From Trump’s Mar-a-Lago to Facebook, a National Security Crisis in the Open

The following article by Michael D. Shear and Maggie Haberman was posted on the New York Times website February 13, 2017:

President Trump at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Fla., on Saturday. He and his aides coordinated a national security response there in full view of diners instead of moving to a private location. Credit Al Drago/The New York Times

WASHINGTON — President Trump and his top aides coordinated their response to North Korea’s missile test on Saturday night in full view of diners at Mr. Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida — a remarkable, public display of presidential activity that is almost always conducted in highly secure settings.

The scene — of aides huddled over their computers and the president on his cellphone at his club’s terrace — was captured by a club member dining not far away and published in pictures on his Facebook account. The images also show Mr. Trump conferring with his guest at the resort, Shinzo Abe, the Japanese prime minister. Continue reading “From Trump’s Mar-a-Lago to Facebook, a National Security Crisis in the Open”

Trump’s Watered-Down Ethics Rules Let a Lobbyist Help Run an Agency He Lobbied

The following article by Justin Elliott was posted on the ProPublica website February 10, 2017:

President Trump’s executive order on ethics also cites a section of the law that doesn’t exist.

President Trump speaks as Senate Majority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) listens at a Republican retreat on Thursday in Philadelphia. (Pool)

Geoff Burr spent much of the last decade as the chief lobbyist for a powerful construction industry trade group. Burr sought to influence a host of regulations of the Department of Labor, opposing wage standards for federal construction contracts and working against an effort to limit workers’ exposure to dangerous silica dust.

In the Obama administration, someone like Burr would have been barred by ethics rules from taking a job at an agency that he had lobbied. Continue reading “Trump’s Watered-Down Ethics Rules Let a Lobbyist Help Run an Agency He Lobbied”

Trump’s TV Star Fades: He’s No Longer A Ratings Magnet

The following article by Eric Boehlert was posted on the Media Matters website February 10, 2017:

President Donald Trump might have been cheering the New England Patriots’ historic comeback on Super Bowl Sunday, but he couldn’t have been happy about his own contribution to the day. His sit-down interviewwith Bill O’Reilly, which aired during Fox’s pre-Super Bowl coverage, turned out to be something of a ratings dud. And for a president who obsesses over TV ratings and uses them to validate his own identity, the Sunday interview seemed to be the latest example of his fading personal appeal.  Continue reading “Trump’s TV Star Fades: He’s No Longer A Ratings Magnet”

GOP hypocrisy on election aid

The following commentary from the Editorial Board was posted on the Washington Post website February 12:

Maryland’s new voting machines going from electronic touchscreen to paper ballots that are fed through a machine. (Marvin Joseph/The Washington Post)

ONE WOULD imagine that, with President Trump and other Republicans questioning the integrity of the nation’s election systems, Congress would create an agency to help state and local officials run clean and efficient polls. In fact, the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) already exists. At least for the moment: Despite all the GOP rhetoric about flawed elections, a GOP House committee voted along party lines last week to kill the commission. Continue reading “GOP hypocrisy on election aid”

Stephen Miller’s bushels of Pinocchios for false voter-fraud claims

The following Fact Checker article by Glenn Kessler was posted on the Washington Post website February 12, 2012:

White House senior policy adviser Stephen Miller. (Nicholas Kamm/AFP via Getty Images)

White House senior policy adviser Stephen Miller appeared on ABC’s “The Week” on Sunday, spouting a bunch of false talking points on alleged voter fraud. (He also repeated similar claims on other Sunday talk shows.) To his credit, host George Stephanopoulus repeatedly challenged Miller, noting that he had provided no evidence to support his claims. But Miller charged ahead, using the word “fact” three times in a vain effort to bolster his position.

Here’s a guide through the back and forth. Continue reading “Stephen Miller’s bushels of Pinocchios for false voter-fraud claims”

Russian dossier on Trump gaining credibility with law enforcement

The following video from CBS News was posted February 10, 2017:

 

The Takeaway: The Special Relationship

The following is from the Washington Post Today’s WorldView by Ishaan Tharoor was issued February 13, 2017. Teamed with President Trump stating he wasn’t aware of this issue this past Friday, the situation is extremely concerning on multiple levels.

President Trump’s national security adviser, Michael T. Flynn, had a pretty wretched week. The Post’s reporting revealed that Flynn, contrary to his and the White House’s earlier assertions, had discussed U.S. sanctions against Russia with Moscow’s ambassador in Washington prior to Trump’s inauguration. Flynn, according to intelligence sources, likely signaled that the question of sanctions would be revisited by a more friendly Trump administration. Continue reading “The Takeaway: The Special Relationship”

Response to immigration ban was poorly implemented

The following letter to the Editor was posted on the Edina Sun-Current website February 12, 2017:

To the editor:

U.S. Rep. Erik Paulsen says Donald Trump’s immigration ban was “poorly implemented.” But it’s Paulsen’s response to Trump that’s poorly implemented.

Any manager, executive, or hockey mom could tell that Trump’s implementation of the ban was bad. Poor communication, unclear directives and questionable authority turned hard-working officers in airports into Keystone Kops, embarrassing them, the federal government and the country. There’s little dispute there. Continue reading “Response to immigration ban was poorly implemented”

We Can’t Take His Word for It

English teachers beginning in the earliest grades demand that students writing essays or research papers support assertions with fact or expert opinion. Part of becoming a thoughtful, engaged citizen, the argument goes, is being able to make an argument and back it up with credible sources. An English teacher will often write in the margin of a draft of a research paper “It looks like you lack support for this assertion,” or “How did you draw this conclusion?”

Candidate Trump often employed unearned assertions throughout the campaign against his primary opponents and Hillary Clinton. As President of the United States, Donald Trump can no longer make unfounded assertions and a number of his most remarkable assertions demand evidence and further investigation. Continue reading “We Can’t Take His Word for It”