Political Current Events March 5-6

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Elon Musk suggests the U.S. should privatize the Postal Service and Amtrak​

During a remote appearance at a technology conference in San Francisco, Musk told attendees the U.S. should privatize "as much as possible."

www.nbcnews.com

Elon Musk suggests the U.S. should privatize the Postal Service and Amtrak

During a remote appearance at a technology conference in San Francisco, Musk told attendees the U.S. should privatize "as much as possible."
www.nbcnews.com www.nbcnews.com

“… "We should try to privatize everything we possibly can, and that would be my recommendation," Musk said later.

In December, before he was sworn in to a second term, Trump floated the idea of privatizing the USPS, telling reporters at a press conferencethat privatization was “not the worst idea I’ve ever heard" and that "we’re looking” at it.

… Trump also told reporters last month that Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick would "look into" folding the USPS into the Commerce Department.

“He’s going to look at it. He’s got a great business instinct, which is what we need, and he’ll be looking at it. And we think we can turn it around, but it’s — it’s the Postal Service,” the president said at the time. …”
 
UNCBAdookJD said:
Looks like the DC US attorneys office is going to be loading up on Liberty grads who are going to get demolished in court by graduates from real schools who would otherwise be AUSAs.
Click to expand...
Especially since competent, service minded agents of the federal government will have been flushed out in favor of dregs and ideologues. Garbage in, garbage out.
 

Judge Blocks Trump Administration’s Funding Freeze Indefinitely​

Ruling finds that move to cut off appropriated funds to state governments ‘fundamentally undermines’ democracy​



“… In a ruling on Thursday, U.S. District Judge John McConnell Jr. in Rhode Island prohibited the Trump administration from freezing or otherwise impeding the disbursement of appropriated federal funds to state governments.

… McConnell’s order follows a similar one issued by a different federal judge in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 25. The judge had previously issued a temporary restraining order, which on Thursday he converted into an injunction, a more permanent form of relief.

“The Executive’s categorical freeze of appropriated and obligated funds fundamentally undermines the distinct constitutional roles of each branch of our government,” McConnell wrote.

“Here, the Executive put itself above Congress,” the judge continued. “It imposed a categorical mandate on the spending of congressionally appropriated and obligated funds without regard to Congress’s authority to control spending.”

…
McConnell said in Thursday’s ruling that state governments face “significant disruption in health, education, and other public services” because of the funding freeze. In light of that disruption, “the Court finds that the public interest lies in maintaining the status quo and enjoining any categorical funding freeze,” the judge wrote.

McConnell is one of several trial court judges who has expressed skepticism toward Trump’s authority to unilaterally reshape the federal government and impose sweeping cost-cutting measures.

On Wednesday, a federal judge in Boston blocked the administration’s attempt to cap research costs at the National Institutes of Health, which would cut funding for medical research at universities, research hospitals and other scientific institutions. …”
 

Trump Envoy Floats U.S.-Israel Action Against Hamas If Hostages Aren’t Released​

Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff doesn’t clarify if the two allies will launch a strike together​



“… Witkoff declined to clarify if the U.S. and Israel would launch a coordinated military campaign against Hamas, saying it wouldn’t be “tactical” to discuss next steps.

“Hamas has an opportunity to act reasonably, to do what’s right, and then to walk out,” he added, saying that that Hamas would no longer govern Gaza.

Witkoff said that he hoped the situation could be resolved diplomatically through negotiations. “If the dialogue doesn’t work, then the alternative is not such a good alternative for Hamas,” he said. …”
 


Meeting with Putin?

Separate, lower level meeting with Ukraine. Not sure why the fixation on meeting in Saudi Arabia.

 
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Trump considering major NATO policy shift​

The president has discussed possibly favoring members of the alliance that spend a set percentage of their GDP on defense, sources told NBC News.

www.nbcnews.com

Trump considering major NATO policy shift

The president has discussed possibly favoring members of the alliance that spend a set percentage of their GDP on defense, sources told NBC News.
www.nbcnews.com www.nbcnews.com

“…Trump has discussed with aides the possibility of calibrating America’s NATO engagement in a way that favors members of the alliance that spend a set percentage of their gross domestic product on defense, the officials said.

As part of the potential policy shift, the U.S. might not defend a fellow NATO member that is attacked if the country doesn’t meet the defense spending threshold, the officials said. If Trump does make that change, it would mark a significant shift from a core tenet of the alliance known as Article 5, which says that an attack on any NATO country is an attack on all of them.

The president is similarly considering a policy change in which the U.S. may choose to prioritize military exercises with NATO members that are spending the set percentage of their GDPs on defense, the officials said. …”
 
politicalwire.com

U.S. Cancels Aid Supporting Political Prisoners

“The U.S. State Department abruptly canceled foreign aid programs supporting opposition activists, political prisoners and religious groups in Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, raising concerns about a shift in U.S. foreign policy,” the Miami Herald reports.
politicalwire.com politicalwire.com

“Projects supporting political prisoners in Cuba, church groups opposing strongman Daniel Ortega in Nicaragua and activists fighting a power grab by Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela were canceled after a State Department review concluded they are not in the ‘national interest’ of the United States.”
 
That is a non-starter. Article V is only effective because it's mandatory. Literally.

Consider Putin invading Estonia. Estonia can't defend itself. It calls on NATO allies. None of its NATO allies want to go to war with Russia, especially not for the sake of a tiny, semi-reclusive country like Estonia. So without Article V, Putin has nothing to worry about. He strolls in, and the Western countries are like, "you shouldn't do that," and Putin says, "what are you going to do about it?" and they say, "we'll say that louder and in public."

But Putin hasn't invaded, has he? He would have had a much easier time invading Latvia than Ukraine. Why? Because it's mandatory for NATO members to defend each other. Putin can't use the undesirability of intervention to his advantage, because there's no choice.

Article V only works if it is mandatory and unconditional.
 
Isn't it remarkable how any problems carrying over from Trump's first administration are now compliments of Joe Biden? Deny and deflect.
 


“…Well, we're not looking to hurt anybody. We're certainly not looking to hurt them," Trump says of Ukrainians with temporary legal status in US. "I'm looking at that," he says of revoking TPS status for Ukrainians, "and there were some people that think that's appropriate, and some people that don't."
 
nycfan said:

Trump considering major NATO policy shift​

The president has discussed possibly favoring members of the alliance that spend a set percentage of their GDP on defense, sources told NBC News.

www.nbcnews.com

Trump considering major NATO policy shift

The president has discussed possibly favoring members of the alliance that spend a set percentage of their GDP on defense, sources told NBC News.
www.nbcnews.com www.nbcnews.com

“…Trump has discussed with aides the possibility of calibrating America’s NATO engagement in a way that favors members of the alliance that spend a set percentage of their gross domestic product on defense, the officials said.

As part of the potential policy shift, the U.S. might not defend a fellow NATO member that is attacked if the country doesn’t meet the defense spending threshold, the officials said. If Trump does make that change, it would mark a significant shift from a core tenet of the alliance known as Article 5, which says that an attack on any NATO country is an attack on all of them.

The president is similarly considering a policy change in which the U.S. may choose to prioritize military exercises with NATO members that are spending the set percentage of their GDPs on defense, the officials said. …”
Click to expand...
 
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