Judge: U.S. must release $679M in tribal virus relief funds

Via: Steve Ott  •  Anishinaabe - The First People  •  3 Comments  •  4 years ago

“Updated: A federal judge says the U.S. Treasury Department must release $679 million in coronavirus relief to tribes that it intended to withhold...”

U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta in Washington, D.C., said the agency doesn't have discretion to withhold the money that is part of a federal relief package that included $8 billion for tribes. He ordered the Treasury Department to disburse it among tribal governments by Wednesday. “Continued...

Criminal Justice Divides the 'Conservative' Judiciary

Via: Steve Ott  •  News & Politics  •  2 Comments  •  4 years ago

“Pundits often speak of the judiciary in terms of liberal or conservative judges issuing liberal or conservative opinions. The reality is far more...”

It might be surprising to hear, but these clashes are not isolated incidents. They are evidence of a growing trend: Today's criminal justice docket is bringing out all sorts of divisions among right-of-center jurists. If you want to understand some of the biggest constitutional battles of our...

Judge Gleeson Comes Right Out And Calls Bill Barr Corrupt

Via: Steve Ott  •  News & Politics  •  99 Comments  •  7 Likes  •  4 years ago

“That did not go like Barr drew it up.”

The Government’s ostensible grounds for seeking dismissal are conclusively disproven by its own briefs filed earlier in this very proceeding. They contradict and ignore this Court’s prior orders, which constitute law of the case. They are riddled with inexplicable and elementary errors of law and...

White Supremacist Infiltration of US Police Forces: Fact-Checking National Security Advisor O'Brien

Via: Steve Ott  •  News & Politics  •  1 Comments  •  1 Like  •  4 years ago

“What the available research says about systemic discrimination in law enforcement as well as links to racist and white supremacist ideology.”

...term “systemic racism” does not mean that individuals who operate within the system are generally racists. Instead, it means the institutions we have in place produce racially disparate effects on minority populations. And, in that regard, there are well-documented empirical studies of...

Sen. Mitch McConnell Looks To Undermine Efforts to Protect Americans From Secret FBI Surveillance - Reason.com

Via: Steve Ott  •  News & Politics  •  3 Comments  •  2 Likes  •  4 years ago

“An amendment to a FISA renewal bill would let the FBI snoop on your online browser history.”

If you needed a reminder that several Republican lawmakers only care about secret surveillance when their guy is the target, keep an eye on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R–Ky.).

The NRA Supported Gun Control When the Black Panthers Had the Weapons - HISTORY

Via: Steve Ott  •  News & Politics  •  92 Comments  •  5 Likes  •  4 years ago

“Back in the 1960s, even the NRA supported gun control to disarm the group.”

That's right. Saint Ronny Ray Gun took away the right to carry weapons openly in California. "In less than a decade, the NRA would go from backing gun control regulations to inhibit groups they felt threatened by to refusing to support any gun control legislation at all."

The world's first mass deportation took place on American soil | Aeon Essays

Via: Steve Ott  •  Anishinaabe - The First People  •  12 Comments  •  4 years ago

“One of the first mass deportations in the modern world, administered by state bureaucrats, took place on American soil”

The 80,000 victims of this state-sponsored forced relocation make up only a fraction of the hundreds of thousands of Indigenous Americans dispossessed since Europeans arrived in the Americas. But they represent nearly the entire native population then remaining in the US, excluding the nation’s...

The Logan Act Doesn't Justify Mike Flynn's Prosecution—It Further Politicizes It - Reason.com

Via: Steve Ott  •  News & Politics  •  4 Comments  •  4 years ago

“If you're invoking an obscure law designed for the purpose of punishing political adversaries, don't be surprised when it backfires.”

If you’re invoking an obscure law designed for the purpose of punishing political adversaries, don’t be surprised when it backfires.

Texas Says 'Pickles' Only Come From Cucumbers. So This Couple's Farm Went Out of Business. - Reason.com

Via: Steve Ott  •  News & Politics  •  28 Comments  •  3 Likes  •  4 years ago

“Anita and Jim McHaney are suing to overturn "preposterous" regulations on cottage food production.”

Their main argument is that the regulations on cottage food production are unreasonable and stifle their economic opportunities.

The Pandemic Has Become One More Issue for Americans To Fight Over - Reason.com

Via: Steve Ott  •  News & Politics  •  70 Comments  •  4 Likes  •  4 years ago

“Americans will survive the virus, but American political life is sicker than ever.”

“In a deeply divided nation, Democrats and Republicans don’t just disagree, they hate each other.”