Trump Administration

Trump Infrastructure Plan: Pay Tolls And Privatized Highways

January 31, 2018 By Steven Rosenfeld, Mintpressnews.com Educate! Infrastructure, Privatization, Transportation, Trump Administration

As President Donald Trump delivers his first State of the Union address Tuesday, pay close attention to his next big priority—an infrastructure plan—which, over time, could eclipse the trillion-dollar giveaway to the rich in the GOP’s just-passed tax plan. And track the response from Democrats, who will have to decide if they will back a plan drafted by privatization proponents, or if Democrats will represent the public and say no to years of paying off infrastructure bonds sold by Wall Street—tax free to investors—but eating up future tax revenues while imposing new user fees like highway tolls. “[The GOP-passed] tax cuts have slowly opened the door to Wall Street, construction giants, and global water companies, who see enormous potential for profits,” wrote Donald Cohen, president of In the Public Interest, an anti-privatization advocacy group.

The Useful Idiocy Of Donald Trump

January 30, 2018 By Chris Hedges, Truthdig.com Educate! Trump Administration, US Imperialism

The problem with Donald Trump is not that he is imbecilic and inept—it is that he has surrendered total power to the oligarchic and military elites. They get what they want. They do what they want. Although the president is a one-man wrecking crew aimed at democratic norms and institutions, although he has turned the United States into a laughingstock around the globe, our national crisis is embodied not in Trump but the corporate state’s now unfettered pillage. Trump, who has no inclination or ability to govern, has handed the machinery of government over to the bankers, corporate executives, right-wing think tanks, intelligence chiefs and generals. They are eradicating the few regulations and laws that inhibited a naked kleptocracy.

Guantánamo Attorneys Condemn Trump’s Planned Exec Order To Keep Prison Open

January 29, 2018 Staff, Ccrjustice.org Resist! Executive Order, Guantanamo Bay, Trump Administration

News of Trump’s forthcoming executive order on Guantánamo is confirmation of what his words and actions have already shown: that he intends to keep the prison open and keep everyone in it imprisoned. As some men enter their 17th year of detention without charge, and five continue to languish while being cleared for release, the only thing Trump has to say or do about it is issue an order further entrenching the prison and effectively sanctioning detainees’ continued punishment. His defiance in the face of national and international calls for Guantánamo's closure is, of course, rooted in his executive hubris, his anti-Muslim animus, and his disregard for law, under which these detentions are without question unprecedented.

Trump & Fed: Shadow Bankers Deepening Control Of US Economy

January 26, 2018 Staff, Telesurtv.net Educate! Banks, Finance and Economy, Trump Administration

Trump's imminent appointments of Fed chairs, vice-chairs and governors may prove the first step in the total capture of the US central bank by the shadow banker element in the US economy. What are sometimes referred to as 'shadow bankers' have been running the economy and drafting US domestic economic policy since Trump took office. 'Shadow banks' include investment banks, private equity firms, hedge funds, insurance companies, finance companies, and asset management companies. They exist outside the traditional commercial banking system (for example: Chase, Bank of America, Wells) and are virtually unregulated. Globally, they now control more investible liquid assets than do the world's commercial banks.

Thousands Protest At World Economic Forum In Davos

January 24, 2018 Ashitha Nagesh, Metro.co.uk Resist! Protests, Trump Administration, World Economic Forum

Thousands of people took to the streets of Zurich to protest against Donald Trump‘s presence at Davos. The US president has planned to attend the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Switzerland this week. In response, anti-capitalist activists called for protests under the slogans ‘Trump Not Welcome!’ and ‘Smash WEF!’ Trump is due to speak on Friday at the WEF meeting in the Alpine town of Davos, an annual meeting of global business and political leaders. That march went off peacefully, unlike violent anti-WEF protests in several Swiss cities that were held in the early 2000s. More than 4,000 Swiss soldiers have been deployed to guard DAvos, alongside 1,000 police officers. A no-fly zone was also put in place to protect delegates.

Anti-Trump Protest In Haiti Temporarily Shuts US Embassy

January 24, 2018 Staff, AP.org Resist! Haiti, Protests, Racism, Trump Administration, US Imperialism

The U.S. Embassy in the Haitian capital closed Monday as demonstrators gathered outside to protest President Donald Trump. More than a 1,000 people marched toward the embassy. They were prevented from reaching the gates by barricades set up by Haitian police. Officers in helmets and carrying shields eventually fired several rounds of tear gas after some protesters threw rocks at them outside the heavily fortified compound. Many Haitians were angered over reported disparaging remarks about Haiti by Trump and his administration's decision to end a program that gave temporary legal residency to about 60,000 Haitians in the United States. The embassy said it would be closed for the afternoon and directed employees in a statement to keep away during the protest. It was expected to reopen Tuesday.

Dangers Of Focusing All Our Attention On Donald Trump

January 24, 2018 Jerome Roos, Roarmag.org Strategize! Capitalism, Crisis, Electoral Politics, Trump Administration

It’s been a year since Donald Trump was inaugurated as the 45th President of the United States of America — and we’re already exhausted. Exhausted by the endless stream of sexist and racist bigotry pouring out of his hideous face and Twitter feed. Exhausted by the rapid succession of 24-hour scandals, one outrage sweeping another from the headlines before the immensity of the previous one has even begun to properly sink in. Exhausted by the immature personal grudges and individual fallings-out that are constantly played out in public amidst the gratuitous threats of nuclear annihilation. Exhausted by the gas-lighting narcissism, the power-hungry egotism and the self-aggrandizing vanity of a multi-billionaire businessman who has never known anything but public adulation for his inherited wealth.

FOIA Lawsuits Surge In Trump Administration’s First Year

January 20, 2018 Staff, Foiaproject.org Educate! FOIA, Lawsuit, Trump Administration

Since the new administration took office at the end of January 2017, there has been a sharp jump in the number of lawsuits filed by individuals and organizations seeking court orders to obtain federal government records.[1] Suits brought by the news media and nonprofit advocacy organizations have fueled a significant part of this rise. Under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), requesters can file suit when information they are seeking is withheld and they have exhausted administrative appeals, or when the agency fails to even respond in a timely manner. Lawsuits this past fiscal year rose an astonishing 26 percent, and are continuing to climb. FOIA court cases are now up over 70 percent from just five years ago.

Congress Votes To Move Forward With Surveillance Under Trump

January 18, 2018 By Alex Emmons, Theintercept.com Educate! Congress, Electoral Politics, Surveillance, Trump Administration

A CRITICAL MASS of Senate Democrats voted with Republicans on Tuesday to shut down any further debate on a bill that strengthens the government’s spying powers. The bill would renew a key surveillance authority for the National Security Agency until 2023 and consolidate the FBI’s power to search Americans’ digital communications without a warrant. The motion, which passed 60-38, virtually guarantees that the final bill will pass likely later this week and quashes any opportunity to debate whether protections should be added. Eighteen Democrats — including Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who had previously proposed an amendment to restrict the FBI’s surveillance authority — voted in support of the motion. They were joined by 41 Republicans and one independent, Angus King, giving the pro-surveillance bloc the supermajority needed to push the bill forward. Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Dan Sullivan, R-Ala., did not vote.

Majority Of National Parks Panel Quits In Protest Of Ryan Zinke

January 18, 2018 Lorraine Chow, Ecowatch.com Resist! Climate Change, Environment, Federal Agencies, Protests, Trump Administration

Nearly all members of the National Park Service advisory panel abruptly quit on Monday in protest of the Trumpadministration's policies, which they say have neglected science, climate change and environmental protections. "From all of the events of this past year I have a profound concern that the mission of stewardship, protection, and advancement of our National Parks has been set aside," the head of the panel, Tony Knowles, wrote in a letter of resignation addressed to Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, who oversees management of the country's national parks and monuments. The letter was signed by nine of the panel's 12 members. The bipartisan panel was appointed by former President Obama. The terms of the members who quit were due to expire in May.

California Is Preparing To Defend Its Waters From Trump Order

January 13, 2018 By Jane Kay, Revealnews.org Resist! California, Regulation, Trump Administration, Water

In its first act to shield California from the Trump administration’s repeal of regulations, the state’s water board has prepared its own rules protecting wetlands and other waters. The proposed new rules, scheduled for a vote by the board this summer, could insulate the state from President Donald Trump’s executive order to roll back the reach of the Clean Water Act. That rollback would strip federal protection from seasonal streambeds, isolated pools and other transitory wetlands, exposing them to damage, pollution or destruction from housing developments, energy companies and farms. “When you look at it from a historical perspective, California has lost the vast majority of the wetland resources,” said planner Paul Hann, who oversees the State Water Resources Control Board’s wetlands protection program. “We want to capture the rich diversity of wetlands across the state.

Trump Picks FERC Official With Potential Conflicts Of Interest

January 9, 2018 By Mark Hand, Thinkprogress.org Educate! Energy, FERC, Regulation, Trump Administration

By choosing a longtime corporate attorney to head the nation’s top energy regulatory agency, President Donald Trump stuck to his practice of nominating officials riddled with potential conflicts of interest to high-ranking roles in the U.S. government. As a partner with Jones Day, a prominent Washington, D.C. law firm, Kevin McIntyre’s ties to energy companies that fall under the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) jurisdiction were so numerous and ran so deep that his swearing-in as chairman of the agency was delayed to give him more time to sever the relationships. After his first meeting as chairman on December 21, McIntyre explained to reporters that unlike most commissioners, he worked in private practice for almost 30 years representing companies that are regulated by FERC.

Trump Ends TPS For 200,000 Salvadorans Seeking Sanctuary

January 9, 2018 By Molly Olmstead, Slate.com Resist! El Salvador, Immigration, Trump Administration

The Trump administration announced Monday it was ending a humanitarian program that allowed nearly 200,000 Salvadorans who fled catastrophic conditions in their home country to remain in the country legally. The program, Temporary Protected Status, was first opened up to Salvadorans—the largest group to benefit from the program—in 2001 after two earthquakes devastated the country and killed more than 1,000 people. The program was repeatedly extended through the Bush and Obama administrations as violence, fueled by gangs, made returning to the country alarmingly dangerous. The danger remains, but the Trump administration has argued that the program was never intended to last as long as it has. The administration has already rescinded the protections for the 59,000 Haitians who arrived after the 2010 earthquake and a couple thousand Nicaraguans.

California Regulations May Hinder Trump Effort To Renew Offshore Drilling

January 8, 2018 By Ellen Knickmeyer, Talkingpointsmemo.com Educate! California, Offshore Drilling, Regulation, Trump Administration

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — In the decades since a 1969 oil spill near Santa Barbara tarred sea-life and gave rise to the U.S. environmental movement, politicians and environmental activists have built up ample ways to make it difficult but not impossible for the Trump administration to renew drilling off California’s coast. The Interior Department said Thursday it plans to open most federal waters off the United States to oil leases. In California, where no new federal leases offshore have been approved since 1984, Gov. Jerry Brown joined governors of Oregon and Washington in vowing to do “whatever it takes” to stop that from happening off the West Coast. State officials, environmental groups and oil-industry analysts say California has solid regulatory and legal means to try to make good on that threat.

Trump Moves To Open 90% Of Our Coastal Waters To Oil Drilling

January 6, 2018 By Rhea Suh, Ecowatch.com Educate! Drilling, Oil and Gas, Trump Administration

President Trump has launched the most sweeping industrial assault in history on our oceans, marine life, coasts and all they support, proposing to expose nearly all U.S. waters to the risk of another BP oil spill–style disaster. In a move that would put every American coastal community at risk, Trump proposed Thursday to hand over vast reaches of waters currently protected from drilling—in the eastern Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic, Pacific and Arctic oceans—to the oil and gas industry. If Trump gets his way, iconic fishing grounds like George's Bank, treasured recreational waters like the Florida Straits, and critical marine-breeding areas like those off the California coast would be exposed to the dangers of blowouts, explosions, catastrophic spills, seismic blasting and other perils that come with these inherently hazardous industrial operations at sea.

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