The Greene County Democrat

Category: Newswire

  • Trump Atrocities Report (TAR) #3

    mya 1.jpgWe continue our report on the outrageous and harmful actions taken by the Trump Administration and its Republican supporters in Congress, which hurt the working people of America.

    We are numbering the atrocities consecutively, so you will have to go back to previous papers or go to our website on line at http://www.greenecodemocrat.com to see the prior atrocities committed by no. 45, his cabinet, cronies and supporters.

    Atrocity No. 9: Trump is getting payments from foreign governments. He is receiving payments from foreign government through his business holdings in other countries, in direct violation of the “emoluments clause” of the U. S. Constitution. We do not know which governments and what amounts because Trump has never released his income tax returns that might shed some light on these issues. We hope the Congressional investigation of Trump’s dealings with Russia, China, Ukraine and other countries will reveal some of the facts on these secret dealings.

    Atrocity No. 10: Trump has accused the press of promoting “fake news” while at the same time saying leaks from the White House are false and dangerous. He continues to sew confusion and dissension over news that he does not agree without clarifying what is true and what is “alternative truth”.

    Atrocity No. 11: The Trump Administration has removed racist and white supremacist groups from the terrorist watch-lists. The only groups highlighted now are “Islamic terrorist groups”. The KKK and other indigenous groups, practicing terror within the borders of the country, are no longer listed and being followed by law enforcement.

    Please feel free to send us information on public policy atrocities you think that this Administration is committing, especially those which hurt its supporters.

  • Senator Hank Sanders – We will not pay the city to reenact the ‘Bloody Sunday March’; Bridge Crossing Jubilee and Slow Ride to Montgomery will go forward

    Singleton, Sewell, Turner.jpg

    Congresswoman Terri Sewell receives “Drum Major for Freedom Award” at the Jimmie Lee Jackson Day program in Marion on Sunday, February 19, 2017. This program sponsored by the Perry County Civic League marks the beginning of a three-week celebration of the right to vote in Alabama. L to R are: Sen. Bobby Singleton, Ms. Willie Nell Avery Congresswoman Terri Sewell and Albert Turner.

    At a press conference on Wednesday morning at the Alabama State Legislature, State Senator Hank Sanders said the Bridge Crossing Jubilee received a letter from the City of Selma charging $23,882 for police protection, plus an undetermined amount for clean-up after the four day celebration of the right to vote and commemoration of the 1965 Bloody Sunday March, which led to passage of the Voting Rights Act.
    “We paid the price in blood to march in 1965 and we will not pay the police and clean-up fees that the City of Selma is charging us for this year. This is an effort by some in the City to stop this event or take it over.

    We will fight this attack by the city in every arena and every way we can,” said Sanders.
    “This is not a question of money, since the City of Selma receives thousands of dollars in sales tax money from people who come to the multi-day event. We have 40 to 50 different events, mostly workshops, films, and meetings, which are indoors in churches and public buildings that do not require any police involvement.
    “We start Thursday evening, March 2, 2017, with a mass meeting at Tabernacle Baptist Church. There will be workshops and programs on Friday and Saturday; a breakfast on Sunday March 5, church services and the March Re-enactment on Sunday evening from 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM. The slow ride from Selma to Montgomery begins Monday, March 6 with the assembling of cars on the east side of the bridge.
    “The City is trying to charge us for four days of police protection and clean-up for ordinary church and workshop meetings that they never charge anyone else for holding. We have one parade and the March re-enactment, which draws thousands of people. The attack on the Bridge Crossing Jubilee is unprecedented and illegal. We will not pay this bill and we will fight it every way we can.”
    Sanders was asked about the Battle of Selma re-enactment, which has also been charged for police and clean-up fees. They have set up a Go-Fund-Me page on the Internet to raise money. Sanders said, “The Battle of Selma re-enactment takes place outside on City owned property and does not bring as many people to stay in Selma. But we welcome the Battle of Selma people to join our fight against the city’s fees.”

    Schedule for the Bridge Crossing Jubilee
    Leaders and organizers of Bloody Sunday and the Selma-to-Montgomery March Commemorations and the Bridge Crossing Jubilee held a news conference last week to discuss the upcoming events in Selma being held March 2nd through the 6th.
    This year, 2017, marks the 52nd Anniversary of Bloody Sunday and the Selma-to-Montgomery March and the 25th Anniversary of the Bridge Crossing Jubilee, which began in1992 and has been held every year since then.
    Sen. Hank Sanders, one of the leaders of the effort, said: “It is all coming together. This is the largest annual Civil Rights gathering in the country, where tens of thousands come every year. More than one hundred thousand came on just one day – the 50th anniversary of ‘Bloody Sunday’ in 2015, two years ago.
    When you have 40-50 events, it takes so much of everything: so many people, so much money, and so much effort, so much working together to make it happen.”
    Dr. James M. Mitchell, President of Wallace Community College Selma (WCCS) and Chair of the Selma-to-Montgomery Commemoration Foundation said: “Rev. William J. Barber II, internationally known leader and founder of the Moral Movement, will be headlining the events on Sunday. No national leader is fighting more effectively to protect the right to vote than Rev. Barber. He will be speaking at the Martin and Coretta King Unity Breakfast at Wallace Community College Selma on Sunday, March 5th at 7:30 a.m., then briefly at Brown Chapel AME Church where the March starts following the breakfast, and at the foot of the Bridge.
    Rev. Barber will also lead the Selma-to-Montgomery Slow Ride on Monday, March 6th. Other nationally known leaders are participating and will be announced in the coming days. The media is invited to all events.”
    There are many educational activities throughout the week, and Wallace Community College Selma hosts workshops and other educational events that are free to the public. The Bridge Crossing Jubilee includes events in downtown Selma, at WCCS, and at other locations across Selma from Thursday, March 2nd through Monday, March 6th.
    Faya Rose Toure (Sanders), volunteer coordinator of the Bridge Crossing Jubilee, said: “I want to encourage everyone to come out. No one is too young or too old. We’re excited about all of the events – not just this year, but every year.”
    Sam Walker of the National Voting Rights Museum said: “From time-to-time we do the full March from Selma to Montgomery. This year, we are doing a Selma-to-Montgomery Slow Ride on Monday, March 6th. The Slow Ride consists of a long line of vehicles making the commemorative journey from Selma to Montgomery. It begins at 9:00 a.m. in Selma on the Montgomery side of the Bridge and arrives in Montgomery at 11:00 a.m. for an outdoor rally on the Capitol Steps followed by a workshop on protecting voting rights in the Joint Briefing Room on the 8th Floor of the State House. We invite people with vehicles to begin assembling at 8:00 AM so we can start on time with at least 52 vehicles (cars, trucks, vans, SUV’s school buses, church buses) – all are welcome.
    Rep. Thad McClammy of Montgomery said: “I was in Selma and Montgomery in 1965 when all of these momentous events were taking place. These events and the power of nonviolence changed the nation. They also became a worldwide symbol for voting rights. The Bloody Sunday and Selma-to-Montgomery March Commemorations and the Bridge Crossing Jubilee are not just local, state or national events. They are international events. We are happy to witness another historic year, on this the 52nd Anniversary.”

    For more information and a detailed schedule of events, go to: http://www.selmajubilee.com on the Internet or call 334/526-2626.

  • African refugees look north to Canada as U. S. deportations rise

    welcome-in-canada
    Welcoming group at Canadian airport

    Feb. 20, 2017 (GIN) – Refugees including some from Africa have been trekking through subzero weather at the northern U.S. border with Canada in a bid to escape a new wave of deportations from the U.S.

    Last week, a family of eight reportedly from the Sudan managed to cross the border just as a U.S. immigration official attempted to block their way. One member of the group said they had been living and working in Delaware for the past two years.
    A record number of people seeking refugee status have been pouring over the Canada-U.S. border as the U.S. looks to tighten its policies on refugees and illegal immigrants. Last month, 452 people filed petitions in Quebec compared to 137 in the same month a year before.
    During the January – October 2016 period, refugee applicants included 895 Chinese citizens, 945 Nigerian citizens, and 575 people of Turkish nationality. In addition to these, Canada registered 90 Americans making refugee claims. Somalis also make up a large percentage of the refugee group.
    Despite Canada’s more open policy toward refugees and immigrants, however, refugees can also be detained and jailed. The Vancouver-based advocacy group No One is illegal, said 87,317 migrants were detained in Canada between 2006 and 2014, and sometimes put in provincial jails. They can be detained for months, and in cases where the applicant has mental health issues, they may be held for years.
    Meanwhile, leaders of the Somali community in Minneapolis are warning their fellow countrymen not to risk their lives by trekking across the U.S.-Canada border in freezing nighttime temperatures.
    Minneapolis community activist Omar Jamal told CTV Winnipeg that he has counseled as many as 30 families — mostly from Minnesota but also from Ohio — against crossing the border. About half have gone anyway, he said. Jamal said families are paying $600 to $1,000 a person for rides to the border, often with small children.
    Jibril Afyareh, an advocate with the Somali Citizens League, agreed that many of those heading north are people who have already been rejected by the U.S., and are now worried about deportation by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
    Afyareh said he urges people to “stay calm” and avoid the risk of crossing into Canada.
    He also said the ban has had a devastating effect on those who saw the U.S. as a beacon of freedom but are now being told “you don’t belong here.”
    “Obviously we need to secure and work on the safety of this country,” Afyareh said. “I do this every day, working with the youth attorney trying to stop radicalization. But this (travel ban) defeats the purpose,” he added. “This sends the message that you’re not wanted by this country which is not the case.”

  • Hundreds Rally for Science at Demonstration Near AAAS Meeting

    By: Lindzi Wessel Science Magazine

    labcoats-2-19-2017
    Boston’s Copley Square fills with people during the Rally to Stand Up for Science., Sarah McQuate ,

    BOSTON–Hundreds of science supporters gathered here in Copley Square this afternoon at a rally coinciding with the annual meeting of AAAS, which publishes Science. Ralliers chose the meeting—the first major gathering of scientists since Trump took office—as an opportune moment to demonstrate that the science community plans to fight recent policies that many see as dangerous to the role of science in society.

    “We scientists want to send a message to Mr. Trump, and that’s that America runs on science,” Geoffrey Supran, a postdoctoral fellow studying energy modeling at MIT and science history at Harvard, tells Science. “Neither scientists nor citizens are going to stand idly by while the administration peddles anti-science rhetoric and alternative facts.”

    The Rally to Stand Up for Science, which was supported by over a dozen science activism groups, is not the first of its kind, and it won’t be the last. Concerned scientists organized a similar event at the December American Geophysical Union conference in San Francisco, shortly after President Trump was elected. And science supporters in the hundreds of thousands have pledged to march in cities around the globe on Earth Day (22 April).

    While AAAS itself was not involved in the rally, many conference attendees headed to Copley Square for the demonstration. And in many ways the tone of the rally seemed to parallel the atmosphere within conference center walls, where this year’s meeting theme was “serving society through science policy.” Session titles included “Defending Science and Scientific Integrity in the Age of Trump” and “Science Policy in Transition: What to Expect in 2017 and Beyond.” Attendees jumped at the opportunity to ask major science policy leaders, like John Holdren, the former Science Adviser to Barack Obama, how they could help influence policy under the new administration.
    “The energy of this year’s meeting feels different,” says former State Department Science Adviser, Frances Colón. “Some people sound excited, some concerned, some even enraged, and they all want to get engaged.”

    Not all meeting attendees were on the same page, though. During a session on science policy, former congressman Bart Gordon (D-Tenn.) echoed worries expressed by some science community members that the march could be “dangerous,” by painting science as just another interest group. But Boston rally speakers contested that view, arguing that they are fighting to protect the public more than their own interests.

    “If I lose my university job, I have enough transferable skills in communication and data analysis that I could find some other work,” says rally speaker Jacquelyn Gill, a paleoecologist studying climate change at the University of Maine, who is also involved in planning the March for Science. “It’s not myself that I’m worried about, it’s the outcomes of my research for the stakeholders—who are the American public.”

    Harvard historian of science and popular author, Naomi Oreskes, expressed a similar sentiment to ralliers at Copley Square. “We don’t want to be here. We want to be doing science,” she said. “But we can no longer sit on the sidelines assuming someone else well do the work of protecting the integrity of science.”

    And not all ralliers were from the scientific community. Holding a sign reading, “Living proof that you can [love] God and science,” Cambridge, Mass. minister Kate Layzer says she came out because she believes “we need science to save the world.” Greg Savage, an Acton, Mass. resident who works in finance says he came out with his wife, Nancy, because “it scares us that science is being ignored.” A botanical artist, she added that the couple thinks “it’s great for scientists to speak out.”

    It’s not the first time in history scientists have spoken out, noted Supran, arguing that the tradition of scientists speaking “truth to power” dates back to the days when Galileo was persecuted by the Roman Catholic Church for insisting that the earth revolved around the sun. The last few weeks of activism have been a sign that “scientists have woken up,” he said, and are ready to fight back.

  • Patriots team members to sit out of White House visit, citing racism by Trump

    By Brittany Webb

    bennett-martellusMartellus Bennett
    (TriceEdneyWire.com) – Malcolm X once said, “A man who stands for nothing will fall for anything.”
    Despite having a career where taking a fall on the field is sometimes inevitable, several members of the New England Patriots football team have reportedly decided to stand for what they believe in. They say they will sit out of the traditional visit to the White House by the Super Bowl Championship team.
    So far, six players – five Black players and one White – have announced their decision to not participate in the team’s visit. Those players are reportedly Martellus Bennett, Devin McCourty, Chris Long, LeGarrette Blount, Alan Branch and Dont’a Hightower. Long is the White player who says he will not go.
    “I’m not going to the White House,” McCourty said in a text to TIME magazine. “Basic reason for me is I don’t feel accepted in the White House. With the president having so many strong opinions and prejudices I believe certain people might feel accepted there while others won’t.”
    That unwelcome feeling is a feeling that McCourty shares with Blount, who, when asked about the team’s visit to the White House on The Rich Eisen Show, said, “I will not… It’s just some of the things—I just don’t feel welcome into that house. I’m just going to leave it at that.”
    Bennett was the first player to announce his decision when he addressed the visit in a postgame press conference, citing opposition to President Trump as his reason. Despite his views, Bennett says there is no divide in the team because of political views.
    “We all have our beliefs,” Bennett said. “The thing is, we accept people for who they are. And that’s the biggest thing about what this country is really about. I don’t really care what you believe. It’s not going to separate me from accepting you for who you are.”
    Bennett says anyone wanting to know more about his reasons for not going to the White House should just follow him on Twitter. Among his most recent tweet was immediately following Trump’s announced travel ban.
    The date of the White House visit has not yet been publically announced. “America was built on inclusiveness not exclusiveness,” he tweeted.
    It was also apparent bias and statements made by the commander-in-chief that influenced Patriots safety McCourty from skipping the trip as well. Although Long did not go into detail about his decision to skip the visit, it can be assumed, by his previous statements regarding race relations in America, that he is not fond of the current president and his policies. Branch is choosing to stay at home with family, while Hightower says he’s “been there, done that.”
    After the team’s victory, President Trump tweeted his support for the team and his friends quarterback Tom Brady, team owner Bob Kraft and head coach Bill Belichick. “What an amazing comeback and win by the Patriots,” Trump tweeted. “Tom Brady, Bob Kraft and Coach B are total winners. Wow!”
    Despite being a friend of Trump, Kraft respects the decision of the players to not visit the White House. “This is America,” Kraft said on the Today Show. “We’re all free to do whatever’s best for us, and we’re just privileged to be in the position to be going.”
    This is not the first time a Patriot has opted out of the team’s visit to the White House. In 2015, Brady decided to skip the team visit to the White House, under the Obama administration, after defeating the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl in 2015.

  • President Trump and the Black Congressional Caucus plan to meet for the first time

    By Lauren Victoria Burke (NNPA Newswire Contributor)

    cong-black-caucus
     CBC members taken during a press conference outside of the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. in September 2016. (Freddie Allen/AMG/NNPA)
    Following a bizarre exchange with American Urban Radio Networks White House Correspondent April Ryan, the Congressional Black Caucus is in talks with President Donald Trump to set up a meeting.
    Trump asked, Ryan, a veteran Black journalist, if she could set up a meeting with him and the CBC, as if Ryan was an employee of the White House or a special assistant to the CBC. Ryan responded by saying, “I’m a journalist.”
    The confusing exchange was one of several moments at an unscheduled press conference Trump held at the White House on February 16.
    “Since the White House has reached out in an appropriate manner to request a meeting with the caucus, I am now in discussions with them about setting one up,” Congressional Black Caucus Chairman, Rep. Cedric Richmond (D-La.) said in a statement after the press conference concluded.
    During an interview on MSNBC on February 17, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said that, “Steve Bannon cannot be in the room,” when the CBC meets with President Trump. “He’s a stone cold racist.” Bannon is currently the president’s chief strategist and served as a high-ranking executive at Breitbart News, an online publication known for trafficking in right-wing, alternative news that Bannon himself defined as “the platform for the alt-right.” The term “alt-right” is increasingly used to describe a new and emerging movement of racists and White supremacists.

    Chairman Cedric Richmond (D-La.), said the following in response to President Trump’s comments regarding a meeting with the Black Caucus: “President Trump has been in office for almost a month and the Congressional Black Caucus — which at a historic 49 members is almost a fourth of the House Democratic Caucus and represents millions of African Americans — did not hear from the White House until we introduced ourselves on Twitter after the White House press conference today.”
    The statement continued: “For whatever reason, the letter the Congressional Black Caucus sent to then President-elect Trump and incoming White House officials on January 19 was not enough to get their attention. As the letter explained, President Trump’s ‘New Deal for Black America’ is ill-informed and insufficient and he would be wise to tap into the decades of expertise held by the Congressional Black Caucus when it comes to addressing issues that affect African Americans.”
    The CBC, which is now at its largest membership in history, traditionally requests a meeting with the new president after the inauguration. Ironically, some of the meetings the CBC had with President Obama, specifically on the topics of jobs and the challenges of Historically Black Colleges and Universities, have had tense moments. President Obama did not meet with the Congressional Black Caucus during his first year in office. Meetings between Obama and the CBC were scarce even though most of the members and the President were members of the same party.

    Lauren Victoria Burke is a political analyst who speaks on politics and African American leadership. She is also a frequent contributor to the NNPA Newswire and BlackPressUSA.com. Connect with Lauren by email at LBurke007@gmail.com and on Twitter at @LVBurke.

  • Tension mounts as Kenyan doctors, in east African nation, jailed in labor dispute

     

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    Protest in Kenya

        Feb. 13, 2017 (GIN) – Seven doctors leading a strike of public sector medical professionals were hauled off to jail as talks collapsed to end a four year running labor dispute. Over 5,000 workers are honoring the strike which began December 5.

    The Kenyan Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union has been calling on government to honor a wage deal signed in 2013 that would have provided pay raises and improved benefits and working conditions. Government however refused to honor the agreement, saying it was signed by a previous regime.

    Currently doctors earn an average basic salary of $400 to $850 per month compared to a Kenyan legislator who earns nearly $14,000 a month. The new agreement would push basic pay up to $37,700 and more for mid-level doctors.

    The agreement was also intended to boost Kenya’s public health system, with funds for medical research and doctor training to improve skills. It would also create 400 new residency positions, establish overtime pay, create a grievance procedure for equipment shortages, and hire 1,200 new doctors each year for four years to address the severe nationwide shortage.

    Dr Judy Karagania, an ophthalmology resident at Kenyatta National Hospital in Nairobi taking part in the walk out, listed some of the problems. “The machines break down frequently, the doctors are overwhelmed. The patients, they are so many that they’re lying on the ground.”

    Kenya’s reluctance to invest in a first-class health system seems counter intuitive as the country boasts one of world’s fastest growing economies and a national budget of about $16 billion.

    Corruption is a big part of the problem. In 2015, more than a quarter of the budget went missing entirely and only 1 percent was spent legally, according to a comprehensive audit by the independent auditor general. Of the $4.4 billion that disappeared, $53 million came from Kenya’s health ministry.  Further, during the same years in which the government was deliberating whether to raise doctors’ salaries, Kenyan politicians voted repeatedly to raise their own. Parliamentarians now earn about $5,000 per month and thousands of dollars more in annual perks. They are the second most highly paid politicians in the world.

    That hasn’t stopped government officials and the Kenyan media from denouncing the doctors as unethical. Leading national newspapers have painted the doctors as unreasonable, exaggerating doctors’ demands with erroneous information about what the agreement would entail.

    For now, union officials have called off all communications with President Uhuru Kenyatta’s government until their jailed leaders are released.

     

     

  • New study by Cornell Belcher shows: African-Americans feel ignored by the Democratic Party

     

    By Lauren Victoria Burke (NNPA Newswire Contributor)

    cornellbelcher_fallen_web120Cornell Belcher

     

    Cornell Belcher, the CEO of Brilliant Corners Research, said that it’s no surprise that Black voters have presented a very clear mandate to the Congressional Black Caucus to oppose the Trump Administration, because 92 percent of African Americans voted against President Trump.

    “However, to maintain this broad level of support among African American voters, Democrats more broadly will have to reevaluate the way they are engaging this critical section of [their] base,” Belcher said in a statement on February 9.

    Belcher made a presentation and presented his new study to members of the Congressional Black Caucus at their retreat on February 7. House Democrats then departed to Baltimore for their annual three-day retreat the next day.

    Belcher’s phone survey questioned 601 African Americans, at least 18 years-old, and registered to vote; the survey was conducted from January 4-8.

    The results of the Belcher survey showed that African American voters were dissatisfied with President Trump and the direction of the country, and want more drastic tactics used to fight programs and policies that negatively impact their communities. The results also showed that protecting social security, reforming the criminal justice system, keeping the country safe from terrorists and other issues are priorities for African Americans.

    “African Americans are the Democratic Party’s most loyal voters and they should be treated as such,” said Rep. Cedric Richmond (D-La.), the chairman of the CBC, regarding the new study. “The results of this survey are clear marching orders for the Congressional Black Caucus — African Americans want Democrats to stop using the same old playbook and to make substantive progress on the issues that affect their communities.”

    Here are some of the findings from Belcher’s study:

    — A large majority of African American voters (63 percent) feel taken for granted by the Democratic Party. This startling majority represents a growing problem among one of the most critical components of Democrats winning coalition. The outcome of the 2016 election was widely the result of this coalition splintering away from the top of the ticket along the margins with younger and browner voters.

    — The majority of African American voters (53 percent) want the Congressional Black Caucus to oppose President Trump. While 53 percent is not an overwhelming majority, it does represent an unusual decision for voters that normally prefer cooperation rather than obstruction from elected officials in Washington.

    — African-American voters broadly support more drastic tactics to obstruct the Trump administration, including not confirming President Trump’s appointees (53 percent), sit-ins and other acts of civil disobedience.

    — African-American voters are overwhelmingly dissatisfied (69 percent) with the direction of the country now, a drastic departure from the satisfaction they experienced during the Obama administration. Only 22 percent of African Americans are satisfied with direction of the country now, while 69 percent are dissatisfied.

    — The list of important priorities for African American voters includes:
    Protecting Social Security (88 percent, very important), keeping us safe from terrorists (78 percent), criminal justice reform (74 percent), reforming the election process so the candidate with the majority wins (72 percent), investigating Russian interference with the 2016 election (72 percent), protecting Obama’s legacy (71 percent), banning assault weapons (61 percent), and blocking Sessions (60 percent) are the top legislative priorities for African Americans nationally.

    Lauren Victoria Burke is a political analyst who speaks on politics and African American leadership. She is also a frequent contributor to the NNPA Newswire and BlackPressUSA.com. Connect with Lauren by email at LBurke007@gmail.com and on Twitter at @LVBurke.

  • Activists, Black Leaders anticipate what’s next as Federal Courts block Trump’s Travel Ban

     

    By Barrington M. Salmon

    (TriceEdneyWire.com) – Barely two weeks into his presidency, Donald Trump signed a travel ban targeting Muslims in seven countries effectively blocking citizens, visitors, students, professionals, refugees and even those who worked with the US military in Iraq from entering the United States.

    On Feb. 8, that ban was blocked by a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. It is a ruling that the Trump Administration could appeal to the U. S. Supreme Court or the executive order could be re-written as an attempt to meet legal and constitutional muster.

    Before the court ruling, the order denied entry to anyone from Iran, Iraq, Sudan, Syria, Libya, Somalia, and Yemen for 90 days. Trump’s action drew widespread condemnation and fierce opposition from civil rights and immigrant groups, national security experts and analysts and others deeply angered by the discriminatory nature of the ban and their concerns about the ethical and constitutional implications of the executive order. At the same time, Americans spooked by Trump’s constant assertions of an impending terror attack by praised the executive order and are pushing for stricter controls.

    Black leaders, including National Urban League President Marc Morial, say the ban opposes American values.

    “With the easy stroke of a pen, and a messy rollout, President Trump summarily stopped an entire class of people from entering the country, throwing airports into chaos and confusion, sparking spontaneous protests, delaying or halting family reunions and disrupting the lives of lawful immigrants both within and outside our nation’s borders,” wrote Morial in a statement.

    While the executive order fulfilled an oft-repeated campaign promise, administration officials and pundit acknowledged that the hurried nature of the rollout of the order and the decision by the president not to consult with affected agencies or members of Congress created unforeseen problems. This included confusion among those responsible for enforcing the order and chaos at airports as Customs and Immigrations officials detained men, women and children, put others on airplanes back to their points of origin and revoked travelers’ visas.

    The ruling of the three-member panel of judges from the US Court of Appeals, based in San Francisco, brought a semblance of calm and order by refusing to lift the emergency stay that a Seattle judge had earlier imposed.

    During oral arguments, the federal judges were unconvinced of the administration’s argument, citing among other issues, “the government’s shifting interpretations of the Executive Order and assertions of the president’s broad authority superseding that of the judiciary,” the three-judge panel wrote in the 29-page ruling. “The government has pointed to no evidence that any alien from any of the countries named in the order has perpetrated a terror attack in the United States. (And) rather than present evidence to explain the need for the Executive Order, the government has taken the position that we must not review its decision at all.”

    The panel’s ruling continued, “National defense cannot be deemed an end in itself, justifying any exercise of legislative power designed to promote such a goal. It would indeed be ironic if, in the name of national defense, we would sanction the subversion of one of those liberties … which make the defense of the Nation worthwhile.”

    Other critics of the travel moratorium – some of whom described it as “Un-American, counterproductive and possibly illegal – hailed the victory. Nihad Awad, national executive director of the Washington, DC-based Council on American-Islamic Relations, while praising the ruling, warned opponents of the measure not to get complacent.

    “We applaud this ruling as a reaffirmation of the strength and independence of our system of justice,” he said in a statement. “The decision adds to a long list of federal judges – both Republican and Democratic appointees – who found reason to block this discriminatory order. While this decision is critical, it is not the end of the legal process. Other courts across the country will be passing judgement on the order, and the US Supreme Court will likely weigh in at some point.”

    Hillary Clinton, who Trump bested to become president, posted a Twitter message saying simply, “3-0”.

    Prior to the ruling, Trump railed against judges in general and decried the politics he said suffuses the judicial system. He also blamed any judges who might rule against him as being responsible if there’s a terror attack against the United States.

    “SEE YOU IN COURT. THE SECURITY OF OUR NATION IS AT STAKE,” he tweeted immediately after the verdict.

    And to reporters at the White House Trump said: “It’s a political decision. We’re going to see them in court. It’s a very, very serious situation, so we look forward, as I just said, to seeing them in court. It’s a decision we’ll win, in my opinion, very easily.”

    Justice Department officials said in a statement that they were reviewing the decision and contemplating options. The case could be headed to the US Supreme Court which is short one justice. With the 4-4 liberal-conservative split on the High Court, it’s quite possible that the 9th Circuit ruling would reaffirm the lower court ruling. Perhaps this reality led administration officials to say that they would eschew going to the Supreme Court and pursue redress in federal courts.

    This legal saga portends what could be the first of any number of legal challenges to Trump’s controversial policies and pushback against his view that the executive has primacy over the judiciary despite constitutional checks and balances.

    The swift and furious public response to the travel ban caught authorities and activists observers by surprise.

    “The spontaneous support has been amazing. We called for a rally in Boston and 20,000 people came out. Normally, it’s like pulling teeth,” said Ibrahim Hooper, national communications director for the Washington, DC-based Council for Islamic-American Relations. “I’m not surprised at all that this has happened. He’s been telegraphing his intention to impose a complete ban since last year. We’d been expecting, anticipating some type of ban. This has had a tremendous impact on travelers, visiting grandmothers, students, and people coming and going home. It’s been a nightmare.”

  • Black Caucus Chairman, other racial caucuses, demand justice from Trump Administration

    By Jane Kennedy

    richmondattri-caucus.jpg
     New Congressional Black Caucus Chairman Cedric Richmond (D-La.) joins with members of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus to demand justice for all Americans from the Trump Administration. 

    (TriceEdneyWire.com) – The Congressional Tri-Caucus this week held a press conference to highlight red line issues they’re demanding the administration of President Donald J. Trump not cross.

    Led by Congressional Black Caucus Chairman Cedric Richmond(D-La.), Monday’s conference was initially called to express the lawmakers’ objections to the pending confirmation of Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions, Trump’s controversial pick to head the U.S. Department of Justice. Sessions has been under fire for his previous stances on civil rights and racial issues. The Tri-Caucus is comprised of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC), the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC).

    However, moments before the afternoon press conference began, Vice President Mike Pence cast a history making, tie-breaker vote to confirm another one of President Trump’s most contentious nominees – incoming Education Secretary Betsy DeVos.

    DeVos, a Michigan billionaire, faced fire from teachers unions and public education advocates and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle primarily because of what many considered to be a shocking lack of qualifications to serve at the helm of the Education Department and her advocacy of anti-public school policies. Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) and Susan Collins (Maine) voted against her nomination, forcing the vice president to break a tie for a cabinet confirmation for the first time ever.

    “It’s unprecedented that a vice president has had to help confirm a nominee for secretary of Education. I expect that Mrs. DeVos will have an incredibly harmful impact on public education and on Black communities nationwide,” Richmond said. “The Congressional Black Caucus will be watching her actions very closely and if she proves to be as extreme as advertised, we will fight her every step of the way.”

    The Louisiana lawmaker had equally harsh words for Sessions, whose confirmation unlike DeVos’, is expected to win unanimous Republican support. Echoing sentiments expressed when he testified at one of Sessions’ confirmation hearings, Richmond declared that the Alabama senator is not a friend of Lady Justice or of communities of color.

    Sessions was famously denied a federal judgeship in 1986 when the very chamber he now serves failed to clear him through committee because of accusations of racism. According to the CBC’s Richmond and the chairs of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, little if anything has changed about Sessions’ views on race and he cannot be counted on to provide equal justice for all.

    In his remarks Richmond noted the Alabama lawmaker’s disdain for the Black Lives Matter movement and his publically stated belief that consent decrees, such as the one received by the Ferguson, Missouri, police department to provide citizens relief from civil rights violations, are a ‘dangerous exercise of raw power.’ Richmond also questioned whether he can be relied upon to enforce and protect voting rights for all Americans.

    “Those are just some of the issues that we have with Sen. Sessions and his record and no matter how much time has passed, history has not changed and his actions have not changed,” Richmond said.

    Democrats are both flummoxed and frustrated by many of Trump’s cabinet picks, some of whom, like Sessions, have records that are seemingly contrary to the mission of the agencies they’ve been chosen to lead, or who like DeVos, are also woefully unfamiliar with their agency’s key issues, policies and laws. The latter, said California Rep. Barbara Lee, “is just another example of the Trump administration not understanding that we’re a country of the people, by the people, and for the people.”

    So, they also are preparing themselves to go to battle against any attempts to go backward and to forcefully challenge controversial and discriminatory proposals in committee rooms. Confirmation, Richmond warned, does not end the fight.

    “We’ve been through fights our entire career and we will use our positions on our various committees, our role as oversight, our role as appropriators and everything else to make sure that we hold this administration accountable. And one thing we will do is make sure that there’s daylight and transparency and that we call out the things that are done in the dark and done with discriminatory purpose,” he said.  “And, we’re going to make sure that we hold this administration to the standard of the presidency and make sure that they understand that the role of president is that you’re president for all of America.”