Sondland given no choice but to follow Trump's orders in the Ukraine Scandal

The New York Times

Mr. Sondland was sworn in to testify Wednesday before Congress | Doug Mills, NYT

"Everyone was in the loop," he said. "It was no secret."

On November 20, 2019, U.S. Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland testified that there was a "clear quid pro quo" between Ukraine conducting politically motivated investigations and getting a meeting between President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. He confirmed that senior administration officials knew about Trump's and Giuliani's foreign policy plan—including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Vice President Mike Pence. Mr. Sondland highlighted that Trump's priority was to have the Ukrainian government announce that they would start the investigations, which alone could have been damaging enough to Biden's political campaign. Moreover, Sondland also admitted to grudgingly working with Mr. Giuliani on a pressure campaign from "the president's orders", further emphasizing Trump's active participation in a controversy that threatens his presidency. After these revelations, the urging question on corruption in American politics remains.

Discussion Questions
1. After Sondland's new testimony, will Congress's stance be significantly impacted?
2. Do you believe that anyone in the Trump administration ought to be prosecuted?
3. Is it likely that other officials will follow suit to Sondland?

Chile Is Ready for a New Constitution

NYT Link

Following a rise in Santiago subway fares, Chile has become a battleground of intense protests and arguments.  President Sebastián Piñera went as far as saying the nation was "at war" with protesters, who have been actively participating in demonstrations, looting, and violence. Protesters call for a regime change and a complete restructuring of the government. In the face of destruction and despair, Chile has decided to move on to create a brand new Constitution which abandons the expectations set by the old Constitution, which was inherently flawed. The old model focused on empowering the upper class, while many others suffered under low wages, student debt, and inadequate health care (sound familiar?). In October of 2020, all of the people of Chile will be able to elect their constitutional framers for a constitutional convention. Chile has been a broken democracy for 30 years, and this constitution will not fix all of it's problems, but hopefully it will become a step in the right direction.

1. Do you think it was the right move for Chile to completely rewrite it's constitution?
2. In a comparison to the US, how are Chile and the US similar in history and current status?
3. Jefferson once said that the US Constitution should be switched out every 13 years, as newer generations should not be weighed down by the decisions of the old. In our AP Gov class, we have discussed the viability of replacing our possibly outdated constitution. Do you believe the US could possibly look to replace it's constitution? Or simply pass more amendments to modify the Constitution for a modern generation?

The Iran Cables: Secret Documents Show How Tehran Wields Power in Iraq

NYT Link (it's a really really long article)

Iran-Iraq-US relationships are complicated to say the least: included are at least 3 wars, 2 major terrorist groups, and consistent UN babysitting. So it comes as absolutely no surprise to everyone that Iran has a formidable presence in Iraqi politics. However, the recent—unprecedented for a country as secretive as Iran—700-page leak of reports shows the astounding magnitude of Iran's influence in Iraq. Note: Iraq's hottest political divide is between Sunnis and Shiites, and Iran supports the latter while groups like ISIS are of the former.

The actual New York Times Article is 20 odd pages long, so buckle in for some quick highlights: 1) Iranian spies have worked big time to co-opt high ranking Iraqi officials and many of them would tell Iranian officials everything from their meetings with American diplomats; 2) The US and Iran have basically been using Iraq as a setting for super intense spy games, meetings in dark alleys and all, and Iran is undoubtedly winning; 3) Iran's intelligence agency has recruited former CIA agents in order to gain intel on US actions in Iraq; 4) Iran's Revolutionary Guard, a special division of the military devoted to preserving the Islamic political system, is completely responsible for Iranian policy in Iraq and other important-to-national-security countries like Lebanon; 5) Iran's main goal is to maintain stability in Iraq in order to keep it as an ally but it's also worked to eradicate the Islamic State
; 6) all guys in Washington now admit that the 2003 invasion of Iraq basically gave control of Iraq over to Iran

Ok, so I admit that was not so quick, but it's all pretty important. I think these documents, although they mainly chronicle events from a few years ago, are really important in that they are helping the rest of the world see inside Iran's black box of a government, at least a little. Recently this blog's been a little dry in terms of international news, but foreign affairs is a big part of the president's job, and Bush's actions regarding Iran and Iraq in particular never left the country's mind. So since this leak is mostly just confirming theories the US already had regarding Iranian influence, let's consider some questions about the whole thing:
-Does Iran have too much influence in Iraq? Should there be a limit to how much one country influences its neighbor?
-One theory right now is that Iranian support for Shiites and the Sunni-oppressing regime may be driving Sunnis to turn to other groups like the Islamic State for protection. Is this a big deal or just margin cases?
-Should the UN or US do anything? Has it handled the situation well in the past or did it do poorly and contribute to the current state?

Sound off in the comments!

Massachusetts Judge Arrested for Releasing an Undocumented Immigrant

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/16/us/shelley-joseph-immigration-judge.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share

Judge Shelley Joseph has been charged with obstruction of justice for helping an undocumented immigrant escape detention. She and court officer Wesley MacGregor were accused of arranging for the undocumented man to escape out a back entrance of the courthouse. Massachusets has long been at the forefront of the sanctuary city movement because of its many laws and precedents that constrain ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement). Yet the federal prosecutor in Boston, following the lead of Trump's US Attorney General, is cracking down on ICE resistance and chose to charge Judge Joseph. This is the first federal indictment of a judge in Massachusetts since 1787, and a sign of a coming fight against devolution. Liberal states have largely resisted the Trump administration on a variety of policies from environmental regulations to immigration policies, and this arrest shows a troubling possibility of federal retaliation.

1. Did Judge Joseph have a right to do what she did?

2. Does this case indicate growing resistance to devolution by the federal government? What are the repercussions of this case and how can state courts defend their independence?

Absolute Immunity? Will the Supreme Court check this attempted expansion of presidential power?

Article link

                                          Source, Damon Winter, NY Times

The 2nd circuit of the U.S. Appeals Court told President Trump he does not have immunity from criminal investigation and prosecution and now the U.S. Supreme Court has the opportunity to decide the matter. While Trump claims that indictment or prosecution would hinder his ability to perform his constitutionally assigned duties, U.S. v. Nixon and Clinton v. Jones suggest otherwise. The most recently confirmed Supreme Court justice stated in his confirmation hearings last year that nobody is above the law and our constitutional system. At issue are Trump's tax returns from the past eight years which he wishes to conceal and hush payments made to two women prior to the 2016 election and possibly other items.

Discussion Questions
1. How far should executive privilege go in giving presidents immunity from indictment and prosecution?
2. Given that hush payments were made more than three years ago during the 2016 campaign and the president has avoided calls to release his tax returns for years, are these issues still worth considering?
3. What should Congress do and how should the Supreme Court interpret efforts by the President to expand the powers of the office?

California School Shooting In Santa Clarita with Two Students Dead and Multiple Injured

Image: Students are escorted out of Saugus High School after reports of a shooting on Thursday, Nov. 14, 2019, in Santa Clarita, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

Many people knew about the 16 year old, quiet, introverted and smart kid that they never suspected to turn violent. The boy is a boy scout and studies advanced placement European history. A junior in his normal physics class stated that he seemed like “one of those normal kids”. The boys next door neighbor who grew up with him said that he was never threatening and was nice. The boy had shot at five students and made contact with all of his shots. He then shot himself in the head. Two of the students had died and the gunman was ‘gravely’ wounded. This happened at around 7:30 am, Thursday, November 14th, his 16th birthday.

This kid did have some minor life issues. The boy lives with his mother in a modest home in Santa Clarita, a Los Angeles suburb known for good schools, safe streets, and affordable housing. His father died two year ago and two year before that his father had been arrested amid a domestic dispute with the boy’s mother. His father had worked for a health care company for 33 years as a field service engineer and he loved to hunt. This might be his motive, in my opinion, but police have stated that they haven’t found a motive or any relationship between the gunman and the victims and they also have no indication that the boy was acting on behalf of any group or ideology.

Brooke Risley, a current junior at Saugus High, stated that she knew the boy since elementary school and she couldn’t recall anything indicating that he might be violent. The only thing that she could think of was the fact that he had a hollow bullet in his keychain. She also described the boy as somewhat introverted and ‘naturally smart’. According to her he hadn't been bullied and had a girlfriend. The boy was an exceptional student and an unexceptional middle and long distance runner. Based on school records his GPA had landed him on the honor roll in the fall of his 8th grade.

Primarily I wonder:

1). Why would someone just spontaneously commit this act of violence?

2). How might this change the way people look for School Shooters? If at all?

3). Do you still trust you colleagues / classmates after this type of incident?

AP Article

Oklahoma police chief dead after a fight with his own officer at Florida conference

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/crime-courts/oklahoma-police-chief-dead-after-fight-his-own-officer-florida-n1080116

Image: Lucky Miller had been the police chief in Mannford, Oklahoma, near Tulsa, since 2007, the city says.KJRH-TV

On Monday November 11th, Mannford police chief of 13 years, Lucky Miller left his wife and three children at home while he traveled out of town with his second in command Michael Patrick Nealey to attend a law enforcement conference. The two were caught in altercations which led onto a physical fight. On Sunday night, Escambia County sheriff's deputies found Miller’s dead body in Pensacola Beach. Nealey was arrested and charged with homicide and depraved murder without premeditation, he is currently being held at without bond at the Escambia County Jail.
In the U.S. in 2019, 105 police officers have died on duty and 783  people have been killed by police officers. Both of these numbers are increasing at extreme rates and very little attention is being drawn to this issue.

Do you think our society today have lower standards for our police officers?

What do you believe is the role of a police officer?

Did you want to be a police officer when you were little? How has that changed or what makes you want to take on that role.

Facebook’s Political Ads Policy Becomes a Disaster

Mark Zuckerberg and the whole Facebook community is under fire for their policy that allows politicians to lie on its platform. This mess began earlier in the fall when Facebook stated that they won’t fact-check advertisements published by politicians. Then, Facebook refused to take down an ad run by Trump regarding false information about Joe Biden and Ukraine affairs. Following this, Democrats were not satisfied with the Trump campaign being able to make up facts, so the Warren Campaign followed after Trump’s campaign and ran a fake ad claiming Zuckerberg endorsed Trump’s reelection.  

Facebook states that their argument for keeping up false facts is following First Amendment rights (freedom of speech). However, this is also riding on the fact that they do not want to anger any major conservative leaders since these leaders already play off the liberal media bias narrative.  If Facebook decided to remove the ad with false claims about Biden, then this would create even more problems for the company. Facebook would then be responsible for policing every false political ad on its platform along with the fact that it would cause a large amount of controversy from Trump and his supporters. 

Recently, we learned about the media and its impact on people as well as voters. The fact that Facebook is allowing only political campaigns to feed their users false facts or even borderline propaganda is quite alarming. By Facebook following through with this policy, it will allow for more polarization and the hatred contributed to each side. 

1. Do you think that Facebook should follow through with their policy on political ads?

2. What do you think about the decisions that Facebook has made about its Political Ads Policy?

3. Do you think it’s okay for political campaigns to be able to bend or falsify facts? 

Vox article 

Yahoo article  

Manhunt for Airbnb Halloween Party Shooter Continues

On Halloween night in Orinda (about 30 minutes away from Berkeley), five people were killed and at least four others were injured in a shooting. A woman from Lafayette rented an Airbnb (with a maximum occupancy of 13 people) for a Halloween party where over 100 people attended. Michael Wang, owner of the Airbnb, thought that she had only planned to have a family reunion for a dozen people. Wang had specifically banned parties in the guidelines and he called the police after seeing masses of people through security cameras. Police were already on their way to the house because of a noise complaint when the shooting started. Three were found dead at the scene due to gunshot wounds and the fourth person was pronounced dead at the hospital. The next day, a fifth victim died suffering from gunshot wounds. As of Friday, November 1, police chief, David Cook, said that no arrests have been made but it is unlikely that the people behind the shooting stayed in the area since the house was rented by people who weren't from Orinda. Airbnb has banned Wang as an owner on Airbnb and removed his property. The shooting shocked many because they aren't extremely common in this community. The lack of gun control laws have been a controversial topic for our country for many years now, especially since there have been so many shootings recently, yet Republicans don't see a need for any gun reform laws. The large amounts of citizens who have died from shooting or experienced the fear of being in one should be pushing the government to be taking some kind of action; but it isn't, and shootings are continuing to occur in our country.

1) What aspect of gun culture do you think contributed to this? Do you think as a nation we will ever see real change?

2) What do you propose Airbnb can do to help prevent people from breaking the guidelines (maximum occupancy or having parties)?

3) Do you think it was justified for Airbnb to ban Michael Wang as an owner on Airbnb and remove his property on the site?

Link to article (SF Chronicle)

Link to article (CBS News) (scroll down for a video)

Beto O'Rourke Drops Out of the Presidential Race

Article Link

Beto O'Rourke, the former Representative of Texas has announced that he is dropping out of the presidential race. O'Rourke has struggled to continue his campaign since his 2018 Senate candidacy when he gained enormous support from the people. He made the decision to quit the race during the gathering of Democratic presidential candidates in Iowa on November 1, 2019. O'Rourke's campaign has also been under serious financial struggles, and if he continued the race, he would have to make cuts to his staff to pay for advertising. The advertising that would have aided his presidential campaign for the early primary and caucus state. During his campaigning, he focused on issues relating to guns and race. In a message post on Medium, he expressed that, "My service to the country will not be as a candidate or as the nominee". As of now, O'Rourke is not expected to run for any other office in 2020.

Questions:

1. Do you think there is another reason behind O'Rourke's departing from the presidential race? Why?

2. How does this impact the other candidates' presidential campaigns? Who do you think is the front runner for the Democratic candidate in the 2020 elections? 

3. Since O'Rourke is out of the race, what do you think next for him?

A man could get a year in prison and a $50,000 fine for killing an endangered sawfish

https://www.cnn.com/2019/11/04/us/florida-man-sawfish-endangered-species-trnd/index.html

Chad Ponce(38), a man from Jacksonville, Florida, recently pled guilty to killing an endangered animal, and could face a $50,000 fine and a year in federal prison. 

He was seen last year in July on a boat using a power saw to cut off a live sawfish's rostrum— a saw-like extension of their head—which they use to sense and attack their prey. Without it, the fish cannot live. 

Smalltooth Sawfish usually live in tropical, shallow water in the coast of the Atlantic. They are classified as elasmobranchs, a subclass of cartilaginous fish that includes sharks, rays, and skates. Sawfish can grow up to 18 feet, with 21-30% of the length being their rostrum. 

After its population drastically declined from destruction of habitat and accidental captures, it became the first marine fish to be classified as endangered in 2003, although it has been protected in Florida waters since 1992. It is protected under the Endangered Species Act, prohibiting the killing, harassment, catching, or harming of the fish. Although fishermen may sometimes catch it by accident, there are guidelines to tell them what to do in the case of that happening. Sawfish are harmless to humans unless threatened.

Ponce's sentencing date has not yet been determined.

Questions

1. Do you think a year in prison and a fine of $50,000 a fair punishment for Ponce?

2. Is there anything that can be done to prevent events like this from happening?

3. What can we do to prevent the extinction of species like the sawfish?

Daylight Saving Time is Ending This Weekend. These States Want to Make DST Permanent.

Link to Article

Link to President Trumps Tweet

Daylight saving time is approaching, so all people in the United States of America, except for those living in Arizona and Hawaii should set their clocks one hour back at 2a.m on November 3rd. The Uniform Time Act signed in 1966 by President Lyndon B. Johnson, set daylight saving time from the last Sunday in April to the last Sunday in October, but President George W. Bush extended it from the second Sunday in March to the first Sunday in November, and it has been that way since 2007.

Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Nevada, Oregon, Tennessee, and Oregon need approval from the Federal government to make daylight saving time permanent, and they already have approved legislation in their states. States like California, Alaska, Iowa, Massachusetts, Texas, Vermont, and Utah want some sort of change in the way they use daylight saving time; Texas wants a set permanent standard time. Delaware, and Oregon are requiring other states with their time zones to switch to permanent daylight saving time, which is what they want, but their requirement can postpone their proposal.

There are many people who are against time change, like President Trump; others think that time change can increase the risk of a heart attack and stroke, and is unhealthy, especially for the elderly. On the other hand, those like the National Parent Teacher Association, and the U.S Department of Transportation say the time change is good, for children don't have to go to school in the dark, it saves energy, and reduces crimes. 

Questions:

1. What is your opinion on daylight saving time?
2. Would you like California to permanently have daylight saving time?
3. Do you think that all states should have the same time? Why? Why not?