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As the massive Hurricane Dorian bares down on the Southeast, President Trump spends his time not directing help to those in need or talking about the influence of climate change on hurricanes, but defending that he was the victim of fake news when he showed the path of Dorian to include part of Alabama when it did not. He tweets about it for days, as he has such a fragile ego he just cannot ever admit being wrong about any little thing. Later it comes out that the NOAA had been pressured into sending out a directive to its employees warning them to not contradict the President.
The President cancels a secret meeting he was going to have at Camp David with the leaders of the Taliban as well as the Afghan government as that war enters its 19th year. That’s right. A sitting president invited a terrorist organization in Afghanistan whom we are fighting to visit a military base in the U.S. during the same week of Sept. 11 that we honor the victims of that tragedy which started the war. Have we ever invited the head of a warring party to our country, much less a terrorist organization, as if it was a state visit? You can’t make this stuff up.
Trump loses another top aide as the architect and special envoy of the new Middle East peace plan, Jason Greenbelt, announces he is leaving the administration. He had reportedly been working with the President’s son-in-law Kushner on a grand peace plan between Israel and the Palestinians which has faltered since the President has shown extreme favor to Israel at every turn.
The Trump administration continues to use emergency appeals to the Supreme Court to short circuit losses and injunctions in lower federal courts. Rulings unfavorable to the administration on immigration, asylum, and the border wall are all being appealed to the SCUS.
In another blow to democracy, the GOP under pressure from the White House has decided that some states just do not need to have presidential primary elections. The Republican Party of Kansas, Nevada, and South Carolina have all opted out, despite the emergence of challengers to Trump’s nomination.
Chaos continues as President Trump loses his third National Security Adviser, this time by firing hawk John Bolton. Trump apparently did not like Bolton’s assertiveness in disputing the President’s strategy for North Korea, Iran, and Afghanistan. The relationship was do bad that they could not even agree on whether Bolton resigned or Trump fired him. Yet, Bolton was successful in getting the President to abandon the idea of having the terrorist Taliban visit Camp David for peace talks and photo ops the same week as 9/11. He follows John McMaster and Michael Flynn who later pleaded guilty to crimes of lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russians.
For such a big deal maker, nearly all of the negotiations around the world have broken down between the U.S. and China, North Korea, Iran, Venezuela, and the Middle East. With the U.S. dissolving the Iranian nuclear treaty, the Iranians are now violating terms they previously observed.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo this week denied reports that the CIA had to extradite a secret spy in the Kremlin who was close to Putin after Trump met with Putin in 2017 and reportedly shared confidential information that the CIA worried would compromise the asset.
Trump’s EPA officially ended President Obama’s 2015 Waters of the United States clean water protection rules.
Trump insults the Fed by calling them boneheads and telling them they should slash interest rates to zero or below to make the cost of borrowing zilch.
United Nations investigators accused the U.S .of committing war crimes due to airstrikes that killed civilians in Syria earlier this year.
The gap between the rich and poor in America is getting bigger under the Trump administration due in part to cheap money which the wealthy are able to borrow to increase their wealth. The number of Americans without health insurance is also up having risen for the first time in a decade. Average life expectancy is on the decline. Violence is up. Racism is making a resurgence as it militant nationalism. Civility is gone from public and political life. Division is up. And Senate Republicans say they will not take up any new gun legislation despite the carnage that from mass shootings, 53 deaths last month alone, that is terrorizing Americans more so than any foreign terrorist ever have. This is all occurring under Trump’s watch.
The House Judiciary committee is moving ahead with plans for its first impeachment hearings this Fall by approving guidelines for the hearings.
Trump continues his attack on the press by tweeting incendiary videos showing the logo of CNN burning.
The House of Representatives has formally launched an impeachment inquiry after a CIA whistleblower claimed that Trump had pressured a foreign head of state, in this case Ukraine’s President Zelenskiy, into investigating a U.S. citizen and Trump’s political foe Joe Biden, in exchange for millions of dollars of military aid. The White House then tried to cover it up by storing call records in systems used for far more sensitive information. The President was heard to tell Zelenskiy that he would have his personal attorney Giuliani as well as the U.S. Attorney General William Barr confer with the Ukrainians to work out the details of the investigation. Trump responds by calling the investigation an act of treason and a coup against a sitting president. As the fallout mounts, Trump’s special envoy to Ukraine resigns, only months after Trump canned his ambassador to Ukraine.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo declares that Iran conducted an act of war against Saudi Arabia and the Trump administration sends more men and weapons to the Middle East. However, the U.S. is having to go it alone because we have turned away so many other once-allies and now have so little credibility and trustworthiness.
Trump nominates his fourth national security adviser in only two years, Robert O’Brien, to replace John Bolton. O’Brien, like many of Trump’s other nominees, has little experience to apply to the new job of keeping Americans safe.. Other than being an established figure in Republican politics, he was a hostage negotiator. How fitting as many Americans feel like they are being held hostage by Trump’s antics, threats, bullying, lies, and chaos.
This time Trump attacks and demeans the head of the Federal Reserve Bank, Jeffrey Powell, even after they announced a lowering of interest rates.
Another important job of keeping Americans safe, the head of FEMA, still has a acting head. The White House announced it has pulled the nomination of Jeffrey Byard after allegations of inappropriate behavior including a barroom altercation.
While a climate catastrophe looms ahead, Trump has kept the U.S. from participating in a United Nations in international climate summit held in New York City. In acts that can only be called environmental sabotage, Trump is taking the nation backwards by removing energy efficiency regulations that reduce carbon emissions.
The above news has been taken from a number of international, national, regional, and local news media sources, both print and digital. Additional editorial opinions and comments about these news items are those of this author.
Bearing + Witness + Heartland 