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Sam Knight - page 14

Sam Knight has 859 articles published.

Just Giving Orders–SCOTUS, Again, Says Top Bush Officials Can’t Be Sued for Post-9/11 Abuses

The Supreme Court may be the ultimate arbiter of constitutionality, but the body will not allow a class action lawsuit to proceed against ex-federal officials who oversaw War on Terror abuses. Justices ruled 4-2 on Monday that Congress has not allowed the judicial branch to permit the lawsuit, which was based on alleged Fourth and Fifth Amendment violations. Before becoming a wider-reaching class action, the suit was filed by six Arab and South Asian men who were detained immediately after 9/11. The litigation sought damages… Keep Reading

GOP Subcommittee Leader Blasts Trump Air Traffic Privatization Push

A case for Ronald Reagan conservatism, it wasn’t. The Republican head of a congressional panel offered substantive ideological criticism of President Trump’s proposal to privatize the US air traffic control system. Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.), chair of the House appropriations subcommittee on transportation, said on Thursday that he was concerned the Trump administration is working to establish an unaccountable “corporate monopoly.” “I’m concerned that the proposal would reduce or even eliminate, frankly, the public’s voice in something as critical as our national air traffic controller,” Diaz-Balart said.… Keep Reading

Saudi Arabia Arms Deal Threatens Israel “Qualitative Military Edge,” Dem Congressman Frets

A Democratic Congressman has concerns about the Trump Administration’s plans to sell $110 billion in arms to Saudi Arabia: it could make Israel’s military relatively less powerful. “Can you provide the committee with an assurance that the State Department will closely scrutinize any proposed sales to ensure that they do not adversely impact Israel’s qualitative military edge?” Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.) asked Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Wednesday. Sherman also asked about State overseeing the deal to prohibit the sale of F-35 jet-fighters to… Keep Reading

Children of Oligarchs Gearing Up for Even More Family-Based Windfall Under Trump, Mnuchin

As Treasury Secretary, Steve Mnuchin has significant influence over how tax policy is crafted and enforced. But he doesn’t think that sway should be used to ask for more contributions from modern day aristocrats. “The super-rich have plenty of gimmicks so that they don’t need to pay the estate tax,” Mnuchin said at a Senate Budget Committee hearing. He was asked by Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) about Trump’s plans to fully abolish the tax. Mnuchin had hit out against the estate tax just beforehand, when asked… Keep Reading

Gorsuch Debut: SCOTUS Rules Banks Can Attempt to Collect Defaulted Debts

Neil Gorsuch issued his first Supreme Court opinion on Monday, delivering a decision limiting the scope of a law protecting consumers from abusive debt collection practices. Gorsuch wrote that the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) only applies to agencies working on behalf of creditors, and that it’s legal for banks to attempt to collect on defaulted debts that they have purchased. Keeping with Supreme Court tradition, the rookie Justice’s debut opinion was short—just thirteen pages long—and relatively uncontroversial in the legal world. There were… Keep Reading

Escalation in Syria: Pro-Government and U.S. Forces Clash Near Border Town for Third Time

Syrian government and American forces engaged in firefights on Thursday outside of At Tanf, a desert town near the borders of Jordan and Iraq. American forces “destroyed” two armed trucks that “advanced toward Coalition forces,” according to the US military. Shortly afterward, American warplanes downed an armed Syrian drone “after it fired on Coalition forces,” the Pentagon said. Although the drone “hit dirt,” American officials said that the discharge wasn’t intended to serve as a warning shot, according to Reuters. The Pentagon said that the… Keep Reading

Glass-Steagall Hail Mary Falls Short–Quietly, With Dems’ Help–as Dodd-Frank Repeal Advances to House Floor

An ambitious bid to replace Republicans’ Dodd-Frank repeal proposal with legislation restoring Glass-Steagall was defeated on Tuesday. The House Rules Committee voted down the bipartisan Glass-Steagall restoration bill before advancing the push to washout financial reforms passed after last decade’s massive banking collapse. The move, which wasn’t unexpected, means that the lower chamber will likely go ahead this week with considering conservatives’ Dodd-Frank replacement. While Democrats on the committee asked for a roll call vote after the Dodd-Frank repeal advanced along party lines, they did… Keep Reading

GOP Senator’s Public School-Mayonnaise Analogy Allows Democrat to Tee Off on DeVos Corporate Education Agenda

A freshman Republican lawmaker on Tuesday compared public schools to a sandwich topping. Sen. John Neely Kennedy (R-La.) said that parents should be able to select what taxpayer-funded school their children attend because he has the freedom to choose from different kinds of condiments when shopping. “I can go down to my overpriced Capitol Hill grocery this afternoon and choose among about six different types of mayonnaise,” Kennedy said. “How come I can’t do that for my kid and school?” he rhetorically asked Secretary of… Keep Reading

Trump Unveils Air Traffic Privatization Plan, Amid Push to Sell Transportation Infrastructure to Corporate America

The White House on Monday announced its plan to privatize the US air traffic control system. President Trump did not reveal many details of the sell-off, simply stating that he would be “proposing new principles to Congress.” Trump also said the sale would go to “one great company that can piece it all together,” and that it would be “non-profit” and “self-financing.” The President claimed that “passenger advocates [and] pilot unions” support the plan, but one major labor stakeholder said that it is awaiting crucial details.… Keep Reading

Dakota Access Oil Starts Flowing on Day of Trump’s Expected Withdrawal From Paris Climate Accord

Players in the dirty energy industry aren’t just giddy about the expected impending withdrawal of the US from the Paris Climate Accord. If President Trump does follow through on his campaign promise to pull out of the multilateral agreement, as widely anticipated on Thursday afternoon, the withdrawal will happen on the same day that the Dakota Access Pipeline was inaugurated. The manufacturer of the controversial pipeline said Thursday morning that the vessel is now “in commercial service.” “The $3.8 billion Dakota Access consists of approximately 1,172… Keep Reading

Mnuchin Dragging Feet on Push for Details of Legally-Sketchy Trump Business Associates Abroad

The Treasury Department is stonewalling inquiries seeking information about President Trump’s business ties abroad, according to the top Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) has for months been asking Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin if Trump Organization ties have been vetted by officials for compliance with a bevy of federal laws and regulations. In a letter released to the public on Tuesday, the lawmaker said the Department isn’t answering these questions. Brown accused Mnuchin’s staff of having “ altogether missed the point… Keep Reading

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