October 31, 2016

News and Views

EMAILS, ETC. 10/31/16

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/former-ag-eric-holder-fbi-director-james-comey-made-a-serious-mistake/

Former AG Eric Holder: FBI Director James Comey made a "serious mistake"
By REBECCA SHABAD CBS NEWS
October 31, 2016, 9:05 AM

Video – CBS Morning News


Former Attorney General Eric Holder is blasting his former colleague FBI Director James Comey for violating long-standing Justice Department policies by writing a letter to Congress last week about finding potentially new emails related to the Hillary Clinton email server investigation.

In an editorial published late Sunday in The Washington Post, Holder said he is “deeply concerned” with Comey’s decision.

“That decision was incorrect. It violated long-standing Justice Department policies and tradition. And it ran counter to guidance that I put in place four years ago laying out the proper way to conduct investigations during an election season,” Holder wrote.

Holder, who served as President Obama’s attorney general from 2009 until April 2015, explained that the policy has remained in effect and applies to the entire Justice Department including the FBI. The department also has a practice of not commenting on ongoing investigations, he wrote, as well as “not taking unnecessary action close in time to Election Day that might influence an election’s outcome.”

“Director Comey broke with these fundamental principles. I fear he has unintentionally and negatively affected public trust in both the Justice Department and the FBI,” Holder wrote, adding that it has allowed for “misinformation to be spread by partisans.”

Holder also criticized Comey for publicly announcing in July his recommendation to the Justice Department that it not bring charges against Clinton for her use of email servers as secretary of state. Comey has led the FBI since 2013.

“That was a stunning breach of protocol. It may set a dangerous precedent for future investigations. It was wrong,” Holder wrote.

Holder was among dozens of former federal prosecutors who signed a letter over the weekend critical of Comey’s decision, according to the Associated Press.

No one knows yet, including Comey, what the emails contain, if they were directly related to Clinton or if there was any wrongdoing involved. Investigators obtained a search warrant Sunday to look through thousands of emails on a laptop used by Anthony Weiner, which also contained emails from his estranged wife Huma Abedin, a top aide to Clinton.


http://www.cbsnews.com/news/baylor-official-addresses-mishandled-sexual-assault-allegation-against-star-football-player/

Baylor sex assault scandal far worse than previously disclosed
CBS NEWS
October 31, 2016, 6:57 AM

Play VIDEO -- Former Baylor Title IX coordinator on resignation: University "set me up to fail"


The sexual assault scandal rocking Baylor University and its powerhouse football team was far worse than previously disclosed.

“60 Minutes Sports” has learned that, since 2011, 17 female students reported sexual or domestic assault charges against 19 Baylor football players. That includes at least four alleged gang rapes. Former Baylor President Ken Starr and celebrated football coach Art Briles lost their jobs.

Baylor prides itself on its Christian values and creating a caring community. But the “60 Minutes Sports” investigation found a culture where victims who came forward found themselves blamed for violating the university’s code of conduct, which prohibits drinking and premarital sex.

Correspondent Armen Keteyian has been investigating since May. His investigation revealed the senior vice president in charge of campus safety, Reagan Ramsower, often clashed with Patty Crawford, the university’s former Title IX coordinator.

She says she could not get police reports, including one for a Baylor student who claimed she was gang-raped.

The gang rape allegedly involved football players Tre’Von Armstead and Shamychael Chatman in 2013. A Waco police report stated “Baylor University was contacted” about the incident. Criminal charges were never filed against either player.

Ramsower said the Baylor campus police department he oversees had a history of burying sexual assault complaints that came to them.

Keteyian asked Ramsower about the investigation into the incident report. “Nothing ever happened for well over a year. What happened there? Was there an investigation? And if not, why not? You have a police report -- ”

“There was a police report; I suppose it stayed with the police department,” Ramsower said. “It never came out of the police department. That was a significant failure to respond by our police department, there’s no doubt about it.”

“Victim blaming would be one answer,” said Keteyian. “The other answer is protecting the football team and protecting that brand.”

“I don’t believe that was at all the reason,” Ramsower replied. “I really think that it was probably feeling like -- and whether or not -- I don’t know what was said, if they did talk to the victim.”

“Well, they did talk to the victim. There’s no question. It’s a detailed police report.”

“Right. There was a Title IX case that was actually opened up,” Ramsower said. “We opened that up. And that was when I learned about it. And at that time we took the appropriate actions and eventually he was found responsible.”

“Eventually he was. But in 2014 Tre’Von Armstead was all Big 12 tight-end.” Keteyian said.

“That would be true,” said Ramsower.

Patty Crawford has years of experience investigating sexual assaults. But nothing, she said, prepared her for Baylor.

She was hired by Baylor in 2014 as the university’s first full-time Title IX coordinator to investigate women’s complaints.

She says a lack of cooperation prevented her from doing her job, from which she resigned in frustration.

Keteyian asked Crawford who was responsible for the failed investigation: “Was it institutional failure right up to the highest levels at Baylor? And I’m including the board of regents.”

“Absolutely,” she said. “There were a lot of people like me at the university that did not want these things happening and were fighting for it, but they didn’t have the power or the authority and they were not heard. That is institutional.

“What drives a culture? It’s the top. And that was the hardest thing for me to come to grips with, was after all of this -- this report was released, after all of this, the discrimination became so clear, even against me. That’s power and that’s control. What is rape about? Power and control.”

Armen Keteyian’s “60 Minutes Sports” report on the Baylor scandal, which includes interviews with the university’s interim president and four members of the school’s board of regents -- all of whom provide their accounts for the first time -- will be shown on Showtime (a division of CBS) Tuesday, November 1 at 8:00 p.m. ET.


https://www.yahoo.com/news/comey-wrote-bombshell-letter-to-congress-before-fbi-had-reviewed-new-emails-220219586.html

Exclusive: FBI still does not have warrant to review new Abedin emails linked to Clinton probe
Michael Isikoff
October 29, 2016

Photograph -- FBI Director James Comey prepares to testify on Capitol Hill in December 2015. (Photo: Susan Walsh/AP)
Photograph -- Hillary Clinton addresses a rally in Des Moines, Iowa. (Photo: Andrew Harnik/AP)
Photograph -- Hillary Clinton speaks with senior aide Huma Abedin aboard her campaign plane. (Photo: Andrew Harnik/AP)
Photograph -- Hillary Clinton speaks with senior aide Huma Abedin aboard her campaign plane. (Photo: Andrew Harnik/AP)


When FBI Director James Comey wrote his bombshell letter to Congress on Friday about newly discovered emails that were potentially “pertinent” to the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s private email server, agents had not able to review any of the material, because the bureau had not yet gotten a search warrant to read them, three government officials who have been briefed on the probe told Yahoo News.

At the time Comey wrote the letter, “he had no idea what was in the content of the emails,” one of the officials said, referring to recently discovered emails that were found on the laptop of disgraced ex-Rep. Anthony Weiner, the estranged husband of top Clinton aide Huma Abedin. Weiner is under investigation for allegedly sending illicit text messages to a 15-year-old girl.

As of Saturday night, the FBI had still not gotten approval from the Justice Department for a warrant that would allow agency officials to read any of the newly discovered Abedin emails, and therefore are still in the dark about whether they include any classified material that the bureau has not already seen.

“We do not have a warrant,” a senior law enforcement official said. “Discussions are under way [between the FBI and the Justice Department] as to the best way to move forward.”

That Comey and other senior FBI officials were not aware of what was in the emails — and whether they contained any material the FBI had not already obtained — is important because Donald Trump’s campaign and Republicans in Congress have suggested that the FBI director would not have written his letter unless he had been made aware of significant new emails that might justify reopening the investigation into the Clinton server.

But a message that Comey wrote to all FBI agents Friday seeking to explain his decision to write the controversial letter strongly hinted that investigators did not not yet have legal authority establishing “probable cause” to review the content of Abedin’s emails on Weiner’s electronic devices.

In that message, Comey told agents that he had only been briefed on Thursday about the matter and that the “recommendation” of investigators was “with respect to seeking access to emails that have recently been found in an unrelated case.”

Comey approved the recommendation to seek judicial access to the material that day, he wrote.

“Because those emails appear to be pertinent to our investigation, I agreed that we should take appropriate steps to obtain and review them,” he told agents.

Comey’s letter to Congress has subjected the FBI director to withering criticism. Top Justice Department officials were described by a government source as “apoplectic” over the letter. Senior officials “strongly discouraged” Comey from sending it, telling FBI officials last week it would violate longstanding department policy against taking actions in the days before an election that might influence the outcome, a U.S official familiar with the matter told Yahoo News. “He was acting independently of the guidance given to him,” said the U.S. official.

Comey insisted in his message to agents that he felt he had “an obligation” to inform Congress about the new material because he had previously testified that the bureau’s investigation into the Clinton email server was completed. He said it would be “misleading to the American people were we not to supplement the record.” He added, “Given that we don’t know the significance of this newly discovered collection of emails, I don’t want to create a misleading impression.”

The decision to send the letter “wasn’t easy,” said the senior law enforcement official. Comey and top FBI officials debated what course to take once they learned about the discovery on Weiner’s laptop – said to include thousands of Abedin’s emails. In the end, the official said, Comey feared that if he chose to move forward and seek access to the emails and didn’t immediately alert Congress, the FBI’s efforts would leak to the media and the director would be accused of concealing information.

“This was the least bad choice,” the senior official said.

But Comey’s letter to Congress — suggesting that the FBI might now revisit the Clinton email probe — may have been even more misleading, some critics charged Saturday.

“This letter is troubling because it is vaguely worded and leaves so many questions unanswered,” Sen. Patrick Leahy, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, and three other Democrats on the panel wrote Comey and Attorney General Loretta Lynch.

“It is not clear whether the emails identified by the FBI are even in the custody of the FBI, whether any of the emails have already been reviewed, whether Secretary Clinton sent or received them, or whether they even have any significance to the FBI’s previous investigation,” the senators wrote.

A Yahoo News review of Abedin’s interview with FBI agents last April — when the Clinton email probe was in full swing — shows that the longtime Clinton aide hinted that there might be relevant material on her husband’s personal devices. But agents do not appear to have followed up on the clues.

Abedin, who served as Clinton’s deputy chief of staff and held a top-secret security clearance, disclosed she had access to four email accounts while working at the State Department.

These accounts, Abedin said, included an official State Department email account, but also an account on Clinton’s private email server that Abedin used to communicate with Clinton and her top aides, as well as a personal Yahoo account. She used both the Clinton email account and the Yahoo account to “routinely” forward State Department emails and documents so she could more easily print them, she said. In addition, she told the agents, she had a separate email account that she had previously used “to support her husband’s political activities.”

Abedin’s interview — conducted by agents at the FBI’s Washington field office last April 5 — was the first tip-off that the longtime Clinton aide might have circulated official State Department material among her multiple accounts. At one point, agents even confronted Abedin on one apparently sensitive email about U.S. policy towards Pakistan that had been forwarded to her State Department account from an aide to the late Richard Holbrooke, then a special State Department envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan. Abedin had forwarded the email to her Yahoo account in order to print it, but told agents she was “unaware of the classification of the document and stated that she did not make judgments on the classification of material she received. Instead, she relied on the sender to make that assessment and to properly make and transmit the document.”

There is no indication from the eight-page FBI report on the interview, however, that the agents ever pressed her on what has now turned into an explosive issue in the final days of the 2016 campaign: Did Weiner have access to any classified government documents on his laptop and iPhone — devices that, he apparently used to exchange sexually charged messages with women he met online, including in one alleged case, an underage teenager in North Carolina?

The fact that FBI agents failed to follow up on this shows that the original probe into the Clinton email server was “not thorough” and was “fatally flawed,” said Joseph DiGenova, a former U.S. attorney and independent counsel who has been a strong critic of Comey and the FBI probe. “The first thing they should have done was gotten a sworn affidavit about all her accounts and devices,” he said, adding that agents should have immediately attempted to obtain the devices, including Weiner’s.

But it is still far from clear which State Department emails might be on the devices that Weiner had access to. In a separate civil lawsuit brought by a conservative group, Judicial Watch, Abedin gave testimony in June that appeared to differ in some respects from what she told the FBI. Asked in that case about her email accounts, Abedin told Judicial Watch lawyers that she rarely used the personal Yahoo account, and that when she did, she only used it to forward State Department “press clips” so she could print them.


ONCE A REPUBLICAN, ALWAYS A REPUBLICAN, MAYBE

https://www.yahoo.com/news/comey-sent-congress-letter-on-clinton-emails-despite-doj-warning-it-would-breach-policy-180013535.html

Comey sent Congress letter on Clinton emails despite DOJ warning it would breach policy
Caitlin Dickson
October 29, 2016


FBI Director James Comey was reportedly warned against notifying Congress about a batch of newly discovered emails with potential ties to Hillary Clinton’s private server.

According to the Washington Post, before issuing the letter to Congress that sent shock waves through the Clinton campaign Friday, Comey consulted senior Justice Department officials who advised him of the DOJ’s position “that we don’t comment on an ongoing investigation. And we don’t take steps that will be viewed as influencing an election.”

“Director Comey understood our position,” said one official, who spoke to the Post on the condition of anonymity. “It was conveyed to the FBI, and Comey made an independent decision to alert the Hill. He is operating independently of the Justice Department. And he knows it.” . . . .”


SCHOOL BUS ISSUES

JUDGING FROM THIS ALONG WITH OTHER SCHOOL BUS STORIES ITS CLEAR TO ME THAT DRIVERS ARE NOT SELECTED CAREFULLY ENOUGH, AND PERHAPS NOT BEING HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR WHAT HAPPENS ON THEIR WATCH EITHER. MAYBE SOME WELL-PLACED LAWSUITS WOULD HELP.


https://www.yahoo.com/news/boy-5-found-walking-alone-180708252.html

U.S.
Boy, 5, Found Walking Alone on the Side of the Road After Refusing to Take the Bus Due to Bullies: Reports
Blake Bakkila, People
October 29, 2016


A mother in Houma, Louisiana, was horrified when she learned that her 5-year-old son did not get off his school bus Monday afternoon. Her son Kenneth was later found walking on the side of the road by police, according to local reports.

“I got an empty pit in my stomach because at that moment I didn’t know where my child was,” Kathleen Hotard told WDSU. “I was scared.”

Hotard said her son refused to take the bus because his classmates at Legion Park Elementary had been bullying him.

“Because every week they throw spitballs, and they land on my ear,” Kenneth told WWL, when asked why he didn’t board the bus.

And on Monday, Hotard said he told a substitute teacher that he had been given permission to walk home.

“I was informed my child had lied and said he had a parental note to walk home,” Hotard told WWL. “I confirmed I never wrote a note, and they confirmed they never saw a note. He said he had misplaced it.”

Kenneth was found about a half mile from his school after someone reported that he was walking down the road alone, according to WWL. When police found him, he was walking home in the wrong direction.

Hotard added that her son, who has not returned to school, told her, “I’m ready to go to another school.”

“He doesn’t want to be by himself,” Hotard told WDSU of the ordeal. “He urinated on himself because he was too afraid to go alone. He’s having anxiety from this.”

Now, Hotard said the school is investigating the incident after the school superintendent admitted what happened to her and her son was “wrong.”

“I don’t want any other parent to ever have to feel what I felt,” she said. “I don’t want any other child to be on a side of a road by themselves scared … I feel like accountability needs to be taken by the school, by the teachers, and by the school board. Things have to change.”

Neither the Houma Police Department nor Legion Park Elementary immediately responded to a request for comment.


http://www.cbsnews.com/news/student-15-allegedly-plotted-shooting-attack-at-his-las-vegas-high-school/

Student, 15, allegedly plotted shooting attack at his Las Vegas high school
By CRIMESIDER STAFF CBS NEWS
October 31, 2016, 5:22 PM

LAS VEGAS -- Police say they’ve arrested a 15-year-old student accused of plotting a shooting at his Las Vegas high school.

Clark County School District Police captain Ken Young said Thursday the student at Desert Oasis High School was taken into custody Thursday after police uncovered an alleged plot for a mass shooting in the near future or “something more catastrophic” at the school of about 2,350.

Several students who heard about the alleged plot came forward, along with a parent in Arizona who listened in to a Skype conversation their child was having that mentioned the high school, Young said.

Police interviewed the student suspect and went to his home, where they recovered evidence that’s currently being analyzed. Sources told CBS affiliate KLAS that investigators discovered a “manifesto.” Young wouldn’t detail what items were found.

Young thanked the students and the parents who called police. He said the plot was uncovered “in part thanks to a parent being nosy, thanks to a parent paying attention, thanks to a parent who did not sit on information and brought that information forward.”

Investigators believe the student was working alone, and didn’t have a “vendetta” against any particular student at the school, Young said. He’s been charged with making terroristic threats.


Congratulations to the students, and the parents who saw the nature of the problem and took action. These “manifestoes” tend to appear frequently. It’s not very different from a hit list except it takes a philosophical form. It’s still all about distilled negativity, and hatred. I’m glad this young man was stopped and will get mental health treatment. Score seven for the Good Guys!


http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/2016/1029/What-battles-has-Bernie-Sanders-lined-up-for-the-day-after-the-election

What battles has Bernie Sanders lined up for the day after the election?
In an op-ed, Bernie Sanders says he intends 'to do everything possible' to implement a new, much more progressive Democratic agenda.
By David Iaconangelo, Staff OCTOBER 29, 2016

Photograph -- Sen. Bernie Sanders (I) of Vermont speaks to supporters at a rally in support of Colorado Amendment 69, a ballot measure to set up the nation's first universal health-care system, on the campus of the University of Colorado, in Boulder, Colo., Oct. 17, 2016. Brennan Linsley/AP/File
Video -- Clinton Emails Reveal A Wrestle With Wall Street, Populism
Inform
TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE How well do you know Bernie Sanders? Take our quiz.
PHOTOS OF THE DAY Photos of the weekend

Sen. Bernie Sanders and the progressives are getting ready for their next pitched battle.

An op-ed penned by the independent senator from Vermont and published by the Boston Globe on Thursday hints that if Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton is elected president, Senator Sanders could press her to appoint officials to top finance and trade posts that pass a progressive litmus test.

“We need a secretary of treasury who is prepared to take on the greed and illegal behavior of Wall Street, not someone who comes from Wall Street or will leave office to go to Wall Street,” wrote Sanders. “We need a trade representative who understands that our current trade policies have failed, and that we must adopt a trade approach that represents workers and not the CEOs of large corporations. We need an attorney general who is prepared to vigorously enforce antitrust laws and prosecute bankers and corporate leaders who break the law.”

Calls for sweeping reforms of the financial industry have galvanized the party’s progressive grassroots, though Mrs. Clinton and other centrists in the Democratic Party may have little interest in it. Progressive advocacy groups have begun to draw up lists of preferred candidates for Cabinet posts, along with potential candidates who raise red flags, the Washington Post reported this week.

Sanders's op-ed mentions other areas where his and Clinton’s stances are more obviously aligned – the minimum wage, college tuition, prescription drugs, immigration – and he opens by pledging that he is "currently working as hard as I can to see that Donald Trump is defeated."

But the timing suggests that Sanders and other progressives – who cemented their foothold by rewriting the party’s policy agenda after the primaries – could be preparing to flex their muscles quite soon after the elections, if Clinton is elected. Those battles could determine whether a party that has moved away from its roots as the working man’s party to become a coalition between minorities and the educated well-to-do could once again position itself as the champion of the white working class.

Sanders’s declarations appeared as Clinton’s campaign seemed to be on cruise control, a day before the FBI again shook up the race by announcing a new batch of emails that could be relevant to its long-closed investigation into the former secretary of State’s use of a private server to conduct official business.

Another ongoing issue for the Clinton campaign – the steady drip of hacked campaign emails from Wikileaks – has appeared to justify many of the accusations coming from the Sanders’ camp during the primaries, such as the Democratic National Committee’s conspiring against him and Clinton’s reassuring of Wall Street executives that she was uninterested in "turning the clock back or pointing fingers."

"Wall Street doesn't pay a quarter of a million dollars for her to come and tell them how bad they are. What she said is pretty much exactly what we expected," said Charles Chamberlain, executive director of progressive activist group Democracy for America, in an interview with the Associated Press.

"The day after she's elected president, progressives will have to hold her accountable and fight with her to make sure she passes powerful, progressive populism," he said.



EXCERPT -- “Those battles could determine whether a party that has moved away from its roots as the working man’s party to become a coalition between minorities and the educated well-to-do could once again position itself as the champion of the white working class.”

This statement puts in a nutshell what I’ve thought for the last few elections. The Democrats in the Congress especially, have become too timid and passive, and they have stopped fighting for causes or for people, either. See http://biblehub.com/kjv/matthew/5.htme --
Philippians 2:12-18, “13Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.”



http://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/day-of-the-dead-2016/31/

31 Beautifully scary costumes for the Day of the Dead holiday in Mexico.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Day_of_the_Dead

Day of the Dead
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Day of the Dead (Spanish: Día de Muertos) is a Mexican holiday celebrated throughout Mexico, in particular the Central and South regions, and by people of Mexican ancestry living in other places, especially the United States. It is acknowledged internationally in many other cultures. The multi-day holiday focuses on gatherings of family and friends to pray for and remember friends and family members who have died, and help support their spiritual journey. In 2008 the tradition was inscribed in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO.[1]

Prior to Spanish colonization in the 16th century, the celebration took place at the beginning of summer. Gradually it was associated with October 31, November 1 and November 2 to coincide with the Western Christian triduum of Allhallowtide: All Saints' Eve, All Saints' Day, and All Souls' Day.[4][5] Traditions connected with the holiday include building private altars called ofrendas, honoring the deceased using sugar skulls, marigolds, and the favorite foods and beverages of the departed, and visiting graves with these as gifts. Visitors also leave possessions of the deceased at the graves.

Scholars trace the origins of the modern Mexican holiday to indigenous observances dating back hundreds of years and to an Aztec festival dedicated to the goddess Mictecacihuatl. The holiday has spread throughout the world, being absorbed within other deep traditions for honoring the dead. It has become a national symbol and as such is taught (for educational purposes) in the nation's schools. Many families celebrate a traditional "All Saints' Day" associated with the Catholic Church.

Originally, the Day of the Dead as such was not celebrated in northern Mexico, where it was unknown until the 20th century because its indigenous people had different traditions. The people and the church rejected it as a day related to syncretizing pagan elements with Catholic Christianity. They held the traditional 'All Saints' Day' in the same way as other Christians in the world. There was limited Mesoamerican influence in this region, and relatively few indigenous inhabitants from the regions of Southern Mexico, where the holiday was celebrated. In the early 21st century in northern Mexico, Día de Muertos is observed because the Mexican government made it a national holiday based on educational policies from the 1960s; it has introduced this holiday as a unifying national tradition based on indigenous traditions.[6][7][8]

The Mexican Day of the Dead celebration is similar to other culture's observances of a time to honor the dead. The Spanish tradition included festivals and parades, as well as gatherings of families at cemeteries to pray for their deceased loved ones at the end of the day.

. . . .

Europe

In Christian Europe, Roman Catholic customs absorbed pagan traditions. All Saints Day and All Souls Day became the autumnal celebration of the dead. Over many centuries, rites which had occurred in cultivated fields, where the souls of the dead were thought to leave after the harvest, to cemeteries.

In many countries with a Roman Catholic heritage, All Saints Day and All Souls Day have evolved traditions in which people take the day off work, go to cemeteries with candles and flowers, and give presents to children, usually sweets and toys.[13] In Portugal and Spain ofrendas ("offerings") are made on this day. In Spain, the play Don Juan Tenorio is traditionally performed. In Belgium, France, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain, people bring flowers (typically chrysanthemums in France and northern Europe) to the graves of dead relatives and say prayers over the dead.

As part of a promotion by the Mexican embassy in Prague, Czech Republic since the late 20th century, some local citizens join in a Mexican-style Day of the Dead. A theatre group produces events featuring masks, candles, and sugar skulls.[14]



EXCERPT – “In Christian Europe, Roman Catholic customs absorbed pagan traditions. All Saints Day and All Souls Day became the autumnal celebration of the dead. Over many centuries, rites which had occurred in cultivated fields, where the souls of the dead were thought to leave after the harvest, to cemeteries.”


Death, life, human procreation and the cultivation of plants are all connected in ancient religion. See the article below on Shanidar Cave to see how far back in cultural tradition it goes.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shanidar_Cave

Shanidar Cave
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Shanidar Cave (Kurdish: Şaneder or Zewî Çemî Şaneder; Arabic: كَهَف شانِدَر‎‎) is an archaeological site located on Bradost Mountain in Iraq.[1] The remains of ten Neanderthals, dating from 35,000 to 65,000 years ago, have been found within the cave.[1] The cave also contains two later "proto-Neolithic" cemeteries, one of which dates back about 10,600 years and contains 35 individuals.[2]

The best known of the Neanderthals is Shanidar 1, who survived several injuries during his life, possibly due to care from other members of his band, and Shanidar 4, whose body lay beside a flower that can either be explained as evidence of burial rituals or animal contamination.

The site is located within the Zagros Mountains in the Arbil governorate and lies close to the Great Zab river valley.


Good evidence of early human sensibilities goes back to the Neanderthal period, and in that it is clear to me that religion was probably already in existence. The highly suspect viewpoint of Neanderthal man as being little more than a gorilla is changing among scientists. As I first learned from an anthropology class, what was actually found in the grave was pollen grains that were different from the surrounding soil rather than a flower. Archaeologists always test the soil at any significant site for pollen. Botanists who are specialists in ancient remains can identify what kind of plant the pollen came from. That’s not as clear-cut as a photograph from the day of the funeral, but it’s pretty good evidence nonetheless.

October 30, 2016


News and Views


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/trump-clinton-jew_us_58154356e4b064e1b4b2fc2b

Trump Attacks Clinton As Supporter Chants ‘Jew S. A.’
A man near the press area at Trump’s Phoenix rally shouted “Jew S.A.” instead of USA.
Steve Holland
10/29/2016 08:58 pm ET

Photograph -- CHIP SOMODEVILLA VIA GETTY IMAGES

PHOENIX, Oct 29 - Sensing a potential turning point, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump mounted a furious effort on Saturday to portray Democrat Hillary Clinton as unfit to lead the country after the latest chapter in her email controversy unfolded as he tries to mount a comeback.

With the Nov. 8 election only 10 days away, Trump devoted much of his stump speech to try to take the maximum advantage of the FBI’s disclosure that it is investigating more emails as part of a probe into Clinton’s use of a private email server.

Little is known about the extent and focus of the new FBI review. But Trump was quick to declare his rival “guilty” at rallies in Phoenix and in Golden, Colorado, declaring that she is symbolic of a type of public corruption that is a “grave threat to our democracy.”

Trump charged that the Justice Department, populated by appointees of Democratic President Barack Obama, is trying to help Clinton, given news reports that top department officials did not want FBI Director James Comey to reveal his new review.

“When the outcome is fixed, when the system is rigged, people lose hope. They stop dreaming. They stop trying,” Trump said in Phoenix. “Hillary Clinton’s corruption is corrosive to the soul of our nation and it must be stopped.”

Clinton herself has repeatedly attacked Trump as not fit to be president.

The new uproar could not have come at a more opportune time for Trump, who has been reeling for weeks from the release of a 2005 audio tape in which he boasted about groping women and the emergence of a host of women who said he did just that to them.

Trump has narrowed the gap in public opinion polls between him and Clinton nationally and in some battleground states where the election is likely to be decided. But most analyzes of the polls show him facing a defeat, perhaps a landslide, if the election were to be held today.

That made it essential for Trump to try to change the subject from his own setbacks and focus on those of Clinton, and give establishment Republicans who have been reluctant to support him a reason to get behind him, and perhaps sway some undecided voters as well.

Still, the Phoenix rally provided a reminder why some Republicans cannot bring themselves to support Trump, as a man there taunted reporters with a chant of “Jew S. A.” when the rest of the crowd was chanting “USA.”

monkees1 ‏@monkees1 4h4 hours ago
@hollybdc Were my ears deceiving me or did Trump say "Haven't we had enough drama with the Jews?"
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Ashley Killough ✔ @KilloughCNN
So this just happened near the press pen at Trump's Phoenix rally. Man chanting "Jew.S.A.!"
7:58 PM - 29 Oct 2016
1,152 1,152 Retweets 722 722 likes

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Holly Bailey ✔ @hollybdc
Guy shouting "Jew-S-A" at the media covering the Trump rally in PHX
7:43 PM - 29 Oct 2016
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Candace Smith ✔ @CandaceSmith_
This is the man who started chanting "JEW-S-A" at the media pen. Does anyone know what those hands signs mean?
7:42 PM - 29 Oct 2016 · Phoenix, AZ, United States
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Nick Corasaniti ✔ @NYTnickc
Guy chants "Jew-S-A" in front of press pen
7:35 PM - 29 Oct 2016
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Trump’s next couple of days on the campaign trail reflect a change in strategy with uncertain rewards. He is to campaign in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on Sunday and in Michigan on Monday, two states that have voted Democratic in recent presidential elections and appeared poised to do so again.

(Reporting by Steve Holland; Editing by Mary Milliken and Leslie Adler)

Editor’s note: Donald Trump regularly incites political violence and is a serial liar, rampant xenophobe, racist, misogynist and birther who has repeatedly pledged to ban all Muslims — 1.6 billion members of an entire religion — from entering the U.S.

Also on HuffPost -- ABCs of Trump


ON THOSE HAND SIGNS, GO TO BOTH WEBSITES GIVEN BELOW FOR POSSIBLE ANTI-SEMITIC HAND SIGNS. COMMENTARY ON SUCH THINGS IS VERY INTERESTING, AND TOTALLY NEW TO ME.

I listened closely three or four times and, though it was a little indistinct, I definitely heard Trump saying “enough drama with the Jews.”


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quenelle_(gesture)

“The quenelle (French pronunciation: [kə.nɛl]) is a gesture created and popularized by French political activist and comedian Dieudonné. He first used it in 2005 in his sketch entitled "1905" about French secularism, and has used it since in a wide variety of contexts.[1] . . . . In late 2013, following its use by professional footballer Nicolas Anelka during a match, Jewish leaders, anti-racism groups, and public officials in France have interpreted it as an inverted Nazi salute and as an expression of antisemitism.[2] French officials have sought to ban the gesture due to its perceived subtext of antisemitism.[4] . . .

Performance[edit] -- The quenelle gesture is usually performed by pointing one arm diagonally downwards palm down, while touching the shoulder with the opposite hand. Although the quenelle is usually done with the hand at shoulder level, it can also be done with different variations (e.g. elbow or wrist level).”

[NOTE: ABOUT HAND SIGNS -- This quenelle gesture from Wikipedia does not look at all like the gestures that the Trump follower was doing. His looked more like “gang signs” that I’ve see street kids doing. The jasoncolavito blog below was very much like what I saw on the video, and it explains the meaning. I suggest you read the blog for more information and look at the video. One of the vids of the man was unclear to me, but the other one is much better. Though he moved his hands pretty rapidly, I could see that it’s a hand with middle two fingers closely held together while the outer two fingers are spread apart.

It looks a lot like the old “cuckold” or “devil” sign done by holding the “horned” hand behind someone’s head. It’s a form of rowdy childish teasing. Everybody gets a chuckle out of it, with no hard feelings.

Of course, if this is a derogatory sign indicating a Jewish person, that is not innocent or funny to me, and shouldn’t pop up at a presidential candidate’s campaign speech. In Trump’s case, he really “draws the wrong kind of crowd” in general. It’s just one more reason for me to dislike Trump all the more. Intolerant speech or signals of that sort are danger signs as to the nature of Trump’s rhetoric and the atmosphere which he cultivates.



“http://www.jasoncolavito.com/blog/anti-semitic-conspiracies-and-the-mary-magdalene-hand-gesture”

“As you know, there is a cottage industry of people who think that a hand gesture featuring the middle and ring fingers pressed together between outspread index and pinky fingers is a secret symbol. Before Scott Wolter made it into a symbol of Mary Magdalene, it had previously been claimed as a secret symbol of Freemasonry (M for Mason), Satanism (multiple V’s and I’s for 666), and the Marranos, or crypto-Jews of Spain (M for Marrano). The supposed symbol is popular with anti-Semitic extremists who see it as a sign of “Judaizing” within Christianity. You can find references to it on New World Order conspiracy sites and anti-Semitic webpages. . . . .

Consider this piece, written before the premiere of America Unearthed, by a conspiracy theorist who sees the symbol as an occult recognition of the Jews’ role in bringing about the New World Order:

[Televangelist Paula White] has force-aligned her 3rd & 4th fingers on BOTH hands to STAY parallel to each other. This forms the “M” sign & is not easy to do. You have to consciously force your fingers to do it, & then to have your brain telling your fingers on BOTH hands to do it at the SAME time & then to KEEP them that way for any length of time is even harder. Maybe that’s why she appears to be straining & grunting! […] One thing’s for certain, Paula White is a Judaizer Supreme, heavily promotes the anti-Pauline-Epistles “Judaized-version” of Christianity. As the apostle Paul said, ANY OTHER GOSPEL, let those who preach it be accursed! (Galatians 1:8-9). [emphasis in original]”



PENTAGON BONUSES

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/pentagon-scrambles-as-veterans-say-bonus-repayment-is-an-insult-to-service/

Pentagon scrambles as veterans say bonus repayment is an insult to service
By CARTER EVANS CBS NEWS
October 29, 2016, 7:44 PM

Play VIDEO -- Defense Secretary halts National Guard bonus clawbacks
Photograph -- carter-evans-national-guard-2-2016-10-29.jpg
The Pentagon temporarily suspended demands for nearly 10,000 California National Guard soldiers to repay enlistment bonuses, and other incentives they were given to go to war. CBS NEWS
carter-evans-national-guard-3-2016-10-29.jpg
Photograph -- Angry veterans gave an earful to members of California’s congressional delegation a a news conference intended to address outrage about the thousands of California National Guard members being forced to pay-back their enlistment bonuses. CBS NEWS
Video – Play CBS News Video, very loud and vocal complaints by veterans


The Pentagon did an about-face this past week, temporarily suspending demands for nearly 10,000 California National Guard soldiers to repay enlistment bonuses, and other incentives they were given to go to war.

Officials said those payments were improperly rewarded back the Pentagon was scrambling to fill its ranks.

“It’s an insult to my service!” said Joe Leal, who served in the Iraq War.

Angry veterans gave an earful to members of California’s congressional delegation at a news conference intended to address outrage about the thousands of California National Guard members being forced to pay-back their enlistment bonuses.

“Out of those veterans that they took their money from them -- now we wonder why veterans are homeless, now we wonder why they’re unemployed, now we wonder why they don’t trust the system. Because of decisions like this!” Leal said.

“No other topic has come up more among my constituents the last week,” said U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff, a Democrat from the Los Angeles area.

Schiff is encouraged by the Pentagon’s move this week to suspend efforts to claw-back the bonuses of at least $15,000 a piece, but he’s concerned about the government’s plan to go through each case, one by one.

“I don’t want them to have to sit around and wonder whether the bill collector is going to come after them,” Schiff said. “I want those soldiers to know if they accepted this bonus in good faith and had no reason to know it wasn’t authorized, they have nothing to worry about.”

He says he’s going to push Congress to add a provision in the defense bill that will protect soldiers from collection.

Schiff says it’s something he “absolutely” will fight for in Washington. “I know there is bipartisan support for that,” he said.

But California Army National Guard Platoon Sergeant Bryan Strother says Congress already had plenty of time to act.

“We can bail out the banks, but we can’t bail out the veterans that fight and die for this country?” Strother says.

Despite action from Washington this week, Strother still moving forward with a class action lawsuit, claiming the Guard misled soldiers.

“Do you want your soldiers to trust you?” Strother says. “You’re going to take us into battle. Do you want anybody that’s gonna sign up with the military to say ‘yeah, i’ll sign that contract.’ The contract’s not as good as the paper that it’s written on.”

The national commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars doesn’t even want to wait for Congress to act. He is now calling on President Obama to issue an executive order to stop the clawbacks immediately and to repay any money collected. He wants that money paid back--with interest.



I’m so proud of those veterans for standing up to power so vigorously. That’s the way American citizens should be. If we stay as docile as we tend to be we will lose our democracy/republic by default. I don’t believe in fighting all the time, but there are times when it really needs to be done.



AGGRESSIVE POLL WATCHERS?

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/10/11/donald-trump-warns-that-other-communities-are-poised-to-steal-the-election/

The Fix
Donald Trump warns that ‘other communities’ are poised to steal the election
By Philip Bump
October 11, 2016

Video clip – (Baby-kissing) Donald Trump in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. (Video clip)
Play Video2:03 -- At a rally in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., Oct. 10, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump read unscientific online surveys off a cellphone during his speech to show that he is ahead of his Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton. (The Washington Post)
Photograph -- The Pentagon temporarily suspended demands for nearly 10,000 California National Guard soldiers to repay enlistment bonuses, and other incentives they were given to go to war. CBS NEWS


Donald Trump said at least two untrue things in Pennsylvania on Monday. The first was that he would bring back steel manufacturing. The second was that the election was at risk of being stolen by people in “other communities” — specifically, Philadelphia. Trump was making the same claim, really, through two lenses: Everything and everyone is working against him and his supporters.

His comments about alleged wide-scale voter fraud on Monday — comments which, we cannot emphasize frequently enough, are not supported by any evidence — were direct in their implications. In the past, he's said that “certain sections” of the state might commit fraud to swing the results, an obvious reference to long-simmering (and long-debunked) rumors about voter fraud in Philadelphia. On Monday, he simply said it.

“So important that you get out and vote. So important that you watch other communities, because we don't want this election stolen from us,” Trump said in Ambridge, Pa., northwest of Pittsburgh. “We don't want this election stolen from us. We do not want this election stolen.”

Later, he spoke from Wilkes-Barre. CBS's Sopan Deb transcribed:

Honestly, folks, you know I went to school in Philadelphia and I love Philadelphia. I love Philadelphia and I hope we're going to do great in Philadelphia. I went to school there. I love the school. I loved everything but I just hear such reports about Philadelphia. And we have to make sure we're protected. We have to make sure the people of Philadelphia are protected that the vote counts are 100 percent. Everybody wants that, but I hear these horror shows. I hear these horror shows and we have to make sure that this election is not stolen from us and is not taken away from us. And everybody knows what I'm talking about.

If anybody doesn't know what he's talking about, we wrote about it when Trump first raised the subject in August. Four years ago, a number of precincts around Philadelphia recorded no votes for Mitt Romney. The places where that happened were, in the words of the Philadelphia Inquirer “clustered in almost exclusively black sections of West and North Philadelphia" — places where most of the residents were members of one of President Obama's most loyal voting constituencies. (Nonwhite voters in Pennsylvania prefer Hillary Clinton by 56 points in a recent poll from Franklin & Marshall College.)

“Other communities” is probably not an intentional phrase from Trump, but it's a loaded one. Those other people. Ambridge and Wilkes-Barre are both three-quarters white. Most of the crowd at both rallies was also white. It was the other communities where there was a problem. Communities that happen to be mostly black. Those communities are going to steal the election from “us.”

A Republican inspector of elections in Philadelphia debunked Sean Hannity on the subject of voter fraud in the city when the Fox News personality raised it earlier this year. Ryan Godfrey pointed out that the Inquirer looked for people in the areas who'd voted for Romney, without luck. Demonstrated in-person voter fraud is so rare as to be a rounding error, both nationally and in Pennsylvania. In a response to a lawsuit submitted when a Republican was governor, the state admitted that voter fraud was nonexistent.

Trump should and could know this, if he cared to. It doesn't serve his interests to believe that voter fraud is a non-issue, and it's very possible he sincerely believes that fraud in Philly will cost him the state. What is likely to actually cost him the race in Pennsylvania is that he's losing badly thanks to slipping support. Multiple recent polls show Trump trailing by double digits in the state. He shouldn't feel too bad; Pennsylvania has voted Democratic since 1992.

Trump should certainly know that the steel industry isn't coming back and wasn't a victim of the policies of Obama. The steel industry in the Rust Belt was gutted in the 1970s and 1980s, with the workforce being cut in half between 1975 and 1988. Earlier this month, an essay in the New York Times explored how the economy of Pennsylvania has evolved in the decades since, expanding service sector jobs and work in technology. The jobs aren't often as high-paying and secure as steel jobs once were, but the economy has changed — as has steel production. Trump himself reportedly uses Chinese-made steel in his construction projects.

Nonetheless: “We're going to bring back the jobs to Pennsylvania,” Trump said in Ambridge. “We're going to bring back steel. Your steel has been stolen from you in this area.”

Just like the election, right?

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Philip Bump writes about politics for The Fix. He is based in New York City. Follow @pbump



EXCERPT – “It was the other communities where there was a problem. Communities that happen to be mostly black. Those communities are going to steal the election from “us.” . . . . Demonstrated in-person voter fraud is so rare as to be a rounding error, both nationally and in Pennsylvania. In a response to a lawsuit submitted when a Republican was governor, the state admitted that voter fraud was nonexistent. . . . . Multiple recent polls show Trump trailing by double digits in the state. He shouldn't feel too bad; Pennsylvania has voted Democratic since 1992. . . . . Earlier this month, an essay in the New York Times explored how the economy of Pennsylvania has evolved in the decades since, expanding service sector jobs and work in technology. The jobs aren't often as high-paying and secure as steel jobs once were, but the economy has changed — as has steel production. Trump himself reportedly uses Chinese-made steel in his construction projects.”


Romney got into serious trouble with those of us who are not in the 99% group a few years ago when he foolishly said on camera that he doesn’t try to appeal to the poor because they (we) won’t vote for him anyway. Well there are reasons for that, and they are obvious. It’s not cheating of any kind. It’s pure distaste for what he stands for, and in my case, what he looks like. Smugness and an attitude of superiority do turn me off very quickly.



MORE EMAILS


http://www.cnn.com/2016/10/29/politics/hillary-clinton-campaign-james-comey/index.html

Clinton campaign wages new war against James Comey
MJ LeeDan Merica-Profile-Image
By MJ Lee and Dan Merica, CNN
Updated 9:11 AM ET, Sun October 30, 2016

(CNN)Hillary Clinton on Saturday questioned FBI Director James Comey's decision to write to congressional leaders about emails uncovered in the bureau's probe into Anthony Weiner, saying the timing of such a move was "unprecedented" and "deeply troubling."

"It's pretty strange to put something like that out with such little information right before an election," Clinton told supporters in Daytona Beach, Florida, where the crowd booed at the mention of Comey's letter. "In fact, it's not just strange, it's unprecedented and it's deeply troubling because voters deserve to get full and complete facts."

Clinton called on Comey to swiftly release more information, saying he must "explain everything right away, put it all right on the table."

Clinton also swiped at Republican rival Donald Trump, saying he's "doing his best to confuse, mislead and discourage the American people" over the issue.

"Of course, Donald Trump is already making up lies about this," Clinton said.

The Democratic nominee's comments here marked an escalation in the Clinton campaign's full-out war against Comey in the final 10 days of the election.

Earlier in the day, just hours after Comey made the stunning announcement on Friday that the FBI is examining newly unveiled emails that appear to be "pertinent" to the now-closed investigation into Clinton's private server, top campaign officials unleashed a blistering attack on the FBI director, accusing him of being irresponsibly "light on facts" and "heavy on innuendo."

On a conference call with reporters, Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta accused Comey of failing to be "forthcoming with the facts." Podesta blasted both the timing and contents of the letter Comey sent to congressional leaders on Friday, summing the director's actions as "providing selective information."

Campaign manager Robby Mook echoed Podesta's call for more information from Comey and suggested that the FBI has now waded into political territory.

"The Justice Department's longstanding practice is: Don't do anything seen as trying to influence an election," Mook said. "It's completely unfair to Secretary Clinton and it's really unfair to the voters."

'Hillary's not going to be distracted'

The sharp criticism marked an extraordinary rebuke of the head of an agency historically known for its political independence. And it guarantees that Comey -- already a polarizing presence for his role in probing Clinton's email use as secretary of state -- will be a central political figure in the election's final days.

As Clinton prepared to fly to Florida for a two-day swing through the battleground state, Podesta was defiant: "We're not going to be distracted and Hillary's not going to be distracted in the final days of this election over nothing."

Both Podesta and Mook emphasized the possibility that the emails that the FBI is now examining -- uncovered as part of the bureau's investigation into Clinton aide Huma Abedin's estranged husband, Anthony Weiner -- may not reveal new information.

"Reports indicate that many of these emails are likely to be duplicates," Podesta said. "It's in fact entirely possible all the emails in question are just that -- duplicates."

Donald Trump continued to trumpet the news at a campaign stop in Golden, Colorado, Saturday afternoon, wondering if Clinton would keep Abedin as an adviser.

"Huma's been a problem," Trump said. "I wonder if Huma's going to stay there. I hope they haven't given Huma immunity because it seemed that everybody that walked down the sidewalk got immunity. She knows the real story. She knows what's going on."

Abedin, one of Clinton's closest confidantes, regularly travels with Clinton and was with the candidate on Friday when the FBI news broke. However, Abedin was notably absent on Saturday as Clinton traveled to Florida.

Comey was sworn in as FBI director in 2013 for a 10-year term. That means if Clinton were to win in November, Comey would serve under her administration unless she chose to remove him.

A Clinton aide later said Saturday that Clinton took the FBI news "like a champ." The aide added that Clinton and her top aides were well aware that the last two weeks of the campaign would not be entirely smooth and that Clinton's reaction reflected that.

"She is in a good state of mind," the aide added.

Sudden turn

The new attacks on Comey are a sudden turn for Clinton's campaign, which sang the FBI director's praises for his initial findings in the Clinton email case.

Clinton aides, in conversations with reporters and in statements, highlighted the fact that Comey was a Republican known for his fierce independence, touting him -- and his investigators -- as career professionals. Surrogates were told to highlight Comey's testimony to Congress and note his political affiliation and track record.

In an interview on CNN's "Situation Room" in July, Clinton press secretary Brian Fallon went after Republicans for criticizing Comey after the FBI concluded it would not press criminal charges against Clinton.

"It seems they were disappointed with the outcome of the FBI investigation so they decided to put the director in a hot seat and second-guess his decision," Fallon said at the time. "I think it is a bad look for House Republicans to be second-guessing a career prosecutor who is a registered Republican, No. 2 official at the Justice Department under George Bush and was even deputy council on the committee investigating the Clintons in the 1990s."

On Sunday, Fallon said the issues that the Clinton campaign is now raising are different from attempts by Republicans to smear the bureau as "corrupt" and "engaging in a nonexistent conspiracy."

"We are taking issue with a decision to publicly surface FBI activities on the eve of an election, which is an undisputed violation of protocol that both the current Attorney General and Republicans like George Terwilliger have acknowledged," Fallon said.

Nevertheless, the Clinton campaign now finds itself voicing similar concerns as some Republicans when it comes to the FBI's handling of emails uncovered in its Weiner investigation.

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, an outspoken Trump supporter, wrote on Twitter Saturday: "If there are really more than 10,000 emails in the weiner-Abedin computer the FBI should release all Monday. Americans have a right to know," he wrote.

Gingrich added: "We should not be forced to vote with ten thousand or more emails still hidden by the FBI. John Podesta and Hillary Clinton are right."

CNN's Ashley Killough contributed to this report.



In my view the Republicans are just “stringing the public along” with all these little drips of information on a daily basis. Of course, that’s the rules of their game; and this is very much a game. I’ve already voted for Hillary, so I’m going to be a spectator from now on. All I need’s some popcorn and a Coca-cola. I always watch election night like some people watch Trump’s old beauty pageants. Wouldn’t miss it. Personally, I have high hopes for Hillary. After the election, assuming she does win, I will then move on to the Bernie Sanders Our Revolution group for my loyalty and activities.

It will be good to actually like and trust whomever I feel constrained to vote into office. If it hadn’t been for “the Drumpf” waiting outside the city gates, troll-like and always hungry, to devour all of us innocent folk who have to venture outside, I would have voted for Sanders this time. Sanders is such an improvement over Hillary in my view, but sometimes you “gotta do what ya gotta do!” I would have voted for Sanders without any question and left Hillary to her own devices, if Trump didn’t show so many signs of true mental aberration.


THIS MAY BE THE MOST INFORMATIVE ARTICLE IN THE BLOG TODAY, ESPECIALLY IN THE MATTER OF HOW THE FBI SHOULD DO ITS’ JOB, AND WHAT IS BANNED UNDER THE CONSTITUTION. I HOPE YOU ENJOY IT. GOODNIGHT FOR NOW!


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/the-conversation-us/in-getting-new-clinton-em_b_12713842.html

In Getting ‘New’ Clinton Emails, Did The FBI Violate The Constitution?
By Clark D. Cunningham, Georgia State University
Photograph -- ANADOLU AGENCY VIA GETTY IMAGES
10/30/2016 08:48 am ET | Updated 2 hours ago

The Conversation US
Independent source of news and analysis, from the academic and research community.


Photograph -- Under FBI investigation: Anthony Weiner. U.S. Congress
Photograph -- Not aware of her husband’s alleged sexting: Huma Abedin. U.S. Department of State
Photograph -- Dropping a bombshell: FBI Director James Comey.
FBI
Photograph -- Time to act: Attorney General Loretta Lynch.
U.S. Department of Justice


FBI Director James Comey’s Oct. 28 bombshell letter to Congress - which has the potential to affect the presidential election - may be based on illegally obtained emails.

In his letter, Comey says the FBI “has learned” of the existence of emails “that may be pertinent” to the closed investigation of Hillary Clinton’s use of a personal email server during her tenure as secretary of state. He writes that although “the FBI cannot yet assess whether or not this material may be significant,” he has directed investigators “to review these emails to determine whether they contain classified information.” As the nation’s chief law enforcement officer, Attorney General Loretta Lynch has the apolitical and urgent responsibility to determine whether these emails were obtained in a manner consistent with the Constitution.

We don’t know everything yet, but we know a fair amount already about these emails and how the FBI got them. Comey tells Congress that the FBI “learned” of the emails’ existence “in connection with an unrelated case.” Multiple media sources are now reporting that they were found during the FBI’s investigation of allegations that former Congressman Anthony Weiner sent sexual text messages to a 15-year-old girl in North Carolina.

The FBI apparently seized a laptop from Weiner on which more than 1,000 emails belonging to his estranged wife, Huma Abedin, had been backed up. Abedin, who is currently vice chairman of the Clinton presidential campaign, had served as deputy chief of staff to Clinton when she was secretary of state.

If the laptop was “seized“ by the FBI, it’s unlikely that either Weiner or Abedin voluntarily turned over the emails. That means the agency needed to get a search warrant, by swearing to a judge there was probable cause to believe that data on the laptop contained evidence of the suspected “sexting” crime. Under the Constitution, the warrant should have specified exactly the information to be seized and searched, and thereby limited the FBI from looking through the entire contents of the laptop.

As a constitutional scholar, I have studied the FBI’s troubling history of deliberately abusing search warrant powers to go on unconstitutional fishing expeditions through Americans’ email. It seems likely that happened again here.

Was the search properly limited?

The Fourth Amendment to the Constitution states that no search warrant can be issued unless it “particularly describes the place to be searched and the things to be seized.” Did the warrant for Weiner’s laptop “particularly describe” emails sent to or received by Abedin while working at the State Department as material that could be seized as evidence of the alleged sexting crime? That seems highly unlikely.

Indeed, why were federal agents looking at any emails belonging to the suspect’s estranged spouse? Surely the FBI didn’t think Abedin was involved in the alleged sexting crime.

The agents might make the implausible claim that they saw Abedin’s emails inadvertently when looking for evidence related to the sexting crime. But even then, the legal approach would have required seeking Abedin’s consent to review the emails. If she declined, the FBI could have sought a new search warrant for specific Abedin messages, swearing to a federal judge that there was probable cause those particular emails were evidence of a crime, presumably related to the State Department email investigation.

So far there are no reports that the FBI did either of these things. To the contrary, Comey’s own letter says the FBI has no idea if the emails are even “significant.” So how could the FBI get a search warrant to review them?

A regular pattern of FBI abuse

It may seem extreme to suspect that federal agents sworn to uphold the Constitution would deliberately violate it to go on an unauthorized fishing expedition through Weiner’s laptop. However, there is clear evidence that the FBI regularly and deliberately oversteps constitutional boundaries with regard to Americans’ email messages.

In one case now pending in New Jersey, the FBI went completely beyond the limits of a search warrant to download the entire contents of a lawyer’s cellphone. Incredibly, federal prosecutors in that case are telling a federal judge they can legally keep and use the downloaded data even if the judge rules it was obtained in violation of the Constitution.

In New York City, federal court records reveal the government obtained another search warrant that clearly violated the Fourth Amendment. That one ordered Microsoft to turn over the entire contents of a web-based email account and authorized “email by email review.”

It is time for Congress to act

There have been some preliminary efforts to rein in the FBI. Last spring, a bipartisan bill was introduced in Congress that would begin the process. It would create a National Commission on Security and Technology Challenges including experts from many sectors such as law enforcement, the technology industry, the intelligence community, and the privacy and civil liberties communities. The commission would review the laws about warrants for digital data and recommend changes in how they should be used.

That effort followed the FBI’s ill-advised attempt to get a court order forcing Apple to create and give to the government software eliminating the user privacy and security features of the iPhone.

In the wake of this week’s new evidence of further overstepping by the FBI, passing this bill should be one of the first tasks for Congress when it reconvenes after the election. Searches such as the likely illegal one conducted on Weiner’s laptop should be discovered, documented and prevented in the future.

How to handle the emails now

Attorney General Lynch should immediately press Comey for details about what steps he took to determine that these emails were obtained legally. Can the FBI show that a proper warrant authorized seizure of those particular emails? If the agency cannot do so, she should consider the recommendations of several federal judges for how to handle digital data.

Specifically, the messages should be immediately turned over to an independent court officer for any further review. Lynch could, for example, ask the chief judge of the federal district handling the Weiner investigation to appoint a court-supervised special master to take charge of the emails. Using procedures fair to both law enforcement and the owner of the email, that person could determine if they reveal evidence of a crime. And Lynch should explain to the American people exactly what the FBI agents did legally, and admit if they acted outside the law.

Stepping up to preserve Americans’ rights

The Fourth Amendment was written in response to the abusive use of search warrants by the government of King George III. Specifically, Americans objected to searches of the homes of political dissidents, which examined all a person’s private papers in hopes of finding evidence to imprison him.

In one case successfully challenging this practice, the lawyer for the victim of such a search spoke words that ring true today:

“Ransacking a man’s secret drawers and boxes to come at evidence against him is like racking his body to come at his secret thoughts. Has [the government] a right to see all a man’s private letters of correspondence, family concerns, trade and business? This would be monstrous indeed; and if it were lawful, no man could endure to live in this country.”

The Conversation

Clark D. Cunningham, W. Lee Burge Chair in Law & Ethics; Director, National Institute for Teaching Ethics & Professionalism, Georgia State University

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.

Follow The Conversation US on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ConversationUS



http://www.politico.com/story/2016/10/congress-clint-emails-comey-goodlatte-conyers-230508

Senior lawmakers confer with Comey about email review
By Colin Wilhelm
10/30/16 12:29 PM EDT

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte said on Sunday that he and the committee's top Democrat, Michigan Rep. John Conyers, had conferred over the weekend with FBI Director James Comey about the new review of emails that might involve Hillary Clinton's tenure as secretary of state.

“We both encouraged him to make sure that the American people have as much information as possible before they have to make a decision on Nov. 8, based upon this stunning new development, that the bureau is examining new evidence in this case, that they said they had completed several months ago,” Goodlatte said, explaining the conversation Saturday with Comey.

The Virginia Republican appeared on ABC's "This Week" with Rep. Adam Schiff of California, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, who said that if Comey found no new evidence of wrongdoing he would need to "acknowledge he's made a serious mistake.”

Schiff added that Comey’s letter disclosing the review to congressional leaders on Friday constituted an “ambiguity bomb” that “clearly wasn't in the public interest.”

Goodlatte pushed back.

“I think the director is very conscious of this and he feels, I think, in a very difficult situation, but one which he thinks that given the fact that Mrs. Clinton has been traveling around the country for 3 ½ months saying that the FBI has cleared her of wrongdoing, that when there is new, and I believe, substantial information available why wouldn't he tell the American people that this is still under investigation?”

09_hillary_clinton_32_gty_1160.jpg
2016
How Clinton plans to deal with Comey's October surprise
By GABRIEL DEBENEDETTI

Goodlatte added that he questioned Comey about a potential perjury referral he and House Oversight Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) might make regarding Clinton’s earlier testimony to Congress, accidentally calling it an “impeachment” referral before correcting himself. And Comey directed the congressmen to the Justice Department, Goodlatte said.



EXCERPT – “In the wake of this week’s new evidence of further overstepping by the FBI, passing this bill should be one of the first tasks for Congress when it reconvenes after the election. Searches such as the likely illegal one conducted on Weiner’s laptop should be discovered, documented and prevented in the future.”


The Huffinton Post article named a number of instances in which the FBI has overstepped its powers or simply acted in a careless way. I’m glad to see that Congress has actually begun looking at a law or laws to “rein the FBI in.” A centralized civil enforcement system that begins to violate our freedoms, especially simply to bring a favored political party into office, is an evil rather than a good. I do hope that if Comey is an unethical and irresponsible head of such an agency, that he will be removed from office before his ten years are up, and retired.

If Hillary Clinton did, actually, commit perjury then she should be sanctioned or worse. This has the appearance and smell of the Whitewater and Monica Lewinsky scandals. I am watching the news, of course, but I’m mainly just meditating to maintain a distance from the strong emotions that I could get into about it. I’m waiting to see that we really do keep Trump out, trounce him, in fact, and then I’m going to wash my hands of the Dems, unless they do start standing up for the “common folk” again. I don’t think they should live like monks, but they need to remember their roots.

October 29, 2016


News and Views


THE LACK OF ETHICS IN SOME MODERN-DAY SPORTS, AND THE MONEY-BASED EMPHASIS ON THEM IN COLLEGES – TWO ARTICLES

“Winning isn’t everything. It’s the only thing.”

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/baylor-regents-women-reported-assaults-players/

Baylor regents: 17 women reported assaults by 19 players
CBS/AP
October 29, 2016, 10:48 AM

23 photographs -- A Baylor Bears helmet on the sidelines during the game against the Buffalo Bulls at UB Stadium on Sept. 12, 2014, in Buffalo, New York. VAUGHN RIDLEY/GETTY IMAGES
Play VIDEO -- Former Baylor Title IX coordinator on resignation: University "set me up to fail"
Related: Complete college football coverage on CBSSports.com


WACO, Texas -- An outside investigation of the Baylor University sexual violence scandal found 17 women who had reported sexual or domestic assaults involving 19 Baylor University athletes since 2011, university regents have told The Wall Street Journal.

Those included four reports of gang rapes, the Journal reported in a story posted to its website Friday.

The investigation by the Pepper Hamilton law firm in Philadelphia found some players were alleged to have participated in what one regent called a “horrifying and painful” series of assaults over several years. The regents said then-Baylor football coach Art Briles knew of at least one reported incident but didn’t inform police or school officials.

Baylor previously had said the review found that the football program operated as if it were above the rules. However, the university had released few details from the Pepper Hamilton report. That led to increasing public demand, especially among alumni and Baylor critics, for transparency.

“There was a cultural issue there that was putting winning football games above everything else, including our values,” said J. Cary Gray, a lawyer and regent of the Southern Baptist university. More generally, “we did not have a caring community when it came to these women who reported they were assaulted, and that is not OK,” Gray told the Journal.

Briles and Baylor’s athletic director were fired earlier this year. President Ken Starr was removed from his post by regents and he later resigned as chancellor.

Two days before his firing, Briles was called before the regents to discuss the scandal, Gray said. “Art said, ‘I delegated down, and I know I shouldn’t have. And I had a system where I was the last to know (of the assault allegations), and I should have been the first to know,’” Gray told the newspaper.

Briles’ attorney, Ernest Cannon of Stephenville, Texas, said his client never discouraged any victims from filing complaints against players. He also said Baylor’s regents appeared to be violating a non-disparagement clause that was part of the settlement agreement his client signed with the university.

Cannon also accused the regents of scapegoating Briles for Baylor’s overall failure to maintain a strict Title IX program to guard against sexual discrimination. Numerous lawsuits alleging violations of the federal Title IX laws allege such an overall failure.

“They are pulling their own house down to justify the mistakes they made. He’s the football coach” with no responsibility to enforce Title IX requirements, Cannon said.

“That’s their job,” he added, referring to university administrators.

Earlier this month, Patty Crawford, Baylor’s former Title IX coordinator, resigned and said top campus leaders undermined her efforts to investigate sexual assault claims and were more concerned with protecting the Baylor “brand” than the students.

Crawford said that the school did not allow her to fulfill her job as Title XI coordinator and retaliated against her.

“I never had the authority, the resources or the independence to do the job appropriately, which the Department of Education writes in its guidance for Title IX coordinators in universities,” Crawford said on “CBS This Morning.”

She told CBS News that included being disconnected from meetings and conversations and the university “making decisions only a Title IX coordinator should make, based on protection for the brand.”

She also noted the sexual violence problem was a campus-wide issue not limited to football. The university has said football players were involved in just over 10 percent of all alleged Title IX violations in the four years ending with the 2014-15 school year.

In response, Gray said, “Football is a fraction, but it is a bad fraction.”

The regents’ statements failed to impress Crawford’s attorney, Rogge Dunn of Dallas, who argued they continue to try to shape the narrative surrounding the scandal and protect the Baylor image. He told The Associated Press that the full story will not come until those concerned are placed under oath.

“Baylor’s never going to get past this until it has full transparency,” Dunn told the AP Friday night.



EXCERPT – “More generally, “we did not have a caring community when it came to these women who reported they were assaulted, and that is not OK,” Gray told the Journal.”


This is at least the third very similar case I’ve seen in the last year and a half or so, and I’m sure there are too many others that I’ve missed. The old “blame the victim” mantra protects wrongdoers whose position in life gives them an advantage, and that includes sports figures. There were a couple of cases in the military also. Reporting a crime like that can get you into deep trouble, which may not be obvious to the public eye. Women have been fired numerous times for the same thing when the sexual molester/rapist was in the ranks above them. Read the great Victorian novel below. Not only is it apropos, it is a wonderful piece of writing and THINKING. Unfortunately the times haven't changed nearly as much as I would like, and certainly not in those corners of the world where women are possessions.


Tess of the d'Urbervilles
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"Tess of the d'Urbervilles: A Pure Woman Faithfully Presented is a novel by Thomas Hardy. It initially appeared in a censored and serialised version, published by the British illustrated newspaper The Graphic in 1891[1] and in book form in 1892. Though now considered a major nineteenth-century English novel and possibly Hardy's fictional masterpiece,[2] Tess of the d'Urbervilles received mixed reviews when it first appeared, in part because it challenged the sexual morals of late Victorian England."


ON THOSE NON-DISPARAGEMENT CLAUSES:

http://www.vorys.com/publications-1674.html

2/16/16 Employers Must Be Careful Using Non-Disparagement Clauses to Discourage Employees’ Negative Online and Social Media Posts

In recent years, there has been backlash against non-disparagement clauses pertaining to online reviews, specifically those attempting to restrict honest—albeit negative—feedback about companies. In fact, California passed a law in August 2014 prohibiting anti-negative review policies, while the Federal Trade Commission filed its first ever lawsuit over similar non-disparagement clauses last September.

Beyond potentially restricting the speech of customers, businesses must also be careful about non-disparagement clauses relating to employees, such as those incorporated in employee handbooks or other agreements.

Contracts and policies prohibiting or limiting workers from speaking about their employment, such as sharing information about wages—including on social media or other websites, such as Glassdoor—have drawn greater scrutiny from the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in recent years.

In fact, in early 2013, an administrative law judge (ALJ) found that non-disparagement provisions incorporated in Quicken Loans, Inc. employment agreements (as well as Quicken Loans’ confidentiality clause) violated Section 8(a)(1) of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) by restricting employees’ rights under Section 7 of the NLRA.

Under Section 7, employees have the right to choose to engage in “concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid or protection,” such as discussing wages, benefits and other terms and conditions of work with other employees. Section 8(a)(1) restricts employers from interfering with employees attempting to exercise their Section 7 rights.

In the aforementioned action, a former Quicken Loans employee alleged that her rights had been violated by both “overly broad and discriminatory rules in [Quicken Loans’] Mortgage Banker Employment Agreement.” Specifically, the non-disparagement provision, which required employees to refrain from publicly “cricitiz[ing], ridicule[ing], disparage[ing] or defam[ing]” the company, arguably interfered with her (and other employees’) rights under Section 7 of the NLRA.

Judge Joel P. Biblowitz agreed, finding that Quicken Loans’ rules, including the non-disparagement provision, could reasonably have been read as restricting the Quicken Loans employees’ rights to engage in protected activities. In the opinion—which was affirmed later that year by an NLRB judge—Judge Biblowitz noted that “[t]he line between lawful and unlawful restrictions is very thin and often difficult to discern.”

Nonetheless, the ALJ, considered the non-disparagement provision to be void and ordered Quicken Loans to stop incorporating it and other overly broad rules into its employment agreements, so as to avoid interfering with employees’ rights.

This Quicken Loans decision and others similarly decided do not prohibit employers from ever incorporating non-disparagement provisions into employment agreements, nor is employee speech always protected and immune from consequences. However, these rulings should caution businesses—who have or are considering implementing non-disparagement clauses—from maintaining or drafting potentially overbroad language in employer/employee documents.

Thus, businesses considering non-disparagement clauses should consult with experienced labor and employment counsel before incorporating potentially impermissible language. And all other businesses, which have such provisions already, should consider conferring with attorneys to review their existing forms and documents to ensure legal compliance.

For more information, contact Colleen Devanney at 855.542.9192 or cmdevanney@vorys.com. Read more about the practice at http://www.defamationremovalattorneys.com/.


ABOUT HOW THE DEIFICATION OF MODERN SPORTS IS EVIL


https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/ethics-everyone/201007/winning-isnt-everything

Michael W. Austin Ph.D. Michael W. Austin Ph.D.
Ethics for Everyone
Winning Isn't Everything
Winning isn't everything, nor is it the only thing.
Posted Jul 12, 2010


"Winning isn't everything, it's the only thing." This infamous quote, often attributed to Vince Lombardi, actually orginated with college football coach Red Saunders, though Lombardi did say it as well.

But is it true? Most people, including those in elite sports, would seem to agree with this sentiment. However, after a bit of reflection, it is clear that most don't in fact believe that this statement is true. And those who do believe it should change their minds. Why is this?

First, consider the fact that in sports there is such a thing as a hollow victory. Moreover, part of the appeal of sports as well as their value is the challenge that excellent athletes and teams pose to one another. If winning was truly all that mattered, then good teams should only seek to play fair or bad teams in order to try and ensure victory. But they don't, at least in part because they are in pursuit of athletic excellence.

Second, winning is only valuable when it is accomplished in the right way. Jonathan Wilson makes a similar point in his claim that Spain deserved to win the World Cup final yesterday, both aesthetically and morally, because of the brutality of the Dutch on the pitch. An athlete who cheats, or who uses banned performance-enhancing drugs (a form of cheating), or who intentionally injures an opponent in order to secure a victory has done something immoral, and if such an athlete wins it is a hollow victory.

Those who would eschew morality in favor of victory should consider something else that Vince Lombardi said near the end of his life about the "winning isn't everything, it's the only thing" quote: "I wished I'd never said the thing...I meant the effort. I meant having a goal. I sure didn't mean for people to crush human values and morality."

Winning isn't everything, nor is it the only thing.

Follow Mike Austin on Twitter.



THREE “FASCINATING” TRUMP ARTICLES

http://www.politicususa.com/author/jasoneasley-2-2-2-2-2

Trump Melts Down And Accuses The US Postal Service Of Stealing The Election For Clinton
By Jason Easley on Sat, Oct 29th, 2016


Trump warned his supporters that the US Postal Service is trying to steal the election for Hillary Clinton in Colorado.

Video: Speech. Go to website.

At a rally in Golden, CO, Trump said:

I have real problems with ballots being sent. Does that make sense?

Like people saying, “Oh, here’s a ballot. Here’s another ballot. Throw it away. Oh, here’s one I like. We’ll keep that one.”

I have real problems, so get your ballots in.

Trump also accused election officials of throwing away ballots, as his rally was a mixture of claims of voter fraud and baseless speculation about Hillary Clinton’s emails.

Donald Trump appears to be losing his mind. He also seems to think that accusing the US Postal Service and election officials of stealing the election for Hillary Clinton is going to motivate Republicans to vote.

Consider the contradiction in Trump’s message. The Republican nominee tells his supporters that the US Postal Service is throwing away ballots, while at the same time he is urging them to mail in their ballots.

If their ballots are going to be thrown away by USPS, why should Republicans bother mailing their ballots in?

It is this sort of incoherent gibberish that makes no sense. Trump’s inability to stay disciplined and on message is also one of the biggest reasons why Republicans on pace to lose this election.

Donald Trump’s descent into paranoid senior citizen continues to play out in front of the entire nation, as the Republican nominee for president believes that his letter carrier is out to get him, 2016 election, Donald Trump, trump, Trump thinks USPS is throwing away ballots in Colorado, Trump thinks USPS is trying to steal the election.

Follow Jason Easley on Twitter
Trump Melts Down And Accuses The US Postal Service Of Stealing The Election For Clinton added by Jason Easley on Sat, Oct 29th, 2016

View all posts by Jason Easley →



Making wild and outrageous statements, for Trump, isn’t a “meltdown.” It’s par for the course. He’s a nut job of a certain sort, but he isn’t technically insane, I don’t believe.


POOR DONALD. SEE BELOW:

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/des-moines-police-charge-trump-supporter-in-voter-fraud-case/

Des Moines police charge Trump supporter in voter fraud case
CBS/AP
October 29, 2016, 11:44 AM

Photograph -- Terri Rote is seen in a police booking photo on Oct. 27, 2016. POLK COUNTY ARREST & JAIL INFORMATION
Play VIDEO -- Why Trump's "rigged" elections claims are unprecedented


DES MOINES, Iowa -- Des Moines police have charged a woman with election misconduct, a Class D felony, after officials reported she voted twice.

Des Moines police Sgt. Paul Parizek says officers charged 55-year-old Terri Rote with first-degree election misconduct on Thursday after being notified by elections officials that she had submitted two absentee ballots.

According to an Iowa Public Radio report, Rote voted two times for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.

“I wasn’t planning on doing it twice, it was spur of the moment,” Rote said in an interview with the radio station before she added an oft-repeated line on the Trump campaign trail: “The polls are rigged.”

She was booked into the Polk County Jail and released after posting a $5,000 bond.

Polk County Attorney John Sarcone says it one of the few examples he’s seen of alleged voter fraud in his more than 25 years as a prosecutor.

“This [is] maybe the third [time] we’ve had some irregularity that’s resulted in a criminal charge,” Sarcone told the Iowa radio station. “People aren’t voting more than once. And if they do, or attempt to do it, they will get caught because there are safeguards in place.”

Trump has said several times without proof during this campaign cycle that “the election is rigged,” and he’s even encouraged his supporters to monitor the polls come Election Day because of his unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud.

A preliminary hearing for Rote is set for Nov. 7.

Rote is registered as a Republican.



THE IDEA THAT TRUMP EVER HAD ANY “MINORITY OUTREACH” IS RIDICULOUS.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/elections-2016-donald-trump-ohio-mike-pence-plane-accident-ghetto-slip-of-tongue/

Slip of the tongue may undercut Donald Trump's minority outreach
CBS NEWS
October 28, 2016, 6:48 AM

Related: Clinton has $46M more on hand than Trump in final stretch


Campaigning across Ohio Thursday, Donald Trump continued to question Hillary Clinton’s fitness for office, ramping up his pitch to minority voters. But in Toledo, the GOP nominee may have undercut his minority outreach with a 1970s-era slip of the tongue, reports CBS News chief White House correspondent Major Garrett.

“We’re going to work on our, the ghettos -- are in so, the, you take a look at what’s going …” he said, before switching terminology. “We’re going to work with the African-American community, and we’re going to solve the problem of the inner city.”

Trump delivered his usual stump speech in Geneva for over 40 minutes before acknowledging his running mate’s plane accident, breaking the news about Gov. Mike Pence’s brush with danger at the end of his prime-time rally. His late-night rally was the culmination of a three-stop Ohio tour.

“The plane skidded off the runway and was pretty close to grave, grave danger, but I just spoke to Mike Pence, and he’s fine,” Trump said. “He got out. Everybody’s fine.”

Hillary Clinton also weighed in on Twitter, saying: “Glad to hear Mike Pence, his staff, Secret Service and the crew are all safe.”

Follow
Hillary Clinton ✔ @HillaryClinton
Glad to hear @mike_pence, his staff, Secret Service, and the crew are all safe. -H
9:26 PM - 27 Oct 2016
4,277 4,277 Retweets 22,555 22,555 likes

“What a great decision it was to get Mike Pence. What a great guy he is,” Trump said.

By then Trump had already finished piling on Clinton.

“I honestly think she’s unstable,” Trump said.

He also revisited his shadow-boxing feud with Vice President Joe Biden.

“You know what you do with Biden, you go like this [blows air] and he’d fall over,” Trump said.

Again tossing around specious claims of voter fraud, Trump claimed scientific polls showing him trailing must be tainted.

“There’s tremendous dishonesty in the polls, I’ve never seen anything like it,” Trump said on Fox News.

He floated yet another lawsuit, this time over the now infamous sexist vulgarities revealed on the “Access Hollywood” video.

“It was an illegal act that was NBC,” Trump said on Fox News’ “O’Reilly Factor.”

“You know that was a private dressing room. Yeah, that was certainly illegal, no question about it,” Trump added.

“Are you going to take any action after the election against NBC?” Bill O’Reilly asked him.

“You’ll see. You’ll see,” Trump said.

According to the latest FEC filings, the Clinton campaign has outspent and outraised Trump by nearly two to one.

It appears Trump’s claims he has self-funded his campaign may be exaggerated. In the first two weeks of October, Trump only donated $31,000 to his campaign and overall $56 million -- a fraction of the $240 million that’s been spent.



PARTISAN ACTION BY COMEY?

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/attorney-general-disagreed-fbi-director-decision-alert-congress-hillary-clinton-related-emails/

Attorney general disagreed with FBI director's decision to alert Congress to Hillary Clinton-related emails
By REENA FLORES CBS NEWS October 29, 2016, 12:51 PM

Play VIDEO -- Impact of FBI's reopened investigation against Clinton


Attorney General Loretta Lynch disagreed with FBI Director James Comey’s decision to send a letter notifying Congress of new developments in the probe of Hillary Clinton’s private email server, CBS News’ Paula Reid reports.

Sources close to the Clinton investigation told Reid that Lynch encouraged the FBI chief to follow a long-standing practice not to comment on ongoing investigations. While the two did not speak directly, the attorney general’s position was made clear to Comey. Comey’s decision to flag the new emails was thus made independent of his boss, the attorney general.

In 2012, the attorney general’s office, then led by Eric Holder, sent a department-wide memo that included guidance on making announcements so close to an election.

The memo cautions that employees of the DOJ “must be particularly sensitive to safeguarding the Department’s reputation for fairness, neutrality, and nonpartisanship.”

“Simply put, politics must play no role in the decisions of federal investigators or prosecutors regarding any investigations or criminal charges,” it reads. “Law enforcement officers and prosecutors may never select the timing of investigative steps or criminal charges for the purpose of affecting any election, or for the purpose of giving an advantage or disadvantage to any candidate or political party.”

Comey defended his decision to disclose the latest developments in the investigation in an email he sent to FBI staffers Friday, shortly after sending his letter to eight Republican House and Senate committee chairs.

“Of course, we don’t ordinarily tell Congress about ongoing investigations, but here I feel an obligation to do so given that I testified repeatedly in recent months that our investigation was completed,” he said, referring to the times he has appeared before congressional committees since July. “I also think it would be misleading to the American people were we not to supplement the record.”

The FBI chief said he did not “want to create a misleading impression,” but he acknowledged the “risk” in notifying Congress.

“In trying to strike that balance, in a brief letter and in the middle of an election season, there is significant risk of being misunderstood,” Comey wrote, “but I wanted you to hear directly from me about it.”

CBS News confirmed that the new emails were found on the electronic devices of top Clinton aide Huma Abedin and her husband, former Congressman Anthony Weiner, from an FBI investigation into Weiner’s latest sexting scandal. Abedin and Weiner announced their separation earlier this year.

Following the letter, Comey received plaudits from Republicans over taking further “investigative steps” in the Clinton email case Friday, just as Democrats -- including the Clinton campaign -- called for the immediate release of more information.

Lynch, for her part, is no stranger to Republican criticism over the email investigation. Just as the FBI was wrapping up the case this summer, Lynch had an impromptu meeting with former President Bill Clinton on the tarmac of an Arizona airport.

At the time, Lynch had said the appearance of impropriety was enough to make her regret the chance meeting.

“The most important thing for me as the attorney general is the integrity of this Department of Justice,” the attorney general said in July. “And the fact that the meeting that I had is now casting a shadow over how people are gonna view that work is something I take deeply, and seriously, and painfully.”



https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/10/29/james-comeys-inherently-horrible-decision/

The Fix
James Comey’s unavoidably horrible decision
By Aaron Blake
October 29 at 11:30 AM

Photograph -- FBI Director James B. Comey. (Yuri Gripas/Agence France-Presse via Getty Images)
Related: [Justice warned that Comey’s decision wasn't consistent with department policy]


Nearly four months after hailing FBI Director James B. Comey's statement that “no reasonable prosecutor” would charge Hillary Clinton with a crime, Democrats are now furious with Comey.

The Clinton campaign called his decision to announce publicly the review of newly discovered emails related to the Clinton investigation “extraordinary.” Democratic National Committee Chair Donna Brazile called it “irresponsible.” Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) called it “appalling.” And this New Yorker article shows just how contentious the decision was within the law enforcement community; Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch reportedly opposed it.

Partisans will certainly disagree about whether Comey did the right thing.

Republicans in Congress seized the moment, as did, of course, Donald Trump, with the GOP nominee saying it “is bigger than Watergate.”

What's clear, though, is that he was faced with a completely unprecedented no-win situation with two horrible options.

As that New Yorker report and a new Washington Post editorial note, the Justice Department doesn't generally comment on ongoing investigations in this manner. Former attorney general Eric H. Holder Jr. formalized this practice four years ago, writing in a memo that officials “may never select the timing of investigative steps or criminal charges for the purpose of affecting any election, or for the purpose of giving an advantage or disadvantage to any candidate or political party.”

But that ideal has run headlong into a hugely unusual set of circumstances and political realities.

In this case, the politics are already very much a part of this process, the investigation was already known about and either decision Comey made could have had far-reaching political implications — in this election and beyond. What's more, there were just 11 days left in the election when Comey made the announcement Friday. That is certainly an “extraordinary” set of circumstances that Comey had to wrestle with, so he made an extraordinary — in the truest sense of the term — decision.

The alternative for Comey here was to say nothing about the newly discovered emails. That would certainly have been the easier course in the near-term, because it wouldn't have inserted the FBI into the final days of the campaign.

But what if there did turn out to be something of real substance that altered his evaluation of this case, and what if it didn't come out until after the election and after Clinton was elected president? Imagine the scandal that would arise if and when it was discovered that the Justice Department had these emails before the election and chose to sit on them.

If that had happened, the Justice Department could certainly defend itself by citing that long-standing policy of not commenting on ongoing investigations. Just following protocol, it would say. But that defense almost definitely wouldn't pass muster with half the country. And let's not forget how many people think Clinton's private email server is a very legitimate issue; a poll after Comey's July announcement showed 56 percent of the country thought Clinton should have been charged with a crime.

It's hard to overstate what a massive scandal this would be.

Of course, if this decision ultimately helps Trump come back and win the presidency, that will also cause huge blowback. But at least in that case, the FBI couldn't be accused of covering something up; its sin would be in being too forthcoming.

Democrats view this as Comey — a Republican appointee who is no longer a registered member of the GOP — bowing to political pressure that has been applied by Republicans. Trump has been crying foul about a “rigged” political system for months, and his supporters have been eating it up. He also has been arguing for months that Clinton should be in jail or a special prosecutor should look at the case again, which his supporters also have eaten up.

That is the backdrop on which Comey had to make this decision, and there's no way the politics could be avoided. Law enforcement decisions should be independent of politics in an ideal world, but that's just wasn't plausible in this case. The public's confidence in the legal process is at stake.

Comey was confronted with an unprecedented situation and two very bad decisions, and he chose short-term pain over the prospect of a long-term scandal. Nobody should envy him right now.



http://crooksandliars.com/2016/10/emails-didnt-originate-hillary-clinton-or

Come Clean, Comey! Emails Weren't From Hillary Clinton Or Her Email Server: UPDATED
By John Amato
10/28/16 2:21pm

More information is coming about after the FBI's James Comey sent a poorly written letter to Congress, which says they are looking into emails that MAY be pertinent to the Clinton emails case.

I'm flabbergasted.

The NY Times reported that the new emails in question are not from Hillary Clinton, or her server that was investigated, but belonged to Huma Abedin, which relates to Anthony Weiner's sexting scandal.

Mr. Comey said the F.B.I. was taking steps to “determine whether they contain classified information, as well as to assess their importance to our investigation.” He said he did not know how long it would take to review the emails, or whether the new information was significant.

NBC's Pete Williams has a tough time explaining how this new development even relates to Hillary Clinton in the above video except to say it may have something to do with email coming from Huma to Hillary and whether they contained classified information.

Williams was certain that this new information is going to take a long time to investigate and said, "You can just guarantee this is not gonna be done before the election. No way."

This whole investigation led by the FBI was about Hillary Clinton's handling of her emails on the personal server so why is this erupting onto the national stage?

When MSNBC's Steve Kornacki asked what the range of possibilities were, Williams admitted, "They are not from her, but who they were to and what they were about, I don't know."

Kornacki asked, "If it's not her server, if they are not from her, what is her potential in terms of looking at this investigation and what would her involvement be?

Williams replied, "That's just impossible to say until we know what the e-mails are?"

What a clusterfu*k!

Williams knows just enough from James Comey to throw this election -- especially Congressional races -- into a quagmire.

Sam Stein tweets:

Follow
Sam Stein ✔ @samsteinhp
So, this is
1. not abt Clinton-sent emails
2. not about her server
3. found on weiner device
4. may be only 3 emails
5. wtf
3:21 PM - 28 Oct 2016
8,849 8,849 Retweets 11,237 11,237 likes

John Podesta issued a strong statement:

"FBI Director Comey should immediately provide the American public more information than is contained in the letter he sent to eight Republican committee chairmen. Already, we have seen characterizations that the FBI is 'reopening' an investigation but Comey's words do not match that characterization. Director Comey's letter refers to emails that have come to light in an unrelated case, but we have no idea what those emails are and the Director himself notes they may not even be significant.

"It is extraordinary that we would see something like this just 11 days out from a presidential election.

"The Director owes it to the American people to immediately provide the full details of what he is now examining. We are confident this will not produce any conclusions different from the one the FBI reached in July."

Digby writes about the U.S. Attorney's dismissals:

There was a time when it was considered unacceptable for the authorities to talk about investigations or draw up charges against politicians in the day leading up to elections. That seems to have changed since this happened back in 2006:

The controversy surrounding the U.S. Attorneys dismissals was often linked to elections or voter-fraud issues. Allegations were that some of the U.S. Attorneys were dismissed for failing to instigate investigations damaging to Democratic politicians, or for failing to more aggressively pursue voter-fraud cases. Such allegations were made by some of the dismissed U.S. Attorneys themselves to suggest reasons they may have been dismissed. The background to the allegations is the recent tendency for elections in parts of the United States to be very close; an election outcome can be affected by an announced investigation of a politician. It is explicit policy of the Department of Justice to avoid bringing voter-related cases during an election for this reason. In September 2008, the Inspector General for the Department of Justice concluded that some of the dismissals were motivated by the refusal of some of the U.S. Attorneys to prosecute voter fraud cases during the 2006 election cycle.

By April 2007, there was some speculation that the dismissal of the US attorneys might affect cases of public corruption and voter fraud. According to the National Law Journal,

"Just the appearance of political influence in cases related to those firings, combined with the recent, unusual reversal of a federal public corruption conviction in Wisconsin [c.f., Georgia Thompson], some say, will spur aggressive defense lawyers to question the political motivation of prosecutors in certain cases; make magistrates and judges more skeptical of the evidence before them; and perhaps even chill line prosecutors in their pursuit of some indictments."

But nobody cares about any of this stuff anymore. Anything goes. Wikileaks, FOIA, FBI all used for political purposes is just fine --- as long as the ox that's being gored is the ox you hate.

It's time for Comey to step up and explain himself fully.

UPDATE: You've got to be kidding me.

Follow
Greg Sargent ✔ @ThePlumLineGS
Pete Williams just confirmed on @allinwithchris that "many" of the newly found emails could be "duplicates." As I suggested earlier.
8:10 PM - 28 Oct 2016



THIS IS A VERY GOOD TWEET ABOVE. USUALLY THEY ARE SO ABBREVIATED THAT THEY DON’T MAKE A LOT OF SENSE TO ME.



http://www.politicususa.com/2016/10/28/gop-scandal-falls-emails-hillary-clintons-server.html

GOP Scandal Falls Apart As New Emails Didn’t Come From Hillary Clinton’s Server
By Jason Easley on Fri, Oct 28th, 2016 at 3:24 pm

The new Clinton email scandal keeps getting worse for Republicans as new information is emerging that the emails the FBI is looking at were not on her server.

The new Clinton email scandal keeps getting worse for Republicans as new information is emerging that the emails the FBI is looking at were not on her server.

The AP is reporting:

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BREAKING: US official: Newly discovered emails related to Clinton investigation did not come from her private server.
2:53 PM - 28 Oct 2016
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From previous reporting, it is known that the emails have nothing to do with Clinton, her campaign, the Clinton Foundation, the Russian hacks, the State Department, and any emails she sent or received. Now, we know that the emails were not on her server. FBI Director Comey completely bungled this announcement, and he needs to explain what the FBI is analyzing, because it doesn’t sound like it has anything to do with Hillary Clinton.

The email scandal that Republicans thought would save them has evaporated nearly as quickly as it arrived. With each new development, it is clear that there is much less to the story than initially reported.

If the Republican Party wants to risk losing, even more House and Senate seats in 11 days by pursuing this non-story, they should feel free to have at it.

Any time that Republicans spend talking about Clinton’s emails over the next 11 days will only help the Democratic Party.

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GOP Scandal Falls Apart As New Emails Didn’t Come From Hillary Clinton’s Server added by Jason Easley on Fri, Oct 28th, 2016
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