Norfolk, Virginia naval base
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Navy is gearing up to peel back the onion on years of delays and tens of thousands of operational days lost with ships languishing in shipyards.
The defense appropriations bill, newly approved by Congress and sent to the White House, orders the secretary of the Navy to “conduct a comprehensive and systematic analysis to identify the underlying causes of aircraft carrier, surface ship, and submarine maintenance delays,” and submit a report to Congress within 180 days.
Budget documents released by Congress say the Navy is working on ways to improve maintenance, but the efforts lack any understanding of the fundamental issues.
“Since fiscal year 2014, Navy ships have spent over 27,000 more days in maintenance than expected, with 70 percent of maintenance periods on average experiencing delays,” the documents read. “There is some preliminary evidence […]
American lawyer and Senior Counsel to the re-election campaign of President Trump
MADISON, WISCONSIN — One of President Donald Trump’s top re-election advisers told influential Republicans in swing state Wisconsin that the party has “traditionally” relied on voter suppression to compete in battleground states but will be able to “start playing offense” in 2020 due to relaxed Election Day rules, according to an audio recording of a private event obtained by The Associated Press.
“Traditionally it’s always been Republicans suppressing votes in places,” Justin Clark, a senior political adviser and senior counsel to Trump’s re-election campaign, said at the event. “Let’s start protecting our voters. We know where they are. … Let’s start playing offense a little bit. That’s what you’re going to see in 2020. It’s going to be a much bigger program, a much more aggressive program, a much better-funded program.”
Asked about the remarks by AP, Clark said he was referring to false accusations that the GOP engages in voter suppression.
“As should […]
Russian President Vladimir Putin criticized House Democrats for impeaching President Donald Trump for what he called “made up reasons” and expressed his confidence that Senate Republicans would keep only the third executive impeached in power.
Putin held an annual news conference in Moscow hours after the House of Representatives voted mostly down party lines Wednesday to impeach Trump for abuse of power and obstruction of justice. Putin was asked at the lengthy news conference about his strategy for dealing with the U.S. until the end of Trump’s presidency.
“Regarding the continuation of our dialogue till the end of Trump’s presidency, you make it sound as if it’s already coming to an end,” Putin said, according to CNN. “I actually really doubt that it is ending. It still has to go through Senate, where as far as I know, the Republicans hold the majority. So it’s unlikely they will want to remove the representative of their party for some made-up reasons.”
Putin also used a Trump talking point to criticize Democrats, arguing that impeaching Trump as a […]
Surrounded by members of the Senate GOP caucus, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (C) speaks to reporters following the weekly Republican policy luncheon at the U.S. Capitol, on November 5, 2019, in Washington, DC.
Credit: Drew Angerer/Getty
Rep. Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., said Republicans in Congress quietly removed the term “white nationalist” from a defense bill amendment aimed at keeping white nationalists out of the military.
Aguilar introduced the amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act in July in response to reports about the rise of white nationalists in the military. The House of Representatives approved the amendment, which was specifically aimed to screen military enlistees for white nationalist views.
The amendment sought to address white nationalists in the military by requiring the secretary of defense to “study the feasibility” of screening for “individuals with ties to white nationalist organizations.”
But the Republican-controlled Senate passed its own version of the bill and the term “white nationalist” was quietly removed when the two bills were reconciled, HuffPost reported.
The final version of the NDAA […]
President Trump has brought his penchant for the legal process to the presidency.
Credit: Doug Mills/The New York Times
WASHINGTON — Another day, another legal battle. Or two. Or three. In one court, a longtime political ally just went on trial. In another, judges ordered his accounting firm to turn over his tax returns. In still another, a writer who claims he raped her filed a defamation lawsuit against him. In a fourth, a judge overturned an anti-abortion policy.
And that was all in the space of barely 48 hours.
Even as President Trump tries to fend off the ultimate threat of impeachment for high crimes and misdemeanors, he and his team are waging simultaneous legal battles on a wide array of fronts, facing perhaps more significant challenges with more consequences to his presidency than any modern occupant of the Oval Office has confronted at one time.
It requires a scorecard just to keep track. Mr. Trump […]
Remote Viewing the Year 2060
