Archive for the ‘Hillary Clinton’ Category

Protests disrupt Hillary Clinton’s visit to Little Rock on Thursday Arkansas Advocate – Arkansas Advocate

At least 30 protesters from Little Rock Peace for Palestine showed up in front of the Clinton Presidential Center on Thursday ready for Hillary Clinton and U.S. Archivist Colleen Shogan to hear their message at an event for Womens History Month.

The Clinton Presidential Center hosted a conversation between Clinton, former U.S. secretary of state, and Shogan, the first woman to be appointed U.S. Archivist, to highlight the importance of preserving and understanding American history.

Shogan heads the National Archives and Records Administration as the nations chief records keeper. The NARA preserves some of the nations most historic documents like the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. It makes these records accessible to citizens as a fundamental right of democracy.

The archives hold 13.5 billion physical paper records and 30 billion original digital records, Shogan told the audience.

We are an essential building block of democracy, the national archives, she said. Records are our basis for holding our government accountable and providing transparency. It is not a nice thing to have. Its not something that should be an afterthought. It is a necessity, and if we dont have accountability, if we dont have transparency in our democracy, then we cannot have a democracy.

Michelle Swope, one of the protesters, said after the event that, unfortunately, the U.S. government is opaque, unaccountable and has horrifying voter suppression.

Clinton acknowledged during the event that Arkansas was ranked as having the worst voter turnout in the U.S.

Clinton declined to answer any questions about the protests that had audience members turning their heads to look outside as chants of $2.3 million dollars for what? 2.3 million lives! andArchive the blood on her hands! could be heard inside the lecture hall.

The $2.3 million referenced funds Clinton received while a U.S. senator from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, a lobbying group that advocates pro-Israel policies from U.S. lawmakers and others.

Swope said she and her husband Marcus visited Hebron in Palestine in 2016 and what they saw opened their eyes.

We were both raised Christian Zionists, Christian Evangelicals, like a lot of people, and really had no idea, we were completely ignorant of what was going on, Swope said. Then October 7 happened and we got connected and have been coming to the protests ever since.

She was referring to the Oct. 7 attack on Israel by Hamas militants that killed about 1,200 Israeli citizens and foreigners. Since then, Israel has bombarded and attacked with ground forces the Palestinian territory of Gaza, displacing millions and killing about 30,000, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

Swope said she hoped those entering the presidential center would see what she saw.

I really want people to just see whats truly happening, because thats how they get away with this, is they make sure that people dont know, she added.

Marcus Swope said when he visited Hebron with an organization called Community Peacemaker Teams, they met with former Israeli Defense Force soldiers, Breaking the Silence members and Palestinian families.

He vividly remembered walking elementary students through military checkpoints and seeing a young Israeli soldier, visibly shakenvery scared.

Later that same day, we heard a bunch of gunshots She had accidentally discharged her weapon in the middle of elementary kids going to school.

He said he hoped the protests can provide the same nudge for others to investigate and have a wake-up call.

Other protesters read aloud stories of journalists, mothers and children lost in the Israel Defense Force bombings over the last six months.

Cynthia Martinez, an organizer with the group, said its important to still be present at events like this after six months of genocide. Martinez emphasized that the lives lost are not just numbers.

They are human beings, each with a name and a story, she said. At the end of the day, our taxpayer money is funding this. Its funding their death.

At an event meant to highlight the importance of archiving U.S. history, democracy and womens history, Martinez said she wanted those in attendance to be aware of the countrys impact on the rest of the world.

Hillary Clinton has a really big platform, she said. And so lets use it, lets utilize it, lets bring attention to what is happening.

Martinez said she hoped that those attending the even would feel uncomfortable.

I just want people to know that after so many months, after all this, were still going to keep fighting for a ceasefire, fighting for a free Palestine.

Inside the center, Clinton asked Shogan why its important for women to be in leadership positions such as hers.

I would say its agenda setting, she said. Those decisions are made in the senior leadership meetings, and not necessarily the decisions but what were going to debate in the first place, what were going to decide upon that prioritization. So having women in that room is absolutely the first critical step.

Shogan noted that eight women now sit on the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee and that matters because they will decide what they debate and legislate about.

Shogan said her team is working to emphasize access to archival records in person, online and in schools.

She added that test scores showed a dip in understanding American government, civic knowledge and history.

We had a renaissance in this country 15, 20 years ago for STEM, education for science, technology, mathematics, and it worked, Shogan said. It brought test scores up, more kids got interested in those subjects. We need that equivalent of that STEM push that we did, that needs to happen right now for civics and American history.

Teachers also should be teaching students how to respectfully disagree with one another and still be productive, she added.

Clinton also asked Shogan how she sees the National Archives contributing to the documentation and understanding of diplomatic history, particularly in times of international tensions.

Shogan recalled when President Volodomyr Zelenskey visited from Ukraine to give a speech at the National Archives. He viewed a few historical documents, including a telegram from President Abraham Lincoln to Ulysses S. Grant near the end of the civil war. President Lincoln told Grant to fight like a bulldog when pursuing the Confederate Army.

That was such a powerful thing, that bulldog telegram, for President Zelenskey to see the actual copy, Shogan said. He was visibly moved by it and changed his speech and talked about it several times after that. So thats an example of how our history can influence diplomatic history, international relations.

Outside the hall, Ebrahim Abunasrah, a leader of Little Rock Peace for Palestine, said he hopes Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian Authority, would one day be invited to the National Archives as well. Abbas has visited the United States several times, including meetings with President George W. Bush and President Donald Trump in 2003 and 2017, respectively.

Abunasrah noted that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, the highest-ranking Jewish member of Congress, called out Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israeli government on Thursday for having lost their way in the six-month assault on Gaza.

Politicians and the world, theyve seen the videos, they know whats going on, Abunasrah said.

Read the rest here:
Protests disrupt Hillary Clinton's visit to Little Rock on Thursday Arkansas Advocate - Arkansas Advocate

Hillary Clinton and Deborah Lipstadt: Combating Antisemitism – Atlantik-Brcke e.V.

In recent months, the world has witnessed an alarming increase in antisemitic incidents and rhetoric, arguably the worst such spike since the Second World War. On the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference 2024, Secretary Hillary Clinton and Special Envoy Deborah Lipstadt sat down with Atlantik-Brcke CEO Julia Friedlander in the Amerikahaus Mnchen and discussed the sources of contemporary antisemitism, how antisemitism is all too often a bellwether of the fragility of a democracy, and the national security and societal imperatives of combating the oldest hatred. The conversation was introduced by opening remarks by Meike Zwingenberger, CEO of Amerikahaus, and the U.S. Ambassador to Germany Amy Gutmann.

On October 7th, 2023, Hamas terrorists invaded Israel from the Gaza strip and committed the deadliest attack against Jews since the Holocaust. The degree of glee and barbarity with which the terrorists murdered and slaughtered that day even surprised Ambassador Deborah Lipstadt who has dedicated her entire career on the study of antisemitism. And as Secretary Clinton noted, the high degree of planning and organization behind the attack, all in order to kill and mutilate as many innocent civilians as possible, was particularly abhorrent.

There is an invidious strain of antisemitism that has never gone away, but we had hopes it had been certainly submerged, that had been poking its head up for quite some time now. Hillary Clinton

What happened in the days, weeks, and months after the attack up until today was similarly surprising, abhorrent, and organized. Both Secretary Clinton and Ambassador Lipstadt pointed out that antisemitic outbursts celebrating the Hamas massacres in demonstrations and the online world happened within days or even hours after the attack, long before Israel went into Gaza. This underscored, in Secretary Clintons view, that this was not spontaneous, this was highly organized by groups that had been on alert before October 7th. In this sense, October 7th put the spotlight on the fact that there has been a growing movement of antisemitism in many places in the world.

But besides the outright antisemitic clamor, there was also a horrifying silence in the aftermath of October 7th: More horrific, however, [than the gender-based violence against women on October 7th itself] was the silence of the feminist organizations [and] the human rights organizations, Ambassador Lipstadt said to call out the antisemitic hypocrisy of many organizations which deem themselves progressive. The only difference between the attacks against women of October 7th and similar attacks in the past, where these organizations were highly outspoken, the Ambassador noted, was the perception that the victims of October 7th were Jewish.

The striking fact that antisemitism is virulent and rising in all parts of society, including those which are otherwise considered highly aware toward of racism and hatred, indicates that antisemitism is not merely another form of racism, but structurally a different kind of hatred. While antisemitic discrimination in many ways resembles racist discrimination Secretary Clinton pointed to the similarities between the antisemitic legislation of Nazi Germany 1933-1939 and the Jim Crow laws enforcing racial segregation in the southern United States up until 1965 , antisemitism functions in a specific way: The antisemite, Ambassador Lipstadt explained, punches up against the Jews imagined as superior, powerful, and deceitful; the racist punches down against black people imagined as inferior, not smart enough and incapable.

This insight helps a great deal in understanding why antisemitism is not only virulent in right-wing white supremacy circles, where racism and antisemitism come together in conspiracy myths like the Great Replacement Theory according to which Jews are staging behind the scenes the mass immigration of non-white people into western societies in order to destroy them, but also connecting with rather left-wing, liberal or progressive milieus. The idea of an all-too-powerful, deceitful force as an oppressor can be easily smoothed into a worldview that is largely based on the distinction of oppressor and oppressed. This is how age-old antisemitic tropes like the blood libel also found their way into the discourse about the Israeli-Palestinian context before and after October 7th, often poorly disguised as mere criticism of the Israeli government.

Antisemitism is a threat to democracy and national stability. If you buy into the conspiracy myth which is at the heart of antisemitism, that Jews control the banks or the electoral system, you have given up on democracy. Authoritarian governments love antisemitism because it becomes the spoon to stir up the pot. Deborah Lipstadt

So, what can be done against the invidious strain of antisemitism that has never gone away, [and] that had been poking its head up for quite some time now, as Secretary Clinton described it? The first advise both Secretary Clinton and Ambassador Lipstadt offered is to recognize antisemitism as a threat to democracy, national stability, and security. This is insofar plausible as the idea that banks, the electoral system and many other institutions of modern democratic societies are somehow controlled and rigged by Jews is at the core of antisemitic belief systems. If this belief spreads, trust in democracy which is a necessary perquisite of democracy inevitably collapses.

On a more practical level, Ambassador Lipstadt urged the audience to take antisemitism seriously, not to accept any but to antisemitism, to stand up and speak out against antisemitism. She highlighted that far too many Jews in all spheres of societal life on the streets, in restaurants, or on college campuses go undercover and hide their Jewishness. Wherever one encounters antisemitism, it is everyones responsibility to speak out against it. Because the alternative to speaking out would be silence, and as the U.S. Ambassador to Germany Amy Gutmann impressively stated in her opening remarks to the conversation: Silence is injustice.

Read more here:
Hillary Clinton and Deborah Lipstadt: Combating Antisemitism - Atlantik-Brcke e.V.

Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport director injured in Arkansas shootout with ATF – AL.com

Federal agents were involved in a shootout early Tuesday as they tried to serve a search warrant at the Little Rock home of the person who leads the Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport, authorities confirmed.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said agents were trying to serve the warrant just after 6 a.m. at a home in west Little Rock when someone inside the home fired gunshots at the agents, news outlets reported. The agents returned fire, striking the shooter, who was identified as Bryan Malinowski, 53, the executive director for the airport.

Malinowski was treated at the scene before being taken to an area hospital, Arkansas State Police said. His condition was not immediately available later Tuesday.

An ATF agent, whose identity was not released, also was shot in the exchange of gunfire but suffered a non-life-threatening wound, officials said. The agent, too, was taken to an area hospital for treatment.

Neither the ATF, state police nor federal prosecutors would provide details of what agents were looking for, citing an ongoing investigation.

Around 2:35 p.m., Little Rock firefighters carrying a power saw and a Halligan tool a large prybar were seen walking toward the house. An ATF agent was overheard saying they were at the scene to help agents open a safe in Malinowskis house, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported.

According to his biography on the airports website, Malinowski has worked in the airline industry for more than 30 years, serving in operational leadership roles at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, El Paso International Airport in Texas and Lehigh Valley International Airport in Pennsylvania.

Malinowski joined the management team at Clinton National in 2008 as director of properties, planning and development before being promoted to deputy director of the airport a year later. He took over as executive director in 2019.

Here is the original post:
Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport director injured in Arkansas shootout with ATF - AL.com

Arkansas Airport Executive Shot During Wild Firefight With Feds – The Daily Beast

An executive at an Arkansas airport was hospitalized Tuesday after wild firefight with federal agents attempting to search his home, according to a statement from Arkansas State Police.

At 6 a.m. on Tuesday morning, agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives arrived at the home of Bryan Malinowski, the executive director of the Bill and Hillary Clinton Airport in Little Rock, with a warrant to search his residence.

ATF agents reported being fired upon, and then returned fire. One ATF agent sustained what police called a non-life-threatening gunshot wound.

53-year-old Malinowski, who the ASP identified as the shooter, sustained multiple gunshot wounds, including a life-threatening injury to the head, according to his brother, Matthew Malinowski.

We dont know if hes going to make it in the next 24 hours, he told NBC News on Wednesday.

He also said that his brother collected guns and other weapons. On Tuesday evening, neighbors reported seeing guns and ammunition being carried out of the Malinowskis residence by authorities, according to KARK. Authorities said Malinowski is the subject of an ongoing investigation.

State police said the ATF and Little Rock Police Department have asked them to launch an investigation into the use of deadly force. An investigative case file will be presented to the prosecuting attorney, who will determine whether the use of deadly force was consistent with Arkansas law, said a statement from the ASP.

As executive director of the Bill and Hillary Clinton Airport, Malinowski is responsible for the administration, operations, maintenance and development of the airport, according to his profile on the facilitys website.

He had previously held leadership positions at three other airports: in Fort Lauderdale, Florida; El Paso, Texas; and Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania. He began working in Arkansas in 2008.

Follow this link:
Arkansas Airport Executive Shot During Wild Firefight With Feds - The Daily Beast

Biden v Trump: winning suburbia is key to clinching the presidency in 2024 – The Conversation

The fight for votes in the upcoming US presidential election is likely to be particularly focused on suburbia.

Historically, Republicans win most support in rural areas and Democrats have larger vote shares in cities. But the suburbs have long been a political battleground.

Voters in these areas have swung in favour of candidates of both parties in recent elections, making them a key target for political advertising in 2024. But there are a few key factors that could make the suburban vote slightly different this year.

Both Donald Trump and Joe Biden have recorded electoral successes in suburban areas in past elections. In 2016, Trump outperformed Hillary Clinton in the suburbs, if only by a two-point margin (47-45). Just two years into his presidency, however, voting behaviour in the suburbs shifted away from Trumps Republican party.

In the 2018 midterms, Democrats won the support of 52% of suburban voters while Republicans only received 45% of the vote. Biden was able to build on this momentum in 2020, with 54% of suburban residents casting their vote for the Biden-Harris ticket while Trump fell short of his 2016 result, receiving only 44% of the suburban vote in 2020.

Under Biden, the midterms also saw slight shifts in voting behaviour in the suburbs. In the 2022 midterms, Democrats received slightly less support in the suburbs than in 2020 and 2018, gaining just 50% of the vote. Republicans, on the other hand, recorded 48%, a slight upward trend from their 2018 and 2020 results in suburban counties.

Only 5% of 2018 Democratic voters swung Republican in 2022 and only 4% of 2018 Republican voters switched to supporting Democratic candidates in 2022.

Shifting political opinions may not be the only possible explanation for swing votes in suburban counties. According to data from Pew Research, voter turnout is a much larger issue for both parties, though more so for Democrats.

Among suburban voters who voted for Democratic candidates in 2018, 22% did not vote in the 2022 midterms. On the Republican side, 16% of 2018 suburban voters stayed home in 2022.

Another possible explanation for shifting voting patterns in the suburbs lies in who has moved there recently. The population of the large suburban counties has increased by 25% in the 21st century.

Overall, population growth in the suburbs has been above the national average. And since 2000, the US population has been increasingly concentrated in the 52 largest metropolitan areas, and particularly their suburban counties.

People living in the suburbs are now more likely, than in previous decades, to be college-educated, a demographic group that has been more likely to vote for Democratic candidates and hold more liberal political views.

Interestingly, it was this demographic group, college-educated voters, who made up a large share of Nikki Haleys supporters during her Republican primary campaign. Many Republican women who backed Trump in 2016 and 2020 shifted to Haley in the 2024 primaries arguing that Haley would be able to unify the party and bring about change while Trump could not deliver on either of those issues.

Read more: State of the Union: Biden hits back at critics as he warns of threats to democracy at home and overseas

And while Trump outperformed Haley in most demographic groups throughout the primaries, college-educated women were the exception. As Trump and Biden compete for Haleys voting bloc now, the place to find these voters may just be in the suburbs. And this is where college-educated residents now make up the largest share of the population.

Both candidates could face difficulties in suburbia, though. Throughout the primaries, gaining support from suburban voters has been one of Trumps key weaknesses.

Currently, Biden is doing slightly better with the key suburban demographic groups than Trump. Among college-educated adults, Biden has a favorability rating of 46.6%, while Trump only records a 39.7% favorability rating (where people rank their feelings towards a politician as positive or negative).

However, the president may not do as well in smaller suburban counties where the population is less likely to be college-educated. Current polling shows that Trump does much better among people with education qualifications up to a high school diploma (56.7% favorability rating) than Biden (36%).

However, Trump has not been doing as well in the suburbs during the primaries as pollsters had predicted. This has raised questions about the accuracy of polls and potential biases or blind spots.

Moving populations and changing demographics are also a potential explanation. There are other issues at stake in 2024 that may cause shifts in electoral behaviour and which could mean these voters are not wiling to reveal their intentions to pollsters.

One example of this is the issue of abortion rights. While some conservative voters have disclosed that they were supportive of abortion rights and were therefore not voting for Trump, there may be a significant number of women, particularly in more conservative neighbourhoods and states, who may be hesitant to disclose such shifts in voting intentions.

Haley did well among suburban women, particularly those who had concerns about Trumps policies on family and health, wanted more focus on the economy and were not happy with the nastiness of the Trump campaign.

If the key to the White House is winning over Haleys voters, as has been widely suggested since her exit from the race, this voting group may just be what Biden needs, a detail that has not gone unnoticed by his campaign.

Go here to see the original:
Biden v Trump: winning suburbia is key to clinching the presidency in 2024 - The Conversation