Mahalo

SIGNATURE:
Clifford "RAY" Hackett www.rayis.me RESUME: www.rayis.me/resume

I founded www.adapt.org in 1980 it now has over 50 million members.
$500 of material=World’s fastest hydrofoil sailboat. http://sunrun.biz

FSMspies.jpg

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On Mar 4, 2017 9:51 AM, "Ray Hackett" <3659745> wrote:

66BibleBooks49pages

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On Mar 4, 2017 9:04 AM, "Ray Hackett" <3659745> wrote:

R..China has FSM Spies all over Guam taking pictures of submarines and aircraft carriers
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66BibleBooks49pages

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On Mar 4, 2017 9:04 AM, "Ray Hackett" <3659745> wrote:

R..China has FSM Spies all over Guam taking pictures of submarines and aircraft carriers
signature rate

Mahalo

SIGNATURE:
Clifford "RAY" Hackett www.rayis.me RESUME: www.rayis.me/resume

I founded www.adapt.org in 1980 it now has over 50 million members.
$500 of material=World’s fastest hydrofoil sailboat. http://sunrun.biz

On Sat, Mar 4, 2017 at 9:43 AM, Ray Hackett <3659745> wrote:

Mahalo

SIGNATURE:
Clifford "RAY" Hackett www.rayis.me RESUME: www.rayis.me/resume

I founded www.adapt.org in 1980 it now has over 50 million members.
$500 of material=World’s fastest hydrofoil sailboat. http://sunrun.biz

Mahalo

SIGNATURE:
Clifford "RAY" Hackett www.rayis.me RESUME: www.rayis.me/resume

I founded www.adapt.org in 1980 it now has over 50 million members.
$500 of material=World’s fastest hydrofoil sailboat. http://sunrun.biz

R..China has FSM Spies all over Guam taking pictures of submarines and aircraft carriers
signature rate

Guam should be securedd spies are all over it taking pictures of the submarines and aircraft carriers
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Fact Checker Analysis
Fact-checking President Trump’s address to Congress
By Glenn Kessler and Michelle Ye Hee Lee
February 28 at 11:35 PM
President Trump’s address to Congress, in 3 minutes Play Video3:00

Here are key moments from the president’s address to a joint session of Congress, Feb. 28. (Video: Sarah Parnass/Photo: Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post)
An address to Congress is such an important speech that presidents generally are careful not to stretch the truth. The “16 words” in George W. Bush’s 2003 State of the Union address that falsely claimed Iraq’s Saddam Hussein sought uranium from Africa led to significant turmoil in the administration, including the criminal conviction of a top aide.

President Trump’s maiden address to Congress was notable because it was filled with numerous inaccuracies. In fact, many of the president’s false claims are old favorites that he trots out on a regular, almost daily basis. Here’s a roundup of 13 of the more notable claims, in the order in which the president made them.

“We have begun to drain the swamp of government corruption by imposing a five-year ban on lobbying by executive branch officials — and a lifetime ban on becoming lobbyists for a foreign government.”

Trump did sign an order that he said would result in a lifetime ban on administration officials lobbying for foreign governments. But his five-year ban on lobbying is less than advertised. Trump has originally promised to extend the ban to congressional officials, but he did not. Moreover, the five-year ban applies only to lobbying one’s former agency — not becoming a lobbyist. Trump actually weakened some of the language from similar bans under Obama and George W. Bush, and reduced the level of transparency.

“We’ve defended the borders of other nations, while leaving our own borders wide open, for anyone to cross — and for drugs to pour in at a now unprecedented rate.”

The data are mixed on the amount of drugs coming through the borders. The amount of marijuana seized at the border continues to decline — probably a reflection of drug use in the United States, as more states legalize marijuana for medical or recreational use. In fiscal 2016, 1.3 million pounds of marijuana were seized, down from 1.5 million the year before, and lower than the peak of nearly 4 million pounds in 2009, according to Customs and Border Patrol data. The amount of cocaine seized at the borders overall in fiscal 2016 (5,473 pounds) was roughly half the amount seized the previous year (11,220 pounds).

But the amount of heroin and methamphetamine seized has increased in recent years. In fiscal year 2016, Border Patrol seized 9,062 pounds of heroin (compared to 8,282 in fiscal 2015) and 8,224 pounds of methamphetamine (compared to 6,443 pounds in fiscal 2015).


Meanwhile, illegal immigration flows across the Southern border in fiscal 2015 were at the lowest levels since 1972, except for in 2011. The apprehensions in fiscal 2016 (408,870) exceeded fiscal 2015 (331,333), but still indicate an overall decline since their peak in 2000 (1.6 million).

“Since my election, Ford, Fiat-Chrysler, General Motors, Sprint, Softbank, Lockheed, Intel, Walmart, and many others, have announced that they will invest billions of dollars in the United States and will create tens of thousands of new American jobs.”

Trump again takes credit for business decisions made before his election.

Ford’s decision to abandon its plans to open a factory in Mexico and instead expand its Michigan plant has more to do with the company’s long-term goal — particularly its plans to invest in electric vehicles — than with the administration. Ford chief executive Mark Fields said about the company’s decision to abandon plans to open a factory in Mexico: “The reason that we are not building the new plant, the primary reason, is just demand has gone down for small cars.”


Sergio Marchionne, the Fiat Chrysler chief executive, said his company’s plan to invest $1 billion for a factory in Michigan had been in the works for more than a year and had nothing to do with Trump. Marchionne credited instead talks with the United Auto Workers.

Japanese company SoftBank announced its $100 billion technology investment fund three weeks before the U.S. elections, when Trump faced a narrow path to victory. After a December 2016 meeting with then-President-Elect Trump, SoftBank announced $50 billion would go to the United States. But the United States outpaces all other countries in venture capital investments, and it is questionable that none of the $100 billion would have gone to the vibrant and promising tech industry in America — regardless of whether Trump was elected.

“We’ve saved taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars by bringing down the price of the fantastic new F-35 jet fighter, and will be saving billions more dollars on contracts all across our government.”

Trump once again takes credit for the lowered cost of the F-35 program. The Pentagon had announced cost reductions of roughly $600 million before Trump began meeting with Lockheed Martin’s chief executive. Sometimes Trump says he saved $600 million, other times $700 million.

We previously awarded Four Pinocchios to this claim.

“We have cleared the way for the construction of the Keystone and Dakota Access Pipelines — thereby creating tens of thousands of jobs — and I’ve issued a new directive that new American pipelines be made with American steel.”

Trump appears to be combining two disputed figures — 28,000 jobs for Keystone XL and 12,000 for the Dakota Access pipeline. We have looked closely at the Keystone numbers, and the same methodological issues appear to apply to the Dakota estimates. The actual number of Keystone construction jobs, for instance, is 3,900 on an annualized basis — and other jobs have already been created (such as for building high-strength line pipe.) In the context of the U.S. economy, which just in January added 230,000 jobs, these are not many jobs.

As for the steel, workers in Arkansas have already built about half of the high-strength line pipe needed for the project, some 333,000 tons. TransCanada said in 2013 that it had already purchased all of the steel pipe it needed for the Keystone XL, with the rest coming from a Russian-owned plant in Canada, Italy and India. Experts say the plant in Arkansas (owned by an Indian company) is the only one in the U.S. that could build the pipe — and it gets its steel from India.

“As we speak, we are removing gang members, drug dealers and criminals that threaten our communities and prey on our citizens. Bad ones are going out as I speak and as I have promised throughout the campaign.”

Trump is referring to the recent arrests of undocumented immigrants convicted of crimes, or the “bad ones.” Trump takes credit for fulfilling his campaign promise of cracking down on illegal immigration, but these arrests are routine. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has always targeted dangerous criminals in enforcement priorities. The recent arrests, however, did include people who would not have fallen under narrowed enforcement priorities under Obama.

Still, 25 percent of the arrests that grabbed headlines in early February were of people who had lesser charges and noncriminal convictions. According to anecdotes of recent arrests, undocumented people with traffic violations were subject to arrest. They are not the “bad ones,” such as drug dealers or gang members, that he describes.

“By finally enforcing our immigration laws we will raise wages, help the unemployed, save billions and billions of dollars and make our communities safer for everyone.”

Trump exaggerates the impact of illegal immigration on crime, taxpayer money and jobs.

Extensive research shows noncitizens are not more prone to criminality than U.S.-born citizens. The vast majority of unauthorized immigrants are not criminal aliens or aggravated felons.


Trump appears to reference the cost of illegal immigration from the Federation for American Immigration Reform, which supports lower levels of legal and illegal immigration. According to the group, the annual cost of illegal immigration at the federal, state and local level were about $113 billion as of 2013.

But this calculation makes assumptions that are not necessarily tied to illegal immigration, like enrollment in English proficiency classes. The enrollment number doesn’t tell you anything about the actual citizenship status of students (i.e., they could be native-born children of undocumented immigrants, raised in a non-English-speaking home).

In general, economists have found that immigration overall results in a net positive to the U.S. economy. There are slight negative effects, but they are felt most strongly by less-educated and low-skilled workers. Illegal immigration, in particular, tends to affect less-educated and low-skilled American workers the most, which disproportionately comprises black men and recently arrived less-educated legal immigrants.

The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights 2010 report found that illegal immigration has tended to depress wages and employment particularly for black men. But factors other than illegal immigration contribute to black unemployment, the report found, including the high school dropout rate and low job-retention rates.

“Millions lifted from welfare to work is not too much to expect.”

“Welfare” is a broad term and can apply to people who are working but receiving some government assistance. If someone is receiving means-tested assistance, it doesn’t necessarily mean they are not working.

Not all people eligible for welfare collect benefits. When they do, many of the benefits are contingent on the recipients working or actively searching for jobs, as a result of an overhaul of welfare signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 1996. And even low-income families receive some level of public assistance.


Trump is apparently unaware that participation has declined in means-tested programs such as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as food stamps).

“Ninety-four million Americans are out of the labor force.”

This is an absurd Four-Pinocchio claim, based on a real number. The Bureau of Labor Statistics, relying on a monthly survey known as the Current Population Survey (CPS), shows that, as of January 2016, 94.4 million Americans 16 years and older were “not in labor force.”

How is this number developed? Well, there is a civilian noninstitutional population of 254.1 million people, and 159.7 million are in the labor force. The difference yields the 94.4 million figure.

But the unemployment rate is only 4.8 percent because just 7.6 million people actively are looking for a job and cannot find one. They are considered part of the overall labor force. In other words, you have to be seeking a job to be counted in the labor force.

Who are the 94 million not in the labor force? The BLS has data for the year 2015. It turns out that 93 percent do not want a job at all. The picture that emerges from a study of the data shows that the 95 million consists mostly of people who are retired, students, stay-at-home parents or disabled.

Trump is doing a real disservice in citing this 94 million figure and suggesting it means these people are looking for work.

“America has spent approximately $6 trillion in the Middle East, all this while our infrastructure at home is crumbling. With this $6 trillion we could have rebuilt our country — twice.”

Trump often incorrectly claims that the United States spent $6 trillion on the wars in the Middle East, and here he uses it in a particularly misleading way. The wars in Iraq (in the Middle East) and Afghanistan (in South Asia) together cost about $1.6 trillion from 2001 to 2014.

The $6 trillion-figure adds in estimates of future spending, such as interest on the debt and veterans care for the next three decades. Yet Trump says that this money (not yet spent) could have rebuilt the U.S. economy.

Former president Barack Obama often pleaded with the GOP-led Congress to pass a major infrastructure bill but never received much support. We will see if Trump has any more success.

“The murder rate in 2015 experienced its largest single-year increase in nearly half a century. In Chicago, more than 4,000 people were shot last year alone — and the murder rate so far this year has been even higher. This is not acceptable in our society.”

In 2015, there was the biggest percentage jump in a single year since 1970-1971, or 45 years ago. In 2016, there was an uptick in the homicide rate in the 30 largest cities. One outlier — Chicago — was responsible for 43.7 percent of the total increase in homicide rates in 2016. But overall, violent crime is on a decades-long decline, since the height of the crack cocaine epidemic in the early 1990s.

Crime trends can randomly fluctuate year to year. Many factors affect such rates, including the weather. This is why criminologists do not make generalizations about crime trends based on short-term comparisons of rates, such as annual or monthly changes. They consider the data over much longer periods of time — at least 10 to 15 years — to make conclusions about trends.

For example, in 2006 and 2007, the national violent crime trend increased for the first time in nine years. Democrats bemoaned the return of the crime wave, creating a political headache for George W. Bush’s administration.

“After years of driving crime rates down, we’re now in reverse gear,” said then-Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. (D-Del.). “It’s time to get back to crime-fighting basics — that means more cops on the streets, equipped with the tools and resources they need to keep our neighborhoods safe.”

Then-Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales denied that the crime trend was reversing: “In general, it doesn’t appear that the current data reveal nationwide trends. Rather, they show local increases in certain communities. Each community is facing different circumstances, and in many places violent crime continues to decrease.”

“Jamiel’s 17-year-old son was viciously murdered by an illegal immigrant gang member, who had just been released from prison. Jamiel Shaw Jr. was an incredible young man, with unlimited potential who was getting ready to go to college where he would have excelled as a great quarterback. But he never got the chance. His father, who is in the audience tonight, has become a good friend of mine.”

Trump likes to use anecdotes as evidence for associating violent crimes with illegal immigration, telling stories of victims of homicide by undocumented immigrants. He brought family members of those killed by illegal immigrants as his guest to tonight’s speech. He often talks about the death of Jamiel Shaw Jr., a 17-year-old football star who was killed in 2008 by a gang member who was in the country illegally.

Clearly, stories like this exist. But the vast majority of unauthorized immigrants do not fit Trump’s description of aggravated felons, whose crimes include murder. U.S. Sentencing Commission data show homicides are a small percentage of the crimes committed by noncitizens, whether they are in the United States illegally or not.

The Congressional Research Service found that the vast majority of unauthorized immigrants do not fit in the category of aggravated felons, whose crimes include murder, drug trafficking or illegal trafficking of firearms.


(Congressional Research Service)

“I can tell you the money is pouring in. Very nice.”

Trump ad-libbed this line after mentioning that he was pressing NATO allies in “very frank and strong discussions,” to meet their financial obligations to the alliance. But the comment is a bit nonsensical.

NATO’s guideline, established in 2006, that defense expenditures should amount to 2 percent of each country’s gross domestic product. In 2016, only four countries besides the United States met that standard, but NATO documents also show that defense spending has increased about three percent from 2015 to 2016. In any case, the money would not be going to the United States or even necessarily to NATO; this is money that countries would spend to bolster their own military.

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Donald Trump
President

"Ninety-four million Americans are out of the labor force."
in a joint address to Congress, Washington D.C. – Tuesday, February 28, 2017
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Donald Trump
President

“America has spent approximately six trillion dollars in the Middle East, all this while our infrastructure at home is crumbling."
in a joint address to Congress, Washington D.C. – Tuesday, February 28, 2017
SHAREREAD MORE

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Donald Trump
President of the United States

“As we speak, we are removing gang members, drug dealers and criminals that threaten our communities and prey on our citizens. Bad ones are going out as I speak and as I have promised throughout the campaign.”
in an address to Congress – Tuesday, February 28, 2017
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President of the United States

“We’ve saved taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars by bringing down the price of the fantastic new F-35 jet fighter, and will be saving billions more dollars on contracts all across our government.”
in a joint address to Congress – Tuesday, February 28, 2017
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Glenn Kessler has reported on domestic and foreign policy for more than three decades. He would like your help in keeping an eye on public figures. Send him statements to fact check by emailing him, tweeting at him, or sending him a message on Facebook. Follow @GlennKesslerWP
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NPR LIVE TRANSCRIPT
Last updated: 10:01 PM ET 27 Annotations
Mr. Speaker, the President of the United States.

(APPLAUSE)

(CHEERS)

DONALD TRUMP
Thank you very much.

PAUL RYAN
Members of Congress, I have the high privilege and the distinct honor of presenting to you the President of the United States.

(APPLAUSE)

DONALD TRUMP
Thank you very much. Mr. Speaker, Mr. Vice President, members of Congress, the first lady of the United States.

(APPLAUSE)

DONALD TRUMP
And citizens of America, tonight, as we mark the conclusion of our celebration of black history month, we are reminded of our nation’s path toward civil rights and the work that still remains to be done. Recent threats —

President Trump began his speech with a nod to the civil rights movement and Black History Month, using markedly different rhetoric from his campaign. In the months leading up to the election, Trump began asking the rhetorical question to black voters — in front of overwhelmingly white audiences — “What the hell do you have to lose?” He painted a picture of black neighborhoods as wracked with poverty, crime and schools that are “no good,” as he put it. Trump’s words were roundly criticized by many African-American leaders as insensitive and an unfair portrayal of their communities. Despite that criticism, Trump outperformed 2012 GOP nominee Mitt Romney among black voters. In his speech to Congress, the president struck a gentler, more conciliatory tone.


Sarah McCammon
NPR Politics Reporter/Covers Trump
Next annotation ▼
(APPLAUSE)

DONALD TRUMP
Recent threats targeting Jewish community centers and vandalism of Jewish cemeteries, as well as last week’s shooting in Kansas City, remind us that while we may be a nation divided on policies, we are a country that stands united in condemning hate and evil in all of its very ugly forms.

▲ Previous annotationNext annotation ▼
This week, the Anti-Defamation League issued a nationwide security advisory after it tallied around 90 bomb threats to Jewish institutions since the start of the year. The shooting President Trump mentions occurred in Olathe, Kan.


Carrie Johnson
NPR Justice Correspondent
▲ Previous annotationNext annotation ▼
(APPLAUSE)

DONALD TRUMP
Each American generation passes the torch of truth, liberty, and justice in an unbroken chain all the way down to the president. That torch is now in our hands, and we will use it to light up the world. I am here tonight to deliver a message of unity and strength, and it is a message deeply delivered from my heart. A new chapter —

(APPLAUSE)

DONALD TRUMP
— of American greatness is now beginning. A new national pride is sweeping across our nation, and a new surge of optimism is placing impossible dreams firmly within our grasp. What we are witnessing today is the renewal of the American spirit. Our allies will find once that America is once again ready to lead.

(APPLAUSE)

The inner cities of Chicago, Baltimore, Detroit, and so many other places throughout our land. We’ve defended the borders of other nations while leaving our own borders wide open for anyone to cross and for drugs to pour in at a now unprecedented rate.

And we’ve spent trillions and trillions of dollars overseas while our infrastructure at home has so badly crumbled. Then in 2016, the Earth shifted beneath our feet. The rebellion started as a quiet protest, spoken by families of all colors and creeds, families who just wanted a fair shot for their children and a fair hearing for their concerns. But then, the quiet voices became a loud chorus, as thousands of citizens now spoke out together from cities small and large all across our country. Finally, the chorus became an earthquake, and the people turned out, by the tens of millions, and they were all united by one very simple but crucial demand – that America must put its own citizens first. Because only then, can we truly make America great again.

The American Society of Civil Engineers’ latest report card (in 2013) on the overall condition of the nation’s infrastructure gave the country a D+. America’s airports, roads, transit, schools, dams and drinking water and wastewater systems all got grades of D; levees, a D-. Among the few bright spots were railroads and bridges at C+. And federal investment in upgrading and repairing infrastructure has remained flat in recent years, while the highway trust fund is losing money when adjusted for inflationary costs. The group’s next report card on the state of our infrastructure is due out March 9.

David Schaper
▲ Previous annotationNext annotation ▼
Trump’s comment about “trillions of dollars” alludes to estimates that the total costs of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, which included significant spending on reconstruction as well as the direct costs involved with troops and combat, could add up to $4 trillion or more. Such estimates also factor in the costs involved with taking care of veterans after their deployments, which continue for decades after major combat, and the costs associated with servicing the debt used to finance the wars.

Phil Ewing
NPR National Security Editor
▲ Previous annotationNext annotation ▼
This is a reference to his election. He may not be saying here that he got 306 electoral votes, as he has recently, but it was intended as a reminder to Democrats that he won. Trump got just shy of 63 million votes, but everyone who turned out to the polls certainly wasn’t “united.” Trump finished almost 3 million votes short of his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton. He has blamed that on immigrants in the country illegally voting illegally — as many as 3 million to 5 million, Trump claims. There is zero evidence of that. The Ohio secretary of state, a Republican, found that 82 noncitizens voted in at least one Ohio election and that 385 were registered to vote in 2015.


Domenico Montanaro
NPR Political Editor
▲ Previous annotationNext annotation ▼
(APPLAUSE)

Dying industries will come roaring back to life, heroic veterans will get the care they so desperately need. Our military will be given the resources its brave warriors so richly deserve. Crumbling infrastructure will be replaced with new roads, bridges, tunnels, airports and railways, gleaming across our very very beautiful land. Our terrible drug epidemic will slow down and ultimately stop, and our neglected inner cities will see a rebirth of hope, safety, and opportunity. Above all else, we will keep our promises to the American people.

(APPLAUSE)

DONALD TRUMP
Thank you. It’s been a little over a month since my inauguration, and I want to take this moment to update the nation on the progress I have made in keeping those promises. Since my election, Ford, Fiat, Chrysler, General Motors, Sprint, Softbank, Lockheed, Wal Mart, and many others have announced they will invest billions and billions of dollars in the United States and will create tens of thousands of new American jobs.

The president has publicly urged many CEOs to keep production and jobs in the United States. However, most of the companies who have announced plans to create jobs and add to factories had planned to do so before Trump was elected. One notable exception was the announcement by Ford that it is canceling plans to build a factory in Mexico and will instead spend $700 million to add on to a plant in Michigan.


John Ydstie
NPR Correspondent, Business Desk
▲ Previous annotationNext annotation ▼
(APPLAUSE)

DONALD TRUMP
The stock market has gained almost $3 trillion in value since the election on November 8, a record. We’ve saved taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars by bringing down the price of fantastic — and it is a fantastic – new, F-35 jet fighter, and we will be saving billions more on contracts all across our government. We have placed a hiring freeze on non-military and non-essential federal workers. We have begun to drain the swamp of government corruption by imposing a five-year ban on lobbying by executive branch officials, and a lifetime ban —

Trump’s new endorsement of the F-35 will very likely come as a huge relief to the Pentagon, jet builder Lockheed Martin and the vast array of constituents around the globe of the world’s costliest weapons program. He scolded Lockheed for what he called the unreasonable cost to buy the advanced new warplanes, estimated at around $400 billion, and threatened to buy more copies of an older-model jet built by Boeing instead. Defense analysts, however, have pointed out that the price per copy for the F-35 was already falling before he took office.

Phil Ewing
NPR National Security Editor
▲ Previous annotationNext annotation ▼
(APPLAUSE)

DONALD TRUMP
Thank you. — and a lifetime ban on becoming lobbyists for a foreign government. We have undertaken a historic effort to massively reduce job crushing regulations, creating a deregulation task force inside of every government agency.

(APPLAUSE)

DONALD TRUMP
And we are imposing a new rule which mandates that for every one new regulation, two old regulations must be eliminated.

We’ve yet to see any regulations rolled back through this initiative. But Congress has overturned two regulations through use of the Congressional Review Act, and earlier Tuesday, Trump signed an executive order calling for a review of another, The Waters Of The United States Act, which has been put on hold by a federal appeals court.


Brian Naylor
NPR Washington Desk Correspondent
▲ Previous annotationNext annotation ▼
(APPLAUSE)

DONALD TRUMP
We are going to stop the regulations that threaten the future and livelihood of our great coal miners.

▲ Previous annotationNext annotation ▼
(APPLAUSE)

DONALD TRUMP
We have cleared the way for the construction of the Keystone and Dakota Access pipelines.

(APPLAUSE)

DONALD TRUMP
Thereby creating tens of thousands of jobs, and I’ve issued a new directive that new American pipelines be made with American steel.

▲ Previous annotationNext annotation ▼
(APPLAUSE)

DONALD TRUMP
We have withdrawn the United States from the job killing Trans-Pacific Partnership.

(APPLAUSE)

DONALD TRUMP
And with the help of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, we have formed a counsel with our neighbors in Canada to help ensure that women entrepreneurs have access to the networks, markets and capital they need to start a business and live out their financial dreams.

(APPLAUSE)

DONALD TRUMP
To protect our citizens, I have directed the Department of Justice to form a task force on reducing violent crime. I have further ordered the Departments of Homeland Security and Justice, along with the Department of State and the Director of National Intelligence, to coordinate an aggressive strategy to dismantle the criminal cartels that have spread all across our nation.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced a “crime reduction and public safety task force” that includes the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the U.S. Marshals earlier Tuesday to confront what he called a “crisis.” While murders are up across several major cities, violent crime remains near record lows, according to most criminologists.


Carrie Johnson
NPR Justice Correspondent
▲ Previous annotationNext annotation ▼
(APPLAUSE)

During the campaign, Trump promised to stop the flow of heroin from Mexico and help families struggling with the epidemic. At the same time, he also vowed to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. That could set up a potential tension between competing goals, given that many people addicted to opioids rely on the Medicaid expansion under Obamacare to receive treatment and overall health care. What’s more, many of the states hardest hit by the epidemic, like West Virginia, voted for Trump, and many residents are looking to the administration to improve their economic circumstances.


Sarah McCammon
NPR Politics Reporter/Covers Trump
▲ Previous annotationNext annotation ▼
(APPLAUSE)

DONALD TRUMP
At the same time, my administration has answered the pleas of the American people for immigration enforcement and border security.

(APPLAUSE)

DONALD TRUMP
By finally enforcing our immigration laws, we will raise wages, help the unemployed, save billions and billions of dollars, and make our communities safer for everyone.

President Trump has signed several executive orders on immigration and border security. But they were framed as matters of national security, not helping the unemployed. Many economists believe immigration is an overall plus for the economy, although it may hold down wages for workers without high school diplomas.

Joel Rose
NPR Correspondent/Covers Immigration
▲ Previous annotationNext annotation ▼
(APPLAUSE)

DONALD TRUMP
We want all Americans to succeed, but that can’t happen in an environment of lawless chaos. We must restore integrity and the rule of law at our borders.

(APPLAUSE)

DONALD TRUMP
For that reason, we will soon begin the construction of a great, great wall along our southern border.

([CHEERS])

DONALD TRUMP
As we speak tonight, we are removing gang members, drug dealers, and criminals that threaten our communities and prey on our very innocent citizens. Bad ones are going out, as I speak, and as I promised throughout the campaign. To any in Congress who do not believe we should enforce our laws, I would ask you this one question: What would you say to the American family that loses their jobs, their income, or their loved one because America refused to uphold its laws and defend its borders?

Trump’s executive orders, and the implementation memos released a few weeks later by the Department of Homeland Security, greatly expand which immigrants are a priority for deportation. Critics say the new policies make anyone in the country illegally a possible target, not just those who have committed a serious crime as the White House contends.

Joel Rose
NPR Correspondent/Covers Immigration
▲ Previous annotationNext annotation ▼
(APPLAUSE)

DONALD TRUMP
Our obligation is to serve, protect, and defend the citizens of the United States. We are also taking strong measures to protect our nation from radical Islamic terrorism.

▲ Previous annotationNext annotation ▼
(APPLAUSE)

DONALD TRUMP
According to data provided by the Department of Justice, the vast majority of individuals convicted of terrorism and terrorism-related offense since 9/11 came here from outside of our country. We have seen the attacks at home, from Boston to San Bernardino, to the Pentagon, and yes, even the World Trade Center. We have seen the attacks in France, in Belgium, in Germany, and all over the world. It is not compassion but reckless to allow uncontrolled entry from places where proper vetting cannot occur.

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DONALD TRUMP
That is why my administration has been working on improved vetting procedures, and we will shortly take new steps to keep our nation safe and to keep those out who will do us harm.

Federal judges have put on hold President Trump’s executive order temporarily banning travelers from seven majority-Muslim countries, citing concerns it may violate due process rights of visitors and green card holders and could discriminate on the basis of religion. The White House is expected to unveil a new executive order, tailored to respond to the court rulings, as early as Wednesday. The ACLU and other civil rights groups say it’s not clear whether a new order will fix all of the constitutional problems they see with the plan.


Carrie Johnson
NPR Justice Correspondent
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(APPLAUSE)

DONALD TRUMP
As promised, I directed the Department of Defense to develop a plan to demolish and destroy ISIS, a network of lawless savages that have slaughtered Muslims and Christians and men and women and children of all faiths and all beliefs. We will work with our allies, including our friends and allies in the Muslim world, to extinguish this vile enemy from our planet.

(APPLAUSE)

DONALD TRUMP
I have also imposed new sanctions on entities and individuals who support Iran’s ballistic missile program, and reaffirmed our unbreakable alliance with the state of Israel.

(APPLAUSE)

(APPLAUSE)

DONALD TRUMP
I am greatly honored to have Maureen Scalia with us in the gallery tonight.

(APPLAUSE)


Carrie Johnson
NPR Justice Correspondent
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(APPLAUSE)

DONALD TRUMP
Tonight, as I outlined the next steps we must take as a country, we must honestly acknowledge the circumstances we inherited. 94 million Americans are out of the labor force. Over 43 million people are now living in poverty, and over 43 million Americans are on food stamps.

More than one in five people in their prime working years are not working. We have the worst financial recovery and 65 years. In the last eight years, the past administration has put on more new debt than nearly all of the other presidents combined.

We have lost more than one fourth of our manufacturing jobs since NAFTA was approved, and we have lost 60,000 factories since China joined the World Trade Organization in 2001.

Our trade deficit in the goods with the world last year was nearly $800 billion, and overseas, we have inherited a serious tragic foreign policy disasters. Solving these and so many other pressing problems require us to work asked the differences of party. It will require us to tap into the American spirit that has overcome every challenge throughout our long and storied history. But to accomplish our goals at home and abroad, we must restart the engine of the American economy, making it easy to do business in the United States, and much much harder for companies to leave our country.

(APPLAUSE)

DONALD TRUMP
Right now, American companies are taxed at one of the highest rates anywhere in the world. My economic team is developing historic tax reform that will reduce the tax rate on our companies so they can compete and thrive anywhere and with anyone.

(APPLAUSE)

DONALD TRUMP
It will be a big, big cut. At the same time we will provide massive tax relief for the middle class. We must create a level playing field for American companies and our workers. Have to do it.

(APPLAUSE)

DONALD TRUMP
Currently when we ship products out of America, many other countries make us pay very high tariffs and taxes. But when foreign companies ship their products into America, we charge them nothing or almost nothing. I just met with officials and workers from a great American company, Harley Davidson. In fact, they proudly displayed five of their magnificent motorcycles, made in the U.S.A., on the front lawn of the White House.

([LAUGHTER])

(APPLAUSE)

DONALD TRUMP
And they wanted me to ride one, and I said, no thank you.

([LAUGHTER])

DONALD TRUMP
At our meeting, I asked them, how are you doing, how is business? They said it is good. I asked them further, how they are doing with other countries, mainly with international sales. They told me, without complaining, because they have been so mistreated for so long that they have become used to it, that it is very hard to do business with other countries because they tax our goods at such a high rate. They said that in the case of another country, they tax their motorcycles at 100%. They weren’t even asking for a change but I am. I believe —

(APPLAUSE)

DONALD TRUMP
I believe strongly in free trade, but it also has to be fair trade. It has been a long time since we had fair trade. The first Republican president, Abraham Lincoln, warned that the “abandonment of the protective policy by the American government will produce want and ruin among our people." Lincoln was right, and it is time we heeded his advice and his words.

(APPLAUSE)

DONALD TRUMP
I am not going to let America and its great companies and workers be taken advantage of anymore. They have taken advantage of our country. No longer.

(APPLAUSE)

DONALD TRUMP
I am going to bring back millions of jobs. Protecting our workers also means reforming our system of legal immigration.

(APPLAUSE)

DONALD TRUMP
The current, outdated system depresses wages for our poorest workers and puts great pressure on taxpayers. Nations around the world, like Canada, Australia, and many others have a merit-based, immigration system.

(APPLAUSE)

DONALD TRUMP
It is a basic principle that those seeking to enter a country ought to be able to support themselves financially. Yet, in America, we do not enforce this rule, straining the very public resources that our poorest citizens rely upon.

According to the National Academy of Sciences, our current immigration system costs American taxpayers many billions of dollars a year. Switching away from this current system of lower-skilled immigration, and instead adopting a merit-based system, we will have so many more benefits. It will save countless dollars, raise workers’ wages, and help struggling families, including immigrant families, enter the middle class. And they will do it quickly and they will be very, very happy indeed.

Trump appears to be referring to this study published last year by the National Academy of Sciences. It found that “the impact of immigration on the wages of native-born workers overall is very small.” The study also found that first-generation immigrants are more costly to state and local governments. But the children of immigrants, on the other hand, are among the “strongest economic and fiscal contributors in the U.S. population, contributing more in taxes than either their parents or the rest of the native-born population.”

Joel Rose
NPR Correspondent/Covers Immigration
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(APPLAUSE)

DONALD TRUMP
I believe that real and positive immigration reform is possible, as long as we focus on the following goals: To improve jobs and wages for Americans, to strengthen our nation’s security, and to restore respect for our laws. If we are guided by the well-being of American citizens, then I believe Republicans and Democrats can work together to achieve an outcome that has eluded our country for decades.

This is a sharp turn from Trump’s rhetoric on immigration in the first weeks of his presidency.

He has floated the idea of reform before. But as president, he has focused on tougher enforcement of existing immigration laws, cracking down on sanctuary cities, and building a wall on the border with Mexico. Trump even invited several family members of people who were killed by immigrants in the country illegally to attend Tuesday’s speech.

Joel Rose
NPR Correspondent/Covers Immigration
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(APPLAUSE)

DONALD TRUMP
Another Republican president, Dwight D. Eisenhower, initiated the last truly great national infrastructure program, the building of the interstate highway system. The time has come for a new program of national rebuilding.

(APPLAUSE)

DONALD TRUMP
America has spent approximately $6 trillion in the Middle East. All the while our infrastructure at home has crumbled. With this $6 trillion, we could have rebuilt our country twice, and maybe even three times, if we had people who had the ability to negotiate.

The American Society of Civil Engineers estimated in 2013 that the nation would need to spend $3.6 trillion by 2020 to put our airports, roads, bridges, dams, levees, wastewater, drinking water and other infrastructure into a state of good repair. That cost estimate has almost certainly increased since then.

David Schaper
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(APPLAUSE)

DONALD TRUMP
To launch our national rebuilding, I will be asking the Congress to approve legislation that produces a $1 trillion investment in infrastructure of the United States financed through both, public and private capital, creating millions of new jobs.

(APPLAUSE)

DONALD TRUMP
This effort will be guided by two core principles: Buy American and hire American.

(APPLAUSE)

DONALD TRUMP
Tonight I am also calling on this Congress to repeal and replace Obamacare —

(APPLAUSE)

DONALD TRUMP
— with reforms that expand choice, increase access, lower costs, and at the same time, provide better healthcare.

Republicans in Congress took the first steps to repeal Obamacare in January. However, they’ve had trouble coming up with a replacement plan they can agree on. House Speaker Paul Ryan released an outline of the working Republican plan last week, but almost immediately some House Republicans said they would oppose the plan. And an analysis of the plan by McKinsey and Avalere Health and presented to the National Governors Association last week showed that it could lead to millions of people losing their health care coverage.


Alison Kodjak
NPR Health Policy Correspondent
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(APPLAUSE)

DONALD TRUMP
Mandating every American to buy government-approved health insurance was never the right solution for our country.

(APPLAUSE)

DONALD TRUMP
The way to make health insurance available to everyone is to lower the cost of health insurance, and that is what we are going to do.

(APPLAUSE)

DONALD TRUMP
Obamacare premiums nationwide have increased by double and triple digits. As an example, Arizona went up 116% last year alone. Governor Matt Bevin of Kentucky just said Obamacare is failing in his state. The state of Kentucky, and it is unsustainable and collapsing.

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One third of counties have only one insurer, and they are losing them fast. They are losing them so fast, they are leaving, and many Americans have no choice at all. There is no choice left. Remember, when you were told that you could keep your doctor and keep your plan? We now know that all of those promises have been totally broken. Obamacare is collapsing, and we must act decisively to protect all Americans.

(APPLAUSE)

DONALD TRUMP
Action is not a choice. It is a necessity. So I am calling on all Democrats and Republicans in Congress to work with us to save Americans from this imploding Obamacare disaster.

(APPLAUSE)

DONALD TRUMP
Here are the principles that should guide Congress as we move to create a better healthcare system for all Americans. First, we should ensure that Americans with pre-existing conditions have access to coverage, and that we have a stable transition for Americans currently enrolled in the health care exchanges.

The Affordable Care Act requires insurance companies to offer insurance to people with existing medical conditions at the same price as to others in the same area and the same age. President Trump and congressional Republicans have said they want to ensure those same protections are in their replacement plan. House Speaker Paul Ryan’s plan as of now would bar insurers from discriminating against people with pre-existing conditions as long as they kept their insurance without interruption. However, if they let their insurance lapse, then they could be charged a penalty to re-enroll could be charged more.


Alison Kodjak
NPR Health Policy Correspondent
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(APPLAUSE)

DONALD TRUMP
Secondly, we should help Americans purchase their own coverage, through the use of tax credits and expanded health savings accounts, but it must be the plan they want, not the plan forced on them by our government.

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(APPLAUSE)

DONALD TRUMP
Thirdly, we should give our state governors the resources and flexibility they need with Medicaid to make sure no one is left out.

(APPLAUSE)

DONALD TRUMP
Fourth, we should implement legal reforms that protect patients and doctors from unnecessary costs that drive up the price of insurance and work to bring down the artificially high price of drugs and bring them down immediately.

(APPLAUSE)

DONALD TRUMP
And finally, the time has come to give Americans the freedom to purchase health insurance across state lines.

(APPLAUSE)

DONALD TRUMP
Which will create a truly competitive national marketplace that will bring cost way down and provide far better care. So important. Everything that is broken in our country can be fixed. Every problem can be solved. And every hurting family can find healing and hope. Our citizens deserve this and so much more. So why not join forces and finally get the job done and get it done right?

(APPLAUSE)

DONALD TRUMP
On this and so many other things, Democrats and Republicans should get together and unite for the good of our country and for the good of the American people.

(APPLAUSE)

DONALD TRUMP
My administration wants to work with members of both parties to make childcare accessible and affordable, to help ensure new parents – that they have paid family leave.

(APPLAUSE)

DONALD TRUMP
To invest in women’s health, and to promote clean air and clean water, and to rebuild our military and our infrastructure.

(APPLAUSE)

DONALD TRUMP
True love for our people requires us to find common ground, to advance the common good and to cooperate on behalf of every American child who deserves a much brighter future. An incredible young woman is with us this evening, who should serve as an inspiration to us all. Today is Rare Disease Day, and

—

Author: Sarah McCammon (sm)

Slug: promising-a-better-america-26

Published: No

—

[This is evocative of Trump’s lofty campaign promises – not only to “Make America Great Again,” but also to make dreams come true. Just  over  a month before the election, Trump told voters the stakes were high, saying, You have 40 days to make every dream you ever dreamed for your country come true."]


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MALAYSIA
Malaysia to charge 2 foreign women for airport murder of Kim Jong-nam
Reuters | Tuesday, Feb 28, 2017

Photo: AFP / Reuters

KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysian prosecutors will charge two women – an Indonesian and a Vietnamese – with murder over their alleged involvement in the killing of the estranged half-brother of North Korea’s leader, the Southeast Asian country’s attorney general said on Tuesday.

Kim Jong Nam, who had criticised the regime of his family and his half-brother Kim Jong Un, was killed in Kuala Lumpur earlier this month after the two women allegedly smeared VX nerve agent, a chemical described by the United Nations as a weapon of mass destruction, across his face.


Read also: Kim Jong-nam murder suspect Siti Aisyah partied the night before assassination


Attorney general Mohamed Apandi Ali said the women will be formally charged on Wednesday under section 302 of the penal code, which carries the death penalty. "I can confirm that," he told Reuters in a text message.

South Korean officials believe the murder was carried out by North Korean agents, and Malaysia has identified eight North Koreans suspected of involvement in the killing.


PHOTO GALLERY
Half-brother of N Korean leader assassinated in Malaysia
Source:
AFP
Reuters






on SPH Brightcove


Photo: Asia One
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