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RIGHT WING EXTREMISM

As Pete Buttigieg Surveys East Palestine Train Derailment Even Fox News Admits Elaine Chao ‘Never’ Visited an Accident

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U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg Thursday traveled to East Palestine, Ohio, to visit the scene of the Norfolk Southern train derailment.

The attacks in recent months against Secretary Buttigieg  by Republicans and right-wing media figures have been almost relentless.

Within hours of the Norfolk Southern train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) inspectors arrived at the scene. Also within hours the Biden administration sent officials from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Dept. of Transportation. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has been coordinating with Ohio as well as federal officials. President Joe Biden spoke with Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, offering assistance and support – which the Republican governor rejected.

Governor DeWine, up until just one week ago, had rejected additional federal assistance, and refused to declare the area a disaster. In fact, it was only after Democratic U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio issued a statement demanding Governor DeWine “officially declare a disaster in East Palestine and seek the full support of the federal government to bolster the state of Ohio’s ongoing clean-up efforts,” did the GOP governor do so.

Just one day earlier Gov. DeWine told MSNBC he did not see a need for additional federal assistance, even though President Biden had called him and offered it.

One day after Gov. DeWine finally requested federal assistance, the White House in a statement said, “the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced they are deploying a team of medical personnel and toxicologists to conduct public health testing and assessments. The team will support Federal, state, and local officials already on the ground to evaluate individuals who were exposed or potentially exposed to chemicals and help ensure timely communications to the public.”

President Biden again called Governor DeWine this week, from Poland, just after delivering a speech in Warsaw.

Despite all these efforts from the Biden administration and wider federal government, high-profile elected Republicans and right-wing media critics have gone so far as to attack Secretary Buttigieg. U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) has repeatedly attacked Buttigieg, even calling on him to resign over the Norfolk Southern train derailment. U.S. Rep. Warren Davidson (R-OH) called for Buttigieg to be impeached, simply for not going to the scene of the accident.

READ MORE: ‘Going for the Jugular’: Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump Subpoenaed by ‘Tenacious’ Special Counsel – Legal Experts Respond

MSNBC‘s Steve Benen earlier his week, reporting that there are around 1000 train derailments annually, noted that “politicians have not generally responded to any of these modern derailments by going after the U.S. secretary of Transportation, but in the wake of the Norfolk Southern freight train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, earlier this month, a striking number of Republicans have decided to blame the disaster on Pete Buttigieg.”

Indeed, perhaps the most critical has been Fox News propagandist Tucker Carlson, who has repeatedly attacked Buttigieg over the Norfolk Southern train derailment. In this one short clip Carlson falsely claimed the water was not being tested (it was and is), made homophobic remarks – calling Buttigieg “flamboyantly incompetent” – and almost “evil.”

But even Fox News‘ morning crew, ahead of his visit to East Palestine this morning, defended Transportation Secretary Buttigieg – at least somewhat – by admitting that not once during her four years as Trump’s Secretary of Transportation did Elaine Chao ever visit the scene of an accident.

“During the Trump administration apparently even when there were derailments, Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao never visited the sites,” Fox News host Steve Doocy pointed out. Moments later, Brian Kilmeade claimed, “There was nothing that equated to this during the Trump administration.”

READ MORE: Marjorie Taylor Greene: ‘Democrat’ Voters Should Be Banned from Voting If They Move to Red States (Video)

And earlier in the program Kilmeade, a top Trump supporter and top Biden critic, admitted he was “stunned” by the number of train derailments, previously “knew nothing” about them, and called for regulations – regulations that the Obama administration put in place that the Trump administration removed. Donald Trump personally bragged about removing regulations.

On Tuesday, another Fox News host, Bret Baier, also pointed out the discrepancy in how Republicans are attacking Buttigieg for not going to the derailment site earlier.

“There is this political moment and there is a lot of criticism of the Transportation Secretary,” Baier said, as Mediate reports. “Politico pointing out that Secretary Buttigieg will visit there… Quote, ‘He’s also expected to meet with DOT officials who arrived on the ground within hours of the derailment.’ They point out, ‘It is exceedingly rare for a transportation secretary to visit the site of a train derailment, especially one that resulted in no fatalities.’”

“There were train derailments in the Trump administration that actually had fatalities that didn’t have a visit by Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao,” Baier said. “But this seems to have some momentum about the administration and its reaction to this derailment in particular.”

Mediate notes that “Hume added that Biden’s trip to Ukraine is more than justified because it involves the security of the U.S. He said that ‘substantively, it doesn’t make much difference’ whether Biden visits the derailment site.”

Just this week Gizmodo published a list of “America’s Worst Toxic Train Disasters,” and a December 2020 accident in Washington made the list. That was during the Trump administration, and Elaine Chao was the Transportation Secretary.

 
This article has been updated to add reporting from Mediaite.

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News

Arizona State Senator Proposes Health Study Looking Into ‘Trump Derangement Syndrome’

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President Donald Trump and his allies have long accused critics of suffering from the imaginary ailment Trump Derangement Syndrome. Now, an Arizona state senator wants the local health department to conduct a study on the made-up disease.

State Sen. Janae Shamp introduced Senate Bill 1070 on Monday, asking Arizona’s Department of Health Services to “conduct or support research” on TDS, “including its origins, manifestations and long-term effects on individuals, communities and public discourse.” If the bill were passed into law, the department would have a year to submit a report on its findings.

READ MORE: ‘Monstrous’: Trump Blasted for Blaming Rob Reiner’s Death on ‘Trump Derangement Syndrome’

Shamp’s bill defines Trump Derangement Syndrome as “a behavioral or psychological phenomenon that is characterized by intense emotional or psychological reactions to Donald J. Trump, his actions or his public presence as observed in individuals or groups.” From there, the bill lays out its reasoning—mainly a laundry list of Trump’s accomplishments, including reducing the corporate tax rate by 14%, eliminating “22 regulations for every new one in 2017”, and “affirming biological truth in federal policy to protect family values.”

“Despite these contributions to America’s prosperity, security 26 and values, ‘Trump Derangement Syndrome’ (TDS) has emerged since his 2016 campaign,” Shamp wrote.

“TDS has led to significant social harm, with Americans who 33 support President Trump or his policies reporting discrimination, 34 intimidation or ostracism in professional, academic and social settings, 35 further eroding community cohesion,” she added.

The bill borrows heavily from a House bill proposed by Rep. Warren Davidson (R-OH), according to Tucson.com. It is unknown what chances Shamp’s bill has of passing the Arizona Senate; Davidson’s bill died in committee. But even should it pass, it is unlikely to be signed into law by Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs.

When asked if Hobbs would sign the bill, her spokesperson laughed and told a KTVK-TV reporter “You can quote me on that.”

Image via Reuters

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CORRUPTION

Sotomayor Slams SCOTUS Over Ruling ‘Declaring All Latinos Fair Game to Be Seized’ by ICE

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Justice Sonia Sotomayor had harsh words for the Supreme Court in her dissent in a ruling allowing Immigration and Customs Enforcement to continue to arrest people based on profiling Latinos working low-wage jobs.

Monday morning, the Supreme Court of the United States issued an emergency decision in Noem v. Vasquez Perdomo. The case concerns “Operation At Large,” which deployed ICE agents in the Los Angeles area to car washes, bus stops, farms and other locations believed to be frequented by Latino people who may or may not be undocumented immigrants. On July 11, the Central District Court of California ruled that ICE had to stop Operation At Large until appeals in the case could be heard.

The Court’s ruling contained no official explanation for the ruling, however Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote a concurrence. In his concurrence, Kavanaugh said the law allowed ICE to “‘briefly detain’ an individual ‘for questioning’” if they have “a reasonable suspicion, based on specific articulable facts, that the person being questioned . . . is an alien illegally in the United States.”

READ MORE: Loyalty Litmus Test? Trump Allies Quietly Prep SCOTUS Short List

Operation At Large, he said, represented “reasonable suspicion” to detain someone on the following factors: “(i) presence at particular locations such as bus stops, car washes, day laborer pickup sites, agricultural sites, and the like; (ii) the type of work one does; (iii) speaking Spanish or speaking English with an accent; and (iv) apparent race or ethnicity.”

He added that “apparent ethnicity alone cannot furnish reasonable suspicion” but could be a “‘relevant factor,” and that if someone detained by ICE turned out to be a citizen, they would be “free to go after the brief encounter.”

Sotomayor disagreed that this is what was happening, citing what had happened to other citizens. Jason Gavidia worked at a Los Angeles tow yard that ICE stopped at. Agents repeatedly asked if he was a citizen. They then took his phone, pushed him against a metal fence, twisted his arm, and took away his identification, according to Sotomayor’s dissent.

“Other Operation At Large encounters have included even more force and even fewer questions. For example, agents pulled up in four unmarked cars to a bus stop in Pasadena; ‘the doors opened and men in masks with guns started running at’ three Latino men who were having their morning coffee, waiting to be picked up for work,” she wrote.

“In Glendale, nearly a dozen masked agents with guns ‘jumped out of . . . cars’ at a Home Depot, and began ‘chasing’ and ‘tackl[ing]’ Latino day laborers without ‘identify[ing] themselves as ICE or police, ask[ing] questions, or say[ing] anything else.’ In downtown Los Angeles, agents ‘jumped out of a van, rushed up to [a tamale vendor], surrounded him, and handled him violently,’ all ‘[w]ithout asking . . . any questions.'”

Sotomayor concluded that Operation At Large and the Court’s decision “all but declared that all Latinos, U. S. citizens or not, who work low wage jobs are fair game to be seized at any time, taken away from work, and held until they provide proof of their legal status to the agents’ satisfaction.”

She also condemned the court for not issuing an explanation beyond the concurrence. She alleged that the Court had been eager to “circumvent the ordinary appellate process” when it comes to President Donald Trump and his administration.

“Some situations simply cry out for an explanation, such as when the Government’s conduct flagrantly violates the law,” Sotomayor wrote, adding that Operation At Large and the Court’s ruling clearly violates the Bill of Rights.

“The Fourth Amendment protects every individual’s constitutional right to be ‘free from arbitrary interference by law officers.’ After today, that may no longer be true for those who happen to look a certain way, speak a certain way, and appear to work a certain type of legitimate job that pays very little. Because this is unconscionably irreconcilable with our Nation’s constitutional guarantees, I dissent,” she wrote.

Image via Shutterstock

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law

Arkansas Senator Files Bill to Abolish State Library, Give Education Department Control

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The right-wing war on knowledge continues as an Arkansas state senator filed a bill Thursday to abolish the State Library as well as the library board.

Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Jonesboro), along with State Rep. Wayne Long (R-Bradford), filed Senate Bill 536 on Thursday. The bill would not just remove all references to the State Library from existing laws, but also put the state’s other libraries under the control of the Arkansas Department of Education.

A previous version of the bill, SB184, would have also shuttered the Arkansas Educational Television Commission, which oversees the state’s PBS stations, according to the Arkansas Advocate.

READ MORE: Clean Up Alabama Wants State to Dump ‘Marxist’ American Library Association

The Arkansas State Library is not just a regular library. In addition to providing information to state agencies and lawmakers, it also distributes funding to the other libraries around the state. Under SB536, the Department of Education would take on all its responsibilities. The State Library is officially a part of the Department of Education already, but it operates as an independent organization.

While the proposal may sound like a shuffling-around of duties, the main thrust of the bill is to allow more direct control over the Arkansas library system by controlling the purse strings. The bill would keep libraries from distributing “age-inappropriate materials” to those under 17 years old and sex education materials from those under 12. Libraries would also have to set up a system where those in the community could request that certain items be banned for minors, according to KARK-TV. Those that don’t meet these restrictions will have state funding pulled.

Earlier legislation filed by Sullivan and passed into law includes Act 242, which ended the requirement for library directors to have a master’s degree in library science, the Advocate reported.  Sullivan, however, was unsuccessful with a proposed amendment to another bill that would strip funding from libraries affiliated with the American Library Association—meaning most, if not all of them. That amendment was rejected this week over concerns the language in it was too broad, according to the Advocate.

The ALA has been a target of right-wing politicians and activists upset with its free speech stance and fights against censorship. Sullivan in particular has objected to a provision in the ALA’s Library Bill of Rights protecting library access for all ages, the Advocate reported. He also called for the state’s chapter of the ALA to be defunded—despite the fact that it receives no state funding.

Image via Shutterstock

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