SILICON VALLEY BLUES: WhatsApp Cofounder Brian Acton Gives The Inside Story On #DeleteFacebook And Why He Left $850 Million Behind.

He clearly doesn’t relish the spotlight this story will bring and is quick to underscore that Facebook “isn’t the bad guy.” (“I think of them as just very good businesspeople.”) But he paid dearly for the right to speak his mind. “As part of a proposed settlement at the end, [Facebook management] tried to put a nondisclosure agreement in place,” Acton says. “That was part of the reason that I got sort of cold feet in terms of trying to settle with these guys.”

Facebook is probably the most scrutinized company on the planet, while simultaneously controlling its image and internal information with a Kremlin-like ferocity. “Thanks to the team’s relentless focus on building valuable features, WhatsApp is now an important part of over a billion people’s lives, and we’re excited about what the future holds,” says a Facebook spokesperson. That kind of answer masks the kind of issues that just prompted Instagram’s founders to abruptly quit. Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger reportedly chafed at Facebook and Zuckerberg’s heavy hand. Acton’s account of what happened at WhatsApp—and Facebook’s plans for it—provides a rare founder’s-level window into a company that’s at once the global arbiter of privacy standards and the gatekeeper of facts, while also increasingly straying from its entrepreneurial roots.

It’s also a story any idealistic entrepreneur can identify with: What happens when you build something incredible and then sell it to someone with far different plans for your baby? “At the end of the day, I sold my company,” Acton says. “I sold my users’ privacy to a larger benefit. I made a choice and a compromise. And I live with that every day.”

And:

Acton had proposed monetizing WhatsApp through a metered-user model, charging, say, a tenth of a penny after a certain large number of free messages were used up. “You build it once, it runs everywhere in every country,” Acton says. “You don’t need a sophisticated sales force. It’s a very simple business.”

Acton’s plan was shot down by Sandberg. “Her words were ‘It won’t scale.’ ”

“I called her out one time,” says Acton, who sensed there might be greed at play. “I was like, ‘No, you don’t mean that it won’t scale. You mean it won’t make as much money as . . . ,’ and she kind of hemmed and hawed a little. And we moved on. I think I made my point. . . . They are businesspeople, they are good businesspeople. They just represent a set of business practices, principles and ethics, and policies that I don’t necessarily agree with.”

It’s difficult to square all of that with Acton’s insistence that Facebook “isn’t the bad guy.”

CHANGE: Nationalists in Germany Now the Second Largest Party. “Despite charges from mainstream politicians that it is ‘fascist,’ the right-wing Alternative to Germany party is now polling second, ahead of the left-wing Social Democrat Party.”

To oust Merkel, maybe the Nationalists will form a coalition with the SDP’s democratic socialists as a sort-of National-Socialist workers’ party.

CYBERSECURITY: Facebook Network Breach Affects Up to 50 Million Users.

The company discovered the breach earlier this week, finding that attackers had exploited a feature in Facebook’s code that allowed them to take over user accounts. Facebook fixed the vulnerability and notified law enforcement officials.

More than 90 million of Facebook’s users were forced to log out of their accounts Friday morning, a common safety measure for compromised accounts.

Facebook said it did not know the origin or identity of the attackers, nor had it fully assessed the scope of the attack. The company is in the beginning stages of its investigation.

You probably don’t want to trust Facebook with anything more serious than catching up with old friends and sharing cute animal photos.

ANTISOCIAL MEDIA: Communists Planning Armed Insurrection on Twitter.

“AFTER?”: After Ford-Kavanaugh Hearing, It’s Total War.

It’s been war for decades; the other side just finally showed up for it.

MICHAEL WALSH: The Problem with Ireland? It’s ‘Too Irish.’ “Mad rush to dispossess the native Irish in favor of cultural enrichers continues apace.”

WISHFUL THINKING? Even if Kavanaugh Is Confirmed, Here’s How He Could Be Removed.

Normally, impeachment is discussed as a remedy for offenses committed while in office, but there is precedent for removing a judge for acts that took place prior to confirmation. That 2010 situation, involving Judge Thomas Porteous–who was accused of corruption, taking bribes, and perjury–is relevant here. In the past, the House had declared that impeachment was meant solely for acts committed while in office, but Porteous’ actions included a cover-up during his confirmation process that could have made it easier for him to take office in the first place.

That sounds a lot like Kavanaugh’s situation. While his alleged acts on their own may not be enough to warrant impeachment because they allegedly took place decades ago, his repeated denials, including denials to Senate staff under penalty of felony charges, and his upcoming sworn statements before the Committee could be used against him.

In order to impeach, the House of Representatives needs a majority vote against the official. Should Democrats take control of the House of Representatives after November’s midterm elections, there would be a good chance that they could pull this off. That being said, it is highly unlikely that impeachment would then result in removal from office.

This reads to me like yet another revenge fantasy for Bill Clinton’s impeachment, but if the Democrats do take the House, they just might try it.

YOUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK (AND PLAY): Fed Spending Spree Included Millions on Cars, Scooters, Fidget Spinners. “Agencies rush to exhaust budgets in final week of fiscal year.”

Bookmark this story for the next time someone tells you tax cuts are bankrupting the nation.

LIZ SHELD’S MORNING BRIEF: The Wrong Town at the Wrong Time and Much, Much More. “Kavanaugh will be voted out of the Judiciary committee this morning around 9am.”

That’s right about now.

THREE BLUE-STATE GOP GOVERNORS FACING REELECTION PLUS JOHN KASICH: Four Republican governors want Senate to delay vote on Kavanaugh.

BILL WHITTLE NOW: Lawless America — The Kavanaugh-Ford Hearing.

Must-see TV.

ANALYSIS: SAD BUT TRUE. Avenatti the Perfect Standard Bearer for Democrats.

Notably, there are no witnesses to these terrible crimes, even though reporters have been combing through every person who knew Kavanaugh when he was in high school or college. For horrors like these to be perpetrated by groups of drunken young men in plain sight of others, and yet for everyone who attended these parties to keep quiet for decades — men and women, Republicans and Democrats — beggars belief.

But opponents of Kavanaugh don’t need plausibility. They just need yet another allegation. They don’t need proof. They just need delay, to allow time for potential additional accusations and stall whatever momentum the Kavanaugh confirmation has at this point. They don’t need a modicum of decency. They just need a drive to destroy Kavanaugh’s reputation by any means possible.

In other words, they need Michael Avenatti.

2020 is going to be quite a ride.

IT’S THE BATTERIES, STUPID: Panasonic Attempts to Pull Tesla Out of Production Hell.

When Tesla Motors began production of its Model 3 sedan, CEO Elon Musk announced the firm was entering into a kind of “production hell.” He probably didn’t realize just how accurate a statement that would turn out to be. Already contending with a backlog of orders for the Model 3, Tesla simply couldn’t meet the volume targets it set for itself over the last year. It’s now bending over backwards to finish the quarter strong and prove to investors it is capable of turning a profit.

The automaker frequently referenced production bottlenecks as the culprit for the Model 3’s delay. Panasonic, the sole battery supplier for the vehicle, appears to be taking ownership of the issue. “The bottleneck for Model 3 production has been our batteries,” Yoshio Ito, Executive Vice President of Panasonic, said on Tuesday. “They just want us to make as many as possible.”

The whole story is worth reading, an exciting tale of seat-of-your-pants manufacturing.

Nevertheless, Tesla shares are down more than 12% in off-hours trading following yesterday’s SEC announcement that it’s suing Musk.

WHO WOULDN’T TRUST THE SOCIALISTS TO NEGOTIATE IN GOOD FAITH ON BEHALF OF THE COMMUNISTS? Colombia rejects Venezuela as guarantor of peace talks with ELN rebels.

HMM: September U.S. Auto Sales Expected To Collapse.

Jeremy Acevedo, Edmunds’ manager of industry analysis, stated: “Vehicle replacement demand following Hurricane Harvey bolstered auto sales last September, and Hurricane Florence has had a very limited impact on auto sales this month, which are the primary reasons why we’re seeing this year-over-year decline. With that said, a SAAR of 17 million is certainly not an unhealthy number — September is still shaping up to be a robust month for sales.”

As is often the case, the story isn’t nearly as bad as the headline promises.

OH: Fifth Accusation Against Brett Kavanaugh Withdrawn: ‘I Have Recanted.’

WELL, I THINK HE BROUGHT IT: Judge Napolitano: Only ‘Righteous Indignation’ Will Save Kavanaugh.

BREAKING: “Lindsey Graham is what’s wrong with men today. Toxic masculinity.”

CRIME OF THE CENTURY: Smash-And-Grab Thieves Hit Pot Shop But Only Got Away With Oregano.

FROM THE PJM LIVE BLOG: “Whatever you think of Lindsay Graham’s politics, he’s known as one of the most likable and well-liked guys on Capitol Hill. Which makes it stunning to see him renounce his friendships with the Democratic members of the committee. Like Kavanaugh’s opening statement, I’ve never seen anything quite like it and it is moving.”

MEANWHILE, ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WORLD: US F-35 fighters fly first ever combat mission.

Thursday’s mission took place against Taliban targets in Afghanistan’s Kandahar province, when more than one F-35 flew from the USS Essex amphibious assault ship.

“It was a successful strike,” the official told AFP.

The planes deployed were the F-35B variant, used by the Marine Corps and capable of taking off from a short runway and landing vertically.

It’s nice to have that kind of striking power on a “mere” amphibious assault vessel.

SO FIGHT BACK WITH THE SAME TOOLS THEY USE: Fired-Up Lindsey Graham Blasts Dems: ‘I Feel Ambushed.’

D. C. MCALLISTER: Welcome to the Destructive Age of Male Guilt.

Funny, but I don’t feel very welcome.

CHUCK TODD: Ford Is a ‘Victim of the Democrats Playing Politics.’

MADELEINE KEARNS: ‘False Memories’ Are More Common Than You Think.