The Tap: Wednesday, September 14, 2016

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The Tap covered election news, public policy, and other noteworthy events from February 2016 to February 2022.

Review of the day

The excerpts below were compiled from issue #34 of The Tap, which was published on September 17, 2016. READ THE FULL VERSION HERE.

Federal

• Hillary Clinton’s physician, Dr. Lisa Bardack of CareMount Medical, released a letter stating that Clinton was prescribed antibiotics for pneumonia last week and “continues to improve.” Bardack also noted that while Clinton was diagnosed with a sinus and ear infection earlier in the year, she underwent a CT scan that “showed no abnormalities of the brain.” Bardack concluded, “She continues to remain healthy and fit to serve as President of the United States.”

• Trump delivered a speech at a predominantly African American church in Flint, Michigan, and was interrupted by the church’s pastor while criticizing Hillary Clinton. Rev. Faith Green Timmons walked toward the podium during Trump’s remarks and said, “Mr. Trump, I invited you here to thank us for what we've done in Flint, not give a political speech.” Trump responded by saying, “O.K., that’s good. Flint. And I’m going to back on to Flint. O.K. O.K. Flint’s pain is a result of so many different failures.” His speech was interrupted again when a member of the audience asked him about reports that his real estate company had “discriminated against black tenants,” a charge that Trump denied. Trump later addressed his experience with Rev. Timmons in an interview on Fox News, saying, “Everyone plays their games, it doesn’t bother me. … She was so nervous, she was like a nervous mess. I figured something was up.”
  • See also: Presidential election in Michigan, 2016

• Cosmopolitan interviewed Ivanka Trump about her father’s childcare and maternity leave proposals. In the phone interview, Cosmopolitan asked how the plan would affect male same-sex couples. Ivanka said, “The plan, right now, is focusing on mothers, whether they be in same-sex marriages or not.” The interviewer then asked about a 2004 interview with Donald Trump in which he reportedly said that “pregnancy is an inconvenience for business.” Ivanka responded by saying, “So I think that you have a lot of negativity in these questions, and I think my father has put forth a very comprehensive and really revolutionary plan to deal with a lot of issues. So I don't know how useful it is to spend too much time with you on this if you're going to make a comment like that. … I hope that, regardless of what your political viewpoint is, this should be celebrated.”
  • Trump later tweeted: “@Cosmopolitan, your readers do & should care about issues impacting women & children. Keep the focus where it belongs—advocating change.”
  • See also: Donald Trump on healthcare, labor and employment, and marriage equality

• Vox published an interview with Jill Stein covering several policy issues, including immigration, student debt, gun control, climate change, and foreign relations.
  • On granting temporary visas to immigrants: “There are problems with temporary visas for immigrants — there’s a real downside to that, in that they become second class citizens and they become subject to a whole other tier of low wages. This is partly why we call for full citizenship for immigrants who have been here. That’s the bulk of the issue.”
  • On gun confiscation programs and other gun control measures: “It’d be hard to do that at this point. So, we establish background checks and assault weapons ban as a floor. And we add to that stripping the gun manufacturers of their immunity — so currently they have immunity right now from lawsuits holding them accountable for dangerous weapons, and for putting those weapons in the hands of dangerous people. That’s another tool that should be brought to bear that does not have issues with the Second Amendment.”
  • On NATO: “In terms of NATO, I think NATO has become an end-run around a democratic process for deciding when we engage in foreign wars and when we don’t. We’re using NATO as an excuse — not only to duck congressional responsibility for approving a war budget, but also NATO is used to duck the UN process and international law that says we cannot go to war unless a nation is specifically threatened and directly threatened.”
  • On Ukraine and Russia: “Ukraine was historically a part of Russia for quite some period of time, and we all know there was this conversation with Victoria Nuland about planning the coup and who was going to take over. Not that the other guy was some model of democracy. But the one they put in — with the support of the US and the CIA in this coup in Ukraine — that has not been a solution. Regime change is something we need to be very careful about. And this is a highly inflammatory regime change with a nuclear armed power next door. So I’m saying: Let’s just stop pretending there are good guys here and bad guys here. These are complicated situations. Yeah, Russia is doing lots of human rights abuse, but you know what? So are we.”

• The New Hampshire Union Leader endorsed Gary Johnson for president, giving Johnson his third newspaper endorsement. It was the first time in more than 100 years that the paper did not endorse the Republican candidate for president. Joseph W. McQuaid, the Union Leader’s publisher, offered criticism for Donald Trump and praise for Johnson. He said, “[Trump] is a liar, a bully, a buffoon. He denigrates any individual or group that displeases him. He has dishonored military veterans and their families, made fun of the physically frail, and changed political views almost as often as he has changed wives. Americans are being told that we have to choose the lesser of two evils. No, we don’t. Libertarians Gary Johnson and Bill Weld are on the ballot in all 50 states. Their records (as Republican governors in politically-divided states) speak well of them. They would be worth considering under many circumstances. In today’s dark times, they are a bright light of hope and reason.”
  • See also: Endorsements of Gary Johnson

• Gary Johnson delivered a speech in Detroit focused on the economy. He said that he would not have bailed out the auto industry or Wall Street. “I would not have bailed out the auto industry. I would not have bailed out Wall Street. They made horrible choices. They should have been rewarded for their horrible choices by going bankrupt,” said Johnson. Johnson also voiced his support for the Environmental Protection Agency, saying, “Government I think has a fundamental responsibility to protect us against those that would do us harm, in this case pollution. And I support the EPA.”
  • Gary Johnson on Banking Policy and Environmental Policy

• In a series of hacked emails released on DC Leaks, former Secretary of State Colin Powell commented on Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. He called Trump “a national disgrace” and “an international pariah” and criticized Clinton for her use of a private email server while secretary of state:
  • On Trump:
    • Birther movement: “Yup, the whole birther movement was racist. That’s what the 99% believe. When Trump couldn’t keep that up he said he also wanted to see if the certificate noted that he was a Muslim. As I have said before, ‘What if he was?’ Muslims are born as Americans every day. … and for [Trump] to say yesterday that within four years he would have 95% of blacks voting for him is shizo fantasy … And [Roger] Ailes won’t heal with women, don’t you think? Ailes may soon be up on charges.”
    • Black voters: “He is at 1% black voters and will drop. He takes us for idiots. He can never overcome what he tried to do to Obama with his search for the birth certificate hoping to force Obama out of the Presidency.”
  • On Clinton:
    • Emails: “I have told Hilleary's [sic] minions repeatedly that they are making a mistake trying to drag me in, yet they still try. The media isn't fooled and she is getting crucified. The differences are profound and they know it. … She and her staff refused to cooperate. I wrote a chapter about it in my book and I am proud of what we did. She had a State Dept [sic] guy taking care of the system and she was also paying him!!! And he was an old campaign worker. Unbelievable.”
    • Emails: “They are going to dick up the legitimate and necessary use of emails with friggin' record rules. I saw email more like a telephone than a cable machine. ... Everything HRC touches she kind of screws up with hubris.”
    • Benghazi: “Benghazi is a stupid witch hunt. Basic fault falls on a courageous ambassador who thoughts [sic] Libyans now love me and I am ok in this very vulnerable place. … But blame also rests on his leaders and supports back here. Pat Kennedy, Intel community, [State Department] and yes HRC.”

• Trump responded to Powell’s emails in a tweet, saying, “I was never a fan of Colin Powell after his weak understanding of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq = disaster. We can do much better!” Clinton, when asked to respond to the email in an interview, said, “I have a great deal of respect for Colin Powell, and I have a lot of sympathy for anyone whose emails have become public. I'm not going to start discussing someone else's private emails. I've already spent a lot of time talking about my own, as you know.”
  • See also: Republicans and their declared positions on Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton email investigation

• U.S. Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland held meetings on Capitol Hill with Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Democratic whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.). Sen. Reid told reporters after his meeting with Judge Garland, "Meeting with Judge Garland is so difficult because this good man should be on the Supreme Court right now." Sen. Durbin said that he would recommend Garland to Hillary Clinton (D) should she be elected president, saying, "She could start filling the first vacancy without a lot of sound and fury."
  • For more, see: Supreme Court vacancy, 2016: An overview

• The United States agreed to provide Israel with $38 billion in military aid over 10 years, including F-35 joint strike fighters and $5 billion for missile defense, among other things. President Barack Obama said that the aid package “is just the most recent reflection of my steadfast commitment to the security of the state of Israel.” He added that the aid is “a significant contribution to Israel’s security in what remains a dangerous neighborhood. The continued supply of the world’s most advanced weapons technology will ensure that Israel has the ability to defend itself from all manner of threats.”

• After meeting with Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar’s de facto leader, President Barack Obama told reporters that the U.S. would lift sanctions on the country as they transition from a military dictatorship to democracy. Obama said, "The United States is now prepared to lift sanctions that we have imposed on Burma for quite some time.” He did not provide a timeline for lifting the sanctions. According to the Associated Press, “Suu Kyi requested the removal of the national emergency with respect to Myanmar — the executive order authorizing sanctions that has been renewed annually by U.S. presidents for two decades. The Treasury Department said that Obama's decision will be legally effective when he issues a new executive order to terminate the emergency. A U.S. official said that 111 Myanmar individuals and companies will be dropped from a Treasury blacklist and restrictions will be lifted on new investment with military and on the imports of rubies and jade. But penalties intended to block the drug trade and to bar military trade with North Korea would still apply, as would a visa ban barring some former and current members of the military from traveling to the U.S.”

Congressional legislation

• Veto threat: The House passed HR 5226—the Regulatory Integrity Act of 2016—by a vote of 250-171. The legislation proposes requiring each executive agency make information about all pending regulatory actions an agency is considering available for public view online. The legislation also proposes preventing agencies from posting information on social media that does not directly relate to the substance or status of a rule. HR 5226 states that an agency “may not solicit support for or promote the action nor include statements of aggrandizement for the agency, any federal employee, or the action.”
  • The Obama administration threatened to veto the bill, saying that it would be "duplicative and costly to the American taxpayer" and "would provide little to no value while diverting agency resources from important priorities. If the president were presented with H.R. 5226, his senior advisors would recommend that he veto the bill.”

• The House passed HR 5620—the VA Accountability First and Appeals Modernization Act of 2016—by a vote of 310-116. The legislation proposes allowing “the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to remove or demote a VA employee based on performance or misconduct.” The legislation would make it easier for the VA secretary to reprimand or terminate employees for poor performance or improper behavior. The legislation also proposes eliminating all bonuses for VA senior executives through the 2021 fiscal year.

State

• Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin (R) appointed Judge Barbara Swinton to the Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals, Oklahoma’s intermediate appellate court. Judge Swinton succeeds Judge William Hetherington, who retired on September 2. Judicial selection in Oklahoma occurs through assisted appointment; the governor makes an appointment from a list prepared by a judicial nominating committee. Judge Swinton’s initial term will expire in January 2019; she must stand for retention by voters in 2018 if she wishes to remain on the bench after her initial term. Twelve judges sit on the Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals; before this appointment, the balance of the court stood at an 8-4 majority of Democratic-appointed judges. Judge Swinton’s appointment brings the balance to a 7-5 majority of Democratic-appointed judges.

• The Tennessee General Assembly adjourned its three-day special session. The special session was called by Gov. Bill Haslam (R) to repeal a DUI bill that threatened to remove $60 million in federal funding. Last month, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration notified state officials that unless they complied with federal law, they would lose funding. During this year’s regular session, the legislature passed a DUI law that did not comply with the federal “zero tolerance” drunk driving statute because it raised the blood alcohol content (BAC) limit for 18- to 20-year-olds to 0.08 and added tougher penalties for violators. The federal “zero tolerance” law sets the BAC limit to 0.02 for all drivers under 21. During the special session, the DUI bill was repealed and the BAC limit was returned to the old 0.02 for drivers under 21. The special session cost taxpayers $25,000 a day. ​

• Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell signed the first phase of the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan, which affects land use across 10 million acres of public lands in California. This plan sets aside 388,000 acres of Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land for renewable energy development. The BLM estimated that this land could house enough renewable energy projects to generate 20,000 megawatts of renewable electricity. The plan also sets aside 3.8 million acres for recreation and 5.3 million acres for conservation. David Lamfrom from the National Parks Conservation Association called the plan a major improvement on the status quo. Solar energy industry groups have argued that more land should be opened for renewable energy development. This plan comes on the heels of new legislation in California requiring the state to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030. Supporters of the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan have said the plan will help California meet its emission reduction goals.

• The Iowa Supreme Court heard arguments on a lawsuit from Des Moines Water Works, a water supplier to roughly 500,000 residents, against agriculture drainage districts in three Iowa counties. The lawsuit accused farmers in central Iowa of contaminating rivers in central Iowa with nitrates from crop fertilizer. Water Works said it spent $1.5 million in 2015 to remove nitrate from water in order to meet federal standards. Water Works has argued that the agriculture drainage districts in the three counties should not have immunity from lawsuits and that the districts should pay monetary damages. According to the Associated Press, the lawsuit could “overturn a century of legal precedent that has protected drainage systems from lawsuits” if the court sides with Water Works. Additionally, Water Works has argued that drainage districts should be forced to comply with the federal Clean Water Act, which would require the districts to hold federal permits, monitor their water, and limit contaminants in the released water. The Iowa Farm Bureau Federation has offered to help pay the legal fees of the three counties.

• New Jersey Governor Chris Christie (R) signed a bill expanding the list of conditions that can be treated with medical marijuana in the state. Effective immediately, residents may now use medical marijuana to treat post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The bill had been strongly backed by veterans in the state.

• The Missouri General Assembly convened a one-day veto session to override Gov. Jay Nixon’s (D) 23 vetoes from the previous session. Altogether, the Republican-backed legislature overturned 13 of Nixon’s vetoes. Two of the most contentious veto overrides involved voter ID and concealed weapons permits. The House voted 115-41 and the Senate voted 24-7 to override a veto on a bill that would require Missouri voters to show government-issued photo ID before they vote. The legislature also overturned a veto that would require training and permit requirements to carry a concealed weapon. The Senate voted to override the governor’s veto in a 24-6 vote, and the House concurred in a 112-41 vote. Gov. Nixon is the most overridden governor in the state’s history. Including Wednesday's veto session, Nixon has had 96 vetoes overridden. With both chambers controlled by Republicans and the governor’s office held by Democrat Jay Nixon, Missouri is one of 20 states under divided government.

Local

• On Wednesday, September 14, Miami became the first city in the country to have been found violating securities rules on two separate occasions. A federal jury ruled that the city defrauded bond investors by playing shell games with the money in 2009. Investigators found that the city attempted to portray $153 million in bonds as a better investment than it was in practice. The city also transferred money for specific funds into its general fund to make the city’s finances appear more healthy. Mayor Tomas Regalado (R) transferred most of the funds back in 2010 after he was elected to the post in 2009. Regalado’s second term will end in 2017, but he cannot run for re-election due to term limits. Miami is the 44th-largest city in the United States by population and the second-largest city in Florida.

• The Chicago City Council approved a tax on water and sewer bills in order to raise money for the Municipal Employees Pension Fund. The measure passed the council by a 40-10 vote, and the taxes will go toward a pension fund that is projected to be insolvent by 2025. The taxes are scheduled to increase over a four-year period up to 29.5 percent. Once they reach their expected level, these taxes are anticipated to cost the average homeowner an additional $225 per year. Chicago is the third-largest city in the United States by population and the largest in Illinois.
• James Moylan, who was appointed by Philadelphia Mayor James Kenney (D) to lead the city’s Zoning Board of Adjustments, resigned. The move came three weeks after the FBI raided Moylan’s home in connection to an ongoing investigation into the city’s electricians union. Kenney appointed Moylan to chair the five-member panel in February 2016. Moylan worked as a political consultant for the Local 98 chapter of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers prior to the appointment. Philadelphia is the fifth-largest city in the United States by population and the largest in Pennsylvania.
• The Austin City Council approved a $3.7 billion budget for the next fiscal year. The property tax rate on the new budget will be nearly two cents lower per $100 valuation. The city’s budget for the previous fiscal year was $3.5 billion. Austin is the 11th-largest city in the United States by population and the fourth-largest in Texas.
• Police officers in Washington, D.C., must now confirm with dispatch officers that their body cameras are on prior to accepting a call. The change comes after the fatal shooting of a motorcyclist was not caught on film by the officer who committed the shooting. Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) said that the officer in question did not turn on his body camera until after the shooting. In 2013, less than 25 percent of 500 police departments surveyed stated that they were using body cameras. Washington, D.C., is the 23rd-largest city in the United States by population.
  • Click here for more information about the use of police body cameras in the United States.
• In California, all five members of the Maywood City Council and the clerk were served with recall petitions at their meeting. Most of those in attendance came to discuss the city’s plan to change the zoning laws to allow marijuana dispensaries. Although several residents criticized the zoning change, the council approved the dispensaries. The recall attempts are targeting both the majority and minority on the city council by supporters of both sides. Maywood is a city of 27,000 people in Los Angeles County.

Preview of the day

There were no items for this day in issue #33 of The Tap, which was published on September 10, 2016. See the "Review of the day" tab for more information.