24 January 2020
People are coming, but they’re not contributing. It’s not working. We have only raised half of what we raised last month at this stage and last month was a losing month.
The situation is bad enough that we are required to confront it head-on.
With urgency.
Marc Ash
Founder, Reader Supported News
Founder, Reader Supported News
If you would prefer to send a check:
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PO Box 2043
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Reader Supported News
PO Box 2043
Citrus Hts, CA 95611
24 January 20
An Impeachment Trial Without Witnesses Would Be Unconstitutional
Paul Savoy, The Atlantic
Savoy writes: "On the opening day of the impeachment trial, the Senate, in a party-line vote of 53-47, approved an organizing resolution establishing the ground rules for the trial and rejecting efforts by Democrats to compel the testimony of witnesses and the production of documents not included by the House in its impeachment inquiry."
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Voters on 26 April 2016, primary election day, in University Park, Pennsylvania. (photo: Nabil K Mark/AP)
Paul Savoy, The Atlantic
Savoy writes: "On the opening day of the impeachment trial, the Senate, in a party-line vote of 53-47, approved an organizing resolution establishing the ground rules for the trial and rejecting efforts by Democrats to compel the testimony of witnesses and the production of documents not included by the House in its impeachment inquiry."
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Voters on 26 April 2016, primary election day, in University Park, Pennsylvania. (photo: Nabil K Mark/AP)
Republicans Push to Weaken Court That Caught Them Rigging Elections
Sam Levine, Guardian UK
Levine writes: "Two years ago, Pennsylvania's supreme court dealt a blow to state Republicans when it said they had unconstitutionally rigged congressional elections in the state."
wo years ago, Pennsylvania’s supreme court dealt a blow to state Republicans when it said they had unconstitutionally rigged congressional elections in the state. Republicans fumed and threatened to impeach four of the justices, but the map was redrawn, and voters elected an even split of Democrats and Republicans to Congress in 2018. Now, Republicans are weaponizing a new tactic – a move that seems designed to increase their power on the state’s highest court.
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Senator Kamala Harris has yet to endorse a candidate in the Democratic presidential primary race, but she has stayed in contact with former vice president Joseph R. Biden since she dropped out. (photo: Anna Moneymaker)
Sam Levine, Guardian UK
Levine writes: "Two years ago, Pennsylvania's supreme court dealt a blow to state Republicans when it said they had unconstitutionally rigged congressional elections in the state."
Proposal overhauls how court justices are elected in Pennsylvania, and could offer a roadmap for undermining state courts elsewhere
wo years ago, Pennsylvania’s supreme court dealt a blow to state Republicans when it said they had unconstitutionally rigged congressional elections in the state. Republicans fumed and threatened to impeach four of the justices, but the map was redrawn, and voters elected an even split of Democrats and Republicans to Congress in 2018. Now, Republicans are weaponizing a new tactic – a move that seems designed to increase their power on the state’s highest court.
The Republican proposal overhauls the way that court justices are elected in a state that can swing both red and blue. The justices on the court, where Democrats hold a 5-2 majority, are currently appointed through statewide elections, but the new plan would make it so the justices are elected from districts throughout the state. The change would probably hurt Democratic candidates – four of the current justices are from the Pittsburgh area and one is from Philadelphia, both urban areas that tend to skew blue.
If the proposal is successful, it could offer a roadmap for Republicans elsewhere to undermine state courts. That’s significant after last year’s supreme court decision that determined federal courts couldn’t stop gerrymandering – the partisan redistricting of state maps – but that nothing stopped state courts from acting. State courts responded swiftly: a state court in North Carolina followed Pennsylvania and struck down electoral districts as unconstitutional gerrymanders there. And a slew of gerrymandering lawsuits are expected when districts are next redrawn in 2021.
“With the Pennsylvania supreme court having struck down the general assembly’s gerrymandering, the general assembly is now clearly trying to gerrymander the Pennsylvania supreme court itself,” said Daniel Jacobson, an attorney who helped represent the plaintiffs in the gerrymandering case. “It only goes to show the lengths that the general assembly leaders will go when they feel that their grip on power is threatened.”
The Republican effort also comes as state lawmakers across the country have moved to weaken the independence of state courts, said Douglas Keith, who studies courts across the country at the Brennan Center for Justice. Some states do elect supreme court justices by districts and there can be good reasons for doing so, Keith said. But, unjustified efforts to change the composition of state courts can weaken public confidence in judges.
“If the calls for geographic diversity are just a thin veil on an effort to make the court more political, or capture more seats for a political party or ideology, then there’s a problem and a misunderstanding of what judges’ responsibility in our democracy are,” Keith said.
The office of Representative Russ Diamond, the measure’s main sponsor in the House, did not return a request for comment. He has previously said the change would ensure there was more “geographic” and “ideological” diversity on the court.
The change would require a constitutional amendment that voters in Pennsylvania need to approve through a ballot referendum. Before it goes to the ballot, it needs to pass the state legislature in two consecutive sessions, so the earliest it could appear is 2021. The measure has already passed the Pennsylvania state house and is being considered in the Senate.
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Senator Kamala Harris has yet to endorse a candidate in the Democratic presidential primary race, but she has stayed in contact with former vice president Joseph R. Biden since she dropped out. (photo: Anna Moneymaker)
Kamala Harris Is Said to Be Weighing an Endorsement of Joe Biden
Jonathan Martin, The New York Times
Martin writes: "Senator Kamala Harris is weighing an endorsement of Joseph R. Biden Jr., according to multiple Democratic officials familiar with her deliberations."
Jonathan Martin, The New York Times
Martin writes: "Senator Kamala Harris is weighing an endorsement of Joseph R. Biden Jr., according to multiple Democratic officials familiar with her deliberations."
Sauntore Thomas in his attorney's office. (photo: Mike Householder/AP)
A Bank Called the Cops on a Black Man Trying to Deposit the Money He Won in a Racial Discrimination Lawsuit
Emma Ockerman, VICE
Ockerman writes: "A black man in Detroit who'd just won a settlement from a racial discrimination suit against his employer is now suing his bank for refusing to cash that settlement check."
Emma Ockerman, VICE
Ockerman writes: "A black man in Detroit who'd just won a settlement from a racial discrimination suit against his employer is now suing his bank for refusing to cash that settlement check."
Sauntore Thomas, a local 44-year-old, was attempting to deposit an undisclosed amount of money at a Livonia branch of TCF Bank Tuesday when the staff refused his check and called the cops instead, according to the local Detroit Free Press.
In fact, the money came from a confidential settlement reached after Thomas sued his employer, Enterprise Leasing Company of Detroit, for racial discrimination. Thomas explained that to the bank. But TCF Bank quickly initiated a fraud investigation anyway, and had multiple police officers question him inside the bank while two other cops stood guard.
In the meantime, Thomas called his attorney, Deborah Gordon, to explain to the bank that the check was legitimate and actually part of a settlement. Gordon sent the bank a copy of the federal court complaint. The officers received the lawsuit but wanted to further check with Thomas’ employer to ensure the check was real.
"My client was very intimidated and upset. He kept his composure, though," Gordon said in a statement Thursday. "He was afraid that with the police there the situation could quickly escalate and he would end up in handcuffs or worse. The irony is that the proceeds were from the settlement of a race discrimination case."
TCF Bank did not immediately return a VICE News request for comment, but they told the Detroit Free Press the checks — and Thomas allegedly had three, each for several thousand dollars — read as void when scanned by the branch's computer, and the branch acted accordingly. TCF Bank also told the Free Press the person who waited on Thomas was black, and flagged the incident because Thomas was making a "highly, highly unusual request" to deposit two checks, cash one, and open a new debit card at the same time, and that the original balance in his account was very low.
Thomas wasn’t arrested, and charges weren’t filed, but he felt humiliated by the incident nonetheless.
"I didn't deserve treatment like that when I knew that the check was not fraudulent," Thomas, who filed a discrimination complaint against the bank Wednesday, seeking an undisclosed amount, told the Free Press. "I'm a United States veteran. I have an honorable discharge from the Air Force. They discriminated against me because I'm black. None of this would have happened if I were white."
Thomas closed his account with TCF Bank that day and later deposited the check at a local Chase banking branch, where he opened a new account. The check cleared about 12 hours after that, and Thomas used the money to buy a used car, since he’d previously walked to work, according to the Free Press.
The incident adds to a decades-long conflict between financial institutions and black Americans, who have long been grilled over the most basic transactions. In December 2018, a Cleveland-area branch of Huntington Bank called the police on a black man attempting to deposit his paycheck. And in November 2017, a Fort Lauderdale branch of Wells Fargo suspected an elderly black woman of forging a check for $140, and similarly called the police. She later sued.
Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia is believed to have ordered a kidnapping of Abdulrahman Almutairi on U.S. soil. (photo: Getty)
Regime Critic Says Saudis Tried to Kidnap Him on US Soil
Spencer Ackerman, The Daily Beast
Ackerman writes: "A suspected agent of the Saudi government attempted to kidnap a regime critic on American soil, according to the critic and multiple U.S. and foreign sources familiar with the episode. The young Saudi man says the FBI saved him from becoming the next Jamal Khashoggi."
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Spencer Ackerman, The Daily Beast
Ackerman writes: "A suspected agent of the Saudi government attempted to kidnap a regime critic on American soil, according to the critic and multiple U.S. and foreign sources familiar with the episode. The young Saudi man says the FBI saved him from becoming the next Jamal Khashoggi."
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U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer. (photo: Getty)
US Border Officers Were Told to Target Iranian-Born Travelers, According to Email
Sophia Harris, CBC News
Harris writes: "U.S. border officers working at multiple Canada-U.S. border crossings were instructed to target and interrogate Iranian-born travelers in early January, said a U.S. border officer in an email obtained by CBC News."
Sophia Harris, CBC News
Harris writes: "U.S. border officers working at multiple Canada-U.S. border crossings were instructed to target and interrogate Iranian-born travelers in early January, said a U.S. border officer in an email obtained by CBC News."
U.S. Border Protection has denied detaining Iranian-born travellers and blamed long waits on the holidays
.S. border officers working at multiple Canada-U.S. border crossings were instructed to target and interrogate Iranian-born travellers in early January, said a U.S. border officer in an email obtained by CBC News.
The allegation follows reports that up to 200 people of Iranian descent travelling from B.C. — many of them Canadian or U.S. citizens — were detained and questioned for hours at the Peace Arch Border Crossing in Blaine, Wash., during the weekend of Jan. 4.
On Friday, Jan. 3, the U.S. assassinated Iran's top general, Qassem Soleimani, intensifying tensions between the two countries.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) told CBC News that the "current threat environment" prompted it to implement an "enhanced posture" at the border. However, it denied detaining Iranian-born travellers and said the delays at the Peace Arch crossing were related to staffing issues during a busy holiday weekend.
The U.S. border officer challenges CBP's claims in an email he sent to Blaine-based immigration lawyer, Len Saunders.
Saunders believes the officer reached out to him because the lawyer has been openly critical of how CBP allegedly treated Iranian-born travellers.
Saunders confirmed the U.S. officer's identity and said that he works on the front lines. He asked that CBC News keep the officer's name confidential, because the person fears repercussions from his employer.
To further protect the officer's identity, CBC isn't directly quoting from the page-long email.
In it, the officer told Saunders that CBP's Seattle Field Office — which covers the Canada-U.S. border from Washington State to Minnesota — directed border officers to ask Iranian-born travellers counterterrorism questions.
The officer claimed that the sole reason Iranian travellers were detained and questioned that weekend was due to their ethnicity. He alleged that the operation was unethical and possibly unconstitutional.
In his email, the officer also told Saunders that after the detainment of Iranian-born travellers made national news on Jan. 5, the operation was suspended.
CBP declined to comment on the content of the email without reviewing it first. To protect the officer's identity, CBC declined to send it.
Saunders said he also recently spoke with another U.S. border officer who worked the weekend of Jan. 4 at a Washington State border crossing different from the Peace Arch. Saunders said the officer confirmed the Seattle Field Office had directed frontline staff to target Iranian-born travellers.
"It confirms my suspicion that this was not just happening at Peach Arch," said Saunders. He also said that the officers' claims confirm his beliefs about how Iranian-born travellers were treated at the border.
"They violated American constitutional rights by interrogating them and detaining them," alleges Saunders. "What's next? Where does it stop?"
'This is not OK'
Although there are allegations that travellers with ties to Iran were targeted at multiple U.S. border crossings, Saunders believes the focus has been on the Peace Arch because a big group of Iranian-Americans travelled through that crossing Jan. 4, on their way home from a concert in Vancouver.
"It was because there was a large group that it got attention. That was just by chance," he said. "I'm sure there's a lot more cases we don't know about."
Not all Iranian-born travellers held at the Peace Arch in Blaine were returning home from a concert.
Iranian-born Canadian citizen, Sam Sadr of North Vancouver said he and three relatives were heading to Seattle when they were detained at the crossing for more than eight hours on Jan. 4.
"Why us?" said Sadr who was visiting the U.S. for the first time. He said he counted more than 120 people of Iranian heritage being held for questioning that day.
"As soon as they released me, I told the officer, 'This is called discrimination.'"
Negah Hekmati, an Iranian-born U.S. Citizen, was returning home with her husband and two children after a ski weekend in Canada. She said her family was held for questioning at the Peace Arch crossing for five hours during the early hours of Sunday.
"They had our car keys, they had our passports," she said during a news conference on Jan. 6. "I am here today because of my kids. They shouldn't experience such things. They are U.S. citizens and this is not OK."
To get to the bottom of what happened, 70 U.S. congress members sent a letter to CBP on Jan. 6, demanding answers.
"We are deeply concerned about the experiences of those impacted this past weekend and the potential that this may be the start of a new policy at our borders and airports illegally targeting those of Iranian descent," stated the letter.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties is now investigating the matter.
CBP declined to comment on the investigation. "As a matter of policy, U.S. Customs and Border Protection does not comment on pending litigation," spokesperson Mike Niezgoda said in an email.
Homeland Security didn't respond to CBC's request for comment.
Ice cores from a glacier on the northwestern Tibetan Plateau of China revealed 28 never-before-seen virus groups. (photo: Fei Yang/Getty)
Climate Change May Release Ancient Viruses From Melting Tibetan Glacier
Laura Geggel, Live Science
Geggel writes: "For the past 15,000 years, a glacier on the northwestern Tibetan Plateau of China has hosted a party for some unusual guests: an ensemble of frozen viruses, many of them unknown to modern science."
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Laura Geggel, Live Science
Geggel writes: "For the past 15,000 years, a glacier on the northwestern Tibetan Plateau of China has hosted a party for some unusual guests: an ensemble of frozen viruses, many of them unknown to modern science."
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