I. Species Extinction
Edward O. Wilson says that "at one-half and above, life on earth enters the safe zone. Within that half, more than 80 percent of the species would be stabilized." "The peak of destruction that humanity has initiated is often called the Sixth Extinction."
"When expert estimates for invertebrates (such as the insects, crustaceans, and earthworms are added to estimates for algae, fungi, mosses, and gymnosperms as well as for bacteria and other microorganisms, the total added up and then projected has varied widely, from 5 million to more than 100 million species." "Humanity is losing the race between scientific study of global biodiversity and the obliteration of countless still unknown species." "As a consequence of human activity, it is believed that the current rate of extinction overall is between 100 and 1,000 times higher than it was originally."
'Biologists recognize that across the 3.8 billion year history of life, over 99 percent of all species that lived are extinct." [1]
II. Anti-Semitism Legislation
The Anti-Semitism Awareness Act would damage free speech rights on campuses. It endorses the State Department definition of anti-Semitism, which includes "delegitimizing" Israel, or "demonizing" Israel being held to a "double standard." The bill directs the Department of Education to consider this definition when investigating complaints of anti-Semitism on campus. But the bill does not add any new protections for Jewish students; also, the bill shuts down debate by suggesting that anyone who looks critically at Israeli policy is somehow beyond the pale. If Israel advocacy organizations report, say, a divestment protest, federal investigators may come to campus to investigate, causing a severe chilling effect. And if investigators determine that the university in question tolerates an anti-Semetic environment, they may revoke federal funding.
The Anti-Semitism Awareness Act flew through the U.S. Senate by unanimous consent,with zero debate and no public scrutiny, because the text of the bill was not published. No doubt, that's because lawmakers want to prevent vocal debate on Palestinian equality at all costs. [2]
III. Child Abuse in the Military
A Los Angeles Times investigation has found that the Army, Navy and Air Force knew of numerous cases of child abuse or neglect were occurring but failed to intervene, or to alert the Family Advocacy Program (FAP) or state welfare agencies. FAP is not able to properly investigate many of these cases due to "failure on the part of others to report concerns or maltreatment incidents, "warned an internal 2014 report on 27 deaths in Army families. "In several cases, command was aware of ongoing abuse but failed to report it," the report said. A 2014 report on 50 deaths in Air Force families over a five-year period reached the same conclusion. FAP counted 5,378 child abuse and neglect victims in military families in 2015. "We get about 25% of the incidents," says Rene Robichaux, who oversees an Army-wide clinical child abuse treatment program from the Army Medical Command in San Antonio. [3]
Studies show that America's longest wars have always been associated with poor mental health in military families: Behavioral problems in children, a higher risk of divorce, and higher rates of suicide.
ADDENDUMS:
*Judith Rodin, the president of the Rockefeller Foundation, has said that one-third of the world's available food either spoils or gets thrown away without being eaten. She adds that fixing the problem will feed an additional 795 million hungry people, while protecting the planet.
*The Founding Fathers proposed a pluralistic republic free of the religious wars that had burned through Western Europe. Trump's ban on Muslims aids ISIS, which can point to it as proof that the U.S. is waging war on Islam. It's a potent recruiting tool for jihadists.
*Since the introduction of Reaganomics, there's been a 70% drop in "social mobility."
Footnotes
[1] Edward O. Wilson, "Fifty-Fifty," Sierra, January/February 2017.
[2] Jon Rainwater, executive director of Peace Action, explanatory email of December 6, 2016.
[3] David S. Cloud, "Child abuse in the military: Failing those most in need," The Los Angeles Times, December 29, 2016.
Tuesday, January 10, 2017
Monday, January 9, 2017
Marcus on Breitbart and Other Observations on Trump Regime
I. Ruth Marcus on Breitbart
"No, no, no. The notion that Breitbart is 'just a publication' like The New York Times but just several notches to the right is untrue and unacceptable." We're going to hear the word 'normalize' a lot during the Trump administration, and the risk is going to be exactly that, unfortunately. Trump says and does so many outrageous things that it will be tempting for us to tire of calling them, and him, out."
"So, Breitbart is misogynist." "Breitbart is all-around offensive and irresponsible. "Gabby Giffords, the gun-control movement's human shield." "Hanna Abedin 'Most Likely a Saudi Spy, with Deep, Inarguable Connections to Global Terrorist Entity.' "
"This is a man who has advocated for creation of a 'white others-state on the North American continent' "
"Breitbart isn't just a publication. It's a pestilence -- one whose repugnant views Trump has invited into his White House." [1]
II. Trump and Berlusconi Have Similarities
Director Franiesca Comencini has pointed out that Trump and Berlusconi (Italy's leader for nearly two decades) have a lot in common. They both amassed fortunes in real estate through questionable business practices. They share a taste for marble, extreme tans, and strongmen: Trump is impressed by Vladimir Putin and Saddam Hussein; Berlusconi was chummy with Muammar Qaddifi. Both have a murky rasp on the concept of consent.
"American women are just at the beginning of their time with the Pussy Grabber-in-Chief. The advice is not to feel you have lost... you have to walk like a winner." [2]
III. Hostility Toward Immigrants
"Yet the argument for states' rights began in the early years of the republic in an effort to confront exactly the type of threat to non-citizens that the incoming administration poses. Trump's hostility toward immigration has taken various iterations, but the common theme is to rid the country of foreign residents deemed dangerous and to prohibit the entry of people from hostile nations. It would appear that, two hundred and eighteen years later, the principle of the Alien and Sedition Acts have sprung, with surprising vigor, from their resting place in history." [3]
IV. Post-Truth World
Playwright Steve Tesich says: "We are rapidly becoming prototypes of a people that totalitarian monsters could only dream about in their dreams. All the dictators up to now have had to work hard at suppressing the truth. We, by our actions,are saying that this is no longer necessary... in a very fundamental way we, as a free people, have freely decided that we want to live in some post-truth world." [4]
V. Repressing Women
"There are dozens of reasons why Trump won, but misogyny was a big part of it." "As Vox reported, one of the biggest predictors of Trump support was 'hostile sexism." "Those white women, like the rest of us, now live in a country where the public humiliation of women have the White House seal of approval." "Repressing women in the name of purifying a decadent culture is always part of this package, as it was in the fascist sates of the 1930s." [5]
Footnotes
[1] Ruth Marcus, "Right-wing Breitbart is not 'just a publication,' " The Albuquerque Journal, November 26, 2016.
[2] Ariel Levy, "The Women," The New Yorker, November 28, 2016.
[3] Jelani Cobb, "States vs. Trump," The New Yorker, November 28, 2016.
[4] Richard Kreitner, "Post-Truth and Its Consequences," The Nation, December 19/26, 2016.
[5] Katha Pollitt, "They're With Him," The Nation, December 5/12, 2016.
"No, no, no. The notion that Breitbart is 'just a publication' like The New York Times but just several notches to the right is untrue and unacceptable." We're going to hear the word 'normalize' a lot during the Trump administration, and the risk is going to be exactly that, unfortunately. Trump says and does so many outrageous things that it will be tempting for us to tire of calling them, and him, out."
"So, Breitbart is misogynist." "Breitbart is all-around offensive and irresponsible. "Gabby Giffords, the gun-control movement's human shield." "Hanna Abedin 'Most Likely a Saudi Spy, with Deep, Inarguable Connections to Global Terrorist Entity.' "
"This is a man who has advocated for creation of a 'white others-state on the North American continent' "
"Breitbart isn't just a publication. It's a pestilence -- one whose repugnant views Trump has invited into his White House." [1]
II. Trump and Berlusconi Have Similarities
Director Franiesca Comencini has pointed out that Trump and Berlusconi (Italy's leader for nearly two decades) have a lot in common. They both amassed fortunes in real estate through questionable business practices. They share a taste for marble, extreme tans, and strongmen: Trump is impressed by Vladimir Putin and Saddam Hussein; Berlusconi was chummy with Muammar Qaddifi. Both have a murky rasp on the concept of consent.
"American women are just at the beginning of their time with the Pussy Grabber-in-Chief. The advice is not to feel you have lost... you have to walk like a winner." [2]
III. Hostility Toward Immigrants
"Yet the argument for states' rights began in the early years of the republic in an effort to confront exactly the type of threat to non-citizens that the incoming administration poses. Trump's hostility toward immigration has taken various iterations, but the common theme is to rid the country of foreign residents deemed dangerous and to prohibit the entry of people from hostile nations. It would appear that, two hundred and eighteen years later, the principle of the Alien and Sedition Acts have sprung, with surprising vigor, from their resting place in history." [3]
IV. Post-Truth World
Playwright Steve Tesich says: "We are rapidly becoming prototypes of a people that totalitarian monsters could only dream about in their dreams. All the dictators up to now have had to work hard at suppressing the truth. We, by our actions,are saying that this is no longer necessary... in a very fundamental way we, as a free people, have freely decided that we want to live in some post-truth world." [4]
V. Repressing Women
"There are dozens of reasons why Trump won, but misogyny was a big part of it." "As Vox reported, one of the biggest predictors of Trump support was 'hostile sexism." "Those white women, like the rest of us, now live in a country where the public humiliation of women have the White House seal of approval." "Repressing women in the name of purifying a decadent culture is always part of this package, as it was in the fascist sates of the 1930s." [5]
Footnotes
[1] Ruth Marcus, "Right-wing Breitbart is not 'just a publication,' " The Albuquerque Journal, November 26, 2016.
[2] Ariel Levy, "The Women," The New Yorker, November 28, 2016.
[3] Jelani Cobb, "States vs. Trump," The New Yorker, November 28, 2016.
[4] Richard Kreitner, "Post-Truth and Its Consequences," The Nation, December 19/26, 2016.
[5] Katha Pollitt, "They're With Him," The Nation, December 5/12, 2016.
Wednesday, January 4, 2017
The Plutocratic and Wall Street-Friendly Trump Cabinet
I. A Cabinet of "Racist, Sexist, Climate-Denying Extremists"
SierraRise claims that despite campaign promises to "drain the swamp," Donald Trump picked nominees who comprise "the most extremist and unqualified slate of cabinet picks imaginable." The list includes:
*A Labor Secretary who has promoted low wages, automating workers, and the objectification of women.
*A Housing and Urban Development Secretary with no relevant experience.
*A Commerce Secretary who owned a dangerous coal mine where twelve miners died in an explosion.
*A Secretary pf State who ran ExxonMobil.
*An EPA administrator who has sued the agency on behalf of fossil fuel companies.
*An Energy Secretary who wants to get rid of the department (and might not know what it does).
*A Health and Human Services Secretary who has attacked policies that protect women's health.
*An Interior Secretary who has a League of Conservation Voters' score of 3%.
*An Attorney General who opposes civil and voting rights and was denied a federal judgeship due to racist remarks.
II. The Big Business Ties of Trump's Major Appointees
During the presidential campaign, Donald Trump repeatedly promised to purge the wealthy interests that wield power in D.C. At a rally in Akron, Ohio, Trump said: "I don't need them. I don't want them."
Hillary Clinton was harshly criticized for a speech she gave to Goldman Sachs executives. As identified by TIME magazine, three of Trump's major appointees have Goldman Sachs ties:
Steve Bannon, chief strategist: The former chairman of the right-wing media group Breitbart is also a Goldman Sachs veteran who later formed his own boutique investment firm.
Gary Cohn, director of the National Economic Council: The former options trader eventually became the second in command at Goldman Sachs.
Steve Mnuchin, Treasury Secretary: Trump's top campaign fundraiser was a Goldman Sachs executive who later ran a bank, OneWest, which hired a former aide to Senator Chris Dodd to lobby on financial regulations.
Besides Steve Mnuchin, who hired lobbyists as head of OneWest, three other top appointees of Trump[ had strong lobbying ties:
Elaine Chao, Secretary of Transportation: The former Labor Secretary and wife of the Senate majority leader serves on multiple corporate boards, including Wells Fargo, with a significant lobbying presence in D.C.
Rex Tillerson, Secretary of State: Oil giant ExxonMobil has spent more than $170 million on lobbying since Tillerson became its CEO in 2006.
Andrew Puzder, Secretary of Labor: The CEO of the parent company of fast-food chains Carl's Jr. and Hardee's hired D.C. lobbyists, and was a top Trump campaign donor.
Including Puzder, three other Trump nominees made their bones as major donors:
Linda McMahon, Small Business Administrator: The World Wrestling Entertainment co-founder shelled out $6 million to a Trump super PAC in August and September alone.
Betsy DeVos, Secretary of Education: The billionaire philanthropist and her husband, the former president of Amway, forked over nearly $2.9 million to GOP candidates and causes in 2016. [1]
ADDENDUMS:
*Wind power has increased from about 5% to 23.9% as a U.S. renewable energy source, while solar has increased from about 3% to 7.4% as a similar source. As leaders in U.S. installed wind-power capacity (megawatts), Texas has 18,531; Iowa has 6,365; California has 5,662; and Oklahoma has 5,453. (Sources: EIA; American Wind Energy Association)
*"A total of 560 major regulations -- those having an economic impact of $100 million or more -- were published in the first seven years of the Obama administration, according to the George Washington University Regulatory Studies Center, compared with 494 for his predecessor, George W. Bush."
*The EPA calculates that gasoline-powered lawn and garden equipment (GLGE) in the United States emits a total of 20.4 million tons of carbon dioxide per year.
*The International Energy Agency expects that as early as 2021, renewable energy will grow by as much as 42% globally.
Footnote
[1] Zeke J. Miller, "How Trump is restocking the Washington swamp," TIME, December 26, 2016-January 2, 2017.
SierraRise claims that despite campaign promises to "drain the swamp," Donald Trump picked nominees who comprise "the most extremist and unqualified slate of cabinet picks imaginable." The list includes:
*A Labor Secretary who has promoted low wages, automating workers, and the objectification of women.
*A Housing and Urban Development Secretary with no relevant experience.
*A Commerce Secretary who owned a dangerous coal mine where twelve miners died in an explosion.
*A Secretary pf State who ran ExxonMobil.
*An EPA administrator who has sued the agency on behalf of fossil fuel companies.
*An Energy Secretary who wants to get rid of the department (and might not know what it does).
*A Health and Human Services Secretary who has attacked policies that protect women's health.
*An Interior Secretary who has a League of Conservation Voters' score of 3%.
*An Attorney General who opposes civil and voting rights and was denied a federal judgeship due to racist remarks.
II. The Big Business Ties of Trump's Major Appointees
During the presidential campaign, Donald Trump repeatedly promised to purge the wealthy interests that wield power in D.C. At a rally in Akron, Ohio, Trump said: "I don't need them. I don't want them."
Hillary Clinton was harshly criticized for a speech she gave to Goldman Sachs executives. As identified by TIME magazine, three of Trump's major appointees have Goldman Sachs ties:
Steve Bannon, chief strategist: The former chairman of the right-wing media group Breitbart is also a Goldman Sachs veteran who later formed his own boutique investment firm.
Gary Cohn, director of the National Economic Council: The former options trader eventually became the second in command at Goldman Sachs.
Steve Mnuchin, Treasury Secretary: Trump's top campaign fundraiser was a Goldman Sachs executive who later ran a bank, OneWest, which hired a former aide to Senator Chris Dodd to lobby on financial regulations.
Besides Steve Mnuchin, who hired lobbyists as head of OneWest, three other top appointees of Trump[ had strong lobbying ties:
Elaine Chao, Secretary of Transportation: The former Labor Secretary and wife of the Senate majority leader serves on multiple corporate boards, including Wells Fargo, with a significant lobbying presence in D.C.
Rex Tillerson, Secretary of State: Oil giant ExxonMobil has spent more than $170 million on lobbying since Tillerson became its CEO in 2006.
Andrew Puzder, Secretary of Labor: The CEO of the parent company of fast-food chains Carl's Jr. and Hardee's hired D.C. lobbyists, and was a top Trump campaign donor.
Including Puzder, three other Trump nominees made their bones as major donors:
Linda McMahon, Small Business Administrator: The World Wrestling Entertainment co-founder shelled out $6 million to a Trump super PAC in August and September alone.
Betsy DeVos, Secretary of Education: The billionaire philanthropist and her husband, the former president of Amway, forked over nearly $2.9 million to GOP candidates and causes in 2016. [1]
ADDENDUMS:
*Wind power has increased from about 5% to 23.9% as a U.S. renewable energy source, while solar has increased from about 3% to 7.4% as a similar source. As leaders in U.S. installed wind-power capacity (megawatts), Texas has 18,531; Iowa has 6,365; California has 5,662; and Oklahoma has 5,453. (Sources: EIA; American Wind Energy Association)
*"A total of 560 major regulations -- those having an economic impact of $100 million or more -- were published in the first seven years of the Obama administration, according to the George Washington University Regulatory Studies Center, compared with 494 for his predecessor, George W. Bush."
*The EPA calculates that gasoline-powered lawn and garden equipment (GLGE) in the United States emits a total of 20.4 million tons of carbon dioxide per year.
*The International Energy Agency expects that as early as 2021, renewable energy will grow by as much as 42% globally.
Footnote
[1] Zeke J. Miller, "How Trump is restocking the Washington swamp," TIME, December 26, 2016-January 2, 2017.
Tuesday, January 3, 2017
Gun Numbers, Laws, Ownership, and Gun-Related Deaths
1.) U.S. Gun Numbers
As of 2009, there were 310 million firearms in the United States. There were 114 million handguns, 86 million shotguns and 110 million rifles. Firearms were responsible for 71% of all murders in 2015.
2.) Gun Laws
California has the most restrictive gun laws in the United States, followed most closely by Illinois and New York. By region, the Northeast has the most restrictive gun laws.
The states with the least restrictive gun laws are Montana, Wyoming, Nevada, Arizona, Arkansas, Louisiana, Florida, Kentucky, and Virginia, with Arizona having the least restrictive laws.
3.) Gun Ownership
Gun ownership tends to be higher where gun laws are least restrictive. At 62%, Alaska has the highest rate of gun ownership in the U.S. and, at 5%, Delaware has the lowest rate of gun ownership. High gun ownership states, besides Alaska, are: New Mexico, Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, North Dakota, Arkansas, Alabama and West Virginia.
Except for California, Nebraska, Indiana and Ohio, which fall into the lowest of five categories for households owning a firearm, all of the Northeast states fall into the two lowest of these five categories.
4.) Gun-Related Deaths
Gun-related deaths are more prevalent in the Southern states. Those states that fall into the highest of five categories of gun-related deaths are: Alaska, Montana, Wyoming, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, and Louisiana (the highest at 19%).
Hawaii, at 3%, has the lowest rate of gun-related deaths. Others in the lowest of five categories are: California, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Wisconsin, New York, New Hampshire, Nebraska, Maryland, New Jersey and Connecticut.
5.) Matches in Categories
The states that display a match between the most restrictive gun laws and the lowest rate of gun-related deaths are all in the Northeast, with the single exception of California.
The states that display a match between the least restrictive gun laws and the highest rate of gun-related deaths are: Montana, Wyoming, Arkansas and Louisiana.
6.) Background Checks
There were 9 million background checks in 2000 and 23 million in 2015.
The percentage increase in gun-owning households from 39% in 2000 to 41% in 2015, a growth rate far lower than that of background checks, suggests that those in gun-owning households are stocking up.
ADDENDUMS:
*More people die from guns than from car accidents. In 2016 there have been 1,622 accidental shootings, and 515 children have been shot.
*About half of owners say they own guns for protection, followed by hunting (32%).
*More than 60% of gun-related deaths are suicides, while about a third are homicides.
The sources for the information provided above can be found in: Emily Barone, "One nation, up in arms," TIME, October 24, 2016.
As of 2009, there were 310 million firearms in the United States. There were 114 million handguns, 86 million shotguns and 110 million rifles. Firearms were responsible for 71% of all murders in 2015.
2.) Gun Laws
California has the most restrictive gun laws in the United States, followed most closely by Illinois and New York. By region, the Northeast has the most restrictive gun laws.
The states with the least restrictive gun laws are Montana, Wyoming, Nevada, Arizona, Arkansas, Louisiana, Florida, Kentucky, and Virginia, with Arizona having the least restrictive laws.
3.) Gun Ownership
Gun ownership tends to be higher where gun laws are least restrictive. At 62%, Alaska has the highest rate of gun ownership in the U.S. and, at 5%, Delaware has the lowest rate of gun ownership. High gun ownership states, besides Alaska, are: New Mexico, Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, North Dakota, Arkansas, Alabama and West Virginia.
Except for California, Nebraska, Indiana and Ohio, which fall into the lowest of five categories for households owning a firearm, all of the Northeast states fall into the two lowest of these five categories.
4.) Gun-Related Deaths
Gun-related deaths are more prevalent in the Southern states. Those states that fall into the highest of five categories of gun-related deaths are: Alaska, Montana, Wyoming, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, and Louisiana (the highest at 19%).
Hawaii, at 3%, has the lowest rate of gun-related deaths. Others in the lowest of five categories are: California, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Wisconsin, New York, New Hampshire, Nebraska, Maryland, New Jersey and Connecticut.
5.) Matches in Categories
The states that display a match between the most restrictive gun laws and the lowest rate of gun-related deaths are all in the Northeast, with the single exception of California.
The states that display a match between the least restrictive gun laws and the highest rate of gun-related deaths are: Montana, Wyoming, Arkansas and Louisiana.
6.) Background Checks
There were 9 million background checks in 2000 and 23 million in 2015.
The percentage increase in gun-owning households from 39% in 2000 to 41% in 2015, a growth rate far lower than that of background checks, suggests that those in gun-owning households are stocking up.
ADDENDUMS:
*More people die from guns than from car accidents. In 2016 there have been 1,622 accidental shootings, and 515 children have been shot.
*About half of owners say they own guns for protection, followed by hunting (32%).
*More than 60% of gun-related deaths are suicides, while about a third are homicides.
The sources for the information provided above can be found in: Emily Barone, "One nation, up in arms," TIME, October 24, 2016.
Friday, December 30, 2016
Trump Surrogates Struggle to Interpret Him
It has always been a struggle to determine what Donald Trump is proposing, as he changes his positions so often that it difficult to square what he says one day with what he said the day or months before. A classic illustration of how quickly Trump changes positions on issues came when in the course of a day, a woman who has an abortion should suffer a penalty translated to that same person being a "victim."
The initial attempt for a surrogate to offer a way to interpret Trump probably came when spokeswoman Hope Hicks said that what Trump says should not be taken literally, but figuratively. Very recently, a surrogate was trying to explain why Trump has not held a news conference since July 2016, when Trump had blasted Hillary Clinton for not holding press conferences. The surrogate started out by arguing that Donald Trump was a very precise person, who gathers his facts together before giving them out to the public. The interviewer then said that the Trump campaign had previously advised the public to take Trump seriously, not literally The surrogate replied that it was figuratively, not literally, but his own advice was to take him "symbolically."
Kellyanne Conway, the new special adviser to Donald Trump, has had to twist herself into a pretzel many times while trying to explain away what Trump was saying since she joined his campaign team. I believe it was during the six-day period beginning with August 20, when Trump was debating with himself about whether he was softening or hardening his position on immigration, that Kellyanne finally had enough of trying to explain Trump's position, and simply advised everyone to "stay tuned."
An excerpted video of MSNBC's Rachel Maddow interview of Kellyanne provides an insight into Kellyanne's spin technique in defending the indefensible regarding Donald Trump:
Maddow started the segment by playing a big lie in Donald Trump's post-election stump speech:
"How about when a major anchor who hosted a debate started crying when she realized we won," Donald Trump said lyingly. "No, tell me this isn't true."
Rachel Marrow corrected the record.
"We know from the number of times he's told that story that he is talking about Martha Raddatz," Maddow said to Conway. "Martha Raddatz did not, in fact, cry on election night. She did not say, 'No tell me this isn't true.' There were no tears streaming down her face. What I am bothered by is the way he is singling her out. Not just with wrong information but singling her out. Is this how even a reporter like Martha Raddatz is going to be treated by this president?"
"No. And I would have updates, but they are privately held," Conway said. "We've been discussing this with ABC News. I've talked to the president of ABC News directly, and I have talked to the president-elect. And look, we all have enormous respect for Martha Raddatz as a journalist. ... I would like to broaden the conversation if I may in terms of..."
Rachel did not allow her to spin away.
"But wait. Are we going to get an apology from the president-elect on that?" Maddow forcefully asked. "He is telling a story about her that is not true and telling it to great effect and having people jeer her. Will he correct this?"
"So apologies like this are not made publicly necessarily," Kellyanne responded.
"But the accusation was made publicly," said Maddow.
"So the accusation was made by a number of people," Kellyanne said. "I am just telling you I've got an update to what you presented there. That's all I will say. And it will make you happy."
"Just to stay specific to Martha Raddatz here," Maddow said. "He did say something about her publicly that isn't true and until he corrects it publicly, the people who heard him say it will continue to believe a untrue thing about a woman who doesn't deserve it. I will just make that case to you."
What has spoken to me most forcefully about the smallness of Kellyanne Conway's character is her characterization as "magnanimous," Donald Trump's post-election announcement that he will not seek a special prosecutor for Hillary Clinton. Trump spent an entire campaign trying to criminalize Clinton. There is that indelible image of him leaving his podium in one of the debates, looming over Clinton, and telling her that one of the first things he would do if elected president would be to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate her criminal behavior. And what criminal behavior is Trump alluding to?
Benghazi was an obsessive Republican vendetta against Clinton, in which multiple investigations found no evidence of criminal behavior. Giving well-paid speeches to Wall Street was likely a mistake in judgment but was not in any way criminal behavior. Her use of a private email server while secretary of state was extensively investigated by the FBI and no laws were found to be broken. Although quid pro quos were alleged in the operation of the Clinton Foundation, no smoking guns were found to have been fired. When a quid pro quo seemed to have been found by CBS News in an exchange of emails between an FBI agent and a member of Clinton's staff, anchor Scott Pelley had to appear the next night, and, like a whipped puppy, disavow the previous night's contention. If, however, statutes of limitations had not protected Donald Trump from sexual assault charges and business practices that may have exceeded lawful bounds, then we may have had a story with legs.
ADDENDUMS:
*The Pentagon has buried a study that exposed $125 billion in administrative waste, fearing slashing of its budget. The Pentagon is spending about a quarter of its budget on overhead and core business operations, such as accounting, human resources, logistics and property management.
*Donald Trump wants to cancel a contract with Boeing to build a new Air Force One, saying it will cost over $4 billion. Boeing has a $170 million contract to design a replacement. If the contract with Boeing is canceled, the most logical manufacturer to build a new Air Force One is Airbus of France.
*In the presidential campaign, Donald Trump stated of intelligence agents: "I won't use them, because they've made such bad decisions."
The initial attempt for a surrogate to offer a way to interpret Trump probably came when spokeswoman Hope Hicks said that what Trump says should not be taken literally, but figuratively. Very recently, a surrogate was trying to explain why Trump has not held a news conference since July 2016, when Trump had blasted Hillary Clinton for not holding press conferences. The surrogate started out by arguing that Donald Trump was a very precise person, who gathers his facts together before giving them out to the public. The interviewer then said that the Trump campaign had previously advised the public to take Trump seriously, not literally The surrogate replied that it was figuratively, not literally, but his own advice was to take him "symbolically."
Kellyanne Conway, the new special adviser to Donald Trump, has had to twist herself into a pretzel many times while trying to explain away what Trump was saying since she joined his campaign team. I believe it was during the six-day period beginning with August 20, when Trump was debating with himself about whether he was softening or hardening his position on immigration, that Kellyanne finally had enough of trying to explain Trump's position, and simply advised everyone to "stay tuned."
An excerpted video of MSNBC's Rachel Maddow interview of Kellyanne provides an insight into Kellyanne's spin technique in defending the indefensible regarding Donald Trump:
Maddow started the segment by playing a big lie in Donald Trump's post-election stump speech:
"How about when a major anchor who hosted a debate started crying when she realized we won," Donald Trump said lyingly. "No, tell me this isn't true."
Rachel Marrow corrected the record.
"We know from the number of times he's told that story that he is talking about Martha Raddatz," Maddow said to Conway. "Martha Raddatz did not, in fact, cry on election night. She did not say, 'No tell me this isn't true.' There were no tears streaming down her face. What I am bothered by is the way he is singling her out. Not just with wrong information but singling her out. Is this how even a reporter like Martha Raddatz is going to be treated by this president?"
"No. And I would have updates, but they are privately held," Conway said. "We've been discussing this with ABC News. I've talked to the president of ABC News directly, and I have talked to the president-elect. And look, we all have enormous respect for Martha Raddatz as a journalist. ... I would like to broaden the conversation if I may in terms of..."
Rachel did not allow her to spin away.
"But wait. Are we going to get an apology from the president-elect on that?" Maddow forcefully asked. "He is telling a story about her that is not true and telling it to great effect and having people jeer her. Will he correct this?"
"So apologies like this are not made publicly necessarily," Kellyanne responded.
"But the accusation was made publicly," said Maddow.
"So the accusation was made by a number of people," Kellyanne said. "I am just telling you I've got an update to what you presented there. That's all I will say. And it will make you happy."
"Just to stay specific to Martha Raddatz here," Maddow said. "He did say something about her publicly that isn't true and until he corrects it publicly, the people who heard him say it will continue to believe a untrue thing about a woman who doesn't deserve it. I will just make that case to you."
What has spoken to me most forcefully about the smallness of Kellyanne Conway's character is her characterization as "magnanimous," Donald Trump's post-election announcement that he will not seek a special prosecutor for Hillary Clinton. Trump spent an entire campaign trying to criminalize Clinton. There is that indelible image of him leaving his podium in one of the debates, looming over Clinton, and telling her that one of the first things he would do if elected president would be to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate her criminal behavior. And what criminal behavior is Trump alluding to?
Benghazi was an obsessive Republican vendetta against Clinton, in which multiple investigations found no evidence of criminal behavior. Giving well-paid speeches to Wall Street was likely a mistake in judgment but was not in any way criminal behavior. Her use of a private email server while secretary of state was extensively investigated by the FBI and no laws were found to be broken. Although quid pro quos were alleged in the operation of the Clinton Foundation, no smoking guns were found to have been fired. When a quid pro quo seemed to have been found by CBS News in an exchange of emails between an FBI agent and a member of Clinton's staff, anchor Scott Pelley had to appear the next night, and, like a whipped puppy, disavow the previous night's contention. If, however, statutes of limitations had not protected Donald Trump from sexual assault charges and business practices that may have exceeded lawful bounds, then we may have had a story with legs.
ADDENDUMS:
*The Pentagon has buried a study that exposed $125 billion in administrative waste, fearing slashing of its budget. The Pentagon is spending about a quarter of its budget on overhead and core business operations, such as accounting, human resources, logistics and property management.
*Donald Trump wants to cancel a contract with Boeing to build a new Air Force One, saying it will cost over $4 billion. Boeing has a $170 million contract to design a replacement. If the contract with Boeing is canceled, the most logical manufacturer to build a new Air Force One is Airbus of France.
*In the presidential campaign, Donald Trump stated of intelligence agents: "I won't use them, because they've made such bad decisions."
Tuesday, December 6, 2016
Rise of he Surveillance State
October 2001: Six weeks after 9/11, President Bush signs the USA Patriot Act, which weakens protections against government collection of Americans' communications and personal records.
February 2002: The New York Times reveals that the Pentagon is "developing technologies to give federal officials instant access to vast new surveillance and information analysis systems." Following an outcry from civil libertarians, the Total Information Awareness program is eventually shut down.
March 2004: White House counsel Alberto Gonzales and chief of staff Andrew Card corner Attorney General John Ashcroft in his hospital room, pressuring him to extend the National Security Agency's secret warrantless wiretapping program. The program will be revealed to the public a year and a half later by the New York Times.
March 2006: The Patriot Act is reauthorized.
May 2006: USA Today reports the NSA has been tracking millions of Americans' phone calls with the help of major telecom companies. A few weeks later a former AT&T technician reveals that the company let the NSA tap into its fiber-optic lines in 2002, enabling it to broadly monitor internet and phone traffic in the United States.
September 2007: Microsoft becomes the first major internet firm to cooperate with the NSA's PRISM program, allowing the NSA to collect data on search history, email, file transfers, and live chats. Over the next few years, Yahoo, Google, Facebook, and others become part of the program, which won't be revealed to the public until 2013.
July 2008: Bush signs the FISA Amendments Act, which retroactively codifies the warrantless wiretapping program and compels telecoms and internet firms to give the government access to private communications if one party is "reasonably believed" to be outside the United States. It also gives retroactive immunity to telecoms that handed over customers' private data without a warrant.
January 2009: Google begins giving user data to the NSA under the PRISM program.
June 2009: A federal judge upholds the FISA provision giving telecoms retroactive immunity. The same day, Facebook starts participating in the PRISM program.
March 2010: A federal judge rules that the NSA warrantless wiretapping program is illegal, the second time the program has been found unlawful in federal court. Like the earlier ruling, the decision is later overturned on a technicality.
May 2011: Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), who as a member of he intelligence committee has access to classified materials, warns: "When the American people find out how their government has secretly interpreted the Patriot Act, they will be stunned and they will be angry."
April-May 2112: A part of a leak investigation, the Department of Justice secretly obtains two months of phone records from multiple Associated Press offices and reporters. The AP's top executive calls it a "massive and unprecedented intrusion into the newsgathering process."
July 2012: In a letter to Wyden, the Office of Director of National intelligence (DNI) acknowledges that some NSA activities have "circumvented the spirit of the law." It also concedes that a federal judge determined some NSA activities to be in violation of the Fourth Amendment.
December 2012: Obama signs a five-year extension of the FISA Act. Amendments that would provide more oversight of mass surveillance are defeated in the Senate.
March 2013: Wyden asks DNI chief James Clapper in a congressional hearing if the NSA collects any information on millions of Americans. Clapper says no.
June 2013: Citing leaked documents from national contractor Edward Snowden, the Guardian reports the NSA has been collecting millions of Verizon customers' call data. A day later, the Guardian and the Washington Post reveal the existence of PRISM. Questions about the revelations, Clapper admits that he lied in his congressional testimony.
August 15, 2303: Based on more Snowden documents, the Post reports that the NSA has "broken privacy rules or overstepped its legal authority thousands of times each year" since 2008, Wyden and Mark Udall (D-COLO.) say the reported violations are "just the tip of a larger iceberg."
August 29, 2013: The Post publishes details of the United States' $52.6 billion intelligence "black budget," more that $18 billion of which is dedicated to CIA and NSA data collection and analysis operations.
September 5, 2013: The New York Times, the Guardian, and Propublica report that the NSA has engineered ways to crack the average person's "everyday communications in the Internet age."
September 9, 2013: Der Spiegel reports that the NSA has the ability to bypass security features of iPhones, Android devices, and BlackBerrys, allowing it to access users' contacts, location data, photos, and possibly credit card numbers and passwords. (Source: AJ Vicens, "Rise of the Surveillance State," Mother Jones, November/December 2013.)
February 2002: The New York Times reveals that the Pentagon is "developing technologies to give federal officials instant access to vast new surveillance and information analysis systems." Following an outcry from civil libertarians, the Total Information Awareness program is eventually shut down.
March 2004: White House counsel Alberto Gonzales and chief of staff Andrew Card corner Attorney General John Ashcroft in his hospital room, pressuring him to extend the National Security Agency's secret warrantless wiretapping program. The program will be revealed to the public a year and a half later by the New York Times.
March 2006: The Patriot Act is reauthorized.
May 2006: USA Today reports the NSA has been tracking millions of Americans' phone calls with the help of major telecom companies. A few weeks later a former AT&T technician reveals that the company let the NSA tap into its fiber-optic lines in 2002, enabling it to broadly monitor internet and phone traffic in the United States.
September 2007: Microsoft becomes the first major internet firm to cooperate with the NSA's PRISM program, allowing the NSA to collect data on search history, email, file transfers, and live chats. Over the next few years, Yahoo, Google, Facebook, and others become part of the program, which won't be revealed to the public until 2013.
July 2008: Bush signs the FISA Amendments Act, which retroactively codifies the warrantless wiretapping program and compels telecoms and internet firms to give the government access to private communications if one party is "reasonably believed" to be outside the United States. It also gives retroactive immunity to telecoms that handed over customers' private data without a warrant.
January 2009: Google begins giving user data to the NSA under the PRISM program.
June 2009: A federal judge upholds the FISA provision giving telecoms retroactive immunity. The same day, Facebook starts participating in the PRISM program.
March 2010: A federal judge rules that the NSA warrantless wiretapping program is illegal, the second time the program has been found unlawful in federal court. Like the earlier ruling, the decision is later overturned on a technicality.
May 2011: Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), who as a member of he intelligence committee has access to classified materials, warns: "When the American people find out how their government has secretly interpreted the Patriot Act, they will be stunned and they will be angry."
April-May 2112: A part of a leak investigation, the Department of Justice secretly obtains two months of phone records from multiple Associated Press offices and reporters. The AP's top executive calls it a "massive and unprecedented intrusion into the newsgathering process."
July 2012: In a letter to Wyden, the Office of Director of National intelligence (DNI) acknowledges that some NSA activities have "circumvented the spirit of the law." It also concedes that a federal judge determined some NSA activities to be in violation of the Fourth Amendment.
December 2012: Obama signs a five-year extension of the FISA Act. Amendments that would provide more oversight of mass surveillance are defeated in the Senate.
March 2013: Wyden asks DNI chief James Clapper in a congressional hearing if the NSA collects any information on millions of Americans. Clapper says no.
June 2013: Citing leaked documents from national contractor Edward Snowden, the Guardian reports the NSA has been collecting millions of Verizon customers' call data. A day later, the Guardian and the Washington Post reveal the existence of PRISM. Questions about the revelations, Clapper admits that he lied in his congressional testimony.
August 15, 2303: Based on more Snowden documents, the Post reports that the NSA has "broken privacy rules or overstepped its legal authority thousands of times each year" since 2008, Wyden and Mark Udall (D-COLO.) say the reported violations are "just the tip of a larger iceberg."
August 29, 2013: The Post publishes details of the United States' $52.6 billion intelligence "black budget," more that $18 billion of which is dedicated to CIA and NSA data collection and analysis operations.
September 5, 2013: The New York Times, the Guardian, and Propublica report that the NSA has engineered ways to crack the average person's "everyday communications in the Internet age."
September 9, 2013: Der Spiegel reports that the NSA has the ability to bypass security features of iPhones, Android devices, and BlackBerrys, allowing it to access users' contacts, location data, photos, and possibly credit card numbers and passwords. (Source: AJ Vicens, "Rise of the Surveillance State," Mother Jones, November/December 2013.)
Thursday, December 1, 2016
The Contemptuous Media Assault on Hillary Clinton
Harvard's Shorenstein Center's study of the media coverage of Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton found that in 2015 Trump received far more "good press" than "bad press; also, in 2015, the GOP race received twice the coverage of the Democratic race. In 11 of the 12 months in 2015, Clinton's "bad news" outpaced her "good news," usually by a "wide margin." From January 1 through December 31, 2015, only 28% of Clinton's media coverage revolved around her stance on key issues and 84% was negative. In contrast, 43% of Trump's coverage was negative.
The Shorenstein Center also found that Hillary Clinton's coverage was "substantially more negative" than that of Bernie Sanders, although Sanders got "much less" coverage than Clinton.
Hillary's e-mails were deemed important by the media but it didn't help news consumers make sense of the issue, what harm was caused and how her e-mails compared with those of other high elected officials.
Thomas Patterson of the Los Angeles Times found in his analysis that 91% of the Clinton e-mail-related news reports were negative in tone.
Since I watched both CBS and ABC evening news virtually every night during the presidential campaign, it was very clear to me that their reporters had instructions to root through that day's release of Clinton e-mails and find one or two that were damaging to Clinton. Even when the e-mails were not damaging when seriously examined, they were handled, as Thomas Patterson notes, in a negative tone. One example of this occurred when CBS's anchor, Scott Pelley, ran a clip supposedly exposing a quid pro quo between a F.B.I. official and a Clinton staffer, a dog-whipped Pelley had to retract the report the following evening.
A classic of the negative spin applied to coverage of Hillary Clinton was when CBS did a negative piece on Donald Trump and then did the teaser: "But it wasn't such a good day for Hillary Clinton either." Zounds! I thought. Hold the presses! Another damaging Hillary e-mail. No, the news was of a poll showing Hillary with an unfavorable rating of 59%. And what was Trump's unfavorable rating in the same poll? It was 60%.
Jeffrey Toobin nails down Donald Trump in one economical sentence; then relates faults of Hillary Clinton; followed by a description of how the deck was stacked against Hillary. "Trump is a serial liar, a shady businessman, a bigot, and a self-proclaimed abuser of women; Clinton has a sometimes unsteady relationship with the truth and a faulty devotion to information security. Media attention focused almost exclusively on these traits, rather than on, say, what either might actually do as president. That was followed by a cascade of leaks from the F.B.I., which was a rich irony, since the whole controversy supposedly involved Clinton's inability to keep secrets."
Toobin describes the letter from F.B.I. Director James Comey, informing relevant committees of Congress of an investigation of Anthony Weiner's e-mails, a third party not involved in national security matters, "as a much appreciated gift to the Trump campaign." Toobin says the letter was "outrageous for many reasons, starting with the fact that Comey violated Department of Justice policy by sending it. As a rule, prosecutors and investigators are supposed to refrain from offering updates on pending investigations."
"As Michael McCaul, the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee put it, 'Assuming she wins and the investigation comes forward, and it looks like an indictment is pending, at that point in time, under the Constitution, the House of Representatives would engage in an impeachment trial." Jeffrey Toobin concludes: "A politics based on pursuit and accusation, rather than on reason and compromise, will address none of these problems." (Source: Jeffrey Toobin, "Another Round," The New Yorker, November 14, 2016.)
The Shorenstein Center also found that Hillary Clinton's coverage was "substantially more negative" than that of Bernie Sanders, although Sanders got "much less" coverage than Clinton.
Hillary's e-mails were deemed important by the media but it didn't help news consumers make sense of the issue, what harm was caused and how her e-mails compared with those of other high elected officials.
Thomas Patterson of the Los Angeles Times found in his analysis that 91% of the Clinton e-mail-related news reports were negative in tone.
Since I watched both CBS and ABC evening news virtually every night during the presidential campaign, it was very clear to me that their reporters had instructions to root through that day's release of Clinton e-mails and find one or two that were damaging to Clinton. Even when the e-mails were not damaging when seriously examined, they were handled, as Thomas Patterson notes, in a negative tone. One example of this occurred when CBS's anchor, Scott Pelley, ran a clip supposedly exposing a quid pro quo between a F.B.I. official and a Clinton staffer, a dog-whipped Pelley had to retract the report the following evening.
A classic of the negative spin applied to coverage of Hillary Clinton was when CBS did a negative piece on Donald Trump and then did the teaser: "But it wasn't such a good day for Hillary Clinton either." Zounds! I thought. Hold the presses! Another damaging Hillary e-mail. No, the news was of a poll showing Hillary with an unfavorable rating of 59%. And what was Trump's unfavorable rating in the same poll? It was 60%.
Jeffrey Toobin nails down Donald Trump in one economical sentence; then relates faults of Hillary Clinton; followed by a description of how the deck was stacked against Hillary. "Trump is a serial liar, a shady businessman, a bigot, and a self-proclaimed abuser of women; Clinton has a sometimes unsteady relationship with the truth and a faulty devotion to information security. Media attention focused almost exclusively on these traits, rather than on, say, what either might actually do as president. That was followed by a cascade of leaks from the F.B.I., which was a rich irony, since the whole controversy supposedly involved Clinton's inability to keep secrets."
Toobin describes the letter from F.B.I. Director James Comey, informing relevant committees of Congress of an investigation of Anthony Weiner's e-mails, a third party not involved in national security matters, "as a much appreciated gift to the Trump campaign." Toobin says the letter was "outrageous for many reasons, starting with the fact that Comey violated Department of Justice policy by sending it. As a rule, prosecutors and investigators are supposed to refrain from offering updates on pending investigations."
"As Michael McCaul, the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee put it, 'Assuming she wins and the investigation comes forward, and it looks like an indictment is pending, at that point in time, under the Constitution, the House of Representatives would engage in an impeachment trial." Jeffrey Toobin concludes: "A politics based on pursuit and accusation, rather than on reason and compromise, will address none of these problems." (Source: Jeffrey Toobin, "Another Round," The New Yorker, November 14, 2016.)
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