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This evening's music features Memphis r&b singer Rufus Thomas. Enjoy!

“All obstructions to the execution of the laws, all combinations and associations, under whatever plausible character, with the real design to direct, control, counteract, or awe the regular deliberation and action of the constituted authorities, are destructive of this fundamental principle, and of fatal tendency. They serve to organize faction, to give it an artificial and extraordinary force; to put, in the place of the delegated will of the nation the will of a party, often a small but artful and enterprising minority of the community; and, according to the alternate triumphs of different parties, to make the public administration the mirror of the ill-concerted and incongruous projects of faction, rather than the organ of consistent and wholesome plans digested by common counsels and modified by mutual interests.”

-- George Washington

News and Opinion

After Michael Flynn’s Resignation, Surveillance Defenders Suddenly Care About Wiretap Abuse

Rep. Devin Nunes, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee and a leading defender of government surveillance programs, reacted with outrage when he found out the FBI had listened in on conversations between the Russian ambassador and a top Trump official.

“I expect for the FBI to tell me what is going on, and they better have a good answer,” the California Republican told the Washington Post. “The big problem I see here is that you have an American citizen who had his phone calls recorded.” ...

The surveillance-touting Wall Street Journal in an editorial Monday dropped its usual use of the term “intelligence professionals” to question whether “U.S. spooks” had a court order to listen to Flynn’s conversations.

What’s particularly ironic about Nunes’s comments was that he seemed to be ignoring one of the biggest gaps in U.S. surveillance law — one which he has personally defended — that allows the government to spy on millions of Americans without any sort of probable cause by targeting their communications with people overseas.

“The concept that many Americans’ communications are incidentally recorded when speaking to foreign targets is Foreign Intelligence 101,” said Jake Laperruque, senior counsel at the Constitution Project. “It’s hard to believe a competent intelligence committee chair doesn’t understand this.”

Greenwald: Empowering the "Deep State" to Undermine Trump is Prescription for Destroying Democracy

We Must Oppose The Deep State's Psychopathic Push Toward A New Cold War

It’s heartening to see former Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich in the news so much lately. I’m not sure how this isn’t intensely, screamingly obvious to most Americans, but the anti-war politicians are the good guys. They’re the ones you can trust. War is the single most insane, illogical, evil and unsustainable thing that human beings do, and anyone who’s fighting to minimize its existence in the world is very clearly and obviously working in the highest interest. The people who are fighting for increased military aggression with Russia and Syria on one side, and with Iran and China on the other, are the liars, crooks and killers we need to watch out for.

I can’t think of even a full handful of high-level politicians who are aggressively fighting against America’s politically ubiquitous policy of corporatist military interventionism, but Dennis Kucinich (who because of his progressive presidential runs I might be tempted to call a kind of proto-Bernie if his foreign policy positions weren’t vastly more sane than Sanders’) is definitely one of them. His appearance on FOX Business Network’s Mornings with Maria in which he warned that a faction within the US intelligence community is seeking to “reignite the Cold War” was a bucket of cold water on the insipid national dialogue that’s arisen in the wake of Michael Flynn’s resignation, and, since he is clearly one of the good guys, we should all be paying attention. ...

A new Cold War wouldn’t just rob the American people of money and security, it would risk the life of every single living thing. There are far too many things that can go wrong, far too many moving parts. If you are willing to enter into Cold War tensions again, for any reason, you are making yourself an enemy of your species, your planet, and indeed everything that lives here. We must all reject this insanity with one voice—Russian, American, and everyone else— and refuse to let these unelected psychopaths drag us down this path of evil.

Crimea was TAKEN by Russia during the Obama Administration. Was Obama too soft on Russia?

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 15, 2017

Which Washington Crimes Matter Most?

Michael Flynn participated in mass murder and destruction in Afghanistan and Iraq, advocated for torture, and manufactured false cases for war against Iran. He and anyone who appointed him to office and kept him there should be removed from and disqualified for public service. (Though I still appreciate his blurting out the obvious regarding the counterproductive results of drone murders.)

Many would say that prosecuting Al Capone for tax fraud was a good move if he couldn’t be prosecuted for murder. But what if Al Capone had been funding an orphanage on the side, and the state had prosecuted him for that? Or what if the state hadn’t prosecuted him, but a rival gang had taken him out? Are all take-downs of major criminals good ones? Do they all deter the right activities by up-and-coming criminals?

Michael Flynn was not removed by public demand, by representative action in Congress, by public impeachment proceedings, or by criminal prosecution (though that may follow). He was removed by an unaccountable gang of spies and killers, and for the offense of seeking friendlier relations with the world’s other major nuclear-armed government.

Jason Chaffetz wants to investigate leaks to journalists instead of Trump's ties to Russia

House Oversight Chairman Jason Chaffetz and House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte have requested an inquiry into whether government employees leaked classified information to journalists in the aftermath of National Security Advisor Michael Flynn’s resignation earlier this week.

In a letter sent to the Justice Department’s Inspector General on Wednesday, Chaffetz and Goodlatte wrote that “we have serious concerns about the potential inadequate protection of classified information here” and asked for an “immediate investigation.”

Chaffetz declined, however, to further investigate Flynn’s communications with the Russian government telling journalists that the situation was “taking care of itself” and leaving any future probes to the House Intelligence Committee. ...

This week Democrats on Chaffetz’s committee wrote a letter in protest of his deference because “[i]t is difficult to imagine a more serious list of allegations for our Committee to investigate.”

Greenwald: Democrats Seem to Consider Snowden's & Manning's Leaks Evil & Leaks Under Trump Heroic

Trump to Appoint Billionaire Know-Nothing to Root Out 'Low-Life Leakers'

Tensions between the U.S. intelligence community and President Donald Trump reached new heights after it was reported that Trump ally and New York billionaire Stephen Feinberg would be leading a sweeping review of the nation's spy agencies.

Citing administration officials, the New York Times reported Wednesday that Feinberg, whose "only experience with national security matters is his [capital management] firm's stakes in a private security company and two gun makers," would be working for the White House while conducting a broad review of intelligence agencies. Feinberg is co-founder of Cerberus Capital Management.

"Bringing Mr. Feinberg into the administration to conduct the review is seen as a way of injecting a Trump loyalist into a world the White House views with suspicion," the Times observed, noting that Feinberg has close ties to Trump's controversial chief strategist Stephen Bannon as well as son-in-law Jared Kushner. ...

Trump's growing public feud with the U.S. intelligence agencies peaked this week after leaks revealed that the White House had known about unsanctioned pre-inaugural communications between Gen. Michael Flynn and Russian officials, forcing the resignation of Flynn from his post as national security advisor.

And while calls have grown for an independent investigation into potential collusion between the Kremlin and the Trump camp, the president has focused his wrath on the "low-life leakers," as he wrote on Twitter early Thursday, vowing: "They will be caught!"

Deutsche Bank examined Donald Trump's account for Russia links

The scandal-hit bank that loaned hundreds of millions of dollars to Donald Trump has conducted a close internal examination of the US president’s personal account to gauge whether there are any suspicious connections to Russia, the Guardian has learned.

Deutsche Bank, which is under investigation by the US Department of Justice and is facing intense regulatory scrutiny, was looking for evidence of whether recent loans to Trump, which were struck in highly unusual circumstances, may have been underpinned by financial guarantees from Moscow.

The Guardian has also learned that the president’s immediate family are Deutsche clients. The bank examined accounts held by Ivanka Trump, the president’s daughter, her husband, Jared Kushner, who serves as a White House adviser, and Kushner’s mother.

The internal review found no evidence of any Russia link, but Deutsche Bank is coming under pressure to appoint an external and independent auditor to review its business relationship with President Trump.

Former Trump adviser Roger Stone calls for investigation of alleged Russia links

Roger Stone, a longtime adviser and confidant to Donald Trump who has been named in news reports as one of at least four individuals under FBI observation over alleged contacts with Russian intelligence, has called for an official inquiry into the swirling crisis.

Stone has called on the White House to order an immediate investigation through the Department of Justice over alleged improper links between members of the Trump inner circle and the Kremlin during the course of the 2016 presidential campaign. His request adds to a mounting chorus of demands from senior congressional members and outside advocacy groups for an official inquiry into the affair.

In an interview with the Guardian, Stone appealed to Trump, whom he has been close to for almost 40 years, to convene an inquiry through Jeff Sessions, the newly appointed US attorney general. “The president should tell his attorney general that either he finds proof of this, or he puts it to bed and announces none of it happened.” ...

He went on to describe claims that the Trump campaign and associates engaged improperly with Russian intelligence officials as “bunk” based on no proof. He said: “I can speak for myself, there was no collusion, I have no connection with the Russians, I’ve never taken anything from them, I don’t represent them, I’m not talking to some middle man. If the government has evidence that I was colluding with the Russians in Donald Trump’s campaign they should indict me immediately. And if they don’t they should send me a letter apologising, because this is an outrage and a smear.”

Wikileaks releases 'CIA espionage orders' for 2012 French presidential election

U.S. warns NATO - increase spending or we might 'moderate' support

U.S. President Donald Trump's defense secretary warned NATO allies on Wednesday that they must honor military spending pledges to ensure the United States does not "moderate" support for the alliance.

Jim Mattis, on his debut trip to Brussels as Pentagon chief, also accused some NATO members of ignoring threats, including from Russia.

"America cannot care more for your children's future security than you do," Mattis said in a closed-door session with NATO defense ministers, according to prepared remarks provided to reporters.

The comments represented some of the strongest criticism in memory of allies who have failed to reach defense spending goals.

Europe's low expenditure has long been a sore point for the United States, which puts up 70 percent of alliance funds. But Trump has made change a priority, saying allies have "been very unfair to us" for not spending more.

Lawyers in CIA torture case argue over secret documents

Defense attorneys in a lawsuit filed by three men who claim they were victims of waterboarding and other torture by the CIA are battling over the release of secret documents related to their interrogations in the war on terror.

The lawsuit targets psychologists James Mitchell and Bruce Jessen, who ran a Spokane, Washington-based company that made millions of dollars from the CIA to develop methods to extract information that included waterboarding, starvation and sleep deprivation. ...

Andrew Warden, an attorney for the Justice Department, suggested delays may be needed until President Donald Trump's newly appointed CIA director Mike Pompeo and Attorney General Jeff Sessions have time to review the case to decide whether to release key documents, The Spokesman-Review reported.

Quackenbush asked why the new administration had anything to do with the case.

"This started months ago when you had a long-serving director of the CIA and attorney general," the judge said.

Attorney Brian Paszamant, who represents Jessen and Mitchell, said he needs access to redacted government files to defend his clients.

Trial balloon launched.

Pentagon might propose sending ground troops to Syria

The Defense Department might propose that the US send conventional ground combat forces into northern Syria for the first time to speed up the fight against ISIS, CNN has learned.

"It's possible that you may see conventional forces hit the ground in Syria for some period of time," one defense official told CNN. ...

Until now, only small teams made up largely of Special Operations forces have operated in Syria, providing training and assistance to anti-ISIS opposition groups on the ground.

Conventional units operate in larger numbers and would require a more significant footprint of security protection both on the ground and in the air.

US officials are characterizing the concept of deploying ground troops as a point of discussion, stopping short of saying it's a formal proposal.

New UN team to collect evidence for Syria war crime prosecutions

A new unit is being set up by the United Nations in Geneva to prepare prosecutions of war crimes committed in Syria, UN officials have said.

The first major policy announcement under the newly inaugurated UN secretary-general, António Guterres, the unit will “analyse information, organise and prepare files on the worst abuses that amount to international crimes”, a UN human rights official said.

The team will investigate “primarily war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide, and identify those responsible”, the official added. Although it will not be able to prosecute, the unit will prepare files that could be used in future prosecutions by states or by the international criminal court in The Hague.

The focus on prosecutions also means evidence collected since 2011 by a UN commission of inquiry may be sharpened into legal action.

Greenwald on Trump-Netanyahu Meeting & How Israel Is Turning into an Apartheid-Like State

Trump Says Palestinian Statehood Isn’t Necessary for Peace. Netanyahu Calls Him the Greatest.

President Trump wiped away 15 years of U.S. policy on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict during a White House press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday afternoon, explaining his view that statehood for Palestinians is not necessary for peace.

“So I’m looking at two-state and one-state and I like the one that both parties like,” Trump said as Netanyahu audibly chuckled. “I’m very happy with the one that both parties like. I could live with either one. I thought for a while that two state looked like it may be the easier of the two, but honestly if Bibi and if the Palestinians, if Israel and the Palestinians are happy, I’m happy with the one they like the best.” ...

Asked about his views on Palestinian statehood, Netanyahu joked that “if you asked five Israelis” what two states would look like, “you’d get 12 different answers.” His right-wing Likud Party has long formally opposed Palestinian statehood as a part of its platform. But during the Obama era, the prime minister claimed to support such a state as part of a comprehensive peace deal.

That claim was undermined by Israeli action. Under Netanyahu, the government of Israel allowed the settler population to grow by over 100,000. The pretense was gone during his 2015 re-election campaign, when he vowed  that there would be no Palestinian state under his watch.

Out of the loop: Rex Tillerson finds state department sidelined by White House

Rex Tillerson began his first foreign outing as US secretary of state on Thursday, meeting counterparts from G20 countries in Bonn, but he has left behind in Washington a department that is severely weakened and cut out of key policy decisions.

Since starting the job two weeks ago, Tillerson, a former ExxonMobil executive, has soothed nerves at the state department by consulting widely with regional and country experts, but it has been hard to disguise the gap between the department headquarters at Washington’s Foggy Bottom and the White House where far-reaching foreign policy decisions are being made.

Senior state department officials who would normally be called to the White House for their views on key policy issues, are not being asked their opinion. They have resorted to asking foreign diplomats, who now have better access to President Trump’s immediate circle of advisers, what new decisions are imminent.

The public voice of the state department has fallen silent. There has not been a daily press briefing, the customary channel for voicing US views and policy on world events, since January. ...

Tillerson had previously assured Bob Corker, the chairman of the Senate foreign relations committee, that he would have a free hand in choosing staff. He has brought a handful of personal aides with him but many of the state department senior staff either resigned or were summarily dismissed days before Tillerson arrived in the building, and there is no list of nominees to replace them. Given the time vetting and congressional confirmation takes, Tillerson is now facing many months of working with a severely depleted team of senior staff.

Andrew Puzder, Trump's labor secretary pick, withdraws from consideration

Andrew Puzder, Donald Trump’s controversial choice to run the Department of Labor, has withdrawn his nomination as questions about his byzantine business interests, details about his acrimonious divorce and revelations that he employed an undocumented immigrant as a housekeeper have mounted.

Puzder’s nomination was ultimately felled by Republicans, who grew increasingly concerned about the restaurant executive’s background and business record.

After a series of delays, Puzder, the chief executive of CKE Restaurants, the billion-dollar parent company of the fast food chains Carl’s Jr and Hardee’s, was due to appear before the Senate health, education, labor and pensions committee on Thursday.

Anti-Muslim hate groups nearly triple in US since last year, report finds

The number of organized anti-Muslim hate groups in America nearly tripled last year, from 34 to more than 100, according to a new report from the Southern Poverty Law Center, a left-leaning non-profit that tracks extremist groups.

The center credited the “incendiary rhetoric” of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign with fueling the rise in anti-Muslim hate, along with anger over terror attacks like the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando last June.

Several senior White House officials, including Steve Bannon, Steven Miller, and Kellyanne Conway, are “serious anti-Muslim ideologues”, Mark Potok, the lead author of the annual hate group report, said Wednesday.

“It’s hardly like the departure of Michael Flynn is going to mitigate the really serious onslaught directed at American Muslims,” Potok said. The former national security adviser, who resigned Monday, had made several anti-Muslim statements, including a Twitter post suggesting that “fear of Muslims is rational”.

An arrest in Seattle may be an indication Trump is going after young immigrants protected by Obama

Federal agents recently rounded up more than 600 immigrants in raids across the U.S., but one particular case in the Seattle area is proof, says one activist, that President Donald Trump has declared “open season” on individuals who entered the country illegally — including young people shielded from deportation by the Obama administration.

Last Friday, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents arrested 23-year-old Daniel Ramirez Medina at his father’s home in Washington state. Ramirez, who has a 3-year-old American citizen son and no criminal record, had twice qualified for the Deferred Action For Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which allowed him to work legally in the U.S. and should have stopped the feds from picking him up.

While it appears that Ramirez wasn’t targeted because of his DACA status, that protection wasn’t enough to prevent him from getting arrested — and that has immigration advocates and attorneys worried. ...

Trump repeatedly promised to crack down on illegal immigration during his campaign, and he signed two executive orders during his first week in office that broadened the “enforcement priorities” of federal agencies to target anyone who entered the country without authorization. It was unclear whether Trump’s orders would affect so-called Dreamers — undocumented people who came to the U.S. as children — but advocates said the detention of Ramirez suggests this group is now fair game too. ...

There’s no indication that the Trump administration intends to go after other DACA recipients; for now it appears that Ramirez was in the wrong place at the wrong time. But the fact that ICE agents ignored his DACA status has put other young immigrants on alert.

Seattle judge demands an explanation after undocumented 'dreamer' arrested

Daniel Ramirez Medina, a 23-year-old with no criminal record who was brought to the US from Mexico when he was seven years old, was taken into custody last Friday in Seattle. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) officers made the arrest at his father’s house, despite the fact that Medina, who has a three-year-old son, has twice been granted an employment authorization card under the Daca program.

The detention of the “dreamer”, as Daca recipients are known, appears to be the first of its kind since Donald Trump took office. Medina’s lawyers have since filed a lawsuit against the US Department of Homeland Security alleging unlawful seizure and detention, leading chief US magistrate judge James Donohue to order the government to justify its actions.

Donohue wrote in a Tuesday filing, ordering that the government respond by 9am on Thursday: “If petitioner is still detained and removal proceedings have not been initiated against him, what is the basis for Ice’s authority to detain him?” ...

While some have suggested that Ramirez’s detention could be a fluke or the action of a rogue agent, David Leopold, a leading immigration lawyer, said the fact that he had been detained for several days already suggested that it was not an error, but part of a broader policy.

If that’s the case, he said, “this is the blueprint for mass deportation. Their enforcement priorities are so broad they include everybody.”

Hispanic Caucus on Trump’s Deportations: “We’re Creating an Immigration Police State”

Lawmakers representing hispanic communities across the country are demanding answers from the Department of Homeland Security following a series of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations that led to hundreds of arrests in multiple states last week — so far, the elected officials say, they aren’t getting them.

On Tuesday, ICE’s acting director, Thomas Homan, cancelled a meeting with members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus in which he was to provide details on the more than 680 people arrested across the country last week and explain the guidance given to his agents in conducting the operations.

ICE had described the operations as “routine,” but when Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham, head of the Hispanic caucus, called the ICE chief following the cancellation of yesterday’s meeting, she learned that was not exactly the case.

“He confirmed that there’s a shift in policy but did not give me the details about what that means,” Grisham told The Intercept. ... She explained that the “real shift” in Trump’s executive order is found in its “broader language and discretion.” Under the order, undocumented individuals who are suspected of having committed an offense that could constitute a crime can be deported, even if they are never convicted or even charged.

“This is really chilling in terms of what the potential intent here is, particularly if you match it to the Trump campaign — ‘we’re going to deport everyone who’s here illegally,’” Grisham said. “Are we starting that?” she asked. “I, we, won’t know, until we can get the details of every person who’s been arrested.” ...

“You’re just unleashing a police power without any kind of involvement from anybody else and that is not how this country operates,” she said. “The potential there is we’re creating an immigration police state.”

Upward Distribution of Wage Income Behind Social Security's Shortfall

Defenders of Social Security Mobilize Against GOP Attack on Retirees

On the same day that U.S. millionaires stop paying into Social Security for the rest of the year, President Donald Trump's pick to head the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)—who wants to slash the safety net program—was confirmed to that post by the U.S. Senate.

Citing his support for cutting Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, lawmakers and advocacy groups took to social media on Thursday to denounce Rep. Mick Mulvaney's (R-S.C.) nomination to head OMB. During his confirmation hearing last month, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) voiced concern that Mulvaney's views were "way, way out of touch with what President Trump campaigned on." (Sanders elaborated in a tweet storm highlighting several instances in which the Tea Party Republican went on the record as wanting to slash funding for the programs and raise the retirement age.)

But Democrats' opposition (plus that of Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain) wasn't enough to stop Mulvaney's confirmation with a 51-49 vote on Thursday morning (roll call here). ...

Sanders and Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) will on Thursday introduce the Social Security Expansion Act, which they say would protect and expand Social Security and pay for it by eliminating the cap for payroll income above $250,000 as well as applying a 6.2 percent Social Security tax to investment income for high-income households.

More than 200 Republicans in Congress are skipping February town halls with constituents

Members of Congress are set to return to their districts this weekend for their first weeklong recess since Donald Trump’s inauguration. Heading home during legislative breaks is nothing new, but this year most Republicans are foregoing a hallowed recess tradition: holding in-person town halls where lawmakers take questions from constituents in a high school gym, local restaurant, or college classroom.

After outpourings of rage at some early town halls — including crowds at an event near Salt Lake City yelling “Do your job!” at Rep. Jason Chaffetz, chairman of the House Oversight Committee — many Republicans are ducking in-person events altogether. Instead they’re opting for more controlled Facebook Live or “tele-town halls,” where questions can be screened by press secretaries and followups are limited — as are the chances of becoming the next viral meme of the Left. ...

But ultimately both parties are holding fewer in-person events to avoid unwanted viral moments. Senior Democratic lawmakers this week asked progressive favorite Sen. Bernie Sanders to reach out to activists and urge them to not protest at Democratic town halls, according to the Washington Post.

Bassem Yousef on satirizing Donald Trump

Text Describing Federal Fracking Rule Disappears From Interior Department Website

In Donald Trump's irst week as president, text describing two rules regulating the oil and gas industry was removed from an Interior Department website. The rules, limiting hydraulic fracturing and natural gas flaring on public lands, are both in the crosshairs of the Trump administration. ...

The rule, which is widely opposed by the oil and gas industry, limits fossil fuel companies’ ability to vent and flare gas on public land, which releases methane, a greenhouse gas around 84 times more potent than carbon dioxide over a 20-year period. It was one of the first Obama-era regulations to be targeted by a Republican-controlled Congress empowered by Trump. On February 3, at least five days after the site had been updated, the House of Representatives voted to repeal the methane rule using the Congressional Review Act, which gives Congress 60 days to eliminate federal regulations legislators don’t like. The bill awaits a Senate vote.

Also removed was text within a section on the Interior Department’s hydraulic fracturing rule, Obama’s primary attempt to limit the impacts of the controversial oil and gas extraction method. The page still notes that the rule exists, but it no longer describes what it does. The deleted text stated that the regulation was meant “to ensure that when operations are undertaken on lands where a BLM permit is required, steps are taken to ensure wellbore integrity, proper waste water management, and greater transparency about the process, including information about the composition of fracturing fluids.”

Tribe Files New Suit as Army Corps Announces Eviction Deadline for Water Protectors

The Oglala Sioux have joined the legal battle against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, filing a lawsuit this week calling on the agency to halt construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) until an environmental review can be completed.

Tribal leaders cited fear of water contamination in their lawsuit, which was filed Monday in the U.S District Court in Washington, the same day a federal judge rejected an emergency request from the Standing Rock Sioux and the Cheyenne River Sioux tribes to delay construction.

The action comes ahead of the corps pledging to evict anyone still camping at the main resistance site in Cannon Ball, North Dakota, on February 22.

The corps granted DAPL's parent company its final easement this month and canceled the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) amid widespread protests.

"After the Corps granted the easement for the DAPL to cross under Lake Oahe and stopped the environmental impact statement process, we really had no choice but to go to court to protect our rights under the 1851 and 1868 Fort Laramie Treaties to safe drinking water," tribal President Troy "Scott" Weston said in a statement Monday.

The Oglala Sioux are situated in South Dakota, one of the four states the 1,172-mile pipeline crosses. The lawsuit warns that a spill in the Missouri River would violate Indigenous treaty rights, contaminate clean water for more than 200,000 state residents, and bring about other environmental devastation.

"The waters of the Missouri River are sacred to the tribe," the Oglala Sioux's lawsuit states. "These waters give life to all of the creatures and plants on the tribe's lands. The tribe has treaty- and statute-protected property rights to the waters of the Missouri River."

'Opportunity for healing': General Custer's relative visits Standing Rock

Floris White Bull couldn’t believe what she was hearing. On the same day the US government granted permission for the Dakota Access pipeline to drill under the Missouri river, a descendant of General George Armstrong Custer had arrived at Standing Rock. ... White Bull ... is a descendant of Chief White Bull, the man who some believed to have killed Custer in the famous Battle of the Little Bighorn in 1876.

Alisha Custer – whose lineage traces back to the US army commander who led the 19th-century wars against Lakota Sioux and Cheyenne warriors – had traveled from Wichita, Kansas, to Cannon Ball, North Dakota, and was ready to speak to Standing Rock members. ...

Gathered inside a yurt last Wednesday at Oceti Sakowin, the main camp of “water protectors” fighting the oil pipeline, Custer and her four-year-old daughter Akira met with a small group of indigenous people to offer something these Standing Rock members had never received before from the Custer family – an apology. ...

For some Standing Rock members, Custer’s visit served as a painful reminder that their historical traumas are closely linked to the present-day battles with the US government, which they say continues to trample on their rights and use force. ...

Custer said she also hoped an in-person apology could provide some sort of healing. “Trauma has been scientifically proven to not only run through our DNA, but to be passed on in our DNA to our children,” she said. “I didn’t do these things, but … someone needs to stand up and say I’m sorry.” She said it was important for her to say, “Custer not only did wrong, he deserved to die for his folly. He didn’t just betray you. He betrayed me.”

Also of Interest

Here are some articles of interest, some which defied fair-use abstraction.

20 Companies Profiting the Most From War

Scientists study ocean absorption of human carbon pollution

2016 Post Mortem: How Associated Press Reporter Lina Lerer Repeatedly Sandbagged Sanders

Tulsi Gabbard vs. ‘Regime Change’ Wars

Carter Page, at Center of Trump Russian Investigation, Writes Bizarre Letter to DOJ Blaming Hillary Clinton

The Real Reason Why Andy Puzder Won’t Become Labor Secretary

Mary Jo White Seriously Misled the U.S. Senate to Become SEC Chair

NASA Scientist Detained at Border, Forced to Unlock Phone

Coming Soon to a City Near You: Military Policing

How America counts its homeless – and why so many are overlooked

Woolly mammoth on the verge of resurrection, scientists say

Groove not approved: permit denied for Summer of Love 50th anniversary party

A Little Night Music

Rufus Thomas - The Dog

Rufus Thomas - Walking The Dog

Rufus Thomas - No More Doggin’ Around

Rufus Thomas - The Memphis Train

Rufus Thomas - Steady Holding On

Rufus Thomas - Jump Back

Rufus Thomas - The World Is Round

Rufus Thomas - Down Ta My House

Rufus Thomas - I Want To Hold You

Rufus Thomas - Funky Mississippi

Rufus Thomas - Greasy Spoon

Rufus Thomas - The Breakdown Pts. 1 & 2

Rufus Thomas - Fried Chicken

Rufus Thomas - Boogie Ain't Nuttin' (But Gettin' Down)