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Monthly archive

February 2017

New District Sentinel Radio: Congressional Trump Stump Preview

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We’re having some technical difficulties on Soundcloud & iTunes at the moment, so we’re temporarily posting the latest edition of District Sentinel Radio here. Enjoy! On the show: -A million reasons for Dems to interrupt -Scott Pruitt fibbed about going Hillary on emails -Corporate #Content: What the FCC craves -Jeff Sessions, Retire   Broadcasted from Washington, DC Music courtesy of Adam Fligsten (http://adamfligsten.com/)   Contribute to our Patreon: www.patreon.com/DistrictSentinel/ www.districtsentinel.com/ Facebook: www.facebook.com/DistrictSentinel/ Twitter: www.twitter.com/TheDCSentinel

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“Insider Threat” Failures: Unauthorized Leaks Back Up in 2016

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The Department of Justice received 37 allegations of illegal leaks within the federal government last year, almost double the number reported in 2015. Despite several measures put in place by former President Obama to prevent illegal disclosures, the latest figures track closely with a leak trend dating back to 2009. Since that year, the DOJ has received 39.7 leak crime reports on average every year. The 2016 figures were released on Monday in response to a Freedom of Information Act request from investigative journalists Steven…

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Sessions: “Experts Are Telling Me” Marijuana Legalization Causes Violence

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Newly-appointed Attorney General Jeff Sessions reiterated his belief on Monday in cannabis prohibition, citing unfounded claims about the policy. Sessions told reporters that analysts have demonstrated a link between marijuana legalization and crime, despite the destruction of black markets brought about by the move. “We’re seeing real violence around that,” he said, according to Politico. “Experts are telling me there’s more violence around marijuana than one would think and there’s big money involved.” The Attorney General did not cite which experts he had been speaking…

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Retail Lending Goes Ice Cold After Trump Election, Despite Stock Market Frenzy

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Consumer lending fell dramatically in the two months following President Trump’s election, according to Federal Reserve data published late last week. Overall loans and leases in bank credit fell by 0.7 percent in December and by 0.9 percent in January. The Fed metric grew by 6.3 percent on an annualized rate last year, and it hasn’t contracted on a quarterly basis since 2011. The steep drop in the credit market indicator contrasts starkly with the recent rise in major banks’ stock prices, as the Financial…

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First Trump Budget to Take Aim at Non-Retiree Social Safety Net

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The first Trump administration budget proposal will leave Social Security and Medicare benefits untouched, but other major federal programs face deep cuts. When asked about reductions to the two major retirement programs, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin told Fox News on Sunday: “Don’t expect to see that as part of this budget.” The administration, however, will be aiming to push for significant reductions in other unspecified “social safety net programs,” according to a report published the same day by The New York Times.  Full details have…

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Court Rules President’s Words Have Little Meaning, War is Raging in Afghanistan

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A prisoner’s bid to end a fifteen-year stint at Guantanamo Bay, by arguing that the war in Afghanistan was over, had his hopes dashed in a federal court this week. Moath al-Alwi, captured in 2001, argued that statements made by the previous administration, suggesting hostilities in Afghanistan had ceased, meant that prisoners of war from that conflict should be freed, in accordance with long-established law of war principles. Alwi’s legal team specifically cited statements made by former President Obama in 2015. One was made during his annual State…

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April Treasury Report Gives Trump Way Out of China Campaign Promise

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Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said Thursday that the Trump administration will wait until April before deciding if China should be considered a currency manipulator. A decision over the move, which would pave the way for tariffs on Chinese imports, will come in a biannual report on foreign exchange markets, Mnuchin told Bloomberg. The report could give President Trump an off-ramp to walk back one of his first campaign promises. Early during the Republican Primary, Trump said he would declare China a currency manipulator on his…

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ATF Made Millions in “Off-the-Books” Cig Smuggling Op

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Another Department of Justice informant program is under scrutiny following a New York Times report disclosing the existence of an undercover financing operation–this one involving illegal cigarette sales. Agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) enlisted the help of a Virginia tobacco distributor in 2011, to swindle a farmers’ cooperative out of $24 million. Some of the money was then used to finance ATF undercover activities, including $1 million payments each to two owners of the distribution company. The Times expose was…

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Racist Evidence, Incompetent Lawyers Lead to Supreme Court Death Sentence Stay

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The Supreme Court on Wednesday voted overwhelmingly to put on hold a death sentence that had been upheld twice in lower federal circuits. Duane Buck was granted the temporary reprieve after six justices decided an appellate court had not properly adjudicated his claims of having an incompetent lawyer. The Sixth Amendment guarantees “the Assistance of Counsel for…defense.” Buck had been sentenced to death in Texas, after his own attorneys said he was more likely to re-offend on the account of his race. Buck is black. “No…

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Trump’s Anti-Immigration Regime Takes Shape

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Homeland Security chief John Kelly issued a memo to department leadership Monday, outlining how agencies will implement anti-immigration executive orders given last month by President Trump. The guidance broadens the criteria of individuals eligible for removal from the country. It also loosens restrictions on immediate deportations, and orders Department of Homeland Security (DHS) offices to reallocate funding away from immigration advocacy programs. The move also allows for the hiring of 10,000 more Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, and for the dismantling of safeguards erected for undocumented immigrants during…

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Homeownership Rate Lowest Since L.B.J. Era, Years After Subprime Meltdown

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Data released this month by the Census Bureau show that homeownership is increasingly unavailable to Americans, years after the Great Recession. The rate of homeowners in the US fell in 2016 to 63.4 percent from 63.7 percent, marking the lowest it has been since 1967. Prospective buyers, meanwhile, got no relief from the market last year, with the vacancy rate down and the median asking price up at to $167,700–the highest it has been since the post-2008 housing price recovery began in 2011. Though the…

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