RT has the story India & Iran drop dollar in oil trade to bypass US sanctions – report.

India will reportedly pay for Iranian oil in rupees as the two countries seek to bypass the US economic pressure on Tehran, industry officials have told the Sputnik news agency.

As a proponent of Modern Money Theory, I recognize that the policy freedom the USA has has a lot to do with the fact that our currency is a world reserve currency, Our use of economic sanctions to get our way politically drives others to stop using the USA currency as a reserve currency. This is something that jeopardizes our very economy which is our source of strength.

The Intercept has the podcast White Fear: As the GOP Veers Toward Fascism, Establishment Democrats Face a Grassroots Insurgency.

ICE and U.S. Customs and Border Protection have become authoritarian shock forces, operating with impunity, ripping children from their parents’ arms, and enforcing the anti-immigrant edicts of Donald Trump and Jeff Sessions. But the horrors did not start with Trump. This week on Intercepted: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a 28-year-old former waitress, is challenging one of the most powerful Democrats in the country for his congressional seat. She is running on a platform of social and economic justice and she has called for ICE to be abolished. Ocasio-Cortez explains why she wants to unseat the “King of Queens,” Rep. Joseph Crowley, who portrays himself as Nancy Pelosi’s rightful successor. Princeton professor Eddie Glaude Jr. joins Intercepted to talk about white supremacy and law enforcement, the “rot” in the establishment Democratic Party, and Trump’s obsession with black athletes.

This podcast provides some of the context of our immigration policies that we may have forgotten. Some of the blame does fall on the politicians that came before Donald Trump, and some of the blame is squarely on his shoulders. For all of us who are concerned about these issues, it is best to know the truth about how we got to where we are.