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Mariners suspend catcher for tweets on Black Lives Matter, police shootings

Mariners catcher: Treat Charlotte protesters 'like animals'

The Seattle Mariners suspended reserve catcher Steve Clevenger for the rest of the season without pay Friday for tweeting disparaging remarks about Black Lives Matter protesters and the controversy over police shootings.
"As soon as we became aware of the tweets posted by Steve yesterday we began to examine all of our options in regard to his standing on the team," general manager Jerry Dipoto said.
He said Clevenger was informed of the suspension on Friday
“Black people beating whites when a thug got shot holding a gun by a black officer haha (expletive) cracks me up! Keep kneeling for the Anthem!” one of Clevenger’s tweets read.
“BLM is pathetic once again! Obama you are pathetic once again! Everyone involved should be locked behind bars like animals!” another tweet read.
Clevenger had since deleted the tweets and changed his Twitter account to protected mode, according to the Seattle Times.
Clevenger released a statement to Fox Sports late Thursday night apologizing for "the distraction my tweets on my personal twitter page caused when they went public earlier today.”
"I am sickened by the idea that anyone would think of me in racist terms," he said. "My tweets were reactionary to the events I saw on the news and were worded beyond poorly at best and I can see how and why someone could read into my tweets far more deeply than how I actually feel."
The Mariners acquired Clevenger from the Baltimore Orioles in a trade for Mark Trumbo and C.J. Riefenhauser. He appeared in 22 games for the Mariners this season. He has been out with a right-hand fracture since June.




 Bailey Comment:

Is there some kind of double standard here or not? Steve Clevenger is suspended for speaking his mind on twitter, yet trashy football players like Colin Kaepernick can disrespect the National Anthem on live television and keep on playing.

Professor who correctly predicted last 30 years of presidential elections says Trump will win

American University Professor Allan Lichtman

While most of America sees the current presidential race as still undecided, American University Professor Alan Lichtman says he knows the winner.
Lichtman, who has correctly predicted every presidential election since 1984, says he uses a 13 question true/false method which he calls the "Keys to the White House."
Lichtman says the answer of "true" always favors the reelection of the party currently holding the White House.
And if 6 or more of the answers are false, it points in the direction of another party taking power.
Lichtman says that based on his system, Donald Trump is the favorite to win and says, "We have never before seen a candidate like Donald Trump, and Donald Trump may well break patterns of history that have held since 1860."

Emails show NBC's Andrea Mitchell telling Colin Powell Trump's nomination is 'awful'

Media dilemma on Powell emails

NBC journalist Andrea Mitchell Alias the joker.

It may not be a shock to her viewers, but NBC journalist Andrea Mitchell is not a fan of Donald Trump -- and leaked emails from June apparently show her describing the prospect of Trump getting the Republican nomination as “awful.”

Emails between former Secretary of State Colin Powell and Mitchell from June, and leaked this month by DC Leaks, begin with a fairly standard journalist’s request for comment after former Bush deputy secretary of state Richard Armitage announced he was backing Hillary Clinton for president.
“Armitage now supporting her? Are you going to endorse? Wondering,” Mitchell asks Powell.
Powell brushes off the question and notes that Armitage has been saying this in public for a while. But then in an email chain dated June 17, Mitchell tells Powell that she thinks Republicans need to find a way to avoid nominating Trump.
“I know trump controls the convention rules committee but I keep thinking they have to find a way not to nominate him,” she tells Powell.
Powell responds by telling her he thinks Trump will get the nomination, and notes that Ryan has declared he is sticking with Trump.
“I don't see how. Even Paul Ryan in today's papers says he has problems, but is sticking with him. Trump is his own best critic right now. Be careful not to give him critics he can attack and divert attention. I assume he will get the nomination. Then the game is on,” Powell responded.
Powell’s outlook is not an optimistic one for Mitchel, who then responds: “It is awful,” apparently referring to Trump’s nomination.
Mitchell did not respond to a request for comment from FoxNews.com

Guccifer 2.0 Releases More DNC Docs, Exposing More Corruption

On September 23, hacker Guccifer 2.0 released more documents obtained from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC).
Last week, WikiLeaks directly released files from Guccifer 2.0 through their Twitter account. Among them was a high-profile donor list revealing the pay-to-play appointments of several ambassadorships and other positions by President Barack Obama. On September 15, Guccifer 2.0 released several DCCC memos on a WordPress site, including one from Ohio dated December 9, 2015 that referred to Hillary Clinton as the Democratic presidential nominee before the primaries began, even though Sen. Bernie Sanders was just a few points behind Clinton in most polls. “With former Governor Ted Strickland and Secretary Clinton on the ballot, there will be a boost from the top of the ticket,” read the memo.
Based on many similar memos and documents released by Guccifer 2.0 from the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and DCCC, it appears the Democratic Party leadership felt strangely self-assured Clinton would be their presidential nominee before a single vote was cast. The Clinton campaign and DNC have not disputed the veracity of any files or documents leaked, rather they have portrayed themselves as the victims of Russian hackers to divert attention from the content of the leaks.
Guccifer 2.0’s latest release includes a dossier file of DCCC Chair Ben Ray Lujan, a Democratic congressman from New Mexico. The extensive file includes hundreds of pages of statements, speeches, financial data and weak and strong points in anticipation of his re-election bid this November, and likely to prepare his political career for bigger ambitions. Among the weak points listed in the dossier is nepotism, as Ben Ray Lujan’s father, Ben Lujan Sr. was the Speaker of the New Mexico House of Representatives, and helped Lujan initially get elected to congress. Lujan’s cousin, Michelle Lujan Grisham, also serves in congress for a separate district in New Mexico.
One document provides talking points for Lujan to make a call to controversial New Jersey Democratic donor George Norcross in March 2015. “We need Mr. Norcross’ help in recruiting top targets such as State Sen. Van Drew, to run in NJ-2.  Ideally, he would call the recruits that we feel are the best and encourage them to run,” read the memo. “Likewise it would be ideal if he could mention his support when asked by others in his powerful circle. This will help to validate our candidates with the political and donor classes.” In a 2013 article, Philadelphia Magazine called Norcross “the man who destroyed democracy.” The DCCC memo reveals the Democratic Party has not only embraced wealthy donors influencing the political system but aggressively courts their input in pushing for their mutually preferred candidates.
Another memo dated April 2016 details a congressional race in Utah and notes, “Trump is extremely unpopular in Utah. Public polling has shown that Hillary Clinton could beat Trump in the very conservative state.” The memo provides further evidence the Democratic Party developed their short-term and long-term strategies with Clinton in mind as their nominee. Sanders wasn’t mentioned at all as a possible option or alternative; strategies incorporating him as the potential nominee were never discussed in these memos.

Top Clinton aide dismissed IT specialist's concerns about private email server

Mills, other Clinton aides granted immunity in FBI probe

A top aide to then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton dismissed concerns a State Department IT specialist brought to her about Clinton's private email server, according to newly released interview summaries from an FBI investigation.
The 189 pages of documents released Friday include notes of agents' interviews with Mills, Huma Abedin and others close to the Democratic presidential nominee.
According to the documents, tech expert Bryan Pagliano revealed to FBI agents that one of his State Department colleagues told him "in late 2009 or early 2010" that Clinton's use of a private email address to handle her correspondence "may be a federal records retention issue."
In a separate conversation, Pagliano's IT colleague, whose identity is redacted in the documents, said that "he wouldn’t be surprised if classified information was being transmitted."
Pagliano said his colleague asked him to convey the concern to Clinton's inner circle.
When he did so, however, Pagliano said Mills shrugged off the warning, telling Pagliano that "former Secretary [sic] of State had done the same thing, [including] Colin Powell."

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For her part, Mills told the FBI that she "may have" discussed federal records retention rules with Pagliano, "but was not sure." She also said she did not recall any conversations with the unknown State Department IT expert about the issue.
Details of the interview summaries were first reported by The Daily Caller and The Washington Post. The summaries were released the same day that a top House Republican revealed that Mills and two other staffers were granted immunity as part of the now-closed FBI probe into Clinton's email practices.
House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, accused the FBI in a statement of "handing out immunity agreements like candy" and said he had "lost confidence in this investigation."
At least five immunity deals are known to have been struck in the Clinton email investigation, including one with Pagliano, who set up the so-called "homebrew" server in Clinton's New York home.
Pagliano and Paul Combetta, a computer specialist for a private firm that later maintained Clinton's email setup, have refused to testify before Congress by invoking their Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination. On Thursday, the GOP-led House oversight committee voted along party lines to hold Pagliano in contempt of Congress for failing to comply with its subpoena.