Bill Barr Ramps Up His Showdown With ‘Troubled Man’ Trump in Stunning CBS Interview
Bill Barr, Attorney General during the Trump administration in a CBS interview with Robert Costa on Sunday, June 18, 2023, unloaded on his former boss.
‘He will always put his own interests and gratifying his own ego ahead of everything else, including the country’s interests. There’s no question about it. This is a perfect example of that. He’s like a 9-year-old — a defiant 9-year-old kid who’s always pushing the glass toward the edge of the table, defying his parents to stop him from doing it. It’s a means of self-assertion and exerting his dominance over other people. And he’s a very petty individual who will always put his interests ahead of the country’s, and the personal gratification of his ego. But our country can’t be a therapy session for a troubled man like this.’
©️Source CulledTheo Edwards
He is Like ‘A Defiant 9-Year-Old’ kid who’s always pushing the glass toward the edge of the table
Bill Barr, former Attorney General
Bill Barr, Attorney General during the Trump administration in a CBS interview with Robert Costa on Sunday, June 18, 2023, unload on his former boss.
Former Attorney General Bill Barr has been the talk of the political world for the past week — after his stunning proclamation that former President Donald Trump is “toast” if half of the 37-count indictment against him is true. Now, after a week of personal insults from the former president, Barr is fighting back with an utterly brutal assessment of his old boss.
In a stunning CBS interview on Sunday with Robert Costa, Barr doubled down on his opinion that Trump has only himself to blame for his current predicament.
Bill Barr, Attorney General during the Trump administration in a CBS interview with Robert Costa on Sunday, June 18, 2023, unload on his former boss.
‘This is not a circumstance where he’s the victim or this is government overreach,’ Barr said.
‘He is a consummate narcissist, and he constantly engages in reckless conduct that puts his political followers at risk and the conservative and Republican agenda at risk,’ he said.
Asked if he believes Trump lied to the Justice Department, Barr said, ‘Yes, I do.’
He then added this jaw-dropping postscript:
‘He will always put his interests and gratifying his own ego ahead of everything else, including the country’s interests. There’s no question about it. This is a perfect example of that. He’s like a 9-year-old — a defiant 9-year-old kid who’s always pushing the glass toward the edge of the table, defying his parents to stop him from doing it. It’s a means of self-assertion and exerting his dominance over other people. And he’s a very petty individual who will always put his interests ahead of the country’s, and the personal gratification of his ego. But our country can’t be a therapy session for a troubled man like this.’
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The Department of Justice made history on Friday, June 9, 2023, unsealing a 37-count indictment against former President Donald Trump related to his handling of classified documents after leaving the White House.
No other president has ever faced federal charges, let alone the prospect of a lengthy prison sentence if convicted (an aide, Walt Nauta, was also charged with helping Trump conceal records).
A View of a Part of Freetown
What is the future of Freetown? Should we give up and start thinking of a new capital? Or, can we, and should we try to salvage what's left of Freetown?
Whatever course we choose as a nation, it would require bold, visionary leadership at both central and local government levels to make any changes. Leaders need to think less politically and stop seeing people as mere 'constituencies' and votes. Because it is those political calculations that are responsible for the inaction of the leaders on many of these issues.
The City is a Market
Freetown the F-R-E-E T-O-W-N: A sprawling slum from east to west
Leaders need to think less politically and stop seeing people as mere 'constituencies' and votes. Because it is those political calculations that are responsible for the inaction of the leaders on many of these issues.
The capital, Freetown, has turned into a sprawling slum. From east to west, it has lost shape, looking less and less like a nation’s capital. What used to be a small, beautiful city on the coast has become extremely busy and overpopulated with no Law and Order. Freetown needs to be free from its freeness; that is what this piece is about.
Establishing the problem here can be done quite effortlessly.
You only need to step out —and are met with a frenzy from virtually all directions and sources.
The city is a market. And it is looking like a slum too. Everyone is selling everywhere. In fact, the norm now is that every new building must have a shop on the ground floor, regardless of the location —commercial or residential zone.
Commercial motorbikes (Okadas) and their cousins’ three-wheelers (kekehs) scattered like an upset swarm of bees crisscrossing the roads with passengers whose life expectancy drops every time they get on one of them.
They make their own rules. In fact, they have no Rules. They can choose to drive in the opposite direction without any consideration for the law or other road users. There are Okada and Kekeh stations everywhere.
Okada and Kekeh stations everywhere
People who own restaurants and bars can install the loudest speakers and play their music way into the night without consideration for anyone or any rules. The churches and mosques are no different.
They use religion to take advantage of communities that are overly respectful of anything that carries the name of God.
Street workshops/garages are popping up everywhere, and you wonder how this is even allowed to happen when there is someone somewhere paid to stop it. Abandoned vehicles? All over the place.
There is filth everywhere. It's either piles of garbage at street corners or litter all over. Communal garbage disposal sites have all disappeared and huge new buildings have popped up where they used to be. And in Freetown today, you have no chance of shielding yourself from this disorderliness, regardless of where you live. Everyone in the city and its neighbor, the rural district, lives in a slum by default. You have no choice. Sad! but this is our reality.
How did we get here?
We inherited a beautiful city from our ancestors, and instead of improving on it and keeping what deserves preservation, we have basically undone Freetown.
We have turned it into an eyesore, and the destruction goes on as we turn Lumley Beach into a massive colony of 'baffas' and as we continue to build into the hills, leaving the landscape looking patchy -increasing the pressure on the environment, contributing to the deadly floods and mudslides that we have been seeing.
Its Citizens and, Everyone with authority should take responsibility for this mess.
Politics would not allow the leaders to make decisions that are in the interest of everyone.
They would rather let dangerous bikes take over the City. Allowing traders turn the City into a market and leave everyone to build where they want _instead of taking action to protect the residents and maintain order and peace in the nation’s capital.
The central Government introduced decentralization but has been unprepared to let go, and it seems to be locked in a perennial war with the current administration of the city. Reason? Politics.
Whether this is true or not does not really matter. What is important is that the Government and Freetown City Council have not been able to work together for the good of ‘Freetonians,’ to borrow a word from Mayor Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr.
The Mayor has recently been concentrating on a lot of environmental projects. She is working hard on heat and climate adaptation. This is important considering how fast the globe is heating up and how climate change is impacting the lives and livelihoods of ordinary people. However, we seem to have dropped the ball on the basics, including sanitation; and law and order. The Council has a set of clearly written bylaws. If we enforce half of those laws, the city would not be in this ‘dorti-kata’ and ‘chaka-chaka’ slum state.
The transport authorities and the police are also complicit because they have turned law enforcement into an enterprise. No one is safe on the roads. Police officers and road safety personnel are busy chasing bike riders all day, not to stop them from breaking the rules but for extortion. The sight of police chasing Okadas and hassling them resembles scenes from Tom and Jerry. Jokes!
All of this goes back to some very unfortunate Sierra Leonean peculiarities. We usually have zero consideration for the other person. As long as ‘ar don get sai for pak me motor car, na go ar go so.’ Whatever happens after that is somebody else’s problem. We have lowered the standards on everything—from food and quality of life to development projects and even politics. No standards. So, we could all be sitting on filth in the city and everyone—the Government, the Council, and all the authorities would be fine with it, and they would tell you, ‘We don try’. This national laisser-faire attitude affects the way we the people appreciate and appraise leadership and also influences the leaders’ behavior in office.
A lot of these issues have socioeconomic roots. People are desperate to make a living. So, they sell everything, everywhere.
There are too few jobs and opportunities for young people in the country. So, a lot of them see Okada or Kekeh as employment.
Housing is a massive problem. It is a crisis that we have not acknowledged. Everyone is desperate to build everywhere either; to escape predatory house owners or the well-to-do building of more properties. These are real everyday issues affecting working people. They are also signs that things are becoming extremely hard for people. But there has to be a balance between livelihood and sanity in the city. There also has to be due consideration for the safety and well-being of everyone living in the city. We cannot turn the Capital into a state of anarchy just because the government has failed to look after its citizens and guarantee a life of dignity.
What is the future of Freetown? Should we give up and start thinking of a new capital? Or, can we, and should we try to salvage what's left of Freetown?
Whatever course we choose as a nation, it would require bold, visionary leadership at both central and local government levels to make any changes. Leaders need to think less politically and stop seeing people as mere 'constituencies' and votes. Because it is those political calculations that are responsible for the inaction of the leaders on many of these issues.
If other small countries and cities can get it right, why can’t we?
Original Publication February 11, 2023
Caps Off to You, Graduate!
We're so proud of you, and honored to celebrate graduation day with you!
By Theo Edwards
Estelle Nyandah Edwards
LaSalle University Class of 2023
Congratulations to Estelle Nyandah Edwards on her four-year journey at LaSalle University. We're so proud of you and honored to celebrate graduation day with you! As an Explorer, you never lost. You value the pursuit and exploration of knowledge and faith.
It finally paid off after years of hard work and sacrifice _a degree in Forensic Psychology and Criminal Justice. Your program of study allowed you the opportunity to excel in Law Enforcement. Your future is beyond bright.
May 13, 2023 Commencement
La Salle News
Highlight reel - Commencement 2023: Prepared for whatever comes next
“Classmates, when you enter the world, continue to remind yourself about how powerful the education is that you received at La Salle. Believe in how much you can accomplish, and if you are ever in doubt, bet on yourself. Use the tools in your toolbox and apply them to every situation you face.”
Mayor Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr End Of Tenure Message
Pursuant to a letter from the Minister of Local Government dated 8th February 2023 instructing all Mayors, Chairpersons, and Councillors to “vacate” the Local Councils on 1st March 2023, I write to inform you that my tenure as Mayor of Freetown ends today.
Freetown City Council
March 1, 2023
Dear Freetonians
Pursuant to a letter from the Minister of Local Government dated 8th February 2023 instructing all Mayors, Chairpersons, and Councillors to “vacate” the Local Councils on 1st March 2023, I write to inform you that my tenure as Mayor of Freetown ends today. (For the record, this directive is in contravention of Section 137 of the Local Government Act 2022 which provides for local councils to be dissolved at the earlier of the dissolution of Parliament [25th April 2023] or the fifth anniversary of the first council sitting [30th May 2023]).
I will forever be grateful for the opportunity to serve Freetonians and to embark with you on our collective journey to #TransformFreetown. Yesterday, in a Press Conference at the Freetown City Council, I presented the Transform Freetown Four-Year Report which details our interventions and progress made between January 2022 and January 2023. A copy of the report is attached and copies of the First Year, Second Year, and Third Year Transform Freetown Reports can be accessed here https://fcc.gov.sl. I am excited about our achievements over the course of my tenure despite the many challenges I encountered personally and by the Freetown City Council as an institution.
#TransformFreetown is about transforming lives. Yesterday I was grateful to receive surprise visits and gifts from ordinary Freetonians, market women, and street sweepers, who gave moving testimonies about the 1000s of jobs created during my tenure and their own experiences of personal economic empowerment, growth, and development.
Yesterday afternoon was spent in a fun-filled farewell event with the FCC Staff during which I handed over to Chief Administrator Festus Kallay the 3 decorative mayoral chains as a symbol of the authority of the office of the mayor. It was wonderful to use that opportunity to inform FCC staff that after over 3 years of working on this, the FCC salary harmonization process had finally been completed, and a transparent system of salary bands that objectively reflect qualifications, experience, and length of service was being implemented for all staff from February 2023!
Celebrations of the end of my tenure continued in the evening with a cocktail event. I was so pleased to share the celebrations with All People’s Congress (APC) Party Flagbearer Dr. Samura Kamara, US Ambassador David Reimer, UK High Commissioner Lisa Chesney, Irish Ambassador Claire Buckley, World Bank Country Manager Abdu Muwonge, Tony Blair Institute Country Lead Mariama Anthony-Williams, EU Delegation Representative Serena Bertaina and many others development partners and stakeholders.
One of the highlights of the evening was a performance by the children from the FCC Congo Water Market Early Learning Adventure Center. These bright, confident, and assertive children of the Congo Water market women warmed my heart and are themselves a true representation of the work we have done to #TransformLives!
Yesterday was also an opportunity to thank God and to thank my family who have been incredibly supportive of me and without whom I could not have hoped to succeed. I was pleasantly surprised and deeply moved by a video that was shown at the event in which my mother shared her perspectives on the work that I have done and the impact it has had on the lives of others. (The video is attached below.)
Thanks must also go to the APC party and particularly to Former President HE Ernest Bai Koroma for entrusting the APC Mayoral symbol to me in 2018. I am grateful to the APC not only for the symbol but also for their support throughout my tenure.
#TransformFreetown is a collective action so my deepest thanks are extended to the FCC Councillors and Staff, members of the Mayors Delivery Unit (past and present), our development partners both in the country and abroad, to the central government, and most of all to Freetonians.
I leave office today grateful to have had the opportunity to serve, impact lives, raise awareness about climate change and design and implement interventions to address this major risk and other challenges in our city, and develop and embed systems and processes at the Freetown City Council that provide a foundation for sustainable development.
May I use this opportunity to wish Freetonians and all Sierra Leoneans a peaceful and democratic 24th June 2023 elections and a bright and prosperous future for our beloved city and nation. May God bless us all.
©️Mayor Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr OBE