APRIL 9, 2018


NEWS AND VIEWS


“... FOUND ABOUT 470 ACCOUNTS AND PAGES LINKED TO THE INTERNET RESEARCH AGENCY ...” ON THE ONE HAND THE FAILURE TO BE LOOKING FOR FOREIGN ACTIONS IS FORGIVABLE, BUT 470 IS A LOT OF RUSSIAN SITES TO ALLOW TO SLIP THROUGH THE SYSTEM. ALSO, PEOPLE BEHAVING ON THE NET LIKE THESE RUSSIAN TROLLS IS SUPPOSED TO BE BANNED, WHICH IMPLIES TO ME THAT FACEBOOK NEEDS TO BE LOOKING SPECIFICALLY FOR THAT ON A REGULAR, EVERYDAY BASIS. I’M SURE THAT IN THE FUTURE THEY WILL BE PARTICULARLY AWARE OF THAT AROUND ELECTIONS NOW. I HOPE FACEBOOK IS ACTUALLY ABLE TO DO THE WATCHDOG JOB THAT IT SHOULD. IF THERE SHOULD HAPPEN TO BE ANY FACEBOOK FAVORITISM TOWARD THE RIGHTWING POLITICAL GROUPS, THAT WOULD BE SHOCKING AND INFURIATING, NOT JUST TO MYSELF, BUT TO MANY OTHERS AS WELL. I HOPE THEY, IN THE OFFICIAL OVERSIGHT GROUPS, DO LOOK INTO THAT QUESTION, BECAUSE THERE WAS A HUGE AMOUNT OF DAMAGE DONE IN THIS CASE, AND BY A COMPANY THAT WAS HIGHLY TRUSTED BY AMERICANS. IT’S LIKE THE CHURCHES HAVING SEXUAL ACCUSATIONS, OR POLICE OFFICERS ROBBING PEOPLE.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/mark-zuckerbergs-prepared-remarks-before-congress-released/
Mark Zuckerberg's prepared remarks before Congress released
CBS NEWS April 9, 2018, 12:12 PM

One of the congressional committees that will be hearing from Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg this week released his prepared testimony in advance of his appearance. Referring to Facebook as "an idealistic and optimistic company," Zuckerberg says in remarks prepared for his appearance before the House Energy and Commerce Committee that for most of the time the company has existed, its staff has "focused on all the good that connecting people can bring" through the communities and movements that could be built on Facebook's social media platform.

Zuckerberg is also expected to apologize again, saying, "We didn't take a broad enough view of our responsibility, and that was a big mistake. It was my mistake, and I'm sorry. I started Facebook, I run it, and I'm responsible for what happens here."

He will go on to explain what happened in the Cambridge Analytica scandal and what steps Facebook is taking to ensure that it doesn't happen again.

The Facebook CEO will also reiterate that the company was "too slow to spot and respond to Russian interference" in the 2016 presidential election. During a two-year period encompassing Election Day, Zuckerberg will tell lawmakers that Facebook found about 470 accounts and pages linked to the Internet Research Agency, which generated some 80,000 Facebook posts during that time and served content to around 126 million people. On Instagram, another social media site owned by Facebook, Zuckerberg says that about 120,000 pieces of content were found, and some 20 million people were served this content.

Zuckerberg testifies before the House Energy and Commerce Committee Wednesday afternoon, and he'll appear before senators at the Senate Judiciary and Commerce Committees on Tuesday.

His prepared testimony can be read here:


© 2018 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.


THIS IS ONE MORE STEP DOWN THE ROAD IN WHAT IS A VERY COMPLICATED SET OF RELATIONSHIPS. COHEN UNDOUBTEDLY KNEW HE COULD BE LIABLE WHEN HE PAID THE MONEY, AND I DO WONDER IF TRUMP ACTUALLY INSTRUCTED HIM TO DO THAT. I WONDER IF HE WILL LOSE HIS ABILITY TO PRACTICE. TRUMP TWICE IN THIS ARTICLE CALLED THE LEGAL MOVES AGAINST HIM, “AN ATTACK ON OUR COUNTRY.”

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2018/04/09/fbi-raids-office-donald-trumps-lawyer-michael-cohen/500635002/?csp=chromepush
FBI raids Donald Trump's lawyer Michael Cohen's office, leading Trump to attack Robert Mueller
Kevin Johnson,Fredreka Schouten and David Jackson, USA TODAY
Published 4:50 p.m. ET April 9, 2018 | Updated 7:50 p.m. ET April 9, 2018

FBI agents raided the New York offices of President Trump's personal lawyer Michael Cohen and other related locations Monday.

Attorney Stephen Ryan, who represents Cohen, confirmed the searches, indicating that agents acted in part on a referral by special counsel Robert Mueller to federal prosecutors in New York — related to issues separate from Mueller's investigation into Russia's alleged interference in the 2016 elections.

"Today, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York executed a series of search warrants and seized the privileged communications between my client, Michael Cohen, and his clients," Ryan said in a statement.

Ryan called the action "completely inappropriate and unnecessary."

"It resulted in the unnecessary seizure of protected attorney-client communications between a lawyer and his clients," Ryan said. "These government tactics are also wrong because Mr. Cohen has cooperated completely with all government entities, including providing thousands of non-privileged documents to the Congress and sitting for depositions under oath."

Michael Cohen: Trump's personal lawyer in the spotlight

In this Sept. 19, 2017 file photo, President Trump's personal attorney Michael Cohen appears in front of members of the media after a closed door meeting with the Senate Intelligence Committee on Capitol Hill, in Washington. Federal agents carrying court-authorized search warrants have seized documents from Cohen according to a statement from Cohen’s attorney, Stephen Ryan. He says that the search warrants were executed by the office of the U.S. Attorney for Southern District of New York but they are “in part” related to special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation. Andrew Harnik, AP

Trump called the action "a disgraceful situation."

"It's a total witch hunt," the president said at the White House. "It's an attack on our country in the true sense ... what we all stand for."

Trump continued his criticism of Attorney General Jeff Sessions, reiterating that he never would have appointed the former Alabama senator had he known that Sessions would recuse himself from the Russia inquiry.

"The attorney general made a terrible mistake," he said.

Sessions' recusal led to Mueller's appointment.

"Many people have said you should fire him,” Trump said of Mueller. "We’ll see what happens."

President Donald Trump also called special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation "an attack on our country." (April 9) AP

Ryan did not detail what communications were sought.

Cohen has acknowledged using his own money to “facilitate” a $130,000 payment to porn star Stormy Daniels days before the 2016 election.

Cohen said he was not reimbursed by the Trump campaign or the Trump Organization. Last week, President Trump denied knowing about the payment or where the hush money came from.

If Cohen used his own money and acted without Trump’s knowledge, it could be considered an illegal contribution to Trump’s campaign and put him in legal jeopardy. Legal ethics rules bar attorneys from settling a claim without their clients’ knowledge or using their own money to fund settlements.

The watchdog group Common Cause filed complaints this year with the Justice Department and the Federal Election Commission, asking the agencies to investigate the payment as a possible violation of campaign-finance laws.

Paul (Seamus) Ryan, the group’s vice president of policy and litigation, said he felt vindicated by the Justice Department's pursuit of Cohen.

“I’m happy to see the DOJ is doing its job,” Ryan told USA TODAY on Monday. “Donald Trump said he knew nothing about the payment to Stormy Daniels. The FBI will now quickly get to the bottom of whether Trump lied to the American people when he said he had no knowledge about Michael Cohen’s payment to Stormy Daniels.”

Michael Avenatti, a lawyer representing Daniels, said Cohen was "placed in the crosshairs by Mr. Trump."

“He has been set up to take the fall," Avenatti said in a statement after news of the raid emerged.

The raid was first reported by The New York Times.

"An enormous amount of misplaced faith has been placed on his shoulders, and I do not believe he has the mettle to withstand it," Avenatti said. "If I am correct, this could end very, very badly for Mr. Trump and others.”

Daniels, whose legal name is Stephanie Clifford, sued Trump and Cohen in an effort to invalidate the agreement she said she signed 11 days before the election. Daniels said she had a sexual encounter with Trump in 2006. In a 60 Minutes interview last month, Daniels said she accepted $130,000 to keep quiet because she had been physically threatened years earlier about going public about the alleged relationship and still feared for her safety.

She said Cohen and Trump defamed her by claiming she lied about the affair.

More: Stormy Daniels accuses Trump lawyer Michael Cohen of defamation

Related: Stormy Daniels payment not about Trump's campaign, Michael Cohen says

The Justice Department's move against Cohen required approval at the highest levels of the department where such raids involve separating privileged communication between attorneys and their clients from communication that may be relevant to criminal investigations.

Ron Hosko, a former assistant FBI director, said it could take days or weeks before investigators are able to review information seized Monday, because a separate team of prosecutors generally must determine what can be reviewed by investigators.

"Before the decision was made to go forward with this (Cohen search), you have to think that Sessions and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein were all in," Hosko said. "This will be another unhappy day for the president."

"They broke into the office of one of my personal attorneys," Trump said, describing the action as rising to "a whole new level of unfairness."

He singled out Rosenstein, whom he has derided for his support of Mueller.

In an interview last month with USA TODAY, Rosenstein dismissed the near-constant criticism, including from the ultra-conservative Tea Party Patriots group. The group ran an ad campaign describing Rosenstein as "a weak careerist" and suggesting that he tender his own resignation.

"I believe much of the criticism will fall by the wayside when people reflect on this era and the Department of Justice," Rosenstein said. "I'm very confident that when the history of this era is written, it will reflect that the department was operated with integrity.

"I feel very confident in my ability to do the job," he said. "In any political job, you recognize that your time is going to be limited. My goal is to get as much done for as long as I'm here in the job."

President Trump’s personal attorney Michael Cohen reportedly used his Trump Organization email while arranging the transfer of $130,000 in “hush money” to Stormy Daniels. Nathan Rousseau Smith has more. Buzz60


THIS IS SCARY. OF COURSE, WITH ALCOHOLIC CONSUMPTION THERE IS A CONDITION CALLED FETAL ALCOHOL SYNDROME WHEN A PREGNANT MOTHER DRINKS, AND OF COURSE THE BRAIN DAMAGE FROM LONG AND INTENSIVE USE OF ALCOHOL. WITH SEVERAL STATES NOW LEGALIZING MARIJUANA USE, WE NEED TO LOOK AT THIS.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/this-mysterious-marijuana-syndrome-is-relieved-by-hot-showers/
This mysterious marijuana syndrome is relieved by hot showers
By RACHAEL RETTNER LIVESCIENCE.COM April 9, 2018, 12:38 PM

A mysterious vomiting condition tied to marijuana use has an even stranger antidote: hot showers.

The condition, called cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome, is characterized by recurring bouts of severe nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain in heavy marijuana users, who often take hot showers to relieve their symptoms. The condition was first recognized in 2004, but U.S. doctors have reported seeing it more frequently in recent years, according to the New York Times.

Indeed, a recent study of heavy marijuana users (who smoked at least 20 days per month) in New York found that about one-third of users reported symptoms consistent with cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome — meaning they experienced nausea and vomiting that was relieved by hot showers. If the results were extrapolated to the entire country, an estimated 2.7 million Americans could suffer from cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome or a similar condition, the researchers said. (Even so, it's unclear if these results can be extrapolated to other areas.) [25 Odd Facts About Marijuana]

But what causes this condition, and why would hot showers relieve people's symptoms?

Doctors can't answer either of those questions, and any attempts to explain exactly what's going on are "pretty hypothetical," said Dr. Kennon Heard, a toxicologist at UCHealth's University of Colorado Hospital in Aurora, who has studied cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome.

But doctors do know that long-term use of drugs can result in changes in the brain and the nervous system, Heard said. In addition, doctors know that endogenous cannabinoids — compounds in the body similar to those found in marijuana — are integral to the body's pain system, Heard said.

So one idea is that long-term stimulation from the ingredient in marijuana that produces a "high" — tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) — alters the body's pain system in a way that results in the symptoms of cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome.

"Something in the pain system is disturbed by having THC around all the time," Heard told Live Science.

If this is the case, hot showers may help to relieve symptoms because the stimulation from the hot water produces a different sensory signal that distracts the body from the pain signal. "Your body can only process so many signals at once," Heard said.

Still, this remains a hypothesis, and doctors don't know why some marijuana users develop this condition, while others do not. Indeed, medical marijuana is sometimes prescribed to relieve nausea and vomiting in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy.

Heard said that when he first heard of this condition about 15 years ago, he was skeptical that it was a real condition. But now, he's no longer skeptical, and the condition is "something we see in our ER several times a week, if not on a daily basis."

The condition is not life-threatening, but "it certainly is disabling," said Heard, who noted that patients may go to the ER three to four times a week, or need to stay home to shower often. In 2010, researchers found that the average patient with cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome went to the emergency room seven times, and was given a (mistaken) diagnosis three times, before being diagnosed with their condition.

But there is a cure for the condition — quitting marijuana. In a 2017 review study, Heard's colleagues found that 97 percent of people with cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome stopped experiencing the symptoms after they stopped smoking marijuana.

Original article on Live Science.

Livescience.com. All rights reserved.



THIS IS DEFINITELY A MYSTERY, WITH ALL PARTIES POINTING THEIR FINGER AT ANOTHER. IT REMINDS ME OF AGATHA CHRISTIE’S MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS, IN WHICH A SIZEABLE NUMBER OF PEOPLE WERE ON THE TRAIN, EACH OF WHOM HAD A STRONG GRIEVANCE AGAINST THE VICTIM, AND STRUCK A BLOW TO KILL HIM. ALSO LIKE THE DEATH OF JULIUS CAESAR IN SHAKESPEARE’S VERSION OF THE STORY. FROM MY VIEWPOINT, THIS IS JUSTIFIED, WHOEVER DID IT, IF THE BOMBINGS DID HIT THE SYRIAN GOVERNMENT OFFICES AND NOT SOME POOR CITIZEN’S HOUSE, THAT IS.

THIS, HOWEVER, IS THE TRUTH OF THE SITUATION: "PEOPLE NOW ARE GOING OUT IN THE STREETS LOOKING FOR THEIR LOVED ONES IN THE RUBBLE," BAKKAR SAID. "AND WE DON'T HAVE ANY SPACE LEFT TO BURY THEM." CAN’T MANKIND GET BEYOND THIS STAGE OF OUR DEVELOPMENT?

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/syria-attack-air-base-not-us-retaliation-douma-gas-attack-israel-russia-says/
U.S. denies missile strike in Syria, Russia says Israel did it
CBS/AP April 9, 2018, 7:16 AM

BEIRUT -- Missiles struck an air base in central Syria early Monday, but the Pentagon quickly denied claims from Syrian state media that the strikes were "an American aggression." A war monitoring group said Iranian-backed militia members were killed in the strikes, and Russia and then Syria accused Israeli jets of firing the missiles.

Syria's state-run SANA news agency said the missile attack on the T4 military air base in Homs province had resulted in a number of casualties. The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said 14 people were killed, including foreign nationals -- an allusion to Iranian, or at least Iran-backed, fighters.

Russia's allegation that two Israeli F-15s had fired a total of eight missiles at the T4 base came several hours after Pentagon spokesman Christopher Sherwood said in a statement that the "Department of Defense is not conducting air strikes in Syria."

U.N. to hold emergency meeting on alleged Syria chemical attack

The missile attack followed a suspected poison gas attack Saturday on the last remaining foothold for the Syrian opposition in the eastern suburbs of Damascus. At least 40 people were killed, including families found in their homes and shelters, opposition activists and local rescuers said.

As CBS News correspondent Holly Williams reports, videos from Douma show lifeless bodies with no visible injuries, all of them apparently inside buildings, survivors struggling to breathe, many of them children. Victims are seen being washed down, apparently to remove a substance from their skin.

President Trump has promised a "big price to pay" for the suspected chemical attack and called Syrian President Bashar Assad an "animal" in tweets sent earlier Sunday:


Donald J. Trump
✔
@realDonaldTrump
Many dead, including women and children, in mindless CHEMICAL attack in Syria. Area of atrocity is in lockdown and encircled by Syrian Army, making it completely inaccessible to outside world. President Putin, Russia and Iran are responsible for backing Animal Assad. Big price...

9:00 AM - Apr 8, 2018
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Donald J. Trump
✔
@realDonaldTrump
....to pay. Open area immediately for medical help and verification. Another humanitarian disaster for no reason whatsoever. SICK!

9:04 AM - Apr 8, 2018
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CBS News can not independently verify the reports of a chemical attack in Syria, and the Syrian government denied the allegations, calling them fabrications.

Survivors, though, reportedly smelled of chlorine -- a chemical that can be deadly in confined spaces.

Dr. Ahmad Tarakji, of the Syrian American Medical Society, told CBS News via Skype that at his field hospital in eastern Ghouta, they "received many patients who suffered from symptoms compatible with exposure to chlorine gas -- high concentration chlorine gas."

On Monday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov called the accusations against Bashar Assad's regime a "provocation" and, referring to the airstrikes on the base in Homs, he added that the situation in Syria was, "becoming too dangerous" as "actors whom nobody invited" show up on the complex battlefield.

Israel's government did not confirm that it had carried out any strikes in Syria, but it has targeted Assad's forces, and their Iranian allies, inside the country before. Some Israeli media noted

Russia's Ministry of Defense said Monday that "two F-15 aircraft of the Israeli Air Force, without entering Syrian airspace, struck eight controlled missiles at the airfield." It said the missiles were fired from within Lebanese airspace, and that five of them were destroyed by Syria's air defenses before landing.

Three missiles "reached the western part of the airfield," according to the Russian military, which also has personnel in the area in support of Assad's forces. No Russian "advisers" were hit in the early morning missile strike, according to Russia.

In the statement released early Monday morning, U.S. military spokesman Sherwood said the Pentagon would "continue to closely watch the situation and support the ongoing diplomatic efforts to hold those who use chemical weapons, in Syria and otherwise, accountable."

The U.S. launched several dozen Tomahawk cruise missiles at a Syrian air base in 2017 after a chemical attack in the northern Syrian town of Khan Sheikhoun killed dozens of people. Israel has also struck inside Syria in recent years.

The suspected poison gas attack Saturday on the besieged town of Douma came almost exactly a year after the U.S. missile attack prompted by the Khan Sheikhoun deaths.

First responders said they found families suffocated in their homes and shelters, with foam on their mouths. The opposition-linked Syrian Civil Defense were able to document 42 fatalities but were impeded from searching further by strong odors that gave their rescuers difficulties breathing, said Siraj Mahmoud, a spokesman for the group, which is known as the White Helmets.

"Open area immediately for medical help and verification. Another humanitarian disaster for no reason whatsoever. SICK!" the president wrote.

Mr. Trump later blamed his predecessor President Barack Obama for not taking action against the Assad regime earlier in the civil war.


Donald J. Trump
✔
@realDonaldTrump
If President Obama had crossed his stated Red Line In The Sand, the Syrian disaster would have ended long ago! Animal Assad would have been history!

9:12 AM - Apr 8, 2018
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Hours after the attack, the Army of Islam rebel group agreed to surrender the town and evacuate their fighters to rebel-held northern Syria, Syrian state media reported. The group also agreed to give up its prisoners, a key demand of the government.

The government agreed to halt its assault after three days of indiscriminate air and ground attacks.

"There's nothing left for civilians and fighters. We don't have anything to stand fast," said Haitham Bakkar, an opposition activist inside the town. He spoke to the Associated Press via WhatsApp.

"People now are going out in the streets looking for their loved ones in the rubble," Bakkar said. "And we don't have any space left to bury them."

More than 100 buses entered the town Sunday night to transport fighters and their families to Jarablus, a town under the shared control of rebels and Turkey, said Syrian state-affiliated al-Ikhbariya TV.

The preparations follow a pattern of evacuations around the capital and other major Syrian cities as the government reasserts its control after seven years of war.

Human rights groups and United Nations officials say the tactic amounts to forced displacement, a war crime. The U.N. Security Council planned to hold an emergency meeting Monday to discuss the attack.

It's unclear what the administration's next steps are with regard to responding to the attack. In response to a similar chemical attack in April of last year, Mr. Trump ordered a missile strike on a Syrian military target in Shayrat, about 50 miles due south of the village that was hit in a gas attack.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Sunday on CBS News' "Face the Nation" that he and the administration "will be reviewing with the president all different alternatives" for a response.

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


CONTEMPLATE THIS

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/why-60-minutes-aired-photos-of-lynchings-in-report-by-oprah/
Why 60 Minutes aired photos of lynchings in report by Oprah
Apr 08, 2018
BY Brit McCandless Farmer

MAP OF KNOWN LYNCHINGS -- The Equal Justice Initiative found evidence of more than 4,000 lynchings in states throughout the country.

The reason behind the broadcast's decision to show graphic photographs of lynchings in this week's report by contributor Oprah Winfrey

Wes Johnson was about 18 years old when he was murdered in a cotton field in southern Alabama. It was 1937, and according to newspaper reports at the time, a mob of men had dragged him from his jail cell before he could stand trial for the charge against him: assaulting a white woman. Today, only one photograph is known to exist of Johnson, a single picture to preserve his image for posterity—his lifeless body hanging from a tree.

Bryan Stevenson wants to honor the legacy of Johnson, and thousands like him, with a new memorial for victims of lynching in America. Stevenson is a lawyer and founder of the Equal Justice Initiative, a non-profit organization that investigates the lynchings of African Americans. To commemorate the victims whose cases they've examined, the organization recently bought six acres of land in Montgomery, Alabama and constructed a memorial.

ot-lynchingphotosi.jpg
The Equal Justice Initiative found evidence of more than 4,000 lynchings in states throughout the country.

This week on 60 Minutes, Oprah Winfrey gets an early look at the memorial, which will open to the public on April 26. The memorial contains 805 steel markers, one for each county where lynchings occurred for more than 70 years following the Civil War. The markers are suspended in air to evoke the horror of being hanged.

To tell that story on 60 Minutes, Winfrey and a team of producers felt it was important to show historical photos of lynchings, images that are likely to disturb many viewers. In an interview with 60 Minutes Overtime, Denise Schrier Cetta, the producer of the story, and Jeff Fager, the executive producer of the broadcast, explain their decision to air such upsetting photographs.

"I don't think the story exists without those photos," Fager says. News executives have a tendency to self-censor too much, he says, out of concern that viewers will be turned off. For him, the decision to show the photos was about reporting important facts about a little-known but important chapter of history.
ot-lynchingphotose-getty.jpg
GETTY IMAGES

"That's reality; that's what happened," he tells 60 Minutes Overtime's Ann Silvio in the video above. "Our story is about a part of history, really almost 80 years of American history, that isn't in the history books. We don't see these pictures. We don't talk about it."

One photograph that surprises Fager the most is an image of a crowd that showed up in Waco, Texas to watch the lynching of a man named Jesse Washington. The hanging tree stands in the center of the photograph, Washington's tortured body lies beneath it, and hundreds of well-dressed white people look on.

"I really thought most lynchings were in the cover of night and Klan outfits, and not that it was a part of life to that degree—that the town would turn out to watch it happen in broad daylight," says Fager, who feels that many viewers will learn a lot from the story.

ot-lynchingphotosc.jpg
Winfrey's 60 Minutes piece included a photo of the lynching of Jesse Washington

Cetta says Jesse Washington's lynching was one of the more remarkable images in this story. In the crowd, one spectator can be seen holding up another man so he can get a better view. "There was a lot of community acceptance of these crimes," she says. "You can see that clearly in this photograph."

Mobs didn't just lynch men. Cetta came across a photo of a woman named Laura Nelson, who is seen hanging from a bridge; the people who lynched her also hanged her teenage son on the other side of the bridge.

"If a lynch mob gathered and they were looking for someone, and they couldn't find that person, sometimes they would turn and lynch a random black man they could get their hands on or a family member," Cetta says, explaining how random the violence was. "This is a very disturbing image because you don't think of women being lynched."

Cetta hopes the images of lynchings—the murdered men and women, the smiling onlookers—will be a teacher and strong deterrent for today's generation.

"I think if you look through history one thing that becomes obvious is that any group of people can be whipped into a frenzy or a fury, can do things that are abhorrent," she says. "And education is one way to make sure those things don't happen."

While reporting the story, the 60 Minutes team met James Johnson and Faye Walker Howell, two descendants of Wes Johnson. Both wanted the image of their relative to be seen.

"I think that seeing what actually happened will open up the eyes of the American people, the same thing that happened with the Emmett Till situation," James Johnson told Winfrey. "His mother wanted the world to see what hatred had done."

ot-lynchingphotosh.jpg
Faye Walker Howell, a descendant of lynching victim Wes Johnson, wants people to see the photo of Johnson's lynching.

As the Equal Justice Initiative has found, lynching happened nationwide. Evidence exists of more than 4,000 lynchings in states throughout the country—not just in the South. In addition to the memorial, Stevenson is also opening a museum in Montgomery to teach visitors about what he calls "the ugly parts" of American history.

Outside the museum, he's included a sculpture depicting enslaved Africans.

"We wanted to literally make the connection to Africa, because that's where the story of the black experience in America begins, just the experience of being captured, chained, imprisoned," Stevenson says in the clip above.

Stevenson thinks understanding the history of slavery is vital for appreciating the hatred that persisted for decades after emancipation.

"These folks were promised freedom after emancipation, and what they got instead was terror, trauma, lynching," he says.

The video at the top of the page was produced by Ann Silvio and Lisa Orlando. It was edited by Lisa Orlando with an assist from Will Croxton.

© 2018 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.



VANITY FAIR’S CHRIS SMITH IS TAMPING DOWN ON THE HOPES FOR A BERNIE SANDERS VICTORY, BUT IT’S SOOOOO EARLY YET, THAT HIS COMMENTS SOUND LIKE PROPAGANDA TO ME – PAID, PERHAPS? I’M GOING TO WAIT AND SEE. BESIDES, I CARE MORE ABOUT REALLY LIKING MY CANDIDATE THAN NECESSARILY WINNING.

https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2018/04/can-the-bernies-catch-the-blue-wave
“RUNNING TO THE MIDDLE DOES NOTHING”: CAN THE BERNIES CATCH THE BLUE WAVE?
So far, the Democrats’ early success has had a centrist tinge—but progressives say it’s the same old story of the Establishment keeping them out.
BY CHRIS SMITH
APRIL 6, 2018 5:32 PM

Bernie Sanders is weighing a 2020 presidential run, traveling the country and showing that the lefty, populist fervor that made him a surprisingly strong challenger to Hillary Clinton hasn’t gone away. In the meantime, the Democrats are gaining momentum toward retaking Congress in the 2018 midterms. What’s interesting is that the two trends don’t seem to be intersecting: so far, the blue wave isn’t a Bernie wave.

In rural western Pennsylvania, Conor Lamb won a narrow special-election upset in a heavily Republican district by running a largely centrist campaign: in favor of fracking, not in favor of single-payer health care. In suburban Chicago, incumbent Dan Lipinski, a throwback Blue Dog Democrat—anti-abortion, anti-Obamacare—won a primary in a reliably liberal district by defeating a Sanders-endorsed progressive challenger, Marie Newman. And while dozens of Sanders-inspired candidates are on Democratic primary ballots this fall, their chances generally don’t appear a whole lot better. The reasons are as varied as the 435 congressional districts, but one consistent hurdle appears to be unchanged from the 2016 Sanders-Clinton presidential battle, despite provoking so much controversy: state parties, and the Democratic National Committee, are weighted in favor of entrenched candidates and traditional big-money interest groups.

“For Tom Perez to be a disappointment as the new leader of the D.N.C., I would have had to have high expectations,” says Corbin Trent, a former Sanders operative who is now communications director for Justice Democrats, one of the most prominent groups launched in the wake of the 2016 election to try to elect progressive Democrats. “When we have a Democratic Party that won’t stand behind candidates with a huge capacity to generate grassroots donations and activity, they’re not interested in letting the democratic process shake out.”

Left, Dan Lipinski photographed speaking during the Blue Dog Coalition conference on October 4, 2017; Right, Lamb greets his supporters on election night, March 14, 2018.

Left, by Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call; Right, by Drew Angerer/Getty Images.

Trent points to the state of Washington as one midterm example. East of Seattle, a seven-term Republican congressman is retiring, generating an eight-way scramble for the Democratic nomination. The early favorite, Kim Schrier, has been fending off complaints from her rivals on the left that the state party is trying to clear the field on her behalf. Two candidates backed by Justice Democrats in other Washington districts, Dorothy Gasque and Sarah Smith, have run up against bureaucratic obstacles. “The state parties are still working to put their thumb on the scales in something as basic as voter file access,” Trent says. “I had hoped that one of the lessons of 2016, especially with the D.N.C., would be that a fair fight is in everybody’s best interest. But that doesn’t seem to be the case.” (The head of the Washington State Democratic Party has said she’s staying neutral. “The D.N.C. does not get involved in congressional primaries, and the state parties operate according to their own bylaws,” a D.N.C. spokeswoman says.)

Watch Now: Tiffany Haddish and Tracy Morgan Explain Their Instagram Photos

Nina Turner, the head of Our Revolution, the Sanders-founded political group, is more worried that Democrats are once again selling their ideological soul in the name of racking up political victories, and will end up repeating the same lack of enthusiasm for their candidates that helped elect Donald Trump. “People say Lamb and Lipinski show that progressives can’t win. Lee Carter, in a strong Virginia Republican state legislative district, didn’t run in the middle—he won as a democratic socialist! Randall Woodfin, in Birmingham, Alabama, ran as a progressive and won the mayor’s race!” Turner says. “I was in Flint, Michigan, last night with Senator Sanders, and the reality on the ground is very much reflective of the town hall he did. Running to the middle does nothing to help the people in Flint. Playing to the middle is not what excites people and gets them out to vote, and it is not what changes the status quo in real people’s lives.”

At the moment, however, fear and hatred of Trump seem to be motivation enough to elect Democrats in many midterm races. And Bernie Dems still haven’t broken through in many contests where they need to appeal across more diverse geographic and demographic terrain; Sanders himself is now trying to fix his glaring weakness with black voters. “The Bernie crowd went all in against Ralph Northam last year in the Virginia governor Democratic primary—and lost,” says Congressman Hakeem Jeffries, a New York Democrat. “And Northam, the more centrist candidate, went on to victory in the general in November, so it’s obvious the Democrats chose the most appropriate candidate. The progressive agenda should absolutely be respected as important to the future of our nation. But it remains to be seen how potent a force the left will be in primarying Democrats. And I think we’re close to being able to say that the swing to the left has been overhyped and is not electorally effective.”


THIS IS A GOOD RUNDOWN OF POTENTIAL 2020 CANDIDATES FOR PRESIDENT. NOBODY HAS MADE A SOLID DECISION.

https://www.cnn.com/2018/04/08/politics/2020-vision-kamala-harris-corporate-money/index.html
#2020Vision: Harris on corporate cash, Warren's plan to serve six-year Senate term, Kander hires Iowa reporter
By Eric Bradner, Gregory Krieg and Caroline Kenny, CNN
Updated 9:19 PM ET, Sun April 8, 2018

Photograph -- Asked if she'll accept corporate or lobbyist cash, California Sen. Kamala Harris said "it depends."

Washington (CNN)Our weekly roundup of the news, notes and chatter about the prospects for the next Democratic presidential race:

Asked during an event in Sacramento last week whether she would pledge to refuse campaign cash from "a corporation or corporate lobbyist," California Sen. Kamala Harris said: "It depends."

She explained her position this way: "That's why we have rules that require that any donation that anyone receives needs to be disclosed. So that (voters) can do an assessment ... and look at where the contributions come from and make your decisions about whether those contributions have influenced the way that people act and the way that people vote. And so I am an open book there. Feel free to look at it and then draw your own conclusions about what has motivated me and what hasn't."

But will Democratic primary voters accept it? Harris' colleagues, as we've seen in the last few months, don't think so.

Earlier this year, fellow potential 2020 candidates Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand and Cory Booker swore off corporate money. Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren have done the same. Harris could end up in a lonely spot if this group ever appears together on a primary debate stage.

One more Harris note: She endorsed Aaron Ford for Nevada attorney general last week. That came after she made a visit to the early-voting state. Given the importance of immigration (a Harris focus) in Nevada, its proximity to California and her growing roots there, it could be an indication of where she expects to see her biggest opening in 2020.

News and notes:

WARREN: 'MY PLAN' TO SERVE FULL SENATE TERM: Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren was asked Thursday if she'll serve a full six-year Senate term — plans that would preclude the presidency in 2020 — if she wins re-election this fall. "It's certainly my plan," she said, per The Boston Globe's Matt Stout. Afterward, she told reporters: "I'm running for United States Senate in 2018. I am not running for president of the United States."

KANDER HIRES DES MOINES REGISTER'S CHIEF POLITICAL REPORTER: Jason Noble is leaving his position at the heart of 2020 journalism, departing the Des Moines Register to take over communications for Let America Vote, the voting rights-focused organization of Jason Kander, the former Missouri secretary of state and a 2020 prospect.

HICKENLOOPER: TODAY'S DIVISIONS AS BAD AS PRE-CIVIL WAR: Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper compared the current state of American politics and culture to that of Antebellum times. "We are seeing a divide in this country that is as significant as when we had slave states and anti-slavery states," he told Politico. "This rural-urban divide, people in rural areas of Colorado and across the country feel like the urban areas have just left them behind and don't care."

Also from that chat: Given the chance, Hickenlooper did not rule out a presidential bid. No surprise there. Asked about running on a unity ticket with his friend, Republican Ohio Gov. John Kasich, the Democrat pretty much put any speculation to bed, saying they "just disagree on a lot of important core stuff."

SANDERS' VISIT TO MISSISSIPPI DRAWS A CROWD — AND SOME CONTROVERSY: Asked during a Wednesday town hall event in Jackson, Mississippi, how he planned to keep his movement on track, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders began by dissing the Democratic Party's "business model," a case he's been making for a long time. It's what came next that set off the Twitter wars: "People sometimes don't see that because there was a charismatic individual named Barack Obama, who won the presidency in 2008 and 2012," he said. "(Obama) was obviously an extraordinary candidate, brilliant guy. But behind that reality, over the last 10 years, Democrats have lost about 1,000 seats in state legislatures all across this country."

Again, pretty much the standard Sanders argument. But the timing — on the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination — rankled some Dems, especially those who remain skeptical/disdainful of his rise. BuzzFeed's Ruby Cramer and Darren Sands looked at the argument that followed from all angles.

CUOMO COVERS HIS LEFT: Another week, another reason ambitious Democratic officeholders should be keeping a close eye on New York: Gov. Andrew Cuomo, under pressure from progressives, rushed to close a deal last week that will reunite Empire State Democrats after a seven-year schism that helped guarantee Republican control of the state Senate. The reconciliation means the eight members of the so-called Independent Democratic Conference will rejoin mainline Democrats and, if all goes as expected, help the party reclaim a majority in Albany. (When and how that actually happens is a longer story.)

Cuomo's decision to speed up the pact — it was negotiated in November but not scheduled to go into effect until later this month — comes as progressives are gaining momentum up and down the ballot. At a press conference on Wednesday, Cuomo denied that Cynthia Nixon's primary challenge inspired him to act, insCCCC pointing to state special elections in a few weeks.

THE ROCK ON WHY HE'S PASSING ON 2020: Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson generated — and encouraged — a bit of 2020 buzz previously. But he told Rolling Stone that the job needs someone with years of experience on the local, state and national level. "What I'm sensing now is that we have to pivot back to people who have a deep-rooted knowledge of American history and politics and experience in policy and how laws get made," he said.

Before you go:

Former Vice President Joe Biden is reportedly telling Wall Street allies he'll run in 2020, but only if President Donald Trump seeks re-election. ... Biden is heading to Tennessee on Tuesday for a fundraiser for Senate hopeful Phil Bredesen.

CNN's Saba Hamedy, Sophie Tatum, Jennifer Hansler, David Siegel, Ashley Killough and Betsy Klein contributed to this memo.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jason_Kander
Jason Kander
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Personal details

Born May 4, 1981 (age 36)
Overland Park, Kansas, U.S.
Political party Democratic
Spouse(s) Diana Kagan (m. 2003)
Children 1 son
Education American University (BA)
Georgetown University (JD)
Website Official website
Military service
Allegiance United States
Service/branch United States Army
Years of service 2003–2011
Rank US Army O3 shoulderboard rotated.svg Captain
Battles/wars War in Afghanistan

Jason David Kander (born May 4, 1981) is an American attorney and politician. A Democrat, he was elected Secretary of State of Missouri in 2012, serving from 2013–17. He had previously served as a state representative in the Missouri House of Representatives.

He was an intelligence officer in the Army National Guard, achieving the rank of captain. He was the Democratic nominee for the United States Senate for Missouri in 2016, narrowly losing the 2016 Senate election to Republican incumbent Roy Blunt.[1]

After the Senate election, Kander founded an organization called Let America Vote, a campaign dedicated to ending voter suppression and gerrymandering.[2]

In 2017, he became a CNN contributor.[3] He has been in demand as a speaker at Democratic Party events around the country.[4] He is host of the Crooked Media podcast Majority 54.

Political career

Heartland Democrats of America

Heartland Democrats of America (HDA) was a political action committee founded in 2005 in Kansas City, Missouri by Kander and his wife, Diana Kander.[18][19] Jason Kander served as the treasurer until 2007.[20][21] The HDA raised over one hundred thousand dollars from special interest groups and individuals in support of Democratic candidates and causes.[22] Notable supporters included current and former state and city elected officials, along with national figures, such as former Democratic National Committee chairman and former Virginia governor Terry McAuliffe; professor and author George Lakoff; John Halpin, a senior fellow at the liberal Center for American Progress; and Mark Talisman, an author, Democratic activist, and president of the Project Judaica Foundation.[23] The PAC’s mission was described as, “the need for Democrats to engage in, expand, and ultimately win the ‘values debate.’ HDA members understand that progress cannot wait for the next campaign season, because Democrats need to start changing minds now. HDA champions strong Democratic values in Missouri and throughout America’s Heartland. The era of the apologetic Democrat in middle America is being laid to rest forever - replaced by a unifying values message worthy of the hard-working people of middle America.”[24] The HDA was officially terminated in 2008.[25]

Missouri House of Representatives

Kander was elected to the Missouri House of Representatives in 2008.[26]

In 2010, Kander worked with Republican State Representative Tim Flook to pass the first major ethics reform bill in Missouri since 1991.[27]

In 2010, he ran for re-election to his State Representative seat and won 69.6% of the vote to defeat Republican Sally Miller.[28]

During his time in the Missouri House, Kander was the chief sponsor of 28 bills, none of which became law.[29]

Let America Vote

Let America Vote is a political action organization founded by Kander in 2017. The group has raised approximately $2.4 million this year.[42][43][44]

Political positions

In 2009, Kander signed a Progressive State Network letter calling on President Barack Obama and the Democratic-led Congress to include a public option in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.[45]

Kander supports retaining the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.[46]

In 2009, Kander voted against a bill that would extend the Castle Doctrine to renters. The doctrine allows a homeowner to use deadly force against a perceived intruder.[47][better source needed] The NRA has given Kander a 7% rating.[48] Kander has also cited overturning Citizens United v. FEC as a political priority.[29]

Kander is pro-Israel and has called on Congress to stop the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement.[49]