VEHICULAR HOMELESSNESS
COMPILATION AND COMMENTARY
BY LUCY WARNER
JULY 31, 2018


LIVING IN CARS IS BECOMING A TREND, THOUGH NOT A FASHION

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/more-americans-are-living-in-their-vehicles-amid-high-housing-prices/
By JONATHAN BERR MONEYWATCH July 31, 2018, 5:00 AM
More Americans are forced to "reside" in their vehicles

The number of people who live in their vehicles because they can't find affordable housing is on the rise, even though the practice is illegal in many U.S. cities.

The number of people residing in campers and other vehicles surged 46 percent over the past year, a recent homeless census in Seattle's King County, Washington found. The problem is "exploding" in cities with expensive housing markets, including Los Angeles, Portland and San Francisco, according to Governing magazine.

The problem of vehicle residency is national in scope, although its impact may be more "acutely felt in urban areas where space is more limited," said Sara Rankin, an assistant professor law at Seattle University and the director of Homeless Rights Advocacy Project, in an email to CBS MoneyWatch.

Challenges abound for people who live in their vehicles, ranging from racking up parking tickets to finding a safe place to park and shower, advocates say.

A recent survey by the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty (NLCHP), which tracks policies in 187 cities, found the number of prohibitions against vehicle residency has more than doubled during the last decade.

"Much like outdoor camping and sleeping bans, city-wide restrictions on living in vehicles may leave no lawful place where homeless people may live in a community," NLCHP said in a recent report. "Bans that permit vehicle impoundment, or that result in impoundment flowing from unpaid tickets or other enforcement of such bans, can cause homeless people to lose their shelter, transportation, and personal belongings in one fell swoop – with no realistic option to retrieve or replace them."

It's a frequent problem for the youth and veterans who turn to the Volunteers of America in Illinois for help, impacting perhaps one-third of the organization's clients, said Airielle Macool-Cunningham, manager of veteran's support services.

"People don't consider themselves to be living in their car if they are only doing it for a couple of nights here and there, and so they are not self-reporting that," she said. "Since our climate is a lot colder, they don't typically stay in their cars long term unless it's the summer months."

Stephanie Monroe, managing director of Children Youth & Family Services at Volunteers of America, Dakotas, tells a similar story. At least 25 percent of the non-profit's Sioux Falls clients have lived in their vehicles at some point, even during winter's sub-freezing temperatures.

"Many of our communities don't have formal shelter services," she said in an interview. "It can lead to individuals resorting to living in their cars or other vehicles."

Homelessness rose last year, marking its first increase since 2010, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. About one-third of the homeless population was described as "unsheltered," which includes people living on the streets and in their vehicles. HUD's data doesn't provide more specific information.

A fair number of the "vehicular homeless" in Silicon Valley are employed but are unable to find affordable housing, as the Associated Press noted last year. Lines of RVs can be found near the headquarters of tech heavyweights such as Apple, Google and Hewlett-Packard. Nationwide, extremely low-income renters are facing a shortage of 7.2 million rental homes, according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition.

"A lot of times, once you lose your home it can spiral downwards from there," said Megan Hustings, interim director of the National Coalition for the Homeless, in an interview. "We have seen people living in their cars anywhere from a couple of weeks to months to years. "

© 2018 CBS Interactive Inc.. All Rights Reserved.


https://endhomelessness.org/resource/changes-in-the-hud-definition-of-homeless/

CHANGES IN THE HUD DEFINITION OF “HOMELESS”
Publications | January 18, 2012

HUD has issued the final regulation to implement changes to the definition of homelessness contained in the Homeless Emergency Assistance and Rapid Transition to Housing Act. The definition affects who is eligible for various HUD-funded homeless assistance programs. The new definition includes four broad categories of homelessness:

People who are living in a place not meant for human habitation, in emergency shelter, in transitional housing, or are exiting an institution where they temporarily resided. The only significant change from existing practice is that people will be considered homeless if they are exiting an institution where they resided for up to 90 days (it was previously 30 days), and were in shelter or a place not meant for human habitation immediately prior to entering that institution.

People who are losing their primary nighttime residence, which may include a motel or hotel or a doubled up situation, within 14 days and lack resources or support networks to remain in housing. HUD had previously allowed people who were being displaced within 7 days to be considered homeless. The proposed regulation also describes specific documentation requirements for this category.

Families with children or unaccompanied youth who are unstably housed and likely to continue in that state. This is a new category of homelessness, and it applies to families with children or unaccompanied youth who have not had a lease or ownership interest in a housing unit in the last 60 or more days, have had two or more moves in the last 60 days, and who are likely to continue to be unstably housed because of disability or multiple barriers to employment.

People who are fleeing or attempting to flee domestic violence, have no other residence, and lack the resources or support networks to obtain other permanent housing. This category is similar to the current practice regarding people who are fleeing domestic violence.
This document includes a table summarizing the changes to the definition of homelessness and provides analysis of its effects and the decisions that communities and individual programs will have to make.


IMAGINARY SOLUTIONS TO SOCIAL PROBLEMS, SUCH AS TOTAL DENIAL OF THE HUMAN SITUATION HERE IN THE USA, ARE SATISFYING TO SOME WHO JUST DON’T REALLY CARE, BUT THEY ARE VERY INEFFECTIVE. THAT DOESN’T JUST HAPPEN IN THIRD WORLD COUNTRIES, SO WE NEED TO PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO IT, AND DO SOMETHING USEFUL.

IT’S TIME TO CONSIDER ADOPTING AN ANNUAL MINIMUM INCOME, AS SEVERAL PROGRESSIVE POLITICIANS HAVE BEEN RECOMMENDING IN THE LAST TWO YEARS OR SO. THAT WOULD FORM A “CUSHION” FOR THE INDIVIDUAL WHICH WOULD ALLOW A RENTAL SITUATION, PERHAPS IN A GROUP HOME. COMBINED WITH GROUP HOUSES AND APARTMENTS, IT WOULD REDUCE THE INCIDENCE OF “UNSHELTERED HOMELESSNESS” CONSIDERABLY.

THE HIGH COST OF HOUSING, IN CALIFORNIA SPECIFICALLY, HAS BEEN IN THE NEWS BEFORE. A NATIONAL LAW PROHIBITING THE RAISING OF RENTS BY HOUSING OWNERS -- JUST BECAUSE THEY CAN GET AWAY WITH IT UNDER OUR CURRENT LAWS -- SHOULD ALSO BE ENACTED. LET’S CHANGE THOSE LAWS WHICH RESTRICT AID BY EXTREME MEANS TESTING. IN ADDITION TO A MEANINGFUL HIKE IN THE MINIMUM WAGE, A RAISING OF SOCIAL SERVICES TAXES OTHER THAN MERELY SOCIAL SECURITY AND MEDICAID, ON THE UPPER MIDDLE CLASS AND THE WEALTHY, WE NEED PRICE CONTROLS ON FOOD, HOUSING, GASOLINE, TRANSPORTATION, ETC.

AN EMERGENCY FUND, WOULD ALSO BE VERY HELPFUL. WHEN A MEDICAL BILL, DENTAL WORK, LOSS OF A JOB, A FIRE OR ROBBERY HAPPENS, WE NEED A BOOST OF PROBABLY SEVERAL THOUSAND DOLLARS. THAT SIMPLY ISN’T IN EXISTENCE FOR MOST PEOPLE. IF WE GO TO THE STATE AID OFFICE, THERE WILL VERY LIKELY BE GIVEN A SMALL AMOUNT OF MONEY ON A ONE TIME BASIS FOR AN UNMARRIED INDIVIDUAL WHO IS NOT SUPPORTING A CHILD. THAT LEAVES MANY PEOPLE WHO DO NEED HELP OUT IN THE COLD. LET’S FACE IT, UNMARRIED PEOPLE NEED SHELTER, TOO.

ALL OF THOSE THINGS ARE AT THIS TIME, TABOO, OF COURSE; THE RIGHT WILL SAY IT’S AGAINST THE “RIGHTS” OF THE PROPERTY OWNERS, AND THAT IT ISN’T CAPITALISM. THAT’S TRUE, IT ISN’T, BUT PURE CAPITALISM IS VERY EXPENSIVE FOR THE CULTURE, IF YOU CONSIDER BEING FORCED TO SLEEP IN YOUR CAR TO BE COSTLY FOR THE CULTURE. MAYBE IT’S YOUR MOTHER OR DAUGHTER WHO IS SLEEPING IN AN UNSAFE AND UNSHELTERED WAY. MOST THINKING AND CONCERNED INDIVIDUALS WILL AGREE THAT A PERSISTENTLY ABUSIVE SITUATION IS UNCONSCIONABLE. WE SHOULD ALSO BE AWARE THAT EVEN IN AMERICA, A BLOODY REVOLUTION COULD AND MAY HAPPEN.

IN THE LATE 1700S SUCH POVERTY PRODUCED, OVER TIME, A LARGER AND LARGER GROUP OF PEOPLE WHO, IN THE RUSSIAN AND FRENCH REVOLUTIONS, WERE VERY ANGRY AND READY TO DESTROY THE PRIVILEGE OF THE WEALTHY CLASSES PHYSICALLY. I PERSONALLY, DON’T WANT TO BRING BACK THE GUILLOTINE FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE AMONG THE UBER-WEALTHY, THE SOCIALLY PRIVILEGED AND THE SIMPLY GREEDY; THOUGH IN MY EYES, FIGHTING LAWS THAT FORCE THEM TO GIVE A GREATER SHARE OF THEIR WEALTH AND INCOME TO THE NEEDY IS IMMORAL. IT ISN’T SURPRISING THAT WHILE FRANKLIN DELANO ROOSEVELT WAS CONSIDERED A HERO BY MOST, HE WAS CALLED A DICTATOR BY THE RIGHTISTS.

READ NOW, ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT POEMS IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE ON THAT SUBJECT:

https://www.gradesaver.com/donne-poems/study-guide/for-whom-the-bell-tolls

FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS

"No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friend's or of thine own were: any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bells tolls; it tolls for thee."

July 30, 2018


News and Views


WHISTLEBLOWER ROBERT MACLEAN COMPLAINED IN 2003 ABOUT NON-SPECIFIC “AGENCY PRACTICES,” THEN IN 2010 QUIET SKIES WAS INSTITUTED. IN 2018, IN MARCH, IT WAS “EXPANDED.” I WONDER WHAT THEY’RE DOING NOW, AND WHAT IF ANY CHARGES HAVE BEEN BROUGHT AGAINST MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC. THEY ARE SURVEILLING PEOPLE WHO HAVE “NERVOUS” SYMPTOMS, IT SEEMS, OR HARD COLD STARES. THOSE STARES DO MAKE SENSE, THOUGH SOME PEOPLE ARE JUST HOSTILE IN GENERAL, AND OTHERS ARE JUST NERVOUS.

THEY FOLLOW PEOPLE (WHICH PEOPLE?) AROUND, LOOKING FOR SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITY. THAT’S ENOUGH TO MAKE ANYBODY PERSPIRE AND ACT FIDGETY. SO, IF THEY DO SEEM CONCERNED WITH THAT KIND OF ATTENTION, AS I WOULD BE, THEY SHADOW THEM; AND THEN WHAT? UNLESS THERE’S MORE TO IT THAN THIS, I DON’T SEE HOW IT’S USEFUL, AND I DO CONSIDER IT HARMFUL. SPOOKS SHADOWING HONEST PEOPLE ISN’T GOOD.

CONGRESS IS NOW INVOLVED IN IT, SO THERE SHOULD BE MORE NEWS TO COME. I’LL LOOK FOR SOME MORE INFORMATION ON WHAT’S HAPPENING AT THIS TIME. I ALSO WONDER WHY IT WAS “EXPANDED” IN MARCH, IN WHAT WAY IT WAS MODIFIED, WHETHER THE PRESIDENT WAS INVOLVED IN IT, AND WHAT HAS TRIGGERED CONGRESS’ CURRENT CONCERN.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/tsa-quiet-skies-lawmakers-want-answers-from-tsa-about-program-that-tracked-americans/
By KRIS VAN CLEAVE CBS NEWS July 30, 2018, 6:46 PM
Lawmakers want answers about TSA program that tracked Americans

ARLINGTON, Va. — Lawmakers on Capitol Hill are demanding answers from the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) about a controversial program that targets airline passengers, including many who are not on any watch list.

Federal air marshals are trained to protect an airliner from a terrorist. But for the first time, the public is learning about another use of the air marshals program: the surveillance of some travelers. The TSA's "Quiet Skies" initiative started in 2010 and was expanded just last March.

The program, as first reported by the Boston Globe, identifies travelers, including American citizens, who could pose a threat, but may not have been accused of a crime and are not on the no-fly list. Undercover air marshals follow those passengers at an airport and on a flight, noting behavior like excessive fidgeting or perspiration, or having a "cold, penetrating stare."

Sources say the marshals observe up to 50 travelers a day on domestic flights. If no suspicious behavior is discovered people are removed from the program within 90 days. There is no electronic surveillance like wiretaps.

John Pistole, the president of Anderson University, was the TSA administrator when Quiet Skies launched.

"So the whole idea was, how can we mitigate risk against known risks and unknown risks? People who might do something but just haven't come up on anybody's radar yet," Pistole said.

Whistleblower Robert MacLean is an air marshal who was awarded protected whistleblower status after he raised concerns about agency practices in 2003. The TSA attempted to fire him, but in a case that went all the way to the Supreme Court, he was reinstated. He regularly tweets about his concerns over the lack of secondary barriers to block access to the cockpit when pilots enter or exit during flight.

"This goes back to what I say over and over, the air marshal's job is to protect the cockpit and the pilots," MacLean said. "Let somebody else do the intelligence and criminal investigative work."

In a statement, the TSA said: "The primary purpose of this program is to ensure passengers and flight crew are protected during air travel. Contrary to the article 'Welcome to the Quiet Skies' published by The Boston Globe, the program doesn't take into account race and religion, and is not intended to surveil ordinary Americans. In the world of law enforcement, this program's core design is no different than putting a police officer on a beat where intelligence and other information presents the need for watch and deterrence. The program analyzes information on a passenger's travel patterns, and through a system of checks and balances, to include robust oversight, the program effectively adds an additional line of defense to aviation security. With routine reviews and active management via legal, privacy and civil rights and liberties offices, the program is a practical method of keeping another act of terrorism from occurring at 30,000 feet."

© 2018 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Kris Van Cleave
Kris Van Cleave was appointed CBS News Transportation Correspondent in September 2015 and is based in Washington, D.C.



THIS IS VERY, VERY BAD NEWS. I’M GLAD THEY’RE TRYING TO BLOCK IT, BUT AT LEAST 1,000 HAVE ALREADY BEEN DOWNLOADED. IN SOME WAYS OUR COUNTRY REALLY HAS BEEN TOO WIDE OPEN TO “FREEDOMS” OF SEVERAL KINDS. THIS IS ONE MORE CASE. THIS WOULD BE A GOOD TIME FOR A COURT INJUNCTION AGAINST THE TEXAS COMPANY’S CONTINUING ACCESS ON THE INTERNET.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/states-to-sue-trump-administration-to-block-blueprints-for-3d-printed-guns/
By TONY DOKOUPIL CBS NEWS July 30, 2018, 6:42 PM
States to sue Trump administration to block blueprints for 3D-printed guns

At least eight states are rushing to sue the Trump administration over its decision to allow a Texas company to publish blueprints for untraceable 3D-printed homemade guns. But it may already be too late.

Five years ago, Cody Wilson launched what he now calls "the era of the downloadable gun," a time when anyone can use a 3D printer to make a working firearm.

Now that era is set to begin at midnight Wednesday. Wilson's company Defense Distributed plans to publish digital blueprints for people to make their own firearms, including AR-15 style assault rifles. The 3D plastic weapons would be untraceable and require no background check.

In California last year, Kevin Janson Neal used a homemade metal assault rifle to kill his wife and four others, avoiding a court order meant to block his access to a firearm.

"When it comes to something as basic as public safety, our State Department's saying, hey, this is a giveaway for terrorists," said Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson.

He is one of eight state attorneys general planning to sue the Trump administration, hoping to stop Wilson's company from publishing the gun blueprints on Wednesday.

In addition, more than 20 state attorneys general have asked to intervene in the name of "public safety and national security."

But Defense Distributed began distributing the gun files earlier and by Sunday 1,000 people had already downloaded blueprints for an AR-15 style weapon.

In a new countersuit, Wilson's legal team argues his company is simply defending the right to bear arms. States have a little more than 24 hours to file their lawsuits and win a temporary judgment before the blueprints go online.

© 2018 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.



LIE #1 -- "ZERO-TOLERANCE POLICY FOR DISCRIMINATION OF ANY KIND."
POSSIBLE LIE #2 – "IN ACKNOWLEDGING ITS ERROR, ALASKA AIRLINES SAID THE GATE AGENTS INVOLVED IN THE INCIDENT DID NOT REALIZE THE MEN WERE A COUPLE.”

ONE OF THE HUMAN BEHAVIORS I HATE MOST IS WHEN SOMEONE DOES A BAD THING TO ANOTHER, AND THEN CALLS IT AN ACCIDENT. I HOPE THAT ISN’T THE CASE HERE. ONE OF THESE MEN IS A RESTAURANT OWNER, SO MAYBE HE WILL HAVE ENOUGH MONEY TO SUE THE AIRLINE.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/alaska-airlines-gay-couple-separated-seats-given-to-straight-couple/
By KATE GIBSON MONEYWATCH July 30, 2018, 6:47 PM
Alaska Airlines: Gay couple separated, seats given to straight couple

Alaska Airlines is apologizing for an overbooking situation in which a gay couple was asked to relinquish their seats to a heterosexual pair.

"We mistakenly booked two people in one seat. We are deeply sorry for the situation, and are investigating the details," the carrier said in a statement, adding that it has a "zero-tolerance policy for discrimination of any kind."

The apology came after Los Angeles restaurant owner David Cooley took to Facebook on Sunday to vent about his experience on an Alaska Airlines flight bound from New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport to Los Angeles International Airport.

"After my traveling companion and I had been seated in our assigned seats for a while, we were approached by the flight attendant and my companion was asked to move from his premium seat to coach, so a couple could sit together. I explained that we were a couple and wanted to sit together. He was given a choice to either give up the premium seat and move to coach or get off the plane," Cooley, owner of the iconic LA gay bar The Abbey wrote in a Facebook post shared more 2,100 times.

"We could not bear the feeling of humiliation for an entire cross-country flight and left the plane," Cooley added. "I cannot believe that an airline in this day and age would give a straight couple preferential treatment over a gay couple and go so far as to ask us to leave."

In acknowledging its error, Alaska Airlines said the gate agents involved in the incident did not realize the men were a couple.

Cooley ended his Facebook post calling on LGBT people to boycott Alaska Airlines.

"Thank you to Delta Air Lines for getting us home safe," he wrote. "If you are an #LGBT person, please spend your travel dollars with an LGBT friendly airline like Delta."

Federal rules allow carriers to set their own criteria for picking passengers to bump, but the practice can be costly, both in damage to an airline's reputation and in compensating those compelled to give up their seats. An analysis of government aviation data last year found passengers bumped from Alaska Airlines flight received the highest average compensation of $1,605.

© 2018 CBS Interactive Inc.. All Rights Reserved.



IT SEEMS THAT THE KOCHS AND THE TRUMP FAMILY HAVE BEEN IN CONFLICT FOR YEARS. I KNOW THE KOCHS ARE, OR CLAIM TO BE, STRONG CHRISTIANS, AND TRUMP SHOWS NO SIGN OF THAT AT ALL, SO MAYBE IT’S A NATURAL DISTASTE. IF THEY'RE GOING TO HAVE A WAR, I HOPE THAT THE RESULT WILL SOMEHOW AID THE COUNTRY.

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/07/29/koch-network-takes-on-trumps-tariffs-with-six-figure-ad-buy.html
Koch network takes on Trump’s tariffs with six-figure ad buy as billionaire admits tensions could boil over
The political network funded by billionaire industrialist Charles Koch is unveiling the latest phase in a multi million dollar campaign against import tariffs implemented by President Donald Trump.
"American farmers work hard to put food on our tables but because of new tariffs our farmers livelihoods are at risks," the ad says.
Brian Schwartz | @schwartzbCNBC
Published JULY 29, 2018 7 Hours Ago

PHOTOGRAPH -- President Donald Trump on July 26, 2018. Joshua Roberts | Reuters

The political network funded by billionaire industrialist Charles Koch is unveiling the latest phase in a multi million dollar campaign against import tariffs implemented by President Donald Trump, CNBC has learned.

Freedom Partners, one of the groups that is part of the larger network, is announcing a six-figure television ad campaign entitled "Trade not aid," which describes that importance of trade and the harm tariffs have on the farming community. The news was announced on the second day of the Koch network donor summit in Colorado Springs.

Beyond the ad's attempt to highlight the vital role of the agricultural sector, it also questions Trump's recently announced $12 billion aid package to help farmers.

"American farmers work hard to put food on our tables but because of new tariffs our farmers livelihoods are at risks," the ad states. It later concludes by saying: "Farmers want trade, not aid."

Trump recently announced import tariffs on a variety of goods coming from China, the European Union, Canada and Mexico. Many of those critical trading partners have retaliated with billions of dollars' worth of trade barriers of their own against exports coming out of the United States.

In addition, Freedom Partners, along with two other network organizations in Americans for Prosperity and The LIBRE Initiative, sent a letter to Trump. The groups called on him to rejoin the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), while congratulating the administration's economic policy achievements of tax reform, reducing financial regulations and inching toward an agreement with EU President Jean-Claude Juncker about removing the tariffs.

The groups argued, however, that if the U.S. doesn't agree to go back into the TPP, the 11 other original countries who are still part of it will forge ahead with their rebranded Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). Such a move could put American businesses at a disadvantage, it added.

"As a practical matter, once the CPTPP is in full effect American businesses will be at a distinct competitive disadvantage when trying to sell in these markets and our consumers will miss out on lower-priced goods," the letter stated.

The new ad buy and letter to the president comes the same day as Koch admitted in a rare press briefing that a full blown trade war could be on the horizon.

"If it's severe enough it could," Koch said when asked about whether Trump's protectionist policies could result in a trade war.

Brian Schwartz
Politics and Finance Reporter for CNBC.com


WHY DOES ANYBODY SUPPORT OR ADMIRE STEVE BANNON?

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/07/29/bannon-koch-brothers-midterms-trump-747650
Bannon to Kochs: ‘Shut up and get with the program’
‘And here’s the program: Ground game to support Trump’s presidency,’ Bannon said in an interview.
By ALEX ISENSTADT 07/29/2018 08:40 PM EDT Updated 07/29/2018 09:48 PM EDT

PHOTOGRAPH -- “They were the first people to put the knife in his back,” former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon said of the Kochs. | Mike Theiler/Getty Images

Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon tore into the powerful Koch political network Sunday, accusing it of undermining President Donald Trump ahead of a midterm election that threatens to derail his presidency.

“What they have to do is shut up and get with the program, OK?” Bannon said in an interview with POLITICO. “And here’s the program: Ground game to support Trump’s presidency and program, [and] victory on Nov. 6.”

Bannon’s comments came as the network of major Republican Party donors, led by billionaire industrialist Charles Koch, convened in Colorado Springs, Colorado, to discuss the 2018 political landscape. During the retreat, top Koch officials described the Trump White House as toxic and destructive to the country.

They sharply criticized Trump's protectionist trade policies, arguing that his actions were taking a toll on the economy. A video shown during the conference depicted images of recently shuttered businesses.

“The divisiveness of this White House is causing long-term damage,” Brian Hooks, a senior Koch lieutenant, told reporters at the event. “When in order to win on an issue someone else has to lose, it makes it very difficult to unite people and solve the problems in this country. You see that on trade: In order to get to a good place on trade, convince the American people that trade is bad.”

The Kochs, who espouse free-trade views, have long expressed discomfort with Trump, and their network largely sat out the 2016 election. But the open hostilities at this weekend’s conference came as something of a surprise.

Since the election, there had appeared to be a thaw. David and Bill Koch met with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort a few months after the inauguration, and at a donor meeting earlier this year, the network lavished praise on the president’s tax reform bill.

With 100 days to go before a midterm election that has emerged as a referendum on Trump and his policies, Bannon argued, the Kochs need to rally behind the president. Democrats, who he said want to halt Trump’s agenda and launch impeachment proceedings, are energized and focused — and out-hustling Republicans.

He described the Koch political operation as ineffective, saying it had wasted untold dollars on losing past elections. And he argued that voters had rejected the free-trade approach the Kochs embrace in favor of Trump’s brand of economic populism.

“We can have a theoretical discussion later, OK? This is why they don’t know what it means to win, OK? We don’t have time to have some theoretical discussion and to have their spokesman come out and say the president is divisive,” Bannon said.

Charles Koch
Charles Koch says he'd work with Democrats who share his values
By MAGGIE SEVERNS

He said it was unacceptable “for them to come out and talk about divisiveness” given their long-running lack of support for Trump.

“They were the first people to put the knife in his back,” he said.

A Koch network spokesman, James Davis, shrugged off the criticism.

“We are focused on uniting the country to help remove barriers that are preventing people from reaching the potential,” he said. “Toward that end, we look forward to working with the President Trump, Congress and communities whenever possible to help people improve their lives.”

The Koch network has pledged to spend $400 million ahead of the midterms.

Bannon left the White House a year ago, and earlier this year, he had a high-profile falling out with Trump after he made critical remarks about the president and his family in a book, “Fire and Fury.”

Since that time, he has taken steps to re-ingratiate himself with the president and has been a loud outside supporter and spokesman. He described Trump’s policies as across-the-board successes and said that he’d achieved a wide range of conservative policy goals.

Bannon praised, among other things, Trump’s handling of the economy, tariffs and tax cuts, and noted that he’d nominated an array of conservative judges and pursued stringent immigration policies.

But he said that the Kochs had only chosen a few Trump policies to support “a-la-carte” and in many instances had actively fought him.

Displeasure with the Trump agenda was an ongoing theme of the weekend’s conference. During remarks to reporters on Sunday, Charles Koch expressed regret about some of his past financial support for Republican candidates — and hinted that he’d be open to working with Democrats.

"Charles Koch is a good man, but 100 days before an election that will determine the direction of the country is not the time to tell us that you are prepared to work with Democrats that support parts of your progressive agenda,” Bannon said.

“It's wrong, it's stupid and it shows contempt for the hardworking grassroots folks that delivered the victory that got your tax cut,” he added.



THIS NEW DOCUMENTARY SHOULD SHED LIGHT ON THE CASE AND UPDATE THE INFORMATION. IT’S HARD FOR ME TO REALIZE IT HAS BEEN SIX YEARS. IT SEEMS LIKE YESTERDAY. I HOPE THESE LAWS ARE RULED UNCONSTITUTIONAL, OR BETTER STILL, VOTED IN CONGRESS TO BE ABOLISHED. I’VE NEVER HEARD OF THAT, BUT IT SEEMS TO ME THAT IT SHOULD BE POSSIBLE. IT’S PROBABLY ONE OF THOSE STATES RIGHTS ISSUES, THOUGH. MOST OF THE TIME A PARTICULARLY PERNICIOUS LAW IS ON THE BOOKS, IT IS ONE THAT IS UNDER STATE JURISDICTION.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trayvon-martins-father-tracy-martin-rest-in-power-the-trayvon-martin-story-documentary-series/
By DAVID MORGAN CBS NEWS July 30, 2018, 11:15 AM
Trayvon Martin's father: The problem of social injustice "needs to be rectified"

A new documentary series explores the long-lasting consequences of the 2012 killing of teenager Trayvon Martin, who was unarmed and walking home in his Florida neighborhood when he was fatally shot by George Zimmerman. Zimmerman was later acquitted of murder, and the case drew attention to Florida's controversial "Stand Your Ground" law, which permits the use of deadly force.

Appearing on "CBS This Morning" Monday, Trayvon's father, Tracy Martin, explained why the series, "Rest in Power: The Trayvon Martin Story," has such relevance six years after his son's death. "There are a lot of social injustices occurring in our communities, and the problem needs to be rectified," he said.

"I think the central thesis of our documentary is that Trayvon Martin's story ignited change in America, but also led to a backlash that we're currently experiencing in our politics," said series co-director Jenner Furst. "And we wanted to use the case to explore that backlash and understand how it's affecting our daily life now.

"I think you look at all the headlines, and so much has changed, but so much is the same. Look at what just happened to Ving Rhames [who recounted being held at gunpoint by police at his own home after a neighbor called to report a black man on the property], look at Markeis McGlockton [a black man shot and killed by a white man in an disagreement over a parking space]. That's a Stand Your Ground case. This is still a major issue in America. I think we have to face it and have conversations about it."

0730-ctm-trayvondocqa-1623038-640x360.jpg
Tracy Martin, father of Trayvon Martin, and filmmakers Jenner Furst and Julia Willoughby Nason. CBS NEWS

Earlier this year, Zimmerman was charged with stalking a private investigator and producer working on the series, of which Jay-Z is an executive producer.

Furst remarked he could say little about an ongoing investigation. "What I can say is that, it is alarming how unhinged this person is, and the fact that he is permitted to carry several firearms, rifles, shotguns, assault rifles and walk around with a bulletproof vest, after it's been proven that he killed an unarmed 17-year-old young man and also has abused several women who went to the police reporting those crimes. So, what we found is extremely alarming, and I think it's not surprising that he turned on [investigator] Dennis Warren and our producer, Mike Gasparro, and started stalking them."

CBS News reached out to George Zimmerman for comment but has not received an answer.

Co-director Julia Willoughby Nason said the series draws a direct line between the killing of Trayvon Martin and the rise of white nationalism in America.

"Trayvon Martin's death gave birth to Black Lives Matter; the verdict was when the hashtag was created," she said. "So, we chronicled the birth of Black Lives Matter all the way to the 'whitelash,' the opposite-side reaction to that. We go from Trayvon to Trump, and we see the connective tissue to the last six years and how the political landscape has been thrown into mass chaos today."

Asked about a recent Washington Post report which found that 70 percent of murder victims whose killers were never arrested were black, Tracy Martin said it shows how the scales of justice are imbalanced.

"We actually are in place where we made a little progress with our previous administration, and so I think it's going to take the power of the people getting out voting to shift the dynamics of how African-American men and women are viewed in this country," he said.

"CBS This Morning" co-host Anthony Mason asked Martin, "It cannot be easy to relive all of this. What made you want to go through with this project?"

"As parents, we felt as though the story was watered down that was being told about Trayvon, who he truly was, and the perception that he was a thug," Martin said. "This was a 17-year-old unarmed child on his way from the store, going home. It had nothing to do with him being a thug, and it had everything to do with racial profiling. And so we felt that, as parents, that we needed to tell the story of who Trayvon truly was."

Martin hopes that viewers will who are outraged by violence will vote in November, "putting people in place that are willing to listen and take action on the social injustices that are occurring across this country. We can't sit back and let another term go by without going out, putting people in place that will make a change."

Furst said he hopes "Rest in Power" will be a teaching tool. "People can watch it and if they're affected by it, if what they see they feel is wrong, they can use their civic duty of voting to change the story. Stand Your Ground, it's very unfortunate that the law was passed to begin with, but it's in over 20 states across this country. Look at what's just happened to Markeis McGlockton. Look at what happened to Trayvon Martin. If you believe that was wrong, if you believe that people should not have the right to kill because they say they're afraid — which is a very subjective term and has a lot of racial undertones — then you should hold your politicians responsible, and this November you should vote those out of office who disagree."

"Rest in Power: The Trayvon Martin Story" debuts Monday, July 30, on the Paramount Network and BET.

To watch a trailer for the series click on the video player below.


'Rest in Power: The Trayvon Martin Story' Official Trailer | Paramount Network by Paramount Network on YouTube
© 2018 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.


I KNOW I’M GOING TO BE CONTROVERSIAL AGAIN HERE, BUT I’M GOING TO SAY SOMETHING THAT I’VE THOUGHT ABOUT A NUMBER OF TIMES IN MY LIFE, BOTH IN THE SITUATION OF WHAT THE MORALITY OF ABORTING A DAMAGED FETUS IS, AND NOW IN THIS CASE, OF THE POSSIBILITY OF KNOWINGLY AND PURPOSELY IMPLANTING AN UNHEALTHY FETUS. IN MY OPINION, IT SHOULD BE A LAW THAT ANYONE WHO GIVES THEIR CONSENT – EITHER THE PARENTS OR THE PHYSICIANS OR THE “FACTORY” WHICH PRODUCES THESE FETUSES – SHOULD BE CRIMINALLY CHARGED WITH PRISON TIME FOR IMPLANTING ONE THAT IS EVEN SLIGHTLY FLAWED, AND NOW THEY HAVE A SCIENTIFIC TEST. THEY SHOULD USE IT IN ALL CASES, AND NEVER IMPLANT A FAULTY FETUS.

YOU SAY, “WHAT? THE BIBLE SAYS WE SHOULD BE FRUITFUL AND MULTIPLY.” THE BIBLE DOESN’T SAY WE SHOULD DEFY THE LAWS OF LOGIC ON THE GROUNDS OF “FAITH.” BRINGING TO BIRTH A LITTLE CREATURE WHICH WILL HAVE GRIEVOUS PHYSICAL OR MENTAL PROBLEMS, AND VERY LIKELY WON’T BE ABLE HAVE A NORMAL LIFE IS A TRAVESTY. WE SHOULDN’T EVEN BE GOING INTO THIS DISCUSSION OF WHETHER A WOMAN WHO IS UNABLE TO BEAR A VIABLE BABY SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO DO THIS. AS A MATTER OF MEDICAL, PERSONAL AND RELIGIOUS ETHICS THIS SIMPLY SHOULDN’T BE ALLOWED.

A COUPLE WHO VERY MUCH WANT A BABY “OF THEIR OWN,” SHOULD BE COUNSELED TO DO PSYCHOTHERAPY ABOUT THE QUESTION, AND BE BROUGHT TO THE SANE AND RESPONSIBLE CONCLUSION THAT BRINGING UP A CHILD WHO DESPERATELY NEEDS PARENTS WHO WILL LOVE HIM OR HER IS THE TRUE WILL OF GOD. THAT’S WHAT ADOPTION IS FOR, TO HELP THE BABY AND NOT JUST THE PARENT.

IF SUCH A BABY WHO DIDN’T ASK TO BE BORN, WILL BE ADOPTED AND LOVED FOR ITSELF, THAT IS ONE THING; BUT FOR IT TO LIVE AND DIE IN A SPECIALIZED CARE FACILITY WITH NO ABILITY TO BECOME A USEFUL OR SUCCESSFUL PERSON IS CRUELTY. IF A BABY IS ALLOWED TO LIVE IN SUCH A HIGHLY LIMITED WAY, I ABHOR THAT. THERE IS A TIME FOR THE LAW TO STEP IN AND PROHIBIT CERTAIN THINGS.

OF THOSE NOW HERE AMONG US WHO WILL NEED FOOD, CLOTHING, BATHING, BEING SUNG TO AND TOLD FAIRY TALES, HAVING A PUPPY OR A KITTEN AND A BABY DOLL TO SLEEP WITH, HAVING GENTLE AND UNDERSTANDING CORRECTION, HAVING PLAYMATES, AND BEING HUGGED AND HUGGED AND HUGGED, THEY SHOULD BE ADOPTED BY GOOD PEOPLE. MANY PEOPLE ARE TOO EMOTIONALLY STARVED AND WARPED THEMSELVES TO PROVIDE EMOTIONAL WARMTH TO A BABY, WHICH IS ONE OF THE PRIMARY THINGS THEY NEED TO GROW UP IN A HEALTHY WAY. I READ THAT WITHOUT THAT KIND OF ATTENTION, INCLUDING MAKING EYE CONTACT WITH THEM AND ENCOURAGING A VERBAL INTERACTION, WILL OFTEN “FAIL TO THRIVE,” AND THAT’S A MEDICAL CONDITION.

PEOPLE NEED TO EXAMINE HONESTLY WHY THEY WANT A CHILD, AND WHY IT ABSOLUTELY MUST BE GENETICALLY THEIRS. I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN IMPRESSED BY ROY ROGERS AND DALE EVANS WHEN THEY ADOPTED A LARGE NUMBER, IN THE RANGE OF 15 OR MORE, AND GAVE THEM ALL A BIG BOISTEROUS AND LOVING HOME, AND YES, A RELIGIOUS HOME. THEY WERE OF MIXED RACE, AND WERE LOVED. THEIR KIND OF CHRISTIANITY WASN’T THE HARSHLY CRITICAL KIND THAT WE HAVE SO MUCH OF THESE DAYS, BUT THE GENTLE KIND THAT JESUS HIMSELF DESCRIBED. NOW THAT’S “CHRISTIAN.”

IF WE CAN’T DO MOST OF THOSE THINGS, ESPECIALLY THE HUGGING PART, THEN WE SHOULDN’T BEAR OR ADOPT A BABY. GET A DOG IF YOU WANT SOMETHING TO LOVE. OF COURSE, WE SHOULD TREAT THEM KINDLY ALSO! ALL LIFE IS VALUABLE AND FRAGILE. IF YOU CAN’T DO THAT, BUY A PHILODENDRON VINE, OR A CACTUS. THEY WILL THRIVE IN A PATCH OF SUNLIGHT EVEN IF YOU OFTEN FORGET TO WATER THEM. AS FAR AS WE KNOW AT THIS TIME, THEY DO NOT “FEEL” OR “THINK,” THOUGH SOME SCIENTISTS WHO ARE POSSIBLY INSANE BELIEVE THAT THEY CAN; AND KEEP TESTING OUT THAT THEORY. EVERY TIME I SEE AN ARTICLE ABOUT THAT, I CLIP IT FOR MY COLLECTION; YOU SEE, I HALFWAY BELIEVE IT MYSELF. IF YOU’VE EVER SEEN A NIGHT-BLOOMING LILY OPEN, YOU WILL KNOW WHY.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ivf-testing-spurs-debate-over-mosaic-embryos/
CBS NEWS July 30, 2018, 8:55 AM
Advances in IVF testing spurring debate over "mosaic" embryos

This month marks 40 years since the birth of the first baby conceived through in vitro fertilization, Louise Joy Brown. Since then, more than eight million babies have been born using the technique.

Advances in IVF testing have improved outcomes for couples with infertility. But these advances are also spurring debate over what's called "mosaic" embryos. Those are embryos with both normal and abnormal cells.

Mosaic embryos could not be detected before the improved genetic screenings. Some fertility experts are torn over whether mosaic embryos should be implanted. But for patients struggling with fertility and with limited options, mosaic embryos may offer new hope.

For Mary Jo and Shane Dunn, the embryos were their last chance at a dream of having a family. In 2015, the Dunns lost their only child, Luke, to a rare cancer at 17 months old.

"I just didn't imagine continuing to live without my baby," Mary Jo told CBS News' Dr. Tara Narula. "It was just excruciating pain."

"I was determined that this wasn't gonna be the thing that was going to ruin us," Shane said.

The Dunns decided to try for another child, but in their mid-40s, knew conceiving would be hard. They endured nearly two years of failed IVF treatments.

After six egg retrievals and $70,000, their hopes of a child came down to two remaining embryos Dunns initially set aside. The reason: they didn't test genetically normal. In the end though, those were the only two embryos that turned out perfect.

Twin girls, Riley and Kelsey, were born nine months later.

The embryo testing the Dunns opted for is called PGS testing, preimplantation genetic screening. It takes a biopsy of just a handful of cells from the outer layer of an embryo to determine if it is chromosomally healthy. It's then classified as normal or abnormal.

In 2014, advances in this screening made it possible to detect when an embryo has a mix of normal and abnormal cells. When they do have the mix, they are called mosaic embryos.

The Dunn twins grew from mosaic embryos. Doctors believe, in some cases, those abnormal cells can self-correct or be pushed to the placenta, leaving the embryo healthy. But because the biopsy is small, the challenge is knowing the extent of abnormality and what that means for pregnancy. The Dunns heard the risks when doctors explained what mosaic embryos were.

"The mosaic embryo can either fail to implant and you could miscarry, you could have a child with birth defects, or you could have a perfectly healthy baby," Mary Jo said. "That's with every pregnancy, really."

But the decision to implant these embryos using IVF is spurring debate among fertility experts.

"Mosaic embryos are not abnormal embryos. Abnormal embryos don't make babies or pregnancies," said Dr. Jamie Grifo, director of NYU Langone Fertility Center. "Mosaic embryos have potential. They don't have the same potential as a chromosomally normal embryo. But they can make babies."

Grifo says mosaic embryos carry a higher risk of miscarriage.

"We have to learn which ones are more likely to make the baby and which ones are less likely and then patients get to decide whether to use that embryo," Grifo said.

According to one study, mosaic embryos create a baby roughly one-third of the time. Out of 78 transferred mosaic embryos, the study found 24 healthy babies were born.

But some doctors like Mandy Katz-Jaffe, scientific director at the Colorado Center for Reproductive Medicine, caution against implanting mosaic embryos. They point to a lack of long-term studies of babies born from them.

"We really don't know the answer to the full question of what is the probability that a mosaic embryo will result in either an affected baby or a healthy baby." Katz-Jaffe said.

The Dunns believe they are living proof of its value.

"If one person sees this interview and decides, 'You know what, I have a mosaic embryo that I was questioning whether or not to transfer.' Here we are," Mary Jo said. "It's worth taking that chance."

The lab that tested the Dunns' embryos, Cooper Genomics, say they are seeing a growing trend in fertility doctors requesting mosaic reporting. But many of the roughly 400 clinics nationwide still only report normal or abnormal results. A committee of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine found earlier this year that they didn't have enough information to form an opinion on what percentage of normal cells is needed to be recommended for use.

© 2018 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.

JULY 29, 2018


NEWS AND VIEWS


AN INTERESTING PERSPECTIVE

“... WE ALSO HAVE THE FIRST PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE TO TOUT HIS OWN PENIS SIZE.” (I APOLOGIZE, MR. PRESIDENT. I DIDN’T WRITE THIS, BUT I JUST CAN’T HELP QUOTING IT. YOU GOTTA ADMIT IT’S FUNNY!)”

THIS ARTICLE IS FULL OF INFORMATION ABOUT SANDERS AND TRUMP; AND IN THE NEXT AFTER THIS, ON NAPOLEON BONAPARTE, WHO INTEGRATED THE JEWS INTO FRENCH SOCIETY. HE TREATED THEM NOT AS A PARIAH, BUT AS A PEOPLE AND AS CITIZENS. THAT’S EXACTLY HOW PEOPLE SHOULD BEHAVE TOWARD MINORITIES – NOT MAKING THEM SOME SORT OF PET, BUT GIVING THEM A REAL CHANCE TO SUCCEED ON THEIR OWN, WITH AID AS NEEDED. ON THE GOLF COURSE, THEY CALL THAT THE “HANDICAP.” WHITE MEN DON’T MIND THAT ON THE GOLF COURSE, SO WHY SHOULD THEY RESENT IT IN THIS CONTEXT.

https://www.thestranger.com/slog/2016/03/17/23739302/what-kind-of-men-are-donald-trump-and-bernie-sanders
SLOG 2016
What Kind of Men Are These? The Straight Drag of Donald Trump, and the Jewish Masculinity of Bernie Sanders
by Jen Graves • Mar 17, 2016 at 1:05 pm


Armen Changelian
@ArmenChangelian
Thank you, Internet:

2:15 PM - Mar 14, 2016
8,435
8,659 people are talking about this
Twitter Ads info and privacy

After telling a protester to “go home to Mommy,” Donald Trump turned his attack onto Bernie Sanders’ masculinity. He weaponized the moment when Black Lives Matters organizers interrupted Sanders at a rally in Seattle’s Westlake Park.

Emphasis mine:

“Remember when Bernie Sanders, they took the mic away from him? That’s not going to happen with us. He watched these two young girls talking to the audience… he was standing in the back as two women took the mic away… That doesn’t happen here.”

Trump has been eager to describe his own attitude toward protesters.

“Get that guy outta here,” he charges at them at rallies. “Get ’im out,” Trump says, explaining, “In the good old days, this doesn’t happen, because they used to treat them very, very rough, and once they protested once, they would not do it again so easily. They get away with murder because we become weak, we become weak… We have to get tougher.”

“They” get away with “murder.”

Murder like the Civil Rights movement? Or Stonewall or a minimum wage or anything from the infinite list where the supposedly aggressive act involves risking a beatdown or lynching from the established order?

My, my, this presidential race is not about gender in the way that I thought it would be.

Tough guy! (But what kind?) This is the cover of Sanders's memoir.

How could anyone possibly obsess over Hillary’s identity as a woman when the other two leading candidates are providing such notable performances of masculinity?

Trump and Sanders are similar kinds of men, you might believe, if all you looked at were the headlines and photographs. They are fighters, they slug it out, they duke it out, keep swinging. They rail, raise fists, and wear animated grimaces. They’re mad as hell and they’re not gonna take it anymore, each promising a revolution if elected.

But their masculinities—and their fathers’, and their fathers’ fathers’—are made of such very different, and such very entangled, stuff.

Let’s go back to Europe.

Trump’s German grandfather, Friedrich Drumpf, was a lawbreaking immigrant. He ran away from military service and taxes in Germany, alighting in 1891 in Seattle, where he Anglicized his name and started a series of businesses in the Northwest.

Eventually, worried he’d be busted for running a brothel, Friedrich went on the run again, back to Germany, but Germany didn’t want him (see earlier reason for leaving). He finally landed in New York, where his son, Frederick Christ Trump Jr., would found the Trump real-estate dynasty.

Sanders and Trump may both be fighters, but they descend from opposite ends of a European social order that enforced its norms through an anti-Semitism that graduated from persecution to genocide and deposited its aftereffects in the United States. (Read Sydney Brownstone's tremendous piece on Sanders's candidacy and the costs of social order on her own family.)

After World War II, when it wasn’t good PR to be German, Frederick Christ Trump Jr. would tell people, including his Jewish tenants, that his family was Swedish instead.

Donald says his father had one prevailing life lesson for him: “Attack, attack, attack.”

Many of Sanders’ relatives were attacked and killed in the Holocaust. Sanders’ father escaped Poland, and Sanders was born and raised, to Jewish parents, in an apartment in Brooklyn.

It may be important to note that Sanders does not so much fight, as he fights back. (Like Amanda Hess, I do not equate Bernie with the Bernie Bros.)

Every American president but one (Obama) has been a straight, older, Christian man descended exclusively from Europeans.

It is not a coincidence that the first time a woman is a serious contender for the presidency, and the first time a Jew wins delegates in a presidential primary or caucus, we also have the first presidential candidate to tout his own penis size.

The insecurity of powerful people might be amusing if weren’t dangerous.

Watch Rachel Maddow's chilling chronological documentation of Trump's escalating aggression leading up to last Friday's shutdown in Chicago. He's been egging on followers for weeks. He jokes not to hurt protesters. But "if you do, I'll defend you in court, don't worry about it."

"We become weak, we become weak," he warns.

Trump is a common type, just noisier than most. Gendered belligerence—or as some call it, toxic masculinity or straight camp—is now a norm of American politics, and like most gendered traits, is only nominally associated with sex or biology, if at all. It doesn’t need to come from a man. Recall Sarah Palin’s comments that Trump’s candidacy means “no more pussyfooting around” and that Trump will “let our warriors do their job and go kick ISIS ass!”

This kind of violent masculinity is armed anxiety. Its origins are not mysterious. The social order that sent Trump into power has been unprecedentedly disrupted in his 70 years of life, especially where it's related to gender and sexuality.

So panicked masculinity yields a form of drag that occupies both hypermasculine (warrior) and hyperfeminine (victim) positions on the old social-symbolic game board. That’s how Trump is able to present himself as both the big, rich man high up on the podium surrounded by supporters and Secret Service agents, and also the embattled victim of the protester who “gets away with murder.”

Trump’s performance reminds me of the association between revolution and gender that Abigail Solomon-Godeau tracks in Male Trouble, her book about French neoclassical painting in the last days of the 18th century.

Jacques-Louis David* and other artists found themselves among revolutionary fighters who then became the murderous dictators of the Reign of Terror. Their art came to reflect a conflicted neo-Roman masculinity that unintentionally betrayed the instability of gender norms in the face of social and political upheaval.

The female bodies so patently on display in the frothy Rococo painting of the previous period got sidelined—they were associated with that old, dissolute, effeminate monarchy—and new, fraught, revolutionary male bodies took center stage.

Jacques-Louis David's The Oath of the Horatii, 1785.

In Trumpvision, this muscle dad passing long, pointy weapons to his synchronized sons as women cower in the corner is what Sanders should have done in Seattle, rather than letting a couple of girls stand in front of him and speak.

Sanders is a complex example of what a man in leadership might act like during a social upheaval. He is proud of the fact that Gloria Steinem (who now supports Hillary) in 1996 named him an honorary woman for his feminist policy positions. He talks about playacting with his grandchild, not throwing a ball or going fishing. Yet his most common image is as an agitated tough talker from Brooklyn.

He hasn’t spoken much on the trail about being Jewish, but one wonders how much he’s been haunted through his life by the imperial European stereotype of Jewish men as weak, overly bookish, and no more fit than a woman to lead a nation.

“We, the Jewish community, are wrestling with the intersection of masculinity and whiteness no less than the rest of America,” Jonathan Paul Katz wrote recently on The Forward in a piece called “Have Jews Become Obsessed With Bro Masculinity?” (No, not any more than anyone else in this bro-dominant world, he answered.)

Jewish Masculinities: German Jews, Gender, and History is a fascinating book of essays from 2012 that describes collisions that have happened at that “intersection of masculinity and whiteness” for Jews in 19th- and 20th-century imperial Europe. The book covers dueling fraternities, a popular Jewish strongman, the gendered nature of Nazi propaganda, and the myth of Jewish male menstruation.

“The idea that Jewish men differ from non-Jewish men by being delicate, meek, or effeminate in body and character runs deep in European history,” explains the introduction to the book. “In the thirteenth century, for example, the French historian Jacques de Vitry reported that his contemporaries believed Jewish men suffered from a monthly flux of blood and had become ‘unwarlike and weak even as women.’”

As late as 1789, a scholar who accused Jews of having “scanty beards, a common mark of effeminate temperaments” at least did denounce “the notion of male Jews’ menstruation as an unfounded prejudice.”

Within the Jewish community by the 19th century, response became split. Samson Raphael Hirsch, leader of the modern Orthodox movement, declared a positive “feminine spirit” of Judaism.

To Hirsch, writes Benjamin Maria Baader, the Jews had “perfected the virtues of a diasporic people in 2,000 years of exile, and he linked their lack of power in the political and public realms with high standards of spiritual perfection, with moral superiority, and with femininity…”

Jewish men were strong, in other words, because they persevered without power, like women. As UC Berkeley Talmudist Daniel Boyarin wrote in his 1997 book Unheroic Conduct, “the rabbis of the Talmudic era 2,000 years ago propagated a nonphallic, gentle patriarchy as a strategy of cultural resistance in opposition to prevailing gentile ideals of manliness.”

But by the start of the 20th century, a sect of Judaism separated itself from any such notions of “gentle patriarchy” and invented muscle Zionism, beginning the push that would lead to the formation of Israel.

Early Zionist men rebranded themselves as Hebrews, not Jews, warrior-athletes laboring in agriculture who were descended from Biblical men who “could compete on equal terms with Greek athletes or Nordic barbarians.” They “distanced themselves from the traditions of the Jewish galut (exile) and the alleged degeneration caused by it,” writes Etan Bloom.

Bloom’s essay, “Toward a Theory of the Modern Hebrew Handshake: The Conduct of Muscle Judaism,” describes his own experiences with an almost unpleasantly strong handshake that some young Israeli men learn at the completion of a certain all-male basic military training. The handshake is “emblematic of male Hebrew body language generally,” Bloom explains, which he describes as an overcorrective hypermasculinity created in reaction against European cultural stereotypes about Jewish effeminacy.

Bloom has a friend who asks him firmly not to mangle his hand when they shake—for historical reasons. His friend is refusing to participate in an overcompensating masculinity defined, even still in opposition, by the kind of bigotry we're hearing coming out of Trump's mouth this season. (I haven't tracked whether Trump has said anything derogatory about Jewish people during this election, but it would be entirely unsurprising—and a few days ago, his opener, a pastor, said Sanders needs to "meet Jesus" if he wants to be president).

Bloom documents one Zionist, a “new Hebrew,” who wrote to a friend, “we are not from the galut and the ghetto… Oh you Hebrew! Don’t be a Jew.”

Sanders is from the galut. To a Zionist, he may well be the dreaded "Jew." (Trump, meanwhile, a Presbyterian, has publicly done everything but declare himself a muscle Zionist and move to Tel Aviv.)

Sanders went to Israel to work on a kibbutz as a young man in the 1960s, but he is certainly not a military expansionist or a hawk.

On the question of Israel specifically, he has made mixed remarks. Last year he boycotted Netanyahu’s Congressional address. People are waiting to see whether he’ll attend the all-important American Israel Public Affairs Committee policy conference that all the candidates are invited to next week in DC.

One of Sanders’s most moving moments on the campaign was his response to being asked what it means to him to be Jewish. It means his father’s family wiped out, he said. It means having seen Jewish workers in department stores in New York with Nazi tattoos on their arms when he was a child. It means, in other words, the Holocaust, not Zionism.

I keep wondering about something that Berkeley scholar Boyarin wrote:

“There is something correct—although seriously misvalued—in the persistent European representation of the Jewish man as a sort of woman.”

Bernie Sanders: "a sort of woman" for president. Part of me says no way, and another part says, well, it depends on what sort.



BONAPARTE AND THE JEWS

https://forward.com/culture/319002/the-secret-jewish-history-of-napoleon-bonaparte/
The Secret Jewish History of Napoleon Bonaparte
Benjamin Ivry August 13, 2015 Wikimedia Commons

Art --- Painting Of Napoleon Bonaparte

The French historian Patrice Gueniffey, born in 1955, is director of the Raymond Aron Center for Political Research at Paris’s l’Ecole des hautes études en sciences sociales (school of advanced studies in the social sciences). His “Bonaparte: 1769-1802,” originally published by Gallimard in 2013, has recently been published in translation by Harvard University Press. Not long after the bicentenary of the Battle of Waterloo on June 18, the Forward’s Benjamin Ivry spoke with Gueniffey about the thorny subject of Napoleon and the Jews.

Benjamin Ivry: Napoleon was complex, to put it mildly, and his political and historical context even more so. Can it be said categorically whether he was good or bad for the Jews?

Patrice Gueniffey: He was, I think, ultimately rather good [for the Jews], because his policies for the Jewish community in France and the Empire promoted their assimilation into the French nation. The French revolution liberated the Jews but did not assimilate them. Napoleon took up the case again and decided to do for the Jews what he had done for other religions. The French Jewish community became Europe’s most assimilated during the 19th century.


THIS IS MAINLY AN UPDATE FROM GIULIANI. HE ALSO SAYS THAT WHILE TRUMP AND COHEN DISCUSSED PAYING AMI, THE PUBLICATION, HE DID NOT ACTUALLY DO IT.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/giuliani-says-feds-have-183-recordings-made-by-michael-cohen-trump-heard-on-1/
CBS NEWS July 29, 2018, 11:34 AM
Giuliani says feds have 183 recordings made by Michael Cohen, Trump heard on 1

President Trump's attorney Rudy Giuliani says that federal investigators have 183 "unique conversations" recorded by Michael Cohen, the president's former attorney and fixer. Mr. Trump is heard on one of those recordings, which has already been made public, Giuliani said on "Face the Nation" Sunday.

"We know of something like 183 unique conversations on tape. One of those is with the president of the United States. That's the three-minute one involving the McDougal payment, AMI-McDougal payment," Giuliani said, referring to Karen McDougal, a former Playboy model who claimed she had an affair with the president. "There are 12 others, maybe 11 or 12 others out of the 183, in which the president is discussed at any length by Cohen, mostly with reporters."

Giuliani said he doesn't know the contents of the recordings that don't include or mention Mr. Trump, but said federal prosecutors would have turned them over to him if they related to the president. Cohen is under investigation by the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York over his business dealings. Federal investigators seized millions of records during a raid on his home and office in April, including recordings of conversations Cohen had made.

The recording between Cohen and Mr. Trump was aired by CNN last week. In the recording, which Cohen's attorney Lanny Davis released to the cable network, the two discuss a possible payment to AMI, the publishing company that purchased story rights from McDougal about the alleged affair. Giuliani has said Mr. Trump never made a payment to AMI.

On Sunday, Giuliani argued that the recordings about Mr. Trump "clearly corroborate" the president's position that he was not aware ahead of time about payments to McDougal or Stormy Daniels, the adult film actress who received $150,000 from a company set up by Cohen in exchange for her silence about an alleged affair.

"These are tapes I want you to read, I want you to hear them. I didn't think I'd be able to get them out publicly. And somehow, he and his lawyer have this crazy idea of just throw it all out there," said Giuliani, a former federal prosecutor. "I think they also don't realize it's going to hurt them with the prosecutors. When I was a prosecutor, I didn't want some guy giving out all the evidence to the press."

Giuliani's comments come amid news that Cohen is willing to tell investigators with special counsel Robert Mueller's office that the president knew in advance of a June 2016 meeting at Trump Tower between his son, Donald Trump Jr., top campaign officials and a Russian lawyer. Cohen, however, has no evidence to offer that corroborates this claim.

Mr. Trump has denied ever knowing about his son's meeting, suggesting in a tweet on Friday that Cohen "is trying to make up stories in order to get himself out of an unrelated jam."

Giuliani maintains that there's no evidence the president did anything wrong and that there is no "legal basis" for investigating the president for obstructing justice. He cited the president's tweets as being helpful to Mr. Trump's legal case, saying he has been able to lay out his defense for not granting an interview to Mueller's team.

"He's made it clear, he didn't know about the meeting beforehand," Giuliani said, calling Cohen "an instinctual liar."

As for the president potentially sitting down with Mueller's team, Giuliani says that the special counsel's office has been "kind of tied up" with the Paul Manafort trial, but that negotiations with the team about a possible interview with the president are ongoing.

"We have an outstanding offer to them. They haven't responded in about a week to 10 days. I don't hold that against them I think they've got a lot going on like we do."

© 2018 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.


WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THE HEAD OF STATE IS UNDER THE CONTROL OF A FOREIGN POWER? SEE THE VIDEO AND THE ARTICLES BELOW. THIS DOCUMENTARY VIDEO IS EXCELLENT!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHgtUNVlFJcedward i
Edward VIII the traitor king - complete documentary

PUBLISHED BY erictheangrypenguin
Published on Jul 15, 2014
Was Edward VIII a nazi sympathiser? Complete Channel 4 documentary from 1995.



OUR PARTIES ARE SO POLARIZED NOW THAT A CERTAIN PERCENTAGE OF VOTERS WILL GO WITH THEIR PARTY LEADERS NO MATTER WHAT THEY DO. READ THE ARTICLE BELOW ABOUT THE KOCH BROTHERS COMMENTS ON WHAT TRUMP HAS DONE.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-backers-stand-by-president-in-face-of-russia-criticism-cbs-poll/
CBS NEWS July 29, 2018, 10:30 AM
Trump backers stand by president in face of Russia criticism — CBS poll
Reporting by Anthony Salvanto, Jennifer De Pinto, Kabir Khanna and Fred Backus

Nearly all Americans say Russian meddling in the 2018 midterm elections would be unacceptable, even if their party was the beneficiary of any interference. But the investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 campaign remains a divisive political issue, with Republicans more likely to doubt the FBI and U.S. intelligence agencies and more likely to back the president, a new CBS News poll found.

bt-poll-2018-interferes.jpg
CBS NEWS

Half of Republicans say that hearing criticisms of President Trump on the Russia issue makes them want to defend him more. Another 42 percent say they want to wait to see what the facts show.

bt-poll-probe-makes-you.jpg
Seventy percent of Republicans call the Russia investigation a "witch hunt," while Democrats call it a "critical" matter of national security (77 percent). Democrats, however, say they believe the issue speaks to the president's character (79 percent) as well as national security, but Republicans disagree, seeing it as a deliberate attempt to slow the president's agenda (81 percent) and feeling he is facing more resistance from the political establishment than other presidents have (86 percent).

CBS News' Elections and Survey's Director Anthony Salvanto reports that this speaks to how Trump's strongest backers feel such a personal connection with the president and want to defend him against what they perceive as being a politically motivated witch hunt.

"In principle, people are not ok with this (Russian meddling) but there's a difference between that principle they tell us, and what a lot of Republicans see as unfair criticism of the president. The president they think is facing more pushback from the establishment than other presidents have, that's how they see it," Salvanto told CBS' "Face the Nation" on Sunday.

The defense comes after more than a week of walk-backs from the White House over the president's summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, a meeting that sparked widespread backlash from Republicans and Democrats alike. Mr. Trump's failure to publicly denounce Putin's role in the 2016 election caused concern across the political world, leading many to question if the president had more faith in a known U.S. adversary than his own intelligence chiefs.

A previous CBS News poll conducted just after the Helsinki summit showed that only a third of Americans (32 percent) approved of the way Mr. Trump handled his summit Putin.* Sixty-eight percent of Republicans approved.

bt-poll-accurate-info.jpg
Meanwhile, Republicans are less likely than Democrats and independents to express any sort of confidence in the FBI and half as likely as Democrats to express a lot of confidence in the intelligence community. Comparatively, few Republicans (5 percent) expressed much confidence in the mainstream media -- a common talking point the president often cites as being behind the so-called "witch hunt."

© 2018 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.


ALMA DEUTCHER IS A LITTLE OVER 12 YEARS OLD, AND A VERY SERIOUS COMPOSER, BUT SHE’S STILL VERY MUCH A KID. THIS IS HER COMMENT TO SCOTT PELLEY:
“ALMA DEUTSCHER: WELL YES, THAT'S AN INTERESTING QUESTION BECAUSE YOU KNOW WHAT? I'M A VERY HAPPY PERSON SO I HAVE LOTS OF IMAGINARY COMPOSERS. AND ONE OF THEM IS CALLED ANTONIN YELLOWSINK.”

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/alma-deutscher-60-minutes-the-prodigy-whose-first-language-is-mozart/
Alma Deutscher: The prodigy whose "first language" is Mozart
Alma Deutscher was playing piano and violin by the time she was 3 years old and wrote her first opera at 10. For her, making music seems as natural as breathing
Jul 15, 2018
CORRESPONDENT
Scott Pelley

We cannot explain what you're about to hear. Science just doesn't know enough about the brain to make sense of Alma. Alma Deutscher is an accomplished British composer in the classical style. She is a virtuoso on the piano and the violin. And when we aired this story last November she was 12 years old. She's different from other prodigies we have known, because at the age of 10 she wrote an opera, which demands comprehensive mastery; not just how to play the piano, but, what is the range of the oboe? What can a cellist play? We don't know how she understands it all. It seems that Alma was born that way.

alma-and-pelley.jpg
Correspondent Scott Pelley and Alma Deutscher CBS NEWS

Scott Pelley: What is your earliest musical memory?

Alma Deutscher: I remember that when I was three, and I listened to this really beautiful lullaby by Richard Strauss, and that was when I really first realized how much I loved music. And I asked my parents, "But how can music be so beautiful?"

Those notes of Richard Strauss ignited a universe. At three, Alma was playing piano and violin.

Scott Pelley: When did the composing begin?

Alma Deutscher: When I was four, I just had these melodies and ideas in my head, and I would play them down at the piano. And sometimes my parents would think that I was just remembering music that I'd already heard before. But I said, "No, no, these are my melodies, that I composed."

"For me, it's strange to walk around and not to have melodies popping into my head."

Last year, in Austria, we watched Alma prepare her violin concerto and the premiere of her piano concerto. Joji Hattori conducts the vienna chamber orchestra.

That night, the soloist was the composer herself. Remember, she wrote all the notes for all the instruments.

We could see, Alma was living a story.

A story of loss.

A story of redemption.

Scales of emotion beyond a child.

And yet her vision was almost like wisdom.

Scott Pelley: Do you have any idea where this comes from?

Alma Deutscher: I don't really know, but it's really very normal to me to go around -- walk around and having melodies popping into my head. It's the most normal thing in the world. For me, it's strange to walk around and not to have melodies popping into my head. So if I was interviewing you, I would say, "Well, tell me Scott. How does it feel not having melodies popping into your head?

Scott Pelley: It's very quiet in my head. I must say.

alma-pelley-copy-01-sub-02.jpg
Alma Deutscher CBS NEWS
But, it appears, it's never quiet in hers. When she has nothing to do, the music flows from its mysterious source as fluently as breath.

Her parents, Guy and Janie, are professors. She teaches old English literature, Guy is a noted linguist. Both of them are amateur musicians.

Scott Pelley: Do you feel that there's anything about Alma's gift that you don't understand?

Guy Deutscher: We don't understand creativity. Does anyone? I mean I think that's the crux of the mystery. Where does it come from? This melody popping into your head. It really is a volcano of imagination. It's almost unstoppable.

It was Guy who taught her how to read music.

Guy Deutscher: I thought I was an amazing teacher because you know, I hardly had to--

Scott Pelley: You thought it was you!

Guy Deutscher: I thought it was me. I hardly had to say something and you know her piano teacher once said 'it's a bit difficult with Alma It's difficult to teach her because one always has the sense she'd been there before.'

Janie Deutscher: She wouldn't be able to imagine life without dreams and stories and music. That's as unimaginable to her as it is strange for other people to think about a girl with melodies in her head.

Alma Deutscher: I love getting the melodies. It's not at all difficult to me. I get them all the time. But then actually sitting down and developing the melodies and that's the really difficult part, having to tell a real story with music.

"I think I would prefer to be the first Alma than to be the second Mozart."
The story Alma tells in her opera, is Cinderella, but it's not the Cinderella you know.

It seemed demeaning to Alma that Cinderella was attractive because her feet were small so she cast Cinderella as a composer and the prince, as a poet.

Alma Deutscher: Cinderella finds a poem that was composed by the prince and she loves it and she's inspired to put music to it. And in the ball she sings it to the prince.

alma-pelley-copy-01-sub-08.jpg
Alma Deutscher CBS NEWS
Alma Deutscher: I think that it makes much more sense if he falls in love with her because she composed this amazing melody to his poem, because he thinks that she's his soul mate, because he understands her.

Scott Pelley: Well, people can fall in love with composers.

Alma Deutscher: Exactly.

Scott Pelley: I think this may be one of those times.

They fell in love with Cinderella in its first production in Vienna.

Scott Pelley: There is another composer who had an opera premiere in Vienna at the age of 11. Mozart. People compare you to Mozart. What do you think of that?

Alma Deutscher: I know that they mean it to be very nice to compare me to Mozart.

Scott Pelley: It could be worse.

Alma Deutscher: Of course, I love Mozart and I would have loved him to be my teacher. But I think I would prefer to be the first Alma than to be the second Mozart.

In Israel, Mozart joined Alma on stage, she played his piano concerto with a cadenza. In a cadenza, the orchestra stops and the soloist breaks away in music of her own making.

Alma Deutscher: It's something that I composed because you see it's a very early concerto of Mozart and the cadenza was very simple. It didn't go to any different keys.

Alma Deutscher: And I composed quite a long one going to lots and lots of different keys doing lots of things in Mozart's motifs.

Scott Pelley: So you improved the cadenza of Mozart?

Alma Deutscher: Well, yes.


Robert Gjerdingen is a professor of music at Northwestern in Chicago. He has been a consultant to Alma's education.

Robert Gjerdingen: It's kind of a comet that goes by and everybody looks up and just goes, "Wow." I sent her some assignments when she was six, seven, where I expected her to crash and burn, because they were very difficult. It came back, it was like listening to a mid-18th century composer. She was a native speaker.

Scott Pelley: A native speaker?

Robert Gjerdingen: It's her first language she speaks the Mozart-style. She speaks the style of Mendelssohn.

Scott Pelley: And the names that you just mentioned are the ones that live for centuries.

Robert Gjerdingen: Yes. She's batting in the big leagues. And if you win the pennant, there's immortality.

The route to immortality leads through California. Last December, Opera San Jose staged Cinderella in Alma's American debut. She was the belle of the ball, on the piano, organ and violin.

alma-pelley-copy-01-sub-11.jpg
Alma Deutscher CBS NEWS
Alma Deutscher: The piano music teachers say, "Well you must choose the piano." And the violin music teachers say, "Oh you must choose the violin." But anyway, that's better than the piano teacher saying, "You must choose the violin."

Scott Pelley: That would be a bad sign.

Alma Deutscher: That would be a bad sign, yes.

"I know that that life is not always beautiful. That there's also ugliness in the world. That's why I, I've learned, that I want to write beautiful music because I want to make the world a better place."
Fortunately she doesn't have to choose. This is her composition, Violin Concerto Number One.

Alma Deutscher: It's extremely jolly and very happy and jocular that movement. I want to make the people who listen to it laugh and be happy. The first movement of the violin concerto is quite the opposite. It's very dark and dramatic.

Scott Pelley: What does a girl your age know about dark and dramatic?

Alma Deutscher: Well yes, that's an interesting question because you know what? I'm a very happy person so I have lots of imaginary composers. And one of them is called Antonin Yellowsink.

Antonin Yellowsink, Alma's imaginary composing friend, is an insight into the music of her mind. Alma told us that she made up a country where imaginary composers write, each in his own style of emotion.

Scott Pelley: So how many composers do you have in your head?

Alma Deutscher: I have lots of composers. And sometimes when I'm stuck with something, when I'm composing, I go to them and ask them for advice. And quite often, they come up with very interesting things.

Even the real world is magical. The Deutscher's moved to the English countryside to be near a famous school of music. Alma is privately tutored and homeschooled alongside her sister Helen who also knows her way around the piano and the tree house.

Scott Pelley: I usually don't ask people your age this question, but, what have you learned about life?

Alma Deutscher: Well, I know that that life is not always beautiful. That there's also ugliness in the world. That's why I, I've learned, that I want to write beautiful music because I want to make the world a better place.

We cannot know how Alma Deutscher channels her music like a portal in time. But in a world, too often ugly, and too often overburdened with explanation, it's nice to take a moment and wonder.

Produced by Robert G. Anderson and Aaron Weisz

© 2018 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Scott Pelley
Correspondent, "60 Minutes"


TRUMP ALLEGED CONFLICTS OF INTEREST MAKE MUELLER UNSUITABLE.

http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/399427-trump-says-he-and-mueller-had-nasty-business-relationship
Trump lashes out at Mueller for alleged conflicts of interest
BY BRETT SAMUELS - 07/29/18 04:50 PM EDT

President Trump on Sunday renewed his accusations that special counsel Robert Mueller has "conflicts of interest" in his investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election, citing a previous business dispute between the two men.

In a sequence of tweets attacking the special counsel's credibility, Trump noted that he and Mueller had "a very nasty & contentious business relationship."

Trump has alleged on multiple occasions via Twitter that Mueller has unspecified conflicts of interest, however, Sunday's tweet marks the first time he's elaborated beyond such accusations.

The president seemingly confirmed a New York Times report from January that said Trump attempted to fire Mueller in June 2017 over alleged conflicts of interest.

The Times reported that Trump listed three conflicts he believed should disqualify Mueller: A dispute over fees at Trump’s National Golf Club in Virginia, his interview for FBI director before being named special counsel, and Mueller’s previous employment at a law firm that represents Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner.

Trump reportedly backed off his demand after White House counsel Don McGahn refused Trump’s order and threatened to quit.

Multiple reports indicated Trump interviewed Mueller for the vacancy, but it's unclear if Trump turned him down for the position before he was named special counsel in May 2017.

Trump's accusations about Mueller's alleged conflicts of interest came amid a string of tweets in which he claimed the special counsel's team is filled with Democrats.

Trump also falsely claimed Mueller's probe was sparked by the so-called Steele dossier, and questioned why the special counsel was not investigating Democrats.

The president has attacked Mueller's investigation with increasing regularity in recent months, frequently decrying it as a "witch hunt" and a "hoax" in an attempt to discredit Mueller and his probe.

The special counsel has thus far indicted or gotten guilty pleas from more than 20 Russians as part of his probe, as well as four former Trump associates.

Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort is set to go on trial this week as part of the investigation.


THIS IS A VERY INTERESTING, EVEN EXCITING, STORY. WHAT WILL TRUMP AND THE IMPLICATED LEGISLATORS DO NOW? I WANT TO THANK CHARLES KOCH FOR CONDEMNING FULLY THE VICIOUS TRUMP TEAM PROGRAM OF SEPARATING CHILDREN FROM THEIR PARENTS. I WONDER WHAT THEY HAD IN MIND WITH THAT. OR DID THEY HAVE ANYTHING AT ALL IN MIND?

THE KOCH NETWORK WANTS TO “INCENTIVIZE*” PRISONERS TO TRY TO REACH A PLATFORM SO THAT THEY CAN RECEIVE BENEFITS AND LIFE IMPROVEMENTS ONCE THEY ARE OUT OF PRISON, RESULTING HOPEFULLY IN THEIR NO LONGER COMMITTING CRIMES AND BEING INCARCERATED OVER AND OVER. THAT IS A CYCLE OF POVERTY, HATRED, AND MORE CRIME. THAT IS ONE OF THE WORST THINGS ABOUT PRISON LIFE TODAY – THE PRISONS ARE NOT DOING THE THINGS THAT IMPROVE AN INDIVIDUAL “FROM THE INSIDE OUT.” TOO MANY AMERICANS VIEW THAT AS “CODDLING” THE PRISONERS, AND OF THOSE MOST ARE “CONSERVATIVES.” SEE THIS WEBSITE FROM KOCH FOR FINDING JOBS AND RETRAINING: https://kochcareers.referrals.selectminds.com/.

http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/399364-top-koch-network-officials-vent-frustration-with-white-house-gop-led
Top Koch network officials vent frustration with White House, GOP-led Congress
BY JONATHAN EASLEY - 07/28/18 06:12 PM EDT

PHOTOGRAPH – KOCH -- © Getty Images

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Senior officials from the group of networks affiliated with billionaire conservative businessman Charles Koch are expressing deep frustration with President Trump and the Republican-controlled Congress, even as they spend heavily to elect Republicans and promote conservative causes ahead of the midterm elections.

From trade to immigration and spending, top Koch network strategists, who briefed reporters at a five-star resort in Colorado Springs for the group’s biannual seminar, outlined the areas from which they believe the Trump administration and GOP Congress have gone astray.

They’re also frustrated by what they view as the “divisiveness” of the Trump administration — something officials say is complicating lawmakers' ability to find areas of compromise.

“The divisiveness of this White House is causing long-term damage,” said Brian Hooks, president of The Charles Koch Foundation. “When in order to win on an issue, someone else has to lose, it makes it very difficult to unite and solve the problems of this country.”

“When we say there’s a lack of leadership … I’d include the White House and a number of politicians who are following that lead,” Hooks continued. “There’s a need for someone to step up and show people it’s possible to achieve things when you unite people together … rather than divide them.”

In a video the network is expected to unveil on Sunday, Koch will warn against “a rise in protectionism” — a swipe at the president’s tariffs and immigration policies.

On trade, Koch officials vented about what they described as “Depression-era” policies punctuated by farmer “bailouts.” The Trump administration is giving $12 billion in aid to farmers impacted by retaliatory tariffs.

“This is hurting people and doing long-term damage to the country,” Hooks said.

And Koch network officials said they’re appalled by the Trump administration’s “zero tolerance” policy*, which resulted in thousands of children being separated from their parents at the southern border. The administration is rushing now to meet court-ordered deadlines to reunite those families.

“We’ve been very vocal in our opposition to that, it’s one of the main injustices we’re trying to work really hard to unite people around and ultimately to drive the administration to change their policy there,” said Koch network spokesman James Davis.

The Koch network also voiced issues with the Republicans who control both chambers of Congress.

They’d like to see Congress pass a bill providing a pathway to citizenship for nearly 2 million “Dreamers,” immigrants who came to the country illegally as children.

And they’re still fuming over the $1.3 trillion spending package that was passed in March.

“The challenge here is that if we continue to do that we’ll slow the decline of the country rather than change the trajectory of the country, and our supporters and donors have said ‘no,’ we have to step up to lead here,” Davis said.

The Koch network will spend about $400 million this election cycle on politics and policy. The network is typically supportive of Republicans but they’ve also spent money to hold GOP lawmakers accountable, particularly on spending.

The Koch network's political arm has so far gone after 10 House Republicans and two GOP senators for supporting the spending package or voting against spending clawbacks.

The Highest Paying Card Has Hit The Market

Still, a sizable chunk of the political money has been pumped into races supporting Republican Senate candidates going up against Democrats seeking reelection in states Trump carried in 2016.

Prison reform is another top priority for the network.

The House earlier this year passed the First Step Act by a 360-59 margin.

There is an urgency among the network of conservative donors and activists for the Senate to take up the bill, which aims to incentivize inmates* to complete prison programs that might reduce their likelihood to commit crimes again when they are released.

This weekend’s Koch network gathering at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs is the largest seminar the group has ever held, with more than 500 donors, business leaders, lawmakers and philanthropists. Donors are expected to contribute $100,000 or more to be invited.

Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin (R), Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R), Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Tim Scott (R-S.C.) and Reps. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and Doug Collins (R-Ga.) are among the elected officials on hand.


RELATED:
https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/5682/text
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) Short Title.—This Act may be cited as the “Formerly Incarcerated Reenter Society Transformed Safely Transitioning Every Person Act” or the “FIRST STEP Act”.

JULY 28, 2018


NEWS AND VIEWS


HOW COULD HUMANS DO SOMETHING LIKE THIS? I HOPE THAT WE DON’T EVER GO IN THIS DIRECTION IN THE UNITED STATES. SIT-INS ARE A HARMLESS EXPRESSION OF DISAPPROVAL IN A RIGID SITUATION, WHERE NOTHING ELSE IS WORKING. SEVERAL TIMES IN THE LAST YEAR OR TWO WE HAVE HAD OUR OWN POLICEMEN CARRY OUT MASS ARRESTS, CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA LAST YEAR BEING ONE, AND THAT SCARES ME. IT’S A CHARACTERISTIC OF A TOTALITARIAN REGIME, AND IT IS UNACCEPTABLE IN AMERICA.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/egyptian-court-sentences-75-to-death-for-their-involvement-in-a-2013-sit-in-2018-07-28/
CBS/AP July 28, 2018, 9:35 AM
Egyptian court sentences 75 to death for their involvement in a 2013 sit-in

PHOTOGRAPH -- Policemen guard 739 defendants at a soundproof glass cage inside a makeshift courtroom in Tora prison in Cairo, Egypt, Saturday, July 28, 2018. Egypt's state-run media says a court has sentenced 75 people to death, including top figures of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood group, for their involvement in a 2013 sit-in. AMR NABIL/AP

CAIRO -- An Egyptian court sentenced 75 people to death on Saturday, including top figures of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood group, for their involvement in a 2013 sit-in, state media reported. The Cairo Criminal Court referred the sentences to the Grand Mufti -- the country's top theological authority -- for his non-binding opinion as is the norm in capital cases. Though non-binding, the formality gives a window of opportunity for a judge to reverse an initial sentence.

The sentences are subject to appeal.

Sentencing for more than 660 others involved in the case was scheduled for Sept. 8, the Al-Ahram news website reported. Those sentences, too, are subject to appeal.

Of the 75 defendants referred to the Mufti, 44 are jailed and 31 are at large. The court normally hands down the maximum sentence for fugitives but a re-retrial is typically held after they are caught.

The case involves a total 739 defendants, including the Muslim Brotherhood's Supreme Guide Mohammed Badie and photojournalist Mahmoud Abu Zeid. The charges range from murder to damaging public property. Neither Badie nor Abu Zeid were sentenced to death in this case.

The 2013 sit-in, in Rabaa al-Adawiya Square in Cairo, supported former Islamist President Mohammed Morsi who was militarily ousted following mass protests against his divisive one-year rule. Morsi hailed from the Brotherhood.

The sit-in was violently dispersed on Aug. 14, 2013. More than 600 people were killed. Months later, Egypt designated the Brotherhood a terrorist organization.

Egyptian authorities have since launched a severe crackdown on Brotherhood members and supporters, arresting many and trying them on terror-related charges. Egyptian courts have held mass trials and handed down death sentences for hundreds of people, drawing international condemnation.

Rights groups have repeatedly criticized such mass sentencings and called on authorities to ensure fair trials. They have also denounced the mass trial of the 2013 sit-in.

"The idea that more than 700 people could all stand trial together in one day, all facing the death penalty in what is clearly a grossly unfair trial that violates Egypt's own constitution beggar's belief," Najia Bounaim, director of campaign in North Africa at Amnesty International, said last month.

"This can only be described as a parody of justice; it casts a dark shadow over the integrity of Egypt's entire system of justice, and makes a mockery of due process," Bounaim said.

In 2014, an Egyptian judge sentenced 529 Morsi supporters to death before 492 were later commuted to life in prison. Death sentences were upheld for the remaining 37.

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


A VIOLENT ASSAULT “DURING A BUSINESS MEETING....” THIS IS SAD, AS WELL AS BIZARRE. WERE THE ONLY TWO PEOPLE THERE THE WOMAN AND THE CEO? I GUESS SO. WOMEN NEED TO AVOID ONE ON ONE SITUATIONS WITH A MAN, ESPECIALLY IF THEY DON’T KNOW HIM WELL ENOUGH TO PREDICT HIS BEHAVIOR.

CBS, IN MY VIEW, HAS ALWAYS BEEN RESPECTABLE AND A MOST RELIABLE NEWS SOURCE. I ESPECIALLY LIKE THE MODERATE LENGTH OF THE ARTICLES. FOR MORE DETAIL AND DEEP ANALYSIS, I USE NYT AND NPR, BUT THEIR ARTICLES ARE TOO LONG FOR MY BLOG, UNLESS I REALLY, REALLY WANT THAT STORY.

THERE HAVE BEEN SO MANY STORIES LIKE THIS ONE LATELY THAT IT ALMOST MAKES ME SUSPICIOUS OF WHETHER SOME OUTSIDE SOURCE IS CREATING AND PLANTING THEM – THE RUSSIANS? DONALD TRUMP? OR IS THE NEWS BUSINESS AS A WHOLE AS CORRUPT IN GENERAL AS POLITICS, SO THAT BAD SITUATIONS HAPPEN EVEN MORE COMMONLY THAN WE HEAR ABOUT? I SUSPECT THAT THAT IS THE CASE, ACTUALLY.

A GUY I WAS DATING YEARS AGO, WHEN I MENTIONED SOMETHING THAT HAD HAPPENED TO ME, WITHOUT CHANGING FACIAL EXPRESSION AND IN A FLAT TONE OF VOICE, SAID “MEN ARE DOGS.” THE WAY HE SAID IT WAS FUNNY, BUT TRUE. THAT’S THE REAL “GOOD OLD BOY” NETWORK IN ACTION. MANY AND PERHAPS MOST MEN CONSIDER SUCH THINGS “THEIR RIGHT,” AND THEIR LOYALTY TO OTHER MEN IS OFTEN MUCH GREATER THAN THAT TO WOMEN. ON THOSE SEX ISSUES, THOUGH, WOMEN TEND TO WANT A LITTLE REAL ROMANCING FIRST; AND NOWADAYS, WE ARE UNWILLING TO BE VICTIMIZED EVER.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/new-yorker-investigation-alleges-sexual-misconduct-by-ceo-of-cbs-and-claims-60-minutes-permitted-abusive-behavior/
CBS NEWS July 27, 2018, 8:34 PM
New Yorker investigation alleges sexual misconduct by CEO of CBS and claims "60 Minutes" permitted abusive behavior

An investigation published Friday afternoon by The New Yorker claims that the CEO of CBS Corporation, Leslie Moonves, engaged in several instances of sexual misconduct. It also describes a culture in the news division that tolerated abusive behavior.

The story by Ronan Farrow cites six women with allegations against Moonves that date from the 1980s to the 2000s.

In one case, in 1997, the actress and writer Illeana Douglas told Farrow that Moonves assaulted her during a business meeting.

"In a millisecond, he's got one arm over me, pinning me," Douglas said. "What it feels like to have someone hold you down – you can't breathe, you can't move," she said. Douglas told Farrow that Moonves was "violently kissing" her, and then, "aroused, pulled up her skirt and began to thrust against her."

Douglas ultimately got away, but Douglas told Farrow that she lost her agent and future work with CBS as a result of the incident.

In a statement to The New Yorker, CBS said that Moonves acknowledges trying to kiss Douglas, but that "he denies any characterization of 'sexual assault,' intimidation, or retaliatory action."

In another case, in 1985, the writer Janet Jones also described Moonves trying to kiss her during a business meeting at his office.

"He came around the corner of the table and threw himself on top of me. It was very fast," Jones told Farrow. She said she pushed Moonves away and when she tried to leave, found his office door locked. She told Farrow she recalled Moonves unlocking the door from his desk or a nearby bureau, and said his assistant had left.

She told Farrow: "I just thought, Oh, my God. This wasn't like a little momentary boo-boo. It was this well-thought-out thing."

Jones told Farrow that Moonves later called her and threatened her career, saying "'I'm warning you. I will ruin your career. You will never get a writing job. No one will hire you. Do you understand what I'm saying to you?'"

In a statement to The New Yorker, CBS said that Moonves has no recollection of the interactions with Jones.

Farrow spoke to four other women who described sexual misconduct by Moonves. Two described forcible kissing or touching, and two claimed they received unwanted advances.

In a statement to The New Yorker, Moonves said: "I recognize that there were times decades ago when I may have made some women uncomfortable by making advances. Those were mistakes,* and I regret them immensely. But I always understood and respected – and abided by the principle – that 'no' means 'no,' and I have never misused my position to harm or hinder anyone's career."

CBS Corporation is the parent company of CBS News.

In a statement before The New Yorker story was published, CBS Corporation's Independent Directors said they would investigate the claims. "All allegations of personal misconduct are to be taken seriously," said the statement. "The Independent Directors of CBS have committed to investigating claims that violate the Company's clear policies in that regard. Upon the conclusion of that investigation, which involves recently reported allegations that go back several decades, the Board will promptly review the findings and take appropriate action."

Moonves' wife, Julie Chen, who is also the host of the CBS show "Big Brother" and co-host of "The Talk," issued a statement on Twitter supporting her husband: "Leslie is a good man and a loving father, devoted husband and inspiring corporate leader. He has always been a kind, decent and moral human being. I fully support my husband and stand behind him and his statement."

Moonves, 68, joined the former CBS Corporation in 1995 as President of CBS Entertainment. He has been president and CEO of CBS Corporation since 2006.

Farrow also spoke to 30 current and former CBS employees who described a culture that tolerated harassment, gender discrimination, or retaliation. Reported instances touch on major divisions, including "CBS Evening News" and "60 Minutes."

Farrow reported that Jeff Fager, Executive Producer of "60 Minutes," protected men accused of misconduct, including men who reported to him. One former female senior producer told Farrow that Fager promoted another senior producer who had been physically abusive toward her and advised her to not go to human resources with her concerns. She also claims that Fager told her to apologize the other producer to "mitigate conflict in the office."

Six former employees told Farrow that Fager would touch employees in ways that made them uncomfortable at company parties, and in one instance made a drunken advance toward one junior staffer.

In a statement to The New Yorker, Fager said, "It is wrong that our culture can be falsely defined by a few people with an axe to grind who are using an important movement as a weapon to get even, and not by the hundreds of women and men that have thrived, both personally and professionally, at '60 Minutes.'" Fager went on to call the accusations "false, anonymous, and do not hold up to editorial scrutiny."

Last year, CBS fired Charlie Rose as co-anchor of "CBS This Morning" after multiple allegations of sexual misconduct were detailed in an investigation by The Washington Post. Subsequent reporting raised questions about the response to those allegations by managers at CBS.

The story comes at a time when CBS is in a legal battle with Viacom. The two companies merged in 1999 and split up just a few years later, in 2005. Shari Redstone is a major shareholder in both media companies, and has been seeking to combine them again.

CBS owns the CBS TV network, cable network Showtime and the publisher Simon & Schuster. Viacom controls several major cable networks, including Comedy Central, MTV and BET, and movie studio Paramount.

Moonves has fought the merger.

The statement from the Independent Directors acknowledged the dispute. "The timing of this report comes in the midst of the Company's very public legal dispute," the statement from the directors said. "While that litigation process continues, the CBS management team has the full support of the independent board members. Along with that team, we will continue to focus on creating value for our shareowners."

Shari Redstone issued a statement supporting an investigation into the allegations against Moonves and countering any claims that she played a role in the report: "The malicious insinuation that Ms. Redstone is somehow behind the allegations of inappropriate personal behavior by Mr. Moonves or today's reports is false and self-serving. Ms. Redstone hopes that the investigation of these allegations is thorough, open and transparent."

© 2018 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.


HOW VERY DISAPPOINTING, AND SILLY. IT REALLY DOESN’T LOOK LIKE A ZEBRA. I WONDER WHAT THEY ARE CHARGING FOR ADMISSION TO THE ZOO.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/donkey-painted-zebra-cairo-international-garden-park-zoo-accused/
CBS NEWS July 27, 2018, 6:55 PM
Zoo accused of painting donkeys to look like zebras

An Egyptian zoo is insisting it did not paint a pair of donkeys to look like zebras.

Cairo's International Garden municipal park became a target of ridicule after an Egyptian student, Mahmoud Sarhan, posted images on Facebook of the suspicious beast. Sarhan said that the zoo's two zebras were obviously painted donkeys, a view that has since been embraced by online animal experts.

However, zoo director Mohamed Sultan told a local radio station that his zebras are real, dismissing claims that they are just painted donkeys, according to the BBC.

This is not the first time that a zoo has painted donkeys to look like zebras. In 2009, a zoo in Gaza did the same thing, saying that it could not procure real zebras due to an Israeli blockade.

painted zebra donkey
An alleged zebra stands with Egyptian student Mahmoud A. Sarhan. MAHMOUD A. SARHAN

"The first time we used paint but it didn't look good," the zoo's proprietor told Reuters at the time. "The children don't know, so they call them zebras and they are happy to see something new."

In 2013, a Chinese zoo was criticized for trying to pass off a large dog as a lion. "The zoo is absolutely trying to cheat us," one visitor told Chinese media. "They are trying to disguise dogs as lions."

Zebras and donkeys, despite both bearing a resemblance to horses, are different species. Donkeys are popular beasts of burden in developing countries and were domesticated millennia ago. Zebras, meanwhile, are primarily known for their black-and-white stripes.

Zebras also have black snouts, according to one expert. They are also larger and less donkey-like than the animal in the viral photo, and do not have smudged stripes.

© 2018 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.



THE ONLY GOOD NEWS HERE IS THAT THE POPE ISN’T PROTECTING MCCARRICK. IT WOULD BE EVEN BETTER, THOUGH, IF HE WERE CRIMINALLY CHARGED. A SEXUAL OFFENSE, ESPECIALLY ON A CHILD, IS NOT MERELY SHAMEFUL, IT’S DEEPLY HARMFUL. MEN (OR WOMEN) WHO DO IT SHOULD PAY A PENALTY.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/theodore-mccarrick-resigns-from-college-of-cardinals-after-sexual-abuse-allegations-pope-francis-accepts-resignation-2018-07-28/
AP July 28, 2018, 11:56 AM
Cardinal Theodore McCarrick resigns over sexual abuse allegations

PHOTOGRAPH -- Cardinal Theodore McCarrick speaks during a news conference with senators and national religious leaders to respond to attempts at vilifying refugees and to call on lawmakers to engage in policymaking and not 'fear-mongering' at the U.S. Capitol December 8, 2015 in Washington, D.C. GETTY

VATICAN CITY -- Pope Francis has accepted U.S. prelate Theodore McCarrick's offer to resign from the College of Cardinals following allegations of sexual abuse, including one involving an 11-year-old boy. The pope ordered and ordered [sic] him to conduct a "life of prayer and penance" in a home to be designated by the pontiff until a church trial is held, the Vatican said Saturday.

Francis acted swiftly after receiving McCarrick's letter of resignation Friday evening, after recent weeks have brought a spate of allegations that the 88-year-old prelate in the course of his distinguished clerical career had sexually abused both boys and adult seminarians. The revelations posed a test to the pontiff's recently declared resolve to battle what he called a "culture of cover-up" of similar abuse in the Catholic's church's hierarchy.

McCarrick has been removed from public ministry since June 20, pending a full investigation into allegations he fondled a teenager over 40 years ago in New York City. A man, who was 11 at the time of the first alleged instance of abuse, says a sexually abusive relationship continued for two more decades. McCarrick has denied the initial allegation.

The prelate rose steadily up the U.S. Church's ranks, from auxiliary bishop in New York City, to bishop in Metuchen, N.J., to archbishop of Newark, N.J., and then to Archbishop of Washington, D.C., the nation's capital, the city where the papal ambassador to the United States is based.

While most of the scandals involving pedophile clergy have involved rank-and-file priests, some cases involved bishops, and there are a few involving cardinals, including a current case in Australia of one of Pope Francis' closest advisers, Cardinal George Pell.

In the case of Scottish Cardinal Keith O'Brien, accused by former seminarians in 2013 of sexual misconduct, Francis only accepted his resignation after the Vatican's top abuse prosecutor conducted a full investigation, two years after the first revelations came out.

But Saturday's announcement by the Holy See said that Francis was taking action, by isolating McCarrick and ordering his penance even before "accusations made against him are examined in a regular canonical trial." In addition, Francis, "ordered his suspension from the exercise of any public ministry," indicating he was approving the measure already in effect since last month.

© 2018 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.


FROM berniesanders.com – TWO ARTICLES -- THESE AREN’T NEW, BUT THEY ARE SIGNIFICANT.

BERNIE SANDERS’ STAND ON THE RUSSIAN ELECTION INTERFERENCE

https://berniesanders.com/press-release/sanders-statement-russian-government-interference-u-s-elections/
PRESS RELEASE
Sanders Statement on Russian Government Interference In U.S. Elections
FEBRUARY 21, 2018

BURLINGTON, Vt. – U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders on Wednesday released the following statement on Russian government interference in U.S. elections:
“It is now clear to everyone that agents of the Russian government were, in a disgusting and dangerous manner, actively interfering in the 2016 elections in an effort to defeat Secretary Hillary Clinton. Based on media reports they intend to interfere in the mid-term elections of 2018. There has also been extensive reporting on the Russian government’s interference in European elections.

“All of this conduct taken together is a direct assault on the free democratic systems that stand in contrast to the autocratic, nationalistic kleptocracy of Vladimir Putin and his backers in the Russian oligarchy. Sadly, despite all this evidence, the only person who seems to be unconcerned about the subversion of democracy is our own president Donald Trump. Russian interference in both the 2016 primary and general election is unacceptable and everything possible must be done to ensure it does not happen again. No candidate, whether Secretary Clinton or anyone else, should have to wage an electoral contest in the face of foreign government intervention. The same is true of other kinds of interference the Russians engaged in, including posing as supporters of the social justice movement Black Lives Matter or members of the American Muslim community.

“Let there be no confusion about my view. What the Russians did in the 2016 election cycle deserves unconditional condemnation. That includes all of their conduct — whether it was active support of any candidate or active opposition to any candidate or the decision to not go after a candidate as a way of hurting or helping another campaign. This is true of any of the 2016 campaigns, including those of Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, or my own. As someone who campaigned hard for Secretary Clinton from one end of this country to another, it is an outrage that she had to run against not only Donald Trump but also the Russian government. All Americans rightly expected and deserved a fair election free of foreign governmental intervention. The key issues now are two: how we prevent the unwitting manipulation of the electoral and political system of our country by foreign governments; and exposing who was actively consorting with the Russian government’s attack on our democracy.”

On background from an aide to Sanders: Based on public reporting, especially a Huffington Post piece from March of 2017 — months after the 2016 general election was over — volunteer administrators of pro-Bernie Facebook pages detected an influx of anti-Hillary Clinton trolls in the April – May 2016 timeframe. One of the people featured in the stories about the Russian interference is a volunteer administrator John Mattes of San Diego. In a February 16, 2018 story, NBC 7 San Diego reported that Mattes claims he took whatever information he had to Hillary for America in August and the Obama Administration in September of 2016. Speaking on Vermont Public Radio on2/21/2018, Senator Sanders alluded to the San Diego NBC affiliate’s reporting when he said that someone from the campaign had informed Hillary for America about the influx of anti-Hillary Clinton trolling that was occurring on pro-Bernie 2016 Facebook pages. In doing so, he was using the word “campaign” expansively to include not only the formal, institutional campaign, but also the broader network of volunteers and supporters of Bernie 2016 across the country.


BERNIE ON THE PROPOSED DNC REFORM COMMISSION

https://berniesanders.com/press-release/sanders-statement-dnc-unity-reform-commission-2/
PRESS RELEASE
Sanders Statement on DNC Unity Reform Commission
DECEMBER 9, 2017
Twitter Facebook Email Link
WASHINGTON – U.S. SEN. BERNIE SANDERS ISSUED THE FOLLOWING STATEMENT ON SATURDAY FOLLOWING THE FIFTH AND FINAL MEETING OF THE DNC UNITY REFORM COMMISSION IN WASHINGTON D.C.:

“The Democratic Party will not become a vibrant and successful 50 state party until it opens its doors widely to the working people and young people of our country. I am extremely pleased that the Unity Reform Commission has begun that process, voting nearly unanimously to limit the role of super delegates along with making our caucuses and primaries more democratic. Now it is incumbent on the Democratic Party’s Rules and Bylaws committee and the membership of the DNC to enact these critical reforms as soon as possible.”



THE FOLLOWUP TO THE SANDERS ANNOUNCEMENT ABOVE – THIS ARTICLE ONLY SPEAKS OF “THE FIRST BALLOT.” HOW ABOUT THE WHOLE ELECTION? WHAT IS THE POINT OF ALL THOSE “SUPERDELEGATES,” ANYWAY? PROBABLY THEY HAVE GIVEN A LARGE PLEDGED AMOUNT OF MONEY, PERHAPS?

https://www.npr.org/2018/06/27/623913044/dnc-officials-vote-to-scale-back-role-of-superdelegates-in-presidential-nominati
POLITICS
DNC Officials Vote To Scale Back Role Of 'Superdelegates' In Presidential Nomination
June 27, 2018 5:17 PM ET
SCOTT DETROW

PHOTOGRAPH -- Sen. Bernie Sanders is seen after the Vermont delegation cast their votes during roll call at the 2016 Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia. After the bitter primary between Sanders and Hillary Clinton, the DNC set up a process that has led to reducing the role of party leaders in selecting the presidential nominee.
Alex Wong/Getty Images

A day after scoring dramatic victories in Maryland and New York primaries, progressives have notched another major win in the Democratic Party.

A Democratic National Committee panel has voted to drastically curtail the role 'superdelegates' play in the party's presidential nominating process. The DNC's Rules and Bylaws Committee voted 27 to 1 to block officeholders, DNC members, and other party dignitaries from casting decisive votes on the first ballot of presidential nominating conventions.

POLITICS
Democrats Plan Unusually Early 2020 Convention

Speaking ahead of the vote, DNC Chair Tom Perez said the shift is part of a broader effort to rebuild trust and heal the wounds of the still-lingering 2016 primary. "No candidate should have an accumulated lead, whether real or perceived, before a first ballot is cast," Perez said.

Eliminating superdelegates had been a top priority for Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders in the wake of the 2016 primary. The independent called the vote "a major step forward" in a statement, saying, "this decision will ensure that delegates elected by voters in primaries and caucuses will have the primary role in selecting the Democratic Party's nominee."

Ever since 1984, the Democratic Party has given hundreds of party officials free rein to vote for any presidential candidate they want to, regardless of which candidate emerged from the primary season with the most delegates, or how their home state's primary or caucus turned out.

RELATED -- With Centrist Democrats' Success, Party's Identity Struggle Gets More Complicated

Superdelegates have never gone against the will of primary voters in picking Democratic presidential nominees. But their ability to do just that, if they wanted, and to affect the trajectory of a race has long been a major tension point between grassroots activists and the party establishment.

The question of how superdelegates would vote loomed over the 2016 primary, when an overwhelming majority of the Democratic establishment backed former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton over Sanders.

Clinton won substantially more pledged delegates than Sanders in primaries and caucuses, but as Sanders' surprisingly strong primary run stretched through the spring, many of his supporters pointed to broad support for Clinton from unpledged delegates as Exhibit A of establishment cronyism.

This frustration reached a boiling point the day before the final set of primaries, when the Associated Press declared Clinton the Democrats' presumptive nominee based on a poll of superdelegates.

In the wake of the election, the DNC established the Unity Reform Commission to recommend changes for future elections. The commission, made up of people picked by Sanders, Clinton and current DNC leadership, recommended drastically reducing the number of unpledged delegates.

One Year In, DNC Turnaround Has A Long Way To Go
POLITICS
One Year In, DNC Turnaround Has A Long Way To Go

Perez said Democrats ultimately opted for a slightly different plan because he said the remaining pool of superdelegates would have been less diverse.

The unity commission was one of several steps Perez has taken to try and heal the bitter wounds of the 2016 primary, which were exasperated by hacked emails showing many DNC officials openly preferred Clinton to Sanders at a time when they were acting publicly as neutral arbiters. The DNC emails were hacked by Russian operatives as part of a campaign to interfere in the 2016 presidential election, and were released by Wikileaks on the eve of the 2016 Democratic National Convention.

"We have to make sure that we rebuild the trust among many who feel alienated from our party," Perez said at the beginning of the committee meeting.

The new procedures would allow superdelegates to vote for whomever they want in the unlikely event a presidential candidate isn't nominated on the first ballot and the convention becomes contested on the floor.

Given the fact that Democrats expect the 2020 presidential field to be their largest ever, that possibility, while still very remote, is possible.

The full Democratic National Committee will vote on the proposed rule change in August.

RELATED SUBJECTS

superdelegates
2020 presidential election
democratic national committee
sen. bernie sanders
democratic party


IS THIS PERHAPS THE END OF A LONG STORY? NO. IT’LL SURELY POP UP AGAIN AFTER A FEW YEARS. JUST KEEP WATCHING THE TABLOIDS.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/amelia-earhart-case-closed-after-analysis-of-her-distress-signals-researcher-says/
CBS NEWS July 28, 2018, 9:54 AM
Amelia Earhart case "closed" after analysis of her distress signals, researcher says

The disappearance of aviator Amelia Earhart 81 years ago is one of the greatest mysteries in American history. Researchers revealed a new clue this week that may shed light on what happened to Earhart and her navigator, Fred Noonan, as they tried to circle the globe.

Ric Gillespie, who has researched Earhart's doomed flight for 30 years, says he has proof that Earhart crash-landed on a remote South Pacific island about 2,000 miles from Hawaii, and that she called for help for nearly a week before her plane was swept out to sea.

"Everybody expected a happy ending to the search because Amelia was out there calling for help and her calls were being heard," Gillespie said.

VIDEO – NEW CLUES TO AMELIA EARHART MYSTERY 00:31

He has located documentation of distress signals that were sent in the days after Earhart's disappearance. Those signals prompted the Navy to launch a rescue mission.

"It took the battleship a week to get there, by which time the radio signals had stopped, and when the planes flew over the island, they didn't see an airplane," Gillespie said.

"Now the airplane's manufacturer, Lockheed, had said that if you're hearing calls from this airplane it's not floating around in the water because the radios would be wet, it wouldn't work. The airplane is on land and able to run an engine to recharge the battery, so it's on its wheels. She's made a safe landing someplace," Gillespie said.

Gillespie said the calls weren't just heard by the Navy, but also by dozens of people who unexpectedly picked up Earhart's transmissions on their radios thousands of miles away. Reports of people hearing calls for help were documented in places like Florida, Iowa and Texas. One woman in Canada reported hearing a voice saying "we have taken in water. … We can't hold on much longer."

Gillespie's organization, The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery, has also found forensic evidence that bones found on the island are almost certainly Earhart's.

While the official stance is that Earhart and Noonan were lost at sea, Gillespie said the radio evidence only strengthens his theory that they survived the initial landing.

"This case is closed," Gillespie said.

© 2018 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.


IN RUSSIA’S SPHERE OF INFLUENCE – TWO ARTICLES

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jul/11/greece-to-expel-russian-diplomats-over-alleged-macedonia-interference
Greece to expel Russian diplomats over alleged Macedonia interference
Russia accused of trying to fan opposition to deal which will weaken its influence in Balkans
Patrick Wintour Diplomatic editor
Wed 11 Jul 2018 14.56 EDT

PHOTOGRAPH -- The Greek prime minister, Alexis Tsipras, right, and his Macedonian counterpart, Zoran Zaev, celebrate the new name deal. Photograph: Yorgos Karahalis/AP

Four Russian diplomats will be banned from Greece after evidence revealed Russia was trying to foment opposition to a historic deal between Greece and Macedonia that is likely to pave the way for Macedonia’s Nato membership and so weaken Russian influence in the western Balkans.

Greece said it would expel two Russian diplomats and ban two others.

Zoran Zaev, the Macedonian prime minister, speaking at the Nato summit in Brussels, indicated he knew Russia was behind some of the protests outside his own parliament, but he said his country was not going to seek conflict. “We are a small country. We want to build a friendship with everybody. There is no alternative but Nato membership,” he said.

He said countries, such as Bulgaria, managed to triple foreign direct investment after joining Nato, and he hoped it would deliver the same boost to his country.

Russia, involved in a wider struggle for influence with the EU across the region, has already been accused of backing a failed coup in Montenegro in 2016.

Russia said it would respond to the Greek expulsions by taking similar steps against Greek diplomats in Moscow.

Macedonia agrees to new name after 27-year dispute with Greece

The expulsion of the diplomats, revealed in the Greek media on Wednesday but relayed by the Greek government to Russia on 6 July, follows evidence they were encouraging rallies to oppose the Macedonian name deal, including offering bribes to opponents of the deal.

The historic naming deal, agreed on 17 June, will see the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia bow to Greek objections and change its name to Northern Macedonia. Greece had claimed the title Macedonia implied a territorial claim on the Greek province of the same name.

The Greek newspaper Kathimerini named the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society, an organisation which promotes Russian ties to Christians in the Middle East, as being among the groups trying to fan Russian influence in Greece, including in the Greek Orthodox monastic community of Mount Athos.

A representative of the society denied it was involved in any alleged attempts to bribe senior Greek Orthodox clergymen, the Russian state Interfax news agency reported.

PHOTOGRAPH -- The Russian embassy in Athens. Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

In 2008 Nato agreed to invite Macedonia to join the military alliance once its name dispute was settled, and Wednesday’s Nato summit meeting in Brussels will conclude with a formal invitation to join Nato.

The name has been disputed between the two countries ever since the break-up of the former Yugoslavia.

Balkan states 'must embrace reform before EU ascension'

“We had issued warnings to Russian authorities for some time over [the actions of] these specific four diplomats and civilians, and on Friday it was officially raised, giving them a reasonable period of a few days to leave the country,” said a Greek government source.

The deal faces opposition in both Greece and in Macedonia, where a heated referendum is planned this autumn.

The Macedonian opposition is trying to block the establishment of an electoral commission required to prepare for the referendum. It is also accusing leading politicians in the Macedonian government of treason for agreeing to the deal.

Rejection of the deal inside Greece is, amongst others, coming from the seven MPs inside Independent Greeks (ANEL), the small rightwing nationalistic party in a governing coalition with the left wing Syriza, headed by Greece’s prime minister, Alexis Tsipras.

The name issue has led to splits inside ANEL, and Russian media has been promoting the idea of a new populist party led by Dimitris Kammenos, dedicated to blocking the name change.

Russia and Greece have until now maintained warm relations, with Athens one of the few countries that rejected a British request to expel diplomats in the wake of British claims of Russian involvement in the poisoning of the Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter in Salisbury. But the Russian embassy in Athens has been previously accused of interfering in Greek politics following the leak of a tranche of emails in 2015.


MONTENEGRO NEWS AND TRUMP’S INSULT OF A WEEK OR SO AGO. HE REALLY STAYS BUSY.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jul/19/how-trump-destabilised-montenegro-with-a-few-words
How Trump destabilised Montenegro with a few words
Anger and disbelief after US president implied that Balkan state unworthy of Nato’s defence
Helena Smith in Athens
Thu 19 Jul 2018 12.23 EDT

PHOTOGRAPH -- A Montenegrin guard of honour stands next to Nato flag during a ceremony to mark Montenegro’s accession to the organisation in June 2017. Photograph: Stevo Vasiljevic/Reuters

In the height of summer, Montenegrins are usually preoccupied with cooling themselves off along the Adriatic coast. This year, the heat has been turned up even more, after Donald Trump characterised the tiny Balkan country’s people as “very aggressive” and capable of sparking a third world war.

Barely a year since the former Yugoslav republic joined Nato, Trump’s remarks – in an interview with Fox News on Tuesday – have been met with a mix of mockery, contempt and outright disbelief. Publicly and privately officials admit that the US president’s latest verbal volley has hurt.

Asked by host Tucker Carlson in a conversation about Nato’s common defence policy: “Why should my son go to Montenegro to defend it from attack?” the US president replied: “I understand what you’re saying. I’ve asked the same question.

“Montenegro is a tiny country with very strong people ... They’re very aggressive people. They may get aggressive, and congratulations, you’re in world war three.”

Donald Trump said: ‘Montenegro is a tiny country with very strong people ... They’re very aggressive people.’ Photograph: Jussi Nukari/Rex/Shutterstock

On Thursday, after 48 hours of remaining tight-lipped, the Montenegrin government hit back, defending its role as “a stabilising state” and saying it was proud of belonging to the 29-member military alliance.

“Today as a new Nato member and candidate for EU membership Montenegro contributes to peace and stability not only on the European continent but worldwide, along with US soldiers in Afghanistan,” it said. “We build friendships, and we have not lost a single one … in today’s world, it does not matter how big or small you are, but to what extent you cherish the values of freedom, solidarity and democracy.”

Earlier, sources had sought to play down the comments, citing the possible impact on the 629,000-strong country in a post-Trumpian world of shifting susceptibilities and global insecurity.

For a government that pushed hard for Nato membership – selling accession to the alliance as a guarantee of future security despite immense internal opposition among a people that had briefly been the target of Nato bombing in 1999 – Trump’s implication that the strategic state is unworthy of defence has both beggared belief and elicited disappointment.
</i>
“Far be it for me to comment on what a US president says, but he seems to be out of touch with US policy goals and not know what Nato is,” said Vesko Garčević, Montenegro’s former ambassador to Nato, who oversaw the country’s accession talks. “Membership was a strategic shift,” he told the Guardian from Podgorica, the country’s capital. “It was about joining the western club, embracing western values, not only about security. For Montenegro and the alliance it was a huge achievement, a very big success.”

Like most Balkan experts, Garčević fears that Trump’s intervention, so soon after his meeting with the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, in Helsinki, not only mirrors Moscow’s anti-Nato messaging but plays directly into Putin’s hands.

“To have the president of the US, the most powerful member of the alliance, question Nato’s principle of solidarity can only work in Russia’s favour,” he said. “One should ‘never say never’ when it comes to Trump … but this is insane. I can tell you these days we are thinking about our holidays, heading to resorts along the Adriatic, not waging world war three.”

With EU accession processes for most western Balkan states in stasis, Putin may be tempted to fill the space by testing the willingness of Nato members to respond in the event of another being attacked, say analysts.

“Trump’s remarks further undermine Nato and his message may be interpreted in Moscow as a clear sign that the current US government will not support its allies, should Moscow seek to destabilise the region by whatever means,” said Kenneth Morrison, professor of modern south-east European history at De Montfort University in Leicester. “What’s important for the region is certainty and a clear sense of direction for the western Balkans – a clear EU perspective and, for those that seek it, Nato membership.”

Few countries as small as Montenegro – the state has an army of around 2,000 with 400 reservists – has annoyed Moscow as much. When Podgorica signed up to the alliance it completed an arc that ran along the eastern Adriatic, from Croatia to Greece, that Nato would control.

Infuriated that the west should encroach on areas long viewed as falling within its own sphere of influence, Moscow reacted with barely concealed fury, going so far as to support a coup in 2016 against the government of then prime minister, Milo Đukanović. Although the putsch ultimately failed it had been hoped that with Đukanović’s assassination, a pro-Russian party would be brought to power.

“As the Montenegrin government drew closer to Nato membership, it also supported EU sanctions against Russia. There was a steady decline in Montenegrin-Russian relations, which traditionally had been very good, from 2014 onward,” said Morrison.

Podgorica’s support for EU sanctions against Russia, despite close commercial, political and cultural ties, had been cause for sharp rebuke with Russia’s ambassador to Serbia, Aleksandar Čepurin, likening Montenegro’s attempts to join Nato to “a monkey chasing a banana”.

<b>As such, the US president’s comments not only undermined the government but could also embolden the country’s pro-Russian and anti-Nato opposition. “Such comments only bolster the opposition Democratic Front, who have been alleged to have links with the Russian government,” Morrison said. “Many of them were anti-Nato and pro-Trump, largely because of Trump’s campaign rhetoric about what he regarded as the unviability of Nato.”

Wesley Clark, a retired US army general and former Nato supreme allied commander, went further, voicing concerns that Trump’s remarks could destablise the traditionally volatile Balkan region. “Worrying to hear Trump use Russian talking points with Tucker Carlson, about Montenegro,” he said in a tweet referring to Trump’s Fox News interviewer. “Montenegro has been under continuous pressure by Russia for more than a decade. Trump’s comments weaken Nato, give Russia a license to cause trouble and thereby actually increase the risks of renewed conflict in the Balkans.”



MADDOW BLOG

THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 7/26/18
Cohen lawyer: Cohen's Trump Tower meeting news 'not from us'
Rachel Maddow adds to the breaking news that Michael Cohen is prepared to tell Robert Mueller that Donald Trump was aware of the Trump Tower meeting with a Russian lawyer ahead of time, with a statement from Cohen lawyer Lanny Davis that the Cohen team is not the source of that news. Emily Jane Fox, senior reporter for Vanity Fair, joins to discuss. Duration: 9:35


THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 7/26/18
Cohen's claim Trump OK'd Trump Tower meeting potent despite leak
Chuck Rosenberg, former senior official at the FBI and DOJ, talks with Rachel Maddow about the legal liability posed by Michael Cohen's claim that Donald Trump knew in advance and approved of a 2016 meeting at Trump Tower with a Russian lawyer who claimed to have dirt on Hillary Clinton. Duration: 8:29


THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 7/26/18
Bernie Sanders aide to assist Mueller in Manafort case: Buzzfeed
Rachel Maddow shares news from Buzzfeed that Bernie Sanders campaign adviser Tad Devine is assisting the prosecution's case against former Donald Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort at the request of Robert Mueller's team. Duration: 4:09


THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 7/26/18
Lynchpin of all Trump financial matters subpoenaed in Cohen case
Rachel Maddow relays news from The Wall Street Journal that Allen Weisselberg, finance chief for the Trump Organization, who handles everything from Trump household expenses to Trump's taxes, has been subpoenaed to testify in the Michael Cohen case. Duration: 3:25


THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 7/26/18
McCaskill ID'd as first 2018 target of Russian hackers: report
Kevin Poulsen, reporter for the Daily Beast, talks with Rachel Maddow about his reporting that the Claire McCaskill campaign's 2018 operations have been targeted by Russian hackers using the same technique as was used against Hillary Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta in 2016. Duration: 11:26


THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 7/26/18
Hundreds of kids still separated, Trump admin tempts court rebuke
Lee Gelernt, deputy director of the ACLU's Immigration Rights Project, talks with Rachel Maddow about what happens next as the Trump administration reaches the court-mandated deadline to reunite migrant kids with their families as it still has hundreds of kids separated and alone. Duration: 3:46


THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 7/25/18
NRA quiet on alleged role as Russian conduit in Butina charges
Rachel Maddow shows that prosecutors in the Mariia Butina case say their evidence overlaps with other investigations, and notes that the NRA has been oddly silent on how they're cast as a tool of Russia in the Butina charges. Duration: 22:41