td11 wrote:DeVos nomination brough about record activism in american history, yet only 2 GOP senators were swayed. pat toomey's office was flooded with calls and he basically said "#$!&@ you" to his constituents

President Trump (who has also said that as a political donor he expected something in return from recipients: “When I call, they kiss my ass,” he said at a campaign rally last year) promised to “drain the swamp.”

This is not a good start.

And Sen. Toomey, whose race against Katie McGinty last year was the most expensive in Senate history, is indebted to many donors who no doubt will expect a return on investment.

This was supposed to be a populist victory for the forgotten little guy. So far, it’s not looking like that.

I was coming back from the island nation of Dominica, where I had gone for meetings and depositions in our torture victim clients’ lawsuit against the two psychologists behind the CIA torture program. When I went through immigration while in transit at the airport in Puerto Rico, it seems like an immediate red flag went up. A CBP officer took me to a separate area, behind the luggage carousels.

The CBP questioning didn’t seem to have anything to do with the torture case. Instead, it focused on my work for the ACLU and my citizenship — Pakistani — although I’ve been a longtime legal permanent resident of the United States for more than a decade.

What was I doing in Dominica? I explained that I am a lawyer working for the American Civil Liberties Union and traveled there for a case. Why, asked the CBP agent holding my Pakistani passport, would someone working for an organization with “American” in its name have “this” passport? And why would someone working for an organization with “American” in its name be representing people who are not citizens? (Perhaps the agent had not heard about ACLU lawsuits challenging the Muslim ban on behalf of noncitizens.)

...

I explained that I am a U.S.-trained lawyer, sworn to uphold the U.S. Constitution, which is what I work to do. Still, he pressed. Why would someone working for this organization with “American” in its name and a focus on the Constitution travel abroad so much? I explained that in addition to client work, I travel for conferences, talks, and meetings, including at the United Nations in Geneva.

The agent pressed. Did my meetings and talks abroad focus on U.S. law or the law of other countries? Not understanding what any of this had to do with my ability to return home, I found myself explaining that in addition to the Constitution, the United States is bound by international treaties. I explained that there are fundamental human rights that belong to everyone and apply in all countries in the world, including the United States, and that my work covers both.

The Nightman Cometh wrote:I'd give my left nut for an up and coming liberal in the vein of Sasse.

traderdave wrote:Campaign Contributions To Senators By The DeVos Family


Wow; Cotton, Hatch and Inhofe sure are cheap. This chart makes Senator Murkowski's bravery even more evident.

The source article is old news now though.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/bet ... 284f251c5f

drsmooth wrote:Listening to the appeals court " broadcast" (good old-timey radio format)

I am not a lawyer, but it doesn't sound to me like the drumpfco administration is persuading anyone on the standing challenge (pretty sure I heard actual snickering)

TenuredVulture wrote:It's interesting to me how salient the DeVos confirmation is. It doesn't really seem much worse than a number of other of Trump's appointees. For instance, Pruitt I think is poised to do a lot more damage to the environment than DeVos can do to public education. I suppose some of it might be DeVos was clearly incompetent in her hearings, and maybe the fact that we're in week 3 and the whole "give him a chance" chorus has been exposed for being patently ridiculous.

I think one thing it reflects that though there is big money behind various flavors of school choice (not just DeVos, but Walton and Gates among others) and that's been driving much of the debate, when it come down to it, people really like their public schools.

Now, you'd think they'd like clean drinking water and breathable air, but I guess people don't make the same connection between the EPA and the air they breath as they do the Dept of Education and their public schools. Pity. I guess also the whole climate change thing is removed from our day to day experience in a way that schools are not.

td11 wrote:Court grilling state dept lawyer p good now too, though.

drsmooth wrote:

td11 wrote:Court grilling state dept lawyer p good now too, though.

true

td11 wrote:

drsmooth wrote:

td11 wrote:Court grilling state dept lawyer p good now too, though.

true

Damn the one judge killed him on the "evidence/allegations" thing. Kinda disappointed this guy seems to be stumbling a bit