Presumptuous Politics

Saturday, May 28, 2016

Trump tells California 'there is no drought'

FRESNO, Calif. – Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump told California voters Friday that he can solve their water crisis, declaring, "There is no drought."
Speaking at a rally in Fresno, Calif., Trump accused state officials of denying water to Central Valley farmers so they can send it out to sea "to protect a certain kind of three-inch fish."
"We're going to solve your water problem. You have a water problem that is so insane. It is so ridiculous where they're taking the water and shoving it out to sea," Trump said at a rally that drew thousands.
California is, in fact, in midst of a drought. Last year marked the state's driest four-year period in its history, with record low rainfall and snow.
The comments came a day after Trump outlined an energy policy plan that relies heavily on expanding U.S. fossil fuel exploration and reducing environmental regulations.
He held a pair of rallies Friday in Fresno and San Diego as he closed a campaign swing through the west, drawing vocal crowds of protesters, many carrying signs critical of Trump's plan to wall off the U.S. border with Mexico.
About a thousand Trump foes demonstrated outside San Diego's convention center as Trump spoke inside to an enthusiastic crowd of supporters packed in tight. Police said they made three arrests, including one man who climbed a railing separating protesters from officers. His arrest led protesters to spray water and throw empty plastic bottles at police.
In another tense exchange, police shoved back demonstrators to separate them from Trump supporters when they left the center after the rally.
Inside, the mood was far less charged, as Trump took repeated jabs at Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton. He also went on defense against negative media stories and an ongoing lawsuit against his now-defunct Trump University.
"I'm getting railroaded by a legal system," Trump complained.
In Fresno, Trump said he'd spent 30 minutes before his rally meeting with more than 50 farmers who complained to him about their struggles.
"They don't understand — nobody understands it," he said, declaring at one point: "There is no drought. They turn the water out into the ocean."
Trump appeared to be referring to disputes over water that runs from the Sacramento River to the San Francisco Bay and then to the ocean. Some farmers want more of that flow captured and diverted to them.
Politically influential rural water districts and well-off corporate farmers in and around California's Central Valley have been pushing back against longstanding federal laws protecting endangered fish and other species, saying federal efforts to make sure endangered native fish have enough water is short-changing farmers of the water they want and need for crops.
Water authorities say they can't do it because of the water rights of those upstream of the farmers, and because of the minimum-water allowances needed by endangered species in the bay and by wildlife in general.
The three-inch Delta smelt is a native California fish on the brink of extinction. The smelt has become an emblem in the state's battles over environmental laws and water distribution.
The farm lobby, a heavyweight player in California's water wars, also is seeking federal and state approval for billions of dollars in new water tunnels, dams and other projects.
Trump promised that, if he's elected, he would put their interests first. "If I win, believe me, we're going to start opening up the water so that you can have your farmers survive," he said.
California is the country's No. 1 agriculture producer. The state's five-year drought is raising the stakes in water disputes among farmers, cities and towns, and environmental interests.
A count by The Associated Press found Thursday that Trump has reached the required number of delegates to officially clinch the Republican nomination.

North Carolina police department pulls out of Republican National Convention

Idiots

A North Carolina police department backed out of sending 50 police officers to the Republican presidential convention in Cleveland in June over concerns about whether the city is prepared to host an event that is expected to bring at least 50,000 visitors to northeast Ohio.
Greensboro police made the decision earlier this week to pull its officers from the event, saying the city isn’t providing workers’ compensation for coverage for out-of-town officers and is requiring them to get physical exams they’d have to pay for themselves.
Deputy Police Chief Brian James wrote in a memo to the city’s police chief that he had spoken with police administrators experienced in planning events like the GOP convention and that they expressed “a lack of confidence in the city of Cleveland and their preparedness.”
"We have a responsibility to ensure that we are sending our officers to an event that is well planned," James wrote.
James told the Cleveland Plain-Dealer that his memo wasn’t intended to take shots at Cleveland police or say they weren’t prepared to handle the convention.
"But for us, for coming out of our jurisdiction into another state, we had hoped that we would have better clarification on different logistical issues, and specifically what our assignments would be going into Cleveland," James said. "And we don't have that information at this time."
A spokesman for the city of Cleveland sent an email Friday afternoon that said the Greensboro memo was inaccurate but didn't elaborate.
A Cleveland police union official has been sounding the alarm for months about how Cleveland officers are not being properly trained to deal with potentially tumultuous protests. Groups supporting and opposing presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump are planning to stage rallies and protests during the convention, which begins July 18.
"The city of Cleveland has been absolutely irresponsible for preparation of this convention," Steve Loomis, president of the Cleveland Police Patrolmen's Association, said Friday.
A number of city police departments in Ohio and other states have decided not to send officers to Cleveland, including Cincinnati, Loomis said.
A Cincinnati police spokesman said Friday that the previous police chief had discussed sending officers to Cleveland, but his successor decided against it because of the insurance issue and because Cincinnati is hosting the national NAACP convention the same week.
Cleveland Police Chief Calvin Williams responded to allegations that the city wasn’t prepared in a news conference Wednesday.
"A lot has been said that Cleveland is not prepared for the RNC," Williams said. "Well, I'll tell you today, we are prepared."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.

At least 35 arrested after Trump rally in San Diego

Doesn't work, lives at home with mommy and daddy.

Old Hippy afraid he may lose his welfare checks and have to go to work.

Mexicans afraid they may actually have to get a green card and become legal.

At least 35 people were arrested Friday as confrontations between protesters and authorities boiled over following a rally from the presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump in San Diego, police said.
Trump delivered a speech inside the San Diego Convention Center as more than 1,000 protesters representing various opposition groups demonstrated outside the venue, Fox 5 San Diego reported.
Before Trump’s speech, the demonstrations outside were mostly peaceful. However, the protests escalated and several confrontations took place as the rally ended and the crowds inside the convention center spilled outside.
Inside, the mood was far less charged, as Trump took repeated jabs at Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton. He also went on defense against negative media stories and an ongoing lawsuit against his now-defunct Trump University.
"I'm getting railroaded by a legal system," Trump complained.
San Diego police, dressed in riot gear, maintained a huge presence in the Gaslamp Quarter of the city as some people starting throwing things. The violence prompted police to declare the protests unlawful and they began to disperse the crowd.
There was no property damage and no injuries were reported as the police arrested 35 people.
San Diego Police Chief Shelley Zimmerman vowed before the rally that law enforcement wouldn’t tolerate any sort of violence or unlawful behavior, similar to what was seen in Albuquerque earlier in the week.
“The safety of our public is paramount,'' Zimmerman said. “The whole goal is to provide a safe environment for everyone.''
Zimmerman also designated safety zones for those who oppose Trump and those who support him, while they monitored the attendees’ behavior. Fox 5 San Diego reported that many of the people who were protesting before Trump’s rally were gone by the time the crowds became unruly.
“We came in very quickly and decisively,” Zimmerman said, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune. “The last thing we want is a mob mentality.
By late in the evening, authorities cleared the Gaslamp Quarter and herded several hundred people onto Harbor Drive as police in helicopters called for the protesters to disperse.

Friday, May 27, 2016

Black Lives Matter Cartoons

Mister 1,237: North Dakota delegate puts Trump over the top

WASHINGTON – John Trandem wanted to be the delegate who would put Donald Trump over the top, giving him enough delegates to clinch the Republican presidential nomination.
But when he was contacted by an Associated Press reporter, the AP delegate count stood at 1,235 — two delegates short.
"I'm happy to be No. 1,237," said Trandem, a small business owner from North Dakota. "But I won't commit until you're at 1,236."
Trandem is an unbound delegate, meaning he is free to support the candidate of his choice. All 28 Republican delegates in North Dakota are unbound because the state party declined to have a primary or caucus.
Trandem, who lives north of Fargo, was reached on his wife's mobile phone. He was on his way to an event where he and other North Dakota delegates would meet Trump, giving the billionaire businessman enough delegates to clinch the nomination.
Wanting to break the story first, reporters were calling and emailing unbound delegates across the country.
Trandem was for Trump, but he didn't want to say so unless he was Mister 1,237.
No problem, he had a solution. He handed the phone to another delegate, state Rep. Ben Koppleman, who was riding with him.
After Koppleman confirmed he was committed to Trump, Trandem took the phone back.
"Are you at 1,236?" he asked.
Yes, he was told. "Then I'm the one!"
Minutes later the AP declared that Trump had secured enough delegates to clinch the nomination.
Later on Thursday, both men shook hands with Trump before sharing a stage with him during a news conference in Bismarck, North Dakota.

Louisiana governor signs 'Blue Lives Matter' bill

Louisiana’s governor signed a first-of-its-kind bill Thursday afternoon that makes it a hate crime to target police officers and first responders.
Called the “Blue Lives Matter” bill, the measure expands the state’s hate crime law to include law enforcement officers, firefighters and other emergency medical services personnel.
“The overarching message is that hate crimes will not be tolerated in Louisiana,” Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards told FoxNews.com in a written statement. He added that he has “great respect” for the work that law enforcement officers do and the daily risks they take.
“I thought it was critical that we add protections for the people that protect us,” state Rep. Lance Harris, a Republican, told FoxNews.com.
Harris authored the bill after the murder of Darren Goforth, a 47-year-old Texas sheriff who was gunned down at a gas station “because he wore a uniform.”
The gunman approached Goforth, a 10-year veteran of the Harris County Sheriff’s Office, from behind unloading bullets into him even after the officer fell to the ground.
In many states like Louisiana, there are existing laws covering bias-motivated crimes against people based on their gender, race, religion and sexual orientation.
Under Louisiana’s new measure, anyone convicted of a hate crime-related felony could face up to an additional $5,000 fine and five years behind bars. For a misdemeanor, the punishment comes with a $500 fine and an additional six-month prison sentence.
The “Blue Lives Matter” bill easily passed both state legislative houses.
“The signing of this bill gives us all an opportunity to pause and remember the extraordinary acts by seemingly ordinary people who serve our state as first responders,” State Police Superintendent Col. Mike Edmonson said. “Whereas citizens flee danger, police, fire and EMS personnel run to it.”
But not everyone is on board. The Louisiana chapter of the Black Youth Project 100 purportedly had called on the governor to veto the bill.
Other critics like the Anti-Defamation League have also come out against the bill, arguing that providing protections to law enforcement under the “hate crime” statute is counterproductive.
“Adding professional categories to the current Hate Crimes statute deters efforts from protecting against identity-based crimes,” Anti-Defamation League Regional Director Allison Padilla-Goodman said in a written release. “We are not happy that it is being signed into law.”
In a letter to Edwards, Padilla-Goodman said the bill “confuses the purpose of the Hate Crimes Act.” She also said it “weakens its impact by adding more categories of people who are already better protected under other laws.”
Padilla-Goodman argues that hate crime legislation was created to protect people from discrimination against race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability, ethnicity and gender identity.
“Proving the bias intent is very different for these categories than it is for the bias intent of a crime against a law enforcement officer,” she wrote.
Emails to the Black Youth Project 100 were not immediately returned.

Obama takes swipe at Trump overseas

Nothing stops politics this election season -- not even the water's edge.
While traveling overseas on official business Thursday, President Obama couldn’t resist wading into political matters back home, sparking controversy by saying foreign leaders are “rattled” by the rise of presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump.
Obama, saying leaders have "good reason" to feel that way, made the remarks on the sidelines of a Group of Seven economic summit in Japan.
"They are rattled by it — and for good reason," Obama said. "Because a lot of the proposals he has made display either ignorance of world affairs, or a cavalier attitude, or an interest in getting tweets and headlines."
He contrasted that with proposals he said thoughtfully address what's required to keep the U.S. safe and "to keep the world on an even keel."
Trump, though, brushed off Obama's put-down later in the day. Speaking ahead of an address in North Dakota, Trump said: "That's a good thing, I love that word."
"In business, when you rattle someone, that's good," Trump said. "If they're rattled, in a friendly way, that's a good thing ... not a bad thing."
Trump also touched on remarks Obama made at a campaign stop in Billings, Montana, saying, "he said other countries are nervous. I say it’s good if they’re nervous."
Obama, meanwhile, was criticized for his remarks by other Republicans, with one calling them “incredibly irresponsible” given the context.
“When the president of the United States goes overseas he’s representing the country,” Josh Holmes, former chief of staff to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, said on Fox News. “It is remarkably irresponsible and remarkably unpresidential for him to weigh in on a domestic political battle and effectively undermine one of the candidates who could replace him next January.”
“In front of the world community and effectively in front of all the world leaders, saying someone is essentially unfit for office is an incredibly irresponsible move for the president of the United States,” Holmes said.
Questions about Trump have followed Obama on his travels abroad, with world leaders expressing concern about certain aspect of Trump’s campaign, most notably his plan to temporarily ban Muslim immigration and his positions on trade.
Trump has also threatened to renegotiate Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran and the global climate treaty reached in Paris. As Obama was warning world leaders Thursday about Trump, a newly released Associated Press tally showed he has now attained the number of delegates needed to clinch the GOP nomination.
Obama made the remarks a day before he visits Hiroshima, and said other countries pay more attention to the U.S. elections as they depend on America to provide stability and direction.
"I think it's fair to say they are surprised by the Republican nominee," Obama said, referring to Trump.

State Department official thought Clinton used personal email for 'family and friends'

A longtime State Department official said he assumed that then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was using her personal email to "stay in touch with family and friends", not conduct official business.
In a two-hour deposition with the conservative legal watchdog group Judicial Watch last week, Lewis Lukens also said he offered to set up a "stand-alone" computer for Clinton to check her personal email account, only to be told that she "does not know how to use a computer to do email."
Lukens' testimony was released Thursday, the day after the State Department inspector general released a report criticizing Clinton's email setup, saying that it violated federal records rules and cybersecurity guidelines.
The FBI is investigating possible mishandling of classified information that passed through the server, which was set up in the basement of Clinton's Chappaqua, N.Y. home. Clinton has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, and did so again Thursday.
"This report makes clear that personal email use was the practice for other secretaries of state," Clinton told ABC News. "It was allowed. And the rules have been clarified since I left."
According to Lukens, he first spoke to Clinton's Chief of Staff Cheryl Mills in 2009 about ways that Clinton could access her personal email without using the State Department's OpenNet system.
In an email released by Judicial Watch earlier this year, Lukens initially suggested a computer that could be "connected to the internet (but not through our system) to enable her to check emails from her desk."
"The reason that I proposed a PC was that it would make it easier for her to log on,” Lukens said in the deposition. “And at that point, as far as I knew, there was no requirement for her to be connected to our system.”
The computer system was never installed. Lukens was told that Clinton could only send and receive email on her Blackberry smartphone.
Because Clinton's State Department office was considered a secure zone, she was unable to bring her Blackberry there. As a result, Lukens recalled "on occasion" seeing Clinton looking at her Blackberry in the hallway outside the secure area.
Lukens, who has been with the State Department since 1989, said he could not recall explicitly discussing Clinton's use of a personal email account with other officials, adding that he assumed she was using "a commercially available email account."
Lukens is the first of at least six named witnesses to be deposed about Clinton's use of a private email server to handle her correspondence during her time as America's top diplomat.
Mills is scheduled to testify on Friday. U.S. District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan ruled Thursday that recordings of her deposition are to be kept under seal over concerns the video might be used "as part of partisan attack" against Clinton.