A NEWS CO-OP IN DC SO YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE

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Sam Sacks - page 8

Sam Sacks has 859 articles published.

OFF-SITE READING 8/16/17

News from elsewhere…       * CHARLOTTESVILLE RESIDENTS ON ANTIFA: “LIKE ANGELS TO ME” Slate’s Dahlia Lithwick published first-hand accounts recalling the “violent” tactics employed by anti-fascist forces in Charlottesville on Saturday. They unanimously describe acts of communal self-defense in face of right-wing terror–what Trump denounced as “alt-left.” One pastor said that “antifa saved my life twice on Saturday.” Another non-violent protester described getting defended by “anarchists and anti-fascist folks” and said “the antifa were like angels to me in that moment.” *NO SIGN… Keep Reading

Trump’s Economic Council Implodes As White House Defends Fash

Donald Trump’s private and political career has been colored by several accusations of blatant racism, but it was the President’s recent defense of white supremacists and neo-Nazis that forced CEOs to finally distance themselves from the administration. Two White House panels, staffed with CEOs of top companies, were abruptly disbanded on Wednesday by President Trump, whose hand was forced by several high-profile resignations in the wake of the President’s reaction to the racist violence in Charlottesville, Va. The CEO of the mining company 3M, Inge Thulin,… Keep Reading

OFF-SITE READING 8/15/17

News from elsewhere…     *IS TRUMP #STILLWITHHER? The President is still flailing after the Charlottesville attack, unable to unequivocally denounce white nationalism and the outright fascism that inspired the killer. According to the AP, he said today that “the ‘alt-left’ bears some responsibility for violence in Charlottesville, ‘nobody wants to say that.’” Looks like someone has been watching MSNBC! *WARREN INCREASINGLY A HOUSEHOLD NAME Two-thirds of Americans now have an opinion of Elizabeth Warren, up from 52 percent in 2015. According to Gallup, as… Keep Reading

Massive DOJ Demand for Info on Dissenters Goes to Court

The Justice Department will attempt on Friday to defend a warrant requiring an internet host to turn over 1.3 million IP addresses of visitors to a website critical of the Trump administration. Dreamhost, the subject of the DOJ order, called it a “clear abuse of government authority.” The company has been fighting the warrant for months leading up to Friday’s court date on the matter. Federal prosecutors are seeking the IP addresses of anyone who visited disruptj20.org, a website hosted by Dreamhost, as well as the website’s… Keep Reading

OFF-SITE READING 8/14/17

News from elsewhere… *FCC ALLOWING CONGLOMERATE TO REACH PAI IN THE SKY The Trump administration has ushered in deregulation that is “carefully aligned” with media giant Sinclair “business objectives,” according to The New York Times. Ajit Pai, the FCC chair, enthusiastically met with company CEO David Smith just days after Trump’s inauguration. Pai’s first act was to relax regulations on revenue sharing among TV stations–something Smith had discussed with the incoming FCC head. Pai also relaxed restrictions on the number of stations one broadcaster can… Keep Reading

Ford Rangers, Drones, and Helicopters: A Snapshot of the US-Supplied Afghan Defense Force

More than $60 billion has been spent by the Pentagon providing arms to the Afghan National Defense and Security Force (ANDSF), according to a review by a government watchdog. Mandated by the 2017 defense policy bill, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) catalogued all the military hardware provided to Afghan police and defense forces since America’s longest running war began back in 2002. The GAO’s findings offer the most detailed glimpse yet into the armaments of the Afghan military. In total, Afghan security forces have received more than 884,000… Keep Reading

Bank CEOs Silent As Interest Groups Work to Preserve Abusive Forced Arbitration

Senator Elizabeth Warren (D- Mass.) fired off letters to CEO’s of the nation’s top financial firms, calling on them to publicly reveal their positions on a lobbying effort in their name aimed at striking down new consumer protections. In her missive, Warren noted that interest groups that represent the firms, like the US Chamber of Commerce, the American Bankers Associated, and the Financial Services Roundtable, have been ginning up support to repeal a recently-implemented Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) rule against forced arbitration. The rule, which… Keep Reading

Guess What? The F-35 “Could Cost More,” Says GAO

A federal oversight agency examined the latest developments in the Pentagon’s most expensive weapon system, the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, and found that more cost overruns and technological uncertainties are likely on the horizon. The jet, which has been in development for decades and has yet to see any combat, is currently undergoing modernization efforts projected to cost $3.9 billion, according to the Department of Defense. Known as Block 4, the technological upgrades focus on protecting the F-35 from defense systems and enemy aircraft it may… Keep Reading

Big League Drop Off in Banking Fines Under Trump

The amount of penalties that federal regulators have collected from misbehaving financial firms has declined sharply in just the first 200 days of the Trump administration. The immediate reduction amounts to a tangible benefit for Wall Street brokers, courtesy of a President who’s filled his executive offices with former bankers, and has signed executive order to roll back financial regulations. A Wall Street Journal analysis shows that The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CTFC) and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority… Keep Reading

Senate Advances Bill Ensuring Drug Companies Protected When Patients Die on Experimental Meds

Legislation purporting to grant terminally-ill Americans easier access to unapproved therapies cleared the Senate on Thursday, despite concerns that it could lead to unsafe drugs creeping onto the market. The upper chamber unanimously approved of the FDA Reauthorization Act, including an amendment that contained Sen. Ron Johnson’s (R-Wisc.) “Right to Try” law. Similar laws have already been passed in 37 states, allowing those facing life-threatening illnesses to use medication that hasn’t been approved by the Food and Drug Administration. The laws stipulate that the therapies… Keep Reading

Departing EPA Official Warns of More Crises Like Flint Under Current Leadership

An inside look at the Trump administration’s deregulatory agenda was proffered in the resignation of a 30-year veteran of the Environmental Protection Agency. Elizabeth Southerland announced this week that she was leaving her post at the agency, where she served as a senior executive with both the Water and Superfund programs. On her way out, she sent a lengthy farewell message to her colleagues, which was posted by the advocacy group Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). PEER described Southerland as “an eyewitness to the wreckage… Keep Reading

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