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      in US Politics

      Biden pledges support to hurricane-hit Puerto Rico: ‘All of America is with you’ – as it happened

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      That’s it for the US politics blog today! Here’s a rundown of everything that happened:
      Biden spoke in Ponce, Puerto Rico this afternoon, pledging future support for the island as it still deals with the impact of Hurricane Fiona. Biden also announced $60mn in federal funding that will come from the bipartisan infrastructure bill that passed last year.
      The White House did not confirm if Biden will be meeting with Florida governor Ron DeSantis, given the frayed relationship between the two politicians. Biden is scheduled to visit Florida on Wednesday to assess damage the state sustained from Hurricane Ian, but partisan tensions have been mounting as Republicans face backlash for previously downvoting federal assistance for states dealing with natural disasters.
      A jury heard arguments in seditious conspiracy charges against the founder of the far-right group Oath Keepers and four of its associates. The trial is the most serious case so far stemming from the 6 January capitol attack.
      The Supreme court started its new term today, hearing arguments about a case dealing with social media companies being held financially responsible for terrorism and enforcement of the Clean Water Act. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson sat on the bench for the first time, the first Black woman to serve on the highest court.
      That’s it for today; thank you for reading! Biden just wrapped up remarks in Puerto Rico, where he discussed past failures to support the island during previous natural disasters and future initiatives to ensure proper storm preparation.Biden acknowledged previous shortcomings in aiding Puerto Rico during intense storms, including Hurricane Maria: “You haven’t gotten the help in a timely way,” said Biden.”You haven’t gotten the help in a timely way,” @POTUS, in Ponce, says of #PuertoRico and disasters in recent years. pic.twitter.com/T4NCjjD9TG— Steve Herman (@W7VOA) October 3, 2022
      Biden added: “We came here in person to show that we’re with you. All of America is with you.”“I’m committed to this island,” said Biden, adding that he is “confident” the US can meet asks from governor Pedro Pierluisi for the US to extend the disaster declaration in Puerto Rico, cover 100% of the cost to move debris, and provide other federal assistance.Biden noted that more has to be done to help prepare Puerto Rico for future storms, announcing the $60mn that the island will receive in federal funding from the bipartisan infrastructure bill passed last year.“We have to ensure when the next hurricane hits Puerto Rico, we are ready,” said Biden.Biden added: “We are not leaving here as long as I am president until everything – I mean this sincerely – until every single thing we can do is done.””We are not leaving here as long as I am president until everything – I mean this sincerely – until every single thing we can do is done,” Biden says in Puerto Rico.— Joey Garrison (@joeygarrison) October 3, 2022
      Biden’s remarks are just beginning. Stay tuned for updates! Here’s video of the Bidens greeting Puerto Rico officials after landing in Ponce, where Biden is set to speak shortly.Wheels down in Ponce, Puerto Rico pic.twitter.com/lP2bDSgkEg— Seung Min Kim (@seungminkim) October 3, 2022
      Puerto Rico governor Pedro Pierluisi was on the ground to greet Biden and shared a message of welcome via Twitter.It’s my honor to welcome @POTUS and @FLOTUS to our island. The people of Puerto Rico are grateful for your steadfast support and appreciate your visit and continuous commitment to rebuild for a brighter future. pic.twitter.com/kHWY9RrDi1— Gobernador Pierluisi (@GovPierluisi) October 3, 2022
      Joe Biden’s remarks in Puerto Rico were set to begin shortly, but Biden and first lady Jill Biden have just touched down.While we wait, here’s information on how Hurricane Fiona initially impacted the island, from the Guardian’s Nina Lakhani:.css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}Most of Puerto Rico was still without power or safe drinking water on Monday, with remnants of a category 1 hurricane that struck there a day earlier forecast to bring more heavy rain and life-threatening flooding.
      Hundreds of people are trapped in emergency shelters across the Caribbean island, with major roads underwater and reports of numerous collapsed bridges. Crops have been washed away while flash floods, landslides and fallen trees have blocked roads, swept away vehicles and caused widespread damage to infrastructure.
      Two-thirds of the island’s almost 800,000 homes and businesses have no water after Hurricane Fiona caused a total blackout on Sunday and swollen rivers contaminated the filtration system. The storm was causing havoc in the Dominican Republic by early Monday.
      Lights went out across Puerto Rico just after 1pm on Sunday, leaving only those households and businesses with rooftop solar or functioning generators with power. Critically ill patients had to be moved from the island’s main cancer hospital in the capital, San Juan, after the backup generator failed due to voltage fluctuations – an issue that has led to regular blackouts over the past year.Read the full article here.Puerto Rico battles blackout and lack of safe water in wake of Hurricane FionaRead moreHere’s a recap of what’s happened so far today in the world of US politics:
      Biden and first lady Jill Biden are en-route to Puerto Rico, where he will survey damage sustained by Hurricane Fiona and announce $60mn in federal funding for the island’s storm preparations. He is scheduled to give remarks there at 2:30pm eastern time.
      Partisan tensions are boiling, with Hurricane Ian recovery efforts underway. Republicans are accused of withholding relief money that could help states dealing with similar natural disasters in the future following the current crisis in Florida.
      The White House did not confirm if Biden will be meeting with Florida governor Ron DeSantis, given the frayed relationship between the two politicians. Biden is scheduled to visit Florida on Wednesday to assess damage the state sustained from Hurricane Ian.
      A jury heard opening arguments in seditious conspiracy charges against the founder of the far-right group Oath Keepers, the most serious case so far stemming from the 6 January capitol attack.
      The Supreme court started its new term today, with Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson sitting on the bench for the first time, the first Black woman to serve on the court.
      While speaking on Air Force One, Jean-Pierre spoke on Biden’s upcoming trip to Florida to survey damage sustained from Hurricane Ian.Jean-Pierre declined to say if Biden will be joined by Florida governor Ron DeSantis, adding that she does not have a readout of what the trip will entail.WH press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre declines to say if Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis will join Biden during his visit to the state Wednesday to survey hurricane damage.— Jennifer Shutt (@JenniferShutt) October 3, 2022
      Jean-Pierre also added that the focus of the coming visit will be on “the people of Florida”, with Jean-Pierre not mentioning if Biden will speak to DeSantis about using government funds to fly migrants from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard, a move Biden has criticized.Last week, Biden said that he and the governor have spoken multiple times, not ruling out if he will meet with DeSantis or not.“I’ll meet with anybody who’s around. The answer is: Yes, if he wants to meet”, said Biden, reported NPR.White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre is now speaking with reporters aboard Air Force One as Biden and first lady Jill Biden make their way to Ponce, Puerto Rico.Listen along here. Updates from the briefing coming soon!As Puerto Rico prepares for Joe Biden’s visit this afternoon, a grassroots collective known as Queremos Sol (we want sun) has published an open letter (in Spanish) in the La Perla online daily urging the president to not waste federal taxpayer dollars on rebuilding the storm vulnerable fossil fuel dependent grid. “As you know, the absence of electricity after Hurricane Maria caused thousands of deaths. Now, two weeks after Hurricane Fiona, several deaths related to the lack of electricity have been documented. To a large extent, these deaths could have been prevented.“There is an urgent need to transform the electrical system to one that provides service resilient, renewable and affordable electricity.The Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) is poised to spend historic amounts of taxpayer funds [$14bn] to rebuild the same vulnerable, imported fossil fuel-dependent, centralized electrical system that has so many times failed the Puerto Rican population and, now more, under the operation of LUMA Energy….. [Instead Fema] must prioritize distributed renewable energy projects, such as battery-powered rooftop solar systems on homes, businesses and institutions in Puerto Rico, starting with the poorest and most marginalized communities.”After category 1 Fiona caused a total blackout over the island, around 40,000 homes and businesses with rooftop solar panels – folks with high incomes or access to credit – kept the lights on. Today, more than two weeks later, around 300,000 people, around 10% of the population, are without power, and some have been warned it could take weeks to resort. Water supplies, which rely on power, remain unstable in some neighbourhoods. The letter from Queremos Sol, which includes health experts, scientists, activists, ordinary residents and attorneys like Ruth Santiago, who will meet Biden this afternoon, continues: “It is foreseeable that rebuilding the same network, as proposed by LUMA, will perpetuate the vicious cycle of destruction and reconstruction, as well as the loss of life. The plan to rebuild the network of the last century is not in line with his administration’s policies on environmental and climate justice. …Using disaster recovery funds already allocated to provide universal access to resilient renewable energy would save lives and put Puerto Rico on a path to viability.”Read more here As recovery from Hurricane Ian is underway in Florida, Republicans are catching flack for rejecting natural disaster relief given the devastation from the storm in their home state. More recently, Republican senator Marco Rubio has vowed to reject any federal relief bill for Hurricane Ian if it has “pork”, reported Politico. “Sure. I will fight against it having pork in it. That’s the key. We shouldn’t have that in there, because it undermines the ability to come back and do this in the future”, said Rubi on Sunday while speaking on CNN’s “State of the Union”. Rubio, like all Florida Republicans, rejected a stop-gap spending bill that would give federal funding to states dealing with natural disasters. Democrats have accused Republicans of holding out on critical assistance, though the funding would not have gone towards recovery from Hurricane Ian. “Not one Florida Republican in Congress who was present, voted to put the interests of those suffering from tragedy above their own political fortunes,” said Democratic representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz, reported Politico.Florida Democratic Party chair Manny Diaz said “this is a level of callous indifference and political indifference that boggles the mind.”Here is more information on the Oath Keepers, including their history and their membership base: .css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}The Oath Keepers, founded in 2009 by Stewart Rhodes, is a loosely organized conspiracy theory-fueled group that recruits current and former military, police and first responders. It asks its members to vow to defend the constitution “against all enemies, foreign and domestic”, promotes the belief that the federal government is out to strip citizens of their civil liberties and paints its followers as defenders against tyranny.
      More than two dozen people associated with the Oath Keepers – including Rhodes – have been charged in connection with the January 6 attack. Rhodes and four other Oath Keeper members or associates are heading to trial this month on seditious conspiracy charges for what prosecutors have described as a weeks-long plot to keep the then president, Donald Trump, in power. Rhodes and the other Oath Keepers say that they are innocent and that there was no plan to attack the Capitol.
      The Oath Keepers has grown quickly along with the wider anti-government movement and used the tools of the internet to spread their message during Barack Obama’s presidency, said Rachel Carroll Rivas, interim deputy director of research with the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Intelligence Project. But since January 6 and Rhodes’s arrest, the group has struggled to keep members, she said.
      Read the full article here. Oath Keepers membership rolls feature police, military and elected officialsRead moreA jury has begun hearing opening arguments on seditious conspiracy charges against the founder of the far-right group Oath Keepers and of its four associates .The case is highest-profile prosecution to stem from the 6 January capitol attack and is the most serious case to reach trial so far, reported the Associated Press.Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes and four members are accused of assembling an “armed rebellion” to stop the transfer of power between former president Donald Trump and Joe Biden after the results of the 2020 presidential election, said prosecutor Jeffrey Nestler, who delivered opening remarks in a Washington DC federal court today.“Their goal was to stop by whatever means necessary the lawful transfer of presidential power, including by taking up arms against the United States government,” said Nestler. “They concocted a plan for armed rebellion to shatter a bedrock of American democracy.”Defense attorneys for Rhodes will also have a chance to speak to jury members, a group that was decided last week after days of questioning on their feelings regarding Trump, the insurrection, and other matters.Oath Keepers to stand trial on charges of seditious conspiracyRead moreA bit behind schedule, Biden and first lady Jill Biden are departing for Ponce, Puerto Rico on Air Force One. While leaving, Biden spoke to reporters about the purpose of the trip: “I’m heading to Puerto Rico because they haven’t been taken very good care of. And they’re trying like hell to catch up from the last hurricane, I want to see the state of affairs today and make sure we push everything we can.”BIDEN: “I’m heading to Puerto Rico because they haven’t been taken very good care of. And they’re trying like hell to catch up from the last hurricane, I want to see the state of affairs today and make sure we push everything we can.” pic.twitter.com/7reEBiqDoY— JM Rieger (@RiegerReport) October 3, 2022
      Biden is scheduled to give his remarks in Puerto Rico at 2:30pm eastern time. More updates coming from the Supreme court, including Jackson’s first questions while serving on the bench.Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson’s first question in Sackett v. EPA is about whether Congress really intended for wetlands to be “touching,” not just “adjacent,” in order to be protected under the Clean Water Act.— Maxine Joselow (@maxinejoselow) October 3, 2022
      Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson’s first questions from the bench, grilling a lawyer trying to gut the Clean Water Act. When he says a provision of the law is “unenlightening,” KBJ responds dryly: “Let me try to bring some enlightenment to it.” pic.twitter.com/1Tyllv0lJr— Mark Joseph Stern (@mjs_DC) October 3, 2022
      Listen to the oral arguments here.Here’s more context on cases the Supreme court will hear and their impact on democracy, from the Guardian’s Ed Pilkington: .css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}On Monday, the nine justices of the US supreme court will take their seats at the start of a new judicial year, even as the shock waves of the panel’s previous seismic term continue to reverberate across America.
      In their first full term that ended in June, the court’s new six-to-three hard-right supermajority astounded the nation by tearing up decades of settled law. They eviscerated the right to an abortion, loosened America’s already lax gun laws, erected roadblocks to combating the climate crisis, and awarded religious groups greater say in public life.
      The fallout of the spate of extreme rightwing rulings has shaken public confidence in the political neutrality of the court. A Gallup poll this week found that fewer than half of US adults trust it – a drop of 20 points in just two years and the lowest rating since Gallup began recording the trend in 1972.
      Justices have begun to respond to the pressure by sparring openly in public. The Wall Street Journal reported that in recent speeches the liberal justice Elena Kagan has accused her conservative peers of damaging the credibility of the court by embracing Republican causes.Read the full article here. US supreme court to decide cases with ‘monumental’ impact on democracyRead moreThe Supreme Court’s new term begins today, with oral arguments set to begin at 10am.During today’s session, the court will hear arguments on holding social media companies financially responsible for terrorist attacks, reports the Associated Press. Relatives of people killed in terrorist attacks in France and Turkey had sued several social media companies including Twitter, and Facebook, accusing the companies of spreading terrorist messaging and radicalizing new recruits.Tomorrow, the court will hear arguments concerning a challenge to the Voting Rights Act, the historic legislation that prohibits racial discrimination in voting rules.Across the next, several months, the court will hear other cases centered on affirmative action, enforcement of the Clear Water Act, and other issues.Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, the first Black woman to sit on the Supreme Court, will be sitting on the bench for today’s oral arguments.Jackson was celebrated during a ceremony at the court on Friday, attended by Biden, Kamala Harris, and other state officials.Biden and first lady Jill Biden will be leaving the White House at 10:10am this morning for Puerto Rico, where Biden will examine damage the island sustained during Hurricane Fiona and announce $60mn in federal funding for future storm preparation.Deanne Criswell, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), will also be on the trip.A White House official said more about the trip’s agenda to CNN: “They will meet with families and community leaders impacted by Hurricane Fiona, participate in a community service project to help pack bags with food and other essential items, and thank the Federal and local officials working around the clock to help the people of Puerto Rico recover and rebuild…The President will also receive a briefing on ongoing recovery efforts.”At least 25 people were killed when Hurricane Fiona made landfall on the island last month, reported Puerto Rico’s health department.The natural disaster caused an island-wide blackout, with hundreds of thousands still without power.Biden will then visit Florida on Wednesday.Biden mentioned Fiona and Hurricane Ian, which touched down on Florida last week, during a speech he gave at the Congressional Black Caucus awards dinner on Saturday, reported NBC News.“Our hearts … are heavy, the devastating hurricanes, storms in Puerto Rico, Florida, and South Carolina. And we owe Puerto Rico a hell of a lot more than they’ve already gotten,” said Biden, referring to Hurricane Ian’s impact on South Carolina.Good morning US politics blog readers!Following several tropical storms that happened last month, the extent of damage from those natural disasters is still being accounted.Today, Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden will visit Puerto Rico to survey damage the island sustained during Hurricane Fiona. Two weeks ago, flooding and landslides caused by the storm knocked out power across the island and affected water supplies, leaving millions in the dark and without clean water. Hundreds of thousands remain without power.Once there, Biden will announce $60m in infrastructure funding for Puerto Rico from the bipartisan infrastructure law that was passed last year.Meanwhile, millions of Floridians are struggling to recover after Hurricane Ian made landfall last week, as Ian’s death toll surpasses 80.Partisan tensions are boiling over handling of the storm, with Republican officials facing criticism for voting down disaster relief aid in a short-term spending bill, reports Politico.Florida governor DeSantis is facing mounting criticism for millions he spent in the weeks leading up to Ian on “political stunts”, privately charted planes that flew migrants from Texas to the affluent Martha’s Vineyard community. More

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      in UK Politics

      Special Relationship no more? Joe Biden and Liz Truss have much to disagree about ahead of their first meeting

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      Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email The Special Relationship between the United Kingdom and the United States was always going to be a little different in Joe Biden’s tenure. In his first words to the British people […] More

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      in US Politics

      Chile is updating its constitution for the 21st century. The US should follow its lead

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      Chile is updating its constitution for the 21st century. The US should follow its leadDavid AdlerThe US constitution used to be considered a model for democracies around the world – but its antiquated institutions and absence of rights have guaranteed its declining influence “Every constitution,” Thomas Jefferson wrote in a 1789 letter to James Madison, “naturally expires at the end of 19 years.” Two centuries after its expiration date, citizens of the United States are suffering the consequences of a constitution drafted by 55 men who owned hundreds of human slaves, thousands of acres in landed estates, and millions of dollars in inherited wealth. Fundamental rights denied, foundational institutions paralyzed and existential crises ignored: these are side-effects of a legal framework that has not been meaningfully amended in over a half-century.The US is not alone. Scores of constitutions around the world were written by dictators, colonizers and military occupiers to enshrine institutions that are undemocratic by design and unfit to cope with crises like a rapidly heating planet. In some cases, like the UK, the constitution was never actually written at all, setting the political system on a precarious foundation of norms and conventions that leaders like Boris Johnson have proven all too eager to discard. When a cross-party committee convened in 2013 to review the UK’s constitutional chaos, its recommendation was nothing short of radical: that the government should consider “preparations for a UK-wide constitutional convention”.But while both the US and the UK remain trapped in constitutional deadlock, the Republic of Chile has just concluded its own nationwide convention to replace the 1980 decree by the dictator Augusto Pinochet and his military government. The product of the convention is a visionary document that would not only update, expand and advance Chileans’ basic rights – to health, housing, abortion, decent work and a habitable planet – but also set a new standard for democratic renewal in the 21st century.Like that of the United States, the current Chilean constitution was written under extremely undemocratic conditions. Pinochet came to power in a bloody coup to overthrow President Salvador Allende, and set to work designing a constitution that would consolidate executive power, constrain democratic representation, and enshrine free market fundamentalism. Along with a clique of economists known as the “Chicago Boys” for their training at the University of Chicago, Pinochet set the country on a path of such extreme neoliberalization that Chile would become the only country in the world with a constitutionally privatized water system.The consequences of the Pinochet constitution were all too easy to predict – and will be too familiar to readers in the US from which its ideas were sourced. Inequality soared: Chile became the most unequal country in the OECD, with an income gap 65% higher than the OECD average; the combined wealth of its billionaires totals 25% of GDP. Debt exploded: Chile’s tuition fees rank among the highest in the world, trapping students in cycles of debt repayment that can last a lifetime. Precarity accelerated: the percentage of jobs on short-term contracts has grown to 30, while roughly half of all workers report being unable to save enough to fund their retirement. Even its famous system of privatized water crashed: millions of Santiago residents are regularly left without access to running water, as Chile moves into a period of severe water stress.In October 2019, millions of Chileans took to the streets to protest these intolerable conditions. Kicked off by a hike in public transportation fares by sitting president Sebastián Piñera, the protests quickly grew into a revolt against the country’s entire constitutional order – its neoliberal orthodoxy, its authoritarian governance, its absence of human rights protections that were on display in both Pinochet’s murderous regime and Piñera’s violent repression of the 2019 protests. “Constituyente o nada!” the protesters shouted: constituent assembly or nothing. One year later, Chileans turned out in record numbers to vote in a special plebiscite organized in the wake of the protest movement: 78% voted for a new constitution, and 79% for a convention of elected citizens to write it, rather than career politicians.At a time when democracies are ravaged by violent polarization, Chile’s convention has charted a path to peaceful renovation. Led by women, the convention brought together workers, Indigenous peoples and parties from across the political spectrum to draft a new constitution over the course of a year of careful deliberation. The result is a document that responds directly to the escalating crises of inequality, insecurity and a changing climate. The constitution establishes new universal public services for health, education, and clean water. It endows nature with rights and protects Chile’s glaciers, parks and big bodies of water from environmentally disastrous mining. And – four decades after Pinochet’s decree – it finally turns Chile into a full democracy, with gender parity in public institutions, self-determination for Indigenous peoples, collective bargaining for all workers and the right to vote for all Chileans over the age of 16.But the campaign to de-legitimate Chile’s constitution is already under way. Even before the convention had taken its seat, commentators at the Wall Street Journal had labeled it a “suicide mission”. Since then, a relentless “digital war” has been waged to discredit the new constitution by spreading lies and disinformation about its contents. One sitting Chilean senator falsely claimed that the constitution would change the country’s name, flag and national anthem, in a video that went viral across the country. Gender parity is mocked as “woke”. Worker rights are “divisive”. And Indigenous sovereignty is the path to an “Indigenous monarchy”. In its editorial instructing Chileans to vote against the new constitution, the Economist put the new text on a roll of toilet paper. The goal of the attacks is simple: to scare Chileans into a defense of an indefensible status quo.But Chileans are undeterred. After all, the Economist praised the “rapid success” of the Pinochet coup back in 1973, and most of the parties that presently call to reject the new constitution are the same ones that voted to keep Pinochet in power in the 1988 plebiscite that ended his rule. More than a month before the September vote, the coalition to support the new constitution is growing around the world, exciting everyone from feminists to evangelicals, US politicians to University of Chicago professors. “It’s kind of a miracle that it’s come this far,” said Tom Ginsburg, a University of Chicago professor. The “Apruebo” vote is still trailing in the polls, but enthusiasm for the plebiscite is on the rise. “This 4th of September, it will once again be the people who will have the last word on their destiny,” President Gabriel Boric said.But their destiny is ours, too. In the 20th century, the US constitution reigned as the model to be emulated by democracies around the world. No longer: its antiquated institutions and an absence of rights have guaranteed its declining influence. Now, Chile has shown the way to a new constitutional order – rich with rights, responsive to the needs of both people and planet – that can set an example for the world in the 21st century. Because, as even Thomas Jefferson recognized in 1789, “the earth belongs to the living, and not to the dead”. From Chile back to the US, may a new movement for democratic renewal now come to life.
      David Adler is a political economist and general coordinator of the Progressive International
      This article was amended on 28 July 2022 to reflect that Gabriel Boric is not part of the Apruebo campaign; as president, he can only advocate for participation, not a single side
      TopicsUS politicsOpinionUS constitution and civil libertiesChileAmericasLaw (US)commentReuse this content More

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      in US Politics

      Statehood or independence? Puerto Rico’s status at forefront of political debate

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      Statehood or independence? Puerto Rico’s status at forefront of political debateUS lawmakers introduced a bill to determine the island’s status but how Puerto Rico should pave its path toward decolonization is the root of the debate Luz Rivera Sotomayor spent most of her days in church praying for her family’s health before she was diagnosed with dystonia in 2020. Two years after her diagnosis with the muscular system disorder, Rivera became bedridden at 59 and survives in Puerto Rico on what little she gets from a temporary program for low-income families.Because she lives in the US territory, Rivera is one of the thousands of Puerto Ricans who doesn’t qualify for the federal supplemental security income benefits intended to help people with disabilities in US states. In April, the supreme court reaffirmed in United States v Vaello-Madero that Congress is constitutionally allowed to treat territorial residents differently when extending federal benefits.“My sister has been blessed because someone in the community always comes around with what she needs,” said Jaqueline Rivera Sotomayor, who regularly takes care of Rivera Sotomayor, who lost her ability to speak. “But I can’t imagine what other people go through just to get by.”The consequences of Puerto Rico’s status has been on the forefront of political debates on the island in recent weeks, with a clash in opinions on whether the territory should become a US state, independent, or fall under a free association agreement.On Friday, US lawmakers introduced a bill that proposes a binding plebiscite – or direct electoral vote – to determine the island’s status. The draft was announced in May by the House majority leader, Steny Hoyer; Puerto Rico’s resident commissioner, Jenniffer González-Colon; and Representative Nydia Velázquez.The Puerto Rico Status Act would not include as an option the island’s current commonwealth status, a system that has lost support since the federal government established an unelected fiscal board in 2016, with authority to commandeer the local political branches, after the island entered bankruptcy.“In the aftermath of Puerto Rico’s bankruptcy, there appears to be a far-reaching consensus that the island’s colonial condition must come to an end,” said Rafael Cox Alomar, a law professor at the University of the District of Columbia, who has done research and analysis focused on Puerto Rico’s status and history. “The idea that Puerto Rico ceased to be a colony in 1952 after the inauguration of its own constitution no longer stands.”But exactly how Puerto Rico should pave its path toward decolonization is the root of the island’s debate. The bill, which is highly unlikely to advance in the Senate, proposes the plebiscite take place in November 2023. Puerto Rico’s current administration, led by Governor Pedro Pierluisi Urrutia, believes becoming the 51st state would eradicate the island’s colonial status.Some statehood supporters believe the bill is redundant, since the island held a referendum in November 2020 and ended with 53% of the votes in favor of statehood. However, only about half of registered voters participated, and the referendum was not approved by the US Department of Justice under the Trump administration even before the vote took place.The opposing party to the island’s current administration, which has traditionally supported Puerto Rico’s commonwealth formula, is quickly losing support within the island and among its own members. The decades-old Popular Democratic party is expected to hold a meeting later this year to determine whether it supports the island’s territorial status or the option of free association, which puts into question the party’s future.“If you’re going to deal with colonialism, all sides have to agree the status quo is not the solution,” said Representative Raúl Grijalva of Arizona, chairman of the US House of natural resources committee, which oversees affairs in US territories. After presenting the bill on Friday, Grijalva expects the committee to vote on it as soon as Wednesday.In June, Grijalva and other federal legislators held a public forum in Puerto Rico and heard dozens of testimonies from political party members, community advocates and interest groups to help legislators revise the proposed measure.Puerto Rican groups dedicated to mobilizing communities around the need for legislation that resolves the status issues were present in these discussions. The group Boricuas Unidos en la Diáspora suggested better defining the economic and cultural consequences of statehood, while others advocated for the formation of a citizens’ assembly to determine the island’s future instead of the bill.“The people of Puerto Rico must be the protagonists of their process, it can’t be prewritten by someone else,” said Javier Smith, special projects coordinator at Vamos Puerto Rico, a community organizing group. “If we’re going to keep the same subordinate political and economic structures, we’re not really changing anything.”The forum came before the UN special committee on decolonization approved a draft resolution recognizing Puerto Rico’s right to self-determination and independence for the fortieth time. Dozens of independence supporters for Puerto Rico protested near the United Nations’ headquarters in New York later that day.Rivera Sotomayor, who is taking care of her sister in Adjuntas, said she welcomes any process that solidifies Puerto Rico’s status in relation to the US, one way or another. For now, she is relying on their mother’s Social Security benefits to help cover the costs of her sister’s medications.“This is terrible,” said Rivera Sotomayor. “When you have a loved one, bedridden like this and in need of medication and diapers, the situation gets frustrating.”TopicsPuerto RicoUS politicsAmericasfeaturesReuse this content More

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      in Elections

      John Bolton says he ‘helped plan coups d’etat’ in other countries

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      John Bolton says he ‘helped plan coups d’etat’ in other countriesFormer national security adviser to Donald Trump says US Capitol attack was not a coup because it was not carefully planned John Bolton, a former national security adviser to Donald Trump and before that ambassador to the United Nations under George W Bush, said on Tuesday he helped plan coup attempts in other countries.January 6 testimony tells chilling tale of democracy hanging by a threadRead moreSpeaking to CNN after the day’s January 6 committee hearing, Bolton said it was wrong to describe Trump’s attempt to stay in power after the 2020 election as a coup.He said: “While nothing Donald Trump did after the election, in connection with the lie about the election fraud, none of it is defensible, it’s also a mistake as some people have said including on the committee, the commentators that somehow this was a carefully planned coup d’etat to the constitution.“That’s not the way Donald Trump does things. It’s rambling from one half-vast idea to another plan that falls through and another comes up.”His host, Jake Tapper, said: “One doesn’t have to be brilliant to attempt a coup.”Bolton said: “I disagree with that, as somebody who has helped plan coups d’etat, not here, but you know, other places. It takes a lot of work and that’s not what [Trump] did. It was just stumbling around from one idea to another.“Ultimately, he did unleash the rioters at the Capitol, as to that there’s no doubt, but not to overthrow the constitution, to buy more time to throw the matter back to the states to try and redo the issue.“And if you don’t believe that you’re going to overreact, and I think that’s a real risk for the committee, which has done a lot of good work.”Jake Tapper: “One doesn’t have to be brilliant to attempt a coup.”John Bolton: “I disagree with that. As somebody who has helped plan coup d’etat, not here, but other places, it takes a lot of work.” pic.twitter.com/REyqh3KtHi— Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) July 12, 2022
      Tapper returned to Bolton’s remark about having helped plan coups.Bolton said: “I’m not going to get into the specifics.”Tapper asked: “Successful coups?”Bolton said: “Well, I wrote about Venezuela in in the book and it turned out not to be successful.“Not that we had all that much to do with it, but I saw what it took for an opposition to try and overturn an illegally elected president and they failed. The notion that Donald Trump was half as competent as the Venezuelan opposition is laughable.”Bolton devotes considerable space to Venezuela policy in The Room Where It Happened, his 2020 memoir of his work for Trump.In 2019, the US supported the Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido’s call for the military to back his ultimately failed attempt to oust the socialist president, Nicolas Maduro, arguing Maduro’s re-election was illegitimate.Before Bolton joined the Trump administration, it was widely reported that Trump wanted to use the US military to oust Maduro. In August 2017, Trump told reporters: “We have many options for Venezuela, this is our neighbour.”Among other gambits, Bolton’s book describes work with the British government to freeze Venezuelan gold deposits in the Bank of England.In his newsletter, The Racket, Jonathan M Katz, author of the book Gangsters of Capitalism, said: “The United States has indeed sponsored and participated in lots of coups and foreign government overthrows, dating back to the turn of the 20th century [and] Bolton was personally involved in many of the recent efforts – in Nicaragua, Iraq, Haiti and others”.But, Katz added: “Generally, officials do not admit that sort of thing on camera.”The Room Where It Happened review: John Bolton fires broadside that could sink TrumpRead moreKatz wrote: “Keep in mind that throughout the 2019 crisis, Bolton insisted that the Trump administration’s support for … Guaidó … was anything but a coup. He literally stood in front of the White House at the height of the affair and told reporters: “This is clearly not a coup!”In those remarks, in April 2019, Bolton said: “We recognize Juan Guaidó as the legitimate interim president of Venezuela.“And just as it’s not a coup when the president of the United States gives an order to the Department of Defense, it’s not a coup for Juan Guaidó to try and take command of the Venezuelan military.“We want as our principal objective the peaceful transfer of power but I will say again, as [Trump] has said from the outset, and Nicolas Maduro and those supporting him, particularly those who are not Venezuelan, should know, all options are on the table.”On CNN, Tapper said: “I feel like there’s like this other stuff you’re not telling me.”Bolton said: “I think I’m sure there is.”TopicsJohn BoltonDonald TrumpJanuary 6 hearingsUS Capitol attackUS politicsVenezuelaAmericasnewsReuse this content More

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      in UK Politics

      Biden says ‘close cooperation’ with UK will continue after Johnson announces resignation

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      President Joe Biden on Thursday said UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s announcement that he would step down as the UK’s head of government once Conservative Party members choose a successor will not put a damper on the close relationship between Washington and London.In a statement to The Independent, Mr Biden did not mention Mr Johnson or his impending exit from Number 10 Downing Street, but said the US and UK remain “the closest of friends and Allies” and stressed that “the special relationship” between the American and British people “remains strong and enduring”. “I look forward to continuing our close cooperation with the government of the United Kingdom, as well as our Allies and partners around the world, on a range of important priorities,” Mr Biden said. “That includes maintaining a strong and united approach to supporting the people of Ukraine as they defend themselves against Putin’s brutal war on their democracy, and holding Russia accountable for its actions”.The outgoing British leader, who was born in the US but renounced his American citizenship years ago, has had a warm relationship with Mr Biden since the American president assumed office in January 2021.At the 2021 Group of Seven summit in Cornwall — one of Mr Biden’s first trips abroad as president — Mr Johnson described his American counterpart as “a breath of fresh air” as the two men signed a “New Atlantic Charter” which “reaffirm[ed] their commitment to work together to realise our vision for a more peaceful and prosperous future” by building on the alliance cemented by Franklin Roosevelt and Winston Churchill more than eight decades prior. Mr Johnson has also praised Mr Biden’s willingness to tackle climate change as an existential threat to humanity during a September 2021 visit to the White House.RecommendedThe two leaders have also worked closely together as they coordinated the west’s response to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. They also caused a row when the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia announced last year that Australia would purchase nuclear-powered, conventionally-armed submarines made with American and British technology. The move so incensed French President Emanuel Macron that he temporarily recalled the nation’s ambassador to the United States. But despite the friendly relations between the two leaders, White House officials have declined to weigh in on Mr Johnson’s political troubles, which they’ve characterised as an internal British matter that is out-of-bounds for public comment. More

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      Trump-supporting Fox & Friends mocked over criticism of Boris Johnson for being dishonest, mishandling Covid and refusing to leave office

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      The hosts of Fox & Friends have been mocked for criticizing Boris Johnson for being dishonest and refusing to resign after the programme spent years supporting former President Donald Trump. Host Steve Doocy said on Thursday that “what happened over the last number of months and years is the British people did not trust him. He would say one thing and would do something else, and then it would pop up in the tabloids”. “It’s a question of integrity,” he added. “He has refused to go even though people have been calling for him to hit the pavement for a while, because he would say, ‘look, I had a mandate. I had an additional 14 million votes from voters who voted for me in 2019. So I’m going to stick around’ and he stuck around until he saw the writing on the wall.”Doocy noted that more than “53 government officials called it quits. The government of the United Kingdom and of England was in dire need of somebody to run different cabinet positions and things like that”. “Apparently his assistants were trying to fill the positions as quickly as people would quit, but they couldn’t. And there were people who were in charge of security, the courts, technology, education, finance, Northern Ireland, and science. So clearly, that’s a lot of the government with nobody running it and so now he’s gonna leave,” Mr Doocy said. RecommendedOne of the co-hosts said Mr Johnson’s “problems really started with Covid – he wasn’t clear how he was going to handle Covid. Then he got Covid and he almost died. He said it was really touch and go. And his reaction to his own case with Covid was that he really went in the direction of the globalist lockdown, very serious, very stringent response. And then he was caught, of course, partying it up in what is now known as Partygate”. “Fox & Friends obliviously criticizing Boris Johnson for being untrustworthy, refusing to leave office, creating chaos, and mishandling Covid — after years of running interference for you know who — is pretty rich,” journalist Aaron Ruper tweeted in reference to Mr Trump. “It’s bizarre, is what it is, seeing that Johnson was the British version of Trump and Trump-approved,” one Twitter user responded. “I love the way she just threw ‘globalist’ in there. A word that has absolutely no relevance to anything they were talking about,” Jamie Mellor wrote. Recommended“Irony was murdered, resurrected, and then killed again about five different times in this clip. A classic,” Rupar added. More

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      in US Politics

      Texas tragedy highlights migrants’ perilous journey to cross US border

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      Texas tragedy highlights migrants’ perilous journey to cross US border The number of migrant deaths in 2021 was 650, a stark reminder of the human cost of US immigration policiesThe deaths of 50 migrants – traveling from Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras – in terrible conditions in Texas has cast a spotlight on the immense risks people are willing to take to cross the US border in search of a better financial life or escaping violence in their native countries.Fifty migrants found dead inside abandoned Texas trailer truckRead moreLaura Peña, the legal director of the Texas Civil Rights Project, represents asylum seekers at the border. Responding to the tragedy in San Antonio, she said both the Texas governor, Greg Abbott, and President Biden have “utterly failed people who are trying to seek safety by crossing the border”.“The closure of borders are forcing people to take more dangerous routes. That’s just the facts. It’s resulted in thousands of deaths across the border … And it’s a direct result of these efforts to harden the border and criminalize people instead of investing in processing – simple processing of people who are trying to seek asylum and refuge at our ports of entry at our borders.”The processes Peña is referring to are the same ones used to allow more than 3,000 Ukrainian refugees to enter the US at the border of Mexico.She added: “We’ve been advocating for a dignified, humane process at the border, where people are not forced to risk their lives. We’ve seen the ability of the federal government to do that. We saw all the resources come to bear for our Ukrainian brothers and sisters, rapid humane processing at the border. But when it comes to Black and brown migrants, those same benefits are completely stripped away. They are not afforded across the board. It’s the underlying racism, and how and where both the federal and the state governments choose to militarize.”On Tuesday, Biden called the deaths “horrifying and heartbreaking”.“While we are still learning all the facts about what happened and the Department of Homeland Security has the lead for the investigation, initial reports are that this tragedy was caused by smugglers or human traffickers who have no regard for the lives they endanger and exploit to make a profit.“Exploiting vulnerable individuals for profit is shameful, as is political grandstanding around tragedy, and my administration will continue to do everything possible to stop human smugglers and traffickers from taking advantage of people who are seeking to enter the United States between ports of entry.”The San Antonio fire chief, Charles Hood, said the people found were “hot to the touch”, suffering from heatstroke and heat exhaustion.The peak of summer in San Antonio, where temperatures remain consistently in the 90s or higher, is no deterrent to those seeking work or fleeing persecution. Nor is the prospect of being discovered by border patrol agents. The result of the treacherous journey, however, is the gruesome image of stacks of bodies.The number of migrant deaths in 2021 was 650, the most since 2014. The figure is a stark reminder of the human cost of US immigration policies, which generally limit the number of migrants able to seek asylum.Congressman Joaquín Castro, who represents the district that covers San Antonio, called for ending Title 42, the pandemic-era policy invoked by the Trump administration that allows for turning away migrants without offering them the chance to seek humanitarian protection ostensibly to prevent the spread of contagious diseases like Covid-19.Castro argued that was an immediate aid to the infrastructure of US immigration, which has been overwhelmed.The tragedy in San Antonio tonight, the loss of life, is horrific. My prayers are with the victims, their families and the survivors being treated in our community. May God bless them. We must end Title 42 which has put desperate, oppressed people in grave danger of death. https://t.co/P0l8YmtHmq— Joaquin Castro (@JoaquinCastrotx) June 28, 2022
      More changes to US immigration law are imminent. The conservative-majority supreme court is also set to rule on Trump’s “Remain in Mexico” policy, which forces asylum seekers from Mexico to return home while awaiting the result of their pending immigration cases. Advocates argue the policy makes migrants face a forced return to the unsafe and vulnerable conditions from which they were escaping.And to avoid that, advocates say, migrants are willing to endure extremely dangerous conditions and risk everything in hopes of making the journey across the US border with Mexico.Biden tried to end the policy upon taking office, but was unsuccessful.The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) said: “If the supreme court prevents the Biden administration from ending Remain in Mexico, it will enshrine a new legacy for the United States – a legacy of turning its back on international commitments and sending people directly into harm’s way.”Though Monday’s grim discovery stood among the deadliest tragedies involving migrants, it is not the first of its kind in San Antonio. In 2017, 10 men traveling by tractor-trailer died, having gone without water, food and air conditioning for hours.Further south in Brooks county, Texas, 10 migrants traveling by van died after crashing into a utility pole last August.In Houston, six migrants died in an SUV after being chased by police through rainy weather in 2019.Advocates have long said that those episodes illustrate the risks migrants are willing to take to access the US and leave behind uncertain lives in their native countries.The Texas senator Ted Cruz and Governor Greg Abbott quickly blamed Biden for the most recent deaths in San Antonio. Abbott said: “These deaths are on Biden. They are a result of his deadly open border policies. They show the deadly consequences of his refusal to enforce the law.”The condemnation of the president comes after members of the Texas GOP criticized Democrats such as gubernatorial candidate Beto O’Rourke for calling for more meaningful gun control measures after the shooting deaths of 19 children and two of their teachers at a school in Uvalde.Following news of the dead in San Antonio, O’Rourke echoed calls for expanding avenues for legal migration to discourage human smuggling rings responsible for organizing such dangerous trips across the border.TopicsUS newsUS politicsTexasUS immigrationMexicoAmericasUS-Mexico borderfeaturesReuse this content More