Native Women, John Brennan, Trump and the “N” Word: 3 Stories You Should Read 8/16/2018

August 16, 2018 Confluence

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In the category of: This is way more than just a record-keeping issue.

Forgotten Women: The conversation of murdered and missing native women is not one North America wants to have – but it must

In the fifth in our series on the lives of ordinary women behind extraordinary stories, this month’s Forgotten Women examines how terrifyingly deep the international crisis of violence against indigenous women runs

There were 5,646 Native American women entered as missing into the National Crime Information Centre database last year, with 5,711 in 2016. In the first six months of 2018, there were 2,758 indigenous women reported missing.

The FBI is responsible for investigating the most serious crimes committed on reservations. However, when it comes to crimes on Native American land, the Department of Justice (DoJ) typically declines to send 30 to 40 percent of all applications to prosecution. The last set of available data from 2016 shows that 35 percent of cases were not sent for prosecution. The two major reasons given for this by the DoJ are either insufficient evidence, or the case being referred to another prosecuting authority – such as the tribes themselves.

With 567 sovereign tribal nations across the US, the rights of tribal governments as nations are written into the constitution. According to the National Congress of American Indians, in total, tribal governments exercise jurisdiction over lands that would make Indian Country the fourth largest state in the nation.

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In the category of: The behavior of a dictator.

Trump revokes ex-CIA director John Brennan’s security clearance

“Will the republic stand or fall on whether John (Brennan) retains his access to classified information? Of course not. The larger issue here, to me, throughout has been an infringement on First Amendment rights and I think people ought to think seriously about that,” Clapper said on CNN.

Hayden, the former CIA and National Security Agency chief, said losing his clearance would “have a marginal impact on the work I do.”

“With regard to the implied threat today that I could lose my clearance, that will have no impact on what I think, say or write,” Hayden said. In an interview with CNN’s Anderson Cooper, Hayden warned that the revocation amounts to a threat from the administration.

“The White House just messaged the entire American intelligence community: If you stand up and say things that upset the President or with which he disagrees, he will punish you,” Hayden said on CNN’s “Anderson Cooper 360.”

“That is a horrible message to be sending to folks who are there to tell you the objective truth,” he said.

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In the category of: Sad but true.

What will happen if a Trump n-word tape comes out? Look at the Access Hollywood tape.

Republicans established their playbook for Trump scandals back in October 2016.

What will happen if the American public hears President Donald Trump, on tape, saying the n-word? The question feels more pressing by the day, as new recordings and comments made by Omarosa Manigault-Newman come to light.

Many are debating what effect, if any, such a tape would have on voters’ opinions. But we already have a good idea of how Trump’s party might react, thanks to his history as a candidate: The Access Hollywood tape, and Republican responses to it, set the playbook for all of Trump’s future scandals.

When the American public heard Trump, on tape, bragging about his ability to grab women “by the pussy,” Republicans in Congress were quick to express their dismay — his comments were “repugnant,” “disgusting,” and “disrespectful,” they said. But most stopped short of actually pulling their endorsements of his candidacy.

And now that Trump is president, we see the same sequence play out over and over: He does something seemingly beyond the pale, Republicans wring their hands but most keep supporting him, and the cycle begins again. There’s every reason to believe that if an n-word tape is released, we’ll see the exact same thing.

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