Beltway Insider: Trump Veto, NZ Terror Attack, Brexit Delay, Boeing, 5WPR CEO, Iran, 2020

President Donald Trump has issued the first veto of his presidency after twelve Republicans joined Senate Democrats passing legislation that would terminate the National Emergency declaration directly and prevent further misuse of the National Emergency Act.

According to Gallup, President Trump's job approval, which was tracked for the month of February ending on February 28, 2019, decreased one percentage point to 43% of those polled who approve of his effectiveness as President and those who disapprove of his effectiveness as President increased by two percentage points to 54%. Ratings are calculated monthly.

Trump Issues First Veto of his Administration

President Trump issued the first veto of his administration after legislation was presented and passed by both houses that would revoke the National Emergency decree.

"The current situation at the southern border presents a border security and humanitarian crisis that threatens core national security interests and constitutes a national emergency," the president said in a released statement.


Beltway Insider: Trump, Manafort, Cohen, Mueller, Manning, February Jobs, Tornadoes, NK Nukes, 2020


The President remains resolute on this campaign issue presenting a three-point pushback in which he defended his Presidential right to enforce immigration law and combat the crisis on our southern border.

Blaming the democrats he defended the use of a "Humanitarian Crisis" as more than 76,000 aliens were apprehended or deemed inadmissible at the southern border last month along with an unprecedented surge in the number of alien families arrive have triggered a breaking point and demands immediate attention.

Protecting the American people and securing our borders remains vital to ensuring the safety of all Americans. President Trump has made clear the immigration issue and his opioid agenda are tandem platforms. The Southern Border remains the primary entry point for illegal substances, cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine.

"In the past two fiscal years, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has made 266,000 arrests of aliens with criminal records. ICE made 5,872 removals of known or suspected gang members in FY 2018. CBP saw an 81 percent increase in apprehended aliens affiliated with MS-13 in FY 2018," the President said.

Trump Loses GOP Base

Senate Republicans joined with democrats on this issue for more than the current legislation. Concern over misuse of the National Emergency Act could essentially backfire should it become an accepted tool to secure funding for signature issues.

With the vigor of his defense over the Originalist beliefs, one would have expected him to adhere to the Constitution's built in checks and balance systems. As he is accustomed to controlling the purse strings his belief of finding another way campaign to secure his goals is ingrained and simply business, the business of running the United States government of which he believes he is the sole proprietor.


UPDATE: Dozens Killed in Coordinated Terrorist Attacks in Christchurch, New Zealand


Utilizing the National Emergencies Act, which 60 national emergencies have been enacted since the National Emergencies Act was established in 1976, for issues such as a Border Wall, not simply immigration, lays groundwork for future Presidents to utilize the same strategy for issues like The Green Deal, which is facing clear opposition, or Gun Control, which the public would welcome.

New Zealand Terror Attack

Friday marked a new day in New Zealand an unfortunate and ugly reminder than even in this nation where diversity has thrived for so long, the extremist hate that is circling the globe, via the internet, has reached its shores.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern declared, after Friday's mass shooting, the first for the nation of more than 200 ethnicities, "that our gun laws will change."

In a conversation with Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters of New Zealand, Vice President Pence "expressed his condolences on behalf of the American people for the despicable terror attacks at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand. He also affirmed the President's solidarity with New Zealand and our cooperation in ensuring that all perpetrators are brought to justice. These acts of hate have no place in the diverse and tolerant society for which New Zealand is justly known," he said in a released statement.

The Death Toll

The death toll in the New Zealand Mosque Shootings has risen to 50 according to Mike Bush, New Zealand Police Commissioner, who also indicated, via live streamed Press Conference, the number of injured is also fifty, 36 remain hospitalized, two critical and one child also remains hospitalized.

What We Know So Far

Bush explained the one male, 28, identified as Brenton Tarrant has been remanded without a plea and has appeared in front of the high court. He was charged with one count under the Crimes Act. He is schedule to appear again on April 5, 2019

At this moment Tarrant is the only person charged in connection to these attacks. He was legally licensed to hold these weapons. A New Zealand firearms license was issued in 2017. It was not clear if he was a transplanted New Zealander moving from Australia recently or sometime over the past two years.


World News: The Yellow Vest Movement Showing Signs of Fading


A 16,000 word manifesto, which has been circulated, and the live stream of the massacre gave limited insight into the motivation for the crimes. An extreme sport helmet cam was believed to be used in capturing the deadly rampage. The images of graffiti covered high powered automatic weapons placed in the backseat of his car were flashed also. He was well armed with two semiautomatic weapons and two shotguns.

Facebook, the social media giant with more than 1 billion subscribers worldwide, has said it removed more than 1.5million video shares of the live stream video created by alleged New Zealand shooter.

The Victims

The victim's range in ages from toddlers to seniors as the shooter indiscriminately massacred anyone who was present. The larger room of the Dean's Avenue Mosque, where the men were participating in the prayer service, were targeted first.

A child, 4, ran toward the shooter who opened fire on him without thought, concern or conscious. Over the next 17 minutes the gunman fired, loaded, reloaded and used a modified weapon which allowed for a quicker discharge of rounds.

Women were murdered when they ran toward the shooting. Several women were killed as they attempted to escape. 

Police Commissioner Mike Bush explained even as the cause of death may seem clear, the coroner must officially declare the cause of death for each of the fifty victims. That is procedure for judicial and legal purposes.

A partial list of the victims has been released. He was clear and reiterated it is not a complete list. It has been shared with family and they are working as quickly and as sensitively as possible in accordance with the religious sensitivities

The United States which has experienced nearly 2000 mass shootings has yet to find any common ground that will change gun laws. Murdered children, adults, teens, unleashed and uncontrolled violence perpetrating establishments in every area of our lives, from places of worship, to schools, business and entertainment venues is not enough, apparently.

Brexit Delay

Members of Parliament have voted to delay the exit of the United Kingdom from the European Union as the terms and much debated and negotiated deal has been overwhelmingly defeated. A second vote proposing a second voter referendum was also defeated.

The delay, which is largely seen as a safety net for the British People, allow members of Parliament and British Prime Minster Theresa May the time to renegotiate.

As this is unprecedented territory for the nation having an exact departure time frame may simply been miscalculation. The strict guidelines were agreed upon theoretically without the thought of actual application. Having additional time simply relieves the pressure cooker environment.

With the delay in place, a second Brexit referendum may be the next play. The idea, of course, as the public has seen the exactness of the extraction process and the inner struggles to keep a nation running, the macroeconomics of the United Kingdom is now in question.

With many foreign businesses moving to the European continent to ensure their global businesses are not effected by the discord and uncertainty of the Brexit issues and keeping only a skeletal staff in place, jobs may have already be lost. The monies generated from these foreign entities are now in question.

Can the United Kingdom survive on its own? Not implying that the nation will dissolve, more will the bumps along the way derail the advances that make the UK the global hub in finance, business, tourism, culture and the countless other areas that beckon people from around the world?


World News: Who Will Be Israel's Next Prime Minister? Benjamin or Benny?


Which group of the population is most effected by the United Kingdom leaving the European Union? The same group of people who are always most effected by economic upset, the disenfranchised those who live paycheck to paycheck.

Its doubtful that a major economic depression, such as the world experienced in 2009, will be initiated by the uncertainty of the next few months, however even a economic recession could be harmful.

Iranian Human Rights Lawyer Sentenced

Nasrin Sotoudeh, an Iranian Human Rights lawyer who defended women for removing their Hijabs, has been sentenced in to 38 years and 148 lashes with a whip.

Taken from her home, eight months ago, Sotoudeh has been detained without cause or statement. Her husband, Reza Khandan, relayed the latest developments via Facebook.

"According to the Center for Human Rights statement, however, the first case in which Sotoudeh had been sentenced appeared to relate to a 2015 trial conducted in her absence. Her husband told the center that she had faced at least seven charges in the second case, among them propaganda against the state, disturbing public peace and order, appearing in court without a headscarf, and encouraging corruption and prostitution," the National Post reported.

Sotoudeh has been awarded Europe's Highest Honor, the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought in 2012 and maintained a high profile during her fight to change the archaic traditions and restrictions that have slowed the societal progression.

Boeing Slow on the Crisis Response; World Fleet Grounded, FAA Begrudgingly Follows

In an unprecedented move, the Federal Aviation Administration, the FAA, who had originally certified the aircraft's safety, grounded the entire US fleet of Boeing 737 Max 8, after experiencing pressure from other nations.

The similarities between two airline crashes, six months apart, surfaced within hours of the doomed March 10, 2019 Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302, that crashed six minutes into the flight, killing all 149 passengers and eight crew members on board. The craft was four months old.

On October 29, 2018, a Lion Air Flight 610, an Indonesian low-cost airline, plunged into the Java Sea 13 minutes after take-off, killing all 189 on board. The aircraft was two months old.

The immediate similarities to each of these crafts including make, model and age, and then similarities in the accident pattern itself including length of time between take-off and crash all led investigators to issue warnings of possible mechanical failure.

"Ethiopia said on Sunday the crash of an Ethiopian Airlines plane that killed 157 people had "clear similarities" with October's Lion Air crash, according to initial analysis of the black boxes recovered from the wreckage of the March 10 disaster," Reuters reported.

Concern over the plane's safety caused aviation authorities worldwide to ground the model, wiping billions of dollars off Boeing's market value. China was the first nation to ground its entire fleet of 96 Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft's. With the world following, the United States became the last nation to ground its fleet.


Q4 2018 Hedge Fund Holdings: Top Stocks, New Buys & More


While the passenger manifest revealed eight Americans died in the Ethiopian Flight, the black boxes which are the final record of transmissions, were recovered intact, although very badly damaged and sent to BEA air safety agency in Paris for examination. An American team and Ethiopian team have validated the content.

A Lesson in Crisis Communications - Provided by Ronn Torossian, CEO of 5WPR

Boeing's response to the recent tragedies is a case study of what not to do in crisis communications. A cardinal rule in crisis PR is to guide the narrative before others guide it for you, and they have done the opposite. They have waited for others to tell the story.

Boeing is not acknowledging the real impact of this situation. Instead of clearly addressing fearful customers, they lobbied President Trump about the plane's safety, a huge PR misstep. This gives the appearance that profits matter more than people's lives. There is a perception now that Boeing's $1 million pledge to President Trump somehow "makes up" for the lost lives from Ethiopian Airlines Flight 407 and Lion Air Flight 610.

Surely Boeing's team is concerned about the safety of their planes, but it doesn't look like it.  It is very understandable why people don't want to fly on a plane which may crash, and Boeing's handling of this issue will haunt them for years to come.

Boeing is not only in the business of selling airplanes, they are in the business of selling safety. If there are doubts about whether people are safe, their business, stock price and reputation are irreparably harmed.

In 1982, when someone poisoned Tylenol, the company issued an immediate product recall. They got to the bottom of what went wrong.

Boeing needs to do more than just say they are investigating what went wrong. They need to show sympathy to victims, and empathy to nervous passengers. Boeing faces a very difficult public relations challenge in the days, weeks and months to come.

Boeing needs to stress safety, safety, safety.  And that they will not rest – or fly – until they know everything is safe.  Profit must never take precedence over life and death.

Ultimately, Boeing is aware that there's two courts – a court of law and a court of public opinion. They are aware they are potentially facing lawsuits from the families of those who died on their planes, from airlines who bought and no longer want their product and others. That will take years. The court of public opinion won't wait that long.

Boeing needs to show much more concern for safety and travelers.

2020 – Sanders Schedules California Rallies, Biden Drops A Hit, Booker's New Romance

Frontrunner and undeclared 2020 Candidate former Vice President Joe Biden slipped during a recent speech during which he indicated "he was the most qualified of all those running." He quickly backtracked as he has not yet declared his candidacy.

Of the declared, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders has hit the ground running firing up his constituency with his trademark determination. He will be appearing in California for two rallies during the week of March 22, 2019

Friday, March 22 - 5:30 p.m. Rally in San Diego with Sen. Bernie Sanders Waterfront Park, 1600 Pacific Hwy., San Diego, CA 92101. Information for the public: This event is free and open to the public. Tickets are not required, but an RSVP is encouraged. Entrance is provided on a first come, first served basis. Press interested in covering this event must RSVP here

Saturday, March 23 - 2:30 p.m. Rally in Los Angeles with Sen. Bernie Sanders Grand Park (across from Los Angeles City Hall) 200 N. Grand Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90012. Information for the public: This event is free and open to the public. Tickets are not required, but an RSVP is encouraged. Entrance is provided on a first come, first served basis. Press interested in covering this event must RSVP here

Sunday, March 24 - 12:30 p.m. Rally in San Francisco with Sen. Bernie Sanders Great Meadow Park at Fort Mason, Bay St, San Francisco, CA 94123. Information for the public: This event is free and open to the public. Tickets are not required, but an RSVP is encouraged. Entrance is provided on a first come, first served basis. Press interested in covering this event must RSVP here.

Other news in the 2020 race Cory Booker, the Junior Senator from New Jersey has gone on the record with his relationship to actress and former Bernie Sanders supporter Rosario Dawson. The challenges of a Presidential campaign and a new relationship as well as his duties as senator should be interesting to watch.

The 2020 Democratic Race welcomed another potential candidate this week as Beto O'Rouke, (D-TX) a United States Representative serving the 16th District of Texas, has announced his intent to become the Democratic Presidential nominee.

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

Sources: Whitehouse.gov, Wikipedia.com

Haute Tease