December 9 and 10, 2016


News and Views


http://www.cbsnews.com/news/how-unusual-is-trumps-cabinet-of-generals/

How unusual is Trump's Cabinet of generals?
By REBECCA SHABAD CBS NEWS
December 9, 2016, 6:00 AM

Play VIDEO -- Ret. Gen. "Mad Dog" Mattis tapped by Trump as defense secretary pick
Play VIDEO -- Trump fills more positions, including Homeland Security and EPA heads


President-elect Donald Trump has been busy staffing his Cabinet and White House, and it’s been duly noted that many of the top positions have been filled by generals.

Mr. Trump has nominated Gen. James Mattis (ret.) as defense secretary and retired Marine Gen. John Kelly (ret.) as homeland security secretary. He’s also picked Army Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn (ret.) to serve as his national security adviser. CBS News’ Major Garrett has reported that Mr. Trump is reluctant to have any more than three general occupying high cabinet and staff positions in his administration, so Gen. David Petraeus (ret.), who had been a top contender for secretary of state, may be the odd man out.

A look at recent history shows that Mr. Trump’s reliance on generals is not entirely out of the ordinary. And for those who are mystified by the president-elect’s predilection for military brass, the National Review’s David French (who was very briefly floated as a 2016 presidential candidate himself) points out that there is at least one very good reason: “[I]n an era when trust for government and other civic institutions is plunging, the military has retained strong public support,” he wrote Thursday.

During President Obama’s two terms, several retired generals held key roles in his administration. Retired four-star Marine Gen. Jim Jones, who served as Supreme Allied Commander of Europe under President George W. Bush, served as Mr. Obama’s first national security adviser. Mr. Obama tapped Petraeus to lead the spy agency. And he nominated retired four-star Army Gen. Eric Shinseki for secretary of veterans affairs. Retired four-star Marine Gen. John Allen became Mr. Obama’s U.S. envoy to the Global Coalition to Counter the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

George W. Bush, too, had a general on his cabinet -- in the top position. Retired four-star Gen. Colin Powell served his secretary of state. Under President George H.W. Bush, retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Brent Scowcroft served as national security adviser and later as George W. Bush’s chairman of the president’s Intelligence Advisory Board. President Ronald Reagan chose retired four-star Army Gen. Alexander Haig to serve as his secretary of state.

There is one cabinet post in which being a general can be a real obstacle. In order to ensure civilian control of the military, the Defense Department has banned military officers from serving as secretary of defense for seven years after serving in active duty. The Trump administration is planning to seek a waiver to make an exception for Mattis, who served as commander of U.S. Central Command under Mr. Obama. The only other defense secretary who has needed such a waiver was Gen. George Marshall -- he took over the Pentagon in 1950, three years after the military officer ban was put in place.

Some Democrats on Capitol Hill are already voicing opposition to giving Mattis that waiver.

“While I deeply respect General Mattis’s service, I will oppose a waiver. Civilian control of our military is a fundamental principle of American democracy, and I will not vote for an exception to this rule,” said Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-New York, in a statement last week.

Mr. Trump has not yet announced his nominations for a few remaining cabinet roles, including secretary of state. And while he may feel he has maximized the number generals he can retain, there are still some available admirals. In fact, Mr. Trump met with four-star Adm. James Stavridis Thursday. The president-elect isn’t the only one who eyed him for a potential spot on his team. Hillary Clinton also reportedly vetted him to be her running mate during her presidential campaign.



So, okay. Generals have always been popular. I pray the writer of this article is correct in that it isn't going to be the forerunner of Military coup.


http://www.cbsnews.com/news/yasmin-seweid-muslim-teen-harassment-new-york-subway-found-safe/

Yasmin Seweid, Muslim teen who reported harassment on New York subway, found safe
CBS NEWS December 10, 2016, 10:57 AM

Photograph -- Yasmin Seweid says she was verbally attacked by a group of men on the New York City subway. CBS NEW YORK


NEW HYDE PARK, N.Y. -- The Muslim teen who said she was verbally attacked by three drunk men on a New York subway last week and had been reported missing Friday has been found, CBS New York reports.

Nassau County Police didn’t say where Yasmin Seweid, 18, has been the last few days, but her family told WCBS-AM that she was safe.
eweid was last seen leaving her New Hyde Park home on Wednesday, police said.

She was wearing a black jacket, blue sweater, black yoga pants and black head scarf and carrying a bag of clothing.

Last Thursday, Seweid told WCBS-TV that she was on the subway heading home from a school event when she was verbally attacked by the men, who she said made references to President-elect Donald Trump and called her a terrorist.

“They kept saying, ‘You don’t belong here, get out of this country, go back to your country,’ and finally they came really close and they were like, ‘Take that rag off your head,’” Seweid said.


That kind of terminology is not only frightening to a young woman like this, it is disgusting. Hamilton was right to distrust "the masses." Still, this democratic experiment of ours perhaps only need fine-tuning. For instance, calling someone a "rag head" should be recognized as Hate Speech and prosecuted criminally as such. We also should legally prosecute White Supremacists as anti-American, which they are. The America I grew up with is not represented by such people.



http://www.cbsnews.com/news/attorney-say-teen-shot-by-reno-police-was-not-attempting-to-hurt-people/

Reno officer's shooting of knife-wielding teen sparks debate
CBS NEWS
December 9, 2016, 7:00 AM

Play VIDEO -- Teen suspected of trying to stab classmates shot by police


A school police officer in Nevada faces new questions about shooting a knife-wielding student.

Cellphone video captured the moment at Hug High School in Reno. Police said the teen ignored orders to drop a pair of knives and threatened other students. But there’s a debate over the use of force, reports CBS News correspondent Carter Evans.

On Facebook, a man who identified himself as the father of the teen defended his son’s actions, saying he was being bullied at school and was just trying to protect himself. He said after the shooting, his son had to have part of his lungs removed, but that he’s expected to survive.

A day after a school police officer shot the 14-year-old, Washoe County Schools Superintendent Traci Davis praised responding officers.

“Had it not been for their quick actions and professionalism, I truly believe the outcome could’ve been much worse,” Davis said.

Cell phone video captured the teenager waving knives surrounded by students apparently after a fight. His attorney, David Houston, spoke to “CBS This Morning” by phone.

“It was clear that the child was not being aggressive, but rather was trying to keep people away from him. He was not attempting to hurt people,” Houston said.

For some students and parents, the police response is causing as much concern as the boy’s actions.

“It was pretty traumatizing. I’ve never seen anything like that before, like pulling out knives and then a cop shooting a child,” said student Joslyn Walker.

“There are alternatives. Mace, for one, pepper spray,” said Demick LaFlamme, whose son is friends with the teen. LaFlamme was worried about the dozens of other kids standing nearby.

“They should actually be writing formal apologies to every single student’s parents there for putting all their children in danger,” LaFlamme said.

But the superintendent said both the safety and medical response went according to protocol.

“Both of those plans worked flawlessly,” Davis said.

The boy’s attorney disagrees.

“The superintendent cannot possibly have a detailed investigation sufficient to make the pronouncement that the activities or actions of those people was, quote, flawless,” Houston said.

At a news conference, we tried to find out more about the district’s rules on use of force.

“Can you tell us some policy things, about less lethal force and what your policy is?” Evans asked.

But school officials and school police refused to answer our questions.

We contacted the Reno and school police departments as well as the school district, and we did not get a response regarding their “use of force” policy.

The boy’s attorney said he’s in critical but stable condition, and his family has been barred from visiting him as preparations are being made for a psychiatric evaluation.


I agree with those who say that to shoot the boy was necessary rather than using a tazer. I do not consider a 17 year old boy to be "a child" for situations like this, however. They may be mentally childlike, but physically they're strong enough in many cases to kill a man. Since he had no gun, however, the officer should have tried another technique. That's my two cents



FLYNN FACTS

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/18/us/politics/michael-flynn-national-security-adviser-donald-trump.html?_r=0

Michael Flynn, Anti-Islamist Ex-General, Offered Security Post, Trump Aide Says
By MATTHEW ROSENBERG and MAGGIE HABERMAN
NOV. 17, 2016

Photograph -- Lt. Gen. Michael T. Flynn at Trump Tower in Manhattan on Thursday. Credit Sam Hodgson for The New York Times


WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald J. Trump has offered the post of national security adviser to Lt. Gen. Michael T. Flynn, potentially putting a retired intelligence officer who believes Islamist militancy poses an existential threat in one of the most powerful roles in shaping military and foreign policy, according to a top official on Mr. Trump’s transition team.

General Flynn, 57, a registered Democrat, was Mr. Trump’s main national security adviser during his campaign. If he accepts Mr. Trump’s offer, as expected, he will be a critical gatekeeper for a president with little experience in military or foreign policy issues.

Mr. Trump and General Flynn both see themselves as brash outsiders who hustled their way to the big time. They both post on Twitter often about their own successes, and they have both at times crossed the line into outright Islamophobia.

They also both exhibit a loose relationship with facts: General Flynn, for instance, has said that Shariah, or Islamic law, is spreading in the United States (it is not). His dubious assertions are so common that when he ran the Defense Intelligence Agency, subordinates came up with a name for the phenomenon: They called them “Flynn facts.”


General Flynn
✔ ‎@GenFlynn
Fear of Muslims is RATIONAL: please forward this to others: the truth fears no questions... http://youtu.be/tJnW8HRHLLw
8:14 PM - 26 Feb 2016

As an adviser, General Flynn has already proved to be a powerful influence on Mr. Trump, convincing the president-elect that the United States is in a “world war” with Islamist militants and must work with any willing allies in the fight, including President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia.



The fear of violent religious Fundamentalism of all stamps is logical. That includes some of the Christian groups that I’ve read about. The fear of MUSLIMS just because they aren’t Christian or Jewish, is not. That’s the distinction that we Progressives want to see.



DOES THIS SOUND FAMILIAR?

https://fee.org/articles/self-discipline-must-be-selfish/?utm_medium=push&utm_source=push_notification

Self-Discipline Must Be Selfish
Dan Sanchez
Wednesday, December 07, 2016


Today’s the day. The day you get serious about your work, your studies, your finances, your health, your life. Commence adulting.

The work, the learning, the exercise, the diet. Who’s it all for?

You start strong, like you always do. You set up your to do list. You make headway on a project.

But then, insensibly, as the day wears on, you start slipping. By the next day, you’re back to your usual routine. Instead of going to the gym in the morning, you spend an hour in bed scrolling through Facebook on your phone.

At the office, instead of, you know, working, you start the day with an hour on Reddit. At home, instead of pursuing that online side gig, or progressing through that Udemy course on Adwords, you binge-watch half a season of Luke Cage on Netflix and then go to bed way too late.

Why does this keep happening? Why can’t you ever get your butt in gear and keep it in gear? You know you’ll be happier, less stressed out, and headed toward a better life if you could just be more disciplined. So why can’t you act on that knowledge?

Who’s It For?

Here’s a question you might ask yourself. Who’s it for? The work, the learning, the exercise, the diet: all of the things you intend to do, but don’t. Who’s it all for?

“Myself, of course,” you might think. But is it really?

Many of us never truly learned self-discipline, but only other-discipline.

In elementary school, when you first learned to study and do desk work, who was it for then? It sure wasn’t for yourself. You were forced to do it. You did it for your teachers and parents.

When you first learned to eat healthy as a child, who was it for? That was probably also for your parents.

Sure your parents and teachers said it was “for your own good.” But they’d be lying if they said it was for your own chosen purpose.

Other-Discipline

Under the authority-based way children are raised, we all learned discipline through obedience. Obedience is not self-discipline. It is other-discipline. It is the discipline horses and dogs learn from their trainers and that slaves learn from their masters.

Many of us never truly learned self-discipline, but only other-discipline. Sure, some of the obedience-based habits we picked up stuck. But they start to fade as soon as we’re left without an authority figure. That’s why, even as adults, so many of us need the positive and negative reinforcement of bosses or instructors to keep us on task.

Other-discipline is the discipline of the slave.

Even when real authority figures are not involved, we feel the need to create them in our minds. This is easy to do, because after a whole childhood and youth of constantly being judged by others, we have internalized our judges. That part of you that says, “I’m so stupid,” or “I’m so lazy,” when you don’t live up to certain standards is the spiritual residue (ghosts, if you will) of dozens of past authority figures.

Browbeating yourself into good behavior is not self-discipline either. It is obedience to the internalized expectations of others.

An Incentive Problem

Again, other-discipline is the discipline of the slave. Now, what does economics say about slave labor? As Ludwig von Mises wrote,

“If one treats men like cattle, one cannot squeeze out of them more than cattle-like performances.”

To achieve true self-discipline, you need an exorcism.

Slave labor is not only morally abhorrent, it is incomparably less efficient than free labor. That is because the incentives are radically misaligned. The slave does not benefit fully from his productive efforts. So he is rationally inclined to “shirk,” just as communist workers are inclined to slack off, because they are provided for according to their “need” and not according to their contribution.

Similarly, when performance in work and life is fundamentally for the sake of someone else (even if that someone else is an internalized authority figure), you too are rationally inclined to shirk.

That moment of resolve you had the other day was your inner classroom teacher fixing her gaze on you. To appease her, you obediently opened your workbook and started toiling. But as soon as her back was turned, you went back to goofing off.

True Self-Discipline

To achieve true self-discipline, you need an exorcism. You need to exorcise the ghosts of past taskmasters that are haunting your psyche. Your life’s endeavors need to become truly and deeply about you and for you.

In practice, this means you need to stop judging yourself: stop subjecting yourself to the withering judgment and debilitating authority of your internalized “other.” To paraphrase Mises, if you want more than cattle-like performance out of yourself, you need to stop trying to motivate yourself with the spiritual equivalent of a cattle-prod.

This is not to say you should stop assessing yourself. The difference between a self-judgment and a self-assessment is that the former has a moralistic, other-oriented flavor to it. A self-judgment says heatedly, “I’m weak and useless” or “I’m not contributing enough to society.” A self-assessment says, in a rational, cool, even detached tone, “I have goal X. I can advance toward that goal, if I adopt improvement Y. I did not adopt Y yesterday. Perhaps I can adopt Y today if I try Z.”

Only when you re-align your incentives by thoroughly making your efforts about your own purposes, instead of the internalized expectations of others, will you finally stop shirking and indulging in unhealthy habits, and finally start living a satisfying life of self-confidence, excitement, ongoing achievement, and continuous growth.

For more guidance on this truly self-oriented, non-judgmental approach to performance and growth, I highly recommend The Inner Game of Tennis by Timothy Gallwey. You do not need to play tennis (I don’t) to learn a tremendous amount from this book. It uses tennis to convey many universal principles.


Dan Sanchez is Managing Editor of FEE.org. His writings are collected at DanSanchez.me.



A psychologist spoke to me about this, and called it “self-talk.” We can talk ourselves into a depression if we are in the habit, undoubtedly started in childhood, of dealing harshly with ourselves. Go ahead and LOVE YOURSELF, so you’ll be able to LOVE OTHERS! If we would all do that we would perhaps be able to drop our hatred and fear of other groups because we won't emotionally need a scapegoat anymore!



http://www.cbsnews.com/news/mummified-child-could-change-history-of-smallpox/

Mummified child could rewrite history of smallpox
By LESLIE KATZ CNET December 9, 2016, 3:09 PM

When did humans first suffer from smallpox?

Historical anecdotes, and possible physical evidence such as pockmarks, suggest the virus dates back millennia. But cold, hard DNA from a 17-century mummified child found buried under a Lithuanian church may offer a new timeline for the contagious and sometimes fatal disease.

mummy.jpg
The mummy was first found in 2015 through a collaboration with the Lithuanian Mummy Project. KIRIL CACHOVSKI/LITHUANIAN MUMMY PROJECT

“There have been signs that Egyptian mummies that are 3,000 to 4,000 years old have pockmarked scarring that have been interpreted as cases of smallpox,” says Ana Duggan, a postdoctoral fellow at the McMaster University Ancient DNA Center in Canada and primary author of a new study on the findings that appears in the journal Cell Biology.

“The new discoveries,” she adds, “really throw those findings into question, and they suggest that the timeline of smallpox in human populations might be incorrect.”

The child mummy, which radiocarbon dating places between 1643 and 1665, when several major European and Asian epidemics took hold, was first found in 2015 within the crypt of the Dominican Church of the Holy Spirit in Vilnius.

The remains, thought to be between 2 and 4 years old, didn’t show visual signs of the disease.

They did, however, yield a complete genome for the variola virus ancestral to all known 20th-century smallpox strains. This is the oldest version of the actual virus found, as opposed to scarring that could not be conclusively attributed to variola.

The researchers compared DNA taken from the mummy to versions of the variola virus genome dating from the mid-1900s and before smallpox was eradicated in the late 1970s after a successful worldwide vaccination program.

Using techniques that amount to a “molecular clock,” they found the samples share a common viral ancestor that originated sometime between 1588 and 1645. Those dates coincide with a period of exploration, migration and colonization that would have helped spread smallpox around the world.

Newly-found Egyptian mummy undergoes autopsy
Play VIDEO
Newly-found Egyptian mummy undergoes autopsy

“So now that we have a timeline, we have to ask whether the earlier documented historical evidence of smallpox, which goes back to Ramses V and includes everything up to the 1500s, is real,” said co-author Henrik Poinar, director of the Ancient DNA Centre at McMaster University. “Are these indeed real cases of smallpox, or are these misidentifications, which we know is very easy to do, because it is likely possible to mistake smallpox for chicken pox and measles.”

The researchers now hope to compare their sample from Lithuania to samples from other outbreaks sweeping other European countries at the same time. More broadly, the scientists hope their work will help virologists continue to trace smallpox and other viruses back through time.

It’s an exciting time for mummies. Earlier this week, scientists published research suggesting mummified knees housed in an Italian museum likely belonged to ancient Egyptian Queen Nefertari.

This article originally appeared on CNET.com.


“Mummified knees???” The increasingly accepted modern method of timing world events by analyzing disinterred DNA may not be accurate, of course, but it is already rewriting archaeological theories. It’s fascinating to me.



http://www.cbsnews.com/news/california-professor-anti-donald-trump-rant-caught-video/

California professor's anti-Donald Trump rant caught on video
CBS NEWS
December 9, 2016, 9:23 AM

Photograph -- Orange Coast College professor Olga Perez Stable Cox speaks to her class in Costa Mesa, California, in this image capture of a cellphone video.


COSTA MESA, Calif. -- A political discussion in a college class touched off a firestorm, CBS Los Angeles reports.

A college professor went off on President-elect Donald Trump in her Orange Coast College class.

There are now threats of legal action.

The human sexuality teacher, Olga Perez Stable Cox, called Mr. Trump’s election “an act of terrorism.”

“Our nation is divided. We have been assaulted. It’s an act of terrorism,” she told the students.

She added, “One of the most frightening things for me, and most people in my life, is that the people who are leading the assault are among us.”

One student was so offended by the speech he recorded it with his cellphone.

The teacher also criticized Mr. Trump’s Cabinet picks, advisers and the vice president-elect.

“A white supremacist and a vice president that is one of the most anti-gay humans in this country,” she said.

“At this point it’s not even education anymore, it’s indoctrination,” said Josh Recalde-Martinez, a member of the school’s Young Republicans club.

The group filed a formal complaint about the professor’s rant. Another student complained about the teacher on RateMyProfessors.com.

“I felt censored and bullied if I did not agree with her opinions,” the student wrote.

Political opinions she shared in-depth with the class.

“We are way beyond Republicans and Democrats, and we’re really back to being a civil war,” she said, “and I don’t mean it in a fighting way, but our nation is divided as clearly as it was in Civil War times.”

Recalde-Martinez posted the teacher’s rant on his Facebook page. As of Thursday night, it had 18,000 views and hundreds of comments.

The professor’s union posted a warning on its page Thursday night. It condemned the student who recorded the video, saying, “This is an illegal recording without the permission of the instructor. The student who is sitting in assigned seating will be identified and may be facing legal action.”

“They wanted it to be known so that way maybe we would get scared and take down the video. But to the union I want to say we’re not going to be doing that,” said Recalde-Martinez.

“The unions are acting like thugs, like bullies themselves,” said attorney Shawn Steel.

The attorney is also the Republican national committeeman for California. He volunteered to represent the Young Republicans.

He said the student who shot the video is afraid he may be suspended or expelled with only a week left in the semester.

“Every student knows that if you stand up to your professor 90 percent of the time the professor’s going to punish you,” said Steel.

The president of the college said the school encourages a discourse on current events between students and faculty when it’s in context.

The teacher and her union did not respond to requests for comment.



A GOOD COLLEGE is different from high school in that a teacher is very likely to teach things that tend to be covered up on the local level, and they aren’t usually fired for it, at least not at places like UNC-CH. Of course, in this case she may very likely be sued, though hopefully not by the university.

The painful truth is that in MOST high schools across the country, especially in politically conservative parts of the nation, textbooks may well exonerate or even glorify things like slavery and White Supremacy. I remember my high school history. We were taught all that "Manifest Destiny" garbage with no mention of the Native Americans who were almost eliminated totally. Just as professors want to avoid “rants” in general, they do need to introduce fuller information than we got in K-12. Just do it in a way that is academically valid and well documented.



http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/trump-team-dismisses-report-russians-hacking-was-help-trump-win-n694271

CIA Concludes Russia Mounted Operation to Help Trump Win: Source
by KEN DILANIAN, PHIL HELSEL and ROBERT WINDREM
DEC 10 2016, 12:51 PM ET

Play video -- Donald Trump dismisses claims that Russia interfered in 2016 election 3:33
Play video -- Senator Harry Reid responds to WAPO's report 5:55
Play video -- Breaking news: Russia tried 'to help Trump win' 10:47
Play video -- CIA connects the dots between Russia hacking and the 2016 election 6:42
Related: U.S. Intel Agencies Preparing Dossier to Prove Russian Hacks


The CIA has concluded that Russia mounted a covert intelligence operation to influence the U.S. election in an effort to help Donald Trump win, a congressional official knowledgeable on the matter told NBC News.

Director of National Intelligence James Clapper briefed senators on the latest intelligence in a closed-door meeting last week, and he described the latest findings on the intentions of the Russian government with regard to the hacks and other interference in the U.S. presidential election, according to the official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the intelligence.

A Washington Post report published online Friday night first described how the intelligence community has reached a "consensus" that Russia intervened in the presidential election to help Trump win — not just try to sow chaos and undermine the electoral process. The New York Times confirmed the story, as has NBC News.

The president-elect's transition team responded by impugning the CIA's integrity in a statement Friday, calling the spy agency "the same people that said Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction."

Trump has repeatedly said he does not accept the findings of the spy agencies he will soon lead. They say Russia was behind hacks of Democratic email accounts and other efforts that appeared to harm Hillary Clinton's candidacy.

In October, the U.S. government said that all 17 intelligence agencies agreed Russia was behind the cyber-attacks just before the November election, and that the goal was "to interfere with the U.S. election process."

Now, the Congressional official told NBC News, new intelligence suggests that Russia's goal was to elect Trump, who broke from Republican orthodoxy during the campaign with several sympathetic statements about a Russian regime that has seized a neighbor's territory and is accused of killing political opponents.

Senators were briefed last week on the secret CIA assessment, the source said, confirming reports in the Post and Times.

In an interview Saturday with MSNBC's Joy Reid, outgoing Democratic leader Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada, who was among those briefed, accused FBI director James Comey of withholding information about the Russian campaign from the public. He said Comey should resign.

PlaySenator Harry Reid responds to WAPO's report Facebook Twitter Google Plus Embed
Senator Harry Reid responds to WAPO's report 5:55

"Intelligence agencies have been finding connections to the Russian government," Sen. Reid said. "There's no question about that."

Reid added, "The FBI had this material for a long time. But he, Comey, who is Republican, refused to divulge this information regarding Russia in the presidential election."

The FBI did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

NBC News previously reported that Russians allegedly used hacking groups to provide material to WikiLeaks at the behest and direction of the Russian government.

Related: U.S. Publicly Blames Russia for Hacking

The Post and The Times said the U.S. had identified specific Russian actors who had turned over the material to WikiLeaks.

Separately, another source briefed in the intelligence told NBC News that the U.S. government has identified specific Russian actors it believes were involved in the hacks, based on intercepted communications, human source tips and computer forensics.

The Times reported that the CIA assessed that Republican entities also were hacked, but that none of the material contained through the hacks was leaked.

PlayBreaking news: Russia tried 'to help Trump win' Facebook Twitter Google Plus Embed
Breaking news: Russia tried 'to help Trump win' 10:47

NBC News reported in October that Republican operatives and officials had been targeted in a widespread Russian hacking campaign.

In September, House Homeland Committee Chairman Mike McCaul (R.-Texas) told CNN that the Republican National Committee had been hacked. Sean Spicer, the RNC spokesman, was quick to tweet that there had been no known breach "of @gop networks" and McCaul issued a quick retraction.

McCaul, however, didn't retract his broader assertion that he had been told in classified briefings that the Russian hacking campaign targeted Republicans as well as Democrats.

The Trump transition team responded to the latest reports with an unprecedented public swipe at the U.S. intelligence community.

Related: Trump Was Told Russia to Blame for Hacks Long Before First Debate

"These are the same people that said Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction," Trump's representatives said in a statement attributed to the transition team. "The election ended a long time ago ... It's now time to move on and 'Make America Great Again.'"

The statement was headlined, "transition statement on claims of foreign interference in U.S. elections" and it was released after the Post report was published.

PlayCIA connects the dots between Russia hacking and the 2016 election Facebook Twitter Google Plus Embed
CIA connects the dots between Russia hacking and the 2016 election 6:42

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said in a statement Saturday that the "silence from WikiLeaks and others since election day has been deafening." He added that revelations that Russian hackers worked to help Trump's campaign were "simultaneously stunning and not surprising."

"It's imperative that our intelligence community turns over any relevant information so that Congress can conduct a full investigation," Schumer said.

Russia has denied being behind the cyber-attacks on Democratic Party institutions. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has denied his organization was being used by the Russian government.

President Barack Obama has ordered U.S. intelligence agencies to deliver to him a dossier of the evidence that the Russian government used cyber-attacks and other means to intervene in the 2016 election, a senior administration official told NBC News.

The information may be made public, the official said.

"Is this the most successful Russian covert action ever?" asked a former senior intelligence official. "Yes, it is."



I do hope that when Obama gets this report, not only will heads roll here, but the Drumpf will be considered as a result of this to be INELIGIBLE for the Presidency, and Clinton will be put in his place. Look! Up in the Sky! A Pig flying!!



http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/presidential-campaign/309362-sanders-campaign-chair-dont-buy-david-brocks-blame

Sanders campaign manager: Don't buy David Brock's blame game for Clinton loss
BY JEFF WEAVER, CONTRIBUTOR - 12/08/16 07:31 AM EST


The knives are out on the Democratic side after the unexpected victory of Donald Trump. Not surprisingly, the first attacks have been launched by the experts on mudslinging against fellow Democrats: David Brock and those whose lease he holds like Peter Daou. Brock’s long history of character assassination and penchant for attacking those on the left continues.

In his speech at the first major gathering of Democratic lawmakers since the election, Brock expressed his anger at the “disaffected millennials who sat on their hands in the most consequential election of our lives.”

Brock’s narrative that Hillary Clinton’s loss is the fault of the millennial voters who supported the primary campaign of Senator Bernie Sanders is laughable. It’s worth noting that Anna Greenberg, an informed political professional who followed Brock as a speaker at the State Innovation Exchange conference, was quick to distance herself from his baseless “analysis.”

But the Brockian delusion is dangerous because it gives the corporatist elements of the Democratic Party an excuse to avoid the hard questions that need to be asked in light of Trump’s win.

November’s result highlights the central challenge that the Democratic Party faces — building a party that represents the interests and aspirations of middle and working class Americans of all races. When elements of the party spend decades supporting job destroying trade deals and cozying up to Wall Street and other corporate interests, it only makes sense that working people and young people’s confidence in the party as a whole has been shaken, if not shattered.

And this is not limited to white voters. Turnout in places like Detroit and Milwaukee reveal that the party’s problems cross racial lines.

Rather than face the very real challenge of remedying this situation, some have taken to blaming pollsters and data analysts for Hillary Clinton’s loss. After all, it’s much easier to bash those who didn’t see the wheels coming off the train rather than asking why the wheels were coming off in the first place.

Now we’re witnessing the scapegoating of Sanders and his supporters. Most of us knew this predictably lazy attack would come. Somehow, Senator Sanders is to blame because he brought millions into the Democratic Party process by articulating a positive vision of economic, racial, environmental and social justice.

He not only received over 13 million votes but hundreds of thousands attended his rallies and volunteered for his campaign; and millions funded his bid with over $230 million in contributions averaging less than $30 a piece.

Asking whether Sanders’ progressive message, and his authentic delivery of that message, is the path forward for the Democratic Party results in an answer that too many in the establishment cannot even begin to consider.

Brock himself stands to lose substantially if the Democratic Party engages in the type of introspection that is required. Brock ran a number of pro-Clinton organizations in the last campaign season, including a legally-suspect Super PAC.

All of these groups were funded by millions in donations from many of the Democratic Party’s most generous donors. Brock’s groups spent almost a year and tons of Democratic donor cash engaged in a covert but well-documented smear campaign against Senator Sanders.

Sanders’ completely unanticipated triumph in 23 contests and his mobilization of millions prove Brock’s attempts to derail Sanders were a failure. He then turned his guns on Trump and obviously failed.

Now he wants Democratic donors to replenish his coffers with millions for another round of mud-slinging. Hopefully, Democratic donors won’t let themselves be scammed again.

And hopefully, the Democratic Party re-establishes faith with the American working class in every zip code by authentically offering a bold and positive vision — a vision with no room for the ineffective gutter politics that benefit Mr. Brock and his friends.

Imagine if those millions wasted by Brock were used to register hundreds of thousands of new voters or to reach out to Rust Belt working class families.

Just imagine.

Jeff Weaver served as campaign manager for Senator Bernie Sanders' presidential campaign.
The views of Contributors are their own and are not the views of The Hill


EXCERPT – “Now he wants Democratic donors to replenish his coffers with millions for another round of mud-slinging. Hopefully, Democratic donors won’t let themselves be scammed again.”

They have called me 5 or 6 times since the election and I have told every caller not only that I will give no more money to the Democratic Party, but WHY. They have violated their HOLY TRUST with the average American when we had no one else to stand behind us, and bonded absolutely and openly with the Billionaire class. What makes them think that millennials would vote for Hill after everything that happened at the DNC and well before?



SIGNS OF THE TIMES --

http://www.nbcnews.com/business/business-news/aclu-donations-rose-almost-1-000-percent-giving-tuesday-citing-n691151?cid=sm_fb

ACLU Donations Rose by Almost 1,000 Percent on Giving Tuesday, Citing Trump Fears
by NICOLE SPECTOR
BUSINESS DEC 2 2016, 12:00 PM ET


In the days after Donald Trump was declared the President-elect, the American Civil Liberties Union received an outpouring of donations. But it was #GivingTuesday that saw the organization shatter fundraising records.

"We had been seeing so much incredible support [right after] the election and that support was already way over the typical amount," said Mark Wier, chief development officer at ACLU. "But #GivingTuesday reflected another huge outpouring, and was our biggest day."

Giving Tuesday, which falls directly after Cyber Monday, is a five-year-old tradition meant to highlight online philanthropy amid all the holiday spending.

This year, the ACLU received over $1.7M in online donations, a 965 percent increase over last year. The organization also received 20,548 gifts this year; on Giving Tuesday 2015, it received 1,288.

Rainbow whistles are shown hanging at the San Francisco Gay Pride Parade in San Francisco, California June 30, 2013. REUTERS/Jed Jacobsohn

Politically Tense Times

While the ACLU always aims to raise more than it did the previous year, such a tremendous increase was unexpected.

"The promotions we did this year in terms of scale were not significantly different than last year," said Wier.

But the political climate, Wier noted, is radically different than it was in late 2015, and the main catalyst behind the donations.

"There is an [enhanced] awareness that we can no longer take our rights for granted," Wier told NBC News. "We can't sit back and feel okay without acting. And #GivingTuesday, a touch-point for an organization like us, is an opportunity for people to channel their philanthropy."

Dumping on Trump

Along with their online donations, donors expressed both their desire to fight for the rights of Americans, and also their not-so gracious feelings about Trump.

"At least one-third of the comments from the donors had the word 'Trump,' in them," said Wier. "Some would say, 'Love Trumps Hate,' or 'turning my rage [about Trump] into action.' Others simply said 'Trump.'"

The Trevor Project, a non-profit that provides crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to LGBTQ youth, surpassed $85,000 in online donations, exceeding what it received during #GivingTuesday 2015 by more than eight times.

Related: Trump Protesters Fear Rollback of LGBT Rights

"This year, Giving Tuesday was a two-week campaign for us," said Steve Mendelsohn, deputy executive director at the Trevor Project. "The goal began at $20,000, double what we raised last year. A week prior to Giving Tuesday we were already at $20,000, so we set the goal for $25,000. Then last week, we raised it to $40,0000, and it just kept [being met] so we raised the goal to $60,000 on Giving Tuesday — and reached $85,000."

Mendelsohn added that virtually all of the donations made included comments rooted in anxieties about Trump, and more specifically, VP-elect Mike Pence, who has long opposed the rights of LGBTQ people. "There were plenty of comments about Mike Pence," Mendelsohn told NBC News.

But more than Trump or Pence bashing, there was hope among supporters that their donations could make a positive difference.

"Almost everyone left a comment of some support and hope for the future," said Mendelsohn, adding that since Trump was elected, calls to the organization's suicide hotline have shot up by 123 percent.

With the new funds, which stands now at about $86,000, the Trevor Project can keep two, instead of one call center fully staffed and "save the lives of around 4,000 LGBTQ youth," Mendelsohn said.

Everybody Wins

Taking a big picture look at #GivingTuesday 2016, as its founders, the 92nd Street Y did, shows that while politically progressive non-profits like the ACLU and the Trevor Project raised tremendous funding, many types of organizations prospered.

Blackbaud processed $47.7 million in donations, a 20 percent increase over 2015; DonorsChoose, which connects donors with classrooms and teachers, raised $1.8 million — its most successful #GivingTuesday ever; and the Humane Society surpassed its goal of $200,000, bringing in $350,000.

Related: Trump Victory Has Fearful Minorities Buying Up Guns

"The election helped [prompt donations], as people were responding to the way in which philanthropy is part of our democratic spirit," said Henry Timms, executive director of 92Y and co-founder of #GivingTuesday. "Democracy is much bigger than politics: It's about community and how we think of ourselves as citizens, and knowing that we can contribute to the future of our country through philanthropy."

Timms noted that the data collected only reflects online donations, and that it is quite likely that donations made by check succeeded [sic] those made online, as "most of the giving in this country is actually still done offline."



EXCERPT -- "There is an [enhanced] awareness that we can no longer take our rights for granted," Wier told NBC News. "We can't sit back and feel okay without acting. And #GivingTuesday, a touch-point for an organization like us, is an opportunity for people to channel their philanthropy."


When I first began writing about Trump as being a very dangerous man, the mainstream Hillaryites pooh poohed the idea that Trump actually COULD beat her, and scorned Sanders’ ability to beat him. What they missed was the fact that the “working classes” were not only fed up, we were scared. If the Dems would have put him on the ticket as Hillary’s Vice President (assuming he would take that position) Trump would not have won, but NO. They were smugly confident in how the vote would go. I could weep, if I were a crier. Unfortunately I am, instead, a ranter, so on I rant. Keep up the good fight, Progressives!