SYMHHM: The First Week of the Trump Presidency and Other Shenanigans

Read Time:8 Minute, 14 Second

1-29-2017 : The Usual Suspects (T. Rich, Kristy Hunt, and da Vinci Parks) break down the first full week of Donald J Trump’s executive memos and actions in office, Louisiana adds hate crime charges to resisting arrest, Minnesota proposes a bill that would allow civil action against protesters, and believe it or not–more!

Podcast Notes:

Louisiana Makes Resisting Arrest a Hate Crime
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/king-louisiana-resisting-arrest-hate-crime-cops-article-1.2955185
(Taken from Vibe.com) In August 2016, Louisiana’s “Blue Lives Matter” bill went into effect. Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards (pictured above) signed the new piece of legislation with the intention of protecting police, firefighters and EMS under the state’s hate crime statute. However, a police chief is ready to apply the law to anyone who resists arrest.
The “Blue Lives Matter” law does not specifically list resisting arrest as an offense, but does include battery or assault. Under the law, if someone is arrested for petty theft, which is considered a misdemeanor, and the officer thinks that person is resists arrests they can be charged with a felony hate crime, which is punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
St. Martinville Police Chief Calder Hebert said this new measure will protect law enforcement and offenders.
Trump Proposes 20% Tax on Mexican IMPORTS–not American Exports to Fund Border Wall!
http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/analysis-trump-import-tax-to-pay-for-mexican-wall-would-hit-american-consumers/ar-AAmi87x?li=BBnb7Kz
“Simply put, any policy proposal which drives up costs of Corona, tequila, or margaritas is a big-time bad idea. Mucho Sad,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) tweeted.
Trump can impose the tax temporarily for 120 days. But a permanent tariff would require congressional approval, hardly a sure thing given Republicans’ longstanding pro-trade stance. If passed, the tariff would wreak havoc on American commerce with its third largest trading partner, which exports a wide range of products to the U.S., including cars, electrical machinery, snacks and produce. A retaliatory measure by the Mexican government would be all but certain.
Trade between the U.S. and Mexico totaled $583.6 billion in 2015, according to the U.S. Trade Representative. Goods brought to the U.S. totaled $295 billion, including products that are sold by American companies but manufactured in Mexico.
If prices of Mexican imports rise, U.S. competitors will likely raise their prices. And demand for those products could plummet if consumers can’t find less expensive alternative sources.
A similar tax on U.S. imports imposed by the Mexican government would make American goods more expensive in Mexico and their market shares would drop. American exports to Mexico supported more jobs — about 792,000 as of 2010 — than exports to China, said Robert Scott, senior economist at the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute. “It’ll cost jobs here and Mexico,” he said.
Minn. Proposes Bill That Would Enable Civil Action Suits Against Protesters
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/jan/25/minnesota-protesters-bill-liable-policing-costs
http://www.twincities.com/2017/01/24/minnesota-house-committee-approves-bill-that-would-charge-protesters/
Top brass in State Department Resign En Masse
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/josh-rogin/wp/2017/01/26/the-state-departments-entire-senior-management-team-just-resigned/?utm_term=.5230ba79480f
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s job running the State Department just got considerably more difficult. The entire senior level of management officials resigned Wednesday, part of an ongoing mass exodus of senior Foreign Service officers who don’t want to stick around for the Trump era.
Tillerson was actually inside the State Department’s headquarters in Foggy Bottom on Wednesday, taking meetings and getting the lay of the land. I reported Wednesday morning that the Trump team was narrowing its search for his No. 2, and that it was looking to replace the State Department’s long-serving undersecretary for management, Patrick Kennedy. Kennedy, who has been in that job for nine years, was actively involved in the transition and was angling to keep that job under Tillerson, three State Department officials told me.
Then suddenly on Wednesday afternoon, Kennedy and three of his top officials resigned unexpectedly, four State Department officials confirmed. Assistant Secretary of State for Administration Joyce Anne Barr, Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs Michele Bond and Ambassador Gentry O. Smith, director of the Office of Foreign Missions, followed him out the door. All are career Foreign Service officers who have served under both Republican and Democratic administrations.
Kennedy will retire from the Foreign Service at the end of the month, officials said. The other officials could be given assignments elsewhere in the Foreign Service.
In addition, Assistant Secretary of State for Diplomatic Security Gregory Starr retired Jan. 20, and the director of the Bureau of Overseas Building Operations, Lydia Muniz, departed the same day. That amounts to a near-complete housecleaning of all the senior officials that deal with managing the State Department, its overseas posts and its people.
Trump Opens Investigation Into Voter Fraud
Trump Implies That Torture is Back on the Table
http://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2017/01/25/rand-paul-intv-donald-trump-torture-sot-lead.cnn/video/playlists/president-donald-trump/
Trump Issues Memo Exits TPP Deal
https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2017/01/23/presidential-memorandum-regarding-withdrawal-united-states-trans-pacific
Memo directs applicable US parties to “withdraw the United States as a signatory to the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), to permanently withdraw the United States from TPP negotiations, and to begin pursuing, wherever possible, bilateral trade negotiations to promote American industry, protect American workers, and raise American wages.”
Trump Warns of Renegotiations in NAFTA Are Likely
Trump Issues Executive Order Expediting Environmental Reviews and Approvals For High Priority Infrastructure Projects
https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2017/01/24/executive-order-expediting-environmental-reviews-and-approvals-high
Of note, the EO states, “Federal infrastructure decisions should be accomplished with maximum efficiency and effectiveness, while also respecting property rights and protecting public safety and the environment. To that end, it is the policy of the executive branch to streamline and expedite, in a manner consistent with law, environmental reviews and approvals for all infrastructure projects, especially projects that are a high priority for the Nation, such as improving the U.S. electric grid and telecommunications systems and repairing and upgrading critical port facilities, airports, pipelines, bridges, and highways.” The EO later states, “(d) This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.”
Executive Order for Federal Hiring Freeze for Civilian Federal Employees (excluding National Security, Public Safety & Military Personnel) Across Executive Branch.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2017/01/23/presidential-memorandum-regarding-hiring-freeze
OPM and OMB heads have 90 days from date of Executive Order to present a longterm plan for reducing the size of the federal government. Executive order mandates that no new jobs may be filled or created after Jan. 22, 2017. Order expires after implementation of approved plan.
On January 24, 2017, 3 separate Memos regarding Oil Pipelines (Including Keystone XL and Dakota Access Pipelines)
https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2017/01/24/presidential-memorandum-regarding-construction-keystone-xl-pipeline
Keystone Memo Memo “TransCanada Keystone Pipeline, L.P. (TransCanada), to promptly re-submit its application to the Department of State for a Presidential permit for the construction and operation of the Keystone XL Pipeline.”
Trump Orders Federal Agencies to Shut Their Pie Holes — Reversing Trend Towards Transparency and Open Government
Petition Demanding Donald Trump Release His Tax Returns Breaks White House Record
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/petition-demanding-donald-trump-release-his-tax-returns-breaks-white-house-record/ar-AAmhJtZ?li=BBnb7Kz
A petition on the White House website asking President Donald Trump to release information about his tax returns has now received more signatures than any other petition in the system’s five-year history.
The petition demands that the federal government “immediately release Donald Trump’s full tax returns, with all information needed to verify emoluments clause compliance.” It garnered over 100,000 signatures within 24 hours of the Trump’s inauguration, and, as of Thursday afternoon, the petition had over 368,000 signatures, surpassing the previous record of 367,180. The previous record-holder called for the United States government to “legally recognize the Westboro Baptist Church as a hate group.”
Trump has kept in place former President Barack Obama’s online petition system, which was created in 2011 to increase accessibility to government. The site also still states that a petition with at least 100,000 signatures will get an official response.
Also, check out https://www.govtrack.us/

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