#Department of State

[justinspoliticalcorner]

David Badash at NCRM:

In a 6-3 decision along partisan lines the right-wing justices on the U.S. Supreme Court once again targeted the landmark 2015 Obergefell same-sex marriage decision, leading liberal Justice Sonia Sotomayor to sound “alarm bells” on marriage equality in her dissent a legal expert says, warning that they may try to “roll it back.”

The case involves Sandra Muñoz, a U.S. citizen who argued that the federal government’s denial of a visa for her husband, who lives in El Salvador, deprives her of her constitutionally protected right to liberty. The right-wing majority in a decision written by Justice Amy Coney Barrett ruled: “A citizen does not have a fundamental liberty interest in her noncitizen spouse being admitted to the country.” Friday’s ruling “undermines same-sex marriage,” Bloomberg Law reports Justice Sotomayor’s dissent warns. Slate senior writer Mark Joseph Stern has covered the courts since 2013, and is the author of a 2019 book on the Roberts Supreme Court. “Justice Sotomayor, in dissent, accuses the conservative supermajority of cutting back the rights guaranteed in Obergefell—the same-sex marriage decision—and of repeating ‘the same fatal error’ it made in Dobbs,” Stern writes. “A very ominous opinion.”

[...] “A traveler to the United States two centuries ago reported that ‘‘[t]here is certainly no country in the world where the tie of marriage is so much respected as in America.’ ‘ ” “Today,” Sotomayor continued, “the majority fails to live up to that centuries-old promise. Muñoz may be able to live with her husband in El Salvador, but it will mean raising her U. S.-citizen child outside the United States. Others will be less fortunate. The burden will fall most heavily on same-sex couples and others who lack the ability, for legal or financial reasons, to make a home in the noncitizen spouse’s country of origin.” Again quoting Obergefell, she adds, “For those couples, this Court’s vision of marriage as the ‘assurance that while both still live there will be someone to care for the other’ rings hollow.” Stern warns: “I think Justice Sotomayor is clearly correct that the Supreme Court’s gratuitous attack on the constitutional rights of married couples in Muñoz—especially same-sex couples—suggests that the conservative justices hate Obergefell and may roll it back.” Sotomayor began her dissent also with a quote from Obergefell: “The right to marry is fundamental as a matter of history and tradition.”

SCOTUS Justice Sonia Sotomayor's dissent in the Department of State v. Muñoz case gave an alarming warning that the 6-3 radical right-wing majority's decision in Muñoz could imperil Obergefell v. Hodges and marriage equality.

See Also:

The Advocate: Justice Sotomayor: Supreme Court ruling in immigration case threatens marriage equality

[minilibrarian]

This week I had the privilege of visiting the oldest federal library in the country! I got to see some really cool historical documents up close (a chronicle signed by Thomas Jefferson, a pamphlet written by Alexander Hamilton, & George Washington’s personal dictionary) and learn more about the library’s unique, global work. Who says field trips should end after K-12?!

[generallemarc]

Link sucks, but article title is "Rubio's nomination welcomed by Uyghurs and Tibetans"

https://www.rfa.org/english/asia/2024/11/15/asia-marco-rubio-welcomed/

Alright Dems, let's see you turn this into a bad thing.

[whatstheusgovernmentdoing]

11/15/24 - White House

President Biden will participate the APEC Leaders' Informal Dialogue with Guests; and meet with world leaders Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru of Japan, President Yoon Suk Yeol of the Republic of Korea, and President Dina Boluarte Zegarra of the Republic of Peru

Department of State: A new agreement will allow the U.S. and the United Kingdom to exchange equipment and classified information for defensive purposes - The DoS has imposed visa restrictions on the Nicaraguan National Police due to their violations of civil liberties

Department of Defense: The DoD will be working harder to make sure all congressionally authorized funding to Ukraine arrive before the end of the Biden-Harris Administration in January

Department of Justice: Christopher Carl Meier has been sentenced to 35 years in prison for CSAM - The DoJ has found that the Fulton County Jail in Georgia violates the 8th and 14th Amendments - Money Launderer Ilya Lichtenstein has been sentenced to 5 years in prison - George Semerene Quintero has been sentenced to 30 months in prison for violating the IEEPA

Department of Commerce: The DoC has given TSMC Arizona $6.6B to manufacture semiconductors

Department of Labor: The DoL has secured $14K in back pay for employee who was illegally fired

Department of Health and Human Services: Five states have been approved to grant continuous eligibility to healthcare

Department of Housing and Urban Development: The HUD has given $37M to the Reno Housing Authority to expand affordable housing options

[thepastisalreadywritten]

[tomorrowusa]

The Kremlin often claimed it had the second-strongest military in the world, and many believed it. Today, many see Russia’s military as the second-strongest in Ukraine.

— US Seretary of State Antony Blinken speaking about Russia's strategic failure in Ukraine in a speech at Helsinki City Hall in Finland – the newest member of NATO. Department of State Transcript.

The entire speech can be seen here.

Blinken has turned out to be an excellent Secretary of State. That's what you get when you appoint competent and experienced people to office.

He was part of the Obama national security team. We see him in the most famous photograph from the Obama administration during the operation to get Osama bin Laden.

[im-a-fan-of-things]

Hey so I’m mega pissed about this, so I sent a message to the Department of State through their website’s contact form.

Wouldn’t it be awesome if we all flooded their inbox with angry letters directly after they made a huge mistake, telling them to reverse the decision?

Here’s what I wrote, if it helps you get started. I was. Very very mad while writing. So if folks have suggestions on more effective language, please share. And pls reblog with tags as always.

“I am writing to express my outrage at the Department of State’s decision to pause funding to the UNRWA.

The choice to withhold lifesaving funds at a time when tens of thousands of civilian lives have been lost and millions more face disease and famine in Gaza over allegations against seven individuals is heinous. Especially considering that so many countries have already pulled out that aid may be shut off entirely. With no hospitals or stable food sources left in Gaza, this act shows that United States government’s stance against terror is just a shield for its contempt for Palestinians as a whole.

We no longer live in a world where acts such as these will go tacitly accepted by the American people. Legal action is already in motion against the president and other deciding parties. The Department of State has betrayed those it deigns to serve, as well as humanity as a whole. The individuals within it, too, will be held accountable if they do not reverse this decision.”

Oh my gosh

This is pure evil. They say 12 employees participated in Oct 7th so they have to stop feeding the entire population????

[nationallawreview]

Are You Eligible for Passport Renewal Online?

In good news, the State Department has announced the roll-out of its new online passport renewal system. Eligible individuals can renew their 10-year passports online without having to mail in any documentation. Be sure to plan ahead if you are using the online service because only routine service is available – no expedited processing. Although applicants will not be required to turn in their…

[reasonsforhope]

Article | Paywall Free

"A bid to break up Alphabet Inc.’s Google is one of the options being considered by the Justice Department after a landmark court ruling found that the company monopolized the online search market, according to people with knowledge of the deliberations.

The move would be Washington’s first push to dismantle a company for illegal monopolization since unsuccessful efforts to break up Microsoft Corp. two decades ago. Less severe options include forcing Google to share more data with competitors and measures to prevent it from gaining an unfair advantage in AI products, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing private conversations.

Regardless, the government will likely seek a ban on the type of exclusive contracts that were at the center of its case against Google. If the Justice Department pushes ahead with a breakup plan, the most likely units for divestment are the Android operating system and Google’s web browser Chrome, said the people. Officials are also looking at trying to force a possible sale of AdWords, the platform the company uses to sell text advertising, one of the people said.

The Justice Department discussions have intensified in the wake of Judge Amit Mehta’s Aug. 5 ruling that Google illegally monopolized the markets of online search and search text ads. Google has said it will appeal that decision, but Mehta has ordered both sides to begin plans for the second phase of the case, which will involve the government’s proposals for restoring competition, including a possible breakup request.

The US plan will need to be accepted by Mehta, who would direct the company to comply. A forced breakup of Google would be the biggest of a US company since AT&T was dismantled in the 1980s."

-via Bloomberg, August 13, 2024

[mostly-funnytwittertweets]

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Nick Visser at HuffPost:

President-elect Donald Trump reportedly plans to name Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) as his secretary of state, The New York Times and Reuters reported Monday night. The Times, citing people familiar with Trump’s plans, said his decision could still change but appears to have firmed up after he considered naming Rubio his running mate before settling on Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio). Rubio was a fierce and loyal backer of Trump during the 2024 campaign. If confirmed, he will be the first Latino to serve in the role. Rubio would enter the Trump administration with a full plate as the U.S. continues to deal with crises in Ukraine and Israel. The senator told NBC in September that the only way Russia’s war with Ukraine will end would be a “negotiated settlement.” And he voted against military aid package to help the besieged nation in April, Reuters noted.

Florida Sen. Marco Rubio (R) is set to tapped as the Secretary of State for Don The Con’s 2nd term.

This will result in Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) making an appointment to fill the seat until a 2026 midterm special election to serve the remainder of Rubio’s term.

[aaronjhill]

Now, what about everyone else?

[whatisonthemoon]

U.S. Department of State Transcribing the Soviet News Program on Moon’s Ties to the Military-Industrial Complex

SOVIET TELEVISION PROGRAMMING;  CONTEXT AND CONTENT This paper was prepared for the Department of State as part of its external research program.  Views or conclusions contained therein should not be interpreted as representing the official opinion or policy of the Department of State

The rest of the program shifts the scene to the sources of the practices that have infiltrated the Soviet Union to such ill effect. Called "Love Moves the World," this part is an examination of the activities of Sun Myung Moon and the Unification Church. "The philosophy of ancient India is very interesting and deep," begins the narrator, but its manipulation had a very strong impact on a particular generation, "the so-called 'lost generation'" in the United States. Moon formed his empire with former citizens (refugees is the term used) of South Korea. His mission, he says is to free the world of communism to create heaven on earth. He is a businessman with an interest in military conflicts. There is footage of Vietnam, children suffering, planes overhead. Moon's ties with the CIA are described, and he is shown in a photograph.with Bo Hi Pak, identified as a former colonel in the South Korean army, an intelligence official. The seal of the CIA is shown next, and it is said that Moon supports cruelty in many forms. The Moon empire, as it is called, is involved with the military-industrial complex.  Specifically, "a factory belongs to him that produces the famous rifle, M-16."  There is footage of military conflicts, dead bodies, and the rifle.  The narrator informs the viewer that the Soviet military found a sample of this rifle.  "This is the infamous M-16."  It was sent to Indochina and later to the contras.  The narrator shows how it works:  "It can kill a woman or child in Indochina."  But the main point, he argues, is that the plants belonged to religious organizations "preaching about eternal happiness of man and spiritual bliss." There are angled shots of New York skyscrapers, and the viewer learns about Moon's ideas.  He is quoted in Newsweek as saying that the task of America is to fight communism on all fronts.  These words are blended with scenes of a foxhunt, with obvious wealth--be-ringed fingers, (chauffeur pouring punch from a silver punchbowl.  The "right wing" of the United States, the narrator continues, embraced Moon.  Typically, in the manner of politically motivated religious frauds,, Moon lives in luxury and preaches asceticism. Moon is shown to be extremely aware of and skilled in the use of the mass media.  He publishes magazines, newspapers, and video cassettes.  Moon's notion of the enemy in Central and South America does not accord with that of the program.  He terms enemy, "those who, on the Latin American continent, started the struggle against the anti-popular, dictatorship of fascist juntas."  However, Moon assists the Nicaraguan contras with his arms, as well as the "fascists in Paraguay."  The camera roams over areas of poverty in Latin America.  Nonetheless, in spite of these well-financed oppressors, according to the narrator, "adherents of the idea of peace have penetrated many branches of financial, economic, and ideological research in Latin American countries."  This remark is left undeveloped, but suggests a changing balance of forces, though at a very slow pace. As this section on Moon continues it focuses on what it calls Moon's political organ, CAUSA.  The president of CAUSA International is Bo Hi Pak, that same one, the narrator announces, shown earlier and connected to the CIA.  A film produced by CAUSA is excerpted, with voice-over by the Soviet narrator.  Pak says that "our task is to put an end to communism." Anti-communism is not enough; it is too defensive, too passive.  CAUSA uses the latest information technology (shots of computer terminals).  The Moon organization owns the Washington Times, a newspaper, the program states, that was created to oppose the Washington Post. American conservatives, the Soviet narrator says, "support the Times, because they cannot forgive the Post for Watergate." The CAUSA film displays graphically the threat posed by communism.  It shows speakers in front of maps.  Then the narrator says that CAUSA propagates falsehoods.  There follows black-and-white footage of Lenin, firing squads, famine, dead bodies ("killed by leftists" the CAUSA spokesman announces, according to the narrator), and Stalin.  "Of the whole history of the USSR, they chose the most bitter pages," the Soviet narrator observes, and there is film of Stalin in uniform reviewing troops.  The Soviet narrator goes on to identify these bitter pages:  "the famine on the Volga, the destruction after the Civil War" (footage of destroyed buildings).  The footage, however, continues, with more pictures of Stalin (older now), waving to a parade.  The narrator continues:  "and all these are called inalienable features of socialism (shots of groups of corpses). Naturally, there isn't a word about perestroika or that we ourselves have frankly denounced the mistakes of the past."  What is particularly interesting about this segment is that the footage comes from the CAUSA film program; the narration paraphrases the CAUSA spokesman, in part, and adds the Soviet perspective, in part.  Stalin is not named, though his face is seen repeatedly in footage of various stages of his rule.  He is part, indeed the exemplar, of the bitter pages for the Soviet narrator, but not named.

The CAUSA film shows a map of the world, with the red blot spreading over the continents, and the theme is communist expansionism.  "It turns out," the Soviet narrator says, "that fascism was not to blame for the annihilation of tens of millions of people, but rather communist expansion." A shot of Le Figaro is shown, with such a feature story. The Soviet narrator argues that although CAUSA talks about people escaping from communist countries it does not mention that most who do so are "under threat of criminal punishment." In Cuba they call such people "worms."  The narrator concludes that CAUSA confesses that it is unable to defeat communism, as the experience in El Salvador and Nicaragua shows. . . .  The final part of the Moon section is a particularly militant one:  Moon is shown performing the mass marriages his organization has arranged by pairing activists from the worldwide church organization.  They will produce a race; they will rid the world of communism.  The film of Moon is shown; he is saying, "I want the congregation to obey me, not their parents or the President." Then they will be ready to go out into the world as anti-communists

[whatstheusgovernmentdoing]

11/11/24 - White House

President Biden will be celebrating Veterans' Day Today, having veterans and active military members over at the White House, as well as visiting Arlington National Cemetery

Department of State: Secretary Blinken met with French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Noël Barrot to discuss the troops from the DPRK arriving at Ukraine and bringing an end to the war in Gaza

Department of Health and Human Services: Secretary Becerra releases data showing Uninsurance rate is lowest ever under Biden Administration

Department of Housing and Urban Development: Veteran Homelessness is now lowest on record (record started in 2009)

Department of Veterans' Affairs: New "ATLAS" program to eliminate copays for their telehealth services