festival can take action if international acts “adversely affect the viability” of their performance.  
If international performers break the rules, “South by Southwest (SXSW) will notify the appropriate U.S. immigration authorities of the above actions. International Artists entering the country through the Visa Waiver Program, B visa, or any non-work visa may not perform at any public or non-sanctioned SXSW Music Festival DAY OR NIGHT shows in Austin from March 13-10, 2017. Accepting and performing unofficial events may result in immediate deportation, revoked passport and denied entry by U.S. Customs Border Patrol at U.S. ports of entry.”
The band said they were not interested in aligning themselves with a place that interacts with immigration officials as a means of “controlling where art is shared and performed,” according to the Houston Chronicle.
"This festival uses an imperialist model and prioritizes centralizing and packaging culture over communities and people's safety. It's no secret that SXSW has played a huge role in the process (of) Austin's rapid gentrification. The whole festival exists to the detriment of working class people and people of color in Austin," the band said.
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Felix Walworth, a Told Slant band member, also urged other bands to boycott the show.
South by Southwest organizers responded to the uproar Thursday, saying the language in the contract has been set since 2013 and had only recently began receiving attention.
"In this political climate, especially as it relates to immigration, we recognize the heightened importance of standing together against injustice," organizers wrote in a statement on their website. "SXSW has never reported anyone to any immigration authorities, including Customs & Border Protection (CBP), the agency that deals with participating artists entering the United States ... The language in our Performance Agreement is intended to facilitate U.S. entry for international artists and to show CBP that SXSW takes visa issues seriously. This language has been part of the contracts since the summer of 2013, and we will be reviewing and amending it for 2018 and beyond."
Festival officials added that the langue was not aligned with President Trump’s policies on immigration and went as far as saying it was against the president’s travel ban.
"We have been coordinating with international acts coming to SXSW to try and mitigate issues at U.S. ports of entry, and will continue to build a coalition of attorneys to assist any who face problems upon arrival in the States," organizers said.
The music festival is still facing scrutiny despite its attempts to quell the firestorm.
Downtown Boys’ Victoria Ruiz and Joey L. De Francesco sent an open letter to the organization expressing its outrage. It was co-signed by Killer Mike, Ted Leo, Screaming Females, Kimya Dawson and Ceremony, according to Rolling Stone.
Downtown Boys, Evan Greer and Priests also accused South by Southwest of “playing into the xenophobia emanating from the White House.”
"Starting a brawl in a club is already illegal. If an artist were to do that, there is a clear way that the legal system and immigration officials would deal with it. There is no need for a contract clause like this to prevent that, and absolutely nothing requiring SXSW to narc on bands who are at risk for deportation,” the group said in a statement to the music magazine.
Still, South by Southwest maintains the language was meant to inform international acts that if they performed at another show other than the Austin music festival, they could be in violation of the law.

Keystone pipeline won't use US steel despite Trump pledge

The Keystone XL oil pipeline won't use American steel in its construction, despite what President Donald Trump says.
White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Friday that's due to language in a presidential directive Trump issued in January.
"The way that executive order is written, it’s specific to new pipelines or those that are being repaired, Sanders said. "And since this one is already currently under construction, the steel is already literally sitting there, it would be hard to go back. But I know that everything moving forward would fall under that executive order."
The directive applies to new pipelines or those under repair. Sanders said it would be hard to do an about-face on Keystone because it's already under construction and the steel has been acquired.
Trump said as recently as last week that Keystone and the Dakota Access pipeline must use American steel "or we're not building one."
Trump used his executive powers shortly after taking office to greenlight the two pipeline projects that had been blocked by President Barack Obama.
The Keystone pipeline would run from Canada to refineries in the Gulf Coast. The Dakota Access line would move North Dakota oil to Illinois, and that project is nearly complete.

Trump slams Pelosi, Schumer as Russia meeting pics emerge

President Trump got to work exacting revenge Friday on top Democratic lawmakers for demanding his attorney general's resignation over past meetings with Russia's ambassador -- after pictures emerged of the same lawmakers in similar meetings, exposing them to "hypocrisy" charges.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., in particular, has egg on her face after she told Politico reporters that she had never met with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak.
“Not with this ambassador, no,” she said.
But Politico unearthed a 2010 photo from a meeting of congressional lawmakers with then-Russian President Dmitriy Medvedev, at which both Pelosi and Kislyak were present.
Though a spokesman said she meant “she has never had a private one-on-one with him,” Republicans were quick to accuse her of misleading the public.
After earlier swiping at Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., Trump tweeted: "I hereby demand a second investigation, after Schumer, of Pelosi for her close ties to Russia, and lying about it." (Trump posted three versions of the same tweet, after earlier versions included a misspelling.)
“Nancy Pelosi’s hypocrisy and utter disregard for the truth has gummed up the Democratic Party’s faux outrage machine. She owes an explanation for why she knowingly misled the American public,” Jesse Hunt, spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee, said in a statement.
Both Pelosi and Schumer had called for Attorney General Jeff Sessions to resign after it was revealed he met twice with Kislyak in 2016, despite telling lawmakers at his confirmation hearing he had no “communications” with Russian officials. Sessions has said he didn’t mislead Congress as he was answering in the context of discussions related to the Trump campaign.
Trump also pounced on Schumer Friday after a picture made the rounds online showing the New York senator chowing down on a donut with President Vladimir Putin in 2003.
The image had circulated as part of the conservative pushback against Democratic criticism of Sessions – with outlets noting that a number of Democratic lawmakers also had met with the ambassador in the past.

Trump accuses Obama administration of wiretapping Trump Tower phones

Trump Tower is a 58-story, 664-foot-high mixed-use skyscraper located at 721–725 Fifth Avenue between 56th and 57th Streets in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Wikipedia

Address: 725 5th Ave, New York, NY 10022

Height: 664′

Floors: 58

Opened: February 14, 1983

Owner: Donald Trump

Architecture firm: Swanke, Hayden & Connell

Architect: Der Scutt

President Trump made a startling claim Saturday that former President Barack Obama had Trump Tower phones tapped in the weeks before the November 2016 election.
In early Saturday morning tweets that began at 6:35 a.m., the president said the alleged wiretapping was “McCarthyism” and “Nixon/Watergate.”
“Terrible! Just found out that Obama had my ‘wires tapped’ in Trump Tower just before the victory. Nothing found. This is McCarthyism,” Trump wrote.
“Is it legal for a sitting President to be ‘wire tapping’ a race for president prior to an election? Turned down by court earlier. A NEW LOW!” he said in another tweet.
Trump also tweeted that a “good lawyer could make a great case of the fact that President Obama was tapping my phones in October, just prior to Election!”
“How low has President Obama gone to tap (sic) my phones during the very sacred election process. This is Nixon/Watergage. Bad (or sick) guy!” Trump tweeted.
Trump does not specify how he uncovered the Obama administration's alleged wiretapping; however, he could be referencing a Breitbart article posted Friday about a segment by radio host Mark Levin, who spoke about the alleged steps taken by the Obama administration to undermine the Trump campaign.
He made a reference to a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISA) request made by the former adminsitration in June 2016 to monitor communications involving Trump and several advisers. It was denied.
During his Saturday morning tweets, Trump also brought up the ongoing controversy surrounding Attorney General Jeff Sessions and his reported meetings with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak in 2016.
He said the first meeting between the former Senator and Kislyak was arranged by the Obama administration.
Trump then said Kislayk also visited the White House 22 times during the Obama administration.
“Just out: The same Russian Ambassador that met Jess Sessions visited the Obama White House 22 times, and 4 times last year alone,” he wrote.
On Friday, Trump fought back against top Democratic lawmakers who are demanding his attorney general's resignation over past meetings with Russia's ambassador -- after pictures emerged of the same lawmakers in similar meetings, exposing them to "hypocrisy" charges.
Trump tweeted: "I hereby demand a second investigation, after Schumer, of Pelosi for her close ties to Russia, and lying about it.