Trump Again Deflecting Responsibility, The Normal For His Lordship…

Weeks after a U.S. Navy SEAL was killed in a covert mission in Yemen, Trump has resisted accepting responsibility for authorizing the mission and the subsequent death of Senior Chief Petty Officer William “Ryan” Owens.

In an interview with Fox News that aired Tuesday morning, Trump said the mission “was started before I got here.”

He noted that the operation was something his generals “were looking at for a long time doing.”

“This was something that was, you know, just — they wanted to do,” Trump said. “ And they came to see me and they explained what they wanted to do, the generals, who are very respected.”

“And they lost Ryan,” Trump continued.

Owen is the first U.S. service member killed in the line of duty during Trump’s administration.

Isn’t this exactly what we have come to expect from Trump. Because he is the greatest, most successful, and He ALWAYS wins (in his own narcissistic mind) he can’t bear any responsibility for a bad decision or failure.

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Just As We Thought, Sessions On he Move… Watch Prison Population Rise…

Red alert. AG Sessions signals return to tougher stance on crime, including federal marijuana laws. Can you see the WOC (war on crime) and the WOD (war on drugs) again rapidly escalating an already ridiculously high prison population?

Must be the good old USA has the highest criminal citizenry in the world. Or, maybe we’re simply the nation who enjoys criminalizing sh*t that really just isn’t criminal?

You be the judge.

Donald Trump’s attorney general said Tuesday the Justice Department will limit its use of a tactic employed aggressively under President Obama — suing police departments for violating the civil rights of minorities.

“We need, so far as we can, to help police departments get better, not diminish their effectiveness. And I’m afraid we’ve done some of that,” said Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

“So we’re going to try to pull back on this,” he told a meeting of the nation’s state attorneys general in Washington.

Sessions said such a move would not be “wrong or insensitive to civil rights or human rights.” Instead, he said people in poor and minority communities must feel free from the threat of violent crime, which will require more effective policing with help from the federal government.

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“We need to return to the ideas that got us here, the ideas that reduce crime and stay on it. Maybe we got a bit overconfident when we’ve seen the crime rate decline so steadily for so long,” he said.

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On Monday, Sessions said he is reviewing the Justice Department’s current policy toward enforcing federal law that prohibits possession of marijuana, but has made no decision about whether to get tougher.

His opposition to legalization is well known, and he emphasized it during an informal gathering of reporters . “I don’t think America will be a better place when more people, especially young people, smoke pot.”

States, he said, can pass their own laws on possession as they choose, “but it remains a violation of federal law.”

Full article BELOW THE FOLD

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
Contact:   Press Office, (202) 401-1576, press@ed.gov

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.