FEBRUARY 19, 2019


NEWS AND VIEWS


H E’S I N !


THESE ARE TODAY’S LATEST REPORTS DURING THE DAY.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGLdebLKM7o
Bernie Sanders announces 2020 run: Extended interview
CBS This Morning
Published on Feb 19, 2019 DURATION 29:29

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders says he will run again for the Democratic nomination. In this extended conversation with "CBS This Morning" co-host John Dickerson, Sanders discusses taking another shot at the presidency and why he believes this campaign will succeed. He also discusses foreign policy, retail giant Amazon, and the bombshell claims made by former Acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe on Sunday's "60 Minutes."

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THIS INTERESTING ARTICLE PROVIDES UPDATES EVERY FEW HOURS, SO IT MAKES A CONVENIENT SUMMATION. FOR MORE ARTICLES, GO TO MY SEPARATE BLOG CALLED “BERNIE SANDERS ANNOUNCEMENT DAY."

https://www.apnews.com/008636d69c8447059dc27a81f416d2d3
The Latest: Sanders’ 2020 campaign raises $4M in half a day
FEBRUARY 19, 2019 8:51 PM

THREE LINKED PHOTOS OF SANDERS

FILE - In this Nov. 27, 2018, file photo, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., speaks about his new book, 'Where We Go From Here: Two Years in the Resistance', at a George Washington University/Politics and Prose event in Washington. Sanders, whose insurgent 2016 presidential campaign reshaped Democratic politics, announced Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2019 that he is running for president in 2020. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on Sen. Bernie Sanders’ announcement that he is running for president in 2020 (all times local):

8:10 p.m.

Bernie Sanders’ campaign says he has raised more than $4 million in the 12 hours since announcing his 2020 presidential campaign.

The Vermont senator said Tuesday that nearly 150,000 individuals had contributed to his Democratic bid.

Previously, the biggest first-day fundraiser in the race had been California Sen. Kamala Harris, who raised $1.5 million in the first 24 hours of her campaign.

Sanders stunned the Democratic establishment in 2016 with his spirited challenge to Hillary Clinton. His campaign helped lay the groundwork for the leftward lurch that has dominated Democratic politics in the era of President Donald Trump.


The question now for Sanders is whether he can stand out in a crowded field of Democrats who embrace many of his policy ideas and who are newer to the national political stage.

___

6:20 p.m.

Bernie Sanders is setting a new fundraising bar for 2020 Democrats.

The Vermont senator raised $3.3 million on Tuesday from 120,000 individual donors in the first 10 hours after announcing his presidential campaign. That’s according to a person familiar with the campaign who wasn’t authorized to publicly disclose the early numbers and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

The fundraising haul is more than double the $1.5 million that Sen. Kamala Harris raised in the first 24 hours of her campaign. The California Democrat had been the biggest first-day fundraiser in the race so far.

— By Steve Peoples

___

3:20 p.m.

President Donald Trump says that Bernie Sanders ran a great race for the presidency four years ago but that he believes the Vermont senator “missed his time.”

The 77-year-old Sanders has announced that he’ll take another crack at becoming the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee in 2020.

Trump took a handful of questions Tuesday in the Oval Office, including on Sanders, while signing a policy directive establishing a Space Force.

Trump says, “I like Bernie.” He says the senator was tough on trade like he was. He adds, however, that “the problem is he doesn’t know what to do about it. We’re doing something very spectacular on trade.”

Trump notes that a lot of candidates are running for his job but says only one can win and predicted it will be him.

___

2:30 p.m.


On the first day of his presidential campaign, Bernie Sanders picked up the support of his fellow home-state senator, Democrat Patrick Leahy.

Leahy, who endorsed Hillary Clinton in the 2016 Democratic primary, says he’ll back Sanders this year.

In a statement, Leahy said the Democratic field was strong and “Bernie’s entry makes the field even stronger.” He called Sanders “a proven leader with a strong message.”

Also supporting Sanders is Vermont Rep. Peter Welch, who also backed him in 2016.

Sanders is the sixth senator competing in the primary. He joins Sens. Kamala Harris of California, Cory Booker of New Jersey, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, Kirsten Gillibrand of New York and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts.

___

Noon

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders raised more than $1 million within hours of launching his 2020 presidential bid.

That’s according to a person familiar with the campaign who wasn’t authorized to publicly disclose the early numbers and spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity. The numbers were amassed less than four hours after Sanders announced Tuesday morning that he would run again.

Sanders identifies as a democratic socialist and unsuccessfully challenged Hillary Clinton during the 2016 Democratic primary.

Few candidates seeking the 2020 Democratic nomination have voluntarily released early fundraising figures.

California Sen. Kamala (KAH’-mah-lah) Harris reported raising $1.5 million in the 24 hours after she launched her campaign last month. Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar (KLOH’-buh-shar) reported raising $1 million in the 48 hours after launching her campaign this month.

___

By Juana Summers.

___

10:25 a.m.

President Donald Trump’s campaign claims Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders “has already won the debate in the Democrat primary, because every candidate is embracing his brand of socialism.”

Sanders, an independent who describes himself as a democratic socialist, announced on Tuesday that he’s running for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination.

In a statement, Trump campaign national press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said the American people “will reject an agenda of sky-high tax rates, government-run health care and coddling dictators like those in Venezuela.”

Sanders embraces proposals ranging from “Medicare for All” to free college tuition. He describes his 2020 White House bid as a “continuation of what we did in 2016.” He told CBS “these ideas and many more are now part of the political mainstream.”

___

7:20 a.m.

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders is describing his new White House bid as a “continuation of what we did in 2016.”

Sanders notes that policies he advocated for in 2016 are now embraced by the Democratic Party.

Sanders says, “You know what’s happened in over three years? All of these ideas and many more are now part of the political mainstream.”

Sanders was asked Tuesday on CBS whether he believes the Democratic Party has come his way. He says, “I don’t want to say that. Most people would say that.”

Sanders announced his 2020 presidential bid earlier Tuesday. The 77-year-old self-described democratic socialist challenged Hillary Clinton in the Democratic presidential primary in 2016.

___

6:45 a.m.

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders says he’s running for president in 2020.

The 77-year-old self-described democratic socialist challenged Hillary Clinton in the Democratic presidential primary in 2016 and said on Tuesday that he planned to again seek the nomination.

Sanders has reshaped Democratic politics and earned a loyal following with his passionate defense of liberal proposals including free college tuition and single-payer health care. But he will face off against several other Democratic candidates who also want to appeal to the party’s base.

Still, Sanders’ name recognition, fundraising prowess and passion for liberal policies makes him a top-tier 2020 presidential contender.


COMPLETE THE REVOLUTION – RIGHT ON, BERNIE!

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/bernie-sanders-enters-2020-presidential-race-complete-revolution-n972906
Bernie Sanders enters 2020 presidential race: 'Complete the revolution'
The Vermont senator, 77, enters a very different Democratic primary contest than the one he faced in 2016 versus Hillary Clinton.
Feb. 19, 2019, 6:39 AM EST / Updated Feb. 19, 2019, 2:10 PM EST
By Alex Seitz-Wald

Video -- Bernie Sanders Announces 2020 Presidential Run, February 19, 2019

WASHINGTON — Bernie Sanders is campaigning for president again, officially entering the crowded 2020 Democratic presidential field on Tuesday with a vow to finish what he started in his last race for the White House.

"Together, you and I and our 2016 campaign began the political revolution. Now, it is time to complete that revolution and implement the vision that we fought for," Sanders said in an email to supporters and a video announcing his candidacy.

The 77-year-old independent senator from Vermont, who started his political career as a gadfly perennial candidate, remains a pacesetter of progressive politics in America, helping to craft a liberal agenda that includes everything from Medicare for All to a $15 minimum wage to free college tuition.

Sanders says 2020 campaign is 'about transforming our country'
FEB. 19, 201903:46

He broke the news confirming another presidential bid early Tuesday on Vermont Public Radio, saying in an interview that he promises to "take the values that all of us in Vermont are proud of — a belief in justice, in community, in grassroots politics, in town meetings — that's what I'm going to carry all over this country."

Early polls show him far ahead of the rest of the pack and trailing only former Vice President Joe Biden in the nascent 2020 field.

"Three years ago, during our 2016 campaign, when we brought forth our progressive agenda we were told that our ideas were 'radical,' and 'extreme,'" Sanders said in the email. "These policies and more are now supported by a majority of Americans."

But with greater expectations comes less room for error, and given the size of the still-growing 2020 field, potentially less room to grow.

Sanders will come under more scrutiny than ever before from both the press and political rivals, including questions about sexual harassment allegations against 2016 campaign staffers that have roiled his campaign-in-waiting in recent months.

And instead of being the main alternative to a prohibitive front-runner, as he was against Hillary Clinton, Sanders now faces stiff competition from a wide array of candidates for his core supporters of progressives and young people.

Even some of Sanders' former staffers have already signed on with other candidates, though many have remained loyal.

And some Democrats remain bitter about 2016, accusing Sanders and his followers of damaging Clinton in ways that contributed to her defeat to Donald Trump.

But at the same time, Sanders will be much less lonely in the Democratic Party of 2019 than the one that existed in 2015 when he entered the presidential race.

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Statue based on famous WWII 'kissing sailor' photo spray-painted with '#MeToo'

A small but vocal political ecosystem sympathetic to Sanders has sprung up since his first run, including political groups, left-leaning media organizations, such as the Intercept, and elected officials, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y.

Meanwhile, the so-called establishment of the party that Sanders rails against is now fractured among several competing candidates.

Thanks in large part to pressure from him, the Democratic National Committee has greatly diminished the power of superdelegates in the nominating process, after they almost uniformly opposed Sanders in 2016.

And in a crowded field, a candidate who can hang onto a loyal base of supporters can win the nomination, even without a majority, as Trump proved in the GOP primary.

Trump campaign spokeswoman Kayleigh McEnany labeled Sanders' past policy proposals as socialism in a statement Tuesday.

"Bernie Sanders has already won the debate in the Democrat primary, because every candidate is embracing his brand of socialism," McEnany said. "But the American people will reject an agenda of sky-high tax rates, government-run health care and coddling dictators like those in Venezuela."

Sanders 2020 will likely focus more on racial and gender inequality than did Sanders 2016, as he suggested in his announcement email and on Vermont Public Radio.

"I think the current occupant of the White House is an embarrassment to our country," he said. "I think he is a pathological liar. ... I also think he is a racist, a sexist, a homophobe, a xenophobe, somebody who is gaining cheap political points by trying to pick on minorities, often undocumented immigrants."

Jeff Weaver has said he will not return as campaign manager, though he is expected to play a different senior role, to make way for a more diverse team of senior aides.

And Sanders is also expected to focus more on his personal history, something he chafed at doing last time around, highlighting his Brooklyn roots and activism in the Civil Rights Movement as a student at the University of Chicago.

Alex Seitz-Wald
Alex Seitz-Wald is a political reporter for NBC News.


FROM CNBC -- THEY’RE NOT QUITE SURE THEY LIKE IT, IT SEEMS TO ME.

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/02/19/bernie-sanders-is-running-for-president-in-2020--here-is-his-platform.html
Bernie Sanders is running for president — and his policies would have a huge impact on business
Jacob Pramuk | @jacobpramuk
FEBRUARY 19, 2019 AT 2;25 PM

Bernie Sanders is entering the 2020 presidential race.

Sanders has supported policies such as Medicare for all, breaking up big banks, a $15 per hour minimum wage and free public college, all of which have gained more traction in the Democratic Party in recent years.

Out of all the 2020 candidates, Sanders would have perhaps the biggest effect on businesses and wealthy Americans.

Sen. Bernie Sanders is running for president again — and his ideas are no less sweeping than the last time he ran.

The independent senator from Vermont launched his 2020 presidential campaign Tuesday. The self-described democratic socialist, 77, enters a crowded Democratic primary field that largely shares his views on key policies.

Since his long-shot 2016 presidential bid, Sanders has been a leading ideological voice in the Democratic Party, despite his independent status in the Senate. His broadsides against corporations and business titans reflect a wider shift toward populism in the party. Out of all the Democratic candidates, Sanders would bring perhaps the most drastic changes for businesses and wealthy Americans.

Here's where Sanders stands on key issues and companies:

Health care: In 2017, Sanders introduced a bill to transition to Medicare for All, a system where every American would get health care through the government. The proposal is seen as one test of liberal credentials: Democratic presidential candidates Sen. Kamala Harris of California, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey and Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts all endorsed his legislation. Critics have called his plan too radical or expensive. The Vermont senator has also joined Democratic leaders in introducing legislation to slash drug costs, in part by encouraging imports of cheaper drugs from abroad and giving Medicare more power to negotiate prices.
Labor: Sanders has pushed for a $15 per hour minimum wage and urged major companies to give their workers raises. He introduced Senate legislation to hike the federal wage floor in January, calling the current $7.25 an hour a "starvation wage." Booker, Gillibrand, Harris, Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Warren are all co-sponsors. Last year, his pressure on Amazon contributed to the internet retailer raising its minimum wage to $15 per hour. He has pushed other companies, from Walmart to McDonald's, to take the same step. Numerous businesses have argued a $15 wage floor would force them to reduce hours or cut jobs. Sanders also has pushed to boost dwindling private sector labor unions.

Taxes: The Vermont senator has slammed the Republican tax plan passed in December 2017, calling it an unnecessary boon to corporations and the wealthy. To address growing wealth inequality, Sanders wants to expand the estate tax. A plan proposed in January would tax estates starting at $3.5 million, with a 77 percent rate on billionaire estates. Various 2020 Democratic candidates have unveiled proposals to either tax the wealthy more or reduce the tax burden on the middle class.

Investing/banks: Sanders has pointedly criticized Wall Street for years. In October, he introduced a bill to cap the size of financial institutions, which would break up banks including J.P. Morgan Chase and Goldman Sachs. Earlier this month, he unveiled a plan to restrict stock repurchases, which would put conditions on share buybacks. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., endorsed it alongside Sanders in another sign of the Democratic Party's shift.

Education: In 2017, Sanders introduced a plan to make community college tuition-free and eliminate tuition at four-year universities for students from families with income of $125,000 or less. He has also pushed for more student loan forgiveness.

Climate change: The senator has endorsed a version of the Green New Deal, a plan to dramatically reshape the U.S. economy to cut carbon emissions and address climate change. Other 2020 Democratic contenders have endorsed that plan in some form, though not necessarily as outlined by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y. President Donald Trump and Republican campaign groups have also seized on the freshman representative's proposal as evidence of a Democratic Party drifting toward socialism.

His top policy goals — Medicare for All, free public college and a $15 per hour minimum wage — have become more mainstream in the Democratic Party, even if the party's congressional leadership have not embraced all of those plans. Sanders acknowledged as much in a CBS interview that aired Tuesday morning.

"All of those ideas people were saying, 'Oh Bernie, they're so radical. They are extreme. The American people just won't accept those ideas.' Well, you know what's happened in over three years? All of those ideas and many more are now part of the political mainstream," the senator said.


RELATED: Tax the rich: What Democrats' plans could mean for growth, spending and inequality , 11:56 AM ET Sat, 9 Feb 2019 | 09:38

Sanders, who caucuses with Democrats, has become so prominent that Republicans have repeatedly used him to cast Democrats as too extreme.

"Bernie Sanders has already won the debate in the Democrat primary, because every candidate is embracing his brand of socialism," Kayleigh McEnany, a spokeswoman for Trump's re-election campaign, contended in a statement Tuesday. Not everyone in the Democratic primary field agrees with Sanders: while candidates such as Harris and Gillibrand have embraced universal Medicare, others like Klobuchar have not.

Sanders enters the field with high expectations after a surprisingly strong primary showing against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in 2016. Still, the field this time is more crowded, filled with fresher faces who occupy a similar space in the party to the one Sanders fills.

Some race handicappers have questioned whether Sanders will enjoy the same support in 2020, when he is not the main alternative to Clinton. Many liberals saw Clinton as too centrist.

"She's gone and activists have a wide choice of candidates in '20. Is Bernie being underestimated as in '16 or overestimated because of '16?" tweeted Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia Center for Politics.


Larry Sabato
✔
@LarrySabato
Reading #NeverBernie and #Bernie2020 tweets. Bernie retains intense support but his ‘16 votes also came from a large anti-Hillary reservoir. She’s gone and activists have a wide choice of candidates in ‘20. Is Bernie being underestimated as in ‘16 or overestimated because of ‘16?

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TOO MANY OF DONALD TRUMP’S PEOPLE RESEMBLE MOB MEMBERS AND BOSSES RATHER THAN UPSTANDING POLITICAL LEADERS, ESPECIALLY STONE. LOOK AT STONE’S PICTURE HERE. OF COURSE, IT’S AN UNATTRACTIVE PHOTO OF HIM THAT IS INCLUDED ON THIS ARTICLE, AND VOX HAS TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF THAT, BUT HIS POSTING A PHOTO OF HIS JUDGE AS A SHOOTING RANGE TARGET. THAT COULD BE CONSIDERED A THREAT, AND THEY DID SOMETHING SIMILAR TO CLINTON’S PHOTO DURING THE CAMPAIGN. THERE REALLY IS A CERTAIN THUGGISHNESS ABOUT TOO MANY OF THEM, AND A DECIDEDLY SLEAZY FORM OF POLITICS ABOUT THEM ALL.

https://www.vox.com/2019/2/19/18231529/roger-stone-judge-amy-jackson-berman-instagram
Roger Stone appeared to threaten his judge on Instagram. She’s now ordered him back to court.
Stone posted an inflammatory photo of Judge Amy Berman Jackson on social media. He deleted it and apologized, but he’ll have a hearing about it on Thursday.
By Jen Kirbyjen.kirby@vox.com Feb 19, 2019, 2:40pm EST

PHOTOGRAPH -- Roger Stone outside the federal courthouse in DC on February 1, 2019. Mark Wilson/Getty Images

It looks like Roger Stone is at it again.

On Monday, Stone, the political trickster and longtime associate of Donald Trump, posted an inflammatory photo of the judge presiding over his criminal case on Instagram. He later deleted the post and apologized to the court after a firestorm of criticism.

But that apology might not be enough. Judge Amy Berman Jackson — the DC federal judge overseeing Stone’s case and the subject of the Instagram post — has ordered Stone to return to court for a hearing on Thursday about the social media post and whether it affects the terms of his release or his ability to talk about the case. On Friday, Jackson had placed a limited gag order on Stone, directing him to curb his comments outside of the DC federal courthouse where his case is being tried.

Stone, who’s been charged with making false statements, witness tampering, and obstruction in special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation, has a very active Instagram account where he frequently attacks the Russia probe and promotes his innocence.

A photo was posted Monday to his account of Judge Jackson with an image of crosshairs behind her, ostensibly framing her as a target.

“Through legal trickery Deep State hitman Robert Mueller has guaranteed my upcoming show trial is before Judge Amy Berman Jackson, an Obama appointed judge who dismissed the Benghazi charges again [sic] Hillary Clinton and incarcerated Paul Manafort prior to his conviction of any crime,” read the caption. It included a plea for donations to Stone’s legal defense fund.

View image on Twitter
View image on Twitter

Kyle Griffin
✔
@kylegriffin1
In his latest Instagram post, Roger Stone attacks Judge Amy Berman Jackson, the federal judge overseeing his case.

There is a crosshair in the upper left corner of the picture.

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Stone told the Washington Post that the photo had been posted by a “volunteer” at his direction. Stone later deleted the post, saying that the photo, randomly taken from the internet, had been “misinterpreted.”

“Any inference that this was meant to somehow threaten the Judge or disrespect the court is categorically false*,” he wrote.

As for the crosshairs logo, Stone claimed that the site where he took the photo uses this as its logo in many images. According to CNN, the photo came from a conspiracy theory website that had similar photos of Hillary Clinton and other targets of the right wing.


Stone also submitted a formal apology to the court, calling the photograph “improper” and conceding that it should not have been posted. “I had no intention of disrespecting the Court and humbly apologize to the Court for the transgression,” he said.

View image on Twitter
View image on Twitter

Kyle Cheney
✔
@kyledcheney
A formal apology from Roger Stone filed in court this evening. Stone seems to recognize how much trouble he got himself into by attacking the judge in his case on Instagram.

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But he may have pressed his luck too far.

Jackson had issued a limited gag order against Stone on Friday that restricted his speech outside the DC federal courthouse but otherwise allowed him to keep commenting publicly about the case. (Jackson also put additional restrictions on Stone’s attorneys and witnesses in the case barring “prejudicial statements” to the public or the media.)

The judge also warned that the gag order could change. After Monday’s debacle, Jackson scheduled a hearing for Thursday for Stone to argue why the gag order against him and potentially the terms of Stone’s release “should not be modified or revoked in light of the posts on his Instagram account on or about February 18, 2019.”

View image on Twitter
View image on Twitter

Natasha Bertrand
✔
@NatashaBertrand
Oh boy. Judge Amy Berman Jackson doesn't seem happy with Roger Stone.

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Stone didn’t want Jackson presiding over his case

Stone was indicted in January for making false statements to the House Intelligence Committee in 2017 about his contacts and statements regarding his efforts to reach out to WikiLeaks during the 2016 campaign. He was also charged with obstruction and threatening a witness in the case.

Judge Jackson was assigned to Stone’s case, but in February, Stone and his attorneys filed a motion to have his case transferred to a different judge.

But Jackson didn’t just get Stone’s case randomly. Mueller designated Stone’s charges as “related” to another case on Jackson’s docket — specifically, the Mueller indictment of 12 Russian military intelligence officers who were accused of hacking Democratic emails during the 2016 election.

As Vox’s Andrew Prokop explains:

Mueller’s team said this case is related to Stone’s for two reasons: first, that certain “stolen documents” are a topic in both cases, and second, that warrants used in the Russian hacker case surfaced “certain evidence that is relevant” to Stone’s case.

Stone’s lawyers fought this designation, basically arguing the cases weren’t connected and that another judge should be randomly assigned to oversee Stone’s indictment. Stone’s lawyers argued that “at first blush and without the benefit of discovery,” nothing suggested that the cases were related.

Mueller is arguing, however, that they are connected — and the judge agreed. Jackson ruled Friday that she would keep the case, and Stone’s Instagram post looked like a clear attempt to protest or cast doubt on that decision.

Jackson has also presided over other cases related to Mueller’s probe, specifically matters involving Trump’s former campaign chair Paul Manafort. Jackson ruled last week that Manafort had lied to prosecutors in violation of his cooperation agreement, and she’ll take that deception into consideration when sentencing him for his crimes on March 13.

Jackson is also the same judge who remanded Manafort to jail in June after she found that he had attempted to tamper with witnesses ahead of his trial, in violation of the terms of his release.

Now Jackson will decide whether Stone’s photo violated her orders in his criminal case — and what comes next for Stone.

IN THIS STORYSTREAM
Longtime Trump adviser Roger Stone indicted
Roger Stone appeared to threaten his judge on Instagram. She’s now ordered him back to court.
Judge says she may impose gag order on Roger Stone


“CATEGORICALLY FALSE” –

THIS PHRASE IS REPEATED TOO OFTEN. IT’S TRITE AND NOT PRECISELY CLEAR IN ITS’ MEANING, IT SEEMS TO ME, AT LEAST NOT WITHOUT DIGGING INTO THE GOOGLE SEARCH ENGINES TO FIND THE EXACT MEANING. WHAT IS IT THAT CAUSES THE SEEMINGLY GREAT DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TWO -- “FALSE” AND “CATEGORICALLY FALSE?” I BELIEVE THE ANSWER IS IN THIS DICTIONARY DEFINITION UNDER THE WORD CATEGORY, AS USED IN METAPHYSICS, IN ITEM C BELOW – “ULTIMATE AND NOT SUSCEPTIBLE TO FURTHER ANALYSIS.”

THE ULTIMATE IN FALSITY. OF COURSE, IT IS USUALLY SAID IN CASES LIKE THIS (SEE THE ARTICLE ABOVE) WHEN THE SPEAKER IS TRYING TO LIE HIS WAY OUT OF BEING CAUGHT DEAD TO RIGHTS – WITH HIS HAND IN THE COOKIE JAR, SO TO SPEAK.

https://www.dictionary.com/browse/category
noun, plural cat·e·go·ries.

Metaphysics .
a. (in Aristotelian philosophy) any of the fundamental modes of existence, such as substance, quality, and quantity, as determined by analysis of the different possible kinds of predication.
b. (in Kantian philosophy) any of the fundamental principles of the understanding, as the principle of causation.
any classification of terms that is ultimate and not susceptible to further analysis.
c. any classification of terms that is ultimate and not susceptible to further analysis.


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VIDEOS
https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2019/02/19/rep-david-cicilline-trump-matthew-whitaker-michael-cohen-nyt-report-sot-tsr-vpx.cnn
NYT: Trump asked Whitaker for new investigator on Cohen
Situation Room

According to a New York Times report, President Donald Trump may have tried to interfere with the investigation of his former personal attorney Michael Cohen by asking Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker to put a Trump ally in charge of the investigation, despite his recusal. CNN's Brooke Baldwin speaks to New York Times reporter Mark Mazzetti.
Source: CNN


IS IT POSSIBLE THAT HIV SUPPRESSION DRUGS CAN STOP THE SPREAD OF THE VIRUS DURING SEXUAL ACTIVITY? THE VIRUS ISN’T ENTIRELY GONE, BUT IT CAN’T INCREASE ITS’ NUMBERS UP TO A SUFFICIENT LEVEL TO CAUSE ILLNESS OR EVEN TRANSMIT ITS’ PROGENY. AT LEAST THAT’S WHAT STATISTICS STUDIES ARE SHOWING. I FEEL VERY UNEASY ABOUT THAT. I DO HOPE THIS IS ACCURATE INFORMATION, BUT CURED? NO. YOU STILL HAVE TO TAKE THE MEDS. WHAT WOULD THESE DRUGS COST, AND HOW CAN THEY BE MADE AFFORDABLE? I BELIEVE A CAUTIOUS PERSON OF GOOD CONSCIENCE MIGHT STILL CHOSE TO USE A CONDOM ANYWAY. SEE ALSO http://sfaf.org/hiv-info/basics/what-is-undetectable.html.

THE PROBLEM WITH SUCCESSFULLY STOPPING THE SPREAD IN CERTAIN SMALL, CLOSED ENVIRONMENTS IS THE FACT THAT PEOPLE ARE APPARENTLY FAILING TO GET TESTED FOR FEAR THAT A NEIGHBOR OR EVEN A FRIEND WILL DISCLOSE THE FACT THAT THEY WERE IN THE CLINIC. SUCH COMMUNITIES ARE KNOWN FOR LACKING PRIVACY OR EVEN ANY RESPECT FOR OTHERS’ BUSINESS. IN LARGE ENOUGH CITIES WHERE FEWER PEOPLE KNOW EACH OTHER, THERE IS A SENSE OF RELATIVE ANONYMITY. I KNOW THAT IS PART OF WHAT I LIKE ABOUT CITIES AS COMPARED TO SMALL TOWNS. THIS IS ANOTHER SAD ARTICLE.

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2019/02/19/695687400/white-house-plan-to-stop-hiv-faces-a-tough-road-in-oklahoma
PUBLIC HEALTH
White House Plan To Stop HIV Faces A Tough Road In Oklahoma
February 19, 201910:58 AM ET
JACKIE FORTIER

PHOTOGRAPH -- Dr. Michelle Salvaggio, medical director of the Infectious Diseases Institute at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center in Oklahoma City, points to drugs used to treat HIV/AIDS. Medical advancements since the epidemic surfaced in the 1980s have helped many of her HIV-positive patients lead healthy lives.
Jackie Fortier/StateImpact Oklahoma

One of the goals President Trump announced in his State of the Union address was to stop the spread of HIV in the U.S. within 10 years.

In addition to sending extra money to 48 mainly urban counties, Washington, D.C., and San Juan, Puerto Rico, Trump's plan targets seven states where rural transmission of HIV is especially high.

Health officials and doctors treating patients with HIV in those states say any extra funding would be welcome. But they say that strategies that work in progressive cities like Seattle won't necessarily work in rural areas of Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma and South Carolina.

Stigma around HIV and AIDS and around being gay runs deep in parts of Oklahoma, says Dr. Michelle Salvaggio, medical director of the Infectious Diseases Institute at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center in Oklahoma City. The institute is one of two federally funded HIV clinics in Oklahoma; the other is in Tulsa, the second-largest city in the state.

A long drive for anonymity

Salvaggio's clinic has six exam rooms where she sees patients, many of whom drive hours for treatment. The clinic used to employ a case manager in rural Woodward County, a little more than two hours' drive northwest of Oklahoma City.

But Salvaggio says that having a case manager there ended up being a waste of money. "We had to let that position go, because nobody would go see her," Salvaggio says. "Because they didn't want to be seen walking into the HIV case manager's office in that tiny town — that can only mean one thing."

In Oklahoma, as in much of the U.S., black gay and bisexual men have the highest risk of HIV infection. Other groups with elevated risk in Oklahoma include Latinos, heterosexual women and Native Americans.

Salvaggio applauds the goal of ending HIV transmissions within 10 years, but says she doesn't think it's feasible in Oklahoma. The plan fails to recognize the particular ways different populations experience the epidemic, she says.

Native Americans in Oklahoma, for example, can't count on the anonymity of a large health clinic.

"When they go into an Indian Health Service clinic, it is possible that they will see their cousin behind the desk, and their cousin's brother-in-law working in medical records, and their niece's boyfriend working in the pharmacy," Salvaggio says.

Even if Native Americans have access to HIV care at the clinic, she says, "they are literally in fear of being outed."

PHOTOGRAPH -- Ky Humble, who now lives in Oklahoma City, says there needs to be more support for people who are HIV-positive.
Jackie Fortier/StateImpact Oklahoma

Social support services needed

Ky Humble's hometown is Afton, Okla., which had a population of about 800 people when he was growing up. He belongs to the Cherokee Nation, and was raised a Southern Baptist. He doesn't remember learning about HIV at all when he was in school.

"Even if I did, it clearly wasn't enough," Humble says. "I knew I was gay in middle school; I think I would have paid attention."

When he was diagnosed with HIV six years ago, at age 21, Humble felt like his life was ending.

"I knew that that was a thing, [but] I was very ignorant," he recalls. "I was two weeks away from graduating from college — you're supposed to be on top of the world. I thought it was a death sentence."

He called his mom right away. She immediately drove across the state to be with him.

"We just sat there and cried for six hours straight," Humble says. "And then we actually went [out] and bought several books on HIV, and just started reading them — to try to figure out what was going on."

Today, Humble is healthy. His HIV levels are *undetectable* and he gets regular medical treatment to keep it that way. He now lives in Oklahoma City, but his family still lives in his hometown. He says some people back in Afton know he has HIV, and some don't.

[NOTE: SEE THE NEXT ARTICLE ON THIS THEORY THAT IF HIV IS NO LONGER DETECTABLE, IT ALSO CANNOT REPLICATE AND BE TRANSMITTED TO ANOTHER PERSON.]

"It's like coming out as diabetic," Humble says. "I don't necessarily tell people that I'm HIV-positive. It's just part of who I am; it doesn't define me."

He says he is cautiously optimistic that the Trump administration's plan could mean more funding for HIV prevention in Oklahoma. But rural Oklahomans, Humble says, also need access to "wraparound services" — such as food pantries, mental health therapy and transportation assistance — to help them deal with the disease.

"I have friends who have HIV and live in rural areas, and just getting to appointments is challenging," he says.

Oklahoma's uninsured rate is the second-highest in U.S.

Exactly how much money the president's HIV plan will get is up to Congress. But even inexpensive, proven methods for fighting HIV — like distributing condoms — can be a tough sell in a state that doesn't mandate comprehensive sex education.

Informational HIV talks with teenagers often turn into a basic health class for dispelling myths, says Andy Moore, clinic administrator of the Infectious Diseases Institute at the University of Oklahoma.

PHOTOGRAPH -- Dr. Michelle Salvaggio holds one of the medicines she prescribes to her patients with HIV.
Jackie Fortier/StateImpact Oklahoma

"We've had teenagers write questions like, 'I've heard that if you douche with Mountain Dew after sex that it kills sperm,' " Moore says. They earnestly want to know if that's true. "We have to back way up, and explain what sex is, how babies are made, different types of sex — before we can teach them about HIV prevention," he says.

Salvaggio says thousands of people across Oklahoma would need to be tested for HIV to reach the administration's goal. And Oklahoma has the second-highest uninsured rate in the nation after Texas — meaning many people don't have a primary care doctor, let alone prescription drug coverage for drugs like Truvada, which can be used to prevent HIV infection.

It's also one of 14 states that hasn't expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. So, even if more people were HIV-tested, getting those that need it into treatment wouldn't be easy, Salvaggio says.

Health care in Oklahoma is underfunded, she says, and couldn't cope with a sudden influx of new patients. "I don't know what we'd do with all those new patients," she says. "We don't have a facility to see them in, and we don't have [the] providers."

This story is part of NPR's reporting partnership with StateImpact Oklahoma and Kaiser Health News. You can follow Jackie Fortier on Twitter: @JackieFortier.


THE SCIENCE INVOLVED

http://sfaf.org/hiv-info/basics/what-is-undetectable.html
What is "undetectable"?

Getting to “undetectable” is often the primary goal of treatment for people living with HIV.

What does it mean?

People say HIV viral load is “undetectable” when the levels of virus in the bloodstream are so low that they can’t be measured. When a person takes their HIV medications every day as they’re prescribed, the HIV medications are able to prevent the virus from replicating (or making copies of itself). When this happens, the amount of HIV in a person’s bloodstream goes down to a level so low that viral load tests aren’t able to detect HIV in the person’s blood: so we say the person’s viral load is undetectable.

Why is it important?
Getting to undetectable is important for a few reasons.

Getting your viral load down to undetectable also helps prevent new infections. Studies show that people living with HIV who are on treatment and have a suppressed viral load do not transmit HIV to HIV-negative sex partners. In other words, if you are living with HIV and have an undetectable viral load, you don’t have to worry about passing HIV on to your sex partners. For many people, being undetectable offers a renewed sense of freedom, brings less anxiety around sex, and reduces stigma associated with HIV.

How do I know if I’m undetectable?
Most people living with HIV get to undetectable by taking their HIV medications every day for a period of time (usually one to six months). You will know if you are undetectable from the result of a viral load test, which you can get from your HIV care provider.

Viral load tests with different lower levels of detection may define undetectable differently. Some define undetectable as less than 200 copies/mL while other more recently-developed tests define undetectable as less than 50 copies/mL. When it comes to HIV prevention, large studies show that people with viral loads less than 200 copies/mL are sufficiently virally suppressed to virtually eliminate HIV transmission risk to HIV-negative partners.

Does it mean I’m cured?
No. HIV-negative and undetectable are not the same thing. If you stop taking your HIV-medications (and sometimes for other reasons as well) your viral load will go back up to detectable levels. That’s why it’s important to continue to take your HIV medications every day in the way your provider has instructed. People who are undetectable will still test positive for HIV on HIV tests.

How long will it take for me to get to undetectable?
It’s different for every person. It depends on how high your viral load was before you started treatment, your CD4 cell count, your general health and also what medications you’re taking. Generally, the goal is to get to undetectable after 16 – 24 weeks of treatment.

Have more questions? Read about the research on treatment as prevention—and why we know it work to prevent HIV infections. Also, find out more about why people might not get to undetectable in a Q&A with Dr. Keith Henry.

San Francisco AIDS Foundation supports the Undetectable = Untransmittable message by Prevention Access Campaign. Read more about the initiative.

What is undetectable in U=U?
People living with HIV who are undetectable have a level of HIV in their blood that is so low it can’t be measured by the viral load test. Since different tests have different lower thresholds of detection, some people may wonder what viral loads qualify as undetectable knowing that undetectable equals untransmittable.

Some viral load tests measure viral loads of 400 copies/mL and above. Most modern HIV tests measure levels of virus as low as between 20 – 50 copies/mL. There are special tests used in research studies that can identify as few as between 1 – 5 copies/mL, but these tests are not used in standard HIV care.

There are a few large clinical research studies that help us know how low a viral load should be in order for a person to be undetectable and untransmittable. There is substantial evidence that a viral load less than 200 copies/mL is sufficiently suppressed to be untransmittable.

What’s more important than whether your viral load is 50 copies/mL or 100 copies/mL is how long your virus has been suppressed. Being “durably suppressed” is when your viral load has been undetectable for at least six months after your first undetectable result. The best way to become durably suppressed is to take your HIV medications every day as prescribed. The longer you take HIV medications, the lower your viral load will get in your bloodstream and in other places in your body.

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