thehuffingtonpost--2020-02-14--Seattle Council Just Passed America’s First Ban on Winter Evictions

Seattle may become the first U.S. city to ban wintertime evictions , protecting residents from being thrown out of their homes into potentially deadly climates .
Under legislation that passed the City Council this week , landlords will not be allowed to evict poor tenants from the beginning of December until the end of February , when Seattle temperatures can fall below freezing and the rain is relentless .
“ What we will have achieved if this legislation is voted through is landmark legislation that has no precedent in the country and in fact very little precedence in the world @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , who proposed the legislation , said just before it passed with seven votes in favor and none against .
“ This is huge.
” The measure was proposed as a means to address Seattle ’ s unprecedented housing crisis .
According to a 2017 study commissioned by the city , the majority of evicted Seattleites ended up homeless , with more than one-third sleeping outside following their ejection from housing .
Evicted renters were also disproportionately female and non-white .
Most of those evicted for falling behind on rent had missed a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ one life hiccup — getting their hours cut , a medical emergency , a death in the family — and ended up getting evicted , ” said Xochitl Maykovich , political director of the Washington Community Action Network , a tenants ’ rights advocacy group , and the co-author of the study .
“ The data demonstrated how brutal the housing market was and that without regulations landlords were taking any excuse to throw people out on the street.
” Winter evictions can be deadly .
According to a 2010 report by the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people at risk of or experiencing homelessness die of hypothermia each year .
In Seattle , 194 people died sleeping outside last year , almost seven times the city ’ s homicide rate .
Though weather is not the direct cause of all those deaths , experts say nearly every condition associated with living on the streets , from mental illness to chronic disease to drug abuse , is exacerbated by the cold and moist conditions associated with Seattle winters .
The bill is one of the first progressive measures by Seattle ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ invested unprecedented amounts of money in last year ’ s local election , an act of retaliation against the City Council for passing the infamous “ Amazon tax ” in 2018 .
Nearly all of the candidates supported by the online giant lost to progressive candidates backed by unions , tenants ’ rights groups and other progressive organizations .
“ Sure we need to expand rental assistance , but that doesn ’ t negate the need for tenant protections , “ Maykovich said .
“ The landlord lobby likes to think of themselves @ @ @ @ @ @ @ but if you own multiple properties , you ’ re not middle class .
You ’ re rich .
I don ’ t see why legislation should protect landlords from maybe losing small amounts of money at the expense of a poor renter losing their home.
” The eviction ban includes a number of important caveats .
The bill is limited to low- and moderate-income renters .
Landlords who live on the same property as their tenants ( like those renting out their basement or a backyard cottage ) would still be able @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who own fewer than five units in Seattle .
The ban doesn ’ t apply to renters who engage in criminal behavior or threaten the safety of others .
The bill is one of the first progressive measures by Seattle ’ s newly emboldened City Council .
Amazon invested unprecedented amounts of money in last year ’ s local election , an act of retaliation against the City Council for passing the infamous “ Amazon tax ” in 2018 .
Nearly all of the candidates supported by the online giant lost to progressive @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rights groups and other progressive organizations .
“ Sure we need to expand rental assistance , but that doesn ’ t negate the need for tenant protections , “ Maykovich said .
“ The landlord lobby likes to think of themselves as middle class or working class , but if you own multiple properties , you ’ re not middle class .
You ’ re rich .
I don ’ t see why legislation should protect landlords from maybe losing small amounts of money at the expense of a poor renter losing their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ number of important caveats .
The bill is limited to low- and moderate-income renters .
Landlords who live on the same property as their tenants ( like those renting out their basement or a backyard cottage ) would still be able to evict tenants , as would landlords who own fewer than five units in Seattle .
The ban doesn ’ t apply to renters who engage in criminal behavior or threaten the safety of others .
If it does go into force , the winter eviction ban is unlikely to singlehandedly alter @ @ @ @ @ @ @ housing crisis .
The ban only comes into effect if tenants challenge their eviction in court , a process many low-income renters don ’ t have the time or resources to initiate .
And tenants will still accrue back rent and fines during the three months when the ban applies .
“ We should also be sober about the limitations of the legislation , ” Sawant said in the council session just before passing the bill .
“ It will not end evictions .
It will delay them , and we know that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ could potentially completely prevent evictions , but on the whole , this won ’ t be enough.
” Regardless of its imperfections , Maykovich said the bill will give tenants more leverage when negotiating with landlords if they fall behind on rent .
Though Seattle has a relatively small number of official evictions — police enforced just 551 in the city last year — that is likely only a fraction of the number of people ejected from their homes each year .

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Seattle may become the first U.S. city to ban wintertime evictions, protecting residents from being thrown out of their homes into potentially deadly climates. Under legislation that passed the City Council this week, landlords will not be allowed to evict poor tenants from the beginning of December until the end of February, when Seattle temperatures can fall below freezing and the rain is relentless.
Though other U.S. cities restrict evictions based on weather patterns (Washington halts evictions if there’s more than a 50% chance of rain; Chicago bans them when temperatures fall below 15 degrees), only Paris bans landlords from ejecting tenants for a months-long period each year.
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“What we will have achieved if this legislation is voted through is landmark legislation that has no precedent in the country and in fact very little precedence in the world,” Seattle City Councilmember Kshama Sawant, who proposed the legislation, said just before it passed with seven votes in favor and none against. “This is huge.”
The measure was proposed as a means to address Seattle’s unprecedented housing crisis. According to a 2017 study commissioned by the city, the majority of evicted Seattleites ended up homeless, with more than one-third sleeping outside following their ejection from housing. Evicted renters were also disproportionately female and non-white. Most of those evicted for falling behind on rent had missed a single month.
“People were having one life hiccup — getting their hours cut, a medical emergency, a death in the family — and ended up getting evicted,” said Xochitl Maykovich, political director of the Washington Community Action Network, a tenants’ rights advocacy group, and the co-author of the study. “The data demonstrated how brutal the housing market was and that without regulations landlords were taking any excuse to throw people out on the street.”
Winter evictions can be deadly. According to a 2010 report by the National Coalition for the Homeless, 700 people at risk of or experiencing homelessness die of hypothermia each year. In Seattle, 194 people died sleeping outside last year, almost seven times the city’s homicide rate. Though weather is not the direct cause of all those deaths, experts say nearly every condition associated with living on the streets, from mental illness to chronic disease to drug abuse, is exacerbated by the cold and moist conditions associated with Seattle winters.
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Kevin Shepherd walks back to the tent where he lives as snow falls in Seattle on Feb. 11, 2019. Shepherd, who works as a musician and pedi-cab driver when the weather is better, said keeping warm is the hardest part of being unsheltered during the winter Ted S. Warren/ASSOCIATED PRESS
“A lot of people say that Seattle has pretty mild weather, but if you’re outside in these elements all the time and you don’t have the luxury of going into your car or a building, it can be punishing,” said Devin Silvernail, a legislative aide to Seattle City Councilmember Tammy Morales.
The bill is one of the first progressive measures by Seattle’s newly emboldened City Council. Amazon invested unprecedented amounts of money in last year’s local election, an act of retaliation against the City Council for passing the infamous “Amazon tax” in 2018. Nearly all of the candidates supported by the online giant lost to progressive candidates backed by unions, tenants’ rights groups and other progressive organizations.
Real estate and business groups opposed the bill, saying the ban would affect mom-and-pop property owners. Instead of burdening landlords by preventing them from evicting delinquent tenants, they argued, the city should instead expand its existing rental-assistance programs.
“Sure we need to expand rental assistance, but that doesn’t negate the need for tenant protections,“ Maykovich said. “The landlord lobby likes to think of themselves as middle class or working class, but if you own multiple properties, you’re not middle class. You’re rich. I don’t see why legislation should protect landlords from maybe losing small amounts of money at the expense of a poor renter losing their home.”
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Landlords have been the primary beneficiaries of Seattle’s ongoing housing crisis. Over the last five years, as Seattle’s Amazon-led business sector has gone on a hiring frenzy, the city’s housing stock has not kept up. The mismatch has allowed landlords to increase rents for existing properties without providing any new services or amenities.
The eviction ban includes a number of important caveats. The bill is limited to low- and moderate-income renters. Landlords who live on the same property as their tenants (like those renting out their basement or a backyard cottage) would still be able to evict tenants, as would landlords who own fewer than five units in Seattle. The ban doesn’t apply to renters who engage in criminal behavior or threaten the safety of others.
“A lot of people say that Seattle has pretty mild weather, but if you’re outside in these elements all the time and you don’t have the luxury of going into your car or a building, it can be punishing,” said Devin Silvernail, a legislative aide to Seattle City Councilmember Tammy Morales.
The bill is one of the first progressive measures by Seattle’s newly emboldened City Council. Amazon invested unprecedented amounts of money in last year’s local election, an act of retaliation against the City Council for passing the infamous “Amazon tax” in 2018. Nearly all of the candidates supported by the online giant lost to progressive candidates backed by unions, tenants’ rights groups and other progressive organizations.
Real estate and business groups opposed the bill, saying the ban would affect mom-and-pop property owners. Instead of burdening landlords by preventing them from evicting delinquent tenants, they argued, the city should instead expand its existing rental-assistance programs.
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“Sure we need to expand rental assistance, but that doesn’t negate the need for tenant protections,“ Maykovich said. “The landlord lobby likes to think of themselves as middle class or working class, but if you own multiple properties, you’re not middle class. You’re rich. I don’t see why legislation should protect landlords from maybe losing small amounts of money at the expense of a poor renter losing their home.”
Seattle City Councilmember Kshama Sawant, who proposed the winter eviction ban, recently reintroduced the idea of a tax on large corporations to fund homeless services. A similar proposal was passed by the council in 2018 and later repealed. JASON REDMOND via Getty Images
Landlords have been the primary beneficiaries of Seattle’s ongoing housing crisis. Over the last five years, as Seattle’s Amazon-led business sector has gone on a hiring frenzy, the city’s housing stock has not kept up. The mismatch has allowed landlords to increase rents for existing properties without providing any new services or amenities.
The eviction ban includes a number of important caveats. The bill is limited to low- and moderate-income renters. Landlords who live on the same property as their tenants (like those renting out their basement or a backyard cottage) would still be able to evict tenants, as would landlords who own fewer than five units in Seattle. The ban doesn’t apply to renters who engage in criminal behavior or threaten the safety of others.
The future of the bill remains uncertain. Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan, who warned the council not to pass the eviction ban, may veto it. The council, in turn, could override her veto. If it is enacted, the ban will likely face legal challenges from landlord advocacy groups.
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If it does go into force, the winter eviction ban is unlikely to singlehandedly alter the dynamics of Seattle’s ongoing housing crisis. The ban only comes into effect if tenants challenge their eviction in court, a process many low-income renters don’t have the time or resources to initiate. And tenants will still accrue back rent and fines during the three months when the ban applies.
“We should also be sober about the limitations of the legislation,” Sawant said in the council session just before passing the bill. “It will not end evictions. It will delay them, and we know that delaying will provide a real lifeline and could potentially completely prevent evictions, but on the whole, this won’t be enough.”
Regardless of its imperfections, Maykovich said the bill will give tenants more leverage when negotiating with landlords if they fall behind on rent. Though Seattle has a relatively small number of official evictions — police enforced just 551 in the city last year — that is likely only a fraction of the number of people ejected from their homes each year.
“Once you get evicted it’s a scarlet letter on your record.”
“Once you get evicted it’s a scarlet letter on your record,” Maykovich said. “A lot of people agree to leave their apartments so their landlords won’t file the paperwork. This law gives them more power when that conversation takes place.”
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As for whether the proposed ban offers a model to other cities, Maykovich stressed that it is part of a much larger package of tenants’ rights protections achieved through years of local advocacy. This year, Washington state passed a comprehensive eviction-prevention law that prohibited landlords from evicting tenants over non-rent-related fees and extending the legal notice period from 3 to 14 days. Seattle has banned exorbitant move-in fees, required landlords to pass housing inspections before initiating evictions and recognized the “right to a roommate.”


thehuffingtonpost--2020-02-14--Women Accused White Nationalist Augustus Sol Invictus Of Abuse For Years Before His Arrest

Invictus , who has said he is innocent , was arrested in December , after his wife Anna Invictus reported an instance of abuse to law enforcement .
On Friday , she read a statement in court detailing years of alleged violence .
During their six-year relationship , Augustus Invictus held her captive in a locked room for days , beat her , dragged her though the house , choked her until she passed out , threatened to kill her , and took away her phone so she couldn ’ t call for help , she alleged in the statement @ @ @ @ @ @ @ publicly .
After hitchhiking and praying in the desert , Augustus Invictus returned home to Florida , slaughtered a goat and drank its blood .
He moved in with an old friend but their relationship quickly soured .
In August 2014 , the friend told an Orlando police officer that Augustus Invictus pointed a loaded gun at him in their living room , then claimed he had mistaken the roommate for an intruder .
Another roommate noticed a sign above the fireplace labeled “ House Rules.
” The third rule was : “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ shows up in police reports again in February 2016 , when a woman told an Orlando police officer that he pointed a gun in her face after she asked him to leave her apartment .
When the cops arrived , he claimed the woman picked the weapon up first and that he only took it out of her hands .
Anna Invictus told the police she saw him holding a gun but she did not know who first picked it up .
Police recovered a Taurus PT111 9mm Caliber handgun .
Anna and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ went to law enforcement in March 2016 after the breakup when Augustus Invictus texted her friend and said he was going to burn all of her possessions and shoot her on the spot , she told the police .
She also said that he had “ battered her numerous times over the last two years ” but that she had never reported the violence , according to an Orlando Police Department report .
The police referred the case to the state attorney ’ s office , but Anna Invictus never heard from prosecutors @ @ @ @ @ @ @ took him back but the alleged abuse quickly resumed .
After a fight , Augustus Invictus came home from work and asked Anna Invictus if she was done being a “ cunt , ” according to an Altamonte Springs , Florida , police report from August 2016 .
When she tried to answer , he grabbed her by the neck until it was hard to breathe , she told the police .
He then put his hand over her mouth and nose .
It was still hard to breathe , she said .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ with an open hand .
He asked if she was done arguing with him ; she said “ yes ” to make the violence stop .
Anna Invictus was willing to press charges but she had no visible injuries and Augustus Invictus denied the allegations , according to a comment by the state attorney ’ s office in the police report .
“ There would likely be conflicting testimony at trial .
Without other corroborating evidence to support the allegation , it is unlikely that the State could overcome its burden of proving @ @ @ @ @ @ @ beyond a reasonable doubt , ” the report read .
In 2017 , another woman told law enforcement that Augustus Invictus had physically and sexually abused her over the course of their 15-month relationship .
The woman , whose name HuffPost is not disclosing , met Augustus Invictus in her senior year of high school , when he convinced her to join her school ’ s debate team , which he coached .
He started having sex with her soon after .
The woman described to police a pattern of abuse similar to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
In October 2016 , she said Augustus Invictus got mad at the woman for talking to her friends .
He slapped her and covered her mouth and nose so that she could not breathe , she told an Altamonte Springs police officer .
He then dragged her to the center of the room , and punched her in the side of the head , she alleged .
After Christmas , Augustus Invictus talked the woman into seeing him again , she told the police .
But he quickly grew jealous again .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ a closet and choked her until she passed out , she told the police .
“ She thought he was holding a gun to her head , she said , but she was too scared to open her eyes .
After the accuser went to the police , Augustus Invictus threatened her with a defamation lawsuit unless she retracted her allegations .
He and Anna Invictus denied the allegations and claimed that the accuser was an unreliable drug addict .
At the time , Anna Invictus claimed the accuser was copying her own @ @ @ @ @ @ @ police in an attempt to get back together with Augustus Invictus .

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White nationalist lawyer Augustus Sol Invictus, who helped organize the deadly 2017 “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, was denied release on Friday as he awaits trial for charges of domestic violence, kidnapping and using a gun in commission of a crime. If convicted, he faces a maximum of 55 years in prison.
The charges against Invictus are the latest in a series of abuse allegations: HuffPost obtained 10 police reports documenting past incidents of violence and threats of violence — including three reports where victims accused Invictus of pointing a gun at them.
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Invictus, who has said he is innocent, was arrested in December, after his wife Anna Invictus reported an instance of abuse to law enforcement. On Friday, she read a statement in court detailing years of alleged violence. During their six-year relationship, Augustus Invictus held her captive in a locked room for days, beat her, dragged her though the house, choked her until she passed out, threatened to kill her, and took away her phone so she couldn’t call for help, she alleged in the statement, which she authorized HuffPost to share publicly.
Augustus Invictus often beat her in the stomach and the head, where her bruises would be less visible, she wrote.
He used his status as a lawyer to threaten to take custody of their children, “effectively keeping me under his control,” Anna Invictus wrote in her statement. “My 13 year old daughter and I fear he will come into our home and kill me if he is granted bond.”
Augustus Sol Invictus is facing charges of domestic violence, kidnapping and using a gun in commission of a crime. Augustus Sol Invictus/Instagram
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Augustus Invictus — who legally changed his name from Austin Gillespie to the Latin phrase for “majestic unconquered sun” — helped draft a political manifesto for the Charlottesville rally, which called for a white ethnostate, described Jews as ethnically distinct from Europeans, and warned of an “invasion” of refugees.
White supremacy is an inherently violent ideology and allegations that he abused those close to him were well documented by law enforcement.
Anna Invictus went to the police at least twice before the alleged assault in December that ultimately led to her husband’s arrest. She also witnessed him evade punishment after other women reported his alleged assaults to law enforcement. The collection of police reports obtained by HuffPost make clear that, according to his accusers, Augustus Invictus was an alleged serial predator who escaped justice for years.
In 2013, he sent a mass email to friends, colleagues and acquaintances announcing that he was embarking on a spiritual journey to launch “the Second American Civil War.” One recipient of the email was worried enough to alert police in Orlando, Florida, according to an incident report obtained by HuffPost.
After hitchhiking and praying in the desert, Augustus Invictus returned home to Florida, slaughtered a goat and drank its blood. He moved in with an old friend but their relationship quickly soured. In August 2014, the friend told an Orlando police officer that Augustus Invictus pointed a loaded gun at him in their living room, then claimed he had mistaken the roommate for an intruder. Another roommate noticed a sign above the fireplace labeled “House Rules.” The third rule was: “Trespassers Will Be Shot.”
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Augustus Invictus shows up in police reports again in February 2016, when a woman told an Orlando police officer that he pointed a gun in her face after she asked him to leave her apartment. When the cops arrived, he claimed the woman picked the weapon up first and that he only took it out of her hands. Anna Invictus told the police she saw him holding a gun but she did not know who first picked it up. Police recovered a Taurus PT111 9mm Caliber handgun.
The woman who called the cops wanted to press charges but the police determined there wasn’t enough evidence, according to the incident report. The woman, whose name HuffPost is withholding, could not be reached for comment.
Anna and Augustus broke up soon after. She went to law enforcement in March 2016 after the breakup when Augustus Invictus texted her friend and said he was going to burn all of her possessions and shoot her on the spot, she told the police. She also said that he had “battered her numerous times over the last two years” but that she had never reported the violence, according to an Orlando Police Department report. The police referred the case to the state attorney’s office, but Anna Invictus never heard from prosecutors, she told HuffPost.
She eventually took him back but the alleged abuse quickly resumed. After a fight, Augustus Invictus came home from work and asked Anna Invictus if she was done being a “cunt,” according to an Altamonte Springs, Florida, police report from August 2016. When she tried to answer, he grabbed her by the neck until it was hard to breathe, she told the police. He then put his hand over her mouth and nose. It was still hard to breathe, she said. Then he hit her in the head with an open hand. He asked if she was done arguing with him; she said “yes” to make the violence stop.
Anna Invictus was willing to press charges but she had no visible injuries and Augustus Invictus denied the allegations, according to a comment by the state attorney’s office in the police report. “There would likely be conflicting testimony at trial. Without other corroborating evidence to support the allegation, it is unlikely that the State could overcome its burden of proving the case to the high burden of beyond a reasonable doubt,” the report read.
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Part of the reason she didn’t have more evidence, Anna Invictus told HuffPost, is because Augustus Invictus regularly deleted her photos, text messages and emails — anything that could be used as proof of abuse.
In 2017, another woman told law enforcement that Augustus Invictus had physically and sexually abused her over the course of their 15-month relationship. The woman, whose name HuffPost is not disclosing, met Augustus Invictus in her senior year of high school, when he convinced her to join her school’s debate team, which he coached. He started having sex with her soon after.
The woman described to police a pattern of abuse similar to what his wife alleged in police reports. In October 2016, she said Augustus Invictus got mad at the woman for talking to her friends. He slapped her and covered her mouth and nose so that she could not breathe, she told an Altamonte Springs police officer. He then dragged her to the center of the room, and punched her in the side of the head, she alleged.
After Christmas, Augustus Invictus talked the woman into seeing him again, she told the police. But he quickly grew jealous again. He beat her, dragged her into a closet and choked her until she passed out, she told the police. “She thought he was holding a gun to her head, she said, but she was too scared to open her eyes.
“Tell me why I shouldn’t kill you right now,” she recalled him saying, according to a police report.
Augustus Invictus eventually calmed down, threw a knife towards her and told her to “just go get in the bathtub and slit your wrist,” she alleged. When she got out of the closet, she saw he had a black handgun.
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She suffered for months without going to law enforcement because, she told a police officer, Augustus Invictus “is a ‘high-powered’ attorney, has ties to white supremacist individuals, and knows everything about her, including where she is living now, her friends and family contact information, and her place of work.”
She finally decided to go to the police in March 2017 after she opened her Google calendar and saw that Invictus had scheduled an event for March 17: “Annihilate [her first name].”
When the detective investigating the case asked Augustus Invictus about the event, he claimed he was referring to exposing personal information about the woman rather than physically injuring her, an Altamonte Springs Police Department spokeswoman told HuffPost in 2017.
“Every time a woman took the risk of coming forward only to hear there wasn’t enough evidence, Anna Invictus said it reinforced that her best option was to sacrifice her own well-being and focus on taking care of her kids.”
HuffPost contacted Augustus Invictus in 2017 about the allegations. He responded in an email, “You are a Jew with an axe to grind against anyone who refuses to denounce the Alt-Right.”
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After the accuser went to the police, Augustus Invictus threatened her with a defamation lawsuit unless she retracted her allegations. He and Anna Invictus denied the allegations and claimed that the accuser was an unreliable drug addict. At the time, Anna Invictus claimed the accuser was copying her own tactic of reporting false allegations to the police in an attempt to get back together with Augustus Invictus.
But the accuser never recanted. The police eventually recommended charges of domestic battery by strangulation and aggravated battery against Augustus Invictus. A spokesman for a state attorney’s office told HuffPost in 2017 that his office had mailed the woman two requests to meet but that she never responded. She told HuffPost she never received them.
Prosecutors decided they didn’t have enough evidence against him and declined to pursue prosecution.
Another woman told two different police departments that Augustus Invictus threatened to “wage holy war” against Ordo Templi Orientis if the religious group did not lift his excommunication. The woman believed the threat was credible because he was “known to be violent and erratic,” she told the police.
Every time a woman took the risk of coming forward only to hear there wasn’t enough evidence to do anything, Anna Invictus said it reinforced that her best option was to sacrifice her own well-being and focus on taking care of her kids.
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But by December 2019, Anna Invictus had enough. They were living in South Carolina at the time and her husband returned home after being gone for weeks. He took Anna’s phone, turned it off, grabbed her by the neck, shoved her against a wall, held a gun to her forehead and demanded to know if she was cheating on him, she told HuffPost.
Augustus Invictus later told Anna Invictus to follow behind him in a car as they drove to Florida, she said. Once they arrived, she realized they had no money and nowhere to stay. With her bruises still visible, she found a way to get in contact with law enforcement.


thehuffingtonpost--2020-02-16--George Conway Thinks William Barr's Rebuke Of Trump Had A Hidden Message

George Conway suggested Attorney General William Barr ’ s recent pushback against President Donald Trump and his “ constant background commentary ” was more likely a warning for the president to be more discreet than an attempt to uphold the Department of Justice ’ s integrity .
Conway , a fierce Trump critic and husband to presidential counselor Kellyanne Conway , penned a Washington Post op-ed published Saturday , after Barr complained in an ABC News interview on Thursday that the president ’ s commentary on and off Twitter makes it “ impossible for me to do my job.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ up for the Justice Department ’ s integrity , or its independence , or for the rule of law , ” Conway said of Barr ’ s comments , which came after Trump thanked him in a tweet for “ taking charge ” of the case against Roger Stone .
The tweet appeared to confirm that Barr had intervened to walk back Stone ’ s recommended sentence after Trump raged about the original recommendation for his longtime friend , who was convicted in November for witness tampering and lying to Congress .
Conway @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as his ( and my ) friend Fox News host Laura Ingraham put it , ‘ Barr was basically telling Trump , don ’ t worry I got this.
’ In other words , don ’ t blow this by calling attention to all that I do for you .
Don ’ t say the quiet part out loud.
” Citing an incident last year when the White House arranged for the name of the naval warship USS John McCain to be obscured before Trump ’ s visit to Japan , Conway argued @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to deal with matters that could draw his ire preemptively .
“ Anticipating Trump ’ s narcissistic whims and desires in just this fashion remains the key to survival in his administration , and outside the White House proper , no one does it better than Barr , ” Conway wrote , highlighting the attorney general ’ s repeated interventions on the president ’ s behalf .
Democrats and more than one thousand former DOJ officials have called for Barr ’ s resignation over his actions , which they have labeled a threat @ @ @ @ @ @ @ warned that Barr ’ s pushback should be taken with a grain of salt .
Several lawmakers , political pundits and news hosts suggested the comments may have been a coordinated attempt between him and the president to limit the fallout over Stone ’ s botched sentencing .
Conway says Barr tried to communicate a hidden meaning to the president with his critique but warns the message will fall on deaf ears .
“ But the president will never listen , and what Barr does for him will never be enough , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to say the quiet part out loud ; he wants to say he ’ s got this .
And there ’ s no one to stop him now .
”

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George Conway suggested Attorney General William Barr’s recent pushback against President Donald Trump and his “constant background commentary” was more likely a warning for the president to be more discreet than an attempt to uphold the Department of Justice’s integrity.
Conway, a fierce Trump critic and husband to presidential counselor Kellyanne Conway, penned a Washington Post op-ed published Saturday, after Barr complained in an ABC News interview on Thursday that the president’s commentary on and off Twitter makes it “impossible for me to do my job.”
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“He wasn’t actually standing up for the Justice Department’s integrity, or its independence, or for the rule of law,” Conway said of Barr’s comments, which came after Trump thanked him in a tweet for “taking charge” of the case against Roger Stone. The tweet appeared to confirm that Barr had intervened to walk back Stone’s recommended sentence after Trump raged about the original recommendation for his longtime friend, who was convicted in November for witness tampering and lying to Congress.
Conway continued: “To the contrary, as his (and my) friend Fox News host Laura Ingraham put it, ‘Barr was basically telling Trump, don’t worry I got this.’ In other words, don’t blow this by calling attention to all that I do for you. Don’t say the quiet part out loud.”
(Ingraham, a devoted Trump defender, had mocked the media for pouncing on the “sexy story” of Barr breaking from Trump, saying that they’d “missed the fact” that Barr was actually telling the president he had his back.)
Citing an incident last year when the White House arranged for the name of the naval warship USS John McCain to be obscured before Trump’s visit to Japan, Conway argued that Trump’s subordinates had learned to deal with matters that could draw his ire preemptively.
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“Anticipating Trump’s narcissistic whims and desires in just this fashion remains the key to survival in his administration, and outside the White House proper, no one does it better than Barr,” Conway wrote, highlighting the attorney general’s repeated interventions on the president’s behalf.
Democrats and more than 1,000 former DOJ officials have called for Barr’s resignation over his actions, which they have labeled a threat to democracy.
Other Trump critics had warned that Barr’s pushback should be taken with a grain of salt. Several lawmakers, political pundits and news hosts suggested the comments may have been a coordinated attempt between him and the president to limit the fallout over Stone’s botched sentencing.
Conway says Barr tried to communicate a hidden meaning to the president with his critique but warns the message will fall on deaf ears.
“But the president will never listen, and what Barr does for him will never be enough,” Conway concluded.
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thehuffingtonpost--2020-02-17--Trump Campaign Manager Brad Parscale Tweets Photo Of Big Crowd Near Air Force One

Trump Campaign Manager Brad Parscale Tweets Photo Of Big Crowd Near Air Force One -- From 2004

President Donald Trump ’ s campaign manager Brad Parscale tweeted ― then deleted ― a stunning image of Air Force One behind a large crowd at Florida ’ s Daytona 500 after Twitter users noted that the image was 16 years old .
The tweet , which was posted on Sunday and stayed up for around three hours , was retweeted at least 6,700 times and liked 23,000 times before it was removed , CNN reported .
″ @ realDonaldTrump won the # Daytona500 before the race even started , ” the image was captioned .
The picture , which @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2004 , depicts Air Force One taking off from the Daytona Beach International Airport , which is adjacent to the speedway where the NASCAR race takes place .
It was used as a file image in media reports in the lead-up to Trump ’ s appearance at Sunday ’ s event , but actually carried former President George W. Bush .
In this 2004 file photo , Air Force One takes off with former President George W. Bush aboard after attending the NASCAR Nextel Cup Daytona 500 .
After removing the tweet , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ image from Sunday ’ s race with the same caption : Prior to its deletion , Twitter users identifying as Trump supporters replied to the original tweet with messages like “ Amazing shot wow ” and “ WOW WHAT A SHOT !
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Others pointed out the image ’ s origins and questioned whether it was an honest mistake or intentionally misleading : The Trump campaign did not immediately return HuffPost ’ s request for comment .
Trump , the only president @ @ @ @ @ @ @ stoked racegoers with an Air Force One flyover followed by a lap around the track in the presidential limousine .
His campaign aired an ad during the Fox broadcast of the race .
A large “ KEEP AMERICA GREAT !
” banner also flew near the racetrack .

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President Donald Trump’s campaign manager Brad Parscale tweeted ― then deleted ― a stunning image of Air Force One behind a large crowd at Florida’s Daytona 500 after Twitter users noted that the image was 16 years old.
The tweet, which was posted on Sunday and stayed up for around three hours, was retweeted at least 6,700 times and liked 23,000 times before it was removed, CNN reported.
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″@realDonaldTrump won the #Daytona500 before the race even started,” the image was captioned.
The picture, which was shot by photographer Jonathan Ferrey in 2004, depicts Air Force One taking off from the Daytona Beach International Airport, which is adjacent to the speedway where the NASCAR race takes place. It was used as a file image in media reports in the lead-up to Trump’s appearance at Sunday’s event, but actually carried former President George W. Bush.
In this 2004 file photo, Air Force One takes off with former President George W. Bush aboard after attending the NASCAR Nextel Cup Daytona 500. Jonathan Ferrey via Getty Images
After removing the tweet, Parscale posted a new and less dramatic image from Sunday’s race with the same caption:
.@realDonaldTrump won the #Daytona500 before the race even started. pic.twitter.com/nzZXK6Gww6 — Brad Parscale - Text TRUMP to 88022 (@parscale) February 16, 2020
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Prior to its deletion, Twitter users identifying as Trump supporters replied to the original tweet with messages like “Amazing shot wow” and “WOW WHAT A SHOT!!!!!!!!!” CNN reported. Others pointed out the image’s origins and questioned whether it was an honest mistake or intentionally misleading:
Brad, that photo is from 16 years ago. — Bradley P. Moss (@BradMossEsq) February 16, 2020
The question is always—-was this an honest mistake or is trumpworld using an another presidents photo dishonestly. https://t.co/w22UjkQVI4 — Molly Jong-Fast (@MollyJongFast) February 16, 2020
The Trump campaign did not immediately return HuffPost’s request for comment.
Trump stoked racegoers with an Air Force One flyover followed by a lap around the track in the presidential limousine. His campaign aired an ad during the Fox broadcast of the race. A large “KEEP AMERICA GREAT!” banner also flew near the racetrack.
Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush also attended races at Daytona.
CLARIFICATION: An earlier version failed to mention Reagan and George H.W. Bush’s attendance at Daytona races. Both visited summer races at the track, not the annual Daytona 500.


thehuffingtonpost--2020-02-17--Trump Attends Wedding Of White House Aides Stephen Miller And Katie Waldman

Erin Scott/Reuters White House advisor Stephen Miller and Katie Waldman , press secretary for Vice President Mike Pence , pictured in September 2019 .
The couple tied the knot on Sunday at Trump International Hotel in Washington D.C. WASHINGTON ( AP ) — President Donald Trump went from the Daytona 500 on Sunday to attending the wedding of two top members of his administration , senior adviser Stephen Miller and Katie Waldman , press secretary for Vice President Mike Pence .
Shortly after landing at Andrews Air Force Base after a busy day in Florida , the president made a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The presidential motorcade then made a five-block jaunt to the Trump International Hotel where the White House announced after press queries that the president was attending “ the wedding of Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Miller ” Spectacular and very special wedding tonight with new bride and groom Stephen and Katie Miller !
So much fun and still going with  @ realDonaldTrump having fun and the band is going strong !
pic.twitter.com/1LreZhe2pd — Reince Priebus ( @ Reince ) February 17 , 2020 The combative Miller is one of the White House ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pushing moves that Trump has taken to curb immigration .
He is widely viewed as the driving force behind the administration ’ s hardest-line immigration policies .
Waldman served as a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security before moving to the vice president ’ s office .
The press pool was held outside of the hotel during Sunday ’ s festivities .
Trump spent more than two hours at the event .

White House advisor Stephen Miller and Katie Waldman, press secretary for Vice President Mike Pence, pictured in September 2019. The couple tied the knot on Sunday at Trump International Hotel in Washington D.C. Erin Scott/Reuters
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump went from the Daytona 500 on Sunday to attending the wedding of two top members of his administration, senior adviser Stephen Miller and Katie Waldman, press secretary for Vice President Mike Pence.
Shortly after landing at Andrews Air Force Base after a busy day in Florida, the president made a quick stop at the White House. The presidential motorcade then made a five-block jaunt to the Trump International Hotel where the White House announced after press queries that the president was attending “the wedding of Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Miller”
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Spectacular and very special wedding tonight with new bride and groom Stephen and Katie Miller! So much fun and still going with @realDonaldTrump having fun and the band is going strong! pic.twitter.com/1LreZhe2pd — Reince Priebus (@Reince) February 17, 2020
The combative Miller is one of the White House’s most conservative and influential voices in pushing moves that Trump has taken to curb immigration. He is widely viewed as the driving force behind the administration’s hardest-line immigration policies.
Waldman served as a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security before moving to the vice president’s office.
The press pool was held outside of the hotel during Sunday’s festivities. Trump spent more than two hours at the event.


thehuffingtonpost--2020-02-16--Rival Democrats Accuse Bloomberg Of Trying To 'Buy' Election

ASSOCIATED PRESS Democratic presidential candidate and former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg speaks at a campaign event in Raleigh , N.C. , Thursday , Feb. 13 , 2020 .
Their attacks are a sign of how seriously the field is starting to take Bloomberg as he gains traction in the race and is on the cusp of qualifying for Wednesday ’ s Democratic debate in Las Vegas .
Bloomberg has bypassed the traditional early voting states including Nevada , focusing instead on the 14 states that vote in the Super Tuesday primary on March 3 .
He has spent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ own multibillion-dollar fortune on advertising nationwide , an unprecedented sum for any candidate in a primary .
The focus on Bloomberg comes amid anxiety among many establishment-aligned Democrats over the early strength of Sanders , who won last week ’ s New Hampshire primary and essentially tied for first place in Iowa with Pete Buttigieg , the former mayor of South Bend , Indiana .
Sanders is hoping to notch a victory in Nevada on Saturday as moderates struggle to unite behind a candidate who could serve as a counter to the Vermont @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a democratic socialist .
It marked an escalation of the salvo Sanders launched Saturday against the former mayor , when he ticked off a litany of conservative positions Bloomberg has taken in the past , including opposing a minimum wage hike and his opposition to a number of Barack Obama ’ s policies while president .
On Saturday , Sanders suggested the former mayor ’ s past conservatism and controversial comments make him a weak candidate against President Donald Trump , charging that Bloomberg , “ with all his money , will not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we need ” to beat Trump .
And on Sunday , he was joined by the current mayor of New York , Bill de Blasio , who just this week endorsed Sanders .
De Blasio introduced Sanders with an attack of his own on his predecessor , telling the crowd , “ I ’ m sorry to report to you the chief proponent of stop and frisk is now running for president.
” “ I think he can not hide behind the airwaves and the money , ” she said .
“ I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ shows .
And I personally think he should be on the debate stage.
” Biden knocked Bloomberg ’ s past support of stop-and-frisk policing policies and his comments suggesting cracking down on racist mortgage lending practices , known as “ redlining , ” contributed to the financial crisis , as well as his 2008 refusal to endorse Barack Obama for president .
Bloomberg has been airing ads that tie him closely to Obama on issues like gun control and climate change .
When asked on MSNBC about whether Bloomberg shares the values of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ after the former mayor over his comments on redlining , declaring that “ anyone who is out there trying to blame African Americans for the financial crash of 2008 ... is not someone who should be representing our party.
” He later added : “ Look , this is a time where voters are looking for a president who can lead us out of the days when it was just commonplace or accepted to have these kinds of sexist and discriminatory attitudes .
Right now , this is our chance to do something @ @ @ @ @ @ @ candidates kept one eye on their Super Tuesday showdown with Bloomberg , they also focused on the more immediate task of winning over minority voters , who will play a pivotal role in the contests in Nevada and South Carolina .
The former vice president is relying on his strength among black voters and an explicit appeal to Latinos and other minorities to deliver him a strong showing in the coming contests after posting disappointing finishes in Iowa and New Hampshire , which both feature electorates that are whiter on average than the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ home the need for any Democratic candidate to appeal to voters of color .
On Sunday , he told black lawmakers and other political figures at the Nevada Black Legislative Caucus ’ s Black History Month observance that “ the black community has in its power to determine who the next president of the United States is going to be .
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CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) — With the Nevada caucuses less than a week away, Democratic presidential candidates campaigning Sunday were fixated on a rival who wasn’t contesting the state.
Bernie Sanders, Joe Biden, Amy Klobuchar, Elizabeth Warren and Pete Buttigieg all targeted billionaire Mike Bloomberg, accusing him of buying his way into the election and making clear they were eager to take him on in a debate.
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“He thinks he can buy this election,” Sanders said of the former New York mayor at a rally in Carson City, Nevada. “Well, I’ve got news for Mr. Bloomberg — the American people are sick and tired of billionaires buying elections!”
Their attacks are a sign of how seriously the field is starting to take Bloomberg as he gains traction in the race and is on the cusp of qualifying for Wednesday’s Democratic debate in Las Vegas. Bloomberg has bypassed the traditional early voting states including Nevada, focusing instead on the 14 states that vote in the Super Tuesday primary on March 3. He has spent more than $417 million of his own multibillion-dollar fortune on advertising nationwide, an unprecedented sum for any candidate in a primary.
The focus on Bloomberg comes amid anxiety among many establishment-aligned Democrats over the early strength of Sanders, who won last week’s New Hampshire primary and essentially tied for first place in Iowa with Pete Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana. Sanders is hoping to notch a victory in Nevada on Saturday as moderates struggle to unite behind a candidate who could serve as a counter to the Vermont senator, who has long identified as a democratic socialist.
The hundreds of millions of dollars that Bloomberg has pumped into the Super Tuesday states has only heightened the sense of uncertainty surrounding the Democratic race.
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At Sanders’ rally, the crowded cheered as the Vermont senator joked that Bloomberg is “struggling, he’s down to his last $60 billion” and derided him for skipping the early primary states.
It marked an escalation of the salvo Sanders launched Saturday against the former mayor, when he ticked off a litany of conservative positions Bloomberg has taken in the past, including opposing a minimum wage hike and his opposition to a number of Barack Obama’s policies while president. On Saturday, Sanders suggested the former mayor’s past conservatism and controversial comments make him a weak candidate against President Donald Trump, charging that Bloomberg, “with all his money, will not create the kind of excitement and energy we need” to beat Trump.
And on Sunday, he was joined by the current mayor of New York, Bill de Blasio, who just this week endorsed Sanders. De Blasio introduced Sanders with an attack of his own on his predecessor, telling the crowd, “I’m sorry to report to you the chief proponent of stop and frisk is now running for president.”
Klobuchar, speaking on CBS’ “Face the Nation,” accused Bloomberg of avoiding scrutiny by blanketing the airwaves and sidestepping debates or tough televised interviews.
“I think he cannot hide behind the airwaves and the money,” she said. “I think he has to come on the shows. And I personally think he should be on the debate stage.”
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Klobuchar said she’s raised $12 million since her better-than-expected finish in third place in New Hampshire. She’s maintained her campaign through a series of strong debate performances and argued that Bloomberg being on stage with his rivals would level the playing field.
“I’m never going to beat him on the airwaves, but I can beat him on the debate stage,” she said.
Biden, speaking on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” suggested that Bloomberg will face increased scrutiny as the race continues, pointing to his record on issues relating to race.
“$60 billion can buy you a lot of advertising, but it can’t erase your record,” he said.
Biden knocked Bloomberg’s past support of stop-and-frisk policing policies and his comments suggesting cracking down on racist mortgage lending practices, known as “redlining,” contributed to the financial crisis, as well as his 2008 refusal to endorse Barack Obama for president. Bloomberg has been airing ads that tie him closely to Obama on issues like gun control and climate change.
When asked on MSNBC about whether Bloomberg shares the values of the Democratic Party, Warren also went after the former mayor over his comments on redlining, declaring that “anyone who is out there trying to blame African Americans for the financial crash of 2008...is not someone who should be representing our party.”
Buttigieg likened Bloomberg to Trump when asked about reports that Bloomberg made sexist comments towards women and fostered a culture of sexism at his company.
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“I think he’s going to have to answer for that and speak to it,” Buttigieg said.
He later added: “Look, this is a time where voters are looking for a president who can lead us out of the days when it was just commonplace or accepted to have these kinds of sexist and discriminatory attitudes. Right now, this is our chance to do something different.”
But even as the front-running candidates kept one eye on their Super Tuesday showdown with Bloomberg, they also focused on the more immediate task of winning over minority voters, who will play a pivotal role in the contests in Nevada and South Carolina.
Biden reminded older parishioners at the First African Methodist Episcopal Church in North Las Vegas of 1960s television footage of black protesters in Birmingham, Alabama, being attacked by police dogs and sprayed with fire hoses on the orders of city official Bull Connor.
Biden said today’s racists are not “Bull Connors, not out in overalls. They’re wearing fine suits, and they’re living in the White House.”
The former vice president is relying on his strength among black voters and an explicit appeal to Latinos and other minorities to deliver him a strong showing in the coming contests after posting disappointing finishes in Iowa and New Hampshire, which both feature electorates that are whiter on average than the national population.
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Biden has been hammering home the need for any Democratic candidate to appeal to voters of color. On Sunday, he told black lawmakers and other political figures at the Nevada Black Legislative Caucus’s Black History Month observance that “the black community has in its power to determine who the next president of the United States is going to be.”
Nevada and South Carolina are also a key test for Buttigieg and Klobuchar, who have thus far ridden on momentum from stronger-than-expected finishes in Iowa and New Hampshire, respectively, but have both faced questions about their appeal to minority voters.
On Sunday, when asked to name a mistake he had made as mayor, Buttigieg acknowledged that he failed to recognize the pain that his decisions made, particularly for communities of color.
“I was laser-focused on making sure we did the right thing legally ... I didn’t always hear the voices who were talking about the story behind the story,” Buttigieg said. “I was a data guy.”
Later that day, at a luncheon for the Nevada Legislative Black Caucus, Buttigieg said he was proud of his work with black leaders in his city to deliver affordable housing and improve the black unemployment rate, but he said he was “humbled by the work left to do.”
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thehuffingtonpost--2020-02-17--Sen. Tom Cotton Still Pitching Debunked Theory About Coronavirus

Cui Tiankai , Chinese ambassador to the U.S. , denounced Cotton ’ s theory on “ Face The Nation ” earlier this month .
“ It ’ s very harmful , it ’ s very dangerous to stir up suspicion , rumors and spread them among the people , ” Cui said .
“ For one thing , this will create panic .
Another thing is that it will fan up racial discrimination , xenophobia , all these things that will really harm our joint efforts to combat the virus.
” Vipin Narang , an associate professor at the Massachusetts @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Post that “ we don ’ t have any evidence ” that the general population was exposed to a virus through an accident at a lab .
He called Cotton ’ s speculation a conspiracy theory that was borderline irresponsible .
“ Cotton should spend more time funding the agencies in the United States that can help contain and combat the virus rather than trying to assign blame , ” Narang said .
Richard Ebright , a professor of chemical biology at Rutgers University , also told the Post that there was nothing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that indicated it had been engineered .
“ The possibility this was a deliberately released bioweapon can be firmly excluded , ” Ebright added .
The coronavirus , know as COVID-19 , has killed at least 1,666 people and infected more than 68,500 people globally , the vast majority in mainland China .

Cui Tiankai, Chinese ambassador to the U.S., denounced Cotton’s misinformation on “Face The Nation” earlier this month.
“It’s very harmful, it’s very dangerous to stir up suspicion, rumors and spread them among the people,” Cui said. “For one thing, this will create panic. Another thing is that it will fan up racial discrimination, xenophobia, all these things that will really harm our joint efforts to combat the virus.”
Vipin Narang, an associate professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, told The Washington Post that “we don’t have any evidence” that the general population was exposed to a virus through an accident at a lab. He called Cotton’s speculation a conspiracy theory that was borderline irresponsible. “Cotton should spend more time funding the agencies in the United States that can help contain and combat the virus rather than trying to assign blame,” Narang said.
Richard Ebright, a professor of chemical biology at Rutgers University, told the Post that there was nothing in the genome sequence of the coronavirus that indicated it had been engineered.
“The possibility this was a deliberately released bioweapon can be firmly excluded,” Ebright added.
The coronavirus, know as COVID-19, has killed at least 1,666 people and infected more than 68,500 people globally, the vast majority in mainland China.


thehuffingtonpost--2020-02-16--California To Formally Apologize For Internment Of Japanese Americans

California is poised to formally apologize to all Americans of Japanese heritage for the state ’ s role it the internment of more than 120,000 people during World War II .
On Thursday , the California Assembly is expected to approve a new bill , HR-77 , which details a series of profound civil rights abuses perpetrated against Americans in 1942 at the height of anti-Japanese hysteria .
“ The Assembly apologizes to all Americans of Japanese ancestry for its past actions in support of the unjust exclusion , removal , and incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and defend the civil rights and civil liberties of Japanese Americans during this period , ” the text of the bill reads .
The legislation was introduced by State Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi ( D ) , who told the Japanese American Citizens League , or JACL , that he wanted his state to “ lead by example ” after spending years pushing resolutions that only commemorated the day .
Six other co-sponsors signed on to the bill .
“ While our nation ’ s capital is hopelessly divided along party lines and President @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in cages , the California Legislature , with HR 77 will be issuing an official , bipartisan measure for its own actions taken that led to the incarceration of over 120,000 loyal Americans of Japanese ancestry behind barbed wire , ” Maratsuchi told the JACL ’ s national newspaper , the Pacific Citizen .
February 19 has held significance for Japanese Americans for decades , because it was on that date in 1942 that President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed an executive order which forcibly removed 120,000 people living on the West Coast and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the country .
Two of those camps were in California , one in Manzanar and the other at Tule Lake .
The JACL notes that American citizens of Japanese heritage were never “ charged , much less convicted , of espionage or sabotage against the United States .
Yet they were targeted , rounded up , and imprisoned for years , simply for having the ‘ face of the enemy.
’ ” “ Every February , the Japanese American community commemorates Executive Order 9066 as a reminder of the impact the incarceration experience @ @ @ @ @ @ @ community , and our country , ” the JACL writes on its website .
“ It is an opportunity to educate others on the fragility of civil liberties in times of crisis , and the importance of remaining vigilant in protecting the rights and freedoms of all.
” The California Assembly bill specifically points to ongoing efforts by the Trump administration to limit immigration into the United States , saying that its passage would help ensure similar mistakes from the World War II-era were not made by the federal government again .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ all the more important to learn from the mistakes of the past and to ensure that such an assault on freedom will never again happen to any community in the United States , ” the legislation reads .
A congressional commission found in 1983 that the policies were grounded in “ racial prejudice , war hysteria and failure of political leadership , ” according to the Associated Press ’ report .

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California is poised to formally apologize to all Americans of Japanese heritage for the state’s role in the incarceration of more than 120,000 Japanese Americans during World War II.
On Thursday, the California Assembly is expected to approve a new bill, HR-77, which details civil rights abuses perpetrated against Japanese Americans in 1942 at the height of anti-Japanese hysteria.
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“The Assembly apologizes to all Americans of Japanese ancestry for its past actions in support of the unjust exclusion, removal, and incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II, and for its failure to support and defend the civil rights and civil liberties of Japanese Americans during this period,” the text of the bill reads.
The legislation was introduced by State Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi (D), who told the Japanese American Citizens League that he wanted his state to “lead by example” after proposing resolutions in previous years that only commemorated a “Day of Remembrance.” Six other co-sponsors signed on to the bill.
“While our nation’s capital is hopelessly divided along party lines and President Trump is putting immigrant families and children in cages, the California Legislature, with HR 77 will be issuing an official, bipartisan measure for its own actions taken that led to the incarceration of over 120,000 loyal Americans of Japanese ancestry behind barbed wire,” Maratsuchi told the JACL’s national newspaper, the Pacific Citizen.
I introduced HR 77, an official apology by the Assembly for legislation actions that led to the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II. I will be introducing the H.R. on Feb 20th as part of the annual Day of Remembrance celebrations.https://t.co/xCpkQsKT8R — Asm. Al Muratsuchi (@AsmMuratsuchi) February 10, 2020
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Feb. 19 has held significance for Japanese Americans for decades because it was on that date in 1942 that President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed an executive order that forcibly removed 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry living on the West Coast and placed them in prison camps around the United States. Two of those camps were in California: Manzanar and Tule Lake.
The JACL notes that Americans of Japanese heritage were never “charged, much less convicted, of espionage or sabotage against the United States. Yet they were targeted, rounded up, and imprisoned for years, simply for having the ‘face of the enemy.’”
Feb. 19 is now observed as Day of Remembrance in Japanese American communities.
“Every February, the Japanese American community commemorates Executive Order 9066 as a reminder of the impact the incarceration experience has had on our families, our community, and our country,” the JACL writes on its website. “It is an opportunity to educate others on the fragility of civil liberties in times of crisis, and the importance of remaining vigilant in protecting the rights and freedoms of all.”
The California bill specifically points to ongoing efforts by the Trump administration to limit immigration into the United States and contends that its passage would help to ensure that the mistakes of World War II are not made again.
“Given recent national events, it is all the more important to learn from the mistakes of the past and to ensure that such an assault on freedom will never again happen to any community in the United States,” the legislation reads.
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The U.S. government has taken measures to apologize for the incarceration of Japanese Americans.
A congressional commission found in 1983 that the policies enacted against Japanese Americans during World War II were grounded in “racial prejudice, war hysteria and failure of political leadership.”
In 1988, President Ronald Reagan signed a measure that provided $20,000 in restitution for every survivor of the wartime policies.
HR-77 does not include any compensation for Japanese Americans still alive today who were incarcerated.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) has also taken several actions to apologize for past injustices in the state’s history.
Last year, Newsom issued an executive order formally apologizing to Native Americans for “violence, maltreatment and neglect.” Earlier this month, Newsom announced a clemency initiative to pardon LGBTQ people including civil rights leader Bayard Rustin who were convicted under discriminatory laws.


thehuffingtonpost--2020-02-17--Floods Put Mississippi Capital In 'Precarious Situation'

Jackson Mayor Chokwe Lumumba said power had been shut off to 504 residences as a safety precaution .
He said some city homes had been flooded but officials do not yet know how many .
About 30 people are at a shelter that has been set up in Jackson , he said .
Nearly 2,400 structures across the three counties closest to the river and the reservoir — Hinds , Rankin and Madison counties — could be impacted , meaning they either get water inside or are surrounded by water , said Malary White , of the Mississippi Emergency Management @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , John and Jina Smith had packed up as much as they could and left their home as waters rose Thursday .
On Sunday , their neighbor Dale Frazier took them back to their house in a rowboat , where they checked on the damage , then got in their own canoe and rowed away .
“ We ’ ve been able to stay in here when the water gets up , ” John Smith said .
“ But as you ’ ve watched it over the years , you know when to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to get out this time.
” A foot and a half of water was inside his house , Smith said .
He ’ d already been in touch with a contractor and insurance agent about rebuilding .
Both he and his wife said they love their home , where they can sit on their back porch and watch deer and other wildlife .
” It ’ s going to take a while for us to rebuild , but we are safe , and we ’ re all OK , ” Jina Smith said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ door , the water was at the bottom of the driveway but had not crept inside the one-story house where he ’ s lived for 23 years .
“ The water is very close to my house .
It could flood ; it could not flood .
It depends on the crest right now , ” he said .
Down the street , a Presbyterian church and several businesses were flooded .
While the focus now is on the Jackson area , the heavy rains and flooding has affected a much larger swathe @ @ @ @ @ @ @ officials said Sunday that they had received preliminary damage reports from 11 counties connected with the severe weather that hit the state starting on Feb. 10 .
The Pearl ’ s highest recorded crest was 43.2 feet on April 17 , 1979 .
The second-highest level occurred May 5 , 1983 , when the river rose to 39.58 feet .
On Saturday night , officials released water from the nearby Barnett Reservoir to control its levels .
They urged residents in northeastern Jackson who live in the flood zone downstream from the reservoir @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Reeves said the reservoir ’ s inflow and outflow had equalized .
Reservoir officials said that allowed them to release less water than expected .
“ We have some good news today , ” said John G. Sigman , who oversees the reservoir ’ s operations , during a separate news conference Sunday afternoon .
Once the river crests Monday , it will take the water three to four days to go down significantly .
Part of the reason is that forecasters expect more rain between midday Tuesday and Wednesday evening .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ are out of the woods and waters start to recede , ” the governor said .

Jackson Mayor Chokwe Lumumba said power had been shut off to 504 residences as a safety precaution. He said some city homes had been flooded but officials do not yet know how many. About 30 people are at a shelter that has been set up in Jackson, he said.
Nearly 2,400 structures across the three counties closest to the river and the reservoir — Hinds, Rankin and Madison counties — could be impacted, meaning they either get water inside or are surrounded by water, said Malary White, of the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency.
In the suburb of Flowood, John and Jina Smith had packed up as much as they could and left their home as waters rose Thursday.
On Sunday, their neighbor Dale Frazier took them back to their house in a rowboat, where they checked on the damage, then got in their own canoe and rowed away.
“We’ve been able to stay in here when the water gets up,” John Smith said. “But as you’ve watched it over the years, you know when to get out. It’s time to get out this time.”
A foot and a half of water was inside his house, Smith said. He’d already been in touch with a contractor and insurance agent about rebuilding. Both he and his wife said they love their home, where they can sit on their back porch and watch deer and other wildlife.
”It’s going to take a while for us to rebuild, but we are safe, and we’re all OK,” Jina Smith said.
On Frazier’s lot next door, the water was at the bottom of the driveway but had not crept inside the one-story house where he’s lived for 23 years.
“The water is very close to my house. It could flood; it could not flood. It depends on the crest right now,” he said.
Down the street, a Presbyterian church and several businesses were flooded.
While the focus now is on the Jackson area, the heavy rains and flooding has affected a much larger swathe of the state. State emergency management officials said Sunday that they had received preliminary damage reports from 11 counties connected with the severe weather that hit the state starting on Feb. 10.
The Pearl’s highest recorded crest was 43.2 feet on April 17, 1979. The second-highest level occurred May 5, 1983, when the river rose to 39.58 feet.
On Saturday night, officials released water from the nearby Barnett Reservoir to control its levels. They urged residents in northeastern Jackson who live in the flood zone downstream from the reservoir to leave immediately. By Sunday morning, Reeves said the reservoir’s inflow and outflow had equalized.
Reservoir officials said that allowed them to release less water than expected.
“We have some good news today,” said John G. Sigman, who oversees the reservoir’s operations, during a separate news conference Sunday afternoon.
Once the river crests Monday, it will take the water three to four days to go down significantly. Part of the reason is that forecasters expect more rain between midday Tuesday and Wednesday evening.
”It will be days before we are out of the woods and waters start to recede,” the governor said.


thehuffingtonpost--2020-02-17--Human Trafficking Awareness Campaigns Are Feeding A Dangerous Myth

Over the last decade , as warning posters have appeared in nearly every airport in the country , it is not clear that the U.S. has had a single confirmed case of a child being trafficked by strangers via airplane .
According to Finkelhor , only around 100 “ stereotypical kidnappings ” of children take place each year nationwide .
Most minor kidnappings in America are carried out by parents as part of custody disputes .
The same is true of childhood sexual abuse : According to a 2012 study , strangers are the perpetrator in only 10 % of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ?
“ Awareness ” Is No Substitute For Solutions This scenario is already playing out in transit hubs across the country .
Last September , flight attendants accused a white adoptive father of trafficking his Black 12-year-old son .
In 2015 , an eight-member Korean pop group was detained at LAX for 15 hours on suspicion that they were trafficked sex workers .
Cindy McCain , an anti-trafficking advocate and wife of the late Arizona Sen. John McCain ( R ) , had to apologize last February for reporting a woman to Phoenix @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the airport with a child of a “ different ethnicity.
” ( More than a bit ironic given that the McCains faced racist smears in the 2000 presidential race in regard to their own adoptive daughter . )
“ I keep wondering how many more times this is going to happen , ” Moed said .
He noted that Uber ’ s human trafficking training materials instruct drivers to look out for common things such as “ passengers who seem anxious , ” prefer to pay in cash or are traveling without luggage @ @ @ @ @ @ @ these trafficking trainings , but they ’ re not learning what unconventional families look like , ” he added .
“ Now any ignorant person that wants to target us can use this as an excuse.
” Anti-Trafficking Campaigns Do Little To Help Victims

You see the posters in airports, bus stations and rest stops around the country. A child, always female, often white, sometimes bound. An alarming headline: “Someone in your state was just sold” or “Human trafficking: It could happen to anyone.”
Underneath the picture is a worrying statistic, a list of warning signs, a hotline number or all three. And always, at the end, the same plea to travelers: If you see something, say something.
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Over the last two decades, human trafficking has become one of the most prominent social issues in America. Airlines, hotels and ride-hailing companies train their employees on how to spot victims. Nonprofits enlist celebrities to spread awareness campaigns on social media. Last week, just after the close of Human Trafficking Awareness Month, President Trump held an anti-trafficking summit and created a White House position dedicated to the issue.
Whether from lawmakers, nonprofits or celebrities, nearly all of these efforts send the same message: Trafficking is everywhere, it’s getting worse and ordinary Americans have the power to stop it.
There’s just one problem. None of the lawmakers or nonprofits behind these campaigns can provide any evidence that “raising awareness” of human trafficking is doing anything to address it.
For years now, experts have pointed out that the reality of sex trafficking bears little resemblance to the sensationalized version depicted in public-awareness campaigns. Shoppers are not being snatched from grocery store parking lots. Victims are rarely moved against their will and seldom exhibit any of the “warning signs” that would make their abuse visible to members of the public. Despite the persistent myth that human trafficking “could happen to anyone,” most victims are undocumented, homeless, in foster care or otherwise marginalized.
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“Most sex trafficking happens to a relatively small group of high-risk young people,” said David Finkelhor, the director of the University of New Hampshire’s Crimes Against Children Research Center. “We could do a lot more to prevent trafficking by addressing those vulnerabilities — like family abuse, neglect or foster care placement — directly.”
A Department of Homeland Security human trafficking awareness poster directs callers to an ICE hotline. ASSOCIATED PRESS
Over the last decade, as warning posters have appeared in nearly every airport in the country, it is not clear that the U.S. has had a single confirmed case of a child being trafficked by strangers via airplane. According to Finkelhor, only around 100 “stereotypical kidnappings” of children take place each year nationwide. Most minor kidnappings in America are carried out by parents as part of custody disputes. The same is true of childhood sexual abuse: According to a 2012 study, strangers are the perpetrator in only 10% of cases.
Statistics from anti-trafficking organizations themselves bear this out. Staca Shehan, the vice president of analytical services at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, said that fewer than 1% of calls to the organization’s Cyber Tipline were reports of “stranger danger” abductions. More than 80% come from foster care or other state facilities.
“You can’t know the signs of trafficking by looking at someone you don’t know,” said a senior staff member at one of America’s major anti-trafficking organizations who asked HuffPost not to include her real name out of fear of losing her job. “They’re not going to be disheveled or beat up or unhappy. You could even ask them, ‘Are you being trafficked?’ and they wouldn’t say yes.”
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Sexual and labor coercion could be better addressed through government policy related to poverty, migration and working conditions, she added. As for why anti-trafficking nonprofits continue to repeat the same debunked myths about trafficking in their publicity campaigns, she said the sensationalized messaging was necessary to bring attention to the issue.
“If we didn’t use the word ‘force,’” she said, “would anybody care?”
In January, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp announced a statewide anti-trafficking campaign. While the state has conducted thousands of trainings and launched numerous public awareness campaigns related to the issue, basic services for survivors are chronically under-resourced. ASSOCIATED PRESS
Where Are All The Traffickers?
Among both children and adults, there is little evidence that human trafficking is a widespread phenomenon in need of universal public awareness. In 2018, the National Human Trafficking Hotline received 10,949 reports of human trafficking, but these figures are based exclusively on anonymous calls and are not verified in any way. The hotline’s director, Caroline Diemar, said that many calls are simply vague suspicions — there’s a massage parlor on my street; I saw a suspicious family at the mall — that may reflect public anxiety about trafficking rather than trafficking itself.
Law enforcement figures are even smaller. Despite a yearslong, high-profile, government-wide campaign against human trafficking, the Department of Homeland Security identified just 428 victims nationwide last year, and the FBI made fewer than 650 arrests for trafficking in 2018.
The mismatch between the small number of confirmed cases and the large estimates that appear in anti-trafficking publicity campaigns (the U.S. Institute Against Human Trafficking, for example, says America has “potentially over a million” victims of sex trafficking) can’t be reconciled as underreporting. Other crimes for which victims are reluctant to come forward, including sexual assault and domestic violence, produce more confirmed cases each year.
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“There are a lot of serious problems that don’t get the publicity that trafficking does,” said Ron Weitzer, a professor at George Washington University who researches the sex industry. “We know that domestic violence is far more prevalent than sex trafficking, for example, but we don’t have posters everywhere telling us to look for it.”
““Nobody wants to view trafficking as embedded in how our global economy is structured.”” - Janie Chuang, American University professor
“Awareness” Is No Substitute For Solutions
Regardless how common human trafficking actually is — or isn’t — there is still the question of whether public vigilance is the best way to solve the problem.
Sabra Boyd is a writer and anti-trafficking advocate whose father arranged for her to sleep with other adults when she was just 9 years old. Though her father did occasionally take her to other cities, she said her abuse would not have been visible to other travelers.
“I was always dressed in nice clothes,” she said. “And because my dad was abusive, I was obsessed with being obedient. I was probably the most well-behaved child in the airport.”
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Most of the “warning signs” included in anti-trafficking awareness campaigns, Boyd said, are far too generic to offer assistance to actual victims. For example, nonprofits often recommend being suspicious of travelers who aren’t dressed appropriately for the weather (a near-universal sight in international airports) and children who aren’t in control of their travel documents (extremely common for adolescents traveling with their families).
“If a young woman is traveling alone,” the anti-trafficking nonprofit Airline Ambassadors International advises passengers, “ask the reason for her trip.”
These warnings, Boyd said, give members of the public a license to harass anyone whose behavior they deem “suspicious.”
“Almost all of the messages we get about trafficking are slanted toward imaginary victims, especially immigrant women and young children who look like they’re a different race than their parents,” she said.
This scenario is already playing out in transit hubs across the country. Last September, flight attendants accused a white adoptive father of trafficking his Black 12-year-old son. In 2015, an eight-member Korean pop group was detained at LAX for 15 hours on suspicion that they were trafficked sex workers. Cindy McCain, an anti-trafficking advocate and wife of the late Arizona Sen. John McCain (R), had to apologize last February for reporting a woman to Phoenix Sky Harbor authorities simply for walking through the airport with a child of a “different ethnicity.” (More than a bit ironic given that the McCains faced racist smears in the 2000 presidential race in regard to their own adoptive daughter.)
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Miami launched a city-wide anti-trafficking campaign to coincide with the 2020 Super Bowl. There is no evidence that trafficking increases during major sporting events. EVA MARIE UZCATEGUI via Getty Images
Last week, James Moed, a Brooklyn-based product manager, was visiting San Diego with his husband and woke up to the police knocking on his hotel room door. His Uber driver the previous night had peppered them with questions about their baby, especially the whereabouts of the boy’s mother. After he dropped them at their hotel, he had reported them for trafficking their son.
“It’s every queer parent’s worst fear, someone asking you to prove that it’s really your baby,” Moed said. Luckily, he was traveling with his son’s passport and the police didn’t press him for any more documentation. Still, the incident rattled him.
“I keep wondering how many more times this is going to happen,” Moed said. He noted that Uber’s human trafficking training materials instruct drivers to look out for common things such as “passengers who seem anxious,” prefer to pay in cash or are traveling without luggage. “Thousands of people are getting these trafficking trainings, but they’re not learning what unconventional families look like,” he added. “Now any ignorant person that wants to target us can use this as an excuse.”
Anti-Trafficking Campaigns Do Little To Help Victims
Beyond their potential to increase false accusations, there is little reason to believe that anti-trafficking awareness campaigns help real victims.
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Emily Gonzalez was trafficked when she was 23. Homeless and struggling with addiction, she was offered some speed by a friend, and she took it. He had actually given her tranquilizers, a fact she didn’t realize until she was waking up in the home of a man she had never seen before. He had just raped her.
Gonzalez’s experience sounds like exactly the type of crime that anti-trafficking campaigns are supposed to address. Reporting her abuse to a hotline or to law enforcement, however, would not have given her the help she needed.
“Even if they caught the guy that trafficked me and sent him to prison for the rest of his life, I was still homeless, addicted and vulnerable to the same type of exploitation happening again,” she said.
The National Human Trafficking Hotline produces statistics based on anonymous reports and does not vet or verify cases. A significant percentage of reports come from foster care facilities. Education Images via Getty Images
With the exception of notifying law enforcement, anti-trafficking hotlines offer little to victims beyond referring them to existing service providers — the majority of which are strikingly underfunded in many states. According to a 2019 review, the entire state of Louisiana has just 291 beds available to trafficking victims, most of which are bunks in homeless shelters. A 2019 survey of anti-trafficking organizations in Colorado found that just over a quarter offered medical services. Connecticut’s Office of Victim Services spent just $346.18 on housing trafficking survivors in 2016.
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Gonzalez is now an escort (and declined to use her real name due to fear of being arrested). She pointed out that the nationwide concern over trafficking has failed to address the more complicated drivers of exploitation and coercion her experience demonstrates.
“In the range of things that have happened to me, being trafficked is on the less harmful end of the scale,” Gonzalez said.
As a homeless young adult, she spent years performing sex acts in exchange for drugs, money or shelter. She ended up in a series of exploitative relationships, including with a friend who convinced her to commit crimes, an experience that left her with lingering trauma and a felony conviction that still makes it hard to find housing and formal employment. What she needed in her most vulnerable periods, she said, was a safe place to sleep and a steady income — two things that are still hard to obtain in America.
“When I’ve gone to anti-trafficking groups and described my experiences of homelessness and domestic abuse, they’re not interested,” Gonzalez said. “Then I tell them that I was trafficked and all of a sudden they care. They’re only interested in a specific form of exploitation and the kind of victims they can ‘rescue.’”
Donald Trump has made trafficking one of the centerpieces of his administration. Labor rights advocates say his border policies are making the problem worse. ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS via Getty Images
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According to Janie Chuang, a professor at American University who researches human trafficking and labor migration, most of the exploitation taking place in the United States is not particularly difficult to find. Forced labor is endemic on farms, in restaurants, private homes and everywhere else low-paid migrant workers are employed. As for sexual coercion, a huge body of research indicates that it is a byproduct of poverty, marginalization and abuse.
“Nobody wants to view trafficking as embedded in how our global economy is structured,” Chuang said. “It’s more convenient to view it as the product of individual criminal behavior.”
After Boyd’s father trafficked her as a child, she was trafficked again as a homeless teenager in Portland. A man she considered her boyfriend — “he was the first guy who was ever nice to me,” she said — talked her into sleeping with men she didn’t know. She is almost certain they were paying him behind her back.
Reporting her abuse to the authorities would not have helped, Boyd said. As a teen runaway, the police likely would have “rescued” her and sent her back to her abusive parents or to the homeless shelter where she had been sexually assaulted a few months before.
She didn’t need someone to call a hotline for her, she said. She simply needed more options that would help her get away from her abuser.
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thehuffingtonpost--2020-02-17--People Call Out Ted Cruz For Hypocritical Tweet About Mandatory Vasectomies

Sen. Ted Cruz ( R-Texas ) , an anti-abortion advocate , showed an utter lack of self-awareness over the weekend when he slammed legislation introduced in Alabama that would make vasectomies mandatory for men over age 50 .
“ Yikes , ” Cruz wrote Sunday on Twitter in response to the Democratic-sponsored bill .
“ A government big enough to give you everything is big enough to take everything ... literally !
” Yikes .
A government big enough to give you everything is big enough to take everything ... literally !
Alabama Democrat proposes bill mandating all men have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ child .
https : //t.co/PeaNUg1Joc — Ted Cruz ( @ tedcruz ) February 16 , 2020 State Rep. Rolanda Hollis ’ bill , HB 238 would require a man to have a “ vasectomy within one month of his 50th birthday or the birth of his third biological child , whichever comes first.
” The Birmingham lawmaker told AL.com last week that the legislation is a response to last year ’ s Alabama abortion ban that makes abortion illegal in almost all cases , including in instances of rape or incest .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ May , but hasn ’ t taken effect because of legal challenges .
Naturally , Cruz ’ s tweet quickly received a deluge of responses from people who couldn ’ t help but point out that his criticism was not only hypocritical , but proved Hollis ’ point in offering the measure .
Yikes .
It ’ s almost like you ’ re uncomfortable with someone telling you what to do with your body and deciding when and how to have a kid .
pic.twitter.com/FlZ7sIwrgU — Ida Skibenes ❄ ( @ ida_skibenes ) @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have no business controlling the reproductive systems of citizens .
Glad you 've finally come around on choice , Senator .
Also , congrats on an epic self-own .
— Melissa Ryan ( @ MelissaRyan ) February 16 , 2020 Wow how awful that the government is trying to interfere with bodily autonomy !
What ’ s that feel like ?
— Brooke Binkowski ( @ brooklynmarie ) February 16 , 2020 This bill was not meant to pass ; it was introduced to demonstrate how wrong it is to restrict people ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the argument you ’ re applying to this bill shows how your own views on women ’ s reproductive rights are indefensible !
— Ben Spielberg ( @ BenSpielberg ) February 16 , 2020 “ Under existing law , there are no restrictions on the reproductive rights of men , ” Hollis ’ bill says in its synopsis .
If it becomes law , a man must pay for the procedure “ at his own expense.
” “ It always takes two to tango , ” she said .
“ We can @ @ @ @ @ @ @ women .
Men need to be responsible also.
” Hollis ’ bill currently has the placeholder name of “ A Bill To Be Entitled.
” Maybe this instead ?
“ A Bill For The Entitled.
” Just sayin ’ …

LOADING ERROR LOADING
Yikes, indeed.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), an anti-abortion advocate, showed an utter lack of self-awareness over the weekend when he slammed legislation introduced in Alabama that would make vasectomies mandatory for men over age 50.
“Yikes,” Cruz wrote Sunday on Twitter in response to the Democratic-sponsored bill. “A government big enough to give you everything is big enough to take everything...literally!”
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Yikes. A government big enough to give you everything is big enough to take everything...literally! Alabama Democrat proposes bill mandating all men have vasectomy at age 50 or after third child. https://t.co/PeaNUg1Joc — Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) February 16, 2020
State Rep. Rolanda Hollis’ bill, HB 238 would require a man to have a “vasectomy within one month of his 50th birthday or the birth of his third biological child, whichever comes first.”
The Birmingham lawmaker told AL.com last week that the legislation is a response to last year’s Alabama abortion ban that makes abortion illegal in almost all cases, including in instances of rape or incest. The abortion ban was signed into law in May, but hasn’t taken effect because of legal challenges.
Naturally, Cruz’s tweet quickly received a deluge of responses from people who couldn’t help but point out that his criticism was not only hypocritical, but proved Hollis’ point in offering the measure.
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Thought you wanted to stop unwanted pregnancies. — Patricia Arquette (@PattyArquette) February 16, 2020
Yikes. It’s almost like you’re uncomfortable with someone telling you what to do with your body and deciding when and how to have a kid. pic.twitter.com/FlZ7sIwrgU — Ida Skibenes ❄ (@ida_skibenes) February 16, 2020
It’s almost as if legislating people’s bodies is wrong. — Allison Floyd (@AllisonRFloyd) February 17, 2020
Yes. Governments have no business controlling the reproductive systems of citizens. Glad you've finally come around on choice, Senator.
Also, congrats on an epic self-own. — Melissa Ryan (@MelissaRyan) February 16, 2020
Wow how awful that the government is trying to interfere with bodily autonomy! What’s that feel like? — Brooke Binkowski (@brooklynmarie) February 16, 2020
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Oh you don’t like big government trying to regulate your body???? — Irishrygirl (@irishrygirl) February 16, 2020
Yes, the government shouldn’t be involved in private reproductive health choices, yes, that’s a great point you made, yes. — Kevin M. Kruse (@KevinMKruse) February 16, 2020
It’s outrageous to have government involved in these personal reproductive decisions! So glad you are pro-choice, Ted! — Fred Wellman (@FPWellman) February 16, 2020
A bill involving a medical procedure which only applies to one gender? Governmental overreach! — Pé Resists (@4everNeverTrump) February 16, 2020
She's parodying you and you're too obtuse to get it. — JRehling (@JRehling) February 16, 2020
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This bill was not meant to pass; it was introduced to demonstrate how wrong it is to restrict people’s reproductive rights. In other words, the argument you’re applying to this bill shows how your own views on women’s reproductive rights are indefensible! — Ben Spielberg (@BenSpielberg) February 16, 2020
“Under existing law, there are no restrictions on the reproductive rights of men,” Hollis’ bill says in its synopsis. If it becomes law, a man must pay for the procedure “at his own expense.”
Hollis told AL.com she meant the legislation “to neutralize the abortion ban bill.”
“It always takes two to tango,” she said. “We can’t put all the responsibility on women. Men need to be responsible also.”
Hollis’ bill currently has the placeholder name of “A Bill To Be Entitled.” Maybe this instead? “A Bill For The Entitled.” Just sayin’ …