Alles is the first Secret Service director in more than 100 years who didn't come from within Secret Service ranks. In 2003, in spite of official denials, Alles defended the use of a napalm-like substance in the Iraq war, saying, “The generals love napalm. It has a big psychological effect.” Working for Border Protection in 2013, Alles defended the use of $18 million Predator drones, costing more than $12,000 an hour to operate, for drug interdictions when cheaper platforms were available.read more
Marks founded six businesses, including a banana plantation, a real estate development firm, a transportation company, and a venture capital operation. Her biggest success came in 1997, when she founded Paymaster (Jamaica) Ltd, the country’s first consolidated bill payment agency. It became a big success, with more than 1.4 million customers and more than $40 billion in annual transactions. She later sold 80% of her ownership in the company, but remained its chairman.read more
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights has given the U.S. three months to respond to charges of abuse of human rights, from the family of a San Diego man who was beaten to death by Border Patrol agents in 2010. It is the first time the commission has taken up a claim for extrajudicial killing, torture and obstruction of justice in the U.S. Border watchers consider it a major test of the Trump administration’s stand on immigration, crime and law enforcement.read more
The appointment of McCance-Katz by President Trump drew criticism from Republican Rep. Tim Murphy: “While she was serving at SAMHSA, there were questionable hiring practices...an anti-medical approach to serious mental illness and substance abuse treatment and...the continued upward rise of suicide and substance abuse deaths.” McCance-Katz praised Trump’s election in a November article for National Review, calling it “an exciting turn of events for people afflicted with mental illness.”read more
Don Benton, a former Washington state senator, chaired Trump’s presidential campaign in the Pacific Northwest. Trump first rewarded Benton with a job in the EPA, but he quickly wore out his welcome. So in April 2017, with little fanfare, Trump made Benton, whose company sells sales motivation programs but who never served in the military, director of the Selective Service System. Like Trump, Benton has a talent for sucking money out of campaigns--including Trump's--and into his businesses. read more
