Wednesday, December 27, 2017
Pres. Trump Predicts Dems, GOP Will Work Together on Health Care
OAN Newsroom
President Trump is predicting Democrats and Republicans will come up with a new Obamacare replacement after the passing of the tax reform bill.He made the remarks on Twitter Tuesday, saying the tax law will eventually terminate Obamacare because of the repeal of the individual mandate.
The tax law would essentially force Democrats to come to the table — some of whom have already said the current health care law needs to be amended.Based on the fact that the very unfair and unpopular Individual Mandate has been terminated as part of our Tax Cut Bill, which essentially Repeals (over time) ObamaCare, the Democrats & Republicans will eventually come together and develop a great new HealthCare plan!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 26, 2017
The individual mandate was a tax penalty which forced people to participate in Obamacare, a system plagued with rising costs and and dwindling choices.
Most top colleges still regulate campus speech, report says
More than 90 percent of top U.S. colleges have
policies regulating campus free speech, with one-third applying severely
restrictive policies, according to a recent study.
The Foundation for Individual Rights
in Education (FIRE) reported Tuesday that more than half of the 461
schools included in its annual year-end study limit free speech in some
way.
"Despite the critical importance of free speech on
campus, too many universities — in policy and in practice — chill,
censor and punish students’ and faculty members’ expressive activity," the study said.
"One way that universities do this is through the use of speech codes:
policies prohibiting speech that, outside the bounds of campus, would be
protected by the First Amendment."However, the study also found that for the 10th year in a row, the percentage of "red light" schools -- institutions FIRE says have severely restrictive policies -- has declined. And the group reported that an unprecedented number of schools have removed all of their speech codes, earning them a "green light" rating.
The majority of institutions surveyed -- 58.6 percent -- earned a "yellow light" rating, which means their policies "still chill or outright prohibit protected speech."
In its analysis, FIRE noted a difference in free speech at public universities versus private ones. The First Amendment generally does not apply to students at private colleges because its regulates government — not private — conduct, according to FIRE."We are happy to see that fewer schools are maintaining the most restrictive types of speech codes, but the fact that 90 percent of schools maintain a speech code of some kind is still a significant problem for free speech."- Samantha Harris, vice president of policy research at FIRE
The group claims that while "most private universities explicitly promise freedom of speech and academic freedom," their policies often contradict such statements.
FIRE cites a 2017 statement from Georgetown University in which the school declares its commitment to free speech.
"As an institution of higher education, one specifically committed to the Catholic and Jesuit tradition, Georgetown University is committed to free and open inquiry, deliberation and debate in all matters, and the untrammeled verbal and nonverbal expression of ideas," the university said in a June 2017 statement. "It is Georgetown University’s policy to provide all members of the university community, including faculty, students and staff, the broadest possible latitude to speak, write, listen, challenge and learn."
However, Georgetown is labeled "red light" school by FIRE. The school has a ban on any language that disrespects individuals there: a "civility" requirement in the student code of conduct that FIRE deems restrictive to free speech. But all other policies at Georgetown are considered "yellow light" by FIRE.
Other schools deemed "red light" include American University, Boston College, the University of Notre Dame, Harvard, Wesleyan, the University of Texas at Austin, Rice University and Pennsylvania State University – University Park.
Schools listed as "yellow light" include Amherst College, Brown, Columbia and several state schools, like Colorado State University. "Green light" schools include University of Chicago, the University of Florida and Duke.
"We are happy to see that fewer schools are maintaining the most restrictive types of speech codes, but the fact that 90 percent of schools maintain a speech code of some kind is still a significant problem for free speech," Samantha Harris, vice president of policy research at FIRE, said Wednesday.
"In the coming year, we hope to work with more schools to eliminate their speech codes altogether," Harris said.
ISIS has lost 98 percent of its territory -- mostly since Trump took office, officials say
ISIS has lost 98 percent of the territory it once
held -- with half of that terror group's so-called "caliphate" having
been recaptured since President Trump took office less than a year ago,
U.S. military officials said Tuesday.
The massive gains come after years of
"onerous" rules, when critics say the Obama administration
“micromanaged” the war and shunned a more intensive air strategy that
could have ended the conflict much sooner.
“The rules of engagement under the Obama administration
were onerous. I mean what are we doing having individual target
determination being conducted in the White House, which in some cases
adds weeks and weeks,” said retired Air Force Lt. Gen. David Deptula,
the former head of U.S. Air Force intelligence. “The limitations that
were put on actually resulted in greater civilian casualties.”But the senior director for counterterrorism in former President Barack Obama’s National Security Council pushed back on any criticism the former president didn’t do enough to defeat ISIS.
“This was a top priority from the early days of ISIS gaining the type of territorial safe haven in particular, there was recognition that safe havens for terrorist groups can mean terrorist plots that extend — not just into the region — but to Europe and conceivably into the United States,” said Joshua Geltzer, author of “US Counter-Terrorism Strategy and al-Qaeda: Signalling and the Terrorist World-View,” now a visiting professor at Georgetown Law School.
The latest American intelligence assessment says fewer than 1,000 ISIS fighters now remain in Iraq and Syria, down from a peak of nearly 45,000 just two years ago. U.S. officials credit nearly 30,000 U.S.-led coalition airstrikes and regional partners on the ground for killing more than 70,000 jihadists. Meanwhile, only a few thousand have returned home.
The remaining ISIS strongholds are concentrated in a small area along the border of Syria and Iraq. ISIS, at one point, controlled an area the size of Ohio.
While ISIS has been largely defeated, it continues to call on followers around the world to conduct terror attacks during the holidays with a new message sprouting up on Tuesday, and a suicide attack in Kabul on Christmas with ISIS claiming responsibility. It’s part of the terror group’s effort to expand influence into Africa and Afghanistan. The U.S. envoy to the anti-ISIS coalition warned late last week not to expect a complete defeat anytime soon.
“ISIS became a brand, and a lot of pre-existing terrorist groups — you’ve seen this in the Sinai, for example — start to raise the flag of ISIS, mainly to recruit foreign fighters and other things,” said Brett McGurk, Special Presidential Envoy for the Global Coalition to Counter ISIS at the U.S. Department of State, in a press briefing Thursday with reporters at the State Department.
Deptula thinks the ISIS fight would have ended much sooner if then-President Obama had given his military commander in the field more authority. He compared President Obama’s actions to President Lyndon B. Johnson during the Vietnam War.
“Obama micromanaged the war,” Deptula said. “We could have accomplished our objectives through the use of overwhelming air power in three months not in three years.”
Deptula said ISIS-controlled oil supplies weren’t targeted for 15 months beginning in 2014, giving the terror group $800 million in much needed revenue to plot attacks and enslave millions of innocents.
In addition to ISIS, an old nemesis has taken root in Syria, and which might take on a bigger priority for the Trump administration next year, according to Geltzer.
“A lot of folks when they think about Al Qaeda probably still think of its center of gravity as being on that Afghanistan-Pakistan border,” he said. “But I would think of the center of gravity for Al Qaeda really having shifted to Syria at this point.”
Three US cities sue Pentagon over failure to report convictions
Three major U.S. cities on Tuesday
filed a lawsuit against the Defense Department for allegedly failing to
report criminal convictions of people in the military to the Federal
Bureau of Investigation and its national gun background check database.
The lawsuit – filed by officials in
New York, Philadelphia and San Francisco – seeks a court order to force
the Pentagon to submit to federal court monitoring of its reporting
requirements.
The Pentagon recently acknowledged it has failed to comply with requirements dating back to the 1990s.“This failure on behalf of the Department of Defense has led to the loss of innocent lives by putting guns in the hands of criminals and those who wish to cause immeasurable harm,” New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said.
The suit argues that having a federal court oversee compliance would reduce the chance of a mass shooting like the recent tragedy in Sutherland Springs, Texas.
In that incident, former airman Devin Kelley shot 26 people to death in a Texas church. Kelley had been convicted in a military court of domestic violence but his case wasn’t reported to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, which ideally would have prevented him from buying a gun, the complaint claims.
“We cannot accept the level of gun violence in our country as ‘just the way it is’,” San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera said in a statement. “Twenty-six people being murdered at church can never be normal.”
The Pentagon had no comment on the lawsuit though its acting inspector general testified at a Senate committee earlier this month that there was “no excuse” for the military’s repeated failure to comply with reporting rules.
Most recently, military investigators found that nearly one in three court-martialed convictions that should have prevented defendants from purchasing guns had gone unreported.
NICS reporting is required for all federal agencies, including the military, and include regular mandatory compliance reports. The federal law was strengthened following the 2007 mass shooting at Virginia Tech.
The case is City of New York v. U.S. Department of Defense.
Tuesday, December 26, 2017
Roseanne Barr slams 'bigot' Lorde for nixing Israel concert under BDS pressure
Roseanne Barr slams Lorde as "bigot" for cancelling concert in Israel.
Roseanne Barr took to Twitter to
blast Lorde after the singer cancelled a performance in Israel scheduled
for next summer following pressure from anti-Israel activists.
The New Zealand music star said in a
statement that "the right decision at this time" was to cancel her June
2018 concert in Tel Aviv, which was announced earlier this month.
But Barr slammed her on Twitter:“Boycott this bigot,” Barr wrote. “Lorde caves to BDS pressure, cancels Israel concert.”
Lorde’s announcement followed calls by proponents of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement to cancel her performance over Israel's human rights record. Lorde joins artists including Roger Waters, Lauryn Hill and Elvis Costello in boycotting Israel over its treatment of Palestinians.
Lorde said that after having "lots of discussions" about the matter, "I'm not too proud to admit I didn't make the right call on this one," referring to her initial decision to hold the concert.
Lorde's cancellation was welcomed by members of the BDS movement. The Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel posted a statement on Twitter thanking the artist for "heeding appeals from your fans against Israel's art-washing of its brutal oppression of Palestinians."
"Lorde, I expect you to be a pure heroine, like the title of your first album, a pure culture hero, free of any external - and if I may add, delusional - political considerations," Regev said in a statement.
The Israeli concert promoter responded to the cancellation, saying: "We forgive her."
Rosie O'Donnell tells Paul Ryan he's going 'straight to hell'
Paul Ryan faced Rosie O'Donnell's
wrath on Monday after the comedian slammed him on Twitter.
Rosie O’Donnell had a not-so-warm Christmas wish for House Speaker Paul Ryan: go to hell.The fierce opponent of President Trump and the newly-passed GOP tax plan lashed out at Ryan on Twitter.
“paul ryan – don’t talk about Jesus after what u just did to our nation – u will go straight to hell,” O’Donnell wrote Monday.
“U screwed up fake altar boy,” O’Donnell added.
She finished her holiday attack with the hashtag: “#JUDASmuch” in a reference to the disciple who betrayed Jesus.
The actress, who has famously tussled with Trump, last week offered to pay two senators $2 million each to vote against the tax bill. Her bribe to Sens. Jeff Flake and Susan Collins didn’t work and no GOP senator voted against Trump’s signature legislative achievement.
What seemed to set O’Donnell off was a Christmas video message that Ryan posted Saturday honoring the birth of Jesus.
A rep for Ryan responded only by saying: “We wish everyone a Merry Christmas!”
It’s the latest Twitter war for the ex-View host.
Conservative commentator Ben Shapiro reported an obscene tweet O’Donnell posted about him last week that said “Suck my d___ Ben,” according to Fox News.
The two were sparring over the GOP tax plan.
Shapiro reported the “harassment” to Twitter to see if the social media giant would take action against a liberal. Twitter initially declined to delete the tweet, but then reversed course.
Bernie Sanders' wife's land deal still under FBI probe; witness recently questioned
U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and
wife Jane Sanders walk in Philadelphia during the final day of the
Democratic National Convention, July 28, 2016. Sanders remains under
federal investigation for a land deal she made as president of
Burlington College in Vermont in 2010.
(Associated Press)
A federal investigation launched in
2016 into possible bank fraud by Jane Sanders, wife of U.S. Sen. Bernie
Sanders, is still underway -- with “a potential” grand jury review
possible.
The probe could thwart Sanders’ 2020
presidential ambitions -- as well as the Vermont political plans of Jane
Sanders' daughter, Carina Driscoll.
Individuals questioned by the FBI confirmed to Fox News
that the investigation was still open, with FBI agents interviewing at
least one witness within the last six weeks.Jane Sanders is under investigation following a land deal she clinched when she was president of Burlington College in Vermont in 2010.
In order to expand the college, Sanders sought to obtain a tract of land from a Roman Catholic parish. She secured a $6.7 million loan from a bank and a $3.6 million loan from the parish from which she planned to purchase the property.
But she resigned in 2011 amid allegations that she purposely inflated and made up the amount of money donors have pledged to the school and provided incorrect information to a bank to get the loan. Multiple individuals, who were listed as college donors, have since come forward denying the commitments.
Questioned recently
Former Burlington College Board Chairman Yves Bradley told Fox News that the investigation was still underway. He said he was visited by FBI agents in the last six weeks and was questioned about Sanders’ involvement in the alleged bank fraud.
Attorney Rich Cassidy, representing both Bernie and Jane Sanders, approached Bradley regarding the investigation, but by the advice of his counsel decided not to engage. Cassidy did not respond to Fox News’ multiple requests for an interview.
Previous reports stated that the investigation accelerated this past summer when multiple people were questioned and investigators seized records from Burlington College.
The recent questioning of Bradley signals the investigation is far from over.
The probe is being handled by the U.S. Justice Department and will proceed at the discretion of Christina E. Nolan, the U.S. Attorney of Vermont, who was sworn into office last week after being appointed by President Donald Trump in September and confirmed by the Senate last month.
Coralee Holm, the former Burlington College dean of operations, confirmed as well that the probe “has not been closed” and that it has “no specific deadline” for completion. She was among the individuals questioned in the summer.
“I have not talked with anyone since then, other than checking with the FBI agents,” she said over the phone.
To the question whether the investigation could lead to an indictment, she said the FBI agents told her it was “a potential” – although not “an absolute” – that the case will be brought in front of a grand jury.
“If there is going to be something that happened it would be the grand jury … it would be brought in front of the grand jury … they already told me to be … that was a potential but they did tell me that wasn’t an absolute,” Holm said.
Change of plans?
The ongoing probe and the potential for a grand jury review might be enough to impede Bernie Sanders' and Driscoll's political plans.
Politico reported last month that Sanders was angling toward a more mainstream candidacy heading into the 2020 presidential election and reaching out to key Democrats to solidify his support among the party machine.
Driscoll, the stepdaughter of the senator, announced Monday her plans to run for her stepfather’s first political job: mayor of Burlington, Vt.
A spokesperson for Bernie Sanders did not respond to Fox News’ request for a comment. Driscoll declined to comment.
Trump, Sanders clash on Twitter over new tax law
President Donald Trump and U.S. Sen.
Bernie Sanders posted broadly differing views of the new U.S. tax law.
It was a holiday weekend, but President Donald Trump and rival Bernie Sanders didn’t exactly exchange greeting cards.
Instead, the political foes clashed via Twitter over the nation’s new tax legislation, which Trump signed into law Friday.
“Today, it was my great honor to sign the largest TAX
CUTS and reform in the history of our country,” the president tweeted,
soon after signing the $1.5 trillion bill.On Saturday, Trump touted the plan as the culmination of a successful first year in the Oval Office.
“The Tax Cut/Reform Bill, including Massive Alaska Drilling and the Repeal of the highly unpopular Individual Mandate, brought it all together as to what an incredible year we had,” he tweeted.
Sanders, a U.S. senator from Vermont, prefaced his weekend tweets by posing a question Thursday.
“Doesn’t it tell us a lot about Republican priorities,” Sanders asked, “when the tax breaks for corporations are permanent, while the tax cuts for working families expire at the end of 8 years?”
Then on Saturday, Sanders poked fun at reports that Trump had told friends during a Mar-a-Lago dinner in Florida on Friday night that, “You all just got a lot richer.”
“At least Trump is finally telling the truth about his tax bill,” Sanders wrote.
That same day, however, the president reminded his Twitter followers:
“The Stock Market is setting record after record and unemployment is at a 17 year low. So many things accomplished by the Trump Administration, perhaps more than any other President in first year.”
Then Sunday, Sanders presented alternatives for what the U.S. could have done with the $1.5 trillion value of the tax legislation.
“What we could do with $1.5 trillion:
-Make college tuition-free
-Provide universal preschool
-Repair our crumbling infrastructure
-Fund CHIP for 107 years
-Rebuild Puerto Rico
What Republicans did:
-Give tax breaks to the wealthy and corporations.”
Sanders added, in a separate tweet:
“If I were the Republicans, I would worry very much about 2018,” referring to next year’s mid-term elections.
But Trump seemed unfazed by any talk of problems at the polls for the GOP. As he tweeted Saturday:
“Remember, the Republicans are 5-0 in Congressional races this year.”
Monday, December 25, 2017
Sunday, December 24, 2017
Report: FBI Deputy Director Mccabe To Retire Amid Allegations Of Bias
As FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe faces accusations of political bias, new report he is also planning to retire early next year.
The report, published on Saturday suggests McCabe plans to leave his role in early march when he is eligible for pension benefits.
The former right hand man of fired FBI Director James Comey has dealt with criticism from lawmakers on capitol hill, for the FBI’s handling of Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server, and more recently the Russia probe.
This comes after McCabe faced hours of questioning behind closed doors on capitol hill this week as GOP leaders continue to investigate alleged political bias from McCabe and the agency.
Meanwhile, President Trump slams the FBI Deputy Director, saying he is racing the clock to retire.
In what appears to be a response to reports Andrew McCabe is stepping down next year, the President fired off a series of tweets Saturday claiming McCabe is waiting until he receives full benefits to quit.
How can FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, the man in charge, along with leakin’ James Comey, of the Phony Hillary Clinton investigation (including her 33,000 illegally deleted emails) be given $700,000 for wife’s campaign by Clinton Puppets during investigation?— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 23, 2017
Additionally, The President blasted McCabe for alleged political bias, questioning how his wife can be given $700,000 for her campaign by Clinton puppets during the investigation.FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe is racing the clock to retire with full benefits. 90 days to go?!!!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 23, 2017
Homeland Security says chain migration let terrorism-related suspects into U.S.
The Department of Homeland Security said chain
migration is the common element in two cases allegedly tied to terrorism
activities, according to a statement released Saturday.
In the statement on Twitter, Acting
Press Secretary Tyler Houlton said DHS “can confirm the suspect involved
in a terror attack in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and another suspect
arrested on terror-related money laundering charges were both
beneficiaries of extended family chain migration.”
BREAKING: My statement on Immigration Backgrounds of Recent Terror-Related Suspects: pic.twitter.com/I3JfZOfuBh— Tyler Q. Houlton (@SpoxDHS) December 24, 2017
WHITE HOUSE TO PUSH MERIT-BASED IMMIGRATION IN NEW CAMPAIGN
The memo referred to Ahmed Aminamin El-Mofty, 51, who it said was a naturalized U.S. citizen admitted to the U.S. from Egypt on a family-based visa. El-Mofty went on a shooting spree Friday in Harrisburg and was reportedly targeting police officers.
The gunman, carrying two rifles and a shotgun, fired at officers in multiple locations.
"He fired several shots at a Capitol police officer and at a Pennsylvania state police trooper in marked vehicles," Dauphin County District Attorney Ed Marsico said. The state trooper was injured but is “doing well,” he said.
El-Mofty pursued the trooper to a residential neighborhood and encountered law enforcement officers, who ultimately killed him after he fired “many shots” at them.
The statement also mentioned Zoobia Shahnaz, who DHS said was a naturalized U.S. citizen who entered from Pakistan, also on a family-based visa. Shahnaz was indicted on Dec. 14 after she allegedly laundered more than $85,000 through Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies overseas to the Islamic State.
END CHAIN MIGRATION, AS TRUMP WANTS, AND SWITCH TO MERIT-BASED IMMIGRATION
Acquiring the money through fraudulently obtained credit cards and a bank loan, Shahnaz laundered the funds to people in Pakistan, China and Turkey and “planned to travel to Syria and join ISIS,” federal officials said.
Shahnaz was charged in federal court with bank fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering and three counts of money laundering, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
In the DHS statement Saturday, Houlton said, “These incidents highlight the Trump administration’s concerns with extended chain migration.”
“Both chain migration and the diversity visa lottery program have been exploited by terrorists to attack our country,” Houlton said. “Not only are the programs less effective at driving economic growth than merit-based immigration systems used by nearly all other countries, the programs make it more difficult to keep dangerous people out of the United States and to protect the safety of every American.”
With immigrant pardons, Gov. Brown butts heads again with White House
Idiot |
Diablo |
Diablo |
Butting heads once again with the White House on
immigration, California Gov. Jerry Brown used a Christmas holiday
tradition to grant pardons Saturday to two men who were on the verge of
being deported for committing crimes while in the U.S.
Brown characterized the pardons as acts of mercy, according to an article on Saturday in the Sacramento Bee.
The Democratic governor moved as federal officials in
recent months have detained and deported immigrants with felony
convictions that resulted in the loss of their legal residency status,
including many with nonviolent offenses from years ago.With the pardons, the reason for deportation may be eliminated, lawyer Kevin Lo of Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Asian Law Caucus, which represented some of the men in a recent class-action lawsuit, said in the Bee. The pardoned immigrants will still need to ask immigration courts to reopen their cases, he said.
In all, Brown pardoned 132 people for mostly nonviolent and drug-related crimes, and commuted the sentences of 19 others, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
Brown’s pardons involved two Northern California Cambodian men picked up in October in immigration sweeps, Mony Neth of Modesto and Rottanak Kong of Davis.
Kong was convicted on felony joyriding in 2003 in Stanislaus County at age 25 and sentenced to a year in jail. Neth was convicted on a felony weapons charge with a gang enhancement and a misdemeanor charge of receiving stolen property with a value of $400 or less in 1995 in Stanislaus County, The Bee said.
Both men came to the U.S. as children after their families fled the Khmer Rouge.
Brown last defied the White House in October by signing into law so-called “sanctuary state” legislation, placing limitations on state and local law enforcement’s ability to help federal officials enforce immigration violations.
North Korea calls UN sanctions 'an act of war,' 'rigged up by the US'
North Korea on Sunday condemned the latest U.N.
sanctions as “an act of war and tantamount to a complete economic
blockade” and threatened to “punish those who support the measure.”
The response follows a unanimous vote
Friday by the U.N. Security Council for tougher measures against Kim
Jong Un's regime for its November test of an intercontinental ballistic missile.
With the resolution, the U.N. aims to limit North
Korea’s access to refined petroleum products and crude oil. In addition,
the U.S.-backed resolution threatens to impose further restrictions if
North Korea conducts another nuclear test or launches another ICBM, Reuters reported.North Korea responded with a statement published by the state-run Korean Central News Agency: “We define this ‘sanctions resolution’ rigged up by the U.S. and its followers as a grave infringement upon the sovereignty of our Republic, as an act of war violating peace and stability in the Korean peninsula and the region and categorically reject the ‘resolution.’”
KCNA: "Those countries that raised their hands in favor of this 'sanctions resolution' shall be held completely responsible for all the consequences to be caused by the 'resolution' and we will make sure for ever and ever that they pay heavy price for what they have done."— Jonathan Cheng (@JChengWSJ) December 24, 2017
But North Korea’s foreign ministry insisted that the weapons were for self-defense and were not in violation of international law. However, North Korea has been pursuing its nuclear and missile programs for years in defiance of U.N. sanctions.
Meanwhile, the U.S. has been critical of China – North Korea’s biggest trading partner – for not playing a bigger role in easing tensions. China has preferred to address North Korea with more measured solutions.
China said that the latest U.N. resolution highlights the need for a diplomatic solution to reduce tensions. A state-run tabloid in China suggested that the U.S. had pushed for even harsher sanctions, and that there was no way the U.N. would allow the U.S. to pursue military action on the Korean Peninsula.
“The difference between the new resolution and the original U.S. proposal," the tabloid said in an editorial, "reflects the will of China and Russia to prevent war and chaos on the Korean Peninsula. If the U.S. proposals were accepted, only war is foreseeable.”
Saturday, December 23, 2017
Trump's national security strategy shows he is willing to champion American values around the world
During the 2016 presidential campaign, Donald Trump
presented a revised version of U.S. foreign policy that was a departure
from the “New World Order” espoused by President George W. Bush and
modified by President Obama.
With the release of his National Security Strategy
report this week, it is obvious that President Trump has a handle on
“realism” and a belief – justified in my view – that the world is an
increasingly dangerous place.
In naming China and Russia as disruptive forces on the
world stage, the president’s strategy notes that the two nations are
rivals that must be challenged – but not necessarily enemies that must
be defeated. That’s a distinction important for future tactics.The report identifies Iran and North Korea as rogue states clearly interested in regional destabilization. It also identifies transnational threats such as jihadists and cyber warriors.
While these designations yield to the obvious, they also depart from the Obama narrative that the arc of history is moving inexorably toward stabilization.
Some critics of President Trump agree that there isn’t an arc of history that assures U.S. dominance. That’s correct, but it is wrong to argue that the Obama team didn’t employ this argument through its continuing assertions such as “the tide of war is receding.”
Since the Obama foreign policy mission was disengagement, President Obama underestimated the role unpleasant actors might play in the vacuum he left behind.
President Trump’s newly stated national security strategy is a clear corrective to that misguided vision. He puts the threats we face in perspective, indicating his desire to marshal “our will and capabilities” to compete and prevent unfavorable shifts in various regions of the world.
In the past, it was conventional wisdom to contend that China and Russia were invited into the global forums so that they would be tied down by a rules-based order. But this did not happen and was a further extension of Obama naiveté.
President Trump recognizes the return of “great power competition” that belies ideological commitments. He embraces the view of former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger regarding a world of balance of power that relies on clearly viewed national interest.
President Trump’s assessment of Russia demonstrates this point: “Russia aims to weaken U.S. influence in the world and divide us from our allies and partners.” So much for friendly rhetoric.
From my point of view, the most newsworthy portion of the report is the willingness of the Trump administration to “champion American values” around the globe, including fair treatment for religious minorities and “the dignity of individuals.”
Rather than hide behind the gilded belief that America is widely detested, the president is sending out the message the U.S. is an unequivocal defender of Western Civilization and has the inner strength to defeat the dark impulses of totalitarianism.
President Trump is unquestionably a realist; yet there is a decidedly romantic dimension to his vision as well. His leap away from “perfection” to stability is one thing. On the other hand, the president wants to win because he believes in American principles.
As a result, President Trump envisions our military prowess and economic muscle as offering distinct advantages. These conditions must be nurtured and cared for, but when competition emerges our side should prevail.
America rose to the occasion when the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, believing at that time that our “edge” was lost. But we rose to new heights in our schools and factories. We accepted the challenge and in a decade we had reacquired our national confidence. That is the romantic side of the strategic story in this 68-page document that sets the stage for the Trump doctrine.
Trump's travel ban exceeds presidential authority, court rules
Doesn't Work here anyway. |
President Donald Trump signs an executive order at the White House, June 15, 2017.
(Reuters)
A federal appeals court panel in San
Francisco ruled late Friday that President Donald Trump exceeded his
presidential powers with the third version of his controversial travel
ban.
The panel ruled unanimously in a 77-page decision
that read, “We conclude that the President’s issuance of the
Proclamation once against exceeds the scope of his delegated authority.”
But the ruling by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court
of Appeals will have no immediate effect because the Supreme Court
decided earlier this month that Trump's ban could be fully implemented
while the administration appeals a pair of injunctions against the
policy, Politico reported.Presidential Proclamation 9645, signed in September, is the third iteration of the Trump administration’s controversial travel ban this year, after previous versions in March and January.
The latest version restricts nationals from Chad, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Syria, Venezuela, and Yemen from traveling to the U.S. Unlike the previous versions, the latest installment of the travel ban has no definitive expiration date.
According to the Trump administration, the countries were chosen because they don’t do a good job of verifying or sharing information about their citizens and thus the U.S. government lacks sufficient information to assess the risks they might pose to the U.S.
Judges have previously ruled that the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 gives Trump broad powers to regulate immigration. But in order for the travel ban to be upheld, the Trump administration would have to legally prove that a person’s entry from the list of banned countries would be harmful to the interests of the United States.
Trump era brings changes to presidential coin
A U.S. Army officer holds a zippered
pouch with "Challenge Coins" for Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta to
hand out to U.S. military personnel stationed at Yokota Air Base in
Japan, Sept. 17, 2012.
(Reuters)
Now that Donald Trump is president,
the traditional presidential challenge coin has undergone major changes,
including the addition of his "Make America Great Again" slogan.
In addition, the presidential seal has been replaced with an eagle bearing Trump's signature, the Washington Post reported.
The 13 arrows representing the original states are also
gone. The national motto, "E pluribus unum" -- a Latin phrase that
means "Out of many, one" -- also has been removed.Some ethics experts questioned the unprecedented decision to include a campaign slogan on the coins, which are often given to members of the military, the newspaper reported.
“For the commander in chief to give a political token with a campaign slogan on it to military officers would violate the important principle of separating the military from politics, as well as diminishing the tradition of the coin,” Trevor Potter, a Republican and former chairman of the Federal Election Commission, told the Post.
In addition to his signature, Trump’s name appears three times on the coin, which is nearly twice as thick as its predecessors, while the traditional subdued silver and copper coloring is replaced with gold, the report said.
Challenge coins originated from military baubles bearing division insignia and presented by officers to troops for exemplary service, the Post reported.
Not everyone in the Trump administration has created their own challenge coin; among them is Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, a retired Marine Corps general.
“It’s not about him. It’s about the person whose hand he is shaking,” Mattis' spokeswoman told the Post.
White House officials declined to say how much the coins cost or who designed them, according to the report.
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