MORNING MESSAGE
Trump Cuts Student Aid to Feed School Privatization
The
vision of “education reform” coming from the Trump administration and Secretary
of Education Betsy DeVos entails cutting direct aid to students, especially
those from low-income families, in order to expand the private sector’s
financial footprint in education.
Adieu, L’Amerique
Trump
departs for eight-day trip to Middle East and Europe. NPR: “President Trump
will try to leave his troubles behind as he departs on the first foreign trip of
his presidency… Trump is visiting Saudi Arabia, Israel and the Vatican, and it
isn’t a coincidence. His advisers say he wanted to visit these three major
religious centers to deliver a message of unity in the fight against
terrorism… Europeans will make a big push to convince Trump that they are not
getting credit for all the things they are doing to contribute to the (NATO)
alliance… Trump will also meet the new French President Emmanuel Macron.
Although Trump didn’t explicitly endorse his opponent Marine Le Pen, he clearly
had an affinity for her nationalist ideas.”
CEOs
of Dow, JPMorgan join Trump on Saudi trip. MLive: “Trump… will be joined by
Dow Chemical Co. CEO and Chairman Andrew N. Liveris… Also expected to be
there are Jamie Dimon of JPMorgan Chase, Michael Corbat of Citigroup, James
Gorman of Morgan Stanley, Stephen Schwarzman of Blackstone and John Rice of
General Electric… The Dow Chemical Co. and two other pesticide makers are
pushing the Trump administration to “set aside” the findings of federal
scientists who say organophosphates are harmful to about 1,800 critically
threatened or endangered species. In addition, Dow wrote a $1 million check to
help underwrite the president’s inaugural festivities.”
Payback Time
The
Trump administration is trying to trick people into thinking it’s cracking down
on Wall Street. Business Insider: “Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin sat in
front of the Senate banking committee on Thursday… Mnuchin continually said the
administration supported a ’21st-century Glass-Steagall’ — except for the
Depression-era law’s defining aspect. “We do think there are potential things we
could look at around regulation, but we do not support separation of banks and
investment banks,” Mnuchin said.”
Rick
Perry’s debut at Energy has been a bonanza for corporations and the Koch
Brothers. Alternet: “As head of the Department of Energy—an agency he wanted
to eliminate during his 2012 presidential bid… Perry seems to be welcoming
climate-change deniers into his fold… At least three staffers from conservative,
anti-clean energy think tanks now have roles in the Energy Department. This
comes after Thomas Pyle, a former Koch Industries lobbyist, ran Trump’s
transition team for the department.”
FCC
votes to start rolling back landmark net neutrality rules. WaPo: “The move
highlights the uphill battle for Democrats and consumer advocates, who say that
weaker rules could allow Internet service providers to abuse their position as
gatekeepers between customers and the rest of the Internet. The current net
neutrality rules make it illegal for Internet service providers to block or slow
down websites for consumers.”
What’s
at stake in Trump’s push to rewrite NAFTA. WaPo: “The Trump administration
on Thursday announced plans to renegotiate the North American Free Trade
Agreement with Mexico and Canada – a move that could shake up business across
the continent. U.S. and other companies… worry that their operations will be
thrown into disarray by a major NAFTA rewrite — or if Trump follows through on
threats to pull out of the deal altogether and impose big tariffs on Mexican
imports.”
‘Unconscionable’
Wisconsin sheriff takes DHS job without Senate confirmation. Common
Dreams: “Clarke told a Milwaukee radio show that he would be appointed as
assistant secretary in the Office of Partnership and Engagement, where he will
pressure local police departments to enforce President Donald Trump’s tough
immigration rules. The post does not require Senate confirmation. His
announcement comes just a month after a grand jury recommended
charges against several staff members at one of Clarke’s Milwaukee jails,
where an inmate with bipolar disorder died after he was deprived of water for a
week.”
More from OurFuture.org:
Warren
Skewers Mnuchin for Doublespeak on Breaking Up Banks. Lauren McCauley:
“Calling his comments and attempted explanations both “bizarre” and “crazy,”
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) slammed Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin during
a hearing on Thursday for backtracking on repeated promises by the Trump
administration that it would support breaking up the big banks.”
Five
Reasons Why Krasner Won. Lev Hirschhorn: “Larry Krasner was declared the
winner of the Democratic Primary for District Attorney of Philadelphia. At his
victory speech, the community organizers and activists who formed the backbone
of his campaign cheered as Krasner said ‘this is not about a person… this is now
and will always be about every person.’So what can progressives learn from
Krasner’s win? Below are five reasons behind the victory; five lessons for
organizing and winning in today’s political climate.”
Progressive
Breakfast is a daily morning email highlighting news stories of interest to
activists. Progressive Breakfast and OurFuture.org are projects of People's
Action. more
»