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August 31, 2019
This makes new Washington Post reporting about President Donald Trump’s border wall especially valuable. The Post writes about how Trump has repeatedly pressured the Army Corps of Engineers and the Department of Homeland Security to award a contract for building a wall at the southern U.S. border to a North Dakota company headed by a leading Republican donor.
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/05/trump-border-wall-contractor/590242/
As uninformed Trump supporters fume about illegal aliens taking jobs and tax-dollars from their pockets, WHAT IS REALLY FLOWING OVER THE MEXICAN BORDER, RIGHT UP HIGHWAYS THIS WALL WILL NOT BLOCK?
$976M of border wall contracts awarded
At the end of March, the Pentagon transferred $1 billion from the Department of Defense’s counter-drug budget to the Corps to support the construction of 57 miles of 18-foot-tall pedestrian fencing, road improvements and lighting upgrades. Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan said at the time that the money would be used to beef up security at known drug-smuggling corridors, The Hill reported.
The president, by using the national emergency declaration, could secure as much as $8 billion for border wall construction — $1.4 billion through the spending bill approved in February, $2.5 billion from the DOD’s counter-narcotics funds, $601 million from the Treasury Forfeiture Fund and $3.6 billion earmarked for military construction.
The Trump Wall scandal
A Single Scandal Sums Up All of Trump’s FailuresThis makes new Washington Post reporting about President Donald Trump’s border wall especially valuable. The Post writes about how Trump has repeatedly pressured the Army Corps of Engineers and the Department of Homeland Security to award a contract for building a wall at the southern U.S. border to a North Dakota company headed by a leading Republican donor.
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/05/trump-border-wall-contractor/590242/
As uninformed Trump supporters fume about illegal aliens taking jobs and tax-dollars from their pockets, WHAT IS REALLY FLOWING OVER THE MEXICAN BORDER, RIGHT UP HIGHWAYS THIS WALL WILL NOT BLOCK?
$976M of border wall contracts awarded
At the end of March, the Pentagon transferred $1 billion from the Department of Defense’s counter-drug budget to the Corps to support the construction of 57 miles of 18-foot-tall pedestrian fencing, road improvements and lighting upgrades. Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan said at the time that the money would be used to beef up security at known drug-smuggling corridors, The Hill reported.
The president, by using the national emergency declaration, could secure as much as $8 billion for border wall construction — $1.4 billion through the spending bill approved in February, $2.5 billion from the DOD’s counter-narcotics funds, $601 million from the Treasury Forfeiture Fund and $3.6 billion earmarked for military construction.
Here are the companies poised to profit from the Trump border wall
The new 55 miles of barriers in Hidalgo and Starr counties likely will get built by companies with previous experience in this type of work, and these companies range from a privately held Texas firm to publicly traded Israeli contractors, according to experts. The firms have a history of giving money mostly to Republican politicians.
Meanwhile, Barnard Construction founder Tim Barnard contributed about $82,000 to individual Republican candidates’ committees or groups tied to the GOP during the last cycle, according to FEC filings. He also gave $6,000 to three trade groups’ political action committees.
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/here-are-the-companies-poised-to-profit-from-the-trump-border-wall-2019-02-22
The new 55 miles of barriers in Hidalgo and Starr counties likely will get built by companies with previous experience in this type of work, and these companies range from a privately held Texas firm to publicly traded Israeli contractors, according to experts. The firms have a history of giving money mostly to Republican politicians.
Meanwhile, Barnard Construction founder Tim Barnard contributed about $82,000 to individual Republican candidates’ committees or groups tied to the GOP during the last cycle, according to FEC filings. He also gave $6,000 to three trade groups’ political action committees.
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/here-are-the-companies-poised-to-profit-from-the-trump-border-wall-2019-02-22
August 31, 2019
By Dan Merica, Maeve Reston, Kyung Lah and Jasmine Wright, CNN
Updated 11:48 AM ET, Sat August 31, 2019
"If Kamala were on the debate stage (with Donald Trump), I think she'd wax the floor with him. She would just dominate him," Mirocha said in an interview. "I watched the Barr confirmation, the (Brett) Kavanaugh confirmation. You can tell she's a prosecutor. She's methodical. If you sit back and just kind of listen, really listen, you can tell she's two steps ahead of them in her questioning."
https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/31/politics/kamala-harris-highs-and-lows/index.html
If political polls can be taken, at face value, Senator Harris, who is less known - on a national basis - than other contenders for the Democratic nomination, will not win.
As a consolation prize, who would like to see Trump face Kamala Harris as Attorney General of the USA?
"Roller Coaster Summer" for Kamala Harris
The highs and lows of Kamala Harris' roller coaster summerBy Dan Merica, Maeve Reston, Kyung Lah and Jasmine Wright, CNN
Updated 11:48 AM ET, Sat August 31, 2019
"If Kamala were on the debate stage (with Donald Trump), I think she'd wax the floor with him. She would just dominate him," Mirocha said in an interview. "I watched the Barr confirmation, the (Brett) Kavanaugh confirmation. You can tell she's a prosecutor. She's methodical. If you sit back and just kind of listen, really listen, you can tell she's two steps ahead of them in her questioning."
https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/31/politics/kamala-harris-highs-and-lows/index.html
If political polls can be taken, at face value, Senator Harris, who is less known - on a national basis - than other contenders for the Democratic nomination, will not win.
As a consolation prize, who would like to see Trump face Kamala Harris as Attorney General of the USA?
August 30, 2019
By DANIEL LIPPMAN 08/30/2019 04:16 PM EDT
Madeleine Westerhout, who left her White House job suddenly on Thursday as President Trump’s personal assistant, was fired after bragging to reporters that she had a better relationship with Trump than his own daughters, Ivanka and Tiffany Trump, and that the president did not like being in pictures with Tiffany because he perceived her as overweight.
https://www.politico.com/story/2019/08/30/trumps-personal-assistant-fired-ivanka-tiffany-1479226
BREAKING NEWS: Trump "perceived Tiffany as overweight" 4 real!
Trump's personal assistant fired after comments about Ivanka, TiffanyBy DANIEL LIPPMAN 08/30/2019 04:16 PM EDT
Madeleine Westerhout, who left her White House job suddenly on Thursday as President Trump’s personal assistant, was fired after bragging to reporters that she had a better relationship with Trump than his own daughters, Ivanka and Tiffany Trump, and that the president did not like being in pictures with Tiffany because he perceived her as overweight.
https://www.politico.com/story/2019/08/30/trumps-personal-assistant-fired-ivanka-tiffany-1479226
August 30, 2019
By Shasta Darlington, Florencia Trucco, Jaide Garcia and Bianca Britton, CNN
São Paulo, Brazil (CNN)Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro has banned the use of fire to clear land throughout the country for 60 days, in response to the massive increase in blazing fires in the Amazon rainforest that has caused international outrage.
The practice of burning land in rural areas is common among farmers, who will often use fires to clear the land for new crops or livestock.
Bolsonaro has repeatedly insisted the Amazon should be opened to development and has defunded the agencies responsible for cracking down on illegal activity.
https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/29/americas/brazil-amazon-bolsonaro-fire-ban-intl/index.html?utm_source=CNN+Five+Things&utm_campaign=fe8097f2ea-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2019_08_30_07_42&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_6da287d761-fe8097f2ea-104928233
Suddenly, most online reports diminish the value of the world's largest rainforest - in terms of its ability to produce oxygen. But how else is oxygen naturally produced on Earth?
The answer to the Amazon oxygen-producing capability is ZERO, as a result of these fires, the Amazon produces far more carbondioxide than oxygen.
Who cares?
Bolsonaro bans land-clearing fires in Amazon for 60 daysBy Shasta Darlington, Florencia Trucco, Jaide Garcia and Bianca Britton, CNN
São Paulo, Brazil (CNN)Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro has banned the use of fire to clear land throughout the country for 60 days, in response to the massive increase in blazing fires in the Amazon rainforest that has caused international outrage.
The practice of burning land in rural areas is common among farmers, who will often use fires to clear the land for new crops or livestock.
Bolsonaro has repeatedly insisted the Amazon should be opened to development and has defunded the agencies responsible for cracking down on illegal activity.
https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/29/americas/brazil-amazon-bolsonaro-fire-ban-intl/index.html?utm_source=CNN+Five+Things&utm_campaign=fe8097f2ea-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2019_08_30_07_42&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_6da287d761-fe8097f2ea-104928233
Suddenly, most online reports diminish the value of the world's largest rainforest - in terms of its ability to produce oxygen. But how else is oxygen naturally produced on Earth?
HOW MUCH OXYGEN DOES THE AMAZON RAIN FOREST PROVIDE?
The plight of the Amazon has received widespread attention over the past week or so as reports surfaced that Brazil—which hosts around 60 percent of the world's largest tropical forest—has experienced a significant spike in the number of wildfires this year.
Amid this coverage, many media outlets, charities, celebrities and even world leaders repeated the claim that the Amazon produces 20 percent of the world's oxygen supply. The implication here is that the destruction of the rain forest poses a threat to this oxygen supply.
But is this true? Experts say the real figure is actually smaller, and furthermore, this way of thinking is misleading given the true nature of the Amazon's effect on global oxygen levels.
https://www.newsweek.com/how-much-oxygen-amazon-rain-forest-1456274
The plight of the Amazon has received widespread attention over the past week or so as reports surfaced that Brazil—which hosts around 60 percent of the world's largest tropical forest—has experienced a significant spike in the number of wildfires this year.
Amid this coverage, many media outlets, charities, celebrities and even world leaders repeated the claim that the Amazon produces 20 percent of the world's oxygen supply. The implication here is that the destruction of the rain forest poses a threat to this oxygen supply.
But is this true? Experts say the real figure is actually smaller, and furthermore, this way of thinking is misleading given the true nature of the Amazon's effect on global oxygen levels.
https://www.newsweek.com/how-much-oxygen-amazon-rain-forest-1456274
The answer to the Amazon oxygen-producing capability is ZERO, as a result of these fires, the Amazon produces far more carbondioxide than oxygen.
August 29, 2019
Juliet Eilperin and Brady Dennis, The Washington Post Aug. 29, 2019
WASHINGTON - The Environmental Protection Agency is set to announce Thursday that it will loosen federal rules on methane, a powerful greenhouse gas linked to climate change, according to two senior administration officials.
The proposed rule will reverse standards enacted under former president Barack Obama that require oil and gas operations to install controls on their operations to curb the release of methane at the well head and in their transmission equipment, including pipelines, processing and storage facilities.
But several of the world's biggest fossil fuel companies, including Exxon, Shell and BP, have opposed the rollback and urged the Trump administration to keep the current standards in place. Collectively, these firms account for 11 percent of America's natural gas output.
"This reckless rollback highlights the Trump administration's complete contempt for our climate," said Kassie Siegel, director of the Climate Law Institute at the Center for Biological Diversity, an advocacy group. "The EPA is now so determined to actually increase greenhouse pollution that it's even shrugging off concerns from oil and gas companies about gutting these protections. Fracked gas is a climate killer, and Trump's rash embrace of this dirty stuff showcases the need for the next president to commit to a rapid phase-out of fossil fuels."
https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/article/Trump-administration-to-reverse-limits-on-14397062.php
Breaking: Big Oil Companies Oppose "Reckless" Trump Environmental Laws
Trump administration to reverse limits on methane, a powerful greenhouse gasJuliet Eilperin and Brady Dennis, The Washington Post Aug. 29, 2019
WASHINGTON - The Environmental Protection Agency is set to announce Thursday that it will loosen federal rules on methane, a powerful greenhouse gas linked to climate change, according to two senior administration officials.
The proposed rule will reverse standards enacted under former president Barack Obama that require oil and gas operations to install controls on their operations to curb the release of methane at the well head and in their transmission equipment, including pipelines, processing and storage facilities.
But several of the world's biggest fossil fuel companies, including Exxon, Shell and BP, have opposed the rollback and urged the Trump administration to keep the current standards in place. Collectively, these firms account for 11 percent of America's natural gas output.
"This reckless rollback highlights the Trump administration's complete contempt for our climate," said Kassie Siegel, director of the Climate Law Institute at the Center for Biological Diversity, an advocacy group. "The EPA is now so determined to actually increase greenhouse pollution that it's even shrugging off concerns from oil and gas companies about gutting these protections. Fracked gas is a climate killer, and Trump's rash embrace of this dirty stuff showcases the need for the next president to commit to a rapid phase-out of fossil fuels."
https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/article/Trump-administration-to-reverse-limits-on-14397062.php
August 24, 2019
The Democratic presidential candidate was describing the way the president blusters about the National Rifle Association. Candidate Kamala Harris has a slightly bizarre but surprisingly apt description of President Donald Trump: As a “puffy fish.”
The California senator used the marine metaphor Friday during a speech at the Democratic National Committee’s meeting in San Francisco to describe how the president deals with the National Rifle Association and its chief executive, Wayne LaPierre.
“When he coddles the NRA, you know he blusters a lot ― it reminds me of a puffy fish,” she said. “He’s just always blustering, right? Then he gets a few calls from Wayne LaPierre and, all of a sudden, nothing of what we need to have in terms of smart gun safety laws in this country.”
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/donald-trump-puffy-fish-kamala-harris_n_5d606581e4b0dfcbd48d5d4b
Kamala Harris Hilariously Compares Trump To 'A Puffy Fish'
From the HUFFPOST:The Democratic presidential candidate was describing the way the president blusters about the National Rifle Association. Candidate Kamala Harris has a slightly bizarre but surprisingly apt description of President Donald Trump: As a “puffy fish.”
The California senator used the marine metaphor Friday during a speech at the Democratic National Committee’s meeting in San Francisco to describe how the president deals with the National Rifle Association and its chief executive, Wayne LaPierre.
“When he coddles the NRA, you know he blusters a lot ― it reminds me of a puffy fish,” she said. “He’s just always blustering, right? Then he gets a few calls from Wayne LaPierre and, all of a sudden, nothing of what we need to have in terms of smart gun safety laws in this country.”
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/donald-trump-puffy-fish-kamala-harris_n_5d606581e4b0dfcbd48d5d4b
August 24, 2019
Bears Ears: A Story of Native American Homelands
“Rising from the center of the southeastern Utah landscape and visible from every direction are twin buttes so distinctive that in each of the native languages of the region their name is the same: Hoon'Naqvut, Shash Jáa, Kwiyagatu Nukavachi, Ansh An Lashokdiwe, or ‘Bears Ears.’”
– Barack Obama
For native peoples of the Colorado Plateau, the Bears Ears region is home. For hundreds of generations, their ancestors lived, raised their children, and buried their elders here. Their artists carved figures and left handprints on the rock walls. Clues about their daily lives—baskets, pottery, tools, and weapons—still remain (to be pillaged under a new Trump fiasco).
https://www.grandcanyontrust.org/bears-ears-story-homelands
Plan allows drilling, grazing near national monument in Utah
ByBRADY MCCOMBS, ASSOCIATED PRESS
SALT LAKE CITY — Aug 23, 2019, 6:30 PM ET
A new U.S. government management plan unveiled Friday clears the way for coal mining and oil and gas drilling on land that used to be off limits as part of a sprawling national monument in Utah before President Donald Trump downsized the protected area two years ago.
The plan released by the Bureau of Land Management would also open more lands to cattle grazing and recreation and acknowledges there could be "adverse effects" on land and resources in the monument.
But while allowing more activities, the plan would also add a few safeguards...
Among them are opening fewer acres to ATVs and cancelling a plan that would have allowed people to collect some non-dinosaur fossils (including Native American religious relics) in certain areas.
The monument has seen a 63% increase in visitors over the past decade, hosting 1.1 million people from October 2017 through September 2018, according to U.S. government figures.
Conservation and paleontology groups have filed ongoing lawsuits to stop the downsizing.
https://abcnews.go.com/Lifestyle/wireStory/apnewsbreak-us-government-issues-final-utah-monument-plan-65141619
ByBRADY MCCOMBS, ASSOCIATED PRESS
SALT LAKE CITY — Aug 23, 2019, 6:30 PM ET
A new U.S. government management plan unveiled Friday clears the way for coal mining and oil and gas drilling on land that used to be off limits as part of a sprawling national monument in Utah before President Donald Trump downsized the protected area two years ago.
The plan released by the Bureau of Land Management would also open more lands to cattle grazing and recreation and acknowledges there could be "adverse effects" on land and resources in the monument.
But while allowing more activities, the plan would also add a few safeguards...
Among them are opening fewer acres to ATVs and cancelling a plan that would have allowed people to collect some non-dinosaur fossils (including Native American religious relics) in certain areas.
The monument has seen a 63% increase in visitors over the past decade, hosting 1.1 million people from October 2017 through September 2018, according to U.S. government figures.
Conservation and paleontology groups have filed ongoing lawsuits to stop the downsizing.
https://abcnews.go.com/Lifestyle/wireStory/apnewsbreak-us-government-issues-final-utah-monument-plan-65141619
August 23, 2019
This story is just beginning...
Developing news about FBI "Deep State" & "Men In Black"
Former officials deny ex-CEO's claim FBI asked him to pursue Maria Butina
By David Shortell and Caroline Kelly, CNN
Washington (CNN)Two former top FBI officials deny former Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne's claim that the FBI directed him in the summer before the 2016 election to pursue a "romantic relationship with Maria Butina," the Russian woman who was accused of seeking to win influence in powerful Republican circles at the behest of her country's government.
The claim was made in a live, 30-minute -- and at times bizarre -- interview on CNN Thursday, the same day that Byrne resigned from his company. He quit days after issuing a press release invoking claims of a "deep state," which prompted a steep stock market fall. News of his resignation saw a rebound.
It has not been verified by the agencies, and spokespeople for the Justice Department and FBI declined to comment. Reached Thursday evening by CNN, Comey called Byrne's claim "ridiculous."
https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/23/politics/patrick-byrne-maria-butina-fbi-relationship-cnntv/index.html?utm_source=CNN+Five+Things&utm_campaign=f3b08a9daf-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2019_08_23_08_39&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_6da287d761-f3b08a9daf-104928233
By David Shortell and Caroline Kelly, CNN
Washington (CNN)Two former top FBI officials deny former Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne's claim that the FBI directed him in the summer before the 2016 election to pursue a "romantic relationship with Maria Butina," the Russian woman who was accused of seeking to win influence in powerful Republican circles at the behest of her country's government.
The claim was made in a live, 30-minute -- and at times bizarre -- interview on CNN Thursday, the same day that Byrne resigned from his company. He quit days after issuing a press release invoking claims of a "deep state," which prompted a steep stock market fall. News of his resignation saw a rebound.
It has not been verified by the agencies, and spokespeople for the Justice Department and FBI declined to comment. Reached Thursday evening by CNN, Comey called Byrne's claim "ridiculous."
https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/23/politics/patrick-byrne-maria-butina-fbi-relationship-cnntv/index.html?utm_source=CNN+Five+Things&utm_campaign=f3b08a9daf-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2019_08_23_08_39&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_6da287d761-f3b08a9daf-104928233
Overstock CEO Resigns After Unusual Message About 'Deep State'
Byrne drew attention last week after releasing a statement claiming he was part of federal investigations related to the 2016 election. In the press release titled “Overstock.com CEO Comments on Deep State,” Byrne referred to federal investigators as “the Men in Black” in referencing investigations relating to political espionage and the rule of law.
https://time.com/5659045/overstock-ceo-resigns-deep-state/
Byrne drew attention last week after releasing a statement claiming he was part of federal investigations related to the 2016 election. In the press release titled “Overstock.com CEO Comments on Deep State,” Byrne referred to federal investigators as “the Men in Black” in referencing investigations relating to political espionage and the rule of law.
https://time.com/5659045/overstock-ceo-resigns-deep-state/
This story is just beginning...
August 23, 2019
The Starr Report, officially the Referral from Independent Counsel Kenneth W. Starr in Conformity with the Requirement of Title 28, United States Code, Section 595(c), is a United States federal government report on the investigation of President Bill Clinton. Delivered uredacted to the United States Congress on September 9, 1998, allegations in the report led to the impeachment of Clinton and the five-year suspension of his law license.
(The Independent Counsel was an independent prosecutor—distinct from the Attorney General of the United States Department of Justice—who provided reports to the United States Congress under 28 U.S.C. § 595.)
The law conferred broad investigative powers on Starr and the other independent counsels named to investigate the administration, including the right to subpoena nearly anyone who might have information relevant to the particular investigation, including US Secret Service Agents. Starr would later receive authority to conduct a wide variety of additional investigations. (aka a "witch-hunt"
At the time it was released, the Starr report was criticized for making accusations irrelevant to the investigation. The report claimed "the details are crucial to an informed evaluation of the testimony, the credibility of witnesses, and the reliability of other evidence. Many of the details reveal highly personal information; many are sexually explicit. This is unfortunate, but it is essential." Because Starr's office leaked portions to press about sexual details that were mentioned in his report, he was criticized for using the scandal as a political maneuver.
(aka media circus)
Do you want to compare reports by Robert Mueller (R) and Ken Starr?
Here are some specifics on the Starr Report. Readers at D.U. can compare these facts to the redacted Mueller Report and make pertinent comments.The Starr Report, officially the Referral from Independent Counsel Kenneth W. Starr in Conformity with the Requirement of Title 28, United States Code, Section 595(c), is a United States federal government report on the investigation of President Bill Clinton. Delivered uredacted to the United States Congress on September 9, 1998, allegations in the report led to the impeachment of Clinton and the five-year suspension of his law license.
(The Independent Counsel was an independent prosecutor—distinct from the Attorney General of the United States Department of Justice—who provided reports to the United States Congress under 28 U.S.C. § 595.)
The law conferred broad investigative powers on Starr and the other independent counsels named to investigate the administration, including the right to subpoena nearly anyone who might have information relevant to the particular investigation, including US Secret Service Agents. Starr would later receive authority to conduct a wide variety of additional investigations. (aka a "witch-hunt"
At the time it was released, the Starr report was criticized for making accusations irrelevant to the investigation. The report claimed "the details are crucial to an informed evaluation of the testimony, the credibility of witnesses, and the reliability of other evidence. Many of the details reveal highly personal information; many are sexually explicit. This is unfortunate, but it is essential." Because Starr's office leaked portions to press about sexual details that were mentioned in his report, he was criticized for using the scandal as a political maneuver.
(aka media circus)
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