September 14, 2016


News and Views


THINGS ARE GETTING PERSONAL NOW

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/colin-powell-dcleaks-emails-reveal-rift-hillary-clinton-donald-trump/

Colin Powell rips Clinton, Trump in leaked emails
CBS NEWS
September 14, 2016, 7:09 AM

Related: Democrats release email exchange between Colin Powell, Hillary Clinton
Related: Clinton responds to Navy vet who confronts her on handling classified info
Play VIDEO -- Colin Powell on significance of new African American museum


Former Secretary of State Colin Powell is suddenly at the center of the presidential campaign because of a batch of stolen emails from his Gmail account, that show he has issues with both major presidential candidates.

The emails were posted by an anonymously run website called DCLeaks, that may have ties to Russian intelligence. A Powell spokesman has confirmed to CBS News that the general’s email was hacked, and that they have “no idea who did it and no further comment at this time.”

The Republican retired general told a former aide that Donald Trump is a “national disgrace and an international pariah.” He also wrote that the “birther movement was racist,” -- referring to Trump questioning if President Obama was born in the U.S. And when sent a transcript of one of Trump’s pitches to African American voters, Powell wrote:

“There is nothing he can say that will sway black voters...He takes us for idiots. He can never overcome what he tried to do to Obama with his search for the birth certificate...the whole birther movement was racist...And for him to say yesterday that within four years he would have 95% of blacks voting for him is schizo fantasy.”

But the leaked emails also show Powell sharply criticizing Hillary Clinton and her campaign for using him to justify her use of a private email server at the State Department.

The hacked emails reveal deep tensions between Powell and the Clinton campaign. In them, Powell says me met with Clinton’s advisers in August to discuss “burying the email flap.”

In one of the emails, Powell writes:

“Sad thing... HRC could have killed this two years ago by merely telling everyone honestly what she had done and not tie me into it. I told her staff three times not to try that gambit. I had to throw a mini tantrum at a Hampton’s party to get their attention.”

In another email from a year earlier, Powell complained, “I told you about the speaking gig that I lost at a University because she so overcharged them,” adding “everything HRC touches she kind of screws up with hubris.”

Clinton’s emails were also topic of discussion on Capitol Hill. A Republican-led House committee found few answers during Tuesday’s hearing, but Congressman Jason Chaffetz vowed to stay on the issue.

“If anybody is under any illusion that I’m going to let go of this and let it sail off into the sunset, they are very ill-advised,” Chaffetz said.

Still resting at her home in Chappaqua, Clinton left the campaigning to others. Her husband spoke in her place at two Los Angeles fundraisers Tuesday night.

And President Obama made his first solo appearance, attacking Trump for claiming he’s for working people.

“I mean, he wasn’t going to let you on his golf course. He wasn’t going to let you buy in his condo. And now suddenly this guy’s going to be your champion?” Obama said.

The president took a victory lap of sorts in Philadelphia over a new federal report that shows household income rose by more than five percent in 2015 -- a record and the first such increase since 2007.


TO READ THE NITTY GRITTY GO TO THIS WEBSITE:

http://www.cbsnews.com/media/5-emails-in-which-colin-powell-slammed-hillary-clinton/

This has really become a disgusting political race. If only the DNC had accepted Bernie Sanders as their candidate!!! BUT THEY THOUGHT THEY HAD IT TIED UP. They’re into their own corruption and mistaken thinking so deeply that they can’t see it as a problem. Too bad. If Trump is elected, maybe the Electoral College will do its’ job and intervene. This is going to be a lollapalooza for sure.



For Trump’s latest major booboo see this one:

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/during-flint-visit-donald-trump-bashes-ford-for-mexico-decision/

In Flint, Donald Trump bashes Ford for Mexico decision and is then cut off
By REBECCA SHABAD CBS NEWS
September 14, 2016, 4:47 PM

Photograph -- Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump tours the Flint Water Plant and Facilities, Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016, in Flint, Mich. AP PHOTO/EVAN VUCCI


Donald Trump on Wednesday bashed Ford for its decision to move all of its small car production to Mexico.

“It was just announced that Ford is moving all small car production -- all of it -- 100 percent to Mexico over the next two to three years. It just happened. We shouldn’t allow it to happen,” the GOP presidential nominee said at Bethel United Methodist Church during a campaign stop in Flint, Michigan.

“They’ll make their cars, they’ll employ thousands and thousands of people not from this country and they’ll sell the cars through a very weak border -- no tax, no nothing. And we’ll have nothing but more unemployment in Flint and Michigan,” Trump added.

Trump went on to talk about meeting a family in Flint Wednesday that has been affected by the city’s water crisis, but shifted back again to talk about U.S. jobs going to other countries. He slammed Hillary Clinton for supporting the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and said she has “failed on foreign policy.”

The pastor of the church, Rev. Faith Green Timmons, suddenly joined Trump on stage and interrupted him.

“Mr. Trump, I invited you here to thank us for what we’ve done in Flint, not give a political speech,” she said.

“Okay. That’s good,” Trump responded. “Then I’m going to go back onto Flint, okay.”

Timmons also released a statement later that read, “Trump’s presence at Bethel United Methodist in no way represents an endorsement of his candidacy.”

He continued to talk about Flint whose mayor, Karen Weaver, criticized Trump’s visit to her city.

“Flint is focused on fixing the problems caused by lead contamination of our drinking water, not photo ops,” she said in a statement.

Weaver said neither Trump nor his aides ever reached out to her since the water crisis was deemed an emergency last December and he didn’t inform her he was traveling to Flint this week. Weaver is currently in Washington, D.C. through Thursday lobbying Congress to pass aid for her city.



EXCERPTS -- “Mr. Trump, I invited you here to thank us for what we’ve done in Flint, not give a political speech,” she said. “Okay. That’s good,” Trump responded. “Then I’m going to go back onto Flint, okay.” Timmons also released a statement later that read, “Trump’s presence at Bethel United Methodist in no way represents an endorsement of his candidacy.” …. Weaver said neither Trump nor his aides ever reached out to her since the water crisis was deemed an emergency last December and he didn’t inform her he was traveling to Flint this week. Weaver is currently in Washington, D.C. through Thursday lobbying Congress to pass aid for her city.”


What a news day!!



HILLARY FESSES UP

Hillary Clinton, Tim Kaine release new medical information
By EMILY SCHULTHEIS CBS NEWS
September 14, 2016, 4:54 PM

Photograph -- U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton arrives for ceremonies to mark the 15th anniversary of the September 11 attacks at the National 9/11 Memorial in New York, New York, United States September 11, 2016. REUTERS/BRIAN SNYDER


Hillary Clinton’s doctor said in a letter released Wednesday that the Democratic nominee is “healthy and fit to serve as President of the United States,” characterizing her pneumonia diagnosis as “mild” and “non-contagious.”

The new information on Clinton came from her physician, Dr. Lisa Bardack, who both wrote the letter about her health last year and was the doctor who diagnosed Clinton with pneumonia on Friday. The release also included a one-page letter pronouncing vice presidential nominee Tim Kaine “in overall excellent health” from Dr. Brian P. Monahan, the attending physician in Congress.

The new information from Bardack, Clinton’s doctor, further addressed her pneumonia diagnosis from last week. Bardack said in the letter that she’s examined Clinton multiple times since then, as recently as Wednesday.

Clinton’s health has been front and center since Sunday, when she abruptly left a 9/11 memorial ceremony in New York after feeling “overheated” and “dizzy.” Clinton went to her daughter’s apartment in Manhattan to recover before returning home to Chappaqua, N.Y.; later that evening, her campaign revealed that she had been diagnosed with pneumonia the preceding Friday.

“I’m reassured by this—boy, it’s nice to have information isn’t it?” CBS News’ Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Jon LaPook told CBSN Wednesday evening. “A bunch of the questions that I had had were, for example, how do we know she had pneumonia? Well now we know, she had a CAT scan. What was the size of the pneumonia? It was felt to be a small, right middle-lobe pneumonia, so that’s much better than if a lot of the lung was involved.”

According to Bardack’s letter, she saw Clinton on Sept. 2 for a low-grade fever, congestion and fatigue. Bardack advised rest; Clinton continued her campaign trail travel, and a week later—last Friday—she saw Bardack again when her symptoms had worsened.

On Friday, Clinton underwent a non-contrast chest CT scan, which showed a “a small right middlelobe pneumonia,” according to Bardack, which she characterized as a “mild, non-contagious bacterial pneumonia. Clinton was treated with Levaquin, which she was advised to take for 10 days.

In addition to her pneumonia diagnosis, Clinton has been treated this year for a sinus and ear infection she developed in January. In order to drain fluid from her left ear and relieve her symptoms, Clinton had a myringotomy tube placed in her ear in January by an ear, nose and throat (ENT) doctor; her symptoms have since abated, according to Bardack.

“Further follow-up evaluation with a CT scan of her brain and sinuses was done in March of 2016,” Bardack wrote. “This scan showed no abnormalities of the brain and mild chronic sinusitis. Her symptoms resolved and she continued symptom-free for the next six months.”

Bardack’s letter included an updated list of Clinton’s medications, which include Levaquin, Armor Thyroid, Coumadin, Clarinex and B-12 as needed. Her vaccinations are up to date, and she has had a normal mammogram and breast ultrasound. Clinton’s blood pressure at her last examination was 100/70 and her temperature was 97.8 degrees.

“My overall impression is that Mrs. Clinton has remained healthy and has not developed new medical conditions this year other than a sinus and ear infection and her recently diagnosed pneumonia,” Bardack wrote. “She is recovering well with antibiotics and rest. She continues to remain healthy and fit to serve as President of the United States.”

As for Kaine, Dr. Monahan pronounced him in “overall excellent health”—his only recommendation was that the vice-presidential candidate add a daily vitamin D supplement to his diet.

According to Monahan, who last examined Kaine for a full physical in February, the candidate’s lab and blood work all came back normal; he had an echocardiogram done in March to check a “left atrial enlargement” in his heart, but the results indicated “structurally normal heart valves without evidence of valve malfunction.” Kaine takes no medications and has no drug allergies; he has no history of tobacco use and his use of alcohol is “modest.”

Here’s the full text of the letter from Bardack:

HRC Physician Letter by News Team on Scribd:

NOTE: GO TO CBS WEBSITE ABOVE FOR FULL LETTER, WHICH GIVES HER A CLEAN BILL OF HEALTH.



http://www.cbsnews.com/news/edward-snowden-makes-case-for-pardon-just-before-movie-release/

Edward Snowden makes his case for a pardon just before movie release
CBS/AP
September 14, 2016, 11:48 AM

Photograph -- Edward Snowden GETTY
Play VIDEO -- Here's what former Attorney General Eric Holder thinks of Edward Snowden


NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden made his case for a presidential pardon on Wednesday in a teleconference from his exile in Russia, just two days before the Hollywood movie about his experience is released publicly.

Snowden said he believes he deserves to be forgiven for exposing “unconstitutional activities,” that were later either reined in or stopped after he brought them to light.

“I love my country,” Snowden said. “I love my family. I have dedicated my life to both of them.”

The former NSA contractor said whistleblowing is an important “check on abuses of power,” and is democracy’s “safeguard of last resort.” Snowden added that if he is immediately thrown in jail without due process, “it will have a chilling effect.”

When questioned about the timing of his public plea for a pardon, especially coming just before the release of the film about his life and before Obama leaves office early next year, Snowden and his backers insisted they were not all directly linked.

Snowden has previously said that he’d “volunteered to go to prison with the government many times,” but had not received a formal plea-deal offer.

Earlier this year, former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said a plea deal with Snowden was a possibility.

Critics have said Snowden is a traitor, and that his disclosures harmed the ability of the United States and its allies to fight terrorism.

The White House said Tuesday President Barack Obama continues to believe that Snowden should return to the United States to face charges for leaking classified information.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest on Monday reiterated Obama’s position that Snowden’s leaks “damaged the United States,” harmed national security and put Americans at risk.

Earnest says Snowden will be “treated fairly and consistent with the law” if he returns to the U.S.

As an NSA contractor, Snowden leaked classified details in 2013 of the U.S. government’s warrantless surveillance program before fleeing to Russia. He faces U.S. charges that could land him in prison for up to 30 years.



EXCERPT -- “Snowden said he believes he deserves to be forgiven for exposing “unconstitutional activities,” that were later either reined in or stopped after he brought them to light. …. He faces U.S. charges that could land him in prison for up to 30 years.”


I was very much concerned about that program before Snowden blew his whistle, and I don’t trust anyone but Holder to make such a deal with him. I hope he does as Assange has done and remains in exile. Maybe in the next few years, Bernie Sanders will be elected president, and he will be pardoned. He did the country a great service, in my view. We didn’t used to be that kind of country when I was young, and I want to avoid it now. The ISIS and other terroristic threats make me feel less negative about it, but I still would like to see less broadly applied surveillance.




http://www.cbsnews.com/news/north-carolina-loses-acc-athletic-championships-over-bathroom-law/

North Carolina loses ACC athletic championships over “bathroom law”
CBS/AP
September 14, 2016, 2:09 PM


Photograph -- Clemson Tigers tight end Jordan Leggett (16) dives over Notre Dame Fighting Irish cornerback Cole Luke (36) for a touchdown in the first quarter at Clemson Memorial Stadium in Clemson, S.C., on Oct. 3, 2015. Clemson was the ACC’s football champion last year. MATT CASHORE-USA TODAY SPORTS VIA REUTERS
Play VIDEO -- NCAA president on pulling championships from N.C. over "bathroom" law


CLEMSON, S.C. - The Atlantic Coast Conference has followed the NCAA and NBA’s lead and is removing premiere athletic events from North Carolina over the state’s so-called “bathroom law” that some say can lead to discrimination against LGBT people.

The decision includes the removal all upcoming conference championships for the 2016-2017 academic year.

The ACC Council of Presidents voted Wednesday to relocate the league’s championships until North Carolina repeals the law. The decision includes all championship this academic school year, which means relocating the ACC football title game that was scheduled to be played in Charlotte in December.

ACC Commissioner John Swofford said: “The ACC Council of Presidents made it clear that the core values of this league are of the utmost importance, and the opposition to any form of discrimination is paramount. Today’s decision is one of principle, and while this decision is the right one, we recognize there will be individuals and communities that are supportive of our values as well as our championship sites that will be negatively affected. Hopefully, there will be opportunities beyond 2016-17 for North Carolina neutral sites to be awarded championships.”

CBSSports.com’s Chip Patterson reports the law, which Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski called “embarrassing,” has also led to non-sports cancellation, including a Bruce Springsteen and Pearl Jam concerts.

On Monday, the NCAA said it was relocating seven of its championships scheduled to be played in the state, including the men’s basketball first- and second-round matchups scheduled for next March in Greensboro, North Carolina.

On “CBS This Morning,” Tuesday, NCAA President Mark Emmert said the decision of the board – made up of 16 college and university presidents -- was a “no brainer.”

“The reason the university presidents reached this conclusion… is because this is about sports that are conducted in the context of universities that are trying to reflect the values of higher education in America -- inclusion, fairness, treating all of your student athletes, the coaches, their fans in a way that reflects those values in our championships,” Emmert said. “That’s what matters most.”

North Carolina’s legislative move prompted a raft of protest, including by corporations. PayPal canceled its plan to open a global operations center in Charlotte, that would have employed more than 400 people, while Apple, Google, American Airlines and Bank of America (headquartered in Charlotte) have all called for the law’s repeal.



I wonder if public disapproval can be better expressed this way, so that the Religious Right will pay attention. I do hope this works!