IN: Tulsi Gabbard (, born April 12, 1981) is an American politician of the Democratic Party serving as the U.S. Representative for Hawaii's 2nd congressional district since 2013. She was also a Vice Chair of the Democratic National Committee until February 28, 2016, when she resigned to endorse Senator Bernie Sanders for the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination. Elected in 2012, she is the first Samoan American and the first Hindu member of the United States Congress. She served in a field medical unit of the Hawaii Army National Guard in a combat zone in Iraq from 2004 to 2005 and was deployed to Kuwait from 2008 to 2009.

Gabbard opposes the US removing Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad from power. She has cited US "regime-change" involvement in Syria as a source of the Syrian refugee crisis. In 2013 Gabbard opposed the Obama administration's proposed military strikes in Syria, arguing that intervention in Syria would go against America's national security, international credibility, economic interest, and moral center. She later introduced legislation to block U.S. military action against the Assad regime. She has described US involvement in the Syrian Civil War as "our counterproductive regime-change war", and said that it is this "regime-change war that is causing people to flee their country". Gabbard was one of three members of Congress to vote against House resolution 121, which condemned the government of Syria and "other parties to the conflict" for war crimes and crimes against humanity," saying that though Assad is a "brutal dictator," the resolution was "a War Bill--a thinly veiled attempt to use the rationale of 'humanitarianism' as a justification for overthrowing the Syrian government". She explained that the resolution "urges the administration to create 'additional mechanisms for the protection of civilians', which is coded language for the creation of a so-called no-fly/safe zone." Gabbard has rejected suggestions for the creation of a no-fly zone in Syria, stating that it would cost "billions of dollars, require tens of thousands of ground troops and a massive U.S. air presence, and it won't work", and that such a move would risk confrontation with Russia. In November 2016 she met with United States president-elect Donald Trump to enlist his support to stop the United States' alleged "illegal war to overthrow the Syrian government". In January 2017, Gabbard made a secret "fact-finding" mission to Damascus and met with diverse civil society groups as well as government officials, including Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. In April 2017, after the Khan Shaykhun chemical attack killed at least 74 civilians and injured hundreds more, Gabbard called for a UN investigation into the attack and the prosecution of Bashar al-Assad in the International Criminal Court if he is found to be responsible. After President Trump ordered the 2017 Shayrat missile strike targeting the Syrian airfield believed to be the source of the attack, Gabbard called the strike reckless and expressed skepticism that Assad was responsible for the attack, which led to sharp criticism from former Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean as well as Center for American Progress President Neera Tanden. Gabbard has not revised her position since the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) reported in June 2017 that sarin gas had been used in the attack.

What groups did she meet with?

OUT: government officials, including Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

IN: Kimberley Ann "Kim" Deal (born June 10, 1961) is an American singer, songwriter and musician, best known as the former bassist and backing vocalist of the alternative rock band Pixies, and the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist for The Breeders. Deal joined Pixies in January 1986 as the band's bassist, adopting the stage name Mrs. John Murphy for the albums Come on Pilgrim and Surfer Rosa. Following Doolittle and The Pixies' hiatus, she formed The Breeders with Tanya Donelly, Josephine Wiggs and later introduced her identical twin sister Kelley Deal. The Pixies broke up in early 1993, and Deal returned her focus to The Breeders, who released the platinum-selling album Last Splash in 1993.

Deal became the bassist and backing vocalist for Pixies in January 1986, after answering an advertisement in the Boston Phoenix that said, ""Band seeks bassist into Husker Du and Peter, Paul and Mary. Please - no chops." Deal was the only person to call them, even though her main instrument was guitar. She borrowed her sister Kelley's bass guitar to use in the band. To complete the lineup, she suggested they hire David Lovering as drummer, a friend of her husband, whom she met at her wedding reception. For the release of the band's first recording Come on Pilgrim (1987), Deal used the nom de disque "Mrs. John Murphy" in the liner notes. She chose the name as an ironic feminist joke, after conversing with a lady who wished to be called only by her husband's name as a form of respect. For Surfer Rosa (1988), Deal sang lead vocals on the album's only single, "Gigantic" ( sample ), which she co-wrote with Black Francis. Doolittle followed a year later, with Deal contributing the song "Silver" and appearing on slide guitar. By this time, however, tensions began to develop between her and Francis, with bickering and standoffs between the two marring the album's recording sessions. This led to increased stress between the band members. Murphy commented that during the sessions, it "went from just all fun to work". Exhaustion, from releasing three records in two years and constant touring, contributed to the friction, particularly between Francis and Deal. The tension and exhaustion culminated at the end of the US "Fuck or Fight" tour, where they were too tired to attend the end-of-tour party. The band soon announced a hiatus.

What did this do

OUT:
Deal became the bassist and backing vocalist for Pixies in January 1986,