Our Politics

Tag: guncontrol

  • OurWeek in Politics (3/11-3/18/18)

    Here are the main events that occurred in Politics this week:

    1. President Donald Trump Fires Secretary of State Rex Tillerson

    President Donald Trump dismissed Secretary of State Rex Tillerson amid a declining relationship and a disappointing tenure.

    On March 13, President Donald Trump announced that he has fired Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and will nominate CIA Director Mike Pompeo to succeed him, replacing his top diplomat ahead of a potential high-stakes meeting between the US President and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Tillerson’s departure follows months of tension between him and Trump. The resignation represents the biggest shakeup of the Trump Cabinet so far and had been expected since last October when reports surfaced about a falling out between Trump and Tillerson. President Trump publicly undercut Secretary Tillerson’s diplomatic initiatives numerous times since he came to office over a year ago. For example, President Trump criticized Tillerson’s positions on Iran, the European Union, NATO, and Russia. Most recently, Trump denounced Tillerson’s most recent comments on Russian aggression towards NATO member-states such the UK, France, and Germany. Secretary Tillerson also appeared to be out of the loop last week when Trump announced he would meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un sometime in May to discuss the countries nuclear program and work to defuse the tensions between both countries.

    For Tillerson’s replacement, President Donald Trump named CIA Director Mike Pompeo and moved up Gina Haspel to the post of CIA director. In a Twitter post, Trump stated that “Mike Pompeo, Director of the CIA, will become our new Secretary of State. He will do a fantastic job! Thank you to Rex Tillerson for his service! Gina Haspel will become the new Director of the CIA, and the first woman so chosen. Congratulations to all!” Despite the optimistic tone of President Trump regarding these changes, they point to an Executive Branch in continual flux and crisis.

    2. US students Stage Walkouts Protesting Gun Violence & The Failure of the US Government to Enact Meaningful Gun Control Legislation

    The debate over gun control took an interesting turn this week with the holding of several protests.

    Nearly 10,000 students throughout the US and several other countries walked out of school to demand action on gun violence on March 14 in one of the biggest student protests since the Vietnam War era. Braving harsh weather conditions and threats of discipline in states as varied as New Jersey, Ohio, and Georgia, the students carried signs with messages such as “Am I next?,” denounced the NRA and their opposition to gun control, and expressed remembrance for the 17 people who were killed in the February 14 school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.

    In addition to the walk-out protests, several protests were staged near the US Capitol building calling on the Trump Administration and Congress to pass strong gun control legislation. The largest group protesting was made up of several hundred students and family members of victims of school shootings. Senator Bernie Sanders (D/I-VT) addressed the crowd, saying that “We are very proud of what you are doing,” the former presidential candidate said. “You, the young people of this country, are leading the nation.” Additionally, Sanders commended the students for “leading the nation in the right direction” and opposing the National Rifle Association (NRA).

    3. UK-Russian Diplomatic Row Grows

    The already-tense relationship between Russia and the UK decreased even further with the revelation of the poisoning if a Russian dissident on UK soil.

    The ongoing diplomatic dispute between the UK and Russia regarding the poisoning of Russian dissident Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia grew in intensity this week. On March 16, UK Foreign Minister Boris Johnson announced that the substance used to poison both Skripal and his daughter was a nerve agent produced in Russia and that the poisoning was ordered on the part of Russian President Vladimir Putin. In response to these allegations, UK Prime Minister Theresa May ordered the expulsion of 23 Russian diplomats from the UK and broke off high-level diplomatic ties with Russia for the first time since 1927. Additionally, the UK government is considering invoking Article V of the NATO treaty, which expressly states that Collective an attack against one member-state is considered as an attack against all member-states. The governments of France, Germany, and the Czech Republic expresses solidarity with the UK and further pledge to step-up efforts to isolate Russia and bring about the removal of the Putin Regime from power.

    Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov denounced the allegations, saying that Russia ceased its chemical weapons program in the early 1970s and that the allegations are another attempt to weaken the Russian state. Additionally, US President Donald Trump expressed skepticism regarding the charges by the UK, stating that it is uncertain that the Russian government ordered the attack.

    4. House Republicans Break With Intelligence Community, Clearing President Trump of Wrongdoing in the 2016 Election 

    The House Republican Judiciary Committee defied the intelligence community by clearing President Donald Trump of any charges of collusion with Russia in the 2016 Election.

    On March 12, Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee reached an opposite conclusion from the intelligence community by announcing that Russian President Vladimir Putin was not trying to help Donald Trump win the 2016 election. The Republicans also said they found no evidence that the Trump campaign colluded with Russia and that they are shutting down their yearlong investigation. Trump seized on the news Monday evening, tweeting that “The House Intelligence Committee Has, After a 14-Moth Long Investigation, Found No Evidence of Collusion or Coordination Between the Trump Campaign and Russia” in order to sway the results of the 2016 Presidential Election.

    Congressman Mike Conaway (R-TX), stated that the committee had concluded its interviews for the Russia investigation, and the Republican staff had prepared a 150-page draft report that they would give to Democrats to review on Tuesday morning. The committee Republicans said Russians did meddle in the elections to sow chaos, but they disagreed with the intelligence community’s assessment that they sought to help Trump.

    Congressman Adam Schiff (D-CA), the top Democrat on the House Intelligence committee, slammed the Republican decision to end the investigation. “While the majority members of our committee have indicated for some time that they have been under great pressure to end the investigation, it is nonetheless another tragic milestone for this Congress, and represents yet another capitulation to the executive branch,” Said Schiff. “By ending its oversight role in the only authorized investigation in the House,” Schiff feels that “the Majority has placed the interests of protecting the President over protecting the country, and history will judge its actions harshly.”

  • OurWeek In Politics (2/11-2/18/18)

    Here are the main events that occurred in Politics this week:

    1. Florida School Shooting Leave 17 Dead, 15 Wounded

    A school shooting in a Florida high school on February 14 resulted in the deaths of 17 individuals and renewed public debate over the issue of gun control.

    On February 14, a mass shooting occurred at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. 17 people were killed and 15 were wounded, making it one of the deadliest school massacres since Columbine some 19 years earlier. The shooting was carried out by Nikolas Jacob Cruz, a 19-year old high school senior with a known past of threatening his fellow students, posting hate content on his social media accounts, and bragging about killing animals. Additionally, Cruz holds extremist views and advocated the killing of African-Americans, Hispanic-Americans, Muslim-Americans, and the LGBT community. These abhorrent views made Cruz a target for FBI investigation as early as September of 2016.

    Politicians on both sides of the political aisle have condemned the shooting and reached out to the victims. In a Twitter post, President Donald Trump offered his prayers and condolences to the victims and their families, stating that, “no child, teacher or anyone else should ever feel unsafe in an American school.” Additionally, President Trump ordered the flags to be flown at half-staff for the entire US and paid a visit to the victims’ hospital. Florida Governor Rick Scott similarly expressed strong support for the victims and went as far as to claim that FBI Director Christopher Wray should resign in wake of the shooting, noting that the FBI had the ability to intervene to prevent the massacre from happening.

    The shooting has also renewed public debate over the issue of gun control. For example, student survivors organized the group Never Again MSD to demand legislative action to prevent similar shootings from occurring again and to call out US lawmakers (mostly Republicans, but a few Democrats as well) who have received campaign contributions from the National Rifle Association (NRA). Additionally, The Alliance for Securing Democracy noted that Russian “sock” (fake) accounts used Twitter over the past few days to inflame tensions by posting loaded comments that support or oppose gun control to divide the American people and by claiming that the shooting was a false flag operation which the US government will exploit to expand gun control efforts.

    2. 13 Russian Citizens Indicted in Mueller Investigation On Charges Related To Meddling In The 2016 Presidential Elections

    The Trump-Russia investigation took an interesting turn this week with the arrest of several Russian nationals on the charges of election meddling.

    On February 16, the special counsel probing interference in the last presidential election charged 13 Russian nationals and three Russian groups with violating criminal laws with the intent of meddling “with U.S. elections and political processes.” The 37-page indictment, signed by Robert Mueller, depicts an elaborate scheme in which the Russians accused came to the US with the deliberate intention of undermining the American political and electoral process, including the 2016 presidential election. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said that the Russians charged called their work “information warfare against the United States” with the goal of spreading distrust of candidates and the political system in general. Additionally, many of the accused Russians “communicated with unwitting individuals associated with the Trump campaign” without revealing their association with Russia. The new indictment comes amid a wide-ranging probe by the special counsel into Russian meddling in the US election and is also the first set of charges by Mueller for 2016 presidential election interference.

    President Donald Trump was quick to denounce the allegations, claiming that the Russians “started their anti-US campaign in 2014” nearly one full year before the Trump campaign launched and that the “results of the election were not impacted. The Trump campaign did nothing wrong – no collusion!” in a Twitter rant post. Despite the President’s blanket denial and dismissal of the allegations, the recent indictments reveal that Russia’s meddling in the 2016 Election is far from a hoax and underscores the vulnerabilities facing the American political system.  Moreover, the recent developments in the case have raised the chances of President Trump’s impeachment to perhaps its highest level yet.

    3. Israeli Military Bombs 12 Iranian & Syrian Military Sites, Raising Possibility of War

    The Israeli Air Force bombed several Iranian and Syrian-military installations on February 10, threatening to further expand the Syrian Civil War.

    On February 10, the Israeli Air Force carried out extensive airstrikes inside Syria, targeting air defense batteries, army bases, and several Iranian military positions.The Israeli military said it launched the large-scale attack after one of its F-16 fighter jets crashed under Syrian anti-aircraft fire. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli military officials described the initial incursion as an Iranian “attack” and said it was Israel’s right and duty to respond. The Israeli army said the Iranian drone did not cross into Israel by accident and was on a mission but declined to give further details or comment on whether the drone was armed.

    The US government responded to the attack with their typical support for the Israeli position. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson reaffirmed in a phone call with Netanyahu on Saturday that the US is backing Israel 100% of the time. Additionally,  Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Steven Goldstein stated that “Israel has the right to defend itself” using whatever means possible. The Iranian government was quick to criticize the attack. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Bahran Qasemi condemned the attack forcefully and said that the Syrian government had the right to defend itself by shooting down the Israeli jet. The Syrian government described the airstrikes as  “new Israeli aggression” and stated that any other incursions by Israel would be met with “serious and fierce” retaliation. The Russian government also condemned the strikes, stating that Israel’s actions threatened the Russian military advisors currently stationed in Syria and are, in effect, a violation of all recognized principles of international law. The actions on the part of the Israeli government, as with nearly all other actions that it has taken during the Syrian Civil War, threaten to spark a war in the Middle East that will engulf the major world powers and permanently destabilize the region.