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The Serious Side - part 3

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Post by carolhathaway Mon 18 Sep 2017, 20:47

Lizzy,
that's exactly what I thought when I just read this article. Couldn't somebody who did benefit from his work help him out with money? Somebody who tells everybody how much money he has? Somebody like - let's say - POTUS? But maybe this person will need a lot of money to pay his own lawyers in the future..
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Post by LizzyNY Mon 18 Sep 2017, 21:23

Well, if "that person" needs a lot of money to pay his own lawyers it shouldn't be a problem since he's VERY rich - or so he tells us. He wouldn't lie to us, would he? Lying affraid
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Post by annemarie Mon 18 Sep 2017, 21:28

True Lizzy all he had to do was tell the truth.

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Post by Donnamarie Mon 18 Sep 2017, 21:45

I have no sympathy.  As was said here if Flynn had told the truth in the first place and had been transparent in his past foreign dealings maybe he wouldn't have to be concerned with legal fees.  Many staffers inside the White House are lawyering up now for obvious reasons.  IMO these people have no reason to complain either.  They chose to work for a pathological liar.  No one went into the White House blind to Trump's questionable ethical behavior.
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Post by annemarie Tue 19 Sep 2017, 13:58

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4897716/Donald-Trump-Jr-ditches-Secret-Service-protection.html

[size=34]Donald Jr and Kellyanne to go without Secret Service protection: President's son ditches agents because he wants 'more privacy' while the top aide loses hers due to a 'reduction in threats'[/size]

  • Donald Trump Jr. has voluntary chosen to lose his Secret Service protection

  • A source told the New York Times that Trump Jr., 39, wants more privacy

  • Kellyanne Conway will also be losing her detail, potentially because there are fewer threats against her than there once were 


By DAILYMAIL.COM REPORTER
PUBLISHED: 00:33 EDT, 19 September 2017 | UPDATED: 08:03 EDT, 19 September 2017

    

Donald Trump Jr. will no longer be protected by the Secret Service, a senior White House administration official has said.
The decision was voluntarily made by Trump Jr., who allegedly made the decision because he wanted more privacy, reports The New York Times.
He has lacked the protection since last week.
Don Jr. did not respond to a request for comment on Tuesday morning. 
Kellyanne Conway, Counselor to the President, also no longer has Secret Service protection.
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Donald Trump Jr, 39, and Kellyanne Conway, 50, have lost their Secret Service protection. A source told the New York Times that Trump Jr voluntarily lost his in order to lead a more private life. The reason Conway has lost hers is unclear but an administration official said that previous threats against her had appeared to subside
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Pictured is President Donald Trump at a dinner party hosted by heads of state at the Lotte New York Palace Hotel
The cases are unrelated and it is not clear why Conway will no longer be protected, though an administration official said that previous threats against her had appeared to subside.






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It is also not clear whether Donald Trump Jr's decision will affect his family: his wife, Vanessa, and their five children.
The Secret Service generally covers the president's immediate family.
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Whether or not Trump Jr's decision will affect his family is not clear
A Secret Service spokesperson told the New York Times: 'To ensure the safety and security of our protectees and their families, we will not confirm who is currently receiving Secret Service protection.'
The Trump family's extensive travel and security, and the budget such travel and security has required, has attracted criticism.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump went after 'bureaucracy and mismanagement' in remarks at to the United Nations Monday – but only after plugging his condo on UN Plaza across the street.
'I actually saw great potential right across the street, to be honest with you, and it was only for the reason that the United Nations was here that that turned out to be such a successful project,' Trump said at the top of his remarks for a meeting on UN reform.
His line was a reference to Trump World Tower, the 72-story glass rectangular building located at UN Plaza.







'Thank you, baby': Trump praises Kellyanne Conway



Read more:


  • Donald Trump Jr. Gives Up Secret Service Protection, Seeking Privacy - The New York Times




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Post by annemarie Tue 19 Sep 2017, 22:28

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4900410/Trump-Russia-amb-pick-No-question-Russia-interfered.html

[size=34]Russia ambassador pick breaks with Trump and says 'there is no question' Moscow interfered in the 2016 election[/size]

  • Jon Huntsman, the president's nominee for ambassador to Russia , says there's 'no question' that the Kremlin was behind a plot to meddle in the election

  • The moderate Republican who served as Barack Obama's ambassador to China made the assertion during his confirmation testimony in the Senate

  • Statement put him at odds with President Trump's position - he's said it could have been Russia, 'nobody really knows for sure'


By FRANCESCA CHAMBERS, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 16:54 EDT, 19 September 2017 | UPDATED: 17:16 EDT, 19 September 2017


Jon Huntsman, the president's nominee for ambassador to Russia, says there's 'no question' that the Kremlin was behind a plot last year to meddle in the presidential election.
The moderate Republican who served as Barack Obama's ambassador to Chinamade the assertion during confirmation testimony to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday.
It put him at odds with President Trump's position on election interference. Trump has said it could have been Russia, 'nobody really knows for sure.' 
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Jon Huntsman, the president's pick to represent U.S. interests in Russia, says there's 'no question' that the Kremlin was behind a plot last year to meddle in the presidential election
The sitting president was slow to acknowledge that Russia was involved in a campaign to disrupt the national election that put him office. 
For months after four U.S. intelligence agencies agreed that Vladimir Putin's government was behind a hack and leak strategy, in addition to other instances of election meddling, Trump refused to pin the blame on Moscow.
Trump claimed in a December appearance on Fox News that the claim was concocted by cynical Democrats.
'They have no idea if it's Russia or China or somebody. It could be somebody sitting in a bed some place,' he said. 'I mean, they have no idea.'
In July Trump finally said 'it was Russia.' He hastily undermined the admission by saying, 'I think it was probably others also.'
'I think it could very well have been Russia but I think it well could have been other countries, and I won't be specific,' Trump said during a joint press conference in Poland.
Further dizzying his position Trump reporters at another point that 'nobody really knows for sure.'

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The Serious Side - part 3 - Page 20 447D693E00000578-4900410-image-a-18_1505855564506

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His answer put hims at odds with President Trump 's position on election interference. Trump has said it could have been Russia, 'nobody really knows for sure'
The president's intelligence chiefs have affirmed their predecessors' conclusion that Moscow ordered the theft and release of emails that damaged the Democratic Party. 
Huntsman told Senators who will decide whether he gets to serve as the United States' representative to the Kremlin, 'There is no question -- underline no question -- that the Russia government interfered with the U.S. election last year, and Moscow continues to meddle in processes of our friends and allies.' 
Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy said he appreciated Huntsman's 'clear statement' as he observed that Trump's yo-yoing would make his Russian ambassador's job 'uniquely hard in a unprecedented way.'
Trump is 'actively' trying to cloud the issue, he said, bringing up the Republican president's June 22 charge that 'it's all a big Dem HOAX!'
The Connecticut lawmaker also raised concerns about the mixed messaging coming from Trump and his own intelligence community.  
Huntsman said it's not lost on him that the heads of the CIA, DNI, FBI and NSA have 'come together in unison behind their findings.'
'I think that expresses where the facts are with respect to Russia’s involvement in our election,' Huntsman stated.

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Post by party animal - not! Tue 19 Sep 2017, 23:11

http://www.politicususa.com/2017/09/19/exclusive-trump-campaign-rnc-funds-pay-legal-bills-russia-probe.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

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Post by fava Tue 19 Sep 2017, 23:51

carolhathaway wrote:Lizzy,
that's exactly what I thought when I just read this article. Couldn't somebody who did benefit from his work help him out with money? Somebody who tells everybody how much money he has? Somebody like - let's say - POTUS? But maybe this person will need a lot of money to pay his own lawyers in the future..
Trump's interests could be adverse to Flynn's, so why would Trump pay the bills? You could conceivably be paying the bills for someone who would flip on you. . . .

Don't feel at all sorry for the Flynn's and their legal bills.  Isn't there any of that Turkish or Russian money left?

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Post by Donnamarie Wed 20 Sep 2017, 05:19

Just when we thought the Affordable Care Act had a chance to be repaired, not repealed, there is a new Graham-Cassidy bill that is being rushed through the Senate and it has a good chance of passing.  It is as bad, if not worse, than the other sorry Republican bills that failed. Jimmy Kimmel on his show tonight laid into Senator Bill Cassidy who Kimmel claims (and rightly so) 
lied to his face.  Cassidy had said to Kimmel in an interview that he would only support legislation if a child born with a congenital heart disease (like Kimmel's son) would be covered by insurance in their first year of life even if costs exceed a certain amount.  That would not be the case under this proposed bill.  The proposed bill will give the power and money to states in the form of block grants and the states can administer healthcare however they want.  I'm hoping against hope this doesn't pass.  This current Republican Congress has absolutely failed our country.

FYI to anyone interested I just heard on a news show tonight about a new website launched by Rob Reiner called the Committee to Investigate Russia (InvestigateRussia.org)  I checked it out and it looks impressive.  It gives a history, all the players and the multiple investigations currently going on and is updated daily. Reiner said it's a "one-stop shop where people can come and be made aware of what the breaking news stories are today, the various investigations, what stages they are in, but also to understand the history, and what the Soviet Union and now Russia has been trying to do for many, many years."
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Post by carolhathaway Wed 20 Sep 2017, 06:37

Fava,
I guess you're right!
My thoughts were just that, since Flynn had supported Trump and had - suggestedly - lied for him, that could be a reason to support him financially. But I'd more meant it in a sarcastic way anyway.
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Post by carolhathaway Wed 20 Sep 2017, 06:44

By the way:
What do you all think about Trump's speech at the UN?
I think that it's exactly what I had expected: He reinforced his 'America first' maxim, threatened several other countries, knowing that, if the States would bomb North Corea, South Corea would be targeted as well. I don't think any leader of a country had done that at the UN before, not even Nikita Khrushchew.
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Post by party animal - not! Wed 20 Sep 2017, 11:08

Here's John Kelly's (White House Chief of Staff) reaction:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/09/20/embarrassed-john-kellys-reaction-donald-trumps-un-speech-goes/

Love the Twitter comments..........

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Post by carolhathaway Wed 20 Sep 2017, 13:37

Kelly's facial impressions were really great...
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Post by LizzyNY Wed 20 Sep 2017, 13:59

He looks totally exasperated and fed up. I wonder how much longer he'll stay on Trump's staff. He seems too much like a responsible adult to work for this administration of out of control, entitled frat boys.
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Post by fava Wed 20 Sep 2017, 14:31

LizzyNY wrote:He looks totally exasperated and fed up. I wonder how much longer he'll stay on Trump's staff. He seems too much like a responsible adult to work for this administration of out of control, entitled frat boys.
A "responsible" adult who is enabling all of this crap.  I get the "I need to be there to  be a check on Trump" business, but seems like you are also selling your soul as these idiotic policies are put in place.  Looking forward to the books in 10 years about what is actually going on in that administration.....

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Post by annemarie Wed 20 Sep 2017, 14:53

I think he has tried to help Trump , but we all know he is going to do and say exactly what he wants. He even says that all the others agreed with him no they didn't you are a liar.

I think he wants a war, his ego is out of control. 
The idiot wants a celebration like Bastille day on the Fourth of July with the military parade in front of the white house.

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Post by party animal - not! Wed 20 Sep 2017, 15:10

I would love to know what on earth made Kelly do it to be honest. Such a guy of integrity.

Chickens coming home to roost a bit now. Travel numbers down........

https://www.thedailymeal.com/travel/trump-slump-majorly-affecting-us-tourism/091117

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Post by annemarie Wed 20 Sep 2017, 16:08

https://www.thedailymeal.com/travel/trump-slump-majorly-affecting-us-tourism/091117

[size=36]The 'Trump Slump' is Majorly Affecting U.S. Tourism
Sep 11, 2017 | 6:00 pm

By

Syjil Ashraf
Editor
Fewer tourists are visiting the United States because of the current president
A revised report by the U.S. Travel Association (USTA) last Tuesday revealed that international tourism to the U.S. declined over the year so far, contrary to earlier reports of consistent growth. Many tourism experts believe that the decline is due to the current president and his policies regarding outsiders coming into the United States in particular.[/size]

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Last year, the U.S. Travel Association inaugurated its Travel Trends Index (TTI) as calculated by Oxford Economics, using data from the U.S. Department of Commerce, the International Air Transport Association, Sabre, and OAG, an air travel intelligence company. The purpose of the TTI is to anticipate any change in travel demand and keep track of any growth or decline.
As the USTA explained in a press release, last week’s report revised another one from earlier in the year and indicated “major storm clouds for the inbound international travel market.” The weakest months so far were February, when inbound international travel was down by 6.8 percent, and March, down by 8.2 percent.
According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, total international inbound travel to the U.S. had declined by 7.8 percent in March 2017 as compared to the previous year. Already turned off by the strength of the American dollar, international tourists are suspected by destination cities to feel unwelcome by the Trump administration.
“The President’s continued rhetoric and policies weigh heavily on the international inbound market outlook,” said Adam Sacks, president of Oxford Economics’ Tourism Economics group.
The United States is projected to lose $1.3 billion in travel-related spending from Europe and the Middle East alone, according to a report by the Global Business Travel Association in May.
Domestic travel, however, is expected to grow overall, despite a decline in July. It makes sense, considering the number of cities with great culinary scenes in the United States.


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Post by annemarie Wed 20 Sep 2017, 18:11

http://people.com/politics/heres-what-the-latest-attempt-to-repeal-obamacare-would-mean-to-you/


[size=37]Here’s What the Latest Attempt to Repeal Obamacare Would Mean to You[/size]

BY NASH JENKINS

POSTED ON SEPTEMBER 20, 2017 AT 11:48AM EDT




The Serious Side - part 3 - Page 20 Gettyimages-846515642[url=https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fpeople.com%2Fpolitics%2Fheres-what-the-latest-attempt-to-repeal-obamacare-would-mean-to-you%2F&media=https%3A%2F%2Fpeopledotcom.files.wordpress.com%2F2017%2F09%2Fgettyimages-846515642.jpg%3Fw%3D1024&description=Here%E2%80%99s What the Latest Attempt to Repeal Obamacare Would Mean to%C2%A0You][/url]
SENATOR RON JOHNSON, A REPUBLICAN FROM WISCONSIN, FROM RIGHT, SENATOR LINDSEY GRAHAM, A REPUBLICAN FROM SOUTH CAROLINA, SENATOR DEAN HELLER, A REPUBLICAN FROM NEVADA, AND SENATOR BILL CASSIDY, A REPUBLICAN FROM LOUISIANA, HOLD A NEWS CONFERENCE TO REFORM HEALTH CARE ON CAPITOL HILL IN WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S., ON WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 13, 2017. THE GRAHAM-CASSIDY-HELLER-JOHNSON (GCHJ) PROPOSAL REPEALS THE STRUCTURE OF OBAMACARE AND REPLACES IT WITH A BLOCK GRANT GIVEN ANNUALLY TO STATES TO HELP INDIVIDUALS PAY FOR HEALTH CARE. PHOTOGRAPHER: ANDREW HARRER/BLOOMBERG VIA GETTY IMAGES
With less than two weeks before a budgetary deadline that would allow the bill to pass with a simple majority, the so-called Graham-Cassidy bill is within a handful of votes from passing.
Named for its sponsors: Sens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, the bill would devolve the current system and let red and blue states go their own way on health care, while cutting federal support over time.
It’s a sweeping proposal. Right now, the federal government pays about $110 billion each year to fund healthcare. This funding goes chiefly to Medicaid expansion, an Obamacare linchpin that 32 states have signed up for, and federal subsidies that ease the burden of healthcare costs for lower-income Americans. Under Graham-Cassidy, these programs would be done away with.
In their place, Graham-Cassidy would introduce a “block grant” system, which would divvy up healthcare funding among the 50 states for them to spend on their own healthcare systems.
“If you like Obamacare, you can keep it,” Graham has said of the plan. “If you want to replace it, you can.”



There would be no more federal mandates for health insurance, for either individuals or employers, though states would have the power to impose them.
But the block grant system would be temporary — the bill has it set to expire by 2027 — creating a cliff of sorts that could create a crisis for individual states a decade from now, even though the bill’s proponents emphasize Graham-Cassidy as a triumph of “state’s rights.”
Critics of the bill say that the elimination of Medicaid expansion and subsidies could potentially leave tens of millions of Americans uninsured, according to a report by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Larger, generally more liberal states like California and New York will be the hardest hit, since they’ve invested the most in programs offered by Obamacare; an annual parcel of funding from the government might not be enough to compensate.
Graham-Cassidy would also eradicate the Obamacare mandates for health insurance. Individuals will no longer be required to have health insurance, and employers would no longer be required to provide it to their employees. The bill would eliminate the financial penalty imposed on those that don’t oblige.
As with this summer’s failed repeal bill, Graham-Cassidy would also freeze Medicaid funding of Planned Parenthood for one year.
Correction: The original version of this story misstated the position of Bill Cassidy. He is a Republican Senator from Louisiana, not a Representative.
This article originally appeared on Time.com

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Post by Donnamarie Wed 20 Sep 2017, 19:03

Travel numbers may be down but Trump's poll numbers have gone back up.  Probably because of Trump's visits to Texas and Florida post hurricane disasters.  

I think the UN speech was typical Trump.  He didn't say anything to change any leader's current opinion of him or earn new respect.  

Kelly and the rest are enablers. I think those responsible for keeping Trump propped up are selling their souls.  It is unclear how tarnished their reputations will become post Trump.
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Post by party animal - not! Wed 20 Sep 2017, 19:16

I feel your pain, Donnamarie

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Post by annemarie Wed 20 Sep 2017, 22:49

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2017/09/20/a-cancer-patient-desperately-needs-a-stem-cell-transplant-but-the-u-s-wont-grant-the-donor-a-visa/?utm_term=.1696f46cd100



[size=56]A cancer patient desperately needs a stem-cell transplant. But the U.S. won’t grant the donor a visa.[/size]








By Kyle Swenson September 20 at 6:11 AM 

The Serious Side - part 3 - Page 20 Large
Vien Huynh cares for his wife, Helen, as she waits for a stem-cell transplant. (Courtesy of Yvonne AiVan Murray)


When phantom chills began regularly sweeping over Helen Huynh, her family told her not to worry. You’re healthy, they said.

Indeed, at first doctors could find nothing wrong with the 60-year-old. She and her husband, Vien, who live in Garden Grove, Calif., continued to put in two hours every day at their local gym. She kept up her gardening.

But she still fretted about her health. “We always thought she was being a hypochondriac,” her oldest daughter, Yvonne AiVan Murray, told The Washington Post.

The Vietnam-born mother of three grown daughters repeatedly returned to the doctor. A high white blood cell count led to further examinations, and on Valentine’s Day, the physicians announced a bombshell diagnosis: Helen had acute myeloid leukemia. The following months proved to be a grinding cycle of hospital stays and chemotherapy and remission.

There was hope. Doctors told Helen’s family the patient needed a lifesaving stem cell transplant. The procedure required as close of a genetic match to Helen as possible. Her three sisters — all living in Vietnam — were the best bet. Doctors could proceed if they found a 70 percent match. Helen’s youngest sibling, Thuy Nguyen, was a rare 100 percent match.

“We were all like, ‘Hallelujah! All we have to do is fly her here,'” Murray explained to The Post. “And that’s when everything fell apart.”

In the last year, Helen’s sister has repeatedly applied for a visa to travel to the United States for the medical procedure. The application has been denied every time thanks to snares in the immigration process. The medical emergency comes at a time when any border crossing is hot-wired with politics, but Helen’s family here — all of whom are U.S. citizens — say their request is a clear-cut matter of life or death.

“We feel betrayed,” Murray said. “We feel like we’re doing everything we can, we can show that we are Americans, yet there is only one thing preventing us from getting the stem cell transplant, and that’s the U.S. government.”

That betrayal burns hotter due to the family’s deep feeling for their adopted homeland.

Vien Huynh was an officer in the South Vietnamese army and fought alongside American troops in the country’s bloody struggle in the 1960s and 1970s. After the United States pulled out of the country, the victorious North Vietnamese government shipped him to a brutal re-education camp in the country’s north. He stayed for eight years. “It was basically like what John McCain went through,” Murray explained, referring to the senator from Arizona who was once a prisoner of war.

After his release, he met and married Helen. According to her daughter, Helen’s life was similarly marked by the country’s conflict. Murray grew up hearing stories from her mother about falling asleep at night to gunfire in the distance, or going down to a riverbank to see her favorite flowers — water hyacinths — and finding dead bodies floating with the purple blossoms. Both Murray and her sister Sharon were born in Vietnam, but America was always on the family’s horizon.

“My earliest memory is with my dad, when I was 3 or 4,” Murray said. “He took me to this store for a globe, and he pointed to where America was, and said, ‘This is America, this is where freedom is, and one day we are going to live there.’

“And he did everything he could to make sure we did.”

Because of a U.S. government program offering former South Vietnamese officials and officers the opportunity to move to the United States, the family relocated to California in 1991. The couple’s third daughter, Tiffany, who has Down syndrome, was born in 1992.

To support the family, Vien delivered pizzas, newspapers and passed out coupons at Disneyland. Helen raised the children while collecting recyclables for extra money and helping with Vien’s work. Her kitchen was always filled with Vietnamese home cooking.

“She is such a generous person,” Murray told The Post. “She would always make sure everyone was fed, even when we didn’t have a lot. There was no question.”

The Serious Side - part 3 - Page 20 Photo5
Helen (center) surrounded by her family (Courtesy of Yvonne AiVan Murray)


All five family members eventually gained U.S. citizenship. Helen’s two oldest daughters married and started their own families. She remained, however, Tiffany’s primary caregiver, right up to her sickness.

Following the diagnosis, Helen’s sister, Thuy Nguyen, went to interview with U.S. officials at the embassy in Ho Chi Minh City for a visa.

According to Murray, the officials were mainly interested in whether Nguyen had been out of Vietnam before. When they learned she had not, they quickly ended the conversation. In a denial letter, the consulate stated Nguyen had failed to offer necessary evidence that she would leave America once her visa was up.

“Evidence may come in many forms, but when considered together, it must be enough for the interviewing officer to conclude that the applicant’s overall circumstances, including social, family, economic and other ties abroad, will compel him or her to leave the United States at the end of the temporary stay,” the letter stated.

“Regrettably, Ms. Nguyen was unable to establish to the satisfaction of the interviewing officer that her employment, financial and family situation in Vietnam constituted sufficient ties to compel her to depart the United States.”

“It’s stupid,” Murray said. “They are looking at you and want to see you went out of your country and came back. But in my aunt’s case, she’s had no interest in visiting other countries.”

Nguyen — who owns businesses and has a family in Vietnam — applied again with proof she was financially stable in her home country. “She’s not poor, but that’s the mentality that these interviewers have: If you are from a less developed country, you won’t leave,” Murray said.

The family also filed letters from Helen’s doctors urging government officials to grant the visa.

“This patient will benefit from a life-saving procedure utilizing stem cells,” a physician from the University of California at Irvine Medical Center wrote in an August letter. “For humanitarian reasons, we are requesting the patient’s sister . . . be granted a Temporary Visa to enter the United States so that she can assist in donating her stem cells to save our patient’s life.”

“This is a very urgent matter,” another doctor from City of Hope Medical Center added in a separate June letter. “Time is of the essence.”

Two additional visa requests were denied. As a last resort, the family has hired an immigration attorney to file for humanitarian parole, a Hail Mary petition for emergency entry into the country. Murray told The Post as of Monday the government was still considering the application. They have also appealed to politicians.

To help with both the mounting legal and medical bills, the family has started up a Go Fund Me page for donations.

But doctors have also told Helen’s family to brace for the inevitable. Helen is in the hospital. She has not been able to eat on her own for three weeks. “Nothing is for sure right now,” Murray said. “Honestly, at this point, we’re so frustrated. If my aunt was approved the first time, my mom would be well.”

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Post by carolhathaway Thu 21 Sep 2017, 08:49

That's really a horrible case, and I'm sure many of them exist in the States and other countries where people, especially families are divided and aren't allowed to help each other. How can you actually prove that you're not planning to stay in the States once your visa is up? I know that, when Germany was divided, people from East Germany were only allowed to visit family members in the west, when leaving their kids as a 'human pledge' - unless they were retired, then the government was quite happy to let them go since they didn't have to pay for their pensions anymore.

Is there no chance to take the stem cells in Vietnam? I do 't know about the health condition / quality of hospitals there, but I guess they checked it already. A friend of us donated stem cells last year, they extracted them in Cologne and the stem cells were destined for a child in Greece, so they were transported there. Our friend doesn't know yet  if the child survived but left a letter for the family.
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Post by Donnamarie Thu 21 Sep 2017, 14:28

It's such a sad story.  I imagine carol there are other similar stories of families that are being kept apart or students who are being denied entry to further their education or career because of these policies.  There is so much more going on that we rarely hear about as a result of Trump decisions.

Hopefully this family's congressional representative or senator could possibly have some influence in Washington to cut through the red tape and get this woman's sister into the states.
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Post by party animal - not! Thu 21 Sep 2017, 22:28


Some of you will enjoy this:

https://twitter.com/BuzzFeedNews/status/910669906286280704

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Post by annemarie Thu 21 Sep 2017, 23:39

That is great what a good idea.

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Post by Donnamarie Thu 21 Sep 2017, 23:52

I read about this a few days ago.  Brilliant isn't it?!
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Post by annemarie Fri 22 Sep 2017, 19:35

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4911104/McCain-announces-ll-oppose-latest-Obamacare-repeal.html




[size=34]BREAKING NEWS: McCain kills Obamacare repeal for a second time and announces he'll oppose his pal Graham's bill hours after Trump threatens political consequences for whoever votes against latest healthcare effort
[/size]

  • Sen. John McCain announced his opposition to the latest Obamacare repeal bill

  • Said he could not back it 'in good conscience' 

  • President Donald Trump turned up the pressure on Senate Republicans 

  • The chamber is planning to vote on Graham-Cassidy and it's Obamacare repeal

  • Plan to hurry the bill by Sept. 30 to pass on a simple majority 

  • McCain called for 'regular order' 

  • Trump said Friday people who kill repeal will be known as Republicans who 'saved' Obamacare

  • The president mentioned 'future political campaigns' at stake

  • Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul hits back: 'I won't be bribed or bullied' 

  • Paul has blasted the bill as 'fake' repeal

  • Sen. Susan Collins of Maine and Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska are wavering

  • McCain previously cast decisive vote to kill 'skinny' repeal bill

  • Trump dined with Murkowski, after attacking her on the previous vote

  • Alaska stands to lose millions under the bill by ending subsidies, and backers are working on changes that might get Murkowski's support 

  • Trump has blasted Republicans for touting repeal for seven years but failing 



By GEOFF EARLE, DEPUTY U.S. POLITICAL EDITOR FOR DIALYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 14:11 EDT, 22 September 2017 | UPDATED: 14:29 EDT, 22 September 2017



Senate John McCain announced Friday he cannot 'in good conscience' vote for the latest Obamacare repeal bill, delivering a critical blow to the latest Republican effort.
'I cannot in good conscience vote for the Graham-Cassidy proposal,' McCain said in a statement, making himself the second Republican to come out against it.
'I believe we could do better working together, Republicans and Democrats, and have not yet really tried. Nor could I support it without knowing how much it will cost, how it will effect insurance premiums, and how many people will be helped or hurt by it,' McCain said.
McCain delivered the body blow to a previous 'skinny' Obamcare repeal bill, returning from Arizona after a brain cancer diagnosis and procedure to vote against it. Then, as on Friday, he brought up the process that was rushing the measure to the Senate floor, this time without a Congressional Budget Office Score. 
The Serious Side - part 3 - Page 20 4496D3E800000578-4911104-image-a-1_1506104063087

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NO DEAL: Senate John McCain announced Friday he cannot 'in good conscience' vote for the latest Obamacare repeal bill
'Without a full CBO score, which won't be available by the end of the month, we won't have reliable answers to any of those questions,' McCain said. 
Three Republicans would be enough to sink the bill, and Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul has already said he opposed it. At least two other Senate Republicans – Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska – have wavered. 
McCain acknowledged the personal relationships involved. The chief sponsor, South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, is one of his closest friends and travel companions to global hotspots.
By contrast, Donald Trump ridiculed Graham during the campaign and once gave out his private cell phone number – but has been closely coordinating with him on trying to salvage the GOP's health plan.
'I take no pleasure in announcing my opposition. Far from it. The bill's authors are my dear friends, and I think the world of them. I know they are acting consistently with their beliefs and sense of what is best for the country. So am I,' said McCain. 
The Serious Side - part 3 - Page 20 4496D40200000578-4910178-image-a-2_1506088706021

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President Donald Trump is turning up the heat on GOP senators in advance of a vote scheduled next week on another Obamacare repeal
'I would consider supporting legislation similar to that offered by my friends Senators Graham and Cassidy were it the product of extensive hearings, debate and amendment. But that has not been the case. Instead, the specter of September 30th budget reconciliation deadline has hung over this entire process,' he said.
After the 30th, Republicans would be forced to bring the repeal bill to the floor, where it would be subject to a filibuster and Democrats and Republicans would have the opportunity to try to offer amendments.
"We should not be content to pass health care legislation on a party-line basis, as Democrats did when they rammed Obamacare through Congress in 2009,' McCain said.
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NOT ON BOARD: Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) speaks to reporters in the Senate Subway before the Senate takes up the National Defense Authorization Act for FY2018, on Capitol Hill September 18, 2017 in Washington, DC
'If we do so, our success could be as short-lived as theirs when the political winds shift, as they regularly do. The issue is too important, and too many lives are at risk, for us to leave the American people guessing from one election to the next whether and how they will acquire health insurance. A bill of this impact requires a bipartisan approach.'
McCain and the president have their own personal history, after Trump said he preferred people who 'weren't captured,' in a reference to McCain's time as a Vietnam POW. McCain is also the chamber's preeminent Russia hawk, and Trump's associates are under investigation for their Russia ties. 
The Serious Side - part 3 - Page 20 447BD9BA00000578-4911104-image-a-17_1506104834354

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McCain, 81, a former Vietnam POW suffering from brain cancer, did not heed President Donald Trump's warning that those who vote against the latest health bill would face electoral consequences and will have 'saved' Obamacare
The Serious Side - part 3 - Page 20 4496D41100000578-4910178-image-a-14_1506089044372


President issued a warning to 'whoever' votes against the latest Obamcare repeal bill
Trump cranked up the pressure on Senate Republicans in advance of next week's Obamacare repeal vote Friday, warning Rand Paul and other critics they'll be blamed if they vote against the bill.
The pressure included a veiled threat – and came hours before the cancer-stricken McCain, 81, balked.  
Kentucky GOP Sen. Paul has already blasted the bill as a 'fake' Obamacare repeal for leaving too much of its structure in place, leading Trump to single him out on Twitter.
The Serious Side - part 3 - Page 20 4496D37200000578-4910178-image-a-1_1506088675667

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Kentucky GOP Sen. Rand Paul has already blasted the bill as a 'fake' Obamacare repeal for leaving too much of its structure in place, leading Trump to single him out on Twitter
The president for the moment has not been training his fire on Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who is undecided on the bill, which is expected to cost her rural state tens of millions of dollars in lost subsidies each year. 
'Rand Paul, or whoever votes against Hcare Bill, will forever (future political campaigns) be known as 'the Republican who saved ObamaCare,' Trump wrote Friday morning.

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The mention of 'future campaigns' was an obvious threat that they could lose their jobs over the move.
Paul shot back on Twitter: 'Calling a bill that KEEPS most of Obamacare 'repeal' doesn't make it true. That's what the swamp does. I won't be bribed or bullied.' 
He made plans to keep up his opposition despite the heightening pressure, booking an appearance on NBC's 'Meet the Press' on Monday.
Despite Trump's focus on Paul, Senators desperate to meet an expiring deadline for an Obamacare repeal bill that would let them dodge a Democratic filibuster and pass it on a simple majority are focused on another lawmaker: Alaska's Sen. Lisa Murkowski.
A study by consulting firm Avalere concluded Alaska would lose $1 billion in funding between 2020 and 2026 – about $1,350 per resident in the sparsely populated state where access to care is a challenge.
The Serious Side - part 3 - Page 20 447BD9D600000578-4911104-image-a-18_1506104914348

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MAC ATTACK: Senator Ron Johnson, a Republican from Wisconsin, from right, Senator Lindsey Graham, a Republican from South Carolina, Senator Dean Heller, a Republican from Nevada, and Senator Bill Cassidy, a Republican from Louisiana, hold a news conference to reform health care on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2017. The Graham-Cassidy-Heller-Johnson (GCHJ) proposal repeals the structure of Obamacare and replaces it with a block grant given annually to states to help individuals pay for health care
The Serious Side - part 3 - Page 20 4496DCE000000578-4910178-image-a-15_1506089075296

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Sen. Rand Paul wrote back that he won't be 'bribed or bullied'
The Serious Side - part 3 - Page 20 4496DCDC00000578-4910178-image-a-16_1506089086979


Sen. Rand Paul said the current bill 'isn't repeal'
The Serious Side - part 3 - Page 20 4496DCE400000578-4910178-image-a-17_1506089096736

+11


Sen. Rand Paul ripped the latest bill as 'Obamcare Lite'
The Serious Side - part 3 - Page 20 4496D3C300000578-4910178-image-a-3_1506088735727

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COLD SHOULDER: Senator Lisa Murkowski has yet to embrace the bill, and negotiators could try to secure her support by carving out exceptions for her state, which could lose $1 billion over seven years in one analysis
The Serious Side - part 3 - Page 20 4496D38F00000578-4910178-image-a-4_1506088742863

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AS GOES MAINE: Senator Susan Collins, a Republican from Maine, speaks to members of the media in the basement of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2017. She has also criticized the bill
The Serious Side - part 3 - Page 20 4496D37B00000578-4910178-image-a-6_1506088913989

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'Rand Paul, or whoever votes against Hcare Bill, will forever (future political campaigns) be known as 'the Republican who saved ObamaCare,' Trump wrote Friday morning
Video playing bottom right...



[size=3]Loa
[/size]
Graham told a conservative group that some accommodations might have to be made for Alaska, the HIll reported. 
Talk of an Alaska-centered fix is reviving talk of the infamous 'cornhusker kickback' used to secure Nebraska Sen. Ben Nelson's support for Obamacare in the first place. 
Wall Street Journal columnist Kimberly Strassel warned that all manner of the state's federal sustenance could be in jeopardy if Murkowski votes against a health bill she has expressed reservations about.
'But why should the nation continue to send outsize taxpayer funds to a state that is single-handedly condemning Americans to ObamaCare?' she wrote.
Maine Sen. Susan Collins has criticized the latest effort, while Sen. John McCain of Arizona, who torpedoes an earlier 'skinny' repeal bill, is someone leaders consider gettable. His state's governor came out for the Graham-Cassidy bill.

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Post by Donnamarie Fri 22 Sep 2017, 22:32

annemarie you're on top of this!  Thanks for posting this latest news so quickly.  McCain just came out this afternoon with the announcement! Just one more Senator has to come out against the bill and that will kill it ... for now.  Even though McCain had nothing to lose by going against the majority of the Senate who favor repeal I do really respect him for standing up again and doing the right thing by voting against this latest sham of a healthcare proposal.
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Post by annemarie Mon 25 Sep 2017, 03:16

http://time.com/4955255/donald-trump-new-travel-ban/

President Trump Has a New Travel Ban
Associated Press
Updated: 8:45 PM ET | Originally published: 7:55 PM ET


(WASHINGTON) — Citizens of eight countries will face new restrictions on entry to the U.S. under a proclamation signed by President Donald Trump on Sunday.

The new rules, which will impact the citizens of Chad, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Syria, Venezuela and Yemen, will go into effect on October 18.



The restrictions range from full travel bans on nationals from countries like Syria to more targeted restrictions. A suspension of non-immigrant visas to citizens for Venezuela, for instance, applies only to senior government officials and their immediate families.

The announcement comes the same day as Trump's temporary ban on visitors from six Muslim-majority countries is set to expire, 90 days after it went into effect. That ban had barred citizens of Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen who lack a "credible claim of a bona fide relationship with a person or entity in the United States" from entering the U.S.

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The Serious Side - part 3 - Page 20 Gettyimages-834501930
WHITE HOUSEJared Kushner Used His Private Email to Communicate With White House Colleagues


"As President, I must act to protect the security and interests of the United States and its people," reads the proclamation.

Officials stressed that valid visas would not be revoked as a result of the proclamation. The order also permits, but does not guarantee, case-by-case waivers .

The restrictions are targeted at countries that Department of Homeland Security officials say refuse to share information with the U.S. or haven't taken necessary security precautions.

"The acting secretary has recommended actions that are tough and that are tailored, including restrictions and enhanced screening for certain countries," said Miles Taylor, counselor to acting Homeland Security Secretary Elaine Duke, said Friday.

Unlike Trump's first travel ban, which sparked chaos at airports across the country and a flurry of legal challenges, officials said they had been working for months on the new rules, in collaboration with various agencies and in conversation with foreign governments.

The restrictions are based on a new baseline developed by DHS that includes factors such as whether countries issue electronic passports with biometric information and share information about travelers' terror-related and criminal histories. The U.S. then shared those benchmarks with every country in the world and gave them 50 days to comply.

The eight countries are those that refused or were unable to comply.

Trump last week called for a "tougher" travel ban after a bomb partially exploded on a London subway.

"The travel ban into the United States should be far larger, tougher and more specific-but stupidly, that would not be politically correct!" he tweeted.

Critics have accused Trump of overstepping his authority and violating the U.S. Constitution's protections against religious bias. Trump had called for a "total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States" during his campaign.

The new policy could complicate the Supreme Court's review of the order, which is scheduled for argument next month.


 
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Post by carolhathaway Mon 25 Sep 2017, 09:55

So there's a travel ban on these eight countries PLUS everybody with another than the US citizenship might be as well be refused to enter the States whenever the authorities suspect He might not return to his home country after his visa ran out? And there are still millions of illegal immigrants in the States? Maybe your president should find a more effective solution to this problem -  if it really is one...
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Post by carolhathaway Mon 25 Sep 2017, 11:21

Yesterday, we elected a new parliament in Berlin.
If anybody's interested: Merkel's conservatives (CDU plus its bavarian allied party CSU) won but lost a lot its votes compared to the elections four years ago. The social democrats lost drastically as well and will now oppose the government (we had had a grand coalition of these two parties before). The liberals hadn't been elected into our parliament four years ago (you need 5% of the votes to join it), the greenparty wasn't able to participate from the discussions about climate change and the scandal about manipulated cars but is elected into the parliament. The same for the left party - former socialistic party in the GDR which tries to establish themselves as a party for the workers, low-paid ones etc. And the right-wing extremistic party 'Alternative for Germany' (AfD) got about 13 % of the votes, was second party in most East-German federal states and got more votes than any other party in Saxony (which is the federal state with the lowest numbers of refugees and aliens in Germany, but the highest number of neo-nazis as well...

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/24/opinion/editorials/merkel-victory-election-populism.html
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Post by annemarie Mon 25 Sep 2017, 11:55

Well, he did it again the NFL nonsense  was a smoke screen to cover his new bans which he signed on Sunday.

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Post by party animal - not! Mon 25 Sep 2017, 12:12

Yep. Not mad at all. But excellent (if that's the word) at distraction techniques. But not exactly cute

Another word for that could be duplicity...........can't wait for Mueller..........

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Post by Donnamarie Mon 25 Sep 2017, 14:54

In addition to trying to distract us from his possible healthcare defeat and the new immigration ban I do think Trump's intent was to rile up his base of support to create more divisiveness in our country.  I think Trump thrives on the chaos and antagonism he creates.  He is one bad dude!

On the German election, carol, I heard about Merkel's win but as I understand it was by a smaller margin this time. It has to be unsettling at the very least that the ultra conservative right will now have a seat in parliament.  It's reassuring that Merkel won reelection but it seems nationalism is still playing a large part in European politics as it did in the U.K. and the US.  Luckily France and Germany have been able to hold off the far right better than we did.
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Post by carolhathaway Mon 25 Sep 2017, 19:04

Donna,
I tried to answer your post and explain some facts about German politics for one hour, but two long posts dissapeared before I was able to post them. So I'll try to do so on Wednesday when I'm back home from the rehabilitation with my twins!
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Post by Donnamarie Tue 26 Sep 2017, 00:37

Carol, what a shame you lost your posts.  That's happened to me too.  I look forward to hearing back from you when you have the time.  Thanks! Very Happy
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Post by annemarie Tue 26 Sep 2017, 12:34

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/sep/26/trump-puerto-rico-crisis-massive-debt 


Trump finally responds to Puerto Rico crisis, saying island has 'massive debt'

President’s belated response to the devastation wrought by Hurricane Maria in US territory seems to blame islanders for their own misfortune




The Serious Side - part 3 - Page 20 5184
 Jose Garcia Vicente holds a piece of plumbing as he tours what is left of his home in Puerto Rico, in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria Photograph: Gerald Herbert/AP


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Tuesday 26 September 2017 00.15 EDTLast modified on Tuesday 26 September 2017 01.34 EDT
It took Donald Trump five full days to respond to the devastation wrought by Hurricane Maria on the lives of 3.5 million Americans in Puerto Rico, and when he finally did so his comments on Twitter were so devoid of empathy it threatened to spark a new controversy.

The Serious Side - part 3 - Page 20 4896
Many Puerto Ricans desperate to return home to island reeling from disaster

 
Read more


Hot on the heels of the billowing dispute he single-handedly provoked over African-American sporting figures protesting racial inequality during the national anthem, Trump launched another provocation on Monday night with a belated and lacklustre response to the Puerto Rican disaster. In a series of three tweets he effectively blamed the islanders – all of whom are American citizens – for their own misfortune.
“Texas & Florida are doing great but Puerto Rico, which was already suffering from broken infrastructure & massive debt, is in deep trouble,” he said, without offering any additional federal government assistance for the stricken US territory, which was hit by Hurricane Maria soon after those two states were struck by Harvey and Irma.
Trump acknowledged that “much of the island was destroyed”, but caustically went on to say that its electrical grid was already “in terrible shape” and that Puerto Rico owed billions of dollars to Wall Street and the banks “which, sadly, must be dealt with”.

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[ltr]Texas & Florida are doing great but Puerto Rico, which was already suffering from broken infrastructure & massive debt, is in deep trouble..[/ltr]
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[ltr]...It's old electrical grid, which was in terrible shape, was devastated. Much of the Island was destroyed, with billions of dollars....[/ltr]
8:50 PM - Sep 25, 2017



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[ltr]...owed to Wall Street and the banks which, sadly, must be dealt with. Food, water and medical are top priorities - and doing well. #FEMA[/ltr]
8:58 PM - Sep 25, 2017



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It was the first comment Trump has made on Puerto Rico since hours before Maria made landfall as a category four hurricane pummelling the island and destroying its entire power network with winds of up to 155mph (250km/h). On that occasion he told the people of Puerto Rico: “We are with you.”
But for many Puerto Ricans the reality five days after the hurricane struck is that the US president has not been with them. Some 700 Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) staff are on the island, and a total of 10,000 federal workers, carrying out search and rescue missions and supplying basic food and water.
But at the same time Trump himself has spent the past five days mired in his self-made battle with African-American sports stars while seemingly oblivious to the plight of millions of Hispanic Americans in peril in a natural disaster zone. The Trump administration has also refused to waive federal restrictions on foreign ships carrying life-saving supplies to Puerto Rico – a concession it readily made for Texas and Florida in the cases of hurricanes Harvey and Irma respectively.

The Serious Side - part 3 - Page 20 3781
Puerto Rico battered by Hurricane Maria: 'Devastation – it's everywhere'

 
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In the last of his three tweets, Trump said that “food, water and medical are top priorities – and doing well”. But that may not tally with experiences on the ground where the governor, Ricardo Rosselló, has warned that Puerto Rico is on the brink of a “humanitarian crisis”.
In the hard-to-reach interior of the country, thousands of people are strugglingwith destroyed houses, a heat wave, and rapidly depleting supplies of clean water and food.
Earlier on Monday, Rosselló made a point of thanking former US president George H Bush and former Texas governor Jeb Bush for their calls of support.
Most Puerto Ricans were spared the experience of reading Trump’s tweets as a result of the ongoing total blackout on the island. But condemnation was swift in mainland US.
Juliette Kayyem, a former senior official in the department of homeland security under President Obama, said that Trump’s response to the Puerto Rico disaster showed “a lack of empathy of epic proportions”.

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Post by LizzyNY Tue 26 Sep 2017, 12:55

Reading the posts in the "Daily Beast interview" thread about how the media manipulate information made me realize just how badly all the institutions in our country have abdicated their responsibilities.

Our Congress is so fractured that almost nothing substantive gets done except the behind-the-scenes destruction of many citizen safeguards Trump feels get in the way of his friends' profits.

The media - in all forms - twists and bends the facts so it's hard to know what is real. What isn't outright fabricated is often so biased that it's hard to tell  a reported story from an editorial. And now we have the whole Facebook/Russia mess. Anyone want to take bets on if that leads anywhere?

Just once I would like to hear someone stand up and say "Enough!" and call out all the slimy bastards who are trying to ruin this country - from Congress to Trump and his billionaire cronies who are destroying us for profit, to the health "care" (they don't!) and education institutions that are failing us miserably, to the senile moron in the White House who IMO should have been drowned at birth. (Sad to say Kim Jong Un's description of Trump was spot on!)

Trump's tweets re: Puerto Rico are proof positive the man lives and breathes money. It's the only thing that matters to him. He is a total ass! The hullabaloo he's raised over the anthem makes me wonder what he's done that he doesn't want us to know about.
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Post by Donnamarie Tue 26 Sep 2017, 18:00

Very well said Lizzy.  I am equally outraged and disillusioned by our institutions and the dishonest rhetoric being flung around every important issue that is consequential to our country.   And I'm equally disillusioned by a segment of America's population that I don't understand any longer.  I feel our country is as divided as it has ever been in my lifetime.  But I still have to keep the faith in the fourth estate and our court system.  I have to depend on both to somehow bring Trump to justice.
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Post by LizzyNY Tue 26 Sep 2017, 20:41

Could someone please clear something up for me? Last week I saw a report that Donald Trump, Jr. had given up his Secret Service protection detail. This morning - unless I'm having a major senior moment - I'd swear I saw reports in both the NY Daily News and the NY Post that he had his protection detail reinstated but I CAN'T FIND THE STORY ON EITHER SITE! Did anyone else see the story? Please tell me I'm not imagining it.

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