Inspector General report critical of ‘zero tolerance’ family separation policy

With the daily, almost hourly scandals coming out of Washington, D.C., this long-running scandal was almost overlooked by the media. At any other time, it would have been the focus of media coverage for days. This is how Trump’s “chaos theory” works: overwhelm the public with multiple scandals until they are too numbed to respond any longer.

The Washington Post reports, Trump’s family separation policy was flawed from the start, watchdog review says:

The Trump administration’s “zero tolerance” crackdown at the border this spring was troubled from the outset by planning shortfalls, widespread communication failures and administrative indifference to the separation of small children from their parents, according to an unpublished report by the Department of Homeland Security’s Inspector General.

The report, a copy of which was obtained by The Washington Post, is the government’s first attempt to autopsy the chaos produced between May 5 and June 20, when President Trump abruptly halted the separations under mounting pressure from his party and members of his family.

The DHS Office of Inspector General’s review found at least 860 migrant children were left in Border Patrol holding cells longer than the 72-hour limit mandated by U.S. courts, with one minor confined for 12 days and another for 25.

Many of those children were put in chain-link holding pens in the Rio Grande Valley of southern Texas. The facilities were designed as short-term way stations, lacking beds and showers, while the children awaited transfer to shelters run by the Department of Health and Human Services.

U.S. border officials in the Rio Grande Valley sector, the busiest for illegal crossings along the nearly 2,000-mile U.S.-Mexico border, held at least 564 children longer than they were supposed to, according to the report. Officials in the El Paso sector held 297 children over the legal limit.

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Tucson Modernism Week 2018

“Tucson Modernism Week 2018, presented by the Tucson Historic Preservation Foundation will take place Friday October 5th through Sunday October 14th. The celebration will feature a series of programs, film, lectures and events highlighting Tucson’s Mid-century Modern design and architecture throughout the city, along with the very popular vintage trailer show. Tucson’s Modernism captured the … Read more

A ‘rigged’ FBI investigation in the Kavanaugh coverup (Updated)

Arizona Senator Jeff Flake called for a thorough FBI background investigation while speaking at an event in Boston. “It does no good to have an investigation that gives us more cover, for example,” he said. “We actually have find out what we can find out.”

While the Twitter-troll-in-chief lied his ass off in tweets and press statements that the FBI could follow any lead and speak to any witness, White House legal counsel Don McGahn, a longtime friend of Judge Kavanaugh’s, made certain the background investigation would be severely restricted. To borrow Trump’s favorite phrase, the FBI background investigation was “rigged.”

Bloomberg News reports that the FBI did not even interview the principals involved. FBI Lacks White House Approval to Talk to Kavanaugh and Ford.

NBC News reports that the FBI has not contacted dozens of potential sources in Kavanaugh investigation:

More than 40 people with potential information into the sexual misconduct allegations against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh have not been contacted by the FBI, according to multiple sources that include friends of both the nominee and his accusers.

[S]ources close to the investigation, as well as a number of people who know those involved, say the FBI has not contacted dozens of potential corroborators or character witnesses.

More than 20 individuals who know either Kavanaugh or Ramirez, who has accused the nominee of exposing himself to her while the two attended Yale University, have not heard from the FBI despite attempts to contact investigators, including Kavanaugh’s roommate at the time and a former close Ramirez friend.

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Indigenous Peoples Day on October 8 – updated

INDIGENOUS PEOPLES’ DAY South Tucson, AZ Monday, October 8, 2018 GLOBAL JUSTICE CENTER BLOCK PARTY BEGINS 11:00AM 225 E. 26th ST TUCSON/CHUKSHON, AZ (Free to the Community) of Music, Dancers and Speakers throughout the day. Join us to celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ Day! There will be music, dancers, speakers, food and more! Family-friendly, drug and alcohol … Read more

Maricopa County prosecutor Rachel Mitchell’s unprofessional memo

Republican strategist Rick Wilson authored the book Everything Trump Touches Dies.

This is likely to include the professional legal career of Maricopa County prosecutor Rachel Mitchell.

Hired to be a “human shield” for Republican senators in questioning Christine Blasey Ford last week, she proved to be ‘not effective’ in questioning Ford.

Mitchell had barely begun asking questions of Judge Kavanaugh when she zeroed in on his July 1 calendar entry which might corroborate Dr. Blasey’s recollection of a party. Republican senators insulted her by summarily dismissing her, never to be heard from again.

Eleven old white men didn’t want to hear from any woman, even their hired gun.

Mitchell has since compounded her catastrophic performance by providing a partisan political memo to the GOP senators who hired her. Her memo violates the rules of professional conduct for attorneys and prosecutors. Her desire to be in the national spotlight may wind up costing her.

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