Sorry, I had intended to give your inbox a break for a few days.
But then Donald Trump pardoned four of the men convicted for their roles in the massacre of 14 Iraqi civilians, and I wanted to say something about that.
- In 2007, employees of the private military contractor then known as Blackwater, using machine guns and grenade launchers, killed 14 Iraqi civilians — including a woman holding an infant — in what is known as the Nisour Square Massacre.
- Blackwater — a major piece of the military-industrial complex — was founded by Erik Prince, the brother of Donald Trump’s detestable Education Secretary, Betsy DeVos. (It has since “rebranded” itself under the name Academi.)
- According to investigators, at least one of the men kept shooting even after “cease fire” had been called and did not stop until after one of his own colleagues pulled a gun on him.
- Four of the Blackwater employees were tried and convicted in federal court, with one sentenced to life in prison.
- That is, until Donald Trump pardoned all four of them last night.
Meanwhile, Trump and his vile Attorney General, William Barr, are rushing to carry out as many executions as they can before their time in office runs out. The federal government has executed more people under Donald Trump in just the past six months than under any other president in this or the previous century.
And that’s not all the damage Trump is trying to do on his way out.
The Trump administration is scrambling to approve major mining and energy projects that will trash the environment. It is enabling predatory debt collectors. It is adopting rules to permit federal contractors to discriminate against LGBTQ people. It is trying to make it harder for injured people to collect Social Security Disability benefits.
And now Trump is even making noise about vetoing the coronavirus relief bill Congress finally passed this week.
Here’s what this all adds up to:
Donald Trump is still president.
He still has all the power that comes with that office.
And he is becoming more and more desperate and unhinged every day.
We are not out of the woods yet. And even though we are all tired of Trump’s inanity and ineptitude, his cruelty and corruption, WE SIMPLY MUST NOT ALLOW OURSELVES TO BE COMPLACENT.
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If donating today is not right for you, that’s okay. I hope you’ll understand that I have to ask from time to time — especially at this time of year — so that we have the resources to carry out all the essential work we have to do together.
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For democracy,
- Robert Weissman, President of Public Citizen
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