Friday, June 1, 2018

Kamala Harris, mute on 2020 ambitions, slams Trump's 'immoral' policies, seeks ban on 'weapons of war'

U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., a rumored 2020 candidate for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination, speaks in South Lake Tahoe, Calif., Aug. 22, 2017.  (Associated Press)

U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., remained mute about her 2020 ambitions Thursday during a town hall meeting in her home state, but attacked the Trump administration’s immigration policies as “immoral” and said she supports a ban on “weapons of war.”
“This administration, as far as I’m concerned, has put a target on California’s back and we’re going to need to fight this,” Harris told a crowd of more than 1,000 people in the San Fernando Valley, many of whom were young students, the Los Angeles Daily News reported.
“This administration, as far as I’m concerned, has put a target on California’s back and we’re going to need to fight this.”
She criticized the administration's zero-tolerance policy on illegal immigration, which has led to at least 1,300 children being separated from parents who attempted to cross the border illegally.
“It’s immoral,” she said. “And let’s be clear, government should be in the business of keeping families together, not tearing them apart.”
Harris received praise from progressives after her heated confrontation with Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen last month, in which she took the Trump administration official to task over the issue.
But Nielsen denied the administration is intentionally splitting the families, explaining to Harris that parents who attempted to enter the country illegally may lose their children if they face charges or jail time, as according to the existing U.S. laws that precede the election of Trump.
Harris, California's junior U.S. senator, isn’t facing re-election this year, but her town hall was held just days before Tuesday’s primary election in the state -- which Democrats hope will help solidify their domination in California and eventually flip seats in the U.S. Congress.
But holding a town hall while not facing an election merely fueled speculation that Harris may run for president in 2020. Rather than dismiss the rumors about it, Harris told reporters that she had “no announcements to make.”
During the event, Harris outlined some of her policy wishes, including banning “weapons of war” and introducing mandatory background checks.
“It’s a false choice to suggest you either support the Second Amendment or you want to take everyone’s guns away,” she told the audience. “That is ridiculous.”
“It’s a false choice to suggest you either support the Second Amendment or you want to take everyone’s guns away. That is ridiculous.”
- U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif.
She also spoke about a bipartisan bill she’s working on with U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., that would reform the court’s bail system.
Harris wrapped up her appearance by saying that although Trump poses challenges to people, she doesn’t believe the country is divided.
“I reject that premise. I do not believe we are divided. I believe that the vast majority of us have so much more in common than what separates us, and I know that to be true,” she said.

Samantha Bee apologizes for 'unfiltered' slam on Ivanka Trump while accepting 'social change' award


Newly notorious comedian Samantha Bee told a crowd in Los Angeles on Thursday that the media focus should shift from the “one bad word” she uttered to describe Ivanka Trump to the nation's treatment of immigrant children and families, a report said.
Press access was revoked hours before the Television Academy event, which honored Bee’s show, "Full Frontal," and six other programs as platforms for advancing social change, but IndieWire was able to report Bee’s speech.
“We spent the day wrestling with the repercussions of one bad word, when we all should have spent the day incensed that as a nation we are wrenching children from their parents and treating people legally seeking asylum as criminals,” Bee said at NeueHouse Hollywood. “If we are OK with that then really, who are we?”
Bee, 48, a former member of comedian Jon Stewart's "Daily Show" troupe on Comedy Central, was honored on the same day she apologized for calling Ivanka Trump a “feckless c---” during the opening monologue of her Wednesday show, Deadline reported.
Ivanka Trump was criticized for a photo she shared, showing her hugging her son, amid reports that the Office of Refugee Resettlement had lost track of 1,500 immigrant children in the last three months of 2017.
Bee admitted that while her show strives to view the world through an “unfiltered” lens, there are times when she “should probably have a filter.”
“You know, the thing is, our show is steeped in passion,” Bee told the audience. “Every week I strive to show the world as I see it, unfiltered. Sometimes I should probably have a filter. I accept that. I take it seriously when I get it right and I do take responsibility when I get it wrong.
“There is power in saying what you feel without apology,” Bee said. “OK, and sometimes you also have to apologize.”
The media was denied access to Thursday's ceremony itself, but reporters and photographers had access to the red carpet preceding the event. Bee, however, was a no-show, Entertainment Weekly reported.
An apparently sudden increase in the number of press attending the event forced the Television Academy “to limit access to tonight’s activities” just hours before the red carpet.
An academy rep told the Hollywood Reporter late Thursday afternoon that the press was no longer allowed into the reception “as a result of today’s events involving Samantha B.”
TBS, the network that airs “Full Frontal,” also issued an apology after Bee’s tweet: "Samantha Bee has taken the right action in apologizing for the vile and inappropriate language she used about Ivanka Trump last night. Those words should not have been aired.  It was our mistake too, and we regret it."
The segment has since been removed from the show's YouTube page.
At least two advertisers so far have pulled sponsorship from Bee’s program.
The other shows honored Thursday were “Andi Mack,” “Daughters of Destiny,” “Forbidden: Undocumented & Queer in Rural America,” “LA 92,” “One Day at a Time” and “13 Reasons Why.”

Thursday, May 31, 2018

Facebook Cartoons






Clinton says she would like to run Facebook



Hillary Clinton didn't win the presidency in 2016, so is there another job she would like to have? The former Democratic Party nominee considered the question Friday at Harvard University and said she would like to run Facebook.
During an event at which she received the prestigious Radcliffe Medal for “transformative impact on society,” Clinton was asked which company she would like to lead as CEO.
Without any hesitation, Clinton named Facebook, noting that the social media giant has vast power and controls the flow of information.
“It’s the biggest news platform in the world … but most people in our country get their news, true or not, from Facebook,” she said.
The response drew mixed reactions on social media, though the attempt to put her name on the table may not be so out of the ordinary. Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg openly endorsed Clinton’s candidacy while a co-founder of the social media giant, Dustin Moskovitz, led a nearly $30 million effort to defeat now-President Donald Trump.
Other Facebook employees contributed more money to Clinton's campaign -- some $114,000 -- than to those of any other candidate, according to Federal Election Commission data that takes into account only donations over $200, the Hill reported.
But the former U.S. secretary of state’s openness to run Facebook came at the time when the tech company is coping with a number of scandals, including alleged misuse of user data that allowed political campaigns, including possibly Clinton’s, to target potential voters after acquiring the data of millions of people.
Just this week, Facebook was accused of deceptive tactics to pressure people to accept its privacy policy. According to a complaint filed by the European Center for Digital Rights on behalf of an anonymous individual, the platform blocked users who didn’t consent to the new privacy policies and used “tricks” – including fake message notifications – to pressure them into agreeing with the policies.
“[Facebook] used additional ‘tricks’ to pressure the users: For example, the consent page included two fake red dots … that indicated that the user has new messages and notifications, which he/she cannot access without consenting — even if the user did not have such notifications or messages in reality,” the complaint reads, according to Australia's News.co.au.
But similar to Cambridge Analytica, the company that was forced to shut down amid the data misuse scandal, the Clinton campaign itself may have harvested the data of potentially millions of users to get an edge over Trump.
In the midst of the election, Clinton's campaign launched a mobile application called “Hillary 2016” that allowed every user to pair their friends list on Facebook with their phone contacts – and give the campaign permission to access that info.
People who didn’t download the application - or weren’t even Clinton supporters – weren’t given an option to prohibit their Facebook friends from pairing their phone numbers with Facebook accounts and indicate their likelihood of voting for the Democratic candidate.

Roseanne blames Ambien, ABC, herself as Trump also hits the network


I think we can all agree it wasn’t the Ambien, that Roseanne Barr has a long history of spewing conspiracy theories and ugly attacks.
But her spectacular self-immolation has ignited a cultural debate in this country over race, online venom, cultural standards and — inevitably — President Trump.
Even as Barr, in a late-night tweestorm, blamed her racist slur against Valerie Jarrett on the sleep medication, and attacked some of her fellow cast members, she admitted that she was fully at fault:
“guys I did something unforgiveable so do not defend me. It was 2 in the morning and I was ambien tweeting -- it was memorial day too -- i went 2 far & do not want it defended -- it was egregious Indefensible.”
Fine. She’s right. There is no defense. What planet do you have to be on to talk about a black person and “Planet of the Apes”?
There is also no question that ABC knew exactly what it was getting, which is why network president Ben Sherwood told the New York Times back in March that “you can’t control Roseanne Barr. Many who have tried have failed.”
So obviously the network wasn’t unaware that Barr had a long history of tweeting ugly, unproven insults and wild conspiracy theories. And presumably she wasn’t on Ambien all those times.
Roseanne retweeted at one point that “ABC is allowing the Trump haters to control their station” — even though it was the network that provided the platform for her pro-Trump reboot in the first place.
The network gambled that she could revive her hit show — which she did, specifically tailored to appeal to Trump Country — and she did. But even as she was riding high, Roseanne couldn’t stay off the Twitter. And that cost her, the hundreds of people who worked on the show and the network that invested in her.
With so many pundits on the left blaming the Roseanne debacle on Trump — who, of course, had nothing to do with it besides enjoying the show’s success — it was only a matter of time before the president joined the fray.
It’s noteworthy that Trump made no comment on Barr’s racist tweet. Instead, he tweeted that Disney CEO Bob Iger “Bob Iger of ABC called Valerie Jarrett to let her know that ‘ABC does not tolerate comments like those’ made by Roseanne Barr. Gee, he never called President Donald J. Trump to apologize for the HORRIBLE statements made and said about me on ABC. Maybe I just didn’t get the call?”
I’m sure unfair things have been said about Trump on ABC News and every other network. I’m just as sure that they didn’t fall into the category of likening him to an ape.
But HBO’s Bill Maher, five years ago, did jokingly compare Trump’s hair to an orangutan. And ABC’s lightning-quick dumping of “Roseanne” does raise questions about the media and cultural standards used when public personalities say offensive things.
No action was taken against Joy Behar, for instance, when the “View” co-host mocked Vice President Pence’s religion. She eventually apologized, first privately and then publicly.
MSNBC took no action against Joy Reid when a torrent of her homophobic tweets surfaced from a decade ago. She ludicrously claimed that her account had been hacked, but also apologized for her “dumb” and “hateful” postings.
And ESPN action took no action against former “Sports Center” co-host Jemele Hill for calling the president a “white supremacist” and “bigot.” But the network suspended her for suggestion a boycott of the Dallas Cowboys for cracking down on player protests.
On the other hand, CNN fired host Reza Aslan for tweeting that Trump was a “piece of s---” and “embarrassment to humankind.”
CNN also fired pro-Trump contributor Jeffrey Lord for tweeting the Nazi salute “Sieg Heil.”
Sarah Sanders weighed in Wednesday, saying:
“Where was Bob Iger‘s apology to the White House staff for Jemele Hill calling the president and anyone associated with him a white supremacist? To Christians around the world for Joy Behar calling Christianity a mental illness? Where was the apology for Kathy Griffin going on a profane rant against the president on ‘The View’ after a photo showed her holding President Trump’s decapitated head? And where was the apology from Bob Iger for ESPN hiring Keith Olbermann after his numerous expletive-laced tweets attacking the president as a Nazi and even expanding his role after that attack against the president’s family?”
Those are legitimate questions. In fairness, CNN dumped Griffin, and Olbermann, who made some extremely harsh anti-Trump videos for GQ, is being used by ESPN only on sports. But would the treatment have been different if the target wasn’t Trump?
The bottom line is that each media organization sets its own standards, depending on the gravity of the offense, the popularity of the performer and the person’s past record.
These problems were once far easier to sweep under the rug. But we all live in Twitter’s world now, where one ill-chosen phrase can end a career and online mobs can form at a moment’s notice.
Roseanne Barr woke up Tuesday morning with the most popular show on television. But hours later she was unemployed because she touched the third rail of racism, and ABC executives concluded she had crossed a very bright line.
Howard Kurtz is a Fox News analyst and the host of "MediaBuzz" (Sundays 11 a.m.). He is the author "Media Madness: Donald Trump, The Press and the War Over the Truth." Follow him at @HowardKurtz. Click here for more information on Howard Kurtz.

Secret McCabe memo in Mueller's hands gives details of Comey's firing: report


Fired FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe wrote a secret memo on circumstances leading up to the firing of his former boss James Comey.
A person familiar with the situation told the Associated Press on Wednesday that the previously unknown document was turned over to special counsel Robert Mueller.
Mueller and his team are investigating whether the Trump campaign coordinated with Russia during the 2016 presidential election and if the president’s decision to fire Comey last May was an attempt to obstruct the investigation.
The memo reportedly recalls a conversation McCabe had with Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein about his preparation for Comey’s firing.
Rosenstein, who’s currently facing calls to resign from members of the U.S. Congress amid his reluctance to comply with U.S. House oversight, played a role in the downfall of Comey as he penned a memo that criticized Comey for his handling of the Hillary Clinton email investigation that the White House used to justify the firing.
ROSENSTEIN FIGHTS HOUSE GOP IMPEACHEMENT PUSH, SAYS DOJ ‘IS NOT GOING TO BE EXTORTED’
The memo by McCabe reportedly claims Rosenstein suggested to him that he was initially asked to reference the Russia investigation in the memo about Comey. The final memo by the deputy attorney general didn’t mention Russia and instead focused on the Clinton email case.
Rosenstein appointed Mueller just a week after Comey was fired from his role. The job fell to Rosenstein because Attorney General Jeff Sessions had recused himself from the case because of his advisory role in Trump's campaign.
McCabe is known to have kept personal notes on his interactions with Trump, some of which included what Comey told him about his encounters with the president, Fox News reported. He turned over the memos to Mueller.
Trump criticized the documents, saying in March that he never saw McCabe take notes about their conversations, suggesting the memos should be called “fake memos.”
“Spent very little time with Andrew McCabe, but he never took notes when he was with me. I don’t believe he made memos except to help his own agenda, probably at a later date. Same with lying James Comey. Can we call them Fake Memos?” Trump tweeted.
McCabe was fired in March, just days before he would have been eligible for a lifetime pension, amid a report by an inspector general, claiming he misled internal investigators reviewing the bureau’s probe of Clinton’s email server and leaked a self-serving story to the media.
Sessions, who authorized the McCabe firing, said at the time that McCabe “made an unauthorized disclosure to the news media and lacked candor − including under oath − on multiple occasions.”
DOJ IG RELEASES EXPLOSIVE REPORT THAT LED TO FIRING OF EX-FBI DEPUTY DIRECTOR ANDREW MCCABE
Inspector General Michael Horowitz, who also penned the damning report, determined that McCabe authorized the leak yet later told the investigators that he did authorize the disclosure and did not know who was responsible.
“[W]e concluded that McCabe’s decision to confirm the existence of the CF investigation through an anonymously sourced quote, recounting the content of a phone call with a senior department official in a manner designed to advance his personal interests at the expense of department leadership, was clearly not within the public interest exception," the report said.

Prosecutors say former CIA officer Kevin Mallory gave secrets to a Chinese spy in exchange for for $25,000.  (REUTERS)

A former CIA officer betrayed the U.S. by giving a Chinese spy information about human assets and other top-secret information in exchange for $25,000, prosecutors say.
A jury heard opening statements Wednesday in the trial of Kevin Mallory, 60, of Leesburg, Va.
Mallory, a former self-employed consultant, had grown suspicious about a Chinese think tank’s job offer, defense attorney Geremy Kamens said. Mallory had reportedly told CIA about the job offer, but prosecutors viewed that as an attempt to cover his tracks.
Defense lawyers countered that their client is a loyal American who was merely stringing the Chinese along to try to get them to expose details of their own intelligence operation.
Mallory’s plan folded in April 2017 at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport during a flight back from Shanghai when customs agents found $16,500 in unreported cash, prosecutor Jennifer Gellie told jurors. Gellie said that encounter prompted Mallory to reach out to old CIA contacts to concoct a cover story.
Mallory agreed to be questioned in May 2017 about his contacts. Gellie said that that he was caught off guard during that interview when a Samsung phone given to him by the Chinese displayed text conversations between Mallory and the Chinese recruiter. Mallory had expected the phone's secure messaging features would keep the conversation hidden, Gellie said.
Your object is to gain information, and my object is to be paid.
In one text message, Mallory wrote "your object is to gain information, and my object is to be paid."
Agents searched Mallory's home and found two small computer discs containing top-secret documents. Mallory had sent some of those documents to the Chinese recruiter using the Samsung phone, Gellie said.
"Kevin Mallory chose to pass closely held government secrets to a Chinese government agent," Gellie told the jury.
Kamens, though, said Mallory reached out to his old CIA contacts months before he was supposedly spooked by the airport inspection. The CIA contacts testified Wednesday that Mallory had contacted them in February 2017.
The trial is being heard in the Eastern District of Virginia, which is home to the CIA and Pentagon. Still, espionage trials are a rarity, given that both sides have strong incentives to reach plea deals. The government is concerned about exposing secrets, while defendants are worried about potentially stiff sentences.
If convicted, Mallory faces up to life in prison.

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