US Politics Mega-thread - Page 8238

A candidate for a top position at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) pulled his name from consideration for the job on Thursday after President Trump's announcement that transgender Americans would be banned from serving in the armed forces "in any capacity."

John Fluharty, a former executive director of the Delaware Republican party, told the agency in an email that he was no longer seeking the position of assistant secretary of partnership and engagement after Trump's announcement on Twitter Wednesday morning.

Fluharty wrote in the email, first obtained by Politico, that Trump's surprise decision to ban all transgender troops from serving in the armed forces "runs counter to my deeply held beliefs."

"As I mentioned in our conversation, I am a strong advocate for diversity, both in the Republican Party and in government," Fluharty wrote. "The President's announcement this morning - that he will ban all of those who identify as transgender from military service - runs counter to my deeply held beliefs, and it would be impossible for me to commit to serving the Administration knowing that I would be working against those values."

Fluharty confirmed the email in a message to The Hill, and added that the agency handled his withdrawal in a "respectful and professional" manner.

"I am grateful for having been asked to interview," Fluharty told The Hill, "and DHS handled my response in a respectful and professional manner."

In an email to Politico, the Department of Homeland Security confirmed Fluharty's decision and stated that none of the other candidates being considered had notified the agency that they were dropping out of consideration.

"He was one of many candidates being considered and he withdrew from consideration," DHS spokesman David Lapan said in an email.

"We're not aware of anyone else who withdrew for that reason."

On July 29 2017 00:11 farvacola wrote:
lol, that is without a doubt the dumbest thing Huckabee has ever said, and boy is that a high bar to make.

On July 29 2017 00:18 Gorsameth wrote:

It won't work in America because the entire system is dysfunctional but on its own its not necessarily a bad thing.

In the Netherlands our 'Senate" is elected by our 'State' government, who themselves are elected by the people and it works.

The problem in the US is not the system (tho that could certainly use radical change to get rid of the 2 party system), its the voters who keep electing these clowns.

On July 29 2017 00:11 farvacola wrote:
lol, that is without a doubt the dumbest thing Huckabee has ever said, and boy is that a high bar to make.

On July 29 2017 00:18 Gorsameth wrote:

It won't work in America because the entire system is dysfunctional but on its own its not necessarily a bad thing.

In the Netherlands our 'Senate" is elected by our 'State' government, who themselves are elected by the people and it works.

The problem in the US is not the system (tho that could certainly use radical change to get rid of the 2 party system), its the voters who keep electing these clowns.

On July 29 2017 00:39 farvacola wrote:

In order for a bill to go before the president for signing or veto, it needs to be approved by both chambers through a conference committee containing both senators and representatives. There are a few exceptions, like joint committees on taxes and the reconciliation process.

In Brentwood our community fears two things,” said Carlos Piovanetti as he thumbed through a bulging legal dossier strewn out on his desk. “There’s an immense fear of violent crime, and a tremendous fear of the government, of being picked up and deported.”

This small hamlet on Long Island, an hour’s drive from New York City, has recently found itself under the national spotlight following a series of gruesome local murders linked to the now notorious MS-13 gang. On Friday, Donald Trump will visit Brentwood, which has for decades attracted Hispanic migrants, including thousands from El Salvador. Here, he will deliver a speech in which he is expected to call for greater resources to crackdown on undocumented immigrants after claiming earlier in the week that his administration is “liberating” American cities from gang violence.

“We are throwing MS-13 the hell out of here so fast,” the president said in Ohio on Tuesday. “And, well, I will just tell you this, we’re not doing it in a politically correct fashion.”

The gang has become the symbolic focal point of Trump’s harsh immigration regime. But while the violence is recognised as a scourge on the community, some in Brentwood question the administration’s approach to tackling the issue and point to Trump’s ignorance of the group’s origins and history.

Piovanetti, the managing attorney for the nonprofit Immigration Legal Services of Long Island, believed the legal dossier laid out on his desk, and the “garbage evidence” it contained, proved part of the point.

It related to the case of one 18-year-old undocumented El Salvadoran, who did not want to be named or interviewed, picked up as part of Operation Matador, an ongoing gang and immigration enforcement action headed by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in partnership with local police. The teenager, who according to his attorneys was the drummer in a local church band and a hardworking high school student, had been arrested by local officers in April on a minor misdemeanour for failing to state his date of birth correctly. It was his first alleged criminal offense but he was apprehended by immigration authorities nonetheless, and was later labelled an MS-13 gang member.

In a memo to court seen by the Guardian, DHS claimed the boy had been observed in March last year “flashing an MS-13 hand sign” and had been seen on other occasions with other “confirmed MS-13 members” and had worn “clothing and accessories” indicative of MS-13. But the memo cited no sworn or documentary evidence for the claims and did not attribute a source for the allegations. The teenager was granted bail despite the memo’s request he be detained until a full trial.

“How can they be presenting this garbage to a judge?” Piovanetti said. “It just breeds more distrust. I know families here who are too afraid to go to the supermarket out of fear of being detained.” The Guardian is aware of at least one more memo used in a similar case, citing unsourced non-criminal allegations of gang affiliation against young undocumented El Salvadorans arrested around Brentwood.

Suffolk County Police Department, the local agency who supplied DHS with the evidence of alleged gang ties, has been contacted for comment on the memo.

Such a strategy, said Piovanetti, who has practised immigration law in New York for decades, is unprecedented and indicative of the sweeping new powers DHS enjoys under the Trump administration.

But the operation has also seen some success.

At a White House press conference on Thursday, surrounded by images of MS-13 gang tattoos, acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) director Thomas Homan told reporters that Operation Matador had “netted” over 100 gang members and affiliates since it began in May. Two juveniles apprehended in the operation had been implicated in a brutal MS-13 related quadruple homicide earlier in the year. The effort has also led to another gang member admitting involvement in the horrific murders of two teenage girls from Brentwood High School in September last year. Earlier this month, 17 MS-13 members were indicted on federal charges over their alleged role in a number of recent killings (local police attribute 27 murders to the gang since 2013).

There is little doubt that Trump’s strategy on MS-13 also serves up red meat to his base around the US. The president has frequently pointed to a declared crackdown on the organisation as evidence of an election promise to clamp down on criminal migrants, despite the fact that immigration arrests of those with no criminal history are surging around the US.

Critics point out the president has exhibited little to no grasp of the gang’s complex history, which is tangled in both US foreign and domestic policy. Instead, Trump has sought, incorrectly, to place blame on the previous administration for the recent spate of violence.

On July 29 2017 00:42 KwarK wrote:
So sad for McConnell. Imagine if the one thing you wanted to do in your life, more than anything else, was to take healthcare from upwards of twenty million Americans. That was all you needed to be truly happy. And you've been trying for years without success. Then, for the last six months, the promise of finally getting it was dangled in front of you and each morning you think to yourself "maybe today, maybe today is the day I get to close all the medicare funded rural hospitals". Last night happens and he's seesawing between "OMG it's finally happening" and "no Mitch, you've been hurt before, don't get your hopes up" but he just can't help himself, they have a pre-vote before the vote and everyone indicates how they plan to vote and he just knows his dream is going to come true. And then John 'Rambo' 'Call me Maverick' McCain just rips it all from him and micdrops. And as all his hopes are shattered and the tears form in his eyes the cameras all zoom in on his face to immortalize his loss. Mitch#2017 Never4get.

On July 29 2017 00:45 WolfintheSheep wrote:

Good to know. Makes a little more sense at least, though it seems that would lead to a lot of punting of responsibility.