Monday, November 27, 2017

Office Of The Governor Offers Reward In Murder Case Of Texas Border Patrol Agent

Austin, TX - November 27, 2017 (The Ponder News) -- Governor Greg Abbott has authorized a reward up to $20,000 through the Texas Crime Stoppers program for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for the murder of a U.S. Border Patrol agent and the serious injury of another. All tips are guaranteed to be anonymous.

Agent Rogelio Martinez died Sunday as a result of injuries sustained while on patrol in the Big Bend area. His partner, who was injured, remains in the hospital in serious condition.

“We owe a great deal of gratitude to the brave men and women of the United States Border Patrol who serve every day to protect our homeland,” said Governor Abbott. “Cecilia and I offer our deepest condolences to the families of the agents killed and seriously injured in this attack. As authorities continue their investigation, it is important that they receive any and all information to help apprehend and deliver swift justice to those responsible.”

To be eligible for the cash rewards, anyone with information on fugitives can provide anonymous tips in three different ways:

  • Call the Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-252-TIPS (8477)
  • Text the letters ‘DPS’ - followed by your tip - to 274637 (CRIMES) from your cell phone
  • Submit a web tip by visiting https://www.tipsubmit.com/WebTipsCSI.aspx?L=E&AgencyID=650.

    Texas Crime Stoppers is a program within the Office of the Governor under the Criminal Justice Division (and administered by the Texas Department of Public Safety) that encourages, supports and fosters the development of local crime stoppers organizations as a way to prevent crime. This grant is provided under the Crime Stoppers Fallen Hero Reward program.


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  • Court Strikes Abortion Buffer Zone Law

    Newark, NJ - November 27, 2017 (The Ponder News) -- A New Jersey federal court struck down a City of Englewood eight-foot buffer zone that prohibits pro-life speech near abortion facilities. Applying the U.S. Supreme Court's unanimous 2014 opinion in McCullen v. Coakley, which held unconstitutional an identically worded Massachusetts buffer zone law, the New Jersey court ruled the ordinance violates the First Amendment.

    The decision provides fresh optimism for Liberty Counsel's lawsuit against the City of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, to strike down the twenty-foot buffer zone ordinance passed by the City at the behest of Planned Parenthood. The Harrisburg ordinance violates the constitutional rights of Liberty Counsel's clients Becky Biter and Colleen Reilly, who are Christian sidewalk counselors being prevented from telling women about alternatives to abortion they will not hear once inside Planned Parenthood. Just as in Englewood, the Harrisburg City Council failed to consider any less restrictive alternatives to its speech ban, opting instead to become enthusiastic agents for the Planned Parenthood agenda.

    Both New Jersey and Pennsylvania are in the same federal appellate jurisdiction, covered by the U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals, where Liberty Counsel has already secured an early victory in the Harrisburg case. The Harrisburg trial court is now bound by the favorable Third Circuit ruling as the case proceeds, and should be favorably influenced by the plainly sound reasoning of its sister court in New Jersey.

    "The New Jersey decision is a great example of clear constitutional reasoning, uncorrupted by the 'abortion distortion' that has pervaded so many court decisions since Roe v. Wade," said Mat Staver, Founder and Chairman of Liberty Counsel. "The decision should be an encouragement to pro-life sidewalk counselors around the country, and a warning to state and local governments who increasingly abdicate their duties to uphold the constitutional rights of their citizens in order to carry water for Planned Parenthood," said Staver.

    Liberty Counsel is an international nonprofit, litigation, education, and policy organization dedicated to advancing religious freedom, the sanctity of life, and the family since 1989, by providing pro bono assistance and representation on these and related topics.


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    San Diego Abortion Facility Where Abortionist Engaged in Demonic Rant Has Closed

    By Cheryl Sullenger

    San Diego, CA - November 27, 2017 (The Ponder News) -- FPA Women’s Health, a chain of California abortion facilities, has shut down its troubled office on Miramar Road in San Diego, effective on Friday, November 17, 2017.

    The San Diego location was the site of an incident involving abortionist Robert Santella and pro-life activist Zephaniah Mel. Santella threatened Mel with a pair of surgical scissors during a bizarre demonic rant, that included hissing and a confession that he loved killing children during abortions.

    That behavior, along with complaints of malpractice and botched abortions, resulted in Santella’s firing from the abortion chain, which he had been affiliated with for over 30 years. Santella was forced to surrender his medical license after the California Medical Board charged him with negligence and unprofessional conduct.



    Operation Rescue confirmed that Santella’s medical license has been surrendered and his private office on College Avenue in San Diego, where he also conducted abortions, is also closed.

    The FPA office was also the scene of several medical emergencies that required ambulance transport, including one in September 2015, when a mother accompanying her daughter for an abortion was forced to call an ambulance for her bleeding daughter when the FPA Women’s Health staff refused. Her action likely saved her daughter’s life.

    FPA Women’s Health has had a presence in San Diego County since the 1980s. The high-volume abortion business, which once boasted that its “doctors” spent only three minutes per patient completing abortions, has been forced to move a number of times.

    While located in La Mesa, California, in the 1990s, the FPA abortion facility was the site of numerous large pro-life sit-ins, that resulted in the arrests of several peaceful protesters. In early 2002, the abortion business’ landlord finally evicted them from their office. FPA relocated Sixth Avenue across from Balboa Park, until being forced to move again when the building they occupied was slated for demolition. Their most recent address on Miramar Road was considered an odd location since it was situated in the middle of a furniture mall.

    Two years ago, a pro-life alternatives facility, Turning Point Pregnancy Resource Center, moved in next door to the abortion facility, and impacted FPA’s business by offering women assistance and positive alternatives to abortion.

    Now, Operation Rescue has confirmed that the San Diego FPA abortion business is relocating once again, this time to the more conservative East County community of El Cajon. That facility is located at 1625 E. Main Street, Suite 202, in El Cajon — right next to an Albertson’s grocery store, which is sure to create tension in the community.

    “We are thankful that this abortion business has been once again forced to move, thanks to the prayers and action of pro-life activists, who have been so faithful on the sidewalks throughout the decades. When abortion businesses relocate, it usually results in a loss of business – which means babies’ lives are spared,” said Troy Newman, President of Operation Rescue. “We pray the El Cajon FPA office shuts down soon and has nowhere to relocate.”


    See more headlines at The Ponder News Web Site

    Flanagan: Landmark Middle Class Income Tax Cuts to Take Effect January 1

    Washington, D.C. - November 27, 2017  (The Ponder News) --
    New York State Senate Majority Leader John J. Flanagan today announced that the state’s landmark middle class tax cuts will take effect on January 1. Authored by the Senate GOP, this tax relief program will save taxpayers billions of dollars of their hard-earned money and help tens of thousands of small businesses grow, thrive, and create new jobs.

    One of the largest tax cuts in state history, this Senate Republican-driven cut will reduce middle class tax rates by 20 percent and ultimately provide $4.2 billion in annual savings for individuals and small businesses.

    “New York’s taxpayers need and deserve real tax relief and the Senate Republicans are not only listening, but delivering,” Senator Flanagan said. “We have led the way on controlling state spending, capping local property taxes, and soon, millions of middle class taxpayers will get to keep more of their income to invest and spend as they see fit. This tax savings will continue to be key to creating better opportunities for middle class New Yorkers and ensuring our state is more affordable for both businesses and families.”

    Senator Catharine Young, Chairwoman of the Senate Finance Committee, said, “This historic tax relief will allow middle class families to achieve a better quality of life because they will keep more from their paychecks. Hardworking taxpayers will be able to afford to buy more goods and services, which in turn will grow more jobs and economic prosperity. Senate Republicans are fighting hard for taxpayers and leading the way so that every New Yorker has the opportunity to succeed.”

    The tax cut plan reduces personal income tax rates for more than 4.4 million New Yorkers and tens of thousands of small businesses in the first year alone. For middle class taxpayers, savings will average approximately $250 in 2018 and grow to $700 annually. The cuts will save a total of $6.6 billion in just the first four years.

    State income tax rates will become the lowest since 1948, with the rate decreasing from 6.85 to 5.5 percent when fully phased in, representing a 20 percent tax reduction and $4.2 billion in annual savings for 6 million middle class taxpayers.



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    Mad-cow Disease Could be Transmittable by Touch

    Washington, D.C. - November 27, 2017  (The Ponder News) -- National Institutes of Health scientists and collaborators at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, have detected abnormal prion protein in the skin of nearly two dozen people who died from Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD). The scientists also exposed a dozen healthy mice to skin extracts from two of the CJD patients, and all developed prion disease. The study results, published in Science Translational Medicine, raise questions about the possible transmissibility of prion diseases via medical procedures involving skin, and whether skin samples might be used to detect prion disease. Researchers from NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) were co-leaders of the study, which included multiple collaborating groups. They stress that the prion-seeding potential found in skin tissue is significantly less than what they have found in studies using brain tissue.

    CJD is an incurable — and ultimately fatal  —  transmissible, neurodegenerative disorder in the family of prion diseases. Prion diseases originate when normally harmless prion protein molecules become abnormal and gather in clusters and filaments in the human body and brain. The reasons for this process are not fully understood.  The accumulation of these clusters has been associated with tissue damage that leaves sponge-like holes in the brain. Human prion diseases include fatal insomnia; kuru; Gerstmann-Straussler-Scheinker syndrome; and variant, familial and sporadic CJD. Sporadic CJD is the most common human prion disease, affecting about one in one million people annually worldwide. Other prion diseases include scrapie in sheep; chronic wasting disease in deer, elk and moose; and bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or mad cow disease, in cattle.

    Most people associate prion diseases with the brain, although scientists have found abnormal infectious prion protein in other organs, including the spleen, kidney, lungs and liver. Sporadic CJD is known to be transmissible by invasive medical procedures involving the central nervous system and cornea, but transmission via skin had not been a common concern.

    Using a test for prion diseases known as Real-Time Quaking-Induced Conversion (RT-QuIC), scientists analyzed skin tissue from 38 patients — 23 who had died from CJD, and 15 who died of other causes. They also collected brain tissue from the 23 CJD patients and from seven individuals who died of other causes. RT-QuIC correctly detected abnormal prion protein in each CJD patient sample tested and in none of the non-CJD group. The scientists noted that in the CJD group, the “seeding potential” for normal prion protein to convert to abnormal was 1,000 to 100,000 times lower in skin than brain tissue.

    The scientists then exposed humanized laboratory mice to either brain or skin extracts from two of the CJD patients. All 12 mice inoculated with brain tissue developed prion disease, as did all 12 inoculated with skin extracts, though disease in the skin group took about twice as long — roughly 400 days —  to develop. The group also reported that brain degeneration in both groups of infected mice was similar.

    The study authors say the results should generate discussion about potential surgical instrument contamination and risk associated with procedures involving CJD patients.

    “Perspective is important when interpreting these outcomes,” said Byron Caughey, Ph.D., a senior investigator at NIAID’s Rocky Mountain Laboratories (RML) who helped oversee the study. “This study used humanized mice with tissue extracts directly inoculated into the brain, so the system was highly primed for infection. There is no evidence that transmission can occur in real-world situations via casual skin contact. However, the results raise transmission questions that warrant further study.”

    The study also raises the possibility of using RT-QuIC with skin tissue samples as a diagnostic test for human and animal prion diseases. The test is widely used with samples of brain and spinal-fluid for the diagnosis of CJD, but such samples are not always available.

    “Our objective has always been to facilitate RT-QuIC testing using the most broadly available and least-invasive sample possible, whether that is blood, skin, nasal brushings, or other samples,” Dr. Caughey said. His research group has developed RT-QuIC over the past decade at RML, where he also has trained many international colleagues to use and advance the test.

    Dr. Caughey’s group is continuing its development of RT-QuIC applications, including further studies of when and where the pathological prion protein appears in skin, and how to effectively inactivate its infectious forms.

    NIAID conducts and supports research — at NIH, throughout the United States, and worldwide — to study the causes of infectious and immune-mediated diseases, and to develop better means of preventing, diagnosing and treating these illnesses.

    NIH, the nation's medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases.


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    Trump Admin Plans Surveillance of Immigrants’ Social Media

    Washington, D.C. - November 27, 2017  (The Ponder News) -- A group of Senators have sent a letter to Acting Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Elaine Duke calling into question a recent notice by the Trump Administration that DHS would retain “social media handles, aliases, associated identifiable information, and search results” of immigrants, including that of lawful permanent residents and naturalized U.S. citizens.

    “Without any information explaining the scope and timing of the Department’s plans to implement social media screening of all applicants for immigration benefits, we are concerned with the constitutional and privacy concerns raised by this action,” wrote the senators. “Not only does this data collection affect immigrants, it would appear to impact any individual in the United States who communicates with an immigrant, including a U.S. citizen.”

    Seen as the latest chapter in President Trump’s broader anti-immigrant agenda, the announcement was immediately condemned by civil rights organizations and immigrant rights groups as a flagrant attempt to intimidate people who have immigrated to this country by censoring their free speech rights. The Senator’s missive asks Acting Secretary Duke to answer a series of questions on the lawfulness and rationale behind a program to indefinitely store electronic communications of citizens and non-citizen immigrants.

    A copy of the letter is available Here .


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    Chicago City Council Votes To Continue Legal Protection Fund

    Washington, D.C. - November 27, 2017  (The Ponder News) -- Last week, Chicago City Council voted to continue to allocate funding for the Chicago Legal Protection Fund in 2018.

    That budget vote meant that several organizations will have the opportunity to continue providing legal education and representation for Chicago immigrants who are living under increasing threat of deportation by the Trump administration.

    To date in 2017, the Legal Protection Fund has allowed the National Immigrant Justice Center to provide legal consultations to about 1,700 Chicagoans and legal representation in nearly 900 cases to help immigrants apply for affirmative forms of relief or defend themselves against deportation. The Resurrection Project  and Community Navigator organizations have reached over 22,000 Chicagoans through “know your rights” presentations and other community education efforts.

    “The Legal Protection Fund has been critical this year to helping us get information to communities about how they can defend their rights and understand their legal options,” said Ruth Lopez McCarthy, the Fund’s managing attorney at NIJC. “Thanks to the Fund, we have been able to educate thousands of Chicagoans about their rights and provide legal representation to help them navigate the system. We are grateful for this continued support from the City of Chicago and City Council to ensure we can continue to provide legal services for another year.”

    “Continuing funds for the Legal Protection Fund demonstrates Chicago’s commitment to its immigrant community,” said Raul Raymundo, chief executive officer of TRP. “The Fund allows us and our partner organizations to reach thousands of Chicagoans to protect our families from deportation by arming them with their rights, showing up with them at court and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement check-ins, and connecting them to legal counsel.”

    Since the Fund launched in January 2017, the Trump administration has stripped legal status from nearly one million immigrants nationwide with the termination of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals and Temporary Protected Status for Haiti, Nicaragua, and Sudan. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has significantly increased its presence in Chicago neighborhoods, and the administration has been explicit in its intentions of placing any undocumented immigrant its agents encounter into deportation proceedings.

    In the first nine months of 2017, with support from the Fund, NIJC was able to provide legal services to 90 percent more Chicagoans than during the same period in 2016. To read more about the Fund’s accomplishments, read NIJC and TRP’s October 2017 report.

    The National Immigrant Justice Center is a nongovernmental organization dedicated to ensuring human rights protections and access to justice for all immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers through a unique combination of direct services, policy reform, impact litigation and public education.

    The Resurrection Project is a multifaceted organization that seamlessly blends community development, community organizing, human service delivery, and advocacy to build healthier and engaged communities. Since its founding in 1990 with an initial seed capital of $30,000, TRP has leveraged more than $431 million in community reinvestment through homes for ownership, rental housing, small businesses and community facilities. To date TRP has developed 733 units of affordable housing, and created over 264,000 square feet of community commercial space, creating vibrant, healthier and involved communities.

    Friday, November 24, 2017

    Temporary Protected Status of Haitians Removal Gets Grave Response

    Washington, D.C. - November 24, 2017 (The Ponder News) -- Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Elaine Duke announced her decision to terminate the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designation for Haiti with a delayed effective date of 18 months to allow for an orderly transition before the designation terminates on July 22, 2019. This decision follows then-Secretary Kelly’s announcement in May 2017 that Haiti had made considerable progress, and that the country’s designation will likely not be extended past six months.

    The decision to terminate TPS for Haiti was made after a review of the conditions upon which the country’s original designation were based and whether those extraordinary but temporary conditions prevented Haiti from adequately handling the return of their nationals, as required by statute. Based on all available information, including recommendations received as part of an inter-agency consultation process, Acting Secretary Duke determined that those extraordinary but temporary conditions caused by the 2010 earthquake no longer exist. Thus, under the applicable statute, the current TPS designation must be terminated.

    Acting Secretary Duke met with Haitian Foreign Minister Antonio Rodrigue and Haitian Ambassador to the United States Paul Altidor recently in Washington to discuss the issue.

    In 2017 alone, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services conducted extensive outreach to the Haitian communities throughout the country. These include but are not limited to community forums on TPS, panel discussions with Haitian community organizers, stakeholder teleconferences, regular meetings with TPS beneficiaries, news releases to the Haitian community, meetings with Haitian government officials, meetings at local churches, and listening sessions.

    Since the 2010 earthquake, the number of displaced people in Haiti has decreased by 97 percent. Significant steps have been taken to improve the stability and quality of life for Haitian citizens, and Haiti is able to safely receive traditional levels of returned citizens. Haiti has also demonstrated a commitment to adequately prepare for when the country’s TPS designation is terminated.

    In May 2017, then-Secretary Kelly announced a limited extension for Haiti’s TPS designation, stating that he believed there were indications that Haiti – if its recovery from the 2010 earthquake continued at pace – may not warrant further TPS extension past January 2018. At the time, then-Secretary Kelly stated that his six-month extension should give Haitian TPS recipients living in the United States time to attain travel documents and make other necessary arrangements for their ultimate departure from the United States, and should also provide the Haitian government with the time it needs to prepare for the future repatriation of all current TPS recipients.

    To allow for an orderly transition, the effective date of the termination of TPS for Haiti will be delayed 18 months. This will provide time for individuals with TPS to arrange for their departure or to seek an alternative lawful immigration status in the United States, if eligible. It will also provide time for Haiti to prepare for the return and reintegration of their citizens. During this timeframe, USCIS will work with the State Department, other DHS components and the Government of Haiti to help educate relevant stakeholders and facilitate an orderly transition.

    Haitians with TPS will be required to reapply for Employment Authorization Documents in order to legally work in the United States until the end of the respective termination or extension periods. Further details about this termination for TPS will appear in a Federal Register notice.

    Of course, everyone who wants to bash Trump for anything at all has latched on this as a Hot Topic.

    NEA President Lily Eskelsen García was outraged at the Trump administration’s decision citing that they had "fled multiple natural disasters and a cholera epidemic". She stated, "“Cruel and spiteful are the only words to describe what the Trump administration plans to do to Haitian families, including thousands of our students, in yet another instance on the long list of proposals targeting communities of color that have emerged from this White House. As we prepare to give thanks in the tradition of those who came to our county seeking opportunity and prosperity, Donald Trump has chosen to celebrate by evicting thousands of families who have no place to go with their home country still in humanitarian crisis. Congress must act to provide a permanent solution for Haitians and other TPS holders by passing one of the numerous existing bills that enjoy bipartisan support and would provide stability for these families.”

    The NEA holds that forcing the return of Haitian TPS recipients would disrupt the fragile recovery in Haiti, exacerbate the food, housing, and public health crises, and potentially destabilize the new Government. In fact, it is not the country of Haiti that is fragile, but rather the people in it. Only a strong people will be able to rebuild and return to normalcy in their own land. Just look at what happened in Texas not to long ago for verification of that.

    “Deciding to end TPS for Haiti is heartless and inhumane. This decision will rip apart families who have been living in the United States for almost a decade, sending them back to a country that is still facing a humanitarian crisis and is unable to provide safe refuge for deportees. It is simply unacceptable that the United States will be unnecessarily sending Haitians to live in treacherous conditions. We are turning our backs on our country’s proud legacy of being a beacon of hope for the vulnerable,” said Lia Lindsey, Oxfam America’s Senior Humanitarian Policy Advisor.

    In Haiti, there are still 38,000 people internally displaced by the 2010 earthquake and cholera remains a severe problem, with nearly 11,000 new cases and 100 deaths this year alone. Hunger, food insecurity, and malnutrition impacts millions of Haitian families across the country; meanwhile hurricanes earlier this year caused damage to crops and livestock. “These ongoing humanitarian issues are examples of conditions that make forced return of thousands of people untenable and cruel,” continued Ms. Lindsey. She does not take into account the hundreds of thousands who were displaced in our own country due to the same hurricanes. The Ponder holds that we cannot possibly continue to support other countries until we get our own taken care of. That would be like trying to save a drowning man without a life-jacket in a current.

    Michelle Brané, Director of the Migrant Rights and Justice program at Women's Refugee Commission made the following statement:

    “Women’s Refugee Commission strongly condemns the Trump administration’s decision to terminate the Temporary Protected Status program for the 50,000 Haitians living here in the U.S. Haitians with TPS in America are working in critical industries, buying homes, and raising families that include thousands of U.S. citizen children. We know all too well the effects that a parent’s deportation has on children, whether they are left behind or join their parents in a country they have never known. The decision to end TPS for these countries will devastate communities and could spell setbacks for children that will have a ripple effect on school systems, healthcare, and social services across the U.S. as children are left without primary caregivers and at risk of becoming involved with the U.S. foster care system. This is another example of the cruel and unusual punishment the Trump administration is heaping on to mixed-status families.”

    Our question is this: What responsible family would go to another country where they are NOT a citizen and buy a home, taking on years of payments on property they KNOW they cannot keep because temporary means TEMPORARY.

    Senator Robert Menendez (D - NJ) shot out that "This decision will not only have a seriously destabilizing effect and impair Haiti’s fragile recovery efforts, but it further harms our ability to be an effective leader on the global stage by demonizing people from different countries. But faced by a lack of ‘bad hombres’, the Trump administration is shamelessly creating deportable immigrants out of thin air and tearing apart American families - specifically 27,000 US citizen children who have TPS parents."

    Blaming Trump for the Haitian situation doesn't make sense, and -- of course -- throwing children in front of us that should never have been born here to begin with (had the Haitians shown any sense of intelligent responsibility) is not productive in helping their situation.

    Perhaps one of the conditions for their status should have been that any immigrant that has not yet become naturalized should not be allowed to have children until they do. This is not cruel, when you weigh in the fact that returning home is a BIG possibility until such naturalization occurs.

    Senator Elizabeth Warren (D - MA) has sided with Menendez on the issue, as has House Representative Barbara Lee (D-CA 13th), who said “As a former member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and a member of the Appropriations Subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations, I have fought for years to help Haiti and our Caribbean neighbors in their efforts to recover and rebuild as climate-resilient nations. Congress must act by immediately by passing bipartisan comprehensive TPS legislation that would provide meaningful relief to Haiti and other countries in similar situations.”

    Providing relief to Haiti and taking in their citizens and allowing them to deplete our resources when they are not in immediate danger any more are two different things.








    New FCC Rules on Net Neutrality Gaining Support and Criticism

    Washington, D.C. - November 24, 2017 (The Ponder News) -- Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Ajit Pai announced plans to repeal Obama-era regulations that maintain net neutrality, calling it a "Restoring Internet Freedom order" that would roll back the agency’s 2015 Open Internet Order, which created strong net neutrality rules that force broadband providers to treat all internet content and services equally.The agency’s new proposal downgrades broadband from a “telecommunications service” under Title II of the Communications Act, to a mere “information service.” If adopted at the FCC meeting on December 14, the draft Order will eliminate the existing network neutrality rules (“no blocking, no throttling, and no ‘fast lanes’”). This has become a hot topic (meaning that a lot of people are talking about it), so we thought you might find it interesting.

    “Internet service providers should not be able to pick winners and losers on the internet,” said Congresswoman Ann Kuster (D-NH, 2nd), who voted in favor of Net Neutrality in 2015. “Net Neutrality is fundamental to maintaining a level playing field on the web for small businesses and consumers, which is critical to the 21st Century economy. I’m disappointed by the proposal announced by Chairman Pai that will undermine the ability of people from all economic backgrounds to access equal speed and service on the internet.”

    Pete Sepp, President of National Taxpayers Union (NTU), offered the following statement of support for the Chairman’s action:

    “National Taxpayers Union applauds Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Ajit Pai’s plan to lift the burdensome and outdated ‘Title II’ regulations on broadband Internet service, and return to the governing approach that has ably served consumers for so many years.

    As we outlined in comments to the FCC earlier this year, a light regulatory touch is what has largely given us the Internet ecosystem we Americans enjoy today. A return to this framework will help taxpayers and businesses come out ahead as well. Unfettered Internet access can bring about serious savings for governments, and American businesses thrive when given the freedom to innovate without undue interference. We only have to look at lagging consumer innovation and hefty taxpayer burdens within the European Union to see what our future would look like if these harmful regulations were kept in place.

    We are encouraged by Chairman Pai’s efforts, and we strongly believe that his proposal will help guarantee that we have a truly taxpayer- and consumer-first Internet once and for all. It’s time to get back on track.”

    New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said, “Access to a free and open internet is a fundamental right of every citizen. Repealing net neutrality would stifle opportunity for individuals, students and small businesses, while letting huge corporations profit at our expense. New York City stands with other cities against the repeal of Net Neutrality. We will do everything within our power to keep the internet open and accessible for all." He then urged New Yorkers to call their representatives to voice their opinions.

    Harold Feld, Senior Vice President at Public Knowledge commented that the draft order "shows both an appalling disregard for the record and an astounding disregard for even the basics of administrative law. It would seem more likely, as some have suggested, that Chairman Pai and Congressional Republicans have released this Order to create a crisis atmosphere and push through legislation authored by the cable companies rather than in a serious attempt at policy.

    “For almost 20 years, both Republican and Democratic Chairmen of the FCC have asserted the FCC’s ongoing responsibility and authority to protect consumers and promote competition in the broadband access market. Rather than admit that this draft Order is a radical break from a bipartisan consensus on FCC authority to protect consumers generally and net neutrality specifically, Chairman Pai prefers to surrender this power to broadband providers, enabling them to set their own ‘net neutrality’ standards.

    “In an even more brazen violation of law, Chairman Pai claims to be able to simultaneously divest the FCC of authority while claiming unlimited power to preempt the states as well. Under Chairman Pai’s expansive theory of preemption, the FCC could -- in theory -- preempt every state law applicable to Google, Facebook, or any other information service. For a man claiming to correct the previous Administration’s ‘overreach,’ this is an astonishing claim to unlimited power to advance corporate interests at the expense of the public.”

    Public Knowledge will host a hill briefing on Wednesday, November 29 at 1:30 p.m. EST in the Capitol Visitors Center, Room SVC 215, to provide a legal and policy analysis of the draft order published in the Restoring Internet Freedom proceeding. The hill briefing is open to the public.

    Raymond J. Keating, chief economist for the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council (SBE Council), released the following statement in response to the draft order:

    “The FCC’s draft order, under the leadership of Chairman Ajit Pai, will roll back onerous internet regulations and is a major pro-investment, pro-innovation and pro-small business step forward. Regulating dynamic, competitive broadband markets and networks as if they were 1930s-style monopolies makes no sense whatsoever. This regulatory mess created under the previous FCC chairman was completely unnecessary, given that broadband providers possess clear incentives to serve both content providers and content consumers well. It was a drastic regulation imposed on a problem that did not, and does not, exist. Such regulation creates uncertainty that restricts investment and innovation, including by threatening government rate and business model regulation. Small companies have been disproportionately and negatively impacted by the onerous ‘net neutrality’ regulations, which have inflicted more costs upon them and more uncertainty into their path.”

    Keating expanded upon how this is a serious issue for small businesses:

    “The entrepreneurial sector of our economy obviously has benefitted enormously as consumers or users of new and vastly improved broadband services. In addition, smaller firms overwhelmingly populate the telecommunications sector itself. For example, according to the latest U.S. Census Bureau data, 84.1 percent of employer firms in the telecommunications sector have less than 20 employees. When regulation raises costs, creates uncertainty and diminishes investment, that’s a harmful and disruptive barrier for entrepreneurs and small businesses, which then harms competition and innovation in the telecommunications and technology sectors.

    “Chairman Pai and the current FCC deserve credit for choosing to guide regulatory activities based on sound, real-world economics, as opposed to the political fantasies and ‘what if’ scenarios that pushed the intrusive and unnecessary internet regulations forward. Small businesses also thank Chairman Pai for his transparency in allowing the public to view the draft order. His actions stand in stark contrast to the previous FCC chairman who did not allow the public to see the language of the order until well after the FCC’s vote. The current FCC, under Chairman Pai’s leadership, has given small businesses and entrepreneurs a voice, and has listened to their concerns. The Restoring Internet Freedom Order is just the latest example of Chairman Pai’s thoughtful and reality-based approach when it comes to regulatory actions and their impact on the entrepreneurial sector of the U.S. economy.”

    “Today’s news is a massive blow to pretty much anyone who uses the Internet,” Senator Jeff Merkley (D - OR) said. “Consumers and entrepreneurs alike need a free, open and competitive Internet. What has made the Internet the most powerful tool of the 21st century is that it’s a level playing field, where an interesting idea or an innovative startup can reach millions of people no matter whom it came from.

    “Now, the FCC Chair wants to allow the Internet to become a place where big telecom companies can act as gatekeepers or toll collectors, and only the wealthy and powerful can play," Merkley continued. "This is a disaster. Preventing ‘throttling’ and paid ‘fast lanes’ was a huge step forward for consumers and for American innovation, and reversing those rules is yet another way the Trump administration is prioritizing the privileged and powerful over small businesses and consumers.”

    U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D - HI), Ranking Member of the Senate Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, Innovation, and the Internet said, "“Since its formation, we’ve seen a free and open internet grow our economy and our imaginations. But today the FCC has threatened to end the internet as we know it. If adopted, the FCC’s plan will change the way every American gets information, watches movies, listens to music, conducts business, and talks to their families. By repealing basic net neutrality protections, the FCC is handing over full control of the internet to providers, leaving the American people with fewer choices and less access.”

    Senator Roger Wicker (R - MS), a senior member of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee supported the move, saying, “I welcome Chairman Pai’s announcement to restore the light-touch regulatory framework that has allowed the internet to thrive since its creation. This action will set the stage for expanding investment and job creation in the internet economy and closing the digital divide that exists in Mississippi and around the United States. I will continue to work with my colleagues to put a legislative solution in place that enshrines net neutrality protections into law and fosters an environment where broadband is accessible, affordable, and reliable for all Americans.”

    House Representative Robert (Bob) E. Latta (R OH, 5th) also voiced support by saying, “I commend the current FCC for its commitment to a free and open Internet with a lighter regulatory touch, and today’s announcement is a major step in that pursuit. The Internet has been a powerful tool for private enterprise and economic growth since its inception thanks to a relatively hands-off government approach. I’m a staunch believer in net neutrality principles such as no blocking, no throttling, and no paid prioritization. However, top-down regulation of the Internet is not the best way to ensure user access to content — in fact, it’s counterproductive. Ultimately, the most effective path to providing certainty for consumers, providers, and businesses that rely on the Internet is to find common ground in Congress and pass legislation.

    “The decision by the Wheeler-led FCC to use the Title II framework to regulate the Internet was misguided from the start. Using an 80-year old law meant for monopoly-era telephone companies doesn’t make sense for technology as dynamic and ever-changing as the Internet. This heavy-handed approach stifles investment, curbs innovation, and limits consumer choice.”

    All in all, it looks like this is something that may balloon into Congressional action sooner or later. It seems to be another Democrat verses Republican argument, and it will be interesting to see how it all turns out.

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    Tax Relief for Federal Crumbling Foundations Announced

    Hartford, CT - November 24, 2017 (The Ponder News) -- Congressman John Larson (CT-1) and Joe Courtney (CT-2) announced approval of new federal tax relief for homeowners dealing with crumbling foundations. The policy, released through an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) “revenue procedure,” follows nearly 19 months of work by the two members.

    “The individuals and families in Connecticut with crumbling foundations have been experiencing an ongoing nightmare. While there is no one silver bullet solution to make up for the loss experienced by these homeowners, today’s announcement by the U.S. Department of Treasury will provide at least some degree of relief for many of them. It is the first time that the federal government has acknowledged the unique harm Connecticut residents have suffered through no fault of their own. I’d like to thank the IRS, the Department of Treasury, the National Taxpayer Advocate, and especially all of the homeowners who have reached out to my office to share their stories and allowed me to tour their homes,” said Larson. “Our work is not done. Rep. Courtney and I will continue to engage with the administration and colleagues on both sides of the aisle to pursue every possible avenue at the federal level to provide relief for these homeowners.”

    “Today, the federal government has said ‘yes’ to helping homeowners struggling with the cost and damage of crumbling foundations,” Courtney said. “This is the culmination of a 19-month process with the Treasury Department, IRS, and the National Taxpayer Advocate to get federal recognition of the severe property casualty loss that north-central and eastern Connecticut homeowners are struggling with. This tax guidance adds a powerful new tool to the toolbox of options for homeowners and communities looking for way to get their arms around this extensive and long-term problem for our region. The origins of this effort started at the grassroots level from homeowners speaking out at community meetings and from Connecticut’s CPAs who urged Washington to extend casualty loss deduction to this problem. I thank Assistant Secretary Kautter, Secretary Mnuchin and former IRS Commissioner Koskinen for their personal attention and commitment to this issue - today’s announcement reflects their recognition that this is a severe problem requiring immediate attention. I look forward to continuing to work with my partner in this effort, Congressman John Larson, and officials from Treasury and IRS to make the implementation of this guidance as smooth as possible for homeowners and their communities.”

    Under current federal tax law, taxpayers may deduct a casualty loss from their income if they have suffered a sudden loss due to fire, flood, theft, or other sudden and unusual causes. While pyrrhotite-related damage develops over time, Courtney and Larson have been seeking IRS guidance to allow a casualty deduction related to this longer-term damage, citing the precedent of IRS assistance to homeowners affected by corrosive Chinese drywall in 2010.

    The new guidance, released by the Treasury Department, approves their request for federal tax relief. Specifically, the guidance allows for the treatment of crumbling foundation-related repair costs as a “casualty loss” deduction from a taxpayer's taxable income. The change is effective immediately, and taxpayers are allowed to submit amended returns.

    Click here to read the guidance.

    Starting in 2016, the two members and their staffs conducted research on the process of issuing a revenue procedure for crumbling foundation relief and began outreach to IRS staff to learn more about the limits of IRS policy in this area.

    In May 2017, they consulted with then-IRS Commissioner John Koskinen, who supported the use of the 2010 precedent and agreed to weigh in with Treasury. The former Commissioner remained engaged on the issue as his term ended this month.

    The two then wrote to National Taxpayer Advocate Nina Olson urging her support for applying the deduction to the crumbling foundation situation. In her response, she indicated support for the effort and sharing the proposal that her office submitted for consideration.

    After getting support from Koskinen and Olsen, the two submitted a letter to Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin requesting a meeting to discuss possible federal tax relief for the homeowners who have been harmed by crumbling foundations. The Treasury Department’s Office of Tax Policy has the authority to make a decision on providing such tax relief.

    Courtney and Larson also enlisted the support of the Congressman Richard Neal, the Ranking Member of the House Ways and Means Committee, who weighed in on behalf of the request with Secretary Mnuchin.

    In September, Courtney and Larson met with Secretary Mnuchin and Assistant Secretary for Tax Policy David Kautter at the Department of the Treasury headquarters in Washington, D.C. to discuss assistance for north-central Connecticut residents impacted by crumbling concrete foundation. They requested that Treasury issue an IRS “revenue procedure” that to allow homeowners to deduct foundation repair costs from their federal taxes.

    In a September 26 follow up letter to Mr. Kautter, Courtney and Larson provided additional information to help guide the department’s consideration of their request.

    The Connecticut Society of CPAs also issued a letter in support of the effort in September.


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