BECAUSE SHE DOESN’T EXPECT TO TAKE THE SENATE BUT HAS TO RUN LEFT IN HER REELECTION BID: Feinstein wants Kavanaugh sexual misconduct investigation reopened if Dems take Senate.
Author Archive: Stephen Green
October 18, 2018
CHANGE MORE OF THE SAME: UK and EU agree to extend Brexit talks after summit ends with no results.
I WISH SHE COULD QUIT US: Dear God, Hillary Clinton. Please, Just Go.
Hillary’s continual pursuit of limelight and headlines ensures that the image of the Democratic Party remains an outdated, outmoded, and frankly despicable for far too many voters. This comes at a time when leading Democrats are attempting to focus voters’ attention on the future—2020, and beating Trump—and jostling for the role as the new party leader.
It also undercuts Democrats’ positioning as the only party that really cares about #MeToo and that will fight for survivors, a contrast Dems are only too keen to spotlight in the wake of Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation to the Supreme Court and ongoing allegations about President Trump’s treatment of women. Only sheer partisan convenience could allow someone to insist that Dr. Christine Blasey Ford’s testimony is credible while downplaying the numerous allegations of mistreatment (and worse) made by women against Bill Clinton.
For the Democratic Party, about the best that can come of this latest Clinton revival is that no matter how unpalatable any of its leading lights—Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Sen. Kamala Harris, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, Sen. Cory Booker, or others—are individually, they’ll look like downright appealing the longer Hillary hangs about.
I’m pretty sure Liz Mair is saying all this like it’s a bad thing, but it’s difficult to find fault with her headline plea.
BRIDGET JOHNSON: Twitter Dumps Data on Millions of Tweets, Accounts Linked to Russian, Iran Operations. “The Russian trolls farms ‘tried to inflame everybody’ and often ‘pushed both sides of divisive issues’.”
Well, of course. Russian meddling isn’t about preferring one side or candidate over the other, it’s about sowing discord and discrediting whoever is in power. In that, the Kremlin can’t believe its good luck that the American Left has been so eager to help those efforts along.
On brief reflection, the Kremlin is probably used to it.
PAULA BOLYARD: Thanks, Common Core: ACT Scores for Class of 2018 Worst in Decades. “It’s not like we weren’t warned.”
THE NEW CIVILITY: Soros-backed group fires operative after arrest over alleged battery against GOP campaign manager.
American Bridge 21st Century announced Wednesday night that it had fired one of its operatives a day after he was arrested and accused of battery against the female campaign manager for Nevada GOP gubernatorial candidate Adam Laxalt.
In a statement, American Bridge said that Mike Stark had been relieved of his duties “effective immediately.”
American Bridge was founded in November 2010 by David Brock, who also founded liberal watchdog group Media Matters. The group’s largest donor is liberal billionaire George Soros, who contributed more than $2 million between 2015 and 2016. Soros is still involved with the group, most recently donating $300,000 in February, and $80,000 last year.
Stark, 50, was arrested by Las Vegas city marshals Tuesday evening after 31-year-old Kristin Davison said he grabbed and twisted her arm, refusing to let go.
I keep reading that Trump is bringing fascism to America, but it always seems to be Democrats wearing the brown shirts.
NEWS YOU CAN USE: 5 Crucial Races to Watch on Election Night.
2. Indiana Senate: Sen. Joe Donnelly (D) vs. Mike Braun (R)
In September, this race was looking increasingly challenging for Republicans to win. Donnelly’s low-key, pragmatic demeanor had given him a consistently narrow advantage over Republican Braun, while the GOP attacks were all over the map without any coherent theme. Donnelly, who was one of three Democrats to support Justice Neil Gorsuch’s confirmation to the Supreme Court, was seen as a likely supporter of Kavanaugh—a move that would burnish his moderate reputation.
Then, immediately after the contentious Kavanaugh hearings, Donnelly announced his opposition to the nominee. It gave Braun a rallying cry in the race, and boosted his partisan support. The race is still razor-tight, according to operatives in both parties. Polls in Indiana close at 6 p.m. local time; early results will foreshadow which side holds the advantage in the battle for the Senate.
Tennessee Senate, too, and for similar reasons.
LIZ SHELD’S MORNING BRIEF: The Media Helps the Khashoggi Story Along and Much, Much More. “Erdogan is a bad hombre so believe his security apparatus at your own intellectual peril. The political backdrop of this ‘scandal’ is Iran/Turkey/Qatar vs U.S./Israel/Saudi Arabia, guess which side the media is on? Ben Rhodes’ echo chamber is alive and kickin’. Always remember how the media is helping this story along.”
BOOM: Facebook shareholders back proposal to remove Zuckerberg as chairman.
Several public funds that hold shares in Facebook Inc on Wednesday backed a proposal to remove Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg as chairman, saying the social media giant mishandled several high-profile scandals.
State treasurers from Illinois, Rhode Island and Pennsylvania, and New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer, co-filed the proposal. They joined hedge fund Trillium Asset Management, which bought it to the table in June.
The proposal, set to be voted on at Facebook’s annual shareholder meeting in May 2019, is asking the board to make the role of chair an independent position.
This is probably a fruitless effort because of the way Zuckerberg structured the company’s voting shares.
SLATE: Republicans Aren’t Running on Taxes Anymore. They’re Running on Bigotry.
This schtick was played out in 2012 at the latest, but Jamelle Bouie keeps going back to it.
GOOD QUESTION: What Do We Really Know about Saudi Arabia?
Saudi Arabia ought to be easy to figure out. It’s one of the few extant monarchies that seem serious about keeping the mon in their archy. In is, in theory, an absolute regime under the unquestionable and unified power of the royal family. King Salman may have been sidelined by dementia, but Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman has given every indication of being in command of the kingdom — in theory.
In reality, it’s a platinum-plated Shakespearean succession drama in the desert, with schisms within the royal family and between the royal family proper and other centers of power. In the immediate aftermath of the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, one observer with considerable on-the-ground knowledge of Saudi affairs suggested that there were multiple possible explanations for the case: It could have been a straightforward hit on a critic of the regime ordered by Mohammad bin Salman himself; it could have been a straightforward hit on a critic of the regime carried out without the knowledge of Mohammad bin Salman; it could have been a hit carried out by rivals of Mohammad bin Salman, such as Mohammad bin Nayef, who had been next in line to the throne until Mohammad bin Salman pushed him aside, or Mutaib bin Abdullah, one of the Saudi princes arrested last year on corruption charges, who was fined $1 billion and removed from the government, for the purpose of messing with the crown prince’s life. It’s even possible that the Erdogan regime in Turkey was mixed up in this, he suggested.
Khashoggi wasn’t just a troublesome journalist; he was, as the New York Times puts it, a man who had had “a successful career as an adviser to and unofficial spokesman for the royal family of Saudi Arabia.” A businessman who has spent many years working in the Middle East says: “I don’t think the Saudis would send 15 assassins to chop up a ‘mere’ journalist, but they would send 15 assassins to settle some internecine family feud.” He also cautions that the Middle Eastern tendency to resort to conspiracy theories to explain complicated relationships is likely to muddy the water.
I do not have any special knowledge of Saudi affairs and cannot speak to the plausibility of the scenarios mentioned above.
Serious question: Do we have somebody who can?
The Khashoggi affair has been a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, covered in sand.
SHOCKING NEWS FROM THE LEGAL WORLD: Trial Lawyer Climate Lawsuits Against Big Oil Aren’t Very Popular.
CHANGE: Global list of charity sex predators to be launched.
Britain is to pioneer a worldwide register of suspected sexual predators working in the aid sector, the international development secretary will announce tomorrow.
The database of suspects is part of the “concerted global effort” to clean up the charity world after The Times’s exposure of sexual misconduct by Oxfam workers in Haiti.
The project, which will be kickstarted with £2 million of British aid cash, will harness Interpol’s green-notice system, which issues international alerts over those “considered to be a threat to public safety”.
Overdue.
October 17, 2018
NEWS YOU CAN USE? The Best ‘Scary’ Movies for Wusses.
I don’t know about that number one pick. I’m a connoisseur of horror movies, even though they almost never actually frighten — and Misery scared the crap out of me.
THAT DIDN’T TAKE VERY LONG: Facebook Backtracks on Promise that Always-On Video Calling ‘Portal’ Won’t Collect Data. “How long until Facebook starts leaking our phone conversations to third-party vendors?”
LIBERTY: YOU’RE DOING IT WRONG. In Religious Freedom Case, State Says It Can Force a Muslim Tattoo Artist to Endorse Christianity. “That’s no different from forcing Christians to celebrate gay weddings.”
JONATHAN KEILER: Warren’s Clintonian Smoke Signals.
Deliberate or not, Warren’s approach seems to track more closely to another older white woman also lacking in American Indian DNA, but not chutzpah, by the name of Hillary. Maybe Warren ought to check for Ashkenazi DNA.
Like Hillary, Warren is taking the approach that attacking Trump is a no-lose proposition for a Democrat – a rather obvious point, but one she is taking the lead on. And as a woman, much like Hillary, she is willing to cast aside ideas of equality and fall back on her position as a member of the fairer sex when counterattacked.
So when it was leaked that Trump’s chief of staff, General John Kelly, criticized Warren in a private email as rude and obstreperous, she publicly took it as a proof of her toughness and then claimed that Kelly’s comments were sexist. The mainstream media at least pretended to marvel at her political jiu-jitsu, in turning a potential negative into a positive (at least for Democrats) – in other words, claiming Hillary’s harpy badge and wearing it proudly.
The American Indian ridiculousness is part of the same strategy. It simply rekindled a feud with Trump, which is what Warren wants. It doesn’t matter that he’s right and she appears delusional. Democrats don’t care if their leaders are a bit bent. In fact, they might prefer it. What the base wants is to see Democrats fighting Trump. Warren is giving them a fight.
Warren is also protecting herself from future Democratic challengers with another Clintonian move, by quickly putting negatives in the past.
Maybe, but something simultaneously this silly and outrageous is going to be hard to shake.
OOPS: Advertisers Allege Facebook Failed to Disclose Key Metric Error for More Than a Year. “Facebook knew of problems with how it measured viewership of video ads for more than a year before it revealed them in 2016, according to a complaint filed by advertisers.”
Damping marketers’ concerns is important for Facebook as it seeks a bigger piece of U.S. spending on online video ads, which is projected to grow 30% this year to $27.8 billion. Facebook is expected to account for almost 25% of U.S. video ad spending, eMarketer estimates.
For two years, Facebook had counted only video views that lasted more than three seconds when calculating its “average duration of video viewed” metric. Video views of under three seconds weren’t factored in, thereby inflating the average length of a view.
Facebook replaced the metric with “average watch time,” which reflects video views of any duration.
After disclosing the issue in 2016, Facebook said in a statement that it had “recently discovered” the error.
Facebook told some advertisers that it likely overestimated average time spent watching videos by 60% to 80%. The plaintiffs alleged in Tuesday’s complaint that the error was much larger and that the average viewership metrics had been inflated by some 150% to 900%.
Only Facebook knows Facebook’s actual numbers, so who knows how much worse the problem might have been — or might still be.
CHRISTIAN TOTO: Sarah Silverman’s Empathy Shtick More Fake News. “The progressive comic promotes a ‘kumbaya’ vibe while torching anyone outside her world view.”
THE RETURN OF THE PRIMITIVE — BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY: ISIS Targeting Water Supplies, Power Lines and Cell Towers.
RISING SUN? Japanese Amphibious Soldiers Hit the Beach in the Philippines with U.S. Marines, 7th Fleet.
The amphibious unit, comprised of soldiers with Japan’s Ground Self Defense Force, joined with Marines of the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit aboard dock landing ship USS Ashland (LSD-48) for the training alongside Philippine military forces during the bilateral exercise Kamandag, or “Kaagapay Ng Mga Mandirigma Ng Dagat,” along the Philippine Sea northwest of Manila.
The 10-day exercise between the U.S. and Philippines kicked off Oct. 2 and is focused on humanitarian and disaster response, amphibious operations and counter-terrorism training. The exercise also includes members of 7th Fleet, 3rd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, along with the Philippine Marine Corps, Philippine Navy and Philippine Air Force. Japan doesn’t allow its defense forces to participate in offensive, combat type training, although the prime minister has supported revising its policy and pacific constitution.
The ARDB formed in March under the JGSDF’s Western Army with a mission of rapid deployment for contingencies, including potential threats to and attacks against Japan’s many remote islands.
It’s good to see modern Japan taking self-defense so seriously.
ANTISOCIAL MEDIA: Facebook Deletes Disabled Veteran’s Page Without Warning — After Taking $300,000 for Ads.
On his new website which aims to put an end to social media censorship, Air Force veteran and triple-amputee Brian Kolfage explains who he is and the challenges he’s facing stating: “I’m a veteran of The United States Air Force. I was severely wounded in Combat, on 9/11/2004 while serving in Iraq I lost both my legs entirely and my right hand. I’m the most severely wounded US Airman to survive.”
Kolfage continued: “I’m not a ‘conservative.’ I’m not a ‘liberal.’ I’m an American, with deep beliefs in what our country stands for. I proved this by vowing to protect and fighting for America greatest tenant: Free Speech. Many Americans have fought for these political freedoms … freedom of speech … and every American has enjoyed those freedoms… UNTIL TODAY. October 11th Facebook shut down thousands of Facebook accounts for their political opinions stating that they don’t have a ‘legitimate political argument’. STOP SOCIAL MEDIA CENSORSHIP NOW!”
Kolfage was the administrator of a number of Facebook pages, notably the pages Right Wing News and Military Grade Coffee, both of which were deleted recently as Facebook attempts to crack down on what it considers “misinformation” on the platform. Right Wing News had more than 3 million followers at the time of its blacklisting by Facebook.
Facebook can’t sell ads to readers who don’t go there. It’s fine for sharing cute memes or catching up with old friends, but relying on a “progressive” platform to get out your message is a big mistake.
Kolfage’s new website, Fight4FreeSpeech, is here.
RUN, CREEPY PORN LAWYER, RUN! Michael Avenatti Is Making Concrete Moves to Run for President in 2020 Against Trump.
In a brief phone interview with The Daily Beast, Avenatti stressed that his expenditures and exploratory travel would only ramp up in the weeks and months ahead, with stops planned for Texas, California, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire, along with longer-term plans to visit Iowa, Ohio, and Nevada.
“This idea that this is a superficial thing is ludicrous,” Avenatti said. “It is so ridiculous. I don’t need to engage in a superficial exploration of a potential run. Why would I need to do that? I don’t need any more notoriety. Why would I be wanting to take my time and energy traveling the country to raise money for Democrats if this was superficial?”
Though Fight PAC had raised a relatively small $11,907.98 so far, Avenatti said that fundraising was “coming along pretty well.” He had not hired anyone permanently for his committee. But, he added, “I’m consulting with a number of people.”
Does he have real presidential ambitions, or is he just testing the waters for a bigger effort at fleecing Democrats out of campaign donations?