March 18 and 19, 3018


News and Views

“13 HARDENED DEMOCRATS”?? WELL, I KNOW THAT I DEFINITELY AM ONE OF THOSE. TRUMP AND HIS PEOPLE ARE HARDENED LIARS AND GREEDY, MANIPULATIVE INDIVIDUALS WHO CLAIM TO BE SUCH GOOD CHRISTIANS. TV RELIGION IS SO OFTEN SOULLESS AND CONDUCTED FOR THE PURPOSE OF MAKING MORE AND MORE MONEY, WHILE THOSE WHO GIVE OFTEN HAVE VERY LITTLE. ROB FROM THE POOR AND GIVE TO THE RICH. NOW THAT’S A GOOD REPUBLICAN PRINCIPLE. IT’S TIME FOR AN ETHICAL HUMANIST REFORMATION. I THINK IT’S HAPPENING ALREADY, TOO. THERE’S NOTHING WRONG WITH ETHICS OR HUMANISM, AND THE FAR RIGHT HAS NEITHER OF THOSE THINGS.

AS FOR FIRING MUELLER, I THINK IF TRUMP TRIES TO DO THAT HE WILL BE VOTED OUT BY A “SPECIAL ELECTION” IN THE SENATE, AS WELL AS TRIED FOR OBSTRUCTION, TREASON, MONEY LAUNDERING, FRAUD, ELECTION CRIMES, TAX EVASION, SEXUALLY HARASSING WOMEN AND GIRLS – NOT BOYS AND MEN, I HOPE -- AND OTHER THINGS. MUELLER IS STILL BUSY INVESTIGATING AND, AGAINST THE STRONGLY EXPRESSED WISHES OF TRUMP, HE IS “FOLLOWING THE MONEY.” I AM REALLY PROUD OF HIM.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/gop-lawmakers-warn-trump-against-firing-mueller/
By BLAIR GUILD CBS NEWS March 18, 2018, 3:50 PM
GOP lawmakers warn Trump against firing Mueller

The president took to Twitter Sunday morning to criticize the special counsel's investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and potential Trump campaign collusion.

"Why does the Mueller team have 13 hardened Democrats, some big Crooked Hillary supporters, and Zero Republicans?" Mr. Trump tweeted at 8:35 a.m. ET. "Another Dem recently added...does anyone think this is fair? And yet, there is NO COLLUSION!"


Donald J. Trump
✔
@realDonaldTrump
Why does the Mueller team have 13 hardened Democrats, some big Crooked Hillary supporters, and Zero Republicans? Another Dem recently added...does anyone think this is fair? And yet, there is NO COLLUSION!

8:35 AM - Mar 18, 2018
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Mueller is a Republican, and was named director of the FBI by Republican President George W. Bush. Mueller's investigation is overseen by Rod Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general Mr. Trump nominated himself.

The president has long believed that Mueller's Russia investigation is a partisan effort from Democrats to tarnish his presidency. He's called the probe both a "witch hunt" and a "hoax." Fueling Mr. Trump's aggravation now is the special counsel's latest inquiry: a subpoena to the Trump Organization.

"The Mueller probe should never have been started in that there was no collusion and there was no crime," Mr. Trump said Saturday night on Twitter. "It was based on fraudulent activities and a Fake Dossier paid for by Crooked Hillary and the DNC, and improperly used in FISA COURT for surveillance of my campaign. WITCH HUNT!"

17 Mar

Donald J. Trump
✔
@realDonaldTrump
The Fake News is beside themselves that McCabe was caught, called out and fired. How many hundreds of thousands of dollars was given to wife’s campaign by Crooked H friend, Terry M, who was also under investigation? How many lies? How many leaks? Comey knew it all, and much more!


Donald J. Trump
✔
@realDonaldTrump
The Mueller probe should never have been started in that there was no collusion and there was no crime. It was based on fraudulent activities and a Fake Dossier paid for by Crooked Hillary and the DNC, and improperly used in FISA COURT for surveillance of my campaign. WITCH HUNT!

8:12 PM - Mar 17, 2018
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The tweets have put lawmakers on edge, particularly members of Mr. Trump's own party, for fear that he may fire Mueller. Mr. Trump's personal lawyer John Dowd called for Rosenstein to "bring an end" to the Russia investigation Saturday, adding to the tension.

Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-South Carolina, who sits on the House Intelligence Committee, appeared on "Fox News Sunday" to address Mr. Trump personally.

"My advice to the president is the same thing I just told his lawyer: give Bob Mueller the time, the independence and the resources to do the very job. Keep in mind, Chris, he didn't volunteer for this," Gowdy said addressing host Chris Wallace. "Give him the time, the resources, the independence to do his job, and when you are innocent, if the allegation is collusion with the Russians and there is no evidence of that, and you're innocent of that, act like it."

House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wisconsin, issued a statement regarding Mr. Trump and his harsh words for Mueller to the New York Times.

"As the speaker has always said, Mr. Mueller and his team should be able to do their job," a spokeswoman for Ryan told the Times.

His Senate counterpart, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, has yet to comment on the ordeal.

Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, said on CBS News' "Face the Nation" Sunday that it would be a "huge mistake" and "a true constitutional crisis" for the president to fire Mueller, whom he described as being "as straight an arrow as there is in America."

"He's just doing his job," King said. "And for the administration to keep trying to undercut what they're trying to do -- the president keeps saying there's no story here, they didn't do anything wrong. If they didn't do anything wrong, why are they going to such extreme lengths to undermine this investigation, which is being carried out in a very responsible way?"

Sen. James Lankford, R-Oklahoma, said on ABC's "This Week" that he doesn't see Mueller's firing as a likely move.

"I don't see the president firing him," he said. "I think the White House has said 10 times, maybe more, that they're not going to fire Robert Mueller, [that] they want him to be able to finish the investigation."

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina, said the firing "would be the beginning of the end of his presidency" on CNN's "State of the Union" Sunday.

On that same broadcast, Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Arizona, also pushed back against the president.

"I mean, talking to my colleagues all along it was, you know, once he goes after Mueller, then we'll take action," Flake said.

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Kentucky, said he wouldn't "advocate" for the firing but expressed concern on the scope of Mueller's investigation.

"I've said all along I don't like special prosecutors," Paul said on CNN. "I think they have too much power and too much power to go far afield of the question."

© 2018 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.



ABOUT CAMBRIDGE ANALYTICA AND THEIR PSYCHOGRAPHIC PROFILES – I ASSUME THAT IS STATISTICALLY FIGURING OUT WHO, AS INDIVIDUALS AND GROUPS, CAN CAMBRIDGE ANALYTICA MOBILIZE AS A NEW GROUP OF HATERS AND ANTIDEMOCRATIC POLITICAL ACTORS? THAT MEANS YOU AND ME. COULD IT BE THAT THEY’RE TRYING TO ENLIST INDIVIDUALS, PERHAPS TO FORM A UNIFIED GROUP BASED ON THOUGHT PATTERNS?

I HAVE SEVERAL TIMES HAD MY COMMENTARY OR NEWS SITE STOP THE SERVICE MOMENTARILY AND POST A QUESTION OR TWO ON MY PERSONAL VIEWS OR BUSINESS PREFERENCES, SAYING SOMETHING LIKE “WILL YOU COMPLETE A SHORT SURVEY?” THEY ALMOST ALWAYS ASK A QUESTION THAT SEEMS INNOCUOUS TO ME, SO WHY NOT ANSWER IT? BUT ARE THEY BUILDING A POLITICAL AND EMOTIONAL PROFILE ON ME? TO ME, THAT’S VERY SPOOKY, AND DARK. IT SEEMS SO USELESS THAT THEY MUST HAVE SOME MORE SUBVERSIVE REASON FOR IT OR THEY WOULDN’T SPEND THEIR INTERNET SERVICE MONEY ON IT.

IT SEEMS TO ME THAT WHAT THEY PROBABLY WANT IS A HUGE DATABASE AS DESCRIBED IN THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE THAT CAN BE USED PREDICTIVELY, JUST LIKE THIS CAMBRIDGE ANALYTICA THAT TRUMP’S FORMER SIDEKICK BANNON, HAS BUILT AND WAS USING. THEY USUALLY SAY THAT THEY USE IT FOR “MARKETING PURPOSES,” BUT SUPPOSE THEY USE IT FOR SOMETHING POLITICAL INSTEAD, SUCH AS STEVE BANNON’S COMPANY OF ALT-RIGHTERS. PEOPLE LIKE HIM ARE OUT ON THE NET DOING COVERT AND DIRTY THINGS AND DOING THEM VERY ACTIVELY TO MAKE MONEY AND INCREASE THEIR OWN INFLUENCE. PROMOTING BUSINESS BY ANY MEANS IS ALWAYS FAIR AND HONEST, THEY BELIEVE.

I WOULDN’T WANT TO LIVE WITHOUT THE INTERNET, BUT IT NEEDS TO BE MONITORED AND CONTROLLED TO A GREATER DEGREE. MY USUAL REASON FOR THINKING THAT IS THOSE CHILD MOLESTATION SITES, BUT THERE ARE ALSO APPARENTLY POLITICALLY INTRUSIVE AND CONTROLLING LINKS, WHOSE GOAL IS TO INCREASE RADICALLY THE NUMBER OF BASICALLY GOOD AMERICANS WHO WILL VOTE FOR A DICTATOR UNDER THE RIGHT SITUATIONS. REMEMBER, ALL THEY NEED TO DO IS GET HIM INTO OFFICE, AND HE WILL DO THE REST, LIKE FIRE ALL THE OLD HONEST SOLDIERS LIKE MUELLER, AND HIRE NEW UNPRINCIPLED ZEALOTS WHO WILL DO WHATEVER IS NECESSARY TO “PROTECT THE PRESIDENT.” TRUMP DID SAY IN A RECENT NEWS ARTICLE THAT THE JOB OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL IS TO “PROTECT HIM.” DISGUSTING!

ALSO, ABOUT THE “ILLEGITIMATELY ACQUIRED DATA” FROM CAMBRIDGE ANALYTICA, WHEN I WAS FILLING OUT THE ONLINE FORM TO JOIN FACEBOOK, I WAS STARTLED BY THE NUMBER OF QUITE NOSY QUESTIONS THAT THEY ASKED ME (AND REQUIRED); BUT I WANTED TO SEE ALL THOSE PHOTOGRAPHS AND COMMENTS, AND BE ABLE TO REACH PEOPLE FROM MY HIGH SCHOOL DAYS, SO I DID ANSWER THEM. BESIDES, AT THAT TIME, THE QUESTION OF THE BASIC HONESTY OF FACEBOOK IN THE MATTER HADN’T COME UP FRONT AND CENTER, AS IT IS NOW. IT WASN’T JUST CAMBRIDGE ANALYTICA THAT GAVE MY DATA AND THAT OF OTHERS TO THE DONALD TRUMP CAMPAIGN, BUT FACEBOOK AS WELL.

IT’S A TRADEOFF FOR ME. WHAT WE NEED IS THE APPLICATION OF NEW CRIMINAL LAWS THAT DEAL WITH ILLEGITIMATE COLLECTION AND USE OF THAT DATA, TO PENALIZE THE AGGRESSIVE PARTY SUCH AS FACEBOOK, AND THE POLITICAL OR OTHER SORT OF BODY WHO HAVE REQUESTED THE INFORMATION IN THE FIRST PLACE, SUCH AS THE TRUMP CAMPAIGN.

A STIFF FINANCIAL PENALTY NATIONAL EXPOSURE IN THE PRESS AS IN THIS CASE; SHOULD, I BELIEVE, MAKE THEM THINK TWICE BEFORE DOING THAT AGAIN, PLUS THE WRONGED PARTIES SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO SUE THEM AS PERSONAL INDIVIDUALS AND AS BUSINESSES. NO CORPORATION SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO HIDE THEIR UPPER MANAGEMENT OR UNETHICAL EMPLOYEE’S NAMES FROM THE SUING CITIZEN. THERE HAS BEEN A LACK OF REGULATION AND PUNISHMENT ON BUSINESSES WHO DO THESE THINGS, WHICH IS BEHIND THE PREVALENCE OF IT.

BUSINESS PEOPLE ARE NOTHING IF NOT AGGRESSIVE. ANYTHING THEY CAN DO, THEY WILL. IF THEY “CAN’T” LEGALLY DO IT, THEY WILL TRY IT ANYWAY. THIS IS WHY I TOTALLY DISTRUST THE BILLIONAIRE CLASS. THE WORST PROBLEM IS THAT WHEN THEY DO AGGRESSIVE AND ILLEGAL THINGS, THEY MAY WIN THE ELECTION (WIN) WITHOUT A PENALTY (WIN), WHILE THE WRONGED PARTY SUFFERS (SAD). THE BILLIONAIRE CLASS SUCCEEDS WITHOUT BREAKING EXISTING LAW, AGAIN AND AGAIN. THAT IS BECAUSE, ACCORDING TO ROBERT B REICH’S EXCELLENT BOOK CALLED “SAVING CAPITALISM: FOR THE MANY, NOT THE FEW,” THEY ARE DIRECTLY INVOLVED WITH THE WRITING OF BILLS AND PUSHING THEM THROUGH THE HOUSE AND SENATE. POLITICS IS A GOOD TOOL FOR SOCIETY, BUT LIKE AN EXCELLENT GERMAN SHEPHERD, IT BEARS WATCHING. IT IS THE SECOND OR THIRD MOST DANGEROUS DOG IN TERMS OF HUMAN DEATHS BY BREED.

WITH THEIR MUCH GREATER WEALTH, THE BILLIONAIRES CAN AND DO CONVINCE MEMBERS OF THE LEGISLATURE TO WRITE AND SUPPORT LAWS PURPOSELY BECAUSE THOSE LAWS PROFIT THE “BIG PEOPLE” MUCH MORE THAN “THE LITTLE PEOPLE.” THAT, TOO, IS ILLEGAL, BUT WHEN IT’S DONE “UNDER THE TABLE” IT REPEATEDLY SUCCEEDS. OUR COUNTRY BEING ONE WHICH OPERATES UNDER “THE RULE OF LAW,” ALL ALLEGATIONS HAVE TO BE PROVEN OR VERY STRONGLY INDICATED. WE NEED NEW AND MUCH MORE DETAILED LAWS, MINUS THE “LOOPHOLES.” I KNOW. I’VE SAID THAT MORE THAN JUST A FEW OTHER TIMES; SO, CONGRESS, GET ON THE STICK!! THIS IS YOUR JOB!!

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/members-of-congress-demand-answers-from-facebook-about-cambridge-analytica/
CBS NEWS March 18, 2018, 3:29 PM
Members of Congress demand answers from Facebook about Cambridge Analytica

Following reports that a data analytics firm that worked with President Trump's campaign obtained Facebook data about millions of U.S. voters without their authorization, members of Congress from both sides of the aisle are seeking answers from the social media giant and questioning what effect the firm's use of the data may have had on the 2016 campaign.

The role Facebook and social media played in the 2016 election -- particularly the issue of political ads purchased by Russian troll farms and the spread of disinformation to sow division -- has been an area of interest for both House and Senate investigators into Russian meddling in the presidential race.

Facebook on Saturday announced it was suspending Cambridge Analytica and two individuals for violating the social media company's standards and practices. Lawmakers are questioning how deep the firm's practices went, just who knew of the practice and when.

On NBC's "Meet the Press," Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Florida, said that he was "disturbed" by the news and questioned if Facebook's policies have kept pace with their growth as a major social media platform over the past decade and a half.


Meet the Press
✔
@MeetThePress
WATCH: Rubio: 'I'm disturbed' about Facebook's growth and behavior

9:33 AM - Mar 18, 2018
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"Their growth has been a lot faster than perhaps their ability to mature institutionally from within on some of these challenges that they're facing," Rubio said. "I think another part about it is sometimes these companies grow so fast and get so much good press they get up high on themselves that they start to think that perhaps they're above sort of the rules [sic] that apply to everybody else."

Republican Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma questioned the extent of Cambridge Analytica's role vis a vis the Trump campaign on ABC's "This Week," adding that it's an issue Congress will "try to get resolved." The Trump campaign did not utilize the Facebook data obtained by Cambridge Analytica and the firm is not affiliated with the president's re-election effort, two sources directly involved with the campaign's decisions tell CBS News.

"This is something that Facebook has stepped out on. They said they, Cambridge Analytica, gathered information, then they used that, they redistributed that. Facebook, obviously, is proprietary. They're a private business. They want to be able to have that data. They distribute that out with a cost, not some other second party to be able to do that," said Lankford.

>Meanwhile, Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Arizona, said he has major questions as to who knew exactly what was going on with Cambridge Analytica and when specifically they knew.

"This is a big deal, when you have that amount of data and the privacy violations there are significant. The question is who knew it, when did they know it, how long did this go on and what happens to that data now? I guess there's some discrepancy as to whether or not it's been expunged or given back or if it's still held, being used," Flake said on CNN's "State of the Union."

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Kentucky, a staunch advocate for privacy from the government as well as corporations, warned against the government collecting material from companies.

"There's a certain amount of personal information [online] but it's consistent with your agreements [with companies]. But the main thing I say is, we ought to be very careful about the government collecting that data from private entities," Paul told CNN on Sunday.

He added, whether or not Cambridge Analytica broke the law, "the privacy of the American consumer and the American individual should be protected."

And in a lengthy statement released on Sunday, Rep. Adam Schiff, D-California, Ranking Member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, said the acquisition of personal information from Facebook raised "serious questions about the level of detail that Cambridge Analytica knew about users, whether it acquired that information illegally and whether it sought to abuse that information in support of President Trump's political campaign in the United States or Brexit in the United Kingdom."


This Week
✔
@ThisWeekABC
On questions swirling over Cambridge Analytica, @RepAdamSchiff says: “We need to find out what we can about the misappropriation of the private information of tens of millions of Americans… used by this digital arm of the Trump campaign to manipulate American voters.” #ThisWeek

9:24 AM - Mar 18, 2018
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He [Adam Schiff] said that the issue must now be "thoroughly investigated."

"The company has repeatedly touted its ability to influence voters through 'psychographic' targeting and has claimed it was the fundamental reason that Donald Trump won the 2016 election. Indeed, it may be that through Cambridge Analytica, the Trump campaign made use of illegitimately acquired data on millions of Americans in order to help sway the election," he added.

© 2018 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.


IN ONE WAY, THIS TERM IS PRETTY OBVIOUS, BUT STILL WIKIPEDIA HAS INCLUDED MORE INFORMATION THAN I ASSUMED ON THE SURFACE OF THE MATTER. I REALLY LOVE WIKIPEDIA.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychographic_segmentation
Psychographic segmentation
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Like other forms of market segmentation, psychographic segmentation divides consumers into sub-groups based on shared characteristics. As the adjective 'psychographic' suggests, those characteristics relate to psychological influences, including subconscious or conscious beliefs, motivations, and priorities.[1] Very broadly, psychographic segmentation applies behavioral and social sciences to marketing research. In other words, psychographic segmentation focuses on what makes individual consumers tick—their attitudes, values, personalities, lifestyles, and communication preferences.

Some consider lifestyle segmentation to be interchangeable with psychographic segmentation, marketing experts argue that lifestyle relates specifically to overt behaviors while psychographics relate to consumers' cognitive style, which is based on their "patterns of thinking, feeling and perceiving".[2]

Psychographic segmentation complements demographic and socioeconomic segmentation to explain and predict consumer behavior. Insights from psychographic segmentation enable marketers to understand consumers’ decision-making processes better and more efficiently target audiences with highly-relevant messaging to influence their responses to marketing, brands, products or services.

History

In 1964, Harvard alumnus and social scientist Daniel Yankelovich wrote that traditional demographic traits—sex, age and education level—lacked the insights marketers needed to inform their strategies. Yankelovich suggested that the use of non-demographic segmentation could help companies better predict consumer behavior, leading to improved product development, distribution, pricing and advertising.[3] Around the same time, market researcher Emanuel Demby began using the term ‘psychographics,’ to reference variations in attitudes, values and behaviors within a specific demographic segment.[4]

Within a decade, Arnold Mitchell and others at the Stanford Research Institute developed the Values Attitudes and Lifestyles (VALS) psychographic methodology, which despite critics—including Daniel Yankelovich—was embraced by leading marketers, prompting Advertising Age to call VALS "one of the ten top market research breakthroughs of the 1980s."[5]



SEEING SANDERS STANDING RIGHT BESIDE HILLARY, HE IS CLEARLY TALLER THAN I REALIZED, (I DON’T BELIEVE HE WOULD BE WEARING ELEVATOR SHOES) AND HE HAS PUT ON MAYBE 30 POUNDS SINCE LAST I SAW HIM. HE’S SMILING THAT GOOD SMILE OF HIS, AND HILLARY IS BEAMING. AS HIS SENIOR ADVISOR HAS SAID (I’M PARAPHRASING) DEMOCRATS AND OTHER TRUE LIBERALS AND PROGRESSIVES SHOULD NOT CONTINUE A WAR BETWEEN THEIR GROUPS. WE SHOULD LET THE REPUBLICANS DO THAT, AND THEN FIGHT THEM STUBBORNLY FOR IT. WE ANTI-RIGHTISTS SHOULD NOT MAKE ENEMIES OF OUR NATURAL COLLEAGUES. IT JUST ISN’T INTELLIGENT. I’M GLAD TO SEE THE PROTEST CANCELED WITH NO HOSTILITIES.

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/379146-sanders-supporters-cancel-clinton-protest
Sanders supporters cancel Clinton protest
BY BRETT SAMUELS - 03/19/18 02:37 PM EDT

Photograph -- SANDERS AND CLINTON TOGETHER WAVING TO THE AUDIENCE © Getty Images

Supporters of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) canceled a planned rally Monday to protest Hillary Clinton, NBC News reported.

Ellen Faden, who created a local chapter of the Sanders-aligned group Our Revolution in Hazlet, N.J., created an event to protest Clinton’s March 29 speech at Rutgers University. She reportedly expected only a small turnout, but the event quickly spread on social media, NBC reported.

Democrats and Sanders's senior adviser, Jeff Weaver, condemned the event and called for it to be canceled.

“Our Revolution and Senator Sanders operate independently,” Weaver told NBC in a statement. “That being said, this is no time to be protesting Hillary Clinton or any Democrat.”

Faden said Monday she is working to remove the event from the Our Revolution website and Facebook.

Clinton defeated Sanders in the 2016 Democratic primary to earn the party's presidential nomination. However, many of Sanders's supporters were hesitant to embrace her as the candidate, prompting significant protests outside the Democratic National Convention.

Those intraparty tensions have lingered, with more progressive Democrats in some cases challenging longtime party representatives.

It was reported as part of special counsel Robert Mueller's indictment against 13 Russians who allegedly interfered in the 2016 election that those individuals sought to sow discord between Clinton and Sanders supporters.

Sanders initially questioned why the Clinton campaign did not speak up about the issue, but later issued a blanket statement condemning Russian meddling.