October 9 and 10, 2017


News and Views


TRUMP THE TWIT, SHORT FOR TWITTERER IN CHIEF, IS OFF ON ANOTHER TOOT WHILE PUERTO RICO LANGUISHES WITHOUT WATER AND OTHER PROBLEMS. IT’S SHAMEFUL THAT TRUMP HAD THE LACK OF BREEDING AND GOOD SENSE TO TALK ABOUT THEIR DEBT WHEN ASKED FOR AID AFTER A STORM LIKE THAT. THAT WON’T WIN HIM VOTES EXCEPT WITH THE HEARTLESS CROWD. EVEN IF HE FEELS THAT WE CAN’T HELP, HE DOESN’T HAVE TO BE MALICIOUS ABOUT THE WAY HE SAYS IT.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-continues-twitter-feud-with-liddle-bob-corker/
By EMILY TILLETT CBS NEWS October 10, 2017, 10:25 AM
Bob Corker-Trump Twitter battle continues: Trump calls Corker "Liddle"

President Trump is keeping his Twitter fight with Republican Senator Bob Corker alive with a claim that the New York Times had "set Liddle' Bob Corker up" by recording him in its recent interview. In that interview, the Tennessee senator said Mr. Trump's leadership style would set the country "on the path to World War III."

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Donald J. Trump ✔@realDonaldTrump
The Failing @nytimes set Liddle' Bob Corker up by recording his conversation. Was made to sound a fool, and that's what I am dealing with!
8:50 AM - Oct 10, 2017
25,674 25,674 Replies 8,478 8,478 Retweets 33,820 33,820 likes

Mr. Trump added that Corker "was made to sound a fool, and that's what I am dealing with!"

The nickname is similar to the one Mr. Trump bestowed on his former opponent in the 2016 presidential race, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Florida, whom he derided as "Little Marco."

The newest tweets come as an extension of the president's previous tirades against the Tennessee Republican, who he says "begged" for his endorsement and was a "negative voice" standing in the way of his "great agenda."

But Corker told the New York Times in an interview that ran Monday that Mr. Trump "called me just last week, asked me if I would reconsider."

Newt Gingrich on Trump's clash with Corker, GOP agenda
Play VIDEO
Newt Gingrich on Trump's clash with Corker, GOP agenda

Corker said the president promised, "'You know, if you run, I'll endorse you.'"

"I said, 'Mr. President, it's just not in the cards. I've already made my decision,'" Corker told the Times.

On Sunday in response to Mr. Trump's Twitter attacks on him, the Tennessee senator tweeted, "It's a shame the White House has become an adult day care center."

Corker's interview with the New York Times also revealed the senator's dismay about the president. Mr. Trump, Corker said, was treating the White House like "a reality show" and exhibiting questionable leadership style.

"I know for a fact that every single day at the White House, it's a situation of trying to contain him," Corker said to the Times.

Former White House adviser and Trump ally Steve Bannon has since condemned Corker's comments, calling the senator "a disgrace" in an interview on Fox News' "Hannity" Monday night.

"If Bob Corker has any honor, any decency, he should resign immediately," Bannon added.

Fellow Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, who spent his Columbus Day holiday golfing with the president, told reporters on Capitol Hill on Tuesday that he thinks Mr. Trump "was a little taken aback" by Corker's comments.

He said he told the president, "this is a business and most Americans probably don't know who Bob Corker is. Most Americans don't care what he thinks of you. And quite frankly most Americans probably don't care what you think of him."

While the feud shows little sign of slowing down, Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich suggested on "CBS This Morning" on Tuesday that the two gentlemen need to "get together for lunch and get over it."



I’M REALLY SORRY TO SEE THAT THE ISLAND IS SO DAMAGED THAT IT CAN’T RECOVER AS QUICKLY AS THE PEOPLE NEED. IF THEY CAN’T BOIL WATER, THERE COULD BE CHOLERA OUTBREAKS OR OTHER DANGEROUS THINGS, IF THERE HAVEN’T BEEN ALREADY. ISSUES LIKE “THE JONES ACT” GETTING IN THE WAY OF OUR EVER MORE NEEDED SUPPLIES IS SO TYPICAL OF WHY THE US CAN’T MEET EMERGENCIES.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/analysis-puerto-rico-things-are-still-dire/
CBS NEWS October 9, 2017, 9:57 PM
Analysis: Things are still dire in Puerto Rico

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- Eighty-five percent of Puerto Rico is still without power after the U.S. was rocked by Hurricane Maria more than two weeks ago. There are at least 19,000 federal civilian or military personnel assisting on the ground.

Around 77 percent of Puerto Rico's grocery stores are open. Forty-percent do not have drinkable water.

CBS News correspondent David Begnaud, who has reported extensively on the crisis in Puerto Rico, said things are as dire in Puerto Rico as they were last week. For example, half of the island has access to drinkable water, and everyone is being told to boil water before using it.

"A lot of people are saying to us, how do you boil the water if you don't have the power to boil it, if you don't have the stove to turn on to boil the water?" Begnaud said.

CBS News' David Begnaud on his extensive Puerto Rico coverage
Play VIDEO
CBS News' David Begnaud on his extensive Puerto Rico coverage

The governor said he is encouraging people to use generators or go to neighbor's house to use a generator.

Begnaud says he received images from a man who was in Manatí with his family on Sunday. The pictures showed people standing in long lines waiting to get water on a side of the road where people were using PVC pipes to tap into a stream alongside a mountain.

Begnaud spoke with Puerto Rican Gov. Ricardo Rossello in San Juan, who sent a letter to Congress on Monday saying that the municipalities are unable to reach the basic needs and are on the verge of a liquidity crisis. Rossello said one estimate indicates Puerto Rioc's recovery could cost as much as $95 billion.

Begnaud asked Rossello if he was OK with Homeland Security's decision to decline another waiver of the Jones Act, which has made transporting supplies to the island difficult.

Rossello said that while he hasn't had enough time to evaluate how the waiver helped recovery efforts, "it would be best to have all options available."

"We would like an extension but within the 10 day extension, we haven't had enough data to say if it was helpful or not," he said. "At this juncture, why not use all the tools available."

Death toll in Puerto Rico has doubled from Hurricane Maria
Play VIDEO
Death toll in Puerto Rico has doubled from Hurricane Maria

Rossello said he's been through San Juan the past couple of weeks and the cleanup has been an ongoing problem that hasn't presented itself around Puerto Rico. He said on Sunday he went to areas that were still flooded and "you could see the major amounts of debris."

"There were major amounts of debris in the morning but we went with our team," he said, adding that the municipality hadn't handled the response as well as it should have. He said he had not spoken to the mayor about the clean up.

Rossello says 15 municipalities are still in dire need for food and water supplies, and five isolated areas that they are working to deliver aid.



THIS IS ONE MORE PAINFUL DEATH OF A YOUNG WOMAN, PROBABLY AT THE HAND OF HER LOVER. SHE HAD TAKEN OUT A PROTECTION ORDER. THAT SHOWS HOW WELL THOSE WORK. I DON’T WANT TO SOUND LIKE A GUN NUT, BUT IF SOMEONE WERE AFTER ME, I WOULD PROBABLY BUY ONE.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/alina-sheykhet-pitt-student-boyfriend-matthew-darby/
CBS/AP October 10, 2017, 10:09 AM
Slain Pitt student sought protection order against ex-boyfriend

PITTSBURGH -- A University of Pittsburgh student found dead in her off-campus home during the weekend had recently filed a protection from abuse order against her ex-boyfriend, who is facing rape charges in an unrelated case.

Police on Monday said they were looking for 21-year-old Matthew Darby, who has not been charged in Alina Sheykhet's death.

Sheykhet, 20, was found Sunday morning by her father, who broke down her door after she failed to answer calls. He was picking her up to attend a breast cancer awareness walk.

Authorities said she died of head trauma, and the case was ruled a homicide.

Pitt student killed, found dead in home
Play VIDEO
Pitt student killed, found dead in home

Sheykhet's father, Yan Sheykhet, told CBS Pittsburgh station KDKA-TV that his daughter spent her first two years of college at Pitt's campus in Greensburg, just southeast of Pittsburgh, where she met Darby, a basketball player on the Pitt-Greensburg squad.

When she moved to the Pitt main campus this fall, she tried to end the relationship with Darby, but her father said Darby continued to chase her.

Darby was arrested Sept. 26 and charged with felony criminal trespass for allegedly breaking into Sheykhet's apartment.

In her protection filing, she wrote that Darby climbed up the gutter of her home and broke in through the second-floor window.

"He did this because I left him and stopped answering his phone calls," Sheykhet wrote. She described him as abusive, controlling and jealous.

The protection order was granted.

"He didn't treat her right," Curtis Hanner, who was Alina Sheykhet's manager when she worked at a mall, told KDKA-TV. "He cheated on her a couple of times and was really controlling and called her at work when he shouldn't have ... Sometimes she picked up, but she would instantly hang up or I picked up and I instantly hung up."


Darby was charged in March with rape, sexual assault and other charges in another county. He posted $10,000 bail that month, court records show.

David Shrager, Darby's attorney in both cases, told the Tribune-Review it was too soon for him to comment.

Yan Sheykhet told the Post-Gazette that he had dropped off his daughter at her apartment around 11 p.m. Saturday. On Sunday, he, his wife and daughter were to do the cancer walk together. Her housemates thought she still was sleeping when he arrived.

"She didn't answer the phone. She didn't text us," he said. "So we tried to open the door. It was locked. I pushed the door and I found her laying on the floor."

He called her "the best person in the world," and said she excelled at dancing, singing and gymnastics.

Sheykhet was working toward becoming a physical therapist, her brother told WPXI-TV.

Her Facebook page indicates she attended high school in a Pittsburgh suburb after moving from Ivanovo, Russia.

The university issued a statement expressing sadness and extending "its deepest sympathies to the student's family and those who knew her."

Counselors were available Monday for students who needed them.



CIVIL RIGHTS FOR JEWS IN UKRAINE – I CAME ACROSS THIS ARTICLE BECAUSE I WAS LOOKING FOR THE NAME “SHEYKHET.” JUST AS I LOVE LIFE FORMS, I LOVE NAMES AND LANGUAGES. WHEN I SEE A KH TOGETHER, I ASSUME THERE IS A MIDDLE EASTERN ELEMENT TO IT. THIS IS JEWISH AND UKRAINIAN. THE ARTICLE ALSO CONCERNS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT TOPICS – ANTISEMITISM. I WISH THAT WHEN THE HITLER REGIME WAS OVER, ANTISEMITISM WOULD HAVE DIED, BUT OF COURSE IT HASN’T.

UNFORTUNATELY, WITH THE CURRENT RISE IN NATIVISM OF ALL KINDS, IT IS ON THE RAMPAGE AGAIN. I DO WISH RELIGIOUS PEOPLE COULD ALLOW OTHER RELIGIONS THEIR RIGHTS, BUT SO MANY CAN’T. CERTAIN THINGS THAT I SEE IN THE WORLD MAKE ME THINK THAT A LARGE NUMBER OF PEOPLE WORLDWIDE AREN’T NEARLY AS INTELLIGENT AS THEY LIKE TO THINK THEMSELVES TO BE. THAT’S WHY WE NEED LAWS. WE THINK OF RELIGION AS A SPIRITUAL THING, BUT, UNFORTUNATELY, MORE OFTEN IT’S JUST ANOTHER GROUP UNITY INSTINCT AND PRACTICE THAT CAUSES WAR AFTER WAR EVERYWHERE AROUND THE GLOBE. WE NEED TO COME TO BELIEVE, WHILE WE ARE BELIEVING SOME PRETTY OUTLANDISH RELIGIOUS TENETS, THAT THE INDIVIDUAL IS THE BASIC UNIT OF MANKIND, AND NOT ANY GROUP AT ALL. RELIGION IS DEEPLY PERSONAL AND CAN’T BE “BELIEVED” AT WILL. IT EITHER SEEMS TO BE TRUE, OR IT DOESN’T. THAT’S WHY I LIKE THE UNITARIAN GROUPS. THEY MANDATE NOTHING, WHILE THEY ENCOURAGE THOUGHT AND COMMUNICATION. I THINK THEY’RE MOVING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.

http://njjewishnews.com/article/30297/jewish-group-lobbying-for-sites-in-ukraine#.Wd0J11tSyj4
Jewish group lobbying for sites in Ukraine
UCSJ head drives efforts to further historical preservation
by Robert Wiener
NJJN Staff Writer
May 3, 2016

For decades, Larry Lerner of Warren has been especially concerned about anti-Semitism and other human rights violations in Ukraine, the land where his parents were born.

Now as president of the Union of Councils for Jews in the Former Soviet Union (UCSJ), he is concerned that Ukrainian municipal governments, especially in the city of Lviv, are not willing to protect Jewish historical sites, many of which date back as much as seven centuries.

On April 5 and 6, he and six other members of UCSJ met with State Department officials in a session led by Ira Forman, its special envoy to monitor and combat anti-Semitism.

Ukraine is no longer “an anti-Semitic country,” said Lerner. “It is one that tolerates and supports religious freedom.” What the delegation talked mainly about, he said, was “protecting Jewish cemeteries and Jewish culture.”

Lerner said he and his group continue to seek U.S. government support in a series of legal challenges to enforce rulings in favor of preservation.

For the past three years, UCSJ has been losing a battle with a private real estate developer who has already torn down parts of Lviv’s Golden Rose Synagogue, which was built in 1582. The hotel planned for the site would endanger the mikva and other Jewish artifacts at the synagogue.

Another focus of UCSJ’s preservation efforts are Lviv’s two Jewish cemeteries; one dates back to the 1400s, a newer one opened in 1914, and both are in danger of being plowed over. A hotel and spa complex has already been built on the site of the Nazi-run Janowska concentration camp in Lviv, where nearly 7,000 Jews were killed by Ukrainian nationalists and German troops during World War II.

In order to fight the preservation battle, UCSJ maintains an office in Lviv run by Meylakh Sheykhet, “a religious Jew who is deeply concerned about the destruction of Jewish cultural sites,” Lerner said. But the emissary seems to be losing his argument with city authorities.

“Sheykhet goes to the City Hall in Lviv and complains, ‘You can’t do that. These are historical sites and the Ukrainian government has signed agreements to protect them.’ They ignore him,” Lerner said.

The UCSJ has appealed to the American ambassador to Ukraine, Geoffrey Pyatt, to encourage the government to protect the Jewish sites. Pyatt, said Lerner, is a “caring and concerned ambassador…especially on the issue of preserving Jewish cemeteries and cultural sites.”

In a document Lerner e-mailed to NJJN, Sheykhet wrote to Pyatt on Feb. 29, “Every day the desecration of the Jewish graves in Lviv is growing.”

Citing laws and agreements that date back to 1994, Sheykhet has urged the ambassador to file a court case against the government. “At least we might start to move the case to the goal of preservation and free the site of the illegal construction and privatization,” he wrote. “When the court case would be filed it might cause an open huge scandal.”

The Washington meetings were a prelude to a mission to Ukraine that Lerner’s group will make from May 11 to 23. “We are now setting up sessions with Pyatt, and we are looking to make appointments with all the other officials that we can,” he said. “We are trying to get officials in Lviv and the central government of Ukraine to sit down with members of the Jewish community, and that is an ongoing negotiation.”

They plan to visit the Ukrainian cities of Dnipropetrovsk, Odessa, and Kiev and to meet with rabbis “who have the eyes and ears to know what’s going on,” said Lerner, and with Jewish leaders such as Josef Zissels, vice president of the World Jewish Congress and chair of the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress.

It will be Lerner’s 10th visit to the area since he first went there in 1979.

“I found the Ukrainians to be the bravest people in the world because they were fighting for freedom in the difficult heart of the evil empire,” he said. “I can’t change the world but I can have some effect in the area.



VIDEO ONLY:
https://www.cbsnews.com/videos/officers-describe-body-of-las-vegas-shooter/
Officers describe body of Las Vegas shooter
OCTOBER 8, 2017, 6:53 PM| Why law enforcement was not expecting to see someone like Stephen Paddock when they stormed the gunman's hotel room and found his body


INTERNET RESEARCH AGENCY, RIGHT. THAT WHOLE IDEA OF "OPPOSITIONAL RESEARCH" WAS A NEW ONE TO ME, BUT IN A NUMBER OF ARTICLES POLITICIANS FROM BOTH SIDES HAVE USED IT FOR THEIR DIRTY TRICKS. I WISH POLITICIANS WOULD CLEAN UP THEIR ACT VOLUNTARILY. TRUMP CALLING THE DEMOCRATS AND FEDERAL GOVERNMENT "THE SWAMP" IS HIS WAY OF DISTANCING HIMSELF FROM WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE -- TRY A PLEDGE OF FAIR DEALING RATHER THAN A LOYALTY OATH, AND THEN PROCEED TO MEETING ACROSS PARTY LINES TO WRITE NEW AND BETTER LAWS. THIS WHOLE IDEA OF RUSSIANS PAYING SO MUCH INTO OUR ELECTION DOESN'T SEEM TO HAVE UPSET TRUMP AT ALL. HE HASN'T SAID ONE WORD ABOUT IT EXCEPT TO DENY, DENY DENY. IF HE WERE A TRUE PATRIOT, HE WOULD. HE WOULD PROMISE TO CLEAN UP HIS PARTICULAR PART OF THE SWAMP.

http://money.cnn.com/2017/10/09/media/google-russia-ads/index.html?adkey=bn
Google has found Russian ads related to 2016 election
by Dylan Byers @CNNMoney
October 9, 2017: 12:08 PM ET

Photograph – Twitter Funder on Fake News

Twitter, Medium founder: Tech companies unintentionally funding fake news

Google has identified tens of thousands of dollars in ad buys by Russian accounts that used YouTube or Google advertising to try to spread misinformation and sow discord in American politics, sources familiar with the company's investigation told CNN.

These accounts used YouTube, Google search advertising, Gmail advertising and Google's DoubleClick ad platform to push divisive campaigns based on issues ranging from race to immigration to gun rights at times leading up to the 2016 election.

Google has not identified how many of the accounts and ads are associated with the Internet Research Agency, the Kremlin-linked troll farm that bought ads on Facebook and Twitter.
The company had previously said it had found no evidence of this kind of activity.

It is possible that many of the accounts are not tied to the IRA, and that the scope of Russian meddling extends beyond what Facebook and Twitter have identified so far.

Related: Facebook: Russian ads reached 10 million people

Google also has two different sets of policies for dealing with who can create accounts and who can buy advertising, making it harder for the company to police accounts that simply created YouTube pages without paying money to advertise or have those pages promoted.

In a statement, Google spokesperson Andrea Faville said the company has "a set of strict ads policies including limits on political ad targeting and prohibitions on targeting based on race and religion."

"We are taking a deeper look to investigate attempts to abuse our systems, working with researchers and other companies, and will provide assistance to ongoing inquiries," Faville said.
The Washington Post was the first to report Google's discovery.

Like Facebook and Twitter, Google and its parent company Alphabet have agreed to testify at public hearings before the Senate and House Intelligence Committees on November 1, sources at all three companies told CNN. Google will also meet privately with the Senate and House Intelligence Committees prior to next month's public hearing, a source at the company confirmed.

Facebook, which identified 470 accounts linked to the Internet Research Agency, has shared its findings with both Twitter and Google, sources at all three companies said. Using that data, Twitter found roughly 200 accounts linked to the IRA.

Google is the largest seller of advertising online, with more than 40% revenue share for digital advertising in the United States. YouTube, which Google owns, is the largest online video service in the world.

Separately Monday, Microsoft said it is investigating to see if any similar ads were run through its services.

"We take reports of misuse of our platform seriously. We are therefore investigating and if inappropriate activity is found, we will take steps to minimize such misuse in the future," a Microsoft spokesperson told CNN.

-- CNN's Jose Pagliery contributed reporting.
CNNMoney (New York)
First published October 9, 2017: 12:08 PM E



"I KNOW FOR A FACT THAT EVERY SINGLE DAY AT THE WHITE HOUSE, IT'S A SITUATION OF TRYING TO CONTAIN HIM," CORKER SAID. I DON’T VOTE FOR REPUBLICANS, BUT SEN. CORKER IS AN INTERESTING PERSON, I THINK. MAYBE HE’LL GO FOR THE PRESIDENCY ONE DAY.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/corker-says-trump-could-set-u-s-on-path-to-world-war-iii/
By EMILY TILLETT CBS NEWS October 9, 2017, 8:16 AM
Corker says Trump could set U.S. on path to World War III

Following a day of trading twitter barbs, Senator Bob Corker, R-Tennessee, is firing back at President Trump again, calling into question Mr. Trump's leadership ability and his turbulent running of the White House in a New York Times report.

In an interview with the Times on Sunday, Corker said Mr. Trump was treating his office like "a reality show," with threats toward other countries that could set the U.S. "on the path to World War III."

Corker said Mr. Trump was running the West Wing "like he's doing 'The Apprentice' or something."

"He concerns me," Corker added. "He would have to concern anyone who cares about our nation."

The new comments come after Mr. Trump lashed out at Corker on Twitter Sunday morning, saying the senator had "begged" the president to lend his support for this re-election.

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Donald J. Trump ✔@realDonaldTrump
Senator Bob Corker "begged" me to endorse him for re-election in Tennessee. I said "NO" and he dropped out (said he could not win without...
9:59 AM - Oct 8, 2017
23,827 23,827 Replies 13,870 13,870 Retweets 60,392 60,392 likes
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"I said 'NO' and he dropped out (said he could not win without my endorsement)," the president noted in his Sunday morning tweet.

The president also claimed that Corker had wanted to be Mr. Trump's pick for secretary of state, "I said 'NO THANKS,'" he added, then blamed Corker as being "largely responsible for the horrendous Iran Deal."

Corker responded in a blunt response over Twitter, writing, "It's a shame the White House has become an adult day care center. Someone obviously missed their shift this morning."

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Senator Bob Corker ✔@SenBobCorker
It's a shame the White House has become an adult day care center. Someone obviously missed their shift this morning.
11:13 AM - Oct 8, 2017
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According to CBS News' Margaret Brennan, Corker's chief of staff, Todd Womack, says the president's tweets paint a very different picture than what actually happened.

"The president called Senator Corker on Monday afternoon and asked him to reconsider his decision not to seek reelection and reaffirmed that he would have endorsed him, as he has said many times," Womack told Brennan in a statement on Sunday.

"I don't know why the president tweets out things that are not true," Corker told the Times. "You know he does it, everyone knows he does it, but he does."

Corker also questioned Mr. Trump's diplomacy practices, saying,"I know he has hurt, in several instances, he's hurt us as it relates to negotiations that were underway by tweeting things out."

He claimed that Mr. Trump's unpredictable leadership style has forced many senior administration officials to be on the defensive.

"I know for a fact that every single day at the White House, it's a situation of trying to contain him," Corker said.



THE BALL IS ROLLING FOR BERNIE SANDERS’ “COLLEGE FOR ALL ACT.” IT’S TOO LATE TO SEE HIS LIVE AND INTERACTIVE PRESENTATION WITH Q AND A AT “LIVESTREAM: HTTP://FACEBOOK.COM/SENATORSANDERS,” BUT HOPEFULLY THERE WILL BE VIDEOTAPES OF IT. I JUST CHECKED AND THE SETUP FOR THE EVENT IS ON SANDERS’ FACEBOOK PAGE NOW, AND CAN BE WATCHED.

HEALTH CARE IS PERHAPS OUR MOST CRUCIAL AREA IN WHICH WE NEED HELP AS CITIZENS, BUT EDUCATION IS THE CLOSEST SECOND. THE PAINFULLY, EMBARRASSINGLY LOW NUMBERS OF PEOPLE IN THIS COUNTRY WHO HAVE AT LEAST TWO YEARS OF ACADEMIC SCHOOLING BEYOND HIGH SCHOOL -- AND SOME SORT OF CERTIFICATION FOR A BETTER JOB THAN BURGER KING – KEEPS PEOPLE IN AN ENDLESS CYCLE OF POVERTY AND DEPRESSION. AS SOMEONE, PROBABLY SANDERS, SAID RECENTLY, “NOBODY SHOULD HAVE A FULL TIME JOB AND STILL LIVE IN POVERTY.” CUTTING UP CHICKENS JUST DOESN’T PAY MUCH.

THAT KIND OF EDUCATIONAL GAP ALSO CAUSES THE PROBLEM THAT IF OUR VOCABULARY IS TOO LIMITED, WE SIMPLY CAN’T READ EVEN A GOOD DAILY NEWSPAPER WITH EASY UNDERSTANDING. HOW CAN WE BE AN ENLIGHTENED DEMOCRACY IF WE CAN’T KEEP UP WITH THE CHANGES IN THE WORLD? AND FINALLY, WHY ARE WE SO EXTREMELY INCURIOUS ABOUT LIFE THAT WE DO NOT READ DEEPLY AND WIDELY ENOUGH TO IMPROVE OUR SKILLS AS WE GROW OLDER RATHER THAN THE OTHER WAY AROUND? NOT EVEN A FOUR-YEAR DEGREE OR HIGHER SHOULD BE A POINT AT WHICH WE WILL ALLOW OUR MINDS TO VEGETATE. TO ME, THAT IS A KIND OF SIN. WITH BERNIE SANDERS’ FREE FOUR YEARS AT THE NEAREST PUBLIC COLLEGE, WE COULD SOLVE THAT PROBLEM. IN THE CASE OF MOST PEOPLE, THE PROBLEM IS FINANCIAL AT ITS’ BASE, RATHER THAN A LACK OF ABILITY TO DO THE WORK.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2017/10/09/sen-bernie-sanders-hold-town-hall-push-free-public-college-tuition/747776001/
Sen. Bernie Sanders to hold town hall to push for free public college tuition
Julia Fair, USA TODAY Published 5:13 p.m. ET Oct. 9, 2017

Photograph -- Sen. Bernie Sanders speaks during a "Care Not Cuts" rally in support of the Affordable Care Act in Covington, Ky., on July 9, 2017. (Photo: John Minchillo, AP Images)

Sen. Bernie Sanders will call for making public colleges and universities tuition-free at a town hall this week.

The Vermont Independent, who introduced legislation on the issue earlier this year, will speak about the topic at Castleton University in Vermont at 7 p.m. ET Tuesday. The speech and a Q&A will be livestreamed on Facebook. Student groups at hundreds of colleges across the country plan to hold watch parties, according to the senator's office.

Sanders introduced legislation in April to make public colleges and universities across the U.S. tuition-free for working families and to significantly reduce student debt. The legislation would eliminate tuition and fees at four-year and two-year public colleges and universities for families making up to $125,000 – about 80% of the population – and make community college tuition- and fee-free for all, according to a news release announcing the legislation attempt.

The College for All act would also reduce student loan debt for students and parents which now exceed Americans’ credit card debt. The bill would cut all student loan interest rates for new borrowers in half, which also enables existing borrowers to refinance their loans based on the interest rates available to new borrowers.

It has an estimated cost of $600 billion and would be paid for by a separate bill to tax Wall Street speculation.

A version of the legislation was introduced in the House by Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash.

A similar program has been championed by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. In New York state, the plan offers free tuition to income-eligible students in the State University of New York System.

When Sanders introduced comparable legislation in 2015, it had two co-sponsors. It has five co-sponsors in the Senate, a sign that support is growing for the legislation, Sanders communications director Josh Miller-Lewis said.

The only way for more young adults to afford college “is for millions of people and students to get involved in the political process and push for change,” Miller-Lewis said.



RUSSIANS BOUGHT ADS PROMOTING BOTH DONALD TRUMP AND BERNIE SANDERS, BUT NOT FOR HILLARY. IT WASN’T JUST PROMOTING TRUMP. IT WAS KILLING HILLARY THAT WAS THE GOAL.

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/google-says-russians-bought-100k-in-ads-for-trump-bernie-sanders-report/article/2636905
Monday, October 09, 2017
Google says Russians bought $100K in ads for Trump, Bernie Sanders: Report
by Anna Giaritelli | Oct 9, 2017, 8:00 AM

Google has discovered Russian agents spent tens of thousands of dollars on ads during the 2016 election that were meant to spread false information on the tech giant's YouTube, Gmail, and DoubleClick platforms, according to a report Monday morning.

The discovery marks the first time the Silicon Valley Web search platform has confirmed the Russian government used its products to affect the election.

However, the incident does not appear to have been carried out by the same Russian agents that orchestrated an ad-buying campaign on Facebook last year, the Washington Post reported. Facebook's probe found a Kremlin-affiliated troll farm purchased 3,000 ads on Facebook, a separate buyer than the one Google detected.

Just under $100,000 of ads were purchased through Google, though the company has yet to figure out if trolls or Russian officials made the buys.

All of the ads advocated for President Trump; Sen. Bernie Sanders, who ran as a Democratic candidate; and Green Party candidate Jill Stein. Hillary Clinton was not supported by the ads.

Following the social media platform's findings, Google launched an investigation to see how Russian operatives used the website to influence American voters.



THE MORE PEOPLE SAY HOW IMPOSSIBLE SINGLE PAYER IS, THE MORE NEW DEFENDERS STEP UP TO STAND WITH THE PROGRESSIVES ON THE HEALTHCARE ISSUE, AND ON THE WHOLE FINANCIAL DEGRADATION OF THE MIDDLE CLASS DUE TO LACK OF GOOD WORK AND THE OVERALL COST OF LIVING.

https://theintercept.com/2017/10/09/new-medicare-recipients-bernie-sanders-health-care/
SINGLE PAYER OPPONENTS SAY THE TRANSITION PROCESS WOULD BE TOO DIFFICULT. BUT 10,000 PEOPLE DO IT EVERY DAY.
Zaid Jilani
October 9 2017, 11:10 a.m.

OPPONENTS OF SINGLE PAYER health care frequently claim that such a system might be wonderful in theory, but getting there would be too disruptive. Many Americans, the argument goes, have private health insurance coverage and the transition to a government plan would be jarring.

“Half of America gets their health insurance coverage on the job,” American Hospital Association lobbyist and former Connecticut Democratic congressman Bruce Morrison told The Intercept last month. Single payer would replace coverage for some 150 million people, he noted. “If you just leaped to Medicare for All, you would totally disrupt the expectations of all those people. And that would not be a good idea.”

But roughly 10,000 Americans make that transition every single day. We call them seniors who are enrolling in Medicare for the first time.

The latest bill from Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., would not “just leap” to Medicare for All, but would gradually lower the eligibility age until the full population is covered. So instead of 10,000 per day, several times that would become eligible in a rolling fashion.

So we asked some of those seniors who went through the transition what it was like. They described lower medical bills, great access and choice, and much less fighting with insurance companies for coverage.

Just ask Doug Merschat. He is a long-time Republican who has been loyal to the party since Richard Nixon, although in the last election he chose to vote for Libertarian nominee Gary Johnson instead.

He turned 65 in September 2015, meaning that he was finally able to enroll in Medicare. Although he kept a private Blue Cross Blue Shield plan as supplemental insurance, he told The Intercept that his costs have gone down considerably.

“[They] have been reduced to about one-third of what I used to pay for health insurance with a group plan through my business, and my coverage has improved greatly,” he said. “I no longer have deductibles or copays because of the supplemental, and the policies are accepted by my health providers. It covers everything I need for health care.”

The cost savings have convinced him that the plan should be universal.

“What I don’t understand is why everyone cannot be on Medicare,” he said. “Our business suffers a hardship to provide health insurance for our family and for our employees due to the huge expense of regular group plan coverage. … Having seen how much difference there is in my current health coverage with Medicare and my supplemental, I am in favor of Medicare for everyone.”

Elayne Sieckmann credits Medicare with helping her get preventative treatment. “It saved my life. For 32 years I couldn’t go to a gynecologist due to money,” she told The Intercept. “I went for first time this year, and they found pre-cancerous cells on my pap smear. Two procedures later, I’m cured.”

She supports Sanders’s proposal and cautions against those who say that charity can serve those without coverage. In the year and a half before enrolling in Medicare in February, she relied on charitable clinics for care, and the quality of coverage was inadequate, she said.

Ernest Beck is a freelance writer and editor who recently had his 65th birthday. “I turned 65 on September 3, and I was definitely counting down the days to going on Medicare because my wife and I are both freelance writers, and our health insurance bills have been astronomical over the last two years,” he told The Intercept.

His bills went from over $1,000 a month to closer to $130 a month to pay for his supplemental insurance. He had a birthday party and joked to his friends that it was also a celebration of enrolling in Medicare.

Gail Frevert Schuman recently enrolled in Medicare. As a nurse and health care worker, she had comprehensive health coverage through her hospital and thus the financial differences are minor.

However, there is one big benefit she has noticed: She is no longer limited to a small set of doctors and facilities she can go to. “Now, I love it, no stress,” she wrote to The Intercept, noting she can go anywhere she wants to receive care. She also cited having to fight private insurance companies to get care for her patients, but said she “never” had to do so with Medicare after decades working in the health field.

Tracy Finklag is part of the population that gains access to Medicare prior to the retirement age because she has a disability. “Medicare has been literally a lifesaver for me,” she wrote to The Intercept. “I have it pre-retirement due to SSDI (Social Security Disability Insurance), from having leukemia”

She noted that her prescription drug costs went from $100 a month to $7 a month. She now pays around $350 a month for supplemental plans that include dental insurance. “It’s awesome and I wish everyone could have it, too,” she concluded.

While these experiences with Medicare are anecdotes, they reflect broad public sentiment. A Gallup poll in 2015 found that Americans who have government health coverage are the most satisfied with their plans.

Top photo: Supporters of Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., hold signs during an event on health care Sept. 13, 2017 on Capitol Hill in Washington.

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GO, BERNIE!

https://theintercept.com/2017/09/13/bernie-sanders-medicare-for-all-grassroots-organizations-coalition-millions-members-single-payer/
BERNIE’S ARMY: 24 ORGANIZATIONS WITH MILLIONS OF MEMBERS VOW TO HELP PASS HIS UNIVERSAL MEDICARE PLAN
Zaid Jilani
September 13 2017, 9:00 a.m

ON WEDNESDAY MORNING, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., is set to unveil a bill that would make Medicare universal with the co-sponsorship of at least 15 Senate Democrats. The legislation would finally make health care a human right for all Americans.

The question is: What do proponents think will make this push for single payer any more successful than others in the past? After all, activists who backed such an approach during 2009’s health care debate were literally arrested at hearings, and their legislation was sidelined and never even brought to a vote.

But this time, as he launches his campaign, Sanders has the support of 24 grassroots organizations with a combined membership base of tens of millions of people. Here they are:

Our Revolution: The grassroots group formed from Sanders’s presidential campaign list; it is led by former Ohio state Sen. Nina Turner.
Social Security Works: President Nancy Altman and Executive Director Alex Lawson helm Social Security Works, which has for years worked to protect the Social Security system from cuts and expand its benefits. It has well over 1 million members.
National Nurses United: The nation’s largest nurses union and has made single-payer health care one of its top legislative priority for years.
Progressive Campaign Change Committee: A million-member progressive grassroots organization led by Adam Green and Stephanie Taylor.
Democracy for America: DFA was formed from the network that coalesced around Howard Dean’s presidential campaign.
Labor Campaign for Single Payer: The single-payer advocacy wing of many major American unions.
LULAC: The League of United Latin American Citizens is the nation’s largest and oldest Hispanic advocacy organization.
Working Families Party: A progressive political group founded in New York that has since spread across the nation. It works to recruit, train, and elect progressive candidates, often in Democratic primaries, and occasionally on its own ballot line.
MoveOn: A national progressive grassroots group with millions of members.
AllOfUs: A youth-driven social activism group founded by activists who supported Sanders’s campaign.
Demand Progress: A major social activism group that works on issues ranging from civil liberties to net neutrality.
Health Care Now: A coalition of activist groups founded in 2004 to establish single-payer health care.
Progressive Democrats of America: A political action committee dedicated to empowering progressive Democrats.
CREDO: A fusion progressive organization and phone company that uses its revenues to fund activism. It has more than 5 million members.
Public Citizen: This Ralph Nader-founded civic activism organization has been the driving force behind landmark consumer legislation for decades.
Latinos for Healthcare Equality: A New York-based nonprofit that works to increase health care access.
Americans for Democratic Action: ADA has spent 70 years supporting progressive causes. It was a major force during the push for the Great Society, but has languished since.
AIDS Healthcare Foundation: This Los Angeles-based nonprofit, which provides treatment for HIV-positive patients, was one of the driving forces behind the 2016 drug-pricing initiative in California.
DailyKos: A hub for liberal bloggers founded in 2002 opposed to the Bush administration, which has an active email list of millions of people.
Food & Water Watch: This nonprofit works on government and corporate accountability related to our ecosystem.
Friends of the Earth: A grassroots environmental group; its parent group has 2 million activists in 75 countries.
350.org: This group, founded by environmentalist Bill McKibben, fights to keep fossil fuels in the ground and for a clean energy future.
International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers: This union represents nearly 600,000 workers.
American Sustainable Business Council: The only business group on the list, the ASBC represents a number of American companies who believe that progressive policies, like single-payer health care, are good for the country and good for business.

In an email to his campaign list sent earlier this month, Sanders described the grassroots organizing that will go into passing universal Medicare as similar to a presidential campaign.

“There will be rallies, buttons, bumper stickers, shirts and most importantly people organizing in their communities across the country,” he said. “This is not going to be a quick or easy fight. We’ll be taking on the insurance companies, the drug companies, Wall Street and all those who make billions in profit from the current dysfunctional system.”

Top photo: A single-payer protest sponsored by the National Nurses United in South Gate, Calif., on June 27, 2017.



THIS CEO STATES THAT PERHAPS SOON “SOMEBODY WILL BE IN THE WHITE HOUSE,” WHO WILL TURN IT AROUND. I WONDER IF HE MEANS SOMEBODY SPECIFIC. ACTUALLY, OF COURSE, THE NUMBER OF LEGISLATORS AND GOVERNORS AND THE AVERAGE PERSON IN THIS COUNTRY ARE ALL INCREASINGLY LOOKING AT THE REALITY AND SAYING, “I’M MAD AS HELL, AND I’M NOT GOING TO TAKE IT ANY LONGER.” MARTIN SHKRELI’S SMIRKING COMMENTS IN DEFENSE OF HIS SHOCKING PRICE GOUGING ACTIONS PUT IT OVER THE TOP FOR ME.

CEO BRENT SAUNDERS IS CORRECT IN HIS ESTIMATION OF THE SITUATION POLITICALLY. JUST LOOK AT THE NUMBER OF AVERAGE CITIZENS (SOME 50% IF I REMEMBER CORRECTLY) WHO DO NOT, NOT WANT AFFORDABLE HEALTHCARE TO GO AWAY. IT’S THE TEA PARTIERS AND THE BILLIONAIRES CLUB WHO WANT THAT. IT’S INTERESTING HOW DIFFICULT IT HAS BEEN FOR THEM TO REPEAL THE SCATHINGLY TERMED “OBAMACARE,” IS THAT IT HAS HELPED SO MANY PEOPLE. AND THAT IS TRUE, EVEN THOUGH REPUBLICANS DOMINATE THE LEGISLATURE. WHY? BECAUSE IT’S A DUMB IDEA. IT CAUSES MORE PAIN THAN GAIN.

https://theintercept.com/2017/09/13/pharma-ceo-worries-americans-will-say-enough-is-enough-and-embrace-bernie-sanders-single-payer-plan/
PHARMA CEO WORRIES AMERICANS WILL SAY “ENOUGH IS ENOUGH” AND EMBRACE BERNIE SANDERS’S SINGLE-PAYER PLAN
Lee Fang
September 13 2017, 7:04 a.m.

BRENT SAUNDERS, the chief executive of Allergan, one of the largest pharmaceutical firms in the world, is concerned that in an era of increasing political polarization, Americans will become fed up and embrace the single-payer health care plan set to be unveiled Wednesday by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.

He shared his candid thoughts last weekend at the Wells Fargo Healthcare Conference in Boston, a gathering for investors and major pharmaceutical and biotech firms.

Americans have lost trust in drug companies, Saunders said, noting the industry consistently ranks lower than oil and tobacco companies in public trust surveys.

“I think we’ve got to do things to bring that trust back,” the executive added, “because ultimately, someone’s going to be in the White House. Somebody’s going to be in Congress. Someone’s going to be somewhere and going to have to say, ‘Enough’s enough. Let’s just change the whole system. Let’s go to one payer. Let’s do something.'”

While single payer has been discarded as a fringe, far-left idea over recent generations, the policy proposal has gained new traction in the wake of the 2016 presidential election. Many in the Democratic Party are drifting to the ideas of Sanders and other progressives who have long advocated for expanding coverage by providing Medicare to all Americans.

Saunders observed that “the party that seems to be out of power tends to move dramatically to the left or to the right,” adding that the Republican Party during the Obama era had lurched more right-wing.

“We’re seeing almost the equal but opposite reaction here now that they’ve been swept out, the left of their party is really taken, gotten a louder voice and taken control,” Saunders continued, speaking about changes in the Democratic Party.

“And so Bernie Sanders and others in that movement had really tried to vet candidates,” Saunders noted, adding, “They wanted to go to one — that part of the party wants to go to a one-payer system.”

Listen here:

During his speech, Saunders touted a statement of principles he released in 2016 calling for a “social contract” with patients, promising not to use predatory pricing and other behaviors that have come to define his industry.

But if Saunders is concerned that the public may get fed up with the current system, it may have something to do with how Allergan itself has acted in recent weeks. The CEO has been under fire for taking the unprecedented step of transferring the patent* of one of Allergan’s blockbuster drugs, the eye medication Restasis, to a sovereign Native American tribe as part of a bid to maintain monopoly control of the drug and its revenue.

The highly unusual legal strategy is designed to keep generic drug firms from challenging the Restasis patent, thus lowering the cost to consumers, while keeping Allergan in effective control of the revenue through its deal with the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe. The Restasis patent was approved 15 years ago and was set to expire in 2014, but the Allergan deal is part of an attempt to renew the patent and extend the company’s control of the drug through 2024.

While serious questions linger about the political viability of single payer, especially for the immediate future under President Donald Trump and a Republican Congress, the center of gravity within the Democratic Party has shifted dramatically in favor of the universal Medicare plan that health care executives fear.

Top photo: People rally calling for a single-payer health plan on June 28, 2017, in Sacramento, Calif.


*ALLERGAN PATENT TRANSFER – SEE ARTICLE ABOVE, AND THE INFORMATION BELOW ON “SOVEREIGN IMMUNITY.”

http://www.businessinsider.com/allergan-mohawk-tribe-patent-deal-2017-10
'That should be illegal': Lawmakers are taking aim at pharma giant Allergan over an unusual deal with a Native American tribe
19H
Lydia Ramsey

SEE PHOTO -- Allergan CEO Brent Saunders prepares to give an interview on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) April 6, 2016.Reuters


NOTE THE DEFINITION OF “SOVEREIGN IMMUNITY” (IT’S BASICALLY A GREAT DEAL LIKE WHAT I WAS TAUGHT IN HIGH SCHOOL TO CALL THE “DIVINE RIGHT OF KINGS.” WELL, REAL PEOPLE DON’T BELIEVE THAT ANYMORE, SO THINGS ARE CHANGING.

FIRST, “THE SOVEREIGN CAN DO NO WRONG...” IS THIS PART OF WHY PEOPLE HAVE SAID RECENTLY THAT THE PRESIDENT WHILE IN OFFICE CANNOT BE CHARGED WITH A CRIME? I REMEMBER RICHARD NIXON AND DONALD TRUMP BOTH MADE THAT ARGUMENT. I WONDER IF THEY’LL BE ABLE TO GET AWAY WITH THAT IN THIS PARTICULAR POLITICAL CLIMATE. HMMMMM.

SECOND, WHEN I SEE THIS KIND OF THING IT ASTOUNDS ME THAT SO MANY OTHERWISE INTELLIGENT PEOPLE IN THIS COUNTRY CLAIM THAT A BUSINESSMAN (DUE APPARENTLY TO HIS COMPARATIVE WEALTH) IS A SUPERIOR PERSON TO OTHERS AND THEREFORE WILL MAKE A BETTER PRESIDENT. IT ISN’T THAT THEY’RE INTELLECTUALLY SO SUPERIOR, AS SO VERY DISHONEST. WE NEED TO CHANGE OUR LAWS TO STOP THIS ROBBERY OF THE AMERICAN PUBLIC.

I’M GLAD TO SEE THAT LAWMAKERS ARE “STUDYING” THE SITUATION. HOPEFULLY, THEY WILL ALSO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. I’M VERY MUCH INTERESTED IN THE ALLERGAN CEO’S COMMENTS ON THE MATTER. OF COURSE, THE MANY MEMBERS OF THE AMERICAN PUBLIC ARE SICK OF THE STATUS QUO, AND NOT JUST IN MEDICAL MATTERS, EITHER. HOW BUSINESS IS CONDUCTED IN DOZENS OF WAYS SHOULD BE CHANGED.

WE ALSO NEED TO TWEAK THE CONSTITUTION I THINK, BECAUSE THE WAY IT IS WRITTEN CAUSES ABUSES IN THE WAY LAWS ARE INTERPRETED. I WOULD LIKE TO SEE LESS NEED FOR “INTERPRETATION,” AND A BETTER QUALITY OF WRITING USED SO THE MEANING WON’T BE SO VAGUE, CONFUSING OR DOWNRIGHT IMPOTENT. GETTING RID OF WORDS FROM THE 1500S OR SO WOULD BE A GOOD START. AS MUCH AS I LOVE THE MUSIC OF THE LANGUAGE IN THE KING JAMES VERSION OF THE BIBLE, THE NEW ENGLISH BIBLE IS MUCH EASIER TO UNDERSTAND AS FULLY AS I WOULD LIKE. (SEE: HTTPS://EN.WIKIPEDIA.ORG/WIKI/NEW_ENGLISH_BIBLE.)


HTTP://LEGAL-DICTIONARY.THEFREEDICTIONARY.COM/SOVEREIGN+IMMUNITY
“SOVEREIGN IMMUNITY”

The legal protection that prevents a sovereign state or person from being sued without consent.

Sovereign immunity is a judicial doctrine that prevents the government or its political subdivisions, departments, and agencies from being sued without its consent. The doctrine stems from the ancient English principle that the monarch can do no wrong.
Suits against the United States
. . . .


https://patentlyo.com/patent/2017/09/allergan-creating-sovereign.html
Allergan: Creating Sovereign Immunity with Tribal Pass-Through
September 8, 2017 Dennis Crouch
by Dennis Crouch

It appears that Allergan’s attorneys have been working overtime. In a bold move, Allergan has transferred title to all of its Restasis patents to the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe. I don’t know if I’m laughing or crying, but there’s not a dry eye in the house.

The move is designed to prop the patents up against challenge via a tribal sovereign immunity claim. (Several of the transferred patents are being challenged before the PTAB in AIA Trials). . . . . In Allergan’s case one question will be whether the ownership structure creates a sham that can be pierced as if a fraudulent corporate veil. I’m confident, however, that Allergan’s lawyers worked through the analysis. One element of the potential sham – the Tribe reports that it is being paid $13.75 million to buy the patents and will receive up to $15 million in annual royalties.

Allergan is a frequent player of jurisdictional games. Its corporate “headquarters” is in Dublin for the tax benefits, although it is “actually” sited in New Jersey.