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Quick Quotes
Quick Quotes
“I believe I was fired because I opened a case against the president of the United States.”
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“I love you, I’ve been shot at work.”
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“…the European Commission would react in a swift and adequate manner.”
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“Clark County Public Health is continuing its measles outbreak investigation and has identified two new confirmed cases.”
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“No V4 meeting in Israel is going to happen.”
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Have a great week!
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Uncategorized
Did You Know?
“Presidents Day” Isn’t Even A Federal Holiday
The official federal holiday is:
George Washington’s Birthday
But, “Presidents’ Day”, “President’s Day”, or “Presidents Day” is a state-level holiday in most states
Uncategorized
How Did “Washington’s Birthday” Become Known As “Presidents Day”?
In 1968, Congress moved the holiday from Washington’s birthday to the 3rd Monday in February in order to give federal workers a 3-day wknd & spur economic growth.
Ironically, President Washington was quite a shopper.
Uncategorized
Click For Shoes“Mrs. Washington’s slippers and clogs have come safe to hand, the latter, however, are not as she wished to have… and will, by the first convenient opportunity, return the clogs to Mr. Palmer and get a pair of galoshes.”
Uncategorized
Facts About The First:
Pres. George Washington
- Presided over the Constitutional Convention, where document was created, signed and ratified.
- Unanimously elected president twice (1789 & 1792).
- His birthday (Feb. 22) was an unofficial holiday celebrated by for many years; not a federal holiday until 80 yrs after his death.
Uncategorized
What About Lincoln?
- President Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809, but contrary to popular belief, Presidents Day does NOT honor both presidents.
- Presidents Reagan & Harrison were also born in February.
- President Washington & MLK Jr. are the ONLY two Americans whose birthdays are *official* federal holidays.
Uncategorized
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Now You Know
SmartHER News
Week Ahead
February 17 - 23
Now You Know
Click "view sources" for notable news events to kick off your week feeling #SmartHER. Watch SmartHerNews.com or our social media feeds for updates on these stories all week long.
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On This Day
#OTD in 1968
The First 9-1-1 Call
You know the number to dial in an emergency, but it wasn’t always that way.
Why we have Haleyville, Alabama to thank for answering the call.
wait, where?
On This Day
Putting It On the Map
- Safety officials & Congress took 10 years before the FCC & AT&T decided to create a nat’l emergency system.
- Not all citizens used AT&T; Local phone companies had to agree.
- Alabama Telephone Co., mad it was excluded from talks, selected Haleyville, designed & built its system in a week, & made the first 9-1-1 call two weeks before AT&T.
On This Day
Why 9-1-1?
- Simple & easy to remember.
- Dialed quickly in emergency – even on a rotary phone.
- Never previously used as an area code or service code.
- U.K.’s 9-9-9, the first universal emergency number in the world, would be too easy to misdial.
- Canada agreed; adopting America’s 9-1-1 in the 1970s.
On This Day
9-1-1 in Modern Times
- Text to 9-1-1 not available in most of the U.S.; FCC: system needs to be updated.
- If your cell is charged & can reach a signal, you can call 9-1-1 without a provider contract.
- State laws differ, but calling 9-1-1 in a non-emergency may result in criminal penalties.
- Remember: you pay for 9-1-1 service through provider fees.
On This Day
By the end of 1976, 9-1-1 emergency system served 17% of the U.S. population. Today, it reaches almost 97% of America. With 80% of those calls from wireless devices, a far cry from the rotary phone used 51 years ago today.
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From The President’s Desk
President Trump Declares Border Emergency
“It’s very simple: We want to stop drugs from coming into our country. We want to stop criminals and gangs from coming into our country.”
From The President’s Desk
Declaration: The Basics
- Plan: Take billions of dollars Congress already allocated to different departments (such as military-construction) & “re-assign” it for border security.
- It would add approx. $6B for 200+ miles of border wall *in addition to* the approx. $1.4B (50+ miles) Congress approved.
Can He Do It?
From The President’s Desk
Some Say He Can:
“This is authority given to the president in law already. It’s not as if he just didn’t get what he wanted so he’s waving a magic wand and taking a bunch of money.”
From The President’s Desk
Some Say He Can’t
“This is plainly a power grab by a disappointed president, who has gone outside the bounds of the law to try to get what he failed to achieve in the constitutional legislative process.”
From The President’s Desk
Past nat’l emergency declarations incl. sanctions and/or $$ for emergency disasters
(natural & man-made) such as:
- President Bush: 2 declarations after 9/11 related to terrorism (continued to this day).
- President Obama: swine flu outbreak 2009.
- President Trump: sanctions “in event” of election interference.
From The President's Desk
Advocacy groups, landowners, state governments & beyond can legally challenge Pres. Trump's declaration. Federal law doesn’t define an emergency. The President can declare it but Congress can terminate it. Bottom Line: This ain't over folks.
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Coffee Talk
Friday,
February 15, 2019
Coffee Talk
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Quick Quotes
“Thanks Lieutenant Dan.”
Quick Quotes
“President Trump will sign the government funding bill, and as he has stated before, he will also take other executive action – including a national emergency – to ensure we stop the national security and humanitarian crisis at the border.”
Quick Quotes
“The one thing that’s predictable about Amazon is that they’re unpredictable.”
Quick Quotes
“Today is a great day for the Department of Justice… “
Quick Quotes
“… the President remains in very good health overall.”
Quick Quotes
TGIF!
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Now You Know
The Worst of the Worst
He’s escaped twice before so where will convicted drug lord “El Chapo” Guzmán serve time?
Inside America’s only “Supermax” prison and what life is like for its most notorious felons.
Now You Know
“Alcatraz of the Rockies”
- U.S. Penitentiary Administrative Maximum Facility (Known as “ADX”) in Florence, CO, 90 miles south of Denver.
- City lobbied for the $60M prison, with residents donating the 600 acres needed.
- Highest-security prison in U.S.
- Opened in 1994, designed to be “escape-proof.” To date, no one has ever escaped.
Now You Know
“This place is not designed for humanity. When it’s 23 hours a day in a room with a slit of a window… It’s not designed for rehabilitation. Period. End of story.”
Now You Know
Why Do We Have ADX?
- In 1983, worst criminals went to Marion, IL federal prison, but 2 inmates killed 2 security guards.
- Gov’t was convinced to build a new prison to isolate prisoners.
“No way to control a very small subset of the inmate population who show absolutely no concern for human life.”
Norman Carlson, Fmr. Director of Federal Bureau of Prisons
Now You Know
Infamous Inmates:
- Unabomber Ted Kaczynski
- Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev
- 9/11 conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui
- 1993 World Trade Center bombing mastermind Ramzi Yousef
- OK City bomber Terry Nichols
- Underwear bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab
Now You Know
Life on the Inside
- 400 all-male prisoners.
- Most inmates spend 22-24 hours a day in solitary confinement & go days w/o words spoken to them.
- All meals, bathroom & showers in 7-by-12-foot cell.
- Most cells have TVs with access to books & magazines.
- All visits are non-contact.
- Surrounded by wire fence & armed guards.
Now You Know
Prison Controversy
- Several prisoners have filed lawsuits against the Bureau of Prisons over ADX conditions.
- Concern is over solitary confinement & what it does to inmates mentally & physically.
- 9/11 conspirator Moussaoui sued, calling it “psychological torture.”
- Per Bureau of Prisons rules, inmates with a “significant mental disorder” aren’t allowed at ADX.
Now You Know
Guzmán (59) was extradited from Mexico on the condition U.S. prosecutors wouldn't seek the death penalty. He was found guilty on all 10 counts, but vows to appeal. He'll be sentenced June 25th & we'll learn where he will serve his life sentence - with no chance of parole.
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Quote of the Day
“Forget conventionalisms; forget what the world will say, whether you are in your place or out of your place; think your best thoughts, speak your best words, do your best works, looking to your own conscience for approval.”
Susan B. Anthony
Quote of the Day
#OTD 199 years ago women's rights activist Susan B. Anthony was born. She dedicated her life to securing the vote for women. Although she died 14 years before the 19th Amendment passed, she was honored years later, becoming the 1st woman to appear on a U.S. coin.
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Current Events
A “National Emergency” At The U.S. Southern Border?
A president can declare a national emergency – EVERY president since 1976 has done so – *BUT* may President Trump do so in order to fund a border wall?
Current Events
The Latest
Pres. Trump will reportedly sign the $1.375B gov’t funding bill to avoid another gov’t shutdown *AND* declare a national emergency to obtain more $$ for border security.
Democrats, like House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), & some Republicans, like Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) have expressed criticism about the Pres’s choice to act unilaterally.
Current Events
The 1976 National Emergencies Act allows a president to declare an emergency in order to, among other things:
- take property & commodities
- limit travel & prohibit trade
- invoke martial law & send troops
The Act does NOT define “national emergency.” The president must use existing laws to do so.
Current Events
Presidential Power Limits
- The president must identify an existing law to invoke the emergency power (ex: use the legal definition of an “immigration emergency” to make his case).
- Emergencies expire after one year UNLESS renewed.
- Emergencies can be rescinded any time via a joint resolution passed by both houses of Congress.
Current Events
BOTTOM LINE: Yes, it is within President Trump's legal authority to declare a national emergency w/o Congress' approval, *HOWEVER* if he does it to build a border wall, he is all but guaranteed to face a legal challenge, which could extend into 2020 campaign season.
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Coffee Talk
Happy Valentines Day!
February 14, 2019
Coffee Talk
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Quote of the Day
“Love, gratitude, compassion, because sometimes every man or every woman will drive their partner crazy.”
Goldie Hawn
Quote of the Day
The iconic Goldie Hawn on how she makes her relationship last. She and partner Kurt Russell have been happily unmarried for 35 years.
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