Military Genius Trump Blasts Combat Vet Mark Esper

High School Cadet Capt. Trump. Thank you for your service.

The latest horrifying details about the Trump administration come from former Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, who revealed that the 45th US Commander-in-chief wanted to attack Mexico with missiles, order combat troops to shoot police brutality demonstrators, and strip US forces from South Korea as payback for the success of Samsung TVs here.

Trump responded to these revelations by calling his former SecDef “weak.”

West Point graduate Mark Esper was Trump’s more-or-less 5th Secretary of Defense. Dr. Esper, a veteran of the Army’s 101st Airborne Division, was awarded the Bronze Star for his service in Iraq. Donald J. Trump was a cadet at New York Military Academy, a private high school.  You may recall that Mr. Trump has a service-related disability: he was gravely wounded as soon as he became eligible for the Vietnam draft lottery, and was treated (on paper) by a podiatrist at a Queens NY storefront he rented from Fred Trump, Donald’s dad.

Updates:

“Trump wanted to court-martial prominent retired officers, book says,” Dan Lamothe, Washington Post

“Trump Kept Asking if China Was Shooting Us With a ‘Hurricane Gun,’” Asawin Suebsaeng and Adam Rawnsley, Rolling Stone

“Trump complained US Navy ships ‘look ugly’: Esper,” Olafimihan Oshin, The Hill

“‘I Want to Meet With the Taliban’: Tales of Trump’s Head-Scratching Diplomacy,” Mark Esper, Politico

“Trump Wanted to Execute Leakers But Was ‘Biggest Leaker of All,’ Esper Says,” Daily Beast

_________________
Short link: https://wp.me/p6sb6-z0L

Top image: Cadet Capt. Trump’s high school picture. Download a copy here.

Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not boring or obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.

Anti-Trafficking Watchdog Gave a Pass to Rich Sex Trafficker

In 2008, when Alexander Acosta was U.S. Attorney in Miami, he arranged a sweetheart deal for wealthy sexual predator Jeffrey Epstein, who targeted underaged girls. Mr. Alexander is now U.S. Secretary of Labor, the Trump cabinet official charged with preventing human trafficking, a stated priority for President Trump.

As Labor Secretary, Alexander Acosta has tried to cut his agency’s anti-trafficking program by 80 percent. Now Jeffrey Epstein has been arrested on new sex trafficking charges in New York.

Updates:

“Acosta out as Labor secretary as Epstein child sex scandal engulfs White House,” John T. Bennett, The Hill

“Acosta to Resign as Trump’s Labor Secretary Over Epstein Plea Deal,” Annie Karni and Eileen Sullivan, New York Times

“Trump labor secretary Alex Acosta resigns amid Epstein plea deal scandal,” Amanda Holpuch, The Guardian

“Alex Acosta is the 5th Trump Cabinet member to leave thanks to a personal scandal,” Kathryn Krawczyk, The Week

More:

“Acosta defends wealthy sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s plea deal, says Epstein would’ve had no jail time if his office had not intervened,” Kimberly Kindy, Felicia Sonmez, Ashley Parker, and Seung Min Kim, Washington Post

“Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta has no good answer for cushy Jeffrey Epstein plea deal,” Anna North, Vox

“How a future Trump Cabinet member gave a serial sex abuser the deal of a lifetime,” Julie K. Brown, Miami Herald

“Trump’s Labor Secretary Once Helped a Billionaire Child Rapist Hide His Crimes,” Eric Levitz, New York Magazine

“Ex-Palm Beach attorney blasts Alex Acosta over Epstein criticism,” Ben Feuerherd, NY Post

Related:

“Trump praises Acosta,who faces growing calls to resign over earlier Epstein case,” John Wagner and Lisa Rein, Washington Post

“NYPD let convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein skip judge-ordered check-ins,” Elizabeth Rosner, Tina Moore, Larry Celona and Bruce Golding, NY Post

“Barr won’t recuse from Epstein prosecution but will remain uninvolved in any review of past plea deal,” Matt Zapotosky, Washington Post

“House panel requests Acosta’s testimony on Epstein’s 2008 plea deal,” Orion Rummler, Axios

“The Department of Labor Is Making It Harder for Trafficking Victims to Get Protection,” Isabela Dias, Pacific Standard

____________

Short link: https://wp.me/p6sb6-tmJ

Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not boring or obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.

Add to: Facebook | Digg | Del.icio.us | Stumbleupon | Reddit | Blinklist | Twitter | Technorati | Yahoo Buzz | Newsvine

Matt Whitaker: 5 Minute Man

Acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker, the temp employee Donald Trump installed as the nation’s chief law enforcement officer, appeared before the House Judiciary Committee last week. He had agreed to answer five minutes of questions from each committee member, but what he did was run out the clock. Instead of answering a question from Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D, NY-10), Mr. Whitaker replied “Mr. Chairman, I see that your five minutes is up.”

Running out the clock is really Acting AG Whitaker’s only job right now. William Barr is expected to be confirmed as a real Attorney General this week. If not, Mr. Whitaker may be subpoenaed to a second House Judiciary Committee meeting.

After the hearing Matt Whitaker celebrated by heading straight to Disney Land the new Department of Justice headquarters, the Trump Hotel.

More:

“Matthew Whitaker’s five minutes are up,” Dana Milbank, Washington Post

“The most powerful moment of the Whitaker hearing had nothing to do with Mueller,” Aaron Rupar, Vox

“Matthew Whitaker Apparently Only Owns One Tie,” Joe Patrice, Above the Law

_____________

Short link: https://wp.me/p6sb6-sHO

Image by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not boring or obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.

Add to: Facebook | Digg | Del.icio.us | Stumbleupon | Reddit | Blinklist | Twitter | Technorati | Yahoo Buzz | Newsvine

Betsy’s Public School Experience

We’ve all been saying that the Trump Administration’s for-profit-school-loving Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos has no experience in public schools, but that’s not exactly true. Working with a church group, Mrs. DeVos had her chauffeur drop her off at Burton Elementary School in Grand Rapids, where she tutored– “mentored” one student for one hour each week.

The public school, where 97.6% of students get free or reduced-price lunch, is 88% Latino, and many kids don’t speak English at home, so volunteers are appreciated. And billionaire Betsy DeVos did what any school volunteer would: hired the student’s mother as a maid and bought her a car. After a few years, Ms. DeVos subsidized the young girl’s transfer to a private Christian school.

So that’s how Betsy DeVos knows that school choice works. We look forward to new federal programs that provide jobs and cars to families of all poor students, nationwide.

 Radio producer Susan Burton explored Betsy DeVos’ public school experience for This American Life in an episode titled “Vouching Towards Bethlehem“:

Rick Perry Named Secretary of ‘Oops’

President-elect Donald Trump nominated former Texas governor Rick Perry as Secretary of  Energy, a department GOP candidate Perry would have abolished if he could have remembered what it was:

Ben Carson at HUD: Pyramid Scheme?

Last we heard of retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, he was proposed for Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, presumably because he lives in a house and once lived in a city. We assume President-elect Trump will appoint a city planner as Surgeon General.

Dr. Carson’s fascination with Egyptian pyramids may influence U.S. cityscapes during the Trump administration. On the other hand, his spokesman told the press that Ben Carson thinks he’s unqualified to run a federal department. Any department. Oh, and the good doctor recently diagnosed the HUD-administered Fair Housing laws as “communist.”

More:

“Ben Carson Is Trump’s Pick for HUD Secretary, for Some Terrible Reason,” Eric Levitz, New York Magazine

“Ben Carson for HUD Secretary, Why?” Kriston Capps, CityLab

“Stop Treating HUD Like A Second-Tier Department,” Andrew Flowers, FiveThirtyEight

Update:

“Turns Out Ben Carson Didn’t Grow Up in Public Housing,” Adam K. Raymond, New York Magazine

_____________

Short link: http://wp.me/p6sb6-oX7

Image by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not boring or obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.

 

Add to: Facebook | Digg | Del.icio.us | Stumbleupon | Reddit | Blinklist | Twitter | Technorati | Yahoo Buzz | Newsvine