|
 Former late night host and 9/11 first responders advocate Jon Stewart said Sunday that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has never been compassionate in his congressional dealings when it comes to passing health care packages for first responders.
|
|
 Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren said she's "very concerned about a slide towards war with Iran" and highlighted that President Donald Trump "has to come to Congress" for authorization before taking military action against Iran. Pointing to this week's attacks on tankers in the Gulf of Oman, the Republican president told Fox News on Friday that "Iran did do it." But Warren, the two-term progressive senator from Massachusetts who sits on the Senate Armed Services Committee, is skeptical.
|
|
 Photo Illustration by The Daily Beast/Shutterstock/GettyNow that the Democratic Party has announced its roster for the first of two debates with 10 participants each on succeeding nights at the end of June, the difficulties and dangers of this process are coming into focus—and it is clear that the inherently dubious nature of these events has been exacerbated by the party's new rules. A real debate would provide a substantive back and forth between candidates on major issues; but despite the considerable build-up, that's not what these nationally televised sessions deliver.
The inherent problem with what the presidential debates have become is that they essentially reward the wrong qualities, ones that are essentially irrelevant to governing effectively. With such an unprecedented number of competitors onstage, the pressure on the candidates will be greater than ever to come up with one-liners aimed at getting maximum attention. These zingers—likely rehearsed with advisers for hours—can appear to display a candidate's cleverness or sense of humor, but they give us no sense of how a person will wear over time, and sometimes mask who people actually are (though I must admit that candidate Donald Trump's resorts to vulgarity in the debates were a sign of what was to come).
The one-liners can possibly convey thoughtfulness that may or may not be the real deal. They tell us little about a candidate's grasp of the issues (this used to be assumed but recent experience suggests we need to check that out); talent to lead; or about their ability to persuade the public and members of Congress and to form coalitions, or to bring
|
|
On April 2, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kirstjen M. Nielsen convened a DHS-wide meeting on the humanitarian and security crisis at the southern border. The Secretary received updates on the latest apprehension numbers, capacity challenges, and the Department's operational response.
"I want to be clear with the American people: there is an unprecedented emergency at the southern border, and DHS is leading a true government-wide emergency response," said Nielsen. "We are using every tool at our disposal, redeploying personnel and resources, and calling on all federal agencies to assist, where possible. While only legislation can fix this crisis in the long term, we cannot wait for Congress to act. It is our duty to secure the homeland, enforce our immigration laws, and uphold our humanitarian obligations. So we are devoting everything we can to that end."
Secretary Nielsen announced her decision to temporarily re-assign Manuel "Manny" Padilla as the lead official to coordinate DHS and interagency support to the border crisis response effort. Manny is a 30-year veteran of the U.S. Border Patrol, serving most recently as Chief of the Rio Grande Sector. In September 2018 he was appointed by President Trump as Director of the Department's Joint Task Force - West. Effectively immediately, Manny will lead an Interagency Border Emergency Cell to improve information sharing and coordinate interagency support to CBP and ICE efforts to bring the situation under control.
"Manny brings deep on-the-ground experience and an operator's understanding of the challenges we face in responding to the current crisis," said Nielsen. "I have asked him to lead day-to-day efforts to ensure our frontline agencies have what they need to confront this situation head on. Manny's team will utilize the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) National Response Coordination Center (NRCC) as the hub for interagency coordination."
Earli
|
|
Private Label