January 2, 2019

  • The Progressive Lens Monthly Round-up: December 2018

    Trump Era Days 681-711

     

    What was reported?

    • Unemployment for November remained unchanged, the economy added a mere 155,000 jobs, and wages barely rose by 6 cents.
    • It was found that Trump’s promise of $4 Trillion in repatriated profits from businesses after the major tax breaks passed last year proved to be a bust as the total repatriated profits reached a mere $514 Billion.
    • Trump’s Chief of Staff John Kelly decided to resign.
    • The emergence of populism spread further into France, giving rise to the “Yellow Vest” movement which itself is an angry response to higher taxes and fuel proposals to curb global warming by incentivizing the purchase of fuel efficient vehicles. The problem is that President Macron has also launched an assault on working class citizens there with labor reforms and reduced taxes on the wealthy. The result has been a burden shift to the working class.
    • Justice Kavanaugh joined with Chief Justice Roberts and the four supposedly liberal Justices to deny the conservatives the four votes they needed to hear a case on Medicaid funds for Planned Parenthood. This could have proved to be a crucial case on abortion rights.
    • A Russian spy named Maria Butina, who had infiltrated the NRA and influential Republican circles, was revealed to be cooperating with federal investigations as part of a plea deal.
    • Trump nominated former Attorney General – under George H.W. Bush – and Mueller critic William Barr to replace Sessions.
    • Trump nominated former Fox News personality and State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert to replace Nikki Haley as Ambassador to the United Nations.
    • For the first time officially, Trump was connected – via the Justice Department – to a criminal act on the federal level, at it was alleged that he personally ordered the use of money to silence two women who claimed sexual interaction with him.
    • Immersed in his own set of scandals, Trump’s Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke stepped down.
    • Angry over how he has been portrayed by “Saturday Night Live”, the President openly suggested on Twitter that the legal system should restrict the right to make fun of him.
    • Voyager 2 finally entered interstellar space.
    • It was discovered that thousands of mailed-in ballots weren’t counted in Florida because they were not delivered by the mandated deadline on Election Day.
    • Proving yet again that all that matters to them is power, Senate Republicans confirmed (with the help of Vice President Pence) Jonathan Kobes to a U.S. Circuit Court a nominee rated “unqualified” by the American Bar Association due to the difficulty the Association had in assessing the nominee’s credentials and his failure to meet their criteria.
    • The United States joined with Russia, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait to block the acceptance of the damning climate report into the UN’s COP 24 conference.
    • Seeing their grip on power slipping away, Wisconsin Republicans rushed through sweeping legislation which reduced early voting to two weeks, eliminated the Solicitor General’s office from the State Department of Justice – which limits the ability of any future Democratic Attorney General from challenging Republican achievements -, and which seriously otherwise limits the authority of future Governors. Also, in North Carolina, Republicans have attempted to put Republicans in charge of overseeing EVERY election in the state from now on.
    • The Trump Foundation – a money-laundering scheme masked as a charity – was ordered to be dissolved with all remaining assets to be disbursed to reputable charities preapproved by a New York Court.
    • The Justice Department took a surprisingly good move and redefined so-called “bump stocks” to classify them as a machine gun accessory so that they would effectively be banned under federal law.
    • The Trump Team released an ad urging voters to call an 800 number to “thank” the president for his supposed “hard work” before being redirected to the campaign.
    • The President refused to sign a continuing resolution to fund the government – which also had the effect of permitting the Violence Against Women Act to expire - because it did not have $5.7 Billion in funding for his wall. This was despite the fact that the Republican-controlled Congress had a bill with bipartisan support that they were ready to pass. Trump initially indicated that he would sign until he was faced with immense pressure from conservative media figures which threatened to upset the base. He later threatened to close the entire Southern border (an impractical proposal, but I digress) lest he get said funding for the wall.
    • The First Step Act was signed into law which reforms criminal justice and made low-level drug offenders find a pathway back into society, including qualifying for early-release through serving the last portion of their sentence out of prison in half-way houses and in programs meant to curb recidivism.
    • The Trump Administration argued that the EPA mercury emission standards for coal plants are no longer “necessary” and that the measures needed to enforce them are too costly for energy companies.
    • Trump shocked everyone by announcing withdrawals of forces from Syria and thousands of soldiers from Afghanistan. This triggered the resignation of Defense Secretary Mattis.
    • Education Secretary Betsy DeVos was forced by a federal court to cancel the student loan debt of citizens victimized by fraudulent private schools.
    • In the lame-duck session, the Republican General Assembly in Ohio overrode Governor Kasich’s veto of a number of bills, including one which included help for safety forces and their families, but which had been tainted with a provision that increased salaries for state elected officials. Then again, Kasich signed a bill which banned – without exception for rape or incest victims – abortions after 12 weeks of pregnancy via a process called “dilation and evacuation”.
    • Someone who will be sitting as an advisor to the EPA once allowed energy industry interests to edit his science journal.
    • President Trump visited our troops in Iraq for the first time and held a campaign-style rally wherein he lied to them, claiming that he secured for them a 10% pay raise.
    • It was found that the President’s Inaugural Committee may have been overcharged for services rendered to the Trump Organization via in large part the Trump Hotel in the Capitol. Additionally, Trump’s Businesses have been charging over a million dollars for services rendered to the President’s reelection campaign.
    • A Conservative Judge ruled the Affordable Care Act was unconstitutional in light of the 2017 tax law which repealed the individual mandate penalty.
    • The President used the USDA to change regulations in terms of distributing SNAP funds since the latest Farm Bill did not make it harder to receive benefits. The changes will expand the work requirements and force more states to abide by them.
    • As Wells Fargo has been laying off thousands of Americans to reduce their costs by $4 billion they have also been hiring workers from overseas.
    • The Supreme Court blocked the Trump Administration’s attempt to deny asylum to people who’ve entered the country illegally. This was done when Chief Justice Roberts proved to be a swing vote as both of Trump’s nominees on the bench sided with the Administration.

     

     

    Tonight’s Conclusion

     

                The first whole calendar year of the Trump presidency is now over. The month of December was a bit more tumultuous than all the other preceding months. From a wave of cabinet firings to extreme volatility on Wall Street. From a surprise announcement on Syria and Afghanistan to a government shutdown, December 2018 was certainly a month to remember. As you can probably tell from reading the summaries above, I didn’t exactly disagree with everything this president did in December. While I am concerned about his motives, the withdrawals from Syria and Afghanistan was a decision I agreed with…so long as we do so responsibly and so long as it is not done at the behest of an adversary. Likewise, I am firmly in favor of the First Step Act, as it could prove to be a very good reform for countless families across this country.

     

                Still, with the month of January upon us, the ongoing shutdown raging, and a new Congress prepared to be sworn in, we need to brace ourselves for this show to take on a new pace. It could get messy. The key is to keep an eye on those in power and to make sure that they remember who they serve: us.

     

    #NotMeUs #OurRevolution #TheResistance #ImpeachTrump

     

    Purchase my manifesto, “The Pillars of Unitism”.

     

    Before I part, here are some articles which may interest you:

     

    • None at this time.

     

    Until next time…

     

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