Bannon Removed from the NSC - Trump Unmaking His Mind

(Photo: Damon Winter/The New York Times)

               Trump has made decisions that disoriented Washington, and then just as promptly, unmade them, leaving disorder and questioning in his wake. Nine weeks after appointing Steve Bannon to the National Security Council, one of his most controversial selections, Trump removed his chief adviser.

               The initial appointment of Steve Bannon, who ran Breitbart news and oversaw the publication's transformation into a far-right, antiestablishment, and purportedly white-nationalist outlet, was marked by controversy and widespread disapproval. Opposed groups called attention to his self-professed commitment to providing a platform for the alt-right, and it’s hard to forget the words he uttered in his interview with Hollywood Reporter: “Darkness is good…Dick Cheney, Darth Vader, Satan. That’s power.”

               This is also the man who framed much of his agenda with vowing to fight for “the deconstruction of the administrative state,” and proclaimed his pride in Trump’s refusal to veer toward moderation.

               After all this, Bannon’s dismissal comes as a surprise, only two months after his installation. With his language of “economic nationalism,” his intense dislike of mainstream media, and his focus and commitment to hardline issues, he ostensibly fit in with Trumps’ administration.

               Initially, Trump was criticized for taking the unusual step of allowing Bannon to attend all National Security Council meetings, giving him unusual influence over key military and intelligence decisions. Now, although he has been released, Bannon still retains the highest level of security clearance that one can have in the West Wing.

                One given explanation shares that Bannon acted as a counterforce to check National Security Adviser Michal Flynn, but this explanation seems odds for multiple reasons. Flynn was chosen specifically by Trump to be adviser, and left the National Security Council nearly a month ago. Why the wait, and why an opposing “check” for an already hand-picked official?

               Furthermore, the changes to the White House staff extend beyond Bannon. Two officials were added back to the National Security Council’s Principal’s Committee: the Director of National Intelligence, Dan Coats, and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Joseph Dunford. Bannon’s removal perhaps decrease the threat of politicizing the security council, and these additional changes in some way restore traditional structure to the White House Security system.

Marirose Bernal Staff Reporter

Pruit Rejects His Own Agency's Recommendation To Ban Pesticide

(Photo: Jim Watson/Agence France-Presse)

               Scott Pruitt, head of the Environmental Protection Agency, opposed scientists on Wednesday to rejected the scientific conclusion from the experts: that chlorpyrifos – a harmful insecticide—should be banned from being used on farms across the nation.

               Chlorpyrifos was banned in almost all households at the turn of the millennia but is still used on tens of thousands of farms. At the end of last year, scientists concluded that chlorpyrifos was potentially causing memory decline and other significant health consequences as a result of exposure in workers and children. Although they revised their initial study after raised questions about the finality of the results, the research panel still concluded that the chemical should be banned.

               Due to observed negative effects on farmworkers and on children, EPA scientists recommended a permanent ban under the Obama administration. Pruitt claims that the agency needs to study the science more, referring to the recommendation as “predetermined results.”

               Pruitt has greenlighted a pesticide that his own agency recommended to ban. Unless he decides to bring up the question once more, it will almost certainly not be reviewed until the next time the EPA is formally required to re-evaluate the safety of the pesticide, in six years.

               The Trump Era has been marked with appointments that seem contradictory to the position: Ben Carson for Secretary of Housing and Urban development after he has no experience in either area and recently scoffed at the idea of heading a government agency and Betsy DeVos for Secretary of Education, after she has never worked in nor had a child in public education.  

               Scott Pruitt is no exception. He spent years opposing the EPA, and while serving as Oklahoma’s attorney general, he attempted to sue the agency for its efforts to regulate smog, mercury, and other forms of pollution. Then he was appointed to be the head of EPA. In many ways, his decision not to ban insecticide is no surprise.

               Pruitt’s decision is to be part of a larger movement in the new administration. Recently, Trump began an order to roll back Obama administration rules related to coal-burning power plants and climate change. The anger of many environmental actions groups at both this small-scale decision and the large situation is brimming. The decision will likely not be revisited until 2022, as Pruitt took what is called “final agency action” on the issue.

               Groups have accused Trump of valuing corporate opinion over the earth and environment, like Dow Chemical, which sells the product and claims that the science is inconclusive, despite scientist like Jim Jones saying that “They are ignoring the science that is pretty solid.” Jones has worked at the EPA for more than two decades.

               Public anger is understandable from a broad scale environmentalist perspective; after all, Pruitt doesn’t believe humans are a primary cause of climate change, a belief which contradicts the EPA’s official scientific findings on their website. His attempt to sow scientific doubt where little exists – stating that continuous review and analysis is needed – alarmed scientists across the nation and the globe.

Marirose Bernal Staff Reporter

How To Fact Check Your News

               Our generation has grown up in an era of Photoshop and digital illustration, where nearly anyone has the power to manipulate the media, and even large news name seems to be unreliable. In many ways, the credibility gap is larger than ever. Factchecking has emerged as a useful skill in the time “fake news” and “alternative facts”. Don’t rely on your friends or your Facebook; use these steps to see for yourself what’s legitimate.

First: Check the URL, quick and easy. Often, there will be a very subtle change in the website’s name – it will mimic a professional one, but sometimes have an added letter or number that points to falsehood, like the difference between abc.com and abc.com.co.

Second: See if there’s a disclaimer on the actual website – some pages actually admit to misrepresentation, or even fiction and fabrication.

Third: Is the article by an actual author, or by a generalized category or website name? If the latter, is it a credible site, with journalism you can trust? Anonymity and a lack of contact information should be red flags.

Fourth: Follow your sources. It’s tedious and time-consuming, but also the most foolproof way to facts. Search exact quotes to find their origin, or search them and include the website credited for the quote on google.

Fifth: Check the images. Hoaxers often use real photos to increase believability. Dragging the image into a google search bar can quickly tell you that it came from somewhere else.

Marirose Bernal Staff Reporter

What We Know About The Parliament Attack So Far

(Photo: Stefan Wermuth/Reuters)

               In a chaotic churning of violence, lone attacker Khalid Masood drove a sports utility vehicle through a crowd of people in London last Wednesday, killing four and injuring more than forty. After crashing the car through pedestrians, Masood proceeded to stab a nearby police officer to death at the scene, before he was fatally shot by police.

               The murdered police officer was 48-year-old Keith Palmer, a member of the Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command with more than a decade of experience. A minister from the foreign office, Tobias Elwood, attempted to save Palmer with resuscitation, but the officer’s injuries were fatal.

               The attack unfolded on the one year anniversary of the suicide bombings in Brussels, which happened on March 22, 2016, and killed 32 people, not including the attackers themselves. The attack is also hauntingly reminiscent of last year’s assault in Nice, France, where a man drove a cargo truck through crowds celebrating Bastille Day, killing 86 and injuring nearly five hundred. ISIL, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, claimed responsibility for both those attacks.

               Until now, London itself has been free of these types of terrorist onslaughts since the city’s subway bombings over a decade ago; it appears London will now be joining Brussels, Berlin, Nice, Paris, and other major cities as a target.

               The attack took place on Westminster Bridge, near the Parliament, where lawmakers inside the House of Commons were told to remain where they were while officers searched the area, office by office. Outside the building, turmoil and disorder ensued – a woman was pulled alive from the River Thames, and pedestrians crowded around the wounded, many lying bleeding or unconscious on the ground, and attempted to help.

               Among those injured were people from ten different nations, from Italy and Romania to Greek and China. Three police officers were killed and three schoolchildren on a trip from France were injured; those wounded also included five South Korean tourists overwhelmed by the crowds trying to escape the scene.

               Khalid Masood is British-born, speculated to have been radicalized to violent extremism and jihadism during his time in prison. He died not while shot by police officers, but while receiving medical treatment for those wounds.

               Multiple countries have offered their condolences and full support, from Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. United States President Donald Trump offered full cooperation and support in responding to the attack, and in Paris, the lights of the Eiffel Tower switched off.

               Investigators suspect the attacker was "inspired by international terrorism," and Prime Minister Theresa May said in her statement that she will never allow “voices of hate and evil to drive us apart.”

Marirose Bernal Staff Reporter

Dismantling the Remnants of The Obama Administration

(Photo: Brendan McDermid/Reuters)

             Between political parties and across argument lines, there is one statement about Donald Trump that both the left and right seem to credit: he has never been one for protocol.

               Recently, the Trump administration ordered 46 Obama-era prosecutors to resign, “effective immediately,” according to Justice Department spokeswoman Sarah Isgur Flores. Those 46 are the remaining attorneys from Obama’s appointments, as many have already left. This is not an uncommon move when the power balance switches between parties after an election.

               Administrations have the right to replace and nominate US attorneys, and it isn’t unusual. Clinton and Bush dismissed dozens, and Reagan replaced most of his administration, but presidents rarely do it so immediately, abruptly, and extensively as Trump ordered last Friday. The decision appears to come following pressure from Trump supporters outside the White House, and is an abrupt surprise to many.

               Preet Bharara, pictured above, is one of the 46 asked to resign and among the most reputable, with a history of prosecuting public corruption and insider trading. Bharara was asked by Jeff Sessions, the new attorney general, to leave his position as a prosecutor. Although Bharara intended to, it seems he has received a phone call along with the other attorneys that request a resignation. The clean sweep will be total.

               The dismissals come during the same week Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington write to request that Bharara examine whether President Trump has violated the Emoluments Clause of the Constitution, which would prohibit his businesses from accepting money from foreign governments.

               Only two attorneys will remain after the mass dismissal: Rod Rosenstein, Trump’s nomination for deputy attorney general, and Dana Boente, who currently holds the position for acting deputy general. Both are the top prosecutors in their districts and will remain in their position after a phone call from Trump that informed each their resignations would not be accepted.

               The resignation order from the Trump administration has received attention for its curt nature, as opposed to a gradual transition that would minimize disruption, and the dismissal of Bharara, who many assumed would be kept as an inherited and credited prosecutor. The reversals on decisions like Bharara’s are an inconvenience on an order that already asks some attorneys to clear out within a business day but furthermore appears to mark a disputed or disordered transition process.

Marirose Bernal Staff Reporter

Rangers For Change

(Photo: Courtesy of John Paul Casillas and Nick Stofa)

               Since the age of five, John Paul Casillas and Nick Stofa have been best friends. They have spent the past sixteen years developing a strong relationship long-rooted in teamwork. Between them is a far-reaching, cohesive chemistry that most political duos would kill (or at least embezzle) to have.

               Casillas and Stofa are running for the highest office students can hold on Regis’ campus: President and Vice President. The President is in charge of student funding, it’s allocation, and meeting with all the branches of RUSGA. The Vice President runs and manages the Student Senate. Both are in a position to effect campus wide change. So why vote for them?

               The President and Vice President bridge the gap between the students, the faculty, and the administration. They ensure that the students’ needs are heard by authority figures. Stofa says, “Our biggest goal is to make sure we keep listening to what students want and trying our best to implement them - hammocking posts anyone?”

               The pair is backed by years of experience on either side. Collectively, they have been RAs, TAs, Orientation Leaders, Ranger Week committee members, presidents of some clubs, and founders of others. Both have worked in the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusive Excellence and have a history of student government experience behind them.

               Casillas, running for President, is a first-generation, bilingual college student and an officer in Res Judicata. Stofa is President of Res Judicata. Together, they also founded the Young Democrats chapter at Regis.

               The platform of these “Rangers For Change” includes bridging the gap between traditional and commuter students and returning to high school-spirit, by coordinating events like tailgates, pep rallies, and more activities on campus. John wants to streamline Senate, as he has “heard that students feel that it is currently a bit arduous and perhaps outdated”, but still believes it functions as an “extremely important apparatus of the student body.”

               The largest focus of the two is student representation. “Our biggest job,” says Stofa, “will be making sure that we are accountable and receptive to student needs, whether it be a first year student on campus or a second semester commuting senior.”

               Students voting for Nick and John appreciate this campaign goal. Students voting for  Casillas and Stofa commented, “Nick actually knows the first-year students, and I feel like he will take our voice into consideration when other upperclassmen will not.”

               In his campaign profile, Casillas writes, “I believe that my passion for this institution combined with that of my best friend and running mate Nick Stofa’s, makes us an unstoppable team.”

Marirose Bernal Staff Reporter