Sunday Topics: Synagogue shooting, Abortion ruling, Barr defies Dems, Immigration, and Bolsonaro

By Robert A. Vella

Last night, President Trump skipped the annual White House Correspondents Dinner.  Why?  Because he is a coward.  His overinflated ego is so fragile that any form of criticism, even a lighthearted pinprick, would burst his hot air filled bubble and release a volatile mix of toxic rage.  See:  Sam Bee Roasts ‘Coward’ Trump and ‘Hideous’ Sarah Huckabee Sanders at Not the White House Correspondents’ Dinner

Synagogue shooting

From:  California synagogue shooting: Police investigating possible link to mosque fire

As investigators search for answers in the deadly shooting at a California synagogue, police are looking into the suspect’s possible link to a fire at a nearby mosque and taking extra steps to keep places of worship safe.

One person was killed and at least three others wounded in a shooting on Saturday at Congregation Chabad in Poway, about 22 miles north of San Diego, authorities said.

[…]

The suspect in custody has been identified as John Earnest, a 19-year-old student at California State University San Marcos.

Abortion ruling

From:  Kansas Supreme Court Rules State Constitution Protects Right To Abortion

The Kansas Constitution protects a woman’s right to an abortion, the state Supreme Court ruled Friday.

The landmark ruling now stands as the law of the land in Kansas with no path for an appeal. Because it turns on the state’s Constitution, abortion would remain legal in Kansas even if the Roe v. Wade case that established a national right to abortion is ever reversed by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Barr defies Dems

From:  William Barr: Attorney General’s appearance at House hearing still up in the air because of dispute with Democrats

The Democratic chairman, Jerry Nadler of New York, wants to allow all members of his panel at Thursday’s hearing to have one round of questioning of five minutes each, according to the source. He also wants to allow for a subsequent round of questioning of 30 minutes for each side, allowing both parties’ committee counsels to also engage in questioning during their respective turns.

Nadler also is proposing that the committee should go into closed session to discuss the sections of the report that are redacted.

But Barr has rejected those proposals for additional rounds of questioning, according to the source. The Justice Department has informed Nadler’s office that Barr doesn’t want the committee counsels to be allowed to question him, the source said, prompting the attorney general to threaten to not show up next week if Nadler follows this format, the source said. He also has objected to holding a closed session to discuss the full report.

Immigration

From:  Mexico deports Hondurans amid pressure to reduce migration

MEXICO CITY — Mexican immigration authorities say they have returned 104 migrants by plane to Honduras.

The flight back to Honduras on Saturday came amid pressure on Mexico from the government of President Donald Trump to clamp down on migration to the U.S.

From:  Immigrants Prevented or Minimized Population Loss in a Fifth of U.S. Counties

An influx of immigrants prevented or significantly softened population loss last year in more than 1 in 5 U.S. counties, including the one where Erie is located, according to a Stateline analysis of new census figures. Immigration either prevented population decline or cut it by at least 10% in those areas.

In recent years, even some big cities that have been magnets for young people have experienced population loss or slower growth, in large part because of escalating housing costs.

But in more than half of the largest urban counties, defined by the National Center for Health Statistics as part of a central city of a million or more, immigration stopped or significantly lessened population loss, according to the analysis.

See also:  U.S. Births Dip To 30-Year Low; Fertility Rate Sinks Further Below Replacement Level

Bolsonaro

From:  The Amazon Tribes Battling Brazil’s Bolsonaro

The Kayapó war cry resounds deep in the Amazon, the world’s largest rainforest. Four dozen warriors, their headdresses made of yellow and red macaw feathers, stand in the village clearing, carrying shotguns and war clubs. Warrior women, the crowns of their heads shaved, sing high-pitched war cries and wave machetes in the air.

Kruwyt, the elderly male chief in the A’Ukre village, then leads them in the pry’ongrere— a battle dance for “chasing after the enemy.” Their declared enemy is none other than Brazil’s new president, Jair Bolsonaro. The right-wing former captain, who took office in January, has slammed what he sees as the excessive legal protection afforded to Brazil’s 305 ethnic groups and the “enormity” of their constitutionally mandated land reserves.

“We are ready to go to war against any misstep from President Bolsonaro,” Kruwyt tells the group, their bodies patterned with black fruit dye, a sign of war. “He wants to reduce our land, he wants to end our traditions, and we are warriors defending our rainforest, our river, our culture.”