Trump Vows to Stay in Afghanistan

Trump’s Afghanistan address, fact-checked. PolitiFact: “President Donald Trump suggested further and stronger military action in Afghanistan during a primetime speech Monday, though he did not specify the number of additional troops who would be sent to the country.”

Arizona Visit Stokes Racial Tensions

Trump’s Arizona rally promises to stoke another kind Of racial conflict. HuffPost: “Trump plans to hold his rally in the border state of Arizona in the hope of energizing his conservative base. Even before announcing the details of his speech, he’d broached his pet subject. Trump told Fox News last week that he was ‘seriously considering’ the idea of issuing his first presidential pardon to former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who faces sentencing in October for a contempt of court conviction. A federal judge found that Arpaio’s office racially profiled Latinos when conducting its infamous immigration raids. Arpaio disregarded the judge’s order to stop.”

Rights Violations by Border Patrol

Trump signals To border patrol: OK to violate human rights. Crooks and Liars: “Doctors documented evidence of blunt force trauma to Anastacio’s face, legs, abdomen, chest as well as taser marks and hemorrhaging from baton blows. There was literally no place on his body that had not been brutalized by the agents according to the autopsy reports. While Anastacio was technically brain dead from the beating, he was being kept alive by the hospital so that his family could visit him. However, Border Patrol maintained watch over his room and refused entry to his family. Maria was forced the indignity of having the Mexican Consulate intervene so that she could see what was left of the father of their five children. Anastacio Hernandez-Rojas was declared deceased on May 31, 2010. Two different autopsies found his death to be a homicide. To date, the family has never been advised of any disciplinary actions taken against the agents responsible for the murder of Anastacio or for those agents responsible for interfering with the investigation. Anastacio’s family even petitioned the CBP’s Use of Force Review Board. According to the IACHR report, the board met twice in 2015 and 2016 to discuss the case but have refused to comment or issue a report.”

Coal Health Study Killed

Trump axes study of health effects of mountaintop coal removal. Sierra Club: “Donald Trump late last week instructed the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to cease all work on studying of public health effects of mountaintop removal coal mining – threatening the lives of thousands of people living near mine sites in Appalachia and across the country.”