Thursday, October 25, 2018
THE RUSSIAN INVESTIGATION
- ‘Don’t F*** it Up’: Roger Stone Reportedly Worked Hard to Secure a ‘Blanket Pardon’ for Julian Assange
- Text Messages Show Roger Stone Was Working to Get a Pardon for Julian Assange
- Evidence Stone Associate Knew of Clinton Email Leak: Source
- Mueller Has Evidence Suggesting Stone Associate Knew Clinton Emails Would Be Leaked: Source
- Saudi Spy Met With Team Trump About Taking Down Iran
- 911corlebra777: PING Wasn’t Flynn trying to get a Nuke power plant up and running in KSA?
Why yes, yes he did. (Daily Check-In 02/26/2018, Daily Check-In 12/08/2017)
- Why Mueller Could be Forced to Indict President Trump
- Judge denies Nunes access to secret depositions on Steele dossier
- Papadopoulos argues he may have been ‘entrapped’
Part of me is trying to figure out if George Papadopoulos is just a dumb mother fucker by himself, or if that “Italian” wife of his is telling him to say these things.
MAGABOMBER
As I mentioned yesterday (Daily Check-In 10/24/2018 ), more devices were found. This time sent to Robert DeNiro and Joe Biden.
I hope they catch this guy soon.
SPOILER ALERT: They caught him on Friday.
- Nationwide manhunt underway for attempted political bomber
- ‘Maga bomber’ trends on Twitter after string of bomb scares
- ‘I ain’t scared’: California Democrat Maxine Waters says after being target of suspicious packages
- As Trump Gaslights Entire Nation About Package Bombs, This ‘Will Go Down in History’ as Clear Moment ‘American Democracy Truly at Risk’
- A President Who Hates Half The Country Doesn’t Get to Call For ‘Unity’
- Amid incendiary rhetoric, targets of Trump’s words become targets of bombs
- Biden Is Latest Top Dem To Be Targeted With Suspicious Packages
- Bomb scares and the politics of the apocalypse
- Bomb Sent to Robert De Niro, Latest in Wave of Explosives Sent to Trump Critics
- Bomb-Maker Who Targeted Dems Used Metal & Glass to Magnify Harm
- Brennan to Trump: ‘Clean up your act’ and ‘try to act presidential’
- Cannon House Office Building evacuated after alarm goes off
- Design of Bombs Targeting Trump Critics Came From Internet-Source
- Donald Trump blames the bombing victims: That didn’t take long
- Explosive device sent to CNN featured parody ISIS flag, ‘Get ‘Er Done’ inscription
- FBI official confirms some package bombs targeting Trump critics were sent through US mail
- Former McCain adviser: Trump has ‘stoked a cold civil war’ in America
- Fox Business Network’s Dobbs calls bomb attacks ‘fake bombs’ in since-deleted tweet
- Instagram Removes Milo Yiannopoulos Post Praising Mail Bombs After Daily Beast Report
- Investigators dig for bomb motive, warn more could be found
- John Brennan: Stop blaming others. Look in the mirror. Your inflammatory rhetoric, insults, lies, & encouragement of physical violence are disgraceful. Clean up your act….try to act Presidential. The American people deserve much better. BTW, your critics will not be intimidated into silence.
- LAPD examining suspicious package at Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s Westside office
- Lou Dobbs Leads Trump Allies With ‘Fake News, Fake Bombs’ Slogan
- Lou Dobbs promotes conspiracy theory that Democrats sent explosive devices to Clinton, Obama, and Soros to improve midterm chances
- Mail bomb target John Brennan slams Trump on Twitter after president lashes out at media
- Ninth Suspicious Package Found In Delaware Addressed To Joe Biden
- Opinion | Alexander Soros: The Hate That Is Consuming Us – The New York Times
- Opinion | F-Bombs and Real Bombs
- New poll finds 57% of young adults believe Trump encourages violence against journalists
- Package found at Robert De Niro’s office in NYC matches other suspicious packages
- Rick Wilson: Desperate, day trading gambler amps up threats against journalists. His more sophisticated allies will say that this is a brilliant electoral strategy, but it’s not. It’s a permission slip for more attacks, a go-ahead for the deranged and disturbed to carry out acts of terror.
- State Sen. Carl Marcellino likes tweet saying pipe bombs sent to Dems and media is ‘sort of poetic’; says it was a mistake
- Supreme Leader Trump Brushes Off Terrorist Plot to Murder His Political Adversaries
- Tea Pain: A lone assassin traumatized a nation by killin’ JFK. In comparison, a #MAGABomber attempted to assassinate two former Presidents and their families, a former Secretary of State, a former Attorney General and a member of Congress and Trump can’t even acknowledge them by name.
- The GOP Wants You To Think Protests And Bombs Are The Same | HuffPost
- The manhunt: FBI treating serial bomber as domestic terrorism
- The Problem Isn’t Incivility. It’s Trump’s Belief the Media Can’t Criticize Him.
- There Aren’t Two Sides: Trump’s Violent Rhetoric Is What Got Us Here
- Time Warner Center, building that houses CNN’s NYC headquarters, partially evacuated
- Trump Criticizes the Media as Pipe Bombs Target Democrats and CNN
- Trump doubles down on blaming media as suspicious packages continue to surface
- Trump is responsible for the descent into thuggery
- Trump takes aim at media after homemade bombs sent to Clinton, Obama and CNN
- Two More Pipe Bombs Found, This Time Addressed to Joe Biden and Robert De Niro
- Kasich: Trump is ‘incapable of being a unifier or accepting any personal responsibility’
- Kathy Griffin: We must not be intimidated into silence. Terrorism isn’t just about inflicting physical harm, it’s biggest objective is to silence people, to stop people from doing and saying the things that other people find threatening. This one’s for you Robert De Niro: FUCK TRUMP
- US terror attacks are increasingly motivated by right-wing views
KHASHOGGI & SAUDI ARABIA
- Jamal Khashoggi’s son has left Saudi Arabia
- Saudi Arabia says Khashoggi’s killing was premeditated, reversing earlier statement
- Saudis now admit Jamal Khashoggi’s killing was planned
- Jared Kushner reportedly wants Trump to back Saudi crown prince
- MEPs call for EU-wide arms embargo on Saudi Arabia
- ESPN’s Dan Le Batard Rips WWE For Going To Saudi Arabia | Fightful Wrestling
- WWE: “Similar to other U.S.-based companies who plan to continue operations in Saudi Arabia, the Company has decided to uphold its contractual obligations to the General Sports Authority and stage the event.”
Following the WWE’s announcement that they are continuing with the show in Saudi Arabia, I have cancelled my WWE Network membership. It was set to renew automatically on November 1. From now on, the WWE has entered the realm of “I’ll only pay for months with a good show, and I have to REALLY be in the mood to watch.” I’ve kept the account active for three and a half years straight, and signed up for it on launch day, with the on-and-off-again payments for a year or so. Now, with this show, I’ve moved WWE from my first tier of entertainment payments like Netflix to the second tier like CBS All Access, where I only pay when there is something I feel the need to watch.
I know I’m a bit of a hypocrite, but I pick my battles when I can. Not giving them money the day they put on this show is one of those battles that I can win.
COHEN, NEW YORK, AND THE OTHER LAWSUITS
- Adam Klasfeld: The NY attorney general’s lawsuit labeling the Trump Foundation a “shell corporation” heads to a hearing this morning, and the free press will not be bullied or intimidated out of reporting every detail. Live Tweet THREAD
- The Federal Investigation That Led To Michael Cohen’s Guilty Plea Is Ongoing, Prosecutors Say
That just leaves me smiling :).
SCOTUS
- ‘It’s Christmas in October’: Michael Avenatti vows to put Supreme Court’s Kavanaugh ‘on trial’
- Gingrich: If Democrats subpoena for Trump tax returns, we’ll find out if ‘Kavanaugh fight was worth it’
- Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg says Congress is culpable for polarizing judicial process
TRUMP THE RUSSIAN ASSET
- Amid incendiary rhetoric, targets of Trump’s words become targets of bombs
- Donald Trump blames the bombing victims: That didn’t take long
- Opinion | Trump is letting adversaries listen to his calls. You’d think Republicans would care.
- Opinion | Trump is pulling out of one of the most successful arms-control treaties ever
- Trump claims ‘I rarely use a cellphone’ in tweet sent from iPhone
- Trump sends tweet claiming ‘I rarely use a cellphone’ from iPhone
- Trump’s tweet claiming he ‘only uses government phones’ was sent from an iPhone
- Trump’s tapped phone may be the largest White House breach ever: former official
TRAITOR TOTS
- Jared Kushner reportedly wants Trump to back Saudi crown prince
- Walter Shaub: Shocking but predictable development: Newly released documents show what appears to be fairly conclusive evidence of a criminal conflict of interest violation by Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, as well as what looks like a cover-up by government officials. /1 Thread
- Bannon holds rally for Republican candidates but none show up
- Rep. Matt Gaetz a no show at Tidal Town Hall in Pensacola
- Rep. Steve King met with a group founded by a Nazi—while on a Holocaust memorial trip
- Mitch McConnell says it out loud: Republicans are gunning for Social Security, Medicare and Obamacare next
FIGHTING BACK
- ‘Treasonous traitor’ Who’s talking about who?
- A President Who Hates Half The Country Doesn’t Get to Call For ‘Unity’
- All Trump Has Left Is Identity Politics
- Democrats need to learn to name villains rather than vaguely decrying “division”
- Trump’s ‘Greatest Idea’ for a 2014 Law – FactCheck.org
- Dan Rather: Every president I’ve ever covered spent at least some days acting or at least talking about being the president for all Americans. This president hasn’t done that for a nanosecond.
- Donald Trump and His White Nationalists Want to Destroy Democracy
IMMIGRATION
- Stop Saying ‘Migrant Caravan’: They’re Asylum Seekers Escaping a Conflict That the US Created
- Pentagon plans to dispatch 800 more troops to U.S.-Mexico border in response to migrant caravan
- White House struggles with game plan for the caravan
- Judge: Unconstitutional for Trump to keep funds from sanctuary cities Portland, Seattle
COLD WAR 2.0
#NEVERAGAIN
- Megyn Kelly is OUT at NBC just 48 hours after blackface scandal, may walk away with $69 million
- Shannon Watts: When Megyn Kelly – who profiled Sandy Hook conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and had to be pressured into including survivor families in segment – is fired, does one go with “Womp womp,” “Thoughts and prayers,” or “I don’t really care, do you?”
FIXING THE INTERNET
THE PROPAGANDA MACHINE
- Twitter Explodes After ‘Gaslighter’ Sarah Sanders Accuses CNN Of Dividing America
- Fox Business Network’s Dobbs calls bomb attacks ‘fake bombs’ in since-deleted tweet
- Lou Dobbs Leads Trump Allies With ‘Fake News, Fake Bombs’ Slogan
- Lou Dobbs promotes conspiracy theory that Democrats sent explosive devices to Clinton, Obama, and Soros to improve midterm chances
- Rick Wiles Warns That if Democrats Gain Power, They Will Slaughter Christians by the Thousands | Right Wing Watch
- Why Conservatives So Readily Fall for Fake News
The non-partisan Pew Research Center surveyed 5,000 people, presenting them with 10 statements — five of which were factual, and five mere opinion – asking them to identify each. Across the board, people age 49 and under more accurately separated fact from pretense of fact. Or to put it less politely, those 50 and older were decidedly more gullible.
The reason, researchers speculate, is that younger people are more digitally savvy, and thus have more finely tuned bullshit meters. They’re also considerably more educated and less likely to identify with a specific party, meaning they’re less prone to confuse doctrine for truth.
This presents a problem for Republicans. As a general rule, the older you are, the more conservative you’re likely to be. Which leads us to a second study by Britain’s famed Oxford University.
Researchers there monitored 47,000 U.S. Facebook pages and 13,500 Twitter accounts, tracking who was mostly likely to read or peddle “junk news,” defined as sites that “deliberately publish misleading, deceptive or incorrect information.”
Their findings: “Hard-right” conservatives shared more fake news stories than all other groups combined. Despite their protestations, they’re also the largest consumers of fake news.
Combine the two studies, and one might conclude that conservatives aren’t propagating fraud on purpose. They simply can’t tell the difference. And that’s reflected in their choice of news outlets.
When Fairleigh Dickinson University researchers tried to equate civic knowledge with various news sources, it asked people basic questions like, “Which party has the most seats in the House of Representatives?”
Viewers of Fox News, the televised arm of the GOP, scored at the bottom of 30 popular news sources. In fact, the survey found that viewers of Fox were less informed than people who followed no news at all.
So, dear reader, the next time you see online commenters talk of “crisis actors,” the “deep state,” or migrant gangs coming to take Minnesota’s lake homes, show some mercy. They know not what they speak.
As I’ve gotten older, I’ve noticed that there are a lot people out there who don’t know how to think critically about what they’re being told. They don’t know how to analyze evidence, or investigate stories and head to the source, or ask “Am I being bullshitted to?”
50 is an interesting age for this study. People that are 50 or older didn’t grow up with the Internet. They likely didn’t grow up with computers at all. I was a teenager when the Internet came to houses for the first time in any real push. I was the first person on my street on the Internet. I was 16, and this was the mid-90’s. Google didn’t exist, Yahoo! was just launched, so finding a website was difficult. I had to dive through forums just to find primitive internet porn. And downloading low-quality JPEG’s with a 14.4k modem was all we had.
I grew up in the Wild West of the Internet. I knew that the person wanting to cyber with me claiming to be a teen girl was likely some 38 year old guy pushing 300 pounds. I learned to be cautious of every claim someone made online, and not to trust anyone. I grew up with blogs and biased websites claiming to be news sites that pushed their narrative and agenda. I grew up with social media, and learned pretty quickly that if someone sent me a friend request with a beautiful woman on the profile pic, it was almost always a scam artist or some bot wanting me to sign up for their cam show.
I also grew up in the Post-Fairness Doctrine world, where media companies no longer had to provide “both sides” of a political story and could spout one side’s opinion as “news.” I grew up with Cable News, where Fox News slowly disintegrated actual news and replaced it with opinion news. I grew up in a world where the entire “News Talk” radio world was filled with Right Wing talking heads like Limbaugh, Hannity, Beck, and the rest. I listened as shock jocks gave way to “freedom fighters on the airwaves” that were suspiciously silent on crimes in the White House when a Republican was in the White House.
I grew up with this shit. Older people didn’t. They didn’t have a reason to question their media. They grew up in a sheltered world with only a few channels, trusted newsmen, and people that genuinely seemed interested in informing them. They didn’t pay attention as the world they grew up in slipped away, and was replaced with the modern world. They didn’t grow up with the Nigerian Prince asking them to help with a money transfer or a Twitter bot asking them to sign up for their cam show. They didn’t have to slog through the recesses of the Internet talking to people making crazy claims without proof. They didn’t have to question “Why is this person or outlet telling me this story, but the other place is telling me something different?”
TRADE WAR AND ECONOMY
- As economy slips, ‘panicky’ Trump tries to change the subject
- China doesn’t understand Trump. It’s killing the chances of a trade deal.
- Trump’s trade war with China is starting to get nasty for US companies
GOP: THE PARTY OF LINCOLN IS DEAD
CRIME AND PUNISHMENT
- Arrest Made After Black Campaign Worker Threatened at Early-Voting Location
- Coach calls the cops when parents yell at Hispanic soccer players: ‘Speak English, this is America’
- The FBI arrested Wisconsin’s Jeremy Ryan, 30, who unsuccessfully ran to replace Paul Ryan in the 2018 GOP primary
- Louisville Shooter Made Racist Remark Right After Killing Two Black People, but Police Won’t Call it a Hate Crime
- Manhattan United States Attorney Announces Charges Against Owner And Director Of Singapore-Based Commodities Company For North Korea Sanctions Evasion And Money Laundering Offenses | USAO-SDNY | Department of Justice
- The first US official to be arrested for leaking is a Trump supporter
PRIESTS
ENVIRONMENT & SCIENCE
- What were Americans like 15,500 years ago? These artifacts are a big clue.
- A Biochemist Is Beating a GOP Incumbent Backed by the Chemical Industry in Key House Race
- Extreme Category 5 Typhoon devastates Northern Mariana Islands, a U.S. territory.
- From droughts to deadly floods: Historic rainfall sends Texans underwater
- New York sues ExxonMobil, saying it ‘misled’ investors about climate change risks
- Should self-driving cars kill a pregnant woman, or a child? Here’s what humans said.
- Trump thinks scientists are split on climate change. So do most Americans
I’ve heard this argument many times before, and it carries less water than a pasta strainer, but it revolves completely around misinformation and obfuscation.
First, the number of scientists that “can’t agree” is tiny. Between 97-99% percent of climate scientists agree that climate change is real, it’s being accelerated by people, and it’s bad. That 1-3% is THE FUCKING MARGIN OF ERROR. Take a room of 50 people and ask them if they like to eat dog food. There will be that one guy in the room that will raise his hands. THAT’S THE GUY THAT DOESN’T AGREE WITH THE OTHER SCIENTISTS.
Second, the level of disagreement is small. Real fucking small. Much smaller than shown in the media. The scientists that are arguing the degree of difference, not whether or not there is a difference. It’s like walking into a sports bar and hearing two football fans arguing about what is the best defense to call against a Run Pass Option offense, and coming to the conclusion that football isn’t real.
ELECTION 2018
- Opinion | Dear Democrats: You can do this
- A Biochemist Is Beating a GOP Incumbent Backed by the Chemical Industry in Key House Race
- Arizona Republican Senate Candidate Says She Doesn’t Want to Talk Health Care—Just “Things That Matter”
- Arrest made after black campaign worker allegedly harassed, threatened at early-voting location
- Arrest Made After Black Campaign Worker Threatened at Early-Voting Location
- Arrest made after black campaign worker threatened at early-voting location
- Bannon holds rally for Republican candidates but none show up
- Beto O’Rourke Earns the Endorsements of Texas’ Two Largest Newspapers
- Dems should take nothing for granted despite midterm lead, says pollster
- First two days of early voting at Reitz draws in more than 1,000 people | News | alligator.org
- Florida Republican governor’s appointee helped organize Proud Boys’ Pelosi protest
- I Bought Used Voting Machines on eBay for $100 Apiece. What I Found Was Alarming
- Georgia Dems say more than 4,700 voter applications are missing: report
- Georgia GOP candidate Brian Kemp defaulted on $500K loan, owes big debt to bank he helped start
- Gillum: DeSantis has temper of ‘4-year-old’
- Kemp refuses to recuse if Georgia governor race with Abrams goes to a recount
- Over 8 million people have voted early, outpacing 2016, NBC News finds
- Republican congressman gives students the wrong date for absentee ballot deadline — again
- Republicans are rigging elections to win. They’re anti-voter and anti-democracy.
- Texas election officials report complaints from voters who say machines flipped votes
- Voters Need to Elect a Congress That Will Hold the Executive Branch Accountable
- We recommend Beto O’Rourke for U.S. Senate | Editorials | Dallas News
RUMOR MILL
2/ Consider that he’s not some great “brand” genius. Consider he’s a propagandist, who has been trained in the art of “Whataboutism” aka false equivalency, weaponized projection (directly accuse the other of that which you are guilty) aka conspiracy, & de-humanization aka hate.
3/ All three of those techniques – false equivalency, conspiracy, & hate – are the cornerstones of Russian propaganda. And propaganda IS a weapon of war. It’s THE weapon of choice for Russia: both the Russia of today and the former Soviet Union. They have PERFECTED it. And…
4/ They train their political operatives in it. They do. Considering the 30+ year history of Russian intelligence operatives in Donald’s life – LIVING IN HIS OWN BUILDINGS – we MUST consider that Trump has been trained in this art. Craig Unger: Untold Story Of Trump, Soviet/Russia Partnership; Russian Mafia Laundered Money Via… Author Craig Unger talked about his new book, ‘House of Trump, House of Putin,’ Trump’s historical ties to Russia, and how the American president and Putin “are bound by more than just an authorita… realclearpolitics.com
5/ I get that this conversation is uncomfortable for some in MSM press. I watch them get bored & frustrated when folks like me keep bringing the events of this Presidency back to Russia. I get that they don’t get it. That they can’t, or won’t, grasp this narrative. But…
6/ WE MUST NOT LET THIS GO. If we do, we are missing the real danger – the very real truths – behind the moment we’re not just living thru, but struggling to survive. Here’s what the weapon of propaganda is designed to accomplish: A) Social division to the end point of violence
7/ There’s just no way now, today, that anyone can argue the end point of Trump’s rhetoric is violence. It will continue to happen. Because there is always an unstable individual out there who will take things that far. And with the rise of hate groups across our nation…
8/ The violence will continue to grow and be organized. Scary times, indeed. The second goal of propaganda is: B) Obfuscation/ distraction. Ah… that’s the ticket for Trump. AND for Putin. This is where it gets real personal for the two of them. This is about their money.
9/ When chaos is fomented by corrupt leaders, we are distracted from seeing their corruption. That’s how it works. That’s the “WHY” of propaganda. Propaganda is generally released & accelerated by corrupt officials during times when investigations into their corruption…
10/ …by law enforcement & the press – are intensifying. Manafort has reportedly visited Mueller’s office 9 times over the past month, for hours at a time Paul Manafort is the special counsel Robert Mueller’s most significant cooperating witness to date, and his frequent trips to Mueller’s office indicate the Russia investigation is not slowing down… businessinsider.com
12/ So, what do we do about this? First, recognize what is going on, and that each of US – right, center, left – is an equal target of this weapon. This weapon only works when we tear each other apart, then dissolve in apathy.
13/ Second, READ & LEARN about propaganda and other tactics of the Russian state, like the history & use of organized crime (the mob) and the mechanics of Active Measures. Once you learn about it, you can pull yourself out of the outrage machine & help…
14/ … hold the corrupt accountable by adding your voice to that fight. Right now, many of us are just screaming into the machine. That does not work. Find journalists who are pursuing Trump’s corruption. Follow, support, & encourage them.
15/ Exposing the hate machine that Trump &
@GOP built and thrive off of is part of that. Follow journalists like@lukeobrien. He is damn good at exposing the hate operation. Remember, that hate is propaganda. Exposing the mechanics of the hate machine is how we’ll dismantle it.16/ Third and most important, REJECT those “journalists” & news outlets that are profiting off the outrage. They are enabling and enhancing the propaganda. REJECT access journalism, when you see the press pool only chasing shiny objects or fluffing themselves on palace intrigue.
17/ REJECT that sh*t. DEMAND to know about the corruption. STAY ON THE MONEY. Do you really think all of this chaos, and violence, and hate is about anything else? Wake up, America. We’re being swindled by professional criminals, who control the powers of nation states. – END –
- Andrew Laufer, ESQ.: Trump cannot pardon his way out of a criminal conspiracy. It’s not happening. Anyone holding out hope that they can commit crimes in furtherance of Trump-related conspiracies then have them pardoned is living in a dreamworld. Trump cannot pardon himself or his coconspirators.
- Angry White House Staffer: Seldom used? Lmao. You sit up in the Residence on your “seldom used” phone every night, spitballing the next stupid thing you’re going to say with people like Hannity.
- Eric Garland: It is with equal deep humility and pride to announce that I was just today inducted as a Fellow of the Council of Competive Intelligence Professionals, the senior rank of my profession. There have only been 77 others before today in 28 years. 😀
- CI Fellows New Inductees
- 911corlebra777: PING Wasn’t Flynn trying to get a Nuke power plant up and running in KSA?
- Ming: Ming tend to think Democratic controlled House should force vote on articles of impeachment as soon as possible forcing GOP to go on record supporting traitor. Ming think this will be much worse for careers than a vote for Iraq war.
- Sara Danner Dukic: Today’s probably a good day to look at Nobu Moscow, who owns that franchise, where it’s located (who ELSE was trying to build something there?) and where a certain group of people were hanging out during the Miss Universe pageant.
- Tea Pain: The Russians listenin’ in on Trump’s phone calls is very efficient. That way Trump doesn’t have to file his weekly reports with Putin anymore.
That’s it for Thursday. Like I said earlier, at the time of this writing, the MAGABomber has been caught, and… he’s everything that was expected. A 56-year old from Florida who drove around in a white van festooned with hundreds of Pro-Trump stickers, including several with what can best be described as a manifesto.
Hopefully I’ll have Friday’s post up late Friday night or Saturday. That being said, expect it Sunday or Monday.
Thank you, and have a good one.
“Without Journalists, it’s just propaganda.”
– Katy Tur
None of this is Normal 