Month: February 2017

ICE Detains Muhammad Ali Jr.

Buck Banks

The son of legendary boxer Muhammad Ali was detained for hours by immigration officials at a Florida airport. … Officials held and questioned Ali Jr. for nearly two hours, repeatedly asking him, ‘Where did you get your name from?’ and ‘Are you Muslim?’ When Ali Jr. responded that yes, he is a Muslim, the officers kept questioning him about his religion and where he was born. Ali Jr. was born in Philadelphia in 1972 and holds a U.S. passport.

— Louisville Courier-Journal

Spicer Said Media Shouldn’t Be Banned — In December

Buck Banks

I think we have a respect for the press when it comes to the government. That is something you can’t ban an entity from. Conservative, liberal or otherwise, that’s what makes a democracy a democracy versus a dictatorship.

— White House press secretary Sean Spicer, quoted by the Washington Post, on Dec. 16, 2016. On Friday, Feb. 24, 2017, Spicer blocked several media outlets from a White House briefing.

Woman Awaiting Brain Surgery Forcibly Detained

Buck Banks

A critically ill woman from El Salvador who was awaiting emergency surgery for a brain tumor was forcibly moved from a Texas hospital to a detention center by federal agents, raising concerns about President Trump’s directive to more aggressively pursue people living in the country illegally. … Sara Beltran-Hernandez, 26, a mother of two young children, was bound by her hands and feet and removed by wheelchair from Huguley Hospital in Fort Worth by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents who brought her to a detention facility in Alvarado, Texas.

— The Los Angeles Times

Therapists Nationwide Are Overwhelmed

Buck Banks

in her 35 years as a therapist, Arlene Drake has never heard so many clients talking about the same issue. Week after week, they complain of panic attacks and insomnia because of President Trump. They’re too anxious to concentrate at work. One woman’s fear turned into intense, physical pain. … Therapists nationwide say they’ve been overwhelmed by the strong feelings triggered by one of the most divisive figures in modern political history.

— Los Angeles Times

Air Force Can’t Find Trump’s $1 Billion in ‘Savings’

Buck Banks

$1 billion

“The Air Force can’t account for $1 billion in savings that President Donald Trump said he’s negotiated for the program to develop, purchase and operate two new Boeing jets to serve as Air Force One,” Bloomberg reports. Said Air Force spokesman Colonel Pat Ryder: “To my knowledge I have not been told that we have that information. I refer you to the White House.”

‘Trump Slump’ Drops Tourism to U.S.

Buck Banks

Though they may differ as to the wisdom of the move, the travel press and most travel experts are of one mind: They are currently drawing attention to an unintended consequence of the Trump-led efforts to stop many Muslims from coming to the U.S., pointing to a sharp drop in foreign tourism to our nation that imperils jobs and touristic income. … It’s known as the ‘Trump Slump.’ And I know of no reputable travel publication to deny it. … Thus, the prestigious Travel Weekly magazine (as close to an ‘official’ travel publication as they come) has set the decline in foreign tourism at 6.8%. And the fall-off is not limited to Muslim travelers, but also extends to all incoming foreign tourists. Apparently, an attack on one group of tourists is regarded as an assault on all.

— Frommers