Tag Archives: Trump Administration

The Hill: What is Trump even doing any more?

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One of the most frustrating things about the Trump administration is that it offers too much nuttiness to process.

Not long ago, the discovery that the president doesn’t know what the Declaration of Independence is would have consumed the country for months. Today, it barely registers because the Trump White House pumps out similar stories two or three times a week. 

When you compare such stories to the trade war with China or President Trump’s claim that he doesn’t know whether he’s required to uphold the Constitution, it’s tempting to view Trump’s recent brainstorms on movie tariffs and reopening Alcatraz as mere distractions. That would be a mistake. They are evidence of something much darker than Steve Bannon’s call to “flood the zone with s—.”

https://thehill.com/opinion/white-house/5289900-trump-tariffs-alcatraz-constitution-hollywood

Mediaite: Bill Gates Goes Nuclear on Elon Musk: ‘The World’s Richest Man Killing the World’s Poorest Children’

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Microsoft founder Bill Gates didn’t mince words in his evaluation of Elon Musk’s role in government, fuming that “the world’s richest man” was “killing the world’s poorest children.”

Speaking with the The Financial Times, Gates expressed his disgust with Musk’s role in shuttering the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

“The picture of the world’s richest man killing the world’s poorest children is not a pretty one,” said Gates, who told the Times that he’d “love for him [Musk] to go in and meet the children that have now been infected with HIV because he cut” American aid that had been going to a hospital in Mozambique.

Bill Gates Goes Nuclear on Elon Musk: ‘The World’s Richest Man Killing the World’s Poorest Children’

Bill Gates didn’t mince words in his evaluation of Elon Musk’s DOGE, fuming that “the world’s richest man” was “killing the world’s poorest children.”
Bill Gates Goes Nuclear on Elon Musk: ‘The World’s Richest Man Killing the World’s Poorest Children’

More here:

Bill Gates pledges his remaining fortune to the Gates Foundation, which will close in 20 years

Bill Gates says he will donate 99% of his remaining tech fortune to the Gates Foundation. Today, that would be worth an estimated $107 billion.

https://apnews.com/article/bill-gates-foundation-996819a2c13c58f0c7c658a58374f236

And here:

https://archive.is/rKUs0

UPI: Judge Hannah Dugan’s arrest raises questions about jurisdiction, preserving judicial integrity

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The arrest and charges against Dugan have sparked concerns about intimidation against judges but Russell Wheeler adds that the presence of deportation agents in the courthouse also creates a chilling effect. Wheeler is a non-resident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution.

“The question is whether or not they should be searching in the courthouse in the first place,” Wheeler told UPI. “They don’t want ICE agents in the courthouse because people without status are going to be afraid to testify, be witnesses and cooperate with law enforcement.”

Wheeler’s concerns are not limited to immigration-related arrests, though in the current climate that concern is heightened.

“There’s a host of reasons you want to keep the courthouse open, regardless of status,” he said. “It’s the same reason as having a church as a no-arrest zone. That’s a matter of preserving religious freedom. This is a matter, in my view, of preserving the integrity of the judicial process. You don’t do that by creating a system where people are afraid to go to court. You don’t want to discourage people from reporting crimes or providing evidence.”

Judge Hannah Dugan’s arrest raises questions about jurisdiction, preserving judicial integrity

The arrest of a Wisconsin judge may have a chilling effect on the courts, experts say, even if the charges are justifiable.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/judge-hannah-dugan-s-arrest-raises-questions-about-jurisdiction-preserving-judicial-integrity/ar-AA1E3sSP

The i Paper: Democrats waited for Trump to crumble. Now they’re starting to fight back

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Democrats are suffering because most of their supporters deem the party’s response to Trump insufficient, and not commensurate with the threat he poses to the country’s future. After spending the best part of 2024 insisting that “democracy is on the ballot”, and that the US system of government could not survive a second Trump administration, for the most part Democrats have licked their wounds and sat on their hands in the months since the President’s victory.

That is partly deliberate, with many Democrats heeding the advice of veteran party strategist James Carville. In February, he urged the party to engage in what he conceded was “the most daring political manoeuvre” in its history. Writing in the New York Times, he advised Democrats to “roll over and play dead. Allow the Republicans to crumble beneath their own weight and make the American people miss us”.

The dangers of heeding that advice are now plain to see. A growing number of voters tell pollsters that the party is failing in its civic duty to identify a path out of Trump’s America, to corral public protests, and to demonstrably lead the way.

Democrats waited for Trump to crumble. Now they’re starting to fight back

The party is craving leadership, which is giving Democrats the courage to act

https://www.msn.com/en-ph/news/other/democrats-waited-for-trump-to-crumble-now-they-re-starting-to-fight-back/ar-AA1E5Awb

CNN: Tennessee authorities release video of Abrego Garcia at a traffic stop that officials have used to paint him as a criminal

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US officials have argued the traffic stop in November 2022, during which Abrego Garcia was not detained, supports their claims that Abrego Garcia was a member of MS-13 and involved in human trafficking. The stop resulted in no charges, and there was no mention of human trafficking in the parts of the redacted report that have been made available.

Yet the 2022 traffic stop now could play into the ongoing political debate and legal standoff over Abrego Garcia, who is still in El Salvador while a federal judge demands answers and more evidence from the Trump administration.

So far in the ongoing court proceeding over his custody, his attorneys have said that the US in his 2019 immigration proceedings offered little reason to believe Abrego Garcia was tied to a gang, other than the fact he wore a Chicago Bulls hat and that a confidential informant provided a tip to authorities.

…

“There is no known link or association between him and the MS-13 gang,” his lawyers told the federal judge last month.

In a statement provided to CNN regarding the bodycam footage, Abrego Garcia’s attorney Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg said, his client “has been denied the most basic protections of due process—no phone call to his lawyer, no call to his wife or child, and no opportunity to be heard.”

Sandoval-Moshenberg added that “I see no evidence of a crime in this footage. But the point is not the traffic stop — it’s that Mr. Abrego Garcia deserves his day in court. Bring him back to the United States, return him before the same immigration judge who heard his case in 2019, and let him speak for himself.”

…

Earlier, a spokesperson for the Tennessee Highway Patrol told CNN that Abrego Garcia was flagged to federal law enforcement, “who made the decision not to detain him.”

According to a Department of Homeland Security statement released last month about the incident, federal officials released Abrego Garcia with a warning for driving with an expired license.

And today Trump’s minions are desperately grasping at straws to deport anyone and everyone they can so as to increase their deportation counts.

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https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/tennessee-authorities-release-video-of-abrego-garcia-at-a-traffic-stop-that-officials-have-used-to-paint-him-as-a-criminal/ar-AA1E3SOn

Inquirer: ICE facilities need ‘drastic improvements,’ says Fil-Am attorney general

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California Attorney General Rob Bonta is demanding state detention centers make “significant improvements” to comply with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention standards.

That’s after a new 165-page report from the Department of Justice released Monday found that all of the state’s six privately-operated immigration detention facilities are failing to meet basic requirements for mental health care, medical recordkeeping, and suicide prevention. The report also found excessive use of force, discipline against detainees and use of solitary confinement.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta is demanding state detention centers make “significant improvements” to comply with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention standards.

That’s after a new 165-page report from the Department of Justice released Monday found that all of the state’s six privately-operated immigration detention facilities are failing to meet basic requirements for mental health care, medical recordkeeping, and suicide prevention. The report also found excessive use of force, discipline against detainees and use of solitary confinement.

ICE facilities need ‘drastic improvements,’ says Fil-Am attorney general

California Attorney General Rob Bonta is demanding state detention centers make “significant improvements” to comply with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention standards. That’s after a new 165-page report from the Department of Justice released Monday found that all of the state’s six privately-operated immigration detention facilities are failing to meet basic requirements for mental health care, medical recordkeeping, and…

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/ice-facilities-need-drastic-improvements-says-fil-am-attorney-general/ar-AA1E4xHC

Reuters: White House seeks to cut TSA funding and boost air, rail safety

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The White House said on Friday it wants to cut funding for the Transportation Security Administration by $247 million, while boosting spending on rail and air safety.

…

In its proposal on Friday to cut TSA officer levels, the White House said, “TSA has consistently failed audits while implementing intrusive screening measures that violate Americans’ privacy and dignity.” It was not immediately clear how many positions the White House wants to cut.

And:

The proposal also calls for cutting funding by $308 million for Essential Air Service, which subsidizes commercial air service to rural airports and is popular with Republican lawmakers.

I’m no fan of TSA, but cutting a quarter billion dollars out of their budget hardly seems likely improve aviation security. Focus on their procedures and methods, not on their people.

Cutting Essential Air Service will be disastrous for many rural communities. It will also hit airlines hard while they’re also feeling the loss of international tourists thanks to the actions of King Donald & Co.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/white-house-seeks-to-cut-tsa-funding-and-boost-air-rail-safety/ar-AA1E4oWa

Latin Times: Judge temporarily blocks Trump administration from dismantling library services agency

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A federal judge has temporarily halted the Trump administration’s attempt to shut down the Institute of Museum and Library Services, safeguarding funding for libraries and museums across the U.S. 

Judge temporarily blocks Trump administration from dismantling library services agency

A federal judge has temporarily halted the Trump administration’s attempt to shut down the Institute of Museum and Library Services, safeguarding funding for libraries and museums across the U.S.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/judge-temporarily-blocks-trump-administration-from-dismantling-library-services-agency/vi-AA1E5gKl

Daily Express: Temu halts Chinese shipments overnight as Trump kills tariff loophole in crackdown

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Temu, the Chinese e-commerce giant, has ceased shipping products from China to the United States, according to a company spokesperson last Friday as a key tariff loophole was cancelled by the Trump administration.

Now, all U.S. orders will be dispatched from domestic warehouses within America, and products that were once shipped directly from China and dominated the site are now listed as out of stock.

This shift follows the Trump administration’s move to to end the de minimis exemption that permitted Chinese-made goods valued at no more than $800 to enter the U.S. duty-free. The exemption, which President Trump denounced as a “big scam” harmful to American small businesses, expired on this morning.

Most business will never notice, except those order stock & office supplies from China. As usual, King Donald is screwing the consumers, the “Little People”, every day American citizens.

Incidentally, this de minimis exception helped my family get their N-95 masks during the COVID epidemic. I found a supplier in Shanghai whose N-95 mask had the proper U.S. certification and who would ship them direct from Shanghai to my front porch for a reasonable price.

Temu halts Chinese shipments overnight as Trump kills tariff loophole in crackdown

Temu announced they’ll no longer ship products from China to the U.S. after Trump closed a tariff loophole, with ‘Out of Stock’ notices across the site

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/news/temu-halts-chinese-shipments-overnight-as-trump-kills-tariff-loophole-in-crackdown/ar-AA1E4Ksu

Rolling Stone: Spooked by Trade Wars, Trump Officials Hoard Supplies: ‘It Would Be Stupid Not To!’

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Some Trump administration officials are stockpiling toilet paper and food before Trump’s tariffs cause prices to skyrocket

This is what they tell the geese:

Donald Trump’s trade wars with China and other nations are widely expected to cause sharp economic pain, but some experts have warned consumers not to hoard supplies and goods before prices skyrocket, arguing that mass stockpiling could backfire spectacularly.

But this is what the ganders do:

Two Trump administration officials and a Trump aide tell Rolling Stone that they have done some stockpiling of their own in recent weeks or months, and that they know others working in Republican politics — inside and outside of the administration — who are doing the same. One of the Trump officials says they have already run to Target to bulk-buy toilet paper, some types of food, and other household supplies. 

When asked why they’re doing this, the Trump aide — who says they and their partner have done similar household-supply hoarding lately, and are also “stashing cash” reserves in their D.C.-area home — simply replies: “Because it would be stupid not to!” The aide adds that they still believe in Trump’s tariffs regime, though, citing the supposed advantage of “short-term pain” in exchange for long-term “prosperity.”

Spooked by Trade Wars, Trump Officials Hoard Supplies: ‘It Would Be Stupid Not To!’

Donald Trump’s aides and administration officials are hoarding toilet paper, food, and household supplies before his tariffs cause prices to spike.

https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/trump-officials-hoarding-supplies-trade-war-tariffs-1235329235