March, 23 2018, 08:45am EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Gabe Murphy, Peace Action, 510-501-3345 cell, gmurphy@peaceaction.org, Jon Rainwater, Peace Action, 510-469-3700 cell, jrainwater@peaceaction.org
John Bolton's Appointment is a National Security Nightmare
In response to President Trump's ann
WASHINGTON
In response to President Trump's announcement that John Bolton will take over as national security advisor effective April 9, 2018, Jon Rainwater, Executive Director of Peace Action, released the following statement:
"You would be hard pressed to find anyone who's ever held public office in the U.S. who would be a more dangerous choice for the role of national security advisor than John Bolton. The national security advisor works just a few steps away from the President. Putting such a knee-jerk, perennial hawk in that office does not bode well for the peace and security of the United States.
"John Bolton's record of pushing for military solutions to diplomatic problems is unsurpassed. Bolton was one of the chief advocates for the disastrous Iraq war and unlike many Iraq hawks he still thinks the invasion was a good idea. Bolton called for bombing Iran during the height of nuclear negotiations that led to the successful implementation of the Iran agreement. And during the Bush administration his fingerprints are all over the failure of nuclear diplomacy with North Korea that led ultimately to North Korea testing its first nuclear device. Paired with the nomination of Mike Pompeo as Secretary of State, this signals that the Trump administration has little interest in pursuing real diplomacy with North Korea, in fact, Bolton's recent advocacy for preventive strikes on North Korea suggests just the opposite.
"This isn't just another terrible appointment, this tips Trump's hand about the likelihood of military action on the Korean Peninsula. Americans who recognize the recklessness of starting a war with North Korea need to stand up make themselves heard. Whether or not Trump follows through with his plan to meet with Kim Jong-un, Bolton's appointment to this central role at the national security council strongly suggests Trump intends to sabotage the budding diplomatic opening, declare that diplomacy failed, and pivot back to war."
Peace Action is the United States' largest peace and disarmament organization with over 100,000 members and nearly 100 chapters in 34 states, works to achieve the abolition of nuclear weapons, promote government spending priorities that support human needs and encourage real security through international cooperation and human rights.
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According to a statement from Murphy's office:
Under the law, boards of education and governing boards of public libraries are barred from excluding books because of the origin, background, or views of the material or of its authors. Further, boards of education and governing boards of public libraries are prevented from censoring library material based on a disagreement with a viewpoint, idea, or concept, or solely because an individual finds certain content offensive, unless they are restricting access to developmentally inappropriate material for certain age groups.
The legislation "also provides protections for library staff members against civil and criminal lawsuits related to complying with this law."
New Jersey Association of School Librarians President Karen Grant said that "the Freedom to Read Act recognizes the professionalism, honor, work ethics, and performance of school and public library staff" and "promotes libraries as trusted sources of information and recognizes the many roles that libraries play in students' lives."
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Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-N.Y.) highlighted the difficulties of passing constitutional amendments while discussing Trump in a Monday appearance on CNN. The incoming chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus was born in the Dominican Republic and is the first formerly undocumented immigrant elected to Congress.
As Mother Jones reporter Isabela Dias detailed Monday:
Critics of ending birthright citizenship for the U.S.-born children of undocumented immigrants argue it would not only constitute bad policy, but also a betrayal of American values and, as one scholar put it to me, a "prelude" to mass deportation.
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