PBC News & Comment: Senate Votes to Persist in Perpetual War

Dodging its constitutional duty to manage war powers, Senate votes to retain Bush’s blank check for war, passed in 2001…..--Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) leads effort to repeal AUMF, as Senate shovels more money into Pentagon than Trump asked for
--ordered by court to provide legal basis for April 6 missile attacks on Syria, Trump White House delivers press releases and some redacted talking points
--during biggest refugee crisis in 70 years—driven largely by US regime change wars, TrumpCo wants to lower the quota below 50,000 annually
--Turkey flips bird to US, signs missile deal with Russia
--former Trump advisor Mike Flynn was lobbying for Turkey during campaign; special counsel is investigating lobbying for US-Russian nuclear power partnership
--from Reagan Library archives, Robert Parry shows how US used National Endowment for Democracy for political meddling
--NY Times, based on a single case, makes expansive claims about Russian use of Facebook to promote anti-immigrant rallies in US
--US bans use of Kaspersky security software in government systems
--as Bernie Sanders drops his Medicare for All bill, GOP makes one more effort to scuttle Obamacare
--ACLU and EFF file suit to challenge airport searches of phones and computers
--following massive hack of consumer data, Equifax continues to confuse the public and limit its exposure for damages
--in surprise move, House passes amendment to restrict asset forfeiture, direct rebuke of Jeff Sessions
--Berkeley is focus of right-wing provocateurs, as Ben Shapiro is set to speak on campus Thursday, followed by Coulter, Yiannopolis, and Bannon
--as Feds decline to charge cops, it appears that no one will be held accountable for Freddie Gray’s death in Baltimore police paddywagon