Bipartisan Victory for Criminal Justice Reform

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Some good news out of Washington and a blow to mandatory minimums, juvenile solitary confinement, and other abusive practices (at least on the federal level):

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/dec/18/first-step-act-criminal-...

Perhaps Kim Kardashian has some value to society after all.

So someone busted in the lot in 1995 would be two years short of their 25 year minimum mandatory. That fucking sucks. Too little too late. 

Could have some good things in it but be careful of anything supported by Mike Lee of Utah. Total a-hole.  

It's somewhat counterintuitive as to why the GOP is now supporting this in light of what appears to be a larger pattern of "minority voter suppression" efforts, so what's their motivation?

Mike Lee - at it again.

https://www.sltrib.com/news/politics/2018/12/20/sen-mike-lee-sinks-big/ 

Sen. Mike Lee sinks a big public lands package because Congress won’t stop presidents from creating national monuments in Utah

By Lee Davidson

Published: 3 hours ago
Updated: 2 hours ago

In retaliation for Congress not preventing presidents from creating new national monuments in Utah, Sen. Mike Lee single-handedly blocked a massive public lands package late Wednesday — including several bills sought by his colleagues from Utah.

Among the torpedoed bills was a last-minute compromise that could have solved years-long battles over wilderness areas in Emery County.

It was the second time in a month that Lee, R-Utah, blocked major legislation by himself. In the other, he scuttled a bipartisan attempt to ensure that President Donald Trump cannot fire special counsel Robert Mueller, nor end his probe into whether the president colluded with Russia to sway the 2016 election.

As the Senate nears adjournment for the year, it attempted to pass by unanimous consent a 680-page bill that combined dozens of public lands bills into one package. They attempted to attach it to a continuing resolution to avoid a government shutdown. All it would take is just one senator to block that time-saving move.

“I object,” Lee announced in a night session — after senators refused to adopt a two-word amendment he proposed to exempt Utah from the Antiquities Act, which allows presidents to create national monuments without congressional or local permission. Two states — Wyoming and Alaska — are exempt from the Antiquities Act.

And again...and again single-handedly....I told ya this guy's a dick. He and Orrin Hatch were our senators. Now Mitt Romney's taking over for Orrin.

https://www.ksl.com/article/46454860/utah-sen-mike-lee-blocks-vote-on-mo...

HELENA, Mont. (AP) — A Republican U.S. Senator from Utah blocked a vote on a bill to grant federal recognition to Montana's Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians.

The U.S. House passed a bill in September that would have required the federal government to set aside a small amount of land for the tribe and make its 6,000 members eligible for government benefits.

Sen. Mike Lee on Thursday objected to passing the bill without debate, arguing the Bureau of Indian Affairs denied the tribe's petition for recognition in 2009.

Little Shell Tribal Chairman Gerald Gray called it a "disheartening outcome."

If the bill does not pass the Senate by the end of the year, it will have to be re-introduced in the next Congress.

All three members of Montana's congressional delegation support the bill. The state of Montana recognized the tribe in 2000.