President Donald Trump called Wednesday for a U.S. withdrawal from Syria over the apparent objections of military advisers and a bipartisan group of lawmakers.
We have defeated ISIS in Syria, my only reason for being there during the Trump Presidency.
The withdrawal of the more than 2,000 troops is based on Trump’s decision that the mission against ISIS is complete, a U.S. official told USA TODAY.
Military leaders, including Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, in recent weeks and months have spoken of the need for U.S. troops to remain in the eastern part of the country to help stabilize it and allow for peace negotiations to proceed.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., derided Trump’s decision to withdraw, likening it to those made by former President Barack Obama to announce ahead of time plans to reduce forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“Withdrawal of this small American force in Syria would be a huge Obama-like mistake,” Graham tweeted.
Members of the Scottish Parliament must have overindulged at this year’s Christmas party after deciding to change the name of gingerbread men to a gingerbread person in their on-sight cafe so they didn’t cause offence.
The move comes as a strategy aimed at stamping out sexual harassment and sexism was introduced at Holyrood this week after a survey found 30 per cent of women working there believed they had been sexually harassed.
The change of direction hasn’t gone down well with some, however, with Scottish Conservative equalities spokesman Annie Wells saying:
“Surely the Scottish Parliament has got better things to do than worry about what to call gingerbread men? This is an utterly pointless gesture which simply trivialises the real issues of gender equality.”
Sugar levels must have been through the roof as the coffee shop decided to alter the name of the sweet treat in favour of political correctness which has clearly gone absolutely mad north of the border.
2018 Farm Bill Passes Through Congress, Will Now Go to Trump’s Desk
On Tuesday, the U.S. Senate voted 87-13 to pass the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, better known as the Farm Bill. The massive legislation is the primary agriculture and food policy tool of thefederal government, dealing with trade, rural development, farm subsidies, conservation, research,food and nutrition programs and much more. The components of the 2018 Farm Bill addresschanges to the federal food aid program SNAP, forestry and conservation, crop insurance and measures aimed to help farmers hurting from Trump’s trade war with China. This year’s farm bill alsoincludesfar-reaching provisions that lift the ban on hemp, authorize hemp production and research and amend the Controlled Substances Act. And if the House votes to pass the bill and Trumpsigns it, the U.S. government will have lifted its long-standing prohibition on commercial hemp.
2018 Farm Bill Clears Congress, Paving Way for Legal Hemp
Renewed roughly every half-decade, the Farm Bill is traditionally a highly controversial piece of legislation. The 2018 Farm Bill was no different, prompting such intense debate that Congress failed to pass it before the previous bill expired on September 30. Among the major points of contestation was the issue of requirements for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). SNAP is a federal food aid program, aka “food stamps,” that more than 40 million Americans—12 percent of the population—rely on. Republicans in Congress and President Trump had pushed for stricter requirements for food stamp recipients. But after Democrats regained control of the House in midterm elections, Republicans had to walk back their more radical proposals.
One component of the Farm Bill that faced virtually no opposition, however, was Sen. Mitch McConnell‘s (R-Ky.) proposals to legalize industrial hemp. McConnell had already added some hemp-related provisions to the 2014 farm bill that led to 35 states establishing hemp cultivation industries. Butthe 2018 version of the bill goes even further.
If It Passes, 2018 Farm Bill Will Transform U.S. Hemp Industry
In the first place, the 2018 Farm Bill would authorize hemp as a supplemental and alternative crop. It would allow federal agencies to assess the economic viability of hemp’s production and sale. And it would authorize federal agriculture research into hemp cultivation and production. With 35 U.S. states having already legalized commercial hemp, the 2018 Farm Bill would permit interstate commerce and resolve legal questions about the legality of hemp-based products.
Furthermore, the 2018 Farm Bill would amend the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). Since 1970, the CSA has listed hemp along with heroin and methamphetamine as a Schedule I controlledsubstance. If it passes, the farm bill would alter the CSA for the first time, exempting the entire hemp plantand all of its derivates from the Schedule I designation. To do this, the bill changes thedefinition of hemp to include any of its extracts, seeds, acids, salts and isomers that do not exceed 0.3 percent THC by dry weight.
Additionally, the 2018 Farm Bill gives states control over regulating hemp cultivation. And it gives hemp farmers access to federal crop insurance for the first time. These changes stand to transformthe U.S. hemp industry. States that have already established industries would no longer have toworry about federal enforcement actions. And more farmers would have access the the safety-netneeded to securely invest in hemp cultivation.
2018 Farm Bill Could Lead to Federally Regulated CannabidiolProducts
Furthermore, the bill would catalyze the already booming hemp-derived CBD market. Analysts expect the total CBD industry in the U.S. to top $22 billion over the next four years. Hemp is an excellent source of cannabidiol (CBD), the non-psychoactive cannabinoid at the center of many medical cannabis treatments. Thus, if the farm bill passes, the U.S. could see the FDA start to evaluate hemp-derived products, including CBD. In other words, the 2018 Farm Bill would open a path for the federal approval and regulation of CBD products for medicinal and therapeutic use.
The lame-duck House will vote on the 2018 Farm Bill today. If it clears the House, the bill will head to President Trump for signing or veto.
A wild scene played out in the White House Tuesday after President Trump summoned the incoming speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), and the Senate Minority leader, Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) to negotiate the federal budget, including funding for the border wall.
The meeting was attempted to avert a government shutdown. Reporters were summoned after the parties apparently made headway toward an agreement.
Things took a turn, however, when Pelosi began threatening there would be a “Trump shutdown” if they couldn’t come to terms. Trump eventually said he would be “proud” to shut down the government is he was doing so to protect the border.
"If we don't get what we want," Trump said. "I will shut down the government ... I am proud to shutdown the government for border security."
Pelosi and Schumer began pleading with Trump not to discuss their budget negotiations in front of reporters, but instead keep their talks "private." Pelosi said they came in “good faith” and never intended to discuss these negogiations “in public view.”
Speaking of the border wall, Schumer said: "It doesn't solve the problem."
Trump quickly shot back: "It totally solves the problem."
Schumer and Pelosi appeared unprepared to debate the issue in public, and Schumer asked Trump, “Let’s debate in private.”
Here’s a rush excerpt of the exchange:
PELOSI: "Let's call a halt to this. We have come in here with the first branch of government. Article one. The legislative branch. We are coming in good faith to negotiate with you about how we can keep the government open."
SCHUMER: "Open."
TRUMP: "We are going to keep it open if we have border security. If we don't have border security, Chuck, we are not going to keep it open."
PELOSI: "We will have border security."
SCHUMER: "You are bragging about what has been done. We want to do the same thing we did last year this year. That's our proposal if it's good then, it's good now and it won't shut down the government."
TRUMP: "We're can build more."
SCHUMER: "Let's debate in private.
TRUMP: "We need border security."
SCHUMER: "Yes, we do."
TRUMP: "See, we get along. Thank you, everybody."
REPORTER: “You say border security and the wall. Can you have border security without the wall?"
TRUMP: "You need the wall. The wall is a part of border security."
After the meeting, Pelosi and Schumer spoke to reporters outside the White House. Pelosi told reporters she wanted to keep their negotiations private because it would be rude to correct Trump in public. SEE VIDEO BELOW
“I hear the reporters or Fox reporters saying why did we not want transparency in this discussion,” she said. “We don't want to contradict the president when he was putting forth figures that had no reality to them, no basis in fact. We had to if we are going to proceed in all of this have evidence-based factual, truthful information about what works and what doesn't. I didn't want to in front of those people say you don't know what you are talking about."
