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The Bigger Threats From Far-Right Extremists for Domestic Home-Grown Terrorism

Narratives we've been told don't always add up to evidence-based facts.

Here are some extracted points, but you are encouraged to read the entire report

Far-right terror poses bigger threat to US than Islamist extremism post-9/11

Joanna Walters

the Guardian |

Since the 9/11 attack, far-right extremists killed more people in the US than did American-based Islamist fundamentalists

Donald Trump’s presidency was bookended with two of the ugliest outbursts of white nationalist violence in 21st century America – the 2017 far-right rally in Charlottesville and the 2021 storming of the US Capitol by his extremist supporters to sabotage the election results.

Rightwing apologists like to downplay these lethal events or dismiss them as aberrations, but experts warn this is a form of terrorism that’s not only entrenched but has ballooned to become the biggest domestic security threat in the US.

In the 20 years since 9/11, far-right extremists killed more people in the US than did American-based Islamist fundamentalists – but that’s often hard to discern from the way the federal government has treated domestic terrorism.

> Earlier this year an intelligence report warned that racially-motivated extremists posed the most lethal domestic terrorism threat. It said the menace was now more serious than potential attacks from overseas, and the White House published a strategy for countering the problem.

> "It’s undeniable that federal law enforcement has underplayed and misunderstood the level of white supremacist violence,” said Hina Shamsi, director of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) national security project. . .Shamsi warned that after anti-government zealot Timothy McVeigh bombed a federal building in Oklahoma City killing 168 and injuring 680 in 1995, the worst terrorism attack on US soil before 9/11, the threat to public safety from white supremacist violence “never went away – and is now escalating”.

> The New America thinktank in Washington DC, has analyzed the 251 killings it defined as perpetrated by US domestic terrorists since the 9/11 catastrophe -- Its report concluded that far-right extremists killed 114 people spanning more than three dozen violent attacks, while US-based individuals it terms “jihadists” killed 107 people across 14 attacks. . .The report said: “Far from being foreign infiltrators, the large majority of jihadist terrorists in the United States have been American citizens or legal residents” including those involved in “every lethal attack except one” since 9/11.

> In 2009 Obama administration intelligence officials issued a chilling warning to US police about the rise in violent rightwing groups fueled at that time by the economic recession, returning disgruntled military veterans and racist hostility over the election of America’s first Black president.

> Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign was marked by his white nationalist rhetoric. He put this into action upon taking office, from the travel ban blocking immigrants from a list of majority-Muslim countries to slashing America’s refugee intake, to solidifying the barrier on the US-Mexico border, while separating families and blocking even asylum seekers there. . .Trump emboldened white supremacist groups and far-right terrorism. The dozen lethal far-right terrorist attacks during the Trump administration killed a total of 48 people and injured 59, and included antisemitic and anti-immigrant violence.

>

 

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STEVE CHUCRI: Information on Reprecincting for District 2

INFORMATION

District 2 Reprecincting Virtual Public Meeting Over the next several months, the County will be entering a busy phase of redistricting and reprecincting.  While the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission is responsible for redrawing Congressional and Legislative district lines every 10 years after the U.S. Census is released, Maricopa County is responsible for updating voting precincts, Justice Court precincts and the Board of Supervisors district boundaries (A.R.S. §§ 16-411 and 22-101). The County plans to consider changes to the boundaries in three phases. The first phase will consider the proposed voting precinct and justice court precincts. The public can view the proposed maps, provide public comment and input on the proposed changes and register for the virtual meetings on our website at Reprecincting.Maricopa.Vote and Redistribucion.Maricopa.Voto. Phase 1 – Update Voting Precinct and Justice Court Precinct Lines (Before October 1st):  To meet statutory (A.R.S. § 16-411) deadlines, the County will consider voting precincts and justice court precincts.  Phase 2 - Align Voting Precents with Information Approved by the Independent Redistricting Commission IRC (Early 2022):  The IRC is scheduled to release new congressional and state legislative boundaries in early January.  The County will update voting precincts to ensure a precinct does not overlap two or more congressional or legislative district boundaries. Phase 3 – Redraw Board of Supervisor Districts (Spring - Summer 2022):  Due to the delayed release of census data, the County will be redrawing the Board of Supervisor Districts after the IRC releases their new maps in January 2022.  During the legislative session, SB1107 moved the deadline to redraw Board of Supervisor lines from December 1, 2021 to July 1, 2022. These changes will not go into effect until January 2024.  Phase 1 Virtual Meetings To inform the public of the proposed changes, the Board of Supervisor Offices, the Justice Courts, and the Elections Department hold five virtual public comment meetings beginning tonight, September 7th. The public may RSVP at Reprecincting.Maricopa.Vote, by emailing voterinfo@risc.maricopa.gov or by calling 602-506-1511. Each public meeting will focus on one Supervisorial District, reviewing the proposed changes in detail for that district. The presentation will also include a short overview of how the County’s redistricting activities align with the redistricting efforts performed by the Independent Redistricting Commission and other local Jurisdictions. The dates are as follows:    Tuesday September 7 (4:00pm – 5:30pm) – District 2 Wednesday September 8 (4:00pm – 5:30pm) – District 1 Thursday September 9 (4:00pm – 5:30pm) – District 4 Friday September 10 (4:00pm – 5:30pm) – District 3 Monday September 13 (4:30pm – 6:00pm) – District 5 Sincerely,   Steve Chucri, District 2 Maricopa County Board of Supervisors www.maricopa.gov/steve 602-506-7431

Maricopa County • 301 W Jefferson St  • Phoenix, AZ 85003

USA FACTS: Follow-Up Action > Remains to be Seen

Home construction hasn't kept pace with the past 20 years of population growth. According to building permit data from the Census Bureau, 912,000 single-family homes were built last year. The US population grew by more than 3 million people in that time. Afghan visas to the US post 9/11 The number of Afghans traveling to the US has fluctuated in the decades following the 9/11 attacks, the subsequent war in Afghanistan, plus Congressional actions. With the recent US military withdrawal from the country and evacuation of some Afghan citizens, USAFacts has the numbers on people coming to the US temporarily or permanently. Non-immigrant visas increased starting in 2003 and hit a high of 4,421 in 2014. The US has decreased non-immigrant and immigrant visas issued to Afghan nationals in the past three years. Most non-immigrant visas for Afghans are for business and tourism. They typically last three to six months. These visas dropped the most following 9/11, down 40%.   The special immigrant visa program allows Afghans (plus their families) employed by/on behalf of the US to resettle here for their safety. In 2006, Congress created a special immigrant visa program for Iraqi and Afghan translators. The program expanded in 2014 to include all Afghans and Iraqis employed by the US. Over 8,000 more visas were granted to Afghans in 2015. Special immigrant visas have fallen by more than 25% since peaking in 2017. Discover more about visas for Afghans here.  USAFacts is marking the 20th anniversary of 9/11 with more reports in the coming week, including data on the Department of Homeland Security and other responses to the terrorist attacks. Visit USAFacts or check your inbox for more. How far does $15 an hour go?  A $15 minimum wage has been in the national dialogue for years. President Joe Biden's American Rescue Plan included a proposal to raise the federal minimum wage from $7.25 an hour to $15, but it was cut from the final bill. Still, eight states and Washington, DC, have or will soon have a $15 an hour minimum wage. How long does someone making $15 an hour have to work to meet their financial needs? What about $7.25 an hour? USAFacts parsed the data so you can see just how many work hours it takes to afford everything from food to healthcare to clothing to foreign travel. About 1.1 million or 2% of hourly workers earned $7.25 per hour or less in 2020. At that rate, it would take more than four years for one person to cover the yearly expenses of an average American family.   Despite calls for a $15 an hour minimum wage, it would not be enough for a single-income-earner household to cover average annual expenses anywhere in the US. For example, the average Mississippi family spent $44,071 in 2018, the lowest of any state. One person earning $15 an hour would need to work just over 73 workweeks to make that much. There are 52 weeks in a year.  See more and interact with the data visual here. Similarities amid Southern states during Delta The United States has had at least 4.6 million new COVID-19 cases since June 20, when cases hit the lowest levels since March 2020. Cases have spiked in every state since then, but the Southeast is grappling with exceptionally high caseloads. The metrics reveal trends on deaths and vaccinations among some Southern states. Twelve of Louisiana's 64 parishes have had more than 5% of their populations test positive since June 20. All but one of them have less than 38% of the population vaccinated. However, St. Tammany Parish is 45% vaccinated and had 5% of its population test positive.  Florida has had 5,176 coronavirus deaths during the current surge, 17% of the 31,335 deaths nationwide. Earlier in August, the daily death count was higher than at any point in the pandemic. The seven-day average Florida COVID-19 death count was 227 as of August 25. Mississippi is the country's second least-vaccinated state. Full vaccination rates in its counties range from 24% in Smith County — where 3% of the population tested positive this summer — to 51% in Jefferson County, where 2% of people tested positive. Learn more about these states amid the Delta surge. And follow vaccinations in all states right here.   One last fact Home construction hasn't kept pace with the past 20 years of population growth. According to building permit data from the Census Bureau, 912,000 single-family homes were built last year. The US population grew by more than 3 million people in that time.