thehuffingtonpost--2020-12-08--Contractors Smuggled Armed Mexican Nationals To Guard Trump's Border Wall: Complaint

Construction companies hired to help erect President Donald Trump ’ s southern border wall secretly helped armed Mexican nationals illegally cross into the U.S. while paying them to provide security detail at their construction sites , according to a whistleblower complaint unsealed Friday .
Sullivan Land Services Co. ( SLS ) and subcontractor Ultimate Concrete of El Paso are accused in the complaint of having facilitated the illegal crossings , with Ultimate Concrete allegedly creating a dirt road to allow entry from Mexico into the U.S. and covering security cameras with construction trucks .
Both companies are alleged to have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ work on the wall , which has so far cost the U.S. more than $ 11 billion and is meant to prevent illegal crossings .
The allegations were brought forward by two former security contractors in a 37-page false claims complaint that was filed in the Southern District of California back in February .
It was unsealed last week after the Justice Department declined to take over the case after being allowed to review it while it was sealed .
The former security managers said they had been hired to provide security at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ SLS early last year and , until their respective dismissals in November and December , they personally saw evidence of illegal activity , as well as heard fellow workers detail such allegations .
A representative with SLS did not immediately respond to HuffPost ’ s request for comment on Tuesday , while the president of Ultimate Concrete , Jesse Guzman , dismissed the allegations to The New York Times .
“ Everybody can allege whatever they want to , and that does not make it correct or make it the truth , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ merely angry that “ something didn ’ t go their way.
” The whistleblowers were only identified in the complaint as former law enforcement officers , one of whom spent 10 years working as a sheriff ’ s deputy with the San Diego County Sheriff ’ s Department .
The second is identified as a former FBI supervisory special agent whose more than 12 years with the agency included serving as a Special Agent on a public corruption squad in Washington , D.C. That former agent said they first contacted the FBI with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ year .
Both security contractors then met with the FBI that following November .
In addition to violating federal laws , the complaint claims that the contractors ’ decision to hire Mexican nationals violated the border wall ’ s construction agreement with the United States Army Corps of Engineers ( USACE ) .
Under previously agreed to terms , the construction companies were required to immediately report any suspected border crossing to Customs and Border Patrol ( CBP ) and to have no direct coordination with Mexican entities .
All workers , including @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to obtain preapproval by CBP before they entered the construction site .
Contractor personnel , equipment or materials were also prohibited from crossing into Mexico .
The complaint alleges that at least one U.S. government employee of the USACE was aware of , or involved in , the scheme and cover-up .
A representative with USACE , in a statement to HuffPost , declined to comment on the allegation of an employee ’ s potential involvement or awareness of the alleged scheme , stating that the complaint was not made to the USACE @ @ @ @ @ @ @ across the U.S. but is based in Galveston , Texas , has at least five government contracts connected to the wall ’ s construction in California , New Mexico and Texas .
Those contracts are worth up to $ 1.4 billion , according to the complaint .

LOADING ERROR LOADING
Construction companies hired to help erect President Donald Trump’s southern border wall secretly helped armed Mexican nationals illegally cross into the U.S. and paid them to provide security at construction sites, according to a whistleblower complaint unsealed Friday.
Sullivan Land Services (SLS) and subcontractor Ultimate Concrete are accused in the complaint of having facilitated the illegal crossings, with Ultimate Concrete allegedly creating a dirt road to allow entry from Mexico into the U.S. and covering security cameras with construction trucks.
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Both companies are alleged to have also intentionally overcharged the federal government for work on the wall, which has so far cost the U.S. more than $11 billion and is meant to prevent illegal crossings.
A U.S. Border Patrol agent looks out along newly replaced border wall sections near Tecate, California, in September. ASSOCIATED PRESS
The allegations were brought forward by two former security contractors in a 37-page false claims complaint that was filed in the Southern District of California back in February. It was unsealed last week after the Justice Department declined to take over the case after being allowed to review it while it was sealed.
HuffPost could not independently verify the claims in the suit.
The former security managers said they had been hired to provide security at the wall’s construction sites by SLS early last year and, until their respective dismissals in November and December, they personally saw evidence of illegal activity, as well as heard fellow workers detail such allegations.
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A representative with SLS did not immediately respond to HuffPost’s request for comment on Tuesday, while the president of Ultimate Concrete, Jesse Guzman, dismissed the allegations to The New York Times.
“Everybody can allege whatever they want to, and that does not make it correct or make it the truth,” he said, describing the whistleblowers as merely angry that “something didn’t go their way.”
A border wall construction site is seen in Donna, Texas. The wall's cost has significantly ballooned since plans for it were announced by Trump. ASSOCIATED PRESS
The whistleblowers were only identified in the complaint as former law enforcement officers, one of whom spent 10 years working as a sheriff’s deputy with the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department. The second is identified as a former FBI supervisory special agent whose more than 12 years with the agency included serving as a Special Agent on a public corruption squad in Washington, D.C.
That former agent said they first contacted the FBI with allegations of corruption in July of last year. Both security contractors then met with the FBI that following November.
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In addition to violating federal laws, the complaint claims that the contractors’ decision to hire Mexican nationals violated the border wall’s construction agreement with the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). Under previously agreed to terms, the construction companies were required to immediately report any suspected border crossing to Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) and to have no direct coordination with Mexican entities. All workers, including hired private security, were also required to obtain preapproval by CBP before they entered the construction site. Contractor personnel, equipment or materials were also prohibited from crossing into Mexico.
The complaint alleges that at least one U.S. government employee of the USACE was aware of, or involved in, the scheme and cover-up. A representative with USACE, in a statement to HuffPost, declined to comment on the allegation of an employee’s potential involvement or awareness of the alleged scheme, stating that the complaint was not made to the USACE.
SLS, which has multiple locations across the U.S. but is based in Galveston, Texas, has at least five government contracts connected to the wall’s construction in California, New Mexico and Texas. Those contracts are worth up to $1.4 billion, according to the complaint.
SLS has grossed around $1 billion in revenue from government contracts in recent years, according to a report by Forbes Magazine in 2019.
Its past projects reportedly include a $290 million contract rebuilding homes in New York City after Superstorm Sandy and a $375 million contract with FEMA to rebuild and repair homes in Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria.


thehuffingtonpost--2020-12-08--92-Year-Old Man Reunited With College Jacket Thanks To Social Media

Beverly Amick via AP More than 60 years after Mal Osborn earned a varsity letter jacket from the University of Maine as a track runner , he still wore it .
That is , until the 92-year-old lost it in October .
WINSTON-SALEM , N.C. ( AP ) — More than 60 years after Mal Osborn earned a varsity letter jacket from the University of Maine as a track runner , he still wore it .
That is , until the 92-year-old lost it in October .
Osborn , who has lived in Winston-Salem , North Carolina , since 1964 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he couldn ’ t find the treasured jacket , the Bangor Daily News reported on Monday .
Amick and other relatives retraced Osborn ’ s usual routes on the assumption that he ’ d placed the jacket on his car and it had fallen off while he was driving .
When they failed to find it , Amick posted a photo of Osborn on Facebook wearing the jacket at a Master ’ s swimming competition in 2016 and asked for help finding it .
“ This man would be ecstatic if this well @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” she wrote in the post that was shared more than 1,000 times .
Osborn ran long-distance track and cross-country events from 1949-52 at the University of Maine , the Bangor Daily News reported .
He told the newspaper the letter jacket had become a part of him after so many years .
“ I just know how much it meant to him , ” Amick told The Associated Press .
“ I was going to do everything in my power to find it.
” Amick said she got an email from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and had found the coat in her yard , covered with leaves .
Osborn has been sporting the jacket since Amick had it dry-cleaned and returned it to him , she said .
“ As challenging as this year has been , this has given us some hope , ” she said .
It was especially poignant given the difficult year everyone has experienced .
“ I appreciate all the kindness and compassion that was shown during the last 24 hours .
This experience is certainly a positive event to finish out 2020 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the jacket had been found .

More than 60 years after Mal Osborn earned a varsity letter jacket from the University of Maine as a track runner, he still wore it. That is, until the 92-year-old lost it in October. Beverly Amick via AP
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) — More than 60 years after Mal Osborn earned a varsity letter jacket from the University of Maine as a track runner, he still wore it. That is, until the 92-year-old lost it in October.
Osborn, who has lived in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, since 1964, told his daughter Beverly Amick that he couldn’t find the treasured jacket, the Bangor Daily News reported on Monday. Amick and other relatives retraced Osborn’s usual routes on the assumption that he’d placed the jacket on his car and it had fallen off while he was driving.
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When they failed to find it, Amick posted a photo of Osborn on Facebook wearing the jacket at a Master’s swimming competition in 2016 and asked for help finding it.
“This man would be ecstatic if this well loved (sic) jacket was found,” she wrote in the post that was shared more than 1,000 times.
Osborn ran long-distance track and cross-country events from 1949-52 at the University of Maine, the Bangor Daily News reported. He told the newspaper the letter jacket had become a part of him after so many years.
“I just know how much it meant to him,” Amick told The Associated Press. “I was going to do everything in my power to find it.”
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Amick said she got an email from a woman who lived near her father and had found the coat in her yard, covered with leaves.
Osborn has been sporting the jacket since Amick had it dry-cleaned and returned it to him, she said.
“As challenging as this year has been, this has given us some hope,” she said.
It was especially poignant given the difficult year everyone has experienced.


thehuffingtonpost--2020-12-08--Getting Through ... With Mominatu

Getting Through ... With Mominatu

Well , for some background , I ’ m Liberian and Senegalese .
I went to school in America for broadcast journalism and a minor in fashion business .
And then I was like , “ Mmm , this ain ’ t it for me.
” I decided I wanted to start traveling the world .
I moved to Puerto Rico from Chicago with my best friend .
I just followed my intuition and have been blessed along the way .
I was doing marketing in Puerto Rico , and then I got signed to a major modeling agency .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ , so I did that .
Then from Puerto Rico , I was like , “ All right , I ’ ve made it here .
I ’ ve done billboards here .
I ’ ve done commercial campaigns .
Maybe I ’ ll go to New York and see what that ’ s about.
” This was after watching this movie , “ Begin Again.
” I was like , “ These motherfuckers are on the rooftops and shit , following their dreams !
” I ’ m like , “ What @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ?
I want to go to New York.
” [ Laughs ] So I went to New York , and I got signed with this management team and started modeling there .
But throughout it all , for the past 11 years , I was always practicing yoga .
I got a yoga teacher training certification when I was 18 .
I always had the intention of deepening my own practice because it was something that I needed .
I never called it anxiety because I ’ m African and “ we don @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” right ?
[ Laughs ] That ’ s a white people thing , right ?
But I never , ever felt good .
There was always this underlying trauma .
I always needed yoga , and I always needed meditation or working out to find an equilibrium .
And whenever I fell out of my practice , I found that I was not OK .
It has always been a medicine for me , and I ’ m sure maybe it would have been better for me had I found , like @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the holistic approach [ that ] has worked for me and has allowed me to not only heal myself , but to use this practice to heal others .
And that ’ s what brought me to Africa this year .
I have decided to come back to Senegal , which is where my mom is from , and to bring yoga from a Black woman to the Senegalese people .
I ’ ve been here for nine months now .
I ’ ve been teaching the community classes for about five months @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Senegalese people are loving it .
They wanted it .
They wanted it !
I had a class on the beach just the other day .
Let me tell you : My first-ever class , I was scared shitless .
I had my friends — who are social media influencers and they ’ re very powerful people — and they came , they ’ re like , “ Bitch , if you don ’ t teach this mothafuckin ’ class ... ” [ Laughs ] And they ’ re like , “ We @ @ @ @ @ @ @ class and we ’ re going to put you on the stories .
Teach a class.
” And so I ’ m there and my class was full , and it was all Black women .
It was all Senegalese women , Senegalese diaspora , Africans .
And when one of the girls left the beach , a guy came up to her .
He ’ s like , “ You know , I have never , ever , ever seen Black people doing this .
It ’ s always the white girls @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was so powerful for me .
And now , fast forward , all my classes are Black .
I mean , of course I have Lebanese clients and my private clients , but my group classes are African .
They are Senegalese .
And even African men are taking my classes .
These men are coming in and stretching , and they ’ re not here for the fine girls .
[ Laughs ] They ’ re here to find their peace .
I wake up in the morning at like 5 a.m. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Are you familiar with those Ayurvedic tongue scrapers , to get out all of the bacteria ?
And then I do oil pulling with coconut oil for 20 minutes .
I just walk around the house .
It changes everything .
Everything .
And then once I ’ m done with the oil pulling , I love herbs , so I ’ ll do an herbal tea to warm up .
And then I do this specific massage called Abhyanga , and that ’ s an Ayurvedic self-massage .
I love Ayurvedic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on those philosophies .
But the idea , basically , is pouring love into yourself .
You take hot oil and you rub — it ’ s almost like lymphatic drainage .
You rub the oil going down in strokes and then circling around the joints to [ do ] lymphatic drainage , but also as a self-love ritual .
As you massage yourself , taking the time to really moisturize is an act of love .
It ’ s like cleaning your temple .
So I do that .
And then I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ my first client that day .
But those are things that , truly , no bullshit , I ’ m not the same person if I don ’ t start my day with those things .
And then , of course , meditation .
So for me , I like to say that yoga and meditation is very selfish , right ?
It allows you to deal with your own shit , but it doesn ’ t really show you how to deal with the world around you .
So meditation allowed me @ @ @ @ @ @ @ And in that awareness , I could say , “ All right , so what am I going to do about not feeling good right now ?
” ... We got a pandemic .
We got to stay in the house .
We can ’ t go anywhere .
All right .
That ’ s that .
Now you got Black Lives Matter , the racism .
All right .
Then what ?
It ’ s just like , you ’ re constantly just — [ takes three pronounced gasps ] — taking @ @ @ @ @ @ @ re like , “ I .
Can ’ t .
Breathe .
Anymore.
” You know ?
The worst thing ?
[ Laughs ] I ’ ll be deadass .
I was messing around with this one dude who was just devil dick .
We ’ re all quarantining .
We had a curfew here , so you couldn ’ t leave the house past 7 p.m. You couldn ’ t be on the streets .
In Senegal , they were beating people [ for breaking curfew ] .
So , you know @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Just that loneliness of having to be home all the time , you ’ re sort of blind .
There was this heartbreak from having this nigga over all the time and realizing that I was just his nice little house to chill at , you know what I mean ?
So that , for me , was the worst thing that happened — but also the best thing that happened , because it propelled me to focus on my yoga and go into super-drive for work .
But the quarantine bae @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Laughs ] Launching my business and being able to ground in a space .
I think corona has been a blessing because I ’ m always on the move , and that ’ s something that I learned in my meditation — that when shit got difficult , I booked a flight .
I was like , “ You know what , let me just go to Bali for a little bit.
” You know what I mean ?
“ Let me like find my zen.
” But it was like , what @ @ @ @ @ @ @ if you can ’ t find zen within the space you ’ re at , you don ’ t really have zen .
You ’ re just escaping .
Because home is within you .
You take you everywhere .
So if at any point you get a little uncomfortable , you ’ re jumping and running — you ’ ve got nothing concrete .
But I think the first step is acknowledging where you are and not faking it , because you ’ re living in your own prison because you have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ re showing everyone this nice and pretty version of you when , inside , you ’ re crying and dying and no one can see your pain .
So the only way that someone can help you or that you can get out of your situation is by one , acknowledging where you are , and two , understanding that you don ’ t do this life alone , so ask for help .
And after asking for help , saying , “ All right , so what are some tools that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I need to be ?
” It can be professional help or could even just be a friend .
But I think the biggest thing with people suffering right now is that it seems like it ’ s a collective thing , [ yet ] no one wants to place their burden on someone else .
When in reality , through us being able to discuss suffering , we ’ re able to be like , “ Oh , it ’ s you , too ?
Oh , OK. ” And that collectiveness @ @ @ @ @ @ @ intentional sigh ] — that collective sigh is enough .
So I think that ’ s what I would recommend : finding a community .
Yeah .
I think that dovetails with this other idea I ’ ve been thinking a lot about over the past several months , which is that it feels like the world is ending in a lot of ways , but not in a bad way .
It feels like a lot of institutions , systems , structures that have oppressed us are crumbling or have the potential @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the possibility for imagination and imagining a new world .
I ’ m curious to know what world , what portals are you imagining , what are you manifesting for the rest of the year and the years to come ?
I ’ d like to see more authenticity .
More people just standing [ up against injustice ] , but I also just want the whole fucking thing to deconstruct .
I would like to see everything flipped upside down .
I just want the whole cup to be poured over .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ into itself in a way that is not what we want to see necessarily , but what it is .
And I think that it ’ s going to get so much more ugly before it gets good , but that ’ s how we build .
That ’ s how we grow .
Suffering can be ugly , but it isn ’ t necessarily bad .
I ’ m sure when you were in school and you were like , “ I ’ m not trying to do this motherfuckin ’ journalism @ @ @ @ @ @ @ !
” [ Laughs ] You know what I mean ?
It was suffering for you at that time .
But maybe you look back on that now and it ’ s like , “ Wow , I ’ m so thankful for that because that ’ s what made me who I am .
These situations , this trauma , this whatever put me into the space that I needed to be.
” So I think it ’ s just shifting the narrative and shifting our perception .

At just 26 years old, Mominatu has lived many lives. She’s traveled the world — Puerto Rico, Portugal, India, Tanzania and Ecuador — and through it all, she has cultivated a deep yoga practice that has allowed her to stay grounded no matter where she is. This year, the model-turned-yoga instructor embarked on her biggest adventure yet: moving to Dakar, Senegal, to open her first yoga studio.
Of course, she couldn’t have anticipated the emergence of COVID-19, but rather than throw a complete wrench in her business venture, the past several months have created opportunities for Mominatu to learn how to adapt and grow. Nine months after moving to Dakar, she’s birthed a beautiful community of mostly Black women, teaching virtual and socially distanced yoga classes to local clients who are discovering a new way of finding peace amid mayhem.
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In this interview for “Getting Through,” Mominatu discusses finding community, the key to mastering meditation and, after years of jet-setting, what she’s learned about the power of being still.
OK, first: How are you, really?
I think we’ve all been quietly going through it. As a Black woman in a patriarchal world, you’re always quietly going through it — on top of a pandemic, on top of racism, on top of the world sliding, falling apart. On top of people not honoring Black bodies. It’s like everyone is walking around with this weight on their backs. And any single person who is saying they are “OK” and that “everything is fine” has either not tapped into themselves — spiritually, emotionally or mentally — or are too privileged to acknowledge anything because it doesn’t affect them.
On your Instagram, you’ve talked a lot about how yoga has helped center you during the hardest times. Right now you are in your studio in Dakar, getting ready to lead your first yoga class for the day. How did you find your way to Senegal, and how did you find your way to starting this yoga practice?
Well, for some background, I’m Liberian and Senegalese. I went to school in America for broadcast journalism and a minor in fashion business. And then I was like, “Mmm, this ain’t it for me.” I decided I wanted to start traveling the world. I moved to Puerto Rico from Chicago with my best friend. I just followed my intuition and have been blessed along the way. I was doing marketing in Puerto Rico, and then I got signed to a major modeling agency. It was always my dream to model, so I did that. Then from Puerto Rico, I was like, “All right, I’ve made it here. I’ve done billboards here. I’ve done commercial campaigns. Maybe I’ll go to New York and see what that’s about.” This was after watching this movie, “Begin Again.” I was like, “These motherfuckers are on the rooftops and shit, following their dreams!” I’m like, “What am I doing sitting in Puerto Rico? I want to go to New York.” [Laughs] So I went to New York, and I got signed with this management team and started modeling there. But throughout it all, for the past 11 years, I was always practicing yoga. I got a yoga teacher training certification when I was 18.
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I always had the intention of deepening my own practice because it was something that I needed. I never called it anxiety because I’m African and “we don’t have depression and anxiety,” right? [Laughs] That’s a white people thing, right? But I never, ever felt good. There was always this underlying trauma. I always needed yoga, and I always needed meditation or working out to find an equilibrium. And whenever I fell out of my practice, I found that I was not OK. It has always been a medicine for me, and I’m sure maybe it would have been better for me had I found, like, actual medicine, but that was the holistic approach [that] has worked for me and has allowed me to not only heal myself, but to use this practice to heal others. And that’s what brought me to Africa this year. I have decided to come back to Senegal, which is where my mom is from, and to bring yoga from a Black woman to the Senegalese people.
And how has that experience been for you? What has the response been from the people who take your classes?
I’ve been here for nine months now. I’ve been teaching the community classes for about five months, and people are loving it. Senegalese people are loving it. They wanted it. They wanted it! I had a class on the beach just the other day. Let me tell you: My first-ever class, I was scared shitless. I had my friends — who are social media influencers and they’re very powerful people — and they came, they’re like, “Bitch, if you don’t teach this mothafuckin’ class...” [Laughs] And they’re like, “We’re just gonna sit in class and we’re going to put you on the stories. Teach a class.” And so I’m there and my class was full, and it was all Black women. It was all Senegalese women, Senegalese diaspora, Africans.
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And when one of the girls left the beach, a guy came up to her. He’s like, “You know, I have never, ever, ever seen Black people doing this. It’s always the white girls that come from America.” And that was so powerful for me. And now, fast forward, all my classes are Black. I mean, of course I have Lebanese clients and my private clients, but my group classes are African. They are Senegalese. And even African men are taking my classes. These men are coming in and stretching, and they’re not here for the fine girls. [Laughs] They’re here to find their peace.
What are your self-care rituals? Not just yoga, but other things that you do to stay grounded and centered?
I wake up in the morning at like 5 a.m., and I use a tongue scraper. Are you familiar with those Ayurvedic tongue scrapers, to get out all of the bacteria? And then I do oil pulling with coconut oil for 20 minutes. I just walk around the house. It changes everything. Everything. And then once I’m done with the oil pulling, I love herbs, so I’ll do an herbal tea to warm up. And then I do this specific massage called Abhyanga, and that’s an Ayurvedic self-massage. I love Ayurvedic science, and I treat my body on those philosophies. But the idea, basically, is pouring love into yourself. You take hot oil and you rub — it’s almost like lymphatic drainage. You rub the oil going down in strokes and then circling around the joints to [do] lymphatic drainage, but also as a self-love ritual. As you massage yourself, taking the time to really moisturize is an act of love. It’s like cleaning your temple. So I do that. And then I will go to the gym or train my first client that day. But those are things that, truly, no bullshit, I’m not the same person if I don’t start my day with those things. And then, of course, meditation.
How has yoga, meditation and all these practices changed your outlook on your life, and specifically during this time, how have they aided you in dealing with the chaos of 2020?
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So for me, I like to say that yoga and meditation is very selfish, right? It allows you to deal with your own shit, but it doesn’t really show you how to deal with the world around you. So meditation allowed me to realize I wasn’t OK. And in that awareness, I could say, “All right, so what am I going to do about not feeling good right now?” ... We got a pandemic. We got to stay in the house. We can’t go anywhere. All right. That’s that. Now you got Black Lives Matter, the racism. All right. Then what? It’s just like, you’re constantly just — [takes three pronounced gasps] — taking in all these gulps until you’re like, “I. Can’t. Breathe. Anymore.” You know?
So I think having the awareness of what was going on allowed me to feel it. I know that sounds really weird, but I think the knowing and the grieving and being able to know what I was crying about [helped a lot], whereas a lot of my friends were just like, “I don’t know why I’m so upset.” It’s like, “Babes, open your eyes.”
You can’t solve a problem if you can’t name it.
Exactly. And that’s what meditation did for me. It allows me the space to have stillness, to understand what’s going on and how I respond and react to that. And to find a little bit of peace under pressure.
What was the worst thing that happened this year, so far?
The worst thing? [Laughs] I’ll be deadass. I was messing around with this one dude who was just devil dick. We’re all quarantining. We had a curfew here, so you couldn’t leave the house past 7 p.m. You couldn’t be on the streets. In Senegal, they were beating people [for breaking curfew]. So, you know, you had your little quarantine bae. Just that loneliness of having to be home all the time, you’re sort of blind. There was this heartbreak from having this nigga over all the time and realizing that I was just his nice little house to chill at, you know what I mean? So that, for me, was the worst thing that happened — but also the best thing that happened, because it propelled me to focus on my yoga and go into super-drive for work. But the quarantine bae situation, I got played. [Laughs]
And then on the flip side, what would you say is the best thing that’s happened this year so far?
Launching my business and being able to ground in a space. I think corona has been a blessing because I’m always on the move, and that’s something that I learned in my meditation — that when shit got difficult, I booked a flight. I was like, “You know what, let me just go to Bali for a little bit.” You know what I mean? “Let me like find my zen.” But it was like, what the fuck is that? Like, if you can’t find zen within the space you’re at, you don’t really have zen. You’re just escaping. Because home is within you. You take you everywhere. So if at any point you get a little uncomfortable, you’re jumping and running — you’ve got nothing concrete.
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What would be your advice to anyone who’s struggling? And when I say struggling, I mean, struggling to cope with everything that’s coming their way, struggling with their mental health, struggling to be happy and content in this really chaotic time.
I would say, don’t fake it. Acknowledge where you’re at and don’t let anyone tell you how you’re supposed to feel. But most importantly, community and finding people to just talk to and listen. It could be a therapist or it could be someone that’s one step ahead of you. Someone that genuinely wants to listen. ’Cause oftentimes, people — especially yoga instructors — say, “Well, do some meditation, do some yoga, eat some good food.” Like, “Bitch, it’s serotonin. It’s not kale.” Sometimes, it really does require Lexapro, you know what I mean? There are other tools.
But I think the first step is acknowledging where you are and not faking it, because you’re living in your own prison because you have no integrity to your soul. You’re showing everyone this nice and pretty version of you when, inside, you’re crying and dying and no one can see your pain. So the only way that someone can help you or that you can get out of your situation is by one, acknowledging where you are, and two, understanding that you don’t do this life alone, so ask for help. And after asking for help, saying, “All right, so what are some tools that I can take to get to where I need to be?” It can be professional help or could even just be a friend. But I think the biggest thing with people suffering right now is that it seems like it’s a collective thing, [yet] no one wants to place their burden on someone else. When in reality, through us being able to discuss suffering, we’re able to be like, “Oh, it’s you, too? Oh, OK.” And that collectiveness, that — [takes deep, intentional sigh] — that collective sigh is enough. So I think that’s what I would recommend: finding a community.
Yeah. I think that dovetails with this other idea I’ve been thinking a lot about over the past several months, which is that it feels like the world is ending in a lot of ways, but not in a bad way. It feels like a lot of institutions, systems, structures that have oppressed us are crumbling or have the potential to crumble. And that is inviting the possibility for imagination and imagining a new world. I’m curious to know what world, what portals are you imagining, what are you manifesting for the rest of the year and the years to come?
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Radical self-thought. In a way, I’m very, very thankful for Donald Trump because he showed us we weren’t bullshitting. We weren’t lying. Racism was real.
I’d like to see more authenticity. More people just standing [up against injustice], but I also just want the whole fucking thing to deconstruct. I would like to see everything flipped upside down. I just want the whole cup to be poured over. I want to see the world tap into itself in a way that is not what we want to see necessarily, but what it is. And I think that it’s going to get so much more ugly before it gets good, but that’s how we build. That’s how we grow.
It’s necessary, yeah.
Suffering can be ugly, but it isn’t necessarily bad. I’m sure when you were in school and you were like, “I’m not trying to do this motherfuckin’ journalism class. This is hell on Earth!” [Laughs] You know what I mean? It was suffering for you at that time. But maybe you look back on that now and it’s like, “Wow, I’m so thankful for that because that’s what made me who I am. These situations, this trauma, this whatever put me into the space that I needed to be.” So I think it’s just shifting the narrative and shifting our perception.
Finally, what are the books, movies and music that have fed you, that have centered you during this time?
Wow. That’s a beautiful question. I love that. “Purple Hibiscus” was a treat in lockdown. I listened to a lot of Ethiopian jazz, so Dexter Story, the “Bahir” album. Florence and the Machine, her latest album. A lot of Osho — I love Osho. I know he’s so controversial, but I love Osho’s books. I love his talks.
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This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
More recommendations from Mominatu
Books: “The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle” by Haruki Murakami, “The Picture of Dorian Gray” by Oscar Wilde, “A Course in Miracles” by Helen Schucman
Movies: “Ponyo,” “Tableau Ferraille,” “Touki Bouki”
TV shows: ″Ethos”, The Crown Season 4, “The Queen’s Gambit”


thehuffingtonpost--2020-12-09--‘Corruption In Real Time’: Rep. Katie Porter Shreds McConnell For Stymying Stimulus Bill

Rep. Katie Porter ( D-Calif. ) lambasted Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell ( R-Ky. ) over his refusal to support bipartisan stimulus legislation this week , accusing the powerful GOP lawmaker of working behind the scenes to protect corporations rather than Americans in need of financial support .
Congress has renewed talks with the White House this week over a new stimulus package as the COVID-19 pandemic rages on .
Those conversations center on a potential $ 916 billion package offered by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Tuesday to counter Democrats ’ proposals in recent months .
Senate Republicans have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ include sweeping immunity protections for businesses that may be liable for negligence in any future coronavirus-related lawsuits , immunity Democrats oppose .
Porter accused McConnell of being one of the chief architects stymying negotiations on Tuesday .
“ When I came to Congress , I knew I had a responsibility to pull back the curtain for the American people and expose corruption in real time , ” Porter tweeted .
“ So , I ’ m filling you in on Senator McConnell ’ s attempts over the last 8 days to tank a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ came to Congress , I knew I had a responsibility to pull back the curtain for the American people and expose corruption in real time .
So , I ’ m filling you in on Senator McConnell ’ s attempts over the last 8 days to tank a *bipartisan* COVID relief bill .
( THREAD ) — Rep. Katie Porter ( @ RepKatiePorter ) December 9 , 2020 McConnell has defended the push for immunity protections , warning Tuesday that businesses would see a “ developing epidemic of lawsuits headed their way.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the immunity provision if lawmakers also tank financial provisions to support state and local governments .
Democrats shot down that idea and accused McConnell of trying to “ sabotage ” the negotiations .
“ Everyone at the negotiating table — including Senate R — has agreed to a compromise .
Except one , ” Porter continued .
“ Mitch McConnell is refusing to bring it to the floor unless it wipes away all COVID-related lawsuits filed that ‘ allege injury or death ’ due to corporate negligence.
” These lawsuits represent the worst @ @ @ @ @ @ @ human life—cases filed on behalf of nursing home patients and grocery store workers who died because the company in charge of keeping them safe prioritized cutting costs over protecting them .
( 4/5 ) — Rep. Katie Porter ( @ RepKatiePorter ) December 9 , 2020 Porter suggested it was hypocritical for McConnell to make such a demand since he supported President Donald Trump ’ s “ baseless lawsuits ” attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 election , relying on a bevy of lies and mistruths to do so .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump is ‘ 100 % within his rights ’ to pursue baseless lawsuits alleging election fraud is now refusing to pass urgently-needed relief unless it strips those same rights from the most vulnerable among us , ” Porter wrote .
“ This must be exposed .
”

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Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.) lambasted Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) over his refusal to support bipartisan stimulus legislation this week, accusing the powerful GOP lawmaker of working behind the scenes to protect corporations rather than Americans in need of financial support.
Congress has renewed talks with the White House this week over a new stimulus package as the COVID-19 pandemic rages on. Those conversations center on a potential $916 billion package offered by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Tuesday to counter Democrats’ proposals in recent months.
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Senate Republicans have so far insisted that any package should include sweeping immunity protections for businesses that may be liable for negligence in any future coronavirus-related lawsuits, immunity Democrats oppose. Porter accused McConnell of being one of the chief architects stymying negotiations on Tuesday.
“When I came to Congress, I knew I had a responsibility to pull back the curtain for the American people and expose corruption in real time,” Porter tweeted. “So, I’m filling you in on Senator McConnell’s attempts over the last 8 days to tank a *bipartisan* COVID relief bill.”
When I came to Congress, I knew I had a responsibility to pull back the curtain for the American people and expose corruption in real time. So, I’m filling you in on Senator McConnell’s attempts over the last 8 days to tank a *bipartisan* COVID relief bill. (THREAD) — Rep. Katie Porter (@RepKatiePorter) December 9, 2020
McConnell has defended the push for immunity protections, warning Tuesday that businesses would see a “developing epidemic of lawsuits headed their way.” He suggested later that he could drop the immunity provision if lawmakers also tank financial provisions to support state and local governments. Democrats shot down that idea and accused McConnell of trying to “sabotage” the negotiations.
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Porter echoed her fellow Democrats’ sentiments on Tuesday.
“Everyone at the negotiating table — including Senate R — has agreed to a compromise. Except one,” Porter continued. “Mitch McConnell is refusing to bring it to the floor unless it wipes away all COVID-related lawsuits filed that ‘allege injury or death’ due to corporate negligence.”
These lawsuits represent the worst of the worst examples of disregard for human life—cases filed on behalf of nursing home patients and grocery store workers who died because the company in charge of keeping them safe prioritized cutting costs over protecting them. (4/5) — Rep. Katie Porter (@RepKatiePorter) December 9, 2020
Porter suggested it was hypocritical for McConnell to make such a demand since he supported President Donald Trump’s “baseless lawsuits” attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 election, relying on a bevy of lies and mistruths to do so.


thehuffingtonpost--2020-12-09--Chris Cuomo Shreds Lindsey Graham: ‘Do Your Words Still Come From Your Brain?’

Chris Cuomo slammed the GOP lawmakers who continue to repeat President Donald Trump ’ s reality-denying claim that the 2020 election is not over .
( For the record , it is , and Trump lost ) .
Cuomo opened his CNN show on Tuesday with a damning critique of Trump backer Sen. Lindsey Graham ( R-S.C. ) , who this week fanned the flames of animosity by claiming “ there is a civil war brewing in Georgia ” and that it ’ s unreasonable to “ sit on your ass and do nothing when you got a chance to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ you don ’ t mean save the country , you mean save your ass , ” said Cuomo .
“ Civil war .
Seriously , senator ?
Do your words still come from your brain , or just some reservoir of bile ?
” Cuomo noted that Graham has plenty of company from other Trump allies .
“ Did you see the tweets from Arizona ’ s Republican Party ?
It ’ s calling on Americans to die for Trump , ” he said .
“ Literally inciting violence on its official Twitter @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Rambo.
’ ” “ It is absurd and embarrassing as part of political dialogue .
And you know what it sounds like ?
Exactly what Joe McCarthy was pushing against the bogeyman of communism .
We have been here before , ” Cuomo added .
In his # OpeningStatement , @ ChrisCuomo channels his inner Inigo Montoya and wonders what it might take for `` ReTrumplicans '' to accept Joe Biden as President .
`` Will the SCOTUS nine nuthin ' negation of the nugatory nonsense from Trump about the election be enough @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( @ CuomoPrimeTime ) December 9 , 2020

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Chris Cuomo slammed the GOP lawmakers who continue to repeat President Donald Trump’s reality-denying claim that the 2020 election is not over. (For the record, it is, and Trump lost).
Cuomo opened his CNN show on Tuesday with a damning critique of Trump backer Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who this week fanned the flames of animosity by claiming “there is a civil war brewing in Georgia” and that it’s unreasonable to “sit on your ass and do nothing when you got a chance to save the country.”
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“No, you don’t mean save the country, you mean save your ass,” said Cuomo. “Civil war. Seriously, senator? Do your words still come from your brain, or just some reservoir of bile?”
Cuomo noted that Graham has plenty of company from other Trump allies. “Did you see the tweets from Arizona’s Republican Party? It’s calling on Americans to die for Trump,” he said. “Literally inciting violence on its official Twitter account, posting a clip from ‘Rambo.’”
“It is absurd and embarrassing as part of political dialogue. And you know what it sounds like? Exactly what Joe McCarthy was pushing against the bogeyman of communism. We have been here before,” Cuomo added.
Check out the full clip here:
In his #OpeningStatement, @ChrisCuomo channels his inner Inigo Montoya and wonders what it might take for "ReTrumplicans" to accept Joe Biden as President.
"Will the SCOTUS nine nuthin' negation of the nugatory nonsense from Trump about the election be enough?" pic.twitter.com/TNYg9T67RD — Cuomo Prime Time (@CuomoPrimeTime) December 9, 2020


thehuffingtonpost--2020-12-09--House Approves $731 Billion Defense Bill With Veto-Proof Majority

The 335-78 vote in favor of the $ 731 billion defense measure came hours after Trump renewed his threat to veto the bill unless lawmakers clamp down on social media companies he claims were biased against him during the election .
Trump tweeted Tuesday that he will veto “ the very weak National Defense Authorization Act , ″ or NDAA , unless it repeals so-called Section 230 , a part of the communications code that shields Twitter , Facebook and other tech giants from content liability .
Trump also wants Congress to strip out a provision of the bill that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ honor Confederate leaders .
The final vote represented approval from more than 80 % of the House — well above the two-thirds support required to override a potential veto .
A total of 140 Republicans joined 195 Democrats to back the bill , which now goes to the Senate .
But with Trump pressuring Republicans to stand with him , it was unclear until the final tally whether the bill would receive the two-thirds support needed to override a veto .
The House Freedom Caucus , a bloc of roughly three-dozen conservatives , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ opposed the bill .
Smith and other lawmakers noted that many defense programs can only go into effect if the bill is approved , including military construction .
The measure guides Pentagon policy and cements decisions about troop levels , new weapons systems and military readiness , military personnel policy and other military goals .
Troops should not be “ punished ” because politicians failed to enact needed legislation to ensure their pay , said Rep. Mac Thornberry of Texas , the top Republican on the Armed Services panel .
The $ 731 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ overseas deployments and other dangerous job assignments , hikes recruiting and retention bonuses and adjusts housing allowances .
The dispute over social media content — a battle cry of conservatives who say the social media giants treat them unfairly — interjects an unrelated but complicated issue into a bill that Congress takes pride in having passed unfailingly for nearly 60 years .
It follows Trump ’ s bid to sabotage the package with an earlier veto threat over Confederate base names .
Measures approved by the House and Senate would require the Pentagon @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and Fort Hood named for Confederate generals , but Trump opposes the idea and has threatened a veto over it .
The fight erupted this summer amid widespread protests over police killings of unarmed Black men and women , and Trump used the debate to try to appeal to white Southern voters nostalgic about the Confederacy .
For 59 straight years , they added , the NDAA has passed because lawmakers and presidents agreed to set aside their own preferences “ and put the needs of our military personnel and America ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to do that again.
” The powerful Republican chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee , Sen. James Inhofe of Oklahoma , said he had spoken to Trump and explained that the defense bill is not the place for the big tech fight .
Trump ’ s veto threat in the final months of his administration is his latest attempt to bend the norms .
From redirecting money intended for military bases to build the border wall with Mexico to installing acting nominees in administrative positions without Senate confirmation , Trump has chipped @ @ @ @ @ @ @ term .
“ I think we can override the veto , if in fact he vetoes , ″ House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer , D-Md.
, said Tuesday before the vote .
“ I hope he does not veto , I hope he reconsiders .
And I think he will get substantial pressure , advice ( from Republicans ) that , you know , you don ’ t want to put the defense bill at risk.″ “ Twitter has become a publisher , choosing to fact-check content , ” she said .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , there are certain responsibilities with that and you should not be immune from liability .
”

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WASHINGTON (AP) — The Democratic-controlled House on Tuesday easily approved a wide-ranging defense policy bill, defying a veto threat from President Donald Trump and setting up a possible showdown with the Republican president in the waning days of his administration.
The 335-78 vote in favor of the $731 billion defense measure came hours after Trump renewed his threat to veto the bill unless lawmakers clamp down on social media companies he claims were biased against him during the election.
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Trump tweeted Tuesday that he will veto “the very weak National Defense Authorization Act,″ or NDAA, unless it repeals so-called Section 230, a part of the communications code that shields Twitter, Facebook and other tech giants from content liability. Trump also wants Congress to strip out a provision of the bill that allows renaming of military bases that now honor Confederate leaders.
Congressional leaders vowed to move ahead on the hugely popular bill — which affirms automatic 3% pay raises for U.S. troops and authorizes other military programs — despite the veto threat.
The final vote represented approval from more than 80% of the House — well above the two-thirds support required to override a potential veto. A total of 140 Republicans joined 195 Democrats to back the bill, which now goes to the Senate.
Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney, a member of the House Republican leadership, urged Trump not to follow through on his veto threat, but added that if he does veto it, “We should override.″
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If Trump vetoes the bill, “we will come back to vote to override,” said Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee.
But with Trump pressuring Republicans to stand with him, it was unclear until the final tally whether the bill would receive the two-thirds support needed to override a veto. The House Freedom Caucus, a bloc of roughly three-dozen conservatives, backed Trump’s position Tuesday and opposed the bill.
“We stand with the president,″ said Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., the group’s chairman. “This particular NDAA bill is filled with flaws and problems,″ including limitations on troop withdrawals ordered by Trump in Afghanistan and Germany, Biggs said.
Smith and other lawmakers noted that many defense programs can only go into effect if the bill is approved, including military construction. The measure guides Pentagon policy and cements decisions about troop levels, new weapons systems and military readiness, military personnel policy and other military goals.
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Troops should not be “punished” because politicians failed to enact needed legislation to ensure their pay, said Rep. Mac Thornberry of Texas, the top Republican on the Armed Services panel. The $731 billion measure increases hazardous duty pay for overseas deployments and other dangerous job assignments, hikes recruiting and retention bonuses and adjusts housing allowances.
The dispute over social media content — a battle cry of conservatives who say the social media giants treat them unfairly — interjects an unrelated but complicated issue into a bill that Congress takes pride in having passed unfailingly for nearly 60 years. It follows Trump’s bid to sabotage the package with an earlier veto threat over Confederate base names.
Measures approved by the House and Senate would require the Pentagon to rename bases such as Fort Benning and Fort Hood named for Confederate generals, but Trump opposes the idea and has threatened a veto over it. The fight erupted this summer amid widespread protests over police killings of unarmed Black men and women, and Trump used the debate to try to appeal to white Southern voters nostalgic about the Confederacy.
Smith and Thornberry said in a joint statement last week that lawmakers had “toiled through almost 2,200 provisions to reach compromise on important issues affecting our national security and our military.”
For 59 straight years, they added, the NDAA has passed because lawmakers and presidents agreed to set aside their own preferences “and put the needs of our military personnel and America’s security first. The time has come to do that again.”
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The powerful Republican chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Sen. James Inhofe of Oklahoma, said he had spoken to Trump and explained that the defense bill is not the place for the big tech fight.
“I agree with his sentiments — we ought to do away with 230,” Inhofe told reporters. “But you can’t do it in this bill.”
Trump’s veto threat in the final months of his administration is his latest attempt to bend the norms. From redirecting money intended for military bases to build the border wall with Mexico to installing acting nominees in administrative positions without Senate confirmation, Trump has chipped away at the legislative branch throughout his term.
If he does veto the defense bill, Congress could cut short its Christmas recess to hold override votes, senior House members said.
“I think we can override the veto, if in fact he vetoes,″ House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said Tuesday before the vote. “I hope he does not veto, I hope he reconsiders. And I think he will get substantial pressure, advice (from Republicans) that, you know, you don’t want to put the defense bill at risk.″
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White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said Trump’s attempt to pressure Congress on Section 230 was justified.
“Twitter has become a publisher, choosing to fact-check content,” she said. “And when you’re a publisher, there are certain responsibilities with that and you should not be immune from liability.”
Past presidents have certainly threatened to veto defense bills, which set annual policy with troop levels, equipment priorities, pay raises and other matters.
The defense bill is typically a widely bipartisan measure, one of the few areas of common ground. Over the summer, the Senate approved its version, 86-14, while the House similarly passed its effort, with opposition coming mostly from the liberal and conservative flanks.
Trump’s allies on Capitol Hill, including House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, have railed against the social media companies, especially during the heated November election. McCarthy, R-Calif., voted for the bill Tuesday but said he would not support overriding the veto.
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thehuffingtonpost--2020-12-09--Harvard Law Professor Hits Donald Trump With The Cold Truth: ‘You Are A Loser’

Harvard constitutional law professor Laurence Tribe on Tuesday condemned President Donald Trump ’ s futile bid to overturn the 2020 election result .
“ Mr .
Trump , you have lost , ” Tribe said on CNN ’ s “ Outfront ” after the Supreme Court dismissed a Republican attempt to reverse Pennsylvania ’ s certification of President-elect Joe Biden ’ s win in the state .
“ You ’ ve got to move on , ” the commentator continued , noting that the United States needs to focus on things like the coronavirus pandemic and national security , not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to “ stop undermining democracy ” and accused him of “ trying to sow chaos ” with his multiple lawsuits challenging the outcome of the vote .
“ You ’ re not going to get anywhere with these ludicrous efforts to overturn the election and to engineer a coup , ” he added .
“ You are a loser.
” Check out the interview here : “ It ’ s over , ” says legal scholar Laurence Tribe , reacting to the Supreme Court ’ s decision to deny the Republicans ’ request @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Pennsylvania .
“ There was no conceivable basis for this ludicrous motion to overturn the Pennsylvania election.
” pic.twitter.com/LwuIPovnNg — OutFrontCNN ( @ OutFrontCNN ) December 9 , 2020

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Harvard constitutional law professor Laurence Tribe on Tuesday condemned President Donald Trump’s futile bid to overturn the 2020 election result.
“Mr. Trump, you have lost,” Tribe said on CNN’s “Outfront” after the Supreme Court dismissed a Republican attempt to reverse Pennsylvania’s certification of President-elect Joe Biden’s win in the state.
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“You’ve got to move on,” the commentator continued, noting that the United States needs to focus on things like the coronavirus pandemic and national security, not litigating the election.
Tribe asked Trump to “stop undermining democracy” and accused him of “trying to sow chaos” with his multiple lawsuits challenging the outcome of the vote.
“You’re not going to get anywhere with these ludicrous efforts to overturn the election and to engineer a coup,” he added. “You are a loser.”
Check out the interview here:
“It’s over,” says legal scholar Laurence Tribe, reacting to the Supreme Court’s decision to deny the Republicans’ request to block certification of election results in Pennsylvania.
“There was no conceivable basis for this ludicrous motion to overturn the Pennsylvania election.” pic.twitter.com/LwuIPovnNg — OutFrontCNN (@OutFrontCNN) December 9, 2020


thehuffingtonpost--2020-12-08--Biden Selects Marcia Fudge As Housing Secretary, Tom Vilsack For Agriculture

WASHINGTON ( AP ) — President-elect Joe Biden has selected Ohio Rep. Marcia Fudge as his housing and urban development secretary and former Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to reprise that role in his administration , according to five people familiar with the decisions .
Fudge , a former chair of the Congressional Black Caucus , was just elected to a seventh term representing a majority Black district that includes parts of Cleveland and Akron .
Vilsack spent eight years as head of the U.S. Department of Agriculture during the Obama administration and served two terms as Iowa governor .
Their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Press on Tuesday by five people familiar with one or both of the decisions who spoke on condition of anonymity to avoid preempting the president-elect ’ s announcement .
Biden sees Fudge as a leading voice for working families and a longtime champion of affordable housing , infrastructure and other priorities , according to one of the people familiar with the president-elect ’ s decision .
Vilsack was selected in part because of the heightened hunger crisis facing the nation and the need to ensure someone was ready to run the department on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ As news outlets started reporting Fudge ’ s selection as HUD secretary , she said on Capitol Hill that it would be “ an honor and a privilege ” to be asked to join Biden ’ s Cabinet , though she didn ’ t confirm she had been picked .
“ It is something in probably my wildest dreams I would have never thought about .
So if I can help this president in any way possible , I am more than happy to do it , ” she said Tuesday evening .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Committee and a fierce advocate for food stamps , Fudge was originally discussed to become agriculture secretary .
South Carolina Rep. Jim Clyburn , the No .
3 House Democrat who gave Biden a key nod of support in the primaries , had strongly backed her , saying , “ It ’ s one thing to grow food , but another to dispense it , and nobody would be better at that than Marcia Fudge.″ Biden ’ s relationship with Vilsack goes back decades .
He was an early supporter of Biden ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ while Vilsack was the mayor of Mount Pleasant , Iowa .
He endorsed Biden a year before the 2020 election and campaigned tirelessly for him in Iowa , the nation ’ s first caucus state .
Biden adopted aspects of Vilsack ’ s rural policy agenda as Democrats look to make up ground they ’ ve lost to Republicans in rural areas over the past decade , Having run the giant department for eight years under Obama and sat at the table with Biden , there ’ s little mystery to Vilsack ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ longtime professional connection make the choice one offering little risk .
Vilsack entered politics in large part because of tragedy , when the mayor of Mount Pleasant was gunned down at a city council meeting in 1986 .
Vilsack , then a young lawyer , had grown up in Pittsburgh and moved with his wife , Christie , to her Iowa hometown .
He was recruited to seek the mayor ’ s office , then served two terms in the Iowa Senate before being the first Democrat to win the governorship in 30 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ran a 10-week campaign for the 2008 Democratic nomination before withdrawing and throwing his support to Hillary Clinton , even as Biden was among the field .
Vilsack was a finalist for Clinton ’ s running mate that year .
Biden has said he wants a diverse Cabinet , and some Black leaders have said he needs to do more to achieve that .
Biden announced earlier Tuesday that he had selected retired Army Gen. Lloyd Austin to be the nation ’ s first Black defense secretary .
“ Marcia Fudge is a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for the Department of Agriculture , ” Clyburn said on CNN .
“ I don ’ t know if that ’ s where she will end up , but I feel certain that Marcia Fudge is the kind of person that should be in this Cabinet and I will continue to advocate for her .
”

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WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Joe Biden has selected Ohio Rep. Marcia Fudge as his housing and urban development secretary and former Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to reprise that role in his administration, according to five people familiar with the decisions.
Fudge, a former chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, was just elected to a seventh term representing a majority Black district that includes parts of Cleveland and Akron. Vilsack spent eight years as head of the U.S. Department of Agriculture during the Obama administration and served two terms as Iowa governor.
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Their intended nominations were confirmed to The Associated Press on Tuesday by five people familiar with one or both of the decisions who spoke on condition of anonymity to avoid preempting the president-elect’s announcement.
Biden sees Fudge as a leading voice for working families and a longtime champion of affordable housing, infrastructure and other priorities, according to one of the people familiar with the president-elect’s decision. Vilsack was selected in part because of the heightened hunger crisis facing the nation and the need to ensure someone was ready to run the department on day one, the person said.
As news outlets started reporting Fudge’s selection as HUD secretary, she said on Capitol Hill that it would be “an honor and a privilege” to be asked to join Biden’s Cabinet, though she didn’t confirm she had been picked.
“It is something in probably my wildest dreams I would have never thought about. So if I can help this president in any way possible, I am more than happy to do it,” she said Tuesday evening.
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A longtime member of the House Agriculture Committee and a fierce advocate for food stamps, Fudge was originally discussed to become agriculture secretary. South Carolina Rep. Jim Clyburn, the No. 3 House Democrat who gave Biden a key nod of support in the primaries, had strongly backed her, saying, “It’s one thing to grow food, but another to dispense it, and nobody would be better at that than Marcia Fudge.″
She also had the strong backing of progressive groups who touted her support for food aid and worker protections at meatpacking plants.
But her name was later floated for HUD as Biden’s team focused on other candidates for USDA, including Vilsack and former North Dakota Sen. Heidi Heitkamp.
Biden’s relationship with Vilsack goes back decades. He was an early supporter of Biden’s first campaign for president in 1988 while Vilsack was the mayor of Mount Pleasant, Iowa. He endorsed Biden a year before the 2020 election and campaigned tirelessly for him in Iowa, the nation’s first caucus state. Biden adopted aspects of Vilsack’s rural policy agenda as Democrats look to make up ground they’ve lost to Republicans in rural areas over the past decade,
Having run the giant department for eight years under Obama and sat at the table with Biden, there’s little mystery to Vilsack’s expertise. Their 34-year friendship and longtime professional connection make the choice one offering little risk.
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Vilsack entered politics in large part because of tragedy, when the mayor of Mount Pleasant was gunned down at a city council meeting in 1986. Vilsack, then a young lawyer, had grown up in Pittsburgh and moved with his wife, Christie, to her Iowa hometown. He was recruited to seek the mayor’s office, then served two terms in the Iowa Senate before being the first Democrat to win the governorship in 30 years.
After two terms, Vilsack ran a 10-week campaign for the 2008 Democratic nomination before withdrawing and throwing his support to Hillary Clinton, even as Biden was among the field. Vilsack was a finalist for Clinton’s running mate that year.
Biden has said he wants a diverse Cabinet, and some Black leaders have said he needs to do more to achieve that. Biden announced earlier Tuesday that he had selected retired Army Gen. Lloyd Austin to be the nation’s first Black defense secretary.
Clyburn aggressively pushed Fudge for USDA but seemed to suggest earlier Tuesday that she may be under consideration for another position.
“Marcia Fudge is a tremendous candidate. I was pitching her for the Department of Agriculture,” Clyburn said on CNN. “I don’t know if that’s where she will end up, but I feel certain that Marcia Fudge is the kind of person that should be in this Cabinet and I will continue to advocate for her.”
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She earned her bachelor’s degree in business from The Ohio State University and a law degree from the Cleveland-Marshall School of Law at Cleveland State University.
Politico first reported the news of Fudge’s selection, while Axios was first to report Vilsack as agriculture secretary.
___


thehuffingtonpost--2020-12-09--Chris Hayes Fears What’s To Come From The GOP After Donald Trump

Chris Hayes on Tuesday warned that people should not expect the GOP to change much after President Donald Trump leaves office .
It will be more of the same , the host of MSNBC ’ s “ All In ” said , because “ we are seeing just how deep the rot is inside the Republican Party.
” As Trump “ starts to fade from the scene ” and his “ rhetoric grows more and more desperate and irrelevant , the problem of Trump — the problem he represents — is only coming into clearer focus , ” said Hayes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the GOP base , a person who channeled their most feral instincts in order to gain power , ” he said .
“ The modern GOP isn ’ t just detached from reality ; much of it is willfully opposed to popular sovereignty and democracy , ” Hayes continued .
“ Many of its leaders are continuing to pursue dangerous delusions that are right now , day after day , hour after hour , indeed minute after minute , getting people killed.
” Hayes highlighted how lawmakers from the top of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ threat of the coronavirus pandemic , ignored COVID-19 safety guidelines , and backed Trump ’ s reality-defying efforts to overturn his 2020 election defeat .
“ None of them are Donald Trump , ” he said , adding , “ The problem is not going to go away when Trump does .
”

LOADING ERROR LOADING
Chris Hayes on Tuesday warned that people should not expect the GOP to change much after President Donald Trump leaves office.
It will be more of the same, the host of MSNBC’s “All In” said, because “we are seeing just how deep the rot is inside the Republican Party.”
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As Trump “starts to fade from the scene” and his “rhetoric grows more and more desperate and irrelevant, the problem of Trump — the problem he represents — is only coming into clearer focus,” said Hayes.
Trump was “always a product of the GOP base, a person who channeled their most feral instincts in order to gain power,” he said.
“The modern GOP isn’t just detached from reality; much of it is willfully opposed to popular sovereignty and democracy,” Hayes continued. “Many of its leaders are continuing to pursue dangerous delusions that are right now, day after day, hour after hour, indeed minute after minute, getting people killed.”
Hayes highlighted how lawmakers from the top of the party to its fringes have downplayed the threat of the coronavirus pandemic, ignored COVID-19 safety guidelines, and backed Trump’s reality-defying efforts to overturn his 2020 election defeat.
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“None of them are Donald Trump,” he said, adding, “The problem is not going to go away when Trump does.”


thehuffingtonpost--2020-12-09--Trump Wants To Sell A Dictator $23 Billion In Weapons. Here's Where They Could Go.

That intelligence confirms the BBC ’ s conclusion in August that the UAE was to blame for the killings .
Human Rights Watch has found other evidence tying the UAE to a November 2019 attack on a biscuit factory that killed eight civilians .
Months earlier , a similar strike killed 53 migrants in a detention center , and United Nations officials reportedly concluded that the UAE was responsible , though they would only publicly describe the tragedy as evidence of the “ dangers and direct consequences on civilians of foreign interference.
” As Congress debates Trump ’ s massive @ @ @ @ @ @ @ UAE , which includes America ’ s most advanced fighter jet and thousands of bombs and missiles in addition to the drones , lawmakers have a chance to prevent shipments that will almost certainly be used to kill innocent people , aggravate civil wars and boost the global perception that the U.S. has little regard for human rights .
Sen. Rand Paul ( R-Ky. ) is helping lead the charge against the sale , and the 48-member Democratic caucus will almost certainly jointly vote against the deal , meaning the question now probably @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will oppose the arms sale .
One may be Sen. Lisa Murkowski ( R-Alaska ) , whom anti-deal activists expect to vote against the transfer now based on private conversations .
She has not yet publicly indicated how she will vote .
The politics of the dispute are hugely significant .
Voting to block the deal would serve as a final rebuke to Trump , despite his near-certain veto , and signal to the Biden administration that Congress would support the next president in stopping shipment of the weapons down the line .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ how much Congress is thinking about exerting influence on foreign affairs after it ’ s no longer dealing with Trump , whose views differed from those of most lawmakers .
As the world ’ s largest arms exporter , the U.S. helps fuel almost every conflict on the planet .
Most Americans spend little time thinking about how those weapons are actually used .
In the case of the deal with the UAE ’ s de facto ruler , Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed of Abu Dhabi ― the biggest such sale under @ @ @ @ @ @ @ arms-dealer-in-chief ― the prospects for devastating consequences are very clear .
“ Opposing these arms sales should be an absolute no-brainer for any senator who champions human rights and opposes atrocities against civilians , ” Erica Fein of Win Without War , one of the groups opposing the deal , told HuffPost , listing instances in which the Emirates has defied international law .
“ Continuing to sell weapons to the UAE knowing about these and other violations only continues U.S. complicity in these wars and the suffering of the people caught in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been fighting to control the country , including assets like its substantial oil reserves , since 2014 .
The UAE has supported one side , led by militia leader Khalifa Haftar , throughout , prolonging the fighting between Haftar and his rivals , an assortment of forces loyal to the United Nations-recognized Government of National Accord , or GNA .
Some of the UAE ’ s top regional competitors , namely Qatar and Turkey , back the GNA ― as does the United States .
Meanwhile , the UAE has established proxy forces @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Sudanese men who were not told where they were being sent .
And it has used its stocks of Western weaponry to commit dozens of war crimes while violating an international embargo on arms transfers into the country .
Congress has repeatedly condemned the UAE ’ s meddling in Yemen , where it has , since 2015 , helped a hodgepodge of local forces , Saudi Arabia and other nations fight an Iran-backed militia called the Houthis .
The U.S. has supported the Saudi-led coalition as well , through weapons and support for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ war created the world ’ s worst humanitarian crisis and the coalition hit schools , hospitals , markets and other nonmilitary targets .
And the country transferred arms it had bought from the U.S. to militia fighters ― some of them ending up with hard-line anti-American organizations .
In 2019 , a bipartisan group of House Foreign Affairs Committee members described that move as posing “ a clear national security risk to the U.S. and our interests and a serious violation of existing bilateral agreements pursuant to the Arms Export Control Act.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pulling out most of its own troops from Yemen last fall .
The government presented that step as the end of its intervention in Yemen , going so far as to decline to promise any aid to the international appeal for Yemen in 2020 despite its years of helping devastate the country .

LOADING ERROR LOADING
On the night of Jan. 4, about 50 unarmed cadets ― many of them teenagers ― were practicing drills at a military academy in the Libyan capital of Tripoli. Suddenly, a missile landed in their midst. Twenty-six cadets died, with some of their bodies split into two.
The missile’s origin: a Chinese drone operated by the United Arab Emirates ― the country that is now trying to buy its first armed American drones with President Donald Trump’s blessing.
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“We were witnessing our colleagues dying, breathing their last breath, and we couldn’t do anything … it was an awful crime, a crime that has nothing to do with humanity,” Abdul Moeen, a 20-year-old survivor of the attack, later told the BBC.
The UAE denies involvement in Libya’s civil war. But U.S. intelligence proves that’s a lie ― and that the Emirates carried out the strike on the academy, a U.S. official familiar with the assessment told HuffPost.
That intelligence confirms the BBC’s conclusion in August that the UAE was to blame for the killings. Human Rights Watch has found other evidence tying the UAE to a November 2019 attack on a biscuit factory that killed eight civilians. Months earlier, a similar strike killed 53 migrants in a detention center, and United Nations officials reportedly concluded that the UAE was responsible, though they would only publicly describe the tragedy as evidence of the “dangers and direct consequences on civilians of foreign interference.”
As Congress debates Trump’s massive $23 billion arms deal with the UAE, which includes America’s most advanced fighter jet and thousands of bombs and missiles in addition to the drones, lawmakers have a chance to prevent shipments that will almost certainly be used to kill innocent people, aggravate civil wars and boost the global perception that the U.S. has little regard for human rights.
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“Opposing these arms sales should be an absolute no-brainer for any senator who champions human rights and opposes atrocities against civilians.” - Erica Fein of Win Without War
The Senate will likely vote Wednesday on one or all of a set of bills to block those weapons transfers. The outcome depends on the decisions of a few Republican senators.
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) is helping lead the charge against the sale, and the 48-member Democratic caucus will almost certainly jointly vote against the deal, meaning the question now probably hangs on whether two more Senate Republicans will oppose the arms sale. One may be Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), whom anti-deal activists expect to vote against the transfer now based on private conversations. She has not yet publicly indicated how she will vote.
The congressional fight pits human rights and humanitarian groups, anti-war advocates and prominent mainstream voices on foreign policy against the sizable lobbying operations of the UAE, the defense industry, allies like former Trump Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, Trump aides and hawks who view the arms deal as a way to deter Iran.
The politics of the dispute are hugely significant. Voting to block the deal would serve as a final rebuke to Trump, despite his near-certain veto, and signal to the Biden administration that Congress would support the next president in stopping shipment of the weapons down the line. More broadly, the vote will signal how much Congress is thinking about exerting influence on foreign affairs after it’s no longer dealing with Trump, whose views differed from those of most lawmakers.
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But the implications beyond Washington are even more important.
As the world’s largest arms exporter, the U.S. helps fuel almost every conflict on the planet. Most Americans spend little time thinking about how those weapons are actually used. In the case of the deal with the UAE’s de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed of Abu Dhabi ― the biggest such sale under Trump, who has behaved as an arms-dealer-in-chief ― the prospects for devastating consequences are very clear.
“Opposing these arms sales should be an absolute no-brainer for any senator who champions human rights and opposes atrocities against civilians,” Erica Fein of Win Without War, one of the groups opposing the deal, told HuffPost, listing instances in which the Emirates has defied international law. “Continuing to sell weapons to the UAE knowing about these and other violations only continues U.S. complicity in these wars and the suffering of the people caught in them.”
The UAE Embassy did not respond to a request for comment for this story.
Libyan security personnel carry a coffin on Jan. 5, 2020, during the funeral of people who were killed in a UAE attack on a military academy in Tripoli. Ismail Zetouni / Reuters
Libya’s Little-Noticed Pain
Competing forces in Libya have been fighting to control the country, including assets like its substantial oil reserves, since 2014. The UAE has supported one side, led by militia leader Khalifa Haftar, throughout, prolonging the fighting between Haftar and his rivals, an assortment of forces loyal to the United Nations-recognized Government of National Accord, or GNA. Some of the UAE’s top regional competitors, namely Qatar and Turkey, back the GNA ― as does the United States.
Though the Emirates’ role in Libya has received far less attention than its behavior in Yemen, the UAE’s actions there illustrate many of the reasons some lawmakers, activists and analysts say the U.S. should not be sending the country more weapons.
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The UAE has launched airstrikes against Haftar’s opponents without consulting Washington. It’s worked closely with Russian mercenaries ― including potentially financing them, according to a recent Pentagon report ― while using advanced Chinese equipment.
Meanwhile, the UAE has established proxy forces of its own, comprising hundreds of Sudanese men who were not told where they were being sent. And it has used its stocks of Western weaponry to commit dozens of war crimes while violating an international embargo on arms transfers into the country.
Top U.S. officials are growing increasingly worried about the yearslong conflict getting worse. Last month, the House passed bipartisan legislation demanding a report from Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on the impact of foreign powers’ influence in Libya. The fear is that Libya’s continued collapse will fuel extremism there, force people to become refugees and spill over into fragile neighboring countries.
“The Emirates’ role has been especially destructive — its drones and fixed-wing aircraft have conducted hundreds of strikes, according to the United Nations, causing scores of civilian deaths,” Frederic Wehrey, an analyst at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, wrote earlier this year.
He urged the U.S. to pressure the Emirates to rein in its intervention.
“In the meantime, it’s Libyans who suffer: from the constant fear of shelling or airstrikes, 16-hour blackouts and the sense that their fates are being decided from abroad,” Wehrey argued.
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A fighter with UAE-backed forces in Libya, pictured earlier this year. Esam Omran Al-Fetori / Reuters
Yemen’s Abyss
Congress has repeatedly condemned the UAE’s meddling in Yemen, where it has, since 2015, helped a hodgepodge of local forces, Saudi Arabia and other nations fight an Iran-backed militia called the Houthis. The U.S. has supported the Saudi-led coalition as well, through weapons and support for bombing missions ― even as the civil war created the world’s worst humanitarian crisis and the coalition hit schools, hospitals, markets and other nonmilitary targets.
The Emirates has maintained a substantial presence in Yemen, carrying out airstrikes that killed civilians and strengthening Yemeni militia forces it saw as useful proxies while targeting figures it viewed as potential critics, including through a secret assassination program involving former U.S. soldiers, which BuzzFeed News revealed in 2018.
The UAE also set up secretive detention facilities where personnel tortured and sexually abused detainees, The Associated Press discovered. (The U.N. later released similar reporting.)
And the country transferred arms it had bought from the U.S. to militia fighters ― some of them ending up with hard-line anti-American organizations. In 2019, a bipartisan group of House Foreign Affairs Committee members described that move as posing “a clear national security risk to the U.S. and our interests and a serious violation of existing bilateral agreements pursuant to the Arms Export Control Act.”
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The UAE successfully reduced criticism stateside by pulling out most of its own troops from Yemen last fall. The government presented that step as the end of its intervention in Yemen, going so far as to decline to promise any aid to the international appeal for Yemen in 2020 despite its years of helping devastate the country.
But U.S. intelligence continues to describe the UAE as involved in Yemen, two U.S. officials told HuffPost.
The UAE remains closely connected to powerful, often vicious armed fighters in Yemen ― up to 90,000 of them, the U.N. recently estimated ― and sees it as strategically useful to have influence in the country. It’s been particularly focused on controlling the strategically located island of Socotra, which Yemenis say now almost feels like it’s entirely been given over to a foreign power.
It’s also helped drive fresh fighting between various Yemeni political forces that has complicated the country’s response to the coronavirus pandemic and is currently seeking new U.S. steps against Iran-linked forces, which would prolong the civil war and drive millions more people into famine-like conditions.
Aisha Jumaan, a humanitarian expert who runs the Yemen Relief and Reconstruction Foundation, dismissed the suggestion that the UAE is out of Yemen, saying the Emiratis are impossible to miss during visits to the country. She described the Emirati regime as “calculating and malicious,” more strategic and careful in its efforts than its widely criticized ally Saudi Arabia, but also extremely damaging.
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thehuffingtonpost--2020-12-09--Joe Biden Set To Tap Tom Vilsack As Agriculture Secretary Despite Black Leaders' Concerns

Andrew Harnik/Associated Press President-elect Joe Biden will reportedly tap his friend Tom Vilsack to return to the Agriculture Department as secretary .
Vilsack ’ s nomination comes with deep reservations from some Biden allies in the civil rights community who were hoping he would choose Rep. Marcia Fudge ( D-Ohio ) .
The president-elect is instead set to tap her to lead the Department of Housing and Urban Development .
Derrick Johnston , president and CEO of the NAACP , said Vilsack was just one of two people his group was absolutely opposed to becoming part of Biden ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel , who has been a rumored pick for transportation secretary . )
Fudge , who is on the House Agriculture Committee , made clear she wanted the agriculture post .
She leads the nutrition and oversight subcommittee and is known as a fierce advocate for food assistance programs , which make up the bulk of the department ’ s work .
“ For many people , the first name that comes to mind is Sherrod ― her ouster and the circumstances surrounding her ouster .
That looms heavily , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Black people , when his name comes up , ” said a civil rights leader who requested anonymity to speak candidly .
The video was heavily and dishonestly edited .
The full version of her speech showed that it was a consciousness-raising story about overcoming racial biases and how she did help the white farm couple ( which they also confirmed ) .
“ There is zero tolerance for discrimination at USDA , and I strongly condemn any act of discrimination against any person , ” Vilsack said at the time .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ past 18 months to reverse the checkered civil rights history at the department and take the issue of fairness and equality very seriously.
” “ I ’ ve learned a lot of lessons from this experience in the last couple of days .
And one of the lessons I learned is that these types of decisions require time .
I didn ’ t take the time .
I should have , ” he said .
“ And as a result , a good woman has gone through a very difficult period .
And @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that for a long , long time.
” “ In the context of Joe Biden winning this election because of Black voters , in the context of an ongoing Georgia Senate campaign that is going to determine governing power , where there are many Black rural voters in the Blackbelt , it ’ s an extremely controversial and risky choice to reappoint Vilsack against the wishes of Rep. Clyburn and against the wishes of the NAACP , ” Sebastian added .
The Counter , a publication that focuses on food policy , did @ @ @ @ @ @ @ under Vilsack , USDA employees “ foreclosed on black farmers with outstanding discrimination complaints , ” “ threw out new complaints and misrepresented their frequency , ” “ sent a lower share of loan dollars to black farmers than it had under President Bush ” and “ failed to adequately compensate black farmers ” in a class-action discrimination suit against the department brought by Black farmers .
John Boyd , president and founder of the National Black Farmers Association , said that while Vilsack is certainly going to be an improvement over the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will need to do more than he did during the Obama years .
“ [ W ] hile Black farmers had legislative successes during the Obama Administration , far too little was done during his tenure to address the long legacy of discrimination against Black farmers .
Doors continue to be closed to many Black farmers and today our members face enormous challenges - including a system that disproportionally leaves them behind , ” he said in a statement .
“ It would be incredibly important that if Vilsack is indeed the pick @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that he is immediately surrounded by people who bring life experiences and a racial justice lens to the work , ” added Kristen Clarke , president of the Lawyers ’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law , who was on the call with Biden on Tuesday night .
Vilsack and Biden have long been close .
The former governor of Iowa and his wife were early supporters of Biden in his first run for president and again in his most recent campaign .
Vilsack is a traditional pick for the job ― a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ state .
“ Tom Vilsack presided over economic distress and Democratic Party decline in rural areas , ” said Jeff Hauser , founder of the Revolving Door Project , which focuses on presidential personnel .
“ Big Agriculture got even bigger as Obama and Vilsack broke a series of commitments to anti-monopoly initiatives that Obama had made in the course of his historic Iowa caucus victory .
What about that record is making Biden think the next four years at the Department of Agriculture can not perform any better than under Vilsack from @ @ @

President-elect Joe Biden will reportedly tap his friend Tom Vilsack to return to the Agriculture Department as secretary. Andrew Harnik/Associated Press
President-elect Joe Biden is reportedly set to choose Tom Vilsack as the next secretary of agriculture, allowing his longtime friend to return to the same job he held for all eight years of President Barack Obama’s administration.
Vilsack’s nomination comes with deep reservations from some Biden allies in the civil rights community who were hoping he would choose Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio). The president-elect is instead set to tap her to lead the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
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Derrick Johnston, president and CEO of the NAACP, said Vilsack was just one of two people his group was absolutely opposed to becoming part of Biden’s Cabinet. (The other was former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who has been a rumored pick for transportation secretary.)
Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.), a close Biden ally, publicly championed Fudge and criticized Vilsack.
“I don’t know why we’ve got to be recycling,” Clyburn said in a New York Times interview last month. “There’s a strong feeling that Black farmers didn’t get a fair shake” under Vilsack, he added.
Fudge, who is on the House Agriculture Committee, made clear she wanted the agriculture post. She leads the nutrition and oversight subcommittee and is known as a fierce advocate for food assistance programs, which make up the bulk of the department’s work.
During a call with civil rights leaders Tuesday evening, Biden offered a “spirited defense” of his ally when participants expressed concern about Vilsack’s record.
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Hanging over Vilsack’s tenure is his treatment of Shirley Sherrod, a Black USDA employee who was fired and nationally humiliated after Vilsack and other Obama administration officials fell for a conservative organization’s distorted video making it seem like she was racist.
In 2010, Vilsack had to apologize for forcing the resignation of Shirley Sherrod. Manuel Balce Ceneta/Associated Press
“For many people, the first name that comes to mind is Sherrod ― her ouster and the circumstances surrounding her ouster. That looms heavily, and I think it always will for Black people, when his name comes up,” said a civil rights leader who requested anonymity to speak candidly.
In 2010, right-wing blogger Andrew Breitbart posted video of Sherrod purportedly bragging about refusing to help a white farmer. At the time, Sherrod was the rural development director for the agriculture department in Georgia.
The video was heavily and dishonestly edited. The full version of her speech showed that it was a consciousness-raising story about overcoming racial biases and how she did help the white farm couple (which they also confirmed).
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Yet Vilsack instead quickly lambasted Sherrod and forced her resignation without getting the full story. The incident was an embarrassing stain on the Obama administration.
“There is zero tolerance for discrimination at USDA, and I strongly condemn any act of discrimination against any person,” Vilsack said at the time. “We have been working hard through the past 18 months to reverse the checkered civil rights history at the department and take the issue of fairness and equality very seriously.”
He later offered a profuse apology ― taking full responsibility for Sherrod’s firing ― and offered her a job back at the USDA.
“I’ve learned a lot of lessons from this experience in the last couple of days. And one of the lessons I learned is that these types of decisions require time. I didn’t take the time. I should have,” he said. “And as a result, a good woman has gone through a very difficult period. And I’ll have to live with that for a long, long time.”
“It was an early incident of caving in to false right-wing disinformation and sacrificing Black public servants to attempt to appease them,” said Shawn Sebastian, an activist and Iowan who focuses on progressive rural organizing.
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“In the context of Joe Biden winning this election because of Black voters, in the context of an ongoing Georgia Senate campaign that is going to determine governing power, where there are many Black rural voters in the Blackbelt, it’s an extremely controversial and risky choice to reappoint Vilsack against the wishes of Rep. Clyburn and against the wishes of the NAACP,” Sebastian added.
Even aside from the Sherrod incident, there has been frustration in the Black community that Vilsack and his department didn’t do more to help Black farmers.
The Counter, a publication that focuses on food policy, did an investigation in 2019 that found that under Vilsack, USDA employees “foreclosed on black farmers with outstanding discrimination complaints,” “threw out new complaints and misrepresented their frequency,” “sent a lower share of loan dollars to black farmers than it had under President Bush” and “failed to adequately compensate black farmers” in a class-action discrimination suit against the department brought by Black farmers.
Vilsack did not return a request for comment.
John Boyd, president and founder of the National Black Farmers Association, said that while Vilsack is certainly going to be an improvement over the current secretary, Sonny Perdue, he will need to do more than he did during the Obama years.
“[W]hile Black farmers had legislative successes during the Obama Administration, far too little was done during his tenure to address the long legacy of discrimination against Black farmers. Doors continue to be closed to many Black farmers and today our members face enormous challenges - including a system that disproportionally leaves them behind,” he said in a statement.
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“It would be incredibly important that if Vilsack is indeed the pick and is confirmed for this critical role that he is immediately surrounded by people who bring life experiences and a racial justice lens to the work,” added Kristen Clarke, president of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, who was on the call with Biden on Tuesday night.
“It’s an extremely controversial and risky choice to reappoint Vilsack against the wishes of Rep. Clyburn and against the wishes of the NAACP.” - Shawn Sebastian, activist and Iowan focused on progressive rural organizing
Vilsack and Biden have long been close. The former governor of Iowa and his wife were early supporters of Biden in his first run for president and again in his most recent campaign. Vilsack is a traditional pick for the job ― a white man from an overwhelmingly white agricultural state.
A source familiar with the president-elect’s thinking said Biden liked Vilsack’s experience and the fact that he already knows the agency.
“With one-in-six Americans and a quarter of U.S. children facing a devastating hunger crisis, farmers reeling, and rural communities struggling to weather the pain and economic fallout of the pandemic, the President-Elect was eager to nominate someone with experience and who is prepared to step in on day one to deliver immediate relief for families all across the country ― and no one is knows the department better than Tom Vilsack,” the source said, noting he was unanimously confirmed by the Senate in 2009.
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Democrats have increasingly been performing poorly in rural areas compared to Republicans, and Vilsack is considered to be someone who can help reach out to rural America.
But some progressive activists say Vilsack is exactly what’s wrong with Democratic outreach in those areas.
“Tom Vilsack presided over economic distress and Democratic Party decline in rural areas,” said Jeff Hauser, founder of the Revolving Door Project, which focuses on presidential personnel. “Big Agriculture got even bigger as Obama and Vilsack broke a series of commitments to anti-monopoly initiatives that Obama had made in the course of his historic Iowa caucus victory. What about that record is making Biden think the next four years at the Department of Agriculture cannot perform any better than under Vilsack from 2009-17?”
There has been just one Black secretary of agriculture ― Mike Espy, who served under President Bill Clinton.
Just last month in an interview with Politico, Fudge criticized presidents for relegating Black leaders to certain agencies, including the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
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