Daily Archives: September 12, 2021

January 6 Committee Tightens the Screws Despite Republican Warnings – The New Republic

Posted: September 12, 2021 at 10:14 am

Earlier this month, House Minority LeaderKevin McCarthy responded to a demand by the committee for telecom companies topreserve records related to the attack by threatening retribution.

If these companies comply with the Democratorder to turn over private information, they are in violation of federal lawand subject to losing their ability to operate in the United States,McCarthy said in a statement posted to Twitter. More aggressively, he addedthat the Republican majority will not forget if the companies comply with themajority.

Other Republicans have made similar arguments, and a group of GOP lawmakers sought to try to counter the committees requestby demanding that social media and telecom companies preserve thecommunication and phone records of Democrat representatives for futureinvestigative usea request that doesnt relate in any serious way to January 6.

McCarthy and other congressional Republicans,including those the committee is reportedly seeking records for, have sincebeen arguing that the 30-some telecom companies that received the request arelegally obligated not to comply. That argument was called into question bylegal experts, though. In response to McCarthys argument that telecom companiesare required to protect the records the committee is asking for, former Federal Communications Commission Chair TomWheeler was among the many experts who said those laws dont apply here.

Follow this link:

January 6 Committee Tightens the Screws Despite Republican Warnings - The New Republic

Posted in Republican | Comments Off on January 6 Committee Tightens the Screws Despite Republican Warnings – The New Republic

Will the Ohio Republican Party endorse Gov. Mike DeWine’s reelection bid? Not this week – The Cincinnati Enquirer

Posted: at 10:14 am

Winning over the Ohio Republican Partyshouldn't be a tall task for Gov. Mike DeWine.

But the state party's66-member governing body will meet Friday without considering an endorsement for DeWine, Ohio's incumbent GOP governor running for reelection in 2022.

Instead, the Ohio Republican Party will consider endorsements for state supreme courtcontenders.The Ohio GOP could endorse DeWine at a future meeting their next one is set for December but some state central committee members frustrated withhow the governor handled COVID-19 are trying to block any endorsement.

Subscribe: Get a great deal on a full-access subscription

Strongsville GOPleader Shannon Burns said local Republicans don't want the state Republican party to endorse in "legitimate primary races," such as Ohio governor and U.S. Senate.

DeWinefaces a primary from former U.S. Rep. Jim Renacci and Canal Winchester farmer Joe Blystone. U.S. Rep. Warren Davidson, of Troy, is also considering a bid. The U.S. Senate race is an even more crowded primary.

More: In battling COVID-19, Gov. DeWine infuriated some fellow Republicans. What does that mean for reelection?

Endorsements have been a divisive topic among Republicans in recent years with some still bristling over the Ohio Republican Party's endorsement of then-Gov. John Kasich for president in 2016. Kasich lost the GOP primary to then-candidate Donald Trump despite winning one state: Ohio.

Renacci, who sought and won the Ohio GOP's endorsement for U.S. Senate in 2018, said he doesnt think anybody should endorse until candidates file officially and even then its up to the voters to make that decision, not the parties.

I believe the problem is any time the hand of the state central committee goes on top of endorsing somebody, what that does is give that individual additional resources and money and many Republicans in Ohio think thats wrong, Renacci said.

Renacci, who chairs Medina Countys GOP, said the state party should instead focus on supporting candidates to run and helping county party operations across the state.

The divide over DeWine was exacerbated by the Ohio Republican Party's $500,000 donation to the governor's reelection campaign. The party also donated money or in-kind services to the remaining GOP state officeholders.

Chairman Bob Paduchik explained the sum in an Aug. 11 letter to state central committee members: "ORP has a longstanding tradition of supporting incumbent Republican elected officials during their term of office."

Paduchik also wrote that any decision to endorse 2022 candidates would come from a majority vote of the governing body.

When might that decision come? I cant get into internal deliberations about a timeline," Ohio Republican Party spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said.

Clermont County Republican Party Chairman Greg Simpson said he wants the state party to endorse DeWine for reelection. He said endorsements can help GOPcandidates, and DeWine has done a good job under impossible circumstances.

"Theres no road map for what he had to do," Simpson said.

Mary Ann Christie, a central committee member and former Madeira mayor, said she would prefer for voters choose the primary winner and have the state party back that person.

"There shouldnt be any endorsements going on," she said.

USA TODAY Network Ohio bureau chief Jackie Borchardt contributed.

Jessie Balmert is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Akron Beacon Journal, Cincinnati Enquirer, Columbus Dispatch and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.

Here is the original post:

Will the Ohio Republican Party endorse Gov. Mike DeWine's reelection bid? Not this week - The Cincinnati Enquirer

Posted in Republican | Comments Off on Will the Ohio Republican Party endorse Gov. Mike DeWine’s reelection bid? Not this week – The Cincinnati Enquirer

20 Years After 9/11, Republicans Are the Greatest Threat to the United States – Truthout

Posted: at 10:14 am

Snapshot of the moment: On the 20th anniversary of September 11, 2001, days after the president announced vaccination mandates intended to stop the 9/11-every-two-days death toll caused by the COVID pandemic, a Washington, D.C., rally planned for next Saturday celebrating people who invaded the Capitol Building and tried to overturn a free and fair election may become the flashpoint for further political violence because an astounding number of Republicans have been brought to believe Democrats are running a cannibal pedophile ring with Hollywood elites as part of a larger plot to take over the world.

Twenty years ago this morning, as I stood before a bank of televisions and watched the Twin Towers swaying in their death throes, I had a vision of what was to come. It was ridiculously incomplete, to be sure Nostradamus himself couldnt have pulled President Trump out of his hat but those events in combination with the people in power at that moment assured me we were headed for some very dark places.

Twenty years later, and all I can say is, I had no idea it would be like this. By this, I mean members of the very same Republican Party that pounced on 9/11 to wrap itself in the flag while attacking the Taliban and then Iraq has transmogrified into a pack of neo-Confederate would-be warriors, some of whom see the Talibans resurgence in Afghanistan as a model for future endeavors. The GOP was bad enough back then remember John Ashcroft shrouding the stone breasts of a statue so as not to be tempted, or something? but this new breed is thoroughly around the bend.

You cant blame it all on an economy that left them behind. A whole lot of these Republicans drive cars that cost more than your average three-bedroom house see: the gun-toting McMansion couple who got famous on the right-wing circuit for menacing peaceful protesters with an AR-15. What most of these people share in common is a frenzied terror that being white in America might be becoming less of a power ticket than it used to be, and hating Muslims 20 years ago has metastasized into hating everyone and everything that might threaten their centuries-old supremacy. Even you. Especially you.

If that includes disrupting and destroying elections, so be it. David Frum, the George W. Bush speechwriter who helped that Republican president sell fear to a traumatized nation, made an observation once. If conservatives become convinced that they cannot win democratically, he predicted, they will not abandon conservatism. They will reject democracy.

It turns out Frum was only half right. They are rejecting democracy wholesale (see: Trumps Big Lie), but in their tumbledown rush to please a failed real estate mogul, they are also abandoning the flaccid strictures of basic conservatism. Look no further than Texas and Florida, where right-wing governors are dropping the hammer on local governments and small business over COVID mask mandates.

Im so old, I remember when local government and small business were the reasons conservatives claimed they existed in the first place. Now, they exist to please Trump, and have gone so far out into the ether that people like John McCain, Mitt Romney, Liz Cheney, John Boehner and God-help-us even George W. Bush are considered to be too squishy-lefty to be tolerated in proper Republican circles.

All that, and they have foot-soldiers now, shock troops dressed in their finest tac gear and armed to the last tooth. These brigands are insinuating themselves into the ranks of anti-mask and anti-vax fanaticism, to the point that any school board meeting on these topics is likely to descend into a parking lot brawl, with fathers screaming at school board members, We will find you.

* * * * *

Flipping through the TV channels on Thursday night, I came across the first game of the NFL season. Someone was performing the national anthem, and I caught gave proof through the night that our flag was still there. The thought came of itself, immediate and unbidden Not in Afghanistan, not anymore and I fell down the stairwell of 20 years, again.

Thats been happening quite a bit lately, as this grim anniversary has lurked on the far side of news reports try to contain your shock about how our disastrous, useless, calamity war in that country came to a disastrous end. I mashed the buttons on the remote until some show about growing carrots came on, and I watched for a while in search of elusive calm; the very last thing I wanted to see was the God damned war machine flyover that has become a stinking staple of sporting events ever since the whole country went sideways into war, fear and failure.

Please clap, right? Twenty years, 20 miles of bad road, millions dead, damaged or displaced, trillions of dollars deftly handed to the fortunate few who sell the bullets and the bombs, criminal profiteers and their political enablers walking unencumbered in the daylight, hauling down small fortunes in speakers fees, and more again in fees for commentator gigs with the murderously complicit corporate news media.

All of it aftermath, the consequences of getting everything wrong since that day, and it has all only just begun, because a segment of the population spent 20 years bathing in far-right Republican Kool-aid the best stuff for fundraising, dontcha know and came out of the tub orange with rage, oblivious to the absurdities and the brazen picking of their pockets. Every time I see a vehicle with a Trump sticker next to an American flag sticker next to a Confederate flag sticker, a tiny part of my prefrontal lobe turns into pus and leaks out of my ear.

When did it start? Trump? The Tea Party? Newt Gingrich? Ronald Reagan? Richard Nixon? Barry Goldwater? Ayn Rand? Henry Ford? Appomattox? Wounded Knee? Jamestown? Cristbal Coln? From what bleak corner came the original sin that set us pinwheeling into this vortex of racism, greed, ignorance and violence?

Answer: Yes.

Upon this anniversary, I offer a dollop of purest truth to that cohort: Osama bin Laden and his friends got more than everything they came for 20 years ago, and you are the proof.

To the rest, I humbly proffer a bit of wisdom from Helen Keller: Rights are things which we get when we are strong enough to make our claim to them good.

To properly consecrate this day, endeavor to be stronger than those who seek to shred your rights out of a misguided fear that they are losing theirs. Quite an enormous amount depends on it.

Read the rest here:

20 Years After 9/11, Republicans Are the Greatest Threat to the United States - Truthout

Posted in Republican | Comments Off on 20 Years After 9/11, Republicans Are the Greatest Threat to the United States – Truthout

Psoriatic Arthritis Causes and Risk Factors – Healthline

Posted: at 10:14 am

Psoriasis is an autoimmune condition that causes an overgrowth of skin cells. In the years after psoriasis appears, a number of people may develop joint problems, too. This is called psoriatic arthritis, and its a type of arthritis that falls into the same family as spondyloarthritis.

Psoriatic arthritis can cause joint pain, inflammation, and swelling, much like other types of arthritis like osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. Having psoriatic arthritis might also put you at risk of developing other autoimmune conditions.

Theres a wide range of estimates when it comes to how many people with psoriasis develop psoriatic arthritis, with about a third of all people with psoriasis reported joint problems.

For nearly 70 percent of these people, psoriasis develops before usually by about a decade psoriatic arthritis. For the others, no one is really sure what causes the condition, but there are several risk factors and triggers that could contribute.

Read on to learn more about risk factors and triggers for psoriatic arthritis.

There are a number of risk factors that can increase your chances of developing psoriatic arthritis.

The main precursor to psoriatic arthritis is a history of psoriasis, and these two conditions share many risk factors. Its also important to note that psoriatic arthritis is more common in people who have severe cases of psoriasis or develop psoriasis plaques in particular areas like:

Other risk factors that can increase your risk of developing psoriatic arthritis include:

Like many chronic conditions, psoriatic arthritis can have periods of remission and flare-ups. Knowing what can trigger a flare-up for you can be helpful in keeping the condition under control.

While studies debate the connection between psoriatic arthritis and stress, smoking, or alcohol use, these have all been linked to flare-ups of the condition. Skin injuries may lead to new psoriasis plaques, but injuries to joints or other body parts may result in arthritis pain later, too.

Finally, anything that increases inflammation in the body can cause flare-ups of a host of autoimmune-related conditions, including psoriatic arthritis. Examples include:

See the original post here:
Psoriatic Arthritis Causes and Risk Factors - Healthline

Posted in Psoriasis | Comments Off on Psoriatic Arthritis Causes and Risk Factors – Healthline

Psoriasis, rosacea and eczema: Skincare expert on everything you need to know – Belfast Live

Posted: at 10:14 am

More than half the population (54%)* suffers from dry, psoriasis, rosacea and eczema-prone skin at some time during the year.

Two generations ago, only 3% of babies born in Northern Ireland developed eczema. Today, around 25% develop this dry skin condition within the first six months of life and one in five adults have it for the rest of their lives.

Eczema, also known as atopic dermatitis - the most common form - presents as dry, red, itchy patches of skin which can crack, blister and ooze liquid. It most commonly shows up on elbows, knees, scalp and face, but can occur anywhere on the body.

No one knows exactly what causes it, but medical experts point to what is literally being pumped into the world around us. Genetics, the environment, immune system activation and stress all play a part in pre-disposing someone towards developing eczema.

Skincare expert Joanna Gardiner, CEO of Gardiner Family Apothecary, creators of Elave Sensitive Skincare, has offered advice on caring for eczema-prone skin in the run-up to National Eczema Week (13-19 Sept).

Eczema is easily diagnosed by your health visitor, pharmacist or GP. Although it is not contagious and children often outgrow it, eczema is a lifelong condition and there is no cure. However, flare-ups can be managed and many people have long periods of remission.

Most cases of eczema and other dry skin conditions can be treated with mild, topical creams you can buy over the counter. In more severe cases, your GP will prescribe steroids, but normally they will try milder solutions first. Light therapy and biologic medication can also be prescribed.

The skin is the bodys largest organ and as it does not mature until the age of two, it is vital to take proper care of it from the beginning. For the first six weeks of life, we would advise using only tepid water on babys skin, giving them a top-to-toe wash two or three times a week while keeping the nappy area scrupulously clean.

When ready, use only the purest, cleanest, most gentle formulations on young skin.

Attacks of eczema can be triggered by a whole range of factors, including certain foods, scents, soap, detergents, dust, animal dander, scratchy fabrics and changes in temperature. The itchiness tends to get worse at night, when the body can become overheated, or when skin is sweaty, as in after playing sports.

It is vital to establish a daily head-to-toe skincare regime which uses the same range of formulations, so you know exactly what you are putting on your body. To avoid triggers which can cause flare-ups, keep an eye on what you are putting in your body as well. Common food triggers are dairy, pulses, citrus, gluten and spices.

Keep your home particularly bedrooms on the cool side and do not use scented candles, room sprays or perfumes. Use an eczema-safe detergent for your laundry and opt for layers of natural fabrics, like cotton, silk and linen, rather than synthetic fabrics or scratchy wool. Even tags and seams can trigger an attack.

Try to minimise extreme temperature changes, such as going from a centrally-heated home into cold winter air, and vacuum daily to control dust and animal dander. Avoid stress, as this can also trigger flare-ups.

Clinifast garments, vests, leggings, socks and mittens made from supersoft, stretchy fabric, are available for children and adults and combined with wet or dry wrapping can help make things more comfortable, day or night.

Visit link:
Psoriasis, rosacea and eczema: Skincare expert on everything you need to know - Belfast Live

Posted in Psoriasis | Comments Off on Psoriasis, rosacea and eczema: Skincare expert on everything you need to know – Belfast Live

Trump and son get in booth for alternative broadcast of Belfort -Holyfield bout – New York Post

Posted: at 10:13 am

Former President Donald Trump provided ringside commentary for a pay-per-view boxing event Saturday night that saw former heavyweight world champion Evander Holyfieldlose in a first-round technical knockoutto MMA star Vitor Belfort.

Trump received a warm welcome from the crowd at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida, which erupted into cheers when his name was announced as the evenings special guest.

He and son Donald Trump Jr. called the entire four-fight card for the Triller gamecast, giving live analysis and discussing his experiences in the boxing business.

In comments before the first fight, the ex-president acknowledged the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terror attacks, and repeated criticisms of the Biden administration over the chaotic US evacuation from Afghanistan.

As a country, in the United States, its certainly one of the most important days, and we had a very bad week because of some of the decisions that have been made that made it even more somber than it should normally be, he said.

Earlier on Saturday, Trump visited New York City police officers andfirefighters to commemorate the anniversary.

Media company Triller announced last week that the Trumps would be joining its alternative broadcast, available for interested viewers for $49.99, the same cost as the main telecast.

Trump Jr. said on the broadcast that while he and his dads involvement in the event came together rather quickly and takes place during a sensitive time, the opportunity seemed like a bit of levity on a somber day.

We came in sort of last minute, he said. Obviously we have such a special and important day, a somber day, but to be able to have a bit of levity in that is so important and so American.

The former president is no stranger to boxing, having hosted a number of bouts throughout the 1980s and 90s at his casinos in Atlantic City. Hes also a member of the New Jersey Boxing Hall of Fame.

He seemed shocked by Holyfields loss, and noted that the 58-year-old champ wasnt in top form.

No, hes not the same, Trump said. Right from the beginning he was not the same fighter. He lost a lot. It was not Evander Holyfield.

He commended Belfort, 44, on the victory, saying, Vitor, your stock was very high, but your stock is even higher tonight because you beat somebody who may be the greatest of all time.

Belfort was originally slated to fight former heavyweight champion Oscar De La Hoya, 48, who was forced to drop out last Friday after he was hospitalized with COVID-19.

His replacement, Holyfield, was defeated just 1:45 into the fight, clearly outmatched by Belfort.

Trump thanked the fans after the swift fight, telling them, This is like a rally. We love you, we love this country.

Triller offered to host a $30 million winner-take-all fight on Thanksgiving weekend between Belfort and Jake Paul, if Paul accepts.

Here is the original post:

Trump and son get in booth for alternative broadcast of Belfort -Holyfield bout - New York Post

Posted in Donald Trump | Comments Off on Trump and son get in booth for alternative broadcast of Belfort -Holyfield bout – New York Post

Donald Trump’s Chicago property tax was slashed by 30% because retail space in the city’s Trump Tower was mostly empty, a report says – Yahoo News

Posted: at 10:13 am

Trump International Hotel & Tower Chicago. John Walton/PA Images via Getty Images

Trump's Chicago tower got a $300,000 tax break because of its vacant retail space.

The assessed value of the building's retail space dropped about 37%, The Chicago Sun-Times reported.

With a lower valuation, Trump's 2020 tax bill reportedly dropped to $698,399 from about $1 million.

See more stories on Insider's business page.

Former President Donald Trump's property tax was slashed for his Chicago office tower because the building's commercial space was mostly vacant, The Chicago Sun-Times reported.

The building's retail space had its assessed value cut to $12.5 million, down from $19.9 million, the report said. The assessed value was cut by about 37% because about 95% of the square footage was vacant, the report said.

"We provided a reduction based on vacancy," a spokesperson from the assessor's office told The Sun-Times.

With the lower valuation, Trump's property taxes for the commercial space fell to $698,399 for 2020, down from $1 million the year prior, the report said.

The glass-faced Trump International Hotel & Tower Chicago has a prominent spot in the city's skyline. It sits along the north side of the Chicago River, straddling the line between the Loop and the River North neighborhoods.

The building's official website describes it as "a showcase of bold style and engaging design situated along the Chicago river."

People celebrate Joe Biden's presidential victory in front of Trump Tower. Scott Olson/Getty Images

But it's had difficultly attracting commercial tenants for the bottom three floors, including its ground-floor retail space, reports have said.

The building was "losing money hand over fist," Vanity Fair said. The tower's profit fell 89% in the four years ended in 2018, The Washington Post reported. One real estate blog, The Real Deal, said in 2019 that the building was Chicago retail's "biggest failure."

The building's reappraisal came a few months after Illinois officials said the value had been assessed higher than it should have been in 2011. In July, the Cook County Board of Review ruled that Trump was owed a $1 million refund on that year's taxes.

The building's official website said the Chicago tower was the fourth-tallest building in the US. Wikipedia now lists it as seventh, with three newer New York City towers higher on the list.

Read the original article on Business Insider

See the rest here:

Donald Trump's Chicago property tax was slashed by 30% because retail space in the city's Trump Tower was mostly empty, a report says - Yahoo News

Posted in Donald Trump | Comments Off on Donald Trump’s Chicago property tax was slashed by 30% because retail space in the city’s Trump Tower was mostly empty, a report says – Yahoo News

Donald Trumps Trump International Hotel & Tower in Chicago gets a $300,000 property tax break after Fritz Ka – Chicago Sun-Times

Posted: at 10:13 am

Former President Donald Trump has gotten a $300,000 property tax cut this year because Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi slashed the value of the Trump International Hotel & Towers vacant retail space along the Chicago River.

Trump paid slightly more than $1 million in property taxes last year on the three levels of retail space in the downtown skyscraper. Most of it has remained vacant and left unfinished since the building was completed about a decade ago.

His tax bill this year is $698,399 after Kaegis office lowered its estimation of the buildings value.

It reconsidered that figure after Trump lawyer Patrick McNerney challenged the $19.9 million value that Kaegis staff originally put on the unfinished space for retail stores in the building.

The assessor cut the value even more than the figures McNerney presented. Kaegi agreed to lower the value to $12.5 million. Thats about $1 million less than an appraisal McNerney submitted.

McNerney then appealed to the Cook County Board of Review, asking for a bigger break on the taxes for Trump Tower. But the board said no, noting that Kaegi had lowered the assessment even below Trumps appraisal.

Trumps savings this year follow another big tax win earlier this year. The Illinois Property Tax Appeal Board decided in June that the former president should get a $1 million refund on his 2011 property tax bill for those vacant storefronts and other commercial space at Trump Tower, including restaurants and hotel rooms.

The Cook County Board of Review is fighting the state boards decision, which could cost the Chicago Public Schools which gets the biggest cut of each Chicago taxpayers property taxes $500,000. It has appealed to the Illinois Appellate Court.

Kaegis spokesman Scott Smith defends the tax break given to Trump on this years taxes and notes that the savings are only for this years tax bill. All property in Chicago will be reassessed this year.

We provided a reduction based on vacancy, Smith says.

Since 95% of the space is vacant, Kaegi cut the assessed value by 37.5% on top of another 10% vacancy credit that was included in his initial assessment.

Our current vacancy policy states that a property can only receive half of its claimed vacancy, Smith says. This is a change from the previous administration, which would reduce the assessed value based on the claimed vacancy, which is not an assessment standard used elsewhere. . . Were definitely treating this property differently than in the past.

Smith says that, even with this years tax cut, Trump is paying more for the vacant retail space than he did under Kaegis predecessor, former Cook County Assessor Joseph Berrios.

Trump is paying about $200,000 more in taxes on the vacant retail space this year than he did in the final year under Berrios.

Last year, during Kaegis first year in office, he nearly doubled the value that Berrios had put on the empty storefronts. And Kaegi rejected Trumps appeal last year to lower the assessment because, according to Smith, the former president did not follow the rules for appeal provided by our office. That left Trump with the tax bill of slightly more than $1 million the figure that Kaegi has now decided is too high.

McNerney wont comment.

McNerney and Ald. Edward M. Burke, who previously handled Trump Towers property tax appeals, have long argued that the former president should receive steep tax breaks on the retail space, which has never been occupied except for a small boat dock thats leased to Wendella Tours & Cruises.

Trump has used three different leasing agents, trying to find tenants for the property over the past decade, McNerney told the assessors office, pointing out that retail leases have been devastated by COVID-19 and arguing that should be a factor in reducing Trumps taxes.

Kaegi has used his authority to reduce assessments on many of the 1.7 million pieces of property in Cook County because of COVID though it isnt clear which properties have gotten those reductions.

In response to a public records request, the assessors office provided the Chicago Sun-Times with a letter, signed by Kaegi, telling Trump hed been given an unspecified reduction in the assessment on the retail space translating to lower property taxes because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The letter doesnt specify the amount of that reduction, though. Nor do any of the other documents released by Kaegis staff.

Smith says that, despite what the letter from his own agency says, Trump didnt receive any tax break because of COVID.

I dont know where this letter came from, but, unless you can tell me otherwise, I dont see how it could have come from our office, Smith said when first asked about that. This property did not get a COVID adjustment.

We dont have a record of it getting a COVID reduction notice. Ive been told its not possible for this to happen.

Now, Smith says, In some cases, property owners who filed an appeal last year got sent this letter in error when they should have received an appeal results letter.

Here is the original post:

Donald Trumps Trump International Hotel & Tower in Chicago gets a $300,000 property tax break after Fritz Ka - Chicago Sun-Times

Posted in Donald Trump | Comments Off on Donald Trumps Trump International Hotel & Tower in Chicago gets a $300,000 property tax break after Fritz Ka – Chicago Sun-Times

Why Donald Trump is now using Robert E. Lee to rehab his own reputation – Salon

Posted: at 10:13 am

As we commemorate the 20th anniversary of 9/11 this weekend it's hard not to think of how different everything would have been over these past two decades if it had never happened. The attacks changed America in some fundamental ways and I'm not sure we've ever fully grappled with it. Our government responded in a primitive, unthinking way and unearthedan enduring weakness in our national character that continues to haunt us to this day.

We should have known that when Dick Cheney, the vice president at the time,appeared on televisionjust days after the attacks and announced that the country would have to go to "the dark side" and "use any means at our disposal" that we were going down an immoral path that would lead us to an ignominious end. And it did.

Spencer Ackerman, author of"Reign of Terror: How the 9/11 Era Destabilized America and Produced Trump"makes the case in his book that the ongoing war on terror primed the country for MAGA nihilism and violence by demonizing Muslims and "the decadent left" which Trump successfully capitalized on in his run in 2016. I think there's something to that.

Trump instinctively understood the undercurrent of racist violence that was electrified when he "took off the gloves" and he used it to great effect, spending hours on the campaign trail repeating lurid details of alleged deviant criminality by immigrants and insisting that torture works,gleefully promising to do more of it with descriptive detail.One of his greatest hits was endorsing an apocryphal story about General Blackjack Pershing dipping bullets in pig's blood before he summarily executed Muslim prisoners in the first World War. His campaign was drenched in violent rhetoric and yet somehowthe fact that he had read the polls and determined that the "forever wars" were unpopular and unwittingly appropriated the isolationist slogan of the pre-WWII era, "American First" he got a reputation as some kind of anti-war pacifist. Recall that New York Times writerMaureen Dowd even characterized him as "Donald the Dove"in one notorious column.

His followers, of course, never believed it. Trump was a bloodthirsty leader, and they knew one when they saw one. He was just going to wage his war at home and thatsuited them just fine.

As it turned out, this left Trump with a conundrum as president. He actually saw himself as a great warrior leader but he couldn't pull the trigger on a big military adventure. I always suspected that it was because he was justifiably insecure about which way to turn and relied on his 2016 promise to keep from having to test himself in that way. Instead he talked loudly and carried a small stick. At one point in 2019 during a joint appearance with the Prime Minister of Pakistan,he said:

"If we wanted to fight a war in Afghanistan and win it, I could win that war in a week. I just don't want to kill 10 million people. I have plans on Afghanistan that, if I wanted to win that war, Afghanistan would be wiped off the face of the Earth. It would be gone. It would be over in literally, in 10 days. And I don't want to do I don't want to go that route."

For all his chillingly inane bluster, he clearly didn't have a firm grip on national security and foreign policy, consistently falling back on stale bromides about trade and antagonizing allies he knew were no threat while kissing up to tyrants and dictators. He constantly fought with his military advisers, seeing them as "losers" who didn't know how to win wars, but never really had the nerve to do what he always threatened to do which was unleash the full might of the U.S. military. (Thank God!)

Want a daily wrap-up of all the news and commentary Salon has to offer? Subscribe to our morning newsletter, Crash Course.

Now that he is out of office, ensconced in temporary exile at one of his resort palaces, anticipating his full return to campaigning, he is busily re-writing the story of his presidency to fit the current facts. Early in the process he took credit for negotiating the withdrawal with the Taliban and insisted that Biden was dragging his feet. In April,he said,"Getting out of Afghanistan is a wonderful and positive thing to do. I planned to withdraw on May 1st, and we should keep as close to that schedule as possible." Heboastedtwo months later, "I started the process. All the troops are coming back home. They couldn't stop the process."

Then during the chaotic final days in Kabul last month, he frantically shifted his posture.

As Trump saw the right revert to its warmongering ways, he saw the opportunity to airbrush his involvement and pretend that he had the war "won" until Biden surrendered. He said that the situation wasnot acceptableanddemandedthat President Biden "resign in disgrace for what he has allowed to happen to Afghanistan." Babbling incessantly about the mostly defunct military equipment left behind, hedeclaredthat if the Taliban didn't return it, "we should either go in with unequivocal Military force and get it, or at least bomb the hell out of it."

Now, during this week of commemoration of 9/11 and the beginning of that misbegotten war from which we have finally, painfully, withdrawn military troops, Trump has outdone himself.

On the occasion of the removal of the statue of Robert E. Lee from the capital of Virginia, he managed to thread together his grotesquely racist impulses, his embarrassing ignorance of history and his incompetent national security and foreign policy leadership all in onestunningly stupid statement:

"Robert E. Lee is considered by many Generals to be the greatest strategist of them all. President Lincoln wanted him to command the North, in which case the war would have been over in one day. Robert E. Lee instead chose the other side because of his great love of Virginia, and except for Gettysburg, would have won the war ... If only we had Robert E. Lee to command our troops in Afghanistan, that disaster would have ended in a complete and total victory many years ago. What an embarrassment we are suffering because we don't have the genius of a Robert E. Lee!"

That is the very stable genius who has the entire Republican party on its knees begging for his favor.

I don't know if Spencer Ackerman is correct to say that the War on Terror "produced" Donald Trump. But it certainly did rouse some of the violent, lizard brain racism and ignorance that's never very far from the surface of our culture. And nobody in this country better personifies that violent, lizard brain racism and ignorance than Donald Trump.

More from Salon on the20th anniversary of September 11:

Read more:

Why Donald Trump is now using Robert E. Lee to rehab his own reputation - Salon

Posted in Donald Trump | Comments Off on Why Donald Trump is now using Robert E. Lee to rehab his own reputation – Salon

9/11 20th anniversary: Trump makes surprise visit to cops & firefighters after Biden told hes not wel… – The Sun

Posted: at 10:13 am

DONALD Trump made a surprise visit to cops and firefighters on the 20th anniversary of 9/11.

It comes after New York City's former mayor Rudy Giuliani said Joe Biden was not welcome in NYC.

6

6

6

6

The former president was pictured smiling and shaking hands as he surprised NYPD and FDNY.

Were not supposed to say it, but Ill say it. We love the Blue, he told the crowd.

Trump will appear via video message at the "Let Us Worship" event led on the National Mall.

In an interview withFox Newson Friday, the former Republican president said he will visit Ground Zeroto mark the 20th anniversaryof the terrorist attack.

Ahead of his expected visit to the site, Trump sent a video message of support and also took a swipe at Joe Biden.

For the great people of our country this is a very sad day, Trump said in the 90-second long video which was shared online. September 11 represents great sorrow for our country.

Many things were displayed that day, including most importantly the bravery of our police, fire, and first responders of every kind, the job they did was truly unbelievable, said Trump. We love them and we thank them.

Exclusive

Latest

He then turned his attention to taking aim at Biden and his handling of the withdrawal from Afghanistan.

It is also a sad time for the way our war on those that did such harm to our country ended last week, the loss of 13 great warriors and the many more who were wounded, should never have happened, Trump said in the video.

Read our 9/11 live blog for the very latest news and updates...

It was caused by bad planning, incredible weakness, and leaders who truly didnt understand what was happening. This is the 20th year of this war, and should have been a year of victory and honor, and strength.

But, Trump claimed, Biden had surrendered in defeat.

It comes after New York City's former mayor Rudy Giulianitold WABC radio during a 9/11 remembrance: President Biden shouldnt come here. He doesnt belong here.

President Biden made decisions that were reckless, almost to the point of insanity, he said Friday afternoon.

It would be as if I went down to Ground Zero and I said, Take out the firefighters and all you civilians, see if you can get yourselves out and maybe some terrorists can help you out.'

If youleave Americans behind, you could be the president or anybody else, I just have no respect for you, the former mayor added. President Biden did probably one of the most reckless acts in American history and hes putting us through hell.

Donald Trump had been tight-lipped about whether he would mark the tragedy.

The New Jersey Globe reported on Thursday Trump would visit Ground Zero early Saturday afternoon, following a formal ceremony at the 9/11 Memorial & Museum.

It is not thought he will bump into the current president, Joe Biden.

Biden and First Lady Jill Biden are due to attend the beginning of the 8.30am ceremony before leaving New York around 10am to take part in observances at Shanksville, Pennsylvania the site of the crash of United Airlines Flight 93 and the Pentagon.

Trump has been piling on stinging criticism of Biden in the last few weeks over the withdrawal of US troops and the subsequent takeover of the country by the Taliban.

The US moved troops into the country in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

It is very depressing, Trump told Fox News on Friday of his feelings on the anniversary. This was supposed to be a day of victory. Now it is a day of embarrassment. How do you have this happen?

I think Biden rushed it [the Afghan pullout] to try to claim victory, the former president added, and now, he looks like a fool.

Chaotic scenes were seen in Kabul in the final few days of the US withdrawal as military personnel and civilians were rushed out of the country in order to meet the August deadline.

After Trumps visit to New York he is due to head to Florida where he and his son Donald Trump Jr as expected to provide an alternative commentary track for an eight-round boxing exhibition between former heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield and former UFC light heavyweight champion Vitor Belfort.

Earlier this month, the mom of a Marine killed in the deadly suicide bombing in Afghanistan in August has invited Trump, not Biden, to her son's funeral.

Shana Chappellsaid it would be an "honor" to meet the "real president" at the memorial service for her 20-year-old son Kareem Nikoui.

Nikoui was one of the 13 Marines killed in the terrorist blast in Kabul last month.

Chappell blamed Biden for her son's death, adding that the president has "blood on his hands."

9/11 timeline of events

The 9/11 terror attacks occurred 20 years ago. Here is a timeline of the day:

6

6

We pay for your stories!

Do you have a story for The US Sun team?

Read more:

9/11 20th anniversary: Trump makes surprise visit to cops & firefighters after Biden told hes not wel... - The Sun

Posted in Donald Trump | Comments Off on 9/11 20th anniversary: Trump makes surprise visit to cops & firefighters after Biden told hes not wel… – The Sun