September 28, 2017


News and Views


THE CUBAN EMBASSY HEALTH PROBLEM – CUBA DENIES THAT THEY HAVE BEEN ABLE TO DISCOVER A CAUSE. FROM THE DESCRIPTION, IT IS CLEAR THAT THERE IS A SONIC DEVICE, BUT I WONDER IF IT CAN BE LOCATED SOME DISTANCE AWAY, EVEN POSSIBLY ON A SATELLITE OR DRONE.

THE ATTACKS ARE OCCURRING “AT THEIR HOMES” ACCORDING TO A REPORT YESTERDAY, SO THE SOURCE CAN MOVE, PERHAPS, IN ORDER TO TARGET DIFFERENT LOCATIONS (ON A TRUCK OR IN A CAR). COULD IT BE A DEVICE THAT AN OUTSIDER HAS INSERTED INTO THEIR HOME COMPUTER, TV, OR SOME OTHER HOUSEHOLD EQUIPMENT?

THERE HAVE BEEN TWO ARTICLES WITHIN THE LAST YEAR OF A REFRIGERATOR – ALONG WITH MANY CASES INVOLVING COMPUTERS AND TVS -- HAVING A SOUND OR VIDEO RECORDING DEVICE IN IT (INSERTED THERE BY MANUFACTURER) WITH THE PURPOSE OF RANDOMLY EAVESDROPPING ON FOLKS CONVERSING IN THE IMMEDIATE AREA, SUPPOSEDLY TO COLLECT BUSINESS RELATED INFORMATION ON THE HOUSEHOLD.

WE ARE LIVING IN A TECHNOLOGICAL JUNGLE, WITH THE OCCASIONAL PREDATOR ROAMING AROUND. I EVEN SUGGESTED ON MY FACEBOOK PAGE THAT IT COULD BE CAUSED BY DR. NO. NO?

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/u-s-plans-major-withdrawal-of-staff-from-embassy-in-cuba/
By STEVE DORSEY AND KYLIE ATWOOD CBS NEWS September 28, 2017, 3:32 PM
U.S. plans major withdrawal of staff from embassy in Cuba

Two sources tell CBS News the U.S. is preparing to announce a major withdrawal of staff and family from the U.S. embassy in Cuba in response to attacks targeting diplomats. Only essential personnel will be left.

An internal memo was sent to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson suggesting a drawing down of personnel in Havana. The meeting this week between Tillerson and Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Eduardo Rodriguez Parrilla did nothing to help assure the U.S. that Cuban officials are doing enough to protect the safety and welfare of U.S. diplomats in their country. Though Cuba is allowing U.S. investigators into the country, it has not convinced the U.S. that it's taken any real action to prevent the health attacks.

Top U.S. security official targeted in Cuba embassy "health atttacks"
In fact, the Cuban readout of the meeting contained a complete denial that the attacks were taking place.

"The Cuban government has never perpetrated nor will it ever perpetrate attacks of any kind against diplomats," it read. "The Cuban government has never permitted nor will it ever permit the use of its territory by third parties for this purpose."

The readout went on to say that Cuban authorities had so far found, "There is no evidence so far of the cause or the origin of the health disorders reported by the U.S. diplomats."

Diplomats have complained about symptoms ranging from hearing loss and nausea to headaches and balance issues after the State Department said "incidents" began affecting them in late 2016. In total, the State Department says there are 21 medically confirmed cases. The attacks were directed at their homes, which the Cuban government provides. The last reported incident was in August.

The U.S. investigation, led by the FBI, is ongoing. At this time, State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert says Tillerson is still reviewing his options on how best to protect American personnel in Cuba."


ABOUT FORMALDEHYDE, I PERSONALLY WALKED INTO A CLOTH SHOP A FEW YEARS AGO AND IMMEDIATELY SMELLED THE STRONG VERY SHARP SMELL OF THAT CHEMICAL ON SOME FABRIC OVER TO THE RIGHT. IT SMELLS LIKE ROTTING FISH, BUT STRONGER. IT WAS SOME 40 OR 50 FEET AWAY FROM ME, AND YET IT CAUSED MY NASAL PASSAGES TO HURT AND MY HEAD ALONG WITH THEM WITHIN ABOUT 15 SECONDS. I GET THE SAME REACTION TO MOST PERFUMES AND HOUSEHOLD CHEMICALS. THAT’S AN ALLERGY SITUATION, AND IT CAN GIVE ME NAUSEA; IF IT’S SEVERE ENOUGH I MAY ALSO HAVE HEARING AND BALANCE DIFFICULTIES. SO, THIS UNIFORM MANUFACTURER NEEDS TO IMMEDIATELY STOP USING THAT FABRIC, OR MORE LIKELY, THE LOW COST FOREIGN MANUFACTURER OF THE UNIFORMS, AND SUE THE COMPANY WHICH SOLD THEM IN ORDER TO COVER THE COST THAT THEY ARE GOING TO HAVE TO “EAT” AS ALL THOSE AIRLINE WORKERS SUE THEM. THAT’S BUSINESS.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/american-airlines-workers-sue-maker-of-uniforms-that-allegedly-caused-illnesses/
CBS NEWS September 28, 2017, 3:07 PM
American Airlines workers sue maker of uniforms that allegedly caused illnesses

Photograph -- American Airlines planes are seen on the tarmac at Miami International Airport in Miami, Florida, June 8, 2015. ROBYN BECK/AFP/GETTY IMAGES



BURMA AND THE ROHINGYA REFUGEES – THREE ARTICLES. THE FOLLOWING SHORT COMMENT CONCERNS ALL OF THEM, AND PRESENTS THE GIST.

THE MOST INTERESTING THING TO AMERICANS HERE IS THAT SUU KI IS BEING ACCUSED OF BEING COMPLICIT, OR PERHAPS, TOO WEAK TO STOP THIS VIOLENCE BY THE POLICE AND MILITARY AGAINST THE ROHINGYA POPULATION. ONE ROHINGYA COMMENT ALSO CLAIMS THAT “MOBS” OF THE BUDDHISTS HAVE ATTACKED THEM AND THEIR VILLAGES. IT APPEARS TO ME THAT THOSE “CLEARANCE OPERATIONS” (ETHNIC CLEANSING?) MENTIONED BY SUU KI ARE ONGOING RATHER THAN BEING IN THE PAST.

IT IS STATED AS A FACT, THOUGH, THAT ROHINGYA INSURGENTS BURNED DOWN A NUMBER OF POLICE FACILITIES BEFORE THEY AND THEIR VILLAGES WERE ATTACKED. UNFORTUNATELY, IT APPEARS THAT THE GOVERNMENT’S RESPONSE TO THAT ATTACK IS TO DESTROY THEM. THIS IS THE KIND OF THING THAT WE TRY NOT TO DO IN THE USA – ANYMORE. THE NATIVE AMERICANS HERE WERE ALMOST DESTROYED AND EXTERMINATED IN THAT SAME WAY, HOWEVER, SO IT ISN’T JUST A “THIRD WORLD” PROBLEM.

AS FOR THE BURNING OF POLICE STATIONS, THAT VERY LIKELY WAS NOT UNPROVOKED, EITHER. IF THE US WHITE VS BLACK SITUATION IS ANY EXAMPLE, THE POLICE HAVE PROBABLY ON A DAY TO DAY BASIS COMMITTED VIOLENCE AGAINST THE ROHINGYA WITH NO MASSIVE REVENGE BEING TAKEN. ONE OF THE ARTICLES DOES SAY THAT BUDDHISTS CLAIM THE ISLAMIC ROHINGYAS HAVE SEXUALLY ASSAULTED THE WOMEN AND GIRLS. THIS IS ALL VERY SAD, BUT UNTIL PEOPLE LEARN NOT TO INITIATE AN ATTACK, THEY WILL SUFFER REPRISAL. I DON’T KNOW WHAT THE ECONOMIC CONDITION IS THERE, BUT IF THE WEALTH IS ALL AT THE TOP AND THE LOWER GROUPS STARVE, THAT DOESN’T HELP EITHER. ALL TOGETHER IT BECOMES THE PROVERBIAL “POWDER KEG,” WHICH IS AWAITING THE FUSE AND IGNITION.


https://www.cbsnews.com/news/myanmar-rohingya-rakhine-state-united-nations-visit-cancelled-refugee-crisis/
CBS/AP September 28, 2017, 11:23 AM
Myanmar abruptly cancels U.N. visit to Rohingya region

35 Photographs -- People gather around bodies of Rohingya Muslim refugees, on the shore of Inani beach, near Cox's Bazar, Sept. 28, 2017. GETTY

A planned visit by a United Nations team to Rakhine state in Myanmar, the region which almost half a million Rohingya Muslims have fled in recent months claiming violent persecution, was cancelled on Thursday by Myanmar's government, U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric confirmed to CBS News.

CBS News' Pamela Falk reports that a U.N. Security Council meeting has been called for Thursday afternoon with a briefing by Secretary-General António Guterres on the crisis in Myanmar.

World's "most persecuted minority" recall the horrors of home

Is Myanmar's leader out of touch or ignoring Rohingya crisis?
Play VIDEO
Is Myanmar's leader out of touch or ignoring Rohingya crisis?

The United Nations team was to be the first group of international observers allowed by Myanmar's government into Rakhine state since the violence there escalated rapidly in August. According to the U.N., Myanmar's government gave no explanation for the sudden cancellation of the planned visit.

An ethnic Rohingya insurgent group attacked police posts in Myanmar, sparking a brutal crackdown by the country's military and security forces, which have been accused of razing scores of villages in what U.N. officials have said amounts to "ethnic cleansing."

An estimated 480,000 Rohingya have fled to neighboring Bangladesh since late August alone, and there were already significant numbers seeing refuge there before as the crisis has been simmering for years.

The head of the U.N.'s migration agency warned Wednesday about increasing reports of sexual violence directed at Rohingyas in the increasingly-over-crowded Bangladesh refugee camps.

Rohingya refugees pour into Bangladesh after fleeing violence in Myanmar
Play VIDEO
Rohingya refugees pour into Bangladesh after fleeing violence in Myanmar

Director-General William Lacy Swing of the International Organization for Migration said he was "shocked and concerned" about the reports of sexual and gender-based violence among Rohingya newly arrived in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh.

IOM said rape, sexual assault, domestic violence, child marriage and other forms of gender-based violence have been identified. It did not specify who was responsible for the violence.

The agency is coordinating the humanitarian response among U.N. agencies and aid providers amid the exodus of people who have reached Cox's Bazar since Aug. 25.

An agency statement said IOM doctors have treated dozens of women who experienced "violent sexual assault" since August, but that the known cases likely represent only a "small portion" of actual cases.

Swing said such "egregious violence and abuse is underreported" even in more stable and better-resourced humanitarian aid situations.

"Sexual and gender-based violence is a severe, life-threatening public health and human rights abuse," he said. "Particularly women and girls, but also men and boys, have been targeted for and are at risk of further exploitation, violence and abuse simply because of their gender, age and status in society."



https://www.cbsnews.com/news/rohingya-people-flee-myanmar-aung-san-suu-kyi-united-nations-bangladesh/
CBS/AP September 19, 2017, 7:41 AM
Has Aung San Suu Kyi changed her stance on Rohingya crisis?

NAYPYITAW, Myanmar -- With a mass exodus of Rohingya Muslims sparking accusations of ethnic cleansing from the United Nations and others, Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Tuesday said her country does not fear international scrutiny and invited diplomats to see some areas for themselves.

Though an estimated 421,000 Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh in less than a month as their villages burned and hundreds were killed, Suu Kyi said the "great majority" of Muslims within the conflict zone stayed and that "more than 50 percent of their villages were intact."

The Nobel Peace laureate's global image has been damaged by violence since Rohingya insurgents attacked Myanmar security forces on Aug. 25. Rohingya fled their villages in the military crackdown that followed, and many of their villages have been burned. The government has blamed the Rohingya themselves, but members of the persecuted minority have said soldiers and Buddhist mobs attacked them.

Rohingya refugees pour into Bangladesh after fleeing violence in Myanmar
Play VIDEO
Rohingya refugees pour into Bangladesh after fleeing violence in Myanmar

Suui Kyi's first address to the nation since the violence erupted came days after she canceled plans to attend the U.N. General Assembly, a decision widely seen as a response to international criticism.

Suu Kyi said anyone found to have broken the law would be punished. "Human rights violations and all other acts that impair stability and harmony and undermine the rule of law will be addressed in accordance with strict laws and justice," she said.

The Rohingya, who live mainly in northern Rakhine state near the Bangladesh border, have had a long and troubled history in this predominantly Buddhist nation of 60 million.

Though members of the long-persecuted religious minority first arrived in the western state of Rakhine generations ago, most people in Myanmar consider them to have migrated illegally from Bangladesh. Denied citizenship, they are effectively stateless. They cannot travel freely, practice their religion, or work as teachers or doctors, and they have little access to medical care, food or education.

The Rohingya: Stateless and adrift

The attacks on Rohingya villages in the last month appear to many to have been a systematic effort to drive them out. U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres has described it as ethnic cleansing.

Suu Kyi sought to assure foreign diplomats gathered for her speech in Naypyitaw, the capital, that those who fled to Bangladesh would be allowed to return if they passed a "verification" process. She also said the government was working to restore normalcy in the area.

Though fires have continued to flare in recent days in northern Rakhine state, she said "there have been no armed clashes and there have been no clearance operations" for the past two weeks.

Rohingya refugees injured by landmines
Play VIDEO
Rohingya refugees injured by landmines

"Nevertheless we are concerned to hear that numbers of Muslims are fleeing across the border to Bangladesh," she said. "We want to understand why this exodus is happening. We would like to talk to those who have fled as well as those who have stayed."

She said she it would be helpful to understand why conflict did not break out everywhere. She invited the diplomats with visit villages that weren't affected so they could learn along with the government "why are they not at each other's throats in these particular areas."

BBC News correspondent Jonah Fischer, reporting from Bangladesh on Tuesday for "CBS This Morning," said the Rohinya refugees who have sought shelter there have told journalists they were forced to flee because of an offensive by Myanmar's military. They have spoken of atrocities committed by soldiers.

Fischer said there were two ways of looking at Suu Kyi's remarks on the crisis; either she is genuinely out of touch and not getting good information from Rakhine state in the capital, or she's being wilfully blind to the alleged abuses of her country's military, possibly because it is too difficult for her politically to say anything that might be seen as critical of the military.

The New Burma
Play VIDEO
The New Burma

Suu Kyi shares power with the military in Myanmar, which is also sometimes referred to as Burma, in a very delicate balance between the civilian government and the army, notes Fischer, and she doesn't want to say anything that might jeopardize that fragile relationship.

Rohingya now in camps in Bangladesh were angered by the implication that Rohingya who were driven from their villages were themselves responsible, or that some members of the ethnic group are safe.

In the Kutupalong refugee camp, Abdul Hafiz said Rohingya once trusted Suu Kyi more than the military that not only ruled for half a century before, but also held her under house arrest for many years. Now Hafiz calls Suu Kyi a "liar" and says Rohingya are suffering more than ever.

He said Suu Kyi should give international journalists more access to their destroyed villages. If Rohingya are proven wrong that they were attacked, he said, "we will not mind if the world decides to kill us all by pushing us into the sea."

Play VIDEO
Refugee camps in Bangladesh stretched to capacity as thousands flee Myanmar violence

Some observers who attended the speech said it was progress for Suu Kyi to invite diplomats to at least some Rohingya villages.

"Today's welcoming of the international community to travel to Rakhine and see for ourselves what the situation is, I think that is a positive statement," said Andrew Kirkwood of the United Nations' Office for Project Services.

W. Patrick Murphy, U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary for Southeast Asia, left the event without commenting.

Russian and Chinese diplomats praised the speech. "The message is quite clear that Myanmar is ready to cooperate with the international community," said the Russian ambassador to Myanmar, Dr. Nikolay Listopadov.

The head of a team of U.N. human rights investigators said Tuesday that Suu Kyi's comments "bode well" for its so-far unsuccessful efforts to gain access to the country now facing an exodus of Rohingya Muslims to neighboring Bangladesh.

Marzuki Darusman decried stepped-up violence in Myanmar and asked the U.N.-backed Human Rights Council for a six-month extension until next September for his team's first written report.

Addressing the council, Darusman cited two main points from Suu Kyi's speech: The "categorical readiness" of Myanmar's government to accept returnees once procedures are worked out, and its readiness to be "globally scrutinized by the international community."

Rights groups were far more critical. Amnesty International regional director James Gomez accused Suu Kyi of "a mix of untruths and victim-blaming."

"There is overwhelming evidence that security forces are engaged in a campaign of ethnic cleansing," Gomez said. "While it was positive to hear Aung San Suu Kyi condemn human rights violations in Rakhine state, she is still silent about the role of the security forces in this."

The exodus continues to grow. The U.N.'s migration agency on Tuesday raised its estimate of the number of refugees in Bangladesh to 421,000, and UNICEF says more than a quarter-million of those are children. Hundreds of thousands more Rohingya were already in Bangladesh from waves of violence years earlier.

Spokesman Joel Millman of the International Organization for Migration says an estimated 20,000 people are flowing across Myanmar's border into Bangladesh every day.



http://www.sfgate.com/news/crime/article/Obliterated-village-burned-by-Rohingya-Myanmar-12178964.php
New fires in empty Rohingya village challenge Myanmar claims
Updated 12:05 am, Friday, September 8, 2017

10 Photographs

BANGKOK (AP) — Journalists saw new fires burning Thursday in a Myanmar village that had been abandoned by Rohingya Muslims, and pages ripped from Islamic texts that were left on the ground. That intensifies doubts about government claims that members of the persecuted minority have been destroying their own homes.

About two dozen journalists saw the fires in Gawdu Zara village in northern Rakhine state on a government-controlled trip.

About 164,000 Rohingya from the area have fled across the border into Bangladesh in less than two weeks since Aug. 25, when Rohingya insurgents attacked police outposts in Gawdu Zara and several other villages, the U.N. refugee agency said Thursday.



I MAY BE WRONG, BUT IT HAS SEEMED TO ME FOR AWHILE NOW THAT THE “IT” PROFESSIONALS ARE LARGELY VERY YOUNG MEN, AND HIGHLY DRIVEN BY THE CREATING OF MORE AND MORE POWERFUL TECHNOLOGY, AND THAT THEY AREN’T VERY “SERIOUS” PEOPLE AT ALL. THEY ARE LIKE MILO YIANNOPOULOS – OVERPRIVILEGED, IMMATURE, AND NOT FULL OF HUMAN KINDNESS. ANOTHER EXAMPLE IS THE BIG PHARMA GUY, MARTIN SHKRELI – HAVING A SENSITIVE CONSCIENCE ISN’T ONE OF THE CHARACTERISTICS OF PEOPLE LIKE THEM. I THINK SOME STRONG PERSONAL AND BUSINESS PRESSURE WILL HAVE TO BE USED AGAINST THEM TO GET MUCH USEFUL INFORMATION. ZUCKERBERG DID IN THE END GIVE SOME GOOD CLUES TO WHAT WAS (AND IS) GOING ON WITH THE RUSSIANS IN THEIR ATTEMPT TO WORM THEIR WAY INTO THE GOVERNMENT AND SOCIETY OF EVERY NATION ON EARTH.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/mark-warner-calls-twitter-presentation-to-intel-panel-deeply-disappointing/
CBS NEWS September 28, 2017, 4:38 PM
Mark Warner calls Twitter presentation to Intel panel "deeply disappointing"

The top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee said Thursday that he found the presentation made by Twitter earlier in the day to be "deeply disappointing."

"The presentation that the Twitter team made to the Senate Intel staff today was deeply disappointing," Sen. Mark Warner, D-Virginia, told reporters Thursday. "The notion that their work was basically derivative, based upon accounts that Facebook had identified, showed [an] enormous lack of understanding from the Twitter team of how serious this issue is, the threat it poses to democratic institutions, and again begs many more questions than they offered."

Twitter hands over ads from Russian TV network to congressional committees

Representatives from the social media giant met with the committee Thursday because lawmakers are investigating the spread of fake news stories and propaganda during the election as part of their probe into Russian interference. Warner had said he wanted to hear from Twitter to learn more about the use of fake accounts and bot networks to spread misinformation.

Warner said Twitter's response was "frankly inadequate on almost every level" and said that Twitter must explain to the public what happened during the 2016 election. He said that the American public should have the ability to know when they're seeing a political ad, who's behind it and if it's sponsored by foreign agents on social media platforms.

gettyimages-683864378.jpg
Reporters surround Senate Intelligence Committee ranking member Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) as he heads for his party's weekly policy luncheon at the U.S. Capitol May 16, 2017 in Washington, DC. CHIP SOMODEVILLA/GETTY IMAGES

"If there are ads that appear, pop up high on your Twitter newsfeed, Americans have the right to know if that's being generated by interests from Americans or generated by interests from, by activities of foreign powers, so again, [I'm] more than a little surprised, in light of all of the press interest in this subject over the last few week, how inadequate Twitter's presentation was today," Warner said.

The House and Senate Intelligence Committees have invited Twitter, Facebook and Alphabet, which owns Google, to testify in public hearings.


MADDOW’S RATINGS ARE SOARING. I’M GLAD TO SEE THAT OTHERS LIKE HER AS MUCH AS I DO.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/markjoyella/2017/09/26/rachel-maddow-leads-msnbc-to-record-ratings/#6a538c4213f9
Rachel Maddow Leads MSNBC To Record Ratings
Mark Joyella , CONTRIBUTOR I cover political media--and media politics.
Media & Entertainment #OnTV
SEP 26, 2017 @ 12:43 PM

MSNBC's Rachel Maddow. (Photo by Brendan Hoffman/Getty Images)

It's good to be Rachel Maddow.

The MSNBC host just hit a milestone for MSNBC, with her 9 p.m. hour, The Rachel Maddow Show, finishing the third quarter of 2017 as the No. 1 cable news show on television. It's the first time any MSNBC show has finished first in the Nielsen ratings for an entire quarter.

Maddow hit her highest ratings among total viewers (2.7 million) and in the advertiser-coveted demographic of adults 25-54 (606,000). That represents an increase of 75% compared to the third quarter of 2016 (total viewers), and 65% (adults 25-54).

As Maddow heads into the fourth quarter, she faces new competition from Fox News, which shifts its prime-time lineup to put Sean Hannity head-to-head at 9 p.m. FNC's Tucker Carlson, who will move from 9 to 8 p.m., finished the quarter as the number two show in cable news, trailing Maddow by just 177,000 total viewers (2.721 to 2.544).

Hannity, however, was not far behind, finishing third place overall and just 30,000 total viewers behind Carlson.

Overall, Maddow helped push MSNBC to its highest quarter ratings (total viewers) ever. Still, Fox News held on to the overall lead, finishing first among total viewers in prime time and in the critical A 25-54 demo.

Fox News has now posted 63 consecutive quarters as the highest-rated cable news network among total viewers (averaging 1.4 million for the total day and 2.2 million in prime), and five consecutive quarters as the top network in both prime time and total day (total viewers).

But in finishing second overall, MSNBC is as close to Fox News as it has been in 17 years. The network was also the only cable news network to post gains in prime time (43% among total viewers and 29% among viewers 25-54). Fox News and CNN both posted losses.

Mark Joyella is a journalist, writer and public speaker; you can follow him on Twitter and Facebook, and watch his vlog on YouTube.



THE PUTIN PLAN OF WORLD CONQUEST

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/expansionist-russia-promotes-division-everywhere-else-1056627268001?cid=eml_mra_20170928
THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 9/27/17

Expansionist Russia promotes division everywhere else
Rachel Maddow reports on the latest revelations about how Russia used social media to disrupt the 2016 U.S. election and in actively encouraging secessionist movements around the world to promote division as it tries to grow itself. Duration: 22:19



THIS GREAT WEBSITE CALLED "ATTN.COM" EXPLORES LOTS OF DIFFERENT IMPORTANT AND INTERESTING MATTERS. TAKE A MINUTE OR TWO TO LOOK AT THESE TWO VIDEOS ON A TRULY SHAMEFUL PRACTICE THAT LOCAL SCHOOLS ACROSS THE COUNTRY ARE DOING. KIDS NOT HAVING LUNCH MONEY MAY BE A GENUINE PROBLEM, BUT THERE ARE BETTER WAYS TO HANDLE IT. KIDS HAVE ENOUGH PROBLEMS ADJUSTING TO LIFE AS THEY GROW UP. THEY DON’T NEED AN EXTRA EMOTIONAL BURDEN LIKE THIS. THEN WE WONDER WHY THEY TURNED OUT TO BE DELINQUENTS. SOMETIMES I DO THINK THIS IS A VERY DULL-WITTED SOCIETY, OR MAYBE WE’RE JUST LIKE THE TIN MAN WITH NO HEART.

https://mg.mail.yahoo.com/neo/launch?.rand=ccqud6rgfgqm0#1053
Lunch shaming
ATTN:

Hi there,
This week, ATTN: released a new video highlighting the practice of "lunch shaming", which is when school districts punish or ostracize poor students who cannot afford lunch from the school cafeteria by forcing them to wear wristbands, stamps, or do chores so they can eat to pay off their debt. Nearly half of all school districts in the U.S. permit this practice, despite 13 million American children being "food insecure" or prone to missing consistent meals.
One state, New Mexico, is fighting back. They recently banned lunch shaming, and their U.S. senator, Tom Udall, has introduced legislation to prohibit it federally, too. Udall told ATTN: he believes that lunch debt should be settled with parents — not kids — and that it's cruel to embarrass vulnerable children. Watch his full message here.
Other Stories Worth Your Attention This Week:
+ Understanding the Relationship between China and North Korea Is Important
+ Meet America's First Zero-Waste Grocery Store
+ The Images of Aaron Hernandez's Brain Are Shocking
+ We Should Never Forget the Horrors of the Holocaust
+ Saving Public Lands Is worth $500 Billion More Than Opening the Land to Oil and Mining
+ "We Need the President to Tell the Truth about Russia." — Morgan Freeman
+ How to Turn Your Old Shirts into a Reusable Bag
+ Jessica Alba Explains How to Perfect Your Body Language
Thanks,
Matthew
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THIS IS PROBABLY A BOOK THAT I WILL WANT TO READ. I HAVE READ THREE OR FOUR OF HIS, AND I LOVE THE ADVENTURE/MYSTICISM/FANTASY THAT THEY COMPRISE. BEATS REALITY ANY DAY!

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/excerpt-dan-brown-origin-robert-langdon/
CBS NEWS September 28, 2017, 1:48 PM
Excerpt: Dan Brown's "Origin"

There is a long summary of this story, and I don’t want to copy it all in here, but take a look at it for yourself if you are interested. Personally, I don’t want to be given that much information on something that I want to experience for myself. It spoils my fun.



http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show
THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 9/26/17
Trump inauguration donor gets personal attention
Sam Stein, politics editor for The Daily Beast, talks with Rachel Maddow about a newly discovered example of apparent special access to White House officials given to a donor to Donald Trump's inauguration fund. Duration: 6:41


THIS IS A GREAT VIDEO STORY. GO TO THE WEB AND WATCH IT.
https://www.today.com/video/meet-the-police-dog-who-sniffs-out-electronic-evidence-to-catch-crooks-1056947779601



I’VE NEVER BEEN A HUGE FAN OF HUGH
https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/playboy-founder-hugh-hefner-early-proponent-lgbtq-rights-n805591
NBC OUT SEP 28 2017, 6:18 PM ET
Playboy Founder Hugh Hefner: An Early Proponent of LGBTQ Rights
by JOHN PAUL BRAMMER



HOW BREITBART GETS ITS’ MONEY -- DO WATCH THIS RACHEL MADDOW VIDEO FOR A VISION OF WHAT RUSSIA IS TRYING TO DO. THIS IS THE RESULT OF A FAKE NEWS BASED PANIC IN THE USA. IT’S SHOCKING, AND IT’S PAINFULLY EASY TO DO. THEY WERE HITTING ON THE “IMMIGRANT” NERVE HERE, AND THE AMERICAN EMOTIONAL RESPONSE WAS FRIGHTENING. WHEN I THINK WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF THESE THINGS WERE TO OCCUR MORE THAN IN A FEW LOCATIONS, I CAN SEE HOW RUSSIA OR ANY OTHER MALEVOLENT NATION COULD WEAKEN US INTERNALLY TO THE POINT THAT WE MIGHT BE UNABLE TO MOUNT AN EFFECTIVE DEFENSE.

WHEN THERE IS A TORNADO SPOTTED NEAR JACKSONVILLE, WE HAVE AN AUTOMATIC WEATHER ANNOUNCEMENT “CRAWL” ACROSS THE TOP OF MY TV SCREEN. WE COULD SET UP A SIMILAR SYSTEM FOR BOTH TV AND RADIO, TO BE ACTIVATED EVERY TIME ONE OF THESE LIES IS TURNED LOOSE HERE IN THE US, SO THAT THE PUBLIC CAN BE AWARE THAT THE STORY IS, IN FACT, UNTRUE. THAT WON’T SOLVE THE WHOLE PROBLEM, BUT IT SHOULD HELP.

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show
THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 9/27/17
Right-wing, anti-refugee fake news terrorizes American town
Caitlin Dickerson, national immigration reporter for The New York Times, talks with Rachel Maddow about how right-wing media, aided by Russian accounts, whipped a local story into an anti-immigrant, anti-Islam fake news crisis that terrorized residents of ... more Duration: 5:23



MAYOR CRUZ EXCORIATES TRUMP – WITHOUT MENTIONING THE NAME – FOR CHIDING PUERTO RICO ABOUT ITS’ DEBT WHEN IT IS IN A DEADLY SITUATION. HE IS IMPLYING THAT HE WON’T SEND HELP. HE HAS FINALLY STARTED TO DO THAT, THOUGH. GETTING THE FOOD AND WATER OUT OF THE AIRPORT AND INTO THE COUNTRYSIDE HAS BEEN CONFUSED AND UNPLANNED, SO FOOD IS SITTING THERE WHILE PEOPLE GO HUNGRY. THIS MAKES ME WONDER IF HE HAS GUTTED FEMA AS HE DID THE STATE DEPARTMENT?

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show
THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 9/26/17
San Juan mayor: 'This is a big S.O.S. for anybody out there'
Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz of Puerto Rico's capital city, San Juan, talks with Rachel Maddow about the desperate situation in her city and in Puerto Rico broadly, and expresses her frustration with an administration that is slow to deploy eager helpers. Duration: 9:56

September 27, 2017


News and Views


THE STRANGE WORLD OF MR. TRUMP’S TWEETS – AND HOW SERIOUSLY HE AND THE GOVERNMENT APPARENTLY TAKE THEM. COVFEFE, IN THIS CASE, STANDS FOR: “COMMUNICATIONS OVER VARIOUS FEEDS ELECTRONICALLY FOR ENGAGEMENT" ACT ON MONDAY, DESIGNED TO AMEND THE PRESIDENTIAL RECORDS ACT TO CATEGORIZE SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS AS OFFICIAL PRESIDENTIAL COMMUNICATIONS THAT MUST BE PRESERVED FOR POSTERITY.”

http://www.cnn.com/2017/09/27/politics/deleted-tweets-trump-luther-strange/index.html
Trump's recent tweets supporting Luther Strange deleted
By Madison Park, CNN
Updated 7:23 AM ET, Wed September 27, 2017

(CNN)President Donald Trump's most recent tweets urging Alabamians to vote for Sen. Luther Strange disappeared from his verified Twitter account Tuesday night after the candidate was projected to lose the Republican primary runoff for a Senate seat.

Three recent Trump tweets about Strange were deleted Tuesday night, according to ProPublica, which tracks deleted tweets.

This came shortly after Strange appeared headed for a loss, despite Trump's efforts to help the candidate.

The deleted tweets had touted Trump's personal endorsement of Strange.

On Tuesday morning, Trump had tweeted: "ALABAMA, get out and vote for Luther Strange - he has proven to me that he will never let you down! #MAGA"

Earlier in the morning, Trump had tweeted: "Luther Strange has been shooting up in the Alabama polls since my endorsement. Finish the job - vote today for 'Big Luther.'"

On Monday night, Trump had tweeted: "Big election tomorrow in the Great State of Alabama. Vote for Senator Luther Strange, tough on crime & border - will never let you down!"

Roy Moore: We can support the President
Roy Moore: We can support the President 01:02

Those three tweets were deleted Tuesday after Roy Moore appeared to have beaten Strange. Strange conceded shortly after 8:30 p.m. local time, 9:30 p.m. ET.

CNN reached out to the White House regarding the deleted tweets.

Trump's post congratulating Moore on Tuesday night, remained visible on his Twitter account.

Follow
Donald J. Trump ✔@realDonaldTrump
Congratulations to Roy Moore on his Republican Primary win in Alabama. Luther Strange started way back & ran a good race. Roy, WIN in Dec!
10:17 PM - Sep 26, 2017
15,729 15,729 Replies 15,662 15,662 Retweets 74,508 74,508 likes

That tweet read: "Congratulations to Roy Moore on his Republican Primary win in Alabama. Luther Strange started way back & ran a good race. Roy, WIN in Dec!"

Moore now faces Democratic nominee Doug Jones in a December general election in the race to replace Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

Trump's older tweets endorsing Strange, dating back to last week, remained public.

Congressman introduces 'COVFEFE Act*' to make social media a presidential record

Trump often deletes tweets from his personal account over spelling mistakes and then quickly tweets corrected versions. Deletion of tweets have raised questions about how presidents' social media should be handled and preserved.

The question has also been raised whether Trump is violating the Presidential Records Act of 1978, which requires all the president's records be preserved for eventual release to the public on a delayed basis long after the commander in chief leaves office.


REMEMBER *COVFEFE? IT’S BACK ....

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/congressman-s-covfefe-act-would-force-president-trump-save-all-n771256
NEWS JUN 12 2017, 7:06 PM ET
Congressman’s ‘COVFEFE Act’ Would Force President Trump to Save All His Tweets
by ALEX JOHNSON

The White House has already promised to preserve all of President Donald Trump's tweets — even those he's deleted — but Democratic Rep. Mike Quigley of Illinois wants to make sure it follows through.

Quigley, who represents parts of Chicago, introduced the "Communications Over Various Feeds Electronically For Engagement" Act on Monday, designed to amend the Presidential Records Act to categorize social media posts as official presidential communications that must be preserved for posterity.

In case you didn't notice, the bill's acronym is COVFEFE — after the president's mysterious May 31 tweet (since deleted) reading: "Despite the constant negative press covfefe."

Trump later tweeted (and didn't delete): "Who can figure out the true meaning of 'covfefe' ??? Enjoy!" And White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer told a journalists [sic] at an off-camera briefing that day that "a small group of people know exactly what he meant."

Image: Donald Trump -- Donald Trump on his mobile phone during a campaign stop in North Charleston, S.C., in February 2016. Matt Rourke / AP

Most observers believe Trump was simply misspelling the word "coverage."

"The name might be silly, but the issue's really important and serious," Quigley's spokeswoman, Tara Vales, told NBC News.

Like most matters presidential, Trump's use of Twitter is a subject of much controversy, especially after Spicer said last week that Trump's tweets should be regarded as official statements of policy.

On Monday, a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals took Spicer up on his offer. It cited Spicer's statement in its unanimous decision upholding a lower-court decision to block Trump's executive order to temporarily block entry into the United States by travelers from six mostly Muslim countries.

The court then went on to cite Trump's tweet last week declaring that "we need a TRAVEL BAN for certain DANGEROUS countries" as support for actually regarding the order as a blanket, and likely unconstitutional, "travel ban."

Follow
Donald J. Trump ✔@realDonaldTrump
That's right, we need a TRAVEL BAN for certain DANGEROUS countries, not some politically correct term that won't help us protect our people!
9:20 PM - Jun 5, 2017
33,881 33,881 Replies 31,597 31,597 Retweets 120,999 120,999 likes

In April, the National Archives, which in 2014 declared that presidential social media posts should be handled as official documents, said it had been reassured by the White House that it's saving all of Trump's tweets.

But it remains unclear whether that policy applies to his personal account, @realDonaldTrump, in addition to his official account, @POTUS. Quigley's COVFEFE ACT would make that interpretation federal law.

"Tweets are powerful, and the president must be held accountable for every post," Quigley said in a statement.

Related: President’s Twitter Account Should Not Block Users, First Amendment Lawyers Argue

More to the point, Vales told NBC News, Twitter is "where the president goes to make a lot of his public policy proposals."

"When the president deletes a tweet, it is the equivalent of him destroying a record," she said.

Quigley is co-chairman of the Congressional Transparency Caucus, and "he would hope that anyone committed to those principles" would be on board, regardless of party, she said.

Image: Mike Quigley -- 'Tweets are powerful, and the president must be held accountable for every post,' said Rep. Mike Quigley, D-Illinois, the bill's sponsor. Bill Clark / CQ-Roll Call Inc. – file

The nonprofit journalism site ProPublica independently archives tweets deleted by hundreds of elected officials — including Trump. Its database shows that the president has deleted 19 tweets from @realDonaldTrump since he was inaugurated on Jan. 20.

The great majority of the deleted tweets are relatively innocuous messages that appear to have been killed and quickly replaced to correct spelling errors or to add links to relevant material. (For example, on May 12, Trump gnomically tweeted and then deleted the single word "we.")

But a handful have addressed contentious policy issues, raising questions about Trump's motive for deleting them. Most prominent was this tweet on May 4: "An honor to host President Mahmoud Abbas at the WH today. Hopefully, something terrific could come out it between the Palestinians & Israel."

That tweet stayed up for 13 hours before it was deleted, with no replacement.

It turns out that Quigley's congressional account, @RepMikeQuigley, has deleted seven tweets of its own this year — including one on Monday promoting the COVFEFE ACT. According to ProPublica's database, however, all were quickly replaced, apparently to correct misspellings and add links.

(ProPublica is an investigative partner of NBC News.)

And in case you were wondering, Vales was finally able to clear up a question that has plagued analysts and news readers since May 31.

According to Quigley, she said, it's pronounced "coe-FEFF-feh."


ON THE QUESTION OF WHAT THE H “COVFEFE MEANS, I FOUND A BUNCH OF SPECULATIONS, NONE OF WHICH ARE PROBABLY TRUE. I HAVE CHOSEN THE ONE BY HUFFINGTON POST BECAUSE I LOVE HUFFINGTON POST. THE ARTICLE IS BELOW. H POST ALLOWS ITSELF TO WANDER DEEPLY INTO THE WORLD OF PROFANITY AND VULGARITY, WHICH IS WHERE NOT A LITTLE, BUT MOST STREET SLANG BEGINS. TAKE THE PHRASE “HE IS A JERK OR JERK OFF,” FOR INSTANCE. THEY BECOME COMMONPLACE BECAUSE THEY ARE FUNNY IN AN INSULTING WAY.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/the-meaning-of-the-word-covfefe-in-the-samoan-language_us_592f0f0ae4b017b267edff7e
The Meaning Of The Word ‘Covfefe’ In The Samoan Language
Lagipoiva Cherelle Jackson, Contributor
05/31/2017 02:54 pm ET Updated Jun 01, 2017

BBC has alerted us all that the word “covfefe” as used by the president of the United States of America, Donald Trump, is a Samoan word. Do you know how excited our very small country is, that a leader of the free world has used a word in our language, and what better time than the celebration of Samoan language week in New Zealand. Spoken by a little over 200,000 people, we are indeed honored that one of our words, or at least that sounds like one, has been used by a non-native speaker.

TE PAPA MUSEUM -- This photo has no relationship to the article, it’s just a cool old photo of a Samoan woman.

As a graduate of the Center of Samoan Studies with a minor in the examination and analysis of the Samoan language and oratory, I can confirm to you today, that the word “covfefe” does have some similarities to several Samoan words, and has some basis on our beautiful language. Below, I will analyse this most intriguing, weird, tweeted word.

Cov (similar to the Samoan word ko and kou) meaning:

ko: Pregnant; to pick a fruit or; to reach for something

kou: is short for oukou (you people, plural) or kakou (us people, plural)

Cov is not a Samoan word because it has the letter ‘C’ and ends with a consonant. Our alphabet does not contain the letters c, d, w, b, y, j and z, and as you can imagine it is vowel-centric. Cov, however is phonetically similar to the word “ko” and “kou” so for the purposes of this particular phrasing, we will use both ko and kou.

Fefe: Fear; afraid ; or an expression of mockery

Depending on how the word fefe is used, it can be interpreted as fear, afraid or an expression of mockery similar to “whatever or whatevs” in modern day language and slang.

Similar sounding words include the following.

Kefe: Circumcise (original meaning); but recently evolved into an offence or noun that refers to; asshole; and/or putrid person

Fefeke: Inflate and/or fat or large

Fefela: To display ones genitals and/or underwear by voluntarily or involuntarily adjusting ones attire while seated cross legged on the floor.

Based on the phonetic similarities alone, covfefe sounds like the Samoan word combos “ko fefe”, “ko fale”, “kafefe”, “ko kefe” and “kou kefe.”

These combination words are explained as follows:

Ko fefe: pregnant but in fear of it

Ko fale: pregnant from ones own relative

Ko kefe: a pregnancy of the nether region; or pregnant asshole. If we use the original meaning of kefe (circumcise) then this also means; to reach for ones circumcision.

Kafefe: An expression of shock, dismay or surprise, similar to “Oh my!”

Kou Kefe: You assholes

To be clear, “covfefe” is most certainly not a Samoan word by any measure, however the word “fefe” itself is very much a Samoan word, and one most often used to display the strength of Samoans by the indication that we have no “fefe.”

So, dear Trump, thank you for highlighting our language this week, you are most welcome to invest in the education system of our small nation so that people like yourself can learn proper Samoan, if you should see the need.



STRANGE’S PERSONAL BACKGROUND IS IN THE OIL INDUSTRY AND THE LAW. HE HAS A SCANDAL, OR THE HINT OF ONE, WHICH HAS MADE HIM UNPOPULAR TO MANY REPUBLICANS – NOT TO DONALD TRUMP, THOUGH.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luther_Strange
Luther Strange
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Luther Johnson Strange III (born March 1, 1953) is an American lawyer and politician currently serving as the junior United States Senator from Alabama. He was appointed to fill that position after it was vacated by now-U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions upon Sessions's confirmation.

He previously served as the 47th Attorney General of the U.S. state of Alabama from 2011 until 2017.[1] Strange was a candidate for public office in both 2006 and 2010.[2][3] In 2006, Strange ran for Lieutenant Governor of Alabama and defeated George Wallace Jr. in the Republican primary. Strange then lost the general election to Democrat Jim Folsom Jr. In 2010, Strange defeated incumbent Attorney General Troy King in the Republican primary, before going on to win the general election against Democrat James Anderson.[4]

After President Donald Trump appointed Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions to the office of Attorney General of the United States, then-Governor Robert J. Bentley appointed Strange to fill out the vacancy.[5] He ran to finish the term in the subsequent special election and advanced to the Republican primary runoff, where he lost to the former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Alabama, Roy Moore.[6]

. . . .

Reaction[edit]

Strange's appointment was welcomed by fellow Republicans, such as Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge,[34] and Karl Rove.[35] Conservative activists, such as Chris W. Cox of the NRA, also hailed the appointment.[36] NPR Southern political analyst Debbie Elliott said that Strange's conservative politics are "very much in the mold of Jeff Sessions." She noted that as state attorney general: "He's been very active in state-led fights against federal environmental regulations, against Obamacare, against transgender bathroom directives. He's fought for Alabama's strict abortion laws. He defended the state's controversial immigration law. A good bit of it was struck down by federal courts."[37]

There was negative reaction from other Republicans who expressed concern about Strange's appointment. In early November 2016, prior to Election Day, he had requested that impeachment proceedings against Bentley be delayed.[38] Some saw a link between this and Strange's appointment. "There's going to be such an air of conspiracy hanging over our state and our new senator," said state representative Ed Henry.[39] "It's just one of those things where it appears there could have been collusion," said state representative Allen Farley.[40] "The whole thing stinks," said State Auditor Jim Zeigler. "It is outrageous. We have the potential for Gov. Blagojevich situation."[41]


THIS IS A GREAT STORY, AND A GREAT WAY TO SAY THAT TRUMP IS A CHUMP. DO GO TO THE WEBSITE AND LOOK AT THE PHOTO THERE.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/president-donald-trump-impeachment-billboard-california/
CBS NEWS September 26, 2017, 3:24 PM
Billboard calling for Trump's impeachment goes up in California

Photograph -- A billboard calling for the impeachment of President Trump went up near the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge in Northern California. CBS SAN FRANCISCO

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Drivers crossing the Bay Bridge from Oakland to San Francisco witnessed an in-your-face political statement Monday morning.

CBS San Francisco reports a billboard that calls for the impeachment of President Trump was constructed along the roadway.

The digital ad bears a giant photo of a brooding Mr. Trump with the word "Impeach" in huge yellow letters. It also has a URL for an online petition.

The billboard is the work of a group called the Courage Campaign, whose president says it's time to get the country behind the removal of Mr. Trump. They want to pressure the Republican-controlled Congress, which has shown no inclination to impeach the president.

Melania Trump threatens lawsuit over English class billboard

"We are a grassroots organization. If we are not calling for impeachment, given what has happened, who is?" asked the organization's president and executive director, Eddie Kurtz.

He points out that more than a million people cross the bridge every day, so it's an incredibly strategic place to have a billboard.

Courage Campaign is a progressive organization, probably best known for fighting Proposition 8, the ballot initiative that banned same-sex marriage in California in 2008. Its website says it focuses on economic justice, human rights and corporate and political accountability.

"There's this pattern that seems to repeat: Trump does something absolutely unacceptable, unethical, just the thing you could never imagine even the worst of our previous presidents doing," Kurtz said. "There's this wave of outrage -- it happened after Charlottesville, it happened even before he was elected when he admitted to sexually assaulting women -- and then it settles down and his base is still with him."

Saint Mary's College political professor Steve Woolpert says it's unlikely that Mr. Trump would be impeached without some finding of significant legal wrongdoing. But, then again, just getting elected was something that few people expected to happen.

"This is an unusual moment," Woolpert said. "It's fraught with both opportunity and peril, largely because so many people didn't see it coming."

Kurtz says the campaign is spending $1,500 for the billboard and that its online petition was already nearing 100,000 signatures.

"It really is going to take an overwhelming [sic] of political energy, of grassroots energy, to demand impeachment, as well as having a legal case," he said. "So our piece of the fight is to mobilize and educate grassroots progressives about the case for impeachment."

Kurtz isn't worried about distracting drivers. He says the ad falls within the Bay Bridge billboard guidelines. He says with every new outrageous statement by the president, the petition drive wins more support.

The billboard will stay up through Sunday and perhaps longer if there are enough donations.



I HAVE INCLUDED THIS AS A FOOTNOTE ON THE TRUMP/CLINTON/RUSSIA STORIES AND SOME ON OBAMA, TOO. THIS MAN STARTED THE VIRAL RUMOR THAT OBAMA IS GAY, FOR INSTANCE. HE IS ONE OF THE “NEWS” WRITERS WHO GIVE CNN, CBS, NPR, ETC. A BAD NAME IN THE HINTERLANDS OF THE USA.

https://www.cbsnews.com/videos/infamous-fake-news-writer-dead-at-38/
Infamous fake news writer dead at 38
SEPTEMBER 27, 2017, 12:07 PM| Paul Horner became notorious for publishing widely shared fake news stories on Facebook -- especially during the 2016 election. He was found dead in his bed in Arizona at the age of 38. Officials say he had a history of drug abuse and that evidence at the scene suggests it was an accidental overdose.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Horner
Paul Horner
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Paul Horner (November 5, 1978[1] - September 18, 2017) was an American writer, comedian and contributor to fake news websites whose stories have been said to have had a significant impact on the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

Lead writer for National Report[edit]

Horner was lead writer of the website National Report since the site's launch.[2][3]

One of his widest-spread fake stories was a piece claiming artist Banksy* had been arrested and his identity revealed as Paul Horner, which Horner posted in 2013 and was re-circulated in 2014 and once again in 2017.[4][5][6][7][8]

Horner is still listed as a possible suspect behind Banksy's true identity and some even believe Banksy could be Horner's creation who goes by the name Fappy The Anti-Masturbation Dolphin; a Christian mascot with over 100,000 followers on Facebook and was supposedly doing a documentary by Michael Moore along with being arrested for public masturbation five times.[9][10][11][12][13] Random art sightings claiming to be works of art by Banksy stating, "Paul Horner I come for you", turned out to be hoaxes by Horner.[14][15]

Due to one of Horner's stories, former Arizona Governor Jan Brewer had to go on live television to insist that she was not implementing mandatory gay to straight programs in all Arizona K-12 schools.[16] Fox News did a live broadcast about one of Horner's stories as being factual: Barack Obama had personally funded a Muslim museum so it could stay open during the government shutdown of 2013.[17][18][19]


“BANKSY” IS A WELL-KNOWN BRITISH STREET ARTIST WHO WAS UNKNOWN TO ME. I TENDED TO ASSUME THAT THOSE THINGS WEREN’T REALLY SERIOUS ART AT ALL, BUT APPARENTLY THAT ISN’T TRUE. THIS ARTICLE ON HIM AND HIS WORK IS SHORT, BUT VERY INTERESTING. HAVE A LOOK AT IT. ALSO, SCAN THE OTHER SUBJECTS COVERED BY “PRIMARY FACTS.” THERE IS A HUGE WORLD OF LITTLE KNOWN INFORMATION TO BE DISCOVERED ON THE INTERNET. I AM SO GLAD THAT I DECIDED TO SUBSCRIBE TO IT, EVEN THOUGH IT ISN’T INEXPENSIVE.

GO TO THESE WEBSITES FEATURING BANKSY.

http://primaryfacts.com/2218/banksy-facts-and-information/
Banksy: Facts and Information
Posted on July 18, 2013 by James • 11 Comments

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HViUIh-lSLo
BEST oF Banksy Street Art – YouTube -- 4:45.


ABOUT NATIONAL REPORT

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Report
National Report
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

National Report is a fake news website which posts fictional articles related to world events.[1][2] It is described by Snopes.com as a fake news site,[3] by FactCheck.org as a satirical site[4] and by Caitlin Dewey of the Washington Post as part of a fake-news industry, making profits from "duping gullible Internet users with deceptively newsy headlines."[5] The National Report describes itself as a "news and political satire web publication" and provides a disclaimer that "all news articles contained within National Report are fiction".[6] The disclaimer, however, is not printed on the main page, which instead claims that the website is "America's #1 Independent News Source."[7]

Stories from the National Report have been taken seriously by third parties such as Fox News Channel, and the site drew criticism in October 2014 for running a series of fake stories about Ebola outbreaks in the United States,[8] including the false report that the town of Purdon, Texas, has been quarantined after an outbreak.[9][10] The story led to a traffic spike of two million unique visitors, and although the story was debunked by other websites, the original National Report story received six times as many "shares" on social media sites as the debunking stories did.[8]

History[edit]

In February 2013, National Report was registered as a site.[11] Paul Horner was the publication's lead writer;[12] his employment began shortly after National Report went online.[13] He said that he left National Report in 2014.[14] Jestin Coler has written for the site under the pseudonym "Allen Montgomery".[15]

In 2014, a Facebook interface experiment included the site on a list of those whose stories were flagged as "satire" when appearing on the social network.[16] Writing at the time, Craig Silverman of emergent.info saw National Report as one of several websites which were "not driven by trying to do comedy or satire, but by what kind of fake stuff can we spin up to get shares that earn us money",[9] with particularly widely spread hoax stories capable of earning thousands of dollars per day from on-site advertising.[12]

Disclaimer[edit]

The National Report carries a disclaimer identifying its content as satire and fake news,[6] but there was no prominent link to this page until late December 2014.[17][18] Numerous articles referring to National Report stories stated that National Report's disclaimer had been removed.[9][19]

List of serious interpretations[edit]

Several hoax National Report stories have been mistakenly reported as fact by media outlets.

A report that Arizona governor Jan Brewer intended to introduce mandatory gay-to-straight conversion courses into the state's public school system. A spokesman for the governor called the fake article 'vile' and said 'its authors should be ashamed.' Brewer has been a target of gay rights activists because of her efforts to strip same-sex partners of government benefits, and for her stance on making it harder for gay couples to adopt children.[20][21][22]

One article, at the time of the closure of some US monuments including the World War II memorial in Washington, DC, during a budget dispute, fooled researchers at Fox News Channel into reporting that the President had announced his intention to spend his own money to keep a Muslim museum open during a government shutdown.[11][19]

A report published on November 2, 2013 claiming a fictitious Assam Rape Festival created a furor in Indian national and local media. Several newspapers and blogs reported the same.[23][24][25] A police probe in India showed the story originated from Uganda.[26]



HOW POLITICIANS MAKE THEIR FORTUNES IN THE GOVERNMENT IS THE SUBJECT HERE. “PRICE TOLD FOX NEWS ON SATURDAY THAT HE WILL NOT TAKE A PRIVATE CHARTER FLIGHT WHILE HHS' INSPECTOR GENERAL IS INVESTIGATING PRICE'S TRAVEL.” THAT’S LIKE “I WON’T TAKE ANY MORE COOKIES WHILE MOMMY IS WATCHING.” IT MAY BE A WISE MOVE, BUT IT HARDLY GIVES ME CONFIDENCE IN HIS HONESTY. ALSO, HIS USE OF THE PHRASE “THE OPTICS” TO REFER TO 24 DIFFERENT INSTANCES OF GOVERNMENT WASTE OF AN AVOIDABLE KIND, A REALITY AND NOT “OPTICS”; WHILE CONGRESS TRIES TO CUT MEDICARE, MEDICAID AND EVEN SOCIAL SECURITY. I HOPE THESE GUYS GET PUNISHED IN SOME WAY THAT THEY WILL PERSONALLY FEEL.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-casts-doubt-on-tom-prices-future-after-use-of-private-charter-planes/
By KATHRYN WATSON CBS NEWS September 27, 2017, 1:38 PM
Trump casts doubt on Tom Price's future after use of private charter planes

Photograph -- Chairman of the House Budget Committee Tom Price (R-GA) announces the House Budget during a press conference on Capitol Hill in Washington on March 17, 2015. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts/File Photo - RTSTR8O REUTERS

President Trump told reporters on Wednesday he is "not happy" with Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price, who has come under fire for using a private plane to conduct his daily business, leaving open the possibility of firing price.

Mr. Trump, asked if Price will be fired, said, "We'll see," as he prepared to depart for Indiana to announce his tax framework.

Price is one of three cabinet secretaries under fire for his government-funded travel expenses, the other two being Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and Environmental Protection Agency Scott Pruitt. Price's travel, first reported by Politico, includes, by Politico's count, at least $400,000 spent on at least 24 private charter plane flights, often on jaunts where commercial travel options were available. HHS insists there were only 11 flights, related to hurricane travel and work on the opioid crisis.

Price told Fox News on Saturday that he will not take a private charter flight while HHS' inspector general is investigating Price's travel.

3 Trump Cabinet officials under fire for taking costly flights at taxpayer expense
Play VIDEO
3 Trump Cabinet officials under fire for taking costly flights at taxpayer expense

"The optics in some of this don't look good, and that's why we again have taken this criticism to heart," Price told Fox News.

Price said HHS takes those criticisms "very seriously."

"We've heard the criticisms," Price told Fox News. "We've heard the concerns. And we take that very seriously, and have taken it to heart. As you mentioned, the inspector general is going through a review and an audit of this process and we will cooperate fully with it. I've instituted or initiated as well an internal or departmental review of the procedures and processes that we go through for official travel to determine whether there are any changes or reforms that are necessary. And if there are, then we look forward to instituting those, because we welcome this review."

The Price travel story comes as HHS is looking to slash its budget and programs, and as Mr. Trump himself is under fire for the mounting costs to fund his frequent travel to his clubs in Bedminster, New Jersey, and Palm Beach, Florida. The story also comes as Republicans' last-ditch attempt to repeal and replace Obamacare — a move Price staunchly supported — is officially dead on Capitol Hill.

Kathryn Watson
Kathryn Watson is a politics reporter for CBS News Digital.



THIS IS FRIGHTENING, BUT IT TURNED OUT WELL. THIS FOUR WEEK-OLD BABY WAS FOUND ON THE SIDE OF A HIGHWAY BY A CHURCH VAN. I WONDER IF THE MOTHER WAS REMAINING NEARBY TO SEE THAT HE WAS RECOVERED SAFELY, BECAUSE THE ARTICLE SAYS THAT SHE WAS IDENTIFIED, AND THAT NO CHARGES WERE FILED. I HOPED THERE WOULD BE A VIDEO OF THIS, BUT I COULDN’T FIND ONE. THERE IS A GOOD PHOTO OF HIM.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/baby-abandoned-near-highway-was-left-with-id-5k-in-cash/
By CRIMESIDER STAFF CBS NEWS September 27, 2017, 12:45 PM
Baby abandoned near highway was left with ID, $5K in cash

SHAWNEE, Okla. — Police say more than $5,000 in cash was found left with an infant who was discovered apparently abandoned near an Oklahoma highway Saturday, reports CBS affiliate KWTV.

The four-week-old boy's identification documents were also left at the scene, where passengers in a church van first noticed the baby along Interstate 40, near Oklahoma City.

Alexis Harrison told KWTW that she and her husband pulled over soon after the church van found the baby.

Photograph -- 170925-kwtw-infant-found-interstate.jpg, An infant who was found alone inside a car seat near Interstate 40 in Oklahoma City on Sat., Sept. 23, 2017. KWTW-TV

"Obviously our initial reaction was, that's not real. There's no way that's real," Harrison said. "When we got there, you know I just said please tell me that's not what I think it is."

The baby was in a car seat barely visible through the tall brush. He was abandoned on the side of the interstate without food or water. Harrison said surprisingly the 4-week-old was calm and not crying.

"His eyes were just huge," said Harrison. "You know, just 'what is going on' kind of look."

Police determined the baby had not been there long and was not harmed.

"This could have had a very tragic outcome," said Msgt. Gary Knight, Oklahoma City Police Department. "Not only because of cars going by but it was hot that day. The temperature was in the 90s and you're talking about a child that's like four weeks old."

The baby is currently in the care of state officials and will either be placed with family or a foster family, officials said.

Police were able to identify the baby's mother. Charges have not been filed.



“A KENTUCKY MAN IS SUING THE GOVERNMENT OVER A PROGRAM THAT SEIZES THE PROPERTY OF SUSPECTS OF A CRIME. THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TOOK NEARLY $29 BILLION WORTH OF MONEY AND PROPERTY BETWEEN 2001 AND 2014. MOST OF IT WAS SEIZED WITHOUT CHARGING ANYONE WITH A CRIME.”

"‘I LOVE THAT PROGRAM,’ SESSIONS SAID SEPT. 1 AT A LAW ENFORCEMENT CONFERENCE IN ALABAMA.” THIS REMINDS ME OF TRUMP’S RECENT STATEMENT THAT THE SAFETY REGULATIONS ARE “RUINING” FOOTBALL BY OUTLAWING FULL ON HEAD STRIKES, DESPITE THE NUMBER OF BRAIN DAMAGE CASES THAT HAVE BEEN DISCOVERED. THOSE WHO PROMOTE IT ARE CRIMINALS WHO ARE DOING THINGS THAT SHOULD BE, BUT JUST AREN’T, AGAINST ANY WRITTEN LAW. VICIOUSNESS SHOULD BE A CRIME IN AND OF ITSELF.

THIS CIVIL FORFEITURE PROCEDURE HAPPENS OVER AND OVER AGAIN ACROSS THE COUNTRY, ESPECIALLY IN SMALL CITIES AND TOWNS WHERE THERE IS LITTLE MOBILIZATION OF PUBLIC OUTRAGE AGAINST POLICE AND CITY OVERREACH. THE MONEY USUALLY GOES INTO THE CITY FUNDS. AS FAR AS I’M CONCERNED, IT’S THEFT PURE AND SIMPLE.

THE GOOD NEWS HERE IS THAT SOMETHING ALONG THOSE LINES IS IN THE WORKS, THOUGH IT IS DESCRIBED HERE AS CASES IN WHICH THE CITIZEN “HAS COMMITTED NO CRIME.” I PERSONALLY WOULD QUESTION THE WHOLE PROCEDURE. IT SOUNDS LIKE “CRUEL AND UNUSUAL PUNISHMENT” TO ME. IT IS USED (I REMEMBER FROM THE NEWS ARTICLES) IN FERGUSON MO FOR THOSE “BROKEN TAIL LIGHT” CASES. THAT SHOULD BE ILLEGAL, AND THE OFFICERS, COURT OFFICIALS, AND EVEN THE MAYOR SHOULD BE PENALIZED FINANCIALLY AND WITH A LOSS OF THEIR POSITION IF THEY VIOLATE THE (NEWLY IMPROVED) LAWS GOVERNING THE SITUATION. IN THIS CASE THE VICTIM OF THEIR MISUSE OF POWER IS SUING THEM. I HOPE HE HAS THE MONEY TO PUSH IT ALL THE WAY UP TO THE SUPREME COURT.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/kentucky-man-sues-government-civil-forfeiture-seizes-car-without-conviction/
CBS NEWS September 27, 2017, 7:46 AM
Kentucky man sues after law enforcement seizes his car without a charge

A Kentucky man is suing the government over a program that seizes the property of suspects of a crime. The federal government took nearly $29 billion worth of money and property between 2001 and 2014. Most of it was seized without charging anyone with a crime.

Civil forfeiture was meant to help law enforcement break the backs of drug cartels when tying money or assets to a cartel boss can be difficult. Now, lawmakers on Capitol Hill are vowing to look into cases where property was seized from individuals for crimes they didn't commit, reports CBS News correspondent Jan Crawford.

ctm-0927-civil-forfeiture-gerardo-serrano.jpg
Gerardo Serrano CBS NEWS

In 2015, rancher Gerardo Serrano drove from his home in rural Kentucky to visit his cousin in Mexico. As he crossed the border in Eagle Pass, Texas, Serrano snapped a picture, drawing the attention of agents who pulled him out of his truck and started searching his vehicle.

"The next thing I know, one of the agents say, 'We got 'em!'" Serrano said. Then an agent showed him a magazine with five bullets in it, he said.

"I have a conceal-and-carry license," Serrano said.

"Was there a gun with them?" Crawford asked.

"No," Serrano said.

Serrano, a U.S. citizen, was detained for hours before agents informed him they would be seizing his new Ford pickup, accusing him of transporting "munitions of war" across a U.S. border.

The seizure was authorized under a program that empowers law enforcement to take money or property suspected of being linked to a crime. Even without a conviction, agencies often use the money, or auction off the property, and keep the proceeds.

The federal government's forfeiture fund increased from roughly $1 billion in 2007 to $4.5 billion in 2014, and in 26 states where records are public, more than $250 million was seized in 2012 alone.

After assuming office, President Trump vowed to roll back Obama-era restrictions on the program. In July, Attorney General Jeff Sessions followed through but promised more Justice Department oversight.

"I love that program," Sessions said Sept. 1 at a law enforcement conference in Alabama.

Since then, Sessions has trumpeted the program's successes.

"Taking drug dealers' money and passing it out to people trying to put drug dealers in jail. What's wrong with that?" Sessions said.

Officers like Montgomery County Police Chief Tom Manger argue the program shouldn't be eliminated because of a few bad actors.

"We cannot just allow people who have earned hundreds of thousands -- millions of dollars -- through criminal activity, to keep that money," Manger said, adding, "So let's find a way to do this right."

ctm-0927-civil-forfeiture.jpg
Twenty-five states have passed reforms in recent years to protect citizens from forfeiture abuse, but the Institute for Justice still grades most protections as below average, giving the federal government a D-.

Robert Johnson is a lawyer with the institute who has taken on Serrano's case pro bono. He said the current federal policy provides a big loophole.

"You could still be pulled over by a state police officer who says, 'Oh, gosh. You have cash in your car. I wanna take it.' And instead of forfeiting it under state law, I'm gonna transfer it to the federal government," Johnson said.

While many individuals admit guilt just to get their property back, Serrano, who relies on his truck for work, has paid nearly $20,000 while waiting for his day in court.

"I wanted the judge to see this. And I want them at some point to stop this policy," Serrano said.

"Do you ever think, 'I'm an American. I'm an American citizen —'" Crawford started.

"Look, if they changed my government, I wanna know," Serrano said. "I need the Bill of Rights. If we don't have my rights, what have we got?"

Customs and Border Patrol told CBS News the agency doesn't comment on pending litigation, but emphasized agents are trained to uphold the law. Some critics hope that Serrano's case makes it to the Supreme Court, where conservative Justice Clarence Thomas has signaled opposition to the practice.



THIS IS AN UPDATE ON THE TERRIBLE EVENTS IN PUERTO RICO, AFTER PRESIDENT TRUMP HAS RECEIVED A HIGH LEVEL OF PERSONAL CRITICISM. HIS COMMENT ABOUT PUERTO RICO’S “DEBT,” HASN’T APPARENTLY BEEN REPEATED.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/101st-airborne-division-deploying-to-puerto-rico-as-recovery-effort-lags/
CBS/AP September 27, 2017, 11:24 AM
101st Airborne Division deploying to Puerto Rico as recovery effort lags

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- The U.S. Army's elite 101st Airborne Division is deploying eight medevac helicopters and support personnel to Puerto Rico to assist in the recovery from Hurricane Maria as many residents remain without power and basic necessities six days after the storm.

More than 70 service members left for the island on Wednesday, a spokesman for the 101st told CBS News. The effort is the first time the 75-year-old unit has been deployed to assist in hurricane relief.

The 101st joins thousands of military personnel being sent to assist in distributing aid to the island, where 3.4 million people lack power.

Many residents are waiting for help from anyone from the federal or Puerto Rican government. But the scope of the devastation is so broad, and the relief effort so concentrated in San Juan, that many people from outside the capital say they have received little to no help.

170926-a-gk110-0338.jpg
The 101st Airborne Division prepares to deploy to Puerto Rico. 101ST AIRBORNE / HANDOUT

Only 21 of the 69 hospitals on the island have power or fuel, CBS News correspondent David Begnaud reports.

San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz is frustrated with what she says is a slow response from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

"They're waiting for their marching orders now. You're in an emergency. If you don't do -- hundreds of lives will be lost," she told Begnaud.

There are several thousand U.S. federal employees in Puerto Rico helping with the recovery effort. They are most visible in San Juan, where officials with FEMA, Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection have a presence at hotels that before the storm served tourists in the Condado neighborhood or at the convention center that has become a staging ground for relief efforts.

Federal workers supplied diesel to generators at hospitals and delivered desperately needed food and water to hard-hit communities across the island. They have repaired the air traffic control systems and power at the airport, which is far from normal operations with only about a dozen commercial flights per day. U.S. agents have also provided security across the island and the Coast Guard has worked with local authorities to restore the sea ports, a vital link because Puerto Rico is almost completely dependent on imports.

In addition, teams from the Army Corps of Engineers are helping to repair the electricity grid and to inspect and look for ways to avert the collapse of a dam near the western town of Quebradillas that has developed a crack and that officials have said could potentially fail. And personnel from Health and Human Services, the Department of Defense and Veterans Affairs have provided care and helped evacuate people from Puerto Rico with chronic medical conditions.

Puerto Rico governor asking truck drivers to help transport food
Play VIDEO
Puerto Rico governor asking truck drivers to help transport food

Teams also were scheduled to visit the central mountain town of Aibonito, which was cut off from the rest of the island for five days. Many people began rationing their food and water supplies as they dwindled, unclear of when they would have contact with the outside world.

"We thought somebody was going to stop by," said Ana Lidia Mendoza, a 48-year-old cook at a barbecue restaurant who lost part of her roof. "They told us that we had to stay calm."

Gov. Ricardo Rossello and Resident Commissioner Jennifer Gonzalez, the island's representative in Congress, have said they intend to seek more than a billion dollars in federal assistance and they have praised the response to the disaster by President Donald Trump, who plans to visit Puerto Rico next week, as well as FEMA Administrator Brock Long.

"I am confident that they understand the seriousness of the situation," the governor said Tuesday.

Still, it is hard to avoid the fact that the response looks different than previous ones. After hurricanes in Louisiana, Texas and Florida, waves of power company trucks from other states descended in long convoys, something that is obviously not possible on an island 1,000 miles to the southeast of the mainland. After the devastating earthquake in Haiti in January 2010, the U.S. military sent ships and the skies seemed to be filled with heavy-lift helicopters and planes carrying emergency relief, though the scale of that disaster was far worse.

Hurricane Maria was the strongest hurricane to hit Puerto Rico in nearly 100 years and officials say the cost of recovery will dwarf that of the punishing Hurricane Georges in 1998. Whatever the final bill, Valentin just hopes it will factor in people like her. "If FEMA helps us, we are going to build again," she said.



THE 9/11 EVENTS BEGAN IN AFGHANISTAN, AND NOW WE ARE BACK THERE. IT MAKES ME UNHAPPY TO ADMIT THAT THE HUMAN ANIMAL IS GIVEN TO CONSTANT HATRED, FIRST AGAINST ONE GROUP AND THEN AGAINST ANOTHER. FIGHT THE WAR AND WIN, THEN TOO SOON HAVE TO GO BACK IN AND DO IT AGAIN. I’M LIKE HENRY DAVID THOREAU. I WISH I HAD THE MONEY TO HAVE MY MODEST HOUSE ON A WOODED PATCH OF LAND AND LOOK AT THE NATURAL WORLD. SO PEACEFUL!

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/afghanistan-rockets-hit-kabul-airport-james-mattis-jens-stoltenberg/
CBS/AP September 27, 2017, 10:00 AM
Rockets hit Kabul airport as U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis visits Afghan capital

KABUL, Afghanistan -- At least five civilians were wounded when several rockets were fired toward Kabul international airport in the Afghan capital, officials said Wednesday. The attack came as U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg were in town for a visit.

Najib Danish, spokesman for the Afghan Interior Ministry, said one rocket struck a home near the airport, wounding the five victims. He said one victim was a woman who was "not in a good health condition."

Zabihullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesman, claimed responsibility for the attack on his official Twitter account. The Islamic State of Syria and Iraq (ISIS) also claimed responsibility for the attack.

U.S. troops helping develop Afghanistan's Air Force
Play VIDEO
U.S. troops helping develop Afghanistan's Air Force

Danish said Afghan security forces surrounded an area where where [sic] they suspected the rockets might have been fired. "A search operation is underway in the area by police units," he said.

Tumor Shah Hamedi, director of Kabul airport, said all flights were halted as result of the attack.

Ghani said [Afghan President Ashraf Ghani] during a joint news conference with Mattis and Stoltenberg at the presidential palace that special forces troops brought the attack under control. Mattis called the attack "a crime" during the news conference, which was broadcast live.

Both Mattis and Stoltenberg have pledged continued support for Afghanistan and vowed to do everything possible so the country "doesn't again become a safe haven for international terrorists."

Stoltenberg said NATO is aware of "the cost of staying in Afghanistan, but the cost of leaving would be even higher." He said "if NATO forces leave too soon, there is a risk that Afghanistan may return to a state of chaos and once again become a safe haven for international terrorism."

Stoltenberg also said NATO was committed to funding the Afghan security forces until at least 2020, and would continue to provide them almost a $1 billion each year.

Mattis said Washington supports a negotiated settlement between the Taliban and Afghanistan. "The sooner the Taliban recognizes they cannot win with bombs, the sooner the killing will end," he said.



IT’S “THE MEDIA’S” FAULT, OF COURSE. [NOTE: HIS WORDS WERE, “TOMLIN JUST ADDED HIMSELF TO THE LIST OF NO GOOD N****. YES, I SAID IT.”] WE HAVE A LONG WAY TO GO IN THIS COUNTRY, AND TO TELL THE TRUTH, IN HUMAN SOCIETY IN GENERAL. WE HAVE A LEARNING AND THINKING BRAIN, BUT WE CHOOSE NOT TO USE IT. THAT WOULD SPOIL THE JOY OF OUR GROUP BONDING EXPERIENCE. I NOTICE, THOUGH, THAT EVEN SMITH’S NEIGHBORS ARE SPEAKING AGAINST HIM. I AM GLAD TO SEE THAT. I DON’T WANT THE WHOLE OF AMERICAN SOCIETY TO BE CORRUPTED BY RACISM, RELIGIONISM, OR SIMPLY BULLYING OF ANY KIND. INTERESTINGLY, SMITH IS “OUT OF THE COUNTRY ON VACATION.”

https://www.cbsnews.com/us/
U.S. News
CBS NEWS September 26, 2017, 6:30 PM
Fire chief removed after posting racial slur at Steelers coach over anthem protest

PITTSBURGH -- Volunteer fire chief Paul Smith resigned from his position Tuesday in wake of a shocking message he posted on Facebook using a racial slur, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

In a statement to the newspaper, Smith said, "The media dragged my fire company and township into this as well as my family."

Smith's Facebook message grabbed national headlines and came amid the fallout after the Pittsburgh Steelers game Sunday, when the team decided to stay in the tunnel at Chicago's Soldier Field during the national anthem.

The fan reaction was mixed from support for the players to outraged fury over their decision. However, as CBS Pittsburgh reported, many local residents felt Smith's response crossed the line.

Smith, the chief of Cecil Volunteer Fire Station #2, posted a derogatory response on Facebook which directed a racial slur at Steelers' head coach Mike Tomlin.

Photograph -- tomlin-racial-slur-post.jpg, Paul Smith posted a derogatory response on Facebook, which directed a racial slur at Steelers' head coach Mike Tomlin. CBS PITTSBURGH

Reaction to Smith's post in Cecil Township was quick and negative.

The Cecil Township Board of Supervisors said in a statement Tuesday that it's "deeply disturbed by the comments made by Volunteer Chief Smith, and in no way, shape or form condone his comments."

Dylan Pareso, who lives across the street from the fire hall, said, "I'm completely upset, especially for a town like this, coming from the fire chief, that's disrespectful in my eyes. I don't agree with it one bit."

Mary Plumley told CBS Pittsburgh, "For a fire chief or for anybody like that to say something like that is wrong. They don't need to be in that position."

"It's not good. No, I don't like it at all," Janet Vickers said.

Wes Leopold reacted to Smith's post, saying, "It's kind of a dumb thing to do. I think, there's enough tension in this country. He's definitely adding to it."

Chief Smith is out of the country on vacation, but on Facebook, he responded to CBS Pittsburgh.

"I am embarrassed at this. I want to apologize. I was frustrated and angry at the Steelers not standing the anthem. This had nothing to do with my Fire Department. I regret what I said."

"My fire department should have never been dragged into this. It was a bad judgement by me, for which I am very embarrassed, for them and my township."

Also Tuesday, the Steelers' president Art Rooney II released a statement on Twitter to reiterate that the team's decision to stay in the locker room was meant to remove themselves from making a political statement.

View image on Twitter
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A letter from Steelers President Art Rooney II to #SteelersNation:
10:00 AM - Sep 26, 2017
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Meanwhile, Steelers lineman Alejandro Villanueva -- the only Steelers player standing outside the tunnel for the national anthem before their game Sunday -- said on Monday that the he did not intend to make a political statement. He said the national anthem situation got out of control and he is taking the blame.

"Unfortunately I threw my teammates under the bus, unintentionally," Villanueva said. "Every single time I see that picture of me standing by myself I feel embarrassed."



SEPTEMBER 26 -- TRUMP, IN HIS VIDEO STATEMENT TODAY, DID INDEED TALK ABOUT PUERTO RICO’S DEBT IN RELATION TO THIS GREAT HUMANITARIAN CRISIS. SEE MAYOR CRUZ’S STERN MENTION OF THAT MATTER. LIKE SO MANY OF HIS STATEMENTS, IT IS INAPPROPRIATE IN THIS CIRCUMSTANCE AT BEST, AND HEARTLESS AT WORST. HE’S MAKING ENEMIES AGAIN. I WISH HE CARED.

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show
THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 9/26/17
San Juan mayor: 'This is a big S.O.S. for anybody out there'
Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz of Puerto Rico's capital city, San Juan, talks with Rachel Maddow about the desperate situation in her city and in Puerto Rico broadly, and expresses her frustration with an administration that is slow to deploy eager helpers. Duration: 9:56


THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 9/26/17
Trump staff, lawyers in tow, to face Mueller in Russia scandal
Rachel Maddow reports on expectations that special counsel Robert Mueller will interview White House staff this week in the Trump Russia scandal, and notes how crowded the timeline since 2016 has become with known events. Duration: 15:23

TO DEMOCRATS PROGRESSIVES AND GREENS
COMPILATION AND COMMENTARY
HTTPS://LUCYWARNER2013.BLOGSPOT.COM/
BY LUCY WARNER
SEPTEMBER 27, 2017


A BILLIONAIRE AND CORPORATION BASED AUTHORITARIAN POWER STRUCTURE OPPRESSES US ALL AT THIS TIME, OF WHICH DONALD TRUMP IS JUST THE FIRST ACT; AND SINCE THE SAMPLE I’VE HAD OF DONALD TRUMP, IT CAN ONLY GET WORSE IN THE FUTURE. WE NEED TO FIGHT THOSE FORCES TOGETHER. THAT’S HOW TO BUILD A NEW PARTY WHO CAN WIN ELECTIONS FROM THE LOCAL TO THE NATIONAL LEVELS. BERNIE SANDERS’ SUGGESTION IS FOR EVERYONE WHO CAN DO SO TO RUN FOR LOCAL OFFICES OR EVEN TAKE VOLUNTEER POSITIONS, TO FILL UP THE GOVERNMENT WITH LIBERALLY THINKING PEOPLE. IF WE DO THAT WE CAN START IMMEDIATELY TO MAKE CHANGES ON THE LOCAL LEVEL. THIS IS HOW THE DREADED TEA PARTY GOT ITS’ STRANGLEHOLD ON PUBLIC AFFAIRS.

THESE COMMENTS ARE MY ANSWER TO THE FOLLOWING MICHAEL STARR HOPKINS ARTICLE FROM THE HILL. READ IT FIRST, AND THEN MY COMMENTS. LET’S FACE IT, WE NEED A NEW PARTY CALLED, PERHAPS, THE PROGRESSIVES, EXISTING SEPARATELY FROM THE “DEMOCRATIC PARTY,” OR WHATEVER OTHER NAME YOU MIGHT CHOOSE – NEW DEMOCRATS, FOR INSTANCE. NEW DEMOCRATS AND PROGRESSIVES CAN THEN BE IN COMPETITION ON SOME ISSUES, AS WE SURELY WILL BE, AND VOTE TOGETHER ON OTHERS. THERE ARE MANY NATIONAL ISSUES THAT PROGRESSIVES, LIBERALS AND OTHER SEMI-ENLIGHTENED SOULS SHOULD FOLLOW. I’M THINKING OF A LOOSE AFFILIATION OF SEPARATE PARTIES, INCLUDING THE GREENS AND, ASSUMING THERE ARE ANY MORE LIBERAL GROUPS, WE SHOULD CONSIDER JOINING WITH THEM AS WELL – IN AN UMBRELLA STRUCTURE, NOT A TOWER OF POWER. NO MORE “KING OF THE HILL” GAMES. I’M THINKING OF SOMETHING MORE LIKE THE “COMMITTEES OF CORRESPONDENCE” NETWORK OF THE PRE-REVOLUTIONARY WAR PERIOD.

WE SHOULD DISCOVER WHAT BLACK, HISPANIC, WOMEN, ENVIRONMENTALIST, HOMELESS AID WORKERS, MEDICAL PROFESSIONS, LGBTQ, JEWISH OR OTHER RELIGIO-ETHNIC GROUPS THAT EXIST IN NICHES AROUND THE COUNTRY, WHO HAVE BECOME INTERESTED IN A POLITICAL PATH TO GROUP IMPROVEMENT. I CAN FORESEE THAT GROUPS CONCERNED WITH SUCH ISSUES AS PROCHOICE OR ANTI-ABORTION, CHRISTIAN VERSUS JEWISH, ISLAMIC, SIKH WOULD DISAGREE STRONGLY, BUT IF THEY CAN FORM A LINK ON THE OVERALL HUMAN NEEDS AND ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES THEY MIGHT STILL WANT TO WORK TOGETHER.

WHETHER OR NOT WE CAN GET REPUBLICANS TO ADMIT THAT AIR POLLUTANTS ARE CAUSING GLOBAL WARMING, WE CAN POSSIBLY GET THE AMOUNT OF THEM WHICH FACTORIES AND POWER PLANTS ARE SPEWING OUT REDUCED. WHAT ABOUT THE NATIVE AMERICANS, FOR INSTANCE? THEY’RE POOR AND PROUD, BUT WE NEVER HEAR ABOUT THEM IN POLITICAL DISCUSSION. I KNOW THEY ARE MAINLY POOR AND CAN’T DONATE TO THE PARTY, WE MUSTN’T LET OURSELVES SIMPLY FORGET THAT THEY EXIST. THEY WERE THE FIRST PEOPLE IN THIS LAND. I CAN’T BELIEVE THAT THIS IS DUE TO THEIR OWN CHOICE, BUT TO A LACK OF OUTREACH FROM THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY. NO TICKEE, NO LAUNDRY.

THIS NEW ORGANIZATION SHOULD HAVE NO “BOSSES” AT ALL. IT WOULD BE MORE LIKE A MEETING OF A CHURCH CONVENTION TO MAKE DECISIONS AND FORM TEMPORARY OR PERMANENT BONDS ON PURSUING SPECIFIC GOALS. WHEN THE GOAL IS A NATIONAL PUSH SUCH AS IMPEACHING DONALD TRUMP, TACKLING SOCIAL JUSTICE ISSUES AND, OF COURSE, POVERTY AND THE ENVIRONMENT, WE SHOULD WORK TOGETHER. THOSE THINGS ARE INTENSELY IMPORTANT NEAR AND LONG-TERM GOALS, AND A “BIG PARTY” PLATFORM AS WE HAVE TODAY WILL SURELY LEAVE SOME OF THEM OUT. IT ALWAYS DOES.

THE “PROGRESSIVES” WOULD RUN THEIR CANDIDATES AND THE “NEW DEMOCRATS” WOULD RUN THEIRS. I PERSONALLY AM MUCH MORE OPEN TO MULTIPLE CANDIDATES FROM MULTIPLE PARTIES, BUT IF EVERYONE FEELS THAT IT WOULD BE TOO WEAKENING, THEN WE COULD BAND TOGETHER FOR THE NATIONAL PUSH ON THOSE. THERE WOULD HAVE TO BE A MUCH BETTER WAY OF CHOOSING THE CANDIDATES THAN THOSE “SUPER DELEGATES;” SUCH AS THE LEADING CANDIDATE WOULD BE AUTOMATICALLY BECOME THE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE, AND THE SECOND PLACE CONTENDER WOULD BECOME THE VICE PRESIDENTIAL RUNNER. I LIKE THAT MORE THAN FOR THE PRESIDENT TO BE NOMINATING HIS VICE PRESIDENT. TOO COZY, ENTIRELY, AND LESS DEMOCRATIC. IF WE’RE THE DEMOCRATS, THEN WE SHOULD BE DEMOCRATIC, RIGHT? CLEARLY, IF WE HAD HAD THIS SYSTEM IN 2016, BERNIE SANDERS WOULD HAVE BEEN VICE PRESIDENT, AND THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN A MUCH MORE INTELLIGENT WAY TO DO IT THAN THE WAY HILLARY ABSOLUTELY REFUSED TO NOMINATE HIM – BASED PURELY ON POLITICAL SPITE, I TEND TO THINK. WELL, SHE CUT OFF HER OWN NOSE TO SPITE HER FACE, AS THE OLD SAYING GOES.

ABOVE ALL, HOWEVER, I THINK MUCH MORE FREQUENT GRASSROOTS AND REGIONAL LEVEL MEETINGS WOULD CREATE HUMAN BONDS AND PULL TOGETHER IDEAS AT THE LOCAL LEVEL, TO BE CONTINUED UPWARD TO THE NATIONAL. IT WOULD ALSO PUT THE ISSUES AND THE VERY ACT OF VOTING, IN THE FOREFRONT OF VOTERS’ MINDS. IT WOULD KEEP UP THE DRUMBEAT ALL THE TIME RATHER THAN JUST THE EIGHT MONTHS OR SO BEFORE THE PRIMARY, AND THEN THE NATIONAL ELECTION. SO OFTEN TODAY, WE DON’T REALLY KNOW THE CANDIDATES AT ALL OR THE GRASSROOTS INTEREST IN GETTING TO THE POLLS AND VOTING JUST ISN’T THERE. WE ALSO NEED TO KNOW WHO CAN VOLUNTEER TO FERRY THOSE WHO HAVE NO CAR BACK AND FORTH. WHAT ABOUT PARTY MINI-BUSES? FACILITATION IS IMPORTANT. THE INTERNET MIGHT BE THE BEST COMMUNICATIONS BASE, WITH PERHAPS A WEBPAGE FOR THE UMBRELLA GROUP WHICH WILL THEN HOUSE LINKS TO EACH INDIVIDUAL PARTY, AND LISTINGS OF ISSUES OF CONCERN, PARTY NEWS, ETC. I CAN EVEN SEE VOTING ON THE INTERNET, AS LONG AS LOCAL POLLING PLACES WERE ALSO MAINTAINED.

I BELIEVE THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY ACTIVITY TODAY IS TOO NATIONALLY ORIENTED AND TOO INFREQUENT, SO THAT COMMUNITY INTEREST FALTERS. RAH RAH SPEECHES ARE FINE, BUT ADD TO THEM A SERIES OF WORKSHOPS AND PHILOSOPHICAL/STRATEGIC DISCUSSION GROUPS FOR LOCAL AREA PARTICIPATION. GET THAT NETWORK GOING, AND I THINK THERE WILL BE A MUCH GREATER DEGREE OF SUCCESS FOR THE WHOLE UMBRELLA NETWORK.

WHEN I FIRST CAME TO JACKSONVILLE, FL, ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS I DID WAS TO TRY TO LOCATE THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY HEADQUARTERS. THERE WAS NONE – JUST A VOICE MAIL AT WHICH I LEFT A MESSAGE. A WEEK OR SO LATER, SOMEONE DID CALL ME BACK, BUT IT SEEMS TO ME TO SHOW A DISTINCT LACK OF INTEREST ON THE PART OF THE PARTY. PURSUING LOCAL AND MORE FREQUENT GOALS WOULD CREATE STRENGTH BETTER THAN ATTEMPTS AT OVERT ARM-TWISTING LIKE, FOR INSTANCE, THIS ARTICLE BY MICHAEL STARR HOPKINS. IT WAS WELL-WRITTEN, BUT VERY PRESUMPTUOUS. THIS KIND OF ARTICLE JUST TEES ME OFF ROYALLY, AND WON’T MAKE ME COME BACK INTO THE FOLD. HONEST TALK WORKS, BUT INTIMIDATION OR ATTEMPTS AT SHAMING DON’T. BERNIE ISN’T “RIPPING THE PARTY APART.” IT HAS SEPARATED AT THE SEAMS BECAUSE THE FABRIC IS WEAK. IF THE PARTY WILL GET HONEST, IT CAN SAVE ITSELF WITH BERNIE SANDERS’ HELP – BUT NOT BY HIS GIVING YOU THE PRECIOUS AND HARD-WON EMAIL LIST. YOU DON’T DESERVE THAT IN MY VIEW. USE YOUR OWN DEVICES.

LIBERAL/PROGRESSIVE GROUPS COULD FORM A COALITION FOR REGULARLY MEETING AND INTERACTING. I THINK HUMAN LEVEL INTERACTION IS NECESSARY IN ADDITION TO INTERNET ACTIVITY. FACELESSNESS REALLY DOESN’T WORK FOR ME. WE COULD SEND SPEAKERS TO THE LOCAL AND REGIONAL COMMUNAL MEETINGS, HAVE “TEACH INS” AS WE DID IN 1970, CREATE FORUMS FOR THOSE WHO WOULD LIKE TO ENTER THE POLITICAL WORLD AS CANDIDATES TO PRESENT NEW IDEAS OR SIMPLY DISCUSS CONCERNS.

THE REPUBLICAN PARTY HAS REGULAR ACTIVITIES FOR THE SOLE PURPOSE OF TRAINING CANDIDATES AS LONG AS THEY ARE REPUBLICANS FOR WHAT THEY WILL ENCOUNTER ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL, AND HOW TO HANDLE IT. THERE WAS A NEAT NEWS ARTICLE ABOUT IT A YEAR OR SO AGO. WE COULD TEACH AND REHEARSE SPEECH-MAKING, FOR INSTANCE, WHICH IS TOTALLY DAUNTING TO MOST PEOPLE, AND SO IS SPEAKING FACE TO FACE AND SHAKING HANDS. ONE OF THE REPUBLICAN’S LESSONS WAS TO TAKE CAMERAS INTO A LOCAL DINER AND HAVE THE CANDIDATES GIVE AN INTRODUCTION OF THEMSELVES, AND JUST TALK TO THE PEOPLE THERE. THAT SOUNDS EASY, BUT I THINK IT IS PROBABLY VERY INTIMIDATING.

OUR “UMBRELLA” ORGANIZATION SHOULD STOP SHORT AT COMINGLING OF FUNDS OR HAVING THE SAME OFFICERS AND PROCEDURES, THOUGH. LET EACH BE A TRUE “PARTY” OF ITS’ OWN. THE PROGRESSIVES, FOR INSTANCE, COULD TOTALLY ABOLISH THE RECENT DEMOCRAT PARTY TRADITION OF “SUPERDELEGATES,” WHICH SERVES NO USEFUL PURPOSE IN MY VIEW AND POLLUTES THE GROUP DECISION-MAKING PROCESS BY GRABBING TOTAL CONTROL ON THE PARTY BY AND FOR THE WEALTHIEST/MOST POWERFUL MEMBERS. THAT’S REPUBLICAN THINKING, NOT DEMOCRATIC.

IT IS THESE MODERN DAY “PARTY BOSSES” WHO HAVE RUINED THE PARTY TO THE POINT THAT ITS’ NATURAL BASE OF RELATIVELY HUMBLE CITIZENS HAVE DRIFTED AWAY DUE TO LACK OF INTEREST ON BOTH SIDES. THE SOCIAL CONTRACT THAT WE ONCE SHARED IS NO LONGER PRESENT, BUT OUR NEEDS ARE STILL UNMET. ADMIT IT, HILLARY. BERNIE DIDN’T LOSE THIS ELECTION FOR YOU. YOU AND THE DNC DID. BOTH THE REPUBLICANS OF TODAY AND THE DEMOCRATS AS WELL ARE OUTDATED, HAVE DRIFTED TOO FAR OVER FROM THEIR CENTRAL FOCUS AND, WORSE, THEY HAVE BECOME TOO LARGE TO MEET THE NEEDS OF THE GRASSROOTS. THEY BELIEVE THEMSELVES TO BE “TOO BIG TO FAIL,” AND THAT IS NOT TRUE. THEY’RE EVEN MORE LIKELY TO FAIL, AS 2016 PROVED.

SO, BEFORE WE FAIL, I ENCOURAGE YOU NEW DEMOCRAT MODERATES TO WORK WITH THE OUR REVOLUTION PROGRESSIVES TO AMEND PARTY GOALS AND MEET THE NEEDS OF OUR POPULATION OF WORKING CLASS, POOR AND MIDDLECLASS CITIZENS, PLUS AS MANY OTHER MINORITIES AS YOU CAN POSSIBLY GET TO KNOW. ELIMINATE “SUPERDELEGATES” OR ANY OTHER BOSS-RULE TENDENCIES, AND START OVER. BOTH THE DEMS AND THE REPUBLICANS ARE CORRUPTED. THEY SERVE ONLY WALL STREET AND THE KOCH BROTHERS, AND WITH THAT HUGE FINANCIAL BACKING, THEY FEEL SURE THAT THEY DON’T HAVE TO LISTEN TO THEIR CITIZENS ANY MORE. WHEN I SAW HOW SMUG HILLARY SEEMED – A HUMBLER KIND OF SELF-CONFIDENCE WOULD HAVE GONE OVER MUCH BETTER WITH ANY AND ALL AMERICANS – I WAS MYSELF ANGERED, AND NOT SURPRISED AT WHAT HAPPENED IN THE DISASTER OF 2016. HORRIFIED AND INTENSELY SAD, YES. NOW WE HAVE TO DEAL WITH A WOULD-BE DICTATOR.

WELL, WE’LL SEE. MANY OF US AREN’T WITH YOU SUPERDELEGATES ANYMORE; AND NOT OUT OF A FIT OF PIQUE, BUT BECAUSE WE HAVE NO DOG IN THAT FIGHT NOW. I DON’T BELIEVE THAT SIMPLY BEATING DONALD TRUMP IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN CHANGING OUR COUNTRY, AS THIS WRITER OBVIOUSLY DOES. WINNING ELECTIONS IS NOT THE ONLY THING WE NEED TO DO. OH, YOU CAN REST ASSURED THAT I WILL VOTE AGAINST ALL RIGHTISTS OF ANY NAME, BUT I DON’T NEED THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY TO DO THAT, AND AS FOR GIVING MONEY, I HAVE DONE THAT ALREADY AND WILL NOT AGAIN.

IF YOU WANT THE PARTY UNITED AGAIN, MOVE ON OVER TO THE LEFT WITHOUT GRIPING ABOUT IT. I KNOW. YOU DID, BUT NOT NEARLY FAR ENOUGH, AND THIS OPINION PIECE IS NOTHING BUT ONE BIG GRIPE. IF I WERE A REPUBLICAN I WOULD CALL IT “WHINING,” BUT I HATE THAT TERM. ALSO, PAINFUL FOR YOU AS IT MAY BE, DITCH THAT “SUPER” DELEGATE STUFF. BERNIE SANDERS IS THE ONLY ONE WHO IS CONCERNED ABOUT MAKING REAL STRUCTURAL AND STRATEGIC CHANGE IN THIS COUNTRY, AND I’M BEHIND HIM. HE IS LEADING, AND I AM FOLLOWING. I AM NO LONGER A “PARTY” WOMAN, AND I BELIEVE THAT MANY PEOPLE ARE LIKE ME IN THIS WAY NOW. COME ON. GIVE IT THAT OLD HEAVE HO AND CHANGE YOUR WAY OF THINKING AND ACTING. I’M NOT 20 YEARS OLD. I’M ONE OF THE 1970S FEMINISTS, AND I AM NOT GOING TO BE GIVING UP UNTIL THE DAY I DIE. LET US ALL BE STRONG AND REFORM THIS PARTY.


HTTP://THEHILL.COM/OPINION/CAMPAIGN/352632-BERNIE-SANDERS-IS-NOT-A-DEMOCRAT-SO-HE-SHOULD-STOP-TEARING-US-APART
BERNIE IS NOT EVEN A DEMOCRAT, SO WHY IS HE RIPPING OUR PARTY APART?
BY MICHAEL STARR HOPKINS, OPINION CONTRIBUTOR — 09/27/17 09:00 AM EDT
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY CONTRIBUTORS ARE THEIR OWN AND NOT THE VIEW OF THE HILL
Photograph -- Bernie is not even a Democrat, so why is he ripping our party apart?
© Getty Images

At some point very soon, supporters of Bernie Sanders have a decision to make. Do they want four more years of Republican majorities, or do they want to be part of implementing policies aimed at helping the poor and working poor? In this political climate, it’s a binary choice. Either supporters of Sanders help to elect Democrats who can beat Donald Trump or they contribute to his re-election. Period.

All the talk about a living wage, single-payer health care, and social justice means nothing if Republicans are re-elected in 2018 and 2020. All the talk about building an economy that works for all Americans means nothing if “Bernie bros” attack every Democrat who isn’t Sanders. He isn’t even a registered Democrat. I would love to hear Sanders’s opinion on how the Democratic Party can rebound and rebuild, but it has to be preceded by him actually joining the party, not merely using it as a vessel for his run for president. Democrats are your allies, not your punching bag or your Uber.

It’s time for the fantasy to end. Sanders wouldn’t have beaten Trump. He couldn’t even beat Hillary Clinton. Pretending otherwise is completely illogical and only serves to reopen old wounds that ensure more Republican victories. If supporters of Sanders want an ally on health care, they certainly won’t find it in Republicans. It hurts the very people that both Democrats and Sanders supporters are attempting to help his supporters denigrate up and coming Democrats as “corporatists” who are “owned by Wall Street.”

I’d love if campaigns didn’t have to look for corporate donations, but it’s the political reality we live in, not the one we want. Maybe if we had more Democrats in office we could get rid of Citizens United and actually pass campaign finance reform. Then we could get money out of politics and get Congress back to work. You know who I can guarantee won’t help you get those things done? Republicans. We don’t live in a fantasy land where everyone gets everything that they want. Compromise is a necessity. I wish that with the snap of my fingers we had universal health care and free college, but that’s not how our system works. That’s not how the framers intended our system to work. The framers intentionally designed our government in a way that makes change incremental.

Attacks from Sanders and his supporters on Democrats aren’t helping to rebuild the party, nor are they helping to build a strong economic message. Attacks from Sanders and his supports are an unnecessary Kamikaze mission that will undoubtedly lead to more Republican victories. If Sanders and his supporters want criminal justice reform and financial reform to pass, then maybe they shouldn’t burn down the house of the only ally that they have. I’m sure Cory Booker or Kamala Harris would gladly sign onto legislation that repairs our failing penal system or repatriates American funds overseas. They’ve already joined Sanders’s health care bill. I’m not so sure that the same can be said for Ted Cruz or Luther Strange, but feel free to give it a try.

The sole focus of the Sanders wing and the Democratic Party should be to beat Trump in 2020. Trump is the natural evolution of a party that has lost its moral compass. He’s the natural evolution of a country quickly losing its grip on reality. He’s unfit for the office of the presidency. He’s the single most important reason for Sanders and his supporters to put aside their hostility and work hand and hand with the Democratic Party.

Now is not the time to relitigate the primary battle between Clinton and Sanders. Now is not the time to enact arbitrary litmus tests that will create even more chaos within the party. Now is the time to come together and link arms. Now is the time to take attendance and recognize who is with you and who is against you. Now is the time to rebuild our country and ensure it works for every single American. Taking an all or nothing approach to political issues isn’t just unhelpful, it poisons the process and prevents meaningful conversation. It mirrors the childish and destructive antics of the Tea Party, not the behavior of well-informed adults.

We have to figure out a way to work together moving forward. The country may literally depend on it. This can’t be a battle between the establishment and Sanders because that’s exactly what Trump wants. This has to be a battle between right and wrong, a choice between democracy and authoritarianism. Only one side is hell-bent on protecting our democracy and the other isn’t. So now Sanders and his supporters must choose a side. Straddling the line won’t suffice. Will they work with Democrats to help take back our country or will they stand on the outside and throw stones? I know what Trump hopes that they do.

We are in the midst of a battle for the soul of our nation. We owe to those Americans who sacrificed their blood, their sweat, and in many cases, their lives to perfect this union. We owe it to the next generation of Americans to ensure that this country reflects the ideals that our flag represents. At the end of the day, our flag is just fabric woven together. What that fabric stands for matters. The flag stands for freedom. The flag stands for liberty. The flag stands for justice. Not justice for some, but justice for all. Until honor and integrity are brought back to our nation, our work won’t be finished. Petty political squabbles must be set aside, and in the words of Trump, “We have to put America first.”

Michael Starr Hopkins is an attorney and former member of the presidential campaigns of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. He regularly appears on Fox News and CNN to talk about national politics. You can follow him on Twitter @TheOnlyHonest.