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Clinton’s, Bush’s, and Obama’s Wall Street Revolving Door 
Quote of the Day:
Trump’s Interests vs. America’s, Pipeline Edition The president is moving forward with the Dakota Access Pipeline, but has offered no proof that he’s sold his stock in the company building it. Trump’s FEC filings, which remain the only public record of his finances, suggest that he may have had an additional incentive to greenlight the projects: According to financial-disclosure forms he filed in June 2015 and May 2016, Trump has owned stock in Energy Transfer Partners, the company seeking to build DAPL. The stock was worth between $500,001 and $1,000,000 in 2015 and between $15,001 and $50,000 in 2016. The president and one of his spokesmen, Jason Miller, have both stated, without offering evidence, that Trump’s stock-related conflicts of interest have been resolved. According to Trump and Miller, the president sold off his stocks in June of last year specifically to head off concerns that they may influence his decision-making in office. However, they have offered no meaningful evidence to back up their claims—evidence which, in this case, would likely be fairly easy to provide. They could, for example, offer more details on when exactly the stocks were sold beyond simply “back in June,” or explain why they did not mention the sale until December, just after the election, if the intention was to proactively address conflict-of-interest questions. By Jeremy Venook 
Black Liberation/ Civil Rights:
Flint’s 1000-Plus Days Without Safe Drinking Water If you believe public health officials, lead levels in Flint, Michigan’s water have finally fallen to acceptable levels. The problem is, nobody in Flint has any faith in official pronouncements, and there’s a lot more wrong with the city’s water than just lead. It’s been more than 1000 days since the water has been safe to drink. An investigative report shows nearly 3,000 communities across the country have more lead contamination than Flint. A Black Agenda Radio commentary by executive editor Glen Ford
Freedom Rider: Democrats Attack Trump from the Right The Democratic Party has devolved into complete irrationality and irrelevance, sucking its Black followers into the idiotic abyss. “Years of capitulation to corporate interests and to Barack Obama have killed black politics,” and turned the Congressional Black Caucus into mindless CIA groupies who “use the phrase ‘intelligence community’ as if they were hypnotized cult members. Democrats carry signs that threaten war, and call it “protest.” by BAR editor and senior columnist Margaret Kimberley 
Build and Fight: Beyond Trump and the Limitations of the United Front At this time of great crisis, there are fevered calls for the Left to forge a “united front.” However, “these calls rarely take into account the inequality or lack of political parity of the ‘uniting’ forces,” or the difference between strategic alliances and the temporary or limited unity of tactical alliances. Moreover, what is to be gained from such unity, and for whom? “At best, ‘united fronts’ are instruments for restoring the status quo ante.” by Kali Akuno and Doug Norberg
Cuba and Our Common Future With the Left in the U.S. in such obvious disarray, it is more critical than even to examine the experience of the Cuban revolution. “It was power in the hands of the working class and oppressed that gave Cuba the ability to assist national liberation struggles in Angola, Mozambique, and Namibia against South African apartheid.” In the U.S., however, much of the Left is completely obsessed with on Donald Trump, which “ultimately distracts the movement from the need to organize a struggle against the entire state apparatus.” by Danny Haiphong 
The Women’s March in Washington D.C., as Broadcast If you watched it on TV, the Women’s March on Washington seemed to be a Democratic Party, Hillary-Is-My-President affair. “It was all about protection and equal opportunity for women and all racial and religious minorities, but that didn’t include protection from predatory financial institutions, from all intrusive spying, or from sacrifice to foreign wars for resources and global hegemony.” by Ann Garrison
Good Journalism Requires Openness to Foreign Sources of InformationSince when has journalistic ethics prohibited accepting accurate and valuable information from foreign sources? Wikileaks has done the American public a great service by exposing corruption among high officials, including a would-be president, and in the workings of a major political party. If the Russians were involved in the revelation — so what? The essential truth, as the Wikileaks show, is that “Hillary Clinton is, indeed, corrupt.” by Steve Cunningham
“Fake News” Crisis Covers Deeper Crisis of Legitimacy The deepening crisis of an illegitimate system that only serves the rich has caused a section of the ruling class to charge a sitting president — one of their own! — with the political crime of illegitimacy. The “fake news” imbroglio is phony excuse for keeping the United States on a permanent war footing. by Paul C. Bermanzohn
Obama’s Legacy In Africa: Terrorism, Civil War and Military ExpansionNo American president has done more to destroy African independence than Barack Obama. “Within two years of his pledge to let Africans resolve their own problems, U.S.-NATO jets were dropping bombs on Libya in support of al-Qaida-linked terrorists who would topple and brutally assassinate Moammar Gadhafi.” Most African militaries are now subordinate to and dependent on the U.S. Pentagon. by Eric Draitser 
Haitian People’s Court Will Put 100 Years of U.S. Occupation on Trial Since 1915, the United States has directly or indirectly occupied Haiti, smothering the nation’s sovereignty and corrupting its institutions. This year, a People’s Court will begin hearing testimony from Haitians on the crimes of the U.S. occupiers. The tribunal is a response “to the generalized demand to fight for justice and against the constant impunity that harms the entire population.” by AlterPresse
Labor:
Wall Street’s Revolving Money Door: Ceresney and Cohn Take a Spin It was announced yesterday that Andrew Ceresney, the head of enforcement for the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) since 2013, would be returning to Debevoise & Plimpton as co-head of its litigation department – a nice promotion. By Pam Martens and Russ Martens