Striking photographs document environmental decay on world’s largest lake
Zoe Whitfield, CNN – October 18, 2024
Moving from Tehran to the more northerly lakeside city of Rasht aged 13, Khashayar Javanmardi’s youth was punctuated by weekends and extended holidays on the Iranian coastline of the Caspian Sea. “It was a dreamy place,” the photographer reminisced on a phonecall with CNN. “It was my utopia; everything happened for me at the Caspian.”
Diluting this picturesque vignette, Javanmardi recalled the nuisance of the accompanying gammarus: an amphipod crustacean similar to a freshwater shrimp that would nibble at his feet whenever he ventured into the water. He had always hated them, but as he grew aware of their absence, alarm bells started to ring. “That was the first thing I noticed change,” he said. “Later I read that, due to pollution, they were extinct. They had been food for bigger species…”
Climate change and a lack of rainfall has caused one of Iran’s longest rivers, the Ghezel Ozen, to almost completely dry up, resulting in a devastating loss of aquatic wildlife. (Image taken in February 2022). – Khashayar Javanmardi 2024 courtesy Loose JointsMore
Situated between Europe and Asia, the Caspian is the world’s largest inland body of water; a colossal-sized endorheic basin — or a major lake — that is also bounded by five countries, Iran, Russia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan. In recent years it has been the source of much concern for those privy to its shorelines, owing to what the UN Environment Programme has described as “an enormous burden of pollution from oil extraction and refining, offshore oil fields, radioactive wastes from nuclear power plants and huge volumes of untreated sewage and industrial waste introduced mainly by the Volga River (which flows through Russia and into the Caspian Sea).”
It was anxieties about the water’s biodiversity that kickstarted Javanmardi’s decade-long photography project, highlighting the environmental and social impact of the area’s man-made deterioration. A new monograph “Caspian: A Southern Reflection,” published by Loose Joints, is the result of this extensive survey and operates simultaneously as a warning and an invitation to learn. “This project is the essence of my life and career,” acknowledged Javanmardi, speaking from Lausanne in Switzerland, where he is based today. “As an artist, I’ve always wanted to be an honest witness.”
Locals call it the lake “Mother Caspian.” One shepherd told Javanmardi of the lake’s decline; “It’s like we were not good to our mother, we were not that kind to our mother and now she’s sad and she’s not going to share her love.’” Image taken January 2021. – Khashayar Javanmardi 2024 courtesy Loose JointsMore
The book oscillates between landscapes, portraits and the quiet scenes that fit somewhere in the middle. On one page three family members stand facing out to rough white waves, the foot of a presumed fourth poking out of the window of a car to their left; elsewhere a mustached man sits alone at a plastic table, a look of despondence creeping across his face. Pictures of abandoned ships and other discarded objects further foreground the damage, coupled with a sense of loss.
Nominated at last year’s Prix Elysée (one of the world’s most prestigious photographic prizes run in conjunction with the Elysée Museum, also in Lausanne), an early iteration of the project received the special jury mention. Subsequently, the museum’s director Nathalie Herschdorfer penned the book’s introduction, describing how throughout its pages “we discover scenes that leave an aftertaste of desolation” and noting that “the inhabitants who pass through these landscapes, often photographed from a distance, express loneliness mixed with a sense of sorrow.”
The illegal dumping of waste close to the Caspian Sea is increasing pollution, as runoff seeps into the groundwater and directly contaminates the sea. – Khashayar Javanmardi 2024 courtesy Loose Joints
“A question that I asked people was, ‘what is the role of the Caspian in your life?’,” said Javanmardi, who began working on the project at Iran’s Anzali Lagoon. “They were really open, sharing their memories and how they feel. They call it the Mother Caspian and one guy, a shepherd, said ‘it’s like we were not good to our mother, we were not that kind to our mother and now she’s sad and she’s not going to share her love.’”
Indeed, while the Caspian was once a major hub for movement between Iran and Europe, in the last century it became a venue for leisure. Today though, Iran’s Environment Department says its waters are contaminated with over 120,000 tons of pollutants annually — domestic and industrial as well as oil remnants — while Javanmardi estimates the fishing rate has slumped by 70%. “If it shrinks, people’s lives shrink,” he explained, citing further statistics that project water levels could drop by between nine and 18 meters by the end of the century. Military activity, namely Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, is a further aggravating cause (the former is suspected of having used its Caspian Flotilla to launch a number of strikes).
Abandoned boats at Kiashahr Port, northern Iran, taken in July 2022. – Khashayar Javanmardi 2024 courtesy Loose Joints
Furthermore, the photographer characterized language as at the core of the negligence: though it’s widely talked about as the Caspian “Sea”, the Caspian is technically a lake, a categorization that would imply stricter regulations by the respective governing bodies around waste and pollution (than the sea). “They (politicians) don’t call it a lake, and one of the reasons is that if they change it, the whole conversation around regulation would change,” Javanmardi suggested.
His objectives for the project have always been to raise awareness, he continued. “That’s my goal, and so I tried to use the body of water as a way to communicate culture and politics, global politics — because this is not just about Iran,” he said. “I’ve tried to show how the Caspian is still alive. For me, it’s the last cry of life — you always feel something is in the air when you see the photos. I like to give this space to the audience, to feel this.”
May 2020: A farmer rests while water is pumping from the lagoon to his farm. Extracting water directly from the lagoon has no regulation. – Khashayar Javanmardi 2024 courtesy Loose Joints
Despite the recklessness of higher political powers, during his travels Javanmardi found a sense of community in the people he met. “How they pay attention to the environment and are careful and in love with the Caspian, this is something that makes me hopeful,” he shared. “As long as I see this spirituality, that people know how privileged they are to live beside that sea… I know, as a person from there, we won’t let it be ruined.”
“Caspian: A Southern Reflection” by Khashayar Javanmardi is published by Loose Joints and out now
Trump vows to levy ‘horrible’ tariffs on imports, rejecting fears of inflation spike
Jennifer Shutt – October 15, 2024
The Republican presidential nominee, former U.S. President Donald Trump, on Tuesday, Oct. 15, spoke to the Economic Club of Chicago. In this photo, he speaks to attendees during a campaign rally at the Mosack Group warehouse on Sept. 25 in Mint Hill, North Carolina. (Brandon Bell | Getty Images)
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump defended his plans for steep tariffs on Tuesday, arguing economists who say that those higher costs would get passed onto consumers are incorrect and that his proposals would benefit American manufacturing.
During an argumentative hour-long interview with Bloomberg Editor-in-Chief John Micklethwait hosted by the Economic Club of Chicago, Trump vehemently denied tariffs on certain imported goods would lead to further spikes in inflation and sour America’s relationship with allies, including those in Europe.
“The higher the tariff, the more likely it is that the company will come into the United States, and build a factory in the United States so it doesn’t have to pay the tariff,” Trump said.
Micklethwait questioned Trump about what would happen to consumer prices during the months or even years it would take companies to build factories in the United States and hire workers.
Trump responded that he could make tariffs “so high, so horrible, so obnoxious that they’ll come right away.” Earlier during the interview, Trump mentioned placing tariffs on foreign-made products as high as 100% or 200%.
Harris-Walz 2024 spokesperson Joseph Costello wrote in a statement released following the interview that “Trump showed exactly why Americans can’t afford a second Trump presidency.”
“An angry, rambling Donald Trump couldn’t focus, had to be repeatedly reminded of the topic at hand, and whenever he did stake out a position, it was so extreme that no Americans would want it,” Costello wrote. “This was yet another reminder that a second Trump term is a risk Americans simply cannot take.”
Smoot-Hawley memories
Micklethwait noted during the interview that 40 million jobs and 27% of gross domestic product within the United States rely on trade, questioning how tariffs on those products would help the economy.
He also asked Trump if his plans for tariffs could lead the country down a similar path to the one that followed the Smoot-Hawley tariff law becoming law in June 1930. Signed by President Herbert Hoover, some historians and economists have linked the law to the beginning of the Great Depression.
Trump disagreed with Micklethwait, though he didn’t detail why his proposals to increase tariffs on goods from adversarial nations as well as U.S. allies wouldn’t begin a trade war.
The U.S. Senate’s official explainer on the Smoot-Hawley tariffs describes the law as being “among the most catastrophic acts in congressional history.” And the Congressional Research Services notes in a report on U.S. tariff policy that it was the last time lawmakers set tariff rates.
Desmond Lachman, senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative-leaning think tank, wrote last month that Trump’s proposal to implement tariffs of at least 60% on goods imported from China as well as 10 to 20% on all other imports could have severe economic consequences.
“It is difficult to see how such a unilateral trade policy in flagrant violation of World Trade Organization rules would not lead to retaliation by our trade partners with import tariff increases of their own,” Lachman wrote. “As in the 1930s, that could lead us down the destructive path of beggar-my-neighbor trade policies that could cause major disruption to the international trade system. Such an occurrence would be particularly harmful to our export industries and would heighten the chances of both a US and worldwide economic recession.”
CRS notes in its reports that while the Constitution grants Congress the authority to establish tariffs, lawmakers have given the president some authority over it as well.
The United States’ membership in the World Trade Organization and various other trade agreements also have “tariff-related commitments,” according to CRS.
“For more than 80 years, Congress has delegated extensive tariff-setting authority to the President,” the CRS report states. “This delegation insulated Congress from domestic pressures and led to an overall decline in global tariff rates. However, it has meant that the U.S. pursuit of a low-tariff, rules-based global trading system has been the product of executive discretion. While Congress has set negotiating goals, it has relied on Presidential leadership to achieve those goals.”
The presidency and the Fed
Trump said during the interview that he believes the president should have more input into whether the Federal Reserve raises or lowers interest rates, though he didn’t answer a question about keeping Jerome Powell as the chairman through the end of his term.
“I think I have the right to say I think he should go up or down a little bit,” Trump said. “I don’t think I should be allowed to order it. But I think I have the right to put in comments as to whether or not interest rates should go up or down.”
Trump declined to answer a question about whether he’s spoken with Russian leader Vladimir Putin since leaving office.
“I don’t comment on that,” Trump said. “But I will tell you that if I did, it’s a smart thing. If I’m friendly with people, if I have a relationship with people, that’s a good thing, not a bad thing.”
Journalist Bob Woodward wrote in his new book “War” that Trump and Putin have spoken at least seven times and that Trump secretly sent Putin COVID-19 tests during the pandemic, which the Kremlin later confirmed, according to severalnewsreports.
Trump said the presidential race will likely come down to Pennsylvania, Michigan and possibly Arizona.
The Economic Club of Chicago has also invited Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris for a sit-down interview.
You really think Donald Trump was a good president? Look at his record | Opinion
Andres Oppenheimer – October 11, 2024
Here’s the biggest myth that Republican candidate Donald Trump is trying to sell to Americans and to the world: that he was a good president.
Trump’s continuously repeated falsehoods about his record as president have convinced many people who find him to be a horrible person, but nevertheless support him because of what Trump says about his term in office.
“Yes, I know, he’s 78, he’s not as sharp as he used to be, he lies all the time, he has cheated on his wives, he makes racist comments, he is a convicted felon, and he tried to carry out a coup after he lost the last elections. But he was a good president,” a Republican friend told me recently.
Let me share with you some facts to help fight political amnesia. In fact, Trump was one of the worst presidents in recent history. Here are the facts:
A larger deficit
On the economy, Trump left the biggest deficit in U.S. history.
Under Trump, the national debt grew much faster than during his successor Joe Biden. Like most populists, Trump cut taxes and spent as if there were no tomorrow, leaving a national debt that will have to be paid by our children and grandchildren for decades.
The national debt rose by almost $7.8 trillion to $28 trillion during Trump’s four years in office, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The debt has kept growing since, but at a significantly slower pace.
As for the country’s economic growth, the U.S. economy under Trump grew by an overall 6.8%. By comparison, it grew by 8.4% in the Biden years.
On the jobs’ front, Trump left office with 3 million fewer jobs than there were when he entered the White House. Granted, that was largely because of the pandemic, but Biden has added nearly 16 million jobs since then.
Granted, inflation was lower under Trump than under Biden. The pandemic disrupted supply chains from China and made consumer prices soar in America in 2021 and 2022. But inflation has since fallen to 2.4%, close to its pre-pandemic levels.
A weakened democracy
On democracy, Trump undermined democratic institutions and the rule of law like no other American president in recent memory. He is the first U.S. president I can remember who tried to stage a coup d’etat to stay in power.
Trump falsely claims to this day that he won the 2020 election, even after more than 60 courts and the conservative-majority Supreme Court found his objections to be unsubstantiated.
Then, he tacitly tried to incite rebellion on Jan. 6, 2021, when he waited for hours before trying to stop a pro-Trump mob from invading the U.S. Capitol in hopes of overturning the election result. He continues to praise the violent rioters who injured more than 100 police officers, calling them “patriots” and government “hostages.”
Emboldening dictators
On foreign policy, Trump weakened America’s standing in the world by picking fights with the closest U.S. allies while at the same time embracing dictators such as Russia’s Vladimir Putin and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un.
Trump withdrew from the Paris Climate Accord and threatened to abandon the U.S.-European NATO military alliance. Trump’s threats to leave NATO significantly damaged the group’s unity and probably encouraged Putin to plan his 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Trump deserves credit for the Abraham Accords to help establish diplomatic ties between Israel and some Arab countries. But if you look at the world in terms of superpower-led blocs, Trump left power in 2020 with a weaker Western alliance and a stronger China and Russia.
Reproductive rights
On abortion, Trump appointed three conservative Supreme Court judges who played a crucial role in overturning Roe v. Wade, a ruling that had made abortions legal in the country for nearly 50 years. As a result, some states banned abortions, and some women reportedly died because they could not get proper medical care to end their pregnancies.
More hatred
On crime, hate crimes increased by 28% during Trump’s term and hate-motivated murders, mainly committed by white supremacists, reached their highest number in 28 years, according to FBI statistics.
Trump has exacerbated racial hatred in the country since he started his 2016 campaign falsely declaring that most Mexican undocumented immigrants are “rapists” and are “bringing crime” to America. In 2017, he said that there were “very fine people” among white supremacists and the anti-racism demonstrators who were protesting against them in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Trump’s racist statements have worsened since. He recently falsely claimed that Haitian immigrants are eating the pets of Americans in Springfield, Ohio. In an Oct. 7 radio interview, Trump said that unauthorized migrants who committed violent crimes have “bad genes,” a language reminiscent of Adolf Hitler’s efforts to dehumanize Jews.
Also, in 2020, the last year of the Trump presidency, there was the biggest one-year increase in the number of murders since the 1960s, according the Politifact fact checking website. In addition to the pandemic and the George Floyd riots, Democrats attribute the 30% rise in murders to the relaxation of gun control laws under Trump.
False border promises
On immigration, Trump never completed the border fence nor got Mexico to pay for it, as he had promised in his 2016 campaign. Trump now claims to have built much of the current 654 miles of border wall, but most of it was already in place and repaired or upgraded during his years in office, according to Customs and Border Protection data.
On the COVID-19 Pandemic, Trump scorned face masks and at one point asked Americans to inject themselves with disinfectant to fight the virus. Scientists say many of the 400,000 Covid deaths during his presidency could have been averted if he had exhorted people to get vaccinated.
The list of Trump administration failures goes on and on. So if you are planning to vote for Trump because of something specific he has promised, and you are willing to believe a compulsive liar, go ahead. But please don’t tell me he was a good president: he was a disaster on virtually all fronts.
Don’t miss the “Oppenheimer Presenta” TV show on Sundays at 9 pm E.T. on CNN en Español. Blog: andresoppenheimer.com
Obama Roasts Trump for Everything From Selling Bibles to Needing a Diaper at Pittsburgh Rally | Video
Sharon Knolle – October 10, 2024
Barack Obama laid into fellow former President Donald Trump so thoroughly on Thursday that more than one X user quipped, “I’d like to report a murder.“
Obama, speaking at a rally in Pittsburgh, ticked off a long list of reasons why voters should reject Trump and vote for Democratic nominee Kamala Harris next month.
He disparaged “the constant attempts to sell you stuff” including gold sneakers, a $100,000 watch and the Trump Bible. “Who does that?” asked Obama with an incredulous shrug.
“You know, he wants you to buy the word of God, Donald Trump edition. Got his name right there next to Matthew and Luke,” he said of Trump’s “God Bless the USA Bibles,” which, it was reported this week, were printed in China. They are priced at $59.99 each.
Obama: Constant attempts to sell you stuff. Who does that? Selling you gold sneakers and $100,000 watch and most recently, a trump bible. You know, he wants you to buy the word of god, Donald Trump edition. Got his name right there next to Matthew and Luke. pic.twitter.com/JUzkTQikU3
The 44th president continued to blast the 45th, recalling his shock at finding out how much diapers cost after his oldest daughter Malia was born. “Do you think Donald Trump ever changed a diaper?,” he asked about the father of five.
One attendee shouted, “His own!”
Obama admitted with a laugh, “I almost said that, but I decided I should not say it.”
Trump was dubbed “Diaper Don” by the media in 2020 over reports that he wore adult diapers while filming the reality competition “The Apprentice.”
Trump supporters not only shrugged at the suggestion when it resurfaced during Trump’s tax fraud trial earlier this year, but proudly began wearing the absorbent underwear themselves at campaign events and carrying signs that read “real men wear diapers.”
Obama also blasted Trump for taking credit for the state of the economy when he took office in 2017. “I remember that economy when he first came in being pretty good. Yeah, it was pretty good, because it was my economy. It wasn’t something he did. I spent eight years cleaning up the mess that the Republicans had left me,” he said.
Watch a clip from the rally in the video above, and click through to @Acyn’s X account for more.
Fact check: Trump, on a lying spree, made at least 40 separate false claims in two Pennsylvania speeches
Daniel Dale, CNN – October 10, 2024
Former President Donald Trump is on a lying spree.
As Election Day draws nearer, the Republican presidential nominee has made false claim after false claim on a dizzying variety of subjects. He has both come up with new falsehoods on pressing issues, most notably the federal response to Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton, and repeated old favorites about subjects he has been railing about since his 2016 presidential campaign.
We went through the speeches Trump made at his two Wednesday campaign rallies in the critical swing state of Pennsylvania, one in Scranton and one in Reading. In those two addresses alone, he uttered at least 40 separate false claims.
Here is a fact check.
FEMA and migrants: Trump falsely claimed of the Federal Emergency Management Agency: “They have no money. You know where they gave the money? To illegal immigrants coming in.” He also said, “They spent all their funds; they have no funds to take care…”
This is false in two ways. FEMA does have money for the immediate responses to Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton, though a string of recent disasters has depleted its disaster relief fund; the fund had about $11 billion remaining as of Wednesday. And FEMA did not give all of its disaster relief money to undocumented people; rather, as mandated by Congress, FEMA also administers an entirely separate pool of money for sheltering migrants.
FEMA and employees: Trump added another false claim about FEMA, saying: “They have no workers, they have no nothing.” FEMA has more than 20,000 employees.
Harris and the response: Trump falsely claimed that as desperate people tried to survive Hurricane Helene in North Carolina, Vice President Kamala Harris “didn’t send anything or anyone at all” to help them. There were extensive federal and state rescue and relief efforts in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Helene. It’s true that some residents died and others were stranded for days, but the state was not ignored by Harris or the Biden administration; North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, has repeatedly thanked President Joe Biden for his assistance.
Schools and transgender children: Trump told a slightly vaguer version of his usual false story about schools supposedly obtaining or performing gender-affirming surgeries for transgender children behind their parents’ backs, saying, “Your child go goes to school, and they take your child. It was a ‘he.’ And comes back a ‘she.’ And they do this…And often without parental consent.”
There is no evidence that US schools have sent children into gender-affirming surgeries without their parents knowing or performed gender-affirming surgeries on site; Trump’s own presidential campaign could not provide a single example of any of this ever happening. Even in states where gender-affirming surgery is legal for people under age 18, parental consent is required before a minor can undergo such a procedure.
Trump’s opponents and the election: In Reading, Trump falsely claimed of his election opponents: “They are cheatin’ dogs, I will tell you that.” In Scranton, he falsely claimed, “Their first meeting is: ‘How do we cheat?’” This is all nonsense. There is no basis for the claim that Trump’s opponents are election cheaters.
Harris’ previous presidential campaign: Trump repeated his false claim that, when Harris ran for president in 2020, “she was the first one to drop out, of like 22 people” in the Democratic primary. In fact, 13 other Democratic candidates dropped out of that primary before Harris exited in December 2019 – including the sitting or former governors of Washington, Montana and Colorado; the sitting mayor of New York City; andsitting or former members of the House of Representatives and Senate.
Harris and the press: Trump falsely claimed of Harris: “She doesn’t do any interviews.” Trump is entitled to argue that Harris has not done a sufficient number of interviews as the Democratic presidential nominee, but the assertion she doesn’t do “any” is wrong; Harris has done multiple interviews in recent weeks. Notably, Harris did an interview with the CBS News show “60 Minutes,” which aired Monday, while Trump backed out of his own interview with the show.
Harris-Walz and the Supreme Court: After correctly noting that Harris’ running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, recently expressed support for getting rid of the Electoral College, Trump falsely claimed, “They want to add… they’re thinking about – first time I heard this number – 25: they want to have 25 Supreme Court justices.” There is no basis for the claim that Harris or Walz is pushing for a 25-justice Supreme Court.
Walz and menstrual products in schools: Trump disparaged Walz as “Tampon Tim,” then said, “You know why they call him that? ’Cause they sell tampons, with special legislation, in boys’ locker rooms.” Trump’s claim is false. The law Walz signed in 2023 requires schools to provide free menstrual products in bathrooms, not the sale of menstrual products in locker rooms – and all 18 public school districts that responded to CNN’s questions about the law say they do not provide the products in boys’ bathrooms. You can read more here.
Wind power: Trump repeated a familiar nonsensical story about how the use of wind power means people “can’t watch” television if “there’s no wind tonight.” Using wind power as part of a mix of power sources does not cause power outages when the wind isn’t blowing, as the federal Department of Energy explained on its website even during the Trump administration.
The Biden administration and electric vehicles: Trump falsely claimed that under a Biden administration electric vehicle mandate, “everybody’s got to have an electric car almost immediately.” There is no Biden administration requirement that consumers must buy an electric car or give up their existing gas-powered cars, “almost immediately” or otherwise. The Biden administration has made a push to get automakers to reduce emissions and adopt electric vehicles, but there is not a mandate for consumers; the tailpipe rules for automakers that were unveiled by the administration earlier this year aim to have electric vehicles make up 35% to 56% new vehicles sold in 2032.
The Paris climate accord and emissions: Trump repeated his false claim that under the Paris climate accord, the US “had to pay a trillion dollars” while some other countries didn’t have to pay.
Trump’s “trillion” figure is a wild exaggeration. Under the Obama administration, the US paid $1 billion of a $3 billion commitment it originally made in 2014. After Trump pulled the country out of the Paris accord, the US paid nothing to the global finance goal. And while Biden pledged $11.4 billion annually from the US, this level of funding hasn’t materialized. That’s because Congress, responsible for appropriating the nation’s budget, has allocated only a fraction of that – roughly $1 billion in 2022.
Harris’ comments on fracking: Trump said, “Listen to Kamala in her own words very recently,” then played two video clips in which Harris said she was in favor of banning fracking. But those clips are from 2019, beyond any reasonable definition of “very recently.” Harris has said during the 2024 campaign that she no longer favors banning fracking.
Venezuela, prisons and migration: Trump falsely claimed, “In Venezuela, many countries, they’re emptying their prisons into our country.” This is false. Trump has never corroborated this claim about Venezuela, let alone “many countries,” and experts have told CNN, PolitiFact and FactCheck.org that they know of no evidence for it.
“We have no evidence that the Venezuelan government is emptying its prisons or mental health institutions to send them outside the country, in other words, to the U.S. or any other country,” Roberto Briceño-León, founder and director of the Venezuelan Observatory of Violence, an independent organization that tracks violence in the country, said in an email to CNN in June, after Trump made similar claims.
Venezuela, criminals and migration: Adding another colorful story about Venezuela, Trump falsely claimed that “they take the criminal gangs from Caracas off the streets and they bus them into the United States and drop them.” This is false. There is no evidence of Venezuelan authorities somehow busing gang members into the US.
The world prison population: Trump repeated his false claim that “the prison population all over the world is down, because they put them in our country.” The recorded global prison population increased from October 2021 to April 2024, from at least about 10.77 million people to at least about 10.99 million people, according to the World Prison Population List compiled by experts in the United Kingdom.
“I do a daily news search to see what’s going on in prisons around the world and have seen absolutely no evidence that any country is emptying its prisons and sending them all to the US,” Helen Fair, co-author of the prison population list and research fellow at the Institute for Crime & Justice Policy Research at Birkbeck, University of London, said in June, when Trump made a similar claim.
The number of migrants: Trump, speaking about migration, falsely claimed that “21 million people – plus – came into our nation” under the Biden-Harris administration. Through August, the country had recorded about 10.3 million nationwide “encounters” with migrants during the Biden-Harris administration, including millions who were rapidly expelled from the country; even adding in so-called “gotaways” who evaded detection, estimated by House Republicans as being roughly 2 million, there’s no way the total is “21 million.”
Harris, migrants and criminals: Trump, criticizing Harris on immigration, again wrongly described a set of statistics that was released in September. He falsely claimed in Scranton, “You saw that last week: 13,099 murderers allowed to come in, through them.” He falsely claimed in Reading that “as we speak she has – and this was just announced last week – 13,099, so over 13,000 illegal alien convicted murderers, roaming free in our country.”
This 13,099 figure includes people who are incarcerated in federal, state and local prisons and jails – and it includes people who entered the country over decades, including during Trump’s administration, not just under Biden and Harris. You can read more here.
Harris’ record as attorney general: Trump falsely claimed that when Harris was attorney general of California, “she said under no circumstances” will people be prosecuted for the crimes of child sex trafficking, assault with a deadly weapon or the rape of an unconscious person. Harris did not say anything like that; Trump was grossly mischaracterizing a debate over the language Harris’ office used to summarize California ballot initiatives.
Trump’s border wall: Trump repeated his false claim that “I built over 500 miles of wall” on the southern border. Official government data shows 458 miles were built under Trump – including both wall built where no barriers had existed before and wall built to replace previous barriers.
Trump’s crowds: Trump falsely claimed of his rallies: “We never have an empty seat.” There have been empty seats at numerous Trump rallies over the years – including hundreds at this very rally in Reading. And at many Trump rallies, some once-filled seats empty out during his speeches when supporters leave.
Trump’s crowd in Butler: Trump falsely claimed there were “over 100,000 people” at the rally he held Saturday in Butler, Pennsylvania, at the same site where a gunman had attempted to assassinate him in July. CNN affiliate KDKA in Pittsburgh reported that the Secret Service put the crowd at 24,000 people, while the Trump-supporting sheriff of Blair County, Pennsylvania, James Ott, said in his speech at the rally itself (more than three hours before Trump took the stage) that he was looking out at “21,000-plus people.”
Trump’s response to the assassination attempt: Trump, speaking of his response to the attempted assassination in July, falsely claimed, “I said as I was getting up – before I even got up – I said, ‘How many people were killed?’ Because, you know, it was wall to wall people, and I said, ‘How many people were killed?’ They said, ‘We think three, sir,’ and I said, ‘That’s not good.’”
Trump’s rally microphone picked up what was said by Trump and Secret Service agents while he was on the ground and just after, and he did not ask, before or after he got up, how many people were killed. It’s possible he did so after he was whisked off stage (and, of course, possible he was genuinely misremembering what happened in such a traumatic moment).
Trump and firefighters: Trump falsely claimed, “We got the firefighters endorse us, you probably heard.” But the actual recent national news was that the International Association of Firefighters had decided not to endorse any candidate in the race; while Trump is free to argue that this was a victory for him, given that the union endorsed Biden in 2020, it was not an actual endorsement. And while there were some people in the Scranton crowd holding “Scranton Firefighters for Trump” signs, the Scranton chapter of the union also has not issued an endorsement. The president of the chapter told the Scranton Times-Tribune that none of the people he saw holding the signs were active or retired local firefighters.
Trump and classified documents: Speaking of the criminal case against him over his post-presidency retention of classified documents, Trump repeated his false claim that “I had the Presidential Records Act; I was totally allowed to do it.” The Presidential Records Act says that, the moment a president leaves office, the National Archives and Records Administration gets custody and control of all presidential records from their administration. (Trump’s case was dismissed by a federal judge in July on other grounds, that the appointment of special counsel Jack Smith was unconstitutional; Smith has appealed.)
The New York Times and the Russia investigation: Trump, calling claims about his 2016 campaign’s connections to Russia a “scam,” repeated his false claim that The New York Times “admitted they were wrong” about the coverage that won its journalists a Pulitzer Prize along with journalists from The Washington Post.
“The claim is completely false,” Times spokesperson Charlie Stadtlander said in an email to CNN in 2023, when Trump made a similar claim; Stadtlander noted that “the award was upheld by the Pulitzer Prize Board after an independent review” and said the Times’ reporting “was also substantiated by the Mueller investigation and Republican-led Senate Intelligence Committee investigation into the matter.”
The New York Times and the 2016 election: Trump repeated a false claim he made during his presidency, saying of The New York Times’ coverage of the 2016 election: “Remember in 2016 they had to do an editorial apologizing to their readers because they said, ‘He’s going to lose’…and then I won?”
As the Times noted in 2017 in response to such Trump claims, it did not apologize for its 2016 election coverage. It did publish a post-election letter, from then-executive editor Dean Baquet and publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr., that said the election had raised several questions, including this: “Did Donald Trump’s sheer unconventionality lead us and other news outlets to underestimate his support among American voters?” But the letter did not include an apology, to Trump or anyone else.
Trump and the defeat of ISIS: Trump repeated his false claim that “we defeated ISIS in four weeks; it was supposed to take four or five years.” The ISIS “caliphate” was declared fully liberated more than two years into Trump’s presidency.
Military equipment surrendered to the Taliban: Trump repeated his false claim that “we gave $85 billion worth” of US military equipment to the Taliban. Trump’s figure is a massive exaggeration; the Pentagon has estimated that the equipment abandoned to the Taliban by Afghan forces upon their 2021 collapse was worth about $7.1 billion – a chunk of the roughly $18.6 billion worth of equipment provided to Afghan forces between 2005 and 2021.
Biden and foreign income: Trump repeated his false claim that “Biden got a lot of money from China.” After years of investigation by House Republicans, there is still no evidence Biden has received any Chinese money.
Chris Wallace and a question about the Biden family: Trump told his familiar false story about how he had asked Biden at a 2020 presidential debate why the wife of a mayor of Moscow had paid Biden $3.5 million – in fact, the money was sent to a firm connected to the president’s son Hunter Biden, not to the president – but moderator Chris Wallace, then of Fox News and now of CNN, had interjected to say, “Well, please don’t ask him that question.” Wallace never did that. As the transcript shows, Wallace interjected during this debate exchange to try to get Trump to allow Biden to answer Trump’s question about the payment, not to stop Trump from asking.
Inflation: Trump repeated his false claim that inflation under Biden and Harris is “the worst inflation in the history of our country.” Trump could fairly say that the US inflation rate hit a 40-year high in June 2022, when it was 9.1%, but that was not close to the all-time record of 23.7%, set in 1920, and the rate has since plummeted; the most recent available inflation rate at the time Trump spoke here was 2.5% in August.
Mortgage rates: Trump falsely claimed that young people can’t buy a house because interest rates are higher than 10%: “It’s not 10%, it’s 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 percent.” This is false. The average rate on a standard 30-year fixed mortgage was 6.12% in the week ending October 3, according to mortgage financing provider Freddie Mac, and 6.32% in the week ending October 10.
Trump’s tax cut: Trump repeated his false claim that “I gave you, as you know, the largest tax cut in the history of our country.” Expert analyses have found that his 2017 tax cut law was not the largest in US history, either in percentage of gross domestic product or in inflation-adjusted dollars.
Tariffs on China: Trump repeated two of his regular false claims about tariffs on imported Chinese products. He falsely claimed that China “paid hundreds of billions of dollars” in these tariffs during his presidency, then falsely claimed that before his presidency, “nobody ever brought in 10 cents, not one other – not 10 cents, you check those records.”
The 1890s and tariffs: Touting the supposed benefits of tariffs, Trump falsely claimed that in the 1890s, when the US had very high tariffs, “Our country was the richest it ever was.” The US is far richer today than in the 1890s; per capita gross domestic product is now many times higher than it was then.
The trade deficit with China: Trump repeated his frequent false claim that the US trade deficit with China has averaged “$500 billion” per year. The US has never had a $500 billion trade deficit with China even if you only count trade in goods and ignore the services trade in which the US traditionally runs a surplus with China; the all-time record, about $418 billion, was set under Trump in 2018.
Harris and taxes: Trump played a deceptively edited video showing “The View” co-host Meghan McCain saying to Harris in 2019, “Everything from a 70 to 80% tax rate,” and Harris responding, “I think that’s fantastic.”
This video cuts out key words from the exchange; Harris was not specifically endorsing high tax rates when she made the “fantastic” comment.
Here’s the transcript of the 2019 exchange:
McCain: “Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is the new darling of the party. She officially has more Twitter followers than Nancy Pelosi. She was on ‘60 Minutes’ this weekend proudly calling herself a radical. And she’s promoting policies like saying that every single carbon emission in the country, every car, should be eliminated within the next 11 years, everything from a 70 to 80 percent tax rate. Do you agree that she could possibly – and this ideology, of the socialist left – could splinter your party?”
Harris: “No. You know, I think that she is challenging the status quo. I think that’s fantastic. I think that – you know, I used to teach, before, especially before – in the last few years – and the thing that I always loved about teaching was when you teach, it requires you to defend the premise. And it requires you to re-examine the premise. And question, is it still relevant? Is it – does it have impact? Does it have meaning? And I think that she is introducing bold ideas that should be discussed. And I think it’s good for the party, I frankly think it’s good for the country. Let’s look at the bold ideas. And I’m eager that we have those discussions. And when we are able to defend status quo, then do it, and if there are – you know, if there’s not merit to that, then let’s explore new ideas.”
Biden’s documents case: Trump falsely claimed in Reading that, in an investigation into Biden’s handling of classified documents, “Biden was essentially convicted” and in Scranton that “they ruled on him, they said he’s guilty.” Biden was not convicted, “essentially” or not, and was not found guilty; in fact, Biden was not even charged with a crime. The special counsel in the case, Robert Hur, wrote in his public report that “the evidence does not establish Mr. Biden’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt,” adding that “several defenses are likely to create reasonable doubt as to such charges.”
A supposed Biden gaffe: Mocking Biden’s gaffes, Trump falsely claimed, “But the worst was when he was in New Hampshire and he said, ‘It’s great to be in Florida.’ That’s palm trees.” This never happened. Biden has certainly made various geographic gaffes, as hasTrump, but he never said he was in Florida when he was actually in New Hampshire.
After ’60 Minutes,’ Palm Beach County legislator calls for probe of Ian insurance payouts
Anne Geggis, Palm Beach Post – October 8, 2024
Reports that damage claims from Hurricane Ian were systemically downgraded has a Palm Beach County state lawmaker leading a call for a Florida grand jury and a select legislative committee to investigate.
Democratic state Rep. Kelly Skidmore of Boca Raton said the report on the CBS network news magazine “60 Minutes” that aired Sept. 29 echoes testimony heard during a 2022 House Commerce Committee meeting. During that hearing homeowners and insurance adjusters testified that valid claims from the hurricane two years ago were rejected and underpaid once it came time to make insured Floridians whole from the damage suffered.
“This exposé was, unfortunately, not news to us in Florida,” Skidmore said. “For nearly 30 years, Republicans have had full oversight and control over the insurance industry. The result? A downward spiral for property owners with no real solutions to the problem.”
The Florida House Democratic Caucus has sent a letter to Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis asking for the special statewide grand jury to investigate whether illegal activity resulted in insurers giving Hurricane Ian victims short shrift. And another letter was sent asking for the select legislative committee to Speaker of the House-Designate Daniel Perez, a Miami area Republican, Skidmore said.
Governor DeSantis: Concern already addressed on Hurricane Ian insurance payouts
Asked about the Democrats’ request, a spokesman for the governor provided a clip of DeSantis reacting to the 60 Minutes’ report but not the call for the statewide grand jury. DeSantis said that safeguards against downgraded claims were already baked into reforms that were passed post-Hurricane Ian.
“We now have protections in Florida law that you can’t just disregard what the adjuster does,” DeSantis said, after noting he is “not much of a fan” of the CBS news magazine. “You actually have to have a clear, valid reason to be able to depart downward. That may not have been in place when Ian happened.”
DeSantis also noted that the company the news magazine focused on, Heritage Property & Casualty Insurance, was fined $1 million last May for violating claims-handling requirements after Ian. Most of the findings in that March report, however, focused on handling claims in a timely manner and following procedures, rather than the actual amounts paid, although it did note Heritage’s failure to pay interest.
Kelly Skidmore
Heritage, for its part, issued a public statement after the 60 Minutes segment aired noting the program’s reporting omitted information the 12-year-old company had provided about improvements that were made in its claims-handling procedures in Ian’s wake. And also there was no deliberate effort to deceive customers about the value of their claims, Heritage said.
“It is important to point out that when we did our own review of Hurricane Ian claims following 60 Minutes’ outreach — using a random sample of 10,000 claims — we found that 4,162 of those were revised downward, 2,583 of them were revised upward and about 3,311 of them had no change from what the adjuster reviewed. This is further evidence that we work to pay every eligible claim,” the company statement reads.
Perez could not be reached by email, text or phone to respond to the Democrats’ call.
Florida property insurance a political hot potato
The same year that Hurricane Ian’s winds made landfall at nearly Category 5 strength, five property insurance companies became insolvent or stopped doing business in the state. Special legislative sessions were called to shore up the situation.
But Democrats were unhappy with many of the reforms that the Republican-dominated Legislature put in place. Those measures largely focused on stemming the tide of litigation from contested damage claims. But critics said the Legislature’s actions left consumers with little recourse to contest an insurance companies’ valuation of a claim.
More than a year out from those reforms, Floridians typically pay two to three times more for their property insurance premiums than the national average. The state’s potential for catastrophic hurricanes, the number of lawsuits and the financial industry’s reluctance to help insurers’ with the risk of those factors have been largely blamed for the state of affairs in providing ample and affordable property insurance.
Florida should lead the way in seeking solutions to the problem, Skidmore said, noting that Democratic U.S. Rep. Jared Moskowitz has proposed spreading the risk of these storms around a much wider area with a National Catastrophic Risk Pool. Moskowitz of Parkland has proposed that natural catastrophes like the one hurricanes Ian, Helene and, now possibly Milton present — with widespread, devastating damage — would be backed by the nation’s credit, instead of relying on private insurers and money markets to shoulder the worst sort of risks that have wiped out some insurers faced with a crush of damage claims.
“I am renewing my call to act and support Congressman Moskowitz’s efforts to, at the very least, have a conversation about creating a National Catastrophe Risk Pool,” Skidmore said in a prepared statement.
The risk pool idea is similar to a bill former Democratic U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist proposed when he represented Pinellas County. Moskowitz’s bill, introduced in March 2023, has not gotten a committee hearing or a cosponsor.
How to prepare: Hurricane Guide 2024
Anne Geggis is the insurance reporter at The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network.
Hurricane Milton is set to pass directly right over my house. I’m ready.
Hurricanes are an unfortunate lifestyle that Floridians have embraced.
Sean Kernan – October 7, 2024
Me and a friend helping a flooding vehicle after a storm.
I was a young boy, living with my grandparents in a brick, sturdy home, that my grandfather built by hand. The morning before the storm came in, I helped him board up our windows.
I leaned into his ladder with all of my weight, keeping it sturdy as he stood at the top, swinging his hammer to bolt on another board.
“Do these boards even help?” I asked, adding to my endless list of questions.
“Yes, dang it. Now hold that ladder,” he said, getting frustrated with a loose board.
“It’s going to be a strong storm,” he growled. “You need to toughen up and be prepared to help me when it hits. Anything can happen.”
Grandpa was born in the Great Depression, and had this gruff way about him, that wasn’t always pleasant, but was underscored by caring and love, no matter how harsh he seemed.
“But it rains here all the time Grandpa. We got a big storm before, and – “
“Not like this one,” he said, interrupting me before I could finish.
Hurricane Andrew hit us directly that night. People forget how apocalyptic the storm was, with winds stronger than that of Hurricane Katrina. It certainly lived up to its reputation with us.
The wind picked up in the wee hours that night, with thin drops pelting our house sideways like pellets. I stared out the window intermittently that night, noticing the branches and leaves moving side to side, then up and down. Sometimes, they’d bend far to one side in the wind, stuck in that position like the tree was stretching its limbs before a workout.
I slept for one hour before I heard a huge explosion outside. A transformer had blown as a power line came down. The house heated up within minutes, sending an intrusive thick blanket of humidity crawling into the house, reminding us that the storm wasn’t our only problem. Losing your power in August in Florida could feel like a death sentence. Unfortunately, it was, for some. Our power wouldn’t return for two days.
The wind grew and grew. The sound of rain hitting the house also grew louder, as the droplets began sounding like bullets hitting the brick walls. Our roof creaked in agony, like a giant ship at sea, struggling to stay afloat during a storm.
Eventually, the wind was so strong that the seams on our windows, and other small cracks in our structure, started to whistle and scream like a banshee haunting the building. That part scared me more than anything else. Not even the vibrating brick walls terrified me as much as that howling. I can still hear it.
At 4 AM, I heard my grandmother calling out to me, “Sean. Help me.” Feeling panicked, I rushed out into the dining room, which was pitch black. Shuffling my feet, attempting to remember every minor obstacle, I inched forward and saw a figure on the floor, her form crumpled on the ground. Terror set upon me and, for a moment, I thought my grandmother was dead. She’d clearly fallen.
“Help me get up, Sean,” she said, meekly from the floor.
My towering grandfather suddenly loomed in the kitchen, his dark form behind me. Inexplicably, he seemed angry at grandma, saying, “What are you doing down there Vivian! Get up!”
“She fell grandpa!” I said, pleadingly.
Grandma shouted up, “What do you think I’m doing? Looking for pennies? You fool!”
The stress of the situation had gotten to everyone. I was unsettled that night, though not terrified. An hour later, I heard the sound of groaning wood from my bedroom, which grew progressively louder until I heard a large collapsing sound. Peeking through my blinds, I saw a huge tree in our backyard, with a five foot wide trunk that had been pulled sideways.
The storm wasn’t the first or last I’d experience, but was certainly the strongest.
The morning came, and I stepped outside to see a different neighborhood. Across the street, one neighbor’s entire roof was peeled off, like a giant had come and lifted it, while looking for people to snack on.
The street was littered with shingles and branches. Small pieces of debris that had once been part of our homes blew in the wind. The air was eery and still — a striking contrast to the night before.
A neighbors car was impaled with a large branch, right through the front of the driver’s side window. It brought home how dangerous these storms could be.
The streets weren’t even flooded either. Only a few puddles here and there. If you live in Florida long enough, you learn that every hurricane is its own monster, a howling feral beast with invisible hands. Some unleash torrents of rain, turning streets into rivers. Others, like Andrew, wielded the wind like a weapon, ripping through everything in sight with brutal force.
I walked through our circular neighborhood, eventually bumping into other boys I knew. Our childlike capacity for play kicked in, and we spent hours climbing over uprooted trees, walking on branches that were once far too high for our reach.
In an instant, we forgot the chaos and devastation, and started having fun in that moment, as only a child can.
There was an enormous live oak, which was more than a hundred years old, and had been turned horizontal. I got up on it, and began working my way to what was formerly the top branch, which stood nearly 40 meters.
As I balance beamed my way over a high branch, I heard a deep voice, “Hey you! Kid! Get down from there!”
A fireman, in full attire, was standing below the knocked down tree, holding an axe. Behind him, was a huge black truck, that was quickly filling with branches. These rescue crews were working their way through the neighborhood, checking homes and clearing roads.
And so ended our day of play in the apocalyptic landscape around us. Sadly, many families lost so much that day, including loved ones who were ripped from their lives. Perhaps it was a blessing that I was young, and not capable of comprehending the loss so many were experiencing. It’s hard to even conceive of that pain as I look back now upon our neighborhood.
A reflection on the current threat
I was born in Florida and have lived here most of my adult life. There’s a silent pact you make when moving here. You know what it entails, and that storms are an inevitability.
Recently, I’ve been getting many heartfelt messages. I live in Tampa, where a storm is barreling down upon us. As of my writing this, the storms path is aimed directly over my house, only a few days from now.
My home is the X.
The worst part of moments like this isn’t fear per se, but more the uncertainty. You just want to know one way or the other if it is going to hit. You also get into this weird mindset where you are watching the radar, wishing to move the storm north or south, which would inevitably hit another city instead. It isn’t a conscious wish for the demise of another, but an odd though many peers and I experience.
If it does hit, this would be the fifth direct hit hurricane I’ve experienced, on top of the many others that have grazed us. My mindset as a boy was more that of fear of my physical health. Today, I tend to worry more about damage to my property, and the health of those around me. I know that my home is sturdy and strong, but many homes are not. They stand to lose much. Because property insurance has become so extraordinarily expensive, many can’t afford it. I’m currently in evacuation Zone C, and waiting to see what the updates entail.
Another hurricane is upon us. These storms become a sort of lifestyle choice for us Floridians. Even when hurricanes aren’t hitting, we get massive storms slamming into us on the regular.
Alas, we move here knowing what to expect. We leave a few chips on the poker table. The comforting smell of salty air carries the subtle promise of chaos, the grim possibility that mother nature shall return to remind us who is queen.
To those of you in the path, please be safe. Listen to your evacuation orders. Your life is more important than your home.
I’m a former financial analyst turned writer out of sunny Tampa, Florida. I began writing eight years ago on the side and fell in love with the craft. My goal is to provide non-fiction story-driven content to help us live better and maximize our potential.
The nation’s eyes are on Florida as Hurricane Milton seems poised to strike the state this week — nearly two weeks after experiencing the destruction of Hurricane Helene.
Residents of the Sunshine State are no strangers to hurricanes, but experts are sounding the alarm over Milton. The storm rapidly intensified into a Category 5 hurricane Monday, only one day after it officially became a hurricane, and “is expected to grow in size and remain an extremely dangerous hurricane when it approaches the west coast of Florida on Wednesday,” according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC).
Here’s why experts are concerned about the storm.
Rapid intensification
The storm officially became a hurricane Sunday, according to the NHC, and on Monday, it had already intensified into a Category 5 hurricane. Rapid intensification, per the NHC, is when “the maximum sustained winds of a tropical cyclone” rise “at least 30 knots in a 24 hour period[.]” Thirty knots is equal to just below 35 miles per hour (mph).
“This is what rapid intensification looks like, going to sleep to a meh category 1 hurricane & waking up to a monster category 5 with 160 mph winds,” CNN meteorologist Elisa Raffa said in a post on the social platform X Monday that featured maps with Milton.
“Truly mind-boggling & scary,” Raffa continued in her post. “This is the trend as our oceans continue to trap heat & fuel stronger storms.”
The science nonprofit Climate Central noted Milton’s rapid intensification in a thread on X Monday, stating that oceans rising in temperature “due to human-caused climate change, are fueling stronger tropical cyclones.”
“#Milton rapidly intensified over sea surface temperatures in the Western Gulf of Mexico, which have been made hundreds of times more likely to be anomalously warm due to climate change,” Climate Central said later in the thread.
A Florida meteorologist who recently got emotional when talking about the severity of Milton said that the Gulf of Mexico, where the storm is currently located, has waters that are “so incredibly hot.”
“You know what’s driving that, I don’t have to tell you … global warming, climate change leading to this and becoming an increasing threat,” John Morales said.
Risk of damage
The NHC said in a forecast discussion Monday that “Milton is expected to grow in size and remain an extremely dangerous hurricane when it approaches the west coast of Florida on Wednesday.”
“A large area of destructive storm surge will occur along parts of the west coast of Florida on Wednesday,” the agency continued. “This is an extremely life-threatening situation, and residents in those areas should follow advice given by local officials and evacuate immediately if told to do so.”
Beyond the storm surge, the NHC also said that possibly “devastating hurricane-force winds are expected along portions of the west coast of Florida where a Hurricane Warning is in effect” and that zones “of heavy rainfall will impact portions of Florida today well ahead of Milton, with heavy rainfall more directly related to the system expected later on Tuesday through Wednesday night.”
“This rainfall will bring the risk of considerable flash, urban, and areal flooding, along with the potential for moderate to major river flooding,” the agency continued.
Bryan Bennett, a Tampa-area meteorologist, said in a post on X Monday that Milton “COULD BE OUR KATRINA,” referencing the cataclysmic 2004 storm that caused mass destruction in New Orleans.
“Winds rotate counterclockwise around a hurricane,” Bennett said. “If the storm makes landfall in Pasco [County] or Pinellas [County], not only will it significantly flood [Clearwater] & St. Petersburg, but much of south Tampa, MacDill [Air Force Base], & downtown Tampa may go underwater.”
Bennett also said when the storm makes landfall, “winds are going to be sustained around 125, gusting to 155 mph,” adding that a wind speed at “150 mph wind is strong enough to take off a roof and damage exterior walls of a well built home.”
“I typically try to keep my message calm & low key,” Bennett said in his post. “But, the potential devastation that this storm may cause is the reason for my concern/worry for my home -Tampa Bay. That is also why I am pushing for so many people to please evacuate.”
Donald Trump Goes Off the Rails With Claim That Some Races Have Murder Gene
Emell Derra Adolphus – October 7, 2024
Win McNamee
Donald Trump revealed an unhinged eugenics theory Monday, claiming during a morning rant that some migrants have “bad genes” that make them predisposed to committing murder.
Trump spent a good chunk of an interview on the The Hugh Hewitt radio show slamming the policies of his political opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, and baselessly accused her of wanting to install a communist government.
“She wants to [do] government housing. She wants to go into government feeding. She wants to feed people. She wants to feed people governmentally,” he said as host Hugh Hewitt listened without saying a word. “She wants to go into a community party-type system. When you look at the things that she proposes, they’re so far off. She has no clue.”
Trump then attacked Harris’ handling of illegal immigration—despite her pushing back against his claims of a “crisis”—and alleged that she was letting people into the country with “bad genes.”
“How about allowing people to come to an open border, 13,000 of which were murders, many of them murdered far more than one person, and they are not happily living in the United States,” he said. “And now a murderer, I believe this, it’s in their genes.”
He added, “We got a lot of bad genes in our country right now.”
Throughout his presidential campaign, Trump has shown a fascination with genes—using the topic often during discussions of immigration to suggest some people are more superior than others.
During a 2020 campaign speech in Minnesota, Trump told a majority white crowd of his supporters that they have “good genes” and seemed to suggest that immigration and racism challenges in America comes down to genetic differences, reported the New York Times.
“A lot of it is about the genes, isn’t it, don’t you believe?” said Trump. “The racehorse theory, you think we’re so different? You have good genes in Minnesota.”
Donald Trump wants to reinstate a spoils system in federal government by hiring political loyalists regardless of competence
Sidney Shapiro, Wake Forest University and Joseph P. Tomain, University of Cincinnati – October 5, 2024
Then-President Donald Trump standing underneath a portrait of Andrew Jackson in November 2017. Oliver Contreras – Pool / Getty Images
If elected to serve a second term, Donald Trump says he supports a plan that would give him the authority to fire as many as 50,000 civil servants and replace them with members of his political party loyal to him. Under this plan, if he eventually deemed those new employees disloyal, he claims he could fire them too.
The United States has tried such a plan before.
As we write in our book “How Government Built America,” newly elected President Andrew Jackson, after he took office in 1828, fired about half the country’s civil servants and replaced them with loyal members of his political party.
The result was not only an utterly incompetent administration, but widespread corruption.
Swearing allegiance
Jackson’s actions that rewarded political loyalists and punished enemies were a dramatic departure from what the founders had envisioned by establishing an independent civil service whose members were literally pledged to uphold the country’s laws.
In passage of its very first law, on June 1, 1789, Congress required newly appointed federal officials to take the oath of office to uphold the laws of the country and faithfully carry out their duties.
Congress also passed conflict-of-interest legislation at that time to prevent employees from making decisions based on personal financial considerations.
When President George Washington – and the next five U.S. presidents – hired a new employee, reputations mattered. Each of the presidents looked at how an appointee’s neighbors regarded him and whether he had been elected to local office, an indication that the man – and they were all men – was competent and an honest employee.
That’s not what Jackson, the nation’s seventh president, and his system aimed to do; he wanted loyalists in government jobs.
The spoils system
While the first presidents were concerned with the competence and honesty of civil service employees, Jackson quickly set aside those concerns.
Instead of hiring those who wanted to work for the public interest and the good of the nation, Jackson employed members of his political party who pledged to march in lockstep with him and his policies. This became known as the “spoils system.”
Like Trump, Jackson also had a version of the “deep state” that he opposed. He claimed that the appointment process was aristocratic and blocked the appointment of the ordinary people he represented. He also insisted that experience and competence were unnecessary.
A cartoon of President Andrew Jackson atop a pig depicts his spoils system, which rewarded party members with government jobs. Bettmann / GettyImages
Jackson was quite wrong about some of his political appointments.
One of his worst was Samuel Swartwout, a longtime Army friend and political sycophant. Jackson named him to two consecutive terms as collector of customs at New York, where he served from 1829 through 1837.
Considered a plum assignment, the job at the time was the highest paid in federal government and involved collecting taxes and fees on imported goods that arrived in the nation’s busiest port.
But a congressional investigation showed that Swartwout had stolen a little more than US$1.2 million during his tenure, or about $40 million in today’s dollars.
Swartwout had fled to London, but he returned to the U.S. after he was assured that he would not face criminal charges.
Jackson also learned that his power to influence federal agencies with high-level appointments was limited. Such was the case with the U.S. Postal Service.
As a slaveholder, Jackson was disturbed by the mailing of antislavery flyers in 1835 by the American Anti-Slavery Society. Fearing the flyers would lead to a Black insurrection, Jackson instructed his postmaster general, Amos Kendall, an enslaver himself, to fix their problem by limiting the mailings and asking Congress to prohibit the U.S. Postal Service from mailing all abolitionist material.
Congress refused, citing freedom of speech and expansion of presidential authority as the main reasons.
Long after Jackson had left the White House, Congress, between 1864 and 1883, debated making “merit” a key condition of hiring new employees, but nothing happened until after a disgruntled office seeker assassinated President James Garfield.
Congress then passed the Pendleton Act in 1883, which established the merit appointment system still used today. It also put a virtual end to a system that allowed whichever party that won the White House to reward its supporters with tens of thousands of jobs.
But the law exempts about 4,000 federal employees whose appointment requires the Senate’s advice and consent and who have been determined by the president to hold a “confidential, policy-determining, policy-making or policy-advocating character.”
The idea is to give a new president the capacity to influence his policymaking by hiring top-level federal officials.
People seeking government jobs crashed the White House on the day of Andrew Jackson’s inauguration. Library of Congress
The plan that Trump supported would extend the president’s authority under the previous exemption to hire and fire tens of thousands of civil servants without regard to merit.
In short, he intends to reestablish the spoils system.
This is no idle threat.
Near the end of his administration, then-President Trump signed an executive order establishing a new job classification within the government’s career civil service called Schedule F for “employees in confidential, policy-determining, policy-making or policy-advocating positions.”
Under that designation, employees would lose virtually all of their civil service protections and could be fired without cause. It’s unclear how much effect Trump’s order had on the federal government because it was enacted two weeks before the 2020 election and was in effect for only a few months.
In our view, if political loyalty replaces merit as the basis of key federal appointments, Americans can expect government to be less competent – as Andrew Jackson learned during his administration.
While this might not matter to those who regard government as unimportant to the country – or worse, the enemy of the country – our book “How Government Built America” tells a much different story about the thousands of federal employees who provide everything from health services to protection from natural disasters.
Not every civil servant is a great employee, nor is every employee of private industry.
But there is ample proof that government works because of the many people behind the scenes in Washington and across the country who serve the American people – and uphold their oaths of office.
Sidney Shapiro is affiliated with the Center for Progressive Reform. .
Joseph P. Tomain does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
