Cartoon

Qualifications

Written by SK Ashby

(Cartoonist - Matt Davies)

In other news, the U.S. drew more electricity from renewable energy sources (68.5 million megawatt-hours) than coal (60 million megawatt-hours) for the first time ever during the month of April according to the Energy Information Administration.

Some coal-fired power plants were shut down for routine maintenance at the time, but renewable energy has arrived.

Meanwhile, the Trump regime is reportedly planning to end or at least scale back a program that offers protection for the families of active-duty service members who are at risk of being deported.

Finally, Bloomberg reports that Trump has been privately talking about abandoning our defense treaty with Japan and one reason why involves the potential real estate value of land we're giving up.

While the president did not refer to the base by name in his recent conversations, there has been a running dispute surrounding the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma on Okinawa. The American presence has been controversial for more than two decades, since three servicemen raped a 12-year-old Okinawan girl in 1995. Local people still attribute the presence of the base to higher rates of crime and accidents in the area, according to the Council on Foreign Relations. [...]

Abe reached a deal in 2013 with Obama to move the base out of Okinawa as early as 2022 if a replacement could be constructed. But Trump believes the land underneath the base is valuable for development, and has told confidants the real estate could be worth about $10 billion, the people said.

He considers the situation another example of a wealthy country taking advantage of the U.S., the people said.

Please consider donating during this week's fundraiser. Thank you in advance.