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Power is not a means; it is an end. One does not establish a dictatorship in order to safeguard a revolution; one makes the revolution in order to establish the dictatorship. The object of persecution is persecution. The object of torture is torture. The object of power is power. Now you begin to understand me.” ― George Orwell, 1984






DAILY SPECIALS















JEFFERSON BEAUREGARD SESSIONS III
Attorney General











FAMINE

Buthaina — a five-year-old girl  — was pulled from the rubble of her family home in Yemen’s capital. Badly bruised, she struggled to pry open a swollen eye with her fingers, to look at a world that dealt her such cruelty.

Her uncle told an Amnesty investigator, “She had five siblings to play with. Now she has none.”

Buthaina’s entire immediate family was killed in their sleep when the Saudi Arabia-led coalition rained down bombs on their neighborhood overnight.

In Yemen, Amnesty crisis investigators have documented airstrikes on schools and hospitals, as well as the use of internationally banned cluster munitions which have killed and maimed children. A staggering 80% of Yemeni children are in need of humanitarian assistance.


Thank you for your consideration.
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Margaret Huang
Executive Director
Amnesty International USA [April 24, 2018]



EPA

PRUITT'S WATERSHED MOMENT: EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt is approaching his two separate House committee hearings this week with sagging support on the hill. The make-or-break moment is approaching as once-stalwart backers begin to express concern about the controversies that have swirled in recent weeks. Republican Sen. Jim Inhofe (Okla.) - perhaps Pruitt's staunchest ally in Congress - told Pro's Anthony Adragna he thinks it's "appropriate to have a hearing in so far as any accusation having to do with his office is concerned," and he cited a report in The New York Times detailing a sweetheart deal Pruitt received on an Oklahoma City home previously owned by a lobbyist.
Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) also thought Thursday's hearings before the House Energy and Commerce and Appropriations committees would prove pivotal for Pruitt's long-term future in the administration. "It's really important," Capito said. "He's going to have to answer some tough questions. I'm sure they'll be put to him by both sides and we'll see what his response is."
And Sen. John Boozman joined his two Republican colleagues in supporting hearings by the Environment and Public Works Committee. Meanwhile, sources told Bloomberg that administration officials privately cautioned lawmakers and other conservative allies to pump the brakes on their defenses of Pruitt.
Publicly, however, the White House stands firm in its commitment to Pruitt. Press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters the administration is "continuing to review a number of the reports" about Pruitt, but noted the EPA chief "has done a good job of implementing the president's policies," particularly on deregulation and energy dominance. White House legislative affairs director Marc Short was more direct earlier Monday: "I think Scott Pruitt is doing a great job and we look forward to keeping him there as EPA administrator," he told MSNBC.

More to come? Earlier Monday, five senior congressional Democrats asked House Oversight Chairman Trey Gowdy to obtain further documents and hold hearings after obtaining new records they say raise "troubling" new questions about Pruitt's security expenditures. EPW ranking member Tom Carper told Anthony he had a good conversation with Gowdy regarding Pruitt, but said there was no formal bipartisan agreement to work together on an investigation. "I just gave him plenty of encouragement that he's doing the right thing," Carper said. Read more. [POLITICO's Morning Energy, April 24, 2018]



ENVIRONMENT





RULES TO MEET ON COLUMBIA RIVER BILL: The House Rules Committee will meet at 5 p.m. to formulate a rule on H.R. 3144 (115), which would void the environmental impact statement process for altering the hydropower system along the Columbia and Snake rivers. Earlier this month , the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals sided with the state of Oregon, the Nez Perce tribe and conservation groups, ruling that dam operations on the Columbia and Snake rivers must forgo hydropower production during key times of the year to protect endangered salmon. An environmental impact statement for the system has been the subject of congressional fights, with Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers filing the legislation to void that process [POLITICO's Morning Energy, April 24, 2018]




SENATE HELP PANEL TO MARK UP OPIOIDS BILL - Lawmakers today will mark up the bipartisan Opioid Crisis Response Act of 2018, introduced by Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and ranking member Patty Murray (D-Wash.).
The bill, S. 2680 (115) , reauthorizes a grant program created by the 21st Century Cures Act to fund treatment for another three years. It would change the formula to prioritize states and tribes hit hardest by overdose deaths, following criticism from lawmakers about how the money has been doled out.
The bill would also create new grants for communities to set up comprehensive opioid recovery centers that are required to provide medication-assisted treatment and counseling, among other services. It would also allow NIH more flexibility to speed up opioid-related research. An earlier draft of the legislation included a provision to allow nurse practitioners and physician assistants to administer medication-assisted treatment, but it was ultimately scrapped due to cost.
- How Lamar Alexander sees it: "Solving the opioid crisis ... is not something that can be solved by an agency in Washington, D.C.," he says in remarks previewed with PULSE. "What the federal government can do is create an environment so that everyone - judges, mayors, counselors, police officers, [DEA] agents, doctors, nurses, parents, pharmacists, and hospitals - can succeed in fighting the crisis."

- The committee is considering other bills, too. Among the legislation on tap today: the "Over-the-Counter Drug Safety, Innovation, and Reform Act" ( S. 2315 (115)); and the "Children's Hospital GME (graduate medical education) Support Reauthorization Act of 2018" (S. 2597 (115)). [POLITICO Pulse, April 24, 2018]



READ







TRUMP'S LAWYERS
Pettifogging Mouthpieces    





TRUMP - RUSSIA PROBE






TRUMPATERIA

IN CELEBRATION OF EARTH DAY: The president touted his administration's rollback of "unnecessary and harmful regulations," and pointed toward a "market-driven economy" as an essential tool in environmental protection. "A healthy environment and a strong economy go hand in hand," a White House presidential message said. "We know that it is impossible for humans to flourish without clean air, land, and water. We also know that a strong, market-driven economy is essential to protecting these resources." Trump said for that reason, his administration is "dedicated to removing unnecessary and harmful regulations that restrain economic growth and make it more difficult for local communities to prosper and to choose the best solutions for their environment." [POLITICO's Morning Energy, April 23, 2018]







U.S. AGRICULTURE

MONSANTO'S LEGAL ROLLERCOASTER: Arkansas farmers are taking matters into their own hands over whether they can spray the herbicide dicamba onto crops this growing season and into the future.
In late 2017, the Arkansas Plant Board banned use of the herbicide after widespread complaints from farmers that the herbicide drifted from neighboring fields and damaged their crops. Monsanto sought to block that rule from taking effect but a state judge tossed out the suit based on sovereign immunity grounds, citing an Arkansas Supreme Court ruling that makes it difficult to sue state agencies. Monsanto has filed a notice of appeal in that case.
But the judge also ruled that six farmers involved in challenging the ban were denied their due process rights because they had no means to get the ban overturned (because of the state sovereignty loophole) so the ban would not apply to those particular growers.
That prompted a mass run to courts. Groups of farmers are seeking the same relief, and some judges have granted temporary restraining orders preventing the plant board from enforcing its regulation. Meanwhile, the state attorney general's office is gathering up those restraining orders and taking them to the state Supreme Court. That ruling is expected to be imminent.
Halted sales: While the cases are being hashed out, Monsanto will not be selling its signature XtendiMax product this growing season to Arkansas farmers.

"We look forward to the day when Arkansas growers will be able to take advantage of this important technology, and we will continue to assess the legal and regulatory environment as we move forward," the company said in a statement. [POLITICO's Morning Agriculture, April 23, 2018]



SCREEN






JUDICIARY




West Coast legal woes: Over in California, Monsanto was handed a court loss by a California appellate court that decided the state is allowed to list glyphosate, the active ingredient in Monsanto's flagship product Roundup, as a probable carcinogen under Proposition 65.
"This is a huge win for Californians -- and a huge loss for Monsanto -- as it upholds our right to protect ourselves and our environment from unnecessary and unwanted exposure to the dangerous chemical, glyphosate," the Center for Food Safety, which joined the case, said in a statement.
The California's Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment based its decision to list glyphosate on a 2015 conclusion from the International Agency for Research on Cancer that the chemical was a "probable" human carcinogen. An IARC finding is one way under that a chemical can be subject to Prop 65 rules.

No word yet on whether Monsanto will take the ruling up to the highest court. The company said it is reviewing the ruling "and will be analyzing further options." [POLITICO's Morning Agriculture, April 23, 2018]





















NOTE: The news sources here vary.  Not all sources have the same credibility, but in an effort to share some different perspectives, they are included here.  This compendium itself cannot claim to be unbiased.  Please take into consideration where these different perspectives originate in assessing their value.  Thank you

NOTE: I have no official connection to any organization from which information is shared.. Occasionally, I post informational material and/or an opportunity to donate or join as  a "community service" announcement.  These again are shared for their varying perspectives.

Any commercial or business interest information shared is purely informational, not an endorsement.  I have no connection with any such commercial or business interest.

Any books listed are random or topic-related to something else in the post.  Think of these as a "library bookshelf" to browse.  They are shared for informational or entertainment value only, not as being recommended.
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