It Is National Emergency Day!

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Re: It Is National Emergency Day!

Postby seemslikeadream » Fri Feb 15, 2019 1:58 pm

You are getting it anyway


Justice Department’s Torture Photo Deadline Looms
Postby seemslikeadream » Sat Dec 13, 2014 9:03 am
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=38619




US must release Abu Ghraib photos, judge says
Reuters REUTERS
18 JAN 2017 AT 16:44 ET

Image
The U.S. Department of Defense must release a cache of photos showing how Army personnel treated detainees at the Abu Ghraib prison and other sites in Iraq and Afghanistan, a federal judge ruled on Wednesday.

U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein in Manhattan said the release was proper because departing Defense Secretary Ash Carter failed to show why publishing the photos would endanger Americans deployed outside the United States.

Hellerstein’s decision is a victory for the American Civil Liberties Union and other civil and veterans rights groups whose lawsuit seeking the photos under the federal Freedom of Information Act began in 2004.

Photos depicting abuse at Abu Ghraib began to emerge in 2004, with some detainees claiming to have endured physical and sexual abuse, electric shocks and mock executions.

The number of photos sought in the lawsuit has not been disclosed but has been estimated at roughly 2,000, according to the Congressional Record and court papers.

“Those photos, representing a sad episode in our history, are a matter of great public interest and historical importance, which should not, in a democracy like ours, be shielded from public view,” said Lawrence Lustberg, a lawyer for the plaintiffs. “The court has wisely reaffirmed our nation’s commitment to open government.”

A spokesman for U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara in Manhattan, whose office defended Carter’s decision, declined to comment.

After Hellerstein in March 2015 ordered the release of additional photos, Carter allowed the release of 198 but kept the remainder under wraps, citing a review of a “representative sample” by four high-ranking generals.

In Wednesday’s decision, Hellerstein said the U.S. troop presence in Iraq had fallen to about 5,000 from more than 100,000 at the start of the Obama administration, and that those remaining now serve as advisers rather than in combat.

The judge said that while risks remained, including that portions of Iraq had been “overrun” by the Islamic State, he could not blindly accept withholding the remaining photos.

“I take seriously the level of deference owed to the executive branch in the realm of national security decision making,” he wrote. “My complaint is that the executive has failed to articulate the reasons supporting its conclusion that release of the photos would endanger Americans deployed abroad.”

Hellerstein first ordered the release of photos in 2005, but Congress later authorized withholding photos whose release could endanger Americans.

The case is American Civil Liberties Union et al v. Department of Defense et al, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 04-04151.
http://www.rawstory.com/2017/01/us-must ... udge-says/



Post editors decide images too graphic to publish
Postby seemslikeadream » Mon Jan 08, 2007 6:49 pm
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=10210&p=98908&hilit=Abu+Ghraib#p98908


Who Are Jim Mitchell And Bruce Jessen?
Postby seemslikeadream » Thu Dec 11, 2014 7:22 pm
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=38612&p=569480&hilit=Abu+Ghraib#p569480


Torture Report
Postby seemslikeadream » Wed Apr 17, 2013 12:48 pm
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=36267&p=610349&hilit=Abu+Ghraib#p610349


Criminal complaint against Bush era architects of torture
Postby seemslikeadream » Thu Dec 18, 2014 12:21 am
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=38632&p=557796&hilit=Abu+Ghraib#p557796



CIA TORTURE REPORT
Postby seemslikeadream » Mon Dec 08, 2014 6:03 pm
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=38607&hilit=Abu+Ghraib



"Torture Team" Reading with Philippe Sands
Postby seemslikeadream » Sun Jan 23, 2011 8:19 pm
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=30982&p=379245&hilit=Abu+Ghraib#p379245


CIA asks Justice Dept. to investigate spying on Senate
Postby seemslikeadream » Wed Mar 05, 2014 6:35 am
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=37847&hilit=Abu+Ghraib


Judge may release more Abu Ghraib photos
Postby seemslikeadream » Fri Aug 29, 2014 7:04 am
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=38379&p=550956&hilit=Abu+Ghraib#p550956


Contractors Tied to Effort to Track and Kill Militants
Postby seemslikeadream » Mon Mar 15, 2010 5:38 am
Image
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=27498&p=544407&hilit=Abu+Ghraib#p544407


Abu Ghraib Torture Claims Spook CACI, L-3 Communications
Postby American Dream » Sat Jul 05, 2008 5:12 pm
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=19092&p=524207&hilit=Abu+Ghraib#p524207



Abu Ghraib case against CACI dismissed
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business ... 4674bcb697

viewtopic.php?f=8&t=36590&p=510506&hilit=Abu+Ghraib#p510506


Federal Appeals Court Permits Suits Against PMCs to Proceed
Postby seemslikeadream » Mon May 14, 2012 1:50 pm
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=34708&p=461927&hilit=Abu+Ghraib#p461927



Abu Ghraib defense attorney faces murder charge
Postby fruhmenschen » Mon Oct 03, 2011 10:33 am
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=33264&p=428719&hilit=Abu+Ghraib#p428719


Key figure in Abu Ghraib abuse freed from prison
Postby seemslikeadream » Sat Aug 06, 2011 2:24 pm
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=32781&p=419347&hilit=Abu+Ghraib#p419347


Calls Mount to Investigate Bush Era Officials for Torture
Postby seemslikeadream » Tue Jul 12, 2011 12:27 pm
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=32536&p=413203&hilit=Abu+Ghraib#p413203


Federal Grand Jury Investigates War Crimes & Torture
Postby seemslikeadream » Tue Jun 14, 2011 5:14 pm
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=32356&p=408060&hilit=Abu+Ghraib#p408060


Pentagon Sets Stage for U.S. to Respond to Computer Sabotage
Postby seemslikeadream » Tue May 31, 2011 8:25 am
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=32231&p=405658&hilit=Abu+Ghraib#p405658


The Torture Trainers and the APA
Postby American Dream » Wed Jun 25, 2008 9:14 am
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=18830&p=396637&hilit=Abu+Ghraib#p396637


Top Bush-era GITMO & Abu Ghraib psychologist is WH newest
Postby seemslikeadream » Sat Mar 26, 2011 2:52 pm
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=31610&p=392071&hilit=Abu+Ghraib#p392071


The Torture Trainers and the APA
Postby American Dream » Wed Jun 25, 2008 9:14 am
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=18830&p=392016&hilit=Abu+Ghraib#p392016


US 'kill team' trophy photos may trigger Afghan riots
Postby Jeff » Sun Mar 20, 2011 10:40 pm
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=31552&p=391565&hilit=Abu+Ghraib#p391565


Foreign Contractors at Guantanamo Spared Controversial Anti-
Postby fruhmenschen » Sat Mar 05, 2011 2:19 am
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=31400&p=387402&hilit=Abu+Ghraib#p387402


Spanish Judges Rule Case on US Torture Can Continue
Postby seemslikeadream » Fri Feb 25, 2011 9:15 pm
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=31330&p=386816&hilit=Abu+Ghraib#p386816


UN expert urges full U.S. torture investigation
Postby Bruce Dazzling » Tue Nov 16, 2010 2:30 pm
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=30208&p=366189&hilit=Abu+Ghraib#p366189


WikiLeaks to Release 400,000 Secret Documents Monday
Postby seemslikeadream » Fri Oct 15, 2010 10:28 pm
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=29812&hilit=Abu+Ghraib


Secret Archive Grim View of Afghan War - Wikileaks ONLINE
Postby Sweejak » Sat Jul 31, 2010 8:52 pm
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=28995&p=351399&hilit=Abu+Ghraib#p351399


Witnessing Against Torture: Why We Must Act
Postby American Dream » Mon Jul 05, 2010 2:21 pm
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=28761&p=347152&hilit=Abu+Ghraib#p347152


The Town the Torturers Came From
Postby American Dream » Tue Jun 29, 2010 7:47 am
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=28694&hilit=Abu+Ghraib


The CIA's human experiments on the effects of torture
Postby Jeff » Thu Jun 10, 2010 10:23 am
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=28493&p=343494&hilit=Abu+Ghraib#p343494


Ex Bush Official Willing to Testify Bush, Cheney Knew
Postby seemslikeadream » Fri Apr 09, 2010 7:23 pm
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=27809&p=329968&hilit=Abu+Ghraib#p329968


Jacques Vallee: Waterboarding's curious corollaries
Postby barracuda » Wed Nov 18, 2009 1:06 pm
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=25916&p=299339&hilit=Abu+Ghraib#p299339


Justice Dept. Report Advises Pursuing C.I.A. Abuse Cases
Postby seemslikeadream » Sun Aug 23, 2009 11:57 pm
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=24919&p=281851&hilit=Abu+Ghraib#p281851


Report Reveals CIA Conducted Mock Executions
Postby seemslikeadream » Fri Aug 21, 2009 11:28 pm
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=24903&p=281600&hilit=Abu+Ghraib#p281600


General Taguba confirms Hersch's torture/rape allegations
Postby Nordic » Wed May 27, 2009 11:50 pm
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=24018&p=265900&hilit=Abu+Ghraib#p265900



New 'Prisoner Abuse' Photographs Emerge Despite US
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=23896&p=264920&hilit=Abu+Ghraib#p264920


Torture Lawyers Should Be Disbarred
Postby American Dream » Mon May 18, 2009 8:22 pm
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=23915&p=264415&hilit=Abu+Ghraib#p264415


New 'Prisoner Abuse' Photographs Emerge Despite US
Postby American Dream » Fri May 15, 2009 5:36 pm
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=23896&p=264098&hilit=Abu+Ghraib#p264098


Little Known Military Thug Squad Still Brutalizing Prisoners
Postby yathrib » Fri May 15, 2009 9:03 am
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=23887&p=263948&hilit=Abu+Ghraib#p263948



Torture memos released
Postby jingofever » Thu Apr 16, 2009 3:34 pm
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=23611&p=260218&hilit=Abu+Ghraib#p260218


Torture Suit Against CACI Goes Forward
Postby American Dream » Thu Mar 26, 2009 8:31 am
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=23395&p=256869&hilit=Abu+Ghraib#p256869


The Memory Hole and Torture
Postby American Dream » Thu Feb 26, 2009 9:34 am
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=23088&p=256035&hilit=Abu+Ghraib#p256035


Torture Whitewash at Leahy Commission Hearings
Postby American Dream » Thu Mar 05, 2009 8:35 am
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=23189&p=253206&hilit=Abu+Ghraib#p253206


The Arms Dealer Who Knew Too Much
Postby professorpan » Mon Feb 23, 2009 4:01 pm
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=23052&p=250675&hilit=Abu+Ghraib#p250675


Prisoners tortured to death
Postby seemslikeadream » Thu Feb 12, 2009 11:43 pm
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=22874&p=248281&hilit=Abu+Ghraib#p248281


U.S. & Allies Tortured Kids In Iraq Prisons
Postby American Dream » Tue Dec 09, 2008 6:59 pm
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=21862&p=235504&hilit=Abu+Ghraib#p235504


Sympathy for Charles Graner
Postby American Dream » Tue Dec 02, 2008 9:26 am
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=21748&p=233876&hilit=Abu+Ghraib#p233876


Whatever happened to Nick Berg?
Postby lightningBugout » Sun Jun 22, 2008 11:51 pm
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=18760&p=195530&hilit=Abu+Ghraib#p195530


FBI Compiled “War Crimes” Dossier on Prisoner Abuse and Tort
Postby NavnDansk » Tue May 27, 2008 11:17 pm
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=17898&p=188637&hilit=Abu+Ghraib#p188637


Philippe Sands on Torture, Scalia, 24, & The White House
Postby American Dream » Thu May 08, 2008 2:53 pm
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=17571&p=184223&hilit=Abu+Ghraib#p184223


Pentagon Records Detail Prisoner Abuse by US Military
Postby American Dream » Thu Apr 17, 2008 8:47 am
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=17241&p=179846&hilit=Abu+Ghraib#p179846


Hersh: children raped at Abu Ghraib, Pentagon has videos
Postby NavnDansk » Tue Dec 18, 2007 10:57 am
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=15270&hilit=Abu+Ghraib


ABU GHRAIB PRISONERS PACKED IN ICE WATER-FILLED GARBAGE CANS
Postby chlamor » Mon Mar 17, 2008 3:26 pm
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=16693&p=175315&hilit=Abu+Ghraib#p175315


Wired publishes new Abu Ghraib photos
Postby professorpan » Thu Feb 28, 2008 11:01 am
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=16417&p=168986&hilit=Abu+Ghraib#p168986


250+ Iraqi Torture Victims Sue Military Contractor CACI
Postby AlicetheKurious » Fri Dec 21, 2007 8:53 am
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=15336&p=155853&hilit=Abu+Ghraib#p155853


Naomi Wolf: What Is Probably in the Missing Tapes
Postby professorpan » Sat Dec 15, 2007 3:56 pm
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=15213&p=154471&hilit=Abu+Ghraib#p154471


Waterboarding is torture
Postby professorpan » Thu Nov 01, 2007 10:27 am
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=14293&hilit=Abu+Ghraib


BBC: Abu Ghraib whistleblower's ordeal [outed by Rumsfeld]
Postby MacCruiskeen » Sun Aug 05, 2007 1:31 pm
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=12715&p=124008&hilit=Abu+Ghraib#p124008


ACLU gains new torture documents
Postby professorpan » Tue Jan 09, 2007 10:31 am
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=10218&p=99100&hilit=Abu+Ghraib#p99100


Jose Padilla's Mind has been Effectively Erased
Postby Gouda » Thu Dec 21, 2006 7:13 am
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=9957&p=95888&hilit=Abu+Ghraib#p95888
Last edited by seemslikeadream on Fri Feb 15, 2019 2:00 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Mazars and Deutsche Bank could have ended this nightmare before it started.
They could still get him out of office.
But instead, they want mass death.
Don’t forget that.
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Re: It Is National Emergency Day!

Postby RocketMan » Fri Feb 15, 2019 1:59 pm

Seriously WTF. You're off the deep end.
-I don't like hoodlums.
-That's just a word, Marlowe. We have that kind of world. Two wars gave it to us and we are going to keep it.
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Re: It Is National Emergency Day!

Postby seemslikeadream » Fri Feb 15, 2019 2:01 pm

:roll:

Yea I remember Abu Ghraib


Deep end .....Vomit.....yea I get that too.....
Mazars and Deutsche Bank could have ended this nightmare before it started.
They could still get him out of office.
But instead, they want mass death.
Don’t forget that.
User avatar
seemslikeadream
 
Posts: 32090
Joined: Wed Apr 27, 2005 11:28 pm
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Re: It Is National Emergency Day!

Postby RocketMan » Fri Feb 15, 2019 2:04 pm

What are you even talking about? The point was IMPEACHMENT and LACK THEREOF, not the details of Abu Ghraib. You just prove my point, you copy pasta and derail.

seemslikeadream » Fri Feb 15, 2019 9:01 pm wrote::roll:

Yea I remember Abu Ghraib
-I don't like hoodlums.
-That's just a word, Marlowe. We have that kind of world. Two wars gave it to us and we are going to keep it.
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Re: It Is National Emergency Day!

Postby seemslikeadream » Fri Feb 15, 2019 2:06 pm

YOU brought up Abu Ghraib and how I don’t remember


You are The one doing the derail vomit routine
Last edited by seemslikeadream on Fri Feb 15, 2019 2:09 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Mazars and Deutsche Bank could have ended this nightmare before it started.
They could still get him out of office.
But instead, they want mass death.
Don’t forget that.
User avatar
seemslikeadream
 
Posts: 32090
Joined: Wed Apr 27, 2005 11:28 pm
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Re: It Is National Emergency Day!

Postby RocketMan » Fri Feb 15, 2019 2:08 pm

seemslikeadream » Fri Feb 15, 2019 9:06 pm wrote:YOU brought up Abu Ghraib and how I don’t remember


What IS your stance on the Democratic leadership, anyway? They just keep shafting you and you keep backing them.
-I don't like hoodlums.
-That's just a word, Marlowe. We have that kind of world. Two wars gave it to us and we are going to keep it.
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RocketMan
 
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Re: It Is National Emergency Day!

Postby seemslikeadream » Fri Feb 15, 2019 2:09 pm

Oh now the omit derail is ...what?
Last edited by seemslikeadream on Fri Feb 15, 2019 2:13 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Mazars and Deutsche Bank could have ended this nightmare before it started.
They could still get him out of office.
But instead, they want mass death.
Don’t forget that.
User avatar
seemslikeadream
 
Posts: 32090
Joined: Wed Apr 27, 2005 11:28 pm
Location: into the black
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Re: It Is National Emergency Day!

Postby RocketMan » Fri Feb 15, 2019 2:13 pm

Trump declared an emergency, should he be impeached do you think? And if so, how do you feel about the fact that the Democratic leadership seems to be interested in anything else BUT impeachment?
-I don't like hoodlums.
-That's just a word, Marlowe. We have that kind of world. Two wars gave it to us and we are going to keep it.
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Re: It Is National Emergency Day!

Postby seemslikeadream » Fri Feb 15, 2019 2:14 pm

trump impeachment ..I figure that was a given and

you have to go back and read page one I already answered that and proved you wrong



you don’t seem sad anymore
Mazars and Deutsche Bank could have ended this nightmare before it started.
They could still get him out of office.
But instead, they want mass death.
Don’t forget that.
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Re: It Is National Emergency Day!

Postby thrulookingglass » Fri Feb 15, 2019 3:16 pm

The G.O.P. cannot have an impeachment for it will reveal the outright hollowness that their party is. It would be a black mark on their resume they could never admit to. Power, the only word that matters. The democrats paint a bright face on the dower decrepitude that capitalism truly is while continuing to pump money into the war machine. Yes there is Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Bernie Sanders, quite frankly, I consider them centrists.
Everyone's just neurotically trying to keep the whole damn rickety system from falling apart. - RocketMan
Damn straight. There are ever growing cracks in Trump's dam now though. President Pence doesn't exactly get my blood flowing. Conservatives/Corporate whores have ruined the planet. We'll be lucky to survive. Salvation for some SUCKS.
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Re: It Is National Emergency Day!

Postby seemslikeadream » Sun Feb 17, 2019 10:31 am

06ADA8F1-97ED-44AD-8DBD-FDE32AB34B3B.jpeg



Image


Protests planned across US on Presidents Day in response to Trump's national emergency for border wall
BY ARIS FOLLEY - 02/16/19 06:33 PM EST 1,856
3,946


Protesters have planned demonstrations across the U.S. for Presidents Day in response to President Trump’s decision to declare a national emergency for border wall funding.

USA Today reports a wave of protests have been planned from New York to California and Texas to oppose the president’s national emergency declaration.


A number of demonstrations are being planned by the liberal advocacy group, MoveOn.org, and others have been listed on rallylist.com.

“Donald Trump has declared a #FakeNationalEmergency—an illegal power grab from an unhinged man to push his racist, dangerous policies,” MoveOn.org states on its site for protests taking place on Presidents Day.

"We are mobilizing nonviolent rapid-response events to stand up against Trump's #FakeNationalEmergency to defend our democracy and immigrant, Muslim, black, and brown communities from Trump’s dangerous national emergency power grab," the group continues.

The site also allows users to input a zip code or city to find the nearest protest to attend on Monday.

Trump on Friday also declared a national emergency at the border in efforts to bypass Congress and allocate nearly $8 billion for construction of his long-sought border wall.

Trump announced the move in an address from the Rose Garden shortly after he signed the declaration, is expected to be met with a number of legal challenges.

Trump has already faced fierce opposition from lawmakers and political groups who say the president overstepped his authority with the emergency declaration.
https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing ... esponse-to
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Mazars and Deutsche Bank could have ended this nightmare before it started.
They could still get him out of office.
But instead, they want mass death.
Don’t forget that.
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Re: It Is National Emergency Day!

Postby seemslikeadream » Thu Feb 21, 2019 5:42 pm

Senate Dems to introduce resolution blocking Trump's emergency declaration

Jordain Carney02/21/19 02:46 PM EST

Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said on Thursday that Democrats will introduce a resolution to block President Trump's emergency declaration to construct the U.S.-Mexico border wall.
"Identical companion legislation to the House resolution will soon be introduced in the Senate," Schumer said in a statement.

House Democrats, with the backing of Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), are expected to file their resolution as soon as Friday.
The Senate, which convened for roughly a minute earlier Thursday, is out of town until Monday afternoon, making that day the earliest Democrats could file a resolution in the upper chamber.
Trump announced last Friday that he would declare a national emergency to construct the wall after Congress included only $1.375 billion for physical barriers along the border in a government funding bill — well below the $5.7 billion the president requested.

A resolution blocking Trump's move only needs a simple majority in both chambers to get to the president's desk, where White House officials have suggested he would use his first veto since taking over the Oval Office.

Democrats, and some Republicans, argue that Trump is violating the separation of powers by using an emergency declaration to leapfrog Congress after not getting the votes to get the amount of wall funding that he wants.

“If the president’s emergency declaration prevails, it will fundamentally change the balance of powers in a way our country’s founders never envisioned. That should be a serious wake up call to senators in both parties who believe in the constitutional responsibility of Congress to limit an overreaching executive," Schumer said.
"This issue transcends partisan politics, and I urge all senators — Democrats and Republicans — to support this resolution to terminate the president’s emergency declaration when it comes up for a vote in the Senate," he added.

Democrats have also seized on Trump's comments from Friday, when he said he didn't "need" to declare an emergency at the border but did so because he wanted to build the wall faster.
If all 47 Democrats vote for the resolution to block Trump's emergency declaration, they will still need to flip four Republican senators.

Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) became the first Republican senator to say she would support a "clean" resolution of disapproval.
"I don't know what the vote situation will be in the Senate, nor do I know exactly what that resolution will say, but it is a privileged matter. That means that it will come before the Senate for a vote, and if it's a clean disapproval resolution, I will support it," she told reporters in Maine on Wednesday.

Several other Republican senators have raised concerns about Trump's actions but stopped short of saying how they will vote.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) said late last week that she didn’t “think that this is a matter that should be declared a national emergency.”

And Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) said in a statement after Trump's announcement that the decision was "unwise" because of the precedent it set for future presidents.

"It is inconsistent with the U.S. Constitution because after the American Revolution against a king, our founders chose not to create a chief executive with the power to tax the people and spend their money any way he chooses," he said. "The Constitution gives that authority exclusively to a Congress elected by the people.”
https://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/ ... -emergency
Mazars and Deutsche Bank could have ended this nightmare before it started.
They could still get him out of office.
But instead, they want mass death.
Don’t forget that.
User avatar
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Posts: 32090
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Re: It Is National Emergency Day!

Postby seemslikeadream » Sun Feb 24, 2019 8:05 pm



Trump sends 1,000 more troops to the border as Democrats plan vote over his ‘national emergency’

21 hours ago

E.A. Crunden

Concertina wire, recently added by U.S. Army troops. CREDIT: Max Herman/NurPhoto via Getty Images
President Donald Trump directed the Pentagon to send another 1,000 troops to the US border with Mexico, amid mounting tension over a wall and a national emergency declared by the president a week ago.

The number of U.S. troops on the border will increase to around 6,000 by March 1, a senior defense official said, according to several publications.

The official said approximately 5,000 troops are already on the border and that the additional personnel are required in order to install around 140 miles of additional concertina wire and other detection systems.

“That mission has evolved. We are now transitioning to supporting [areas] between the ports of entry,” the official said. “We’re laying down another 140 miles of concertina wire — [we’re] about 30 percent done with that — as well as providing a ground-based detection and monitoring mission in support of [Customs and Border Protection].”

The source, cleared to speak to press on condition of anonymity, defended the president’s decision and argued that the move was based on necessity.

“We are not just sending people down there unless there’s a valid requirement and then we try to match, as best we can, resources to the requirement with as much specificity as possible. And if we don’t need those people then we’ll move them somewhere else,” the source said.

Troops currently at the border consist largely of National Guard personnel tasked for the most part with reinforcing and installing wire at ports of entry, transporting Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents, and providing medical aid to migrants.

Last fall, the Trump administration deployed 5,900 troops to the border, in reaction to a caravan slowly traveling north from Central America. Migrants in the caravan were planning to seek asylum. The influx of new troops will restore the border presence to roughly those numbers.

WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 15: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks on border security during a Rose Garden event at the White House February 15, 2019 in Washington, DC. President Trump is expected to declare a national emergency to free up federal funding to build a wall along the southern border. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
‘See you in court’: Trump hit with barrage of lawsuits after national emergency order

The decision follows Trump’s national emergency declaration on Feb. 15, when the president said that he had grown weary of warring with Congress for border wall funding.

“I could do the wall over a longer period of time,” he said at the time. “I didn’t need to do this. But I’d rather do it much faster.”

The national emergency allows the president to bypass congressional approval in order to acquire the remaining funds needed for the wall. Trump plans to take $6.1 billion in funding from the Pentagon’s budget for the project, which experts and activists alike have repeatedly criticized for the humanitarian and environmental hazards it poses to people and wildlife.

But even as the president bolsters the U.S. troop presence on the border, he is being met with wide-scale resistance. Sixteen states have sued over the national emergency, including the border states of California and New Mexico. The watchdog group Public Citizen has also filed suit on behalf of landowners in Starr County, Texas, who are part of a broader effort in the state rejecting the border wall over private property issues.

Democrats, meanwhile, are gearing up to challenge the effort. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said Friday that the chamber plans to vote Feb. 26 on rejecting the emergency declaration; Trump has said he will veto any rejection. Democrats may seek support from Republican colleagues, as lawmakers from both parties — including some who represent the communities on the border — have expressed opposition to the president’s rhetoric about the region.
https://thinkprogress.org/trump-troops- ... 8df2b/amp/
Mazars and Deutsche Bank could have ended this nightmare before it started.
They could still get him out of office.
But instead, they want mass death.
Don’t forget that.
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Re: It Is National Emergency Day!

Postby seemslikeadream » Sat Mar 30, 2019 9:06 am

The Pentagon is putting $1 billion toward the wall — and House Democrats can’t stop them

The Department of Defense has always asked Congress for permission to move money around. Until now.
By Dara Linddara@vox.com Mar 26, 2019, 3:00pm EDT


While US military forces have been deployed to the US-Mexico border for months, they’re also expected to use billions of dollars from the Pentagon budget to build segments of President Donald Trump’s “wall” — setting up a fight with Congress in 2020. NurPhoto via Getty Images
The Department of Defense is moving $1 billion out of a military personnel fund to be used to construct 57 miles of border “wall” — provoking strident (but impotent) objections from Democrats in Congress and setting up a big fight over next year’s Pentagon budget.

On Monday night, acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan issued a letter to the Department of Homeland Security informing them that he’d made $1 billion “available” for wall construction, by moving it into a military account for drug enforcement — one of the three pots of money the Trump administration is tapping under its declaration of national emergency. (The logic is that the wall will impede drug-smuggling corridors, though all available evidence suggests that the majority of drugs smuggled into the US through Mexico come via official ports of entry.)

Leaders of the congressional committees overseeing the Pentagon that same day got notification of $1 billion in “reprogramming” — shifting funds from one government agency or account to another — from the military-personnel fund to the drug-enforcement fund.

House Armed Services Committee Chair Adam Smith (D-WA) formally rejected that notice in a letter today: “The committee does not approve the use of Department of Defense funds to construct additional physical barriers,” he wrote.

But the letter was meaningless.

As Smith himself acknowledged while questioning Shanahan in an oversight hearing Tuesday, the request was unilateral — it wasn’t sent to Smith and Congress for approval, and it’s not something they have the ability to stop. The only thing that congressional Democrats can do now is to reduce the Pentagon’s ability to shift money around going forward — and that’s just what they’re threatening to do.

The Pentagon isn’t asking Congress to move money for the wall. It’s telling them.
In December, Trump allowed the federal government to partially shut down as a way to pressure Congress to give him $5.7 billion in funding for physical barriers on the US-Mexico border. Congress won that standoff, ultimately giving him only $1.375 billion — but he instead declared a national emergency, using executive action to unlock billions more in wall funding from other government funds.

In order for Trump to take the $2.5 billion he promised out of the Pentagon drug-enforcement fund, though, some money had to be put into that fund from elsewhere.

Congress is in charge of setting budget levels for the executive branch for a given year, but reprogramming allows the executive branch to move some of those funds around if the need arises. Whether the executive branch is expected to ask the approval of relevant congressional committees, or just notify them, varies from department to department — and depends on how much money is being used and what it’s being asked for.

Technically, the law doesn’t allow Congress to force the Department of Defense not to reprogram money. (At least, that’s most analysts’ reading of a 1983 Supreme Court decision striking down “legislative vetoes.”) But it’s been standard operating procedure — what Smith called a “gentleman’s agreement” — that the DOD will ask Congress’ blessing before moving large amounts of money around. In fact, the form sent to Congress on Monday is technically supposed to be used for cases in which “prior approval” of Congress is needed.

In this case, though, Smith acknowledged to Shanahan Tuesday that “you are not asking for our permission” or even a blessing; the DOD was going forward with the transfer whether Congress approved of it or not.

Smith described such a decision as unprecedented. But it’s something he and congressional Democrats were worried would happen when Trump signed the emergency declaration. And they made it clear that if it happened, they would take it out on the Pentagon next year — by stripping the department of its power to move any money around at all.

While Congress can’t affect reprogramming authority for 2019, it can reduce the amount of money the Pentagon is allowed to reprogram in fiscal year 2020. And House Democrats on the Appropriations and Armed Services Committees have promised to “zero out” reprogramming if the wall money was transferred without their approval.

Shanahan knew that. He told Smith that it had been a “difficult decision” to authorize the $1 billion and risk angering Congress, but that the circumstances required it.

It’s not totally clear whether the Democrats leading these House committees will be able to persuade their Senate Republican counterparts to reduce reprogramming power. Senate Armed Services Committee Chair Jim Inhofe (R-OK) told reporters when the idea was first floated that “the president does have the authority to” move money around without permission — implying that he wouldn’t be likely to punish the Pentagon over such an action. But it sets up a major fight in fiscal year 2020 over Pentagon funding, which has generally been easier to pass than some other appropriations bills.

One of many streams in the border wall funding debate
Between three years of congressional appropriations, the executive actions Trump took in February (some of which required the emergency declaration), and the White House’s 2020 budget request, it’s hard to keep track of how exactly Donald Trump is making American taxpayers pay for the wall he so badly wants. But it’s important to follow because it’s the best indication of how much has actually been done so far.

Past appropriations bills: $1.7 billion, 108 miles. Congress gave Trump $341 million for barriers in 2017, and $1.375 billion in 2018 (though Democrats at the time stressed that such money didn’t count as “wall money” because it was specifically dedicated to replacement of existing barriers). Most of the 2017 projects have been completed — as of December, 34 of 40 miles had been built. DHS is currently working through its project load from the 2018 funding, with at least one project (levy wall in the Rio Grande Valley) under construction; others under contract; and a few set to be contracted before the end of this fiscal year. The $1.375 billion appropriated by Congress in the February bill extending 2019 funding has not yet been doled out.
The Treasury Forfeiture Fund: $600 million. Of the three executive-branch funds that Trump decided to use to get billions more in border-wall funding beyond what Congress appropriated, the easiest one to raid was the Treasury Forfeiture Fund — which collects the money federal law enforcement agents seize from defendants (and the proceeds of auctions for other seized assets like boats and ostrich leather jackets). Congress uses the forfeiture fund to pay for things all the time (over $12 billion has been tapped by Congress over the last decade, according to a Roll Call analysis) and it didn’t require an emergency declaration for Trump do to the same. Trump is reportedly seeking to take $242 million (the amount of the fund’s 2019 surplus over what Treasury expected to take in) out of the account now, and another $358 million later after more assets have been seized. But he doesn’t appear to have done this yet.
Pentagon drug-enforcement funds: $2.5 billion. This is the account that the Pentagon has just used for its initial $1 billion outlay. It’s expected to use another $1.5 billion this year, though it’s not clear whether that money will also be transferred from its military-personnel fund to the drug fund or whether it will come from elsewhere.
Military construction funds: $3.8 billion. This is the most contentious of the national-emergency moves — and the one the Trump administration is slow-walking the most. For one thing, there are constitutional challenges as to whether it’s appropriate for the military-construction budget to be used for the wall — part of the administration’s court battle over the emergency declaration (which hasn’t yet resulted in any actual impediments to Trump’s plans).

Just as importantly, though, there are political considerations — the Pentagon will have to cut other planned construction projects, and risk the anger of the members of Congress where those projects would be happening. The Pentagon has released a list of projects that might be cut to free up $3.8 billion in wall money, but none of them are supposed to happen until 2020 — and the administration’s 2020 budget request would make up the money. In other words, if Congress gives the Pentagon what it wants in 2020, it won’t have to cut anything to pay for the wall. (But that now looks unlikely.)
The 2020 budget request: $8.6 billion. This is basically a pipe dream. It’s based on what the White House deems necessary to have 722 miles of barriers in place in time for the end of fiscal year 2020 — which, conveniently, is a month before the 2020 presidential election. But there’s no indication Congress will give Trump that much, after so many fights in which Congress has fought Trump on wall funding and won.
In context, the $1 billion transferred this week doesn’t look that big. But the fact that the Pentagon is willing to break with standard practice — and pick a funding fight with Congress for next year — to put that money toward the border is an indication of just how much the executive branch is backing the president up on his top priority — and how much energy congressional Democrats will have to spend fighting it.
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics ... s-congress
Mazars and Deutsche Bank could have ended this nightmare before it started.
They could still get him out of office.
But instead, they want mass death.
Don’t forget that.
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