FOCUS: Smugglers Are Sawing Through New Sections of Trump's 'Virtually Impenetrable' Wall

03 November 19

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Sincere Thanks for Your Support During the Fires

Many of you stepped up for Reader Supported News in the last week of October. My area was in fact under mandatory evacuation and the situation was very unsettled. At this point calm has returned. I’ll be writing a longer piece on the my experiences shortly.

It bears noting that many of RSN’s team members were located in areas of the country not directed by California’s wildfires and they carried on very impressively.

That said November will bring with it the same fundraising challenges and high stakes for success. RSN: Of the people, for the people, funded by the people.

Seriously.

Marc Ash
Founder, Reader Supported News

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03 November 19

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FOCUS: Smugglers Are Sawing Through New Sections of Trump's 'Virtually Impenetrable' Wall

Nick Miroff, The Washington Post
Miroff writes: "Smuggling gangs in Mexico have repeatedly sawed through new sections of President Trump's border wall in recent months by using commercially available power tools, opening gaps large enough for people and drug loads to pass through, according to U.S. agents and officials with knowledge of the damage."
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RSN: Andy Borowitz | Trump's Lawyers Argue That He Cannot Be Impeached Because He Was Never Actually Elected

CLICK ON LINK!

RSN: Andy Borowitz | Trump's Lawyers Argue That He Cannot Be Impeached Because He Was Never Actually Elected

Jimmy Carter: Trump's Decision to Hire John Bolton Is 'a Disaster for Our Country'

Jimmy Carter: Trump's Decision to Hire John Bolton Is 'a Disaster for Our Country'

Police barricade the area surrounding the home of suspected Austin bomber Mark Anthony Conditt in Pflugerville, Texas, on March 21st, 2018. (photo: Drew Anthony Smith/Getty Images)

Lone Wolves Are Actually a Pack: How White American Terrorists Are Radicalized
David M. Perry, Pacific Standard
Perry writes: "They're reading the same websites, talking to each other, and killing the same targets. The lone wolves are actually a pack."
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The Post Most: Mueller just drew his most direct line to date between the Trump campaign and Russia

The Post Most: Mueller just drew his most direct line to date between the Trump campaign and Russia

Mort Rosenblum | America's Next Referendumb Is for Keeps

Mort Rosenblum | America's Next Referendumb Is for Keeps

Screengrab of Gina Haspel leading a toast to Ambassador Hugh Montgomery at an awards dinner in October 2017. (photo: YouTube)

On Torture, War Crimes and Trump's Pick for CIA Director
Larry Beinhart, Al Jazeera
Beinhart writes: "Within the United States, there is a 'debate' over whether 'enhanced interrogation' was legitimate or illegitimate. Here's a test for Americans who can't figure it out."
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The Daily 202: Winners and losers in the spending bill

The Daily 202: Winners and losers in the spending bill

2. Defense contractors: The Pentagon gets $144 billion for new hardware, including missile defense. It’s the biggest increase since the Iraq war was launched 15 years ago.

3. Dean Heller: The Nevada Republican is the most vulnerable senator up for reelection in 2018, and he blocked efforts by the Energy Department to revive the unpopular nuclear storage program at Yucca Mountain. The ads write themselves.

6. Big Bird: The Corporation for Public Broadcasting will get $465 million in federal funding. Appropriators also rejected Trump’s push to eliminate the National Endowments for the Arts and Humanities.

7. The integrity of our elections: “While a Democratic push to win provisions protecting special counsel Robert S. Mueller III did not succeed, the bill does include hundreds of millions of dollars to combat potential interference from Russia or others in the November midterm elections,”  Mike DeBonis and Erica Werner report. “The federal Election Assistance Commission will receive $380 million to dole out to states to improve their election-related cybersecurity. And the FBI is set to receive $300 million in counterintelligence funding to combat Russian hacking."

7. Transparency: The bill was released late on the night before the House votes to pass it. Negotiations were conducted behind closed doors, and dropping it at the 11th hour leaves little time for people to scrutinize the many handouts to special interests until after they’ve gone into effect. This is no way to run a government. (Here’s the full bill if you want to peruse it yourself.)

But, but, but: There are two notable exceptions. The Congressional Research Service now must publish online all the reports it prepares for lawmakers. The Secret Service will be required to release an annual report on travel costs for people under their protection, specifically adult children of the president. This is designed to expose how much taxpayers are spending to safeguard Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump on their overseas business trips.

The FDA said it has seen an uptick in an “unusual” cancer linked to breast implants in the past year, with the number of reported cases rising from 359 to 414. Health officials noted that the death count has remained unchanged. (New York Times)

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Fact Checker: Does the Palestinian Authority pay $350 million a year to ‘terrorists and their families’?

Fact Checker: Does the Palestinian Authority pay $350 million a year to ‘terrorists and their families’?

Masha Gessen | The Women's March, Louis Farrakhan, and the Disease of American Political Life

Masha Gessen | The Women's March, Louis Farrakhan, and the Disease of American Political Life

House speaks Paul Ryan of Wis. discusses the Republican agenda as he faces reporters during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, March 30, 2017. (photo: J. Scott Applewhite/AP)

Students to March 50 Miles to Paul Ryan's Hometown to Demand Gun Control
Rebecca Savransky, The Hill
Savransky writes: "Students in Wisconsin are organizing a 50-mile march to Speaker Paul Ryan's (R-Wis.) hometown later this month to demand action on gun control."
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Mort Rosenblum | War and Peace Abridged

Mort Rosenblum | War and Peace Abridged

Trump Voter Furious that Border Wall will Fence Her House into… (Wait For It)… Mexico! (VIDEO)

Trump voter Pat Bell of River Bend, Texas, discovered that the wall her president promised may shove her out of Texas and leave her fenced in on the Mexican side of the border.

And, according to CNN, the Loops aren’t the only ones. Hundreds, perhaps even thousands, U.S. citizens may have to give up their private property in order for the border wall to be built.

Furthermore, CNN found that there is a lot of precedence for this already. One family had their farm cut in half, with one part in the U.S. and the other in Mexico, a decade ago. According to the owner, D’Ann Loop, she now enters the United States through a gate in the fence around her property.

I was very angry, I just kept saying, how can they do that? How is that possible in the United States that they can do this? They put up a fence in front of our land and then keep us in here — lock us in. I didn’t understand. I was very — I was floored and flabbergasted.”

Trump Voter Vows To Fight

And although Pat Bell admits she voted for Trump, she says she never supported his wall. She plans to get a lawyer and fight to stay in the United States.

“Absolutely I would go to the people who are in charge and, you hate to say I would get a lawyer, but if it comes to that issue, you would,” Bell said.

RELATED: As Calls For Trump Impeachment Grow Louder, Cities Taking Action

It’s almost like building a wall that will do little to halt the imaginary flood of illegal immigrants that Donald Trump made up is actually a really bad idea. Go figure. With hundreds, perhaps even thousands, of families at risk of ending up on the wrong side of the fence, perhaps Bell won’t be the only Trump voter to realize the error or her ways.

We can always hope.

http://reverbpress.com/news/trump-voter-border-wall-mexico-video/

Progressive Breakfast: Trump's Bid to Pit Black and Brown Workers Against Each Other

MORNING MESSAGE

Isaiah Poole

Trump’s Bid to Pit Black and Brown Workers Against Each Other

President Trump is resurrecting an old lie about immigration to feign concern about black unemployment, even as his administration actively assaults the very dignity of African-American people.

Trump Wants to Cut Legal Immigration by Half

Trump, GOP senators introduce bill to slash legal immigration levels. WaPo:“President Trump on Wednesday endorsed a new bill in the Senate aimed at slashing legal immigration levels in half over a decade… a ‘merit-based’ immigration system that would put a greater emphasis on the job skills of foreigners over their ties to family in the United States. The legislation seeks to reduce the annual distribution of green cards awarding permanent legal residence to just over 500,000 from more than 1 million.”

White House aide battles reporters over Trump immigration plan. The Hill:“During a combative briefing at the White House, Miller accused a CNN reporter of showing ‘cosmopolitan bias for questioning whether the policy upholds American values and cast doubt on the Statue of Liberty’s historical significance as a beacon for immigrants. That all came after Miller got into a heated exchange with a New York Times reporter over whether there is statistical evidence to back up the administration’s claim that cutting the number of green cards would help American workers.”

NAACP Issues First-Ever Travel Advisory

NAACP issues first-ever warning on travel through Missouri. CNN:“The NAACP is sending a strong message to people of color traveling through Missouri: Go at your own risk. The organization is circulating a travel advisory after the state passed a law that Missouri’s NAACP conference says allows for legal discrimination. The warning cites several discriminatory incidents in Missouri, included as examples of ‘looming danger’ in the state. The NAACP says this is the first travel advisory ever issued by the organization, at the state or national level.”

Trump Urged Mexican Leader to Lie About Border Wall

Trump urged Mexican president to end his public defiance on border wall, transcript reveals. WaPo:“In his first White House call with Mexico’s president, Trump described his vow to charge Mexico as a growing political problem, pressuring the Mexican leader to stop saying publicly that his government would never pay. ‘You cannot say that to the press,’ Trump said repeatedly, according to a transcript of the Jan. 27 call obtained by The Washington Post. Trump made clear that he realized the funding would have to come from other sources but threatened to cut off contact if Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto continued to make defiant statements. The funding ‘will work out in the formula somehow,’ Trump said, adding later that ‘it will come out in the wash, and that is okay.’ But ‘if you are going to say that Mexico is not going to pay for the wall, then I do not want to meet with you guys anymore because I cannot live with that.'”

Progressive Breakfast is a daily morning email highlighting news stories of interest to activists. Progressive Breakfast and OurFuture.org are projects of People's Action. more »

Progressive Breakfast: The Mooch, the Donald, and the Goldmanization of Government

FRIDAY, JULY

TODAY: 

MORNING MESSAGE

Richard Eskow

The Mooch, the Donald, and the Goldmanization of Government

Donald Trump’s White House seems more like a Quentin Tarantino movie every day. Amid allegations of broken laws and self-dealing at the highest levels, the president has now hired a Communications Director called “The Mooch.”

Join Us To Say Our Lives Are On The Line

On Saturday, July 29, people are coming together all across America at over 150 events and in Washington, D.C. to say affordable, effective health care saves lives.Join us July 29 at an event near you to say Our Lives Are On The Line.Protect Medicaid and health care for everyone in the country.

Senate Votes Against ‘Skinny” Health Repeal

Senate rejects slimmed down Obamacare repeal. NYT:“The Senate on Friday rejected a new, scaled-down Republican plan to repeal parts of the Affordable Care Act, seemingly derailing the Republicans’ seven-year campaign to dismantle the health care law… The truncated Republican plan was far less than what Republicans once envisioned. Republican leaders, unable to overcome complaints from both moderate and conservative members of their caucus, said the skeletal plan was just a vehicle to permit negotiations with the House, which passed a much more ambitious repeal bill in early May.”

WV’s Sen. Capito votes for health repeal, 52 years after her father voted to create Medicaid & Medicare. Charlotte Gazette-Mail:“Over the last 52 years, Medicaid has saved countless lives, providing vital care for the elderly, the poor and the disabled. It also remains one of the most popular government programs in history, with strong majorities supporting it across party lines. But many — though not all — Republicans in Senate are rush headlong to gut it. Sen. Capito should not be one of those senators. She should stand with the more than 500,000 West Virginians who count on Medicaid to get us the care we need to live the healthiest, most independent lives possible.”

Defeat of ‘skinny’ bill ends, for now, health debate. NPR:“‘This is clearly a disappointing moment,’ Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said immediately after the bill failed… McConnell, who seemed to exhaust every trick in the procedural playbook to get to this point, seemed surprised and undercut by the result. The defeat ends — for now — the health care debate in Congress. The chamber adjourned following the defeat and there are no further Senate votes this week. In the short-term, the Senate intends to move on to defense legislation and the nomination of Christopher Wray to be the next FBI Director.”

House Approves Trump Spending, Border Wall

House Approves Spending Package, Border Wall and All“The House approved on Thursday a bundle of spending bills, including $1.57 billion that President Trump requested to build a wall along the Mexican border, which could serve as the opening salvo in a new congressional battle to keep the government funded. The nearly $790 billion package, which passed 235 to 192, would fund a slew of security-related government expenses and gave House Republicans a fresh victory on the cusp of a more than five-week recess. Five Republicans voted against the measure, and five Democrats voted for it. But the legislation is almost certain to fail in the Senate, where picking up the tab for Mr. Trump’s signature campaign promise — a border wall, which he has vowed Mexico ultimately will fund — is a deal-breaker for Democrats.”

Justice Dept. Argues Civil Rights Do Not Protect Gay Workers

Justice claims rights law doesn’t protect gay workers. BuzzFeed:“The US Justice Department on Wednesday argued in a major federal lawsuit that a 1964 civil rights law doesn’t protect gay workers from discrimination, thereby diverging from a separate, autonomous federal agency that had supported the gay plaintiff’s case. The Trump administration’s filing is unusual in part because the Justice Department isn’t a party in the case, and the department doesn’t typically weigh in on private employment lawsuits.”

GOP Senator Wants to Limit Trump’s Powers

Sen. Graham to introduce bill limiting Trump’s ability to fire the Special Counsel investigating him. New York Magazine:“Senator Lindsey Graham said Thursday that any attempt by President Trump to remove special counsel Robert Mueller “could be the beginning of the end of the Trump presidency,” and unveiled plans for legislation that would make it much harder for any special counsel to be fired… If Graham’s bill makes it through both the House and Senate, it would mark the second high-profile instance of Congress showing at least some willingness to constrain Trump’s power. The first will arrive on Trump’s desk any day now in the form of a bill that slaps new sanctions on Russia and removes his power to remove those sanctions without congressional approval.”

More from OurFuture.org:

Problems Posed By School Choice Can’t Be Ignored. Jeff Bryant:“Enraged school-choice advocates denying fact-based criticism from Randi Weingarten and the NAACP can’t continue to ignore the sordid past of their cause, and the problems posed for students and families by charter schools and vouchers today.”

Progressive Breakfast is a daily morning email highlighting news stories of interest to activists. Progressive Breakfast and OurFuture.org are projects of People's Action. more »

RSN: Fired US Attorney Preet Bharara Said to Have Been Investigating HHS Secretary Tom Price

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Reader Supported News

GAMING READER SUPPORTED NEWS IS POINTLESS, NO? Obviously if thirty thousand people are coming here every day and 30 are donating then - a lot - of people think this should be free. It isn't. Sitting back and watching the organization struggle accomplishes what? Where are we going here? / Marc Ash - Founder, Reader Supported News

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Trevor Timm | Everyone Loves Bernie Sanders. Except, It Seems, the Democratic Party 
 
Trevor Timm, Guardian UK 
Timm writes: "If you look at the numbers, Bernie Sanders is the most popular politician in America - and it's not even close. Yet bizarrely, the Democratic party - out of power across the country and increasingly irrelevant - still refuses to embrace him and his message. It's increasingly clear they do so at their own peril." 
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The Courts Gave Trump Great News About His Muslim Ban, and Almost No One Noticed
Ian Millhiser, ThinkProgress 
Millhiser writes: "Two big stories broke Wednesday regarding President Trump's Muslim ban, but only one of them received the headlines it deserved. Worse, the largely unmentioned story is likely to have much deeper implications for the future than the story that dominated the news." 
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Fired US Attorney Preet Bharara Said to Have Been Investigating HHS Secretary Tom Price 
Robert Faturechi, ProPublica 
Faturechi writes: "Former U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, who was removed from his post by the Trump administration last week, was overseeing an investigation into stock trades made by the president's health secretary, according to a person familiar with the office." 
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Who Is Really Paying for Donald Trump's Border Wall? 
Massoud Hayoun, Al Jazeera 
Hayoun writes: "Former Mexican President Vicente Fox made international headlines when he tweeted to US President Donald Trump, 'Mexico is not going to pay for that f****** wall."' 
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US-Made Apache Helicopter Guns Down Boat Full of Somali Refugees Fleeing Yemen 
Robbie Gramer, Foreign Policy 
Gramer writes: "Refugees crossing oceans to flee war and famine have to contend with the risks drowning, dehydration and other perils on their journey. Now add Apache helicopters to the list." 
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UN: Disturbing Pattern in Violence Against Colombian Activists 
teleSUR 
Excerpt: "The U.N. high commissioner for human rights released its report on the Colombian peace process noting a 'deeply worrying' pattern of violence against human rights activists and community leaders." 
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3 Months and Counting: Pipeline Leaks Natural Gas Into Alaska's Cook Inlet 
Lorraine Chow, EcoWatch 
Chow writes: "For more than three months, an underwater pipeline has been spewing hundreds of thousands of cubic feet of processed natural gas per day in Alaska's Cook Inlet, possibly threatening critically endangered beluga whales, fish and other wildlife." 
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