On The Heels Of Trump’s Election A Must Watch…

The following two-part series, The People Versus America, is a must watch. As hard as it may be for those who support Trump and his Make America Great Again theme it is those very folks who need to watch the series and come to terms with its honest reality. Link to the video follow the text below.

Aljazeera – The election of Donald Trump in November 2016 exposed a deep vein of distrust across the US, where millions became disillusioned with a political and corporate elite out of touch with the sentiments of ordinary Americans.

The institutions that serve US citizens are increasingly regarded as self-serving while the people are increasingly divided and polarised along racial and economic lines.

In this two-part series, The Big Picture: The People vs America we explore the construction and mythology of the American Dream and uncover the reality of exclusion and denial.

We chart the history of post-Second World War America to uncover how race has dominated the political landscape and continues to shape the America of today.

We also explore just how America became so fractured, and how for many, the American Dream has been lost.

LINK to video.

83% Of Top High School Science Students Are ChIldren Of Immigrants…

Immigration is important to the future of America. The following excerpt  from Forbes makes it abundantly clear that the brightest and most accomplished  scientists of tomorrow are likely to be children of immigrant parents.

What would we lose if immigrants could no longer come to America? Surprisingly, one of the most important things America would lose is the contributions made by their children.

A new study from the National Foundation for American Policy found a remarkable 83% (33 of 40) of the finalists of the 2016 Intel Science Talent Search were the children of immigrants. The competition organized each year by the Society for Science & the Public is the leading science competition for U.S. high school students. In 2017, the talent search competition was renamed the Regeneron Science Talent Search, after its new sponsor Regeneron Pharmaceuticals,and a new group of 40 finalists – America’s next generation of scientists, engineers and mathematicians – are competing in Washington, D.C., from March 9 to 15, 2017.

Both family-based and employment-based immigrants were parents of finalists in 2016. In fact, 75% – 30 out of 40 – of the finalists had parents who worked in America on H-1B visas and later became green card holders and U.S. citizens. That compares to seven children who had both parents born in the United States.

To put that in perspective, even though former H-1B visa holders represent less than 1% of the U.S. population, they were four times more likely to have a child as a finalist in the 2016 Intel Science Talent Search than were parents who were both born in the United States.

Parents who were international students were more likely to have a child as a finalist than native-born parents. A total of 27 of the 40 children – 68% – had a parent who came to America as an international student. That means if international students cannot remain in America after graduation (through Optional Practical Training and improved visa policies) it will also deprive America of the potentially substantial contributions of their children.

More UNDER THE FOLD.

Trump Quietly Installing Hundreds of Officials Across the Federal Bureaucracy…

President Trump may be slow in filling government positions requiring senate confirmation but such has not been the case for more obscure but still important jobs spreading across the federal bureaucracy .

Since taking office Trump has filled more than 400 of the approximate  520 staffers the administration said it was hiring for “beachhead” jobs.

You likely recall the promise Trump made to “drain the swamp” if he was elected president.  We’re guessing most folks probably consider “draining the swamp” means getting rid of the “business as usual” type. We all applauded that one, right?

Apparently President Trump views how to “drain the swamp” a bit differently than most. So far many of the 400 plus beachhead jobs he has filled are occupied by, well, more of the same. In other words by the very swamp rats he pledged to get rid of when he “drained the swamp”.

Here’s a quick look provided by PRO PUBLICA.

We have obtained a list of more than 400 Trump administration hires, including dozens of lobbyists and some from far-right media.

A Trump campaign aide who argues that Democrats committed “ethnic cleansing” in a plot to “liquidate” the white working class. A former reality show contestant whose study of societal collapse inspired him to invent a bow-and-arrow-cum-survivalist multi-tool. A pair of healthcare industry lobbyists. A lobbyist for defense contractors. An “evangelist” and lobbyist for Palantir, the Silicon Valley company with close ties to intelligence agencies. And a New Hampshire Trump supporter who has only recently graduated from high school.

These are some of the people the Trump administration has hired for positions across the federal government, according to documents received by ProPublica through public-records requests.

While President Trump has not moved to fill many jobs that require Senate confirmation, he has quietly installed hundreds of officials to serve as his eyes and ears at every major federal agency, from the Pentagon to the Department of Interior.

Unlike appointees exposed to the scrutiny of the Senate, members of these so-called “beachhead teams” have operated largely in the shadows, with the White House declining to publicly reveal their identities.

While some names have previously dribbled out in the press, we are publishing a list of more than 400 hires, providing the most complete accounting so far of who Trump has brought into the federal government.

The White House said in January that around 520 staffers were being hired for the beachhead teams.

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The list is striking for how many former lobbyists it contains: We found at least 36, spanning industries from health insurance and pharmaceuticals to construction, energy and finance. Many of them lobbied in the same areas that are regulated by the agencies they have now joined.

That figure is almost certainly an undercount since we only included those who formally registered as lobbyists, a process increasingly avoided by many in Washington.

During the campaign, Trump said he would have “no problem” banning lobbyists from his administration. But they have nonetheless ended up in senior roles, aided by Trump’s weakening of Obama-era ethics rules that modestly limited lobbyists’ role in government.

The White House didn’t respond to requests for comment.

“If the public and Senate is in the dark about a team created without a Senate confirmation process, no one will be permitted to shed light on who is hopelessly conflicted or who is obviously unqualified — and who is both,” said Jeff Hauser, director of the Revolving Door Project at the Center for Economic and Policy Research.

The beachhead team members are temporary employees serving for stints of four to eight months, but many are expected to move into permanent jobs. The Trump administration’s model is based on plans developed but never used by the unsuccessful presidential campaign of Mitt Romney.

“The beachhead teams involve people with considerable authority over the federal government,” said Max Stier, the CEO of the Partnership for Public Service, a nonpartisan group that advises presidential candidates on smooth transitions. “We need clarity about what they’re doing and what their role is going to be.”

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The new list of names was provided to us by the Office of Personnel Management, the government’s human resources agency. We received additional names from other federal agencies in response to Freedom of Information Act requests. At least a few people on the list have changed agencies or left the administration, including, for example, the young Department of Housing and Urban Development staffer who was fired after his anti-Trump writings during the campaign came to light.

More BELOW THE FOLD.

Appears as though the “drain the swamp” thing was just another Trump falsehood. Just like so many others.

 

DeVos’ Post Meeting Statement After Hearing Black College and University Leaders…

Statement from Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos Following Listening Session with Historically Black College and University Leaders

February 28, 2017

Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos released the following statement after meeting with presidents and chancellors of Historically Black Colleges and Universities at the White House:

A key priority for this administration is to help develop opportunities for communities that are often the most underserved. Rather than focus solely on funding, we must be willing to make the tangible, structural reforms that will allow students to reach their full potential.

Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) have done this since their founding. They started from the fact that there were too many students in America who did not have equal access to education. They saw that the system wasn’t working, that there was an absence of opportunity, so they took it upon themselves to provide the solution.

HBCUs are real pioneers when it comes to school choice. They are living proof that when more options are provided to students, they are afforded greater access and greater quality. Their success has shown that more options help students flourish.

Their counsel and guidance will be crucial in addressing the current inequities we face in education. I look forward to working with the White House to elevate the role of HBCUs in this administration and to solve the problems we face in education today.

A nice fluffy statement. Plays well no doubt with certain elements, likely Trump’s most ardent supporters.

We look forward to reading exactly:

A) What does the administration view specifically as the top three major issues facing higher education in the underserved communities?
B) What specifically are the tangible structural reforms DeVos is referring to. How are the projected changes going to provide greater opportunity?
C) Does the rather than focus solely on funding really mean expect funding cuts? If so how much and what will be cut?

Just some immediate thoughts. Given Trump’s track record it is hard to accept this statement as anything but fluff. Fluff with code to satisfy his base.