February 5 thru 7, 2018


News and Views


TRUMP WANTS “A PARADE OF OUR OWN, ONLY BIGGER.” I DO HOPE HE DIDN’T VOICE THIS FEELING TO THE FRENCH PRESIDENT . . . . OOOPS!

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/lawmakers-rain-on-trumps-military-parade-through-washington/
By DAVID MARTIN CBS NEWS February 7, 2018, 6:42 PM
Lawmakers rain on Trump's idea for military parade through Washington

WASHINGTON -- Everybody loves a parade, the saying goes, and no one more than President Trump. He was wowed last summer by a French military parade in Paris marking Bastille Day.

"It was one of the greatest parades I've ever seen. It was two hours on the button and it was military might," he said.

Trump US France
President Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron during Bastille Day parade on the Champs Elysees avenue in Paris, Friday, July 14, 2017. CAROLYN KASTER / AP

The next time he met the French president, the commander in chief said he wanted a parade of his own, only bigger.

"We may do something like that on July 4 in Washington, down Pennsylvania Avenue," he said. "I don't know. We're going to have to try and top it."

Planning has now begun for what would be the first military parade in the nation's capital since the end of the first Gulf War in 1991, the last time the U.S. could unequivocally declare military victory. With no new victories to celebrate and troops still in combat, some Democrats say it would be wasteful. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis says this parade would just be a show of appreciation.

"I think we're all aware in this country of the president's affection and respect for the military," Mattis said during an appearance at Wednesday's White House briefing. "We've been putting together some options. We'll send them up to the White House for a decision."

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Tanks roll down the street in central Pyongyang, North Korea, in a parade of troops and military hardware marking the 105th birthday of the totalitarian state's late founder, Kim Il Sung, April 20, 2017. CBS

North Korea is about to hold its Army Day parade and satellite photos show an estimated 13,000 soldiers and 150 vehicles have been preparing for weeks. Would Mr. Trump insist his parade be bigger? Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina hopes not.

"The idea of saying 'thank you' through a parade makes sense," Graham said. "The idea of showing muscle through a parade, I think, is counter to what we're about and would actually be a sign of weakness, not strength."

The Pentagon wants to have the parade on Veterans Day in November, which also happens to be the 100th anniversary of victory in World War I. That date has the added advantage of being after the midterm elections, allowing the military to steer clear of politics.

© 2018 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.


GIRL SCOUTS ARE MOVIN’ ON UP! IT REALLY IS A VERY HELPFUL ORGANIZATION, ESPECIALLY FOR A GIRL WHO MAY BE SOCIALLY SHY.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/girl-scouts-talmadge-memorial-bridge-juliette-gordon-low/
By MARK STRASSMANN CBS NEWS February 6, 2018, 6:59 PM
"I would love to make a difference and I feel like I am": Girl Scouts lobby for bridge to be renamed

ATLANTA - Ariella Ayenesazan, a sixth-grade Girl Scout, put the squeeze on Georgia state Rep. Brooks Coleman. Inside the Georgia statehouse, more than 400 little lobbyists, Girl Scouts from across Georgia, roamed the hallways of power looking for supporters.

"I would love to make a difference and I feel like I am," Ayenesazan said.

The changing face of the Boy Scouts

At issue is a bridge that spans Savannah Harbor. It honors Eugene Talmadge, a former Georgia governor and white supremacist who died in 1946. Girl Scouts want lawmakers to name it instead for Juliette Gordon Low, the Savannah native who founded the group in 1912. The Girl Scouts were open to "all of America" and became integrated decades before much of the country.

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Eugene Talmadge, former governor of Georgia CBS NEWS

The lobbyists even gave out bribes -- Girl Scout cookies. We asked 11-year-old Sauyer Stewart if lawmakers are saying no.

"Yes," she replied. "They're like saying no, straight up. They're just like, no you can't do this, no you can't do that."

"Still, no is not a boundary. I can reach the sky and if you say no, that just wants me to try harder," she adds.

strassmann-girl-scouts-bulk-ga-rem51-frame-51578.jpg
Girl Scouts are trying to get a bridge named after founder Juliette Gordon Low CBS NEWS

Meanwhile, Coleman told us the bill has a good chance of passing.

"I think that being a daddy and a granddaddy, it's hard to turn down your granddaughters and your daughters," he said.

© 2018 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.


THIS IS REALLY A COMMON PROBLEM, I NOW FEEL, BUT WHEN I WAS YOUNG I HAD NEVER KNOWN ANYBODY WHO WAS IN ONE OF THESE RELATIONSHIPS. OF COURSE, WE DIDN'T SEE IN THE HOUSES IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD UNLESS WE KNEW THE PEOPLE PRETTY WELL. WHERE DOES SADISM START?

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/rob-porters-second-wife-girlfriend-reached-out-to-her-for-help-in-2016/
By LAURA STRICKLER, KATHRYN WATSON
CBS NEWS February 7, 2018, 8:21 PM
Ex-wife says Rob Porter's then-girlfriend reached out for help in 2016

The second ex-wife of outgoing White House staff secretary Rob Porter says a woman reached out to her in February 2016 to say she was in an abusive relationship with Porter and wanted to know whether the ex-wife's experience had been similar.

Jenny Willoughby, Porter's second wife, told CBS News about the interaction in an interview Wednesday. Porter's ex-girlfriend could not immediately be reached for comment.

The now-former girlfriend is the third woman -- along with Willoughby and Porter's first wife, Colbie Holderness -- to have claimed Porter abused them. The White House announced Porter's resignation on Wednesday.

In 2010, Willoughby filed an emergency protective order against Porter after an altercation at her home. The Daily Mail first reported the allegations by Porter's ex-wives on Tuesday night. Holderness told the paper that Porter had kicked and punched her in the past, providing a photo of her with a black eye in the early 2000s.

Porter denies the allegations, which he called part of a "coordinated smear campaign" in a statement Wednesday.

White House aide Rob Porter resigning amid abuse allegations

The White House issued statements supportive of Porter and said he made the decision to resign on his own. White House communications director Hope Hicks, who is dating Porter, played a significant role in drafting the initial statements by press secretary Sarah Sanders and chief of staff John Kelly. Sanders said Porter's impending resignation would not take effect immediately.

Both Willoughby and Holderness disclosed Porter's alleged abuse during interviews with FBI agents who were conducting a background check on Porter as part of his application to obtain a security clearance. The FBI informed the White House about the allegations in November, according to two sources with knowledge of the situation. Porter was never granted a full security clearance, but could have been issued an interim clearance or received a waiver from President Trump.

Willoughby said Porter's ex-girlfriend reached out to her in February 2016 -- when Porter was chief of staff to Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch -- to tell Willoughby she was in an emotionally abusive relationship with Porter and ask her about him. Willoughby told her she had the same experience.

Willoughby said she did not go to the media with her story but was approached by reporters. She said she "has no intention of tearing down Rob."

In January 2017, Willoughby said she was contacted by the FBI and told agents her story. In February 2017, according to Willoughby, Holderness contacted her after her own interview with the FBI. The two spoke and found they had similar experiences. Willoughby told CBS News she did not know about Holderness' experience until they met.

In April of last year, Willoughby posted her story on Instagram, without mentioning Porter's name. She said she did so to help other victims of abuse.

Major Garrett contributed to this report.

© 2018 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.



HOUSE CALLS ARE BACK. THIS IS A GREAT IDEA UNLESS THE PATIENT HAS A SEVERE SITUATION.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/new-program-lets-hospital-patients-heal-at-home/
By JONATHAN LAPOOK CBS NEWS February 7, 2018, 6:51 PM
New program lets hospital patients heal at home

NEW YORK -- Roughly $1 trillion per year is spent on hospital care, which is about a third of all health care costs in the U.S. But a new program cuts costs by allowing patients to be treated at home.

Dr. David Levine and nurse Kim Tierney of Boston's Brigham and Women's Hospital are making a house call, treating Phyllis Petruzzelli for pneumonia in her living room.

Petruzzelli enrolled in an innovative program. Instead of staying in the hospital, patients are sent to their homes for treatment following a visit to the emergency room. There's one goal: control costs without sacrificing quality. At first, Petruzzelli was skeptical.

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A new program brings the same level of care expected at a hospital, to a patient's home CBS NEWS

"You're old-school, you're sick, you go to the hospital, you stay there," she said. "You don't have the doctor come to the house anymore."

There are daily visits and 24-hour access to her medical team. Vital signs are remotely monitored by a skin patch.

A study out Wednesday found home stays had the same levels of safety and quality of care as those in the hospital at about half the cost. Doctors ordered far fewer blood tests and scans.

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Home-based care can cost almost half of what it costs in a hospital CBS NEWS
"By moving people to their home we automatically are able to customize what they need and tailor it to them and that's part of the place where we see a lot of cost savings," said Dr. Levine.

Home patients also walk 10 times more than those in the hospital.

"We believe that because patients are moving more at home that they're going to be able to preserve their strength and end up better off afterward," said Dr. Levine.

It looks like those home patients do better after discharge. New data shows fewer readmissions to the hospital at 30 days. There may be other benefits beyond the cost savings -- better sleep, and a lower chance of catching something from a hospital patient just a curtain away.

© 2018 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.


CHEDDAR MAN – SEE THE UPCOMING DOCUMENTARY, “THE FIRST BRIT, SECRETS OF THE 10,000-YEAR-OLD MAN.”

http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-42939192
Cheddar Man: DNA shows early Briton had dark skin
By Paul Rincon
Science editor, BBC News website
7 February 2018

A cutting-edge scientific analysis shows that a Briton from 10,000 years ago had dark brown skin and blue eyes.

Researchers from London's Natural History Museum extracted DNA from Cheddar Man, Britain's oldest complete skeleton, which was discovered in 1903.

University College London researchers then used the subsequent genome analysis for a facial reconstruction.

It underlines the fact that the lighter skin characteristic of modern Europeans is a relatively recent phenomenon.

No prehistoric Briton of this age had previously had their genome analysed.

As such, the analysis provides valuable new insights into the first people to resettle Britain after the last Ice Age.

The analysis of Cheddar Man's genome - the "blueprint" for a human, contained in the nuclei of our cells - will be published in a journal, and will also feature in the upcoming Channel 4 documentary The First Brit, Secrets Of The 10,000-year-old Man.

'Cheddar George' tweet on early Briton

Cheddar Man's remains had been unearthed 115 years ago in Gough's Cave, located in Somerset's Cheddar Gorge. Subsequent examination has shown that the man was short by today's standards - about 5ft 5in - and probably died in his early 20s.

Prof Chris Stringer, the museum's research leader in human origins, said: "I've been studying the skeleton of Cheddar Man for about 40 years

"So to come face-to-face with what this guy could have looked like - and that striking combination of the hair, the face, the eye colour and that dark skin: something a few years ago we couldn't have imagined and yet that's what the scientific data show."

Image caption
A replica of Cheddar Man's skeleton now lies in Gough's Cave

Fractures on the surface of the skull suggest he may even have met his demise in a violent manner. It's not known how he came to lie in the cave, but it's possible he was placed there by others in his tribe.

The Natural History Museum researchers extracted the DNA from part of the skull near the ear known as the petrous. At first, project scientists Prof Ian Barnes and Dr Selina Brace weren't sure if they'd get any DNA at all from the remains.

But they were in luck: not only was DNA preserved, but Cheddar Man has since yielded the highest coverage (a measure of the sequencing accuracy) for a genome from this period of European prehistory - known as the Mesolithic, or Middle Stone Age.

They teamed up with researchers at University College London (UCL) to analyse the results, including gene variants associated with hair, eye and skin colour.

Extra mature Cheddar

They found the Stone Age Briton had dark hair - with a small probability that it was curlier than average - blue eyes and skin that was probably dark brown or black in tone.

This combination might appear striking to us today, but it was a common appearance in western Europe during this period.

Steven Clarke, director of the Channel Four documentary, said: "I think we all know we live in times where we are unusually preoccupied with skin pigmentation."

Prof Mark Thomas, a geneticist from UCL, said: "It becomes a part of our understanding, I think that would be a much, much better thing. I think it would be good if people lodge it in their heads, and it becomes a little part of their knowledge."

Unsurprisingly, the findings have generated lots of interest on social media.

Image Copyright @RantyHighwayman@RANTYHIGHWAYMAN
Report
Cheddar Man's genome reveals he was closely related to other Mesolithic individuals - so-called Western Hunter-Gatherers - who have been analysed from Spain, Luxembourg and Hungary.

Dutch artists Alfons and Adrie Kennis, specialists in palaeontological model-making, took the genetic findings and combined them with physical measurements from scans of the skull. The result was a strikingly lifelike reconstruction of a face from our distant past.

Pale skin probably arrived in Britain with a migration of people from the Middle East around 6,000 years ago. This population had pale skin and brown eyes and absorbed populations like the ones Cheddar Man belonged to.

Image caption
Prof Chris Stringer had studied Cheddar Man for 40 years - but was struck by the Kennis brothers' reconstruction

No-one's entirely sure why pale skin evolved in these farmers, but their cereal-based diet was probably deficient in Vitamin D. This would have required agriculturalists to absorb this essential nutrient from sunlight through their skin.

"There may be other factors that are causing lower skin pigmentation over time in the last 10,000 years. But that's the big explanation that most scientists turn to," said Prof Thomas.

Boom and bust

The genomic results also suggest Cheddar Man could not drink milk as an adult. This ability only spread much later, after the onset of the Bronze Age.

Present-day Europeans owe on average 10% of their ancestry to Mesolithic hunters like Cheddar Man.

Britain has been something of a boom-and-bust story for humans over the last million-or-so years. Modern humans were here as early as 40,000 years ago, but a period of extreme cold known as the Last Glacial Maximum drove them out some 10,000 years later.

There's evidence from Gough's Cave that hunter-gatherers ventured back around 15,000 years ago, establishing a temporary presence when the climate briefly improved. However, they were soon sent packing by another cold snap. Cut marks on the bones suggest these people cannibalised their dead - perhaps as part of ritual practices.

Image copyrightCHANNEL 4
Image caption
The actual skull of Cheddar Man is kept in the Natural History Museum, seen being handled here by Ian Barnes

Britain was once again settled 11,000 years ago; and has been inhabited ever since. Cheddar Man was part of this wave of migrants, who walked across a landmass called Doggerland that, in those days, connected Britain to mainland Europe. This makes him the oldest known Briton with a direct connection to people living here today.

This is not the first attempt to analyse DNA from the Cheddar Man. In the late 1990s, Oxford University geneticist Brian Sykes sequenced mitochondrial DNA from one of Cheddar Man's molars.

Mitochondrial DNA comes from the biological "batteries" within our cells and is passed down exclusively from a mother to her children.

Prof Sykes compared the ancient genetic information with DNA from 20 living residents of Cheddar village and found two matches - including history teacher Adrian Targett, who became closely connected with the discovery. The result is consistent with the approximately 10% of Europeans who share the same mitochondrial DNA type.

Follow Paul on Twitter.


ARE TRUMP’S LAWYERS AFRAID FOR THE RESULT IF TRUMP TESTIFIES TO MUELLER UNDER OATH? I REALLY WOULD LIKE TO SEE THE OUTCOME OF HIS INTERVIEW WITH MUELLER, BUT WE PROBABLY WON’T.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/trumps-lawyers-want-him-refuse-mueller-interview-request-025246892.html?soc_trk=gcm&soc_src=2d64fd91-5e6d-33de-8103-abddb6e1a799&.tsrc=notification-brknews
Trump's lawyers want him to refuse Mueller interview request: NY Times
Reuters•February 5, 2018

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Several of U.S. President Donald Trump's lawyers have advised him not to sit down for an interview with a special counsel investigating possible collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign to influence the 2016 presidential election, the New York Times reported on Monday.

Citing four people briefed on the matter, the newspaper said the lawyers were concerned that given Trump's penchant for making false statements and contradicting himself, he could be charged with lying to investigators.

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Trump has said he would be willing to be interviewed under oath by Special Counsel Robert Mueller. "I'm looking forward to it, actually," Trump told reporters last month.

A person familiar with the matter told Reuters that no decision had yet been made on whether Trump would agree to an interview.

Trump denies collusion between his campaign and Moscow, and has dismissed the Russia probes as a witch hunt,

If the president refuses to sit for an interview, Mueller could subpoena the president to testify before a grand jury. A subpoena could trigger a court fight that might ultimately be decided by the Supreme Court.

John Dowd and Jay Sekulow, who lead a team of lawyers advising Trump, want the president to refuse an interview request, the Times said.

The lawyers and some Trump aides believe Mueller might be unwilling to subpoena the president and set off a showdown with the White House that the special counsel could lose in court, the Times reported.

Trump's longtime personal attorney Marc Kasowitz has also cautioned against a free-wheeling interview with Mueller, according to the Times.

Ty Cobb, a lawyer who was hired in July to handle the White House's response to the Russia probe, has argued for cooperating with Mueller, the newspaper reported.

In response to requests for comment from Reuters, Dowd and Cobb sent a statement that said the discussions between the president's personal lawyers and the special counsel's office "regarding how and under what terms information will be exchanged are understandably private."

(Reporting by Eric Beech; Additional reporting by Karen Freifeld; Editing by Peter Cooney)


I DO DETEST PEOPLE WHO ESPOUSE AS BEING GOOD SOMETHING AS DISGUSTING AND SHOCKING AS THE NAZI HOLOCAUST. THIS MAN IS RUNNING FOR OFFICE UNOPPOSED, SO I GUESS HE’LL “WIN.”

https://www.yahoo.com/news/holocaust-denier-runs-uncontested-illinois-110021292.html
Politics
Holocaust denier runs uncontested in Illinois race for Congress
Yahoo View•February 5, 2018

Arthur Jones, 70, is the former head of the American Nazi Party and is running uncontested in Illionis 3rd Congressional District. and will likely clinch the GOP nomination.


NO. COMEY WAS NOT “DISLIKED” WITHIN THE FBI AS REPUBLICANS HAVE RECENTLY ALLEGED. THEIR WHOLE MODUS OPERANDI IS TO LIE, LIE, LIE! IF AT FIRST YOU DON’T SUCCEED, DO IT ONCE AGAIN.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/emails-indicate-comey-was-well-liked-by-fbi-staffers/
By REBECCA SHABAD CBS NEWS February 5, 2018, 2:01 PM
Emails indicate James Comey was well-liked by FBI staffers

A number of FBI chiefs at regional field offices reacted with shock and dismay when James Comey, the bureau's director, was fired last year, according to emails obtained by Lawfare.

Lawfare is a website run by Benjamin Wittes, a national security analyst and a friend of Comey's. In June 2017, roughly one month after President Trump fired Comey, Wittes filed Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests for managerial emails relating to Comey's departure. As Wittes wrote at the time, he was trying to prove that Comey was a popular and well-regarded figure at the bureau, despite the White House's claims to the contrary.

On Monday, Lawfare published the emails they received as a result of the FOIA request. And according to Wittes and his team of analysts and writers, they prove that "the rank and file of the FBI" had not "lost confidence" in Comey, which is what then-White House Deputy Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders had told reporters after Comey's firing. Days after he fired Comey, Mr. Trump claimed that "Director Comey was very unpopular with most people," a remark he made during a news conference in late May.

"Unexpected news such as this is hard to understand but I know you all know our Director stood for what is right and what is true!!!...He truly made us better when we needed it the most," Renae McDermott, the special agent in charge of the FBI's Knoxville, Tennessee office, told her staff.

"I just saw CNN reporting that Director Comey has been fired by President Trump," David Geilos, the special agent in charge of the FBI's Detroit office, wrote to his staff. "I have no notification from HQ of any such thing. If I receive any information from HQ, I will advise. I'd ask all to stand by for clarification of this reporting. I am only sending this because I want everyone to know I have received no HQ confirmation of the reporting. I hope this is an instance of fake news."

A number of other special agents in charge of regional offices had similar reactions, according to the emails obtained by Lawfare. So did Andrew McCabe, the bureau's deputy director, who became acting head of the agency when Comey was fired.

"We all miss him. And I know that he misses us," McCabe wrote in one memo to FBI staff that had become public last month.

Other high-ranking FBI officials expressed similar sentiments. "As you know, no one ever leaves the FBI family, and that will be very true of Director Comey," wrote the FBI's assistant director of human resources. "Our hearts may be heavy but we must continue to do what we do best, which is to protect and serve the American people," wrote the assistant director of the FBI's Office of Victim Assistance.

According to Lawfare, "the amount of warmth in the emails, both about Comey and for their people, is atypical of all-staff communications. These leaders operate at the highest level of the FBI; in a chain-of-command organization, they aren't particularly accessible figures. But these emails, which were sent to entire divisions or field offices, are personal and intimate. Without overstating the matter or getting maudlin about it, it's safe to say that these messages show leaders who are shaken and concerned."

The emails do appear to run contrary to Sanders' assertion that Comey was unpopular both within and without the FBI.

"I've heard from countless members of the FBI that are grateful and thankful for the President's decision. . . . I certainly heard from a large number of individuals—and that's just myself—and I don't even know that many people in the FBI," she told reporters after Comey was fired in May 2017.

© 2018 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.


THE DEMOCRATIC MEMO IS NOW ON THE PRESIDENT’S DESK.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/democratic-gop-lawmakers-memo-doesnt-clear-trump-probe-052805868--politics.html?soc_trk=gcm&soc_src=ecd5e8af-dc90-3332-9efb-d522bf6b8dfa&.tsrc=notification-brknews
House panel votes to release Democratic memo on Russia probe
Associated Press
MARY CLARE JALONICK and CATHERINE LUCEY
Associated Press•February 5, 2018

Photograph -- House panel votes to release Democratic memo on Russia probe

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House intelligence committee voted unanimously Monday night to release a Democratic rebuttal to the GOP's memo on the Russia investigation that President Donald Trump declassified last week.

The document now goes to Trump, who has five days to decide whether to declassify it.

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The Democratic document aims to counter the Republican memo, which accuses the FBI and Justice Department of abusing their authority in monitoring a onetime Trump campaign associate.

A White House spokesman said Trump would "consider" the Democratic memo's release just as he had the Republican document.

Earlier Monday, Trump traded insults with the top Democrat on the intelligence panel, Rep. Adam Schiff of California.

Trump resorted to his occasional name-calling on Twitter, labeling Schiff "one of the biggest liars and leakers in Washington." He added that Schiff "must be stopped."

Schiff quickly shot back: "Instead of tweeting false smears, the American people would appreciate it if you turned off the TV and helped solve the funding crisis, protected Dreamers or ... really anything else."

White House spokesman Raj Shah took a more measured approach, saying consideration of a release would "allow for a legal review, national security review led by the White House counsel's office."

House Speaker Paul Ryan has said he supports the release of the Democrats' memo, if sensitive intelligence information is removed.

The Senate's Democratic leader, Chuck Schumer of New York, urged Trump to back the public release and said refusing to do so would show the president's intent to undermine the Russia investigation.

On Sunday, Republicans as well as Democrats said Trump was wrong to assert that the GOP-produced memo cleared him in the Russia investigation. Special counsel Robert Mueller is investigating possible collusion between the Trump 2016 presidential campaign and Russia as well as whether there have been efforts to obstruct the investigation.

Trump tweeted over the weekend that the memo "totally vindicates 'Trump' in probe" even as "the Russian Witch Hunt goes on and on." But that statement found no echo from four committee Republicans who appeared on the Sunday talk shows. Lawmakers also said the memo should not impede Mueller.

"I think it would be a mistake for anyone to suggest that the special counsel shouldn't complete his work. I support his work. I want him to finish it. I hope he finishes it as quickly as possible," said Republican Rep. Chris Stewart of Utah.

Schiff has branded the GOP memo "a political hit job" and has questioned whether House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes, R-Calif., had coordinated with the White House in drafting the document seized on by the president to vent his grievances against the nation's premier law enforcement agencies.

"The goal here is to undermine the FBI, discredit the FBI, discredit the Mueller investigation, do the president's bidding," Schiff said. "I think it's very possible his staff worked with the White House."

Nunes was asked during a Jan. 29 committee meeting whether he had coordinated the memo with the White House. "As far as I know, no," he responded, then refused to answer when asked whether his congressional staff members had communicated with the White House. He had previously apologized for sharing with the White House secret intelligence intercepts related to an investigation of Russian election interference before talking to committee members.

Trump also praised Nunes in a separate tweet Monday, calling him "a man of tremendous courage and grit, may someday be recognized as a Great American Hero for what he has exposed and what he has had to endure!"

The memo released Friday alleges misconduct on the part of the FBI and the Justice Department in obtaining a warrant under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act to monitor former Trump campaign foreign policy adviser Carter Page and his ties to Russia. Specifically, it takes aim at the FBI's use of information from former British spy Christopher Steele, who compiled a dossier containing allegations of ties between Trump, his associates and Russia.

The underlying materials that served as the basis for the warrant application were not made public in the GOP memo. Even as Democrats described it as inaccurate, some Republicans quickly cited the memo — released over the objections of the FBI and Justice Department — in their arguments that Mueller's investigation is politically tainted.

The memo's central allegation is that agents and prosecutors, in applying in October 2016 to monitor Page's communications, failed to tell a judge that the opposition research that provided grounds for the FBI's suspicion received funding from Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign and the Democratic National Committee. Page had stopped advising the campaign sometime around the end of that summer.

Steele's research, according to the memo, "formed an essential part" of the warrant application. But it's unclear how much or what information Steele collected made it into the application, or how much has been corroborated.

Republicans say a judge should have known that "political actors" were involved in allegations that led the Justice Department to believe Page might be an agent of a foreign power — an accusation he has consistently denied.



THE REFORM PROCESS OF THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY IS AN EFFORT TO INCORPORATE THE NEW BRANCH – THE BERNIECRATS – AND COMPROMISE ON THE “SUPERDELEGATES”, CUTTING THE NUMBER BY 60% IN THIS LAST PROPOSITION. FURTHER CHANGES ARE EXPECTED. INTERESTING, BUT THE OUTCOME IS UNCLEAR. THESE SEVERAL ARTICLES ARE ON THAT SUBJECT.

https://www.salon.com/2018/02/05/bernie-supporters-arent-exactly-getting-what-they-were-hoping-for-out-of-the-dnc_partner/
Bernie Sanders supporters aren’t exactly getting what they were hoping for out of the DNC
The DNC isn’t playing ball when it comes to reforming its anti-democratic qualities
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STEVEN ROSENFELD, ALTERNET
02.05.2018•6:53 PM•0 COMMENTS

Photograph -- Campaign rally for democratic socialist Bernie Sanders
(Credit: AP/Stephen Brashear)

AlterNet Like a slow-motion car crash, the Berniecrat wing of the Democratic Party appears to be heading toward a collision with the party’s leadership over adopting reforms that will guide the intricacies of 2020's presidential nominating contest.

The reform slate, negotiated by a Unity Reform Commission [URC] created during the 2016 Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, address the most glaring anti-democratic features of the party’s last presidential nominating contest.

These could be very significant reforms. They include cutting by 60 percent the number of superdelegates, the unpledged delegates who accounted for one-sixth of all the votes cast to nominate 2016’s candidate. (Almost all backed Hillary Clinton, despite Bernie Sanders winning 46 percent of delegates from primaries and caucuses). The reforms also would professionalize caucuses, including disclosing vote counts (which didn’t happen in Iowa and Nevada). They would reform primaries to include same-day voter registration and allow independents to participate (unlike New York). They would impose new standards for financial transparency and avoiding conflicts of interest.

The looming conflict concerns the pace and process for bringing these reforms before the entire Democratic National Committee, which would then vote to adopt or reject them. In short, the grassroots-led Berniecrat wing wants the reforms adopted as a package without further delay or modifications.

In contrast, longtime party officials say the package is moving through a standard process, where they will next be vetted by the party’s Rules and Bylaws Committee (RBC). That panel will decide whether to amend them, before presenting them to the full DNC for a vote. (Any changes by the Rules panel will go back to the Reform Commission, which can endorse them or bring its original proposal to the floor. In essence, that means there could be two competing proposals before the DNC when it meets later this year).

On Friday, Our Revolution, the campaign organization up by the Sanders’ campaign’s leaders, sent out an email launching a campaign and pushing for swift action to adopt them as-is.

“We’ve come a long way since the Unity Reform Commission was unanimously adopted by 4,500 Democratic convention delegates in Philadelphia,” the e-mail said, signed by the eight Sanders-appointed members of the URC. “Recently, DNC’s Rules and Bylaws Committee took up the URC’s final recommendations… Our mandates are not aspirations. They have already been debated and negotiated. The DNC should adopt and implement these reforms.”

That tone was amplified by Norm Solomon, co-founder of 2016’s Bernie Delegates Network and the grassroots group Roots Action, who said the time for DNC ratification was past due.

“We reached a compromise. We’ve got a package. If there’s a successful effort to fracture this package, then it works to the disadvantage of everything,” he said. “At Roots Action, we’re working with other groups to raise hell from the grassroots. The trajectory that we are on right now is not good."

One longtime party leader contacted by AlterNet rolled their eyes when hearing about the Berniecrats’ demands — saying the faction was impatient, did not understand the process and mistaken to turn this effort into an all-or-nothing equation. Another party leader said the Berniecrats were making incorrect assumptions about how several thousand DNC members were likely to vote on the reforms, because they want a party that can grow and win elections.

“The newer folks are looking for what I consider, in some cases, to be massive and difficult changes to make overnight, right?” said Debbie Kozikowski, Massachusetts Party Vice-Chair and a longtime grassroots activist. “Nothing happens overnight. The biggest problem we have with the new participants in ’16 is they didn’t understand the rules as they existed. You can’t change the rules by snapping your fingers. You have to know the rules so you can change them. I think the Democratic Party’s job, at this point, is to make sure the rules are public — but let’s make sure that people know them and understand them. Treat everything like a teachable moment, right?”

When told about the latest campaign to pressure the DNC, she was blunt.

“I think they are going to yell and scream, and that’s unfortunate because it doesn’t get you anywhere,” Kozikowski said. “Enough yelling and screaming. Figure out what the rules are and come back at it. It’s not over — right? If they don’t get everything they want now, it doesn’t mean the ballgame is over. It just means there’s an extended play time, right?”

“That’s the danger,” countered Solomon. “It’s the position of the people who are on the Unity Reform Commission — the Bernie 8 — that that would be really really bad. The whole concept was a [negotiated reform] package. Once they start breaking the package apart, they’re going to splice and dice and it’s going to be a friggin’ mess. It’s a very strong position of, ‘Hey, this was already a compromise.’ It was dominated by Clinton [appointees] people, 13-to-8.”

What’s Really Going On?

Stepping back, it’s important to put the Unity Reform Commission’s work into a historic context. The commission was created after a very tense campaign where no one in the party’s power centers expected Sanders to seriously challenge Clinton. The thinking, as Kozikowski recounted in previous interviews, was state party chairs agreed to let him run as a Democrat because they thought it would boost the fall vote by a few points. They agreed to let Sanders run only after he agreed to endorse the 2016 nominee.

By the July 2016 convention, however, Sanders had won 46 percent of the delegates awarded in primaries and caucuses. Even though Sanders delegates in Philadelphia were aggrieved and disappointed, they overlooked much of what they had achieved in starting to revive the Democratic Party. No past presidential campaign in decades won as many changes in the party platform as their campaign did. And it obtained a DNC-sanctioned commission to address the anti-democratic features experienced in 2016 — from insider bias by DNC senior staffers; to a super delegate system that diluted the votes cast in primaries and caucuses; to miserably run caucuses where winners were announced but vote totals were not disclosed; to voter suppressing registration deadlines for some state primaries and closing those contests to participation by independent voters; and more.

In short, the Democratic Party hadn’t shone as large a spotlight on its deficiencies in decades. And its Unity Reform Commission, which had a majority of members appointed by the Clinton campaign and DNC Chair Tom Perez, put forth a slate of reforms that validated the cultural and structural grievances raised by the Sanders team. The process and path to ratification, nonetheless, is slower than the Berniecrats like.

“Let me tell you where we are in this process,” said James Roosevelt, Jr., who was a member of the Reform Commission and co-chairs the DNC’s Rules and Bylaws Committee.

“If you have the Unity Reform Commission report, that is the place it starts,” he said. “By the terms of the convention resolution, that report then comes to the Rules and Bylaws Committee. The RBC will decide what portions of the recommendations, all or various portions, it feels should be recommended to the full DNC. If the RBC does not recommend the provisions of the Unity Reform Commission in total, the URC then gets that back before it goes to the full DNC and they can request that the whole thing go as a package to the full DNC, to be considered simultaneously with the recommendations from the RBC.”

Starting in late January, the Rules and Bylaws Committee has been meeting to go through the reform proposals, Roosevelt said, saying this is ongoing work and will not be finished before the full DNC next meets in early March.

“Two weekends ago, we had two days — one full day and one partial day — where we presented the Unity Reform Commission report to the full RBC, because out of the 32 or so members on the RBC, only about six are on the URC,” he said. “We had the chair, Jennifer O’Malley Dillon and the vice chair, Larry Cohen, from Our Revolution, there all day for the full day. And Jen there for the partial day, answering questions about ‘Why did you recommend this?’ ‘What about that?’ ‘How did you think this would work?’ and so on. So that’s what we have done so far, which is educate the committee about what the URC recommended.”

The initial meetings have focused on the two highest-profile issues: the super delegates and caucuses, Roosevelt said.

While the Berniecrats see super delegate reforms as their top issue, that’s not what many state party chairs are focusing on, Kozikowski said. She said the reform commission’s failure to make a strong statement to move away from caucuses, which are more poorly run and poorly attended than primaries, was causing the most consternation. Kozikowski has long said she does not expect the full DNC to vote themselves out of power — by taking away the perk of being a super delegate after working in the trenches between presidential elections. While that prediction confirms the fears raised by Berniecrats like Norm Solomon, Roosevelt suggested that wasn’t set in stone. He emphasized that the Unity Reform Commission’s recommendations came from a body where Berniecrats were a minority of members.

Here’s what Roosevelt told AlterNet in an interview last week:

“The Unity Reform Commission report is the product of that group. So already you have people who are not Bernie’s people supporting the Unity Reform Commission report. And I think what the Bernie people tend to forget is, it’s true, this is a tough vote for members of the full DNC, because you are asking them to take away one of their own functions in the presidential nominating process. However, these are people who have spent their politics careers working and believing that a political party is useful in achieving the right functioning of government. They are therefore also people who believe that maintaining a unified Democratic Party, and keeping people in the tent, is an important value. I would say to the Norm Solomons of the world, step back and think about what really matters to these people [full DNC members]. And realize that they will not just react the way you think of; you think they are like a legislature, they are not. They are believers in a political party as a positive force in the process of government.”

Roosevelt made other points that suggested the road to reforming Democratic Party’s presidential nominating process was going to long — longer than whatever is the outcome of a vote by the full DNC as early as next fall.

For example, the party could open up primaries to same-day voter registration, participation by independents, and other inclusionary details. If those options were in place in New York in 2016, arguably thousands of people who saw Sanders speak at rallies could have voted for him. New York’s primary rules prevented that. However, many states’ legislatures would have to update their laws to allow these reform to be implemented, Roosevelt said.

“But there is a pretty good body of law that says state parties can operate primaries under the right of association in the First Amendment the way they decide to run them," he said. "Now if that runs into a conflict with state law, it may end up in court. But there is law that permits that.”

Roosevelt also said there were cultural barriers around reforming caucuses, even if the reform commission agreed that they needed to be professionalized and transparent. Again, no matter what the DNC eventually decides, progress will be made state by state.

“For some states, it’s just a matter of practicality, because their legislature won’t fund the primary and things like that,” he said. “But for some states like Iowa, it’s definitely cultural. The language of the Unity Reform Commission is probably broad enough to say they have to make public the tallies at the initial levels, and then those have to be the ones that determine the outcome of the delegate selection process. So I think that even in the places where it’s cultural [to keep them], and there’s really a strong push to maintain the caucuses, there can be processes and protections around that.”

In a half-hour interview that delved into some of the nuts and bolts that could make the party's elections more open and transparent, it was clear that Roosevelt was trying to fair-minded and respectful of the Unity Commission report. That said, he noted there were some items that had been flagged for scrutiny — such as adding mail-in absentee ballots to the caucus process. (That’s potentially problematic because caucuses almost never decide their winners on opening votes, prompting participants to regroup. Adding mail-in ballots to an already complicated mix could invite chaos and vote-counting disputes).

Roosevelt left the clear impression that the Rules and Bylaws Committee would break down the reform package and decide on what pieces to keep, modify or omit. It would then return that assessment to the Unity Reform Commission to decide whether they wanted to present that to the full DNC, or whether to present its original report — suggesting there could be two proposals before the full DNC when this comes up.

However, Roosevelt did not think the reforms were going to be presented in a ‘take it or leave it manner,’ where, for example, super delegate reform would have to accompany caucus and primary reforms — or else nothing would be done. He also emphasized the full DNC’s charge when it created the reform commission was to reduce the super delegate representation.

“I think it can be split into parts if that’s what the full DNC wants to do,” he said. “I do think the convention mandate is pretty clear about automatic [super] delegates… it was a significant reduction in their voting power.”


Back to the Berniecrats

The latest messaging from Our Revolution and other Berniecrats does not discuss the DNC reform process at this level of detail.

Friday’s email from Our Revolution said, for example, “We’re working with progressive partners across the country to push these changes over the finish line. Join us in taking the first step by signing the petition to your state’s DNC members today and tell them to support the URC* recommendation.”

Larry Cohen, who led the Sanders delegation on the reform commission and helps lead Our Revolution, did not reply to Alternet’s request seeking comment on their strategy.

It may be that Berniecrats feel they need to keep up the pressure throughout the rest of the DNC reform process, no matter how long it takes. But at the very least, right now it appears their expectation of fast action is only likely will cause more strife.

Berniecrats are telling their ranks that they expect the Rules and Bylaws Committee to swiftly rubber stamp the reform commission’s proposals. Meanwhile, the co-chair of the panel and other longtime party members are saying that’s not how the process works, and its not a zero-sum, take-it-or-leave-it game.

In other words, this pressure and posturing is pointing toward more confrontation between the Berniecrats and the political party they are seeking to change.


THE URC –

[URC* https://ourrevolution.com/press/summary-unity-reform-commission-report/

http://keywiki.org/Unity_Reform_Commission
The Unity Reform Commission was established by the Democratic National Committee in April 2017, as an attempt to re-unite between supporters of Hillary Clinton and those of Bernie Sanders.

Members

Democratic National Committee Chair Tom Perez announced the complete list of people on the 21-member Unity Reform Commission.

The panel was created at the party’s national convention in July as a last-minute compromise between supporters of Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and those of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who were demanding the elimination of super-delegates from presidential primaries.

The commission will now begin the process of discussing reforms to the party’s presidential nominating process, including hot-button issues like the role of super-delegates and caucuses. It will present its recommendations to the DNC by January 2018.

“At the 2016 convention, Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders and national delegates agreed that in order to capture the energy of Democrats from across the country it is critical that we enhance the nominating process that continues to embrace the big tent of our party,” Perez said in a statement. “This includes everyone, from lifelong Democrats to 18-year-olds who cast their first ballot in 2016.”

“A Democratic Party that gives every Democrat a voice in the process will make enormous gains from the school board to the Senate this cycle and it will take back the White House in 2020,” he continued. “We already see this incredible energy in a number of highly competitive races across the country.”

Below is a complete list of the commission members:

Jennifer O’Malley Dillon, Chair, District of Columbia; partner, Precision Strategies
Larry Cohen, Vice Chair, District of Columbia; chair of Our Revolution and former president of the Communication Workers of America
Charlie Baker, Massachusetts; president of Dewey Square Group and former chief administrative officer of the Clinton campaign
Jan Bauer, Iowa; Iowa Democratic National Committeewoman and Clinton supporter
Jeff Berman, District of Columbia, former Clinton campaign consultant
Lucy Flores, California, former Nevada Assemblywoman and Sanders supporter
Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio), Clinton supporter
Maya Harris, New York, former senior policy adviser, Clinton campaign
David Huynh, Louisiana; former Clinton campaign director of delegate operations and ballot access
Elaine Kamarck, Massachusetts; senior fellow, Brookings Institution
Jane Kleeb, Nebraska Democratic Party Chair; Sanders supporter and Our Revolution board member
Nomiki Konst, New York; investigative reporter for the Young Turks and former Sanders convention delegate
Yvette Lewis, Maryland Democratic National Committeewoman and Clinton supporter
Gus Newport, California; former mayor of Berkeley, California and Sanders supporter
Jorge Neri, Illinois; former Clinton campaign Nevada state director
James Roosevelt, Jr., Massachusetts; president of Tufts Health Plan and co-chair of the Democratic national convention Rules and Bylaws Committee
Emmy Ruiz, Texas; former Clinton campaign Colorado state director
Nina Turner, Former Ohio State Senator , Sanders convention delegate and Our Revolution board member
Jeff Weaver, Virginia; former Sanders campaign chair
Wellington Webb, Colorado; former Denver mayor and Clinton supporter
James Zogby, District of Columbia; founder of the Arab American Institute and Sanders supporter
The 21-member commission includes nine members selected by Clinton, seven members picked by Sanders, three picked by Perez, and the chair and vice chair ― selected by Clinton and Sanders, respectively.

Aside from Chair Jen O’Malley Dillon, a Clinton pick, the breakdown of the members selected by Perez and Clinton is not public.

Sanders had also already named his selections to the commission. They are Larry Cohen, the vice chair; former Ohio state Sen. Nina Turner; former Sanders campaign manager Jeff Weaver; former Sanders New York delegate Nomiki Konst; James Zogby, founder of the Arab-American Institute; former Berkeley, California Mayor Gus Newport; former Nevada Assemblywoman Lucy Flores; and Nebraska Democratic Party Chair Jane Kleeb.

The DNC declined to name the three members Perez picked and a spokesman for Clinton did not respond to a request for information on her appointments.[1]


GERRYMANDERING AND MORE GERRYMANDERING – TWO ARTICLES

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/elections/eric-holder-leads-democrats-war-gerrymandering-n845576
POLITICS FEB 7 2018, 6:50 PM ET
Eric Holder leads Democrats to war on gerrymandering
by BENJY SARLIN

WASHINGTON — With Democrats facing an uphill climb to win back Congress and state legislatures thanks in part to gerrymandering, former Attorney General Eric Holder is leading a new party effort to redraw the lines with President Barack Obama's backing.

Former AG Holder: 2018 elections crucial for future redistricting Play
Former AG Holder: 2018 elections crucial for future redistricting 1:21

The National Democratic Redistricting Committee, created last year, has already raised $16 million through a mix of large donors and online appeals. Its goal is to target races and ballot initiatives in 12 states that would give Democrats an opportunity to create more favorable district maps after the 2020 census.

"I expect later this year you will see [Obama] campaigning with a focus on the races that will matter for redistricting," Holder told reporters at a breakfast hosted by The Christian Science Monitor on Wednesday. "He has identified this as his chief political activity post-presidency."

Watch Eric Holder on "The Rachel Maddow Show" on MSNBC Wednesday night at 9 p.m.

Obama won his two presidential elections, but the Democratic Party is still suffering from the catastrophic effects of the 2010 Republican wave, which came at the worst possible moment for redistricting efforts. Republicans used newfound majorities in swing states to dominate the electoral mapmaking process that takes place every 10 years after the census, leaving them with a stronghold in Congress and favorable district lines in the state legislatures that will decide the district maps after the 2020 census.

Image: Eric Holder
Former Attorney General Eric Holder is leading the Democratic charge on redistricting John Raoux / AP file

The issue is hardly a morality play: Democrats themselves have a long history of gerrymandering, and their current map in Maryland, drawn with Democratic majorities, includes an especially awkward district that is the subject of a GOP lawsuit the Supreme Court plans to hear. Holder dismissed complaints about Maryland as "focusing on one district" rather than states where several districts were more obviously affected by partisan efforts.

But the scale of Republican victories in 2010 meant that the GOP had much greater influence in far more states, including places like North Carolina, Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Florida and Virginia where the right lines can decide several seats. The nonpartisan Brennan Center for Justice at the NYU School of Law, which advocates for voting rights, estimates the current Republican majority may include 16 to 17 seats that otherwise would be competitive if not for gerrymandering. Democrats need to win 24 seats in November to regain control of the House.

Holder said the redistricting committee is taking a multipronged approach, targeting state races with influence over the redistricting process but also looking at lawsuits and ballot initiatives that might advance their goals. One goal is to raise the issue's prominence among grass-roots activists in the hopes of firing up turnout.

"In particular, I'll focus on making sure that African-Americans, people of color, understand the long term implications of these elections," Holder said.

Democrats focused on gerrymandering have some recent news to celebrate. In addition to a series of special election victories in state races around the country since 2017, Pennsylvania's state Supreme Court recently ruled that its congressional districts, drawn by a Republican-controlled government, violate the state constitution. The United States Supreme Court denied a request by the state GOP this week to block the decision. Depending on the new map, it could potentially make several seats more competitive heading into November.

There are also efforts in some states to change the redistricting process itself, sometimes with bipartisan support. Gov. John Kasich in Ohio, a Republican, is backing a ballot initiative in May, negotiated by both parties in the state legislature, that would give the minority a bigger role in deciding future maps after the GOP dominated the post-2010 process. In Michigan, another swing state where Republicans drew maps to their advantage, Holder's group is monitoring a push for a ballot initiative that could empower an independent commission to address the issue. They also are preparing to protect similar commissions in states like Arizona, which has a competitive map.

Holder seemed to be offering a hint that he might have his own personal ambitions once the election cycle is over. Asked about reports that he may be considering a 2020 presidential run, he responded, "We'll see." He added that he plans to "make a decision by the end of the year about whether or not there's another chapter in my government service."

BENJY SARLIN
TOPICS POLITICS, ELECTIONS
FIRST PUBLISHED FEB 7 2018, 2:47 PM ET


https://www.cbsnews.com/news/supreme-court-allows-pennsylvania-redistricting-ap/
CBS/AP February 5, 2018, 1:04 PM
Supreme Court allows Pennsylvania redistricting

The Supreme Court will allow Pennsylvania congressional redistricting to proceed, denying the Republican plea to put the decision on hold.

The defendants -- top Republican lawmakers -- asked the U.S. Supreme Court to step in, arguing that the state court's decision lacks clarity, precedent and respect for the constitution and would introduce chaos into the state's congressional races.

Justice Samuel Alito, who handles emergency appeals from Pennsylvania, rejected the request from the GOP leaders and voters that the court put on hold an order from the state Supreme Court that could now produce new congressional districts in the coming two weeks.

Pennsylvania's congressional delegation has been 13-5 in favor of Republicans during the three election cycles since the GOP-drawn 2011 map took effect. Democrats have about 800,000 more registered voters than Republicans and hold all three statewide row offices, but Republicans hold solid majorities in both chambers of the Legislature.

Late last week the two highest-ranking Republican leaders in the General Assembly, Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati and House Speaker Mike Turzai, sought recusal of one of the Democratic justices on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, David Wecht. They argued Wecht had made statements critical of gerrymandering during his successful 2015 campaign that they viewed as evidence of bias.

On Monday, Republican Justice Sallie Mundy filed a notice that she had received a $25,000 campaign donation from Scarnati but was confident she could rule fairly in the case.

The U.S. Supreme Court last month delayed a lower-court order that would have produced new congressional districts in North Carolina. The high court agreed to accommodate the delay, which was requested by Republican legislators, while it decides similar challenges to Wisconsin's state legislative districts and a congressional district in Maryland.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court in January struck down the boundaries of the state's 18 congressional districts, granting a major victory to plaintiffs who had contended that they were unconstitutionally gerrymandered to benefit Republicans. The decision granted a major victory to plaintiffs who had contended that they were unconstitutionally gerrymandered to benefit Republicans.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court said the boundaries "clearly, plainly and palpably" violate the state's constitution, and blocked it from remaining in effect for the 2018 elections. The deadline to file paperwork to run in primaries for the seats is March 6.

The U.S. Supreme Court typically does not review state court decisions based on a state's constitution, but the Republicans asked the high court to make an exception.

The decision comes just four days before the Republican-controlled Legislature's deadline for submitting a replacement map for Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf to consider.

The Democratic-controlled court's order gave the Republican-controlled Legislature until Feb. 9 to pass a replacement and Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf until Feb. 15 to submit it to the court. Otherwise, the justices said they would adopt a plan in an effort to keep the May 15 primary election on track.

© 2018 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.


HISTORY BLOSSOMS AND THEN FADES, TO COME BACK AGAIN. I THINK WE HAVE A VERY NAIVE VIEW OF HISTORY AND HUMANKIND. WE ARE NEITHER THE SMARTEST NOR THE FIRST. I THINK THE REASON RUINS WEREN’T FOUND BEFORE IS BECAUSE NOBODY LOOKED. OF COURSE, THE LIDAR TECHNOLOGY GIVES A NEW WAY TO SEARCH.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/mayan-ruin-discovery-lidar-laser-technology/
CBS NEWS February 5, 2018, 3:05 PM
Archaeologists uncover massive network of Mayan ruins with laser technology

Archaeologists are using high-tech mapping technology to virtually unearth a massive network of Mayan ruins hidden for centuries in the thick jungles of Guatemala, reports CBS News correspondent David Begnaud. Albert Lin is an engineer and National Geographic explorer who worked on a television special about the breakthrough.

"So we have this augmented reality platform built based off of the LiDAR data. ... And it says there's a massive temple just around the corner," Lin said in the special, referring to Light Detection and Ranging, the technology used to uncover the ruins. "Ah, it gives you like chills up your back!"

The uncovered landscape includes previously unknown cities and more than 60,000 interconnected structures including houses, farms, highways and even pyramids. Scientists and archaeologists discovered the ancient ruins by shooting lasers down from a plane to penetrate the dense jungle canopy.

ctm-0205-lidar-mayan-ruins-graphic.jpg
CBS NEWS ANIMATIONS

Marianne Hernandez is president of PACUNAM, the Guatemalan nonprofit that started the project to uncover more of the Mayan civilization.

"This will provide empirical proof of the sophistication and complexity of their settlement systems," Hernandez said.

Francisco Estrada-Belli is co-director of the PACUNAM project. He said LiDAR technology is revolutionizing archaeology like the Hubble telescope revolutionized astronomy.

"When they started looking at, through that telescope… they found thousands of galaxies. And that's what we're seeing," Estrada-Belli said. "Part of the jungle we thought were empty are full of cities and small towns and amazing things that we didn't suspect were there."

Previous assessments estimated just 1 or 2 million people lived in the Maya lowlands. But researchers now believe as many as 20 million people may have lived there.

You can watch "Lost Treasures of the Maya Snake Kings" this Tuesday on National Geographic.

© 2018 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved


MADDOW NEWS

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/new-details-on-how-steele-alerted-fbi-about-trump-russia-intel-1155370051528
New details on dossier's path to FBI
Tom Hamburger, national reporter for The Washington Post, talks with Rachel Maddow about Christopher Steele's discoveries about Donald Trump and Russia compelled him to bring what he'd learned to the FBI's attention.
Feb.06.2018
06:37 / 16:14


THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 2/6/18
Excess Trump inauguration money could go to legal defense fund
Rachel Maddow follows up on an earlier TRMS scoop about the discovery of a Trump Russia scandal legal defense fund, and notes that unaccounted-for excess Trump inauguration money might find a way into such a fund. Duration: 11:17



HELP THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 2/6/18
Fine line between scandal legal defense fund and hush money
Michael Beschloss, NBC News presidential historian, talks with Rachel Maddow about how legal defense funds built around presidential scandals often create scandals of their own. Duration: 4:13


THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 2/6/18
Missouri Democrats appear to flip another Trump district
Rachel Maddow reports on the returns in four state-level Missouri elections in districts Donald Trump won by large margins showing huge Democratic swings and even a Democratic victory, though the results are not yet certified. Duration: 3:42


MISSOURI ELECTION DEMS WIN
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/missouri-democrats-appear-to-flip-another-trump-district-1155380803856
Democrats appear to flip another red district
Rachel Maddow reports on the returns in four state-level Missouri elections in districts Donald Trump won by large margins showing huge Democratic swings and even a Democratic victory, though the results are not yet certified.
Feb.06.2018


THIS IS A BEAUTIFUL FILM ABOUT A MORE OR LESS UNKNOWN SUBJECT THESE DAYS – WHAT WAS THE LIFE OF A CHILD THEN? THERE WAS TOO LITTLE “UNDERSTANDING” OF THEM, AS I SEE IT. THE NARRATOR SAYS THAT THEY WERE VIEWED LARGELY AS “LITTLE ADULTS” RATHER THAN A DIFFERENT SORT OF PERSON WITH DIFFERENT SKILLS AND NEEDS. I’M SURE SOME WERE LUCKY ENOUGH TO HAVE A GENTLE PARENT, THOUGH. MANY OF THEM WERE “GIVEN” TO THE CHURCH INSTEAD OF LIVING IN THEIR PARENTS’ HOME UNDER A CONDITION CALLED AN OBLATE. THEY WERE NOT MONKS, BUT HAD AN INFORMAL PERSONAL COMMITMENT TO THE CHURCH. SEE: HTTPS://EN.WIKIPEDIA.ORG/WIKI/OBLATE. ACCORDING TO THIS ARTICLE, BOTH ANGLICANS AND METHODISTS AS WELL AS THE CATHOLIC CHURCH, HAD “OBLATES.” THE CHURCH WAS VERY MUCH THE CENTER OF LIFE IN THOSE DAYS, AS COMPARED TO OUR LESS COHESIVE RELATIONSHIP WITH RELIGION NOW. TODAY, IT’S OFTEN SOMETHING TO DO ON SUNDAY MORNING. OF COURSE, THE CHURCH WAS MORE THAN A RELIGIOUS CENTER – HOSPITAL, SCHOOL, ORPHANAGE, AND MORE.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwooGrVM52Q
Children of the Middle Ages
Allthemed Docs
Published on Oct 17, 2017
Category Education
License Standard YouTube License