Cohen v. Trump (Blog stage 3)

This editorial from the New York Times is quite interesting. I have been following this case from the beginning. The article discusses the whole situation that Michael Cohen has landed himself in. Many news watchers don't know a lot of history on Cohen and the crimes he has committed other than the paying off a couple women in order for them not to talk about what occurred with president Donald Trump. He hasn't lived a perfect life, but neither has Trump. The article states that Trump mentioned the whole situation being a simple private transaction. I agree with the editor of this article in a sense that Cohen has a previous criminal record. The article doesn't go into great detail about how Trump has at times knew what happened. I am not a fan of Trump or his lies. The editorial states that Cohen basically saying Trump pushed him in the direction of doing these crimes. As a attorney you would think these criminal actions would not be happening. Corruption is big at this time in regards the our national government and it all starts with Trump in my opinion. Unfortunately anyone that gets close to Trump has a chance of legal trouble. The intended audience in this editorial is set for the general public and their put was to basically inform people of what occurred between Cohen, Trump, and the two women that were paid to not disclose certain information. Ultimately this editorial was very informative. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/12/opinion/cohen-sentenced-prison-trump.html

Stage Eight: Comment on a colleague’s work #2

https://usgovernmentblogswithbrendan.blogspot.com/2018/12/blog-stage-7.html?showComment=1544829967015#c8585296533325566234

Blog Stage Six: Comment on a colleague's work #1

https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=3675201028701802894&postID=1797267565678424750&page=1&token=1544828481884

Afghanistan inabilities!

This article touches on a couple things that I would like to address. Afghanistan has been a war zone for many years. This article talks about the three soldiers that died from a road side bomb. This wouldn't have happened if the enemy didn't have a strong hold on that city. The United States and others countries have sacrificed lives and spent large amounts of money fighting this war. I personally got to experience the transition of combat operations to train and assist operations. During this time there was a surge of troops deployed to Afghanistan and then a rapid decrease. When the we had a decrease in troops there became a increase in Taliban activity and the number of members. On my last tour to Afghanistan combat operations picked up. We basically went with the Afghan commandos on their missions in order to make sure everything goes smoothly. In my opinion there needs to be a larger number of troops in Afghanistan. Maybe not as many as in 2012, but more than the current number. Currently most combat operations are being performed by special operators and infantrymen attached to their units. There is a key element with higher number of troops in a country like that. The enemy would think twice about certain attacks. It won't eliminate them, but would decrease certain ones. The presence decreases the enemy from performing some attacks. I remember first hand how difficult my last deployment was due to the lack of troops to conduct missions. I believe its more of a political statement to have such a low number of troops in Afghanistan. At times many Americans were complaining and making a statement of "bring our troops home". Yea it seems like a plan that will make everyone happy, but what about the troops that are in Afghanistan and their well being. My point is that if we are going to be over their we should have many more troops for security reasons. Power by numbers is a key element to improve the security of the troops. The military trainers can't do what they are supposed to if they are more worried about security. The other thing discussed in this article is all the hype about the general carrying a weapon. Usually this doesn't happen and high profile military members have a security team. It's like the president not being allowed to drive in a way. In my previous post I discussed how this general was almost killed during a attack. Of course he is going to be more prepared when something like that happened. Ultimately I wish everyone could come home, but if not I would rather see a higher number of troops willing to work together and get whatever they need to done.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/27/world/asia/us-soldiers-killed-afghanistan.html?rref=collection%2Ftimestopic%2FAfghanistan&action=click&contentCollection=world&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=4&pgtype=collection

U.S./ Mexico Wall

The topic of building a wall between the United States and Mexico has been a topic of interest for many people for some time now. President Trump wants a wall built, but in my opinion I don't think there is a point. The goal would be to not allow people to come to the United States illegally. Some people think the wall would keep people out and also keep drugs from coming into our country. What people don't realize is that if bad people want to do bad things then they will find a way. The drugs come from all over the world. Some people think the worst in people and never seem to open their eyes to reality. It seems to me that the United States spends money on things that are not needed. I also believe building this wall will cost some people their jobs. Why have border protection workers when you have a wall. The force will still exist, but I'm sure there will be decrease in the number of workers. Also as we almost always see when we elect a new president they seem to change everything that the former president done. Why build this wall and a new president decides to stop the wall building process. There would be a large financial lose. I still trust the process of becoming a citizen of the United States and I do feel bad for some of the people trying to come to the United States and make a better life. Ultimately I think the wall is a bad idea.

Afghanistan Election

https://www.boston.com/news/politics/2018/10/19/us-goals-in-afghanistan-seem-ever-more-distant-after-attack

The article I chose was written by Matthew Pennington of Boston Globe in regards to the recent attack in Kandahar, Afghanistan. During a security meeting there was a attack that resulted in the deaths of two senior provincial officials and the police chief. Also at this meeting was army General Scott Miller. I have read from many sources of this attack and some are very different. I spent three years in total in Afghanistan while in the military. I saw first hand how complex the Taliban can be at times. Their goal is to disrupt as much as possible. Fortunately the U.S. general was unharmed in this event. Some sources state that the target was the U.S. general and other sources indicate a different target. For several years now the U.S. has been trying to train and advise the Afghanistan government and military in order for them to take control of their country. At times it seems the U.S. takes one step forward and two back.The Taliban recruit very young and most of their attacks are done using explosives. The Taliban are responsible for so many deaths and injuries. Not only to all the different military, but to innocent civilians. Ultimately this was a close call for the U.S. general and the others that were unharmed.

Shifting of Funds

https://edition.cnn.com/2018/09/20/politics/hhs-shifting-money-cancer-aids-immigrant-children/index.html

This article written by Tal Kopan of CNN describes how the Trump organization is shifting funds from different resources to cover the cost of immigrant children detention. Different agencies from the National Cancer Institute to HIV/AIDS programs. The funds are shifted in order to house immigrant children that come to the U.S. alone or was separated from an adult at the border. This type of program isn't new. There is no need to have the Democrats help with this decision with the Republicans running both chambers of Congress.