Beltway Insider: Trump/Border Policy, Jakelin Maquin, Cohen Sentenced; May Wins; Yemen; Khashoggi; Biden 2020

President Trump, who is preparing for a working Christmas Break at Mar-a-Lago, is facing a continual firestorm over the recent death of a child awho was denied water and medical care while detained by Customs and Border Protection.

According to Gallup, President Trump job approval, over the past week, and increased by two percentage points to 38% of those polled who approve of his effectiveness as President and those who disapprove of his effectiveness as President decreased by four percentage points to 56%.

Trump's Border Policy Just Got Worse

Jakelin Caal Maquin, a seven year old Guatemalan who had just crossed the borders into the United States to seek asylum, on December 6, 2018, with her father, died on a bus operated by Customs and Border Protection in route to a detention center.

Various reports have surfaced indicating the child was deeply malnourished and dehydrated. Her family, through Ruben Garcia, of the Annunciation House, a representative, read a statement.


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After Maquin's death, CBP told The Washington Post that she had "reportedly had not eaten or consumed water for several days." But her relatives disputes this assertion. "Jakelin's father took care of Jakelin, made sure she was fed and had sufficient water," they said in the Saturday statement. "She and her father sought asylum from Border Patrol as soon as they crossed the border. She had not suffered from a lack of water or food prior to approaching the border," the website magazine Bustle reported.

Other facts presented by the CBP agency were also disputed. The facts reduced to the lowest common denominator are a child died in custody, not unlike the death in Baltimore Maryland of Freddie Gray. Only this time a child, just five days after her seventh birthday, not a threat, not badgering border agents, not trafficking drugs, weapons, or humans, unable to speak English and forced to sign English only documents, died while in custody.

The harshest realities are the CBP allowed her to die to dissuade others from attempting to enter the United States illegally.

Vilified by media around the world as they attempted to control the tens of thousands of migrant who walked toward the border with tear gas cannisters, a slaughter was out of the question. The sacrifice of one to cease the progression and control the situation seemed acceptable.

Trump Lawyer Michael Cohen Sentenced

Michael Cohen, former personal attorney to President Donald Trump was sentenced this week to three years in federal prison for facilitating the payment of hush money paid out to two women who allegedly had affair with then Candidate Trump.


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Cohen who was one of the first of trump's inner circle to be indicted was charged with five counts of tax evasion, one count of making false statements to a financial institution, one count of willfully causing an unlawful corporate contribution, one count of making an excessive campaign contribution at the request of a candidate or campaign, and one count of making false statements to a congressional committee.

Cohen who spoke at his sentencing hearing said "Recently, the president tweeted a statement calling me weak, and he was correct, but for a much different reason than he was implying. It was because time and time again I felt it was my duty to cover up his dirty deeds rather than to listen to my own inner voice and my moral compass. My weakness can be characterized as a blind loyalty to Donald Trump, and I was weak for not having the strength to question and to refuse his demands," The Hill reported. The complete statement can be read here.

Robert A. Mueller has gotten indictments or convictions of 33 of those associated with the investigation into the Trump-Russian alliances and campaign crimes. All five former Trump advisors, Cohen included, have pled guilty. A whooping 26 Russian nationals, three Russian companies, a London based person and one Californian have all been indicted.

Trump Signs Sexual Exploitation Act into Law

On Friday, December 7, 2018, the President signed into law: S. 2152, the "Amy, Vicky, and Andy Child Pornography Victim Assistance Act of 2018," which requires Federal courts to order mandatory restitution against a defendant who is convicted for trafficking in child pornography.

UK Prime Minster Theresa May Wins Confidence Vote, Brexit Support Falters

UK Prime Minister Theresa May beat down challenger Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the Labour Party, who has been waiting in the wings to strike and take the nations top political spot, stopping the No confidence challenge.

May, who inherited the Prime Minister position at the worst possible time in British Politics, with the vote to exit the European Union, the lengthy proceedings to divest from the EU and the effects on the British economy, people, travel, territories of Great Britain, trade, financial obligations, the continued protests calling for an additional referendum, and of course the election of President Trump which seems to have cause a sympathy wave of protests in the UK.

Corbyn, who has not paused in his pursuits, has remained doggedly after the Prime Minister and according to The Telegraph, Labour will not wait until after Christmas but will move immediately after the MP's vote on the Brexit deal. It is expected to fail. All parties involved suggest there are not enough votes to move the plan forward. Corbyn's camp suggested after the vote fails he will again go for the no confidence vote and will secure the Prime Minister position.


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The Brexit deal is looming with March 29, 2019, 4pm the exact time and hour the UK will remove itself from the European Union.

Yemen - The World Finally Notices The Starving

80,000 children died during this civil uprising, part of the Arab Spring which began in 2010 with government in the Middle east and Arabian Peninsula toppling as citizens tired of autocratic rule rose up in voices demanding democracy fought for new governments.

The movement had quick results in many nations and dire consequences in others. In the immediate months after the wave of democracy swept through seventeen governments fell and while the transition to democracy was not without bumps, bruises setbacks an pitfalls, the formation of new governments is never easy and still it worked.

Most notably Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak, who had lead for thirty years, was arrested and imprisoned. After six years of legal and judicial wrangling he was found innocent of all charges and released. The democratic challengers remained in office and Egypt became stable.

Several of the uprising have resulted in lengthy civil wars. Syrian President Bashar al Assad, who was never expected to survive the United States and coalition nations fighting the Islamic State refused to exit leave his nation.

The Syrian Civil War has been disastrous. Syrians, in mass, have been forced to flee or risk death. Assad has been known for bombing civilian villages, using chemical weapons, violating the proliferation of life treaties, and decimating the safe zones.

The resistors have been funded by the United States and those nations who supported the exile of more than 13.5million Syrians who have been displaced due to the ongoing civil war. Six million refugees fled the nation for refugee camps and made the treacherous sea crossing to Europe. Many died along the way with images of drowned babies and bloated bodies of those hoping for a better life washing up on the Turkish shoreline.

Yemen Didn't Escape the Arab Spring

November 2017, the Saudi's with assistance from the United Nations tightened the supply route into Yemen, stopping air, land, and seas access to the starving nation in order to gain power over the government.

While the Saudi's many not have violated the territorial sovereignty of Yemen in the manner in which Russia violated the territorial sovereignty of the Ukraine the expected results are the same. Squeeze the nation into submission, squeeze them to death in necessary.


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Yemenites are facing an famine unlike anything many have seen in their lifetime. The major African famines, the Sudanese child photographed by Pulitzer Prize winning photographer Kevin Carter barely able to walk while a vulture waited to pick its prey, the famine of Darfur, starving images of bloated bellies, images akin to the survivors liberated from Hitler's Concentration Camps are filtering out of Yemen.

The statics are grave. More than 85,000 children have died as a result of the famine with 130 children dying every day. There are no statistics for adults. According to World Heath Organizations, the plague of famine will soon reach biblical proportions. The breakdown of the immune systems have been advantageous to the further spread of disease. An outbreak of Cholera, which is affecting 5,000 people dally

If The governments of the world are not moved by the images of starving children than what have we, collectively, become? There are no rationales for allowing this famine to go unaided. We don't help because we are not hungry, even those with little or no means, the homeless and disenfranchised are aided.

    

First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—
     Because I was not a socialist.

 

Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—
     Because I was not a trade unionist.

 

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
     Because I was not a Jew.

 

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me

 

                                                  German Lutheran Pastor Martin Niemoller

This speak of the cowardice of people. Let's be people of strength force our President to demand of his Saudi friends, who dine with abundance, to allow World Aid Organizations into the nation and stop the Saudi led bombing raids that target critical infrastructure and systems.

Saudi's Fight to Keep Khashoggi Dead Just Went Viral

Jamal Khashoggi, the Saudi born, American citizen and Washington Post reporter murdered on the alleged command of the Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman, has been named, along with several other slain journalists, Time Magazines Person of the Year.

For the first time in the magazines history those who have died in the line of duty or directly related to the work has been honored by the editors of the storied news magazine.

With nearly 100 hundred reporters in 2018 killed during a dangerous assignment or closely related to the work, bringing the truth to the world the recognition as "The Guardians."

Reporters without Borders note 2018 saw a drop in those murdered for guarding the truth and managing the fourth estate. Globally, 63 journalists, 13 citizen journalists, and five media assistants were murdered. Numbers for jailed journalists are shocking with 171 journalists, 149 citizen journalists and 16 media assistants jailed.

Time Magazine chose four groups Jamal Khashoggi, members of The Capital Gazette Staff who died in a mass shooting and those who carried on, Maria Ressa, and Reuters Myanmar reporters Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, who were set up by local authorities, sentenced in a sham trial a were sentenced for attempting to expose the mass murder of 10million people committed by the government.

Freelance journalist Kim Wall, who was sourcing a story on Peter Madsen, the Danish inventor, when she was brutally murdered without thought of the consequences, was not mentioned as she was killed August 2017.

Crime beat coverage of the Mexican Drug Cartel's ranks just beneath Syria as the most dangerous place to report. Journalists are stalked, hunted, killed in cold blood at point blank range in front of family, at schools, in churches, with guns, bombs, stabbings. 2018 proved to be less brutal with only nine journalists murdered, in 2017 saw eight killed in five months with 11 murdered over the course of one year.

Former Vice President Joe Biden Leader of the Pack 2020

Former Vice President Joe Biden, who had stepped aside from running in the 2016 election, has been tapped by Iowa Caucus democrats as the man they want in the top spot in the upcoming 2020 election.

"The new Iowa Poll finds 32% of likely caucus-goers saying they back Biden as their first choice, 19% Sanders, 11% O'Rourke, 8% Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, 5% California Sen. Kamala Harris, with the rest of the 20-person field testing below 5% support," CNN reports.

And in these early days, groups are already tossing out viable female names adamant that a female has to be on the ticket. In reality, the democrats need a winning ticket with or without a female on it.

With the landslide victory of President Trump continues to be investigated and a general belief that his presidency was purchased, several key facts can be taken from the 2016 election to pass on to the 2020 Democratic ticket.


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Firstly, Hillary Rodham Clinton won the popular vote, a fact that attests to the fact nation prefers the democratic principles. The rules to win the presidency can't be changed mid-stream, the 270 electoral votes needed to win are the only road to the White House. Strategically, multiple scenarios of key state equations have to be complied during the process with hyped campaign presences.

The 17million voters, Senator Bernie Sanders gained during the last election process were stung by the absence of Senator Sanders on the ticket. The loyalty of Sanders supporters in unlike anything the political process has seen, ignore them and on election day they ignore you.

There is no seamless migration to the democratic candidate. 17million voters and Bernie Sanders on the 2016 ticket and we would be celebrating, still, the historic changes with the election of Ms. Clinton.

And finally, arrogance only goes so far. With a candidate as belligerent, aggressive, argumentative and simply a bully, the high road isn't available. Allowing him to sling mud and not reply in kind believing the American people will understand the etiquette involved in mudslinging is in poor taste and in actuality destroys the image of America throughout the world and does little to make America great again, on election day, is hoping for a miracle.

To be clear, Ms. Clinton made one fatal error in her campaign and it was the choice of her running mate. Not that Senator Tim Kaine was a politically poor choice it was one that alienated 17million voters in key states throughout the country.

For more information on President Donald Trump: www.whitehouse.gov

Sources: Whitehouse.gov, Wikipedia.com

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