Category: Domestic Affairs,

US government wiretapped former Trump campaign chairman

On By peanutgallerynhIn Domestic Affairs,Leave a comment

US investigators wiretapped former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort under secret court orders before and after the election, sources tell CNN.

…Some of the intelligence collected includes communications that sparked concerns among investigators that Manafort had encouraged the Russians to help with the campaign, according to three sources familiar with the investigation.

…The FBI interest in Manafort dates back at least to 2014, partly as an outgrowth of a US investigation of Viktor Yanukovych, the former Ukrainian president whose pro-Russian regime was ousted amid street protests. Yanukovych’s Party of Regions was accused of corruption, and Ukrainian authorities claimed he squirreled millions of dollars out of the country. 

…Investigators have spent years probing any possible role played by Manafort’s firm and other US consultants, including the Podesta Group and Mercury LLC, that worked with the former Ukraine regime.

…The Justice Department and the FBI have denied that Trump’s own “wires” were tapped.

While Manafort has a residence in Trump Tower, it’s unclear whether FBI surveillance of him took place there.

Manafort has a home as well in Alexandria, Virginia. FBI agents raided the Alexandria residence in July.

The FBI also eavesdropped on Carter Page, a campaign associate that then candidate Trump once identified as a national security adviser. Page’s ties to Russia, including an attempt by Russian spies to cultivate him, prompted the FBI to obtain a FISA court warrant in 2014. 

US government wiretapped former Trump campaign chairman

hmmmm

Voting commission member calls for hard-liner’s resignation after partisan email

On By peanutgallerynhIn Domestic Affairs,Leave a comment

In the email, which made its way to Attorney General Jeff Sessions, von Spakovsky says he had received a “very disturbing phone call” that the commission would be “bipartisan and include Democrats.”

“There isn’t a single Democratic official that will do anything other than obstruct any investigation of voter fraud and issue constant public announcements criticizing the commission and what it is doing,” von Spakovsky wrote. “If they are picking mainstream Republican officials and/or academics to man this commission it will be an abject failure because there aren’t any that know anything about this or who have paid any attention to the issue over the years.”

[Maine Secretary of State Matthew] Dunlap told CNN: “I think this email that he sent is really quite damaging to the relationships on the commission. It undermines the statement of the vice president that there are no foregone conclusions, and it undermines the chair and the vice chair and the rest of the commission.”

Voting commission member calls for hard-liner’s resignation after email

hmmm

University of Wisconsin and the aftermath of destroying professor tenure.

On By peanutgallerynhIn Education,, Local Interest,, Money, Class, and Poverty,, Schools,Leave a comment

But academics don’t want tenure because they think they’re better or smarter than you. Academics, whether they have it or not, want some form of tenure to exist to protect the integrity of the knowledge that is produced, preserved, and disseminated.

Wisconsin professors simply do not want research limited by the whims of 18 people appointed by a governor with an openly stated anti-education agenda. And you shouldn’t, either. Think university research doesn’t affect you? You’re wrong. Hundreds of technological and social advances that you depend upon have been made thanks to the research of some brainiac at some university somewhere: what kind of cities to plan; how (and where) to alleviate poverty and hunger; what kind of diseases to treat; what kind of drugs to invent (or make obsolete); what kind of bridges and roads to build (and where). If professors are not protected from disagreeing with the agenda of their “bosses”—whether that be Dow Chemical, Gov. Walker, or President Trump—the consequences will go far beyond one person’s paycheck.

University of Wisconsin and the aftermath of destroying professor tenure.

hmmm

Manchester Local, Refugee Running for Alderman at Age 20

On By peanutgallerynhIn Granite State,, Race,, Religion,Leave a comment

There’s an aldermen race going on next week in Manchester. And one of the candidates on the ballot would be the city’s youngest elected if he wins. He turned 20 Thursday, attends UNH Manchester, and is a refugee from Kuwait.

Manchester Local, Refugee Running for Alderman at Age 20 | New Hampshire Public Radio

…Because immigrants are motivated citizens. Period.

Mueller obtains warrant for Russia linked Facebook ads and accounts

On By peanutgallerynhIn Domestic Affairs,Leave a comment

Legal experts say the revelation has enormous implications for the trajectory of the Robert Mueller-led FBI investigation into Russia’s election interference.

“The key here, though, is that Mueller clearly already has enough information on these accounts — and their link to a potential crime to justify forcing [Facebook] to give up the info,” she said. “That means that he has uncovered a great deal of evidence through other avenues of Russian election interference.”

It also means Mueller is no longer looking at Russia’s election interference from a strict counterintelligence standpoint — he now thinks he may be able to obtain enough evidence to charge specific foreign entities with a crime.

Mueller obtains warrant for Russia linked Facebook ads and accounts – Business Insider

hmmmm

David Ortiz makes long-term commitment to the Red Sox, Fenway Sports Management 

On By peanutgallerynhIn Boston,, Media and Culture,Leave a comment

The Red Sox have come to a long-term agreement with 10-time All-Star and three-time World Series Champion David Ortiz, inking an unprecedented deal that should link him with the organization forever. In his new role, Ortiz will act as a mentor for current players, participate in recruitment efforts, make a variety of special appearances for the club, and work in a business development capacity for Fenway Sports Management and its partners. “For over a decade and a half, we have gotten to know what kind of man David is both on and off the field,“ said Red Sox Principal Owner John Henry. “His skill and success on the diamond are rivaled only by his spirit, compassion, and big heart. I cannot think of a better representative for our organization. I’m happy we can now say officially what we have long known, David is family.“

: David Ortiz makes long-term commitment to the Red Sox, Fenway Sports Management | MLB.com

Yeah!!!!! At last some good news…

Hurricane Irma left a poop problem in its wake.

On By peanutgallerynhIn Environment,, Gulf Coast Region,, Infrastructure and Transportation,Leave a comment

There’s a lot of sewage still to clean up.

….Pollution reports submitted to Florida’s Department of Environmental Protection show that, due to power outages and flooding caused by Irma, human waste has been spilling into streets, residences, and waterways across the entire state. At the time of this article’s publication, at least 113 “Public Notices of Pollution” had been submitted to the DEP. Combined, those discharge reports showed more than 28 million gallons of treated and untreated sewage released in 22 counties. The total amount is surely much more; at least 43 of those reports listed either an “unknown” or “ongoing” amount of waste released, and new reports continue to roll in—sometimes as many as a dozen per hour.

In other words, Irma was a literal shitstorm. But it’s no laughing matter. Sewage spills pose a major threat to public health, and they’re likely to become more common due to two increasingly connected crises facing America: an aging infrastructure and climate change.

 

Hurricane Irma left a poop problem in its wake.

hmmmmm

White House Just Said To Fire Black Trump Critic. Obama’s Comms Chief’s Response Is Perfect

On By peanutgallerynhIn Domestic Affairs,, Race,Leave a comment

White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said on live television that ESPN should fire African American Sports Center host Jamele Hill for tweeting “Trump is the most ignorant, offensive president of my lifetime. His rise is a direct result of white supremacy.”

White House Just Said To Fire Black Trump Critic. Obama’s Comms Chief’s Response Is Perfect

heh

Let Hillary Clinton roar (opinion)

On By peanutgallerynhIn Domestic Affairs,, Media and Culture,Leave a comment

When, too, has any election culminated in a greater disaster for democracy? No wonder the Democrats, the pundits, and the voters themselves are so eager to disown their own complicity and to cast Clinton as the sole cause of our present situation.

“She gave us Trump,” disgruntled Sanders supporters like to say. No, Trump’s win is the result of many things, and we would do better to try to unpack them with precision and a view to complexity rather than scapegoat Clinton or her campaign.

Hillary Clinton may have been a special kind of lightning rod, but the elements that brought her down are still bristling in our atmosphere, ready to strike again, and we need to face them. The fact is that is it only when we’ve done that that we will be able to truly “move on.”

Let Hillary Clinton roar (opinion)

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Tyrant Hillary Clinton Cramming Pizza Down Hungry People’s Throats, What An Asshole

On By peanutgallerynhIn Domestic Affairs,, Media and Culture,Leave a comment

You guys, Mashable figured it out. Hillary didn’t just send pizza because she has more money than God and it was a cute, sweet thing to do. She did it SO PEOPLE WOULD LIKE HER. You know, the people who are sleeping on the sidewalk the night before her book reading like they are waiting for tickets to Smashmouth. Those people, who are camping out for her book reading, PROBABLY were fair to middling on her at best until she sprang for the extra pineapple.

Tyrant Hillary Clinton Cramming Pizza Down Hungry People’s Throats, What An Asshole | Wonkette

Wonkette, bringing the snark with a vengeance!