Trump Calls on Mexico to Enforce Border Security
An organization known as "Pueblo Sin Fronteras," or People Without Borders has organized a “refugee caravan” which is intended to help migrants from Central America safely reach the United States where they will apply for political asylum. The organizers help the migrants bypass authorities in Mexico who would try to deport them, but also gangs and cartels who are known to assault vulnerable migrants.
This year, the group’s organizers estimated that there are between 1,100 and 1,500 migrants in the caravan. The migrants come from Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador and started the month-long journey on Sunday, March 25, to the United States.
The march started in the city of Tapachula, which is located in the state of Chiapas, Mexico, and borders Guatemala. This year marks the fifth Pueblo Sin Fronteras caravan.
Despite the caravan being in Mexico without authorization, no one has made any effort to stop them. The group claimed the caravan is so large that Mexican immigration officials on Sunday abandoned a check point.
Pueblo Sin Fronteras said the migrants would turn themselves in and request political asylum once they reach the U.S. border. This is a common practice for Central Americans coming to the United States, who often present themselves at ports of entry and then are taken into custody. Those who make it to the United States rarely succeed in winning asylum, but their cases can take years to make their way through the backlogged system.
California Gov. Jerry Brown Pardons 5 Immigrants Under Threat of Deportation
On Friday, California Governor Jerry Brown granted 56 pardons and 14 commutations. Five of those pardons went to immigrants facing possible deportation, according to The Sacramento Bee. The five immigrants are Sokha Chhan, who served almost a year in jail and three years of probation for domestic abuse, Daniel Maher, who served five years in prison and three years on parole for kidnapping, robbery and possession and use of a firearm, Phann Pheach and Daniel Mena, who both served time for possession of a controlled substance for sale, and Francisco Acevedo Alaniz who served time for vehicle theft.
A Statement was released on March 30th from the Office of Governor Jerry Brown that said, “Individuals who have been convicted of a crime in California may apply to the Governor for a pardon. Those granted pardons all completed their sentences years ago and the majority were convicted of drug-related or other nonviolent crimes. Pardons are not granted unless they are earned.A gubernatorial pardon may be granted to individuals who have demonstrated exemplary behavior and have lived productive and law-abiding lives following their conviction…”
Trump Hits 50% Approval Rating
The Rasmussen Reports Daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Monday shows that 50% of likely U.S. voters approve of President Trump’s job performance while 49% disapprove. At this point in Obama’s presidency he only had a 46% approval rating, 53% disapproved of Obama’s job performance.
New York Magazine Cover Depicts Trump as a Pig
The cover of the April 2nd issue of New York Magazine featured President Trump as a pig. The cover was an extremely close up photo of the President with a pig nose plastered on the center of his face. Along with the picture, the cover also included various words including, “Not Collusion”, “Not Incompetence”, “Not Cruelty”, and then largely at the bottom reads, “It’s Called Corruption, Stupid”. The issue contained two stories revolving around President Trump.
The first article was the cover story, it was titled: ‘Corruption, Not Russia, is Trump’s Greatest Liability’ the article was written by Jonathan Chait. The article hits Trump for what it claims is "corruption" and "greed" in nearly all aspects of his presidency, from his political appointees to his decision to let his sons take over his business after he took office.
The second article titled: ‘501 Days of Trump & Co: A constant drip of self-dealing and this is what we know so far’, was written by Joy Crane and Nick Tabor. The article focuses in on the finances of the Trump family and describes the ways that Trump has branded the presidency as a way to make more money and further the Trump name. The article then shows a timeline of all the events that have been held at Trump Hotel since President Trump was elected into office, which includes the times that the hotel prices rose and the revenue that the Trump family is making off this presidency.
Trump Renews Attack on Amazon
President Trump lit into Amazon.com Inc. for the second time in three days with a pair of Twitter messages that said the U.S. Postal Service was losing money shipping packaging for the online retailer — "This Postal Scam must stop. Amazon must pay real costs (and taxes) now!" he said.
The president, citing unnamed reports, claimed the Postal Service "will lose $1.50 on average for each package it delivers for Amazon." On Trump's cost claim, it was unclear what the president was directly referencing. Last year, there was a commentary in The Wall Street Journal written by a FedEx shareholder that cited Citigroup analysis. That study claimed Amazon received a subsidy of $1.46 from the Postal Service for each package. Amazon has said the Postal Service, which has financial problems stretching back for years, makes money on its deliveries.
Amazon shares dropped 4 percent Monday. Its shares are down more than 10 percent in the past week.
While full details of the agreement between Amazon and the U.S. Postal Service are unknown the mail carrier is independently operated, and strikes confidential deals with retailers David Vernon, an analyst at Bernstein Research who tracks the shipping industry, estimated in 2015 that the Postal Service handled 40% of Amazon's volume the previous year.
Last year, USPS revenue from package deliveries increased $2.1 billion (12% year-on-year) which is seemingly the only area of the postal service which is successful. The Postal Service's losses have little to do with Amazon and more to do with its large healthcare obligations and the dwindling use of first-class mail. The post office charges some of the world's lowest stamp prices.
Laura Ingraham v. David Hogg
Laura Ingraham has taken a week off as host of her Fox News television show after more than a dozen companies said they will pull advertisements from her program. Among the latest corporations to cut ties with Ingraham were Liberty Mutual, which confirmed to CNBC that it doesn't plan to run anymore ads on her show, and Bayer, which made its announcement on social media.
The advertising exodus began Thursday shortly after Ingraham sent a tweet mocking a survivor of February's mass shooting at a Parkland, Florida high school that left 17 students and adults dead. Hogg responded to the slight by calling on his burgeoning Twitter following to contact her top advertisers. Pet food company, Nutrish, was the first to announce it would remove ads from Ingraham's evening news and opinion show, "The Ingraham Angle." Well over a dozen companies, including TripAdvisor, Hulu and Nestle, have followed suit since the social media controversy erupted.
Ingraham sent an apology to Hogg on Thursday in two tweets, after a handful of companies had already announced that they would remove their ads from her show. Hogg did not accept the apology, saying that he would only accept it "if you denounce the way your network has treated my friends and I in this fight."
On March 29, the day after Laura originally tweeted about Hogg, Media Matters for America posted a list of companies that advertised on Laura Ingraham's Fox News show between March 19 and March 28. David Hogg then tweeted out that list to his twitter followers and called on them to stop advertising. On Twitter, Media Matters President Angelo Carusone highlighted two of Ingraham’s biggest advertisers, Liberty Mutual and Bayer. Carusone further commented, “You can expect more advertisers to leave … Fox News is reckless propaganda machine. It’s bad for business.” Media Matters is keeping a running tally of how many companies have pulled their ads from Ingraham’s show (as of last week).
Statues Offensive to Native Americans are Poised to Topple Across the U.S.
Arcata, California is located along the coast of Northern California, in Humboldt County. The town of Arcata has earned a reputation as one of the most liberal places in the nation. Arcata was the first U.S. city to ban the sale of genetically modified foods, the first to elect a majority Green Party city council and one of the first to tacitly allow marijuana farming before pot was legal.
In the city’s main plaza there is an 8 1/2-foot monument and a nearby plaque, which have long been a point of contention among Arcata residents, some of whom say William McKinley's expansionist policies were racist toward indigenous people. During McKinley’s presidential tenure at the turn of the 20th century, he annexed tribal lands in the western U.S. and Hawaii in the name of Manifest Destiny.
The push follows the rapid fall of Confederate memorials across the South in a victory for activists who view them as celebrating slavery.
Area tribes and activists launched a petition campaign and descended on City Hall. The protesters said they couldn't watch Confederate monuments fall without thinking of their own statue. In a 4-1 vote on February 21st, 2018, Arcata City Council decided to tear down the McKinley statue and place it into storage. Most residents were in favor of the removal of the statue, but some stated that they resented the cost it would infringe on the city of Arcata.
Premium Member Video Submission
Maria Schatz, Watertown, NY: Hey Bill. Maria Schatz here from Watertown, New York. Tim Allen didn’t have the same luck as Roseanne Barr. He did an episode of his show ‘Last Man Standing’ called ‘Trick or Treat’ in 2016. And then afterwards he mentioned to Jimmy Kimmel that he voted for Donald Trump and went to his inauguration for the vets and not long afterward his show was taken off the air.
Mail Time!
Bill, why was there not the outrage that we are seeing now after the shooting at Sandy Hook elementary where 20 elementary school children were killed. Why is it different now with this shooting in Florida where it looks like some new laws will actually be made.
Bill, I took advantage of your deal -- Old School & Killing Jesus on paperback. Sent it to my mom for an early Mother's Day gift. Also, my question is...the school shooting in Broward County was tragic, but why doesn't the media also cover the violence in Chicago the same way it covers things like this? People are getting murdered every day there. I believe both are legitimate news stories that deserve the public's attention so something can be done to fix both problems.
Bill, living in CA, I have no voice. You’re my voice.
California has a Democratic governor, a Democratic state senate, & a Democratic state assembly.
If Democrats are good for America, then why does California have the worst quality of life and then why is 1 out of 5 Californians in poverty?
Word of the day: Bilge |
