The recent result of Mueller’s investigation will halt justified reasoning for the impeachment of President Trump, but will it mitigate the hostility between Trump supporters and Trump opponents? Very unlikely.
President Donald Trump was recently cleared of all suspicion that he colluded with Russia to rig the 2016 Presidential election by special counsel, Robert Mueller, in late March of 2019. After the enormous cloud was lifted, President Trump stated that the investigation was a false narrative and should never be allowed to happen to another president again, his aids are demanding apologies for the promotion of false allegations from certain news channels, and many Americans and politicians still believe that Trump is guilty regardless of the outcome of the investigation. In any other case, a positive result such as this one, would lead to relief and unity among opposing sides, however, this divide will not budge. Tribalism has taken over unity in the United States of America.
Tribalism has been seen before in human history and is a social theory that explains human beings’ natural desire to belong to a group and show their loyalty to that group under any circumstances. An extreme example of tribalism leading to great harm and fear in society is criminal gang affiliation. Gangs commonly stay loyal to their tribe without considering the argument or point of the opposing side and similarly, the United States’ opposing presidential support is displaying the same concept.
The opposing views of President Trump has become extremely violent, just as criminal gang behavior is. Many physical arguments about the matter have broken out across the country. Even the “Make America Great Again” signature red hat is now a universal representation to show your side. These hats have been burned in anti-Trump rituals and have been known as a symbol to stimulate conflict.
Americans are currently fretting over Trumps integrity, whether he would use Russia to tamper with the 2016 election outcome, and the honesty of FBI investigations. However, the real issue at hand is that our current president, Donald Trump, no matter if his intentions are good or bad, is doing democracy a great disservice by causing a feud so harmful that no policy could attempt to fix. Even if his presidency could strengthen our economy and employment enormously, nothing matters more to our country than a functional democracy. Our founding fathers emphasized unity as the foundation for a successful country. Not behind border control and tax reforms.
The result of Trump’s campaign investigation has fueled the division between Trump supporters and Trump detesters even further as the two sides have been at war since 2015, when Donald Trump initially announced his presidential campaign. The news media is currently filled with reporters suggesting that there is more to the investigation and people have protested to release the full report. On the other hand, certain news channels are reporting that the investigation has proved everyone wrong and that our president is innocent of any suspicion.
William Barr’s four-page summary of the report has faced backlash that the main conclusions were too vague and the 400-page full-report will be released shortly after confidential information is filtered out. However, even if every American read and understood all 400 pages, half will draw one conclusion and half will draw another. Nothing is more predictable than this division prevailing.
With so much controversy and sensitivity, many are optimistic that this era will end in 2020 with a new president elect who attempts to satisfy their opponents in a gracious way and portray open-minded policy making. All presidents have had their supporters and critics; however, all past presidents have shown concern to bridge the gap between these two groups rather than heightening the issue with Twitter rants and cavalier language. Hopefully, we will see a change in the way we disagree and act as one team again.
The conclusion of Robert Mueller’s investigation of President Trump has not restored the American people’s faith in President Trump nor has it mitigated the extreme tribalism that the American people are currently mirroring. The investigation has only relived Trump from possible impeachment. The impeachment of President Trump, even if he is innocent of all allegations, would be an opportunity for the United States to move past this dark, disconnected time and look forward to a presidential term where disputes can be a productive element to democracy. But for now, we look forward to 2020.
As we go through our regular lives of driving on highways, working in buildings, parking in massive underground structures, and enjoying open space, we often forget to acknowledge how these structures were developed. Many only think about the construction phase of a real estate project, but in reality, so much goes into any physical change we see in the environment through local government and planning control.
Zoning plays a large role in a real estate development. The use of a project must fit the zoning code. For example, if a particular area of a city only allows for low density residential use, likely, the only developments that can exist are single family homes. Different cities differ greatly when it comes to their municipal zoning and regulation codes, Los Angeles prides itself is preserving low density neighborhoods and historical buildings making the entitlement process of a project extremely difficult in this particular city. New York City on the other hand, allows more high density developments so many areas have increased floor area ratios allowed, higher height limits, and less square feet per unit required. Some cities even have strict building color regulations. In Newport Beach, CA, for example, homes can be one of three shades- tan, white, or brown.
The entitlement process for any real estate development, from a small single family home to a massive corporate skyscraper, is usually the most difficult and can be extremely costly. City governments do not simply donate their time to approve plans, go over building and safety, and give permits. City and entitlement fees can make or break the way a project pencils in the underwriting phase and often, permits can delay a project’s timeline if there as a miscalculation from an architect engineer or if the building design does not meet every rule of code. A delayed project, waiting for a permit, can cost the real estate developer thousands of dollars for everyday held and can be detrimental to paying back investor equity. The main challenge with the entitlement process for a large project like a large retail or entertainment center is the communities enthusiasm for the development. Many times, the neighborhood rejects the development due to nuisances like increased traffic, increased rents, noise from construction, or changing the dynamic of the neighborhood. Often, developers must do community outreach in any form, from going door-to-door to further explain the project to hosting events with free goods to promote positivity associated with the project. A Los Angeles neighborhood, Boyle Heights, has rejected many new projects in fear of gentrification and has even protested famous artists from having studio space in Boyle Heights, fearful that it will make the area more expensive and impossible for current residents to afford.
Commonly, real estate developments are funded by 55%-75% debt, usually from a bank and sometimes from a private lender, and 45%-25% equity. Of the equity raised to fund the project, normally, around 90% of it is sourced by an investor or Limited Partner while the other 10% is given by the development firm, the General Partner, who will carry out the project until disposition, repay the debt and equity at the end of the project, and will hold the title of ‘owner’ on the building. In some rare cases such as Rick Caruso’s development company, Caruso, investors are not needed to source equity and the General Partner, in this case, is the Limited Partner. Deals in lending and deals in investing are tailored to the timeline of a project, economic health indicators like LIBOR and Treasury Reserve, level of risk within the investment, and market indicators like rents and sales.
The construction phase of a project does have a tremendous deal of pressure to finish the project on time. Normally, real estate developers hire a General Contractor who either does all construction in house or seeks out Subcontractors to carry out specific jobs like grading, demolition, drywall, etc. Sometimes phased construction is used on a project, many times a renovation , and requires new permits from the city after construction ends on the previous phase and before the construction begins on the following phase. When phased construction does not get the permits for following phases perfectly on time, the project suffers greatly as the job site is under construction with halted work but still requires a superintendent onsite everyday and security on watch every night.
After the project is completed, there are still many steps before it can be operated as a business or sold. Series of inspections occur to ensure that the building is safe and meets code, Certificate of Occupancy must be earned before tenants or buyers can move in, even mailboxes and their placement must be approved by USPS. When all is approved, many times projects still must find retail, office, or residential tenants to fill their building and start earning revenue to payback their investors. When a project is for sale after completion, investors and lenders can gain their money back quicker as the developer usually gets a large payment at the sale which is underwritten to cover all liabilities.
On March 22nd of this year, the U.S saw a a change the yield curve which is a very powerful indicator of a nearby recession. We saw it before 2007, and we are seeing it now. So what is a yield curve anyway? A yield curve is a measurement between fixed interest securities and time until maturity- the graph plots different interest rates along with maturity dates of those bonds. A “normal” yield curve represents higher maturity bonds having a longer yield than shorter maturity bonds and a “flat” yield curve indicates that the long-term and short-term yields are equal. And what does it mean when it is inverted? When a yield curve is inverted, shorter term yields are higher than longer term yields. This is considered bad because when short-term interest rates are exceeding long-term interest rates, the long-term view of the market is predicted to fall. Consumer borrowing is likely to fall, decreasing overall consumer spending and companies are likely to hesitate at the thought of expansion due to heightened expenses.
Inverted yield curves are considered relatively rare and although we just saw an inverted yield curve in late 2018 when the U.S. treasury rate peaked at just over 3%. The yield curve, inverted or normal, does not directly hurt or benefit the U.S. economy, it is just a predictor for what is going to occur in months time. The past handful of inverted yield curves in the U.S. have been followed by economic recessions such as in 1981, 1991, 2001, and was a main predictor of the 2008 financial crisis.
As of right now, we are uncertain if the recession following 2019’s inverted yield curve will be long or short, severe or moderate. What we do know is the Fed have learned a great deal since 2008 about raising and lowering interest rates based off the curve. Ten years ago, the Fed ignored the sign and instead of lowering interest rates, the idea that as long as long-term yields could provide enough liquidity, the economy would not face a recession. Hopefully, this time the Fed takes the right action to protect the U.S. economy.
It is common societal practice to avoid certain topics in polite conversation: money, religion, politics, and now, the name of our current president, Donald Trump. The opinions of this man and his administration are either in extreme support or strong hatred and very rarely does one come across an individual who is “neutral” about the matter. Donald Trump, the 45th president of the United States, has exemplified the most controversial presidency in American history and has heightened the divide between Americans in support of him and against him due to his celebrity reputation, several campaign scandals, cavalier communication with the public, and administration’s ongoing investigations. A nation, divided by two opposing groups, restricts its leaders from working with one another in a respectable and productive way and causes the nation’s people to be in a constant uproar. America’s government may or may not need a new leader in office, but one thing is certain, American is in dire need of unityamong political figures and citizens, regardless of who they voted for in 2016 and regardless of their political party affiliation.
Born into a family real estate development business, Donald Trump, had a leg-up for white-collar success. In 1971 after earning his bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania, Donald took on the role of Presidency for his family’s company. He renamed the company to The Trump Organization and rebranded the name by pivoting from plain residential developments to worldwide projects including golf courses, grand hotels, and casinos. All of his developments display Trump’s noticeably elaborate branding through incorporating his name on every project and signature architectural styles. In addition, he bought the Miss USA and Miss Universe beauty pageants, hosted the reality television show, The Apprentice, and wrote several business-related books such as The Art of the Deal, How to Get Rich, Think Like a Billionaire, and Surviving at the Top, just to name a few. (Biography.com, 2019). His several successful business ventures earned him a net worth high of $3.7B and a spot on the Forbes 400 list for several years. (Forbes, 2019). He also experienced some unsuccessful ventures like Trump University and his attempted NFL franchise, The New Jersey Generals, which only played for three short seasons. (Biography.com, 2019).
While Donald Trump was only known as a businessman, before ever stepping into the political realm, his reputation was still grounds for controversy. In 1973 during the hand-over period of Trump taking over the family business from his father, a complaint was filed against the company that claimed the group had discriminated against hotel guests on the basis of guests’ race. The case settled four years later and The Trump Organization was required to educate their employees about the matter and take preventative measures to ensure discrimination would not occur again at a Trump property. Trump referenced this case in his book, The Art of The Deal. (Biography.com, 2019).
Before filing for divorce from his first wife, Ivana Zelnickova, in 1990, rumors swirled that Ivana faced domestic abuse from Trump. (BBC, 2017). According to Rolling Stone Magazine, Ivana did file for divorce from her spouse due to “cruel and unhuman treatment” and her attorneys included instances of verbal abuse from Mr. Trump. (Dickinson, 2018). Many sexual assault claims were made later on, during Trump’s 2016 campaign, but his domestic violence allegations were made public as early as the 1990s and spurred the tabloids and general public to keep his name in conversation. People Magazine quoted Trump’s comment boasting about the publicity he was receiving regarding his divorce, “It’s bigger than Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton”. (Lafrance, 2018). He continued to stay in public news during his two following marriages, both to super model women with large differences in age. Stories regarding infidelity appeared in the tabloids often during both marriages. Since the 1980s Donald Trump has been seen as a celebrity who had exemplified instances of pompous, attention seeking behavior. Wildly wealthy real estate developers and business owners are generally not of celebrity status because their personal life stays out of the public eye, however, Trump seemed to embrace his fame and continue to entertain the stories of his personal life by being extremely public about his relationships and opinions.
In 2015, Donald Trump announced his campaign for the 2016 election under the Republican party. During the election period, Trump’s campaign received an enormous amount of talk in the media and several scandals occurred during these months. Several women came forward claiming that Trump had sexually harassed or assaulted them in the past. A disturbing audio tape from Access Hollywood recorded Trump’s voice boasting about how his stardom allows him to do “anything” he wants with women, went viral and contributed greatly to American people believing Trump is a sexist. One of the largest infidelity scandals Trump faced during the 2016 election, was the allegation that Stormy Daniels, an adult film star, had sexual relations with Mr. Trump while he was married to his current wife and First Lady, Melania Trump. Michael Cohen, Trump’s personal attorney at the time, pleaded guilty to the hush payment made to Daniels in 2015 for the amount of $130,000 from Cohen’s personal funds. After pleading guilty and facing a three-year prison sentence, Cohen testified in February of 2019 before congress about the matter, as well as showed checks as evidence that he was reimbursed for the $130,000 by Trumps Personal Bank Account for the payment that Cohen originally paid to Daniels. (Bruggeman, 2019).
The way he spoke about Mexican and Middle Eastern immigrants also caused his administration to face backlash as the news interpreted that Trump believed all Mexican and Middle Eastern immigrants were drug dealers, rapists, and criminals because in his campaign announcement speech, he categorized these illegal citizens as a danger to the American people and focused on crimes of drug trading, kidnapping, and human trafficking. To quote, Trump said “Mexico is bringing us its worst people” and “The U.S. has become a dumping ground for everyone else’s problems.” Trump tried to persuade voters that the speech did not have racist intent and even posted on social media a Cinco de Mayo appreciation picture captioned “I love Hispanics!” which also faced backlash. (Gilmer, 2018). Trump also made the claim that he is “the least racist person there is” and pointed out that Randell Pinkett, an African American, was the fourth season winner of his show, The Apprentice. He also has referred to African American people as “the blacks” or “a black”, which further sparked his racist allegations in the media. During the election, a comment he made in the 1980s calling Japanese people “japs” also fueled the negative attention. It was even interpreted that Trump was homophobic because he classified himself as a “traditionalist” and this statement caused people to infer that he does not support the LGBTQ community. (Gass). Voters during the time, were either convinced that Donald Trump was homophobic, racist, and sexist with little respect for any group besides white men, or believed that all information that came forward to the press at this time was a false ploy from the Democratic Party to sabotage President Trump. Some even believed that the Democratic party was paying women to come forward with their stories of sexual harassment. Sarah Sanders spoke out about one of the claims that President Trump unwantedly kissed Alva Johnson while she worked for the 2016 campaign by calling it “absurd on its face”. In an interview, Melania Trump confirms that she is not worried about the infidelity accusations as she is confident in her marriage because there has not been a woman to come forward with significant proof of an affair, just a story. (Hazell, 2018). Note that the viral Access Hollywood tape only supports the argument that Trump feels his wealth and fame allow him to take advantage of women, not that it allows him to cheat monogamy.
Private lawsuits also sparked controversy among Trump supporters and the rest of the nation. After Trump won the primary election and was now running against Hillary Clinton, Trump continuously drew attention toward Clinton’s use of a personal email server while serving as Secretary of State. Meanwhile, Donald Trump was facing 75 active lawsuits. (BBC, 2016). Three fraud cases were ongoing regarding Trump University as students claimed the never-realized university falsely advertised their real estate development education and students pre-paid tens of thousands of dollars to the school which was never established. Trump settled all three cases and noted publically that there was a conflict of interest because the judge, Gonzalo Curiel, is of Mexican decent and rumors about Trump’s racism toward Mexican people could have played a role in Curiel’s call. Of course, many Trump supporters agreed that Curiel was using his opinion of Trump as a presidential candidate in the lawsuit, which contributed to more media attention. Trump’s Florida golf course was also being sued for collecting membership fees while blocking admission. Simultaneously, Trump was personally being sued for sending unsolicited text messages and calling Cheryl Jacobus a “dummy” on Twitter which she reported destroyed her political career and publically humiliated her, as well as several lawsuits regarding sexual harassment allegations. (BBC. 2016).
Talk of Trump’s team communicating with Russia in order to sway the 2016 election with fake news stories and cyber-attacks against Clinton dominated the news. The people involved include Donald Trump, Donald Trump Junior, Trump’s ex-advisor Roger Stone, campaign chairman Paul Manafort, Trump’s campaign advisor George Papadopoulos, Trump’s computer programmer Richard Pinedo, Trump’s campaign staffer Rick Gates, National Security Advisor Michael Flynn and Trump’s formal lawyer Michael Cohen. FBI director James Comey was investigating the allegations and recently, Robert Mueller has been given the responsibility of the investigation. (BBC, 2019).
During the 2016 election, the media and country-wide protests swept the country with controversy. Trump’s political rallies were disrupted by anti-Trump protests and three instances of violence during the rallies were reported. Trump supporters showed their fury regarding the disruption all over social media and some took extraordinary measures such as posting photographs on social media of Australian actress, Samara Weaving and her bloodied bruised face, claiming it was caused by an anti-Trump supporter shaming her for expressing her political opinion. Later, it was revealed that the instance was a hoax and the bruising was just make-up for a scene featured in her movie, Ash versus Evil Dead. (SMH, 2016.).
Trump continues to engage in his controversy with his very cavalier communication with the public. To clarify, he uses crude, unprofessional language in public statements on social media platforms like Twitter and Instagram. For each allegation or rumor that this presented against him, Trump responds back, usually with an insult to his challenger. During the campaign and during his current presidency, this issue remains and has even further fueled the divide between his supporters and anti-supporters. Not only does he make crude remarks on social media, he has reported to have stated over 9,000 false or misleading claims in public speeches and posts. Even in both of his State of the Union speeches, there was some inaccuracy, like his point that “the U.S. economy is growing almost twice as fast today as when I first took office” which was proven false as the economy is growing at a 3.5% rate. (Kessler).
Some have wondered why does Donald Trump have the admiration and extreme support that he does? His supporters do not just seem to have a political liking to him but a love and extreme loyalty to him. Psychology Today recently identified this devotion as Authoritarian Personality Syndrome which is a state of mind that responds greatly to total obedience to a leader’s authority. Social Dominance Orientation also can explain this phenomenon and is defined as being drawn to a social hierarchy of groups especially in cases where a high-power group has dominance over a lower-power group. (Azarian, 2017). Others have wondered why are people so quick to dislike Trump. Psychology Today also published an article that explains the anxiety associated with having a heterosexual, Christian, white-male in office and the fear of inequality that citizens face when only having white men as major political leaders. The article also explains why Trump’s personal financial wealth greatly contributes to the American people being hesitant to accept him as an advocate for the American people and middle/lower class. (Henriques).
As the 45thpresident of the United States, the controversy of Donald Trump has divided the nation. Many have protested by wearing shirts, holding signs, and even tagging on public property with the words “Not my president” indicating that regardless of Trump’s win in 2016, they do not accept him as a leader due to their extreme opinion of him and his political practices. People even acknowledged the national holiday, president’s day, as “Not My Presidents Day” and protests were held in several cities among the United States even some in the UK. Comedian Kathy Griffin showed her fury about the president elect by posting a photograph of her holding a bloodied prop of Trump’s head as an expression of her disapproval and disliking for the current president. Kathy Griffin was investigated for insinuating assassination of the president and publically apologized for the very graphic and violent post. (Gstalter, 2018). Other celebrities have been vocal about their disrespect for President Donald Trump. Model Chrissy Teigan has tweeted about her pride for her hatred of our president and has boasted that she has been a “Trump-hater” for over 7 years. Her husband, John Legend, has responded to Tweets of Donald Trump Jr. calling his father racist and publically stating “Trump is an embarrassment to the country”. (Bazaar, 2017). There have been several reports of physical assaults of Trump supporters who are wearing apparel with the “Make America Great Again” slogan. GQ magazine even published an article claiming that the Make America Great Again hat is an object of hate speech because the hats have been worn at white supremacist rallies and have been named as “the new white hood” suggesting that the bright red hats are just as hateful as KKK representation. (Wolf, 2019). Several Trump supporters have been interviewed and explained that they are hesitant to express their political affiliation or engage in political conversation because of the hatred Trump supporters have faced. They do not feel embarrassed or ashamed of their support for the president but are afraid to be deemed a racist or sexist due to the controversial subject. (USA Today).
Currently, 16 states are filing federal lawsuits against President Trumps for his executive order to shut down the government for a record-breaking amount of time. The reason for the shutdown, being to take money from other programs to fund the Southern border wall, is being classified unconstitutional since the constitution gives Congress the responsibly of fund control not the Executive branch. (New York Times, 2019). States suing the federal government and other states arguing against it clearly exemplifies the divide the U.S. is facing among political leaders.
When examining nations with corrupt government systems, such as Russia, divisionamong the nation’s people and national leaders is a common thread that leads to severe challenges in the government. For example, top-down corruption, entails that a nation’s elite are completely dependent on their relationship with the president for their riches- the country is divided between extremely rich and extremely poor. Russia has been corrupt for decades now and through this habit it has practiced for so many years, corruption is essential for its government system and the country does not know how to engage in politics without it. (Foreign Policy Research Institute).
Unity is the key principle that has built America as a nation and the characteristic that the country holds the most pride in. Our founding fathers warned us that a nation is only successful if it has strong unity among its people. The name, United States of America, says it all but currently the political divide is so great that the future of the U.S. could be compromised. Even if a new leader is elected president in 2020, the habit that America has made of rejecting political leaders even after they are sworn into office, will hinder the progress of the nation in every aspect. Furthermore, the way other political leaders have shown disrespect and rebellion against Trump will set the tone for how American politicians work together and will be detrimental to the system if not mitigated immediately. With a national government being so competitive against opposing sides within the same country, political corruption is bound to happen as leaders will become more and more uninspired to govern for their nation’s people and their power will only be useful for personal gain. In the political system, there are several moving parts that must work together: the president, the appointed political leaders, and the people. As of right now, all three are on opposite ends of the spectrum and do not successfully accept one another therefore, progress cannot be made. During an election, it is American pride to show political expression through engagement like speech or protest in good faith, however, the outcome of the election must be accepted and respected. As America looks forward to the new 2020 president elect, it is imperative that citizens do not only unify as people of political parties but as American people, all sharing the same pride for their great country.
Work Cited:
Bruggeman, Lucien. “Michael Cohen Asked Lawyer to Inquire about Pardon, Sources Say, Possibly Contradicting Congressional Testimony.” ABC News, ABC News Network, 7 Mar. 2019, abcnews.go.com/Politics/michael-cohen-asked-lawyer-inquire-pardon-insists-lie/story?id=61527322.
Gilmer, Marcus. “Happy 2nd Anniversary to Trump’s Infamous ‘Cinco De Mayo’ Tweet.” Mashable, Mashable, 5 May 2018, mashable.com/2018/05/05/trump-cinco-de-mayo-tweet-anniversary/#_3OmFTQhzGqK.
Gstalter, Morgan. “Kathy Griffin Says She Faced Potential ‘Conspiracy to Assassinate the President’ Charge over Trump Head Photo.” TheHill, The Hill, 8 Dec. 2018, thehill.com/blogs/in-the-know/in-the-know/420406-kathy-griffin-says-she-faced-potential-conspiracy-to.
This week’s popular news is Michael Cohen’s public testimony before congress against President Trump. Michael Cohen was President Trump’s attorney for 12 years and served as the Vice President of the Trump Organization, Vice President of The Eric Trump Foundation, and Co-President of Trump Entertainment. In Summer of 2018, Cohen pleaded guilty to tax fraud, bank fraud, and violating financial laws during the 2016 campaign. He has been sentenced to three years in federal prison as well as fined $50,000. Cohen is expected to begin his sentence in May of 2019. This week, Michael Cohen testifies on the basis that the felonies he will be going to jail for, were committed in coordination with President Donald Trump. Cohen admitted to lying in his previous testimony in order to protect the President. Mr. Cohen has also submitted written statements and pieces of evidence to support his testimony that will be evaluated. Chairman Cummings begins the hearing by emphasizing the importance that all Americans take advantage of their right to watch the testimony and form their own opinion on Mr. Cohen’s credibility because the deeply disturbing information told during the hearing will great effect on the American people.
After being sworn in, Michael Cohen begins his testimony by prefacing that he regrets the day he said yes to working for President Trump during the 2016 campaign which was on a “platform of hate and intolerance”. Cohen acknowledges why there could be doubt to his credibility and mentions that he has irrefutable evidence to prove his statements are true. Some of the evidence sent to congress one night prior include a copy of a check from Trump’s personal bank account in the amount of $130,000 to reimburse Cohen for the hush payment to an adult film actress, copies of financial statements from 2011-2013, and threatening letters to Trump’s high school and colleges to not release Trump’s transcripts or SAT scores.
Highlights:
When asked, Cohen states that based off his experience, Mr. Trump is capable of colluding with foreign powers in order to win the presidential election. However, he was unable to confirm that President Trump “colluded” with Russia during the 2016 campaign.
Representative Paul Gosar calls Michael Cohen a pathological liar and accuses his appearance for his second testimony is an attempt to reduce his sentence in federal prison.
When asked, Michael Cohen was unable to say under oath that he will not pursue a movie or book deal regarding his 12-year experience working for Donald Trump. He also stated that he would be unable to commit under oath that he will not be making commentary to major news channels about the matter.
Cohen states that President Trump requested a meeting before his initial testimony in 2017 to ensure that Cohen would “cooperate” and reinforce the message that Trump wanted Cohen to convey.
Cohen states that President Trump specifically asked him to state that he was not knowledgeable of the payments or reimbursements regarding the $130,000 paid to an adult film star in order to silence her about having an affair with Mr. Trump. Cohen also states that Trump asked Cohen to lie to Trump’s wife about the matter, which he did.
When asked by Representative Speier, Cohen confirms that President Trump asked Cohen to threaten entities on Trump’s behalf over 500 times.
When asked by Representative Lawrence, Cohen confirms that the reason for his testimony being postponed 20 days was threats against Cohen’s family by the President and attorney Giuliani.
Checks were shown before the committee that showed Michael Cohen was paid by both Trump’s personal account and Trust account. When asked by Representative Khanna, Cohen confirms that the President, Donald Trump Jr., and Allen Weisselberg directed payments as a criminal conspiracy of financial fraud. Cohen added that of the four people equally involved in this conspiracy, he is the only one facing the consequences.
Cohen confirms that the President provided inflated assets to an insurance companies.
Cohen states that President Trump is a racist by explaining Trumps remarks about people of color. When passing by a struggling area in Chicago, Trump commented “only black people could live that way”. He also said that he would not get votes by black voters because they are “too stupid”.
Elijah Cummings closes the testimony by keeping an optimistic tone that Michael Cohen’s statements were true and recognizes that the goal of the hearing is to protect our democracy as a country by giving the American people more information and an opportunity to know our President’s character better. Cummings also states that as a country, we are “better than this” he proceeds to explain that we are better than to have our president calling former partners like Cohen “rats” and better than have our president make over 8000 false statements publicly. Cummings concludes by restating that his hope for the testimony heard today is for a better United States of America, a better Michael Cohen, and a better Donald Trump, and a better world.
The University of Southern California announced this week that Karen Bass will be the keynote speaker for the university’s 136th commencement ceremony. As a resident of Southern California, the top universities’ announcement of their graduation speakers is very popular news citywide as it is common that major celebrities like Oprah Winfrey, Will Ferrell, Bill and Melinda Gates make appearances. UCLA is having their 100th graduation ceremony and the entire city is eager to learn who will be given to honor to speak on their centesimal commencement.
Many received the word that Bass was selected among many bright, inspirational alumni to give the 2019 graduation speech and since she is not in the public eye from music or television, many students of USC are not familiar with her. Karen Ruth Bass is an American Democratic Politician who is currently serving her 5th term on the U.S. House of Representatives from California’s 37th district, is the Study and Review Chair for the Steering and Policy Committee, and is the Vice Chair for the Congressional Black Caucus. Prior, Bass served as the Speaker of the California Assembly and was the notably first African American woman to earn this title. She has received very prestigious awards for her political leadership such as the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award in 2010.
Bass was born and raised in Southern California and attended San Diego State University as well as California State University Domingez Hills for her undergraduate education. Her background is in health as she studied Health and Sciences while at CSUDH and worked for USC’s Keck school of Medicine as a clinical instructor, teaching PA classes. Her passion for activism started at an early age, after college, Bass started Community Coalition to address the epidemic of cocaine use in Los Angeles. As a nurse and PA instructor, Bass saw many cases in the ER exemplifying the repercussions of cocaine use in health, violence, and mental stability. Her goal was to involve the community of South Los Angeles through education and awareness to shift policy away from public enforcement and toward public health. Bass was the executive chair and founder of this organization for over a decade and through her dedicated time along the way, the organization went from a $300K budget to a $3M budget before bass handed the executive responsibilities to another activist.
Currently, Karen Bass is a major figure in the public eye as she has been featured on every major political news television channel, has had several press releases this year, and is one of the first polical figures broadcasted when responding to President Trumps ideals. Bass’ involvement in policy make her an extraordinary public intellectual to send off the newest USC graduating class.
In just nine years, the Summer Olympic Games will be hosted in Los Angeles, CA, where it was once located in LA in 1932 and 1984. The 2028 Olympics will make LA the most used U.S. city for the games. As the event brings so many athletes, spectators, and sponsors to the chosen city, we have to wonder, what will happen to our city when the games come?
The current plan is to use existing stadiums and sites to host the wide array of sporting events and venues span from Downtown LA to Riverside County. Venues that have been named are: 1) Staples Center for basketball 2) LA Convention Center for table tennis, basketball and boxing 3) Galen Center for basketball, volleyball, and badminton 4) Dedeaux Field for training facility 5) LA Memorial Coliseum for track and field 6) LA Football Club Stadium for soccer 7) The Forum for Gymnastics 8) Microsoft Theater for weightlifting 9) Santa Monica Beach for beach volleyball 10) Pauley Pavilion for wrestling 11) UCLA Student housing for Olympic Village 12) Stubhub Center for rugby, tennis, track cycling, and hockey 13) Sepulveda Basin Sports Complex for equestrian, and canoe 14) Lake Perris (in Riverside County) for canoe and rowing 15) Rose Bowl for soccer 16) LA Stadium for opening and closing ceremonies 17) Frank G. Bonelli Regional Park for mountain biking 18) Riviera Country club for golf 19) Honda Center for Volleyball 20) Long Beach Convention Center for handball 21) Belmont Pier for marathon swimming and triathlon events.
As this may seem like a relief that new construction of stadiums and areas are being avoided, the real problem the 16 day event will prose on a city is during those 16 days. Traffic, congestion, closed roads, etc. will all be a problem to LA residents who already deal with such a burden day to day. So my question is, what is LA doing to improve street structure or public transportation in preparation for the games?
Metro has approved a plan of 28 goals for public transportation to be up and running by the 2028 Games- the plan is called “28 by 28”. The goal was originally slated for completion in 2035 but had to be sped up by extreme funding by Measure R and Measure M to project an earlier finish. Measure R and Measure M were ballots that passed by voters to raise sales taxes across the county to fund public transportation systems in LA. Measure M, the latest passed, is expected to fund $860 Million dollars annually toward public transportation by rail. In my opinion, for Los Angeles to be successful at the 2028 Olympics, the city needs an efficient and established county-wide rail system. I also predict that residents of Los Angeles County will be thankful for the event as it brought a useful form of public transportation to the area. If Metro is able to extend and add lines to be sufficient to host the millions of people that the even will bring to the city, I think that Los Angeles will only see economic benefit from the games.
Many know and many do not know that this past week, the Unites States had its annual State of the Union Address which is a yearly speech given by the President of the United States at the start of each calendar year in office and aims to deliver overviews on national priorities. The goal is generally to give congress necessary information regarding the country as well as show concern toward the Congress’ considerations. Traditionally, Congress is the main audience but since the message is publicly available by television and the internet, it is equally important that the people make themselves the main audience and watch all 82 minutes of President Trump’s State of the Union.
An Objective Recap:
Women: In speaking about economy, the President reports that women earned 58% of 2018’s newly created jobs and currently, the nation has more women in the workforce than ever before. He discusses how the country’s positive economy has had the largest impact on women over any other demographic. President Trump acknowledged that there are currently more women serving in Congress than ever before- he notes that this achievement occurred exactly 1 century since the constitutional amendment that gave women the right to vote was passed. Democratic women wore all white and showed quite the celebration when their record-breaking number was addressed- their ecstatic reaction broke out in a “U-S-A” chant.
Immigration:Trump spoke about illegal immigration and classified the issue as “the largest divide between America’s working class and America’s political class”. He stated consequences associated with mass illegal immigration which are lower wages, lack of jobs, and overburdened schools.
Investigation of Trump’s Administration: The president addressed the investigation of himself and his administration by saying “An economic miracle is taking place in the Unites States and the only thing that can stop it is foolish wars, politics, or ridiculous partisan investigations.” He went onto explain that “to achieve peace in legislation there cannot be war and investigation.”
Trump’s Wall:Trump reported that Congress has only 10 days left (now only 1) to pass a legislation that will allow the wall to be built at the Southern Border. He mentions that the plan for his wall to take place will “put the ruthless drug dealers, rapists, and human traffickers out of business”.
Health Goals: One health goal mentioned was to eliminate the HIV epidemic in the U.S. within ten years. Another was to ask Congress for a budget of 500 Million dollars toward child cancer research. Trump is the first president to propose national, paid “new family leave” not just maternity leave.
Abortion: President Trump had a very strong, disapproving opinion about the recent law in New York regarding abortion. He went on to say that he will be asking Congress to pass legislation to prohibit abortion in late-term pregnancies and prohibit the abortion of fetus’ that can feel pain in the womb.
Socialism: President Trump discusses his goal to steer far away from socialist concepts by noting that America was built by independence not government control. He states “we were born free and we will remain free” this received a very load, excited response from the audience and broke out in another “U-S-A” chant.
All information was taken from the full State of the Union Speech posted by CNN. I encourage all my readers to watch the full video which can be found by the link below:
Known for her civil rights activism, beautiful poetry, and moving autobiographies, Maya Angelou is a brilliant public intellectual who has enormously influenced society today. Dr. Angelou worked with Malcom X and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr to accomplish her dreams racial and gender equality.
During Maya Angelou’s lifetime, she touched the lives of readers through her seven autobiographies, several collections of essays, and numerous poems. She has been greatly appreciated for her work as a writer and acclaimed for her fearless activism for civil rights and the women’s movement. Her childhood clearly explains her motives for equality and her she fearlessly shares her powerful story publicly. I was especially drawn to Maya Angelou after listening to Oprah’s “Super Soul Podcast” interview called “Dr. Maya Angelou: Words that Changed Her Life” in which Dr. Angelou talks about her hardship as a child, being raped by her mother’s boyfriend, and being so damaged from this experience she lost the will to speak for five years. She says that she knew she had a voice, but she was too afraid to use it. When she was 13 years old, she began to use her voice again and developed a very strong relationship with her Mother, Vivian Baxter. Dr. Angelou speaks about her mother in an admiral way, noting that when she received the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Obama, she thought of her mother and owed it to her mother and grandmother’s teachings.
Dr. Angelou has had such an incredible cultural impact on the world and throughout her life, inspired millions of people to follow her legacy. The way she connected her literary work with social issues was sensational, especially during the civil rights movement. President Barak Obama stated his appreciation for her after her death in 2014 by saying “Above all, she was a storyteller — and her greatest stories were true” and Nancy Pelosi described her as a “phenomenal woman of insight, eloquence and artistry who gave voice to the rawness and loftiness of our history and our humanity”. Angelou’s creative intelligence brought light to the political realm and she is beloved by so many political figures and social activists. Today, almost 5 years since Angelou’s death, her life is celebrated by all who are thankful for her cultural influence on the world and her admiral work must continue to be reminded to all generations.
Intellect Insider 