“Send Him to Gitmo,” Tax Plan Today

Lock Him Up, Lock Them Out: Indignant that an immigrant is accused of killing eight people, President Trump said he might consider plucking the New York terror suspect out of the civil justice system and handing him over to the military. “Send him to Gitmo, I would certainly consider that, yes,” Trump said shortly before a cabinet meeting yesterday. It’s not certain he has the power to do that.

The President also called for the end of the immigration program that allowed the suspect, 29-year-old Sayfullo Saipov, into the country from his native Uzbekistan. “I am today starting the process of terminating the diversity lottery program,” Trump said.

The Diversity Visa Lottery Program allows entry of immigrants from countries with historically low rates of immigration to the US. About 50,000 diversity visas are granted every year, distributed over to six geographic regions. It had support from both parties and was signed into law by President George HW Bush.

“Diversity lottery — sounds nice,” Trump added. “It’s not nice. It’s not good. It hasn’t been good.” He went on, “We have to get much less politically correct. We’re so politically correct that we’re afraid to do anything.”

The President also denounced what’s known as “chain migration” I  which legal immigrants can bring in family members. He tweeted, “CHAIN MIGRATION must end now! Some people come in, and they bring their whole family with them, who can be truly evil. NOT ACCEPTABLE!”

The Suspect: The charges against Saipov say he is a voracious reader of Islamic State literature who began planning his attack a year ago. Court documents say Saipov took a test run in a Home Depot rental truck last week, and chose Halloween for his attack because more people would be on the streets.

Saipov appeared in court in a wheelchair yesterday to face charges of terrorism, despite a bullet wound in his abdomen. He had been brought down by a NY Police Officer, who fired nine shots. Saipov is married with three children and lives in Paterson, NJ. He had worked as an Uber driver.

The FBI says it found 90 videos on Saipov’s cellphone, including of ISIS fighters killing prisoners and of instructions for making an explosive device.

The Tax Men: Congressional Republicans delayed the release of their tax reform plan, at least until today, in a signal that they are in disarray about how they can engineer massive tax cuts without eliminating favorite breaks like the home mortgage deduction, or throwing the country far deeper into debt. They hope to pass a bill by Thanksgiving.

One of the major controversies is the proposal to cut taxes for the richest Americans. The highest rate is now 39.6 percent. Sen. Richard Selby, an Alabama Republican, told The Hill, “I never thought anybody should pay over 25 percent. He said, “People with money save money, create jobs, create risk. People with no money — I’ve been there — create nothing. You’re trying to live, to survive.”

What, Me Worry?: President Trump called The NY Times yesterday to say that, despite news reports, he’s not angry and not worried about the Russia investigation and indictments.

“I’m not under investigation, as you know,” Trump told Times reporters. Referring to the charges against his former campaign chairman Paul Manafort, the President said, “There’s not even a mention of Trump in there.” He said, “It has nothing to do with us.” He didn’t mention the guilty plea of George Papadopoulos, which does mention Trump.

He also denied a Washington Post report that he’s  “angry at everybody.” He told the Times, “I’m actually not angry at anybody.”

Before the Mast: The Navy announced that two ship collisions over the summer that cost the lives of 17 sailors were the fault of commanders and crew. “Both of these accidents were preventable and the respective investigations found multiple failures by watch standers that contributed to the incidents.” the Navy’s top officer, Adm. John Richardson, said in a statement.

In June, the USS Fitzgerald hit a container ship off Japan. In August, the John McCain collided with a tanker near Singapore. In the case of the McCain, the report said sailors didn’t know how to work the ship’s complicated steering system.

Nation: Police in Colorado are looking for a gunman who shot and killed three people inside a Walmart last night.

The Boys of November: Houston jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the second inning last night and the rest of the 7th game of the World Series was just a sad story for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Houston won it 5-1 to take home the World Series Trophy for the first time.

Couch Potato: The CIA has released a trove of documents captured during the raid on Osama Bin Laden.

They also released a list of videos wanted by the man who ws then the most feared and wanted terrorist in the world:  AntzBatman: Gotham KnightStorm Rider: Clash of the EvilsCarsChicken LittleHome on the Range and Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs; the video games Final Fantasy VII and Resident Evil; and several documentaries on bin Laden himself.

You know he must have hated America because he didn’t have any Tom Hanks movies.

-30-

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Page Two

The Most Corrupt Justice

Monday, October 2, 2023

Democracy and Video in the Dark

Sunday, February 26, 2023

Page Two: Do the Right Thing

Tuesday, February 1, 2022

Page Two: Sound Recall

Monday, September 13, 2021

Page Two: Cuomo Must Go

Friday, August 13, 2021

Trump and the Truth

Tuesday, November 3, 2020

The “Great” President

Monday, March 30, 2020

The Wright Stuff

Saturday, February 29, 2020

It's Been Said

"In my mind, I’ve never crossed the line with anyone, but I didn’t realize the extent to which the line has been redrawn. There are generational and cultural shifts that I just didn’t fully appreciate, and I should have, no excuses."

-Andrew Cuomo, resigning as governor of New York after accusations of sexual harassment

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