California's Gov. Brown gets choir director pal six-figure job at government agency: report

California Gov. Jerry Brown got a long-time a six-figure job at a government agency despite not exactly having the experience for the role, the friend admitted.
Juan Pedro Gaffney, a former Bay Area choir director, admitted his friendship with the outgoing governor landed him the job at the state Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board, a position populated mostly by lawyers, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
“What shall I do, should I not plead guilty? Yeah, I’m a friend of Jerry’s. We go way back. Jerry knew me when I was active in social action and politics. He didn’t forget that part of me,” Gaffney said when asked whether his friendship with Brown got him the job.

"What shall I do, should I not plead guilty? Yeah, I’m a friend of Jerry’s. We go way back. Jerry knew me when I was active in social action and politics. He didn’t forget that part of me."
- Juan Pedro Gaffney

Gaffney attended St. Ignatius High School in San Francisco with Brown. He said that he knows that “that “people who have served long in the field look with raised eyebrows” over his appointment to the board.
The job involves deciding whether people who they claim they were injured in the workplace should receive workers’ compensation. The board meets once a week to decide which cases to divide between themselves. All members of the board are paid $147,778-a-year during their six-year term.
“I did not understand this to be a plum. I did not go after it as a plum,” Gaffney continued. “To me it is hard work and I am glad to do the hard work, but others have given me to understand that they were passed by to accommodate this appointment or at least that this appointment passed them by. I am aware of that. What can I say? I’m sensitive to it. I realize it’s a legitimate sentiment, a legitimate reaction.”

"To me it is hard work and I am glad to do the hard work, but others have given me to understand that they were passed by to accommodate this appointment or at least that this appointment passed them by."
- Juan Pedro Gaffney

The confession raises ethical concerns about the legacy of Brown, who will now be replaced by either Democrat Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom or Republican businessman John Cox, who’s been trailing his opponent by mere 5 points, according to the latest poll.
“This is not a thing that brings down democracy or forces state government to crumble, but it is what it looks like, a favor to a friend,” Los Angeles’ Loyola Law School professor Jessica Levinson told the Chronicle.
“And it’s not a victimless favor, because there could be someone with a resume that is better suited who was passed over. And this position serves the public. Does the public get the benefit of having the best people serving in this position?” she asked.
The outgoing governor defended the decision to appoint Gaffney, saying workers and businesses will “certainly benefit from Mr. Gaffney’s diverse background and experience.”
Though Gaffney’s position should mostly be occupied by lawyers licensed in California, according to the rules, two of the seven commissioners don’t have to meet any minimum qualifications.
Gaffney said that although he doesn’t have the exact expertise to hear workers’ compensation cases, his “intelligence” makes him qualified for the job.
 “If you aren’t a lawyer, you quickly learn to be in this game,” he told the Chronicle. “My Lord, I’m stuffing my eyes, ears, nose and throat with all things legal since I’ve come on board. My days there are 10 hours. I’m making it my business to educate myself.”
This is the second time Gaffney’s relationship with Brown helped him. Last year, he was appointed to the Alcoholic Beverage Control Appeals Board. He was paid just over $25,000 a year and his position involved meeting once a month to analyze decisions made by the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, the Chronicle reported.

Chicago sets up universal income task force as city seeks ways to tackle poverty

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel will form a task force that will consider implementing the so-called “universal basic income” program in the city, as the embattled mayor seeks to cement his progressive legacy after promising not to run for another term.
The idea for the program, which would make monthly payments to a number of Chicago families without any conditions, has been floated around in the city for months now.
Back in June, Chicago’s North Side Ald. Ameya Pawar introduced a resolution calling upon the mayor to launch the pilot of the program and pay 1,000 families $500 every month.
The new task force set up by Emanuel, according to the Chicago Tribune, will have a panel that will decide whether such welfare initiative could work in the city.
Pawar, who will be part of the panel, claims universal basic income is a way to tackle poverty amid the loss of jobs due to automation and the offshoring of industries.
RAHM EMANUEL LEAVES BEHIND TAINTED LEGACY AS CHICAGO MURDER RATE, CRIME AND CORRUPTION SURE ON HIS WATCH
But the creation of the task force may open Emmanuel for criticism, as it comes just less than a week after he announced that he won’t run for a third term. The decision to implement a potentially costly program will rest on the shoulders of another mayor.
Pawar told the Tribune that he doesn’t believe Emanuel is creating the task force only to claim credit for it without actually implementing.
“Chicago would be the largest city in the country to take this step,” he said. “I think the mayor sees this as a chance to lead the way as cities try to grapple with poverty and income inequality at a time the federal government is not addressing those things. This would be a legacy issue [for Emanuel].”

"I think the mayor sees this as a chance to lead the way as cities try to grapple with poverty and income inequality at a time the federal government is not addressing those things. This would be a legacy issue [for Emanuel]."
- Chicago’s North Side Ald. Ameya Pawar

A number of cities in the U.S. have either discussed or adopted a similar version of the program. The city of Stockton, California will begin paying 100 fortunate residents $500 a month without any conditions in 2019.
The city, which was once known as America's foreclosure capital, has recently fallen on hard times, with 1-in-4 residents living below the poverty line and the median household income at nearly $8,000 lower than the national median.
In Oakland, California, Y Combinator, a startup incubator, is giving out $1,500 a month to randomly selected residents. It’s expected the money will soon be distributed to 100 recipients with a prospect of expanding the program to 1,000 people who will receive $1,000 monthly.

Giuliani-backed Eddie Edwards wins pivotal NH House race; Bernie Sanders' son trounced in Dem primary

Giuliani-backed New Hampshire congressional hopeful Eddie Edwards after a debate earlier this month.  (AP)

A Rudy Giuliani-backed congressional candidate seeking to make history as New Hampshire's first black congressman emerged from a crowded field to win the state's GOP primary on Tuesday, as Sen. Bernie Sanders' son was trounced by a large margin in the Democratic contest.
Eddie Edwards, a Navy veteran, won convincingly over state Sen. Andy Sanborn, who had the endorsement of Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul.
Giuliani called Edwards a “strong conservative who believes in low taxes and is a supporter of the ‘America First’ agenda of President Trump.”
The contest -- for a critical seat Republicans hope to flip in November -- was a brutal, highly personal slugfest. Sanborn has been accused of making a sexually explicit comment to a Statehouse intern in 2013 and allegedly frequently commented on an aide's dress and appearance. Sanborn has denied the accusations, calling them a “witch hunt.”
During a surreal party-organized debate last month, Edwards was even asked to step off the stage – amid chants and screams from supporters of both candidates – after refusing to pledge to support the eventual nominee if Sanborn won the primary.
While the effects of Giuliani's endorsement were unclear, candidates backed by President Trump and his administration have proven to be powerhouses ahead of the midterms, after wins by Brian Kemp in Georgia, Troy Balderson in Ohio, Ron DeSantis in Florida, and Katie Arrington in South Carolina, among others.
Edwards has said the “president’s doing one hell of a job in Washington” and “it’s about time we had a president who understood the values of our country and stood up for our country.”
There had not been an open seat in New Hampshire's 1st Congressional District in more than 16 years, and fittingly, 16 candidates vied on Tuesday to fill it, including 11 Democrats and 5 Republicans. The district, which Fox News ranks as leaning Democratic in November, is considered a key potential battleground in November and a rare opportunity for the GOP to snatch a blue seat.

Bernie Sanders' son, Levi Sanders, right, sharing a laugh with Maura Sullivan following a debate for Democratic hopefuls earlier this month. He was trounced on Tuesday in the primary.  (AP)

GOP SEES GLIMMER OF HOPE IN ROWDY, NASTY NH HOUSE PRIMARY RACE
Democratic Rep. Carol Shea-Porter’s retirement “makes the seat a true jump ball,” Republican consultant Ryan Williams said.
In 2016, the district backed Donald Trump, leading Edwards to call it “his district.” However, also in 2016, the district re-elected Shea-Porter, who is stepping down after four terms.
On the Democratic side, Chris Pappas, a former state lawmaker who is serving his third term on the governor's Executive Council, won the party nod. Pappas, who is openly gay, topped Maura Sullivan, a U.S. Marine and Iraq War veteran who served in the Department of Veterans Affairs and at the Pentagon during the Obama administration.
Both finished well ahead of Sanders' son, 49 -year-old Levi, who did not pick up his father's endorsement. Levi explained, “In the Sanders family, we don’t ‘do’ dynastic politics.”

Chris Pappas, Tuesday's winner in the Democratic NH primary, participating in a debate of Democratic hopefuls in New Hampshire's 1st Congressional District.  (AP)

In early results, Sanders had picked up less than three percent of the vote in New Hampshire, which his father won by double-digits in the 2016 Democratic presidential primary.
The younger Sanders' platform included Medicare-for-all and a higher minimum wage, but he was criticized during the race for living not only outside of the district, but also out of the state's political mainstream.
SOCIALIST TORCHBEARERS FLAME OUT NATIONALLY, DESPITE HIGH-PROFILE BERNIE SANDERS ENDORSEMENTS
New Hampshire is host to another House primary on Tuesday, for the 2nd Congressional District, held by incumbent Rep. Annie Kuster, a Democrat, who didn't face a primary challenger. The seven Republicans vying to take her on in November all vocally supported Trump and his agenda.
In the New Hampshire gubernatorial primary, first-term Republican Gov. Chris Sununu has sailed through the primary unopposed. The GOP currently holds the governorships of four out of six states in the deep-blue New England region, including Vermont, Maine and Massachusetts. New Hampshire had a Democratic governor for more than a decade before Sununu took office in 2016.
Hoping to help the Democrats make a dent in the Republican hold on the region's governorships were former state Sen. Molly Kelly and former Portsmouth Mayor Steve Marchand, considered an outsider candidate. Kelly won convincingly on Tuesday, by a margin of 66 percent to 34 percent, and is set to face Sununu in November.
Kelly emphasized her experience as a single mother who raised three children while putting herself through college. While Marchand touted his progressive plans, Kelly said she has the track record to prove it on issues such as support for public education, women's rights and gun safety. She accused Sununu of pandering to the Trump administration with his support of a school voucher bill that ultimately failed.
Accustomed to going first in the presidential primary, New Hampshire voters are among the last to nominate candidates for November, with Rhode Island and New York holding the nation's last primaries later this week.

International Criminal Court Cartoons

US marks 9/11 with somber tributes, new monument to victims

In this June 7, 2018 file photo, the World Trade Center site is seen from an upper floor of 3 World Trade Center in New York. The annual 9/11 commemorations are by now familiar rituals, centered on reading the names of the dead. But each year at ground zero, victims' relatives infuse the ceremony with personal messages of remembrance, concern and inspiration. And there building continues. A subway station destroyed on 9/11 finally reopened, as did the doors at the 80-story 3 World Trade Center, one of several rebuilt office towers that have been constructed or planned at the site. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, FIle)

Don't Ever Forget.

Americans are commemorating 9/11 with somber tributes, volunteer projects and a new monument to victims, after a year when two attacks demonstrated the enduring threat of terrorism in the nation's biggest city.
Thousands of 9/11 victims' relatives, survivors, rescuers and others are expected at Tuesday's anniversary ceremony at the World Trade Center, while President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence will head to the two other places where hijacked planes crashed on Sept. 11, 2001, in the deadliest terror attack on American soil.
The president and first lady Melania Trump plan to join an observance at the Sept. 11 memorial in a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, where a new "Tower of Voices" was dedicated Saturday. Pence is attending a ceremony at the Pentagon. Trump, a Republican and native New Yorker, took the occasion of last year's anniversary to issue a stern warning to extremists that "America cannot be intimidated."
Nearly 3,000 people died in the attacks on 9/11, when international terrorism hit home in a way it previously hadn't for many Americans. Sept. 11 still shapes American policy, politics and everyday experiences in places from airports to office buildings, even if it's less of a constant presence in the public consciousness after 17 years.
A stark reminder came not long after last year's anniversary: A truck mowed down people, killing eight, on a bike path within a few blocks of the World Trade Center on Halloween.
In December, a would-be suicide bomber set off a pipe bomb in a subway passageway near Times Square, authorities said. They said suspects in both attacks were inspired by the Islamic State extremist group.
The 9/11 commemorations are by now familiar rituals, centered on reading the names of the dead. But each year at ground zero, victims' relatives infuse the ceremony with personal messages of remembrance, concern and inspiration.
"What I can say today is that I don't live my life in complacency," Debra Epps said last year as she remembered her brother, Christopher Epps. "I stand in solidarity that this world will make a change for the better."
Hours after the ceremony, two powerful light beams will soar into the night sky from lower Manhattan in the annual "Tribute in Light."
This year's anniversary comes as a heated midterm election cycle kicks into high gear. But there have long been some efforts to separate the solemn anniversary from politics.
The group 9/11 Day, which promotes volunteering on an anniversary that was declared a national day of service in 2009, routinely asks candidates not to campaign or run political ads for the day. Organizers of the ground zero ceremony allow politicians to attend, but they've been barred since 2011 from reading names or delivering remarks.
Memorials to 9/11 continue to grow at Shanksville, where the Tower of Voices will eventually include a wind chime for each of the 40 people killed there, and ground zero, where work is to begin soon on a pathway honoring rescue and recovery workers.
It will serve as a way to honor those who became sick or died from exposure to toxins released when the Trade Center's twin towers collapsed. Researchers have documented elevated rates of respiratory ailments, post-traumatic stress disorder and other illnesses among people who spent time in the rubble.
About 38,500 people have applied to a compensation fund, and over $3.9 billion in claims have been approved.
Meanwhile, rebuilding continues. A subway station destroyed on 9/11 finally reopened Saturday. In June, doors opened at the 80-story 3 World Trade Center, one of several rebuilt office towers that have been constructed or planned at the site. A performing arts center is rising.
However, work was suspended in December on replacing a Greek Orthodox church crushed in the attacks; the project hit financial problems.

Jason Chaffetz: President Obama tries to re-write history on Benghazi

In a brazen attempt to re-write history, President Barack Obama in a speech on Friday blamed “the politics of resentment and paranoia,” which he said had found a home in the Republican Party, for “wild conspiracy theories – like those surrounding Benghazi.”
What a reprehensible way to frame an event that killed four Americans while they waited for rescue and protection they deserved from people Barack Obama never sent.  Of course, you only heard about Obama’s characterization of Benghazi if you pay attention to conservative media.  By and large the mainstream press excluded references to Benghazi from their reporting of the speech. 

With President Trump methodically erasing the Obama legacy, this bizarre attempt to reframe the narratives around Obama’s greatest failures should fool no one.

Kris “Tanto” Paronto, one of the heroes who watched his friends die that night in Benghazi, called Obama’s comments “disgusting,” tweeting: 
“Benghazi is a conspiracy @BarackObama?! How bout we do this,let’s put your cowardly ass on the top of a roof with 6 of your buddies&shoot rpg’s&Ak47’s at you while terrorists lob 81mm mortars killing 2 of your buddies all while waiting for US support that you never sent.”
He’s right to be offended. The real conspiracy of Benghazi was the false narrative that the whole thing was the result of an offensive video – an objectively proven lie born from the resentment and paranoia within Obama’s own administration. They didn’t think the truth was compatible with getting Barack Obama re-elected six weeks after the attack.
In reality, Obama himself contradicted this conspiracy narrative before he even left office. Fox News’ Chris Wallace asked him in April 2016 to identify the worst mistake of his presidency.  “Probably failing to plan for the day after what I think was the right thing to do, in intervening in Libya.”
At least he got one thing right:  Benghazi (or what he euphemistically refers to as the aftermath of his war in Libya) WAS a terrible mistake.  What it was not is a conspiracy theory.
With President Trump methodically erasing the Obama legacy, this bizarre attempt to reframe the narratives around Obama’s greatest failures should fool no one. 

Barack Obama took us to war with Libya.  His State Department refused multiple requests to meet minimum security standards at the Benghazi consulate. President Obama never sent anyone to rescue or protect our ambassador or our own people during the 13 hours they were under attack.  Four brave men died as a result and many other heroes had their lives forever altered. That is not a conspiracy.  That is fact – no matter how inconvenient Democrats may find it. 
This is one part of the Obama legacy that Trump should not erase. We all need to remember the lessons learned from Obama’s worst mistake. 

John Bolton vows to punish ICC after court announces probe of alleged US war crimes in Afghanistan

Trump's national security adviser made it clear the administration is taking sides in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict by threatening to close the Palestine Liberation Office in Washington; Gillian Turner reports on 'Special Report.'
White House National Security Adviser John Bolton threatened to sanction the International Criminal Court (ICC) after the global tribunal announced an investigation into alleged U.S. war crimes in Afghanistan -- in a harsh condemnation just before the world marked 17 years after the terror attacks of September 11, 2001.
Speaking in Washington, D.C., at a Federalist Society luncheon on Monday, Bolton described the court, which is based in The Hague in the Netherlands, as "illegitimate," adding: "for all intents and purposes, the ICC is already dead to us."
He also slammed the organization's decision to formally investigate war crimes allegedly committed by Afghan national security forces, Taliban and Haqqani network militants, and U.S. forces and intelligence in Afghanistan dating back to May 2003. The U.S. invaded Afghanistan in October 2001, shortly after the 9/11 attacks; the war is ongoing.
BOLTON SAYS NO TIMETABLE FOR TRUMP'S MIDEAST PEACE PLAN
"The International Criminal Court unacceptably threatens American sovereignty and U.S. national security interests," Bolton said, adding the U.S. "will use any means necessary to protect our citizens and those of allies from unjust prosecution by this illegitimate court."
Bolton vowed that the U.S. "will not cooperate with the ICC," would sanction the ICC's funds in the U.S. financial system and would prosecute ICC judges and lawyers in U.S. courts.

National security adviser John Bolton speaking at the Federalist Society luncheon on Monday in Washington, D.C.  (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

Bolton's remarks came after the Trump administration announced the closure of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in Washington.
The office was closed, the State Department said, because there were "no direct and meaningful negotiations with Israel."
"PLO leadership," according to State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert, "has condemned a U.S. peace plan they have not yet seen and refused to engage with the U.S. government with respect to peace efforts and otherwise."
Bolton reiterated the statement, saying: "The United States supports a direct and robust peace process, and we will not allow the ICC, or any other organization, to constrain Israel's right to self-defense."
The PLO formally represents all Palestinians, and while the U.S. doesn't officially recognize Palestinian statehood, the organization has maintained a general delegation office in Washington that facilitates Palestinian officials' interactions with the U.S. government.
The office's closure came after the Trump administration cut nearly $300 million in planned funding for a United Nations agency that aids Palestinian refugees after finding the operation "irredeemably flawed."
PALESTINIANS DECRY US DECISION TO CUT AID TO UN AGENCY, CALL IT A 'BIG MISTAKE'
Since its creation in 2002 to prosecute war crimes in areas where perpetrators might not otherwise face justice, the ICC has filed charges against dozens of suspects including former Libyan dictator Muammar Qaddafi, who was killed by rebels before he could be arrested, and Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, who has been charged with multiple crimes, including genocide in Darfur.
Al-Bashir remains at large, as does Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony, who was among the first rebels charged by the court in 2005. The court has convicted just eight defendants.
The court has been hobbled by the refusal of the U.S., Russia, China and other major nations to join, while Burundi and the Philippines have quit. The latter's departure, announced earlier this year, takes effect next March.
Bolton on Monday called the court "an unprecedented effort to vest power in a supranational body without the consent of either nation-states or the individuals over which it purports to exercise jurisdiction."
"It certainly has no consent whatsoever from the United States," he added.
Fox News' Paulina Dedaj and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Bannon says 'six to a dozen' administration officials likely behind anonymous op-ed

Steve Bannon, the former White House strategist, told Fox News on Monday that he believes last week's annonyous op-ed in The New York Times by a 'senior' White House official was likely developed by "six to a dozen" members of the administration.
“I don’t think there’s any one author,” he told Laura Ingraham, host of "The Ingraham Angle." “There are many voices in there … I think that’s a much broader conspiracy than people think. I think it’s probably six to a dozen people.”
Bannon, who left the White House last year, went on to decry the “absolutely outrageous” anonymous New York Times op-ed and urged the Trump administration to find out who were responsible for it.

"I mean, there is a coup, like saying there was a coup by General McClellan and his senior leadership in the union army to try to thwart what Abraham Lincoln wanted to do in the civil war."
- Steve Bannon

“I mean, there is a coup, like saying there was a coup by General McClellan and his senior leadership in the Union Army to try to thwart what Abraham Lincoln wanted to do in the civil war. You have the exact type of coup right now,” he added, referring to a Union Army commander during the Civil War who was fired by Lincoln for refusing to follow orders.
“What was said in that anonymous letter was absolutely outrageous. And I think the president ought to make immediate and direct action to find out who the conspirators are,” he said.
He added that though “White Houses are naturally … cauldrons of different opinions,” most anonymous anti-Trump voices are holdovers from “the Bush administration” or “establishment Republicans.”
Last Wednesday, the New York Times published a bombshell opinion article written by “senior official” at the Trump administration, who lamented the president’s leadership style.
The op-ed describes a secret inside plot to protect the nation from Trump’s “misguided impulses” and said there were “early whispers” of a possible Cabinet coup to remove Trump out of office using the 25th Amendment.
“This isn’t the work of the so-called deep state,” the author of the opinion article wrote. “It’s the work of the steady state.”
Trump said Friday he knows “four or five” people who could be responsible for the article in the newspaper.