https://www.alternet.org/2020/01/a-republican-makes-a-surprising-case-for-elizabeth-warren-arguing-shell-deliver-on-trumps-failed-promises/


In the right-wing media, Sen. Elizabeth Warren is often portrayed as an enemy of free-market capitalism. But the Massachusetts senator and Democratic presidential hopeful has asserted that she is a “capitalist to my bones,” stressing that capitalism works best when it is more inclusive. And Sheila Bair (who served as chair of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, or FDIC, from 2006-2011) makes a Republican argument in Warren’s favor in an op-ed this week for the Wall Street Journal.

Asserting that Warren is by no means the “left-wing radical” her critics claim she is, Bair writes, “I am a Republican and have known and worked with Ms. Warren for many years. She is a capitalist and prairie populist, in the tradition of William Allen White and Teddy Roosevelt. She believes in a market economy. She just wants it to work for everyone.”

Bair explains that she worked with Warren extensively during the Great Recession and found that she “always took a market-based approach to the issues. She abhorred the generosity of the bank bailouts not because she was a Wall Street-hating socialist, but because she knew that markets can’t work without accountability.”

Bair goes on to outline some of the ways in which Warren is very pro-free market — for example, she “wants to break up the big banks by restoring the separation of commercial and investment banking. This would encourage competition and end the implied taxpayer subsidies that too-big-to-fail institutions enjoy.”


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https://immigrationimpact.com/2020/01/23/trump-collects-dna-immigrants-privacy-concerns/?emci=d21bf229-323e-ea11-a1cc-2818784d084f&emdi=c4b3e329-4440-ea11-a1cc-2818784d084f&ceid=7881932#.Xioj78hKi38


The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) began collecting DNA from people held at the border earlier this month. This is part of a pilot program that DHS plans to expand nationwide. The program is currently operating at the port of entry in Eagle Pass, Texas and within the Border Patrol’s Detroit Sector.

When fully implemented, the program would collect the DNA of nearly all people arrested by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) over the age of 14. This will include U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents. People who refuse to comply could face prosecution.

The privacy implications of this new program are enormous, while the benefits for law enforcement are negligible.

The Department of Justice estimated that over 740,000 people would have been subject to this program over the last year. ICE alone had approximately 41,000 people in its custody as of January 11.

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Who cares about privacy and the 4th Amendment?

https://www.rawstory.com/2020/01/genocide-expert-breaks-down-how-all-of-the-warning-signs-are-present-in-trumps-america/

Defense research scientist and genocide expert Brynn Tannehill laid out a terrifying warning on Thursday about President Donald Trump’s administration.

As the United States Senate conducted an impeachment trial for the commander-in-chief, Tannehill posted an extended Twitter thread examining the situation in America from her perspective as a researcher studying the conditions that lead to genocide.

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My blood is running cold.

for speaking truth to power.

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/01/21/we-will-not-be-intimidated-journalist-glenn-greenwald-defiant-after-being-charged

"Journalist Glenn Greenwald hit back after being charged with cybercrimes by Brazilian authorities Tuesday in connection to his reporting on corruption in the country, saying he would fight to defend the right to a free press and his right to report the truth.

"We are going to defend a free press," Greenwald tweeted in Portugese. "We will not be intimidated by the abuse of the state apparatus or by the Bolsonaro government."

The move to charge Greenwald by the right-wing government of President Jair Bolsonaro was quickly and forcefully condemned by progressives and journalists around the world.

"This is beyond disturbing," said Trevor Timm, executive director of the Freedom of the Press Foundation."

https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2020/01/barclays-elizabeth-warren-wealth-tax-student-debt/

A major bank that Elizabeth Warren once sharply criticized has some stark warnings for Wall Street investors about her potential presidency. Warren’s corporate tax plan, according to one memo the bank circulated, would “directly impact corporate earnings.” Her nine-point eligibility test for international trading partners—which requires a commitment to protect religious freedom and labor rights—“would disrupt global supply chains.” And her proposed 2 percent tax on personal wealth greater than $50 million “would likely crimp investment in the economy.”

Those are some of the conclusions reached by the research arm of Barclays, a powerful London-based bank and financial services firm. The series of five reports, titled “#DemNomination2020,” is intended to provide insights on “market-moving policies from this nomination cycle,” according to one of the documents. The reports systematically dissect Warren’s plans—at the time of publication, the researchers counted nearly 50—through the lens of the US credit, municipal, and equity markets, and they include a close evaluation of how much Warren could achieve without Congress’ help. Barclays prepared the reports in October and November for its paying clients—institutional investors such as commercial banks, hedge funds, and insurance companies.

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short article, nothing more at link

https://www.rawstory.com/2020/01/lev-parnas-ran-to-maddow-over-fear-justice-department-officials-would-bury-bill-barr-allegations-ex-prosecutor/

See video at the bottom.

https://www.rawstory.com/2020/01/involuntary-celibates-are-an-emerging-domestic-terrorism-threat-texas-warns-of-an-incel-rebellion/

Misogynistic men who identify as part of the “Involuntary Celibate” movement are domestic terrorism threats, according to a new report.

The Texas Department of Public Safety included the warning in their 2020, “Texas Domestic Terrorism Threat Assessment” (PDF).

“Although not a new movement, Involuntary Celibates (Incels) are an emerging domestic terrorism threat as current adherents demonstrate marked acts or threats of violence in furtherance of their social grievance,” the report noted. “Once viewed as a criminal threat by many law enforcement authorities, Incels are now seen as a growing domestic terrorism concern due to the ideological nature of recent Incel attacks internationally, nationwide, and in Texas.”

“What begins as a personal grievance due to perceived rejection by women may morph into allegiance to, and attempts to further, an Incel Rebellion. The result has thrust the Incel movement into the realm of domestic terrorism,” the report explained.

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https://www.alternet.org/2019/12/the-seeds-of-theocratic-authoritarianism-are-being-planted/

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Initially we heard a lot about Barr being part of a group of Republicans who are dedicated to the concept of a “unitary executive.” That was affirmed by the attorney general’s recent speech to the Federalist Society. It was, however, Barr’s speech at Notre Dame that led many of us to look at little deeper into what motivates this attorney general. He blamed “secularists” for moral chaos and posited that “free government was only suitable and sustainable for a religious people.” Stewart and Fredrickson point out that these views are foundational for Barr.

As Joan Walsh recently pointed out, a look at Barr’s history demonstrates that he has been “neck-deep in extremist Catholic institutions.” One of the more interesting is the Catholic Information Center.

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Reading the Washington Post article Walsh linked to about the Catholic Information Center, it became clear that this group appears to be the Catholic version of the Protestant group Jeff Sharlet wrote about in his book, “The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power.” It is especially worth noting that the Federalist Society’s Leonard Leo serves on the board of the Catholic Information Center. He is the person featured in a Washington Post report by Robert O’Harrow and Shawn Boberg titled “A conservative activist’s behind-the-scenes campaign to remake the nation’s courts.” All of those extremist judges being nominated by Trump and rushed through confirmation by McConnell are being fed into the system by Leonard Leo, who joins Barr in being affiliated with an extremist Catholic organization.

All of this is why Stewart and Fredrickson point out that Barr’s interpretation of executive power is an “effect, rather than a cause, of his ideological commitments.”

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Anyone familiar with Margret Atwood’s Handmaid’s Tale understands that this is what happens when democracy is replaced by theocratic authoritarianism. It is a marriage of white nationalism, Christian nationalism, and misogyny. That is where the current conservative movement is headed in this country.

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These are some sick motherf*ckers.