Steve Jobs' Last Words

 

Steve Jobs' last words:

He died a billionaire at 56 yrs, of Pancreatic Cancer, and here are his last words from his sick bed:

"I reached the pinnacle of success in ...the business world. In others’ eyes my life is an epitome of success.

However, aside from work, I have little joy. In the end, wealth is only a fact of life that I am accustomed to.
At this moment, lying on the sick bed and recalling my whole life, I realize that all the recognition and
wealth that I took so much pride in, have paled and become meaningless in the face of impending death.
You can employ someone to drive the car for you, make money for you but you cannot have someone to bear the sickness for you.
Material things lost can be found. But there is one thing that can never be found when it is lost – "Life".
When a person goes into the operating room, he will realize that there is one book that he has yet to finish reading – "Book of Healthy Life".
Whichever stage in life we are at right now, with time, we will face the day when the curtain comes down.
Treasure Love for your family, love for your spouse, love for your friends...
Treat yourself well. Cherish others.
As we grow older, and hence wiser, we slowly realize that wearing a $300 or $30 watch - they both tell the same time...
Whether we carry a $300 or $30 wallet/handbag - the amount of money inside is the same;
Whether we drive a $150,000 car or a $30,000 car, the road and distance is the same, and we get to the same destination.
Whether we drink a bottle of $300 or $10 wine - the hangover is the same;
Whether the house we live in is 300 or 3000 sq ft - loneliness is the same.
You will realize, your true inner happiness does not come from the material things of this world.
Whether you fly first or economy class, if the plane goes down - you go down with it...
Therefore.. I hope you realize, when you have mates, buddies and old friends, brothers and sisters, who you chat with, laugh with, talk with, have sing songs with, talk about north-south-east-west or heaven and earth, .... That is true happiness!!
Five Undeniable Facts of Life :
1. Don't educate your children to be rich. Educate them to be Happy. So when they grow up they will know the value of things not the price.
2. Best awarded words in London ... "Eat your food as your medicines. Otherwise you have to eat medicines as your food."
3. The One who loves you will never leave you for another because even if there are 100 reasons to give up he or she will find one reason to hold on.
4. There is a big difference between a human being and being human.
Only a few really understand it.
5. You are loved when you are born. You will be loved when you die. In between, You have to manage!
NOTE: If you just want to Walk Fast, Walk Alone! But if you want to Walk Far, Walk Together!
Six Best Doctors in the World
1. Sunlight
2. Rest
3. Exercise
4. Diet
5. Self Confidence and
6. Friends
Maintain them in all stages of Life and enjoy a healthy life.

Definitely words to live by … Shadow

Honoring those who served, past and present

 

 

 

Each day, an average of 294 American veterans of World War II die. This Veterans Day provides an opportunity to honor those rapidly dwindling survivors, most of them now in their 90s and 100s. Of the 16 million American soldiers who fought, only 389,292 were alive this year, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

 

 

“Every day, memories of World War II, its sights and sounds, terrors and triumphs, disappear,” says the National World War II Museum in New Orleans, which seeks to explain the Allied victory and the price of freedom.
The day now known as Veterans Day began in 1919, a year after the World War I Armistice with Germany, which occurred on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918.
In proclaiming the holiday, U.S. President Woodrow Wilson said he hoped the day “will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country’s service, and with gratitude for the victory.” As we remember those who served, take a moment of silence to honor their sacrifice.

 

ANOTHER MEMORABLE ANNIVERSARY IN NOVEMBER

 

Thirty years ago, on November 9, 1989, the fall of the Berlin Wall came amid revolution, five days after 500,000 people gathered in protest. A spokesman for communist East Germany announced that its citizens could finally cross the border whenever they wanted, and the demolition of the wall commenced with hammers and picks.

 

After World War II, a defeated Germany had been divided into four “allied occupation zones,” occupied by the Soviet Union, Britain, the United States and France. As it created an Iron Curtain between communist East Germany and West Germany, Berliners could navigate freely across the divided city.
That ended in 1961. The Berlin Wall began overnight: Barbed wire, cinder blocks and then concrete dividing east and west. East Germany built the wall to stem the tide of East Germans—2.5 million of them—who had fled west. About 5,000 East Germans were captured trying to get over the wall; 190 were killed.
All that ended in November 1989. Mr Gorbachev took down the wall.

 





Impeachment: This week's events

 



What's up with the Turks and the Kurds ??

Why is Turkey bombing the Kurds in Syria?

Tens of thousands of people have fled their homes in northern Syria, as Turkish forces step up their cross-border offensive on Kurdish-held areas. International clamour has increased for Turkey to halt the attack.  Martin Patience explains what's behind the conflict.

 

 

Turkey-Syria offensive: Kurds reach deal with Syrian army

 

Kurds

 

The Kurds in Syria say the Syrian government has agreed to send its army to the northern border to try to halt Turkey's offensive against them. Syrian state media earlier reported that government forces had been deployed to the north. It follows the US decision to pull all its remaining troops from the area over the "untenable" situation there.

The Turkish assault, launched last week, is aimed at forcing Kurdish forces from along the border area. Areas under control of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the main US ally in the area, have come under heavy bombardment over the weekend, with Turkey making gains in two key border towns.

Dozens of civilians and fighters have been killed on both sides. In a separate development on Sunday, Kurdish officials said nearly 800 relatives of foreign Islamic State (IS) members had escaped from Ain Issa, a camp in the north, as clashes raged nearby.

 

The Turkish offensive and US withdrawal has drawn an international outcry, as the SDF were the main Western allies in the battle against IS in Syria. But Turkey views elements of the Kurdish groups within the force as terrorists and says it wants to drive them away from a "safe zone" reaching 30km into Syria.

It also plans to resettle more than three million Syrian refugees currently in Turkey within the zone. Many of them are not Kurds. Critics have warned this could lead to ethnic cleansing of the local Kurdish population.

 

What's the deal? 

The Kurdish-led administration in northern Syria said the Syrian army would deploy along the entire length of the border as part of the agreement. This deployment would assist the SDF in countering "this aggression and liberating the areas that the Turkish army and mercenaries had entered", it said in a statement. The move also "paves the way to liberate the rest of the Syrian cities occupied by the Turkish army such as Afrin", it added. Turkish forces and pro-Turkey Syrian rebels forced Kurdish fighters from Afrin back in 2018 after a two-month operation.

 

The deal represents a significant shift in alliances for the Kurds, after losing the military protection of their long-term US partners in the area. It is not yet known what the Syrian government has committed to. However SDF chief Mazloum Abdi acknowledged "there would be painful compromises" with the Assad government and its Russian allies, in an article for Foreign Policy magazine.

"We do not trust their promises. To be honest, it is hard to know whom to trust," he writes.

"But if we have to choose between compromises and the genocide of our people, we will surely choose life for our people."

The deal follows US President Donald Trump's surprise move last week to pull troops from pockets in the north-east, effectively paving the way for the Turkish operation against the Kurdish fighters. At the time, the SDF called the move "a stab in the back".

 

What about the latest US withdrawal?

US Defence Secretary Mark Esper earlier announced the Pentagon was moving up to 1,000 troops away from the north after learning that Turkey was pushing further into Syria than previously expected.

Describing the situation there as "untenable", he said the SDF had been "looking to cut a deal" with the Syrian government and Russia to counter the Turkish attack. This, he continued, would leave the US forces stuck between "two opposing advancing armies".

Hours after Mr Esper's comments, Syria said it was deploying its forces to the north to "confront a Turkish aggression". It is not yet clear where exactly the troops are being sent.

On Sunday, President Trump tweeted that it was "very smart" not to be involved in the fighting "for a change", saying engagement in Middle East conflict was a mistake.

 

What has Turkey seized so far ?

Turkey is pushing deeper into northern Syria.  On Sunday, President Erdogan said his forces had already captured 109 sq km (42 square miles) of territory, including 21 villages. He told reporters the key border town of Ras al-Ain had come under Turkish control - though the SDF said they had pushed Turkish forces back to the town's outskirts.

 

Mr Erdogan said Turkish forces had also besieged the town of Tal Abyad, some 120km (75 miles) away. The UK-based monitoring group the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said Turkey was in almost complete control there.

Both Ras al-Ain and Tal Abyad are key goals in the Turkish offensive against the SDF. Turkey also announced that its Syrian allies on the ground had seized a key motorway - called M4 - some 30-35km south of the border.

What are the casualty figures?

They're rising, with civilians killed on both sides of the border:
More than 50 civilians and over 100 Kurdish fighters killed in north-eastern Syria, SOHR says
SDF says the Kurdish forces' death toll is 56 and Turkey gives a higher figure of 440.  Eighteen civilians killed in southern Turkey, according to Turkish reports, and four Turkish soldiers and 16 pro-Turkish Syrian fighters killed in Syria.

The UN humanitarian agency OCHA says up to 160,000 civilians are now on the move and it expects the number to rise. It says it is increasingly concerned about the safety of its staff in the region.What about IS? The fighting has spilled over to areas close to IS detainee camps.  Fears that Kurdish forces will be unable to keep IS prisoners confined appeared to have been realized when officials at the Ain Issa camp said nearly 800 relatives of foreign IS members had escaped.

 

The SDF says it is currently holding more than 12,000 suspected IS members in seven prisons, and at least 4,000 of them are foreign nationals. IS has claimed recent car bombings and on Saturday declared a new campaign in Syria. Turkey says it will take responsibility for IS prisoners it finds during its offensive. A whole new, Middle East 'Pandora's Box' has been opened. Thank you Mr Trump.



Violence peaks in Hong Kong

 

 

 

The 70th anniversary of Communist Party rule in China was "one of Hong Kong's most violent and chaotic days", the city's police chief has said. An 18-year-old protester was shot in the chest with a live bullet - one of six live rounds fired by police. Protesters - armed with petrol bombs and projectiles - fought pitched battles with police in several parts of Hong Kong. In total, 104 people were taken to hospital and 180 were arrested. Police chief Stephen Lo said 25 officers were also injured.

In the days leading up the anniversary, tensions were high in Hong Kong, which always sees protests on the anniversary. This year, however, Hong Kong has seen four months of protests sparked by proposed changes to an extradition bill.  Though the changes have been abandoned, the unrest has continued, expanding into demands for greater democracy.

 

 

The shooting of Tsang Chi-kin, who was attacking an officer with a pole, was captured on video and shared online.
"My chest is hurting, I need to go to hospital," the 18-year-old said. The government said he was in a stable condition.
Although people have been shot with rubber bullets in previous protests, this was the first injury from a live round. Mr Lo said firing the bullet was "lawful and reasonable" as the officer thought his and colleagues' lives were under threat. Asked why the bullet was fired at close range, Mr Lo said:
"He [the officer] did not decide the distance between him and the assailant."

What made Tuesday different?

In Beijing, the anniversary of Communist Party rule saw a parade of Chinese military might: 15,000 troops, 580 pieces of equipment, and 160 aircraft.
In Hong Kong, some 1,200 miles away, protesters marked the day somewhat differently.
Peaceful marches soon exploded into violence. BBC reporter Tessa Wong, who was on the streets, said protesters fought "pitched battles" with officers.
Shortly before Tsang Chi-kin was shot, men wearing helmets and gas masks attacked an officer on the ground with a pole.
An officer responded by firing his gun at close range.
Elsewhere, protesters threw petrol bombs, started fires, and ran at officers. Police responded with water cannon, tear gas, and - in total - six live rounds.
The day saw the highest number of arrests since this year's protests began, and the highest number of live rounds fired.

 

 

  

What explains the anger?

The protests were sparked earlier this year by a proposed law, which would have allowed extradition from Hong Kong to the Chinese mainland. Opponents thought this would put Hong Kongers at risk of unfair trials, and, in July, Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said the law "was dead". But, despite the law being withdrawn, the protests continued every weekend.  Clashes between police and protesters created their own momentum, and there is wider discontent, now.

Recent years have seen growing opposition to the perceived encroachment of Beijing on Hong Kong's politics and threats to local identity.  Many young people have economic worries, and there are also demands for universal suffrage for elections to Hong Kong's parliament.  As China showed off its superpower status in Beijing, violence in Hong Kong - a special administrative region of China - was inevitable.

What is the background?

Until 1997, Hong Kong was a British territory. Since then, it has been part of China but with its own system of law and government - known as One Country, Two Systems. Hong Kong has its own judiciary and a separate legal system. Rights including freedom of assembly and freedom of speech are protected. But those freedoms - the Basic Law - expire in 2047. It is not clear what Hong Kong's status will be then.

Justin, Justin ! What are we going to do with you ?

 

First, the SNC Lavalin scandal, attempted cover-up with lies, and now this...The photos keep popping up of Trudeau in black-face. Mr. Innocent, blue-eyed, smiley, selfie-face.

It is almost too obvious now to point out the rank hypocrisy of the Trudeau brand: one that has zero tolerance for inappropriate touching, except for his own; one that preaches respect for Indigenous Canadians, but won't even give them clean water to drink. And one who has spent his entire political existence proselytizing about tolerance, inclusivity, sensitivity and acceptance, all the while knowing — and hiding — a past that includes multiple instances of dressing up in blackface.

The Liberal leader's days as a progressive icon are pretty much over Can we forgive him one more time?? I don't know.

Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau made one good point while delivering his apology Wednesday, after Time magazine published a 2001 photo of him wearing brownface as a 29-year-old teacher at an Arabian Nights-themed school party. 
"If everyone who is going to be standing for office needs to demonstrate they've been perfect every step of their lives," Trudeau said, "there is going to be a shortage of people running for office."
Putting aside the enormous chasm between being "perfect" and wearing blackface three times, Trudeau makes a valid point about the need for a political machine that makes allowances for human flaws. If we don't allow people to grow and change, we end up with slates of sanitized candidates who planned their political careers from birth and wore suits to middle school. Bland, antiseptic, cardboard characters. How could we relate to them??

But Trudeau's argument would carry more weight had his war room not spent the week prior furiously digging up reasons why his opponents should be disqualified — reasons that include what they once said, once advocated for, or with whom they previously associated.
None of those claims were close to as bad as a grown man wearing blackface on multiple occasions. Had Trudeau been a regular, lower positioned candidate for office, of any party, including the Liberals, he'd have been closing up his campaign office by now.

Earlier this year, the United States was grappling with a political blackface scandal of its own: Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam was accused of wearing blackface in a 1984 yearbook photo.

That was the perfect time, if ever, for Trudeau to own up to his actions, instead of being cornered into acknowledging them, as he has been now.

Knowing what we know now, if you imagine Trudeau wearing black makeup and singing Day O while accusing Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer of refusing to take racism seriously, the attack loses its potency.
 

 Each Canadian will decide for themselves whether Trudeau's actions warrant forgiveness.

 

There is no question that the revelations of the last 24 hours are shocking, and that they could very well shift the direction of the federal election campaign.
But at the same time, for those familiar with the ways the karma gods of politics operate, they are not so surprising, particularly considering the cracks occurring all over the Trudeau brand.

The most sanctimonious of leaders are so often the sinners. And Justin Trudeau is a perfect example: a self-appointed moral steward in a turban and dark makeup.
When you run on sanctimony, govern on arrogance and expect perfection, you find yourself in an awful quandary when you fall short of your own standards.

Trudeau truly has done some important, progressive things for Canada: from opening the door to those fleeing violence and persecution, to putting climate at the forefront of our national agenda But from now on, Trudeau will never be able to separate his record from a few photos of him participating in a racist, ignorant, foolish act.

Maybe that's unfair but, after all, he made the rules.



Implicit Bias: Are we all racists and don't know it ?

 

Few people openly admit to holding racist beliefs but many psychologists claim most of us are nonetheless unintentionally racist. We hold, what are called "implicit biases". So what is implicit bias, how is it measured and what, if anything, can be done about it? .

 The Implicit Association Test (IAT), is a way to identify implicit bias. And not just race bias, but also, for example, bias against gay, disabled or obese people.
For those who've never taken an IAT, it works a bit like this - using the race IAT as an example. You're shown words and faces. The words may be positive ones ("terrific", "friendship", "joyous", "celebrate") or negative ("pain", "despise", "dirty", "disaster"). In one part of the process you have to press a key whenever you see either a black face or a bad word, and press another key when you see either a white face or a good word. Then it switches round: one key for a black face and good words. Another for white faces and bad words. That's a lot to keep in your head. And here's the rub. You've got to hit the appropriate key as fast as possible. The computer measures your speed.

 

The idea behind the IAT is that some categories and concepts may be more closely linked in our minds than others. We may find it easier, and therefore quicker, to link black faces with nasty words than white faces with nasty words.

 

 

You can take the test here

 

Suppose the data from your IAT test suggests a slight automatic preference for white people over black people. Are you a racist? A bigot? That would probably be at odds with your self-image.  But it is cause for re-self-examination.

 

Over the past few decades, measures of explicit bias have been falling rapidly. For example, in Britain in the 1980s about 50% of the population stated that they opposed interracial marriages. That figure had fallen to 15% by 2011. The US has experienced a similarly dramatic shift. Going back to 1958, 94% of Americans said they disapproved of black-white marriage. That had fallen to just 11% by 2013.

But implicit bias - bias that we harbour unintentionally - is much stickier, much more difficult to eradicate. At least that's the claim. The IAT, first introduced two decades ago as a means of measuring implicit bias, is now used in laboratories all across the world. From Harvard's Project Implicit site alone, it has been taken nearly 18 million times. And there's a pattern. On the race test, most people show some kind of pro-white, anti-black bias. They are speedier connecting black faces to bad concepts than white faces. Black people are not immune to this phenomenon themselves. They have implicit bias also. Tests show anti-white results.

Implicit bias has been used to explain, at least partially, everything from the election of President Donald Trump (implicit bias against his female opponent) and the disproportionate number of unarmed black men who are shot in the US by police. The notion that many of us suffer from various forms of implicit bias has become so commonplace that it was even mentioned by Hillary Clinton in one of her presidential debates with Trump. "I think implicit bias is a problem for everyone," she said.

 

Trump responded a week later. "In our debate this week she accuses the entire country - essentially suggesting that everyone - including our police - are basically racist and prejudiced. It's a bad thing she said."

Indeed, it's hard to think of an experiment in social psychology which has had such far-reaching impact. Some of the test's success is because it provides an explanation for why exclusion and discrimination persist.  It doesn't attribute ill-will or animosity to the people who have implicit bias because, for the most part, these people are not conscious they have it.

Over the past decade or so, it's become routine for major companies to use implicit association tests in their diversity training. The aim is to demonstrate to staff, particularly those with the power to recruit and promote, that unbeknown to them, and despite their best intentions, they may nonetheless be prejudiced. The diversity training sector is estimated to be worth $8bn each year in the US alone.
There's an obvious business case for eliminating bias. If you can stop your staff behaving irrationally and prejudicially, you can employ and advance the best talent. Implicit bias down = profits up.

All races, nationalities and religions have a form of implicit bias to people who are different from themselves. It seems to exist just a fraction below conscious thought and expresses itself as a slightly uncomfortable feeling you may not want to try and identify.

FYI - You're going to the toilet wrong

Just when you thought you were doing everything right

A little satire borrowed from Andy Borowitz

Americans Envious That Tiffany Trump Never Hears from Dad

 

WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report)—Millions of Americans envy Tiffany Trump for never hearing from her father, a new poll reveals.
According to the poll, conducted by the University of Minnesota’s Opinion Research Institute, Tiffany Trump’s unique placement beyond the reach of her father’s voice has made her the most envied woman in America.
Although Donald Trump took the extraordinary step of emitting the word “Tiffany” in remarks to reporters last week, the rarity of that utterance only served to remind Americans of just how fortunate Tiffany was to be off her father’s radar.
“In all our years of polling, it’s highly unusual to find one person so universally envied,” Davis Logsdon, who supervised the poll, said. “People in virtually every demographic group ‘strongly agreed’ with the statement, ‘God, I wish I were Tiffany Trump.’ ”
The poll finds Tiffany Trump sitting atop a list of the most envied women in America, well ahead of Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, and MacKenzie Bezos, who has a net worth of thirty-five billion dollars.

Pentagon grants $3.6 billion funding to Mexico border wall.

 

US Secretary of Defence Mark Esper has granted $3.6bn  in Pentagon funding to be redirected to help build a US-Mexico border wall.

The money will fund 175 miles (280km) of construction and will force 127 military projects to be put on hold, he told lawmakers in a letter on Tuesday. Building a border wall was a major campaign pledge of President Trump but it has faced significant opposition. Tough action on immigration also forms a central part of his re-election bid.  Mr Esper's letter did not use the term "wall" but the border barriers described are likely to be cited by Mr Trump as evidence of progress as he gears up for the vote in 2020.

    

Last July, the Supreme Court handed Mr Trump a victory in a related case, saying that the national emergency he issued in February allowed him the power to use $2.5bn in defence funds for wall construction while the matter proceeds in courts.
In a letter sent to several congressional committees, the Department of Defense identified the 127 military construction projects worldwide that stand to lose funding on behalf of the border wall.

Democrats argue that by diverting funds to the wall, the Trump administration is attempting to circumvent Congress' role in making budgets for government agencies. Democrat Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said it showed Mr Trump "is willing to cannibalize already allocated military funding to boost his own ego and for a wall he promised Mexico would pay to build".
The American Civil Liberties Union promised to seek a court order to block "the president's abuse of emergency powers to secure funds for a wall Congress denied".

Donald Trump promised to use military construction money to fund his long-promised Mexican border wall. Now that order is being recorded on paper and put into action. That may cause some political difficulties for the president, but it's clear he believes the potential damage from not following through on his 2016 border-wall campaign pledge - even if the funds are coming from US taxpayers, not Mexico - is greater than the risk of disgruntled constituents and interested parties.

It wasn't too long ago that he border wall was a non-controversial proposition, tucked into larger spending legislation. That was before Donald Trump made it the most visible embodiment of his immigration policies, however.
Mr Trump has already tweeted aerial video of new border wall construction (technically, just replacement barriers). His goal is to have even more footage to point to - and, perhaps, stand smiling alongside - as his 2020 presidential re-election campaign picks up steam.

Trump's wall: How much has been built so far?

Trump's Claim: "Much of the wall has already been fully renovated or built. Mexico is paying for the wall through the new US-Mexico-Canada trade agreement. We have done a lot of work."

Verdict: The border authorities say work has begun on building improved border security infrastructure. The money made available so far is largely tied to barrier designs that already exist. The trade agreement with Mexico and Canada is not yet in place and it's not clear how this would directly lead to revenue from Mexico to pay for the wall.

What is being defunded?

In a letter released on Wednesday evening, first reported by The Daily Beast, Mr Esper identifies 127 projects that stand to lose funding at the expense of the border wall.  This list includes projects across 23 US states, three US territories and 20 countries. More than $1bn in mainland projects - with a wide array of purposes -will likely be shelved, including $40m to update hazardous waste storage in Virginia and $95m for an engineering centre in New York.

Nearly $700m will be diverted from projects in US territories Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and Guam. Of these Puerto Rico will be hit hardest: the island stands to lose $400m worth of planned projects.
Approximately $770m will be taken from projects across Europe, directed at helping allied countries deter a possible attack from Russia.
Nine projects overall affect the renovation and replacement of schools for children on US military bases across the world... Defunded. 
According to the Pentagon, the affected projects have not been cancelled outright but have been "deferred".
For the projects to be resumed, however, Congress must agree to do so in its annual defence policy bill. If Congress fails to do so, they will be stuck in legislative limbo and effectively defunded.

Trump: Taliban deal close, US troops to drop to 8,600

The Associated Press         DEB RIECHMANN
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Thursday the U.S. plans to withdraw more than 5,000 American troops from Afghanistan and then will determine further drawdowns in the longest war in American history.

Trump's comment comes as a U.S. envoy is in his ninth round of talks with the Taliban to find a resolution to the nearly 18-year-old war. The president said the U.S. was "getting close" to making a deal, but that the outcome is uncertain.

"Who knows if it's going to happen," Trump told Fox News Radio's "The Brian Kilmeade Show."

Trump did not offer a timeline for withdrawing troops. The Pentagon has been developing plans to withdraw as many as half of the 14,000 U.S. troops still there, but the Taliban want all U.S. and NATO forces withdrawn.

"We're going down to 8,600 (troops) and then we'll make a determination from there," Trump said Thursday, adding that the U.S. is going to have a "high intelligence" presence in Afghanistan going forward.

Trump has called Afghanistan — where the Taliban harbored members of the al-Qaida network responsible for 9/11 — the "Harvard University of terror."

If terror groups ever attacked America from Afghanistan again, "we will come back with a force like they've never seen before," Trump said. But he added: "I don't see that happening."

Al-Qaida insurgents used Afghanistan as a base from which to plan the Sept. 11, 2001, attack on the United States. A month later, U.S. troops invaded Afghanistan, where they have remained ever since, making it the longest war in American history. More than 2,400 American service members have died in the conflict.

The top U.S. military officer said Wednesday it's too early to talk about a full American troop withdrawal from Afghanistan. Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told Pentagon reporters that any U.S. deal with the Taliban will be based on security conditions on the ground and that Afghan forces aren't yet able to secure the country without help from allied forces.

"I'm not using the withdraw word right now," Dunford said. "It's our judgment that the Afghans need support to deal with the level of violence" in the country today.

Afghanistan's government expects that U.S. envoy Zalmay Khalilzad will soon update officials in Kabul on the progress of peace talks with the Taliban.

A Taliban spokesman also has said that they're close to a final agreement. But even as the talks go on, there are persistent attacks by the Taliban across Afghanistan, and an affiliate of the Islamic State group has taken root in the country and is expanding its base.

Even if Khalilzad is able to close a deal, it will remain for the Afghan government to negotiate its own peace agreement with the Taliban. Part of those talks will be determining a role for the Taliban in governing a country that it ruled before U.S. forces invaded in October 2001.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Trump wants to end "endless wars" while ensuring the United States is protected, which means getting adequate guarantees that Afghan territory will never again be used as a launching pad for attacks on the United States or its allies.

"In a place like Afghanistan, that translates into ensuring that ... we do everything we can to reduce the risk that terrorism will emanate from that space," Pompeo said Thursday on Hugh Hewitt's national radio show. "I am confident that we can do just that."

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., a key Trump supporter, and retired Gen. Jack Keane, a former Army vice chief of staff, urged caution.

"The United States cannot contract out the American people's security to the Taliban who, in exchange for a U.S. withdrawal, simply 'promise' to guarantee that al-Qaida and ISIS (in Afghanistan) are denied haven," they wrote in an op-ed Wednesday in The Washington Post.

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 Graham and Keane said they fear a U.S. withdrawal will not end the war and could start a new civil war as Afghan forces feel betrayed and abandoned and the Afghan government is severely undermined and weakened.

"The United States should never outsource its national security to anyone, especially the Taliban," they cautioned. "We cannot rely on the Taliban for security; we have lost too many soldiers at Taliban hands for that. The Afghan war must end on our terms, not the Taliban's."

Moreover, they said U.S. national security interests require that any deal the United States signs with the Taliban should allow for a "meaningful U.S. counterterrorism capability, coupled with a robust intelligence apparatus" to deal with threats from terror groups.
Stay tune : As The Stomach Turns

Witchy's opinion ;
Well, Putin doesn't like those American troops that close to him, or his ally Iran. So, he told Trump to get rid of them. 
Who does pulling out of the Iran Deal help? Russia who can now sell ALL the nuclear stuff they want to their military ally Iran.The Republican invaded Afghanistan, remember
There should not be any of the US troops. Let Ilhan Omar, AOC and Rashida Tlaib patrol Afghanistan.  I'm sure Trump will keep his promise. Just like he did with the border wall, the denuclearization of North Korea, his new and better healthcare plan, and settling the trade feud with China! Winning!!  everything with this guy is "real soon" or "many people have said" or "many people agree with me." for ONCE i would like a reporter to ask, "WHAT PEOPLE?" He seems not to want to mention names. Maybe it's the voices' in his head.
Sadly the lives of 2,400 men and women in the Middle East conflicts were those that could have been avoided.  The politicians who ran that war as well as the real war in Vietnam should have learned a lesson.  There we sometimes lost 2,400 or more in a week.  Let the Generals decide what we need to end any inevitable wars in the future.  Leave the media and politicians out of it.  I dont believe any word he says, but I do believe that he wants to used the allocated $ to the troops to use it in the construction of the Wall Mexico was supposed to py for. Besides who believes him anyways?? He is fishing for votes and before 2020 he will lie and lie about proyects etc..
Fox News anchor Shepard Smith on Wednesday called out Donald Trump's false claims about the southern U.S.-Mexico border wall and Puerto Rico after the president lashed out at the network.
During a segment on Shepard Smith Reporting on Wednesday afternoon, the Fox News host fact-checked Trump's recent claims about Puerto Rico. "President Trump is calling the island one of the most corrupt places on earth. He added [on Twitter] that 'by the way, I'm the best thing that's ever happened to Puerto Rico.' Those are opinions as opposed to facts," he said.
Smith went on to declare that Trump also "repeated his false claims" about the $92 billion aid that Puerto Rico has received, citing a tweet the president posted yesterday.
Nuff said..............HeHe

Trump promised a major tax cut if he and GOP wins in 2020

Geobeats           Aug 24th 2019 

President Trump has promised a “major middle income Tax Cut” if he and Republicans win in 2020. 

“‘Face It, You Probably Got A Tax Cut!’ This was a New York Times headline, and it is very true,” Trump tweeted Saturday. “If Republicans take back the House, and keep the Senate and Presidency, one of our first acts will be to approve a major middle income Tax Cut! Democrats only want to raise your taxes!” 

Trump was apparently referring to a Times report from April which says most Americans probably had their taxes reduced by the GOP-led tax overhaul even though a poll at the time found that many did not believe the changes impacted them. 

The president’s endorsement of the Times’ piece is notable given his frequent criticisms of the outlet.

Days ago, he tweeted: “The New York Times will be out of business soon after I leave office, hopefully in 6 years. They have Zero credibility and are losing a fortune, even now, especially after their massive unfunded liability. I’m fairly certain they’ll endorse me just to keep it all going!”
Stay tune: As The Stomach Turns    

What going on Witchy  :
We won't be FOOLED AGAIN,  Trump!! On 10/27/18 JUST BEFORE THE MID-TERMS, you promised a tax cut of 10% for "MIDDLE AMERICA".  IT NEVER HAPPENED!  Just like "Lock her up", "Mexico will pay", and "Health care, day one, so easy and cheaper than you have right now".  We've seen this MOVIE and it is a LIE.  Your lie did NOT HELP YOU ***BUY***  the Mid-terms and it WILL NOT HELP YOU BUY THE ELECTION, either.
This country can not afford another tax cut...we're in too much debt...we need to pay our debts.  Healthcare  bill ?  jobs  bill ?  coal  jobs ? jobs  for  West  Virginnia ?  jobs  for  Ohio ?  jobs  for  Michigan ?  jobs  for  Kentucky ?  imigration  bill ?  infrastructure  bill ?  treaty  with  North  Korea ?  Iran  deal ?  10 %  raise  for  our  military  personnel ?  10 %  tax  cut  for  our  Middle  Class ?  background  checks  for  firearms ?  
ALL   GOOD  REASONS   NOT   TO   VOTE   FOR   TRUMP
Everyone  is  still waiting for the 10% tax cut he promised right before the 2018 election.  Also waiting for the 10% he promised the military (retired military here).  Those of us who care know what his last tax cut did; my children, your children and your children's children will be paying for that one.   And for those of us who do care, the only way he can pay for a tax cut is to cut Social Security and Medicare and possibly shut down some agencies that he thinks aren't necessary; like EPA and or NOAA.  Not for one minute would I believe him on this one.   He knows he hasn't grown his base since 2016, he knows he has a very real chance of losing in 2020.   What he doesn't know is he can't fulfill his promises from 2016; what makes him think he can in 2020 or beyond?  Americans who are registered to vote, for goodness sake, vote him out in 2020 along with McConnell, Graham and any other Republican or Democrat who isn't doing their job.He is getting Desperate now, so he lies some more.   Which seems almost impossible, considering the amount he lies regularly.  His promises to the American people are about as reliable as all threetimes of his wedding vows. He doesn’t care about promises. He never has and he never will. 

Two things are unique about Ttump over any other president in my lifetime.
1) no other president has ever said “Believe me” as much;
2) no other president has told as many lies - that are PROVEN, not subject to “interpretation “ lies - just during their time in office.
He's desperate to win. If he doesn't, he knows he'll be facing charges; Mueller outright said so. If he does, the statute of limitations will save him. But I have hope that enough of his supporters have already seen enough of his horror show. My brother-in-law did, and he was one of those sheep-like followers, spouting all Trump's nonsense one-liners. Now he admits the guy is an embarrassment.

That's all  folks  for now........HeHe

Trump's response to climate change at G-7: More drilling

Yahoo News             KADIA TUBMAN
President Trump called himself “an environmentalist” while boasting about American oil and gas production at the G-7 summit in France on Monday. His answer came in response to a question about whether he believes in the reality of climate change, which he has previously described as a hoax.

He didn’t answer the question.

“In a nutshell, I want the cleanest water on earth. I want the cleanest air on earth,” Trump said at the end of a press conference before leaving the stage. “I’m an environmentalist. A lot of people don’t understand that. I’ve done more environmental impact statements ... than anybody that’s ever been president or vice president or anything even close to president.”

Environmental impact statements are required for most large development projects, such as building golf courses.
The United States does not have the cleanest air and water on earth. The president frequently makes this claim, which conflates traditional measures of pollution with greenhouse gas emissions, the cause of global warming.

“I feel that the United States has tremendous wealth, the wealth is under its feet. I’ve made that wealth come alive,” he said. “I’m not gonna lose that wealth on dreams, on windmills, which frankly aren’t working too well.”

Trump boasted about opening up the previously untouched Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for oil drilling after decades of political controversy.

With over half of the world’s new oil and gas pipelines located in North America, more drilling could “deliver a major blow to efforts to slow climate change,” according to Global Energy Monitor.

“I think I know more about the environment than most people,” said Trump, who in 2017 announced the U.S. withdrawal from the Paris climate agreement to globally reduce greenhouse gas emissions and was the only world leader who did not appear at the G-7 meeting on climate change over the weekend.

Last year, the world’s leading climate scientists released a report for the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, warning that globally, humans have until 2030 to cut carbon pollution and avoid the damaging effects of global warming like rising water levels and devastating storms.

Meanwhile, Trump has suggested that “we nuke” hurricanes headed toward the U.S.

“I want clear air. I want clean water. I want a wealthy country. I want a spectacular country with jobs, with pensions, with so many things,” Trump said.

But, he continued, “at the same time, it’s very important to me we have to maintain this incredible place that we’ve all built. We’ve become a much richer country. And that’s a good thing, not a bad thing, because that great wealth allows us to take care of people. We can take care of people that we couldn’t have taken care in the past.

“We can’t let that great wealth be taken away,” Trump added.
Stay tune : As The Stomach Turns

Lets see what's on Witchy mine:

At least we are changing our ways, it may be slow, but if everyone did something to help, it would accumulate.  I don't see why this is a Rep or Dem thing.  You can laugh all you want, but YOU are the problem, for not trying. Trump  is a genius:
1) he decided against wind power because the wind doesn't always blow
2) he decided against solar power because its dark at night

North Korea, Iran, Brazil and all South America, China and RUSSIA - all in turmoil per Trump.   Everything was better and quieter before 2016,  what else do you need to know to VOTE this Lunatic out of office and his Family and his Administration. WHAT??????
What Trump doesn't understand is that there is a large number of people who are smarter than he is.  He thinks that what little he knows is all there is to know, and considers himself a genius because he knows all that he thinks there is to know.  He doesn't understand complicated ideas and explanations, he's not interested in them, therefore, since they are outside his own knowledge, they must be fake.  This is a really dangerous president for America to have.
SMILE   HeHe

Donald Trump 'Is' the immigration problem he rants about

 

Earlier this week, the government conducted raids on agricultural processing facilities in Mississippi, arresting hundreds of undocumented workers. What you didn’t see, however, was the owners of those plants being led out in handcuffs, despite the fact that they almost certainly knew whom they were employing.

That is good news for President Trump, because if we lived in a country where the people who hire undocumented workers faced a serious threat of prosecution, he’d be in big trouble.

 The Post’s Joshua Partlow and David A. Fahrenthold report:

 

For nearly two decades, the Trump Organization has relied on a roving crew of Latin American employees to build fountains and waterfalls, sidewalks and rock walls at the company’s winery and its golf courses from New York to Florida.

Other employees at Trump clubs were so impressed by the laborers — who did strenuous work with heavy stone — that they nicknamed them “Los Picapiedras,” Spanish for “the Flintstones.”

For years, their ranks have included workers who entered the United States illegally, according to two former members of the crew. Another employee, still with the company, said that remains true today.

President Trump “doesn’t want undocumented people in the country,” said one worker, Jorge Castro, a 55-year-old immigrant from Ecuador without legal status who left the company in April after nine years. “But at his properties, he still has them.”

 

Partlow and Fahrenthold have identified at least eight Trump properties that employed undocumented workers, and interviewed dozens of them. As one said, “If you’re a good worker, papers don’t matter.”

And it’s not like this is some kind of anomaly. Trump has been employing undocumented workers for his entire career. Some of the people who built Trump Tower four decades ago later sued him, recounting “nightmare memories of backbreaking 12-hour shifts and of being cheated with 200 other undocumented Polish immigrants out of meager wages and fringe benefits.” According to this investigation, his modeling agency, Trump Model Management, brought in foreign models without working papers, instructed them to lie to customs officials about what they were doing in the United States, and kept them in squalid conditions while withholding most of their pay.

 

And there’s one other contradiction: At Mar-a-Lago, Trump hires foreign cooks, wait staff and housekeepers, claiming he can’t find Americans who’ll do the work. At least that is legal. But the basic fact remains: Trump tells his  supporters that undocumented immigrants represent an “invasion” of murderous outsiders who must be stopped at all costs, yet once they get here he hires them to work for him. Which of course means that he’s part of the reason that they come in the first place.

It’s a bit strange that Democrats don’t talk about this more often, especially given that a big part of the reason Trump got elected in 2016 was his argument that the American system is “rigged” against the interests of ordinary people. It was a powerful argument because it was true. Millions of voters who felt at the mercy of corporations and a government they believe didn’t care about them but instead functioned for the benefit of the wealthy and powerful nodded along in agreement when Trump said it.

The best counter-argument Democrats could offer isn’t that Trump is wrong and the system isn’t rigged, because it plainly is. The best counter-argument is that Trump himself is the one doing the rigging, cutting taxes for the wealthy and slashing regulations for corporations while he dodges his own taxes and employs undocumented workers.

ICE Raids Arrest and Handcuff 680 People in Mississippi

"Government please show some heart, let my parent be free with everybody else please…" she said through sobs. "…My dad didn't do nothing. He's not a criminal.


The operation is largest of its kind in at least a decade and comes after mass shooting suspect ranted about ‘Hispanic invasion’.

 

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents swept through seven work sites in six cities across Mississippi on Wednesday, arresting approximately 680 people the agency said were undocumented immigrants in what officials said is the largest single-state workplace enforcement action in U.S. history.

The raids targeted agricultural processing plants, part of a year-long investigation into illegal employment of immigrants in the state, officials said. They did not say how many individuals they were targeting in the operations, nor what proportion of those taken into custody were what ICE calls “collateral” arrests — those who were swept up along with those ICE was seeking.

ICE acting director Matthew Albence said at a news conference in Jackson, Miss., that some of those arrested will be prosecuted for crimes, others will be swiftly deported, and some will be released pending immigration court hearings. Albence said the raids were part of normal ICE operations that seek to enforce U.S. immigration laws.
 

The Trump administration has been openly stepping up pressure on the nearly 11 million immigrants believed to be in the United States illegally, threatening mass arrests of families who have arrived recently as part of an effort to deter migrants from coming to the country. The administration also has sought to turn away asylum seekers — forcing some to await their court hearings in Mexico — and now plans to deport some Central Americans to Guatemala to seek asylum there instead as part of an international agreement.

 

Although President Trump telegraphed the family raids several times, they have not gone forward in full force. But ICE has continued operations that it says primarily target immigrants with criminal convictions as well as those who have been deemed deportable in U.S. courts. The Mississippi raids were a stark reminder that the administration is continuing to press on immigration, with some of its largest enforcement efforts to date.

“The arrests today were the result of a year-long criminal investigation, and the arrests and warrants executed today were just another step in that investigation,” Albence said Wednesday.

ICE Homeland Security Investigations conducted the operation in partnership with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Mississippi. ICE said such enforcement efforts are focused both on those who are seeking to work unlawfully in the United States and the employers who knowingly hire them.

“To those who use illegal aliens for a competitive advantage or to make a quick buck, we have something to say to you: If we find you have violated federal criminal law, we are coming for you,” said Mike Hurst, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Mississippi. But he declined to comment on whether anyone other than the immigrant workers would be charged as a result of the operation, which he said is ongoing.

Alabama-based Peco Farms Inc. confirmed in a statement that ICE raided three of its poultry processing plants in Mississippi, and the company said it is cooperating fully with federal authorities.

ICE routinely declines to provide details about individuals in its custody, but the number of those without known criminal histories out of those arrested in recent operations suggests a substantial proportion of “collaterals” during such raids.

A July analysis of ICE data by the American Immigration Council shows that ICE has cast a wider net in its arrest raids under the Trump administration than previously “in its search for individuals who may be deportable from the United States.”

Department of Homeland Security officials, emphasizing the severity of a mass influx of migrants at the Mexican border, have said repeatedly in recent months that ICE detention facilities are at capacity, forcing a backlog of detained immigrants at Border Patrol stations that are ill-equipped to hold people for long periods of time. A July report by the DHS Office of the Inspector General described ICE detention centers as “operating at or above capacity.”

“During the week of our visits, ICE had approximately 54,000 beds occupied nationwide, but was only funded for 42,000 beds,” the OIG report said. “In our discussions with ICE field management about this situation, they explained that their capacity to find additional bed space is strained.”

Handcuffed female workers are escorted into a bus in Morton, Miss., for transportation to a processing center following the raid. (Rogelio V. Solis/AP)

 

Congress in June approved a $4.6 billion emergency border aid package, and nearly $209 million was designated for ICE.

Speaking before a House Oversight Committee hearing in late July, Albence said the border crisis continues to strain resources, and he asked for more funding, saying that ICE capacity limits mean there is still a massive backlog in Border Patrol stations.“ICE is currently detaining over 53,000 single adults, and there are approximately 8,000 single adults in CBP custody awaiting processing or transfer to ICE,” Albence told members of Congress. 

Two plant workers are arrested and handcuffed

 

The raids in Mississippi came just days after a gunman killed 22 people in El Paso after reportedly driving across Texas with the intention of attacking immigrants near the U.S. border, an event that has struck fear into many Hispanic residents across the country. Coupled with Trump supporters chanting about sending minorities back to their countries and the president’s own references to an immigrant “invasion,” immigrant communities from coast to coast have been put on edge.

Those detained had been taken to a Mississippi National Guard hangar for questioning.

Forrest, Mississippi where one of the ICE raids happened, children of those who were arrested are left alone in the streets crying for help. Strangers and neighbors are taking them to a local gym to be put up for the night.

More images as volunteers try to feed the kids donated food and drinks for dinner tonight. But most children are still devastated and crying for their parents and can’t eat.

Officials said the Mississippi operation, which they said involved the mobilization of nearly 650 federal agents from across the country, was the result of a long-standing investigation that had no ties to current events. Albence said the shooting in El Paso was “horrific,” but he said the raid operation had been planned long beforehand, “and we intended to carry it out.”

A reporter at the news conference pointed out that the poultry farms seemed likely to have been employing illegal labor for years and asked: “Why now? . . . Do you feel like you’re being directed by President Trump to do this?”
“I feel like I’ve been directed to enforce the law,” Hurst responded.



Obama and Others on mass murder and Trump

Former President Barack Obama released a pointed statement condemning "language coming out of the mouths of any of our leaders" that "normalizes racist sentiments." The statement, which did not directly name President Donald Trump, follows two mass shootings in the US in the span of 13 hours -- one of which involved a white supremacist suspect.



 

Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley talks to reporters about President Trump’s planned Wednesday visit, saying she was “disappointed” with his Monday remarks and that “his rhetoric has been painful for many in our community.”

Jared Kushner Baltimore Slum Lord

It strikes one as ironic and hypocritical, reading how the president attacked a city and region when his own son-in-law was directly involved in creating the rat infested living conditions he was criticizing.

President Trump targeted Baltimore in his most recent Twitter outburst, describing Rep. Elijah Cummings as a “brutal bully” and calling his district, Maryland’s Seventh, a “disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess.” Ironically, Trump’s rendition of Baltimore matches the way local tenants have described rental properties owned by his son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner.

Kushner Companies, where Jared was CEO from 2008 to 2017 before joining the Trump administration, owns some 9,000 rental properties in Maryland, with more than 7,200 in Baltimore county. As reported by the Washington Post, the real estate firm has generated hundreds of complaints including raw sewage coming from kitchen sinks; rodent and maggot infestations; mold; and faulty electrical wiring.

Numerous others complain of illegal fees and threats of eviction to force their rent payment.
“Basically, Kushner has been creating a race to the bottom in terms of poorly maintained properties,” Shannon Darrow, a program manager at the tenant advocacy group Fair Housing Action Center of Maryland, said. “He’s been very, very deeply implicated.”
Baltimore county officials fined Kushner Companies in 2017 for violating over 200 code violations in their apartments.

“We expect all landlords to comply with the code requirements that protect the health and safety of their tenants,” county officials said in a statement, “even if the landlord’s father-in-law is president of the United States.”
“We had to both threaten significant fines as well as withholding federal payments to ensure there was compliance."

Kushner Companies Were Supposed To Provide Subsidized Housing

The New York Times reported in 2017 that because Baltimore County has no public housing, Kushner Company’s properties served as the “de facto substitute". The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has given Kushner's real estate firm $6 million in subsidies since 2015.
The company was using local taxpayer dollars to help subsidize these apartments and they remained in terrible condition.
Although Kushner Companies received federal aid to help provide housing for low-income residents, the company’s affiliates aggressively pursued former tenants for unpaid debt, filing at least 1,250 legal actions against tenants from 2013 to 2017. Judges awarded a total of $5.4 million to Kushner affiliates against tenants who owed $4,400 on average.

Kushner’s Conflicts Of Interest

Kushner still retains an ownership stake in the company, which is facing ongoing lawsuits for the alleged violations. Kushner’s firm moved the suits to state court after a federal judge ruled the company’s investors had to be disclosed.
Kushner Companies isn’t the only business involved with the president’s son-in-law under public scrutiny. Cadre, a real-estate company partly owned by Kushner, has risen fivefold in value since Kushner joined the White House in 2017. Located in the Cayman Islands, a tax haven that guarantees accounting secrecy, Cadre manages more than $522 million in assets. Because the firm’s investors are not disclosed to the public, in fact, are kept in strict confidentiality, critics are concerned it could be used by foreign leaders, foreign industrial magnates and billionaires to influence Kushner’s policy agenda.

Despite maintaining 25% ownership of Cadre, Kushner failed to include the company on his first ethics disclosure, contributing to controversy regarding his security clearance.
And Kushner is handling delicate foreign policy for America...a position of great importance and trust. Irony and hypocrisy abound.

Trump: Black leaders boycotting him go against 'own people'

MMMMM
 The Associated Press       SARAH RANKIN        Jul 30th 2019 
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — President Donald Trump said Tuesday that black legislators planning to boycott his appearance at a Virginia event commemorating the 400th anniversary of the rise of American democracy are going "against their own people."

Trump said African Americans "love the job" he's doing and are "happy as hell" with his recent comments criticizing a majority black district in the Baltimore area and its congressman.

Trump spoke at the White House before heading to historic Jamestown in Virginia.

Black state lawmakers plan to stay away from Trump's speech, in part over what they call Trump's disparaging comments about minority leaders.

A last-minute announcement that the president would participate in the Jamestown commemoration Tuesday marking the first representative assembly in the Western Hemisphere injected tension into an event years in the making. Some other top Democrats have also pledged a boycott in protest.

"The commemoration of the birth of this nation and its democracy will be tarnished unduly with the participation of the President, who continues to make degrading comments toward minority leaders, promulgate policies that harm marginalized communities, and use racist and xenophobic rhetoric," the caucus said in a statement Monday.

The boycott comes after Trump's weekend comments referring to U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings' majority-black Baltimore-area district as a "disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess." A caucus statement didn't specifically mention Cummings but said Trump's "repeated attacks on Black legislators and comments about Black communities makes him ill-suited to honor and commemorate such a monumental period in history."

Black Caucus chairman Del. Lamont Bagby told The Associated Press in an interview that the group reached a unanimous decision to boycott the event more than a week ago but that the president has "continued his attacks" since then, including with his remarks about Cummings' district.

The anniversary comes at a time of heightened election-year partisanship in the aftermath of political scandals that rocked Virginia's top state elected leadership.

In Washington, White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham said the caucus was pushing "a political agenda."

"President Trump passed criminal justice reform, developed opportunity zones securing record-setting investment in distressed communities, and pushed policies that created the lowest unemployment rates ever for African Americans, so it's a bit confusing and unfortunate that the VLBC would choose to push a political agenda instead of celebrate this milestone for our nation," she said in a statement.

Caucus members also pledged to boycott the rest of a weeklong series of events marking the anniversary and have instead planned alternative commemorations Tuesday in Richmond, Virginia's capital.

At an early-morning ceremony, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam told a gathering of dignitaries that the ideals of freedom and representative government spread from Jamestown in 1619. But he also noted the first assembly was significant for those not included: women, enslaved Africans and Native Americans.

Northam called that the paradox of Virginia, America and its representative democracy.

Trump is scheduled to give remarks later Tuesday morning, joining with state and national leaders and others at a commemorative session of the Virginia General Assembly.

Today's Virginia General Assembly, considered the oldest continuously operating legislative body in North America, grew out of the assembly that first gathered in 1619.

The anniversary comes as lawmakers in Virginia are grappling with the fallout from scandals that engulfed the state's top three elected officials earlier this year.

A blackface photo scandal nearly destroyed Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam's career. Then, as it looked like Democratic Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax might ascend to the governorship, two women accused him of sexual assault. Fairfax, who plans to attend Tuesday, has vehemently denied those allegations.

Attorney General Mark Herring, also a Democrat, has separately faced calls to resign after acknowledging he dressed in blackface decades ago.


All three men remain in office.