Trump’s belligerence towards Iran plays into the hands of Tehran’s hardliners |

 By Saeed Kamali Dehghan

White House puts Iran ‘on notice’ over missile testThe US president’s attacks on Iran are coming thick and fast, but they’re likely to prove counterproductive

“Iranians know too well from their own experience with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, their hardline former president, how dangerous it is to have a politician telling you passionately half of the truth without caring that the other half is often a lie or a distortion of facts.”

Essay by: Saeed Kamali Dehghan is a staff journalist with the Guardian. He has previously written from the Iranian capital, Tehran. He is now based in London and was named 2010 Journalist of the Year at the Foreign Press Association awards.

• His email | @SaeedKD

To read the complete essay go here: Trump’s belligerence towards Iran plays into the hands of Tehran’s hardliners | Saeed Kamali Dehghan | Opinion | The Guardian

It’s Not All About the Kids, Part 2 | Eclectablog

Mitchell Robinson has posted a new item, ‘It’s Not All About the Kids, Part 2’, at Eclectablog.

You may view the latest post at
http://www.eclectablog.com/2017/02/its-not-all-about-the-kids-part-2.html

Source: It’s Not All About the Kids, Part 2 | Eclectablog

Trump’s plans to undo regulation from the financial crisis are “Insane,” said the head of the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission — Quartz

On Feb. 3, US president Donald Trump signed an executive order ordering the Treasury Secretary to review the laws and regulations governing the financial system. It was the first concrete step towards his promise, as a candidate, to dismantle the Dodd-Frank Act—the more than 800 pages (pdf) of laws, passed in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, that were supposed to bring an end to “too big too fail” and stop banks using debt to trade for their own profit.

Phil Angelides was chairman of the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission from 2009 to 2011, created by the US Congress to investigate the causes of the crisis. Angelides got to see the impacts up close: He oversaw 700 witness testimonies and public hearings from Miami to Sacramento, while interviewing banks and regulators. Dodd-Frank was passed while he was on the job. He said yesterday that Trump’s plans to pull it apart were “insane.” Here is his full statement:

In the wake of the financial crisis, millions of families lost their homes. Millions of people lost their jobs. The economy was wrecked and communities across the country were devastated. Big Wall Street banks admitted wrongdoing and paid tens of billions of dollars in fines. And now, with bankers at his side, President Trump begins to rip apart protections put in place to protect America’s families and our economy. Insane.

Trump’s main argument for dismantling the law is that it stifles lending. “I have so many people, friends of mine, who have nice businesses who can’t borrow money,” he said at a meeting with CEOs the day he signed the order. Among them were leaders of the big Wall Street banks who will benefit the most from having Dodd-Frank gutted. “There’s nobody better to tell me about Dodd-Frank than Jamie,” Trump said, pointing to Jamie Dimon, the CEO of JPMorgan Chase.

In the markets, bank stocks have been one of the biggest winners from Trump’s election, as investors have anticipated deregulation.

READ MORE HERE: Trump’s plans to undo regulation from the financial crisis are “Insane,” said the head of the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission — Quartz

How Betsy DeVos Ignored And Targeted Michigan Republicans To Advance Her Hardline Education Ideology | The Huffington Post

“DeVos’ views on public education are well outside the mainstream of either party.”

Source: How Betsy DeVos Ignored And Targeted Michigan Republicans To Advance Her Hardline Education Ideology | The Huffington Post

Originally published on www.capitalandmain.com

By Danny Feingold

With Senate confirmation of Donald Trump’s education secretary nominee Betsy DeVos now hanging by the thread of a likely tie-breaking vote from Vice President Mike Pence, one thing has become apparent: DeVos’ views on public education are well outside the mainstream of either party.

Perhaps less well known is that DeVos has demonstrated a willingness to override and even go after Republicans who fail to completely embrace her program of charter schools, vouchers and deregulation.

The defections this week of GOP Senators Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, who both announced that they would vote against DeVos, underscore a fact that Michigan Republicans have known for some time. DeVos is committed to an ideological stance on education that leaves little room for compromise. And as one of the state’s wealthiest and most powerful political donors — in the 2016 election year alone, she and her husband, Dick DeVos Jr., gave $2.7 million to Republican candidates — Betsy DeVos has the clout to enforce her will. (Since 1999, DeVos and her extended family has spent an estimated $82 million on political campaigns at the state and federal levels.)

Republican State Senator Goeff Hansen, who represents Michigan’s 34th District, learned a painful lesson last year about Devos’ hardline positions. Hansen became the unlikely champion of an extraordinary bipartisan effort, the Coalition for the Future of Detroit Schoolchildren, to rescue Detroit Public Schools (DPS) from years of financial insolvency and woeful academic performance. A central goal was to fix the destabilizing free-for-all system — likened by some to the Wild West — in which a dozen or more entities could open and close schools with virtually no oversight.

That campaign, which unfolded over several years, eventually encompassed an almost unheard of alliance of teachers unions, charter schools, business leaders, legislators from both parties, civil rights organizations and grassroots advocacy groups.

TO FIND OUT WHAT ELSE HAPPENED FOLLOW THIS LINK:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/how-betsy-devos-ignored-and-targeted-michigan-republicans_us_5895228de4b0985224db554f