Donald, Mike: stick to suits and ties please

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As we stare down North Korea and drop MOABs, President Trump and his VP Mike Pence — neither of whom ever served in the armed forces — might reconsider the military look they both seem to be cultivating. admiraltrumpTrump looks like he’s signed up as a discount version for Bob Hope’s old USO tours.hope in Korea

 

 

 

 

pointingpence
‘Rest room…first door on the right,sir”

 

Vice President Pence  toured the South Korean DMZ,  wore a leather flight jacket and gave a command performance managing to maintain a  serious demeanor — gravitas worthy of a made for TeeVee action movie, or maybe his feet hurt.

Is the administration attempting to send some tough-guy image out to the world? Or are they both so insecure they feel the need to dress-up in bits of uniforms when around military personnel? A little of both perhaps. But not alone.

President George W. Bush , the Vietnam War-era Texas Air National Guard no-show strutted around for his White House-produced Iraq War photo op. After landing on an aircraft carrier in the co-pilot’s seat of a fighter (exterior freshly marked with “Navy 1” and “George W. Bush Commander in Chief” ) he posed wearing a flight suit under a very premature Mission Accomplished banner.

And Democrat Mike Dukakis (who was only running for president) did look a fool putting on a tank commander’s helmet and driving a tank during his 1998 campaign.

kennedyMaybe it is because I am old enough to remember the Cuban Missile Crisis. At the height of the international military crisis, after ordering a total blockade of Cuba Kennedy didn’t bluster or need to dress up in parts of a uniform or wear his medals to show toughness.kennedyII

In 1964, President Kennedy — a real decorated veteran of WWII (the Navy Marine Corps Medal and a Purple Heart) — went on TV to address the world confident in his role as civilian President and commander of the US military.

So Donny and Mikey: stop it! Just stop it! Go back to suits and ties! Don’t make it so easy for the writers at SNL by looking like clowns.

 

Budget-stressed, crowded PA corrections system to take VT’s inmates

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The Scott administration has been scurrying around to find a place to relocate the approximately 260 inmates currently held in Michigan at GEO Group’s for-profit private prison. In late 2016 GEO Group unexpectedly canceled its extension option on a multi-year contract to house Vermont prisoners and  set a June deadline for their removal. Governor Scott didn’t pursue in-state alternatives he claims would cost more. It’s all about bottom-line GOP budgeting priorities: “The reality is it’s a lot less costly to have some out of state,” Scott said as a candidate.

cellDetails about a new deal Governor Scott is reportedly arranging with the Pennsylvania state prison system are scant to say the least. According to Vtdigger.com, Secretary of Human Services Al Gobeille will only say that the administration is “very close” to a deal with the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections. An official from the PA Dept of Corrections did confirm they may soon house the Vermont prisoners but nothing is finalized. Pennsylvania Corrections regularly charges $72.00 per day cost for out-of state prisoners. That’s about $10.00 more than soon to end $61.80 per day fee GEO Group now charges to Vermont .

Whatever details eventually emerge about the Pennsylvania prison inmate housing deal, a quick look at news reports about the state system of is hardly reassuring for anyone concerned. For a period of years that state’s department of corrections has been undergoing major budget and staff cuts. The state is still suffering severe budget problems; this year, reductions under consideration in the Pennsylvania house, if enacted, would put about 1,500 state employees out of work, with prisons in line for the deepest job cuts. The administration produced an internal budget office analysis that indicated nearly 650 layoffs would occur at the Department of Corrections.

Should those new layoffs and cuts come to pass, it will be on top of existing chronic problems — including prisons operating well over capacity, with overcrowding exacerbated by previous years of budget cuts and staff reductions. To save costs two PA state prisons are slated to be closed in 2017. Officially they will be “mothballed,” dislocating and consolidating almost 2,500 inmates into other Pennsylvania prisons. The closings mean the Pennsylvania system will be operating at what is called “emergency” capacity levels. Corrections Secretary John Wetzel said, “It’s not ideal,” and by way of defending the action, he explains Pennsylvania is far from the worst state when it comes to overcrowding. There is speculation — by PA officials desperate for any revenue — that the newly “mothballed” prison facilities might be profitably put to use as suitable housing for low-risk federal immigration detainees from Trump’s aggressive immigration actions.

With the PA system under major budget stresses engagement by prison social workers, medical, or counseling staff are apt to be minimal to the extent they are provided for out-of-state prisoners. However, for families of Vermont inmate families who want to visit the travel distance may be an improvement of a kind. From Burlington to GEO’s North Lake Correction Facility is over 800 miles and to Pittsburgh, in the western corner of Pennsylvania is under 600 miles.

The snapshot of Pennsylvania’s prisons that emerges from these recent news reports is one of a system struggling under severe budget constraints and perhaps understaffed. The June deadline to move Vermont’s 260 inmates from Michigan is approaching fast: it is time for some details about what kind of “bargain” deal budget-conscious Governor Scott may think he’s arranged with Pennsylvania.

 

 

Donald wants a carriage ride to visit the Queen

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President Trump will be going to the UK and Buckingham Palace this October.  And he wants to do it in style. However…tipping donaldIn typical TRUMP® fashion he’s causing others great expense. Only da biggest, best, and shiniest for Donald: The White House has made clear it regards the carriage procession down the Mall as an essential element of the itinerary for the visit currently planned for the second week of October, according to officials.

Security sources have warned, however, that the procession will require a “monster” security operation, far greater than for any recent state visit.

The UK was spared some of this expense when Obama visited Buckingham Palace because he chose to go by motorcade rather than golden carriage. Xi Jinping, in 2015 did ride in a carriage (closed rather than open) to see the Queen, but that cost is expected  to dwarf what it will be for TRUMP® to have his open carriage ride.

A British security official notes that the U.S. presidential limo is formidable and: designed to withstand a massive attack like a low-level rocket grenade. Unlike the Royal coach, although it can be protected with bullet proof glass:

“[…] In particular it is very flimsy.

“It would not be able to put up much resistance in the face of a rocket propelled grenade or high-powered ammunition. Armour-piercing rounds would make a very bad show of things.”

Other than his well documented attraction to shiny golden baubles is it any wonder why Trump may be insisting on the carriage? VladPutin

Well, his BFF Vladimir Putin (a.k.a. Vlad the Elector) had an open carriage ride when he went to visit the Queen. So, of course it’s an “essential” element for Donald too. Here’s his game in musical parody, insecurity and all.

Vermont DMV & ICE, are they having fun or what?

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It turns out the Vermont DMV is still cooperating with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). When Vermont DMV head Robert Ide and Col. Jake Elovirta, the department’s director of enforcement and safety, testified to legislators this week, Ide admitted:  [his] department has not completely implemented the terms of a Human Rights Commission settlement they had agreed to.

Commissioner Ide and Col. Jake Elovirta
Commissioner Ide and Col. Jake Elovirta

According to requirements of the mid-2016 court agreement the DMV was supposed to stop passing along information about foreign nationals to Immigration and Customs Enforcement. However VTdigger.com and Seven Days found: records show that communications between DMV and ICE employees continued [the practice] through the end of 2016.

But I guess it’s hard for some at the DMV to break off their warm relationship with ICE. “It [the settlement with Human Rights Commission] was an ambitious list of tasks,” Commissioner Ide said. “I’m not saying that we are all done yet, but we certainly are on a course that charts us to that end point.”

Implementation of the 2016 DMV agreement may continue to be a challenge in the age of Trump. Since the immigration crack down, there are reports of a “gung-ho enthusiasm” among immigration enforcement officials. Energized hardliners who have now been given what seems to be free reign say their jobs are becoming “fun.” And alarmingly, one federal official said: Those who take less of a hard line on unauthorized immigrants feel silenced. DMVfunzone

When addressing improper communications between DMV personnel and ICE that violate the agreement, Commissioner Ide told the State House hearing that some things just aren’t “fun”: “It’s not fun to have to explain this type of behavior,” Ide said. “But behavior is what it is, and sometimes you have to.”

I kind of doubt anyone at the hearing asked: “Commissioner Ide, tell us, is it fun to do your job?”  So, he must have felt the need to publicly declare his job isn’t even fun anymore.

Fun or not, while bringing the agency into compliance as promised, Ide might consider remarks made by Abdel Rababah. He is the man, on whose behalf the Human Rights Commission filed the case against the DMV. Rababah said. “If we can’t trust the system, how can we as people function in the community?”

Donald “wags the dog”: rates low in historical context…sad

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After President Trump abruptly changed his policy against intervention and  fired 59 Tomahawk missiles (roughly $1 million each) at Syria, there was speculation that he was interested not so much in red lines that Assad may have crossed but more with lines his own waning popularity crossed. Many observers figured Donald was “wagging the dog” – distracting attention and changing the subject away from his intensely troubled first few weeks in office.  Politico.com wondered, as many other publications did: It is hard to avoid wondering whether the purpose of the strikes was less to defend a red line that Trump had never supported than yet another effort by the president to distract the media’s attention and change the subject from his problems at home.

TrumpedDiversion may or may not have been Trump’s motive but if it was, it seems to have failed in one regard. A new Gallup poll shows : US Support for Syria Strikes Rates Low in Historical Context – Americans’ opinion of U.S. missile strikes in Syria: 41% disapprove and 50% approve.

  • Ten other military actions assessed since 1983 had majority support
  • Only action with lower approval was Libya in 2011, at 47%

The GOP loved it though: 82% of Republicans approve, compared with 33% of Democrats. A divide such as this along partisan lines is new. Intervention by President Obama in Libya 2011 and Syria 2014 showed no such partisan divide at the time they were polled.

Gallup summarized the current finding:

Americans’ initial reaction to the missile airstrikes the U.S. launched against Syria last week is among the least positive of the 12 military actions Gallup has measured since 1983. Support does exceed opposition, which has been the case for each of the military actions tested, but the 50% approval is lower than all but one of the other interventions.

The strikes do not appear to have affected Americans’ views of Trump — at least in the short term. His job approval averaged 40% Tuesday through Thursday before the strikes, and has averaged 40% Friday through Sunday after the strikes.

If the Trump administration had hoped to change the subject and rally support, well Donald’s dog wouldn’t be wagged… this time.

Is California’s new EB-5 scandal more scandalous than ours?

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Vermont’s massive EB-5 scandal at Jay Peak broke about a year ago, and it isn’t the only federal investments-for-visas program that may be riddled with fraud. But the latest EB-5 scandal involves international politics, foreign fugitives and even a Trump cameo.fraudawards

The FBI in California raided offices, a townhouse and home associated with The California Investment Immigration Fund alleged to be involved in a substantial EB-5 investment company fraud. The company solicits EB-5 funds mostly from Chinese investors. And the majority of all U.S. EB-5 funds come from Chinese citizens.

Interestingly the FBI raids took place on Saturday while president Trump and Chinese president Xi Jinping were meeting in Florida at Donald’s ersatz palace.

The FBI raids, […] were focused on California Investment Immigration Fund (CIIF), a business allegedly connected to abuses of the controversial EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program that has in recent years fueled a high-end US residential boom and has been widely used by developers including the president’s son-in-law and adviser, Jared Kushner.

Since 2008 attorney Victoria Chan, her father Tat Chan, and Fang Zeng harvested $50 million from more than 100 Chinese investors for CIIF and related companies.

[…] instead of legitimately investing the funds into US businesses, the trio either refunded the funds to the EB-5 investors while their petitions were pending in a way to solicit investors, or stole millions of dollars to use for personal expenditures, including buying million-dollar houses

That list of allegations should sound familiar to anyone who followed the exploits of Jay Peak partners Stenger and Quiros. But as often happens California goes one better because this fraud may involve three fugitives from China – on their most-wanted list – illegally obtaining U.S. green cards.

According to China Daily, among CIIF’s investment green card clients found on the fugitive list are Xu Jin (No. 13) and his wife Liu Fang (No.66). In China they are both accused of embezzlement, accepting bribes, and abuse of power, for which the maximum penalty is death. A third is identified only by the initials “K.L.,” and no crimes the mysterious unnamed fugitive may have committed in China are included.

Not to downplay  Stenger and Qurios’ alleged EB-5 fraud at Jay Peak, but strictly in terms of staging and dramatic casting, California’s EB-5 scandal may outclass ours – Vermont just can’t match the international intrigue or top cameo performances by the Trump family.

Kushner hires horror film PR man for White House job

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It was only three days ago that Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, made his first hire, PR man Josh Raffel, for the White House’s new Office of American Innovation. The OAI is being described as “a SWAT team of strategic consultants” which will, the White House says, be given “sweeping authority to overhaul the federal bureaucracy.” PR man Josh Raffel once did PR work for the Kushner family and Glenn Beck. Prior to joining the Kushner’s ‘SWAT” team Raffel was an executive managing the publicity for Blumhouse Productions — a horror movie producer. One recent horror film — The Purge: Election Year — featured posters with the tagline Keep America Great.purgekushnerGMD

Kushner’s long list of high-level jobs he performs for his father-in-law president include foreign-policy trouble-shooting: US/Mexican border issues (the WALL); Chinese relations; and Mid-East peace negotiating. Domestically he is tasked with addressing opioid addiction and veterans affairs, just to name two areas of responsibility.

Last week Kushner, along with Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr., chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, made a quickie visit to troops in Iraq. Security protocols were violated when officials at the White House confirmed the trip before Jared and his entourage had landed in the war-torn country.kushneratwar 2

Once he was  in Iraq, images made available of Kushner wearing stylish Ray-bans, a nicely cut blue blazer, pressed button-down shirt, and a personalized bullet-proof vest began to draw widespread derision. Twitter online comments include From Here to Fraternity and The Funds of Navarone, and the one which gets my vote for being both funny and truthful: Saving Private Equity.

The newly hired PR wizard may want to start on his new boss Kushner’s image. After all, Raffel has experience in selling cheap horror shows to the public ; the difference now is he’ll have a virtually unlimited budget: think of the potential for special effects!

International Fact-Checking Day is the 2nd of April

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Yes, you read that right, April 2nd — the day we waited all year for! A day Donald Trump dreads like a vampire fears the daylight. International Fact-Checking Day is promoted by the International Fact-Checking Network at Poynter in partnership with fact-checking organizations around the world.tweetsource3

Follow their link to find a bunch of real resources including lesson plans, the IF-CD fake news trivia quiz and other activities including the always popular “hoax-off.” So check out the top debunked claims of the year.

International Fact-Checking Day is not a single event but a rallying cry for more facts — and fact-checking — in politics, journalism, and everyday life.

 

Governor Scott Proposes New Balanced Budget Strategy

local/regional

scott-goldIn response to criticism from legislative leadership, Governor Phil Scott has re-engaged on the budget process in the 11th hour with a modified proposal.

Scott’s initial proposal plugged a multi-million budget dollar hole (while increasing spending for selected items) largely based on a pitch for local school boards to both level-fund school budgets as well as delay their local school budget votes until May. This proposal was criticized as unrealistic on its face, particularly coming as it did only days before most already-crafted school budget proposals were to be legally finalized for Town Meeting Day consideration. Since the Governor’s vision for such a radical change in school budgeting did not materialize, the administration has firmly resisted calls to re-engage with the legislature in order to craft a proposal based on those budget factors within state control.

But that all changed today when Governor Scott announced a modified budget. In a message clearly tailored to legislators who viewed his previous proposal as based on assumptions that were unrealistic or even fanciful, Scott stressed his new proposal was a “serious, thoughtful proposal to bring in another $30 million dollars without raising any further taxes or fees on struggling Vermonters, while maintaining our budget priorities.”
The proposal fills the gap with the Leprechaun’s pot o’ gold. The Governor noted that his staff had been hard at work identifying the location of the end of the rainbow in recent months, and had in fact verified the location of the pot o’ gold only this week. In his press conference, the Governor strongly urged opposition Democrats to “move forward on this responsibly balanced budget without delay.”

leprechaun2Democratic legislative leaders, however, were dubious. In a hastily called press conference, House Leadership was joined by the Leprechaun, where the group characterized this most recent proposal as no more realistic than the previous one.

The Leprechaun also noted the history of ill fortune coming to those who had attempted to access this source of funding in the past, adding “hands off me gold.”

The Leprechaun further began voicing his concerns over the long-term wisdom of depending on such a “one-off” funding source for the state budget, but was cut short when he was seized by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials after proving unable to produce a valid green card.

Supreme Court Nominee Skeletor Evasive in Confirmation Hearings

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skeletor1Senate Judiciary Committee hearings over President Trump’s nominee to the US Supreme Court, Skeletor, continued today as the Eternian faced a marathon q&a session with the assembled Senators of both parties.

USA Today reporter Richard Wolf described the nominee as evasive during the hearings, which included questioning from VT Senator Patrick Leahy:

Supreme Court nominee Skeletor refused Tuesday to address tough questions from Democrats on abortion, guns, campaign spending and a host of other issues that he said could come before the court in the future.

President Trump’s nominee to fill the seat left vacant by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia 13 months ago said his caution wasn’t related to his personal views, which he steadfastly kept to himself.

skeletor2Raising his voice at times, Skeletor said he rules fairly on facts and the law in each case that comes before him. Beyond that, he would not give hints about his ideological leanings, his opinions of past Supreme Court precedents or his likely votes in future cases.
“I have offered no promises on how I’d rule in any case to anyone, and I don’t think it’s appropriate to do so,” he said, pledging to keep “an open mind.”

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