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Sam Sacks - page 26

Sam Sacks has 859 articles published.

Dems’ Gun Control “Filibuster” Co-opted By Problematic Terror Watch Lists Proposals

Upending regular order, Democrats and a few Republicans held the Senate floor for more than 15-hours on Wednesday and early Thursday morning to highlight the need for gun control measures in the wake of the recent mass shooting in Orlando. Led by Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), the maneuver could, however,  yield troubling outcomes for those concerned about the increasing size of the national security state and its infringement on civil liberties–those with implications beyond “the right to keep and bear arms.” Just after 2 A.M. on… Keep Reading

Brennan Claims CIA Officers Were Held Accountable for Torture, But Won’t Publicly Divulge How

CIA Director John Brennan told lawmakers on Thursday that people at the CIA have indeed been held accountable for the agency’s post-9/11 torture program. Brennan refused, however, to get into the details publicly, saying the matter is classified. He made the claims during a public hearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee. “Is it still the case that no one has been held accountable for the systemic failures that the agency has acknowledged?” Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) asked the CIA chief during the proceedings. Wyden referenced the… Keep Reading

Days after Orlando Hate Crime, GOP Upholds LGBT Bigotry

Republicans on Capitol Hill are going to great lengths to block the mere consideration of a proposal that would protect gay, lesbian, and transgender Americans from discrimination in the workplace and marketplace. On Tuesday night, the House Rules Committee decreed that an anti-LGBT discrimination amendment to an annual defense spending bill would not receive a vote on the floor. The amendment would prohibit federal contractors from discriminating against citizens based on sexual orientation or gender identity. Last week, the committee blocked consideration of a similar measure… Keep Reading

Net Neutrality Preserved in the Courts…For Now

The telecoms industry’s legal assault on the Federal Communications Commission’s “Net Neutrality” rule has been momentarily halted. A ruling handed down by the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit on Tuesday upheld the FCC’s regulations. Finalized in early 2015, they reclassified service providers, and subjected them to new rules, in a bid to ensure equal treatment of online traffic. The commission’s Open Internet Order—perhaps the most significant progressive policy achievement of last year—was the culmination of years of grassroots organizing and agitating in response… Keep Reading

Obama to Sign FOIA Reform Bill, Calls on Congress to be More Transparent

The White House on Tuesday morning signaled that it would support legislation passed by Congress to update and modernize how agencies handle Freedom of Information Act requests. The House approved the FOIA Improvement Act on Monday night. The legislation passed the Senate in March by unanimous consent. The bill would require federal bodies to default on the side of transparency when processing records requests. It stipulates that if agencies intend to withhold documents, they have to provide specific reasons why release could lead to “foreseeable… Keep Reading

Report: Citing Election Year, White House Giving Up on Closing Gitmo

President Obama will reportedly not act on his own to close the military prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, instead submitting to the whims of a Congress committed to keeping the facility open indefinitely. A source close to the deliberations told Reuters that the administration has ruled out unilateral action on Gitmo due to a lack of popular support and the hyper-politicized season. “It was just deemed too difficult to get through all of the hurdles that they would need to get through, and the level… Keep Reading

Labor Dept. Seeks to Protect Union-Busting Rule from Red State Onslaught

The Obama administration is asking a federal judge to throw out a challenge brought by ten states against a new labor regulation that will force union busters out of the shadows. Finalized in April by the Department of Labor, the “Persuader Rule” is under assault in federal court, where several Republican-led states, are seeking an injunction against it. According to a brief filed last week, the department argued that the state interveners claims should be rejected, and the regulation preserved. “The public interest would be undermined if… Keep Reading

Hugely Popular Email Privacy Measures Derailed Again in Senate

For the second time in two weeks, legislation to update a thirty-year old digital privacy law was yanked from consideration by a Senate panel—a sign that the bill, which passed the House 419-0, is dead in the upper chamber. The ECPA Amendments Act was slated to be marked up and voted on in the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday, but its co-sponsors withdraw the measure after fellow senators continued efforts to weigh it down with controversial amendments. ECPA refers to the Electronic Communications Privacy Act—a… Keep Reading

Clapper: Spies Can Use Whatever Bathrooms They Damn Well Please

The head of the US intelligence community waded into the very public culture war being waged over the LGBT rights. According to a press release issued Wednesday, the Director of National Intelligence James Clapper told a conference of spies that they “have the chance to lead by example” on transgender issues. “So I’ll say without equivocation…in [intelligence community] facilities…you can use whatever restroom you feel comfortable and safe in,” Clapper said. He made the speech at the Fifth Annual Intelligence Community Pride Summit. The ceremonies applaud “officers for sharing their… Keep Reading

Clinton Takes California, Declares Herself Nominee; Sanders Eyes D.C.

The biggest prize of the Democratic primary contest was awarded on Tuesday, with former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton claiming victory in California and the majority of pledged delegates in all 50 states. With 94 percent of the votes counted in the Golden State, Clinton was leading Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) 56-43 percent. Combined with her victories in New Jersey, New Mexico, and South Dakota on the night, Clinton’s pledged delegate count ballooned to 2,168. She’s still shy of the 2,383 delegates, both pledged and superdelegates… Keep Reading

While Considering New Spy Watchdog, Dems Lament Lack of Oversight at CIA

Democratic Senators lodged complaints with the Obama Administration on Tuesday for not nominating a new inspector general to keep watch over the Central Intelligence Agency. Addressing the Senate Intelligence Committee during a hearing to consider Susan Gibson, the president’s nominee to head the IG desk at the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) hit out at watchdog vacancies throughout the intelligence community. “This month,” Feinstein noted in prepared remarks, “the NSA inspector general will be stepping down and the CIA has been without a Senate-confirmed… Keep Reading

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