A Hero in His Mind, Dreamers Win One
Tuesday, February 27, 2018
Vol. 7, No. 58
Fools Rush In: President Trump said he would have been a hero if he had been present at the Parkland, Fla. school shooting.
He told a meeting of governors at the White House, “You know I really believe, you don’t know until you test it, but I think I, I really believe I’d run in even if I didn’t have a weapon.”
Satirist Andy Borowitz writes for The New Yorker that one of Trump’s greatest regrets is that bone spurs prevented him from serving in the Vietnam War, “because the really courageous things I would have done during that war would have been off the charts.”
Trump is still pushing having armed teachers, not unarmed presidents defending against school shootings. He has stopped talking about his call last week for raising the age to buy a rifle from 18 to 21.
The President was derisive of the sheriff’s deputies who arrived at the scene, although it still has not been fully explained what they did and did not do. Trump said, “I got to watch some deputy sheriffs performing this weekend. They weren’t exactly Medal of Honor winners. The way they performed was frankly disgusting.
Former Deputy Scot Peterson was accused of standing outside and doing nothing. He was suspended and immediately retired. Peterson’s lawyer issued a statement saying he stayed outside because he thought the shots were coming from outside and that he took up a “tactical position” between two buildings.
Trump had a meeting with NRA leaders Sunday that was not on his public schedule. He told the governors, “Don’t worry about the NRA. They’re on our side.” He said, “You guys — half of you are so afraid of the N.R.A. There’s nothing to be afraid of. And you know what? If they’re not with you, we have to fight them every once in a while. That’s OK.”
He’s not doing anything to fight them now.
Charity Begins at Hotel: The Trump organization announced that it has donated the profits from foreign patrons at its hotels and properties in the past year to the US Treasury. They declined to say how much money they donated, which Trump properties were included, and who or what were the foreign sources of income.
Amanda Miller, a Trump Organization spokeswoman, wrote in an email to The Washington Post that, “We have nothing further to share at this time.”
Dream On: This one’s a little complicated. The Supreme Court rejected the Trump administration’s request for an expedited hearing on whether the President can shut down DACA, the program that protects 700,000 young illegal immigrants from deportation. Trump ordered an end to the program ordered by President Obama, saying it was an overreach of executive power. But two federal judges have ordered that most of DACA must continue to function while the issue wends its way through the courts.
The effect of the Supreme Court’s decision not to take up the case is that protections for people enrolled in DACA continue, at least temporarily.
The Obit Page: Ensa Cosby, the daughter of comedian Bill Cosby, has died at age 44 of kidney disease. She was most recently in the public eye defending her father Bill Cosby against accusations that he is a serial rapist. There were five children in the Cosby family. His son, Ennis, was murdered in Los Angeles in 1997.
Fame: Actress Heather Locklear, a former star of the prime-time soap opera Melrose Place, was arrested in Los Angeles over the weekend and charged with domestic violence and battery against police officers. Locklear, 56, has struggled with drugs and alcohol. Her brother called the police when she got into a fight with her boyfriend then, according to the cops, she turned her wrath on them when they arrived.
Talking Heads: The cable news conversation the last couple of days has been about the question NBC’s Peter Alexander asked Ivanka Trump in South Korea about her father’s behavior with women. Alexander asked, “Do you believe your father’s [sexual misconduct] accusers?” Ivanka asked, “I think it’s a pretty inappropriate question to ask a daughter if she believes the accusers of her father when he’s affirmatively stated there’s no truth to it.”
The trouble is that Ivanka is not just his daughter, she is a close aide and adviser to the President. She’s a public official and all questions are fair game.
After stalling a bit she said, “I believe my father.” Her father denies it all.
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