-Mike Pompeo casts himself as the defender of Persian culture -Secretary of State concedes Soleimani assassination is part of “maximum pressure,” no evidence of imminent threat -Chuck Schumer is worried--about the future of the US empire -Joe Biden laments “Iranian parliament” ordering US troops to leave -Senate Finance Committee advances USMCA trade deal authorization -Pete ButtiCIAeg Subscribe on Patreon.com/DistrictSentinel
-Mods on high alert as Trump posts war crime threat after war crime threat -Javad Zarif: “End of US malign presence in West Asia has begun.” -Trump officials reportedly ready “to kill as many as possible” on the way out. Army people, if you’re reading this: considering going AWOL -GOP mulls senate rule changes to force Pelosi to send impeachment articles to the upper chamber Subscribe at Patreon.com/DistrictSentinel
-US military sends 750 more troops to Iraq after embassy siege, with possibility of more on the way -Pompeo cancels travel plans, Kataeb Hizbollah spokesperson claims “psychological defeat” for US -Cig sales were down in 2018 for the 15th consecutive year, vaping was on the rise -Bernie with the biggest Fourth Quarter haul at $34 million, Buttigieg in second (so far) with $24.7 million; Yang at $16; Biden and Warren reports to come Subscribe on Patreon.com/DistrictSentinel
-Iraqi guards watch attack on US embassy after Pentagon airstrike kills 25 people -Sound familiar? UN says Chelsea Manning is being tortured -2019…Actually Good? A year of labor fighting back -2020 Predictions: Insha’allah it will be Nancy Pelosi’s final year in Washington Subscribe on Patreon.com/DistrictSentinel
-The Affordable Care Act said--nothing, you idiots. The Affordable Care Act is dead, it’s locked in the judicial system basement -House Dems delay moving articles of impeachment to the Senate. Pelosi may have got something right, for once -Jeff Van Drew officially betrays the Democratic Party--and if someone wanted to help him get re-elected as a Republican they wouldn’t get blacklisted by the DCCC (unlike left-wingers supporting primary challengers) -NIST reviews law enforcement facial recognit...
-Impeachment vote today. It’s hard to appreciate the historic nature when thinking about how Dems have screwed this up -Putting the rib-meatloaf birthday cake on hold: whistleblowers warn new inspection program leaves US pork vulnerable to contaminants -Trump NLRB: Bosses have the first amendment right to suppress workplace speech through email -FTC releases announces Cambridge Analytica settlement. Ex-CEO and app developer promise they will never again deceive 50 million people to influence US ...
-McConnell girds everyone for impeachment trial by dismissing the idea that trials need witnesses -Guy who graduated college in 2008 set to be confirmed by Senate for powerful obscure regulatory position -Why not just make letter carriers into first responders for a biological terrorist attack? GAO with dystopian cost-saving suggestions for the Post Office -Labor Department readies new rule to saddle public sector labor organizations with more costs Subscribe on Patreon.com/DistrictSentinel
-Dems capitulate on wall, look set to take government shutdowns off the table until September -Eli Lilly generic insulin not available in 83 percent of pharmacies, per senators’ survey -SCOTUS declines to revive Boise ban on homeless people sleeping in public places -Boeing to keep 737 max production suspended, after failing to pressure FAA into allow plane to fly again
-Senate Democrats attempt to undermine Corbyn’s Labour at the last minute before the British general election -Education Secretary Betsy Devos defends Corinthian Colleges, a for-profit college that went bankrupt while defrauding students -DHS announces opioid mail surveillance contest winners: More money for security complex to tackle public health issue -GAO recommends creation of climate change infrastructure bank, with past climate change recommendations totally ignored Subscribe on Patreon.c...
-Trump emoluments case set to go before full Fourth Circuit, with possible Supreme Court case looming -Final defense policy bill jettisons Democratic items with top House Dem negotiator scoffing at “negotiating harder” before right-wing think tank -Pentagon inspector general launches probe of military border mission. Investigation to include “training on potential contacts with civilians.” -Justice Department inspector general dismisses theory of “deep state” launching Trump probe Subscribe on P...
-Pelosi holds two press conferences in one hour: One on impeachment, one on helping the President pass a trade deal -SEC Chair grilled for citing fake public comments lauding proposal to limit shareholder scrutiny -Tom Cotton attempts to approximate human being, says WeWork helps explains why socialism appeals to young people -FTC punishes for-profit college grifters University of Phoenix Subscribe at Patreon.com/DistrictSentinel
-Republicans stink up Impeachment hearings, filling their diaper about civility -Afghanistan War records feature at the heart of a major journalistic scoop about Pentagon lies--for the second time this decade -SCOTUS declines to take up challenge of creepy Kentucky ultrasound abortion law -Historic percentage of Americans put off healthcare treatment due to cost concerns Subscribe at Patreon.com/DistrictSentinel
-SCOTUS moves toward ruling on matter in relisting of Reed v. Texas, yet another case highlighting the shittiness of the US Constitution -Top Fed supervisor hails “best in 35 years” banking system amid headlines about corporate debt market. Randal Quarles is known for previous praise of financial resiliency--as George W. Bush Treasury guy -Anti-abortion activist with minimal legal experience confirmed by Senate as federal judge for life -Senators press Justice Department to investigate Attorney ...
-Nancy Pelosi is dragging her feet on major improvements to labor law for the second time in ten years. Rachel Cohen discusses her recent story in The Intercept -April deadline for new food stamp cruelty: Trump admin says almost 700,000 people will lose SNAP benefits, if courts don’t strike down proposal -Whoops: Department of Education says it improperly sent debt collection notices to 45,000 defrauded students, revising number by a factor of three Subscribe on Patreon.com/DistrictSentinel
-Navy announces biggest ever shipbuilding contract. Nine nuclear subs commissioned by world’s largest military to confront “threat” from China -Secretary of State vows more US meddling in Latin American countries, hints at violent suppression of protests -DHS getting ready to deploy extremely questionable facial recognition tech for foreign visitors -District Sentinel Recession Watch: Commercial construction value drops in October by more than 17 percent on an annual basis Subscribe at Patreon.c...
-EPA proposes watering down regs passed after massive 2013 Texas explosion -PR firm fake comment campaign tied to SEC attack on shareholder voting rights -There are thirty-two active national emergencies declared or affirmed by the President -Trump wants one of the war criminals he pardoned to be reinstated by the Navy SEALs Subscribe at Patreon.com/DistrictSentinel
-Ambassador Sondland testifies that top officials knew about Giuliani’s diplomatic efforts. Sec. Pompeo had emails printed out for him -Republican Senator complains about Pentagon failing audit headlines; DOD official confirms they failed -Lawmakers press EPA leaders to return to bargaining table with employees -NLRB: Board member actually should have ignored ethics advice on recusing himself from a matter he worked on as union busting lawyer -Banking regulators approve of largest merger since c...
-Patriot Act extension slipped into must-pass government funding bill, per the custom -FBI failing to vet informants, keeping snitches that should be disqualified, per DOJ Inspector General -Republicans bring industry hacks to private equity hearing -Almost 1,000 EPA clean-up sites at risk of climate change related damage Subscribe at Patreon.com/DistrictSentinel
-Pentagon fails yet another audit. Maybe it’s all the secret never-ending war. -Sotomayor: SCOTUS neglects chance to uphold precedent on civil asset forfeiture -Roberts Court does find time to temporarily halt subpoena of Trump accounting records -NOAA: Arctic ice cover at record low last month Subscribe at Patreon.com/DistrictSentinel
-Deval Patrick is the latest hopeless Wall Street bootlicker to declare he’s running for President. It sure does seem like centrists Dems want a crowded field for dirty tricks at the convention -The Breitbart to illegal firing pipeline: State IG finds bureaucrats were wrongfully dismissed after conservative media smear campaigns -When you’re definitely not racist: DHS wants to charge fees and withhold work permits to asylum applicants -The F-35’s flight control system is not properly functioning...
-Impeachment hearings really should be broader -Ominously-named Chad Wolf set to become yet another acting DHS Secretary -Border Patrol official boasts of agency response to racist Facebook page: social media training -Pentagon Inspector General publishes report on US military activity across Africa. Surprise: it’s classified -Fed Chair tells Congress it should worry about people on too many opioids to work (???) Subscribe at Patreon.com/DistrictSentinel
-State Department claims Bolivian security forces merely “pointed out the obvious” forcing Evo Morales to resign. Obviously a coup. -SCOTUS hears oral arguments in DACA case -Stephen Miller emails leaked to SPLC show White House aide liking white nationalist websites, the confederate flag, Infowars etc. -Biggest bank merger since Great Recession approved by Justice Department -Trump admin looks to kill environmental rules through bogus research release proposal undermining medical privacy Subscr...
-Sanders campaign releases proposal to dissolve post-9/11 agency -Senate advances yet more Trump judicial nominees, including a Stephen Miller aide appointed to an appellate circuit position -DOJ announces arrest in Saudi Twitter espionage scheme -CFTC granting exemptions from “bad actor” stock market bans -Bill Gates reveals the insecurity that drove him to accumulate and hoard obscene amounts of money, expresses willingness to vote for Trump Subscribe at Patreon.com/DistrictSentinel
-Dems now fully in control of Virginia, where labor needs help -Public impeachment hearings coming next week -Supreme Court hears case on groundwater pollution; White House, lobbyists press for more leniency -Administration refuses to publicly state whether mass surveillance program has ever been helpful -SEC release shows enforcement down since Obama era, as agency proposes rules designed to preserve corporate secrecy, Subscribe at Patreon.com/DistrictSentinel
-Lobbyist-friendly Interior official denies undermining scientific integrity, casts doubt on what researchers say about Arctic drilling -FTC announces settlement with AT&T for throttling unlimited data -Criminal antitrust cases at 40-year low -Getting name recognition through stupid scandals--Tom Steyer staffer resigns after accessing data from Kamala Harris campaign McKayla Wilkes fundraiser: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/mckayla-fundraiser-1110 Subscribe at Patreon.com/DistrictSentinel...
-SCOTUS hears case on charges thrown out due to traffic stop assumptions about the driver being whoever registered the car. Civil libertarians warn of reversal’s impact on poor people and communities of color -EPA rolling back rules on coal ash waste disposal. New safety regulations had been established after 2015 contamination disaster in Tennessee -Trump loses Second Circuit appeal of accounting firm subpoena; White House officials reportedly ignore impeachment inquiries -Today marks the forma...
-We celebrate the Nats World Series win and our successful pre-Game 6 exorcism by converting Sam Sacks to Catholicism -Recession scapegoat preview minus racist incitement: Trump reacts to first House impeachment vote by claiming it hurt the stock market -Two House Dems vote with GOP on impeachment--Rural Minnesota’s Colin Peterson and South Jersey Dipshit Jeff Van Drew -Twenty House Republicans and 24 Dems back compromise bill granting path to citizenship for undocumented farm workers -Ok millen...
-FBI Director Wray tells Congress he never heard about the “black identity extremist” surveillance program called Iron Fist -Fed cuts interest rates again with corporate bond market teetering -Cuccinelli claims responsibility for revoking status from sick immigrant kids, responding to questions about Stephen Miller’s role -Justice Department secures five-year-sentence for prison guard who conspired with inmate to carry out hit. Meanwhile, in not entirely unrelated news, more evidence that Jeffre...
-Pentagon announces F-35 production increase, despite problems with the Lockheed Martin fighter jet -Boeing CEO won’t criticize self-regulation at Senate hearing about 737 crashes -GAO finds increase in anti-Semitic, Islamophobic hate crimes on college campuses -Small Victory: Trump administration withdraws Park Service rule designed to clamp down on protests in Washington -Plus, an amateur exorcism to ward off Barbara Bush’s Ghost from the Washington Nationals McKayla Wilkes fundraiser link: ht...
The latest Chip Chat has been removed from behind the paywall. Journalist Chip Gibbons talks about his new report on the FBI's persistent attacks on speech and organizing.
